We Made It!

The itinerary was rather difficult but we made it safely without losing a bag or child.  We were required to transfer airports in New York from La Guardia to JFK with all 8 of our checked bags,  a booster and 2 carry ons each.  Delta Sky Club was a welcomed reprieve as we waited to board our Moscow flight.  Over the Atlantic the munchkins did great!  Head rest televisions kept their attention most of the way if they weren't sleeping.  Not much sleep was had.  Moscow greeted us with beautiful weather, sunny skies and 60 degree temps.  It warmed up thru the day.  We gathered our belongings one more time and found our driver waiting for us.  He took us to our corporate apartment, helped get our bags in and then....we found out our name was not on the list at the check in.  He made a couple calls on our behalf wih numbers given to him by the Mr.  It was said a human resource person would be calling the Mr shortly on his cell then he left.  We proceeded to sit in this small cramped lobby with all of our stuff for 4 hours!  Periodic calls were made and recieved.  The nice Russian lady at check in gave the munchkins candy, bought us tea and interacted with the kids.  She was so kind!  After four hours of sitting with no where to go and nothing to eat a call came that said two taxis were on their way to pick us up and take us to a hotel.  We gathered our things yet again, loaded into the cars with two sleeping children and made our way to the hotel where we now sit.  The munchkins still sleep, the parents have showered and we are ordering room service.  We still have two years to get out and eat localmcuisine.

We still have no answer as to what happened with the corporate apartment.  All we know is our company could not get in touch with the rental agency renting the apartment.

One day down, 729 to go...but whose counting?

It's Go Time!

It's Go Time!

The movers arrived at 10am this morning to box up our stuff for Russia. They just left with our air shipment. Tomorrow they will come back for the cargo and to box up the rest for storage. Overall, it went well...done at 2:30pm!! They said I made dummy proof...so easy :-)

All Packed Up

How are we looking? Too much? Too little? All of the things in both closets are going with us. Clearly, we have toys on the right. On the left we have towels, sheets, some kitchen items, framed family and friend photos and blankets. Not included are hanging clothes or Munchkin One's toys. I am feeling like this is a lot. Thoughts?

The Staging Room

I turned Munchkin Two's room into a staging area. Up until last night it was organized...cause I am like that. Each part of the room is labeled; cargo, air or bag check. Cargo will take the longest to reach us at 4-6 weeks. Air will arrive before then, but not sure how long. Of course, bag check will go with us on the plane.

I have now touched everything in our little beach condo! Today I will spend my time in this room, packing up the bag check stuff. Tomorrow we will go to my parents house for the week. We will take our bag stuff with us and it will be out of the way for the movers arrival on Monday. We leave on Friday :-)

Team Munchkin

The Olympics have been a big deal in our home this year.  Munchkin One has really taken to watching each sport.  He has even asked us to record certain events!  Munchkin One has truly enjoyed following gymnastics, especially because he takes lessons.  He has been on the pre team for  more than 6 months.  If it weren't for our move, he would be on the team this coming school year.  While watching one of the athletes compete, Munchkin One said he was at that level yet....YET?!? I told him if he wants to be at that level he can be and we would help him.  It is up to him I said, whatever he wants to do, he is in control.  He said he wanted to do it!  We said we would look for a coach while in Russia.

While the Olympics play in the background, I continue to sort, organize and pack.  I am trying to find that balance of taking enough of what we need, but not too much.  I have tried on all of my lotions and applied all of my make up...what to take, what to throw out.  I am quite the site to see, but I smell great!  It is coming down to the wire! I feel like i still have so much to do.  The movers arrive on Monday. We depart on Friday.  Our visas arrived yesterday which means we can now purchase out tickets.  In case you didnt catch that....we leave in 11 days and still don't have tickets.  It is crazy to me! But Don't ask, This Is Russia...

Madness

Believe it or not...there is a method to this madness! Each pile has meaning.....two weeks and counting!

Two Steps Back

A month ago, Russia emailed the Mr with relocation details. A point of detail was the Mr would need an HIV test for his work visa. Not a problem! The Mr called up his doctor, got the test and results. We have been waiting for the visa paperwork to arrive. on Friday Moscow gave the Mr the names of two agencies who can process our visas for us and said to expect the paperwork on Monday. The Mr called one of the agencies on Friday to confirm specifics. This is when he was told Munchkin Two and I also needed HIV tests. Really? Couldn't we have known this a month ago? We still do not have a final departure date. It hinges on Munchkin One's passport (which we just received) and the visas. We were instructed by Moscow not to book our tickets until we knew when our visas would arrive. So, we can't submit visa applications until we have our tests done. We have had our tests and are awaiting the formal paperwork from our doctors.

All of this is an easy fix that takes patience. I would like to say a lesson learned. However, we learned this lesson many years ago during the adoption. We just had to be reminded. With Russia, one must think 10 steps ahead. So often you take 1 step forward and two steps back. This is how it works. Nothing goes as planned. In fact, often times, there is no plan. I am a planner by nature.

We are planning our departure for the week of August 6th. This is 3 weeks away. Tomorrow a mover is coming to give us an estimate. I feel like I should be packing, yet I have done nothing. I have no plan. I am learning to go with it. It will get done and all work out. It is actually quite free-ing!

Count Down Begins...

There really hasn't been much movement on our end for the last month. We continued to wait for the Moscow office to get the contract to us. It was a test of patience at best. 8weeks to the day we returned from our look/see, we finally recieved the contract! For the last six of those eight weeks we were told " next week." we'll, again, eight weeks later here we are. The Mr. recieved it on Friday and we spent the weekend going over the numbers. He is very excited! I am too...if it weren't for the leaving part.

This is really happening! The Mr. went to pay our rent a few minutes ago and give them our 60 days notice. I cried a few tears. Just another step in the process! I love our little beach condo. I love looking out the front door to see the oceans roar every morning. We are blessed! We live in a location were people come to vacation. We get to live here! We have called this place home. Home is where the heart is. How ironic this statement is to me....when we were waiting for 5 long months to bring Munchkin One home from Russia, my heart was with him. My heart was in Russia. Pretty soon, my heart will go back to the Mother Land. I am excited about this!

So, our notice has been given. In less than 60 days we will be homeless. We will get on a plane, departing for Moscow, arriving not knowing where we will live. The Munchkins start school at the end of August. The Mr begins his new position at the beginning of September. Our plan is to depart for Moscow the beginning of August, hopefully giving us time to find a new home, receive our shipment and settle in before school starts.

We have about 5 weeks to separate our stuff for storage in America and shipping overseas. We need to sell two cars. We need to shop for winter gear. This Florida girl hasn't lived in the cold for a very long time! I have looked online and found great deals. However, Mr placed me on spending moratorium until we received cost estimates. So, now my great deals are not so great. We will be going to DC to renew Munchkin Ones Russian passport. We could pay a company out of Chicago $500 to do this for us and receive the passport in a month or two. Or we could do it ourselves in person for $10. We chose to spend $10 and get a nice little trip out of it! And we will have it in 10 days. If we lived in the Houston, Texas consulate district we could pay $10 and mail it in. Not an option for the DC consulate. Must be in person. We are in the DC consulate district. This is what we call DATR (don't ask, this is Russia!)

Lots more to do, but I know we will get it all done and in perfect timing! I suppose the count down begins....NOW!

Bring the fun on!

Cat Spilled the Beans

The cat is out of the bag! We have kept our upcoming relocation under wraps for months. Surprisingly, I am very impressed with myself! It is quite difficult to keep something like THAT in your head and not rolling out the mouth. Truth be told, I did spill the beans to some. Hey! I can't help it if THAT flew out and bypassed the rolling...

We told the Munchkins Saturday night at dinner. The Mr. was the one to drop the bomb. It went exactly as I had predicted. Munchkin Two immediately says "yay! Do I get to take my toys? I will need a BIG (emphasis on BIG) box!" yes...I know...Munchkin One looked at me and his eyes welled up with tears. He said how much he liked it here, how he loves his school. Then he crumbled. The huge crocodile tears streamed down his face when he realized he was leaving his Oma and Papa. Oh his poor heart was broken! By this time his dinner was cold and did it really matter? I had him climb in my lap where I just held him as he cried. Once he calmed down, I spoke to him about his new school, the new friends he already has waiting and the biggie. I told him how I would love for him to go back to where he was born, where he is from and learn about it. I told him he has had a chance to live in America. Now we have a chance for him to live where he was born. I told him I want him to be proud of being from America and Russia. It is part of who you are! How many children who are adopted from other countries get to go back and live there? This would be where Munchkin Two piped up because we mentioned we may go to Poland over the summer on our way to Russia. She was so excited and said "I get to go back to learn about Poland!" which sounds more like poewand.

Munchkin One spent a good deal of time looking at his globe on Sunday. He analyzed the countries. Asked how far the plane ride is. We played "find the country". He rolled it, rotated it and processed it. Monday morning as he sat on the edge of the bed getting dressed for school he said out of the blue he was ready!