It's 3:30 and yes that's a glass of wine

So, it's 3:30 in the afternoon, and I have a lovely glass of red beside the computer. to prove I'm not being melodramatic, see above picture -- the stove clock is my witness!

Why, you ask, am I having a glass of wine before 5 pm? Because, my friend, in the world of ETH adoption, mommy's aren't allowed Ativan. It seems the ETH gov't (bless them, bless them, bless them for allowing us to adopt their orphans) see prescription antidepressants in a slightly more negative light than we do in the States. I know what your thinking... "Gosh, if you are infertile and you work with 5 Fertile Mertyls at the office, wouldn't anyone be a bit depressed?" I cannot answer that question in the global sense, but this mommy-to-be sure has her Blue days. This is one of them. In fact, it's almost turquoise over here.

I haven't heard from the SW since 9/15, and that was an email telling me that the server at the office had been down for 2 days, so she would be getting my homestudy out on Friday, not Wednesday. On Friday I emailed...On Monday I emailed...Today I emailed and called. I know this is not our biggest wait, but it seems to me the homestudy is the biggest hurdle, and once that's done everything else is pretty routine paperwork. We have been vetted by local, state, and fed gov't, and approved by our agency. "The homestudy is connected to the 171-H, and the 171-H is connected to the Visa, and (everyone sing in tune w/ "dem bones!") without the Visa you don't travel!" So everything hangs in balance waiting for the homestudy.

Now, I am sure that our SW is overworked and underpaid because, lets face it, anyone who does an important job for families (teachers, daycare workers, nurses, speech therapists, stay at home mommies, etc, etc) is overworked and underpaid. BUT I am shelling out $2500 for this report, so I would like to see a little hussle! We had our first home visit 6-23, and our follow-up to discuss the 40 pages of essay questions in mid August. It's now almost October.
I would really like a return call, or an email, or a copy of the freakin' homestudy in my mailbox, the original of which has been forwarded to DCFS for approval!!!

LONG SIP FROM THE WINE GLASS.
REPEAT.

Okay, I'm calmer now.

So -- what I'm doing positive to keep busy & not freak out about the late homestudy:

1. Praying. I'm praying for all obstacles to be removed, so the homestudy can be completed, approved, certified, and forwarded to USCIS in a timely fashion. I'm praying for all obstacles to be removed so we are united with our child as soon as possible. I'm praying for healing if our child's biological mom/dad/etc. are sick and/or hungry, (please don't be true) our child is sick and/or hungry. I'm praying for compassion so I don't get jealous of other moms/babies/moms-to-be.

2. Moved the rocker/recliner upstairs to the nursery. See above picture. Believe it or not, this rocker/recliner was "rescued" (ie: liberated) from a dumpster some 15 years ago during my Purdue days. It was used as found, in a lovely nubby brown & blue plaid, smelling of beer and cigars, for a year. Then it was steam cleaned and used with a floral slip cover for several years. When I moved to Chicago I finally had the money to have it re-upholstered professionally. I loved the job they did, but shortly thereafter got a cat, who wasn't declawed, and the back of the recliner became quickly juilianned into fine strips. About 3 years ago, we had it re-upholstered again, in the current fabric. I love, love, love the fabric! Its been sitting in the basement, with all the other FFBM (furniture from before marriage) since then. Thankfully, Jazz (the offending cat) currently wears kitty nails, so she cannot damage furniture or people. You'll notice my Piece of Africa quilt prominently displayed on the recliner. Doesn't it look gorgeous?! Next to the recliner is the child chair my Uncle Walter made me when I was born. Even though it says "Megan" I'm hoping my kids will use and love as much as I do.

3. Found the trim piece I want for the dresser. Will pick it up on Sunday from HD, along with some more poly. I had mistakenly poly'd several times this week, but because of humidity, there are bubbles in the finish. So, I need to do a light sanding and open a new can, and make sure the humidity is below 40%. I may just bring it in the house, poly w/ the windows open, and then crank the AC. The knobs we picked out will be available at Lowes next week.

4. I'm going to finally!!! bring my sewing machine upstairs and plop it on the dining room table. We NEVER eat in there, so it's really a giant in-box for mail, books, phones, and medical records I need to reveiw. I figure if the sewing machine is upstairs staring at me, I'm likely (uhem, more likely) to actually get off my duff and use it.

5. To aide with #4, I'm going to measure and pick out material for the nursery curtains. I think I'm going to do 1 full across per window, and use some nice gro-grain ribbon for tie-backs (or maybe make ties out of the fabric scraps?) We have full blinds, so the curtains are pure decoration.

Okay, I'm feeling better already. I'll be productive and it will make the time more bearable.
Thanks for listening to my rant.