be wary of the 'advanced level'

today caleb & i were having a very in-depth conversation about different sounds. it started a little something like this:

caleb: "mom, what does an elephant say?"

me: "hmmm. i don't know. what does an elephant say?"

caleb: "an elephant says....pffffttt! (or however you would write that out)"

so we went through the basics of all the animals. cat, dog, cow, you know. then we moved up to 'intermediate level' where we went through things like sloths & marmosets (thanks diego) & i had to get a little creative with the sounds. who has any idea what a giraffe sounds like? well to us, it sounds like a dying parrot.

anyway then we moved to what i would call 'advanced level' where we made sounds come from things that aren't alive. apparently caleb believes that books make sounds that say "read! read!" and chairs say "sit! sit!" then out of nowhere he throws me a curveball and asks me this:

caleb: "mama, what does a stinky little bum-bum say?" (why is he obsessed with the word stinky?? probably because it makes me laugh everytime)

i cracked up but was curious to hear his answer so i played along.

me: "i don't know. what does a stinky little bum-bum say?"

caleb: "it says toot, toot!"

i was laughing so hard.

thoughts in the wee hours

1) stayed up waaaaay too late last night. you know that nauseous feeling you get when you haven't gotten enough sleep?
2) what was i doing? wasting my time watching the re-caps of the oscars since i missed them. which brings me to thought #3.
3) did anyone else watch lisa rinna (the collagen-filled dancing w/ the stars alumni) & joey fatone (formerly w/ 'n sync) make total idiots out of themselves? i lost brain cells watching lisa fumble around while she completely embarrassed herself in front of amy adams. she kept saying "i am sooooo fired." and i thought to myself, "she had better be. and fire her plastic surgeon right along with her." it was painful.
4) it is weird having ben gone. (at a funeral for his aunt) i am so used to having him with me that this big empty house feels even bigger and emptier than it normally does when the kids leave for school. can't wait until he's home tonight.
5) i had the unwelcome pleasure of watching ernest pick his nose in front of me this morning. straight up. showed no shame. what am i supposed to do with that?
6) why can't fantastia zip and unzip her own jacket? could i dress myself when i was 11? and a better question...why do i keep enabling her?
7) there is a smell permeating from underneath carrot top's door and i am horrified to try to figure out what it is. i will wait until ben gets back. :)
8) ahhhhhh. a cup of hot chocolate in the morning. bad for the buns, great for the soul.

reason it's great to be short #6

we were at best buy the other night & caleb was running under those ropes that are put out in case it's busy so that people can stand in line & be organized. (does anyone know what i'm talking about?? you see them a lot at disneyland. anyway.) it was hilarious because caleb kept ducking like his head was about to touch the rope when in fact he was like 2 feet too short. well he yelled to me "mom, come on! duck!" so for fun...while ben wasn't looking... i limboed underneath it. just to see if i could. and let me just tell you, IT WAS A SUCCESS!! at struggle, yes. it was pretty low. but still a success with no touching the rope. the funny part is, i didn't tell ben i did it. he was off looking at mac something-or-others. so when he reads it he should get a good laugh. three cheers to 4 foot 11 1/2 inches!!


the line thingers looked exactly like this. except for different. but you get the idea, they were pretty much this low.

ps-a heartfelt thanks to those who responded to the last post. (the rest of you can still respond!!) it is seriously fun to meet new people. for your sake, hopefully the excitement will still continue now that carrot top's out like trout. for our sake, hopefully it won't.

curiosity kills...or at least makes you insane!

so i can't sleep tonight. every muscle in my body is telling me otherwise but then i lay here with my eyes closed & my brain swirling around random thoughts to keep me awake.

(mmmm, that stir-fy was good tonight. i love teriyaki sauce so much. kikoman is the best brand of teriyaki. oops, i didn't switch the laundry. where are we going to go after this year is up? is carrot top plotting his revenge? do i need to still sleep with a bat under my bed? when is the treadmill key i won off of ebay going to get here? it's dark in here. why did i watch the last 10 minutes of "the grudge" the other day? i knew that was a bad idea. even if 8 out of the 10 minutes my eyes were closed. when did caleb learn how to talk so well? where on earth is my turbo jam dvd?)

you get the idea. so of course i decide to try to 'zone out' by getting caught up on some blogs. then i check my sitemeter. i look at the locations of visitors. which brings me to the point of this posting. i'm not quite sure who everybody is that is reading this. then i start to rack my brain....who do i know in wisconsin? louisiana? virginia? i go through my list of friends who are mostly spread out through the u.s. but still can't come up with answers to many of the locations that are popping up.

side note: ben just started talking in his sleep. most of the time if this happens he just rambles nonsense. i try to toy with him, asking him questions & pretending to be in the middle of whatever conversation he is dreaming about. usually to no avail. but this one is pretty funny. he actually just repeated the steps to "interrupting appropriately" which is a social skill we teach our group home kids. then he just congratulated me on a "job well done." poor overworked fella.

back to my rambling. putting it mildly, i am a person who can't just leave things alone. if i suspect that a surprise is coming for me...birthday or something, i purposely wear the secret-holder DOWN until they finally crack and tell me. i am so annoying that it is an art. but this situation is a whole new ball of wax. i can't wear anyone down, can't crack the code.

so this is an open invitation to my secret friends. write me a note. introduce yourselves. don't be shy. tell me how you came across our page. i think it would be so awesome to find out what brought you here. and if you have a blog i'd love to check it out. especially on nights like these.

at least it would be one less question my brain would have to ponder about at 3 am.

reposting

i am reposting these pictures of caleb because i thought they were so cute & for some reason in the 1st post they turned out miniscule. so back by popular demand (of his parents:) here they are again in full form & all their glory:

last night's sHeNaNiGaNs

compliments of: carrot top. enjoy.



his bedroom






the living room

so long, farewell

as i write this i am full of so many emotions. the primary emotion being relief. the secondary emotion being extreme sadness & heartbreak. we said goodbye to carrot top today as he walked out the door handcuffed & escorted by a police officer. we have told him from the beginning that he was in charge of his placement. and on our side, ben & i said to ourselves that we would do everything possible to help him to succeed. but the sad part about this job is that it is not entirely up to ben, carmella, angel & myself. because if it were, carrot top had enough potential to make it. he just chose not to. and no matter how many times we continued to teach him the correct choices to make, the end came because of just that. a choice. (well, okay, several choices) so to try to stay away from the negative things, i will talk about the things i will miss/the good things about carrot top:

1) his sense of humor...when he chose to be, carrot top was a riot. and he could take a joke too. we loved to joke around with him.
2) his kindness to caleb...he was always bringing home little trinkets for caleb & loved to give him high-fives.
3) when we would listen to the radio in the car & he would bust out all the words to some random song like "another one bites the dust" by queen, or "jesus take the wheel" by carrie underwood. he really knows a lot of music.
4) every morning hearing him yell out, "BOOM BOOM BOOM!" while he was taking a shower
5) some of our best days with him were on thanksgiving and christmas eve. he acted so good that it actually became a holiday for us even if we were still working. he helped cook, helped clean & was a pleasure to be around.
6) watching him learn dance moves from fantasia & then they would perform them for all of us.
7) surfing lessons. you had to give him credit for trying.

a dedication: this is a song that we would often hear him singing while he was "cleaning" his bedroom. we thought it was fitting for the current situation as well.

aaaRRRGGGHHHH!

dear u.s. government,

i just finished our taxes...we are $350 OVER the amount you can be to qualify for earned income credit for the year 2007. that means we would have had to make:

$29 less dollars a month
$5 less dollars a week
$.012 less cents an hour


COME ON!! WE WERE POOR LAST YEAR!!! JUST GIVE US A BREAK!!

sincerely,
lynsey

tricks are for kids

so like most kids i know, caleb doesn't like to go to bed. we usually have to take him in his room kicking & screaming & then after we've SERIOUSLY threatened no rocking/singing/reading time, he calms down. but it's always a fight. a few nights ago i started a new "smoother bedtime" tactic...having caleb sit on his chair like a big boy & read to me while i sat on the rocking chair. then after a few minutes he would bring the book over & we would read together.

well last night as i was getting him ready for bed, he brushed his teeth & then as i was cleaning up, he disappeared. i went looking all over the place for him & finally heard him calling for me...from his BEDROOM. he NEVER voluntarily goes into his bedroom when it's bedtime. i opened the door and this is what i saw:





he said, "oh mama, there you are! i was waiting and waiting for you. you ready to read a story with me?"

now this is our new bedtime ritual. so far this trick has worked like a charm. a lucky charm. and who says tricks aren't for kids?

some random pictures

here are a few pictures from the last couple of months. nothing too exciting because we can't show the "real" exciting stuff. confidentiality you know. so here is caleb looking panicked, here is caleb looking sweet, here is caleb with trains. you get the idea. a debutante (spell?) for her coming out party? no, just caleb with socks on his hands. ben & i on valentine's day. caleb with his "valentine"...the enormous thomas the train set at barnes & noble. enjoy!

punchbuggy gone booty

every sunday to and from church we have a rousing game of "punchbuggy." it gets pretty exciting but is one of those rare moments where we have healthy competition going on between the clients. well our sweet little 10 yr old girl always spices things up with her reactions to when she misses seeing the punchbuggy. here was the conversation today:

ernest: "PUNCHBUGGY GREEN!! i'm in first place now."

fantastia: "oh MAN! that is some booty."

lynsey: "hey, maybe we can come up with some alternative words that aren't so crude. try to name 3 new ones."

fantasia:
1) "that's some dog tail."
2) "that's some frog legs."

ok, not bad so far. then she busts this one out.

3) "that's some butt cheeks."

she might have missed the point but at least we were all laughing. i told her that she needed to clean it up especially when caleb was in the car...it probably wouldn't be the most awesome thing if he blurted out the word 'buttcheeks' in nursery. her response to that was,

"you're right. then everybody would be thinking, "why's he talking like that?? that's some booty!"

and we're back to square one.

my personal motivator

this morning started off rough. i had this dream that carrot top was chasing me around the kitchen trying to grab a HUGE knife out of my hand to do who knows what with. i kept running behind him & smacking the back of his head. then i woke up to a phone call at 8:20 am....who does that? (you know who you are, we still love you) and as soon as my eyes opened, the pounding began. ooooooh. a migraine. a nasty one. this is also friday, the saddest day of the week for me because it means tomorrow is saturday and the beginning of the weekend. everyone else on the planet NOT working a live-in job at a residential treatment facility probably doesn't understand this concept but weekends are MUCHO STRESSFULLO. i know that's not correct spanish.

anyway i was all prepared to be in an awful mood. when suddenly i hear through caleb's monitor,

"helppppp! ayudo mas!" this is caleb's version of spanish that he has learned from his fav bilingual t.v. shows. i couldn't help but laugh to myself as i staggered into his bedroom, clutching my head to try to decrease the pounding.

as i opened the door my cute little boy stands up in his crib and says cheerfully,

"good morning mama! how did you sleep today? want to play with my car darage (garage)?"

and reached out his arms for me to hug him. i pick him up and he wraps his arms and legs around me so tightly and just says,

"i love you mama! i missed you today."

pounding head or not i decided that this would be a good day. today caleb became my personal motivator, pulling me out of my gloom and doom. he and ben do this often for me. they give me multiple reasons to hang on for dear life...to face the day, the weekend, the next 5 months...and more importantly, to do it with a smile.

happy lOvE day!

isn't this a cool picture? it's called "light from the heart nebula." also included are some music videos of some great love songs. hope you all have a fantastic day!





some classics



a little more funkified



for ben



for carmella



for lauren



for pdge & andrizzle



for tizzy



for mom



for dad



for troy...lol



for caleb

mEnTaL bLoCkS

1) why do i pull out a new toilet paper roll only to set it by the toilet instead of in its holder & wait until the roll is almost out to actually change out the empty roll, only to have to start the process all over again the next day??
2) why does ben take off his shoes and set them right next to the basket of shoes?
3) why do i order doubles of pictures to send out to friends & family only to end up with stacks and stacks of pictures that i need to mail out? why don't i just mail them?
4) why do i do the laundry, fold it & let it sit in the basket for days until eventually all the searched-through clothes are unfolded & wrinkled?
5) why do i have perfectly fantastic wedding cards, birthday cards, thank-you cards etc. filled out, sealed & addressed in an envelope sitting in a stack just waiting to have a stamp put on them & be walked out to the mailbox?
6) why do i refuse to wash off my mascara at night only to end up looking like a frazzled raccoon in the morning, having to wash it off anyway?
7) why is it everytime i sit down at the computer to get caught up on my office work i end up searching all of my favorite blogs & websites before i even look at my responsibilities...resulting in hours & hours of wasted time & backed up paperwork?

just the norm or prodigy?

so i know that everyone to some extent, feels their child is a genius. whether it's memorizing numbers, speaking early or walking early it always seems to be something. i've tried to not get too overly excited when caleb does something i particularly think is amazing but just enjoy how much fun he is & watch him grow. but i had to ask other parents about something, just because i was curious.

caleb has always LOVED music. as a few-wk old infant, beethoven, mozart & other classical music was the only thing that would stop his incessant screaming. every night ben & i would rock him & sing songs to him before he went to sleep. at 26 mos old i counted that he had over 35 songs memorized. at 2 1/2 he's up to over 50, not including all of the verses to the songs. that includes the basics like the 'itsy bitsy spider' & basic primary songsup to 3 verses of 'come thou fount of every blessing,' joni mitchell, jack johnson, james taylor, and of course a little bit of bob dylan thanks to ben.

he's constantly singing & is making up songs all the time. in nursey his teachers have commented on how well he knows the songs but have remarked that what they can't believe is that he's actually on tune. then we we were flying back utah in dec. he started singing "ode to joy" on pitch and 3 people asked me when we were getting off the plane how old he was. when i told them 2 1/2, one man called him a "prodigy." i was pretty cynical about the whole thing...thought it was nice but chalked it up to the man having some jet lag.

today i started singing a jack johnson song he loves from the 'curious george' movie soundtrack. he started singing along in tune & after a minute, i switched the pitch of the song, wondering if he would follow my voice or keep singing. he sang a couple of notes, then paused and started back up again changing his tune to match my pitch. i switched it again & so did he i tried it on other songs & he kept following my voice. i've also heard him singing harmony parts to some songs but thought it was because he just couldn't tell the difference between the melody & harmony.

so just be honest....is this normal? if other kids do this around his age then i want to hear about it. i'm not about to call disney or anything (sorry carmella!) but if he does have some sort of talent in this area then i want to be able to help him get better at it.

the day ben lost his "kool"

i am laughing as i am writing this....

so carrot top & fantasia have been doing a great job of wearing all of us down here since monday. there is a new hole in the wall, compliments of fantasia, a lovely poem written about me that is too inappropriate to write on a blog & various threats & cursings to the group in general.

carrot top has been trying again to secure his position in the home as "top dog" or alpha male by going off for no reason & screaming curse words. then he will usually open up the fridge & try to eat everything in sight...thus the fridge now has a lock on it. yesterday i took him on, very calmly following him from room to room, giving him his distance and just staring him down. it freaked him out. he would yell, "STOP FOLLOWING ME!!" and i would calmly reply, "hmmm? oh me? i'm just standing here." then he would move to another room and i would follow him. he finally got so frustrated with me that he went to his room where i didn't follow him & instead called to him, "peace out, brotha!" as he slammed his door in frustration. 5 minutes later, he emerged back out in a more peaceful and calm state.

cut to this morning.

ben is awesome & handles the kids in the morning so that i can sleep in. this morning carrot top woke up & was fine & then for NO REASON (which is why it's so frustrating to us in the first place, it's just to get attention ) starts yelling curse words at the top of his lungs. ben quietly prompts him to stop & tells him he needs to hurry & get in the shower. carrot top yells, "I DON'T GIVE A F*&!" and pushes ben's last button. ben had been helping fantasia make her lunch & was holding a kool-aid juice pouch thinger & just CHUCKS it at carrot top's back. KABOOM! it explodes all over his back.

the other kids start applauding ben for putting carrot top in his place & ben just calmly tells carrot top, once again, to get in the shower. of course he's now cursing up a storm by this point but it shocked him enough to make him obey.

after ben & ernest cleaned up the mess, ben spoke with carrot top & apologized for losing his temper. he said to him that he doesn't know how to help him anymore, that maybe it's time to consider another placement. (this, by the way, is all another ploy to take back the power from carrot top) here is carrot top's reply.

"ben, i just don't think i'm flourishing here."

flourishing? i wish you could know this kid to realize how funny it is for this word to come out of his mouth. no carrot top, you're not flourishing.. you're living with people who are waaaaaayyyyy too nice & take waaaaayyyyyy too much crap from you for you to actually flourish.

poor benny woke me up & said "um, i lost my temper and threw kool-aid at carrot top." i love this man. any other guy would have knocked carrot top's lights out months ago. i can't help but laugh because i know for ben this was his "tennis ball" moment. have i ever blogged about my tennis ball story? it's a goodie. that was the day i showed carrot top i meant business. another time when i'm out of things to blog about (so right around the end of july when we move out). but hold on to your seats for that story.

as for today, while you are sipping your refreshing kool-aid, remember carrot top & put a little smile on your face for us.

not too stinky, not too pooey

somehow this "not too stinky, not too pooey" statement has crept into caleb's nightly prayers. it goes a little something like this:

"thank you for my house. it's not too stinky, not too pooey."

"thank you for going to church today. it's not too stinky, not too pooey."

"thank you for my friends at nursery. not too stinky, not too pooey."

you get the idea. ben & i have no idea where this little combo came from because we both swear we didn't teach him this stuff. but we decided that little caleb might be onto something. so now we are using this NTS, NTP theory in all areas of our lives.

how is our marriage? NTS, NTP?

how did i do with the clients today? NTS, NTP?

how am i doing on my new year's resolutions? NTS, NTP?

so my friends. i think you should ask yourselves these questions & start using it as the standard to which you should judge all future decisions. it is the new "WWJD?" and we think it will catch on like wildfire. bracelets, t-shirts, bumper stickers. we are going global. this is going to take the world by STORM & caleb will be a multi-tramillionaire. we knew he would make us a lot of cash someday, we just didn't realize it would be with a little potty talk. this kid is not too shabby. in fact, he's not to stinky, not too pooey.

good reason to be short #1

short people got nobody....

but i did discover yesterday that i have the ability to sit on my 2-year old's bike & pedal without strain. beat that!

a tearjerker

we were sent this video after i had already posted the first one but i wanted to post it anyway. i love what president hinckley is saying during this video. so i thought i'd post this one too.

for carmella, who is "in like" & benny, who i love

a kick-off to our almost valentine's month!

we'll sing of his goodness and mercy

to hear about president hinckley's passing away was difficult for me. he was who i would consider, "my prophet." he was there when i gained my own testimony of the book of mormon & again when my testimony was restrengthened about the book through his challenge to read it by the end of the year. he was there when i gained my testimony of the prophet joseph smith, visiting nauvoo, carthidge jail & liberty jail. he was there when i gained my testimony of temples, being in the bountiful temple & listening to him do the temple dedication. he was there when i gained a testimony of the importance of being a "peculiar people." for those reasons and so many more, i am sad to say goodbye to such an amazing man. his sense of humor, his sweetness and above all, his unconditional love reached out to those inside and outside of the church. i am so proud to call him the leader of our church. i remember the first time i was able to actually see him in person....at the dress rehearsal of his 90th birthday party in the conference center. i wasn't sitting close, but the second he entered the room a hush fell over the crowd and the spirit was so strong that i could not deny that this was truly a man of God.

thank you for your example, president hinckley. you will be missed.

ghetto crocker

we had a dessert competition today with the clients & this is what was created out of a couple of cake mixes, a bit of frosting, some sprinkles, & a whole LOT of love.





this is what we here at youthquest would call a "hot mess."

now here's a picture of what the staff created, ben & angel.





and now, here is what happens when the kids cut into it.




that's what we here call a HAM. hot a** mess. eat your hearts out!

pessimism gone bye-bye!

i realize that my last post was a bit of a downer. after reading it, i think that readers may think that i absolutely hate this job & i want to make it known that i don't. i really enjoy so many things about this job & although it's been difficult, i have learned a lot. the benefits & blessings have outweighed the trials & heartaches by far. that doesn't mean, however, that i am not looking forward to the silence that will be coming in 6 months when my life becomes my own again. but i don't consider that pessimism. i consider that a reality that anyone in their right mind would look forward to. can i get an AMEN.

one of "those" days

so i realize that one of "those" days has a different definition to everyone. that could mean that your 5 kids have run rampant through the home, taking off their poopy diapers & fingerpainting, pulling the cat's tail, falling down the stairs & breaking a leg, dumping spaghetti sauce all over the kitchen floor, & putting liquid dish soap in the dishwasher, causing it to overflow with suds & soak & ruin your cheap linoleum floor. or it could mean a busy day at the office, your boss gets mad at you for something you didn't do, everyone else calls in sick to work causing you to pick up the slack, the loony customer decides this is the day to go ape-crazy on your behind & cuss you out in front of everyone, & you get told you don't know how to "prioritize" because you haven't been able to get any of your own duties done.

this is what one of "those" days means to me:

being too exhausted physically & mentally to go into details about how
1) my new nickname, according to fantasia, is b*$#h
2) letting carrot top know that we are reporting his actions to his parole officer, which will most likely result in jail time
3) watching ben & fantasia struggle over a honey-baked ham, leading to a 10 minute stand-off with both of their hands wrapped around a refridgerator, where she continually threatens his life
4) being 'iced in' to the home, unable to go anywhere for 2 days because of the weather that causes the entire state of north carolina to shut down
5) i've given myself about 10 pep talks in the past 2 days to get me through the final 6 months at this job

you have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

so school was almost cancelled today. why? because they predicted 1 INCH of snow. this has to be some sort of joke. i know it. i know someone is around the corner waiting to yell, "JUST KIDDING! we really aren't pansies who can't drive during a light snowfall!"

instead school was delayed for 2 hours. is there any snow on the ground? nope. but just the possibility of it sent the people of north carolina into a frenzied state. here at the group home we are always in a frenzied state. but it's usually over something significant...say, carrot with a broomstick in his hand and a gleam in his eye. or fantasia screaming at the top of her lungs with snot running down her nose. those to me are worth the frenzied state. not the same as lovely little pieces of frozen water falling from the clouds. but what do i know? i'm just from utah.

ps-it is now two hours after i originally started this post. still have yet to see a flake. at first i thought i saw something, but it was just dandruff on einstein's shoulder. sigh.

boobaly & elders

tonight caleb was in the bathtub & i went up to say hi. caleb wanted me to see all his bubbles. when i commented about them he said, "ya, i'm all boobaly." ben & i started laughing & said "boobaly?" i personally thought that's what pamela anderson is, but i guess there can be more than one definition to a word. here is a picture of caleb being all boobaly.






then the elders stopped by for a visit. things always get exciting when they're around & it always heightens my senses of the lunacy that surrounds me at the group home. for example, while elder jensen was bearing his testimony about not serving two masters, einstein raised his hand. when called on, he said, "i have the devil sitting on one shoulder and former president bill clinton sitting on the other. i base everything i do around what one or the other tells me." here is a picture i can post of the elders, because none of the clients are in there (at least not enough to recognize), you get the idea of the amount of torture they go through each time they visit. they put new meaning into the phrase "charity suffereth long, and is patient." thanks guys, for putting up with it.

the day of reckoning

carmella & i took carrot top to court yesterday for him to face the felony charges that he got for the more than the thousands of dollars worth of damage he did to the home & the company van in august. that was the same fateful day that ben had to restrain this big boy, rolling around on our front lawn. i did get the chance to pin down his legs. woo hoo.

anyway, we're in court. i can't even describe the caliber of people sitting on all sides of us. there was the old old man sitting next to carmella. usually i am in full support of people wearing sandals without socks. this man broke the mold with the nastiest, driest, most cracked feet i have ever seen. forget the faux paux, put some socks on!!

then there's the strung out african american lady sitting behind us. from the looks of things she forgot both her teeth and her bra. along with some common sense. the deputy was trying to get everyone to slide down the benches to make room for those having to stand. she refused. he walked up to the crowd, stared her down and yelled, "EVERYBODY MOVE DOWN TO YOUR RIGHT!!" still no budge, just a stare back, along with the clicking of her empty gums. tension in the room rose. finally the lady next to her started saying "move down! move down!" and shoving her at the same time. luckily, gummy & saggy moved before things turned hectic.

but nothing topped the comment coming from another african-american man who arrived late in court, side-by-side with a very pregnant lady. he yelled this out when they called his name & read his charges. keep in mind he is in COURT. for CHARGES.

"hey, could you speed this up a little? my girl, she be havin contractions."
the deputy looked incredulous.

the best part of this little happily-ever-after is the charges that were being pressed on the two of them:

child endangerment.

living the american dream i guess. welcome to durham, north carolina.

skin pelt part 2

so we all knew einstein was a little different. the comment he made to his teacher regarding his skin pelt being hung on a mantle was disturbing. however we have had an interesting update on the situation.

einstein has been requesting the right to earn having a pet in the home. this is not unusual, ernest has 3 fish & past clients have had hamsters before. einstein has requested mice. wasn't sure why, now i am.

his case manager called us today & said that einstein had been talking to him about earning some mice & gave us a little heads up. turns out that he has raised mice in the past. a little odd, but whatever. the sick & twisted part of the whole deal is the fact that when once of his mice died, einstein's sister said that he WORE THE DEAD MOUSE'S SKIN AROUND HIS FINGER FOR A WEEK.

ask me why i sleep with a bat under my side of the bed. just ask me.

i'm it

i was tagged & it looks like this one is to post some random stuff about myself. could be interesting, more possibly could be quite boring. i think i am pretty much a boring person with an interesting job. but let's see what i can come up with!

**i am 27. wow that sounds old! but my sister thinks that her prime will be in her 30's and i have to say that's a good motto. just gearin up for the fantastic years to come!

**i have one child, although at times he has felt like at least 3 kids. i know people think i am exaggerating because i technically have no idea what it feels like to have 3, but seriously. his first 2 years were a bit nuts.

**once at a family christmas party (shellee & aim you should remember this) my grandparents rented a minnie mouse costume for someone to dress up in & hand out candy canes. i don't know how i got volunteered for the job but i did, and did it with style. apparently the costume was a little old because about halfway through the ordeal, minnie's nose fell off. we didn't know what to do with it so we stuck it in her mouth. hopefully none of the kids noticed. i do remember how stiflingly HOT it was in there, but there are some classic pics because of it. just picture minnie doing a rockettes pose and you've got it.

**i am what i would call a 'closet singer.' i absolutely LOVE to do it & think that i am pretty decent, but if someone asks me to sing in public i FREEZE up. ben thinks i should make a CD. isn't he sweet.

**at some point in my life i played the piano, flute, violin & guitar. i took tap, ballet & jazz dance lessons. what do i do now? manage a group home.

**i am addicted to trashy gossip magazines & shows. since working here, i have to admit i have gotten better. but seriously now...can you BELIEVE that halle berry, jessica alba, jamie lynn spears & countless others are pregnant?? and did you see britney spears strapped into a gurney? my personal opinion is that if she had been put in a group home at an early age, her life would have turned out much differently. in a positive way. pre-justin timberlake. okay i will stop.

**i absolutely HATE the word: 'discharge.' it has taken the #1 spot on my list of words to cringe at well above 'moist.'

**i love to collect hair products. it is crazy. every time we move i have to give away hundreds of dollars of hair products & make-up that have never been used, or used once. you would think i look better than i do. i said i "collect" them i never said i knew how to "use them correctly."

**i don't like to cook. this is something i have had to do my best to overcome now that i cook for 8 people. but i just d-r-e-a-d it. that is ben's #1 complaint about me that he wishes i liked to do it. but i think it works out ok because ben really enjoys cooking. from scratch. can you believe that??? who would EVER want to cook from scratch? my fancy man.

**i crave relationships with others. not "shallow-tons of friends-have tons of parties" type of relationships. but ones that are meaningful & deep & loyal & with people i can trust. that has been ingrained in me since i was a little girl. i try really hard to be the type of friend that i would want to have in my life.

**this job has helped me to be a more patient, kind & empathetic person. it has also pushed me to my limits emotionally and physically. my life has been threatened more times than i can count, i have been sworn at & treated poorly & taken advantage of, but i have never felt closer to my husband or to my heavenly father than i have these past 6 mos. and at the end of the day, i really feel that i have made a positive impact on these kids' lives. i also know i am a better mother to my child & future children from the skills i have learned. so no, lauren, i don't regret the decision. there is the answer to your question...just sometimes i have to think about it before i can answer honestly!

i tag: lauren, kirsten (time for the closet blogger to come out of the closet!), angie hamblin & ben gunn

new moon & eclipse

here is the review i posted on my bookclub blog about these books. loved them!




ok here we go! over christmas break, during the 2 days we had NO CLIENTS HERE (a moment of silence please for how fantastic that was) i had the chance to read the rest of the series. it was great! ok so here are my two cents, for anyone who cares (if you haven't read this series but plan to, don't read on):

1) even though edward is beautiful & perfect & everything else
2) i would pick JACOB!!!

i like a man with a dark, tormented side. that is why i married ben (ha ha!). not that edward doesn't have that but he's just TOOOOO perfect for me. and in the end, i think bella would get tired of it. and then it would be too late, she would be a vampire, and she would have to spend eternity with him. i just am not a hopeless romantic and i would get tired of all those smoochies and perfect compliments and that is all i have to say about that.

so there you go. i am on team jacob. loved the books, can't wait for the movie, can't wait for the 4th book.

***for all you doubters out there, i was one too! read the series!