5 days to go...

It's only 5 days until our approval panel now and we are excited and nervous. Because we have been to a panel before to become approved foster carers, I think we are not too nervous about the actual panel itself, I am more nervous about what comes next!  I think I'm more nervous about the panel than I think I am as I'm not really sleeping too well at the moment.  With the jubilee, half term has gone by in a flash and now it's only 3 1/2 weeks until the summer holidays.  We have sort of been told loosely that things are likely to happen over the summer but we're trying to remain sensible and guarded but it's kind of unrealistic for us.  We painted the second bedroom over the jubilee weekend so it's ready now, it just needs cheerful soft furnishings and a bed/ cot and I have some hot air balloon wall stickers that I'm ready to buy when we know more.  I just hope we are allocated our new social worker soon after panel and we start to find out what's going on as it's the not knowing I find the most difficult.  I have been doing some shopping and things lately in a slightly mad way as I know that when I'm not working I will probably feel guilty about buying things for myself.  So I've had a mini splurge on nice classic things that hopefully will last for a bit.  Some of my friends think I'm a bit mad because they will obviously get covered in food/paint/poop but it's helped me a bit and I sort of think that's what matters! We are looking into getting a bigger car too.  Our car is only just big enough to fit a double buggy in the back so we are thinking we should upgrade to a more sensible and mumsy number!  Everything we do at the moment makes me feel a bit mad and excited.  We have well and truly fallen off the edge now.  Hopefully once we are linked and matched it will get better as we will have more of a focus rather than blindly trying to prepare for...we don't quite know what! So in five days time we will know whether we are approved adopters and, from what we have been told, things could start to happen any minute after that.  The manager of the adoption agency seems to be very proactive and switched on so let's hope things move quickly for us as it would be so wonderful to be able to do all this stuff in the summer holidays rather than panicking in the autumn term, which is always a bit of a busy old nightmare anyway. So there we are.  I'm not sleeping terribly well so sorry if that doesn't all make sense.  Some of the lovely people from our adoption training course are coming for tea tomorrow so that will be nice.  It's been really good because I've spent the whole day baking!  We're making a hamper of homemade things as a thank you to our social worker as we will be moving to a different one after Wednesday so I have spent the day making vanilla fudge, malteaser cake and shortbread! Very fun.  The malteaser cake is delicious. http://mirandagorebrowne.typepad.com/beautiful-baking/2012/02/mirandas-malteser-cake-a-perfect-cake-to-make-with-the-children-or-to-enjoy-when-you-need-a-taste-of-home-for.html If anyone is interested. Right...definitely time for bed. Take care, everyone.