September 1: A day running Casa de Amor

Just an example of a regular day around here! This one wasn't overwhelmingly busy but I sure wasn't bored, either. ;-)

8:15am, work on emails until all gather for meeting. Called the clinic of our pediatrician several times to see if he'll work today (he had traveled) but no one seems to know.

9am, Baby Home staff meeting (just a few topics this time: scheduling improvements due to influx of babies, how the cook is getting along with everyone--PTL, better!, who the physical therapist needs to work with the most, a reminder on the proper way to prepare baby formula)

10:15am, meet with the administrator and social worker to catch up from day before, talk about staffing at III (moving a sub from II to replace a trial staff member at III). SEDEGES [child welfare department] calls and, how amazing, the newest baby was just temporary! Maria leaves to talk to Child Defense about him and do other paperwork in SEDEGES.

11am, create new staff schedule for September, work on August's email update, called our accountant about having the staff pay slips ready today, called the clinic and yes, the pediatrician is working. All the while holding a baby, my usual mode of work these days (slings/carriers: very cool!).

12:05pm, a social worker calls, apparently from an adoption agency. She tells us one of her families was assigned one of our kids, and I breathlessly wait to hear which. It's Juanito!!! (This was our very first child almost 4 years ago, whose papers have been lost countless times in gov't offices, and has supposedly been assigned a family all year, so this was welcome news indeed--although bittersweet.) She is bringing pictures and says they will arrive this month.

12:20pm, Rosa (administrator) heads to CDA II to meet up with her because I have a lunch appointment with my family for celebrating my sister Emma's gotcha day

12:40pm, not so late... Emma is in high spirits! I'm glad we're in the same country today. Rosa calls to catch me up on Juan's new family and to plan the afternoon. I asked my Dad to get the staff pay slips from the accountant's office at 2:30 because I won't have time.

1:30pm, considered heading to CDA II to catch the end of Jhoselin's birthday party, but they call and say they will have it at 3 so that I can come

1:45pm, finish August's email update, start sending out, caught up on new baby's case with Maria

3:15pm, I was so caught up in things in the office I forgot that Jhosie's party was to be at 3, yikes! Luckily when I got there it was so hot the little ones were still asleep. I talked to staff and a mother visiting.

4pm, the older 4 have been practicing Happy Birthday and other songs to be able to play in Jhosie's honor and play a while for her. I take pictures of them with their teacher for a future update. They love playing! I divvy out dairy products from the freezer for the 3 homes, made more complicated since there are two birthday at II this week (i.e., used more than their ration of milk and butter). And of course, I chatted with Juan about his new family as he proudly showed me their picture. Sadly, his best buddy is at the opposite extreme. How I wish they could be adopted at the same time!

5:15pm, back at office, I printed off the schedule of an HIV/AIDS seminar our friends are organizing for next week and showed it to Rosa and Maria (administration). There are excellent, highly practical topics, obviously thought of by a gringo group! Between the 3 of us, we'll see if we can actually attend it all...

6pm, as I go into playroom to talk about Luz Clarita, sick, before taking results to the pediatrician, I realize that Benito's eye infection is no better since the weekend although he's with eye drops. I called to see if the ophlamologist would have time for us and they said yes, if we came immediately. Quickly I gathered up a heap of results and other medical papers I needed to talk over with the pediatrician while changing Benito and gathering my baby stuff.

7ish, the pediatrician calls us in first and he ends up looking at Ben's eyes and that cough he almost always has... We also talk about babies Luz, Jose, Caleb, and changing the exam orders of Luz and Esteban to SUMI (=free!). Then we meet up with the eye doctor in the hall and she changes the medicine I should buy him.

7:30ish, of course the pharmacy there doesn't have those drops, so the search begins...

7:55pm, arrive an hour late to Women's Bible study at my parents. At least Benito was asleep so I could wait till the end to make his bottle. Catch up on some news from CDA III.

9:15pm, eat leftovers for dinner, play a little piano while Ben snoozes again, talk with Mom and Dad about day, particularly the meeting of the morning and updates on the kids' cases

10:10pm, leave earlier than usual since I need to hit another pharmacy and talk to tias (realized that I forgot the calcium for Jose since the doctor wrote it on the results and not an order, and that we'll need more baby urine collector bags)

10:20pm, at pharmacy again but they don't have the right kind of calcium....will have to search first thing in the morning since it's urgent

10:45pm, tias are asleep so I put Ben to bed and wrote them a note about med instructions, and getting a urine sample, urgent, from Luz before 9 the next morning (when I would take Benito for a meeting in court). Her parents are brother and sister and kidney problems are suspected (continual UTIs). I need to take her for a kidney sonogram soon.

11pm, start sending update emails to second mailing list while holding Benito

11:25pm, get Benito back to sleep

11:30pm, crash earlier than usual!