The calm after the storm

I got back from dropping the Russian Ladies and Scott off after 5PM. I wasn't hungry and I didn't know what to do with myself. I remembered that when the Russian ladies looked at the pool it needed to be cleaned so that was what I did. After a while Nastia comes out and askes me to put some air in the soccor ball we gave to Leonid. I put air in it and we both go upstairs to get him to play with us. He is his usual so far stoic self and doesn't want to come out and kick the ball around. we watch him play on a russian web site on the computer, I put a hand to his shoulder rub it and we leave. He comes out and joins us. I was shocked. He has tried to make himself as invisable as possible and for some reason he decided to come out and kick the ball around with us.
   We start by just kicking it to each other, which evolves into a game of keep away, which becomes a game of someone defending the goal with a defender against two people trying to score. We are out there for half an hour or so. We are all hot and sweating so the kids head over to the pool and I get my camera out and Teri and I sit and watch them swim and do dangerous things on the trampoline. We go inside and have a snack around eight o'clock. Around quarter to nine we head down to the ice cream palor to have ice cream. All the success we had getting Leonid to be part of our family seemed to all fall apart once we got to the ice cream palor. There was a carnival going on across the street and it was crowded. When it came time to order He didn't want ice cream and he wanted to go back home. He said he wasn't sick, he just wanted to go home. I said five minutes. When we left he was in the lead and got further and further away from us as we went towards home. I still don't know what was wrong.
   Today after my long quiet morning I made breakfast. And if I didn't learn the first time I surely won't learn the second time. I made Russian breakfast items. I made lazy Varenyky, a cheese and flour concocion that you boil for a few minutes. Anya seemed to recognize it because she took a large spoonful of it tasted it then didn't touch it. Nastia of all people, who doesn't like cheese liked it. She didn't know there was cheese in it.
   The other item I made was Russian Kefir pancakes or Oladi. Some had apples in them. They were not as bad as the Lazy Varenyky. Teri insisted I make sausages, which turned out to be the big hit of breakfast.
   We then went to buy clothing for the kids. We went through the gift card Teri's friends gave her. They are always there for her and are always first in line, god bless them. Anybody got $70,000.00 to help with an adoption? We were out most of the day and got all caught in a thunder storm up at the Spring Valley Market place. We ate a late lunch at IHOP and somewhere along the way I lost all of Leonid's paperwork. Teri told me not to take it so she got to say I told you so and it made her day.
   We got back about six and all the kids went swimming and at nine we will go see the fireworks but we will miss the carnival because of time and money. Remember to sent your donations to the bridge of hope