Another day

Today was an average day I suppose. I started it off on the wrong foot by running late this morning. Those of you who know me know that this is nothing new and it is a miracle that this is the first time it has happened since we've been here! Ha! Anyway, because I was late Left Brain and Oksana went ahead and walked to the orphanage to see Blue Eyes without me and I came a few minutes later. Blue Eyes wouldn't have much to do with Left Brain at first because I wasn't there. MAMA'S BOY!!! Whoo-hoo! He kept telling them,"no mama." He finally went with Left Brain though. When I arrived they were already outside. He spotted me before I got to him and yelled, "MAMA" and ran for me. As you can imagine, I couldn't stop smiling! We played for a while today...again with a sand pail and shovel. That kid won't set them down. He had so many things in his hands today and wouldn't let go of any of them. He had the bucket, shovel, walnuts, his sippy cup, and a ball. It was borderline hilarious.

Also, we had another funny today. Left Brain was sitting in the center of the see-saw when Blue Eyes walked over and decided he wanted to ride. He sat on one end of it (barely holding on to the handle). Left Brain started to kind of shift his weight in the center to make the see-saw slightly move up and down. When the see-saw got about halfway up, Left Brain slipped backwards. This made the see-saw jolt Blue Eyes up in the air really fast. It almost threw him off. This fearless child held his breath for about half a second and then started laughing histerically. He was barely hanging on the thing and laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He truly is fearless. He wanted it again and again. Needless to say, he didn't get it because Left Brain was really careful after that.
After our visit with "little man" as we also call him we went back to the apartment for lunch and a nap. Oksana went to the market while we were at the apartment because she needed a few things. When she returned around 1:45pm, she made a delicious salad with things she got at the market. It had cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and red bell peppers all sliced up and covered in sunflower oil. I loved it...and of course Left Brain wouldn't even try it.
We traveled a few places in town this afternoon to check on paperwork we will have to complete next week after court. Oksana says that knowing the right place to go will speed things along tremendously. We then went for a visit in Ochacov with GQ. He threw some more fits today, but nothing like the one the other day. He was still mad at us when we arrived....the kid holds a grudge. He walked right passed us and went to the other side of the room. We went outside with him today because it was a warmer day than it has been. Left Brain and I kicked the soccer ball around in hopes that he would join in, and he never did. He mostly ignored us for a while. He finally came around when we walked to the merry-go-round type spinny thing. He was still a little sassy but at least talking with us and smiling from time to time. Each time I would get a snack out of my bag, he would yell,"NO, I don't want it" before I could even ask him. Left Brain, Oksana and I started eating the snacks and he acted like he didn't care. He always acts like he doesn't care but we know he does. A few minutes later all of the boys from his group came outside for their playtime and we let them join in. This is something that we don't normally do, but we thought it might help calm him. It worked for a while, but then he started acting like it bothered him for the other kids to talk to us (this is good!). Shortly after this it was time for us to go. He told us that he didn't want us to leave...but our driver had to be back to the city at a certain time so we didn't have a choice. As we were leaving he asked if he could have the snack bag. (I knew he did care before). I asked him if he was going to start being nice to us and he said yes. I gave him the bag and he gave us a big long hug and kiss good-bye. Of course we were happy about it, even though it was mostly because he wanted something. We know things will be much better when we get him out of the environment where he has to fight for everything. We are optimistic anyway.
Tonight we ate at another buffet style restaurant. We like these type of restaurants because you can see what you are ordering. I ate mashed potatoes and a spicy rice with meat in it. Left Brain had mashed potatoes and chicken. We took the public bus to get home tonight for the first time since we've been here. I was kind of scared of it before because they look very gross, but it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. It is a much cheaper form of transportation than a taxi ride, so we may do this more often.
One piece of bad news....Oksana told us tonight that after court, during the 10 day waiting period before we can get the boys, she is traveling home to be with her family. Kathy forgot to inform us that the translators never stay during this time because there isn't any paperwork for them to do. Oops! We will be fine...other than ordering food. We'll have to figure out several places and things to eat where we can order. She will also let us call her on the phone when we are in the restaurant and translate our order to the driver. He usually goes in places with us when Oksana isn't here. We are confident that it will all work out.
We were able to talk to Cindy, Traci, and Ginger on skype tonight. It is so good to be able to talk to people from home and see them at the same time. If you have a webcam, we encourage you to add us on skype. It is a free service and doesn't cost anything to download it. You can get our username from Left Brain's mother. We'd love to hear from you!
We have also decided to start seeing GQ every other day. It is so hard to get there everyday because it is an hour drive, we stay for an hour, and drive another hour back to the apartment. This gets exhausting, plus we thought it may give him time to miss us. Oksana tells us that most parents don't visit the children everyday if they are in a situation like ours. It is also costing us a ton of money to do this because of the long drive. We are going to see how this goes for a few days and if GQ responds ok to it, we may continue this way during the 10 day waiting period. This of course means that we will be spending more time with Blue Eyes because his orphanage is within walking distance of the apartment. We can visit him again in the afternoons when we aren't driving to see GQ. I feel a little guilty about visiting Blue Eyes more than GQ, especially when GQ seems to be the one that needs more attention but there isn't much I can do about it. We just can't keep driving like we have been, especially when we have to be in the city for paperwork. We'll see how it works out...we may change our minds.
I hope you all have a good afternoon and night. Keep checking for updates!