Tuesday, February 26, 2013

2-23-13 Daddy's Home

After Brian and Aleksey left Wednesday Morning for the train station, C and I slept for awhile. Brian got on a train to Budapest. Partway there, he realized he wasn’t going to the train station we had planned. The “walking” directions to the hostel from the train station would do him no good. So, he arrived and took a taxi, who really “took him for a ride” with the fare charged. It was about triple the printed fare he was given once he arrived at the hostel. Oh well, nothing to be done now. I had packed him some snacks for the trip, so that was good. He got settled in and then found a cheap all-you-can-eat buffet with all different foods, including Hungarian. After filling up, he spent the rest of the day working and getting to watch American television.

We slept in and then went down to the market with Aleksey. It had really started snowing hard while they were on the way to the train station. It took him about twice as long to get back to the hotel as it took for the ride with Brian to the train station. He helped me find a few things at the market, we ate lunch, and then C took a quick nap before heading out to see V*ktor. For lunch, I had a Ukra*nian “hamburger.” It’s basically a chicken sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato. It was really good, and I will definitely be going back for one of those again!

There is a museum at V*ktor’s school. I keep trying to ask if we can see it, but it always seems to be closed. Aleksey asked someone, and they said that it would have to be another day. We went to the restaurant near the school and skyped with Grandma, A, and B. The judge was in there again, and he said hello. We headed back to the school and stopped at the small market. The snow was so ridiculous to walk/plow through that we decided to get a taxi back to the hotel. An ideal Ukrain*an stroller should come equipped with a snowblade on the front! The weather was so yucky we ate in the hotel. I LOVE their borscht! C decided that she did not want to sleep and was up screaming for hours. She didn’t feel good, had a low fever, and was very snotty. I went ahead and started antibiotics.

Thursday, I exchanged money, we ate lunch, and I got some things at the grocery store. I got 2 of the big jugs of water since I still had Aleksey to carry them! He headed out for the train back to Ki*v. He will return when it’s time for more paperwork and picking up V from the orphanage. It was so slick on the packed down snow that iced over! I can’t imagine how people walk on this all the time. It’s kind of a good thing I have the stroller. It sometimes serves as a “walker” to keep me steady on the ice! Since I assumed we would be at the school for the day, I took a taxi and didn’t take stroller or computer. V*ktor met me at the door saying we could go to the restaurant. I REALLY didn’t want to walk all that way and tried to convince him to stay. I know he looks forward to his small time away from the orphanage, though, and from the sounds of it the playroom was locked and nobody had a key. He offered to carry C, but that made me nervous with the ice. I had him carry the backpack instead. Oh did I pay for that! Carrying a baby for a quarter mile in the snow was not a good idea for my back. For the return trip to the orphanage, I had Aleksey call a taxi to pick us up at the restaurant, drop V at the orphanage, and take us back to the hotel. I had no intention of leaving the hotel after that, so I went down to the restaurant and ordered food. They brought it up to the room and we ate in our pajamas J C went to sleep, I took pain meds, and we got a good night’s sleep.

Brian spent the entire day traveling only to get stuck in Chicago because of the snowstorms. A was pretty upset. Wednesday night when they decided to close school Thursday, he cried because he knew that meant Daddy probably wouldn’t make it home. Poor kiddo.

We slept VERY late on Friday. At first I was really shocked I had slept that long, but then I remembered the pain meds. My back was much better, though! I ate PBJ for lunch and made C some veggies with yogurt. We took a taxi to the orphanage. I ended up taking the stroller and computer this time. Even that is a ton of work - trying to get it all downstairs at the hotel through the stairs resembling mountain excavation! I was exhausted by the time I got there, and we took a taxi! As I was walking in the gates, giant clumps of snow kept falling. They missed us each time, but they still seemed a little close. I kept looking around and didn’t see anyone. I thought it must have come from the big tree overhead. Once I was clearly out of the way of the tree and they kept coming, I realized I was being attacked! Haha, just by snowballs. I finally saw the culprits and had decided to go throw a few back at them when V*ktor came outside yelling at them. He didn’t like them doing that to his Mama! We headed over to the restaurant and skyped with Grandma, A, and B. I walked him back to the orphanage and stopped at the little market. Then, a taxi took us back to the hotel. I again ordered food to be delivered to the room. I really wanted borscht again, but they kept saying “no, soup” - so I finally said okay. It was a white broth with potatoes, a few carrots, and a mystery meat I had no intention of touching. C seemed to like it, so I let her eat it. The tables were cleared out of the middle of the restaurant, and the banquet room was all setup for something. I asked the housekeeper L if there was a party and she mimed “letting her hair down” - lol! I was all ready to crash the party later, but I never heard any music. I watched movies and kept awaiting word that Brian finally made it home. After a flight delayed by a few hours, we skyped around 2 in the afternoon (back home). The kids had another snow day. He was sitting with A and B! Yaaa! Daddy’s home!

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