First Day on Our Own

Today was our first day on our own, and it went fairly well.  Zhenia went back to Kiev to keep working the system to get us out of here at the end of next week.

We got more sleep last night than the night before.  Both girls were up in the night but still mostly asleep, so they didn't stay awake.  We actually got up around 6:30, and the boys were still asleep.  I got the girls some yogurt, and we went back in the bedroom to give the guys some more time.

John got up and made breakfast.  He took the girls to the park, so I could take a shower.  Oleg chose to stay with me.  I wish we'd had a little more time together after my shower (during which he colored in his Spiderman coloring book and played GameBoy).  He got out the Star Wars lego set that John bought for him and went to town.  He is really good at following the picture directions.  Fast!  I was just figuring out which pieces he needed, and he was done with each step.  It was nice to have some time just with him.

Oleg got "grounded" from the GameBoy after lunch, because he refused to wear his jacket when John asked him to go to the store with him.  That was interesting.  He was mad and acted it for a while, but he and John smoothed things over when John got back.  He'll get to play again tomorrow.

I spent most of the afternoon trying to get Hanna to nap.  I would just get her to the point that I thought I could put her down, and she'd wake up.  I didn't want to go without a real nap, but I didn't have a choice.  I had planned to spend her nap time giving the older kids (especially Lena) some more time with me.  Didn't work out.

While I was with Hanna, John got Oleg to try the math assessment I put together for him.  He did okay.  Definitely some holes in his knowledge and some cultural differences (decimals - "." in States, but "," in Europe).  The kids also watched Shrek 3 with Russian subtitles (another John idea).

Late in the afternoon, John took all the kids out, so I could make dinner undisturbed.  One thing we've noticed is that as soon as the food comes out we start to hear, "Me eat" from Lena, Hanna becomes a pest, and Oleg snitches food off the counter.  Just easier to have them out of the way for a little while.  I made little meatballs from some ground beef that John found (yea!), mashed potatoes (for Hanna and Lena), rice (as an option to potatoes), steamed broccoli (Hanna liked it, she likes rice, too).  Oleg and Lena didn't eat much.  John said it was good, so at least he, Hanna, and I enjoyed our supper.

Bath time was fun.  No poop in the water this time, though.  Hoped it would settle the girls, but they had so much fun it just riled them.  John is still trying to put Hanna down - about 1-1/2 hours later.  I don't know how she does it, but Lena goes to sleep through all the crying.  I got more one-on-one time with Oleg.  He read a Russian kid's magazine to me and we played some of the games in the magazine.  He is bright and has a fun sense of humor.

I have to brag on John.  He is absolutely amazing.  He plans almost everything for us from food to activities.  And he is great with the kids.  This trip could only be better if Cliff was the one here with me. Tomorrow, John wants to take Hanna duty and let me have some time with the big kids outside the flat.  The weather may not be very good (cold, drizzly), so he suggested McD's (ick!) for early lunch and some exploring of our surroundings.  I must admit being a bit hesitant.  I'm not as adventuresome as he is, but I do need to get out and see Odessa.

Zhenia called tonight to say that it looks like it will be Monday before the passports are ready to be picked up.  All passports are made in Kiev but must be picked up (with signature by parent) in the region.  That means we are in Odessa until Monday night.  We will take the overnight train and be in Kiev for medical evaluations on Tuesday.  That's the plan for now.