Lions, Tigers and.. Giraffes?

OH MY!



Photo Captured: Two little giraffes awaiting the Zoo Keeper's (DH) return from work.

Top 5 Toons

Being relative newbies to the current world of children's cartoons DH, Nantie and I have been scratching our heads over some of the programming. Seriously, what are the writers on?? I've already lamented over the shows that make my skin crawl. That's right all you SpongeBob, FlapJack and Wiggles fans.. we are in total disagreement over quality tv for kids.

That being said, we've delighted in some new-to-us kid shows. Here are my TOP 5 favorites.


#5...
Tigger & Pooh: Classic old (and new) friends revamped.



#4...
Charlie & Lola: Completely darling.


#3...
Little Einsteins: A wee bit annoying but the end result is worth it. Lots of good learning goin' on.


#2...
The Imagination Movers: My answer to The Wiggles (*Shiver*). The Twins and I dance around the room to their songs. Total fun with really cute guys (not like the creepy ones that nightmares are made of).


and Number 1 All Time New Favorite is..


Drum roll, please..

...

...

...

HANDY MANNY!
Where do I start? All I can say is move over Bob The Builder... Seriously, I could go on and on..


Yep, they are all on the Disney Channel. I am aware Nick Jr has a couple good ones out there but these are hands down new favs.

On the flipside, I finally sat down and watched part of an episode of Hannah Montana... and still not getting the big whup over her. If anyone would care to shed light over that mystery, please share!

A Quickie Update...

I'm back to work this week but have neglected my little blog (I'm seriously running at 85%.. give or take). I've got some cool awards brags (thanks ladies!) and other things to write about but it all takes focus (and I have none). I'll get up to speed this weekend, I double dog swear.

We have some big stuff happening in the next few weeks (court and meetings) and I'm a little freaked. The kids could literally go home in the next three weeks. No joke. From what we can gather from the social workerese (IE: their smoke and mirrors jargon) we're fairly confident their mom is pulling it together and maintaining. Talk about emotions being pulled in two different directions. Compassion makes us happy for her but hey, we're human. We will be crushed if/when they go. This blog will be chock full of "whoa is me's" I guarantee it.

That's what I call a fair warning.

In the meantime, I will stand over them as they sleep and say little prayers for them. We will marvel at their angelic, sleeping faces and not take any of our time for granted. They are precious and we are so very blessed to have the honor of being a small part in their lives.

.. And I solemnly swear to try to remind myself of all that in the middle of unexplainable melt downs ..

;o)

Makin' Chicken Soup Outta Chicken Poop

When the twins came to live with us it was very apparent that chocolate milk (and come to find out later, chocolate doughnuts) were once a daily dietary staple. The family members they lived with prior to moving here had tried to ween them off both. They were down to big globs of Hershey syrup in a glass of milk twice a day.

Oy.

When my Mama was taking chemo the treatments made her taste buds go all out of whack. Everything tasted like metal and most food made her nauseous. Her oncologist recommended Ensure. She actually liked the shakes and they provided much needed nourishment.

That little life lesson has come in handy once again. Instead of pouring chocolate syrup in milk, we are adding just a dollup of Creamy Milk Chocolate Ensure. The kids love it.

This is just one example of how we are trying to use our creative noggins to get the the kids to eat healthy. What are your secrets to tricking (er, making) your kids eat nutritious meals?

Friday Night At Last

Auntie MooMoo (Missy) came over to spend some time with the twins this afternoon. When I got home the kids were already in jammies and homemade chicken noodle soup was bubbling on the stove.

One word: HEAVEN!

The kids had already eaten and were soon off to sleep. AN EARLY NIGHT! It's 8:30, I'm already showered and in bed with DVR'd Supernanny. Could it get any better?

Nope.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be rainy/snowy/cold/icky. Perfect to stay snuggled in with the kiddos, hunkered down watching movies and hopefully recover from this stupid cold. DH is off snowmobiling for the day and Nantie and I will hold down the fort. In sweats, no doubt.

For now, it's a shooter of NyQuil & JoJo... Nighty night.

Classic Fairytales For Children.. Seriously??

I'm looking down the barrel of 40. It has been eons since I've heard or read a fairytale and my vague memories of them are warm and fuzzy with "Happily Ever After" endings. For 3 weeks now DH and I have been reading bedtime stories and I have ONE question:

What were those freaky writers on and WHY are these horrid stories being read to children before bed?

(Sorry, that was 2 questions).

*The Gingerbread Man is a whack job on speed.

*Hansel and Gretel's dad basically left them for dead (thanks to a nasty step mom) and were fattened by a witch that wanted to eat them.

*Goldilocks forced entry.

*Jack (of Beanstalk fame) is beyond greedy.

*Cinderella was neglected and verbally abused.

*The wolf in the 3 Little Pigs was obsessive compulsive. And mean.

*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .. where do I start?

Although Jack and Jill may be too young, we've started to read Paddington. Now THERE is a classic.

Ground Zero

I was going to call this post "Twin$ G@ne Wild" but shivered at the thought of the creepy Google searches that would find their way to my little blog. This was once the bland room where I contemplated our future while sitting on the floor. My heart ached and the wait seemed unending.

It is now a place where imaginations flow and laughter spills out the door. Yes, it gets picked up every night but the in-between moments of wild 4 1/2 year olds was sure worth the wait.

The Latest Low Down

**A WARNING.. THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY LONG POST**

I've had several emails and comments asking where we stand in all this so here's the skinny:

As ya'll may recall, we had changed our status from 2 children to 1 child five months ago (or so we thought) and were surprised we were even contacted about twins to begin with. We figured it was a matter of urgency since the call came on the Sunday over the three day MLK weekend. It was. They needed to be moved by the following Friday and it was a short week.

With what little info the county had on them and the case, we could not (in good conscience) say whether or not we thought they would be a good match for us. We were relieved the wonderful worker "K" totally understood and didn't cop a 'tude like "J" did when we turned down the placement back in September.

So we went into this as an emergency placement with the understanding that once things settle down and we got to know the kids, we have the opportunity to change our status to foster to adopt. If we felt it wasn't a good match and they are more than we can handle, we would let "K" know right away and she would start looking for a fost/adopt family to move them to.

I gave DH a month to decide.

This is a huge decision and impacts everyone. The twins, us, Nantie.. everyone. I've been trying not to push DH... but come on.. I have to drop hint bombs, right? Here is how I nonchalantly started the conversation last week:

ME: I know I gave you a month to decide on the kids' placement but I just wanted to let you know I've already made up my mind.

(Covert, right? It gets better..)

DH: Okay.

ME: Could you even begin to imagine packing their things up and shipping them off to another foster family?!

DH (startled): What? Oh hell no!

ME: Decision made?

DH: Without a doubt. If they don't go home to Mom they are already home.

And so it is. We've changed our status to fost/adopt.

At this point the case is geared towards reunifying Jack and Jill with mom and a target date for them to return has been set. We do not know what her treatment plan is and will not be told. Her next court date is in April and I plan to attend to get a better feel for how it's all going (for the most part we're kept in the dark).

SO, the prayer we're sending up goes something like this: "Dear Lord, we thank you for bringing these darling angels into our home. No matter the outcome, we will love them with all our hearts. Keep them safe, happy and healthy and help us be patient and understanding. Please watch over their Mama and help guide her. Keep us from being selfish and wishing her ill will. We put this in your hands. If they are to return home, please give us the strength to let them go."

One last question I have been asked is about pictures. I will not be posting anything that identifies them but trust me when I say they are darling.

A New Badge & A Big Day

I think I earned a new badge last night (if there is one for getting barfed on). Jack didn't eat much all day yesterday but had a hearty dinner. We were so proud of him. Afterwards on the couch they were taking their meds (the icky one they hate so much) and he gagged a bit. I was ready for him to urp a little up but no.. here came dinner. ALL.OF.IT. Poor little guy. By the time round 2 came on I was ready and caught most in a paper towel. A heck of a save if I do say so, myself.

Cousin Kadi has since given me some stellar advice on strategic garbage bag placement.

Today Nantie is taking the twins to the County office for their visit with Bmom. A worker will meet her outside, take the kids in and meet her back in the parking lot an hour later. The visitation is supervised, of course. It's common for kids in foster care to have really tough evenings after visits (meltdowns, etc) so we are on pins and needles over what is to come.

I'm back at work wishing I was with them..

Ride That Couch.. YeeHaw!

4 Days and counting of nasty tasting meds, coughing, sneezing, boogers, et al. All things considered, they have been little troopers.

The twins have done really really well in their transition. Jill will eat just about anything, Jack is the picky one. We're slowly learning what he'll eat.. it's a process. So far we haven't had any real issues.. they mind and are sweet as can be. However, we are still in the "Honeymoon Phase" and they are sick. Once they get to feeling better and life starts to sink in there is no doubt we'll hit all kinds of bumps in the road.

They have monitored visits with Bmom twice a week but we cancelled today's for obvious reasons. They have an evaluation on Thursday and we're hoping to get them feeling good enough to go. It's in the afternoon so at least it won't be a morning scramble.

I go back to work tomorrow and Nantie will be here all day with them. I ran errands yesterday for just a couple hours and called the house a gazillion times. Gosh only knows how often I'll be bothering them being gone all day... I'm really going to miss them.

A LOT.

10 Things I've Learned In Two Days

1) It takes wads and wads of toilet paper to clean poop off an eensie butt.

2) Pinocchio still rocks (and they say, "Jack ass" in it.. missed that as a kid).

3) Girls eat their food, boys make catapults out of a fork and spoon.

4) It takes an hour and a half to bathe, moisturize, blow dry and get twins into bed.

5) No ifs ands or buts about it, I need to wear a bathing suit at bath time.

6) Nothing is cuter than a rendition of ABC's sung by two 4 1/2 year olds and a 46 year old husband.

7) Kids are so beyond strong and resilient it's not even funny.

8) Grape Children's Tylenol tastes way better than Motrin (so says the twins).

9) When Jill cries at night and asks me to keep rubbing her back because it makes her not feel scared, my heart breaks.

10) Sponge Bob is evil. PURE evil.

The Rest Of The Week..

Is going to be insane.

I meet the twins today with a slew of social workers. Tomorrow they want me to spend more time with them (go to the park, McDonalds, etc) and Friday they move in. Blam-o. It's not the way a transition is supposed to go but time is of the essence.

DH and I were up until the wee hours of the morning talking. This time, even he couldn't sleep. We're excited and scared to death. It's going to be a very traumatic time for the kids and we're hoping to dig deep and do our best by them. Nantie will probably be joining us on moving day.

A year ago this Friday was the first day of our 2 day training class. My what a difference a year makes.

Please keep us in your prayers!!

GOT THE CALL!

Meeting the twins TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay Tuned!

Calm, Cool & Collected..

NOT!!! (My picture in the sidebar pretty much hits the nail right on the head).

Last night I got about 2 hours of sleep. My little mind was spinning (still is, as a matter of fact). The call we are waiting on could end up being life changing. Totally epic. When DH got home tonight we talked about the day and I told him how beat I am:

DH: Why?

Me: Um, the twins. (insert internal eye roll and big fat, "Duh" here).

DH: (still perplexed)

Me: Well, if we do get them it's huge.. LIFE ALTERING HUGE! For one thing, because of the age range we've chosen I've had to hold off on decorating and their room is fairly bare. If they do come I will have almost zero time to make it comfortable...

On and on I ranted, all the while DH cocking his head to and fro like our dobe when he hears a high pitched noise.

DH: So you're stressing about stressing over something that may not even come to pass. Yes?

Me: Yes.

DH: Backs away slowly.

I've already popped 2 Tylenol PMs and hope they kick in soon. Must.stop.thinking.now. It's in His hands and whatever will be will be.

I'm getting slleeeeppppyyy.