Havin Hope

I have been telling everyone that it Illinois state law requires you to wait six months from birth for an adoption to become finalized.

I was wrong.

Apparently, six months is just the waiting period that most agencies practice.  Why do they practice this?  I’m guessing that they need:

-time to make a few home visits to assess how the adoption is going

-ample to time to fill out paperwork and complete a report to be submitted to the judge

I am pretty sure that my social worker told me that we HAD to wait six months.  I thought she said it was the LAW.  But apparently I just jumped to a big fat conclusion.  Also, if you are doing your adoption through a lawyer then it is up to the judge when the adoption becomes finalized.

After talking to our lawyer and hearing her discription of the process I e-mailed my social worker.  She said that it was possible that we could get a court date as early as late April.  The imaginary six month mark I had in my head is up the beginning of May, so late April is not much different.

But, I like the idea that our finalization could happen a little sooner, even if is just a week or two.

Our next step is our second home visit which is next week sometime.  I thought it was going to be our last, but I was informed this week that we have to have one more after that before she files her report.  Obviously, I’m confused about more than one thing and I can’t even blame on lack of sleep since Micah is a fabulous-sleep-all-night-kind-of- girl already!

I learned something new today.  Something that I wish I would have learned 8 weeks ago.

Upon filling out my taxes online I was alerted that I could not claim Micah as a dependent because she did not have a social security number.  Okay, I already knew that.  Someone had mentioned to us a little while ago that there was a new law a few years ago that everyone must have a social security number to be claimed on tax forms.  So I was expecting not to be able to claim her.

But, I learned that that was not true today.  You can claim you not-yet-adopted child even if you are not able to file for a social security number yet.  You can claim her if you have an ATIN, Adoption Tax Idenification Number.  This is what I learned today- that there is a such thing as a ATIN and that I need to get one for Micah so I can claim her on my tax forms.  And, it takes 4-8 weeks to receive it.

So, if I knew what I knew now back when we got home from the hospital I would have gone here to type and print my form.  The IRS also requires some sort of documentation from the agency, hospital or lawyer stating that there is an adoption pending.  An ATIN is only necessary when you are not eligible to file for a social security number by the time you need to file for taxes.  In our case, our adoption will not be final until after April 15 and you cannot file for a SS number until the adoption has been finalized.

I’m feeling a little frustrated because I would have liked to file this week, but I’m thankful that there is still time to receive her number!

Micah turned 3 months old last night!

She is:

smiling

holding her head up for a duration

sleeping 10-12 hours at night

taking 6 ounce bottles 5 times a day

a sweetie!!!

In December I received the summons in the mail with the address of my local sherriff’s office and instructions to take the baby there within one month.

I called my dad on the way because I didn’t know where my local sheriff’s office was located.  I found it and Micah and I made it inside where we found the clerk whom we were suppose to see.

She said, “You’re going to laugh, but I have to TOUCH the baby with the papers.  That is how we are instructed to “serve” babies their papers.”

I said, “You’re going to laugh, but do it again so I can take your picture.”

She was happy to do so, but it was hard for me to hold the baby and get a good picture.

Now, we are waiting once again.  I hope to hear from the lawyer soon to get our court date, but I don’t know if that will happen soon or not.  In the state of Illinois we cannot go to court and finalize our adoption until the baby is 6 months old, which puts us at the beginning of May.  When that happens her name will officially change, we can file for a social security card, and she will be legally ours.  Right now we are legally considered her foster parents.

But she feels like “ours” .  We’re just ready for it to be official.

My Kroger deals are taking a permanent trip over to my new blog, Working a Deal.  Please visit me over there if you are interested in Central Illinois Kroger deals.  I also plan on posting some other simple deals too, for those of you who like to work a quick deal or two without spending too much time on it or doing too much math.  Of course, I can’t make any promises- I’m sure I will occasionally get excited and post a complicated deal or two (but you can ignore them).

Speaking of ignoring, I’m sorry friends and family who have had to endure my deal postings for a while now.  I promise I will post more family, adoption, and just “life” posts on this blog, from here on out!

Remember I have a Central Illinois ad and my Kroger double coupons .50 and less. To view your ad, go here.

Ground Chuck- 1.77/lb

Split Chicken Breasts- .97/lb
(these haven’t been on sale for a LONG time and my Kroger only seems to carry them when they are. You know what that means, dear hubbie, Chicken and Noodles for us, if you are actually reading my Kroger posts then you should leave me a comment and I might make them for you in the near future!)

Danimals Yogurt- 1.88
-1.00 from newspaper insert
=.88

Huggies Diapers, box- 18.99
add -2.00 to your card here
-2.00 from here
=14.99 (plus if you are a member of Upromise you can add coupons to go towards college savings or loans here)

10 for 10 Sale!
Remember, you don’t need to buy 10 items, each one is just a dollar.

Hunts tomatoes -1.00
add -.45/3 to your card from here
=2.55 for 3 (.85 each)

Campbells Soup- 1.00
-.40/4 or .30/3 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
doubles to -.80 or -.60
=.80 each when you buy 3 or 4

Rice or Pasta Roni- 1.00
-1/3 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
=2.00 for 3 (.67 each)

Pillsbury Brownie Mix- 1.00
-.40 from newspaper insert
doubles to -.80
=.20

Gatorade-1.00
-.50 from 1/10 insert
doubles to -1.00
=free

Kroger sour cream or cottage cheese- 1.00

Kroger Tortilla chips or salsa- 1.00

Pillsbury Grands, Crescent or cinnamon rolls-1.00
-1/2 Cinnamon rolls, or .30/2 Grands or .50/2 Crescent from here or from .40/2 Cinnamon rolls or Crescent or .30/2 Grands newspaper inserts
add to your card -.30/2 Grands or 1/2 Cinnamon rolls or Crescent rolls from here or 1/2 Cinnamon Rolls from here
=FREE-1.40 for 2 (.50-.80 each) (Thats FOUR Cinnamon rolls and TWO Crescent rolls for FREE)

PLUS there is great Catalina deal beginning 1/25 where you can make money! I was so mad (because I had just did the deal) when I checked out today and saw the catalina that printed out to tell me of the up and coming deal, I missed placed it! I cannot find details on the deal online yet but I do remember that it begins on Monday. So if you have yet to do this deal it is in your benefit to do it Monday- Wednesday of next week. Even if you have already used all of your e-coupons you can still break even or pay as little as .40 out of pocket after the catalina.

I remember that if buy 4 Pillsbury Grands, Crescents or Cinnamon Rolls get back a $2 Catalina off your next purchase. But I think there were more rewards if you bought more! I will continue to look for the details (and my lost catalina) and post them soon!

Manwich -1.00
add -.50/3 to your card from here
=2.50 for 3 (.84 each)

Swiss Miss- 1.00

Starkist tuna-1.00
-.50 printable (the coupon says it was from starkist.com, but it appears to be no longer available)
doubles to -1.00
=FREE

Suave deodorant-1.00
-.75 from newspaper insert
=.25

My Kroger deals will be moving to a new site in the next week, I will post a link from this site!

Be sure to check out some more deals over at the new Grocery Gathering!!

Yesterday we held a family meeting to discuss how we could help Haiti.

We decided that we wanted to send some money to Compassion International and Free Methodist World Missions. But, with legal fees for Micah’s adoption due just a few months from now we really didn’t want to dip into what is left of our savings.

Here is what we decided to do:

1. Eat Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches for Sunday dinner instead of going out for fast food and donate what we would have spent to Free Methodist World Missions.

2. Create a frill-less menu for the next week thus cutting our grocery budget by two thirds. We will send what we save to Compassion International. I plan on picking up fruit, milk, and just a couple of other things. I plan on using items that I already have and scaling down some of our typical meals such as leaving out the turkey kielbasa out of our red beans and rice, making a simple soup, and having only one or two items per meal. I don’t feel like they are the most healthy of all meals or the most tasty, but I do think that they will be filling and will get us by for one week. By keeping it simple this week we will be enabled to send a little on to the relief efforts.

Our “frill-less menu” includes:
Ramen noodles
homemade waffles
red beans and rice
potato soup
hummus
breakfast burritos
spaghetti

3. This wasn’t brought up at our family meeting, but I have since learned that both Swagbucks and MyPoints will convert your points to dollars and donate them to the Red Cross or Doctor’s Without Borders. If you are not familiar with either of this sites they are worth checking out if you are interested in earning points by doing web searches and taking surveys that you can use to get gift cards, movies tickets and other items for free (like donating to Haiti)(please let me know if you are interested in MyPoints and I will send you a referral email about it, I get points if you sign-up through me). I find that very cool, since that doesn’t really cost us any money. We were saving our Swagbucks to purchase money tickets for the three of us but we agreed to donate all of the Swagbucks that we earn this week to Haiti.

I am looking forward to this week.  I hope that Jonah learns something about sacrifing this week, I think we will too.

The coupon match-ups do not appear to be a plenty this week but I thought the 10 for 10 page of the ad was full of things that were on my grocery list and good deals, even if there isn’t a coupon to make it even better!

Remember I have a Central Illinois ad and my Kroger double coupons .50 and less. To view your ad, go here.

Kroger Cheese, 16 oz- 2.50

Bob Evans Sausage- 2.50
-.25 from recent newspaper insert
doubles to -.50
=2.00

Lubriderm Lotions- 5.99
-2.00 from 1/10 newspaper or here
=3.99

10 for 10 Sale!
Remember, you don’t need to buy 10 items, each one is just a dollar.

Campbells Soup- 1.00
-.40/4 or .30/3 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
doubles to -.80 or -.60
=.80 each when you buy 3 or 4

Rice or Pasta Roni- 1.00
-1/3 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
=2.00 for 3 (.67 each)

Pillsbury Brownie Mix- 1.00
-.40 from newspaper insert
doubles to -.80
=.20

Gatorade-1.00
-.50 from 1/10 insert
doubles to -1.00
=free

Coke Products, 2L- 1.00
-1.00 from here (must sign up for an account where you will get 100 free pts then you need to order the coupon, there are several good ones to choose from and I think I got mine in under a week)
=free

Kroger sour cream or cottage cheese- 1.00

Rotel- 1.00
-1/4 from ALL YOU
=3.00 for 4 (.75 each)

Kroger Tortilla chips or salsa- 1.00

Pillsbury Grands, Crescent or cinnamon rolls-1.00
-1/2 Cinnamon rolls, or .30/2 Grands or .50/2 Crescent from here or from .40/2 Cinnamon rolls or Crescent or .30/2 Grands newspaper inserts
add to your card -.30/2 Grands or 1/2 Cinnamon rolls or Crescent rolls from here or 1/2 Cinnamon Rolls from here
=FREE-1.40 for 2 (.50-.80 each) (Thats FOUR Cinnamon rolls and TWO Crescent rolls for FREE)

Hunts tomatoes or sauce-1.00
add -.45/3 to your card from here
=2.55 for 3 (.85 each)

Manwich -1.00
add -.50/3 to your card from here
=2.50 for 3 (.84 each)

Swiss Miss- 1.00

Starkist tuna-1.00
-.50 printable (the coupon says it was from starkist.com, but it appears to be no longer available)
doubles to -1.00
=FREE

Suave deodorant-1.00
-.75 from newspaper insert
=.25

My Kroger deals will be moving to a new site in the next week, I will post a link from this site!

Be sure to check out some more deals over at the new Grocery Gathering!!

Go here to add a coupon for $5/5 Healthy Choice Meals to your Kroger Card.

Then print a coupon for $5/5 here.

You should be able to get a pretty good deal on 5 meals by using both coupons!

Woohoo, 2010 is starting out right- the free shopper with the Kroger ad came today. I love it when I get a preview of the ad a whole day early!

Remember I have a Central Illinois ad and my Kroger double coupons .50 and less. To view your ad, go here.

Kroger Cheese, 16 oz- 2.50

Kroger milk - 1.25

Campbells Soup- .79
-.40/4 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
doubles to -.80
=2.36 for 4 (.59 each)

Keebler Club Crackers- 1.99
-1/2 from newspaper insert
=2.98 for 2 (1.49 each)

Johnsonville Cooked Smoked Sausage- 2.50
-.55 from ALL YOU magazine
=1.95

Progresso Soup- 1.25
-.50/2 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
doubles to -1.00
=1.50 for 2 (.75 each)

Gorton’s Grilled Fish Sticks or Fillets (but, they don’t look grilled in the picture???)-2.99
-.50 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert (if the sale is really on grilled items) or -.60 any item from Gorton’s mailer
doubles to -1.00
=1.99-2.39

Baked Lays- 2.98
-.55 from recent newspaper insert
=2.43

Kroger Peanut Butter- 1.00

Rice or Pasta Roni- 1.00
-1/3 from 1/3/10 newspaper insert
=2.00 for 3 (.67 each)

Ritz Crackers- 2.50
-1/2 from recent newspaper insert
=4.00 for 2 (2.00 each)

Green Peppers- .50 each

Pillsbury Brownie Mix- 1.00
-.40 from newspaper insert
doubles to -.80
=.20

Be sure to check out some more deals over at the new Grocery Gathering!!