Thanksgiving drama...

Well, we went to my Mom's and made it through 15 minutes before Andy made a joke and my Mom took it the wrong way. It hurt his feelings when she snapped at him, he walked outside, I came back in after going to check on him and my Mom and I got into it. I walked back outside and told Andy to go get our stuff and that we were leaving. He walked in to try and let her know that he was just making a joke and that he didn't mean anything by it and she kept going saying that he's being sarcastic and she doesn't like sarcasm. I started walking stuff outside to our van and he brought the rest of the stuff out apologizing that if he would have known that he was going to start something he would have kept his mouth shut. I walked back inside to tell her good-bye and she blew up at me and said that I'm always sticking up for him. I told her "you're my Mom, I love you, but he's my husband and I love him too and he didn't mean anything by it." She just looked at me and said "well, good-bye." I turned around and left. I cried all the way to Wal-mart to go get some stuff to try to salvage Thanksgiving for the kids. We're all starving...not the Thanksgiving dinner we planned on having today...but I think we're just destined to spend the holidays with just our family from now on. This makes 2 out of 3 Thanksgivings that the day has turned out badly with them fighting. Andy feels like he can't say anything around her anymore and that she just doesn't like him. Then she comes over and gets upset because he's too quiet and won't say anything around her. I don't know how to make her see that is just his humour and it's all innocent. I don't know he's still all in shock about what happened and feels bad and I feel stuck in the middle and really don't know what to do.

I am a Marilyn

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz ...

You Are a Marilyn!




You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."


Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.







How to Get Along with Me
* Be direct and clear
* Listen to me carefully
* Don't judge me for my anxiety
* Work things through with me
* Reassure me that everything is OK between us
* Laugh and make jokes with me
* Gently push me toward new experiences
* Try not to overreact to my overreacting.




What I Like About Being a Marilyn
* being committed and faithful to family and friends
* being responsible and hardworking
* being compassionate toward others
* having intellect and wit
* being a nonconformist
* confronting danger bravely
* being direct and assertive




What's Hard About Being a Marilyn
* the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
* procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
* fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
* exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
* wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
* being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations




Marilyns as Children Often
* are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
* are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
* form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
* look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
* are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent




Marilyns as Parents
* are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
* are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
* worry more than most that their children will get hurt
* sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/are-you-a-jackie-or-a-marilyn-or-someone-else-mad-menera-female-icon-quiz

http://www.helloquizzy.com/results/are-you-a-jackie-or-a-marilyn-or-someone-else-mad-menera-female-icon-quiz/?fromCGI=1&var_ABC=3&var_XYZ=2

Scott's obituary...

He took his last breath after the pastor read Psalm 23 to the family from what I understand. I thought that was very neat... He fought a good fight and always kept praying and believing! I pray for peace and comfort for the family during this time. Here's his obituary if anyone wants to read it. He was buried yesterday. May you rest in peace, Scott.

http://obits.mlive.com/grandrapids/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=120411584

So exhausted!

We had our friends in this weekend from San Antonio. We had a good time...we went to the mall and walked around Dallas and looked at the JFK memorials and stuff. Yesterday they left around 2 to head to her aunt's house and we laid down around 3:30 to take a catnap. Yeah, we didn't wake up until 6:30 and I went to bed again at 9. I woke up this morning and I could use another nap...hope I'm not trying to catch something. It was great to see them though.

Baby J

We went to court this morning for Baby J's last hearing. His Mom didn't show up and I had to testify as well which I really didn't want to do...however, the courts did terminate Mom and Dad's parental rights today. We are so blessed that we get to adopt him! Just wanted to share our blessings from above today.

Andy, Jess, and Deidra (the very proud big sister)

Just something that I was pondering last night...

Andy and I were talking about foster children last night and some stuff that has been happening that I've read about. I told him that it's sad to hear some of these stories go in front of juries and the juries feel sorry for the parents and so they send the child back home where the child is later seriously hurt again or dies.

I asked "when does it become that the child is put first and that the child's feelings and actions to them are put before the parents? It's sad to me that 2 people can be married, one abuses the other and the abused person can walk away and get divorced...they can think for themselves." Yet, some people think that no matter what happened to the child, that the child is better off going back to his/her bio family. Would that abused spouse like it if someone said "oh, I'm sorry...we feel sorry for your spouse if you leave him so we're going to send you right back." I'm not saying that every child doesn't deserve the chance to be reunified with their birth family...but some of these cases that I've been hearing about lately where severe abuse has happened or the child's life has been threatened and stuff like that...I just have a hard time thinking that the families deserve a 2nd chance to get those children back. Then again, I have a hard time hearing about how this child and that child keep getting sent home only to come back into care again too. I think if the first reunification isn't successful, they need to figure something else out to give the child permanency.

I don't know, just some things that I have been pondering lately.

Books that just draw you in...

What books have you read that you just can't put down and just completely pull you right in?

I started reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer a couple weeks back. I read the first book Twilight in a day and a half and ran off to get New Moon. I finished that one in about 3 days and then I ran off to get Eclipse. That one has taken me awhile just because I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to read. But, these books have just pulled me in and I need to go get Breaking Dawn so that I can start that one either tonight or tomorrow. I only have a couple of chapters to read in Eclipse and I'll be done with Book 3. These books are so good! So tell me what books have you read that have just drawn you right in and you can't put down?

I have no gumption...

I wanted to clean the house today, do some laundry, get Baby J's scrapbook pages ordered so he's caught up through his 2nd birthday. I need to get the girl's pages caught up through October and then I was going to go back and start Baby J's 2nd book for him. We were supposed to have occupational therapy today too, but all the kids have bad colds and I haven't been feeling all that well either. I'm all clammy, my nose will not stop running, I'm coughing, and I'm dead tired. Baby T is sleeping, Baby J is having a snack and watching tv, and Little E is jumping off the walls...she will not sit still for anything and she is into everything. I keep putting her back on the couch and telling her it's quiet time. She knows the drill...we do this everyday. However, she's bound and determined to flip and flop everywhere and every so often she'll let out a screech just for the heck of it. I don't even know how many times she's been in time out today for not listening. And she's started picking at her face so she has these nice scabs all over. I can't figure out why she's doing it either which is even more frustrating. Deidra has family math night tonight at school...so Andy's coming home a bit early so they can go up and have pizza, go to her book fair, and then do the math/science stuff. She gets an extra 100 in math for going. I'm doing something easy and simple for the kids and I tonight and then I think once I get them down for bed, I'll be taking a bubble bath and going to bed myself.

Teaching the kids about safety...

I've been having a horrible time trying to teach the kids about safety. Baby J has no fear of anything. I have to watch him like a hawk or he'll run out into the street, he'll run from me outside (he thinks it's hilarious), he knows that the stove is hot, but he doesn't understand that it will hurt him. So, anytime I'm cooking or baking, he's sitting in the kitchen with me in his high chair where I know he can't get hurt. He unlocks the doors and books outside as fast as he can...thank goodness for my door alarms he never gets far. Little E opens the doors to anyone. No matter how many times I try to tell her that she is not to open the door without Mommy, she will book to the door when she hears the doorbell ring. Her and Josiah both do. I've tried talking to them about strangers and how we don't talk to everyone and take things from people that we don't know. Baby T is still so shy and fearful that I don't really need to worry about her.

So, today I decided that I was going to get 2 DVDs off of Amazon that looked pretty good.

I got Trouble and Kids|Toddler Home Safety [DVD] (2007) Alex De Castro &
Catherine...

along with Stranger Safety (the DVD that John Walsh put out with the Baby Einstein lady)

I'm hoping that will get through to them and I'm going to try to find all the books on safety and so forth at our library that I can read to them as well.

I have so much to do...

I have so much to do and I just don't have the gumption to do anything. My hubby was really sweet and cleaned the house, did some laundry, and did the kiddo duties while I was out with my Mom for awhile yesterday. The girls had speech therapy this morning. I've played with the kids, played with the rats, checked my email, and I should do some digiscrapping so I can get the kids lifebooks up to date, but I don't feel like doing anything. I need to get the kids some lunch, change some diapers, and get some stuff together before I go get Deidra from school, go get our reimbursement check, run to the bank, and then get back home to get ready for our foster parent association's thanksgiving dinner tonight. Then, I need to run to Wal-mart later to order Deidra's Littlest Pet Shop cake for her birthday tomorrow. My baby is going to be 8 tomorrow!

RIP Buddy

Well, we lost Buddy last Wednesday. He was playing with me before I had to go pick Deidra up from school and when we got home, she found him "sleeping" in his cage. I felt bad and she cried. We went out and got another rat so Molly wouldn't get lonely and she's brown and white and Deidra has named her Brownie. She is a cute little rat and squeeks at us. She eats and drinks constantly.