When in Rome (or Prague).....

Make sure you're following the rules. The "welcome sign" at the public swimming pool. However, keeping the "p" out of the "ool" (a common reminder in the States) does NOT seem to be a big concern as swimwear-less toddlers swarm the waters. At least their heads are covered! Hey, ya' gotta have your priorities....


(Thanks, Sunny for bravely wielding your camera and capturing this photo opp!)

Ok, so organization is not my strong suit!

What was this all about?!?!? I went to the grocery store last night to pick up only a few items. I proceeded to the checkout, placed all of my items on the belt and waited as the cashier began scanning. I glanced back and witnessed the woman in line behind me begin to frantically rearrange MY items on the belt! First she took my 6 vanilla yogurts and stacked them in two stacks of 3. Next my berry jogurt -- same treatment. Thinking she was just trying to help a pregnant lady (that's me) and speed up the scanning process, I assumed she was finished. Not so! She moved on to my 4 cans of soda (setting them upright in a line), cereal boxes were lined up like little toy soldiers. Then the bread products were all grouped together, crackers perched on top of waffles on top of bread. Now, I admit I am no organizational expert (anyone who sees my scrapbooking supplies will attest to that!), but I hadn't haphazardly thrown my items onto the belt -- there was some semblance of order to my purchases.

Me, being the non-Czech speaking foreigner that I am, continued wearing the same sheepish grin that graces my face 90% of the day -- the one that says "I don't know what you're doing or saying to me, but I'll smile about it anyway!" But to you privileged readers I will admit, what I was thinking was: "Hey Lady! I'm an American. And in America we don't touch each others food!"

Yeh. Try saying that in Czech....

Dudette

We were introduced to a great outdoor pool by our friend, Shanna. It's a surprisingly pleasant, communist-built oasis in the middle of the city. We made our first trek of the summer on Tuesday. What fun!

After liberally applying Lydia's sunscreen and setting her free to the call of the water, I realized that I had broken one of the strongest cultural codes in the Czech Republic: Children are NOT to appear outside in the sunshine without a hat! Czech grandmothers have been known to give stern looks and reprimand unsuspecting, naive foreign mothers for this code violation!

I recalled that I had a hat in the car but was dreading the task of explaining to the gate attendant that "I need to get a hat from my car; I will be right back; Please don't make me pay for re-entry". Graciously, another friend offered me a spare bandana for Lydia to use. I admit I was a little apprehensive about the thought of my little girl in a "do-rag", but given the alternative, I accepted her offer.

As soon as Lydia's head was swaddled, her true personality came out! She looked so cool and cute! And not to mention, she blended in just perfectly with her Czech swimming mates... PINK swimsuit with a RED bandana... why NOT? After all, color coordination is optional in this land, but appropriate summer headwear is NOT!

Welcome to our playground: Hard hats required!

Taking full advantage of the summer that we thought would never arrive, we joined our friends, Laura and her son Owen, at the playground this morning. We were enjoying the sunshine,sandbox and our friends... when what should our wonderous eyes behold?!? Why, a five-man work crew wielding METAL shovels, maneuvering trucks and loading and unloading dumpsters of sand (in a not-so-large playground space). I mean, really, the sun is up at 4:30am these days and it stays light until 9:30pm. But what better time to work with heavy equipment in the midst of a sea of toddlers than smack in the middle of peak playtime (10:30 am) in the sandbox?

Yeh, that's what we thought too...

I can Vlog!

So, Blogging is old hat. Apparently, the up and coming thing is Vlogging -- Video Blogging. Unfortunately there aren't too many sites out there for use in posting video to Blogger. And the ones that do exist are public sites that allow your video to be viewed by the entire planet while simultaneously asking for you to provide personal information.

In my former life I would NEVER record myself singing children's songs (including ones that I make up) and post it on the internet. But, when you're a Mommy and the grandparents are far, far away you'll do some pretty crazy things!

Enjoy!

Lydia Sings!

Inaugural Dip

Summer's Princess













How sweet it is! Following depressing months of gray Czech skies coupled with weeks and weeks of green pool water, we were finally able to take the plunge. Lydia couldn't wait -- I'm sure she was beginning to doubt my repetitious (but true) refrain: "We can't go swimming today. It's too cold. And the guy is still fixing the pool."

Sure, yesterday the kiddie pool on the terrace was exciting. But that dome-roofed chlorine-filled tub o' fun has been calling her name. Since it's in the 80s today, a pre-nap trial swim sounded fabulous. Yes, the in/out of the floating dolphin toy got a little tiresome, but she surprised me by blowing bubbles at the pool edge and willingly floating flat on her back. I don't know if there is anything Lydia loves more than water!

Alright, "Houdini"...

Let's see ya' break out of this one!

The stitched crotch of Lydia's pjs. I knew Home-Ec would come in handy someday!!! (Thanks, Mrs. D.)

Kudos

And now, a extra special thank you to my lovely, much missed neighbor Andrea. I wish I had a picture of the two of us to post, but the only pic I have has "JETLAG" written all over my face. And since I am the author of this blog, I get to choose which pictures make the cut! :-)

Andrea went out of her way to make our stay as stress-free as possible. Besides delivering "Welcome Home" flowers to our hotel room before we arrived, she volunteered to babysit Lydia so Brandon and I could run some errands, invited Lydia and I over to dinner while Brandon was out to dinner with work, showed extreme patience with Lydia's mood swings, and even spent her first maternity-clothes shopping experience bravely by my side. And the list goes on and on and on....

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Andrea (and Jeff) I can only hope to be a neighbor as wonderful and thoughtful as you. Already looking forward to our next sushi-date as couples! Until then, "Dekuji moc" (Many thanks).

New-found Friends. Since we moved away when Lydia was only one, she previously held little interest to these two little neighbor girls, Mae and Hannah. Upon our return to Willow Avenue they made up for lost time. Mae and Hannah couldn't WAIT for Lydia to arrive at the block party. I'll admit, Lydia looks a bit distressed but she was loving every minute of it. (Notice her folded hands?). Believe me: Unsolicited 4-year old girl attention is the highlight of Lydia's day!!!

Quite possibly the world's greatest neighborhood! We were so lucky to be able to attend Willow Avenue's Annual Block Party while we were in Maryland.

Long Lost Pals. Claudia Lenahan, Lydia, and Cameron Carter. Oh, what a wonderful playgroup we could've been! They even played peacefully during their 1-year Reunion.

Lydia's sole toy during her hotel stay in Maryland: The Potato Head Family. Purchased during Round 1 at Target, the "Tatos" (as Lydia calls them) proved to be a big hit and major lifesaver. And did I mention that the accessories look stunning on humans as well?!?

Survival of the Fittest

Angel in the Skies

Whew! That sound you hear is our family taking one collective big breath, 'cuz we made it! We launched into the great unknown last week and embarked on a whirlwind one-week trip to the States. Brandon had meetings all week, so I decided that Lydia and I would take the plunge and join him. Lydia travelled amazingly well -- didn't even cry once during the flights (a personal record)! Her demeanor Stateside, however, was a bit like Disney's Space Mountain... intense ups preceding downward plunges and unexpected turns (with Mommy in the dark as how to react most appropriately). Still, the week was a blessing, filled with long-awaited and much anticipated playdates, reunions and conversation. Mommy's shopping binge is a whole other blogpost; but I am confident Target noticed a spike in sales for the first week of June.

But we're already home again, readjusting yet again to jetlag and already missing our friends in Maryland immensely. More pics and details to follow. Gotta get to bed -- this jetlagged Mommy's bed is calling her name.