WOW

Ok I feel totally behind on telling all of you about the new placement and how things are going!  It has been a crazy week and was not the ideal time for three new boys under 5!!  I had 9-5 trainings all week last week so pretty much I got everyone up dropped them off at daycare went to trainings, picked them up from daycare and came home.....no time for blogging.....and my internet at home is off?!

So we will start with the highlights:

1.  8 week old baby only weighs nine pounds (was 7lbs at birth), makes no eye contact, and has no control over his head yet....Dr. was concerned and we go back wednesday to make sure he is gaining.   It took about 4 days for me to even here the baby cry.  He would just sit there....all day....if you let him.  By the 5th day he realized if he cried someone would pick him up and that someone would feed him.  They had previously only been giving him apple juice and water.  Im pretty sure this little guy has gained a couple of pounds in the last week!  He is now making eye contact and Im pretty sure he smiled at me the other day....although it could be gas :)

2.  2 year old boy is severly delayed in speech/language, although I can definitely make out the word "NO".  Problem is he says no to everything....even if he means yes :)  He is copying his older brother which has made for some behavior issues, but last night I instituted a time out in his bedroom (rather than on the steps) and I think he got it?

3.  5 year old......I dont even know where to begin on this one.  Discipline has been getting a little better, and by better I mean there is only a 30 minute screaming, kicking, hitting fest instead of 1.5 hours!  He set a fire in his bedroom earlier in the week.....with a lighter he stole from target.  Im pretty sure it was more of a curiosity thing then some psychopath killer thing.....but if I die in a house fire you know who to blame.  We installed a smoke detector just in his room and he will hopefully be getting into a fire safety class at the local childrens hospital.

4.  We had a family team meeting to discuss the new placement.  Mom and Dad were there and had the opportunity to tell me the kids likes/dislikes, etc.   They had no clue...I mean they said the kids didnt like jelly.......um we have been eating PB & J like its a job??  The kids are afraid of thunder storms.....ummm we have had 2 since they got here and no problems.  The kids dont take naps....ok the 2 year old consistently takes 2 hour naps?  You get my point. 


Gotto go for now...more to come

Delayed Post

VERY!! Everyone is sound asleep.....that is everyone but ME!




The boys are all here and cute as can be :) Baby R is sound asleep next to me in the pack and play. There was a brief attempt to move him to the crib, followed by the quick lesson of the day- Do not move the sleeping baby! If baby falls asleep downstairs you leave baby asleep downstairs and set up shop on the couch for the night :)



Boys bedtime at the relative placement 10:00, Boys bedtime at my house 7:30 for Little W, 8:30 for Big E. Seemed to go well and no one noticed the change. Baby R fell asleep at 6 and has woken up twice so far for about 10 minutes each time- not too bad for an 8 week old.



Oh and guess what I get to do tomorrow...







wait for it.....







wait for it.....







APPLY FOR WIC!!



Thats right I finally get to be the annoying lady in line at the grocery store with the WIC coupons arguing that the box of cereal I have is an approved food item. Using tax payer dollars to buy formula while I spend my hard earned money on the cartful of beer and filet mingon. Normally, Im the person behind this said lady counting my change to buy the jar of peanut butter and crackers cause its all I can afford cursing at said lady under my breath and the ironies of people working the system. Oh sweet poetic justice and a big Thank-you taxpayers!!

Things are coming together

I found Bentley a home!!  AND its with a friend of mine :)  Im so excited, I will be able to "visit" and know how he is doing.  Everything is coming together.....except my emotional state!!  I am a wreck, way too much to do and so little time.  The boys will be here Thursday at 1:00.......what did I get myself into??

Dillema

So I have a dillema.  The boys were here this weekend.  My boxer, Bentley, had to be kept in the kitchen the entire weekend.  He stood at the gate and barked everytime a kid came by.  When I tried to let him out he just could not settle down.  Little kids running and playing was just too much excitement.  Not to mention Boxers love to jump, Bentley loves it to the max, which would mean poor children being knocked over.  It created a lot of stress for me...and for Bentley.   If my goal is kids in the house, Im afraid that might mean my first baby will need a better fit :(

Im a mess!!!! What do I do??

Things I've learned this weekend:

When a child's first words to you are, "I wanna kill God.....no I REALLY want to!", you are in for a great time!


No matter what or where it is, it will get sticky.

"Im thirsty" means I will drink one sip of whatever you give me and leave the rest.

The Wii is a magical behavior modification tool.

Nap time is the greatest invention known to man :)
 
 
We had a roller coaster of a weekend!  It took until Saturday afternoon to really see what makes the boys tick, but after that things went smoother....only 1 time out today!!  I had grandeose ideas of feeding my kiddos organic and natural foods.....this went out the window on the way home from pick up when we went through burger king!  Oh well :)  I thought my house was child proofed.....wrongo! 
 
I should hear from the caseworker Monday and hopefully the boys and baby brother will be moving in.  I will spend the next few days reorganizing the house to make it more child friendly.

HA...All that waiting did me good!!

So its a good think I didnt listen to myself!!  I was sitting at home just waiting when my CW finally called back.  She asked if the Placement Worker had called.  I say "No??" and she says he was supposed to call me to discuss placement of the 3 siblings.   AHHHHHH, right as I am talking to her a fax comes through on my home fax machine.  It is a letter from the Placement worker saying to call him.  SO I get off the phone with CW and call.  Get this:  First they had given him my fax number not my phone number.  Secon, he had been calling all yesterday and this morning.  Third he called my CW several times and she NEVER even called him after we spoke yesterday morning and I said I would be interested.  FInaly last night she emailed the Placement worker and just said "She's interested."  Thats it!!!!  SO he tells me all about him and I say that I would take them.  3 boys (5, 1.5, and Newborn).  Oldest has ADHD and some behavior issues, middle one has some Speech/Language problems due to chronic ear infections and newborn appears to be healthy with no problems.  Placement worker was trying to set up a meeting this weekend with the kids so we could begin the transition, but wasnt sure he would be able to get ahold of the kids CW.

Anyway, now Im freaking out!!!!  SO nervous and SO excited....what to do!!???!!!  Im hoping everything works out and they actually do end up coming...you never know in the foster world.  This would be a legal risk placement, the older 2 have been in care for 6 months with parents not really working the case plan.  Baby just came into care a couple of days ago.

On a side yet somewhat related note...anyone remember this Saved by the Bell episode :)

Why do I do these things.....

So I got that call yesterday morning.  I told myself, "Self, do NOT sit around waiting!  Go about your day and get the massive list of things that needs to be done accomplished."  Did I listen??  NO, why would I do a silly thing like that  So I ran around the house cleaning for awhile and obssessed about whether my phone rang...it did not.

Around lunch I went and cleaned out the car and made sure the car seat was in place. (Side Note:  Cat jumped in car while I was cleaning, but I did not know it)

Finally I had to go to work cause a client was meeting me at 6:30.  I go out to the car and get in....cue loud panting.  I turn around and there is poor kitty kat...I mean it had to be 120 degrees in that car!!  I rush kitty inside to the air condition room (thats right i dont have central air!)  and he seems to be fine now.  Thank goodness I didnt lock a kid in the car all afternoon!  On another irritation level, the client never showed up!  I mean I am making a special evening appointment for you!  You cant even call and say your are not coming.  ARRRGGGHHH!

I woke up this morning, left a message with CW asking if she heard anything about the sibling group and if not when I could come sign the release to have my homestudy sent out for a boy Im interested in.  Then I told myself,  "SELF, do not sit around waiting all day!"   so far........Im not listening again :)

Got a call!!!

I got a call today for a legal risk placment of 3.....thats right I said 3!  A 5yo, 1.5yo and newborn.  I said yes, so now im waiting to see if it will come through.....

SEND GOOD THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS MY WAY :)

Submitting Homestudy

So now that I have my license and a new Foster/Adopt Case Manager I have been obsessing with photolistings and making sure my phone is always next to me in case there is THE call.  After trying to get a hold of this new case manaager for a couple of weeks I did talk to her today.  She said she would have to schedule a meeting to come out and meet with me and get a release to send my homestudy outside of the county. She couldnt schedule it over the phone right then since her coputer is "apparently" not working.  Sense the sarcasm!  I told her about a little boy I had seen a county over.  His caseworker is supposed to be contacting mine to get the homestudy and discuss whether I would be a match.   Could it be this easy??  Probably not...but heres to hoping!

Way too hot for waiting

It is TOO hot!!!!  I can't get anything done....and I have a lot to do :)  Not being able to move without sweating buckets, i am stuck here waiting.........