Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Home Improvements

A few weeks ago I noticed a piece of the linoleum kitchen floor coming up.  Then while happily shopping for new floor tiles at the local home improvement store, my husband informed me that we would have to move the refrigerator and stove.  My response to this was sarcasm of course.  I said "Well, why don't we just install new kitchen cabinets while we are at it"!  Well, knowing that wasn't in the budget, I suggested painting the cabinets and walls in the kitchen since we had to move all of the appliances.  We decided to take an extended weekend to put it all together.

Home improvements always take longer than expected.  It is fun to decide what tile to put on the floor and paint to put on the wall, but actually doing it is a whole different ballpark.  If you are going to work on a home improvement project, along with the paint brushes, tape, etc., you will need patience, a sense of humor, and a good side-kick!

We started to paint the cabinets and put a coat of paint on the walls.  The next day, we pulled up the floor and put the new floor down.  After the floor was put down, we realized the wall color didn't work and needed to pick a different color green!  The days eventually blur together and it's been a week since we started the project, but we are getting close to being done and it is all coming together!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Intersex in the News...

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/raising-an-intersex-child/53456b7378c90a2ff90001bb

So there was an awesome piece done with the Huffington Post Live on raising an intersex child earlier this week.  There were a couple of people in the interview I was able to meet in person at last year's AIS-DSD conference.  They did a fantastic job articulating the needs of what intersex children.  This segment is another positive step for us intersex people to gain recognition in society.  Please watch and learn, and spread the good word!

Adoption, the waiting game

My husband and I have now been on a waiting list for domestic infant adoption for six months now.  We had discussed adoption a few years ago, and did research on what agency in the area we would want to work with.  After doing the research and initially contacting them, we had learned that for domestic infant adoption we needed to be married for at least 3 years, and then we get put on their first waiting list.  And then when our names get to the top of that list, then we can start the real adoption process of home study, etc.

So far, six months have passed and we hadn't been contacted.  I emailed to make sure they got all of the initial paperwork because we didn't get a phone call or email from them to confirm they did get it.  I had to get a letter from my oncologist saying that I was healthy to adopt a child, because of being a cancer survivor.  I was somewhat anxious to make sure they got all of the paperwork.

So now all we can do is wait.  We are not in a huge hurry to adopt because we would like to make sure our finances were in order before paying for all of that, but I would like to be somewhat younger while being a mom.  The challenge right now comes from using patience.  I am used to being patient, but most situations in my life also gave me the option of doing something proactive towards a goal.

As soon as we are contacted and start the process, I plan to document how things go.  I am curious to know a few things, but the answers will reveal themselves in time.  Questions like "will being born intersexed be brought up or become an issue?  What about being non-religious family?  I just hope that our strengths as a couple shine through, that we love each other and would really provide a solid and loving home for a child.