What's going on. . .

We have finally finished the Adoption Parent Questionnaire (APQ).  Since it is a Sunday, our Adoptive Parent Specialist will probably call us tomorrow to schedule a time to go over it with us.  We got stuck on the budget.  I really don't even like the word budget, let alone thinking about the budget for a child who is/will be priceless in our eyes.

We also received our homestudy paperwork in the mail last week.  We have filled out what we can fill out and now we need to complete some other things.  Our Homestudy Coordinator already called us on Saturday to answer some questions.  Then she asked if I was ready to schedule the homestudy.  Ummm. . . No.  There is still some paper-chasing to be done and some "home"-work.  I've got a running list in my head and on post-its.  I guess I'll make an official list here:

Homework:

• Get pets to the vet for check-ups
• clean, clean and clean (I'm getting the urge to declutter more)
• Move our cleaning supplies to above the fridge (or put a lock on the door)
• Do we need a land-line telephone?
• Post Emergency Numbers - Fire, Police, Rescue, Poison Control (That seems like a good idea for everyone. I wonder why we don't already have those?)
• Buy 3 carbon monoxide detectors (Again, probably something we should have already done).
• Post an evacuation plan on every level of the house (Anyone who knows me, probably knows that I have a strong aversion to putting things on the walls.  I'm trying to think outside the box on how to post these without putting holes in my walls)
• Get new fire extenguishers on every level of the house (3)
• Get at least one safety ladder for the upper level of the house (probably 3-4)
• Clean out the garage (Is this really necessary for a baby?)

Paper-chasing:

• Get fingerprinted and send off to KBI
• Figure out if my sister also needs to be fingerprinted and sent to KBI
• Get physicals and physician's forms for everyone (my sister too?)
• Get 5 reference letters (4 friends and 1 family)
• Employment Verification Letters (I need to write my own and Matt needs one from his company)

We need to figure out if my sister should be included in all of this since she will be moving in with us sometime this Summer.  We are getting mixed answers from the agency right now.

I also have to have one family member and four friends fill out a reference form and get it back to us.  We haven't even chosen who we will ask.  I've asked my good friend Judi (I actually call her my best friend, but that sounds a little junior high ;) ).  I think we will ask my mom, my business partner, and a couple other good friends.  The questions on this form are serious though.  How do we handle anger?  Separation/loss? Crisis Situation? Stress?  They're not kidding around.  Our friends can't just say that they think we'll be good parents (because we already are) and leave it at that.

I also need to begin writing our Adoptive Parent Profile, because I know I will want to edit it several times. 

The paperwork is moving right along though.  While it's not my favorite thing ever, it's not so bad.  I heard horror stories about the amounts of paperwork, but I feel like it is all pretty reasonable.