Fall Photos

I thought I'd start back with some nice fall photos of the three kids.

The weather here has been spectacular. Very fall like, not too cold and not too hot. Beautiful blue sky, sunny days! We've been very lucky.

This is unusual to get all three of these antsy kids to sit still ... AND pose at the same time! I must have bribed them with something good!

Terence and Mia are especially happy to have 2 weeks off of school for fall break! Today (Thurs, October 23rd) is a national holiday in rememberence of the 1956 revolution.

It's Been a Long Time

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!

Eastern European Marketing

I drive by this shop on my way to work. It's one of these types of shops that used to be all over Hungary when I first got here in the late-90s. The windows are filled with odd combinations of items - sometimes bras, sometimes car tires, sometimes fans, sometimes cleaning products...

Most of these style stores have disappeared but this particular one seems to still be in business. They must have bought the property a million years ago and are just holding onto it.

Last week while Curt and I were passing it (actually on a Saturday driving into the city) I looked over to see what they had in the window for sale. I first laughed that they had fans at this time of year. When I looked closer I saw they were at least marked on sale.

However, the sale prices were all different and if you can see from this close up, they varied from 33% to 35% to 36% off. What on earth?

Halloween and Fall Decorating

We've slowly started putting up our Halloween and fall decorations. Last week we put the orange lights on the house, hung our witch off our front upstairs balcony and put up a few skeletons, bats and headstones. This week we are putting up a few more decorations that can last through Thanksgiving.

I love this time of year and we are having a beautiful fall season. It's warmer than usual and even hit the mid-20s Celsius this weekend which felt really odd.

Yesterday, shortly after Curt departed to Chicago, Mia got a high fever and complained about her body aching. She did have a crazy busy Saturday so I'm sure her body was really run down. We went out for brunch with Terence, Ali and a few other families then the playground for fresh air. Mia had barely enough energy but she didn't want to stay at home and rest. I know how she feels and actually after her Motrin took effect, she was feeling more energetic and her fever dropped.

We came home by about 6pm and decided to all get into our pjs and watch a movie. I just downloaded High School Musical 1 and 2 so the girls are loving that. Terence watched Scooby Doo (still one of his favorites) on the other TV.

Today I decided to keep Mia home and spend the day with her. On the way home from dropping Terence and Ali off at their schools, we stopped and picked up our pumpkins. We are so excited to find real orange pumpkins every where here! When we first moved here it was impossible to find an orange pumpkin any where. Sometimes a green or gray pumpkin would turn up at a green grocers but now they all have orange pumpkins so we were very excited and picked one out for everyone in our family.

When we got home Mia helped me decorate and put some of the gourds we picked up in my turtle bowl. Kerry - I got inspired after seeing yours already filled on your blog.

The Pottery Barn website also inspired me. I love their things and can drool over their website's photos any day. I'm loving this table right below on the left. It comes with 2 leafs which would be great. I've made a pact with myself to not buy any more furniture until the kids stop drawing (accidentally or intentionally) on it. I probably have a few more years.

Yesterday's Busy Day for Mia

In addition to dance class and fun with her friends Bailey and Leah, Mia's friend Istvan came over at around 3:30pm to go with us to their classmate's birthday party. Their birthday friend's name is Eszter and she has a French dad and Hungarian mom. Istvan is in the same situation with a Hungarian mom and French dad. Both moms are very lovely and include Mia in the Hungarian / French group. The funny thing is that Mia only speaks French to Istvan and not Hungarian.

The birthday party was at the zoo's indoor playhouse and started at 4:30pm. When Curt and I came back to pick them up at about 6:45pm (the party ended at 7pm) they were both still buzzing with energy. We stayed around for another 45 minutes so Terence and Ali could also enjoy the fun in the playhouse (after playing in the playground and feeding the ducks across the street).

The following photos are before and after shots of the 2 birthday guests.

BEFORE

AFTER

They were both so tired on the way home that they fell fast asleep. We had the movie 'Cars' playing on the our car's built-in DVD player so the car ride home was very quiet with 2 sleeping beauties and mezmorized T and Ali.

3 Kid Pyramid

It started with horsey rides then they formed this pyramid. So glad I was able to reach the camera and capture it in time.

This was the next photo

Saturday Hike in September

A few Saturdays ago we had Carl, Wendy and their kids over after the girls dance class. Their daughter, Bailey, also dances on Saturday mornings at the same time as Mia. We know them well because Carl is a manager in our cargo division. Our lives continue to overlap as they've moved out into our area of Budapest and their 2 children now attend the French Lycee with Terence and Mia.

The main purpose of our hike was to get out to the horses that are kept out in the field and feed them carrots which we often do on the weekends. I came fully stocked with carrots. Unfortunately, the horses must have all been out on a run as they were no where to be found.

The hike was a bit long and many of the kids needed rides along the way.

If you look closely into the sky in this next photo you'll see all the hang gliders - the sky was filled with them. The hill in the distance is a popular area for hang gliding.

Towards the hike back home, we were all spread out. I ran ahead keeping up with Terence while the others kept their own pace. This is what it looked like when I looked behind.

There's a rock quarry that doesn't seem to be worked in any more right near our house. We got to rest a bit here. The kids love to hang out in it and climb around on all the remaining rocks. Here are a few shots.

We seemed to have a few props on the hike. Leah carried the Barbie video camera during most of the journey - even pretend video taping during many parts. We also had Carl and Wendy's kite that T found a good way to carry after we had fun flying it for a while.

2 of our 3 dogs. Blue, our border collie, doesn't sit still for long enough to capture a photo.

Greta (almost 10 years old) is on the left and Kiraly (7) is on the right. Even they were tired.

The New US Dollar

I just received a picture of the new US Dollar from a friend of mine living in the US.

French School's L'Enduro

Every first Wednesday of October the entire French school gets together for a run called L'Enduro. It is not a French thing but something created by the French school of Budapest. I don't completely understand the entire thing but I do know that it is organized by the graduating 12th grade class. It's their way of inviting all the classes below them (all the way down to the 3 year olds in the Petite Section - aka Pre-pre K) out for a morning run. They set up a track in the open field across from the school, blare on music, provide snacks and refreshments and run in groups based on grade. They divide the 12 grades plus 3 Kindergarten grades into 4 running groups. The 2 oldest groups run for 20 minutes; the third group which Terence now belongs to runs for 10 minutes and Mia's Kindergarten group (5 classes of about 24 students in each) run for only 5 minutes. Parents and teachers are encouraged to run alongside their children but it is not mandatory.


Unlike past years when each class was a color, this year they changed it and represented different countries. Probably a great idea as the colors ended up repeated many times. Now that Terence is older (in 2nd grade) he has to be reliable for communicating these messages back home. Responsibly he came home and announced that he had to dress in blue and white. Curt and I made guesses 'Egypt?' or 'Scotland?' or? He kept replying, 'I'm not sure. I don't think so.' Not until I was at the event this morning did I figure out that it was Finland. I'm sure if we had guessed Finland, he would have said yes as it is 'la Finlande' in French.

Finnish Flag

Mia's colors were not so simple. Her class was India and the colors were green, orange and white. I must say, these are not popular colors in our girls' wardrobes. White is in the summer but I couldn't really send Mia to a race in October weather in a white summer dress. Anyhow, I found a green top at a store near my office, matched it with a pair of white warm up pants and Terence's Texas Longhorns baseball hat and called it a day!

Indian Flag

One of the newest rules (as of spring 2008) is that parents are not allowed to photograph at any of the school events. Apparently, some older boys filmed a boy getting beaten up on school property, posted it on YouTube, it got around and sent the parents of the students into an uproar. I totally understand the director's situation and glad it's him and not me having to deal with all these upset parents. So, at every school function they elect a certain number of parents (with big fancy lenses) to do all the photographing. The photos are then approved by the faculty and the disks are then passed around school for the parents to copy. Fortunately one of my good friends was one of the three parents who were today's official photographers so I'm hoping to get a few good shots of T and Mia in action. However, it may take a month before the disk(s) ever gets around.


Here are the shots I do have from the day.


These first 2 are at the house before leaving. They both got their favorite breakfasts. For Terence it was a big pancake souffle and for Mia it was cream of wheat. They both ended up having some of both (as did Ali) so they went with plenty of energy!

Snuck a few shots at the end of the event. I did end up running with Mia's group for the last run of the day. It was only a 5 minute run around a smaller track so not too challenging. I carried Ali the whole time so it was a good work out...


All of the kids in Mia's class got to make their own Indian flag in the morning before heading over to L'Enduro. The gym teacher was clever enough to hold them all during the run so no one got jabbed in the eye! The photo on the bottom right is Mia holding hands with one of her best friends, Emma. Emma is a sweet little Belgian girl with a big sister who is Terence's age and a big brother who is 9 years old. So, the family dynamics are quite similar.

And, doesn't she look like she is feeling better. Yeah!

Below photo of Terence after school. Who doesn't love a half day of school? Especially when the half of the day they were there was a fun day like today.

By the way, he did so well running today and ran very fast, didn't seem to be effected (there were a lot of kids wheezing and having difficulty running the distance) and was quite competitive. He told me that for every student of every class that crossed the start / finish line their class got 1 point. He heard that his class got way over 100 points and they'll announce the winners either tomorrow or on Friday. Sounds like a great idea to do group teams / points but I'm also skeptical about how they accurately calculate the points. I guess the 12th graders try and count each one that crosses by color.

Must also point out that straight from school I took T to his 1 hour group tennis lesson from noon - 1pm. Then, today he started his private lesson (unfortunately at another venue) from 2 - 3pm. From Nov he won't have any school on Wednesdays so it won't be so hectic.

For those of you who have (and want to again) or haven't seen the photos from last year's l'enduro then you can check out my post from last year. Cannot believe I've been blogging for over a year now...

Sick Little Alexandra

Yesterday Ali came home from nursery school with a fever and extra runny goopy nose (sorry - I'm sure no one enjoys hearing those details). Anyhow, she was so clingy and cuddly so I just held her most of the evening - always a challenge while preparing dinner - until putting on a video for her in our bedroom (on the portable DVD player).

When dinner was ready I went in to get her but she was just motionless with her eye lids getting heavier and heavier so I just left her. When I returned, after feeding T and Mia, I found her fast asleep and all cuddled up in our bed. I felt so bad for her but found her so adorable that I had to take these photos to share with you. She's even still in her clothes with her braids in her hair.

I love how she always sleeps with her two hands under her face. This is how I almost always find her in her bed. So sweet.

She is feeling a lot better today. She stayed at home with me and went to support Terence and Mia in their annual l'enduro (a running race for all the kids at the French Lycee).

Mia and Ali have started to enjoy having a short movie or show in our bed before bedtime. It's usual on the weekends but as today is Wednesday and only a half day at school, we seem to have a bit more time in the evening. Notice Ali brought up her little chair (made out of spongy foam) to put her dolls in for the movie.

Recent Curt and Erika Photos

We went to a great birthday party for our friend Jon and Kim's joint 40th birthday. It was at a vineyard just outside of Budapest. We had a fantastic time with lots of friends living in Budapest, many who returned for the party and also many of their out of town visitors.

We were lucky the photographer, Miki (who does all of our events) took a few snaps of us before the majority of guests arrived. I like the way they turned out. I think everyone looks so good in black and white. I had to share.

These are our friends Jon and Kim - the guests of honor.

Funny Kid Stories

Terence (7 years and 6 1/2 months of age): He seems to think he's allergic to jelly. He always says he's allergic to jelly but not jam. I'll hear his friends' moms telling me this after he's been at their home playing. The other day I asked him if he'd like a jam sandwich. He loves jam sandwiches (sans the peanut butter) after having it at his friend Harry's home. Every time we talk about jam he mentions his allergy towards jelly. He continues by explaining that he can eat jelly and nothing serious happens but whevever he sees it his throat hurts. For those of you who know Terence, you'll know how odd this is as he's a really clever (quite grown up in some ways) kid so this is unusual. He's been talking about it for a while so it's not just some short term phase.

Ali (2 years and 8 1/2 months of age): On Sunday morning the 5 of us went out for breakfast. Curt and I love going out for breakfast or lunch on the weekends and it's one of those pleasures we've tried to maintain even with small children. The Four Seasons hotel has a fantastic breakfast / lunch cafe that are used to us and our kids. They even bring them crayons, coloring books and toys when we arrive so it's quite comfortable. The kids' threshold for sitting still is not very long so they often lay on the floor next to our table playing. Shortly after (about the time Curt and I get our coffees and newspapers) they all seem to have to go to the potty. Once they walk through the hotel lobby to the bathrooms they seem to get a burst of energy. Inside the hotel lobby are 3 tall statues that I always make them stay away from as I fear that they'll fall over. On Sunday, another family's 4 year old son was climbing on them. I was appalled that these parents didn't stop him (I think they were Italian). Of course, Ali was the first to notice this so as soon as they left she went over to the statue. Torn between climbing it and listening to my voice repeatedly saying 'stay away' she touched it and looked over at me for my reaction. I mouthed 'NO'. She mouthed back 'YES'. This is when we parents have to bite out tongues and keep from laughing. I didn't run over to her and remained where I was and silently mouthed 'NO'. Then, she replied with a silent yet very clear 'Poopy Head'. We both had to laugh. I know... not the parenting ideal but it was so funny. The best part was that she only stood next to the statue and didn't climb it or even touch it again. It was just a silly game.

Mia (5 years and 8 1/2 months of age): Last night Mia crept downstairs to where our bedroom is (on the ground floor). Curt and I always compare her to a ghost as she sort of floats. She's the only child that we often don't wake up to until she is whispering in our ear trying to wake us up. She's also our child who sleep walks and we find roaming around in a daze (that's another story). Last night she floated down to our bedside and asked if she could crawl in with us for a while. Ever since she saw the Harry Potter movie (the first one) she's been having nightmares. So, we let her crawl in between us. She tossed and turned so I asked her if she was okay. She told me that she had another nightmare so I asked her to tell me about it. She started with, "My nightmare..." first I have to tell you that this has been a hard word for her to remember and pronounce. She's always called it other names that sounded similar but she has finally been able to say it correctly. I was especially impressed that it came out correctly at 2am. I'll continue with her explanation: "My nightmare was about...um... um... well, we were really rich". She took a long pause and I thought to myself, 'what kind of nightmare is that?' haha. Then she continued that we were really rich and had a lot of money in the house. We had to hide it under the sofa while the burglar and the hyena were downstairs in the basement. The burglar dressed like a clown (she's never liked clowns) and the hyena looked in the mirror (not sure what this had to do with anything). Then she continued telling me about how we had to hide upstairs. The story sort of faded as this must have been when she woke up. She still struggled to finish the story but I could tell she was starting to make up the ending. She's been having a lot of fears about having our home broken into in Budapest. She always asks about the windows, doors, locks, etc. Homes in Hungary do get burglared often - especially at night time when the family is home. She must have heard this and now fears it from happening. Truth is that the burglars here have never hurt anyone and always flee when they hear movement. I know because it's happened to many of my friends. I reassured her that we had strong locks, an alarm that would call the police right away and 3 giant dogs that would never let anyone hurt us. I also explained how big and strong daddy was and he'd beat up any burglars (as I looked over at him sound alseep ;-) She was convinced by this answer and slowly dozed back off. Leaving me to my insomnia and book for the next 2 hours. yawn! I am tired but it was worth it as I love to hear how her brain works. Sometimes these middle of the night talks are the only chance for some one-on-one chatting time.