Of Course...

The word is now that we will probably not know until Tuesday whether or not we leave for Russia on Wednesday. Of course. Did I really expect anything else? No.

I read a comment from someone recently who likened this cancel-the-day-before procedure to asking someone to cancel their wedding the day before. This actually made me feel a little better, because I thought Hey, I can do that! I've been there, and done that. Cancelled an entire wedding with one day to go, as I sat helplessly by waiting for my husband-to-be to get back into the country after 9/11. It wasn't that bad, really. The hard part was just wanting him to be back home. And of course, that is the hard part this time as well. I know the cancellation fees and the headaches about flights, and arranging child care, and getting visas - that is all just busy work. I can do that part, I know I can. Not knowing if we will ever bring Owen home - much harder. Right now all I can say is, baby boy, it's you or no one. We will do everything we can to bring you home, but if for some reason we never can, I think we're done.

A big thank you to Grandma for her flexibility. You are most likely just coming for a visit next week, but that will be great too. You can enjoy the kids with no pressure of school, etc. We are looking forward to seeing you!

And the Drama Comes From...?

Side note on the gymnastics class boycott drama: Class was cancelled this week because of the ice, so we'll see how next week goes.


But I did talk to my Mom over the weekend, and for some strange reason she started reminiscing about my experiences with classes as a child. The swimming lessons at age 5 that ended 5 minutes into the class because I wouldn't stop crying and the teacher asked her to take me home. Then there was the untimely end to my piano lessons when I told my Mom on our drive to lessons one day that I was done taking lessons. Then I proceeded to threaten to jump out of the car when she said I still had to take one last lesson because my sweet, elderly teacher was expecting us. Well, of course. That is a totally normal reaction when one is faced with the horrifying thought of sitting through one more piano lesson with a harmless elderly lady. Right?


Hmmm...and I was blaming Natalie's drama on Jim. I thought I was onto something there after hearing that he tied himself to a tree in order to avoid going to Kindergarten. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to point fingers. Perhaps we all have a little drama inside us.

The Next Best Thing to Snow

OK, so it wasn't nice, soft Canadian snow. But it did provide for some interesting science experiments to see how ice is formed, and how it melts. Yes, that is Liam holding a huge, dangerous looking piece of ice he managed to pry off the slide. So we couldn't make a snowman. It was still interesting. And school was cancelled. Woo-hoo (for them...not so much for me).

I'm including a picture of the grill, because that is what it looked like this morning, and yet by evening Jim was out there grilling up some chicken for my Chipotle-restaurant style tacos. Way to brave the elements Jim! (He approved of the tacos, by the way. Not Chipotle, but close enough to warrant grilling in the freezing cold).

A new development recently has been Natalie's interest in the computer. I made the mistake of finding a website with My Little Pony games on it. Good news is that within a day she was using the mouse like a pro (nothing more annoying than trying to help a toddler use the mouse before they are ready). She will even grab my arm and remove it from the mouse if she thinks I'm overstaying my welcome when I help her get to the game section. Bad news is that now she bugs me all the time to "pewter". Maybe I have set a bad example, because she did tell me the other night that she couldn't sleep because she could hear me "pewtering". I am thinking of submitting "pewter" as a new verb for "working on the computer".

Anyway, it was a day when she took too long of a nap, so she was having a hard time going to bed. She came out of her room and demanded to know what I was doing on the pewter, because I was too loud. Excuse me for my extra loud typing when I blog...I will have to try and type more quietly. And I will remember to keep that nap to no longer than an hour from now on.

Trip 1 News: None. I think our agency was shut today with all the terrible weather everywhere. Rumor boards are empty. I am still thinking about it every second. Every.single.second.

Tick, Tock

I feel like I am noticing every minute of my life...and not in a good way. The wait to find out whether or not we leave for Russia next week is still getting to me. I know I should just assume we are going, and prepare myself to leave. For some reason, it is not that simple. I am just thinking about it every single second. We talked to our Coordinator today, and she still is holding out some hope that our trip will go forward. She just doesn't know. We are supposed to follow up with her later in the week. Tick, tock...

So to stay positive, I am practicing the Russian I think I may need. Since I can't type in Cyrillic, I'll have to spell it phonetically: Yesh-cho adno peeva, pajalusta. Yesh-cho adno votka, pajalusta. Mnyeh nyeh harasho. Nyeplaha-ya biyla vyechyereenka, ah?

So, now I can say: Another beer, please. Another vodka, please. I'm not feeling well. and That was some party, eh?
OK, I don't foresee actually using that last one. It is interesting what they put in travel Phrasebooks. Perhaps they were written by Canadians, eh?

News from the small people:
Liam is all into using scientific jargon now, as they learn about doing experiments, making predictions, etc. So on Sunday night we heard Jim coming home from his hockey game, and Liam told me "Sometimes I wish Daddy would just come home from his game all grumpy, because then I could INFER that he lost his game, and I wouldn't have to ask him." Be careful what you wish for, Liam... But I do appreciate the correct usage of "infer". He also has a hilarious song that involves Precipitation, Evaporation, Accumulation that I will have to video some time.

Natalie goes through phases where she likes to carry her purse. It is a Dora purse, pink, and full of little Dora things like a mirror, powder case, etc. And it is always very heavy. Like any woman's purse. Except in this case, were you to ask "What do you have in there, rocks?" she would answer very politely YES, Do you want to see them? She collects rocks from beside our driveway a lot, and puts them in her purse. So she is a 3 yr old with a 5 pound purse...full of rocks.

I Want To Be....

It is Career Week at school, so the kids are supposed to talk about what they want to be when they grow up and how college can help them become that. Liam has decided he wants to be an astronaut. He seems pretty sure about it (this is the first time, really, that he has had an opinion about this subject), but he did ask me how long he would have to be in space, how many people would be on the rocket ship with him - he doesn't want to go alone - and if any aliens might look like the ones from Lego Mars Mission. I told him Not Long, about 6, and No, they would probably look more like the ones from Star Wars. He seemed okay with that.

Yesterday he was very excited to tell me that a friend in his class, Nathan, is going to be the guy who builds rocket ships. "So, we'll probably be seeing each other, you know. By the way, how long does it take to build a rocket ship?" Too cute.

Natalie has also decided what she wants to be when she grows up: a turtle. She has said this for a while now. Liam gets very upset with her, and tells her, "Natalie, you CAN'T be a turtle. That is impossible." I asked her if she had to go to college for that, and she wrinkled up her brow and looked at me hard and said "Yes." I tried prompting her with "what about a doctor, you would like to be a doctor, wouldn't you? Or a dancer- you like to dance." To everything she just says, "No, I'm a turtle."

What I would like to be when I grow up: a mother to Owen. The word on the street today was more Trip 1 cancellations for families with our agency, and rumors that the "shutdown" will last "a month or so." Since our visas (which we are due to get back next week) are good for only 30 days, I'm thinking if/when our trip is cancelled we will have to do the visa thing over again, which takes 3 weeks. I'm stepping up my Russian language lessons, since he'll probably be approaching school age by the time we meet, and I want to be prepared. (OK, that was my sad attempt at positive thinking.)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: Natalie went to gymnastics today, no problem. She bounced around, all smiles. Okay, it did perhaps entail a bribe. Is it bad to encourage your child to exercise by promising them candy if they do? Am I setting a bad precedent here? Well, maybe so, but I'm okay with that. I figured giving a lollipop today was better than having another gymnastics sit-in boycott that would lead to a different sort of precedent (the "look at this - I have a new way of getting out of things" precedent). Plus, I was giving her the benefit of the doubt about possible reasons behind her recent flurry of civil disobedience and general moodiness (see The Bad).

The Bad: I am wondering if I am to blame for at least some of Natalie's recent behavior. I do know from past experience that this can be a tough age. I found 3s harder than 2s for Liam as well. But...as I was talking to Natalie's teachers this week in her regular parent/teacher conference, something else occurred to me. They said everything was fine, and she is wonderful, just a little introverted and introspective(gee, wonder where she gets that from). They had noticed the separation anxiety since the holidays. Then I told them about the adoption, so they wouldn't be surpised if she misses a few days while we are gone, etc. And they asked how much she knew about it...and I started telling them how she has been asking quite a few questions lately about Owen, about Russia, about "where is Owen's mother?" And then I remembered an old neighbor of mine who was a pediatrician warning me about kids of this age (Liam was 3 when we were starting all the adoption stuff) becoming very nervous if they get the idea that mothers can go away. And I started thinking how Natalie has been so clingy lately, and acting more babyish, and using the phrase "But I want to HAVE you!" a lot. I thought it was just being 3...but now I'm thinking I may have raised some huge issues in that little head. So the past 2 days I have been trying very hard to get some quality one on one time, and to tell her a lot that I am her mommy forever, and she will always be my baby, and I will take care of her. I hope it helps. It kills me to think I may have planted a bad seed in that innocent little garden of youth where parents are perfect and never leave.

The Ugly: Thinking that I may have been premature even discussing Owen with them... The uncertainty around Trip 1 is excruciating torture. I feel certain that things like this are banned within the Geneva Convention. Aren't they?? Another family had their trip cancelled yesterday, with one day notice. Two more are due to go in the next week, so we'll see how it goes. The strange thing is that I haven't seen any other chatter on the "adoption boards" about a shutdown. Is it just my agency? Just my luck? Just my region? Why are they only giving families one day notice? Is it intentional torture, or just accidental? Why do I keep expecting any of this to be logical or rational? Positive thoughts...positive thoughts...we aren't cancelled yet. It's not over 'till the fat lady sings. Somebody just give me her name, and I will go make her sing.

Dr. Zhivago

Did I mention that we Tivo all things Russian? Yes, I know, I talk about Tivo too much. I do love it, though. I love that you can search for a key word, like "Russia" and find all the shows related to Russia. We recorded Dr. Zhivago, set during the Russian revolution. I didn't even realize that there was an updated version (the original was from 1965). It stars Keira Knightley, and I think it was done in 2002. It is also 5 hours long...and we didn't realize that we had only recorded Part 1. Oh no! The one downfall of Tivo. Luckily, we found it playing another day and were able to record the whole thing.






I was so surprised, since it was a remake of an old movie. It was quite lurid and racy in parts. Excellent. Jim turned to me at one point near the end and said "Oh this is right up your alley, isn't it? Death, destruction, despair, heartbreak. You must love this." All I could do was nod my head vigorously, because I was crying too hard to speak. I do love the movies that make me cry. Not that it takes a whole lot. But this one was really good. It brought back memories of the Thornbirds (and Father Ralph). I will definitely have to buy it someday. Or read the book. Or both.

We've also seen History Channel shows on the Romanovs, and one on Rasputin. Then there were the reality tv shows done in Russia, like Chris and Adrianne Do Russia (the guy from the Brady Bunch, and his reality tv bride). I'm lovin' this stuff.

In terms of Russia in the real world...we haven't heard anything new about our trip yet. I'm hoping no news is good news, but hate to even speculate at this point.

Control Issues

We're having some issues of control around here lately. Specifically, with Natalie. She has had a hard time returning to preschool after the holiday, and then this past week she refused to do her gymnastics class. I know, gymnastics isn't a requirement at 3. The thing is, I really do think she enjoys it, and the exercise does her some good. But right at the moment she is in a big "let's see what you can make me do" period. So she sat down on the floor and cried and wailed and refused to go with the rest of her class. Several teachers tried to coax her, but that only made her cling to me more. So we sat and watched her friends do their gymnastics, and I thought maybe she would get bored and want to finally join them, but NO. Her wonderful teacher, Coach Debbie, also quit teaching this age group, so that may have contributed to this issue.

Now I'm in a quandary. It is impossible to force her to do gymnastics (not to mention pointless), and I'm paying way too much for it to let her sit and watch her friends. But I really don't want her to think that all she has to do is throw herself on the floor and cry and she won't have to do anything. At least with preschool, I can leave her there and walk away if she tries to pull a tantrum like that.

I just don't know...I guess we'll see how she does this week. Hopefully she won't feel the need for "control" this week. If she does, I suppose we'll look into taking a break from gymnastics for a while (even though we would have to get back on a waiting list for her to rejoin). I don't mind some of the many battles for control in other areas...but it is a shame she might end something that has been fun for her. A little taste of what will come as she becomes pre-teen, I suppose, and wants to do only the opposite of what I think she should do. sigh....I had been so looking forward to taking more home video too...

I might have to try Jim's approach. After years of practically begging for affection from her, he finally (duh!) realized that all he has to say is "Oh no, Natalie, please don't give me a hug or kiss!" and she will come running and smother him with hugs and kisses. So I could try on Wednesday, saying "Oh Natalie, you don't want to go to gymnastics do you? I really would rather go shopping!" Why do I have the feeling that my reverse psychology will only backfire though...I can picture her saying "Yeah! Me too!" and then I will be left to wonder why I cannot outsmart a 3 yr old.

Deep Breath...

OK, so my New Year's Resolution (unofficial, because I don't usually make them officially) was to be more positive, and eliminate the negative. I am being tested already, and it is only 2 weeks into the year. Our adoption agency update today informed us that two families due to travel to our Region in January have had their trips postponed. So far we have not been notified that our trip is postponed, but I am sure it is coming (see, that's negative, isn't it?).

I had seen this coming for a while - at least since mid-December. I was choosing to ignore it until something actually happened. The reason is a court case in the US involving an adoptive parent (or a Russian child) who left the child in a car all day (accidentally, presumably) and he died.

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/373282.htm

The case is not new, but in December the man was acquitted in court of wrongdoing. The Russian gov't issued some statements about the US not giving adoptive children any rights in court...and so on. So our Region has decided to postpone some trips. They did this in 2008 as well, and shut down for several months. We will just have to wait and see how this will affect us. I know it is beyond my control. That is exactly what makes it so frustrating. I could go on and on about why I think measures like this make no sense, and probably do more harm to children overall. But nothing about int'l adoption has to make sense, and I am trying to learn not to expect anything to make sense or be "fair." I will try to find an outlet for all those feelings that want to burst out.

So, to leave the post on a more positive note. Liam is trying his hand at photography. I happen to think that he perfectly captured the essence of his first subject. Perfectly. And yes, if this picture scares you - it should. Be afraid...be very afraid.

Tidbits from the Past

I collect paper. Not pretty paper. Not useful paper. I am just one of those "pile" people who always has a huge pile of paper...stuff...on one, usually more, desks in the house. Also, stuffed in drawers and closets. It drives Jim crazy. In some ways I can be quite tidy, but I can't seem to help the paper. I do pay the bills and do the financial stuff around the house, so there is always that. But then I never met a coupon book I could throw out before it's time (and usually long after), or a parenting magazine that I didn't want to hold onto because I am pretty sure there is some rare gem of advice buried somewhere inside. Not to mention any sort of special offer or flyer for a service (you never know when you might need to know who to call for cleaning out your gutters). Then there is the OLD paper stuff. I am way too sentimental about letters, cards, and, of course, artwork from children. Before even having children, I had a stash of artwork from nieces and nephews (hear Jim's teeth gnashing). Now...oh my...my oldest is only in Kindergarten, and the pile of artwork is astonishing, from daycare and preschools.

So, let's just say, I'm working on it. Really, I am. For instance, now that the "spare" bedroom has a future resident, I have been cleaning out the closet. Yes, I've thrown out a lot. But I would like to mention that this exercise has also justified my packrat ways, because it is so exciting to find those rare tidbits of things from the past that just make you sit and read and remember, or laugh, or wonder. I had a good laugh reading cards from my first college roommate. We really "got" each others sense of humor. Then I found a beautiful little note from my late grandmother. I could just sit and look at her handwriting all day. I never realized before how much my Aunt's handwriting resembles her mother's.

Then, of all things, I found a clipped newspaper column from Aug. 1995. I assume that I clipped it, although my parents have clipped columns over the years and sent them to me. In 1995 I was in Dayton, traveling all the time for my auditing job. I suppose I clipped the column because it was a funny travel story. I have NO idea, really. It was written by DL Stewart in the Dayton Daily News, and it was called "His most memorable adventure? Russian into the woods" and was a funny column about DL Stewart's trip to Russia. I'm sure Jim would say I clipped it because it contained potty humor (DL gets a case of Trotsky's Revenge on a long car ride in the middle of Russian nowhere). I do like potty humor (Jim doesn't share my tastes in humor, and he sometimes wonders how he could have married someone who can have the same humorous taste as a toddler). Whatever the reason, I found this column from 1995, long before I ever considered adopting from Russia, and I laughed. And I marveled at how I clipped this particular thing and saved it. Then I stashed it in my new pile of Russia-related papers for Owen. I consider pile shifting to be almost as good as throwing it away. And THIS, I tell Jim, is why I am a packrat.


HIS MOST MEMORABLE ADVENTURE? RUSSIAN INTO THE WOODS
BYLINE: D.L. Stewart
DATE: August 23, 1995
PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (OH)
EDITION: CITY
SECTION: LIFESTYLE
PAGE: 1C
COLUMN: RETURN TO RUSSIA
We toured 10th century monasteries and 12th century cathedrals. We strolled inside historic Kremlins and relaxed on a boat chugging down the fabled Volga River. We drank vodka with strangers and ate caviar with friends.
So what is about Russia that I'll never forget? Trotsky's Revenge.
I'm not sure what caused it. It might have been the fish livers and cabbage I had for breakfast. Or maybe the deep-fried calf's brain and cabbage I had for lunch. In any event, there are eight of us packed shoulder-to-shoulder in two tiny Russian cars, speeding over rural roads that haven't been repaired since Ivan the Terrible, when it first hits.
"Uh, Ilyas," I say to one of our hosts. "Do you think we could stop at the next gas station?"
"We have plenty of gas," he replies.
"Exactly," I groan.
Ilyas says something to the driver, who pulls off the road. When he slams on the brakes, I jump out of the car and look for the gas station. But we are deep in the heart of Russia, halfway between Moscow and nowhere. There is no gas station in sight. No roadside rest stop. Nothing that looks like it might contain a roll of Charmin. Just trees. Miles and miles of birch trees.
I look at Ilyas. He looks at me and shrugs. I think about it. But only until the fish livers pick another violent argument with the calf's brains. I sprint for the birch trees.
Ten minutes later I emerge from the woods. I feel somewhat better. But I am no longer wearing socks.
We resume our drive. Fifty miles later our cars pull off the road and everyone jumps out. Someone produces a newspaper and spreads it on the trunk of our car. Someone else produces a bottle of cheap red vermouth and some plastic cups. Another someone produces some bags of pistachio nuts.
Ilyas says something in Russian that sounds like "ka-POOT-nee" and thrusts a plastic glass of vermouth into my hand.
"I don't think that's a good idea in my condition," I mention.
"Ka-POOT-nee," he insists.
For the next 20 minutes we kapootnee, except for the drivers. Then we get back into the cars. We drive another 50 miles and pull off the road again. This time we kapootnee with Polish cognac, fruit juice and French candy bars.
We drive for another 50 miles. Now the fish livers, calf's brains and cabbage are fermenting in cheap wine and potent cognac.
"Uh, Ilyas," I say. The car pulls off the road, and I leap out 10 seconds before the driver slams on the brakes. Once again there is nothing in sight but birch trees. Russia has millions of birch trees. I sprint for them. Not only does Russia have millions of birch trees, I discover, it has billions of mosquitoes.
Fifteen minutes later I return to the car. I feel slightly better. But now I have no underwear.
Shortly before midnight we reach our destination, a 14th century convent where we will be spending the night. Before we go to bed, Ilyas suggests, we should have one more kapootnee. This time I politely, but firmly, decline.
I don't want to be ungracious. But I'm starting to run out of clothes.

No Commercials, please

As I watch my Tivo'd shows, I'm laughing because we are so used to this method of tv watching. The kind with no commercials. Or, at least, commercials with no audio and people moving really fast, because you are fast-forwarding through them. It has been this way for so many years now, that the kids know no other method. From the time Liam was a baby, we Tivo'd his shows, and we had ultimate control over the shows he watched, plus generally NO commercials at all because the Thomas, Barney, Dora kind of shows don't have commercials until the end of the show (before a new show starts), so they are not even recorded at all on Tivo. Thank you, Noggin Channel.

So I guess it was no big surprise the other night when we actually watched live tv (and I do not even remember what the show was - obviously not something good or we would have Tivo'd it), and every time a commercial came on, Natalie would yell to me, "Mom! It's doing it again!" I guess she thought the tv was broken, or at the very least that I could fast forward past it. Too funny. I do remember the first commercial Liam ever saw, and his face was transfixed on the tv like he had never seen such an amazing thing in his life. Or else he was afraid. He hates loud sounds, and they are always so loud, aren't they?

They will be so confused on Super Bowl Sunday when everyone wants to actually watch the commercials. What kind of witchery is this? And why is it so loud??

Russia in February

A belated Merry Russian Orthodox Christmas! They celebrate on Jan 7th, so most places in Russia are closed this week. With an unusual stroke of good luck, we were somehow able to still get our new travel dates on Jan 6. Merry Christmas to us! We leave for Russia Feb 4th. Hooray!

I have the tickets booked (again), although with a little more unease this time around. In the back of my mind now is always what could go wrong this time.

Something as simple as filling out the application for the Russia visa turns out to be stressful when I am worried about potential roadblocks. Ironically, even though Jim has to fill out a non-US citizen application, it turns out that HIS app is much easier than mine. Name, numbers, address, done. Mine has things like "list your 2 previous employers, excluding the current one". Wow, that was ummm...almost 21 years ago. I'm not sure it's relevant. In fact, I was lucky to even remember the name of the Dr in whose office I was a receptionist. And I can pretty much guarantee that he would not remember me, assuming he is in fact still alive, so putting down his address and phone number seems a little silly.

Then there was the "list all countries you have visited in the last 10 years, and the dates of travel". Ugh. That would have been really ugly if I had still been an int'l auditor in the past 10 years. As it was, I had to think hard about how many times I've been to Canada. Then I kept coming up with those misc trips that I had all but forgotten about (oh yeah, there was that cruise...) Because of course, the Russian gov't will KNOW if I leave out one Caribbean resort destination. :-) Anyway, I painstakingly recorded it all.

Next to all the excitement over upcoming travel, not much else to report. It was a rough week going back to school, especially for Natalie. Both mornings with her were like practicing my calf roping skills for the rodeo just to get her coat on.

One day this week when I picked up Liam and asked if anything exciting happened at school, he replied, "No, there was nothing exciting. Nothing I'm very proud of." I know the feeling, Liam, I know the feeling.

I may try to post a video clip soon of Liam playing Wii boxing at Grandma's house over Christmas. Nothing is funnier than a 5 yr old in long underwear jabbing frantically at the air trying to "knock out" an animated person on tv.

Letter to my baby in Novokutznetsk

Dear Owen

Happy New Year! We missed you during our New Year celebration. I am so hoping that this is the year we bring you home.

I decided to bring a little bit of Russia to us on New Year's Day by making Russian pirozhkis for dinner. It was partially the fault of a fellow blogger named Rachael. She adopted a 7 yr old girl from Russia in 2007, and she has the blog (and life) that I envy. She is a doctor, mother of four, she makes pottery and sews things by hand to make money for an orphanage. She can cook. And she's pretty, on top of it all. Anyway...I blame her. She made pirozhkis and posted pictures of her daughter from Russia lovingly cutting out the dough, and then eating the beautiful little delicacies with a huge smile on her face. http://alwayswanted4.blogspot.com/2008/11/russian-pirozhki.html

I didn't take a picture of mine. Let me just say, I didn't have quite the same experience. No pictures necessary.

I should have listened to your father. He was so excited when I said I was making pirozhkis for New Year's dinner. Then I said, "From scratch!" and his face fell, and his shoulders slumped as he said dejectedly "Oh."

Liam and Natalie helped. Active yeast (and I don't exactly know what this is) was involved. My effort to find a warm place to cover my dough and wait for it to grow led me to the laundry room with a running dryer. My dough didn't grow. Maybe it was the fumes from the dryer sheets. Maybe we didn't mix the yeast right. But I Googled "why is my dough not rising" and I have come to believe that I didn't knead it properly. The recipe did not specify how LONG to knead. It just said knead. I thought a couple good squeezes was enough. Alas, it was not.

I still forged ahead. I tend to do this with food, and car maintenance (you may remember this post http://soon2bfive.blogspot.com/2008/09/not-my-finest-hour.html)

Still, I hedged my bets by running to the grocery to buy phyllo dough sheets. I made a few pirozhkis with my own dough, but given that it was so hard to roll out and not very stretchy, the dough didn't go far. So I also used the phyllo dough.

When all was said and done, the pirozhkis with my own dough tasted somewhat like ground beef (or apples - yes, I also made a dessert pirozhki!) wrapped in a dense pita bread. The ones in the phyllo dough were very pastry-ish and flaky...and huge. My compliment from your father was "Well. They aren't horrible. But was it really worth the 6 hours of preparation time?"

Sigh. I'm sorry to tell you, it was not. So, dear boy, I'm afraid I cannot promise you Russian food upon your arrival. (Although there is a borscht recipe I am itching to try....how hard could beet soup be...) I will promise you that I will continue researching all things Russian, and whenever I find Russian food made by someone who can actually cook, I will buy it for you. I will apologize now for my culinary shortfalls, but rest assured I am trying (to quote your dad in the middle of my cooking, "Honey, I have no idea what you are doing, but I can tell you're working hard.").

I hope that whatever you ate on New Year's Day was even better than my pirozhkis, and that you enjoyed the start of the year. I will see you soon, sweet boy.

Love,

Mom

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I know New Year is a big holiday in Russia, so I should be celebrating accordingly. But...we're tired. The big Canadian trip left us all a little tired. OK. Not all of us. Just me, and possibly Jim. The kids have as much energy as ever. Liam and Jim did manage to stay up for midnight last night. I can't say the same. I was at least in a sitting (slumping) position on the couch.

I will attach a few more pictures of the Canadian trip, since we don't have New Years Eve pictures (and you wouldn't want to see the picture of me slumped on the couch even if someone did take one).

Also, a little recap of our trip back from Canada. All I could think was that we looked like the Griswolds (Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation) going through the airport with all of our bags. In our defense, we packed: snow gear for everyone...ski pants...boots...ski gloves...scarves..hats...long underwear; ice skates for Jim and Liam (??), and Yes, at least one pair was used; Christmas gifts...toys...toys...toys; plus extra clothes that we bought to replace the ones that the airline lost on the way there; the original clothes that they eventually found, days later; miscellaneous odds and ends, like the book Sashenka that I wanted, and Jim found in a bookstore in Canada (who knew that it was 4 inches thick and weighs about 7 lbs?). Sigh...yes, we were loaded.

Highlight of Jim's trip: he bought a hockey book about a goalie named Martin Brodeur while we were there. Then, while waiting in the loooong Air Canada line to check in, who does he spot behind us, but MARTIN BRODEUR! Have to give Jim credit, because despite the fact that we looked like the Griswold family on vacation, he still had the courage to approach this famous Canadian and ask for him to sign his book. Jim is always lucky with celebrity spotting.

The flight was delayed, but both kids were exceptionally good. I thought Natalie would sleep, since it was fairly late, but she did not. I can't complain, because she had unflagging exuberance. The entire flight she chattered. And put the window shade up, and down, and up, and down...and then the tray table up, and down, and up, and down. She watched a little on-flight tv, and then unplugged the earphones, and plugged them back, and unplugged them...you get the idea. Still, it warmed my heart (if not the hearts of surrounding passengers) when we were landing and she looked out the window and shouted "Yeah!! This is so exciting!!"

Since the plane was set up with 2 seats on each side of the aisle, Natalie and I sat in one aisle, and Jim and Liam sat behind us. It wasn't until the next day that I discovered that Jim had actually been able to watch an entire movie, and half of a second one. What?!? Liam played his portable video games the whole time. Aaaach! So I already have the seating arrangements planned for when we have 3 kids. Jim won't get away this easily next time.

Happy New Year to baby Owen too. I hope you had a celebration. And Happy Birthday to my sister Amy, our own New Year baby.

Who doesn't love the Easy Bake Oven? (NO, we didn't pack that in our bags.)

Hockey on the swimming pool.

Nothing better than Grandma snuggle time.

Natalie practising taking care of baby Owen.