There once was a boy who had a bucket...

Snow Daze

2010-01-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a thumbnail of a slide show I put together for the boyz. I hope you can view it on a big enough screen to enjoy it;) The annual trip to the north woods was full of fun, wonder, and time in the great outdoors. I marvel at what we accomplish each year, all disguised as pure fun. Ethan snowshoed 9 miles in 2 days, tackled his first blue downhill run, and played his first semi-aggressive game of snow football. Kola poured on the focus for his first solo runs on some steepish green downhill cruiser runs, spent about six hours outside with only a short lunch break, and did his first solo tube run. I managed more than 20 miles of cross country over about four days, and was awash in the sights and sounds of an expansive forest all to myself. This was the first year I tackled the black cross country runs -- the uphill treks were like inner thigh camp, but the downhill payoff was exhilarating.

It's always enlightening to enter a new environment and see what the boys come up with. When we got to the hotel we overnighted in on the way up, Kola asked, "mommy -how are you going to cook here?" When Pete - the operator/groomer at Afterglow - towed the kids up the tubing run in his snowmobile (it's the only way up) Kola asked, "mommy, can I have Pete over to our house sometime for a playdate?" I'm sure Pete would be quickly conned into taking Kola to school on his snowmobile.

Ethan was highly motivated to snowshoe all the trails since they're color-coded on the map, matched with colored tags along the routes. As with his CTA obsession, he had to do all the colors and check all the transfer points and when he wasn't trekking, he was making intricate drawings of the trails.

I grinned ear-to-ear on the two downhill days we had - one was sunny and warm, and the other delivered 4-5" of fresh powder throughout the day. Ski school and my hula hoop training paid off with two kids who could safely ski solo, and feel happy and proud on the hill.

On one of our lift rides up, I took a picture of Kola's skis. "Why did you do that mommy?" "Because they're so cute and little and someday you'll be big a big guy with big skis and you'll beat your mommy down a realllllllly big mountain." "A really big mountain? Let's go there! And will you be a fireman with me, too?" Ah, what a great day.

Other highlights - seeing two bald eagles, frequenting supper clubs, eating my weight in leftover christmas cookies, broomball (glad my dad recovered from a super hard fall), Kola's 5th birthday on 1/5. We already booked our res. for next year!

In tents

2009-10-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Jim, constructing his haunted man...

Glorious, Cihlas' acres

Ready to be a-mazed

Brent's spooky storytelling

Bountiful fall harvest

Me-n-E, self portrait

Nothing like a trip to Michigan to fully embrace Fall. Ethan and I hit the road for an October weekend, inspired by my high school friend's annual camping extravaganza. Dave does it up with a maze - a swath he cuts through a few acres of prairie; a carefully orchestrated haunted trail, complete with music, push lights, and a cemetery; a karaoke barn; candy barn; cook out; and camping. Storytelling around the campfire, shadow theater, a burning effigy, and great times with "old" friends are just a few of the treasures that bring me back each year. Driving to the hotel through the countryside on a moonless night might be just enough to get me to pitch a tent next year, but the 35 degree overnight dip and a 6-year old made me think better of it for this time.

I missed the Sunday a.m. rehash and late night shenanigans, but got an even trade with a 3-hour morning hike through the dunes and long walk along the lake, plus a visit to Dinges farms - a favorite local hangout. We returned home with a harvest of pumpkins, concord grapes, squash, mums, acorns, fresh air and smiles. A nod to thanksgiving, so thankful for that peaceful, introspective weekend! xo bb.

And they're off...

2009-09-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

First day of tackle

A winner, score notwithstanding

It's been off to the races with the beginning of school. I usually keep our schedule in my head, but the past couple weeks, I'm referring to the back-up paper version at least twice a day. It's great to have a community of parents here looking out for each other - somehow we all manage to extend a hand before something falls through the cracks. The first example was the one out of six surveyed first grade kids who admitted to having homework on day two. The news spread like wildfire so we all managed to get it done.

My nephew and godson has started high school and we were all very happy to attend his first football game. He's played flag in the past, so when I showed up at the stadium the morning of his first game and I saw the cross country team circling the track, I asked someone in the stands if this was the right location for Frosh flag football. "This is the right place, but it's tackle, not flag." Kola was ecstatic - Andrew trotted onto the field sporting full pads and a helmet! Kola has since played football with Andrew and gets a good view of the turf on each play - he's happy to spring back up to try to bring down almost 130#s the next time. His persistence and sausage intake will pay off sooner than we think.

Simply perfecta in the box seats at Arlington

Both are smaller than I thought

Bet on 3 races, only lost $2.20

Behind the scenes at Arlington Race track

Mr. Ed and friends

Feeding a peppermint treat

Feeling the horse twitching

"mamma, I look like a snowboarder!"

Another big hit was our trip to the track for family day - including pony rides, a petting zoo, bets on the races, and a behind-the-scenes tour. My mom's friend since college (and mine since birth!) is a part owner of horses that race at Arlington. She gave us a grand tour of the box seats, owner's room, and stables where the horses who might race there are kept. Ever since, Kola begs for piggyback rides so he can practice being a "jockey." I think that's one career which will soon be eliminated for both our "little" guys. xo bb

Hoosier buddy

2009-08-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

racing on an elevated track at the Indy 500

It was kola's turn to hit the road with "mamma." And luckily, our trip was wide open all the way to Indy. I thought I made record time in just under three hours, until our visit to the speedway where I learned time trials exceed 230 MPH. The good news there was that Kola and I were able to do a little shopping.

my mother's day present, 2025

Our real reason for the trip to Indy was so see former neighbors and still friends Laura, Pat, Colin, Brendan and Caroline. It was terrific to see them again, and pick up where we left off.

kola, are you having fun yet?

A special treat

big dipper

little dipper

The time whizzed by - I loved catching up with everyone and extra time out with Laura, for cocktails or coffee. Other highlights were kola finding his feminine side playing dress-up, my time swimming and diving with Brendan, tracking Colin's progress during baseball tryouts, watching Caroline's soccer game, and a dinner party with Laura and Pat's friends. It's always such a joy to spend time with their family and we look forward to going back soon. As we drove away, Kola fought back the tears and said, "mamma, I feel sad. I'll miss Caroline." So today we wrote a letter: "Hi Caroline. Thank you. Happy Valentines Day. Love, Kola."

schooooooool!

first day, first glimpse of his teacher

On his first day of school, Ethan woke up at 6:15 ready to seize the day. He's been increasingly excited about the start of school, looking up his teacher in the yearbook, studying his class list (he knows about 8 of the 22 kids), and savoring every nugget of info. I solicit from other families about his teacher and 1st grade. Although Kola continues his campaign to petition his way out of preschool and into grade school, he was equally as excited on Ethan's first day. Upon pick-up, Kola wore his John Deere hat and carried one for Ethan to wear home, too. He missed his buddy, and had his face smashed up against the school door, eager to see his brother.

Ethan was a font of details after his first and second days, uncharacteristically chatty about things like: the "no nut" table in the cafeteria, that he could choose from "cow milk or chocolate milk," that his teacher is the 2nd tallest in his school, that Zane had trouble opening his supply kit, describing his classroom which features stairs and a pit (if it had a ramp, he surmised, the kids would walk into class too fast), that his desk can open and close...I'm very excited to share in his new discoveries and contagious enthusiasm. A few parents on the playground noticed Ethan's bleached hair from our summer beaching and his growth spurt - it should be worth a few laughs to try on pants soon, since he hasn't worn any since May. Good thing capris are still in!

Kola starts at his school in earnest next week, and is definitely ready to be an upper classman. Shortly into his one-hour open house Wednesday a.m., he made his case for needing to be bumped up to Ethan's school, but seeing old friends and his teacher from last year reminded him of how much he likes his home away from home. The teacher had Kola showing a couple three-year-olds the ropes including the bathroom, meeting room, and reading loft, and he eagerly stepped into his new role as a leader. We're off to the races with soccer and gymnastics, art and french to follow soon. Thanks for checking in! xo bb

Life on parade

2009-08-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ready to step off

Da mayor with his future CTA Director

Wouldn't you know it, the CTA saved Ethan from the long walk...

In late winter at a UIC department dinner and silent auction, one of Sig's co-worker's wives and I decided it would be a good idea to bid on 6 spots in a parade of our choice as guests of NBC channel 5. I'm glad it worked out for the Bud Billiken parade on the south side on 8/8. We found fantastic spirit and hospitality in the people we met, and were lucky to shake hands with Mayor Daley, Ron Huberman, Pat Quinn, and a few other notables who walked and floated with us near the front of the parade.

Ethan and Kola got the waving down pretty quickly, and when we started to space out as we soaked in the crowd, the smiles and waves the spectators delivered pulled us back in the groove. Although we stepped off with NBC5 and the Chicago Public Schools float, the boys were like moths to the flame when they saw the CTA mini bus riding behind us all. After about 5 blocks, the CTA group encouraged the boys to hop on and were more than happy to share their stash of snickers, grapes, and iced tea. (The first time we were encouraged to eat on a CTA bus!!) We marched from 40th to 55th along Martin Luther King Drive and as I was warmed by the crowd and welcomed by the other entrants, I thought about how different a march this could have been when I was Kola's age (1967.) It's hard for me to believe I was only two years older than Ethan when we moved from the south side.

We stayed to watch more of the parade and were treated to spectacular performances from the Jessie White tumblers, drum corps, dance teams and more. We capped it off with a zoom up to Millennium Park to reunite with friends Nancy and Rick from St. Paul, MN. We perpetuated our awe of the city with our walk through the park and lakeshore, serenaded by sound bleeds from Lollapalooza. Of note - a hot dog and a pop at the Bud Billiken parade: $1.50; a hot dog and a pop at the stand across from the north exit of Lolla: $6 (and I'll bet the hot dog at BB would be way tastier!)

I celebrated my birthday at Lollapalooza, for the fourth time ('91, '92, '08, '09.) Checking my stub from '91, the one-day admission was $27.50 with $2.50 in service charges. 18 years later, $80. But well worth the cost of admission every time. I'll spare you the review of the bands, but am happy to report I've found a few new favorites and rekindled my appreciation for my oldest favorite.

Kaiser Chiefs under glass

Our band of merry travellers

Our congested commute from one stage to the next (well, it IS chicago...)

Perry - ringleader of Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza, backed by the infamous Dave Navarro

Searing 95+ degree heat did not seem to agitate the crowd, and every few minutes during concerts, I'd get slapped by a cold burst of water from someone swinging their water bottle over their head. The first time it happened, it felt like a burn and my heart skipped a few beats. By the time I left, the back of my clothes were soaking wet. It all went too fast and we saw a lot of great talent. I was glad to have good friends with me who proudly broadcast my b-day, got me a Jane's shirt (we earned it, dodging the mosh pit and holding our ground in the 10th "row.") I found a few "old" friends there by texting, and met a few new people, too. I believe a very good time was had by all, and with great people and band watching, it was an entertaining and enriching view of life on parade. Come to find out the next day, St. Paul friends Nancy and Rick were watching us from the 95th floor of the Hancock over chilled martinis. Got me to pause at the the good fortune I've had to witness such a panorama of Chicago views in my 46 years here. xo bb

Just press >play

2009-08-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Breakfast guest

Take a bow

On the first day, we lost count at 147 (number of times Kola used the words jet ski)

Our guide and cap'n

Lap 2

Not wet...yet

Cracking the whip

All in

Thanking our lucky stars (about :45 minutes early)

We're fresh from one of our favorite annual summer traditions - a visit to Lori/Werner/Adriane's Michigan cottage. From tubing to raft diving, and cocktails to campfires, it's the quintessential getaway weekend. The boys squealed as we pulled in the driveway next to the boat trailer, and I squealed and held on for dear life as Lori drove our age on the jet ski. Highlights included great conversations, DJ'ing (by Werner), baby turtles, fresh summer produce, boat cruises, swim lessons, a great blue heron on the swim platform, and a deep, rich sky teeming with stars.

up, up and away

2009-07-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

Awaiting the blue line (note my vintage, BKF-initialled Lands' End duffel, circa 1981)

Paula and me on Brady Street

"Before," 9:57 a.m.

Watching it unfold

With wings outstretched

MAM entrance skylight peppered with a Calder

Ethan and I thoroughly enjoyed our hop up to Milwaukee two weekends ago, to visit our friends Paula and Marie. Paula and I met nearly seven years ago, in a prenatal yoga class when we lived in Chicago, and I'm thrilled we became friends and are still in touch. Since her 6 y-old and husband were away camping, Ethan and I had the pleasure of setting up camp in Shorewood for a couple days. The weekend whizzed by as swiftly as the Amtrak that took us there. Ethan absorbed as much about the train trip as he could, flipping the tray table, testing the bathroom, admiring the luggage rack, following the schedule, and enjoying (or enduring, he's such a sweet kid) my string of train stories from my previous travels.

Within an hour or so of arriving in WI, we were at the beach, stripping the the fair city of its rock specimens. Later, Paula and I enjoyed a wonderful night out of catch-up, local flavor and a late-night chat. Milwaukee is such a great city, if you haven't been, I highly encourage it.

Ethan is fascinated by the variety of mint box packaging on store shelves, with the seemingly endless combinations of shapes, colors, sliding doors, panels, flip tops, and boxes with multiple openings. So I was itching to show him the impressive opening of the Milwaukee Art Museum, an addition designed by Calatrava featuring huge wing-like panels that gracefully unfold over a 3.5 minute timespan. Ethan was just as impressed with the interior and art -- the museum is very kid-friendly with thin crowds, bite-sized introductions to a variety of forms and time periods, two kids' project studios, kids' sketch kits you can check out for the day - tailored to specific exhibits/areas of interest, mac-and-cheese al fresco, and an unmanned coat closet where you can run through passageways for a quick game of hide and chase. The Amtrak tickets in our pockets limited our MAM visit to 3 1/2 hours.

On our return ride, I asked Ethan his favorite part of the trip, expecting his usual, diplomatic answer "all of it." But was touched to hear him say, "Spending time with Paula and Marie." I second that emotion. We're lucky to have them and you as friends. We'll be back! xo b/s/e/k

Dunescape

2009-07-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

Always beckoning

Toe henge

Running with reckless abandon (and yes, Kola did a faceplant for year 3 of 3)

Beach baby

Calm water rafting

Dances with waves

Runs with sticks

Big dig - under budget and no timeline

We all enjoy our annual pilgrammage to "the sawyer cottage." The weather these last couple months has been cool and rainy, so I was grinning ear-to-ear the first few days where we had full warm sun, a gentle lake breeze and a refreshingly cool lake to float in. The beach house flags were green - a welcome greeting for our first days there.

I don't think Kola truly remembered much of sawyer from last year, most of his anticipation was built from legends and previous years' photo albums. When we drove up to the cottage, our car loaded to the windows, he said, "mommy, would you please show me where the bathroom is?" In minutes, he considered it his home away from home. "Great cottage mommy. Good choice. Are we here lots and lots of days?" Once he saw the beach, he was hooked. "Mommy, who put all this sand here to make the big sandbox?!" By then my eyes were closed, my toes in the sand. Theological or geological answer? "Well Kola, someone sure had a good idea." The first day, Kola was a whirling dervish - cutting off his own questions with newer questions, sniffing around in fast motion. It was almost like watching a video on fast forward. He eventually settled in, but for a couple nights after the trip, he slept for 15 hours.

Kola's favorite activities included running about 25' across the sand and jumping off a small hill into the shallow river water, proclaiming himself a diver. He also found the speedboats very exciting, but (for year 3 of 3) did not feel comfortable going in the big lake and was very hesitant to go near waves of any size. He was suspicious of the waves lapping the shore and was a bit worried to see me swim in the lake. I asked him how he would be able to ride jet skis and speed boats if he doesn't like big water and waves, and he reassured me that he'll be fine with all that once he's old enough to drive.

Ethan really seemed to slip quickly into mellow mode, spending a lot of time with science experiments, quietly wondering and soaking it all in. We did lots of collecting and constructing and low-motion activities. E is a water-lover and was happy to play raft-rescue with me in the big lake, jump waves and splash around. Beach hopscotch and sand drawings were an all-around favorite. Ethan was also interested in doing more of the food gathering with me. I have about 3 local hangouts I check out each year - falatic's butcher shop for my beef jerky fix and daily grilling, froelich's to see colleen and get homemade canned jelly & juice, and dinges farm to chat it up with the farmer, see his animals, and get fresh produce. Oh and the blueberry stand on red arrow with the colorful umbrella. And the harbert swedish bakery for the cardomom coffee cake and fresh bread....It's a bit more driving around to shop local, but so great to see the slower pace, have conversations, pay cash!, and eat the tastiest, freshest food. It was fun to see Ethan find the zen in the experience.

"Go ahead, son - grab the blade"

Crammed in a caboose

Enjoying the ride

Grandma and Grandpa joined our merry band at Redamak's on day 3 and we all headed to the Hesston Steam museum for train rides and a civil war day. Kola was not a fan of the shoulders (read: soldiers) and when our train was stopped and surrounded by an armed calvary looking for gold, he almost reached a panic, "I don't have gold - I don't have any pockets!" We had to assure him the next trains we rode did not go through the forest, gunfire, or cannons and he steered very clear of the shoulders.

Poking and stoking

Toasty toes

Testing centrifugal force

When the weather cooled, we enjoyed bonfires, hammock rides, and Ethan and G'pa had a great night of camping on the back 40. Without the beach as a temptation, we all hit Captain Mike's for a fun afternoon of go carts, water bugs and bumper cars.

Finally, some decent wheels

No mercy

Plotting his next move...

The sawyer trip kicks off my midwest tour. Ethan and I take the Amtrak to Milwaukee this weekend to visit my friend paula, we all descend on lori, werner, and adriane's MI cottage in late july, and kola and I visit friends in Indy in August. Let the road trips begin! xo b/s/e/k

sound/garden

2009-06-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

if it were below 90 degrees, I probably would have caught them....

don't stick your hand in there!

discovering a gypsy moth caterpillar:(

toads off roading

children chillin'

Last night I had a dream I was skiing in south america. I guess it kept me cool enough to sleep through the wave of heat and humidity we're "enjoying." I'm looking forward to our annual pilgrammage to the sawyer cottage and taking a long swim in the cool lake. Not to mention the fresh blueberries, grilling, reading books, daily beach trips, climbing the dune (but mostly running down at full speed hoping Kola doesn't bite the dust.)

The boys have tolerated the heat pretty well. I was impressed that they clocked 7 (sweltering) hours at the arb the other day. The excursion was facilitated by our resident environmental educator - grandma - who gave them lots to observe and think about. She also brought a handful of baby toads from her home's driveway, which were relocated in a beautiful, shady, damp spot in the woods. The lucky buggers probably thought their doomed fate was sealed in the tupperware and honda they travelled in, but they hit greener pastures just before their soggy paper towel dried up.

"Monster" took new variations as I chased the boys throught the animal houses on exhibit there. Usually, I was a fox chasing squirrels and beavers, but they seemed to like it best when I was a skunk, go figure.

We've been on a sound kick here lately. I've been subjecting, er exposing, the boys to my music collection and it's fun to see what they latch on to. Most people would think brainwashing is involved, but they were truly drawn to English Beat (several tracks), Smashing Pumpkins (rhino.), Pearl Jam (black), some of my all-time favorites. We zip through radio stations, too, and have compiled a list of about a dozen songs I'll put on CD for them, ranging from Rush (spirit of the radio) to Led Zepp (over the hills and far away) to the violent femmes (blister...). "Mom, do you have this one?" Several selections are in the boxes of cassette tapes stowed in the basement. iTunes here we come. Kola is drawn to the drums and guitars and organized beats with hooks. Ethan seems to like abstract sounds, time changes, and I think might appreciate some of my dad's jazz fusion CDs like weather report - we'll see.

E is interested in making his own sounds, mostly for the sake of making train announcements as we drive beside a track. He's able to name upcoming train stations correctly (Next Stop...) and uses his empty stainless water bottle in the car to imitate the pre-recorded messages, right down to the tinniness and attitude (Doors Open on the Left at LaSalle. Transfer to...) He uses a sound maker we have to ID different signals for his train layout and Kola is supposed to follow the sounds to make the trains back up or switch or slow down, with mixed results. Maybe if the foreman paid his employee, we'd have a better hit rate on that.

Ethan asked for details on how songs on the radio are made. Kola asked for details on why we can't watch it. We discussed sound engineers and sound boards, levels, base and treble. Does anyone have an 8-track recorder I can borrow??

We're hitting the yellow brick road soon, and will post our vacation journal upon our return! xo b/s/e/k

summer, anyone?

2009-06-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Sweet backhand

Walking the dog

Forehand as a lefty

Football: the holy grail

His favorite new skill - the snap

We're getting into the swing with summer camps, even tho it still feels like mid spring around here. The boyz are in the perfect storm of park district age groupings, 4-6. They're able to do just about everything together, except football (Kola, ages 3-5) and junior naturalist (ethan, 6-8). They both seem just dandy about not having to share those two activities. Ethan said nervously, "I don't have to do football do I?" While Kola has been waiting for this moment for approximately two years. His reward for a dry night diaper (TMI?) is earning jersey shirts, which are handed down from cousins andrew and jennifer. He would wear them 24/7 if he could.

The boys are also getting some great tennis instruction, and it's good for me to watch all these activities to figure out how to practice with them and give them pointers. I can show them how to be social chairman or how to efficiently multi-task, but throw or catch a ball, they'll have to teach me that some day. xo b/s/e/k

jumping into june

2009-06-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

girls getaway in galena

thelma, louise, and her other sister louise

met upon my return...

a hit!

a single becomes a double with an overthrow to 1st

april: weeding the field...june: shagging with zeal

ta da! a happy gym kids 1 graduate.

First off, I definitely want to make note of tomorrow being Kola's two-year anniversary at home with us. It's sometimes hard to see from one day to the next the changes our family, and especially the kids, go through. It's great to step back and see what a difference 20, 100 or 730 days can make. We've all learned, loved, laughed a lot in those 730 days...

A robin has been nesting on our front porch for a couple weeks. Kola and I walked out one day and saw mama Robin on the lawn and I asked Kola, "what do you think she's doing over there?" He said, "looking for her babies. She's going to find them and bring them to her nest to live." That's as good an explanation of it all as I've heard;)

I was lucky to be invited and able to go on a girrrrrls weekend in Galena. I realized there's been only one night in the last 730 I was without both of the kids. Now, affectionately I say, I was out with 3! We had a great time, and at the ripe age of 45, I took my first crack at karaoke with Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes (had to be at least 2 hours from home for that to happen!) I was surprised to learn that you actually do need to be able to carry a tune in register to pull that one off - thought I picked an easy one! It was such a fun time and a group of ez to travel with friends, I had a smile that lasted a few days after the trip.

School's been out for Kola for two weeks already, but he'll be going back to the same teacher, M/W/F mornings in the fall, so it really just feels like a hiatus for him. Ethan wrapped up a great kindergarten year and we were both very sad to see it end. He had a terrific class and a wonderful teacher who really helped him spread his wings. The first day I dropped him off for KG, I wore sunglasses and expected security to be showing me off the property, hysterical, but that day was surprisingly easy. Picking him up on the last day though I was pretty weepy. Thanks to Shelley for sharing some wine on the porch that night. Ethan has stopped crying, too, and now we're all thankful for a great school year and hope they remember how sad they were to leave it when it's time to go back...

Only two weeks left of t-ball, and the playoffs are looming. This means crunch time for some teams who are battling for the top spots. It means crunch team for our Blue Jays as we only have a few games left to socialize, remember to bring the video cameras, and see if we can catch our 6th fly ball of the season. Shots I missed: Ethan's turn to bat - as the coaches are calling his name and looking for him in the dugout and near the parents' area, the porta-potty door flies open and Ethan strolls on up to the plate to grab the bat...Patrick in the infield filling his cap with sand - when he's busted, dumps about 80% of the sand out before he flips it on letting the rest drizzle onto his shoulders...Ethan picking dandelions in the outfield, failing to notice a fly ball sailing over his head...the base runners who are left on base, not noticing or not sure why the other players have returned to their dugouts, and are eventually retrieved by a coach...We've actually made a lot of progress in two short months, but most importantly a good time is had by all.

The boyz start their summer schedule this coming week, including a camp together two 1/2 days a week, tennis, kola's doing pee wee football and t-ball, ethan's doing junior naturalist at the conservatory and gymnastics camp. Our block is doing a stay-on Wednesday afternoon where we pull up the lawnchairs and lemonade...hope it's warm enough for the slip-n-slide soon!!! And we're planning a few weekends away, and a one-week lake vacation. I'm looking forward to a great summer! And the boyz keep asking - is it here yet? The pool's open, when can we go in it? keep in touch;)xo b/s/e/k

2 + 1

2009-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a video we took of Kola, the very first time we met him, two years and a day ago. The woman's voice you hear is his teacher, and the man showing him the blocks is the Dr. we brought from Kiev. Haricho = good; molodyez = good boy. Seems like a short but a long time ago! This week I need to get cracking on the annual report we provide to the Ukraine Consulate, but for now I'll just enjoy the moment.

This morning I said to Kola, "It's a miracle!" And he replied, "North aMiracle or South aMiracle?" He keeps us laughing and smiling;)

new life!

2009-05-15T12:25:00.001-07:00

pennies from head'in

re-leaf

pad tie

kids, carp, and chihuly

a field of jewels

expecting an arrival

welcoming committee

our newest neighbors

We're all anxious for spring to settle in and lead us into summer. We've traded in the cords, boots, and down-filled outerwear for shorts, sandals, and light coats. No matter that most days barely achieve mid-60's. We'd rather shiver and huddle than take a step back towards winter. We've had our share of rainy days so we enjoyed spring infusion at the conservatory. There are more face and finger prints on the windows in the house as we watch new flowers come and go, nesting robins and jays, and new baby bunnies hurdle the tall grass in the yard.

Also new and exciting are our new neighbors across the street - twin 5 1/2-month-old boys adopted from Ethiopia. It brought up all kinds of memories for me, some aspects of our adventure I haven't thought about in quite a while. We look forward to getting to know these little guys!!

spring colors

2009-04-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

X-treme coordination

The hunt

Easter booty

note the Blue Jay on G'pa's lap

orange and blue scrimmage

I-L-L-

I-N-I

We (especially Kola, my friend Kelly and I) were pretty excited to attend a free Illini scrimmage a couple weeks ago. It was a little chilly and hard to follow a non-continuous game, but it was interesting to see the team work on plays and Kola liked the tackles and the helmets. I figured my old boda was encrusted with peppermint schnapps, so i didn't bother unearthing it from the basement. The hot starbucks coffee kept me just as warm;)

On the topic of sports, I am thrilled to be a t-ball mom. I've been hooting and hollering at practices, you'd think it was a late september Cubs game (in a good year.) Ethan is a rookie on the blue jays, and since one started nesting in our yard a few days before we got our uniform, ethan was pretty jazzed about the pick. His favorite position seems to be catcher. He has a predictable area he can manage (see organization - top photo) and places the ball on the "T" before each play. What he really wanted to be was manager, but since his baseball resume is a bit light, this is the next best thing. He hangs back with the umpire, who holds the batter's bat for safety while Ethan ducks in and out. He doesn't wear a facemask, but he does get to wear the helmet. Since we've only had one game, there's been no play at the plate, but he did get three doubles his 1st time out. All would have been singles but for overthrows at first base. Another highlight for him is snack time - far better "goodies" than we have at home. Kola also gets some of the stash and a playdate with one of the player's 2nd grade sisters. Last week they were climbing trees;) Let me know if you're in the neighborhood and I'll send you a schedule! More photos to come, no doubt.

I'd be remiss if I didn't detail the top photo - where Ethan is lining up Metra schedules to match the Trouble board while wearing his CTA t-shirt. Trains continue to be an area of interest, which was pursued this week as we followed my brother's family's travels throughout Europe. He sent us emails of which cities they were visiting and we were able to study the Amsterdam trolley, bridges across Luxembourg, trains along the Rhine, and canal boats/ferries in a few of the cities. Such fun for both of us to travel vicariously - a few nights Ethan was carried way enough to skip Wheel of Fortune!

happy springing - more soon;)

xo b/s/e/k

What's new with you??

2009-03-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Homework deductions

Road construction

Captive audience

Storytelling apprenticeship

Letters to know

Room to grow

Great news on the career front. Kola has decided to abandon his plans to become a girl (Sara, in particular) and become a doctor. He will be "Dr. Joe" and will only give checkups and see how people are feeling, but not give shots. At first Ethan was worried. Previous plans have had them both working in the transportation field, so Ethan wanted to know if he and Kola could still be family if they have different jobs. The good news is yes, but explaining to him how or why Kola might change his name to Joe was a little trickier.

Their train hobbies persist and they managed to ride trains for 3 out of 4 days this week. The train is not always the most direct or convenient way to get where we're going, so sometimes I'm dropping the boys and sig off via car and picking them up on the other side. Other logistical challenges were Christmas, where they took the train and I drove the presents, and a potluck brunch, where I needed the car to transport the food. Ethan's binder of train maps and schedules from around the area and world is really fattening up, and some days he'll walk around the house with a timetable, letting me know what trains are entering and leaving various stations.

Recently, the boys had their 4 and 6 year checkups. Ethan came in at a towering 4' which floored me, since I started high school at 4'11". A few years ago my dad said he was glad that of the houses we shopped, we picked a victorian with high ceilings;)

I was very honored a few weeks ago to receive a Citizen's Achievement award from the Illinois Park and Recreation Association for the environmental work I've done in the past year-ish with our park district. I've just re-upped for another three years with the park district's citizen's advisory group and will work again this year as the chair for the Greening Advisory group. It's rewarding to see this venture grow as we continue to implement our environmental policy with the launch of a zero waste initiative and a park stewardship program this spring.

We'd love to see and hear what's new with you. Thanks for checking in! xo b/s/e/k

Last days of lock down

2009-03-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yummy Construction

Origami, Cats and Dogs

Mardi Party, German Style

R/R

R-n-R

kola expressing his sunny side

once known as serious tower, by ethan

The weather today broke like a fever, and it seems we've made it through winter without going crazy. Though, you might be a better judge of that than we are. These past few weeks, the boyz have been hesitant to go outside - a little finicky for the right conditions, like groundhogs who just aren't ready yet. I guess there was still a bit of a to-do list, including the gingerbread house we didn't get to before Christmas, art and train constructions, down days watching videos with their "friends"...Making the most of the great indoors before their attention is shifted outdoors.

Our train layouts were refreshed with some of the boyz birthday cash and a few toys they sold on craigslist. They took their $80 booty to the hobby shop and bought a Metra set and a freight engine. If they could, the boys would set up a gift registry there - they're already planning their Christmas wish list with more double decker passenger cars and CTA cars. For now, this is the first step on Ethan's career path, which he most recently reported as a train map maker, a train driver, and a train announcer. I think all that cross-"training" will ensure job security.

I also had the pleasure to visit Ethan's school to guide the kids in Art Appreciation - origami. It was such fun to be with his class and see the kids' discoveries from one fold to the next.

We met with Kola's teacher this week for his first conference, and it was such a pleasure to hear how well he's doing, writing his letters, being a good friend and listener, and making new discoveries. The teacher thinks he's beyond caught up for his age, and by the end of the meeting, I hadn't heard anything negative. One thing he can work on is sticking to one thing (puzzles, paintings, but no problem with cars or trains) a little longer, which she guesses will build with maturity. We're very proud of him for such a great report.

As the boyz get older and my focus shifts away from constant safety patrol, I'm noticing more things around me (I've heard this referred to as coming out of the toddler fog - or is it my new progressive lenses??) Today, after a year and a half, I found that the blog has spell check. Now I need to see if I have the capacity to remember to use it. I also noticed that our water heater doesn't have the insulated wrap we put on in previous houses. things that make ya go hmmmm....xo b/s/e/k

Under construction - (updated)

2009-02-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

One less tooth to brush!

Lost in a sandwich, but found...1/25/09

Our kitchen re-do, complete with a new "handy gate system"

And now they are four and six.

Would you like dirt or pavement?

Alright already, cut the cake!

Kola wrapped up in a favorite gift.

Having the boyz birthdays a few weeks apart is great for gift and party sharing, but as I'm such a "celebrator" I realize that we've had a steady string of HBDs from early January through mid-February. We celebrated with two schools, 2 families x 2, neighbors and friends in various ways. So much so, that Kola regularly wears his birthday crown around the house singing "HBD to me." Now, he claims to be 10. And rightfully so. Which isn't just a tally of his celebrations, but also clocking time toward his goal of driving a firetruck. Kola also wants to be a girl, Sara in particular, so that won't get in his way - his previous aspiration was to be a raccoon, but in our state, they can't get driver's licenses (well, at least since the bribes to drive scandal got "cleaned up.")

The boys loved the presents, cake, and socializing. Ethan's favorite gifts, although when asked he says "all," seem to be the CTA t-shirt he took off once in two weeks so I could wash it in the bathtub (flat, to ensure the map doesn't peel off), and the Transit Maps of the World book. He also received pocket train maps of the Athens, Greece and Moscow train systems, from our neighbor who travelled there. Ethan has them protected in slipcovers in his train systems binder.

Kola loves his new rescue helicopter/police boat set and I can't tell you how in debt we are from the tickets we're receiving from those two enforcement vehicles. You also see above the new blanket he snuggles with every night - Aunt Lisa MADE it - a beautiful vehicles quilt, so he can sleep with vehicles all night long, without a scratch.

All-in-all it was a great haul, and a great time had by all! xo b/s/e/k

Strap on your party helmets, it's vacation time!

2009-01-13T11:58:00.000-08:00

Returning from a long-distance skid across the lake

Waiting at the bus stop

Our snowshuttle

The Payoooooooooooooff!

Affectionately known as boomball

Triple, lutz?

Sig making tracks

Only hills slowed Kola's snow-jogging

Hooray! Kola's 4!

Ethan on a solo flight

Kola picking a snowball fight...

It's so telling that every year, Ethan starts his winter countdown that ends at Afterglow, with Christmas as a milestone but not the final destination. This is just a glimpse (let me know if you'd lke to see 115 more on snapfish!) of the outdoor fun we had with grandma and grandpa in WI near the U.P. border. Every day was a new adventure and the boyz never once complained of the cold. Could it be that they were fueled by cookies, birthday cake, hot chocolate, and grandma and grandpa's hugs, smiles, and book-reading? Returning from each activity, I'd peel off the boyz layers to find snow where snow should never be, chapped faces, and wetness wicking from every appendage. I was proud to see them walk 2.5 miles on a snowshoe trail, tube solo for the first time, try broomball (a.k.a. boomball) -- not discouraged by the falls, and have to be coaxed off the lake after an hour-long 0 degree skate. Funny how today, they complained about the cold trip from the house to the car.

We all made new discoveries - Sig learned how to play rummy royal, grandpa helped the boys find a trail of squirrel pee in the woods (in 44 years, I swear, I've never seen it), grandma shared her theories about why there would be a live fly in our cabin, and I learned the plural of Fez, among other things.

We all felt very lucky to have shared such a great trip and are counting down to our 2010 reservation! Now, we're all in party mode, sans helmets (though that might be a mistake) as we celebrate Ethan's 6th and Kola's 4th birthdays. Also, check for updates on Ethan's loose tooth! xo b/s/e/k

Our holidays A to Z

2008-12-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

A is for All the dear friends we've seen - from as far Away as Singpore, to points in between. Many near to our hearts, we've long-time Adored. And lucky for us, some are right next door.

B is for Babysitters, who helped us attend evening parties! They're always nice and luckily never tardy.

C is for Cookies, the types there are many. I had a few, the kids they had plenty.

D is for Double Decker trains, Doubling the fun!

E is for Ethan Exploring presents, Each and Every one.

F is for Firetruck - santa brought the perfect gift for Kola, what luck;)

G is for Graduation at the Gymnastics center, Great teachers Great tricks. Both boys made it, but only got one pic.

H is for High school, the reunion party was fun. Thanks to Dave and Karen for Hosting everyone. (and the fire department for responding to the excessive fireplace smoke.)

H is also for Hannukah, where we learned of driedels and light with good friends at twilight.

I is for the ice storm that came barreling our way and provided us a jammyfest after Christmas day.

J is for Junket - let's load up the car. With food and presents and a 20-minute snooze, it's not far.

K is for Kola the Kooky Kook in his fancy tall hat. You want fries with that??

L is for Lights - I hung them up high. A few burnt out, so some extras I'll buy.

M is for the Memories from years so long ago. Dad played Ramsey Lewis Christmas - once on vinyl, don'tchaknow.

N is for our Nutcracker and Nativity set, I'm so glad to they're on display. We carried them home from Germany, though no customs fees were paid.

O is for the Ornament-making we whizzed through in Kola's class. Ethan and Alyssa made some later, at age 5 they're not as fast.

P is for Pictures on all our friends' greetings. We love to see the kids grow up now I know time is fleeting.

Q is for evening Quiet as I strolled down our street - the holiday lights were glistening a winter wonder treat.

R is for Rain, today flooding the plain. I need to mop the basement since we don't have a drain.

S is for Sleep - fast and sometimes deep. Dreamt of my new red sweater and where did I put that receipt??

T is for Tree with ornaments some homemade, some bought. When Kola brushes past the tree his pjs often get caught.

U is for Unique and thoughtful gifts, some white elephant some not, we had some laughs and thank yous, too - makes the shopping and wrapping a pleasure to do.

V is for the Voices at my niece and nephew's show at church. They were loud and proud and practiced hard we got there early to find our perch.

W is for Wonderment, I see it in their eyes. Reindeer food, santa letters, all a fun surprise.

X is for the x box, I have no idea what it is. Someday I'm sure I'll see it all, but they're still little kids.

Y is for You for keeping close in touch. The cards and holiday letters, it's never ever too much;)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ready or not, here it comes!

2008-12-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

christmas is music to their ears!

it wasn't his breath - I checked.

sugar buzz, anyone?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I've vowed to get ahead of the game this year, so the days leading up to Christmas feel less like Christmas-cram (as I've named it in previous years while morphing into scrooge) and more like a celebration. I'll let you know how that works out. But so far, we've done most of our holiday cards, baked cookies, put up the outdoor decorations, put up the tree, and done most of our shopping. It's party time! So now we can look forward to the kids' school parties I'm helping with, a reunion with former co-worker friends, high school friends' christmas party, caroling, block ladies' white elephant, .... well you get the idea. I'm looking forward to all the hugs and good cheer.

The boys have been enjoying every activity so far, showing me that there is Zen in The Art of Christmas prep. I looked past the cookie dough that splattered on the walls and floor as the boys put a good three hours into our cookie making, and just as much gusto into decorating, licking, and eating. After a warm bath to get all the sugar out of his hair, Kola said, "I'm as fresh as a cupcake!" Kola helped me carry the tree into the house, while Ethan gave directions and held the door. The boys did a great job at the holiday photo shoot - and thanks to our good friend and talented photographer Werner for his keen eye and patience to get some great shots sans the blur of boys in constant motion.

A steady stream of holiday crafts, hot chocolate, treats, snowfalls and Christmas prep have all added to the boyz energy level and excitement. But no matter how they tried (even with a present at stake!) they couldn't fake a smile for Santa. I think the photo up top says it best - to say the boys were nervous and wary is an understatement. We have annual photos of santa where Ethan shows his consistency...

luckily, the place where we saw santa had its act together by asking kids to fill in a wish list to bring to santa's lap. When Santa asked what the boyz wanted, Ethan was silent but nodded when his card was read - Kola mumbled "firetruck." They both wanted to know if the next day, their gifts would be under the tree if they were good. Ah the waiting is the hardest part. xo b/s/e/k

Skate/school

2008-12-01T08:09:00.001-08:00

He's up!

He's down...

Backwards swizzle

Kola teaches grandma about cars

Grandma answers questions about owls

Grandpa teaching his craft

Ethan's class - future illustrators?

Deep into the Fall, we're fully immersed in schools: Kola's preschool, Ethan's elementary school, gymnastics, art class, skate school, and starting tomorrow - soccer classes. There's so much learning going on around here, I had a dream this weekend that I flunked the kindergarten geography entrance test and they had me taking classes at Ethan's K-5 school. It was harder than you think, but at least I could get a glimpse of what's going on in there. Ethan's in school about 14 hours a week, but we get about :20 minutes of recap. Lucky for us, K's and E's schools are very welcoming to visitors. As you see, I brought a couple ringers in! Grandma visited Kola's school with screech owls from the field museum and grandpa took the reins for me (I'm a member of the art appreciation committee at E's school) to teach face drawing to Ethan's class. Both kids were very excited to show us around, and Ethan made sure Grandpa saw his locker.

Skate school has been fun to watch, and the kids like it. The only casuality was Kola's bike helmet, which got pretty cracked up with falls. His first day on the ice was mostly spent horizontal in various poses, but he got a lot of practice getting up;) He was a great sport about it and still wanted to go back. He's improved a lot but after about a half hour he's pretty "wiped out." Ethan has definitely built on his skllls from last year and excels at backward swizzles!

Aside from my duties social secretary and backpack/homework tracker, I am now chair of the Greening Advisory Committee for our village's park district. If you've been reading for a while, you may recall that I started this committee a year ago as a working group to draft the park district's first environmental policy. We've now formed an implementation team to enact the policy, which I think is pretty exciting and can make a difference in so many ways.

Sig has a new boss at work, and that seems to be going well. And all of this just reminds me we have lots to be thankful for! Thank you for keeping in touch with us. More soon! xo b/s/e/k

Das Vote

2008-11-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

We're all decked out in red-white-and-blue today, and Ethan posted our "I voted" stickers on the door. It's hard to believe that when the presidential candidates tossed their hats in the ring, we didn't yet have a date to travel to meet Kola!!

I'll leave this non-partisan, since we have dear friends favoring different sides, but I had to throw in this voting story: I went to the polls with Kola in tow. Always wanting to know what's happening next, I told Kola to bring his Thomas book, we're going to vote and we might be in line for a little while. "Boat!!! What boat??" he repeated loudly as we were entering the polls. I explained, no, there's no boat, we're getting a piece of paper with names on them and we have to vote for people to do certain jobs. This was completely tuned out as he tried to flush out more info. on the boat. "Will it be a long line? Where's the water? What boat?" Luckily, there were cookies at the polls, so he wasn't completely disappointed. On the way back to the car he said, "no boat. vote. vote?" yes, vote.

;) b/s/e/k

Tricks and Treats!

2008-11-03T13:59:00.001-08:00

The anti-vampire with friends

Dive in!

A smile and a treat from Shelley

An extra treat to have grandma and grandpa along

Pop rocks, straight up

Anyone see a tall frog and a short giraffe, with heavy bags in tow? Who could have asked for a better day of looting the neighborhood, with spectacular weather and grandma and grandpa along for the festivities? As if the day wasn't exciting enough, to have star celebs G&G come for T-or-T, bringing goody bags, hugs and smiles was like chocolate on chocolate. When Kola heard G&G were coming he shrieked, "I hope they bring their (trick-or-treat) bags!" Grandpa did manage to snatch a couple handfuls out of our bowl on the way out, but unlike my childhood experience, grandpa left the the kids' bags unraided. But a few hours later when the kids were asleep, I felt the need to uphold family tradition by making their bags a few ounces lighter...(oh how much can a few milk duds weigh?) Heard by our 7-year-old neighbor waving past our house at end of her T-or-T run, "Merry Christmas!" That summed it up and after a about an hour of tossing in their beds with visions of sugarplums and veins of sucrose, the boyz finally succumbed to sleep.

The next morning was like christmas with the rustling of wrappers and snapping of pop rocks in modified shot glasses. The kids assessed their haul, the squirrels munched on the pumpkins they'd knocked over, and Kola asked, "Can we do it again today??" and kept referring to T-or-T'ing as "the block party." The candy has prompted a new game, a variation of P.P. Petunia and monster, called M&M mice. I place a single M&M on the sectional, bookcase, ottoman or rug in our living room. The boys stalk it from the staircase and I hide in the kitchen, ready to pounce on them as they sneak down the stairs to steal the M&M. I'm thinking the energy we all expend in this game will help the M&M's follow the "zero calorie" celery diet (where the calories it has and the calories spent eating it are a wash.) The candy had also been a great incentive - Kola gets it for napping and for a dry night diaper. All of a sudden, he's napping religiously and dry every morning! As E's french teacher would say, "C'est bon." I say, c'est bon bon.

more soon, xoxo b/s/e/k

water music

2008-10-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Noah!

making the best of a soggy weekend

the concert headliners

later participants in an all-out jam session

a small but enthusiastic audience

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often considered as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered in the summer of 1717 (July 17, 1717) when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians playing on a barge close to the royal barge from which the King listened with some close friends (including the Duchess of of Bolton, the Duchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin, Madam Kilmarnock, and the Earl of Orkney). Sounds very similar to the events of our last few weekends.

The first movement was a three-day rainstorm that left our basement and many others in the area a soggy mess. Ours only reached two inches deep, which was our great fortune because nothing in our file cabinets or on our storage racks got wet. But it did mean we had to continually sweep water from the floor into our sump pit. Aside from a few blisters and soaked coloring books, there was no real loss for us, but we drove past many homes after that weekend with wet mushy piles mounded on their parkway for garbage day. I've now made another round of postings on craigslist;) to minimize our collection.

The boyz got tired of the lockdown by day 2. Our area was pretty gridlocked, some places and streets were closed, and with the sweeping and keeping an eye on the fort, field trips were out of the question. By day 3, when the rain stopped, the boyz were happy to suit up and ring the block looking for juicy puddles.

An unrelated fundraiser concert followed. While not rivaling the attendance of Live Aid, about as much fun was had - especially by the headliners and guest musicians. Ethan got the idea during a recent Grandma and Grandpa pick-up at the airport. One afternoon, we took the popular excursion to the airport to ride the tram, admire the baggage carosel, and see some planes come and go. Ethan found the 'street' musicians there fascinating - especially since the one he really paid attention to had no particular musical talent and a decent-sized tray of dollars and coins he'd earned. Kola was especially interested in the street person who'd found his way into the men's room, passed out on the toilet, and fallen asleep across the floor of a few stalls. Luckily, Kola performed no re-enactments.

The weekend after the airport visit, rich with ideas, Ethan set up a concert using a variety of instruments from our house. He asked for a box, set up chairs out front in neat rows, short to tall, made signs, and waited on the porch with an empty box. The street was atypically quiet, so he raised a few coins inside the house. With that tapped out, he asked me why people weren't coming. So, after fine tuning the art of concert promotion (and discussing the O'Hare ped traffic vs. that of our street at that time,) he started knocking on doors to set a concert time and remind people to 'bring their money.' I was surprised by the initiative and that he only needed a little encouragement to gather the guests. He'd originally written a sign and taped it on a 3.5' cabinet door which was cleared out from our recent clean-up, so he lugged the door from house to house as a visual aid for the show. And thanks to our fun-loving, generous neighbors, the concert was a success. Kola acted as manager by handing a coin to each guest musician but Ethan took the biggest cut. The next day he packed a few quarters in his pocket knowing we'd be somewhere with a vending machine and confidently bought a pack of starburst.

The kids are coming up with new ideas at an exponential rate - other clues they're in school and learning from life: Kola encourged us to settle down for books at bedtime with: "sit on your tushy-toosh if you want to read a book." and has an obsessive and not always appropriate use of the word "weird." When Kola interrupts, Ethan replies with "zip it lock it put it in your pocket." And Ethan's teacher has nicknamed him "her little investigator," with his steady stream of questions. No wonder they're both pooped and in bed a little earlier every nite;)

More soon! xo b/s/e/k

Kola's Turn!

2008-09-12T08:04:00.001-07:00

Ta Da! I am Ready!!!

Flip side...Tigger;)

Quiet time in his classroom's reading loft

Making new friends at "the office"

Although Kola's backpack is a hand-me-down from cousin Andrew that I've had in the basement storage for a few years, and something I hadn't used for Ethan - that it was waiting there was no coincidence. If I had to shop hours for the perfect backpack for Kola, this would be it. He is such a Tigger, and even happens to have it on his toothbrush (such a tiny character - or is it my refusal to get bifocals - I didn't notice until I unwrapped it.) He's always full of bouncy trouncy funfunfunfunfun. The wonderful thing about Tiggers is he's the only one.

Kola was all smiles on his first day of school. He's attending the same preschool with the same wonderful teacher Ethan had for two years. She's been a part of our family and Kola's history and we're lucky to have her this year. All last year, Kola sprinted into the preschool as we dropped off Ethan and picked him up. He'd blow through the electronic doors like the wind - one parent called him Beth's early detection system, since he always arrived at the classroom a minute or two ahead of me. But on his first day, he Walked(!) in along side me, calmly strolled into this classroom, hung his backpack on its hook, and entered his first day as a legit member of the preschool class. A huge change from when he used to try to break or sneak in and play with the trucks - often ending with me pulling him from the room in protest. Because I was so confident I knew his answer, at the end of the first day I asked, "so are you ready to come back to your school next week?" "No," a composed Kola replied. "not this school. A different school." "Oh, really?? Which one?" Well Kola informed me that he'll go to Ethan's school instead. When people ask him how old he is, he used to answer 5 because then he figured he'd get to go to Ethan's elementary school. Since that didn't work, and I informed him he needed to know his alphabet and be able to write his name, he's been diligently working on both. Yesterday, one of the kindergarten moms asked Kola how old he was - "I'm 10." I guess he figured 5 wasn't high enough for him to transfer... But no doubt both kids love their schools and teachers. Last weekend, both were bummed to hear they'd have to wait a few days before heading back. They both like to do homework in the afternoons, and if they don't have any they're happy with made-up assignments. And the beauty of this blog journal is that five years from now I'll probably read this for a good laugh;) But it's great to have them like school and I hope that lasts for a very long time...Thanks for checking. More soon! xo b/s/e/k

From zzzzzzzzero to 60

2008-08-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

friends for how many years?!?

faster, faster! racing a freighter in IN

Although time rushes by, we were able to make it stand stiller for a weekend in Indiana with BFFs. Ethan and I took a road trip to spend time with four of my friends, and five of their kids. Lots of laughs, reminiscing, food, and beach time was had by all. It was so great to catch up for a couple of days and share ideas, and the kids all really enjoyed each other and some end-of-summer fun. The past few weekends we've spent with friends have reminded us about what's important, how lucky we are, and how much fun can be had in the slow lane;)

A day and a half later, Ethan was still a little groggy from the late night hide-and-go seek, literally falling out of bed at the beach house, and sugar buzzes that postponed sleep. We had to rack him out of the loft bed or he would have dozed through his first day of kindergarten. We woke him a little later than we should, only because sig and i were racing around getting ourselves ready so we could be 'pit crew'. Aside from an early meeting or appt. about once every six months, we NeveR set our alarm (I know, lucky us) but at 6:45 we started our drill. Ethan was summoned at 7:15 for a 7:40 departure. Just enough time to fill him up with a donut and sausage (power breakfast!) - he was chewing as I buttoned his shirt. He laid on the couch while I strapped on his shoes, but he was very excited to be a part of the mix, after watching so many others on our block go before him. It was a glorious morning and Ethan was beaming like he was going to his first day at Harvard. So many neighbors and kids and sibs migrated up our street that it felt more like trick or treating.

walking with friends to his new school

kola leads the parade, hauling the supply kit

next to patrick, in front of his teacher, and 7 small steps away from kindergarten!

carnivals!

2008-08-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

go speed racer, go!

skipper and gilligan

"after the log ride hill, you should downshift..."

to the moon!

lollapalooza by day

shari, me, radiohead, and 75,000 of our closest friends

this could quite possibly be the only blog that tries to compare and contrast kiddieland and lollapalooza. let's compare: someone threw up at the park, there was a lot of walking back and forth and going in circles, it was loud and hot, it seems expensive to get in, and a good time was had by all...but kiddieland had far better bathrooms, lollapalooza had far better food and beverages, and no one tried to bum a cigarette off me at kiddieland.

this old house

2008-07-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

dan the man

his side kick R2D2

ain't no ladder high enough

there are so many wonderful qualities to living in an old (1880's) home on a tree- and porch-lined street. anyone who knows us has heard (ad nauseum?) how much we love our block friends. we also love our mature gardens and front-facing porches which host conversations, happy hours, and casual shout-outs to dog walkers and trike riders.

well any commentary on our life here over the past year would be incomplete without a four squirt-gun salute to dan, the man who removes all the wallpaper and duct tape that holds our house together. he replaces the licorice-like wiring, and adds insulation where no insulation has ever gone before. all with the patience (for the house and us) of a saint. he answers so many of the boys' questions, "dan, what are you doing? what's that? can i do it?" as you may be able to tell, dan is working in our dining room. and as you can see, especially through the eyes of a 3-5 year old boy, there's lots of fun stuff in there! so the house rule is no kids on the white tarp. the boys are really building up their calf muscles tiptoeing along the edge to get as close as they can to the action without teetering into the white zone. sig likes to come home from work to see what happened in the dining room that day, too, but we let him go on the tarp.

dan is a foodie, too, so it's fun to be able to feed someone during the day, who doesn't complain about trying new things:) we've been dipping into my beef jerky stash from MI, sipping sun tea, and dan will even eat an occasional PEZ if the boyz offer.

with all the old houses on the street (and such the nice and talented guy he is,) Dan's white station wagon practically has an honorary spot on our street. he's regularly invited to our block party and last year, his car was on our street every work day from new year's to christmas (and no, you can't have his number;)

thanks for everything dan - for making all of us and our home very happy!

xo b/s/e/k

run and jump and slip and fall and slide and laugh

2008-07-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

but the marketing department thought that product name wasn't "catchy" enough.

ethan, kola, and friends on a wonderful summer day in the yard...

abbey road? (john and george not pictured)

kola catching big air

mr. sprinkle toes

more run, more fun

road trip!

2008-07-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

checking out indy

happy passengers

visiting friends!

although the blog has been quiet, it's only because our last few weeks have been all but... first was a road trip ethan and i took to indianapolis to visit our friends laura, pat, colin, brendan, and caroline. we had such a great time catching up, relaxing with our friends, staying up too late, catching fireflies, swimming, and touring a new city. we loved indy which is a great town - and was only overshadowed by the time we spent with our friends there. we walked and ate our way through the town, visited a wonderful park and natural area, and ethan spent hours acquainting himself with the 3-car garage and its accompanying remotes and buttons. the barn-buster was their house's intercom system. i can't believe ethan hasn't already requested one for christmas.

other summer fun includes the revival of VOW (volleyball on woodbine,) an outdoor concert with the flemmings and other friends, slip and slide (or in ethan and kola's case, slip and fall,) kiddieland, and our vacation last week in michigan. wouldn't be fair to post about that before the pics arrive. promise to get those done asap - check back soon! xo, b/s/e/k

out and about

2008-06-08T17:36:00.001-07:00

beach day!

team building, a moat i think

bugs at the arb

building a dam

grandma and da boys

me and da boys

we've done a few fun field trips with the warm up over the past couple weeks. probably the collective local favorite is north avenue beach. the day was windy (we were literally exfoliated by whipping sandy winds from the east) but our desire for beach fun overcame that and the cold water temps for a couple of hours. the arboreteum was a huge hit too, especially with grandma carol's guidance. we were there for several hours and g'ma helped the boys discover tadpoles and taught ethan how to catch one! she also initiated an andy goldsworthy rock design, which even roped in a couple of river bullies who were previously throwing rocks and marking territories. kola came up with an interesting experiment - testing different-sized rocks to see which the current could push off an immersed flat rock. so much fun to see the discoveries and to pal around with grandma.

kola and ethan started kiddie camp this week and have been playing school ever since. they each walk around with a backpack (ethan's with camping gear and kola's with a leappad - er his computer) and they take the bus to school (ethan's desk) and do a project, then turn it into me (mrs. holzwarth, ethan's former and kola's future concordia teacher.) they're both getting ready for school this fall. they've generally been playing well together which is great timing for me, since i need to clear out the china cabinets and strip wallpaper from our dining room in prep for a room 'redo.' if i get pressed for time, i'm sure kola and ethan would love a crack at the wallpaper too!

more as soon as my camera software is reinstalled:) xo b/s/e/k

milestones

2008-05-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

i tried to take these pics exactly a year apart, and in terms of our robin charting, the first baby was born a year to the day i signed the exit papers at the ukraine embassy. today, i need to complete our "annual report on the development of adopted child" and submit it along with pics to the consulate general of ukraine in chicago. luckily, the report does not ask how many time outs the child has received or how many pounds of whoppers and peeps he's eaten, and i'm disappointed it does not test him on his knowledge of "thomas" characters, types of trucks and trains (and the trick question: how is a hopper different from a boxcar?), or breadth and depth of potty vocab. the report does ask open-ended questions about general development, skill acquisition, achievements (ha - that's where i can slide those in!), motor and language skills, personality, relationships, and emotional development. i'll post a few highlights:) more soon, b

p.s. i guess i subconciously dressed kola in the national colors of ukraine for his "1-year" pic!!

a baby bird-in

2008-05-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

robin's nest view from ethan's window

our friendly menards manager (note the donahues' garage remote)

we love to keep in touch! (4 of the boyz phones not pictured)

shelley suggested i chronicle an exciting development in our back yard: robins nesting in our lilac tree - if you look really closely, maybe you can see the first little blue egg in the picture. and i got to thinking what a great metaphor this is for kola's first anniversary. it will be fun for me to track how these dates all match up. looking back at the start of the blog, i see we first met kola a year ago tomorrow! it's so hard to believe it's just about time for me to write our annual report to the embassy in ukraine. sig said i should just send them the blog:) it will be interesting to see what this report entails. luckily, there is no shortage of photos to choose from!! would it be funny or prompt a visit from dcfs if i sent the pic of kola eating the wrapped package of sausage? it's been fun for me to look back in the blog to look at our first meetings together. more reflections soon. feel free to add your own! xo b/s/e/k

mommy i'm pedalling myself...faster, faster!

2008-05-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

ethan's treasured key and remote collection

thanks cousin andrew f for passing along kola's new bike:)

with help and instruction from ethan, kola is now pedalling and driving around woodbine. we all made it around the block the other day, and kola was grinning and giggling all the way. do you think wrapping him in bubble wrap would be too cruel this summer? hee hee. ethan has a cupholder and bell as his bike accessories and kola needs an ice pack holder. i've already had to fish him out of a rose bush in the garden and our of the tulip divet in bill's driveway. he always jumps right back on to make sure i don't suggest he take a break. as shelley says, what determination! ethan is very proud of having helped teach kola and is glad to have a pedalling buddy. i think the neighbors on woodbine will see these guys whizzing by their porches on a daily basis. we already have the keys and orange cones, now i need to check ebay for a set of racing flags! xo b/s/ek

p.s. happy friday aunt lisa...a regular customer with her weekly check-in:)

a few of our favorite things

2008-04-30T10:36:00.001-07:00

dining al fresco

ethan reading Drake's book on CD with andrew

"mommy, this is my favorite shirt!!"

ethan working at his "new" (circa 1960) desk

spring has come in like a cheetah (kola's newest fav animal) - almost faster than we can see. ethan exclaimed out the window at breakfast the other morning - mom! look!!!!! from his reaction, i thought the cable guy was mooning him, but when i got to the window, i saw that shelley's peonies had grown a foot over night. a la little shop of horrors. the garden is exploding with fireworks of color that change at least once a day. kola wakes up around 7 each morning and starts with a steady stream of, "go outside? yeah? mommy, yeah? five minutes? a hundred and five minutes?" part of his motivation is to start up his vehicles. something clicked a couple days ago and after nearly a year of trying, he figured out how to pedal. he was soooooo excited, and now i have to wear my track shoes when we go outside.

kola's vocabulary has exploded too. he talks non stop and names everything. he'll walk in a room and say - tissue, toilet paper, hot water, cold water...you get the idea. he has gotten quite in depth with his naming of train cars and trucks - i have to study to keep up with it - the more detailed the name, the better he likes it. backhoe and excavator and forklift are so three weeks ago - his brain is craving multi-syllabic complicated words. when i say a new, long word, he giggles and tries it again and again until he matches it perfectly. my favorite kola quote of the week came when we attended my niece jennifer's ice show last weekend. kola sat on my lap bouncing to the music, anticipating the spotlights, and admiring the skaters in their costumes. it may have been the copacabana number (barry manilow - admit you remember it!) when kola saw a skater and said, "mommy - she has gloves on with her bathing suit!!" perhaps you can picture it. we all had a good laugh on that one. kola also likes to ask, "mamma - who's that guy??" might be a girl, guy, lady, man. i may say "i don't know" and he'll ask louder or say "huh?" last time i said 'i didn't know that guy (a woman)' he said "that's dover and he drives a pickup truck." problem solved.

ethan's quote of the week was, "mom, when kola had his overnight at grandma and grandpa's house, it was quiet here. and when i had my overnight at grandma and grandpa's house, it was quiet there." re: a fav piece of candy, ethan said, "this is very good. it tastes like grandma or grandpa or their garage." more favs. ethan's preschool took a tour of a parking garage today and ethan was very excited to meet the security guard because of the huge number of keys she had. ethan had her go through each key and name what it was for. you may know that is one of ethan's fav hobbies. he can correctly ID all keys on several friends' and neighbors' keychains, and when he meets you, if you have keys in your hand, he'll ask you about each one. in the two years he's been doing this, we've found that probably 80% of people surveyed carry at least one key on their chain that they can't ID. his favorite art teacher gave him an unidentified key off her ring and that's a prized possession. ethan has three sets of keys totaling about 45 keys. they "lock and unlock" all our doors, including the linen closet, and his vehicles. for thanksgiving, he said he was thankful for grandma, grandpa, and their garage. for christmas, he wanted a three car garage with a remote door (sadly, we have none.) when he sees shelley's garage go up next door, he's very excited and sometimes he'll get to open and close it. about a year ago, ethan memorized our neighbor colin's football schedule. he'd put a lawnchair in our front lawn and wait until colin and his dad would come out so he could use their key fob to open the sliding door on their nissan quest. pat told me they'd always try to leave a couple minutes early to fit us in:)

one of my favorite things lately has been working with our park district to develop an environmental policy. a little out of my comfort zone of knowledge, but i get to dust off my project management skills and it's been fun to use that part of my brain again. i'm chairing a team of about 10 to develop this policy practically from scratch and somewhat by quilting together pieces from other entities. it includes guidelines on the installation and maintenance of biodiverse/natural areas, trees, and recycling/energy efficiency programs. it's close to 70 pages and is awaiting park board approval...then on to implementation. one of the goals is to support the park district in managing their existing biodiverse areas and targeting spots in the park system for new ones, so we'll soon be recruiting park stewards and volunteers to work in those spaces (if you're interested...!)

sig has also been busy with his annual crisis intervention conference that he has co-chaired for years with his friend barry. they recruit speakers and attendees and host a weekend in a chicago hotel for an exchange of ideas in that genre. a wide range of professionals from around the country attend, and barry and the conference are definitely on sig's favorite things list!

thanks for checking in....more soon!! xo b/s/e/k

spring, anyone??

2008-04-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

blue w/flu

our now farther-away-friend, caroline

just when i thought we were springing into the season of outdoor play and good health, ethan, kola and i got hit with the "real" flu. i used to scoff at the vaccinations, but i guess i've never had the flu before, and certainly not with two energetic kids. two weeks later and i'm finally feeling nearly normal. "luckily" the kids got it too, right about the same time as me, otherwise i'm sure sig would have come home each night to find me tied to the chair and easter candy wrappers scattered throughout the house. as it was, he had to take two days off work because i literally could not get out of bed. on day three, ethan, kola and i watched 5 hours of videos. kola now can vaccinate a cow and ethan can do a tune-up on a john deere 4-cylinder tractor. who says tv isn't educational?

on a sad note, a few of our newest and dearest friends moved off woodbine - see caroline in photo above. what i wish i had was a pic in one of her classic looks - playing ball or cars in a frilly pink skirt and cowboy boots. we'll miss the whole family and hope to road trip to see them after they're settled.

we're all counting the seconds until spring feels like it's finally here. every day, the boyz get on their light jackets, run out, and run back in to put on the heavy ones again. spring is late and no one knows that better than a preschool boy. every now and then we still find flurries in the air and ice on the vehicles. after the brief warm-up a couple weeks ago, i told the boys summer was over and winter's coming again and i think they half believed it. more indoor outings included reptile fest, where kola liked the turtles best and asked to take home a ball-cobra (please can i have it?? yes, when you're 20). kola also spent quite a bit of time stalking the brookfield zoo employee dressed as a giant frog - i have new found respect for people in character costumes. kola almost tripped the poor guy's frog feet tagging along behind/beside/on him. ethan had a keen eye for spotting poop in the cages and preferred the "big ones (reptiles that is!)" and enjoyed feeding grapes to the iguanas. after all that, we went to a pub for dinner and i could only fathom eating the salad.

since i'm also keeping this blog as a journal for the boys, i have to mention two favorite quotes of ethan's: mom, are you in charge of the world?; mom i have 30 hundreds of questions, but i can't ask them all because it would take billions of days. ethan is also quite proud of his 'new' room which is definitely quite the big boy pad - with a desk, loft bed, big bookcase, fold-out chair for overnites, and new big boy dresser sans-a changing table. i'm sure a brochure will be coming out soon - he's dragged many friends and neighbors in for a tour and kola also likes to play docent. call to arrange a viewing time!! for extra credit, bring your ikea catalog - find page numbers for 4 or more items and get a prize!! xo b/s/e/k

last hurrah

2008-03-10T11:27:00.001-07:00

will the real franz(ie) klammer please stand up!

ethan flying solo

kola and sig with a new way to hula

"Spring" (aka late winter) in Chicagoland was good to us - we had a couple more chances to ski before the thaw. Kola went out for the first time and loved it! He giggled with glee through most of the day and especially when on the rope tow and sliding down the hill. he should have been wearing a no fear t-shirt and a kmart blinking blue light above his head because once he realized he could stop by laying down, he seemed up for any steep. He's probably destined to be a trick snowboarder or long jumper. Ethan is quite a bit more cautious and goes for the style points. he's willing to ski on anything where he has control, and i could actually see him going for telemarking some day! with ethan skiing the green runs on his own instead of between my legs, i actually stayed awake past 9pm that nite. sig was zonked on the couch by 8 - i guess the hula-skiing took a lot out of him.

We all had even more fun going with our friends the straubes. adrianne is leading the pack and a great motivator for the boyz. another great motivator is the culver's stop on the way home, where we all had a good laugh over the flavor of the day being 'mint chip cheese curds.' the temps are expected to climb into the 40's this week - that's my threshold for standing outside while the boyz play in their plastic vehicles. of course their threshold is a lot lower temp, but i'm the one who has to stand there motionless as the ipass/tollbooth operator and occasional gas station attendant.

we've already enrolled for summer camp and t-ball and it's hard to believe that some day we'll be able to walk outside without bundling up first. kola's boots have lost their ability to velcro and his mittens are torn - i'd love to toast smores on the old snowgear some day soon. ethan is already counting the days until we head for lake michigan and the sawyer cottage - maybe that's what i should gauge with the counter i just added. since many have lost their comments passwords, i finally replaced the kiev clock with a hit counter. it will be fun for me to see if people are still visiting us here:) we hope all's well with you and enjoy keeping in touch!! xo b/s/e/k

february fun

2008-02-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

indoor vehicle fun

dinner by chef ethan

dessert by dominick's

the middle picture is the result of ethan's attraction to the channel 11 saturday afternoon cooking shows (especially the French chef who says 'la salade'.) one night about a week ago, ethan decided to make us all dinner: dubliner cheese, hot dogs, and goldfish. it was actually yummy and nice to have a helper in the kitchen and we all liked it even more because ethan made it. he also made his own birthday cookies and icing, which were eaten so quickly, it would just show as a blur on the screen.

and speaking of birthdays, the extravaganza continues. ethan and kola had their combined family birthday party at the garfield park conservatory and much fun (and frosting) was had by all. ethan's 5th will be capped off by a 'kids on the block' party soon, which he'll share with his good friend alyssa, who turns 5 next week.

the novelty of driving in snow squalls and trying to stand upright in below zero windchills is wearing on all of us. there's a collective groan in the house when the mittens come out, and we've really hunkered down these last few weeks without complaint. the boyz are exploring new pretend meals to cook, new ways to build garages, driveways, and patios (love those magnatiles!), the teletubbies have driven cross-country in various vehicles (the red convertible is a favorite), and when we need to burn off steam, we do make it out for gymnastics, baseball-basketball, the ball and tunnel room near our house, or back in the house for a game of monster/where are the boyz/p.p.petunia. these are all variations on the same theme, which involve me or sig chasing the boys in a circle on the 1st floor of the house, which i think would be quite a sight from street side!

we met up with grandma and grandpa last weekend to see the chicago symphony orchestra perform carnival of the animals, with john lithgow narrating. it was a balmy day, so we also took a tour though the art institute and millennium park. after a full day of culture, we asked the boys to recount their highlights. They were in absolute agreement: the favorites were the ride on the EL, and watching the zamboni smooth out the millennium park ice rink!

more of our favorite moments to come...stay warm:) b/s/e/k

happy new year!

2008-01-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

learning to ski at indianhead, in the U.P.

sledding with daddy

ice fishing with grandpa

hot chocolate with grandma

snowshoeing in the tall, tall forest

it's been a fun and busy month starting with christmas festivities at concordia (ethan's preschool), aunt julie's house, aunt andrea's house, aunt elaine's house, then a few days (mostly in our pjs) before we headed off for vacation about 20 minutes outside of eagle river wisconsin. our annual pilgrammage to afterglow is more looked-forward-to than christmas for ethan, and maybe me too. it's a wonderful resort chock full of northwoods winter fun. we went tubing, sledding, cross country skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, supper clubbing, played games, kept the fireplace roaring and the fridge and cookie cabinets stocked with all our favorite goodies.

ethan and kola both enjoyed being the trailblazers in their snowshoes, and although it was a close call with kola's first time out, we didn't have to carry any exhausted preschooler back to the cabin. kola was fascinated by the 8-9" sunfish grandpa was fishing out of the hole in the ice and entertained by the birds at the bird feeder. both boys lapped up grandpa's breakfast cups of cafe vienna and made frequent trips to the lodge to play trucks, foosball, and air hockey. the biggest hit was the closed loop video on the cabin's channel 4, showcasing the resort owners' youngest son, mitch moline, in snowboarding competitions - we watched it beyond the point where it was driving grandma 'goofy' (snowboard pun for the uninitiated.) when we returned home, the boys played 'pete and mitch moline' and took turns sledding on scarves down our (luckily carpeted) hall stairs.

the boys loved the extra attention with grandma and grandpa, and we loved the extra attention from my mom and dad, too! when the kids went to bed, the Over 5 Club's game night began with scrabble, probe, pinochle, and hearts. it was a great way to kick off the new year, illini loss and 6+ hour drive each way notwithstanding. we celebrated kola's 3rd birthday on jan 5th in the great white north, with ice cream cake, thomas and truck presents, and his first pbj sandwich (no nuts until 3!) and will be doing a combined b-day party for ethan and kola next weekend. hard to believe ethan will be 5! kindergarten sign-ups are right around the corner... egads!!

more soon - b/s/e/k

it's beginning to look a lot like winter!

2007-12-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

on saturday, sig was all snug on the couch with a cold, so the boyz and i pressed on with the plans we'd already made to go downtown for a holiday pilgrimage. i must admit i was quite proud of the three of us - we showed a heightened degree of stamina and cooperation while braving the cold, wind, snow, Bush protestors, street drummers, crowds, and an hourly wrestle with snow pants, gloves, hats, long underwear...each time we made a pit stop. we were fueled by holiday spirit not to mention regular infusions of hot chocolate, cookies, and chocolate bar sections which were rationed throughout the day. we visited macy's, saw the nutcracker windows, watched my niece jennifer skate in their holiday show at daley plaza, saw a policeman on horseback, visited a fire station, and toured the lobby of the wrigley building at ethan's request. kola and ethan compensated for my restriction of their beverage intake (see pit stop above) by eating white! snow from various gross urban fixtures - bridge railings, newspaper boxes, lampposts... i was very impressed that during the 11 blocks of walking, there was no complaining (ahem, santa) and the train ride was an all-around favorite.

we're had some good news from kola's eye doctor in that the glasses seem to be doing the trick - there may be no patching or surgery on the horizon. we're going for a 2nd opinion later this week, and are hoping for the same prognosis. this is the final week of his therapies and since he did not qualify for any further services (more good news!) we'll be relying on the park district for personal growth and fun. we've signed up for music, gym, art, and basketball/baseball. since he'll be 3 on 1/5, he'll be able to do a few 3-5 y.o. classes with ethan.

we're gearing up for the holidays and kola is just as excited about that as he is with everything else. he doesn't quite know what's in store, but he and ethan have been doing the advent countdown calendar, reading books, decorating, baking, and making regular trips to target-- something's in the works...ethan is probably even more excited about our winter trip up north to afterglow and even tho it's still weeks away, he's started packing for that. ethan is a snowshoeing/ice fishing/downhill skiing veteran and the boyz have been practicing their sledding techniques so there's even more to look forward to. "and kola," ethan exclaimed, "afterglow has a slide!" if you've gone down a metal slide on a cold day in snowpants, you'll know it rivals a rollercoaster!

hope you have a wonderful holiday - we'll post again after christmas!! ho ho ho b/s/e/k

boo!

2007-11-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

our not so scary bear and giraffe! kola was incredulous that he could knock on our neighbors doors on halloween and grab fistfuls of candy (our neighbors were very generous and patient:). ethan was happy to show him the way and make suggestions on which might be his favorites. the kids were just as excited about boo @ the brookfield zoo where they each visited their nemesis!

mikola's baptism

2007-10-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

we had mikola baptized at our local church (st. giles) a couple weekends ago. i tried to prepare him a little, but the priest and other families were great and the ceremony went pretty well. surprisingly, he wasn't the oldest or biggest kid in the group of 4. as we neared the end of the service and he started getting antsy, i let him know he'd be getting cake and ice cream if he cooperated and it was very smooth sailing 'til the end.

we hosted a family party at the house after the service and of course the preceeding week was full of house preparations. we have had painters and carpenters here the past couple weeks to squeeze in exterior work before the weather changes. the painter promised me he'd have all the caulk and primer on the front porch covered with paint in time for the party. he did, but no one anticipated the 90 degree heat and 90% humidity of the early october day. the morning of the baptism, i put the furniture back on the porch and all seemed fine, but 2 hours into the party, the porch floor started turning into goo!! but i think a good time was had by all, including a badminton family tourney and a welcoming committee for sig's sister andrea who completed the chicago marathon -- plus the race to the party:) sig's dad was missed, but on the way out of the church, kola's godfather and sig's nephew sebastian found a polish penny on the front steps, so maybe he (and busia?) were there after all...

other highlights of the month included a visit to the model railroad set up at the botanic garden, kola's first trip to an indoor pool, and ethan's fun birthday party adventures celebrating with friends carson, finn, and katie.

as always, thanks for visiting with us:) love, b/s/e/k

busy, busy, busy!

2007-09-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

wow - the end of the summer blew by like a bullet train! highlights included a visit to our friends' cottage (i'll try to post separately on that once i get photos loaded), a birthday party at the morton arboretum, a couple trips to north ave. beach, visits with friends - many still meeting kola for the first time. here you see kola at his first cubs game - not yet a baseball spectator, we entertained him by running the ramps from the ground to the top deck and stuffing cranberries and goldfish into a small water bottle which he had to fish out to eat.

kola continues on his early intervention 4 therapies a week, p.t., o.t. and language. he's speaking in full sentences and was tested last week for language and is now only 3 months behind for his age. an amazing accomplishment since his arrival in june speaking no english. you may have noticed in ethan/kola's art class picture that he's now going for the harry potter look - does that make him american or british? anyway, we finally got our long-awaited visit to the pediatric ophthamologist who found that kola is far-sighted (and not severely) in both eyes - one more than the other hence the crossing. the first step in correcting this will be glasses for 2 months. if they see enough improvement, we'll continue to work with that. if not, we'll go to a patch, and if that doesn't work, then surgery. he's had the glasses for 4 days and already sig and i are noticing some improvement in the crossing so we'll keep our fingers - er - crossed. we can tell right off the bat that he's seeing better and he's spending more focused (literally) time with puzzles, books, and crayons.

the boyz are doing great. mostly having fun, fewer time outs, better sharing and listening...if this is any indication, i'm updating the blog while they're doing art time are reading books, broken up by the occasional game of chase. they have complementary personalities, and kola has helped ethan be more of a leader and try new things. in addition to the occasional field trip, frequent park visits, and almost daily plastic vehicle time, ethan is in preschool m/w/f ams, gymnastics, art class, and ice skating. ethan is doing great with his writing, has made new friends, and wishes he could go 4 times a week:) kola is in gymnastics and music, both which he loves. kola's tootsie roll for caca program is a huge success and he give us all about 20 voluntary hugs a day. i think what's hardest now for me is the busy fall with all the add'l activities, plus offloading all the baby stuff we'd crammed in the basement. thank goodness for yard sales, craig's list, and brown elephant!

we are sad to report that sig's father passed away last week after a very full 92 years. we'll miss his salmon on sale phone calls and stories but are very thankful he had a chance to meet kola, who he took a quick liking to.

thanks for checking (is anyone still out there??) hugs!! b/s/e/k

paul's pie

2007-08-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

our friend paul made and dropped off a wonderful pie for the boyz...this captures some of their enjoyment (all that's missing is the smacking sounds!). it didn't take kola long to learn the word PIE!

when's oktoberfest??

2007-08-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

yes, now we have more than one sausage fan in the house - and he's not picky. polish, german, hebrew national hot dogs, bob evans breakfast sausage....he's had it and loved it all! kola's two favorite things in the new world seem to be sausage and machinas. i've learned that machina means more than cars, it's everything with a motor, including my blowdryer. kola was awake early with me this morning and heard the thunder of a rainstorm, and he yelled - machina! i think he thought it was the mother of all machinas out there.

ethan and kola and having a fun summer playing cars/ramps in the house (we continue to stock up at garage sales so everyone has a favorite car in each hand at any given moment.) not to be topped by the collection of plastic vehicles they ride for at least an hour a day outside. they set up plastic parking cones, and each palms a set of keys, and they drive up to me on the porch steps when they need a sippy cup refill. often, there will be a "pick-up game" where other kids pitch in to make a traffic jam. sometimes i'm put to work as a toll booth operator (a leaf is toll change and a stick is an I-pass.) they each have a squirt bottle and towel to wash their cars and every now and then there's an effective trade made.

one of the boyz' favorite field trips was an EL ride to millennium park last week - kola's only previous train ride was more like an amtrak overnite from donetsk to ukraine, which for all of us seems like years ago. now he was able to stand in the first car and see other EL trains come and pass us. "Mama!!! Machina train!!!" he squealed every time. and if i didn't notice, he'd repeat it just to make sure i didn't miss one. passengers were at first amused then just verrry patient. one of the EL riders was very busy fielding phone calls. ethan said to him - "oh, i left my cell phone at home." which got a few laughs, but ethan was serious. between the 2 of them, ethan and kola have 9 cordless phones (2 real, my old dead cell phones)which they love to chatter on. ethan makes plans for visits, playdates, and field trips. kola greets many different callers - ello! ello! okay, byeee.

kola is learning so much english it's amazing. the other day, i was telling the story of our visit to millennium park and the water area they have there, and kola pitched in at the right time in the story, "no drinking!" with a smile on his face. it took me a minute to realize he was tracking and understanding the story and pitching at the right time. he really likes words and songs, which i'm sure helps. today at the grocery store, i handed him each thing we picked out and we named it. if i didn't name what i handed him, he'd make it up. most guesses were chicken or yogurt (for a can of tuna) until i told him what it was. and he'd repeat the word a few times with me until he felt it sounded right. and in line he started naming the woman's food ahead of us - bananas! water (sounds like wally), etc. if he learns too many words, that could get embarrassing!

maybe you can tell, but i'm really proud of how kola's doing, and how attached he is to our family and friends (oh shelley, he calls you belly - we'll work on that.) and ethan is doing such a great job as big brother, teacher and co-conspirator - they have a few squabbles each day, but those quickly dissipate and all in all they help each other, interact a lot (kola: lookit that! ethan: it's a xxx, kola), share more often than not, and if there's a time when my nerves are shot, they seem to turn to each other so mommy gets a little time out.

keep in touch and i know most of you have lost the log-in, so keep the emails coming at bethburdin@gmail.com. thanks for checking!! b/s/e/k

summer fun

2007-07-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

we've been getting into the swing of summer and since kola seems to love (and not be overwhelmed by) every field trip we take, we've been able to do some of our "old" favorites. kiddieland was a bit hit - so big in fact that my dad and i had to literally drag kola off his first ride. i didn't have the language established with him yet to figure out how to explain that you have to get off the ride to get back in line again to get back on, so my dad had to go in one side of a ride's train car and i had to go into the other to fish him out. but once we were able to show him more! more! he and ethan proceeded to go on rides, and rides, and rides for about 4 hours. when we were leaving the park, kola gave me 4 big hugs and kisses, which i think was his way of saying "this was the best day yet!" we all also experienced our first silent card ride ever, on the way home. i couldn't tell if their heads were spinning or they were just exhausted. ethan also had his first Tums that nite after eating an entire bag of cotton candy!

the zoo was also a big hit, where kola showed much enthusiasm for the diving seals (boat! boat!) and the safari ride (machina!) and the goats (barka!=dog), well, we'll get to the english names for animals sometime soon. ethan did a great job of showing him around and teaching him about the animals. we went with our friends lori and adrianne (her daughter, ethan's age) who were also patient and helpful in getting everyone herded in one direction. kola is teaching me more words and learning more every day, so i'm feeling more comfortable with the outings. he's learning more about rules, and staying with me, and when to stop, so he actually did stop when the motor safari started moving, actually did stop climbing under the fence to pet the tiger (cataka!=cat), and actually did come back to me even when something more interesting was up ahead. none of which would have happened the first week we were here.

altho it does sound like things are getting progressively easier, it's always 2 steps forward and one step back - my friends (and neighbors) jen and kelly were here for one of my harder days on earth a few days ago when the doorknob in kola's room fell off and we were all locked in there for an hour, just after i had to practically drag kola home from the park leaving friends to pick up a trail of kids and plastic vehicles. but it is still remarkable how well things are going and how fast kola is learning. but every new day as a family of four is becoming more fun and less about laying out the rules and playing referee. the weather has been so fantastic we've been lucky with run around time and adventures. more soon, thanks for reading! b/s/e/k

Beach Boyz

2007-07-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

We're settling back in after a week at a cottage we rent each year in Sawyer, MI. Here's a pic of Ethan beaching during kola's nap - where he noted that the beach is more fun when kola's there. a heartwarming breakthru. we got lots of pics of E & K, but almost all on my film camera... It was a relaxing yet busy week, but with wonderful weather, we were able to enjoy the beach every day. lots of digging, splashing, water transport, sandy snacks, rock gathering, dam building/destruction/repairs, irrigation, exploring, chase -- you get the picture.

we had a great day at warren dunes with mike and liz and their clan + shari and her daughter. and my parents spent a couple nites with us and had some great time with the kids - it was so nice to have a long visit & chat and they introduced kola to the joys of ice cream, cupcakes, and sandcastles. grandpa found kola's rough and tumble side which earned big belly laughs and he toasted ethan's marshmallows just right. grandma brought her patented big hugs for the boyz. we set up the tent, made campfires, visited a train museum, watched the boats, played in the hammock. kola really had no trouble settling in and only protested coming into the house for sleep or sitting down to eat. did i mention i've lost 3 pounds in the 4 weeks he's been here?

the first word kola says in the morning is 'ethan' - they've become good friends and still test us and each other. but every day is getting a little more fun with gradually less time spent 'reviewing the rules.' the boys share a passion of electronics, interactive buttons of all kinds, and vehicles of all sizes and shapes. today they spent at least an hour riding the block on their big wheels.

the next two weeks we have 2 groups coming from early intervention to see how he's doing and if he needs any help to catch up. i'm thinking they might target just language for him, but i am amazed at the number of words he's already learned - the latest are 'not yet' (i never realized how much i say that!) and shelley next door taught him 'nice' and 'gentle' as he pet her dog maxwell. he likes language and tries to teach me a few ukrainian words and laughs when i say them - i guess it's my chicago accent. thanks for checking in, more to come!! b/s/e/k

settling in...

2007-06-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

ok it feels like i posted only a few days ago, but time is really flying! we've been 2 steps forward and one step back on many fronts, but all in all, i think it's going remarkably well after (as sig reminds me) just over 2 weeks. kola is soaking everything up - trying some new food, using new words, and using new tactics to get what he wants. luckily, i've already been road tested by a 2-y-old before and have plenty of support from friends and sig - consistency, consistency, especially for a curious 2-y-old who's getting a whole new environment and set of rules. he really seems to like it here and loves woodbine and ethan and gives me many hugs and smiles. the first words out of kola's mouth this morning were 'hi ethan' and i had to stop him from going into ethan's room and waking him up. and now with the monitor on, i'm hearing him drift off to sleep, "ethan, mama, ethan, mama..." (knock on wood) ethan seems to have turned a corner on the big brother circuit. he's been more patient and helpful and less defensive. the boys are having a lot more fun together and today ethan said - "this is a fun day after all!"

i think it's helped to add some new toys into the house - aunt julie/mark/jennifer/ andrew brought enough toy cars to make a traffic jam, and we've added a sit and spin, a new garage/car wash/car ramp extravaganza, toy remote, toy phones (each boy usually has one ringing playphone in his hand for a good part of the day). kola has discovered joy in flavored yogurt, applesauce, popsicles, and goldfish. his new words are 'oh my gosh', all done, hot, mine, no no no no no, and come on ethan. we're still employing time outs which seem to be gradually curbing his attempts to futz with the stereo, play with the buttons on the a/c, cross the street by himself, and pull on cords. he loves the blowdryer and vacuum and the other day i left the house for a minute to toss out some garbage and came back to find both boyz wrestling the vacuum out of the hall closet. their deer in the headlights look was enough to crack me up.

i've been trying to get myself in a new routine and thought i was doing pretty well until i dropped ethan off at preschool only for him to point out to me that he still had his night diaper on. then i showed up at my friend kelly's house down the block to drop off a b-day card only to realize 1/2 way there that i had two different colored shoes (saving grace they're both the same but a pair in black and brown), the t-shirt i'd slept in the nite before (the shirt i'd worn earlier that day had been soiled - i'll spare you the details), and my workout pants from the a.m. at the gym. quite a fright - definitely a new mom of two toddlers look which won't be seen on 'america's next top model.'

look for an update in the next week! xo b/s/e/k

outnumbered

2007-06-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

today was my first day alone with the two boys. sig headed off to the office and before he left, i jumped at the chance to take a shower. it was then that i realized that my hierarchy of needs has changed over the years. on the bottom of mine is sleep, and luckily, everyone here is sleeping thru the night. next on the pyramid is shower. followed by coffee. then food. followed closely by a tie of friends and the fact i didn't need to call 911 that day. for the most part, this day one went surprisingly well. altho there were a few minor falls i missed preventing, no blood was shed today. ethan and kola had a few competitions and i ref'd one and gave ethan ideas for 2 others. ethan at one point was carrying 2 'precious objects' with him while peddling a way too small tricycle to protect his valuables from swiping - and one of these objects was a kids folded-up lawnchair. shelley laughed and said she wouldn't be surprised one day to see ethan out there with a backpack, cart, arms full of stuff. all kinds of techniques are being tried.

ethan did realize that little brothers do come with some perks. he sometimes enjoys follow the leader, last nite they ran in circles playing tag and chase, and today they got teaspoons from the kitchen and used them to drink water from the powder room sink and 'fill' up a bucket -- as captured on the above photo. kola also came with a dowry (a few toys sig and i picked up in ukraine) of 2 toy cars, a toy steering wheel, a puzzle, a a couple new toys ethan helped me pick out - all good to help enforce the sharing idea. then yesterday, karen and bill (nessie if you read the comments on the blog)gave the boys each a book and a card that said congrats to ethan for being a big brother and welcome to kola - ethan thought that was pretty neat and it helped ethan understand that they'll both have cool stuff they can share with each other, not just ethan letting kola play with all his stuff.

sig was a welcome sight tonite around 5:30 and the boyz were very excited to see 'mama papa' which is what kola calls him. kola also now uses 'done,' whoosh (which means he wants me to pick him up) moo ba lalala (his favorite book), no, banana (which basically means food), wow - ie wow machina instead of the ukraine version - oy machina...ethan uses opala = what kola says when something falls and suddenly ethan has also lost his ability to keep all food on the plate. ethan knows die (give it), spaseeba (thank you) nyet (no), machina (which all of woodbine is using) and they each recognize but don't say yet a few other words. kola definitely knows telephone, sleep, more, bath.... aside from kola's sleep protests and ethan's about 2 hours of whinyness a day, i think things are going better than i expected. kola's dr. appt. went ok - he was a trouper until the needles came out for tb and blood tests - nyet mama!! a real heartbreaker, but he didn't squirm or thrash. we'll be having developmental tests done and are waiting for the labs, but the dr. didn't find anything unusual and gave us some good tips about transitioning him.....more soon! love b/s/e/k

home sweet home

2007-06-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

i can't believe kola and sig have only been home for 1 1/2 days. it's been a blur. ethan and i picked sig and kola up from the airport saturday morning, with a very exciting tram ride from parking lot e to terminal 3. sig and kola had had a very long and trying trip back from ukraine. i still don't have all the details, but sig said kola was good on the plane and slept as much as one could - but the only thing he ate in over a day was a rice krispie treat. there was a bout with a runny diaper and a 'hellish' transition thru the airport, but kola arrived very excited to see all the machina in the airport parking lot. he got home and sniffed out the house. after a quick inventory of the toy basket, he ate an early lunch with us - 3 entire bananas. he napped very well and we had to wake him after 3 hours to ensure a good nite's sleep. throughout the day, he was greeted by many enthusiastic neighbors and he fell right into the welcoming arms of woodbine. shelley served a champagne toast, bill and karen lent puppies as an ice breaker plus a strip of red-white-and-blue flags which we hung from the porch the nite before their arrival, carson and quinn left welcome cards for ethan and kola, and the neighbor kids are brushing up on a few russian words and phrases.

day two delivered more fun on woodbine and a stroller trip to chicago avenue to see some better machina action. in his several hours outside pushing various plastic vehicles up and down the sidewalk, he's had lots of smiles and giggles and learned a little about not going into the street. as much fun as he has playing chase and playing outside, he has pitched a couple fits about coming back into the house - which i guess i would too. tonite we had a really fun playdate with the flemmings and altho it took kola a while to warm up from his post-nap jetlag, he was right in the fold and grinning all the way. he even ate this third thing in the states (his 2nd being 3 bowls of oatmeal - funny about 3) an apple and gouda sausage! that after snubbing breads, cheese, ham, bologna, apples, crackers, corn......) he seems very happy with his new home, inside and out, and we're so grateful to our wonderful neighbors who have been so physically and emotionally supportive...words really can't describe how much it has helped us and meant to us.

day 1, ethan was very patient with kola and mostly observed from the sidelines and was curious, which come to think of it is how ethan approaches most new things. today has been more trying for him - sometimes it seems kola is a little gnat, walking in front of his cartoons or checking out the toy in his hands. then he's a new mischievous partner as they experiment with doors (and slamming) together, then he's a reason for jealousy and a request for extra help. when probed, he still admits that having a little brother is fun. i'm sure we'll all continue to pursue a range of emotions. all in all, i'm truly touched with how ethan has shared everything in his domain with kola, and i'm moved by how kola has embraced our family and home and shown so much trust in us. and even thru his jetlag, sig has remained calm and level-headed. three out of 4 sleeps, kola has gone down pretty easily, but this am kola had so much fun on the block that he and i really had a battle of wills at naptime. after he left his room for the 5th time, sig reminded me - what would supernanny do????!!!! he's given me great support and pointers.

tomorrow is the dr., which i'm expecting to be mostly unpleasant. hopefully it will exceed my expectations! thanks for staying tuned, and we'll post again in a couple days!! xo b/s/e/k

another countdown!

2007-06-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

i talked to sig this am - he and roman had picked kola up from the orphanage and were boarding the train to kiev. sig said kola was not up for getting into the machina at first, but after his first ride, had no reservations or worries about the next. roman says all the kids like the train ride, and i expect kola will be no exception. kola and ethan had a chance to talk for a minute, not sure if words were actually exchanged but they could hear something of each other. ethan and i will be picking kola and sig up at the airport sat am!!

ethan asks a few times a day when daddy and kola are coming home. he's been making some detailed plans about our upcoming trip to the airport and has been helping me make important decisions. he picked kola's paint room color, drapes (dark blue momma, just like mine), the new stroller he and kola will ride in (it will be brought to the airport)... ethan also informed me that kola -- and ethan -- do/es not like fish or fish sticks, so i won't have to make them. i also learned from ethan that kola likes chocolate milk, but only the sweet kind. today ethan sang 'we are family' sans the 'sisters' part, and proclaimed without prompting that he will be nice to his brother.

the first few days since my announcement to ethan were not quite as rosy. he ran thru every emotion, the 5 stages of grief, and clung onto my leg for 2 days. he asked a laaaaaht of questions and with a few days of processing under his belt, and the ability to leave the room a few dozen times and see that i'm not gone, he's now very excited about the prospect. we've measured kola's height, talked about the kids who he's close to in age (esp. kyle and caroline), looked at kola's pictures, picked out books for ethan to read to him, road tested and bought a double stroller - ethan has already called dibs on the seat with the cupholder. ethan wanted to know where kola's mommy is, if ethan can live in a big house with a lot of kids too, etc. ethan also noted that 'now there will be 3 pee pees in the house.'

it's been really nice to be home. after about a week my fog is clearing and so is the house. the first several days were like living in a camper as the office was cleared for painting and all its contents were shoved into every other living pore of the house. the dining room had 2 add'l couches, an end table and files in the kitchen, boxes of books and office supplies in the bedroom. after a salvation (hallelujah) army p/u today, there's finally some elbow room. our neighbor andy, home from Indiana for the summer, is painting and eric is coming friday to put together the wardrobe and do some odds and ends. i'm working on childproofing, toy swapping, and clothes bin rummaging.

it's been wonderful to see my neighbors and good friends here on woodbine. their enthusiasm about kola and reassuring stories/and good ideas are like a constant 'Big Hug' as Po would say. i also had a chance to see my brother & julie and the kids last weekend - i was still foggy so it was nice to take a break and not be frustrated being antiproductive. we went on a road trip to my parents house + riverside to see the cicadas. it was astonishing - they were everrrywhere and almost deafening. ethan was covering his ears and i flicked a few from my legs and shoes. if it weren't for that trip, i would not have seen one yet. hard to believe with all our old trees that our village seems to have been missed! more soon, xo b

2007-06-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

June 1 Holiday for children

The first of June is a holiday celebrating children in the former USSR. Ukraine seems to have continued the tradition. I understand that women’s day is sometime in February and Red Army day was a defacto men’s day of celebration.

The orphanage in Donetsk gathered the children in the playroom who were joined by the staff and many adults – including adopting parents and perhaps relatives of the children.
As the Mistress of Ceremonies recited a story into a large felt flower she led the children in song and dance. At times the children passed around a baby doll. In a touching part of the event a five year old blind resident recited a lengthy poem to the director of the orphanage and presented here with a gift of crafts and pictures. She and everyone in the room shed a tear or two. At the end each child received a small gift (gummy fruit wedges). Later, outside, Mikola was very industrious at opening the package and stuffed two fistfuls of the treats in his mouth. His grin not only showed how happy he was with his accomplishment, but also how he couldn’t fit anything more in his mouth much less chew what was there.

Mikola seems to be making some kind of association with me. After the ceremony he saw me in the hallway as he was being led off to his room, and he seemed to express some dismay at having to go to his room. Irena, the head teacher also spotted me and went to get him so we could go outside for a visit.

At the end of my visits and when it is time to go inside he pulls his usual trick of going limp, dropping his body, and rolling around on the floor, ground, or dirt. This is a common response of his to anything that he doesn’t like. He is very good at it and will do it anywhere without any regard to his surroundings. I can just picture him doing this in the states especially in the middle of grocery stores or other inconvenient settings. Inevitably after one of these episodes, he is covered in dirt, but when I return for the next visit he is fresh and clean. The caretakers must curse me when this happens.

His best friend Mariano, who is also being adopted, seems to be very afraid of getting into cars or going past the orphanage gate. Meanwhile, Mikola can barely be stopped when he sees a car. The Italian couple seemed apprehensive about what was going to happen when the time comes to take Marion home. In our best attempt at communicating with Italian and English hand gestures, we decided to coax Mariano across the gate line with Mikola. There are other ways that they seem to complement each other well.

Don’t do this at home:

Today, June 2, I took a random tram to the southern end of the city. After waiting out a torrential rain in a cafй, I headed in a random direction just to see more of the city and happened upon the terminal and workshop of the street rail trams. From outside the gate I noticed an old refurbished street car and took a picture. A man in a uniform emerged and signaled me from inside the yard. The last time this happened Beth was admonished for taking a picture. But, as he approached he uttered a phrase that I hear often at the orphanage, that I believe is used to encourage someone to come and follow. So I did. He invited me to take more pictures closer up and even go inside (not that I understood what he said). Then he further encouraged me to follow him and as we got closer to the back to the yard in a more secluded place, I was thinking, now I’ve done it and who really knows I’m here!

Tucked away in a barn was a refurbished #1 street car. It may have been redone for a 70th anniversary celebration in 1998 – as it had the numbers 1928 – 1998 on each side. The first street car outside was #2 embellished with 1928 – 2003 on its sides.

For a city that doesn’t offer much for tourists – it was a nice gesture to me a stranger, randomly showing up in an obscure cranny of town. My thanks to the yardman, whoever he may be.

June 4 Decree in Hand

I received the court decree today granting our adoption of Mikola. Roman will arrive tomorrow and we'll scurry about to finish up the Ukraine paperwork and then off to Kiev for more US paperwork. Then some more waiting and a long trip home, changning in London and overnighting in New York.

By the way;

For anyone else thinking about doing this, American Airlines has been very flexible with changing my ticket at a minimal change fee. The adoption rate of $650+ one way, while not cheap, is a reasonable fare for our latest addition. It’s about 1/3 to 1/2 of an unrestricted roundtrip ticket and is about the same as a highly restricted round trip fare.

good morning illinois!

2007-05-31T05:25:00.001-07:00

was up with the possum near dawn this morning -- it was lumbering thru the tall grass in our backyard. it's weird (but productive) to feel your day is 1/4 of the way over by 7 am. i hope ethan will read me books and put me to bed early tonight.

i think i left off musing about a visit to TGIFriday's on my last full day in ukraine. the more i thought about it, the more i started craving fried mushrooms of all things - i have them here about once a year. so i went for the mushrooms (which were very tasty) and a beer and eavesdropped on an american conversation and on my way out bumped into someone i knew from forest park! it was a couple and their two kids who had just arrived in kiev - they're on their way to adopting their 3rd. we had met them at a bbq in wheaton last summer held by sue kane who did our homestudy. small world!!

my visit to the embassy was quick and uneventful, and after lunch with anatole (who helps the team here) and roman, i was off to the airport. with a flight of less than 2 hours, i landed in vienna for an overnight stay. what an unbelievable city! this never occurs to me when i see chicago's massive skyscrapers, but i couldn't believe that the earth could support vienna's massive collection of 5-story heavy block baroque-looking buildings. and one is more ornate than the one before it. i walked around with my jaw at my knees for a couple hours. vienna is not as dainty and scrubbed as salzburg - and with dark storm clouds looming during my tour the gargoyles and busts and statues decorating the buildings seemed even more ominous. some cities pour their resources into their churches and to vienna, every building is a chapel to its purpose - government, the arts, and religion.

after a wonderful german-style hotel (buffet) b'fast, i was back at the airport for the flight to chicago. it was a long, 9-hour daytime flight. it seems so much longer when it's not an overnite flight and when you're anxious to get home. my mom, dad, and ethan met me at the airport and were first, front and center outside the double doors of baggage customs. ethan seemed taller and older and gave me the biggest hug of his life. neighbors were out front when we drove up and our bock had turned so lush and green, new neighbors and puppies were settling in and shelley and haley and mary b. had added some beautiful flowers and baskets to the porch for such a warm welcome!!

ethan's anxious to watch his new train video with me - we'll call sig later today and i'll update again soon! xo bb

just point

2007-05-28T04:02:00.001-07:00

Independence Square - site of our 2 kiev apts. and protests

the last couple of meals before i left for kiev, we wandered off the beaten path and had to make due without an engleeskee menu. i spent some time trying to translate using my poclet dictionary but really only got as far as the headings. when we went out with the delaware couple, scott could recognize chicken kiev, chicken cutlet, and french fries, so he'd point to a couple of those and held up 3 fingers and that's what he, his wife, and I had. since sig likes to eat just about anything (and you really can't go wrong here - except i'm afraid of mystery meat) he just points to something on the menu and waits to see what shows up. so far he's done very well.

i'm back in kiev (or kyiv which is the new interntional spelling) now and on my own until the translator and driver pick me in up the a.m. for my exit adoption appointment with the u.s. embassy. today is a religious holiday in ukraine and maybe memorial day? so the embassy - which celebrates both country's holidays - is closed. there's one americanskee in kyiv experience i haven't had yet, which is dinner at TGIFriday's. a good number of americans congregate there, including adopting couples. it could be an interesting experience, but i'm not sure if i want to give up one more really great ukrainian meal. i did walk thru a mcdonald's and sig got me a carry-out coffee from there for mother's day, so i can cross that off the list. those are the only two american restaurants i've seen here, and probably the only two in the city that offer carry-out food aside from food stands on the street.

my latest apartment here has a/c - quite a luxury for us. it's becoming more common, but nothing like it is back home. at first when we arrived here, i was reticent about leaving our apartment windows open. screens here are unusual and none of the places we've stayed have had them (hence the cottonwood storm.) i kept thinking a pigeon would fly into the apartment and how the heck would we get it out? our translator assured me he doesn't know of that happening, but anyway staying here alone i feel alot better cooling the apt. down with a/c.

international flights from kyiv leave later in the day so since i don't have a direct flight, i need to overnite somewhere, and it was my good luck that the route that was available included an overnite in vienna. i hope it's not raining so i can walk the city a bit. i have directions to the original julius mienl (some of you have been to the wunderbar imported cafe at southport and addison) so i hope to find it. i'm practicing "vo ist julius mienl, bitte?" those of you (M,D, shelley, laura, kulandas) who remember my intense airticket search may find it as amazing as i do that the ticket i originally booked ended up being the exact date i need, leaving just enough cushion in case there's a fire drill at the embassy.

on the political front, the demonstrators have vacated independence square and it's again lined with souvenier tables. maybe the resolution of a sept. 30th election date is enough to quiet things for the moment. thanks for the emails good to know you're there and reading - didn't know about the posting password. i'll continue posting from home with sig and kola updates and more i haven't had a chance to say while i'm here:) paka, bb

2007-05-26T05:36:00.000-07:00

Scott and Suzanne from DE with future son Nicholas

Kola and his best friend, Mariano, who will be on his way to Italy in a couple weeks

we visited kola this morning and i said my goodbyes to some of the adopting couples we've interacted with during out visits to the orphanage. lots of photos taken and emails exchanged and we hope to keep up with a few of the couples when we all get settled. kola and i spent our last day (at least for a while) in ukraine together sitting out front watching the machinas. he pointed some things out to me and i pointed some things out to him and tho we didn't understand each other's words, it was a very warm moment. not to mention it's in the 90's again today. sig had packed his bathing suit and roman confirmed that sig would not get arrested for bathing in the fountain in the square -- kids commonly splash around in them. it's a relief to see that when the temps climb up above 80, the nylons stay home and - except in the orphanage - shoes and sandals are worn without socks. seeing all those leg coverings was making me itchy. the 20-something women are very fashion conscious (full makeup, coiffed hair, matching bags and shoes, appropriately tight fitting outfits, no jeans) and sometimes when i walk around our apt. it looks like a music video could break out at any moment. especially when i catch a rhythm of clicking heels.

The cottonwood trees here created a blizzard yesterday. we'd left our apt. windows partly open and when we got home in the afternoon, it snowed in our apt. sig had to vacuum everything, rugs, towels, furniture. This morning, trucks came to water down the trees behind our apt. i think it was by the arrangement of the outdoor cafes that are affected just below. Roman found he could light the furry part and an entire patch goes up in flames for a second and leaves nothing but a trace of small brown seeds. but we all agreed that wouldnt be a great way to clean the apt. next time. our landlady came today and her helper put paper on our shadeless windows to help reduce the sun's impact on our apt. temp. it has white paper on one side and a silver reflective surface against the window. as we walk around, we're seeing more and more silver windows.

i'll be packing tomorrow and might post again so i can absorb some AC here. i'll report from kiev on what i see on the street, but since mary's comment we did hear more about the unrest in the capitol city. it's more of the same, but the heat (ahem) is turning up between the president (v. yushenko, who represents west ukraine and aligns with western europe) and prime minister (who represents east ukraine and aligns with the soviet union - or CCCP here.) yushenko had requested the new parliment elections because basically government is in a stalemate and can't get anything done. The election date hasn't really been set and the PM and his party is pretty much trying to delay/ignore/block it. So Yushenko fired the chief of finance, which is one of the PM's posts and the chief and his staff were fighting to get into their offices, maybe you saw footage of that (it was on BBC!) . The PM controls the interior police force, which is like a small security army for ukraine with helicopters, tanks, staff...) and the PM called in some of that force to help is chief of finance get to work. the country is pretty divided on who they support, so more flags, peaceful rallies, etc. are happening as a result of this scuffle. i think i have that 90% right. more soon:) b/s

have a cigar!

2007-05-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

i know bill will, all others can be chocolate. today we went to court to formally adopt kola. after about a 15-minute standard interview by the judge and jury of two (one is kola's teacher), the court decided they would grant us permission to be kola's parents.

next is a 10-day waiting period which sig is going to stay for. today was a busy day with court, two visits with kola, and paperwork in between. Roman and i have arranged for our transport back to kiev, an apt for me for monday nite, my embassy appt. early tues. morning where i sign a couple official adoption documents which they'll hold onto for sig to complete before he leaves. tues. afternoon is my flight with an overnite in vienna and home wed late afternoon. neighbors can expect me to be bleary-eyed - i'm sure i'll be following ethan's bedtime for a few days! Tomorrow is my last visit with kola before he comes home. amazing. i'll miss the other parents and kids (esp. mariano, kola's best friend) and kola's teacher who always has a smile and tries her best english with us. a german couple arrived yesterday - they're from near cologne. sig was chatting it up with them in german, so maybe they'll hook up for dinner a time or two while i'm gone.

mary - hadn't heard about the riot, but all we can understand is BBC news and Deutche TV's english broadcast. we're pretty much up on western europe...plus 2 sets of coverage from hollywood - one on star wars 30th ann. and one on the pirates of the caribbean ride? in disney. i'll have to ask roman if he's heard anything about ukraine! I'll post once or twice b4 i leave. the Internet cafe has A/C. i think it's in the 90's today and for the next few and very few places have A/C. I told roman, since the computers are .80 cents USD per hour, it would be a great deal to pay for 8 hours so we can sleep here! the video gamers would probably make that hard tho!

more soon! бет + сiг

2007-05-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

We’ve been able to entertain kola enough, and build enough trust, that he listens to us (sometimes) and does things other than roam the parking lot admiring the machinas. Today the big excitement was that the wind kicked up when the garbage truck was loading, unleashing a flurry of small plastic bags. All bags had to be caught and secured – some in a bag we brought and some in the garbage. He imitates things quickly so we built a tower of blocks and he knocked it down and helped us rebuild it. We taught him how to drink from a sippy cup but he thought it was a better idea to take the top off and drink from it the old-fashioned way (they drink out of small regular cups at mealtime.) We learned that the meals in the orphanage are primarily: homemade soup, fish, apples, bananas, oatmeal with milk and sugar, cooked wheat cereal, meatballs made with meat and rice, apple juice. We’re told kola is a very good eater and given that ‘on the charts’ he’s 50% height and 90% weight we believe it! He might be the first orphan to come home and lose weight with the increased exercise he’ll be getting back home.

We’ve been eating a wide range of things, but my staples here have been: al dente oatmeal with milk and sugar (called porridge on the engliskee menu), red caviar especially in the thin crepes that are sold almost everywhere from good restaurants to food stands, a chicken stock quail’s egg soup with dill and parsley and thin noodles, salmon carpaccio, and a thin creamy mushroom soup. I’m sure I’ll go thru withdrawal when I get home, missing this simple, yummy, very fresh food.

We’ve had a chance to interact more with the other couples at the orphanage. Most of it is during visit/playtime so it’s pretty brief, but the parents are all friendly, supportive, and share experiences/encouragement. We’ve talked with two Italian couples, one swiss, one canadian from montreal, and had a very nice time at dinner with a couple from Delaware tonite. They're in their 10-day waiting period for a 2-year old boy at the same orphanage. When we walked away from the cafe after dinner, it took me a minute to realize we were in a non-english speaking country. The total English immersion was a real treat!! more soon:) xo b/s

day of rest

2007-05-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, so we don’t get to visit kola. Our translator has left for a few days and will be back on Friday. Although I’ve realized it’s an anemic description to call him a translator because he’s so much more. (he’s pictured here with sig, I hope.) he manages our long and deep daisy chain of paperwork required from local inspectors, the orphanage, the sda, the Ukraine government, and the u.s. embassy. Much of which is stamped by each authority with a colorful seal, pushed down with two hands with an authoritative ‘ka-chunk.’ He also helps us navigate here, like with yesterday’s shopping, getting the driver, securing transport back to kiev, what to bring kola, our visitation hours, helped get our independent dr. to the orphanage location, etc etc. yesterday during dinner we were reviewing our timeline here and I added to it, then roman flies to Chicago for a one month transition period. He laughed and said we weren’t the first couple to propose that.

Throughout Ukraine, it’s actually pretty easy to find just about anything we need. We find coke (not pepsi, which is our 2nd choice anyway), sprite, fanta, lots of bottled water, pantene, dove lotion, kit kats. Food like yogurt, butter, milk are all national brands, but it’s clear what it all is. I’m sure I could list 50 stores I recognize, all designer types and boutiques, since stores here tend to be specialized and small sized in typical European fashion (anyone remember the SNL scotch tape store skit?) we see reebok, addidas, laura Ashley, louis vuitton, chicco (baby toys), benetton, but no larger stores like gap or any super stores.

Cell phones are pretty much an appendage and there are cell phone kiosks and stores everywhere. Our facilitator gave us a phone to use while we’re here and we buy $10 phone cards which we use for minutes. Incoming calls are free. Around the corner from our current apt., they’re airing the new shrek and pirates of the caribbean with Russian or Ukrainian over dubbing. These two languages are very similar, with a few letters changed here and there but both using the Cyrillic alphabet. Roman confirmed that Ukrainian (esp. the further west you go) sounds softer, not as staccato and heavy as Russian. Two nights ago, I watched planet of the apes (the 90’s follow up movie) with roman in the apt. it was overdubbed in Russian but every now and then I could hear a peek of English. Lots of u.s. music is here too, and roman tells me that’s a pretty recent thing. We talked about 80’s music – he asked if we were listening to a lot of Italian music in the u.s. then, when we saw an 80’s program with Italian ballads. I said the foreign pop music I heard at that time was german (eg kraftwerk) or ABBA. He said until their independence from Russia, in1991 I think, American music wasn’t easy to find here and was considered a bad influence.

Driving here feels like an Olympic sport and luckily for everyone, we’ve only been passengers. Our driver from kiev to the orphanage would put any Chicago taxi driver to shame. Passing can be done in any lane or shoulder. A Ѕ hour out of kiev, sig mouthed to me “maybe we should have taken the train.” Outside of kiev police standing on the side of the road waved us over. Our driver handed them his license with a 10HRV (2.50USD) under it and we were off to the races again. And our driver in our current town can maneuver within a toothpick’s distance of the next car…all without the benefit of side mirrors.

The weather here seems similar to Chicago’s with one big difference we noticed in kiev: for three of the 10 days we were there, it would rain for 10 minutes then become completely clear for 2 hours, then cloud up, the temp would drop 10 degrees, rain for 10 minutes and clear up again. We were caught off guard the first day when we ventured out in blue skies with short sleeved shirts and no umbrellas. Kiev is not near a sea or mountains, so I’ll have to consult tommy skilling on that one.

We’ve found most people here to be friendly and helpful, and unlike our experiences in other countries, seem to have a pretty positive view of America/ns. We thought is was funny tho when we met with the local inspector before heading to the orphanage and she asked us some questions about what we did, where we were from. She asked if we had a flag outside our house (here flags are only flown on gov. bldgs) and we mentioned sports flags, season flags, and bill’s Scottish flag! Then we heard here say Chicago – al capone!

People on our team have been incredibly hard-working and totally accommodating. On an upcoming, entry, I’ll have to do a dedication to all the people who’s efforts have helped make this happen – it’s really staggering. Thanks for spending time with us! Xo b/s.

2007-05-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Day 3 and sig thought I had given kola a haircut (already) but you can see from the pic of them outside if it posts!! I’m just doing a little styling. Today we went on a shopping trip to get him clothes for the trip home. That won’t be for a while but the benefit of having our translator (roman) with us is immeasurable. He’ll be leaving us within a day and will be back in time for the court date next week. Until then, we have a driver scheduled to pick us up from the apt. and take us to the orphanage, wait and take us back to the apt. (:15 min. each way) which is $10 a trip incl. the 1-1/2 hour wait while we’re there. But during our visit with the car waiting there, it’s hard to get kola to focus on much else!

Today, without the translator, a doctor, or caretaker at our side was quite a bit tricker. He’s a good listener and native speakers who do and don’t know him have been able to get him to follow their direction, but without the benefit of language, it was hard for sig and i to get him back out of the parking lot during our visit today. Thank goodness he likes to be carried. We can see he’s full of curiosity, but also saw stubbornness and a little confusion when we couldn’t express ourselves to him. He is already picking up a few words from us tho (and we are from him) – he’s learned ball and your turn, mama’s (purse) dada’s (camera). I’m glad we have this time to figure out how to communicate with each other during the next couple weeks he’s still at the orphanage. sig got him to laugh and smile today and that was a great relief to us all as we struggle to understand each other!

Feet here are usually covered – not many open-toed shoes, heels worn with hose, sandals with socks, and two of the last three visits kola had had on ribbed tights (which sig calls his "tube socks") with shorts and sandals. It’s in the 70’s here and he’s usually wearing a flannel shirt or sweater. He was getting shpritzy outside on the playground! Roman said they dress the kids warmly so they don’t catch cold but once he leaves the orphanage, we’ll introduce him to the wonders of the t-shirt. A few new things we’ve learned along the way: in kiev especially there were lots of smokers (sig and my unofficial combined and averaged estimate: 38%) and Roman told us a pack of Marlboros here cost USD $0.80. well no wonder! Maybe that (instead of a mocha in their hands) and the lack of preservatives and the amount of walking people do and the lack of carry out/fast food helps people here stay so “right sized” even tho I don’t see gyms or slim fast around. BTW i'm at an internet cafe typing to "eye of the tiger" the only news i've heard from the us is that paris hilton is in jail for 23 days for breaking her parole? i've heard a few items of new about america, but i'll leave that for another day!

sorry if we don't really reply to the comments but we love them. hope all's well with you! xo b&S

Kola

2007-05-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

The dust has settled a little bit here – it’s still a kind of busy day. We can visit the orphanage twice a day, for an hour each time now. Yesterday we were there for about 5 hours. Mikola (kola for short, sorry Shelley, your name was my first pick but sig voted for keeping his name) looked a little bit tired today from all of yesterday’s activities. Today will be a little more poking and prodding for the blood tests. We talked with two u.s. drs. yesterday – one our IA doctor and our eye doctor and got encouraging news and learned that treatment for his eye may be a patch, glasses, or minor surgery and they said 2.5 is a perfect age to start and they have great success with it.

Kola has taken a liking to sig. he’s still a little suspicious of both of us but goes to sig first and likes walking outside with him. Sig was actually able to get him away from the machina! (car) and inside for lunch without the use of our translator. Today we brought a toy car remote with four buttons and keys on it. I don’t think he knew what the keys were for, but he loved the remote buttons and checking the sounds. he’s 2 months younger than Jen/tom’s Kyle (will be 3 in jan.) his height is 35" and weight is 34#s. We saw him smile with his caretaker today, but he’s still pretty serious and suspicious around us. He really likes his kids group and if we’re there during outside playtime, he’d still rather be there with them than us and if we bring something, he wants to show it to them but then get it back. There was a little tug-of-war over our camera case in the playground yesterday. He liked the Velcro and how the batteries rattled inside. Our kiev doctor said to help him learn and grow and catch up, let him follow things he’s interested in, and it’s nice to see him interested in so many things.

It’s a little hard to tell how many couples are at this orphanage since we go in shifts, but prob around 8. We hear Italian, Spanish, german (swiss), French, and 1 american couple. Usa, italy, spain, and france I think are in the top 5 for foreign adopters here. Everyone is various stages with kids there, some are meeting them, some are still connecting and learning about them while doing paperwork (like us), some have been to court but are hanging out for the 10 day waiting period (which sig will do). I hope we have a chance to meet some of them while we’re here. If all goes well, it seems our court date will be a week from today, then I’ll need to go to the American embassy in kiev and fill out paperwork before I can come home. My current return air ticket is still in play…more soon!

Happy b-day “p!” cara – thanks for the nescafe tip – it’s a great fix and about the only decaf we could find! xo bb & sb

it's a boy!

2007-05-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

what a difference a day makes. it's been a whirlwind 24 hours -- we made it to the orphanage with our in-country doctor in tow. after a local stop for paperwork, we went to the orphanage and met with the director who had an inch+ thick file waiting for us which she reviewed and answered our questions from. i'm sure we'll tell you more in the coming days, but he's in good health, and actually right on target on the growth curve. he was evaluated by our dr. using the denver test and was on target developmentally in every area but language he's a little behind on. usually at this age, kids are expected to be 6 months delayed in every category, so this is all very good news. he has one what they call minor correctable health issue which is moderately crossed eyes, which they felt will be easily repaired with short term glasses or minor surgery.

the first thing i noticed about him is that he's really sweet and very focused and patient when he plays. when we took him out to the playground, he was facinated with cars (machina! machina!). but he didn't want to go in ours. he has a good amount of stranger anxiety, but not too much, and is friendly with the other kids in the group. we have a lot more info about him from this 3 hour appt/visit, but i don't want to bore you with all those details. the orphanage is bright, cheerful, and we saw lots of middle aged women (50s? my definition keeps moving up!) who were very attentive caretakers to the kids. there were a lot of sweetie pies there. we're having indepenent lab tests done just to confirm what's already in his file and if those all come out negative (hiv, etc.) then he'll be coming home with us! we're started the paperwork already. more soon! xo bb

the next step....

2007-05-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

a quick update - we had what feels like a successful appt. today and accepted a referral. he is 2 1/2 years old and they said he's a little (maybe 6 months) delayed but expected to catch up. they said he's bright, speaking well, and friendly with the other kids and caretakers. we saw a photo of him and tho he was a bit younger when it was taken, it's cute and sweet. the next steps are we'll be driving to the orphanage once we get our referral letter from the sda. then we meet with an official in the town where the orphanage is to get permission to visit. we'll post as soon as we can after that visit with more news. thanks so much for your love, prayers, and support. it's gotten us this far! xo beth and sig

lots of views...some news

2007-05-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

lets us eat cake

military and dignitary

our rooms with a view

heels on the rocks

we have news that we'll have our 2nd appt. tomorrow. we'll post you when we can about the outsome of that. in the meantime, we’ve posted a new batch of photos. If they’re in order, the third is the view of the courtyard from our room. Other highlights: women walking confidently on golf-pencil wide 3” heels on kiev’s rocky streets. Short skirts and high heels are de riguer, making me an obvious tourist with either jeans or a looong skirt and almost invisible heels!

We’ve also explored the food markets, where I’ve been now able to cut out the middleman restaurant and stockpile my own supply of red caviar in our fridge in the apt. Sig has been a babushka magnet. You’ll see a picture of a woman who roped him at the market I think yelling to him – you want to taste this cake! – in Ukrainian. It was inarguably tasty and we took home a hefty piece. Also in this batch are pics from the WWII victory day parade – featuring military music and speakers. It was more about the people than munitions. On one of the jumbotron photos you’ll see president Vicktor Yushenko. A few of the picturesque monastery pics after the parade are from the caves sig wrote about the other day. We couldn’t take pics in the caves, it was very dark and we carried candles to see the mini churches, alters, and glass-encased saints in the tunnels under ground. Sig’s observation: boy, they were short. Mine: I keep thinking brent and gaye are going to jump out and yell boo! (and yes, brent we have found chicken kiev - but only twice on the menus. Have yet to find chicken chicago.)

See our new kiev photos: www.snapfish.com login as bethburdin@gmail.com password = Ukraine. If it didn’t work for you, wait a little while and try again – I think it can only be used one at a time. :)

Engleeskee in Ukraine

2007-05-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

Cars have the right-of-way

A 'Babushka' with friend

Quickie Mart

Today I bought a souvenir made of wood, and asked the Ukrainian craftsman if I should oil it – he and I did quite a pantomime to communicate. It ended in the 6’4” 250 # guy sticking his elbows out flapping his hands near his ribs and buzzing around in the square like a bee – ahhh beeswax! Trying (with varying degrees of success) to speak Ukrainian has opened a few doors and connected us a little more to the people.

The other night for dinner, sig and I went to a Czech restaurant for a change of pace, and sat in the outdoor cafй in a 4-seat table nearer the street. Just a few minutes later, a group of 4 older Ukrainian businessmen came in to a cafй with only (2) 2-seat tables left, each near a post. So sig and I got up pointed to them and the table, “pajowlsta” (please) and that started an evening-long friendship. I was the benefactor of lots of hand kissing, sig got pats on the shoulder and handshakes. At first they thought we were german, and we all spoke a few please & thank you’s in german, then I said, no usa – but when that didn’t get a reaction I realized in Cyrillic we’d probably be YCA if that was even the right order, so the next time they toasted us – I said we’re American. Ahhhhh - americanskee! Bush! Well, whatever countries we were all from, it was a very fun exchange, from hello thru goodbye.

Friday nite we were able to meet up with a couple who’s working with our same team of Victoria and Alex. They were on their way back from their region and flying back home on Saturday. It was very helpful info and generous of them (thanks if you’re reading!!!) to spend their last nite in kiev with us. They shared their wonderful story and we were able to meet their terrific new 6-year-old daughter (who was their 2nd referral). Their son Daniel was enjoying being a big brother and his sister was teaching him counting numbers in Ukrainian – they were at 14 when we left. Besides language, the only other way we could tell she wasn’t an American kid was that while we were there, she said ok, she was tired and going to bed – she went into the bedroom, lights out and went to bed:) It was great to meet them all and I hope we have just as happy a story to tell at the end of our journey.

We’re still hoping for our 2nd appt early this week.

Happy mother’s day! Bucky – happy b-day Monday and lori happy b-day tues! And thanks thanks thanks for the wonderful posts! it's so helpful to know you're there and love the comments!!
Xo beth and sig

caves and cafes

2007-05-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

With a day off yesterday, we went to visit an old monastery in Kiev with catacombs reputed to have unenbalmed yet well preserved saints. The caves are small with passages just under 2 meters tall and 60 cm wide (6’x2’). The site draws many devout and tourists alike. Here is a notable example of their interaction. We happened upon the bearded lady who seemed to be admonishing a couple for improperly genuflecting at the holy site. Turns out the long haired blond in the pair was also a man. It seemed like a scene Monty Python would have depicted.

Anyway, still keeping our fingers crossed that Monday or Tuesday we will meet again with government to see some kids.

(Beth here) wanted to wish Julie F happy birthday today! Hope it’s fun:) and also happy b-day to lynlee on Saturday! we’re heading out soon for our daily cup of coffee – our apt. does not have a coffeemaker and although we have yet to find a plain old cup of coffee, we’re having a lot of fun trying! I thought I found one yesterday – listed as coffee with cream on the engleeskee menu, but alas it was a generous cup of espresso with a side of steaming cream. Oh so yummy. We’ve also tried lattee, mocha, Americano, in several of the many coffeehouses and cafes. There doesn’t seem to be such a thing as a to-go cup. I have yet to see someone walking along the street with a cup of anything in their hand. The coffee is good, strong, and not bitter, and the daily routine of sitting in a cafй pouring over a travel book and planning our route certainly seems like a nice luxury.

More soon! xo bb (p.s. looooved the comments. glad you're out there:)

photos!

2007-05-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

thanks shari and shelley for the comments! it's great to hear from home. we opened a photo album on snapfish - it has pics of our touring of kiev. go to www.snapfish.com and log in as bethburdin@gmail.com and type in ukraine as the login password. i'm thinking two people might not be able to use it at the same time, so if it doesn't work, try again! more soon, xo beth and sig.

not yet...

2007-05-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in this post, but I was waiting for more info so I could give you a complete story. We had our monday morning appointment at the SDA (state dept. of adoptions) and after waiting nervously outside for about the longest 45 minutes I’ve ever known, we were shown in to meet with our SDA-provided translator and their psychologist. The two women were very nice, patient listeners and did not rush us during the appt. After reviewing who we were, what we were looking for and overviewing the process, they went through 8 files of boys with us, ages 1.5-3 and mostly 2-3. We asked several follow up questions on the ones that seemed most promising for us and sig and I both felt it came down to two. After asking more follow up questions, we chose one file and the SDA wrote down that child’s name, b-day, and orphanage location – 3 hours west of kiev by car (toward Poland.) When we exited the appt., our facilitator alex was waiting for us – he looked at our slip of paper and we gave him some of the details of our appt.

The SDA was to give us our referral paperwork on tues. around 4 and we would probably travel on wed. (holiday permitting) to visit the orphanage and get more info from the director/dr. there. But within about 20 minutes of the appointment, alex had made contact with the orphanage to get additional information – he found some preliminary red flags and spent the next few hours following up on that and waiting for answers. By tues. am (today) we were all in agreement to pass on this referral and wait a few days for a next appointment to review a new group of referrals.

We weren’t really heartbroken after this appt. and are more hopeful for the next one, which alex is working on as we type. It was actually helpful and eye opening to have our first appt. behind us, but I do hope the next appt. is not too far off. In the meantime, kiev continues to offer so much to see and do and eat!! Today is sunny and in the upper 60’s and we hope the victory day parade will happen tomorrow. Although there are no demonstrations now, not even congregating, there’s talk that they might skip the parade this year. It commemorates the end of WWII and is I guess a military-style parade with tanks, flags, and marching soldiers.
The next few days we’ll probably post more views than news, but keep up the good thoughts for our next appointment and successful return:) xo beth & sig

day dva (2) beth adeen (1) sig

2007-05-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

square in front of st. sophia

st. sophia

st. sophia

old city gate, entrance to kyiv

walked around a lot yesterday and am thankful for the central location - altho i came in knowing how to ask for a bathroom, i think most of them are in restaurants and you need to buy something to use them. so about every 2 hours i'd stop back in the apt. - there's a 'babushka' (their word) who mans the door in a little office and at first when i went in and out a few times i think she gave me the fish eye, but now she's used to my frequent visits.

altho kiev has around 5 million people, sig and the facilitator, Alex, found me by chance on the way back from the airport - i was standing in a square in front of st. sophia's church 2 blks from the apt. boy, Alex is good! sig's here, a little jet lagged but not too tired to have figured out by glancing at the computer (all instructions in russian remember) and figure out how to hook up the camera.

i visited the most amazing church today - dates back over 1,000 years. and people are very patient with my sparse russian. went to a nice coffee cafe for lunch - espresso and a very tasty chocolate torte cake - gave me a lot of energy to buzz around the city.

happy 1st communion jen F! wish we could be there!

tomorrow is our appt. and i'm nervous!! sig and i are going to walk around now and let kiev distract us...looking forward to a ukrainian dinner:)

bon voyage

2007-05-05T07:13:00.002-07:00

(all the prompts are in russian, which explains my last post!) had an entertaining journey here on LOT airlines thru warsaw then kiev - they played a coldplay live concert, duran duran reuinion concert at wembley, and a movie with mcdreamy! (grey's anatomy for the uninitiated) dubbed in polish. Read the rolling stone 40h anniversary issue which i highly recommend (thanks for the inflight mags Marjorie and stephan!).

our facilitator and his wife picked me up at the airport and gave me lots of great info and brought me to our apt that we'll be in for at least a couple days. it's in the heart of a wonderful old section of town and overlooks independence square. i haven't been able to figure out the payphones - our cell phone comes tomorrow. but knowing the russian alphabet so far has helped me figure out about a 1/3 of the signs i see. i can only say please, thank you, where's the bathroom, and order something in a quanity of three, so i need to brush up on my vocab. a lot of things i see has reminded me of people back home - wish i could list them all here!

got a snack about an hour ago - pancake (like a square crepe), a local beer, and fruit for less than $5 at the potato house. sig will be here tomorrow afternon then we'll be off to our sda appt. monday. will try to take pics and post them later (aka with sig's help). i'm itching to do some touring - some great old architecture is right out the window here and they skies are blue....more soon. xo bb

bon voyage

2007-05-05T07:13:00.001-07:00

test

ta da!

2007-04-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

through the miracles of modern science and the ingenuity of alexander graham bell, I, with very limited computer knowledge have set up a blog. I or my IT adept husband will attempt to update this during our trip to ukraine. thanks for checking!!