We love kids! We always wanted a big family!

This is the mantra that David and I chant to each other when the kids are hanging off the chandelier and throwing cheese at each other at the dinner table; when the din starts to register on the Richter Scale and everyone needs something RIGHT NOW.  Such is life in the Branch household.  Quentin is soaking an egg in vinegar for a science experiment, and it explodes in the sink; the dog is licking the food off of Melanie's face.  David is outside hanging Christmas lights on the deck.  Melanie and Lisa are off to the tub upstairs and I am surveying the scene wondering which fire to put out first.

Then, one by one they go to bed (except the one that forgot to put his spelling words in ABC order and is sitting on the floor by my feet doing it now, way past bedtime; the same kid who swung from the shower curtain and pulled it down and broke it...BUT I DIGRESS) and the house becomes quiet.  And we feel a certain degree of satisfaction and contentment with our life; that is until we survey the damage in the kitchen and have to arm wrestle to decide who will clean it up.

Melanie and I met with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon.  Much to our relief (and surprise!) her hips are fine!  Her little bowlegs are simply a result of all that horseback riding she did in Kazakhstan (just kidding!) and a steady diet of milk and yogurt and cheese (with other stuff of course) will make her right as rain in time.  We do have to follow up with him in six months just to make sure.  I had to hold her down, stripped to her diaper, on the x-ray table.  In between screams, she looked at me as if to say, "Enough of the medical stuff already!!  The x-ray tech kept saying "Hold HIM down!" as Melanie thrashed around.  Like I said, the haircut looks a little boyish ... but in a diaper they all look pretty gender non-specific.

I am so glad that she won't have to endure anything else besides her mouth.  That will be enough.  We are going back to Dr. Rider, the wonderful orthodontist, on Thursday ... to admire his Jamaican tan.  I forget now & then that she even has the device in her mouth, she's doing so well.

I Love a Parade ...

Melanie continues to tolerate the palate expander very well!  She is drooling a lot, which I can certainly understand, but it has not slowed her down or kept her from eating or sleeping well.  Thank goodness!!  She is very vocal these days, but unfortunately can only say "Mah!  Mah!"  I know she wants to talk so much ... she keeps pointing and gesturing.  My heart just breaks for her.  I can't wait to hear her voice; I know that with lots of patience and therapy we will hear it some day!

*** Forgot to mention that I took Melanie in for a haircut on Friday.  She had the shaggy remnants of the "orphanage hair" and I had just about had enough of it.  We had arrived at the baby house one day on haircut day .. each child was taken into the bathroom and we could hear screaming inside.  They would come out freshly shorn .. as best as the babysitters could do, I suppose.  Anyway ... Melanie liked getting a haircut about as much as she enjoyed having the palate expander put in her mouth.  She bucked and screamed and pitched, ruining the relaxing atmosphere for a couple of women who were having perms or colors.  You would have thought we were cutting her arms off!  But now she looks very cute (if not like a little boy .. bring on the pink bows!)

Saturday Christian's cub scout pack was in the Davidson Christmas parade.  Both Colin and Quentin were in the parade in years past with their packs.  One year I was a den leader and WALKED the entire parade with my boys.  IN THE RAIN.  This year they rode on a flatbed trailer being pulled by a monster truck.  The weather was warm-ish and sunny, a perfect day for a picnic along the parade route.  Melanie was fascinated by all the sounds (some of them like the police cars and fire trucks REALLY loud!) and sights and colors.  She crashed in the car on the way home ... and was therefore up pretty late last night. 

Today is "decorate for Christmas" day ... David is out in the 60 degree weather (what a great place we live!) putting up the lights and the plastic snowman.  Nothing but quality decorations for this family!  Colin is assembling the artificial tree (which I swore I would never have in my house ... never say never I say!)  Actually we are going to be in Mississippi for Christmas so we don't want to put a real tree/fire hazard in the front hall.

This week we will seethe pediatric orthopedic surgeon about Melanie's hip.  Orthodontist appointments for the two older boys, another visit to Melanie's orthodontist, and more vaccinations for her as well.  More updates to follow.

Thursday Post Script

Melanie is now the proud owner of a metal contraption installed behind her front teeth.  It is cemented to her molars and is spring loaded with hooks on the two teeth on either side of her cleft, pulling it apart.  So thank goodness I don't have to crank anything!  Of course the installation progress was not a walk in the park ... I was lying down on the chair almost standing on my head while she was lying on her back on top of me.  I had her legs pinned with one of my legs, and her hands pinned down by her sides.  The whole thing took less than five minutes, other than some scraping of glue off, and she bit the assistant!  Ouch.  The orthodontist scared me at first, when he came out and said, "We're not going to do her today" as he is leaving for a humanitarian trip to Jamaica tomorrow, and the surgeon is leaving for Jordan, also tomorrow.  He didn't like the fact that there wouldn't be anyone around in case of trouble.  I said, the heck with that, it takes me an hour to drive down here; why didn't you tell me this before I left home???  He went ahead and put it in, taking pity on me, I suppose.  (I said if I had any problems I would just come down to Jamaica to see him.  "Honey, I have to run down to the Carribbean, be right back!")  I left armed with the home phone number of his assistant in case of any mechanical malfunctions.  I don't foresee any. 

I popped her with some Tylenol as soon as we were done.  She ate a pretty good lunch of mashed potatoes and banana pudding, then took a loooong nap (almost 3 hours).  She's now running around the house singing, so I think all is well!  I picked up her TB medication and start that tomorrow.  Let's see, that will be finished in ... umm ... September?  Gee, speaking as a mom who has trouble getting 10 days' worth of antibiotics down a kid, this is a definite challenge! 

New Pictures!

My mom just mailed me copies of the pictures she took of our week in Almaty.  I promised I would post the pictures of my equestrian adventure on Republic Day ... here they are! 

Today is our appointment with the orthodontist, who will put a palate expander in Melanie's mouth.  She has been so happy and cheerful these last few weeks ... I hate that we have to start inflicting pain on her, but I know it must be done.  I just hope that it's not too bad for her.  I need to buy stock in Childrens' Motrin.

I and the older boys worked at the processing center for Operation Christmas Child last night ... we sorted through hundreds of shoe boxes filled with gifts that people all over the country had packed for children in developing countries.  The boxes we worked on last night were headed for Eritrea ... I noticed on the map as we were leaving that they send 300,000 boxes to Kazakhstan.  Having just been there, and seen the faces of the Kazakh children, it brought new meaning to the holiday for me. 

Stay Tuned!

As you can probably expect, life seems to be on warp speed (I'm giving her all I've got, Captain!) and have not been able to update in a few days.  <Sigh!>  The "Headline News" version:  Thanksgiving:  quiet and just us.  Black Friday: shopping?  Are you NUTS?  I didn't leave the house!  Frankly, I didn't get out of  my pajamas until after noon!  Vehicle update: we are proud owners of a certified Land Yacht ... a black Yukon XL.  I call it my "Secret Service" car .. cause it looks remarkably like one of the President's fleet!  I just need a pair of sunglasses and an earpiece.  Watch out.  Melanie:  still sweet and wonderful.  Still sleeping 12 hours at night with a 1-2 hour nap during the day.  Starts her 9 months of abx today.  Christian:  turns up with a staph infection on his arm requiring a pre-Thanksgiving outing to the pediatrician, complete with lancing and antibiotics.  Welcome to the pediatrics ward.  He's fine now ... Other kids: great, as usual. 

David is planning another trip back to Kazakhstan this summer to build a playground at Melanie's baby house in Taldy Korgan.  He went to Uralsk in the summer of 2003 for same.  This time, Quentin will accompany him ... sort of his 13 year old "becoming a man" rite of passage.  I'm thrilled that he wants to go.  Nothing like a dose of reality to open a young man's eyes, eh?  Colin doesn't want to go because he might have to get shots!  Ha ha.  Check out WPA's website under "Humanitarian Aid" to see more about the playground trips.

Well, it's nearing 6:30 a.m. and time to get the motor started.  Sleeping kids to wake up, lunches to make, clothes to dig out of the dryer, fix a healthy breakfast (isn't chocolate a vegetable??)  ... another day in the life ...

Quickie Update

Sorry to leave everyone hanging.  Just like a soap opera, eh?  Let's see ... Melanie's chest x-ray, as I expected, was negative.  The pediatrician is supposed to call me tomorrow to discuss our next move.  I spoke with a friend whose husband is a pulmonologist, and he recommended the abx course.  Seems that the side effects are not as evil in children.  Furthermore, I probably won't have a choice, according to the health dept.  So, onward we go.

Last week was our appointment with the orthodontist.  I had written a long missive about it last week, forgot I had left it on the screen of the "real" computer, then signed on to the laptop, and <poof!> it disappeared into cyber never-never land.  The doctor was wonderful ... reminded me of a kindly grandfather, and his staff was so nice!  They took an impression of her mouth (she loved it as much as the x-ray!) and took pictures of her.  They used these little retractors to open her mouth, about which she was overjoyed as well.  He is going to discuss his plans with the surgeon and get back to me.  Probably after the holidays.

Saturday we went to the auto show in downtown Charlotte.  We definitely need a bigger vehicle, and wanted to see the whole spectrum without annoying salespeople following us around.  The Ford Excursion is OBSCENELY big, but seems to be a good fit for a family with three soon-to-be teenaged boys.  Jeez, I wonder if you have to have a bus drivers' license to drive it.  Land Yacht, indeed!  I think the front of the car turns the corner about 15 minutes before the rear.  <sigh> And I used to think our Honda Accord was too big (having driven a Chevette all through college -- I called it my 'Vette and no one was the wiser!)

I survived my first solo test flight with five kids last week.  I think I did quite well ... no one lost any limbs, and I'm not in a padded cell.  They are all really good kids down deep ... I am so fortunate.  We have so much to be thankful for this year ... we're home.  Okay, so the dog tracked mud all over the carpet, the kitchen is a mess, but it's HOME.  We aren't planning anything fancy for Thanksgiving, it'll just be us.  And the kids won't eat anything that's strange looking, so perhaps a fine feast of turkey and macaroni and cheese?

Happy Turkey Day!

Busier Than a One-Armed Paper Hanger

On Monday of this week, I took Melanie to the pediatrician to her TB skin test read.  It was positive, but before you go buying a mask and gloves, I feel 99% confident that it is a false positive.  In Kazakhstan, as in many other developing countries in which TB is still prevalent, they commonly vaccinate the babies with what is called BCG against TB.  (Do you feel like you're swimming in alphabet soup??)  Depending on how long it has been since the vaccination, it can cause a false positive skin test.  But the state of North Carolina doesn't care about that ... we were summarily shipped off to the Mecklenburg County health department for a chest x-ray.  Melanie thoroughly enjoyed being clamped into a child-shaped vise with her arms above her head.  I have to call back tomorrow to see if there are any signs of active infection (which I doubt).  Nevertheless, the ped. tells me we will have to treat her with a 9 month (yes, month) course of a serious antibiotic that can have some pretty serious effects on the liver.  I need to do some more homework about this.  I think I'm going to call the international adoption (IA) clinic in Seattle who did our initial review of Melanie's medical history way back in the spring.  I know they have run into this before, and will have some good advice.

Other than that ... let's see.  David is in Maine & Nova Scotia all this week looking at trees.  (He works for a major insurance company, investing in the timber and forest products industry).  He is toiling away taking helicopter tours of forests, relaxing at a lodge in the woods, with, I'm sure a poker game or two thrown in.  Poor guy, it's a tough life.  I was hoping I wouldn't have to fly solo with a quintet of children quite this soon, but his job does pay the bills, and after all he was gone for about a month!  With things as hectic as they are, David is probably glad to get away!  And I am managing quite well, thank you very much.  Keeping Melanie on a strict nap and bedtime schedule is essential to my sanity.  Yesterday we had (1) the health department, (2) uniform store since the kids have all grown a foot in a month and don't fit into their clothes any more (3) nap, (4) Boudreaux, the dog, to the groomer, since he was starting to look like a dust mop and kept bumping into things for all the fur in his eyes, (5) pick upColin from an after-school club meeting, (6) pick up dog (7) Lisa to piano, (8) Colin to tutoring (9) help Christian study for a test (10) quick run to grocery store at 8:30 p.m. because we're out of lunch meat.  And I even got a load of laundry done in between!  I am woman, hear me roar.  (Actually I did roar a few times yesterday, unfortunately!)

Today we have absolutely nothing to do ... nowhere to be.  It's 11:00 and Melanie will have lunch in 30 minutes and go to bed.  I may go to the grocery store and prepare a hot meal for my children for dinner.  Not that they'll like it ... ("it's got tomato chunks in it!!") but at least I tried, right?

I don't mean to sound whiney ... I love my life, but some days are more challenging than others.  David and I were able to get away on Saturday for a nice dinner alone.  We celebrated Lisa's THIRD gotcha day Friday night (she chose Mexican food -- there seems to be a dearth of Kazakh restaurants in Charlotte'; go figure!  Guess I could have fixed lagman or something ... nah!)