Packing-Spacebags

I did some packing this weekend. Diapers really take up alot of space. I am going to do some repacking Friday when I get home from my work trip. They look compact and Costco can fit 234 Huggies in a cube so why cant I get all of them and my clothes in a large suitcase. I was planning on using spacebags for the baby clothes and my clothes to try to pack more in there, but never thought of spacebags for diapers too. I will give it a try T! We may need to have one more carryon size bag but have been warned that the cars over there are smaller. J says to 'pack light' and I am trying, but there is so much I want to take to B and the other babies, hopefully the mobile will fit. There probably wont be anything in our suitcases when we come back. I will have to see what I can buy. Maybe we will wrap a box of diapers in paper and check it as luggage. Has anyone done that?

One week to go!

Seven of Hearts. Seven days til I meet the child that has stolen my heart. I cant tell you how excited I am to finally put a person to that face that has been looking at me for 2 months. I am taking the video recorder with me and hope to get all I can to hold me over until I can go back and bring him home. Please pray that all goes well while I am over there. I will be updating the blog as often as I can to keep everyone updated.
We got the rest of the items to take to the orphange. Winter is coming up in Kyrgyzstan its going to get cold there. Blanket sleepers and blankets, socks and jackets are ready to go. I put my outlet shopping skills to good use and got items up to 12month size. We are packing tonight since I am going to Denver for work next week and wont be home til Thursday night. Work is on track to slow down my travel schedule significantly beginning in December. I dont know if I have mentioned this before but my job involves traveling to different hospitals, training Cardiology departments on our software for data management and physician dictation. So, as you can assume, a job traveling out of town every week is not really conducive to parenting, especially single parenting. The good thing is that the company is working with me to reduce that. I was a little worried lately since things werent moving very quickly but after a talk with my manager things are looking up.

Happy 3 month birthday Porkchop

OMG. My son is 3 months old (well, its his birthday in Kyrgyzstan but not the 25th til tomorrow here) and I leave to meet him in 10 days. I spent so much money last weekend but think I got everything. I bought all the gifts to take to the caregivers and orphanage director, a Costco size box of diapers, desitin, babywipes, baby tylenol... I hope the nannies like perfume. I found some great deals at Marshall's but still spent enough. Then Mom and I went to Once Upon a Child in Litchfield. I got a travel bed for trip 2, and a lightweight stroller. Mom got me a playyard for my shower gift. (thanks MOM). The shower is on track for Oct 25 and the Evites are sent out. Isnt it amazing, we used to buy invitations, mail them out, and wait for an RSVP, nowadays we click send and get results back from across the miles almost instantly. Technology.. Since we put the crib together it's become so much more real. I knew once I had put it together I would get really anxious and I was right. I am looking forward to 'taking in' Kyrgyzstan while I am there and of course looking forward spending as much time with B as possible. I am not sure about taking my laptop with me. I know I wont work but want to keep the blog updated. I will decide next week. On the agenda this weekend.. Packing.

13 days-

Getting some stuff done this weekend. Mom was great and painted the baby's room with some stripes and a very soothing color. We put the crib together last night.. it wasnt so hard just took about an hour. I bought it from a consignment store and we had to disassemble it a bit to get it into the SUV so I just put it together the way I took it apart. Now I just need the mattress. We are getting the passport pictures today for the Visa's we need for visit 1. My dossier is in Washington and hopefully will be on its way to the MOE by the time I go. There are 2 other families with dossiers in Washington and they have already met their sons. They are hopefully (hope, hope, hope) going to be returning to bring them home by November. J said that after they get through the MOE and court it will be my turn.

2 weeks- so much to do

Its now 2 weeks til Mom and I board a plane to take the longest plane ride we've ever taken..the farthest away from home we have ever been.. to meet a little person who has no idea who we are and how long we have waited to meet him. We are trying to figure out what docs to take with us and how much stuff to take for B and the rest of the babies at the orphange. We are also getting the gifts for the nannies and the orphange director this weekend. I think it will be a crazy packing job to get all the stuff we need to take. More later

19 Days !!!

How cute is this picture. Well, its actually a coloring page but I love Grover and he's doing a happy dance! Nineteen days and counting. I have been so busy with work its been keeping me from worrying about whats coming up. I know I am fretting over things beyond my control but I am anxious to hear about the progress of my dossier. I got an email from L saying that the courier has it and I think that means its in DC. I hope to hear soon about the other families progress. I think we all got there about the same time so we will see where that goes. Its looking like I will be able to take some time off and work from home for a while after B comes home. I wish I knew when. Scary thing is that my medical doc expires the end of December so they need to move it along. We are all waiting it seems. All the other blogs indicate waiting too, its comforting I'm not alone.

Mom is having some fun this week while I am gone. She is going to suprise me with something going on in the baby's room! I am excited. We have talked about what we want to do and I cant wait to see what she comes up with. I have tried to con her into putting the crib together.. I left the instructions and the allen wrenches very available lol. I have been putting off getting the mattress and dont want an empty crib sitting there so I need the mattress. Its that whole 'which came first' scenario. Cant have a crib without a mattress dont want to buy the mattress cause I am dreading putting the crib together. oh woe is me, such a conundrum... such drama.

Oh and speaking of drama, I spent this weekend in SF with L and her kids. We took the 10year old shopping for a shirt for her school pictures. OMG I am so glad I am going to be the mother of a boy.

More info

I got more info today about Porkchop. His birthparents are both Kyrgz and he was born June 25. We got conflicting information (June 26 or July 6) but now we have a copy of the BC, I think. The docs J sent to me are in Russian so she is getting them translated for me. I am happy I will be able to put both the Russian document and the translation in his baby book.

I also found a couple of tickers to countdown and show porkchop's age, so I added them. They are so cute.

The ICF group on yahoo has almost doubled in size. T got the word out and more ICF families have joined. It is great to keep up to date on the familes that are working with my agency.

Counting down.. 25 days!

Twenty Seven Days

Twenty seven days !! Twenty Seven days !! In 27 days I am getting on the longest plane ride I have ever been on, going to a country I hadn't heard of a year ago, going to eat wierd food, be in a country where I dont speak the language and stay in a hotel that doesnt have washcloths! It will all be worth it when I take that crazy drive to a little town and meet the joy of my life. I cannot tell you how many emotions are going thru my heart and how many thoughts are going through my head while preparing (what am I forgetting, what do I need to bring, will I bring enough) and flipping back and forth with.. 'Its 27 days' (calm and matter of fact) ...to... 'ITS TWENTY---SEVEN---DAYS' (complete hysteria).

And to top it all of I am in the airport waiting for my 'delayed' fligh to go from Phoenix to Denver and then...run at warp speed to my connection to Sioux Falls. The agents wont hold the plane and this is the last flight out to my former home town. So I am sitting here with my ADD kicking in and making lists in my head with things I need to do. You know what they say about idle hands? Well, my mind is flipping channels like a football junkie flips their remote on opening day of football season. Btw, I hear that is today! Is it called 'opening day'? I am such a girl.. i have no idea.

29 Days

Twenty Nine Days til I get on a plane..... I cant wait. I am back on track with 'positive thought'. As I re-read the post from yesterday it looks like I was whining.. so happy at the beginning but digressed into poor me towards the end. Eww I hate that, but figure everyone is entitled to a bad day. Anyway, I am very excited about the trip up to Sedona, just unwinding and spending time with friends will be great. I received a very encouraging email from J telling me that 2 familes are in front of me for Dossier processing. They are hoping one will be through the Embassy and to the MOE this week, that would put them home the end of Oct and the maybe the second family will travel the by Thanksgiving. Then it will be my turn, she thought it was looking good for a pickup trip a little after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. Both of those holidays are appropriate for bringing him home. Oh, by the way I changed the background of the blog. I figured blue for my baby boy...and the airplanes are soooo cute....

I got my translated dossier today.

I got my translated dossier today. Yay. that means that my agency has it and is sending it off to Washington. I hope it has a quick and productive trip!. I am still on track to leave for my trip to meet my son (October 4). Very exciting.. also very nervous. Its a looooooong trip and very far away. Thank you to C for indulging my questions about what happened on your trip. Awesome information that calmed me a little.
I still dont know whats happening with my job. I am trying to move to a less travel position so I will be home more with porkchop but things are moving slowly on that front. I am trying to be patient but, its hard being patient with two major life changing events coming up. I could handle being patient about Bennett if I had a nontravel job secured. And, I could handle being patient waiting for a non travel job if I know what my deadline was to bring Bennett home.. Both of these up in the air is draining me.
On a positive note.. some friends are getting married this weekend in Sedona, AZ. Its beautiful up there and I am not taking my laptop so no work this weekend. I am also traveling to Sioux Falls next week so I will get to see the Bradys. I cant wait. :)