Good News and Bad News

Bad news first. The bad news is that we're not going active this week. It turns out we're missing some paperwork that our agency is looking for.
1) A financial statement. This was given to the homestudy agency so it shouldn't be a problem for them to fax over the info.
2) Our W-2's. We provided the homestudy agency with our tax returns which is what was given to our adoption agency. Turns out they want W-2's instead. No biggie, we'll scan and email them.
3) Two more reference letters. I was so upset when I saw this. It took us a while to find 3 references that we had known for at least two years, considering I couldn't use any of our friends here in CT or my IVF buddies. Now our adoption agency wants two more?? I called and it turns our they're not as restrictive on their reference requirements so I can use my co-workers for the last two. Whew. So I'll ask a couple co-workers that know both me and Brandon to write a reference on Monday and supply them with a stamped envelope to mail off their letters. So it looks like the earliest we can go active is the second week of November, meaning my Starbucks giveaway is delayed.

Now on to the good news. We're going to push up my other giveaway from December to next week. This giveaway prize will come from my mom who's a new consultant at Thirty-One Gifts. I'm still working out the details about the prize but it looks like we're going to settle on the Organizing Utility Tote (the winner can choose Garden Bloom or Black Parisian Pop, page 6-7 of the catalog). The great thing about this giveaway is that there will also be an opportunity for my readers to sign up to host a fundraiser, online or in-person, and receive up to 20% of sales (and extra entries into the giveaway)!!! Get your friends and family to buy $1,000 worth of items and that's an easy $200 to help pay for infertility treatments or adoption. You can also sign up to host a regular party and get free or 1/2 price items. I'm pretty excited about this. So check back in a few days for the rest of the giveaway information and don't forget that November 1st starts the Lost Stork Foundation's adoption raffles!

And a new post is up on the private blog.

Giveaways Galore

I'm going to be hosting a giveaway on the day we go active with our agency. Since the homestudy is already on the way to them, I'm thinking it will be next week. The prize will be a $25 gift card to Starbucks. So stay tuned!

And I'm also planning another giveaway for some time in December. I won't give away the exact prize details but I will say that the prize will be coming from this website. So keep an eye out for that one as well!

Wordless Sunday

I don't play by the rules :) Anyway, here's pictures from our nursery. Still a work in progess of course.

Before painting

After painting

Our adoption wall decal

The finished product

I'd like to give a shout out to my awesome new chair. It's a microsuede rocker/recliner. Brandon and I had started out looking at gliders and ottomans but the only suitable one I found was $469 for the set. All the others had a shorter back so I couldn't rest my head against the back of the glider. So we checked out the clearance section of a local furniture store and found this chair. It was $283 after tax. Woo hoo! Can't pass up a good deal like that. Now I just need to find a good slipcover or blanket to protect it against the baby puke.

Welcome ICLW! ***UPDATE***

Welcome to everyone who's here from ICLW. I'm writing this post before I get ready for work so it will probably be short. I'm Christa and it's been a LONG time since I participated in ICLW. The last time I did we were still going through infertility treatments at Womack Army Medical Center in NC (we live in CT). We've now closed that door and and moved on to domestic infant adoption. We're thisclose to going active with our agency. I think we should be active by Halloween for sure. After that the average wait is about 3-9 months for our agency.


I also volunteer for the Lost Stork Foundation, a non-profit organization that will be providing grants and financial assistance to infertile and adoptive couples. We're still working on our grant fund but we've got an upcoming raffle in November to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. Actually it's two raffles, one is adoption-themed and one is Family Fun Night-themed so anyone can participate. Click here to check out the Lost Stork's blog and get more information about the raffles. We've also got a Friendship Fundraiser Friday in which we post information about fundraisers that people are having to raise money for their adoption or infertility treatments. Click here for that.

Other than that my life is fairly boring. I love saving money and I can't resist buying something when it's on sale so I'm always on the lookout for that. I hope you stick around and find some information on here that's useful for you!

***UPDATE*** I've been getting messages from a few of you that you can't comment on either of my blogs. I think it might be because I got the most recent versions of Internet Explorer and Mozilla when my hard drive died and I had to buy a new operating system and it may not be compatible if you have an older version. Of course, I could be wrong. So for now I'll continue allowing Anonymous comments so just write your name at the bottom so I know who's commenting and stuff. And you can try switching the browser you use as well. It worked for me for a few websites I've been using.

And I still have those 5 boxes of Endo.metrin if anyone wants them

More Updates

Who doesn't like updates, right? First, we've got less than 2 weeks before Lost Stork Foundation's raffle kick-off and could definitely use some help spreading the word! And don't forget about the Friendship Fundraiser Friday. I don't have any new ones to list yet this week.

Second, our homestudy is being emailed to our adoption agency TODAY!! After they review it and approve it, our social worker will notarize it and send off the hard copies. Then once our agency gets the copies they'll email us our activation agreement. We sign it and send it off with our activation fee and we're active! I'm so excited as the possibility of being an actively waiting family by the end of next week.

Third, we bought our swing this weekend! It was on sale at Target (only $6 off) but also came with a free matching bouncer worth $60. We simply couldn't pass up a deal like that.
I might sell the bouncer though. The pack-and-play we picked out comes with it's own little bouncer with music and vibration so I don't really see the need for all that crap in our living room. We'll barely have enough room for a pack-and-play and swing in there.
And last, work sucks as always. I try to go in every day with the knowledge that my time there is limited. Though I planned on being a stay-at-home mom, the fact that they won't hire me back even if I wanted to makes me a little bitter (for more info see my private blog). But I'm taking it one day at a time.

So Much News!

First off, the rough draft for our adoption profile came yesterday. It looks so much better than I imagined! So far all our family and friends like it. I thought about tweaking it just a tad, replacing one of the pictures and maybe trading out a different "Favorites" from Sports to something else, but other than that I love it. Brandon thinks I should leave it alone so we'll see. Here's a shot of our profile. I transferred this from PDF to JPEG so it looks a bit wonky but trust me, it looks great in PDF. All the profiles for our agency are formatted the same way to keep them consistent which I think is a great idea.

In other news, I got a call from our social worker today. The homestudy is complete but requires a signature from her boss who's on medical leave. But she'll be returning at the end of next week to sign off on it! Then we review it for any errors and then it's sent to our adoption agency for review. Then we go active!!!!!!! I'm getting very excited now. Still waiting on the domperidone to get here. Should be any day now.

We also ordered this awesome wall decal from the OldBarnRescueCompany on Etsy. They're also donating this same wall decal for the Lost Stork Foundation's raffle. Mine just came in the mail today and I can't wait to put it up in the nursery! All we've done so far is paint the walls and put up the curtains. In the next week I'm hoping to clean the vents and ceiling fan, steam clean the carpets and put up our wall decal. Then it will be ready for furniture.


I know a couple people had asked about the adoption forum issue. They don't let you talk about your experience with agencies because they essentially can't verify that you're telling the truth. For all they know you could be a person from one agency pretending to be someone so you can bash another agency. It's a very stupid rule but one they feel is necessary. To each their own.

Adoption Forums Suck

It's so different than infertility forums. With infertility forums you can discuss practically anything. With adoption forums you can discuss your personal experience with adoption agencies, that can only be done through private messaging (which I find annoying). You can't talk about fundraisers you're doing, none of that. No wonder adoption forums only have a handful of users. Maybe it's just because I'm a blogger and I believe in freedom of speech, but the censorship on general adoption forums is too suffocating for me.

For anyone out there looking for information on American Adoptions, please don't use a general adoption forum. American Adoptions has their own forum on their website that ANYONE can subscribe to. If you're looking for someone's personal experience, that's the best place to start.

Random Thoughts

-We had our last homestudy appointment last Thursday, on our 4-year anniversary. Just waiting on one piece of paperwork (our WA background check) and then the homestudy will be complete and we can finally go active with our adoption agency. I'm still shooting for the end of October.
-I think once we go active I'll keep myself busy with various projects. I think I'll start with rereading Harry Potter. I love my HP.
- Speaking of Harry Potter, the last DVD comes out on 11/11/11. Looking forward to it but it's also a bittersweet time for me. I'll miss looking forward to the next book/movie.


- I got a free Downy Unstopables sample in the mail the other day and Brandon decided to use it. He didn't read the instructions before trying it out though. Perhaps the sample was intended for more than one use but he poured the whole thing in the wash. Now his jeans smell so strong it makes my eyes burn.
- I haven't watched one football game yet this season. Kicked Glee to the curb because they have a shitty way of portraying adoption. Replaced it with the new Pan Am show. Even Brandon watches it with me.
- My nursery furniture went on sale this weekend (10% off) but I wasn't ready to make that purchase just yet. Maybe I'll do it for Black Friday cause we'll be active with our agency by then.
- When it comes to Starbucks lattes, I'm definitely Team Peppermint Mocha. Pumpkin Spice sucks. Which team are you?

Upcoming Adoption Raffle for Lost Stork

The Lost Stork Foundation is holding two raffles in November to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. Click here for information. One raffle is adoption-themed for those going through domestic, international or foster adoption. The other raffle is a Family Fun Night theme which anyone can enter. The raffle entry period is from November 1st through November 15th. Please help spread the word and consider participating in one (or both) raffles!

Infertility/Adoption Grants!

Chance to Hope is opening up applications for their very FIRST grants! Applicants are limited to certain counties in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky though I'm sure eventually they will open up their grants to other states. Applications must be postmarked by November 1st. Check out their website for more details.

Friendship Fundraiser Friday

The Lost Stork Foundation is still working hard to raise money for our grants but in the meantime we're started a Fundraiser Friday! If you're currently holding a fundraiser to help pay for infertility treatments or adoption we would be happy to promote that fundraiser every Friday. It can be an online auction, Etsy shop, garage sale or anything else. Check out the Lost Stork blog for more details. I've already added a couple fundraisers that I know of from my blog readers. And check back in a couple days to hear more about our upcoming raffle to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month!