an afternoon with Ilze

Since O’dark thirty and all you could hear was the rhythmic beating of the raindrops beating against the windows that line our bedroom. Unlike our home, this apartment has dark curtains that block out the morning light allowing for later sleep.  Sheri as usual was up first followed by the other two girls in my life. Apparently, the words “speak softly” has no concept to our two young girls and soon high pitch laugher filled the apartment.

Today was Sunday and we had spoken about a Sunday brunch for a couple of days now but it was raining out.  For those of you who know Sheri you know when she gets focused on something she can literally and figuratively wear “blinders”. You know, what they put on horses during a horse race to keep them focus and running forward. Now this can be a great quality or a….not so great quality. ( On a side note: this is great for actually getting things done, like adoption stuff) In this particular case…well…..maybe they could have been taken off. Let me explain. First off, it was raining. By itself, no big deal but now add in: Number 2: Sanija did not bring a “rain” jacket with her. Number 3: None of us had rain shoes…of any kind. Okay, we were on the border between going and not going – Right? Now the big one. Number 4: It is NOT close to us. It was about a 1 mile or so walk to the Radisson Blu Breakfast buffet.  So let me paint the picture for you. It’s raining, no rain shoes, no rain jackets, it’s raining, walk in rain about a mile in the rain for a $15 a person breakfast. 

Now, I think most people would have said, tell you what gang, it’s raining out. Let eat breakfast at home and we’ll do it next weekend – right? Nope! Not for my wife. She was focused on that task for 3 days now and it could have been raining meatballs from the sky and we would have still marched on to a buffet breakfast.  To be fair, for the girl this meant stepping in puddles of water, getting wet, they didn’t care one bit and in the end the adventure makes for a good story.

I will admit, last time we stayed at the Radisson Blu the buffet was good. My girls ate crepes (no, not as good as Papa’s) eggs, vegetables, fruit, dry cereal, sausage (even Sanija had the sausage) and fresh squeezed orange juice.

On the way home we decided to take a taxi!

Once home the girls started on their arts and crafts again. This time I brought down the paint by numbers and all was progressing until we got “the call” from Ilze. At 2:30 we would meet them at the Vol…Vul..Volvo…..that place where they go ice skating. So we pile into a cab for the 20 minute drive until we reach the Vollu….Volka……the Ice skating place.

We rented skates for the girl and they gave them each helmets to wear. Of course Sheri and Bobbi had to rent skates as well. Ilze was kind enough to bring the girls some winter snow pants , from the boys. For Nata, not only did they fit but they were perfect for her butt as it layed on the ice many, many and I mean many times.  Ilze knew how to skate well and gave Sanija a lesson. By the end of our skate time, Sanija was doing a great job. As for our little mighty might…Holy jump’in  jahosifats. She was good. Before this she had never stepped on the ice. Without any help except to hold her hand she was moving around the ice. After about two laps, she wanted no more help and was skating on her own. Yes, she had many falls but this girl was fearless. After about 30 minutes she was in the corner with me and watching some “real skaters doing real moves”, she decided to do a spin on her own. No, it was not pretty but she spun on her own. Sign this girl up for competition.

I was so proud of all three of my girls. You should have been there.

Now the girls had another plan for us. To make us dinner. But it was a secret. They needed us to take them to the store and buy groceries but not watch what they were buying. Not sure how Sanija knew this but she found me and brought me back to the wine department. She told me she wanted to buy mommy a bottle of wine. So we made our way back there and I asked her what kind of wine was she thinking. She replied, “I don’t know…a wine, one in a bottle.” Okay, that narrows that one down.

To be honest, I kept thinking what on earth can they be possibly making that I would eat. So once back in the apartment, Sheri and I were asked to stay in our room till dinner was made. Okay, 10 minutes later the girls came back as asked mommy to help with something, “but don’t look at anything”, she said. 10 minutes later, “Mommy”! Apparently, the girls needed mommy to run off to our local subway and pick me up a sandwich. Isn’t that just the cutest thing?! Rhetorical question.

OMG!!!!!! You should have seen what the girls did for us. As mentioned, we were sequestered in our bedrooms till dinner was done. The girls called for us but the doors to the living room were closed. Nata, open the doors and told us to follow her. As we entered the room, the lights were soft and  dim. A candle on the table was lite and flickering. As Sanija asked us to sit, she poured our drinks. She then proceeded to turn on soft romantic Italian music. The table was decorated by hand made decorations by Nata. Sheri was treated to a plate of chopped up vegetables, while enjoyed a “plated” subway sandwich. There was some homemade potatoes wedges top with a little fresh dill.   The girls then left the room and let Sheri and I enjoy our meal prepared by the girls to wonderful Italian music with love notes from the girls scattered around the table. Shortly, Nata came out an performed a dance for us and it was the best dinner show I could have ever wanted.

THIS WAS/IS A PERFECT NIGHT!

Afterward the girls enjoyed face-painting daddy. I will post photos tomorrow. We told the girls “to bed by 10”, yeah…so much for that. It’s 10:30 and I’m just getting a chance to finish the blog post.

To Ilze: I hope you know just how special you are to our girls. They love you very much.  Without your help, I’m sure we would not have adopted Sanija. Or I should say, Sanija adopting us. We owe you everthing – Thank you!