A Watched Pot...

The common wisdom for waiting parents is that a match will show up when you least expect it. To make the wait less difficult, those who have adopted successfully counsel us to go about our "normal" lives, or even better, do the things that will become more difficult once we have a wee one. The adopters tell stories about fabulous trips interrupted by "the call," or home remodels never finished because of a welcome shift in priorities.

In that spirit, here is a list (likely to evolve) of things that M. and I could - make that SHOULD - do to keep us busy while we wait.

In no particular order...

1. Research and buy tickets to Vietnam. DONE 5/9
   
2. Interview and engage a carpenter to fix our floor, the floor boards, and the laundry soffit.
3. Interview and engage a contractor to put insulation in our attic.
4. Figure out rain gutters and put them up as a deterrent to basement flooding.
5. Interview and engage a contractor to fix the foundation incursions.
6. Interview and engage a contractor to do earthquake retrofitting.
7. Figure out and put up organizational stuff for a tool area in the garage.
8. Figure out and put up a gardening area in the garage.
9. Go to a financial planner and make adjustments to our finances (and figure out how we'll pay for all of this other stuff).
10. Create our wills.
11. Redesign our Dear Birthmother letter and get it printed.
    
12. Find out why the "check engine" light is on in my car and fix it. DONE 5/10
    
13. Find out why the "check engine" light was on in M.'s car and fix it.
    
14. Fix our bed. DONE 5/17
    
15. Assemble the porch glider Mom gave us. DONE 5/17
    
16. Finish framing art.
17. Finish hanging art. PROGRESS MADE 5/17
    
18. Find and go to the dentist.
19. Go to the dermatologist.
20. Paint the living room and dining room.
21. Paint the baby's room.
22. Paint the kitchen.
23. Pull the Dr. Seuss tree from the side yard and plant something better in its place.
24. Plant a nice shrub to hide the new aircon unit.
25. Repair and plant the raised beds.
26. Buy new pots and replant on the front porch.
    
27. Weed! Weed! Weed!
28. Buy a cool couch.
29. Buy a great dining room set.
30. Go through all of the boxes in the garage and organize them.
31. Organize Kristin's "office area" in M.'s office closet.
32. Organize closets so there is some room for baby's stuff.
33. Finish knitting Lisa's b-day present from last year.
34. See more of our family and friends.
35. Find some great new meal recipes and get comfortable making them.
36. Host several dinner parties.
37. Figure out if we want to join the Y. DONE 5/7
    
38. Exercise!