So I am happy to announce that we have a court date. It is Tuesday, March 20th. I am excited that we have this date but a little disappointed that it's still a month away. We were told in Russia that we would be back in 15 - 20 days. Not the case but I will hang in there. So this will be our Trip # 2 itinerary:
*Saturday, March 17th = leave for Russia
*Sunday, March 18th = land in Moscow around 11am, get picked up and taken to the domestic airport for a flight to Orenburg that leaves at 8:30pm
*Monday, March 19th = somehow visit BOTH orphanages to visit the kids which is required by court.
*Tuesday, March 20th = GOTCHA DAY! This is an adoption term used to signify the official day the kids become ours. We will celebrate this in the future.
*Wednesday, March 21st = run around Orenburg getting passport photos and other paperwork that needs to be done.
*Thursday, March 22nd = get up at 3am so we can be at the airport to fly back to Moscow on a 7am flight. Once we are in Moscow again, we will get the kids' medical visits done. These are needed for their visas.
*Friday, March 23rd = Embassy visit and interview with the children. They will get their visas (which will make them US citizens the minute they touch American soil), and anything else that we need to fill out.
*Saturday, March 24th = coming HOME! This is when we will begin our "flight from hell" as we have been told! It will be a long 24+ hours of flying trying to entertain two 10 month olds. All worth it in the end!
*Sunday, March 25th = Our Forever Family begins in our very own home (with 2 tired parents)!
I called today and the kids already have an appointment with their International Adoption(IA) doctor out in Long Beach. He is going to evaluate them and check to see where they are health wise as well as developmentally. Kyle is going to need some help catching up. Brooke, well she'll probably be running the household once she's home. We'll just have to see. I'd rather be proactive than reactive when it comes to this. Must be the educator in me!
Hope everyone is doing well.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Today is our travel day and just like the other days, i'm up at around 3am again. This is not that bad, hoping it will help me sleep on the plane. The first leg of our trip is about 9 hours or so. Could be longer if we hit a head wind. We were able to get a connecting flight at JFK to get us home tonight instead of overnighting in New York. We would just like to get home and sleep in our own bed.
Again we have to wait for everyone else to get up just to get some coffee. You gotta love staying in an American type hotel. They have coffee and it's STRONG...just like we like it. We decide to get ready early and head to the restaurant and have breakfast. It's a breakfast buffet and it great. I eat tons thinking it will be our last "normal" meal for quite some time.
We arranged with Ilya before we left him for a driver to pick us up at our hotel and take us to the airport. Taxis there are outrageous...like $100 plus to the airport. We got this guy for a little under $40. I felt pretty good about that. He was ontime and we got to the airport around 10am. Made it through all the security without any problems. We did have to pay extra for one of our suitcases. Oh well. We were just glad to be heading home.
The flight from Moscow to JFK wasn't so bad. Slept most of the way. I had started to feel pretty crappy in the airport and thought I was starting to get sick. Well, halfway through the flight, I was feeling like crap. My sinuses, throat and ears were killing me. Nothing like getting sick! The flight was very uneventful, just how I like em!
We get into JFK and we get through customs pretty easily. We now have to go get our bags and recheck them in. I think I said this before in an earlier post, but i just can't stand the people working in the airport. I guess I should clarify this. The people who are in security and with bags. They are all just so rude. I realize they have to deal with stupid people all day long but you're in a customer service oriented job. Could you please be a little nicer!!! There, my rant is over!
We now have to find our other gate for LAX. We see a Starbucks and decide we need one. It's pricer than normal but well worth it. We find our gate and sit for the next few hours. You can tell we are back in the States. The nice thing is is that we don't have to smell cigarrete smoke 24/7. Our jackets smell like it from being in the Moscow airport. Our flight finally arrives and we get boarded. There is NO way we are leaving ontime. Steve was able to get us emergency exits again for both flights. On this one though it's weird. It's one of those planes where when you get in, you take a left for 1st class and then BAM, our seats are right there. Oh well. I am asleep before the plane takes off. I don't even remember taking off. This is a good sign. I am hoping to sleep thorugh the entire flight. I wake up in time for the in flight snack and figure out that I have a TV screen that flips up from my seat. I watch it for awhile thinking we must be getting close. I ask Steve what time it is and he says it's only 8pm. YIKES! This means we have TWO more hours. I feel like I am going to have a complete melt down! Just get me off this plane. It was freezing in there and the toilet was darn near close to overflowing! Lucky us, we were right next to it.
We finally land at 10:10pm. We grab our bags and head for the hotel shuttle. We'd left our car at the hotel. That was really nice. The shuttle came, picked us up and we were off to the car. What a painless chore. Threw the bags in the car and we were on our way. My stomach was growling so we stopped for food at midnight. You guessed it, McDonald's drive through, open 24/7. Gobble down some dinner and head for home. We are excited to see the fur animals!
We get home and our course are not really tired. We end up staying up until 2am. I figure I should go to bed so to not screw up my times any more. Slept like a baby! Good thing there is no work tomorrow. We can get caught up on laundry, and get things together for the work week. My mom and aunt are coming to town on Wednesday because my friends are throwing me a shower this Sunday. Most of this is just so weird and surreal to me. We've talked about this for so long now, it's just weird that it's coming true. I know that may not make sense but it's weird. Just imagine once the kids are home!
So, goodbye for now. I will update the second we get a court date. I just might even update before that with more pictures.
Again we have to wait for everyone else to get up just to get some coffee. You gotta love staying in an American type hotel. They have coffee and it's STRONG...just like we like it. We decide to get ready early and head to the restaurant and have breakfast. It's a breakfast buffet and it great. I eat tons thinking it will be our last "normal" meal for quite some time.
We arranged with Ilya before we left him for a driver to pick us up at our hotel and take us to the airport. Taxis there are outrageous...like $100 plus to the airport. We got this guy for a little under $40. I felt pretty good about that. He was ontime and we got to the airport around 10am. Made it through all the security without any problems. We did have to pay extra for one of our suitcases. Oh well. We were just glad to be heading home.
The flight from Moscow to JFK wasn't so bad. Slept most of the way. I had started to feel pretty crappy in the airport and thought I was starting to get sick. Well, halfway through the flight, I was feeling like crap. My sinuses, throat and ears were killing me. Nothing like getting sick! The flight was very uneventful, just how I like em!
We get into JFK and we get through customs pretty easily. We now have to go get our bags and recheck them in. I think I said this before in an earlier post, but i just can't stand the people working in the airport. I guess I should clarify this. The people who are in security and with bags. They are all just so rude. I realize they have to deal with stupid people all day long but you're in a customer service oriented job. Could you please be a little nicer!!! There, my rant is over!
We now have to find our other gate for LAX. We see a Starbucks and decide we need one. It's pricer than normal but well worth it. We find our gate and sit for the next few hours. You can tell we are back in the States. The nice thing is is that we don't have to smell cigarrete smoke 24/7. Our jackets smell like it from being in the Moscow airport. Our flight finally arrives and we get boarded. There is NO way we are leaving ontime. Steve was able to get us emergency exits again for both flights. On this one though it's weird. It's one of those planes where when you get in, you take a left for 1st class and then BAM, our seats are right there. Oh well. I am asleep before the plane takes off. I don't even remember taking off. This is a good sign. I am hoping to sleep thorugh the entire flight. I wake up in time for the in flight snack and figure out that I have a TV screen that flips up from my seat. I watch it for awhile thinking we must be getting close. I ask Steve what time it is and he says it's only 8pm. YIKES! This means we have TWO more hours. I feel like I am going to have a complete melt down! Just get me off this plane. It was freezing in there and the toilet was darn near close to overflowing! Lucky us, we were right next to it.
We finally land at 10:10pm. We grab our bags and head for the hotel shuttle. We'd left our car at the hotel. That was really nice. The shuttle came, picked us up and we were off to the car. What a painless chore. Threw the bags in the car and we were on our way. My stomach was growling so we stopped for food at midnight. You guessed it, McDonald's drive through, open 24/7. Gobble down some dinner and head for home. We are excited to see the fur animals!
We get home and our course are not really tired. We end up staying up until 2am. I figure I should go to bed so to not screw up my times any more. Slept like a baby! Good thing there is no work tomorrow. We can get caught up on laundry, and get things together for the work week. My mom and aunt are coming to town on Wednesday because my friends are throwing me a shower this Sunday. Most of this is just so weird and surreal to me. We've talked about this for so long now, it's just weird that it's coming true. I know that may not make sense but it's weird. Just imagine once the kids are home!
So, goodbye for now. I will update the second we get a court date. I just might even update before that with more pictures.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Well, today was another early morning. Woke around a little before 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I woke up and my mind started to race about our little man. Our IA doctor had told us that she was placing him in an extreme category. I had gotten on the internet to talk to some others who had adopted from Russia to ask about their little ones and what they were like. Our little man was just like theirs. This put my mind at ease to know that once we get him home, he is going to be fine. Alol of this is a leaf of faith I know, but you can't help but worry. Just can't wait to get both of them home.
We hung out awhile in the room seeing as it was so early. Couldn't even order room service coffee as they didn't open until 6am. We were going to wander out again today and go to the Kremlin and Old Arbat street. After we got our coffee down, I asked the hotel how much it would be for them to drop us off at Arbat street. It is snowing today and cold again. I figure if we could get a ride one way it wouldn't be so bad. We decided to have them do it. We walked down Arbat street and found a Hard Rock Cafe. We decided to eat lunch there. I know that seems sort of boring but wandering into a Russian restaurant is sort of freaky especially when you can't make out anything on the menu. We got a typical american meal and headed back out into the snow. We found a souvenir shop and got a "troika" doll for Brooke. It is painted and tells a fairly tale on each of the dolls. for those who don't know what the doll is, it's a wooden doll that has many dolls inside. It's wooden and hand painted. I paid through the nose but I think it was worth it. We also got this hand painted wooden egg that has St. Basil's cathedral painted on it. We decided to put it in the china hutch to remind us of where they came from. We had a really great time wandering down Arbat street. I was really impressed at how well we were doing in the snow and cold. We were all bundled up and at times were actually hot! Can you believe that?
From there, we decided to walk over to the Kremlin. At the last minute, we decided to not go in but to walk around the outside. I know, you go that far to not go in. We were getting tired and we still had to walk back to the hotel which was probably about a mile or so walk. Mind you it has been snowing the entire time we have been walking and I was tired of slipping and sliding.
We got back to the hotel and decided to start packing up our stuff. We are leaving tomorrow and want to try and condense some of our stuff so we don't have so much to lug around. Boy have we learned our lesson. We are definitely going to pack less crap next time. Being in the same clothes for 5 days really shows you how many clothes you don't need to bring.
We decide to call it a night at around 10pm. I have been trying to push myself to stay awake hoping it will help me sleep through the night. So far, it hasn't been working. Delayed jet lag.
Tomorrow we come home. Not looking forward to the flight....
We hung out awhile in the room seeing as it was so early. Couldn't even order room service coffee as they didn't open until 6am. We were going to wander out again today and go to the Kremlin and Old Arbat street. After we got our coffee down, I asked the hotel how much it would be for them to drop us off at Arbat street. It is snowing today and cold again. I figure if we could get a ride one way it wouldn't be so bad. We decided to have them do it. We walked down Arbat street and found a Hard Rock Cafe. We decided to eat lunch there. I know that seems sort of boring but wandering into a Russian restaurant is sort of freaky especially when you can't make out anything on the menu. We got a typical american meal and headed back out into the snow. We found a souvenir shop and got a "troika" doll for Brooke. It is painted and tells a fairly tale on each of the dolls. for those who don't know what the doll is, it's a wooden doll that has many dolls inside. It's wooden and hand painted. I paid through the nose but I think it was worth it. We also got this hand painted wooden egg that has St. Basil's cathedral painted on it. We decided to put it in the china hutch to remind us of where they came from. We had a really great time wandering down Arbat street. I was really impressed at how well we were doing in the snow and cold. We were all bundled up and at times were actually hot! Can you believe that?
From there, we decided to walk over to the Kremlin. At the last minute, we decided to not go in but to walk around the outside. I know, you go that far to not go in. We were getting tired and we still had to walk back to the hotel which was probably about a mile or so walk. Mind you it has been snowing the entire time we have been walking and I was tired of slipping and sliding.
We got back to the hotel and decided to start packing up our stuff. We are leaving tomorrow and want to try and condense some of our stuff so we don't have so much to lug around. Boy have we learned our lesson. We are definitely going to pack less crap next time. Being in the same clothes for 5 days really shows you how many clothes you don't need to bring.
We decide to call it a night at around 10pm. I have been trying to push myself to stay awake hoping it will help me sleep through the night. So far, it hasn't been working. Delayed jet lag.
Tomorrow we come home. Not looking forward to the flight....
Friday, February 9, 2006
OK, the jet lag thing has to go. I woke up this morning at 4:30am and couldn't go back to sleep. Steve of course is out like a light and again, snoring like crazy. I decide to get on the computer and again, update this blog.
We hang around the room for awhile and decide to head out a little later. We got online and saw that the weather for the day is supposed to be -8 F. OK, that's now not celcius! hello! We grab some breakfast in the lobby, get about 10 layers of clothes on and walk down to Red Square. It's not so bad. We walk by a sign that states it's only -11 C. Not as cold as we thought. It's about a mile walk down to Red Square. We are pretty dry and warm as we walk. Moscow has some crazy streets and people just don't cross them so they have undergroud walkways. They are heated so it gives a chance to get some warmth as we walk.
We get down to Red Square and there are some vendors with tables selling stuff. I had told Steve long before we came that he had to get one of those big black fluffy hats. We find a guy selling them and I have Steve try one on. I want him to try this other one and the guys says to me in English, "um, excuse me ma'am, but that is a woman's hat." At this point, I am laughing my ass off. Steve of course just gives me another one of "those looks" but the guy goes back and we find a hat that fits him. He soooo doesn't want me to post this picture. He says it's too big meaning too tall. I have pointed out many other large hats like that. I have to tell you, fur is VERY popular here. All the woman are walking around in full length fur coats and hats. They are very stylish here. Boots are really popular too.
I had read that woman are pretty dressed up but I am impressed especially since it's as cold as it is and to have high heel fashion boots on.
We walk around Red Square and pay our 200 rubles to walk through St. Basil's Cathedral. We come out of there and I tell Steve that I think the building across the street is the GUM. I knew it was shopping but get out of town (salga de la cuidad!). It's the rodeo drive of Moscow. VERY expensive shopping. I walked into a kids store hoping to find some warm clothes and found a little jacket for $160. I turned to Steve and asked where Target was! This place is huge. 3 stories high and 3 isles wide of high priced clothing and other stuff. I walked into a fur shop and was going to just try on a fur coat. Expensive. Tried on a shawl and asked Steve how much 27,000 rubles was. He said about 1000K. I quickly put it down!
We decided it was time to leave and get some lunch. We were both looking for a bathroom and couldn't find one. On our way out, I see the sign. No problem. We have to pay. We get our 16 rubles paid and go in. In the ladies room, you grab the TP before you go into the stall. I am all bundled up and walk into the stall. It's a hole in the ground that flushes. Here is a picture.
This is sort of like peeing in the woods but it won't get on your shoes. well, i guess if you're careful it won't. Kim, do you remember the time in Italy with one of these things and you pee'd on yourself? I must be getting punchy again.
OK, so we start to walk back to find something to eat and decide to walk into the gated part of the Kremlin. We are just in time to watch the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's pretty cool. It is starting to snow but it feels as if it has warmed up a bit. We head to Sbarro to get some pizza for lunch. After lunch we head back to the hotel. It is now really snowing and a little windy. I am glad when we get back to the room. I am able to get the kids' medical info typed up and sent off to the doctor and I also slip in a nap. Tomorrow is our last day in Moscow for hopefully another month. I am really missing the kids and just want to take them home with us. It has been a long road here and I just would really like to sprint to the finish line. In all good time. Hopefully the next month will go by quickly.
Here are some photos of Red Square and the GUM:
We hang around the room for awhile and decide to head out a little later. We got online and saw that the weather for the day is supposed to be -8 F. OK, that's now not celcius! hello! We grab some breakfast in the lobby, get about 10 layers of clothes on and walk down to Red Square. It's not so bad. We walk by a sign that states it's only -11 C. Not as cold as we thought. It's about a mile walk down to Red Square. We are pretty dry and warm as we walk. Moscow has some crazy streets and people just don't cross them so they have undergroud walkways. They are heated so it gives a chance to get some warmth as we walk.
We get down to Red Square and there are some vendors with tables selling stuff. I had told Steve long before we came that he had to get one of those big black fluffy hats. We find a guy selling them and I have Steve try one on. I want him to try this other one and the guys says to me in English, "um, excuse me ma'am, but that is a woman's hat." At this point, I am laughing my ass off. Steve of course just gives me another one of "those looks" but the guy goes back and we find a hat that fits him. He soooo doesn't want me to post this picture. He says it's too big meaning too tall. I have pointed out many other large hats like that. I have to tell you, fur is VERY popular here. All the woman are walking around in full length fur coats and hats. They are very stylish here. Boots are really popular too.
I had read that woman are pretty dressed up but I am impressed especially since it's as cold as it is and to have high heel fashion boots on.
We walk around Red Square and pay our 200 rubles to walk through St. Basil's Cathedral. We come out of there and I tell Steve that I think the building across the street is the GUM. I knew it was shopping but get out of town (salga de la cuidad!). It's the rodeo drive of Moscow. VERY expensive shopping. I walked into a kids store hoping to find some warm clothes and found a little jacket for $160. I turned to Steve and asked where Target was! This place is huge. 3 stories high and 3 isles wide of high priced clothing and other stuff. I walked into a fur shop and was going to just try on a fur coat. Expensive. Tried on a shawl and asked Steve how much 27,000 rubles was. He said about 1000K. I quickly put it down!
We decided it was time to leave and get some lunch. We were both looking for a bathroom and couldn't find one. On our way out, I see the sign. No problem. We have to pay. We get our 16 rubles paid and go in. In the ladies room, you grab the TP before you go into the stall. I am all bundled up and walk into the stall. It's a hole in the ground that flushes. Here is a picture.
This is sort of like peeing in the woods but it won't get on your shoes. well, i guess if you're careful it won't. Kim, do you remember the time in Italy with one of these things and you pee'd on yourself? I must be getting punchy again.
OK, so we start to walk back to find something to eat and decide to walk into the gated part of the Kremlin. We are just in time to watch the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's pretty cool. It is starting to snow but it feels as if it has warmed up a bit. We head to Sbarro to get some pizza for lunch. After lunch we head back to the hotel. It is now really snowing and a little windy. I am glad when we get back to the room. I am able to get the kids' medical info typed up and sent off to the doctor and I also slip in a nap. Tomorrow is our last day in Moscow for hopefully another month. I am really missing the kids and just want to take them home with us. It has been a long road here and I just would really like to sprint to the finish line. In all good time. Hopefully the next month will go by quickly.
Here are some photos of Red Square and the GUM:
Thursday, February 8, 2006
Today is the earliest I have been up the entire time here. We have to be in the lobby by 5am to go to the airport to fly back to Moscow. The alarm is set to go off at 3:30 but I am up at 3am. I can't sleep anymore. Steve is out like a light and snoring like crazy. I just get up, take a shower and pack up the few things we have. If you remember, our 4 bags of luggage were lost. Andrei finally got ahold of someone yesterday with the airline. He said they had 2 bags and were going to send them down to Orenburg. He had them pull them off that and deliver them to the Hotel where we are staying at in Moscow. For crying out loud....you gotta love airlines.
Everyone is on time in the lobby and we quickly leave for the Orenburg airport. Our flight leaves at 7am. Orenburg is 2 hours ahead of Moscow so we will actually gain some time back today. While at the airport, we meet 2 families that are returning with their children. One couple I talked to before we came so it was nice to put a face to a voice on the phone. Their daughter is just a cutie. She told me to call her when we got home and that's just what i plan to do. They show us the little passports that they have. How adorable!!!
We were able to grab some coffee while we were waiting for the plane. It was nice to be able to get some caffeine in me. We were all able to sort of say goodbye and hopefully make our plans to all come back together. we traveled with a really great group of people. We all had similar personalities and we just really had fun together even though we were sleep deprived and running on empty. We were able to make each other laugh in situations that were at times stressful. Thanks Johnny for the "shit! I wore the wrong shirt" comment while we were at the MoE. What a stress reliever!
The time has come for us to load the plane. Me of course have my camera out to take pictures. I roll one off and out of the blue this man is sturnly telling me something. I am nervous that he is going to take my camera away from me. Ilya appears and tells me to put it away. Christina turns around and tells me that she thought I saw her get in trouble. Nope!! Oh well. Perhaps the KGB is still alive. We get loaded on the plane and the ride is pretty uneventful. It's only a 2 hour ride. Both kids did really well on the flight. We sat right behind them. I only hope that same plane ride goes as well for us! One can only hope.
We arrive at the Moscow airport at the same time that we left Orenburg. We grab my 1 bag and head out. We all have drivers taking us somewhere. Ann and Dave are staying at a hotel near SVO, Dave and Christina are making the long haul home to see their 4 yr old and Steve and I are off to the Marriott Tverskaya to stay for a few days. We walk outside and it is really cold. I had just made the comment to someone saying that I thought it was going to be a lot colder than it really was. The temp has really dropped in Moscow. We are standing outside waiting for all of the drivers and it is cold. It makes your lungs hurt a little. I later heard that it is -24 degrees C. Finally, they put us in a car and we are on our way. I thought we would make it to the hotel pretty quickly but boy was I wrong. There was MAJOR traffic and it took us a little under 3 hours. People here are crazy drivers. I asked the translator in the car, "are those people driving on the sidewalk?" Her reply was yes. I asked if they could get in trouble and she said they take the chance. NIce! And we thought LA traffic was bad. It was worse than a sig alert on the 91 freeway!
Anyhow, we finally make it to the hotel and check in. They were going to have a wait until 12 and it was only 10:30am. We go up to the cafe and grab a latte. I loving that they have these. Steve goes to check on the internet service and comes back to tell me that they have given us a room. Thank god! We also get news about our luggage. They have it and they tell us that there are 4 pieces. However, he says it's all green. This isn't good. We only had 2 green and the other 2 are black. We go to the room and the guy says he will bring it up. He knocks on the door and there it is....ALL OF OUR LUGGAGE!!! I was so excited. I practically wanted to peel my stinky dirty clothes off right there and begin to change. We get it in the room and we can't open it up fast enough. WOW! It's really the little things in life like a clean pair of socks and clean underware that hasnt been washed out in the sink!
We decide to take the rest of the day and get caught up on some serious sleep. I took a 2 hour nap and when Steve tried to wake me, I couldnt open my eyes. I felt like I had been drugged. I manage to wake up and begin updating the blog. After awhile, we go to the restaurant to eat some dinner. It's not cheap but we don't have to walk outside in the cold. We figure we'll go to bed early and be ready to take on some sites tomorrow. We want to hit the popular spots like the Kremlin, Red Square, Arabat, etc.
Stayed tuned for more....I'm off to bed. This jet lag is really setting in. I really thought I was over it while we were in Orenburg. Boy was I wrong. Good luck coming home ane being productive at work.
Everyone is on time in the lobby and we quickly leave for the Orenburg airport. Our flight leaves at 7am. Orenburg is 2 hours ahead of Moscow so we will actually gain some time back today. While at the airport, we meet 2 families that are returning with their children. One couple I talked to before we came so it was nice to put a face to a voice on the phone. Their daughter is just a cutie. She told me to call her when we got home and that's just what i plan to do. They show us the little passports that they have. How adorable!!!
We were able to grab some coffee while we were waiting for the plane. It was nice to be able to get some caffeine in me. We were all able to sort of say goodbye and hopefully make our plans to all come back together. we traveled with a really great group of people. We all had similar personalities and we just really had fun together even though we were sleep deprived and running on empty. We were able to make each other laugh in situations that were at times stressful. Thanks Johnny for the "shit! I wore the wrong shirt" comment while we were at the MoE. What a stress reliever!
The time has come for us to load the plane. Me of course have my camera out to take pictures. I roll one off and out of the blue this man is sturnly telling me something. I am nervous that he is going to take my camera away from me. Ilya appears and tells me to put it away. Christina turns around and tells me that she thought I saw her get in trouble. Nope!! Oh well. Perhaps the KGB is still alive. We get loaded on the plane and the ride is pretty uneventful. It's only a 2 hour ride. Both kids did really well on the flight. We sat right behind them. I only hope that same plane ride goes as well for us! One can only hope.
We arrive at the Moscow airport at the same time that we left Orenburg. We grab my 1 bag and head out. We all have drivers taking us somewhere. Ann and Dave are staying at a hotel near SVO, Dave and Christina are making the long haul home to see their 4 yr old and Steve and I are off to the Marriott Tverskaya to stay for a few days. We walk outside and it is really cold. I had just made the comment to someone saying that I thought it was going to be a lot colder than it really was. The temp has really dropped in Moscow. We are standing outside waiting for all of the drivers and it is cold. It makes your lungs hurt a little. I later heard that it is -24 degrees C. Finally, they put us in a car and we are on our way. I thought we would make it to the hotel pretty quickly but boy was I wrong. There was MAJOR traffic and it took us a little under 3 hours. People here are crazy drivers. I asked the translator in the car, "are those people driving on the sidewalk?" Her reply was yes. I asked if they could get in trouble and she said they take the chance. NIce! And we thought LA traffic was bad. It was worse than a sig alert on the 91 freeway!
Anyhow, we finally make it to the hotel and check in. They were going to have a wait until 12 and it was only 10:30am. We go up to the cafe and grab a latte. I loving that they have these. Steve goes to check on the internet service and comes back to tell me that they have given us a room. Thank god! We also get news about our luggage. They have it and they tell us that there are 4 pieces. However, he says it's all green. This isn't good. We only had 2 green and the other 2 are black. We go to the room and the guy says he will bring it up. He knocks on the door and there it is....ALL OF OUR LUGGAGE!!! I was so excited. I practically wanted to peel my stinky dirty clothes off right there and begin to change. We get it in the room and we can't open it up fast enough. WOW! It's really the little things in life like a clean pair of socks and clean underware that hasnt been washed out in the sink!
We decide to take the rest of the day and get caught up on some serious sleep. I took a 2 hour nap and when Steve tried to wake me, I couldnt open my eyes. I felt like I had been drugged. I manage to wake up and begin updating the blog. After awhile, we go to the restaurant to eat some dinner. It's not cheap but we don't have to walk outside in the cold. We figure we'll go to bed early and be ready to take on some sites tomorrow. We want to hit the popular spots like the Kremlin, Red Square, Arabat, etc.
Stayed tuned for more....I'm off to bed. This jet lag is really setting in. I really thought I was over it while we were in Orenburg. Boy was I wrong. Good luck coming home ane being productive at work.
Wednesday, February 7, 2006
Ok so after almost falling asleep at dinner last night, I went to bed around 10pm. Today is another early morning. We have to be downstairs by 6:30am. We are all traveling to Orsk today. This will be our first trip and it will be the 2nd for the rest of the group. We were the only ones who had a child in the Orenburg baby home. John was able to take a picture of our little guy yesterday and he showed it to us this morning. He was in a little walker thing and was in a room with other children. He looks to had red hair. We'll just have to wait and see. We all grab some breakfast upstairs that John and Christina have set up. Thank you very much. This is the morning that Steve and I get a latte. We were in heaven. Another morning of 2 eggs barely cooked, some ham, bread, cheese and butter. John for Ireland thought the stick of butter was cheese and put the entire thing in his mouth. That was a nice laugh. We all eat quickly and head downstairs. We keep waiting downstairs and our coordinator is not there. finally he shows up, he overslept, and we head down the road for our 3 hour trip.
I walked out to make sure we could have the same driver as we did the day before. Why? His car had enough leg room in it so we didn't have to be pretzels in there. We jump in, it's still dark outside and head down the freshly snowed on roads. Here is a picture of us at the gas station just outside of town.
Here is Steve in the front seat of the car. it was nice because he could stretch out and we put the backpacks in the back with me.
This stretch of road is for the most part pretty straight. We have 4 cars all going along down this road. Our driver stopped for gas so that left us last but not for long. I told steve he wasn't driving fast, he was just qualifying for Nascar. It didn't take us long to catch up to everyone else and pass them up. We were seriously hauling ass. The funny thing, I wasn't nervous. The road didn't have too much snow on it. At one point the driver pulls over and stops. We ask him in English if everything is OK. He must understand a bit because he makes a motion telling us he has to smoke. He's back in the car in like 2 minutes. I look at Steve and tell him he's as fast as Janet (love you girl but you have some competition!). We're back on the road to the baby home. There isn't much on this road and it's pretty desolate. He asks if we need to stop for the toiloet. we say no, we're ready to get there and meet the boy.
We pull into town, so here is a picture from the car. There are not a lot of house in Russia that I am seeing. Its all apartment buildings. I have no idea what they look like in the inside but the outside looks like crap.
We travel through town and finally show up at the baby home. It doesn't look anything like you would expect. It's just a building. The reason we know we are there is one, we've stopped and gotten out of the car and 2, the door is painted blue with a stork on it. Very cute. We are the first ones there in our group. Guess we won the nascar race on that one. Go Sergei the driver!! We make it in under 3 hours.
The driver takes us in and I say, "toilet" and he gets it. He finds someone to show me where to go. Thank god I took my backpack with me. Toilet paper is not really readily available here so good thing I bought those rolls at Target. Also, I learned pretty quickly that most places you don't put the toilet paper in the toilet, it's put in the trash can next to it. Figured that out in the airport. Here is a picture of the bathroom.
When I walk in and see this. I chuckle to myself, do my business and of course grab my camera. Janet, are you proud of me?! I walk out and go and meet Steve in the lobby area. We are then taken to another room where there is a worker and 2 children in there plus a grey cat. She takes the children out and leaves us in there. Here is a picture of the room we were in.
If you look closely, you can see the cat under the jungle gym thing on the right. A few more times people pop their heads in but we just sit there and wait. Then, a woman shows up at the door with a baby boy. We look at each other and she walks in the room and hands this baby to me. She looks at the boy and says, "mama" and hand him to me and leaves. I take him and he is ALL smiles. I have to tell you. This made my day, week and month! It has to be the equivalent of having someone place the baby on your chest after birth. This is the happiest of little boys ever. Steve and I get out our blanket that we have brought and place it in the center of the room. I just keep telling Steve that this baby is NOT 8 months old. He is so small but he doesn't stop smiling and laughing and cooing. We place him on the floor, he can't sit up on his own but can be on his stomach and roll to his back and vice versa. We have just been left in the room alone and no one has come back in to bother us so it is great family time. I look at Steve and tell him, "let's go". The whole time I'm thinking I just want to put him under my jacket and hit the road. I haven't even heard his medical yet and just know he is OK. People told me that before we left but I just didn't know. We are not sorry at all that we didn't have a doctor from Moscow. These kids are fine but just have some institutional things. These will be over once we are home and eating and sleeping in our house.
After awhile, Anfisa comes in with the doctor. We sit down on the bench and I get out my notebook and gear up to start writing like mad. They just run down his medical with you and you just write it down. This little boy was born a preemie. He was born at 34 weeks but was born on May 29, 2006. While I am writing, Steve is holding him and he falls asleep. I continue to ask questions and write. The doctor asks Anfisa if I am a doctor as I am asking medical questions. NOpe, just have done my research on the internet. Bascially, this little boy checks out and he is ours. We tell them to get the paperwork so we can proceed to adopt this boy who will be known as Kyle. He is small but looks great. He has a bit of a cold and a runny nose. This I can handle. He doesn't have any of the skin rash stuff that Brooke did. He is as clean as a whistle. He looks like a 5 month old though and for the most part, acts like one. No biggie. Once we are done with the doctor, I ask Anfisa if we can join the others in the room where they are at. She says yes and Steve and I walk down the hall. The worker asks us if he is asleep and wants to take him. Oh no you don't. I tell her it's fine and we continue. Everyone else in in another play room. They take a look at him and everyone thinks he's so cute. I would love to post pictures of him but I can't . You'll see him in all good time.
Anfisa comes in and says we need to leave so we can travel back and get to the notary before it closes. I feel sort of rushed. We have only been there for a little under 2 hours. I just want to continue to hold our new baby boy Kyle. The worker comes in and takes him. I make sure to give her the bear blanket thing so he can sleep with it. I also give her the book I made so he can look at his new mommy and daddy. In addition, we leave a disposable camera so they will take pictures of him in his current environment. With this, we jump in the cars and head back home.
The trip home was a lot longer. We make it to the notary but one of the other couples is ocver there so Andrei takes us across the street and we get some tea and coffee. I ordered the same thing I did the other day but actually got a shot of esperesso. EEKS! The caffeine will do me good.
Finally our turn is up with the notary. We need to give her the names we plan to name them. We give her Kyle Sergey Bierbaum and Brooke Elena Bierbaum. We read through the documents, actually they were translated for us, and we sign our names on the dotted line. This step apparently helps speed the process along.
By the time we get out of the notary's office, it is close to 6pm. We get back to the hotel and are told to meet upstairs so Andrei and Anfisa can go over what documents they need for the second trip and so forth along with gifts, etc. I am so tired again that I want to just put my head on the table. Once done with dinner, we go back to the room and call our folks to let them know they now have a grandson. It is now time to go to bed. We have to be in the lobby at 5am tomorrow. I swear, every day the time gets earlier and earlier. We are now on our way back to Moscow. The other couples are leaving to go home. Steve and I are staying through the weekend. Andrei just tells us, "no sleep." Couldn't agree with you more Andrei. He has been a pleasant surprise. He is now joking with us and laughing.
We got to bed that night thinking of our 2 new babies! It sounds like we could be back here in a month to pick them up. Andrei told us at dinner maybe the 12,13,14 of March. Steve and I have a bet, I say then and he says the week before. We'll see. Until then....stay tuned.
I walked out to make sure we could have the same driver as we did the day before. Why? His car had enough leg room in it so we didn't have to be pretzels in there. We jump in, it's still dark outside and head down the freshly snowed on roads. Here is a picture of us at the gas station just outside of town.
Here is Steve in the front seat of the car. it was nice because he could stretch out and we put the backpacks in the back with me.
This stretch of road is for the most part pretty straight. We have 4 cars all going along down this road. Our driver stopped for gas so that left us last but not for long. I told steve he wasn't driving fast, he was just qualifying for Nascar. It didn't take us long to catch up to everyone else and pass them up. We were seriously hauling ass. The funny thing, I wasn't nervous. The road didn't have too much snow on it. At one point the driver pulls over and stops. We ask him in English if everything is OK. He must understand a bit because he makes a motion telling us he has to smoke. He's back in the car in like 2 minutes. I look at Steve and tell him he's as fast as Janet (love you girl but you have some competition!). We're back on the road to the baby home. There isn't much on this road and it's pretty desolate. He asks if we need to stop for the toiloet. we say no, we're ready to get there and meet the boy.
We pull into town, so here is a picture from the car. There are not a lot of house in Russia that I am seeing. Its all apartment buildings. I have no idea what they look like in the inside but the outside looks like crap.
We travel through town and finally show up at the baby home. It doesn't look anything like you would expect. It's just a building. The reason we know we are there is one, we've stopped and gotten out of the car and 2, the door is painted blue with a stork on it. Very cute. We are the first ones there in our group. Guess we won the nascar race on that one. Go Sergei the driver!! We make it in under 3 hours.
The driver takes us in and I say, "toilet" and he gets it. He finds someone to show me where to go. Thank god I took my backpack with me. Toilet paper is not really readily available here so good thing I bought those rolls at Target. Also, I learned pretty quickly that most places you don't put the toilet paper in the toilet, it's put in the trash can next to it. Figured that out in the airport. Here is a picture of the bathroom.
When I walk in and see this. I chuckle to myself, do my business and of course grab my camera. Janet, are you proud of me?! I walk out and go and meet Steve in the lobby area. We are then taken to another room where there is a worker and 2 children in there plus a grey cat. She takes the children out and leaves us in there. Here is a picture of the room we were in.
If you look closely, you can see the cat under the jungle gym thing on the right. A few more times people pop their heads in but we just sit there and wait. Then, a woman shows up at the door with a baby boy. We look at each other and she walks in the room and hands this baby to me. She looks at the boy and says, "mama" and hand him to me and leaves. I take him and he is ALL smiles. I have to tell you. This made my day, week and month! It has to be the equivalent of having someone place the baby on your chest after birth. This is the happiest of little boys ever. Steve and I get out our blanket that we have brought and place it in the center of the room. I just keep telling Steve that this baby is NOT 8 months old. He is so small but he doesn't stop smiling and laughing and cooing. We place him on the floor, he can't sit up on his own but can be on his stomach and roll to his back and vice versa. We have just been left in the room alone and no one has come back in to bother us so it is great family time. I look at Steve and tell him, "let's go". The whole time I'm thinking I just want to put him under my jacket and hit the road. I haven't even heard his medical yet and just know he is OK. People told me that before we left but I just didn't know. We are not sorry at all that we didn't have a doctor from Moscow. These kids are fine but just have some institutional things. These will be over once we are home and eating and sleeping in our house.
After awhile, Anfisa comes in with the doctor. We sit down on the bench and I get out my notebook and gear up to start writing like mad. They just run down his medical with you and you just write it down. This little boy was born a preemie. He was born at 34 weeks but was born on May 29, 2006. While I am writing, Steve is holding him and he falls asleep. I continue to ask questions and write. The doctor asks Anfisa if I am a doctor as I am asking medical questions. NOpe, just have done my research on the internet. Bascially, this little boy checks out and he is ours. We tell them to get the paperwork so we can proceed to adopt this boy who will be known as Kyle. He is small but looks great. He has a bit of a cold and a runny nose. This I can handle. He doesn't have any of the skin rash stuff that Brooke did. He is as clean as a whistle. He looks like a 5 month old though and for the most part, acts like one. No biggie. Once we are done with the doctor, I ask Anfisa if we can join the others in the room where they are at. She says yes and Steve and I walk down the hall. The worker asks us if he is asleep and wants to take him. Oh no you don't. I tell her it's fine and we continue. Everyone else in in another play room. They take a look at him and everyone thinks he's so cute. I would love to post pictures of him but I can't . You'll see him in all good time.
Anfisa comes in and says we need to leave so we can travel back and get to the notary before it closes. I feel sort of rushed. We have only been there for a little under 2 hours. I just want to continue to hold our new baby boy Kyle. The worker comes in and takes him. I make sure to give her the bear blanket thing so he can sleep with it. I also give her the book I made so he can look at his new mommy and daddy. In addition, we leave a disposable camera so they will take pictures of him in his current environment. With this, we jump in the cars and head back home.
The trip home was a lot longer. We make it to the notary but one of the other couples is ocver there so Andrei takes us across the street and we get some tea and coffee. I ordered the same thing I did the other day but actually got a shot of esperesso. EEKS! The caffeine will do me good.
Finally our turn is up with the notary. We need to give her the names we plan to name them. We give her Kyle Sergey Bierbaum and Brooke Elena Bierbaum. We read through the documents, actually they were translated for us, and we sign our names on the dotted line. This step apparently helps speed the process along.
By the time we get out of the notary's office, it is close to 6pm. We get back to the hotel and are told to meet upstairs so Andrei and Anfisa can go over what documents they need for the second trip and so forth along with gifts, etc. I am so tired again that I want to just put my head on the table. Once done with dinner, we go back to the room and call our folks to let them know they now have a grandson. It is now time to go to bed. We have to be in the lobby at 5am tomorrow. I swear, every day the time gets earlier and earlier. We are now on our way back to Moscow. The other couples are leaving to go home. Steve and I are staying through the weekend. Andrei just tells us, "no sleep." Couldn't agree with you more Andrei. He has been a pleasant surprise. He is now joking with us and laughing.
We got to bed that night thinking of our 2 new babies! It sounds like we could be back here in a month to pick them up. Andrei told us at dinner maybe the 12,13,14 of March. Steve and I have a bet, I say then and he says the week before. We'll see. Until then....stay tuned.
Our Hotel Room in Orenburg
First of all, thanks to everyone for their well wishes. It was very nice to read. I know you were all waiting for an update but we were seriously going from sun up to sun down and just didn't have time to update while in Orenburg. Here are some pictures of our hotel room. It was a pleasant surprise. The one bad thing about being here is that every room, building, hotel has the heat cranked up to like 85 degrees. When we were visiting Brooke, I kept looking out at the snow thinking if I could just jump in there and roll around. Mind you I only had the 1 pair of clothes I had on so that was'nt going to be an option. I wore a pair of jeans and a short sleeve shirt and was HOT. It's been a good trip for learning so now we'll know more for later.
Here are the pictures of the hotel room.
The way that we regulated the heat was to open the window at night. The only bad thing was in the morning, the hot water didn't really work that well so it was only luke warm. it made getting out of the shower pretty cold. There were 2 restauraunts in the hotel. we ate breakfast in the one donwstairs. We woould have dinner on the 8th floor. This is Europe so people smoke inside. EWWW! We ate upstairs one morning and they actually made Steve and I a latte. i was in HEAVEN. They are big tea drinkers here and not so much on the coffee.
So, stay tuned for the update on the Orsk baby home and meeting our baby boy Kyle...
Here are the pictures of the hotel room.
The way that we regulated the heat was to open the window at night. The only bad thing was in the morning, the hot water didn't really work that well so it was only luke warm. it made getting out of the shower pretty cold. There were 2 restauraunts in the hotel. we ate breakfast in the one donwstairs. We woould have dinner on the 8th floor. This is Europe so people smoke inside. EWWW! We ate upstairs one morning and they actually made Steve and I a latte. i was in HEAVEN. They are big tea drinkers here and not so much on the coffee.
So, stay tuned for the update on the Orsk baby home and meeting our baby boy Kyle...
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