Today was a little better...

I actually woke up today WITHOUT a headache, I think it's the first time in weeks. Gives you a little better outlook on the day when your eyes open and your first thought is not "Who hit me with the 2x4?"

Sonny Boy had a night game -soccer- tonight. They won again so far they have a 4-0-1 record. I would be impressed if it looked like they were doing anything except mobbing the ball. I didn't go to the game tonight as Igor HAS to hit the bed by 7:00 or he's impossible, heck he's impossible at 5:00 when he's not had a nap. I really don't like the afternoon pre-school schedule, it makes having a life in the evening impossible.

Sonny Boy's teacher is very impressed with his reading abilities and couldn't believe he knew the word "about". I am too as we've never pressed the reading thing with him. I figured he'd learn in school in due time. However the stinker has taught himself to read very well for a kid only a few weeks into kindergarten and can now read most anything in front of him, of course his comprehension is lacking but he can spit out most of the words.

Today we had two verbal offers come in on the house. Both were so laughably low it would make your head spin. We now have the house priced so low that to sell it for less we will either be out cash or be working a short sale. Hopefully with the price so shockingly low something we can accept will come in the door soon. Traffic is picking up though.

Things are looking up somewhat with our redneck neighbors. The little yapping dog that barked and howled all night most nights managed to dig it's self out of the kennel and run away. I saw the dog out in the yard and thought "I hope you run off" but didn't actually do anything as honestly I like dogs, just not one's that yap all night. Anyway we were chatting with said dog's owner and he mentioned that the dog dug it's self out of the kennel and ran away. I just stayed quiet. It's been much quieter since. Now if only the group across the street with the herd of children would move away progress would start being made. Sonny Boy loves to go over there and play but I would rather he not as they are a bratty bunch of kids.

The end of an era has come. Sonny Boy now wants to have scary costumes for Halloween. I knew the time would come but I was hoping for a couple of more years without blood and gore, but I suppose that's what Halloween is. I'm hoping to take Sonny Boy out to see the Toy Story double feature this weekend and maybe hunt him down a costume if we can get out and about this weekend.

Well it's stupid late and I should get in bed - the alarm clock will go off way too soon.

If your my age

You should try watching the Cosby Show from a parent's perspective. Takes on a whole new view once you have kids of your own. Kind of like when you got old enough to get all the jokes on Bugs Bunny.

This week I've been useless. It started with a sinus infection that I battled and started antibiotics for - I didn't go to the doctor but started some that I had stashed and never used from the Ukraine trip. That coupled with my TMJ flaring up which has triggered some migraines and just a general malaise triggered by the rest has made me pretty much useless. I've done the bare minimum to keep us functioning.

I think I finally got all the medical forms for school handled this week. Good grief it's stupid here, I understand shot records but does it really effect my child's ability to learn if he hasn't been to the dentist? Also had to have a note from the MD that states he is not at risk for diabetes. What? my 6 year old who never gets thicker but keeps getting taller? Who literally RUNS everywhere he goes.

My other question today is; Igor is getting quite a bit taller, however no thicker in the waist. He really needs to move on to 2T or maybe even 3T pants, but only for the length. Waist wise he's still sporting his 12-18 month shorts just fine. All I can think of is to hunt/buy the bigger pants and start doing some alterations. Sonny Boy is close to the same situation but at least when you get into "big boys" clothes you can buy the pants with the elastic waistband on the inside that can be drawn up and that significantly helps the issue though he has excess fabric around his waist. I hesitate to put a belt on the kid as he always waits to the last minute to go the bathroom and I don't want to slow him down any when he gets there. I really need to dig through the old clothes and get Sonny Boys hand-me-downs sorted out for Igor, Igor's outgrown clothes pulled out of the drawers and to the salvation army but of course that's been low on my to do list.

I'm about to fall asleep, I just need to whine a little.

What a busy week! Whew...

Igor's First Day of Preschool

This week started with a flurry of activity. Monday morning Igor had an appointment with orthopedics at Children's Hospital in St. Louis so we dropped Sonny Boy at school and followed the rude directions given my the lady on the GPS machine and made it to the appointment with just enough time to go the bathroom and fill out all the forms. The nurse practitioner he saw agreed that he does roll his feet inward too much so some X-rays were taken and examined and it was decided he needs custom shoe inserts to support his arch since it collapses when he puts weight on his feet though he has an arch when sitting so he stuck his feet in foam and I nearly passed out later in the day when they called me with the cost of the insoles! $300 + and he'll need them till his foot is fairly well formed at age 6 or 7 so of course they'll have to be replaced as his foot grows. Thankfully it's not a big deal (except to the pocket book) and catching it early probably saved him many problems down the road. Monday was also Igor's first day of pre-school. He was a little nervous the first couple of days being left there but after that has become an old pro giving me a hug and kiss and running into his classroom without a backward glance. The first three days he was a little surly but started getting into the swing of things by the end of the week. I've honestly been a little at a loss with such a quiet house in the afternoon.

This our new family member. He doesn't have a name yet, though Igor has called him Dorothy. Do you know how incredibly hard it is to get a picture of a fish swimming around in a little 1 gallon tank? Also this is not the brightest creature in the animal kingdom either, every time we turn the tank light on he sees his reflection on the sides and thinks there is another fish there and starts attacking his reflection and fluffing up all his gills and fins. I don't think he'll live too long honestly as he's not eaten anything since coming home a week ago, we watch and the food simply sinks to the bottom of the tank.

Sonny Boy had another soccer game this week. His opponents were a little better and it was a tie game. Sonny boy played goalie a good chunk of the game, we think because last game he had some good stops but he wasn't too happy with his new position. The picture above shows his teammate's frustration after a goal was scored on him. I think it's kinda funny.

This weekend there was also a big airshow at a nearby Air Force Base. So in order to fuel Sonny Boy's airplane passion we attended. Above is Sonny Boy and Igor posing in front of a C-5, the largest cargo airplane in the military

Along with static displays at airshows are also LOUD fighter jets - notice Igor covering his ears? Yeah we didn't plan too far ahead and bring ear muffs or plugs for the kids but there were really only about 5 planes that were really loud and running their afterburners. The feature of the show was Canada's Snowbirds - something like the USAF's Thunderbirds. They were fun to watch and put up a good show. Strangely they were much quieter than the F-16 and F-4 single plane demos and there was nine of them in the air at one time. The airshow was fun however leaving it was a nightmare. We were parked a good 1/2 mile from the flightline and walked to the van loaded up, backed out of our spot and sat there for an hour without moving. In the meantime Hubby got out and took both boys across the street for the bathroom. Looked up today and there was an estimated 60K people at the show, I think we were behind all of them leaving.

Today has been quiet. We had planned on attending a little festival they had in town this weekend for a big today, however it rained all morning and we've been couch potatoes to the extreme today. I don't even think the kids had the energy to do much as it was rather quiet today.

If you can't say anything....

nice don't say anything at all. I'm all for the good argument. But as I said in my last post I am not discussing the matter anymore and if you leave comments concerning the issue I will simply delete them.

Due to the nastiness I have also required a signature on posts. Sorry for those of you without accounts, but if your going to be nasty have the guts to at least write your online identity.

Igor turns Three!!

Saturday was a busy day. Sonny Boy had his first soccer game, I'll post pictures of that soon, however I've got to edit them a bit. We also had Igor's 3rd birthday party or celebration really as it was just the four of us. I made the Elmo cake, we ate it and opened presents. It was quiet but good and certainly enough stimulation for both kids.

Tomorrow Igor starts preschool. We'll see how that goes. I'm worried as he will attend the afternoon session which is generally his nap time. Today we let him stay up with no nap and put him to bed early and he was quite the snarly little guy. I'll have to make sure the tequila and margarita mix are stocked for tomorrow as I may need to mellow. he he I'm thrilled with his speech progress this summer, where he isn't clear to others yet, he's really starting to talk and string together words, though sometimes I think he uses Russian grammar. "Where Sonny Boy are?" is a typical Igor sentence lately but he gets his point across.

Just a note to those who read this I am no way affiliated with Frontier Horizons. I have never done business with the organization, donated money to them, or received assistance from them. The previous posts were placed there of my own accord. My opinion of the subject remains the same and I highly doubt that it will change. I do not intend this blog to be political or controversial, however I will not censor myself on subjects I feel strongly about, and ONE person possibly doing damage to Ukrainian adoption I will not be silent about. While we all know that the process of adopting from Ukraine is far from perfect, it is a Ukrainian issue and we as Americans (or Canadians, Italians, Spanish, etc) can either accept their way of doing things or adopt from somewhere else. This is all I have to say about the issue. Thankfully American authorities stepped up and returned the children to their legal guardian and hopefully Ukrainian adoption authorities will see this as an isolated incident and it will fade from memory soon.

Incident avoided hopefully

The girls in the previous post were returned to their guardian and will be returning to Ukraine in the next day or so. This was reported on the same FL TV station as the previous link. It appears the guy is totally confused about how the whole system works and needs somebody to give him an education.

The terrible shame now is that he's likely crapped all over his own chances at adopting the girls and the girls will not get to go live in his 11,000 sq foot mansion and have a family to love them. I do hope that he hasn't crapped on every one else's chances of adopting because it will mean that thousands of Ukrainian orphans will never be adopted simply because of his own arrogance.

I pray that the Ukrainian adoption authorities see this as an isolated incident and don't punish everyone that does follow the law.

Get a Load of this Jerk!!

People like this make me want to puke. Use your power and money for good instead of screwing it up for innocent people. I hope he rots in a Ukrainian prison - and from what I understand they make our super-max ones look like country clubs. Please if you have influence with this guy, law enforcement in Florida or immigration DO SOMETHING!!

http://www.wftv.com/countybycounty/20799019/detail.html



LONGWOOD, Fla. -- International adoptions out of the Ukraine could be stalled indefinitely because of a Central Florida man. Documents show Larry Vander Maten and his family participated in a hosting program for young Ukrainian children, but it appears he missed a deadline for sending the children home.
The Ukrainian government is upset and could freeze all adoptions from that country.
Court documents show Larry Vander Maten, a developer who lives in Seminole County, hosted three Ukrainian girls for the summer through an exchange program for foster children. The sisters, ages 9, 11 and 13, stayed at his 11,000 square foot mansion in Longwood for three months.
Frontier Horizon, the agency that set up the program, says Vander Maten was supposed to return the children a week and half ago, but he didn't. The program's founder showed Eyewitness News a letter where Vander Maten said one of the girls caught a virus and was too sick to travel. Three days later, he filed for guardianship in Seminole County court.
"This is putting us all in great jeopardy," Tammy Warren said.
Tammy and Peter Warren adopted two girls from Eastern Europe and are in the process of adopting a third child from the Ukraine. They're worried Vander Maten's actions will put "their" adoption in jeopardy
"They will stop it. The Ukrainian people are proud people," Peter Warren said. "We know the culture and we understand how the process works."
Attorney Patricia Strobridge represents Frontier Horizon.
"The Ukrainian government is very upset about what is going on. They are insisting that these children be immediately returned to the Ukraine," Strobridge said.
Strobridge said the Ukraine is now threatening to shut down the exchange program. That's what has the Warrens and other families hoping to adopt so concerned.
"All of us are on pins and needles, frankly, and we pray and hope for a quick resolution," Tammy said.
Larry Vander Maten did not return Eyewitness News phone calls and his attorney refused to talk.
Late Tuesday, the U.S Department of State said it's working closely with the Ukrainian government to resolve the issue.

Pictures to go with below post

Riding in the truck like farm boys with aunt and uncle

Jump Igor, Jump!

Checking the dog for ticks? (he's not dead I promise)

Swimming in the Buffalo River near Marshall, AR

Tuckered out at Grandma's

A Funeral and Rediscovered Family

Friday night was my father's funeral. There were features to the service that were not typical of most funeral services. Thirty minutes before the service (which was to be graveside) a thunderstorm blew up that was quite a show in and of it's self. This thunderstorm was about as bad as it can be without actually being tornado, including hail and a few inches of rain being dumped in just a few minutes. We left the hotel as the storm was subsiding and got to the cemetery and waited in the car as the last sprinkles fell. At the appointed time we all exited the cars and literally waded through the running water in the cemetery to the grave site. The preacher my aunts had arranged for said a few words, read a bible verse or two and asked for someone to share a good story or memory. Dead Silence. Again he pleaded. Again dead silence. Finally my cousin in sympathy to the preacher who was really trying to perform a somewhat normal service for a very abnormal situation spoke up and told a story about my father when they were young children. As we left the cemetery the sky was filled with a big rainbow. The irony was not unnoticed.



An unexpected benefit of the funeral was re-connecting with my father's side of the family that I haven't really seen in years, many of my cousins not since my grandmother died in '91. Honestly it was fun and I had forgotten that I have "normal" relatives. Hubby even made the remark "It's too bad your dad was such schmuck, because I really like this side of your family" and I do too. Perhaps that was his biggest injury to me was to deprive me of relationships with aunts, and cousins and my uncle and grandmother in the last years of their lives.



While in town we visited my aunt's farm as she was excited about her new calf and the kids actually got to be farm kids for a couple of hours. Sonny Boy was particularly excited to find a large tick on one of the dogs and get a good look at it before I smooshed it.



The remainder of the weekend we traveled on down to visit my mother for a couple of days. It was the first trip to her house since Igor has been home so several family friends had to come by and visit and check him out of course. He handled it with grace and was real trooper the whole trip though we were all glad to be home and in our own beds.

Igor will make his first trip to the specialist in St. Louis next week. I noticed he seems to walk on the inside of his foot and his feet and ankles don't seem to line up correctly. I took him to the local pediatrician and definitely thought something was up and thought we needed to see an ortho, so armed with a recommendation from our favorite med student that studies there, we have an appointment for next week. Hopefully they'll tell me I'm an over paranoid parent.

Sonny Boy is still liking school and seems to be making friends as he's yelling "bye" to several kids as we leave the parking lot in the afternoon. The usual conversation in the afternoon is who got in trouble for the day and what was for lunch. Luckily he likes the school lunch which is a relief for me as the idea of packing lunches daily did not appeal to me.

To be honest there is so much going on I can't begin to write it all. I'm busy but terribly bored if that makes any sense. Living conditions are slowly improving. The house no longer smells bad (or at least has normal house smells) Hubby went and found a new to me dryer tonight, we've been without a dryer since moving as our old one was gas and there were no hook-ups here, and I've been using a clothesline. The clothesline hasn't really been a hardship, however the towels feel horrible and it's sort of like drying off with sandpaper. At least all the dead skin is gone! We've gone rounds with the local post office about the placement of our mailbox which really has my dander up because it's such a stupid issue. We've lowered the price on the house in WI again. There are 22 houses priced within 5K either way. This is the last cut we can make, if it doesn't generate an offer we will start looking for a renter and hope we get a decent one.

The grind of daily life continues...