The Clements Family Life: 11/23/08

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Who You Calling a Chicken?

One of the best things I've ever done decoratively is use chalkboard paint for our pantry door (on both sides). We used it for allowance tracking, shopping lists, dinner menus, kid fun and holiday pictures. For Thanksgiving I drew a turkey - to the best of my ability. We laughed about it looking like a chicken and not a turkey so I wrote 'gobble, gobble' and 'Who you calling a chicken?' Just had to share as we all got a big kick out of this funny guy.

PS Ali has been really sick all week. She started with a fever on Tuesday when we were in Bratislava. Yesterday we took her to the doctor to learn that she has a horribly red throat with white dots all over, the beginnings of pink eye and a sore looking ear. She didn't get antibiotics as her strep test turned out negative but her week long fever which reached high levels of 103 degrees F was a cause for concern. She received a few drops - one for eye and one for ear and we are keeping a close eye on her. Today she woke up feeling pretty good, with lots of energy, an appetite and no fever so hopefully she's on the mend.

Thanksgiving in Budapest

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving on Thursday. We used to wait until Saturday to celebrate and share a feast with friends but it didn't seem right. A few years ago we moved back to having it on it's actually day. Fortunately most of the guests were able to get here early (between 5 - 6pm) so we didn't go too late on a work / school night.

Curt carving the giant bird. It was almost 15 kgs! Fantastic!

The youngest guest. 'Baby Aidan' as our girls refer to him. He actually walked across the threshold. What a big boy!

The adult table

After dinner, the boys read what everyone was thankful for (filled out when they arrived).

My two fab friends. Both non-Americans but always welcome to share in the festivities. Nicola actually surprised me by turning up at my door with Kim, Kim's son, Harry, and Nicky's 3 1/2 year old daughter Hannah at about 2:30pm. I was completely caught of guard and as happy as can be as we had planned for her to come (she's been for many other thanksgivings) but then about 1 1/2 weeks ago she called and said she couldn't make it happen. The two of them planned a surprise which was so fantastic! So not expected. Unfortunately she could only stay for about 24 hours but it was all worth it. Thanks Nicky (above in the center). Kim and her family were invited because their son, Harry, now attends the American school and needed a taste of our Thanksgiving. He saw the turkey and actually thought it was a roast chicken ;-)

All the girls dressed up and got their faces painted by Mia. She's above left holding Aidan. Molly is above getting kisses from Kim. Molly will be 4 in Feb.

Mia and Hannah making their grand entrances.

Curt found a bride-to-be having trouble coming down the stairs in heels.

All in all it was a fantastic Thanksgiving. It almost went down without any hitches. A few hitches:

1. napkin lining the bread basket almost caught on fire when it got too close to a candle. Jay saved the day by catching it, taking it outside and stomping it out in the snow. phew! Thanks Jay (photo below). PS He managed to save the homemade dinner rolls!

2. Pumpkin pie was awful. First time I made it. In the past, I always had my dear friends Bill and Kerry (we missed you guys this year!!) help with dessert so I never had to think about it. I think I added more than a pinch of salt. Fortunately, I also made a pecan pie that turned out great so we were all okay. I am determined to bake a pumpkin pie in the very near future just to give everyone who was craving it a taste!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their family's in Mumbai during this terrible time.

Earlier this year Curt and I stayed at the JW Marriott hotel. The security there is like no where else I have ever been. Cars are all checked at gates, trunks open, mirrors under cars, etc. Then, there are metal detectors at every entrance with bags carefully checked and scanned. It's just devastating. We have many friends there and are still waiting to hear that they are all safe.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Off to Bratislava Tomorrow Am

Trying my best to do some blog catching up. We've been very busy! Seriously, ridiculously busy! It doesn't seem to be slowing down. Tomorrow Curt and I go up to our Bratislava office for some work, then a cocktail reception where we are guests of honor (Move One were big sponsors of a recent charity event), then dinner with our friends Peter and Sue. We'll spend the night at their home and then return on Wed. I've already started some prep work for our big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night. We are having a house full of people and I am doing it 100% alone this year. Bill and Kerry used to always share in the food prep but this year they are back in the USofA. boo hoo. Other than the turkey, I have lots of goodies including a pumpkin and pecan pie to make. Hopefully we won't be home too late on Wed so I can dive into it all! More updates will most likely only happen from Friday on...

To all of my American friends and family: Happy Turkey Day!!! xoxo

Down on the Danube

2 weekends ago (on Saturday, Nov 15th) while Mia was at her friend Isabelle's b-day party down in district 13, T, Ali and I decided to go for a walk along the river near the b-day girl's home. I took a few photos and a video (coming soon) of our little adventure.

I think she's trying to imitate T's peace sign.

Sharing chips and walking and talking. She caught everyone's eyes and smiles as she looked so cute in her little Ralph Lauren red jumper (thanks Keira for passing it on) and new white hat (bought on my trip to Brighton last week).

T relaxing river-side (doesn't have the same ring as 'seaside')

Love these 2 below of them looking at the ducks on the river. The one on the left is without a flash and the one on the right was with the flash. The sun was just setting.

2 more showing the colors of the beautiful sky. Photo of me (bottom right) is taken by Terence.

Girls in the Stairwell

Kids can be so funny. Mia and Ali decided to set up a little table and have a little pretend b-day party in the stairwell last week. I thought it was so funny. It seemed like quite a lot of work for them to haul their little chairs, table (aka stool) and other goodies up to the landing where they played for a good hour.

More Snoozing Kids

The other night Curt and I came home from one of our conference dinners to find the kids all sleeping together on T's floor. Erika, our sitter, gave us a heads up about it and giggled telling us that they wanted to all be together. I think it's so cute how they made this bed on the floor and shared T's duvet. The other surprising thing is that it wasn't Ali in the middle. She always wants to be in the middle and most of us give in as she's the 'baby'. I have a feeling T was in the middle comforting both his sisters as they were sad that we weren't home.

I took these photos below a week earlier. I just adore how they look when they are sleeping.

Mia's always 'catching flies' (as Curt describes it) with her mouth open. Ali, again with her hands underneath her, on the left.

The cutest is T. I found him like this all curled up on the end of his trundle sleeping in the position he used to sleep in when he was a baby. I realized later that he curled up in front of his space heater (the heating isn't so great in his room) that's on a timer to turn itself off after a set time. I couldn't sleep like that if someone paid me! It's a yoga position not a sleeping position...

More Snow in Budapest

It is a winter wonderland in Budapest at the moment. I arrived home from work at about 6:30pm and this is what I arrived to: our home and street covered with snow (I had a camera with me). It was so beautiful but also a bit spooky. The roads were a nightmare. Accidents and cars slip sliding all over the place. I think the snow surprised some vehicle owners as they must have still had on their summer tires. Fortunately, not only does my beast of a car handle itself perfectly in this weather but I learned how to drive up in Cleveland in these conditions with a significantly lesser reliable vehicle. I wasn't worried about my car losing control but I was worried that all the other cars on the road that were losing control were going to run into me. I felt like I was in a video game trying to dodge them all.

I arrived home and called Curt to ask him how he was going to ride his bike home in these conditions. My husband has not missed a day to / from work on his bike in about 3 years. Other than an ice storm last year, I believe this was one of the hardest bicycling evenings he's experienced. He walked in the door just past 9pm just shaking his head. It took him 2 hours of riding uphill in the icy snow. What a hunk of a man!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Let It Snow

On Saturday, we finally got our first snow fall. It was perfect timing as we'd finished all our daily activities and had returned home around 1:30pm to build a roaring fire, sit and play a family game of Monopoly when suddenly huge flakes started filling up the sky. It felt like a Hallmark moment sitting inside the warm house, all together and watching the snow outside. By about 4pm the kids couldn't resist the temptation. We dug out their winter gear, got them all bundled up and sent them out to play. I honestly think the preparation is more work than the actual outdoor playtime but c'est la vie.

They were so excited and even pulled out the sleds to go down the very small hill in the back of our yard. I captured a few shots of them in the outdoors. Shortly after these snaps, Curt went out and started a snowball fight with them. They all loved it.

The best part is that it snowed through Sunday so everything is beautiful and white up at our house. The slight increased elevation keeps the snow longer up at our home in district 2 then it does down in the Pest downtown. Yesterday we drove into Pest for breakfast and we were one of the few cars covered in snow.

T is such a great big brother and always looks after Ali and keeps her entertained.

Mia led the way by making tracks for him to follow in.

Our fashion diva.

My Hydrangeas. They return every year bigger and better. I'm amazed that their flowers are still in full bloom (now frozen) and with strong colors.

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QUOTES OF THE DAY:

Today, July 1 2010 while driving through McD's drive through Terence and I got to talking about what a job at McD's would be like. I told him that my brother worked there and that was one of his first jobs. I explained how he was in charge of the french fries and used to come home with lots of grease burns. T told me that if he ever worked at McD's he wouldn't be able to work on the Big Mac assemblies as they would all end up disappearing. The Big Mac is his favorite!! He's not a french fry kind of guy, just a burger boy!

June 10, 2010. Ali has been a bit curious about dying lately. Fortunately, she doesn't remember anyone close to us that has died but she hears Mia and T sometimes talking about it. The other day, she came up to me very sad and said, "Mama, I don't want you to die." I told her that I don't want to die either and this is why I have to exercise and take care of myself so that I can stay alive and healthy longer. She nodded in agreement and then, while playing with my pink wallet on the table, she followed up with, "Mama, if you DO die, can I please have your wallet?" Glad she jumped back so quickly...

Today, May 24 2010, is a public holiday (Pentecost). Ali woke up - only at 9am - and since she had no idea of the time I reminded her that there was no school today. She smiled and said, "Yeah! I'm going to stay in my pjs ALL day". Later she asked me about the cat's birthday. I told her I did not know. She then asked me when Blue, our border collie's bday is. I told her it was in August. She smiled and said, "Let's have a birthday party for him. What kind of cake do you think we should make for his party?" We decided to make him a dog food cake! However, she is now trying to figure out if it is better to give him a cake with or without candles...

This Saturday morning (April 17, 2010) I am at home with Ali while Curt is doing the dance and football taxi service. My main responsibility is to work on our US visit travel schedule (flights, rental cars, hotels, etc.) It always takes a lot of coordination but it's all worth it as we love our summer returns to the US. Anyhow, I was telling Ali what I was doing and she asked me to remind her who we were going to see again. The main people I mentioned were Nana, Papa, Aunt Sally and Uncle Mike as these are the first people we will visit. I asked her what we should take to Nana for her birthday present. She thought for a second. Then, her eyes grew wide as she thought of a great idea. Her animated answer (she always uses lots of hand motions when talking - is that from me?) was, 'A nice hat, a scarf and if you have a dress that you out grow then we can take it for her!'. Funny little monkey... Don't worry Nana, I won't be bringing you any hand-me-downs! x o x o

Yesterday (Feb 24, 2010), while Ali went to visit her old nursery school, I took Terence and Mia for lunch before picking up T's new passport at the US embassy. There is this little cafe that I really love and they have great wraps, onion rings (I have a weakness for good onion rings), burgers, salads, smoothies, coffees, etc. Terence decided on a plain burger with onion rings and Mia decided on a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. I got a smoothie and hoped for some bites of both of theirs... When the burgers arrived, they both lifted off the top bun and frowned. T grunted, "I asked for a plain burger. Not a burger with this sauce!" The sauce was sort of a 1000 island dressing type of tangy sauce. Mia pouted about this matter, too. I immediately got upset with them and told them not to judge it until they tried it. Then, I followed with, "you both need to become more adaptable." After a second of silence, Mia told me she was going to tell dad. I asked her to clarify and she told me that she was going to tell dad what I had said. Again, I asked her to clarify as I hadn't said anything rude or even a bad word (I sometimes have trouble with the latter). She then told me very angrily, "I'm going to tell dad that you want us to be adopted!" Adapted ... Adopted ... Pretty close!

During our ski trip to Schladming, Ali and I often spent some time together in the afternoon (after her morning ski school) drinking hot chocolate at the top in one of the restaurants. One afternoon she made a funny observation. Actually, she made 2 observations that went like this: "Ma!" she began. After I responded "yes", she asked me, "why are there some teenagers working here?" Before I had time to answer, she asked me another question. "And, why are there so many teenagers kissing?!" I looked around and there were 2 young couples nearby kissing... on the mouth! She was very interested. I answered to her that many teenagers worked when they were on break from school and regarding the teenagers that are kissing, they must love each other. She took this in and thought for a while. I told her that I'd like it if she also worked when she became a teenager and asked her what she thinks she'd like to do. The response has had us giggling for a few days. With little hesitation, she answered that she wanted to be a penguin when she was a teenager. I asked her where she would work as a teenager and who would pay her money. She thought for only a second and then answered, "the Four Seasons Hotel. They will pay me and I'll work there." I bit my tongue and asked her what she would do in the Four Seasons dressed as a penguin. She looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "Ma! I would swim!" She said this with a slight roll of her eyes like I was born yesterday. What else would a penguin in the Four Seasons be doing???

Just yesterday (Sept 18, 2009) I heard Ali saying to Mia, "drink me". I had to turn around and see what they were talking about. Mia was holding Ali's cup while she sipped out of it. Ali must have thought 'drink me' was the way to ask to be fed (?) a drink. We do say 'feed me' but what do we say if it's a drink item and not a food item?

The other day (early June 2009) the girls were taking a bath together and Mia blurted out "Oh Man" about something. Ali thought she was referring to her as a 'man' and shouted back at Mia, "Me not a MAN, me a LADY!" For obvious reasons I have never called her a 'lady' but she's somehow picked the word up. Loved how she defended herself as being a lady...

Yesterday, March 31st 2009, Terence, Ali and I were sitting at the table and talking. Terence made a joke about going to jail. After Ali laughed, I asked her if she knew what 'jail' was. She answered 'yes'. So, I asked her if jail was a place for good guys or bad guys. She correctly answered 'bad guys'. Then, I asked her, "How does Brigi call 'jail'"? I know this is correct but this is the way Ali would understand me asking how would she say 'jail' in Hungarian. Brigi, by the way, is her Hungarian nursery school teacher who she has a very close relationship with. Her answer to my question, "How does Brigi call jail?" was "with a telephone".... Very clever she is...

This afternoon (Jan 28, 2009) Ali pulled out a DVD and asked, 'we watch this when dada come home?' I looked at it and said, 'Ali, that's not a good one for you. It's a little scary.' (it was Men in Black II). She had recognized it and was ready with her quick reply: 'Don't worry (pronounced woowwee) Mama. Me cover my one eye with a pillow (piwwow).'

On Ali's birthday (Jan 24, 2009) while we were driving to Aquaworld, I turned around and offered the kids a stick of gum. I guess normally I / we say a 'piece' of gum. Curt then followed up with a joke asking if any of them wanted a 'stick of dynamite'. The girls were a bit confused but T, without missing a beat, said 'we can't buy dynamite, only people like miners can buy sticks of dynamite.' This is something he got out of one of his books that he loves to read. I believe it's the Richard Scarry What do People do All Day book that he has practically memorized and still goes to bed reading it and examining all the detailed pictures every night.

This morning (Jan 27, 2009) when we were hunting for Ali's shoes for school she looked outside and said, 'Mama, it's raining'. I turned to look out the window she was looking out and replied, 'Ali, I don't see rain'. She then followed up with something in Hungarian that I didn't understand. When I asked her to repeat it she looked at me, switched back to English and said 'It starts snowing after Halloween'. Not sure what this meant, why she said it, how she even remembered what Halloween was as that was ages ago in her little lifetime. Very sweet.

Mia's newest line (as of this first week in Sept 2008) is "I'm having the worst day ever". She's also been saying, "I feel like an idiot". She tends to say the latter when she's feeling a bit shy or lost for words. The first one is usually after she falls, stubs her toes, gets hurt or drops something. I have no idea where either lines have come from. Very funny to hear a 5 year old talk like this...

Every summer we take our 3 kids back to the US to re-familiarize (I'm sure this isn't a word...) them with their American roots. They were born in Europe and have only lived in Hungary their entire lives. Terence, our 7 year old, knows he's American. However, sometimes when he's asked 'Are you English?' he answers 'yes'. I think I've finally gotten it through to him that just because he speaks English doesn't mean he is English. In America (and several other countries), English is spoken... He now gets it and corrects people if they guess he's English. You may think that they would recognize his American accent but I think this misunderstanding usually happens when he is speaking Hungarian or French.

Mia, on the other hand, thinks we are Hungarian. When we were talking about Hungary beating America for the gold medal in water polo, she shouted out 'Yeah, we won!'. We had to explain that Hungary won and not America and we are American. She answered something about us living in Hungary which makes us Hungarian. Needless to say, she is a work in progress.

Then there is Ali who is only 2 1/2 and is still trying to not mix up English with Hungarian in her speech so she has no idea where she's from but will in time.

Anyhow, going back to our trips to the US. Curt and I like to give them an all-American cultural experience whenever we are in the US which includes baseball games, summer camp, carnivals, dunking machines, donuts, bagels, catching lightning bugs, looking for Cardinals and Blue Jays, spotting alligators in the lakes in Kiawah and this year a rodeo and a demolition derby. In addition to introducing our American favorite pastimes to them, we also have to teach them how to talk about it. For example, when our plane was landing in Kansas City on July 4th 2008 we had a perfectly clear day and could see everything. Terence looked out the plane's window and in his loud voice shouted to me, "Look at that baseball court mom!" I could hear heads turning wondering why the American accented boy who should be in at least his 3rd or 4th year of little league just called it a baseball 'court'. Well, that was at the beginning of our US summer trip... ;-)

Tonight (July 11, 2008) on our way home from the Sedgwick state fair (hee haw), Ali shouted from the back seat, "Mama, home now! Me tired!" It was about 9:30pm so way past her bedtime. I told her that we were on our way home (or at least Nana and Papa's) and would be there soon. I followed up with something about daddy is driving as fast as he can. Then, she shouted, "Dada, faster!" She is so funny and so expressive. It's funny to hear her bark her commands. And, when she is tired, she tells us....

This morning (June 24, 2008) as Mia was changing from her PJs to her school clothes I noticed her PJs had several holes in them. I mentioned it to Mia and suggested that maybe we just toss them in the garbage as it was so torn and damaged (plus small on her) that it wouldn't be easy to repair. Mia nodded her head in agreement but then asked me to do one favor for her. She asked, "Mama, can you please just toss them after I go to school? If I'm not here, I won't see it and then I can't get sad."

One morning while we were near Notre Dame in Paris (May 29, 2008), a group of school kids walked by where we were sitting. I heard T say to Liam, "Don't they sound like the kids at the French school?" Gee, I wonder why? haha

Two nights ago (around March 27, 2008) while Terence was getting ready for bed he said, "Mama, you know what?" He always begins his stories like this. After I asked 'what?' he proceeded by telling me the sweetest thing. He said, "I really like being a kid". I have no idea where this came from or why it occured to him at this point but I think it was really sweet. I know earlier in the evening his stomach was hurting him a bit and I was nurturing and taking care of him. I think maybe that is why he decided that being a kid and having a mom (and dad) take care of him when he needed it was okay!

Mia woke up crying 2 mornings ago. She was actually whimpering. I gently stroked her back and kissed her face while whispering in her ear "Mia, you're dreaming. Wake up. It's okay. I'm here. It's mama and I'm here". I repeated these soothing words over and over until she half opened her eyes and started mumbling. I leaned in to try and hear her better. I asked her what was upsetting her. She then said a bit more clearly, "The Easter Bunny pulled my hair!" Oh no. Poor Mia. "Why did the Easter Bunny pull your hair?". "He came in through the bedroom door and pulled my hair while I was sleeping in bed!" I reassured her that the Easter Bunny would NEVER do such a thing. I explained how gentle and giving good ole EB is. However, this morning (2 days later) she asked me how many 'night-nights' until Easter. I told her it was 2 weeks away (aka about 14 night-nights away). She then looked relieved and then asked me if she could get her hair cut short!!

I've been wanting to add another funny Mia quote that occurred over our New Year's (Dec 2007/Jan 2008) ski holiday. One night when Mia was having trouble falling asleep she crawled in between Curt and I as we were still awake talking. She explained that she couldn't fall asleep so we told her she could stay in our bed until she did. She closed her eyes for a couple of minutes and then started smacking herself in the head with both hands. I asked her what she was doing and she replied that she couldn't get it to stop. Curt and I were confused and asked her to elaborate. She said, 'I can't get the voices in my head to stop'. It was so funny as I immediately knew it was her thinking that was in her head. Curt asked her what the 'voices' were saying and she said it sounded like 'blah, blah, blah, blah, blah'. Curt couldn't resist by saying that he knew the feeling!

Last week (January 10, 2008) Mia came with me to the Indian Embassy in Budapest to pick up Curt's and my passports with Indian visas. She always makes me laugh as she's full of questions but never discreet. One of those kids that have to announce to an entire room that she has to go to the bathroom - even though she's only talking to me. While at the Indian Embassy she looked around at this new environment taking everything in. She had so many questions, "Mommy, what's that for?" or "Why is that over there?" She then noticed two paintings. At about the same time as she noticed them one of the consulates sat down next to her and said 'hi'. She returned the gesture with a shy 'hi' and then turned back to me to ask me who those people are in that painting. I had no clue and didn't want to embarrass myself in front of this Indian embassy employee. So, I asked him if he could answer my daughter's question. He looked at her and said, "That's our president". So then I showed Mia the map of India and told her that was the country we were going to. She returned her attention to the man and the woman in the painting and asked who the woman was assuming it was the man who was the president (reminder - she's still not 5 years old). The nice man had to explain that it was the woman who was the president and the man was the prime minister. Then Mia had to ask why the president had the red dot on her forehead and the prime minister had the pretty blue scarf (turban) on his head. She then saw a statue of Ghandi and asked me who he was. I knew that answer but had trouble explaining in 5 year old language why he was so famous. On and on and on she went... She had all the employees listening and entertained as not only was she interested but she was extremely complimentary. Many kids would say, 'that's weird or strange' but Mia found it all interesting and beautiful. They loved that she thought the turban was pretty, the red dot looked nice on the president and in another very Indian photo the traditionally dressed Indian woman looked so pretty with her gold bangles, henna covered hands, and gold outfit. Phew, I was on the edge of my seat nervous she would say something that might not be so kind. Instead she left them all with a smile on their faces and a very proud mom!

Yesterday (Nov 23, 2007) Terence came up to me and said, "Mom, I know America is one of the newest countries in the world but which is the oldest?" I said, "I'm not really sure but what do you think?" This kid is too much. He replied, "I'm not sure either but I would guess China." Not sure if this is right or wrong but it amazes me that he can even come up with something that is a really good guess. Will google it tonight for sure! If anyone knows, please send me the answer.

Last night (Oct 19, 2007) Terence asked me the loaded question: Do we come back to earth after we die? We spent a long time after the girls went to bed talking about it. I explained how different people believed different things and what I believe is that we do. He then asked me if we'd still come back as a family. I realized he had tears in his eyes with worry that he'd have to be part of another family so I answered 'yes'.

Terence asked me the other day why so many ants were eating our tree. He asked how they got onto our property when we have a fence all around it.

In first grade Terence is working on days of the week and months of the year. I asked him to recite what he's learned in French. After he said the days of the week perfectly I asked if he knew them in English. He couldn't think of them but suddenly I heard Mia's voice without hesitation say, 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... etc'

Ali's word of the day was purple yesterday. Okay, so it didn't really sound like purple but it did sound like 'poopoa'. We were both wearing purple shirts and I pointed it out to her. That's how she repeated it after me.

The Clements Family Life