Weekly Check-in Feb 10

MileHighMaam

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with?

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent!

3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read?

4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?

MileHighMaam

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with?

PAP - Foster to adopt.

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent!

First home study scheduled for Thursday!   

3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read?

Best books so far: In on It, and The Connected Child

Worst book:   20 Things adopted kids wish their adoptive parents knew

4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?

We are going to the grand opening of Trader's Joe.  I have seriously missed that store since moving to a state where there were none - and this weekend there are 2 opening with two more coming soon.

sumati

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with? PAP in DIA

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent! Still filling out paperwork and waiting to schedule the home study

3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read? I have mainly followed blogs/sites for adoption and talking with friends that are adopting/have adopted.  Still trying to get into the groove of reading the books our agency suggested for us.

4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? We always do Valentine's Day the day after to avoid the crowds and so we can order the food we want and not just the food on the limited menu they have on holidays. So.. we are doing Valentine's day on Sunday and going to our favorite restaurant.  We will just spend time together, stay in, and maybe cook something a bit fancier on the actual Valentine's Day.  :P

Sparky1014

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with? PAP in Fost/Adopt

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent! Registered for MAPP Classes that start March 1! Also get to start filling out paperwork-I know there's a lot ahead, but it makes it feel like the process is really starting.

3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read?

I've read a lot of good ones-Adopting on Your Own (literally the only Single Mom by Choice book I could find on adoption)
I also liked Instant Mom by Nia Vardalos

As far as parenting books that relate to adoption-I like Parenting the Hurt Child and Parenting with Love and Logic

Worst: Agree with PP, 20 things adoptive kids wished their parents knew

^^take these with a grain of salt since I'm still so green

4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? None this year, maybe I'll take my mom out for a nice dinner since my dad will be away on business.

annalisel

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with? DIA -adoptive mom
2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent!No progress. We're waiting to hear when TPR on the birth father will be filed.
3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read?
I was completely drawn into "Jessica Lost". It's written in alternating chapters by a woman who was adopted in the time of closed adoptions and her birth mother. It was very balanced, introspective and I think it really demonstrated the contributions of "nature vs. nurture," which I'm particularly interested in. 
I liked "The Third Choice" for better understanding of what the expectant moms were going through.
I thought the "20 things" book was hard to read from the PAP perspective, but also important to read. 
4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?
We always make a particularly nice dinner in.
Edited: I cannot get the formatting right.

hey_its_jenn

1.) PAP - DIA

2.) We mailed out our profiles today to our agency so hopefully within a week or so, we will be in all the books (15 different offices)!  Also, not adoption related, we finally finished our half bath on the main floor after a few months of it being a construction site.  VERY excited about that! 

3.) I am along the same lines as @sumati that I read a lot of blogs/websites more than books.

4) Every year my DH and I go to a Japanese hibachi place and every year I try to get him to try sushi and it never works - but it's fun!  And instead of gifts this year, we're getting things for the baby, which is super exciting! 

Cst2CstBride

1. PAP DIA

2. We have our homestudy scheduled and are being shown. (Our program shows while in process so that you don't "lose" time). Vent is that H's background check got revoked for "more information" about a misdemeanor 15 years ago. He was a dumb kid at the time (but over 18) and disclosed it. It was cleared initially. So, there are now a ton more hoops.
3. I tried to read the book on Open Adoptions for our homestudy but it is so outdated that I haven't been able to get through it. I've made notes of some of these to add to my reading list.

4. No big plans for Valentine's day. I'll probably make something with Chocolate.

justjinny

1.) How are you related to adoption/fostering and what type (DIA, IA, Foster to Adopt, etc) are you involved with? DIA Adoptive Mom

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent!  Our TPR hearing is this Friday!  We're not allowed to go since it's up to BM who can attend the closed hearing I just hope it all goes through and we can finally feel more settled - four months is long enough to be kept in limbo.  We are still waiting on some DNA results to come back from a potential BF since he couldn't be bothered to go in to take the test (that he requested to have done) until last Thursday.  I am counting down the days until we can feel even the slightest bit in control of our family's future!

3.) AR-QOTW - What is the best adoption related book you read?  What is the worst adoption related book you read? The best book I read was The Open Adoption Experience by Melina & Roszia.  The only book I was disappointed by was one of the baby's first year type books that I read.  It was always going on about the benefits of breastfeeding or how connected you had become while baby was in your tummy yada-yada-yada... I found it annoying when I just wanted to get the info I needed on how to care for a newborn.  I would have LOVED to have a newborn care book written for/by adoptive parents. Anyone know if this exists?

4) Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? We are having friends over & will be making homemade pizzas.  Everyone has to bring a craft beer they haven't tried so we can all test some new ones out.

annalisel

justjinny said:

2.) Where are you in the process?  Any accomplishments or set backs?  Feel free to vent!  Our TPR hearing is this Friday!  We're not allowed to go since it's up to BM who can attend the closed hearing I just hope it all goes through and we can finally feel more settled - four months is long enough to be kept in limbo.  We are still waiting on some DNA results to come back from a potential BF since he couldn't be bothered to go in to take the test (that he requested to have done) until last Thursday.  I am counting down the days until we can feel even the slightest bit in control of our family's future!

4 months? Sigh. LO is 3 months and TPR for birth father hasn't even been filed. In our state, apparently, first social services has identify the father to the court and only then can a lawyer file for TPR. Birth father then has 30 days to contest. He's supportive of the adoption, and even signed a pre-birth waiver, but there's always that uncertainty that weighs on my mind. Will LO really be our child? It feels like it is taking forever and a day. 

Fx for no surprises on Friday.