Packing, Shopping, Packing Some More...

Well, I'm almost to a point where I'm not freaking out about all the freaking stuff that freaking needs to get done before freaking Tuesday.

Oh wait, who am I freaking kidding?

So.  Much.  Stuff.

I'm already basically done with donations to the orphanage for this trip -- though I do have $10 to Kohl's that I'd like to try to get some stuff off the clearance rack with.  The back to school sales have completely been my friend when it comes to scoring donations, by the way -- I've even scored Gymboree shirts for $5.

Luckily, Kohl's is right by the bank, and I need to go there to order foreign currency.  Bank of America can't get Kyrgyz money, by the way, and our agency advises that you travel with US money and change it over in Kyrgyzstan.

I also need to print, laminate, punch a hole through, and key ring some photos of our family, our house, Superpup, etc.  Originally, we'd planned to do a photo book from a printing service like Snapfish or Persnickety Prints but I was told that laminated is better in case the kids are more destructive.  Amazon had a great deal on a Scotch brand laminator -- it ended up costing about the same as a book from Persnickety.

And, of course, we still need to pack.  Right now, we have this great system where, when we find something that we know needs to go on the trip, we take it upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms.  If it goes in that room, it's going.  I also have sections of the room for things that need to be in our carry-on luggage.  Still, though, on Monday I will need to make sure that we both have all the clothes we need for the trip, and that all those clothes and clean, etc.

I also need to pack Superpup's bag, because he will be spending some time with my parents.

Plus there's printing out the question lists from our international adoption doctor, buying some first aid type stuff to take with us, and probably a million more things I'm forgetting.

But, honestly, compared to what's gotten done, this doesn't look half bad.

Big News!

 

We have a referral.

 

And travel dates.

 

And airplane tickets.

 

And a hotel room.

 

Yes, it's been a busy weekend -- sorry I haven't posted this on the blog, but I really wanted to get all the logistics ironed out.

The children who are soon to be ours (can we call them our children yet?) are both older than our beloved Super Pup.  So, to poke a little fun at other adoption and pregnancy announcements, I posted that picture to Facebook.  (Usually, the dog or an older child would be wearing a sign that says he's going to be a big brother.)

 

Our future son is 2.5, and our future daughter is 4.  They aren't biological siblings (we were told that there aren't siblings in our age range available), but they have been raised together. 

 

They are both absolutely beautiful children, but I'm not allowed to share pictures until they are legally ours.  I will be blogging during our trips, but the pictures I share will be of tourist sights, etc. Of course, we can't wait to share all of this with everyone, but we need to be respectful of the laws and culture of our future children's homeland.

 

At this point, we are both thrilled and completely overwhelmed.  Shopping, packing, and arranging a tourist visa for our 23-hour layover in Moscow consume all of my time and energy.  I alternate between impatience (because I can't wait to meet our children) and feeling the pressure of our travel dates being just around the corner.  So much to do, so little time -- and yet I don't think I could stand waiting any longer.