Bedtime

It can be the best time...
Four nights in a row Reese went down without a meltdown. You have no idea how much this pleases Roger and me. Still melting down at naps, but we’ve found they are still needed at this point. There’s just still so much that’s stimulating her all day long. Niko goes down fairly quickly with us holding him and rocking him for awhile, then we put him in his bed and he continues to rock (soothe) himself to sleep. Probably 15 minutes in all.

Here is sleepy time in the apartment in Moscow:

On the plane home (last flight):

And HOME in their own beds:

Making Strides

We’re establishing our routines. It’s going well. We’re back to giving Reese naps--even if for 1 hour. We find she’s doing a bit better at bedtime if she’s had a little rest. Reese’s rash is getting better. The doctor believes she’s not allergic to our dog, but we’ll still be going to an allergist for testing. It still seems like she’s allergic to something (or many things). Sensitive to the sun, too. She’s our sensitive girl. The doc says she has eczema and to keep her skin very moisturized by a gentle cream. We’re still giving her a small dose of allergy syrup twice a day, too. She was great in the car with Roger to the doctor and even two errands after that.

They have been in our pool twice now. I thought they would have loved it more seeing how bath time is such a gynormous hit. They’re getting comfortable with it, though. Staying on the platform and occasionally letting us carry them and swoosh them around in the deeper end.

Food is still probably the most frustrating. They are picky eaters. What I think they’d like, they don’t. They don’t like pizza. Tried twice. They ate mashed potatoes in Russia once, but I made them here last night and they wouldn’t eat them. They seem to like all fruit and no vegetables. It seems like they got a lot of sugary foods and bread at the orphanage.

We’re working on filling out more forms. Right now it’s getting them registered with the Consulate.

Roger and I are getting back in the groove of things ourselves. Finally went through 3 weeks worth of mail and got most of the bills paid. Laundry is done. Roger went to the gym today and I’ll try to go tomorrow. We’ll just alternate days for now. He’s off of work for the next two weeks(except occasionally working from home). Thank God! I can’t imagine when he goes back.

Oh...and they each got their first haircut with us today. Well, Reese just got a quick trim. We’re still trying to grow out her hair. Our hair stylist actually came to the house and the kids did great with it. They’re obviously used to that being done, too.

I leave with a couple of pics.

Home Sweet Home!

Well...the plane ride wasn’t as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Now mind you, Roger and I never slept and we were up for 24 hours, but we knew that would be the case.

Once at the airport it took quite a bit of time to get the kids checked in and there wasn’t even a line. Because they have a Russian passport and we have US passports I guess they double and triple check everything. Finally at the gate and we were almost ready to board. A good thing not to have to waste too much time waiting there.

On the plane, They both didn’t want to put on their seat belts. With enough distractions and then the plane racing down the runway, they were fine. The plane’s seats configuration was 3, 3, 3. Roger sat with both kids and I was the aisle across. I basically handed him stuff/toys/food for most of the flight. The kids were very occupied with the remote controls in each seat-back for the individual movie screens. These kids don’t like to watch TV or movies. It doesn’t interest them in the least. A bit of a bummer for such a long flight, but the remotes worked well enough. They played, then it was time to eat. We ordered child’s meals and they ate some of it. This is pretty gross but Reese ate the butter packet--AS IS. She seemed to really like it. Yuck! After lunch we tried to rock Niko to sleep. He slept on Roger’s lap. We didn’t tell Reese to go to bed, but she shortly fell asleep on the armrest by the window, too. Niko was sleeping for almost two hours when the Fasten Seatbelt Sign came on and the flight attendant immediately came over and made us put seat belts on both kids (a lap belt for Niko while in Roger’s arms). Right after we got the belts on, the slight turbulence stopped and Niko and then Reese woke up. Darn flight attendants. I bet they would have slept another hour. After that they were a bit rambunctious. Tried playing in their row, changed diapers, walked Niko around the plane many times and 2 really quick, short meltdowns(for the entire flight), then it was time for the second meal. They weren’t too keen on this one so when our food came, they were like vultures on Roger’s food tray. It was pretty hysterical. The flight was 11 hours. We actually arrived in Houston an hour early. So, that flight, as busy as it was occupying their minds, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought there would be major screaming and meltdowns, but not the case. They were very good considering how long the flight was and that they had to be confined in one row.

Arrival in Houston....our “single” stroller was there. Yea! Long walk to passport control, then we were asked to go to a special room and wait to be called upon. Seeing as the kids have Russian passports and we’re claiming them as US citizens there’s a process internationally adopted children have to go through. It took awhile and our friend Adrianne had to wait outside for us. Finally given the “OK”, we had to go claim our bags and switch airlines to US Airways and re-check the bags. Little did we know we had to lug ALL bags, kids, stroller, carry-ons up and down escalators, on a tram, then elevator, switching terminals to go check-in and check bags for the next flight. We were very happy we had someone helping us out on this part of the journey, for sure. Thanks Adrianne! This must have been the worst part of the whole 24 hours. Finally through the US Security checkpoint, we got to eat some dinner and decent food--with an actual English menu. So nice to hear English and read a menu. We couldn’t have been happier and more exhausted at this point. After dinner, we went to our gate and decided these kids have been up way past their bedtime and thought we would try to have them sleep. We had almost 2 hours remaining. I held and rocked Niko and he fought it at first but managed to fall asleep on my lap rather quickly. Reese, on the other hand, OMG!!! This was the Major meltdown and screaming episode I was afraid would appear on the flight, but it came at the terminal. Better there than on the plane, I’d say. It took quite awhile...walking with her in the stroller but Roger finally convinced her to sleep. They slept as we boarded our last flight for home, woke slightly as we adjusted them on the flight, and then they were OUT the entire flight to PHX. We were grateful for the quiet, restful time on the 2 hour, 10 minute flight home. Walking through the terminal it was even hard to wake them up.

At the airport we had Roger’s business partner and his wife and two boys meet us. They were kind enough to drive our truck and park it at the airport for us and help with the bags and to get the kids settled in their car seats. Also at the airport was Adrianne’s husband, Ed, being a wonderful photographer. Roger’s mother and friend also wanted to be there, too of course. Thank you everyone for giving us a warm welcome to AZ!

The kids slept the entire way home in the car. Once home, we brought them inside and they saw Pardo, our lab. Oh my....they fell in love with her. Couldn’t give enough hugs. kisses, and squeals of delight. We thought it might be real hard now to put them to sleep after that, but after about an hour we put them down in our room on a pull out sofa we have in there. We figured with the jet lag and all we would just have them sleep in our room. We never even showed them the whole house or their rooms. The airport adventure and the dog was enough excitement for one night. Niko went down pretty quick, as usual, but Reese took her time. Not as much screaming and crying but did eventually fall asleep. Three hours later, she awoke and came walking by our bed. Several tries to put her to bed woke up Niko. He only stayed awake a short time and was back down. We decided it might be best to take Reese to her room and bed at this point. She can often wake up Niko and we didn’t want that. Roger slept with her in her room. She fell asleep and woke up at 6am. Niko awoke about 5:15. Not bad.

Our Sunday was very busy. They are a full-time job, the two of them. Very happy, but busy. One bad thing we think has happened...we believe Reese might be allergic to our dog, Pardo. This makes Roger and I very sad/upset. She’s itching constantly and scratching, watery eyes, too. When we got home Saturday night after she met Pardo she sneezed many times. This morning she awoke to a rash on her cheeks and on parts of her arms. At times today it got worse when she was playing with Pardo. For now we’ve given her some allergy medicine and put hydrocortisone cream and eczema cream on her several times. It’s a bit better. Maybe we’re wrong on the diagnosis. We’ll see what tomorrow brings... probably a doctor’s visit. All in all, it’s GREAT to be home and in my bed!

2 More Days til We’re Home!

I can’t wait!!!!!!
Today (thursday) was a great day until about 2pm, then a major meltdown on and off for hours with Reese. She’s testing our wills and seeing who the decision maker is--she still thinks she’s going to win. I did not do well with this. Niko was very good today.

We left to walk to the zoo around 9:45. They did great at the zoo. No meltdowns. Were really impressed with the animals and seem to be having a good time. Lunch at the restaurant even managed to go OK. Then on the walk home, Reese was in the stroller and fell asleep until we reached the apartment. About 20 minutes. Niko fell asleep in Roger’s arms as he was carrying him the last 15 minutes of the walk. He brought him in to the apartment and laid him down, he was still sleeping. Reese became a terror bit by bit at this point. And nothing has been able to satisfy her.

After bath time she was in a better mood and decided to head to one last restaurant for dinner. They both did well in the restaurant. After coming home and bedtime is a different story. Meltdown for an hour at bedtime. The night before they slept 11 1/2 hours.

Tomorrow we’ll go to Gorky Park for a while. It means taking the Metro to get there. Then we’ll be back in the apartment for the rest of the afternoon/night. We’ll have leftovers for dinner and start packing. Get up early and get ready to head to the airport. The way things have been going these past two days, I hope I can prove myself wrong and we have a good flight home. Please send all positive thoughts our way for Saturday morning (or Friday p.m.) your time.

This is my last post until we get settled back in AZ. In many ways this week has been easier/better than I thought. I, however, have never slept more than 4-5 hours at a time each night so I am looking forward to my bed and pillow and my dog, Pardo. Thanks to everyone for all your support and positive thoughts throughout this long journey in Moscow.

4 More Days To Go

This morning the day started early. The embassy doctor came to the apartment around 7am for a quick exam. It’s just basically a formality and red tape. The second to the last step of this process. On Wednesday we will go to the Embassy to get their passports and visas for travel home.

Around 10:45 we headed out for a walk to the Kremlin and St. Basil’s. We ate lunch at a restaurant in Red Square. It was very good. Breakfast, lunch and dinner also all went well today. After lunch we waked around some more then headed back up the hill to the apartment. My friend Adrianne stayed at Red Square to go into the museum and churches there. They were both a little over tired/stimulated today. Reese fell asleep (after a short meltdown) for 1 hour and Niko only slept for 20 minutes in the stroller on the way back. We went to another restaurant for dinner and we thought there was going to be trouble/meltdowns, but it went rather well. The restaurant had coloring pages and crayons and bread until the food arrived so all went well. Back at the apartment for DVD, then bedtime. Meltdown for 20 minutes.

Oh...in front of St. Basil’s there was this Japanese couple who came right up to us smiling and pointing at Niko with their camera. It was the strangest and funniest thing. They basically almost grabbed him. They scooped him up and took pictures and then switched so the guy could get his picture with Niko. We were cracking up. We would have loved to know why they wanted his picture so bad. And 10 minutes earlier there were these two women who also looked at him playing on the cobblestone and snapped his picture. He’s famous!

Five More Days To Go

Sunday morning Reese woke up not herself. When we picked her up at the orphanage she had a bit of a runny nose and cough. She was not her usual high energy happy girl. After breakfast about 9 she went up on the couch to lay down (very odd!), so we turned on Baby Einstein in within 5 minutes she was back to sleeping. She was out for 2 hours. Niko played sort of quietly and then Roger took him outside to play for 45 minutes.

The rest of the day kinda went the same as the last two. We tried some food, which again Reese is still picky about. Niko took a nap, Reese played quietly. Bath time is still LOADS of fun for them. Then a Baby Einstein DVD to calm things down at night before we put them in their room for sleep. Again a meltdown from Reese, but a smaller, shorter one. It’s 9 p.m. and they just fell asleep. MInor improvements that we’re happy about.

Monday morning we lost internet until about 2 p.m. So now it’s after 8 p.m. and the kids are watching Baby Einstein again. We’ve developed this routine to get them to wind down and then to the bed about 9 p.m. Reese has been sleeping about 8-9 hours through the night and Niko about 9-10 hours per night.

Around 4:30 this afternoon my friend Adrianne arrived from PHX to stay with us until Saturday. We all leave together and will have an extra hand on the plane. Nice, but I’m still worried about how it will go. We ordered chinese takeout for dinner tonight. Nice to know in any country you can always rely on Chinese food for good food.

Tomorrow we’ll try to go to the Kremlin for the “traditional” family photo in front of St. Basil’s. Although it’s scheduled for rain tomorrow....and the rest of the week... :-(

Saturday (home next Saturday-Yeah!!!)

Reese fell asleep last night in her room right as we finished typing last nights post around 10:00pm. Niko took longer. We rocked with him until about 10:45. Reese came to our bed at 7:00 this morning and Niko got up about 7:40. Not bad because they slept through the night.

We’re really surprised how picky they are about their food. I asked the orphanage and they said they ate hot cereal in the morning. Well, I made oatmeal and put a few raisins in. It was pretty bland. They did not eat it. I also cut up more honeydew, which they loved.

We played in the apartment until 10:15 then went out for almost 4 hours. We walked to the nearby park again, then continued further down the street to New Arbat street. It’s a touristy area of souvenir shops and restaurants. We found a Russian restaurant geared towards children. They ate most of their lunch which we were happy about. Bits of meatballs, mashed potatoes, split a piece of bread and some stroganoff. Since they did well at the restaurant we let them have a small ice cream cone on the walk back to the apartment. When one was in the stroller, the other was either walking or on Roger’s shoulders. The double would have been nice, but this is working.

We washed them when we got back and let them play for awhile. At 3:45 we turned on Baby Einstein video for the first time. In 5 minutes Niko was out and after 20 minutes Reese started loosing interest, but was still nice and quiet playing by herself. Since it was so late we only let Niko get a “cat nap”. After, there was a little play time in the courtyard area and then bath time, then dinner. Dinner went a little better tonight with regards to their eating it.

For bedtime we’re started with a Baby Einstein video at 8pm. First showing they did well watching it, but they still didn’t seem tired enough to go to bed so we put it on again. Not far into that they wanted to get up, but we told them to sit. Niko was somewhat getting tired, Reese not so much, so we decided to just put them in their room and say time to sleep. Shut the door. Each time Reese came to the door we put her back in bed. It’s a little after 9pm and they are getting the point. Sleep is very near. So far this bedtime stuff has been the worst but we hope each night is going to continue to get a little easier. :-) Paka (Bye) until tomorrow or Monday....

Gotcha Day and 8 more days til home!

Well...we’re parents! Isn’t hasn’t been so bad yet.

We first had to go to the Vital Records department this morning. That took almost an hour and then we went to the orphanage with all of our gifts and clothes to take the kids home in. The transition went really well. They were happy to come with us and looked great in their new American clothes. We got the address of the main caregiver that has given them so much love, and we intend to send her letters and pictures of the kids often.

After we were all in the car, we had one more stop to make. Roger and our driver, Vlad, went into a building to have Reese’s and Niko’s passports expedited. Meanwhile I sat in the car with both of them for 30 minutes. After about 15 they were getting a little antsy, but overall did okay. We arrived back at the apartment around 12:45. We immediately started to get their lunch ready. Ham sandwiches and honeydew melon. Niko ate up, but Reese only about half. Niko also drank plenty of water. Tried to have them both sit on the potty, but it was already too late and had a damp diaper. It’ll take awhile, but we’ll try. Another half hour of play and we decided Niko should have his afternoon nap. Roger laid down with him in the bed with his new blanket (thanks, Amy!) and his bear, while I tried to keep Reese quiet so her brother could sleep. She’s 3 1/2 and not sure if we should still do naps????

Niko slept for almost two hours. Reese, no. We’re not having any success on the potty training, either. It’s obvious they have no clue what that is about. I guess I shouldn’t have hoped for miracles. By 5:00, after they played nicely in the apartment, we decided to take a 10 minute walk to a small playground area. Again, they listened and it went great. They really enjoyed that. Back to the apartment at 6:00 and I began to make dinner. Pasta noodles with a touch of butter and bits of chicken from a roasted chicken I went to the store earlier for while Niko slept. Again, Niko ate 90% of it, but Reese hardly touched her dinner. They also had an apple before the park and a small cookie when we got back. She’s probably hungry, but not eating. They may be small but they are not lacking in weight. They got plenty of baby fat. After dinner it was bath time. Oh Boy did they like that! I’ve read over and over how orphaned children might not have been exposed to baths and scared, but no way! They knew what it was and had a grand time. Maybe we should have did that before dinner because by 8:00pm they were still too riled up for bed. We put on their pj’s and we were firm when we tried laying in bed with them to go to sleep, but Reese would have nothing to do with it. We know she’s beyond tired because she’s had no nap and has been rubbing her eyes for hours. Niko was good at first and lying down, then began Reese’s MAJOR meltdown. Finally got it under control but then they are now both too awake to sleep. I tried to leave the room and just have Roger stay with them in hopes of winding down. Then I thought...bribery (getting desperate), brought in a small cookie and said they could have it if they went in bed and to sleep. Kinda worked...they went and laid down in bed and then after the cookie was over they were running around in the room and playing with the light switches. Finally decided we should just leave the room and eventually they will fall asleep. This took a long time! So BEFORE bedtime...things went really well (considering) the whole day. But even as I write this, they are still not asleep. I wonder how tomorrow night will go. It’s 10:00p.m.

Here are photos to enjoy:

Last Day as Non-Parents

Tomorrow morning (Friday) is "Gotcha" Day! We are nervous, stressed, excited, etc... all of the above about what the next week especially holds for us.

Today was a very busy day checking into the apartment and getting prepared for the children's arrival tomorrow. We have been doing laundry all afternoon and hoping it dries overnight. The apartment is nice. It's pretty large, too. We bought $100 worth of groceries, but it seems that may only get us to Sunday morning. It's heavy to carry it all so we'll be going frequently. It seems we're getting more comfortable here in Moscow (going native, so to speak). Zei: We actually did find an A.J.'s type grocery store here. It was closer to the Sheraton we were staying in, though. The one near our apartment isn't too shabby either, it's just smaller. We bought our breakfast there a couple times and dinner once, and ate it in the hotel room.

The weather here today was perfect! Wish the remaining days will be like today.

Earlier today we also walked to the other larger children's store. It's near the zoo. We bought a single umbrella-like stroller. We'll see how that gets us around in the next few days.

Tonight we found the BEST restaurant so far in Moscow. I'd have to say if it were in AZ it would probably be a favorite there, too. At least our last non-parent meal was a very nice and delicious one. The bummer, though is it's closer to the Sheraton we were staying at and just found it today. This apartment is closer to the Kremlin, though.

I think that's it for now. We will, of course, post tomorrow afternoon/evening with an account of the first day with the kids and post their pictures, too.

Tuesday’s & Wednesday’s visit

Tuesday afternoon’s was just okay. For the first 30-40 minutes R decided it was okay to spit at us on occasion. This definitely made us angry. We think she may have been upset because the week prior we saw her 4 days in a row and then we didn’t come for 4 days. Maybe??? She warmed up as the visit went on and seemed sad to see us leave. Like I said...she’s going to be a handful. Very stubborn and used to getting her way. N on the other hand, was just as sweet as could be again. He still really doesn’t speak though which can be nice but then again not. He might fare okay on the plane but she might be loud. We played outside again the entire time and they got filthy dirty inside the sandbox. Don’t know what he’ll do in AZ without one. N is definitely playing more on his own and following his sister’s every move like Trip #1. He can actually stay in one place and play (like the sandbox) for quite awhile. R tends to roam from thing to thing and be busy, busy.

We arrived for Wednesday’s visit in the a.m. since we felt like we had to try and find this other children’s store on New Arabat Street in the afternoon. Wednesday’s visit went better than yesterday’s. We were outside again, but since it had rained in the early a.m. we decided not to let them go in the sandbox this time, even though they attempted to. They just got too dirty yesterday and we felt bad for the caregivers giving them back so dirty. We played most of the time in these hut-like structures they have outside with some toys in there. Then, we let them wander the grounds. N, of course, just walks around and picks up branches everywhere. R goes from one piece of playground equipment (like the slide) to the next. They didn’t seem too upset for us to leave this time because they were about to get some lunch.

We won’t see them on Thursday as we are packing up in the morning, then hiring a taxi to take us and all of our large suitcases to check into the apartment around 1:00. Once there, we feel we have to get pretty organized. Find a grocery store and buy lots of food and do our laundry. There’s no dryer supposedly, so we will have to hang stuff everywhere. We also have to get all the kids clothes and toys organized, as well as all the gifts we’ll be bringing to the orphanage on Friday morning when we go pick up them up. We hope the a/c will be working and also the free wi-fi. It can get pretty warm here, especially when it rains and quite muggy; I think we are finally in the normal July temps - not like the first few days we were here. I hear it’s been sizzling in AZ, like 113, we are are certainly not missing that.

Finally, we have had no luck from Singapore Airlines on our stroller. I think we have to give it up at this point. At the baby store we went to today, they had one umbrella-like stroller for about $80. No double. There’s one more store to check out. We might go out soon to see or wait until the morning.

Back in Moscow & 12 more days to go

As always, Italy was a wonderful time. This was my third time in Rome and Roger’s second, so we were able to show Keryl and her kids (twins age 6) around to most of the must-sees. It was a 3 1/2 hour flight to Rome from Moscow. We then took the train to Trastevere where Keryl’s rented apartment was located. After freshening up, it was just a short 15 minute walk to Campo Dei Fiori for a wonderful fresh market full of fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, etc... Another five minutes further we went to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. We had dinner that night at our favorite pizza place, La Foccacia, near Piazza Navona. The next morning we took a longer walk to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Of course, Via Condotti is very near to the Spanish steps so Keryl and I went into a few of the luxury stores. No purchases this trip, though, just wishful desires. We forgot to throw coins in the fountain (as is your guarantee for a return visit to Rome, they say), so we hope there’s not too much truth to that saying. On Sunday we did an even longer walk to Villa Borghesa (Rome’s big public park) and to the zoo inside the park. And, we of course had gelato everyday. I had the best pistachio gelato ever on Sunday! The sunshine and the food were definitely a welcome treat for us. Seeing Keryl and her kids was great, too. Her kids were unbelievably great at walking for 4 - 6 hours straight on the busy, cobblestone streets of Rome. Kids have so much energy - they never seemed tired. And then when it was time for bed (around 9 p.m.) they just immediately fell asleep for 8-10 hours. I hope our kids will be like that. :-)

Back to Moscow where it’s much warmer than when we left but still chances of rain this week. In fact, Tuesday a.m. we woke to incredibly low, loud thunder and pouring rain, but it only lasted a half hour.

We are back at the Sheraton until Thursday afternoon where we will then check into our apartment. We’re actually looking forward to it so we can make some of our own food for a change and do some laundry. The plan is to pick up the kids from the orphanage to forever stay with us, on Friday morning. We will go visit them again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I’m still missing my dog Pardo very much. And, I can’t wait to be done with this part of the journey and be home again.

Here are a few pictures of our retreat to Italy for the weekend:

Day 2 & 3 of wait

Well, we didn’t post a blog last night because at this hotel (unlike last trip) we pay additional for internet access and thought we might just skip logging in and start checking email every other day. Friday we are going to Rome, Italy for the weekend. My friend, Keryl, whom I have spent the last four years in Italian language classes with, is there with her two children renting an apartment for three weeks in July. She suggested we come out for the weekend and crash at her place. Believe me, it will be a welcome break from the Moscow city life and food. Especially the food! So we will also be taking the weekend off from blogging, too.

On Wednesday the weather was improved - it was partly cloudy and when the sun came out it was perfect weather. Thursday, however, we woke again to rain; I can’t keep wearing the same thing... I knew July was a rainy season, but it also is suppose to have an average temperature that is in the high 70’s, low 80’s, which we have not seen yet. The visit at the orphanage Wednesday afternoon was very nice and the kids are becoming more and more accustomed to us. We made the trip there on our own by way of the Metro and walking. We were able to stay for an hour and a half and play outdoors the entire time. They really love exploring the outdoors. Especially N. He loves to find branches and hold on to them. He also loves playing in the sandboxes that are there. R does a little bit of everything. She is definitely a little defiant at times, but then again she hasn’t had anyone around to say she has to share her toys or to stop doing a certain behavior she shouldn’t be doing. She is the oldest child at this orphanage and has obviously just taken toys away from the other children and plays how she wants. We see a bit of a tough transition ahead with her on this issue.

Thursday’s visit with the kids went very well. We went in the a.m. again and not having a translator with us to ask questions is the only negative to us going it alone. We were only able to stay again for an hour. Not sure why; it seemed like they were going in to watch cartoons. R started to cry real tears again when she had to say good-bye to us. She’s really becoming attached it seems; especially to Roger.

After the orphanage we went on another quest to try and get some help with our “lost” stroller. We located the address to the Singapore airlines office here in Moscow. We took two trains to get there. I think we’ve got the Metro down now. The lady there said she has to send a message to actual Singapore and see if it actually went there. Our flight was continuing on to Singapore after Moscow. She said to call back in a couple of days to see what they find out, but wouldn’t tell us or promise what would happen if they came up empty again. Meaning, we really don’t know if they’re going to reimburse us or not. Yesterday, we walked all the way to the Baby store that we heard was here. Supposedly very large. Well we got there and it’s closed for remodeling. Can’t believe it. Looks like it’s been closed for awhile. Now we’ll have to ask our driver (and pay) to go to and find a stroller to purchase next week.

We’re at the McDonald’s now using their free wi-fi to post this and check emails. We just buy a coke or ice cream cone and don’t feel guilty about using it. The McDonald’s here are VERY busy and popular. Probably because of the free wi-fi and that food is CHEAP compared to everything else here. There’s a Starbucks across the street from our hotel. This morning I ordered a tall latte. It was $6.40 US. Ok...so I guess you get it, I’m finding this city too expensive. Oh...like many other adoptive families have mentioned, the women here wear high spikey heels and walk fast everywhere. I don’t know how they do it on these concrete streets. Everyone seems pretty fashion-conscious here, too.

As Zei had asked...yes, Obama's visit was all over the TV. In fact, he was staying at the Ritz and on the same street as ours. Our hotel was about a mile further up the street, though. On Monday driving back from the orphanage in the evening, the streets all around the hotel and Kremlin area were closed. It creates quite a mess of the already huge amounts of traffic here. But, everyone overall seemed pleased with his visit. Now he's in Italy and that's where we're headed. I think he's just stalking us or something. :-)

I’ll close til next week. Please say a prayer for a miracle that they find our stroller and that the weather is nicer here next week. Ciao’!

Day 1 of 10 Day Wait

This morning, Sergei, came to meet us to the hotel to make sure we could find our way to the orphanage. We were fairly comfortable finding it on the Metro, but then weren’t quite sure once out of the Metro which direction to go. From the Metro station we exited, the orphanage was about a 3/4 of a mile walk. I’m not sure of the confusion, but once inside the orphanage we were only allowed to play with R & N for about 35 minutes. We were able to play outside the entire time. The kids love the outdoors. They play in the sandbox with shovels and run around and we also had them on the merry-go-round for a bit. We then had to take them inside and go. We will be back on Wednesday, but in the afternoon. We’ll be attempting the Metro/walk on our own this time. It’ll be easy. We’ve always been able to have 2 hour visits in the afternoons, so we will see....

Once back near our hotel, we went for chinese food for lunch. It was good, but again not cheap. And the portions weren’t your typical size for Chinese food, either. We then took a walk over to where our apartment, that we’ll be checking into next week, is located so we could become familiar with it’s surroundings.

Later in the afternoon I rested while Roger tried to track down our stroller via phone. Can't seem to find the right person/office to speak to from Singapore Airlines about this. No luck! We believe someone actually stole it off the carousel since it took us an hour and a half to get to the baggage area. I’m very frustrated, as we just purchased this stroller specifically for this week in Moscow with the kids. Not sure what we’ll do yet.

It was a full day...

We had our day in court this morning. After 40 minutes the whole thing was over and were we granted custody of the two children! Our coordinator, Masha, briefed us on possible questions the judge would be asking. We had to choose which one of us would speak first. The first person speaking has more questions entailing home, financial, children’s medical and general care, as well as personal. We chose Roger. No surprise there. I was asked just a few questions. Where I lived, if I was going to be the main caregiver and if there were medical concerns in the future would we be able to handle it. Then, the judge asked the prosecutor if she had any objections. Her answer: No. So, the judge went back into her room, deliberated for 10 minutes, came out and granted us the parents of R & N. Tomorrow starts the 10-day waiting period and then we should be able to pick the kids up on the 17th.

Our driver, Max, came back to pick us up at 3:00 for an hour’s drive to visit the children again for the first time in six weeks. It was great to see that they remembered us and that the caregivers have been using the photos to teach them who we are.  Once at the orphanage we were able to put coats and hats on the kids and take them for a 5 minute drive so that their passports pictures can be taken and ready for the embassy appt. in two weeks. N’s came out nice. R’s looks sad. We will be going back tomorrow morning via the Metro. Wish us luck. Not sure how long it will take, but to pay a driver everyday is quite expensive.

Well, the weather here is still rainy and quite cold. I believe the high is 55 degrees. I mainly brought summer clothes. I’m cold. I have one long sleeve shirt and I pair of jeans. Good news is that it should warm up by Wednesday or Thursday.

We’ll try to post more after tomorrows visit.

Welcome to Moscow (Mockba)!

Our plane arrived at the gate at 1:40p.m. We were greeted with rain. At 4:15 we were finally through customs. Getting through passport control this time was a nightmare. Packed with people compared to last time here (like ten times the amount) so the craziness of lines and pushing and trying to save your space in line were intensified. We were finally 6 people away from a customs agent when the entire Singapore airline crew (about 20 in all) came to our line. OMG! Then, we were 4 people away and she closed her window! I couldn’t believe it. We were down there for almost an hour and a half. THEN, finally being able to go retrieve our bags, we find all of our bags except the double stroller we gate checked in Houston. So now it became trying to pin down a woman to take care of our missing item. She looked at the carousels herself then asked us if we wanted to fill out a missing bag report. So, I decided to go through the rest of customs and go see if our driver Max was actually still there. To my delight, he was! Yea Max! So, Max and I waited for Roger for another 30 minutes. So now the drive to the hotel with the rain and Moscow traffic took 1 hour and 15 minutes. We finally got to our room at 5:40. We were starving, so we quickly ordered room service; 2 cokes, a small bowl of pasta and 1 sandwich. Totaling, $65. So now we are showered, winding down for a short bit, then off to bed. Please wish us luck as tomorrow Max is picking us up to take us to court at 9:00 a.m. I hope the fogginess of the jet-lag will be gone from our heads by then, and a much better day overall!

I’ll go back a couple days….Wicked was a wonderful play and I’m very glad we went. I’ll admit I was a bit tired at the performance and couldn’t wait to go to sleep, but the actors did a great job, great story line and funny. Our flights to Moscow went well. On time. Singapore Airlines is a nice airline to fly coach. Great service, comfortable, but so-so food. That’s it for now.

Spa-coin-a-no-chee! (Goodnight)

(by the way...I typed this Sunday night and just posted Monday morning. We had no internet last night)

2 More Days!

It's really getting closer. Getting excited!

I guess this will be my last post from the US. My computer has to go to the Apple store tomorrow to fix the DVD slot.

OH! Yesterday our passports with Visa's arrived! Whew! That's the most important item on the checklist! I have my bag 75% packed and Roger's is about 25% packed--he said he's packing in his head. I know a lot of you have mentioned not to pack the diapers, but honestly that's the lightest thing in the suitcase. They may take up room, but they weigh nothing. Besides, Moscow is SO expensive for everything! I don't want to spend $$ there if I don't have to. I'm sure on the way home the bags will be lighter, especially because all the gifts for the caregivers/orphanage, etc... will be gone. Some snacks will be gone, too. All the prescriptions, first aid kit, precautionary drug store items are the bulkiest and heaviest. Don't want to go w/o those...can't read anything at the Russian pharmacy. I'm hoping they'll give us a break on the weight. ;-)

We had a friend help us out with installing the two car seats yesterday. OMG! It took almost 2 1/2 hours. The 5 point harness, bigger car seat was much more difficult to install. Mind you it was 105 degrees yesterday and humid because of a possibility of a monsoon storm. Roger was soaked by the time they were done. Thanks guys! I also turned in my leased BMW yesterday. :-( I will drive my husbands SUV for the next few months and when we arrive back in August he will most likely get himself another BMW. We figure why get the car now when we'll be gone for three weeks and pay a monthly payment and insurance.

Today and tomorrow I will be cleaning the house thoroughly and taking care of last minute preparations before we head out to dinner and Wicked.

For those able to and interested, come meet us at the airport on the evening of the 25th. We are flying in from Houston on US Airways. As we get closer to flying home I'll post about that. I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Fourth of July celebration!

That's it for now. Wish us safe travels and a smooth, happy transition!