Mikulas Nap

Saint Mikulas (aka Nicolas) came last night! In this part of the world the tradition is that Santa comes to visit on the night of the 5th of Dec. The kids have to put their boots in the windowsill for Santa to visit and fill with sweets. We didn't put out winter boots in the window. Instead the kids put out their wellies which hold a bit more candy. Here are their filled boots left on the kitchen table after they brought them down and dug through them. They were so excited. Especially when they were both given permission to have candy before school! Mikulas is visiting all 3 of them at school today and their days are filled with lots of Christmas parties.

Our kids are extra lucky as the American Santa also visits us on the 24th with toys for presents! The scientist in Terence is becoming suspicious. There are so many traditions celebrated in our diverse environment that he's starting to wonder what the truth is...

He did make a joke this morning about what if moms and dads left their boots out for Mikulas and got them filled with sweets. I told him that most parents don't like sweets as much as their kids so maybe that wouldn't be such a great treat. He thought for a while and then said, "I know! He can leave something that mommies and daddies like to eat! Like salad! And wine!" Mia added, "And coffee!"

They're going to have enough sweets for an entire year as Erika has even filled their winter boots with goodies.

What an exciting morning!

Curt's Bike

Curt's so amazing. He rides his bike to and from work every day. Regardless of the rain, snow, sleet, dark, etc. he is always on his bike. It takes him about an hour and it must be approximately 20-25 km one way. Here's his preferred winter bike and a photo of him cleaning it. He cleans and tunes it before EVERY ride.

Family Photo Attempts

We attempted to get a family photo by using our camera's self timer. Here are a few attempts.

This is the most centered but half of Mia is blocked out by my hair.

This is during the test phase. I actually like this one of the 3 of them. Mia looks just a bit too serious.

Ali and I took up more space than I planned for and we went right outside the shot.

This one is okay but Terence is just about fed up with the attempts.

Move One Managers Tree Trimming Party

Our Christmas tree is huge! After another fun tree-trimming party (on Sunday, Dec 2nd) we got our tree up and decorated. It's all done and we are ready for Santa!

Here are pictures from Sunday's party.

Our tree

Curt, Paul and Jay bringing in the beast. We had a marquee outside with heaters so the party could spread out more. The weather, however, has been really sunny and warm.

Paul, Erik and Ian were in charge of the lights.

Here they are in action. They actually had to lean over balcony from the 2nd floor to get the lights all the way up the tree. They used a broom to hook the lights around and wrap it around the tree.

Jay putting the snowman (we don't have an angel) on the top of the tree. It's usually Carl that does this job but he had just returned from the US and was too jetlagged to make it to the party.

All the tree trimming coordinators (photos of tree trimming in action are all on Erik's camera)

Aidan's Visit

Here's Aidan at our Tree-Trimming party. He was a popular little guy and slept almost the entire time. He wasn't even bothered by everyone taking turns holding him.

Aidan with his dad (Jon Harman) and mom (Szilva). Curt and Jon have known each other since they were 7 years old. Let's just say that was a long time ago in Northern Virginia when their families became next door neighbors. Jon met Szilva (a Hungarian) here in Budapest shortly after he arrived in Feb 2005. Aidan is now 3 weeks old.

Both Ali and Mia ADORE babies. Here is Ali meeting Aidan for the first time.

I must admit holding a new baby again was great. I think it makes a big difference when your body isn't sore from carrying it for 9+ months, the delivery and then all the lack of sleep!

Mia was the official babysitter for the evening. She kept saying to me, "Mommy, he likes me so much".

Even Jay (who doesn't do babies at all) had a quick cuddle. His girlfriend, Aasta (Norwegian), quickly snatched Aidan away.

Kasia (Polish) works in our relocation division as a Regional Immigration Manager. She looks like a pro holding Aidan.

The new dad is getting a rest. New babies are a lot of work!

Terence Doggie

These are just very short clips but I had to look for them once Ali started acting like a dog. They are from June 2004 so Terence is just over 2 years of age.

Video of the Girls

Ali has been pretending she's a dog lately. I remember when Terence thought he was a dog too. I actually had to feed Terence on the floor for a while so he could eat like a dog. However, Ali's dog imitation is a bit different. When I grabbed the camera, Mia also was pretending to be a dog. Then Ali switched into another game that they like to play. Mommy and Baby. Believe it or not they pretend that Ali is the mommy and Mia is the baby. That's why Ali is calling Mia 'Baba'.

Terence Makes me Laugh

Curt has been traveling quite a bit lately. I feel bad as I only travel about 50% as much as he does for work. I just have a hard time leaving the kids as every day is so important in their young years. Just tonight Ali said Please for the first time. I asked who wanted to go upstairs to help me get the Christmas ornaments ready (for our tree-trimming party on Sunday) and they all shouted 'ME!' Ali then followed with a please that sounded more like 'PEAS!' She smiled with such pride. Especially when we all laughed and said 'good manners Ali'!

Terence was the funniest tonight. Every day Ali distributes the vitamins. I give the kids a multivitamin every day. I just started doing it and thought it probably helps in the winter when the fruits and veg aren't always the freshest and they probably don't eat as well at school as they would at home. They've also ALL had their flu shots and have been healthier this year than either Curt or I! That's always a bonus. Can't figure out why they've been healthier as Curt and I both had our flu shots too so maybe it's those daily multivitamins....

Anyhow, tonight when Ali took Terence his vitamin Terence shouted up to me in the kitchen and said "Mama, you know what?" He always begins his sentences like that. I think I must say that too. I asked him what and he continued, "Not only can Ali stand on both feet but she's also smart!" I can follow with so many jokes about men here but I'll just leave it as this... Very funny!

Later in the evening after Mia finished going on and on about how we should have more babies I asked Terence what he thought. He just shreiked out "OOOHHHH! Don't put the PRESSURE on!" What on earth does this mean?! So I asked him what he meant and he said "Babies are too much pressure and hard work!" I wonder where he heard this... hmmm... I just nodded in agreement!!! He is right! It's always nice having such a clever 6 year old around to keep us all in line.

He still says that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist, engineer and he also wants to write a book. But he always reminds me that he may change his mind. He has already changed his mind about being a race car driver and also acting on stage... The first one I understood but not sure about the stage acting... Anyhow, that's passed.

For Christmas he is asking Santa Clause now for Nintendo DS. I had to look this up and found that it's a little hand held video game console. It plays the Pokemon games so it's no wonder! I hope Curt finds it in London. We still haven't finished our letter to Santa Clause but will do that this week!

Mia's Writing Skills

I find these subscription forms all over the house with scribble on them. Mia loves to pretend to fill them out. However, yesterday I realized it's not just scribble anymore. She actually copied 'name' and 'email' almost perfectly. We spend so much time working with Terence on reading and writing and Mia is catching up on her own very quickly. She always amazes me!

Close Sisters

It's no wonder why Ali adores Mia so much. Not only does Mia play with Ali all the time but she also looks after her. She helps her with small tasks like reaching things or getting a drink or a snack, etc. Mia is the best big sister and Ali just adores her. Here are some recent photos to show their closeness.

Mia was resting on the ground and Ali snuggled up next to her.

This was in the car the other day. I turned around to find they were holding hands. I'm glad I had my camera handy on the top of my bag. Don't worry - Curt was driving!

Friday Night Movie

Here is Mia, Ali and Keira all tucked in after their bath to watch Peter Pan (in preparation for Peter Pan on Ice today).

Long Day Followed by Strange Snack

What a crazy busy day in the Clements' home today! We started the day with Keira at 7am who was the first to wake up. Keira came and slept over our house while Terence went over to spend the night with Keira's big brother, Liam. After Keira, Ali woke up. First she played in her crib for about 20 minutes. I could here her playing and then finally she got bored and started shouting, "Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!" Sometimes if I don't wake up or come up quickly enough she tries shouting, "Dada! Dada! Dada!" Sometimes Blue (our 2 year old Border Collie) is the first one up to her room. I always hear her get excited and shout "BOO!" when he comes in. Or, if Mickey (our 10 year old cat) goes in she shouts "Chee Chee!"

At about 8:20am I had to wake up Mia and Curt because we were getting picked up for dance at 8:45am. It starts at 9:15am.

After dance (ended at 10:45am), we ran home to change from our dance clothes and went to Brigi and Marcsi's home. The girls were going with them to watch Peter Pan on Ice. There was a group of 10 of them going in the nursery school bus. Mia and Ali were so excited. Keira was amongst their friends that were going in the group.

While the girls went to the show, we took Terence to the BISB (British International School of Budapest) for their annual holiday bazaar. It was a great time and Terence got to visit Father Christmas (how the Brits call him). Terence had to report to Santa what he and his sisters want for Christmas. The list is as follows: Terence - Wii and a skateboard; Mia - a dollhouse; Ali - a baby doll named Chou Chou (also name of her little boyfriend at school - this must be why she screams and shouts with joy every time the commercial comes on!) Terence came out of Santa's Grotto and told us that Santa sounded different this year. I asked why and he said his voice sounds familiar. I asked who he sounded like and he answered, "Like Charlie and Harry Cooper's dad's voice" Oops! We acted very surprised, of course!

After the BISB we surprised Terence with a visit to Challenge Land. I didn't have our camera with us but I've posted other pictures of Challenge Land before. Terence loves the place and managed a much tougher course this time. He was great! He especially loved having both Curt's and my attention!

We stopped and picked up ribs and chicken wings from Normafa Cafe and came home to build a huge fire, watch a movie and wait for the girls to return home.

After the girls ate, Mia asked for the following snack which I found very, very funny!



2 pieces of toast - 1 with avocado (she loves avocado) and the other with not peanut butter AND jelly but 1/2 peanut butter and 1/2 jelly. She is too much!