Congrats to Gator and his Woman...

[Simoni]

Gator's long journey reached an end Tuesday night.  His girl arrived!  Or maybe it's just the beginning?

Congrats to him and his beautiful bride to be.

We just had dinner with them, and had a great time.  She is beautiful and sweet, and Gator is smiling ear to ear!

~Si & Marina

[Lily]

That's really great news Si! 

I also enjoyed their company in Moscow.

[I/O]

Ahhhhhhhh so golf is not the reason he has gone MIA. Gator and MrsGator2B, all the very best to both of you.........(From the southern villages)

I/O

[Ronnie]

Welcome to America!

[catzenmouse]

Excellent News! Welcome back to America Mrs. Soon2BRunningGatorRagged!

We've got your OMB merit badge right here when you're ready to pin it on your uniform.

Very happy for both of you and wish you the greatest success imaginable!

Ken

[viking]

Congratulations. I know everything will work out great. Post a photo or two when your feet hit the ground.

[Son of Clyde]

Best of luck to both of you for a happy future.

[SANDRO43]

And when is the Great Dane due ? Best of luck, Phil !

[Jet]

Glad to hear they arrived safely. Things will get interesting now  It was a very exciting time in our relationship, no doubt it will be in yours as well...

Congratulations from our family to yours!
Jim & Liliya

[dneid]

Hey, Gator,
Got your PM.  Glad to hear that the new family is in the US.  I am so happy for you all.  Don't forget to post your adaptation period posts for those of us who hope to follow in your footsteps.

Have fun and tell everyone that I send a hearty howdy from Texas!!!

[Turboguy]

VWRW and I would also like to extend our congratultions to Gator.  It has been a long quest for him and I think it is a good example of both good things happening to good people and things working out for the best in the end.   

I hope RWD is not forgotten in his happy life and he keeps us posted about who things are going.  I think if he has less time for RWD it will be a bit of a loss because he has a knack for cutting through the chaff to get to the core elements of issues and to give great advice. 

We are both very happy for you Gator.

[Gator]

Thanks everyone for the congratulations.  I indeed feel very lucky.

Adjustment!  Sabina did well when here three years ago, answering the phone on her first day.   This time is different because we have two energetic kids who have never seen America.  Other than my younger son who takes care of himself, I have lived alone for 6 years.   Three new people have tested my patience.  So far, my patience has prevailed.

Friday was difficult because Thursday evening we attended a vintner’s tasting and I was over served.  Then two friends joined us at home to open a bottle of one of the finest Dominus wines to celebrate her arrival.  Then another bottle of lesser quality, as if quality mattered at that point.  So Friday my body was dragging, and I was not in the best mood until after a nap.

We have celebrated every evening with friends.  Everyone is being nice to Sabina including, surprisingly, a few older AW at the Vintner’s tasting.  Sabina is making friends including two her age, one is Simoni’s lovely and sweet UW and another is an AW.  The kids have complained about our absence for the evenings, yet there is much to occupy them at the house.

I am amazed at how the children are participating  productively, e. g. learning to turn the water off, use a garbage disposal, not clean sand from beach toys in the house, etc.  The girl has accepted her daily task to clean dishes and earn an allowance.  Nevertheless, some of my old ways are gone forever.

A variety of new foods seems to compensate for not having every food they enjoyed in Russia.  Sabina misses good dark bread the most, with Jewish Pumpernickel a barely acceptable substitute.
 
The challenge of taking care of everyone’s needs and wishes is insurmountable.  In fact the task of just listing all needs and wishes and then making a plan is difficult.  The list is 50 items and growing. 

Their top 10 needs and wishes in alphabetical order:

Automobile
Children’s School (private)
Clothes for kids
Clothes for mama
Cosmetics (everything as nothing was packed)
Dog
Driver’s license
Piano
Social security number
Wedding Rings


A quiz for RWD readers - Does anyone wish to venture a guess as to which three have the highest priority, requiring immediate attention?

[SANDRO43]

A quiz for RWD readers - Does anyone wish to venture a guess as to which three have the highest priority, requiring immediate attention?

Clothes & Cosmetics ?

[Turboguy]

Everyone seems to complain about the lack of Russian Black Bread here and the stuff is easy to make.   If you have a breadmaker it takes about 3 minutes to load it and there are some recepies that duplicate it exactly.   I have to admit I was a little surprised what goes into it.  Things like coffee and cocoa.   I will post a recepie for it later that works with or without a bread machine.

[AnastassiaAsh]

Forget the clothes and cosmetics....Wedding rings and children's school! 

[oldernotwiser]

I will guess, I have a feeling this will be difficult to get correct.

Here is my guess

Automobile and driver's license, with the mobility shopping for clothes will become an adventure.

Then I think dog, don't know why, it is just a guess after all

[viking]

For the same reason, "I don't know why", I am going with a dog as one of the top items. Something about a pet that one can call their own, establish some type of identity, something very new and fresh in the house. And kids love pets. Then clothes for everyone and finally, if some one does play, the piano. Cosmetics needs to be in there someplace a well.

[Ronnie]

Gator,

I think you already know this but I'll post it here for the benefit of others.  First on the list should be a visit to the Social Security office - get numbers for all members.  Then to USCIS to get EAD cards..The temporary ones that expire at the 90th day are free and issued on the spot usually.   Do it before you get married even if she plans to change her name after marriage. 

Then get driver's license(s) (I don't know the age of the kids) or ID cards.  In many states now, once the I-94 expires in the passport, you can't get a license or ID until you have the GC.  That can be a long wait. 

We ran into a problem at USCIS getting the EADs because we had already married.  I was finally able to convince a supervisor that marriage shouldn't change their right to EADs.  Persistence seems to be more effective that logic however, but if you can avoid the whole scene by doing things in the order USCIS likes it to be done, then your sailing will be smoother. 

Take your time on the other items...shopping for an item is at least as enjoyable as possessing it.

[Ronnie]

As to the dog dilemma... Unless you're already decided on breeds, I'd go with a golden retriever....great dogs to have both at home and at the beach.

[ScottinCrimea]

No question that cosmetics are the top priority with clothes a close second.  If she doesn't feel good about her appearance, first, you will be dealing with a very unhappy RW, which is not a pretty sight, and second, you won't get her out in public without this, so any other task just won't happen.

[Blues Fairy]

My congrats as well, Gator!  Cheers to your patience!

A quiz for RWD readers - Does anyone wish to venture a guess as to which three have the highest priority, requiring immediate attention?

Dog, Piano and Wedding rings. 

[viking]

If you go for a dog, rather than a golden get a Black Russian Terrier. Very loyal and great with all ages and there is a breeder near you that I can recommend. See my avatar.

[Simoni]

The first SHOULD be the SS #, since it is foundational to getting a driver's license and other things.

But being a woman, make-up comes first.

[I/O]

Their top 10 needs and wishes in alphabetical order:

Automobile
Children’s School (private)
Clothes for kids
Clothes for mama
Cosmetics (everything as nothing was packed)
Dog
Driver’s license
Piano
Social security number
Wedding Rings


A quiz for RWD readers - Does anyone wish to venture a guess as to which three have the highest priority, requiring immediate attention?

Gator: If my experience is anything to go by, and it depends who's perspective you are asking the question from, but for the purpose I'll take a shot at it from Her perspective.

1 and 2 (could be either way around) would be cosmetics and clothes for kids, closely followed by clothes for her rounding out the top three.

If, OTOH the list is from your perspective, then my shot would be, clothes for all, cosmetics, SS number, school for the kids and then wedding rings. The rest I would throw a blanket over as all being similar level of priority.

One very high priority for me (And it has taken some getting all in order) has been parent and child immunisation registers. I don't know what your situation is in the USA, but ours is quite stringent. All is actually in order and was from the get go, but getting things translated in an "official form" has been a little testing. I was a little slack on this for the first few months and it has taken a bit of work to get the "paper trail" in place within the national register.

I/O

[Jet]

My congrats as well, Gator!  Cheers to your patience!

Dog, Piano and Wedding rings. 

My guess is pretty close to Blues Fairy's with cosmetics replacing wedding rings.
Seriously, a quick trip to Wallgreen's should eliminate that one from the list though, as they carry nearly everything the big cosmetic counters at the mall do (with the exception of some of the high end eye and face creams).

As for the SS office - wait 14 days from her arrival date to make sure she's in the computer, then it should be in and out in less than half an hour.

Drivers License - There is an incredibly tedious 4 hour drug/Alc program (with test) required for new drivers, have her take it online at home. We used this place but there are a bunch to choose from (just google "florida drivers test")