To Get Away from It All...

Hey folks, this is Bree. This is a special day for me... anyone remember why? That's okay, you don't have to remember. I'll just tell you. It was exactly one year ago that I joined the family! :-)

Some of you may also recall the circumstances. For various reasons (including no one actually knowing where I was for awhile...) my arrival was delayed way beyond when the family was expecting me, and so when I finally arrived, everyone was about to leave for a trip to Florida that they'd had planned for awhile. Fortunately I got there in time to go along. After all that, it wasn't a big deal to head off somewhere else, and it was a good way to get to know my new sisters.

Well, guess what? It's that time again! The Bree-iversary means it's also time to go back to Florida. We're leaving Saturday morning, and we'll be back on the 27th. We're really excited about beachy fun! :-)

One of the best parts is that this year, the Roses will be coming with us! Last year at this time, we didn't know them yet. Now we're one big family and we all get to go together.

We'll do our best to update the blog while we're gone, although we'll probably be pretty busy so we may not get much time to be online. Blakeney is bringing her laptop and promises to give us a turn from time to time, so we'll try to keep you in the loop.

Yay for vacation time! :-D

Love,

Bree

Interview With Bree

Hello, readers! Today we're going to interview our new sister, Bree. Each of us are going to ask her one question. (Well, that was the plan, it didn't turn out quite like that.) Once we're done, hopefully you'll know her a little better.

So, on to the interview!

Kirsten: Hello to our new sister. What's your name?

Bree: You're seriously going to waste your question on that? Bree.

Kirsten: That one doesn't count. Okay, here's a better one: Why are you named Bree?

Bree: Yeah, that one is better. I'm named Bree because my parents were in a phase of being obsessed with Lord of the Rings when my mom was pregnant. I was actually moments from being named Pippin on my birth certificate when wiser heads prevailed. Bree, as well as being a village in the fictional world of Middle Earth, is an anglicized version of the Irish name Brigh. I think my parents didn't know that at the time, but I'm actually glad. Anyone who can read can pronounce Bree. I would rather not go through life being called "brig" all the time.

Felicity: My turn now. Have you chosen your future career yet?

Bree: Um... no... actually. I'd like to make a really amazing film, or write a really amazing book. I've thought about studying psychology or becoming a librarian. Maybe I'll just do a little bit of everything.

Kaya: What are your favourite book, movie, and television show?

Bree: Wicked for book, Labyrinth for movie. The Princess Bride for both book and movie, also. Buffy, Torchwood, and Doctor Who for TV.

Kaya: Then I've finally found a TV buddy...

Molly: The Princess Bride isn't a book!

Several of the Girls: Yes it is!

Kirsten: It wouldn't kill you to crack a book from time to time, Molly. Then you might know these things.

Felicity: So, moving on...

Josefina: Which countries have you visited, and which to you want to visit?

Bree: I've only been in the United States and Canada. I'd love to travel, though. I'd like to see India. I've heard it's beautiful there, and the culture is fascinating. I'd also like to see Paris and Madrid.

Charissa: Blakeney says we need to go to Italy within the next ten years.

Bree: Why Italy, and why the ten-year timeframe?

Charissa: Because she read an article about how a lot of Italian art and architecture treasures could be lost within ten years. Like Pompeii could be totally gone!

Bree: How are we going to break it to her that we're almost two thousand years too late to save Pompeii?

Josefina: *laughs* Not the actual village itself! The archaeological site is deteriorating because it isn't being preserved.


Bree: Oh. Okay, sure, Italy. As long as Blakeney is paying, I'll go.

Molly: Next question. Would you rather freeze to death or be burned alive?

Bree: What? Do you ask everyone that, or should I be watching my back?

Felicity: She pretty much asks everyone that.

Bree: Okay, um... freeze to death, I guess. It's less dramatic, but it sounds more peaceful.

Kirsten: When we were kids, we read an article in a magazine about kids who froze to death in a blizzard in the 1800's. It was like they were going to sleep.

Bree: Huh? What kind of children's magazine would publish a story like that?

Felicity: That would be the American Girl Magazine, actually.

Bree: Wow, you people had a strange childhood...

Charissa: My turn now! What do you think will be the best part and the hardest part of being in our family?

Bree: I think the best part will be us all sticking up for each other. Well, I'll stick up for you, and then you'll feel morally obligated to stick up for me back, in theory. The hardest part... only having one bathroom, I guess?

Evelyn: Who do you like better, Superman or Batman?

Bree: Neither. I like the X-Men. They seem to have more fun. Okay, now I get to ask a question. What do you think is the most crucial thing I need to do to fit into your family?

Kirsten: You have to be able to use Simon & Garfunkel lyrics in casual conversation. How about it?

Bree: Well, I'd rather be a spider than a snail...

Kirsten: Alright, you're in! No, seriously, the most important thing is that we're all totally loyal to each other, even when we argue. Is that cool?

Bree: Absolutely!

And that concludes our interview. :-)

Look for more postings with our new sister Pippin (My name isn't Pippin! ~B) on our blog in the future!

Love,
The Eight Green Girls

Back From Florida and Bree Squee!

Hello, blog readers! After a vacation in sunny Florida, we are back in snowy Canada and back to our blog.

I, Josefina, will be reporting a little on our trip. I got picked to do it because I want to be a journalist and travel writer someday. So here goes.

Last Tuesday, we got up really early because we had to be at the airport by 5 a.m. This time of year, most flights leave our airport in the early morning. Before we got in the taxi, we got some good - but surprising - news. And by "got some news" I mean "Bree showed up on our doorstep." We thought she wasn't going to make it, but she did, with moments to spare.

Blakeney asked if she wanted to come to Florida or stay with our neighbours like we planned. We all kind of held our breath, I think. It seemed almost like... a make or break moment. Did she really want to be part of our family, or was she just going to be like a roommate? Now, rationally, we knew it didn't mean that. Maybe she would stay because she was tired, or overwhelmed, or wanted to set up her room... or just didn't have any warm weather clothes packed. We understood there were all kinds of reasons she might stay. Not because she didn't want to spend time with us. Not because she didn't want to be our sister. Still, we were all kind of tense.

Bree said she would go. :-)

We all had a really great time. We went swimming in the outdoor pool every day, and went to a couple of different beaches. Our favourite was a place called Honeymoon Island. We also went kayaking one afternoon, and another day we took a boat tour from Tarpon Springs, which is a little town famous for sponge diving and Greek culture. On Sunday night we went to see a belly dance performance, which was really cool and fun. We also ate lots of good food, and enjoyed being able to dress for warm weather. There were all kinds of palm trees and cool birds. It was really great!

It was a really good way to get to know Bree, going on a trip together. We were all pretty relaxed since we were on vacation, and we had a lot to do so there weren't awkward silences. By the time we came back, we all felt like sisters. (Which was good because we had a lot of delays because of weather on the flights back, and if we didn't get along by that point we might have cannibalized each other when we finally got to Toronto four hours late and none of the food places were open except Tim Horton's, and there was an enormous lineup to wait for our bagels. Just kidding about the cannibalism. Sort of...)

We came back in the snow, and tonight till tomorrow it's supposed to snow another 20-30 centimetres. We're not upset, though. We still have that post-vacation buzz. A change of scenery was great. We're glad to be home too, in a way, and the blog is back in business.

Bree says hello, by the way... from home, finally! YAY! :-)

Love,
Josefina and Sisters

Travel Plans and Seasons

We've made the odd mention of this, but we haven't officially announced it yet: We're going on a trip!

Early Tuesday morning we leave for Florida! Yay for beach and sunshine! It'll be a nice change from the winter. We'll be gone for about a week, and we're really looking forward to our vacation.


Now, I'm sure there's a question on all of your minds: Will Bree be going with us? We don't know. We hope so. We planned this trip a long time before we knew she was coming, and we can't really cancel it for several reasons. Unfortunately unless she makes it in tomorrow, we won't see her till we get back, and she'll have to stay with our neighbour. That would be a bummer. Tomorrow it's supposed to snow, and we're not sure how that will affect things (either Bree's trip or ours.) We really hope she makes it in time!

Yes, it's still snowing sometimes here. There could potentially be snow for a couple more months. Generally we expect it'll be gone by May 24th - Victoria Day. On Victoria Day weekend, our city pretty much clears out because almost everyone goes camping, even if it's still cold! It's sort of our local acknowledgement of spring.

Last year it snowed on May 27th, though. It felt kind of wrong to have snow after Victoria Day. The snow hasn't been terrible this year, though, so maybe we'll have an early spring. We can hope!

Either way, it'll be nice to get away from the cold and have a change of scenery.

We aren't sure if we'll have internet in Florida. If so, we'll try to keep the blog updated, though it likely won't be as frequent as we post from here. If not, there probably won't be much action here till we get back. We'll miss you, dear readers, and we'll be thinking of you while we're in the sunshine!

Love,
The Green Girls

Attention seeking, low standards, and trust issues

Hi, this is Bree. I'm still traveling, and I'm bored, so I decided to write something for the blog. It ended up being more serious and introspective than I was expecting. This post is gratuitous self-analysis, so if you don't want to hear about all my emotional problems (and I don't blame you) feel free to skip it. What I'm trying to do is figure out the ways in which I self-sabotage, so I can stop doing it.

I don't want to be one of those people who blame all their problems on their bad childhood. I know we're all responsible for our own actions. The thing is... sometimes when we don't get much love when we're little, it messes with our minds when we get a little older. I never got much affection from my parents. They were actually pretty terrible to me for the most part.

I think everyone needs attention. If we don't get that, we get kind of weird about it. I seek out attention. Not in a really obvious way. It's subtle. I want people to like me, though, and if the people show me even the slightest interest I latch on like a puppy. Not good. Not healthy.

That's what I mean by the "low standards" part of the title. When I'm getting a little attention and someone seems to care at all, I don't really ask the right questions or expect much. Even if they're being kind of wretched to me or are just one step above completely ignoring me, it doesn't occur to me that I deserve better. I leave myself wide open to getting hurt by people who are cruel... or even more often, people who are just indifferent towards me. More people are indifferent than actively cruel - but in the end, the results are more or less the same.

When that hurting happens (and it's pretty much inevitable) I pull back from everyone. Even people who are genuinely nice or want to help. So I sabotage myself twice. I cling to the wrong people, and when I get burned by them it makes me ignore the right ones.

All this sounds kind of dire, but I actually think that recognizing it is going to help. I'm going to try not to do that anymore. It's after the 1st of January, so I can't make a New Years Resolution... but I think I'm going to make a New Place Resolution. In my new home, I'm not going to mess things up for myself. I'm going to do my best to trust my new family, because they deserve my trust, and I'm going to ignore people who don't deserve it.

So says Bree. :-)

Family Meeting

Hi, this is Kirsten.

Tonight Blakeney called us into the living room for a family meeting. We talked about it beforehand, and as far as we knew there was only one possible explanation. We were in trouble.

There wasn't any specific thing we thought we were in trouble for, but we're not perfect angels, so there could definitely be something. (Like the argument me and Josefina had over the TV.) The only times we really have family meetings are when we're getting a new foster kid, when something major is changing, or we did something wrong.

We couldn't think of anything about to change, and they wouldn't place a new foster kid with us at the same time as Bree because each kid needs time to settle in, so the only thing left was being in trouble. We were going to try to deny it, whatever it was, and if that didn't work, we'd have to apologize. We were prepared.

Turns out we weren't in trouble, though. Blakeney had some news to spring on us. Remember how Bree said in her post (I think she just called it "Bree's First Post" or something) that she had a sister she'd been visiting? Well, Blakeney called to see what was going on. Turns out that Bree's sister is still in foster care. She's waiting to be adopted but no one had applied to adopt her yet. See where this is going...? ;-)

Normally we wouldn't be getting anyone new here so soon, but this is an exception because it's best to keep siblings together if possible. It's possible this time. Blakeney says if we're going to be eight sisters,we may as well be nine.

Bree didn't say much about it when we told her on the phone, but we think she was crying. She definitely said "thank you" a lot.

So yeah, this was a HUGE surprise for us. We're getting TWO new sisters, not one. That's never happened before. Bree is on her way... and two weeks later, we're going to be welcoming Fiona!

Crazy, isn't it? :-D

Love,
Kirsten

Bree's First Post

Hi, this is Bree, posting for the first time. I'm not actually at my new home yet. I'm at an internet cafe near the train station in Winnipeg. So... still pretty far from my destination, but I'm getting there.

I'm not really sure what to say about myself that would be interesting. The girls say they're going to "interview" me for the blog when I get there, so I guess I'll save the main intro stuff for that.

You're probably wondering what my deal is, though. What kind of person just disappears? Bree must be a big flake.

Well... not entirely. I'm not that big. ;-) Maybe I'm a flake, but that wasn't what was going on here. Like the other girls said, I didn't know anyone was trying to find me. What they didn't say is where I actually was. It's not their fault; it's because I didn't actually tell them until today.

For the past few months, I've pretty much been crashing on various people's couches. Things weren't good with either of my parents, and obviously they weren't deeply concerned about where I was. I didn't think it mattered that I didn't exactly have a forwarding address.

While I was moving around, I got some news. When I was younger, my parents had another kid that my mom kept when she split with my dad. My younger sister. At some point, my sister wasn't living with my mom anymore. I knew she was a foster kid, but nothing more than that, nothing about where she was, so I didn't think I'd ever see her again.

Then one day I was at a friend's house flipping through channels, and they were doing a news story about states with the best and worst foster care outcomes. They did a few background pans of rooms full of kids... and I saw my sister!

I took off pretty fast.

So that's where I was. Visiting my sister. A sister the Green Girls didn't know I had, because our families haven't been in touch in the meantime. I know, I'm fifteen, and someone should know where I am. I'm not trying to make an excuse. I'm not going to just go off on my own again, now that I have a family who actually cares.

I just wanted you to know I had a good reason for what I did, though, since it was probably a mystery when you couldn't see it from my point of view. Next time I write for the blog, I'll try not to be so serious!

Your friend,
Bree (the new Green)

Update: Where is our Bree?

Well, she's not here yet, but we finally heard from Bree this evening!

Apparently she's been couch surfing for awhile and didn't know we were trying to get in touch. She's cool with coming to live with us! It'll take her a few days to get here, but she has her travel confirmation and she's on her way.

We're super excited that she's coming, and we're also relieved that the delay was a miscommunication rather than some kind of disaster.

Once she's here, we'll post to introduce her to you. For now, though, we just wanted to let you know that she's safe, she's on her way, and there will be eight Green Girls soon!

All's well that ends well. :-)

Love,
The Girls


"Tell the girl
It's a wide and wondrous world
Room enough to leave a life you're hating
The highway runs both ways
And there's seats left on the train
If you take it to the station, I'll be waiting..." -Great Big Sea, "Dear Home Town"

Where is our Bree?

Kirsten here, reporting for blog duty.

We announced awhile ago that our cousin Bree is coming to live with us. So where is she?

You know what? We don't know.

If you read our first Stories post, you've probably figured out that our extended family is... um... kind of dysfunctional. Which is the reason for Bree coming here in the first place. Unfortunately, that means that the communication isn't always the greatest. At the moment, we can't seem to find anyone who knows exactly where she is or who she's staying with right now.

Yeah, we're kind of worried. She's probably fine. It's not the first time one of our family members has dropped completely off the radar, but it still doesn't make things better.

We're still expecting that she'll be here eventually. Blakeney is kind of a bulldog about stuff like this (and I mean that in the nicest possible way.) She'll track Bree down eventually, and we'll all laugh over rootbeers about the pointless drama.

In the meantime, though, we have a bed standing empty, and we're concerned. Good news soon, I hope...

~K

Long time, no write!

Hey guys, sorry for the delay in the blog! We haven't stopped writing!

We had a guest visiting our house from out of town, which was a lot of fun but we didn't have any time for the blog. Now our visitor has gone home, and we're back to the normal routine. You'll be hearing more from us soon. :-)

Just wanted to give you that quick update for now. No new news on our cousin Bree. It's driving us crazy! We're trying to be patient, but we can't wait for her to move in.

Thanks for coming back, and sorry for the silence lately.

Love,
The Green Girls

Not Much New News

We haven't updated in a few days, because... well, there hasn't really been much new.

We've been working on getting Bree's room ready for her. She's still not here, though, and we don't have an exact ETA for her. We're hoping maybe within a week or so, but arrangements for her travel are ongoing.

We had another big snowstorm, and school was closed. We all went sledding! :-)

Other than that:

Kaya has been thrilled because there have been a bunch of Buffy reruns on the TV, and she loves that show. Molly has been sketching for some fashion projects she claims she will sew, although she admittedly may lose interest in the meantime. Charissa and Evelyn have been in an ongoing snowball stealth war with the neighbour boys; Team Green is definitely winning! Felicity and Josefina are practicing for a skit they're doing for a class (in French!) next week. Kirsten has been monopolizing the laptop reading other blogs, and has tried some new cooking experiments, around 50% of which have been edible and 25% have actually tasted good.

That's all for now! Hopefully we'll have some more "newsy" news soon. :-)

Love,
The Green Girls

Our Big Secret News!

Wow, three posts in one day! :-D

This is a group post by all the girls. :-)

In a couple of posts recently, we've been hinting at a secret that we weren't allowed to tell yet. We weren't trying to be mean or anything. It's just something Blakeney didn't want us to talk about until it was for sure.

Normally, once someone has joined our family, we don't have someone new come for at least six months. It's to give the new kid time to settle in, because even though it's fun when the family grows, there are also some details to work out and things can be pretty complicated and confusing. It's especially tough for someone who is trying to learn the routines of a new household and get to know all these new people. So yeah, we wait six months or a year... or more, depending on how things go.

Kaya came here in August, so we knew that we could have someone new living with us soon (no guarantee, of course, but we might.) So when we had a family meeting, we figured we were going to be fostering again.

That's kind of what's going on, but it's a little different. This time, the person coming to stay with us is someone we actually know. Our cousin is coming to stay! It's not just temporary, it's permanent... so I guess now she'll be our sister and our cousin.

Her name is Bree, and she was born a few months before Felicity. We used to play together when we were little kids, but then our families kind of lost touch, so we haven't seen her in a lot of years. We remember each other as a lot younger than we are now, so we've all changed so much we'll probably barely recognize each other. Josefina, Kaya, and Evelyn have never even met her, because they weren't part of the family yet. So in some ways we'll be getting to know each other all over again.

We're still working out exactly when she's coming, but it'll be soon. We're glad we can finally share our good news!

Love,
The Green Girls