Chaos Chronicles

Here are pics from Paul’s first day of 7th grade!

Last night when I came home, Paul told me a very scary story.

It seems that before Phoebe went to sleep last night, she was playing with a tiny baby bottle for a doll.  She had it in her mouth and fell asleep.  Paul heard her coughing and gagging and then nothing, so he got up and turned on the light.

Phoebe had the little bottle sticking out of her mouth!  Paul took it out and then tried to wake Phoebe up, but she was too deeply asleep.

THANK GOD he was in there and he woke up.  What if she choked on it again but this time wasn’t so lucky…. It still scares me to think about it!
Thank you God for watching over my family!!

So my cousin Amy came over today and we were talking about my sister’s kids. She asked for the adoption workers phone number and I gave it to her, and then decided to give them a call myself.

I called the main number and asked them to transfer me to the worker. I was expecting voicemail again, but miracle of miracles, she answered.

I said Hi, It’s Lisa McCall and I was calling because it’s been a while since I have heard anything about what’s going on with the kids.

She starts going on about how they are fine and happy etc. and then asks me how things are with finding a place to live. I tell her the newest info and then change subjects back to what I called for originally.

“Last time I talked to you guys, I was told there was going to be an investigation, and I haven’t heard anything since then.”

The adoption worker then says Oops! (pause) I’m the only one covering right now, so hold on, I have to take this call.

She “clicks” over and then she comes back after a little under a minute saying I’m sorry Lisa, but I have an Emergency. I have to go, but can you give me your number so I can call you back monday?

First off, why do I have to give her my number, shouldn’t it be in the kids files? Second of all. I know you don’t have an emergency, you are just blowing me off just like you’ve been doing for the past month.

So, I told my cousin Amy, who was sitting in front of me, what happend. She decided to call the worker herself.

She called the main office and asked to be transfered and the worker answered. Amy didn’t let on that she knew we had just talked or that Ann had an “emergency”.

The social worker spent like 10-15 minutes on the phone with Amy, taking her information and listening to Amy’s story about how she wanted to take all the kids, but right now she could only take one.

The worker never ONCE mentioned having an emergency to Amy, nor did she say she couldn’t talk.

I’m PISSED. Why do they keep jerking me around. I just want answers. that’s all. Answers.

So.  Right now, I’m in the middle of writting another post and I just had to stop and tell you what Phoebe is doing as I try and write.

I’m typing away as she is sitting on my lap, and yes, I’m ignoring her.   I am absorbed into the blog..I am becoming one with the blog..

Anyway.

So, Phoebe turns around, grabs my chin and pulls it toward her, saying “Looooooooooooooooooooook at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” in her cute sing-song voice.

I look and she says “Pick up your Boots and your Unicorn”.

Now being almost 3, she isn’t the best enunciator, so I THINK I hear her say something about my boobs being filled with corn.  Yeah.

When it dawns on me that she wants me to play with the dolls she set infront of me, I pick them up and she smilies and says “Plaaaaaaaaaay with me!”

So, I guess my blog post will have to wait

We have been here for almost a year now and have not been able to move.

Last night I did our taxes and after totalling it all up and adding our savings, we have a sizeable downpayment for a house.   I almost fainted when I found that out.

Then just as I finished the taxes, my cousin-in-law called and told me that his landlord is going to have a 3 family for rent soon and that he’d be ok with 6 kids living there.  Ben is going to call him tonight.

Then this morning, I get a call from Ben’s cousin.  He wants to go in with us and buy the family farm in Maine (I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, but I do want to go back to Maine).

The kids are now officially up for adoption and Ben and I were pretty much at the point where we were giving up on the adoption, since we still dont’ have a place to live.  We have been toying with the idea of moving back to Maine, but also open to staying here for a while longer.

Now just went we have the means to buy a house, we are getting offers from both states.  What are we supposed to do?!?!?

I guess Ben and I still have a lot of talking to do.

My little baby is such a BIG GIRL! As of today, she has been pacifier free for 4 days AND she is officially an undie girl (during the day)!  I have yet to try her on diaper free nights.  Tonight will be the first experiement.

All day today she has been getting up and going to the potty all by herself!  The onlyreason I know she’s used the potty is because 1. She can’t flush the plunger toilet, and 2. Because she doesn’t know how to put her pants back on when she’s done lol.

We have been trying almost all year to get her trained, with the more valient efforts happening this past 2 weeks lol.  Phoebe will turn 3 in April.  In the fall she’ll be attending preschool 2x’s a week, at the same school that Leena will be attending Kindergarten!

2 weeks ago, I was informed that the kids were going to start coming over every 2 weeks instead of every week.  The foster mom complained about our visits and said the last visit, the kids couldn’t even eat supper because they were so tired they had to go to bed.

I KNOW those kids slept the night before and they slept until normal morning hours.  AJ was sick, so he didn’t sleep well, but he slept.  Jade and Bobby were coming down with something as well.    SO IF they DID need to sleep before eatting supper, it MAY have something to do with being SICK.  But no,  It’s all my fault and I kept those kids up all night just to spit the foster mom.  Didn’t you know I roll like that?  (I’m sure you could catch the dripping sarcasm with a bucket).

So I was a little upset, but figured every other week isn’t that bad.  We call the foster mom and let her know that we’d like the kids this weekend instead of last weekend, because this weekend is Bobby’s birthday.  We want them to sleep over.  She made a crack about the kids not being able to sleep over (which I knew she’d do ahead of time and told Ben before he called, that the adoption worker didn’t say that).  So the kids were set to come over this weekend.

Well today I get a call from the adoption worker adn she says that we are now changing the visit to once a month and no over night visits.  She said that the foster mom says that Jade is being difficult because she thinks she is moving in with us, like yesterday.. and Bobby is difficult before the visits (not wanting to go) and then when he comes home after the visits.  The foster mom also said that the last time the kids were dropped back off after our visit, AJ came back to her with a full diaper, so I’m obviously not changing his diapers.

HOW REDICULOUS IS THAT?  I guess she is trying to say that a child can’t have a clean diaper and then on the 15 minute ride home, can’t pee and poop in his diaper.  I have NEVER let him leave this house in a dirty diaper, and as far as I know, that’s the only one she’s “reported” to the adoption worker.

The Foster mom does not seem to like my family very much.  I have no idea why.  I also have no idea why Bobby is so difficult to come over because he has a great time here.  Maybe 6 kids in one house is just too much for him.  Jade LOVES it here.  She wants to come live with us for sure.  But what will happen if/when Bobby comes to live with us.  What if he doesn’t want to?

I just don’t know what to do anymore.  We are not finding a place to move with any luck.  I think we are just going to give up on trying to get the kids and save our money for a few months, and move back to Maine.

I really can’t see it going any other way right now.

Yesterday was the highly anticipated trip to the local library.  The girls were looking forward to seeing some live turtles.    We got ready in time to leave at 1:00pm.  The same time that the Turtles started. UGH.

I am pretty sick and yesterday I was really feeling it.  My head felt like a six pack of soda, after it had been shaken.  Only, I was missing the plastic rings to hold it all together.  Yeah.  So that explains the trouble getting out of the house…and what I discovered later that day.

We get to the library and find out that the Turtle event is full.  It was full an HOUR and a HALF before the thing even started!  UGH.  So, we go upstairs instead.  That was easy.  No yelling, no silent scream of doom, just giggles as they press the elevator button.  YEEEEESSS!

The girls pick out their books and a movie and we are ready to go home.  Leena asked about getting a library card, so we went and filled out the paperwork.  The Librarian gave Leena her card and a pen.  Without any help, Leena wrote her name on her very first library card.

She was so excited, she wanted to take out another book so she could take it out on her own card.  She picked out another book and stood in line all by herself.  Then she gave the librarian her card and checked out her first book.

After we get outside and I start to put Phoebe into the car, she starts complaining that her butt was bothering her.  I pull up the back of her dress to find out that she has a naked butt!  No underware.  No diaper.  Nothing but.. what is that?.. PEE?!??!??…running down her legs.  Great.  At least she didn’t do that INSIDE the library.

So we had a visit today with the kids.  Ben had the BRILLIANT idea to take the 6 of them to Chuck E. Cheese.  Then We decided to call my dad and see if he wanted to go and bring Tahlor, his girlfriend’s granddaughter, and then called my cousin to bring her husband and daughter, Zoey.

There we were, at ChuckE’s with 8 kids and 4 adults.  We must have looked like a birthday party group lol.  The kids had a ton of fun though.  Phoebe went with Tahlor on one of those rides that you sit in and it moves while a rollercoaster ride plays on the screen.  She LOVED it.  She started to smile and scream a quiet, yet high pitched, scream every time the video showed the rollercoaster going DOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWNNNNNN.

I had the foresight to bring my camera, so I’ll upload that video on youtube soon

We spent 3 hours there and the kids (and parents) won a total of about 600-700 tickets.  Phoebe and AJ were pooped when we got into the car and they were yawning up a storm.  We dropped the kids off and headed home.  It’s just about 7:30pm and I’m ready for bed myself.    All in all though, it was a pretty good day.

Oh, I don’t know if I wrote about one thing that happend on the drive to bring the kids back home, during the last visit.  Leena had made a comment about moving so that the other kids could come live with us.  Jade said “When you move, I want to come live with you”.  I didn’t know what to say, but I told her that I didn’t know what was going to happen, and I couldn’t make any promises, but that when we moved they would definately be able to stay and visit with us longer.

I just don’t want them to know about it until it happens.  I mean what happens if their dad becomes in a position to take them or if they remove the dad’s rights and the kids are officially up for adoption and someone gets them before us?  I don’t want their little hearts to be broken yet again.  it’s very hard keeping it from them though.