Is it really only Wednesday and are we really only half way through January?  I spent all day Monday and Tuesday in a course becoming a Certified Distressed Property Expert.  Monday was pretty depressing because we spent half the day reviewing the statistics that show just how bad the current housing market is.  The remainder of Monday and all of Tuesday were spent learning the ups and downs and ins and outs of a short sale.  By dinner time last night I was pretty excited about the fact that I now have the knowledge to help people avoid foreclosure.

That brings us to today.  I’ve heard other adoptive parents discuss the labor pains involved in an adoption and today was full of them for me.  To begin with, we had our second home-study visit this morning.  This was the one where she interviewed Chad and I about our families and our upbringing.  When she got around to my Mom, I fell apart.  People who know me well, know that it doesn’t take much for me to tear up.  But this wasn’t just one of those – Dave Ramsey’s choked up and I can’t let a man cry alone – moments.  This was pretty much full-blown water-works.  The social worker lost her Mom too and she got a little teary-eyed and I’m sure that by the time we were done with the interview, we looked like one big blubbering mess.  The good news is that she said that we are doing great and she can’t wait until she gets to meet the kids.  We had to reschedule that visit for the 25th because Chad is flying to Denver next week for a hearing on his Grandfather’s estate.  One more visit, the arrival of our passports, and USCIS approval are all we’re waiting for now.  The end of the waiting is in sight!

We sold our Honda Odyssey on Monday and now we are looking for something that we can pay cash for.  We plan to never finance another car in our lives (Thank you, Dave Ramsey).  Because we are now a one-car-household, covering our schedules has been kind of like coordinating a 3-ring circus. Chad and I are learning to do as many things together as possible.  We both needed to have TB tests done for the home-study and I knew that I might need a couple of vaccinations, so we planned to go to immunology after the home-study and from there I would drop Chad at his office.  Upon reviewing my shot records and my blood serum test from a few weeks ago, the nurse said that I possibly needed 3 or 4 vaccines.  She then pulled up the CDC requirements for Americans traveling to Serbia and the 3 or 4 turned into 5 plus the TB bubble.  Many of you have heard me get on my soapbox about vaccinations and how I strongly recommend a responsible vaccine schedule for our children.  Well, today I became a big ol’ hypocrite.  I let them put measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis A, and tuberculosis in my left arm and tetanus (my last one was 12 years ago) and typhoid in my right arm.  Guess what?  I FEEL LIKE CRAP!  I’m not even sure why I let them give them all to me at once.  Maybe it was just the guilt over letting my children get so many vaccines simultaneously as babies or maybe it was just curiosity about forcing that experience on them.  Either way, I’m sorry!  Sorry that I didn’t protest on their behalf and sorry that I didn’t protest today.  When it was all said and done, the nurse says, “I haven’t given that many shots to anyone since I was immunizing soldiers in basic training.  Welcome to the Army!”  Ummm, I never wanted to join the Army.  And the pain isn’t over.  Tomorrow I get to have a fasting cholesterol test and HIV test and Friday I get to go back and get my results and have the remainder of my physical form filled out by my doctor, all while coordinating schedules with Chad.

The good news is that I am absolutely certain that when my fever is gone and I can lift my arms again, I will be able to focus on the fact that we are one HUGE step closer to bringing Ana-Sophia home and who knows?  Maybe I’ll even negotiate a couple of short sales between now and then to cover the adoption expenses.