Important FlipShare Service Update

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Dear FlipShare User, Thank you for your loyalty and support of Flip Video. On April 11, 2011 we announced our exit from the Flip business. We have maintained FlipShare and video sharing since then to allow customers time to transition to a new video sharing service. On December 31, 2013, you will no longer be able to share videos via FlipShare - all previous videos that you might have shared via FlipShare will also expire and be deleted. Remember, the original videos that you have stored on your computer are not affected. You may continue to use the complimentary 30-day video hosting from FlipShare for videos uploaded on or before November 30, 2013. Video sharing capabilities will still be supported until December 31, 2013. In addition to downloading your content to a local hard drive, you can migrate your content to a third party hosting provider that supports the country in which you're located. If you are having trouble locating a third party site or provider, there is a new service called Givit that may meet your video hosting and sharing needs. Givit can be used for sharing and storing videos for a longer period of time. To see if Givit meets your needs, go here. If you think Givit's service is right for you, you can register online for free. Givit can also be downloaded at the Apple App Store or the Android Market if you are using mobile devices. Cisco will continue to provide technical support for both Flip video cameras and FlipShare until December 31, 2013. All information regarding the end of life for FlipShare and FAQs on these changes is available here. Sincerely, The Flip Video team

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Home finally

What an experience.  However, we'll start with some updates from the last days in Moscow.  Every time I tried to post something, it sat unfinished on the Blackberry.  Now that I'm fully awake at 3am, might as well do some updates!

Our last full day in Moscow, Saturday, Anna could see that we were exhausted, especially Jacki.  She wound up kicking us out of her apartment while she sat with Tasha.  Jacki, Ryan, and I went on a little adventure.  We took the metro to a mall area where Ryan could get himself a Happy Meal at a McDonald's and there was a kid's play zone where he could get some foosball and air hockey in.  It was a nice break from the confines of Anna's apartment and Vitali's car.  Ryan especially liked the Metro ride, but once again I wound up getting scowled at by an older Russian woman.  This time because I didn't know you buy tickets in multiples of 1 or 5 rides, and I made the mistake of asking for 6 rides.  I guess she was mad because I didn't ask for either the 5 and 1 combo, or 6 individual rides.  Anna told me later that I look Russian to the locals and when I don't do something that is assumed general knowledge, they look at me like I have two heads.  Regardless of all that, the trip re-energized us all.  Anna was a savior the whole trip.  She was like having a family member assist through the whole process.

Before dinner time, I stayed with Tasha while Ryan and Jacki went back out to the ice slide area.  During this time Tasha was forced to warm up to me and she wound up laughing and giggling while we played a chase game.  I'd put her down, she'd run, and then I'd catch up, pick her up, and tickle her.  Of course as soon as Jacki's in the room, it's time for tears again, but we're making good progress.

Sunday arrives awfully early.  We wake up at 6:30am after another poor night of sleep, and ask Vitali to please drive gently so Jacki and Tasha don't have to smell like barf all day long.  We had a successful trip to the airport without any explosions.

At the airport, again Anna boldly took command.  There was a long line at security to get bags into the airport so I stood in line while Anna took Jacki, Ryan, and Tasha to the front of the line and went through.  They found the check-in area and had Jacki wait there while she came back to get me.  Once back at the check-in area, there was again a huge line, but she went right up to an agent, spoke to her, and called us up.  After a tearful goodbye before the passport control area, we cleared through and although it seemed like a good amount of time had passed, the day had just begun.

Flight number one to Amsterdam was relatively uneventful.  Tasha didn't like sitting the whole time, but for the most part did great.  Jacki having to hold her the entire time, probably didn't think this flight was so hot though.  Ryan watched a movie on his DVD player and was content the whole flight.  Even Aeroflot gave him a kid's meal with a colorful kid's packaged box and some extra toys.

In Amsterdam, Jacki needed a rest so we stopped to get Ryan a slice of Pizza and a large beer for Jacki and I.  I had to lead a screaming Tasha away from mom to a point Tasha didn't know where she was.  At this point I could put her down and we played our chase game without issue.  Ryan eventually joined us and helped entertain Tasha.  After Jacki was able to finish most of the beer herself she came out to get us.  We grabbed some hot water from a vendor to make some oatmeal and rushed off to find our gate.

The flight to Boston was an experience we will soon not forget.  3+ hours flying is one thing.  Add to that another 7+ hour flight without any naps, etc.  Whew.  It was tough.  At least the agent back in Moscow moved us into the front row of our cabin so we had that extra room on the floor in front of us behind the bulkhead.  Tasha spent a good amount of time sitting on the floor and throwing her toys around, much to the dismay of the woman who had to sit in our row.  Definitely not a child person.  She scowled when she saw us coming and tried to change seats, but the flight was 100% full.  She didn't look our way once in seven hours.

Tasha still had not napped to this point.  Finally she started being extra cranky so we tried to get her to sleep on Jacki's shoulder.  Tasha went out but lasted only about 45 minutes.  After that it was a carousel of emotions for her.  One second she'd be giggling, the next screaming/crying.  I still don't know how we made that flight with less than one hour nap for her.  Jacki's clothes were a mess, with food and drool stains everywhere, and of course each time I'd try to hold or carry Tasha the screams would start flooding.

The worst was yet to come.  When we started to land, the pressure change must have been bad for her.  She certainly didn't have an issue landing in Amsterdam, but in Boston Tasha screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs for probably 5 good solid minutes.  The stewardess sitting near us helped immensely just by talking us through the ordeal.  She also befriended Ryan.  She gave him some gifts for being such a great traveler and chatted him up after Tasha's emotional outburst exhausted her and she passed out asleep.

We arrived home and put Tasha into her crib.  We were all dragging but tried to stay up as long as possible before hitting the sack.  I was up at 2:30am however, and I can hear Ryan playing in his room right now.  Today will be an adventure for Tasha.  She will finally get to see her new home.  I'm sure that includes ripping every book out of every bookcase, and pulling every pot and pan out of the cabinets in the kitchen.  At least now this is in the comfort of our own home.

Tasha's visa is done

Two days to update you on. Yesterday was a total at home day. What this meant is that we were feeling a bit suffocated, especially Jacki who has to do most everything for Tasha. She wound up going out with Ryan for a couple hours doing this giant ice slide kids love to do out here.

Today was the big day. US Embassy day. After a long but fairly pleasant visit at the embassy, we left with a visa attched to Tasha's Russian passport. The visa type and associated docs means that when she lands in Boston and goes through Immigration, she'll be a US citizen. We were warned today that she will remain a Russian citizen as well and at some point will need to renounce that citizenship if she ever wants to freely travel to Russia after the age of 18. Otherwise she could be detained and held. Some adopted boy came back recently to visit his grandmother after 18, got stopped at the border, and was enlisted in the army! (Mandatory for all men) Yikes.

Another interesting display of driving by Vitali causing another barfing session (I'd think that with the fancy BMW he'd try to limit the puking but he does enjoy his aggressive driving style), and we were on our way to get the infant plane ticket. With a little wrinkle/complication it was finally done. Back to the apartment and now my turn for the ice slide. I took some Flip videos that I hope turned out great and will post later. Don't understand why this hasn't made it to the states. Blows sledding right out of the water.

Time for early bed. Tasha decided not to sleep very well last night babbling and playing, even with a missed nap during the day. Jacki and I are very tired. Ryan got the best deal. His own room on a very comfortable couch. Jacki offered him $100 to sleep on it tonight and he didn't even think about it. He said "No Way!" :)

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Heading to the embassy

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Checking out the washer

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Home day

Today was a day to stay in the apartment. No alarm clocks, no 4-hour car trips through the crowded city streets, and no losing gloves. Somehow yesterday I managed to lose one of Ryan's gloves. Good thing it's only like minus 15 degrees Farenheight out right now. At least he is able to wear Jacki's gloves. Somehow I see Jacki wearing mine in the not-too-distant future.

Anyway, after breakfast and some playtime with Tasha mostly just walking around the apartment (she's not into playing with any toys, just wants to walk and walk and walk), we decided to try bath number two. It went great. This time Tasha realized that the warm water felt pretty good and we weren't rushing her through any of it. By the time all that was wrapped up it was lunch time.

After lunch, Anna came over to fill out "some" forms. This turned out to be about two hours worth of writing and signing. When done, Anna went to the store with Ryan and I. We were going to go anyway, but she volunteered to go along and help us. Not only was she able to ask for things neither of us could find, but her retirement card gave us 5% off at the checkout counter. :)

When we returned, Tasha was up and following mom around. Ryan went to play in his room and then he and Jacki kept trying to get Tasha to come in and play, but she just keeps liking the wandering thing. It must be a great new freedom for her.

The stress for the day is that Tasha didn't want to let me feed her her dinner. I tried and tried, but I guess I'm too big and scary. She is attaching very quickly to Jacki, but she has minimal experience with men as all the doctors and caretakers at the orphanage were women, so I'm assuming she doesn't know what to think of me. At this point it's looking like Jacki will have to hold her and help her eat meals for some time. I on the other hand have to precut all of Jacki's meals for her. :)

Tomorrow is another at home day while Anna goes and submits all the forms to the embassy. Friday will be the official day where we can pick up Tasha's visa. Until then we will continue the meal adventures and hopefully get some more sleep! Jetlag is still an issue, except for Ryan who is having no sleep problems whatsoever. He's a real trooper this trip, with everything from all the flying, driving and learning about his new sister.

That's it for tonight. Time to try to sleep.

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Day two

Day two was another hard one. We had a very early appointment for the health release checkup. Out the door at 7:30am after a jetlag night of little sleep. At least Tasha and Ryan slept through the night.

On the way we discovered that apple juice and Vitali's driving don't mix. Jacki wound up wearing a bit of barf for the morning. Traffic was very bad and we were running late so Vitali was even more aggressive than usual.

The checkup was fine. The doctor made sure we understood that she's a very bright girl and is manipulating us already. She cries if you put her down and instantly stops when picked up. The doctor noted there were no tears during this observation.

Next stop, the passport office. At this point Tasha did fall asleep in the car while turning into a sweaty mess. The snow suit just doesn't work in the car. The Russian way is to crank up the heat in the cars.

Back to the apartment and finally relaxing again. Jacki did finally get Tasha to nap. She had to lay in the bed next to the crib and couldn't look over at Tasha or the crying would begin.

Nap time over and with a few songs and some timing help from Ryan we're into giggle mode. Oh, and so far everything has been a hit for food except goldfish.

A smile for mom

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Just finished first successful nap

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Tashmina is now with us

Our travel day was very long, but surprisingly Ryan did great. He had a couple hours of sleep on the flight to Paris, but refused to sleep at the airport. So, while Jacki snoozed, Ryan and I played card games. On the flight to Moscow I dozed while Ryan watched his DVD player. Once in Moscow, we drove to the supermarket for a few items to get by a couple days, and then we went to settle into Anna's apartment. Ryan finally slept while Vitali drove.

This morning Anna and Vitali picked us up and we headed to get the paperwork rolling for Tashmina's passport. After a quick stop at KFC we finally arrived at the orphanage. Jacki was taken in the back (Ryan and I weren't allowed), and then in a whirlwind of conversations we were out the door with our new daughter/sister.

Tasha cried at first but gradually settled down. Back in the apartment it was playtime finally. Tasha loves to play the give and take game. She'll hand you something, and then take it back over and over.

We tried for a nap, but so far she isn't quite comfortable enough to sleep. We opted for the best comfort maker. Food. We experimented with some baby food and oatmeal with an apple juice chaser. I guess she doesn't drink milk so that will be a gradual change.

Next was bath time. Ok, back to the crying game. :) Either Tasha wasn't sure whether to trust us or perhaps because, as we heard, that bath time is not exactly comfort time for the children in an orphanage. Each child gets the quick wash with no playtime.

After the rest of us ate, we had some quiet time. Ryan read Tasha some books and we just hung out for a bit and soon her eyes began drooping.

Jacki just got Tasha to sleep. She was definately exhausted. Cried at first, but now sleeping peacefully and that's it for tonight.

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Just leaving the orphanage

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We're off - about to take off from Logan

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Court Day

After an early wake-up call, it was off to the court house for our hearing. The judge, who I thought looked like a younger version of Roger Goodell (who is the football commissioner), was a dour fellow who wouldn't look at us throughout the session. Each of us had to answer a number of questions he asked, and our representative Leila translated for us.  When all was said and done, he went into chambers, and returned shortly after to tell us he had approved the adoption.  He also gave us an official date of guardianship as February 15th, which is 10 business days from today.  We were told to return the weekend of the 19th and stay for the week to complete the rest of the paperwork to bring Tasha home. Time to start looking for flights again!

The head doctor was surprisingly civil and, during the hearing, stated that Tasha responded well to us during our visits. Afterwards she also congratulated us and we shook hands with her. The head doctor had a state representative with her, a pleasant young woman named Angelina, who happened to catch a ride back to her office with us. She was quite the talker and was suggesting things to do with Ryan in a few weeks when we return.  She mentioned a museum about space.  We will have to do our homework on that one.

After we dropped the state rep off, we arrived at the orphanage to take Tashmina for passport pictures.  While we were waiting Jacki realized that the court never returned our passports to us.  They also didn't return the head doctor, our agency rep, and the state representatives passports either.  Thankfully we realized it during the day, and not at night when it would be too late to retrieve them for our flights tomorrow!  An extra complication for the day, but we're getting used to that!

Right now I'm sitting in the entrance hallway while Jacki, Anna, and a nurse are out picture taking so it was a good opportunity to update the blog. :)  I'm sure Jacki is taking the opportunity to fuss over Tasha in the car.

No visit today

We had a bit of a frustrating day today.  When we left the orphanage yesterday, the head doctor had told Anna to call this morning about coming for a visit.  Anna called all morning only to be told that the doctor hadn't arrived yet, she was at a conference, and to try calling later.  By the end of the day she was told that the doctor didn't come in at all.  Nobody is allowed to let us come visit without the head doctor's permission, so we did not get to see Tashmina.  We were disappointed, but there was nothing more we could do.

It was a snowy gray day in Moscow and we spent our day walking around killing time.  We walked up to Red Square and saw they had put up an outdoor skating rink in front of the GUM department store.  Many children were there as they have no school.

We also took a walk up Tverskaya Street and stopped in the Yeliseyev grocery store.  It was an interesting blend of palatial decoration and architecture with cold cuts and vodka.  For dinner we chickened out and decided to go for TGI Friday's.  We were a bit scared it would be filled with tourists, etc., but found that we were quite the minority.  Our waiter was only too happy to speak English for practice and asked me to keep to English when I tried to work through the menu in Russian.  He said that he had some customers from England a few weeks ago, but no Americans for some time.  So, a burger and ribs with a few beers was a nice change of pace along with interesting conversation with the waiter (he wanted to know how Americans truly viewed the Russian people vs the propaganda told by the government here).

Tomorrow morning is our court hearing at 10:30am.  We were told that once the hearing is over we will be able to take Tashmina to get pictures for her passport.  That will be an adventure as a nurse will go with us as well.  Five adults and Tasha in a car smaller than Vitali's BMW.  Maybe we will be lucky and he will get it fixed by tomorrow.  We can only hope.

Quick Visit

We waited quite a while in the morning for Anna to call with news.  She had been trying to get through to the head doctor at the orphanage all morning and finally got an ok to show up.  A new driver once again as yesterday's car was vandalized overnight and all the windows were smashed.  We arrived at the orphanage and saw the quarantined sign out front.  The head doctor was less than cordial but relented to let us visit for 15 minutes.

Tasha, as expected, didn't remember us at all, and with our surgical masks we had to wear, was instantly in tears.  A couple of minutes and some hugs from Jacki and she was fine, but she still needs to reacquaint herself with us.  We had a toy with us that she wanted right away, and we played with stacking cups, but fifteen minutes was just not enough time.  We did notice that she had definitely grown since October.  She has gained some weight, her hair is thicker, and her walking has really improved.  Her caretaker said that she is very active and wants to be the first to get into something, so we will wait to experience all that first hand soon.  We will see if we can persuade the head doctor to let us in again tomorrow.  Here's a picture of Tasha with her favorite caretaker Yulia (Julia) and her new toy.  She seems to love anything that she can carry around, just like her favorite toy on our first visit.

After our quick visit, Anna asked where to drop us off.  We hadn't really planned on any sightseeing because weren't really expecting such a short trip, and while Anna asked us what we have seen already decided to take us to one of her favorite quiet spots, the Novodevichy Convent and cemetery.  The convent was up above a snow covered frozen pond and all around the pond kids were sledding down.  So, with all the schools closed, the kids are all playing together out in the snow.

Inside the convent grounds, Anna got some lessons in camera work and after several attempts got a nice picture, minus the top of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk.  :)

In this picture you can see the same cathedral with the bell-tower in the background to the left.

Inside the cemetery we saw the memorials of various figures from Russian history, such as Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, and Boris Yeltsin.

We finished our afternoon with a trip to the Yalki Palki restaurant, serving traditional style Russian foods, the one we couldn't find from last trip mentioned in yesterday's post.  Anna had to take us.  It was camouflaged because they also serve Sushi and the name on the front of the door says New Japan restaurant.  You just have to know that Yalki Palki is inside.  :-/

Arrived in Moscow

We arrived in one piece, into Sheremetyevo airport this time.  This airport is much closer to the city center, but traffic is far more congested on this route.  The airport was much quieter than in October.  Imagine that, not as much tourism into Russia in the dead of winter.  :)  We were met with a little snow and found that streets and highways are not plowed extremely well.  A big disappointment at the airport was that Vitali was not with Anna to drive us.  That's what you get with BMW's.  Great, when they're running!  Vitali's is out of action for the moment.  The temporary replacement driver's car was less than grand and we had to keep one of our luggage bags in the back seat since the trunk was pretty wet inside.

So, the bad news is that Moscow is fighting a major flu outbreak.  All the schools are closed and the orphanages are not allowing visitors.  Anna called the head doctor to plead our case and we are going to go visit.  The doctor said we can't stay long, but we are hoping that once we get there, with another set of donations, she may soften her stance.

Regarding our trip over, the flights on Air France were not as comfortable as British Air.  The seats were very close together and the cushions less padded.  The guy's knees in my back were less than pleasant also.  Charles de Gaulle airport was a bit more peaceful than Heathrow, but their energy conservation policies made it a tad cold.  Jacki took a nap with my jacket as a pillow and after a while I started walking around to keep warm.  :)

For dinner last night we decided for quick and light.  We looked around a bit for a place called Yalki Palki, whose sign was a new addition to our neighborhood (yes, we're back at the same Courtyard Marriott).  Once again, just like last trip, we can't find this place.  The last time we could see the restaurant sign on a building but couldn't find the way in.  This time couldn't even find the building.  We settled on Chocoladnitza, a coffee house type of place, where we split a panini and Caesar salad.  I ordered a cappuccino and Jacki pointed out probably not a good idea just before trying to get some sleep after the long trip.  Luckily, I was so tired, it didn't effect me.  Back at the room we didn't last long.  9:15pm and we were asleep.  Slept till after 8am this morning.

Right now we are waiting in the lobby for Anna to come pick us up.  We'll update later on how Tasha looks and whether we got to stay for any amount of time.