Rainy day, doing crafts.

Today it finally felt like the fall has come! For more than a month without a rain (I know for sure, since Ivana and Leona are keeping the weather calendar), with the temperatures some days as high as in July, with the trees changing the colors reluctantly, it seemed that autumn would never come.
And today it just poured! A pajama and bake cookies kind of day! We were busy cutting, coloring and gluing, listening to the rain music above our heads, and watching the leaves coming down...

Out of our kids' mouths.

I want to remember how funny kids can be, so I decided to write Ivana's and Leona's "smarties" down.

I was so excited to have the newly bought placing mats on the table for dinner. You know, the human body, the map of the world, the flags of all countries, the USA map, so we can combine the pleasure of eating with the beauty of learning without pressure. So, we sat down to have our meal, and I was asking Ivana all the questions, tell me this and tell me that... She looked up at me with her calm green eyes, and said,"But Mom, I don't want to talk, I want to eat! I am really hungry!"

We saw a cute tiny dog the other day. It was one of those breeds that you can easily squeeze into your pocket. And it looked almost unreal, it was the size of Leonka's favorite toy dog that she sleeps with. When Leona saw the dog, she was so surprised and excited, that she expressed it with words, "Mommy, this dog is even cuter than Milana!"

Yesterday, I was cooking lunch downstairs and was listening to Ivana and Leona talking to each other, while playing "doctor and patient". There was a lot of "blabbing" going on, and then I overheard Leona saying, "Ivanka, let's pretend I don't have a broken neck anymore! OK?"

Leona was playing with Milana and gave her some dried grass to hold. Mirek was nearby and told her, "Fee, don't give it to Milna." As Mirek talks Czech to the girls, and his language is a little blunt sometimes, Leonka simply replied, "To neni govno, Tati!" (an important translation remark, "govno"-shit). It's like looking in the mirror!

Milana is rather large for her age, she is a "big chunk of a baby", as people sometimes call her. "Big cheeks" nickname has stuck to her long time ago. Now she has been crawling, going all over the house, getting under the chairs and table, picking up stuff and putting everything in the mouth. I was looking at her yesterday while she was in her moving mood and could not believe how fast they grow. I said, "I can't believe this peanut, and she is on her fours already, travelling the world!" Mirek, always having something funny to say, replies, "She is not a peanut, she is a cashew, or a Brazil Nut!" I think Milana has a new nickname now!

To finish up the post, I came across a great saying:
"The most wasted day of all is that during we have not laughed". -Sebastian R. N. Chamfort.

By the way, when we went peach picking the signs everywhere were just screaming into your face, "Please, do dot eat the produce before it's paid for". Can you guess what Mirek is doing?

A trip to the past.

Today we went back in time!

We visited Millbrook Village, part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, a re-created community of the 1800s where aspects of pioneer life are exhibited and demonstrated by skilled and dedicated volunteers throughout the village. Although most of the buildings in the village are replications, Millbrook has a real past.

And today we were able to see a lot of crafts, trades and everyday tasks of the 1800s performed for us by the volunteers at this great historical event. Kids and adults alike were dressed in clothes of the colonial America. And we saw wood carving, slate making, manual apple pressing to make fresh cider, candle making, wool spinning, dyeing the yarn, apple butter cooking, furniture making and also saw a lot of old machinery still in working condition.

Ivana's participation in "Spelling Bee" in the Millbrook school #82 was a success. Later in a day she got to play the games, and then both of the girls went wild in the pile of freshly fallen leaves with Mirek adding to the fun.

The weather was perfect, even a bit too hot for the month of October. So were coming home drained and exhausted, both me and Mirek ready for a nap. Yer, right!

Studying flying squirrels.

This morning Mirek brought the cutest tiny creature I've seen. No, it was not a puppy, a kitten or a chipmunk... It was a flying squirrel! It got trapped in the box and couldn't get out.
With the start of a day like that we were in for a wonderful day of learning about this amazing animal that is so rare to see in the wild since they are nocturnal and rather shy.

We looked it it sitting quietly in the box, probably very sleepy since it was morning. Or maybe it was just scared since we tried to let it go to the ground and it took us a while. But once it felt the freedom and the open space, it hopped up to the tree. It was the squirrel's turn to examine us with the beautiful huge eyes that could do wonders at night to help this animal catch insects, spiders and spot birds' eggs!

So, we went online with the girls and did a research on flying squirrels. We learnt a lot of interesting facts about them, looked at a myriad of photographs and drawings, watched mini videos of the squirrels in flight, saw the little ones and came up with an idea to make a book about these adorable animals.

Ivana and Leona didn't even have time to change from their pajamas and I didn't want to be "a party pooper" and didn't insist on following our usual routine. The whole morning they were busy working on their books, writing the facts and illustrating the story. Leona did the cover all by herself with my help spelling the words out for her, and I wrote the story inside the book holding her hand in mine, then she drew a picture and finished the book with the maze that we had printed earlier from the web helping the squirrel find the nut. She was done pretty fast, but was very pleased with the result.

Ivana was a bit more scrupulous and took her time in finishing the project. That's what she wrote:
1. The term "flying" is misleading. They should be called "gliding" squirrels.
2. They eat slugs, berries, birds' eggs, nuts,acorns, spiders, fruits and seeds.
3. They are nocturnal mammals and owls prey on them.
4. Their life span is 5 years.
6. The babies are called pups.

On the next page she decided to draw the stages of the pups' growth, and then the adult flying squirrel with it's internal organs. She also finished with the maze.

We really enjoying our working and reading together. And now Ivana has suggested to do a book about the black bears, since we saw two just yesterday right by the lake where we go basically every day. So, who needs to go to the Zoo? Should I get a pepper spray next time we encounter the bear? Or do we hide behind the stroller and "play dead"? Hmmm....

Till next May!

We are ready to put our hummingbird feeder away for the winter. It's been so wonderful to be able to watch these amazing little creatures come to our door and feed on the nectar from the feeder. I had to remember to change the treats every day though, otherwise it turned into wine by the end of a hot summer day. And that taste, the tiny guests did not appreciate!

I got a "Birds of Pennsylvania" field guide, by Stan Tekiela. And that is such a helpful and informative, not overwhelming at all, but rather focused and easy guide to use with the girls! Full page photos are stunning, and the sections of the guide are color coordinated according to the coloration of the birds' feathers.

According to Stan's notes: The smallest bird in the state. Can hover, fly up and down, and is the only bird to fly backward. Does not sing, but will chatter or buzz to communicate. The wings create a humming noise, flapping 50-60 times each second or faster during chasing flights. The heart pumps an incredible 1,260 beats per minute, and it breathers 250 times per minute. (You try that!) Weighing just 2-3 grams, it takes about five average-sized hummingbirds to equal the weight of one chickadee. Constructs its nest with plant material and spider webs, gluing pieces of lichen on the outside for camouflage. Attracted to tubular red flowers.

In addition to that, I also have learned that it's a well observed fact that some of them manage to migrate to the warmer climates by hiding in the feathers of bigger birds, like swans and geese. So little, and so smart!

I was so thrilled to manage to take a quick photo of the hummingbird through the door screen. Otherwise, they are just too fast to even take a good glimpse at. All you could hear sometimes was a buzzing noise and a shadow flying away!

Hiking in the fall.

I've been on a look out for great and not so challenging trails to go hiking with the girls since we moved to the area. So by now, I have already quite an idea of the beautiful region we happen to live at the moment.
We are right on the border with The Delaware National Recreational Area, and that is great! Because without long and exhausting car rides to just go for a stroll in the woods, we have everything literally at our finger tips!
The weather has been awesome lately. We are really enjoying the gorgeous days of the Indian summer. The lack of rain, though, makes the trees lose the foliage very quickly, and the colors are not that vibrant. Maple trees, that can turn red, orange, or yellow in the same forest depending on the year and the weather conditions, are not that abundant in the Poconos. And the white oaks are simply turning brown.
What makes our region so unique for those excited about experiencing the annual breathtaking display of colorful forests ? For one, the great diversity of trees and shrubs growing here, as many species as in all of Europe, so they say. But, what's more important, the season of autumn arrives here much more suddenly than in Europe. It seems that almost overnight the balmy, warm weather of summer gives way to the cool, crisp, clear weather of autumn. The fall colors depend very much on this weather, and when the seasons merge into each other much more gradually, the colorful phenomenon is just not as striking.
This weekend we went for a hike. And it was great! Ivana and Leona did such a great job going up the hill with the help of the walking sticks Mirek had made for them. And then there was a bonus! A fantastic experience of being on top of the world and looking down at the Delaware River and the mountain ridge.
We had a mini picnic, the girls were climbing the trees with Mirek, I was taking the pictures, and Milana was such a good baby!
There will be more hikes to come this fall, that's for sure!

Peach picking!

Peaches are in season!
We've done apple picking before, but never tried peach picking. So we decided to give it a try. It' s not so much to buy the peaches cheaper than in a store, but to show the girls how the peach tree looks like.
It's just funny... I was growing up and our family had a garden, so, weeding, harvesting, preserve making were chores... Now we have to pay to have a tractor ride!
A little trip like that for a family of five, when the older ones get to go on a horse, hay ride, corn maze, and paying for the picked fruits... we are looking to spend close to a $100!
Milana had great time watching the big sisters run around filling up the box with peaches.
I also got a dehumidifier, so I'll be trying to dehumidify those peached.

Hmm.... Mirek bought a LOT of beats last time on a farmer's market... now it got me thinking if I should try the beats in the dehumidifier!

A trip to the Zoo.

We haven't been taking day trips lately, due to having a baby and my car not being in order. But last weekend we managed to go to a zoo, "Paws and Claws". As much as we don't like to see the poor animals suffering in cages with very little to do, but the kids always enjoy seeing the animals. There were big cats, like lions and tigers. And there was mine and Ivana's favorite, a giraffe.

But we didn't even get to see all of the zoo occupants. We got caught up in a rain. And it was quite a storm! It was too late to run to the car or the gift shop, so we ended up finding a shelter in a stinky barn! With a pony, a pig, a sheep, a lama, a donkey, and a bull. The thunders were so severe and right above us, it was lightning after lightning, deafening noise, got pretty cold and was pouring, pouring, pouring...

I had to nurse Milana in a squatting position, with lama dangerously staring right at me, probably contemplating to spit into my face, and the bull doing its natural activity, like peeing, right next to me. In about ten minutes the smells stopped bothering my delicate nose. And it was good, because we stayed in a barn for about an hour.
Ivana needed to use the bathroom (AAAAA!!!)... So we decided, if the bull could do it, why couldn't she?

Baby update.

Well... Milana is already 5 month old and thriving! She is 18lb, rolls from back to tummy (only in one direction, though, for now, but it is enough for her to move across the room. Time to clean up those small objects!), almost sits on her own, has started eating baby cereal with fruit for breakfast, almost holds the water bottle, enjoys tremendously herself on the swings. Grabbing is her favorite, and the big sisters have learnt the hard way not to let Milana pull them by their hair.

She also has been "working" very hard as a lifeguard, watching her bigger sisters splash in the lake and getting a sun tan! I would bring a chair and put in in the water, having her on my lap, to be close to Ivana and Leona, while they are in the water swimming.

Tata is the love of her life, as she starts wiggling and blabbing, smiling with her whole toothless sweet mouth the moment she spots him.

"When the baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." -James Barrie

"Drawing with Children'', by Mona Brookes.

I've come across a wonderful book! I think it's a must read for ALL parents! I've been reading it for a couple of days, taking my time to digest what I'd read, re-reading some chapters again... It's a book about teaching kids to draw. Exactly, TEACHING...

"Drawing with Children", A creative teaching and learning method that works for adults, too, by Mona Brookes.

Ivana has been enjoying herself drawing since she was 1 years old. I remember spending countless hours with her by the table, drawing FOR her, then letting her color the pictures. Her hand has become very steady, her pictures pretty intricate and her desire to draw has been growing rapidly. She loves to draw animals, a lot. We have a few books that provide instructions on how to draw a lot of things, and we've been using them quite often.

And then I started noticing that she wants more. I found an art studio and went to investigate the program and the costs involved. It turned out that it would coast us $100 a month to let her take the classes, and for a single income family it is a lot. So I started thinking about what can I do about it, and finding and reading the book by Mona Brookes was a true blessing for me. The book has opened the doors for me to teaching my kids how to draw...

I have a pretty good eye for things, I have a creative and artistic approach, and has always been interested in drawing, painting, self expressing through art. Intuitively I knew a lot of things that are described in the book. But to read it and clearly see and understand the possibility to be able to draw just about everything was an amazing discovery for me! And we are on a roll with both my girls, ages almost 6 and 3.

I've started giving them drawing lessons! We are having so much fun together, and they are looking forward to learning more every week and spending that special time with Mom (since we have the baby, it's been quite a challenge lately, to spend some quality time with my older daughters!)

First, we talked about and found the 5 basic shapes that everything around us consists of (dot, circle, straight line, curved line, and an angle). We do a "warm up" exercise to practice the eye and the hand, and then we draw a picture, together.
What the book teaches you is how to verbalize and use the simple, but understandable instructions to teach the kids follow you in their own drawing. The transformation form being able to draw "stick" people for Leona, who is 3 yo, to be able to draw a still life with overlapping objects is amazing! And Ivana started exploring more on her own, and be more creative in color choosing and finishing the picture with the fine details.

There are a lot of ideas in the book on how to encourage the children to see the possibility of self expression and overcoming the fear of something "being difficult or impossible to draw". At the end, everything around us is made of the same shapes. But it might take a bit longer to complete a "Panda" drawing than a simple flower. Satisfaction and joy in kids' eyes after completion of the project are indescribable!

What we've been doing.

It's been pretty busy and I couldn't find time to blog. So, I'll just write a few lines about my recent "projects". I was helping Mirek to build a deck. It was a pretty big deck to build (12x24) and he didn't have a helper. So, I volunteered and after my dear hubby showed me how to hold and operate the nail gun the work went much faster and more productive. He was cutting the wood and I was nailing the planks down. He said he was very impressed with my abilities!

Then, I helped Mirek with staining the table. Also, we started painting the front of the house to finally be able to take a picture of it and put it up for sale (the fixer upper we bought 2 years ago).

My stained glass door took me almost 3 weeks to complete and it's done as well. First, I have one design in my head, and then I had to simplify it to safe on materials and time, the most important asset. I'll post the pictures later.

We've been also having a lot of visits, spent almost every day (weather permitting) on the beach, keep on collecting bugs for our "Summer Bug Collection". We don't catch them, really, but when we go for a walk in the neighborhood we take the dead ones we find. This year there are a lot of Gypsy Moth caterpillars. We've been observing them grow from a tiny ones to a gigantic size. And yesterday we found two chrysalises and took them home to see them hatch.
And for the bug collection, we are trying to identify each of our "treasured finds", learn a fact or two about them, find a Latin name and have it displayed on the wall in the wooden box.

And I've learnt a new trick on how to have the bugs spread out their wings if you want to have a nice exhibit. But it has to be alive... What you do is you put it into a plastic bag and into the freezer for half an hour or so. When the bug freezes it spreads the wings...

Cookies sale.

We have tried to participate in a community yard sale today for the first time ever. We had bought so much junk from other people before, that it was about time for us to get rid of some of ours. Mostly there were Mirek's tools that he wasn't using anymore, and I decided to let the girls have some fun as well.

Their friend, little girl named Molly, was going to have a lemonade stand, and we decide to have a cookie stand right next to her. Yesterday we were busy baking. We made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, vanilla chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cookies with white chips and pecans, decorated with M&Ms.

Today they were quite a success! Ivana made the sign "Ivana's cookies and cupcakes", she took care of the price signs, and Leonka helped her to make little American flags and "Have a nice day" signs that we put on top of the cupcakes. They were priced 0.50 each.

I thought Ivana would be a bit more loud and enthusiastic while selling, but somehow it happened to be Leona that surprised me with her ability to sell. She was so cute announcing, "Cookies, cupcakes everyone. Delicious, freshly baked...". And when people stopped by she would just take the cookie out of the container and hand it to them. They were so amazed and just felt obliged to buy them. They didn't seem to even mind her "dirty" hands and sometimes let her keep he change. They didn't have the heart to put the cookie back and walk away, disappointing my blond, green eyed beauty. Good strategy, Leonka!

Ivana took the responsibility of being a "treasurer" and proudly collected the profits. When she had to give the change she kind of thought she was losing money. Here was a perfect opportunity to show her how important math is, that we need it everyday, and we got to practise additions and subtractions.

In case you are curious, the girls sold cookies and cupcakes for $15.50, and I made $105 selling Mirek's tools. Not too shabby... Two men buyers were wondering, laughing, "Where is your husband? What did you do with him?" I surely looked funny, by myself with three girls, having half a table fool of tools I am clueless about, and the other half cookies and cupcakes.

Don't throw empty boxes...

I just feel like describing you in detail how our day went today...

We woke up, at about 8:30, cuddled in bed for a while, Ivana and Leona played with their baby sister. They have such a great time interacting with her now since at 3 months Milana is responding to them by oohing, smiling and belly laughing.

We had breakfast and then got comfortable on the sofa to read books. They were new and exciting to them, brought from the library a day before. There was this one book that was hilarious. It's a Cinderella story, but the pictures in the book are the photos of a real dog , dressed up in different clothing and accessories. They were cracking up while I was reading it to them. The hit was not the story, but the illustrations.

Then we moved to a summer room, that we have started using again in the warm weather. I love it! It has so much light. We opened all the windows and were able to hear and see the deer come by and shuffle the leaves looking for food.

I've been putting aside the empty boxes, cartons and paper rolls, yogurt containers and milk box caps hoping to use the stuff for future art projects. I did not have any particular idea in mind, but I know myself, it will strike me one day. So, the whole big box of a lot of things. And guess what... they have discovered it! Wow! It was like finding a hidden treasure! No kidding! The girls were so excited! They didn't get that excited when it was Christmas, but the empty boxes! Yej... These are MY kids!

Ivana and Leona found some unbelievable ways to use my recyclables for their imaginary games! The list is pretty long! Grocery store was the first one, of course. Then they played house and pretended they were cooking meals. Then they were feeding their stuffed animals the food they had cooked. Then it was a picnic.

I was sitting on the sofa and nursing the baby and just had so much fun watching them play! The funniest I thought was that when they came up with an idea to make a Robot costume out of a paper bag. And then when it was time to clean up (can you imagine the mess there was in the room! Not peaceful, like I like our house to be, at all!). And they were "garbage men" and dumping the "garbage" into the "dump".

After lunch we went for a walk to the lake. The weather was so beautiful! Sun made me happy, and I got some quite time while my girls played away in the sand with their newly made friends, another 5 yo girl and 4 yo boy.

At home we did a craft activity. We made tambourines out of paper plates and played some games using rhythm of our hand made musical instrument. Then they were drawing and coloring, doing little things with their stickers while I was cooking the dinner.

If I look back at our day, it was very productive. It was very balanced, relaxing and a lot of fun. For me, though... At night when I was tucking Ivana up in bed, she sad that she had a boring day... Go figure!

Creative reading.

It's amazing how a book, a good book, can be such a powerful and fun tool for a learning experience.

Usually, when we go to the library, the girls look through the books and put aside those ones that they would like to take home. And I would go through the shelves to see what's out there interesting for ME to read to them. I love books. I am a bookworm. But with such an abundance of trashy books nowadays, it's been taking me sometime in the library to pick something worth reading. And when I happen to stumble upon a "published jewel" my heart sings.

As I've been picking the books at random and now know quite a few that we really liked with my girls, I decided to start making a book list. It will be a great way to let Ivana practice writing "with a purpose". It will help us find that particular book that we've enjoyed should we want to use it for a reference or simply re-read it once again. Also, it will help me to look back at what we were reading with my two oldest when our youngest will be ready for a quality literature.

Among the most recent treasures is the book by Peter Sis, "Starry Messenger". In this amazing book Peter Sis uses his artistic talent to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. The illustrations are very detailed and just breathtaking. Sis tells the story in the language as simple as a fairy tale, adding Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago but still resonant with truth.

We have read the book a couple of times during this week. Then we used it for an imaginary play. We drew, color, cut out and hung the stars, the Moon and the Sun all over our summer room. We pretended the paper rolls were our telescopes and we were Galileos. We were "observing the sky" and "making notes".

In the beginning of June there will be an annual book sale at a local library. I'll be there before the sunrise, hoping to get good books for a bargain price...

Making sure our kids speak Russian.

I used to wonder before we had the kids why other parents choose not to teach their children to speak parents' first language (whatever it is), how it is possible that when the kids are small they speak a foreign language and in most cases refuse later on, and when does this transition happen from speaking the language to just understanding it and replying back in English.

As it is very important for me and Mirek to teach our girls to speak both Russian and Czech, we thought that it was going to be easy. As long as we speak to them, read to them, take them to Europe to practice the languages and help them understand the need to know other foreign languages.

Well, we've been pretty successful, so far. Since the day Ivana was born I spoke only Russian to her, read only Russian books until she was like 3 years old. I also encouraged Mirek to talk to her in Czech. And I remember that in the beginning he had difficulties to find a topic, make sense and not sound silly. But I told him just to tell her how his day was, what was on his mind, what the weather was like, etc. Simply to "talk" to her so that she's exposed to various sounds and gets accustomed to him speaking that "other language".

Two summers in the Czech Republic were extremely beneficial. The girls made friends, were able to communicate and create a bond with the grandparents.

But lately I've been thinking and have realized a lot of things. It is becoming more and more difficult to stick to my original plan. It takes an extra effort to make sure our daughters do not lose the ability to speak Russian and Czech. I've realized that I can't make them speak only Russian when they play with each other, even though they keep on switching back and forth. I can't expect them to remember a word or a phrase only after me telling it to them once or twice. Sometimes ten times is not enough, they will still not remember the word or use it wrongly.

Since we speak English with Mirek (of course using other two languages when in need), all our friends speak English, we read a lot of new, interesting and exciting books in English, everything around them is in English, Ivana and Leona started using English A LOT, even when addressing to me.

English will always be their first language as long as we live in the USA or other English speaking country. But I will continue to read to them in Russian and try to get new books every now and then. I will play with them certain games only in Russian. When they talk to me in English and I want them to say it in Russian, I will make sure that they repeat the sentence to hear themselves. I will make sure that I find time to teach them to write and read in Russian ( as Ivana does already, Leona's turn). I will make sure we have a collection of original Russian Classical Literature and hopefully be able to travel to Russia a couple of times before they become independent young adults and move out from the house.

I was never the one choosing to go the easy path and me teaching my kids to know my roots and culture is not an exception. I intend on continuing and inventing other ways of teaching them to make sure that "yes" and "no", and "my name is..." are not their only vocabulary in Russian. I guess I am off to "a lot of extra miles"! And what an exercise it is for their brains is a whole other topic. I'll be getting my "thank you"s later, I am sure...

Sisters.

I took a picture of them when they were fooling around, giggling, making faces and laughing. It was so cute to watch them! Aren't they beautiful?

Spring concert.

The school year is almost over for our "Lafayette School" as Ivana calls it. And we have celebrated the end of the year at our homeschooling co-op with a spring concert.
It was the first year that we have joined a "Fine Arts Co-op", and it was a great experience for both me and the girls. I was able to meet very nice Moms, and Ivana and Leona made friends with a couple of kids.

Today we took home Ivana's folder from her Art class with all the projects they worked on during the course of the year. And since I spent most of the time in the nursery and could not participate and observe the classes, I was kind of in a dark about what they were doing. Her folder looks pretty impressive!

Music class was just great! Ms. DeJulia was the only professional paid music teacher at the co-op.It's too bad that she is not coming back next year. She was able to teach the kids a lot, and Ivana personally loved the class. For the Spring concert her class learned two songs, as she actually memorised the lyrics!

Gym was favourite for all the kids in the co-op. As a teacher we had a Mom, former Olympic athlete, and a beautiful facility where the kids could do their warm ups, stretchings, and play group games and sports.

There are huge changes coming up for the next year at the co-op. It seems like it's going to be a totally different program. Since the co-op is based on parents' initiative and participation, this year I was more a "receiver" than a "giver". Being new to the group, moving to another state, expecting a baby and then having a newborn, etc. I was doing a lot of cleaning there not to feel that I contributed nothing. At first I was hesitant whether to come back for the next year, since the music class is very important for me. But then I reconsidered and decided on participating more next year. I have tons of ideas, and having a "different" program does not necessarily mean "worse" program. "Different" can be also "better". So, I offered to teach an Art Class for younger kids, and also be an organiser of a Creative Dramatics Class with the performance for Christmas and spring. It seemed that there was a lot of interest from other parents on me doing that... So I got "green light" to sleep on the ideas and come up with a plan for a year. I guess my brain will be pretty busy this coming summer.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

I did not have time to blog about our birthday celebration for Leona yesterday, so I'll try to catch up now...

We have never had any big birthday celebration for either of our girls. It was always a cake and ice cream with fruit salad. Two of Ivana's birthdays we celebrated in the Czech Republic and she had a few of her Czech friends over for games and dessert. And this year I just felt somehow ambitious and wanted to have a big party for Leona, and then Ivana in August. I've been reading online getting different ideas and getting inspired. My plans included:

-picking up a theme for the party, making and sending birthday invitations a few weeks in advance;
-making a pinata with Leona and Ivana;
-have two tables full of food, one for kids and the other for the parents;
-organize various games with winning prizes for the kids;
-have two craft activities for kids to do when they get tired;
-surprise Leona with the gift and the cake in the morning right after she wakes up;
-decorate the house and backyard for the party;
-prepare goodies bags for the kids to take home.

And as the day was approaching rapidly and me not having enough time, my plans simply started to shrink...rapidly. And that's how the birthday party happened:

-I picked up a theme (it was going to be "Bugs"), but never sent the invitations, simply called on Monday and invited three families with kids for a Sunday celebration;
-Started making a pinata with the girls on Thursday. We did a first layer, took the balloon outside to let the glue dry faster, then brought it inside in the evening as it got very windy. Guess what...the law of physics, of course, the change in temperature and the balloon inside popped and the first layer of our future pinata was instantly destroyed. So, no time to start making another one, did not want to spend extra money buying one, so... no pinata.
-Decided to serve vegetarian lasagna, salad, turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, with some snacks beforehand, soft drinks and juice for kids, followed by chocolate and carrot cakes, and fruit salad with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
-Did not organize any games for the kids, just pulled out bubbles, chalk, scooters, hula loops, balls. Took them for a walk to the lake and let the kids run around on the beach. Free play, ey!
-Did prepare two craft activities, but they only did one and took the other one home instead of a goody bag.
-Used the girls to help me out with the cakes (so, no surprise there, Leona had seen the cake). And did not buy the gift for her, but promised to let Tata take her to the store so that she picks a toy she would like.
-For decorations just blew a couple of balloons and hung them in the girls' room and the playroom.

And even though I did not do it "the right way" as I had planned, we still had a great time. Everybody was fed and happy. Kids had a great time and were exhausted by the end of the day. Leona enjoyed all the attention. And I did not feel overwhelmed.

So what's wrong with "my way"? I guess nothing. I need to remember about simplifying things and unloading myself a bit. Once again, less IS more...

Busy Saturday.

Part 1.

I had a plan. And the plan was big for today. And I did it all. And I am very proud of myself. And I am very tired.

Mirek was working today since early morning so I could not expect any help from him to do everything that I had planned to do. But I was determined to do those things no matter what since they were very important. Like sending the photos of Milana to my family so that they can finally see her after almost two months of me promising them to send the pictures. It's such a shame that my Mom, Dad, my sister and my brother do not have internet, so we do it an old fashioned way, sending each other letters by mail.

We hardly made it to the Post Office since they close early on Saturdays. Then we went to the Family Expo that took place at the Shawnee Inn. There were supposed to be 68 tables with a lot of info on different activities for kids to do in the Poconos. And as I am in a process of discovering the area and planning for the next year what to do with the girls, I was thrilled to be able to see all of what they had to show.

Unfortunately, it was such a disappointment. The expo was held indoors, there was a lot of people, a lot of strollers and no way to get through the crowd. We were given a paper and was supposed to stop by at each table and have our paper stamped in order to enter the drawing for a free parenting magazine. Ivana and Leona wanted to have their faces painted so much, but the line was so long, that there was NO way I was going to wait. We went to paint wooden shapes at the other table, painted 6 of them, left them there to let them dry and were supposed to pick them up on our way back.

Went to check out the other area with the exhibits, but by then I could not take it anymore. I was afraid to loose the girls, did not care to win a free subscription to a parenting magazine (I can write one myself!), did not want to spend even one extra minute inside as it was a glorious spring day with everything blooming around us, still had a lot to do on our list...simple I've had it! We left very early and I promised my girls to get a face paint at a craft store and have fun painting their faces at home one day. They were a bit upset, but quickly got over it. And we forgot to pick up our art project, another big disappointment for them as they wanted to show Tata their creations.

We headed to the library and returned our overdue books, had to pay a fine of $4.80 and the librarian would not wave or at least try to reduce the fine a bit. Stayed in the library for a short while, the girls read books while I picked the ones we were going to take home and then nursed Milana.

The next stop was a supermarket. Tomorrow is Leona's birthday and we needed to do grocery shopping to get ready for our mini party. Having a prepared list helped a lot, and we were getting very hungry and tired of jumping in and out of the car. Buckling and unbuckling all three of them times how many stops we had made, nursing in public, changing a diaper on the floor in the library, still saving some energy for driving...

Came home, took all the bags home (Ivanka counted them , thre were 13), put the groceries in the refrigirator and pantry, fed Ivana and Leona soup, then they wanted to go for a walk to the lake. I wanted to go outside myself, so off we went out again...Got the picture?

Part 2.

Well... initially I wanted to surprise Leonka with her birthday cake, but by the time we got home it was close to 6pm and I needed all the help I could get from my "little helpers". My big plans for the party shrank to very modest ones. I set my girls to work. Gave them plastic bags and told them to sort the Froot Loops cereal by color into those bags. They had fun gobbling them meanwhile and chatting away while busy. Then it was even more fun thing to do as each of them got a big spoon and were supposed to smack those bags with all their might to crush the loops and make "colored sand" for our cake decorating. They were busy doing that that I was working on cutting and arranging the parts of the cake. It was going to be a butterfly, per Leona's request. I did not let them frost the cake. And the decorating of the butterfly I left for myself. A slight grumbling from there side was quieted with letting them lick the spatulas and the container after the frosting.

Ivana kept on praising my work and was making plans on what kind of cake she will have for her birthday. She could not decide, there is still plenty of time till August.

That is how good I am at multitasking! Well done to Mom!

Sheep shearing festival.

We went to the sheep shearing family festival today. I did not really plan on going since we've been on a "go" for the whole week, but woke up this morning and did not feel like staying at home, so we packed up and left. It was a pretty neat place to visit. They shear sheep once a year and besides there were so many newborn lambs in the nursery, they were so cute that I don't feel like eating the lamb meat now.

But we ate a lot of sample cheese (didn't buy any, though, it was $20 a pound), watched a lady spin the wool and make the yarn, Ivana tried to weave a basket, and Mirek watched a blacksmith work, Leonka was excited to "drive" a real tractor, and I just enjoyed being outside and nursed Milanka while watching the sheep graze on the field.

Baby update.

Milana is a little more than two month old and it seems that we've had her forever. I don't remember the time of not having her anymore! We are really enjoying having her as she brings a lot of sunshine into our family life. The older sisters adore her and I can tell that the love is mutual, as Milana happily responds to them talking and playing with her. It's such a joy to watch them create a lifelong sister bond, or at least we hope that they will have one, because we constantly remind them that they should always be best friends and watch out for each other in life.

Earth Day celebration at PEEC.

We had a fun weekend. On Saturday we went to the Russian American Kids Circus performance in Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg. I was not sure about bringing Milana along, but then decided to give it a try, anyway I could walk out with her any time if she would get fussy. So, our two months old had visited a theater already. Boy, kids start early this century! It's like when you have you first baby life seems to stop or at least slow down for a while, but when there are older siblings in the house, you just keep on going and the younger ones simply come aboard!

On Sunday we went to the Pocono Educational Environmental Center for an Earth Day celebration. It was a great day to be outdoors and the girls had an awesome time at the PEEC. There were guided nature walks, pond mucking, gardening presentations, eco-crafts, a live animal presentation, recycling tips, useful information for myself as well. I learned a bit about the herbs growing locally that are edible and we can use for medicinal purposes. And maybe I'll even take a class in the fall at the Center and learn even more.

We managed to make a wind mill and heard a short presentation about the wind power, build a bugs' house and took a set to make a bird house home, did tie-dye shirts, painted rocks and did a flower project out of the plastic caps. Ivana and Leona did not want to leave, but I was exhausted after trying to help them with all the fun activities, attend to and nurse Milana, have some kind of lunch, make sure everybody was getting enough fluids and the girls were not getting a sunburn. After two and a half hours I was done. Literally. Thank goodness the ride home was only 5 minutes!

Family blessing.

I have just finished reading a book "The Blessing", by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Ph.D. and decided to share the most important highlights of the book.

The flower can not grow unless it has the necessary elements of life. Every flower needs soil, air, water, light, and a secure place to grow, one where its roots are not constantly pulled out. When these five basic ingredients are present, it is almost impossible to keep a flower from growing.

Just like the basic needs a flower has, the family blessing also has five key elements. These five elements, blend together, can cause personal acceptance to blossom and grow in our home today. Each individual part provides a unique contribution.

A family blessing begins with meaningful touch. Meaningful touching has many beneficial effects. The act of touch is a key to communicate warmth, personal acceptance, affirmation-even physical health.

The second element of family blessing is based on a spoken message. In many homes today, words of love and acceptance are seldom head. A tragic misconception parents in these homes share is that simply being present communicates the blessing. Nothing could be further from the truth. A blessing becomes so only when it is spoken. Children who are left to fill in the blanks when it comes to what their parents think about them will often fail the test when it comes to feeling valuable and secure.

Meaningful touch and a spoken message, these two elements lead up to the words of blessing themselves, words of high value. Telling children that they are valuable can be difficult for many parents due to the busy schedule, or by only attaching the words of value only to a child's performance.

A fourth element of the family blessing is picturing a special future for the kids. When it comes to predictions about their future, children are literalistic-particularly when they hear predictions from their parents. When ones feels in his or her heart that the future is hopeful and something to look forward to , it can greatly affect his or her attitude in life. Words that picture a special future act like a campfire on a dark night. They can draw a person toward the warmth of genuine concern and fulfilled potential. Instead of leaving a child to head into a dark unknown, they can illuminate a pathway lined with hope and purpose.

The last element of the blessing pictures the responsibility that goes with giving the blessing. The active commitment is very important, because words alone cannot communicate the blessing; they need to be backed with a commitment to do everything possible to help the one blessed be successful. We can tell a child, "You have the talent to be a very good pianist."But, if we neglect to provide a piano for that child to practice on, our lack of commitment has undermined our message.

These are things I will always keep in mind...

When the mother is sick....

That is how I have been feeling for the past three days.

When the mother is sick the world seems to go crushing down...
The dark clouds gather above the household, as the pile of laundry gets bigger than an avalanche, the dishes would have runned away if they had legs, the possibility of somebody in the house breaking a leg is huge since there is no empty spot on the floor to make a safe step, there is not even a chance of a hearty, freshly cooked dinner, kids hair gets so tangled up that I cry when I finally have time and energy to brush it, I have to go to use the bathroom with my eyes closed otherwise I get even more depressed by the chaos around me, the lack of O2 and sunshine adds to my poor mood on top of the physical pain...

But then I get a little "sweet treat", as I see how good my kids can be and occupy themselves for hours. Ivana would make PBJ sandwich for herself and help Leona with JO ("Jam Only") sandwich. They would go through tons of books, Leona blabbing out loud for herself and Ivana reading silently her favorite stories. Then they would play very nicely together, and then come up with some kind of project. When they run out of ideas the movie would come for a rescue... And the day is almost over.

We have survived, somehow... and the hopes for tomorrow to be brighter are huge...

In preparation for Easter.

Today we were getting ready for our family's Easter celebration. The girls had fun dyeing the eggs, then frosting and decorating the cupcakes. The weather forecast is not too promising for tomorrow and some snow showers are expected. But we are still on for the Easter egg hunt!

Baby's first hike.

Well...can't really call it a hike since she was in a stroller. She slept through for over 3 hours, but I documented her by the falls for her future photo scrap book.

Nature walk.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day and we decided to go for a nature walk. It was neither hot nor cold, but the air was freshly crisp, a bit breezy and with a spring flavor.

As much as I love to visit old places as they usually bring nice memories back, but there is a lot of excitement about going to a new destination since you do not know what to expect. And as long as I do not place my expectations too high, I will always feel revitalized, refreshed, re energized, in a way alive.

The walk yesterday cleared my head, lifted my spirits, gave me new hope, reminded me to cherish what I have, and definitely helped me to get my daily exercise as we'd managed to hike up about 6 km, according to Mirek's estimate.

We went to Digmann's Waterfalls, which are very close to our house. There was no long driving involved, a long stretch of the road was paved so we could take the stroller rather then the baby carrier for Milana, and Ivana and Leona were great hikers. Only on the way back Leona got a bit tired and asked Mirek with her puppy eyes for a neck ride.

Mirek taught the girls how to determine the age of the tree and how to know whether the year was a dry one or with plenty of precipitations for the trees to grow. Ivana discovered that some pine cones do not have seeds, and I learned why the dead trees are as important for the healthy forest as the live ones. You know, if it was up to me I would've taken all the rotten stomps away, because I just like the things neat.

The falls were beautiful, as it was the right time to visit them. All the snow had melted and the amount of roaring water was astounding. I waited down by the falls, and Mirek took the girls all the way up to look at the water falling from the top.

It was a nice walk and we will definitely be visiting the falls again...

Homo...what?

How much structure does a 5 year old need and what is considered to be age appropriate? The other day in the library I came across a book "What your first grader needs to know" and looked through it. The minimum standard does not seem to be a lot. We have covered a lot of topics with the girls just by reading books, some topics we have not came across just yet. But I do not see the reason fro worrying or trying to "catch up". They will know the names of the constellation eventually, or who Vasco da Gama was, and so on. I do try to expose them to as much information as possible, to see what interests them and takes on their attention, what makes them to be passionate and excited. Because when I see their eyes light up, I know that's when the learning is happening.

I haven't talked to Ivana about vowels and consonants (maybe I should, though), or as a matter of fact about many other rules that are believed to help your child learn to read. But what I'm trying to do is to pay close attention to the discoveries and observations that she is making on her own and then "feed the fire".

The other day Ivana wanted to write a thank you letter to her cousins for coming over and bringing a yummy chocolate cake. I love when she initiates something like that, because then I look at this time of her sitting down to write as the moment to apply her knowledge she had acquired to something meaningful, rather then doing tedious writing exercises from a work book.

So she started commenting on some words from her letter, like"wood" and "would", or 'dear" and "deer", how they sound the same but are spelled differently. And today I decided to introduce her to a new word "homophones" and came up with a longer list of these kind of words. We sat down on a sofa, and while I was nursing Milana kind of "worked with" the list. There was no need for me to explain to Ivana as she had made a discovery a day before all by herself. We came up with different sentences, she practised writing them. We had fun and she was excited to see so many words that can be a bit tricky, as I call them, that's when Tata came home she was very eager to teach him about the homophones.

And Mirek's reaction was , "Homo...what was that?"

Now... I'm sure the term "homophones" will not stick around in her little head for a long time, but I have made sure she had gotten that "extra serving of baby spinach salad when her body was craving iron", if I might use that kind of metaphor... I just satisfied her natural curiosity.

Ancient Rome.

It always starts with reading a book. And since we read a lot in this house, the girls are wonderful at coming up with different ideas and entertaining themselves.

Today we were reading a book about ancient Rome. It's a book for a bit older kids, but we managed to sit for a while and go through a couple of pages before Ivana and Leona were ready to do a fun activity. First, we came across the page where they described how Romans were using the mosaics to decorate their homes and there was a suggestion to try to make a paper mosaic. I did not have to ask my girls twice. Off we moved to the table and started cutting the construction paper. Ivana wanted to make a tree and Leona settled for the fish I drew for her. We picked three colors not to make the project too long, but still to have a nice colorful picture.

It turned out to be a very time consuming project. Leona did not have the patience to finish her design up, and Ivana was ready to give up half way. But I'm trying to teach our oldest to finish what she'd started and I offered her my help. The project was coming along faster when we decided to stop putting glue on each separate square of paper, but instead put glue on the design itself and then quickly arranged the squares. Ivana's interest in finishing up returned as she was able to see the result faster, as at her age the project is mostly about the result. She did a great job and later showed it to Tata with pride.

Then we read up a bit more on the Romans, and the the girls wanted to have their lunch lying down, like the Romans. It was not going to happen, however I allowed them to have their banana snack the Romans' way. But first, Ivana asked me for a bed sheet so she could really look like a Roman woman wearing her toga and sandals.

We went for a walk and Ivana picked some kind of dried plants to try and make the papyrus. She let the stems soak in the water for a while and then tried to weave them together. Of course it did not work, she was a bit disappointed but quickly get over it and comforted herself saying that one day she'd go to Egypt and get that special plant to make the papyrus (we'd watched a program about ancient Egypt a couple of days prior and they'd mentioned the papyrus making process).

In the afternoon we sat down to do our writing exercise with Ivana and continued with our theme of the day. She wrote these sentences:
-Ancient Romans decorated their houses with mosaics.
-The Romans spoke a language called Latin.
-The Romans wrote on papyrus.
-At parties the Romans ate lying down.
-The Romans wore sandals and togas.

That's why we love to read books as they can be extremely inspiring and help to create an all day learning experience without any formal setting, in a natural and fun way.

Storage boxes.

I came up with a great idea! As I am a neat freak and like the things organized it was driving me nuts sometimes to see the girls' toys all piled up together without any system. They would come to me and ask where their tea pot was, or doll, or some other toys that I had no idea about. And all these little things that are always lying around and everybody step on them and they end up in the garbage. We made food with Ivi and Leona from a dough, they got a beautiful tea set and a baking set for Christmas, and again everything was all over the house.

When clementines were in season I kept the boxes having a smart (I think so !) idea of decorating them and using them for storage of little toys. And they are just perfect! The boxes are not too big, they were pretty easy to decorate, and you can stack them up.

Here's what we did:
-ripped the cover paper and cleaned the sides of the boxed from the glue;
-painted the inside and outside with bright acrylic paints;
-took decorative napkins and separated the fine top layer with the design, then glued them on the box with the Mod Podge Glue.

And that was it! You could use any napkins with any nice designs. We happened to have the ones with roses, fruits, flowers and bugs. Now in the evenings the girls put their toys away into the boxes, satisfying my freaky desire to have things neat. I know, it's all about what we as parents want!

Daddy is fun!

It was so wonderful that Mirek was able to stay with me for almost two weeks after the baby was born. I tried to get a lot of rest, did minimal cleaning ( just closed my eyes when going to the bathroom), avoided cooking complicated meals for lunch or dinner (ate a lot of leftovers and cheese sandwiches, sometimes cereal for lunch)... I had been sitting on the same spot on the sofa for hours at a time (so that my bottom would get numb) nursing Milanka and just gazing into her beautiful face and stroking her soft and plump cheeks...
And Mirek was spending a lot of time with the two big sisters. Taking them sledding and skiing behind the house on a septic hill, reading Czech books, and just having a lot of fun. That's his thing... He is a lot of fun to be around and Ivanka and Leona really loved him being at home all this time.
He's been back to work this week and we surely miss him! I've attempted to drive with the three of them and I think it went pretty well. On Tuesday I took Ivana to her dance school, and on Wednesday we went to the homeschooling coop that she enjoyes going to very much. It was very refreshing to see our freinds again after such a long break. I guess we are more or less back on our feet with the things we used to do before Milanka was born. Have not done the grocery shopping with all the girls yet... Maybe I'll wait a bit longer with that as I'm not looking forward to nursing the baby in the supermarket!

Lady hats.

Since I've been preoccupied with the baby for the last couple of days and not spending enough time with my two big girls, yesterday we did a fun project together. We had "Ladies only party". There were no guests invited, just me and them but we had a good time anyway. First, we made and decorated hats from the paper plates, then we painted nails, then we had tea with some cookies, and finally the girls made a stage performance. The little one was sleeping for an hour an a half, and we managed to do everything we wanted to.
Now it's all about finding the time...and learning again to do a lot of things with one hand...and giving Ivana more responsibility to take care of herself, her younger sister and helping me. I feel a bit unsettled for now, and a lot of times unaccomplished when the day turns into night, but I know it's only a temporary feeling. For now I just can't stop counting my blessings...

A new bundle of joy is here!

Yes...finally!
Our baby girl was ready to see her parents on Friday, the 23rd of February at 7:03 am.
She is 20" and 8lb 6oz.
And her name is Milana.
Welcome to the world, our little treasure!
We've been waiting for you!

Snow! Snow!

Finally it feels like winter is here!
We had a lot of snow yesterday and lots of fun cleaning the driveway and taking the girls sledding.
I had some workout with the shovel as well, but it did not do the trick to help me go into labor.
Oh, well, still waiting...

Not celebrating St. Valentine's.

Yesterday was a holiday that we do not celebrate with my dear hubby. We do not exchange gifts, go out for dinner, or treat each other in a "special way" that day, because we love and treat each other with love and respect throughout the year.
It was so ironical that yesterday morning we listened to the WBAI program "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman, where she talked about celebrating the St. Valentine's Day and what it involves. Flowers, grown with slave labor and brought to the USA and some Europian countries from Columbia, "conflict" diamonds from Sierra Leon, and chocolates made from the cocoa beans where child slavery is widely used.

In the evening I received a phone call from a friend of mine who wished me "Happy Valentine's Day". I wished her the same back very politely, but thinking about the morning radio program asked, "So, did you get your diamonds today, chocolate and flowers?" And I felt a bit uncomfortable when she said, "Yes, I did! How about you?". So, I had to go and explain to her that we do not celebrate this holiday with Mirek. I wasn't going into any details, but I guess she had sensed something in the tone of my voice (even though there was really nothing there, just the tone of a tired preggo woman whose due date was 4 days ago!) and started apologizing for calling me and wishing "Happy St. Valentine's Day". Ahhhhh! Sometimes it's just better to keep quiet!
I do some fun activities with the girls, though. We baked heart shaped cookies and decorated them hoping to bring them to share with the friends in our homeschooling coop. But we had so much snow, that we did not go anywhere yesterday, so all the cookies are for us!
Hurray!!!

Piggy bank.

As we are still waiting for the "little one" to come and great us in this world, we are trying to keep busy with doing a lot of arts and crafts. I will not have as much time later, or at least in the beginning after bringing the baby home, so we are on the roll.
The girls wanted to make a piggy bank the other day to put money aside for our trip to Russia (who knows when that will happen, that's why we have to start early to save the money).
As I really like to make things out of "nothing", we used a plastic bottle for our piggy bank. Some felt, wiggly eyes, hot glue gun (of course!), the empty paint containers for the legs...
And when Tata comes home in the evening, the girls run to him to give him kisses, hugs and... get the change!

Before and after.

We have been working on this project for over two weeks and now finally it's done!
It started with the girls wanting to make a castle out of the toilet paper rolls, since we've been using them for a while for small craft ideas. And I decided to take it up to a bit higher level and started collecting the empty boxes and food containers. It took us so long to complete the project since it had involved a few stages. First, we glued newspaper strips all over the containers to make them sturdier. When the glue dried up, we painted the first coat of paint, then the second and the third. The girls were very busy, and played in between the painting sessions. I helped to make the "cracking effect" which took me a couple of days. Then we were working on our roofs, all over again with gluing and coloring. The most fun was the final part, when they already could see the ready towers of the castle coming up and could play with them trying to figure out the layout. Windows and the doors came in the last and then it was time for me to take out my hot glue gun. It's a "must have" if you have kids!
So, a bit of imagination, acrylic paints, brushes, glue, newspaper, scissors, a few empty food containers that would've ended up in the garbage anyway, and we have a wonderful toy to play with.
Next idea is to populate the castle with princesses and knights made out of the salt and flour dough.

Before and after