The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

Depending on the age of our daughter, I'm interested in breastfeeding her.

posted by AnnMarie at 9:30 AM |

More medical news: On Thursday, the HS medical form arrived and Eric dropped it off on Friday. It's the original one we did for ASI; they just want a doctor to sign in addition to my NP. So that should get done quickly (hopefully, already!). Also on Friday, the Russian medicals were done so we stopped by to pick them up. Unfortunately, a mistake was made and they have to be redone. Aaargh. I totally understand the mistake; I wish I had been more clear in my letter. We're going to drop off a treat (Oshkosh Fudge, perhaps?) as a thank you to the doctor, the NP, and the staff who dealt with this. We certainly appreciate them, and we need another one done quickly in between the two trips.

posted by AnnMarie at 11:17 AM |

Medical update: Don't have to switch doctors. My nurse practioner (NP) was already working with Eric's doctor to have him sign the Russian letter. She'll also ask him to sign the WI medical form. All we have to do is drop it off; she won't ask for yet another physcial. Woohoo! the delay was not her fault; she was done by the end of June. there were problems with dictation, who types it up. The letters were in the office yesterday and should be signed today. Now, I'm just a little worried that they didn't do it right. And I hope it gets notarized properly. All these things to worry about! I stressed that next time we'll need it much more quickly. My NP assured me that the file would be kept and quickly done next time.

posted by AnnMarie at 7:49 AM |

I completely forgot one of my Russian language learning things: Adopting from Russia "150 adoption-specific phrases to use with your child, including terms of reassurance and positive reinforcement; 47-minute, professionally recorded language CD." It's created and produced by a Mom, Teresa Kelleher, who adopted from Russia. Unlike the other products, which focus on the generic traveler or learned, this is for parents who are adopting. So it has the basics of communicating with a child. Even includes "This is your dog." and "This is your cat." which we will need! Of course, if we get a 6-month old, we won't need these. But if we get a 24-month old who does understand some basic words, it will be nice. (It is also available in Mandarin and Spanish). For the older, already-speaking-fluently child, there is a cd fof Russian into English--how to make friends, tell the parent how they feel, ask questions to learn more English, etc. What a wonderful idea!

posted by AnnMarie at 7:39 AM |

Turns out that I need a medical doctor to sign not only my Russian medical letter, but also the medical form for the homestudy. That means our former agency once again is at fault--they said a nurse practioner was okay. I asked specifically! (Plus, it's another thing they had for months and could have looked at to tell us it was wrong.) Elayne only looked at it closely as she was finishing up the paperwork. So, I've switched doctors (I'm in an HMO; I can only see my primary care physician) and I have an appointment for next Tuesday. I had figured I'd be changing anyway since my NP was being horridly slow on getting the Russian letter finished. But now I have to explain everything to a complete stranger. Hopefully, she will be cool about it, and quick! If not, it means another physical, TB test, blood tests, and whatever else they need. And another wait to get the papers finished up. AAARRRGGGHHH!

posted by AnnMarie at 7:47 AM |

Can remember if I've mentioned before that I'm studying Russian in preparation for our trips. I started with The Rosetta Stone's Russian Explorer. It's a computer tutorial for reading, hearing, writing, and speaking. I think the speech part is the hardest--you try to match squiggly lines with a native speaker. I don't understand the squiggly lines, so I don't know how to adjust based on what I see. Writing is tough, too. But reading and hearing is going well. (Although it's been a while since I used the program....) Unfortunately, it doesn't remember where you were in a lesson. You have to start from the beginning each time. That makes it more difficult to use--it takes me more than 30 minutes to go through a lesson the first time. So it's not something I can just do in snatches, which I'd prefer. (Note: at the link to Rosetta Stone, I don't see my edition anymore. But there's a new traveller's edition which I bet would have been better. My version is the first set of lessons from the full set. So it starts with dog, cat, car, woman, man, etc. I bet the traveler one has more applicable tourist words!)

In June, I picked up a number of audio courses from the library. Borrowed a number of different ones to see what different companies did. I'd read reviews on Amazon, too. Unfortunately, they didn't have the one I was most interested in. But they did have a Pimsleur, in French. I really liked that, so I bought the Pimsleur Russian Traveller's Edition--16 lessons, 30 minutes each. I started it on Monday. So far, I like it!

In the other ones, you are presented with one word or phrase at a time. Within each lesson, the words are related (for instance, train/bus words, numbers, days of the week, hotel/room). There's no discussion of grammar or explanation of sounds or differences between masculine/feminine. Pimsleur, on the other hand, teaches conversations. The first lesson, for instance, is a conversation about whether you can understand Russian and English. So you learn to intiate ("Excuse me."), ask if the person understands English, say yes, no, I understand, I don't understand, I understand a little, etc. In the second lesson, you learn how to great men and women, ask how they are, respond to that question, etc. Some grammatical instruction is given. Longer words are broken down by syllable. You are given lots of review of previous words, phrases, and sentences both within a lesson as well as from lesson to lesson.

I'll let you know in 4 months how much I learned! That's how long I estimate it will take me to get through the lessons. If I spent 1 week per lesson, that's 16 weeks = 4 months. I work on them on the walk to/from work (about 15-20 minutes). So I can get through one lesson a day. That's one side of the tape, so for this week, at least, I'm doing two lessons during the week. I figure two weeks per tape. Of course, as I go on, I might repeat some of the older tapes. But maybe I'll get better and won't need as much time on the new lessons.

The first lesson was fairly easy for me. The second one was harder. I finished my second time through the first lesson this morning. We'll see how the second goes the second time through. I hope it's smoother!

posted by AnnMarie at 9:34 AM |

Tuesday was our last homestudy visit! It was at our house and went just fine, just like all the others. Elayne might get the report dictated this week, but probably not until next week. She'll share drafts with us and with CHI. The final version should be ready by the end of the month. One more step closer!

Unfortunately, our medical letters still aren't done. My PCP is a Nurse Practioner. Months ago, I spoke with her nurse who said she had a supervising physician who could sign the letter. (Russia requires that it be an MD.) When I spoke with the nurse this morning, she said Barb doesn't have a supervising physician. She didn't know if another doctor would sign the letter on Barb's word or if I will need to be seen by someone. And Barb won't be back until next Wed. She's part time, and I think more so than usual in the summer. I need a new doctor! This can't happen the next time around when we need the letters ASAP. And the letter's really easy--we provided all the text except the medical diagnosis ("healthy") and the doctor's name and license number. It will take 5 minutes to complete! aargh. [We don't know why Eric's doctor has done his yet, either.]

In other news, on Monday I'll be paying off one of my educational loans using money I made teaching this spring! Woohoo! (It's a very, very small loan. But it still feels really cool!) One down, three to go.

posted by AnnMarie at 9:24 AM |

Turns out getting a police record clearance letter from the OPD (Oshkosh Police Dept) is much easier and cheaper than getting a state one. Since I have to do this again before the court hearing, here's what I need to do the next time.

236-5710 (spoke with Julie this time), need letter stating we have no police record, must be notarized, must have a separate letter for each of us. They'll call for us to pick it up. And let them know we'd like it ASAP that time.

Now, if only the medical letters were as easy! They still aren't done and Eric dropped them off almost a month ago. His doc has been pretty cool about the adoption stuff, but didn't seem to understand the need for this letter and all the hoops (such as copy of med license and notarization of everything). I'm worried they'll be this slow again when we need new ones for the court appearance. Those can't be more than 2 months old, so have to be done in between the two trips. And we won't know till then if we have a month, 2 months, or how long. And we have to get apostilles, too!

posted by AnnMarie at 8:42 AM |

I love this blog! We got tons of copies of our marriage license locally way back when. But SHI requires a state version, not a county one. I used this blog to search for the company we used to request the birth certificates back in March (VitalCheck). I didn't end up using them, for they provided a link to the WI website, where I was able to print out a form to do it myself (saving the VitalCheck fee--it was worth it for various reasons for the birth certificates, but not for this one). It would have taken longer without the search feature I have when editting the blog. (Unfortunately, searching isn't available to you readers yet. But they promise it in the future.)

posted by AnnMarie at 4:48 PM |

I am so thankful we switched homestudy agencies! We just came back from our third (of 4) interviews/visits. We feel so comfortable with this social worker and with this agency (CAC). The frustrations we had with the other agency--we talked about telling them what we thought as soon as the HS was finished. But I always worried because we also have to have 4 post-placement reports done. These are supposed to be done by the same agency as the HS. The reports are usually done at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after adoption. That means we have to have a relationship with the agency for THREE more years. I can't imagine us wanting to do so with ASI. (The reports are sent back to the Russian judge who did the adoption. They are required of all adoptions in Russia. They are a way to make sure the children have been placed properly and are receiving appropriate love and care.)

After this morning's meeting, we went to The Penguin--an old drive-in right near the agency. It still has the old-fashioned look, too. And car hops! (No roller skates, like Ardy and Ed's has here in Oshkosh.) It was a tad early for lunch (only 10:30), but it's our last time in Manitowoc, so we had to go anyway. They have delicious shakes. Eric's butterscotch, he said, was worth moving to Manitowoc for! My pineapple was also wonderful--it actually had pineapple bits in it. It wasn't sickly sweet, like a pineapple ice cream topping might be. It was more like crushed pineapple from a can.

Our last visit is next Tuesday, in the afternoon, at our house!

posted by AnnMarie at 10:45 AM |

TIP: Create a list of must-have photo/video shots before we leave.

posted by AnnMarie at 1:33 PM |

TIP: Saw the following list on a site as a travel pack for adoption. Figured
I could make up my own.... Backpack containing the following 42 items:

• digital thermometer
• aspirator
• eye dropper
• med spoon
• oral rehydration salts
• pain relieving wipes
• bandages
• baby wipes
• baby powder
• baby shampoo
• body wash
• baby lotion
• diaper sacks
• diaper rash cream
• child pain reliever
• child decongestant
• cotton swabs
• petroleum gel
• nail clipper
• teething gel
• antibiotic ointment
• bottles w/ nipples (3)
• bottle insulator (1)
• mending kit
• travel office (what is this???)
• plastic document pouch
• waterless hand cleaner
• disposable gloves
• plastic dinnerware
• resealable plastic bags
• flashlight w/battery
• lock for the backpack
• clothesline w/clothespins & shower hooks
• liquid detergent
• Cortisone cream
• pain reliever
• decongestant
• anti-diarrhea tablets
• laxative
• eye drops
• lip balm
• antacid

posted by AnnMarie at 1:08 PM |

We've been gone on vacation the last couple weeks. Before we left, I sent off the apostille request. They arrived back while we were gone! It can take a while for turn-around, so it's nice to see that it's less than two weeks (at least right now). That's one more thing done. Well, not completely done, as we have to get apostilles for everything else as they come in. But this was a good chunk. Next--have to staple each apostille to the original document. (An apostille is a certification by the WI Secretary of State that the notary is indeed a WI notary.)

posted by AnnMarie at 5:46 AM |