"She goes around in circles 'till she very, very dizzy..." - Cinderella

This week we are preparing for our home study. A social worker will come to our house and look around to see if it is conducive for a loving and healthy environment for a child. We've been cleaning like crazy - all the nooks and crannies. Even the dogs have been cleaned - and they better keep it that way (now if we can only get Garrett to clean up - just kidding). There is a lot of pressure put on the home study and I have been trying to relax but it's very stressful. I try to remember that of course our house is kid-friendly my nephew comes over, our friends' kids come over, and I even let my 23 year-old brother come over. I guess this is just the first official step we are taking towards the adoption - the no-turning-back step - and there's a certain amount of stress to that. 

Part of the stress of the home study is - how far is too far? Vacuuming, dusting, mopping all seem reasonable. Scrubbing the baseboards, washing the walls, using a toothbrush - maybe that was my step too far. I actually told my mom that last week was the deep clean week and that this week was for regular cleaning. Only a truly odd person has different definitions of clean. Those of you who know me well know my sick relationship with cleaning. I asked Garrett if we could make coffee for our home study - he said that was fine. The muffins and fresh cut flowers he thought might be too far. I have to remember - this isn't a brunch get-together with friends (so I guess having music in the back ground is too much?).

So, here's hoping I don't hand wash the covers of our books and Windex each of our CD cases. I just really hope every thing goes smoothly and that we get a good report.

Wish us luck,

mindy