Preparing for vacation

I have been getting ready for our trip to France and Italy. I have been doing laundry like mad so that I could get it all done before our babysitter arrived. I had our babysitter here last night so that I could go into town and buy a new rolly carry-on luggage and do some shopping. Since she isn't coming on Friday I needed to get all the washing done so that she could iron everything last night. Thank goodness we have her b/c I would not want to iron everything. She also mended Sofia's school dress. I was quite annoyed when, after one washing, Sofia's school dress already was coming apart. I left the dress hanging for our babysitter to iron and she mended it as well. I have one last load of clothes drying on the rack now. It is taking forever to dry since it has been raining all day. Anyway, I have been debating how to pack everything since one of our flights is ryan air so our checked luggage is max 15 kilos each and you can't combine to get a total weight. It is per person per bag. This means we have to changed how we have previously packed with just throwing everything in 2 large duffel bags. I am determined to pack less this trip as well since I WAY overpacked for our trip to Spain. It seems I always start off with this intention but never end that way. Since we have a washer/dryer in both of our rentals I am not worried about running out of clothes or having clothes get dirty. I am really looking forward ro using a dryer! Woo-Hoo!!! I can use a dryer...I'm really living it up!

10th Anniversary

Jason and I had our 10 year wedding anniversary on Thursday. Can you believe it??!! I can't believe it either. It doesn't seem possible that 10 years has gone by. When I think about how much our lives have changed it is amazing. If someone had told me, "in ten years you will have two kids and a dog and will be living in Prague.", I would have laughed and called them crazy! The twist and turns life takes are amazing. To celebrate we went to Le Provence Restaurant. It is the most expensive meal we have ever had which means it is disgustingly expensive for Prague standards but it was well worth it. The food was outstanding. I had shrimp in a ginger sauce for my appetizer and a baked salmon for dinner. Jason had a smoked salmon appetizer and then asparagus soup and then sea bass for dinner. They have a lot of other things besides seafood but we were both in the mood for seafood. It was a nice relaxing dinner with excellent food and service.

Full then empty

A few days ago I thought we would have a very full apartment but then my brother called to cancel his trip. I was dissappointed but figured it would be ok to have a relaxing week before our trip to France and Italy. Yesterday we found out that Jason is flying to the US on Sunday. I went from a full house to an empty one! Of course the girls and Watson will be here with me but it means no conversation after 7pm (although I can always call people). It also means a relaxing week turns into a crazy week. Lucky for me I have good friends to help me out. I had been trying to figure out how to get watson out for his walk, get the kids dressed and Sofia to school for 8:30. I figured I would get them up and dressed and outside with Watson for a walk. I would then buy them something at the bakery to have for breakfast while we were walking Watson. After walking Watson I would run him back up to the apartment and then take Sofia to school. It would be very hectic and I'm sure would include some tantrums but it could be done. Fortunately one of my friends has offered to pick Sofia up for school for me. This is a big weight off my shoulders. I'm hoping that Sofia will be fine with being dropped off by someone other than me or Jason. I have my babysitter's daughter coming to babysit one afternoon so that I can get my haicut before our trip . I am grateful that our babysitter is so awesome and has a great daughter who can also babysit on short notice. I had originally scheduled our babysitter for Wednesday night so that we could go out with my brother and his wife when they were here but when my brother cancelled I didn't cancel our babysitter b/c I figure Jason and I could always use the night out. I'm glad I didn't cancel it now becuase now I can go out and get errands done on Wednesday night. It isn't quite the fun night out I had planned but it will be nice to get things done without having to have the kids with me. It will be an interesting week. I will definitely be ready for vacation!

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!