forced reflections.

One reason I haven't posted much over the past year is that part of my paid work has involved reflecting, which is essentially what I do here. In hiensight my greatest reflection is that I felt obliged during this reflecting to fulfill expectations from my supervisor and reflect what she wanted me to else risk losing my job. It got to the stage where in my evaluations of how I felt emotionally I had to change what I felt to what she thought I felt, as that was the answer she obviously wanted me to give. I like to be true to myself, it's a value I hold very dear, but at the same time my work is very much tied up with a lot of other stuff now, like my decision to return to employment and not stay home with my kids to work for £1 an hour because it would facilitate the future job that I wanted. Tough choice, be true to myself in reflective work logs and potentially lose or delay the future I was aiming for, or lie and keep my non-work related aims and all other ethics in tact?

Anyway, I digress, I just wanted to say that 'I'm back'.

I am now free to vainly over think everything I think and feel. Yippee.

Although I'll soon be too tired to think or feel anything thanks to my nights spent with Hero.

Food offerings

With baby number three has come new blessings. We've changed churches and have been offered a 'meals rota' to help us out. Because I now have several children (more than a handful in many respects), if someone offers to cook me dinner I'm not going to turn them down!

So far we have been the beneficiaries of:
Chicken, potato and ham hock bake
Roast chicken and potato tray bake with pavlova
Chicken & chorizo pot pie
Vegetarian lasagne
Chicken, chorizo & chickpea stew
Shepherds pie and cheesecake
Beef stew
Thai green curry
Chicken tikka curry, rice & ice cream
Meat lasagne
Salmon & potato tray bake
Beef pie
Sausage cassarole & rice

And
A massive pear cake
A massive carrot cake
A massive box of Ferrero Rocher

Along with numerous bags/boxes of chocolate, cartons of juice, gifts for the kids etc.

When there are two parents at home, and dinner is precooked for you looking after 3 kids is totally manageable. Xss returns to work soon, and I'll have to cook dinner soon...... gulp.

Ps it's so loving and confidence inspiring receiving meals that I am now uber keen to repay the favour. Just need to find a killer reciepes,  oh and a heavily pregnant woman! I'm on the look out.

We found a Hero

Introducing baby Hero! (before heated arguments breakout again as to whether this is a legitimate and non abusive name for a baby girl, this is only her nickname). (Although thats not to say what we replace it with wont be just as different).We are delighted to announce that baby Hero has arrived, safe and well. Ironically despite the planned section, it was the most panicked and rushed at the end. Baby Hero is here; No brilliant photo of her first breath though.

Cookie is delighted with her, continually highlighting her 'little toes!' or each fart with delight. Starbucks is also happy but old enough to have experienced what 2 year old sisters are like which may well be tempering her joy appropriately.

 In the words of Spike Milligan, 'You can't leave that lying there.''It's not a lion its a baby'. Not a bad view to be born to.

 Blending in with the furniture already.

 

Protective? or scared to touch her?

It's likely that forever more, its a majority rule. If the other two look good the photo will be selected, even if its your birth and you look like a victorian portrait of the dead. Cookie, Hero & Starbucks

Rules to visiting prision

One of the merits of being a social worker is experiencing aspects of other peoples lives that I wouldnt normally encounter. Last year i got to go to court several times to support teenagers caught up in trouble, and i also got to visit a prision.

Some of the novelty of this was the whole new set of social rules that this dictates. Assumably people regularly visiting get used to these and know them not as a list. However, for my first visit this list was odd. More interesting is to try and guess the reasons behind these rules. Without further ado here is the dress code:

• no uniforms (except school uniforms, or police officers on legal visits)
• no ponchos
• no baseball caps
• no florescent tops
• no sunglasses
• no cuff links
• no watches
• no chains that assemble key chains
• skirts, dresses and shorts must be no higher than just above the knee
• no crop tops or see through clothing which reveal the stomach

and my favourites

• only one pair of trousers to be worn at any one time 
• All clothing to be worn as intended to be worn.

As a legal visitor i was also obliged to adhere to the following:

• No more than 2 pens
• no spiral back pads 
• no bull dog clips
• Laptop with prior written agreement
• no phone.

It was an interesting time. It helped that i really liked the lad we were visiting.