Home Sweet Home!

We made it safe and sound!  Manny is a very good traveler.  He slept for some of the trip, and then played when he was awake.  The takeoff and landing didn't seem to bother his ears.  Thanks to everyone who came to the airport and gave us such a warm reception.  It was so fun to see all of you meeting Manny for the first time.   We are all laying low getting adjusted.  Manny still has a cough and I'm still not feeling great.  Johnny started getting a sore throat and headache today also, so I think it's making it's way around the whole family.  

My mom is staying with us for a couple of days to help us get settled, which is such a blessing.  Thanks Mom and hope you don't get sick!  We'll probably bum around town tomorrow and visit a couple people and then make a trip to babysR Us.  Make sure to stay tuned, because Johnny said he will be posting his third man blog soon.  Thanks to everyone for all your support while we were away from home.  A special thanks to Tom, Kelly and Andy for taking care of our zoo at home!  

Here are the pictures from the airport homecoming.

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10-28-08

Johnny picked up Manny's Visa this afternoon, and we are all set to travel!  We have a very early morning so, I'll say good night for now.  We will post when we are back in the good ole' USA!

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10-27-08

We went to the U.S. Embassy this morning to apply for Manny's visa.  We were able to cut through some of the lines, and our rep. told the clerk that our baby was sick, and could we please be rushed through.  We were done in an hour.  Manny no longer has a fever, but is still pretty congested, so we had him wrapped up for our outing this morning.  They approved his Visa and we will be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon at 3:30!  That's it, nothing left to do, but come home : )

We'll post more later.  Can't wait to see you all!

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10-26-08

Hi there,

The last two days have been no fun : (

Manny and I have both been sick with fevers and a cold.  The Dr. made a house call yesterday and said we needed lots of rest.  Manny had a temp. of 101.8 at about 4am this morning, which made me very nervous.  He seems a little better today, but is sleeping a lot, which is good.  We were going to spend our last weekend doing some sightseeing and shopping, but instead we're spending it in bed.  

That's ok with me, as long as we're all feeling better by Wednesday when we fly home!  Monday, our representative will be picking us up at 8am to go to the Embassy.  Manny is required to be at this appt. so hopefully he's no longer running a temp.  This is the last step needed to go home.  They will issue a U.S. visa for Manny to enter the U.S.  Well, not much else to report, so I'll make this a short post.  Can't wait to see everyone soon!

Love, Dulcie Johnny and Manny

Video from yesterday's Kare11 story

Good Morning,

Just wanted to post the Kare11 news story that ran on the 5pm news yesterday. In case you missed it, here you go!

Sentencia!!!!!

We just got the call!  The judge signed our paperwork this afternoon, and I will be traveling to Ubate tomorrow to sign on behalf of Johnny and I!  We're not sure what day we will be flying back yet, because we'll have to call the airlines to see what's available.  We will post, when we know.  That's it for now.  Make sure to watch our story on Kare11.com if you missed the 5:00pm broadcast this afternoon!  

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

Kare11 Story and Sentencial this afternoon?

Hi there,

We had a webcam interview with Kare11 news this morning.  They said the story would air at 5:00 this afternoon.  Make sure to tune in if you have access to channel 11.  Also, if anyone has access to Tivo or if your DVD player  can record on to a DVD, that would be great!

We heard from our representative that the Judge is planning on signing the paperwork this afternoon.  She will be calling me at the end of the day to confirm that he DID actually sign.  If so, I will be going to Ubate tomorrow morning at 6:30 to sign the paperwork.  They only require one of us to sign, so Johnny and Manny will stay back in Bogota.  If all goes as planned, we may be able to fly home on Tuesday or Wednesday!  Lots of prayers are needed!  I'll leave you with more random pictures.  Enjoy!

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10-23-08

Unfortunately, we have passed the window of being able to make it home on Saturday.  So, we continue to wait for our Sentencia.  We have to re-book our flights by Friday, so at that point, hopefully we will have a better idea of when we will be able to fly back.   We'll keep everyone posted.

We have been contacted by Kare11 news, to do a story on our adoption.  We were going to be interviewed yesterday, but there were some technical difficulties.  We are expecting to have an interview with them at 11am this morning and will possibly be on tonight's 10pm broadcast.  I'll post another message when I know for sure.  That's about it for now.  There are more pictures below from the Botanical Gardens.  These are pictures with actual people in them! (Ha Ha)

Hoping to see everyone soon!

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

October 21, 2008

Hello!

Hope you all enjoyed Johnny's man blog. Back to boring ole me, typing about our day to day : ) Today Manny turned 5 months old. He's getting so big!

We've been waiting for Sentencia, which we thought we were told we'd have by yesterday or today. But as we've learned, Colombian time, is different than American time. We booked our flights for this Saturday, the 25th, but it alot of things will have to fall into place in order for that to happen. Please keep us in your prayers that we receive word of Sentencia tomorrow morning, so we can still make our flight. Yesterday, we went to the Botanical Gardens, which was breath taking! The amount of different flowers is amazing! Johnny got bit by a duck also! The ducks and geese were circling our picnic table for scraps of bread, when they got aggressive and Johnny fell victim to it's bill!

Today we hung around the hotel and waited for the phone call that never came. Hopefully tomorrow, will be the news we need and we can see everyone soon! We'll post a note, as soon as we receive word. I've set up a slideshow of all the beautiful flower pics at the Botanical Gardens as well as the pics from Ubate. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Man Blog #2

Hidey-Ho from Bogota:

Johnny here...Time for Man-Blog#2

It occurred to me when I was on my 10 mile shopping spree with Dulcie that I should have brought a pedometer with me to Bogota. I think I have put on close to 100 miles since we got here. Just think of following your wife or significant other into about 50 - 100 craft stores, shoe stores, purse stores, jewelry stores, markets, art stores, etc.

I have to buy new jeans because of all the walking (shopping), I have gone down a pant size and my butt has temporarily vanished. Don't worry, I will do my best to regain my misplaced bum as soon as I get back...Taco Bell, Chipotle, Manny's Steakhouse and gobs of wonderful breakfast meats! Hello BACON, welcome back SAUSAGE!

Another word of advice, if you ask your cell phone provider if your phone will work in another country make sure they aren't just smiling and nodding. Sprint said my cell phone would work fine but I am only able to receive calls and not make calls or retrieve messages. I need what is called a SIM card. Unfortunately my cell phone does not have a spot for a SIM card, so I am SOL. I could rent or purchase a new cell phone and a SIM card and some minutes but I am a tightwad. I squeak when I walk. If you haven't heard about or set-up Skype please do. It is the cheapest and best way to communicate without a cell phone and a lot cheaper. Setting up a webcam is the ultimate way to see and talk to someone and is free between Skype users.

When traveling try to enjoy as many different restaurants as possible, we just went to Bogota Beer Company for a Margarita, Black & Tan, nachos and calamari. Good stuff. Crepes & Waffles has the best ice cream in Colombia and okay food. El Corral has darn good burgers and salads. The Beer Store is part of El Corral and sells pretty good beer. For pizza there is Archies and 1969. Both have really good pizza and salads. It is great to have traditional Colombian food but it is nice to take a break and have some other kinds of food. There is a Brazilian Steakhouse and a Chinese joint that we hope to eat at before we leave.

Speaking of beer as I often do, there are some good beers some decent beers and some not so good beers. For a good beer try Bogota Beer Company or The Beer Store, they have a pretty good porter, a decent red beer and a medium body beer. I haven't had a chance to order beers from The Beer Store but hope to this week. Store bought beer consists of Aguila which is like Miller Light or Old Mil Light, not much taste. Poker is a better beer, Pilsen is an okay beer. I haven't tried Costena or Quilmes an Argentinian beer. At stores like Exito, Curilla and Pomona  you will find these beers and lots of imports. About Colombian wine, don't bother, it is pretty nasty. Colombians won't drink it. It is pretty much only bought by gullible gringos. There is  huge selection of very good wines from Chile, Spain, France, USA, Germany, etc.

Try to plan some day trips to some small cities within a few hours of Bogota. You will spend plenty of time in your hotel room playing cards, reading, clipping your toenails, clipping you spouses toenails, checking for nose hairs and excessive earwax. How much earwax is excessive? More than 2 Q-tip loads, 3 loads, a teaspoon, a fingernailful? Is that even a word, fingernailful?

That's all I can think of right now, we are going downstairs for a nice evening of cheese, wine and homemade pizza. I think my rear end may re-appear after appetizers and dinner tonight.

P.S. Check out the video of my 1st diaper changing experience. I am still learning about trying to cover juniors private regions while changing him. I learned this after he peed on me while I was changing his poopy diaper. How about this for a new item to sell new fathers: Charcoal filtered face masks to keep out the smell. Or how about this: an FDA approved liquid additive to Juniors formula to make his poop smell like Jasmine & Sandalwood, yummy. Don't worry dear I think it's my turn to change Juniors diapers. How about grilled sirloin smelling diapers, what a marketing genius. 

Oct 17, 2008

We are back in Bogota!

We are back to our home away from home, and got a very warm reception when we got back to Hotel Paris.  What a great place!  This will be a quick post since we are wiped out.  I'll post more tomorrow with pictures after I've had a good nights sleep.  

Manny is sleeping safe and sound in the suitcase.  Yes, you read it right, the suitcase!  We tried to put him down in the crib tonight and he was so fussy and squirming everywhere, so I decided to make up the suitcase and set it in the crib, and he fell asleep right away!  Maybe it's just the familiar while he's adjusting to another move?  Personally, I like the suitcase, because the crib here is not what you would call up to safety codes and I'm always worried that he'll get his head stuck between the 6" gap between the bars.  A couple of times, I've woken up and seen that he's squirmed his way up in between the bumper and against the crib bars.  (Too close for my comfort!)  I'll leave you with a picture of Manny sleeping in the suitcase.  Good Night.

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

Oct 15, 2008

Hola from Ubate,

Johnny, Manny and I arrived yesterday and checked into a quaint country hacienda where we were to stay for a couple of days. It turns out that someone stole their phone lines, and they would not have a phone for two weeks. Because the hotel was 6 miles out of Ubate, we would not have access to a phone. Their cook was also sick, so they were not able to provide meals. We decided to stay at a hotel in town that has a phone where we can receive in coming calls, but can not make calls out. We also do not have internet at the hotel, and I am updating this from an internet cafe in Ubate. Our hotel doesn´t have accomodations for babies, so Manny is sleeping in our suitcase! It´s actually pretty cozy, and it prevents him from rolling around. So, for now, it works pretty good. Hopefully he doesn´t get much taller, because he wón´t have much room left!

We met with our Lawyer at ICBF (Child social services). We then went to the court house, to sign papers and get our case entered into the courts. When we were at the court house, we were told that we would have to stay in Ubate for the full time it would take to get Sentencia. That usually takes two weeks. We had only packed for two days, and started to panic a bit. We had a hard night as Manny did not adjust to the new accomodations easily. The next morning, we called our representative and she helped translate some of our needs to the hotel and that turned out to be very helpful. She also called our Lawyer and confirmed that we CAN go back to Bogota this Friday after our case is assigned to the Judge. (Fingers Crossed : )

So, if all goes well, we will head back to Bogota on Friday or Saturday morning, and then wait for Sentencia. They are saying we could have Sentencia by Wednesday! (Again, Fingers Crossed : )

In the meantime, we won´t have easy access to the internet, but will try to make it to the internet cafe one more time this week to update. Thanks for checking in on us, and keep us in your prayers for a quick Sentencia!

Love,
Dulcie, Johnny and Manny
P.S. - I will post pictures when we get back to Bogota.

Great News!

We received a call from our representative, Cecilia, yesterday afternoon.  She told us that the orphanage, Los Pisingos, has been working with ICBF (Colombia's child welfare Office) to see if there is anything that can be done to help their families who have not been entered into the court system because of the strike.  Almost the entire country of Colombia has been on strike for almost 40 days now, but there were some small towns that did not participate in the strike. 

Our lawyer from Los Pisingos found a judge in a small town about two hours from Bogota who will be taking on adoption cases starting Tuesday (Oct. 14th) The families who would go through this judge would be required to travel to this small town on Tuesday, and stay for three days.  After three days, the families would return to Bogota, and wait for the final decree of adoption, called Sentencia.  Cecilia mentioned that this judge would give the families Sentencia no longer than two weeks from Tuesday!  

Our other option would be to stay in Bogota and get assigned to a court here.  We have heard that the Notaries here in Bogota will be taking on the adoption cases, in place of the judges while on strike, but we will not know for sure until Tuesday, because Monday is Colombus Day and everything will be closed for the National Holiday.  We only had a half hour to decide what we wanted to do, so we told Cecilia that we would like to travel to the small town to enter their court.  It will actually be kind of nice to get a new change in scenery.  The name of the town we will be going to is Ubate, Cundinmarca Colombia, which is a very small town in the country, so it will be quiet and the air will be cleaner.  

We talked to Katya, the owner of Hotel Paris, and she said we won't have to check out of our room, during our short trip.  So, we will only have to pack enough for three days.  That's a relief, because we have enough stuff to fill 5 large suitcases! 

So, looking at the Calendar, we figure, we will have Sentencia by October 28th at the latest.  We will then have to visit the Embassy and apply for Manny's passport and get clearance to travel back home.  That usually takes a few days, so we could be home by the first week in November!  We haven't decided yet, if Johnny will still leave on the 2oth.  He will have to check with work and those helping us out at home, to see if he can stay. 

Manny had a round of vaccinations on Thursday.  They did five vaccinations, but only in one shot.  Thank goodness, because the way he cried, there is not way they would have gotten another needle in his poor little leg.  We had a bet with The Haydens on who would cry the most, Emma or Manny, and Manny lost!  He cried for a good 10 minutes, while Emma only cried for about a minute.  She's a tough little cookie! 

Here is a video of Manny getting his shot. Poor little bugger.  

Love, Dulcie Johnny and Manny

.

10-09-08

Updates in this blog entry

1.  Johnny is going home Oct. 20th : (

2.  We were on the evening news in Bogota

3.  The video we received before we traveled to Bogota, isn't Manny

4.  We met the actual baby from the video!

Johnny is going home Oct. 20th : ( 

Since the Judicial strike is the at 38 days today (The longest in the history of Colombia) We have decided we will need to conserve as much money as possible, and also decided it would be best if we had at least one income coming in the door.  We are preparing for the worst, which is the possibility of me being here into the new year.  We don't want to even think that it will come to that, but It's better to be prepared, just in case.  Luckily, I will have the company of two other Minnesota families here at our hotel, and I've also met a couple of wonderful friends here in Bogota.

We were on the evening news in Bogota

Our representative received a phone call from the child welfare office (ICBF) asking if she had any adoptive families that are stuck here because of the strike and if they would like to be interviewed for the evening news.  So, the news crew came to the hotel and so did a bunch of other families that are staying in Bogota.  They were mostly from France and Belgium.  Many families have been here for 3 months now.  Johnny and I did not get interviewed by the reporter because we don't speak spanish, however, we are in the broadcast.  Here is the link to the news station's website and the online broadcast.  The adoption story is about 11 minutes into the broadcast. 

Click here to view the video on Bogota TV

The video we received before we traveled to Bogota isn't Manny

If you don't remember the video story, check out my posting from August 24th.

Click here to view that posting and the video

We met the actual baby from the video!

When the news people and other families were at our hotel for the taping of the adoption story, we noticed a family sitting at the table next to us with their baby boy.  I told them, I think your baby looks alot like ours, don't you?!  They agreed, and we got to talking about their ages, which they are only a few days apart.  They told us their son was from Los Pisingos Orphanage and so is Manny.  I kept looking at this baby and then it hit me!  He was the actual baby from the video, not Manny.  So, Johnny went up to our room to grab the laptop, and we showed them the video and told them the story behind it.  After watching the video again and looking at their son, we are convinced that it is Baby Hugo.  How incredible!  Here are a couple of pictures of the two of them side by side.  I especially like the one where Manny is pulling Hugo's ear and Hugo is crying.  What a big bruiser!

So, I told them I would try to email the video to them if they were to give me their email address.  So we exchanged information and parted ways.  When we went back up into the room, I looked into ways I could email the video, in a format compatible with Mac and Windows, but couldn't figure it out.  I thought back to when we packed for our trip and realized that for some weird reason, I decided to bring the DVD of the video.  (Must have been fate)  That night I tried sending them an email to let them know that I had the DVD, but it came back as undeliverable. So, I tried a few other spellings, just in case I misread his handwriting and none of them went through either.  I felt bad, because I didn't want them to think I blew them off.  

The next day, Johnny went for a long walk, and he was about 6 miles from our hotel in a store, when he looked up and saw Hugo and his family!  He told them about the DVD and they will be coming to our hotel to pick it up.  What a strange sequence of events. 

In a few minutes, the Dr. will be here to give Manny his next series of Shots.  I'll report back on that tomorrow, with some pictures.  In the meantime, here are more pictures from the last few days.

Lots of Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10-6-08

Hi there!

There hasn't been much going on here the last couple of days, so I really haven't had anything to write about. October is the rainiest month of the year in Colombia, so we've been hotel bound for the most part. Yesterday, Johnny, Manny and I went to the mall again. It was raining, so we put the rain cover on the stroller and headed out in our rain coats. We just did some walking in the mall, out of the rain. When we were heading back, the sun was out : ) We had lunch at 1969 pizza, which had great thick crust that Johnny just loved. I'm more of a thin and crispy girl, so Archies is still my favorite. When we got back to the hotel, Manny was a little fussy and seemed pretty gassy. (Just like his daddy) So we took it easy for the rest of the day.

This morning we went for a long walk and Manny has been down for a long nap this afternoon. He must have needed to catch up from yesterday's lack of napping. Johnny went for a power walk by himself and came back with stories of having to use the bathroom at Crepes and Waffles as it was an emergency! Then he said he "HAD" to buy an ice cream cone because he felt guilty about what he did to their bathroom! I wonder if that was the reason for his quick trip to the bathroom when he got back to the hotel. hmmm.

Since we haven't had much going on, we don't have any pictures to post. I do, however have some video of our fiesta in the kitchen the night we all cooked dinner for the staff. It was a great time! Enjoy!

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

10/02/08 - 10/04/08

Good morning everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful fall weather in MN. Since Johnny and I are missing the turning of the leaves, we would love to see some pictures of the fall scenes!  You can email them to our msn email account: dulcieandjohnny@msn.com

We sure have been busy here.  Wednesday, we were scheduled to go to Monserrate, which is a mountain that is 10,341 ft above the sea level. We were going to take the aerial tramway to the summit. We left Manny with a babysitter, since we weren't sure how he would do up that high in elevation. I have to admit I was pretty freaked out as we were driving up into the higher elevation. Well, the weather did not cooperate and you really need to have a nice clear day to be able to see the view from the top. So, we decided we would reschedule for a clear day.  We changed our plans at the last minute and decided to go to La Candelaria which is a historic neighborhood in downtown Bogotá, Colombia that dates back to the 15th Century!

The architecture of the old houses, churches and buildings is mostly Spanish Colonial. There are also several universities, libraries and museums. We visited The Bolívar Square (Spanish: Plaza de Bolívar) which is located in the heart of the historical area of Bogotá. In the center of the square is a statue of Simón Bolívar sculpted in 1846 by the Italian Pietro Tenerani, which was the first ever public monument in the city.  There are vendors that sell bird food, so you can imagine the amount of pigeons!  They would actually perch on peoples arms and eat out of their hands!  I wasn't brave enough to try that, but we did get a picture of it.  

On the northern side of the square is the Palace of Justice, a big modern building where the Supreme Court works.  On the southern side of the square, is the National Capitol, which is the seat of the Colombian Congress. We were only able to spend a few hours there, but Johnny and I would love to go back and really explore! Here are some pics from our outing.

We spent Thursday walking to the Uni-Centro (A mall).  We had lunch at Crepes and Waffles.  Johnny and I both agreed, we like the desserts there, better than the food.  We spent a couple hours walking around the mall, and then headed back to the hotel were we had a little R&R.  

On Friday we traveled to the Coloma Coffee Plantation with The Haydens and our wonderful tour guide, Freddy! It's a two hour drive from Bogota. We first drove up into the mountains, until we reached 10,000 ft. We then descended into the valley where there is a small town called Fusagasuga. The coffee plantation is located on the outskirts of this small town.

What a beautiful place! The entire plantation is filled with exotic flowers like orchids, and many we've never seen before. When we started to tour the gardens, a small puppy decided he would be our tour guide! He was so cute! He followed Ellie everywhere and let Manny pet him. We walked through the greenhouse, which is where they grow the seedlings. They can not be planted until they've matured. We then walked through the grove of coffee plants that had just been picked. They have two major seasons. (February/March and August/September) So we had just missed the major season and most of the ripe beans had been picked. All of the beans are picked by hand. Each year, they prune the trees so they stay at the ideal height for picking. We tasted a ripe bean, which is very sweet and didn't taste like coffee at all.

We then learned how they shell, rinse, dry and roast the coffee beans. They have two different processing sections. One is the old fashioned way of making coffee beans and the other is the modern way, which includes machinery. After our tour, we were able to sample the coffee as well as a tasty coffee liquor. Both were delicious! (Especially together) Johnny and I bought a sample of both to take home with us.

After our tour, we went back to Fusagasuga to eat lunch. The view was spectacular from our table! There are several open air huts where people dine. Salsa music played in the background. We had our choice of a traditional Colombian meal of meat, chicken or fish with fried plantanes, yucca and rice. We arrived back at the hotel about 8 hours after we left. It was a long day, but well worth the trip! I've posted two slide shows below. One contains only pictures of the flowers and vegetation at the coffee plantation. The other contains pictures of us on our tour and at lunch. Hope you enjoy!

Lots of Love,
Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

The strike is still on after 29 days

Tuesday, September 30th

Sorry, I'm still a day behind on posting.  It's hard finding time to blog in between site seeing and Manny's schedule.  Well, first off, wanted to fill everyone in on the strike situation.  There have been many negotiation meetings and they have made no progress.   Last week there was a meeting with the Colombian President, Uribe, where he offered to increase the government's original offer, but they did not accept his deal. They have another meeting scheduled for next week, and they want the government to triple their last offer, so who knows if they will get anywhere with the negotiations then. The only saving grace will be that if they do not accept an offer to end the strike, they will not get paid September's salary. That should be incentive enough. Also, Uribe is saying that if they do not end the strike, they will start firing people.

Now on to the fun stuff!  We visited the Orphanage (Los Pisingos) where Manny lived in his first three months.  We first visited with the same woman who presented us with Manny on our second day in Bogota.  She spent about thirty minutes telling us about Manny's birthmother.   It was kind of sad story to hear and we hope someday, we will find the best way to tell him his story. Johnny and I will be keeping the information private until we can share it with him. Since it is his story, it will be up to him to share it with others, if he chooses to do so.

They gave us a picture of his birth mother and also an ultrasound picture of him!  That was such a great surprise.  After this, we went to the map of the U.S. and placed a pin in the map.  Each pin represents a family that has adopted and where the pin is placed, indicates where the family is from.  You should see all the pins placed in Minnesota.  There is barely room for more!  We then took a tour of the orphanage and got to see the nursery.  There are currently 25 infants in the nursery!  I truly hope that means more referrals coming soon!  When we were outside the nursery, a woman who was Manny's main caregiver during his first three months came out to see him.  When he saw her and heard her voice, he instantly lit up and started smiling and cooing.  She took him in her arms and hugged him and talked to him for a couple of minutes, while he smiled.   It was so great to see, because you realize how much he was loved before he came to us.

We also were able to see the toddler section of Pisingos and of course I wanted to take all them home with us!  Johnny made friends with a little boy who was playing with a toy car and zooming it around on the floor.  They were high fiving and the little boy then proceeded to follow us.  We talked to the Director of the Orphanage, Carlos, and he was so kind and told us if there was anything we needed to feel free to contact him.  While we were talking to him, several children came up to him, and he knew all of their names, and would ruffle their hair or talk to them.  It really shows the level of care, even from the person who is in charge of the entire place!

After lunch we went for another walk and found a beautiful park filled with gardens and a playground.  Check out the pictures.

P.S.  - Since we haven't been getting many comments on our blog, we were thinking that it may be hard to figure out how to post a comment.  Below each of our posts, we have a picture slide show or a video.  Below that, there is a link that says 0 Comments.  If you click on that, you can write us a note : )  We really look forward to those notes, as it keeps our spirits up when we get a little homesick.  Thanks for checking in!

Love, Dulcie Johnny and Manny

9/28/08 and 9/29/08

Sunday, September 28th

We took advantage of the closed streets again and walked back to the Santa Barbara Market with our new Colombian friend, Adriana.  She's so cute with Manny.  She took care of him all day, by pushing his stroller, giving him a bottle, carrying him around the market.  I wasn't sure she was going to give him back at the end of the day : )

We had lunch at Archies Pizzaria, which was fabulous!  Adriana's boyfriend, Alejandro met with us for lunch and then we did some more walking around the market until we found the Postres stand (Desserts)  Johnny and I tried something different and both were delish!  Since the streets opened up again at 2:oo, Alejandro drove us back to the hotel.  That was kind of nice, because we were pretty tired from all the walking at the market.

Monday, September 29th

Johnny and I and The Hayden's had the opportunity to cook dinner for the staff here at Hotel Paris.  We had a blast!  Our menu consisted of Spaghetti, Caesar Salad (No anchovies), Garlic Bread and for dessert, Apple Pie with ice cream.  It was a big hit!  We made a run to the Carulla (Super Market) to get the ingredients that we didn't have and started cooking around 4:30.  Hotel Paris' cook, Juanita, helped us with finding all the tools we needed while we prepared dinner.  Colombian radio was cranked up while we were cooking.  Dancing during meal preparation is required.  In fact dancing is a main staple in the kitchen here at Hotel Paris!

Manny was of course, well cared for by all the ladies while we were cooking.  After preparing that meal and serving and helping with clean up, we really got a taste for how hard these ladies work every day. (and we only did one meal!)  Thanks to the staff for letting us invade your kitchen.  We had a blast!

9/27/08

Saturday, September 27th

Johnny visited a salon on Saturday morning to get a hair cut.  It's about twenty thousand pesos for a haircut which is only ten american dollars!  It was a really nice salon.  They made Johnny wear a robe, which was a little tight.  He sang, fat man in a little coat as he put it on.   Of course I had to take a picture!

Our representative, Cecilia invited us and The Hayden's to a very large flea market in Santa Anna. This is a big event and it only happens one weekend a year.  We left Manny with a babysitter for the first time.  I wasn't nervous, but I started to miss him after we were gone for about an hour.  There were an enormous amount of food vendors there, including one that sold a Colombian Delicacy called Capybara. They are the largest living rodents in the world and are related to agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs.  We were stunned to see that the line for this stand was longer than any of the others.  We weren't brave enough to try it, but we heard that this is on the  menu at Chino Latino in uptown, but has to be ordered more than 24 hours in advance.  So if anyone is brave enough to try it, let us know what it tastes like. (And don't say Chicken!)

Click here to view the Wikepedia Site for Capybara

The Colombian Military had there own section and there were children climbing on tanks and assault vehicles for photo opps! The military men were also giving demonstrations of their machine guns (We think they were unloaded). I was drawn to a booth for handmade alligator and suede purses and of course they were super expensive. They were just gorgeous! Can you believe I walked away? We had a 2-3 mile walk back to the hotel and made it back just before dark.   When we got back to the hotel, Manny was sound asleep and had been well taken care of by the wonderful staff at Hotel Paris!  What a wonderful day in Bogota.

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

Big Daddy here (Johnny):

My first Man-Blog is about packing for the adoption trip.

First and foremost, don't let your woman pack. Inspect everything that she deems "necessary".

Remember that most airline will charge you an arm and a leg for any bag over 50 lbs. My first Man-Suggestion is to get everything in 3 bags if possible and either pack an empty 4th bag or purchase a duffel when in country. The extra bag is for bringing back goodies and such. Traveling out with six 50 pound bags may sound okay but traveling back home with seven 55 pound bags and a stroller and a baby is as much fun as passing a mammoth kidney stone.

In our case we travelled to Bogota Colombia, a city of about 8 million people. I am pretty sure we can find and buy anything that might be forgotten. Except in our case an LED alarm clock. It is true what they say about "Colombian time". No one here seems to have alarm clocks, we checked 6 different large department stores and the only alarm clock we found was at a store called Bed, Bath & Barrel. A blatant rip off of Bed, Bath & Beyond and Crate & Barrel. The only alarm clock they had was one that projected the time onto the ceiling and at 189,000 pesos (about $90 US) I will guess at what time it is in the middle of the night.

Baby clothes:

I know that the female persuasion love to dress up babies in the cutest outfits, but packing 25 -30 separate outfits should be a no no. The kid doesn't care what he/she looks like and the only thing Colombians seem to care about is if the baby is wearing shoes.  7 outfits that you can mix and match should be enough, and then some jammies. I like the little baby sack for sleeping in. Easy to insert Junior into and easy to get Junior out of for midnight diaper changing. Gets you back in bed quicker when you don't have to worry about getting all 18 snaps on Juniors Baby Gap matching  sleep wear!

His and Her clothes:

Find out what people wear in the country you will be traveling and what the temperature will be like. In Bogota it is between 50 - 70 everyday and the is a 100% chance of rain or drizzle. Bring clothes that you can wear in layers, we went for a walk to the market today and it started out cold (2 layers) got warmer (1 layer) started to rain (umbrella) then got colder and breezy.

Shorts:

Don't bother bringing them unless you go somewhere warm. I packed 3 pairs and have worn one pair for lounging around the hotel. People just don't wear them here so I wasted valuable luggage space.

Washers and Dryers:

Yep they have them here. We do laundry once or twice a week so try to only pack about 7 outfits  for yourselves. I have been known to wear a t-shirt more than one day and no one has complained about the smell so far. Another nice thing to pack is a small box of fabric softener sheets like Bounce.  Stevie Wonder has a better chance of finding Waldo than I did finding fabric softener in Bogota. If you don't mind clothes with 80 grit texture you're okay otherwise bring the Bounce. 

Lounge Wear:

This will be the most important part of your wardrobe. Your days will consist mostly of, having breakfast, playing with Junior, going for a walk, playing with junior, lunch, playing with Junior, dinner, playing with Junior, relaxing in your room, putting Junior to bed and repeat.

Formal clothes:

We brought one formal outfit that you will wear at the presentation and at our meeting at "The Defender Of The Minors. Any other meetings consists of "business casual wear".

Shoes:

Here is another prime example of women going completely mental about "having to have the right shoe for the right occasion". You must fight her on this, stand your ground. She will need lounge shoes, comfortable walking shoes and one pair of dress shoes. Stiletto heels don't work well in Bogota where the streets and sidewalks have potholes that could swallow a small SUV.

Guys, same situation, lounge shoes, walking shoes and dress shoes. 

Money:

Bring some local currency with you for taxi fare and for tipping. Keep some US dollars with you just in case and when you fly back to the US. Exchange money at a large local bank when in country and take out as much as possible. You will get a better exchange rate at a big bank rather than ATM's or airports.

Toilets & Toiletries:

Cipro. didn't think I needed it but am very glad my wife brought it. The first weekend I got a case of Montezuma's Revenge and spent some quality time on the biffy. Let me tell you, 11 dad-gum blowouts in 24 hours is no fun when you can't flush the toilet paper down the toilet. That's right, the Bogota sewer system is not designed for toilet paper. That is why the garbage can is located right next to the toilet. Actually you get used to it and it makes you plan your downloads. Here is something I am concerned about, if someone from Bogota visits me, what will they do with their toilet paper?

Salty Breakfast Meats:

If I would have known that a slice of bacon is around 15,000 pesos I would have smuggled in a few pounds of good bacon and sausage. What I wouldn't give for a B.L.T. with extra B.

That's it for my first Man-Blog, more to come. 

Chao!

Hola!

We moved to our new hotel yesterday and we love it! The room is bigger and brighter. Juanita is the best cook and comes out while we are eating to make sure we are enjoying it. She wants to hold Manny and brings him back to the kitchen with the other staff, while we are eating. It's also been great, being back in the same hotel with The Haydens. Ellie and I have become great friends : ) We had some playtime out in the courtyard at the hotel after lunch today. We were doing some balance beam practice on the cement border of the sidewalk. For those of you who know how clumsy I am, you'll be surprised to see that I still have some of the old balance beam moves in me!

The slideshow below has more pictures of the beautiful Flowers here in Colombia. This country is also known for their exotic fruits that you can't find anywhere else in the world. At lunch today we had a fruit called Granadilla. You cut open the top and spoon out the nectar and eat it. The look of it, can be quite off putting, but after a taste, I found it had a great flavor. You definitely have to get past the texture! You'll see in the picture!

Manny has been a little fussy the last couple days, and we're not quite sure if he's not feeling well, if he's teething, or if he needs more food! We decided to try and give him some rice cereal today. He had about 5-6 bites and then got impatient and wanted instant gratification from the bottle. (Mamma's little piggy - He even snorts) The Haydens have been so helpful with parenting advise for us first time parents!

One last note. . . Johnny keeps talking big about writing his own "Man Blog" as a guide for future Colombian Adoptive Dads. I think he needs a little encouragement to get started!

Love, Dulcie Johnny and Manny

9-24-2008

Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad tomorrow (9-25)  They will be celebrating 37 years of wedded bliss!  Thanks for the great example Grandma and Grandpa Karels!

We had a busy day today. This morning we went to the Los Pisingos Mother's Home. This is the home where many pregnant women stay during some of their pregnancy. They receive prenatal care, counseling, job training and support. Some women stay at the home for up to a month after the baby is born. There were 5 pregnant women in the room and 3 women who had already given birth. A few posts ago, we shared with everyone the experience of meeting the pregnant woman in the waiting room at the defender of minors office. As chance would have it, she was also at our meeting today as well. She seemed to be much less emotional and smiling a lot of the time. What a great opportunity to see her again!

The meeting was very emotional for all of us. We feel so grateful that we were able to meet with these women and ease their minds and help with any questions they had about adoption.  Manny was passed around the room and received lots of attention : )

Some of the questions they asked were:

Why did you choose to adopt from Colombia?

What is your baby's name?

Did you keep the name his mother gave him? If not, why?

How do you feel about women who give up their babies for adoption? (They worried that the adoptive families and children would think poorly of them, like they abandoned their children.)

What was the process like prior to receiving the baby? What did we have to do while we were waiting?

How did you feel when you met your baby for the first time?

Will you tell your child that they are adopted?

Did you make the decision to adopt on your own, or did you receive support from your family?

Now that you have spent some time here, what do you think of Colombia?


Some of the questions we asked them:

Has meeting us, helped you with your decision?

When your child is 18, how would you feel about him/her contacting you?

Has living in the mothers home helped you?

How would you feel about leaving a letter or picture for your child to have?

The answers to these questions were varied between each of the women.  During the meeting, we found out that the law recently changed for birthmothers being able to see pictures and updates about their child. In the past, adoptive parents would send pictures and updates to the orphanage and the birth mothers could visit the orphanage to check for these updates. I guess they can no longer do that and adoption files are closed until the children are 18 years old. We feel really sad about this and wish that they would be able to do that if they wanted to. I'm sure there are some that don't want to, but I would think that it would bring them peace to know that their child is happy, healthy and with a loving family.  At the end of the meeting we hugged each of the women and thanked them and wished them luck.  It really was an amazing experience that we'll never forget!

After our meeting we were treated to lunch by the Haydens at Hotel Paris.  The lunch was fabulous!  We had rice, red beans, fried plantanes with shredded beef and salsa.  Yummy!  We received a tour of the hotel and we were able to see almost every room.  It was really cute, they told us to lay on the bed in each room to see which one felt most comfortable.  The Haydens and one other couple are the only people staying in the hotel right now, so we had our pick of any room if we were to move.  We got back to our hotel and talked about it, and ultimately decided to move.  We really enjoy the company of the Hayden family and really liked the atmosphere at the hotel.  We will save a little money as well.  We will be checking out tomorrow morning and moving in to Paris!  We're really excited.  

We had an appt. to go to the orphanage tomorrow, but it has been postponed until next Tuesday.  Johnny and I will take a look at whether or not we are going to the coast after that meeting.  Because the strike is still on, we want to make sure we are conservative with our money, just in case we end up being here longer than expected.  We didn't really take any pictures in the last couple of days, but I did take a video this morning of Johnny and Manny playing.  He's cooing and laughing and it's so cute!  Make sure your sound is turned up when you watch, so you can hear Manny.  

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny