"I'm a broccoli monster!"

Did you hear the one...

about the Czech construction workers who asked a certain pregnant American's babysitter if the woman she babysits for is expecting twins?

Yeh. That was a good one....

Toilets in the Sky

For the sake of "art", why not? This was part of a recent art exhibit in downtown Prague. Apparently, when viewing this lovely work of art, one is supposed to be reminded of the negative impact of urban sprawl and how we, as cities, are not doing enough to protect our green spaces. Yep. That's what I thought too....

A Taunting from Cyberspace

I have been receiving weekly newsletters throughout the pregnancy from a site called Babycenter.com. Here's what came today... nothing like a "friendly" reminder that my little guy is still snugly tucked away in my belly!


Hello from BabyCenter!
Your Newborn

Welcome home! Right now, your new baby won't be doing much besides nursing every two to three hours and sleeping off and on around the clock. You may be feeling a little shell-shocked. That's normal — and it's your cue to take it easy. Your main job right now is to tend to your post-delivery aches and pains, learn how to breastfeed, and shower your baby with love. Concentrate on those basics, and when your baby drifts off to sleep try to grab a catnap yourself — the laundry can wait.

As I look around our house this morning, all I can see is growing mountains of laundry. Since we're still in a "blissful" holding pattern (ahem, sarcasm)... guess I'll go start a load and finish the ironing while I'm at it.

Fit for a Prince

See what you can do with the corner of a home office, an Ikea bed and the limited baby decor selection in the Czech Republic? (How many hours did I spend analyzing bed skirts for Lydia's crib? Let's not talk about that...)

Ok, so the letters on the wall were ordered from America but I didn't want to confuse the poor little guy with a picture of a house by the letter "D" or a dog by the letter "P"! The final touches... handmade baby quilts and a bed skirt from Gramma and "Gramma Great" are making their trek across the ocean. Diapers have been stockpiled and clothing is washed. Now, will someone please let the little guy know he is welcome to come any day... and soon?!?

Gardens Galore

Next stop: Troja Palace. Again, mainly for the "fountain fix" but we did manage to briskly walk through the interior of the palace and view lots and lots of paintings. (And with only TWO admonishments from the Czech room monitors! Those of you who are raising children in the Czech Republic know what a feat this is!!! Once for touching the printed text information signs, once for having her feet on the bench she was sitting on.) Thankfully, most of the paintings were of animals and not naked people ... a much more interesting viewing experience for a toddler!


Think this guy had a thing for statues?!?


The view is great from up here...

What have we been up to?

Well, Mommy has been nesting... and nesting.... and nesting. I've built quite a nest! You should see the storage closet, and the formerly tornado-strewn office, and the laundry room, and Lydia's toy room.......

Other than that we've been hitting some famous gardens in Prague. This seems to be Lydia's favorite past time as they generally include fountains, flowers, statues and maybe even a peacock, fish and ducks. She even managed to convince the babysitter to head out on a walk to the "garden" not realizing the garden is a 20 minute drive away. Poor Nina (our sitter)... unknowingly headed out on the trek, thinking the garden was just outside. Needless to say, Lydia wasn't happy when Nina eventually gave up on EVER finding the garden and turned her around to head back home!














Inside Wallenstein Castle garden... Built a long, long time ago by some important military guy who got too big for his britches and ended up executed by the Emporer.














Lydia and Fountain #1 of 4. Yes, those are coffee stains on her shirt. The girl LOVES coffee and isn't afraid to tell you: "I LOVE coffee. I eating coffee." Her drink of choice (she HAS no choice since mommy is ordering)... Decaf Caffe Latte with skim milk, 2 sugars and sprinkled with cocoa powder. "Train up a child in the way he should go....". ;-)

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An example of why Prague is nicknamed the "City of 1,000 Spires". Note the cool rock/stalagtite wall in the bottom of the picture. That's one of the walls in the Wallenstein Castle garden.

News Flash!

We had a doctor appointment yesterday. EVERY one of my prenatal doctor appointments in the Czech Republic has been accompanied by a sonogram. While measuring the baby's various body parts to provide us with a rough estimate of weight, Dr. Stajskalova had only one comment: "Long legs!". HA! ;-) Tell us something we DON'T know! Like his name....

Good Friends. Great Eats.

Rather than having a traditional baby shower, I opted for a "Girls' Night Out". Knowing that it could very well be a long time before I am able to just leave the house for a night out with my friends, it seemed like a great way to spend the evening celebrating and anticipating the arrival of our baby boy. We went to a great Italian place for dinner followed by Prague's best ice cream: Cream n' Dream. "Thank You" to everyone who helped make it a very special night for me! Emily... I missed you greatly.

Magical Vanishing Signs

Remember those road signs that mysteriously appeared a few weeks ago? The ones that instructed me that I couldn't turn right/left when exiting/entering my neighborhood? Well, they just as mysteriously vanished this weekend. I know they were there on Friday. I know that they are NOT there today. Did the Transport Authority change their minds on their recent restrictions? Did a mischievious citizen in the neighborhood take matters into their own hands? We may never know...

As long as they don't come looking in our garage....