Our Final Class!

Today was our last foster/adopt class!  We still have several steps to complete before we are licensed, including having our home certified by the health department, having a TB test, and finishing a bit of paperwork.  Our social worker will make another visit to our house in a week and a half to go over a home study survey.  It seems surreal that we have made it to this point.  I remember being so anxious to begin our class like it was yesterday.

Our daughter showed me just how excited she is to have a sibling yesterday.  I took her to Build-A-Bear for the first time (something she has been anticipating for some time).  She chose a bear and told me that she wanted to make it for her "new baby brother or baby sister."  She told the lady who put the stuffing in, also.  She put two hearts in the bear--one for her, and one for her future sibling and kissed them before putting them in.  I almost cried in the store, it was so sweet.

House Work

Today, my family spent the day working on our house.  Our basement was a disaster, but it is almost completely cleaned out now.  We also installed the carbon monoxide detectors and moved the smoke detectors.  (We had one in the hallway between our room and our daughter's, but the health department says that there has to be one in each bedroom).  Tomorrow, my step-dad will be replacing a couple of outlets.  The only thing left to get ready will then be our backyard.  We currently have a pond, but it leaks and is more of a pain than it is worth.  We will be removing it and cleaning up a few other things.

I got the baby items I ordered in the mail a couple of days ago from www.thredup.com.  I have enough crib sheets now to last forever.  I love the carrier/wrap that I ordered.  If we get a baby who is older than a newborn, they may need to be held consistently for comfort and bonding (more than usual), so it will be very nice to be able to hold the baby and have use of both hands at the same time.

Tomorrow, I will finish the bedding for the crib.

It almost feels like this is real and going to happen soon!  :)

Quote

This quote means a lot to me in more than one way:

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother (or father). 
-Oprah Winfrey

More Baby Purchases :)

I have a baby monitor, crib sheets, a baby wrap/carrier, and sleep sack on the way.  I also bought a mattress for the crib today.  This weekend, I'll be completing the crib set.

This isn't much of a post, but I'm too excited not to share.

Walk-Through

Today, our social worker did an informal walk-through on our house.  She was looking for potential safety issues that would cause a delay when we have our official home study done by the state.  I was very concerned about having her come over, because I am not the world's greatest housekeeper.  She was supposed to come last week, but I asked her to wait because I was gone all week and had no chance to pick things up.  This week was a little less hectic, but I still didn't get everything spotless.  She was very nice about it and said it isn't necessary for the house to pass a white-glove test.  We still need to put child locks on the cabinets, change out a couple of outlets, and install the CO detectors.  There are some other house-keeping issues that I want to get taken care of, but we will have a few weeks to a month and a half to get them completed.

We are also nearing the end of our classes.  Our social worker said there may be an immediate placement for us, or we may have to wait for some time.  I'm willing to do what it takes to get the right child for us...even if that means waiting.  We've waited this long--we've got nothing but time at this point.

I feel relieved to have the initial walk-through done, but I am exhausted from all of the stress.  I'm turning in early tonight!

One Year Ago

This post is off-topic, but still fitting for my blog.

One year ago, I sat down to watch the 10 o'clock news and my stomach instantly dropped.  I had spoken to my husband a few hours before and he hung up suddenly, giving me a bad feeling that wouldn't go away.  The breaking news at the top of the hour was that seven firefighters were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning.  The news didn't give any names, but I just knew that it was him.  I frantically dialed the emergency room and learned that he was there, indeed.  I ran around in circles for a little while after that, trying to decide what to do.  Our daughter had been in bed for a few hours and I did not want to wake her.  I eventually called my mom and asked her to come sit at our house while I went to the hospital.  I waited for what seemed like forever for her to get here and then rushed out the door.  I wasn't able to talk to him, so I had no idea how he was.  I finally arrived at the hospital after a white-knuckled drive to town (thirty minutes from where we live) and had to stand in line to talk to the lady at the registration desk.  A cop had brought in a drunk man and he was giving them a hard time.  After about twenty minutes of standing, I asked someone else in scrubs if they could give me any information.  She told me only the lady at registration could.  When I was able to speak with her, she let me know that he had been released ten minutes prior.  I rushed out the doors and over to the fire station. When I got there, he was already in his truck, getting ready to drive home.  I flagged him down and we got out and hugged and talked a little bit.  I was worried about him driving home, but he told me the doctor said it would be okay.  (I'm still not sure if that's true or not...lol)  He was sent home for the rest of the shift, though.

I was upset that he didn't call me, but he apparently told everyone not to call.  He didn't want to worry me.  We had a very frank discussion about how I need to know if anything happens, even if he thinks he'll be okay.  He recovered after several hours on high oxygen therapy, but he was very close to having to be hospitalized overnight.  They had (unknowingly) been exposed to an extremely high level of CO and started feeling light-headed after just a couple of minutes in the house.

I usually feel pretty confident in my husband's abilities and the reliability of his co-workers to keep him safe.  I don't typically lose a lot of sleep over his job.  However, I had a hard time coping with this particular incident.  He and his fellow firefighters could have easily died--another minute in that house could have been the end of them.  I'm so thankful that they are all here with us today.  I don't know what I would do without him.

Look What I Can Do!

Today, I spent allllll day at my mom's house learning to sew.  I think the last time I touched a sewing machine was in 8th grade Home Ec. when I did a horrible job on my quillo.  When I chose this pattern and material, my mom said she'd help me with it, but that it would be my project.  She helped me understand the instructions and get started.  She guided me the rest of the way, but I did all the cutting and sewing on my own.

This is the quilt.  I need to sew the batting and backing on and then it will be complete.

This a piece of the crib skirt.  I have some detail stitching to finish on the rest of the pieces and then need to sew it to the base.  (Note the crib and the white breathable bumper :D )