June 8, 2008 - Junior Rose Parade

Okay, I should've posted this on Wednesday, but I got sidetracked and all that. But...on Wednesday, Brianna and I walked in the Junior Rose Parade in Portland. Or rather, I should say, I walked, Brianna rolled along in her stroller. She did amazingly well, too! We were right between two marching bands, and everyone around us had these obnoxious light-up clappers, so I fully expected that she would be completely overwhelmed and crying the whole time. But, she was smiling and happy! We walked alongside a family we met at therapy one day, and occasionally alongside Brianna's PT, who was pushing another little boy in a wheelchair. He was utterly sweet. While we were waiting for the parade to start, Brianna was very fussy. She doesn't like sitting in her stroller when we aren't moving. So, at first I got out a toy for her to play with. She didn't like that much. But the little boy was making the toy make noises for her. When I took Brianna out of her seat to cuddle, he played with the toy, and kept trying to help straighten the straps of the stroller, and trying to straighten my purse, which I set in the seat to keep the stroller from toppling over from the weight on the back. He really was enchanting. And he LOVED those clappers!

Anyway, the parade was about a mile long, but because I had to park near the end and walk back to the beginning, I ended up walking more like 2.5 miles. No big deal. The exercise did me good, even if I was sore afterwards. It also helped work out an ingrown toenail I had. I was scheduled to have my toenail removed because of it on Thursday, but Wednesday night, I soaked my feet, they hurt so bad, and that corner came out! So yay for not having surgery! NOT a good idea to start a new job doped up on pain pills, unable to walk, after having a toenail removed.

Back to the topic at hand...I am so proud of Brianna for how well she did during the parade. She was so calm and cool, and her typical sweet self. She definitely took a lot of stress off my mind by behaving so well through it all. Our theme for this year was "Super Heroes". We all got t-shirts, they fed us lunch, and hung a cape from the back of Brianna's stroller. There were little kids dressed up in full on superhero gear. A pink Superwoman, a firefighter with a super soaker, a Batman, a fairy princess, and many others. There were also two service dogs who wore t-shirts, and one little Yorkie named Natalie, with a pink bow on her head, who rode along in a stroller.

Brianna, waiting for the parade to start

This is one of the service dogs (I can't remember his name)

Natalie on her royal throne

Some of the clowns and others waiting for the parade to start

More people waiting...see the capes?

The lady on the left, with the green clapper, is Lynn, the PT student who has been observing our sessions.

June 7/8, 2008 - Time for Another Update

Well, for the past month and a half, I've been looking for work. And I finally found a good job with great benefits. I start working on Monday as a Direct Support Provider. Basically, that's a fancy title for a caregiver. I'll be working in a home for developmentally disabled individuals, helping them get up, dressed, bathed, fed, and off to jobs they might have. I'll be doing cooking and cleaning, and supervising any outings we might have. And like I said, there are great benefits. After six months, the employer pays for medical, vision and dental insurance, as well as AFLAC, and a CostCo membership. I get paid vacations, paid sick days, and paid holidays, including my birthday. Or, rather, any day within my birth month. Oh, and I get a raise at 6 months and at 12 months, if I've received all my certifications. And after a year, I have the opportunity to do more training and move up the ladder, get a bigger check, and eventually maybe even "mother" my own house. How exciting is that? Oh, and my supervisor worked it out so that I can have Mondays and Tuesdays off, so Brianna's therapies don't have to suffer for it! And I'll be working primarily day shift!

Brianna is doing really well being back in daycare. She has had some difficulty going to sleep recently, but if the last two nights are anything to go by, we should be over that now. Unfortunately, Brianna's daycare provider isn't open on the weekends, so I was going to have my sister's friend watch Brianna for me. She had said she wanted to, and every time I would call her, just to make sure she was still interested, she would say she was. So on Thursday, I called her to let her know I got hired on, and I was going to start needing her to work, and she said, "Oh, well, I've got so much going on this summer, I don't want to do anything on the weekends." So, I've been scrambling to find weekend childcare. I posted on ad on Craigslist, under the childcare section and in the jobs section under et cetera. And now I'm up to my eyeballs in applicants! I posted the ad on Thursday night/Friday morning (about 2am). Since then, I've had at least six applicants that I can remember. I interviewed one guy tonight. He's 19, a student at a local Bible college, and seems really sweet. He came by about 7pm, and I had started a stew on the stove, around 6:30pm. He stayed till almost 9:30, learning about Brianna, asking questions, playing with Brianna. About 9:00, my stew got done, so I invited him to eat (I made a big pot of it...put some in tupperware to freeze, some in tupperware to take over for Bob and Mary, and some in tupperware for leftovers). He asked me to give his girlfriend cooking lessons :-P. He said she loves to cook, wants to be a chef, but no one has the heart to tell her she's a horrible cook. So I guess he liked my stew :-P. I finally sent him on his way about 9:30, when it was time for Brianna to go to bed. I really did get a good feeling from the guy. He said he would like to go to school to become a kindergarten teacher, once his term at Bible college is over.

Tomorrow, I have an interview at 4:00 with a 21 year old girl who seems very nice, has good experience with childcare. I'm trying to set up another interview with a mom of five kids who wants to watch Brianna, as well. I would have to transport Brianna there, though. There's also another DCP who I might interview, if all else fails. Her rates are $4 an hour for Brianna, $3 an hour normally, so she's entirely reasonable in her rates. She has no experience with children with disabilities, but only one of the other applicants does. That applicant is 20 years old, and is a premed student, hoping to specialize in tropical diseases. She spent time doing volunteer work with the Ruel Foundation in the Phillippines, working with children with cleft lips, clubbed feet, and other disabilities. She is also certified through the World Health Organization in the integrated management of childhood diseases. She currently works full time at Applebee's, and leads the Wednesday Kids Night there. This girl's resume and experiences is seriously impressive. I have a feeling I'm going to have an incredibly difficult decision to make on this one ladies and gents.