Sunday, March 28, 2010

Yeah, Papi is home again. We are so happy to have him back and starting spring break all at the same time. We even had daylight savings time start today so it has been a big weekend. All is well, some of us are fighting colds but I think the kids are mostly over it. I am sure mine will pass quickly. Maybe we will have an extra great week and our bikes and our car will come! Cross your fingers.

 
The requisite everyone together photo. This was as still as they would stand being all hyped-up on sugar. We had hopes for a nice warm spring day but at least the rain waited until later. In fact it got quite chilly about the time we had to leave.
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This is on the grounds at the Ambassador's house. The kids are searching for eggs here but they also had a great time having spoon races, an egg toss, doing crafts, and eating goodies. There was even a lady dressed up like a bunny handing out chocolates. It was a small but very enjoyable party.
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Ethan found this small dog at the party and didn't want to leave it alone. Fortunately, the dog enjoyed the attention and he was pretty gentle, only grabbing at her nose occasionally. The dog is available for adoption but I don't need someone else to clean up after or worry about.
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This is the kids minus sad Ethan on our way to the Embassy Easter party.
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Marlo wore small braids all over her head for a couple of days and even washed them. Then, on Thursday we took them all out and this is what it looked like. By the end of the day she was too hot and it was all up in a pony tail but it was fun while it lasted. I'm not sure about the bandana.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

 
Teac got himself dressed this morning. He came down and asked me if he looked like a soldier. I told him no because he didn't choose his marines shirt. He told me that was ok and that he was an army/Lightning McQueen guy. I said, "what about the beach hat?" He explained that it was because army guys wear hats and it would keep the sun off his face, and "I like it." Not much to argue with there, especially since I didn't have any plans for us to be seen in public today.
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Last Friday Marlo's class gave a presentation for the assembly. They performed a shortened version of "Who's on First", sang Take me Out to the Ball Game, and taught a little about baseball. Marlo of course was the Queen ham of the show. She did sound effects and even a little improvised dance while they were changing to the next segment. The kids performing with her make up her entire class of the 9-10 year olds at the school. She is the only American and there is only one boy. She loves it so far and has made some good friends. We like that two of the girls are accomplished piano players and it is motivating her to practice more.
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Monday, March 22, 2010

Some thoughts about Montenegro:

"When God finished making the world," runs an old Montenegrin ballad, "He found that He had a great many rocks left in His bag; so He tumbled the whole lot on to a wild and desolate bit of country- and that is how Montenegro was formed."

The Montenegrin people are known for being tall, strong warriors. They are a people that come from a rugged landscape that supports little and have tended flocks to support themselves throughout history. They have fought in numerous wars and are often compared to the clansmen of Scotland. All of the towns are small and linked together with serpentine roads through the mountains. Everyone knows someone that knows someone or has a cousin that can do what you need. They are very friendly and love children but are a little over protective while they are young.

They love their coffee, cigarettes, and beer. Beer is sold in 2 liter bottles and it is very common for people to grow their own grapes and make their own wine. Going out to eat is sometimes painful because of the cloud of smoke that hovers in the restaurant, even in the nonsmoking section. We don't go out a lot because of it. There is an entire section in the supermarket devoted to types of mayonnaise, as there is to pickled cucumbers and peppers. I had no idea there were so many types of paprika- at least 50 on the shelves in the larger stores.

They eat dried and smoked meats, feta cheese, Gouda, sausages, and most things fried. Papi tried a dish that was a breaded and fried sausage served with a mayonnaise sauce on top. It was pretty good. They get bananas from Ecuador, oranges from Spain and Turkey, garlic from China, but they grow great cherries, kiwis, and plums themselves. Lots of fresh bread. It is normal to go to the store every day for bread. They eat is with a type of sour cream spread on top. It is somewhere between sour cream and yogurt, but thicker. They have doughnuts filled with Nutella or jam, all the pastries you could want and their cakes are more cream than cake. The ice cream is delicious. Creamy and rich and served in small scoops on cones. Flavors like Snickers, hazelnut, cheese cake, tiramisu, in addition to the standard scv.

We live in the capital city and the largest. It is a very small town with its second mall just getting ready to open. The current mall is only a year old and is the place to be when the weather is bad. You can look in any direction and see beautiful rugged mountains with snow caps in the distance.

So far so good.

Hubby is gone traveling for the week and I have low motivation to do much of anything. The kitchen needs cleaning, I need to water the garden (a complicated task because the hose is too short and I have to string it across the garage to make it reach better), I should get in the shower, and the floors are always waiting. And then I think, no one is coming home tonight, or over for a visit today, who is going to care or notice but me? We have been watching the BBC Life series and it is so fantastic. The kids and I are always riveted and amazed by the complexity of the world around us. Oddly enough, the Venus Fly Trap plants seem to be one of their favorites. It is overcast today. Not dark like it is going to rain, just gray. Spring break is next week and the girls are planning to sleep out in the tent. I am hoping our car arrives and we can drive to the snow and to the coast. Reading other blogs of our friends back in the US makes me remember how much we are missing out on.
I went running on Saturday for the first time since we arrived. The sun is so bright that I seem to wake up every morning about 6:30. When papi returns I plan on making that my running time as long as we don't stay up too late.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

 
Kitchen with the new curtains and my rack next to the stove... The other rooms have roman shades except for Marlo and Zoe's rooms... I will have to post pictures of their rooms another time.
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Dining room with curtains... isn't the green plastic table cloth so lovely.
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The other side of the room. I am looking for something to hang over the fire place... maybe a wreath or something... we'll see. Now that I look at the pictues the room is very gold and brown.... a little mushy.... the back wall behind the sofa has all of my colorful art on it, you just can't see it from this angle.
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This is the living room with the curtains and pictures hung.
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Finished poduct Day 5. We planted pumpkins, cucumbers, green squash, cantaloupe, sweet peas, bush beans, broccoli, celery, spinach, lettuce, flowers, cilantro, and the tomatoes are growing inside in yogurt cups until they are big enough to transplant. I may regret not growing carrots, but they are one of the few in expensive vegetables I can buy here so I just didn't bother. I still have to find a spot for the asparagus as it is a perrenial and will give sprouts for 10-15 years... go figure. I had no idea. And it loves full sun... I think it would do great in CA.
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Day 3. Day 2 I was too exhausted and depressed at the slow going that I didn't take a picture. I am so glad we had a pair of leather gloves. Day 3 I also broke the handle on my new shovel so I piled the boys onto the bike with me and we rode the 3 blocks to the garden store where I bought a new handle and some chicken wire for my compost pile. Yes, I brought us all back on the bike and I am sure we were a sight to see; Ethan in the back pack, Teac in front, and the chicken wire strapped on back.
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Garden day 1. I knew the crab grass would be a pain but I didn't plan on my being so out of shape. I could really only handle a couple of hours the first two days before my back, arms and legs were exhausted. With a shovel, a rake, and a bucket to transport the grass to the back of the house, we cleared out the plot of ground. When the girls found me still working when the got home from school they helped me dig and move grass and clear out the weeds. They even worked hard Saturday morning with me.
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They came to hang curtains in the house while I was outside working in the garden. I think I have run out of excuses not to have a party.
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It was not as easy as the kids thought it would be but they had a blast.
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Sunday was a little windy so they decided to get out the cow kite and try and fly it. The first job was to untangle it.
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Matching vests....
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Grandma sent a box for Christmas and it just arrived which meant that we got to have a Christmas in March. This is the girls ready for school the next morning in their new clothes.
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Papi watched the kids while I went to the grocery store on my bike. This is what I looked like when I got back. It was a lot of stuff... heavy it made the bike a little tricky to balance but I made it.
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Tuesday, March 02, 2010

 
I found them like this.... with a lot of empty space before our things arrived they climbed in and on everything.
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This isn't quite worthy of a blow up on the wall but you can see how quickly we are all getting older. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. We wish you were all in the picture with us. Until that morning the girls both had some type of braid/curls in their hair and Zoe especially insisted she have little waves in front for the pictures. We took these just after church on Sunday. Our small little group received a visit from the Slovenia mission president and his wife who are over our area. It was cause for celebration and picture taking. Who knows what the Lord has in store for us here. Right now we are just happy to be getting settled in a place we feel safe, comfortable, and where we can be a part of the outdoors. Now if it would just warm up and stop raining. ;)
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Since we arrived in Montenegro the Tooth Fairy has made three trips to our house. At least last night was a two-fer. Both Marlo and Zoe had a tooth under their pillow last night.
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These sisters are really good for each other, especially when they don't have to share a room.
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I can't decide which picture of the boys I like better so I am posting them both.
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Our friend that took these pictures has labled the series "Public Diplomacy". Zoom in to read the captions. So many lessons we learn from our siblings.
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