My class last night was alright. I was secretly hoping for some amazing revelation, like “Awesome childcare for $99.99 a month.” But no. She just reaffirmed that good childcare for an infant averages $800 a month in this area. And I hung my head in disbelief.
But she did go over star ratings, licenses, certificates and how NC keeps all these centers and home care in line.
And most importantly, she explained the resource her nonprofit provides. I’m a big fan of nonprofits. If the time comes when I need to seriously search for childcare, I’ll definitely be giving the Child Care Services Association a call. They’ll do all the leg work for you. Tell them your wants and needs for childcare (from star rating to location to hours to curriculum) and they’ll search their big ass database for the right places for you. Thats a huge help.

Tonight I’m going to a Duke hosted class on Daycare options in the area. We all know traditional daycare is my least favorite option, but I figured I should definitely explore it and be prepared should I have to pick a daycare center in the future. Hopefully they’ll have some good tips and recommendations.
Other than that, not much going on.

I just want to thank all my friends for being so caring and just plain awesome. Flowers, chocolate, cookies, cards, hugs (both virtual and real), kind words and the fist shaking I requested were very appreciated and certainly made my life feel a little more joyful. It’s exciting to know that when our baby does get here, it will be surrounded by the greatest people in the whole wide world. We are very lucky.

*sigh*
Steve and I have a tendency to end any talk about the adoption with “If all goes well.” And thus far, things have been going very well. And now, things are bad. Very very very bad. I mean, they could be worse. But still. Bad.
Late yesterday, I read on one of my adoption boards that a woman, in the same stage of the process as I am, got a call from her agency that Korea has closed its doors for the rest of the year. If your homestudy isnt already there and in process, then it wont be going over till 2007. I confirmed the information I had read with my agency today. Sad, but true.
We all knew about Korea’s new laws that would be going into effect with the new year. They’re trying to increase the percentage of domestic adoptions (which I consider a good thing), but with that they’re putting a 5 month ‘wait’ on babies before they can be adopted internationally. While I doubt that ‘wait’ would actually increase the amount of domestic adoptions, and instead just oveflow foster care and orphanages, they’re not listening to me. The sucky part is that for the first part of this year, Korea has been sending babies over at a very young age (4 months) and that was exciting. With these changes, that definitely wont be happening. If the rate of processing (3 months from referral to travel) continues (which I doubt, since there will be an influx of requests when they open their doors again) then babies will be somewhere around 9 months when they come home. Just a bummer, is all.
But thats not even my point. Because they want to start fresh in 2007, they’re closing their doors and allowing all the current paperwork to process. Which is exciting for some people I know that have been waiting a long long time. But not as exciting for me. Okay, probably the exact opposite of exciting. It’s actually depressing.
Sabrina likes sticking with the plan. And she does not like rollercoasters. On Monday I was so excited about finding out I could send my homestudy, like yesterday. And today, I have to wait at least 5 months before I can send it. No more baby by the end of the year. By the end of 2007, maybe. Sucks.
I’m not looking for encouraging words, or talk of God’s plan and timing. Right now, a little sympathy would be good. And a general shaking of the fist in my honor.

It isnt very often that I care enough about anything political to do something about it. Most times I take the “I’m just one person, what can I do?” approach to things and sit back and wait for something that directly affects me.
However, we all know how I feel about adoption. And we all know that I’m not rich.
Currently, there is an Adoption Tax Credit offered by our lovely government. All you need to know is, this credit, though incredibly complicated and hard to explain, is a good thing. Its helpful to any family in the US that might consider adopting but wouldnt consider the fees chump change. This credit will no longer exist in 2010. Which, though it seems like a long way off, is only less than 4 years away. I know many of you might be considering adoption in the future. So, keep that in mind.
There’s a bill out there that will hopefully get passed. Its been sitting since sometime last year, and is slowly collecting support.
And we can help! And its super easy. All you have to do is email your important people and ask them to support the bill. I’ve made it even easier for you. Below are the letters, and if you live in NC, links to right where you need to go. It’ll take you, like, 5 minutes.
Important NC People:

Congressman Price - sample letter
Senator Dole - sample letter
Senator Burr - already supports the bill, feel free to email him a quick thank you.

If you dont live in NC, but agree the bill is important, you can look up your very own important people here and here. Almost all of them have nice websites they probably paid a lot of money for. I’m sure they would appreciate your visit.
And I will appreciate your efforts.

UPDATE: Its nice to have good friends in high places. Emily, who works for a senator and has “connections,” found out some more about this bill. Apparently, its currently in committee. And it wont be voted on until it passes committee (and we’re not talking the homecoming committee). Its the Finance Committee that’s reviewing it, and she suspects they arent in much of a rush since the current law doesnt expire for a few years. Whatever, they need to get a move on. And we need to tell them so. But it requires a real letter, with a stamp and everything (crazy, I know). If you’re that dedicated, or extremely board and have 39 cents to spare, please write these important people a letter. Here is their address:
Committee On Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6200

You should still write your state reps, as they do need to be persuaded to support the bill when their time comes.