June 29, 2006

Got it!
Finally received the new employment letter and it looks good...only now I have to have it certified by the NJ Secretary of State...had trouble figuring out exactly how to do that...took me a good part of the day...but, I just came back from the Fedex store and it's on its way for certification! It almost felt like I was putting one of my children into that envelope (I almost kissed it good-bye!).

Oh where, Oh where can my "letter of good conduct('s) be"?
I have been staking out the mailman waiting for these letters...I thought I was a patient person, but it has to be coming any day now? Can you only imagine what I'll be like when I'm waiting for my referral?! A Mad-Woman!

next complaint...

What about my homestudy draft???
I last saw the social worker 2 weeks ago...I know her kids are now off for summer vacation too...is this what's holding us up? Please, my social worker, start typing or call me or something.

By the way, potty trainning is going well and Eddie's Pull Up was dry this morning! See, that wasn't a complaint :)

June 23, 2006

Last Day of School!
Well, the school year is over and my sweet boy starts 3rd grade in Sept. He had a great year, a great teacher and a great report card! Gotta love my Ant, do you know any other 7 yr old who would wipe his brothers butt? We just started potty training yesterday- and I was in the shower, so big brother took over! He is the best!

Then you have the little guy...the above, right picture says it all!
Woke up yesterday morning and decided that was it..told him"no more diapers" and he was fine with it and only had one accident! Not bad for Wild-Man - he is 3 1/2 after all and he seems ready -yeah!

Hubby had his second Hep B shot and varicella (chick-pox) vaccine this week - and did fine :) I should be receiving my letter of good conduct letters any day now. Realized the employment letter needed to be notarized (got it back in April and had to ask the office to re-do it, notarize it and send me a new copy - they were so gracious!) and that should be coming any day now too!!!
I'm almost done with gathering the dossier documents...still need homestudy draft also!

June 21, 2006

Happy Father's Day!

We had the greatest Father's Day! It was beautiful outside, went to my parents house -saw my brother, sister-in-law and nephews and had a yummy breakfast.

Spent the rest of the day out back, in the pool, playing around, BBQ and just enjoying time as a family - one of those great all around days...

Monday morning I sent out a request for our "letters of good conduct" to the police dept! Even though we had our fingerprints done (still have to do that againby FBI!) you'd think they would see that we are upstanding citizens from that! I am just about done collecting papers as soon as I receive these! Just need my homestudy draft to look over...hopefully she'll call this week?

Hubby has his second round of Hep A & B shots this week, which he's really looking forward too! The guilt :(

Every little bit brings us one step closer to "Alexandra" - yes, we all discussed "her" name on Sunday and it just may be "Alexandra", "Allie" is what I want to call her, hubby likes "Lexie/Lexi" ~ I think we can just give her the nickname as a name, just "Allie" that could be a name ~ but he wants her to have her formal name! So exciting - names!!!!

June 16, 2006 -2nd grade picnic & another homestudy!

We had such a nice time at the 2nd grade picnic ~ relay races and crafts, hot dogs, drinks and of course, yummy watermelon! It was a nice time spent with me and my Ant! He was sooo into the races (as you can see) and really loves his school and teacher. We will miss AMPS - off to LADSB school!
Also, had another meeting with the social worker yesterday ~ it went very well (minus the kids!). We exchanged info and as soon as she writes up the draft of our homestudy, I look it over and make any changes ~ then she e-mails it to my agency and they approve it (hopefully!).

Then, I send the I-600A form (a petition to adopt a foreign orphan) in with the fees and completed homestudy. We then are given an appointment to get our fingerprints done (again! this time by the FBI) It should take 30-90 to get CIS approval (citizenship immigration services) who has to approve us to adopt a foreign child to enter the US. I should be then getting form I-171H/C ~ then I compile the entire dossier and send to the agency ~ I'm out of breath...

Moving right along! Today I have to get a letter of good conduct from our local police dept for the both of us. So many papers ~ so little time!
The quicker I move ~ the quicker we get our girl!

June 14, 2006

HOSTAGE RELEASED!
I have our physical exam forms in my possession (had a little bit of drama:the doctor didn't have 2 of the tests done, but we "worked it out"). I faxed the papers over to my adoption agency so they could look them over - there were two spots I wasn't sure about - China is VERY picky about these forms (you cannot have the doctor write N/A anywhere on the form, everything must be circled and explained...it can make you sweat!).

I have my 2nd meeting with the social worker tomorrow morning (no boys will be attending this meeting!). I hope she has a draft of our homestudy for me to look over. However, I have some paperwork she needs from me, a pic of the 4 of us, size of the baby's room, homestudy agreement and the list goes on! This meeting should be less stressful than the last ~ I hope ~
*Just had to get this doll! How on earth could I pass it up ~ too cute :)

June 10, 2006

Held Hostage!

My paperwork for our physicals/doctor's letters were not going to be given to me until I had my MMR (SHOT), so since I had to have my TB test read anyway (2 days after its given), I marched back in for my 4th shot of the week!

I saw the same nurse, but she slithered away and let another nurse take me (this nurse had "heard about me"-how embarrasing!) and she reassured me that it was a small needle and didn't go in the muscle (please stop talking about it and give me the needle!). I told her in my defense that the Hep A & B did have a possible reaction listed and she just smiled and said I'm going "through a lot right now".

Anyway, they will have my paperwork all ready on Tuesday in time for my 2nd Homestudy with my social worker on Thursday. We're moving right along!

June 8, 2006

Needles, needles everywhere!

The day I have been dreading~to travel to China we need to be immunized and Wednesday was the day. It went something like this:

left arm: Hep A shot
right arm: Hep B shot
back to the left arm (forearm): TB test - which is really a SHOT

I should not have made fun of my hubby for almost passing out after his round of shots, because I actually felt faint, like I was getting pale! Now, I have had IV's, spinal block, epidural and given 8 vials of blood at one sitting and never felt even lightheaded! I asked the nurse if these shots had any side effects "no", she told me. So, I felt ridiculous, but the room started spinning and my head really hurt. She made me lie down and took my vitals (I actually told her if I did pass out to give me the MMR vaccine too! Yes, I need that SHOT also!)

To make a long story short, when I was finally allowed to leave, I read the paperwork on these vaccines and in black & white it says (under moderate to severe reactions!) that you could feel any one of these: paleness (had that), fast heart beat (yup!), lightheadedness (oh yeah) and some others I won't mention! I'm not sure why the nurse told me otherwise ~ but at least I felt like less of a whoose!

Until next month, when I have to get my second round of "Hep's"... I must really love this little girl :)

June 6, 2006

I survived!

Well, our first homestudy is complete. After 5 hours of being interviewed, giving a tour of our home and trying to keep the boys "busy" our social worker said good-bye, actually kissed me good-bye!
The boys fought.
The dog whinned.
Eddie through a plastic bin down the stairs.
Anthony wanted me to clean a stain off his Yankee jersey - In The Middle Of The Homestudy!
I was stressed. But, they were also charming, funny and polite. I guess it was a normal household with children??

Next time we can meet on middle ground, maybe Starbucks she said! ( darn, I guess I won't be able to take the boys!) She still needs to see our doctor's letters, passports and a photo of the 4 of us. Then, she'll write up a draft and let me review it...then it will go to our agency!

My next dilehma...the Hep A and B shots and, oh yes, also the TB test! That's tomorrow and for those of you who really know me...well, I'M A WRECK!!! Anything for my girl :)

EDDIE FEEDING HIS "BABY SISTER"

Just had to take a break from cleaning to post this picture. Eddie pretends this doll is his "baby sister" and takes care of her!

Let's hope he's this helpful when she comes (He'll probably be 4 yrs old by then).

Yes, I know, he still has the yellow boots on... I have about 5 hours and counting until the homestudy !

Until later...

June 5, 2006

DAY OF THE HOMESTUDY!

I have about 6 hours until the social worker arrives! I am anxious, but looking forward to meeting her.

This is Eddie in his favorite attire lately...the yellow boots!

Don't worry, I'll change him before she comes - but he's so cute running around in these boots :)

I'll udate later or tomorrow on the homestudy...wish me luck!

June 4, 2006

Uh oh, tomorrow is my 1st home study! I think I'm done cleaning and straightening - can finish tomorrow - the social worker is coming between 4:30-5:00 pm (just in time for the mad dinner rush!). Wish me lots of luck!

For my friends not familiar with the adopting from China...here goes:
1. 1st phase: the Great paperchase! It can take from 3-4 months to complete. I have to compile a lot of documents (birth certificates, marriage license, physicals and have 4 home studies done; and also about 6-10 lifestyle photos of our family, home, etc.). Depending on how long it takes to gather all these papers... that's how long the paperchase will be.

2. 2nd phase: Having all of your paperwork (called a dossier) sent to your agency, who will send it to China and then it will be logged in a the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) this log in date is referred to as LID. This is the part where we W-A-I-T for our referral (it used to be only a 6 month wait...now it's up to 12 months or longer).

But, while we wait...our dossier is being translated and reviewed by the CCAA (in the Review Room, to make sure all the paperwork is in order) and then it goes to the Matching Room, where we will be matched with our GIRL! Many say its amazing how well these children are matched with their Forever Families - they take all the info we sent about our family and the photos and make an amazing match between child and family!! "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - An ancient Chinese belief.

3. Then the referral is sent to my adoption agency - they then call us The Call where they tell us about our daughter, her medical infor and a few photos; which they will Fedex to us. We then review the referral package and decide whether to accept or decline the child - most parents accept their referral!

4. Travel Approval or TA is what we wait for next - which depends on when we get our Consulate Appointment or CA (where we adopt our daughter in China, so when we land in the U.S. she is automatically a U.S. citizen! This can be hectic...waiting for the exact date we will leave to go to China, we have to obtain visas, make our flight arrangements and pack! This ususally happens 6-8 weeks after we get our referral and we will probably stay in China for 8-10 days.

Well, hope this helps (I have to give credit to another blogger for help in explainig this process...coincediently she calls her blog "Journey to our chinese princess" - thank you so much...I needed the words :)

Better go make our dinner!

June 2, 2006

My boys....I just love when they hug each other :)

Today we had Anthony's "graduation" from 2nd grade (he's going to a different school next year) It was so sweet - they had bleachers set up for the kids to stand on and they all read a paragraph about why they liked 2nd grade and sang songs and poems. Then they had an ice cream party after-wards.

Where did the school year go??

June 1, 2006

O.K., I'm up and running...I've been asked by a few friends to start a blog to follow my "journey" to my LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGG awaited little girl...princess :)

Monday, will be my very first home study...if anyone has any advice...do tell! I'm not nervous, just anxious. I've been cleaning, straightening, rearranging, etc. We have a "spare" room or the princesses room - which has everything we don't know what to do with, in it! I'm almost there (well not really, but by the end of the weekend it will be neat!).

I will post a picture of the boys from our Disney trip last week and will update as much as possible. Hopefully my girl will look back on this someday and see how badly we wanted her!

Off to Ant's baseball game!