Any other over 40 single moms-to-be out there?

I also worry about these chores. My parents live next door. They have a double lot, I have a triple lot. Dad bought a lawn tractor and does the grass. I'm in charge of snow removal. Which is a BIG job in Western NY. Maybe I can rope him into snow blowing next year!

I spent two years in Buffalo! I know how much snow you get in western New York! I happen to live on the west side of lake Michigan -- so even tho' Wisconsin does get snow, we send most of it to our neighbors in Michigan & New York! Salbers was right -- I'll just have to see how much I can reasonably manage on my own, and get help when I need it.

You hit the nail on the head! I'm in Buffalo. Winter 2002-03 wasn't so bad - but 2001-02 was about the worst I've seen. I got 8 ft of snow in about a day and a 1/2. Thankfully, there was no wind. If it was blowing around, God know how high the drifts were. I was snowed in for 4 days. The used payloads and tractor trailer to haul the snow away.

Hello - I'm LeeAnne (my 1st post) from Michigan and Mom to Karla who is a beautiful 3 year old now from Guatemala. I brought her home when she was six months and I was 43. She is the best thing that has happened to me. I'd love to do it again! I too have had my ego bruised by people thinking she is my grandchild. I swear I don't look that old:) You'll be surprised at the energy you have. And I still have energy to shovel the snow and cut the lawn.

Congratulations! Are you thinking about adopting a second baby? I KNOW I may be chronocologically old enough to be a grandmother, but that's it -- First time somebody asks if I'm a Grandmother, well, I'll have to start planning my arsenal of retorts in advance! Did you find that you had MORE energy after the baby? I'm wondering if, when you have a purpose and reason for being so busy, if that in and of itself is energizing and might compensate for the age-related decline in energy. (e.g., I know that I no longer have the energy to function on four hours of sleep for more than one night in a row!).

I'd love to adopt 2nd baby - but will have to see. Just bought new home. So a little low on $$$$. I did find I had MORE energy after the baby. Sure there are some days - especially after a girls nite out - that can be really long days. But you learn what has to be done, versus what can wait. As for the Grandmother retorts let me know what you come up with. I could use them. Good Luck & Congratulations on your dossier be delivered!

Hi there! My name is Jen and I just signed up on this board. I am a 39 year old single adoptive parent wannabe. I am just starting the process, and will be over 40 by the time I adopt. I would love to talk about anything regarding this subject - I am currently on an emotional rollercoaster - terrified, joyous, angry, sad, grateful - you name it; I'm feeling it. I feel like I should level out before I move into the actual process - and start to face the fact that my life is going to change drastically. How about you? How did you arrive on these boards? J

I am 45 and a single mom to a 10 year old girl. I adopted from the state. She was 8 when she came to live with me. I am not sure why I waited as long as I did. I had always wanted to adopt. But I did not actually do anything about it, until after my father died when I was 41. I plan on adopting a second child.Unfortunately I was recently laid off when my office closed down, so I have to wait.

Hi! I'm very new to the adoption process. I will attend an orientation meeting later this month (August.) I am hoping to adopt a toddler. Wanna chat?

Wow! There are a lot of us out there. Since I started this post, I had to switch countries from Guatemala to Russia. So I've had some down time with no progress but things are moving again. In fact, I started painting the nursery this weekend! So far, I've only had one major screw up ;-) (I put too much semi-gloss paint on a closet door & will need to get it off somehow?). Workign on the nursery is probably the first thing I've done in this process (I began Feb1) that makes it seem REAL. Sorry, can't chat -- my computer crashes every time I try. So what's new with everyone else?

I'm 47 and just got (last Friday) a 7 yr old girl from the foster-adopt program with a nearby county. Unfortunately the court ruled after I met her but just before she moved in, that her father can start contact and if he passes a homestudy can get custody. But I'm having a ton of fun with my 'practice' child. It is not nearly as exhausting as I expected, but maybe it would be if she were younger and less dependable. I don't see how any single parent keeps total track of a kid. Mine goes running back to the house without me, and I can't imagine what I'd do if she couldn't be trusted to be alone in the house briefly. Luckily (for me) she is used to having to take care of herself and is very responsible. She seems just utterly ideal (smart, cute, great sense-of-humor, kind, warm, giving, talented, hardworking for a 7 yr old, socially adept with the other children, etc), but I guess this is the honeymoon period. She is even fond of bugs, especially beetles. I expected to get a kid with all sorts of problems, and it is really cool to have one I can be proud of. She has better manners than me, and after a week she's finally noticed that! She told me yesterday that I forgot to say 'thank you'! ha! One funny thing is that when somehow our ages came up and I said I was 47, she refused to believe that and told me I was 25 yrs old. Then the next day she was talking about her mother and she said that her mother is older than I am - in her 30s!

Aren't you lucky, my daughter tacks on a couple of years and tells everyone, the fake age.

I'm glad to hear you're having fun with the 7-yr-old. She sounds like a cool kid. I hope you continue to enjoy being together and that the courts make the right decision for her. Have you been shopping with her yet ;-)

Boy have we been shopping! She was so cute with her new school clothes. They are just cheapy kids clothes from Target, and she was dancing around in them and told my mom that 'this is what the rich girls wear!'. Hopefully no one in 1st grade will tell her the truth. And we've had to buy a lot of videos. Almost all the ones I had were yucky to her, but now we are well stocked with the stupidest videos which she loves (such as Spongebob - she also now has Spongebob hat, sheets, pillow, and poster). The bicycle turned out to be a problem. She said she knew how to ride so I bought her a cute 20" mountain bike to ride around our property (hilly 5 acres), but it turns out she is totally clueless about how to ride, and did a lot of crying and wailing that she would never ever be able to learn how to ride a bike. So today I plan to trek over to WalMart and get her a cheapy little 16" with training wheels. Pony school has been a smashing success, she is so totally cute in her little helmet, gloves and britches (really just like the rich girls look, but she isn't aware of that and grumbles about the stupid pants and the chin strap), and the stable I found is totally dedicated just to the small fry and has a bunch of adorable well behaved little ponies. Plus they have little tiny riding rings, so the little kids can ride all by themselves (without a leadline). I made some mistakes with computer games, neither of us can figure out how to play them and my computer is inadequate. But someone suggested educational software games and I got one of those (one specifically for 1st graders) and she enjoyed that for an entire hour (a blissfully free hour for me!). We also got the Leappad reading/writing thing and she loves it. I'm not going to be very happy when the credit card bills come, but we've had a lot of fun shopping! I do have a lot of problems with her wanting every toy she sees, this weekend she was so stubborn about one toy she actually went through the line and had to be disappointed that the cashier would not take two dollars and some odd cents for a $10 toy. She had to make do with a pack of bubble gum (and she had to wait through the whole line again to buy it). I think my mom thought I was being really mean, but I figure the kid has to know there are limits.

Hi, sounds like you are having fun and teaching a lesson or two! Sometimes it is so hard to say no to them :) I am also 45 (or I will be on Sunday) and hope to adopt soon. Our Homestudy should be done next week! Pat