My Sharona oops, I mean My Subpoena

I just received a subpoena. It’s reminiscent of my days as an ER nurse. It says “THE STATE OF UTAH SENDS GREETINGS TO:
Carol Lindsay

Followed by: YOU ARE COMMANDED to appear……For failure to attend you will be deemed guilty of contempt of court.

Wow, it starts off so nice but then takes a turn for the nasty. Kind of like my relationship with Jenny and Ryan. Oh wait, that didn't start out nice it started as a crisis and has never changed! I tried to call the AG’s office but they are out on Fridays. I am curious as to if this testimony is just in regards to Brie being hit or if it is more inclusive. I know it involves Brie being hit because after they served me they were headed to my family doctor to serve him and the only time he has ever seen Brie was when I took her in the day after Kylie said he had hit her. The ironic thing is I was initially making an appointment for Brie’s chronic stomach pain and it became something very different. I'm sure my family doctor is just so grateful that I dragged him into this.

Testifying makes me nervous because Jenny and Ryan will be in the court room and it is not going to be comfortable. Or maybe it will be just Ryan as I'm not sure this has anything to do with Jenny. They have different charges and different attorneys in regards to the girls custody. I have really tried to maintain a very civil relationship with them but it’s deteriorating. I think their relationship with everyone they know is in peril. I am pretty certain when the fraud charges go to court I will be getting served and asked to testify about that as well.


There are no words to describe how sick I am of Jenny and Ryan and their continuous state of crisis and I despise that I am being dragged into it.

Going, Going, Gone

There has been a lot of activity at the McDonald's this week.

Going

Going

Gone

Sean said "McDonald's is broken!"

A walk around the neighborhood

Our neighborhood has been very active the past few months. They are building a new McDonald’s right outside Sean’s bedroom window. Our house shakes with all the construction. Two Saturday’s ago they closed the old McDonalds in preparation for finishing the new one they are building right next to it.
We decided to take a little walk around the neighborhood and get a close up of all the activity.

Sean and I found these cones outside of McDonald’s. Sean wanted us to put them on our heads. I thought we were wearing hats until he told me he was Buzz. Remember the scene from Toy Story 2 where the toys run across the street under the cones? I guess if he was Buzz I was pig! I imagine the people driving down the street thought we were crazy but it was fun.

This is the construction site next to McDonald’s where they are building the In and Out Burger.

We walked up to the new theater they are building on the other side of the block. We are excited about this one

 

 .

$50,000 (or more)

$50,000 (or more), that’s how much the state is saying they were defrauded by Jenny and Ryan. No, I didn’t add a zero. A different state investigator called today asking more questions. I asked him what happened to the investigator I talked to yesterday and he said they were both working the case. He was trying to physically find Jenny. He said he had left her a message asking her for an address and she had returned his call and left an address but when he went there it didn’t exist. I asked him what the address was and it was something totally bogus, no where near anywhere she’s ever lived. They talked at length with Tony, Jen’s brother. Apparently she has been getting checks between $895 and $1200 a month for daycare made out to Tony since 2006! Tony didn’t know he was supposedly babysitting and never saw a dime! He says he’s done with her. Sabrina on the other hand keeps vacillating between feeling sorry for Jenny and wanting to see her punished for fraud. I have similar feelings as Sabrina. I mostly just want the kids to be able to move on with their lives and not have history repeat itself. Sabrina keeps reliving Jenny being locked in a closet.



I picked Jenny up after Sean’s swim lessons and we went to see Toy Story 3. Cute, but a little scary for a two-year-old. Sean was on the edge of his seat loving it until the toys started heading for the inferno. At that point he said “this is scary I want to go home.” We walked out to the side of the theater and stood there long enough for him to see the toys saved but he was done and we left. While we were in the movie Jenny did a lot of texting. In the car she talked a lot about the people she met in jail. She said there was a really fat woman who hid crack in her belly button. She also read her first book in years while she was there. The first one from the Twighlight series. I couldn’t help but think its good she has fond stories of jail because it looks like the odds are pretty good she’s headed back there.



The saddest thing about the amount of money the state gave them is that they don’t have a cent to show for it. During the time I’ve known them they didn’t have socks, underwear or sheets much less a car with license plates. I guess they did have cell phones, cable, internet, cigarettes and beer! I guess it’s all about priorities.

The drama of my baby mama

It has been a stressful week of dealing with Jenny. She got it in her head that we should “let” her take Sean unattended for long periods of times because that is how the original court order reads, “visits will be as agreed on by both parties and may include overnight.” I tried to play nice and stall her hoping she would let it go. But Jenny is like a dog with a bone when she sets her mind to something or when she’s looking for something to control. I had a semi nice conversation with her and explained that I understand she feels powerless and her life is out of control but….. That got me no where. She started sending text message that I perceived as nasty. “I want Sean! He is my son and you have to give him to me…..” This was causing me huge anxiety. Don kept saying chill, she can’t take him. Catherine and Kyle kept saying chill. If she wants him let her call the police and try to take him and then we will file a court order. I have tried so hard to remain calm with Jenny and not lose it and go off on her! I just don’t want the conflict.

It came to a head yesterday. She said she had talked to “her attorney” (state appointed to represent her in the states case against her in regards to the girls) and “her attorney” said the state didn’t have anything to do with Sean. I told her “my attorney” (family appointed) said not to let her have him attended. This went back and forth via phone tag and text messages. My anxiety was rising. I had told her I would take her and Sean to see Toy Story today and she was excited about that but it didn’t distract her she kept asking and asking when I was going to let her take Sean. Finally last night at ten I had enough. I spent the 30 minute drive home from work going over and over in my head what I was gong to say to her. I called her and woke her up. I told her I didn’t want a screaming match at the Gateway today and wanted to get this conflict out of the way before we were with Sean. She said ok. I told her (again) that the only reason Sean wasn’t in foster care was because we had custody and there was no logic to leaving a child in our custody with people who had their children removed by the state and bottom line. WE AREN’T GOING TO ALLOW THAT. I was going to tell her that she could agree or disagree and if she disagreed I would have a court order filed ASAP and a judge would decide but before I could get to that or even raise my voice she backed down and started to cry. (I was relieved. I really didn’t want to fight.) She said she lost the girls and she felt like since Sean wasn’t in state custody she could still control him and wanted to “cling” to him etc. I told her while I can sympathize with her emotions she still can’t have him unattended. She said she understood.


Hopefully, that’s the end of that silliness because it is really getting on my nerves! I’m worrying if she is going to break into my house at night and kidnap Sean. That would of course take transportation. I’ve pictured the “Amber Alert.” Missing two year old probably on public transportation. Then again Elizabeth Smart was on public transportation so it’s still a scary thought. Then there are those two four year olds in the valley that have been murdered by their parents recently. Sean is a pretty demanding, indulged two year old and I can easily see him pitching continuous fits if he was with Jenny or someone else and them losing it and hurting him. I just can’t even deal with thinking about that. In the end I listened to her cry for 30 minutes about how out of control her life is. Yes her life sucks but I have tried to help her take control of her life to no avail and now there is nothing I can or will do to help her fix it. My interest was always in keeping her kids safe. Initially, my goal was to help her keep her kids safe but I failed with that plan. However, I did succeed in that the kids are safe. I do have a certain amount of sadness for her but then I have increasing frustration. She still lies to about everything. I also couldn’t help but think another shoe is about to drop on her head and she doesn’t even know it and it’s a dang big shoe! I got a call from the WFS welfare fraud investigator. He had investigated her a year and a half ago. He said he sat outside her house trying to determine if Ryan lived there and she was really nasty and lied to him. I don’t know the details but in the end they settled a fraud case and Jenny and Ryan were supposed to pay back the money they stole. They never did. They are now launching a new fraud case and it looks like a lot of fraud. They have been claiming Sean for food stamps and day care all the time we’ve had custody. They say that they are not married and deny that they have ever lived together. If the fraud is over $5000 they will face criminal charges. It has to be over that because they have been getting $895 a month for the last year for child care when the kids haven’t been in child care. Because it is a second offense it could have more severe consequences. Not that I have been impressed with the states consequences. They committed fraud before and the state rewarded them by giving them more money. This month even after Sabrina called the state and said she had the kids they sent the food stamps and daycare money to Jenny and Ryan. It’s insanity. The investigator said he will not stop until justice is served. We will see. The rain of bad karma for all the crap that they have pulled over the past five years is falling on their heads and more storm clouds are brewing. I just want Sean and the girls to be safe and happy.

Where kids in foster care end up

I found this 2007 data for foster children in Utah on the web. I thought it was interesting. I am curious as to the 41% who were united. Are they kids who are taken away for a few days and given back? Do those kids fall intor a different category. There was also a lot of data about who gets adopted, what age and by whom. More than half of the kids under six are adopted by the foster families. Once a child reaches the age of nine the chances of being adopted decrease significantly.

A nice relaxing lunch

Not really a relaxing lunch but very entertaining.

Tyson decided to remove his shirt which prompted Jameson to try to remove his shorts which prompted Jackson to eat his Styrofoam cup which prompted Harrison to force feed an onion to Jackson all of which caused Grandma to shoot her death ray glare across the table which wasn’t very effective. Sean was very calm, he just watched all the antics. AJ and I were both laughing because Jackson is such a mini Peter. He looks like him, he smiles like him and he moves his body like him. It is just funny to watch.

Lunch is better without clothes

Nanny Frida earning her keep!

Catherine thinking about how she is going to entertain these boys all summer. They got a new sandbox in the back yard and swim lessons start Monday. Tomorrow is Harrison's birthday and she has a big day planned.

Visit number 2

I continue to be very frustrated. I feel like I am in a game of chess. Sean’s parents are in check (I have Sean, the state has the girls) but I really want check mate and game over. I don’t know how long this game will last. There’s not much I can do so I just have to wait it out.

Jenny has been calling and calling. Usually from a blocked number. She repeatedly tells me she hasn’t talked to Ryan, doesn’t know where he is or anything about him. I know that is not true and it really bugs me that she is lying to me. I found a phone ap that unblocks telephone numbers. If a blocked number calls and I don’t answer within a few seconds it sends back the number unblocked. Gee, want to know whose number she is calling from, sun up to sun down? Give up, okay I will tell you, its Ryan’s! 8 a.m. she is calling from his phone, 8 p.m. she is calling from his phone, and lots of time in between. The no contact order by the courts is laughable. No one cares that she is in violation. She calls from another number too. She said it was her cousin Dale’s girlfriend’s mother. It is in fact her friend Cristin who lives across the street from Ryan. Go figure. It is like she lies to me just to lie.


Back to the visit. I met her at the training table downtown. I told Sean in advance we were going to see her and he said “OK, I see Jenny.” At first he was standoffish but he warmed up. The first thing he asked was “where is Brie?” She had seen the girls the day before. She said they look OK but are both sick. She also said that she hates her attorney because she is lazy and wants her to plead guilty to exposing the girls to domestic violence. She kept saying she can’t believe all this is happening over something “stupid and nothing.” I reminded her, this wasn’t stupid and nothing, and was in fact a big deal. She is just looking at the one incident and I am looking at 2 and half years of ongoing neglect. She said they are telling her she won’t get the kids back that they will go to the foster family or Ryan. RYAN!! Are you kidding me! She said they substantiated the abuse charge in regards to Brie but dropped them. That makes no sense to me at all. Then again, she lies to me so much I don’t know what truth is and what fiction is.


She said she is starting a housekeeping job at a hotel today. I can’t imagine how she got hired in housekeeping. Don’t they do criminal background checks? At one point when she was telling me she hadn’t talked to Ryan I told her she forgot to block one of her calls. She said “oh, I saw him at court and used his phone.” I let that go. She said Ryan isn’t living at the house anymore but she doesn’t know where he is. I don’t believe that either, what with her being with him all day yesterday.

After lunch we went outside on the grass and Sean played dinosaur with me and Jenny. It was actually quite touching and might have been endearing if she didn’t lie to me so much. She asked if she could have Sean for a whole day next week. I said we’d talk about it. I don’t want to argue with her but there is no way when she is under court ordered supervised one hour per week visits with the girls that I am going to let her take Sean anywhere unattended.


One last thing. She said the judge wants a copy of Sean’s custody papers. I told her DCFS already had them but I would fax them to the judge. She gave me her attorney’s card. I asked her why they would want the papers and she said they were asking about Damien, Sean and Ryder. Why? She said they want to know why only two of her five children lived with her. Reasonable question but I still only believe small snippets of what she says.

Late night call

Don, Sean and I went up to the lake Friday night to meet Sabrina (Jenny’s sister) and her husband and daughter. They were spending the weekend there. Heaven knows they deserve a little vacation. We stayed and swam for a while. Sabrina and I talked a lot about Jenny’s childhood in foster care. Sabrina said she hopes Jenny doesn’t remember it. She said when Jenny was little, 3 or 4 they lived with a family that kept her locked in a closet with nothing but a mattress. She said that Jenny was part of three “failed adoptions.” It’s no wonder she’s such a messed up adult, she had a totally messed up childhood. Somehow Sabrina overcame but Jen just doesn’t have the inner strength to get past it.

As soon as we got home from the lake I went to bed. At 11:30 the house phone rang. Don answered and it was a crying Jenny. Don told her I was asleep but she said it was an emergency. Honestly, I have Sean and the girls are in foster care. What kind of emergency does she have that I need to know about? Force of habit, I took the phone call. She was screaming and crying that she’d ruined her life and she wanted to kill herself. She misses her girls and was upset that Sean wouldn’t talk to her. I asked her where she was and she said at Dales. I asked her whose phone she was on and she said Dale’s mother. (the number she called from was Kristen’s) I don’t know why she still lies to me about things that don’t matter.

She said she just wants someone to take care of her and love her. She can’t believe that the state took her kids and she doesn’t know how to get them back. She was talking crazy. I couldn’t decide if she was drunk or just despondent. I think despondent. I could hear Kristin in the background and asked her if she was there. She said yes, so I was glad she wasn’t alone. It was sad listening to her. She’s homeless, she’s lost her kids, the state cut her off welfare, she has four unresolved court cases and may be charged with felony fraud soon. Yep, Jenny your life really sucks! I don’t know how you fix that. I told her to take one day at a time and just start cleaning up the mess, get a job, get a room, go to all your court dates. She just kept saying, “I can’t do it, I don’t know how.” I was looking at her court documents and she has six and seven bench warrants for every charge she’s ever had. She never follows through on her court dates. I don’t think she’s capable of following through on anything in life. I had no words of comfort for her so I just didn’t say anything. Just agreed that her life was in a bad place and it would take a lot of work to fix it. Eventually the phone she was using battery ran out.

I found this path to permanency picture on the states website that explains what happens to kids when they enter the system. They have 12 months (11 now) to earn their kids back. After 12 months the court terminates parental rights and the girls get adopted. (We would then be able to adopt Sean) There have already been three or four hearings. The hearing with Jenny on Monday is where they determine what her reunification plan is. After that there are periodic hearing where the case worker reports to the judge the progress or lack of progress by the parents.

Lunch and Kids Trading Cards

Jenny wanted to see Sean so I told her I would pick her up for lunch on Friday after her hearing. I picked her up outside the Justice Court at 12:30. This was the first time I’d seen her since she’d been out of jail and the first time she’s seen Sean in six weeks. Sean was asleep in the back seat. She got in the front seat starting talking and then looked in the back seat at Sean and said “awww.”
She talked about the people she had met in jail. One of them was one of my former students. I wondered how I came to be a topic of conversation. I guess there’s a lot of time to talk in jail. We went to Aristo’s for lunch. Sean woke up when I got him out of his car seat. I said, “look who’s here” and pointed at Jenny. Sean looked really confused and didn’t say anything. I handed him to her and he just looked daze. She put him down and said, “Do you want to walk.” We went in and sat down. Sean wouldn’t talk to her. I didn’t think that particularly significant, as he is two. He doesn’t necessarily talk to anyone at any given time. All he would say to her is “where’s Brie?” or “where’s Kylie?” He knows that when he sees her she is with his sisters so it was confusing to see her alone. I went to the bathroom at one point and he willingly stayed in the booth with her this surprised me and I thought would make her happy.

I asked her where she was staying and she said with her foster cousin Dale but that he was actually camping for the next week. She said she didn’t have a phone or an address to put on job applications. She’d had a housekeeping interview the day before but didn’t leave any contact information. We talked a lot about the girls and how they did when I took them to meet their new foster family and how they were the month she was in jail. She told me how hard she was going to work to get the girls back. She was in pretty good humor. She has a hearing with her attorney, the judge and DCFS on Monday and a hearing for a simple assault on Tuesday. She was at court Friday for a “gas and go.” (IE, stealing gasoline from a gas station.) That happened a year ago and I had never heard about it. So many things I don’t know about. I asked her how she got caught. She said they pulled her in and had the witness ID her from a picture line up. She said the other pictures were a white girl, a black girl and another Hispanic. “They should have just put a circle around me,” she said. She told me they had scheduled another hearing and she hated that because she could never remember to go.

After lunch I asked her where she wanted me to drop her off. She said the library because Dale was going to pick her up there. (Hmm, didn’t she tell me he was camping for a month? I let that one go). I had found Chuck e Cheese cards from all three of the kids in my purse. They are little plastic cards with pictures of the kids on them. I asked her if she wanted them and she said yes. As soon as Sean saw them he wanted them. She gave him his and he said, “I want Kylie.” She said, “I will give you Kyle’s if you give me yours” and so it went. She really wanted all three of those cards. I can understand, she doesn’t have much of her kids left. She started trying to negotiate with Sean by giving her cards out of her purse and he kept saying no and giving them back. Finally she handed him her state ID. (I have 3 of these she said). Sean took the ID looked at it and said, “I don’t want this it’s HERS.” It was a slap in the face. She gave him his card back and left the car with the girls. It was sad. Trading cards of her kids, I found a lot of symbolism there. Sean left with his own card. He’s not available for trading. As she was walking across the grass Sean looked at her and asked “where’s Ryan?”

The deed is done

I took the kids to the DCFS building this morning and handed them over to their new foster family. It was a hard night. Sabrina called me around 10:30 absolutely beside herself. She was sobbing telling me she had been raped in foster care and that nobody knows what goes on when the doors are closed. She was so despondent there was nothing I could say to her. Yes, bad things happened to her and all her siblings in foster care. I know for a fact that there are good families out there but there are horrible ones too. Jenny had told me the same thing the day before when she begged me not to let them go into foster care. Heather has been totally distraught because this is not the right time for her to take these girls but she desperately wants to. I feel guilty because I am the “obvious” person to keep them but Don and I aren’t up to raising three more kids. We have our hands full with Sean. Needless to say there has been a lot of soul searching on the parts of three families as we turn these little girls over to the foster care system. It has not been a decision that any of us have taken lightly.

A hug and a snuggle before I take them to their new family

We had a great day with the girls yesterday. They went to school with Sean. After school we went to Carl’s Junior and they played with Holland and Ryder. Heather and I just talked about how bad we feel about the situation and how much Heather wants those girls. I was feeling optimistic and thinking that things were going to work out. (I have waves of optimism, followed by despair, followed by anger at Jenny and Ryan) On a funny note: when Heather was getting Ryder out of the car Sean looked at him and said “It’s a baby me!” Pretty cute, it is a baby him. After dinner Don and I took the kids swimming. They came home exhausted and were asleep in minutes. I talked to Don’s sister Dava who has been a foster mom forever about what to tell the girls. She reminded me that the girls have no concept of time and to just let them know they were going to play with someone. Before they went to bed I told them we were going to “meet new friends today.” Kylie said ok but she’d rather go to school with Sean. The girls talked to their mom on the phone yesterday for the first time in a month. Kylie said “mommy where are you? I haven’t seen you in a couple of days.”

A dip in the pool. (Sean pooped in it, Kylie threw up it, and Brie blew her nose in it. I think we covered all the basis. Contact me to find out what kiddie pool not to swim in)

This morning I had all their stuff packed in the car. Kylie picked up a couple of stuffed animals and wanted to know if she could “keep them.” Strange, we’ve had those stuffed toys forever and she’s never asked that. I told her yes, and then Brie picked out a couple of stuffed animals to “keep.” Frida came over last night to watch Sean today so she was here this morning. She fixed Kylie’s hair.



After breakfast I told the girls we were going to meet new friends. Don came with me, thank goodness. Sabrina had said last night she was going to come but called this morning and said she wasn’t. I was relieved because I think it would have been too much for her to have to be there. Sean had a fit when the girls left but the girls were happy to get in the car with me.



I was having all kinds of guilt. I felt like I did when I drove my dad to the nursing home. Here these little girls trust me with their lives and I am potentially putting them in harms way. How can I do that? I cried all the way down town while the girls sang Hakuna matata in the back seat. How’s that for irony? When we got to the DCFS building I got out of the car and the dissociative feeling that has served me so well as a nurse took over. It is what allows me to hand someone their dead baby or do CPR on an 11 year old and stay calm and unemotional. My body is there and all the words come out but I am not really there. It’s a state of being that has served me well over the years.



Don and I walk across the parking lot as soon as we opened the door we saw a couple sitting in the lobby. I knew that it was “them.” I could tell by the way they were smiling at the girls. They had excitement and anticipation in their eyes. “Are you them” I asked and they say yes. There names are Tammi and Bryon. They have 5 kids. Eek you say? Not really, their kids are 17, 14, 12 and 8 year old twins. They are all girls except for one of the twins. The twins were foster babies that they brought home from the hospital and adopted at 8 months. The husband who is an accountant decided a couple of months ago that they should add to the family. The mom who works at home wasn’t so sure about diapers and getting up at night. They decided as a family that they would like a toddler or preschooler. They just finished all the classes and got approved a couple of weeks ago. They said they were so excited last night when they found out about the girls that they just couldn’t wait to meet them. Their teenage girls are ecstatic. Their 12 year old wants to teach them their colors and shapes and how to read. The boy is happy that he won’t be “the baby” anymore. I am happy that the girls will be the babies. Their house is full of pink. They hope to adopt the girls some day.



I just had nightmare visions of a career foster family with 5 kids under 5 who didn’t really want the girls and would be treat them like second class kids. Not this family, they are going to be little princesses, which is good because that is what they are. I had written a letter telling all about Kylie and Brie and printed off about 40 pictures of them over the years, including pictures of their mom and dad. I kept thinking what if I hand this packet to the foster family and they don’t even look at it. If that happens I will know they shouldn’t have the girls. When I gave her the packet the mom said, “oh thank you, that’s great.” She took the pictures out and was asking the girls to tell her who was in them. It was such a relief. They really wanted to know and understand the girls and their family. After about 45 minutes I asked the girls if they wanted to go with their new friends and see their dogs and meet their kids. They were jumping up and down and happy to go. Don pulled the car around and we transferred all the stuff to their car. The girls were already in the car. Kylie had her stuffed toys and Brie was playing with an empty medicine syringe. They were so happy. The only tears were mine and Don’s. The dramatic scene I feared didn’t happen. They did not look back. They were happy and ready to go. Tammi had promised them nail polish!



I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off of my soul.

My letter to the new foster family

About Kylie and Brie:


Kylie’s favorite colors are pink and white. Brie’s are purple and white. They don’t like brown, they think it’s ugly.

They aren’t allergic to anything. (no foods or medicines) They like fruits and vegetables. They will eat chocolate to the point of nausea if allowed. Their favorite “treat” is ice cream sandwiches. They only eat half a banana at a time. They like scrambled eggs. They also like cold cereal. There really isn’t too much they won’t eat.

They are girlie girls. Kylie is very picky about how her hair is done. She will tell you how many pony tails she wants and if she wants it up or down. Brie usually keeps a beret in the front of her hair. She takes it in and out. They can totally dress and undress themselves and they don’t have potty accidents.

I put them to bed between 8 and 8:30. They have always slept in the same room. They like the door open. They are pretty silly at bedtime; they giggle a lot and go “pee” a lot. Usually within 20 minutes and 10 “get back in beds” they go to sleep. I try to get them to take a nap at 2. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t.
At their parent’s house they have a yellow kitty named Pumpkin. You may hear about their cousin Akayla. She is the same age as Kylie. They are close to their Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Jeff and their little girl Empress who is two. They talk a lot about Empress. They have Uncle Tony and Uncle Steven that they may talk about. Uncle Tony has lots of pets at his house. Uncle Steven has baby twin girls. They have a brother Sean who is 2. Sean lives with me “Grandma.” At Grandma’s house they like to play with Sean and in the backyard. Grandma has a fish tank with lots of fish and they like to help feed the fish.

What they do that is naughty! They get into make up, finger nail polish, hair spray. If they think it’s going to make them pretty they want it! They have been known to write on walls but not recently. They have to be watched with crayons because they can’t seem to differentiate between coloring books and books. When they don’t get their way they both pout. I usually totally ignore the pouting and within a few minutes they get over it and return to playing. Kylie will storm up the stairs and say “I need alone time.” (Cracks me up, don’t we all!) Then she will come back down like nothing happened. They also like to throw out the ultimate insult: “You’re not my friend.” When Brie gets stressed her stomach hurts. Brie can talk but if she is feeling stressed she talks in a little munchkin voice and is hard to understand. When she’s really stressed she keeps her fingers in her mouth hangs her head and won’t make eye contact. Brie has also been known to bite when provoked. Usually whoever she bites had it coming! Kylie has no fear of animals and will walk up to strangers dogs!

What they like to do: ride bikes and scooters, jump on the trampoline, swim, play in the bathtub, and change their clothes, read books and color. Of course they like anything princess. They like to listen to kid’s music. Kylie’s favorite song is twinkle twinkle little star. When they are in the car it’s always a contest to see who can spot the most cows and horses on their side of the road. Brie is very good at putting together puzzles.

Hope this helps you get to know the girls. They are terrific little girls. I hope you grow to love them as much as we do!

Carol and Don

She could teach welfare fraud classes

She’s out of jail. How did she get out? My guess is she had Ryan use the state assistance money that was put on her account today. The money that should have gone to Sabrina to support the girls. Yes, not only does the sate support her, the state bails her out. Unfreaking believable! She called me to let me know she was out. I asked her how she got out and she said Dale. (Her foster nephew from days gone by). I told her the kids were going to Christmas Box House and she said no Sabrina has them and I said “no I have them. Sabrina couldn’t afford the daycare. She said there was a daycare check in the mail. Again, the money that should be going to Sabrina. The welfare fraud day care checks she gets when she doesn’t even have the kids in daycare. She fraudulently reports that her brother (who knew nothing about it) is babysitting and cashes the check. Before she even called me she was on the phone working the system. Heck, she was working the system to get her bail money. She said the kids were fine with her. I said that was crap the kids weren’t fine with her she was out getting drunk and getting arrested. She said it only happened once. I told her not to cop an attitude with me and she backed off. She then called Sabrina and sobbed and asked her to keep the girls, promising she would give her the daycare check. Right, like that’s going to happen. When Sabrina asked Ryan for money he told her to give him an invoice and he would give it to the DCFS worker.
Sabrina called Dale to see where he left her and low and behold he dropped her off at the house with Ryan. No contact order. Ha she laughs in the face of a no contact order!

Sabrina called the state and told them the state assistance was supposed to come to her not Jenny. They said they didn’t know and it had already gone out. So once again the state takes it up the rear. Jenny and Ryan will be eating out and going to the movies tonight. Apparently the state already sent the daycare check out too. The case worker told Sabrina they didn’t know that Jenny and Ryan were married, didn’t know that they didn’t have custody of Sean…. I stand in awe of her ability to work the system. I am so mad I could spit. They are two of the most manipulative people I have ever met. Pathological… and they want their girls back so they can continue to work the system. I had arranged with their case worker to take the girls to Christmas Box House tomorrow morning but she just called and asked me to give her until Thursday morning to find a foster family. I told her I would. When I talked to her earlier she said it could be weeks. Funny how when I pushed the envelope there is suddenly a “chance” she can find a family.
I’ve lost faith in the system. I wonder how many days or weeks until the state returns the girls to their parent. Oh wait, I didn't have any faith in the system to lose. What I'm losing is hope!