Snakes and snails and.....

And so the rhyme goes. Boys will be boys. I love it, I love being a mom to 2 wild, crazy, dirty, happy, fun, and sweet boys. This is a nice surprise to me. While as a child, I was a tomboy, I loved sports and could hang with the boys. But As I grew, I found myself enjoying the more "girlie" things in life, shoes, clothes, going to the theatre, being pampered at the spa. So, I always envisioned myself having girls, we would get pedicures together, they would share my love of shoes, we would do theatre trips to NYC, but yet still take in the baseball or hockey game. I always wanted 2 girls and a boy, that was my dream for myself. Then a couple fortune tellers told me, no you will have 2 boys and a girl. Ok, that was good, still would have my girl.
But, life always has other plans for you.

Here I am, the lone female in a house of boys. It is loud and messy and that is just with the oldest! Add in the smells, the bugs, trucks and matchbox cars I step on all the time, the burps and farts and poopy talk and you have entered my world.
Surprisingly I find myself loving it. I even let them show me bugs as long as they dont get too close or drop one on me. I love watching them dig in the dirt and sand. I have stopped cringing when they discover new ways of hanging off the monkey bars or hurling themselves down slides or off swings. Their knees are scraped, their shins are bruised, their faces are dirty and dont even get me started on what is happening under their fingernails, but I love it. Life is so entertaining with boys. They crack me up and never cease to amaze me with the new adventures they come up with.
This boy thing has its advantages too. They are my official stink bug hunters. I dont have to touch those bugs, I hand them a paper towel and they take care of things. Same thing with spiders and other little uninvited guests in my house.
They are strong, so pretty soon they can do alot of heavy lifting for me, like laundry! Alek has really strong hands, so I am training him to give mommy shoulder massages. Maks, well he shares my love of shoes, so shopping with him is fun! Alek loves plays and musicals. They both love listening to music and we have our little pre-bed dance parties.
My life did not turn out like I had envisioned it, but I cannot imagine it any other way. I love the noise, the mess, the smells and all the giggles that come with raising little boys!

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Super trooper

Well it was finally time to say good bye to Maks' tonsils and adenoids. Goodbye to snoring and apnea and hello to better sleeping!

We prepared Maks using CHOP's kids galaxy website. It is an awesome little site filled with information and games. It really helps kids learn what to expect. He loved all the little games. Alek and Maks both had a great time with the card concentration game.

The day before surgery was my birthday. The boys had spent saturday night at Grammom and Poppy's. I picked them up Sunday morning and we headed to MeMe's for a visit. We headed back to our house and enjoyed a nice lazy day. I headed to the store to stock up on favorites for Maks post op.

We had a nice early dinner and some yummy cake! They had given me my birthday present on Saturday-a new camera! I love it, it is exactly what I wanted and the high shutter speed is perfect for baseball games and hockey.

I was sitting with Alek and thanked him for making my birthday special. He said thank you for making my life beautiful mommy. Maks followed up with his daily, Your my best mom.

That was definitely the best birthday present ever!

So we headed to bed, I said some extra prayers for a safe and smooth day for Maks.

We woke up the next morning and Maks and I dropped Alek at LL. Maks got extra hugs and good luck wishes from his teacher and we headed off to the surgery center. I was telling Maks of all the goodies I had for him after surgery, especially his favorite chocolate pudding. He was excited about that!

Daddy met us there just as we were getting situated in the room. He loved his new bright yellow slipper socks and was extra happy when he heard he would get to bring them home! After getting his measurements (ht 41 inches, wt 40 pounds), he got to pick out a movie. He picked Dinosaur, which was the same one Alek picked a few months back when he was in for adenoids. Personally I think it is intense for a Disney movie, but I figured he would be getting the giggle juice soon enough and hopefully wouldn't remember.

I really wish they would hook the parents up with a shot or two of the juice. It is pretty stressful letting go of your little one and heading into the waiting room. Mommy needed help with the separation. Maks was definitely loopy as they headed down the hall, we waived and he said, Bye! Are you going home mom? Everyone laughed and we said no we would be right there waiting for him.

We took our spots in the waiting area and had some food and coffee. The nurse came out to go over with us what to expect and also discuss post op care.

Pretty soon, the anesthesiologist came out to let us know Maks was in recovery and he did well. Such a relief to hear those words! The surgeon came out to tell us Maks did great. He said his tonsils and adenoids were huge and he also found 2 small polyps on his vocal cords which goes along with the hoarseness. He said they usually dont touch them surgically in children, but that speech therapy will need to work on his volume issues and better care of his vocal cords. Yea, that should be interesting! Maks definitely has volume issues, so it will be interesting to see who can get him to turn it down quickly!

We headed back to see him. He was waking up but very upset and restless. He had some blood in his nose and drool and mucous from his mouth. Around his eyes were red from the tape. He looked bad. He couldn't get comfortable, he was crying, trying to talk. He kept wanting to hug me. I thought back to when he was in for his circumcision, not long after coming home, at that time he wanted no parts of mommy holding him, he cried even more and only settled when daddy held him. Now all he wanted was me. While it broke my heart that he was so upset it did feel good to see how far we have come.
Maks tends to get focused on one thing, hyperfocused and will stay stuck on it until he feels it has been resolved. Well, he remembered me saying I had chocolate pudding for him. He wanted it and he wanted it NOW. He could not understand that there was no pudding there, I promised him and he was pissed. He kept asking for it and we had to slowly coax him into taking some water ice and a popcicle. He kept asking for that pudding though, any chance he could.

He finally did well enough to be discharged. Maks and I headed home and Daddy headed to the pharmacy to get his medications and some goodies. On the drive home, Maks asked for the pudding about 10 times. The nurse had told us that he probably wouldnt want to eat that day, but just to make sure he drank or took in fluids like water ice, etc..

We were no sooner in the door, he headed for the fridge and took out the pudding. He finally had his pudding. He was happy. He went on to eat 2 more cups of pudding, 3 jellos, 1 popcicle, 2 applesauces, 2 cookies, 2 yogurts, along with applejuice, water and some pink lemonade. And they said he wouldnt eat..Ha, they dont know our boy!

Maks continued to do well the remainder of the day. He ordered me around and I remained at his beck and call! I ran to pick Alek up and as soon as he saw me, he said, Mom is Maky ok? He said, he can play my DS if he wants, I know that will make him feel better. SO sweet!! Maks slept fairly well, better then I thought he would. He slept in our bed and Alek not wanting to be left out, camped out on our floor.

Day two has been a different story. Maks woke up crabby and definitely was alot more punky today. He was drinking but really didn't want to eat. He didn't want to do anything except lay on the couch and snug. Around lunch, he said he wanted some soup and chips. He had two bites and then I heard words I never thought I would hear from my son, "Mom, this is too much food for me". I almost fell over. But that was the extent of the day, a few bites here and there and just drinking some juice.

He musted up some energy to do Playdoh with Alek, but that didn't last too long. Hopefully he sleeps well tonight. We are keeping him medicated and trying to stay up on his pain. He is complaining occasionally of this throat hurting him, but otherwise he is a true Super Trooper. He is our little tough man and I am very proud of him for how brave he has been!

Nightmares

I was walking down this long hospital corridor, one of those hallways that seems to just keep getting longer. I could see the doctor at the end that I was supposed to meet, but no matter how fast I walked, I wasn't gaining any ground, I felt like I was walking through sludge.
Finally after what seemed like hours, I was standing in front of the doctor, waiting for the news.
My heart was pounding and as he said the words I felt like I was floating outside my body.
"I can only save one of them, you need to choose, You need to make a decision as soon as possible". What, what was he saying, I couldn't comprehend. I was looking all around me, where was Kevin, what was happening? The doctor said again, "You have to choose", which child will it be? All of sudden it all came crashing down on me, I had to choose which one of my children would live. I started to shake, I felt the bile rising up in my throat, I was crying and screaming, I can't do this, I can make that decision. Where was Kevin? What is happening? The doctor yelled at me, "YOU HAVE TO DECIDE NOW, we are running out of time!"
I stuttered, I was trying so hard to stay conscious, trying hard to comprehend. I opened my mouth to give my answer....
Then I woke up. I sat straight up in bed, heart pounding, gasping for breath, looking around me. I slowly began to focus and looked down at Alek sleeping peacefully. I jumped out of bed and ran to Maks' room, he was fast asleep, with his usually snoring and grunting going on. I leaned down and kissed his face and headed back to my room. I kissed Alek's head and just held his hand.
It took a long time for my heart to slow down. My mind was racing though. What did this dream mean, was it meant to be some sort of prediction. Why would my subconscious go there? Was I actually going to choose and if so, who was it--how could a mother make that decision.
Needless to say I had a very rough time getting back to sleep.
I have always had vivid dreams. nightmares, or nightterrors, but this dream still haunts me.

So back in reality, we have been busy as usual, baseball, hockey and soccer. Its a sports world here. Working hard to keep Maks healthy so his surgery goes on as scheduled next week. He was a super trooper with the blood work, such a brave little dude.
Alek's schedule has been altered this past week due to a teacher's strike. Thankfully due to the day care we are not scrambling to make arrangements, but he has been upset about not going to GS, he keeps asking when he will see his teacher Mrs. C again. He totally has a crush on her!
He had heard about the strike, so he has been asking questions. Its a hard concept to explain to a six year old, so I do my best to re-direct him to something else :o)

Tuesday, I walk into my office to a voicemail, "Mrs Harkins, this is Betsey, nurse practitioner, could you please call me to discuss Maks' bloodwork results". My stomach dropped and my heart sunk. My hand was shaking as I called her back. Maks' PT was prolonged. This is the test that shows how quickly your blood clots. Now, as a nurse, I know this test can have false results due to collection or lab error, but as a mom, I panicked. They wanted us to have it repeated that day. She said, if it remains elevated surgery will be cancelled and we will need to see hematology. My head was spinning as I called Kevin to explain what was going on.
I tried to remind myself that this most likely was a false positive, that he has absolutely no other symptoms of a coagulopathy, he was fine. But I still couldn't suppress that fear. The fear of everything falling apart, the fear of our perfect little life being turned upside down.
I have never been the person to ask, "why me", I usually ask, "why not me"?
I picked Maks up at school, he came out with those bright happy eyes, thanking me because he didn't have to take a nap. As I strapped him he, he said, I love you mom, your my best. This is something he says 5 times a day, but that moment it hit me hard. I jumped in the front seat with my eyes watering and turned on some fun music so he wouldn't see mommy upset.
He was a brave little solider again getting this blood work drawn. He was so focused on the treasure chest where he could pick out a prize, he barely noticed the draw. He left with some special treats, we stopped at the bakery and got cupcakes for us and Alek and then headed back to pick up Alek. Then we waited. I knew I wouldn't hear anything until the morning. I gave Maks extra hugs and kisses at bedtime and said some extra prayers and tried to get some sleep.
True to her word, the NP called first thing in the morning. The test was normal!!! Whew... I took a deep breath, called Kevin and said a prayer of thanks.
What a reminder at how quickly life can change and how much we take for granted. It is hard sometimes, loving this much.
Lots of extra hugs and kisses. My children are healthy, they are happy and they are both here with me.

Now, we just have to get through surgery on Monday....he is scheduled to arrive at 8:45am. They said it will take about an hour, more will depend on if they find anything with the laryngoscope. The wait will be awful. Wish they gave the moms the giggle juice too...

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The Sporting Life

Having two boys and a sports nut for a hubby, I always assumed my life would be one filled with sports and it is proving to be that way. These boys love to be active and in motion so any sport will do.

Soccer was our first adventure with Alek. He played several seasons and always seemed to enjoy it and was pretty good, but he no longer wants to play soccer, so we have moved on.
He says his favorite is baseball, so we started him with Tball last year which he loved. He has moved up to Jr Midgets this year which is a pitching machine. We have had a handful of practices and it is amazing to see the difference from last year. It is a blast to watch

Maks always wants to do whatever Alek is doing and unfortunately he winds up to young for certain leagues. But last fall him and I did a parent child soccer class which he enjoyed except when mommy had to tell him what to do. His answer was always, I can do it myself!
This year he is old enough for a pee wee league which just started this week. he loved it, did get frustrated at times because he wants to be perfect at it. So our challenge with him is two fold, Patience and learning not to talk when the coach is! He is pretty good at dribbling the ball and has a mean long kick and punt. He definitely likes having his own team outside of Alek.

Alek has been taking skating lessons since last fall and has progressed well. This week was test week and he passed Basic 2 so that means he moves into hockey tract! He has his gloves and and stick and is ready for his next adventure. Oh and he has the missing teeth to look the part!
It was weird this week for me, I think I got a glimpse into the future. Generally when he is playing something I dont get nervous for him, I just enjoy watching him, but I think knowing this was a test, I was so nervous for him, I had to walk away at one point! Whew, I am going to have to learn how to deal with this!!

Maks also took skating this session and depending on the week he seemed to enjoy it, that is, when he wasn't coming off the ice to pee! So he did great during test time, he looked like he was having a blast, he was so excited to come off the ice and tell us how well he did. he passed and is able to move to next group. We asked him if he wanted to sign up again and he said, "No, I want to play tennis!" Tennis, where did that come from? This kid keeps us on our toes!!

Now I have tried to make them well rounded with art and music. We even did piano lessons which I knew were done when they pulled all the keys off our keyboard. Thankfully I bought a cheap one. So for now, we will stick to sports.
I love their interest in trying new things, though I am not looking forward to the stress and worry it puts on me!

Unfathomable

For those involved with or touched by Russian adoptions, the past 24 hours have left many of us outraged, angered and shaking our heads in disbelief. How could a parent put their child on a plane alone and send them back to Russia? It is baffling to me.

When I first saw this story early this morning, I thought it must be a mistake. I didn't want to jump into judgement immediately, but the more I have read and saw, it is impossible not to.

I am sure there were alot of problems, this child had already been removed from one parent who had serious issues and spent a good deal of his life in a orphanage, an institution. There will be baggage, he is hurt child, who did not know how to be part of a family. It is up to the adoptive parents and the agencies, to prepare and educate and let parents know where they can get help and that it is ok to ask for it. You are not a failure.

Yes, it is known that records in Russia can be falsified, yes children have been known to be drugged so they appear peaceful and loving when meeting their prospective parents and yes, years of being institutionalized will affect a child deeply. But...this was no way to handle any issues she may have been having with her "son" (I am really having a hard time using the terms mother and son when it comes to this situation, because it is just to hard to wrap my brain around any "mother" doing this). Not to mention the fact this little boy has only been home a little over 6 months which as most of us know is truly not enough time.

Not every adoption will be perfect and it can be very hard for someone who has gone through the tedious and emotionally/financially draining process to admit that things are not what they had dreamed. But as a parent you have to fight and advocate for your child, find the help they need and you need, even if that means disruption. No one would be blaming this woman if she sought out help and said I can't do this, someone help me, help him, I may not be the right parent for this child and he deserves someone who can be that parent.

What really is baffling to me is the planning this took. Research for this russian attorney who advised them, research to find a man to meet this child in Russia, booking airfare, driving to DC? How much time was spent researching other options? A simple Google search could have led her to mutliple sites like FRUA, or Attachment Disorder, RADKid and many others. There are International Adoption Medicine clinics throughout the country she could have turned to. She could have looked for forums on Russian adoption and posted anonymously to other parents, asked questions, received guidance. There are so many parents out there who have been there and done that and they are always willing to share their knowledge and resources. There are people and groups who specialize in these situations and many families have had great success. it can be hard to get help in many states, but help is there and as a parent you should be the one fighting for your child.
You don't send a child back like they are a pair of shoes or broken electronics. Children do not come with guarentees. My heart breaks just thinking what must have been going through this little boys mind as he flew 10 hours alone and stepped off a plane in Russia to a stranger? This poor child's life has been damaged greatly by the actions of all the adults that have been in his short life, everyone has failed him. The other thing that has me worried is what does this teach the other boy that was involved, a cousin I believe, will he now live in fear of being sent away if he does something wrong? What is going through his little mind?

As angry as I am, my heart also breaks for Ms. Hansen, I am sure she didn't set out for this to be her goal and I can only imagine the devastation she must have felt when this was not what she had planned or dreamt about. But she made an extremely poor and inexcusable decision and one that has not only affected the life of this little boy, but has far reaching ramifications. Thousands of other prospective parents and children waiting in their orphanages for their forever families now may be waiting even longer while Russia determines whether to suspend adoptions to the US.
She and her mother need to be held accountable. If she had placed her biological child on an airplane to another state in the US with note stating she no longer wanted to parent this child, she would have been arrested already. To me, this is no different. He was legally her son, he was a US citizen. There should be no further research by the authorities, she needs to be charged with abandoning her child at the very least. The US government needs to be strong and clear in condeming her actions.
Agencies and prospective parents alike should be using this as a wake up call. Agencies need to do a much better job of educating, supporting and following their families. It shouldn't end once home. Post placement visits should be thorough and in the home, not over the phone, not at a neutral location. They should be providing parents with resources post adoption, where they can turn for help and that it is ok to ask for help, they will not get in trouble. They should be able to contact their agencies in an emergency and be able to receive help and guidance immediately.
Prospective parents need to educate themselves thoroughly before they even make that first trip to Russia. Russia also needs to remember that this is one person, while there are thousands of children thriving successfully with their families in the US.

So if you are a parent planning to adopt from Russia, do your research, talk to adoptive parents, use resources like IA clinics or FRUA. Learn all you can about parenting an adopted child, learn all you can about attachment and possible issues in children who have lived in institutions, just as you would if you were pregnant and expecting your first child.
If you are home and struggling, ASK for help, reach out to another parent, reach out to your agency, your pediatrician, go online, ask for referrals and resources, they are out there! There are people who can help.

So my thoughts and prayers go out to this little boy and I hope one day he finds a family that will love him and care for him no matter what and he will be able to experience the true meaning of a family is forever. My prayers also go out to Ms Hansen because I can only imagine the pain she is going through as well.

"Someday, maybe there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit." Erik Erikson

Eggs, evaluations,ENT, and Easter

Easter week was packed full of fun and necessities. First up was Maks' IEP to try to get him re-approved for speech. They had been leaning towards just monitoring him as he has shown a great deal of improvement, but unfortunately when he gets upset or excited, you cannot understand him at all. I have tried explaining this, and thankfully his therapist finally witnessed this first hand. Maks' teacher was at our meeting and it was wonderful to have another adovcate there for him. We were very happy when she approved him for another year and decided to change his schedule and see him in the afternoon when he is more prone to have issues. She will work with him while he is playing and with his friends. I think this is a great plan and we are very pleased.

Next up for Maky was his ENT appt. We have been following his one large tonsil for awhile now, while he doesn't get sick very much his sleeping has gotten worse. He snores alot more and has periods of apnea. Speech therapists were also concerned over the hoarseness of his voice and while this could be contributed to his volume issues they still wanted him checked for any polyps or other issues.

Last week while we were waiting for his appt, his other tonsil got huge and his apnea worsened. I took him to ped for a quick check and even though he had no other symptoms, they cultured his tonsils and I got a call a few days later it was positive for strep! He had no sx of being sick! So he went on an antibiotic. We finally got into ENT and after exam and review of all his records they definitely agreed it was time to take out the tonsils and adenoids which were also gigantic. They wanted to scope his vocal cords to take a peek but decided thankfully to wait until he is under to do it all at once. So we scheduled his surgery for 4/26. Delayed a little because he has to be off of fish oil for 2 weeks and needs to have blood work. While I dont like to see him undergo surgery I think this will make a huge difference for him.

Last week was also report card time. Alek received another good report--we are really proud of him. His reading is coming along so well, I get emotional listening to him read a book to me. It is all happening too fast!!

Baseball is going well, he seems to have adjusted to using the pitching machine. He really likes his team, and his coaches. It truly is amazing to see the progress made from last year, they look like real little ball players.

Maks start soccer this weekend, we are really looking forward to seeing him in action! I can already hear him yelling to his coach, "I can do it myself". He is such a pistol!

Thankfully after our long snowy winter we have been blessed with a gorgeous early spring, some days have had temps in the 80's. I love it! We headed to our annual Easter egg hunt at church. The boys were excited to see the Easter Bunny hopping around the crowd, no fear of him this year, well at least for the boys. Me, well, I still dont like the Easter Bunny, it is just wrong, big old Bunny, that looks funny and doesn't talk. Still wigs me out! The boys did great finding eggs and enjoyed the surprises that were inside. They had fun hanging with their friends as well. Later it was off to Joe and Reilly's house for their bday celebration. It was fun to hang out with the family and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins.

The day before Easter we decided to invite a few friends over and grill out. It was gorgeous weather. Not sure how it happened, but we wound up with a mini party--6 families and 16 kids!! It was crazy fun, I love it. The weather was perfect, Kevin slow cooked ribs all days, we had a wonderful feast and the kids all had a blast.

Easter morning we awoke to Maks standing in our room waiting to see what the Bunny had left. He had to wake us all up including Alek. So off we went downstairs to start the day a little earlier then we had planned. They had fun hunting for their eggs inside and outside. Lots of laughter and smiles with all their little prizes.

Granny and JoJo came up for dinner. It was another gorgeous day and we hung out back on the patio while the boys played. Jo and I enjoyed some fabulous champagne. Food was yummy and we all had a great time. It was a low key and wonderful holiday.
We missed sharing it with the rest of the gang but we know they were having a great time with Krissy down in the southern sunshine!

We are really enjoying this warm weather and loving the outside fun each day. The kids sleep like rocks now and actually so do I.

Loving spring!!

Hakuna Matata!

Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase....it means no worries for the rest of your days...

We've been singing that for the past few days!

Part of Alek's bday present were tickets to the Lion King and he was extra excited that he could bring his best girl, K. R and I took the kids, we got down to the city fast so we had time to grab a bite to eat. The kids looked so cute, their first theatre date!

We had great seats, a balcony box, so nice space to ourselves. The kids were so amazed from the moment the lights dimmed and the music started. This was my 4th time seeing the Lion King and definitely my best. Watching it through their eyes made it extra special. They were swaying to the music and patting along with the drums. They were mesmerized by the animals and the colors and the set. We were so entertained just watching them. Every so often Alek would slip his arm around K's waist and whisper something to her, we were cracking up!!
I love sharing new experiences and adventures with the boys and I love how they make them all new again for me. I look forward to the day when Maks has mastered the art of whispering and a longer attention span, so I can bring him to the Lion King! I know it will be a special time for him as well, and he can bring his date, R (K's sister). Yes, I have marriages arranged for the boys. I feel strongly about choosing my daughter in laws and in laws! (just kidding of course, but one can dream.....)

Spring is in the air!

We are so happy, Spring has sprung!! I love the weather turning warm, I love that we are outside more and enjoying the extra daylight. It feels so good to shake off those winter blues and turn my face towards the sun. Spring means summer is right around the corner and my toes will be back in the sand again soon!!

Alek's birthday activities finally wound down, but the celebrations continued for Ryan, Joe and Reilly, all sharing birthdays this month! More parties and more fun!

Maks is struggling a bit with this asthma and the change of season. His one large tonsil has gotten even larger and now so has the other one. His voice remains hoarse, so we are waiting on our ENT appt next week for the verdit. His snoring has worsened and so has his apnea, which means fitful sleeps for all of us. Not that I want to put my kid through surgery, but he needs these tonsils out. poor little man, can't catch a break sometimes. We also have his IEP meeting. His speech therapist has been stating she thinks he doesn't need weekly anymore and can probably just be watched. We dont agree and I have been explaining to her how he does great one on one but in a large group, when he is excited or upset, he is very hard to understand. Well she finally witnessed this, thankfully and now states we defintiely have to continue. Well, duh?!?! Doesn't mama know best?
On a good note, Maks is doing great with his ice skating, he is amazing me. He is very focused and falls less and less each week. He is also signed up for soccer which will start in 2 weeks, he is very excited! Can't wait to see how he does with this! We are also so proud of Maks as he has started to write his name. He has really never had any patience or interest for writing, drawing or coloring, preferred building blocks or legos, but within the past month, this has really taken off. He works hard at it and is very excited when he gets a letter right.

Alek is having a good spring, especially with school. He continues to get good reports and his reading skills amaze us each day along with his writing. I love this kids writing they do, it always amazes me to see how many words he sounds out correctly. We were surprised this week when he came home with an award from his GS kindergarten class. A Fairness award, for showing kindness, compassion and helpfulness both in and out of the classroom. His photo was taken and is proudly displayed in the lobby. He was very excited! Then 2 days later he came home with a Friendship award from LL kindergarten! We are so proud at how far he has come this year.
His skating continues to go very well and he was excited for the start of baseball last week. He has moved up from T-ball to the midgets (pitching machine). He is the youngest on the team, which worried me, but he is hanging in there well. It is a nice group of boys and our next door neighbor is the coach, so it works out great!Though being on the team with his buddies from next door can lead to a bit of silliness, but the coaches have it under control!

Also, the toothfairy made two visits in less then ten days to our house. Alek lost one of his bottom teeth and finally his one top tooth. So he has three holes in mouth now, as Noni says, he is looking like a real redneck! I love how they talk with the missing tooth up top. So cute!

The boys and I met Susan down at PC for their production of the Wizard of Oz. We had great seats and the boys really enjoyed it. Maks even did well until the end, but it was a long show. They were super excited to meet the Lion during intermission. As Alek said, he rocked! It was a great show put on by a talented group of kids! I was impressed.

Today, we enjoyed a fun Easter egg hunt at our church. They had a blast, especially seeing the Big Bunny. They came home with way too much candy!!

Tomorrow, as part of Alek's bday present, we are heading to see The Lion King at the Academy of Music. I can't wait, I love this show, I am so excited for Alek to see it, I think he will be mesmerized!

What a great early spring it has been! I am so proud of these little men and they just amaze me more each day (while wearing me out and adding gray hairs to my head)!

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Party!

It was the week of "Alek". Felt like we were always singing and eating cake!
Alek turned 6 on March 4th. He started off the day at the docs for his well visit. I was ok with this since I knew he wouldn't be getting any immunizations. He got the thumbs up from the doc, still growing and still healthy! He is now 46.5 inches which is 80% for height and 45 pounds which is 45% for weight. So pretty much staying on the same long and lean road.
After the doc visit, I treated him to Dunkin Donuts and we headed to day care kindergarten. He was having a pizza party and cupcakes for lunch. It was very cute when I walked him in. His class was in art, so we went to that room and they all starting yelling and singing to him. The teacher said the kids were so excited for him to get there. It was really sweet. Once I dropped him off, I swung by the elementary school and dropped off goodie bags and cookies for his kindergarten class, this was a surprise for him. He was very excited after school to tell us all about his special day. He also showed us some art work from his girlfriends for his birthday, so sweet. One said I love you Aleksandr and the other said I like you, Love Hannah. Both had drawings of him with the girls.

Next we were off to skating class. Alek and Maks both did good during their lessons, though Maks always has to come off the ice at least once to pee. Never fails!!
Then it was back home for Alek's dinner request-pasta, broccholi and carrots (cooked per his request). We enjoyed our dinner and it was time for cake. We always do an ice cream cake for the actual birthday, so it was a football cake this time. Yummy as always. He then got to open his present, a hockey net and new stick. He was really excited and had daddy set it up in the garage for him and Maks to take some shots. It is a big hit!

Friday night was his kids party, a couple buddies from school and home. The plan was a Wii bowling tournament, which didnt amount to much. Sadly Kevin and I spent over a 1/2 hour trying to come up with a tournament bracket, but the kids were happy just running around and playing. Then we popped in one of his new gifts for Wii, Just Dance, and well, that was quite the hit with kids and parents! Thanks to S-R family, I am now addicted to this game!! It was so funny watching all the kids dance, the boys all had their shirts off at one point. It was a trip.
Alek was also happy with his Bakugan cake which he had picked out. It was a great night!

Saturday we went to a party, little W's 2nd birthday. I have to say, she is one of the happiest kids I have ever met! So cute! The boys had a blast there and we had more cake! After the party we went home and got the kids set for bed and I went out. UUGGHH, not used to going out late, but my favorite comedian was in town and I was not going to miss him. D and I had a blast at the Craig Shoemaker show. I laughed so hard my face and my abs hurt!! It was a blast and we also got to meet him afterwards, which was alot of fun.
So I got home, crawled into bed to get ready for the next party on Sunday.

Sunday was family party. As always everyone had a great time. Alek was so happy to play with his cousins and his girlfriends and LittleMan. Food was good, more cake, Alek picked out a Transformers cake for this party (4 cakes in 4 days--YIKES!!!), I so need to get out running again! Alek loved all his presents and we were so happy Krissy was home on spring break and could come to the party!

Thanks to everyone who made his birthday so special!! He is so lucky to have such great family and friends in his life!

Time to recover and lose the cake weight.....

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Six!

Six years, wow. Our baby boy is six. So hard to believe. Six years ago we were as low as we could be, wondering if we would ever have the family we dreamed of and although we didn't know it, half way around the world, a beautiful little boy was born.

Happy 6th birthday Aleksandr! You have brought us more joy and happiness then you will ever know. You were our dream come true. You continue to amaze us each day with your enthusiasm, your love for life and new adventures and your zest for knowledge. Yes you drive us crazy some days but you always know how to make us laugh. It is so hard to believe the little baby who was constantly drooling, who would sleep with his cute butt up in the air, who would turn his head back and forth to go to sleep, who would never be without his binky, is now half way through kindergarten looking forward to first grade. It seems like just yesterday we were snugged up with your bottle reading Good Night Moon and The Runaway Bunny and now you are reading to us! The time just moves too quickly and some days it feels hard to keep up.

You are an amazing, bright and curious boy and we love you so much. We are extremely lucky and proud to be your mom and dad.
Even though you are a big guy now, you will forever be our baby.
Happy Birthday, we love you little man!!

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Love

What I love about my kids

Alek is a love, snuggler, active, always in motion, everything is a race, happy, driven, wants to get things right the first time, loves learning, is curious and inquisitive. Knows how to melt my heart by calling me his sweetie and cutie. Knows how to melt daddy's heart by calling him big papa and big boss with the hot sauce and wanting to be a baseball player like daddy. Loves giving hugs, his friends moms love how he always hugs them hello and good bye. Protective, he is protective of his brother, only he is allowed to torture Maks! (such a typical big brother). I love watching him with his friends and how he calls his girl friends his "gaasl". I love how he wants to marry 4 different girls and still wants to live with us when he is adult because he doesn't want to miss us. Yes, he can be hyper and silly and get himself into trouble, but he learns and quickly redeems himself. So proud of all the progress he has made this past year.

Maks is strong, independent, resilient, loving, tough and sweet all rolled into one fireball. I love his catch phrases: "I do it myself" "I can do it" and I be careful". He is deliberate and focused. He knows what he likes and makes that clearly known. He knows what he doesn't like and also makes that clearly known. he does not waste time on what he doesnt like. He melts my heart when he says, "mom your my best". he can drive daddy to the brink of insanity with his stubborness only to reel him back in with a hug and his signature smile. I love how he loves his brother and wants to be like Alek and do what Alek does. I love his appetite, this boy can eat with the best of them. I love his curiosity and his need to have the same routine, like his high five and "chicken bake" (his term for a fist bump) whenever we say good bye and at bed time. I love the progress he has made with his speech. From his rough start in life, he continues to amaze us with his progress.

They both are such amazing kids and we are so lucky to be their parents.

Happy Valentines to my little loves and my big guy too!

Roses from Kevin, Alek told him to buy mommy flowers for Valentines Day!

Our snow gazes through the years:

February 2005

February 2006

February 2007

February 2008

February 2009

February 2010

Congrats!

Congratulations to our wonderful agency for receiving their own accreditation in Russia! What exciting news and I am really happy for them as their hard work has truly paid off!

We remain forever grateful to them for restoring our faith in the adoption process and for playing such an important role in creating our family!

http://www.adoption-options.org/blog/

Walking in a winter wonderland

Yea right. well we cleared paths and driveways from back to back storms saturday and wednesday, now I hear there is more coming Monday. Um, this is Pennsylvania not Minnesota, I really would prefer the snow to go elsewhere please.

Of course my camera is broken, so my picture taking is limited to my cell phone. The boys have fun in the snow, especially sledding, I am bummed I dont have my camera for some video clips. 3 snow days already-yikes! Alek is going to forget what his classroom looks like! Let's hope Monday's storm misses us and we can get some good melting here!
Stay warm and those of you in warm places, send some sun and heat this way!

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Spring, please?

Well, enough is enough of this white stuff!! Now that darn groundhog had to tell us 6 more weeks of winter? UUGGHH, spring time please hurry!!

The kids are enjoying the snow and the sledding, we are not enjoying the shoveling. Maybe one of these days we will get a snow blower!

Kevin has been very busy this past year re-doing our basement. Gone is the wood paneling and it has lightened up the room alot. We love it. His next project was the wall behind the bar. As usual he impressed me with his vision and the final outcome. He took beams from an old barn, treated them and placed them on the wall and in between placed the faux stone. It looks amazing.
We love it, the whole room looks amazing! Great job Kevin!!!

Another surprise by Kevin is he came home with a Wii. The kids were so psyched as was daddy. It is fun to be able to play games together. Though I have to say the test on the sports game that comes hasn't boosted my self esteem, apparently according to Wii, I am 79 years old. I mean I know I am not in the best shape, but geez! Just because I can't play video games doesn't mean I am old! Kevin of course, tested as 29 yrs old.

The kids had fun making their Mii's. Alek's has a goat tee, not sure what that is about, but it does scare me a bit!

The boys were very excited and happy to have their cousin Joe come spend the night. I decided it probably would be better to take them out and keep them busy. We went to Mr. B's coffee house which is this great indoor play area (free) with a coffe and snack bar. The kids love it and I get to enjoy a great latte! From there we went to KidzRule and indoor bounce place and spent another 2 hours. They loved it.

Treated to McDonalds for dinner and then they watched a movie. They were so beat, they all went to bed easily. It was really nice. I was then able to relax with a nice glass of wine and a movie. Kevin got up with them the next morning and made a great pancake breakfast. I am glad the boys got a chance to spend some good time together. They are already asking when the next sleepover will be!

Alek got his report card from the daycare kindergarten and another good report. We are so proud of him. He has really made impressive progress since last year.

Maks has an evaluation this week with speech at CHOP, I am very interested to see what they have to say. He really is trying and if you make him take his time he can say most words. His volume issue has gotten a little better as well.

He continue to crack us up. He really is a ham. The other day, he was looking at his teacher's chest/neck and said, Miss S. what yo got there? What do you mean Maks? There as he points to her chest. Why you got polka dots? She was happy he was referring to her freckles and not something else! What a piece of work he is--I just love him!

This past weekend was spent digging out from about 18 inches of snow and now we are expecting another 18-24 inches Tuesday-Wednesday, though I am hoping them move our area back into the 6-12 range. Enough is enough. My arms are killing me!

We are working hard on our Valentines for both schools and Alek is having fun working on his project for his 100th day of school. 100 days of kindergarten-wow, cannot believe how fast this gone, in a couple weeks are boy turns 6!

Giving

It has been so hard watching the coverage of Haiti, my heart breaks for everyone living this nightmare, especially for the children. Just wish there was more we could do.

God' Littlest Angels
www.glahaiti.org
Thanks to my amazing co-workers for all their donations of formula, children's and adults OTC meds, vitamins, toothpaste and toothbrushes. They are all on their way to GLA!!

Alek and Maks' day care will also be collecting supplies in conjunction with their "sister" nursing home. The supplies will be headed on a private plane to Haiti. If you are interested, email me at Kevkrishark@aol.com

Others:
www.jcics.org
http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/
http://www.worldwidevillage.org/
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/index.cfm
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/
https://www.hopeforhaitinow.org/


Thank you.

Back to reality

After an amazing and relaxing vacation, we came back to the "cold" reality. It was definitely bitter cold when we returned from Bimini and we slowly adjusted getting back to real life. The kids were excited to go back to school and see their friends. Can't say I was excited to head back to work. I think my post vacation funk lasted about 2 weeks.

Before break Alek had received his very first report card and did really well. We are very proud of him. We always worried about his behavior since he does get silly and overly energetic at times, but with both classes he has been doing great. I think the positive reinforcement with earning tokens and tickets for prizes has made a huge difference. Not to mention the fact his teacher knows he is a kid who needs to wiggle and move and is fine with that because she realizes that helps certain kids focus. So as long as he is not disruptive it works. It has been a big relief knowing he is doing well in school both in academics and behavior, not to mention the fact he loves kindergarten.

Maks loves his class and his teachers. His new speech therapist is wonderful. I was very upset at the fact they were changing our therapist yet again, but this one promised there would be no further changes and she is great. Her communication with me is fantastic and the teachers at school are impressed with her and see a difference with Maks. He is now participating in singing alot more, he loves to sing and learn new songs. Before he would never sing with his class. So now, we are working on slowing him down when he tells a story and also working on his volume. He tends to be very loud. He also participates alot more in circle time and group activities. he tries hard with each new activity. Maks also knows how "work" the teachers. They crack up at some of his comments and compliments. He truly is a funny kid.

So we are back in the swing of things. Kevin returned to his basement project and it is pretty much done. The area behind the bar looks amazing. I am so impressed. he really does a great job with his home improvement projects. Hopefully we will have a party soon to officially re-open the bar!
Alek is back into skating and doing well. He really loves it. We also signed him up for baseball and Maks for soccer, both starting in April.
We took a trip down to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. The kids had a blast.
Their favorite sections were the construction area and the Alice in Wonderland (which still freaks me out--there is just something wrong with that Mad hatter!).
We've had a couple birthday parties and enjoyed some warmer days for outside play.
We also took Maks to his first Flyers game. We all went, of course since I was there, they lost. But the kids had fun, thankfully some of the chants and words they heard have not stuck with them! They were especially happy that mommy broke down and let them have cotton candy, which of course I regretted later, but what can you do?
We had a fun playdate with KeKe, Ry, Makenzie, and Little Man. The kiddos hadnt seen each other in awhile, so they had a blast.
So, we are back to reality, I am looking forward to the days when it stays warm, Alek is counting down the days until his birthday. Hard to believe our baby will be six.

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Decade in review

Borrowing the idea from Jenni! Great way to look back on our journey!

1999
-We’re gonna party like its 1999!
-Enjoying our married life in our little house in Harleysville with our yellow lab Corie Jayne.
Kevin and Jimmy built our patio.
-trip to visit our Ohio friends and take in a game at Jacobs field.
-Still working on the pregnancy thing, lots of doctors, lots of tests, no luck.
-Kevin started work at his current company.
2000
-Y2K-wondering what the fuss was all about
-Still working hard at getting pregnant and in mid January we are surprised with a positive—finally, see a heartbeat a couple times, all is good.
-enjoyed trip to Key West together for my nursing conference
- Devastated in April when we lose our little angel, later to find out it was a baby girl.
-Kevin built a fish pond in our yard and refinished the basement.
-Excited at arrival of our nephew Jake in May-lots of fun to have a baby around!
-First of many surgeries began in the summer to rid myself of this endometriosis.
-Enjoyed a great vacation in Myrtle Beach with the Harkins gang.
-Engagements: Joe and Niki, Mike and C
2001
-Still working on trying to build a family,
-Kitchen re-done, finished up basement.
-Had another surgery in March.
-Adopted Kaiser Magoo at 13 weeks, our goofy boxer/great dane mix.
-left the hospital and started work at GSK.
-Had a great trip to Dominican Republic with Mike, C, Jeff and Amy and celebrated my big 30.
-9/11 happened, nothing would ever be the same
-Mike and C got married at the shore, lots of fun!
-US went to war in Afghanistan
-My brother and Niki got married on a beautiful December day, 65 degrees, pretty strange for around here!
-still working at the family thing, lots of shots, lots of tests, lots of negatives and chemicals.
2002
-Moved onto IVF, signed consents, started the groundwork, but first another surgery.
-First IVF, failed.
-Replaced the roof on our house, had a patio door installed and our dining room painted and a new fence put in.
-Great vacation in Key West with Mike, C, and Steve, despite the hurricane rains! It eventually cleared up for or Duval crawl!
-Started back to school, MBA.
-FET done in Sept but no such luck.
-Gave Kevin trip to Outer Banks with the guys for their 35th bdays.
-Received promotion at work.
-Another FET done and another failure. Another surgery too.
-Celebrated our 5th anniversary in expensive cheesiness at Cesaers Pocono Palance, heart shaped hot tub and all!
2003
-February brought a blizzard, 20 inches of snow.
-Another sweet nephew born, Joe Jr.
-Another FET done and another negative.
- Iraq war started.
-Another surgery. Made plans to start another fresh IVF, heart not into it. Began looking at adoption options. Was getting excited about that. Tired and exhausted of being poked, proded, injected only to be devastated each month.
-2nd fresh IVF, only wound up with 5 embryos, transferred them all in one last hurrah. It failed.
-Sent in adoption application the next day. Decided on Republic of Georgia. Got dossier together and as it was ready to go in, Georgia closed.
-Rolled into agency’s Russian program. Got together dossier.
-Went to Disney World with Jim, LaLa and the kids. Had a blast.
-Dossier went to Russia.
-Car died. Had to buy another one.
-Started work at Johnson and Johnson.
-Started house hunting.
-Friends home from Russia with Blake, from Kirov. The first Kirov cutie I would know, but not the last!
-Excitedly waiting for quick referral as we would told it would be.
2004
-Still waiting, now getting different stories from agency, but keeping the faith.
-Said good bye to Aunt Mil
-Said goodbye toNan. Sad they would never meet our little one, but knew they would be watching over us.
-More run around and changing stories from agency. Frustration started. Finding out things from state about our agency, upset,its now March and we are unsure what to do. Little did we know, somewhere in Kirov Russia a little boy in born.
-complete fiasco regarding a possible placement here with our agency, heartbreak. I lose it, spend weekend in bed,sick, hurt and angry, wondering if I will ever be a mom.
- Tif pulls me out of funk and tells me to just give her agency director a call. I did, first thing Brent ever said to me was that he would restore my faith in adoption. Yea right.
-re-do dossier, get everything I need together in 2 weeks and submit it to Adoption Options. back to the waiting game.
-We found a house, finally, one we both agreed on. Same street as our friend.
-Tif and her mom visit Philly, while on tour bus I get call our old house has sold for over asking price!
-June, finally got the call for a 3 month old baby boy in Kirov named Aleksandr. Kevin was at Phillies game with Jimmy, PopPop and Rols. Frantically got ahold of him. That night we saw our son for the first time, in a blurry out of focus picture, but to us, he was perfect.
- Alek’s future girlfriend, Keeley is born. It was wonderful to know we were going to be sharing this parenting adventure with close friends.
- moved into our new home and 2 weeks after that we were traveling half way across the world to meet our beautiful Aleksandr who was now 5 months old
-head home knowing we would be back in 2 weeks for court.
- August 16, 2004, Its official, Aleksandr Smith Harkins is our son, we are a family forever! JoJo and her friend flew into Moscow and were waiting for us to return. We had a wonderful stay in Moscow getting to know our little man and soon we were all on the plane to London where Granny and PopPop were waiting to meet their newest grandson. We overnighted there and headed back to Philly the next day. Waiting at the airport was the rest of the family. It was a homecoming I will never forget. Grammom and Poppy, Pop and Noni, LaLa, Krissy, Kait, T and Jakey and Joe and Niki all waiting for us and for Alek. We were finally mommy and daddy and we were home. Love introducing Alek to all the rest of family and friends, especially his great grandmom’s (Me-Me and Nana).
- rest of 2004 was filled with many firsts. Alek was christened, Godparents Jimmy and LaLa.Welcome home to Kelsey from Tver, Russia (Blake’s lil sister). Loved all our first holidays, Halloween (Little Skunk), Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Crawling, creeping, getting into everything.
-Another surgery for me
-started back to work in November, LaLa took care of Alek for us!
-Christmas was extra special, we were a family, finally and forever. Started our tradition of Grammom, Poppy, and Me-Me coming to our house xmas morning for presents and breakfasts.
2005
-Alek has surgery, tubes and a circumcision thrown in.
-Took his first steps on 2/6/06 while Tifany and Kelsey were visiting from CA.
-First birthday party (construction theme) was a blast.
-Lots more firsts: Easter, beach, Memorial Day party and parade at JoJo’s. Zoo, parks, aquariums, beaches , all were extra special because of Alek. went with Pop and Noni, Joe, Niki and Joseph to New Hampshire for Labor weekend.
-Alek started at Little Lambs
-Hosted what would be the first of our Thanksgiving dinners.
-Changed jobs to contract position at Merck.
-October 2005, little did we know a gorgeous red head was born in Murmansk, Russia.
-Alek and I went to visit Tif in San Diego, attended AO picnic and meet the staff in person and thank them!
2006
-Alek, Pop, Noni and myself went to DC for Father Frost party at Russian Embassy.
-Celebrated Granny and PopPop’s 50th wedding anniversary with a surprise party at William Penn Inn on 1/20/06, it was an amazing party!
-Cousin Aldo Jr born.
-February made decision to head back to Russia for a little sister for Alek. Re-signed with AO and started on the paperwork.
-God daughter Ryan born!
-Newest niece, Reilly born—surrounded now by beautiful little girls!
-Received promotion at work.
-Switched our request for girl to either gender
-Another surgery for me.
-August-sitting at work, got the call from Brent, little 10 month old boy, medical a little scarey, but ran home to meet with Kevin, look at the pics and talk to doc. Gorgeous little red head, always wanted a red head!!
-Alek and I flew to NH with Pop and Noni for Labor Day weekend.
-Trip one to Murmansk, Russia was in October, we met Maks on his 1st birthday, October 12th! Traveled with an amazing couple (Chris and Kelli) there to meet their little man, Jacob. So great to share the experience with them. Maks hospitalized in Murmansk on our last day, couldn’t see him, very stressful and sad. Thankful to Chris and Kelli for their support when we got that news. Returned home to wait for news and court date. Got word Maks was fine, resp infection cleared.
-Got court date, Thanksgiving in Russia! Sad to hear due to paperwork delays Chris and Kelli would be delayed, so much wanted to share the end of this journey with them! SO hard to leave Alek especially for Thanksgiving. Got to Murmansk with snow and only daylight from 10-3. Met new couple there, Stephanie and Warrren, adopted two more cuties to add to their large family—fun to share the experience with them!
-11/20/06 its official, Maks-Joseph Kirill Harkins is our son! Harkins Family of Four! Thanksgiving in Moscow! Home to waiting family at airport on 11/25, held both my boys in my arms together for the first time! They were truly brother from that moment on!
-Maks hospitalized soon after arriving home with bilateral pneumonia, RSV and asthma exacerbation.
-Recovered in time for a wonderful 1st Christmas together!
2007
-We took Alek to Father Frost party at Russian Embassy in DC,
-back work PT in February, then transitioned back to FT.
-Maks’ 1st Easter! Alek turned 3 with Buzz Lightyear party.
-Kevin turned 40, party at our house for him and Rachel.
-Maks christened, Godparents JoJo and Big Mike!
-Lots more firsts: 1st Mothers day with both boys! 1st Memorial Day party and parade at JoJo’s for Maks. -Aunt Natalie passes away after a long and inspiring battle with ovarian cancer.
-Aunt Winnie visits from Florida and meets kids for first time, fun to have all the “girls” together, Winnie, Meem, Mom and myself.
-Tif and Kelsey visit from CA.
-Alek has last PPR!
-Vacation in Nags Head with Mike, C, the girls and the C family (6 kids, 7 adults, one house).
- Jeff and Amy get married (finally), beautiful beach wedding!
-Labor Day weekend at Pop and Noni beach house.
- Celebrate Maks’ 2nd birthday and 1st year home with big party.
-Maks’ 1st Halloween (Alek was policeman, Maks the Hamburgler).
-Bathroom refinished, its gorgeous!
-Enjoyed extra special Thanksgiving here with our families, one year anniversary of Maks’ adoption day. -Did a one night cruise out of NYV with Tim and Rach with John Legend in concert-what a blast!
-Another fun Christmas!!
-Kevin and I celebrate 10 yr anniversary 12/27!
2008
-Kevin and I took trip to Marathon Key for anniversary trip, kids stayed with Grammom and Poppy. Record cold temps in Florida-go figure! Fun trip anyway!!!
- Maks started speech therapy.
-Al B. died suddenly in March, our hearts break for Beth and Mike. He was wonderful and fun and an amazing dad. He will never be forgotten.
-Mike and C announce baby #3 on the way!
-Had hysterectomy in May. Finally no more surgeries!
-Jim and Laurie celebrate 20yrs!!!
-kids involved in lots of activities during the year: swimming, soccer, biddy sports camp, gym classes, karate, piano.
-spent vacation at Pop and Noni’s beach house in Delaware
-Maks spent his 3rd bday in ER with croup and asthma flare.
-Makenzie born, another new girlfriend for Alek and Maks!
-Went to Riviera Maya, Mexico with Rach for girls long weekend. Hard to leave kids, but wonderfully relaxing!
2009
-Took Alek to first Flyers game, got to meet a player, got a puck and a broken stick
-Our CorieJayne died at almost 12 years of age, she was a great dog, the best! We miss her so much.
-Took family trip to Florida, did Magic Kingdom for one day then drove to Indian Rocks Beach for rest of week, took in Phillies Spring training game.
-Kaiser died soon after being diagnosed with an unknown cancer. He was a great and goofy dog, a big lap dog, hard to believe both our fur babies are gone.
-Maks has dental surgery.
-Jeff and Amy welcome home Little Man from Kirov, another Kirov cutie home to his forever family!
-Alek playing T-ball, gets to parade around Citizens Bank Park before the Phillies game (his 1st one), I get to tag along!
-Took Maks to his first Phillies game, we all went for Father’s Day
-Long weekend to South Beach with Tim and Rach, in July—very hot!
-Nags Head, this time with 4 families (8 adults, 12 kids, one house!)
-Labor Day in Bowers with Pop and Noni.
-Alek started kindergarten!!
-Alek and Maks both playing soccer
-PopPop H passed away peacefully on October 7th and was remembered in a beautiful service on October 12th. He is deeply missed.
-I participated in Breast Cancer 3Day with my team The RackPack, though due to cold rain, it was a 1 day, but our teamed walked on our own all 3 days, for 40 miles and raised over 25k.
-Alek had 3rd set of tubes placed and his adenoids out
-Enjoyed our Thanksgiving and Christmas though it was hard and not the same without PopPop
-Trip to Bimini with Tim, Rach and their kids 12/26-1/2, great escape and a good way to end the decade and begin a new one.

An amazing decade it has been for our family, ups and downs, but many blessings! Can’t wait to see what the next decade in our journey holds!

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

Escape

Escape. Exactly what you need after a hectic year and hectic holidays. So that is what we did, we ran away, left the tree behind, left most of the presents behind, left the wash and more importantly the cold.

Our advenutre began at 5:30 am on December 26th when the alarm went off. Kevin and I got up, ready, last minute bag checks and then got the boys going. We bundled up, loaded the car and headed to the airport-our ticket out of this cold and our path to relaxation. Alek was armed with his new DS and Maks with his Leapster in hopes that they would provide a great distraction for a day of travel. Santa did well, they loved their games and it kept them content. We met our traveling friends at the airport and headed through security with a little extra pat down thanks to one idiot's antics on a Christmas day flight. Before we knew it we were on the plane and headed towards our first stop, Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. We packed light and only carryon, so we ran outside, relished in the warm air and grabbed a taxi to our next stop, the Ft. Lauderdale executive airport. Then we hit our first snag. Our charter pilot and his plane were not there, but over at the other airport. He apparently had left me a voicemail on my office phone, despite the fact I sent him my cell. After a discussion in which he offered to put us up in a hotel for the night, which I told him was completely unacceptable and a few other words, he was on his way back to pick us up. Apparently he was a little afraid of me since I (in his words), "chewed his head off". I personally dont think I was bad, just adament that nothing was stopping us from getting to our escape THAT DAY!

So there was our charter plane, small, interesting, wondering if it looked like it would make the 20 minute flight? Nervousness was abound in our group, but as for myself, God Bless Ativan, love how much it takes the edge off. Though I will admit, when I saw them loading luggage in the wings my stomach flipflopped a bit! We all climbed aboard and took off. It really wasn't bad and it was actually great when we could see the beautiful blue water and our island escape. Bimini, there it was right below us, the "island in the stream" of Hemingway fame, was there, just waiting for us to settle in and chill. I have to say, landing in those small planes is a dream, that was the smoothest landing I ever felt and they stop so quickly too! So we gave Captain Ray or RayRay as he was known at the airport, his props, our thanks and my apologies and we headed off to next leg. You land on South Bimini, so we had to take a 5 minute taxi ride to the water and then we climbed aboard a water taxi to cross to North Bimini. The ride was another 5 minutes. The dock on North Bimini is right by the site where they filmed the last scene of Silence of the Lambs ("I'm having an old friend for dinner..."). We then jumped in another taxi and headed towards our resort, Bimini Bay. We checked in and then were taken to our house, which was perfect. it was beautiful, clean and very new and 2700 sq feet was perfect for 8 people.

Once we explored resort we came to the conclusion that while yes you can walk, you can't walk into town and really explore, so we rented a golf cart for the week. We enjoyed our first sunset and settled in to relax and unwind, they were our only goals for the week.

The next morning we set out for the pool, we decided on the infinity pool as it was so beautiful with its endless view into the blue ocean. One problem, the water was freezing, but the kids stilled played and we enjoyed a great lunch at the grille. The kids loved the playground as well and we made several visits there throughout the week. We explored the beach close to the pool it was interesting that there was this giant wall blocking the sea from the resort it seemed. You walked down steps to the beach, lots of beautiful large rocks and reefs. The water was warm and gorgeous and we noticed that you could easily snorkel right off that beach.

We found the other pool near the marina and near our house. Again it was gorgeous, yet cold. But there was a long skinny hot tub type pool, that was perfect for the kids and us. We spent most of the week there. We also found the beach at the end of the resort that was absolutely gorgeous, The further you drove down the road, the more secluded and natural the beach became. There were tidal pools surrounded by coral and there were conch shells everywhere. It was truly paradise.

The week was spent relaxing at the pool or the beach. The guys made friends with a family who was staying on their rather large boat. The boys went fishing for the day while the wife and 3 girls hung with us. They were wonderful people, so nice and a lot of fun. We consider them our new friends in Sarasota and hope to see them again. The boys deep sea fishing was not successful in terms of actual fish but they had a great time. T and W did get a day in of bone fishing with a famous boat maker and bonefisherman named Ancill Saunders. He used to take Martin Luther King Jr out on his boat and apparently MKL wrote his Nobel Peace Prize speech on his boat along with the speech to the striking machinist's right before his assination. Pretty amazing the history. We loved exploring the island, it is very small, two roads (the low road and the high road). The history is fascinating, the people who spent alot of time there, from Hemingway, to MLK, to Jimmy Buffett and countless other. It is a unique place. The guys always seemed to experience some adventure or meet someone crazy while they were out. The people are so friendly and nothing seems to bother them. Along with that attitude is the fact they dont rush to do anything and nothing starts on time. While that would be absolutely annoying to most of us, I have to say for a week it was refreshing, no wonder they are happy!

New Years Eve we made a dinner reservation for the resort restaurant. There was a big party going on but none of us wanted to pay the extra price for it. So we got the kids settled in and headed out for what we hoped was a fabulous dinner. Well, they decided to close the restaurant early, never though to mention it to the people who had reservations after that point. The manager albeit nice was not helpful at all. So my friend and I left the guys, who were cranky, hungry and angry hanging out there, and we headed up to the main office. After several nice but unhelpful staffers, we were guided to the new general manager of the resort. He immediately apologized and invited us all in, free of charge to the tent party. So we went. It was very nice. While we had to wait in line for buffett, the food was amazing!! The drinks were great and the people watching even better. The boys decided to bail on us after dinner since they were going fishing early the next morning, such losers! So R and I hung out and realized that everyone seemed to know each other? We met a very nice man who informed us, yes most people here are related to the owner of the resort or were friends. He said most of them were cuban american's from Miami area and they all had been coming here for years. We also got to watch performance of a latin grammy winner, Fonzi, I think that is what he was called. He was good, we didn't understand any of the songs, but he was obviously very popular. We did know Feliz Navidad, so that was fun! We ran in the new year on the dance floor, watching some funny drunk people. It was a great night, despite not having the hubbies there.

One of the highlights for all of us was seeing a junkanoo band. The first we saw was during a parade for Boxing Day. It was supposed to start at 8, but didn't start til 9. Alek and Maks made friends with a little boy from town, and they had a blast, running around and play hide and seek while we were waiting. The band was so amazing. The costumes and the drums were incredible. The drums were the coolest. The kids loved it, we all did and it was fun to be sharing with the people in town, not just other tourists. We got an extra treat on New Years Day when the band paraded through the resort.

It was a wonderful and relaxing week. We all loved Bimini, the history, the people, the food, the sun and the beaches. I know we will definitely return. We loved that it wasn't touristy, it was small and it was so laid back. Our kind of island for sure!

Unfortunately we had to return to reality and it was a cold reality at that, temps in the 20's? Not fun at all. At least the boys had fun returning home to all the Christmas presents they had left behind. As for me, I bundled up and day dreamed about the sun and sand and wondering what we could plan for our next escape.

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