Back in Kaliningrad

Does it ever feel good to be back here! My first stop after Yuri dropped me off at the Hotel Moscow was my very favorite cafe. I coined it the Midriff Cafe the last time we were here, in honor of all the beautifully bronzed servers who weren't afraid to show a little skin despite the chilly temps. Oddly enough, there were no exposed midriffs this time around - and it's summertime! - a direct contrast to our visit a few winters ago.

I'm happy to report that the apple cinnamon pancakes (crepes) are still on the menu, and that the service is just as friendly.

The real name of the cafe, Yuri informed me, is Croissant.

My home for the next week - Hotel Moscow.

It's 8:00 and I'm having dinner at the hotel restaurant. It's a gorgeous summer night here, with plenty of daylight left - another big contrast to our last visit here. I remember all too well pushing a bundled-up Denis in his stroller over the icy sidewalks during the dead of winter. Those same sidewalks are now filled with families out strolling in the summer evening.

Off to bed soon, as tomorrow's a big day, and I'm beat.

The First Hurdles

Well, the first hurdles of this adoption have presented themselves early on. Long story short, we've scrambled all week to get our flights booked, our visas processed, and all the other logistics taken care of that a short-notice trip to Russia brings about. In the end, Jon couldn't get a visa in time for the beginning of our August 1-5 visits. He can't enter Russia until August 3rd, so I'll have to go it alone for the first few days. To say that I'm frustrated by all the bureaucracy is a gross understatement. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective by telling myself that by week's end it won't matter that Jon missed out on those first few meetings with our (potential) son. I'm trying to convince myself that I'll be able to handle all the stress and emotional highs and lows on my own. In short, I'm trying not to feel too sorry for myself. (The huge plate of nachos I'm inhaling at the moment seems to ease the pain...so I know I'll be fine!)

After arriving at the Newark airport I hopped on a hotel shuttle bus and landed here at the Holiday Inn restaurant. The lady at the front desk was kind enough to give me the login information for their wireless connection, even though I'm not paying for a room. Perhaps I look as exhausted as I feel and she took pity on me! Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. This beats passing a 7-hour layover at the airport.

Jon will be flying in around 4:30 this afternoon, and we'll travel as far as Warsaw together. Then I'll continue on to Kaliningrad without him, while he waits until August 3rd to enter Russia. He'll be so close...yet so far away. But we felt this was the best thing to do in order to avoid any more delays and to make communicating easier. I have a feeling we'll have a lot to discuss over the next few days, so being in the same time zone will be helpful.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us and kept us sane over the last week or so - to D&L for letting us monopolize your phone and computer when we first got the news; to J&J for rushing documents from Japan to the US; to T&C for looking after Denis for the week; to Jon's family for helping with all the loose ends in Canada; and to my entire family for helping us juggle this AND all the work needed at our property as our tenant moves out and my sister moves in while we're gone. We simply couldn't have done it all without you.

Send Me Your Email

If you're interested in following along for the next week, send me your email address. It doesn't look like I can password protect each post, so I'll have to limit my blog to invited readers only. Starting on Monday, August 1, you'll be asked to log in with your email address.

I leave for Kaliningrad tomorrow.

Referral Received!

Unbelievably, we received a referral yesterday! After we were registered in the region of Kaliningrad just a few days ago, we thought we might hear about a child in the next 3-6 months or so. Or even longer - as one never knows how the international adoption process will go.

Our heads are still spinning this morning with all the logistics of this surprise trip, but excitement has set in! We've booked our flights to K'grad, and will be visiting him (yes, it's a boy!) during the week of August 1-5.

I hope to post about our visits, like last time, as it was so good having many of you right there with us. However, our agency asks that we be discreet and keep all posts password protected. I'll work on setting that up next week and let you know how to follow along.

Uncle Dan, Brother Dan

Denis's last words tonight before he fell asleep were these...

D: "I have an idea. Instead of getting a brother or a sister, could I just make Uncle Dan my brother?"

Me: "That's a really good idea. The only problem is, I don't know how to turn an uncle into a brother."

D: "I know how. We could use my powers. My power is to turn people into brothers and sisters."

Me: "Oh, that's a great power."

I guess things are weighing on his mind. That, and he's having a great time with his Uncle Dan, his Aunt Linda, and all of his cousins.

Registered in K'grad

We recently found out that our dossier has been registered in Kaliningrad - the same region where Denis is from. This means that we're now officially waiting for a referral of a child. Suddenly, it all seems very real! We've been talking more and more with Denis about the idea of a new brother or sister, and he seems very keen. He says he wants a brother AND a sister!

We're having a fantastic summer. Currently, we're out in Idaho at my brother and sister-in-law's place. It's a brand new, barn-sided house that they designed. Both the house and the 24 acres it sits on are gorgeous. Photos later.

Prior to this, we were in Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto) visiting Jon's family and various friends there. We then had a brief stop in Nebraska to get the camper van out of storage, say a quick hello to my family, and pack for our drive out west. On our way out to Idaho, we stopped to see more friends in Lexington, Paxton, and Steamboat Springs. We then spent several days camping until arriving out here in Moscow. We head back to Nebraska at the end of this week and will spend the remainder of the summer there. My goal is to post some pictures later, but I know my track record for the past couple of summers hasn't been very good. But I'll try!

My Hanko

I've been wanting a Japanese hanko (name stamp) for a while now. With the help of a few friends at school, who helped me choose appropriate kanji and who introduced me to a wonderful hanko-maker, I've got one, and it's gorgeous! I love the stone, I love the way my name looks in kanji, and I love the way Taki-san designed the characters.

Tami, my tea instructor, and Taki-san, the hanko-maker

Taki-san's different sketches of si-ri-ya (my name in Japanese). Which did I choose?

Isn't it gorgeous?

Kidzania

It's been a cool and wet beginning to summer so far, but we're still having a good time. We kicked off the holidays again this year with root beer floats on the last day of school. Although, it should be pointed out that none of the kids were brave enough to put the root beer in their root beer floats. A cup full of vanilla ice cream just isn't the same!Kidzania

Today we took an all-day trip to Kidzania, a bit of heaven-on-earth for kids. Denis got to don many hats:

A gas station attendant

A barber

A train conductor

A soft-serve server

A fireman

A pilot

And a flight attendant!

Countdown to Summer

Well, I've officially started to count down the days until summer break. It could have to do with the fact that I'm incredibly envious of my friend Julie who jump-started her summer today...

We've got 14 school days left, and 19 days until summer break truly begins. And we'll be on our way to North America in 25 days.

I Love Being a Princess

Well, I don't. But Denis does. And I've got proof!

Weekend Outings

Both the weather and D's chicken pox cleared up in time for the weekend. Woo hoo! On Saturday, I stole away to Kyoto for some Celia Time. I whiled away a few hours at the botanical gardens, and started a new book that I'm enjoying immensely - The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire, and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf. It's a historical account of a handful of eighteenth-century naturalists who traded plants and ideas back and forth between Britain and America, eventually giving rise to England's love of gardening (thanks for the recommendation, Mom and Moni!). I'm already looking forward to her new book, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, which takes a look at the importance of gardening in the lives of the 'founding fathers' of America.

Today, the three of us went to Kacho-en, a bird and flower park not far from us. D's class went there for a field trip on Friday, and we knew he was going to be heartbroken when he returned to school on Monday and realized that he missed the field trip he'd been talking about for weeks. So, we went today. He got to feed penguins, ducks, and toucans! It was a great outing, and a nice family day. Jon and I have been playing tag-team parenting all week - due to several work and social engagements - so it was good to spend some time together.

Cooped Up

It turns out that being cooped up (ha!) with chicken pox over the last few days wasn't such a bad thing. At least for me - I was productive! I finished the Christmas stockings I started back in October (yea!) and taught Denis how to make a banana cream pie (yum!).

Poor Guy

And that's just the top half of his front side.

I have to say he's taking it all in stride. He was thrilled at bedtime last night when he saw a boy with chicken pox in the story we were reading. Now those red dots make sense!

He's been great about not scratching, but sleeping through the night seems to be a challenge. It was a case of musical beds through the wee hours of the morning. When we all woke up today, Denis was in our bed, Jon was on the couch, and I was in D's bunk!

Chicken Pox

Guess who woke up with chicken pox this morning?

Perú Goes to Nebraska

A friend of ours from Perú (¡gracias, Xime!) brought this to our attention a few days ago. It's a promotional piece for Peruvian tourism and was filmed in Peru, Nebraska - a small town not far from where I'm from. Watch it - it's wonderful! Even if you don't understand Spanish, you'll understand the video. It made me nostalgic for my former home-away-from-home of six years. ¡Viva el Perú!

Time Travel

For some reason, Denis couldn't fall asleep last night. He's usually in bed and sound asleep by 7:30, but last night he was still wide awake at 9:45 - tossing around in his bed, asking for this and that. And that and this. And a bit more of that.

At one point, the conversation between Denis and Jon went something like this:

"You just have to close your eyes and try to go to sleep."

"But I can't sleep."

"Well, what do you want to do about it? You can't get up. It's nighttime."

"But it's not nighttime where all our grandparents live. It's morning there. I could just go there instead."

Little booger!

More Than 100,000,000 Cars

According to my Mother's Day card, Denis loves me quite a bit. More than 100,000,000 cars, in fact. Take that, Hello Kitty!

As for the horns protecting him against the things that try to eat him...? I'm not sure what that's all about. Self-preservation, I guess. Or perhaps he's been taking me literally: I love you so much, I could eat you up!

Other highlights of Mother's Day included some beautiful flowers and a lovely framed photo:

And a hike up to a pond with some friends.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! Hope your day was as nice as mine.