Days 14 to 19: "Single parenting, Colombian coyboys, and new friends"

So a lot of little and strange things have happened since Ted went home last Tuesday, but nothing major. We were submitted to Court 22 and we wait for our Sentencia (adoption decree) which could easily take another 2-3 weeks possibly.

So, we wait!

I've said it before, but most of the difficulties in parenting don't have much to do with having three kids at this point. The difficulty in being here on my own is keeping people safe in a foreign land in the traffic, and keeping that foreign land in one piece while my three boys are in it (what is UP with all the formal dining, tablecloths, and glassware??). Unless I have something cool going on in a given day (which I have only had once), I spend my mornings doing "tour de la parks of Bogota". We get up and do morning routine with breakfast, we pick up our room, we load up, we walk a long way, we park, we walk some more, we go to a play place where Mom orders us a snack, we play, we walk a bunch more.. and around then it is 12:30-1p and we are back for lunch and rest.

Pan Pa Ya gets the award for best child place, mixed with best snack for Mom. Even Sam can get into this spot. Here are a few shots of our best play place/juice/latte experiences mixed with how we destroy park land.



And yes, that last photo of Ben's climbing DID make me nervous and I went to spot immediately after I took it. That child is accident prone.

On Saturday, we ventured to La Panaca which was the "Deanna Rose" of Colombia. We pet bunnies, pure bred puppies, saw cows, baby pigs, a horse show (complete with tricky riding to LMFAO's "Sexy and I know it" which was odd... and Celine Dion as well..)

Here are a few highlights

Just a few cowboys..



Sam was not so much a fan



We rode the mules and harrassed a few patient bunny rabits as well



Last night, Sam decided that a bath tub was not a torture device



Late Saturday night we were welcomed another family from MN to our El Refugio family.. and my first family that spoke English! Like.. I love attempting Spanish while in a Spanish speaking country.. and I love me some Italians and French who are very nice.. but it's so exciting for Lucas and Ben to have another kid here who wants to play and can easily play without language drama.

Here are Lucas, Ben, and Zahria (adopted from Kazakhstan and here to adopt little sister Julieth) modeling their SuperMan/Supergirl shirts this morning. Lucas loves playing with her, and she even shared dinosaurs, which is a big deal where we come from.



In the past week, since Dad the fun guy went home, Sam has made some real strides in trust and attachment. He is now nodding or shaking his head to answer my questions (which beats the vacant stare). He is laying his head on my shoulder when I pick him up, and he is looking to sit on my lap for more than a few seconds. Another development in the past few days as well: I have a bit of help from a Colombian saint named Alecia. She gives me a 2 hour breather to keep me a decent Mom down here on my own. In the past few days, he hasn't been happy to see her and has given her a prompt "bye bye" wave when I come back. He SHOULD like Alecia.. she is spanish speaking and of his culture and the same as his former ladies from Fana. The fact that he would rather have me over her (and is communicating so loudly with tears) is huge. Last night was our first bath when Sam didn't scream like I was hurting him. He finally figured out that just possibly, this COULD be fun. I was so happy for him, I took a video. Here is the link if you didn't already see the post from FB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THwJq7jmdfc

I have a few other video clips on my youtube from our trip if you're in the mood as well.

Tomorrow night after the kids go to bed, I will be leaving with one of Carmen's trusted drivers to go pick up Auntie Breann from the airport! I'm excited to have an extra set of hands, especially at meals and to help various people with their pants and hand washing in the bathroom. I'm so excited to have a little help in the "divide and conquer" department so I don't have to be in 3 places at once. Today, L and B both had major meltdowns just from being so tired. When another adult is here, I can carry Sam and push Ben if someone else can Ergo Lucas when they are exhausted. Haven't had any problems getting kids to nap here! We walk so much and do so much park/play place time, I have the exhausted pretty much all of the time.

I have a few fun activities planned while she is here as well, and I won't work her TOO hard. I've done it alone for the past 5 days and we have a pretty good rhythm/system going on right now.. having a bit of help will just make things that much safer and easier.

I don't plan to update tomorrow unless something cool happens. Can't wait to see you Auntie Breann!!