Out With the Old, In With the New

Wow! Life has been full of note-worthy changes! I've addressed these briefly but here we are. Living life after a summer full of chaos and transition.

We have:

- our new house

- new daycare

- new preschool

- new job

- new routine

- new toddler bed

- new toddler underwear

Lots of 'new' in our lives! And these are positive new changes. We've had our challenges over the past year but it's been so lovely when people ask how things are going, I can reply:

"Things are going really well right now! We're transitioning better than expected. I've set good boundaries to begin the year and strive for a better work-life balance, and that we're all happy and healthy!"

Our Home

We've been in our home for a little over 3 full weeks. We're nowhere near feeling unpacked and organized, but we feel at home! I have a plan for September to paint and decorate the boys' room, order pictures, finish unpacking, and organize the garage. Once those things are done it's all re-organizing linen closets, dressers, the pantry, etc. to be more functional and feel at home. Overall, we're all sleeping well and feeling comfortable in our new home. I'm curious when we will just call it 'home' and not 'the new house'.

A new licensing worker from DCFS has reached out so I'm coordinating with him when we can come and license this home officially! I'm hoping we might be able to schedule something for the last week of September so it feels more put together, but I've been debating opening additional space for respite services. I feel may not at this exact moment but I need to talk with our new licensing rep to see how many beds are allowed in each room and when I'd be able to be open to offering respite.

School for the Kids

We all really enjoy our new daycare. Mister Man & Peanut are feeling very safe there. Cookie Monster prefers PreK but doesn't mind going for a few hours to play in the morning and after school. I receive picture updates from an app throughout the day - which is super new to me, but I'm LOVING it.

It's great to drop the kids off, go to work and be able to feel present at work! I'm able to trust that if they call that my kids are truly in need of me and it's not a ridiculous protocol. I'm able to feel if I need to ask for help from my parents, it's not going to be overutilized just so I can try to work and hopefully succeed in not failing my students. It allows me to have an ease that wasn't there in the past.

Both daycares have shown that they love the kids! I feel this new daycare shows that it understands and respects the adults as well!

ELL Position

I am very excited about my new position! I felt very uneasy the first week. I wasn't sure of my expectations, how much I'd be doing, if I was knowledgeable enough, etc. After a few meetings in the second week, I found confidence in my expertise. I was able to create expectations for myself and work with all programs administration along with my boss to clarify that these tasks are what I should be doing.

As the weeks have gone on I feel this role has more at play than initially perceived. There's so much good that can come from this role and we can add support for families that may have different cultures and understandings due to their backgrounds. This is something I'm very passionate about. I am thrilled to feel excited about my job again, and that is just such a wonderful feeling. I hope to be able to provide more updates about my role as I establish and complete different tasks. I hope to create resources that can be shared professionally and used by others. This will take some time but I am setting realistic goals this year while allowing myself grace in this new to my role, but also new role to our district.

Growing Up

WOW! Moving has really shown how much the nuggets have grown. They're curious about the new house, asking questions that are thought-provoking, using their imaginations, and trying to be in charge.

Cookie Monster: He is potty training! He has accidents here and there but overall is doing so well with it this time. He is using phonemic awareness when reading books on his own. He has a desk that he likes to do work at, such as color, draw, fix things, or even use his toy laptop. He still has lots of BIG feelings that we're working on but he was also accepted with an intake for therapy. I am hoping he will begin sometime in September and we can truly work as a team to see some progress and get support for things he's working to process.

His most recent casework quit, so we're waiting for his fourth caseworker. Thankfully he's only had one GAL, and she appears to be ready to advocate for him in court. However, it seems the caseworker and GAL have not been on the same page as much as I hoped. It makes it challenging to truly feel the entire team is working together when they don't communicate regularly.

Mister Man: He has so much to say and is very chaotic! He loves life to the fullest and

it's something I hope he never loses. Daycare comments on how happy and joyful he is. They share that he just 'has fun' when he's at school. He is not quite ready to potty train, but hopefully in a few months. He currently doesn't need any major additional resources or supports, which I'm grateful for. It doesn't imply he might not - one day. It appears he may have some food insecurity, but may also just be a toddler learning. I'm keeping an eye on and researching to learn when to seek additional support, but for now I"m going to continue to let him enjoy his terrible twos, and add to our chaotic environment in the best way possible.

His and Peanut's case is still in limbo. We have yet to see adjudication take place, which means there hasn't been a permanency goal set. Mister Man has been in care over two years at this point, so it just saddens my heart that these kids continue to sit in limbo, while the court system takes whatever time frame they decided, and waves the actual time frame on this case.

Peanut: She is getting so tall! Her legs are longer than people realize! Peanut qualifies for PT and will hopefully be starting soon, which will also mean she might be a walker by the end of 2022! She has grown to love snuggles, to give 'big love' (big hugs), and is getting some teeth. She currently has two teeth but has been very cranky lately, so I'm thinking some more are coming in. Her hair is getting longer and she's been very patient with me as I read, watch videos, ask questions, and learn more to best care for her hair. She continues to be our little princess and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Self-Reflection

Since moving I've purchased a few books to support some areas of growth and self-reflection in my life. I want to go deeper into this in another post but currently want to share copies of the books that I feel have been helping me dig deeper and truly try to find some clarity in areas I've been searching for it in. The book listed above is one I'm re-reading and feel is helping me become a better human in general!

These two books have allowed me to learn how to dig deeper into myself and search for the root of things I've been glancing over. My family laughed the other day when I shared that "I just learned that I need people to like me." It impacts so much of who I am (again that's a post for another day but has helped me search for other answers and ways to better myself and make myself who I want to be.

That's pretty much it for our August update! We've been busy, as usual, but in many positive ways! We look forward to a fall of making our house feel more and more like home every day! As always, I say I'll try to post more, but life is busy and I have no promises! Thanks for sticking with me during this season of life! It's been a wild ride, but the biggest adventure I've lived through yet!