Quite a year

Updating and re-entering as I've switched to moderated comments to avoid spammers on the comments... not really interested in comments in opportunities to meet Miss Lovey from Sierra Leone, or the latest in viagra treatments...

It has been quite a year for me and the family. Frankly, there has been so much going on, that the ability to blog and talk about issues has escaped me - and honestly, I've missed that.

First off, in an effort to not constantly delve into Gwenn's numerous medical issues, I now have started a CB site for Gwenn. It is allowing me to track her daily progress and issues, and to share with folks who are interested about her progress. If you would like access to the site, just send me an email and I will share the information with you.

Next, imagine the year as a piece of pie. Now take 90% of the pie away - that is the part of our lives ruled by Gwenn's multiple medical issues. The remaining 10% is all of the other things that are going on.

Last years au pair, Kristin, left in early August. The girls were sad to see her go. We had an up and down year together, but I was so proud of her in the end - she grew up considerably, had some personal goals that she reached, and did it all while managing with the girls. They miss her and have already asked when she is coming back.

Our new au pair arrived, CL. We had been very excited about her coming, as she was from China like the girls, and they were so excited to have Chinese food, learn Chinese words, and have someone from China in the house. It wound up being horrible. Basically, she had lied about her experiences - she didn't have experience working with special needs children, hadn't been volunteering in her local social welfare institute (orphanage), and when she said she had been driving for years, didn't even know how to turn the wheel of the car to get the car to respond. The end result of the lies was that she was out of control and verbally abusive to my children, including an incident where she shook Lucy. Issue after issue, and just shy of 3 weeks of being with us, I ended her stay with us. I have been told she was deported. I hope that in fact she was, as she is gone. I hate to think what she could wind up doing to kids if she is not being watched.

So, then we had a few weeks where Grandma came to help out, and we got another new au pair - one transitioning from her family in GA. It's been a bumpy transition, and while I like her a lot, I'm not sure she has the skills that are needed to do the job. While I have tried to coach her, it's not been smooth and I know that I can't go through a full year like this. We talk almost daily and I hope that together we can reach a decision in the next few days.

Currently, I'm sick with a kidney infection. I feel like crud which doesn't help things. I have enough work to do that it's not even funny. I've got FCC work, OES work, Gwenn medical work, appointments to make, forms to fill out, forms to hand in, safety deposit boxes to get materials out of, trust to update, and more than I can list. I'm hoping 2 weeks at the holidays may help.

That's it for now. I will post the girls new school pics tomorrow -they turned out great on the first go - something that has never occured before!