Third stop: Warsaw!

The third stop on our trip is Warsaw - and that's where we are today. Can you guess what the fourth stop is? It starts with "H" and ends with "ome."

It's been a long day, so a short post and no pictures.

Our morning started early. David was so excited that we are one step closer to America. We finished packing, ate breakfast, did last minute cleaning and were ready for our last apartment inspection at 6:45 am. Uneventful! 

We made it to the passport office at 8 am and - viola! - the kids had passport numbers in the system. We had some paperwork to sign and needed to return by 10 am to pick up the kids' temporary passports with their new names. In the meantime, we stopped by the Adoption Center and personally thanked the director who had been so helpful. We made it back to the Passport office and they let us move ahead in line to get our passports.

So we got our passports...and we waited for our translator who had some final documents for us. And we waited. Turns out she caught an error and had to fix it, so we were on the road an hour later than we had planned. Which meant were would get in to Warsaw about 45 minutes after our medical appointments. But once again, they were nice enough to accommodate us. So...here is what our progress looks like now:

Step 1 - get passport/visa pictures taken of kids. DONE!

Step 2 - pick up the official court decree on May 31 May 29. Kids will be entered into the passport system. DONE!

Step 3 - pick up passports on June 3 May 31. Travel to Warsaw. DONE!

Step 4 - Medical appointments (scheduled for 3 pm on May 31). DONE!
Step 5 - Embassy interview (10 am June 3)

Step 6 - pick up Visas (3 pm on June 4)

Step 7 - Fly home! (tickets are for June 7, but if we can go earlier, don't have to pay too much to switch, have a direct flight, and can get seats close together, we might. We'll definitely have to see on that one).

We are so, so, so close. 

We saw our new apartment (not as nice, but who cares) and then met our adoption coordinator's family in Old Town Warsaw. We ate at a great place. The kids and I had bigos (delicious!). We're looking forward to spending a few days here. We're looking even more forward to coming home.

Tying up loose ends

Step 1 - get passport/visa pictures taken of kids. DONE!

Step 2 - pick up the official court decree on May 31 May 29. Kids will be entered into the passport system. DONE!

Step 3 - pick up passports on June 3 May 31. Travel to Warsaw.

Step 4 - Medical appointments (scheduled for 3 pm on May 31)
Step 5 - Embassy interview (June 3?)

Step 6 - pick up Visas (June 4?)

Step 7 - Fly home! (tickets are for June 7, but if we can go earlier, don't have to pay too much to switch, have a direct flight, and can get seats close together, we might. We'll definitely have to see on that one).

Yesterday, we made our final trip to Family Park, the indoor run-around until-you're-sweating place.  And one final trip to Pizza Mario. And one final trip to McDonalds. I hope. Oh, I hope.

This morning, we walked to the institution for the last time. They needed a copy of some paperwork and we needed to sign some things. Then the woman they call Aunt Monika gave them a scrapbook full of pictures of them and a sweet note. David's special friend was there to say goodbye to him and so were many of the other people. I got tears in my eyes as I hugged Monika. You can tell she (and the rest of the people at the orphanage) love the children. I can't say enough good things about how good the orphanage was. It's very well-run and the kids are taken care of by people who love them. Kids belong in families, but I think it's better than most.

Anyway, as we walked away, the doorway was filled with people waving. The kids are so excited to come to America that I don't think they have really thought about the people they will be leaving. It does make me sad for them, the things they have lost.

We came home and started packing. Have I mentioned we're ready to come home? We've been pretend packing for a couple of days, but we really started in earnest today. Since the institution gave the children so many clothes and toys, we will have to buy more suitcases to get everything home. We're testing to see if we can get away with one or two suitcases.

While we were packing, G was taking care of paperwork. She and the head of the Adoption Center had to beg the people to get the paperwork done at 1 pm today. If they didn't, we wouldn't get the passports until Monday. But the lady kindly relented so we can still leave on Friday.

After the paperwork was properly filed, we took the kids to get passport photos. We'll pick the photos up later today, along with one final trip to our favorite restaurant. Then we will push the kids' bedtime back a little bit so we can have cake at our translator's flat tonight.

Tomorrow is a(nother) holiday. We have no plans other than to finish packing and clean up the apartment. Oh, and do one final load of laundry.

And Friday, we meet with our landlady at 7 am (!). Since Roxy doesn't usually wake up until 6:30, it will be interesting. Obviously, we must be ready to go early. After we meet with the landlady, we will pick up the passports, then head to Warsaw. Hopefully we make it to Warsaw in time to make our 3 pm medical appointments for the kids.

Spending the last few days in this city...

We're trying to survive our last few days here. Since we've done most everything the city has to offer at least once, our days have been filled with grocery-shopping, eating at our three restaurants (I have eaten at McDonald's way, waaaaay too much), playing the same board game over and over, endless games of hide and seek (yes, in this small apartment), and going to the park. Obviously this doesn't fill up an entire day, so the kids have been doing such things as learning to iron and right now they are entertaining themselves by scrubbing the kitchen floor. Six days to go.

Since our landlady smacked us with an increased fee due to our water usage, we have been trying to conserve water. We had been doing one load of laundry a day (small washer, remember?). But since we're on a self-imposed water ban, we've been trying to skip a day. Today is our day to do laundry and it's raining. However, since we don't have a dryer and we're running out of clothes, looks like we have to do what we have to do.

We're also almost out of food, so we had to get lots of groceries. On foot. Almost a mile one way. Two umbrellas. Four people. I haven't missed our car much...until today.

I'm in the middle of writing a letter to each child. We plan to mail them from this city and give them to them when they turn 18 (or at least when they're a little bit older). I thought they might like a personalized letter from the place they were born.

I also heard "HUNGRY, HUNGRY!" again this morning. And I did the same thing I did last time. I pretended to be asleep! (Congratulations to those of you who guessed correctly; I will teach you some Polish when I get back home.)

Subtle progress

Day to day, it's hard to see any progress. Are the kids really attaching to us? Are they learning more English? Are they respecting us as the authority figures? Do they like us?

The other day, we were out with our translator who also happened to be present when we met our kids for the first time. During our recent outing, she said, "I just want to cry when I think about how things have changed since the kids met you for the first time. Now they easily call you mom and dad, they hug you or hold your hands, they clearly feel comfortable."

It makes me curious what our friends and family will see when they observe our family after we get back home.

And just today I realized that I haven't been using Google Translate as much. The kids are learning more English, but I think we have just learned to communicate better without it. Roksana adds in a lot of actions when she talks which I think is quite funny. 

We have a long way to go, but we're trekking along.

Funny story of the day. I mentioned last week or so that Roxy lost her first tooth, so I gave her 2 zloty for it. My parents did the whole Tooth Fairy thing sometimes, so I thought I would give her money also. (Of course, she swallowed her tooth, but anyway.) Well, later I saw David trying to wiggle some of his permanent teeth. "If I lose some of these teeth, I think each one should be worth at least 10 zloty since they aren't baby teeth!"

How can you argue with that logic? He doesn't know we are going to be dumping some serious cash into his mouth without counting dentures. Hopefully he will leave all his teeth intact and try to earn money other ways.

Best news I've heard in awhile

I know I haven't mentioned very often how challenging this has been. But it's been tricky to keep two older children entertained for days on end. It could be worse. We could be stuck in a village somewhere, even though this city doesn't have tons and tons of stuff to do. Challenges, challenges. Let me first say that I am so very grateful that we weren't here in the winter. Being with the kids sooner definitely would have had advantages, but I can't imagine trying to corral the energy when we could not do outdoor activities. So that is great news, even though I didn't realize it until months later.

In the course of living in this apartment, we've broken a few things. Some of them weren't our fault (the pizza cutter and towel bar fell apart with the touch of a finger). Others, like the glasses and lampshade, were. Our poor landlady is ready to have a heart attack.

Along with the list of items to be replaced, she also said that we're using too much water, so we'll be charged for that, too. Suffice it to say, Bryan and I are ready to leave this place. The longer we stay, the greater opportunity for stuff to be broken. And that makes us less patient with the kids. We get uptight when they play like kids. We're anxious because our landlady is.

We're trying to stay outside as much as possible, but still, June 3 (our day to leave this city) couldn't come fast enough. In fact, I was near tears several times yesterday, because of the apartment and 12 loooooong days stretching as far as the eye could see.

And then. Our adoption agency person called this morning. "I have good news! I think you are going to be able to leave for Warsaw on May 31 instead of June 3."

The spring in my step was immediate. Only 9 more days here instead of 12? I never knew three days could make such a difference. I don't know if we will actually get home sooner or not, but all I care about right now is that we get out of this apartment as soon as possible! And Warsaw will have different things to do.

EDIT: We have 16 days left in Poland, unless it works out to leave earlier (which I am not sure if it will). The way I wrote the above paragraph made it sound like we were coming home in 9 days. But we only get to leave this apartment in 9 days.

What this all means is that you may want to kid-proof your house before you invite us over :). We're still friends, aren't we?

Learning English - Part 2

Time for only a short post today...

We went back to the zoo area again today, only we walked in the botanical area. So pretty.

I have heard lots of "I don't like you, Mama" in Polish, but it's slowly being replaced with "I lub you." I much prefer the sweet sound of the latter.

Also, a couple of mornings ago, shortly after 5 am, David began calling out from the next room, "Hungry! Hungry! Hun-GREE!" over and over and over again until everyone in the apartment was awake. 

Your job is to guess correctly how I first responded. If you leave the correct answer in the comments, I will teach you how to say, "I don't like you, Mama" in Polish, but only if you promise never to say it to your Mom.

Back to the scenario above...Did I?:

A. Rejoice that my son learned an English word and used it in the appropriate context.

B. Pretend to stay sleeping and hoped that he would fall back asleep, too.

C. Leap out of bed and whip up breakfast.

D. Say "Nie Rozumiem" (I don't understand in Polish)

Okay, one final story that really cracks me up. Sometimes, as the kids are going to sleep, we finger-draw letters on the kids' backs and they have to guess which letter it is. Anyway, David was in our room for the third time and he wanted me to draw letters. Again. So I drew an O. Then a U. Then a T. OUT. He didn't catch it, but I thought it was really funny. Lame? Probably...

Just two more weekends in Poland

With this weekend officially over, we're down to (we hope!) just two weekends in Poland.

It was a slow weekend. We spent a few hours at a festival to raise money. We don't really know what it was, but we went along with our fantastic translator who is always looking out for us. The kids love her. And we do, too. She is such a kind, generous woman.

I have had a good hair day almost every day since being in Poland - and this day is no exception! (Haha!)

The festival had food, of course. Horseback rides, vintage cars, a firetruck, a kid area with the ubiquitous inflatable slide and a crawling tunnel, and music. The music was so loud and obnoxious when we arrived that it felt like every nerve I had left was screaming for silence (although after the morning we had, I didn't have too many nerves left!). Eventually, the music calmed down to a more pleasant decibel level and style.

David post-firetruck hose

David enjoying the firetruck

Teenagers did some Polish folk dancing/singing. Then the little kids took over. They were so cute, especially this little boy who kept stopping in the middle to hitch up his pants.

Aren't they cute?

Today we went back to the indoor Chuck E. Cheese-like place. This time we remembered to take a book to read while the kids ran around.

On a personal note, my dad would have been 55 today. By observing his brothers interact with their grandchildren, I know he would have loved being a grandpa. While my kids will never know him, I can share many stories with them. And Grandpa Dan will be a good dziadzio. No question about that.

The Zoo and International Day

Yesterday, we went to the zoo. It wasn't especially amazing, but it was a good place to run around. Plus, we got to enjoy wide open, green spaces for the first time in a long time.

The zoo had lots of fowl, chickens, peacocks, farm animals, a few primates, wild boars, and stuff like that. 

Today, we spent a few hours on the NATO base for International Day. It's for families of NATO, but the American families we met invited us. And it was great. 

If you know me, you know I like to try different kinds of food (and even if you don't know me, the zillions of food pictures should have tipped you off!). Well, this was amazing, because each country represented at this NATO base had their own booth of free, ethnic food. It was hard to pick just one - and fortunately, I didn't have to! The only thing that stopped me from consuming more was the size of my stomach. What was my favorite? So hard to decide...Spain's tortillas de patatas? Albania's mystery filled puff pastry and a baklava-type dessert? Bigos from Poland? A mystery sausage from the Czech Republic? A breadstick thingie from Hungary? Sausage and sauerkraut and dumplings from Slovakia? Some kind of kuchen from Germany? I also snitched various pastries from multiple booths. I wish I knew the names of all the things, but it was fun eating my way through various countries without leaving home. 

This is the slovakian food

They also had a Family Corner with kid activities. 

David in mid-air

Having something like this in which to stuff David when he is feeling energetic would come in handy sometimes :). 

They both enjoyed a couple of motorcycle rides.

They made cards for me at the art station.

David found a new friend and they stuck together (thanks to some saran wrap) during a race.

Coming home

I purchased our tickets yesterday. Our adoption agency person felt that June 7 would be a safer date. Even though we would love to come home a day or two earlier, coming home on June 7 gives us the option of a direct flight from Warsaw to Chicago.

I had a progress list before we left; now I will post one to come home

Step 1 - get passport/visa pictures taken of kids.

Step 2 - pick up the official court decree on May 31. Kids will be entered into the passport system.

Step 3 - pick up passports on June 3. Travel to Warsaw.

Steps 4 and 5 - not sure of the order, but kids will have medical appointments and have an interview at the embassy

Step 6 - pick up Visas

Step 7 - Fly home!

Meet the kids

Meet 9-year-old David Bryan Aberle. (He still pronounces his name with the Polish pronunciation sometimes - Daaaavid.)

He is intelligent. He is the only person I know who can use a hula hoop. He has a lot of energy that has been challenging to contain in our small apartment. He likes to eat, especially yogurt, chips, and eggs. He also likes to help in the kitchen.

I think he's a handsome chap with a dimple in his chin, just like Bryan. And a cowlick, just like me.

He is on the shorter and stockier side. (He'll be eating celery with me in no time!) He is sometimes affectionate, but he is a 9-year-old. Sometimes hugs are gross.

He doesn't like school, but he enjoys learning how things work together.

It seems the thing he loves most is running around and playing with other boys his age. If you have a boy in the 8-10 year range, I'm sure they will be good friends. Although he loves electronics, too, we try to limit it.

We were having a chat about chores recently. I was telling him all the "fun" things he would get to do when we get home. "Wait," he said, "mowing the grass doesn't sound like fun."

So I pulled up a picture of our lawn mower and told him how cool it was and, sorry, but Mom was going to do it. Well, now we have an argument going on who is going to get to mow the grass. He actually begs me sometimes to get to use the lawn mower. Now, if only that would work for other chores ;).

I asked him what he liked most about having parents and he pointed to his new watch we gave him.

Meet 5-year-old Roksana Kate Aberle. We call her Roxy, but she seems to prefer Roksana. She just seems like a Roxy, though, so I can't help myself.

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She is also a smart girl. She has poor vision, so she wears very thick glasses which she is sensitive about. She says they make her eyes look big (and they do). We were eating at a restaurant one night that had an aquarium and she said, "Wow! That fish has even bigger eyes than I do!" So she is funny, too.

She likes the color pink and any kind of craft. She loves music and if you can talk her into singing the ABCs or Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, it's really cute. She seems to prefer being alone.

She is tall and thin and has very definite opinions on clothes. I think she is beautiful. She also has a dimple - this one is in her cheek.

She is both persistent and determined. And stubborn. These are qualities that will help her as she deals with some challenges.

These are our perceptions of them during the short time we have known them. Obviously, some of their behavior is distorted because we are just getting to know each other and their behavior is influenced by many other factors.

David is more outgoing and Roxy is shy. That's why it surprised everyone when she was not shy around us - ever. And David surprised everyone by being more scared. We aren't sure how they will act when we get home.

Since I can post pictures of the kids now, I thought you might enjoy this video from the day we met David and Roksana.

The end is just the beginning

The kids wanted to come to court with us yesterday, but we made other arrangements. And I am glad we did since it went longer than expected! They were well cared for by one of their caregivers, a wonderful and kind woman. 

We dressed up in our best clothes, because everyone told us that the amount of dressing up indicates your perception of the importance of this event. Then we were taken to the courthouse.

The judge was late, so court started off on a late foot. Present in the small family courtroom were the psychologist who came during home visits, the psychologist who heard the children on Monday, the head of the adoption center, legal guardian of the children, our adoption agent, our translator, the public prosecutor, two jurors, the judge, and us, of course.

Each person gave a different testimony, depending on their interaction with us and/or the children. We had been well prepared with practice questions, so when it was time for us to talk (one at a time), it was a piece of cake. I went first and got most of the questions, which Bryan appreciated, I think ;0). Believe it or not, we got the most questions from the prosecutor on the subject of our church. Since the kids have attended a Catholic church, the prosecutor wanted to know if our denomination was legally recognized, how it was different than the Catholic church, etc. 

Somehow we missed something that was missing in our home study so there was a tense moment when Bryan answered a question truthfully, but it was unknown to everyone else since it was not present in the paperwork. Everything turned out fine, though.

We requested a two week waiting period instead of three weeks. Then it was recess time.

The judge read the Court Decree when we returned and we corrected all spelling errors and stuff like that. When that was done, she stated that the children have new names, they are now our children, and she wished us many years of happiness together. I haven't cried much since we've been here, but I teared up when she said that. All the people we've been working with congratulated us as well, including the jurors who said kind things to us. It was the end of a long road...months of paperwork gathering, stress, expense, exhaustion. The adoption is over. They are ours.

But really, it's just the beginning.

We took the kids home and tried to communicate to them about the significance of May 14. When I said that the judge ruled they could be adopted and they were now Aberles, they shrugged and went back to playing. I am not sure they really understand everything, but they did ask when we get to leave for America! (more on that in a minute.) We celebrated with nice dinner at home and a special, delicious cake. It was quite anticlimactic as both kids were exhausted and hungry, so I am sure you can imagine how pleasant our celebration meal was!

Coming home...we did get the two week waiting period. Unfortunately for us, there is a holiday right after our waiting period is over which will extend our wait by a couple of days. We should be able to travel to Warsaw on June 3. Assuming all our Visa, embassy, and medical appointments go as planned, we might be able to come home - HOME! - on June 6. It will be cutting it close; maybe it makes more sense to wait until June 7 so we don't have to pay any ticket changing fees. I don't know! I will probably purchase our tickets today or tomorrow, though, and hope I made the right decision.

The court decision (or 2 + 2 = 1)

Two people without children...

plus two children without parents...

MAKES ONE FAMILY!!!!

More details shortly.

 

Goodbye, First Tooth (and other firsts)!

As I mentioned in my last post, a lot of "firsts" for our kids happened without us. But we got to experience one first on Saturday.

By the way, now seems like a good time to say that I am really tired of writing Kid #1 and Kid #2 for everything. But we want to make sure we are more than following all the rules, so the judge will have no complaints. As long as everything goes as expected on Tuesday, I will be able to use their names. I am planning to do introduction posts of each child later this week. Fun!

Back to the story. So, Friday night, Kid #2 pointed out a loose tooth - the first one. It was very loose, so I knew it wouldn't hurt too much to pull it. I tried a couple of times, but my services were then declined. All day Saturday, I noticed that Kid #2 kept messing with it, but still my services were declined. Kid #2 didn't even want to eat popcorn.

We have been trying to stay busy, so we invited ourselves over to the home of one of the American couples we met. Their house is really unique. First, the lawn has different gardens that represent different countries. Some of the inside walls are curvy, and there are amoeba-like things on the ceilings. Since they are moving back to the States soon, another couple we met will be moving in to that house.

If you're wondering why this post jumped from a loose tooth to inviting ourselves over to someone's house, here is your answer. For dinner, the American couple served these fantastic bacon-on-a-stick things. It wasn't exactly like bacon. They dubbed it "Bacon's Big Brother," which cracked me up. Anyway, its bacon-like (only more scrumptious) deliciousness was wrapped around wooden skewers. I handed one to Kid #2. It was gone quickly as little teeth gnawed through the bacon. "More bacon," said Kid #2. I heard that again and again until there were five empty sticks on the plate. 

On the way home, Kid #2 smiled at me, and I noticed a gap. "Hey," I said, "Where's your tooth?"

Immediately Kid #2 probed the area and then Kid #2 got the funniest expression. "The bacon!" I think it fell out with the bacon and she then swallowed it.

We also had another first this weekend. I was asked to leave a public establishment. I think it's the first time that's happened!

Since we've been desperate for things to do, we decided to take the kids to the indoor pool near our apartment. It's a lot different than that States. Everyone must wear swimming caps and the kids must wear flipflops. Well, the kids didn't have flipflops and Kid #2 didn't have a swimming suit. Long story, but Bryan took Kid #1 (who insisted on swimming in underwear instead of trunks I brought him) to the pool, while I took Kid #2 to the store to buy a suit.

We successfully purchased the suit and went to pool. I was patting myself on the back for being able to communicate that I was only paying for one child, figuring out how to enter the locker room, asking for a swim cap, etc. So I entered the pool area in my regular clothes and was guiding Kid #2 to the kid pool area when I was suddenly stopped - by a lifeguard.

Through a long conversation (because he knew a few words of English and I know two words of Polish), I figured out that my clothes were "bad" (I was still wearing street clothes) and that I couldn't be in the pool area without being in swim attire. There was a roped off area where I could sit and watch the kids (Bryan was already sitting there). But since Kid #2 is under 8, a parent had to be in the pool. And neither Bryan nor I were swimming. All this meant that I (and Kid #2) had to leave the pool area. "Hey, Lisa, great job that you figured out how to get in the pool, because now you have to figure out how to get out!"

Kid #1 got to swim for an hour or so, but Kid #2 didn't get to swim at all. And why did Kid #1 insist on wearing underwear instead of the longer trunks I brought? Because Speedo-style suits are the standard around here. Yikes!

Today we take the kids to court, because they will be asked whether they want to be adopted or not. Tomorrow is our big day. We are trying to figure out what to do with the kids tomorrow, because they can't be in the courtroom. We were going to have them stay in the institution, but they begged to be allowed to wait outside the courtroom. We will see.

I probably won't post again until tomorrow after court. We are a little apprehensive about it, but we're praying for a ruling in our favor and a two week waiting period!

EDIT: Everything went well this morning. Both kids had a private meeting with the prosecutor, judge, and a different psychologist. And both kids talked! (Kid #2 can be very shy.) We have court tomorrow at 9 am.

Halfway point

Today marks the probable halfway point...4 weeks down, 4 weeks to go.

I was composing this blog post in my head over a dinner of pierogi and cold vegetable salads tonight. But it's never as good as I imagine. The post, not the pierogi. In my better post, images of Ms. Frizzle of the Magic School Bus filled my brain. I feel like her, especially the Frizzle part. My hair doesn't like the humidity. Plus, I only brought two short-sleeved shirts (well, three, but one was a bad choice). All I need is one of Ms. Frizzle's crazy outfits to make me really stand out.

We went to an indoor Polish version of Chuck E. Cheese (without the bad pizza) yesterday. The kids loved it. It was fun to watch them run around, though I will bring a book if we go back.

Today we had our final home visit. We discussed court for next week. Everything is ready for that.

Lastly, we've realized that we've missed years of our kids' lives. But I guess I hadn't really thought about it until I saw a scar on Kid #1's chest. "What happened here?" I said, as I tapped the spot. 

Kid #1 explained that it was from a water burn. And then I finally got it. They were hurt without us. They have scars that I don't know. We didn't cause their pain, but we didn't comfort them in their distress, either. We just weren't there. 

I think that's why this will be difficult. We have to convince them that we are here now. And we are committed to them 100%. 

Even if their stories began without us, we'll help them rewrite their future.

Visit to the doctor

Not much happened today. We took Kid #2 to the hospital for a scheduled checkup. It's a good thing a nurse came with us: I had no idea (and still don't) how to navigate that system. When we walked in, the hallway and room were crammed with people. There didn't seem to be a line, so the first person who darted into the exam room got to be seen first. Crazy. Everything is okay with Kid #2.

We went to McDonalds for lunch and got everything we ordered! Wow!

Has anyone else heard of flying mosquitoes? On our long trek to the shop yesterday, Kid #1 got bitten all over. So today I went to the pharmacy and thought it would be fun to see how quickly they could understand what I wanted. I am sure it looked funny, but I went in and said, "Komary (the name for flying mosquitoes)." And then I scratched my arms until the pharmacist got the idea. He got the idea rather quickly if I do say so myself. He gave me this spray that should be used to help the itching after being bitten. Instead, Kid #1 sprayed everything that moved on the way home.

Then, Kid #1 got in trouble today. So Kid #1 was supposed to do something nice for me, anything at all. Soon, grubby hands handed me a piece of paper. The first thing I saw was "Love" written in marker. "How sweet," I thought. And then I looked to the rest of the paper. (This isn't polite conversation, so I am sorry.) There were three...um...squiggles labeled "poop." And Kid #1 laughed hysterically. What can I say? It must get the age and gender. 

Second Home Visit

We had our second home visit today. In addition to the usual parties, a court-appointed lady who is to look out for the kids' best interests was also present. Everything was fine and we have another mini visit on Friday. Then, on Monday, the kids will be taken to court where they will be asked if they want to be adopted. And the next day, we take the stand. We also find out that day if we have to stay 2 or 3 weeks after court. Normally, it's 3 weeks, but we're going to request that our waiting period is only two weeks since we had double the bonding period. Just in case that didn't make sense, if we get the 2 week waiting period, we will be staying at least 3 more weeks after court. (The last week will be our embassy/visa stuff.) If we get the normal 3 week waiting period, then we will have 4 more weeks after the court date. We're really, really hoping for 2 weeks. Obviously.

The kids were introduced to tacos at the American party on Sunday. In the words of Kid #1, they were "Dee LICious." So that's what we're having for dinner tonight.

Food. Chez Aberle serves a limited menu since we don't have a grill or many baking dishes. We usually serve bread and butter, fruit, and something else easy. And ketchup. We usually serve ketchup. (In fact, we just bought our third bottle of ketchup today. We go through a bottle a week.) I confess to serving more frozen pizzas than I would like. We have tried cooking some stuff. Crepes? Big hit. The kids weren't crazy about Yakisoba or homemade Mac N Cheese, however. 

We went to the cheap place for groceries today. It's about a mile away and uphill on the way home. Kid #2 doesn't carry too much, so the rest of us were loaded down with lots of water, 6 liters of milk, and the rest of the groceries. It makes me feel like I deserve that bread we'll be eating along with our tacos tonight :). 

Tourists in Torun

We had such a wonderful weekend.

Saturday

B, our translator, picked us up around 10 am. After a few stops, we were on our way to Torun. On the way, we passed a giant cross memorial for a priest killed in 1984 by members of the Communist regime. And on the way, we were passed by some "crazy Polish drivers."

"This is ridiculous," fumed B. "I must obey the law and these crazy people, ugh, they drive so poorly. My friend from England said Polish drivers are the worst she has ever seen."

Despite crazy drivers, we arrived safely and started walking the cobbled streets of Torun. Our city, as I think I've mentioned before, has a pretty, but small downtown. The rest of it looks more industrial. The apartment buildings are tall and plain. Its history, I'm told, is that it's made up of several different towns that grew together years ago, which explains its haphazard composition. Torun, on the other hand, is gorgeous, and I can see why tourists flock to this area. Although, as B explained, tourists are more likely to go to south Poland to visit Krakow or ski in the mountains in the south.

Cars weren't allowed in certain parts of the city - which I loved. The kids (who should be on those leash thingies) don't look both ways before crossing the street and don't seem to know "STOP!" or "WAIT!" If we make it home without one of them getting hit by a car or breaking a bone, I will be very happy.

Anyway, so we ate lunch at this place that is famous for their crepes. We've eaten so many crepes that I may turn into a crepe. Mine was stuffed with ham, leeks, camembert, and sweet corn, then covered with a bechamel sauce. The kids chose theirs to be stuffed with...nutella!

If you happen to be in Torun, Manekin is a good place to eat.

While we were eating at the outdoor restaurant we watched traditional Polish singers/dancers celebrating something. We didn't understand what was happening, but it was interesting to watch.

Polish singer-dancers

Really old part of the city

Then we climbed a tower to look over the city. Kid #1 is scared of heights, so it was a short view from the top. It was so much easier than the Eiffel tower.

View from the tower

And after that, we bought some special gingerbread cookies. They're covered in chocolate and have a fig-like filling. I thought they were delicious, but Bryan, not so much.

Delicious cookies, depending on whom you ask

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I need to interrupt this post for a quick minute. Breakfast was one hour ago and Kid #1 just said, "I'm hungry" and opened the fridge. Experienced parents, is this possible? Do your kids eat constantly?

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After we ate gingerbread cookies, we next went to an ice cream place where I had kiwi ice cream. Scrumptious!

While eating ice cream, we strolled around some 14th century castle ruins. Then we walked to the Wisla riverbank where I proceeded to have several small heart attacks as my children (Kid #2 is especially uncoordinated) had several close brushes with an early shower. They also got dirty.

B said, "I am so sorry. I just don't have kids, you know, and I thought this would be a nice place. But with kids you have to think ahead about everything. And they probably shouldn't be this close to the river."

Thinking ahead about everything? Yeah, that's what we're trying to figure out, too!

Around this time, Kid #1 complained of hunger again. Walking past some yummy-smelling kebab shops probably didn't help. And every five minutes, Kid #2 was saying, "I think we have lost our car."

We found our car easily and headed back home. On the way home, Kid #1 said, "Why does mom take so many pictures of food?"

I explained that I have this blog and can't post pictures of the kids yet, since we're not officially their parents until after court. So, instead, I post pictures of food. (Although I would probably post pictures of food anyway :).)

Kid #1 said, "When is court?" May 14, May 14. One week from Tuesday. I will be glad to be done with that.

We finished off the evening with a quick shopping trip. Kid #1 said, "Cocos!" and pointed to a cantaloupe. Ready to eat more fruits and vegetables, I happily grabbed one for the basket.

After arriving home, I cut up the cantaloupe and handed a slice to Kid #1 who said, "Where is the milk?"

Milk? What? And then I got it...cocos must mean coconut. Kid #1 thought we bought a coconut and couldn't understand why it didn't have milk. But that also means they have probably never eaten coconuts, because they would have known that coconuts aren't orange, right? I wonder why they asked for them.

As I hinted, we have had a lot of struggles with bedtime. We finally came up with an idea that worked semi-well for the first night and very well last night. We gave up our very comfortable bed to Kid #1. Even though sleeping on the couch mattress is not very comfortable, it's worth it.

Sunday

We spent the afternoon with some Americans. And it was wonderful. The Polish people have been generous and friendly, but it's really nice to be able to easily communicate with people. Plus, we met an adoptive American family who gave us some helpful tips and encouraged us. And the kids enjoyed it, too. It was fun to watch them being "kids", if that makes sense with all the other kids there.

I'm not really homesick, but I sure am people sick. I look forward to seeing you all again in a few weeks!

Sights and smells of a different country

One thing I can't convey to you though a blog post are the sounds, the smells, sights, and tastes of this place.

I've already mentioned the bread, but our favorite bread is a round loaf of whole wheat bread. Sometimes we buy it when it's still slightly warm. Then as we cut it, the knife slices through the delicious, crusty outside to the tender inside. We spread our favorite butter thicker than we should, but wow, so delicious.

There are the trams, the sirens, police vehicles, endless games of soccer, kids shouting on the playgrounds, the small shops lining the streets with open bins of produce, and people walking, always walking.

And one of my favorites: Every evening at 9 pm, the church close to us plays a short melody using bugles (I think). The peaceful strains of the music float through our windows at the time when our bedtime battles are just over.

Here is a picture of the church, taken from our window tonight.

Stir crazy (and I'm not talking about popcorn)

Things are calmer than they have been in days so maybe I will have time to write a longer post today.

Our apartment is smallish. 55 square meters or something. Anyway, after spending days together 24/7 without getting out much, we were all going crazy. So I started making plans like crazy. Today (more on this in a minute), we went to a mall. Saturday, we're going to Torun, another tourist city somewhat close. Then on Sunday, we're hoping to have dinner with some other American families. Next week, we have a lot of appointments so that should help as well. We have almost three weeks down...maybe 5 to go. I will be so happy to arrive on American soil.

Okay, so today we went to the mall. It's really, really nice. Shopping exhausts me - and we only bought a pen! I am not a fan of shopping, actually, but it's a good place to go when we get stir crazy. I tried to order ice cream for the kids and got the flavor correct, but only ordered one (I thought I ordered two). Then when we decided to order more ice cream for the other kid, Kid #2 said, "No, chicken, no ice cream, no chicken." So we just left.

We are still learning more about this whole parenting thing. I want the experienced parents to feel good about themselves, so here are a few stories :).

• We ate lunch at this upscale sushi place that had "really nice coconut milk chicken soup." I love food like that. So we went there. Well, did you know that kids don't really like upscale sushi places and prefer pizza and fast food? I suppose some things should be obvious, but...
• I've started to say "No" whenever they ask for something at the store, especially if I don't know what it is. It's just easier. Anyway, today they handed me these tubes that were labeled "milk." What could be wrong with that? So I said yes. I found out later that the tubes were full of super sweet, sweetened condensed milk tasting stuff. Oops. More sugar. Just what they need.
• One of the kids seems to be gaining weight rapidly, so we're trying to buy healthier food. If we buy yogurt, they eat 4-8 containers of yogurt per day. If we don't buy any, well, they don't eat any. There are worse things than yogurt, but it does have a lot of sugar in it.
• When you need a bathroom, find a bathroom STAT!
• The kids aren't supposed to go on the balcony alone, so imagine my surprise to flip through my iPhone and find a picture that was taken with the iPhone OVER THE BALCONY! 
• We have had lots of struggles with sleeping. I could write a few posts on that. Anyway, so one of the kids complained about sleeping in the kitchen (fridge noises and stuff), so we allowed them (against our much better judgment) to sleep in the same room last night. We didn't want to do this, but we felt we had no other choice based on some other things. Anyway, the fridge noises didn't keep Kid #1 up, but Kid #2's snoring sure did! I will admit that I felt a small measure of satisfaction.

"Good" clothes

Growing up, we had everyday clothes and good clothes. Same thing here.

So when we're ready to leave the apartment, the kids will change their clothes. I should also insert that Kid #2 has a definite opinion on what should be worn when and where.

Okay, so today we were ready to go out for pizza and a walk in the forest. Kid #2 had a kelly green sequin top, black-with-polka-dots pajama bottoms (that were about three inches too short), orange and gray socks, and some shiny black ballet flats. Kid #2 did not understand why Kid #1 insisted that Kid #2 change outfits. And Kid #1 didn't understand why Kid #2 started to cry.

I actually would have let Kid #2 walk around like that (although far behind me - haha!), but Kid #1's influence won. Hot pink sweatpants replaced the pajama bottoms and the shoes were changed, though everything else stayed the same. 

Small wins :).