Boy is that a lot of paperwork

For those of you that have no idea how much paperwork is involved in a dossier, here is a picture of ours:

I was going through some pictures I had and came across this one. I forgot I had taken it. All the pages look the same because that is the apostille page stapled to each of our documents. Everyone of those lovely pages cost us $10 each. You are looking at a lot of money laid out on our pool table.

My trip to NY and I HATE DELTA

I had a great time in NY. It was much needed girl time and I was able to see one of my best friends whom I haven't seen in a few years. I had been promising her since our freshman year in college that I would come visit NY, so the trip was much overdue. It is very different up there. I didn't get to see any broadway shows or shop too much. I was on a budget because of this adoption. We walked so much that we were exhausted by the end.

The Brooklyn Bridge

Rockefeller Center

The trip home on the otherhand was TERRIBLE. On Sunday, the weather around the country was bad. I showed up at 2:30p for my 3:45p flight. At that point they had cancelled 80% of the flights and delayed the rest. They originally said we would fly out at 9p. So I sat at my gate for a long time and only got up once to go to the bathroom. Well about 5:50p I decided to check the board to see if it said anything new and it said my flight was currently boarding at a different gate, so I ran over there. When I got there, there were 3 people in front of me that she let on, then she left for a minute. When she came back, I tried giving her my ticket and she said the plane weighed to much so they wouldn't let me on. I was so mad, I asked to speak to a manager. From the moment he came over, he was a complete asshole to me. He swears he called my name over and over and told me I must have not been paying attention. Trust me, I paid attention. Why on earth would I intentionally miss my flight. He walked away with no sorry or other suggestions. So I went back to the girl and asked if there were anymore flights to Tampa. She booked me on a flight at 8p that had a connection in Atlanta. We didn't end up getting out of NY till 9p. We landed in ATL about 10:50p and had to sit on the runway for 30 mins because they didn't have a gate ready. When I got off, I ran to the next gate and they told me (and others) I couldn't get on because I didn't get there quick enough and they filled the plane with standby's. That was the last flight out that night. Needless to say I was so upset. This meant I had to sleep in the airport by myself. They were lots of others who got stuck there over night though. They rebooked me for the only flight they had available on Monday, which was at 8:30p. This was insane. So I went back up and asked if they had anything flying into Orlando earlier than that and I got a 11:30a flight. I barely got any sleep that night. I got into Orlando at 1p, Shane picked me up, then we had to drive to the Tampa airport to get my luggage. I finally got home about 4p, went straight to bed and didn't wake up till Tuesday morning. Needless to say, I don't think I will ever fly Delta again. I have never met so many rude people. I plan on writing them a nasty letter.

I haven't heard anymore about the referral. I am trying to patiently wait and it's not easy.

I'm outta here

I leave for New York first thing in the morning and I have a ton to do still (including packing). River Ranch was fun despite the rain. I will post more next week. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

This weekend

Well, we are out of here shortly for the weekend. Last year at the Strawberry Festival we bought a vacation package for River Ranch. Little did we know, that we had to attend a timeshare tour. They did not tell us this part till we got our information in the mail. We couldn't get our money back, so we decided to suck it up and make reservations. I called back in March and was not able to get a reservation till July, so this is the weekend we go. River Ranch is like a dude ranch resort located here in Florida. They have cabins, hotel, airboat ride, buggy ride, horseback riding, rodeo, pool, saloon, fishing, etc. My parents used to bring us there all the time when we were kids. Our package is for 4 people, so we have decided to bring my brother and sister with us. Those who are new to our blog, my brother and sister are much younger (17 & 13). They mean the world to us and we are very close with them. They spend most weekends at our house. They are very excited to become an uncle and aunt, but I think it's going to be an adjustment for them to not get 100% of our attention once the baby is here. So this is like a little vacation with them before the craziness begins. I have lots of great memories of River Ranch from when I was a child so I hope it is still just as great. We would like to bring our child there in the future, like my parents did with us.

There has been no word yet on the adoption front. Still don't have medical information. With going out of town this weekend, then I am going to New York next Thursday-Sunday, so I haven't had a ton of time to think about (okay I'm lying). I figured I would give my agency a call after I get back from NY next week.

The baby's bed set came in and I love it! It looks even better than it did in the picture. We also ordered a dresser and changing table last week. It should be delivered next week sometime. I have a few things I want hubby to finish up around the house before we start on the nursery. I can't wait!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Guess what I got in the mail today

A package from my SBP. It took me by surprise as I was just expecting bills as usual. I was very excited to open it. In it was:

• 'who loves baby' album. It is a soft album that you can put pictures in it for the baby. I have been looking everywhere for one of these, so THANK YOU. We will put pictures of us in it and leave it at the orphanage so our little can look at it and remember us.
• Baby Einstein lullaby CD. I know he will enjoy listening to this.
• A toy that has 9 links to take off and put back on or link together
• A very sweet card

Thank you SBP. You made my day.

For family and friends who are wondering what the hell SBP means, it is Secret Blog Pal. A group of 12 of us bloggers each have a secret pal and over the course of 2 months, we will send them 1-2 packages and a couple encouraging cards.

I've been tagged

I was tagged by Christen.

4 new things I did in the last 4 years:

1. Got married in February 2003
2. We bought a house in April 2004
3. Decided to start TTC, went through infertility treatments & then finally decided to adopt
4. Started working from home

4 new things I hope to do in the next 4 years:

1. ADOPT OUR LITTLE ONE
2. Travel to Ireland
3. Decide about going back to school and for what
4. Maybe adopt another baby (I know I'm getting ahead of myself, wishful thinking!)

Bloggerland

When I first started this blog, it was intended for family and friends only. Over the past several weeks, I have come across many other bloggers who are in the process of adopting from Russia or have already completed an adoption. They have shared their blogs with me, so I felt it was only fair, to share ours with them. The great thing about these ladies, is they know exactly what we are going through and feeling. It's nice to meet others and share our stories and experiences with them. Not that our family and friends aren't supportive, but these ladies and their blogs have been a great help and a great source for information.