Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Assessment

Three hours.


Three hours of answering questions about the twins.

On one hand they were easy .... but on the other hand, how do you paint a realistic picture answering that kind of question?  They weren't exactly open-ended. I'm one of those that wants to give the whole depth of the issue so we can get exactly what is needed but agonize about not overstating it.

He actually asked how long we plan to keep Missy and gave the possible answers as 3 months, 6 months, 2 years???  I drew a blank. He rephrased his question and apologized for having to ask it.

I simply said, "She's ours."

Later he told me the questionnaire was originally for people on the verge of entering a nursing home and it made a lot more sense.

And then there's the inquiries that go like this:

"Just how stressed are you?"

How do you even measure that?

Today? I'm great today. I haven't cried since Thursday, but it would be safe to say before school started in the fall I was crying every day.  These days I just have migraines so bad all my usual remedies fail me...  but I feel like I've learned to handle  stress in crisis moments.

He got a shorter answer. "I'm fine right now, but before school started I wasn't."

It's looking like Missy might be eligible for 30 hours in-home respite per month. James will be due some also, but I don't know if I will use it. Also, they will be exploring some behavioral management instruction.

Went to town twice for different kids. Had the babies most of the day. Decided I don't like the color I painted the rest of the walls in the kitchen and entry yesterday. Looked at new colors, but decided to bring the paint chips home to anguish over once again.  *** I'm so bad at this. *** I will say I am smitten with the orange. Now if I can just get the beige right. The last one came out all pinky. Like I say, I'm pretty sure those guys at Home Depot don't know how to stir paint. ha!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What does in-home respite mean? A.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and some pictures of the new light fixtures would be nice! Congratulations to Bri on her photography - excellent! A.

Emily said...

Good! I'm glad you'll be getting some relief.

Julie said...

If I could make a suggestion... I know it's non of my business but I think you should take advantage of James' respite, especially if you can get it at the same time as Missy's. First, they might just look at it as someone coming over to play with and invest in them as a mentor of sorts. I wonder if James will feel left out if Missy gets it and he doesn't at all. Second, it could be a great opportunity for you to get some time away from the kiddos to get a breath and recharge, or to have a date with your hubby, or spend quality time with your oldest girls. Please take advantage of it while you can.

dannette said...

I think he might have been asking how you are doing as there is such a thing as crisis funding (at least in our state). The waiting list here for respite etc... is typically 7-10 yrs, but if a child was in foster care then it bumps them to the top of the list and that includes if they were adopted. Another loophole was since our daughter is technically not related they have allowed us to use her for the personal assistant hrs which is really about the only way I would consider having someone help. It makes it a great paying position for our daughter and frees me up to do supper etc... without so much craziness. Our two have developmental delays that are pretty severe. Hope you get some help as it does make things more doable.