We are at the end of an epic week of getting stuff done for our home study. Everything went well. Our home inspection was great. The one thing that we needed to do was get a bathmat for the tub. I could write a whole article on why I think that is absolutely stupid, but it was a simple fix and I am grateful that we passed without having to do more.
The interviews were fine, but a little frustrating. I actually think they went well overall, but the licensor did manage to push some of my buttons (maybe that was intentional.) We spent a huge amount of time talking about our parents, and relatively very little time talking about ourselves. She also kept getting Chris mixed up with someone else. I am really glad that we get to look over the home study report before it gets sent out because I have a feeling we are going to have to make corrections.
So now our old foster/adoption to-do list is getting replaced with a new one: Find doctors and dentists who accept Medicaid, figure out childcare more solidly, decide who will take care of the kids if something happens to us, etc. The doctor thing seems easy enough...just a little research. The childcare thing is a little more of a quandary. I could have the kids at my work, which would be ideal, but they don't accept DSHS vouchers and my employee discount doesn't apply for foster kids, so it's looking like we need to find someplace else since we don't know how long we will be fostering. The "who gets the kids if we die" thing is a tough one. How do you ask someone that? Anyone want to volunteer? We have a whole list of people we think would be great...people that we want to be involved in the kids' lives anyway. Any advice you may have on how to go about making this type of plan would be appreciated.
Finally, something a little more fun. We need to put together a profile with pictures describing us and where we live. I know people who have done the whole "Dear Birthmother" deal, but I guess ours would be more of a "Dear Social Worker" thing, a personal ad for a go-between. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match....
Off to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING today. I plan on cherishing what's left of this weekend.
The interviews were fine, but a little frustrating. I actually think they went well overall, but the licensor did manage to push some of my buttons (maybe that was intentional.) We spent a huge amount of time talking about our parents, and relatively very little time talking about ourselves. She also kept getting Chris mixed up with someone else. I am really glad that we get to look over the home study report before it gets sent out because I have a feeling we are going to have to make corrections.
So now our old foster/adoption to-do list is getting replaced with a new one: Find doctors and dentists who accept Medicaid, figure out childcare more solidly, decide who will take care of the kids if something happens to us, etc. The doctor thing seems easy enough...just a little research. The childcare thing is a little more of a quandary. I could have the kids at my work, which would be ideal, but they don't accept DSHS vouchers and my employee discount doesn't apply for foster kids, so it's looking like we need to find someplace else since we don't know how long we will be fostering. The "who gets the kids if we die" thing is a tough one. How do you ask someone that? Anyone want to volunteer? We have a whole list of people we think would be great...people that we want to be involved in the kids' lives anyway. Any advice you may have on how to go about making this type of plan would be appreciated.
Finally, something a little more fun. We need to put together a profile with pictures describing us and where we live. I know people who have done the whole "Dear Birthmother" deal, but I guess ours would be more of a "Dear Social Worker" thing, a personal ad for a go-between. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match....
Off to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING today. I plan on cherishing what's left of this weekend.
How great that you are almost all done! Can't wait to hear when your kids arrive. As for who to ask to be guardians in the event something happens to you, my best advice is to choose someone involved in your lives (and will be with the kids too) and someone around your age. Basically, get it down to a couple of choices and use your gut- who would you trust with your children and who would parent them in similar ways to you. We chose our son's godparents first, then our other very close friends in the event something happened to the first set. And we put that in our wills after they agreed. Really, its one part logic, one part instinct. You'll pick someone great though so don't worry too much :) So excited for you!
ReplyDeleteI am so looking forward to hearing more about your foster adopt process, my husband and I really want to do this some day.
ReplyDeleteWe had to pick guardians too, and in the end, one of the key factors was who I felt would love our children like they were their own.