Another Pretzel Dog Incident!

I am in Miami this week with work, and I have been craving a Pretzel Dog since the 'learning incident' from last week. As a reminder, I went into the mall to get a Pretzel Dog and ran out to my car to eat it. I wasn't hanging on the the dog (just the dough part), and the dog fell out of the dough, and 'disappeared'. I assume its under my seat - but I still can't find it.

Anyway, today I saw an Einstein Bagel and remembered they had Pretzel Dogs. I was so excited! I went in, washed my hands and ordered the dog. The Cashier said they were out of Pretzel Dogs as far as she knew - but she would check. It was a blow I just simply couldn't handle. Finally, she came back with an excellent looking Pretzel Dog and said "this is the last regular one we have, want it?" Did I want it? Heck yeah I wanted it. I considered tackling her and taking it out of her hand right then and there (yeah, that's a joke - but I did really want it). I went to my seat and waited for my name to be called.

Okay, so my name was called. "Michelle, please come to the counter". WooHoo! I was on my way to Pretzel Dog Heaven. When I got to the counter, the guy said "I am really sorry, but I accidentally dropped your pretzel dog in the trash. I considered pulling it out and giving it to you anyway - do you still want it?" WHAT??? I told him that he ruined my entire day/week/month. Of course, no - I didn't want it so bad that I would eat it out of the trash can. Geez!!! He suggested I have a bag of chips (although he heard they were stale) instead. No thanks - I will pass on the stale chips and the trashed dog.

As I was walking out with my head down, the guy behind the counter yelled - "WAIT!". I went back and he said that he did have 1 Pretzel Dog, but it was an Asiago Cheese Pretzel Dog. He said I could have it instead.

Finally, I sat down with the last Asiago Cheese Pretzel Dog, a bag of (confirmed) stale chips, and a Coke. To be honest, it wasn't even that great - but I was happy :)

Gift from Jill

Today my friend Jill brought me a little outfit she picked up for our son. I thought this was awesome for several reasons. First of all, she isn't really a "baby person". Second of all, she has only known me since March and has really been supportive of our adoption, going above and beyond what anyone would expect a new friend to do.

So here it is! We both have Puggle dogs, so its of course a puppy theme! Thanks Jill - you re the best!

Adoption is where the baby grows in the Mommy's heart....

We wanted to share the neat Baby Shower announcements that Carolyn did for the shower the end of August. Aren't they cool?!?

Adoption is where the baby grows in the
Mommy's heart instead of her tummy

Thanks Carolyn! We are looking forward to the shower, and we appreciate you!!!!

Cute!

Today I picked up 3 more outfits for the little guy at Sam's Club. Shopping is fun, I wish I could afford to do more of it! He officially has 4 outfits now. Sam's Club has fairly reasonable prices on children's clothing.

We are still waiting for our documents to be sent to the Sec of State for apostile. In Tennessee, the documents have to be notarized, then sent for a county seal, then sent to the Sec of State for apostile. Our homestudy agency is in a different county than we are in, and unfortunately that county doesn't seem to have a sense of urgency. The information from our home county arrived today, so as soon as items are received from our homestudy county they will be sent to the Sec of State for apostile. Of course, after the Sec of State returns them to the agency, then they are sent to Russia to review. Many Russians go on Holiday during the Summer, so I hope that our Judge decides to take a Fall Holiday this year!

Although we should be used to this process, we still are anxious and wish that the turn around time could be quicker. We are both very excited to see him again and bring him home.

More learning today!

I learned to not leave milk in the fridge and be gone for 20 days

I learned to hang on to the hot dog in the pretzel roll or it will fall out and roll under your car seat, never to be seen again

I learned that you can use your own bags with a Champ vs a Diaper Genie

I learned that Dicks Sporting does not carry hats for toddlers

What I have learned this week:

Coupons rock
It is fun to shop for kids
I am lucky to have Bill's family in my life
I fall more and more in love with our little guy every minute
A Psychologist said I am not crazy (put that on my review!)
A 36 year old can still get pimples
It is nice to sleep in your own bed
It is hard to find make up that is not made in China
It isn't fun to have a bird attack you

Babies R Us

We are officially registered! Today we went to Babies R Us and had a lot of fun. Carolyn is having a Baby Shower for us on 8/29.

By the time that I had the scanner in my hand, Bill had already been around the store a couple times and had brought me multiple 'cute' items to look at. I really think he enjoyed himself a lot.

This is the crib set that we will put in the little guys room!!

The foot theme continues

On day 1, they brought our little guy out and he was all dressed up. Here are the socks they put on him.



I fly home tomorrow night, and promise to update the blog with some trip information!

Greetings and well wishes!

I still haven't been able to catch up on e-mails or anything personal other than a quick post here and there.... but below are some messages from the staff in Russia:

Tonya says hello to Ken and Gloria. She is really looking forward to seeing you again and is trying her best to get you back. German also says hello and was wondering if you plan to fly through Moscow again!

Elaina says hello to the Ward family in Virgina. She says it has been a few years but remembers you well and pointed your photo out on the wall.

I was going to tell the Director of Artem that little T said Hi (oh, and Mom Amy too), but she was off on our last visit. I will save that for next time!

Elaina also says hello to the mom of Joshua (Nancy). She remembers your family well and thinks that both Nathan and Joshua are cutie pies!

Cutest little foot ever!

When we arrived home, we had to get our documents in - and I had to do some quick laundry and leave on a business trip....so yes, we are still neglecting the blog (sorry!).

Thought we would share a neat picture of our little guy though :)

We are home!

We arrived home last night, and we are exhausted still! Today we sent off our medical reports and court document overnight via FedEx.

Tomorrow, we will find a Psychiatrist to say we are stable and capable of parenting the little guy. This is a new form that Vlad is now requiring....

Leaving for visit # 4

It is Friday at 9:45am here in Vlad, and we are about to leave to visit our little guy for visit #4. We are going to ask special permission to visit him on Saturday morning before our flight, and are hoping the Director will say yes! If not, then today will be our last visit until we come back in a few months to see him again.

Thanks for all the support everyone has shown. Off to get in the van with Vladimir the race car driver and Elaina our Interpreter.

Paka!

P.S. - Nancy he is at Artem....

Update

We have been neglecting our blog terribly! It's been a very emotional week, and we promise to play catch up in the next week or so.

Yesterday we went shopping for the baby home and bought some diapers (very expensive here), fresh fruit and some toys. The Director of the Baby Home was thrilled and very appreciate.

Today is visit #3 of #4 to see the little guy. After our visit today, we go to the notary and sign official paperwork to make him a part of our family...more on that later too.

Paka!

We are here!!!

After 24 hrs of travel and a meeting at the DOE, we met the little guy today. The computer at the VMI is super slow, so I am not sure how much we will post from here. Everything is going as well as it can for now. We have sent some photos and video to the IA doc to get some further advice and both hope it is positive...

Here is a teaser photo!

Paka from VMI!

Sweet Emily

I had mentioned that Bill and I went to Maryland last weekend for a special occasion, but have not had the time to post about it until now.

Emily is a special little girl who we are lucky enough to call our niece. Last weekend, we became her God Parents. We both take this role seriously and are honored to have the privilege. It was also Bill's father's birthday, so we were able to celebrate both special occasions together as a family.

Yesterday was Bills birthday. Emily's dad sent this video and we wanted to share it with everyone. Thanks for the song Emily!

We leave in the morning for Russia. We have waited for this moment for almost a year now. We are looking forward to this experience. Unfortunately, we will miss our other niece's as they are coming into town to visit....hopefully we will see you next time and the girls can have an additional playmate!

A little Visa action...

WOOHOO! THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!!! Of course, other than our names, DOB and passport #'s they are in Russian....so we are really hoping that they are correct.

We leave in 48 hours to meet the little guy!!!!

1st oufit!

Yesterday I picked up an outfit for the little guy, and realized that this is his FIRST one! It is probably way too big, but we can use it to determine his true clothing size for trip #2. Isn't it cute?!?