So Burned Out Betsy over at Diary of a Disgruntled Social Worker posted this on her blog and I found myself reading it and nodding my head the whole time.


You know you're a social worker if....

1. You think $40,000 a year is 'really making it'.

2. You don't know what it's like to work with men.

3. You know all the latest lingo for drugs, where to get them, and how much they cost.

4. You’ve started a sentence with 'So what I hear you saying is...'

5. You’ve had 2 or more jobs at one time just to pay the bills.

6. You tell people what you do and they say 'that's so noble'

7. You have had to explain to people that not all social workers take away kids.

8. You use the words 'validate,' 'appropriate' and 'intervention' daily.

9. You spend more than half your day documenting and doing paperwork.

10. You think nothing of discussing child abuse over dinner.

11. People have said to you 'I don't know how you do what you do'.

12. You’ve never been on a business trip or had an expense account.

13. You know a lot of other social workers who have left the profession for another.

14. You’re very familiar with the concept of entitlement.

15. Staying at a job for 2 years is 'a long time'.

16. Your phone number is unlisted for good reason.

17. Your professional newsletters always have articles about raising salaries...but you still haven't seen it.

18. You’re very familiar with the term 'budget cut'.

19. You can't imagine working at a bank or crunching numbers all day.

20. You’ve had clients who liked you just a little too much.

21. Having lunch is a luxury many days.

22. You’ve been cursed at or threatened...and it doesn't bother you.

23. Your job orientation has included self defense.

24. You have the best stories at any cocktail party.

25. Your parents don't know half of the stuff that you've dealt with at your job.

26. You know all the excuses clients use for a failed a drug test by heart.

A book that I wish really existed. I would have purchased several copies, for gifts.


Today sucked. It just did. But later, it did not. Me and Soph packed up to go to open gym at Gymboree. It was super fun! Then we stopped by Target. Soph is such an impulse shopper. I went in for milk, bread, yogurt and stuff like that. Misses, however, came out with a new toothbrush that has a little happy face on it, some Baked Lays, and a bottle of water. Yes, these were things from different aisles that were witness to a breakdown. She gets bored in certain aisles. She did see her little friend Melanie from Gymboree there. Soph waved at her. I brought soph in covered up in ther lambikin balnket because it was so cold. As I was unwrapping the both of us at the carts, they were chatting with us doing the same. They are nice.

When we got home, we had some chicken lunch meat sammies and chips. I got a bag of Target doritos. I thought they were the cheese ones, nope the nasty Ranch flavor. I ate some anyway. I needed some crunch. Soph loves baked Lays. She likes to eat one, then crumble and toss one. It is funny, but not. She gets this little look on her face, and I know that a launch is about to happen. After that, she had a bath. I did too seeing as she does not like baths and wants to hold onto me hanging over the side of the tub screaming while I am trying to soap and shampoo her. I thought about delaying her bath till tomorrow, but she was standing nekkid in the bathroom waiting for me to dump her toys in, and she peed on the floor, and cried, it was sad. A little naked toddler standing in a puddle of piss. Awesome. So I shoved a towel over that, cause I knew if I didnt, when she got out she would slip on it and we would be back to the beginning. It was a stressful bath, but I used the force, and some yoga breath and got it done. She forgot all about that trauma soon. We played in the living room and read until bedtime.

Gymboree fun with daddy

Christmas Eve

Soph and I went down to Grandpa Dykes house for lunch/birthday celebration. She was shy at first, but then in no time was running around his house. I am pretty sure this stressed them out. But oh well, she is little and is interested by new things, especially new breakable very small things. I vow this year that I will not apologise for a toddlers actions any longer. I guess if someone knows there is a child coming over, and they don't put up things that are not to be touched, then expect them to be touched. Ok, so anyways we had a good time. Soph received a cart and some Pooh books from grandpa. We went to my grandma and grandpa's after that around 5 or so.

I have so many things I want to share. However, I am too tired. I will save you the many reasons. So I have decided that maybe tomorrow, or the day after that, I will write one big blog o' the week. Cause alot of awesomeness has been bestowed upon our stoop. I only typed this so my loyal followers would check back!


ok , early the next morning. I thought I'd give a nod to safety in the home.

When Sophie started to be mobile, I thought it would be a good time to install child safety implements.

door/drawer latches
outlet covers
keeping doors closed to bathrooms/computer room
baby gate
minute by minute visual sweep for potential choking hazzards laying about

anyways..so this morning Daisy was barking for her morning chow. I opened the baby gate and prepared her food and water.

Let me just explain the purpose of this baby gate. It prevents entrance to the most dangerous and nasty part of the house. Behind it is the laundry room, shelves with cleaners, mops brooms, the trash can and the kitty box room and food and water for the cats. Sophie likes to watch out the window as I feed Daisy saying gogie! gogie, yes with a g, not a d.
I turned around to come back in and she is standing right behind me in just her diaper and T.

First thought, what the hell, I forgot to latch the gate!
no, second, what the hell, she figured out how to open AND close AND lock the gate back houdini, no...
what does she do? She gives herself up. She goes back out the same way she got in, crawling through the cat door in the gate. I was just standing there watching this all take place (like 20 seconds) holding the plastic food/water pitchers, seeeing my toddler sqeeze and twist through this opening beckoning me to come with her. Mommie, mommie, and leads me to the tree she just removed another three ornaments. So much for that.

Cookies

Today was cookie making day. We had a very busy day. We started off at LePeep with grandma for lunch. It was pretty tasty. Soph figured out how to open the little jelly containers and was scooping it out with a spoon and eating it. After lunch we stopped by my sisters to pick up Soph's booster seat that my dad got for her. She loves it! We went on the usual circuit of Target, Babies R Us and Bookstore and then home. Soph sat in her little seat in the kitchen and supervised the cookie makeing. She kept saying cook, cook, which means cookie. After each batch I let her have some batter on a spatula to eat. I made alot of cookies. Alot.

I would like to add: Just because I mention something I buy, does not mean I have extra cash. It means I have a Amazon gift card from last Chrismas that I forgot I had.