Well, Our five year old foster boy, Rick , has today, taught our two year old daughter, K, how to climb on the car, (that is on the top of the car!) get up on the roof, (that is, climb out the window and up onto the roof), go under the crawl space and hide.

Today they’ve gotten into more trouble in one day, that my daughter gets into in a month. He has gotten into more trouble today than he did the whole summer he was here alone.

Together it’s a firestorm of TROUBLE!!! Whew...

My two and a half year old suddenly knows how to be a terrible two. She has gone from a wanting to please - Mommy princess - to the dreaded - NO NO NO - screamer the two's can be famous for.

One at a time they are both pretty good kids. Get them together and its double trouble.

Whoever said two were easier than one because they play? I know people have been telling me that. I don’t buy it. Two can't be easier than one. Well, maybe after they are twenty one years old. Maybe then.

We aren’t too worried about our daughter. She’s got a great foundation and a quick correction gets her back in line.

Rick on the other hand, well, his testing is getting more and more furious and intense. If I give K a bit of attention, he goes into full blown attention getting. It’s obvious he’s used to getting a lot of negative attention. We’ve been foster parents for a few years, and we have some experience - not a lot - but some. I'm trying lots of different things to get him to respond quickly.

I take Rick and give him lots of positive feedback, and love, and attention, alone - just the two of us.

I take him on errands with me, alone, and work on getting him to trust me. And I can see that it is working. I'm teaching him things that he should already know. How to dress himself (he's five). How to count to twenty. How to know left from right.

Even though his acting out is getting bigger, so are his responses. He’ll open doors for me, put his dirty laundry in the basket. Small things yes, but these are big things to show respect. And I’m proud of him.

But this first few weeks of having a new child that acts out is hard.

All weekend hubby and I have taken turns putting them in quiet time, doing chores, taking away toys. I’ve tried reinforcing fifteen minutes of good respectful time with rewards. Hubby and I are well-worn, tired. Ready to send him home.

It is always the first few weeks of a new child that are the hardest. Everyone has to ajust. The child has the biggest adjustment. New rules, new food, new parents. It is tough. And then, just when everyone is feeling ok with one another, they usually go home. And that is what is going to happen here. In two more weeks, he’s going home.
I don't think I'd do this again. I feel put in a hard rock place (or whatever that saying is).

But look. Be honest. What would you do?

Look at it this way. If your best friend, a single mother, had to go to the hospital for a month, would you take her kids? What if you knew one or more of the children were less than perfectly behaved?

What if they were spoiled? What would you tell your best friend?

No, sorry, I know we are best friends and all that, but I can't take your kids.. Send them off to strangers for a month I'm sure they'll be ok....?

What if you knew your friends children personally? What if you had been to their birhday parties, soccer games, celebrations?

Lets up the ante, what if you were these childrens Godparents?

Would you take the children?

Of course you would.

People say hubby and I are crazy. We shouldn’t take other people’s problems. But I bet you would too.

We love Ricky. He was our first foster child. We wanted to adopt him. He feels like ours - part of the family. Like we are his grandparents or something.

As my wise husband says: You do what you have to do for the ones you love.

Yep. I guess we do.

....................Here is the link to all the Ricky updates.... Scroll down to see all the posts about Rick.