Home Study Check

Our first home study visit was today.  It was just fine.  Our case worker is friendly and put us at ease quickly.  The boys behaved wonderfully during the 2 hour visit.  She is coming back for a follow-up next week.

Row, Row Your Boat

We spent MLK day with my sister and Little Miss A.  We were helping get things ready for Big B's arrival in a few weeks.  We had emptied out this tote and Luke and Miss A were "taking a ride".

Couldn't resist!

My sister gave me a heads up on a great website - www.preemiestore.com.  It is wonderful!  They have such a great price on the wubbanub pacifiers that I couldn't resist buying some.

Other news from us - the boys are having a snow day today.  We had a winter storm pass through last night so we have a new 4 inches of snow on the ground.

Mark and I are also trying to get re-motivated to get our housing painting project nearly done.  Our master bedroom is now painted and I ordered the new curtains for it today too.  We "might" try to get our bathroom done by the home study on the 29th - or not.  I told Mark that we might need a break until then so we can get all the painting supplies put away for a week or two then start up again and get this project complete.

Another Check!

Our first home study visit is Jan. 29.  We also have our living arrangements for this summer after the baby is out of the hospital!  Yeah for getting 2 more things checked off the list!

Hair

The boys both had their hair cut last night.  Of course Dominic's was in protest.  Heaven forbid you can see the boy's eyes!  I told him since swimming lessons are starting again next week, he needed the hair out of his eyes.  Luke hopped up on the stool and proclaimed it was time for the grown out mohawk to disappear.  So now he is sporting a very cute, very short hair cut.  Whenever he wants his hair this short, I always think he looks so much younger.  Mark and I both agree that we like Luke's hair longer.  I couldn't believe that my husband was actually admitting he likes the boys with hair on their heads! 

I have also realized that I have neglected posting pictures lately.   I actually haven't taken that many since Christmas but need to get going with it again.  I was planning on getting a new camera soon - I was looking at the DSLR types.  But with the new baby coming home soon, I think I will just stick with my point and shoot purse/diaper bag sized camera for a while longer.  Dominic wants a camera too.  My plan is to get myself a new compact sized camera (so an upgrade for me) and give Dominic my Sony.  I also need to take a Photoshop class so I can get the most use out of that program.  Right now, I only know how to do about 3 things and I know its potential is much greater than my limited editing knowledge is allowing.

Check!

We completed our fingerprints yesterday.  So that is another thing to check off the list.  We have also been assigned a case worker for our home study.  We have all our supporting documents gathered and are now just waiting on the background checks to be complete.  We are hoping that only takes a 2-3 weeks then we can set up our first home study visit.

I spoke with H yesterday.  She is still having lots of morning sickness - which is a good sign the pregnancy is healthy - however for those of us that have been there and done that - it is really a phase that you want to pass out of quickly.

Growing Up

We had tons of snow yesterday.  I told the boys we needed to go out before Dad got home and clean off the driveway.  Dominic insisted I not use the snow blower because he "wanted to work".  I have to brag on Dominic now.  He did an awesome job!  He shoveled the driveway - over half of it - by himself.  When we were done, he turned to me and said, "Let's go get Mrs. R's done now."  He only had to be re-focused once because he was laying down on the job.  He earned his money with the snow shovel last night.

At one point, I stopped shoveling just to admire my son and his work ethic.  He caught me leaning against my shovel and I think he was proud that he caught me "not working" too.  When we were done with the neighbor's driveway, Dominic took a step back and slung the shovel over his shoulder.  He said, "Mom, I think we did a really good job."  I had to agree.

It still amazes me how shoveling a driveway for a 6yr old could teach him so much about life.  I explained to him that whenever you are doing a job, you should always do a job you can be proud of later.  He also learned that a good job is rewarded.  I was trying to explain that "reward" sometimes must be self-satisfaction.  He learned quickly, that it can also get you paid with money when his Dad gave him $10!