Our Beautifully Ordinary Life

Archive for May, 2006

Wow! I got a surprise package in the mail today from Nestle Good Start. Who would’ve guessed that they would send me a free gift

and inform me that the wait was going to be much shorter than I (or anyone) ever expected?

I hope that my tone of dripping sarcasm is coming through loud and clear here.

Shame on them for assuming all babies come to their parents by birth and not considering that people may be building their families by adoption or other means. At least Enfamil sent me a big ole’ can of their formula with no mention of picking up my other free gift and sample from the hospital when I deliver. I wonder if I can go get my free diaper bag from a local participating hospital when I get back from China? I could take my boarding passes from the flight over and back and explain to them that the mega-long flight was very much like labor. Very painful flying in coach, ya know.

Bad form, Nestle. Bad form. I can assure you that if Ava is of an age to still be on formula then Nestle will certainly not be my first choice.

And, just to make this clear, I have no idea how or why I’m on these mailing lists anyway. Especially the bank-your-childs-cord-blood one. I get that mailing at least once a week. Ick.

~A

Our adoption agency is now officially telling us to prepare for up to an 18 month wait. I just received a lengthy email from our social worker – chock full of platitudes and best guesses – on why the process has slowed so dramatically. Ultimately, no one knows except the CCAA and they’re not talking.

If we manage to get through this adoption successfully and decide to do it again then I’m pretty certain that we won’t use the same agency. We chose Bethany because they have a local office and because I really liked the director of the local branch. However, I should have taken it into account that they are first and foremost a Christian faith based organization, and factored that into the equation since our beliefs aren’t necessarily on the same level.

Maybe all the bible verses scattered throughout the bad news email will comfort some people. They pretty much just pissed me off.

~A

This pretty much just sucks for everybody except the few lucky people whose LIDs are between June 9th and June 15th.

Our most recent hope was for a December referral, which would be 12 months from our log-in date. If this continues then we may end up with a December referral after all…December 2007.

~A

J is off to conquer the wilds of Alaska for the next couple of months while I remain back at the ole’ homestead. I’m a little bummed about it because, at the end of the day, I really do like J quite a lot and I miss him when he’s gone. He’s not only my husband, he’s also a good friend, and I’d rather hang out with him than anybody.

So instead of wallowing in my depression, I decided to make a list of some good things about temporarily livin’ single:

• I get to stay up as late as I want (J = Morning Person, A = Night Owl)
• I can work late without feeling guilty
• Frozen yogurt and frozen burritos for dinner…every day
• I can buy shoes and not have to sneak them into the house*
• Same goes for baby clothes
• The TV doesn’t get turned on EVER
• Fewer dishes and laundry to do

Of course, there are many more negatives than positives but I’m trying to put a favorable spin on things. I’m taking 3 summer classes – that’s definitely going to keep me busy and I’ve just been promoted at work, so there are some additional responsibilites that require my attention. And I can’t help but think that by the time J gets home, we’ll be 7+ months into our wait.

I must say, however, that the wait rumors don’t seem to be getting any better. Some agencies are saying to plan for up to an 18 month wait. By the way, if that nasty rumor turns out to be true then we won’t meet Ava until Summer 2007.

* I don’t actually sneak shoes in. J has organized all of my shoes (100+ pairs) into clear plastic shoe boxes with a picture of the contents taped to each box. That means every pair of shoes purchased is given to him for photographs right away.

~A