Totally overwhelmed newbie

I would start with books on attachment in adoption and adopting older children. There is also a great book called the weavers craft on adopting toddlers. I don't know what age you are looking at, but since most children from Poland are older, it's good to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I did a lot of reading on-line. I found several children's books on Poland that I got for the children to have. Start by reading on here go back and read old posts and you will get a good idea of the process. Feel free to ask questions!

I forgot to say WELCOME and CONGRATULATIONS!One thing I did for the paperwork was I made a table using word. For each peice of paper I had a row and it had columns for ordering the paper or filling it out, notarizing it, sending it for appostille, sending it to agency etc. I put every little step I could think of in there. Then I went and checked off things that didn't need to be done (like appostilling the agency application, it didn't need to be appostilled so I checked it off)It helped me when the waiting or the list got to me to see so many things checked off even though some were "fake" LOL. Also because I put every little step in there, it made me feel like I was accomplishing more. I could also look and see what I still needed to do. Also since it was in Word it was very easy to add a row or column if I thought of anything. (like I added a row for the fingerprinting appointment letter, and the actual finger printing, of course that meant I could check it off for all the documents except the immigration ones!) Anyway, that was just me. I needed to feel like I was getting somewhere. I also read a lot, but have passed on most of my books so I can't give you titles.

You're right, now the fun begins, and the tears, and the joy. Get your e-ticket ready! Ditto to Momraine. My log was an excel sheet to track anything and everything that we ordered, sent, notarized, was requested of us and the like - there were columns that enabled us to date each thing each step of the way, inculding tracking numbers for shipped documents. We also used email a lot with our facilitator and kept everything send and received. This proved an ivaluable safety net for when she went psycho on us. As for reading, I just systematically checked out every book available at the library. I read all the terrifying books on RAD, ADD/ADHD, Post Traumatic Stress and the like. By the time our sons were home, we were "coasting" comparred to what we read and pleasantly so. If you don't already have children, I'd also suggest you read up on various parenting philosophies and start zeroing in on what you and your husband would like to try. If there are chilldren whom you enjoy being around, talk to the parents and ask how they do it. Can't wait to watch you bring your children home!

Yes, we copied everything we sent! We also had created a phrase sheet using the stickied thread at the top of this forum. We got a big zippered notebook and used page protectors and put copies of things in it and any and all information. We also had fun creating an album for our future son. We made two identical albums. We gave him one on our first (unofficial) trip. Our facilitator wrote in the spaces proviced descriptions of the photos. The second one we kept at home in case the first one was lost between trips. We also left some pages blank to add phontos.

Thanks so much for the wonderful suggestions. I've already devoured a book on IA, and am in the process of reading one on RAD. We do have a DD who is 13, so I hope I have at least some decent parenting skills to reflect on. lol The spread sheet is a great idea. I am usually pretty organized, but somehow I am feeling totally inept over this whole process. But not to fret, I am 100% going into this with the utmost of positive attitudes. I have refused to give myself an ulcer over anything that get's thrown our way in the next yr or so ! LOL

Learn Polish:coffee: Learn Polish:cheer: As much as you can, you'll use every scrap.

I'm one step ahead of you on that. DH gets Rosetta Stone free at work, so I am utilizing that and on already on lesson two. I must admit, a very difficult language. (at least I have found it to be)

I had a hard time with it too. I ended up learning the basics and then I focused on the words from the list.

My daughters and I used the Pimsleur Polish to learn a little. We'd load the chip into my PDA and practice in the car during errands. (I liked it better than Rosetta as it is geared more for people getting ready to travel.) Rose - then almost 9 - especially enjoyed it as in one of the first several lessons we were learning how to order coffee and a beer! Once we got there, my fluent husband took over, and I found the only extra words I needed for the children were (phnetically) "Hoch" "Schedjeech" "Suhash" "Renka" and the like. We never did get to order a beer!

"Rose - then almost 9 - especially enjoyed it as in one of the first several lessons we were learning how to order coffee and a beer!" I had to laugh at this. We have a DD(13) who every time we visit family in Ireland, just finds it a hoot that the whole family meets in the pub. So if we stumble upon a beer phrase, she'll more than likely memorize that in minutes. I'll check into the language program you used. Although Rosetta Stone seems to be a fav of many people, I don't find it very helpful. I have a while to go in our adoption process, so I'll search around for an alternative.