I'm glad to report that Marina has not had any major meltdowns since we got home. No biting, kicking, scratching etc. She still gets upset and cries, but she is getting better at controlling it with our help.
Our major issues so far have been:
The girls hate American fashion (children's fashion that is....they want to wear adult womens clothing)
The girls are "sicker" than we anticipated - they both need surgeries and medications for a year or so.
The schools have been a pain in the arse and totally unwilling to help us put the girls in the proper classes.
So that's the summary. If you just want an update, thats it. If you are going through something similar, or going to be going through something similar soon, I will detail out the first few weeks home below.
The plane ride went without incident. The girls did very well switching airports in Brussels and kept themselves entertained for the long ride across the ocean. They even did remarkedly well in ATL through immigration and customs. My parents took us home and the girls spent most fo the next few days hanging out with their grandparents, checking out their room (and rearranging it!), and going to the pool.
We argued with the school about how and when to register the girls. They would not accept an appointment. They said we had to come sit in a hallway at 730 in the morning at the international center (for all international and immigrant students) and just wait. Marina was not happy about this. The girls also knew they would be tested in English and Math. Math they were excited about, and English we told them it was good if they got a bad score. They thought this was hillarious! The woman who did our registration was Polish and she spoke Russian, so the girls were happy. They at first tried to place the girls based soley on their chron age. I told them no, I would home school them before allowing them to place the kids in grades they were sure to fail in. Thankfully I had their Ukrainian school transcripts, and showed the woman that the girls only completed 2nd and 6th grades respectively. They agreed to place the girls in 4th and 7th. But then they were arguing that we could start the girls at all until their specific georgia med forms were completed. I knew this was wrong and that the girls could get provisional enrollment for 30 days until we had our ped appointment the following week. After sending a copy of this policy via email to the director of the international center, I got them to release the girls files so we could enroll them at their "home base" schools. So the girls would be going to the international center (via bus from the home base schools) for the majority of the school day to learn english, and then spend 1 or 2 hours at their home schools.
Unfortunately Kat's home base school counselor is a complete twit. Total robot, typical public school guidance counselor. She refused to put Kat in PE or Art those 2 hours at the end of the day. She put Kat in Biology and Geography! I mean, come on, the kid doesn't speak, read, or understand English yet! We are still to this day fighting this. We thankfully got Kat's biology switched for Advanced Gifted Math, and she is loving that and doing well (90's and 100's on homework!)
Doctor's appointments. Let me start by saying I LOVE LOVE Dr. Vayman and her staff. I don't care that its a 45 minute drive to her office. She is the best. First was Kat's appointment, and since it was in the afternoon, Marina was with us. Kat broke down crying about changing into the paper gown, but thankfully I convinced her that it was a princess dress, and she and marina were ballroom dancing in the exam room when the nurse arrived. Did the hearing and eye screening, transfered her vaccine record to the GA form, and got her more vaccines. She was not happy about having 3 vaccines and one PPD placed, but she did ok. Her ears are ok, and she needs to see an eye specialist about the strabismus. Her abuse was more extensive than I thought, and Dr. Vayman (who speaks Russian BTW, as do some of her staff) told me to think about counseling for both girls. She recommended the same woman I had already planned on seeing. Coolies.
Marina's appointment was the following morning. So no school for her. Kat was not happy about that. Marina did ok and didn't need as many shots. But her hearing is almost completely gone in her left ear, and her right ear isn't great. So we will need an audiology appointment and possibly tubes in her ears. Dr. Vayman thinks it was multiple untreated ear infections that caused the damage. Her eyes are also bad, so she will need glasses. She is not happy about that at all. Dr. Vayman outlined all the blood work they were ordering, and the xrays and such and we would have to have all that done at Children's Healthcare at Egelstons as they didn't have a lab there at her office.
Finally got the blood drawn and the xrays done on Monday. both girls needed chest xrays since their PPDs (tuberculosis skin test) were VERY positive. Marina had a documented history of positive PPDs and Katya's we measured at home and called it in to the doctor. Marina also got a bone age xray done since she is way below the growth curve for her age group. Getting the stool samples for the parasite testing is turning out to be more difficult since the girls won't tell us when they poo. Marina probably has Giardia parasite infection since she farts so much.
Dental appointment is today at 230pm, and the girls don't seem too nervous about it. I eased them into it by letting them know last week about the appointment (I draw little pictures on the calendar since they can't read english yet and have it posted in the kitchen), reminded them 2 days ago, yesterday, and this morning. I explained that the dentist would only clean their teeth and examine them - no surgery, drilling, or pulling. I told them that they may be sore, but that I had medicine for that (orajel and tylenol). Kat has visable cavities on her front teeth, and who knows how many ones in back. I know from Dieter and Carola that Marina has a few, but most of her teeth are new since she is still getting her adult teeth in.
One thing I have found interesting is that the girls are torn about American kids meds - they are all sweet, good tasting, and chewable. Some they like, some they hate. Marina hates the kids toothpaste we got her that tasted like bubblegum. She wanted regular mint. They also are doing the fluoride rinse ok. No flossing yet - one thing at a time.
Still fighting over food and clothing, but I expect that to lessen with time. I'm just waiting to find Marina with a pair of scissors in her room cutting her shirts to be shorter like Ukrainian shirts! She already suggested cutting out the built in shorts in all her skirts (all kids skirts come with built in shorts now so they don't accidentally flash anyone).
We started a new rewards and discipline system yesterday and the girls like it so far. Its the basic "marble jar" system - each kid gets a decorated jar with their name on it, and when they do something good, they get a marble, when they are bad one gets taken away. Once the jar is full they get a treat (for our girls, something like a manicure at the salon, roller rink trip, movie theater, or a new CD). We wrote out a long one page letter to them and translated it on the internet explaining this system, also wrote out a daily schedule for them so there is no question about when they need to wake up, take a bath, or go to bed, and finally wrote up a chores list for each girl. Chores make they feel like part of the family (or so all the books say) and that they are contributing to the household. Each girl has 3 chores, and if they choose to do them, they get $10 a week. If not, they have no spending money. We made clear that we bought their food and basic clothing and school supplies, but anything beyond that was to be bought with their own money.
