For those who are interested, I thought I'd take a moment to compile a more detailed list of what we've done, and what is left to do. It's kind of an esoteric process so it's good (for me at least) to see everything listed out in one place, and hopefully the Done list will come out longer than the To Do list!
We have:
- answered 176 essay/short answer questions about ourselves (88 each! I counted!)
- answered 47 essay/short answer questions about our preparations and motivations
- filled out half a dozen pages, each, for our formal background checks
- gotten 4 couples to submit references on our behalf
- each had a physical and gotten a statement from our Dr. that we're healthy
- each been tested for TB & submitted results
- submitted Conan's immunization records
- submitted a copy of our marriage licence
- submitted copies of all of our birth certificates
- submitted copies of our 2011 and 2012 tax returns
- submitted a financial statement
- submitted copies of pay stubs
- submitted proof of car insurance
- submitted details of our health & dental insurance coverage
- submitted copies of our drivers' licences
- submitted our resumes/work histories
- attended a 1 day adoption orientation seminar
- taken a 3 hour online orientation class
- taken a 30 hour class on being a foster/adoptive parent
- taken a 6 hour class on First Aid, CPR, and Blood Borne Pathogens
- gotten a big fancy first aid kit
- installed fire extinguishers in our house, both upstairs & downstairs
- installed child safety window locks in upstairs windows
- gotten non-skid bathmats for both tubs
- gotten three locking boxes for medications (human internal, human external, pet)
- gotten a baby fence to block off the wood stove completely
- moved our liquor to an "inaccessible" cupboard
- moved our cleaning supplies to "inaccessible" places
- cleaned ALL the things
- passed our first home visit (Yay!)
Remaining tasks:
- answer 32 more essay/short answer questions (at least)
- take another 4 hour class on adoption
- get cats to the vet to update immunizations
- submit our cats' immunization records
- submit a guardianship plan (in case we die before the kid is 18)
- install a fire escape ladder on the second floor roof
- get septic pumped (and provide proof of it)
- get a kid-appropriate bed
- set up kid's bedroom before final home visit
- pass final home visit (Oct 24th!)
- get fingerprinted
- get clean background check results back
Whew! When all of that is done, we'll be licensed as Foster Parents in the state of WA. Yay! Then we can start waiting to be selected as a potential family for a child, which will be much, much more difficult than any of this stuff was. And even with all these preparations and questions and paperwork, the whole process is still MUCH preferable to being pregnant.
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