chicken bus diaries

Six years old!!!

2008-09-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Much like my trip report, this is unfinished. Happy birthday to the boy who says he'll love me for infinity.

17 June - Too lazy for Paris today

2008-07-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

You know it's going to be a good day when you run into Mickey in the lobby on the way to breakfast.

We made it to the park for the Extra Magic Hours this morning and rode everything we wanted to - many times over - before 10 a.m. What to do with the rest of the day?

We enforced naptime and then went to the other park, Disney Studios. We can walk everywhere which is nice because those buses in Florida will eat up your whole day.

For the age that our children are now, it's really nice to visit a Disney that seems to be on a smaller scale with fewer people crowding everything and way more characters milling around.

We met Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Peter Pan, Wendy, Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Eeyore, and saw many more.

16 June - Bonjour, Mickey!

2008-07-01T08:14:00.001-07:00

I just love hearing so many different languages in Disney! I feel like I'm yelling when I call to the boys to stick closer to us. Everyone is so quiet here. My accent makes British families stop us to ask why we came to this Disney.

Let's see, there are no lines. We've ridden D's favorite things over and over. We're wearing our jackets because it's in the 60's - I guess that explains why they have the Indiana Jones et le temple du peril ride instead of Splash Mountain. People would freeze.

We checked in at noon and then "Disneyed" til about 6. Went to Rainforest Cafe' in the Village and then all collapsed. Goofy and Pluto were having a dance party in the lobby when we came in. Fun!

15 June - Is shabby really that chic?

2008-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

The thing I get tired of in France is the general shabbiness and disrepair of...everything. It reminds me of Russia which just makes me kinda itchy. You'd think they'd keep their ginormous cheateau, Chambord, in a little better condition. The hotels are so pieced together and random. The homes are not kept up and the yards would give some of my neighbors a heart attack. It's such a tough transition after leaving lovely, sparkling clean, green Britain. (I'm wondering if we should have come to France first.) The bathrooms in France are only decent if they're the ones you pay to use. Have your euros ready!

(from our hotel window - C sneaking off to buy more croissants)

However, Chateau Cheverny was lovely. Small and a very short tour, but beautifully kept and furnished. I bet the grounds would have been nice had they been DRY! Chenonceau was also well taken care of.

Chambord, though. What a wreck! I can't imagine any other country (OK, Italy) allowing such an amazing place to become trampled and graffitied.

(Da Vinci's double spiral staircase - one for up and one for down)

We had a nice day even in the rain. Ended up having dinner at McDonald's. Yuck. But the kids were pleased. Then, we got some eclairs from a little patisserie. Yum! I have to give the French credit for the food. Holy moly - the onion soup I had Friday night was soooo good.

It's almost 8 and we're packed up for morning and the kiddos are almost asleep. A certain 5 year old is twitching with the thought of Disney. Just checked the weather and we're expecting highs around 65-72 in Paris. Yippee!

Have I mentioned the birds at our hotel? Charlie is the social one and the kids are looney over him. They've been saving food to sneak to him after meals.

14 June - Chenonceaux and Amboise

2008-07-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

I can't begin to say how gorgeous Chateau de Chenonceau is, so I'll just post photos...

They do LOVE a maze!

So many palaces feel very cold inside. The many, many floral arrangements at Chenonceau made it warm. You were constantly reminded that it was built for pleasure rather than defense.

Look at the size of this!

Spent the afternoon wandering and eating ice cream in Amboise

13 June - Chunnel!!!

2008-07-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

I planned an ambitious day:

4:30 alarm clock

4:35 dressing, brushing teeth, waking kids

4:40 dressing kids

4:45 pulling away from the cottage

6:15 returning car at Heathrow

7:20 on the tube to King's Cross Station

8:20 at St. Pancras checking in for Eurostar

8:40 on the train - survived the Chunnel!

12:30 (lost an hour) arrived at Disneyland Paris

12:45 renting car at train station, getting cash, having lunch

2:00 looking for the car

2:15 still looking for the car - really

2:30 finally finding the car

Note to Frenchmen: dark grey that looks black needs more description than "grey." Only by trying the key in various vans did we locate ours!

2:45 on the road the wrong way (tired!)

3:00 on the way to Chenonceaux

5:30 checked into Relais Chenonceaux

7:00 dinner

8:00 bed

A full day of travel. At least we got to compare the English and French Countrysides in one day. (IMHO - England is MUCH prettier!)

12 June - Farm Park Fun

2008-07-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

I will really miss this place tomorrow when we depart, but am looking forward to a new adventure in France. The baby is napping after an exhausting breakfast! The boys and C have gone to the cottage offices to box up some things I bought in Burford to post them home. Hate to drag things to France if we don't have to.

In a bit, we're heading out to see a couple more charming towns and then the Cotswold Farm Park. I hear great things about it.

The kids next door said farewell to the boys this morning. They were all very sad which was adorable. The had been strawberry picking yesterday and brought over their leftover berries and cream.

I've just looked out to see that it's pouring rain. The first rain on our trip. I guess we'll be wearing our jackets today.

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Lower Slaughter was gorgeous. Tiny town with a river running through and little bridges. I did a little driving today. It's so scary!

Noticed it was market day in Stow-on-the-Wold and stopped. This was more like it.

The farm park was one of the best places we've ever taken the kids. It has lots of the local breeds of sheep and cattle as well as rare breeds. Oh - and my favorite - the Highland Cow.

We already knew the boys were sheep-crazy, but we didn't expect them to love the chickens SO MUCH.

Had a really fun dinner at The Plough in Ford before coming home to pack.

The baby no longer sits in the stroller:

11 June - Take a (trip to) Bath

2008-06-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Or maybe don't. Jane Austen Centre was terrible. Won't even go into the story.

The Circus and Royal Crescent are interesting. We didn't make it to the Roman Baths. We're Losers with a capital L.

Exhaustion set in and was helped along by a swim and a beer. Sooo tired now. Had dinner in and the boys are out playing croquet now while sis is already asleep.

Doing laundry tonight so we can pack up tomorrow night.

11 June - Really Old Rocks

2008-06-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

In 10 days, the summer solstice will put the sunset in just the right "spot" at Stonehenge. I'm sure the creepy factor will increase then! For now, Stonehenge seems like a bizarre arrangement of blocks. Like Legos that have been toppled by time instead of toddlers. Of course, then you consider the sheer mass of the stones and the 4,000 years that they've stood here. It puts the Roman ruins around here to shame. It was so interesting to see how they (whoever "they" were) put woodworking type skills to work to create the lentil part of the circle (the stones that sit across the top).

As amazing as being at Stonehenge was, the best part was watching D enjoy it. He loves to listen to audio guides and keys in the numbers for the appropriate section when he sees the signs. However, he does NOT love having his picture taken so I have to sneak up on him.Sometimes C looks at me like I'm crazy when I ask him to pose like this...and yet he does it. Weird.

10 June - Shepherds Strike Again

2008-06-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

(I didn't have the camera on our walk tonight so these are from other walks.)

It's funny how much can happen in 2 hours. Since writing the last, I've been on a walk with the boys. We ventured across the way to the Oxfordshire Way. In England, there are public footpaths on private land. Once a year, people come out to walk each path in the country to ensure that they will remain public. In fact, some of the most important archaeological sites in the world are on private property (such as the Rollright Stones) and there is a public right of way. Anyhoo, the boys and I went through a gate into a field with about 200 sheep. I have 2 things to note about this excursion (aside fromt he obvious note: these children are really, really into sheep). I'm comparing their sheep-obsession to 2 years ago and I find:

1 - They are still able to move 200 sheep back 100 yards in under 5 minutes.

2 - They are much slower moving now because they actually care about stepping around the sheep poo. It's a welcome change.

After shepherding for a while, we wandered around the stream and field beside the cottages. Once we were freezing, I was able to convince them to come inside so Dad could build us a fire. That was great fun and was followed by a round of sticky toffee pudding....and baths and bed.

Stonehenge tomorrow!!

10 June - Cotswolds, Castles, Curry

2008-06-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

Should I back-up a little for those of you who have no idea where we are? About 2 years ago, I was looking for family friendly vacations. I eventually settled on England and Scotland. Then, I went to the uk's i-village. I read some of their message boards and found loads of links to family resorts and cottages. Finally found Bruern Stable Cottages near Burford in the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds are about 2 hours out of London and are filled with charming towns like Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury, and Moreton-in-Marsh as well as miles and miles of back roads and sheep farms.

So, we came 2 years ago and then drove to Scotland and had a flat in Edinburgh for a few days. Clearly, we had a fabulous time and couldn't wait to visit again. We are having a wonderful time this week and even though we're excited to go to France on Friday, we'll be sad to leave the Cotswolds.

Today, we went to the market in Moreton-in-Marsh and it was a bust. A couple of bus tours had just dropped off a few hundred grannies! We had a look from the car and decided to cut our losses. We headed to Tesco for groceries and then to Sudeley Castle for a picnic. Had a very nice little picnic at Sudeley and then toured the castle and gardens.

Their playground was this amazing castle structure with lots of climbing and slides. Very cool! Considered heading to the Farm Park, but decided to go on Thursday when we can spend longer there. So, headed back to Burford for a beer before heading home for dinner. The drive was GORGEOUS! So glad we took the single track! (Road that only fits one car - you have to squeeze through when another comes!)

Just finished dinner now (Chicken Curry and Fruit Crumble) and sent the boys out to play. I've got to go inspect the playroom in a minute to find out where A keeps getting into markers.

Have I mentioned how much these 3 kids like peacocks?! And Toblerones?

9 June - Vacation from Vacation

2008-06-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at the desk here in the cottage with a mimosa at 8 a.m. It's the drink I needed after yesterday's adventure but was too tired to have last night. Just made some great bacon and toast for the kids and am waiting for C to finish up the coffee.

Planning a lazy day at the pool and the wildlife park, but I'm sure I'll be back with an update later!

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Went to Bibury (voted most charming Cotswold town) and for coffee in Burford. Back in the cottage now (noon) to make lunch and swim. Still planning an outing to the wildlife park and shopping in Burford and dinner at The Lamb.

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C dropped NK and me off in Burford and he took the boys to the Cotswold Wildlife Park. NK and I found some great stuff and the boys had a marvelous time, too. C came back at dinnertime and we went to The Lamb. It was sooo good. Gorgeous garden to eat in and perfect weather. Had a perfect pint of the local bitter while C sampled (guzzled) 2 of the selections on tap. I love when they pump the tap to get the beer from the cellar.

Now, we're cooking sticky toffee pudding and putting NK to bed while the boys are next door playing with some girls they met on Saturday.

Finding nooks to play in at the cottage today:

8 June - to the Big City

2008-06-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

FINALLY got into London around noon. Long drive, long train. Came into Waterloo Station from Windsor/Eton Riverside Station where we ditched the car. Went straight to the London Eye. Long, long, long line. I told C to wait a minute with A and NK while D and I went for tickets. Between the line and the heat (okay, maybe it was 78 degrees, but it was really sunny) and the crowd, I was thinking I didn't want to go in the little capsule. (Hot + Crowded = Claustrophobia!!) So, I went to the Fast Track ticket line. What good is $ if you can't use it to spare yourself an hour-long wait in the sun? Bought Fast Track tickets for the boys and C.

Told C not to ask what it cost as I ushered him and his monkeys into the 5 minute long line for FT. NK and I went for a latte and juice.

45 minutes later...started back to the tube station and ran into Jack Sparrow. The boys were asking for an "animal museum" so we were thinking Natural History Museum. Got slightly lost looking for the tube and ended up in a black cab (love those things) to the museum. Saw much more of the town that way compared to underground.

They LOVED the NHM, but we left without finishing because I'm a selfish Mum and wanted to go see Kensington Palace. We have to do something new, right? Had been to the Eye and NHM before. We walked through a very crowded Hyde Park to the palace.

Kensington Palace isn't all that grand and the state rooms that were open were pretty boring. BUT, Diana's dresses were there and they were gorgeous! C took A and NK to the Diana Memorial Playground while D and I toured. He was so good and really enjoyed it. We talked about the beautiful princess who had worn those dresses and how she had 2 little boys, too. Then, we got into a long chat while we sat in the garden about the queen and how there's no king right now and why. It was very nice.

Then, we were all off to the tube, the train and the drive back to the cottage. We scrubbed the city-dirty children, had showers and collapsed. Good day.

7 June - Stratford and Bourton

2008-06-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 8. C and I had nice coffee and breakfast and got dressed and then woke the kids at 9. 14 hours must be enough sleep for them! We hit the road for Stratford-upon-Avon.

The best part of Anne Hathaway's house had to be the maze. Especially since it was closed. We put the boys in it anyway and let 'em run. We're such rebels.

Baby girl fell asleep as soon as we got back in the car so we drove back down to Bourton-on-the-Water for lunch. Ended up at our favorite little garden pub right on the river. The boys were sooo happy!

6 June - Here in the Cotswolds

2008-06-21T04:18:00.000-07:00

Woke the kids for landing, cleared customs in no time, and were off to find the rental car. That took forever! Not the finding - the renting. Good grief, why do they make it take so long? Finally...many moons later...were buckling everyone into our lovely Diesel Vauxhall and on our way - on the LEFT.

First Stop: Windsor. Piled out to look for lunch and walked up near the castle. It was 15 minutes til changing of the guard so we postponed lunch and headed up to the castle. The boys were exhausted. That means that they had energy to run wild but not to control their behavior at all. Insane! And obsessed with birds. Sissy was just squaking at them and watching the chaos.

Finally saw the band and then went to McDonald's. Yuck, I know. It's easy and quick though and has a view of the castle. I love taking the kids somewhere cool like that right off the bat. So they know we didn't fly all night and end up back home. Nothing like Windsor at home!

Grabbed a couple of lattes at Starbucks (I know) and got back in the car after a brief stop to run through a maze. Sissy was less than amused, but fell asleep. And then the boys fell asleep, too. D takes one nap a year. It was a good one. I fell asleep a few minutes later causing a breakdown in the system. C drives and I navigate. He missed a couple of turns near Oxford and woke me up to help get back on course.

Stopped at Tesco (groceries) in Witney just before arriving at the cottages. It's such a gorgeous drive. I really love these hills. I was trying to wake the boys to see it. D would pry his eyes open for a second and say, "beautiful, Mom" before passing out again.

We woke the kids (we wanted them to sleep at night) and sent them to the back garden to play. C unloaded while the kids played. NK loves the Wendy house. We went swimming to stay awake, made dinner, had baths, and all went to bed at 7.

5 June - Getting Here

2008-06-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

The moment we were "off like a flock of turtles," the boys declared that the adventure had begun. We were fortunate to be joined on this adventure by our newest webkinz, Super Turtle. What luck! There was no convincing A to leave it home. So, we headed for the airport with A singing, D begging for games, and NK just wanting a nap.

After checking in, buying a lap ticket for NK, and getting all of us and all our stuff through security, we sat down for lunch. At this point, I called my mom to say goodbye. She said, "So all you've done is drive to the airport?" I started laughing and said, "Yep, all we've done is load the car, dress 5 people, close up the house for 2 weeks, drive to the airport, park, drag our stuff in, check-in, check the carseats, get 5 people and 10 shoes through security, and sit down for lunch." Before I finished my list, she was saying, "I take it back" and laughing!

Flight #1 (not actual flight #, obviously): sleeping baby, gaming boys

Pizza break in Cleveland.

Flight #2: When checking in for the long flight, I made friends with the gate agent. She said she would try to clear our row. She did! 6 seats for the 5 of us. The kids slept a lot on the flight. The boys think it's this great privilege to get to spend a night on a plane. The gamer and I did some counting and found that it was his 10th crossing of the Atlantic! He's such a pro!

They slept through breakfast and had to be woken up for our descent into London Gatwick.

(Yes, I know my punctuation stinks. I think you know how I feel about those pretentious semi-colons. But aren't you jazzed about the caps!?)

home sweet home

2008-06-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

i know i always say this. as much as i LOVE to travel, it's always SO good to be home. i'm really just a homebody who likes to imagine other places are my home temporarily. just trying things on to see what they're like, i suppose.

i scribbled down some blog posts along the way (we were technology-free for two whole weeks!!!) and will start posting them in a few moments. hmm, just heard NK on the monitor so it might be later. we'll see if she falls back asleep.

might also have to postpone because C will not be happy until i make a grocery list. he does not consider blogging to be a priority over filling the pantry and fridge.

our life is a circus!!

2008-06-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

have you met our class clown?

our newly minted four year old

2008-06-01T06:18:00.001-07:00

sweet a's birthday was friday. FOUR! we had a party on the last day of school and then a party at the little gym yesterday. he had a BLAST! he winks at me a lot when i'm taking his picture.

all the big boys were jumping off the beam and scaring the heck out of this mom!

our newly minted kindergartener

2008-06-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

our BIG kid graduated from preschool on friday...

with his wonderful teachers

performing a song

brothers at field day after graduation

i'm sad to see this year end. d had the best class and teachers i could ever ask for. he's all set for kindergarten now. he was a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't head straight for the new school the next day! um, little thing called summer has to happen first! he seems content with that now that he's outside on the waterslide.

we gotcha!

2008-04-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

april 6th is a big day for our family. exactly one year ago today we flew to guatemala to meet our daughter for the first time. and four years ago today we carried our first child out of his orphanage in russia. words can't describe our joy!

we celebrated today with cupcakes and a trip to build-a-bear.

walking and talking

2008-03-13T11:50:00.003-07:00

our little multi-tasker has been having a ball lately! she still has her brothers wrapped around her little finger.

the dirty-faced violinist

2008-02-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

the problem with practicing right after dinner is that his face is filthy in all the photos. heaven forbid we ask him to wipe it. he runs screaming from any attempts to wipe his face or fix his crazy hair.

and here is a terrible video, too. i might turn on the lights next time.

maybe posting these will inspire me to get better photos and videos of him soon!

our little valentines

2008-02-11T17:24:00.001-08:00

so thankful to be home with our sweet babies!

so sweet

2008-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

here are the boys at a waterpark saying, "we can't believe our luck!"

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2008-01-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

a little update. not sure what nk thinks about the cold and snow! the boys love the snow...they just wish it didn't have to be so cold!

warm wishes to you!

ps - nana, there won't be any photos of me until i'm ready to relinquish control of the new camera. you can picture me in the giant black coat from russia.

just because

2008-01-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

(just because i love my new camera and decided we needed digital scrapbook stuff to go with it and of course it needed to be my favorite colors and they were so cute with this outfit and how cute is that baby?? stop reading this garbage and click the picture!! hurry!!!)

edited to add:

some favorite christmas photos

2008-01-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

"you mean i can drink pop on christmas??"

presenting the snaggle-tooth grin!

farewell to 2007

2007-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

dear friends,

reflecting on 2007 makes my brain hurt. the only thing more hectic than moving with 2 and 4 year old boys would have been moving after baby girl's arrival. the first quarter of our year was totally insane. of course, rather than relax in the second quarter, we headed straight for 8 nights in guatemala. because we are unable to sit still. ever. let's see. then there was a beach trip, a disney trip, and 6 weeks after those we were back in guatemala. but this time, we didn't take a sitter and i was high on prednisone and valium because of my back. we are thankful that our boys are fantastic travelers.

the boys are actually still asking to go back to guatemala. they had the greatest time there. so, after bringing our sweet nk home we were faced with our biggest challenge to date. i was almost completely out of commission with a "significantly" herniated disc. i could barely walk and then began to lose feeling in my left hiney/leg region which was quite terrifying. d's birthday was coming up so i planned our first "location" birthday party at our city aquatic center. i needed to have a party planned that c would be able to handle if i was still out of commission. a couple of weeks after i had an epidural steroid injection i was finally pain free.

the rest of the year is a blur because we went back into our non-stop action mode with the now 5 and 3 year old boys. baby girl turned 1 and had a gala celebration along with baptism. we had good old friends in town for thanksgiving weekend. and we rounded out the year visiting family and friends. as i type, we are watching the tigers play in the peach bowl just as we've done many times before. we've been to the bowl twice and even got married while they were playing in the peach bowl eleven years ago. good times.

this has turned into a christmas letter instead of a blog post, hasn't it? oh well. stop reading if you're bored senseless. can't stop, can you? i'm like a train wreck. you just have to read to find out what insane thing i'll do next. think i can convince c to go to china with me for another baby girl next year? no, neither do i. but i'll bring it up from time to time just to freak him out.

love y'all for reading and calling and emailing and being great friends! we send you our heartfelt wish for a healthy and full new year.

much love,
k

ps: thanks to d.o. who took some of my favorite photos this year at d's party:

the black stuff on d's face is icing from the spiderman cake!

and a happy new year

2007-12-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful christmas and will be enjoying the new year with our new christmas camera! i might have driven the family nuts today with all the flashes. here's a favorite.

when you least expect it

2007-12-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

i thought we were just sending letters to santa this year. when i asked the boys earlier in december if they wanted to write letters or go sit on santa's lap, they said they would rather send letters. that was before santa walked by the restaurant we were having dinner in tonight. we ended up in line for an hour after dinner. they were determined. they could not be persuaded to come back another time. they were psyching themselves up to talk to the big guy. if i'd known we were going to see him, i might have dressed them differently. i might have even brushed their hair. but i bet the picture wouldn't have been good then. it's our best santa picture ever. i can't believe it!

who says you can't get a good shot of three at once?!

wishing you a merry, merry, merry christmas!

2007-12-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

baby girl has been so adorable in her christmas dresses this month. it has been such fun. her big brothers are busy writing (dictating) letters to santa. they are asking for candy. lots and lots of candy. they occasionally mention a toy or a bike, but mostly they are grieving the loss of the halloween candy and asking for more. most letters start, "i've been very good to my brother all day. well, most of the day." they even wrote a letter for their sister asking for some baby toys. yeah, like we need more toys around here. i'm such a grinch. to prove it, here's our new grinchy green wreath:

we're enjoying our full house this christmas. if you're reading this blog because you're thinking of adopting, start now and you'll have a full house by next christmas!!

and it's not even december yet

2007-11-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

getting into the spirit! click HERE.

happy birthday, sweet girl!

2007-11-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

the boys are in love with their sister and are excited about her first birthday. we feel so fortunate to have gotten her home before all of the changes in guatemala. she has blossomed into an active little crawler and babbler. she's been learning baby signs and calling us dada, mama, and baba (brothers...or bottle sometimes).

the guatemala 5000

2007-10-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

www.jcics.org - click for information about the status of guatemalan adoptions.

now, if you've read that, you may look at photos of baby girl and her superhero entourage.

she has adjusted beautifully and is adored by her brothers. oh, and she's mobile!! the boys are going to have to put away what they don't want chewed.

at home

2007-08-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

fond farewell

2007-08-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

trip photos here! i can't believe i didn't get one of nk in the pool. guess i was always in with her.

stop by soon if you didn't today! we are open for visitors anytime. just give us a quick call to say you're on your way because we might get crazy and leave the house tomorrow. only if we're going directly to the pool though. this heat is unbearable after that beautiful guatemalan weather.

i hope you enjoyed the blog! i'll miss the chicken bus adventure.

long way round (our story)

2007-08-07T07:39:00.001-07:00

once again, i'm wide awake watching these gorgeous babies sleep and wondering how c can sleep when he could be looking at them instead. it's hard to believe we've pulled it off! pulled what off? well, perhaps i should back up a little and explain.

my high school history teacher was always assigning us news magazines to read as homework. i suppose i was about 16 when i first read an article about all the abandoned babies in china. from that moment, i always pictured my future family as a mixture of cultures. as time went by and i read about adoptions in both china and romania, i started to feel drawn toward eastern european children. c and i talked about adoption for years - before we were even engaged.

when the day finally arrived that we were ready for a family, c presented me with a book about russia. we just knew that we were supposed to go to russia - and not just as tourists! we went to an informational meeting at our agency, but when we saw the cost of international adoption we were shocked. c was a resident and i was working hard to pay off our student loans. so, we thought maybe we'd have a biological child first and adopt later. we tried for a year and by then we'd saved the money to adopt. without a second thought, we filed papers to adopt in russia. that was four years ago this month.

eight months later, we had our darling d home. and we were hooked! we soon began another russian adoption and i think you're all familiar with those results. a came home seven months later (14 months after d). we called him our "surprise" because he came so fast.

as we drove to the airport last thursday, we were listening to the song from a documentary that we've been watching. it's called long way round. ewan mcgregor and a friend of his ride motorcycles from london to nyc - the long way round. they go through some places that were very familiar to us. the steppe near d's birthplace, orenburg, is so unique and the look of the kazakh people is so like a. we watched ewan fall in love with mongolia and read that he later returned to adopt a child there. that's what happens to us, too. we fall in love with these places and these people. and we keep traveling because we want our kids to know that nowhere is very far away and that people are all just people no matter where they live. we've been shown extraordinary kindness by people in guatemala and in russia. even if i never see ludmila (our translator) in orenburg again, i know that she and i are connected by heartstrings that stretch around the world.

so, as we drove toward the airport singing along to long way round, we couldn't help but think that we've sort of gone the long way round when it came to creating our family. our darling d, our sparkplug a, and our little princess nk are THE kids for us - we just had to go looking for them. God puts the right kids in the right homes every time.

for four years, c and i have been working on what we call plan a - getting the kids in the house. today, we begin plan b - preparing them to leave us one day. all the while, we'll be trying to show them how simple it really is to do little things that can have enormous impact on the lives of others. we adopted because we just knew we were meant to, but we occasionally do think about the difference we've made for these three little people.

loads of love from this russian-tajik-guatemalan-nicaraguan-american family

[this message was scribbled on a marriott notepad at 4 am and transcribed at a more reasonable hour. i apologize for its sappyness or incoherentness.]

lack of new photos

2007-08-07T07:37:00.001-07:00

i was flipping back through the photos on my memory card on sunday and realized that some of the files i had uploaded here were corrupted on my card. so, i decided not to upload anything else til i get home and can back them up first. sorry, but i know you understand!

units

2007-08-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

we've begun measuring the days in units of time.

breakfast buffet = 1 unit

getting ready for the pool = 1\2 unit

swimming = 2 units

waiting out tropical downpour of rain under the cover by the pool = 1\2 unit

bathing everyone = at least 1 unit

email and blogging = 1\2 unit, maybe a unit if we stretch it

watching spongebob in spanish = 1 unit

chatting and laughing with nk = 3 units

pushing the stroller aimlessly in the lobby = 1\2 unit

explaining a's heritage to other hotel guests = 1\2 unit

trip to mcdonald's = 1 unit

making bottles = 1\4 unit

washing bottles = 1\4 unit

stealing baby spoon from restaurant = 1\8 unit

we are really starting to get loopy. can' t imagine how we did this in moscow for three whole weeks.

daddy´s girl

2007-08-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

i wasn´t very good about taking pictures today. will do better...

mr. a was asleep at 715 and i bet the others have nodded off while i´m here uploading and blogging. the pool really exhausts them which is a huge blessing since there is NOTHING else to do here. maybe we´ll go to the zoo again tomorrow. we really shouldn´t since we won´t get her passport back til monday, but we might be stir crazy enough to risk it.

oh, btw, my back is much better. still not picking the giant three year old up, but probably never will again! finally learned my lesson. lots of love and can´t wait to see you all on tues!

first batch of photos

2007-08-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

little man fell asleep at take off

view from the plane!

foster mom and nk

big brothers saying hello

our little sleepers! (insomniac brother not pictured)

groundhog day

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

i know, i know. you want pictures. i keep forgetting my cord for uploading though. we're having a great day - even if it is creeping by very, very slowly. we swam til we were all limp and now we're having a little computer time. we have another fish in the family!

it's in the 70`s here and just gorgeous outside. the pool is heated, but we have to RUN to our towels when we get out.

the boys are in love!!! did i tell you that already? i mean, crazy in love with their sister. they were snuggled up with her this morning and she started babbling at them. d said, "mom, i think she's doing baby talk in spanish." he is in awe of everything she does. if she starts to fuss even the tiniest bit, he rushes over to hold her hand and cheer her up.

a still loves to wander the hotel telling everyone about his brother and sister and giving out various other misinformation. he still insists that he is 4 to everyone he meets.

well, we should go dry off.

(oh - did i mention that we have the happiest baby in the world? she just smiles and giggles all the time.)

visa approved!!

2007-08-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

our flight yesterday was smooth and uneventful. we were able to upgrade to first class which was a huge help because the boys could move around so much more. they were so good and little a actually slept most of the way!

our sweet girl was "delivered" at 430 and was all smiles from the start. it was really hard for her foster mom to let her go. i was so sad for her and yet so happy that she was so loved.

our embassy appointment was smooth and easy this morning. we were back here and in the pool by 11. her visa will be ready on monday! we're just so relieved. i can't begin to describe it. i know i'll just be overcome with emotion when we finally board that last flight as a family of five.

now we just get to play in the pool and sit outside in the gorgeous weather til tuesday. i'll sneak back down tonight to upload some pictures.

jb-the package has been picked up.

tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

twenty-four hours from now i'll be on a flight to guatemala. at 4:30 tomorrow, our baby girl will be placed in our arms forever. we are all excited beyond words!

i'll try to post tomorrow just to let you know that we are there and that we have our sweet girl.

tomorrow is my grandfather's 89th birthday and will also be his first great-granddaughter's gotcha day. how fantastic is that?

forecast

2007-07-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

the good news: very nice temps!

the bad news: probably the kind of humidity that will make my hair ENORMOUS. you won't be seeing any of those mother-daughter photos from this trip.

FriAug 3
Isolated T-Storms
76°/62°

SatAug 4
Partly Cloudy
75°/64°

SunAug 5
Scattered T-Storms
76°/62°

MonAug 6
Scattered T-Storms
76°/62°

four days

2007-07-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

it's hard to believe after a year of endless paperwork and waiting that we only have four days left to prepare! we leave early thursday morning and we'll have our sweet girl that afternoon. then, we'll go to the embassy for an 8 am appointment on friday. if our interview goes well, her visa will be ready to pick up on monday at 3:30. we'll fly home on tuesday, august 7!

we're spending this weekend packing and nesting and even unpacking the last few boxes from our move. it would be nice to be really moved in before we bring another kid home! oh, and i'm also spending some time in bed letting my back heal from a recent injury related to the three year old. we're hopeful that i'll be better in time for the trip. pray for my stupid bulging disc!!!

WE'VE GOT PINK!!!!

2007-07-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

isn't it just typical that the day i was whining about the embassy they were busy issuing our pink slip? at long last i can annouce to you that we are leaving next thursday to bring home baby sister!!!

i got an email with the pink slip tonight and started booking things right away. i can't believe the appointment is so much earlier than i had expected! i don't know what to do first!

your tax dollars at work

2007-07-24T15:21:00.001-07:00

we still don't have a travel date. not that we were expecting one yet - i'm just letting you know that we don't know. it's part of a sinister plot by our dept of homeland security. you see, if they prolong the agony and torture long enough, then you'll be so glad when you're finally in guatemala with your child that you won't pitch a fit over the long wait on your embassy day followed by another long wait once you are in your port of entry. you'll just suck it up and be glad to have your child.

it's a lot like the day we were fingerprinted (for the third time). the boys were being wild in the immigration office because it was three hours after our appointment time and we were still waiting to be printed. one of the workers came out and told us and another family to keep our kids under control or they would shut the whole office down. instead of yelling back at this insensitive woman who had clearly never spent three hours in a line with her 2 and 3 year old sons, we just had to nod and keep quiet. in fact, c and i said nothing at all in reply because we couldn't find anything to say that wouldn't have gotten us kicked out of there!

so, until baby girl's visa is issued and we land in the states making her a citizen, i'll just have to keep my big mouth shut and hand over as many notarized, certified and apostilled copies of my most personal and private documents as they request. you want my tax returns? sure. my birth certificate? no problem. the deed to my house? here it is. now you need my bank numbers, social security and college transcripts? i can have them tomorrow...in triplicate. you want the hundred dollar bills to be crisp and unmarked? you got it! (have i mentioned that our bank hates to see me coming?)

just waiting for pink

2007-07-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

"we've got pink!" is an exclamation that you often see on the guatemalan adoption message boards. once the adoption is finalized in guatemala (also called "getting out of pgn"), the case is submitted to the US Embassy for a visa appointment. that appointment is called a pink slip and it is usually just a few days in the future. so...don't be surprised when we suddenly skip town because WE ARE OUT OF PGN AND ARE WAITING FOR PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in other words, that precious baby girl is legally OURS and we're just getting a little more paperwork done to be able to bring her to the states. because we visited her, she'll be an american citizen when we land in this country.

post your questions - i know you'll have plenty!

in our hearts

2007-06-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

we've been in PGN for almost six weeks now. i still have a heap of patience in me, but i will admit that i've been lurking a little on the yahoo group for guatemalan adoption. just checking timelines and wondering if i might get a call soon. i've seen lots of people come out of PGN in about four weeks and lots more who've been in PGN for months upon months. there's no way to know whether i'll be one of the lucky few or the frustrated many. so, we wait. and we wait happily because it's summer and the boys are out of school and we've been to the beach and we're doing fun things and enjoying our unscheduled existence.

we talk about baby sister all the time and if you ask the boys if they have brothers and sisters, they will each tell you that they have one brother and one sister. they include her in our family and in their prayers. now we just need her in our arms!

new pictures!!!

2007-05-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

someone is six months old! the boys love seeing her in the clothes they picked out when we shopped for her.

good to be home

2007-04-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

"Inherent in the concept of home is the concept of wandering." - Martin Heidegger

isn't it funny that someone can be such a homebody and such a traveler at the same time? i thought there was something weird about me until i read that quote at the bottom of an email from a friend once. i love, love, love to see the world and i also find immense joy in returning home and discovering the little comforts i'd forgotten. i wish baby n could be here with us, but i'm praying that our case will speed up. please pray for her and for us and especially for the employees of our embassy in guatemala and in the homeland security department. pray for them to put in a few extra hours to get these cases moving. pray for them to stop treating infant adoptees as potential terrorists. oh! and pray for little a's nose to heal. the stitches were taken out today and we just have to beg him not to pull off the steri-strips again. a huge thanks to our friend here who saw him on a sunday afternoon.

i think that closes this blog. thanks for reading and thanks for all your kind words. i have the best friends in the world!

love, k and the boys

ps-three years ago today we arrived home with d!

you asked for it

2007-04-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

pepperoni, corn dogs and machine guns

2007-04-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

even though i'm finally home and tucked into my very own bed, i need to post what i would have posted last night had i had the chance. i got sidetracked with packing and never managed to upload pictures or describe our evening.

after surrendering baby girl to the guatemalan mama, we wanted to venture outside the marriott. we hadn't been anywhere since sunday (unless you count c and a's adventure to the hospital). c asked the concierge about nearby shopping. i guess i should have been more clear about what kind of shopping i wanted. we followed her directions and ended up at a mall. i really wasn't looking to shop at the gap in guatemala city. the upside was that there was a pollo campero and we'd been told we had to try it. think of a really greasy bojangle's and you've got a good picture of pollo campero. well, until you factor in that the chicken tasted like pepperoni, the nuggets tasted like corn dogs and there was a guy with a large gun of some sort posted at the door. it seemed to make all the other patrons feel safe. not us. each time a let out one of his signature screams, we shrunk down in our chairs a little more. there's just no way for us to be inconspicuous in guatemala city though. we all became quite jealous of a's blend-almost-anywhere-look. people just assumed he was guatemalan and were stunned by his perfect english.

"does he still speak spanish" was a frequent question. especially at the end of the week when a had begun answering questions in spanish. c said thanks to him yesterday and a said, "de nada." pretty quick, that kid.

okay, i'm going to sort some pictures now and try to post before i pass out.

kidnappers

2007-04-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

i feel like my baby has been kidnapped. it's just so miserable. please pray for our case to progress quickly. i can't wait very long before i'll have to execute the mexican kidnapping scheme. i'm thinking rental car, mexico, smuggle into texas... do you really need a social security number?

i just can't believe how much you can love someone in just a week.

there are three things that make this a tiny bit easier. one is d, one is a, and the last is the foster mom. she is fabulous. she is a great mom and i know that n will be happy with her. the foster mom, the dad and the big sister are all very sweet. n is their fifth foster baby so they are pretty good at this.

i took the foster mom out to show her the pool and around the hotel a little while we waited for the attorney's daughter. could not believe it when paramedics ran past me to get another little boy at the pool. will have to head downstairs now to get the scoop from the hotel gossips.

promise to post pictures late tonight so check in the morning.

good night

2007-04-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

we are definitely growing on baby n. she can´t stop smiling at laughing at me now. such a doll baby! she was sweet from the start, but smiles and laughs and babbles more everyday. just when she´s getting used to us, we have to go. it´s better this way so we don´t confuse her too terribly. we´re just like grandparents this week. we get to have her for a few days, spoil her and give her back.

all of my babies are asleep in my room now. i can´t wait to get back up there! just wanted to read your comments. i love them!

¡hasta mañana!

shameless begging

2007-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

as long as i have your attention this week, i'm going to use it to ask for something. please, please consider coming to the gala fundraiser for our agency on may 5. if you click the link to carolina adoption at the bottom of this page, you can find out more about it.

this organization does very, very good work all over the world. the difference they've made in our lives speaks for itself so that's all i'll say.

2 seconds ago

2007-04-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

so many pictures!

2007-04-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

hope you like them...

a kissed n earlier and told her that he missed her yesterday.

la niña dulce

2007-04-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

i promise to come post tons of pictures later today. in the meantime, just wanted to write a quick note to tell you that a is doing really well. he acts like nothing happened. he ripped his steri-strips off when he woke up this morning so i had a moment of panic, but c taped him back up. we´re just trying to keep him calm this morning. d was pretty shaken by it, but is doing ok today. n is having so much fun with her big, crazy brothers. they love pushing her stroller around and showing her to everyone in the hotel.

the whole hotel was abuzz about a yesterday. there must be fifty adoptive families here and everyone had met the monkeys, of course.

so, we are back to enjoying la niña dulce esta mañana. tomorrow is going to be really hard. i think we will be back to visit her again soon. we´ve had such a great time excepting this tiny little incident of a nearly broken nose. just part of the deal with little boys really. might as well get used to it. the really, really sad thing was that he was being really good when it happened. wasn´t running! was just walking along carrying towels with c and didn´t see the step.

pobrecito

2007-04-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

i'm sitting here typing and looking at this gorgeous girl who has slept most of the day away. we really wore her out this morning and before i tell you how, take a deep breath. i'm talking to you, nana. deep breath. we were at the pool this morning and a fell and nearly broke his nose. he just came out of surgery and he's fine. has thirteen stitches, but is watching tv and asking for pizza. we had just ordered a pizza when he got hurt.

i think n slept the rest of the day after all the excitement. running with mom and d to the room for c's wallet, passports and such. talking to the paramedics. pacing with mom. it just took it out of her.

i have to say that the marriott staff did a perfect job. they had a first aid kit out there almost immediately. the paramedics couldn't have been more than ten minutes. and they sent someone with c and a to the hospital. it's one of those days when i thank God for c's medical training. he's so calm under pressure. he knows that panic doesn't stop bleeding. he went into surgery with a and said that the pediatric surgeon and anesthesiologist were great. it's also probably the one time that i'm going to be thankful that it is a's third surgery. c knew to expect that a would try to yank out the IV.

well, n is fully awake now and is sitting here "talking" to me. trying to get my attention. i have a little while to lavish some love on her before she's back to sleep and i can give a some super-huge hugs and kisses and anything else the poor little guy wants. don't worry too much about him. we'll take great care of him and if his past surgeries are any indication, he'll be better very quickly.

(did i mention that this adorable little one is sitting here smiling and chatting with me?)

ps - the camera is in c's backpack which went to the hospital so no pictures for you today.

proud big brother

2007-04-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

i don't want to call it too soon, but i think we've got another sleeper!!! she went from 8:20 straight through til 6. i'm thinking that is one great foster mom, right? she seems to like the crib, too. can't really ask for more. d was down there with her and he was the sweetest thing. so good and quiet while she slept. (i should explain that our suite is two levels with a sitting room down and bedroom up.) d really likes the pull-out sofa downstairs.

d is across from me right now on some power ranger website. c and baby n are reading over my shoulder. we should probably head out now to get some pool time before the middle of the day. the sun is something else here!

(did i mention that d loves to entertain her, feed her, dress her and hold her? he's soooo sweet.)

so sweet

2007-04-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

they were right on time. the five of us were walking into the lobby when the four of them were walking in. that adorably chubby face was looking at us like "who the heck are these jokers and where on earth are they taking me?" we all went up to our suite so we could help her adjust to her surroundings. from left to right: you ought to know the first five, then there's the foster family (daughter and mother) and our attorney's daughter. thanks to e for being the photographer.

i will try to get better pictures of her tomorrow. didn't want to burn her retinas today!

she is sleeping sweetly now. d helped me give her a bottle and then we put her in the crib. she fidgeted for a few minutes and then conked out. i'm sure it won't be a great night of sleep though so i'm off to bed in a minute. knew i better post pics though or face the wrath...

not long now

2007-04-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

jb - yes, antigua is so beautiful! the volcano was covered by clouds most of the time, but it finally opened up and we could see most of it. amazing! went a little nuts and bought a gorgeous oil painting at the gallery next to the jade store. couldn't really get into the jade though.

just killing time now in the exec lounge. should probably head back out to the pool. c and e and the monkeys were about to order pizza. i just can't stay in one place right now though. butterflies are gone and now i just want to get my hands on that baby. may the pacing begin!

there are sooo many babies in the hotel. lots of families visiting because of spring break. lots of big brothers and sisters visiting which is nice for the boys.

probably won't post til tomorrow so don't hold your breath, nana!

ps - d is 4.5 today! we celebrated his third gotcha day on friday!!! can you believe it??

okay, okay, here are some pictures

2007-04-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

are you happy now?

just kidding. we´re still having a great time. the last picture is from the zoo yesterday morning. not much to say about it. a zoo is a zoo, but the boys had a blast. the other pictures are from antigua on saturday. (jb - no, it was just jose. no saskia and family.)

the hotel is pretty great, by the way. tons of kids and such a nice pool. breakfast is on a pretty terrace and the boys have probably eaten five watermelons in the last three days.

we have about four hours til we meet baby girl. i woke up with some pretty serious butterflies and it´s only getting worse. just so excited and nervous and a little scared that she´ll be ticked off about being left with the crazy americans for a few days.

we`re off to the pool now. the boys really do make the waiting easier.

don't know where to begin

2007-04-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

we had a completely uneventful trip down to guatemala yesterday. hooray!

we are having a great time so far. a huge thanks to jb for hooking us up with jose! we had a fabulous trip to antigua today. zero traffic due to the holiday. just sailed right over early this morning and back late this afternoon. gorgeous weather, too. then, got some swimming time in and had pizza by the pool. just lots of fun. i actually keep forgetting that we aren't on vacation. that never happened in russia.

saw lots of chicken buses today and need to answer danny's question. it's chicken bus diaries mainly because i think that chicken buses are hilarious. do you know how many people fit on a chicken bus? always one more! it's really true!!

we are patiently waiting for baby girl's arrival on monday. it's so much easier when we have the boys to distract us. they are having a great time with e and i think she's having fun, too. it cracks me up to look at her face when we see something crazy like policia with machine guns or twenty people in the back of a truck. loco!

oh, and i have to say that those seven years of spanish really paid off. it all came flooding back to me yesterday and i've been chatting everyone up in spanish. the boys are upstairs watching spongebob in spanish so maybe they'll pick some up!

adios for today and happy easter tomorrow,
k

a bale of turtles

2007-04-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

as long as i can remember, every family trip began with my father saying, "and we're off...like a flock of turtles." as we pulled out of the driveway after countless trips back into the house for one last thing, he would sarcastically utter that line. what began as sarcasm has become superstition. c and i have to say those words as we leave the driveway or we feel like the trip is cursed from the start.

i googled the saying just now to find out if it was something that other people said. what did i find? well, i found that other people say it, but that they say herd of turtles. i dug a little deeper and found that herd is not the correct term either though. it's a bale of turtles. odd, but still doesn't compare to a gaggle of geese or a pride of lions, right?

so, here's hoping that we won't forget anything mission-critical and that we won't repeat the sippy cup incident of july 2005. yes, that's right. d left a sippy cup of milk out when we were leaving for three weeks in russia. there's nothing quite like coming home to that smell!

land of eternal spring

2007-04-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

i just checked the weather report for guatemala, the land of eternal spring. it's going to be hot with daily thunderstorms. oh boy. sounds more like the land of eternal august to me. kind of like my worst nightmare. at least on this trip we get to stay at the hotel with a/c. on the pick-up trip, our attorney requires us to stay at a certain hotel near the embassy. i checked their website and there is no a/c!!! i can do a fair amount of roughing it. i know, you're laughing now because you've never known me to rough it. a holiday inn is as close as i ever want to be to camping. but, really, the one non-negotiable for me is temperature. i had no problem with siberia in january because russians are not shy about using the heat, but central america in the summer with no a/c is quite frightening to me.

on another topic, want to see some of the stuff i've packed? can you believe how cute these little mary jane socks are??

time is flying!!!

2007-04-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

you know how time sort of drags along when you are waiting for something BIG? and then, all of a sudden, time accelerates to warp speed and you have no idea how you'll accomplish everything and start kicking yourself for not preparing sooner. no? it's just me? well, i was just pondering the fact that in 48 hours i need to have the whole family packed and ready to go. i think i can manage that. then, however, i remember that we are not going on a normal vacation. we are going to take care of our sweet baby girl for a week. how can i possibly prepare for that when i don't know nothin' 'bout babies??? we are in such big trouble.

it's almost like we've planned a dive trip without going to scuba class. or a ski trip without a ski lesson. what if i've forgotten to pack something as essential as oxygen or skis? and what good will the proper equipment even be when i've no clue what to do with it?

deep breath. i'm sure it will be fine. she's just a baby. our baby, after all.

give us our sister and no one gets hurt

2007-03-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

at least that's the phrase that came to my mind when i saw the boys parading around the yard with these giant sticks early sunday morning. notice that they still have bedhead and little man still has on his pj shirt.

eight days to go!!!

4 months old

2007-03-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

our sweet baby n is four months today. i just received new pictures this morning along with a new weight...14.8 lbs! i fear that all of my kids are going to weigh the same in no time. the boys had been steady at 37 lbs each since last summer. we put them on the scale on saturday and they were both up to 38.

i can't believe we're going in less than three weeks! the boys are counting down the days.

humanitarian aid

2007-03-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! we leave in four weeks and we're collecting items for an orphanage for girls in guatemala. this particular orphanage is run by nuns for girls age 4-15. if you have clothing or other items you could donate, please contact me at russianmum@yahoo.com.

THANKS!

welcome!

2007-03-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

you found us! we're off to guatemala in a month to visit our baby girl! check back in april to find out about our trip.