The need for routine
One of the more recurrent themes you hear when you read about adopting kids that have spent time in an orphanage is the need to maintain routine. And, living in a foreign city with a random schedule revolving around embassy interviews, etc, we have not been doing a very good job.

It is said that kids have clocks in their stomachs. Of this we have a mixed experience, but something happened the other day that was funny at the time and so worth relating.

It was Friday, and our fixed schedule was to have an interview at the US Embassy at 2 pm. The kids were up by 9:30 (our standard time right now, they need lots of sleep and we need C&G time), and we ate breakfast (zaftrak) at around 10. We then at an early lunch for us at 12:30 pm, instead of our normal 2:30 pm. We went to our interview, which took longer than expected, getting out at around 3:30. From there we proceeded with out plan, and arrived at the Moscow Zoo around 4. Here we wandered around (complete with ice cream at 5:30), getting out at 7:30 or so. Our "normal" dinner time has been around 8:30, and we had nothing prepared, so for dinner we opted for street food, which in was pizza and juice in this case. We then did the Metro and walked home, arriving around 8:30. Diana set the table for breakfast the next day (she specifically said zaftrak), and we then proceeded to bathe the kids and watch the second half of a movie. Then time for bed - 10:00, about our standard bedtime. We told them the equivelent of "ok kids, time to get into bed", and we got an surprised face on Vika, who looked seriously at Mom and said, in Russian, "A, uzhin?", which literally translates to "but.... Dinner?". So dinner it was! The kids ate PILES of leftovers, and then slept like rocks.