So much has been going on around the Portie house and in Maddie's life - it's hard for me to write about everything. But here goes....
Maddie started pre-school this week at Episcopal Day School and I went back to work part-time. We decided to start her off slow and have her only go 1/2 days - 4 days a week. This will change after the Easter break when she will begin going all day and I will be returning to work full-time. Although we were a bit apprehensive about sending her to school, she did better than we ever expected. The first day was seamless - we pulled up at school, she grabbed her backpack, got out of the car, met the teacher at the drop off line, took her hand, turned and waived good-bye. She was so ready to start school and have that interaction with other children. At the end of the week I spoke with the Teacher who told me Maddie had a great 1st week and offered that she is a very bright little girl. As a mom, I was so excited to hear those few little words. She is the youngest in the class and was given an exception to start PK2 early, so I am very happy to hear that she is keeping up with the class and doing well.
In preparation for Easter, Maddie's class is having a Easter party this coming week. They will be hunting Easter eggs and having some snacks. WOW - it has been a long time since I attended an Easter party for one of my children or even thought about hunting Easter Eggs. It is so refreshing to be able to do all of those special things again! This time around I have both Christopher and Elizabeth to share in these special memories. They are having as much fun as I am with Maddie and all things that come with having a 2 year old.
Now that we have received for Maddie, both her US Passport and Certificate of Citizenship we ventured to the dreaded Social Security Administration Office to file for her Social Security Card. What an adventure this was!!!! I showed up with her COC, US Passport, official Adoption paperwork, Application for SS # and the guidelines I printed from the SSA website. After waiting for about 45 minutes it was finally our turn. I thought - this should be easy - I had already completed the application and I had read all of the requirements and brought every document that the instructions stated that I should. The lady behind the desk took one look at all of my paperwork and was immediately perplexed and did not understand why I had not brought her birth certificate. I went into an explanation about the State of Louisiana's requirements on issuing a LA Birth Certificate and that we would not have one until we re-finalized our adoption in a few months. I pointed out that the requirements for getting a ss# state that a US Passport can be used in lieu of a birth certificate. Several minutes of bantering back and forth about the paperwork ensued only for the lady to tell me that I did not have any documentation that showed I was her parent. I pointed to our Adoption Decree issued from the Chinese Government. She was unwilling to accept that document but told me if I brought a letter from her DAYCARE on their letterhead stating that I was her parent that I would be able to get the SS#. WHAT?! How crazy is that! In light of all of the official documents that I brought with me - she wanted a letter from the DAYCARE stating that I was Maddie's parent. What can I say - a shining example of our government at work! lol Needless to say I am not going to waste my time with bringing such a letter and I will just wait until we have a LA Birth Certificate before going back.
We have our appointment with the Craniofacial Team at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston tomorrow. We will see the surgical team first then see the Speech Therapy team. Keep watching the blog for more updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment