We are - moving on!

I have so many updates to give and there isn’t really any excuse why I have been so lazy about writing this blog to let everyone in on the news. However, maybe you all can forgive once I catalogue everything we have been doing. I guess I will separate everything into pieces for easier digestion!

Daddy John’s Job - Well, as you know he travels constantly and is never here. Well, we got some exciting news about a month ago. The equity company he works for has bought a company in London, with major offices in Paris, Barcelona, and Hong Kong, and has asked him to be the CFO for the company. They also bought a company in Seattle that eventually they want to consolidate everything to. Could you ask for anything better? So for the next 18 months to 2 years, we will be getting to travel around Europe and then move back here. We will keep the house in Seattle, after all G4 needs a place to live. Daddy John will be getting a flat in London and in Paris that we can stay in and use as a base for all the travel I am planning. They have given us a huge travel bonus as well so that if I get tired of overseas, well, I can just bring the kids home and relax stateside for a while. The only caveat will be that John can’t stay too long in any one country (no more than 6 months a year) to avoid the taxes, so he will be moving around a lot. But really, I am ok with that.

Amanda is a little skeptical of this whole endeavor with her training, but we have assured her that this is the opportunity of a lifetime and can’t be missed. I figure we will abandon most schoolwork for a year and do mainly history and art while we travel.

I do have a little trepidation about being apart for some time across an ocean from my love. When he travels in the US, I still feel like I can get help if I need it, but now overseas, I feel like he is a world away. Hopefully, we will be able to spend more time together than this past year or so once I can get us over to Europe.

G4 - I can’t leave him out. He turned 18 in March (still can’t believe it). He is a senior at UW with a 3.9 GPA getting his BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Minor in Chemistry with Departmental Honors. The thing about UW is their crazy grading system. They give out only numerical grades. An A+ is a 4.0, an A is 3.75, an A- is a 3.5, a B+ is a 3.2, etc. So it is impossible almost to get a 4.0 GPA. Well, nothing stops this kid. Cumulatively his GPA is a 3.9 but last quarter he got a perfect 4.0 which meant a perfect 100 in all of his classes! I have to hand it to him, he has surpassed Daddy and me! My 3.83 GPA had a lot of A-’s that were still luckily counted as a 4.0 - I don't think I ever got a perfect 100 in a class and he manages to do it ALL the time.

He also started research at the VA and is the second author on a project dealing with gene regulation and expression in the brain. He is doing so well, I am so proud of him. He will be doing grad school applications in the summer - the deadline to apply is December 1. Hopefully if all goes according to plan, he will be starting his PhD in 2015. He has made a lot of friends, is always out, and pretty much runs his own life, except for laundry which I find dropped off in the laundry room, and food shopping, which he fusses when there is nothing in the pantry.

Amanda - This little powerhouse is still going strong with her Olympic dreams. All of her medical conditions are still holding her back though. Thank goodness for the physicians at UW, they have been great. Honestly, we are going to have to assess whether they will ultimately hinder her dreams, but for now, she keeps training to the point of passing out (I am not kidding) 6 days a week and keeping a positive attitude. We have an appointment next Friday to hopefully answer the question as to when she will get surgery on her airway and larynx.

She competed at the World TKD Open last month and took home the Gold Medal for sparring. She was a little powerhouse and even got penalized for being to aggressive, but as she told me after the fight, “There was no way I was going to lose!”

She is turning 15 next week and is still the sweetest, nicest little girl I could ever ask for. 

Alex - OK - the main reason for my blog! Saving the best for last. He is doing great. He started Karate in November and has stuck with it, just earning his orange belt last week. He is doing great in school, almost finished with Algebra 1 and obviously doing that big science fair project. Even though he was poopy about doing the project, he looks back now and is so proud of all that he accomplished with it. He realizes what a great accomplishment that was for him. I can’t believe that he is only 16 sometimes with how mature he has become. He drives everywhere and is so trustworthy. He has a part-time job also tutoring Russian in the homeschooling group. He still plays video games wayyyy to much, but I don’t fuss too much anymore. He does his work and for the most part helps out around the house. He and Amanda are like 2 peas in a pod most of the time. He know takes care of most of the driving of her back and forth to TKD (thank goodness). He also dyed the back of his hair blue - not sure why - but it looks cute.

He continues to settle into life in America, and even said to me the other day that he didn't think he would go back to Ukraine except for some visits. I was really surprised at that but you know what? Secretly happy!

We had a few issues when he connected with his stepmother on VK - that riled me up a little but I have to get used to the fact that he has a half-sister that he wants to maintain contact with. I just asked him to clue me in on the messaging as I was worried about her. He fussed a little at that, since we don’t monitor any of the kids phones, computers, internet usage etc. But once I explained to him that she was an abusive and neglectful person to him, and I had an obligation to protect him, he just grumbled about crazy, overprotective parents but said ok. Thank goodness, we have a close enough relationship that it blew over quickly. I don't think he sees her as abusive and neglectful, but instead of just dissing me, now he listens before he disagrees. I know it will take a while, but I really feel that he needs to look at her for exactly what she was and not romanticize their relationship. I know it will take a while, but I keep poking.

Alex and Amanda still go to the homeschool group occasionally, but as they get older are starting to age out of the activities a little bit. He doesn’t have a lot of friends, but I am ok with that. Terrible right? I guess I look at it as he has the rest of his adult life to make friends, but only these few years with me to cement a family relationship. That trumps friends any day of the week! He just turned to me today in the car as he was driving me home from errands, we were joking about something, and he said to me, “I love the four of you all so much.” Chills!!!! 

He is still the first thing I think about every morning and the last thing I think about before sleep. I keep wondering if ever that will change, but I know that I have a lot of years to make up for that he wasn’t with us. I am constantly worrying about his English, his Russian (not losing it are you?), his schoolwork (should we do more, or am I pushing too hard?), and just about everything else. He laughed at me the other day and said, “Will you stop worrying about everything? You need to calm down and let things just happen.” Then he invited me down to watch him play Grand Theft Auto. So, taking his advice, I went down to the game room with him and started to watch him, got bored and irritated with the bad language, and ended up by falling asleep on his shoulder. After I woke up (a good hour later) he said, “Well, that isn't exactly what I meant, but I guess it worked for you.” What a doll!

GTG now, but I will update you all on our recent vacation and cruise to the Caribbean next.