Sometimes things just go right...

Prague is introducing the "Open Card". This will be the new method used for the public transit system. You can also use it for paid parking and the library and in theory they will add more things to it over time. Since we don't have a car the parking doesn't matter to me and I don't go to the library here either but I do use the transit system every day so I new we needed to figure out what we were suppose to do to get the new Open Card. We had an added incentive to get it this month since they were offering a discount on the yearly transit ticket if you bought it during the month of September. Jason and I met up last week and went to the Open Card office and completed the application for the card. We were told it would take 10 days for it to be processed and sent to us via the mail. We were a little disappointed since that meant we would not be able to buy the transit ticket by the end of the month since you have to physically have the Open Card for the transit people to apply the yearly ticket to your card. Well, today I was surprised to see a note in my mailbox that I had two certified letters to pick up at the post office. I figured they had to be the open cards since who else would send us a certified letter? I went to the post office to pick them up but was told they were still out with the post lady and I could come back after three o' clock. I figured no big deal since I wouldn't be able to do anything with them before that time. On our way back home the post lady stopped me and asked me my name. I was a bit surprised since we were a few blocks away from our apartment but I guess we have a very recognizable dog. She pulled out the letters for me and had me sign them. I couldn't believe my luck! I was so happy not to have to go back to the post office. Jason ended up coming home early today since he had to pick up Ali from school. I didn't want to wake Sofia up to make the trip to get Ali since she wasn't feeling well. After he got home we decided I would head into town to try and get our yearly passes for the transit system since that way Jason could still do work from home. I brought both of our cards but had little hope that they would allow me to buy yearly tickets for both. I also brought my book with me since I thought I would be standing in line for hours. I dressed warmly as well since I thought it would be chilly in the metro station. I decided to check the one place not in a metro station to buy our tickets and I lucked out! It was in a nice clean warm building and I only had to wait 15 minutes and they let me purchase passes for me and Jason! It was just a whirlwind of success. Sometimes things just work out much better than expected.

Another ear infection

So, the adenoid removal was not the miracle I had hoped for. It did stop the snoring and Sofia does sleep much better and she can sleep on a flat bed which are wonderful things by themselves but I was hoping we would see the end of ear infections. I was wrong. The cold has rolled into Prague and has brought all the wonderful germs with it. Sofia and I have been sick for the last couple days. My illness was very minor compared to Sofia. The poor girl has ear infections in both ears and 103.9 fever. This is Sofia's second cold since adenoid removal and it is her second ear infection as well. So, while removing the adenoids took care of the constant ear infections it hasn't stopped the ear infections everytime a cold arrives. I guess it was too much to expect. Hopefully she will grow out of the ear infections soon. If she is like her parents though she is doomed for many more.

Oscar Returns

You may remember that I posted about Oscar here. Well, Oscar has made a return trip to our apartment. Ali is the first child this year to have Oscar for the weekend. She was very excited when I picked her up on Friday. After picking Ali up from her classroom we headed over to Sofia's classroom. Sofia was very excited to see Oscar as well. There were a few tears when Sofia realized it was Ali's turn to take care of Oscar but she soon got over it and was also excited to have Oscar at home. Yesterday we took Oscar for a bike ride. It was finally a nice day yesterday so we took advantage of it and spent some time outside. Oscar didn't have a very good nights sleep last night though since the kids were up a lot between complaints about ears hurting, coughing, dry throat, and peeing the bed. Today we are all just relaxing and watching movies. A low key weekend for us and for Oscar! Jason will have to write in Oscar's journal tonight about all the fun Oscar had this weekend. There is a little more pressure this year on our journal entry since it is the first one and will give those that follow us something to base their entry on.

School

The girls have been in school for a few weeks now. Both are very happy and love going to school. Ali had been going half days so that I could get her home to have a nap. Half way through last week as I was dragging Ali back and forth from school it occurred to me that I was making her travel for an hour and a half just so she could get an hour nap. It just didn't seem worth it and was really hard on her. I spoke with Ali's teacher to find out more about the rest period. (I never bothered to ask last year since Sofia hadn't napped since she was about 20 months old.) The kids get a 35 minute rest period where they have to lay down on their blanket the entire time and if they fall asleep during that time they will let them sleep for an hour. This sounded much better to me than dragging Ali 1.3miles to get almost the same amount of sleep. I signed her up for full days and she started today. Ali was very excited to stay the entire day. I think the thing she was most excited about though was having soup for lunch. I wasn't sure if she would like soup since she has never had any but I signed her up for the soup lunch. I'm glad I did because she apparently LOVED her soup. All in all everything went great for her. She had her soup and took a nap and didn't have to walk over a mile to do it. She was tired at the end of the day but was still very happy.

11 Years

No, that isn't how long we plan on staying here so don't worry. Eleven years is the number of years that Jason and I have been married. It is hard to believe that September 20, 1997 was 11 years ago. Time has definitely flown by. I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun. We were laughing when we thought about the last eleven years and realized that in that time we have lived in five different places and owned 4 different cars. Life has changed a lot since we got married. We have gone from married with only ourselves to worry about to having two kids and one dog living in a small apartment in Europe. While that is a lot of change, a lot has still stayed the same. We still love each other. We still respect each other. We still enjoy a lot of the same things like skiing, hiking and reading. We still laugh, a LOT. I wouldn't change anything about the last 11 years. We have had a lot of fun while also learning more about each other. We are blessed to have found each other.

Let the Party's Begin

With both kids in school I'm sure we will have a lot of birthday parties to attend. I actually enjoy hese parties b/c it is a chance to see the kids playing together and it gives the parents a chance to chat. We went to our first birthday party of the year on Friday. A little boy in Ali's class, Nils, invited us to his party. His mom, Inge, is very nice and we have known each other since last year since Nil's brother is in Sofia's class. It was a nice party and Inge had invited all of the nursery class so that the parents could have a chance to get to know each other a little more. They live slightly out of town which, without a car, could have been a pain for us but luckily we caught a ride to the party with some friends. It is nice to have such a great community at the school. Anyway, it was a very great party in a nice house with some very friendly people.

Cold, Cold, Cold.....

It is so COLD here!!!! Where did the warm weather go? Has fall completely bypassed us? These are the questions I have been asking myself lately. I was hoping that Monday was a fluke and the weird rainy and low 40's (fahrenheit) weather was just going to be a one day event. Well, I was wrong b/c today, while not rainy, was still very cold. The high was only in the 40's again! I shouldn't be seeing my breath when I run in September. I should not be sitting in my apartment wearing a sweater AND a fleece. (I know I could turn the heat on but I refuse to do so in September.) Don't get me wrong, I'm all for cool fall weather but this is just a bit extreme. If you have seen fall somewhere please send it back to Prague.

Morning in Old Town Square

I love going to Old Town Square in the morning. It is so quiet and empty. I find it very peaceful. On Sunday morning before Graham left we met him in Old Town Square so we could have breakfast together. We got there a little before Graham did so we had a little time to enjoy the peace of the Square. Jason and Sofa hung out on a bench, Ali chased pigeons and I just looked around. It is nice to not have to worry about people around us or making sure the kids are within arms reach. It is always hard to believe the Square can be so empty when it is such a busy place during the day. On Sunday morning it was weird to think that the night before there were over 2,000 runners plus all the people here to watch the races.

Welcome Picnic

On Saturday the kids school had their Welcome Picnic. It is a nice time for everyone to get together and catch up with all the things that have happened since last year. Every family brings something to put on the buffet so there was quite a selection of things to eat from all over the world. Since Jason's brother was here this weekend he joined us for the picnic. The girls loved showing their Uncle their school. They also loved playing the games that were set up for the kids. I volunteered to work at the buffet table for 30 minutes since I'm getting more involved in the PTA this year. I wasn't sure what I was going to have to do since it seemed to be running itself but the 1/2 hour I chose ended up being the time we were switching over from main course to dessert so I was very busy moving the main course dishes to one end of the table, removing empty dishes and putting out new dishes with desserts. I had no idea I would be so busy but it made the time go by quickly. After visiting with a few friends and watching the girls play for a little bit we decided it was time to head home. Ali was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms on the walk home. I think we were all ready for a rest and enjoyed a quiet afternoon.

Tesco Grand Prix Race

Last night was the Tesco Grand Prix night races. I ran the 5K last year and had a great time. I ran faster than I thought I could and was thrilled. This year Jason and I decided we would both run. Jason would run the Men's 10K and I would run the Women's 5K. We had the added bonus that Jason's brother, Graham, was going to be in town and was going to run the 10K with Jason. Jason can now add another "never thought I would do that in my lifetime" to his list since who would of thought he would get to run a 10K in Prague with his brother. It just added another element of fun to the race. Graham is also a very good runner and I think having him there gave me a little extra push to go harder. Anyway, we all did great with our races. Jason and I both gave ourselves a realistic goal and a reach goal before the race and we both reached our reach goals! I ran the 5K in a 5min/km pace and finished the race in 24 minutes 59 seconds. That is 1 min 19 seconds faster than last year! I'm very happy to have finished so well and in the top 1/4 of the race. Jason also did great and finished his race in 47 minutes 42 seconds and in the top 1/2 of his race. (The men's race had almost twice the number of runners as the women's race.) It was fun to watch the races even if it was quite chilly last night. We all had a great time. After the races (about 10PM) we had dinner before coming home and going to bed. It was a great night!

Whole Wheat

Lately I have been watching what I eat and trying to be a little more healthy. I have also been trying to figure out ways to give the girls healthy snacks. I made zucchini muffins a few times which the girls love but I was concerned about all the sugar and oil in the muffins. It made me think about ways to make the muffins healthy. This has become my new obsession...making healthy treats. I have started using whole wheat flour to bake with and applesauce in stead of oil. Yesterday I made cookies with whole wheat flour, oats, no sugar and no oil. The applesauce replaced the oil and honey replaced the sugar. Now they are no chocolate chip cookie but they are still tastey and the kids still think of them as a treat so the recipe is a keeper. So if you know of any whole grain type dessert recipes that you like then feel free to pass them along.

Swimming Lessons

Jason and I wanted to sign the girls of swimming lessons this fall because we didn't want them to go the entire winter without swimming. We feared that not swimming for so long would set us back to square one. I started to look around for swimming lessons but most group lessons are in Czech and therefore not an option. I did find one group lesson but they wanted 4,500Kc per child for a 60 minute session and the group would have 5 kids in it. So basically each child gets 12 minutes of instruction since at this age they can't really do big group things in the water. We decided there was no way we were going to pay 9,000Kc ($530USD) for our kids to get a total of 3 hours of lessons each. That just seemed ridiculous to us. I decided that instead I would bring them to the pool every Tuesday after school and teach them myself. Today was our first trip to the pool. The lesson went surprisingly well. Sofia was swimming half way across the pool by herself. While the pool is not a large pool it was still nice to see her progressing with her swimming. Ali also did a good job. She isn't swimming by herself yet but she is very close. She loves jumping in off the side and swimming to me. I have to give her a slight lift to get a breath and then back under she goes and keeping swimming. If she could just figure out how to get her head back out of the water she would be all set.

Visit with friends

Today we had a very busy day. We went to the pool in the afternoon since it was a beautiful sunny day. The kids had a great time (as did we) and Sofia did a great job with her swimming. We left the pool at 2:30 so that we would have enough time to get home, shower, change, make a salad and dessert and be at the bus for 3:55 to go out to our friends house out of town. Our friends recently finished building a house just outside of Prague and this is the first time we had been to their house. They met us at the bus stop and we walked to their house. Their house was beautiful. I'm sure we will all be longing for a house and yard for the next few weeks. The kids loved playing in the yard. The sprinkler was set up and the kids just had some good old fashion sprinkler fun. We didn't have swim suits so the girls just played in the underwear and eventually were just naked. This is one of the things I love about living here is that kids can just be kids. They had a blast and it was fun to see there complete care-free play. At dinner, our friends had a small kiddie picnic table that the kids ate it in the middle of the yard. This was pure heaven for the girls. The kids also loved seeing all the airplanes that went by. Our friends live out towards the airport so there are a lot of planes that go by but surprisingly the noise is not loud. I did notice the airplanes but not because they were loud but becuase every time one went by either Ali or Sofia (and sometimes both) would yell, "airplane, airplane...look look." Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera today so I can't show you how much fun we all had. We finally had to leave since the girls were exhausted. We caught the bus home and Jason and I carried the sleeping girls home and put them in bed. Another great day had by all!

A Great First Week

Today was the end of the first week of school. The girls both did great adjusting to their new school schedules. We were a little concerned about Ali's adjustment to school but she did great. Today was the first day that I went to school with her in the morning. I was afraid that she would through a fit when I left her classroom but I was pleasantly surprised. After she took her jacket and shoes off (here people don't were shoes inside just slippers and that rule even goes for school) Ali immediately went to the table with the play-dough and sat down to play. I walked over and gave her a kiss and said bye. She said bye but didn't even look at me since she was too busy with her play-dough. It was nice to see that she is happy to be there without me, even if it means my baby is growing up. Jason and I have also adjusted to our new routine. We didn't miss any running days this week which is great. When schedules change it is hard to stick to our run routines. I have managed to have my Czech lesson at night, go shopping with a friend, attend a PTA meeting and clean the apartment. It is amazing what can be done in a couple hours without children around.
Jason and I were suppose to go to a dinner at a friend's flat tonight but we decided after our busy week that we just needed some alone time. We decided to go to our Italian restaurant. Again, I must say, this restaurant is fantastic. They always make us feel so welcome. There were a couple of things that stood out to us tonight. When we walked in the waitress (not his daughter but the other one) was going to bring us to a table at the back. The owner immediately stood up and asked us if we wanted to go back there or if we wanted the table at the front. We, of course, took the table at the front. It has taken us some time to build up to a table at the front. The tables are generally set with paper napkins but the owner came over and took our paper napkins and gave us real clothe napkins. Since our table is usually reserved for us (since the owner usually takes my reservation and knows who I am) we don't normally see the paper napkins. The other nice things that happened tonight was I was just able to order what I wanted which wasn't on the menu. Last week they had a huge trays of porcini mushrooms in the refrigerator case. I have been thinking about them all week. When we sat down today I looked over and they weren't there. I immediately turned to the owner and asked him where they were. He told me not to worry that they had more and I could have some. Phew, what a relief. My next dilemma was that they weren't on the menu so I didn't know what to ask for. The waitress came over to take our order and in my best Czech I asked her what they made with the porcini. She basically said whatever and offered some suggestions so I made my choice and sat back. I have never just ordered something that wasn't on the menu. It was fun. In between our appetizer and our meal the owner brought us over some chunks of cheese. This, of course, is not charged. It is just something that the owner gave us. The cheese was a excellent. At the end of our meal he again gave us free limoncello. It isn't that the extra things are free that makes this restaurant so nice but rather that he makes us feel like part of the family. It was the perfect dinner to finish off a busy week.

First Day of School

Sofia started back to school yesterday. She was very happy to be back in school. Jason dropped her off in the morning and he said he barely got a good-bye from her since she was so busy playing with her friends. Ali and I stayed home yesterday since her teachers were coming to our home for a visit. Even though Ali knows the teachers from picking up Sofia last year the school likes to come to every nursery child's home so that it will help ease the transition into school.
Today was Ali's first day of school. Jason brought her to school this morning. I would have liked to have gone as well but Ali has been very attched to me lately and we thought it would be better for her if Jason took her. We were right and Ali was very excited to be in nursery. She, like Sofia, barely gave Jason a good-bye since she was so excited to be there. She knows many of the kids in her class from being on the playground at pick-up time last year so there were many familiar faces for her. I'm glad that both kids have had a good start to the school year.