
The Lincoln-Shaw’s
As you may have seen on Instagram we decdied to change our name from @twopoofsandapudding to @the_lincolnshaws. When we started
As you may have seen on Instagram we decdied to change our name from @twopoofsandapudding to @the_lincolnshaws. When we started
We were invited to a press event to showcase the new Duplo Valley which opened at Legoland this month. We weren’t asked to put this on Instagram or the blog but to come along and experience the new zone.
Disclaimer: This blog review wasn’t part of the press event requirements We were invited to the press event of Nickelodeon
WHAT.A.DAY! Darran and I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Longer than Pudding has been
And what a year it was! 2019 was a mental year, a year we made many memories we will treasure
As we celebrated our first Christmas as a family it was the last one to be celebrated in the 2010s.
Never did we think we would be arranging a party for our child, never did we think we would be
I’ve been reading this book to Pudding all week and he has loved it. The Blanket Bears, by Samuel Langley-Swain,
There is nothing worse than waking up on a Saturday or Sunday morning looking out the window and just seeing
This week we received some very exciting news. We received the court date, the date we find out whether we
#WorldAdoptionDay is held on the 9th of November every year to celebrate blended families. It’s a day to raise awareness
The little dude’s party prep is well underway. Pudding turns 3 on December 12th and we’re having his party on
On Saturday, we were invited to celebrate Xander’s (Madlads) third birthday at ‘Party Pod’ in Kent. This was the first
The papers on in!! Yay. We went to our local family court to hand in the adoption order forms to
Today we took a trip to Cammas Hall Farm to meet up with B (Pudding’s half brother) and his grandparents
Today pudding spent a few hours at Thordon Park exploring the Gruffalo Trail with Bampa and YaiYai before they headed
National Adoption Week is held in the UK every October and this year it runs between 14th – 20th The
Unlike Darran who is a massive birthday fan and wants to go all out, I’m not really a fan. I
Yesterday was the day that pudding re-connected with his brother since moving in with us, and boy was it an
Growing up I never really celebrated Father’s Day because my birth dad was never really around. Today was probably the
Throughout our adoption journey, we knew that we would have to have some sort of contact with Pudding’s family.
As I write this, Pudding has been with us for 6 weeks but it feels like he has been with
As I sit here, writing this blog post on a Monday evening and after having a great day. Knowing that
As we sit here 4 days in, officially parents we’ve just stuffed a Domino’s down our throat and Pudding is
As we’re full steam ahead with meeting Pudding we thought it would be a good idea to give more information
Day One of meeting Pudding couldn’t have gone better than it did. It was an amazing afternoon that Darran and
So since the last time we blogged, Christmas and New Year have been and gone. January 7th came along and
Firstly I should apologise for not blogging quick enough. I feel too fucking busy sometimes but I love sitting at
Phone Rings… I’m looking at my phone screen and there’s our social worker’s name, flashing like Christmas lights on a dark
As I sit here with red eyes from crying so much, I thought I’d pour my heart out and fill
So… I know the clocks went back on Sunday but I’m pretty sure they only go back an hour, not
Darran, as usual, wasn’t ready at all which meant him leaving the house with curly hair (shock). We were asked to arrive promptly at 9.30 but arrive at 9.33. I’m panicking (I hate being late) but as we drive up to the place we see other adopters we know strolling down the road which made me chill! We walk to the entrance and give our names to a social worker which was a man – never see one of these before
Firstly, I want to dedicate this blog to my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Steve. Yesterday, they laid to rest their
We have many different stages coming up, so I suppose we should fill you in…Having a conversation with Ann about the ‘next steps’ and ‘the boys’ we have so much to take in. Ann discussed how the next steps could pan out after panel (literally 4 sleeps 😬). It could all start happening quite quickly once we start the proceedings with our forever child.
Back in 2002 living with my Aunt and Uncle, who I now class as my parents. I felt it was time to come out to them. Being 18 it was so hard to tell them the real me. I decided to write it down in a letter and ‘move out’. When my parents called me on my Nokia 3210 (so cool back then). It was so scary the thought of answering the phone, but I did and they asked me to come home to discuss ‘the letter’. I’m literally freaking out!!!
On Saturday, September 29th 2018 we attended a Profiling Event in London at Barnardos. We went to this not knowing what to expect but knowing that we will be looking at many children’s profiles that are needing a ‘Forever Home’.
Its June 20th 2018 and we have received an email from Ann our Social Worker that has been assigned to us to complete our Stage 2 Assessment.
Its June 20th 2018 and we have received an email from Ann our Social Worker that has been assigned to us to complete our Stage 2 Assessment.
She wants to meet us on Friday 22nd…….yes you are reading right that’s a 2-day notice to meet our Social worker. we are going to meet every week for the next 9 weeks.
Still buzzing about our acceptance onto Stage Two, we have the option to take a 6-month gap before we start the next step. However, we don’t want to waste any time. We email Caroline like a pair of excited gays front row at a Lady Gaga concert. We ask for her to email us some dates for the 3 Day Preparation Training Day, which we have to attend. Its the morning of June 6th 2018 and the next 3 days are intense!
Stage One Starts………… And boy does it flow thick and fast from now on.
On the 18th of January, Essex County Council posted us out a letter saying our “Acceptance of Registration of Interest”
which brought such excitement and nerves of what is to happen next.
I suppose the title of this should be ” Why We Decided To Document Everything”.
The reason being is because we are currently at the end of stage two waiting for the panel to happen (more to follow on this) and having finished our 9 weeks of visits from our social worker, we decided it would be a great way of documenting our journey into finding our Forever Family