Mother? Father?

There was an interesting topic of discussion on the forum the other day and it really got me thinking. Someone asked "What do you call the woman who gave birth to your child?" and really, I hadn't given it much thought....until now.

I had always used the term "birthmother/father/parents" in conversations but now, thinking about what to call them to my children, because we will be talking about them often...the above seems too impersonal. It seems okay when talking to strangers, acquaintances, and maybe even some friends but not to family and definitely not to my kids.
I think the language that we use when we talk about their "birthparents" strongly conveys a message to our children about our feelings and comfort level toward their past and Ethiopian family. I hope that the message we send to them is a very good one.

So, I've been thinking about what to call them and there were alot of great suggestions, such as:

• Ethiopian mother/father/family
• Enat or Emaye (Amharic for mother) and Abbat or Abaye (Amharic for father)
• First mother/father/family (still not sure how I feel about that one)
• Using their first names

We are still discussing what feels "right" for us, we are leaning towards using their first names in conjunction with momma/poppa (i.e.. momma Tsega/poppa Dawit) or the Amharic words for mom/dad, but we still have quite a bit of time to discuss!

Any thoughts?

Here she is......

Our virtual referral!

Nancy sent her to us this morning to ease the anxiety of waiting for our real referral.......

She's adorable!

I think I will call her Birtukan!

Thanks Nancy!

wasting time

Ok, being the big geek that I am, I averaged out the current wait times of everyone who recently received a referral on the CHSFS forum informal list.

I only counted people who received a referral for an infant or infant twins.

So, for 23 or so people who have received a referral for a child under 12 months of age the average wait time comes out to 4.8 months.



4.8 MONTHS!!!!!!!



I could deal with a 4.8 month wait.....I can even deal with a 5 month wait!



Gosh, I am a nerd!

We'll take all the help we can get

My boss gave me a little statue of Ganesh, the Hindu deity of beginnings and obstacles. She told me to write the name of our agency and/or caseworker on a piece of paper and place Ganesh on it. Everyday I am supposed to hold Ganesh and say something along the lines of "CHSFS are helpful people in our lives. They will facilitate the adoption of our baby from Ethiopia instantly & properly, joyfully & harmoniously by June 15th, 2007" ( I'm supposed to be as specific as possible!)

Once I say this I am not supposed to stress about the adoption for the rest of the day (uh-huh, we'll see how long that lasts)

Anyways, I figure it can't hurt!

Oh Drats!

I thought for sure that today would be THE DAY.

Maybe Monday? Oh wait, Monday is a holiday! Tuesday?? Next Friday???

I feel like there is something I should be doing.

We started the adoption process back in June and since then there has always been something to do. Paperwork, a class, paperwork, a meeting with our social worker, paperwork, a seminar, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork (see a theme here?)

Except for the past 4 months. I feel like I have just been sitting here slacking off. Is there something I forgot to do? Paperwork that I should've filled out but forgot to? I just feel like there is something I should be doing.

Did anyone else feel like this during their wait?

I think I almost had a heart attack!

So, I had a bit of a scare this morning!

I got home from work around 2am and didn't hit the sack until 4 or so. Needless to say, I was out cold when my cell phone started ringing around 9 this morning. Now, I've practically had that thing strapped to my body for the past 4 months so I jump up, grab the phone, and realize that I don't recognize the number or the area code. Is it Minnesota? I was in that crazy, disoriented, just jarred awake state that I thought for sure that it must be!!! Who else COULD it be?! My heart was pounding! I couldn't breathe!

I answer it......."Hello?!"

"Is this Katie?"

I breathlessly answer "Yes!" At this point, I think my heart is going to jump outta my chest. I think I may pass out.

It was Hill's Pet Nutrition asking if I would be interested in working a couple of weekends with them talking about nutrition & pet obesity (cue music! wa-wa-waaaaaa)

What the???!!!

That poor woman on the other end of the line.

I must've sounded SO disappointed.

T minus 1 day until....

THE CICADAS COME OUT!!!!!!!

I honestly don't know how I am going to leave the house for the next 3 weeks.

Hmmm.....maybe receiving my referral this week will make me feel better (wink,wink-nudge,nudge)

In the window?

Maybe?
Today marks 4 months of waiting for our referral.

When our dossier was approved the wait estimate was 4-6 months for infant/open to gender.

Last month I heard the wait estimate was up to 5-7 months........

I have decided that, what the heck? As of today, we're in the "original" window!!

We are going to have a "pseudo-celebration" tonight consisting of a movie, some take-out and a bottle o' wine.

Bring on the referrals!

Confucious says...

"Be prepared to receive something special"

I hope that cookie is right!!!

sunday drive

On Sunday we took a drive down to the Lincoln Park Zoo to celebrate Izzie & Elijah's 1st birthday. It was a beautiful day (a little chilly) and it was the first time Ryan was able to meet the twins and some other families who have also adopted from Ethiopia. He was really excited to see the kids and I think it definitely made it "more real" that we too will be parents...... soon.

It was a nice, relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I think everyone had a great time :)

quick poll

For those of you out there who have adopted I have 2 questions for you.

1. Do you celebrate your adoption day on the day you received your referral or the day you met your child or the day you took custody of them?
2. What do you call this day in your house? Adoption Day? Gotcha Day?

I am interested in hearing everyone's responses!!!