Finally Arrivedtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1084012008-09-04T11:13:25-07:00...infertile and In A Holding Pattern for nearly 5 years, at last life has restarted. A bitchy career woman and her sweet husband adopt a beautiful baby boy from Korea.TypePadPost Adoption Updatetag:typepad.com,2003:post-551404582008-09-04T11:13:25-07:002008-09-05T12:39:54-07:00Is anyone out there still? I doubt it, but why not try... Things are going wonderfully with Munchkin. If you can believe it, he is approaching his 2nd birthday. He is truly the cutest kid in the world and I...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2008/09/post-adoption-update.htmlA Done Dealtag:typepad.com,2003:post-430402782007-12-19T11:15:36-08:002007-12-19T11:15:44-08:00It is done. Munchkin is officially ours, and we are officially his. Our adoption was finalized in Sanxx XXXX County Court this week. Many family and friends were present. I was so happy, so overjoyed, that I cried during the...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/12/a-done-deal.htmlAlmost there...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-414779682007-11-12T21:54:08-08:002007-11-12T21:54:21-08:00In one short month, Munchkin will forever be ours. We will legally become a family. He will also become a US Citizen. We made it through the 6 month post-placement period, enduring 4 social worker visits and numerous episodes of...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/11/almost-there.htmlThank you - The Real Last Posttag:typepad.com,2003:post-346541182007-05-30T08:45:22-07:002007-11-12T21:54:16-08:00Hello, I just realized that I have been quite remiss. My last two posts answered any last-minute questions prior to my closing down this blog. BUT I very inappropriately forgot to give a proper goodbye and to say thank you....HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/05/thank_you_the_r.htmlFinal Post (Part 2) - Questions Answeredtag:typepad.com,2003:post-343836182007-05-22T22:35:00-07:002007-09-11T11:56:00-07:00I was wondering what you have done/plan to do to expose Munchkin to his culture of origin and other cultures in general? I am taking the lead from my husband, T, on this issue. He is Japanese American and grew...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/05/final_post_part.htmlFinal Post (Part 1) - Questions Answeredtag:typepad.com,2003:post-343819102007-05-22T22:32:21-07:002007-10-30T14:32:06-07:00Final post.... Answers to your questions from my previous post. Will I post again with occasional updates?Well, that's not the plan, but I suppose it's possible I'll feel like it. If I do, it'll be on this site with the...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/05/final_post.htmlBefore I Depart, Are There Any Questions?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-331152162007-04-27T00:25:00-07:002007-05-21T15:53:18-07:00Well, that last post seems like the "right" ending to our adoption and infertility saga. And suddenly, I feel a lot less inspired to blog. We are no longer In a Holding Pattern. We have Finally Arrived. Across the world,...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/04/your_questions_.htmlDenoumenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-331544342007-04-23T08:54:00-07:002007-05-21T15:53:19-07:00(continued from the last post) T and I left the H01t office shortly after the foster mother, carrying Munchkin in the baby carrier they provided. Munchkin didn't cry. In fact, he smiled and cooed and was charming the entire walk...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/04/denoument.htmlKorea - The Big Daytag:typepad.com,2003:post-331144762007-04-19T23:57:23-07:002007-05-21T15:53:19-07:00We woke up at 4:30 am on Friday. "Can you believe they're going to give us a baby?" said T. Yeah. Wow. In just ten hours, they were actually going to give us a baby to care for and raise...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/04/we_woke_up_at_4.htmlVisit to Korea (Day 1 and 2)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-326965042007-04-12T00:04:23-07:002007-06-03T06:46:24-07:00OK, back to our first full day in Korea. By 11am our visit with Munchkin was over. We would not see him again until the following afternoon. So, we had time to kill. So we... 1) Ate Korean barbecue (bulgogi)...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/04/part_2_visit_to.htmlKorea Visittag:typepad.com,2003:post-326041102007-04-07T00:10:27-07:002007-05-21T15:53:20-07:00Hi... long awaited post about our trip to Korea follows. It's going to be brief because my hands are really full. In addition to playing with My Munchkin (new name, seems to fit him better than Sweet Pea) all day,...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/04/korea_visit.htmlThe Struggle Was Worth Ittag:typepad.com,2003:post-322074062007-03-27T23:47:37-07:002007-08-03T15:24:56-07:00We're back. We've finally landed. We are out of our infinite holding pattern, at last. We have a son. _I_ have a son. _I_ am a mother. I can't believe it. He is amazing. He is precious. He is the...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/03/the_struggle_wa.htmlOff to Koreatag:typepad.com,2003:post-318534882007-03-19T12:55:39-07:002007-03-19T13:10:34-07:00I'm sitting in the plane, ready to take off in minutes for Seoul. In 30 hours we meet our son for the first time. On Friday, he becomes ours. We'll then spend the weekend with him in Seoul and fly...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/03/off_to_korea.htmlComing in for a Landingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-315483842007-03-12T12:32:31-07:002007-03-12T12:32:55-07:00T and I have been trying for a baby for almost 5 years. We started in early May 2002. Since then, we've been through 2 ectopic pregnancies, 2 emergency surgeries, 4 failed IVF cycles, 4 failed IUIs, approximately 50 "visits"...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/03/coming_in_for_a.htmlNesting Instinct or No?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-313384042007-03-07T23:46:26-08:002007-08-29T13:05:42-07:00OK, for those of you out there with both bio and adopted kids, can you tell me: Is there a nesting instinct that kicks in for adoptive moms? Or is this solely a biological phenomenon, brought on by pregnancy hormones?...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/03/nesting_instinc.htmlIt's All Good Nowtag:typepad.com,2003:post-305717842007-02-16T17:46:58-08:002007-08-23T07:32:11-07:00This is the point in the process where I am glad that we are using a very professional, big adoption agency. Because they totally saved the day. As you know from the last post, a week ago the incompetents at...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/02/its_all_good_no.htmlI Am Freakin' Pissed Offtag:typepad.com,2003:post-303086902007-02-10T01:13:32-08:002007-05-21T15:53:23-07:00Fucking US-CIS. Incompetent a-holes. They fucking kicked back our entire I-600 form - returned it with all forms and supporting documentation. The reason was that we supposedly "failed to pay the $545 application fee plus $140 in fingerprinting fees". Fuckers....HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/02/i_am_freakin_pi.htmlA Weight Liftedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-155766282007-02-01T17:21:21-08:002007-05-21T15:53:23-07:00About 16-17 years ago, my aunt and uncle started the process of adopting a 5-year old girl from Romania. The Cold War had just ended and the world discovered - and was aghast - at the horrible living conditions in...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/02/a_weight_lifted.htmlAnother Question for Ye tag:typepad.com,2003:post-155065372007-01-29T20:31:32-08:002007-05-21T15:53:24-07:00How does this social security number thing work with kids adopted from Korea, whose adoptions won't be finalized (and therefore they won't be US citizens) until 6 months after placement? Before we leave for Korea, we're trying to get life...HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/01/another_questio.htmlBatch 5 is Donetag:typepad.com,2003:post-154495492007-01-26T15:35:21-08:002007-05-21T15:53:24-07:00Another adoption hurdle passed this week.... We filed our I-600 form (petition to classify an orphan as a member of our immediate family) with US-CIS this week. That form, of course, required another mountain of documents to go with it....HoldingPatternhttp://holdingpattern.typepad.com/in_a_holding_pattern/2007/01/batch_5_is_done.html