I dropped Leonard and Penny at daycare for the last time this morning. It wasn't much different than any other day really. I carried in their last bag of things (stuffed animals and the last load of their clean clothes) and sat them in the front office. I walked in and talked to the teacher for a few minutes, giving her their parents' phone numbers and thanking her for her help over the last (almost) ten months. I gave Penny a hug and told her to keep an eye on her brother and to be good. I gave Leonard a hug and told him to be nice to his sister (and everyone else) and to be a big boy like I know he can be. They yelled goodbye as I left and that was that.
I could say that we're sad for their departure... but that wouldn't be entirely true. The case worked out in the best possible way for them. They get to alternate between their parents' houses and that's about as good as this one was going to get. We're happy that they got to go back to their families who truly did miss them and love them. At the same time, it was time for them to go... WE HAVE A BABY COMING IN 10 WEEKS AND HIS ROOM HAS NOTHING THAT BELONGS TO HIM IN IT!!!
Tonight begins the transformation. The Kid and I are painting this weekend while she's over, but for now, we have to get all of the holes patched and the remaining things out of the room that are non-baby related. On Saturday, we did a little bit of work switching our living room to the old playroom and making the former living room into a craft room for The Wife and The Kid. It was a whole big thing. Hopefully we will be able to reclaim our closets in the next couple of days, since they have been jammed full of baby stuff for about three months. Seriously though... three closets... packed. The process starts in about an hour and we could not be more excited. If it weren't for the whole "we need PTO for when the baby actually comes", The Wife and I would both be at home right now getting everything done.
13.5.13
1.5.13
May is Upon Us
We are down to twelve days with Leonard & Penny. Everything seems to be going pretty well with visits, including both of their parents following the schedule that we follow... naps, meals, sleep, etc. At this point, we could not have possibly expected that things would go this well. It seems as though eight or nine months without your kids will really kickstart some people. Or the judge told them to get over themselves and do something. Either way works. This week is a short one for us with the kids. Their mom will pick them up from daycare tomorrow afternoon and they will stay with her until Saturday afternoon/evening. They come back to our house, but only for bedtime. Sunday morning, we will drop them off with their dad and they will stay with him until he drops them off at daycare on Tuesday morning. We are responsible for them for roughly thirty hours out of the next 150 or so.
23.4.13
Baby Update
The Wife had her last monthly appointment, before moving to every two weeks, yesterday. She knew the ever exciting and always popular gestational diabetes test would be coming up, so she was overly joyed for that. As it turns out, she gets to start going every single week and she gets to have monthly ultrasounds from here on out. I don't know if I mentioned this on the blog before, but there is this thing called a "single umbilical artery", where the umbilical cord has one artery and one vein instead of the regular two arteries and one vein. The SUA has the potential for complications, but as long as the baby is growing, they just monitor it and make sure things are proceeding correctly. So far everything is looking perfectly normal, so the SUA just means more ultrasounds and baby pictures for us... which is awesome.
The Wife read something a few weeks ago about how, once you get to the 26th or 27th week, sometimes you can hear the baby's heartbeat by just putting your ear on the belly. I have now tried it twice, but I still haven't heard anything. I have been kicked in the head twice by the baby for my trouble though... so that's something.
We also have the 3D ultrasound coming up in the middle of May, so that's sure to be amazing. I have no idea how it works, but it does, and that's all that really matters. Pictures will be up immediately on that.
We are down to less than three weeks until the re-decorating of the nursery will take place. IT JUST WON'T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH!!!
The Wife read something a few weeks ago about how, once you get to the 26th or 27th week, sometimes you can hear the baby's heartbeat by just putting your ear on the belly. I have now tried it twice, but I still haven't heard anything. I have been kicked in the head twice by the baby for my trouble though... so that's something.
We also have the 3D ultrasound coming up in the middle of May, so that's sure to be amazing. I have no idea how it works, but it does, and that's all that really matters. Pictures will be up immediately on that.
We are down to less than three weeks until the re-decorating of the nursery will take place. IT JUST WON'T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH!!!
Week Three
This past weekend, the kids had longer visits with each parent. It was 8am-4pm with mom on Saturday and the same with dad on Sunday. Both parents were on time for picking up and dropping off, which is an accomplishment on its own... or at least surprising to us.
After Saturday's visit with their mom, Leonard and Penny came home, but didn't have a ton to say about what they had done. They ate breakfast at their mom's house and they went to one of those places for kids with all of the trampolines and bouncy things. Then they went out to eat for lunch. Neither one of them took naps, but the important thing is that she did have them lay down for an hour or so of "rest time"... even if they couldn't sleep.
Sunday's visit with their dad was much more fun this week. There was a NASCAR race in town this weekend, so after church, they went out to the racetrack and the kids got to see a bunch of the cars up close. After they were done there, they went back to his house and watched the race on television. They were super excited to see them on tv, since they had just seen the very same cars in person. They were even tired enough to take a nap at his house.
Overall, they seemed to have a good weekend and their parents proved (at least to us) that perhaps things will be ok when they go home. Obviously, the continual outings will come to an end, because they are not in a position to keep those expenses up, but it could still be alright. It's definitely going to be a shock to the system the first time the kids are with them for an entire weekend and they can't afford to go anywhere and everywhere all weekend, but that's just part of the deal.
After Saturday's visit with their mom, Leonard and Penny came home, but didn't have a ton to say about what they had done. They ate breakfast at their mom's house and they went to one of those places for kids with all of the trampolines and bouncy things. Then they went out to eat for lunch. Neither one of them took naps, but the important thing is that she did have them lay down for an hour or so of "rest time"... even if they couldn't sleep.
Sunday's visit with their dad was much more fun this week. There was a NASCAR race in town this weekend, so after church, they went out to the racetrack and the kids got to see a bunch of the cars up close. After they were done there, they went back to his house and watched the race on television. They were super excited to see them on tv, since they had just seen the very same cars in person. They were even tired enough to take a nap at his house.
Overall, they seemed to have a good weekend and their parents proved (at least to us) that perhaps things will be ok when they go home. Obviously, the continual outings will come to an end, because they are not in a position to keep those expenses up, but it could still be alright. It's definitely going to be a shock to the system the first time the kids are with them for an entire weekend and they can't afford to go anywhere and everywhere all weekend, but that's just part of the deal.
19.4.13
And So It Begins...
It's like she knew I posted a blog about how well things went from last weekend. This morning, Penny was up crying at the crack of dawn... or over an hour before dawn... either way. I got up, got dressed, then went in and told them it was time to get up and get dressed. Almost immediately upon my entering the room, the crying subsided. She thought that she was getting the attention that she was going for... turns out, it was just time to get up. It's not the first time she has woken up crying, but the crying usually means that she woke herself up by peeing her pants, the bed and, in one instance, the floor. The last time was last Saturday morning. There is nothing better than getting up at 5am on a Saturday morning to change sheets and such. She likes to play it off by saying that her stomach hurts or her ear hurts or something. Today, she didn't even try to make an excuse. Keep in mind, the body aches really are excuses, because once it's time to get up for the day, she's fine. We've known for a long time that these two, Leonard and Penny, were master manipulators, but we haven't seen it that much in person. Generally we hear about it from daycare and just put the pieces together. Last weekend, Penny had a stomachache about ten minutes after her mom picked them up and then immediately when their dad picked them up. After they each asked us if she had been sick, to which we said "no... not at all", she made an amazing recovery and was herself the rest of the day with them. As long as they get called on their manipulations, they will both stop.
The problem will come when they are no longer with us in a few weeks and they are back with the people who taught them these behaviors.
The problem will come when they are no longer with us in a few weeks and they are back with the people who taught them these behaviors.
18.4.13
Our First Respite Call
Well... we had to say no, but hey... we still got a call.
They were looking for placement for a 5 year old girl, 7 year old boy, and 9 year old girl. Unfortunately, they needed a place from tomorrow through the 29th. Not only is that a fairly long respite placement, but they are all in a school that isn't close to us by any means. We didn't even get to the part where there aren't enough beds in our house for three kids, in addition to Leonard and Penny and The Kid (for the weekend). They were willing to split the kids up, but we just couldn't make it work.
The lady at the agency said that she would keep us on the top of her list for any other respite that may come up.
They were looking for placement for a 5 year old girl, 7 year old boy, and 9 year old girl. Unfortunately, they needed a place from tomorrow through the 29th. Not only is that a fairly long respite placement, but they are all in a school that isn't close to us by any means. We didn't even get to the part where there aren't enough beds in our house for three kids, in addition to Leonard and Penny and The Kid (for the weekend). They were willing to split the kids up, but we just couldn't make it work.
The lady at the agency said that she would keep us on the top of her list for any other respite that may come up.
17.4.13
Observations
As I sat there watching Dora with the kids last night, I had a few thoughts:
1. Maybe Dora and Boots should fail from time to time... sure, it's better to try and fail than to never try at all... and all of that... but seriously... a six year old and a monkey could never have the success rate that they seem to have.
2. A "we tried real hard" song is just as good as a "we did it" song.
3. Why doesn't Swiper get away with anything? He should probably look for another line of work.
4. Since he always gets caught, why doesn't Swiper get in more trouble? The Mexican authorities are nothing to mess with... plus he can't even sell the stuff he steals for money for bail... see #3.
5. The map should get a vacation every now and then. Maybe he doesn't want to always know the way to go.
6. Can backpack not produce a GPS to give the map a break? They can pull an inflatable raft out of there, but a GPS is too much to ask?
7. They're in Mexico... how has Dora not been mugged? I know she's a kid, but she has some stuff to take. Plus she has the previously mentioned backpack that can carry all kinds of things.
1. Maybe Dora and Boots should fail from time to time... sure, it's better to try and fail than to never try at all... and all of that... but seriously... a six year old and a monkey could never have the success rate that they seem to have.
2. A "we tried real hard" song is just as good as a "we did it" song.
3. Why doesn't Swiper get away with anything? He should probably look for another line of work.
4. Since he always gets caught, why doesn't Swiper get in more trouble? The Mexican authorities are nothing to mess with... plus he can't even sell the stuff he steals for money for bail... see #3.
5. The map should get a vacation every now and then. Maybe he doesn't want to always know the way to go.
6. Can backpack not produce a GPS to give the map a break? They can pull an inflatable raft out of there, but a GPS is too much to ask?
7. They're in Mexico... how has Dora not been mugged? I know she's a kid, but she has some stuff to take. Plus she has the previously mentioned backpack that can carry all kinds of things.
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