suzyt

Ok, wierd story here. I am looking at some pics from a high school class mate (from Indiana) and it is titled Mexico City. It says class mate and Haydee Gonzalez like this. Is Haydee a common name? I've never known anyone else named Haydee. Then I start looking at the photos in the album and there's a wedding. Hmmmm..... But, no, it's not the Haydee I know, she's not smiling!! If you are curious, here's the link: Login | Facebook

Heather, I'm not sure if I am cut out to do this full time. I realized that I like having my house a certain way and a child kinda doesn't allow that. I may do respite care (giving foster parents a break) or emergency care when a child is taken into custody over the weekend and a fast decision is needed.

Pamela, there's always the Episcopal church -- feels Catholic without the guilt!!

Sorry I've been so quiet. I've been trying to keep Gia in line. She's gotten so much worse and it is way past just teenage crap. I finally called and asked to have her moved. My social worker said that I lasted twice as long as she thought I would and Gia's social worker agreed. (btw - everyone gets a social worker maybe we should add that app to FB!) So she will be moving somewhere else on Monday. She is still here with me today and tomorrow but I had already scheduled a weekend of respite care so I could get a break, so she's going there for the weekend. I'll pick her up on Sunday and take her to DSS on Monday morning. I moved the cat out of her room because the therapist said this might be a time where she would hurt herself, run away or try to hurt Cali. The kitten cannot go with her and is not staying here with er pooping habits. I know that sounds cold, but I am not cleaning cat poop up every day. The lady who gave her to Gia has said she will take her back.

Sorry I've been so quiet. I've been trying to keep Gia in line. She's gotten so much worse and it is way past just teenage crap. I finally called and asked to have her moved. My social worker said that I lasted twice as long as she thought I would and Gia's social worker agreed. (btw - everyone gets a social worker maybe we should add that app to FB!) So she will be moving somewhere else on Monday. She is still here with me today and tomorrow but I had already scheduled a weekend of respite care so I could get a break, so she's going there for the weekend. I'll pick her up on Sunday and take her to DSS on Monday morning. I moved the cat out of her room because the therapist said this might be a time where she would hurt herself, run away or try to hurt Cali. The kitten cannot go with her and is not staying here with er pooping habits. I know that sounds cold, but I am not cleaning cat poop up every day. The lady who gave her to Gia has said she will take her back.

Goodness!! You might have heard me gasp! And some people wonder why I don't attend church often. I do my praying at home. I don't do well with the true hipocrites that say they are Christians but then don't act like it.

Hey!! Sorry to be gone for so long......my computer hard drive died Mother's Day weekend and long story short -- it took 3 weeks to get it back. And I am still working on getting everything back to where it was before the crash. Gia has been causing quite a ruckus for the last month, but has been much better the last few days. Maybe our little chat Saturday night worked. I sat her down and said that I was fed up to here with her crap and if she didn't straighten up she was going to go to the group home. (For those of you who are new, Gia is a 12 foster child who has been in my home for 3 months) Up until she came to my house she has always gotten her way and had no rules. When she doesn't get her way she is defiant and mute for as long as she deems necessary. She is being passed on to 6th grade even though she didn't pass any of her End of Grade tests. From what I understand, it is solely due to her IEP. School is out tomorrow, but the homework will not end. She really needs to concentrate on her handwriting, math and reading. Isn't that everything?? Gia's kitten that poops everywhere now has a cage, purchased by the same benefactor that paid for the kitten. So now I can actually clean everywhere and maybe it won't get nasty again. She is a very sweet kitten, just thinks the whole house is her litter box. The newest members of this house are quite a pair!! I am off to do some laundry. Hope Tracy is ok. Suzanne - take care of yourself!! Michelle, glad you are mending.

Congratulations Laura!! Although February 11th is a much better day to be born.....my personal favorite!! Well, off to get Gia. I was temping for a couple weeks and signed her up for the YMCA after-school program. The temp thing ended Monday after work, but I am letting Gia stay in the after-school care and I get more done at home. Tomorrow is their last day of school and Friday's care will be at the actual YMCA building so she can swim, etc. And I am having my last two days of peace and quiet........

Haydee -- I've been to Destin, FL but it was 15+ years ago, so I would not be much help. Missed you all while my computer was getting its guts replaced......

Judy -- did I miss something?? Where are Joe and Ethan going? I took the morning to soak up some vitamin D. I needed that -- a sunny, warm deck, some ice water, and a good book.

Is there a YMCA near you Laura?? I would think their classes would be better times for you.

Michelle, have a GREAT time at WDW!! You deserve some FUN and you-time!! Haydee, I hope you have a wonderful bachelorette weekeend!! I can't wait to see the pictures of the wedding!!

Laura, unfortunately (??) she is already fixed. We got her from Petsmart so that was part of the deal. I am trying to ignore her to see if that helps. Not so much, so far.

Michelle -- I am late with this, but hugs to you..... Laura -- I love that poem. My mom sent it to me when I had to put my cat, Trouble, to sleep. Anyone got any ideas on how to train the kitten not to meow at top volume all night long?? I keep pleading with my two older cats to tackle her really good one time she is howling so she learns. They aren't grasping the concept. In the last week, I have read two of James Patterson's older books -- London Bridges and Mary Mary only to get almost to the end (page 340 of LB) only to realize I had already read them. BOTH!! How sad is that? I usually can tell by the first chapter if I've already read it.

Oh Michelle..... you and Mo have such difficulties together. Hopefully he will finally hack it up before the vet.

My brother had tubes in his ears and so has his middle daughter. It wasn't much of a big deal.....just no more ear infections!! Not much going on here. Just the same old stuff every day. Gia's social worker came by yesterday. She had told Gia in early March that she would take her to Hot Topic if she was good getting up in the morning. She asked when they could go. Kimberly said when you have done everything Suzanne says with no argument for a month. Wow, that will be a while..... Well, guess I'd better go check on Gia -- she's eating breakfast.

I e-mailed all her teachers and the guidance counselor to set up a meetng. The special ed teacher and the guidance counselor met with me. The GC was going to make sure that all teachers knew to send homework home now. We have parent / teacher conferences in two weeks too. I also will be working with her all summer to try to improve the reading ability, math and her handwriting. Right now her words all run together with no punctuation or spaces -- it's all one long word. She does have an IEP. She spends all but 2 hours with her regular classmates and the 2 hours are spent with the special ed teacher each day. She started her therapy sessions yesterday so I hope that will help too. Letting her talk about all that is going on. She told the therapist that she is happy living with me because she knows she will not get yelled at every day. Made me cry.... Thanks so much for the suggestions!! At least I feel like I am heading in the right direction. Cannot believe that some parents do not pay any attention to their children's education.....

She does have an IEP and she does get extra help with standardized testing. I am very new to all this however. I was one of those annoying kids who never studied until I got to college.

Pamela and Judy -- I need some of your expertise. I finally got to see Gia's teachers for a real sit-down meeting. She has a low IQ (somewhere around 75), they said it is not low enough for her to be classified as mentally disabled but definitely impacts her learning ability. She came to Pinewood Elementary in third grade and was probably first grade level. She has been progressing and they have been promoting her to the next grade. She was held back once or twice in Delaware. So she is now in 5th grade at a 3rd grade level. They don't think holding her back again would help as she has a modified education plan anyway. So I am trying to do research to see how to help a child with a lower IQ, meanwhile back at the ranch, we continue with homework and reading. One of her teachers had told me that she didn't have 'homework' that it was all done at school before she left for the day. Nope. Yesterday I learned that all this time she has had homework and no one has been upset that she wasn't doing it -- no one called me to see WTF? I introduced myself to all her teachers in the first week -- they all knew she had a new foster mom. Everyone at that school knows (and loves) Gia so they all know who I am. Anyway, after my discussion with the EC teacher we went to her classroom to get something and Gia was there. I looked at her and said not to forget to bring her homework home -- BUSTED! She did, so we'll see how it goes in the coming weeks. She had a dentist appointment this morning and has a therapy appointment this afternoon. I am glad that she is starting therapy. I am making a list of things for the therapist. What is making me craziest right now is that she seemingly has hollow legs or a tapeworm..... She eats everything in sight. Saturday she had two bowls of Cereal (like every other day) for Breakfast. For lunch she had two grilled cheese sandwiches, two individual bags of chips, a pear and juice boxes and was still hungry. I found out yesterday that her dad would send her to school with no lunch money and no lunch so I am wondering if it is just because it is there. If she is really hungry I want her to eat, but if not, where do you draw the line.....we already know I'm not good at that. I'm here with a band.

Kat - My dad had the 'roto-rootering' done a few weeks ago after they had to catheterize him after foot surgery. He still had another catheter for a week and then all clear!! I didn't ask how painful it was.....figured I didn't want to know. Talked to Gia's teachers yesterday (finally!) and they said that she has a lower IQ. Not low enough to be mentally disabled, but it does cause learning issues. So while I do research to see how to help her best, we continue with homework and reading. She is 2 grades behind her current 5th grade classmates and has already been held back twice. Hopefully having a parent that makes her do homework, etc will help!!

Oh, Michelle..... I am so sorry to hear about your MIL. Glad everyone got to visit beforehand. Hugs to you and your family!! You all are in my thoughts and prayers!

Things are going well. We had dinner with her two social workers Wednesday. The investigating social worker and her permanent foster care worker. That helped a lot for someone other than "mom" to say that she just needs to be a kid! I think we are settling in a little. I have a hard time convincing her to do small things -- she hates to brush her teeth, make her bed, keep her room clean, etc. But if that is the worst of it.....I can deal. I have cut her off from all the old programs she was using on the internet -- they were too old for her. No retaliation, so that is good. She has found new sites where she can play games, but there is no one to chat with. :frown: I much prefer, however, that she play with the kids in the neighborhood. Which she does for the most part. They range in age from 4 to 13 but are all good kids. I took her to the doctor yesterday and all was fine. Dentist next week and therapy starts the week after that. For Easter we are driving to Indiana to stay with my parents. My brother, SIL, and their 3 daughters will come down on Saturday and stay until Sunday after church. I think it will be good for her to see a 'real' family -- how we interact, etc. But, of course, she asked if my mom had a computer. I said not one that you can use..... We played Yatzee last night and one night last week we played Scrabble. My brother's girls love games too so I imagine there will be a few played then. Well, better get busy for the day....

I'm here!! I just haven't been feeling 100% the past few days.....as soon as I drop Gia off at school, I've been napping. We seem to be settling in. She likes playing with the kids in the neighborhood in the afternoons. Hates doing math problems and reading with me in the evening after dinner. She had a physical appointment today. I really like her doctor. Still need to get her medical records from her dad though. She has a dentist appointment Monday morning and then the following week she starts her therapy appointments. Most of the things that she does that make me crazy are normal 12 year old things.....not listening, not brushing her teeth, not making her bed, etc. So I really cannot complain too much. We are going to my parent's house for Easter (her spring break starts Good Friday) for a few days. I think it will help for her to see how we all interact. My brother, his wife and 3 daughters are coming to visit my parents too. The are really coming to meet Gia, but she would hate to know that...... I went to the court session on Tuesday and while they try to find her mom (who hasn't been contacted by her own brother in two years) the case has been postponed until June 1st. Gia doesn't want to see her dad and her dad doesn't want to see her, so there we are. Suzanne -- sorry to hear about your cousin Hugs!!

Michelle -- praying for you and your family!!

Sorry I've been quiet for a couple days. I went and had lunch at the school yesterday. Of course, Gia asked me if she could come home then and not wait until the end of the day. Nope. You were out of school yesterday. After I picked her up in the afternoon, I was so sleepy and fell asleep for a two hour nap. She fell asleep before I did and napped for a while too. Today that's all I have done is sleep. I think I must have gotten overwhelmed with all that is going on. I hope I can do this for the long haul. I am trying to tell myself that every step in the right direction is good and I cannot fix everything in one day. Apparently, Gia was quite destructive at her house, but since she hasn't exhibited any of those behaviors here, I think it must have been the anger over being ignored and trying to get attention any way possible. DSS is finding her a therapist which I am very glad to hear! I really appreciate all your support while I figure out how to be a mom with not much notice!!