Tuesday 31 March 2009

March

- Possible interest in S and two siblings. Our social worker has read their profiles and there doesn't seem to be anything that we can't handle. We have received the profiles and are reading them at the moment.
- We also have received profiles on another sibling group of three: H and 2 siblings. Again, we haven't read the info yet.
- We have a meeting with our social worker on Monday 23rd March to discuss if either set might be suitable and decide what happens next.
- Mary has read through the profiles and is happy with both sets of kiddies.
- Had the meeting on 23rd and our social worker is also very happy with both groups, so we have asked her to progress our interest in them both. Yay! Feeling happier now, as the last three months without any movement has been taking its toll!
- We also discussed the length of time it has been since we saw her and how we don't feel that anything has been happening in the background. She is now going to tell us about every contact by email.
- Had a phone call from our social worker on 27th March, H and two siblings' social workers are very interested in us. They are holding a meeting on 31st to discuss whether to progress us as a potential link, so we hope to hear later that week.

Monday 30 March 2009

24-Mar to 30-Mar

This weeks events:
- A little bit of excitement! On Friday our social worker called to say she has tried to contact the social workers for both groups of children, to advise them that we are interested. She hasn't had a response from S and 2 siblings' social worker but she has from H and 2 siblings'! They said we were top of their list and that there was only one other couple being considered. There is a meeting on Tuesday (31st) to decide who, if any, they are going to visit. Our s/w said that we should be prepared for a visit, as they apparently loved our profile (what isnt there to love? lol)
- These children have suffered neglect (poor lil mites) but other than that are happy, healthy and cute :) Our s/w doesn't forsee any issues with them (other than the usual care / adoption-related issues.) The middle child might present the most issues as he was angry when he went into foster care, but he is managing much better now.
- We still have a few hurdles to jump, e.g. they may not come and visit or they may not like us when they visit us. So, for now it's looking good, yay! We have been so frustrated with the time and the process recently, so it's nice to have a glimmer of hope.

Home and garden update:
- Nothing to report.

Car update:
- We were a bit norty today and went window-shopping for cars. We looked at two in particular. There is one that is hot fave at the moment, as it has sliding doors. There is also a sweet 0% finance deal which might sway us into buying a new one :) We are spending the last few months making the most of my car; hubby's car to stay with us.

To do list:
- Cupboard safety catches for kitchen.
- Blinds to be put up in kitchen and dining room.
- Yes, we know those two have been on our list for ages, maybe the next bank holiday we'll get our act into gear!

Studying:
We are both studying to further our careers:
- Mary is doing an NVQ level 3 in Children's Care, Learning and Development, passing all assignments with Distinction so far!
- Mungo is doing an OU degree in Computing, he has 30 points so far and is working on two courses this year, 30 points each: 'Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies' and 'Object-oriented programming with Java.' Next year he will be doing a 60 point course. He is currently passing his coursework with flying colours!

Monday 23 March 2009

17-Mar to 23-Mar

This weeks events:
- Mary has read through the profiles and is happy with both sets of kiddies. The first group are S and 2 siblings; we would like more up to date info and a clearer picture, this group are ruling my heart, and there's very little to make my head say no. The second group are H and 2 siblings; the info isn't too old and this group are ruling my head as there is nothing about them that concerns me.
- Our social worker is meeting with us on Monday (now in the evening not the morning), for the first time since 7th January, to discuss our thoughts and to decide where we go from here.
- Had the meeting this evening (23rd) and our S/W is also very happy with both groups, so we have asked her to progress our interest in them both. Yay! Feeling happier now :)
- We also discussed the length of time it has been since we saw her and how we don't feel that anything has been happening in the background. She said she was 'protecting' us from telling us about every contact and profile, in case we became disheartened with lots of knock-backs. We advised we have become disheartened with the minimal contact. She is now going to tell us about every contact by email. We also agreed that if it becomes too much we will let her know and we'll try something else.
- Mary has changed the blog template, as the other one was too dark. Hope you like the changes :)

Home and garden update:
- Nothing to report.

Car update:
- We have been taking full advantage of the nice weather the last couple of days. We are spending the last few months making the most of my car; hubby's car to stay with us.

To do list:
- Cupboard safety catches for kitchen.
- Blinds to be put up in kitchen and dining room.
- Yes, we know those two have been on our list for ages, maybe the next bank holiday we'll get our act into gear!

Monday 16 March 2009

10-Mar to 16-Mar

This weeks events:
- Our social worker has given us the profiles of the three children I talked about in our last update, and the profile on another sibling group. The first group are S and 2 siblings, the second group are H and 2 siblings - to save any confusion :) We haven't had time to read them yet, so when we do, we will post some info on our thoughts about them.
- Our social worker is meeting with us on Monday to discuss our thoughts and to decide where we go from here.

Home and garden update:
- Cleaner. We have given up on the idea of a cleaner for now, given the hassle we had. I can't believe it's been so difficult.

Car update:
- We have been taking full advantage of the nice weather the last could of days. We are spending the last few months making the most of my car, hubby's car to stay with us.

To do list:
- Cupboard safety catches for kitchen.
- Blinds to be put up in kitchen and dining room.
- Yes, we know those two have been on our list for ages, maybe the next bank holiday we'll get our act into gear!

- Studying:
We are both studying to further our careers:
- Mary is doing an NVQ level 3 in Children's Care, Learning and Development, passing all assignments with Distinction!
- Mungo is doing an OU degree in Computing, he has 30 points so far and is working on two courses this year, 30 points each: 'Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies' and 'Object-oriented programming with Java.' Next year he will be doing a 60 point course. He is currently passing his coursework with flying colours!

Monday 9 March 2009

3-Mar to 9-Mar

This weeks events:
- Last week we were on holiday, so no update.
- Whilst we were on holiday we talked about what is going on and the length of time it is taking without any progress. We have decided to 'sell' ourselves to the local authorities out there. We are planning to produce an A4 profile of ourselves with a couple of photos to send out to everyone ever few months or so. Hopefully this will 'remind' social workers out there that we are looking.
- Our social worker has been reading the profiles of three more kiddies. We may be getting some info on them: a couple of boys and their sister. Mary is trying her hardest not to get too excited about them. We have read a couple of paragraphs on them, their picture is soooo gorgeous. They are 6, 4 and 2. Our social worker has read their profiles and there doesn't seem to be anything that we can't handle. The info she has is about a year old so she has asked for more up to date paperwork before she passes it onto us. Obviously, if she reads anything new that is suspect in the latest paperwork then she won't even bother to follow it up with us, she will mark it as a dead lead and we shall keep on looking.

Home and garden update:
- Cleaner. Hmmmm.... anyone local recommend a decent, reliable and economical cleaner? I just had to sack ours for the second time due to not being reliable. I am gutted because she was a fantastic cleaner, the house hasn't looked so good in ages. She just didn't bother turning up when she said she would, and when we have the kids that won't be acceptable.

Car update:
- Spending the last few months making the most of my car, hubby's car to stay with us.

To do list:
- Cupboard safety catches for kitchen.
- Blinds to be put up in kitchen and dining room.
- Yes, we know those two have been on our list for ages, maybe the next bank holiday we'll get our act into gear!

- Studying:
We are both studying to further our careers:
- Mary is doing an NVQ level 3 in Children's Care, Learning and Development, passing all assignments with Distinction!
- Mungo is doing an OU degree in Computing, he has 30 points so far and is working on two courses this year, 30 points each: 'Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies' and 'Object-oriented programming with Java.' Next year he will be doing a 60 point course. He is currently passing his coursework with flying colours!