Getting Creative {with twins!}

So late Monday evening we welcomed two new little girls into our home: Twin T and Twin E. Sissy was especially excited because the girls are only a few weeks older than she is (they will turn 6 at the end of this month). Yesterday was a bit of a blur as I shopped for school uniforms and supplies, bought groceries, picked up our ground beef (from my chicken people!), and made 3 trips to the school to enroll the girls--all with 5 children 5 & under in tow! We made it through the day with surprisingly little drama, save Sissy's meltdown because the girls didn't play with her enough throughout the day. These girls have been through quite a bit, and though we've been warned to watch for anger issues, they seem very sweet. Still, I was looking forward to the calm this morning, to spending time with my 3 youngest, schooling Sissy and Bubba, and getting some much-needed housework done. But then nothing around here tends to go as planned, so I really was not surprised when I arrived at the school to find the girls were not in fact enrolled yet.

Now, when new kids come into care, usually very little is known about them. We receive a form stating they are in our care, which also serves as proof of insurance. Theoretically, we are supposed to receive insurance cards after awhile. But we have never received a birth certificate or social security card. Twice (out of 11!) have we been given shot records. This has never been an issue before, especially since our previous three older girls were transferred from other schools who had the required documentation already. Unfortunately our school was unable to get the shot records from the twins' previous school. The shot records on file with the state showed they were not up-to-date with their vaccinations. So this morning I was told the girls could not attend school until the shot records were received, and I should go home and wait for them to call me when that happened. I should have dealt with everything right then, but I had five antsy kids on my hands and I didn't have all of my wits about me. Instead, I came home, called (& emailed!) the caseworker and then called the girls' aunt, who had previous custody. She wasn't sure if she ever had shot records, but insisted that everything that she had was given to the caseworker. She did give me the phone number (from the phone book!) of the pediatrician who she thought she'd taken them to. Unsatisfied, I called my pediatrician to see if I could get in and get them shots. No well-child appointments available for six weeks.

Then it hit me: kids don't NEED to be vaccinated before they can attend school. I know from my own research that they cannot force me to vaccinate my children. Now, I understand that CPS is actually the guardian in this case, and that foster children are supposed to be vaccinated, and I fully intend to have these girls vaccinated in a reasonable manner. However, they also need to be in school.

So I called the school back and asked if they could locate the vaccination waiver form, informing them that I would be bringing the girls back shortly. I may have stretched the definition of "personal belief" a bit this morning, but I believe that it is in the best interests of the twins to be in school while we sort out all of this mess. I had to get a little creative this morning. Do you think they'll question it at all? How have you needed to use your creativity lately?


73. Twins!
74. comforting Twin T after she hurt her knee last night
75. Bubba's budding sense of humor
76. Budders' singing
77. seeing our first foster son at the Christmas party on Saturday
78. hearing encouraging stories from fostering friends
79. my supportive friends and family
80. that I have a Rock that cannot be shaken