Back to Square One

As a follow-up to my ranty post the other day about Miss M, we met with her therapist-- who is a friggin saint (and very wise)-- who not only validated our frustration and concerns, but had some good suggestions for managing behaviors.

1.Stay strong! Don't take no crap off of no 5 year old! If she pitches another fit in the car (complete with chair kicking like she did on Tuesday of this week), pulls that sucker over!
2. Teach kindness-- i.e. awareness of how other people are feeling, how her actions affect others. Taking suggestions on this point!
3. Be more affectionate-- she's still dealing with a lot of anxiety over the pending reunification and needs to be reassured that she's going to be ok. Oy. That can be a hard one for me, but if more hugs and high fives and positive affirmations of correct behavior will get us farther along the behavior path than my default setting of 'no!', then I'm all for it.

Thoughts and comments? I welcome them!
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Also, have you checked out my Easter post? We had a nice time! We do manage to have fun with these kiddos, between the tantrums. :)

And stay tuned for  my thinky post about taking family portraits last weekend and how that's really the first step of my grieving process.

The Not-so-secret truth

{note: this post brought to you by Day 4 of Mega Tantrums and Extreme Stubbornness)

The truth is...if DHS wouldn't also take Baby A, I'd call them to come get Miss M today.

They truth is... I have deep deep doubts about whether we're getting through to her-- she's not learning from her mistakes and no amount of love, logic or discipline can break through her anger.

The truth is...I worry, almost constantly, about how her Papi will handle her tantrums when the family is reunited, but I also can't wait for that day to come.

The truth is...I've never been more frustrated or felt so unbelievably helpless in my life.

Easter 2012 vs 2013

2012- first Easter with foster kiddos! I remember being so excited about doing Easter baskets for Da Boys; it was their first or second week with us and they were still on pretty good behavior.

I bought Easter baskets for everyone (including Greg) and my sister and brand-new boyfriend (now her fiancee) came down for a visit and laid out an Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

Their grandmother had sent them little pants & vest combos and they were excited to wear them.

I even wrangled a picture with both of them; it was my phone background for months.

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2013- 2nd Easter with foster kids. These kiddos we've had for much longer, they sort of feel like (and could pass for) our own kids.

I went bananas buying co-ordinating outfits (so cute!!) and we even made a special effort to join G's parents at their church so they could show off their "grandkids."

Check out that color coordination!

G's grandparents were there too and Grandpa Ed and Baby A, who are special buds, enjoyed hanging out together.

How cute are they?!

It was a special time. Best holiday we've had to date.