Moods, Planes, and Soup

2:07 PM - Mike here again (yeah, I know -- I should get a life).

Our morning excursion today was a walk to the park. I choose the word "walk" carefully. You see, we usually alternate between taking the strollers, which give Linda and me more exercise, and not, which makes the kids work. This morning it was about walking the kids. Tucker, bless him, was very good -- and he made sure to tell us so. Bacha, on the other hand, bawled and stomped much of the way there, until I started walking Tucker along the top of a wall, at which point Bacha switched over and was very happy.

Have I mentioned Bacha's on/off switch? It's truly amazing. One second, she'll be the child from hell, or the child with parents from hell (depending on whose side you take), and then the next minute she'll be the angel-faced smiling cherub that we first fell in love with -- tears still rolling down her face, though the floodgates have been closed. It's truly amazing. Works the other direction, too, of course, which is what keeps us on our toes.

Tucker doesn't have a switch like this. Working Bacha's moods can be likened to flying a stunt plane -- very unstable, but consequently very maneuverable, at least in theory. Managing Tucker's moods, on the other hand, is more like flying a jumbo jet -- advanced planning is required and it can take miles to do a 180, but the situation is much more stable and comes with a decent autopilot.

Of course, sometimes the stunt plane flies inexplicably straight and level, while the jumbo jet has computer problems. <shrug>

So anyway, I'm sitting here writing with Bacha asleep in the other room, while Linda and Tucker are still out. Makes me a little nervous. But we agreed to split up when my hayfever started generating in me a splitting headache, and couldn't bear to go shoe shopping. Linda had had it with Bacha's morning temperament, so I took her. Poor Tucker really didn't know what he was getting into. Shoe shopping -- uhgh. I fear I might have scarred him for life. They've been gone over an hour, which seems like an eternity to me. But then, one hour shoe-shopping for Linda is like one soccer match for me -- a good example of how the observer can effect the events being observed.

Aha -- they just walked in. Linda landed two pairs of new shoes (actually, I'm very happy for her), and Tucker scored two puzzles. She tells me this was the deal they struck. No nap for Mr T. today, I guess.

Another thing about Bacha. The pupil of her right eye is rather - cat-eye shaped. I noticed it just the other day. It's hard to tell, you see, because she has dark brown eyes. But it's definitely there, and we're not sure what it means. Her medical report referred to her having recovered from what was translated as glaucoma -- which we don't believe for various reasons. But there's clearly something going on there. Her vision seems fine, including when we do little tests on the one eye in particular. Don't know -- just something we'll have to check when we get home.

Home. Turns out we have one full day left in Kokshetau. Tomorrow we travel to Shuchinsk for some final paperwork involving Mia's birth certificate, and Friday we fly to Almaty, leaving at about noon. We're starting to form an exit strategy which includes the logistics of packing, food supplies, and how the heck we're going to pack everything onto that little airplane.

This would be a good time to mention the little airplane we're going to board to fly to Almaty. If you'll recall, we didn't fly from Almaty to Kokshetau on the way out here -- we flew to Astana on a very nice airplane and drove the rest. However, we're familiar with our upcoming flying adventure, as we did it twice during our trip two years ago. Here's what the literature from our adoption agency says about the flight:

"The plane ride ... is unfortunately everything that you have heard about travel in the former Soviet Union. The plane is an older jet with seating for about 40, and then only after scrunching yourself in. It is common for people to stand on the flight. It is common and acceptable to smoke on the plane in the back, but since it is small this makes little difference to sensitive noses. There is no bathroom on the plane. You carry your own bags on board through the rear tail stairs, throwing it into a luggage area before finding a seat. The best suggestion is to find an isle seat as the plane gets cold and your leg will go numb if you keep it next to the plane walls. You will see frost start to form about halfway into your journey. With all that being said, for those feint of heart, you may want to take a pill or shot of something stronger than the mineral water they give you shortly after takeoff. Rest in the knowledge that there have been no problems with this flight in the 7 years we have been flying families there, and know that you will not likely be the first! No, you cannot take the train, sorry."

Most of this is true -- all but the bathroom thing. There does seem to be a bathroom in the back because we remember people seeming to go back and use it. As for the luggage, it's all true, and I might add that on our last trip (get this) there was actually a crate of live chicks -- yes, baby chickens -- in the luggage compartment. It was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. Also, last time we traveled with two other couples adopting a total of three other kids, and some of them ended up sitting in the rear of the plane, where (they don't tell you this in the literature) it apparently gets pretty uncomfortably hot, despite the encroaching frost, because you're sitting near the engines. We had some poor, screaming kids last time, too (and one poor, crying mother), which didn't make matters easier. In our case I remember holding up my third ticket, which we'd bought for Tucker, when it was clear before takeoff that there was a 12-year-old girl looking for a seat. When we started to taxi and we observed that she was sitting in her mother's lap, we couldn't bear it and gave her our extra seat (Tucker was Linda's lap anyway). The girl ended up being the captain's daughter. The flight, incidentally, is about 4 hours long.

Our strategy on this flight is, first, to drink as little as possible to avoid an in-flight pee break (Mia will be wearing a diaper). I'm also preparing myself mentally to push and shove to get to the front of the line so that we can get good seats, together. Pushing and shoving is expected, apparently. This is a stressful time, as we have a lot of luggage -- more than we can really carry in one trip.

One final note... I actually did call Sveta for a soup delivery today. Turns out the kitchen is closed to the public for a private party today. Just our luck.