Our Marine Corps Family and Russian Language Blog

D Day for Gunny

2012-02-08T22:30:00.000-05:00

Today our little dog Gunny went to the vet for his first heart worm treatment. He actually did really well (thankfully). He's sleeping it off in his kennel. Poor baby has to be kenneled for the next month and then he gets a double dose back to back (2 shots in 2 days) to finish the job of killing the worms. I wish I could get my hands on his irresponsible owner who beat him, abused him, dropped him off in the middle of a road where he was hit by a car. I'm so furious at what this little dog is going through because of whoever his old owner was. Once he finished this treatment (which by the way is arsenic based) he still needs surgery to fix his leg and to neuter him.

I'm terrified that something is going to happen to him. The girls adore him, he's like their therapy dog. He's one of the reasons that they are so comfortable with all the recent changes. So far things are going okay. He's holding his own for now. He's a bit more sleepy than normal, but I expected that. He's had a steroid shot that will last for approximately 5 days, he's on antibiotics for a kidney issue (arsenic can do a number on the kidneys and cause infection), he's on an oral steroid (Prednisone), he's on two pain killers (Tramadol and something else) since it was a deep tissue injection. Poor baby also has a section of his fur/hair that had to be shaved where they gave him the injection. He also has a bandage on one of his legs from his IV. Poor baby was so glad to see me come in the door when I arrived to pick him up. He has to have another treatment (double dose over 2 days) in a month. They'll shave a patch on the opposite side and do his IV etc on the opposite side to even everything out.

I'm just glad he's home and apparently doing well so far.

UPDATE: So I just walked him (on leash) for his evening walk, gave him all his meds and fed/watered him. He was a bit thirsty, went outside, did his business and came RIGHT back inside (apparently didn't like the chill in the air). He ate the pills easily and ate a few bits of food. Isn't really hungry at all. I'm hoping he eats more tonight and that he's just not eating because of the pain from the shot and just feeling a bit under the weather. Hopefully as the pain from the shot wears off he'll feel better. Tomorrow should be the worst day and the first week is the worst. After that apparently it gets better. Then unfortunately he gets his double dose (a dose a day for two days) March 8th and 9th. Please pray for him that he comes through this and for me that I wouldn't completely stress for the next 2 months.

And Everything Changes

2012-02-07T14:57:00.002-05:00

Changes, changes. I don't know why I even both coming up with a plan, it's just going to change. The plan was, Mimi (my mother) was going to come visit on Saturday and leave on Sunday with the girls so that we could pack without lots of little ones running around under foot.

Change 1: Mimi's no longer coming. Uncle P borrowed the car (because he finally returned from his almost year long deployment with the Marine Corps and needs a car). However, he's down here in the area and has a 96 starting Friday (a 96 means 96 hours off, approximately 4 days off).

New plan: Uncle P is going to pick up the girls on Friday (2 days early) and take them up to my parents. Good luck Uncle P, especially with bathroom breaks on that nice long drive. Should be an interesting experience for Uncle P, especially when he figures out that every hour he'll have to stop for something. It'll either be bathroom break for #1, then 30 minutes later for #2, then they'll be hungry, thirsty, need their teddy bears that they dropped, books, a toy, a new movie on the DVD player etc. Better him than me. I've gotten pretty good at this, we'll have to see how he does.

That does give us about 2 - 3 extra days of organizing and packing before the movers get here. Hubby's cleaning out the grill and all the other yard equipment that has to be spotless to clear customs. I have a feeling it's going to be a long afternoon.

Gunny (our rescued dog) has his first heartworm treatment tomorrow. And I'll be going to SS to hopefully get Miss K's new SS Card.

It's all coming together finally (hopefully). Still need new base stickers for the vehicles and new ID's. One of these days I'd love to sleep in. Oh well.

Reality Check

2012-02-04T11:26:00.001-05:00

Being an adoptive parent, it has it's ups and downs. Recently we had a reality check. Not necessarily a bad reality check, just bringing me down from my high expectations down to reality. It's not a bad reality, I guess you could even say that it's still a good reality.

Background: For the last week or so I've been gathering up all of Keira's medical records, clearing her for travel through each specialist etc. After a few visits I was hearing such good news from each of them, that I allowed myself to get my hopes up that every specialist would hopefully have such good information.

1. Pediatric Infectious Disease: Has officially cleared Miss K and stopped her TB meds 2 months early. This means as of her last dosage of medication that she'll have been on TB meds in Russia for 9 months and TB meds in the US for an additional 10 months. All total she'll have been on meds consecutively for 19 months. That's a long time to put your life on hold. The first two months home she had to take these meds 7 days a week and the parents are not allowed to administer or observe them for the Direct Observation Therapy (DOT). In the state of NC they have to be administered by a nurse from the Health Department. This meant 5 days a week (Mon - Fri) we either went to the health department or the nurse came to us and administered the meds (think similar to chemo meds, just oral, not IV meds). After 2 months we were allowed to back off to 2 days a week at a triple dose (same dose she'd normally get per week, just administered over 2 days instead of 5). On the weekends when we were doing 7 days a week they would give us the meds on Friday and we were allowed to administer them on Saturday and Sunday but they wouldn't count towards the number of days she had to take the meds. So in the end she's finally done. It's a relief schedule wise with our move and also a big YAY!!! Finally done!!! Another check in the box.

2. Physical Therapy - she's doing SO much better, stronger on the left side (where she had pronounced weakness), her hips, ankles, legs, wrists, back, spine, arms etc and balance are all SO much stronger than they were 6 months ago at the last evaluation that we've been released. We still have to continue the at home PT program overseen by a PT specialists, but we don't have to go in to the PT anymore. We'll have her evaluated every 6 months by a PT specialist and they'll amend/adapt her at home program, but it means no more PT twice a week.

3. Orthopedic Surgeon - we still have to see him but after the last set of x-rays everything is looking good, stable etc and he'll monitor her every 6 months (we still have to find a new OS in Hawaii when we arrive and have spinal x-rays done.

4. Occupational Therapy - here is where the reality check set in. I was so hoping (having seen her improvement) that they would clear us as well. Quite the opposite. We've been transferred to OT in Hawaii but we need to maintain at a minimum OT twice a week (we've been doing maybe half of that due to current scheduling issues). In addition to that, concepts that Miss K has learned/overcome in the last 6 months, after missing 2 appointments in the last 2 weeks, she had regressed and completely forgot as of this past appointment. It's a difficult reality. Concepts that she's known for months, maybe years, that if not reviewed daily/weekly she forgets and has no idea that she's already learned them. In certain areas she's regressed to a 2 or 3 year old level. Things like say - drawing a person. If you ask a 2 or 3 year old to draw a person they'll draw a big circle for the head, they'll probably draw eyes, maybe a nose and hair. The difference between this age and say 5 and 6 years old is (among other things) the placement of legs and arms. Most 2 - 3 year olds, if they draw arms and legs they'll come directly out of the head without drawing a body. Miss K (now at age 6) has been working on this with help from the OT specialists among other things. At 6 years old she's been working on learning basic colors, numbers, letters etc. Things that most children start learning at the age of 3 or 4. At 6 years old she still has difficulty with basic counting, letter or number recognition. This is something that we've been working on at home and she's come so far. She's been working on numbers and letters since mid Aug when she didn't know any of them. We've started just with Capital letters (adding in lower case was to confusing for her, we'll start adding that in again once she can solidly remember all her upper case letters). She's come so far and can now recognize approximately 3/4rs of the alphabet (in upper case). However, if you go from asking her to find a certain letter (which she can do) and switch to point to a letter and asking her to name it she'll completely blank. One minute she recognize a letter (that she's known for oh say 6 months or more) and if you turn around 5 minutes later she may have no idea what that letter is. I guess I had built up my expectations and was hoping for more. Hoping for more improvement. She's come so far from not recognizing any letters, numbers, colors, shapes in English or in Russian. She recognizes so many of them. She IS learning. That fact gives me hope. I guess I just need to be a little bit more realistic about how quickly she's going to learn. One thing I DO need to do is ensure that she is working on this every week. She loves doing "schoolwork" and gets excited about it. That's a definite positive. Part of this is my fault. With everything going on with this move, sometimes our schedule gets thrown off, sometime we miss a scheduled class time at home. Sometimes we don't review concepts every single day that way we need to. The therapist even said that at this point that she needs to review on the weekends. This is the only way to ensure that she remembers all of it and continues to remember it. If we forget, then she loses major ground and we have to play catch up again. She can't afford a set back. This just means we need to take our class room work with us no matter where we go during this move and make it a priority even with everything that's going on. It'll be difficult, but not impossible. All of this (in case you are wondering) is a result of the alcohol that her biological mother chose to drink during her pregnancy. It wasn't a lot (during this pregnancy) and I know she probably drank more with her next pregnancy (due to that child's medical needs and FAS markers). For those of you who are thinking about getting pregnant and wondering if there is any safe amount of alcohol that you can drink during the pregnancy? Gift your child with the gift of health. It's 9 months, it's not a lifetime. Don't drink and guarantee that your child won't be burdened with issues relating to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome because you wanted a drink one night. You child will pay for your decision for the rest of their life. They shouldn't have to pay for your bad decisions.

So the end result? I'm okay. It's not a bad reality check, but it is a necessary one. I guess I'm more hurt for Miss K and fighting the feeling that I've let her down. I let this slip with everything going on. I need to look at everything that's going on and everything we need to do and prioritize. Please pray as Miss K and Miss A will both be going to my parents in about a week. We don't want them here when everything is getting packed up by the movers. Even though they are okay with the move, we're not sure how emotionally they would handle seeing all their stuff getting packed up. So they'll go have some fun with Mimi and get to see both sets of grandparents and some of their great grandparents. Hopefully Mimi can keep up some of the schooling in the middle of all the other fun that they'll be doing.

Pictures from the Ryazan Region of Russia

2012-01-30T14:23:00.000-05:00

I have so many thousands of beautiful photos of Russia that I've never had time to share. So my goal is to post 1 or 2 photos each day from Russia!! Eventually this will also show photos of our family here at home, in Hawaii and wherever else the Marine Corps happens to take us!!

This old castle is located south of the City of Ryazan in the Ryazan Region. This castle has been re-purposed as a Pediatric Facility for Children (both orphaned and non orphaned alike). Here they recover from surgery and receive post surgical therapy and other treatments. They have a horse drawn cart to take the children out and about on the grounds of the castle. They also have a lake where the children can swim and do aqua therapy during the summer. They have specialists is everything from Physical and Occupational Therapy to Aquatic Therapy, Electro-stimulation therapy used with children who have spinal injuries (to stimulate nerve re-growth and development) and also offer music and art therapy.

Moving, a Tornado Hit!!!

2012-01-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

The living room looks like a tornado hit. We spent the morning with me on the computer calling out item after item from hubby's inventory and gear list for CIF (pronounced sif). He has to turn in all his gear this week. Can you imagine after 8 years in one place and almost 4 years with this unit how much gear he has acquired that has been stored in our house for when he needs it?

For those of you who are military families you'll understand this. Out house literally looks like he's about to deploy. We have military duffle bags and packs piled in a mountain in the living room. Each one has a specific list of items that are in it. 2 bags go to CIF/SIF, 3 bag will go with TMO (Traffic Management Office) when they ship our HHG's (House Hold Goods), 2 bags will go with him when he flies out. Just hope they get our HHG's to Hawaii before he has to deploy again as he'll need all that gear.

On top of that I'm making 4 pies (2 pumpkin, 2 cherry) today. Why? Because we can't ship certain food items including cans of pumpkin and cherry or frozen pie shells. So we're baking. Pies, cookies, a frozen turkey we forgot we had when I made ham instead for Christmas. Deep freezer MUST be empty by the end of the week and defrosted. Uggh.

This afternoon we have to pull all the suitcases out of the attic, figure out who gets what and start packing them. The end of the week my Father will drive down with more suitcases and stuff for us to pack with. The kids suitcases have to be packed early so they can get sent with my Mother when she drives down to collect the kids in 2 weeks. Everything that's going on the plane with them must leave. Hubby's suitcases and gear that he's flying with must go in his truck and get packed for the drive up to VA to visit family and then fly out. His truck will be shipped from Baltimore (the closest military port) while he's up there (2 birds with 1 stone).

My suitcases, dogs, dog kennels etc will stay with me along with my survival kit (1 small box kitchen supplies, 1 towel, 1 pillow, 1 blanket, 1 sheet) along with 1 borrowed queen sized air mattress (for me) and 1 pack and play (for M). My survival kit has to be small enough to fit in MY vehicle after all upgrades and repairs are done on the house and the house is sold. Along with 2 dogs, 2 dog kennels, 1 child, 1 safety seat, my suitcases and M's suitcases, my survival kit plus anything else that didn't get packed.

Am I stressed? Not quite. Spent 3 days pretty much flat on my back sick with something. Today is my first day up on my feet. I figure, I'll take it one day at a time and go from there. I keep going over everything that has to get packed. I just don't see how we're going to maneuver 3 airports with 3 children, 2 dogs, 2 adults and 3 suitcases per person. (Minus 1 for both the girls as we're shipping their car seats as luggage).

My mantra? I will survive, and I will overcome. 4 pies. I must be crazy.

Long Overdue Post

2012-01-24T18:43:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't been good about posting posting on the blog. We've been crazy busy in the past few weeks. Not only are we preparing to move, we've signed with a realtor and the house is listed on the market, we're organizing everything and preparing for the movers to come in a few weeks, we have a post placement report due shortly so our social worker is working on that.

We've also been dealing with sickness. It seems as soon as the sick person finally is healthy again someone else is sick. Finally everyone was well and now Miss K is down with an infection and off to see the doctor tomorrow and I have a sinus infection that will also be heading to the doctor's tomorrow.

I've recently become involved in assisting adoptive families. One of my talents it seems is helping fine inexpensive international and domestic airfare for Russian adoptions and good hotels that are also inexpensive but offer comfortable beds, Wi-Fi and a free hot Russian breakfast. If you are a family that is starting the adoption process or in the middle of it and would like help saving some money on airfare or hotels, feel free to contact me or leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you. Didn't know I was good at it until one of the travel agents who typically does my airfare commented that I was undercutting the lowest price he could get by hundreds. Suffice it to say we booked that flight ASAP.

I'll be posting more shortly. Right now life is just a bit crazy at the moment. I hope everyone is doing well.

Congratulations Mama of 3!!!! You've WON!!!!

2012-01-09T16:02:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Mama of 3 you're our new winner of the hair bows and hair bow holder!!!! Please email me at Rebecca.L.Johnson@hotmail.com so I can have your package shipped to you!!!!

In other news, it's a dreary rainy day here in NC. We're not getting the beautiful snow that Virginia is getting and we're not getting a warm rain like SC, GA and FL are getting. It's a cold dreary rain and I know my hubby is out in it administering Gunner's Exams to his current class.

However, even though it's a dreary day the rest of us are warm inside and having fun. The girls are playing quietly with dolls, the dogs are quietly sleeping and I have been doing research on textbook and curriculum recommendations for Kindergarten. After reviewing the Kindergarten program in Hawaii (which by the way has some of the lowest standards in the nation), we've made the decision to work privately with tutors and other instructors to home school the girls. They'll both be enrolled in Kindergarten this year. School in Hawaii supposedly goes year round (even though they actually attend school fewer days than in any other state in the US). I never realized that there were so many different curriculum's available for use in home schooling. I guess that's a good thing.

So far their course load looks like this:

In Russian: (with a private instructor other than Mom)
---Russian alphabet
---Russian phonics
---Russian reading
---Russian writing
---Russian math (basic math for Kindergarten just taught in Russian)

In Russian: (taught by Mommy)
---Russian music
---Russian history/culture/food

In English: (taught by Mommy and private instructors
---Phonics
---Reading
---Writing
---Mathematics
---Geography
---International Culture and World Studies
---Music (both girls will be studying piano)
---Dance (both girls will be enrolled in a ballet program)
---PE (not sure exactly what we're going to do as Miss K can't do much PE due to her special needs)
---History (US History basics)
---Religion (both ours and Russia's since their a Russian Orthodox Church on the island)

We're still adding to it. This isn't the final listing. Suffice it to say Mama is going to be busy for a while. In Hawaii school goes from August 1st through May 24th. They have a 2 month summer break, they get a nice fall break, winter break over Christmas and New Years and a spring break. Supposedly this is year round. The only difference I see is that they start 3 weeks earlier than in the rest of the US and they end earlier than the rest of the US (which ends mid June). With all the other breaks they get they end up getting more days off than any other public school children in other states. Unfortunately also their standards are a lot lower and we really don't want to have the children held back a year when we get transferred back. A lot of children who did well in the Hawaii schools, came back to the mainland to find out that they were about a year behind the other US schools. As Miss K is already one year behind due to her adoption, we prefer to keep her ahead of the other children in the Hawaiian schools. It was a difficult decision to make but we feel that we made the best decision possible for our children. Miss A is already ahead for her age and wouldn't be allowed to attend school for another year in Hawaii anyways, this way we can start her early and hopefully she'll be a year ahead (if she's ready for it) when we get back.

С Рождеством Христовым!!!!

2012-01-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

С Рождеством Христовым!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!! Today is the Russian Orthodox Christmas in Russia, and many other Eastern European countries!!!!

We'll be celebrating with a white table cloth and many traditional Russian dishes typically served for Christmas!!!! The one different dish that we'll be serving that is not specifically made for Christmas day is one of our favorites.....pelmini!!!!! I fell in love with Pelmini in the region of Perm in it's capitol city (also called Perm). They have the most amazing little restaurant. It's across the street from the Ural Hotel to the left of the Sper Bank. You go down some steps (so that you're underground to a point) and in this little door in the wall). It's a special restaurant that specializes in Pelmini and they must serve around 50 or more different kinds of pelmini. From mushroom and other vegetarian only versions to tender chicken, veal, pork and beef and more!!!! It's AMAZING!!!! They also have some amazing places to go, skiing, the ice caves and more to go see!!! During the summer the weather is gorgeous there!!!! The food, well let's just say don't go to the European or typical American restaurants (yes there are some). If you're absolutely craving European or American food you can find fried chicken, pizza, Chinese, Italian, German and more. I have to admit, the European restaurants that I went to there were SO much better than the European restaurants in the USA. In the USA they have these fake European restaurants that "attempt" to do actual European food (Italian, German, French etc). But they make them different, almost like an American version of that food which is never quite as good as the actual food in Europe. However, I had some of the best Chinese (they do lots of sushi as well), German, Italian etc while in Russia. However, if you're travelling in Russia I highly recommend that you go to Russian restaurants. The food is amazing!!!!! You'll love it!!!! Also, if you're staying in a hotel and don't want to go out to restaurants every day, go around the corner to the closest neighborhood grocery store. Russian specializes in healthy, organic food and drink. Their juices are AMAZING!!!! They are so good, all organic, all healthy. You can get some amazing apple juice, tomato juice and more. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available as well as pre-made foods that all you have to do is warm them up. You can also pick up fresh bread, butter, ham or turkey, cheese, apples, bananas and more. I went around the corner to a bread store to pick up fresh bread every couple days (SO much better than American bread). The corner market will have cereal (kashi in Russian, and does not mean just one specific kind of cereal like in the US, it means cereal period), they'll also have yoghurt with kashi on top that you can mix in, bottled water, snacks and more. You don't have to speak much Russian to communicate and tell them what you want. If you know your basic numbers, polite phrases (please, thank you etc) you can point at what you want, tell them how many you want and say please and thank you. Most of the time they'll understand that you don't speak much Russian and will show you how much you owe or write it down.

I also recommend staying at a Russian hotel vs a European name brand. The food is better (especially breakfast) and more authentic, and you'll get a feeling for the country. Also a LOT less expensive. If you want the European experience then go to Italy, France or Germany and stay in a European hotel there. Just as inexpensive (since you're in the country that hotel name brand came from) and you'll get an authentic European breakfast (which is delicious).

I also recommend (if you're travelling to Russia on vacation) that you fly into and out of the Domodedovo International Airport just south of Moscow. Not only is it more up to date (compared to the Sheremetyevo International Airport) but everything is in one location, one terminal without having to take a taxi to a different terminal. The signs are in both Russian and English. There are a LOT of restaurants, stores, banks and more at the airport. You can pull out US dollars or rubles from the ATMS there and as long as you notify the bank ahead of time (your bank) you'll be able to use your debit card/ATM card in the airport at the ATM's. I recommend exchanging money at the large bank upstairs and not at one of the exchange centers. You'll get a MUCH better exchange rate.

If you arrive at the Domodedovo International Airport, go through customs, pick up your bags, go through security, (ignore the taxi drivers talking to you and just tell them Nyet if they ask you if you need a taxi). Once you get through the gaggle of taxi drivers go to the left. If you DO need a taxi there will be a taxi stand where you can order an "official" taxi. (Pazhaoosta, poe angleeskee?) Please, speak English? If they don't they'll ask you to wait one minute and they'll get their worker that does. They'll arrange for an official taxi that is legal and safe. They also have child safety seats behind the counter that they'll hand to the taxi driver if you're travelling with children and it's VERY inexpensive. So much so that I recommend NOT staying in downtown Moscow but staying in a less expensive hotel on the outskirts of Moscow and just paying for a taxi to take you downtown for touring (or take the free transport from the hotel to the closest metro/train/bus, they'll pick you up from there as well and take you back to the hotel for free). If you need to take a connecting flight (domestic or international) once you get past the taxis walk past the taxi stand to the left (still inside the airport). You'll walk about 100 yards and you'll get to the check in counters. Each airline has their own set, you just have to find the right airline. If you look at the monitors up above your head in the walkway you'll see the flight departures flashing in alphabetical order. They'll alternate between Russian and English so just wait for the English one to flash up and find your flight. It'll tell you which check in desk you need to go to and if the flight is on time, what gate it's leaving from and which terminal (all terminals are connected and you can walk to them easily, they aren't that far apart). If you're catching a domestic flight all flights will leave from the right side of the airport (Terminals 1 and 2 if I remember correctly, there is one on the first floor and one on the second floor. The food is better in the domestic terminals and authentic Russian and the stores are better). If you're catching an international flight all flights will depart from the left side of the airport (Terminals 3 and 4, 2 different levels). After you check in for your flight and check your baggage go straight back to security if you're going domestic. If you're going international go upstairs where the restaurants are and head to the back of the terminal. When you get past the restaurants and stores and see the windows overlooking the flightline turn left. All the way down on the left you'll see security and customs. FYI - once you get through security and customs you can't come back through so I recommend eating, using the internet, rest rooms and hot showers before going through. The stores and restaurants on the other side are very international. Personally I don't think the food is as good. The stores are what you'd find in any international airport. honestly I'd prefer the Russian cafe's, stores etc that you find in the domestic terminal. If you absolutely MUST have American food, there are 2 Sparro's Pizza and a Subway at Domodedovo as well as some American brand ice cream place. There's also a great little toy store there as well, a great little Indian restaurant or two and more. They have a GREAT little internet cafe that's inexpensive (if you want to let everyone know you made it to Moscow, or need to shoot off an email or two, that's where to do it). The clothing stores and purse stores are VERY expensive. Whatever you do DON'T stay at the Air Hotel. I know everyone recommends it because it's less than a block from the hotel and they speak English. It's SO expensive. I have names of a few hotels within 20 minutes of the airport, great breakfast, great service, maybe a third the cost of the air hotel. I paid maybe $50 a night (and that was a last minute reservation) and included a hot continental breakfast with LOTS of fresh fruit, eggs,cereal, different kinds of bread with butter, jelly and more, pancakes and a LOT of other options both European and Russian. Very inexpensive, friendly, large rooms, English speaking people at the front desk and a computer lounge. They also offer free WiFi in the hotel room if you bring your laptop and Skype works great (from both here and at the hotels we stayed at in Perm and the other regions we visited as well).

If you're flying domestically I recommend flying S7 (Siberian Airlines). It's inexpensive, the service is good, pilots are GREAT, smooth landings even on ice and snow and in stormy weather, food is GREAT, and the flight attendants are friendly as well. If you're flying from Russia back to the US I recommend going from Domodedovo to Frankfurt Germany on Lufthansa (again, great food, great service, friendly, great pilots etc) nothing like the different airlines we have in the US. There is a connecting United flight (or you can also fly Lufthansa) from Frankfurt to Washington Dulles International. Customs is very fast if you're a US citizen and it's a great airport. You can connect to wherever you need to go from there. United also has a direct flight 2 or maybe 3 times a week (possibly more) from Domodedovo to Washington Dulles (11 hours from Moscow to Washington, 10 hours from Washington to Moscow). It's a great flight, we take it whenever we're flying to and from Russia. We've also taken the connector out of Frankfurt to take 2 shorter flights instead of one long one. It's about 8 hours from the US to Frankfurt and then another 2 - 3 hours from Frankfurt to Moscow. The return flight is slightly longer, but sometimes it's nice to not be flying non stop 11 hours.

Take a laptop. I know some people don't recommend it, but most hotels will charge to use their computer/internet room but will offer free WiFi in the hotel rooms. Don't take a brand new one, take one you don't mind getting damaged (in case it gets dinged around in the suitcase). Take a set of headphones with a mic and speaker on them and download Skype. We spoke with everyone back in the US pretty much for free the entire time we were visiting Russia. It was GREAT!!! It was also a life saver. When an ice storm hit Moscow and our flight couldn't get to us in Perm to pick us up I was able to get WiFi at the airport cafe in Perm, called United, had them re-book us on a German flight that was leaving in 2 - 3 hours when our flights were all cancelled out of Perm and Moscow and was able to catch our original connecting flight in Frankfurt when everyone else was grounded in Moscow or Perm. Ordered a Pepsi, ordered some pelmini, a coffee for hubby, broke out the laptop, put on the headphones and called United. If I hadn't had that with me we would have been stuck in Perm for probably another 2 - 3 days until the flight was able to get to us from Moscow.

50% off first order from WittleBee

2012-01-06T22:10:00.001-05:00

This link is good for approximately 2 more days and is good for 50% off your first order from WittleBee.

http://www .curebit.com/x/8wlER

Angie - I need to hear back from you in the next 48 hours or I'll have to draw for another winner for the Free Hair Bows and Hair Bow holder!!! Please leave a comment so I can get in touch with you.

Children's Clothing Recommendation

2012-01-06T13:50:00.000-05:00

I know in the past I've recommended ThredUp as a great place to get used/second hand clothing for children for extremely cheap. Now I've found an option for inexpensive brand new (with tags) children's clothing also extremely cheap for brand name clothing.

Check out: Wittlebee!!!!! Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/wittlebee

Here is their main website as well: http://wittlebee.com/

A number of Mommies that I know have recently tried this out. There are links floating around for 50% off your first order. You don't have to order every month and each month you can change from boys to girls clothing, size, color selection everything!!!! You don't have to stick with one size or one child (as in girls size 7). If you have multiple children and need a lot of basics this is the perfect place to go!!!

They have a lot of the basics: socks, shorts, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, tights, onsies and more. You can tell them each month exactly what you're short on or what you need and they'll ship it out. Shipping it absolutely FREE!!! There's nothing to pay for shipping ever!!!! It's included in the cost. They have 3 different packages to choose from. Typically this is an order one box per month type thing. However, if you have a month where you just don't need any clothes that month, or your child isn't running low on anything or hasn't outgrown what you already have, you just let your stylist know and you skip that month, or multiple months in a row. There is NO CONTRACT!!!! You order a box when you need a box!!!

As soon as my friends post their link for the 50% off I'll link to it here. I'll be ordering from them towards the end of the month and will let you know what I think as soon as I get my first box. Now, even though I mentioned that they have a lot of the basics, they also have other items. It's going to depend on what they have in stock and available. If you need pants, a coat, long sleeve shirt etc you can let them know and they'll see what they can find. You can also give them color preferences etc!!!

Check it out, let me know what you think!!! I'm going to be joining and I make a point of only recommending things that I use myself!!!

Winner #2 - ANGIE!!!!

2012-01-04T11:59:00.002-05:00

Angie - you are the lucky winner of the free Hair Bow and Hair Bow Holder from Sweet Berries Boutique!!!! Please comment on this post or email me at Rebecca.L.Johnson@hotmail.com so I can get your information, find out what you want and where to send it!!!!

Congratulations!!!!!

For everyone else check out Sweet Berries Boutique on Facebook (link on earlier posting) and stay tuned!!! We're working out something so that anyone who ordered something from Sweet Berries Boutique either receives a discount or free bows!!!! So stay tuned for more information!!!

Giveaway #3 coming soon!!! I have so many things to giveaway I have to decide what to give away next!!!! So many decisions to make!!!

С Новым Годом 2012!!

2012-01-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

С Новым Годом 2012!!

Happy New Year 2012!!

To all my family, friends and readers, may you all have a very blessed New Year 2012!!!! Giveaway #2 has officially ended but as I am suffering from pure exhaustion I will not be announcing the winner until later on tomorrow. (Or Monday depending on how hectic tomorrow is).

Giveaway #3 will be starting shortly. I haven't decided what to select out of my bag of surprises to giveaway next!!! We'll just have to wait and see!!

This new year promises to be just as hectic/frantic/busy/complicated (I could go on and on) as last year. We're in the middle of a move that will take us all overseas to the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. It means shipping multiple vehicles (and trying to figure out whether we want to live without vehicles on this end of the move or in Hawaii after we arrive (or both). It means figuring out exactly what we need to survive (and what we can share, giveaway, donate, sell, or just outright throw away).

We will ~~probably~~, ~~almost definitely~~, most likely face a deployment in the upcoming year. This will be the first time our children will have to deal with a deployment. Honestly I'm not sure how they'll react. Hopefully we will get a good amount of family time together this summer in Hawaii. From the sounds of it, standard operating procedure is to send all the *Specialists* off to another location to train together for a few months with the rest of the unit joining them for the last couple months. This will give the unit an opportunity to bond, learn to work together (especially with anyone new who has recently joined the unit). It's a time for them to get to know each other, learn each other's strengths and weaknesses and how to protect each other's backs when in combat. It's a time to refresh on tactics, training, readiness, logistics and more. It's a great thing for the unit.....for family time not so much. I'm glad we've had an opportunity since this summer to spend quality family time together. From here on out it MAY (not guaranteed like in the past) be yearly deployments, long months of preparation training away from the family and a lot of time spent apart. We'll get used to it, this is normal when you're a Marine Corps Family. However, in the past it was just the 2 of us, no kids, no stress, just each other. Now we have children who may or may not be as understanding about deployments. Not only is the upcoming year going to be challenging, the next FEW years are going to be challenging/difficult/stressful.

For some reason I was hoping that this year we could slow down, relax, take some time to enjoy life and spend time together as a family. I know that's not going to happen, but I'm still hoping that even with the hectic pace of life we will still remember to take time to enjoy each other's company, to enjoy time with our kids, friends, family etc. and to enjoy everything going on around us.

Now I'm off to bed so I can get up early and make breakfast for my husband who has been on duty for the past 15 hours and by 9am this morning will have stood duty for 24 - 25 hours, will be exhausted and hungry and will arrive home famished ready to inhale food and crash in bed to sleep for a few hours. My mother arrives in the evening and take the girls for a visit to their great grandparents for the week. This week at least promises (after Monday morning) to slow down somewhat and give us some time to get organized, get things accomplished without the girls needing our attention or distracting us. I refuse to even look at my list of things to do until Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. For now I'm going to go sleep and then relax for a day or two and get as much accomplished this week as possible while the girls are off on vacation with their grandmother.

International Television Options for Adopted or Int'l Kids

2011-12-30T12:13:00.001-05:00

Here's another recommendation if you're looking to maintain your child's Russian language, or help expose them to their heritage, culture etc. We just (today) added Dish Networks International Russian Programming. There are two choices, you can choose to get one channel (pretty cheap but it's not one that offers children's programs) or you can go for the Russian Mega Pack. It's 11 Russian TV channels including 1 specifically for music, 2 that have children's programming at different points throughout the day, a couple news channels, a couple European News Channels (1 is done in English the other does a mix of English and Russian depending on the time of day) and 1 that is specifically comedy. It's like being back in the Russian hotel and watching TV.

It's $24.99 a month (which is NOT bad for 11 channels in Russian). There's a 1 time installation fee of the international satellite (you can either have 2 small satellites on your room or there's a satellite that does both regular programming and the international). We already had a High Def Satellite installed and they just upgraded us to one that is still High Def but also does International).

The link is: http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/Russian/default.aspx?Region=european&lang=Russian

You can scroll over each Russian channel listed on the right and it will tell you what kind of programming it has. Both of our girls were glued to it. Their favorite one so far is the Russian Music Station (we're talking actual Russian music, not anything like MTV type music, we're talking original Russian music).

They were able to come out a day after I ordered it pretty much (ordered it Wednesday night late and they came out to our house first thing this morning (Friday) and they were here by 8am).

They also offer this kind of programming for other countries like China. I recommend the China Great Wall Program. It offers 23 channels for $22.99. The next step down is the China Elite which offers only 6 channels for $19.99. For $3 more you get almost 4 times the number of channels. With the Elite package you're only getting 1 channel that actually has children's programming. With the Great Wall Package there are a LOT more channels that offer children's programming throughout the day. There's also one channel that looks REALLY interesting that has acrobatics, dance and music.

The link is: http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/Chinese/default.aspx?Region=eastasia&lang=Chinese

If you've adopted from Ethiopia or other African countries I recommend bypassing the African package (since most of it is in French anyways) and going with the European French Bouquet package for $19.99. You'll still get the African Entertainment channel but you'll also get a lot of other channels as well. They do offer an African package but it's nothing like the other packages and doesn't offer many channels. The one interesting channel in the African Package that you don't get with the French package is the African Music Channel that has music videos from African music artists.

The link to the African package is: http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/african/default.aspx?Region=africa&lang=Pan-African

The link to the French package is: http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/French/default.aspx?Region=european&lang=French

There are also other International Packages available at a very reasonable price for countries like Italy, Germany, Greece etc that are great for anyone who has studied a foreign language and wants to immerse themselves more in the language while still here in the US. There are also a number of online radio stations that are free that play directly from these countries as well. I'll do another post on those specific to adopted children or children whose parents are here from those countries for work etc who would like their children to maintain their native language while learning English.

Don't Forget....Giveaway #2

2011-12-27T20:42:00.001-05:00

Only 4 more days for Giveaway #2!!!! I know there are more Mommies, Aunties, Grandmothers out there who would love to have some of these gorgeous bows for their little girls!!!!

And look for Giveaway #3 coming the beginning of January!!! A free DVD from Little Pim (language of the winner's choice)!!!!! http://www.littlepim.com/

We Made it Through the US Christmas!!!

2011-12-26T01:57:00.002-05:00

We've made it through Christmas #1 here in the US!!!! Of course now there is the Russian Orthodox Christmas on the 7th of January, then Miss K's birthday (within days of the Russian Christmas) and Miss A's birthday is also coming up in March. I think we've decided that due to so many birthdays coming up we're going to not do presents on the 7th of January, but instead do a special Russian meal together with some of Miss K's favorite Russian foods.

Then we'll celebrate both girls' birthdays together the middle of February. On the upside of this, Mommy forgot two bags of Christmas presents out in the back of the car last night so we're already starting to collect birthday presents. We have a few more we need to order (new, larger, big girl beds in Hawaii when we move so) the girls get brand new bedding of their choice....Miss A = Tinker Bell (Disney) and Miss K = Princess (Disney). I also have my eye on some dolls that I'm thinking of getting for the girls (I know, they have so many dolls, a Russian doll, US Barbie Dolls, stuffed animals). I'm thinking they need a US doll though.

The girls received lots of educational toys today including lots of good books, and each girl received a My First Story Time Book. Everything they received (other than doll or kitchen stuff) was approved by Miss K's Occupational Therapist. Everything they received today was geared towards helping them read, write, count.....learn!!!! It's one of the tricks that all OT and PT specialists learn right at the beginning, if the children think they're playing when they're learning then they'll be more excited and will learn that much faster.

The Christmas feast is done with leftovers that will probably last us all week. The disaster from presents is still somewhat present. I think we'll deal with it tomorrow. For now I'm off to bed. Hubby has the next two days off, then a few days of checking in at work but not really having to work, then duty over New Years Eve - New Years Day (better than over Christmas) and then another 2 - 3 days off. Then one more month and he's done here. We have a post placement visit scheduled for the beginning of January, need to get the report done, notarized, apostilled and off to the facilitator out of state along with a check to cover the shipping to Russia, Russian translation, Russian notary, shipping to region and turning it in. Hundreds of photos to go through to get it down to 10 that we submit. Does anyone else have this much trouble with finding those 10!! I wish I could send 100's!!! Oh well, the down side to being into photography and taking so many pictures!!! But that's a worry for another day. A few more things to get done around the house, finish organizing the garage, finish packing those last few boxes, locate all the suitcases, pack suitcases so we know what fits and what doesn't. Get on the housing list in Hawaii, go to the closest large town with a Social Security office and apply for Miss K's passport since it still hasn't arrived (checked the box on the Immigration forms to have it sent directly to us and still haven't received it). Uggh. Then off to get ID's for the kids (so they can fly to Hawaii), get Miss K enrolled in a couple on base programs, figure out logistics for teaching both girls Russian (next language on my list is Italian in two years once they are solid in Russian). Must find the piano music books that I need before we pack up and leave so I can start teaching the girls piano and giving them piano lessons. Why oh why did I think that things would calm down once Christmas and New Years passed. Oh well.

As we go on our travels look for more giveaways, maybe one from Virginia/DC/Maryland as we visit family and friends there on our way to Hawaii, something small from whatever state we have our layover in. And then something from Hawaii itself once we arrive!!!

For now, our current giveaway is a bunch of adorable girl hair bows and ribbons and a bow holder from Sweet Berries Boutique where I purchase all the girls hair bows. It's the only place I go. Check out her website (scroll down and read earlier post) and then comment on any recent post (trust me I'll see it) and you're entered to win. Winner pays nothing. I pay for the bows, bow holder and shipping. All you have to do is tell me which bows are your favorite and what color you'd like if you win!!!! Good luck!!!! Will post some pictures of the girls soon wearing some of the hair bows over Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas / Buon Natale

2011-12-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

To all my military families, adoptive families and international families from our family to your family we wish you a wonderfully blessed Christmas!!!

We're so thrilled to finally have our daughter home with us and getting to celebrate her first Christmas home with our family!!!! I don't think she really "gets" it. She sees the presents and sees the stockings, but until tomorrow I don't think she'll get it until she opens her presents tomorrow.

The girls are having a wonderful time with the gingerbread house kits, ginger bread cookies, sugar cookies, candy canes, and their favorite breakfast....cinnamon buns. Tomorrow she'll get to experience my husbands favorite Christmas breakfast: Cinnamon buns, eggs, maple syrup sausage links and fresh orange juice!!

Then tomorrow afternoon is the Christmas feast: Whole ham with a brown sugar glaze, green bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup and crunchy onion topping, sweet potato casserole with a brown sugar glaze and marshmallow topping, turkey stuffing, mashed potatoes, sausage mashed potatoes, gravy and more followed by 3 different kinds of desserts. The rest of the year we eat healthy so we can feast over Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!

I can't wait to see the look on the girls faces tomorrow when they open their gifts!!! They've been feeling the toes of the stockings hung up on the fireplace mantle. (Hung high enough all they can reach is the toe of the stocking). They can see (and feel) that they are stuffed full. I'm not sure how much Miss A remembers from last year (she was at my parents while we were in Russia with Miss K). She remembers her grandfather (Dobi) bringing home the Christmas Tree and decorating it with Mimi. I'm pretty sure she remembers the presents as well. She woke up from her nap today and stood looking at the presents under the Christmas Tree and told me because they were wrapped in blue paper that they were for a boy, not for her or for Miss K. I hate to break it to her, but some of the blue wrapped ones are indeed for her and Miss K. She's reached an age when she's very certain about EVERYTHING around her.

So for now we kick back and relax and enjoy our Christmas together. With everything going on and hubby's deployments and Marine Corps schedule (and our adoption) this is the first year that we will finally all be together (where hubby is not deployed or standing duty). Next year we're pretty sure hubby will be deployed with the new unit we're moving to (still no specific dates that we've heard yet, but the way deployments work we're pretty sure that by the end of next year the unit will deploy again). This is the reality of being a military family. You learn to cherish the moments you have together, make lots of good memories (take lots of photos and video) and when the deployments inevitably come around, you pull together as a military community and help each other through each deployment.

This year we have so much to be thankful for. We're thankful for family, for time together, time that we can spend as a family without the stress or separation of a deployment. We are so thankful that this year we can spend Christmas together as a family. We are especially thankful this year for our new family in Italy, Miss K's two brothers and their parents who are now family to us!! They have a special place in our hearts this year!!! We are so thankful that they found us and that they are so excited to be part of our extended family and thank Miss K is now able to be a part of her brothers' lives again. And this year our hearts and prayers especially go out to each and every military family out there who has a loved one deployed or on duty, and to our police, fire and rescue who also stand duty this night. We pray for safety, we pray for peace and a safe return for all of our military men and women who are deployed.

NEW SCRAP BOOKING WINNER

2011-12-23T13:26:00.002-05:00

Since "Kevin" didn't email or comment in over 48 hours, we drew another winner today using Random.org.

And our new winner is..............

ERINBEAR7!!!!

Congratulations ERINBEAR7!!!!! Please email me or post a comment here so I can get your new Scrap booking software to you ASAP!!!! Hope you have SO much fun doing online scrap booking!!!

For everyone who didn't win here is a code where you can get a total of $20 off from the website. It's $10 off the My Memories Suite V3 software, and the software comes with $10 off anything ordered from the store including paper packs etc. The code is good for the My Memories Suite V3.

The code is: STMMMS73046

The link to the website is: http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software

And here's the deal, right now they are discounting this software and giving you 15% off automatically. Since I already have the software I'm not ordering it again, but I'm assuming if you purchase it for the discounted price of $33.97 and then use the code above for an additional $10 off you "should" (making an assumption here) be able to get this software for $23.97 and it should give you (from what they're telling me) $10 in free stuff from the store (since the software comes with a coupon code). Then you can go and purchase your favorite paper packs for free. (The paper packs that are my favorite are $4.99 meaning for that $10 I can purchase 2 paper packs for free. What a deal!!!!

I'm loving this!!!! And to top it off, here's a link to FREE Digital Scrap booking kits from the same company.

http://www.mymemories.com/store/free_digital_scrapbooking_kits

AND, as if this wasn't enough, they have some paper sets as cheap as $0.89!!! Check out the website and have fun scrap booking!!! And PLEASE, if you end up ordering and making stuff (calendars, memory books, photo albums etc) Please Please Please post a comment and let me know. I'd love to show some of the stuff that you all make!!!! I'd even be willing to showcase each persons work and the stuff they put together in your very own blog post!!!!

Have fun scrap booking!!!!! Please let me know if you end up ordering the software and if you like it. And there are other more expensive software packages, I just prefer to highlight one that is a better bargain!!

Giveaway #2, AWESOME Hair Ribbons from Sweet Berries Boutique

2011-12-21T16:57:00.002-05:00

Sooooo, just to give you all a little teaser of what's in store for giveaway number 2.......here's a link to some of the hair ribbons that this person makes!!!! I order ALL my girls hair ribbons from her and she makes satin ribbons with rhinestones (square, circle or initial....A for Alexa, K for Keira etc). She's AMAZING!!!!

The link is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66392009@N02/sets/72157627311489365 (this is her photo website).

Her Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/SweetBerriesBoutique?sk=photos

Here's how you enter.

1. Go to her Facebook Page and "Like" her page.
2. Go to her Flickr photos and check out all of the different designs she offers (and she does special orders as well.....I ordered satin ribbons with the rhinestone sliders and satin ribbon with the girls initials), and then
3. Come back to my blog and leave a comment on this post to tell me what your favorite style, color, texture of ribbon is and what you would pick if you won!!!! I want to know what everyone's favorite is. Personally I'm torn between the corker style hair bows, the satin ones with rhinestones and some of the other ones I ordered. I've ordered patriotic red white and blue ones for my girls for the 4th of July, red white and green one for Christmas and more!!! You can order big and small. I get big ones when I want to just put one in their hair, or small ones x2 for each girl if I want to put their hair in one big pony tail and put a clip on each side. I LOVE her hair ribbons and she's SO talented!! She's also great about getting them in the mail ASAP and typically my order is already in the mail and on it's way to me within 24 hours or less and to my house less than 48 hours after she ships it!!!

These are perfect for daughters, nieces, granddaughters and more!!! Nothing to do except Like and then comment to enter this free giveaway for your special daughter, niece, granddaughter etc!!! Whoever she is, she's going to LOVE these hair bows!!!!

Whoever wins this giveaway will get to choose the color and style that they want. However, you have to tell me how many girls you have so I know how many to order!!! I need you to comment and tell me what your girls favorite colors are, if you want them to have their own individual hair ribbons or if you want matching hair ribbons and what styles are your favorite!!!

This giveaway will run for a bit longer!!! I know the last one was only 48 hours and didn't give a lot of you time to comment!!! This one will run until New Years Eve!!! On New Years Day I'll go to Random.org to pick a winner!!!!

Share this with family and friends!!!!

We Have A Winner!!!!

2011-12-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

And the lucky winner is Kevin! Kevin (or whoever posted as Kevin....wife.....daughter.....etc) please email me at Rebecca.L.Johnson@hotmail.com so I can email you with more information on your free software package. Please also (just to make sure I get the right Kevin) post a comment on this post to let me know that you know you've won!!! If I haven't heard from you in the next 24 hours then I will go back to Random.org and have them select another winner.

Congratulations Kevin!!!! For everyone else I have a code and a link that will give you $20 towards purchasing software and paper packs. I think from when I ordered that it's $10 off the software plus $10 to use at the store with paper packs. This is a REALLY great deal. They have different software packages and you can get an inexpensive software package or you can choose a more expensive one. I really hate just having one winner so everything I give away and everything I find to use for giveaways I will ALWAYS (and this is a promise) have a discount code or SOMETHING to give to everyone else.

And keep watching for information on giveaway number 2!!!! It's going to be coming up VERY soon!!!! I'll be posting pictures of some of my favorite hair ribbons and the winner gets to pick the colors, style etc!!! After the winner is chosen and tells me what they want I'll be ordering and paying for the ribbons/bows the winner chooses!!!

Reminder...Giveaway #1 ends tonight at 1am

2011-12-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

Reminder...Giveaway #1 ends tonight at 1am!! All you have to do to enter is post a comment on any of my recent posts!!! I'll be announcing tomorrow who the winner is!!! Everyone who does not win will also get something special from the scrap booking software designers. This way everyone is a winner!!!

Don't forget to comment on one of my posts to enter the giveaway and stay tuned for giveaway # 2 coming up soon!!!

Check out the software here to see what they have to offer!!!

My Memories Suite Scrapbook software

2011-12-19T00:36:00.003-05:00

Update: I've received a number of questions about how to enter. All you have to do is post a comment on THIS post. Just scroll down to the bottom of this post and click comment. If you've taken a moment to check out the My Memories Scrapbooking website, then take a second when you're commenting and let me know what you like the most about My Memories and what you'd like to do with the software.

This first giveaway will be a set of scrapbook software from My Memories Scrapbooking Software.

Check them out at: http://www.mymemories.com

It will be the My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software package valued at $80!!

This is great software, especially if like me you're a busy adoptive or military parent with very little time to actually sit down and do scrap booking, go out and buy all the supplies you need, spent time cutting everything out, pasting it, getting everything perfect, getting the right photos printed out etc. And this is so much more than just scrapbooking software. You can use this software to make your own calendar with family photos, do memory books for each of your children or even create a special memory book for each of the military stations you've been at. I have SO many photos from our Russian adoption that I need to get into photo albums, and you can do that as well. If like me you're not very artistically inclined this software is PERFECT for you. It will help you create the perfect calendar, scrapbook, memory book or photo album that looks like you were born with artistic talent. It will walk you through it and they have SO many different paperpacks (have I mentioned that I'm in love with their Christmas designs), layouts and more. You can pick the paper pack that you want, the layout that you want, the design that you want and then select photos from your computer and insert them into the design or layout. How easy is that? This year I'm making calendars for our family with all the extended family members birthdays, anniversaries and more.

So to enter the giveaway, check out their website and then leave a comment telling me what you'd love to do with this software in the upcoming year or what you're most excited about doing with the software and what your favorite Christmas paper pack is. If you're like me and can't decide which one you like the most you can list multiple ones. I know I finally whittled it down to my favorite 3 and then just couldn't get it down to one. They were just that good!!

You can check them out on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
or check out their blog at: http://blog.mymemories.com/

I know there can only be one winner, but for anyone entering who doesn't win the software package I have a code that will give you $10 off the purchase of the same software that I'm giving away as well as an additional $10 certificate to use at the My Memories.com store.

I know I'm a bit late posting this and I promised that it would run for 48 hours so I'm postponing the ending of the giveaway by 1 hour. So the giveaway will run from as soon as this is posted until 1am Wednesday morning. So go check out the software and the awesome paper packs that they have and then come back and leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite pack is (or packs) and what you'll be doing with this software in the upcoming year (calendar, photo album, scrap book, memory book or something else....there's SO much that you can do). As soon as I get up Wednesday morning and get my morning dose of caffeine I'll post and let everyone know who won. Check back to see who won and if it's you I'll be posting my email address for you to contact me so I can give you the information you'll need to download the software for free. No waiting for a disc to arrive in the mail. You'll get to download it and start enjoying it for free.

If anyone has difficulty leaving a comment, feel free to email me at Rebecca.L.Johnson@hotmail.com and leave me an email, but please only if you're not able to leave a comment. I know sometimes readers have trouble getting a comment to post and I want to make sure that everyone is entered to win this software. And don't worry about not being able to enter future giveaways if you win this one. I don't have any rules about not being able to enter future giveaways if you win one. Anyone can enter every giveaway. I'm not the one choosing who wins. It's a random selection that's done by the Random website that picks a number. I assign numbers from 1 on up starting with the first person to post and then the Random website will pick the winning number. Even if you win this giveaway you can continue to enter future giveaways.

2nd Give Away - Just for Girls

2011-12-18T20:01:00.000-05:00

Tonight my first giveaway starts and we're giving away software for scrap booking, photo albums, calenders etc. My second giveaway is going to be a bunch of really cute hair ribbons for girls!!! I guess the title isn't exactly true, it's not just for girls but for Mommys, Aunts, Grandmothers, God Mothers and anyone including Daddy's to adorable little girls. I'll be posting that information after the first give away. AND, the good news is, whoever the winner is gets to pick the colors!!! I'll be asking for comments to enter again with your favorite colors and who you would gift the hair ribbons to (or if you're keeping them for your own daughter then just tell me that). I don't need specific names, just if it's going to your daughter, niece etc. Anyone who doesn't win will get a code for a whole bag of hair ribbons (18 - 20 ribbons) for $9 plus shipping.

I can't wait!!! I have so many great giveaways coming up!!! Stay tuned to hear what other giveaways will be coming up in the next few months!!!

Giveaway's will start Monday!!!!

2011-12-17T13:09:00.001-05:00

So I have lots of stuff to giveaway!!!! Monday will be the first one!!! I'll be giving away a software package valued at over $80!! With this software you can create your own photo albums, do scrap booking, make your own calendars and more!!!! AND the good news is, you can enter regardless of where you live, even if you're overseas!!! Regardless of where you are I can give you a code so you can download the software package directly to your computer and you don't have to wait for it to arrive in the mail. Also, in addition to the winner of this giveaway, everyone who enters will at least receive a gift certificate for $10 to use on any scrap booking software from the same company.

I'm LOVING this software!!!! I have SO many photos from our adoption, from our time in the Marine Corps and more that I've needed to get into photo albums, memory books and I'm LOVING how I can make my own 2012 calendar with pictures of my kids, our family and more!!! It's GREAT!!!!! And their Christmas designs for 2011 are SO cute!!!!

So, here's how this is going to work. Starting Sunday night at midnight EST (USA East Coast time/Washington DC time) you can begin to comment on the blog posting that I'll put up Sunday evening with the information about the software package. I'll list the website where they sell the packages and you all can check it out. Then all you have to do is post a comment telling me what you're most looking forward to doing with the software if you win the package and you'll automatically be entered in the giveaway. The giveaway will run for 48 hours and at midnight Tuesday night EST (USA East Coast time/Washington DC time) the giveaway will close. I'll draw a random number using http://www.random.org and I'll post Wednesday morning who the lucky winner is. That person will then email me (so no email addresses in public for everyone to see other than my own) and I'll give them the code that they can use to download the software.

I have other giveaways that I'll also be posting, some will be Russian music (for those of you who have adopted from Russia or another Eastern European country this might interest you). I'll be giving away at least something every month if not more often. The next two weeks of December, in celebration of Christmas, I'll be giving away a lot more!!! And I'm open to ideas. Feel free to post and give me ideas as to other things I can give away. I have EOS Camera Software that I'll be giving away for photo editing, some little things that I brought back with me from Russia, a CD of Russian music and more!!! I'm SO excited about this!!! Please let me know what you would like me to giveaway on here!!!

Some ideas I've received so far:

1. One free box from ThredUp: http://www.thredup.com/
2. A free Little Pim DVD in the language of your choice: http://www.littlepim.com/
3. A Free Copy of the Recipe Book that I'm writing with favorite recipes from Russia, Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia and more (based on families who have adopted)
4. A special surprise from Hawaii?

The giveaways will sometimes be seasonally correct. For example, next Christmas I'll be giving away special ornaments from different countries around the world. At Easter it will be some special Easter tradition either from a country where friends and family have adopted from or from a country I've lived in or visited. I'm really looking forward to sharing little things that I find in my travels with anyone reading this blog!!! Also, everything that I pick up to give away here on the blog, I will do my best to locate a website where you can order the same item. If I love it so much that I want to share and give one away, I want to give everyone else a chance to get it themselves, even if they don't win the item. I will also talk with whoever I buy the item from to see if they'd be willing to offer a discount code or coupon to anyone ordering from them who didn't win but entered the giveaway. I was amazed at how many people are willing to actually offer discounts, coupons and more. The one rule that I have is that I only offer something on the blog that I actually really love and use myself. Like the recommendation that I made for Little Pim and Transparent Languages. There were 3 - 4 other companies in both the children's language category and in the adult language learning category that I just couldn't bring myself to recommend because I just didn't like their software, or it just didn't work for me.

Giveaway Coming......Stay Tuned for Details

2011-12-14T23:01:00.000-05:00

So I'm doing something I've never done before. I'm going to do a giveaway. I post a lot of reviews on my website of different programs that I like, books, videos, software and more. So I've decided to start doing giveaways. I'm reviewing something that I've wanted to do for a LONG time but that I never seem to have time for. I've always wanted to do photo albums, memory books etc of all our photos from our adoption but I never seem to have time for scrap booking, making memory books etc. I finally found a software program that is inexpensive (it runs anywhere from $5 up to $80 or more) and I don't have to be a master craftsman, artistic or have a lot of time. I can do it as I have time, on my computer, and it will help me come up with ideas and help me do it and it looks GREAT!!!!

I'm reviewing it and trying it out first. If I really like it as much as I think I'm going to, I'm going to do a giveaway of a software package for the scrap booking software that costs about $80 and it's going to be FREE!!!! You don't have to sign up for anything, there are no emailing lists, you don't have to pay $5, it's NOT a raffle!!! Look for more information in the next few days. This is just the first of many giveaways. I come across so much cool stuff that I'd love to share with everyone that reads this blog.

I know a lot of us are adoptive parents, military spouses and if you're like me.....well you just don't have a lot of time to sit down and do scrap booking. I also know that as good as I am at photography, when it comes to scrap booking I'm not an amazing artist either. This software does all the hard work for me, it can be artistic for me and help me make really cool inexpensive scrap books, calendars, photo albums, memory albums AND MORE!!!! It's not just scrap booking software, it does SO much more. So far I'm seriously loving this!!!!

SOoooooooo, look for more information shortly. All you'll have to do is post a comment when I start the giveaway and include your email address. If you're entering and you'd like to gift this to another person I'll just need an email address. I'm not asking for mailing address or anything like that and all email addresses will be kept confidential so no one else will see your email address.

Grandfather Frost's Message to Our Girls

2011-12-09T23:06:00.000-05:00

I must admit, Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of all. But I think THIS Christmas will be one of my most favorite Christmases out of all of them. This is the first Christmas that all of us are finally together as a family!! Our daughter is finally home from Russia and will celebrate her first Christmas with us and we're so thrilled!!!

Yesterday we showed the girls their videos from Grandfather Frost and the girls were riveted. I think they've been asking to go see Grandfather Frost almost every 30 minutes since they received the videos. We've been working to maintain our adopted daughter's Russian language while teaching our other daughter to speak Russian. At the same time we're maintaining some of the traditions our daughter brought with her from Russia. One of the most special ones is Grandfather Frost and the Snow Princess. So next Saturday both girls will get to go see Grandfather Frost (aka Santa Clause). We'll prep him ahead of time so he knows the specifics and answers to Grandfather Frost instead of Santa Clause.

I can't wait for Christmas Day. The presents are all hiding out in the garage, some wrapped, some waiting for Mama to find time to wrap them. The girls have been watching as many mysterious boxes arrive in the mail from Aunt L, Aunt M, Mimi and Dobbi (my parents) and from other family members. The tree is decorated and absolutely gorgeous, the stockings are hung on the mantle over the fireplace and the Kresh is in place over the Entertainment Center surrounded by fir branches entwined with white lights and the Baby Jesus lies hidden under the fir branches, waiting for Midnight on Christmas Eve.

Russian Language Software for Kids

2011-12-08T16:10:00.000-05:00

I've posted previously regarding the Educational Software offered by Little Pim for early childhood language education. Little Pim offers this software for a number of language. Recently they've been adding additional DVD's, books, flashcards and more to some of the languages they offer. Unfortunately their Russian program hasn't been completely yet and so these are not yet available.

I've spoken with them and posted on their Facebook Webpage and if the interest is high enough they would possibly be willing to expedite the additional materials specifically for the Russian language learning software for kids. Here's what I need from you.

1. If you are interested in having these additional materials available for your child/adopted child please email me at: Rebecca.L.Johnson@hotmail.com

2. Email Little Pim at info@littlepim.com asking them when the additional materials for the Russian language program will be available and expressing your interest.

3. Post this information on your blog, facebook etc or post a link to this post on my blog so everyone you know who might be interested can read it and participate.

4. Ask your friends and family and anyone else who might be interested to email me and to contact Little Pim and ask them to expand their Russian Language Software.

Little Pim offers some amazing software and I'd love to see it expanded the way some of their other languages such as French and Spanish have been. I'd also like to see additional software for Elementary School Children become available using the Little Pim Program. Here's why you should do this if you're overseas. If you live in Italy, France, Spain, Germany etc, this language program will still work for your children. This language only utilizes the language it's teaching. It doesn't teach Russian in English or teach Russian in another language, it only teaches the target language IN that language. Whether you're in Italy, France or any other country overseas, this is a program that will work for your children.

Please feel free to email me if you or anyone else has any questions regarding this program. We will be homeschooling during our move from North Carolina to Hawaii and using this program as part of our Russian program. We've also located additional printable educational materials and textbooks that can be used alongside the Little Pim program to teach your child Russian. 30 Minutes a day can teach your child to be bi-lingual without even teaching them in school and your children will love the way they learn. This is the fun way to learn and it works!!!

We will be posting the additional materials as we go through them and use them ourselves. We will be teaching our children the Russian alphabet including pronouncing it, basic Russian reading and writing in both print and script. Where we are moving there are no Russian schools, Russian grocery stores or anything available locally. This is why it is so important to us to have online options that we can provide to our children.

Rebecca and family

Miss K is sick

2011-11-28T00:25:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know the background on our adopted daughter, the short version is....she has 15 different specialists, therapists, doctors, psychologists and more. She has multiple special needs and not all of them are stable. That said, today hasn't been a good day.

This morning she woke up lethargic, grumpy, wanting to cuddle all day as we packed and organized our house for the move. She spent the entire afternoon snoozing off and on in our bed in the master bedroom watching Bubble Guppies when she was awake and alert. This is the child that has an endless store of energy and doesn't stop going from the moment she wakes up in the morning until the moment she goes to sleep at night. She had no energy today and this afternoon I noticed that she had started running a low grade fever. This evening she started complaining of pain. She has a very high tolerance for pain, so for her to complain is not typical. So after some diagnostics we've come down to something going on with her Kidneys. All her blood work last week and the week before that came back normal, so I'm not really sure what could be going on.

The nurse on the line wanted us to bring her in to the hospital this evening here locally to be checked out. Unfortunately her local specialists who coordinates everything and knows all her special needs, what she's on and what she needs is still on Thanksgiving vacation until 7am tomorrow morning and can't be paged. So we made the decision to keep her at home and monitor her vital signs until morning. If her specialists isn't available they'll transfer her across state to another more specialized hospital 3 - 4 hours away which isn't a good thing. As long as she remains stable tonight we'll take her in tomorrow morning. If things get any worse we'll take her in to the local Emergency Room tonight.

This means a change in plans as we had a home nurse coming tomorrow morning for a visit (and another one on Tuesday). We'll see how things go tomorrow. Maybe we can be home in time for the visit, otherwise we'll just have to re-schedule. The other down side is that the photographer and realtor were supposed to come photograph the house tomorrow. Looks like we'll be re-scheduling again (hopefully for the last time).

We're trying to get the house on the market so we can get it sold. We're also working on getting the dogs shots done and blood work done so they can accompany us on time. We're still trying to figure out the logistics and hopefully tomorrow we'll find out exactly when hubby has to check out of this unit and when he has to report in to his other unit. In the meantime we're trying to figure out exactly what we'll need (completely new climate with almost no winter) and get rid of anything that we won't need for the next 3 years. We're trying to pack up toys and books, military gear, videos, CD's, kitchen stuff and more. Trying to get a bit more organized before the moving crew comes in to move us. There's a better than decent chance that hubby will have to leave 2 - 3 months before the rest of us will (due to selling the house, waiting on the dogs blood work, and waiting on base housing on that end). We're hoping to live on base once we arrive at our new station. We'll also be waiting so that Miss K can finish her chemo like treatments for one of her special needs. She'll be done the end of March and then we'll be free and clear for travelling.

Unfortunately it looks like we may have to miss my brother's wedding. We were hoping that maybe we might be able to swing everything so that we'd still be around, but it just doesn't look like it will be happening. We were hoping to fly hubby back from the new station and we'd attend the wedding together and then fly out to the new station as a family. Honestly there's nothing we can do until we find out more from the military and have solid dates. Then we can start planning.

Russian Food Links

2011-11-25T10:28:00.000-05:00

As we prepare to move to Hawaii one of my main concerns is where we are going to find all the Russian food and ingredients that we so love. I haven't had any luck finding a Russian grocery store in Hawaii (though that may change once we arrive on station). So I've decided to provide some links for families around the world where you can order either Russian food already pre-prepared or Russian ingredients needed to prepare those foods.

Http://www.Russianfooddirect.com/

This website not only shipped Russian food and ingredients (both refrigerated and non refrigerated items) but they also have medical items, children's toys, Christmas items and more. They have a blog that has many different recipes available including a very easy recipe for Pelmini that includes simple instructions on how to prepare them and fold them Russian style so they are folded the correct way and look exactly like the Russian made pelmini.

This website has inexpensive shipping and can be shipped around the world. You can also have ingredients shipped directly from Russia if you want. I'll be adding more links as I find sites that I approve of so look for more updates to come.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T00:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to our beautiful daughter Miss K!!! We're so Thankful that you are now home with us and were able to celebrate your first Thanksgiving of many to come with us!!! Aunt Digna and Uncle Jason absolutely fell in love with you!!!

I'm so thankful for family, for friends and especial Marine Corps family and friends. We had an amazing evening spent with some Marine Corps friends who are like family to us. They were with us at 3rd Battalion 8th Marines for our first 4 years in the Marine Corps. Then they also moved to our current unit where we've been the last 4 years. Now they move on to California in 2 - 3 weeks and we follow shortly as we fly overhead on our way to Hawaii. I know this is a normal part of life, but sometime's it's so difficult leaving close friends and family as we move on in life. The nice part of this is, the Marine Corps is such a small, tight knit family that eventually we will see them again. Who knows, maybe we'll see them in 3 - 4 years in California, or maybe they'll come join us in Hawaii in 4 years.

We have so many other close friends that we'll miss, Tanya and Mark, Marie and her husband (hubby's co-worker), Lindsey and hubby, Natasha and Justin and so many more. This is the difficult part. However, it reminds me of how Thankful we should be, for the friends and family that have made these past 4 - 8 years so amazing and wonderful!!! The past years in the Marine Corps just wouldn't have been the same without them.

I'm thankful for the little dog we picked up at the shelter. I saw a picture of him in his cage at the shelter and the look on his face was heart breaking. Then I saw the look on his face tonight and he ran through the house to jump into his nice soft billowing bed that's like sleeping on a cloud. He's happy and healthy and gaining weight, just like our Miss K. Together they're helping each other heal and grow and have brought each other so much happiness. Knowing that he's happy and safe in a home now and that he's no longer locked up in a cage in a shelter makes me Thankful again tonight. I know it's nothing really big, but to me it's something. The look on his face is so different and he's so happy and carefree. Even with a bad leg that he can't walk on, it doesn't hold him back. He tears around the house chasing his ball, or a Frisbee or a squeaker toy. I see that same joy on our daughter's face and it brings me so much joy and peace!!! No matter how difficult the adoption journey was, the ending is worth it. Now I'm off to bed to sleep off the feast that we indulged in tonight.

Lists, lists and more checklists

2011-11-23T23:14:00.000-05:00

The organization for the upcoming move is just starting. This means (for me) LOTS of checklists to complete. As soon as I think I've remembered everything, I'm reminded of something I've forgotten. My initial checklist has grown into 5 different checklists covering everything from packing and clothing to passports/ID's for the kids, selling the house, finding new housing, pet checklists due to the 120 day quarantine in Hawaii (don't want to put our dogs through that so we're doing everything we can to qualify for the 5 day or less program).

1 vehicle has to be sold or stored, the other vehicle has to be spotless so it will pass inspection in both departing and arriving ports and has to be shipped overseas. Winter clothing has to be sold (for next year) and start thinking about constantly wearing summer clothing (plus a few sweaters, lightweight jackets etc for the winter months when it cools a bit but not below 60 degrees Fahrenheit).

We have a 9000 pound weight limit not including the vehicle. We're picking up suitcases from someone on base who doesn't need his anymore. I spent the afternoon tracking down where my old rolling hard side luggage went to (my grandparents have it in storage at their place in MD so I'll be getting that shortly).

During a move across country you have to remember that you're going to be without what the military calls HHG or (House Hold Goods) including all your clothing, kitchen supplies, bedding etc. It could take up to 90 days post arrival (when we arrive) for it to arrive and be delivered. That said, we have to separate what we will need immediately (bedding, basic kitchen supplies etc) into what they call UB or "Unaccompanied Baggage," clothing that we'll need immediately, important papers including birth certificates, social security cards, marriage certificates, adoption paperwork etc gets hand carried with us.

We're going to be travelling with a LOT of luggage. Each child with have their own backpack with a change of clothes, an extra pair of shoes, favorite doll or stuffed animals, some toys (crayons, markers, paper, puzzle, books etc). Each adult with also have a backpack carry on with 2 sets of clothing for themselves and then divided up between the two adults we'll have at least another change of clothes for each child. We'll also take advantage of the fact that I'm a female and I'll carry on a LARGE purse with snacks for the kids, a travel DVD player, some Disney and Russian Cartoon DVD's, and sippy cups (I never use regular cups for drinking when travelling with kids). This also means no nasty spills during the flight and no necessary clothing changes while in flight.

Hubby will carry the laptop bag in addition to his carry on. We'll make sure to carry our expensive camera, camcorder in addition to our important papers. We wouldn't want anything that important to get lost or broken when getting shipped.

With household goods we have to figure out pretty much what we're going to need for the next 3 years. Furniture is so expensive in Hawaii we want to bring what we'll need with us when we go. This means picking up another bed so we have one for each of the girls as they outgrow their toddler beds. Thankfully we've found one. It's a Full Size bed that we'll use for Miss A and Miss K will have the Twin Size bed just due to how big Miss A is and how tiny Miss K is. We'll still take the toddler beds with us since they still fit them for the time being and they are light weight so they won't take up a lot of our weight allowance. Someone in Hawaii will appreciate two matching, pink, Dora toddler beds when the girls outgrow them. We'll have to decide what will go in each suitcase, realizing we have to pack enough clothing to get us through anywhere from 1 - 3 months until our house hold goods arrive and are unpacked. Thankfully we'll be heading into spring and summer when we move (if we move as scheduled Feb/March) so that should be easy hopefully.

One of the exciting things about moving to Hawaii is getting to spend some time with my two sisters and brother in law who are stationed in Hawaii. Unfortunately they'll be leaving sometime in June, but we should hopefully have a couple good months with them so they can spend time with the girls!! They still haven't had a chance to meet Miss K since she arrived home from Russia. It's sad that they're leaving right after we get there, but having not seen them in almost a year this is very exciting!! Both of my sisters are Army nurses stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center (or is it a hospital). My brother in law works for the Air Force doing something really cool and fun!!! Thankfully I'm not the only family member that has chosen the Air Force now which is VERY cool!!!! (When you have 3 brothers, a brother in law and a husband who all serve or have served in the Marine Corps you feel a bit outnumbered when you're the only one representing that branch).

I spent the day today talking with our vet about quarantines, blood work, double vaccines for rabies as required by Hawaii and more. Poor Titan just went through his most recent vet visit for all his annual vaccines. He normally wouldn't be due for rabies for 3 years and everything else for a year. However, he'll have to go back and get a 2nd rabies vaccine since he needs 2 unexpired rabies vaccines at least 30 days apart, then blood work that has to go two one of 2 labs in the nation authorized to run the necessary tests. And he's the easiest one. Gunny was a rescue, he was abused, and then hit by a car. He has a bad leg (his right rear leg is currently unusable), and he's acutely malnourished. Sounds similar to Miss K's history. She's really bonded to him. He loves the attention and the love. The girls argue about which bedroom he sleeps in. Thankfully he's gaining weight and we're working on the atrophied muscles in his leg and we're seeing him use it more and more often. It's not holding him back and he loves running after balls when Miss K throws them. He loves helping her with her at home Physical Therapy and she helps him with his therapy. Poor Gunny though has to get ALL of his shots updated, then a 2nd rabies shot 30 days later and then blood work done. We have an appointment for him to get all his initial vaccines this Friday. Then on Sunday he gets micro chipped with Home Again Micro Chipping. We used them to do Titan's micro chipping and we love the service we get and the security and peace of mind that it provides. If he ever gets stolen, gets out of the back yard or gets lost we'll be able to find him again and bring him back home. Once all this lab work has been submitted we have to wait 120 days before we can have them travel to Hawaii. This may mean having them stay with someone when we leave to finish out the final 2 - 4 weeks before they can travel depending when our flights are scheduled for. Right now this is our first priority as we can't start our 120 day countdown until we have all of this done. Everything else we have at least 2 - 3 months to accomplish before we leave.

The other thing I spent my day doing which was a LOT more important (but something that honestly we have a lot more time to coordinate. I spent my day researching surgeons, specialists, therapists, and more for Miss K. I think we've found a very good Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon for Miss K. We're still researching pediatricians, physical and occupational therapists and more. Thankfully we still have at least a couple months until we leave to continue researching this.

Next week our house is being photographed and will be listed on the market and on the MLS listing. If I'm honest I'm a bit nervous. Our realtor is one of the best and she just listed a house last week and already has an offer on it. She's warned us that our house could have an offer on it within a week or two of listing it and we could be looking for temporary housing in January until we leave.

We're Moving......to HAWAII!!!!

2011-11-23T11:28:00.000-05:00

That's right!!! The Marine Corps is going to pay us to move to the great state of Hawaii!!!! I have to admit, I was less than thrilled about this after first. But I'm getting used to the idea and preparing. It's absolutely gorgeous in Hawaii. However there are definite downsides. The schools aren't known for being that great but I'll withhold judgement on that until we get there. Hawaii is not a pet friendly state (it's extremely unfriendly to pets). It's also very far away from any family or friends that we have. To say nothing of the crazy large cockroaches and 5" centipedes. We don't know anyone there yet, and it's very likely that visiting family won't be happening very often. That said, I'm really starting to look forward to it.

I think it will be a grand adventure for the girls. It's also very exciting to know that we'll actually be able to see the Pearl Harbor Memorial. My grandfather served during WWII (what the Russians call The Great Patriotic War) and he served as a Corpsman with the Marines in the Pacific Theater.

I love photography and I know I'll get some amazing shots in Hawaii!!! There will be some great photographic opportunities. My next research project though is to figure out if they have any Russian food/grocery stores, Russian cultural opportunities, Russian schools etc. I'm not sure I'll find anything but hopefully they'll have SOMETHING.

Now off to pick up luggage from someone who recently moved from Hawaii and doesn't need the luggage any more and to pick up another bed for Miss K. Apparently furniture is crazy expensive so we're picking up what we need before we leave.

Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden Dancing

2011-11-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

Танец Деда Мороза и Снегурочки

This was adorable!!! Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka Dance for the children in front of the Christmas Tree and then the children join them in dancing around the tree in true Russian fashion.

Grandfather Frost visits Children in Kazan

2011-11-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

Дед Мороз в гостях у детей, г. Казань

Grandfather Frost visits some children in Kazan. I skipped to about half way through the video where it shows him presenting the children with their presents.

Russian TV Show with Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden

2011-11-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

Народные Дед Мороз и Снегурочка - Все просто!

Popular Russian TV Show with Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden. Lots of Russian music. If your adopted children remember anything from Russia it's probably going to be something like this. They should at least recognize Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden from their costumes.

Part 2 of the Russian Christmas Cartoons

2011-11-14T14:22:00.001-05:00

Russian Christmas Cartoons with English Subtitles

2011-11-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

This has English Subtitles and is very cute.

Grandfather Frost and the Snow Princess

2011-11-14T14:20:00.000-05:00

Ded Moroz & Snegurochka - Our Russian Christmas. Дед Мороз и Снегурочка

Grandfather Frost and the Grey Wolf

2011-11-14T14:11:00.001-05:00

Дед МОРОЗ и Серый ВОЛК

Grandfather Frost and the Snow Princess

2011-11-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

Miss K (our adopted daughter from Russia) has mentioned multiple times in the past 8 months since arriving home that Grandfather Frost and the Snow Princess brought her a Mama and Papa last year for Christmas. It was about the right time and we visited just before Christmas and then came again in February after the whole Christmas/New Years Holiday to visit again and for court. So to follow in true Russian theme Papa came home last night with an early Christmas present from Dede Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and the Snow Princess. A little black and white puppy that won't weigh more than 20 lbs full grown if even that. The girls are thrilled. Miss K immediately understood that Grandfather Frost had given the present to Papa to bring home. Poor Papa, didn't get much of the credit at all.

We're hoping the puppy will help the girls with the transition of moving to a new house, new school, new friends, new state etc. As much as I had hoped we would be staying in North Carolina there is much to be happy about moving to California. For one they have a wonderful Russian community where we will be living. Miss K and Miss A can take ballet lessons from a Russian speaking teacher, they can study Russian in school, the can do play dates with Russian speaking children and there are many Russian grocery stores.

We won't be moving soon. The plan is, Papa will move to the new location, check in to his new unit, get settled in and start looking at neighborhoods, school districts etc. The girls and I will stay here in North Carolina until the house we currently own has sold (probably won't take more than a month or two with how quickly homes in our area are currently selling), and maybe even wait until the end of the school year and then move to join Papa. Papa will come home for Christmas and New Years and for Miss K's birthday.

We're going to start working with the therapist regarding the move, Papa leaving early, Papa possibly deploying etc. Miss K is already getting worried as we've started packing up the house. She's so happy in this house that even knowing that we're taking all her toys, her bed, her books, her stuffed animals, that Miss A is going also, that the puppy, Mama and Papa will also go she does NOT want to move. She cried last night and was inconsolable about moving. She wants to stay here. I think it's a fear of the unknown. I think once we've actually moved and settled into our new house she'll feel better about it. There will be so much more to do with the kids where we're moving as we won't be out in the country any more. I think the girls will really enjoy it once they've settled in.

Regardless we're going to make the move as fun as possible. Once Papa has gone ahead to California we're going to go visit the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. We'll go to the beach this spring down in Charleston where my grandparents are and we'll have lots of fun while we're still here. Then on the way out to California we'll stop and see friends, I think I'll even take the girls to the Grand Canyon if we have time. The good news is, Aunt L is moving from Hawaii to New Mexico and will be maybe a 2 - 3 hour drive from where we'll be living!!! This is the closest she's been since she was stationed in Hawaii with the Army Nursing Corps. The girls will get to see her so much more often and have lots of fun with Aunt L. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of moving across country on short notice, but in the end it's a great location with lots of friends already living there or on their way to California. We even have friends we currently work with here in North Carolina who are also heading out to California. I can't wait to post pictures of our cross country travels for everyone to see!!! It's definitely going to be an adventure!!!!

Russian Christmas Videos

2011-11-11T00:16:00.003-05:00

Coming soon to a blog near you. I'll be posting Russian Christmas videos including videos of Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz) and the Snow Maiden (Snegurochka). Our daughter has been asking about them and is so excited about this Christmas!!! If anyone is interested let me know and I'll search and find Russian Christmas celebrations in your state or close to you and where you can find actors who play Ded Moroz and Snegurochka. Our daughter always says that Ded Moroz and Snegurochka brought her new Mama and Papa (us) last winter because she wanted a family and a Mama and Papa. This winter she says Ded Moroz is bringing her a doll (how did she know). I can wait for her to re-meet her Russian doll. The doll had to be cleaned earlier this year and disappeared like magic when she was bored with her. Little does she know she and Miss A are getting their talking Russian dolls with matching realistic doll strollers along with other toys from Ded Moroz and Snegurochka.

This is one of our ways of maintaining her Russian identity. She'll also learn American Christmas customs and beliefs along with some Italian ones. I can't wait to teach her about Santa Bufana (in Russia known as Santa Babouschka). One of my favorite Italian holidays. Also the Italian Easter with the amazing Italian chocolate Easter Eggs that are a foot tall that have toys hidden inside them. This is a year of firsts!!!!

I'll also be posting about Russian Christmas traditions, where you can find traditional hand painted wooden Russian Christmas ornaments, and other decorations as well as Christmas presents from Russia.

Happy 236th Birthday United States Marine Corps!!!!

2011-11-10T20:10:00.001-05:00

To my 3 Marine Corps brothers, my Marine Corps brother in law and my Marine Corps husband as well as all our Marine Corps friends!!!!!! Happy 236th Birthday Marine Corps!!!!! Semper Fi!!!

I can't wait for our Marine Corps Ball the end of this month!!! What a perfect end to the month!!! First the unit's Marine Corps Ball and then Thanksgiving!!!!

Semper Fi Marines, you've made the Marine Corps proud!!!!

We're Moving!!!!

2011-11-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

Moving units, not states (we think), don't quote me on that one. We made the decision last night to request the 2 year extension and move back to what the Marine Corps (and the Navy) call "The Fleet." This means we'll move from an instruction/education unit to an active, front lines unit that is deployable. With the latest rules regarding deployments it looks like we'll be heading to a unit that will be deploying approximately 6 months after we are assigned to that unit.

My husband (in the military we call our husbands "hubby") could be reporting in to his new unit as soon as the 10th of December (less than 35 days from now) or anytime between then and the 10th of February. All deploying units are required to have all personnel that will deploying with them on station and in place ready for training a minimum of 6 months prior to deployment. Most units struggle with this and typically have all personnel on station 5 months prior and have waivers that allow them to do that. However, that has recently changed and most units are not being given waivers at this point. This means there is a hard push to get Marines who are almost done at their current unit, on orders and en route to their new units ASAP (as soon as possible).

Hubby's friends who are in the same position have all received short notice orders to a unit here in North Carolina that would allow us to stay with our same school, doctors, therapists, specialists etc and means we wouldn't have to rush on selling our house and finding a new one. Hubby is pretty sure he'll be assigned to the same unit and will deploy with them this summer sometime (that's a guess, I haven't the faintest idea when they'll deploy but Marine Corps units don't sit around for long after returning from a deployment). However, the Marine Corps could easily assign us to another unit anywhere from Japan to Hawaii to California which would mean a LOT of changes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we stay in North Carolina for the next couple years. If we receive orders elsewhere we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Orders to another state would mean hubby leaving on orders and the girls and I would stay behind until the house sells, pack up the house and move our family to our new location. In the meantime hubby would start training with his new unit and looking for a new house for us. Thank goodness for military assistance with moves. The only thing we have to do is organize, the military will do the rest. They'll send a packing team to our house that will pack us out and then unpack us on the other end at our new location.

So it's official. Looks like we're staying in for another 2 years. After that I think we're planning on getting out unless hubby receives his next rank. He's already decided that if he receives the rank of Staff Sergeant that he'll stay in the Marine Corps until retirement. I think he'd be thrilled. He loves what he does and we love the Marine Corps. I never thought I'd say that as a former Senior Airman in the Air Force. I love the Air Force, but having married a Marine, the Marine Corps is family now.

Big Changes Coming Soon

2011-11-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

No, we're not adding another child yet (at least not until I convince hubby that we should start thinking about that in the spring). We're due for orders in the next (oh well, day or so) from the United States Marine Corps. We haven't quite decided if we want to re-enlist (would mean checking in to our new unit approximately 35 days from now and deploying in approximately 6 months or so) or if we want to go civilian. With the state of the economy and children with special needs it's probably safer to stay in the Marine Corps at the minute. We'll see in the next 24 hours. By tomorrow morning a decision will have been made (in our family) and we'll submit paperwork to the Marine Corps tomorrow one way or the other. It's going to mean a lot of changes for our family. Our focus won't so much change (from adoption back to military) but our blog will be shared by both our adoptive side and our military side.

For those of you who aren't familiar with military families, you're going to get a crash course. If we choose to stay military (which is probably more likely), you'll see from a wife's point of view (and childrens' point of view) what this lifestyle is like. You'll see us go through the changes involved in receiving short notice orders (selling our house, reporting in to a new unit, finding a new place to live, finding new schools etc). It's a lot of changes. You'll see how we cope as we prepare for a deployment, how we as a family prepare, how we prepare the children, how as a couple we prepare to be apart for such a long period of time. One of the unspoken issues is preparing for what we call the "what if's." What if something happens to my husband during this deployment, what if he doesn't come back from it etc. It's a reality that we have to face every time we prepare for the another deployment. We haven't done one of these in almost 4 years now. A lot of things have changed since our last deployment. Last time my husband deployed I was pregnant and in the middle of a high risk and complicated pregnancy (even though at the time I didn't know that's what we were dealing with).

Many of the issues that we'll address both in our family and specifically with our children and as a couple are very pertinent to adoptive families. When changes occur (whether it's an adoption or a deployment) you have to prepare your children and your family for the upcoming changes. When adopting you may face attachment issues with your adopted child. In a military family, if you don't prepare your children properly you run the same risk. Military children and especially children of infantry Marines and Soldiers are at a much higher risk of developing attachment issues including Reactive Attachment Disorder. The separation from a beloved parent can be extremely difficult for children to understand. Thankfully we have a specialist and interventionist who has already been notified that an upcoming deployment may be imminent. She'll be meeting with both of us and the children after Thanksgiving to begin to address these changes and to work with both us as parents and with our children to prepare for the difficulties and challenges of a deployment, especially a deployment to an increasingly dangerous area.

Communication between parents and between parents and children is of utmost importance during a deployment. When a parent deploys to a region (such as the one my husband will most likely be heading to), communication can be spotty to nonexistent at best. Unlike deployments to Iraq where there was infrastructure in place like telephones, computers and internet; this location has very little infrastructure and telephone and computer banks and internet access are almost nonexistent other than at the major bases (where Marines and Soldiers are located at the very beginning and end of their deployments). Where Marines and Soldiers are typically deployed (Forward Operating Bases) you won't find banks of telephones, computers or internet access. Skype is a wonderful thing, IF you can get to a computer that has internet access. Of course there is always communication access for official business, but it is only used when absolutely necessary.

In cases like this, not only do you have to prepare the children even more, but the deploying parent needs to leave behind things like a DVD with him reading a story to the children, presents for the Children for Christmas, presents that the parent picked out for Birthdays, recordings with messages for the children that can be given to them throughout the deployment etc. You want to make sure prior to a deployment that just in case of the worst happening (a parent not returning from a deployment) that you have lots of videos of that parent both alone and with the children and lots of pictures of the same. This will help the children (especially younger children) remember that parent both during the deployment but after that deployment. Many families dread that thought, they put off thinking about it and preparing for it. It's a lot easier to ignore something like this, but there's a saying.....it says "you always hope for the best, but you prepare or plan in case the worst happens." That saying is quite true. What happens if your spouse is injured or killed and you aren't prepared.

The preparations are something that I always dread. But now that we have children they are even more important. We have to make sure our wills are updated, legal paperwork done, and make sure that my husband has specified what his hopes and dreams are for the children, what he wants for them in the future......just in case. I don't run from the most difficult things in life. I've learned that they happen anyways and it's better to be prepared. What comforts me is knowing that 1) my husband is a very well trained Marine who has spent the last almost 4 years training Marines who go into combat and 2) that God is in control and whether my husband is at home safe and asleep in bed or in a combat zone, God has decided exactly how much time he has on this earth and I take comfort in that. I've learned to cherish every moment I have with my husband. He's the love of my life and I'm so thankful to have met him and to have him in my life. He's an amazing man and I'm so thankful for every moment that I have with him.

Soooo, look for an announcement shortly with what decision we've made (can you tell we're leaning one direction versus the other?????) Part of me wishes we could just go civilian, move closer to family, spend more time together as a family, more date nights etc. Who knows, maybe that's in our future 2 years down the road. The good news is that hubby has the choice to re-enlist for only 2 years instead of 4.

Found Them!!!!! Disney DVD's in Russian!!!

2011-10-23T20:20:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I finally found a link to a store where you can purchase Disney DVD's in Russian!!!! Here in the US, or if they are coming from overseas they will ship them to you in the US and it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg!!!!

http://www.russiancddvd.com/movies/animation-and-cartoons.html

Enjoy!!!! They have TONS of them available and these are the real thing from what I can tell!!! Will be ordering some for my kids later on!!! Once they have a chance to watch them I'll post and let you know what they think of them and if they are good!!! And from reading the website they say they will ship anywhere in the world for $9. I think this means they will ship to France, Italy, Germany etc!!!

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 13

2011-10-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 13

Спящая красавица часть 13

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 12

2011-10-23T20:08:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 12

Спящая красавица часть 12

2011-10-23T20:05:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 11

Спящая красавица часть 11

Sleeping Beauty in Russia - Part 10

2011-10-23T20:04:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 10

Спящая красавица часть 10

Sleeping Beauty in Russia - part 9

2011-10-23T20:03:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 9

Спящая красавица часть 9

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 8

2011-10-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 8

Спящая красавица часть 8

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 7

2011-10-23T20:00:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 7

Спящая красавица часть 7

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 6

2011-10-23T19:59:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 6

Спящая красавица часть 6

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 5

2011-10-23T19:57:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 5

Спящая красавица часть 5

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 4

2011-10-23T19:56:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 4

Спящая красавица часть 4

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 3

2011-10-23T19:55:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 3

Спящая красавица часть 3

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 2

2011-10-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 2

Спящая красавица часть 2

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 1

2011-10-23T19:48:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Beauty in Russian - Part 1

Спящая красавица часть 1

The musical adaptation on this in Russian is absolutely amazing!!! Whatever Russian musical group recorded the musical portions in to Russian did an amazing job!!!

Disney Movies in Russian - New Each Week

2011-10-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

Each week (or more often depending upon request) I'll be posting a new Disney Movie in Russian!!

Today's movie choice is Snow White (in Russian Белоснежка - pronounced Belosnezhka)!!

I hope you enjoy!! Next week might be Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Swan Princess, The Three Little Pigs). I've found all of these online and will be posting them each week. I wouldn't want to overload everyone. If anyone would like the links immediately, leave a comment and I will email you the links.

Ogni settimana (o più spesso a seconda della richiesta) sarò pubblicazione di un nuovo film Disney in russo!

La scelta del film di oggi è Biancaneve (in russo Белоснежка - pronunciata Belosnezhka)!

Spero che ti piace! La prossima settimana potrebbe essere Cenerentola, la Bella Addormentata, La Bella e la Bestia, L'incantesimo del lago, I tre porcellini). Ho trovato tutti questi on-line e saranno loro discussione almeno una volta alla settimana. Non vorrei a tutti sovraccarico. Se qualcuno volesse il link immediatamente, lasciare un commento e io vi e-mail i link.

Chaque semaine (ou plus souvent selon la demande), je vais poster une nouveau film de Disney en russe!

Choix de films d'aujourd'hui est de Blanche-Neige (en russe Белоснежка - prononcé Belosnezhka)!

J'espère que vous apprécierez! La semaine prochaine, peut-être Cendrillon, Belle au bois dormant, La Belle et la Bête, La Princesse Swan, Les Trois Petits Cochons). J'ai trouvé toutes ces ligne et sera de les afficher à chaque semaine. Je ne voudrais pas pour tout le monde contre les surcharges. Si quelqu'un souhaite que les liens immédiatement, laissez un commentaire et je vous enverra par courriel les liens.

Snow White in Russian - Part 14

2011-10-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 14

Белоснежка часть 14

Snow White in Russian - Part 13

2011-10-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 13

Белоснежка часть 13

Snow White in Russian - Part 12

2011-10-22T22:18:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 12

Белоснежка часть 12

Snow White in Russian - Part 11

2011-10-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 11

Белоснежка часть 11

Snow White in Russian - Part 10

2011-10-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 10

Белоснежка часть 10

Snow White in Russian - Part 9

2011-10-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 9

Белоснежка часть 9

Snow White in Russian - Part 8

2011-10-22T22:14:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 8

Белоснежка часть 8

Snow White in Russian - Part 7

2011-10-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 7

Белоснежка часть 7

Snow White in Russian - Part 6

2011-10-22T22:12:00.001-04:00

Snow White - Part 6

Белоснежка часть 6

Snow White in Russian - Part 5

2011-10-22T22:12:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 5

Белоснежка часть 5

Snow White in Russian - Part 4

2011-10-22T22:11:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 4

Белоснежка часть 4

Snow White in Russian - Part 3

2011-10-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 3

Белоснежка часть 3

Snow White in Russian - Part 2

2011-10-22T22:09:00.000-04:00

Snow White - Part 2

Белоснежка часть 2

Snow White in Russian - Part 1

2011-10-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

Белоснежка часть 1-

Snow White - Part One

Золушка (Cinderella) p.2 (with English subtitles)

2011-10-19T09:43:00.000-04:00

Part 2 of the Russian version of Cinderella. I almost prefer this one to the English/American version.

Золушка (Cinderella) p.1 (with English subtitles)

2011-10-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

This is the Russian version of Cinderella in Russian!!! This is part one. The remainder of the video can also be found on You Tube under the same person's account that posted this video.

Disney Movies in Russian

2011-10-19T09:20:00.000-04:00

Here is the website for Walt Disney in Russian!! This website will allow you to order Disney movies in Russian and have them shipped to you!!! Make sure you order the correct type of disk for the region of the world that you're located in. If you're in Europe, your DVD player will only read a specific type of DVD which is a different version than the DVD that works in the United States.

http://www.disney.ru/

This second link is the link to Walt Disney's original version of Winnie the Pooh in Russian.

http://www.disney.ru/DisneyCMS/Content/Movies/DVD/0000078vinnie.jsp?genre=classical

Learn Russian watching Winnie the Pooh

2011-10-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

This website provides the Russian Winnie the Pooh at regular speed, but also broken up into segments and slowed down with the Russian transcript written out beside it. This is a great way to not only learn Russian but also to learn how to read and pronounce Russian. I recommend going to this website after completing the section on reading Russian (Section 1) on the Russianforfree.com website.

http://elearnrussian.com/ru-cartoons/winnie-pooh-01.htm

Once you've learned how to read and pronounce the Cyrillic Russian alphabet, this is a great way to review. Then you can use a translation website to read this in English. Try to figure out some of the words on your own with the vocabulary you've already learned as some of it is very basic (including hello's and goodbye's).

Russian Winnie the Pooh / Винни Пух

2011-10-15T01:19:00.001-04:00

Russian version of Winnie the Pooh. Enjoy!!!

Sesame Street New Songs 1

2011-10-15T00:59:00.001-04:00

I think this is one of the introductory songs of Sesame Street in Russia. They are singing about Sesame Street and introducing all the characters and actors throughout the song. It's from a DVD collection. I'll try to find a link to the DVD so anyone interested can order it. I'll also be adding links to Disney movies in Russian.

Russian Sesame Street - Factory

2011-10-15T00:37:00.001-04:00

The Russian Music Group "Factory" sing on the Russian Sesame Street. They talk about how we are all the same, even though we have different skin tones, different eye colors and we are all different shapes, but still we are the same. We have 2 eyes, 2 ears, a mouth and nose etc etc. I wish my Russian were better so I understood more. In any language this is a great message for our children to learn.

Russian Sesame Street - Ernie and Cookie Monster

2011-10-15T00:31:00.001-04:00

Russian Sesame Street - Trying New Foods

2011-10-15T00:04:00.001-04:00

Ulitsa Sezam - Russian Sesame Street - Trying New Foods

Zeliboba and Businka are trying new foods. Join them and review the names of new foods with your child. This is the perfect video to watch when your child is learning the names of foods.

I also recommend using this video after your child has watch the food and drink portion of the Little Pim DVD from the Little Pim Russian Language Learning Software.

Ulitsa Sezam - Hide and Seek

2011-10-14T23:04:00.001-04:00

Businka (the pink Sesame Street Character) and the kids are teaching Zeliboba (the other character) how to play Hide and Seek!!! But uh-oh.....Zeliboba is having some trouble counting!!! Your children will love this Sesame Street video and it's a great counting exercise!!! Have fun counting with your children in Russian!!!

Ulitsa Sezam - Fruits

2011-10-14T23:00:00.001-04:00

Russian Sesame Street: Zeliboba Learns About Fruit!! This is the perfect Sesame Street to watch after your child has learned about Fruits!! This is a great review of different Russian names for fruits!!!

Your child should recognize many other terms like (fantastika) = (meaning fantastic) and other vocabulary terms!!

Russian Sesame Street: Opening Song

2011-10-14T22:56:00.001-04:00

Russian Sesame Street: The Song of the Caretakers

2011-10-14T22:52:00.001-04:00

Ulitsa Sezam (Russia): The Song of the Caretakers

This wonderful Wake up Morning Song has subtitles in English. Your child will love repeating Dobre Ootra (Good Morning) in Russian. By the end of the song they will probably have that phrase memorized.

Discounts on Language Software

2011-10-13T21:55:00.000-04:00

I have discount codes for Transparent Language and for Little Pim. Leave a comment with your email address if you would like the discount codes and I'll send them to you along with an Excel Spreadsheet of Russian vocabulary with a pronunciation guide for each word or phrase.

Free Russian Lessons Online

2011-10-13T08:29:00.000-04:00

Those of you who read my blog know that I only give a website for language learning software great reviews if I've actually tried them and like them.

Here's another website that I'm giving 5 Stars out of 5!!

http://www.russianforfree.com/

I've been working through it. One of the things that I really like about it is that they start with the alphabet, vowel pronunciation, consonant pronunciation and more!! They teach you the alphabet before teaching any specific words or phrases. They have quizzes that I like, they tell you what you need to review, they have a listening section for each new concept so you can listen to how each letter/work/phrase is pronounced. In the beginning they pronounce the word, then they pronounce each letter so you can see how each letter or syllable sounds then they say the word again. They say it slow enough that you can really understand how it sounds, it's not rushed like other websites.

This one is right up there with Transparent Language. I wish they had the flash cards the way Transparent Language does. Honestly, I wouldn't take one without the other. I'm using both Transparent Language and Russian For Free together and they go hand in hand. RFF reviews the alphabet and individual sounds where Transparent does not. However Transparent has a lot of vocabulary learning and a teaching method that really works and I've learned a lot of Russian that way.

A Link for Free Russian Lessons

2011-10-12T18:50:00.002-04:00

I haven't had a chance to actually check this link out, so for adults I'm still recommending Byki/Transparent Language. However, I'm sharing the link until I've had a chance to review the classes and see if they are good or not.

http://www.russianforfree.com/lessons-russian-language-contents.php

Alfabeto Russo / Russian Alphabet

2011-10-12T18:14:00.000-04:00

This is a really good link both for pronunciation of the alphabet but also a great example of how to write it in script/cursive.

http://www.mgu-russian.com/learn-russian/russian-alphabet/en

This University is located in Moscow and they offer online classes for a very reasonable fee.

Questo e un link davvero bene sia per la ponuncia dell'alfabeto, ma anche un grande esempio di come scrivere in script / corsivo.

http://www.mgu-russian.com/learn-russian/russian-alphabet/it

Questa Universita si trova a Mosca e che offrono corsi online per un costo molto ragionevole.

Russian ABC Books available in the US

2011-10-12T09:41:00.001-04:00

These links are specifically for books that are available in the United States (or can be shipped to the United States). Many of the websites are only available to ship inside of Russia. This website will ship to the United States and has a lot of different children's books in Russian including: fairy tales, ABC books, writing the Russian alphabet, Russian primer for learning to read Russian and more.

This book is the girls version of the ABC book available in fairy tale format done in pink:

http://www.bukinist.com/ShowBook.aspx?pid=31486

This book is the boys version of the ABC book available in truck format and done in blue:

http://www.bukinist.com/ShowBook.aspx?pid=31485

This link is for the same book as above, but done with all sorts of animals and animal vocabulary so your child will learn the Russian names for all the different animals around the world while learning the Russian alphabet.

http://www.bukinist.com/ShowBook.aspx?pid=37723

This website will also ship to countries outside of the US and outside of Russia. I think the countries it ships to includes most of Europe, Great Britain and Ireland. This would include Italy and France. If you are looking for a specific kind of book please let me know and I can find it. I have a list of fairy tales and children's story books that are popular in Russia. This website also offers children's DVD's and more.

Lots of Russian Educational Websites

2011-10-12T03:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to another software program for kids to learn Russian. I don't recommend paying for the entire program unless you REALLY like it. However, there are a lot of free games and lessons on this website that your kids might find fun depending on their age.

http://www.hello-world.com/Russian/

This website has a LOT of worksheets. It will provide you with one on the left with a blank to write the Russian with the English to the left of it. Then you'll have a worksheet on the right with the Russian listed to the left and a blank to the right for you to write the English. They're not great. They could definitely be better. They're decent for adults. I wish there was more of a learning section for this. But it does work. If you have something you want to learn, email me for the Excel Spreadsheet that has the pronunciation guide for every single word and phrase. I'll give you the Russian in Cyrillic, the English in the Roman Alphabet and then a pronunciation guide in the Roman alphabet. Russianforkids@hotmail.com

This website provides children's online radio stations including a number of radio stations for children in Russian. The music is specifically for children, but in Russian. It's not right at the top, you have to scroll down to find the listings, you'll see on the right hand side that it says for Moscow, Russia. On the first page of listings there are about 5 different Russian Children's Radio Stations. However, there are more pages of radio stations and I'm sure you'll find more radio stations. Listening to Kids Music on Russian Radio Stations will immerse your child 1) in the familiar and 2) in the Russian language at their level.

http://tunein.com/radio/Childrens-c530749/

Here's another link to lots of kids music. However, the music is divided by Russian on the left and the English translation on the right. You can also ask questions if you know of a song and are looking for that specific song or looking for lyrics. She also has a lot of good links as well.

http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=ec&p=985&c=157

Here is a link in English where you can find ABC Russian books. It's a LOT easier than going to the Russian website that I'll be posting about later. If you don't mind following directions or using an online translator (Good Translator) to translate the website then the Russian website has a LOT more to offer, but this is a good start with regards to ABC's, however they don't have listed the one book we got in Russia that we love that comes with verbal (out loud) pronunciations.

http://www.adoptedfromrussia.com/beginningrussianreaders.html

This link is for a Russian Megastore Bookstore. The link is actually for one specific book that is for 5 - 6 year old kids to learn how to write the Russian alphabet. This can also work for adults. If you use Google Chrome it will automatically translate the entire page for you into English. If you would like recommendations on specific books that I recommend just post a comment and I'll let you know which books I highly recommend and which ones we currently use and will be using in the future.

http://www.russianmegastore.com/productdetail.asp?productid=36787

This link is one of my favorites. It's not the exact same book that we have, but it's very similar. It's an ABC book in Russian. It has two letters per page, each one has half a page. It has the letter in uppercase and lowercase, then a picture of something that starts with that letter/sound and then the word for that object written below the picture. Then to the right you have buttons labelled with each letter. Your child can push the button for the matching letter and it will tell them the name of that letter and then say the sound of that letter and then say the word. It's a VERY easy way to learn the Russian alphabet, both for your kids as well as for adults. It's come in handy in our house. Not only has it helped the girls learn the Russian alphabet, but they've also learned different Russian vocabulary words at the same time.

http://www.igrushkidoma.ru/products/belfaks-govoryaschaya-plyushevaya-azbuka-32

Here's another link to a few similar books. These are absolutely adorable and you can pick a pink Princess one for a girl or a truck one for a boy. The funny thing is, they have an English one as well, which would be awesome!!! I may get that one for my kids as well since we're just starting school with both girls.

http://www.uznaiki.ru/catalog/govoryashhie_knigi/govoryashhie_knigi.php

Language Software for Children Comparison

2011-10-12T01:00:00.001-04:00

Little Pim vs. Muzzy

After being asked about multiple different language learning software programs for children I decided to review both of them, check them out, watch the videos, look at some of the textbooks. For the videos I really just didn't like the Muzzy videos, neither did my girls. When watching the first one within a minute or two they were bored and then they walked off and refused to watch them. When I put on the Little Pim videos they LOVE Little Pim the Panda Bear. They love watching the videos, they catch on very quickly and the way the videos are put together and how they teach the terms versus how Muzzy teaches are very different. With Little Pim the girls caught on immediately, were repeating words, phrases, could tell me what things were and would ask for those things in Russian that same day. With Muzzy, they were hearing so much they really couldn't take it in. With Little Pim they were introduced to one word that was then repeated, then the word would be repeated as plural vs singular. Then another word was introduced (repeat multiple times in different contexts and then as a plural). For example, in the eating and drinking video they were introduced to the apple. The word was repeated with pictures showing the girl or the boy eating the apple, picking the apple, or an apple sitting on the table. Then they would repeat the word in plural and show multiple apples. Then they were introduced to the very TO EAT and it was used in conjunction with apple (and banana, and orange etc etc etc). They would be seeing the boy and the girl eating the apple, the banana etc. Then they taught the girls the word for her and him (boy vs girl, he vs she). Then the words were added together. She is eating an apple, he is eating an apple, he is eating a banana. From that they transitioned into drinking the same way. The girls learned the words for: water, milk, juice etc. They they taught them the verb TO DRINK. This was then used in conjunction with the words he and she, him and her, he drinks, she drinks, he drinks milk, she drinks water etc. The way everything flowed together, the repetitiveness while using new pictures, new phrases, new ways of showing it kept it interesting for the girls.

Price wise, Little Pim is a lot less than Muzzy. Just for Level 1 Russian you are paying almost $200 US Dollars for the set. Then when the kids need Level 2 you are shelling out another $200 US Dollars. With Little Pim you have the choice of purchasing the different DVD's, books, teachers manuals etc either individually, as a 3 pack, as a 5 pack (when the book, 3 DVD's, teachers manual, Stuffed Little Pim and t-shirt are included) etc. I really liked how much less expensive Little Pim is.

Here is the one caveat that I've seen. The Little Pim system is GREAT but it's also focused towards younger children say ages 2 - 5 or 2 - 7 depending on when they start learning. Once they've gone through this program they will be ready for more advanced. The Muzzy system goes further in what they teach. It's just not appropriate or interesting for my girls. Neither of them liked it, wouldn't watch it and for me it would be a waste of my money. If you're thinking about investing in Muzzy, I would show them some of the video examples and see if it's something they really like, something they tolerate, something that bores them or something they just can't stand. From my girls reaction I'm not going to waste my time.

If you really want your kids to learn Russian, or if you want to learn Russian, I would invest in the Little Pim system to start with, then supplement it with other videos, Russian Sesame Street, the worksheets that I'll have available and other Children's Language Learning Software for Russian that I'll be posting about.

Before I recommend ANYTHING I review it myself, I show it to my girls, I see how they like it. As kids get older then don't necessarily want to see videos, and if they do they have to be age appropriate and not boring. I remember sitting in French class in High school and HATING the videos and audio stuff. It didn't catch your attention and it wasn't pertinent to what we were learning or planning on doing in the future. If your goal is to use this language in the home, with your children, in Russia, in your job etc you don't need the basic tourist Russian, you need working Russian which is more in depth.

If you have a question about a language learning software, leave me a comment, I'll review the software and give you my honest opinion about it. I'll also look around and see what other children's software programs are out there for children that look good and I'll try them with my kids first.

Days of the Week / Giorni della Settimana

2011-10-11T23:01:00.000-04:00

Days of the week in Russian as well as other words for scheduling and planning.

Giorni della settimana in Russo cosi come altre parole per la programmazione e la pianificazione.

http://masterrussian.com/vocabulary/days_of_the_week.htm

Month in Russian / Mesi in Russo

2011-10-10T23:28:00.000-04:00

Months in Russian / Mesi in Russo:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/months/

Answers / Risposte:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/months/answers.shtml

Dairy Products in Russian / Latticini in Russo

2011-10-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

Dairy Products / Latticini

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/dairy/

Answers / Risposte

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/dairy/answers.shtml

Vegetables in Russian / Verdure in Russa

2011-10-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

Vegetables in Russian / Verdure in Russa

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/veg/

Answers / Risposte:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/veg/answers.shtml

Fruits in Russian / Frutta in Russo

2011-10-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Fruits in Russian / Frutta in Russo:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/fruit/

Answers / Risposte:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/language/russian/label/fruit/answers.shtml

Learn Russian Colors / Colori Russo

2011-10-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

Teaching / Insegnamento:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/russian/

Quiz/Practice / Practica:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/russian/matchingquiz.shtml

Answer Sheet / Risposte:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/russian/matchingquizans.shtml

History 2/Storia 2: Map of Russia/Mappa del Russa

2011-10-10T20:44:00.003-04:00

Here is a map of Russia with lines for your child to label the: Major Cities, Mountain Ranges, Oceans and more.

http://www.proteacher.com/redirect.php?goto=4100

Here is a link to the Glossary of Major Cities in Russia, mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, oceans and surrounding countries. It is easy to print out a larger map (easy to find online) for your child to label the surrounding countries if you wish to expand to that and have them write the surrounding countries in English or Russian.

This can be used in either language. For ease of use I recommend first teaching them the names in English. Then teaching them the Russian translation and after they've learned how to write the Russian alphabet, only then have them fill in the answers with the Russian spelling.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/continents/Asia/Russia/label/glossaryprint.shtml

Here is the answer key to the map above. It has all the answers.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/continents/Asia/Russia/label/labelanswers.shtml

Ecco una mappa della Russa con le linee per il vostro bambino per etichettare il grandi citta, catene montuose, aceani e altro ancora.

http://www.proteacher.com/redirect.php?goto=4100

Ecco un link al glossario delle principali citta in Russa, catene montuose, i laghi, i fiumi, gli oceani e nei paesi limitrofi. E 'facile stampare una mappa piu grande facile da trovare per il vostro bambino ad etichettari i paesi circostanti, se si vuole espandere a quella e li scrivono i paesi circostanti in italiano o russo.

Questo puo essere usato in entrambe le lingue. Per facilita d'uso vi consiglio prima insegnando loro i nomi in italiano. Poi insegnando loro la traduzione russa e dopo che hanno imparato a scrivere l'alfabeto russo, solo allora li hanno compilare le reisposte con l'ortografia russa.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/continents/Asia/Russia/label/glossaryprint.shtml

Ecco il tasto di responsta all mappa di cui sopra. Ha tutte le risposte.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/continents/Asia/Russia/label/labelanswers.shtml

**Nota** Queste mappe sono in inglese e dovranno esseretradotti in italiano. Si tratta da un sito inglese. Consiglio vivamente di Google Translate (http://translate.google.com) per singoli termini. Io aro alla ricerca di questi stessi documenti in Italiano. Quando ho avuto il tempo io liri elaborare in me stesso italiano ed eseguire la scansione e caricarli sul computer. Se come me a e-mail a voi quando hanno finito scrivetami a RussianForKids@hotmail.com

History 1/Storia 1: Flag/Bandiera

2011-10-10T20:34:00.002-04:00

Russian Flag:

http://www.proteacher.com/redirect.php?goto=4102

This link will take you to a Russian flag that is ready to be colored. It has the word "Russia" on it in English (below the flag) and in Russian (above the flag).

The colors of the flag are : Top - white, Middle - blue, Bottom - red.

Here is a link to more information about the Russian flag, when it was created, the history behind it etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Russia

Bandiera Russa:

http://www.proteacher.com/redirect.php?goto=4102

Questo link vi portera a una bandiera russa che e pronto peressere colorato. Ha la parola "Russa" su di esso in Inglese (sotto la bandiera) e in Russo (sopra la bandiera).

I colori della bandiera sono: Top - bianco, Medio - blu, Inferiore - rosso.

Ecco un link per ulterior informazioni sulla bandiera Russa in Inglese, quando e stato creato, la storia alla spalle, ecc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Russia

Ecco il link stesso alle informazioni Bandiera Russa in Italiano. Non c'e piu storia nella versione Inglese che nella versione Italiana. Usa http://translate.google.com/ per tradurre la versione Inglese in Italiano.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandiera_della_Russia