Moscow before Christmas

This is the Yeates Christmas tree, Moscow style.  It is my first live tree, which I was able to purchase right here in our neighborhood.  It was quite a comical situation getting the tree home.  It is over 200 cm and our nanny and I had to carry it home because the usual delivery men (the maintenance men in the neighborhood) were not available that day.  Irina carried the back part of the tree and the tree stand.  I carried the front part and was pushing the stroller.  And we did all of this while walking with the girls and keeping them in line.  The next day Jesy put up all of the lights and then the kids and I put on the ornaments.  And don't worry- Jesy also decorated the front of our house, as he always does.  The Americans and Europeans like the lights, but it is the Russians who are really mezmerized by them.  I have found Russian nannies letting the kids play in the display.  I don't think they have ever seen anything like it.
The past two weeks have been very busy.  Colin had his Christmas concert at school, which the girls and I were able to attend.  Colin looked so handsome in his shirt and tie.  If you are sad that you didn't get to see him all dressed up, don't worry.  He will be wearing the same shirt and tie this summer in South Carolina when he makes his first Holy Communion.  It was a very nice performance and from where I was sitting it seemed that Colin was singing.
Amalie and Kathleen also had a Christmas performance, but it was completely different from Colin's.  Colin goes to an American school, so his concert was really like any you would find in the US.  The girls attend a Russian preschool and I have to say I found their performance fascinating, cute, and also a bit odd. 
Kathleen's show was first.  All of the kids dressed up as bunnies (no idea why, some kind of Russian obsession with bunnies at Christmas time.  There are bunny comstumes all over Moscow).  They sang some songs and danced around.  Kathleen did not participate at first, but she did smile at me the whole time.  When they got to the Hokey-Pokey, though, she perked up and was quite good at putting her little bunny tail in and shaking it all about.  Her class had a visit from Santa, but unfortunately I had to miss that part because I had to get to Amalie's class to watch her show.  In the whole school I am the only parent that has two children attending.  You know what breeders Jesy and I are.
Amalie's class did some singing and dancing, and they also did this whole little play where they were cooking in the kitchen.  During the middle of the performance one of the teachers (who was dressed up as a goblin, or something) came into the room and started crying that she didn't have a Christmas tree and had no friends.  Then Amalie and her classmates had to comfort this creature.  Then they went back to singing and dancing.  At the end of the performance Santa Clause (not Father Frost as the girls insisted he was) visited.  He spoke to the kids all in Russian and it was hilarious to watch Amalie.  I know she did not understand much of what he was saying, but boy was she paying attention.Oh, and in the middle of Amalie's performance, Kathleen came running in the room from her show yelling "Mommy, look what Father Frost brought me".  I had to quiet her down because she was quite excited about the star pillow she had been give with a bunny on top.  The Russians with those bunnies again.  But Kathleen did quiet down and she was allowed to sit on a stool in the middle of Amalie's performance and watch her sister.  After the shows were over all of the children were allowed to eat the many snacks that had been provided.  I noticed that the Russian parents took their children home shortly after this, but most of the American and European moms stood around and chatted.  And let our kids run around like lunatics with their sugar high.  Hey, better they go crazy at school than in my house.
Last weekend Jesy and I took the kids ice skating at Gorky Park.  Well, I should clarify that Jesy took Amalie and Colin skating.  My very smart Kathleen and I sat in the warm cafe and drank hot chocolate.  I have no interest in ice skating, but I have to say that I have never seen a rink quite like this.  Not only did they freeze the center of the park, buy the sidewalks as well.  You were able to skate all over the park and there were tv's and lights everywhere and Kathleen and I enjoyed watching all of the Russians and our family skate around.
After skating we went to Papa John's.  Here in Moscow they have a sit down restaurant and there is also an indoor playground.  It was wonderful- the kids played and Jesy and I actually had a conversation without being interrupted every 2 minutes.  And the pizza was pretty good!  There were lots of kids to play with and I got a good giggle from Colin.  At one point during the meal I looked up at the playground and saw Colin surrounded by a group of Russian children.  And he was laughing hysterically.  And he had no idea what they were saying to him in Russian.  He did make friends with this very cute little Russian girl who followed him around the restaurant during our stay.  When we were leaving Jesy told Colin to go say goodbye to this girl.  Colin went to say goodbye and as the girl went in for a hug Colin gave her a high five.  Jesy could not stop laughing. 
I am beginning to think that Colin has a type- an Easter European type.  First the Romanian girl in Cedar Falls and now these Russian girls in Moscow.
You are probably wondering as you read this, where is Johnny?  Does he ever leave the house?  Sadly, no.  He often stays at home with the nanny and really only leaves the house to go on walks, go to church, and go to the doctor.  Russians have a huge fear of taking little babies out because of all the supposed germs and cold weather.  If we took him somewhere we would just spend the whole time getting yelled at in Russian by the old babushkas, so it's really not worth the hassle to me.  But John did go to a party last weekend, and next week he will be in Greece.  And I promise you we will take him everywhere with us in Athens.  Poor kid- here in Moscow is is cold, so when he goes out in the stroller I pull the cover down and he never sees anything.  Athens will be so exciting for him!  I will leave the cover up and let him see the world!
Speaking of John, I just have to say that he is the sweetest little baby.  He reminds me alot of Amalie.  He only cries when he wants to be held or is hungry.  He smiles all the time now and makes these adorable little noises when I am changing him.  I feel like he is trying to talk to me.  He adores Amalie and Colin and really looks at them and responds when they are playing with him.  Kathleen. Well, you know how it is with her.  I think John is a bit terrified of her.  One minute she is loving him and then the next minute she is putting a blanket over his face and telling him to be quiet.  If he is crying she enjoys crying with him, very loudly and in his face.  Kathleen will be in for quite a shock when he gets a bit bigger and really starts messing with her.  And yes Mom- I know all of this is payback for how I treated Suzanne.  Good thing we will be seeing you in April and you can take over Kathleen duty.  And you can feed her!
Merry Christmas friends and family.  We miss you and send lots of love from Russia!

The Road to American Citizenship

I have been hesitant to write this blog, but now that Johnny has an American passport and birth certificate, I feel that I am in the clear.  This is the story of how we made him an American citizen.  Technically, he was an American the day he was born (Jesy and I bestowed our citizenship upon him at birth), but in this post 9/11 world, you know it is all about the paperwork.
When a mother leaves the hospital after giving birth (whether she is a Russian or a foreigner), she is given a white slip of paper that has recorded on it the mother's name, the day of her baby's birth, the time, and the height and weight.  The baby's name is not recorded on this document.  The nurses stress to you over and over again not to lose this paper- it's the only one you will get. You take this piece of paper to a Russian registrar's office and apply for a Russian birth certificate.  With this birth certificate you then go to the American Embassy, along with a ton of paperwork to prove you really are an American, and apply for an American passport and birth certificate.  Jesy and I knew all about this process before we moved to Moscow.  Easy peesy we said.  No big deal.  Silly Eileen and Jesy.  Silly, silly.  Nothing is ever easy peesy in Russia.
If you are a married couple applying for the Russian birth certificate, you have to bring a copy of your marriage certificate with an apostile on it.  From what I understand, an apostile is a mark that you get on your marriage certificate that has some type of Geneva Convention rules applied to it.  We should have had an apostile on our certificate in order to get our Russian visas, but somehow we slipped past the system.  You know how sneaky Jesy and I tend to be.  Anyways, we do not have an apostile and that is a problem.
Well, Jesy found all of this out a day or so after John was born.  We were presented with two options by the American Embassy.  One- get an apostile on our marriage certificate.  After calling the state of Nevada (completely unhelpful) we knew that this was not the route for us.  It would take months to get and I was very nervous to be walking around with an undocumented kid in a foreign country. Two- present yourselves as an unmarried couple to the Russian government because without that apostile they don't recognize your marriage anyways.  Keep in mind that Jesy told me all of this shortly after John was born- the hormones were still running crazy.  An unmarried mother of four- let's just say I was a little upset about this.  You gotta do what what you gotta do, though, so Jesy and decided to be "unmarried".  My dad is still laughing about this as he has been to Russia and understands what is going on here.
On a chilly Thursday afternoon I bundled John up and drove to the registrar's office with our translator Olga.  Jesy met us there.  We presented ourselves as an unmarried couple and the Russian worker did not believe us for a second.  She went to her boss.  The boss noticed that Jesy and I had the same last name and said no thank you American couple.  No birth certificate for you today.  She knew we were married and she wanted that apostile.  Our translator told us that the boss was an "old Soviet style boss and she did not let things like this slide".  This was a big bummer for Jesy and I and of course with all of those hormones coursing through me I cried alot that night.  I really felt that Johnny was destined to be a nameless, undocumented child forever.
The next morning, my "husband", because he is a very persistent man, decided we should try another registrar's office.  They have many throughout the city.  Once again, the Russian worker did not believe our unmarried status and brought all of our information to her boss.  Lucky for us, this boss was not a Soviet style supervisor.  She was an "All Americans are crazy boss".  This is the gist of the conversation as told to us by Olga:
Russian worker:  "They say they are an unmarried couple.  But they have four kids together.  Who has four kids together and does not get married?"
Boss:  "You know these strange Americans- they do things like this.  They all have kids and do not get married.  Just give them the birth certificate and get them out of here."
Done- we got a birth certificate and we were out of there before they could take it away. 
Now, I have been a member of team Jen Aniston since day one, but I do have to give a shout out here to Brad and Angelina.  They have six kids together and are not married!  I know the Russians had the Jolie-Pitts in mind when dealing with Jesy and I.  Thanks Angelina and Brad for your loosy-goosy stance on marriage.  It really helped us out here in Russia.
I write this blog for my children with the hopes that they will someday read it and remember our Russian adventure.  This ones for you John.

Circumcision, Princesses, and silly babies that spit up

I have gained knowledge in some pretty interesting areas since moving to Moscow.  Case in point- Colin and I started talking the other night while giving John a bath and he told me that the boys in his class have been making fun of him in the locker room because his penis looks different from theirs.  I had to laugh a little bit because boys are so ridiculous with those things, but then I had to comfort my son.  I have discovered that Russians and many Europeans do not circumcise their little boys.  So of course, Colin does look quite different from the other boys in his class.  I did explain to Colin that we are Americans and many Americans do this, but he is still a bit upset over why he does not look the same.   I will let Jesy tackle this when he gets home.  Later on that night we were looking at pictures from his class and  for every boy picture Colin would say "his penis is different than mine, his is different than mine".  I asked him why he knew all of this about other little boys in his class.  He looked at me like I was crazy and told me that's what they do in the locker room- look at each other.  I am so happy I am a girl.
Amalie has many friends in her preschool class, but one little boy, Toby, is her favorite.  They are very cute together and they have lots of fun playing.  Two weeks ago Toby made Amalie a very pretty necklace at the craft fair.  On Tuesday when I picked Amalie up from school he had made her several crowns and told his teacher that of course he would make Amalie a crown- she is his princess!  Only four years old and she is already a princess for someone besides Daddy.  Poor Jesy.  Jeanine- the good news is that Toby's mother is Italian, so if they were to ever marry maybe we can fulfill our dream of living in Italy.
I would say that about 80% of the time Kathleen is very nice to John.  But we all know how she is, so she cannot be on her best behavior all of the time.  Last week John was crying alot while I was attempting to make dinner.  He was in his swing and Amalie was trying her best to comfort him while Kathleen walked next to him and hit him.  Of course Amalie almost had a breakdown over this, and when I asked Kathleen why she hit her brother she replied " he was crying too much.  That's what you do when someone will not stop crying- you hit them."  How delightful- anyone looking for a babysitter in a few years?  On Sunday John was playing on his mat and he spit up.  Whenever John spits up Colin and Amalie go crazy and you would think it was the end of the world.  They get so concerned.  Not Kathleen.  She walked by him and said "stupid baby that is always throwing up".  I laughed so hard at that after I corrected her.
The weather in Moscow had not been that bad.  There is some snow on the ground, but after living in Iowa for 4 years I know it could get worse.  This morning I went for a lovely walk in the woods behind our neighborhood with a friend of mine.  It was so peaceful to be walking amongst the trees and snow.  Mom- she is Hungarian, so I was thinking of Grandma and how she would get such a kick out of me walking with my Hungarian friend while in Moscow.  Life is so funny that way.

Happy Thanksgiving America!

Last year we celebrated Thanksgiving in Texas with Jesy's family and I had three children.  This year we are celebrating in Moscow and enjoying our new baby, John Thomas.  What a change in one year!
Since this blog is for my children, I have to include the recent health problems we have had.  Two weeks ago Kathleen became very ill and was put in the hospital for pneumonia.  I stayed with her and it was quite a weekend.  The first night was rough- she was so sick and weak and I hated watching her get hooked up to an IV and having blood taken.  By Saturday morning she was doing so much better, though, and we spent the rest of the weekend reading books and watching movies.  I had to argue a bit with the hospital staff, but I got them to release us by explaining that I had a new baby at home that also needed me.  And thank goodness Kathleen was feeling much better and really enjoying being the center of attention at the hospital.  Colin and Amalie came with Jesy to visit her on Saturday and you would have thought she was the queen of the hospital.  And it was quite sweet that Amalie brought her a bag full of books and toys that she had picked out herself.
We got home on Sunday night and by Monday John was sick.  He had a cough and some congestion in his chest.  By Wednesday night they had hospitalized him with bronchitis.  John was put on the NICU floor of the hospital he was born in since this sickness is quite serious in a baby his age.  They checked me in to the hospital also for my scar.  Jesy and I both think they did this so I could stay with John on the floor as I really felt fine.  The first few days at the hospital were pretty rough.  John was really sick and quite lethargic and I was really worried.  By Saturday I knew he was feeling better, but they did not release us until Tuesday.  It was really a long time to be in the hospital and as you can imagine I was quite anxious to go home to my other children.  John is doing much better and I am happy to report that he has gained weight and some centimeters.  Now just to keep everyone healthy for awhile.  Which will be tough because I just picked Kathleen up from school early as she threw up on herself.  Winter in a cold climate is soooooo frustrating.
One always has to look for the positives, and I am so thrilled that Jesy and I have made plans to take the kids to Athens, Greece after Christmas.  New Years in Greece- I am beside myself with happiness.  Greece and Italy have always been my top two places to visit in the world and I will be visiting both within the next six months.  Kind of a last minute decision, but Jesy and I thought that with the three hospital stays in the past month (I am counting John's birth in here) that we deserved a vacation.  And it will be so lovely to see the sun and be warm for a week.  We have rented an apartment for the week that has lovely views of the city.  Jesy is hoping for fireworks on New Years Eve, and I am with him on that.
In the spirit of Turkey Day, some things I am grateful for:
My amazing husband, who loves me and keeps me calm.
My four beautiful children, who make me laugh and keep me on my toes.  And for the continuing good health of these children.
My dad, who is also my good friend, and told me many times during this last pregnancy how beautiful I was.  You know he's a nice person, because I was a wreck during most of that pregnancy.
My mom, who also calms me and listens to all my crazy problems while living in Russia.  Thank goodness she is retired and I can call her whenever I want.
My siblings, who I miss more than they will ever know.
My Nee-Nee, who after a serious illness last winter is back.  We are so looking forward to seeing her this summer.
Jesy's job with John Deere-which provides us with a paycheck to live on and gave us the wonderful opportunity to live in Russia.
Our support system in Russia,which includes our nannies and drivers and the neighbors who brought us food after John was born.
We are missing our fellow Americans today, but are looking forward to our turkey dinner tonight- bought from Colin's school.  How fun that I can just go pick it up this afternoon with no cooking on my part!

I had a baby in Russia!

I had a baby in Russia and I lived to blog about it!  Many people have asked about my experience giving birth in Russia, and I thought I would share the experience.  I am joking about the lived to blog about it- I knew going in that the Perinatal Medical Center was an excellent hospital and that I was in very good hands.  So, the story:
My c-section was scheduled for a Thursday morning, so my doctor has me check in the night before.  As I have said before, this was my 4th section and I had made the Russians quite nervous with this.  Russian women typically have 1-2 babies, so it is quite unusual in this country to have 4 c-sections.  Because of this the doctors decided to take John at 37 weeks.  My doctor, Sergei, was present for the surgery, but it was actually performed by Dr.Krusko, who is the head of the hospital and the leading Obgyn in Russia.  As I was told by the Russians-" He is very famous Ellen (yes, they call me Ellen here) and he is the best doctor in all of Russia.  You are in very good hands".  He usually delivers babies for government officials and celebrities in Moscow.  Not bad for a stay-at-home mom from Iowa. 
On the morning of the surgery Jesy met me outside the OR.  He was not allowed in the OR like in the States.  Russians are afraid the men are going to collapse during the surgery and they don't want to look after Dad and Mom.  I tried explaining to them that Jesy had been through 3 sections before and was an officer in the army who had seen combat, but they were not persuaded.  When they called me in to the surgery I went into a small outer room and they made me take all of my clothes off except for some white compression stockings.  I had to walk into the OR naked!  If I had not been so nervous I think I would have died of embarrassment.  The prepwork for the surgery was quite similar to the US and the three doctors in the room all spoke English.  The anestesiologist was the head of the department.  He is quite the catch at the hospital because I was told by many nurses that he is not married and quite handsome.  To be honest I was just happy that he was very nice and got me numb before they started cutting.  After about 30 minutes baby John arrived.  It was quite funny- after they cleaned him up they brought him over to me and opened up his legs.  The nurses did not speak English, so this was there way of telling me "look- it's a boy!".  They then presented the baby this way to Jesy also.
After the surgery I was taken to a recovery room that I ended up staying in for 9 hours.  Jesy was able to take John down to the pediatric ward and visit him many times during the day, but I was confined to recovery.  I slept most of the day and it took me longer than usual to recover because I had gotten a bit too much of the epidural and could not move my legs for many hours.  There were three other women in the room with me and it was quite surreal to not see my baby for so long.  In the US you are with the baby right away.  I passed the time by talking with Jesy and our interpretor Ela, who we hired to help us translate the first few days at the hospital.  She was a true blessing because even though I have been taking Russian lessons it is a very difficult language and who really wants to practice when they are doped up on pregnancy drugs anyways.
At about 6pm I was finally able to go to my private room and visit with John.  He is just lovely and Jesy and I enjoyed kissing him and snuggling.
After that my stay at the hospital was quite similar to the US.  The doctors were great, and the nurses were quite helpful and sweet.  I got by with alot of hand gesturing and simple phrases, and I noticed a few of the nurses using google translate to try and explain things to me.  Overall it was a positive experience and I would recommend this hospital to any woman wanting to have a baby in Moscow. 
Some funny observations from the hospital:
Johnny and I walked up and down the corridors of the hospital (best way to heal) and all of the pictures on the wall were of American cities.  I recognized Chicago, New York, St.Louis and San Francisco. 
I was called a "hero" by many of the nurses on the floor.  At first I thought they were just confusing some American word, but then when Jesy reported to me that he was called a hero at work we figured it out.  The Russians were amazed that I had four children!  The head doctor and many of the nurses kept on telling me that they would see me next year for baby number five.  As much as I love my children and enjoyed this hospital, no thank you.  Four is quite enough for Eileen and Jesy.
They do not do pain pills at the hospital- they do shots.  One of the English speaking nurses approached me about getting physical therapy in my derriere region after leaving the hospital.  At first I was so upset- does my backside look that bad after four kids that I need therapy?  I then realized that they were referring to all of the bruises- I bruise quite easily and my entire backside was black and blue.  No need for physical therapy, just some healing time and good exercise when I recover.
It is a Russian custom to give the doctor that delivered your baby a gift.  We gave our doctor a bottle of nice whiskey.  Imagine giving a doctor in the US liquor!  I find the differences in our countries so interesting.
It is also customary to release balloons (50-100) when you leave the hospital.  I actually thought this was very nice (maybe not for the environment) and enjoyed watching the releases from my hospital room window.  Jesy and I did not participate in this ritual, though, because I really just wanted to get home on my day of departure.
I usually do not get political in public, but some things to note about the Russian healthcare system and my experience.  I was at a private, commercial hospital.  We paid for this birth in cash (our American insurance company reimburses us) as do all the women who give birth at this hospital.  Every Russian has government insurance and most women give birth in state hospitals.  I visited one myself and I would not have given birth there and would not recommend it.  The doctors and nurses are paid very little and after the birth women share a room with 5 or 6 others during their hospital stay.  It is still customary to give the doctor a gift after the baby is born, but this gift is usually cash because they make so little money.  I was in the Perinatal Center with very wealthy Russians and couples who saved for years to be able to afford this experience.  I myself have never been on any type of public assisstance, but I know for a fact that the three other hospitals I gave birth at in the US accepted Medicaid patients.  It is always important to remember how nice we have it in the US. 
Dr.Krusko asked me how this experience compared to the US and if I would recommend his hospital to my friends in the expat community.  It was actually quite similar to the US and I would recommend it to any woman in Moscow who asks me.  But you will not see me next year for baby number five! 

Baby coming soon!

This will be my last post for awhile.  Or maybe I will have lots of free time at the hospital and will be blogging every day.  I have no idea how this will all go.  Or how the internet service will be.
Baby Yeates #4 will be here either October 20 or 21- this Thursday or Friday.  Am I nervous- hell yes!  Having a baby, having a c-section, is pretty nervewracking anyways.  Having a baby in a room where hardly anyone is speaking your language is even worse.  If it was Spanish I could make out every other word, but my Russian after two months is not that great.  I do know the word for good, though, and I hope I hear that alot.  The reason the surgery is a few days earlier than I expected is that the head of the hospital (the head OBGYN of all of Moscow and probably Russia) is going to be scrubbing in that day also.  And Thursday or Friday is when he is free.  Please keep Dr.K, Dr. Sergei, me, the baby, and the possible many spectators in your prayers for that day.  It seems like it will be standing room only outside the OR (you can watch surgeries from a glass window) and I hope Jesy will be able to see his child being born with all of the other people watching.  I am a teaching case, so there will be lots of doctors and nurses around.
The kids are excited to meet their new brother, but a bit apprehensive about me being gone for so long.  Colin is actually taking it very hard that I will be gone for 5-6 days.  The girls will be upset, but they also love Olesea (the nanny) so I know they will be having fun with her.  And next Saturday night is part one of trick or treating in our neighborhood, so they will have lots of fun getting candy and dressing up.  Cannot believe I am missing it.
I posted this on facebook, but I know some of you are not on it.  The question I most often get- will this baby be a US or Russian citizen.  He will not be a Russian.  As the saying goes "Russia for Russians".  Both of your parents have to be Russian citizens in order for you to be a Russian citizen.  I told Jesy I feel like we are the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty (my childhood favorite).  We bestow the gift of American citizenship on our child when he is born.  I was told this by the US Embassy and I thought it was rather cute.  He will only get a slip of paper from the hospital saying when he was born.  We then have to take this paper to a Russian registrar office and get a Russian birth certificate.  Then we bring this birth certificate to the US Embassy and they give an American birth certificate that is issued by the State Department, not a US state.  With this birth certificate and some other forms we can apply for a passport.  And then we can TRAVEL!  One of the main reasons we moved to Russia.  We are hoping for Prague in late winter and we have a house rented for Italy in April.  On that note, let's hope the Italians can get it together and stop rioting in the street so I can get to Rome.  I am probably jinxing myself, but Italy is my dream.
Next time I write I should be a mother of 4! 

Adventures at the hospital

These past two weeks have been intense with many appointments at the Perinatal Medical Center (the hospital where the baby will be born).  In Russia you switch to the hospital for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy and get assigned a doctor from the hospital.  I have been assigned to Dr.Sergei who was recommended to me by a friend from the neighborhood.
If you can believe this, I have made the Russians very nervous.  My kids make people nervous because they are a bit nuts.  Jesy makes people nervous in business situations.  I have seen this- Jesy's pretty darn good at what he does and he can be a bit intimidating (quite attractive also but that's a story for another time).  But me- I don't make people nervous.  I am very non-threatening and nice.  But I have made the Russians nervous. 
Russian women typically have 1-2 children, so Russian doctors are used to performing one or 2 c-sections on a woman.  This is my fourth and they are a little taken aback.  Just so everyone knows a fourth section in the US is not that big of a deal.  I had talked to my Iowa doctor before we got pregnant and he gave me the go-ahead.  And I know other women who have had 4+ sections.  Anyways, I have become a teaching case for this hospital.  (I am at a private hospital, but there is a state-run teaching hospital right next door and they are very interested in me also).
So, last week my English liason and Dr. Sergei told me that we would meet this Monday with the head of the hospital and whoever else was available to go over my case and decide if the baby will come at 38 or 39 weeks. 
Whoever else was available?  Thank goodness Jesy was with me.  They called us into the room and I kid you not- there were 15 people in the room besides Jesy and I and the two doctors.  Scary and intimidating are not strong enough words to describe what I was feeling.  Dr. Sergei started presenting my case in Russian.  Dr.Sergei is a pretty confident guy, but I could tell that he was really nervous.  That's when I knew that the head Dr. in the room was a pretty powerful guy.  After a few minutes of Russian the head Dr. asked me what language I speak.  He said he speaks some English so we switched to my native tongue.  They asked me various questions, mostly having to do with why I had the original section with Colin and what years and places the previous sections were done.  It was pretty amusing to hear them pronounce Louisiana and they didn't even touch Thibodaux.  The head doctor told me that everything looks ok and that the placenta is not in the way.  He then told me he was going to speak in Russian to everyone else in the room.  He did not raise his voice once and you could have heard a pin drop in the room.  Pretty impressive.  I was later told that he is the leading gyno in Russia and a very famous man in the medical field.  Pretty nice service for this stay-at-home mom from Iowa. 
After this they wanted to check my scar.  I had to get up on the examination table, pull down my pants in front of about 20 people and lay there while they observed my scar.  Not my finest moment, but all seems ok except for some water retention.  So, the final verdict- baby will arrive at 38 weeks, which puts us sometime before Halloween. 
You can see why I have not blogged in awhile- I have been very busy having hospital adventures.
Some funny stuff:
Mothers of other little boys may be able to relate to this.  Colin hates to brush his teeth- we fight about it every morning and night.  On Monday night he got very angry and told me "why can't we just be like sharks and lose our teeth and then have other ones grow back.  I would be so much happier with shark teeth".  Well, alrighty then. 
Amalie is really thrilled to become a big sister again.  She found the baby spoons the other day and is always telling Jesy and I how she is going to feed the baby and change him.  The best was what I overheard her telling Kathleen the other day.  "Kathleen, when you and I get bigger we are going to have babies in our tummies also".  You should have seen Kathleen's mouth gaping open.  Amalie then went on- "But first we have to go to college, get jobs, get married, and then we can have our babies".  Bravo Amalie, you must have a very excellent mother who is teaching you these things.
Kathleen has become good friends with a little Russian boy in her class, Gosa.  She came to me almost crying last week because another girl from school had declared she was going to marry Gosa.  "Who am I going to marry, mommy?  There is no-one left", she said to me.  It was so sad and so cute at the same time.  I tried to explain that she had plenty of time to decide that, and she comforted herself with the idea that perhaps she could marry Colin.

Colin and Muggles

I am not writing this piece for sympathy or a pity party thrown in my honor.  I just felt that since tomorrow is September 21 I had to mark the occasion somehow.  September 21st is the due date of the baby that we lost.  A sad day for the Yeates family, but it also makes me realize how blessed I am and lucky to have such a supportive family.  My mom was my rock during that time and my sisters and dad were there to listen.  And of course Jesy who spends so much of his waking hours trying to make a happy life for me.
The kids knew what was going on and Colin and Amalie were especially upset by the news of the lost baby.  Colin decided that the baby had been a boy and named him Jack.  It kind of stuck with me and when Colin and I talk about him we call him baby Jack.
Fast forward many months later and in late June we had to put my very favorite cat Muggles to sleep.  It was not an easy decision and I still miss him here in Russia.  When I came home and broke the news to the kids I will never forget what Colin said- "I think Baby Jack and Peanut (another lost cat) were there to meet Muggles in heaven".  I think my heart skipped a beat- what mother could ask for a more kindhearted son.
I hope Colin will read this some day and know how much I treasure his very big heart.  Colin often sees the world quite differently than I do and he gets me through the tough spots. 
Baby Jack- the child I will not get to hold until (hopefully) I have lived many years on this earth.  But I feel such peace knowing that you are safe with God and being watched over by Muggles and Peanut.  I know you are in safe hands.

We have furniture!

It has been a while since I posted anything- sorry for that.  Last week we got our sea shipment and we spent the latter part of the week unpacking.  I should clarify and say that the nanny and Jesy did the unpacking.  I tried to help, but I am really just in the way.  I do work for about 10 minutes and then I get tired and have to stop.  Lucky Jesy.
Speaking of this crazy baby, I went to the doctor last week because I have not been feeling too hot.  Long story short I am having Braxton Hicks contractions (fake contractions according to the Russians), but baby #4 is not coming anytime soon.  So funny because I never had these contractions before.  Of course, I never moved two times during a pregnancy (seriously, who moves twice while they are pregnant) so I am hoping that baby #4 and I have reached a truce and he will be a little nicer to me.  I won't move anymore if he would just calm down a little.  My doctor is so cute.  She is Russian but was trained in Germany.  She kept on telling me that she was following all of the baby protocol they use in Germany.  "Everything fits within the German parameters- you are doing fine".  Well, if the Germans think I am ok I will take it.  We all know they are an orderly people.
The kids continue to do fine.  Colin went to a Russian birthday party the other night.  Swimming, a pirate to entertain the kids, and wine and sushi for the adults.  Major bummer that I could not go (baby #4 again), but I would not have been allowed the sushi and wine anyways.  Hopefully Colin is still friends with this boy next year.  I know my parents are shaking their heads right now, but you will be very happy.  Our nanny bought us chocolates and wine from Moldovo (her home country).  The kids devoured the chocolates.  I had some of the wine (more like a port).  It was quite good and aren't you happy mom and dad that I relaxed a little.  See, these Russians and their drinking is rubbing off on me.
Amalie, Colin, and I had a very pleasant Saturday evening.  Jesy and Kathleen conked out early, and the rest of us sat and watched music videos for about an hour before bed.  Can you believe our MTV station over here only plays videos?  I feel like it's the early 90's and I'm in high school again.  Amalie told me today that because I have been eating so much the baby has been eating alot and that is why he is getting so big.  Thank you Amalie.  And actually, I have been eating less since we moved to Moscow.  Not as much room in the stomach and the food is just not as good.
We came home yesterday to find a birthday party invitation for Kathleen attached to the door.  I had a moment there as Kathleen has never been invited to a party by herself before.  She has always been invited as Colin and Amalie's little sister.  My baby girl is growing up.  Kathleen got very excited as it is a princess party and the party is for her friend Ruby.  K has confused her friend with Max and Ruby from Nickelodeon and could not believe she was invited to their party.  Kathleen has also informed me that when her brother makes his appearance she is going to tell him "No" alot and then she will be nice to him.  She also told me she will not be sharing the baby boppy pillow with him. But she said she will love him and try not to hit him.  I don't know about you, but I feel a Tara/Sean dynamic setting up here.
Jesy leaves for the US on Sunday for a week.  I love when Jesy goes on trips.  He comes back with great treats for me and the kids.  I think it is so interesting that this time his gifts will be from the US.  No one has ever brought me a gift from the US before.  Travel safely Jesy and bring big suitcases!

The Russian Post Office

My very dear friend Heather sent us a package here in Russia all the way from England.  An adorable winter onesie for baby #4 and a little stuffed rabbit.  Kathleen immediately took the rabbit and declared that her brother would not mind if she borrowed it for a bit.  How this poor baby is going to suffer at the hands of his big sister!
Last week I got a notice on my front door from security that I had a package waiting for me.  I figured it was waiting at the security gate.  No.  In Russia they do not deliver mail- you have to go to the actual post office in order to pick up any mail.  Which really makes no sense to me because who delivered the slip of paper?  Why didn't they just deliver the package with it?  Our driver took me to the post office on Monday and I posed these questions to him.  He said that during the days of communism there was mail delivery.  After Perestroika (like my big word?!) there was not enough money for mail carriers so they did away with them.  American postal workers- you had better watch out.  I just read an article on Yahoo! the other day that said the USPS was going bankrupt.  You had better hope no-one in Congress has any Russian in them.  You'll be toast!
Anyways, Valeri (our driver) took me into the post office and after we both signed our lives away and showed my passport, we were given the package.  I love doing stuff like this in Russia.  Valeri gives me little history/cultural lessons and I follow him around like I am still a kid.  And if you know me you know I much prefer for others to take care of this kind of stuff.  So thank you Heather- for the gift and the opportunity for a little lesson also.  And the post office was very nice- clean and completely empty.  Russians really do not believe in mail.
The kids continue to do well.  Colin has flag football on the weekends and just started swimming games yesterday.  I worry about him the most because of his age and I know leaving behind his friends and school was quite difficult.  His teacher is WONDERFUL and Colin really seems to like him.  I have to say he loves the cafeteria food, doesn't mind wearing a uniform, and really enjoys pe, library time, and Russian language class.  He also likes that they do alot of reading in the classroom and he tells me that he writes stories alot also.  Everyone knows Colin loves to spin a good tale.  On Thursday Colin starts swimming during his pe time and he is super excited about that.  He has told me all of the pool rules about 10 times.
Amalie may win the friendliest kid in the neighborhood award.  She is always saying hello to kids that she knows from school and the playground.  The teachers at school adore her and I have a feeling she has become a big sister to many of the smaller kids at school.  She has also found herself a Brendan here in Moscow (Brendan is my nephew and godchild, Suzanne's older boy).  He is a little bit younger than Amalie and they are always laughing with eachother and singing songs.  We had them at the park the other day and they wrestled for about 30 minutes and chased eachother around.  Suzanne- remember the wrestling and play fighting this summer?  Same type of insanity and Amalie seems to love it.  One of the other moms at school told me that Amalie is always the first face she sees at school.  Amalie is always popping her head over the fence to greet any newcomers to school.  That little girl cracks me up.
Ahh Kathleen.  My baby girl is doing fine.  She does not like that I leave her at home when I run errands, but that's what they do here in Russia.  Kathleen loves the nanny, though, and is quite happy to play with her.  We have had a few episodes at school where she cried and did not want me to leave, but I think that is to be expected.  I have watched her at school when she thinks I am not looking and she is fine.  She participates and always wants to show her work.  Last week I watched her during circle time.  The teacher told them to sit quietly and not move while she played some very nice music.  Well, Kathleen was like a rock.  I was afraid she may have stopped breathing also.  That little girl has some military in her!
One last thing- Jesy has been out of town the last few days and when I went grocery shopping on Monday I wanted to pick him up a few treats.  I found a Snickers bar and what I thought was a bottle of root beer.  I questioned the driver about it and he said "yes, like root beer.  Only a bit of alcohol and we give it to kids".  I figured it was worth a try.  If Russians are giving this stuff to their kids the kids must be intoxicated.  I had a sip last night and was blown away.  This is not A&W root beer!  Live and learn.

Fruit and Meat Market

Yesterday the girls and I went to the neatest place- a fresh fruit/meat market.  A little background on this place.  I have been hearing about the Tushkinaya market since before we moved here.  It is about a 20 minute walk from our neighborhood and close to the Metro station.  All of the women rave about this place- the fruit is cheap and it is much better quality than what you can get at the grocery store.  And since I have to rely on our driver to get to the supermarket, this is a place one can go when you don't have the driver, or you need a good walk.  I was sold on the idea.
So, back to the market.  Yesterday morning I went to a PTO coffee at Colin's school.  If you know me well, you know that I really did not want to go because the thought of a room full of strangers is horrifying.  But, as I have told Colin, we have to be more friendly here and just put ourselves out there.  So I found a table with some nice ladies and just plopped myself down.  (So unusual for me but I know my mom and sisters are very happy to hear this).  Anyways, one of the ladies invited me to go shopping at this market with her and a friend.  So I thought, "why not", went home and grabbed the girls and the stroller and we set off.  It was also a lovely sunny day and I knew the exercise would be good for all of us.
I guess you could describe this place as an indoor farmer's market in the US.  Fresh fruit everywhere and it all looked so good.  I found some blueberries (yeah!) and some spinach lettuce.  (On Monday I had gone to the grocery store looking for lettuce and accidentally bought cabbage.  Not a great salad that night.)  There was this whole pickle aisle with everything from regular pickles, pickled tomatoes, to these interesting pickled eggplants.  I think I will try the pickled eggplants next time, but I did buy some garlic pickles for the family and they were delicious.   
As we were meandering around the fruit Amalie said to me "look at the man chopping wood".  Wood chopping?- in a fruit market?  I had to see.  Well, he was not chopping wood, but very large pieces of meat.  Turned my stomach quite a bit, but the girls were fascinated.  Then Amalie found a pig's head and she was so excited.  "Look at the pig's head! Where is his body?"  Then Kathleen found a rather large collection of pig's feet for sale and was yelling out "ooooh, pig boots, pig boots".  As I said, a bit disgusting, but I was rather impressed that the girls were interested instead of being traumatized.
I love bringing the girls with me to new places and I so enjoy seeing the interest in their little faces.  But I may not be able to bring them back to this place.  Russians really do not bring children to stores and my kids like to touch everything.  Especially Kathleen.  Kathleen kept on touching the fruit and I thought some of the female workers there were going to have a stroke.  And some lady yelled at me in Russian because the stroller was blocking the aisle.  She was about the size of a small house, so I think she was taking up quite alot of room too.  Advantage to her though, because a scolding in Russian is alot scarier than one in English.  Must be the way they pronounce their words.
Tonight Jesy and I have a date on the Moscow River!  We are taking a riverboat cruise that shows you all of the sights of Moscow from your nice little indoor seat.  It's rainy today and baby boy slows me down at times, so sitting for this activity will be nice.  Will let you know how it goes!

Why Moscow?

Yes, all of you 007 purists- I know the real title is From Russia With Love.  But I am not ready to love Russia just yet.  I like it.  I hope to love it in the near future since this will be our home for the next three years, but for now I am in "like".  I will let you know when it changes.
Tuesday will mark 3 weeks in our new country, and the time has gone by very quickly.  A little background on why we chose this assignment.  Last September, Jesy's company (John Deere) came to us and offered Jesy a position in Russia.  We talked about it and politely said no.  I really just was not up for it.  But we started talking it over the next few months and decided "why not?"  You only live once and we figured this would be a great adventure.  So when Deere came back to Jesy in January, we said ok, let's have a look at this place.  Jesy and I ventured to Moscow in March, and the rest is history.  And to add to the excitement of moving to another country, we said let's make sure we are pregnant when we go, and let's have the baby in Moscow.  (Not really how it happened, but Jesy and I like to make life really interesting).  So now Jesy and I, the kids (Colin-8, Amalie-4, and Kathleen-3), our very sweet cat Bilbo, and the soon to be born 6th Yeates family member have arrived in Russia.
If you have never been to Russia, let me quickly explain the driving situation.  Don't do it- very simple.  The traffic is horrible, and if you do not read Russian you will have no idea where you are going.  They use a different alphabet than us (cyrillic) and it makes my head hurt a bit.  So, we have two drivers that switch on and off.  Valeri is very nice and speaks very good English.  He reminds me a bit of my dad.  He drives us around the city and is always pointing out different landmarks and telling funny stories. Kind of like my dad in New York, though you know my dad would never drive you around.  He would make you walk.  Sergei speaks almost no English, but is very nice just the same and puts my groceries in the car and then brings them into the house.  What more could you ask for? 
We have also hired two nannies.  Don't worry- Jesy and I have not gone all fancy since moving here.  The nannies are very good friends and they are going to switch every two months.  They are from Moldovo (near the Ukraine) and have husbands and children to go be with.  And to be honest with you it makes me feel a little better that they have time with the family.  I was feeling quite guilty about that.
Some funny things I have noticed here in Russia- the hot dogs have casings on them that you have to peel off before you cook them.  The construction workers wear sandals while they work.  And on Monday I bought some orange toilet paper at the store.  It looked interesting and I thought orange might be kind of cheery in the white bathrooms.  It smells citrusy- very surprising.  But pleasant.  I have never used scented tp before. Every day is an adventure in this country!