Holy Mackerel!

The last month has been ROUGH!  When we were told the girls (munchkins 2-4) were coming we were assured that they were super sweet and polite and that the only behaviors they had were some minimal food hoarding issues.  Well, that could not have been farther from the truth.  While we do see food issues, there has been no hoarding of food yet.  There HAS been hoarding of just about everything else though.  Possessions in general are a problem.  Then there is the aggression.  All 3 are physically and verbally aggressive towards each other, M1 and Lion, the Scarecrow and I, and the pets.  They are manipulative, sneaky and compulsive liars. There have been multiple incidences of stealing (both from stores and people within our home). We've had excrement issues galore from 3 completely potty trained children.  Then there is the stuff we expected: disobedience, pushing limits, lack of boundaries, exposure to bad language/gestures, etc.  PLUS the lice that was supposedly all taken care of at the transition home was still in full swing when they arrive and continued to rise from the dead again and again as the girls had visits with their mother.  If you've never tried to get a non compliant child to stand/sit still for 2-3 hours so you can pick nits from their hair every single night (and multiply that times 3 kids) and had to launder 5 sets of sheets, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and clothing every single day then maybe that part you won't quite understand, but let me assure you it's brutal and lice may very well be a deal breaker for us if a call ever comes in for a placement with it again. All combined it's made for a serious roller coaster of a month.  Still, we seem to be holding up ok aside from a few freak-outs from the Scarecrow.  Whenever I wonder how much longer we can hold  out if the current level of behaviors continue long term I think about the fact that WITH the glowing report of zero behaviors we were the ONLY home for hundreds of miles willing to take all 3 of them.  NOW, with all the known behaviors that have been discovered, it would be practically impossible to find a home to take them.