We are here....

Good GOD am I tired!!  Props to Lufthansa for their nice plane and excellent choice of movies.  Big fat thumbs down to the fact that they broke our damn stroller!!  Do you recall the VERY nice Peg Perego Aria that my sister bought me?  Yeah... they broke off one of the clips that makes it collapse and lock.  I can get it to collapse if I jam something in the hole like a car key... but how white trash is that?  All they did was put it in the hold as we checked it at the gate.  When we changed planes in Munich it was laying in the middle of the tarmac, all sad and lonely.  Oh well, perhaps we can order a new little piece for it?

Jack did so well on the flight.  He fell asleep almost immediately after take off and woke up in time for breakfast.  Unfortunately he only had about six hours of sleep, when he normally gets 11-12.  He was fine for the duration, but passed out cold on the way to the apartment.  I had to peel him out of the stroller and pour him into bed.  I surely hope he doesn't wake up at 3 a.m.!!

The only thing I didn't care for about the Lufthansa routing is that you have less than 8 hours to Munich, the another 3 to Moscow.  Not really enough time to get some good sleep in between plane changes and meals.  Thank Heaven we won't have to do it again after this!!

We had some sad news on our arrival, apparently the driver that normally works with our translator died unexpectedly.  It's an awful bit of news... he was a lovely, kind man.  He and Violet had worked together for over 10 years.  He will be sorely missed.

The good news is that we get to see our little guys tomorrow!  I thought we were gonna have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday.  We're so excited to see how much they changed and grown in the last few months!

Now Lance and I are going to practice better living through chemistry and get some good sleep.

Da Zaftra!!  (see you tomorrow)

And.....we're off!!

Well, today is the day.  I got all teary-eyed last night putting Jackson to bed... I kept thinking about how this was the last time he had me all to himself at bedtime to snuggle for as much and as long as he wanted to.  I feel so torn.  I love him so very much and I can't even fathom how I could love anyone else as much.  I know, I know... love gets multiplied, not divided.  I just don't know how my heart could get any fuller!

We're done packing.  The entire house has been cleaned from top to bottom.  I've checked and re-checked our documents about a thousand times.  We've consolidated down from 5 lists (Lance LOVES him some lists) to one.  Hopefully we won't have any more of those "Dear God, we forgot about ________!!" moments.

We have three 45 pound suitcases (I don't want to hear about it), two backpacks, one diaper bag, a double stroller and my ginormous travel "purse".  I use the word purse loosely...it's huge!  I had NO idea that packing for three plus weeks and three little boys would require so much stuff!  Really, it's not that much of their stuff, we are just loaded down with all our gifts for folks and our orphanage donations.  Once we get rid of all that, we should be able be able to only have two suitcases.  We will leave one of them there when it's empty.

Really, it will be an even trade... one 45 pound suitcase for 54 pounds of children.  At least they can walk!!

We will be posting photos on the blog as soon as it's legal.  Those of you that contact me privately will receive a private showing of the cuteness!!

Next post from Moscow!!

T minus 72 hours and counting...

Until we leave for Russia for the final time!  The last weeks have been filled with packing, then unpacking - buying, then returning and buying something different - cleaning and rearranging only to mess it up again.  Jack keeps running around the house saying "I can't WAIT to go to RUSSIA and see my brothers!"

I should have taken some photos of the boys room... we keep calling it "Ground Zero" since it looks like a bomb went off in there.  As each suitcase is packed up the room gets cleaner and cleaner.  The only thing we have left to pack is our clothes and toiletries.

I've been researching different parks and outdoor things to do with Jack while we're there.  We're still hoping to see the boys at least four or five times prior to taking them the final time.  We'll be bribing them with bubbles and cookies... I have no shame.

Today is my last day at work, and I have to say I'm relieved.  It's not my last day forever, just until my maternity leave is over.  I feel like I have so much left to do, but we really don't.  Tomorrow I have to pick our money up from the bank (gotta love those new $100 bills), and get my skirt for court from the tailor.

We've got all our gifts and orphanage donations packed.  I was able to get a great deal at Carter's and bought some summer footy pajamas.  We'll ask if they have another specific request when we're there and get them what we can.

I've gotta run get ready for work... Paka for now!

In just a couple of weeks...

We FINALLY get to see our boys again!!  At that point it will have been FIFTEEN weeks since we met.  I doubt they will remember us at all, and that's the hard part.  We did so much work getting them to warm up and get comfortable with us... now it all starts from scratch.  The big difference this time is that it's for forever.  We won't be coming home again without them.

I'm looking forward to being able to spend time with them again, getting to know them and starting the attachment process.  Who am I kidding?  Attachment?  More like survival in the beginning!  We are hoping to be able to see them at least four times during the two week wait.  We have to pay for a driver and translator each time, and the cost adds up very quickly!  We're hoping to have the last two visits come the two days prior to our pick up day.

Ooooh!  I never laid out the proposed time line for you.  (this is as close as I have it) We get there Sunday the 23rd and check into our super cool, deluxe Peace Travel apartment (which I just found out will NOT have hot water for the first three days we're there?)  **Updated - We will have hot water to shower, just none in the kitchen **

I'm pretty sure we'll have our medical exams on Monday and be able to see the boys on Tuesday.  Quiet day Wednesday, then court on Thursday the 27th.  The court decree should be ready for pickup on the 8th or 9th, which means we'll actually pick the boys up forever on the 9th or 10th of June!  Depending on how efficiently we can get our paperwork done, our flight home should be Thursday, June 17th... maybe a day earlier, depending on how things go.

We've still got a fair bit of stuff to do, mostly busy work, but the list is long enough to make me wince a little when I look at it!  We are getting so excited!  It's coming up quickly!

Paka, paka for now!

On May 27th.... life as we know it will change forever

I've been politely stalking the folks at CSS since our paperwork arrived last weekend via another adoptive family.  I talked to C yesterday and she said she was pretty sure we wouldn't here anything about our date until after the May holidays.  Then this morning I got an email with our court date!

In less than six hours we had flights confirmed, apartment rented and the visa applications sent out to the agency.  Having three weeks notice for court feels so decadent.  We had three DAYS notice before we had to fly out when we adopted Jack.  Now THAT was stressful!

Their little clothes are all sorted out and washed, the diaper bag is packed, the room is ready.  Are we?   When I think about what it means to bring home two little guys, I still get a little stressed and anxious.  I hope that by planning for the worst, we will find it doesn't live up to our fears.

I will post more as we go along, but for now "I gotta get outta here!"  (family joke)

And now we wait...

We signed our court petition as well as new Post-Placement and Registration agreements, had them notarized, drove in rainy, nasty Friday night traffic to get them apostilled, then sent them on their way to Russia.  Well, they'll be on their way next week when our local agency folks fly to Moscow to meet with their Russian counterparts.  If they can get there, that is!  Hopefully that volcanic ash cloud will clear soon so everyone can resume traveling.  I know of a couple of families that are stuck on the wrong side of the Atlantic... either trying to get to their new children, or trying to get home.

Now the clock starts ticking.  They are free to be adopted, and boy oh boy are we ready to bring them home!

We're famous...sort of... okay, not really...

I got a phone call Friday from local news reporter Matt Roy wanting to do a "human interest" piece on us.  It seems he got a email referring him to our blog, and tracked us down locally.  Kind of cool, but a little bit scary too.  Crap, people can FIND me?  I'd best be a bit more careful about what I write then, eh?  Anyway, we talked on the phone for a few minutes and VOILA... we are legends...at least in our own minds.

A photographer came out on Saturday and took some pictures of the family.  Lance asked me later, "Hey, do we get to proof the photos?"  Yes, dear.  The local news affiliate is going to rush the photos back to the house so we can pick the most flattering one...not!  (for the record, I knew he was kidding)

If you're interested in reading the article, you can find it here.  (ETA: Link now takes you to local TV news broadcast of our interview) The accompanying photo recycles through the main home page.  Frankly, I looked a bit wall-eyed.  I think the stress of it all is finally getting to me.  Clearly, I need a makeover and some microdermabrasion!

Go ahead, you can admit you're jealous of the fame we've achieved.  It's not often you see adoptive families catapulted into the limelight like this!

I'll just spend the rest of the day basking in my own glory... if anyone needs to reach me, call my agent.

ETA:  Link now defunct... thanks for letting me know Lauri!  There is a new link to the TV broadcast that was done a day later for WBZ news.