Ch Ch Ch Changes

We are seeing some changes around here. One is Patches. For the last 3 days she has been amazing. I woke to her doing her chore the other day. I was scared. Then she volunteered to clean out the laundry room. Several hours later, I went to find her and was shocked that she had indeed cleaned and organized the entire thing. She did struggle a bit yesterday but pulled it together before damaging anything. We are still waiting for paperwork to come through for RTC. We hit a snag bc the pdoc we use left the office we work with without notice.

Ava is acting sneaky and mean lately. It is an annoying resurface of the old Ava. She is instigating trouble, hurting people's feelings for sport, and crying on cue. I think the stress of being the end of the year and moving is getting to her. I'm confident she will pull it together before I'm forced to bury her under the sandbox.

The move...I have tremendous guilt about moving again. I hate it for the kids. It's so hard on all of us. When you rent, you don't have a lot of choices. Now we will own. I can't believe it's happening. We asked for and received a Tax Advocate a couple of weeks ago that pushed our adoption credit through so we could get moved quickly. It's all been approved and now we wait for the check to be cut. Now we have a real estate agent and are looking for the right property. We will be paying cash for it and will be working our asses off to make it ours. This will change our lives. Literally. No mortgage? Who wouldn't love that?

We are making some room changes and security upgrades at the new house. The kids are excited about completely redoing their rooms. We are hoping to give Cyr her own room that she will set up like an apartment. She wants a futon instead of a bed so she can entertain her girl friends. If not, she will share with Ruthie and Emma. The twins want to switch to a twin over a full bed bunk so Kiki can be on top and the twins will have a big bed to share. They currently have a triple bunk but refuse to sleep separately so Ava's bed is always empty. The biggest change is not politically correct and may have many folks questioning my sanity. After much consideration, we have decided Patches and Michael will share a room, if he is ever able to return safely. We found so many good reasons to do this while the only negative thing is that they are a boy and girl, technically. They both are so much a like, in good ways. They have the same interests and issues. Patches is the safest child I know regarding personal boundaries. In other words, she hates to be touched, hugged, or even brushed up against. She can and will model good personal space. She can't allow anyone to break a rule without calling them on it. I mean the tiniest of infractions must be addressed. They both have difficult times at night with waking and hallucinations so they can comfort each other. They both enjoy the smell the of urine and need rooms decorated minimally. They are excited by this option. Since they have such high needs, they will have a camera in the room and motion detector outside of it. They will be able to share a bathroom without any worries other than the filthiness of it. It's a win-win.

Now we just need to find the house to fill our dreams with.

It's that time again. For the last 2 years I have vacationed with my fellow trauma mamas in Orlando. It is the most amazing thing I have ever done for myself. OK, it may be the only thing I've ever done for myself. If you relate to my life, you need to go. If not this year, next. Registration is happening this week. It's worth every penny. It changed my life in so many ways. The most amazing mothers are there and ready to welcome you. You will fit in. Go check it out. http://etaam2013.blogspot.com/