LAST DAY: Break-ups Break My Heart

Breaking-up can be rough.

There are hurt feelings, sometimes regret, and even tears.

You know what I'm talking about.

If you've never experienced it I'm sure you've had a roommate, sibling, parent, 

friend, or just seen it on T.V. 

You probably know then that it is NOT fun.

For whatever reason things aren't working out and you just need to end it.

There isn't any way around it and you HAVE to say goodbye to someone you care about.

Well...

I had to "break-up" with 25 kids today.

:(

They didn't do anything wrong.

Nothing at all. 

(I mean I did get thrown up on by Smiles today but that doesn't count. :) )  

I didn't want to leave them but I had to say goodbye.
We're been going strong for 3 months and I just have to leave.

"It's not you, it's me. I just can't make this long distance relationship work."

Truer words have never been spoken.
(Silly I know, but it's the only comparison I could think of while writing this. Ha)

 When DeeDee and I were leaving little Marilyn duck-walked over to us, puckered her lips, gave us kisses, and said "Ba ba!" (Bye-bye!)

My heart broke into tiny little pieces and, oh ya, I CRIED. A LOT.

I can't tell you how much I will miss those little people...

HOSPITAL:

I went to the hospital to say goodbye to Adam 

(who is still alive --which is wonderful-- but is looking worse and worse everyday).

I held him for hours.

The lights were off and his room was empty so I just sat and rocked him.

His neck is large and swollen and his breathing is irregular at best.

It's awful that I feel like I have to watch his little chest to make sure he is even breathing.

I just love this little boy.

I wish that I could be here for his last bit of life here but I have to go.

A plane leaves tomorrow from Iasi and it'll have me on it.

Oh Adam, I love you and I hope that the rest of your life will be painless and peaceful!

There was a mother in the room (a new mother this time)

who was there with her little baby boy.

She gave birth to triplets (3 months ahead of her due date) but two of them have died. :(

Her little son was a fighter and has been fighting these past 4 months.

She is an amazing mother and has taken such a liking to little Adam!

She gives updates on how he is doing and puts Vaseline on his dry little lips.

I am constantly amazed at the little acts of kindness that she shows to him!

Unfortunately, she has been moved from his room and so he is alone again...

Guys, saying goodbye to Adam was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

I don't even want to write or talk about it anymore. 

There's just too much heartbreak and not enough words in the English language

to express how I feel about leaving him and my other kids.

Now wait just a second before you all go and send me a message with a hamster in a Santa hat

with your deepest condolences.

Yes, I feel terrible that I am leaving my kids and will never see them again.

Yes, it is terrible that Adam will probably die alone.

Yes, it is all terrible.

BUT

I am trying my best to be optimistic right now.
Or at least "fake it 'til I make it."

 I don't want to be sad.

I want to leave here feeling... happy. :)
(--Pretty basic words I'm using here but I claim the right to use them since I am so tired.)

I want to leave remembering their little laughs, smiles, hugs, kisses, babbling, fingers, toes, and tiny little people clothing.

 

I want to leave knowing that I came and did what I set out to do.

It is terrible...but it has been a WONDERFUL 3 months and I wouldn't have changed anything.

  It's crazy to think how 3 months (90 days; 2160 hours) can have such an impact.

I'm so grateful for the experiences I have had here and the children I have met!

So, on that note let's get happy together with a How I Met Your Mother quote.

Thank you Barney Stintson.

:)

In other news...

I'M COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo hoo!!

Now that my work here is over (and I can't do anything to change that)

 I am letting it sink in that I am heading back to the good ol' USA.

I am getting more and more excited as I think about seeing all of you again! :)

I am SO excited to see you. :)

When I think about coming home I wonder if I will have a hard time going back to 

normal daily life...

Maybe I will miss my kids so much I'll become a cat lady...

Or maybe just wear a cat coat.

Or dress like a cat...a big cat.

(And then dress any nearby children as cats too.)

Or maybe I'll become a cat. ;)

 HAhahaha!

Well, who knows. :)

What I DO know is that I won't have to take so many selfsie shots anymore.
(This is NOT me. As much as I would love to recreate this I don't think my Grandma is as willing. :) )

Sorry for the ridiculous pictures.

I'm trying to take my mind off of the kids and these made me laugh. 

I just love people.

:)

 

Maybe I'll edit this and write more tomorrow...

maybe not.

(Probably not.)

My mind has been stuck in a blender today so there are no promises.

If not....

GOODBYE ROMANIA!

You have been wonderful.

:)

The darling children, the friendly people, the food, the mountains, the stray dogs, the monasteries, the trams that nearly run us over everyday, the, almost daily, covrig, the morning runs to the orphanage, the tiny LDS branch, the missionaries translating everything for us, the Skype conversations with people back home, the nurses, the doctors, the kind mothers, the taxi drivers that turn up the radio so I can sing along,  the diaper changing, blowing up balloons, blowing bubbles, the spit-up covered scrubs, my couch-bed, sleeping in the dining room, putting all our left over food on the balcony for the nasty pigeons to eat, the old men who play chess at the park across the street, the potato-protein mush the children eat, The Young and the Restless playing 24/7 at the orphanage, roommate movie-date nights, teeny elevator rides, only wearing leggings, the hose I shower with, hanging my clothes on the balcony, changing my clothes on the balcony ha, lighting our stove and oven with matches, the tiny glass figurines in the apartment, the late night walks through Palas' park, the story swapping, the hand-sanitizing, the parks, the gardens, the Russian statues, walking through the middle of construction zones with sparks flying everywhere, the mud river, Betty Ice, rubbing baby lotion on babies, feeding a baby with a giant glass bottle, singing Romanian songs, not sitting on the floor because "your ovaries will freeze if you do", teaching kids to walk, going on adventures, never sleeping in, bloc housing, and my awesome roommates!

Okay, just ONE more thing I am going to miss: My Backpack
My plane leaves tomorrow so I had to empty it out and I realized that

I more-or-less had a diaper bag. :)

Whew.

Well, that's all folks.

I might do a post once I come home but 

since I won't be in Romania anymore I doubt anyone will read that one. :)

Thank you for being such a wonderful audience and I hope you have enjoyed reading 

about little pieces of my life here in Romania!

See you soon! 

:)

ONE Week Left: Say WHAT?!

Guys.

I have ONE week left.

Less than that...

I only have FOUR days left of work.

WHAT??!!!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm completely torn.

I am stoked to go home to see all of you but it is KILLING me to think of leaving my babes.

When I think of what I do here I think of my cuddle sessions with my little lady Smiles (her nickname now).

She is going hard core cross eyed and is a ball of joy.

I go into her room everyday for some quality one-on-one snuggle time.

I could seriously spend all day with this girly and never get tired of her.

She RARELY cries but instead she spends 99% of her time sticking her tongue out while going cross eyed, laughing the CUTEST laugh, or smiling so big that her eyes close because the rest of her face can't even handle all that happiness!

Precious.

P.S. This is NOT a picture of her. Ha. I googled this.

I don't know how I am going to handle not kissing and snuggling with this chicka again!

I don't want to think of Friday when I will have to say goodbye to her and the rest of my babies.

I feel like these kids and I (and Auntie DeeDee/Debra) have formed this little extended family.

Good grief I love my little mix-matched family here.

I am addicted to these kids and I don't want to leave them!!!

What do I do guys?!

I'm sorry that this post has the worst punctuation and sentence structure but it's either this or no post at all. I'm too busy holding babies and I don't have much time for blogging or editing! Ha.

Romania is cool with its monasteries and whatever but let's be honest...

I'm not here for that.

(even though that part is great too)

I'm not here for sight seeing or taking silly pictures (even though I do a lot of that).

I am here for the KIDS.

They have been my world these past 3 months and I am DYING inside thinking about 

not seeing and holding them everyday and kissing their little fingers and rocking them to sleep and singing nursery rhymes and feeding them from giant glass bottles and putting 14 layers of clothes on them and teaching them to call me MoMo**.

**Today I was holding one little boy who the workers said doesn't understand anything we say to him and I was trying to teach him to say "Mama." Who cares what the workers or doctors or nurses say? What if he understands more than we give him credit for?! Well, it paid off! HE SAID MAMA!!!!!! Not once. Not twice. I asked him three times and he said it three times. MAMA!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

It was...

Pure bliss.

I know it is probably really wonderful when it is actually your own baby but c'mon guys, this kiddo doesn't have anyone else and so he IS mine (and Debra's too of course). We have joint motherhood custody over these babies and it is the BEST when they call us Mama. We actually try to teach the kids to call me MoMo and her DeeDee but we'll take Mama, mommy, or anything close to it!

Basically it was the best and cutest thing ever to hear my little man say Mama.

Even cuter than a monkey cuddling with a kitten.

It was THAT awesome.

 I showered him with kisses (which he "asks" for by making kissy noises. He LOVES kisses. Honestly, who doesn't love kisses?) and "bravos!" which probably is why he kept saying it.

*Sigh*

:)

Oh happy baby times!

I'll try to write again before I leave Romania to tell you all sorts of wonderful stories and post

some real pictures.

I don't even want to write any more right now because I'll just get sad that I'm leaving.

Well...

Happy Monday everyone! 

I hope your day is just grand.

:)

The Death of a Child: And All That Comes With It

This won't be like other blog posts...

No silly pictures or videos.

I'm not going to post this one on Facebook so I doubt too many of you will even see this...

I just need to vent to the internet void about my day.

...

My baby is dying.

He was the very first baby I ever held in the hospital.

I held him everyday for about a month.

He was a chubby little 4 month old baby boy.

Let's call him... Adam.

Adam never cried.

He would just stare at me and stick his tongue out and make cooing sounds.

The nurses knew I would come everyday to see him and so I think

that is the only reason why they let me hold him so much.

He had a liver problem and an enlarged scrotum that they drained.

After a month or so Adam disappeared.

Whenever an orphan child disappears from the hospital I always try to think

of the best possible scenario for him/her.

I imagine that they are in foster care with a wonderful family and are about to be adopted!

But for Adam that wasn't the case...

I found him in the ICU last week.

He wasn't chubby anymore...in fact he doesn't have any fat on him at all.

He is SKIN and BONE.

You can see all of his ribs and the skin just hangs off of his small frame.

He can't sit up, turn, or really move at all he is so very weak.

His scrotum is enlarged again and his stomach bulges out of his tiny, frail body.

His cheeks are sunken in and his breathing is labored.

The nurse today told me to get in his crib to hold him since there weren't any chairs.

I held him and kissed him and looked around that sad, sad little room.

There was a mother holding her screaming child. --They've been there for a month and her daughter will die but they don't know how long she has left.

There was another mother sitting and rocking herself and weeping. --Her child was missing from the bed which is never a good sign.

I asked one mother in the room (who speaks English) what the update was on Adam.

She translated what the nurse said...

Adam should die any day now.

He won't last through this week.

Every day he lives is surprising to everyone.

WHAT?!

I knew Adam was sick but I figured he had a year or at least a few months left!

No.

He has days, hours...maybe not even that long.

All of a sudden a doctor came in and started screaming at me in Romanian.

Since I have no clue what he was saying I didn't get too offended. Ha.

I just got out of the crib and laid Adam down very gently.

As soon as he left the mother started laughing. 

She said the doctor is furious because they've lost a child and so I assume he was taking it out on me. I also think that he might have been concerned that I might hurt Adam because he is so delicate right now. I still have no idea why he was so upset...

A nurse was ordered to escort me off the unit and she apologized for the doctor.

The doctor told me I wasn't allowed to come back...

Is that the last time I will see Adam alive?

It very well could be.

I will try to visit him later this week but the chances are slim that they'll let me see him.

 

I was fine until I got home and was doing the dishes--which I believe is always a good place to cry because the water is already running  and when you're done crying you just wash your face and be done with 2 things at once. 

Well, it really hit me that my little Adam is going to die...I've known people who have died. I've volunteered in hospice care for years so I know how the death process works. I've been to funerals. I've even been to a funeral for a baby...but never have I had a relationship like this with someone about to die...

Adam is an orphan.

His brother died a few years ago and now he will die in the same way.

He lived his entire life in a hospital.

He never spoke a single word, rolled over, or even ate from a bottle...

I'm one of the few people who has ever even visited him.

He's such a sweet, innocent little baby that never was able to experience...well, life.

...

What a very interesting thing death is.

Our bodies fail. It's what they do. But for it to happen so early on is...indescribable. 

I know that Adam will be without pain and discomfort once he dies.

He will be able to be with his older brother!

...

I visit with so many children throughout the day and a

  lot of the time days blur together in a whirlwind of diapers, feeding, and playing.

It's when something like this happens that stops you in your tracks and makes everything in life a 

little bit sweeter. You realize how grateful you are for the people in your life and the life that you have. What a very kind gift to give to someone right before you die...Gratitude.

I love this little boy SO much. 

But there is nothing I can do to stop his death.

He will die.

And as heartbreaking and terrible and painful as that is I know that I did everything I could to make the time I had with him comfortable, kind, and filled with love.

That is where I have to leave it.

I can't think about anything else because there isn't anything else I, or anyone here, could have done to make this any different.

I don't even know what else to say except that this little boy's life has put things in perspective for me. What a very interesting thing that it happened right before Thanksgiving.

I don't get sad very often. Even now I'm not really sad.

Of course I am grieving for little Adam but I'm going to choose to celebrate

 the sweetness 

 that he has given to me.

Death is but the next great adventure for little Adam 

and I wish him the best of luck in that adventure!

:)

TWO WEEKS: The Countdown Begins

Major announcement people:

I come home in 2 WEEKS.

In exactly 14 days I will be boarding a plane and flying home to

the sweet, sweet United States.

(I took this picture to show my emphasis on 2 weeks. I promise I don't just sit at my computer and snap shots of myself striking a peace sign. Ha ha.)

Anyway...

may the countdown begin!

(Not the Beyonce song Countdown http://youtu.be/2XY3AvVgDns...I really don't understand that song...)

It certainly is a bittersweet thing to think about leaving Romania.

This is my last week at the hospital and next week is my last week at the clinic and orphanage... :(

I love my kids so very much and

I will HATE to leave them...

but I also cannot wait to see my family and friends and

share all sorts of wonderful stories with everyone! :)

I probably give about 500 kisses and hugs to kids everyday

so ya'll better prep yourselves because I don't know how fast I can quit that habit. :) :) 

WELL, that's enough talk about coming home!

 ...

It's story and picture time!

 Last week the gang was longing for some Tex-Mex cuisine so we all headed out for some fine dining.

Jodie found this little diamond in the ruff restaurant and how 

could we NOT go?

She got all decked out in her cowgirl gear!

She's pretty adorable. 

This is just Britta and I being fierce.

Notice the John Wayne picture?

Ya, this place didn't mess around.

Yesterday was a GREAT day!

Megamind in the morning, Copou Park in the afternoon, and chocolate dipping/Beauty and the Beast in the evening. 

Copou Park was beautiful even in freezing weather with most of the leaves gone from the trees. 

I just can't get enough of the Romanian parks!

Britta and I strolled through the park hand in hand for a few hours.

Ha, it's really common in Romania to see women holding hands

with their female friends.

We turned our walk into a roommate date and so the hand holding presented itself!

We found this little playground that looked like it was built 1,000 years ago.

You could see through the slide it was SO thin...

That didn't stop Britta from climbing up it though.

She's a champ.

 

I rode a bear.

It looks like I'm about to eat the bear.

Really I was just excited.

Learn to cook a traditional Romanian meal:

CHECK.

Our neighbors Nicoletta and Bianca taught us how to make sarmale. 

YUM.

There was dancing...

music playing...

...and Nico cooking (notice how she's really the only one cooking? ha)...

She wasn't too into my picture taking obsession (hence the staredown)

but was accommodating nonetheless. 

Nico speaks ZERO English and so wonderful Bianca translated for us the whole time!

It was a grand evening all in all with our awesome Romanian pals.

(Oh, and we rocked the "grunge" look all evening!)

Ya, that's definitely on my countdown too--days until I can stop wearing men's clothing!

Alright.

It's story time!

ORPHANAGE: 

Story #1: 

Debra and I have been helping a little girl Marilyn (she's a little diva like Marilyn Monroe) how to walk by herself. She walks like a little dinosaur with her toes pointed out and hands up. Parents, you know what I'm talking about. It's adorable to watch her come down the hallway!

She's a blonde little 3 year old bombshell. Everyone that meets her just falls in LOVE with her! (Much like Marilyn Monroe) She has a serious heart condition and is in the hospital very frequently and even there everyone just LOVES her! 

She calls every woman she sees "Momma" and so we've been trying to teach her our names.

Moriah is a little tough for small children (and verbally challenged adults) so

MoMo is my go-to name.

It is so much fun hearing my little Marilyn saying, "MoMo!" when she sees me.

AH! It kills me.

Story #2: 

Lovey is my little rock star. She has fluffy hair kind of like Kevin Bacon in Footloose and dances like him too! :) 

She plays with her hands and contorts her fingers into weird little gangster signs and holds them up to us. Debra and I have tried to teach her the "love" sign you can do with your fingers and tell her "te iubesc!" I love you! She can't do it very well but she does her sign and we do ours. I'll just assume the love meaning is mutual. :)

Since I can't show you kid pics you'll have to do with me and my Lovey sign. Ya, know it's just a chance for me to post pictures of myself and make you look at them. ;)

HOSPITAL:

Story #1:

So this entire week I was diligent in visiting 2 of my favorite babes in the hospital.

One is this tiny little baby I have nicknamed Ben because he always does Ben Stiller's Blue Steel face whenever I tell him about my day. This little one is only about a month old and I am not allowed to hold him because he is so sick (or that's what the nurses say--they probably just don't want me to hold him and make him cry when I leave). Every once in a while his entire body will turn deep, deep purple and I get a little concerned...but after about a minute it'll go back to normal. I don't know what would cause that but I suppose it has something to do with why he's been in the hospital for so long! 

Even though I can't hold him I visit him everyday. I lower the bars on his crib and put my arms around him and stroke his little cheeks, rock him, and give him so many kisses it's insane!

I tell him all about my week, my family, my friends, what my weekend plans are and he listens, coos, SMILES SO BIG, and makes the Blue Steel face. I love my little Benny!

Story #2:

I also visit my man Rex. 

This kid is like the cool kid at school that everyone wants to get to know

and once you meet him you just want to be around him all the time, be his partner in class, 

and sit next to him on the bus.

Seriously, he's a legend in the cardio unit.

The nurses in that unit are the bomb and let me do anything I want with him!

His skin is so dry he literally looks like he has dinosaur skin so I COVER him in baby oil, baby lotion, kisses, and more lotion.

No matter how much I put on he is still so dry and scaly! 

My favorite thing about my dino-man though is his LAUGH!

Remember last time how I said he sounds like Darth Vader? 

Well, Vader's got nothin' on this kid's laugh!

I wish I could describe it better than it being the funniest thing I've ever heard but I can't.

Watch some funny baby laughs instead. :)

They're pretty dang cute kids. 

Well, I could go on and on about my babies but I need to save SOME stories for 

when I actually see you people. :)

I hope you all are doing extraordinarily well and will have a  

VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Look out for a new post at the end of this week!

Welcome to My Reality

So many of you have asked me what it is "actually" like living here and what my day is like. Therefore, I will share with you parts of my journal entries. 

I describe highlights of my day.

These are REAL experiences I've had just from this past week.

Well people, this is my reality.

I don't save children from the grasp of pain, disease, or hunger but I do...well, just read this and you'll see for yourself...

But before I delve too deep into my work stories I thought you all might enjoy a little violence to spice up your day.

CRAZY STORY:
My roommates and I were just walking to the hospital the other day when we passed by a run down house with 20 some men surrounding it. They were shoving two women inside the house--who did not seem to want to go inside. (That itself was alarming and I pray that they are okay.) All of a sudden a major fight broke out!! One man had a long plank of wood and another had a window (window pane included) and were having an all-out brawl. We stood there dumbfounded for a second and then decided we should call the police. We had no idea where we were though and as soon as we saw some men spot us--who were also running from the house in our general direction--we got it into our heads that we shouldn't stand across the street from them any longer. (I'd rather keep all of my blood inside my body, thank you). SO ...we ran away.  :)
The End.

SERIOUSLY. I wonder sometimes...WHERE AM I LIVING?!

ORPHANAGE STORIES:

Story #1: 

I got a new child in my unit of the orphanage this week! She is a sweet little girl about 2 years old. Her and her siblings were taken away from their family on Friday because of abuse. She was my little shadow for the first few days (until I had to transfer her to a different unit).  She followed me from room to room and was so gentle with the other children--who are mostly bedridden--that I wondered why she was even in my unit. 

She is completely healthy which is rare for me to see in a special needs orphanage! Then I realized that physical scars aren't her problem...emotional scars are the problem. Little things throughout the day would set her off and she would go hide under a bed, or in a corner where I couldn't reach her. She would close her eyes so tightly, rock herself, and shift herself into the tiniest ball. She wouldn't come out of it for a few minutes and even then it took a lot of coaxing. I can't even tell you all how heartbreaking it was to see that and to realize that this little one has suffered through some very distressing times. I'm so glad she is able to be around people who are kind, caring, and gentle with her!

The hardest part of this little shadow story--for me-- is that she wept when I left for the day. A nurse had to tear her from me she was clinging on so desperately! :(

It simply broke my heart. 

Just after being taken from her home she makes a friend.. who then has to leave her.

Story #2:
  Lovey (the nickname of a little girl with Rickets and a medical disorder list far too long) dances with Debra and I to Jack Johnson (which we do everyday ha). It is probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She LOVES Jack Johnson! She'll sit with her legs through the bars in her crib and just bob her head back and forth. She's my little acrobat and is one buff babe! Literal abs of steel that Jilian Michaels would be jealous of!  She's only 3 but can do headstands like no one's business and loves being picked up by her ankles, swung around upside down, or flipped.

She just squeals with delight!

Story #3:

We had a brother and a sister pair come in just for a little bit and they sat bundled up on a bed together in the main room.The little girl had her arm around her little brother and they were both just in shock. Imagine--eyes wide, mild hyperventilating, and mouths wide open. Hey, if it was my first time in an orphanage I'd be pretty frightened too. I tried to play with them as much as I could but they didn’t really warm up before they were taken again. The sister's arm never left her brother's shoulder which was so sweet. It's amazing to see how close siblings become when they are placed in the most trying circumstances. The orphanage tries to keep siblings together which is one of the most honorable things I think they can do.

Story #4:

The Crocodile (his nickname because he always utilizes crocodile tears for attention) had an accident today. He has been getting better at standing and walking by himself but kept getting into the cupboard that has various cords, pens, and just miscellaneous office things. Next thing I know he has fallen onto one of the chairs by the cupboards and split his eye open! *sigh* I took him to see the doctor (who didn’t seem too concerned) and helped bandage him up and put him down for a nap. Croc was a trooper and didn’t even really cry!
 ~~~

 Maybe he was getting back at me for putting him down for a nap but he was unbelievably destructive once he woke up! He was in one of those baby walker things and was terrorizing the place! He knocked over cups of medicine, was ripping out cords and feeding tubes left and right and pulling out who knows what from the cupboards. I was taking Lovey for her daily "walking" lesson around the unit and Croc just trampled us! 

The little terror!

At one point Lovey just shoved him in the face which made him/the walker roll away.

Atta girl. :)

(He just smiled though and continued his terrorizing! Ha)

CLINIC Story: 

We only had 3 babies in the abandoned infant clinic this week and so I assigned myself an insanely adorable little 1 year old boy.

I nicknamed him Marlin Brando. :) (Because he's a stud.)

I quoted the movie, On the Waterfront, to him, gave him kisses on his super red cheeks, played games, helped him sit up, stand up, fed him, and tried to teach him simple words. Most of the time he just stared at me and sucked his hand. Precious little underdeveloped babe.

I just can't get enough of this little man!

 Let me describe this kid. 

He sucks his hand constantly so he is always SUPER slobbery.

He wears a little bonnet hat 24/7.

He has scars all over his little body from who-knows-what.

 He's extremely mellow.

--I could sit with him for hours and he would be happy just staring at me!--

He's getting one tooth in on the bottom which makes it hurt pretty bad when he bites but makes his gummy smiles the best part of my day!

He will lick and suck on your chin if you get too close (which is the weirdest feeling).

 Ever. 

Ha. 

~~~ 

 We spent the last hour today just sitting by the window looking out. He LOVED it! He is a very mild little boy and usually just sits, stares, and sucks on his hand but when he’s at the window he looks at the birds flying, the buildings, the colorful trees, and he makes the sweetest "oohing" sounds. I'll point to all the different things that I see and he flaps his little arms, shimmies, and shakes! I kiss him like crazy on his cheeks and his forehead and after a while he expects me to kiss him and will turn to me and put his forehead on my lips so I can kiss him. Once I kiss him about 5 times in a row he'll turn back to the window but if I don't kiss him enough he won't move his forehead from my lips. We repeated that about 100 times in an hour. (I'm NOT joking.)

 
HOSPITAL Stories:

Story #1: 

My favorite part of the hospital was when I went to the very top floor and there was a brother/sister pair. The boy was 10 and his sister was 6. They were both wearing matching PJs and wore darling little hospital caps. 

They said that they were street children and that they were "taken" and put into the hospital. This means they will probably end up going to an orphanage very soon. 
I just hope that they get to stay together...

Let me just say that these kids are GORGEOUS. Truly STUNNING children!

 The boy especially has a KILLER smile.

 I melted when I saw him.

I promised to bring them chocolate the next day I was 

so hypnotized by his smile!

I'm a total sucker.

:)

Story #2:

There was a little girl who was 6 years old in the so-called burn unit. I get a touch intimidated when I am with older kids (older than 3) because I have been working with babes this entire time! I don’t have "big kid" toys or any real way to communicate since my Romanian is limited to "please," "thank you," "give me a kiss," and "I don't like that." Ha. This little lady was so much fun even though I mostly spoke English. I just was my normal silly self (I might have bumped up the silliness and smiling a touch for her sake) and we had a great time! She told me that her entire right arm, shoulder, and leg was burned in the orphanage from scalding milk. Yikes! WHAT?! This is the second time I've met a burned orphan child and have been wholly unsatisfied (more like horrified) with the accompanying story. I looked at her bandages and fixed them a bit so she would be more comfortable but there was little I could do at that point. 

 A little 4 year old boy in the next bed (whose hands were both wrapped because they were burned, bleeding, and consequently deformed) decided to join in our games and silliness and had a grand ol’ time with us.

Story #3:
I visited my main man Rex today.
Tiny man. BIG heart problems.
He has been in the hospital ever since I started working there and I visit him everyday. I think that one of the best feelings in the world is being recognized by that little man and hearing his garbage disposal laugh.
Honestly, the best way to describe how this kiddo sounds is to imagine the breathing of Darth Vader crossed with a lawn mower.
My little T-Rex man has some very serious heart and lung problems. :(
On top of that, his legs are like jello and so he can't sit up, stand, or put any weight on his legs.
I work on those goals everyday with him but he gets tired out pretty quickly.
I end up having to just hold my little dinosaur! Darn. ;)

He loves the sound kisses make--especially exaggerated kissy noises.
I kiss him so much that he now will make kissy noises himself and even give me little kisses!!!!!!
Goodness, how I love my little Darth Vader/Dinosaur/Garbage Disposal baby!
 ~~~

Well people, that's my life. That's a very watered down version of just a few common daily occurrences but hopefully it will satisfy some curious people out there.
Basically, (if you just skipped to the end of my blog) I am a baby kissing fool, I teach life skills, rolling, sitting, standing, walking, language and writing skills, change diapers, feed, occasionally bathe, dress, play, hold, sing, dance, rock, and did I mention KISS some little angels everyday.

I feel like Wendy in Peter Pan. Wendy was wanted by Peter to be the "mother" to all the Lost Boys in Neverland. She would take care of them the best she knew how.
I'm in Romania (my version of Neverland).
I'm a mini-mom to my own little band of Lost Boys (and Girls).
...
and I couldn't enjoy it more!

Best. Job. Ever. 

“A mother’s someone who loves and cares for you and tells you stories.”
-Wendy Darling

**And gives kisses. :)