http://www.hayhouse.com/event_details.php?event_id=534 (I'm so excited, and I'm going)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=624061910 (if you're not on Facebook, you need to be)
http://www.fffr.org/ (great website, albeit terrifying)
http://www.clementsfamilylife.blogspot.com/ (my beloved friend Erika's blog - I love reading it)http://www.brighthorizons.com/sevenoaks (Keira is headed here today for a look-see at the karate class for boys/girls. She doesn't want to dance this year, so we're giving this a shot)
http://newtampahomes.blogspot.com/ (this guys blog is great, lots of news about what's happening out near us)
http://www.people.com/people (my one true vice at the moment - I'm not even smoking these days...okay, just one every now and again)
Can you say ADD? I can't focus, or figure out how to manage my friggin' time. On that note, I will get back to finish this later, as I now have to head back to pick Keira up from school in about twenty minutes....
...Let's try this again....
September 10th, 2008 - News from McGannLand
Lots to report since my last post (Aug.20th). At that point, we had only been back a few days, and school was just starting. We are almost through the fourth week of school already... whoooosh?!
Most important news of the day - I can officially say that everyone is happily enrolled in school and they they all seem to be thriving in their new surroundings. As usual, I was totally freaking out and convinced that the adjustment would be disastrous on all fronts. When do you think I might start to relax a little and just have faith in the universe and/or our decision-making abilities as parents?
This is what my kitchen counter looks like every morning at 6:30am. Packing the lunches for the boys.... Liam is all about the ham and cheese, while Riley will only eat PB&J (for those of you outside the US, peanutbutter&jelly). They also have some baked potato chips (lowfat), applesauce or fruit, granola bars, and a fruit snack. Not the hot healthy lunch they got at the French school, that's for sure, but it's better than the total crap they serve in the cafeterias here.
Anyway, let's start with Riley. He seems to be enjoying his days, which are extremely long. He gets on the bus at 8:15, has school from 9-4:15, gets home around 5pm, and then usually has 1-1.5 hours of homework. We haven't even started the after-school activities yet (he will continue with tennis and is going to start golf lessons in October), and the weekdays are already jam-packed. He also wants to play soccer on Saturdays. Most days, my biggest job is getting him off the computer and outside to play...
He's found a buddy, which I'm really happy about. Everyone knows he's the quiet guy, so it took him awhile to find someone that gets him. His new friend Jacob lives in the next sub-division over, so they can ride bikes to eachother's house, and Jake is awesome. Great family, great kid. They took Riley to a youth group meeting last Friday at their church, which he really enjoyed. Since he hasn't had much in the way of spiritual guidance or any religious education for that matter, I think it was a bit weird for him, but he had fun and said he would like to go again this week. The middle-schoolers meet from 7pm-10pm every Friday, where they have some live music, then break into small groups to have a lesson/message, then they run off to eat junk food and play dodge ball. Riley has adapted very quickly to all things American, from the food to what's on tv to what's cool enough to wear to school. LOVE HIM!!!! The homework is tough, and there are a million words/concepts he has never been exposed to, but I just keep thinking about all the immigrants here and all over the world that are/were dropped into a new school at his age and just do/did whatever it took to catch up quickly. Florida public schools are historically some of the worst in the nation (often ranked 48 out of 50 states), but there are still alot of good teachers. It just requires lots more time on the homefront.
On to Liam. Not surprising, he already knows every kid in the neighborhood, and hangs out with whoever he can find. He catches the bus at 7:20, has school from 8:00-2:15, and gets off the bus around 2:30. Usually, he stops long enough for a snack, and he's off and running again. Some days he is with kids his own age (Tully, Jack, Ben, Zack, or Gabe). Other times I find him out in the driveway with our neighbor Jordan who is 16, talking smack and being schooled on how to get decent air (Jordan is a big BMXer and has a ramp - rock on!). The novelty of the pool has worn off, so they aren't using it as much, but it sure is nice after a game of hoops or a jumping session. Liam also seems to be okay in the classroom, although he's been moved twice already for talking in class. I've signed up to help in the class, so have had several meetings with his teacher, who he maintains is evil. I love her. She is all about reading, and she's making that a priority, which is FANTASTIC!!!! I may have mentioned in my last post that there is a Hungarian guy in Liam's class, Krisztian, and the two of them speak to eachother only in Hungarian. What are the odds of that in Lutz, Florida? Also found out today that although Liam didn't qualify for ELL (English Language Learner) help, the ELL teacher is pulling him out of class once a week so he can be the translator for a new French student who speaks no English. The world is bonkers, no?
And the princess update...Keira started last week at Countryside Montessori (http://www.cmamontessori.com/), which is an 8-10 minute drive from the house, in Land'O'Lakes FL. Florida. I visited lots of preschools, and we decided this was the best one for her. Hillsborough County, where we live, offers a program called VPK (voluntary pre-K), whereby Keira could go free from 9am-12pm Mon-Fri at one of the approved VPK locations. These are either preschools set up in local churches or at daycare centers nearby. While I did find a program at our local Catholic church that was awesome (and I'm not a huge fan of the Catholic church), I wanted something that will challenge her and really push her development. Not being biased here, but she's a really bright kid :) Anyway, the Montessori school is going to take a nice chunk out of the monthly budget, but what could be more important than getting her off on the right foot? And if we decide to leave here there for kindergarten, instead of going the public school route, then she will be 99% guaranteed to have a spot for 1st grade at CME (Countryside Montessori Elementary). CME is a charter school, meaning that it's privately run, but 100% funded by Hillsborough County. In other words, paying private tuition for two years could mean no cost for private school for 1st-6th grade. This is all assuming, of course, that we will be living in Florida for the next eight years. Being the bean counters (i.e. nerds) that we are, we're trying to look at the long-term implications :)
News of the Bill...Not much to report on the job front. Bill is still talking to a few different people, and waiting to hear something about a couple opportunities in the next week or so. I mentioned last time that he had an offer with a consulting-type company here, and that is still very much an option, but he's trying to figure out what makes the most sense down the road. He is happy with the set-up here, aside from the yard work every Saturday. Actually, I don't think he minds it so much. He stays busy during the day doing stuff around the house, catching up on emails and reading the paper, cooking dinner, etc.. We are both back on Weight Watchers, which is sooooo easy to do here, and he cooks dinner most nights.
Me? Well, I'm pretty much doing the same stuff, different day, different continent. There's lots going on, and I'm overall happy with our new life here, but the days are definitely missing the occasional coffee morning/happy hour with girlfriends. And without a babysitter and/or friends, the social life could use something. No use dwelling on it, I knew that was going to be the case. I'm volunteering at both the boys' schools to help with the parent/teacher/student association, and I will help out once a week at Keira's preschool reading with the kids. As I said, I'm gung-ho back on W.Watchers at the moment, sticking heavily to my daily points and trying to power-walk 2-3 times/week (2 is usually the max, but I'm trying). I have another ten pounds to get to my original (ca.1995) goal weight, and I'm going to try and take another 7-8 off after that. Why not? Feel like I'm living on Wisteria Lane some days, wondering what I'm going to do to stay busy once all the other things in our life are settled down. The good news is that we'll have lots of visitors from Nov-Feb, so that will make things interesting. I'm also pondering the idea of taking a class or two, but will wait to see what Bill does with work.
Since the boys aren't on the same schedule anymore, they will likely go in different directions with their activities, and now Keira is old enough to have her own activity, so I'm going to be spread pretty thin in the afternoons. Liam and Bill went to a cub scouts meeting last night, and he wants to sign up. Keira will have Karate at the same time, and Riley gets off the bus at 5:00 when we're already gone, so I have to figure out how to juggle a few things. I had it so easy in Budapest, when Riley and Liam had the same friends and the same sports.
What else to report? Not a whole helluva lot, truth be told. Have lots of photos and a few videos to post though...
Keira got to go school shopping last week and pick up a few new duds at Kohl's. She wanted to have a fashion show for the boys that night, so Daddy, Riley and Liam all sat patiently on the sofa while she unveiled her new looks. We had so much fun watching her, and she loved that everyone was clapping for each outfit.
And the highlight of this season's acquisitions - this black and purple number. Selling point for her was the purple butterfly brooch on the jacket. I have no idea where/when she plans to wear it, but she was adamant that she needed it for her wedding, and her little argument was so friggin' cute that I had to buy it. Love the Buddha belly.
Liam had to get in on it too, of course. Here he is modeling his absolute favorite at-home attire - boxer shorts. I think he would probably just go to school in his boxers if I let him.
Keira has some new Magyar friends too. Last weekend we were invited by our friends Agi and Travis (who is actually Keira's new buddy, he's 4!) to Travis' friend's b-day party. Turns out that his friend Stella (4) has a sister, Gracie (7), who Keira absolutely loved. Their mom is also Agi, and we agreed that the girls would come to our house for a play date soon. I'm sooooo excited, just one more way for Keira to keep up her Hungarian.
Went out for a crazy night on the town last weekend. Actually, went about three miles up the road to the Land'O'Lakes Moose Lodge, where the beer is cheap and the laughs are plenty :) If you've never been to a Moose Lodge, I would highly recommend it. My friend Gary's mom and her friends hang out there on the weekends, and it's good fun. After that, we headed down the pike to Ukelele's, an outside bar on a lake with another bunch of characters. This is a photo of Hoochie-Mama and Dude, a couple of regulars. Love it.
This is a hilarious photo of my very good friend Gary, who we have very fondly referred to as 'The Moose' since high school.
Land'O'Lakes, Florida is about two minutes from Lutz, where we live. Interesting tidbit - it is also the US capital of nudist colonies. I think there are five or six in a five-mile radius.
Here is Mr. Bill making dinner last night - baked shrimp, smothered in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, and lemon. Yuh-um!
In addition to amazing dinners, he's coming home with fresh flowers once a week. Anyone think I might need to start asking some questions? :)
Keira and I went to visit her friend Travis' karate class this week, and she's decided she wants to give it a try from next Tuesday. She's not interested in the dance thing at all this year, so we'll see how this goes. The kids range in ages from 4-7 and there are a bunch of girls in the group, including a big girl named Mia (that was a big hit, since her best buddy in Budapest is also Mia).
Afterwards, we walked over to take a tour of Travi's new preschool. Here they are building lego robots...
Yes folks, Dr. Dolittle is at it again. Thought we were done with hamsters for awhile, but they're baaack. Two Chinese dwarf hamsters named Brigi and Linda. Note the dwelling by Dora Interiors, Inc. Keira is taking them to school tomorrow for show-and-tell, along with a book on dwarf hamsters we checked out of the library this week. At least they can live in the same cage...and at least he doesn't have anywhere to put fish (yet) :)
The big close... the grand finale...get ready for it...here's a new chair we just bought for the family room. I'm so excited, always wanted a recliner with a nice floor lamp next to it. It looks busy next to the carpet in this picture, but it actually looks okay in the room. These are the headlines, folks :) Everyone has been asking me to post photos of the house, so I will do that this afternoon. xo. K.
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