Almost Home

This is not Deb it is me Jeremy the other half. Just to let you all know here flight will land it Toronto on Saturday Sept. 4 at 1:20 pm Transareo Moscow to Toronto Terminal 3. Just to let you all know I get her first. Then you can have her. I can not wait to see them both I came home way to early. See you all there

Paka Paka!

Gee mom I wanna go, back to Ontario, Gee mom I wanna go hooommmeee...

Paka paka means 'bye-bye' in Russian... yes, that's right, we're coming home! So, bye-bye Karaganda, bye-bye Kazakhstan, bye-bye Tsum and internet cafe, bye-bye City Mall, bye-bye Green Bazaar (by the way, that place is huge - much bigger than I had realized), bye-bye apartment... bye-bye - Ontario here I come! I've had the time of my life, but now it's time to go home!

My flight details:

Transaero Flight UN517, Moscow to Toronto, arriving Pearson Terminal 3, 1:15 PM Toronto. Just so everyone knows, anyone and everyone is invited to greet us... but remember, we will have just been travelling for 14 hours in the air, with a 2.5 hour lay over in Moscow, and up at 2:30, 3:00 IN THE MORNING Karaganda time to meet our ride at 3:30... so don't except either of us to be in an overly socialable mood. There will be lots of time for that later!

There is one plus about the new apartment... well, there are lots of pluses, with the only minus being the extra stairs... but it actually has air-conditionally, and it has gotten HOT the last couple of days, with the hottest day being today. Boy, am I looking forward to being back at the apartment, where it is cool... But first, I have to manage my way on a very HOT bus...

Anyways, this will most likely be my last post before heading home, so here's the world traveller signing off... see you all on the flip side!!

Moving Day...

Yes, it seems after two months of being in the second-best apartment, we are finally being moved into the one upstairs. I’m not too happy, and I’d just as soon stay where we are (at least it has less stairs to climb), but since the one we’re in is not owned by our co-ordinator, and the one that is was vacated last night, move we must. We’ll see how it goes...

The good news is, the paperwork is in Moscow this morning to be processed. Normally, it’s a one day process, but we won’t know for sure until today or tomorrow. Hopefully, all goes well and we are on the plane on Saturday.

We have another tooth! It popped through the gums the other day, and now I can see the tiniest bit of white pushing it way up! And, I sure can feel them when his sticks my finger is his mouth... good thing the gums cushion it on top. Then again, since I can see the shape of the top ones in the gums, I’m sure it won’t be long for those ones too.

Happy Birthday Gramma!!

Yes, today is my mother's birthday - Happy Birthday! (and I hope you enjoy the picture!)

What can I say except I am getting really bored - and definitely ready to come home! I can say that I have enjoyed my time here - at least for the most part - and I am enjoying the time with my son. But, damn it - I want my own home, my own house! The best it looks like is Saturday, Sept 4th - which isn't so bad, I suppose, barely a week away, but that's assuming everything goes wuickly in Moscow! If it doesn't, I could be stuck here for a few more days even yet!

Last night, we went to the park about a ten minute walk from the apartment, with a fountain and a path to walk. I just let him crawl around the centre, surrounding the fountain - and he had a great time! When I went to put him back in the stroller, he cried. He wanted to keep going. At least he's happy...

The Fires of Moscow...

Yes, if you have been following world news, you may have heard about the fires in Moscow. As a result, some of the staff in the Canadian Embassy there - the people I need to process his VISA application - were sent home. To Canada. I have been told they should hopefully be returning this week, and that they will process the application, "...as quickly as possible". What should normally be a same day service - and then back to me - well, let's just say we have to wait and see how long it takes. Hopefully, not too long...

The weather here is the craziest weather I have ever known! It is hot, hot, hot - like 30,40 degrees - for a few days, then it's cold, cold, cold - I mean fall cold, wear a jacket cold - and wet. It rains for five minutes, but the water on the ground hangs around. It is so crazy. (As you can imagine, it was hot over the weekend, and now today I had to pull out pants and a jacket).

It is funny, how now I am meeting lots of new people. On Saturday, I approached a couple of young girls who were speaking english, and ended up going out for lunch yesterday with a couple ladies from the states. It was a good lunch, and nice to get out with new people. Also, it doesn't hurt since Marie-Dominique will be leaving for Almaty and then to France in two days. Anyways, just now, I was approahed by a couple because I was speaking english to Lucas, inviting me to their cultural and language studies school. Very cool! It almost makes me not want to go home... but not quite.

And, so people out there know, I am still having problems sending from my yahoo account. I had to use Jer's gmail account to e-mail about the VISA stuff - I may have to set up my own gmail account...

An Evening In The Park...

The past few nights, Marie-Dominique and I having been taking the kids to the park, where we enjoy the music and sights of the park, as well as a walk around the mini-lake. Well, last night, we took the kids again – but this time, we let them play around on the ground. Not the cleanest thing, and I was a little hesitant at first – but then I said, what the heck, a dirty kid is a happy kid! (plus, I made sure to wash his hands before he started sticking them in his mouth again.) And boy, did they have a great time! I think they just enjoyed being out the confines of the strollers and able to explore more freely. Anyways, enjoy the pictures! And, if you notice, there was a nice long bench – which I am very happy to say Lucas was walking up and down, on his own! I wasn’t ever very far, but still. He was actually strolling up and down the bench – it was great to watch.

Not sure when I will be home - still working on figuring out if the office in Moscow is actually open, with everything going on over there. Sent an e-mail today - should know soon.

Good News/Bad News...

Well, the VERY GOOD news is that the passport is in. Hurray! The very bad news is that apparently before it can be sent to Moscow, it has to go to Astana (capital city about 2 hours by car) with some more paperwork, for some stamp, so it won't be sent to Moscow until Monday. Which means it looks like I will not make my flight on the 28th. Boo hoo! But, as my husband said - I have my little boy, and that's what really matters. The other good thing about this is that we are bonding, and he is doing so well. I am keeping my fingers crossed about adjusting at home, but I think he'll be okay. It's actualy adjusting him to the new time zone I am more concerned about, and getting him back into some sort of routine like we have here - feeding, sleeping, formula, naps. But, oh how I look forward to showing him the park and river by our house! It will be so nice to be able to just walk out my front door, without having to take a 25-minute bus ride to the park!

I still can't believe how unbeliveably well he is doing! He's doing better than me! Well, not quite - but I sure do enjoy my morning naps! ;)

And, we have tooth! There is no doubt this time! I was rubbing oral gel on his gums the other night, and I very distinctly felt the rough edge of the top of his bottom front tooth popping through the gums. It's not quite there yet - I can't actually see white - but I can see a difference in his gums there, it is cutting through the gums from underneeth. No wonder they start to whine when they're teething - those new teeth are sharp!

Hope to see you all soon!