150 Steps...In the Present Moment

A lot of folks have been asking, "So, when will you actually get The Kid?" So, here's the deal on that...there is still a LOT that has to happen before we become Plus One... I still need to get fingerprinted by our local police department (the only hours in which to take care of this task...Thursdays 10:00-noon and 1:00-2:30) we're waiting on the letter from the bank stating that we can afford The Kid I have yet to request a letter from my workplace we're waiting on letters of reference from friends  also still waiting on an FBI clearance confirming that we are not terrorists or members of the Most Wanted list Chris and I need to submit all of our paperwork - once received - to social worker M social worker M needs to write up her report (the Home Study) stating that we are fit to be parents we need to submit our application to the adoption law firm after applying to the law firm then we need to write our profile materials profile then needs to be p...

If you're new to "In the present moment..." I'm referring to the Sarah who appeared in a post called  Becoming a mom...for Sarah . You can also read the comment she left me at  Becoming a mom...a new idea . I have no idea if Sarah ever returned to visit here again, if she saw the post that I wrote for her way back when, or if she has made any decisions about pursuing motherhood with her partner. I think of her often. It's strange and funny how life can change. How things that you thought were never possible suddenly become not only possibilities but actual realities. A little more than a year ago if you had asked me if I was ever going to be a mom I would have given you a firm "No" in reply. Not a "No" born out of no interest, but a "No" born out of fear and anxiety. And here we are today...in the middle of an adoption! Even a few months ago, when I told Chris that I had changed my mind and wanted to start a family wit...

*Warning*...graphic description of a mammogram to follow.  If my doctor yesterday had the personality and bedside manner of a potted plant, the mammogram technician (I have no idea what these folks are called...) today was a...I don't know, but she was the complete opposite of the Potted Plant. All smiles and full of information and offers to answer any and all of my questions. She walks me back to the changing area and tells me to take off everything on top and to put on the very stylish (not) short royal blue smock that ties in the front. Once this is accomplished she ushers me into the room where the mammogram contraption lives. "Is this your first mammogram?" she asks in a perky voice. "Yup. My very first," "OK then. I'll just explain everything as we go along and if you have any questions at all you just ask away." Terrific. Much more informative than the Potted Plant. Now if you've never had one of these things done to y...

OK, so my new doctor has the bedside manner/personality of a potted plant. She is efficient to the point of...well...she is in and out of that examining room in 6 minutes flat. I have no chance to ask any questions. I won't know if I "passed" my physical until  sometime  next week when the Potted Plant mails my required form back to me. After my appointment it's off to the lab down the street to have blood drawn. Luckily I have not eaten any breakfast because one of my tests is a 14-hour fasting test for blood sugars...not that I knew I was supposed to fast because the doctor's office neglected to tell me that when I made the appointment. I just didn't have time to eat breakfast. The one really good thing about my appointment (aside from the fact that I didn't faint when I had my blood drawn...yes, I have actually fainted in the past...) is that the Potted Plant gives me a prescription for a mammogram. Even though I already have an  OBGYN , when the ...

No. I'm not talking about the Olivia Newton John song (although apparently one of my friends on  Facebook  had that rolling around in her head for days and days...and now you will, too...) I'm talking about a real physical - like at a doctor's office. Like the thing that I'm getting done in two hours. Urgh . As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm 41 years old and not exactly svelte. These last few years of fund raising have seen my stress level - and my eating habits - go a bit crazy. I'm not looking forward to this doctor's appointment. And seeing the number on the scale. And learning my current cholesterol level. (Please be good! Please be good!) Sigh. But the adoption folks say I gotta get it done...so I'm getting it done. Blood work ( aaaiiieeeeee ... needles!!!) and all. Gotta make sure I'm healthy enough to raise the  Schmoopie . "Let's get physical - physical!! I wanna get physical!!..." Wish me luck...

Yet another in our unending string of home study paperwork arrived today. According to the Attorney General of Rhode Island, Jennifer has no criminal record. Now we're just waiting on my state criminal background check. Hopefully they don't find the paperwork from that embarrassing 1992 llama smuggling incident...

I'm tired. Just signed off from  Facebook  saying that I was heading to bed, but the truth is that I only arrived home from work and hour ago...so while I'm  tired , I'm still a little wound up from working my ridiculously LONG day and, thus, not actually  sleepy . This is one of the things that I worry about when the Little One arrives. Insomnia. I've struggled with it for much of my life. If I'm in bed before 10:00 p.m. or so I'm usually in pretty good shape to sleep the night through. Even 10:30 is OK. But once I get beyond the 10:30 mark (it's now 10:35) there's a good chance that I'll get a second wind that will wake me up for hours and hours. What if The Kid is a night owl? It's taken me YEARS to get to a place where I actually sleep well most nights. What happens when the Little One needs to be fed at all hours? Will I actually be able to get back to sleep? Am I going to be one of those Zombie Parents who stumbles through eac...