The Clements Family Life

Friday, August 8, 2008

Wind in the Hair

I just love this shot of Ali on the beach one evening.

Our Kiawah Island trip is coming to an end and we are all so bummed. However, 3 weeks at the beach filled with loved ones visiting the entire time has been wonderful and fulfilling.

Just wanted to share a few photos with you from our favorite beach. I'm just procrastinating from packing. The big dreaded moment after spreading out all over this house for the last 3 weeks.

I can't believe I got all 3 to sit still for a few snaps.

I love this one below. They were all relaxing and laying down until a small wave came and rolled over them.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Ali's Developments

I really have to find a way to get some conversations with Ali on video. She is incredible and developing so quickly! Since being in the UK and now the US for almost 6 weeks, her English has progressed rapidly. She is now very communicative and puts together sentences and is much happier as she is usually able to express herself to all of us. She's still shy (especially if a stranger strikes up a conversation and asks something like, 'what's your name?' or 'how old are you?') but that doesn't bother me. I'd much rather have a shy kid than one that is too chatty as I'd be afraid that she'd just go off with anyone. I love how Ali runs over to me, grabs my leg and often buries her face into me if someone even looks at her for too long!

As of this week, she has officially entered the WHY stage. I was not prepared and thought this was more in the age 3 category but c'est la vie. The 'why' questions are endless! I can't say anything to get her to stop with the 'why' follow up but that's okay. We'll survive.

As of this week, she's also officially dropped one of her most popular words: 'Hol?' This means 'where' in Hungarian and she used to (it still slips in occasionally) use it at the start of every question whether it was 'where', 'how' or 'when'. Today I just heard her say, "Where are the boats?" instead of "Hol a boats?" like she was saying last week. 5 weeks ago she was saying the entire sentence in Hungarian... It's going to take her a couple of weeks to get her mind back into Hungarian but I'm not worried at all. She'll return to Hungarian nursery school shortly after our return.

Her sentences are now up to about 6 or 7 words so we are really enjoying this time. Sometimes the words are in a different order but she always makes sense. And, we have proof that it's not just us understanding as we've had lots of friends and family (about 27 total) visiting us here at the beach and they all seem to understand her too. It's really fun to listen to her and we are always amazed when she says words that we didn't even know she was familiar with like 'helicopter' - however, she did call it a 'helicopter airplane' which was funny!

More about Ali's developments and the others soon. Must run and figure out dinner and finish a bit more online shopping.

Pucker Up

Ali was trying to give me a kiss and had to capture her puckering up. After she puckered, I asked Terence and Mia to do the same for the camera. Terence had trouble doing it while glued to SpongeBob on the TV. He couldn't even peel his eyes away but tried to do a 1/2 puck so I'd move on to something else. Then, there's Mia who is usually very happy to be photographed and also cooperative (as you can see below).

We are still on Kiawah Island but leaving in 3 days (boo hoo). Still have to post pool and beach photos! I've taken a million so it is hard to decide which to share.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Great Night Out

9 of us went out for an amazing dinner at our friends' country club on Kiawah Island. Agnes and Dennis belong to this great club and the restaurant there is one of my favorite in the world. It's called Cassique and one of my favorite chef has designed the menu and trained the team. Unfortunately, I have yet to be there when he's been there. For those of you that aren't obsessed with cooking magazines and methods then you may not know Tom Colicchio who not only owns the incredible Craft restaurants but he's also one of the judges on my favorite show, Top Chef.

Anyhow, all this aside, it's still a lovely restaurant in an incredible building on a fantastic golf course / setting. Here are fotos of our group last night having cocktails on the terrace before dinner.

And, some close ups.

My brother, Attila, and his wife, Shirley on the left. Me and Curt (very close up!)

Agnes and Dennis (it's Agnes' b-day today so we had a small celebration tonight and we'll follow up with a bbq tonight) on the left. Katrina and Tim (Curt's uncle) on the right.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Fire Truck at the County Fair

The girls loved the big red fire truck!

Ali smiling for the camera (this is a new thing that she sometimes does now)

Mia - the natural poser.

Demolition Derby Day

The next night at the fair was a Demolition Derby. Now this was a real cultural experience for us. More so than the rodeo. It seemed the rodeo was more of a family outing whereas the demolition derby was packed with teenagers (many who were pregnant). We were the sore thumbs that stuck out of the crowd, however, we didn't care. Terence thought the demolition derby was very cool. Half broken down, smashed up cars ramming into each other and trying to cause the other cars to permanently break down. The object was to be the last car working. What a sight! Again, videos coming.

Mia had to take a front row look at all this.

The mechanics trying to get their cars ready for the derby.

One of the cars that died.

Mommy gives the derby a thumbs down and T gives it a thumbs up. Not sure what Mia was looking at.

At the Sedgwick County Fair's Rodeo

Who ever thought that a rodeo would be so much fun!? Yes, I am going back and forth with my posts. We've now been at the beach on Kiawah Island for 2 weeks but I am still playing catch up with our Kansas photos from last month. The rodeo that we took the kids to was so much fun. All of us went - the 5 of us plus Curt's parents, sister Sheila and sister Paula. What a fun experience it was to see these cowboys riding these wild bulls. Here is what we saw (keep in mind that our videos are coming later).

We have seen many signs all over the US like this. This was on the side of the rode on our way to the rodeo.

Kansas is flat - a perfect location for tornadoes.

Watching the introduction of the cowboys. Curt with Ali (on left) and Mia.

Me and Mia.

Curt's dad and mom next to his sister Sheila.

The real life cowboys!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Out of Touch

We are really having far too much fun in Kiawah, SC.... Everytime I get on the computer to update the blog someone new pops over (we keep getting visitors as friends and family show up) or someone suggests a bike ride, walk over to the beach, tennis match, a beer, a glass of champagne or a Starbucks coffee. None of which I can resist. So I get distracted and pulled away from my laptop.

Last night Curt and I went out sans kids to a bbq. The bbq was hosted by the owner of a US based freight / HHG moving company that Curt has known for years and years. It was funny as the 3 top guys of the company (now based in Charleston) are all Brits but married to American women. It was a fun group at a beautiful home sitting right on one of the marshes (or rivers) off the ocean. Not sure exactly what it was but they do have a dock off their backyard with a great looking boat called Happy Endings. They also had a beautiful pool. Curt and I skipped the pool as we swim all the time, every day and it was nice to go out without chlorine or sand in our hair!

Curt just returned with my coffee and everyone is waking up. Must run as we are going out for an all American breakfast - yum! I'm hoping for a waffle but will settle for a bagel.

I promise to come back to you all soon. With photos (especially from my very cool new Olympus waterproof camera).

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Wichita, KS with Aunt Sheila and Aunt Paula

We had a great week in Wichita at Curt's parents lovely home. Even though our 3 kids probably turned their tidy home upside down and made more noise than they are used to on a daily basis, they made us feel very welcome and at home. We found lots of kids' activities to do every day. There are many great water parks, children's museums, a fantastic zoo, a baseball team, etc in Wichita. A very fun city for small ones. We were even lucky to hit a rodeo and a demolition derby! I'll post photos from these 2 events next.

In the meantime, I wanted to send a big thank you and farewell to Curt's 2 sisters Sheila (holding Mia below) and Paula. Thanks for keeping the kids constantly entertained by reading, playing games, watching movies with, etc. They all enjoyed your company so much. We will miss you in Kiawah this summer but hope to see you soon.

First Time on the Diving Board

When I was growing up it seemed every pool had diving boards. I think since I've been living overseas most pools have had them removed. Probably due to the high amount of accidents involved on or around the boards (especially the high dives).

While in Wichita, KS last week, we went to the public pool down the street from Curt's parents home. The kids were over the moon about their diving board. Immediately they were drawn to it even though they have never been on a diving board before. I thought both Terence and Mia would get up on it, chicken out and get off but they both jumped off it confidently. Mia hesitated slightly but Terence didn't. The pool depth they were diving into was about 10 feet deep. I thought that may scare them a little too, but it didn't.

It was really fun to watch them jumping over and over and over again.

I love this one of Mia. It's like she's trying to dive in. What a pose!

Monday, July 21, 2008

In Kiawah

We have made it to Kiawah. Having so much fun that I've had very limited personal computer time. We arrived on Saturday and are enjoying the company of our friends Craig and Tammy and their 4 1/2 month old sweet baby girl, Olivia. Also here is Alexandra's godmother Margaret, her brother, his wife and their 2 1/2 year old.

Even though the weather channel indicates storms in South Carolina, we have had nothing but sunshine.

The kids are loving the beach. Ali has learned all the English beach words very quickly including 'beach' and 'more beach' (after we've left), 'buckets', 'sand', 'shovel', 'waves', 'shells', 'kite', 'castle'. I didn't realize that she wasn't familiar with these words and said most of them in Hungarian. Her English has progressed so much in the 2 weeks we've been here.

This morning we met with GiGi - a full time resident on Kiawah Island who is from France and will be spending 3 days a week (1 1/2 hours each time) with Terence and Mia practicing French. She is lovely. She and her husband are semi-retired and she has started a French catering company in the area. However, she tutors a few children in the French language. So, after Terence and Mia's camp tomorrow they'll be spending 1 1/2 hours with her. I'm thrilled. Terence wasn't so excited at first but after meeting her he is very happy as she is very sweet. Mia's always been pretty open to it as she loves speaking French. The other point that helped seal the deal was that her full name is Genevieve which is the same name as his French tutor in Budapest who he adores. I love when a plan comes together.

Promise to post some photos very soon.

Hope you are all having a great summer.

.

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.