Homestudy Complete!

It's done!  We passed with flying colors, I think.  It'll take a couple of weeks for the report to be written up, then we'll get a chance to proofread it, and then it'll be submitted.  We have appointments to be fingerprinted next Tuesday, November 5th.  And then everything gets sent off to the state for review and licencing.  We could have our licence by the first of December, if all goes well!

Home Study Delayed

Well, today was supposed to be our final homestudy, but our Social Worker is sick and had to cancel.  Bummer!  We've rescheduled for next Wednesday afternoon, so it's not like we have to wait months and months, although it is still disappointing.  The house is super clean, and most of the projects are done: we're ready.  The fire extinguishers are hung, the fire-escape ladder is mounted, and the non-skid bathmats are in place. The bedroom is all set up, the closet and dresser cleared of clutter and ready for a new little person's belongings.

Even if the homestudy had been completed today, we'd still have a bit of waiting time left.  Once the visit happens, the SW has to write up the report, which takes a couple weeks.  When she's finished, we get to take a look at the draft report and have a chance to correct anything that's inaccurate, then it gets submitted to the licensing people.  We also still have to get fingerprinted, which is scheduled for Nov. 5th.  They are pretty cagey about how long it will take to process the prints and return the clearance, but it seems a week to 10 days is about average.

If all goes well, we could have our foster/adopt license approved by the end of November!

And then... then we will officially join the Prospective Adoptive Parent (PAP) pool, and the real waiting begins.  Our file will be sent to social workers around the northwest who are trying to find homes for children whose cases are headed for adoption, rather than reunification with their birth families.  These caseworkers will look over our files (and all the other PAPs) and if they think we're a good fit for the child, we'll get a call.  It could take a week or it could take months... there's no way to predict it.

In light of that, waiting one more week for our homestudy to happen is probably just good practice.

I just called to tell you...

Last night while I was making dinner, Conan asked me if he could call his Grandma Anita and Grandpa Dave. I readily agreed (it was definitely preferable to his continuing to be underfoot in the kitchen, begging for snacks and/or whining that he wanted to watch a show), so I told him their number and he dialed the phone.

I'm not sure which of them picked up the phone, but listening to Conan's side of the conversation had me alternating between suppressed laughter and blushing in embarrassment.    It went like this...

Hi, it's Conan!
Good.
Well, I just called to tell you about this morning, when we were driving to preschool, and we got pulled over by a police car!  With flashing lights and everything!
Mama was driving too fast.
Yeah.  We were only s'posed to be going 50, but we were actually going 66!
We got a ticket.  It's like a consequence.
It was 144! That's a lot.
Mama didn't like it but I did.  The police car was cool.
Yeah, Mama's making dinner now.  It's going to be macaroni and cheese.
Yeah, it's my favorite.  I'm going to eat it all up.
Ok, Goodbye.

He hung up the phone and asked me for GG's phone number.  I stifled my laughter and embarrassment long enough to give it to him.  He called her up and after a little small talk about the pumpkin she gave him to carve into a jack-o-lantern, reported the whole incident to her as well.  I have to admit, I'm impressed that he remembered the specifics of the speeds and the amount of the ticket.

Luckily, by the time he had finished reporting the exciting news of my speeding ticket to his great grandma, I had finished cooking dinner.  Otherwise, I think he would have kept calling until the whole family knew!  (I suppose I've just finished the job with this post, haven't I?  Oh well.)

Nature Facts I Was Wrong About

C: Mama! Did you know, Rhino horns are made out of fingernails?
M: Um, well, no, that's not quite right. Rhino horns are just made from the same thing AS fingernails.  They grow on the Rhino's head like your fingernails grow on your fingers.
C: No! Their horns are Made. From. Fingernails!   It's true.
M: Nooo... They just grow, their horns grow like really, really thick fingernails.
C: You're wrong!  I learned it on a SHOW!
M: But, I mean, how would Rhinos even get fingernails to make horns with?
C: They take them from dead people.  That's why nobody is afraid of having Rhinos steal their fingernails, because they only get them from dead people who don't need them anymore.  Rhinos are sneaky.  They know when people die.  They take all the dead people's fingernails off and [hand gestures] boop! boop! boop! they make their horns.
M: ....
C: It's TRUE.
M: Well, I'm glad you've got it all figured out.