What an interesting week...

On Thursday Mr. Brawn "ran away". He was found by a stranger walking on the rock by the church. He says that he was looking for red and black rocks. I can completely see that he would be absorbed in an activity that he would walk into and down the road.
Later that same evening he purposely disappeared. He hid in the playground area. When we found him I told him I'd looked for him and he said, "I answered you like this (very softly) 'I'm right here, I'm coming.'"
Needless to say, there will be more supervision for him.
On Saturday we added a puppy to our household. Mr Brawn is helpful with him, but not exceptionally interested in the pup. Mr Monkey is downright mean. He's dropped him, thrown him, and chased him. I also imagine that this is age appropriate for a 2 year old.
Sunday was Easter. The boys were happy to go to church, they have become quite comfortable there. We had a fundraiser breakfast for the missions team. When we walked into the Fellowship Hall Mr Monkey saw his Sunday School Teacher. He got my attention and using gestures to point her out exclaimed "Mommy, teacher, Mommy teacher!"
We had an excellent breakfast and then told the kids it was time to go to the nursery. Mr Monkey joyfully sang out "JESUS!" and then ran ahead of us the whole way there.
It warms my heart to see such growth. I've also noticed that Mr Brawn is getting very vocal with his prayers. He talks about everything that is important in his life at that very moment. This evening as he prayed for dinner he mentioned allowing him to go to the Library for his visit. [Tomorrow is another scheduled parent visit] Tonight he told Jesus about making good choices keeping him from getting time outs.
What wonderful growth! This child was dropping the F*bomb every third word when he came to us.

Sunday evening Hubby and I had quite a discussion. I have noticed that he has distanced himself from family activities. I confronted him about it and, in a lot more words, he told me that he resents the boys because they use up time and resources that he could be spending on our biological daughter. He feels that we bought this house and took the pay cuts BECAUSE of them. He resents that there are behavior issues. He resents not being able to discipline in a way that is proven with our biological child. He is sad because we only have one biological child.
Personally, I think that God has guided each footstep, though it is hard to remember in the midst of hard times. We are having a hard time getting the house in the condition that we desire it to be in. I'm having a hard time getting things unpacked. But, my health is already improving. I suppose it will only be time that will show us what is in store.

Angry kid?

The boys came home from their parent visit today as usual. I was saying goodbye to their transportation driver and making sure Mr Monkey was out of the way when Ms. Brains came running to me. "Mommy, come and see!"

As I rounded the corner I saw Mr. Brawn spreading sand on top of sand in the courtyard. I asked what was going on. Ms. Brains proceeded to tell me the "He pooped on the yard." I asked if it was true and he ran to the other side of the yard. I bravely edged the sand aside with my flip-flop.... yep, there was fresh doo-doo in the sand.

I asked him what in the world he was thinking. He told me he had to go. I told him that didn't make sense since the front door was standing wide open and he normally just goes in to go by himself. He could not give me an answer, even later this evening.

The only thing I can come up with is that he is angry. He could be angry at a lot of things, me, his parents, the situation, preschool, etc. and since he doesn't have a lot of vocabulary to talk about it, he shows it.

FCRB

We had our first experience with a Foster Care Review Board this week. It was interesting. Everyone that has something to do with the case sits around a table with a panel of people representing the judge. This panel is considered "the judge's eyes and ears". Unfortunately, the CPS case manager was not able to attend because of overbooking; and the Bio Mom was also not in attendance. Bio Mom told me that she did not know of the meeting. Things discussed were the kids' progress, and if parents were following the case plan. No one was there to talk about the parent's case plan. We talked about the health issues that we faced with Mr. Monkey when he first came into our home and his progress since the allergy testing. We also talked about the developmental delays that Mr. Brawn had when he came into care and his substantial progress. Mr. Brawn loves to show off his knowledge. He is also working hard to be completely potty trained. He is so proud to wear Big Boy Underwear! Of course, Mr. Monkey wants in on the action, so he has been trying, and even went poo-poo in the potty the other night! Tomorrow Mr. Brawn will undergo the skin-prick test. We decided that since Mr. Monkey has so many environmental allergy triggers we should see what how his brother tests. We've also got Mr. Brawn signed up for Head Start beginning in the fall. Currently he is attending a preschool program at a local daycare and is excelling. Mr. Monkey was moved up into the 2 Year Old class this week, since he is now a Big 2. His teacher told me yesterday that she is impressed because he is able to count to 10 and is so articulate. It's a funny thing about kids, give them some stability, and they will sure grow!

Tomorrow is the Foster Care Review Board

Well, The Monkey has been tested. On a scale of 1-4, 4 being the worst, he is #1 allergic to about 15 environmental things, including mold, grass, trees, and nearly all animals. Because of this he has been prescribed Singulair and that seems to be keeping him fairly healthy. We've kept him mostly lactose free, but with the decrease in mucus from allergens, he has not been as sick. Mr. Brawn was found to be "completely average" by the school AND by the Autism specialist in Phoenix. The Autism specialist told me, "this child is not autistic, this child is the result of major neglect." Tomorrow we go to the Foster Care Review Board. It is a chance to speak to a panel who act as the eyes and ears of the judge. I am nervous, but also excited to see how all of this works.