Time in Iowa ends...

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 We have been very busy since the boys have arrived. I have been very fortunate that they have been such good sports. In the 10 days since they have arrived, they have travelled to Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, back to Iowa and back to Indiana. And it is very common that these kids have never travelled in a car prior to arrival. I was prepared with wrist bands that help with motion sickness. But they have done great!

Yesterday was the last full day in Iowa. We were lucky to have my grandpa and aunt come visit us from Wisconsin. They came down for lunch and we all talked for a bit. When I am back in Iowa, there are a few places that I like to get food from: Rudy's Tacos, Whitey's Ice Cream and pizza from Happy Joe's. Unfortunately we did not eat at Rudy's or Happy Joe's but we did go and get Whitey's ice cream. The boys had whitey's vanilla with Snickers. I learned a lot about their food preferences these last few days. For example, for Whitey's ice cream, they preferred it melted. They loved ketchup on their Hawaiian buns and ate chip dip with cheese puffs. They also put ketchup on their pizza!

We are still having quite a few bumps regarding daily discipline. I have to remind myself that they have been in the system since 2018. They may not receive affection and any attention they may receive may only be when they do something negative. I also have to regularly remind myself that they are 10 and 13 years old. They may not be there developmentally or physically but this is a stage that I am not familiar with. 

Today I learned quite a bit about them. We played what we call "War" (card game) but they call it "drunk" and in their game, the number 6 is the highest. They also wanted me to play a game called "Toilet". I still don't get that one. A fellow host mom said that many Ukrainian kids often cheat when they play cards. Very interesting! 

We also started asking each other questions to learn more about each other. Hunter is with his dad this week and they wanted to know if I missed him. I also asked them some questions about their lives. A few days ago I had asked if they missed any food from home and they told me potato dumplings (we call perogi's) and beef belyashi. I was able to have the potato dumplings for them tonight and they were very happy! I am excited to make the belyashi. Hopefully it tastes ok! 


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