Outside Prague

Prague is a beautiful city but when you leave Prague the surrounding countryside is also breathtakingly beautiful. The spring brings the yellow rape flower. The plant is used to make canola oil and there are fields and fields of it outside of Prague. Today we went outside of Prague to a horse farm with one of Sofia's friends from school. Her friend Elisabetta and Morgan (Elisabetta's brother) have horseback riding lessons and my friend Susanna (Elisabetta's mom) asked us if we wanted to come with them today to see the animals since we had a car. It sounded like fun so off we went. The girls liked seeing the horses as well as the rabbits, geese, dogs and cats. There were also a LOT of dandelions which Ali loves. I think Ali could pick dandelions all day. She picked so many she could barely hold them in her hand. It looked like a giant wedding bouquet. All of the dandelions Ali picked though were gone before we left though b/c the girls realized they could feed the dandelions to the horses. We had a lot of fun feeding the horses. The drive back into the city was nice too since as we drove the girls would say, "flowers out my side" or "flowers out Ali's side" or "flowers out Sofia's side" etc. It is nice that my girls can take time to notice the beautiful scenery around them. These are a couple pf pictures of the fields of rapeflower in bloom.

Jason back in the States

Jason left Monday to go to the U.S. for the week. I'm already wishing for Saturday to arrive and it is only Tuesday!! We rented a car this time to make it easier for me to get Sofia to school. It is nice having the car but parking is ridiculous. Any thoughts of buying a car has gone out the window as I wait a half hour for a parking spot! Sofia always acts up when Jason is away too and this time is no different. Yesterday and today I got bad reports from Sofia's teachers. Then last night Sofia told me that she had a sticker up her nose. She proceeded to tell me how a little boy had put it there. I didn't really believe her but decided I should check just in case. I got the flashlight out to look up her nose and sure enough there was something stuck up there. I got the tweezers out and pulled the sticker out of Sofia's nose! I really hope that tomorrow will be uneventful.

Snails and slugs

On the way to Sofia's school there is a section that we walk that is loaded with snails and slugs. Sometimes you can see them when it is dry but they really come out in force on rainy days. I mean at least 20 large snails and who knows how many slugs. We have had a lot of rainy days lately so we have spent a lot of time looking at snails and slugs. The snails are quite large and the kids enjoy looking at them. They have learned that if you touch the snail they shrink up and if you pick them up they really try to shrink inside their shells. We see so many of them I actually went online the other night to find out more about snails! Not something I ever envisioned myself doing.

My brave little girl

This morning we brought Sofia to her pediatrician to have blood taken. We were told yesterday to call our pediatrician and give her the piece of paper they handed to us so that Sofia could have her blood drawn since they need the blood before the surgery. I called our pediatrician to see when we should come in and she told me to come in the morning and she would tell the nurse to expect me. I was surprised by the quick turn around but was happy that we could get it done this week. I was a little nervous as to how Sofia would do with having her blood taken. Jason came with us so that Sofia would have both of us there. I was shocked at how well Sofia did with it. She whimpered only twice but never cried. She watched as the blood came out of her arm into two vials and never did a tear come to her eye. It was amazing! She didn't get that bravery from me....I cried as an adult getting shots!

Sofia's Adenoids

Today we took Sofia to another ENT doctor. This doctor was recommended by our pediatrician as a good doctor to use for Sofia's adenoid surgery. We had two options for Sofia's surgery. We could go to Motol Hospital and have the surgery completed for free since it would be covered by insurance or we could go to a private clinic and pay approximately $600USD. We chose to use the private clinic. You might wonder why we would e willing to pay for something that we could get for free. It isn't because the Hospital is bad becuase it isn't. It is actually a decent children's hospital. You might think it is becuase they don't speak English but that isn't it either. The main reason we have chosen to go to the private clinic is because if we go to the private clinic then Sofia will be in and out of the hospital in one day. If we go to Motol Hospital then Sofia will have to stay in the hospital for 3-4 days. It makes me laugh to think that we are paying to receive less but that is just how it is. I don't want Sofia in the hospital for 3-4 days when it isn't necessary. It will scare her to be there and she won't understand why she can't leave. It would mean that Jason would have to take 3-4 days out of work. It would also separate Sofia and Ali for 3-4 days. The separation would make both of them upset. Since they are so close in age they are really more like twins. They don't like to be apart and when they are they always ask about the other one. If they are together but one can't find the other they will cry. So for all these reasons we have chosen to pay the money and go to a private clinic. We have scheduled her surgery for May 6th so we will keep you posted.

Appointments

In the U.S., or at least in and around Boston, it takes forever to get into see your stylist at a hair salon. The last salon I went to in NH opened their books for bookings for 6 months in advance. This meant when I would go in for a haircut I would make my next two or three appointments. Here you can call and get in with your stylist in the same week...even on a weekend! It is so strange to me. It isn't just salons either. It is appointments in general. The kids doctor was hesitant to schedule an appointment for the summer and my doctor didn't want me to schedule my next visit which is only 3 months away. They always say to just call when it is closer to the date. This is hard for me since I will forget that I need to call. The upside is that they always have availability since everyone calls at the last minute.

Football/Soccer

Today we signed Sofia up for football (soccer as we call it in the States). I had to keep correcting myself during the practice becuase I kept calling it soccer. I'm not sure it is a habit I can break but I will keep trying. Anyway, Sofia was a bit hesitant at first. I think she was intimidated by the big kids that were there. They split the kids up into two groups. There is a nursery - year 1 group and a year 2 - Year 6 group so Sofia is in with the "big kids" who are all of 5 years old. After getting over the initial hesitation though she seemed to have a good time running some of the drills. After a while she was done an asked to go play on the playground. We let her go since she had been at it for a while and most of her nursery classmates had already bailed on practice and were on the playground. After practice we stopped to get some lunch on the way home but Sofia was so exhausted from practice (and probably the initial stress) that Sofia and I came home and left Ali and Jason at the baguette shop eating their lunch. I hope that she won't have the initial stress every week since we will now have football/soccer every Saturday for the next 8 weeks.

Fog

I wish I had had my camera today so that I could show you how dense the fog was this morning. I went for my morning run with Watson and we headed to Letna Park. I love running Letna since it gives Watson space to stretch his legs and run around. I also love it because it gives the opportunity to look out over the whole city and see the beauty that surrounds me every day. There are days that are foggy but I have always been able to see some of the city and the river with bridges in view. Today was definitely the thickest fog I have ever seen here. I could not see any buildings in the city. I could barely make out a couple large boats on the river but no bridges. It was kind of neat though to think that behind that gray was an amazing city. It made it almost like a secret hidden place that I felt happy to know about.

Now the fog has lifted and it is a beautiful sunny day. There is a slight breeze so you still need a jacket but Ali and I enjoyed our lunch outside on a bench while Watson roamed around and then relaxed in the sun himself.

Birthday Party

Today we went to a birthday party for Jose Miguel, a boy in Sofia's class. The kids had a blast running around and playing on the mats. They were really excited when the clown showed up. It was funny how the clown had to keep telling the kids to back up since they would back up when asked but would creep right back to where they were in a matter of seconds. The clown made them balloons and made big bubbles and all fun things that the kids loved. After the clown was done it was pinata time. They had a giant pinata which the kids all took turns hitting with a giant stick. Apparently there is also a song that is sung when the kids are hitting the pinata. I didn't know what the words were since it was sung in Spanish but since it was a catchy tune I looked it up. Here are the words if you are interested.

Dale, dale, dale. No pierdas el tino. Porque si lo pierdes. Pierdes el camino.Ya le diste una. Ya le diste dos. Ya le diste tres. Y tu tiempo se acabó.

English: Hit it, hit it, hit it. Don’t loose your aim. Because if you loose it. You loose the way.You hit it once. You hit it twice. You hit it three times. And your time is up.

Here is the video of Sofia giving it a go at the pinata.

Our New Kitchen

We arrived home to our new kitchen. It is so nice to finally have cabinets again. I have been slowly moving everything back into the kitchen. I must say though that I am a bit leery of putting anything heavy in the overhead cabinets. I have put most of our things away at this point but I still have a little more to go. Since I don't want to put anything heavy in the top cabinets it makes it a little more difficult to figure out where things should go.
We are happy with our new kitchen but we are keeping our eye on the hot water tank under the sink since it was leaking when we got back. There was water under the counters and stove. We cleaned up the water and dried everything up and we have put a tower under the tank to catch any more leaking water. We are hoping that there isn't a hole in the tank but rather that the hose to the tank was loose. We will see if it is still leaking at the end of the week. I'm hoping that all is fine especially since our landlord's husband is in the hospital and they aren't sure what is wrong with him but he can't move his arms and he is jaundiced. I would rather not bother them with annoying apartment issues when they are going through a difficult time.

Home Again, Home Again...

It is nice to be back home. It was a little strange getting on the airport in Boston since it felt like I was leaving home to go home but home is definitely Prague. I was looking forward to getting back to our apartment and settling into our routines. It was nice to leave the cold and snow behind and arrive back in Prague to blooming forsythia and blossoming tulips. The trees on our street are filled with leaves and I was surprised by the smell of spring. I actually hadn't noticed the leaves on the trees until I smelled spring and looked up. It was a very pleasant surprise. The girls love seeing the tulips and we stop to smell and touch them everyday. Ali enjoys picking dandelions and every other flowering weed we pass. I love Spring!

Jet lag

Sorry for the delay in posts. We have been a little sleep deprived this week. While the girls seemed to have no jet lag going to the U.S., they have really been hit with jet lag coming back to Prague. Ali has been up until about 2am every night and Sofia has woken up a couple of nights at midnight saying that she was "soooooooo hungryyyyy". It would make sense that she would be hungry then since we would have been eating dinner if we were still in the States. We tried to take advantage of the time though to do our taxes. We figured if we had to be up dealing with the kids we should make the time useful. Last night was the first night that everyone slept through the night. I'm hoping that means their bodies have adjusted and we have left the jet lag behind us.

The little things....

It is funny the things that kids notice. While we were at my parent's house Sofia said, "Grandma sure does have a lot of living rooms and she sure does have a lot of toilets and she sure does have a lot of beds." I guess when you only have one toilet, one living room, and two bedrooms you notice when you go to a house with 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, and 3 living rooms. She noticed the same thing when we went to Jason's parent's house. On of the things that both Ali and Sofia have been talking about since we got home is how little our steps are up to our apartment. They say, "Grammie's steps are big but our steps are little." The steps to go upstairs in Jason's parent's house are very steep and narrow so the kids had to be very careful on the steps and we really didn't let them go on them by themselves. I didn't realize the benefit this would bring to us in Prague. Now they view the walk up to the 3rd floor as easy since the steps aren't big.

Outlet shopping

I love going to the outlets in North Conway, NH. They are just about 20 minuted from Jason's parent's house so they are easily accessible and after all the driving we had been doing since arriving in the U.S. it was nice to just have a 20 minute trip. Apparently the outlets haven't been having that much business this year and were having even bigger sales than usual. It was great! Banana Republic had 40% off the entire store and there were similar sales in all the other shops. I guess it was good that I only had 2 extra duffle bags or I would have spent a lot more money! Jason mocked me for bringing two extra duffles but then after he found a lot of good deals at the outlets he realized my brilliance! hahaha.

Skiing

After spending the first day on skis pulling the kids around the driveway we decided they were ready for a slight hill. With so much snow at Jason's parents house this was easy to find. We went out beyond the driveway where the snow had built up even more from snow blowing and started the kids at the top. One of us would be at the top of the hill and one of us at the bottom to catch the kids as they came down. The kids had fun going down the hill but again after a little while asked to sled. I wasn't worried about that though since they seemed to have so much fun skiing I think it was more of their attention span rather than not wanting to ski. The following day Jason and I had to return the skis but before we were ready to leave Sofia asked to ski again. We jumped at the chance to encourage her desire to ski. We quickly geared up and headed outside. Again the kids had fun. It was a very successful first time on skis experience! Here are some videos of the girls skiing.