Home at last!

HHH Metrodome and Minneapolis from our 14th floor pool window

We arrived home a bit after midnight on Friday night.  This was a week that seemed like 3!  Our general schedule was that the older 2 kids spent the night with their grandparents, and Anju and the two of us stayed at the dorms where Shawn's summer seminary was being held.  During the day, all 3 kids and Amy spent time with Grandma while Shawn was in class.  

The exception, of course, was Monday night we spent the evening at the Holiday Inn Metrodome which had been arranged by the International Adoption Project.  We stayed on the 14th floor only a few doors down from the pool, which had a tremendous view of the Minneapolis skyline--especially at night.  The kids enjoyed splashing in the water and applying their new skills acquired in swimming lessons.  The older two swam for about 2 1/2 hours.  

We're rural folk.  We don't stay at hotels without a free continental breakfast and we've certainly never paid $14 to park overnight in a parking ramp.  So, our experience staying in a full-service hotel in downtown Minneapolis was a new one for us.  However, whenever we faced a challenge- like how to use an automated ramp, or get all our stuff into the car in the ramp before Shawn left for his classes in the morning with children still sleeping (he can't leave the stuff unattended in the hotel while he pulls the car around--I can't leave a lively toddler and 2 sleeping kids alone)- I thought, we made it through India--we can do this!  And we did!

The downtown location lent itself to many cultural opportunities.  We were surrounded by ethnic restaurants--and decided on the Indian one right across the street.  We had awesome tandoori chicken and a potato curry along with basmati, samosas, naan and lassis.

After Shawn left Tuesday morning, we made a make-shift breakfast of an apple pie my mom had bought for us and mini boxes of Froot Loops I had brought for snacks leftover from another trip.  We watched old Tom and Jerry cartoons on Cartoon Network- which had all the violence and ethnic slurs I remembered- and then headed down to catch our shuttle to the U of Minnesota.

Transition into the Family Study

Anju did well.  There were 2 times in the study where I left the room.  One time, she was playing with a staff member and didn't seem to notice I had left for 3 minutes until I came back in.  (I was watching the video feed in the next room and was told I could jump back in there at any time if I thought it was too much.)  However, the next time, I was playing with her and when a knock on the door came, I was supposed to just leave without saying anything to her.  She was alone in the room only 10 seconds until she got upset.  At the 20 second mark, they sent in the staff member, who sat in a chair and read.  Anju got quieter, but still was upset.  She sat in the chair I had been sitting in and played for about 30 seconds before crying again.  The staff member started playing with her, and she was better.  We went the whole 3 minutes they had wanted.  This time she was much more joyous to see me return.

We read stories, played play dough, built with blocks, blew bubbles, played with balls---all while being taped from behind a curtain.  They took 3 saliva samples, which I will have to also take at home.  They did an experiment where they sent in a remote control car which had been covered in fabric and crazy pipe cleaners while we were reading.  She saw the car come in from under the curtain, and pointed her finger at it and said, "na, na, na!"  She continued to say that and get upset.  After 10 seconds or so, she seemed to realize that she wasn't scaring this thing off, and she got really mad/scared.  They sent in another remote control car later and she didn't like that one either.  

The only part of the study she did not complete was at the end (when we had been there 2 1/4 hours) she was supposed to have 4 heart sensors put on her back and chest and calmly watch a movie without me comforting her.  She pulled those things off her body as quickly as they put them on--while crying "na, na, na."  So, I told them there wasn't much sense of doing it, as she would not have a calm, resting heart rate even if they got them on.  

All 3 kids got snacks at snack time, and a treat bag when we left.  The hotel shuttle only took a couple minutes to pick us up when I called (the hotel was only a mile away) and Grandma picked us up from the hotel soon after.  We went to the Mill City Museum since it was so close--and my mom had worked at General Mills, so she was also interested.  This former factory for Gold Medal Flour has been transformed by the MN Historical Society into a wonderful museum- which all the kids enjoyed.  There were clips of old commercials, models of the river transportation system filled with water for kids to build shipping routes for the flour mills, a baking lab with play dough and cookie and bread samples :-), a model train made of wood to play with, a build-your-own-cereal-box activity, a demonstration showing how a flour mill blew up because of excess flour dust (a real winner), and an awesome tour up and down the elevator teaching us about the flour factory, amongst other things.  We simply didn't have time to take it all in--but would love to go back.  They said it's the best smelling museum in the world- and I wouldn't doubt it.  Not sure it's for those who are gluten-free, though. 

Postcards- yesterday and today

We were able to finish up the back-to-school shopping with shoes for all 3 kids (thanks, Grandma!) and some shirts/underwear/socks too.  We got to our wedding in Morris, MN on Friday with time to spare and enjoyed seeing all of those friends again.  I was very glad to see my own bed, though, in the wee hours of Saturday morning and am glad that we're not leaving again for a while----a week and a half.