Room Getting Better

Bedroom is painted, curtain sheers are back up and most of Sunday's shower gifts are put away. I put the stroller together only to find out the handles are too low for me. I've not even all that tall, just 5'-8" but have to bend to the handles which will kill me later I'm sure. So tomorrow I'm taking it apart, put it back in the box (which will be a feeble attempt because once you take those out you can never get them back in the box) and take it back to Walmart.

My nephew got Christian this toy steering wheel that has buttons to make it light up, lights run and LOUD sounds come out. My two cats FREAKED out! :)  I need to play with it once in awhile so they get used to noise so when Christian comes home they'll be ready. Ok, so it's really just that I want to play with it :)

I'm not a fan of ceiling fans from an aesthetic standpoint, however from a practical standpoint they are great. The one I have is an ugly gold shiny unit with bad woodgrain laminate fan blades.  I got this bright idea that I could paint it, so I did.  I painted the gold part a brownish copper (not shiny) and then tried, I repeat, tried to paint the fan blades.  I ruined them, they looked terrible!  So I painted them with Kilz and spray painted them a "maple" color tonight and I think I resurrected them. Whew, didn't really want to have to spend money to fix a stupid mistake on my part.....not that I haven't had to do that before :)
~Amy

Baby/Toddler Shower

My sisters, Beth and Lisa, had a baby/toddler shower for me this afternoon. It was so nicely done and we all got to visit with our cousins we haven't seen for awhile. My sister Cindy joined us via Skype which was great!  I got some wonderful gifts, photos and memories to share with Christian when he arrives.
Now to get it all organized :)
I've never been married, and this is my first child, so I've never had any type of shower thrown for me before and it's alot of fun.  Like my birthday but not really :) Thanks everyone!!!
~Amy

Room Getting Closer

I am getting closer to having Christian's room done. I painted ALL day today and am exhausted but am happy with the results.  I still have to find places for some items I kept in his room. I really need a week to just go through my basement and attic and get rid of stuff but don't have the time. So I'll be doing it a bit at a time along with everything else :)

Now I need to finish his artwork I am making for his room. I am very excited about it and hope the finishes product looks like I'm expecting.  Not much to report today, I am just so tired.  Later
~Amy

Getting Overwhelmed

My agency told me they are trying to get my court date for the end of October. So I have been working toward everything with that timeframe in mind, only to realize how fast it is approaching!  I had this creative burst and decided to make the artwork for Christian's room. Yes it is taking me longer than I thought it would!  It would go much faster if I could use the computer and printer at work but we can't use company equipment for personal use (which I understand) but shoot, it would work so much better :)  My little inkjet printer is having a hard time keeping up and those ink cartridges are not cheap.  But when I get them finished I think I'll be happy I did it and hopefully Christian will like them.

Then I have to make a photo album for court and all my family and friends have been great either letting me take their photo or getting me photos of their family.  I have it all done except I just need to add the photos of his completed bedroom, and I have ALOT left to do on that.  I plan to get alot done on his bedroom this weekend....at least that's my thought right now.  If I could just get rid of these allergy headaches it would be great.
~Amy

Daycare Finalized

I committed to a daycare yesterday!  That was some process, whew.  My fabulous friends Susan gave me a long list of what to look for in a daycare and what questions to ask. I did everything on the list and the daycare people said they were impressed...thanks Susan, you're awesome!!!

I looked into the "facility" types and they were just too expensive for me.  Plus one I evaluated couldn't give me straight answers when I asked if they had had adoptive children from other countries and how did the work with them on the language barrier in the beginning. She danced around the question which made me uncomfortable so I passed on that facility...they were too expensive anyway.

I ended up with a business in the home, licensed, caregivers take continuing education classes and are CPR/First Aid certified.  The lady who owns the business was so nice and I felt like she was a genuine person, just a good gut feeling you know.  I checked her references, all panned out good and her cost is in my budget, so I gave her my deposit check.  It felt good to get that finalized and marked off the list!
~Amy

Room Ready, Well Almost

About half way there!  It has been a challenge getting Christian's room ready. I have a two bedroom house and the "spare bedroom" has a bed set but also has my computer desk, bookcase, shoe tub, and pretty much a dumping ground for other things.  I only have one closet in the house (not counting a very narrow hall closet that just holds a few coats and towels by the bathroom) and of course it's in the spare bedroom.  My bedroom furniture doesn't fit in the spare room as I thought I would switch rooms so I could still use the closet.  Well after all the purging I could do, I'm going to need that closet so he's just going to have to share with Mommy :)

Over the weekend I worked like a fiend and got all the loose stuff relocated to either the attic or basement (of course I had to organize some of those areas to make room for the relocated stuff....small house) and now just have to move the furniture out, which my nephew said he would help with. I want to get the furnitur moved out soon so I can get the painting done.  It is currently a sage green and of course the bedding I really like is not the same green, not even close enough to fake it, so I will be painting.  It's getting exciting seeing the room come together, in reality and in my mind, it's makes it even more real somehow.  I am excited about my "artwork" plans, trying to be creative, and fun at the same time.  I'll give you more details on that later, gotta get to work.
~Amy

Name Rudeness and Car Seats

So I am getting a little annoyed with the people that give me a negative tone and look when I tell them Christian's middle name.....RUDE!  I kept his Russian first name as his middle name because I wanted him to have a connection to his heritage.  The name is Ruslan (roos-lawn) and it's a very "Russian" name. I know it's not one we normally, if have ever heard, in the US but it IS his name. I just think it's very rude for people to act that way and I'm about ready to respond back and embarrass them so they next time before they act like that to anyone else. Yes those who know me are sitting there in shock that I haven't piped off by now :)

Been researching car seats and am losing my mind! Just when I find one that I think is a decent price, meets airline standards, isn't too heavy (and of course looks decent) I compare it against the safety list my friend sent me, and low and behold, it's on the "not recommended" list. Of course the ones that are the "best bet" are $230+. So I gave up for tonight, again, and will continue my search this weekend.  Sigh.....
~Amy

Surprise Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower yesterday!!! It was a surprise and soooo amazing:)  It was also sort of weird for me. I have never had a shower of any sort (attended many) and to have one for my child and not be pregnant is a funny feeling. They are a wonderful group of women that I have gotten to know over the years. They are college friends of my sister's, all who have stayed in close contact and get together regularly over the years. They stretch across Illinois from Chicago to St. Louis and they have been there for each other through weddings, babies, birthdays and annual get togethers. Being close to my sister, I have tagged along over the years and gotten to know this group of people. They are so much fun and truly good people and I am so glad that my sister has them in her life.  She is very blessed.

Last night was one of their annual parties at my sister's house and I was hanging out with them.  They called me into the living room to gift bags overflowing and a beautiful cake that read "Welcoms Christian".  Tears came to my eyes and then all of the sudden I was self conscious being the center of attention. Their little girls attended the impromptu shower while the husbands and little boys played outside.  The little girls were as excited as I was! They gave me a wide variety of gifts from toys to clothes to books to name a few.  They also gave me alot of toys and clothes their kids have outgrown which was wonderful!

My other sister helped me register this weekend which was so much fun! I just clicked away with that scanner gun anything and everything I think I'm going to need.  I hope I get some of the big items because it would be easier for me to fill in with the smaller ones, but I will be grateful for whatever I get.

I am missing Christian!  I showed his photo album I made to anyone who wanted to see it. Of course I had to tell the stories about each photo and the more I did the more I miss him.  I pray my court date comes fast so I can get there and bring him home! I know every prospective adoptive parent feels the same way.
I just have to send off a couple of court documents tomorrow and then I sit and wait.
~Amy

Name, Paperwork and Leave

I named him Christian Ruslan ("roos-lawn").  Ruslan is his Russian first name so I kept it as his middle name to keep a part of his heritage.  The minute I told people his name, pretty much everyone said they loved it.  A couple of people said, "oh we can call him Chris for short".  AAAHHHH! That was the one reason I hesitated so long to pick Christian because I do NOT want him to be called Chris!  Maybe that's being too anal but I just LOVE the name Christian and I had some "moments" on my trip that lead me to that name which makes it that much more meaningful to me.  I will just politely correct people and hope for the best.  Hey, I'll have my little boy, and that's the only thing that will matter.

Now that I have gotten back to a normal sleep schedule, I am completing my final court documents.  I was having trouble getting anyone to provide my Statement of Residence letter but after a mass email plea to friends, a friend of a friend's mom is a realtor and agreed to provide the letter. I hope the remaining documents arrive in the mail tomorrow, then I get them apostilled and mailed off to Russia.

When I was there, my in country rep delivered my completed court papers that I hand carried over there to the judge.  The judge asked if I was married or single, my rep responded single, and the judge made a negative "noise".  I asked my rep if there's going to be a problem and said I might have to provide some additional information which would be a complete psychiatric evaluation and a photo album of family and friends to show I have support at home.  Before I went to Russia I went ahead to get my letter from the psychiatrist, he had me go ahead and take a test anyway. His wife and he adopted a child from St. Petersburg, he knows the drill and said they may ask for it later so just do it now and get it out of the way.
So glad he suggested that because it looks like I need it and it's already done!  YAY!  I'm actually ahead on something :)  Now to find out what the last phase fees are so I can go to the bank to request my loan. 

I will be staying home 6 weeks with him after I return back to the US.  My work doesn't have a program for adoptive parents and neither does my disability insurance, it's only covers biological births, which I think is crap!  I don't have enough vacation time to cover the 10 day waiting period in Russia and the 6 week home stay, so I hope my bank will allow a little bigger loan because I can't go 3 weeks without pay.  So the financial stress is still there but I will just keep praying that God will provide one way or the other.

So now I start getting the baby room ready and wait for "THE" call :)
I'm  not that smooth of a writer (as you can tell) so I can't find the words to express how much I appreciate all your support and prayers. I know the prayers helped me find my little boy this last trip and I just want to say God Bless You All!
~Amy