Surfin' USA....


Happy Monday! Can't imagine that it's almost August already. Seven more sleeps until I get to see my Keira - yahoo!!! It's been a long four weeks, even though at the same time it's just been flying by. I MISS HER SO MUCH. I knew it would be tough, but it really stinks. Lots of things to report from this end. Our stuff is here, the house is somewhat in order, the boys are registered for school, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are all quite happy in the new set-up. My mom and dad were here for two weeks, which was great, and Bill's mom and dad arrive Wednesday. They will stay with the dogs while we're in Budapest (Aug.2-16), and then we will have a couple weeks with them after we get back.

I'm actually a bit hungover this morning, which is unusual these days, since we aren't quite hitting the social circuit like we used to. It's almost noon and I'm still hiding in my bedroom, blinds closed, with a 2-liter of Diet Pepsi sitting next to me to nurse my stomach back to business - I know, sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it works for me. My hubby was kind enough to take the boys to camp this morning and leave me to my misery. We went to the local flea market yesterday to people watch and pick up some bargain basement produce, and then went back to our friends' place to bbq and hang out. I keep saying that I will not fall prey to crappy American beer (i.e. watered down non-drinkable stuff, compared to what we're used to), but somehow it ends up being very drinkable indeed.

Anyway, the boys had a blast hanging out with our friends Jim and Kelly's son Jake, who is 12, and Jake's buddy Ryan, who is 13. They took Jake's johnboat out into the lake for a bit of fishing/swimming (although neither of my guys were thrilled about swimmin' with the gators). Liam was the only one to catch a fish, but it was 13.3 inches and it has to be 14 inches to keep it, so they tossed it back. We overstayed our welcome as usual, and headed home around 9pm, but not before a necessary drive-by donuting. It's no wonder obesity is an epidemic, it's just too darn easy to cram 80 grams of fat into your mouth in a New York minute. Actually, it was my second trip to Dunkin Donuts in two days. The first was Saturday morning, when I got up at 6:30am, took a shower, and headed out the door to an 8am Weight Watchers meeting down the road. Nobody showed up, so I drove across the street to D.Donuts - hee.hee.

Since I never have the attention span or time to sit here for long (it's laundry day, and the rest of the house could really use a good dust/vacuum), please bear with me if it's all a bit choppy and unorganized. It's better than nothing, which is what I'm usually providing to all three of my fans out there who check in from time to time. Seriously, as soon as we get back from Budapest on Aug.16th, my first item of business shall be Operation Get Organized. I have to find some structure in my otherwise over-relaxed day (ok, it is summer, and we are all adjusting to this extremely laid back Florida lifestyle). I need to schedule time for helping with homework, time for exercise, time for blogging, time for scrappin', time for figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, time for everything. I was so worried that I would get here and have nothing to do with my time - what was I thinking? I could actually use an extra 24 hours in my day. Yada, yada, yada....

I have a bunch of silly photos and videos to post, so I'll get busy doing just that.

Here are the boys at Kelly's house, hanging out by the tiki bar, doing who-knows-what with their fishing poles...

Gone Fishin Part II

Here's Liam on the 4th of July, with a load of Roman candles at his feet. They had so much fun with the fireworks, and we didn't lose even one eyeball. I honestly don't remember standing and holding Roman candles while they fired off as a kid, but Bill remembers otherwise. Makes me a bit nervous, the whole ritual, but what can I do about it. I tried to convince them that sparklers are the most fun, but they weren't buyin' it :) Check out the hat - he's been in the country for less than 48 hours and he's already feelin' the redneck groove.

Speaking of redneck, and just a bit out of the chronological order of events, here is a place just up the road from our house (pert near two miles) that we love! Hod Rod's BBQ. Not the most modern joint in the world, and I probably wouldn't want to see the kitchen, but the food is fantastic, the family that owns it is very friendly, and the ambiance is right up our alley. Bill says it's his new Csali Csarda (the restaurant by the lake near our house in Bp.). Just a heads up for all of you planning to come and visit in the coming year, we are definitely taking you here. Check out the menu on their website: http://www.hotrodsbbqgrill.com/. Yes, you can actually order swamp bat. Not sure about that one, but the pulled pork, corn bread pudding, and real old-fashioned cherry coke are out of this world.

What could possibly be more American on the 4th of July than apple pie? Okay, it's Little Debbie's concoction thereof, but it still counts. Jim and Christian didn't mind.

So, the flea market yesterday was quite an experience. Again, right up our alley. They are schleppin' everything from artificial plants to tire irons to fresh-n-cheap produce. I came upon this beautiful clock, with the Holy Mother standing watch over the dolphins (makes perfect sense, no?). I wanted it desperately, but Bill said that I will just have to wait and put it in the budget for next month. If it's still there, then I will know it's meant to be.

There was also an Elvis impersonator on stage in the middle of the flea market - what are the odds? Here some footage...

Here is Liam's new buddy Tully, who lives down the street from us. He will also be in 4th grade at Lutz Elementary, where Liam starts on August 18th. Here is the website, although there's not much to see (http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/schools/School_Info.asp?site=2561). Liam and Tully have been inseparable since they found eachother last Wednesday. Tully went to see the new Batman movie with us on Thursday, then Liam hung out with him and went out to dinner with his family on Friday, and then Tully slept over on Saturday.

Now we just need to find a buddy for Riley. Not too many kids running around the neighborhood, but I think alot of them are in camps and on vacation. There are alot of basketball hoops in the driveways, which is a pretty good indicator that there are boys around. Riley will start at Liberty Middle School on the 18th (http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/schools/School_Info.asp?site=2471). 1100 kids in 6th-8th grade - it's huge! We took a tour last week so he will be able to find everything the first day. Even scarier that he has to change classes every period, and manage to get to his locker in between classes. The school is mostly outside (think Zoey 101 on a Walmart budget), and he's ultra-excited about the lunch menu (Subway sandwiches and Papa John's pizza on offer). He's of course the quiet one, so I'm not sure how he's feeling about the whole thing, but he seems to be okay.

We went shopping on Sunday to pick up some new school duds, and they are finishing up their fourth and final week of camp genius this week, which if nothing else gave them both a taste of what they are in for. What we have discovered is that the public schools are incredibly focused on the standardized testing they do every year here, and alot of the teachers' energy is poured into preparing the kids for those exams. I am very curious to see what they will be doing, and I'm guessing there's a chance we will switch them to a private school down the road. Guess time will tell.

How about Mr. Bill's new look?

He has totally taken to this Floridian lifestyle, right down to his wardrobe. He's always been pretty preppy, but these shorts might be taking things a bit too far. Having said that, I went into Talbot's yesterday and bought two short skirts, a yellow one with palm trees all over it, and a pink one covered in pink flamingos. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? The boys are already living in their flip-flops, and Riley won't leave the house without his sunglasses, which is definitely a new thing.

Bill is running almost every morning, and loving the pool out back. He's also like a big kid, riding his John Deere tractor around with a broom in hand, pretending like he's a brave knight about to joust. He's in such a good mood these days, I don't know what to do with him. And now for the good news...he has been offered a partnership position with a consulting firm called Tatum, which I think is based out of Atlanta. He still has to read over some of the paperwork, but it looks like he's going to accept. It's an interesting business, whereby he will be placed with a company as a temporary CFO for a certain period of time. Once he's done, then he will move on to another position. He only has a salary when he's working, but they have lots of partners here in the Tampa area and they are all happily and gainfully employed at the moment. Even with the economy in the toilet, companies still need a CFO, and it seems like Tampa is one of the markets that isn't being hit as hard as some other places in the US. Anyway, it's a great way for him to network and get back in the game, and it should be fairly interesting work. Fingers crossed, he will probably be back to work by October-November. Once he signs all the papers, then they will start to place him somewhere.

Okay people, time for me to crawl out from under the rock that is my bedroom and do something with my day. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Will post some more photos/video soon. xoxo. K.

And six months later....Greetings from sunny Florida! We are here! It's been almost a week since we landed and we're starting to get the house organized. We arrived last Thursday, after the usual grueling transatlantic flight from Bp. to New York, followed by the always delayed JFK-Tampa 2.5 hour jaunt south. The dogs did great in their little travel bags, the boys were also easy, and there were no glitches in the program to speak of. Amazing how much easier it is to do though, now that the kids are a bit older.

Our container arrives tomorrow with all our stuff, so I'm guessing the next couple days will be chaotic. The boys are happy (and driving me mad). They started 1/2 days at an academic camp nearby today, so they will spend the next four weeks Mon-Fri. starting the adventure called 'reading and writing in your native language' :) They are thrilled that they can wake up in the morning and jump in the pool, and they love their new ginormous tv, and are otherwise fairly unimpressed with all things American. That's not true actually, they are very excited about Oreos (chocolate coookies) and Fruit by the Foot (a chemical no-fruit-added fruit snack) and string cheese. None of these are new to the scene, since they've been here on plenty of holidays, but it's different now that theses things can become permanent fixtures in their daily lives.

What else? Oh, there is the shopping. Pretty much all I've been doing for the last three days, trying to get the house set up with towels, bedding, lamps, light bulbs, laundry soap, etc.. I forgot how very overwhelming the whole experience is - way too much stuff. I just wander through the store for hours in a state of sensory overload, and then walk out with a few bits and bobs, but nothing that I actually went in to get. The bedrooms are all set up now, with the exception of ours, and the boys are even sleeping in their own rooms. I was a bit nervous, since they've shared a room forever, but it just may have been the perfect time to make the split. They both have big queen-size beds, which they think is pretty cool, and Keira has two twin-sized beds in her room.

I have talked to Keira several times via Skype (with webcam) since we arrived. She is having a great time, of course, and can barely be bothered to get on the horn to talk to me. She is leaving for a week in Tuscany on Friday with Linda and Szabolcs (sah-bowl-ch) - not terribly fair that my 4-year-old is on her way to a lovely farmhouse amidst the olive trees and beautiful old villages, and I haven't even been to Tuscany. We both have calendars and are marking off/counting down the 'sleeps' until we can see eachother. 29 sleeps and counting! We fly back to Bp. on Aug.3rd for Linda's wedding (which is Aug.9th), then back to Tampa on the 16th. School starts two days later on the 18th, so I have to get all the registration stuff done in the next couple weeks. I'm sure I will blink and it will be time to get on a plane again. Time flies, I don't care where you are in the universe.

Will close for now, as I'm pooped, but will post some photos tomorrow or Weds. Here's one of Riley jumping in the pool...