Monday, October 31, 2005

BOO!


Tuesday loves Halloween! And she did a fantastic job as official kid gauge:

Tail wag = Kids are next door!
Tail-butt combo wag = Kids are on the front walk!!
Full body swing wag with feet lifting off the ground = There here!!! Just to see ME!!!

She adores kids and didn't even get weirded out by the neighbor boy's freaky head to toe hairy scary mask. Stay tuned for Count Dogula next year - Buahahahahahaha! With her white face, a vampire is perfect - but apparently a lot of people with medium/big dogs think the same thing because this is the second year in a row her size was sold out early.

H-2

Many of you know we decided to change home study agencies. We have chosen Glenkirk after receiving several outstanding recommendations. They seem to be very open, friendly and down to earth like we are and we are so excited to get started with them. Our first meeting is this coming Saturday at our place, so I'll be frantically cleaning this week, I'm sure! The good news is, we should get through the home study fairly quickly since we've already had the classes and fingerprints. It feels great to be back on track!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Government Efficiency

Yes, you read that right. While typically an oxymoron, in this case it's true! We received our FBI reports yesterday - just 3.5 weeks after they received the request! Their website estimates a 6-8 week turn around time, so this was amazingly fast! What a nice surprise!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Birth Cert Blues

My birth certificate came back from PA today - with a letter saying I need to resubmit it with proper payment. No, I didn't forget payment, I wrote a check for the wrong amount. Their website says certification of documents is $15 "per signature". There are 2 signatures on the document, so I paid $30. Apparently it's $15 per document, regardless of the number of signatures. Feeling just a little silly right now! :)

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Steel Doggie


I wish, I wish, I wish that the Steelers beat the Bengals today!
Oh, and I wish really really hard that they make it to the Super Bowl this year!

Update: Tuesday's first wish came true! Here's hoping Wish #2 comes true, too! Go Steelers!

Friday, October 21, 2005

Just the Facts

It's Thursday. 8:45 PM. Mary is upstairs reading. Jacek is conquering lands in Rome Total War. Tuesday is taking advantage of being unsupervised and is stretched out on the couch. The cats are sitting silently, plotting their revenge on the dog for her existence. The house is quiet. Suddenly, the phone rings. Jacek answers. It's Joe Friday from the FBI, he says (ok, so it's not really Joe, but it is really the FBI). He says he has an application form from Jacek missing a birth date. Jacek says "thanks so much for calling, I can give it to you right now." Joe says "OK". Jacek stated his birth date. Joe takes a closer look at the form in front of him. He says "Oh! I see this is for an adoption, so I don't have to ask you about a deadline - this is an extra special quick delivery"! Jacek told Joe that he "really really appreciated it".

We weren't expecting this report back until the end of November - hopefully this means we'll get it a little sooner! Fingers crossed! By the way, strange hours at the FBI records office, huh? It would have been 9:45PM West Virginia time.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Mahalo to the LA Consulate!

I can't believe it! Jacek called me at work today to tell me that our authenticated marriage certificate is back from the China Consulate in LA! That was lightning fast! They just received it a week ago!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Passable Passport

I received my amended passport today - that was fast! I didn't know this, but when you change to your married name on your passport they do not create a new passport, they simply stamp the ammended information onto the inside back cover. That would explain why the application form didn't have a checkbox for "change my terrible picture, please!"

Currently waiting for:
Birth Certificate (at PA Secretary of State for state certification)
Marriage Certificate (at LA China Consulate for authentication)
FBI Report for Home Study (at WV Records Division)

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Jacek Visits CCAI



Jacek was in Denver for work this week, so I had him pack the camera just in case he had a free minute to do a drive by photo shoot of CCAI's office. Well, despite the snow storm, he made it there today! I figured he would take photos of the sign outside, and he did - then he went inside. He introduced himself and said the staff could not have been more welcoming. They gave him a tour of their offices and he even met Josh and Lily, the founders - there they are in the photo! He didn't know who they were until I saw the picture and told him. He got some really great shots for our scrapbook and surprised me with one of the Love Bears from the website - they are even cuter live!!! OK, gotta go now, Tuesday (our dog) is stalking the love bear!

Monday, October 10, 2005

LA Consulate

Our marriage certificate is on its way to the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China, LA office for Authentication. This is the last step for the document before adding it to our dossier. I'm not sure how long it takes to process, but we have some time. We still have our other documents to send to the New York and Chicago consulates.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

FCC Chicago & China Cares

We joined our local Families with Children from China chapter and I went to the first monthly Waiting Families meeting today. The topic was China Cares - a new group that is forming at Northwestern University. Their mission is to raise money to fund things like surgeries and foster care for China's orphans. They are also planning to start regular play groups for children adopted from China that will include fun activities that will teach the children about their Chinese heritage. When the children reach 9, they can then move into the mentoring program. It sounds very promising and the students are very enthusiastic. It will provide a great service to adopted Chinese children!

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Core Conditioning

Yeah, OK, Hey! Uh, hello! Back Off! AhahahahahahahHAHAHA!

That was me working out this morning. I've known for years that Cleo and Odette are yoga fanatics - they can't resist helping me with the poses. Now this morning I find out that my new pilates partner is Tuesday. She pushed me to do my best by making the movements more challenging - leg lift? Ah, but can YOU do a successful leg lift with an unexpected dog neck block? Can YOU stay focused in your floorwork with sniffing in your ear and sloppy kisses all over your head? How about with the Cuz toy poking into your sides or tickling the bottom of your foot? HA!

To put this in perspective - Cleo and Odette are 6 and 11 pounds cats respectively. Tuesday is a solid STRONG 54 pound pit bull mix - not as easy to gently coax out of the way - especially when she thinks pilates is so neat! Love her!!!!!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

2nd Day Air x 2

Today my passport went to South Carolina to be changed to my married name and my birth certificate went to Pennsylvania for a state certification. I have no idea how long it will take to get these back. I figured out that I can print and pay for UPS shipping online and we have the envelopes at home and the drop box is right outside my office building door - that makes it easy!
I also recieved our certified and state certified marriage certificate yesterday.

Next steps:
Marriage certificate to Chinese Consulate in LA for authentication.
Upon return from PA, birth certificate to Chinese Consulate in NY for authentication.
Finish Adoption Petition & Financial Statement.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Oops!

So we got our fingerprints taken at the police outpost at a mall, I wrote a wonderful records request letter and on Friday afternoon we popped it into a UPS envelope and sent it on its way to the FBI. I woke up yesterday morning with nice sense of accomplishment - this surprise hurdle was cleared and now we simply wait. As I was happily checking in on fellow adoption bloggers I glanced down at my desk and see the copy of my very eloquent letter to be filed...suddenly two little words struck my eyes like a white hot poker - "MONEY ORDER"! A rush of panic overtook my entire being as I realized our fingerprints were on our way to the FBI without payment!

I sat paralyzed, watching the mintues tick slowly by - all 40 of them - until the magic 8 o' clock hour - UPS Store opening! I raced (ok, walked) down the street, clenching my reciept like it was gold. I explained myself to the thoroughly unimpressed and slightly annoyed store manager. He had the disdainful "you're such a UPS novice" look on his face, but maintained a polite manner and ultimately saved the day - he found our letter and made a new envelope and label and with money order enclosed, it will still make it to the FBI by Wednesday. Mission (finally) accomplished.