My brother is NOT coming...

I have been looking forward to my brother's arrival on Sunday. His arrival was the impetus to the air pump search as I was going to need to blow up the inflatable mattress. Unfortunately his wife's father is very ill and is going to pass away at any time so they have had to cancel their trip. I'm sure they (my brother, his wife and son) will come for a visit soon. Maybe I can convince them to skip Venice (which is where they were going after visiting here) and go to Austria with us this winter to ski! We shall see. In any event, I'm sad that they aren't coming but my thoughts are with Carrie and her family as they go through a difficult time.

Search concluded

After two mornings of searching I found a new airpump. I had gone into town with Ali and went to Tesco and asked a couple people if they had air pumps. I finally found someone who even knew what it was (I brought mine with me to show) and he told me that I could find it at the Tesco in Novy Smichov. I thought, great! I'll go right now but when I got to the metro it was apparently closed at the stop I was at which meant I would have to take the tram. Since there was no way I could take the tram to Novy Smichov and get out to Sofia's school in time I had to end my search for the day. The next afternoon I took both kids to the mall with me to go to Tesco but unfortunately my hopes where dashed when I realized they did not have any air pumps. I figured I would make one last ditch effort and look in the mall. It was a good thing I did becuase once I started walking through the mall I remembered Drapa Sports so I headed there. I looked around and found inflatable mattresses but they all said, "pump sold separately" so I kept looking around. I finally found a hand pump which I was desperate enough to accept so I picked it up and headed to the front of the store. I noticed some camping equipment behind the counter and gave it a once over and low and behold...an electric air pump!!! YAY, success! I bought the airpump and then asked if they had hand pumps for tires/balls since one of my friends was looking for one and they had that too. It was a very successful trip to Draper Sports.

Let the search begin...

We have very few electrical things here that we brought from the US. For those things that we brought from the US we had a converter so that we could use them here. It was fine to have a converter since they were things we didn't use that much. Recently our converter has died. Th eonly impact we felt was that our iron wouldn't work so I just went out and bought a cheap iron. Now, my brother and his family our coming to visit and I need to blow up the inflatable mattress. Unfortunatley this requires the use of an American air pump. I can have my brother bring one with him but since he gets into Prague at midnight I would prefer to have the bed all set up before they arrive. Therefore, I am on the hunt for an air pump. I went to a couple Elektro stores but they did not have it. I went to Tesco and they did not have it but the gentleman told me that he thinks they have them at the Tesco over in Andel. I couldn't go there today since after doing my search this morning I didn't have enough time to get to Andel if I was going to pick Sofia up from school on time. Tomorrow I am meeting a friend at Andel in the morning to do some shopping. Keep your fingers crossed. Someone must have an air pump!

Relaxing weekend

We had another relaxing weekend. The last few weekends we have done nothing. It is nice to get up and have nothing to do. The kids enjoy staying in their pajamas and playing in the apartment. Jason and I sleep in one morning each which is a nice way to catch up on our sleep. This was the first weekend that is has been nice though for the last few weeks so today we ventured out to the tee pee playground. It isn't actually called the tee pee park but that is what the girls and I call it. It is actually Namesti Interbrigady but since the playground is so little and consists of a wooden tee pee, a brigde and a rocking horse we call it the tee pee park. It is such a tiny playground but the kids love it. Sofia often asks to go to the tee pee park. This morning it was one of the first things she asked so when Jason got up we headed out to play. Sofia hasn't been to the tee pee park in a while since she started school so I think she missed it. After playing there for a while Jason took the girls and Watson home for lunch while I went grocery shopping.
I headed to Billa. It is the new supermarket that replaced Delvita. It is much easier to navigate (in my opinion) and therefore is more enjoyable than the old supermarket. I did the shopping and then carried everything home. For some reason my backpack was heavier today although I can't figure out why.
We went to church for 4:30. Sofia and Ali have both been enjoying Children's Church. Sofia gets to go with the older kids for her lesson which she loves. We went to dinner after church and had a nice family dinner. It is a nice way for the kids to settle down too since after church the kids are all running around and making a racket. We saw one of Sofia's classmates on the metro on the way home so Sofia said hi to him. I told Sofia that we would have to race if she was going to go to sleep before her friend. Sofia has a competitive streak so she got into bed quickly when we got home and went right to sleep.
Jason and I are enjoying our own quiet time now before the rush of the week begins tomorrow.

Time with friends

This week Ali and I have been visiting with friends in the morning. With Sofia going to school in the morning I can't be that far away from home or I have to be right near a metro so that I can get out to Sofia's school. Luckily, we have friends who live nearby and we have friends who are willing to come to our apartment. Ali is happy to have friends to herself and it is nice for me to only have to keep my eye on one child. The weather has not been great so we have been to a cafe for two of the mornings and one morning our friends came over for a visit. It is nice to go to a cafe with only one child. I feel like I can actually have a conversation with my friends rather than constantly chasing and correcting the kids. Here are some pics from our mornings....

Natalie and Ali playing - There was some argument over these hats but they worked it out. I don't remember what they did after that but in the picture it looks like they are eyeing each others' toy. Ali had a bit of a sharing problem with Natalie. Without Sofia taking all the toys, Ali is taking on that role! It was a fun morning especially since I hadn't seen Joanna and Natalie in a while. With the start of Sofia's school I didn't see anyone since I was still figuring out the timing of getting to school.

Clark coming in for the kiss..... Ali LOVES Clark (or Clarkie, as she calls him). She never seems to have a sharing problem with Clark. Shanna and I met at a cafe that has a little kiddie area so the kids had something to play with. Ali and Clark played all around us and under tables. They had a grand time. Another friend was there today too with her son who is just starting to walk. Ali just thought he was a baby and therefore loved him as well. It made for a very easy morning. We met my friend Kirsty and her daughter Kiera here earlier in the week as well but I didn't have my camera that day. Next time!

After playing with friends we head off to pick Sofia up from school. The school is in such a pretty location that I finally took pictures of the area. It doesn't quite do it justice but it will give you a sense of the beauty I get to walk past 5 days a week.

Here is the last picture....

Since now I have figured out how to forward my skype calls to my mobile phone we often talk to my mom on the way home from school. Of course, the girls want to talk to her as well. It just cracked me up to see my 3 year old walking down the street talking on the mobile!!

Is it November??

It has been unseasonably cold here. The last few days have only had highs in the 50's and it has been raining on and off. I was ready for summer to end but I wanted fall. I didn't want to jump straight to winter!! They say it will warm up again towards the end of the week but I'll believe it when I see it. I will have to start making sure I have umbrellas with us all the time since I never know when it is going to rain. Yesterday Ali and I were going to pick up Sofia from school and we got half way down the street and it started to pour. Luckily there was a shop right near us that we ran in to and bought umbrellas. Today is still dreary out although it is not raining at the moment. I will make sure I have our umbrellas today though.

5K Results

I ROCKED!!!! I had my personal best time of 26:18. (The time was 26:33 from the start of the race but 26:18 from when I actually crossed the start line)I went into the race thinking I would probably come in around 29 min and I set the aggressive goal of 27 minutes and I beat both of those times. I was thrilled as I came down the final stretch and new my time was going to be good. I definitely pushed myself to run that pace but it was very rewarding. There was about 800 women running the race so I wanted to be in the top half at the finish but once I had my personal best time I wasn't as concerned with that. I also didn't think I was in the top half so it was good that my time was good and I didn't have to feel bad about not being in the top half. This morning I checked my time and ranking online and was thrilled again because I came in 199th!! There was 702 racers that had rankings so I don't know what happen to the remaining 100 who started the race but even if I only consider the 702 racers I am still in the top half. It was a very successful night for me.

Changing schedules

Sofia has finished her first week of school. She has loved every minute. I think she likes that she gets to do something on her own. She is already a little like a teenager. I asked her what she did in school when I picked her up on Friday and she told me "I don't want to talk about it now. I'm tired and grumpy."! I had to laugh and wait for her to want to tell me. Eventually she did and I have learned even more today. I think she also expects me to already know exactly what she did.
With Sofia's new school our schedules have changed. Jason brings Sofia to school in the morning. They need to leave by 8am which means we have to make sure we get up on time without delays. I can't laze around and then get out for my run at 7:30 anymore. I have to make sure I am back by 7:45 so that I can help get Sofia ready and out the door. Jason needs to figure out his workout schedule as well since he used to leave our apartment at 8:30 to work out. The new schedule impacts Ali too. This is the first time Ali has ever been without Sofia. I thought it would be difficult for her but she seems to be loving her own space. Sometimes she wants me to play with her but so far she has been enjoying playing by herself. Our apartment is so quiet since noone is yelling, "that's mine", "she took it", "I don't want her doing that", or yelling "the crocodiles are coming" or whatever other imaginary game the two of them play. It just seems when they are together the noise level is just high. With just Ali she plays quietly and when she wants me she just walks over to me rather than screaming for me from across the apartment.

Sofia's first day of school

Today was Sofia's first day of school. (well, preschool actually) Since we had gone to orientation on Friday she was pretty excited to go to school which was a good thing. Before orientation she had been very hit or miss about whether or not she wanted to go to school. Anyway, we (Jason, Ali and I) brought Sofia to school this morning. She was a little apprehensive at first because there were so many people there at drop off. Once we helped her get her jacket off, her shoes off, and her slippers on (yes, they wear slippers at school) she was excited to start playing with stuff in the classroom. We stayed for about 5 minutes then gave her hugs and kisses and left. She was soooo ready for us to leave. We went to the front desk and paid for her hot lunches for the semester and then went back and checked in on her to see how she was doing. She was fine. She was already sitting down at the computer. (I know, a computer in nursery!) She didn't even see us check in on her since she was so busy. Ali and I went back to pick Sofia up at noon. She was sitting at a table eating her hot lunch. What a big girl! She had chicken, brocoli and potato for lunch. She said it was very good. Then she got a pudding to take home with her. The teachers said she did great and had no problems. Sofia said she had fun and started to pout becuase she didn't want to leave. She said she wants to go for the full day and not just the half day. I told her that next semester Daddy and I will think about it. After that I asked her what she did today....She painted, played in the water table, listened to stories, played on the playground, played on the computer, had her snack and her lunch. Painting was her favorite thing to do today. I'm excited that she is so happy with school.

Sofia's school

On Friday we went to Sofia's school for orientation. Is is so weird to think my baby is going to go to school. We got to the school and first went to the line to buy Sofia's uniform. Yes, she will have a uniform. Unfortunately they were all out of skirts her size but we did get her a jumper, pants, polo shirts, sweatshirt and fleece. We then went in to watch the presentation for the early years department. Sofia was a little leary and didn't leave our side even to play with toys. She wasn't sure what to make of things. We let her stay with us and figured she would loosen up a little as time went by. She saw some of her friends and that made her happy. After the presentation we went to see Sofia's classroom. This did the trick. She loved it there. She didn't want to leave when it was time to go. She also liked seeing the little kids potty as well as the low sinks so she could wash her hands at her own level. Having the orientation was perfect becuase it has really gotten Sofia excited for school. On Monday the two teachers from her class will come out to our apartment for a home visit so Sofia will get to see them once more time before she starts school on Wednesday.

Skype

I finally have my mom set up on skype. I had her buy the skype phone and webcam before I left the US but since it came after I left I couldn't set it up for her. After 8.5 months she finally has it working. I think having her visit was finally what made it happen. It was fresh in my thoughts and I wanted to be able to see her and have her see the kids. I also wanted to see my dad since he didn't come with her when she visited it. I walked my mom through the set up process for both Skype and the webcam. Her pone wasn't charged when we set it up so we couldn't talk but we did chat through skype while having the webcam on. It was better than nothing. Today we were able to talk and see each other on the webcam and I also got to see and talk to my dad. The girls were happy to see gramma and grampa. Sofia was excited to show them all her new school clothes. Now we just have to get Jason's parents set up on Skype with a webcam!

Drano??

Our shower drain was not draining very well. This is a common problem for us since my hair always seem to clog the drain. I thought this might go away with short hair but I still lose a lot of hair with every shower. Oh well, I guess it is good that I have a lot of hair that I can lose. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to buy to fix te drain so I went to our local drogerie and asked them the best I could what would fix it. With some czech words and english words and some charades the man handed me a bottle of clog remoer called Krtek. I thought this was funny since that is also the name of a children's cartoon. I brought it home and waited for Friday night when Iva, our babysitter would arrive. I asked Iva if this was the right product to clear the drain. She said it was and told me what I needed to do. I was proud of myself for actually buying the right product. The next morning I poured boiling water down the drain followed by three capfuls of the crystals from the container. They looked like big salt crystals. I had my doubts that it would work since whenever we had to clean the drain in the US it never seemed to really work that well. I was a little surprised when after I poured in the crystals the drain started bubbling and spewing. I thought that the whole thing was going to explode. I finished it up with more boiling water and like magic the drain cleared no problem. I have never seen a drain clear so quickly and so thoroughly. I'm not sure what is in the bottle but it is a great product!

Playing with friends

It was another cool day in Prague today. We put on our warm clothes (the girls are already wearing fleece!) and headed to the park to meet up with some friends. My friend Emily and her daughter Annaleee and son Oliver (along with her husband) live across the city from us. Luckily the city isn't that big so it is no problem to get there. We met them at Reigrovy Sady, a park in Prague 2. We have been to that park once before so I knew where I was going. Sofia was excited to see Annalee since we haven't seen them much this summer. Emily had Oliver in May(I think. I can't remember.) and then they went back to the US for a month and a half so we haven't seen much of them. It is nice now that they are back so we can get together. Annalee is a good friend for both Sofia and Ali since she is pretty much in the middle of them in terms of age. They seem to have fun together. This picture is of Ali and Annalee running around the swingset. Annalee was being funny and copying Ali with her thumb in her mouth. It was a fun morning and the kids burned some good energy.

No Water

This morning, starting at 7am, until tomorrow morning at 5am we have no water. When I say "we" I don't mean just our apartment or our building. I mean the whole district! It is amazing to me that they would shut down the water to such a large area. I have just never heard of such a thing. I don't know how problems get fixed in the U.S. but I assume they put in temporary pipes so that they can just switch the water to the temporary pipes while the fix whatever the problem is. However, this could be a false assumption since I really don't know. The only thing I have heard about water pipes in the U.S. is when they make the news for bursting! Anyway, last night we filled up a couple buckets of water and then filled the bathtub this morning so that we would have water to flush the toilet, wash hands etc. There are water trucks (pictured here) throughout the district where you can bring a container and get drinking water but we just filled up a few bottles of drinking water from out Brita filter last night. Sofia enjoys reading the numbers on all the different trucks. I thought it was interesting that she even noticed the numbers. Anyway, we have gotten through the day without any problems. I just hope that the water will actually come back on tomorrow morning.

5-K

Last night I signed up for a 5K race. This will be my first real race since the 8K that Jason and I ran earlier this summer was actually a "fun run". Since it was a fun run there were no recorded times to see how well we did against other runners. The 5K that I signed up for will actually be timed with chips so I will know how well I actually did against my own time as well as against the other runners. It will be interesting to see how I compare. I'm looking forward to the run. It is a good distance for me since I am running around 8K three times a week. I'm hoping with the shorter distance I can pick up my pace some and decrease my time. We shall see. If nothing else it will be fun to run the race. It is actually the first night race in Prague. Here is the race route if you want to take a look.

No Delvita??

Today I walked to Delvita, our local grocery store. It is bigger than the little shops right near us but smaller than Tesco. It is about a half mile walk from our apartment and I go there once a week. Today I made the walk and it was closed. THey must be changing over from Delvita to Billa supermarkets. I decided I would head to the Albert grocery store up the hill. I didn't want to walk another mile and a half so I decided to take a bus. Well, I got on the wrong bus. I wasn't sure what bus would get me there so I took a guess...I guessed wrong. I ended up out in Nebusice which is a small village outside of town. There was an Albert there so I did do our grocery shopping but it was a small store so I couldn't get everything. Once I was done with the shopping I had to wait 35 minutes for the next bus. Since Nebusice is further out of town there is not as frequent bus service as there is on routes that our in town. Oh well, it took longer and I couldn't get everything I needed but at least I got to see something new.

Mom goes home

Today the girls and I took my mom out to the airport. Rather than send her in a cab by herself we all took the bus to the airport. Taking the bus is so easy and it gave us some more time together. We waited in line with her to check in and then left her when she crossed through passport control. I think it was harder to say bye this time than it was when we left the U.S. to move here. I think I was so excited about moving here and we had so many unknowns I was focused on that but this time I was only focused on the fact that my momn was leaving. I know nothings changed and I will be fine tomorrow but right now I am sad. It is not that I'm homesick but that is was conforting to know my mom was not an ocean away. I obsessively checked arrivals and departures online this afternoon just to make sure her flight took off/landed and took off again ontime. There was something inside me that was very sad when I finally saw "departed" show up for her flight from London to Boston...she was no longer on the same continent as me! I know I'll talk to her tomorrow and will be happy. I'll be interested to hear what she tells people about Prague. I think one of the things she found the funniest about being here is that we ordered a peperoni pizza one night and she was actually expecting pepperoni like in the states but here a pepperoni pizza doesn't have pepperoni on it but peppers. If you want a pepperoni type pizza here you have to order salami.

A yucky ending to a great day

My mom, Sofia and I went to church. I was excited to have my mom meet some of my friends and see where I go to church. I knew she would like it and I thought it would also let her see that her baby is indeed safe in Prague and not being converted by some cult. (The church is Presbyterian.) Since church service is at 4:30 I have not brought the kids in the past since it gets us home close to bed time but I decided that as long as I hustle out of church at the end we can be home by 6:15 which should be enough time for the kids to settle down. So, this week I brought Sofia with me. (Ali stayed home since she was still napping when we left.) Sofia was a little reluctant at first and wanted to stay home with Daddy and Ali. I told h er it wasn't an option and we went on our way (after a little tantrum). We got to church and I held Sofia while we sang songs and then Sofia got to go off to children's church. When I went to get her after church she was so happy and had had a great time. She had made a drawing with Miss Heather the teacher that she was very proud of and was going to hang it on the fridge. On the way home she told me, mommy, I LOVE church!". I was very happy for her. We got all the way back to our apartment building and I was putting the key in the lock when I heard this splat. I turned around but didn't see anything so I went back to unlocking the door. Sofia then said, "mommy, what is that???". I looked back at her since I had her on my hip and saw she was pointing to her hand and leg. I now knew what the splat was...a bird had pooped on Sofia!!! It was large too...it was on her hand, leg and her new awesome picture that she had just drawn. She was temporarily distracted from the damage of the picture b/c she was really focused on the poop itself. (She had a good cry about her picture once all the poop was gone.) I put her down to get wipes out and while I was getting the wipes Sofia started to gag. She just kept gagging but luckily didn't actually vomit. Then she kept asking, "why am I coughing?". She just didn't understand that her gagging was her bodies involuntary reaction to having bird poop on it. My mom and I were trying hard not to laugh b/c we knew this was pretty weird to Sofia but it was still pretty funny. It isn't the bird poop itself that was funny b/c that is really gross but Sofia's reaction to it. She talked about it some today and even after explaining to her why she was "coughing", she still doesn't get it. I guess it is just a little beyond the comprehension of a 3 year old.

Rose garden

Today we took my mom up the funicular railway up to Petrin Tower. We didn't actually climb the tower but we walked through the park at the top of the hill. Jason and I hadn't been there in the summer yet and I had only caught a glimpse of it while running in the winter. IT was beautiful There is a huge rose garden there. We walked along the paths and stopped to smell the roses all along the way. The kids enjoyed smelling the flowers as well. There is also pony rides available and Ali really wanted to ride one so we let her (with me walking next to her holding her leg). She had a lot of fun and kept saying how big the pony was and that it was wobbly. Sofia sis not want to ride the pony but she did get to pet it which she liked. After seeing the ponies and walking through the rose garden we stopped at the little grill and had hotdogs and klobasa for lunch. I was so hungry and my klobasa was excellent. (I'm not sure if it was really that good or just that I was starving.) When we had finished our lunch we continued walking and went to Strahov monastery so that my mom could see the libraries there. Jason and my mom went in and the girls and I just played on the grass outside. It was such a beautiful day so it worked out perfect for us to stay outside. The girls picked flowers (weeds) for me and ran around the flag poles. It was a great way for them to burn some energy. We headed home after that by way of the castle. I just love that we can take a short cut through a castle to get home. Of course by then Ali was sleeping in the stroller so I carried her up and transfered her to her bed. Now Jason and my mom are dozing on and off in their chairs. It was another full day.

Sightseeing

We started my mom off sightseeing today. We brought her up to the castle. Since the weather wasn't great we got a slightly late start which meant the castle was absolutely packed! The line was so long to get into the cathedral that we skipped it and I will bring her there early one morning to see it. Other than the cathedral she got to see everything up at the castle. We spent a couple hours walking around. There were a lot of people so some things I would just entertain the kids while my mom went in to see things. Since we have already seen it and it is so hard to get through the hords of humanity with the stroller it was just easier to let my mom take a look by herself. We are back from our morning excursion and my mom and Ali are both napping. I guess it was a busy morning!

My Mom is here!!!

My mom arrived yesterday. I haven't seen her since we moved here so it is great to have her here. I took the bus out to the airport to meet her. I waited for about an hour after her planed landed for her to come through the doors. As I had assume, her luggage had not arrived and that is why it took her so long to get through customs. She had to go to the luggage office and give them her information so that when they found her bags they would be able to get them to us. Once she did that and came through customs we hopped in a cab and headed back to the apartment. We stopped at the baguette shop and picked up a sandwich and then walked home. The girls were excited to see grandma. Ali had just gone down for a nap before we got back but it didn't last since she heard grandma and wanted to see her. After a littl ebit we headed out to show my mom the neighborhood and pick up stuff for supper. The airline people called to tell us they had her luggage and would deliver it. We hung out in the apartment with the girls playing with grandma and waited for the luggage to arrive. The driver called and didn't speak English so I tried to figure it out in Czech. I thought I had figured it out that he said he was here so I said ok and went downstairs. He wasn't there. I was a little dissappointed b/c I thought I had understood but I thought maybe he said he was on his way so I stayed down there for a little bit. When he hadn't shown up I decided to call him back and ask him when he would be here. I was trying and then finally gave up and asked a stranger walking by if they spoke English. Luckily she did and so I asked her to ask the driver when he was going to be here in Czech. So she took my phone and spoke to him. From her conversation and her telling me when she was done speaking to the driver I learned that he was in the wrong place and he would be at our apartment in 5 minutes. So, my mom's bags showed up and I carried them upstairs. The girls were in heaven! My mom brought so much stuff for them since she we had told her to not worry about Christmas last year she just brought Christmas with her. The girls were so happy. We got the kids to bed after opening all the new toys, princess dresses and clothes. They wanted to keeping playing but it was late so we had to stop them. They were excited to know that grandma was going to be here in the morning to play.

Great pool day

The girls and I have been at the pool a lot this summer. We have been so much that now I can rate my pool days. Today was a great pool day! We arrived and saw that the parking lot was pretty much empty. We went into the pool and found that most people were at the big pool so we had the kiddie pool mostly to ourselves. The other people that were there were our friends except for 1 or 2 other Czech kids. It was nice for the kids to have the run of the pool. Once of our friends had brought polly pockets to the pool which Ali loved. I don't think I have ever asked Ali if she wanted a snack and got a response of "no". She was too busy playing with the polly pockets!! Sofia's friend Matilda was there today. We met her last week at the pool and learned that she will be in Sofia's class in September. They had a great time playing together today. I played motorboat with them for a little it but then they just had a blast playing ring around the rosy in the water. It was a very relaxing pool day.

Watson's ears

About a month ago Watson started shaking his head a lot and scratching at his ear so we brought him to the vet. He had an ear infection. We gave him the medicine and brought him back in to be checked and he was fine. Two weeks ago Watson started shaking his head again so last week so we brought him to the vet. Another ear infection. It seems even our dog can't escape the family misery of ear infections! (For those of you who don't know, both Jason and I had a lot of ear infections as children and Sofia had a lot of ear infections her first year.) We brought Watson to the vet last Monday and they gave us medicine and we brought him back today to be checked. His ear infection was still there so we have more medicine to give him. We will bring him back on Tuesday to be checked again. The doctor has told us that Watson should have ear surgery since he is having recurring ear infections. The surgery will stop the ear infections. Well, 1 in 10 surgeries are not effective in preventing ear infections. We have gone online to research what we can about this type of surgery and it seems pretty common. I guess we will make our decision next week. First we have to get the current ear infection out of his ear. They can't do anything until his ear is completely healed. Either way I just want Watson to feel better...ear infections are no fun!

Metronome

Jason and I frequently run past the metronome in Letna Park. The metronome is very large and replaced the giant statue of Stalin. We never saw the metronome running in the winter but since summer began I have noticed that is was painted and it is regularly working. Of course it doesn't really matter if it is on or not but since we went so long without seeing it on I feel like I have seen something special. I look forward to that part of my run...will it be on or won't it?.

Zamek Hluboka

Since we had the rental car for the full weekend on the weekend we went to Kutna Hora we took advantage and took a second drive on Sunday. We decided to go to Hluboka Castle. The drive was slightly longer and took us about 2 hours to get there. Again we drove through a lot of farm country. We needed Johnathon, my nephew, there to tell us what the machinery was in the fields since Sofia wanted to know and I didn't really have an answer for her. She loved seeing the big rolls of hay of which there were many. (I spoke with Johnathon today and tried to describe what I saw and he informed me that it was probably straw and not hay that was all rolled up in the field. He tried to tell me what the machines were as well but since I couldn't answer all of his questions he gave me a few possibilities. Next time I will have to take better notes on the machinery so that I can give him all the details!) Anyway, we arrived in Hluboka Nad Vlatvou, the town below the castle, in time for lunch so we stopped at a little pizza shop and had a quick bite to eat. We then took the big walk up to the castle. It was a pretty steep hill to get up to the castle but you are rewarded when you get to the top and see the castle. It is huge and beautiful! It is amazing to think people actually lived in it. We walked into the courtyard of the castle and the girls immediately started waltzing. They really put on a show for everyone that was sitting in the courtyard. They love cinderella so whenever we are in a castle they "waltz". As you can see in the picture, Sofia even hold her dress up just like Cinderella does! After their waltz, Jason and Sofia climbed the steps up the tower. They had the number of steps posted where you bought tickets and I immediately decided I wasn't going to carry Ali up all those steps so Ali and I just walked around the courtyard and waited for Jason and Sofia to come back down. After that we waited for our tour to begin. It was a 60 tour but we decided we wanted to see the inside of the castle and just hoped the kids would do ok. The tours are only given in Czech and German but we were told that we could have the text in English. The tour started and we weren't given anything in English so after the first room I asked the tour guide before she started speaking again if we could get the text. Unfortunately, we needed to ask for them at the beginning and she couldn't get them for us at this point so we just stood and listened to her say everything in Czech. Oh well, it was still great to see the inside of the castle. Ideally we would have just walked through on our own so we wouldn't have had anyone tell us anything so we figure we really didn't miss out on anything. We kept the kids busy looking for picutres and statues of babies and dogs which it seems are in abundant supply in all castles and churches. At about the 40 minute mark the kids started to fuss some so we had to do a little more heavy entertaining. Ali wanted to get down (I had been holding her the entire tour) so I let her get down. She was doing fine and staying right at my feet. I turned away for a second and she fell. I'm not sure how she fell but she did. There was a low post next to her which had two hooks on either side. Somehow she managed to get the hook through her shirt and skinned her neck. My heart went through my chest when I turned back and saw her but once I had her unhooked and wiped the blood off her neck and knew she was fine, I was fine. We finished out the tour and headed back outside so the kids coud run around some more before we got back in the car. The castle was really spectacular and well worth the drive.

Back to the pool

Yesterday and today have been hot so we went to the pool. Yesterday was nice at the pool since it wasn't very crowded. Today it is hotter outside which brought everyone to the pool. We go to the pool in the morning to avoid the worst of the crowds. It also works out well with Ali's nap time. Today we left the pool a little early b/c it got crowded early than usual. The kids still had fun. Sofia likes playing the "wave game". This is a game that was made up by one of my friends which I now have to carry on. The wave game is when I sit in the water and make waves with my arm so that Sofia can jump off the side of the pool into the wave. She finds it very funny and it is good for her since it gets water all over her face which I think is helping her get ready to put her whole head in the water. The game keeps me cool too since I get to sit in the water and everytime Sofia jumps in I get splashed.

Where or where has summer gone??

Apparently summer only came back to Prague briefly. It has been in the 60's all week and cloudy. Tonight we went to a company party for Jason's work. The party was at a place on the Vltava River which would have been perfect for summer. Unfortunately summer has dissappeared again! It was so cold tonight that after we ate some food Jason and I walked to the mall and bought sweaters. Yes, sweaters!! I'm still amazed that I had to go out and buy a sweater on August 3rd. How can this be??? (The upside is that I did get a nice sweater.) I keep hearing about heatwaves across Europe yet somehow the heat is bypassing us. Maybe the rest of Europe is sucking the heat away from Prague. Wherever summer has gone I hope it comes back and stays for a while.

Daily Life

Sofia has been sleeping later lately (7:30ish) which is nice. Today she got up and just wanted to sit on my lap for a little bit for some snuggle time which was fine with me. After she was done with snuggle time she got up and started to play some. Ali started to cry all of a sudden and sounded really upset so I went in to the bathroom to get her thinking she had hurt herself. I immediately picked her up and felt wet...she had had an accident. She was crying because she had peed in her underwear (and of course all over the floor). It is amazing how upset she was that she had peed. We told her it was ok and that she was just learning and we sat her on the potty to see if she had to pee anymore. She was still upset but perked right up when I asked her if she wanted a shower. She loves showers! With Ali and I taking a shower I had assumed that Jason fed Sofia her breakfast since Sofia is usually quite hungry in the morning and wouldn't let us forget to feed her. I didn't realize she hadn't been fed while I was in the shower until we were walking to the playground to meet friends. She said, "I'm reeeeeaaalllly hungry." I asked her, "Didn't you have breakfast?". She responded, "No, daddy forgot to give me breakfast." I felt terrible. I couldn't believe that neither one of us gave her breakfast. I texted Jason right away to see if he really hadn't given Sofia anything to eat. Of course the answer was no and Sofia was telling the truth. Thank goodness for all the bakeries around. I quickly stopped into a bakery and bought her an apple danish. After that everything was fine and we were off to the playground. We met up with friends and the kids had fun playing in the playground. Ali had her second accident of the day. That is the most accidents she has had since she started going diaper free. I changed her and let her keep playing but kept checkinf with her to see if she needed to pee. Eventually she said she had to and so I let her squat between the stroller and the bench to give her a little privacy. She squatted but nothing was coming out so I told her ok we can get dressed again and she adamantly told me, "still peeing!". So I let her keep trying. I didn't want to rush and then have her have another accident. I couldn't believe my eyes when she started pooping! It is the first time she has pooped without a diaper. I was very proud of her yet also mortified that my daughter ws pooping at the playground. Good thing I had given her some privacy so that noone could see that she was pooping!! She has brought a new meaning to "nature tinkle"!! I guess she missed the meaning of tinkle. She finished and I quickly picked up the poop, cleaned her up and got her dressed. I'm hoping that experience will carry over to her pooping in the potty.

Picture framing

Jason and I had bought a few prints since we have been in Prague that we needed to have framed. There is a framing shop near us but we just hadn't gotten around to going over there. After getting back from Spain and having tiles that we also wanted framed I finally brought everything in to the frame shop (4 prints and 16 tiles arranged into 1 frame). The lady was very nice. I asked if she spoke English but, of course, the answer was no so I forged ahead in my broken Czech. She helped me pick out frames since I really have no idea about how to choose the right frame. After choosing out the frames she wrote me up a slip and I left. I went back today and picked up the pictures. The frames look great and it was not that expensive which is great! It is good to know that I can get these framed easily and inexpensively so that when we travel places we can buy prints and not worry about the cost of framing.

It's Potty time!!

Ali had shown a little interest in the potty for a few months but nothing that was a clear sign that says, "I'm ready!". Since she had a little interest I wanted to encourage her but not push. We decided to take the same approach with Ali as we did with Sofia. I went to the store and bought a big posterboard (although I could not find actual posterboard so it is just paper the size of posterboard) and made a potty chart. We stopped at a store and Ali picked out her stickers. We told her that whenever she wanted to pee on the potty we would put one sticker on her potty chart. She really didn't care. She knew it was there but had no interest in getting stickers or sitting on the potty. Well, two days ago that changed. On Friday she just decided, "i'm done with diapers and I'm going to pee on the potty. The only time she had a diaper on on Friday was during naptime and she only had one accident. On Saturday we took our daytrip to Kutna Hora so we put a diaper on her for the drive but she did an amazing job. She did pee once in her diaper during the day but that is it. On the drive home she was crying really hard which is unlike her so I asked her waht was wrong and she said her belly hurt. Jason pulled the car over and I got Ali out to do her "nature tinkle" and sure enough she had held her pee so long that her belly was hurting her. I couldn't believe she would actually hold it like that! Today we took another road trip and again she had one accident in her diaper but other than that she peed on the potty or had a nature tinkle. It is really just so odd to us that all of a sudden she decided she is done with diapers. We even have to fight with her to get them on for nap and bedtime. She says, "no pull up! Underwear!". I just hope this trend continues so that there will be no more diapers to deal with!!

Hair Update

I'm starting to like my hair now. For those of you who are curious here is a picture of me from our day trip to Kutna Hora. There are many nice benefits from my new hairstyle.

1. I'm not sweltering hot

2. It doesn't really frizz out

3. If it rains it doesn't matter

4. It takes me all of 2 minutes to do my hair

5. I don't get headaches everyday.

The biggest thing for me is that I do not get headaches everyday with my new haircut. With all the hair that I had before it was either just too heavy and giving me a headache or I had it in a ponytail which would also give me a headache. It is a relief to have a break from all the headaches. I'm glad I have found a way to style it that I think works for me. It is still weird to see myself with short hair and it is still weird to not have hair resting on my back and shoulders but it is a nice feeling.

Kutna Hora

Yesterday we rented a car and set off to Kutna Hora , a small town south east of Prague. We had our trusty TomTom with us so we were ready to hit the road. We got on the highway and everything was going smoothly then there was traffic. We saw a sign for Kutna Hora that was going to send us in a direction that was different than the TomTom directions. The TomTom fought us for a little while. It kept wanting us to turn around but we just kept driving until teh TomTom finally accepting we were going to take a different route and gave in and provided appropriate directions. As we kept driving we came to a point where half the road was blocked off. The signage was all in Czech and two cars in front of us went around the blockade so we followed suit. Luckily it wasn't long until we found out wy the road was blocked off...the bridge that had been there had been dismantled and there was no way to get across the road. Oh well, we turned around and went back to the blockade and took a right. It worked out fine. The drive there was nice and we drove past beautiful fields of Sunflowers. We arrived in Kutna Hora at lunch time. We parked and ate lunch at the restaurant that was right near where we parked. It was a really good lunch. It still surprises me how cheaply you can eat meals out. Here is the picture of my food - French fries, grilled pork and some veggies. This meal only cost 75Kc ($3.60USD)!! We sat in the garden of the restaurant so we were able to enjoy being outside. The restaurant also had a sandpit with toys for the kids to play in which was great. The kids got to play while we waited for our meal and then when they were finished they went back to playing while we finished. It made for a nice relaxing lunch. After lunch we set off to explore the town. It is a cute town with winding cobblestone streets. The most impressive site there was the church - St Barbara's Cathedral. We reached it just as the rain started too so it was perfect timing. Sofia is getting good at looking for things in pictures/statues etc. We often have her look for babies which she enjoys. Both girls like seeing the pics of babies and statues and they both like seeing the stained glass so we can actually walk through places like St Barbara's without too much worry of the kids being bored. I can't say we go at a slow pace but I think we have found a happy compromise between how much the kids can take and how much we want to see.

Cleaning

I have never been a neat freak. I would keep things picked up but I didn't spend hours cleaning the house. Since we have moved to Prague I clean every Friday. I don't mean pick up. I mean clean. I vacuum and wash all the floors, wash tub, sink, toilet, do laundry, change sheets ...the works! It takes me about 4 hours or so (the laundry takes longer). It never seems like it should take that long since I can see the entire apartment if I stand in the center of it but it does. Every Friday I go through the process. My floors never seemed this dirty in the US. I don't know if I just didn't notice or if it is just dirtier here. Prague is definitely dustier which adds to the need to wash. In addition I think Watson is tracking in a lot more dust and grime. Anyway, I never thought I would be cleaning more in a smaller space.

Back to running

I have gotten my competitive nature under control in my running. I was so excited to be running and I really enjoyed it. I wanted to be even better at running and I pushed myself hard. I'm naturally competitive so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary for me. My 8.5 miles run did my body in though. My stomach was upset for a while on the day of my run but the biggest thing was that I irritated my achilles. I ended up not running for a about a month. Not all b/c of the achilles but it was also the timing of the achilles. I took a week and a half off and then ran one day but then we went on vacation to Spain and I didn't feel ike bringing my running stuff. I thought that would be ok since that would essentially give my achilles 3 weeks to be better which is was. I was itching to get back out and run when we got home. Unfortunately I got a stomach virus which eliminated running. My stomach virus was immediately followed by a cold. It was a string of bad luck but after a month of only running once I am back on the road. I am relaxing my competitivness. I don't get aggravated when Watson decides to "do his stuff" half way across the park and I have to interrupt my running to go get it. I also don't mind stopping so Watson can romp in some water. This is good since otherwise he wouldn't be able to run with us since it is too hot for him. I still run hard but I'm happy with running 4.5 miles and don't feel like I am not doing enough. At some point I'll start pushing my mileage again b/c I enjoy the freedom the distance gives me but I think my body needs me to do that at a slower pace.

Thunderstorms

We have had some big thunderstorms at night. For those that don't know me, I'm a very heavy sleeper but these thuderstorms are so loud they send me jumping up from bed. I'm not sure why they wake me up. It could be that before the storm starts the wind whips through the apartment slamming doors which wakes me up and sends me back into a light sleep. I think I will just start securing the doors every night just in case we get a thunderstorm. I'm hoping that will help me sleep through the storms. I'm not sure I that will work though since I don't think I have ever heard thunderstorms this loud before. Don't get me wrong, I love thunderstorms. I love the wind whipping around and the crack of thunder and the bolts of lightening but I would prefer they happened at 8pm and not at 2am.

Crib days

The other day Ali kept laying down in Sofia's toddler bed which Sofia was not too happy about. Instead of argueing about how Sofia should share I decided that it was her bed and if she didn't want Ali on it then so be it. I told Ali that I would put the side of her crib down so that she could get in it if she wanted. I figured that she couldn't climb out when the side was up but if I put the side down it would be fine. I created a terror! She didn't want to come out of her crib at all so I just put the side up and sure enough she climbed right out. I kept my fingers crossed that it would be a one time deal since she has climbed out before but then wouldn't do it again for a long time. I wasn't that lucky this time. This morning Jason nudged me and said, "you have a visitor.". I rolled over and helped Ali climb on the bed. That isn't unusual since whenever Jason gets Ali in the morning she wants to see me and climbs up on my chest. It took me a minute but then I asked, "Did you go get her?". The answer...."No". Ali had climbed out of her crib on her own. I put her down for nap today and she didn't fight it. I thought that was a good sign. She had a good long nap and then I heard her make a little fussy noise so I immediately went in to her so that she wouldn't have to climb out. What did I find when I opened the door?? That's right...Ali running across her room to the door. So, not only is she climbing out but it is taking her no time at all! Her crib days are limited. We will see how long we can hold off before we turn her bed into a toddler bed. I don't imagine it will be very long.

Magical Cheerios??

The girls and I went into town today to do a little shopping. With my new haircut I want to get a flat iron so that I can try out different styles so we went to a couple stores in town. After dragging the girls around town I decided to stop into Culinaria, a shop with imported British and American foods, to get some jelly bellies. I couldn't believe my eyes when we walked into the shop and they have plain cheerios. You can get honeynut cheerios in the supermarket here but you can't get just plain cheerios. I was very excited and quickly picked up the box of cheerios and checked the price. Again, I couldn't believe my eyes. They wanted 357Kc ( about $17.50USD) for a box of cheerios! I almost burst out laughing. Are they magical cheerios? Are they dusted with some precious gems?? Who pays that kind of money for cheerios?? Maybe if Jason's brother comes to visit I will splurge and pick up a box since he loves cheerios but other than that they can keep their cheerios! It is nice to go in that shop though just to know what they have in case I'm really desperate for some American food like french's mustard, oreos, or mac & cheese.

Diet Soda

In the Czech Republic you can get Coke-light (diet coke) but no other diet soda. Apparently everyone here drinks diet coke, full sugar soda, juice, water and beer. I am always on the lookout for diet Sprite since that is really the only soda that I drink. The stores all have regular Sprite but no diet. It isn't that I'm on a diet but I just prefer the taste of diet sprite to regular sprite and I prefer not to have all the calories wasted on a drink. In any event one of my friends made a trip to the commissary in Germany recently and came back with all these wonderful American items - crystal light, ice pops and Diet 7-up (among other items). She was gracious enough to share her diet 7-up with me and I was in heaven. It was so good!! It is amazing how good something can be when you haven't had it for so long. On our trip to Spain I had some oreos which where also very tastey. I hadn't even really thought of having oreos until I saw them in the store in Spain. There are some things that you can get here but they cost an arm and a leg. One of those items is Haagen Daaz. I have put off buying it until today. It must have been the 7-up that put me in the longing for an American item but I broke down at the store and paid the $7USD for a pint of Haagen Daaz!! I have already tried a scoop and it is good but it in no way reaches the euphoria of the diet 7-up!

Haircut

Today I made the leap and had my hair cut short. I haven't had my hair short since I was a little girl. Of course my mom says that she always loved my hair short, but I was never so certain. I have been thinking about going short for a little while now. The initial thought was because I have been having daily headaches which I was attributing to having so much hair and always having it tied back. One of my friends here has her hair short and told me I needed to go to Mark Philip to get my haircut if I was going to make a drastic change. I called before we went to Spain to see if he could fit me in but he was in the hospital! I was dissappointed but was able to hold off until after our trip. Today was the day that I went to Mark Philip. He was not what I expected. I expected young and hip but what I got was a guy who is in his 60's. Don't get me wrong he was still very hip but just not what I expected. He was nice and we talked about what I wanted. I showed him a picture of what I wanted my hair to look like and we went from there. My haircut it done now and I need to take a few days to get used to it. I don't hate it but I don't like it either. Hopefully over the next few days I can work with it and make it into something I love becuase it is nice not to have so much hair!

Summer is back in Prague!

Before we went to Spain the weather in Prague had really cooled off. There were no trips to the pool and I was wearing pants and long sleeves and sometimes a light jacket. While we were in Spain I was hoping the cold weather would be gone by the time we got back but it wasn't. I couldn't believe the temperature was hovering around 60 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the middle of the day! That just isn't right for the middle of July. Today summer finally returned. The sun is shining and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately Jason had to work today but the girls and I headed to the pool. It was so nice to sit in the pool. The girls jumped and splashed and had a blast. The weather is suppose to be this way all week so we will probably will be at the pool everyay this week!

Redeeming myself with the butcher/bread lady

In my sickness haze I had to stop and get bread so I went to our local bread shop and the woman in there was the lady from the butcher. The butcher and breadshop are connected although only in the backrooms so from the store fronts they are two different stores. I wasn't surprised to see the butcher lady in the bread store as I have seen her there before (a minute after I had seen her in the butcher). In any event I have built up my repoire with the butcher/bread ladies and have felt myself being slowly accepted into the community. I felt that they grew to respect me with my attempts at speaking Czech and my continued improvement. In any event, I stopped in to get bread in my sickness haze and she told me the amount in Czech since they don't treat me any different than anyone else anymore. In my haze I messed up the amount and she shook her head at me in dissappointment. I know it may seem wierd but I was bummed out that I had failed the butcher/bread lady. I went back in today to pick up bread even though I didn't really need it just so I could redeem myself. The same lady was there and she told me the amount and I pulled out my change to count it out and she just started counting it for me (in a nice way) but I said "i can" in czech and we laughed and I told her I'm studying Czech (of course I said that in Czech) and all was right with the world. She gave the kids free bread rolls and after I had the kids say thankyou in Czech she actually said a broken thankyou in English. She has never tried to speak any English to me before it was quite a break though.

What is that wonderful smell??

This morning I had to go run an errand before Jason left for work. As I was walking down the road I passed a delicatessan that I haven't been in yet but have always thought about stopping in to see what they have. Today as I walked past the shop it smelled so good I wondered what they were cooking but I was on a mission and again didn't have time to stop. On the way back from my errand I walked past the shop again and this time I had to know what could possibly be smelling that good. I walked in and asked if they spoke English which, not surprisingly, the answer was no. With my broken Czech and charades I asked them what smelled so good. Turns out it was chicken. I had to buy some since it just smelled awesome. With more charades I said I wanted a whole chicken which she wrapped up and I paid 100Kc ($5USD). I got home and had to try the chicken even though it was still early and I hadn't even had breakfast yet. It was sooooo good. I can't believe I can get a whole cooked chicken that tastes so good. I may never cook my own whole chicken now!!

My mom rocks!!

I got a package in the mail from my mom the other day. She sent me packages of 4C drink mixes which is awesome since I can't get them here. I am grateful for her sending these to me. The reason she rocks though is she also included a tub of Dell's lemonade mix!!! For those of you not from RI you won't understand since you can't possibly understand what you have been missing all of your life. For those of you from RI you will understand how excited I am to have a little bit of RI in Prague. For me Dell's is summer! You can't get Dell's outside of RI (although I think they did do something at the Atlanta Olympics). Whenever I would take a trip to RI in the summer I always made a stop to get Dell's. It just makes me happy. There are things like bakery pizza and saugy's (other RI treats) that I will never have here in Prague since they can't be shipped but my mom new she could brighten my summer with a simple package of Dell's! Thanks Mom!!!

Why?

The simple question "why?" is, in itself, so harmless but when you hear it 500 times a day it is no longer harmless. I am about ready to wipe the word "why" out of the English language and every other language that my daughter could learn!!! It doesn't matter what I have said to her, the response is always, "why?". I can say, "do you understand?" and she says, "why?"!!! I have now resorted to the universal parental phrase "because I said so!". When she is being particularly cute my daughter says, "why do I say why all the time?". I know this is a stage that all kids go through but not having been through it before I am shocked at how often one word can be used in a day.

Doctor please...

I woke up on Sunday and I was pretty tired. That isn't too unusual especially when the kids were up a lot during the night. As the day progressed I never really gained any energy. I decided to take Watson out for his walk in hopes of reviving myself with fresh air. By the time I got back home I was a train wreck. I got home, took Watson collar off and climbed into bed. My body had started to ache and I was exhausted. As the afternoon wore on I went through the chills and sweats. Jason tried to keep the kids entertained even though he was tired too so that I could get some rest. Yesterday when I woke up I knew there was no way I could take care of the kids so I asked Jason to work from home. It is so nice that his company is so flexible. By the afternoon I was at least functioning so Jason could be on conference calls from 3-6. Today, even though I am feeling a lot better than yesterday, I decided I should see a doctor. After texting a couple friends to find out who they use for doctors I ended up going to a private clinic. By private clinic I mean one I have to pay for instead of one that would be covered by my VZP insurance. Feeling so poorly I didn't care as long as someone would see me today and tell me what is wrong. My biggest fear is that it would be tick-borne encephalitus. I know that it was a stretch that t could be that but after having lyme disease I'm a little sensitive with tick borne illnesses. I was happy to hear the doctor tell me that my illness wasn't from a tick. I just have a stomach virus. He gave me some pills to take called Endiaron which is an intestinal disinfectant. At this point I am opting not to take them. If it is a virus nothing is going to help it except time so I don't see a need to put some unknown medicine in my system. I have learned my lesson though. I am going to find a doctor in Dejvice that I can go to and I'm going to get vaccinated for the tick-borne encephalitus. I have just put it off for myself even though I have had the kids vaccinated. No more putting it off. Once I feel better and can spend more than 30 minutes away from bathroom I am going to search down a doctor!!

Spain: The Return

The end of a vacation is always a mix of feelings. It's always sad to have a vacation end but at the same time there is something comforting knowing you are going back home and all things familiar. And yes, after seven months here in Prague it does really feel like coming home. Our first flight, from Malaga to Madrid was an easy flight but our connection was hell. We saw that our next flight was leaving from a different terminal; well we assumed it was our flight because it was the only flight to Prague near the same time as our originally scheduled flight. We went down some stairs and long hallways towards the bus to that terminally only to be stopped at checkpoint and told we needed our boarding passes. On the flight over we switched terminals without them but apparently not this time. We wandered back up more steps in search of a Smart Wings counter to get our boarding passes and had to ask several times since there were no signs for anything and the terminal was a crowded mess. Perhaps it was just because of the construction but Madrid was perhaps one of the most unpleasant air ports we had ever been in. After a great deal of walking sweating and complaining we got boarding passes and got on our plane. Since losing one bag on the way to Spain wasn't enough the airlines decided to lose both our bags on the way back - in fact I just got the call that they have found our bags are brining them by later tonight. At least this time it was only a 48 instead of a 72 hour delay in receiving them.

We arrived hoping that everything with Watson had gone well. It felt strange leaving him in our apartment with hopes that he would get enough exercise during his walk time with Petra. Upon our return we were surprised to find Watson wasn't here. We assumed perhaps he was just out for a walk so we got settled back in and began getting girls ready for bed. After a bit Mary sent a text to Petra to let her know we were back and got a reply that she had Watson out at the cottage and would be back later in the night. Turns out Petra spent a great deal of time with Watson, including sleeping on the floor of our apartment curled up next to Watson and her own small poodle. Watson experience three things in the Czech Republic Mary and I haven't done yet: take a train, visit Karljsten Castle outside Prague and spend time at a Czech country cottage. Even today he seems like he's still recovering from his exciting vacation.
See all our Spain pictures >>

Spain: Tapas

What would a trip to Spain be without Tapas? For those not aware tapas are really just small appetizer-style portions of different foods. We went to three different tapas restaurants during our stay. Our first visit was to a place highly recommended by one of the resort staff who lives nearby Tipi Tapas in Fuengirola. We found it (with some help from the TomTom) and got lucky to park right in front. We made dinner of wide variety of very tasty tapas. On our final night in Spain we got recommendations for a few other great tapas restaurants in Marbella. The first place we went to had a great atmosphere and their speciality seemed to be smoked items. We didn't really know what anything on the menu was but ended up with a salami, a smoked pork loin and a smoked tuna. While I thought they were tasty we weren't really prepared to completely fill up on smoked items alone so we went up the road to another place. They don't have a tapas menu to choose from, you just say you want tapas and they make a selection. We ordered two plates and go two distinct sets of (again) really good food that left us quite full and satisfied with our tapas experiences. Not only is making dinner out of a variety of small servings a lot of fun it's great for the girls because the food came quickly, there was a variety to choose from and usually could be easy finger food.

One thing we noticed repeatedly but really found going to Marbella is that Spaniards don't seem to care much for visible road signs. Exit signs along the coastal highway were always vague and often there would be multiple exits near one sign, with at least one being some dead-ended parking lot to a shopping center. When in towns we also found we would rarely see road signs or other indications of where anything actually led. I have no problem with roundabouts so the Spaniards obsession with putting them at 100 meter intervals was amusing but I personally find signs of some type quite helpful.

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Spain: Mijas Pueblo

Other than Gibraltar the other site we wanted to see was a classic Andalusian White Village the region is known for. The small town of Mijas, sitting on the side of a mountian over 400 meters above sea level is a quaint little town that was not far from our location so it made a perfect afternoon destination. On our drive up to Mijas Pueblo we stopped at an open air market in Mijas Costa (the coastal town of Mijas). It is a weekly market containing a variety of items ranging from fruit to pottery as well as discount clothing and souvenirs. We spent some time walking around and ended up buying a wallet for me, a watch for Mary, and purses and towels for the girls.

From there it was just fifteen minutes up the hill to Mijas Pueblo. It's a small village with little parking so we drove around a bit before we were able to park. It was mid-day and without the ocean breeze it was very warm so we stopped right away for a quick lunch. Afterwards we walked around some of the narrow streets, visited some shops and enjoyed the amazing views down the mountain towards the ocean. Walking around the narrow roads seeing the houses built almost literally on top of each other really allowed us to picture what the town might have been like a hundred years ago - perhaps with few changes except for the removal of the large number of tourists.
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Spain: Resort Pool

After our typical morning at Cabopino beach we'd return for lunch and Ali's nap and then usually head over to our resort's toddler pool. There are two other pools but one is inside which seems like a waste in the perfect weather and the other is 2.5 meters all the way around so not good for the kids.
The toddler pool area had a number of chaise lounges and umbrellas and was separated a bit from the other pools so it was a quiet area. The kids loved the pool. Both could easily stand in the water and they would either play with a few floating toys in the pool or play any game that involved dumping water on Mary or I. The pool was small but even though there was usually at least one other family at the pool it rarely seemed crowded. The kids were always excited for the pool and ease of location to our room and simple surroundings made it a relaxing stop for Mary and I as well so our visits there were really a highlight of the trip.
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Spain: Gibraltar

One of the things we wanted to see during our week on the Costa del Sol was Gibraltar. We were staying only 90 kilometers up the coast so it was a very easy drive. We hadn't made any real effort to figure out where on Gibraltar we were going once we got there but we assumed that wouldn't be a big deal.

The whole idea of Gibraltar is fascinating to us both that across a thin piece of land (and an airport runway) from Spain sits this English territory made up mostly of a large rock. Once we arrived and easily crossed the border we made our way to Europa Point, the southernmost point on Gibraltar. It is fascinating to be able to stand there and look across the Med and see the mountains of Morocco so close. We knew Gibraltar is a major shipping port but were amazed at the number of large ships we saw entering or leaving the port area. The wind was unbelievable at Europa Point and was about enough to knock the kids over although it was warm and sunny so it's wasnt uncomfortable. After a short time around the lighthouse there and taking some pictures we made our way back across Gibraltar and decided we wanted to see if a ride up the cable car made sense.

The cable car ride to the top of the rock turned out to be a great way to see Gibraltar. It was a quick 6 minute ride up and were told we would see the famous Gibraltar Barbary Apes at the top. We made the mistake of telling Sofia that they were called Barbary Apes and not monkeys and from that point forward if we referred to them as monkeys she would immediately remind us that they were not monkeys, and not even apes for that matter, but only Barbary Apes. Quick informational note: the Barbary Macaque is indeed a true monkey and not an ape so it's unclear why they are referred to as apes. Once we left the cable car we immediately saw a number of Barbary Apes all around the viewing platforms at the top of the rock. The girls really enjoyed seeing them and since they were willing to come very close to people they got many great sightings. The views from the top were amazing. You can see the shipping port and marina clearly looking right below the rock; looking south you have a great view of the mountains of Morocco across the Mediterranean and looking east up the cost of Spain you see more mountains there. We had many closeups with the apes but the most interesting was watching a young ape who was jumping around and being quite playful. A teenage boy with his family was standing close by the young ape who then began pulling on the boys shirt. The ape lost its balance from the top of the railing and fell the ground. An older ape immediately rushed over towards the boy making some very unpleasant chattering sounds and got in front of the young ape. At that time we decided to all walk away from them for a bit to let things settle down.

Our departure must have been timed wrong with normal traffic flows because there was little traffic coming onto Gibraltar but when we went to leave around 6pm we got stuck in traffic and it took us about an hour to get back across into Spain.

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Spain: Cabopino Beach

As you come out from under the trees in the parking area, if you were lucky enough to park in the shade that is, you first notice the magnificent clear blue ocean spread out in front of you. Next you see the mountains up and down the coastline. Then as you walk down the hill the beautiful white sand beach appears before you. To the west is the marina followed by several beach-side restaurants and the enclosed area where the comfort seeking beach-goers pay money to rent beach chairs with cushions under large straw umbrellas. Straight ahead, between two break-waters, is soft sand and mild waves and a gradual grade from beach into ocean making it ideal for children. Further to the east, extending for quite some distance, the beach continues. A longer walk is required so there was no crowding at all. This area of the Cabopino is the nude beach. Here, that is not a big leap since topless women are a common site anywhere on the beach and even at the resort pool.

Our typical morning during our week in Spain was spent here at beautiful Cabopino beach. Cabopino was a very short drive from our resort and came recommended as one of the better beaches along the Costa del Sol. Upon our first arrival we realized why. The setting is beautiful, the sand is soft and pure white (immediately reminding Mary of Sand Hill Cove beach in Rhode Island) and the water is just the right temperature - warm enough to spend time in but cool enough to be nicely refreshing after sitting in the Mediterranean sun.

On our first couple of days at the beach we opted for a more secluded location to avoid the crowds and walked half-way down the long nude portion of the beach. You get used to the nude beach setting quickly and stop noticing all the nude people around but perhaps that is in part that we had little desire to have an extended look at many of the people there. Apparently something happens in men over 60 with large guts that makes them think that walking up and down a beach completely naked is a good idea.

The kids loved playing in the sand but were not so sure about the waves washing ashore and did little more than wade in ankle deep for some time. We would typically stay at the beach for a few hours before returning to the resort so Ali could get her nap in. Later in the week we decided to try out the main area of the beach since the waves were a bit smaller there and mid-week the crowds were still small enough to leave us and the kids with plenty of room to play (although it didn't play into our decision the fact that this area was topless only and didn't have elderly nude men was a bonus). As the week went on the girls became more comfortable with the waves and Ali loved going out with Mary or I and "jumping" over waves coming in or having us dip her down into breaking waves as they came ashore. Both found endless entertainment playing in the sand or just splashing in the water and had a great time every minute of our time at the beach. Mary and I were kept busy but took turns at times wading out with the kids and spending a few minutes just sitting on the towels. Before we came we thought we would end up trying more than one beach but quickly saw no reason to risk finding a less ideal setting.

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Spain: Hotel Apartment

We found the resort parking lot easily and we felt good as we entered a very nice clean reception area to a warm greeting. We were quickly checked-in, assured they would continue to follow up on our missing luggage for us and took our bag to our apartment. Mary and I referred to it as our apartment but Sofia apparently wanted a distinction between the resort apartment and our apartment in Prague so it was quickly dubbed our "hotel apartment" to avoid Sofia's corrections that our apartment was in Prague. The apartment had an open dining room/living room area with big sliders to a very private patio, two bedrooms, each with their own full bath and a nicely renovated kitchen with granite counters and a washing machine. Overall we were very pleased.

The resort itself is just a couple of kilometers inland from the ocean and had an indoor pool and hot tub, a heated outdoor pool and a smaller outdoor toddler pool. It also had a gym, squash courts, massage and some other amenities we never had a chance to explore. It wasn't a fancy resort but everything was very well maintained and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The resort is in the town of Calahonda, which sits roughly between Fuengirola, a crowded very busy holiday town, and Marbella, a built-up resort town that has a number of higher end resorts and marinas. Calahonda was built in the '60's as tourism began to boom in the Costa del Sol region of Spain. The town while simple and not that interesting was quiet and a good base for visting the Costa del Sol area.

By the time we arrived it was late and our goal was just to get some sleep. On Saturday we checked on the luggage and the airline still had no idea where it was so we decided we'd have to do some shopping so Ali and I (the bag with our stuff was the missing one) had bathing suits and at least something for clothes other than what we had on the plane. We were told there was a mall in Marbella so we headed over first thing. We found bathing suit, shorts and a few shirts for myself and some things for Ali as well. Unfortunately I couldn't reach my goal of getting everything I needed in one store and we had to make a few stops. The mall also had a hypermarket so we did some shopping for drinks, snacks and basic food items for breakfast and lunch. Although we didn't partake we were quite impressed by the supermarket's selection of hams (see picture). Since all of Ali's diapers were in the lost luggage we also bought diapers. The resort gave Mary 3 diapers to get Ali though but it was a relief to finally have all the diapers we would need. The shopping trip ended up taking quite a bit of time but got us all prepared for the week.

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Spain: The Departure

Our taxi arrived last Friday promptly at 8:30am and Mary got the car seats situated in a few minutes. When I arranged the car I asked the woman about renting a van but she said she felt 2 adults and 2 kids would fit ok in the wagons; Mary did manage to squeeze into the back between car seats but with little room to spare. It felt odd just leaving Watson in our apartment. We had arranged for Watson to be visited regulary and felt that being at home was much better than having to kennel him. Turns out it was a great decision.


Upon boarding our flight from Prague to Madrid we were told the planes didn't have enough room for the kids car seats so they would have to sit without them. Apparently the budget carriers cram the seats in a lot tighter. For Sofia it didn't really matter but it made handling Ali more challenging since she is too small to sleep in the big seat so she ended up falling asleep only with Mary holding her.

In Madrid we had only an hour to switch from our Smart Wings to our Spainair flight to Malaga. We had to rush across a terminal being renovated which was a complete mess and were rushed in a bus to a different terminal for our flight. We went directly to the gate to check-in since we didn't have pre-assigned seats but at the gate they told us we had to go a Spainair counter to get our boarding passes. The line at the counter was long and I slowly trudged through the line as Mary tried to keep the kids corraled and we both kept glancing at the clock as it ticked closer to departure time. By the time I got to the counter I started by saying we had 5 minutes before departure so the woman told me just to go directly to the gate. This time they assigned seats right at the gate. It would have been nice if they done that the first time but at least we made the flight.


Our takeoff was slightly delayed as we were told that they had put a bag on the plane for a passenger who didn't make the flight so now they were going to have to unload the plane and re-check all the bags to make sure that one was removed. From a safety perspective it seemed appropriate but didn't give us any confidence our bags would be there when we arrived. It's only 50 minutes from Madrid to Malaga and we were thankful for that. Because we were the last ones on we were also in the last row and in that rear-engine plane the noise and vibration were almost unbearable. The often-stated mantra "it's all part of the adventure" always managed to get each other to smile during this less than perfect start to our vacation. The flight was fine although the wait for our luggage took a while. One bag finally came out and as a fairly sizeable group of us was still standing and waiting the luggage carousel stopped moving and we realized then that one bag hadn't made it. Tired and hungry at this point we filed our claim, got our rental car and got on the road for our 30 minute drive to our resort. Once on the highway the views of the mountains to the north and the ocean to the south quickly made the day's misadventures insignificant and we arrived ready for a good week.

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