Carl left us on 3/11. We really just couldn't take it anymore. He AGAIN tried to throw something at Graham and enough was enough already. I really couldn't take the chance that the judge would keep him in care past 3/20. They sent him HOME and then on 3/20, the older sister was sent home as well (to get her out of the shelter). Graham hasn't even batted an eye. Nor have Matt and I. I don't even really feel bad about it: he didn't belong in a regular foster home. We did well beyond the call of duty.

We have a new resource worker. That's like a caseworker for foster parents. She rocks. When we need something or have a question, she looks up the person we're talking about or the child and gives us the dirt. It's remarkably helpful. Did I mention we like her? LOL! And we find it easy to be honest with her about anything without worrying that she'll judge us. Major plus.

Meanwhile, while he was here, Carl fit in the back seat of the truck. On a lark, we decided to get the extra infant carrier and base from the attic and sure as shootin'... it fit. So Matt and I decided that maybe it would be best to stick to infants. First, I seriously don't have the patience for the older kids. I have NO FLAMING CLUE how I'm ever going to handle Graham at that age. Seriously. We weren't entirely certain we could HANDLE two infants, but it was worth trying.

So Carl left on Tuesday, 3/11 and I e-mailed DYFS on Friday morning to say we could take another infant. Then I spoke to the placement coordinator about the ages we could accommodate with the current vehicle configuration. Monday night, 3-week old Bitty Buddy Bear arrived (aka "Buddy"). He's African-American and has SO MUCH HAIR. He's also been here 2 weeks and has really been miserable. As of today, we changed him over to soy-based formula to see if that helps AT ALL. His mother has had two visits with him. The first she brought an enormous entourage and was told that if she did that again--the visit would be cancelled. The second one, she and her grandmother showed up but the mother left within 15 minutes of the 2-hour visit. Her grandmother (the baby's great-grandmother) stayed.

Buddy has already rolled over 3 times and as of today, he's only 5 weeks old. He went through what LOOKED like withdrawal, but he was born clean (per the tests--which are really not all that sensitive to marijuana, mom's drug of choice). Mom was testing positive after the birth and thus the removal. Apparently, she is from an entire family of DYFS cases (thus the baby is not with a relative). But I think it's too soon to tell whether or not her behavior is indicative of how the case will turn out. Hell, NOBODY thought Cookie would ever go home... and she starts unsupervised visitations soon.