The Clements Family Life

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Sledding in Budapest

Had a great time sledding last weekend. Terence has been waiting almost 2 years to use his race car sled that Ali brought him when she was born. Last year we had just a few snow flurries. This year we had enough to cover the ground a couple of times. Sledding (across the street) has been great. All three of our dogs love the snow. Blue, our border collie, loved chasing the kids down the hill. He ran up and down herding us all up the entire morning. The photo above is a perfect photo of him chasing after Terence.

Terence calls this his Formula 1 sled

Ali's first experience sledding. She was trying to take it all in.

Mia (our fashion queen)

Both girls expected to be pulled. They are both princesses!

Terence tried but they were a bit too heavy for him.

Half way between our home and the sledding hill.

I love these eyelashes!

They were pretending to sleep in the snow. After a couple of hours they were beat!

All the dogs. Blue, Greta and Kiraly

Sledding

I'm slow at getting these videos of our sledding adventure last week. While Curt and Jim (visiting from San Francisco) slept in on Sunday morning after a very late Saturday night, I took all 3 kids and 3 dogs over to the sledding hill near out home. It was a huge work out as I had to carry, pull, push, etc. I really need to work on getting Greta and Kiraly trained to pull the kids on their sleds. It was a perfect day and we had the hill to ourselves for a whole hour! We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours and had a great time. It was Ali's first time sledding and she went down with me a few times. Terence and Mia were really good about climbing back up the hill with their sleds. They were all so exhausted on the long walk home that I had to pull all 3 of them! Fortunately, Curt felt good after sleeping until 11am so I was able to fit in a nice long Sunday afternoon nap! Those are very rare but always enjoyable.

I'll post this now and come back later to post the rest of the photos and other videos.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Our Home Computer is Back

Since I took our home computer into the office on Monday, we have been out of full communication at home. We still had our laptop which was good for basic communication but now we have a new and improved model of our home computer. It's very nice and very fast. I took our old hard drive in for 2 reasons. The first and main reason was that Ali accidentally knocked a drink of water on it. The same thing happened about 22 months ago (to be exact) when Aunt Lisa was visiting. Out home computer (for those of you that don't know) is in our family room on a coffee table between 2 sofas. Very ergonomically incorrect!

The second reason was because... well, there was water in it! What more reason do I need? No, really, I hadn't backed it up in ages and needed to check with our IT that they had a reasonable back up. It was at least 2 months since they did a full on back up so I crossed my fingers that no major damage was done and nothing important lost. Fortunately, everything was recovered and now we have a bigger, better, greater computer!

Now I can give you some more updates as SO much has happened in the last week... The most recent development in the Clements' household is that our little Ali is no longer a baby! Booo hooo hoooo.... Yes, those are real tears but don't worry, I am not broody at all. Well, maybe a little but there are enough babies around that I can get temporary fixes whenever I need. Fortunately the broodiness doesn't last very long!

It all began about 2 weeks ago. These photos are from the 12th of December (our anniversary ;-). She ended up sleeping in the bed with Mia as everyone shifted back around. For about 2 1/2 years Mia was in Terence's room on his pull out trundle. Recently they started requesting their own personally space back. Terence even put up a sign on his door 'no girls allowed' (will post the sign soon). Mia started by sleeping in her room next to Ali's crib. Ali had a hard time with this as she couldn't figure out why she had to be behind bars and Mia was free in a big double bed. So, we tried it... And it worked! It's still working! Ali even naps without one tear or without putting up a fight. She LOVES being a 'big girl'! Love these photos! Sleeping babies always look like angels!

Must end this post as I have to wake Ali and get to school in 13 mins - exactly. It's T and Mia's last day of school in 2007!!! They are so excited and exhausted! We have to go after school to get their skis and boots all tuned up for our upcoming ski trip. More soon. I promise. xxxxx

Saturday, December 15, 2007

24 Hours of Bliss

Curt and I had a very special 24 hours. One of our clients, the Four Seasons, who we do a very good job of looking after gave us a Deluxe Double Danube River view room for almost nothing for one night. Friday night was our company Christmas party and Wednesday was our 7th year wedding anniversary. We stayed home on Wed and enjoyed a night at the Four Seasons after our X-mas party as part of our anniversary celebration. The kids stayed home with our nanny and we had a wonderful evening walking around the Vorosmarty Christmas market.

It was the first time we've ever stayed at a Four Seasons and it was just beautiful!!

The Four Seasons lobby

This is the view from our balcony last night

We woke up this morning to find snow

Curt and I on the balcony

Down at the market (just 2 blocks from the hotel) buying Kortos Kalacs (hot funnel cakes)

It's quite a set up that they have. Of course, the men handle the fire and the woman rolls out the fresh dough.

Opera House Budapest

I realized that I didn't include any photos of the Opera House. These are not my own but I found them on the Internet. What a beautiful building!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Nutcracker

We went to the Operahaz to see the Nutracker last night

Our front row seats

Mia with Bailey

Mikey and Riley

Nena and Evy

Andrassy was so beautiful and lit up with Christmas lights on all the trees.

Terence's Football Tournament

Forgot to upload the photos from Terence's football tournament on Sat, Dec 8th. He was one of 4 French teams. Their teams played the American and British teams. Terence's team sadly came in 4th (out of 4) place, however, Terence seems to believe he heard 1st place. Here are photos.

After getting his medal.

Him with some of his buddies / teammates

With his Belgian buddy, Arnaud

I think he's trying to see if it's real gold or fake

Monday, December 10, 2007

Tallest Building Trivia

Had to scan this postcard before it disappeared somewhere in our household. When Curt and I were recently in NY we called home to talk with the kids. Terence asked us about the Empire State Building. I asked him how he knew what the Empire State Building was and he replied that it was one of the tallest buildings in the world and he couldn't remember where he learned it. How this kid gets his information is sometimes beyond me...

He was very happy when we brought home this postcard for him from NY. (Coincidentally he had a a King Kong cake for his 5th birthday so we thought he'd get a kick out of this postcard). When we handed it to him he thought it was cool but told me that he knew it was fake and someone designed it on a computer. :-)

Anyhow, he's on a tallest buildings kick and every day he asks us a question in relation to it. Yesterday, he asked me if I thought the Empire State Building was taller than the tallest church in the world. And, what was the tallest church in the world and where was it. All I have to say is that I am glad I am raising kids in the era of the Internet! Answers are just a click away!

Yesterday I guessed that the tallest church was probably St Peter's in Rome. I told him that I thought the Empire State Building was probably taller. He pondered this for a moment and then replied with his own thoughts. He said, "Mom (he's calling me 'Mama' a lot less), I think you are right but maybe St Peter's is larger in width and size but the Empire State Building is taller".

I haven't had a chance to look up the size of St Peter's or if it is even the largest church in the world but I did get a chance to look up the tallest building in the world. Any guesses???

I discovered that the tallest building in the world is the Burj in Dubai at 160 stories. Well, it's actually not completed yet but has been in the building stages for a couple of years. It's expected to be finished in 2009. They still don't know the exact height as it is undetermined. I think they are waiting for Russia to finish their Tower of Russia first and then they'll top it by a few meters!

The tallest existing building at the moment is in Taipei, Taiwan and it called the Taipei 101 Tower. Can you guess how many stories it is? 101! It is 509 meters or 1,670 feet tall. I found this picture for any of you, other than Terence, who maybe interested.

Even though there always seems to be speculation on which building is the tallest and the actual height of these buildings, I now believe that the Empire State Building is about the 8th tallest building in the world. It was the 3rd tallest in the US before the World Trade Center was attacked and now it is the 2nd after the Sears Tower.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Bowling Videos

Here are some cute videos demonstrating Terence and Mia's bowling skills.

Sunday Bowling

Today we took our 3 kids plus Liam McGann to the Mammutt's bowling alley. It was a great afternoon and all the kids had fun. Curt and I also enjoyed it and bowled ourselves, however, the kids stole our turns a few times ;-) We also had lunch at the bowling alley. They serve all kinds of food and we had a couple good salads and some pizzas.

Ali thinks it's so fun when we take our own photo and then look at the photo on the camera.

I will include some videos in my next post.

Rugby Ball on Dec 8th

Last night we had the Rugby Ball at the Marriott Hotel. It's a ball that is organized by the Rugby Exile group. Curt was going to be my date but about 2 hours before we were to leave Ali woke from her nap with a fever of 105 F! She was delirious and so were we. Actually, Curt was home alone with her as I was at the movies watching the Bee Movie with Terence and Mia. We decided to cancel the sitter and he'd stay home to keep an eye on her. After a cool bath, cold compresses and some medicine, her fever went down and she was okay afterwards. Today Ali is doing okay. She's napping now so the test will be how she feels when she wakes up. Keep your fingers crossed. I missed Curt but still had a good time last night with lots of friends and people from the Move One team.

Me with friends Faith and Kim

Girls from the office: Camilla, Kasia, Renata and Eszter

Boys from the office: Ian, Erik, Jay and Carl

Kabiru (from Move One) and his wife Yusira. They just had a baby boy 2 weeks ago! Kabiru jr. was at home with her mom, aunt and grandmother who were all visiting from Nigeria.

Our table: Spencer, Jon and Dan (all Brits)

Deana and her sister, Michele, were also at our table (with Faith and Kim)

Jay and his girlfriend, Aasta

One of the drag queens who was part of the entertainment

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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.