Summer Fayre

What is a Fayre? It is apparently the way British folk spell Fair. Yesterday was the Summer Fayre at Sofia's school. It is basically an end of the year celebration filled with face painting, hair coloring, pony rides, junk food, and music and many other games. We went last year but since we didn't go to the school yet we didn't know anyone and the girls weren't really quite old enough to enjoy it. This year we had a blast. The girls had a great time and the fayre was over before we knew it. Both girls had their hair colored and their faces painted. Ali's hair coloring didn't show up as well as Sofia's since she just had sparkles put in her hair but, as you can see, Sofia's green hair really shows up. They also had a chance to go on a pony ride. Ali was a little nervous on the pony since it was really quite a big horse for her. It got a little to bumpy for her and she decided she was done about half way through her ride. We opted for a smaller horse for Sofia and it was a good choice. She really enjoyed the pony ride. After the pony ride we stopped by the donut eating area. They had donuts hanging from strings and you had to try to eat them without using your hands. Sofia gave it a valiant effort but apparently it is really hard to eat a donut not using your hands when you have a little mouth. It was very entertaining to watch.

Surprise Party

Friday night our friends, Kurt & Sara and Phil & Danielle, gave a surprise party for the leaders of our church. Since our friends are leaving Prague they thought it would be a good way to thank the leaders for all they do throughout the year. Everyone agreed it was a great idea and we all got into the party spirit. The guests were suppose to arrive at 6:30 so that everyone would be early enough not to run into any of the surprise guests. Unfortunately, I got caught walking down the road by Phil and Shanna (Phil is the pastor of our church and Shanna is his wife. They are also our good friends.) They were of course wondering what I was doing walking alone on Friday night across town from my apartment. I had to think of a lie on the spot and I think I pulled it off. It meant though that I was sitting with my chocolate cream pie (which was luckily in a bag) waiting for them to move on so that I could follow after them. I arrived at Kurt & Sara's flat and made it safely to the terrace which is where we were going to have the party. The night was great! There were some really nice heartfelt words as well as a lot of laughter. I will really miss Kurt & Sara and Phil & Danielle. The life of an expat is filled with great people but it also has a lot of sad good-byes.

A Czech Sprinkler System

I had to take this picture and post it. It just made me laugh. There are a lot of flowers around Prague and they are beautiful. The thing that is interesting to me is that they do not have a sprinkler system. There are trucks that come around with water and the driver gets out and basically hoses down the flowers. It doesn't seem very cost efficient but who knows, maybe it is. I have seen the watering of the flowers happen before but I have never seen it happen in a itsy bitsy bathing suit.

Weekend

We had a great weekend. We spent most of the weekend at the pool. the kids had a blast and Sofia was swimming in the little pool. She was diving (I use the term loosely) into the water, kicking her legs and blowing bubbles. She was doing this back and forth across the kiddie pool. Ali started to copy Sofia after a while and it was amazing how long she would stay under water. After a full day of swimming yesterday we went to church and then to a friends house for dinner. The kids were playing so well together that we ended up not getting home until 9:20. Here is a picture of the girls with their friends. It is nice that the girls are old enough now that staying out that late is even a possibility.

Another great pool day

This morning we were suppose to go to Sofia's football (soccer) practice but the weather was just too nice. We skipped practice and headed to the pool. The temperature had to be in the low 90's today (Low 30's celsius) so it was great to be at the pool. We arrived at the pool and it was very busy but we got a spot next to our friends and the kids jumped in the kiddie pool. After a little time in the kiddie pool they were ready for the "big kid pool". This is pretty exciting for us since it is a big change from last summer. The swimming lessons the girls just took have really given them the confidence to go into the big pool. They love going under water now and practicing their swimming. The other thing we did today is we went down the water slide with the girls. Last year Ali went down once with me but half way down the slide she wanted it to stop and was not happy by the end and Sofia never went on the slide last year. It was great today to see the change in them. They both loved the slide! They aren't old enough to go down by themselves so Jason and I go down with them so it is really a fun thing to do as a family. At the end of the day we moved away from the kiddie pool completely since someone pooped in the pool. It didn't really matter though since the girls were excited to go down the slide and go in the big kid pool.

New Stylist

We have a new stylist in our family and her name is Ali. Yes, Ali has apparently decided she is going to be the hair cutter for the family and today she started with herself. I was picking up the apartment at the end of the day while the kids were playing. They were coloring and cutting paper which was fine. They were happy and it let me have the time I needed to get the house picked up. Just as I finished picking up everything and walked into the living room to tell the girls to put their pajamas on I saw Ali with the scissors in her hand cutting her hair! I could believe it. I know kids cut their hair and it is no big deal but mine had never shown any sign of interest until today. Ali has definitely hindered the ability to put her hair in pigtails but lucky for her she has curly hair and any damage is hidden by her curls.

Birthday Party

Today we went to a birthday party for Louis, Sofia's friend. Louis's parents, Vanessa and Hanley, are very nice and Hanley often gives Jason a ride in the morning after drop off. They live in Roztoky, a village outside Prague. It is easy for us to reach their house though since there are buses that go to the village as well as trains. They have a beautiful house and a great backyard. Jason and I had fun talking to our friends and hanging out in a backyard. Being in the city is fun but there are times when it would be nice to have a backyard so we always enjoy when our friends invite us to theirs. There were a lot of kids there too so our girls had a blast. They enjoyed playing with the other kids on the trampoline as well as swimming in the pool. It was a little stressful for me to have them in the pool since it was the first time the girls have been in water without an adult in the water with them (and the pool was 5ft deep). They did great though and had no problem getting around with their arm floaties and rings. It is so strange to think that they are getting old enough to be able to do things without me!

Swimming - Day 4

The girls an I headed off to swimming lessons again today. We have figured out the routine which is nice. They are excited to go and they get a small snack on the way there, usually when we are waiting for our first bus. We change buses and head up to the pool. The girls quickly change and are ready to hop in the pool. They are both learning so much so quickly with the lessons that I am thrilled I am able to bring them. After swimming the girls are usually freezing and are ready to warm up in the locker room and get dressed. They also look forward to this time becuase once they are dressed they can have food. Swimming has made my girls ravenous. From the time we leave the pool until the time we get home they eat a PB&J sandwich, a banana, an apple, a few cucumber slices and then a dessert. It is amazing how hungry they are! Once we are home it is either play time or bath time. The girls have been playing really well together this week. Not that they don't usually but I think the swimming has given them another connection. I am looking forward to going to the pool this summer so that they can continue to learn how to swim. Here are a couple videos of the girls.

Swimming - Day 3

Today was the third day of swimming lessons. I can't believe how well the girls are doing. Ali is still a little hesitant but I think a lot of it is that she is getting really cold in the water. She says her favorite part is putting her entire head underwater. The problem is that she just holds her breath to go under and her teacher is trying to get her to blow bubbles while she is under water. Shanna told me today that she thinks Ali will be really swimming by the end of this summer. Sofia on the other hand is doing great and doesn't really seem hesitant at all. Today she actually swam by herself. Granted, it wasn't any great distance and it was under water but it is a start. I can't believe that she has learned so much in 3 classes - essentially 1.5 hours which is split between three kids. Here are a couple of pics with Ali underwater. I will post a video of Sofia swimming tomorrow.

Swimming Lessons

Today the girls started their swimming lessons. My friend, Shanna, use to teach swimming but hadn't done it since moving to Prague. Lucky for us she decided to start teaching again. Both of my girls LOVE Shanna so I knew they would be comfortable with her in the pool. I was a little worried that they would be too comfortable so I made sure I told them that Shanna was going to be their teacher so they had to listen to everything that she told them. They did great! Shanna really is an excellent teacher for this age. I couldn't believe it when she got both kids (but Sofia especially) to put their heads under water. I mean completely underwater! Sofia jumped off the side of the pool into Shanna's arms and under the water she went. It was amazing. There were no tears or cries for mommy. A couple of times Ali turned back to look at me just to say she was listening to Shanna and doing everything she was told. By the end they were both cold and ready to get out of the pool but it was a fantastic start to swim lessons. I will try to remember my camera for tomorrow so I can post pics of the girls learning to swim. We will have swim lessons every day for the next two weeks so I will have plenty of opportunity for picture taking.

The Pool is Open!

The girls and I had our first trip to the pool this season. I wasn't sure if we would go today since this morning Sofia had football (soccer) practice. Sofia's practice means that we don't get home from that until after lunch but since Ali decided (after screaming fits) that she wasn't going to nap I gave up and let her just have some quiet time. While the girls were being quiet and the afternoon stretched ahead of me (and Jason is at work today) I decided to make the most of Ali being awake. I decided rather than stay home and find ways to entertain that we would head to the pool. I brought my ID chip thingies so that I could purchuse my hours for the summer but I forgot to get money out and the pool doesn't take credit cards so I couldn't fill up my chips for the summer. Oh well, next time! Luckily I did have enough cash to get us in for the afternoon. The girls were very excited to be going back to the pool as was I. When we walked over to the kiddie pool there was noone there. The kids had the entire pool to themselves. Unfortunately, our afternoon was cut a little short since a large rain cloud came over head with some thunder but it was still worth the trip to the pool. By the time we were packed up and leaving the cloud had moved on but by then we were all ready to go. I'm looking forward to our pool trips this summer. Now that Ali is old enough it is nice not to have to bring the stroller with me too.

Good Friends

One of the things that we have found here are good friends. The vomiting spree that went through our house last week hit me on Monday night. I spent most of the night being sick. I was suppose to meet up with a friend on Tuesday morning so that we could hang out and our kids could play. I had to cancel with my friend b/c I could barely function. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the kids since Jason had to work but I figured I would let the TV babysit and do the best I could. Lucky for me I have great friends. My friend, Susanna, quickly called me back and asked me if I wanted her to take the girls for the day. I was so relieved. I had never expected that call. She picked the girls up in the morning and I was able to crawl back in bed. She watched my girls and fed them and took good care of them the whole day. She brought them back to me at the end of the day so that I didn't have to go anywhere to get them. It was a wonderful occurrence during my illness and one I won't forget. The next day I was a little better but still not great. Sofia had school so I was fine handling Ali by myself but I didn't know how I would be able to walk to Sofia's school to pick her up. Again, fortunately for me we have good friends. My friend Shanna said she would pick up Sofia for me and bring her home. It was such a relief. Our friends here have been amazing. When you need something someone is there for you. Another example of this was last week after Sofia's surgery. My friend, Shanna, sent over a lasagna for us so we didn't have to cook dinner and my friend Emily came by with banana muffins even though she is in the midst of moving from her small flat to a house just outside Prague. It is a great community we live in and once again I am so happy to live in Prague.

Big Girl Bike

Yesterday we decided it was time to buy Sofia a big girl bike. There is a bike shop just around the corner from our apartment so we headed there. Sofia has been looking at a bike in the window for a while. We had stopped into the shop a few weeks ago so that Sofia could look around at the bikes and we could get a sense of price. I thought she would like a different bike than the bike in the window since there were other more girly bikes with baskets and tassels but she stayed firm about the bike in the window. Sofia was very excited to get her new bike and she picked out her helmet as well. She quickly took off her hat to wear her helmet. We rode around the neighborhood a little bit and then had lunch in the square and came home. Today we headed to Letna park so Sofia could ride her bike. She did a great job riding it there and back and seemed to really enjoy riding around the park. Ali, unfortunately, went over the front of her little "bike" and got a fat lip. That ended her riding for most of the time we were out. By the time we were coming back home Ali was once again ready to get back on her bike though which was good.

At the river

We joined some friends down by the river the other day since it was such a beautiful day. Sofia was doing fine after the surgery and Ali seemed to be doing better from her stomach bug so we walked to the end of the road and hopped on the bus to Sofia's school. There is a potraviny just after her school where we got sandwiches and fruit and joined our friends by the river (which runs in front of Sofia's school). We sat on the bench and enjoyed the day and then we walked along the bike path. The kids had fun picking up rocks and singing and playing. Here is a video of Sofia with her friends singing one of their songs from school.

Sofia's surgery

This morning I got up after a long night of child illness to bring Sofia to the hospital to have her adenoids out. We had to be across town for 7:30am so that meant being up and out the door by 7am. Sofia was definitely hesitant and she was very tired so I carried her the whole way to the hospital. I figured it was the least I could do for her. We got to the hospital and got checked into our room. They had a couple DVD's for Sofia to watch which was nice. The nurses and doctors were great with Sofia. They were very patient and helpful. They took things slow with her and didn't rush her into anything. The nurse gave Sofia a sweet drink to make her sleepy. Sofia was excited about this since she was VERY thirsty. I was excited about it since it would make it so Sofia wasn't as nervous. I should have known better though...my daughter doesn't get sleepy! The nurse came back in a little while later to see if Sofia was asleep but of course she was wide awake. Oh well, Sofia had started to calm down a little bit watching the video so it was fine. The time came to go into surgery and Sofia started to get worked up but the staff was great. They gave me scrubs and let me come in the surgery with them. While I was changing they were talking to Sofia and playing with her. They put a cap on her head to cover her hair and they also put a cap on Sofia's stuffed animal, puppy. Sofia really liked that puppy had a cap on too. Once we were in the surgery room the doctor showed her the instrument that clamps onto your finger. (I'm not sure what that is called but if you have ever been in admitted to a hospital then you have seen it.) Anyway, the doctor put it on his finger to show Sofia and then he put it on mine too. Sofia finally agreed to have it put on her finger and she liked seeing the monitor show what the clamp was measuring. It was interesting for me to see the heart rate of each of us. The doctor was by far the most relaxed which made me feel good. Sofia didn't like it though when they had to put the gas on her face. They talked her through it but she still cried. In true Sofia style she fought sleep as hard as she could. She cried until the moment she was asleep. Once she was asleep I went back to our room and waited. I read my book and talked to a friend but was surprised when they came back into the room so quickly. The whole thing only took about 25 minutes. The doctor came back in carrying Sofia in his arms all wrapped up in a sheet. She looked like a little baby. The next 30 minutes was not fun since Sofia was coming out of the anesthesia. I remember the feeling well so was very sympathetic. I held her and sang her songs which seemed to calm her down a little. I was waiting for the vomit to hit since that is what happened to me and sure enough it came. Once she got that out though she calmed down a lot. The doctor had told me that Sofia should sleep for two hours but I found that hard to believe. I worked to get Sofia to sleep and she did finally fall asleep but only slept for 30 minutes. Though the nap was short it did wonders for Sofia. She woke up looking better and seemed to be feeling much better. By the time my mom called, Sofia was standing up naked in the window laughing! The doctor came to check on Sofia and gave the OK to start liquids. The nurse brought water and, in true Czech style, she also brought tea and piskoty. Sofia thoroughly enjoyed having her snack. We left the hospital and I carried her back home again. She is definitely tired but is in good spirits.

Vomit Central

The last two nights brought vomit to our apartment. Ali started on Sunday night (or really Monday morning) with vomiting. We thought it was just a one night thing since she didn't vomit at all during the day on Monday. We were wrong. At bedtime on Monday night Ali went straight to sleep which we were happy about but Sofia started to vomit. After an hour of sleep Ali woke up and vomited. Now we had two kids covered in vomit! We got them cleaned up and Ali back in bed. She slept the rest of the night. Unfortunately Sofia proceeded to vomit every ten minutes until about 11pm and then slowed to a leisurely pace of every 40 minutes. She finished up around 1:30am and then fell asleep. We were a little concerned since she was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning but we figured we would just get through the night before we started to worry about the surgery. Sofia woke up early and I ended up sleeping in her bed which even for me being short it was still a tight fit. Jason woke me up at 6:30am to get ready to bring Sofia to the hospital.

Jason is home

Jason came home on Saturday. The girls and I were happy to greet him at the airport. We went home and unpacked the duffle bag of food that he brought back with him. I had to find a place to put the nine bags of cheerios that he brought back! I know, cheerios seems boring but when you can't get them they are like gold. Anyway, we unpacked and we did some house cleaning before settling in and relaxing yesterday. It was nice to have the house ready for the week. Unfortunately Ali got sick in the middle of the night so the week is not starting off that great. We have been very vigilant about washing our hands and making sure Sofia doesn't go near Ali since we don't want her getting sick since her surgery is tomorrow. I'm hoping that Ali's illness is just an overnight thing since I need to be able to bring her to a friend tomorrow while we bring Sofia to her surgery. If she is still throwing up today then I won't be able to bring her to a friend and Jason and I will have to figure out how we watch Ali and take Sofia to her surgery as well.

Dresden

Since Sofia had the day off of school b/c it is a Czech holiday the girls and I decided to make use of the car and we headed off to Dresden this morning. Why not drive to Germany? It is only a two hour drive. It is like driving from RI to NH...easy! I printed off a few things that I thought would be of interested, set up the TOMTOM and off we went. It was a beautiful ride through the mountains to get to Dresden which was nice. There was NO traffic which was really nice. I think the TOMTOM might need to be updated since I kept seeing signs for highway driving to get to Dresden but I'm glad we went the way we did. It was very relaxing and peaceful. Going across the border was a little strange since the passport control buildings are all still there but there was noone to be seen anywhere near the border. It made me think of a ghost town. Anyway, we got to Dresden and found a place to park and headed off to find the tourist information office. Apparently it was a holiday in Germany too though b/c all the stores, including the tourist information, were closed. This turned out to be fine since there were all different markets going on so the girls and I enjoyed walking around the markets. We had sausage/hotdog things for lunch and then random snacks along the way...chocolate covered banana, little donut hole type things, gummy worms etc. The kids got to ride on a couple of small kiddie rides as well which they loved. After spending some time at the markets we headed off to the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum . By the name itself it does not sound interesting (at least, not to me) but it is actually a great place for kids. It is a children's musueum that is designed around the five senses. The kids had a blast checking out everything there and since Sofia s currently learning about the five senses in school it fell into a school related activity. There was a huge floor piano that the kids could walk on and make music. There was a mirror maze that the kids and I loved. I have never been in a mirror maze that was done so well. I actually had to walk with my hands out to make sure I didn't run into a wall. Ali had to learn that lesson the hard way. She saw me in a reflection and came running fall steam and before I could say stop she slammed into the wall. She was fine, although a little startled. It was hard not to laugh since it was like a scene in some cartoon. After playing in the children's museum it was time to leave Dresden. We didn't get to see any of the old town or any historical building but that is fine. Next time we go we can venture into that part of the city. Today was a day for leisure, snacking and playing. It was great fun for all of us. I will post some pictures soon.

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.

Bye Bye RI

The girls and I had a great week in RI. We got to see all of our family which was fun. The girls really loved staying with grandma and grandpa. We did a lot of shopping which grew old for the girls so then we just had a day of doing nothing. The girls enjoyed staying in their pajamas all day. It was nice to see the girls playing with their cousins too. They had so much fun playing together that the girls were sad everytime we had to leave them. It was nice to be back in RI and see all things familiar. I also got in a couple runs which is something I never thought I would do. I used to think running was crazy nevermind running while on vacation! IT was nie to get out and run though. It made me aware of the difference between running in Prague and running in RI. As I ran, every car that passed me would give me the quick wave. I like this and it made me happy. It makes you feel part of the local community. This would NEVER happen in Prague. It doesn't bother me that it doesn't happen in Prague but it was nice to have it in RI. Also as I was running there was a guy riding his bike that slowed down to have a quick chat! It was definitely a different experience to run in RI.

We left RI on Friday morning and headed to NH to meet up with a friend and to stop at the kids pediatrician since Ali had had a fever for a few days and I suspected an ear infections. We drove up to NH in the snow and came close to being in two car accidents but luckily my mom is good at driving in the snow and we didn't actually get into any accidents. I'm glad we went to the pediatrician though b/c Ali had ear infections in both ears. It also gave me the chance to ask our pediatrician what his thoughts were on having Sofia's adenoids out. I feel more comofrtable with making the appointment now then I did before so we will call our pediatrician in Prague once we are back.

Anyway, Jason met us in NH and we transfered everything from my mom's car to our car and headed up to Maine. We stayed at my brother's condo up at Sunday River on Friday night and skied on Saturday. It was great to be back on the slopes. I was a little shakey at first but once we headed into the glades it all came back....something about not wanting to hit a tree makes the legs work properly! Hahaha. We had a great day of skiing and the snow conditions were excellent. It was a bit windy and at one point, while on top of the mountain, the wind actually blew me backwards but other than that it was the perfect day. I think we will get in one more day of skiing while we are here. I had hoped to squeeze in 3 days of skiing but we just don't have the time.

After renting skis for the girls to start skiing on we headed to Jason's parent's house. We are here for the remainder of our time in the States. The yard is covered in snow (which comes up to about the middle of the livingroom windows!) so we have already gotten the kids on skis and pulled them down the driveway. They both seem to like it but of course grew bored of it so we switched to snowshoeing and sledding. We will get them back out there today for a little more skiing, snowshoeing and sledding. Jason and I have already hit the outlets and had good luck. Now I just have to go to the grocery store and stock up on all my food supplies. I'll have those two extra duffle bags full very soon!

Enjoying vacation

After making the plane ride to Boston and figuring out how to install new car seats from the car rental company we made it to my parent's house. We arrived about midnight on Thursday and the kids were exhausted. We carried them straight to bed and soon after found our own beds. We have been busy since we arrived. On friday morning we made the drive to NH (about 2 hours) so that we could see some friends and get my license renewed. Even though we aren't living in NH anymore I had called to see if it was still possible to hold a NH license since I don't technically have a residence anywhere in the U.S. and I was told yes that I could just use my last Nh address. I thought, great, then it shouldn't be a problem. Jason had come back in September and had done the same thing without a problem. Unfortunately for me I got the grumpy DMV worker and was told I could not have a NH license. Needless to say I was a little annoyed. People get annoyed about the beaurcracy in teh Czech Republic but I get annoyed with the US beaurcracy. I feel like we are U.S. citizens in limbo since we don't have an actual residence here. I asked the woman at the DMV where she would suggest I get a license and she said she didn't know but just not NH. I thanked her and left. At least the trip wasn't a waste since we got to stop and see my friend Melissa and her husband and two beautiful children. It was fun to talk to them and hang out. Unfortunately we didn't have that much time since we needed to make the 2 hour drive back to RI to have dinner at my brother's house at 6pm. We made it back had a great dinner and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins, Michael and Johnathon. We got home and once again carried the girls up to their beds since we got home late and they fell asleep in the car.

Yesterday we celebrated my mother's 60th birthday. It was fun to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins again too. After the party we headed an hour north to Massachusetts to visit Jason's brother and his family. We had a nice dinner and the kids were thrilled to play with their "big kid" cousins, Alex and Justin. It was nice to see the new addition to the family, Kiera. She was so cute and was sleeping almost the entire time we were there. I hope that continues for their sake! Today is the first day that we have really had to just relax. It has been nice. I'm off to play outside in the yard. It is nice to be able to just walk out the back door and be in the grass.

Preparing for travel

This week has been a week of preparing for travel. While we are away our landlords are having a new kitchen put in to our flat. In case you don't remember our kitchen cabinets fell off the wall just before Christmas so we really need a new kitchen. I am really looking forward to coming back to a real kitchen. We have gotten by for 3 months with out cabinets but it has grown tiresome. In order to be ready for the new kitchen we have had to remove everything from the current kitchen. I am almost done with this task now and I will finish it this morning. I have finished the laundry, which seemed to take forever to complete. I will pack all the clothes for the girls and myself today. It doesn't seem real that we are going back to the U.S. for a visit yet this trip has required the most effort in terms of prep. I'm looking forward to this trip. In addition to looking forward to seeing my family, I'm also looking forward to the big box stores (Walmart, Target) as well as all the outlets. Jason keeps joking that I am going to need a shipment container with all the things I plan on buying. Oh well! I'm going to enjoy myself and buy the things we "need". Besides, with the declining dollar it is getting cheaper everyday to buy things in the States!

Our restaurant...

Jason and I have our favorite restaurant in Prague that we go to quite frequently. I have written about it before but I needed to post about it again. This week Jason and I didn't know where we were going to go for dinner and we pretty much decided as we were on the metro going into town on Friday night. So, we showed up at "our" restaurant without a reservation. We were surprised to see that it was quite busy so early in the night since it doesn't usually get busy until later. There was another couple who had arrived before us so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to get a table. Fortunately for us we are known at this restaurant. The owner saw us and waved us in, "Prego, Prego, Prego." He immediately brought us in and gave us a table. I love being known at a restaurant. Of course, we had another excellent meal. Jason and I are always trying different main courses on the menu and we have never been disappointed. This week we tried the veal saltimbocca. It was outstanding. I think it is the best I have ever had. We lingered over our meal and wine and thoroughly enjoyed our night. One of the many things I love about this restaurant is that we can comfortably pass 2-3 hours over dinner and not feel rushed. Here is a picture of the owner and his son (at least we think it is his son.). It is definitely a family restaurant so we usually see the son and daughter as well.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today was the Easter Egg Hunt held by Sofia's school. Sofia was excited to go to the hunt and so was I. I have never been to an Easter egg hunt so I wasn't sure what to expect. The day was beautiful and we happily headed out to the Suchdol Woods. We hopped on the bus that we take to Sofia's school but stayed on it for 3 more stops. We got off and walked to the woods. At the entrance to the woods we collected our bags (to collect candy) as well as our map of the wood trails. We met up with Sofia's friend, Elisabetta, and her brother and parents and walked through the woods together. It was fun for the kids to be together and it was nice for the parents to get to talk while we walked through the woods. At each candy station the kids had to answer questions in order to receive their candy. At one station the kids had to choose a song to sing and then we all had to sing together. Twice we came upon two different "rabbits". Two of the teachers were dressed up as rabbits and gave the kids more candy. Sofia was a little nervous until she realized the white rabbit was Mr Chisholm whom she loves. (We don't know who was in the brown rabbit costume but Sofia tells us it was a high school teacher. ) Ali couldn't be convinced though and was very afraid of the rabbits. Chocolate couldn't convince Ali to go to the rabbit so we just moved on. At the end of the hunt there was a small BBQ so we sat in the sun on the edge of the woods and enjoyed drinks and hot dogs. The kids played together and had a great time. It still makes me laugh how beer is available at any event in Prague. We would never have a school event in the U.S. where beer would be available but here is Prague it does not stand out as anything strange. In any event everyone had a great time and no one (including the parents) wanted to leave when it was time to go.

Click here to see more pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt

Sitting by the river

I picked Sofia up from school the other day and was going to let her play in the school yard since the weather was nice but another mom asked if we wanted to join them by the river. I thought this sounded like a great idea so we headed over to the river with them. We stopped at the local potraviny (mini market) and picked up some food for the girls and headed to the bench by the river. It was so peaceful. We through some bread for the ducks but mostly the girls sat on the bench and ate their snacks and Susanna (the other mom) and I got to chat. It was nice to get to talk to her. Unfortunately we won't have many more trips to the river since she will be moving at the end of the school year to Stockholm. This is a downside to being an ex-pat - friends are always leaving for their next assignment.

Sofia's Party

Sofia had a GREAT time at her party. We got up this morning and got ready to go. I picked up the cake and loaded up the stroller and headed into town. We got there a little early and had to wait for the play place to open but we waited inside at the coffee area of the restaurant while Jason went to his office and picked up more of the party supplies. My friend Joanna and her husband, Lukas showed up early with their daughter so that Lukas could help Jason get the supplies from his office and Joanna could watch the kids while I set up. It worked out great to have them there. It was nice not to have to worry about watching the girls while I was trying to set up and it was also very helpful to have Lukas there since he could translate for me. The woman who runs the play area doesn't speak English so it was nice to have Lukas there to translate. It would have worked out if he wasn't but it was easier and we appreciated his help. Anyway, we got everything set up and all of Sofia's friends started to show up. The location was perfect since the kids could all play in one room which made it easy to keep an eye on them. Sofia really liked her princess cake and when it was time to cut the cake all the kids had a request for which princess they wanted. Luckily, I cut the cake and my friend, Kirsty, just handed them out no questions asked. Once there was a piece of chocolate cake in front of them there were no complaints about not getting the requested princess. It was funny to watch present opening time. All the kids gathered around and "helped" open the presents. I was frantically trying to see who the presents were from so that we could write thank you notes. I think we managed to write down all the gifts and names. I feel like the party was a whirlwind and I didn't get to talk with anyone but I think everyone had a good time. Thankfully our friends, Phil and Shanna, gave Jason a ride home with all our stuff so we didn't have to worry about how we were going to get everything back home. We are home now and I have put everything away. (Well, not the toys b/c Sofia is playing with all of them right now.) I figured I would write this before I relaxed for the day. I'm exhausted and once I stop I'm not going to be doing anything for the remainder of the day! Thankyou to everyone for coming and making Sofia's party great!

Click here to see more photos from Sofia's big party and her quiet celebration at home.

Party Preparation

Today is the day before Sofia's party and I am in party prep mode. This is the first party I will have to have at a location other than my home. I am realizing it is a lot more work! Of course the stress is compounded since we don't have a car since now we need to figure out the logistics of getting everything to the party site. We have had friends offer to drive us over with all the stuff but that adds another layer of organization that I was just not ready for so Jason and I are working it out on our own. I have made he fruit salad and cut the veggies and have them ready in Tupperware. Luckily I had cleaned out the fridge a couple days ago and I don't go grocery shopping until Sunday so we have some space in the fridge for the Tupperware. Jason is purchasing all the drinks today and storing them at his desk so that tomorrow we can walk down the road from the party location and get them rather than dragging them into town with us in the morning. Tonight we will drop off all the party supplies (hats, blower things, plates, napkins, plastic ware, favors, etc.) in Jason's office as well before we go out for dinner. I think everything is falling into place. Keep your fingers crossed that we can get everything done tomorrow morning before the party starts so that the party goes off with out a hitch. With 17 kids I'm sure it will be complete mayhem so I'm sure Sofia will have a blast even if I don't get everything perfect. I will post tomorrow (if I'm not too exhausted) to let you know how the party went and I will post pictures as well.

Benadryl

This weekend we found out there is no equivalent to Benadryl available in the Czech Republic. They have other antihistamines like Claratin but no benadryl. Needless to say we were very disappointed. I should say, Jason was disappointed since he was the one in need of benadryl. I have always been careful with laundry soap since, as a little girl, I had issues with different soaps giving me rashes. I was relieved when we moved here and Tide was available. It costs more than local soaps but I didn't care. I didn't want to risk a rash. Anyway, the last time I went to the store they didn't have the same kind of Tide I had been buying so I decided to just choose a different kind of Tide. BIG MISTAKE!! Jason was allergic to the new detergent. We are now using baby detergent and I am rewashing all our clothes. I will also be bringing Benadryl back with us when we go back to the US for a visit.

Happy Birthday Sofia!!!

Sofia turned 4 today at 6:17am EST (12:17pm Prague time). It is unbelievable to me that she has been here for 4 years. The last 4 years have seen a lot of changes and I feel like she changes every day. I was thrilled when she said to me today, "Mommy, I'm 4 now so now I'm a big girl and will always listen to you.". I know there is no way that will be maintained but it is a nice thing to hear. I sent cupcakes in to school with Sofia today and she had a good day with her friends at school. They sang her happy birthday and she had a great day. We let Sofia choose what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she chose Pad Thai! Who would have thought Pad Thai would be a favorite food of a 4 year old. In addition to the Pad Thai request she also requested chopsticks to eat her pad thai and she did a very good job with them. We opened presents before dinner and Sofia was very excited about all her presents. It will be interesting to see how excited she gets on Saturday when we have her birthday party with all her friends.

MythBusters

Here is a nice picture of Jason with the girls. What are they doing you wonder? Well, Jason has captured the girls interest with the TV show MythBusters. Jason loves this show. I, too, think it is a good show but it is one of Jason's favorite shows. When I came back from grocery shopping today I saw the girls sitting with Jason watching a show. I assumed it was some kids show until Sofia told me it was MythBusters. I was surprised that they were so into the show but they were really seeming to enjoy it. After dinner tonight and before bed the kids requested to watch a show and what did they want?? MythBusters!! I think Jason is in heaven. :)

Happy Birthday Shanna!

Last night a bunch of us went out to celebrate our friend Shanna's birthday. Shanna is a great friend to all of us and it was a joy to celebrate her birthday with her. There were 14 ladies, including Shanna, who came to celebrate and we had a great time. We had tried to make reservations at a vegetarian restaurant which I was excited about since the menu had sounded good but they were full so we went to my favorite Italian restaurant in Prague. It is probably just my favorite restaurant. I don't think I need to qualify it as my favorite Italian restaurant. I love the food. I love the interior. I love the service with the family attitude. It is a restaurant that Jason and I go to quite often so when I walked in last night the owner looked at me and said, "Maria?" I had to tell him that I was there with my friends tonight. I had to laugh when the owner would ask me questions for the group. I love having a restaurant that I am known at especially this restaurant that I love so much. Everyone seemed to have a great time and enjoyed their food and drink.

After school play

Sofia has been going to school full time now since the beginning of January. She is so happy staying the full day and greets me at the end of the day with a big hug and smile. It is so much more pleasant to pick her up from school. With the weather being a bit warmer this week we have been staying at school for an extra 30-45 minutes every day so that Sofia can play with her friend Anna. They have a blast running around the school yard together. It is so nice to see Sofia developing friendships. Ali tries to keep up but she often goes over to the nursery section of the playground and plays by herself. It is nice for them to have time to play and burn some energy and it is nice for me too since it gives me time to talk with the other moms. By the time we leave school and get home it is around 4:15ish and the girls are ready for pajamas. It has been great to exhaust the girls since when it is time for bedtime they both go right to sleep.

Scholastic book order

I was so excited today when I was reading the info board in Sofia's classroom. The teachers will soon be sending home the scholastic book order forms with the kids. If there had been people around they probably would have laughed at my joy since it was probably greater than most. I have such fond memories of the scholastic book order forms. I remember bringing them home from school and agonizing over it to figure out what books I wanted since I knew I couldn't get them all. I am looking forward to going over the book selection with Sofia. Now, just like when I was little, I will anxiously await the order form.

Corn Flakes

In the U.S. there is an entire aisle devoted to cereal. You can have sweetened, unsweetened, corn, wheat, rice, bran etc....whatever your heart desires. Here the cereal choices are VERY limited and the majority of them are sweetened cereal. The one cereal that you can get that isn't sweetened is corn flakes. (You can get rice krispies and grape nuts at the British shop if you want to spend a lot of money) I have tried the few brands of corn flakes that are available and they are all terrible! I feel that in the U.S. when you buy corn flakes they don't really have that much flavor but here they really taste like corn. The corn flavor is really overwhelming. In any event, I have had a couple of bags of corn flakes sitting here for quite some time that no one will eat. I have finally found a use for the corn flakes. I can make a dessert with the corn flakes. Two of the British moms in Sofia's class had told me to just melt chocolate in a pan and stir in the corn flakes then drop them on balls into muffin cups and let them cool so that the chocolate solidifies again. It is really quite tasty. It gives the chocolate a nice crunch to it. I'm happy that I have some way of using up the corn flakes now!

Oscar

I forgot to post about Oscar. Who is Oscar? Well, Oscar is the Sofia's nursery class pet. Every weekend Oscar gets to go home with one student. The best thing about Oscar for parents is that Oscar is a stuffed animal! Sofia had a great time taking care of Oscar. She had to brush his teeth every morning and night. She also tucked him into bed at night. She also got to take Oscar wherever we went. This was a little stressful for me since I didn't want to be the parent that lost Oscar! At the end of the weekend we wrote in Oscar's diary so that the next child to take Oscar home can read all about Oscar's travels. Here is a picture of the girls riding their bikes with Oscar.

Beautiful Sunday

Sunday was a fantastic day. We woke up to clear blue skies, which after a long winter of gray skies, was really a treat. We decided to head out and enjoy the outdoors. We got the kids dressed and decided to go to the zoo. We took the bus to the boat crossing and then walked to the zoo. It was such a beautiful day and warm that we had to keep shedding layers on the way to the zoo. By the time we were at the zoo we all had our coats off and our sleeves pushed up. The girls enjoyed seeing all the animals at the zoo. Ali and I had been to the zoo recently but Jason and Sofia hadn't been to the zoo since last fall so it was fun for us all to see it together. The zoo was quite crowded since everyone had the same idea as us but it didn't matter since it was just nice to walk around outside. We used one of the wagons at the zoo so the kids wouldn't get too tired walking around. They both enjoyed sitting in the wagon. The kids didn't want to leave in the afternoon but after a couple hours at the zoo we knew it was time to head home. We enjoyed our walk on the bike path back to the boat crossing and came home for a little rest before heading out to church. After church we enjoyed dinner at a pizza place near our church and then home to put the kids in bed. It was a very busy day but fun. It really makes me look forward to summer.

I see the light!!

There have been signs around us that spring is coming. Every day on the way home from school we stop at multiple flower beds and see how many tulips have started coming up. They have the beds covered in evergreen branches acting as a sort of mulch, I assume, so we can't see all of the tulips that are coming up but we can see the ones on the edges of the flower beds. The girls really enjoying finding them. Tulips are such a sign of spring to me as well that I love seeing them. What really shouted SPRING to me though was when I went for my run on Monday it was light enough out to run in the park. I don't run through the park in the winter since it is too dark. I stick to the sidewalks on the roads where there are street lights and cars going by during the winter. I know that odds are I would be fine running in the park in the dark but I just feel safer in the light. So, when I went for my run on Monday I started out on my winter route and then realized it was light out. I was so excited I quickly changed routes and headed to the park. I hadn't realized how much I had missed running in the park. Watson likes the park as well since he can be off leash for a much longer period than when I just run the roads. I am happy that spring is coming. Living in a city and not being able to ski makes for a long winter!

Watson...

This morning Watson and I went for a nice long walk. I didn't feel like running but wanted Watson to have some outside time so we walked to Stromovka Park. Watson loves Stromovka and he runs all over the place. Today he got in a little fight with another dog. I find this annoying since if your dog is a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs then that dog should be on leash at all times. By letting your dog off leash you are essentially saying, "my dog is safe to play with." Well one dog that we came across today who was off leash was not nice and I quickly called Watson back to me. I gave him a quick check and saw that he was ok so I continued on my way. The other dogs owner didn't even seem to register that anything had happened and never looked at me so I couldn't even give her a dirty look. Oh well, i figured Watson wasn't hurt so I would just move on. Well, once we were home and I went out to do errands and then came home again I noticed Watson had something on his snout. That mean dog had actually bitten Watson!! I was very angry when I realized he had been bitten. I called our vet but they were closing and couldn't see him. I called a number I had for a non-stop vet and it was basically a vet on wheels. She told me it would cost 2,000Kc to have her come to our apartment. I asked her if there was any place I could bring him so that it would cost less. She was very helpful and Watson and I headed to the bus to go to a new vet. The bus trip was easy and the vet was very nice. Watson now has antibiotics and we have to disinfect his bite 4-5 times a day. I have to bring him back on Monday so they can recheck him.

The only upside of this whole story (besides knowing there is a non-stop vet we can go to if needed) was I learned a new bus route. When we first moved here and had to get our physicals done to get insurance we had to go to Motol hospital. The only way I knew to get there took us 45 minutes if we caught all the trams/buses on time. I realized today that I could have taken a bus to Motol and been there in 10 minutes! It is good to now there is an easy way to get to the hospital.

My brain hurts....

No, the kitchen didn't fall on me again. My brain hurts because I have a new Czech teacher. My previous teacher is in France for 4 months on a school scholarship and has set me up with one her friends to continue my lessons. I met with my new teacher tonight. She is a hard @ss!!!! This is good in that I will most likely learn more Czech at a faster rate but it also means I am going to have to put in a lot more effort to be ready for each weeks lesson. She made me speak almost the entire lesson in Czech tonight and my brain is hurting. I feel like even my eyes hurt from having to concentrate so hard. Wish me luck with my new drill Sargent...oops, I mean teacher!


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How to Eat Food

Not to sound like Martha Stewart but being here has made me aware of the different styles of using utensils while eating. I hope this doesn't get too boring but I need to set a bit of background. Most everyone is familiar with what I guess would be called the North American and Continental/European styles. The formal North American style would typically mean holding your fork in the hand you write with. When cutting you would switch hands and hold the knife in your writing hand, cut your food and then switch the fork back to the writing hand to bite. The Continental style is common in America but is the less formal; typically holding the fork, tines down, in the non-writing hand with the knife in your writing hand where the cutting and eating of food is done with utensils staying the same hand.

I have noticed two interesting derivations of the Continental style since coming to Prague. I find that many Americans, when using the Continental style will sometimes move the fork back to the writing hand to scoop up food while many Europeans I have eaten lunch with will keep the fork tines down and carefully push a portion of vegetable, potato, or whatever up onto the rounded section of the fork and get the full bite from there. This requires a bit of practice and patience to get the food properly balanced before moving to your mouth and it sometimes seems to me it would be easier to just switch hands, turn the fork over and scoop up a lot of food.

Well, there is also a Czech derivation of the Continental style which I suppose solves the challenge of balancing food on rounded top of a downward facing fork. I have noticed that most Czechs will keep the knife in the writing hand, the fork in the other but instead of keeping the fork tines down will actually just use the fork tines up but in the non-writing hand. Personally, I dont think I could just use my fork in this tines-up manner but in the "wrong" hand. There seems to be an advanced version of this whereby you keep the fork tines down to get a good cut on the food, and then with a bit of slight of hand you quickly turn the fork over, keeping it in your non-writing hand and use the fork as a scoop, with a bit of help from the knife. It seems not everyone is capable of this advanced style but I see it pretty frequently and find myself impressed with the dexterity required to pull that off.

Ballet

Sofia has started taking ballet lessons at school. Since she takes them during school time I hadn't been to see her dance but another mother who had stopped by the ballet lesson told me Sofia seemed to love the class. I was happy that Sofia was enjoying it. I figured she was since she would come home and show me how to do ballet. The ballet is actually offered by an outside firm that comes to the school for the lesson I had to figure out how to pay for the lessons. Noone seemed to know how I would go about paying for the lessons but Sofia's teacher told me to just come early to Sofia's ballet lesson and talk to the ballet teacher. I went to the lesson the last Friday to speak with the teacher but she also didn't know how I would pay. She told me that she would check and would bring me a form at the next class. So I am making progress on trying to pay for the class. It was fun to watch Sofia "dance". Here is a short video so you can enjoy it as well. It isn't the best video since it was hard to get Sofia between all the moving kids but it will give you something to see.

United States here we come...

Jason and I have decided it is time to come back to the U.S. for a visit. We have already bought our tickets and lined up our dog-sitter. We are excited to come back and see everyone. Jason has been back to the US for business twice since we moved here but I haven't been back at all so it will be interesting to see how I feel. It will be nice to see everyone and I will have to get my fix of Walmart and Target and Hannafords. I know, Walmart?? Target??. Yes, Walmart and Target! I have been away long enough that these two stores sound exciting to me! Jason keeps getting worried every time I say, "oh we will have to get that when we go back to the US", since he thinks I am going to be buying way too much stuff. I just say that I'm being realistic since there are things we just can't get here. I also plan on doing some major clothes shopping since I can't find anything here in the land of the skinny giant. I am going to have to make sure I bring my running clothes too since I am going to be eating my fill of all the things we can't get here. I'm not sure how we are going to fit everything in during a two week trip but we will find away.

Czech for toddlers

I have enrolled Ali in a Czech for toddlers class. It is a playgroup that Ali and I will go to once a week. We have been to one class already and Ali seems to really love it. The teacher is Czech and she speaks English very well. The entire class, however, is done in Czech. I realize that after a year of Czech lessons I have about a 2 year olds understanding of Czech! Ali likes the teacher and responds well to her. We sing songs in Czech which Ali really seems to enjoy. Since going to the class last week we have been singing one of the Czech songs before bed every night and both Sofia and Ali seem to love it. Sofia is trying really hard to learn all the words.

Not much going on...

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would just update everyone to let you know there isn't much going on here. Sofia has been up coughing every night for the past week and a half. This means that we are all exhausted since Sofia is coughing at night isn't sleeping well which wakes Ali up and Jason and I are up a lot taking care of her. We still sent Sofia to school last week though since she seemed ok during the day. This week is school vacation week so Sofia will be home with us all week. I decided yesterday that I was going to take her in to see the doctor since her cough had been around for so long. I called the doctor today and was able to bring the girls in this morning. It turns out that Sofia has bronchitis. I'm glad we brought her in to be checked. We will bring her back in next week to have her checked again by the doctor. It is one of the interesting differences between pediatricians here and pediatricians in the United States. In the U.S. when we go to the pediatrician they prescribe medicine if necessary and then send you on your way. There is no check up to make sure you are better. They assume if you aren't better that you will call. Here, in Prague, when you see the doctor and you are sick they prescribe medicine and then they want to see you in a week for what they call "control". I'm not sure why it is called control but it is basically to make sure you are all better. On one hand I find this nice that we will be assured that our children are in fact healthy. On the other hand, I find it annoying because I don't want to make the trip back to the doctor if my kids are fine. I guess in the end I will just be happy that my kids are being well looked after by their doctor.
When we go back for the "control" visit out doctor will give me information for taking Sofia to an audiologist. I feel like she doesn't hear as well as she should. It could be she is just a toddler who gets absorbed in her playing and doesn't hear me or she could just be blatantly ignoring me but I want to make sure it is that before I yell at her! :) I'm hoping her lack of hearing is just wax in her ears that once cleaned out will make her hearing all better. We shall see.

Oh the things kids say...

"What is that?"

That question sounds innocent enough right? Well, let me put it in context. As Ali and I got up to get off the bus we were standing next to a woman with very large hair. I was holding Ali so she was in clear site of this woman. Ali proceeds to point and say, "What is that?" I am hoping the woman doesn't speak English at this point and I just quietly say, "A lady." I was hoping that would be enough but kids just say the darnedest things. Ali proceeds to say, "It's scary." while tucking her head into my neck to hide from the woman! I agree it wasn't the most attractive hair style I have ever seen but it wasn't meant to be scary. I quickly got off the bus and continued on my way really hoping the woman didn't speak English.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

My friend, Melissa, is going to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston this May. She needs support in order to participate in the walk. As some of you know, Melissa and I have been friends since 3rd grade. While we were in 6th grade Melissa's mother passed away. In her mother's memory please follow my lead and support Melissa with a donation towards fighting breast cancer. Click HERE to go to her donation page on the Avon walk for Breast Cancer site. Once there just click on the "click here to support me" button.

Thanks for your help.