Calm before the Storm

This is my last morning to sleep in and relax for a while. Kids are watching cartoons. Plans for the day are grocery shopping, back to school shopping, then swimming with friends. This is the last weekend that is not planned for a while.

Sweets started school last week and likes it. My final for my summer class is this week, May and Buddy start school the following week, and my fall semester starts the week after that. We are almost back in the swing.

Next weekend is a mini vacation at a resort in town which is supposed to have an awesome water park. The best part is that it will be such a short drive! (And if I forget anything, it's easy to recover!)

The following weekend is choir camp. This is the first year all three of the older kids are in the city children's choir. It is an audition group with four levels for 2nd through 12th graders. Their twice yearly concerts are incredible, and the oldest two choirs tour all over the world. Camp is the kick-off which the kids look forward to. They make new friends, eat, play, and sing, over twelve hours of rehearsals. This will be May's third camp, but it is the first for Sweets and Buddy. I'll be going to camp too to help with uniforms. Miss M is staying with BB for that weekend and loving on him!

Three Feet or Five Feet?

This afternoon I asked Buddy to pick up the XBox and put it on the shelf where we keep it. He was tired and whined that it was too hard. I semi-jokingly replied that if it was too hard for him to move it three feet, I could move it much further away to another room where he couldn't play it any more. His response was that it wasn't three feet; he would have to move it five feet and that was too far. Exasperated, I said, "Measure it," thinking he would step it off. No, he went to the pantry, got out the measuring tape, stretched it out, and began to measure. Answer: three feet eight inches. He put away the XBox and then put away the measuring tape. I laughed and laughed (not out loud, of course)!

Sweets and BB

Today was the end of summer for Sweets, as she starts school tomorrow. She is excited about school but not so excited to stay at her dad's now. The good news is that the trip to get her there today had no tears and ended well.

My parents came over for the day and stayed with May and Buddy while I took Sweets and BB. We spent time with two of BB's aunts and had dinner before taking Sweets home. She had fun being the big sister and telling the aunts all about BB.

The case manager for BB has not yet called the aunts to search further for family members who might step forward as a permanent placement. Today, they reiterated that there is no one. While both of these aunts are very nice, neither is in a position to add an infant in her home. This is the second time I met the older sister and the fourth time I met the younger sister. I continue to feel comfortable with them, so today I mentioned that if no family member comes forward, I will petition to adopt BB. The older sister's response was very positive, saying "that's just where he belongs". I was so happy to hear this and know that they are comfortable with that possible path forward!

Meet the Teacher #1

Drove Sweets to her school by her dad's tonight for Meet the Teacher night. I can't believe she starts school already on Monday. She has two teachers, one on M/W and one on T/Th and they alternate on Fridays. Both seem very nice, but I worry about the consistency. The roster has 20 kids in the class, so the ratio should be good! Her dad listened to the expectations in 3rd grade, which include a signature from a parent for the reading log every night. Hopefully, this will happen on a regular basis better than last year. Good news also that the homework packets come home on Friday, so she can start them at my house on the weekend. Sweets is excited about school and she saw some friends tonight. Keep thinking positive! For now, she came back to my house until Sunday.

May and Buddy don't start school until August 11th. Sweets is a little jealous, but I keep reminding her, she gets two week breaks while they get 3-5 day breaks. Summer flew by this year, and we were only gone for a week!

She's Back

Sweets called before 8am to remind me that her dad said I could pick her up today instead of Monday. She was ready to go then, but I told her I would be there after 6pm tonight. They were both glad to see me when I pulled up. Looks like she is staying all this week too. Oh how I wish...

Busy, Busy!

Who ever said summer was down time? Things are crazy busy around here! BB is almost 4 months old (time flys!), and he is marvelous as always. He is still a happy baby and loves to smile, laugh, , "talk", and blow bubbles. This is honestly the easiest placement I have ever had.

The older three all went to the eye doctor yesterday. Both seven year olds need glasses. Sweets needs a stronger prescription; her eyes are worse because she won't wear her glasses at her dad's. Buddy needs glasses for the first time. The doctor stressed to both of them that they have to wear the glasses ALL the time unless they are playing sports or rough housing on the playground.

Buddy is full of energy, as always. We went through his room last weekend and cleaned out a bunch of old toys, some not working, some put away, and some to donate. He hasn't missed any of them, and the sorting revived his interest in many of the remaining toys that he hasn't looked at for months.

I took Sweets back to her dad's at lunchtime today after being with me for three and a half weeks. This is the longest she has stayed continuously with me since she was placed with her dad almost three years ago. It was sure nice not to drive the 80 mile round trip twice each week!!! Her dad came over here on 4th of July and saw her, and I had her call him 2-3 times a week. The plan when I dropped her off was for me to pick her back up Monday evening. Tonight she called and said I'm supposed to pick her up tomorrow night instead. We'll see what happens...

May is growing so mature before my eyes. She is a great help with BB. She is finally conquering reading, despite significant issues with dyslexia. The Harry Potter and Twilight books have held her interest. Praise God for awesome nanny Miss M, who has read all 11 books of these two series to her. This year May has taken each of the Twilight books and reads through it again herself. Tonight we are getting ready for her visit to my sister in the state next door. She is excited about flying on her own for her third annual trip.

I am full swing into a summer class which meets three afternoons a week through July. My final is the week before May and Buddy start school again. In addition, work is super busy, so my weekdays are quite long between it, kids, law school, and homework. We usually do something all together on the weekend, in addition to church, of course.

Well, off to finish laundry and helping May pack!

3 Months Old

Baby Boy (BB) turned 3 months old last week and went to the doctor for immunizations. He got seven (I didn't realize the count was up so high now!), which included 3 shots and 1 oral. BB was a trooper. He took the oral medication without issue, made it through the first shot and into the second before crying, and stopped crying within 30 seconds of me picking him up afterwards. He was a little fussy for a few days, but returned to his normal happy self quickly. He did great!

I am still in awe at how beautiful and amazing this child is. He is the best baby I have ever been around; he is happy almost all the time. My heart is saddened that his birth mother may never know him. She disappearred right after he entered care. The clock is ticking; if nothing changes, she will lose him. Fortunately for him, he knows love and security, and he is thriving! Thank you God for blessing BB and our family by allowing us to know him.