Just a quick hello

And we're safely back from Costa Rica and have successfully wrapped up the school year. Well, except for poor Mr. Mae, who is teaching summer school throughout the month of June. The freedom is exquisite. Last night I went out on the town ON A SCHOOL NIGHT and slept til 10. The 2 facts are possibly related.


Anyhoo, a quick adoption update. The homestudy is DONE and will soon be in route to the adoption agency. We had our big interview with our adoption coordinator today, and she basically said that, even though we're not officially activated, we're close enough that we could get a phone call in the very near future. Of course, there's always the possibility that we might wait 6 months to get Baby Mae, but the adoption people think that, given our preferences about an adoption situation, that's unlikely. WHOO!


So, coming up: a big Costa Rica post complete with pictures, and pictures of my handmade diaper bag, blanket, and knitted hats. Stay tuned!

Woot!

Thank God, the homestudy was a success! Our social worker was very nice and made everything feel really relaxed. She even told us that if she heard of an expectant mother or available newborn, she'd let us know (she does a lot of adoption networking with lawyers, etc). Yay! All in all, we would prefer to adopt in South Carolina (the termination of rights period is like 24 hours and we'd be able to come home right away). Of course, if our agency calls and says that they have a baby in Utah for us, it's not like we're going to pass on it.


In addition to being homestudy approved, we are also the proud owners of a package of newborn diapers, bottles, and 5 onesies. Mr. Mae keeps pulling out the onesie and marvelling that anything could be so small. It looks like it's made for a chihuahua or something. Cra-zy.


Well, I better go slog my way through the penultimate day of school. I've got an English III exam to write, Great Gatsby papers to grade, and textbook inventory to procrastinate about. Yay.

Happy Anniversary to Ivy!

Yesterday (Sunday) was the 2 year anniversary of my blog! Amazing. It boggles the mind to think that I started this blog as a way to journal our preparations for moving to Charleston to start my new job, and here, 2 years later, Mr. Mae is working at the same school with me, Charleston feels like home, and we're preparing for a baby. Wow.


Okay, enough reminiscing and back to the present! From my perspective, prom went well. "From my perspective" means that no one snuck any dirty music onto the sound system, no one did sexually suggestive dancing, and no one got pregnant (at least while they were in the building). Whew. I am really feeling the effects of not having a proper weekend though. The symptoms of noweekenditis are as follows: crankiness, uncertain wardrobe choices, and a tendency to show a movie rather than lecture. However, the antidote is in sight---this is my last week of teaching! There are technically 2 weeks left of school, this week and exam week, but we'll be in Costa Rica during exam week! Some other piteous creature will be administering my finals. Of course, I'll still have to grade them...


Adoption report: today we're getting fingerprinted for the FBI, getting forms notarized, and mailing off our profile pictures and captions. Then, cleaning up the yard and organizing the kitchen. Then, collapsing into bed, with or without supper. Sorry Mr. Mae. I rewarded myself for all my hard work by looking at the baby aisles in Target. Eeeeeeeee! Can't wait!


Anyhoo, thanks for reading, y'all, and giving me a reason to keep this blog around for these 2 years. ...and many moreeeeeeee.....

So I'm chaperoning prom today...

...isn't that crazy? Boy that makes me feel old. We spent the morning helping the prom committee decorate the yacht club room with streamers and balloons. Ah, fun. Let me tell y'all--I cannot WAIT for summer. Whew. I'm so exhausted that my body aches, between prom and graduation and exams and the Costa Rica trip and the adoption, of course.





Ah, paperwork. My constant companion. But, our diligence has paid off--our home study paperwork is done and the visit is scheduled for Wednesday. WEDNESDAY!!!!! That's what, 4 days?! Wow. Plus, we've got all the agency paperwork done and we just--JUST--put the finishing touches on the photos and captions for our profile. We feel pretty good about our profile. I mean, who wouldn't wait to pick us?





Joking. So, I guess for now, we just have to push on for one more week, keep those rowdy kids in line for one more week. Then, we go to graduation on Sunday. Then, hop on a jet plane for Costa Rica. Once we get back, we'll in "wait for the match" mode. Hopefully then I'll have enough time to get into nesting mode. Right now, I feel like I'm just in survival mode! I think that, for just a minute, I need to...

Progress!

Okay, I promise that this blog will not become just an adoption and baby blog, but...that's really all we've been doing for the past week and all I have to report on. Man, we have really made some progress, though.


First of all, we found a certified adoption investigator to do our home study, who, we found out later that day, just *happens* to be the mom of one of my senior girls. Not only did she drop the home study paperwork packet on our back stoop instead of making me wait for it in the mail, she also reduced the price for us. Thanks, God, for the confirmation that we're doing the right thing!


So, the home study paperwork packet has a list of 16 things that need to be done, which range from a LENGTHY autobiography for each parent (took us 3 hours each to write) to copies of our birth and marriage certificates to physicians' reports. We got our packet the day before yesterday, and by the end of today will have everything ready to submit. Dang. The social worker said that we'd get our home study visit appointment within a week, so hopefully that will take place before we leave for Costa Rica on the 18th.


With the home study visit looming on the horizon, we've kicked home improvement projects into gear. Last night, I painted the splotchy mint walls of the bathroom a nice white. It was great to cover over the unsightly ceiling patch from a repair that the landlord did before we moved in. Ah, painting. I hadn't done it in about 6 months, and I was starting to miss that brain-cell-annihilating scent. Mr. Mae is going to install smoke and CO detectors in the next couple of days, and we're going to spend the weekend cleaning out the yard and rearranging furniture to make space in the spare room nursery...wow, that sounds weird.


Anyhoo, we should get our "stage 2" packet from the agency today, which helps us set up our birthmother portfolio and defines the parameters of the kind of baby we'd like. After the home study visit, it will take the social worker approximately 2 weeks to write and submit the report to the agency. Once that is in and we have returned all the agency materials, we can become active!


So, that's the story. The last few days have been a whirlwind. Did you know that there are like 4 options for bottle-feeding a newborn? WHAT ON EARTH PEOPLE. And don't even get me started on bassinets versus Moses baskets versus cribs. My brain might explode.


Okay, Ivy out. Thanks for all the support in the comments!

An Announcement

Well. No pictures today, just a post to let everyone know who hasn't heard us squealing about it yet that Mr. Mae and I have started the adoption process. Yes, that's the process to adopt a baby, not another puppy, as BOTH my parents thought when I told them. Sheesh. Okay, maybe if you know me, that's the first thing you think of. But, no, a baby. EEEEEE!!!!


We have just signed with an agency and will be beginning the home study process soon. Once the study is done, the agency says that 95% of their clients in our program (seeking African-American or biracial infants) will only wait between 1 and 6 months. How can that seem like such an impossibly long and incredibly short period of time all at once?


Of course, we'll also be working on our portfolio, which will be shown to birthmothers, and rearranging our house. I've got to find a new place for the sewing machine... We'll be on the lookout for used baby furniture and I'll be busy making bedding and other baby necessities. I'll keep you posted on everything! My goal right now is to get home study paperwork submitted before we leave for Costa Rica on the 18th. Here's hopin' anyways.


Anyways, that's it. Oh wait, I have to share a sample from my parents' reactions (besides the whole "you're getting another puppy?!?!?!" thing).


Dad: I can just see him riding on my tractor, yelling "Hey, G-pa!"
Mom, with a frosty look: I can just see HER going shopping with me on Saturdays!


Uh oh. :)

Letter from Cleo

I don't know if I mentioned here that, since we'll be off for a week-long mission trip to Costa Rica pretty soon now, we left Cleo with my parents when we were in Florida. I MISS HER SO MUCH. I think my parents have sensed the depths of my despondancy, 'cause I just got the cutest email ever, from Cleo no less...


"Just wanted you to know that I'm doing great here with the grandparentals.
We go for walks and I find lots of sticks to chew on and good things to
smell. I love the freedom of running around and chasing Oscar. I'm sort of
scared of him, but sometimes I get brave and bark at him and run away from
him quickly.


I get so excited about a new day and all the fun we'll have, that I jump on
the bed next to grandpa and wake him up. I tried to do that with grandma,
but there is this thing in the way on her side. I found a way to get up on
the bed though where I can get to her anyway. Hee-hee!!!


I have found out that there is a dog next door who loves to run with me. We
have a fence between us, but we manage anyway.


Grandma has had a couple of days off from work and I've been (annoying)
enjoying following her around. She gives me lots of loving and lets me lay
in the kitchen while she cooks these really good smelling things.


Well, that's all for now. I will send more news later as it happens. Wish
you were here to have fun with us.


I love you mom and dad,


Cleo"


SO CUTE!!! Thanks to (my) mom and dad!