My work week is DONE

So...I finally did my first restraint this shift. Luckily it was one of my kids and she was easy. All of my kids decided to do crazy stuff this shift and I'm super tired. I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I burnt two bags of popcorn last night trying to make snack. I think everyone was ready to let me just chill at that point. I let a kid dry erase marker my face as a reward and then had to go to another cottage like that to check in with a kid that we had over there. Interesting stuff. And dry erase marker washes right off by the way so if you ever want to try it - feel free. That's enough work talk. In other news...only ONE WEEK until my man candy takes me to NOLA!!! We have reservations for Commanders Palace and are planning on Irenes, maybe NOLA and a swamp tour and a plantation tour. I can't wait!!! I'd be more annoyingly ecstatic but I'm too tired!

Jingle Bells

You might be surprised to find that my most effective coping strategy this past week for the kids was singing Christmas carols. We were in the middle of a safety - which is basically when someone isn't being safe. The "unsafe" kids were outside and the door was locked, but they like to bang on the doors, windows, etc. etc. When the banging started I saw the frustration on the kids faces who were inside and said "anyone like Christmas carols?" So we started singing and it was a lot of fun. Probably pissed off the kids outside, but we enjoyed it and it helped calm them down and get them ready for bed. It didn't help that we were locked out of the fridge, but it is much easier to tell a calm kid than an agitated kid that they might not be getting milk with their HEB Buddies. When dealing with a crazy situation you just have to bring in a little bit more crazy to stay sane.

Leave a message...

The other day I called Adam and left him this voicemail "When we're married can you sleep on the couch sometimes so that Saffy can sleep at the top of the bed next to me?"

Busy Bee

I made it through my training shift this past week. Granted the leaving houseparent was there so she was in charge and I can't take credit for the fine behavior this weekend. This next weekend I am on my own, with my kick-ass YCC that is, so it's up to us to keep the good going. I really enjoyed it and I only felt nervous around a kid once and it wasn't even one of my own kids. This coming weekend I get to take a few of the kids on a bat cruise so I'm pumped about that.

This coming weekend is ALSO Sarah's wedding, which I can't believe is here, but I'm totally pumped about. I feel like I've been in a bubble the past 5 days and I'm super excited to see my friends! It really makes me appreciate being on the outside when I know I'm going back in for 4 nights and 5 days afterwards. If you find that I'm more difficult to communicate with just know that it is because I'm at work and not because I don't heart you.

Rolling with my homies

I just did my van training. After cruising around in the area I'm allowed to take the kids out on my own. It actually isn't as bad as it looks. I'm still a little slow, but I'm ready to kick it in the 15-passenger.

J-O-B

As many of you may know I have accepted a new position. My last day at ACS will be April 25th and after that I will begin the life of a therapeutic house parent at a residential treatment center for girls. The set-up is a cottage with about 9 girls that I'll live at for most of the week. My dog can live there too or she'll stay with Adam. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time, but the benefits and learning opportunity are great. Another plus is that I hear that I'll lose a lot of weight because I'll be so busy. Yay. I stopped by to visit the other day and the girls were hanging out outside and they had baked brownies for the staff and were painting nails. I had my nails painted red by a talented young lady. When I was leaving they were off to get sno cones. It sounds like something I wouldn't mind getting paid for.

I see you found your eyebrows

A few weeks ago I was shopping with Barbara at Ulta and I found this cute little tool called an eyebrow razor. It says that the "Tinkle Eyebrow Razor removes the fine hairs of the eyebrow, neck and face as well as unnecessary hairs elsewhere." I don't know why I bought it knowing my obsession with cutting hair. The directions sounded simple.

Directions:
First, remove the safety cap from the razor.
Glide the razor softly downward. Don't press too hard.
For more effective use, apply the shaving cream before shaving.
After use, be sure to put the safety cap on the razor and keep it out of reach of children.

I asked the man at the register if he thought I could shave off my whole eyebrow with it and he said no because the blade was too small. I felt comfortable with that so I took it home and began trimming my eyebrows. If you have seen me in the last few weeks then you know that the man underestimated how obsessive I am about getting every little thing and that I almost completely removed my eyebrow. I put make-up on the next morning and Adam said "I see you found your eyebrows."