Nothing to report today, really....I think we may have found a psychologist for the girls and we are going to meet her Tuesday night. Re-emailed one of the English tutor people.
I am getting excited to hear from Martha Monday after she speaks with the US Embassy and see if we can set our travel plans!
:)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The blahs....
Yesterday was one of the rare days where I feel defeated by processes and feel a bit overwhelmed by everything we have to do. We still need to find all the following:
Spanish tutor for summer
Summer care - either older kids camp where they speak Spanish or nanny
School
After school care
We went to the drawing for the charter school on Monday night and we were pretty optimistic being as we had 2 chances with 2 kids. The 1st lottery was for 6th grade and they had 106 spots with about 300 applicants. Leidy was #280 something. OK, on to our 2nd chance. The 7th grade lottery had 54 spots and about 70 applicants. Talia was #67. Why? How? What the? I really wanted to get at least one piece of our giant puzzle tucked into it's fitted area of life. We were told though that if they can get enough 7th graders to fill a class of 120, both of the girls would get into the school. I have started recruiting all 7th graders! The school is great and run by the people who founded another charter in the area which is one of the best schools around....and...they will wear uniforms! Love it! We are keeping our fingers crossed but I don't know how long it will be before we know if they get in.
I have 2 summer camp options, one in Burbank and one at Toluca Lake Elementary. When the girls were here in July 2011 they went to YMCA summer camp and did not like it at all but I think it was because they kids were all so young so they were bored. These 2 camps I found are specifically for 6 - 8th grade so I think it would be great for them. They will hopefully make some friends and stay busy over the summer along with weekly field trips and swim outings. The one in Burbank gives priority to the Burbank residents so on 4/3 at 9am it opens to the public and I will be standing in line like a teen excited for Justin Beiber tickets. The other camp has not yet listed their brochure online so I really don't have any information on that one and eagerly await when that becomes available.
I have emailed a couple of prospective people about summer tutoring but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I guess not everyone is tied to their mobile device like I am. ;)
I talked to Martha in Bogota today and she has everything ready for the US Embassy in Bogota and will be calling them Monday to check in. She is hoping to get a travel date for us early next week that would be 7-14 days out. She has been really helpful and I am sure she will be one of the best parts of Bogota life. She found an English tutor to come to the condo for an hour every day to work with the girls on their English which will be very helpful in getting them a head start before they arrive in the US.
Now...on to finding out maternity leave
Pediatrician
Psychologist
Dentist
Spanish tutor for summer
Summer care - either older kids camp where they speak Spanish or nanny
School
After school care
We went to the drawing for the charter school on Monday night and we were pretty optimistic being as we had 2 chances with 2 kids. The 1st lottery was for 6th grade and they had 106 spots with about 300 applicants. Leidy was #280 something. OK, on to our 2nd chance. The 7th grade lottery had 54 spots and about 70 applicants. Talia was #67. Why? How? What the? I really wanted to get at least one piece of our giant puzzle tucked into it's fitted area of life. We were told though that if they can get enough 7th graders to fill a class of 120, both of the girls would get into the school. I have started recruiting all 7th graders! The school is great and run by the people who founded another charter in the area which is one of the best schools around....and...they will wear uniforms! Love it! We are keeping our fingers crossed but I don't know how long it will be before we know if they get in.
I have 2 summer camp options, one in Burbank and one at Toluca Lake Elementary. When the girls were here in July 2011 they went to YMCA summer camp and did not like it at all but I think it was because they kids were all so young so they were bored. These 2 camps I found are specifically for 6 - 8th grade so I think it would be great for them. They will hopefully make some friends and stay busy over the summer along with weekly field trips and swim outings. The one in Burbank gives priority to the Burbank residents so on 4/3 at 9am it opens to the public and I will be standing in line like a teen excited for Justin Beiber tickets. The other camp has not yet listed their brochure online so I really don't have any information on that one and eagerly await when that becomes available.
I have emailed a couple of prospective people about summer tutoring but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I guess not everyone is tied to their mobile device like I am. ;)
I talked to Martha in Bogota today and she has everything ready for the US Embassy in Bogota and will be calling them Monday to check in. She is hoping to get a travel date for us early next week that would be 7-14 days out. She has been really helpful and I am sure she will be one of the best parts of Bogota life. She found an English tutor to come to the condo for an hour every day to work with the girls on their English which will be very helpful in getting them a head start before they arrive in the US.
Now...on to finding out maternity leave
Monday, March 26, 2012
NVC approval!
The National Visa Center just worked on record time I think! They received our I-800 approval from USCIS on Thursday and I email them on Friday to be sure they received the approvals and that they were in process. They emailed me back later in the day Friday to say they were recorded and in process and that they would email me the approval letters when they were completed. Um, I just got those NOW! They have sent our final approval to the US Embassy in Bogota which mean we will probably have our travel date in about a week and looks like it will only be a couple of week away!
Tonight we are going to a lottery for one of the local charter schools (plan B) which is opening up next years and just happens to be the 2 exact grades we need for Talia & Leidy. It is run by the people who do Larchmont Charter School which is one of the best schools in the LA area....cross your fingers!!!
We found a couple of older kids summer camps which we are trying to figure out for the summer alongside a summer English tutor so when the girls go to school they will have an easier transition. We want to do intensive English over the summer and from what I have heard from past adopters, it doesn't take long for the kids to be fluent in English. Our girls are super smart too so that will help :)
Tonight we are going to a lottery for one of the local charter schools (plan B) which is opening up next years and just happens to be the 2 exact grades we need for Talia & Leidy. It is run by the people who do Larchmont Charter School which is one of the best schools in the LA area....cross your fingers!!!
We found a couple of older kids summer camps which we are trying to figure out for the summer alongside a summer English tutor so when the girls go to school they will have an easier transition. We want to do intensive English over the summer and from what I have heard from past adopters, it doesn't take long for the kids to be fluent in English. Our girls are super smart too so that will help :)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Bogota living...
OK, we picked our Bogota home away from home....and...we chose.....the condo! The main reason we chose the condo was that it has 2 bathrooms and other than that, it was really hard to pick because Hotel Zuetana is a great place as well and came highly recommended by our Bogota contact Martha.
The condo comes with a maid to help grocery shop, cook & maintain the condo Mon - Sat so that will definitely come in handy. It is right by a park and in a very safe 'hood with many things 1 block away. I have spoken to the owner a couple of times and he is a very nice man so I feel good about this decision!
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p266996
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
FBI, doctors and our I-800
We have our I-800 approval as of yesterday!!! To people not in the adoption world, they are like....and??? What that means is that we have our final sign off from US Immigration. USCIS will send that approval to the National Visa Center and in about 10 days they issue an approval to the US Embassy in Bogota. About 10 days after receipt, the Embassy will issue what is called an Article 5 and then we are ready to travel to Bogota! We are estimated to be traveling in about 3-4 weeks.
Today I was brushing my teeth and Evan came in on my cell phone and handed me the phone to talk to the very nice lady at the FBI. I couldn't help but laugh at Evan answering my phone and the lady saying she was calling from the FBI...luckily he knew why - haha. We found out a few weeks ago that our FBI reports and our doctor's letters saying we were healthy expire after 5 months at the date of travel to Colombia which, of course, is in April so we had to redo all of them. We got the doctor's letters last week & Monday of this week and the fingerprints arrived this morning, so that's good and one less thing to worry about.
We have narrowed where to stay in Bogota down to 2 places and we need to pick one today. We are debating between a really nice condo that has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a maid Mon - Sat to help with grocery shopping & cooking. Let's just say that Evan isn't the better cook of the 2 of us and he will be there the bulk of the time. The other place is a hotel specific to adopters so everyone else there is going through the same process. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom which might be an issue having 4 people trying to get ready at the same time, smelling up the bathroom, etc...The one great thing though is that they have people there to help you with daily activities and drivers to take you sight seeing around town. In any case, today is decision day!
Today I was brushing my teeth and Evan came in on my cell phone and handed me the phone to talk to the very nice lady at the FBI. I couldn't help but laugh at Evan answering my phone and the lady saying she was calling from the FBI...luckily he knew why - haha. We found out a few weeks ago that our FBI reports and our doctor's letters saying we were healthy expire after 5 months at the date of travel to Colombia which, of course, is in April so we had to redo all of them. We got the doctor's letters last week & Monday of this week and the fingerprints arrived this morning, so that's good and one less thing to worry about.
We have narrowed where to stay in Bogota down to 2 places and we need to pick one today. We are debating between a really nice condo that has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a maid Mon - Sat to help with grocery shopping & cooking. Let's just say that Evan isn't the better cook of the 2 of us and he will be there the bulk of the time. The other place is a hotel specific to adopters so everyone else there is going through the same process. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom which might be an issue having 4 people trying to get ready at the same time, smelling up the bathroom, etc...The one great thing though is that they have people there to help you with daily activities and drivers to take you sight seeing around town. In any case, today is decision day!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Hotels, Plan Bs and being cool....
I called US Immigration on Tuesday to see if they were processing our packet yet and our very nice officer told me that our packet was in the building but not on her desk yet & that she expected it by Monday. She said once she gets it, she processes it in a day and if everything is right she issues a preliminary approval that is sent to the NVC (National Visa Center). I was excited to hear this info but then in typical Dawn form, I started searching the internet for how long NVC takes. I saw several posts by people to request that your approval is sent Priority Mail or UPS from Immigration because regular mail can take up to 2 weeks. I was going to call back Monday morning but I couldn't wait so I called our officer Friday and left a message that we can give her our Fed-Ex number to overnight the approval....let's hope she calls and let's hope they use Fed-Ex. Thus far our Fed-Ex tally is 18 along with 2 UPS and 3 USPS packages. what the.......
We talked on Friday for the first time with our Colombia representative who will take us everywhere and help with the process while in Bogota. She was very helpful and very nice and we are excited to meet Martha. We were trying to find a place to stay which is pretty important when you are going to be somewhere for 4-5 weeks. We are debating between an apartment or an adoption specific hotel, both of which are about the same cost. The apartment comes with a maid 6 days a week who cleans, grocery shops and cooks which will be really important after I leave because Evan isn't much of a cooker or a grocery shopper and he will need to cook for the girls as well. I emailed the guy who owns the apartment and I am crossing my fingers he writes back and says it is still available.
So much of this planning involves plan B's or even plan C's. I am trying to find either a summer school that teaches English to their age group....or....a tutor. Then there is summer care of a nanny....or....a summer camp. I don't want a nanny who is going to throw them in front of the TV all day but the summer camp doesn't know yet if they have any Spanish speaking kids or counselors. And then there is school which we already didn't make it into school A so we are on to school B which has their lottery coming up 3/26. School plan C is Burbank which you can utilize if you work in Burbank and if there is room in their school however, they won't tell you if there is room until they test the girls and see their school records. I feel like this might need a plan D.
Right now I am texting with Lucinda about the types of cell phones kids have now as her daughter is 12 and goes to a public middle school in Burbank. It is so different than when I was in 6th grade (and in private school). The clothes, shoes, accessories, cell phones, etc....all new to me! I am going to use Lucinda and her daughter Kaylee a lot in the reference department in the next 5 months before school starts.The girls will have enough of a hard time so I am trying to factor out not being cool and having the right "look". ;)
So, yeah, there's just a little bit to figure out!
We talked on Friday for the first time with our Colombia representative who will take us everywhere and help with the process while in Bogota. She was very helpful and very nice and we are excited to meet Martha. We were trying to find a place to stay which is pretty important when you are going to be somewhere for 4-5 weeks. We are debating between an apartment or an adoption specific hotel, both of which are about the same cost. The apartment comes with a maid 6 days a week who cleans, grocery shops and cooks which will be really important after I leave because Evan isn't much of a cooker or a grocery shopper and he will need to cook for the girls as well. I emailed the guy who owns the apartment and I am crossing my fingers he writes back and says it is still available.
So much of this planning involves plan B's or even plan C's. I am trying to find either a summer school that teaches English to their age group....or....a tutor. Then there is summer care of a nanny....or....a summer camp. I don't want a nanny who is going to throw them in front of the TV all day but the summer camp doesn't know yet if they have any Spanish speaking kids or counselors. And then there is school which we already didn't make it into school A so we are on to school B which has their lottery coming up 3/26. School plan C is Burbank which you can utilize if you work in Burbank and if there is room in their school however, they won't tell you if there is room until they test the girls and see their school records. I feel like this might need a plan D.
Right now I am texting with Lucinda about the types of cell phones kids have now as her daughter is 12 and goes to a public middle school in Burbank. It is so different than when I was in 6th grade (and in private school). The clothes, shoes, accessories, cell phones, etc....all new to me! I am going to use Lucinda and her daughter Kaylee a lot in the reference department in the next 5 months before school starts.The girls will have enough of a hard time so I am trying to factor out not being cool and having the right "look". ;)
So, yeah, there's just a little bit to figure out!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Ready!
I believe that we won't know our travel date to go to Colombia until the week before it happens but it is estimated to be around the week of April 16th (give or take a month on either side because that is how they roll). We have learned many things about patience since last August.
For the next 5-ish weeks, we will try to get as much going out in as we possibly can including a few upcoming days in Palm Springs consisting of resting up, expensive food, massages and mid century architectural tours! I voted for Tahiti again but got shut down by the logical Evan (since when is he the logical one).
Friday, March 9, 2012
Christmas 2011
We were able to get the girls to come here for 3 weeks over Xmas which was AWESOME because then they could have the chance to meet some of our family. They flew into LA on 12/23; we had Xmas at our house that night and then bright & early the next day we flew to go see my family in Ohio. Everyone had a blast and the girls got to see falling snow for the first time ever (stupid winter - the snow didn't stick!)
We did a lot of activities crammed into 10 days - things like roller skating, Zoo, art class, Children's Wonderland, Xmas, swimming, bowling, etc...Gavin spent the entire 10 days with us and he would just chatter on and on even though the girls couldn't understand a word of it! It was pretty fantastic
When we got back to LA, we only had a week so we laid low and then Evan's mom & Aunt got to finally meet the girls as well. What better place for an intro than The Grove?!
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| The Grove |
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| 1st big family Xmas! |
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| Thanks Steve!! |
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| Children's Wonderland |
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| A rare pic that's great of everyone! |
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| Hot |
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| Mucho swimming! |
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| No life jackets now |
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| They spent the whole 10 days with Gavin :) |
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| Being goofy |
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| Globetrotters! |
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| Necklace making! |
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| Too big? |
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| Pretty lights at the zoo |
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| Grandma - 94 yrs old |
:)
Adoption "Adventure"
Other than a full body cavity search, we have been put through the adoption ringer which includes things like 8 page psychology reports (which said that Dawn was clearly gay), 7 sets of fingerprints each, 2 trips to our family doctors, people inspecting our home, about 40 notarized documents with international notaries as well, etc, etc, etc.....this is all typical of adoption but since we were trying to beat the Guinness World Record for fastest adoption ever, it was pretty much a second full time job. We have submitted 1 - 2" tall stacks of paperwork to various agencies at different times through the process and none of it was easy or went smoothly but we (I - Dawn) did it. ;)
I wanted to do a full timeline for everyone to see what we have been doing for the last 7 months since we sent our letter of intent to adopt the girls mid August but then that would be like having a 3rd full time job so, yeah....maybe later.
Here is the ridiculously super quick version which needs about 50 more entries to be entirely accurate:
August 18 2011: Sent letter of intent to adopt the girls
September 1 2011: Approval from Colombia to move forward based off the letter of intent
September 26: I-800A packet goes to US Immigration for approval
October 8 2011: Started Spanish lessons every Saturday (these are very difficult as adults who do not have time to study during the week....PAINFUL)
October 28, 2011: Dossier goes to Colombia for approval
December 9, 2011: I-800A approval from Immigration
January 25, 2012: Sent an Addendum to the Dossier to Colombia due to some outstanding questions they had about us
January 31, 2012: Dossier approval from Colombia
February 29, 2012: Final paperwork sent off to US Immigration (I-800)
And....we await their approval
Talia, Leidy and us
We squeezed in as much time as we could with them for the remainder of
their time here in LA including dinners, outings, trips to our works and
sleepovers at our house. They always seemed happy and had fun no matter what we
did. They genuinely wanted to be here and wanted to find a family of their
own and by the time they left, we were convinced about our next move!
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| My favorite |
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| At WB visiting Dawn's work |
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| Santa Monica Pier |
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| She kicked our butts |
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| Don't look at the candy! Leidy was sneaking sugar and always complained of an upset stomach - uh huh! |
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| Their host family Cheryl |
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| Leidy, Johana & Alejandra |
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| Self portrait |
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| Buca DeBeppo with us, Talia, Leidy and their host fmaily and Johana |
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