Back to the ordinary stuff

Not that my kids are ordinary, but we've had enough excitement around here.

I go back to work on Thursday--5 days at the U and then I get to start my first day at Hospice. Tomorrow is my big exciting physical--you know, drug testing and are you mentally stable stuff. Think I'll pass??? The only part I would like to avoid is the getting on the scale. I've been baking quite a bit and you know--a good baker always has to sample what she's making. Ok ok--maybe I take that a bit too seriously but it's Christmas.

Chewie finally got to meet Santa Claus last week. I couldn't get a picture of them with Santa (like I'm going to pay 20 bucks for a flipping Polaroid), but I thought these pictures of them with their antlers on eating their pretzels would make up for it. I can not go to the mall with these kids without buying them a pretzel--I swear--it's a requirement for them! And yes Rauan was pouting over something. We had our post placement visit today and as I was telling our social worker Rauan is our temperamental genius.

Speaking of which, yes that went fine. I've worked with this agency before and we know each other quite well. How is Alihan doing? Fine. Any concerns--nope, after Rauan, Alihan's boundary testing issues are a piece of cake! Yes, they worked with us with Rauan and are familiar with what we went through. Of course, Chewie, pulling his babysittter's daughter's hair, throwing stuff at her son, running around like a madman and then spending pretty much the whole day in the time out chair might push her a bit much! Yeah I was most unhappy when I heard about that last week. Ok, I may not be the greatest mom in the world but my children WILL have manners and they WILL be polite--and they WON'T be so naughty to have their butt permanently etched in the time out chair. Ted put his little behind straight to bed and he slept for 13 hours straight. Perhaps a little tired. We'll see how this week goes. When I saw him the next morning, I told him how unhappy I was that he was naughty and I better not hear about him doing it again. He looked all sad--then gave me a dirty little smirk. Oh why do I fear that the teenage years are going to be rough--heck, just the school age years.

Friday was craft day at school and I helped out the kindergarten class. On Monday I went back to school and helped all the grades with wrapping their presents. It's nice to work with healthy kids once in a while. Today. Chewie got his booster flu shot. Now, while it was still awful and involved much screaming--it was actually better then last time. He's learning that it isn't as awful as the medical stuff was at the orphanage. Ted upset him today while the social worker was here---said something about Dom Rebunka. Chewie freaked. You have to put it together in his mind--lady here checking him out, Ted saying something about the orphanage--he was probably thinking--shit I'm being sent back! I could have kicked Ted's behind from here back to Tokmok--and I would have left him there! So, I had Chewie crawling all over me for the next couple of hours. I spent that time reassuring him that he was never going back. Again--my foot to Ted's ass.

Julia and I spent Monday night at church for a chili dinner and caroling. Julia was thrilled because there were alot of her classmates there and I was thrilled because Emily was there with her children. Emily is in the process of adopting and we've become friends through the process. To show what a small world it is--Emily is the aunt of one of Julia's classmates and also the aunt of one of Chewie's classmates (although he is in the AM program and she's in the PM program). It was just a fun night. And Emily, when you read this, I woke Julia up that night for pottie and she was smiling like she had a great dream. I asked her what the dream was about and she said about G. and playing tag with him in the foyer. She quickly added a few other friends--but it had me and Ted laughing.

It is snowing yet again here in lovely Wisconsin. And as always in Winter--Thursday, 6-10 inches of snow expected. Hopefully after I'm at work. I don't mind driving home at midnight when there had been alot of snow--there very little traffic.

Ok, I'm off to bake some more. I'll hold off on the sampling--for now!