Again in Kiev

Just want to remind everyone that we are not posting pictures of the children until all is completely official.

We have come back to Kiev to get some food. Really if it weren't for the food issue we could stay in Radamashel. Except for a few specific food categories, fish or pretty much anything that lives in water, I never really considered myself to be a picky eater and Joe seems to be less picky than me. However, this trip has shown that if not picky we are definitely not adventerous eaters. As the Ukrainian menu consists of a lot of sausage type meats (not hardly any chicken or pork, lots of dishes made with liver and a disturbing penchant for eating fat - yes folks fat, processed into a square form and cut off in pieces fat - the menu at our hotel is pretty limited. There are about five dishes that we keep eating over and over (chicken soup - mostly little chicken and lots of soup), slaw, potatoes (mashed and fried), fish with vegetables and a Greek Salad that is actually very good but that they have only when they are able to get tomatoes. So, despite the fact that coming back to the city brings us away from the children for a few days it is necessary for our health to get something different in our bodies, even if it is McDonald's. This is "extreme" dieting that I do not really recommend to the general population. Joe has lost about 10 pounds and I am down 5-7. These are general estimates based on how the clothes are starting to fit.

We included several pictures of the places we have been eating in Kiev and the hotel restaurant in Radamashel as well as the grocery store near the apartment. Juice here comes in the containers like the apple juice and "Sandora" is the most popular brand. Lots of people drink water and the most common is "Bonaqua". It comes in two kinds - with gas and without. "With gas" means carbonated, which Joe likes and has a dark blue lid. I like "without", which has the light blue lid pictured. I started carrying a lid with me to show people who might not understand our English very well. It has worked very effectively.

The children are doing well. I saw that Rachel had posted the information about Vitali's penchant for having fits. Thankfully the next couple of days passed without incident. We are confident that much of this behavior comes from being in a room with 18 other children and there being an almost "survival of the fittest" mentality about anything you want to play with.

We are very anxious to be home and back in contact with our lives (bed, food, family, friends, pets, etc). Traveling outside the US definitely makes you appreciate everything our country has to offer. The process continues on and for every step closer we get it seems there is more to be done. After the court date the children will get new birth certificates and passports, a medical exam and a trip to the US Embassy. Of course all theses steps are allowed up to 10 days. Thanks to Ramon, our coordinator, many of these steps have gone much faster so we still hold out hope of being home in the early single digits of May. A lot longer than our original estimate of April 17 but less than it could have been, and we will be returning with three lovely children.

Just found out while we are typing on the blog that Operation American Junk Food has been delayed at Customs for days because food is not allowed to be sent into the country. They will open the boxes tomorrow (not sure why today is not an option since it is still before lunch here but whatever) and take out the Debbies and any other food Wendy may have included. It is possible we will receive these packages before we leave the country. I do know that someone in the Customs Warehouse is going to be enjoying Debbie Cakes for days to come.

Other Random Observations:
- I love the way people drive here - wide open everywhere they go. Surprisingly few wrecks. But, what I really like is that they get over. If someone is coming up behind them they get out of the way. They also have the whole take-gap-give-gap thing down pat. There are very few traffic backups for things like the road crew painting the fencing in the middle of the road because people just merge over and keep the pedal to the metal.

- Have included a picture of the sidewalk parking that goes on. This is pretty much standard all over the city and you do need to watch out for cars driving to their parking space on the sidewalk. We have noticed that there really aren't any parking lots, the one at McDonald's is the only one we have seen, and no parking decks. Our est guess is that not that many people had cars during Soviet Occupation and now that capitalism has set in and more folks can afford one there is no where to park. This is only going to get worse before it gets better.

- Nothing works efficiently. Democracy is a painful process and we feel like we are caught in the middle with all the paperwork that we have to have done.

- Sorry to hear about our Heels but strangely we did get to watch the National Championship Game the day after it happened. We were waiting on Ramon to pickup some paperwork and found it on one of the channels at the hotel - commentated in Ukraininan of course. Did not matter - it wasn't soccer, which we could see 24-7 if we wanted to (sorry Paul!) - and it was a good game. We are glad Kansas won.

- Note the squirrel picture - fuzzy ears. We like them.

- There are huge stork nests in one of the villages we pass through on the way to Radamashel and the last time we came by there were huge storks in them (no pictures yet)which is really cool to see.

Thanks again for all the support. We miss everyone and the familiarity of home and your notes and comments help provide that connection.

Tonya & Joe