Apologies

Yesterday both Tania and Sasha were in trouble. David decided that they could not watch TV or play on the computer until they apologized to me. Apparently, David got home from work yesterday and sat down with both of them and explained what they had done wrong and what they needed to do to fix the problem.



Through all this I was at work. This is my busy season and I spend more time in my office than I do all other places combined. So I was with a co-worker going over my inventory of work that has come in and what has yet to come in when I noticed my cell phone ringing. Once I finally went back to my office, my cell phone had 47 missed phone calls! All from Sasha.



Sasha did get in touch with me and we had a really good conversation and he did apologize to me. In the back of my mind though I kept thinking he just apologized so that he could get back on the computer.



So I ended up going home for dinner. This is the first home cooked dinner I have had with my family during the week for quite a while. Anyway, Matthew announced that the dishes in the dishwasher were clean and needed to be put away. Usually, during the non busy season, I empty the dishwasher before I even start dinner so that as I am cooking I can put the dirty dishes in the dish washer and then after dinner everyone takes care of their own dishes and quite often David and I will finish up the few remaining dishes. I know I should have the kids do more but oh well. (We do make the kids do more when there are overly loud burps during dinner or Ukrainian is spoken at the table.) So to get back on topic, I sat there and said I was really to tired to think about doing dishes. So Sasha quietly got up from the dinner table and started putting the dishes in the dishwasher away. Even after the dishes were put away, David and I both thanked him and told him he had done more than his share and that we would finish. He insisted on helping with the dishes until they were all taken care of.



I think Sasha was truly sorry and I am a proud mother.



On a side note. Matthew made the best meat loaf that I have ever had for dinner. He is home on spring break from Utah State. If he can't make it in the world of mechanical engineering (his major), he can surely make it as a wonderful chef. The only problem with Matthew's cooking is he is a terribly messy cook. He takes after his Grammy (my mother).



One of my teenage memories is trying to help my mother cook Christmas dinner. It was hard though. I cleaned off a spot for me to work and I would turn my back and my mom would have taken over the spot. I did this a few times before I could actually work on the food item I was trying to make. I don't remember what I was trying to make but I do remember the cleaning up after my mom.



Many of my mother's friends have commented on how my mother is a messy cook. So it is not just me. She loves to have a spotless house but when she cooks look out.

Sumy School

Just to let everyone know. This is the e-mail I receive from Marina regarding the school.

Hi, Julie. You probably know that this school shares the territory and the dormitory together with another boarding school for gifted children who didn't have there own building. And as the orphanage now has only 37 children and there are about 200 children in the other school, it was decided to move the orphanage to another town - Romny whch is in our region but the conditions seem to be worse there. So that's all the situation - the territory and the building were given to another organization. Children are going to stay in Sumy until the end of summer if nothing changes.

Sergei is already in Romny, because he had some problems - bad company- here. So to avoid them he was moved to another place.

All the other children are fine. I go to school at least once a weak, trying to teach Pasha and Lena. But it seems to be not a very good idea as for English. My lessons don't work as I'd like. The kids like me to come, to entertain them. They like attention, I sometimes bring delicious things to them. But they know they will learn the language quickly in the USA (I think you noticed that by your kds), so no additional efforts are applied. And that's quite usual with all the children, I think. And I just love coming and seeing them.

Sumy School

Tania talked to Antonina this morning. It sounds like they are keeping all the kids who are in line to be adopted until this summer. I am not sure who they are moving out in the next few weeks. I think I will e-mail Marina tonight myself and try to get more information from her.
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Sumy School

Tania just told us that she received an e-mail from Marina. Marina said they are starting to close down the Sumy school. Sergei has been moved to another school. It sounds like they are going to move some more kids in a couple of weeks.

Has anybody else heard anymore about the school?