homestudy - Worth my Wait

March 1, 2020

“Mikey” our unexpected MIRACLE

It has definitely been a while since my last post. TRUST me when I tell you that I have been waiting and waiting for the day that I could come on and SHARE our AMAZING news. But of course, the teacher in me wants to tell the story from the beginning…So… here it goes!

It was a Thursday afternoon in June 2019. I was sitting in my first grade classroom with my first grade team and the Kindergarten team. We were making plans for the 2020-2021 school year as the current year was coming to an end (waaaaaay later then everyone else I might add). My phone buzzed and when I looked down, I saw I was receiving a facebook message from Riley’s birth mom. I had sent her a picture from his second birthday a week or two before and figured she was replying to that message. As soon as I read her message, “What was the name of the adoption agency we used for Riley?”, I got butterflies in my stomach……I did not even need to ask the next question because I already knew the answer… but I wrote back anyway, “Why, are you pregnant?” She answered quickly that she was seven weeks pregnant and had decided not to keep the baby. She told me her and the birth father (the same biological father as Riley) would love nothing more then for me to adopt this baby as well. I suppose I felt much like a woman feels when she finds out she is pregnant and it was totally unplanned.

People had asked me many times if I thought Riley’s birth mom would ever get pregnant again and I honestly did not think so. I had given away most all of Riley’s newborn things, and thanked the universe daily for making my dream of becoming a mom come true. Riley is everything I ever dreamed of and so much more. He has brought more joy into my heart and soul and to our family then I could ever express in words. The funny thing is that after he turned a year old, I had started to feel a little sad that Riley did not have a sibling to grow up with. My twin brother, Dan, is my best friend and I can’t imagine life without him. I had recently been thinking about maybe looking into fostering to adopt. But there was a lot to consider when making that decision…. as a single mom, I needed to make sure that I had the finances to support two children. I also know that the foster to adopt journey can be very emotional and that children may come and go from our house. I had to consider how this would affect my sweet Riley. I also knew that it would be a lot for my family. I have been so blessed to have the unending support of my brother (who lives with us) and my mom and dad (who take care of Riley every day when I am at work). I could never ask or expect them to do the same for two children. Needless to say, I had not made any decisions as of that afternoon in June.

I read it again, “Yes, I am 7 weeks pregnant and due January 4″. You are our first choice to be the mother”. IN flowed the emotions… excitement, fear, surprise, worry, happiness, joy, nervousness…. I could go on and on… and I am not one to hide my emotions so everyone in the room quickly heard the news. Although I was flooded with feelings and emotion–I was positive in that moment the little angel growing inside her belly was meant to be with us. My subconscious (and my heart) took over as my fingers frantically typed YES YES YES! I was going to be a mom of two and RILEY WAS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!!!

This was much different then two years ago when I got the news about Riley. I did not get the call until May 9 and he was born on May 26, 2016. I had only a few weeks to prepare and everything happened very fast. She was only 7 weeks pregnant at this point…. and January felt so far away. So much could happen between now and then and I knew it was going to be an emotional journey. Even though I did not know what the future would bring, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be that baby’s momma and I would do whatever it took to keep these two siblings together.

I wanted to be able to tell my family in person, so I waited until I got home that day to share the news. They were all a little (OK COMPLETELY) shocked and unsure how to react at first. All of their feelings stemmed from their love of both Riley and I. They wanted to make sure that I was not taking on more then I could handle, physically, emotionally, or financially. I also wanted them to know that I would never expect them to support 2 children and I the way they had for the last 2 and a half years. They have truly given their lives to us for which I am forever thankful. I know they were nervous, scared, and anxious, but they told me they would always be here to support me.

Since she was only 7 weeks pregnant, I was nervous to share the news with too many people. I wanted to wait until she was at least through her first trimester. Once again, I felt like a pregnant women must feel when she learns the exciting news and then has to wait to make sure everything is ok to share. It sounds silly, but I really felt like I was getting the true feeling mentally and emotionally of motherhood this time around. I must also say here, that although I will never be able to fully understand how it feels physically (or emotionally or mentally for that matter) to carry a baby for nine months, but I am forever thankful to the birth mom (and all birth moms) for their strength. Week 12 arrived and I could not keep the news to myself any longer. I would of course not post anything on social media until after the birth (or very close to it as it turned out), but I began to share with my circle of friends and family. Although the overwhelming response was happiness and excitement, I would be lying if I said that I did not receive any skepticism or questions. Most of this skepticism was around being a single mom of 2 children both under the age of 3. Some of the most common concerns and questions I heard were: “How will you afford 2?”, “Do you know how much work it is to have 2 children on your own?” “How will you afford day care?” I listened to each question and responded each time in a similar way… “I can’t tell you exactly how I will make it all work, but I can tell you I will”. There was never one doubt in my mind that this baby was coming home to live with us, and I was ready to do whatever I had to for my family.

The blessing of having so much time until the birth was being able to make plans. From the most basic plans of traveling to North Carolina (which is a lot of logistics by itself), to the more complex financial and career plans. Like I said earlier, the last two and a half years have been amazing–and I can’t imagine how I would have done it without my parents and my brother. However, I would never expect my parents to watch two children full time. I was also very sensitive to the fact that my brother is a morning news director and gets up every morning at 1:30 a.m. He has lost MANY hours of sleep over the last 2.5 years (and never complained once) and given ENDLESS support to both Riley and I. I told him right away that I understood if he felt like two little humans was too much and didn’t want to live together anymore. And so my research began… I priced different preschools for Riley, possible day care for new baby, a part-time nanny, or even a live in au pair (if my brother moved out). I calculated my current monthly expenses and then added on what I thought the extra expenses would be with the new little one. With my teaching salary, my Rodan + Fields business, and my new business in the financial industry (another stay at home business–more on that later), I was confident I could afford it on my own. We would live simply, but both of my children would live in a warm house, with warm clothes, food on the table, and more love then I could ever measure for the rest of their lives.

One of the things that I asked of the birth mom was to find out the gender of the baby. I had a lot of things left from when Riley was a baby and since I had so much time to prepare, I loved the idea of being able to get everything all set! It may sound silly, but since I could not carry the baby myself and was all the way across the country, it also made me feel a little more connected if I knew the gender. Birth mom said she was completely ok with that and gave me the date of her first ultrasound. I marked it in my calendar and counted down the days! She had a 9:00 am appointment on September 4….Since she is in North Carolina, this meant it would be 6:00 am in California. I waited and waited and waited for my phone to go off. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime at school and still no word. I finally heard from her later that day (she had forgotten her phone at home) and told me that they were not able to see the gender and she had to go back in a month. EEEEK! So I marked my calendar again and waited. To be totally honest, something inside of me really thought it was going to be a girl (as did many of my friends and family). There was another part of me that wondered if the next ultrasound would even be able to show the gender. 30 days felt like 100 and I continued to remain in a place of gratitude and thanks. That October morning came and I of course started checking my phone right at 6 am. I even texted birth mom at 5:30 am “Happy Gender Reveal Day!!! Can’t wait to hear”! I was on Fall Break and at a library with Riley and my parents for story time when I felt my phone buzz. “They were able to see the gender–are you ready LOL”…. I frantically typed back–“YES YES YES!!!” She replied, “You are officially a boy mom”! My heart exploded and I looked up at my parents and whispered “It’s a boy”! Riley was going to be a big brother AND to a baby boy!!! My brother was at work and was the next person I messaged. I will never forget his reply—I could feel his excitement coming through even on text (as silly as that sounds) and he even admitted feeling a little choked up. Although I had always envisioned having at least one daughter (and who knows what the future holds) I was over the moon with the blessing of raising two little boys.

I had already began to make a list of names even before I knew the gender. But honestly, I really only had one boy name that I was positive about. It was very important to me that Riley have my dad’s name, Patrick, as his middle name. My dad is an amazing man and it is important to me his name live on in Riley. Another very amazing man in our lives was my grandfather Joseph, or as we called him Papa Joe. He passed away almost 2 years ago and left us all a little bit of an inheritance. My parents handed me the check a few days after I found out about the second baby and I knew in that moment that my grandfather was supporting me through this process. “Joseph” is also my brother Dan’s middle name and it just seemed like a perfect fit. I have always loved the name “Mikey”. And so I had it, Michael Joseph Twomey, and we would call him Mikey He was my miracle… My MIKEY MIRACLE!

There is lots more to this story and the author in me wants to give each part of the story its own chapter…BUT I would never leave my readers hanging! So I am going to fast forward a bit. Riley, Dan, and I traveled to North Carolina on January 2 to await the birth of our little man. Mikey was born on January 15, 2020 at 5:45 p.m. in North Carolina–11 days late (another post altogether)! He was 21.5 inches and 8 lbs 4 ounces. I was able to be in the room for the delivery and cut the cord. Mikey and I were given our own room and were skin to skin within minutes. It truly was love at first sight and I cried tears of joy the moment I held him in my arms. Riley and Uncle Dan were there with us a few hours later. One of the most amazing moments happened when they arrived. Mikey had been asleep on me for almost 2 hours and had not opened his eyes much at all before they got there. The minute Riley walked over to the bassinet and talked, Mikey’s eyes opened up wide. They stared at each other in a way that I can’t express in words. Both Dan and I could see they knew they were brothers. Their connection was instant and magical.

We lived in North Carolina for a week after his birth and then we all traveled home to meet Gaga and Papa. Again, more details to follow in later posts. We are home and adjusting to our new life together. Riley is an AMAZING big brother and my parents and brother have been simply INCREDIBLE once again. I am going to take the rest of the school year off to be home with my two boys and am overcome with feelings of gratitude and thanks. I would like to end for now, by sharing a few pictures–but I assure you there are many more on the way along with more details about our journey together! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!!!

October 11, 2019

My boy is growing

Yes, you probably guessed it! I am on Fall Break. I was looking back at the last post and it was on summer break. Once I get into my full time teacher mode, most of the writing I do is lesson plans, curriculum and professional development… although I did just start my very own newsletter and feel very excited about that. I have also taken up meditation and daily journaling. Needless to say, I love to write and wanted to share some updates on Riley and momma’s journey through life.

We are definitely 2!!!! I often hear a lot of negative connotations associated with this age- “the terrible 2’s” being the most frequent. I would be lying if I told you that some new challenging behaviors have not arisen–or moments when I needed to count to ten (or twenty or sometimes even higher)!!! But I am truly loving every minute of this stage of his life and continue to be in awe of how much his little brain is developing.

The “teacher” in me is always observing, watching, and trying to learn more. I did not let him watch any television until he was two years old. We spent our time playing, reading, and singing. I can say that “Eat, Play, Sing (and Read) does change everything! He is very verbal and already communicating in 3-4 word sentences. He knows all the superheroes, Toy Story, Sesame Street, Paw Patrol, and PJ Masks (a new one for me) characters without ever having watched any of them on TV. It has been so incredible to watch him go from looking at the pictures in the book, to pointing to the pictures, to naming the characters as he points, and now he is pretending to be the characters himself. I can sit and just watch him for hours (although let’s be honest-his attention span is about 5-6 minutes if I am lucky on any one activity). There are songs that we have been singing to him every day since he was a baby–and now he will sing a long or lay in his crib and sing to himself when he wakes up. There is NOTHING BETTER then driving in the car and hearing “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star….” being sung in the back seat… or being serenaded during bath time with “Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. My mom has even taught him her old Balboa High school cheer and he LOVES to tease Guncle with it whenever possible. I could go on and on with example after example of the ways this little man brings a smile to my face every day and fills my heart with joy.

I have been very honest from the beginning that Riley has quite a temperament and that is still true. It is genetic and not something that will change. As he has moved into this “toddler” phase of life–his temperament has also began to show itself in different ways. When he is happy he IS BLISSFULLY happy and can laugh and be silly and emulate joy. When he is angry–that pendulum swings the opposite direction and he can do a complete 360 in an instant. The mom and teacher in me wanted to really find the best way to support him through all of this. I spent my entire summer studying the brain and in particular the brain of a child. I highly recommend the book “No Drama Discipline” https://www.amazon.com/No-Drama-Discipline-Whole-Brain-Nurture-Developing/dp/034554806X or the “The Whole Brain Child”, both written by Daniel Siegel. I have learned so much about why behaviors and reactions look the way they do, and many times–it is all about his developing brain. When I first started reading the book, I laughed when I read that you should look forward to meltdowns–they are a time to learn more about your child, develop a stronger emotional connection, and begin to teach his developing brain how to handle different situations. Never in a million years did I think that a tantrum would HELP in any way!!!! But I am here to tell you–it has been an incredible way to learn more about my sweet boy and we have made huge strides in his behavior and overall response to different situations. Now all I want to do is go out and help other families implement these same strategies! I am using them in my classroom with my first graders and also seeing huge growth.

It is all about connecting before correcting and understanding that sometimes the part of the brain the child needs to handle a given situation or make a choice has not fully developed. There are great examples of things you can do to help them develop those skills even from as young as two years old. A few examples… Riley went through a phase where he was “hulk smashing” people in the face. My immediate reaction would initially have been to yell “No” and “Don’t hit people”. After reading the book, the first time he hit someone again with the Hulk-I had a different reaction. My brother and him were playing and Riley hit Dan with Hulk and said “HULK SMASH”… He laughed and did it again. I heard Dan say “OW” very loudly and came out. Instead of yelling from across the room and telling Riley to stop… I walked over, sat down next to him and said, “I heard Guncle say ow… it looks like he feels sad.” Riley smiled at first and kind of laughed and raised Hulk up to do it again. I blocked Hulk and said again, “Oh it really looks like Guncle feels sad when you hit him, don’t you think?” Riley did not say much, but I could see on his face that he was beginning to understand a bit. It took a few more times and he has for the most part stopped hitting with Hulk. He is developing a sense of empathy even from this very young age, and his brain is growing and developing the skills it needs to make the right choice. Another example–more specifically around a tantrum situation. The word “no” can be very triggering for children and I read a lot in the book about how to connect and redirect before you try to do anything else. One morning, Riley really wanted to have “hulky pretzel” (which is a key lime flavored colored pretzel in non super hero words) for breakfast. He began to scream and cry when I told him that we were not going to have that for breakfast and that he could choose pancakes or a Mickey Waffle or eggs (all amazing choices in my opinion). He continued to insist “I want hulky pretzel now” and was getting more and more upset. Before reading the book, I may have just said, Well you can’t have that now and just ignored the tantrum. What I learned was that he is so upset in the moment, and is reacting from the lower “fight or flight” part of his brain and the right emotional side. The left side of his brain (and more logical one) is not developed enough to truly understand much more then he was just told no and isn’t happy. So again, I got down to his level took him on my lap, and said, “Oh big boy, you feel so sad ha?” He said, “YES I want hulky pretzel now momma”. I continued to hug him and said “I know you are so sad and momma loves you. I don’t want you to feel sad. We are going to have something very special for breakfast and save your hulky preztel in a special place for after lunch! Do you want to help me hide it”? First, I connected and made him feel loved and supported when he was feeling upset… Then, redirected with a game of hiding the hulky pretzel and letting him “help” with making breakfast. Once we had hidden the pretzel and he was eating breakfast (and was much calmer with level blood sugar) I asked him again…. “Silly goose, do we eat Hulky Pretzels for breakfast”? He made a silly face and said “yes momma” at first and then hid his face… But then looked at me and said “No momma, Hulky after lunch”. This boy doesn’t miss a beat and remembered exactly when he got to eat that pretzel!

I share these stories just to show that this parenting stuff is not always easy–but it is an amazing journey. I continue to learn so much from this little boy on a daily basis, not only about him, but about myself and am truly just so thankful!

It sounds cliche, but I waited my whole life to be a mom and now I am living that dream and trying to soak up every minute. I am so thankful to my brother and my parents for jumping on board with me as I navigate through these new strategies, and truly feel so proud of the kind little boy Riley is growing up to be!

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018

The Homestudy

One of the biggest parts of the adoption process is the home study. When I began the process, the agency I was working with did not do the home study and gave me a few suggestions on places to contact. I chose Independent Adoption Center (IAC). Since it was an outside agency, the costs were not covered in the Phase I fees I had already paid to my adoption agency. Once I set them the initial payment, they sent me a packet full of paperwork to fill out. Since my twin brother was living in the house with me, he also had to complete a lot of paperwork. We both had to be live scanned, complete a physical that included an updated TB test, show proof of CPR certification, copies of birth certificates and social security cards, and get our driving records. Since I was the adoptive parent, I also had to send my most recent tax return, as well as most current pay stubs, and bank information. Once all of this was completed, I was contacted by a social worker for my first interview. We met halfway between our two houses at a local coffee shop. I had no idea what to expect and remember feeling so nervous driving over the Bay Bridge.

I arrived at the coffee shop and found the social worker sitting outside. She introduced herself and then it was mostly me talking for the next 2 hours. She asked me about everything: my childhood, my past and present dating life, my career, why I wanted to be a mom and why I chose adoption. I had to go into great detail about my fertility issues as well as my choice to be a single mom. There were points where I felt a little uncomfortable–sharing such personal things…. basically my life story with someone I had just met. She also asked me a lot of questions about my choice to adopt a child of any race or gender. I am 100% caucasian, and she questioned me a lot about raising a child of a different race…. If I am being 100% honest, she really made me feel like I was not capable of providing the best environment for a child of a different race. I had actually changed my profile for a while after meeting with her (to 50-100% white only), until I was finally able to share with my agency’s social worker my feelings. She assured me that I did not need to worry and made me feel much better. My heart felt so much happier when my preference went back to any race.

After the first interview, we scheduled the home visit. For this one, my brother needed to be present so that she could interview him separately. There was also a home study checklist of things that needed to be done in your home before your home study is approved. Some of these things included: working smoke alarms in every room, carbon monoxide monitor, fire extinguisher, first aid kits, locks on medicine/liquor cabinets, all medicine locked up at out of reach of children. I also had to fill out a report much like when you are selling your home, describing total square feet and all other house information. The visit was scheduled for 2 hours. She interviewed my brother first (and made me leave the room) and then interviewed me again, and completed the home inspection before she left. Before she left, she told me that I had passed the home study and that now she would do the write-up and send to the state to approve me to bring a child into my home. That process took about 2 months, and then I was officially clear to have a child living in my home. The home study was current for a year, and then had to be “updated”… Updated basically meant writing another check to the agency, being live scanned again, and a follow-up interview if my living situation had changed.

When it came time to do my update the second time, I contacted the IAC and sent in my payment. They scheduled a social worker to come out and meet with me on a Saturday morning. The Thursday morning before that interview, I was at the gym and looked up at the TV screen. Channel 7 news was showing a story with the headline “International Adoption Center goes bankrupt and closes doors”… I turned my music off and plugged my headphones into the machine to hear the report on the news. I watched as people cried through interviews saying they were already matched with a family, and now everything was lost (including their money). I received a voicemail later that morning from the woman who was supposed to interview me. She said she was an independent contractor with the IAC, and would therefore not be able to conduct the interview. I was unable to get my money back and now had an “expired” home study. Since I was not feeling super confident about being chosen any time soon, I did not rush to find an agency to complete my update. Now fast forward to May 9 when I received that call… I needed to figure out who would be able to do my update and quickly!

Not only had the IAC gone bankrupt, but many of the client files were missing. Again, I was so lucky to have only done my home study with them, as many other families were losing out on a whole lot more. Not only a lot of money, but many of them had pending adoptions that did not go through. I cannot even imagine the pain and anger they must have felt. Although my situation was different, if I could not get my original home study, that meant that I would have to start all over instead of just an update. This would inevitably have meant that I would not be done in time for the birth. I called the DOJ in Sacramento and was on the phone for hours trying to find out if my file was there. Once I determined it was there, then I needed to get it to the agency completing the update as soon as possible. I was lucky enough to work with an amazing family owned adoption agency who were willing to take on my case and get the update done as quickly as possible. I paid to have the file overnighted to them in Santa Cruz and they gave me the list of things to complete and send them in the next 3 days: updated TB tests and physical for both my brother and I, as well as updated livescans (this was our third time), a letter from my vet saying the cat was “child friendly”, another home inspection, and face to face interviews with both my brother and I… The next 3 days were a whirlwind. Again, my brother was such a trooper as were our doctors. They got us in as quickly as possible and we got everything done and sent in time. We even drove to Santa Cruz to do our interview on the weekend. My update was finished, sent to Sacramento, and approved before I left on the airplane to get my sweet baby.