I know, I know... it's been ages since I've posted anything on our Clements Family Blog. I'm so sorry and have many, many excuses:
1. I've been working as much as I can lately. In the office I have no time to blog. And, even if I did, I have no photos with me to post. When I'm at the office I come home late - between 6 - 7pm. When I walk in the house I get covered with kisses and hugs. The kisses and hugs are from the girls. Terence is now outgrowing and too cool for PDA (public displays of affection). The only time I can get cuddles from him is at bedtime when it's just the two of us and I'm reading with * him.
About 1 night / 10 days, Erika (our nanny / housekeeper) will coordinate dinner for us. She makes an amazing turos gomboc (sp?) which is Terence's favorite. Turo is something we don't have in the US. The best way to describe it is to imagine sort of a sweet ricotta cheese. The translations all call it 'cottage cheese' but I think it's very different as it's not lumpy nor does it taste similar. Anyhow, the dish she makes are dumplings with the turo mixed in. She then makes a sweet sour cream topping that you can pour over it. Very low fat ;-) and very dessert-like but she serves it as a meal so I'm okay with that once in a while. The other dishes she makes are grilled or friend chicken with parsley potatoes, pea soup and bean stew. These are the dishes that she often makes as the kids love them.
The other nights of the week I try and prepare something quickly. I'm not very good at freezing suppers as I never think it tastes the same as freshly cooked. Our family is also horrible about eating leftovers. Earlier this week I made a fab crispy lime chicken thigh dinner that was much easier than anyone could have guessed. And, since it is broiled in the oven and not roasted it only cooks for about 11 minutes! Most of my recipes come out of my coveted Everyday Food little cookbooks by Martha Stewart! Love cookbooks but if a picture comes with it, it's a bonus for me! The internet is also a great source...
2. Family illnesses. This is my second excuse for being out of touch. First, Ali had a high fever and spent a day home from school, then Mia got it a few days later, then Ali got it again with vomiting, then I got the flu (minus the vomiting). Most of this was while Curt was in Chicago at a conference. Hence, blogging was far from my mind.
3. I had more excuses but no longer can remember.
* Note: I wrote 'with' instead of 'to' intentionally in my first point when I wrote about reading with Terence. His reading in French has become very good. His reading in Hungarian is even pretty good but English seems to be the last language he's learning to read in. I guess I've never pushed it as I feel he (and Mia now) has a lot to learn at one time. Naturally, his love of books and our reading every night has gotten him naturally learning to read in English. While Curt was in the US he picked up a reading light for T. He can either clip it to his headboard or just hold it in bed. He, like I did when I was a child, stays up in his bed reading, reading and reading. Well, I still think he's looking at a lot of pictures but the sweetest thing is that often I hang outside his bedroom door and I hear him reading out loud. It's adorable to hear him slowly sounding out all the sounds and words so carefully. Just like everything else he's learned (ie skiing, bike riding, potty training, feeding himself, etc), he cannot be pushed into before he is ready. Instead, he makes the decision to do it and then focuses on it until he's got it. He's only competitive with himself and not at all competitive with others yet. Therefore, he's rarely faced with peer pressure. What a relief!
