Kids, Kids, Kids...

Ever want to throttle a child one moment & the next squeeze 'em & tell them everything will be alright?

Parents - you have my utmost respect.

Right now, we have some kids that I don't ever want to see again, some that I want to take home with me & some that bounce back & forth between the two. I guess it's always like that here, though.

The ones I wouldn't care to see again are the brats - they pick on the others, do anything & everything they can to grind others into the dust & think it's all a great big joke. They're here for their behaviours. Sometimes the parents can't control them, sometimes they just don't care enough to try. But these kids have a choice. They choose their paths.

The ones I want to tuck under my arm & carry home are the ones with genuine emotional problems and the ones who are MR (mentally retarded) & don't always have control over what they say & do. They haven't chosen that path, it was chosen for them. The one who punched me is my favourite. She goes around calling staff the "n-----" word & "lesbians". Doesn't matter what color skin you have or anything - she just shouts random stuff. I often call the girls Fred, George & Maynard. This girl usually gets Maynard & one day another staff called her for meds or something & she responded with "My name isn't J---, it's Maynard!" We also call her Jazzy Jeff & Grandpa. She loves the goofy nicknames.

~~~~~

I arrived to work about a week ago & noticed chalk outlines of bodies all over the sidewalk. I had to ask if we had any living clients left.

They are apparently loving the giant coloring sheets I got for them.

If you ever want to do something for some kids, find a local residential facility & donate books, clothing, shoes, hygiene products, decorating stuff, magazine subscriptions, sports equipment, anything you think a kid would enjoy. They will most certainly enjoy it, even if you yourself never hear anything about it. You never know what will touch someone's heart & change their life.

(Another suggestion - chocolate PRNs [as needed medication] for staff *grin*)

A Little Rant

Turns out a fella at work has been spreading lies about me. I worked one night with him & D, and he's claiming that we didn't do any work - he did everything. D cooked, we both packed meds for kids' home passes & we did some of the room checks as well as the laundry. I also spent part of the time mending clothing for the girls & sewing a (very cute) curtain for the kitchen window. He did some of the room checks & played on the internet the rest of the night.

Several people have told me that he's telling new staff that he did everything & we just sat there playing on the computer & that I was using the cottage's laundry facilities for my personal use. (I wonder if he also tells them that he went to sleep for over an hour one night, while working by himself, & no one could get a hold of him.) He says that he emailed the supervisor & we haven't worked there since. Umm... that's because we were filling in for someone else & haven't been needed there since. *major eye-rollage*

I really, really want to give him a rather large piece of my mind, but I fear his over-sized ego & under-sized brain would be unable to handle it. The result would likely be more & nastier rumors. The folks who know me wouldn't believe it, but with working the night shift, there are a lot of staff who don't know me & would believe every word.

Ah well, now that I've had my little rant, I can let it go & just let his nasty little attitude continue to poison himself.

Thank You

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who have served & are currently serving in the military. You are what makes this country great. You are true heroes.

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
~ Teddy Roosevelt

Movies Galore

Since it seems to be the popular thing to do...

Pick out ten favorite movies, then look them up at IMDb. In the overview at the
top of each movie’s page, there are "Plot Keywords," usually five of them. (Plus
more, if you click the link.) Take the first five, and post them. Then the rest
of us get to play movie buff and see if we can guess them.

Here goes

1. Arranged Marriage / Friend / Drunkenness / Book / Insult

2. Interracial Romance / Spacecraft / Psycho Thriller / Slit Throat / Space Opera

3. Empire State Building New York / Remake / Chapel / Choir / Christmas

4. Stabbed in the Throat / No Opening Credits / Peril / Attack / Ancient Sword

5. Male Female Relationship / Love / Hotel / Diva / Gentleman

6. Severed Leg / Eccentric / Severed Arm / British / No Ending

7. Hypnotism / Assassination Plot / Birthmark / Jester / Fox

8. Broadway Musical / Asia / 1860's / Androgyny / Chakri Dynasyty

9. Coming of Age / Rags to Riches / Forbidden Love / Male Female Relationship / Cinderella Story

10. Estate / Sister / 19th Century / British / Love

I'll post the answers in a few days. And Google not, lest ye shall be Googled. Or something like that. Good luck ;)

Sugar Plum

I meant to put this in with the Baby Pictures post, but kinda forgot the little girl. This is Sugar Plum at 8 months, laughing at an apparently very funny Mommy. She loves to stick her tongue out.
I forgot to mention that when Belle, the kids & I went to Kansas City to visit Flanders in training for the new railroad job, a little birdy flew overheard & uhhh... unloaded onto Sugar Plum's head. She was just sitting there, grinning & laughing at us as we laughed at her with a spot of bird crap right smack dab on the top of her little forehead. She didn't care - it was all good to her.

Baby Pictures!

I forgot to mention that Peanut grad-e-ated from Nursing school. (Congratulations!) Jer already has plans to retire in June now that she'll be raking in the dough. A few pics (shamelessly stolen from Kat's Facebook page...)

Nameless (I so need to get a real nickname for this poor kid) with Auntie Peanut & Mommy Kat.
Nameless in the swing at the park. Isn't he a cutie-pie!
And now for the picture that will get me murderized - The Mothership & Peanut.
(Mom, it's a good picture. I don't wanna hear it... ) :-)

Also, forgot to mention that Peanut & Jer bought their first house. It's very cute with a lot of character. And they have the cutest fluffy little baby kitties. Jasmine & Krull the Warrior King are parents. Awww...

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say "See that chicken there....I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it's butt?"

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
I think the answer lies somewhere in the word "decent"...

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
Heh... I like this one

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
I've always wondered about that...

Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

What do you call male ballerinas?

Can blind people see their dreams? Do they dream??

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that Acme crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
Oh, now that's just gross...

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
Mmmm... babies....
Crap. Now I'm thinking of that fat dude from Austin Powers. Getout!Getout!Getout! *sobs*

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Hey! I resemble that remark!

Isn't Disney World just a people trap operated by a mouse?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Huh... so they do. Never noticed that.

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your (this word has been censored to protect virgin eyes - you can guess what it's supposed to be)?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?
No, but it's fun to fight with Mom over who gets to push it :-D

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he can't wait to stick his head out the window into the wind?
Speaking of dogs, Rumsfeld ran off. Again. Been gone since Sunday.

Dave

A friend, Dave, died of a heart attack yesterday at work, while in one of the cottages with the kids. The girl who was going off & stressed him out is on the run. She doesn't yet know what happened, but her peers are threatening to kick the ever-lovin' you-know-what outta her once she returns.

His daughter also does overnights here & his dad/her grandpa died several months ago. In addition, the grandma is not in good health at all. So, please remember this family in your prayers. And the staff & kids here as well.