On Saturday morning, we dropped off the kids at Grammy and Poppy's house at 8:20AM, so that we could attend a "quarterly" for our ongoing fostercare training. Basically, we have to attend 12 hours of workshops a year. A quarterly usually satisfies 3 hours or training. Today's topics were autism and epilepsy. The lectures were OK. I'd done enough reading on the topics to the point where I didn't find the speakers' information particularly enlightening. I would have liked a more detailed set of information (e.g., a discussion of tips for handling particular communication barriers, a discussion of how certain diets seem to minimize certain behaviors, etc.).
The neat part of the quarterly was running into three of our classmates. One couple recently received another toddler (so they have two bio kids in elementary school plus the two foster tots). The other person is someone we hadn't seen since April. I was concerned that she and her husband had dropped out, but they'd actually just taken a two-month pilgrimage to India in the fall, came back and fostered two little ones who were reunited with their bio parents (which our friend said was the right and happy thing to have happened), and now are fostering a charming young man who is in preschool. The highlight of the day was going out to lunch with our friend and her foster son. He was cute as a button, and it was beautiful to see them interact.
Jeff and I came home after lunch. Jeff fixed our automatic dog door so that Lily can go out of the house on her own if she needs to use the privy. She doesn't quite get it, but we hope that this will be the answer to our problems with her peeing in the house. Fixing the dog door was a task b/c Lily had chewed up the power cord to it several weeks ago. I spent the afternoon filling out fostercare and adoption paperwork.
We got the kids at 4:30PM. They'd had a good day. Henry had two waffles for breakfast. Miss R ate some but not much. The grandparents took them to Costco where Henry snacked his way around the store. Apparently, there was a lot of food to be sampled and Henry tried it all. When Jeff and I arrived to pick up the kids, they were in Grammy's lap watching Thomas. They yelled "NO!" when we walked into the room. Quite the greeting!
Henry had mangled his new pair of glasses. He'd bent one side pretty good about two days after getting the new pair. To that, he managed to twist the other side. That means it lasted almost 8 days and he's managed to break four pairs of glasses so far. We are looking forward to the arrival of the Flex-On frames. They can't come soon enough in my opinion.
We went to Trader Joe's. The kids received balloons and stickers. Then it was homeward bound. Jeff made the kids salmon, risotto, and french fries for dinner. Henry ate his piece of salmon. He had a second helping of fries. And he had a couple bites of the risotto. Not bad. Miss R had a couple bites of salmon and a second helping of fries. She refused the risotto outright. Sigh.
The kids had a wonderful time wrestling with Jeff after dinner. They climbed on him and then had fun tumbling off together. I read them a story about "Henry and the Elephant" from the Thomas series. Then it was teeth and bed. Before bed, I weighed Henry and he was a little over 29 lbs. I'm hoping that's right. Miss R was just over 24 lbs. Given how little she eats, I can imagine that she's actually gained weight the last week.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Eating Struggles
On Friday afternoon, I picked up the kids after their last round of playground time. I got Henry first. He was at a table reading a book quietly. He appeared quite focused. Miss Marissa said that he had a great day. We then picked up Miss R who was playing with puppets. She seemed to have a good day too. Henry really wanted to go to Trader Joe's for a balloon, but he had to settle for the Walmart, which is the closest grocery store to us that sells goat's milk. He loves shopping.
We left our neighborhood Walmart with cookies for the kids. Miss R ate two cookies, and Henry ate 1.5. We watched a little of Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone before dinnner. Our neighbor Yvonne had given Jeff some beans and rice. Henry loved the beans. Miss R refused to try anything. She eventually tried some of the crust on the hot dog appetizer. Not much though. Henry ate all of his beans and one of the hot dog pieces rolled in crust. We let him watch TV while we waited for Miss R to eat some. She just sat there and refused to touch her food. We let Henry down to watch more TV but told Miss R that we'd only let her down if she tried some of her dinner. She refused. So she sat there. I read. Then, Jeff and I switched places. Eventually, we sent Miss R to bed b/c she looked tired but refused to eat. We aren't sure that this was the appropriate way to handle her food refusals. In fact, the books say that toddlers won't let themselves starve. And yet, we know that our gal is not eating. No, she isn't starving but she isn't growing like she should. So what should we do? We've done the kind offering for the last 9 months. Can't say that really got us anywhere. We are frustrated.
After dinner, I gave Henry the rest of his cookie, which he ate. Then he tried some tapiocca pudding, which he liked. Then, he requested animal crackers. Then, he wanted milk. Although this is a lot more sugar than he normally eats (although other than the cookie, the dessert items weren't as bad as a lot of desserts on sugar), we were pleased that he was eating some foods with calories. Not to mention that he did eat his beans at dinner. I got a lot of snuggle time with him on the floor as we watched the movie and talked about the characters. Then, it was time for bed.
We've decided to restrict the amount of water at bed. While waiting for Miss R to eat something, I read that water can decrease the amount of food kids eat...although Henry's water usually comes right before bed when he isn't going to be eating until the next morning, so I don't know how well that advice really applies.
We left our neighborhood Walmart with cookies for the kids. Miss R ate two cookies, and Henry ate 1.5. We watched a little of Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone before dinnner. Our neighbor Yvonne had given Jeff some beans and rice. Henry loved the beans. Miss R refused to try anything. She eventually tried some of the crust on the hot dog appetizer. Not much though. Henry ate all of his beans and one of the hot dog pieces rolled in crust. We let him watch TV while we waited for Miss R to eat some. She just sat there and refused to touch her food. We let Henry down to watch more TV but told Miss R that we'd only let her down if she tried some of her dinner. She refused. So she sat there. I read. Then, Jeff and I switched places. Eventually, we sent Miss R to bed b/c she looked tired but refused to eat. We aren't sure that this was the appropriate way to handle her food refusals. In fact, the books say that toddlers won't let themselves starve. And yet, we know that our gal is not eating. No, she isn't starving but she isn't growing like she should. So what should we do? We've done the kind offering for the last 9 months. Can't say that really got us anywhere. We are frustrated.
After dinner, I gave Henry the rest of his cookie, which he ate. Then he tried some tapiocca pudding, which he liked. Then, he requested animal crackers. Then, he wanted milk. Although this is a lot more sugar than he normally eats (although other than the cookie, the dessert items weren't as bad as a lot of desserts on sugar), we were pleased that he was eating some foods with calories. Not to mention that he did eat his beans at dinner. I got a lot of snuggle time with him on the floor as we watched the movie and talked about the characters. Then, it was time for bed.
We've decided to restrict the amount of water at bed. While waiting for Miss R to eat something, I read that water can decrease the amount of food kids eat...although Henry's water usually comes right before bed when he isn't going to be eating until the next morning, so I don't know how well that advice really applies.
A Dramatic Tantrum
On Thursday, it was rainy. That meant that the kids stayed in their classrooms all day. Both Jeff and I picked up the kids so that we could take them to Affinity Eye Care, the place that had ordered frames for Henry. Unfortunately, the frames we wanted were way too short. They were the perfect width but the loops didn't reach the back of the ears. They had another pair that looked great on him, but we really want loops at the back so that he won't rip them off his head all of the time. He liked the double mirror. When it was turned to the magnified side, he yelled "I look big!" They are ordering another pair of the flex-ons with ear loops on the sides. Hopefully, it won't take took long.
Henry had fun playing with the sales woman's calculator and pretending it was a cell phone. One of the other customers was cracking up at Henry's antics. Unfortunately, he licked the woman's calculator, which grossed us out b/c we don't know who had touched it AND I'm sure grossed her out (b/c who wants a strange kid licking one's calculator?). Her non-verbals didn't scream out "Yuck!" but that's what mine would have been doing if I had been her.
Afterward, we went to Monkey Business as a "surprise." The kids had a good time. When it was time to get food, however, Henry threw a tantrum that involved him dramatically throwing himself to the floor and rolling 6 feet on the ground. His tantrums are so wearing. The kids ate decently when it came to their grilled cheese sandwiches. Miss R ate most of the the hard-boiled egg whites from Jeff's salad. That was new. We had no clue that Miss R would entertain hard-boiled egg, so we were pleased.
Henry was upset when we left Monkey Business. Miss R was fine. When we neared home, Henry said he wanted to go back.
This morning, the kids were chatting by the time I got to their room. Henry announced that he wanted to go back to sleep. He told me to go away. Miss R, however, was ready to start her day.
Their classes were together on the playground when I dropped them off. That seemed to make my get-away a bit easier.
Henry had fun playing with the sales woman's calculator and pretending it was a cell phone. One of the other customers was cracking up at Henry's antics. Unfortunately, he licked the woman's calculator, which grossed us out b/c we don't know who had touched it AND I'm sure grossed her out (b/c who wants a strange kid licking one's calculator?). Her non-verbals didn't scream out "Yuck!" but that's what mine would have been doing if I had been her.
Afterward, we went to Monkey Business as a "surprise." The kids had a good time. When it was time to get food, however, Henry threw a tantrum that involved him dramatically throwing himself to the floor and rolling 6 feet on the ground. His tantrums are so wearing. The kids ate decently when it came to their grilled cheese sandwiches. Miss R ate most of the the hard-boiled egg whites from Jeff's salad. That was new. We had no clue that Miss R would entertain hard-boiled egg, so we were pleased.
Henry was upset when we left Monkey Business. Miss R was fine. When we neared home, Henry said he wanted to go back.
This morning, the kids were chatting by the time I got to their room. Henry announced that he wanted to go back to sleep. He told me to go away. Miss R, however, was ready to start her day.
Their classes were together on the playground when I dropped them off. That seemed to make my get-away a bit easier.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
"This is the night. It's a beautiful night..."
On Wednesday, Jeff went to get the kids up at 7:30AM. Henry had awoken before he arrived, but Miss R was sound asleep. The kids had gone to bed around 8:30PM the night before. The 11 hours of sleep agreed with Henry who was less whiny than he's been the last couple days.
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids b/c I had class and Jeff went to Court. We were under the impression that the Court hearing was going to be just about the siblings, but Miss R's caseworker thought that the hearing would involve Miss R too. It was good that Jeff went. It seems like CPS is behind us. Today, I received an email from our family specialist from A Place To Call Home. She said that our application to become certified as adoptive parents has been submitted the Court, which is good news. Jeff and I are going to try to get the rest of the paperwork to Miss R's caseworker from St. Nick's next week so that once we are certified, the ball can start rolling.
The kids had pancakes and sausage for dinner. They ate decently well. I picked up the kids after work. Henry announced, "I'm pooping." After a pause, he said "I want to go to the potty." This was music to my ears. It's about time for that desire to kick in. Unfortunately, we passed by *his* bedroom (formerly my childhood bedroom), which has lots of books. Those proved to be too much of a distraction. The moment had passed, and the potty was forgotten. :(
In the car, the kids argued over who liked Miss Diana more. Henry announced, "I want to play basketball like Nic Wise and play football like an Eagle." When we got home, the kids played around a little bit. After we brushed their teeth, they played in our closet. They pretended that a suitcase was an airplane. They pretended that the cord to a disconnected space heater was a microphone. They sang The Lady and the Tramp song "This is the night" into the cord's end. They improvised a bit. Then it was time for bed.
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids b/c I had class and Jeff went to Court. We were under the impression that the Court hearing was going to be just about the siblings, but Miss R's caseworker thought that the hearing would involve Miss R too. It was good that Jeff went. It seems like CPS is behind us. Today, I received an email from our family specialist from A Place To Call Home. She said that our application to become certified as adoptive parents has been submitted the Court, which is good news. Jeff and I are going to try to get the rest of the paperwork to Miss R's caseworker from St. Nick's next week so that once we are certified, the ball can start rolling.
The kids had pancakes and sausage for dinner. They ate decently well. I picked up the kids after work. Henry announced, "I'm pooping." After a pause, he said "I want to go to the potty." This was music to my ears. It's about time for that desire to kick in. Unfortunately, we passed by *his* bedroom (formerly my childhood bedroom), which has lots of books. Those proved to be too much of a distraction. The moment had passed, and the potty was forgotten. :(
In the car, the kids argued over who liked Miss Diana more. Henry announced, "I want to play basketball like Nic Wise and play football like an Eagle." When we got home, the kids played around a little bit. After we brushed their teeth, they played in our closet. They pretended that a suitcase was an airplane. They pretended that the cord to a disconnected space heater was a microphone. They sang The Lady and the Tramp song "This is the night" into the cord's end. They improvised a bit. Then it was time for bed.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"I want Fiber-Os."
Jeff took Lily to the vets this afternoon b/c she had something in her leg and had been limping the night before. Turned out that she'd managed to get a 1-inch cactus spine between the paw and leg joint. So I picked up Henry at 4:15PM. He was excited to see me and gave me a huge hug. Miss Marissa said that Henry had had a really good day. As we passed through the lobby, Miss Cassie (Henry's crush) said goodbye to him. Sometimes when he sees her, he tries to pass by her quickly b/c he gets tongue-tied when she asks him questions. Today, she managed to get him to give her a high five and a hug. I think that he was pleased.
On the playground before we left, he said he was hungry (yeah!). In the car, he announced that he wanted Fiber-Os. When we got through the door, I gave him a bowl of cereal and he told me that he wanted milk too. He sat down at the picnic table and began to eat. I learned that he is ambidextrous when it comes to utensils. He scooped the Os on the right side of the bowl using the spoon in his left hand and then switched to get the Os on the left. He asked for more cereal three times, which I gladly replenished. And he wanted more milk, which I added twice. It is so nice to see our skinny boy eat!
OK, I realize I'm a little biased but I think that Henry would make a great spokeskid for Toasted Oats.
At 5:30PM, Miss R came back from a sibling visit (just one brother this time). He had brought her a stuffed animal bunny. The driver commented on how she didn't like the hills on one of the roads, which is definitely the case. The CPS drivers get their directions from MapQuest. We've told a couple of them that another road is her preferred route for her b/c the dips are less noticeable, but it is rarely the same driver twice within a month's span of time. She was happy to be home.
The kids wanted oatmeal for dinner. Henry polished off a whole bowl plus some Boost. They'd had oatmeal for breakfast. Although we like them to have variety, at this point, we are just happy to see them eat. We gave them a bath tonight and Henry is just so skinny. His ribs and spine are a bit too visible for my peace of mind. Sigh. Miss R is underweight for her age BUT she still has a little bit of a belly and some fat on her thighs, so we know that she isn't undernourished. I think that with her, when all is said and done, she will be a petite young gal, but her bio mom is also petite, so that's not a huge surprise. After their bath, the kids watched a little TV and went to bed.
And now, I'm going to work...
On the playground before we left, he said he was hungry (yeah!). In the car, he announced that he wanted Fiber-Os. When we got through the door, I gave him a bowl of cereal and he told me that he wanted milk too. He sat down at the picnic table and began to eat. I learned that he is ambidextrous when it comes to utensils. He scooped the Os on the right side of the bowl using the spoon in his left hand and then switched to get the Os on the left. He asked for more cereal three times, which I gladly replenished. And he wanted more milk, which I added twice. It is so nice to see our skinny boy eat!
OK, I realize I'm a little biased but I think that Henry would make a great spokeskid for Toasted Oats.
At 5:30PM, Miss R came back from a sibling visit (just one brother this time). He had brought her a stuffed animal bunny. The driver commented on how she didn't like the hills on one of the roads, which is definitely the case. The CPS drivers get their directions from MapQuest. We've told a couple of them that another road is her preferred route for her b/c the dips are less noticeable, but it is rarely the same driver twice within a month's span of time. She was happy to be home.
The kids wanted oatmeal for dinner. Henry polished off a whole bowl plus some Boost. They'd had oatmeal for breakfast. Although we like them to have variety, at this point, we are just happy to see them eat. We gave them a bath tonight and Henry is just so skinny. His ribs and spine are a bit too visible for my peace of mind. Sigh. Miss R is underweight for her age BUT she still has a little bit of a belly and some fat on her thighs, so we know that she isn't undernourished. I think that with her, when all is said and done, she will be a petite young gal, but her bio mom is also petite, so that's not a huge surprise. After their bath, the kids watched a little TV and went to bed.
And now, I'm going to work...
Our Monthy Visit
On Tuesday morning, Henry got up around 7:30AM. I picked him up and took him to my bed for some snuggling. Henry liked that. We had about 15 minutes of exclusive Mommy-Henry time, which was nice. I very rarely get a lot of snuggling time with Henry. He's great with hugs, but snuggling requires staying in one location, which isn't Henry's thing...unless a book is being read to him. Henry declared that he wanted pancakes, waffles, and oatmeal for breakfast. Jeff gave him two out of the three: waffles and oatmeal. I got Miss R out of bed around 8AM. She wasn't excited about getting up, but she didn't protest too much.
The kids were excited to have a visitor, Miss R's adoption caseworker. Henry called her "Miss Christy." The kids were cute while Miss Christy visited. They also decided to shout out "Stupid Eagle!" several times. Jeff and I are, understandably, concerned about appearances and explained that their shouts were a derivation of "Stupid Beagle" from Peanuts (a Snoopy reference). Miss R changed "beagle" to "eagle." Given Jeff's love of the Eagles football team, I of course have not discouraged their use of the phrase "Stupid Eagle!" b/c I think that it is pretty darn funny. Not sure that Jeff does. Miss R also decided to send me to "timeout" during the visit. Not sure what I had done to merit a timeout, but she also told me to "Go away, Mommy!" Now that one, I can explain. Whenever the kids say "Go away!", I proceed to kiss them. Miss R is particularly fond of telling me to "Go away!" and then pretend to be about to run off so that I can catch her and kiss her. Luckily, I think that Christy found the interactions amusing, which is good.
What's left to do to get this adoption done already?
(1) Get certified to adopt (requires A Place To Call Home submitting our paperwork to the adoption judge).
(2) Submit paperwork to Christy. We turned some of the paperwork into her today. But she said that she won't actually do anything with the paperwork until we are "adoption certified." From an agency perspective, I understand why they would wait. No point on acting until they know that people are "approved."
(3) Once certified, Christy will review our application. There are different components of the application. The long part is having the application sent to the Court for approval, which can take 2 months after she sends it along.
I suspect that it would be technically possible to have this done by April (wouldn't it be fun to celebrate Henry's birthday and Miss R's adoption the same month!). But with bureaucracies being what they are, I suspect that June is probably a more likely date. She said that as far as she is concerned based on what she has from CPS, we will be adopting Miss R. That's what our hearts desire. We want to finalize this as soon as possible.
The kids were very cute as they said goodbye to "Miss Christy." They love seeing people to their cars.
Then, it was off to daycare. We dropped Miss R off at her class first. She gave Henry a big hug goodbye and he said "I Love You!" Melts my heart. Then, I dropped off Henry. He was upset about going to school. I wish that he would be more excited about it.
The kids were excited to have a visitor, Miss R's adoption caseworker. Henry called her "Miss Christy." The kids were cute while Miss Christy visited. They also decided to shout out "Stupid Eagle!" several times. Jeff and I are, understandably, concerned about appearances and explained that their shouts were a derivation of "Stupid Beagle" from Peanuts (a Snoopy reference). Miss R changed "beagle" to "eagle." Given Jeff's love of the Eagles football team, I of course have not discouraged their use of the phrase "Stupid Eagle!" b/c I think that it is pretty darn funny. Not sure that Jeff does. Miss R also decided to send me to "timeout" during the visit. Not sure what I had done to merit a timeout, but she also told me to "Go away, Mommy!" Now that one, I can explain. Whenever the kids say "Go away!", I proceed to kiss them. Miss R is particularly fond of telling me to "Go away!" and then pretend to be about to run off so that I can catch her and kiss her. Luckily, I think that Christy found the interactions amusing, which is good.
What's left to do to get this adoption done already?
(1) Get certified to adopt (requires A Place To Call Home submitting our paperwork to the adoption judge).
(2) Submit paperwork to Christy. We turned some of the paperwork into her today. But she said that she won't actually do anything with the paperwork until we are "adoption certified." From an agency perspective, I understand why they would wait. No point on acting until they know that people are "approved."
(3) Once certified, Christy will review our application. There are different components of the application. The long part is having the application sent to the Court for approval, which can take 2 months after she sends it along.
I suspect that it would be technically possible to have this done by April (wouldn't it be fun to celebrate Henry's birthday and Miss R's adoption the same month!). But with bureaucracies being what they are, I suspect that June is probably a more likely date. She said that as far as she is concerned based on what she has from CPS, we will be adopting Miss R. That's what our hearts desire. We want to finalize this as soon as possible.
The kids were very cute as they said goodbye to "Miss Christy." They love seeing people to their cars.
Then, it was off to daycare. We dropped Miss R off at her class first. She gave Henry a big hug goodbye and he said "I Love You!" Melts my heart. Then, I dropped off Henry. He was upset about going to school. I wish that he would be more excited about it.
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Get on the bike, R, and I'll take you to California!"
Given the kids' craziness last night, they went to bed later than usual. Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact that they had to get up by 7AM, so I could get them to school by 8:30AM, and get myself to school for a morning appointment. Many tears were shed when Jeff tried to get the kids up. "No! No! No!" rang throughout the house.
At daycare, Miss R was a pain to get out of the car. She's getting as bad as Henry. Plus, she put her shoe on my black shirt when I was trying to unbuckle Henry. Ugh. Henry cried when I took him to the playground. That made me sad.
My parents picked up the kids. They bought them a new Thomas train at Barnes & Noble and bought them the book of "The Princess and the Frog." They went to the eye glass place to get Henry his new pair of glasses (same as the old pair but not twisted...yet). Grammy reported that the kids were good. They had a disagreement, however, when Henry took his bike into a second room and left it. Then he came back to the family room and took Miss R's bike. She wanted it back. He tried to compromise. He wanted her to get behind him on the bike. He told her, "Get on the bike, R, and I'll take you to California!"
According to Grammy and Poppy, the kids had two scwabbles yesterday. One scwabble was whether or not someone had a "boo boo" vs. an "owie." I don't know who was pro-boo boo and who was pro-owie, but apparently it was a loud disagreement. Their second scwabble was over who had the stinkier backside. That debate centered around the theme "No, you have a stinky butt." I'm guessing that we are going to have a lot more fun bathroom debates in the future. I'm going to see if I can get them to use the word "derriere" instead of "butt." It sounds a little less vulgar.
Tonight, I picked up the kids around 7:15PM. Henry, especially, was very tired. They put up a fuss when going to bed, but it didn't take them long to settle down (or perhaps Jeff and I are just getting better at ignoring the protests).
Tomorrow, Miss R has a visit from Christy, her caseworker. Then, it is on to school, so that Jeff and I can get our work done.
At daycare, Miss R was a pain to get out of the car. She's getting as bad as Henry. Plus, she put her shoe on my black shirt when I was trying to unbuckle Henry. Ugh. Henry cried when I took him to the playground. That made me sad.
My parents picked up the kids. They bought them a new Thomas train at Barnes & Noble and bought them the book of "The Princess and the Frog." They went to the eye glass place to get Henry his new pair of glasses (same as the old pair but not twisted...yet). Grammy reported that the kids were good. They had a disagreement, however, when Henry took his bike into a second room and left it. Then he came back to the family room and took Miss R's bike. She wanted it back. He tried to compromise. He wanted her to get behind him on the bike. He told her, "Get on the bike, R, and I'll take you to California!"
According to Grammy and Poppy, the kids had two scwabbles yesterday. One scwabble was whether or not someone had a "boo boo" vs. an "owie." I don't know who was pro-boo boo and who was pro-owie, but apparently it was a loud disagreement. Their second scwabble was over who had the stinkier backside. That debate centered around the theme "No, you have a stinky butt." I'm guessing that we are going to have a lot more fun bathroom debates in the future. I'm going to see if I can get them to use the word "derriere" instead of "butt." It sounds a little less vulgar.
Tonight, I picked up the kids around 7:15PM. Henry, especially, was very tired. They put up a fuss when going to bed, but it didn't take them long to settle down (or perhaps Jeff and I are just getting better at ignoring the protests).
Tomorrow, Miss R has a visit from Christy, her caseworker. Then, it is on to school, so that Jeff and I can get our work done.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Juiced
Jeff picked up the kids and returned home around 8PM this evening. In his words, they were "juiced." I'm quite sure that the grandparents must have given the kids something with sugar (maybe the chocolate almond milk?) b/c they were crazy. I gave Miss R her nebulizing treatment b/c she was already so wired, I figure that the albuterol couldn't make her any more crazy.
The kids had a hug-fest. Miss R would say goodbye to Henry and then they'd give each other a huge hug before parting ways...for about 4 feet. Then, they'd say goodgye again and hug once more. Jeff said that it was quite a different attitude from the car when Henry snatched the paper pirate hat off Miss R's head causing it to rip. That sent Miss R into a tearful tizzy...understandably. Luckily, we had a backup one (the one Henry wasn't using).
The kids had a good time with Grammy and Poppy. They took a 2.5 hour nap and then went to the park. Grammy and Poppy said that they wanted to pick up the kids tomorrow, so today must have gone well.
The kids are asleep now. Only one request each for more water this evening. They didn't go to bed, however, until 9:30PM, so tomorrow is going to feel harsh when they are pulled from bed at 7AM. I'm hoping for a full-day at work!
The kids had a hug-fest. Miss R would say goodbye to Henry and then they'd give each other a huge hug before parting ways...for about 4 feet. Then, they'd say goodgye again and hug once more. Jeff said that it was quite a different attitude from the car when Henry snatched the paper pirate hat off Miss R's head causing it to rip. That sent Miss R into a tearful tizzy...understandably. Luckily, we had a backup one (the one Henry wasn't using).
The kids had a good time with Grammy and Poppy. They took a 2.5 hour nap and then went to the park. Grammy and Poppy said that they wanted to pick up the kids tomorrow, so today must have gone well.
The kids are asleep now. Only one request each for more water this evening. They didn't go to bed, however, until 9:30PM, so tomorrow is going to feel harsh when they are pulled from bed at 7AM. I'm hoping for a full-day at work!
"All Hail Plankton!"
This morning, the kids were picky at breakfast. We suspect that Miss R has decided to adopt Henry's not-so-great eating habits. If she thinks that Henry is rejecting food, she does the same. Again, I ask: How on earth did Jeff and I end up with two kids who don't like to eat?!?
The kids were cute this morning. They had a few scuffles. Henry purposefully tries to rile Miss R. Miss R overreacts. Sometimes, though, they join forces against me when they think that I'm going to land one of them in timeout. This morning, Henry said "I Love You!" to Miss R. She frequently responds with "No!" But this morning, she decided to say "I Love You, Henry!"
Henry ran around with a basket on his head for awhile. Once on his head, he shouted "All Hail Plankton!" which is quotation from the Sponge Bob movie when Plankton, a little guy who has evil plans to take over the world, distributes free bucket hats at his restaurant "The Chum Bucket." The buckets turn the citizens of Bikini Bottom into mindless zombies who shout "All Hail Plankton!"
I confess that Jeff and I were much relieved when the grandparents picked up the kids around 11AM or so. It is the first break that we've had from them in a week. I love them dearly, but it is nice to have a little break from our eneretic crew. I'm using my break to catch up on work. Yeah! And Jeff is on the roof looking for a leak.
The kids were cute this morning. They had a few scuffles. Henry purposefully tries to rile Miss R. Miss R overreacts. Sometimes, though, they join forces against me when they think that I'm going to land one of them in timeout. This morning, Henry said "I Love You!" to Miss R. She frequently responds with "No!" But this morning, she decided to say "I Love You, Henry!"
Henry ran around with a basket on his head for awhile. Once on his head, he shouted "All Hail Plankton!" which is quotation from the Sponge Bob movie when Plankton, a little guy who has evil plans to take over the world, distributes free bucket hats at his restaurant "The Chum Bucket." The buckets turn the citizens of Bikini Bottom into mindless zombies who shout "All Hail Plankton!"
I confess that Jeff and I were much relieved when the grandparents picked up the kids around 11AM or so. It is the first break that we've had from them in a week. I love them dearly, but it is nice to have a little break from our eneretic crew. I'm using my break to catch up on work. Yeah! And Jeff is on the roof looking for a leak.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Princess and the Frog
Jeff took care of the kids mid-morning until mid-afternoon. I tried to get back on track for work. Jeff has been enjoying his time with the kids playing with my old legos.
Miss R's lawyer called and I talked with him for awhile. Nothing new. He wanted to know how the adoption process was coming along. I said that we were still in the paperwork phase. He said that once the case moved to St. Nick's, the process really shouldn't take that long. We are certainly in favor of getting the adoption done sooner than later. I have an inkling that there is some incentive for the agency to drag it out as long as possible b/c once she's off their case load, they probably don't get any funding from the state. But maybe I'm just being too cynical about the workings of agencies that deal with social work. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to fill out so much paperwork that no one probably ever reads. Anyway, my talk with him went well. He'll probably come out and see Miss R before the next hearing (a non-appearance, dependency review).
As the kids had been fever free and without fever-reducing medications for 24 hours, we decided to take them to see The Princess and the Frog with Aunt Erin. The kids were surprisingly well-behaved. The last 20 minutes, Henry started talking out louded and had to be shushed a couple times. Thankfully, there were only two other groups in the theater...one with a kid or kids who had blurted stuff out a couple times making us feel better about our kids. At least our kids were no worse than the others. Henry liked one of the songs and got up and danced to it. We managed to get some pretzel and popcorn into Henry and Miss R while they were staring at the screen. Nice to not deal with protest.
Afterward, we let the kids run around the arcade. Henry was intrigued by the flashing lights. That gave me an opportunity to talk with Erin a little bit.
After six days couped up in the house, Henry was ready to let off some steam. His nose wasn't that running today and his cough had died down considerably. After parting ways with Aunt Erin, we took the kids to the mall. I'm loving the fact that they have put hand sanitizer at the entrance! Unfortunately, the play area was way too crowded and contained several kids who were too big for the area as well (not that it stopped them from running over the little kids there). We decided to take the kids walking around the mall. We stopped by the fountain, and I gave the kids four pennies each upon which to make wishes. They don't quite get the "wish" concept yet, but they had fun throwing the pennies. I made the recommendation that they wish for "world peace" while they were at it. We went up the elevator. Walked around. Stopped by the pet store and looked at the puppies and baby gerbels. And then had dinner at Red Robin.
Henry was squirmy but obviously tired too. As he leaned against the wood panel wall of the booth, he said "I love you!" I said, "You love me?" He said, "I love this" as he pointed to the wall. That made Jeff and I feel special.
Miss R ate a decent meal, at least for her. Henry did OK. At least he ate some. Given that they had snacked at the movies, it wasn't a bad meal for them.
Then, it was homeward bound. Henry was upset b/c I told him that the Monkey Business was closed b/c the workers had to go home and sleep. He wasn't buying it. He also wanted to go to "April." The story behind "April" is that he told me that he wanted to go to Disneyland. I told him that if he was good, maybe we'd go in April. He doesn't understand the passage of time and thinks that April is a place. So wanting to "go to April" has become a new theme in his life.
The kids are asleep now. I'm unfortunatley going to have to work tomorrow. My parents really want to take the kids. I think that we are going to let them. We've kept them away this week b/c we didn't want my parents getting sick. But as we think that we are passed the contagious post-fever stage (otherwise we wouldn't have taken them out), we are going to let Henry and Miss R see their grandparents whom they have talked about all week.
Miss R's lawyer called and I talked with him for awhile. Nothing new. He wanted to know how the adoption process was coming along. I said that we were still in the paperwork phase. He said that once the case moved to St. Nick's, the process really shouldn't take that long. We are certainly in favor of getting the adoption done sooner than later. I have an inkling that there is some incentive for the agency to drag it out as long as possible b/c once she's off their case load, they probably don't get any funding from the state. But maybe I'm just being too cynical about the workings of agencies that deal with social work. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to fill out so much paperwork that no one probably ever reads. Anyway, my talk with him went well. He'll probably come out and see Miss R before the next hearing (a non-appearance, dependency review).
As the kids had been fever free and without fever-reducing medications for 24 hours, we decided to take them to see The Princess and the Frog with Aunt Erin. The kids were surprisingly well-behaved. The last 20 minutes, Henry started talking out louded and had to be shushed a couple times. Thankfully, there were only two other groups in the theater...one with a kid or kids who had blurted stuff out a couple times making us feel better about our kids. At least our kids were no worse than the others. Henry liked one of the songs and got up and danced to it. We managed to get some pretzel and popcorn into Henry and Miss R while they were staring at the screen. Nice to not deal with protest.
Afterward, we let the kids run around the arcade. Henry was intrigued by the flashing lights. That gave me an opportunity to talk with Erin a little bit.
After six days couped up in the house, Henry was ready to let off some steam. His nose wasn't that running today and his cough had died down considerably. After parting ways with Aunt Erin, we took the kids to the mall. I'm loving the fact that they have put hand sanitizer at the entrance! Unfortunately, the play area was way too crowded and contained several kids who were too big for the area as well (not that it stopped them from running over the little kids there). We decided to take the kids walking around the mall. We stopped by the fountain, and I gave the kids four pennies each upon which to make wishes. They don't quite get the "wish" concept yet, but they had fun throwing the pennies. I made the recommendation that they wish for "world peace" while they were at it. We went up the elevator. Walked around. Stopped by the pet store and looked at the puppies and baby gerbels. And then had dinner at Red Robin.
Henry was squirmy but obviously tired too. As he leaned against the wood panel wall of the booth, he said "I love you!" I said, "You love me?" He said, "I love this" as he pointed to the wall. That made Jeff and I feel special.
Miss R ate a decent meal, at least for her. Henry did OK. At least he ate some. Given that they had snacked at the movies, it wasn't a bad meal for them.
Then, it was homeward bound. Henry was upset b/c I told him that the Monkey Business was closed b/c the workers had to go home and sleep. He wasn't buying it. He also wanted to go to "April." The story behind "April" is that he told me that he wanted to go to Disneyland. I told him that if he was good, maybe we'd go in April. He doesn't understand the passage of time and thinks that April is a place. So wanting to "go to April" has become a new theme in his life.
The kids are asleep now. I'm unfortunatley going to have to work tomorrow. My parents really want to take the kids. I think that we are going to let them. We've kept them away this week b/c we didn't want my parents getting sick. But as we think that we are passed the contagious post-fever stage (otherwise we wouldn't have taken them out), we are going to let Henry and Miss R see their grandparents whom they have talked about all week.
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