It worked...at least one thing did!

So the motivation that I was hoping that my husband would get from receiving the electrical items for Christmas for our basement worked! On Saturday he worked on it for most of the day with his father and brother. They were able to frame up about 3/4 of the family room (which is the only half of our basement). I'm just hoping that Mike will keep the motivation going until it is finished!!! I took pictures of the process and planned on posting them, but last night I realized that we didn't put our camera software on the new version of windows that we just put on. So, maybe tomorrow I will get around to doing it and then be able to post the pictures.

As for my other task that I was going to conquer on Saturday of making bread...well...all I have to say is DUMB DUMB bread!!! Since I got up early because of all the pounding in the basement, I started making the bread early. It looked, tasted, and felt how bread dough should. But the dumb thing just wouldn't rise!!! I mean, not even one little bit after trying all day...I'm serious...I tried for 8 hours to get it to rise! I even tried the "trick" that my mother had told me of putting a bowl of water in the oven and heating the oven to 200 and then turning it off when it got to that temperature and then putting the bowl with the dough in the oven (keeping the bowl of water inside as well). Now I know that it was nice and warm inside the oven because I felt it and occasionally I reheated it back up to 200. But nothing! Part of me wonders if I doomed to be a bread buyer for life. See...it's times and experiences like this that makes me not want to cook! My husband thinks that it is the yeast that I buy and that I need to get the expensive kind. So, since I got his permission to purchase it I will have to go get some and try yet again!

It's over???

Is Christmas really over??? It feels like just yesterday that Thanksgiving ended and thoughts turned towards Christmas. We had a really good Christmas. It was nice to be able to spend time with family. On Christmas Eve we spent a few hours at my parent's house. Well, I had good intentions of taking pictures of our gathering and game playing, but I didn't take any pictures. And that's not all...I LEFT our camera at my parents. So I wasn't even able to take any pictures on Christmas! Oh, and I wished that I had my camera last night when we were opening up gifts at Mike's family. My little nephew (who will be one in a month) was having a rough day and was standing next to a box that came to his armpits. He all of the sudden then folded his arms and put his head down on the box and started crying. The poor little guy! We found out a little while later that his first tooth broke through. But it was such a Kodak moment and I didn't even have my camera.

This may sound silly, but the gifts that were the best were the electrical outlets and wiring that we got so we could start working on finishing our basement. For the last year I've heard my husband say that he was going to start at least doing the family room downstairs while it was winter. It has yet to formulate into actual action. But I'm hoping that it is the right amount of motivation for my hubby. We've also planned out that the money we received from various family members is also going towards building supplies for the downstairs.

Another gift I just LOVED is the KitchenAid that my parents gave us. I've always wanted one, but they've been too expensive to ask for. My parents also gave me a mixing bowl set with measuring cups and spoons. They are great gifts...but are my parents trying to tell me something??? I mean, my mother has always known that I don't like cooking. I have fond memories of my mother trying to persuade me to cook dinner for our family so I could have the practice and know how to cook for when I get married. So I guess cooking macaroni and cheese and Top Ramen doesn't count as cooking. I will admit that since being married I've cooked more and more of a variety as well, but that doesn't mean that I like cooking. I love making desserts, but that's a different story. My cooking frustration is that all while I was in college I was able to make bread. But since I've been married I've struggled and can never get my dough to rise. I cannot figure out why, but part of me thinks that it is because of how cold our house is. But then again one year in my basement apartment in college we didn't turn on the heat above the set limit because we didn't want to pay more and my bread still rose. Who knows?! So, it is my goal that this Saturday I'm going to use my new KitchenAid and attempt (yet again) to make bread!

There is worse!

Well, I guess there are things that are worse than packing before your move. That is, getting to the new office, and it's not ready for you. They were still painting and finishing the wiring when the movers got there yesterday. So, instead of moving into my office, I went shopping! I ended up finishing my Christmas shopping, a little birthday shopping for my husband, and some baby gifts for a nephew and a niece not due until April and May. When we got to the office on Wednesday there were guys still working on it. Then on Thursday there were still some guys working in the building, but not as many. And it wasn't even until Friday that we got our office phones up and working. My poor supervisor leaned up against a wall on Wednesday that the painters had just touched up (and didn't leave any sign of warning) and got paint all over her pants and jacket. I think she ended up going to court or a meeting with a shoe size white paint spot. On Wednesday all I felt that I did was arrange and rearrange my office. It is frustrating trying to figure out where I want my desk and my computer desk (if I even want that). I'm kind of picky because I don't like people seeing what I'm doing on my computer (not like I'm doing anything wrong though), and I don't like having my back to the door so people can scare me, and I don't like feeling like I'm boxed in. So, as for now my office is kind of how it was in my previous office and we will see how I like it.

Anywho, Merry Christmas to all and to all...take the day off!!!

Office Moving Day

Okay, can I just say how much I hate packing and moving! It is annoying how you just get everything into boxes and then you have to unpack it all a while later. So, for those that don't know, I am having to change office buildings. My entire team has to move into a new building with the DCFS Transition to Adult Living teams. Needless to say, I'm not too excited about the move because it is farther from my home and I have to get on the freeway and the new office is in the "spaghetti bowl" area of the freeway so traffic is going to be horrible! I'm also not excited because my new office doesn't have a window. I've been spoiled for the last 3 years and have had a HUGE window in my office where I can look out and see the weather. It is also very stupid that we have to move during the busiest time of the year. It is frustrating to have Sub-for-Santa gifts being dropped off at the office and try to get them out before the BIG move so we don't have to pack them in boxes or personally move them.

But trying to look at the positive of moving, I am hoping that the new building will have better heating so my fingers aren't purple while working and I don't have to plan my outfits according to office temperature instead of outside temperature. Another positive, I guess, is that we just have to put our stuff in boxes and label it with our new office number and the movers will do the rest.

So they told us that since the movers will be moving all of our stuff tomorrow that it would be a good day for us to go out and do home visits with our kids. Um...hello!...our kids are still in school this week and won't be home. So, I'm planning on using that time to finish up my Christmas shopping and get gifts wrapped. Then I will go into my new office tomorrow afternoon and try to sort everything out and get at least my computer up and running. Anywho, I guess I should get back to finishing packing...joy of all joys!

Gingerbread house

So, last Friday I sat at home (alone as usual since my husband has had school on those nights this semester) and I baked our gingerbread house. Then on Saturday (while my husband was gone yet again...this time helping his brother with granite) I made the hard tack candy and poured it in for the windows. The last night my husband and I sat down and decorated the gingerbread house. Now, it doesn't look like the fancy kinds that are in holiday windows or even at the Festival of Trees and it looks more like little kids decorated it. But for me all that matters is that this tradition continue. I've grown up with this tradition as long as I can remember. And I am hoping to be able to carry on this tradition when I have kids.

O Christmas Tree

This weekend was the beginning of the Christmas season in our home. To start it off we got 8 inches of snow Saturday. Then that afternoon we went and got a Christmas tree for $20 at Smiths Marketplace. It spent the night in the garage to let the snow and ice melt off of it. My husband brought in the tree last night and we decorated it. There is nothing like a fresh tree! I don't know if I could ever do the fake tree thing because I don't think that they have as good of shape or smell as the REAL thing. I honestly don't know what it is about a lit up Christmas tree, but I could sit and look at it for hours. I have fun memories as a child of being able to sleep under the Christmas tree one night during the holidays and having the lights be the last thing I see as I go to sleep. Some day hopefully I will be able to start creating that memory for my own children. But as for the rest of the Christmas decorations, it will come out in our house in between my husband working, going to school, studying for finals, and taking finals.

Snow!

It actually started snowing last night that has stuck to the ground. I have to admit that I LOVE the snow! There is something about it that seems to "quiet" the world around and makes you just want to have a cup of hot chocolate (which I had this morning). It also help make it feel that Christmas is really coming up. I have to admit that I've been secretly been listening to Christmas music off and on since shortly after Halloween. My husband says that Thanksgiving gets overlooked because all the stores bring out Christmas even before Halloween is over. It is very true!

Even though the snow storm last night and this morning didn't "produce" much, it still makes me excited and want more. I love going sledding, building a snowman, and I am silly because I love to shovel snow from the sidewalk and driveway. Even with all this love of snow, I will admit that there are times that I don't appreciate it as much when I'm driving. There are some crazy people who drive way to insanely fast for the road conditions. I am a careful driver and give myself lots of room and go under the speed limit. I barely missed being in an accident this morning coming back from court. The truck in front of me started sliding trying to stop at a stoplight and I did the same thing too. I ended up changing lanes and sliding through a VERY red stoplight. There was this dumb car trying to turn left because it needed to get out of the intersection because of it turning red. I guess it didn't see me gracefully sliding through the intersection and tried turning into me. I frantically honked and honked and they stopped about a foot away from hitting me. Needless to say that sure got my heart going! So for all you crazy drivers out there...go slower!!!

The dreaded Monday

Today is the dreaded Monday of having to return to work after a nice long break from work. I will admit though that this morning wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. I thought that I would have tons of messages on my phone. But I only had one message on my office phone and no messages on my work cell. I do hate having to turn on my phone early every morning since I have a kid on the run for the past week and a half and I never know when he will be picked up and when I will have to attend a detention hearing. (Stupid delinquents!)

Even though my morning hasn't been as bad as I thought that it would be, I still don't want to be at work and am having a hard time motivating myself to get some work done. I have all but 2 home visits left to do this month and I don't have much on my work schedule this week. So, unfortunately I know that it will be a paperwork week (even though it does need to be caught up). Happy Monday!

Heading into the 2nd Thanksgiving

Well, in a little bit Mike and I will be going to our second Thanksgiving dinner. It was fun being with my family on Thanksgiving day and stuffing our faces with them. So now we are on to the stuffing the faces with the Readings. I love Thanksgiving dinners, but more importantly the pies. I don't think that I could ever get enough of pumpkin pies until I see what it does to my thighs. And of course it just isn't complete unless you have ice cream with the pies. Sadly, we didn't have ice cream with my family, so we will have to see with the Readings.

Another reason I love Thanksgiving is because of all the time off from work. It's nice to have a break from work, but then it makes the following Monday even harder to return. (I think that this week at work is going to be a LONG one!)

On the day after Thanksgiving (also known as Black Friday), I was busy sleeping in and catching up on some needed rest while everyone else went frantically shopping at insane times in the morning. I will admit that I did get up early last year to get one of the good deals for a Christmas gift for my honey (which he figured out what I was going for before Christmas even came). But I will NEVER get up early, fight the crowds, and go shopping so early in the morning!!! It seriously caused me so much anxiety and stress that I would rather pay a little bit more and go at a different time. So, you will be seeing me out and about shopping these next few weeks since I didn't get it all done on one day like so many other crazy people!

What do you do?

I just found out yesterday that one of my coworkers is quitting and changing agencies. She has worked for DCFS for 11 years. Part of me is sad to see her go because she is such a good caseworker and knows a lot and is always happy and willing to help. But then part of me wishes the best for her because DCFS has been dumb for the past few years in turning her down when she applies for a supervisor position. She is more than qualified to be a supervisor (in my opinion) than some of the people they hire who have only worked for DCFS for a year or two. This coworker and her sense of humor will be greatly missed.

When people ask me "What do you do?" it is always an interesting conversation after that. My coworker (who is quitting) tells people that she's a 'butcher' when she is asked. Seriously, she says, "I'm a butcher." and the conversation basically ends at that. The truth is that when I do tell people what I do, it ALWAYS changes the mood of the conversation and people get a serious look on their face. What do I really do? Well, I'm a caseworker for the State (of Utah) for the Division of Child and Family Services. I work with kids in foster care and am on a specialty team that has kids with developmental delays, mental or medical issues, or are just plain tough (think kids that have been in and out of a few 'failed' adoptive homes, or learned very early on to steal, lie, and run away). That's when the stories start and people start talking about how they know someone they know that they are concerned about and start asking questions or ask about the parents I deal with who abuse their kids (in reality most of my parents are good parents and that it is more of the kids being delinquent). My favorite phrases to tell people is that "They hatch them and we (DCFS) snatch them" because people think that kids are in DCFS custody because they were abused and don't understand the full gamut of reasons kids are in custody.

Aside from all of that... what do I actually DO? Well, I have 15 kids on my caseload. All 15 have to be visited in the home at least once a month and are in placements that range from Bountiful to St. George. I attend most school meetings, some doctor appointments, and court hearings. Every case is in front of a judge as little as twice a year or as often as once a week (yeah for juvenile delinquents), most of them go once every 3 months. I complete quarterly court reports, twice yearly service plans, Child and Family Assessments, updated every three months, and I have to log EVERYTHING! Emails, phone calls, incident reports, medical paperwork. "If you didn't log it, it didn't happen" is the motto of DCFS. That's the stuff that I can plan for. The rest of my hours and days are full of things that I didn't plan for. Like when kids don't have a placement, they run and I have to do a pick-up order (yes, that's a warrant for arrest), or search through binder after binder of their case file looking for a medical report from 6 years ago. Every once in a while, when I don't owe anyone a phone call, all of my kids have a home at night, and I'm not overdue on 5 or more service plans... I think that I'm a pretty good caseworker.

It wasn't anything that I dreamed about as a kid (I want to grow up and be the legal guardian for a dozen or more kids who don't have a family to live with) but there are some perks (other than monetary perks - I mean I work for the state and don't get paid enough for what I have to deal with). But I work on an AWESOME team! We don't get a lot of support from anyone else in the division, department, or state offices on up, but we have a GREAT supportive supervisor and team members. I know its the ONLY reason that I'm still here at times. There are also some of my kids that have worked their way into my heart and I truly care for them. And also, every once in a while, you get to hear some much appreciated praise from foster parents, attorneys, teachers and medical professionals. That doesn't happen too often and are few and far in between. It is only after a productive and good day that I feel that it just might be worth returning to work for another day.

Getting with the times

Well, I guess I'm just a little slow in joining the trend of blogging. Now don't get me wrong, I love to read some of my friends' blogs and see what's going on in their lives, but I guess I didn't think that anything happened to our family that was important enough to start blogging. I think that the biggest motivator to start my own blog was when I realized today that my own mother has been blogging for a while. I guess this is the modern version of a journal. I've been pretty good keeping a journal off and on throughout my life up until I got married. So I've slacked for the last 3 years in journaling. But that does not mean that I have not had any adventures within the married life (it's quite the contrary infact!). So, here goes it to blogging!