Snickers, Too??

Jeff passed his physical with flying colors, with no advice to lay off Snickers. But then Jeff noticed this CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/candy.milk.ap/index.html

Last month, news of the "China tainted milk scandal," or tainted baby formula scandal, first broke. The issue is "high traces" of the industrial chemical, melamine was found in baby formula and identified as the reason 4 kids have died (and more than 13,000 have been hospitalized).

Our hearts go out to any and all families affected. We cannot imagine the feelings a parent would go through, feeding what you trust to be simply good baby formula, only to bring on kidney stones to an infant.

And now, according to the article above, products such as Oreos, M&Ms and (oh-so-delicious) Snickers bars are being recalled and banned, since they, too, were manufactured using the tainted milk powder.

All seriousness aside, Jeff says poo-poo to this widely cast net of fear-mongering. "This is just a xenophobic ploy to cast doubt on an all-American treat, the Snickers bar!" Tonight for dinner, Jeff is having Snickers and he's going to enjoy it like it's his last.

Catching Up

Feels like forever and a day since we've written anything, so...a few lines to catch up.

• Got our shower tiled - looks great. Previous owners left it a mess. I and May's dad, Bill, each tried to fix, but both tries didn't last long. So, for just 5,000 Kc or ~$300, we got 2 Ukrainians to clean it up and tile it - (Ukrainians are comically-popular as contractors here). Great workmanship, esp. around faucets & we're very happy with the difference. Next post I'll put up before and after pics.
• We took 2 train trips outside the city these past 2 weekends. First weekend was to a small Czech village, Tabor. Very quaint, sweet square; important in old Czech religious history. How old? According to Wikipedia, the historical importance of the city ceased in 1452! Figured we should see it, and better late than never.
• The second weekend trip was to Karlstejn to celebrate Vinobrani (Czech Wine Harvest). Jeff's Mom & Dad will remember our local Vinobrani festival last year, when we drank 3 liters of "burchak" or cider. This stuff goes down so easily. This year, Maylia and I were responsible and split a liter between us.
• Ella's skolka (nursery school) had a parent-teacher conference last Thursday. Jeff drew the short straw and went for the Parkers. Yeah...Jeff caught about 5% of what was said. We may return for a 1:1 meeting with Kristyna soon.
• Mattias continues to laugh and poke at his big sister, who enjoys every minute of it. From the pics, you see he's one chunky monkey. Still really enjoys being on his feet (with help, of course).
• Despite chilly temps the past few weeks, this past weekend was warm, sunny weather and we recognize it's very likely our last for the year. We've unpacked the collection of gloves, scarves and hats.
• (In about 2 hours) Jeff visits the doctor for his first physical in ... several years. He'll hear results from bloodwork last week, as well as likely hear advice to stay off the Snickers and get on a treadmill. More to come later.
• Erin Reardon is coming a week from this Thursday. We can't wait for you, Erin!!!

Until later-


Summing up...

Final Wave of Vacation - New Hampshire

This is our third and final summer vacation post.

While our first two vacation destinations (Indiana and Nova Scotia) were centered on family, our last week (8 days in fact!) was spent purely with friends. It felt very "homey" as this was the only spot during our trip where we had actually lived together as a family. After 2 years away from our Manchester, NH roots, there was a lot of catching up to do and little time to do it in. We made the most of the 8 days - saw lots of folks (met lots of babies) and had lots of fun! Special thanks to our friends who took care of so much organizing on our behalf and also to friends who made such an effort to see us. We had travelers from NYC, Rhode Island and Vermont!

We parked ourselves at the Klein-Rosenthal household, otherwise known as Rocky's place. Ella and Rocky were soon back to being best buds.

The biggest get-together was at Clough State Park, where our friends had reserved a pavilion of picnic tables and ordered up tons of good eats (including S'Mac) for the Parker Party. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed swimming in the lake and basking in the sun while catching up with friends.

We also got to bask in the sun at Erin & Andy's place!

Of course, no visit to NH would be complete without seeing the Nobis crew. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos from our gathering at the Green Martini in Concord. It was great to see Maylia's co-workers, though! We also had a gathering with Jeff's former co-workers, hosted by the Zecchinos. As usual, the treated us like royalty and we had a stellar time. Ella especially enjoyed hanging out with the Zecchino girls. Here are the guys, reunited.




A big item on our agenda was having Mattias baptized. We chose the same church as we had for Ella - Brookside Congregational Church. However, this was a smaller affair with Catharine, Dave and Owen being the only guests able to make it. We were sorry to hear Pastor Bill had moved on, but happy to learn Carolyn Keilig had taken his place. (Her husband, Roger, actually hired Maylia at Nobis. Roger was kind enough to attend the ceremony as well.) It was a lovely service and we really appreciate Carolyn squeezing us in!




Eating was a major focus of our time in NH. There were numerous yummy dinner parties and brunches hosted by Michelle & Jeff, Catharine & Dave, and Erin & Andy.




We also ate at some of our fave haunts, Jewel and the Beanstalk...




Sara (which is sadly closing)...




Piccola Italia (where we surprised Michelle with a birthday bash)...




and La Caretta (the only place open on our chosen Girls night!).



Also on our list (Jeff's list) was to satisfy some serious sugar cravings before heading back to the land of $20 Oreos. While in NH (where sweets are cheap and plentiful), Jeff put away no fewer than 4 boxes of Swiss rolls, 2 boxes of Lucky Charms, 2 trays of Oreos (1 was double-stuff), and a box of Twinkies. Jeff's been catching up on sleep since coming back to Prague.

Of course, the most important part of our time in NH was just being with friends...




...and meeting new members of our crew!

A Ella in Preschool Story

Being a parent is pretty great overall, but last Wednesday was a real "proud parents" moment for Maylia and me.

I'll copy here an e-mail I sent our friend Catharine last week:

Oh Catharine, early this morning I was such the proud daddy... we brought Ella to school today and stayed again for 10-15 minutes to watch. The teacher announced "Deska budeme malovat!" (Today we will paint!). All the kids gathered around. May and I both caught it, but Ella didn't, so I got a little tinge in my stomach for her. Ella joins them and the teacher poured paints into jars. The teacher asks Ella what the colors are and helps her with the first one, starting with yellow, "zluta". Then as the teacher just pointed to green, red and blue, Ella said the czech words for each first. The teacher seemed genuinely excited and Maylia and I were besides ourselves. It was the coolest feeling. I couldn't have been happier if it were me saying the words first. This was the first time I've felt such a proud feeling. So cool.

Ella seems to be adapting well to school and school seems to be growing well on her.

-Jeff

FAREWELL TO NOVA SCOTIA...

If ever I felt the inadequacy of the blog to capture our lives, it is this entry. The first portion of our North American vacation was spent in Nova Scotia. Ella, Mattias and I flew July 21 with the help of Auntie 'Chelle. Jeff joined us August 9. We were there until August 18.

This was the first time everyone (except Mom and Dad) met Mattias, and the first time most people had seen Ella since she was celebrating her first birthday. We want to thank our family and friends for their hospitality and generousity during our stay (My gracious, the gifts!!!). As usual, we are overwhelmed by the love and support that continues to be showered on us even as we insist on carrying out this hair-brained adventure an ocean away.

During those few weeks we tried not to do too much...take it easy...relax...recover from the jetlag...and yet we still...

Celebrated Ella's birthday...

Finally met Uncle Michael in person...

And Baby Henry...

Visited with friends...

Had lots of beach time...

And, of course, there was THE WEDDING!

But the best part was the hugs!

First Day of School for Ella

Today was a big day; today was Ella's first day in pre-school.

Took this picture this morning when we reminded her.  Think she's excited?

The school is not far from home.  In fact, it's around the corner from our place, less than a minute's walk.  Once we're in a routine, Jeff will bring her to school on his way to work.

Here we are at the school front door.  Sign reads "Nursery School of Teaching Department of Charles University".   We're feeling pretty lucky to be able to offer this to Ella, even if she is only 3 years old.

Ella's daily schedule?  She starts with early play, then a mid-morning snack,some outside play and lunch.  Whew.  Then mom comes to pick her up after noon.  We'll start her at 3x a week, half-days.  For this in $US, about $75 a month, for 'tuition' and board.  (It's on the "expensive" side, since we're paying for full days.)  :)

We get in the school grounds and find out Ella is in the Kotatka class, or kitty class.  Immediately inside the kitty class area, the kids place their shoes in a shoe cubby and change into their inside shoes.  Kids recognize their space by some picture.  Ella is the 'jablko' (apple) in the lower right.

Inside, Ella has her own 'jablko' cubby to keep her bag, jacket and, of course, her Dora the Explorer hat.  (we're still recovering from leaving our Boston Red Sox hat in Nova Scotia) 

What's the language?  Czech all the way.  Looking at the student roster in her class, Ella is very likely the only native English speaker.  No doubt this is a source of anxiety for mom & dad, but we watched a teacher and Ella play with some toy animals, and we believe Ella will adapt and grow pretty darn quickly.

This is mom after we finally left.  We stayed with her for about 45 minutes.  The teachers were supportive of us as "first day" parents.  Ella didn't seem concerned (at all) when we left.  Maylia, on the other hand, ...she felt it.

Mom went to pick her up at planned after their lunch and found Ella still eating.  Here's a pic of her and her plate.  They started with soup, then had fish, potatoes, beets.  To drink, the ever-popular local 'detsky caj' (children's tea).

When Jeff called to hear how Ella felt about it, Maylia said that she had trouble getting Ella to leave.  We sort of expected that, but not on the first day.   Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Vacation in Indiana

(Jeff's parents & the Parker Farm)





We had a great summer vacation in Canada and the US, but summing up several weeks in one write-up seems too daunting and unfair. So, we figure we will split up this vacation into 3 parts- Nova Scotia, Indiana and New Hampshire.


This post is for our time in Indiana, visiting Jeff's parents, a.k.a. Grammy & Grampy, at the Parkers' farm.

On the Saturday we were in Indiana, Jeff and family drove down to Indianapolis to meet up with some of Jeff's ol' college gang.   Some of these folks hadn't seen each other since the mid-90's, which made it extra great to catch up, let alone meet all the new kids.   Thanks Bill for making it all possible!!

Mattias looking rather cute in a sailor outfit from Auntie Erin & new Uncle Michael.

Grammy seemed to always be baking and cooking...and Ella often helped. Ella kept a stepstool nearby, in case Grammy needed any taste-testing. Judging by the pajamas, this is Ella testing blueberry cake well before lunch. (What can we say?)

Grammy and Grampy keep a golf-cart and a "Gator" handy to help get around the farm. We took both for rides every day.

On our first day, we took the 'Gator' for a tour of the property, past the rows of blueberry bushes, around the chickens, the pond, pole barn, fruit orchards and into the "back 40" before returning. Ella loved riding in the back. Mattias was 'safe' on mom's lap as Jeff opened the Gator up to see what it could do.

For weather, we couldn't have been more fortunate. Sunny and blue skies most every day. But on some days, the humidity made Ella long for a dip in her pool. In this picture, the pool takes a rest as Eric makes a sprinkler for Ella to run around (and away) in. This picture so reminds me of Chris Farley imitating the Flash Dance movie: "She's a maniac, ...maniac!" (what movie was that??).

A highlight for Ella was a day spent at the nearby Fair Oaks Dairy Farm. (Not a real cow pictured, in case you wondered!) We did a bus tour showing us where the cows lived and how they're milked. We also went to the "birthing barn" where we got to see (in stadium seating, no less) a mommy cow give birth to her new calf. (Video taken, not posted) But maybe Ella's best memory of the dairy farm is when we sampled ice cream, made on location from the fresh milk.

And Eric and Jeff would think this post isn't complete if we didn't mention how Ella got to meet Indiana's Governor Daniels at the diary farm. Ever the politician, Governor Daniels spent considerable time with Ella for the local news cameras. To his credit, we ran into him a half hour later and he remembered her name.

Again, we had quite the packed vacation - and this is only part of it - the Indiana part. We hope to post our Nova Scotia and NH parts soon. Till then -

Home, Exhausted, Happy, but Missing You

Taxi dropped us 4 and our collective 350 pounds of luggage at our place around 2:30pm today.  Needless to say, we're totally beat.  We're able to post this because Ella & Mattias just fell asleep.

The flight, according to Maylia, was 100x easier than her & Michelle's July flight to Canada.  For starters, we had only one, not two stops to Prague.  We also had the advantage of flying out late in the evening, rather than their early morning start.

Ella and Mattias both were asleep soon after dinner was served out of Boston's flight.  Mattias slept in a pre-ordered bassinet, which the crew attached to the wall ahead of us (first row).  He was a bit restless, but managed to get 5 hours sleep.

Ella... she slept clean through the whole flight, right through the landing and onto the connecting flight.  She stirred a bit as we departed Zurich to Prague, but then she kept sleeping right to our doorstop.  Sorry, Michelle - Jeff had it made!

Pictures to come -- thanks to all!!!