I have decided to combine my active blogs. It just makes it easier for people to follow everything.
So - this will be the last post on this blog, all additional updates will be on my original blog.
You can see all topics HERE
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
OMG! So happy!
We finally got word about the radiators - we are FINE!!!!!!
My worker spoke directly to the actual inspector that will be doing our inspection. She said that the radiators fall into a "supervision" category. This means that is is in the same category as making sure a child does not touch a hot stove or get into the unlocked liquor cabinet (which by the way is high up - but not locked).
We found out on Friday but I was away for the weekend.
I could not be happier.
Also in the same conversation, we found out that the local police report from our town has come in and we are just waiting for the local report from my last town. It has been sent 3 times now. Yup - that is right. The forms have been sent three times. The first two were sent to the wrong precinct. There are over half a million people in my last "town" so of course there are more than one police stations. When we had our local inspection, I questioned where it was sent (at the advice of my husband) and that is when I learned that it was sent to the wrong place.
The paperwork was sent for the third time about 1/7 or so. I plan to call the actual police dept this week just to make sure they actually received it. This is the LAST thing that is needed.
Of course after this is received, we still have to do the state inspection. My worker still has not said if I can schedule the state inspection if all the paperwork is not on file. Kind of annoying waiting for other people to do stuff - stuff that I have no control over.
This week will be the 60 day mark from when the paperwork was received by the local child services dept. But, about 90 days since we submitted our initial application. I know I have to go by the first timeline and I think it sucks that I can't count that first month. Well, I guess I could, we did take our classes in that first month. But, we would have been able to do the classes and the paperwork.
I know I should not dwell on this over and over, since what is done is done, but I am just overly anxious.
......................
On another topic - I am thinking about combining all my blogs. It seems like I do not have enough info to post of several. But if you combine the blogs, I have enough for multiple updates.
I am not sure if I will keep the main on and add all these posts (obviously much easier) or change the blog totally.
Let me know what you think about this idea.
Oh - just an FYI - once we receive placement, all pictures would be on a blog that has a password.
My worker spoke directly to the actual inspector that will be doing our inspection. She said that the radiators fall into a "supervision" category. This means that is is in the same category as making sure a child does not touch a hot stove or get into the unlocked liquor cabinet (which by the way is high up - but not locked).
We found out on Friday but I was away for the weekend.
I could not be happier.
Also in the same conversation, we found out that the local police report from our town has come in and we are just waiting for the local report from my last town. It has been sent 3 times now. Yup - that is right. The forms have been sent three times. The first two were sent to the wrong precinct. There are over half a million people in my last "town" so of course there are more than one police stations. When we had our local inspection, I questioned where it was sent (at the advice of my husband) and that is when I learned that it was sent to the wrong place.
The paperwork was sent for the third time about 1/7 or so. I plan to call the actual police dept this week just to make sure they actually received it. This is the LAST thing that is needed.
Of course after this is received, we still have to do the state inspection. My worker still has not said if I can schedule the state inspection if all the paperwork is not on file. Kind of annoying waiting for other people to do stuff - stuff that I have no control over.
This week will be the 60 day mark from when the paperwork was received by the local child services dept. But, about 90 days since we submitted our initial application. I know I have to go by the first timeline and I think it sucks that I can't count that first month. Well, I guess I could, we did take our classes in that first month. But, we would have been able to do the classes and the paperwork.
I know I should not dwell on this over and over, since what is done is done, but I am just overly anxious.
......................
On another topic - I am thinking about combining all my blogs. It seems like I do not have enough info to post of several. But if you combine the blogs, I have enough for multiple updates.
I am not sure if I will keep the main on and add all these posts (obviously much easier) or change the blog totally.
Let me know what you think about this idea.
Oh - just an FYI - once we receive placement, all pictures would be on a blog that has a password.
Friday, January 9, 2009
More about the radiators
I figured since I am less pissed, I would tell the whole story of the radiators.
Way back when we were in class, the topic of old house came up. My house was built in 1900 (ish) and so I would call that old. Topics such as unique floor plans, lead paint, short basements, etc came up. I was kind of concerned about our radiators, not because I thought they would be an issue, but because I could think of nothing else in my house that would be an issue.
I asked our trainer (who works a lot in my county) if the old cast iron radiators would be an issue. He flat out said that he has NEVER heard of anyone failing inspection becasue of raditors. Cool, I thought I was in the clear.
To be safe, I posted this topic on a NJ fost/adopt message board. I got several replies about it and all of them said it was not an issue. There were a few people that also had that concern and they were still waiting for their final inspection (from the state).
I thought nothing of it. Our worker comes to our house to do the "couple" interview at which time she quickly looks through the house for the MAJOR violations. Nothing said about the radiators. She comes back a week later to do my indiv interview and sees the radiator. At this point she tells me that it might be an issue. I told her that I spoke to the trainer about this and advised her of the answer. She said she was going to talk to a supervisor.
Fast forward to this past monday. She comes to do her final inspection - it is required before the state can do theirs. She advised me that the radiators WILL be an issue. By this point, the people on that message board have had their inspections and advised me that the inspector did not even give the raditors a second glance. I tell her this and tell her that they will cost hundreds of dollars each for covers. i know I was getting upset, and I was trying to explain to her that they are not a fire hazard or anything - if that was the case, I would not be able to get home owners insurance.
I went back to the message board and someone was able to send me a copy of the inspection manual.
Well, here is the thing - there is NOTHING written in the inspection manual (69 pages) that says anything about the radiators. The only thing close is "all electric portable heaters or fireplaces must have a guard or cover"
I can attest that these radiators are NOT portable and not electric.
So, my social worker was contacting the actual inspector to see if 1) it is actaully a violation or 2) could we get a waiver.
My worker told us that DYFS may pay for them - yup MAY. It would have to go through an approval process and it could really delay things. My worker wanted us to go through the whole thing first before even finding out it is was needed. Hello, backwards!
I suggested that she call the inspector - totally playing it up as "why should dyfs spend thousands of $$ to fix a problem that might not be a problem at all" I guess she aggreed and now we are just waiting to hear back.
Yes, I am sure we could kind of make them ourselves, but each one is a different size, so it would be a lot of work.
The worker basically told the inspector that we don't have the $$ to get covers (not really a lie) and that if dyfs wants to keep us as a family, that if they are needed, then they would have to pay for them.
We have been told by a few people that they can not wait for us to be licensed because we are one of the best families on the books (good job, nice house, renovated, near park, raised a child, nothing bad in the referece or background checks, etc)
So, I know that if we need them, there is a BIG possibility that we won't have to pay for them.
It is just very frustrating at this point. Oh, and we are STILL waiting for our local police check to come back. There is only about 6000 in my town, so the police dept is pretty small. I am sure they only have one person that does the checks. So, if that person is on vacation, well, then I am screwed.
So, we are still waiting. UGH
Way back when we were in class, the topic of old house came up. My house was built in 1900 (ish) and so I would call that old. Topics such as unique floor plans, lead paint, short basements, etc came up. I was kind of concerned about our radiators, not because I thought they would be an issue, but because I could think of nothing else in my house that would be an issue.
I asked our trainer (who works a lot in my county) if the old cast iron radiators would be an issue. He flat out said that he has NEVER heard of anyone failing inspection becasue of raditors. Cool, I thought I was in the clear.
To be safe, I posted this topic on a NJ fost/adopt message board. I got several replies about it and all of them said it was not an issue. There were a few people that also had that concern and they were still waiting for their final inspection (from the state).
I thought nothing of it. Our worker comes to our house to do the "couple" interview at which time she quickly looks through the house for the MAJOR violations. Nothing said about the radiators. She comes back a week later to do my indiv interview and sees the radiator. At this point she tells me that it might be an issue. I told her that I spoke to the trainer about this and advised her of the answer. She said she was going to talk to a supervisor.
Fast forward to this past monday. She comes to do her final inspection - it is required before the state can do theirs. She advised me that the radiators WILL be an issue. By this point, the people on that message board have had their inspections and advised me that the inspector did not even give the raditors a second glance. I tell her this and tell her that they will cost hundreds of dollars each for covers. i know I was getting upset, and I was trying to explain to her that they are not a fire hazard or anything - if that was the case, I would not be able to get home owners insurance.
I went back to the message board and someone was able to send me a copy of the inspection manual.
Well, here is the thing - there is NOTHING written in the inspection manual (69 pages) that says anything about the radiators. The only thing close is "all electric portable heaters or fireplaces must have a guard or cover"
I can attest that these radiators are NOT portable and not electric.
So, my social worker was contacting the actual inspector to see if 1) it is actaully a violation or 2) could we get a waiver.
My worker told us that DYFS may pay for them - yup MAY. It would have to go through an approval process and it could really delay things. My worker wanted us to go through the whole thing first before even finding out it is was needed. Hello, backwards!
I suggested that she call the inspector - totally playing it up as "why should dyfs spend thousands of $$ to fix a problem that might not be a problem at all" I guess she aggreed and now we are just waiting to hear back.
Yes, I am sure we could kind of make them ourselves, but each one is a different size, so it would be a lot of work.
The worker basically told the inspector that we don't have the $$ to get covers (not really a lie) and that if dyfs wants to keep us as a family, that if they are needed, then they would have to pay for them.
We have been told by a few people that they can not wait for us to be licensed because we are one of the best families on the books (good job, nice house, renovated, near park, raised a child, nothing bad in the referece or background checks, etc)
So, I know that if we need them, there is a BIG possibility that we won't have to pay for them.
It is just very frustrating at this point. Oh, and we are STILL waiting for our local police check to come back. There is only about 6000 in my town, so the police dept is pretty small. I am sure they only have one person that does the checks. So, if that person is on vacation, well, then I am screwed.
So, we are still waiting. UGH
Monday, January 5, 2009
God Damn Stupid Radiators!!!!
These Radiators will be the death of me.
We have radiators like the one below in EVERY room in our house (hallway is pictured). Today, we found out that we might need a cover on ALL of them to pass inspection. We have about 10 of them and each cover costs about $300!!!!!!!
i will not go into this now as I am super PISSED off
We have radiators like the one below in EVERY room in our house (hallway is pictured). Today, we found out that we might need a cover on ALL of them to pass inspection. We have about 10 of them and each cover costs about $300!!!!!!!
i will not go into this now as I am super PISSED off
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I just lost it over a twin bed...
When we moved into our house, we set aside one bedroom as a kids room. We painted in a neutral sage color knowing that we would not want to paint it again.
It has been used as a storage room while we did major renovations on our house. It helped me emotionally that the room was not stark empty.
But, now the room is cleared out and there is a crib and a twin bed in there. We are having our 1st of 2 home inspections tomorrow so our room has to be ready for at least 2 placements.
And, since we are willing to accept ages birth to 5 yrs old, we had to have a crib and a bed. We bought a bunk bed set that can be separate.
We assembled one of the beds and the crib was set up a few weeks ago. The bed has been made and the crib now has a sheet and a little blanket.
It was just the realization that the room is FINALLY going to be used for the intended purpose and I just lost it.
Granted, the room is very simple, nothing matches, everything is second hand - but, it will be filled with a child soon and I guess that is the best thing that could ever go in there.
I just can't believe that more children in our house is not just a dream, but will be a reality.
The bedding that is on the twin bed is for a girl - but it was what we got for free so it is fine for now. Our plan is to buy bedding once we get a placement. If we get a girl that needs a twin, then we will just keep the current bedding. If we get two girls, we might just get one that has similar colors as the one that we have. Boys will eventually need new bedding. The set that we have is REALLY girly.
So, here is our super basic room that will be a little more decorated in the future.
It has been used as a storage room while we did major renovations on our house. It helped me emotionally that the room was not stark empty.
But, now the room is cleared out and there is a crib and a twin bed in there. We are having our 1st of 2 home inspections tomorrow so our room has to be ready for at least 2 placements.
And, since we are willing to accept ages birth to 5 yrs old, we had to have a crib and a bed. We bought a bunk bed set that can be separate.
We assembled one of the beds and the crib was set up a few weeks ago. The bed has been made and the crib now has a sheet and a little blanket.
It was just the realization that the room is FINALLY going to be used for the intended purpose and I just lost it.
Granted, the room is very simple, nothing matches, everything is second hand - but, it will be filled with a child soon and I guess that is the best thing that could ever go in there.
I just can't believe that more children in our house is not just a dream, but will be a reality.
The bedding that is on the twin bed is for a girl - but it was what we got for free so it is fine for now. Our plan is to buy bedding once we get a placement. If we get a girl that needs a twin, then we will just keep the current bedding. If we get two girls, we might just get one that has similar colors as the one that we have. Boys will eventually need new bedding. The set that we have is REALLY girly.
So, here is our super basic room that will be a little more decorated in the future.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Scheduled the 1st Home Inspection :)
Spoke to our worker this week. ya know to ask what the status of everything was. We are still waiting on our local police report and the police report from my previous town.
Kind of funny that the two things that are needed are from two small towns. Does not surprise me, expecially since there were holidays in there. Last year I hit a deer and it took over a month to get that police report because the ONE person that does it was on vacation.
Previously, she told us that we could not schedule the first of two home inspections until all the paperwork was submitted. She said that was because the state inspection must be within a certain time frame from her inspection. I guess she thinks these reports will be submitted soon because she scheduled our 1st home inspection for Monday. The home inspection is really the last step of the home study.
She has been to our house several times and did a "once over" to see if there were any OBVIOUS reasons why we would fail home inspection. But on Monday she is really looking at the house with a fine tooth comb. She wants to make sure the house will pass when the state comes out for their inspection.
Our house is very recently renovated so I don't think there will be any big things. We have locked up the meds and put the cleaners up high. We bought brand new smoke and CO2 detectors and had the fire dept check our fire extingishers.
To be honest, the thing that I am most concerned about is our 100 yr old cast iron radiators. The only thing that is putting me at ease is the fact that about 75% of my town have these same radiators. And I KNOW there are other resource families in our town.
So, this weekend we will be doing another good clean job - but not too clean as was suggested by another resource family. And to be honest, we will declutter the house, clean up the kitchen, wipe down the bathroom, make sure all the beds are made, etc. I was told that state inspectors are a little leary about super clean houses. I guess they wonder what will happen when kids come in and mess up the house.
Oh - also, the room has to be set up. We have a crib and we are getting a set of bunks tomorrow. The bunks are actual beds that just stack as bunks. We are going to just set one up and the crib. This was we are not putting together two beds and it turns out that we only need one.
I will take some pics this weekend when it is all done. But, it will really just be semi-done because we will do most of the decorating once we get placement.
So, yay - moving forward
Kind of funny that the two things that are needed are from two small towns. Does not surprise me, expecially since there were holidays in there. Last year I hit a deer and it took over a month to get that police report because the ONE person that does it was on vacation.
Previously, she told us that we could not schedule the first of two home inspections until all the paperwork was submitted. She said that was because the state inspection must be within a certain time frame from her inspection. I guess she thinks these reports will be submitted soon because she scheduled our 1st home inspection for Monday. The home inspection is really the last step of the home study.
She has been to our house several times and did a "once over" to see if there were any OBVIOUS reasons why we would fail home inspection. But on Monday she is really looking at the house with a fine tooth comb. She wants to make sure the house will pass when the state comes out for their inspection.
Our house is very recently renovated so I don't think there will be any big things. We have locked up the meds and put the cleaners up high. We bought brand new smoke and CO2 detectors and had the fire dept check our fire extingishers.
To be honest, the thing that I am most concerned about is our 100 yr old cast iron radiators. The only thing that is putting me at ease is the fact that about 75% of my town have these same radiators. And I KNOW there are other resource families in our town.
So, this weekend we will be doing another good clean job - but not too clean as was suggested by another resource family. And to be honest, we will declutter the house, clean up the kitchen, wipe down the bathroom, make sure all the beds are made, etc. I was told that state inspectors are a little leary about super clean houses. I guess they wonder what will happen when kids come in and mess up the house.
Oh - also, the room has to be set up. We have a crib and we are getting a set of bunks tomorrow. The bunks are actual beds that just stack as bunks. We are going to just set one up and the crib. This was we are not putting together two beds and it turns out that we only need one.
I will take some pics this weekend when it is all done. But, it will really just be semi-done because we will do most of the decorating once we get placement.
So, yay - moving forward
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Yup - still waiting
I am planning on calling our resource worker on Monday just to get a status update. You know, find out what has come in and what is still pending.
I am sure the Holiday is not helping our timeline. For a while, I really thought we would be licensed by year end, that does not look it is going to happen. Not unless this coming week our worker works like a rock star lol.
Our worker told us that once everything is returned, then she needs to do one last home inspection and then the state comes to do their inspection. I guess it is possible that it could happen this week. But, another holiday, another delay.
Everywhere we go, I look at the kids. Especially when I am somewhere during the school day. I look at this kids and think, "the kid(s) that is placed in our home could be around this age" It is kind of cool.
I really want to decorate the room. But since we don't know the age or the sex, this is kind of hard. A 4 year old would not want a room decorated the same way that a newborn would.
Right now the room is a neutral green, which will not change. But, I do no want to buy bedding sets until we get placement. We have basic sheets and always have blankets in the house. But the actual stuff that will be in the room has not been purchased.
We got a $100 gift card as a "reward" from a points credit card - it is actually a debit card that we use for EVERYTHING.
We will use that gift card when we get placement. We have been collecting most of the big stuff - crib, stroller, car seats, etc. Basically just enough to get by when we get placement. I am sure there will be a huge trip to the store within a few days of placement. But, at least having the gift card will offset some of the expenses.
We are also working on getting some beds, I hope it works out because it is a great deal.
I am sure the Holiday is not helping our timeline. For a while, I really thought we would be licensed by year end, that does not look it is going to happen. Not unless this coming week our worker works like a rock star lol.
Our worker told us that once everything is returned, then she needs to do one last home inspection and then the state comes to do their inspection. I guess it is possible that it could happen this week. But, another holiday, another delay.
Everywhere we go, I look at the kids. Especially when I am somewhere during the school day. I look at this kids and think, "the kid(s) that is placed in our home could be around this age" It is kind of cool.
I really want to decorate the room. But since we don't know the age or the sex, this is kind of hard. A 4 year old would not want a room decorated the same way that a newborn would.
Right now the room is a neutral green, which will not change. But, I do no want to buy bedding sets until we get placement. We have basic sheets and always have blankets in the house. But the actual stuff that will be in the room has not been purchased.
We got a $100 gift card as a "reward" from a points credit card - it is actually a debit card that we use for EVERYTHING.
We will use that gift card when we get placement. We have been collecting most of the big stuff - crib, stroller, car seats, etc. Basically just enough to get by when we get placement. I am sure there will be a huge trip to the store within a few days of placement. But, at least having the gift card will offset some of the expenses.
We are also working on getting some beds, I hope it works out because it is a great deal.
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