I think I owe everyone a catch up post... I have been posting on Facebook because it is quick and easy and does not require a ton of proof reading and often can be typed with one hand while holding Owen with the other.... Without further ado... Owen Matthew.
Now it is time to explain the unusually dark circles in the above photo...
Sunday September 30- Monday October 1
I left my home at 10 am on Sunday September 30th and I arrived at my apartment at 9 pm after an $80 taxi ride on Monday October 1st (mind you Moscow is 8 hours ahead). I missed my connection in Helsinki after a mechanical delay in Chicago, so was then sent to Stockholm, Sweden and then connected to Moscow. The flight arrived to the airport at 5pm instead of the expected 520... yay, right? But my baggage decided it didn't want to make the connection... even though they had about 50 minutes to get it there go figure.... so I was standing there watching one bag at a time come out while cursing how I just went along with the program at the American ticket counter... paying an extra $60 fee to check my carryon because it was one of those bags that has a backpack connected. I had to remove the attached back pack because it wouldn't fit in the bin. Grrrr.... I should have taken the stuff in the backpack out and stuck in into the available pockets... silly really... anyways... it was my bag with my toiletries, chargers, adapters, emergency supplies and those two outfits and pjs just in case your bag doesn't get there... I not only spent the 27 hours of travel in my same clothes... but the entire next day too. I hand washed my under garments and socks and put them on the towel warming pipe in the bathroom. They were crunchy but clean the next morning.
Tuesday October 2, 2012
I woke about 8am after 10 hours of sleep feeling groggy but hungry. I quickly dressed and thanked myself for staying in Building #22 on New Arbat because I knew where the grocery store was at... but more important... Dunkin Donuts is across the street and I needed a good American cup of coffee.
I went to the grocery store and bought fruit, veggies, chicken, olive oil, eggs, bread, milk, water, yogurt and cheese. I went back to the apartment made a quick sandwich and touched base with my new friend Megan who adopted Sophia from Tver. She wanted so badly to explore Moscow but with her daughter she did not want to chance getting lost.... I don't blame her a bit, I probably wouldn't just wander a city with Owen either. We talked online over the past couple of weeks and our trips overlapped so we made plans to get out and see the sites. I decided that walking after so much flying was the best medicine for my aches plus would help me to get on the Moscow time zone. So we walked down to the Kremlin and after walking the perimeter it was time to go to St. Basils for Sophia's photo op! We then went into the Kremlin and I gave Megan the 2 penny tour because I went before but I will just say there are many dead prince's there... LOL (inside joke).
We stayed until the last minute and then hurried back so I could go to my passport meeting. Max stopped and picked me up as I was frantically calling trying to find my bags. Max took pity on me and we went for my bags just before picking Owen up... thank goodness because all I had for him was about 10 diapers, one pair of pjs and his pick up outfit.
Pick up was so fast, no pomp, no circumstance, walk in go upstairs to Owen's groupa, walk in hand them his clothes, go downstairs to sign paperwork which is about 3-4 signatures because they gave me his baptismal gown and I had to sign for it and the documents, go upstairs and ask to take pictures of his bed, and the caregivers... then Paka paka (bye bye). That's it... probably took 20 minutes, except that we saw the director on the way out... we thought she was not there... and we snapped a photo, I gave her the pretty scarf to match her eyes and promised her that if she gave me the e-mail address I would send them "Owen updates"... and a final Paka Paka. And we were off... that was 5:30 and they had told me Owen needed to stay until after supper. I told Max please explain that I have supplies... and so when we arrived at the apartment it was 7 pm after the roughly one and a half hour car ride. Moscow traffic is crazy! But this time I didn't care... I was falling deeper in love...
Megan and I talked about meeting up in the evening and it turned out they had not eaten yet... so put Owen in the Ergo and off to Chili's we went. Megan treated us to a wonderful celebration dinner where Owen was amazed at all the things around him... he watched the waitresses and waiters... and he loved being there with his new friend Sophia. I was bummed to hear that Megan's tickets were changed and that they would be leaving earlier than originally scheduled because I had hoped to have a friend to hang around with this week.
 |
| Sorry for the picture quality... but those two don't sit completely still...LOL |
 |
| I love this picture of Megan and Sophia... it looks like Sophia just told the best joke... and her Mommy is just so in love with her... what a special little peanut! I cannot wait to see her grow in her momma's love. |
Wednesday October 3rd
Owen woke up his first day away from his Baby home with the sound of the doorbell to wake him at almost 9am. He woke up smiling at me until he saw that the doorbell brought the pediatrician Dr. Boris. His talk of crocodile tears and not spoiling Owen... I smiled, nodded and walked him to the door of the apartment thinking ... you have no idea how much I am going to shower this baby in love. Later I learned that poor Dr. Boris lost his son and only child to a motorcycle accident just two weeks prior... I wanted to cry for him.
Owen and I spent the day inside hanging out and doing some bonding... we played on the carpet, he ate like a champ... this boy is like no other orphan I have seen... he is a chunky monkey... I can't wait to see what his exact weight is... LOL... he is in 12 months clothing and I am sure in he will soon be in18 months. So he and I hung out, I made chicken soup during his nap... and he loved it. Me not so much because it just had a funky flavor due to the Moscow water I think.
I ended up connecting in the evening with another family that is also on their pick up trip. Emily and Michael who have adopted Leeza from Volograd Region. She is a beautiful and tiny little 15 month old baby girl. She looks like she will give her big brothers a run for their money. We chatted and made plans to get together late Thursday morning to visit and maybe site see.
At midnight I woke up so that I could Skype with Connor and Elina. They wanted to see Owen but Owen was asleep... and as my Auntie Carol says, "You never wake a sleeping baby." So I took the computer into the bedroom and showed them their baby brother sound asleep in his pack and play... they absolutely loved it. In the background I also saw their little buddies Austin and Mason... they were so excited to have their friends over to play at Grandma's house. Elina let the boys go and play and she did her daily of reading with me on Skype... that was the best 20 minutes of reading that she has ever done with me. So after we had chatted for almost an hour, mommy decided to get some shut eye so she could be ready for a certain little man in the morning.
Thursday October 4th
We woke at 6 am this morning, Owen had a croupy cough and a sore throat. So mommy decided being upright was the best plan. We started out day and had a bit of herbal tea to help sooth his throat. It seemed to help and so I went ahead with breakfast which was when I figured out he had the sore throat. I noticed on Tuesday there were very few kids in his groupa AND that there was lots of noise coming from the infirmary wing when i went to sign the paperwork. I am guessing something was getting passed around since that Owen came to me with a runny nose.
So he ate and after playing a bit I decided it was time for us to lay back down. We did and woke when Emily called to see if we still wanted to get together. We definitely did... we put together our things, dressed and were more than ready when they arrived (in the meantime the coordinator called and said that she didn't need anything else from me on Thursday and to enjoy the day but be at the Embassy at 11 am on Friday). Ok, last step of the process... I see the light...
Emily, Michael and Leeza walked to our apartment which is about a 5 minute walk from their apartment next to the Embassy. Michael had been sick and was still not feeling well, poor guy. So we visited and let the kids warm up and play. I am so glad to have met such wonderful families during this journey. I thought I was going to be completely alone since I did not take anyone on the trips with me. So after visiting and deciding that we were ready for lunch... we headed out onto New Arbat to scout out a
restaurant. I suggested My My (Moo Moo) for Russian cuisine... or Chili's for American both Emily and Michael looked at me and had it in their eyes... American food! We selected Chilis and had a great lunch... Owen and Leeza ate great and we had a great time. After lunch Michael and Leeza went back to their apartment for a nap and Emily and I snuck onto Old Arbat for some shopping. I was able to get some items for my friend Dawn... I picked up a few things for Owen, Connor and Elina... it was a nice day and fairly nice weather... I figured out the straps of the Ergo a bit better and a new position for Owen... NOW, I would recommend the Ergo for anyone (Tuesday/Wednesday... not so much)!! Emily and I went back to the apartment because she needed to let Michael know that she did not have the security code. We chatted a bit more... and then Emily headed off in hopes to get into her apartment building.
Friday October 5th
Embassy appointment: I had decided to walk to the Embassy until Max called and offered to pick us up because it was drizzling. Yes, there was quite a bit of rain on this trip. We were stuck sitting in front of my apartment building due to the President Vladimir Putin traveling down New Arbat St. in his motorcade on his way to the Kremlin. How cool is that to experience? Long story short it ran us a few minutes late to get to the Embassy. The Embassy visit went smooth and was enjoyable until I went to the window and was asked to verify the information. I looked and stated, "I'm sorry but that is not my son's birthdate." Owen's birthday is 9/24/2011 or in EE 24/09/2011... it stated 24/02/2012. Turns out the passport office, my coordinator and the Embassy missed noticing this detail. We scrambled... we RAN... literally drove in Moscow traffic (worse than New York City)... and would stop park and RUN to offices... Max (who was
assisting
with the fix) and I in my heels with Owen in the Ergo. We did this from 12:00 until 2:45pm and barely made it back to the Embassy before they closed at 3:00 pm. See, if we would not have made it... October 8 is Columbus Day and a Federal Holiday so therefore the Embassy would not reopen until October 9th and our flight would then be on the 10th. it would equal an additional 4 days in country, 4 more days away from Connor and Elina, 4 more days of apartment fees, and airfare change costs... so boy was I glad to have made it back to the Embassy after going to the Russian passport office for re-issue of the passport, the Passport office for the official stamp (no these are not close together)... and back to the Embassy. Poor Owen was a trooper through it all... thank goodness that Mommy is always organized and prepared... he ate baby food in the van while Max drove, took a cat nap and remained happy for the most part. It was nearly 4 pm by the time we jumped back in the van.
We still had not made it to St. Basil's for our picture... we had planned to tour the city with Emily and Michael and the K family that was also on their pick up trip. The K family arrived late the night prior and decided that after the exhausting in country flight that they would pass on the tour. So we picked Emily, Michael and Leeza up from the nearby apartment and ventured down to Red Square. Emily captured some amazing photos... Leeza stole the show! There were Russians and tourists stopping to take photos of the tiny princess walking in Red Square! We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Red Square McDonald's (very crowded). Emily became the table warrior (Nyet! Nyet!) and defended our table while Michael and I ordered! Owen absolutely loved his bites of cheeseburger!! Now to find a place to change his diaper... we looked high and low... and decided that the best place to find something would be in the Gum shopping mall. (Plus I really wanted to walk thru Gum) So we found a place and I changed Owen... everything of Owen... and by that point I wanted to change MY clothes too as he soaked through everything including me... poor guy. We headed back out into the drizzle and Max dropped us off after a quick stop to the Pharmacy to grab Leeza Children's Afrin because her nose was also stuffy/runny. Back to the apartment... it was 8pm and I had not even begun to think about packing. Between cleaning up and packing the kitchen items (we ate in the apartment mostly)... and packing everything we needed on the plane... I stopped at 245am.
Saturday October 6th
So, I slept about an hour and was up
before 4 am because Max would pick us up at 430am to begin the journey home. I
chose to fly on the cheaper routing this time and avoid JFK... can you say
STUPID? I will forever regret the air travel portion of Trip 3. I arrived to
the airport just before 5am.... approached the security for British Airways...
and realized I was booked on a BA affiliate NOT British Airways mainline...
UGH. Our Flight was at 7am... guess what time I made it to the gate? You
guessed it... just as boarding was beginning... gone was the family boarding...
WHY might you ask?? Because Owen ticket was booked on the Mainline British Airways
Flight and mine was on the affiliate British Midland or something like that.
ARGH!!!!!
It took over 2 hours for the agents
to get it corrected and I was told I may have to pay again for Owen's ticket...
blah blah blah... I am glad I have an airline's background because I know that
they could fix it without paying again... and they fixed it but the coding and
such was hard because it is never the most experienced agents working on
Saturday mornings at 5am. Again UGH! So here I am with a baby that has not had
breakfast, has a wet diaper, in his pjs and boarding has begun. I made the best
of it... stopped in the bath room to change Owen's diaper and clothes... and
got on the flight... the first thing the guy next to me said was, "Hope he
doesn't make noise!! (with a British snarl)" I stated back, "Well at
least the ticket counter was nice enough to book out the middle seat for
him." Owen fell asleep for 2 hours of the scheduled 4.5 hr flight (that
turned into a 5.25 hr flight due to the heavy winds). When he woke he ate again
and decided he had enough of being contained on Mommy's lap. I was beginning to
see that he had a belly ache and was constipated... so he was unhappy,
struggled and cried for the second half of the flight... the Russian women in
front of me gave me TONS of dirty looks.... so I moved to the back Galley since
I was already in the last row and I hung out with the nice flight attendant for
the rest of the 2 hour flight... 2 hours of holding Owen while standing during
a windy flight... gotta love it!
Next came the connection in London
Heathrow... while I was glad to hear English again... the rest was downhill. I
arrived at the security checkpoint after connecting terminal by a ramp side
bus. Not impossible but not easy with a bag, backpack and stroller... but we
made it with what seemed like ample time to spare. Next came the Security Checkpoint...
where we made it thru the screening of ourselves but had to wait for the baby
food to be screened... ok no problem... I get it (I work in Aviation Security).
So while I am standing there I am listening to snarky nasty comments flying
between 3 screening employees... and I wait.... and I wait... I wait45
minutes... and this guy is still hand screening the same bag, flinging liquid
items into a zip lock while acting like a belligerent jerk to this older couple
who obviously do not speak English. Owen is restless and I am going to miss my
flight. I asked the woman who had made rude comments about the gentleman who is
taking forever to hand screen carry-on packages... and she says I have to wait
in line until it is my turn. I asked for a manager... I was told "you have
to go over there"... I was ticked... now I can't leave baggage over here
to go over there... so I through gritted teeth ask her to call the manager
over... to which she states "I can't." So, instead of walking over I
yell, "Excuse me, I need a Manager" and wave to the manager counter.
I tell the Manager, "I have listened to enough rude comments between your
employees which is making this employee take his good sweet time..... we have
waited for 45 minutes at the counter for you guys to clear baby food, I still
have to check in for my next flight, and there is still another bag to be
cleared before mine." The Manager apologized and the woman that had been
standing there (making the rude comments to her co-worker for being in her
business) then had to clear baby food. I expected them to swab it like in the
USA... Nope... "Ma'am you will need to open these sealed containers and
you are going to have to taste each one of these because it is a percentage...
I had to open and taste 3 containers of baby food.... are you kidding
me??" Then she began to lecture me about why... I finally had it... I
rolled my eyes told her I knew more on the topic and could I please leave. I
finally had lost my cool and had not another nice word to say...
American check-in turned my dark
cloud of bitterness back into sunshine.. the agent was great, she blocked an
extra seat for Owen and we were on our way. We made it to the gate and everyone
had already boarded the flight... EVERYONE.... but us.. but there was about 20
more minutes to board. We sat down all the way in the back of the airplane.
Because it was not a full flight... the flight attendants asked the gentle man
in the next seat (it was a 3 seat middle section) if he would like to move to
an open seat away from the baby. He of course wanted to and we had 3 seats....
yay! Owen did pretty good on this flight.... I got him to sleep, moved the arm
rest up and went to lay him across the seats... and the arm rest suddenly came
down and smacked him across the face. Needless to say Momma then held him for
the 4 hour sleep... and that was perfect for me... because I also slept. The
flight attendants were awesome on our flight... they played with Owen, talked
to him, one even asked if she could give my arms a break for 5 minutes and gave
me a hot coffee. Boy did I need that moment... he went along with it... but
watched me the entire time and as soon as I was done he was over being out of
my arms. The only complaint I have about the actual flight is that there were no
in seat entertainment units AND there were no movies played during the flight.
That part equaled a boring flight that seemed to take a very long time to get
to Chicago (ORD)... yes folks I still have one more connection... and
Immigration/Customs to clear in ORD can you hear the regret yet?? If not let me
shout it... I regret this flight booking.
We get to Chicago and have one connection to Detroit left...
and to clear Customs. I didn't grab a Fast Pass because I had the baby and knew
that there was a special line... so I asked and there was not a special line so
I asked to be put into the Fast Pass Lane. Nope... so I moved down and asked
again... and the third time they put me thru... geesh... because of the winds
it took longer on this flight too... so my connection time was quickly dissipating.
We cleared and went to grab bags before secondary (because Owen needed
secondary to clear his adoption paperwork and get his stamp of approval)... and
guess what... I waited and waited for our bags... and waited.... and
watched.... NOPE no baggage... AGAIN my baggage was LOST!!! AGH!!! At this
point I just didn't even care.... what else could go wrong?? Now remember, this
is where the snag would have occurred with Owen's passport if that it didn't
get corrected.... well the officer after making us wait about 15 minutes call
us up and tells me his medical exam is not valid and that it is over a year
old. I about lose it... I said "wait the doctor came to our apartment
Wednesday... it should be October 3rd 2012. He looks again... when they made
the photo copy they didn't realize that they cut off the last # the 2... and
the way that it looked made it look kinda like a 11 instead of a 12. luckily
there is a second spot on the form for a date which wasn't cut off and he was
able to approve it... off to train to connect to a different terminal and get
on the next flight. We made it with just a little time to spare after changing
into Owen's America outfit, boarded the Regional Jet, sent a text to my mom
that we would arrive on time and zipped across Lake Michigan and into DTW. We
arrived a few minutes early and stopped to freshen up in the bathroom. We
walked into the ticket lobby of the North Terminal and were met by my good
friend Tracey, my babysitter Hannah and her boyfriend Sam! My mom was calling
me from the parking structure bridge telling me they were there... so we met
them near the escalator, Elina had complete amazement in her eyes... and her
Big Sister shirt on.... Connor was ticking Owen under the chin and yet he was
upset telling me he wasn't sure which shirt to wear his "Big Brother"
shirt that matched Elina's or his "Big Brother Team Captain" shirt so
he had both on and he cried. I think it was emotional for him... both kids were
excited and bouncing... and Owen and I were exhausted and on the verge of tears
ourselves. Owen wasn't so sure of the excitement and I was actually glad that
it was a small welcome home. We went to file a claim for lost luggage and get
into the car and go start the rest of our family life.
***Check back on this post... I am going to add photos to it... just don't have time right now. Plus will be adding a few more posts about life at home and the new normal***
.jpg)
