Happy 4th of July Day 6

I don't usually work on my blog until after all the kids are in bed, but with fireworks tonight, it's going to be a late night.

I'm enforcing a 9:30 bedtime for Vladik, and so far as he hasn't given me any grief about it. He's usually up, dressed and downstairs by 8; which, of course is long past the time Rick and I eat breakfast, but he doesn't seem to mind.

We drove up to Phantom Fireworks in West Salem to get a few small things. I nearly had to sign my life away to get them, but buy them we did.
Speaking of fireworks...what happened to the roadside fireworks stand where you parked your car on the side of the road, with barely enough room to get out safely. Where you stood dripping with sweat in the blisteringly hot sun making up your mind. Figuring out, to the penny, how you could get the most bang for your buck (pun intended)... all the while wondering how it was safe that the guy working the fireworks stand was smoking a cigarette. (Or maybe they just do/did it that way in Texas.)
There used to be one (maybe 2) between Maypearl and Venus... LOL I wonder if they're still there.

So anyway, we got the little white things you throw on the ground and they go "POP"... (my kids call them "poppers.") Smoke bombs, and the ones where you pull the string and the confetti flies out. We also got a package deal that had some of the ones you light. Vladik gave me a bit of a hard time when I told him he couldn't light them. (Evidently, the body language of complaining is universal, too.) But he relented quickly when I stood my ground.

We set off a few before lunch, and then the rest a couple hours later. They were all to excited to wait.

We had a good English lesson today, reviewing what he already "knows," and going over some table manners. (I say "good" because we had minimal interruptions) We worked on: "please pass the....",  "thank you", and how to respond to the question "Would you like more?" We're still working on the names for the table setting... plate, bowl, fork, knife, spoon, napkin, cup/glass.  It don't feel like he's retaining much... maybe with the exception of colors.
I was trying to remember if I took Spanish when I was a freshman in High School. I would have been 13- almost 14 then... about Vladik's age. But I don't think I did... I think I was a sophomore. (LOL I can still hear in my head the way the one secretary pronounced it-- "soph-uh-more.") Ahhh... but I digress.

Can't get much more "American" than that...
red, white, blue and baseball.

OH! I almost forgot. We had chicken nuggets, french fries, and an ENTIRE cantaloupe for lunch. My kids have a Sweet Vidalia Onion sauce they dip their nuggets in... Vladik liked it. I dip my chicken nuggets in BBQ sauce. (For the uninitiated, I make a
K I L L E R  BBQ sauce.. it was my Nana's recipe.) Anyway, there is only 1 person I have ever known who did not like the "Oakley" BBQ sauce-- my brother-in-law. (Yes, Grant, I'm talking about YOU!)  Vladik is #2.
To be honest, I'm not surprised. It's a tangy, robust sauce full of smoke, sweetness with a little kick at the end. It's A LOT more flavor that what he's used to. Oh well.. more for the rest of us, I guess.

I LOVE Kyle's face here!

Such hard work!

After a shaving cream fight.

Vladik's temporary tattoo.

I tried to talk them into waiting until tonight, but I got a resounding
"NO" from all 3 of them!

Joe, writing his name; and wondering what he can't see the "tail"
from she sparkler. DUH! It's not dark! :-)

Roscoe wasn't too sure about these. Some sort of "Screeching Cukoo".
They were LOUD, and he was NOT a fan.

Day 5

Sunday.. church... I don't think Vladik was impressed.

Bless his heart, it's got to be terribly overwhelming... and very odd.
Even if he DOES attend church back home, (and I don't know if he does) I'm sure it's NOTHING like where we go. Rick teaches the youth on Sunday mornings during the summer, so at least there was a familiar face during Sunday School. The youth group didn't meet tonight because of the 4th of July holiday, but I'll take him next Sunday.

We watched "Spiderman" this afternoon while Joe and Kyle took their "rests." (Joe rested, Kyle napped.) I really would have liked to have taken a nap as well, but... well.... I can nap in August, I guess.

We went swimming at my SIL's this afternoon. All of Rick's family was there. I think Vladik enjoyed playing with the cousins.... swimming, soccer, kickball... etc. He plays a little rougher in the pool than what Joe is used to... especially since Joe can't swim and is still using the floaties.  We stayed for pizza (Vladik ate a 12" ham and cheese sub), plus brownies and homemade ice cream.  I was surprised he didn't want a 2nd helping of ice cream, but after the sub and chips, his hollow leg must have been getting full.

We got home a little before 8, watched a recorded episode of Funniest Home Videos... that kind of humor is universal... and put Joe and Kyle to bed.

Not a very exciting day, but a pretty normal Sunday for us.

I think I'm going to change up the way we do our English lessons... break it up into 2 portions... 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon. He says he *wants* to work on it, but when we get down to it, he looses interest pretty quickly. Part of it, I'm sure, is that we're going over things he already "knows." And yes, he knows the words, but he doesn't seem to know when or how to use them.... even here at home in a controlled environment.

Day 4

I had several things I was going to talk about here tonight... and by now I've forgotten most of them.
Here is what I do remember...

1. I am pleased that Vladik has bonded so well with Joe and Kyle, but I've been a little concerned that he hasn't seemed to connect with me. I know it's only been a few days, but not having anything to compare this experience too, well... I didn't know.  Anyway, this afternoon Joe brought out a sheet of temporary tattoos. There were sports items, dinosaurs, race cars, etc.... Which one did Vladik pick? One that said "I *heart* Mom."  I google translated it to make sure he knew what it meant... and that was the one he wanted.

Guess I'm doing something right. :-)

2. Rick helped out at a church function this afternoon/evening and got home shortly after we finished supper. He took the boys out in the backyard to have a little batting practice. Because we're still a couple of weeks behind in the fields, Rick hasn't been around much since Vladik arrived, but I was glad they were able to hang out for a little this evening. Vladik has an awful batting stance, but even so, he hits pretty well! He's also a mean croquet player... he smoked us all.

3. Vladik was ELATED when he noticed our peach tree in the backyard. The peaches are just now starting to get some color on them-- nowhere NEAR ripe enough for me to eat. He climbed the tree, and ate 4 or 5 of them. YUCK! It must have been a novelty to see them actually on the tree?

4. After we put Joe and Kyle to bed, I asked if he wanted to play a game or work on some more English. He chose English (YAY!) But he petered out and lost interest pretty quickly. We tried the free lessons on www.livemocha.com.

5. Tonight was the first night Vladik let me tuck him in... covers, hugs, kisses... the whole 9 yards.
Then he asked me to buy him a cell phone. LOL
I was told to expect it... but I was surprised it happened so soon.
(For those of you NOT familiar, the whole cell phone thing works very differently over here than what it does in Ukraine. Cell phones are cheap, easy to come by.. and the minutes are CRAZY cheap. No contract needed.)  I don't know that he would have asked if he'd have understood how it works here.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I've told him we're going to church and kind of what to expect. We don't go to a large church, but there will be A LOT of new people... many of them wanting to meet him. This will be our first "social" thing on a scale of this size. It will be interesting to see how he does.

Day 3

Well, I was sitting pretty high on my horse.... thinking Vladik was the PERFECT host kid. And he IS great, don't get me wrong. But I was feeling *pretty pleased* with my lot... no car sickness, eating everything he tried, showering without being prompted, etc.

Well, he threw up in the car this evening on the way to Payless.

He doesn't like pizza (not really surprised there),

 and I don't think he's using soap or shampoo when he showers. Come to think of it, he may not be *showering* at all. I hear the water running, but it may be the sink. Hmmmmm.

So much for my model host child. :-)

On the bright side, he DOES wash (or at least wet) his hands after using the restroom, he continues to say prayers with us, and he helps clear the table after meals.

We cleaned out/swept up the garage this morning before it got too hot. He didn't offer to help- even when he saw us working, but when I indicated he should help sweep, he got right to it.

Their 1st "trio" run on the Slip-n-Slide

How they ended up

 I can tell he's getting comfortable with us-- or at least with Joe and Kyle, because he's starting to tease and pick on them a little, in his own way. Not mean spirited... at least no more so than when Joe picks on Kyle. Joe was getting a little irritated about it tonight and I told him that that's what it sometimes feels like to have an older brother.. and to remember that next time he feels like irritating Kyle just for the fun of it.

I do need to remind Joe, though, that Vladik gets his cues on how to treat other kids from the way Joe treats Kyle.  It's a good reminder for all of us.

We went to Balloonfest tonight. It was SO HOT!
Joe and Kyle really enjoyed it (as usual)... Vladik seemed underwhelmed.
He was more excited about the ice cream afterwards. :-)

It's going to be even hotter tomorrow... maybe we'll go swimming.

Day 2

Another "taking it easy" kind of day today.  Although we did make a quick trip to WalMart for Vladik's bike helmet and also stopped at the post office.  He didn't see overwhelmed by WalMart, which I was kind of surprised about; but maybe he was and he just hides it well.

I think he was really excited about the helmet. He knew we were getting it *for him* and he was tickled to get to pick it out. We also got some more fruit... which at the rate he's going, I'll have to replenish again on Monday. I was warned that he'd go through fruit like crazy, and boy they weren't kidding!

We had scrambled eggs with sliced hot dogs (my boys' favorite way to eat eggs) and banana raspberry muffins for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and meatloaf for supper. He's been eating really well... had 1 1/2 sandwiches at lunch, and 2 servings of meatloaf at supper, plus all the sides. I'm glad about that. I know some of the other host parents are having a hard time getting their kids to eat. Vladik has been willing to try everything I've put in front of him. As a result, we're now out of Trail Bologna. :-)

Kyle asked him tonight if he wanted to pray at supper. I was surprised when he said yes. I'm DYING to know what he said-- all I got was "Amen." Of course for all I know it was the equivalent of "blah blah blah... amen;" but I don't think so. He seemed genuinely pleased to be asked. I thought maybe he'd feel uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to be.

I had to mow today (3 hrs) so they watched a little more tv and played the wii more than I would have normally liked, but they spent the rest of the day outside. I suppose it won't hurt.

Yesterday, Vladik fell asleep on the couch shortly after supper. Tonight he indicated he wasn't tired. So he helped me put the boys to bed, said prayers with us (again, I'd LOVE to know what he said), and then he and I came downstairs and played a couple rounds of Memory. I also taught him to play Connect 4, and I think it's a new favorite. I'll have to check and see of they make it in a travel size for him to take back on the plane.

For our English lesson today we worked on colors, letter sounds and their names, counting to 20, and some conversational phrases.  It's really hard to do with Joe and Kyle in the room as they keep interrupting. I think maybe tomorrow, Vladik and I will use the dining room table while the boys stay in the kitchen... don't know if that will help or not.
I feel like I'm shooting the dark as far as the English goes. I know every little bit helps, but I would feel better if I had a plan to follow. For someone to say "Hey, this is what we did last year." Or "Such and such really helped us."  I don't usually mind winging it, but this is different.

Exhaustion (Day 1)

I
am
exhausted
.

There is simply no other way to put it. I honestly can't remember the last time I was this tired.

I didn't sleep well last night-- of course I never do in a hotel.
And I didn't sleep much at all the night before.

Vladik and I made it home about 10 this morning. We at breakfast at the hotel (waffles) and we were pulling out of the parking lot before 8.

We did finally have McDonald's last night for supper. I let him sleep til about 8:30pm.
We ate.
He went right back to sleep and stayed that way until 6am.  Guess I'm not the only one who's tired.

We had a short English lesson today-- probably no more than 30 minutes. He knows more than he lets on. Besides conversational speaking and vocabulary, I need to work on his confidence.  I think I'm going to keep the lessons on the "lighter"side until his internal clock adjusts. Hopefully by the end of the week.

"The boys" spent much of the day outside.. on the swing, playing soccer, riding bikes, checking out the farm, etc. They did play the wii for a little this morning, and watched about 1/2 of "Cars" while I was fixing supper. Apparently, Lightning McQueen is nearly as well known as McDonalds.

We had mac & cheese for lunch and steak and fried potatoes for supper. Vladik seemed to like them both. Fruit is a no-brainer.. he likes it all.

I wish I had a better idea of what an average "orphanage" day is like for him. It would help me gauge our level of activity here. I'm afraid he's going to get bored.

We're going to town tomorrow to get him a bike helmet. He wore Joe's today... and I know Joe would like to have it back. :-)

Ok, thats it. I'm nearly asleep at the keyboard.
OH-- before I forget. NO LICE. At least none that I found. I'll keep checking every few days in case he picked up something from one of the other kids, but so far--- we're good. Another answered prayer!

Now the work begins...

He's here.

Vlad's plane arrived about 30 minutes late... and then he spent 2 hours going through customs.  It took another 30-40 minutes (or so it seemed) at the airport finalizing the paperwork, taking pictures, exchanging phone numbers, etc.

We're at a hotel in Monroe, MI. He's napping now. Poor kid is exhausted-- both physically and emotionally.
The laptop is set up and the keyboard is on fire. LOL
Google translate seems to be working fairly well going from English to Russian, but not so well the other way around. It could be that he speaks a mix of Ukrainian and Russian, as it's only getting about every 4th word.

Vlad's first questions were about Rick and the boys, next was about my family.
He knows almost no English.... less than 10 words, (that includes our names), and he's only marginally familiar with our alphabet. It's less than what I was hoping for, but at least now I know where to start for English lessons. Maybe he and Kyle can learn their alphabet together. :-)

I'll let him sleep for a couple of hours, then we'll get supper-- probably McDonalds. (McDonalds, by the way, IS a word he knows.)

We did play a quick game of checkers before he went to sleep. The rules in Ukraine must be different than what I know. He tried to explain it to me, but it just didn't translate. I'll have to do a little research. It won't do do have him skunk me like that again!