Thanks so much to all of you for your support and encouragement. We've done some dog walks, nature center, go to the library.
I don't know how long the kids will be with us. The mom is supposedly going through therapy/counseling. She's not a drug addict but has problems with alcohol and anger management. What puzzles me about her is that she's very successful in her career and works hard. She put herself through school.
The situation is convoluted as the kids have different fathers. The nephew's dad is extremely angry his son is with us but he doesn't want to go back to his dad's - EVER, and to make it more complicated the dad lives in a neighboring state so CPS here in OH will have to work with another state's system. The mom says she can't handle him and doesn't want him back. Nice, huh? It's been a while since I've had a teenager in the house and sometimes I find the nephew's attitude unsettling. I'm trying to stay aware of his issues so it's kind of like walking a tightrope.
The niece has ADHD, takes medication and told me when she and her brother are grown they'll have nothing to do with their mom so she'll end up all alone. So, so sad. She'll talk for a minute to her mom on the phone then hangs up on her. She chases my cats all over the place so they are now acting up and peeing outside the litter box.
To add fuel to the fire, we took in a rescue dog two months ago that goes crazy when the nephew comes out of his room. He's bitten him twice. So now the dog spends the majority of his time in a crate barking or outside. When he's in the crate the niece is constantly asking to let him out of it and has done so when I'm out of the room.
I know this will work out somehow. One day at a time, right?