Starting with the blogs... Amy the Starbucks Loving Mommy has an entry on her darling daughter's meltdown over a kitten. They had their court hearing and are parents. Now they just have to wait 9 more days before they can pick up their daughter from the orphanage. Right now they just have to visit her at the orphanage. It takes 10 days before the court decree is final.


The Nolte family has headed out for Kerch, Crimea. They are adopting their daughter's siblings. Alyssa (adopted from Ukraine in a prior trip and traveling with her parents) isn't feeling well. That is one downside to bringing your child with you. And a big reason why you want traveler's insurance in case you need to be flown to a Western hospital. Hopefully Alyssa gets over her cough soon.



My throat started hurting while reading about Alyssa croupy cough. I thought that I was just being very empathic. My eyes turn red when watching those old "get the red out" Visine commericals.

I am now feeling feverish. I am sick not empathic. Yuck.... Being sick as a single mother can be complicated.

Switching away from blogs to a news story......

Background on Ukraine's human trafficking (also known as the modern slave trade) is found here.

A hub of the modern slave trade

THE ex-slaves are easy to spot among the passengers disembarking from the Istanbul ferry at Odessa. As other women wobble merrily away up the Potemkin steps, the victims of human trafficking look hungry, carry little luggage and, in winter, shiver in their summer clothes.

Odessa grew rich in the 19th century by exporting Russian grain. These days one of its main trades is in flesh. The city is a collecting hub for women from across the former Soviet Union who, unbeknown to them, have been snared by traffickers. From Odessa and elsewhere in Ukraine they are conveyed west to Europe and east to Russia, or south to Turkey and the Middle East. Twice a week ferries from Istanbul bring back those, often ill and pregnant, who have been deported by the Turks.

From: People-trafficking in Odessa