Me:

Stay-at-home mom; chill out when gardening in the veggie garden, reading, crosswording, or sitting in the quiet.

My husband:

Teacher, thinker, schemer; likes music, being outdoors, and working with his hands.

Daughter:

Elementary school; sensitive, very smart, avid reader, has a physical disability which has left her with weak legs and a few other minor but long-term health problems.

Junior:

Elementary school; energetic, smart, loves trains, cars, books, and playing outside.

Baby:

3; rambunctious, loud, talkative, adores the older kids, loves saying No, very independent

Lulu:

our licensing worker.  She is helpful and definitely on our side.

 

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The Mark and Nikki Era

Mark: 8, arrived Dec ’09 and left Dec ’10.  In care due to drugs in the home.  Average kid with average interests, social skills and academic abilities.  Hated my food but matured a lot while here.

Nikki: 6, arrived Dec ’09 and left Dec ’10.  Mark’s sister.  Average kid, played really well with Daughter but tended to aggravate Junior, headstrong and stubborn sometimes, but sweet often.  Very creative and artistic.

Ollie:  their worker.  Did a good job with a complicated case.  Kept in reasonable touch on case updates and gave us regular thanks and appreciation for our work.  (Which is unnecessary, but still nice.)

 

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The Montana and Star Era

Montana: 3.5; came to us in November ’09 with Star due to minor neglect.  Sweet girl with mild autism.  Left after 5 days for a relative’s home.
Star: 7; came to us in November ’09 with Montana.  No abuse or neglect.  Very smart, polite, and pleasant.  Left after 5 days for a relative’s home.
June: their worker.  Subpar skills at ‘reading’ a case and merely average at everything else.  Not much else to say.

 

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The Annie and Rose Era

Rose: 3.5; came to us in August ’09 with Annie; left in October ’09 for a relative’s house.  Quiet with occasional glimmers of spunk.  She was slightly small for her age and her speech was hard to understand.  She took her time to come out of her shell, but she did become comfortable with us after several weeks.
Annie: 16 months; came to us in August ’09; left in Ocotober ’09.  Came into emergency care after physical abuse from Dad.   She was a very happy baby who loved to play and explore.  She always had a thumb or stuffed animal in her mouth.
Amy (#2): their worker.  She did an average job with visits, but was hard to get a hold of and get questions answered.  Usually forgot to return calls or accomplish tasks I requested of her.

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The Poet and Nixon Era

Nixon: Elementary school, with us since May ’09, left us in August ’09 to return home, in care since summer ’08; smart, strong, playful, mischievous, attention-seeking, more about her here.
Poet: preK, with us since May ’09, left us in August ’09 to return home, in care since summer ’08; earnest, playful, very ‘touchy’, had problems with intermittent sexualized behavior (exposing himself, inappropriate hands down his pants, inappropriate touching of peers), more about him here.
Bio Mom: history of mental health problems, drug use and homelessness.  Visited with the kids about 2x a month, talked on phone with them about 2x a month.  Very pleasant on the phone with me.
Amy: caseworker.  Did an adequate job.
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The K and S Era

S: 5, with us just 10 days in spring ’09; sensitive, obedient, sociable, loved his brother but got mad at him often
K: 6, with us just 10 days in spring ’09, due to physical abuse; energetic, emotional, slightly less obedient, also sociable, loved his brother but ‘bugged’ him often
Both boys went to a grandmother after us.  These guys were a super first placement; they were such great kids, and we really liked them.  Granted, they didn’t stay long enough to start testing us much…