MAPP #4

I can't believe that last night was only our 4th class!  The good news is that at this point., we're half way through with the classes.  Yikes.

Last night's class was quite fun.  The three hours FLEW by and there were a lot of really great discussions that took place.

I haven't talked about it on here at all, but Jim and I had our first home 'safety check' on December 22nd.  Basically, one of the DSS social workers came over to our house, asked us a million questions, and then took a 'tour' of the house to go over the specifics of what we'd have to change/fix before we could be placed with a child.  Thankfully, we had no major issues to deal with as far as safety is concerned.  A lot of the stuff was fairly obvious  - keep all cleaners, medicines, etc. out of reach/locked up, make sure the pool area is inaccessible to the child, make sure that all smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors are in working order and all sorts of fun stuff like that.  The person that came over to do the inspection isn't necessarily going to be the social worker that's assigned to us, but she certainly could be.  We'll get those details over the next month or so.

Over the next few days Jim and I have to focus on completing our 'Family Profile'.  The family profile is a THIRTY-THREE page document containing many questions in an attempt to learn ALL about Jim and I.  They ask questions about everything under the sun, ranging from the specifics of our childhood, right up to the current relationship that we have with each other.  When I say it's thirty-three pages of questions, I'm not talking about one sentence questions that are a quick answer, I'm talking about paragraphs that we have to answer.  Here's an example of one of the questions:

Describe your relationship with each of your parents. Describe the personalities of your parents, as you perceived them, i.e. what were your mother and father like? Was one parent more dominant than the other was? Was one parent more involved with the children than the other? What was your relationship with each parent? Give examples that would demonstrate that relationship. Describe how insightful, attuned or responsive you felt your parents were to your needs. Did your parents experience parenting as a gratifying experience? Give examples.

See what I mean?  I completely understand why they do this, but BOY has it been a challenge.  We've been tackling it bit by bit, and even though it's slow-going - we'll certainly get through it. 

We were talking about the family profile during the class last night and I felt a lot better about it after hearing that the other couples in the group seem to be finding it just as challenging as we are. 

Misery loves company, don't you know.  :-)

I'm not going to go into specifics about the class last night, but there was a lot of great discussion and as I mentioned before, the class flew by, which says a lot.

Next week we have a DSS attorney coming in to talk to the class so I have to come up with some good questions for her.  It's also the week that Jim and I have to provide snacks for the mid-class break.

Anyone know what lawyers eat???  ;-)

Have a GREAT Wednesday!!!

Here are a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.  It's been a while. 
I'm proud to say that I took these with my iPhone and sent them to myself at work.
The fact that I did it successfully made me feel smart

Jim, making us caramel macchiatos with his new espresso machine...they were amazing.

Scooter and I, relaxing on the couch...