Grandma.

Today I am feeling very , very sad... Grandma (Babicka) left home after having spent over a month with us. She came to help us when we were expecting our little prince who didn't want to be born on time. So, we waited and waited for two weeks, enjoyed ourselves meanwhile, being able to leave the girls with Babicka and go places just the two of us! What a treat it was! Just to run errands without having three permanent tails attached to us was so relaxing. We forgot how it feels to be alone , without the kids, and it was definitely refreshing for us as a couple!
The girls LOVE Babicka and would not leave her alone. Leona was even waiting for Babi by the bathroom door. It took Milana only half a day to warm up to Grandma, thanks to Skype, I think. She was used to hearing Grandma's voice and seeing her on the screen of the computer. All her brain had to digest was how Babi was able to step OUT of the screen and come alive!
Girls had so much fun with Grandma!They did crafts together, read books in Czech, planted tulips for the spring blooming since it was quite a challenge for me to bend already.
What a blessing it was to have her over! She was such a tremendous help that there are no words to express my gratitude and appreciation for everything she has done for us while I was (and still am) adjusting to running the household with the newborn in a tow. She helped to have the house clean, kids happy, stomachs full and everybody's moods uplifted.
It is hard for the girls to let Babicka go. Yesterday they were packing up their suitcases and getting ready to go to the Czech Republic. Ivana was ready to give up her "teeth money", $22 total, for the air fair. Only one thing keeps us from bursting out into crying is the fact that Grandpa is coming in a week! Yeppee!.. Something else to be looking forward to in these cold snowy days, besides Christmas!
Thank you, Babi! We will miss you! When I asked her when should we expect her to pay us a visit again, she said, "Well, when you are going to have another one, I'll have to come". OMG...That's blackmailing!
Have a safe flight and we'll see you on Skype again!

A day in the back yard.

You can actually have some really good times while getting ready for the winter and preparing wood for the fire place... Mirek came up with a new toy for the girls! He made them a sea saw! After a few try outs, limbs getting scratched and Milana falling over they finally got the hang of it! Having so much fun together!
And the amount of leaves around the house was driving me into depression. Usually we try to do clean them little by little, but this year we haven't even started yet, until today! Here Ivana is working really hard (smile!) as a super weight not to let the leaves fall from the wheel barrow.
And, finally, two days over my due date, trying to keep myself busy! Have you tried shovelling the snow or raking the leaves being 9 months pregnant? I have! Great way to exercise!
The good news is that the baby was not a "Halloween baby", and the bad news is that I could still wait for another 12 days! Our babies simply don't rush to enter this world, all of them took their time! And this one is obviously no exception!

Officially a pet!

Congratulations to us! We officially now have a new pet (besides the 5 fish)!
Mirek thinks our Yertle, the Turtle was a late summer hatchling and would not survive the winter, we decided to keep it for the cold months. That meant a trip to the pet store!

How ready are the sales people sell you all wonderful things! I asked for some advice, and a few minutes later ended up with a full cart of things absolutely crucial (according to the sales man) to raise an aquatic turtle at home. As I was pushing the cart along the isle, he kept on putting more and more things into my cart while explaining things and giving hints. I felt like in a trance under some kind of spell. I could hardly keep up with noticing the prices on those things and feeling that my blood pressure was rising rapidly. "Maybe Yertle should go back to where it came from!", was all I thinking at that moment after estimating the bill for over a hundred dollars.

The sales man politely escorted me to the cash register and assured me that we were all set!
Not so fast, mister! The girls did want to try to have Yertle as a pet, so I decided to see what could be eliminated from the cart that was not so crucial for Yertle's survival! All the plastic stones, decor, and a divider went back to their shelves. We live in the woods, for God's sake! We'll get a real rock and a piece of wood for it's tank habitat!The air thermometer and a lamp were switched for much cheaper ones, a bag of gravel went back as well, since I remember to have half a bag leftover from when we were setting up the fish tank just recently.

Now it was more doable, money wise, I mean! I managed to cut the expenses almost in half! Our Tata works too hard for us, so we don't want to spend the money unwisely.

It had been three days Yertle didn't eat. But when we put it into it's new home and let it get used to the surroundings a bit, the little guy got quite an appetite! Mirek is having a lot of fun feeding the turtle with live worms, and the girls also feed it with dried mini krill and shrimp. Yertle is a carnivore, so no salads or carrots for him! Give him the flesh...

Lantern making.

I always get excited if I come across something new to do with the girls, as I, too, like to have a good time creating. We haven't tried making lanterns yet, so we decided to give it a try. It took us two days to complete the project, which was OK , since the first part took a pretty long time to do, so they were running low on patience.
They picked up a few leaves outside, traced them on a water color paper and filled in the designs with water colors. I love to work with water colors, since you can see how the colors blend and you never know what the outcome would be. And both Ivana and Leona were ready to explore and try out different ways to come up with new colors of their leaves. They had a blast, and so did I, watching them.
The second part involved rubbing vegetable oil on both sides of the paper, once the paint dried up. And the trick here is, the more oil you use, the more translucent the lantern would be. A bit messy, to be honest, but definitely worth it!
After that we had to wait for the oil to set in and let dry completely. On the second day we finished the lanterns, by punching holes, going with a needle to outline the designs and I helped them out a little by making more carved lines to let the light shine through a bit more.
We didn't hang them, but used mini tea lights and let them stand on the table. And we decided to have a candle lit dinner today. It was so cozy and beautiful, and we'll be doing it more often, that's for sure. Christmas is around the corner... That gives me more ideas!

Millbrook Village.

Today it was a day to grab a good book and stay under a blanket, or pick a nice recipe and bake a cake, or watch a funny movie cuddled warm under covers. But, I promised the girls to take them to this Historic Fall Celebration, which happens in the Millbrook Village, preserved and run by the Historical Society of NJ. They were looking forward to it, and I didn't want to disappoint them. So, we went...
Due to the weather, I guess, it was not crowded at all, which made the event so pleasant since we didn't have to worry about loosing the kids in the rooms, it was held indoors, so the rain was not an issue at all.
The fun part I thought was their idea to let the kids dress up in the clothes from 18oo's and then have a little contest. Well, the volunteers at the event were all dressed up appropriately. But, it seemed to me that only I remembered the dress up part for the kids. Anyway, the girls got a lot of compliments and attention from people at the event, and what's more, we got all three places, the first, the second and the third! Besides bringing home all their crafts , we got three new sets of Crayola color pencils!
We did potato stamping last year at home with fabric paints, but they had fun decorating paper bags, book marks and envelopes this year as well.
Paper plate masks... they wanted to be pussy cats. Meow, meow... Leona made hers and I did one for Mimi. They also painted pumpkins, made mini ghosts from cheese cloth and starch water, created leaf rubbings masterpieces on the color paper.
One new things we were able to do was the apple carving. We took home two apples with faces carved on them. We'll have to wait for at least two weeks to let them get dry and then we'll make dolls.
We had a nice time at the Village and we'll try to make it for their Christmas celebration in December.

Surprise!

I got such a surprise today!
Yesterday evening I was checking my email and found our that I would not have even one free period at the coop. I usually teach the first period, then aid during the second, now on top of everything I would have to substitute for the third period due to the teacher absence. Then comes lunch and after that I again aid in the art class and the final period is Ivana's violin lesson that I have to be present at. So, no breaks for me! Oh, yes, and the cleaning duty! I was OK with that since I don't like to be treated as handicapped when pregnant and like the feeling of being involved.
And apparently, my third period substitution had been arranged on purpose and I later found out why! Ta-da! I thought nobody throws a surprise baby shower when you are having your forth one! And I got one!
I was so touched by all the effort, attention, warm wishes, gifts and support that there are no words to express myself!
I am so glad I'll have a few photos to remember all that special time that was meant only for me! Thank you all!

Yertle, the Turtle.

What a coincidence that just this past Monday we went to the library and picked up a book by Dr. Seuss, "Yertle, the Turtle". It is a funny story and the girls really enjoyed reading it.

So, today we are going for our walk, enjoying the beautiful fall colors and fresh air after morning showers, chatting away, and then suddenly, Ivana spotted a little guy trying to cross the road. It was a turtle! It was almost immobile, hardly moving, and we thought that it was not going to make it to the lake. Of course, here it goes, right away, "Mom, look, here is Yertle, the turtle!".
The girls decided to take it home and try to have it as a pet. Since having a dog is not an option right now, the bunny that was promised in the summer has to wait, too, I decided to settle for a turtle.
It is a snapping baby turtle, and when we came home Ivana did a research and found out fascinating things about that creature. She made notes, printed out the important info, ran outside to dig out some worms, set up the temporary habitat and everybody is so excited! Milana kept on climbing on the chair to peek at the turtle, the girls were trying to feed it, but without success.
Hopefully, by tomorrow it will get hungry and we'll manage to attract his attention with a worm on a tooth pick. Just don't die on us, little Yertle!

Corn people.

There is always an abundance of natural materials in our neck of the woods, but fall always brings extra exciting possibilities to get creative!
It all started with Mirek bringing a bag full of chestnuts from the city. He said he wanted to make animals with the girls using those chestnuts, just like he remembered from his childhood.
Since they didn't get to do it right away, the chestnuts dried up and it was already impossible to stick the toothpicks into them. So, I had to take charge and get the glue gun out!

After a nature walk we had some corn, the girls picked up acorns, moss and sticks in the backyard, I saved the shells from hazelnuts eaten like a few days before. And then we needed some things to jazz it up a bit, so the buttons, beads and pipe cleaners were a great idea.
They were busy making their corn people, and all I had to do was to help them with the gluing part of it. They came up with a few animals, there was a mouse, a squirrel, a caterpillar. But the most fun they had was to make those corn people. They got so carried on, that both of them decided to make those "creatures"for their friends at the coop. And what's more, the next day Leona brought the whole basket full of their creations for her "show and tell" time at the coop.
I know they'll be playing with these new toys for a while. We hardly ever get bored in this house, can't you tell?

Fall is here...

They say that when one is about to have a baby, one gets to experience the bust of energy and starts getting ready to kind of settle into a new routine by vigorously cleaning the house, preparing the nursery, organizing the little one's wardrobe, etc... I am , too, currently experiencing the fire of energy, but it is geared towards being outside, not in the house.
I know what is ahead of me... Long and cold winter days when we'll be forced to stay more indoors because of the little one, sleepless nights and countless hours spend on the sofa nursing the baby. You get the picture.
Well, the days are just keep on surprising us and we are taking advantage of the beautiful fall days. Today's hike was a bit more of a challenge for me than the previous ones. I guess the extra weight is pulling me down, and today I did need a push from Mirek to help me get up the hill.
But the extra effort was so much worth it! The view from the top of a hill was breathtaking, even though my breath was already taken and I HAD to catch it, panting like an old dog! The foliage colors were not in there peak yet, but the sensation of watching the landscape from the bird's point of view was awesome! The Delaware river, the corn fields, the mountain ridge, the roads and the bridge... It is an amazing feeling to be up on the top. You feel kind of detached from the hustle and bustle of the world down below, there are no worries up where you are, everything was left down there. The richness of the moment is simply indescribable. You get to remember once more what really is important in your life and get reminded to cherish the simplest moments and appreciate what you have.
This time Milana did not sleep through the hike and got to enjoy it as well. The girls had a snack, tried to climb the trees, searched for mushrooms (and not in vein), rolled on the dry grass. And then we all got to see something amazing! It was a great bonus to spot a praying mantis laying eggs!

We have been so blessed with experiencing and learning something new every time we take our family to the great outdoors! And it is so great to hear the girls tell all what they saw in the woods to their friends, relatives, neighbours. Just as I don't really agree with the term "homeschoolers", it is more like "world learners", I guess.

Delaware River.

We came to spend a quiet afternoon by the Delaware River. Mirek was relaxing trying to catch fish, I took my folding beach chair to plunge my oversized body into and grabbed a few buckets and shovels for the girls to play with. Nobody was thinking about swimming because it was getting pretty chilly, but wading in the water was all right with me. And that how the things were progressing... They were nice and clean, wearing pretty dresses and skits, but not for too long, of course.
The as they have discovered mud is not the same as sand, I had to take some measures to save the clothes, and the layers were starting to come off.
The mud was awesome! Wet and heavy, gooey, sticky... Needless to say, they had a blast playing with it! And I just sat there and watched them, jumping off the chair every now and then to catch Milana not to let her fall down onto the mud with her face as it was pretty slippery.
And that was the final result! There was no way skipping the bath time that evening!

Mushrooms...mushrooms...

What an amazing harvest of mushrooms Daddy and Leona brought home today! It has been raining since morning and we were debating if all of us should go mushroom picking. We decided to let the baby take a nap and then go together. The rain seemed to have stopped, but then by the time Milana woke up it was raining again. I didn't want the little one to get wet and Ivana stayed at home with us to bake cookies and practice her violin.
Leona, on the other hand felt adventurous and joined Mirek for the mushroom picking. Rain coats and rain boots, and off they went to the woods.

A little over an hour later they are coming back all excited and ready to show the harvest and tell all the wonderful stories of going between the trees looking for the mushrooms and seeing tones of salamanders feeding on the worms. Apparently, it was not difficult at all, the mushrooms were so abundant that Mirek was saying it was pretty heavy for him to carry those two bags full of mushrooms back to the car.
And just look at he sizes of them! I grew up picking up mushrooms and so did Mirek, but neither he nor me had seen such huge ones! We measured the largest head in diameter, and it was 20cm. We put the biggest one on the scale, and the weight of that giant was 430 grams, which is so close to a pound! Just phenomenal!
Well...with all that produce we had to get busy and process it! The girls were cutting excitedly, and Mirek and myself were working on preparing the mushrooms for jarring and dehydrating.
Too bad you can't smell the awesome aroma of the dehydrating mushrooms in the house right now!
We are getting ready for the winter like in the old times! To do it together is a lot of fun!I think we'll be going back to the woods on Tuesday after Mirek comes home from work. This time Ivana doesn't want to stay at home and she'll eagerly give up baking cookies for mushroom picking!

Hiking in the woods.

We live in such a beautiful area and on Sunday we decided to go for a hike. The days are getting noticeably shorter, the crispness of the air at night almost requires turning heat on in the house, we are almost done with our summer clothes...all that means that winter will be here before we know it and we just wanted to enjoy the last warm days outdoors.
The girls got their backpacks with some snacks. Ivana took our nature guides and Leona took some paper and pen "to make notes", as she said.
It has not been raining recently, but surprisingly we found 3 beautiful big mushrooms, that we just couldn't leave behind, and I used them in the evening to make cream of mushrooms with chicken for dinner. Yummmm....
The trail was nice and easy in the beginning and I especially was enjoying the peaceful and non stressful hike. Mirek had a 27lbs baby on his back, I carried a camera, of course. Then a bit further it became more challenging on the trail, with some ups and downs, and rock climbing and all that "give me a hand" kind of thing. It took us about an hour to walk 3 miles to the falls, Milana fell asleep on the way and slept through almost all the hike and woke up on the way back.
We had some really exciting finding during the hike. Mirek spotted a trout in the stream by the water falls, the girls saw a frog and a toad, Ivana found a snake skin about 4 feet long (apparently the snake was pretty big!), and we also saw alive baby snake that I almost stepped on. Unfortunately, the battery on my camera died out, so we couldn't snap a picture, but we remembered reading about the snakes in PA and we are almost certain it was a a venomous Northern Copperhead that are common in the area. We'll just have to look it up one more time to confirm it, since we tried to remember the markings on the head and the body of the snake.
Ivana was so happy with her finding that she carried the snake skin all 3 miles back to the car, and now we are thinking what to do with it to preserve it.

So, we successfully completed 6 miles hike and Mirek was giving out "Hi-5s" to the girls by the car and praising them for being such great hikers and all. I felt like I deserved a praise myself!
"Hi-5" to a eight months pregnant hiker!

A day at the Co-op.

At the homeschooling co-op Ivana is taking an Art class this year that is more like a real art class, rather than just crafts, as it was last year. So, the first project they are working on is a fall landscape using oil pastels. Here is her rough draft of the picture and today they were working on fine details to make the painting look more real. I can't wait for her to have a nice collection of new art work by the end of the year so we can frame it and put it up on a wall.
I was a substitute teacher in the Shakespeare class today and we continued learning about the Bubonic Plague and had a hands on activity by making Pomander Balls.
Because of a strong aroma, Pomander Balls were used by the Elizabethans and generations of people before them to ward off the plague and other diseases that they believed were caused by bad-smelling air. It was a traditional practice for people to carry these aromatic balls in their hands, in boxes, or in pockets for protection. Or people could attach them to chains and wear them around their necks or waists. Today, we know that diseases are not caused by smelly air. Nevertheless, we can still enjoy the Pomander Ball's sweet aroma!
Just in case you are wondering how to make them, here is the way:

Materials:

• Thick-skinned orange (or a lemon, grapefruit, lime)
• Fork
• 1 box of whole cloves
• Bowl
• Allspice, pumpkin pie spice, or 1 tablespoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger
• Ribbon, lace, or netting
  

Choose a thick-skinned fruit. With a fork, randomly poke holes into the fruit. The holes should not be so deep that the cloves fall in-you wan the cloves to show!
Fill the holes with cloves.
Put the fruit into a bowl and sprinkle the spices over it.
Keep the Pomander Ball in the bowl and let it dry and shrink for 2 weeks. The Pomander Ball should be kept in an open, sunny spot in your home throughout this period.
When the Pomander Ball has finished drying, it is time to decorate it with ribbons, lace, or netting and hang it anywhere in the house to make it smell absolutely delicious!
Now tell me, who needs Glade scented candles?

Summer went too fast!

I can't believe it's Fall! I had so many plans for the summer, but it seemed to have flown right by me. On the other hand it was pretty relaxing and calm, which was good in a sense (read along, you'll find out soon!).
But now it is Fall, and we are back to our new homeschooling year of learning and fun again!

I have decide to simplify it a bit this year, not to take too much upon myself, and have dropped one homeschooling co-op where we were going every other week last year.
For this school year we have decided to still attend the other co-op which we have been a part of for two years already. The girls love going there, and Ivi often says that she wants to go to the co-op forever. Leona started going to the preK classes last year, and enjoyed every minute of it. This year both of them have some new and exciting classes. For example, Ivi has "Shakespeare", and after the first class she kept on talking about the Bubonic Plague, she made notes during the class and shared the new info with Daddy in the evening. Shakespeare is not a new name for her, and that's why I feel that it is a kind of reinforcement for her of what she had already know from last year when we studied Shakespeare at home.
She will also have a very nice Art program, and during the first class they were using oil pastels to create a autumn landscape. A new subject at the co-op is Science, with some homework to do. And, she will be taking violin lessons finally, she has been asking about it since she was like 3 years old. And besides that, she will have Music/chorus with learning to play a recorder, and Gym, where the teacher is a Mom who coaches soccer. So, I am very excited about the prospect of the full year for both of the girls, as I see how much they enjoy going there and how much they learn.

We also are doing the dance class for both of them, a weekly trip to the local library, a theater program with the local Shawnee Playhouse and Gymnastics in the winter.

Did I say that I had simplified the year for us? Well, now that I have put it in writing, it doesn't seem like the case. But, the classes are back to back for both girls, so I don't have to be driving like a mad woman from place to place dragging 18 months old along, plus another sweet little bundle of joy coming to our family very soon. Yep, haven't you heard yet?

Three sisters.

Growing up together, our three beauties!

I am back!

It has been a while! I have abandoned my blog, and it seemed to me that I would never want to write again. I have lost my spark for a while...
But today a long lost friend called me up and reminded me about my blog! Oh, yes, that's right, I used to write there a lot!!!
So, my"spark" is back, thanks to my dearest friend for a little encouragement to keep on updating the world about our family adventures.

Leona is 4!

We don't do big birthday parties. I just think they are not necessary and a waste of money. We do a family celebration instead and it works great for us!

Yesterday Leonka turned 4! I just can't believe it! As I am typing right now I am looking at the photo in front of me where she is less than a year old being held up high by Mirek. Her features haven't changed much. Her hair is still very blond and she has just gotten even more cute! Interestingly, at the age of 2 her eye color changed from blue to green.

So, being so busy with getting ready for our drama performance at the co-op, I didn't have to waste my time preparing the big party. We had asked her what she'd like to do for her B-Day. She said she wanted to go to the zoo. Works for me!

In the morning the girls helped me to bake a cake. The birthday girl's wish was a carrot cake. There was no surprise there for her, but they had a blast mixing and adding, and licking the spatulas with cream. Then we did cupcakes since she wanted to take them to the homeschooling co-op to share with her classmates and friends.

I cooked a nice lunch for us and Mirek was able to take half of a day off so we all could go to the zoo. The zoo was very nice! It was a great day to go there! First, they've just opened up for the season, so all the animals looked pretty well taken care of and agile. It was pretty empty , too, since it was mid week. And the variety of animals was just phenomenal! My favorite was a kookaburra. And we even got lucky since the birds performed that crazy "laugh" right when we were standing and looking at them. Leona's favorite was a giraffe, because it was big, she said. And another fun part was to watch the baby's reaction when she saw the animals and heard them make different noises. Her eyes were bigger than big and the little finger wouldn't stop pointing!

Blowing the candles on the cake and opening up the gifts was the end of our celebration. By no means it's the best B-day celebration ever! But it's the one kind I wish I had when I was a little girl.

Happy 4th Birthday to our Leonka!

Closing Ceremony.

We had our Spring Closing Ceremony with our local homeschooling group. It was the first time Leonka got to be on the stage and participate in an activity with the group. She , and the rest of the kids, were so cute. All you could hear in the audience was "ahhhh" and "ohhh' every time a child took a microphone and said his/her part. They acted out the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see".

Ivana's class had a play to perform. It was "A boy who cried wolf". Even though they had only six classes to practice, the kids did a great job! Ivana was chosen to be the Announcer as the most articulate child in the class (Thank You! It is always flattering to hear that your child is a bit better! Smile!). However, she was not happy about it at all. Guess what part she wanted to play!.. A sheep!

I tried to talk to her and explain that her role as an announcer is extremely important, that the teacher thinks nobody else can do the part, but her. That didn't work. She could care less for that. All she wanted to be was a sheep!

I decided to talk to the teacher (since I was the aid in this class) and see what could be done. Because when she was practicing her part as an announcer, you could sense that she did not like it. I came up with a solution and the teacher agreed to that. Since the part of the sheep and the part of the announcer do not overlap, she could do both.

And she did a fantastic job! With such vigor she memorized her lines for the announcer and had a blast being a sheep!

I ended up being a "costume designer" and spent a couple of evening sewing and making the sheep look "fleecy". I sewed the hoods and glued the cotton balls and ears. Then I took my Tshirts and applied a double stick tape to the back and front and then attached the polyester fiber to the tape. To add a bit more fun, I got the girls to wear the black socks, to imitate the sheep's feet.

The wolf was everybody's favorite. A gray Tshirt with a real fur tail attached in the back. And the hat was the most fun to make. I just took a baseball hat, cut out the teeth from a white foam sheet and hot glued them to the rim, added a tongue, nose, eyes and ears. The boy who was playing the wolf was so excited to wear the costume that he asked me if he could keep it. I couldn't resist! I gave him the hat as a present.

I had a blast making those costumes and that reminded me a lot of my childhood. We were always putting up performances, making costumes from scrap fabric or our Moms' old clothes.
Another Spring Concert is coming up, and I can't wait to tell you about the costumes I have come up with for that play!

Family vacation.

We have had one of the most amazing family vacations EVER! Without too much planning, we decided to take off and go south to get some so needed vitamin D. We drove to Florida Keys and were camping on Fiesta Key!
There is so much to write about our trip! I don't know where to start! But I think some of the numerous picture that we've taken will help with with telling it all with our too much words.
Sunsets by the water are just nature's wonders! Every day there was a masterpiece on the sky!

Sleeping in the tent was everybody's favorite! After running around for the whole day there was no need for a bedtime story, they were out in a flash.










We were able to create such a wonderful program for everybody to enjoy our family time together to the fullest. We went to the Theater Of The Sea and saw a Dolphin Show and a Sea Lion Show, which were great, beside other wonderful exhibits there!

We took a day trip and drove all the way to Key West. The first stop was at the Key Lime Pie factory. Yam! Then we headed to the Butterfly Conservatory, and then visited Ernest Hemingway's residency. A perfect day ended by spending the rest of the sunny time at the beach, the southernmost point in the continental USA and enjoying a beautiful sunset.

We went to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and took a glass bottom boat to the reefs. Beautiful clear blue water and great visibility were spectacular.

Mirek went deep sea fishing on a boat at night, and we had a yummy fish lunch the next day.

Days at the Atlantic beach were very relaxing and lots of fun for the girls. Ivana enjoyed playing with the waves, and Leona was picking the shells to make necklaces when we'd come back home.

Taking walks in the mangrove forest and observing the wildlife was a lot of fun for the kids. Milana was so alert about what was happening around her and enjoyed herself tremendously.

Second part of the trip we devoted to the Everglades National Park and on the way to the other camp ground on the Gulf Coast took an air boat ride and visited Micosukee Indian reservation. Going so far away and having such an eventful time wasn't so very overwhelming for us since we are a great team. Who said you can't take a 1 year old camping?

We came home relaxed, tanned, happy, full of great memories and things learned not ready for a snowy day in the Poconos.

Shall we move down to the Keys? We have fallen in love...

Music Class.

It has been such a wonderful year for us at the coop. Initially I was reluctant to sign Leona up for classes, since she is only three and paying two tuitions was not on the budget. But the coop coordinator had persuaded me and I decided to give it a try, anyway, I could just let her be in the nursery if she was not enjoying herself in the classes.

But she HAS! And loving every minute of it! She has a math class in the morning where they use Montessori kind of manipulatives. Then she has a story time class. We read at home at lot, but anyway, I guess it is good for her to listen the stories from someone else as well. And the teacher was telling me that she is the most attentive student in the class. No wonder!

The highlight is the music class, where the kids get to dance around, play with the musical instruments and sing along. I have observed the class, and it is pure fun time!

After lunch she gets to go to the phonics class, where they get to learn a letter and do a related craft activity. Again, we do all of it at home, and the teacher was telling me to consider advancing her to K class for next year, since she knows all of that. But she likes it and seems not to be bored in the class. The craft activity is her favorite.

And then, after the gym, they get to have a play dough class! Now, that's a real treat! They get to make all crazy fun things out of play dough. When I peeked through the window to see what the kids were doing, they were so cute making different animals, pretend playing and giggling together.

A am glad that I have made a right decision in September as I see how much she likes to be "a big girl, who goes to school" now.

Today I was asking her what's her absolutely favorite class. Not even thinking a bit, she replied that is was LUNCH. "Why?", I asked her.
"Because I like to eat very much, I get really hungry", said my daughter.

Here is the "proof" of my blabbing how much she loves it! HEHEHEHE....