School Daze

I just came back from a meeting at my kids' school, and I am still in shock. Though I submitted an enrollment from last spring, have been talking with teachers and office staff about the adoption for months, and have sent written notification that my two new kids would be starting school sometime after the winter break, they informed me today that my children would not be able to attend b/c the class sizes are maxed. In fact, they are overfilled, b/c they figured there would be withdrawals thoughout the school year (which didn't happen). So now we're looking at overcrowded classrooms, which is not only a bad thing for the kids of mine already there, but is effectively slamming the door in my Kaz kids' faces. It was suggested to me that I could simply enroll them in our district school (we attend a charter school). Absolutely not. It is critical that these kids be given as much stability as possible, and I am NOT going to put them in one school only to switch them to another when the numbers look more favorable. My question of why I was not informed of this earlier went, of course, unanswered. This school is supposed to have a policy of guaranteeing placement of siblings, but I guess they are selective about when they follow their policies. I am incensed and outraged. Before leaving, I set up a meeting with our school's principal (who was not in-house at the time) for Monday morning. Hopefully, I will be able to calm down in the next 72 hours or I'll be walking in his door red-faced and fists clenched, ready to toe the line. After all, they don't know what it's like to take on both US and Kazakhstani beurocrats for over a year. I've fought a long, embittered battle, and I've won my decree, dammit, so ain't nuttin' stoppin' me now!

Packages and boxes and bows, oh my ....

My fingers bear cuts from tape dispensers, my arms ache from cutting and wrapping, and my hands are still wrapping gifts on auto-pilot if I sit still more than a minute.

No, I haven't been wrapping my kids' Christmas gifts. We decided in typical hare-brain fashion that it would be a good idea to send gifts to the kids at Julia's orphanage. My friend Lori will be returning to Ust Kamenogorsk with her family to spend Christmas with her little Kaz babydoll, and then escort her home sometime after the new year. She had graciously offered (and people think I'm the crazy one) to give gifts out to the kids at Julia's school. So we put together this cock-a-maimy scheme that on Tuesday I could buy 200+/- drawing pads and boxes of crayons, wrap them, and ship them to Lori before she leaves for Kaz on Sunday. Then Lori in turn will have to haul suitcases for her family of five/soon to be six, plus all the boxes of gifts she's bringing to her daughter's orphanage, plus my 6 boxes weighing a collective 200+ lbs. I'm not sure who should be hauled away and locked up first, her or me. And the winner of this year's Psychosis Award goes to .... envelope please .....

Anyway, you can choose to believe it or not, but generous donations from family, plus the kids' charity jar money, paid for all the paper and crayons. Rosie, Bella and I (plus a friend of Rosie's who, poor thing, happened to be over) wrapped all the pads of construction paper, stationery and coloring books. This morning all 380 items were packed in cardboard boxes, wrapped securely with about 10 miles worth of packaging tape, and hauled over to the packaging store where they were weighed and sent out (you don't want to know what it cost to ship). Hard to believe this time of year, but they will be delivered to Lori's this Friday. Now Lori gets the fun of schlepping all those boxes through several airports while simultaneously keeping track of her family, fumbling with passports and removing shoes at the security checkpoints.

Still, though, I envy her. She and her family will get the joy of handing out gifts to the children in the orphanages on Christmas Day. These are kids who may very well have never opened a wrapped Christmas present in their lives before. I know what we've given is not much, and most kids here would look at you like you had two heads if you gave them paper and crayons for Christmas, but to these kids it's pretty meaningful, and it's something of their own. And they'll know that behind the gift are people who cared enough to make the effort. Whether that effort was manifested by sending a contribution, wrapping gifts, or hauling cumbersome boxes through airports, someone did something to reach out to them and say "Merry Christmas".

They'll be home for Christmas (if only in my dreams)

I had gotten news from my coordinator earlier this week. It was the hold-your-breath, don't-jinx-it-by-speaking-of-it-out-loud kinda news that you think is too good to be true. It was. She had told me that Borya's and Julia's passports were expected in on 12/19. When I did the math, I figured they could be home to us by 12/23 or 24. But I was informed last night that they are now to be escorted to Almaty on 1/3, and they should be in the US on 1/7. Not exactly Christmas. Or New Year's. Well, I guess we still have Ground Hog's Day.

In the scheme of things, I know I can't complain. When I think back to all the obstacles in the way of this adoption ever becoming a reality (and they are too numerous to mention), I am thrilled beyond thrilled that my new son and daughter will be home to me in less than a month. Still, it's gonna be a bittersweet Christmas morning. On the one hand, I'll have the joy of basking in my kids' glow as they open their gifts and squeal and ooh and ahhh. On the other, I'll be thinking of Borya and Julia halfway around the world in cold, snowy Kazakhstan. No Christmas tree, no gifts, no family. Of course, once they get home we'll make it up to them in spades. Our tree will probably have dropped all its needles by then, but it'll still be up and decorated to the nines. I've made them each a stocking, which they will hang with care, and when they come down in the morning, they will get spoiled rotten.

They are loooong overdue for someone spoiling them rotten, don't you think?

What to do?

My oldest asked me, "What did you DO all day when we were in school?"

Well, let's see, today after we waved goodbye to each other on the bus, I ....

*cleaned up kitchen and started dishwasher
*checked e-mail
*ordered Christmas gifts on-line for school office staff, school teachers, CCD teachers, coaches and bus drivers. 20+ all told.
*got in a quick and dirty 1/2 hour work-out
*stopped in at the feed store for feed and supplies
*picked up Fred's dry cleaning, hanging it next to the 150# of feed in the cargo space of my car.
worked for awhile in the barn including:
*thawed and refilled frozen water bottles
*topped feeders and replenished storage containers for the rabbits, guinea pig, farm dog, cats.
*noticed Annabelle (farm dog) has come into first heat. Note to self: stop putting off call to vet to get her spayed!!!
*put new halters on 2 horses who had deviously hidden their old ones
*started 2 underweight horses on new feeding schedule
*finally managed to wrangle our goat Houdini and get his old collar off!
*started working with our mare Flurry to re-aquaint her with the concept of lifting her bum leg so the farrier, aka evil ugly troll (in Flurry's mind) can finally trim her hooves next month
Back in the house I:
*took care of some adoption paperwork
*checked a couple blogs of "adoption friends"
*answered a couple e-mails
*scheduled pre-op and post-op appts for Bella's January eye surgery, carefully coordinating with another Dr appt she has that month in same hospital
*hung up the dry cleaning
*washed a few loads of laundry
*wrapped a few Christmas gifts
*put away some dishes
*cleaned out the bottom of the hall closet

Me: What did I do? Oh, you know, did a few things around the house and barn, ran some errands.
Patrick: Don't you get BORED?
Me: .............still trying to think of a response ...............

Have a fun-filled day!

Announcement time!!!!

We got the news today, we are officially the legal parents of Borya and Julia! The decree was issued today. Here's the word from my agency coordinator:

Congratulations, you are official parents of Borya and Julia, Alma received your
decree and it is all final and official, I am very happy for you!

So after the judge approved our adoption (11/19) my mind was 75% at ease about the adoption becoming finalized. Now that we have the decree, 90%. Once their sweet feet cross our threshold in January, my adoption worries will cease. Only to be replaced by the stress of being a Mom to six kids. It's like a vacuum up there, once one worry leaves, another is sucked right up into its place!