It was "Australian Passport Day" at Ava's school last week - the school made a neat video which captures the events of the day. The students were asked to wear Australia's colors, green & yellow, so naturally Ava is wearing her Aaron Rodgers jersey. ;-) You can see her briefly in a few of the clips. Looks like they had a fun time and learned a lot about Australia. Miss Daniela, the teaching assistant in Ava's class, appears first in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEKW8rb_VfU&feature=fvsr
Monday, November 19, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Semper Fidelis
Last night we attended our first Marine Corp Ball, an annual event to celebrate the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corp. It was located at the Westin Hotel in downtown Zagreb, on the 17th floor, with incredible views of the city. We had a really great time with our new friends and made some more new friends! We were seated at a table with two couples from the Austrian Embassy, who were so friendly. And they loved that my name is Heidi. :-) In fact, I often get a very warm & excited response when I tell any locals my name. They love the story of Heidi here. Anyway, it was a great night. Good food, free drinks and dancing. All to honor the Marines, who do so much for our country.
On Thanksgiving, we are actually going to the "Marine House" here in Zagreb to celebrate with them. There are nine young Marines (seriously young, the youngest was born in 1990!) who are stationed here to provide security to the Embassy. I'm looking forward to spending the holiday with them and a few other families. It's not "home", but it's a great alternative.
On Thanksgiving, we are actually going to the "Marine House" here in Zagreb to celebrate with them. There are nine young Marines (seriously young, the youngest was born in 1990!) who are stationed here to provide security to the Embassy. I'm looking forward to spending the holiday with them and a few other families. It's not "home", but it's a great alternative.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Some American Flavor
We had a few quick hits of American flavor in the matter of a few days in early November. Still distinctly missing, however, was cheddar cheese. But let it be known that I made a recent package of oreos (thank you Julie or Lauren) last a week. That is self control, folks.
ONE
On November 1st, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to town. Wow! It was her first visit to Zagreb, first stop on her tour of other nearby Eastern European countries. And, apparently, she makes it a point to visit U.S. diplomatic families at every stop. So, we were invited to see her just before she left town, it was a can't miss opportunity, but of course, was also quite a racket. She was scheduled to speak sometime between 8-8:45 am in the Hotel Esplanade, a fancy historic hotel in downtown Zagreb. That meant we had to be at Ava's school at 6:30 am, to take a bus to the hotel, be searched by security and then hurry up and wait. And wait. And wait. Madam Secretary chooses to take a picture with the children at each visit so a gal from the Embassy staff was trying desperately to get them huddled together on a set of risers. And then wait some more. If Apple needed any further adverstising...this would have been opportune. Ipads and ipods and iphones were distributed by parents like candy in the interest of keeping the kids occupied and quiet. And miraculously, it pretty much worked.
She came in, she spoke for a few minutes, stood with the children, shook a few hands, and exited...all in about 20 minutes. And then the Embassy photographer snapped this awesome shot...
Unfortunately, I didn't get a turn to shake Hillary's hand. After she took the photo with the children, Ava rushed up to me crying because a boy had stood in front of her...so I was busy consoling her and lost my spot on Hilllary's walking path. Sigh. But it turns out Ava's complaint was legitimate, in the Embassy photograph you can't see her at all. Alas. We have this one anyway...
Maybe there are some folks out there who don't agree with Hillary's politics, but for me, to be able to be with the U.S. Secretary of State, who just happens to be a woman, was a great honor. And most certainly a proud example for both Scot and me to share with the girls. Even better, she's now a household name :-) We prepped the girls ahead of time and tried to explain who she was...and Scot just happened to have a magazine with her picture on it, so we used that as a talking point also. The other day, when we were relaying the story to Grandpa Chuck & Grandma Sandy on Skype, Reese heard Scot say "Hillary Clinton". She immediately went over to the end table, picked up the magazine, showed it to Grandma and Grandpa and said "This is Hillary Clinton." If anyone's going to go into politics, though, it will be Ava.
TWO
On Sunday, November 4th, we took the girls to Arena Zagreb for Disney On Ice. The girls didn't even care that Mickey and the Gang elected to perform in their Croatian tongue. Otherwise, it was all the same as the shows we've seen in the U.S. The one moment that did give us a little pause...was during the Toy Story act. Jesse, the cowgirl, started rustling up her gang shouting out "Gihad!" over and over and over again.
Later we were told it really translated to "Yeehaw", but the jury's still out...
THREE
Ava's school held a mock election on Tuesday, November 6th. Ava may have voted for the same person as her mom. But I didn't tell her to. Obama won at AISZ too.
I love how confident and happy she looks in this class picture. :-)
I think I mentioned that Scot and I voted before we left. It was absolutely refreshing to be out of the country in October and November...to not hear a single political ad or receive any wasteful campaign mail. I could have saved myself even more election related heartburn if I stayed off Facebook (but we all know that's not going to happen). Being away from it all does have its advantages.
ONE
On November 1st, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to town. Wow! It was her first visit to Zagreb, first stop on her tour of other nearby Eastern European countries. And, apparently, she makes it a point to visit U.S. diplomatic families at every stop. So, we were invited to see her just before she left town, it was a can't miss opportunity, but of course, was also quite a racket. She was scheduled to speak sometime between 8-8:45 am in the Hotel Esplanade, a fancy historic hotel in downtown Zagreb. That meant we had to be at Ava's school at 6:30 am, to take a bus to the hotel, be searched by security and then hurry up and wait. And wait. And wait. Madam Secretary chooses to take a picture with the children at each visit so a gal from the Embassy staff was trying desperately to get them huddled together on a set of risers. And then wait some more. If Apple needed any further adverstising...this would have been opportune. Ipads and ipods and iphones were distributed by parents like candy in the interest of keeping the kids occupied and quiet. And miraculously, it pretty much worked.
She came in, she spoke for a few minutes, stood with the children, shook a few hands, and exited...all in about 20 minutes. And then the Embassy photographer snapped this awesome shot...
Unfortunately, I didn't get a turn to shake Hillary's hand. After she took the photo with the children, Ava rushed up to me crying because a boy had stood in front of her...so I was busy consoling her and lost my spot on Hilllary's walking path. Sigh. But it turns out Ava's complaint was legitimate, in the Embassy photograph you can't see her at all. Alas. We have this one anyway...
Maybe there are some folks out there who don't agree with Hillary's politics, but for me, to be able to be with the U.S. Secretary of State, who just happens to be a woman, was a great honor. And most certainly a proud example for both Scot and me to share with the girls. Even better, she's now a household name :-) We prepped the girls ahead of time and tried to explain who she was...and Scot just happened to have a magazine with her picture on it, so we used that as a talking point also. The other day, when we were relaying the story to Grandpa Chuck & Grandma Sandy on Skype, Reese heard Scot say "Hillary Clinton". She immediately went over to the end table, picked up the magazine, showed it to Grandma and Grandpa and said "This is Hillary Clinton." If anyone's going to go into politics, though, it will be Ava.
TWO
On Sunday, November 4th, we took the girls to Arena Zagreb for Disney On Ice. The girls didn't even care that Mickey and the Gang elected to perform in their Croatian tongue. Otherwise, it was all the same as the shows we've seen in the U.S. The one moment that did give us a little pause...was during the Toy Story act. Jesse, the cowgirl, started rustling up her gang shouting out "Gihad!" over and over and over again.
Later we were told it really translated to "Yeehaw", but the jury's still out...
THREE
Ava's school held a mock election on Tuesday, November 6th. Ava may have voted for the same person as her mom. But I didn't tell her to. Obama won at AISZ too.
I love how confident and happy she looks in this class picture. :-)
I think I mentioned that Scot and I voted before we left. It was absolutely refreshing to be out of the country in October and November...to not hear a single political ad or receive any wasteful campaign mail. I could have saved myself even more election related heartburn if I stayed off Facebook (but we all know that's not going to happen). Being away from it all does have its advantages.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Seven!
Happy birthday to our little Ava, who turned seven (seven!?!) on November 10th! She's smart, she's sweet, she's beautiful, she's artistic, I could go on and on...I have so much love for this little girl, who gave me the gift of becoming a mom all those years ago. Sniff.
We celebrated by going to a waterpark hotel in Slovenia, just across the border from Croatia and about 40 minutes from Zagreb. She had an absolute blast!
We celebrated by going to a waterpark hotel in Slovenia, just across the border from Croatia and about 40 minutes from Zagreb. She had an absolute blast!
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Glory
Glory. As in Reese was in all her glory with babysitter Ana this week. And, let's face it, I certainly didn't mind the uninterrupted solitude, even if I was working during most of it. Ana came over Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning from 8-12. Reese hasn't had too many chunks of undivided attention in her short life, with Ava always (always!) invading her personal space, or competing for attention with the kids at Vicki's or in her classroom at New Horizon.
And what a little imaginative thing she is! She had Ana playing storyline upon storyline with her Legos and Squinkies. But she can also be a bit bossy. Maybe directing is in her future. They walked to the park and came back and played some more. Today, Ana brought along her little girl Eva (who turns 4 one week before Reese) and they went to the Zagreb Zoo. Great arrangement. She'll keep coming back until we have reliable transportation for me to get Reese to school.
Glory. Ava this time. We got her first report card from AISZ and she did great, exceling in reading and art, and getting expected marks in everything else. I had a conference with her teacher on Tuesday and she echoed the report card and said it felt like Ava had been there since the beginning since she had adjusted so well. Lots to be proud of.
Here's a picture of Ava's class. Her teacher Miss Michelle is in the back left and the teaching assistant, Miss Daniela, is on the right. It's a cute little crew!
And what a little imaginative thing she is! She had Ana playing storyline upon storyline with her Legos and Squinkies. But she can also be a bit bossy. Maybe directing is in her future. They walked to the park and came back and played some more. Today, Ana brought along her little girl Eva (who turns 4 one week before Reese) and they went to the Zagreb Zoo. Great arrangement. She'll keep coming back until we have reliable transportation for me to get Reese to school.
Glory. Ava this time. We got her first report card from AISZ and she did great, exceling in reading and art, and getting expected marks in everything else. I had a conference with her teacher on Tuesday and she echoed the report card and said it felt like Ava had been there since the beginning since she had adjusted so well. Lots to be proud of.
Here's a picture of Ava's class. Her teacher Miss Michelle is in the back left and the teaching assistant, Miss Daniela, is on the right. It's a cute little crew!
Sunday, November 04, 2012
One on One
Since moving to Croatia, Reese and I have probably endured the biggest changes in routine. She was at daycare everyday with lots of 3 year old friends (including "boyfriend" Will) and favorite teacher Ms. Julia. I was at work everyday, working on a big project with other grown-ups. :-) And now, we are together all.the.time. Don't get me wrong, I love my Reesey Piecey to death, but she is 3. And still poops her pants. And says "No" to at least half of everything I say. And throws ridiculous tantrums from time to time (although these actually are pretty few and far between). Despite these little wrenches...I have really enjoyed spending my days with her. We have been practicing writing letters, coloring, building legos, walking to the park where nobody else speaks English, baking, playing with a ball in the yard. One week when Scot was in Germany, we even had the car every day to drive around in. We shopped, we took the tram downtown, we ate at a cafe, fun stuff! One other thing, I knew Reese was a big eater, but didn't realize how big of an eater she really was during the day. Goodness gracious! She eats like a teenage boy. One evening, she announced "All this 'venture makes me hungry." No joke.
But...then I had to go "back to work" on October 22nd. The great thing is that I'm only working 20 hours a week. The not so great thing is that I don't have reliable daycare for Reese. So, the past two weeks I've worked during her naps and while she has watched some TV. I worked a few evenings after bedtime to get my hours in. I suddenly felt very stretched and wasn't getting really any time to myself anymore.
So, I looked at an English speaking kindergarten, which I really like. And I'm checking out another option tomorrow. Still, we only have one car and getting her there every day would prove to be a challenge. There are some days I could take Scot to work pretty easily (his office is about 3 miles away), but once or twice a week he is at a different building which is about a 40-50 minute drive. So, in the meantime I have hired a babysitter, who starts tomorrow and will be here 3 mornings this week. She actually babysat for the family who lived in this house before us (that mom worked remotely for Under Armour). I'm excited for Reese to have a distraction while I'm working and to recoup some time for myself later in the day. Hopefully, this is short term and we can get Reese in school soon - she really is such a social creature, I think it will do her so much good to have some young friends to play with again!
But...then I had to go "back to work" on October 22nd. The great thing is that I'm only working 20 hours a week. The not so great thing is that I don't have reliable daycare for Reese. So, the past two weeks I've worked during her naps and while she has watched some TV. I worked a few evenings after bedtime to get my hours in. I suddenly felt very stretched and wasn't getting really any time to myself anymore.
So, I looked at an English speaking kindergarten, which I really like. And I'm checking out another option tomorrow. Still, we only have one car and getting her there every day would prove to be a challenge. There are some days I could take Scot to work pretty easily (his office is about 3 miles away), but once or twice a week he is at a different building which is about a 40-50 minute drive. So, in the meantime I have hired a babysitter, who starts tomorrow and will be here 3 mornings this week. She actually babysat for the family who lived in this house before us (that mom worked remotely for Under Armour). I'm excited for Reese to have a distraction while I'm working and to recoup some time for myself later in the day. Hopefully, this is short term and we can get Reese in school soon - she really is such a social creature, I think it will do her so much good to have some young friends to play with again!
Our Stuff
The last of our stuff was packed up on October 31st - and (hooray!), renters moved in to our house on November 1st.
1) our "Unaccompanied Baggage", which is the shipment that goes by plane and theoretically should get here in a few weeks or more. We were allowed up to 1000 lbs for this shipment, which we neatly piled in the playroom back in Woodbury. It has bath towels, kitchen towels, TOYS, TOYS, TOYS, the new cute bed linens I got for the girls, our own bed linens, and some kitchen stuff. I also asked Julie last minute to throw in a few Christmas decorations, since not having any seemed pretty damn depressing. We were also allowed a separate add-on to this shipment for "professional gear", which includes work stuff like my extra computer monitor, printer, binders, etc.
2) all the rest of our stuff fit into "Household Goods", which ships by boat and may get here sometime in 2014, just before we're ready to move back to Minnesota. Ok, so I'm exaggerating but I just have a feeling it's going to take two months longer than I hope for. We didn't really have a weight limit on this. We weren't going to ship any furniture, but after seeing the "stock" couches and chairs that are currently in our living room, I made a prompt request to get our nice comfy (clean) leather couches on the boat. Oh, and man, I cannot wait for our bed to get here.
3) and remember, we left our SUV in St. Louis on September 24. Still no clue as to when to expect that...
Our first month in Croatia has, for the most part, been pretty glorious...however not having our stuff and knowing we're still not getting it for a long time, has probably been the most frustrating part of the move. The "Welcome Kit" that was provided to us certainly couldn't have been intended to be used for longer than a week or so. We have 4 dinner plates, 4 small plates, 4 bowls and 3 glasses (because I dropped one on Day 3). We have a few plastic mixing bowls. A loaf pan. 2 pots and 2 pans. 3 knives that couldn't cut through a loaf of bread. Measuring cups that leave my fingers black because the ink keeps rubbing off with each rinsing. 4 bath towels, a few hand towels, a few washcloths (all paper thin, white, hotel style). Paper thin sheets on all 3 beds with one starchy blanket each. 4 flat pillows. You get the idea. Fine for a week or two. After that, it's like that can't-wait-to-go-home-from-vacation-so-you-can-have-all-your-stuff-back feeling. So, I've purchased quite a few things to fill in the gaps, but all of our stuff (nice stuff) is coming relatively soon, so I don't want to buy it all in duplicate, you know? Bleh. I know I sound whiney and I hate that because I know many people would like to be in our shoes...but you know, whine I must. :-) For the love of God, just get me a can opener that works.
*And probably no one is more happier that our stuff is on its way than Julie. She was a complete and utter angel to supervise all 3 moves over several days in October. Don't know what we would have done without her!
1) our "Unaccompanied Baggage", which is the shipment that goes by plane and theoretically should get here in a few weeks or more. We were allowed up to 1000 lbs for this shipment, which we neatly piled in the playroom back in Woodbury. It has bath towels, kitchen towels, TOYS, TOYS, TOYS, the new cute bed linens I got for the girls, our own bed linens, and some kitchen stuff. I also asked Julie last minute to throw in a few Christmas decorations, since not having any seemed pretty damn depressing. We were also allowed a separate add-on to this shipment for "professional gear", which includes work stuff like my extra computer monitor, printer, binders, etc.
2) all the rest of our stuff fit into "Household Goods", which ships by boat and may get here sometime in 2014, just before we're ready to move back to Minnesota. Ok, so I'm exaggerating but I just have a feeling it's going to take two months longer than I hope for. We didn't really have a weight limit on this. We weren't going to ship any furniture, but after seeing the "stock" couches and chairs that are currently in our living room, I made a prompt request to get our nice comfy (clean) leather couches on the boat. Oh, and man, I cannot wait for our bed to get here.
3) and remember, we left our SUV in St. Louis on September 24. Still no clue as to when to expect that...
Our first month in Croatia has, for the most part, been pretty glorious...however not having our stuff and knowing we're still not getting it for a long time, has probably been the most frustrating part of the move. The "Welcome Kit" that was provided to us certainly couldn't have been intended to be used for longer than a week or so. We have 4 dinner plates, 4 small plates, 4 bowls and 3 glasses (because I dropped one on Day 3). We have a few plastic mixing bowls. A loaf pan. 2 pots and 2 pans. 3 knives that couldn't cut through a loaf of bread. Measuring cups that leave my fingers black because the ink keeps rubbing off with each rinsing. 4 bath towels, a few hand towels, a few washcloths (all paper thin, white, hotel style). Paper thin sheets on all 3 beds with one starchy blanket each. 4 flat pillows. You get the idea. Fine for a week or two. After that, it's like that can't-wait-to-go-home-from-vacation-so-you-can-have-all-your-stuff-back feeling. So, I've purchased quite a few things to fill in the gaps, but all of our stuff (nice stuff) is coming relatively soon, so I don't want to buy it all in duplicate, you know? Bleh. I know I sound whiney and I hate that because I know many people would like to be in our shoes...but you know, whine I must. :-) For the love of God, just get me a can opener that works.
*And probably no one is more happier that our stuff is on its way than Julie. She was a complete and utter angel to supervise all 3 moves over several days in October. Don't know what we would have done without her!
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