When Chris sees G.J. lounging on the couch, he asks with a bit of irritation:
"Have you finished cleaning the floor of your room yet?"
"No, I can't." (with an equal amount of irritation)
"And why not?"
"Because my hamster is sleeping and I can't turn on the light."
Welcome to the priorities at our house...and since hamsters are nocturnal, apparently there will be no more cleaning.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Lunch Choices
Me: "So E.R., what do you want for lunch - peanut butter and jelly, or.....?"
E.R.: "Cooookies?" (She says it with a really long oo sound)
Yep - maybe we've been having too many treats lately.
E.R.: "Cooookies?" (She says it with a really long oo sound)
Yep - maybe we've been having too many treats lately.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Back To Work!
So tomorrow I head back to work.
This was my last week home full time with the kids and it was a great week. The days actually went a little slower than usual, which allowed me to enjoy most moments.
I had a fairly quick job search in the last couple of months. I've had 8 months now to figure out what I want to do. While it is attractive to sometimes think about starting some completely new phase and doing something totally different, I've realized over the last year that social service work is where I belong. It runs through my blood and is central to my identity, world view, and the values I hold so closely. I once overheard a supervisor tell someone I worked with that "Carrie just has a social worker's brain", in response to a question about why I handled something differently than someone else would have. It was meant as a compliment, so tomorrow I return to the world that I am good at.
I do get the chance to do something a bit different within social service work, though, and I am very excited about that. I am going to be the Intercountry Adoption Social Worker for Oregon's office of Bethany Christian Services. I really think I am going to love it. Not only will I get to be part of helping families prepare to adopt from about 11 different countries, but I will also get to learn the inner workings of the adoption world from a large agency's view. Another part of my job will be state foster-adopt adoptions, which you can imagine I care passionately about as well.
The other great news is that we found a wonderful graduate student to be home with J.T. and E.R. during the day (only 2 days a week for now), and she will be able to get M.C. and G.J. off the bus in the afternoons so they can just come home instead of having to go to after-school care somewhere. She seems excited and I am so hoping that it works out well for all of us!
The only weird part for me is that we are part of an amazing extended adoptive family through our agency Adoption Advocates International. It feels very strange to imagine working for another agency, when I honestly consider the staff and adoptive families of AAI as part of our family. But AAI doesn't have an Oregon office, and this is my chance to do something I've always thought I would enjoy. So for this next phase of my life I will be joining Bethany's family as well. I do want all of you AAI friends out there to know that this doesn't change any of my feelings toward you or AAI. Please don't view me as a traitor!! I will always be AAI in my heart :)
So tomorrow I head up to the Seattle office to start my training. I have so much to learn. I'm nervous, but also really excited. Chris and the kids are going up with me, except they get to hang out with my siblings and their families while I'm at work...
We're still trying to get packed up and get laundry done, and we need to leave by 5:30am!
This was my last week home full time with the kids and it was a great week. The days actually went a little slower than usual, which allowed me to enjoy most moments.
I had a fairly quick job search in the last couple of months. I've had 8 months now to figure out what I want to do. While it is attractive to sometimes think about starting some completely new phase and doing something totally different, I've realized over the last year that social service work is where I belong. It runs through my blood and is central to my identity, world view, and the values I hold so closely. I once overheard a supervisor tell someone I worked with that "Carrie just has a social worker's brain", in response to a question about why I handled something differently than someone else would have. It was meant as a compliment, so tomorrow I return to the world that I am good at.
I do get the chance to do something a bit different within social service work, though, and I am very excited about that. I am going to be the Intercountry Adoption Social Worker for Oregon's office of Bethany Christian Services. I really think I am going to love it. Not only will I get to be part of helping families prepare to adopt from about 11 different countries, but I will also get to learn the inner workings of the adoption world from a large agency's view. Another part of my job will be state foster-adopt adoptions, which you can imagine I care passionately about as well.
The other great news is that we found a wonderful graduate student to be home with J.T. and E.R. during the day (only 2 days a week for now), and she will be able to get M.C. and G.J. off the bus in the afternoons so they can just come home instead of having to go to after-school care somewhere. She seems excited and I am so hoping that it works out well for all of us!
The only weird part for me is that we are part of an amazing extended adoptive family through our agency Adoption Advocates International. It feels very strange to imagine working for another agency, when I honestly consider the staff and adoptive families of AAI as part of our family. But AAI doesn't have an Oregon office, and this is my chance to do something I've always thought I would enjoy. So for this next phase of my life I will be joining Bethany's family as well. I do want all of you AAI friends out there to know that this doesn't change any of my feelings toward you or AAI. Please don't view me as a traitor!! I will always be AAI in my heart :)
So tomorrow I head up to the Seattle office to start my training. I have so much to learn. I'm nervous, but also really excited. Chris and the kids are going up with me, except they get to hang out with my siblings and their families while I'm at work...
We're still trying to get packed up and get laundry done, and we need to leave by 5:30am!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Shriners - 2 week wound check
Yesterday, E.R. went back into Shriners to have her foot checked. J.T., she and I were there at 6am. We took her down where the anesthesiologist put her under at 7:30am. They removed her cast, checked her wound, and then re-casted her leg.
She was back up in our room at about 8:20. I could hear her screaming as they wheeled her off the elevator. Apparently there are some people whose bodies have a terrible time coming off of one of the anesthesia medications. She is one of them. So that explains the extreme reaction we had post-surgery 2 weeks ago. It was the same today. Endless screaming, ripping off of clothes, trying to jump/roll off the bed, trying to hurt me, etc. I think all the staff on the floor came by at least once to see if we were okay. Which we weren't really, but at least I had been through it once with her, and it really is very similar to her most extreme tantrum/rages, which I am very familiar with!
There were 2 things that saved us:
1. I had planned J.T.'s care well (and had a bit of divine help here I'm sure). I nursed him as soon as we got back from taking E.R. down for the procedure. Then he had breakfast, and then I miraculously got him to go to sleep. He slept through almost all of it in the stroller. (He's pretty used to her screaming fits!)
2. We had a fabulous nursing student assigned to us that helped me with everything. She took J.T. when he woke up, and helped with whatever I needed. She is my new best friend...
The surgeon came in to let me know that unfortunately her wound had come open in the cast, They re-stitched it, and now she'll be on antibiotics, since an infection is not what we want. She also needs to continue to stay off of it for 4 weeks. That prospect alone could have killed my morning!
We were there for 4 1/2 hours, and then set out for home. I was absolutely exhausted. I made the mistake of trying to talk to E.R. last evening about going to Shriners. I am a big believer in giving kids as much information as possible that is appropriate for their age. In foster care, I totally believe that kids need us to respect them enough to give them information that is important to their lives - as long as we balance it with their anxiety levels. I guess I underestimated E.R.'s anxiety around hospitalization after the last one. She was up almost the entire night, and screamed most of it. It was the worst night we've had so far with her. J.T. was up most of it too, since they share a room. So by the time we got to Shriners this morning, all 3 of us were exhausted (and I'm sure Chris was just as wiped out at work).
So I've learned my lesson. I now understand better about how extreme E.R.'s anxiety is, and next time I won't be telling her we are on our way to Shriners until we are in the car after a blissfully restful night's sleep. Or maybe I'll even wait until we get to their parking garage.
It's funny how idealistic we can be before the reality of parenting sets in...
So we made it through, and thankfully, E.R. was pretty much back to normal after sleeping on the car ride home. I had worried that she would regress more after being at Shriners again. But I think she was so relieved to not be staying there, that she bounced back pretty quickly.
Now we just need to continue to keep her off of her leg, so it can heal.
She was back up in our room at about 8:20. I could hear her screaming as they wheeled her off the elevator. Apparently there are some people whose bodies have a terrible time coming off of one of the anesthesia medications. She is one of them. So that explains the extreme reaction we had post-surgery 2 weeks ago. It was the same today. Endless screaming, ripping off of clothes, trying to jump/roll off the bed, trying to hurt me, etc. I think all the staff on the floor came by at least once to see if we were okay. Which we weren't really, but at least I had been through it once with her, and it really is very similar to her most extreme tantrum/rages, which I am very familiar with!
There were 2 things that saved us:
1. I had planned J.T.'s care well (and had a bit of divine help here I'm sure). I nursed him as soon as we got back from taking E.R. down for the procedure. Then he had breakfast, and then I miraculously got him to go to sleep. He slept through almost all of it in the stroller. (He's pretty used to her screaming fits!)
2. We had a fabulous nursing student assigned to us that helped me with everything. She took J.T. when he woke up, and helped with whatever I needed. She is my new best friend...
The surgeon came in to let me know that unfortunately her wound had come open in the cast, They re-stitched it, and now she'll be on antibiotics, since an infection is not what we want. She also needs to continue to stay off of it for 4 weeks. That prospect alone could have killed my morning!
We were there for 4 1/2 hours, and then set out for home. I was absolutely exhausted. I made the mistake of trying to talk to E.R. last evening about going to Shriners. I am a big believer in giving kids as much information as possible that is appropriate for their age. In foster care, I totally believe that kids need us to respect them enough to give them information that is important to their lives - as long as we balance it with their anxiety levels. I guess I underestimated E.R.'s anxiety around hospitalization after the last one. She was up almost the entire night, and screamed most of it. It was the worst night we've had so far with her. J.T. was up most of it too, since they share a room. So by the time we got to Shriners this morning, all 3 of us were exhausted (and I'm sure Chris was just as wiped out at work).
So I've learned my lesson. I now understand better about how extreme E.R.'s anxiety is, and next time I won't be telling her we are on our way to Shriners until we are in the car after a blissfully restful night's sleep. Or maybe I'll even wait until we get to their parking garage.
It's funny how idealistic we can be before the reality of parenting sets in...
So we made it through, and thankfully, E.R. was pretty much back to normal after sleeping on the car ride home. I had worried that she would regress more after being at Shriners again. But I think she was so relieved to not be staying there, that she bounced back pretty quickly.
Now we just need to continue to keep her off of her leg, so it can heal.
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