(Aside from today’s Tiny Talk, which I had pre-scheduled a week ago, I haven’t made it into the blogosphere in days.  The “here’s why” bears sharing since it ties in very much with a lot of what I write about here.) 

My cell phone rang at midnight Friday, and it was the head of our church’s Hispanic ministry calling.  Since midnight is a little late to write it off as a “pocket dial” I grabbed the phone and started getting dressed.  The last four days have been a bit insane because I did.  But I’m so glad I did. 

At just before midnight, the house of a few of our Hispanic group members caught fire.  Not just any members, and not just any house.  It was the home of my now-very-good friend Reina, who I wrote about last year and who is expecting a baby girl at the end of April with her hubby Carlos.  She doesn’t have a car, so I’ve been taking her to her doctors’ appointments, and I’ve gotten to see her baby girl twice on the ultrasound screen.  So, yes, I’m pretty attached to this family. 

This also happens to be the house and the group who generously hosted the twins’ Fiesta de Cumpleaños last summer.  And we very well could have lost all of them.  Read the rest of this entry

College versus Accidental Vehicular Manslaughter

H:  Mama, what happens if a kid drives a car and runs over another kid and that kid dies?  [No, I do not know where they come up with these things.]

Me:  Wow, that would be really sad.  That kid would feel really bad about that, probably for the rest of his life.

H:  And he would go to jail?

Me:  No, kids don’t go to jail.  [I'm assuming they're thinking "he" is a 6 year old like them, so don't fault me on this answer, please!]

J:  Oh! (lightbulb!)  They might have to go to Trade School?

(yes, because a career as a professional electrician, plumber or mechanic definitely equates to hard-time in prison.  ???)

__________

More Truth Than I KNEW in Those Lullabies

[The boys recently got into listening to old baby CDs Fred's mom bought us before we brought them home] Read the rest of this entry

I realized after posting yesterday’s post that I’m using terms that people outside the adoption community don’t encounter all that often, if ever.

What is an “apostille?”

An apostille is an official State seal (a sticker on a piece of paper or a stamp) that authenticates a prior seal of approval at the county level for that state.

For prospective adoptive parents preparing an adoption dossier for another country, we go through a set of steps that adequately authenticates every document we include.  The process is: Read the rest of this entry

Our (notarized and county sealed) Home Study Addendum arrived via FedEx on Monday, so after school yesterday the boys and I headed down to Annapolis on our quest for the magic sticker Maryland State Apostille.

So that’s done and off to El Salvador!  Now back to waiting.

The boys are huge fans of the You Wouldn’t Want to… book series. 

For those of you who have some how MISSED these gems, they include such greats as You Wouldn’t Want to Be a World War II Pilot: Air Battles You Might Not Survive (currently on our shelf), You Wouldn’t Want to Be an 18th Century Convict: A Trip to Australia You’d Rather Not Take (No offense to my Australian readers – ie. Von.), and You Wouldn’t Want to Be Mary Queen of Scots: A Ruler Who Really Lost Her Head.

Check your local library.  They’re awesome.  Especially for boys.

But anyway.  Fred and I – but especially I, ’cause I’m prone to such things as extensive geneological researching, and also spend nearly all my time with said children —  have been very conscious of the fact that giving them a thorough connection to their own roots is very important. 

And that that means doing some extra research.  Because their roots are not our roots (though they’re welcome to partake in all our Euro-straight-to-U.S.-American fun-and-games, of course!)

So we’ve read about Guatemala, TRAVELED back to Guatemala, read about the Maya, CLIMBED their pyramids, studied Spanish… I’m still looking for a socially acceptable way of asking some of the Latino men I know just what it is that they’re wearing that smells so good, so I can buy it to put on the boys (who frequently smell like sweat and “tootle”)… but I digress… Read the rest of this entry

…or so it feels.

We got a call from our agency last week that OPA (remember them?  WE almost didn’t) is requesting clarification on Fred’s and my child care plans for the additional children.  That is, they want to know specifically what Fred’s work hours are [suddenly, "full time," as stated in our Home Study Report is too vague... after the report has read that way for over a year and a half] and when he is available to spend time with his children. 

And, also, noting that the number of children with whom I would be “home full-time” would be doubling, was I planning on hiring a nanny?  (Haha, I WISH!  Pero, no.)  Or using daycare?  (<<No saben ustedes que significa “home full time with the children?”  En verdad?>>)  Ahem, also “no.”

I plan on taking care of the next two in much the same fashion as I did the first two.  And if that means sending the older boys to our local public school so that their education doesn’t take an unacceptable hit as I work with the next two in their transition here, then that’s what we’ll do.  I’m hoping to keep them all here together, though, so the siblings can bond even as the newer ones adjust to me and to Fred — and to life in these Estados Unidos.  (Also because the twins are thriving with the home schooling connections we have!)  But we’ll see.  At any rate, sí, por supuesto tenemos un plan.  We’ve had more than 2 1/2 years to come up with it, already! 

And now you, mi querido público, know it, too. 

Very specific questions.  Pretty sure they’re already implicitly covered in the report we sent one year and eight months ago. 

And we have 30 days to respond.  Read the rest of this entry

A few good reads from this week.  As always, I don’t necessarily agree with all the opinions expressed but do appreciate that they were expressed and provided perspectives worth considering.

Adoption-Related Links:

“The List” over at Shaun Groves – Shaun and his wife are considering adoption and their social worker gave them this exercise to paint a vivid picture of all their child will have lost in the process of becoming their child.

“Pennsylvania, Adult Adoptees Still Waiting for their Rights” by Amanda at The Declassified Adoptee, advocating for access to ones own birth records.

Transracial Adoption – a 16 minute video. Read the rest of this entry