Christmas Photo Journal

We went to the aquarium to see Polar Express 4-D (15 minute version) and see Scuba Claus.  Tank loved watching the big fish swim by.

 

 

Evie decorated a gingerbread house with my nephew.

Decorating cookies for Santa

 

Santa showed up in a big way last night, partly due to 2 organizations that provided gifts for the kids

Christmas aftermath







Tank Update

The doctor said on Wednesday that both Tank's ears still looked very infected, so he got an antibiotic injection for three days in a row.  On the third day, he also got the flu shot and his second round of preventive shots (he had not had any before he came to me).  He literally did not cry at all for the first two shots in his right leg, and stopped crying immediately when the shots were done in the second leg.  Best. Baby. Ever.   I'm waiting on the ENT to call to set up a follow up appointment. 

Tank's caseworker was here on Friday (the first time she has set foot in my house since he has been here).  There is a court date set for January, and I originally thought this was because mom should be finished with her treatment plan by then (based on a conversation I had with the GAL) and that Tank would likely go back with his mom at that time.  The caseworker said that although Tank's mom is making good steady progress with her plan, there was no way she would be finished with everything by then.  She also told me there is another family member that just had a home study completed to have Tank placed with her.  Apparently the person completing the home study has not written up the report yet, but sounded positive about the outcome; and said it is possible Tank will be moved there in the next week or two. 

Tank is now crawling and is getting into everything!  He's pulling up to his knees on short surfaces, so I'm sure it won't be long before he is pulling up to standing.  Now that he is so mobile, he is not happy to be contained in the exersaucer anymore (or even really to be held much).  I am in trouble now!

Sickness Abounds

Since my last post about sickness, we have had never-ending sickness around here.

I ended up with a fever, mild aches and fatigue, and some nausea on Thanksgiving night.  And then the exact same symptoms a week later - which turned into a stomach virus about 24 hours later.  Evie got the stomach bug, too... but thank goodness for only about six hours, and that it didn't start until I was on the upswing with mine. 

Tank woke up at 4:30 am last week with a 103 degree fever.  A trip to the doctor's office (during which he was all smiles) revealed a double ear infection, plus wheezing.  He ended up with another fever of 102 today, but when I picked him up from daycare, all he did was smile and laugh at me.  I suspect the ear infections have not cleared up, but we will see tomorrow. 

I can't believe how sweet and happy that little guy is, even with a high fever and infected ears!

I have a feeling we are headed for ear tubes.  I just hope we can curb all the sicknesses for a while!

(I added the label "Sickness."  We have had so much of it, that it deserves its own label.)

Evie Funnies

This morning I told Evie to keep an eye on Tank while I was in the other room and make sure he didn't get into anything he shouldn't have.  From the other room, I hear: "No, Tank!  Tank!  You know better.  Well, you don't, but don't grab that!"

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We had a heavy lunch today, so I decided to do something light and just have soup tonight.  When I pulled out the Saltine crackers to go with it, Evie got VERY excited and said, "Oooh, I LOVE your cooking!"

Photo Journal

I did a little photo shoot for Evie's 5 year birthday and Tank's 6-month milestone (I didn't have any pics I could share from that one). 

With the help of the blog Chocolate Hair, Vanilla Care I decided to branch out with Evie's hair and get rid of the puffs and do twists instead.  

 

Pumpkin loves to snuggle with Evie

 

 

Thanksgiving Day craft time

 

25 books wrapped up for Evie to unwrap and read one each night before Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

Status Quo

Court for Evie's case was today.  We were in the courtroom all of about five minutes.  Supposedly, the family member moved out (although they are there every night when we call on the phone).  DSS went to look at the house, and said it was "cleaned up" but still had a bad smell, and that the house needed to be inspected by a professional before it could be deemed safe for the kids to go back.  We will return to court in January with the results of this.  Evie's caseworker seems to think the house will not pass inspection.  So we are status quo for at least the next month; and if the house doesn't pass, quite possibly for the next many many months. 

Bigfoot

Conversation with Evie the other morning on the way to school:

Evie: I'm really not very happy right now.
Me: Why?
E: Because I'm wearing two shirts, and I don't like to wear two shirts.  I never wear two shirts with my mom.  [It's been cold here this week so I've been layering up the kids.]
Me: Well, I bet you never went outside and played when it was very very cold with your mom, did you?
E: No, I didn't.  Actually, I never went outside to play with my mom because there's Bigfoot out there. 

Seriously?!  I wonder if her parents told her Bigfoot was out there so they didn't have to go outside to play with her?

Evie and Tank Update

As far as I know, Tank's mom is still on track with her treatment plan.  However, Tank's caseworker never updates me about anything, and actually had another incidence last week of picking him up from daycare for a visit without telling me.  Evie's caseworker, on the other hand, always tells me ahead of time about visits, and always calls me after the visit to let me know how things went.  The day he went for a visit was one of the days that Evie was out sick from school, so I actually seriously considered keeping him home that day.  I'm sure they would have been annoyed if he wasn't there; but if I don't know about the visits, I can't guarantee that he will be where you think he is! 

Evie's mom has court a week from tomorrow.  It is "Judicial Review and Permanency Planning," meaning it has been six months since the treatment plan was established and this is to determine what the progress is.  The only thing mom needs to complete is to get a new place to live.  They can't return to the house they were living in partly because someone living in the house has a criminal history.  Now the family is talking about that family member moving out; and the caseworker said that this may actually happen in time for court next week.  If it does, it is definitely possible that Evie will be returned to mom at that time.  However, apparently someone from the Foster Care Review Board is planning on being there and sharing their thoughts, so it should definitely be an interesting day!  I will update with the results after court next Friday.