Looking back. The year 2007.

The year 2007 was a pretty tough one for our family. And even though there are so many things that I'd rather choose not to remember, I still feel like looking back would help me to move on, since I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad.

Like I said, it was a tough one... We moved to a new place, a new state, to be precise, leaving our life of more that six years in Newark to be the past now. We had a third baby, who brought us the most joy and has been a little sunshine is those gloomy days.

We had to relocate Mirek's remodeling business, which took forever and the results are not too promising anyway. But that is helping us with our new vision that we have started working on, hoping to change our lives for better. Family vacation was also sacrificed for that.

The finishing of the long project with buying a fixer upper has finally ended. As we were able to complete the renovation and find a buyer. Due to the current events with housing market, the outcome is much to be desired, but once again, everything happens for a reason. We have learned that that is not what we want to do for a living, and we will not be getting ourselves into a project like that once again, as it is not our cup of tea. Remember the saying, that a clever person learns on mistakes of others, and the stupid one learns on his own mistakes? Well, you get the idea...

Mirek's Mom came for a visit and it was so wonderful to have her over. Three weeks flew by like three days, but the girls had a fantastic time with their "babicka" and I got to get some help with the household chores. Our windows are still shiny, little reminder of grandma's visit.

We made some new friends locally, but lost touch with a few dear old ones. Between everybody's busy lifestyles, driving distances and little time to keep in touch, the friendships tend to fade away. I will always cherish the good memories and the great times we spend together.

There is also one very important thing I want to remember and keep in my heart alive as I've been trying to find my peace and comfort, keeping the memory of my dear father who passed away in November. Not being able to fly for the funeral devastated me. But Mirek and the girls were that force that kept me going. And I had to stop blaming myself for what had happened, and try to say my good buys as the sense of the closure is so much needed.

I think of you often
and make no outward show,
But what it means to lose you,
no one will ever know
You wished no one farewell,
not even said good-bye,
You were gone before I knew it,
and only God knows why.
You are not forgotten
nor will you ever be,
As long as life and memories last,
I will remember thee.
To some you may be forgotten,
to others a part of the past,
But to me who loved you dearly,
your memories will always last.
Nothing can be more beautiful
than the memories I have of you.
To me, you were someone special,
God must have thought so too!
If tears could build a staircase
and memories a lane,
I would walk all the way to Heaven,
and bring you back again.
-Anon.

On Christmas Eve.

We spent a wonderful day together and enjoyed each other in a close family circle.
Celebrating the Christmas Eve the traditional Czech way, with fish and potato salad. The only thing is that we are a bit too spoiled and do not eat carp, as people in the Czech Republic, but rather go for a tastier choice of red snapper. Yum...

And, of course, a lot of cookies. I never bought the store dough, it's just no fun at all. As I never liked to cut corners, I usually do things the more difficult way. And I take baking cookies seriously. Every year I try to make new varieties, and this holiday season is no exception. But the snowballs with toasted hazelnuts are my absolutely favorite!
We also took some family pictures with our Christmas tree as a background. It's Milana's first Christmas and all the girls looked so beautiful in red!
Tripod comes in handy! Merry Christmas from all of us!
As for the presents... This year we got something wonderful for a Christmas gift. It's something that all our family will enjoy in the years to come, I hope. But I will not reveal the secret yet. It will be delivered on Saturday, so be patient and you'll know what it is! So, we put the sales receipt under.
But we still wanted to get something for the girls to open up, so Ivana and Leona couldn't wait for the evening (remember, we do it the European tradition, on the Eve). Each of them got two books and also two crafts to do. Still wearing their holiday outfits, they got busy right away. Leona was working on her mirror, and Ivana was painting her tea set.

And both me and Mirek got gifts that the girls had made for us, paintings, cards, hand made books and Christmas tree paper ornaments. Priceless!

Bard of Avon.

I decided to start working on a time line with the girls. We've been reading a lot of books about artists, writers, historical figures, presidents, inventors, about ancient Egypt and Greece, the story of Trojan war, Pompeii, etc., that I thought to make little notes about what we learned and hang them in a chronological order. I still don't have a clear picture of how it will eventually look, but that is not important, the process is.
And I think this way both Ivana and Leona will remember more. Just like in the summer when we were reading the book about George Washington, and Ivana wanted to know how tall a 6 feet person would be, I measured six feet up on the doorway and taped a piece of paper with the name G. Washington on it. Then we measured both of my early learners, taped the marks to the door frame and they were amazed to see the difference. Those strips of paper have been hanging there since.
And last week we were reading a story of William Shakespeare, "Bard of Avon", written by Diane Stanley. We really enjoyed it and learned a lot about W. Shakespeare. All the not so many known facts about his childhood, the controversy among the historians and the mystery that this man had left behind. The illustrations were fabulous, very detailed and pretty. Of course Ivana tried to copy some of the pages, and she did a phenomenal job drawing the face of the poet on the card for our time line.
And then they wanted to try to write with the feathers! I love those spontaneous ideas! I didn't think of it, but since they expressed the interest I took up on right away. And here you go, a day not being planned out to be a "school day", so to speak, turned out to be one of the great learning days!
Leona was dipping the feather and scribbling her sonnets (wink!) like you would never believe it! Her level of concentration was absolutely astonishing to me, though, as you could've guessed, did not last for a very long time. "Mom, I am done writing my sonnets", announce she after her page was covered in tiny and very neat little curls ("letters").
Ivana, on the other hand, was going strong! She was so excited to write with the ink and a feather, that she decided to write the whole story of "Romeo and Juliet". All I hear was, "Mom, more ink, please!" She said she didn't need any help, and was enjoying herself to the pieces!
Half an hour later or so, there was what she had come up with. If you click on the photo, you''ll be able to see the enlarged version, so you can really read it. And it did not matter to me that Ivana made some grammar mistakes, forgot to use capital letters and misspelled a few words. I am teaching her the rules and we will go over the pages she wrote and correct the mishaps. But it gives me such joy to see her already using the knowledge to enjoy herself.

And can you guess whose puffy fingers are there on the bottom? You know , a second later and the arranged pages did not look the same...

Celebrating holidays the Russian way!

Here we are!
No, it is not Halloween we are dressed up for, it's our group celebrating the holidays the Russian way! Yep, dressing up for New Year's and Christmas is the tradition in my country.

Almost everything went according to my plan. I had to cut the games a bit short since we were running out of time. And also,the thing was that we did not have Ded Moroz! I couldn't persuade my DH to be one (but he was very busy today, anyway, and wouldn't be able to come), that's why I had to come up with an emergency solution.

Well... Snegurochka came alone, and when I asked her what had happened to DM, she said that his sleigh had gotten stuck in the deepest snow ever all the way in far away Siberia. Since our dear DM was snowed in and could not come, he had sent his granddaughter Snegurochka with the gifts for the children. Clever, hah?!

Kids were doing such a wonderful job trying to pronounce those Russian words I had prepared for the skit. And S had a message from DM with the words written in Russian. I was going around the circle asking kids to tell me what those letters meant. And when I got to Ivana, of course, she read the message, translated it for the kids, and started to encourage them to repeat the words so that the tree finally lights up.
And the tree was a masterpiece on it's own! Look at it!!! We had a craft activity with the kids first and then the trimming part was everybody's favorite! First we put the colorful paper chains and lanterns on the tree, and then the cookies, candy and dried fruits I had brought from home.

We had Russian music playing, the music of my childhood. We were dancing around the tree, everybody received a gift, and new memories to remember. And also, as a nice bonus, everybody got to take home a bag full of homebaked cookies (fourteen varieties!). Yum!

I am so glad I was able to do this celebration for the kids. We had such a blast!I hope to have established a new tradition in our group.

And coming home in a starting snow blizzard did not matter much... It was a day well spent!

In preparation for Russian Christmas Celebration.

Before...
And after...

Today we are busy getting ready for a Russian Christmas Celebration that I have offered to organize for the kids in our homeschooling coop. We baked cookies yesterday, so that's off our list. I have dehydrated oranges, grapefruits, lemons and pears to hang as decorations on the Christmas tree we'll have at the gym.

I took a special trip to the Russian store yesterday to buy the Russian chocolate candy and a Christmas ornament for each child. And at night I made a gift tag for each kid, with the name written in English and Russian. And in the back it says "Happy New Year and Merry Christmas" in Russian.

I had to wait for my girls to go to bed to start packing all the goodies and arrange each gift bag, so that they will be also surprised on Wednesday when getting the present.

Now we have to get going making girls' costumes. Ivana said she wanted to be a n angel. That's easy. We have a white dress from her previous dance recital, and we'll make wings. And Leona will be a Cinderella. That is easy too, since we have a dress and all she wants me to add to it are the beads and sash, just like in the story.

This is the program I am planning to implement tomorrow:

Set Up: Christmas Tree, undecorated, just the lights on the tree (but not turned on). It would be nice to have it in the gym, so that there is enough space for everybody to run around.

Morning Activity: Kids get to decorate an ornament and hang it on the Christmas tree (later to take home) and will also do a paper craft activity.

Children can come either dressed in costumes already (to set up the mood for the party), or change into the costumes after the morning activity.

Ideas for costumes: animals, movie/cartoon/fairy-tales characters, snow flakes, snow fairies, snow knights and queens (anything to do with a winter theme). And it is crucial to have the kids wear the costumes. That is how we celebrate the New Year and Christmas in Russia!

Everybody around the tree waiting for Grandpa Frost (Ded Moroz) and his granddaughter (Snegurochka) arrival. Russian music playing, kids running around the tree, dancing, etc.

Time to call DM. All the kids gather around the tree and start calling, “Ded Moroz”, “Ded Moroz”. (I’ll make sure they ‘ll do it nice and loud for DM to hear all the way from Siberia!).

Finally, DM and S. appearing. Greetings!

Now it’s time to light up the Christmas Tree. DM will encourage the kids to say in Russian, “Elochka, zazhgis” (“Christmas Tree, lights up”).

Lights Up! A lot of cheering! Go around the tree in a circle to Russian Music playing.

DM will be giving little quizzes and rewarding the right answers with small gifts. (I’ll need some help here from another Mom. ) Those kids that couldn’t answer the questions will be asked by DM to recite a short poem, sing a song, dance, or will be given a gift for a nice costume. Everybody will get a gift!

I’ll come up with a couple of games that DM will play with the kids.

Before DM and S depart he’ll give each child a bag with goodies and a Christmas ornament. (There will be NO Hershey!) I’ve gotten Russian candy and chocolates.

Then we will have lunch and exchange the cookies that each family will be asked to bring.

I am excited and can't wait to do it tomorrow! Hurray!

Decorating the house for Christmas.

I remember making colorful paper chains with my sister when we were little and used to decorate our apartment for New Year's and Christmas.
As I am always on a lookout for inexpensive activities that require some imagination and using the resources around the house, I thought of teaching the girls to make the paper chains. Construction paper, scissors, glue ... off you go!
They cut the paper into the stripes, and since the stripes do not have to be perfect they were going fast. We found out that our construction paper was a bit on a heavy duty side, that's why the white glue did not really hold the links together. They had to press for a few seconds in order for the sides to stick together. I had to come for a rescue with my, what do you think, of course, the hot glue gun! And then it went fast! They were racing each other who was going to make the longest chain. As we had decided to keep the color pattern, I had to remind them to pick the right strip of paper that follows in the order.
And these are our Q tip snowflakes. Mirek was astonished, to say the least! He said that we had always been making a lot of wonderful and catchy crafts, but ... THESE????? He thought that our snowflakes looked horrendous and were a big waste of precious Q tips. (A short secret to share... he has a thing about Q tips. He can't live without them! They have to be of a certain quality, very sturdy, so that he can clean his ears after taking a shower to make sure there is no water left there.)
And I still think that our snowflakes look cute ...
And that's what Milana is usually doing while we are busy creating. I give her a big box with markers and she learns her colors! Heheheh...Maybe five or ten minutes of her not hanging onto my legs, pulling on the table cloth of our craft table, or playing with the wire of the hot glue gun. She just doesn't want to miss out on anything. She wants to see what we are doing. Don't worry, my little one, you'll be joining us before you know it!

Walking in the snow.

I was looking forward to Mirek's coming home today as I was planning to go for a walk. It had been snowing since morning, the big puffy flakes coming down in a steady pace covering the roads, the houses, and the trees. I looked up to see the sky in our ceiling window, but all there was, a light gray blur of dancing snow flakes.

My plan suggested that I was going to go alone. Yes, alone, as I've been in such am urgent need of "me time". I needed to go out there and enjoy the tranquility and the charm of the snow that started to sparkle as it was getting dark already, days are too short, you know. I wanted to walk in a fast pace, clear my head a bit and pull myself together. Due to the current circumstances I've been neglecting my needs, and it was about time to do something about it. I am not too much in love with myself right now.

Devouring chocolate by the bars (85% cacao of my favorite Lindt brand) stopped working wonders with that of releasing of the chemicals into my brain to give me the fake sense of euphoria. Yesterday, I was down on the floor playing with Milana and watching older sisters go nuts jumping from the sofa (some exercise on a cold day!). My shirt rolled up and the part of my stomach got quite exposed. With all the fun that Ivana was having she had to stop and ask me, "Mom, are you having another baby?" What?.. I haven't realized it was that bad! Got to start doing my pull ups! SOS!
Today she threw another bomb at me, "Mom, why is you face so grumpy?"

So, going alone for a walk did not happen! Initially, Mirek wanted to stay with the girls by the house and let them play with the snow and go sledding on the septic hill in the back of our property. But the crew could not leave me alone!
All of us decided to go for a walk to the lake and check out our beach with all that snow! There were so many giggles, laughter, rolling and jumping, snow angels making and sliding down the hill on the butts. The playground was the biggest hit. Since Ivana and Leona discovered that going on that plastic slide wearing the polyester snow pants was so much fun, they were racing each other going up the steps! Their speed was phenomenal and they were falling faces down into the snow. Lots of giggles and laughter again.
Milana was bundled up and looked so cute in her pink snow suit. Good that she still fit into the baby backpack.
And at the end I was glad that I wasn't alone, that I saw them having so much fun. The fact that I was able to make a few pictures, to preserve those memories of our family staying together, to save them for my future photo books, was a great bonus as well.

I guess I'll have to postpone the "me time" for some other day...

"Stained glass" craft.

I've been wanting to do this really cool "stained glass" project with the girls for a long time. We've had the crayon shavings ready for a while, and the other day I came across wax paper that we needed to do the project. So, I decided to finally do it with them.
We noticed that the intensity of color of our final "stained glass" shape was affected by the amount of crayon shavings and the length of time we had to press the wax paper with the hot iron. More shavings, richer color, but the longer we held the iron, the messier it came up since the colors were blending together too much and becoming one ugly brown/gray mess.
But we quickly got the hang of it, and were counting to ten while holding the iron over the shavings. I let Ivana handle the iron as well, and she was doing fine. She was very excited to see the final results. We had three shapes, a Christmas tree, a Christmas ball, and a Christmas light, that both of them helped me to arrange into the garland.
Having the garlands hung in the windows of our craft room was a great idea, since it is the room with the most sun shining during the day. Oh, it looks so beautiful when in the afternoons the sun rays play a game and bring the colors out. Don't you think?..

Why Grandmas are important.

Grandma had stayed with us for three weeks, and it flew by like three days. On Sunday we took her to JFK and said our good buys.

When I was a little girl I never knew my grandmothers. My Grandma from my Mom's side had passed away almost immediately after I was born, and my Dad's Mom I remember like in a blur. I have some recollections of her wrinkled facial features. I vividly remember,though, her having a long braid, the color of dry ashes, sometimes having it tidily arranged into a bun in the back of her head. I remember her wearing long dresses with big, deep pockets.

And what comes to my mind almost instantaneously when I think of my "Granny Nastja" is the mint candy. Every time she saw me, her slim and aged hand dove into her seemingly bottomless pockets to get me a treat. It was a mint candy, that had been living in that pocket for a few days, may be weeks, melting overtime, picking up the lint and fibers from the fabric and dirt from other things that had found home in Grandma's pocket. I did not want the candy, but I remember that I had no way to say "no, thank you", as I didn't want to upset her. That was all she had for me and I felt obliged to accept the treat.

The only other very precious memory that I have after my Grandma Nastja, are the golden earrings that she had given me on my fifth birthday.

In my opinion, that is so little to remember about her, that I truly believe that I was robbed of the experience of having grandparents. I don't know what it means to have that special cuddling time that only grandmas can offer. I don't know how it feels when grandma reads you a book or tells you stories about her childhood and her growing up. I don't know the sensation of grandma's hands holding yours trying to teach you how to knit, or crochet, or sew, having all the patient in the world. I don't know the thrill of staying at grandma's overnight and listening to her humming, or singing. I will never understand a strong bond that some people have with their grandparents and love they share. I will never be able to learn the wisdom from them, I will have to figure it all out on my own.

That's why I feel so happy for our girls, that they have the chance to experience all the wonders of having a Grandma. It was so wonderful to watch them play, read together, do silly things, hold hands. Thanks for being in our family's life, and thank you for your love!