It's That Time of Year

It's been a wonderful week back, and yes I am being sarcastic. During the weekend we had to "overcome" Hayden leaving his Spiderman gymmies at school (long story) in trade for his school gym shoes. This week he lost his umbrella even though mom told him not to bring it (one of those battles not worth fighting). Lastly, his new H2O bottle leaked all over his backpack getting his shirt and pants wet at school. Luckily teacher said he was NOT the least bit affected and to not worry about it.

Today is proving to be no better. Mints, our middle and largest cat managed to get into something her big tummy shouldn't have. I have been cleaning up after her all week and today has been no vacation! We believe she may have gotten into my artificial fruit on the bottom shelf on the kitchen island - totally in kitty reach.

And that brings us to tonights event and the week isn't over: Michael's "Back to School Night". This event (and sometimes Graduation) happens every year and usually brings Daddy home after Hayden is in bed (long day for all of us). But mostly hard on Hayden as he is still trying to understand the concept of work. In the years past we have met Daddy at work beforehand and had dinner. We will see if we can swing it tonight - though with school and traffic and gas cost it may just prove easier to stay home. :(

To put the bounce back in my step we are the proud owners of 5 new huge brown boxes - in our garage. Actually this is Baby V's furniture. All of which has to be put together. I'm not thrilled about spending countless hours assembling, but the thought of the room on it's way brings a smile to my face.

More later...

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Posted by Mel at 9:19 AM

We Would Like To Introduce...

From reading the last post, you can gather I am talking about my new sister in law, Kristen.
My brother Paul and Kristen have been dating for several years and definately compliment each other. I am very proud to have stood up in their wedding.... and also to have Hayden in their wedding. He was 1 of 2 ringbearers, but being my son - was the most handsome one there.
We just want to say congratulations and many years of bliss!

Viewing the pictures to the right you will see a collection of end of the summer fun. We visited Discovery World in Milwaukee shortly before Michael started school, took pictures of Hayden at his soccer lessons (in between takes of him being happy and sad - he has trouble with understanding he can't always win, get the ball, etc.) And then there's the wedding. Besides for the beautiful bride, Hayden was the best dressed (sorry Paul). He charmed the pants off everyone in the hall with his dancing skills. Posted are a few pictures of him dancing with my cousin's daughter. Who knew my son was such a ladies man!?! Let's just say he danced the night away - until he couldn't dance no more. Poor little guy ended up getting a tummy ache and once we got back it became apparent all the dancing and the long day wore him out. His tummy got the best of him.

All in all, it was a great day and we can't wait to see more pictures!

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Posted by Mel at 10:22 AM

Lag Time

As I busily multi-task here, I want everyone to know we haven't forgotten about our family, friends and supporters who read our blog on a consistent basis. My younger brother Paul recently got married this past weekend (SOOO Surreal!) and things haven't quite gotten back on schedule.
With that I will be updating the blog in installments in the next few days to keep you posted on the upcoming events of our busy life.
Meanwhile, please view the pictures of our Handsome Hayden!
Be Back Soon! 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 10:04 AM

Please Pray for The Families of Kyrgyzstan

Sometime yesterday an airplane carrying about 100 passengers crashed near the capital of Bishkek Kyrgyzstan. The plane, traveling to Iran, was having technical difficulties and made the decision to turn around. A Bishkek high school sports team were amongst others on board who were either injured or killed.
We will pray for the families who lost loved ones - especially as this now draws close to home, our daughters.

Feel free to click on the header of this post for the complete news story about this tragedy (or click here). 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 12:34 PM

Donations

I am always on the lookout for a bargain - cheap, free, on clearance or on sale. I know many smart savvy moms who shop like me. Along our journey full of research many families have traveled to their childs country and brought gifts. We have been thinking about this for awhile now and figure now would be a good time to start. Clearance... I always raid the clearance racks wherever I go - even if we don't need anything or there isn't a b-day coming up. With that being said, we are starting a collection of items to take with us on our trip to Kyrgyz. Clothes ranging from any size (newborn/infant, toddler and school-aged) and any season. Socks, booties, shoes and hats. We are hoping to collect a good amount in addition to maybe supply diapers and possibly diaper cream once we arrive (easier to buy there than travel with).

In addition some may notice the pretty pink banner I've added on the bottom of the page. Once clicked, this will take you to another site. Please note that if you decide to sign up for this site - that we are registered ONLY for the cash option of which will help us fund Baby V's adoption. In the past I have completed several sites like these (quickly labeled as "get paid to" sites) and have been successful in completing them. I know there is a fair amount of individuals that may feel this type of networking is "shady". If you worry go ahead and do some research, Google the site and form your own opinion.

Lastly if you would like to donate any type of clothing item, all would be greatly appreciated by the Kyrgyz children and their caregivers. Please contact me for more information on how you can help. Mandm2002@ameritech.net (Please enter "DONATIONS" in subject line)

Edited to add: New or gently used clothes would both appropriate donations. :) 1 comments

Posted by Mel at 12:34 PM

If It Was As Simple As Curtains Holding Us Back

This is the period that most adoptive parents dread - the wait. Though I am sure we have just begun. Now that the doctor forms have FINALLY come in and the homestudy has been written and finalized... the dossier/paperwork that we have been so busy collecting can now be taken to the Secretary of State for certification. Once we get the finalized copy in our hands and Michael can take a day off of school - Chicago here we come!

The USCIS print taking was pretty uneventful. Though the 45 minute wait would have been avoided if we had been rehearsed on using our middle name, or the initial of it. With that, we got stuck waiting for the immigration officer to come in (20 minutes late) for him to check off our form and match us to our I.D.

Anyhoo... we are still on the search for bedroom furniture for Baby V. It's stressful to know (for me anyway) if she will be in a crib or a toddler bed. Some may not think this is an issue, but when you are preparing a room it matters millions. She will use Hayden's crib if need be, but we plan on buying her a bedroom set for her later years, thus being able to make us of the dressers. Unfortunately we haven't made much headway on decorating her room. I've been searching for the most "perfect" curtains but truthfully the only "perfect" curtain comes in the set that matches the blanket and prints for her room. I don't think I will need the quilt and diaper keeper and other stuff that comes in the set (and neither did I need it for Hayden when he was little). Nor can I see spending $180 just to get the set for the curtains. So I am stuck at a fork in the road.

New this week I have included a timeline... this list depicts the important dates when paperwork, prints, etc. were accepted and more. Keep an eye on this list to know where we are at in this stage/day. Even if I don't have a blog entry for the day, there may be news here.

Hayden has aced his speech lesson on pronouncing Kyrgyzstan. It's not easy for an adult to say it, but for a 5 year old it's pure chance. It's simply endearing (heartbreaking, tearfull and loving all roled up into one) to hear Hayden talk about his baby sister. For instance, while on one of our many journeys for furniture, Hayden came across a small rocking chair. He mentioned buying it for baby sisters room. He then moved onto a small stuffed animal, only to realize that we were only shopping for dressers. It's so cute that he wants to buy her things, acknowledging that she will need things - making this more real everyday.

With that note we appreciate the support from our friends and family. Everyone has questions and we have no problem answering them. We recently ordered several books on Kyrgyzstan and are busy studying them. By T-day (travel day) we should be experts! We are so excited to learn all there is about where our daughter is coming from, share it with Hayden and everyone willing to hear. 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 11:46 PM

Souvenirs Don't Count

Amongst preparing the dossier which consists of over 20 forms... we've been keeping a watchful eye on our mailbox for our I-171H form. This is yet another crucial form that must be returned to us and then included in our dossier-which then needs to be translated and shipped off to Kyrg. Unfortunately... along with the letters for our NEXT FBI fingerprinting appointment which they conveniently schedule for you (Saturday August 8, 8am - they so don't know I am NOT a morning person do they?) came a cordial letter stating that we screwed up. LOL

I guess when Michael and I got married, we received a souvenir marriage license and just assumed that it was an official copy. So, we made a copy of it... sent it in and haven't heard a complaint... until now. Anyway, we headed back to VitalChek.com (amazing how convenient the internet is these days!) and ordered us up some originals. First thing we did was ship off one of these "non-souvenir" marriage license to the USCIS office and are back to drooling at the window. Once all these forms are back in our hands we will be traveling to the Secretary of State to have them certified and then ship them off to have them translated for Kyrg.

Well, it's melancholy here. Michael goes back to school shortly, as does Hayden. He will start Kindergarten on August 28th. It will be great to have the quiet time again but I will miss having my boys home. On the bright side... my ear should be recovering shortly. I went to the doctor (killing two birds with one stone) to have it checked out and get blood drawn for yet another form for our dossier. We got back last Wednesday from our short but sweet water park adventure and Hayden had a great time. We visited the Andersen Japanese Gardens and also a childrens hands-on museum during our trip.

It's a busy August here. We have several birthday parties to attend. Fingers to print. A future sister inlaw to celebrate (bridal shower) and my brothers wedding coming September 6th. It's quite a whirlwind here with traveling.

That's about it for today. Hopefully the last form on our end (in the doctors hand's) will be completed and returned shortly and we will be on our merry way.
Until next time... thank you for all your support! 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 1:29 PM

The Fun Continues

It's been a while since our last update... but we haven't forgotten about our friends and family.
With the homestudy out of the way, we have been preparing to jump over the next set of hurdles - the dossier. The dossier is a compilation of forms that describes our family and home.

So... with that we are back to square one (in a sense *wink*). We must provide our FBI clearances (WE PASSED!), financial statements, copies of our passports, verification of our home and employment, ETC. All these forms must be completed on professional letterheads by the appropriate person (some by us, some by the help of others), notarized and then certified by the Secretary of State - which means a trip downtown!

We got our passports relatively fast in the mail AND our original birth certificates back, no thanks to the "friendly" postman.

Also new to post - I am officially a "soccer-mom". We traded in the Honda CRV and got ourselves a "MINI"-van. Now, those who know me know I am NOT the mini-van type mom. But with our expanding family, increasing need for storage and ease for Hayden to climb in and out of... we knew it was due. The only problem - getting it to fit in the garage. ;)

While we wait for paperwork to come in and others to go out we are taking a long due small vacation to CoCo Key Waterpark Resort in Rockford. However, I'm sure once the 2 1/2 day event is over, I'll be wishing it never started. Hayden is excited though - and that's all that matters.

Summer is roaring on through. We will be having a busy bee August. Bday parties and a bridal shower. And my brother gets married the first weekend in September. We have enough to keep us occupied, no doubt about that. Here's to hoping fall isn't just around the corner.

Take a look at our latest adventures! (the picture slideshow on the right). Someone needed a dip in the pool and mom was thrilled to catch it on camera! You will also see a couple clips of us at our Cubs tour, Hayden being put to work (who said anything about child labor?) and taking a shower. Showers are the next best thing in our house. Hayden is just getting used to H2O on the head and he is having a blast.

And as always, thank you for the thoughts and prayers. 1 comments

Posted by Mel at 8:57 PM

30 some odd pages later...

Yes it was that many. But making a long story short - I'm sure everyone is sitting on the edge of their seat wondering the outcome of our HomeStudy.

Linda our social worker was great, friendly and put all our worries to rest when she informed us of only 3 lonely questions you could answer wrong to make her leave. This put an end to my "marathon" beating heart and sweating like a pig. She worked with Hayden wonderfully the second she walked in the door, asking "him" for the tour of the house. Afterwards we sat down and she asked him some brief questions (before letting him run off to the TV) about how he "feels about baby sister". To which Hayden replies "Great!". She also asked Hayden to describe himself (with a little help) and he shot off answers like happy and silly and she helped with "smart". He was suffice with that :) .

Michael's parents soon came to watch Hayden during the rest of the process. We also got to take turns answering questions seperately... questions like "When did we decide to adopt?" "How did Michael and I meet?" "Describe our each other's personality" "What are our family's morals values and goals?" and more.

All in all, I was obviously worried about nothing and we are GLAD that hump is over. So with that, I will put my bag of nerves away and save them for another day.

Thanks again for ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

Next up, dossier! 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 11:03 AM

That man was NOT Santa!

There is always some drama going on in our house - whether it's inside or out. I don't know why this particular day I was surprised to be smacked right in the face at such a general place - the United States Post Office.

We had all the forms filled out for our passports and birth certificates in tow (including a soon to be grouchy Hayden) as we approached USPS. Once inside we stood in line behind a chatty elderly couple also getting their passports. For what seemed like FOREVER, the elderly couple finally emerged from behind the doors and it was soon our turn. Apparently the "usual" passport person wasn't in that day and we were priviledged to be "helped" by an older looking Santa type. This man could definately pass as Santa tis the season and wearing a red suit!

He "welcomed" us into the door and informed us to follow the hallway into a conferernce like room. We quietly sat and handed him our paperwork - Michael first. The gentleman proceeded by asking Michael what his mother's maiden name was and was his dad married to his sister? (Michael made a boo-boo on the form). We chuckled but the man remained emotionless, picking up his white-out, marking out the error and DROPPING it back on the table. Yes, I said drop, as on purpose. The rest of the paperwork didn't get better. Hayden became increasingly cranky (How long do you expect a 5 year old to wait and then sit patiently to wait longer? We had already been waiting 15 minutes or so). Hayden wanted Michael to go to the car and get his Matchbox cars while whinning... the "Santa" man commented "Young man, if you wait just 10 more minutes while we finish up this paperwork, your dad will go get your cars." The whole time the man had glasses tiltled down on the bridge of his nose looking very stern. He put chills down MY spine - I can only imagine how my son felt.

After all was said and done, he stapled our ORIGINAL birth certificates to the forms (Yikes!). Then "Santa" man implied he didn't like our form of payment (our debit card). With this he instructed us to the front and let us pay that way (I guess they prefer check or money order) and charged us a $25 fee EACH! Like the saying goes - you can't judge a book by its cover.

Lastly, because of "losing" our birth certificates at the post office and knowing we need additional copies for the dossier... we utilized the services of VitalChek.com and ordered some more. Once I had mine completed and paid for, the site needed to "verify" that I was the person ordering. So it asks you several questions. I passed.... Michael failed!!!! My birth certificates will be arriving tomorrow (we ordered 2 day shipping) and Michael had to fax in a verification form that required a copy of his license and signature.

Like I said, drama!

Up this week: HOMESTUDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Thursday (July 10th) and I for one am very stressed all ready. If Michael and I are still sleeping in the same bed at the end of the week it will be a miracle.

Also this week, we have one more in person adoption class (but still have 4 more hours of which can be done online) and the "boys" dental appointments. Oye! At this point, Calgon won't even take me away.

Wish us luck! 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 7:55 PM