God worked fast for us!

I spoke with the girls' social worker today and she mentioned that the little boy we'd interviewed with was just starting pre-placement visits.  WOW!  Our daughters have been home over a month and HE'S NOT HOME!  I hate the waiting, it would have been VERY hard for me to wait this long. . . I'm so glad God just slam dunked this one on us!

Spidey is doing amazingly well.  He's gone from failing grades to A's over the last two weeks.  I think it clicked. . . suddenly he thinks doing well is important!  He even used some of the test taking strategies I gave him.  He's also pretty much being more mature in general.  It's wonderful and we're praying it lasts!  Don't get me wrong, he was a pile of giggles when Bubbles (blow6) peed on the floor by her bed, with a great big grin and way too much excitement, but he's ASKING to read, he's STUDYING without prompting and he's just doing what he SHOULD most of the time.

Aquaman is vacillating between good behavior and out-of-control-I-need-attention behavior.  Tonight was hard for him.  Overall he's doing well, and seems to be coming into his own.  He's been growling at people.  I was telling him to stop until he said, "but MO-OOO-OOOM, I'm mad and I'm growling so I don't hit anyone."  Growl away, little one, growl away!

Blow5 is still superhero nameless.  It'll click one day, but for now she's blow5.  She's getting with the program and responding very well to us.  She's a smart girl and I know she needs much more stimulation than I'm able to give her yet, but I'm seeing glimpses of what will be.  She tries awfully hard to be a good girl!

Bubbles is just a delight.  She was grumpified this morning, but snapped out of it quickly.  Our favorite time with her is when she's just gotten out of the bath and her hair is dry.  Her long blonde hair flies behind her as she flees in an attempt to avoid clothing.  It's HYSTERICAL.  She's talking more, and she's downright funny. Here's a conversation we had this weekend when Bubbles and I were alone:
"Mommy, POOP."
"poop?  Did you poop?"
"yeah."
"OK, let's clean up, no stinky girls."
I changed her diaper.  No poop.
"Honey, you didn't poop!  Oh well, let's eat dinner."
"Mommy, POOP!"
"Do you need to poop?"
"NO.  POOP diaper."
"I don't smell poop, did you poop your diaper?"
"NO.  Sissy did it.  Sissy poop diaper, Mommy."
"Honey, blow5 isn't here, she did not poop your diaper."
"yeaa-aaah, SHE POOP DIAPER."
She laughed hysterically, then blamed each brother for the non-existent poop.

Silly girl.

it's been a month!

Hard to believe the girls have been home a month.  It's been crazy, hectic, insanely busy trying to sort out how to parent four superheroes.  Part of the craziness is the normal stuff, and part is the emotional ups and downs of kids who have traumatic pasts.  Blow5 is 4, but think she's 24.  Bubbles (blow6, from the power puff girls), is quite 2 and quite girlie.  Spidey grins with pride at his big brother ness, but he also gets quite irritated at the rambunctiousness of 2 and 4 year olds.  Aquaman vacillates between anger at sharing and having to tow the line more and joy in big brother hood.

If I can figure out VERY specific routines and train all four of the kidlets into those routines, we'll be just fine.  Well, if that happens and if two of our kiddos start sleeping through the night. . .