Mrs Bloggins

So...the whimsical title for today's post is a tenuous Postman Pat reference.  L and I have been hibernating under duvets away from the snow and discussing such important things as which wall stickers we might like for our child's bedroom.  Never mind that we have no idea of the sex/age of said child, we have had a jolly old morning of rose tinted spectacly talking about our childhoods, looking at baby toys and talking about room decor.  We have decided that we would rather not use too much branded stuff...I'm rather fond of 60s and 70s designs and patterns but most wall sticker companys sell a huge amount of hideous branded monstrosities and we had a bit of trouble finding what we were after. If anyone knows of a company which sells cool children's stuff please let me know so I can bear it in mind in the distant future.

We have been told that our new kitchen should go in at the beginning of March which means that with a bit of luck we might get home earlier than we thought. I feel slightly nervous seeing those words written in print, especially given the inches of snow outside, but there we are...I've said it now!

We spent a few hours yesterday filling out lots of paperwork for our social worker:
- Our chronologies from birth to now, including any changes in our lives.
- Our pet questionnaire: how dangerous are our two cats and where do they poo
- What we learned from the preparation sessions: lots and lots but probably not nearly enough to prepare us!
- Our financial report: how much we earn and how much we spend.  Luckily I has already made a colour coded spreadsheet about this for planning how we will manage with one of us on adoption leave etc so I just copied and pasted.

My Mum and Dad came for an incredibly short visit yesterday and left early because they were worried about the snow (good call on all accounts).  They brought some of my Grandma's things with them including her engagement ring which I'm going to have resized and wear it every day.  It will be really nice to have a reminder of her with me at all times, because I think she had a big influence on my outlook on life - keeping positive etc. and looking at that on my hand will remind me of her and help me keep cheerful and strong. 

The adoption really getting going, combined with thinking about my Grandma, combined with it almost being half term means that I'm feeling a little bit wobblier than normal.  My brother is getting married next Summer and it's crazy to think that by then we could have a little person with us...thinking about things like that makes me hugely excited but also slightly overwhelmed!  We are still trying to work out which one of us will take the adoption leave; there are a few things that need to be finalised with my job before we can make a firm decision.  Once we know more and we can start to make firm plans I think I will feel a bit better.  Also once we are back in our own home I think that will make me feel more settled.  I don't know how other people decide who will take the adoption leave.  Our motivation is partly financial, and partly based on the fact that because I'm a teacher I get long holidays anyway so it makes more sense for L to take it but then she earns more than me so it's tricky!

Sorry if this blog is a little muddled.  I think my brain is a little fuzzy and muddled currently! I'm looking forward to my week off.  Phew!