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How Many Days, Mama?

This morning was sad in a way, but much much happier than two years ago.  Today Y and his friends had to go back to Ukraine.  After my 4pm to Midnight shift the night before, I came home and checked Y's partially packed bag, added the socks that I had just dried before going to work and realized that he didn't put any of his underwear in the dirty laundry pile.  Oh well, S and her employees will have to wash them when they get back to Ukraine.

I couldn't sleep so I caught up on two episodes of "Bones."  I love that show.  David Boreanaz is like way too hot for words.  Eventually I got to sleep around 3am and then the alarm went off at 5am.  I coaxed another 20 minutes of snoozing out of it, then I had to get up and wake up Y.  Bill was already awake.  Y got up pretty easily, considering the early hour.  He got dressed and played with Squirt for one last minute before we had to head out the door at 6am.

After a quick stop at MickeyD's for some breakfast, we headed to the airport to meet everyone else.  Lucky for us, I work right there, so we parked at work and walked across the street to the terminal.  Surprisingly, we were the first ones there at 6:50am.  I went up to the counter to see what gate they would be leaving out of and lo and behold the flight was already delayed until 11am!  I asked an airline agent and she said that their were mechanical problems and they had to fly another plane in this morning to make the flight to JFK and that was the reason for the delay.

When I turned around the family from the Austin area was there with Sa, and just a few minutes later Sh showed up with V and then Ju and D came with K and T.  I told each of them that the flight was delayed and everyone groaned.  It seems none of us had the foresight to check the Delta website before leaving the house.  About 20 minutes later Jy showed up with Sv and L to complete the group of travelers.  I told L about the delay and suggested that she call FH, which she did.  The airline clerk assured us that they would have enough time to go through customs and make their flight to Kiev even with the two hour delay.

So, we waited and really enjoyed our extra two hours with Y.  They were traveling with a lot of luggage, which was not surprising given the amount of shopping that L and Sv did.  Six travelers with 9 large bags.  I would hate to have to lug all of that luggage around Ukraine.

One thing seemed to be on Y's mind as time wore on this morning.  He kept asking me, "How many days, Mama?" referring to how many days it would be until I came to Ukraine to adopt him.  I asked the translator to tell him one month and he kept asking how many days and I kept saying one month.  I didn't want to commit to a specific number of days and then things take a week longer than expected!  I am hopeful to be at his internat sometime on Thursday February 5, 2009.

It was a bittersweet "Poka!" as they walked to through the security area to get to their gate.  Poor Squirty is going to have major withdrawal symptoms.  I don't think mine and Bill's attention is worth near as much to him as Y's attention.  It's going to be so boring walking the puppies by myself!

Natalie

TX

Blue Bell

We starter our trip today with me waking Y up at about 7:30am, which was answered with a, "No, Mama!" until I reminded him we would be eating 'ma-roh-zhen-eh' later.  Then we tried to go to the bank to get some cash, but apparently they don't open up until 9am.  I had lost my wallet on Saturday, so I couldn't just go to the ATM.  So, I decided to go down to J's and pick up S and L first.

We left J's a few minutes after 9am, and then spent over a half an hour driving around trying to find a branch of my bank.  We had to back track back over near our house, and after a work ID and a few questions, I had some cash to pay for lunch and Blue Bell.  It took about and hour and 15 minutes to get to Brenham, but with my delay we just missed the 11am tour, so we went to lunch first.  The cashier at BB suggested the airport diner, so we headed out there and it was great.  It was a 50's themed diner with very good food.  The ladies enjoyed it a lot, especially after I explained what the 50's theme meant.  They then proceeded to ask the waitress if they could take her picture in her poodle skirt.  Also, while we were there, a group of men came in wearing cowboy hats and firearms.  L was alarmed and asked me why they were wearing guns.  The sherriffs badges were a dead give away, and I explained that they were policemen.  Of course L and S wanted to take pictures of them, too!  So I went over and told the gentlemen that they were from Ukraine and could they please take a photo of some 'real Texas policemen'?  The men were very gracious.  They even put their hats back on to make the photo more 'real.'

Then we went back to BB for the tour.  It was my third tour, but still enjoyable.  L and S and Y seemed to really enjoy it as well.  Especially the cup of ice cream at the end of the tour.  I had caramel turtle fudge.  Awesome.

On the way back home, L asked if we could stop at a Starbucks because she needed to purchase an insulated cup from there.  The only place that I knew where a SB was, was five minutes from my house, so we headed back that direction.  Of course, they had to have a cup of cappuccino, too.  Kroger was right across the street and L was looking for a specific brand of organic food, so we went over and checked out their small organic section, but the item was not there.

By then it was after 4pm, so I called a different J and asked if it was a good time to drop them off.  J had called the previous day and asked that L and S come over after we got back from BB.  As we made our way over to the B house, Bill called and said Nala Bear was out of her arthritis medicine, so after I dropped off L and S, Y and I headed over to Dr Don's to pick up some meds.  I introduced Y to Dr Don and his wife, picked up Nala's meds and made an appointment for her the next day.  

There is a new arthritis treatment for dogs where they inject her with something that helps repair her damaged cartilege twice a week for a couple of weeks, then follow ups after a month and then again at two months.  It's a little pricey ($75 each), but we're talking about treating her or putting her to sleep.  She's in that much pain.  Nala is not ready to go yet.  Anyone who saw her at Y's birthday party could see that she was trying to play soccer with the kids, and she's always up for a walk - anytime, anywhere.  Dr. Don said the reactions he has gotten so far have ranged from, "Well, it seems to be helping," to "This is miraculous!"  Hopefully this will give Nala enough pain free days to last until well after Y and I return from Ukraine.

Natalie

TX

Girlfriend or Girl Friend?

Yesterday began at about 8:30am when I was so unceremoniously awakened by Y asking if he could call A now.  I tried to explain to him that it was too early, but I'm not sure he understood.  We let the puppies out and ate breakfast and then he asked to call A again.  Eventually I got him to wait a while.  I then called O at about 10am to tell her that the monster trucks would not begin until after 7pm and not 3pm like Bill thought.  She said that would be okay and Y could call them when he woke up.  O sounded very tired, so I didn't tell her that Y was already up and anxious to visit.

Even the puppies were still exhausted from the day before.  At about 11am, A called to ask if Y could come over.  I said yes, but he had to change clothes first.  At about 11:30am Y and I rode our bikes over to the D family's house along with Goofy.  Poor dog was still tired from the day before but not completely exhausted.  Ten minutes later we were there and I asked if Goofy could play with Spotty.  The dogs took to each other like peanut butter and jelly.  It only took a few minutes for Spotty to show his new friend Goofy where the mud puddle was.  An hour later Goofy came home a half yellow lab and half chocolate lab, and into the bath he went.

During that hour, Y and A spent countless minutes jumping on the trampoline.  A also gave us some apple turnovers that she baked (they were delicious), and showed us their house and some YouTube videos of her cheer/gymnastics competitions.  I needed to go to work later that afternoon, so Goofy and I headed home and Y stayed with the D's for the rest of the afternoon.  

O dropped Y and A off a little after 5pm and Bill took them to see Monster Truck Jam.  Apparently they had a blast because they didn't get home until after 11pm and Bill said A couldn't stop talking about it.  She can't wait to go again.  I got to see several pictures after I go home at 12:30am (from work), but apparently Bill forgot to take extra batteries for the camera.  He said it was really crowded and trying to get drinks and snacks was un-real.

Fast forward to Sunday morning, and Y's first question was when can he call A again?  I told him we had to go to church first, and could he please change his shorts!  He'd been wearing them for two days already.  On our way home from church, Bill called to say that A called Y about 20 minutes after we left and could he please call her when he got home.  So he went over again today, but only for 3 hours.  A has to go to school tomorrow.

As for us, tomorrow is Blue Bell day!  We plan on picking up S and L at about 9am and then driving to Blue Bell for a tour, some ice cream, then maybe some lunch and an hour or so back home.  Then laundry and preparing to pack the next day.  Unfortunately Y has to return to Ukraine on Wednesday.

Natalie

TX

Happy Birthday to Y!

We celebrated Y's 14th birthday on Friday January 2nd with about 25 guests, including about 15 kids.  It was a very nice day, but a bit muggy and overcast, about 75 degrees.  Can't really beat 'winter' in southeast TX.  We woke up early and finished cleaning the downstairs, since I wasn't able to move very well the night before, thanks to Goofy.  At least my foot does not appear to be broken at this time.  It's still a little sore, but I can definitely put weight on it now.

Bill and Y cleaned up the back deck and the wrap around porch and Bill blew all the pine needles off the porch roof and mowed the yard (yes, for all you Yankees - mowed the yard in January).  We finished about 1pm, so we all hopped in the shower, and then I sped over to Kroger while Bill and Y relaxed in the living room.  Watching Sponge Bob, no doubt.  I picked up Y's cake (I just told the lady, the one with the name you can't pronounce), six bags of ice and some extra paper plates, cups and plastic silverware.

I was just getting into the car for the 5 minute trip back home, when Bill called to say we had guests already!  It was 2pm on the dot.  So, I went home and found three unknown teenagers in my back yard with Y and the dogs.  They were chatting away in Russian, so I said "Preevyet!" and went inside to see who had brought them.  Two nice ladies introduced themselves to me and then helped me get the items out of the car, while Bill poured the ice and soda cans into a couple of different coolers outside.  We talked a little bit about adoption, and then it hit me!  These kids were from Y's internat and they had been adopted by a family in north TX that came down this weekend to visit with S (the internat director).  I had told J to invite them, but then I had completely forgotten about them, so I was quite surprised when they showed up first. 

Just a few minutes later there were several more cars full of kids in our driveway (our 7+ car driveway, with room to spare).  Everyone was chatting and happy to see each other again, especially S who posed for photos with all of her kids, several that she hadn't seen in nearly a year.  The kids spent over 3 hours riding bikes, rollerblading, playing soccer, chasing the dogs with the remote control cars, playing catch the string with Tigger in the living room (Daisy hid the whole time) and just hanging out.  Funny how the kids generally stayed in the front of the house unless they were playing soccer with the dogs in the back, and the adults all stayed on the back deck chatting away.  Our biggest problem came after the hot dogs were cooked and two of the boys were playing "keep away" with the dogs in the back yard.  Goofy and Miko were trying to mooch off the same kid, and Goofy decided to tell Miko that there was no way he would let Miko get that hot dog, should it miraculously fall to the ground.  One quick, "Hey!" and disaster was averted and the dogs behaved the whole rest of the afternoon.

Our next biggest problem was getting the dogs to stay in the back yard or the house each time one of the kids came or went.  Seems like every time I turned around there was a dog following a kid somewhere the dog shouldn't have been.  All in all, they were very well behaved.  Surprised Bill and me to no end.

So, we ate our hot dogs and hamburgers and our birthday cake and most everyone left about 5:30pm.  It was still light outside, so Y and I decided to go for a little bike ride.  We left the puppies at home since they were quite exhausted.  We rode about 30 minutes through most of the rest of the subdivision and right past C, O and A's house.  I was quite surprised that they did not come to Y's party since we had just talked about it a day or two before.  Low and behold, as we rode up our street around 6pm, there were two more cars parked by our driveway.  Y wanted to go play soccer in the back yard, but I told him to go in the house.  My suspicion was correct when I opened the door and saw C, O, A and there 4 month old daughter E standing in our kitchen chatting with Bill.  Apparently they had only gotten there a few moments before.  I said, "Hi!  We just rode past your house and here you are!"

We made introductions and soon O and A were chatting away in Russian with Y.   O, and her daughter A are originally from Ukraine.  C, O's husband owns the local collision shop.  While Bill and C were chatting in the living room, O and I talked in the breakfast room and Y and A went outside to see the dogs.  Less than 5 minutes later, the puppies were barking because once again they were being chased by the remote control cars. 

When Y and A came back in the house a few minutes later, I asked O if she could explain to Y where Bill wanted to take him the next evening.  Monster Trucks would be performing downtown and Y was excited to go when he found out exactly where they were going.  Bill asked if A wanted to go too, and C and O said it was okay.  O then gave Y their phone numbers and said to call in the morning if he wanted to come over and play on their trampoline.

A little before 7pm the D family went home, and we sat down in the living room to recover from the day.  There we were:  four happy exhausted dogs, three happy tired humans, one happy exhausted cat and Daisy.  She finally came out of hiding and she just wanted to love on everyone.

More on Monster Truck Day tomorrow.

Natalie

TX

Happy New Year

We ended last year by going to a coworkers house to ring in 2009.  There were only a couple of very young kids there, so Y was kind of bored until I asked K if he had a "video eegree" that Y could play with.  Turns out they have a Wii system.  At 1am I had to tell Y to shut it off because we needed to go home!  We got home around 2am and Y went to bed right away, but I got hit with a case of insomnia, so I didn't get to bed until after 3:30am.  At least I didn't have to get up early the next day.

At about 10am I was awakened by 4 slobbering puppies, two purring kitties and a brand spanking new 14 year old who wanted Mama to get up and play soccer!  I tried to explain that I needed to clean the house for his birthday party to be held the next day, but Y is one persistant child.  He didn't believe me when I told him Mama has been playing soccer for longer than twice his age.  Then it looked like it may rain soon, so I told Y that we needed to take two of the dogs to the local dog park.

Needless to say no more cleaning got done today and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get done tomorrow.  Hope y'all don't mind a dirty house.

The first 45 or so minutes at the doggie park were great.  Y got to see how dogs play without aggression (there were over 3o dogs at one time), and Goofy and Miko had a wonderful start to the new year.  Then I took my eyes off Goofy (0ur 105lb yellow lab - think Marley & Me) for just a few seconds to see what Miko (our 85lb yellow lab) was doing.  Bad decision.  BAAAD.

Goofy was chasing another smaller dog (big shocker there) at full speed.  The other dog, much more agile than our Goofball, swerved around me and Y.  Let's just say Goofy runs like a Mack truck drives.  One second I heard, "Watch out!" the next second I felt a Mack truck barrel into my left leg just below the knee at about 100 miles per hour.  Now, I have decent balance, but I'm no gymnast.  My knee bent, and I fell backwards and twisted my left ankle like I had a hydraulic wrench in there somewhere.  The worst part was the top of my left foot just below my ankle.  I didn't hear any cracking, but I sure felt the cartilage stretch in ways that were not intended by our Maker.

Now, the best part of the afternoon was that immediately Y was next to me holding out his hand and asking, "Tee harashow, Mama?"  After he helped me up, I decided to hobble over to the nearest bench and sit for about 5 minutes.  After that I was able to put weight on that foot, but I still listed a little to the right.  I still didn't know what hit me, until one of the other adults said, "That big yellow dog just ran right into you!"  Great, my own dog took me down.  All I could think of was that Y was there unable to communicate with the other adults in English and most likely unable to control Goofy on a leash in the event that I was really injured.  At least I don't drive a stick shift anymore.

We stayed about another 10 minutes and then went over to see what the tennis courts nearby looked like.  Y wanted to play, but we didn't have any tennis rackets or balls with us.  Besides that what would we have done with the doggies?  The drive home was rather uneventful with two tuckered puppies in the back seat.  The real pain didn't begin until about an hour after we got home and I had taken my shoe off in order to put ice on my foot.  For over two hours I could not find a comfortable position and all I could think was that I hoped my foot wasn't broken.  After that the pain began to subside (I guess the swelling went down) and I was eventually able to move my toes back and forth a little bit.

I have used Bill's old cane to get around tonight, but I sure hope I don't need it tomorrow.

Darn it!  I was really looking forward to playing Twister during the party!

Natalie

TX

Futbol Amerikanski

We took Y to his first ever "futbol Amerikanski" game today.  For several days he has told us, "Nyet.  Nee lubeesh."  (No, I don't like it), whenever we mention going to the football game.  However once we got to the stadium he really seemed to get into it.  I explained to him that we liked the team in blue and white and not the team in all white.  He even whistled and did our "first down" hand movements when appropriate.

It was a good thing we had to leave after halftime since I had to be at work at 2:30pm.  Otherwise, I think I would have spent more than $100 on food just for Y.  He ate a loaded baked potato, a bag of peanuts and a tub of popcorn all in the first half. We even ate breakfast before going to the game.

It was cold and rainy, so we didn't tailgate before the game, but at least our team won, even if it didn't really mean anything.  Another 8-8 season.  Oh well.

Natalie

TX