The other

I realized today that I pretty much only talk about Foster/Adoption on this blog, so I thought I would let you in on a little 'bout me...

• I LOVE SUMMER!!! The hotter the better! I would probably enjoy fall much better if I wasn't already dreading the 6 months (or it seems) of winter coming around next. I literally will spend the next month or so just trying to absorb the warm sun, the green trees, fresh produce, baseball...etc you catch my drift...B is already on notice, I can NOT live in the Midwest forever!

• Since letting go of the TTC dream, I have been RELISHING having my body back! While trying to get pregnant I have done EVERY diet/restriction known, IE: no caffeine or alcohol, high protein, only organic, soy/not soy, green tea out the ying yang, I even lost 30lbs a few years ago just to see if it was the chubby that was the problem. Now I eat what I want to eat, sleep when I want to sleep and exercise when and how I want.
  

The above is a picture of ME from Sunday running the final steps in my first HALF MARATHON! Yes, yours truly ran 13.1 miles...at one time! I'm not going to lie, it was hard! But the feeling of accomplishing something is HUGE!! Especially for someone who is never going to be pregnant, I needed to have my body do something right for once...and it didn't let me down this time. I am hooked on the runner's high:)

Okay one more...

• B and I love MLB baseball!! We are working on one day getting to every major league ballpark in the US and Canada. We have been to 13 out of 30 so far plus Cooperstown New York (baseball hall of fame) and Arizona leagues spring training this last March. Our hearts belong to the Cincinnati Reds and we are soooo excited to see they will probably make it to the playoffs this year!! In fact, we are going to see them play in St. Louis this weekend:)

*Foster related: we should be licensed any day now and will start our therapeutic requirements ASAP after the license is official...

DELAYED. But not derailed...

All of our pre-service classes are complete! We only have one more home study visit and we will be licensed!

Ok, now the bad...that pesky therapeutic foster care qualification and the 60 hours of classes it comes with...yeah, talked to our SW today and really tried to pin down WHEN we could expect placement. After some hemming and hauling, she said to not expect a true placement until...THE FIRST OF THE YEAR! WHAT???!! Uhhhh, yeah...I just turned in my tentitive resignation! I had a goal to have little ones in our home for Christmas this year...guess that won't be happening:(

Why therapeutic? Well, we will get YOUNGER placements this way (I am told). Any infant that tests positive for drugs at birth will be classified as therapeutic. Also extreme neglect, malnurshed babies/toddlers. These are also higher risk for TPR (termination of parental rights) too. NO "county" foster homes are considered therapeutic. They go straight to private agency. So you see, I just need to be patient!

PROGRESS!

We had our 1st homestudy and it was...a piece of cake. I LOVE our social worker! She has been battling infertility even longer than we have, so she knows our journey well. (incidentally, she said she couldn't do foster to adopt herself--wow, umm... ok?! She said it would be too hard to get attached to a little one and then get reunited with birth family...gee great news for us huh?)
Her tour of our house was like 2 minutes max and that was because I WANTED to show her stuff!

The rest of the time was spent at the kitchen table "interviewing" us. Easy, casual questions so far...she said the next session will go deeper (ie: hardest thing we've dealt with in our marriage...without a doubt, INFERTILITY! next question!)
We have 2 more classes the next two Saturdays (passive restraint and CPR) finish our home study then a week later for paperwork filing with the state, we will be official! She said we could have a child(ren?!) in our home by the end of the month...THIS month!! YEAH!!!!

I also told my boss that "the end is near"...lol:) and my days of work are numbered. She was really pretty good about it. My "replacement" is her niece that just graduated hygiene school, so I can work right up until we get our first placement. B is trying to scrape all the pennies out of me working that he can, so he is happy I don't have a quit date set in stone. I really do love my little Scrooge, he keeps me in line;)

Thanks everyone for your words of support and encouragement!!! I'm sure some of you vets to foster care are seeing my thoughts and entries as "look how green and gullible she is...she has no idea what's about to happen"...you are RIGHT and I can't wait!!!!