I have a loose tooth.
Does it hurt?
No, but it makes it hard to eat some foods.
Let me see.
These are the foods you can't eat with a loose tooth.
Kids are such fun to watch!
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Tooth Discussion
No, but it makes it hard to eat some foods.
These are the foods you can't eat with a loose tooth.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Catching Up
Summer classes are finished! My final was yesterday.
My birthday was on Monday and I celebrated by finishing a project and studying for my final.
So...on Sunday my dear husband and teen made me a german chocolate cake.
Then everyone sang me happy birthday so I could eat some of that cake....
and I ate cake while working on another project that was due on Monday.
I needed a break so we took the kids to go see Brave. We went to our local movie theater. It is a very old movie theater but the price is right, $3 for kids and $5 for adults.
The concessions are priced lower as well, everyone can get popcorn and drinks (kiddie packs for the kids) for under $20.
Anyone play one of these lately? Every time we step into that movie theater I feel like I am stepping back in time.
The teen didn't go to the movies with us. While we were out she decorated my desk area for me.
That was a pleasant surprise!
My birthday was on Monday and I celebrated by finishing a project and studying for my final.
So...on Sunday my dear husband and teen made me a german chocolate cake.
Then everyone sang me happy birthday so I could eat some of that cake....
and I ate cake while working on another project that was due on Monday.
I needed a break so we took the kids to go see Brave. We went to our local movie theater. It is a very old movie theater but the price is right, $3 for kids and $5 for adults.
The concessions are priced lower as well, everyone can get popcorn and drinks (kiddie packs for the kids) for under $20.
Anyone play one of these lately? Every time we step into that movie theater I feel like I am stepping back in time.
The teen didn't go to the movies with us. While we were out she decorated my desk area for me.
That was a pleasant surprise!
Monday while in class I received a text that the girls were scheduled for psych eval the next day at 1:30 (It was requested on that day and scheduled for the next, a cancellation caused me to get the fasted appointment I had ever gotten). That was in the middle of my final time but I was able to reschedule to final for earlier in the morning so I could take the girls to their appoitment. The girls appointment is in another bigger city but in the opposite direction from our home. We left the doctors office at 6:30. It was along day but I got some valuable information and directions to go. I also got a lecture in genetics because this man is a neurobehaviorist. I always get a lot of information from him every time I visit him. Ha, yesterday he said that he felt that he knew me personally since I spend so much time there.
Monday, June 25, 2012
It's a Small World
Kathy who I met through the wonderful world of blogging went to TMI to pick up three of her children, young and old. She saw Sarah and took some pictures. It was such a joy to see my Sarah.
Sarah and Kathy's daughter Jasmine
Pop on over and visit Kathy's site if you are interested in reading about another adoptive family.
Thanks for the pictures!
Isn't it a small world we live in today!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Decorating
View from my desk........
I have been working hard on two projects due tomorrow so I think that the girls thought I wouldn't notice a little window decorating going on.
It is good to have a sister with a little height to get those hard to reach places.
I have been working hard on two projects due tomorrow so I think that the girls thought I wouldn't notice a little window decorating going on.
It is good to have a sister with a little height to get those hard to reach places.
Partners in crime.
They realized that I was taking pictures when I told them to smile for the camera.
Need some window decorating?
I can send them your way and with a few stickers you would be set.
Now, back to work on those papers. Two more days of summer school.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Teen Mission International
Somewhere in the crowd you will find Sarah.....
This one is easier...this is Sarah's team that is going to Italy....
This one is easier...this is Sarah's team that is going to Italy....
The last I heard from Sarah herself was when she called from the airport to let me know that she made it....and that there were lots of kids there waiting. So I guess midnight isn't that bad of an arrival time.
I received a call from her team leader today asking me how Sarah was going to get home. I told her that we would be picking her up. Sounds like a road trip to Florida is in our future....August. She said that Sarah was very shy in the beginning but she is starting to open up. Also, they are all surprised that she is 18. Yes, she looks a few years younger. It was nice to hear that she is doing well.
To be able to see pictures online is great. From the pictures they are doing lots of interesting activities. I hope that Sarah is doing OK with her dislike of germs!
Please say a prayer for Sarah....and maybe even for her mom who is missing her.
Attachment in Another Form
Yesterday was therapy day. The therapist and I talked longer then we usually do because new issues have come up. The child in the shadows is showing more of her true self. She is showing more of her own little attachment issues. Showing more of the effects of multiple moves. Even the therapist has noticed the increase in jealousy and the increase in outward defiance. The funny thing about attachment issues is that it presents itself differently in each child.
We are at the point where this is the longest they have been in a placement. Dimples showed us her true self pretty quickly. Michelle has just showed us cracks of her true self. I knew that there was more to be concerned about then what she presented. By the end of the school year she had lost all of the friends that she had made. At home the kids don't want to play with her. She is having more problems with social interactions then I originally realized.
Quite frequently her jealousy gets the best of her. She will tell lies about kids to get them in trouble and we are seeing a pattern of her doing it when she is jealous of them. She will say hurtful things to her peers to bring them down. She erased Anthony's games on his Nintendo DS and later I realized it was because she couldn't win those games. She was jealous so she erased his. I say that she is so jealous that she only sees the ice cream cone in another child's hand and doesn't notice the one melting in her own.
The root of this jealousy issue is a low self esteem. Feeling rejected by so many homes, one of them promising to adopt, does have an impact. Her mom visiting only once in the last 8 months has an impact. It doesn't matter why she was moved to 7 different homes, as a child she thinks that it is because she is not worthy.
So, she is hyper vigilant. She notices every little slight, even when there isn't one. She assumes that everyone can do everything better then her and will sabotage them. She will lie to get them into trouble. She will try to draw the attention to herself when someone else is getting attention.
This behavior will affect her quality of life. Her ability to make and maintain friends and to have close relationships. It is already affecting her in the home. The teenagers have drawn back from her and the little ones prefer not to play with her.
Now that we see the issue for what it is we can look at how to best help her. Their therapist thinks that they will always require therapy. They will always struggle to some extent with the effects of their early beginnings. To me the sad thing is that all the damage wasn't done by the parents. A lot of damage was done by moving them to 7 different homes in 2 years. The foster system is part of the problem.
The other day the therapist that visited our home asked me why we do this when the girls are so difficult. I wasn't expecting that question but the only answer that came to my mind was that someone had to. Someone has to stop the moves and buckle down and do the hard work. The someone is our family. It is a family effort, these girls impact the entire family.
We are at the point where this is the longest they have been in a placement. Dimples showed us her true self pretty quickly. Michelle has just showed us cracks of her true self. I knew that there was more to be concerned about then what she presented. By the end of the school year she had lost all of the friends that she had made. At home the kids don't want to play with her. She is having more problems with social interactions then I originally realized.
Quite frequently her jealousy gets the best of her. She will tell lies about kids to get them in trouble and we are seeing a pattern of her doing it when she is jealous of them. She will say hurtful things to her peers to bring them down. She erased Anthony's games on his Nintendo DS and later I realized it was because she couldn't win those games. She was jealous so she erased his. I say that she is so jealous that she only sees the ice cream cone in another child's hand and doesn't notice the one melting in her own.
The root of this jealousy issue is a low self esteem. Feeling rejected by so many homes, one of them promising to adopt, does have an impact. Her mom visiting only once in the last 8 months has an impact. It doesn't matter why she was moved to 7 different homes, as a child she thinks that it is because she is not worthy.
So, she is hyper vigilant. She notices every little slight, even when there isn't one. She assumes that everyone can do everything better then her and will sabotage them. She will lie to get them into trouble. She will try to draw the attention to herself when someone else is getting attention.
This behavior will affect her quality of life. Her ability to make and maintain friends and to have close relationships. It is already affecting her in the home. The teenagers have drawn back from her and the little ones prefer not to play with her.
Now that we see the issue for what it is we can look at how to best help her. Their therapist thinks that they will always require therapy. They will always struggle to some extent with the effects of their early beginnings. To me the sad thing is that all the damage wasn't done by the parents. A lot of damage was done by moving them to 7 different homes in 2 years. The foster system is part of the problem.
The other day the therapist that visited our home asked me why we do this when the girls are so difficult. I wasn't expecting that question but the only answer that came to my mind was that someone had to. Someone has to stop the moves and buckle down and do the hard work. The someone is our family. It is a family effort, these girls impact the entire family.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
What a Week This has Been
I have been so busy this week that I haven't made time to come on and blog. A lot of things came together this week and a lot of questions have been asked.
First we finally finished packing Sarah's stuff for her mission trip. Seems like the list of things were long and the packing space was small. I am not even sure if she got everything or not. Not being able to communicate is hard for me.
I thought that I had purchased her a ticket leaving at 10:20 am. However, when I emailed the arrival information I realized that she left at 10:20 pm. She still arrived within the 24 hour time frame in which she is allowed to so she was still good but she worried that she would be the only one arriving that late. The ticket cost $83 so she had no choice!
Tuesday night we got to drive Sarah to Charlotte to let her go....
The ticket agent asked us if we had paid the minor fee. Oooops...she is 18.
The house is so quiet without Sarah here. Ack, I am so not ready for her to leave the nest.
In other child news, Dimples is close to be kicked out of the summer camp program. Yes, the usual things; they say go left and she goes right, hitting, spitting, shoving and such. I think that they have too much free play time for her to do well. She did well in daycare so we had hoped that she would do well at camp. Apparently not! Hopefully she will do better in kindergarten.
The issues with Dimples and summer camp made me reevaluate the therapeutic home issue. I have so many people telling me that we should have her moved. That she would get so many more services in a therapeutic home.
I have been researching the issue. True, they receive more money. They receive more training. They have less children in the home. They have more services available. However, because of my schooling I actually have more training then many therapeutic homes. The less kids, well that isn't happening here. The more money, that would be nice but I don't see it happening. Perhaps there are more services. The problem with that is they need to be available in your area to receive them, we just don't have a lot here and it doesn't matter what type of home you are.
Tuesday afternoon the girls adoption worker and a therapist came to visit. We spent a long time talking about the girls and the case. They are going to see about getting the girls more services. The therapist was also going to contact the state as well about our case.
Today I had a long talk with the girls SW. I told her that we have been told that Dimples would do better in a therapeutic home. She didn't agree. She said that because the home is therapeutic doesn't mean that she would get more then what she gets in our home. She says that we do more then some of the therapeutic homes she deals with. I also talked with the therapist who visited our home. He thinks that it would be very detrimental to the girls to have them moved and that they need to stay.
Also, thanks to the therapist and I both calling the state, the lawyer was given until Friday to submit their TPR paperwork (that should have been done months ago). She did! It was completed at 10 am today. Now we have to wait on a court date. Right now they are scheduling for November! Yes, so this won't be quick. Definitely won't complete the adoption this year. It is so frustrating.
I am currently at the end of my summer school classes. They end on Tuesday and I have a paper, project and final to finish. Then I will get a short break!
Just for your information, we do have normal times in our home!
I thought that I had purchased her a ticket leaving at 10:20 am. However, when I emailed the arrival information I realized that she left at 10:20 pm. She still arrived within the 24 hour time frame in which she is allowed to so she was still good but she worried that she would be the only one arriving that late. The ticket cost $83 so she had no choice!
Tuesday night we got to drive Sarah to Charlotte to let her go....
The ticket agent asked us if we had paid the minor fee. Oooops...she is 18.
The house is so quiet without Sarah here. Ack, I am so not ready for her to leave the nest.
In other child news, Dimples is close to be kicked out of the summer camp program. Yes, the usual things; they say go left and she goes right, hitting, spitting, shoving and such. I think that they have too much free play time for her to do well. She did well in daycare so we had hoped that she would do well at camp. Apparently not! Hopefully she will do better in kindergarten.
The issues with Dimples and summer camp made me reevaluate the therapeutic home issue. I have so many people telling me that we should have her moved. That she would get so many more services in a therapeutic home.
I have been researching the issue. True, they receive more money. They receive more training. They have less children in the home. They have more services available. However, because of my schooling I actually have more training then many therapeutic homes. The less kids, well that isn't happening here. The more money, that would be nice but I don't see it happening. Perhaps there are more services. The problem with that is they need to be available in your area to receive them, we just don't have a lot here and it doesn't matter what type of home you are.
Tuesday afternoon the girls adoption worker and a therapist came to visit. We spent a long time talking about the girls and the case. They are going to see about getting the girls more services. The therapist was also going to contact the state as well about our case.
Today I had a long talk with the girls SW. I told her that we have been told that Dimples would do better in a therapeutic home. She didn't agree. She said that because the home is therapeutic doesn't mean that she would get more then what she gets in our home. She says that we do more then some of the therapeutic homes she deals with. I also talked with the therapist who visited our home. He thinks that it would be very detrimental to the girls to have them moved and that they need to stay.
Also, thanks to the therapist and I both calling the state, the lawyer was given until Friday to submit their TPR paperwork (that should have been done months ago). She did! It was completed at 10 am today. Now we have to wait on a court date. Right now they are scheduling for November! Yes, so this won't be quick. Definitely won't complete the adoption this year. It is so frustrating.
I am currently at the end of my summer school classes. They end on Tuesday and I have a paper, project and final to finish. Then I will get a short break!
Just for your information, we do have normal times in our home!
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