Job: Fail.

I'm not so sure I'm even going to post this...I really just need to get some stuff off my chest.  Something happened at work today that just brought up so many emotions, and I dont know what to do with them. 

A while back, I was working with a family in an attempt to avoid putting the children in foster care.  There were two little girls and a boy.  The mother was a hoarder, but more of the lazy sort. She had no attachment to the trash in her house, she was just too lazy to clean it up.  She was perfectly happy to have others do it for her.  There were bugs, fleas (which I had posted about my allergic reaction to over the summer), rodents, and mold. It was horrible.  The year that I worked with the family, I had two in-home counselors coming, and offered numerous resources to help her get and stay on her feet.  Even her homeowner's insurance company thought the house unfit as they cancelled her policy.  Whilst this was going on, she met a man and moved him into her house. Within a few weeks, she had the kids calling him dad.  Ok, red flags everywhere, but I had no proof of anything. 

This man...he was very creepy...a weasley sort. I wouldnt have trusted him with my dog, let alone my children.  I did not understand what he saw in this woman as she was hygenically challenged in every way possible, lazy as all get-out, manipulative, and...well...straight cray cray. 

Today, I found out why he was interested in her little family.  A few months ago, there was so little progress with the mother, that the children had to be removed.  The house was deplorable and the boyfriend had started beating the children with belts.  Enough was enough.  Shortly afterward, someone found child indescretions on his computer (I am NOT going to put what it is actually called on this blog because I do not want any perverts doing a search term and ending up here)...which then led to an investigation of his cell phone.  Where pictures of this woman's children were found.  I am horrified that for an entire year, I couldn't prove this pervert was living there.  For a year these children suffered because I could not prove what he was doing.  We ALL had our suspicions, but ultimately we were trying to get the mother to straighten up her life.  I think all in all, there are over 1000 pictures.

Now mom...we have suspicion that she knew all along what he was doing....just as sick.  Since her children were removed, she has moved in with another man, and has posted online how happy and carefree her life is.  WTF?? What kind of mother is this?  I just DONT UNDERSTAND. 

So, I feel like I failed these children.  I should have known, should have dug deeper.  When you see things online and on tv about how social services fails children...please know that MOST of us try SO hard to protect them, but the families don't give us what we need. They are SO good at covering things up.  We are bound by laws and statutes and can't just investigate things on a whim.  I just wish he had given me something along the way that I could have used to dive into it.  I am so very sad for these kids. So so so sad.  NO child should ever have to experience this.

Snow!

( I had originially written this last weekend when it DID snow, but the pics wouldn't upload.  Since then, temps reached 80 degrees in VA...no wonder everyone around here is always sick!)

So, I grew up in CT. I have seen more snow than I can to remember. Years 0-12 it was fine, because I'd much rather play in it than do anything else.  Once it started interfering with my social life, it began to piss me off. In CT, we had LOTS of snow/blizzards/power outages (the worst was two weeks...ugh).  Anyhoo, while it was pretty to look at, it began to get on my nerves. I hated being stuck in the house...made even worse if there were no phones!!  (yeah, this was long before cell phones)  I can not even begin to tell you how many times my little VW got stuck!  As I've slowly moved my way down the East coast, I've enjoyed the diminishing amounts of snow and warmer climates...so much so that I actually enjoy white stuff now and again.  Last night, we had a lovely dusting and it took forever to accumulate, but by bedtime, there was enough to play in, so we let the girls stay up and romp around for a while. They had SO MUCH FUN.  That is my newfound joy in snow.  Baby A doesnt remember it from last year, so she was soooo excited.  It was all fun and games until someone got a snowball in the eye.  She rallied quickly though and we didnt make them come in until their little cheeks were good and chapped.   :)

Stuff I found on Pinterest...and MADE

(picture courtesy of http://www.yellowbrickhome.com/2011/03/16/diy-suds/)

So I've been doing a lot of DIY stuff in the interest of saving a few bucks.  One of my biggest money grubbers was laundry detergent because I do like, 500 loads a day.  Seriously though, I do about 15 loads a week. I can burn through a regular bottle pretty quickly. SO, making my own laundry soap was first on my to-do list.  Laundry soap can be done two ways...made into a liquid form, or made into a powder. After reading 800 blogs that described each process, I decided that liquid was just too complex and time consuming for me, and I was all about making some powder.  I was able to find all three ingredients I needed a Wal-mart....super easy. 

So, the recipe varies slightly from blog to blog, but this is what I used.

2 cups Borax

2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda...we are not cooking!)

1 entire bar of Fels Naptha washing soap

Two instructions: grate bar of soap with cheese grater, mix all the ingredients. BAM! You're done.  I put mine in a cute glass container and stuck it in the laundry room. I use one-two TBSP per load of wash and so far so good!! The only catch is I hate the way it smells...smells like old people soap.  I do still use store-bought fabric softener to mask it and it works just fine.

So, total cost: $11...and I still have half a box of Borax and Washing Soda to go!  Next time I need soap, I only have to buy the bar of soap. AWESOME savings. Yay me! (you know, and all those other peeps out there who figure this out long before me).  :)   (Oh, and we have an HE washer, and it has not caused ANY problems)

Happy Birthday Baby A!!!!!

Actually, I missed this post by two days, but my baby girl is now three. Breaks my heart...she has grown SO fast. Thankfully she still lets me hold her and cuddle her. She is a feisty little thing, smart as a whip, and totally capable of keeping up with her big sisters.  This baby of mine is FUNNY! She has a great sense of humor and is always surprising me.  She loves to dress up like a princess...EVERY day.  She is my best eater, and my worst sleeper.  I love her to bits!! Happy birthday pumpkin!!!

Baby A's first day

Baby A's first birthday...she looks a little shell shocked, but she was so funny once she figure out what to do with the cake!

Baby A's 2nd birthday (with presumably the worst haircut EVER! She twirls her hair in her sleep and she had pulled out most of one side, so I had it cut all off...ugh)

Baby A is THREE!!!

Wow...I'm in complete shock.

So, I was getting sort of panicky as my anatomy ultrasound was coming up (its next Friday BTW).  I felt like I NEEDED to know what was growing in my belly (I mean, the baby part is a given, obviously its not a puppy) but boy or girl.  I felt like I needed to know BEFORE the scan so I could sort of deal with the emotions of having another girl before seeing the disappointed look on DH's face next Friday. 
I'll be honest...I WANT a boy. I'd love a girl as I love all my girls now, but I really wanted the experience of raising a boy too, and I knew this was my last shot because someone is getting something tied at the end of all this. 
So in a totally hastey move, I booked a random appointment at a 3d ultrasound place yesterday during my lunch hour.  Worth. Every. Penny.  And I found out what we're having!!!!!! Wanna know???
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Its a BOY!!!!!

I about lost my freaking mind. I mean really, I almost lost it. I didn't believe the tech at all and then I saw my little boy in all his glory...very well endowed I might add.  I just can't wrap my head around a boy...after three girls. Its amazing!! 
So, I was going to keep it a secret from the hubs until next week, but he was having a bad day and NEEDED some good news.  The excitement in his voice made my day...it was up there with one of the best moments in my life. 
I have the 3d pictures, but they are super sucky...which stinks because I could see him perfectly clearly on the screen.  He is very very very cute.  For a 3d ultrasound at 18 weeks, he looked a lot less like the alien babies I saw on my google search, and a lot more like a term baby.  (Obviously he's not ready to come out, he's still just the size of a cup, but he had nice puffy cheeks!) 

So anyhow, thats the big news.  I bought my first little boy outfits at Target so I can give them to the girls to tell them.  They are so small...and nothing is pink!!  :)