And three humpdays (i.e. weeks) later.... Sorry gang, not doing so hot on the bloggin' front. I just get so distracted when I sit down here, I always end up everywhere but here. Example, this morning. Dropped Keira at her new preschool (she's loving it) and came home to blog away. Even grabbed an energy bar for breakfast to make it quick. So what happens? Just a glimpse..It's now 11:15, and for the last 1.5 hours, I've been on:
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.

Happy Hump Day! On another note, Happy St. Stephen's Day to the Budapesters, who are standing by the Danube waiting for the fireworks to begin momentarily (http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/20th-August.html). It's Weds the 20th and I am pleased to report that we have officially survived our first tropical storm here in not-too-sunny florida. Seems that Miss Faye is a fiesty broad, and is not much help on the tracking front. However she decides to fizzle out, we're just happy she skipped landing in Lutz. We didn't really get too worked up, just bought a few gallons of drinking water and stocked up on the dry goods. Apparently September is the kookiest month of hurricane season, so it's probably a good idea to get a plan together. I'm not sure where we should even hide out in the event that we really get hit - perhaps that might be worth looking into.

The boys had their first day of school Monday, and then got to stay home for a 'snow day-hee.hee-I mean 'hurricane day' on Tuesday. They were back at it this morning, with Liam hopping on the bus around 7:20am, and Riley being delivered to the front door around 8:50am. I tried to snag a photo of Liam embarking for the first time onto the big yellow bus, an idea which he vehemently nixed in a millisecond. Think his exact words were 'Mom, it's the second day of school and you're going to make me look like a total dork, thanks alot!' What can I say-it was a milestone moment for me, guess it didn't have the same feel for him :)

It's about a 25-30 minute drive to Riley's school, which means two hours in the car if I have to go there and back twice a day. We saw all the other guys waiting for the bus this morning, and I think I've convinced him to give it a shot tomorrow. The drop-off and pick-up lines in front of his school are completely bonkers (see video below), so I would be very happy to start the bus gig ASAP. It's obviously a much bigger deal for him, since he's in middle school and doesn't have the hand-holding that Liam does in elementary school to get him from A to B. Both buses pick them up right in front of the house, which is great. Everything is so organized, it's actually strange for me. When they canceled school for Tuesday, we got notes from both principals and a call from the school district. Then we got another call from the school district last night to tell us that we are back to business today. Made me chuckle to think about the French school, where I would find out school was canceled when I arrived that morning.

Here are a couple photos of the boys this morning (Monday was way too kooky to get the first day photo)...

School pick-up - discuss... So, Bill and I went to pick Riley up after the first day (school's in session 9:00-4:15) and were completely shocked when we got there and found about 150 cars in the pick-up line. It took us almost 30 minutes to get through the line, and that was after we ducked out of it halfway through to park at the high school next door so we could walk over and get him. It's a school of 1,200 kids, and it's friggin' huge. Poor guy, I think he was really overwhelmed the first day. He made it through the day though, changing classes every period, and figured out how to get through the lunch line, etc.. He opted for the a la carte lunch instead of the standard $2.75 attempt at a hot meal, and therefore could only afford fries and a Gatorade. I gave him $4 today to see what he can come up with. We will start packing lunch from next week (Liam concurs as the pizza was 'like cardboard'). Riley reported that while he didn't really make any friends on the first day, he didn't make any enemies either :) Remember middle school? What a nightmare. Never mind trying to learn, it's just an exercise in prepubescent survival. Even though I had plenty of friends, I was always trying to figure out where I fit in. Ugh!

And there's no help from Mom, you just have to figure it out. In some ways, I guess it's a good exercise for both of them, as they've been so coddled for the last seven years. I dropped Riley off at his homeroom class Monday morning and walked out crying, as expected. Bill's responds with, "it's not like it's first grade". Guess what, when your a mom, every year is first grade. Even when he's 35 and headed off to start a new job, it will be like first grade all over again.

Mr. Bill waiting patiently for the line to move

After we dropped the guys off Monday morning, Daddy took Keira and I to Dunkin'Donuts (America runs on Dunkin) for a healthy breakfast of chocolate-covered M&M donuts. Keira arrived four days ago and is already completely in love with American cuisine, most of which is derived from her two favorite food groups, chocolate and sugar. On a coffee note, I am of the strong opinion that Dunkin' Donut's coffee tastes better than Starbucks, and at about 1/2 the price. Whatever the economics, those donuts are yummy!

Yes, Keira is definitely adapting to her new surroundings just swimmingly, as seen here...

I hadn't seen her swim since before we left Hungary, and while they told me she was swimming like a fish, I was totally shocked when she started jumping and diving into the pool from a pretty good height. Bill's dad is in the pool with her. We haven't been able to keep her out of the water, with the exception of breaks for meals.

She asks about Linda daily, and wants to know how many sleeps it will be until Linda gets here (Dec.26th, so quite a few), but I think that she definitely grasps that this is where we live now. It was questionable for awhile, since the idea of our new house in Florida seemed like just another vacation, but once she saw her bedroom and realized that all our stuff is here, it registered.

She reminded me this morning, like every morning since we arrived, that I need to find her a new school and some new friends. I am diligently trying to do just that, since she will be bored out of her marbles hanging out at home with me. I was hoping that I could keep her for a few months and start her in January, but that's not going to happen. I've been unimpressed thus far with the pre-K options, but am visiting a few more places tomorrow. One is a montessori school about four miles up the road in Land'O'Lakes, Florida. She will just go for the mornings, 9am-12pm Mon-Fri.

Here's some more footage of the little lady, having a bubble bath this morning. I tried to keep it PG for the kids at home, but 1/10 of her little behind got in there somehow. Egads!!!! I can just here my mother-in-law now :) Sorry, but I'm totally over the ultra-conservative, way-too-prudish, goofiness that has become the norm in this great country.

And now, an exciting tour of my bathroom. Must tell you that I've been sharing a tiny bathroom in Bp. with my entire family forever, so this is indeed very exciting for me. The boys keep trying to come down and use my shower, brush their teeth, etc.. and I keep sending them back up the stairs to their own bathrooms.

Before I wrap it up, a big fat HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my good friends John Fekete and Peter Tatrallyay, who will celebrate tomorrow. John's hitting the BIG FOUR-OH!! Gettin' up there old man. Have fun guys!! It's a good thing you're not in the same city, one could imagine that it would get ugly.

Riley's birthday is Friday, and we will most likely celebrate with a seafood dinner somewhere. Bill's dad is giving him golf clubs, so we will probably give him a gift certificate for the Lutz Executive Golf Center (.14 miles away - you can throw a golf ball from our house and hit it) so he can get some lessons, hit some buckets of balls, and get out on the course. They offer a golf clinic for kids every Sunday afternoon, and he can play 18 holes for $15, which is exactly what he needs when he's just starting out. He's very excited, although he's planning to keep the tennis up as well.

Still haven't posted the photos from the wedding two weeks ago, that will be the next task. Enjoy the rest of your week (and/or summer holiday, for those of you who haven't had to head 'back to school' yet). xoxo.

Gossip Girl new promo

must watch tv...

September 1st

It's almost here, and I'm not embarrassed to say that I will be watching :)

May have jinxed this thing. I wished for cooler weather and we woke up this morning to cold and windy, with a bunch of rain tossed in for fun. Looks like the greyest bit has blown over, so now we're all doing the anti-rain dance, hoping Linda and Szabolcs will have an okay first day of their happily ever after. We're still trying to get ready here, have to take Keira down to get her hair done in a few minutes. Bill is busy ironing and I'm blogging, that seems fair, no?

Had a nice evening with our friends Mary and Ivan last night - good banter about life in the home country, sushi and whatnot.

Liam playing with a great creature-building set called Zolo a Go-Go. Must try and track that one down, they had so much fun playing with it.

Here are a couple of silly videos of the monkeys. Riley is a huge sushi fan, although his appetite is getting to the point where we won't be able to afford offering it to him :) Liam decided he would give it a whirl last night, starting easy with the prawn nigiri, but he abandoned ship before he ate the first one. He ended up enjoying his own culinary creation (see video)

News to me, the whole thing about edamame (枝豆) being soybeans.

Have eaten them a million times and never pondered, just thought they were some derivitive of snow pea. I was still doubting it this morning, so had to wiki it to verify. What did the universe ever do without wiki-ability?

Had another startling revelation this morning - my twelve-year-old son has the same size foot as me. Saw our flip-flops sitting next to eachother by the door yesterday and realized they are exactly the same size (same ones, but we bought them at different times). OMG, how did that happen? Pretty soon he will be towering over me, and driving, and making his way in the world, and leaving me.

Count to ten, Kerry! For at this very moment, he's sitting next to me, writing in his journal about his trip back to Budapest and asking me how to spell the word 'flight' - think we have a good way to go before sending him off into the big wide world. Can't imagine that they are back to school in a week. What happened to the summer?

Anyone keeping up with Anderson Cooper's Lohan bashing of late? First on Regis and Kelly, and then a follow up on his own show, AC360. I love it (and him).....someone with a voice finally speaking out about the garbage that is reality television. Impossible to fathom that they would give that creature her own show, but obviously someone is watching. And I saw an interview the other day with Lindsay's little sister Ali (upon whom all of Dina's energies are focused at the moment) - one word, and it is YIKES. Sorry to digress, but I just saw another headline on AOL about it. Wonder what we ever did without celebrity sensationalism to ponder - imagine how intelligent I might be without People.com in my life :) For more in-depth coverage of this mind-boggling newsflash/feud, here's a link:http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/anderson-cooper-hates-living-lohan/

Back on task (I'm so easily distracted by hollywood gossip garbage)...

Few photos/videos of the anarchy at our house this week.

Keira and Sonia haven't hung out in a long time, probably since the last time they visited Budapest in February. Within milliseconds, they were right back where they left off. Sonia had been here a whole ten minutes before they announced that they would like to plop themselves in front of the TV with chocolate milk, a ritual they both love. In Hungarian, chocolate milk (Nesquik powder, or 'bunny milk' as we also call it) is called kakao. Sonia, although she knows what it's called, has nicknamed it kakayo. And thus a twenty minute debate quickly ensued as to the proper pronunciation of this magical drink. They finally agreed to disagree and moved on with their day, but not before each one presented a strong case for her own version of the word. LOVE these funny little moments.

In unrelated news, here's a very unusual shot. Almost looks like brotherly love (I'm certain one of them punched the other within minutes of the photo being taken).

Not much else reportable at the moment, we are having an overall lay-low time here and trying to catch up with as many people as possible in the next week.

We're headed to the Kalandpalya with the Feketes on Monday, an awesome rope course through the tops of the trees tucked way up in the Buda hills (http://www.kalandpalya.com/interface.html), then back to our place for an adhoc bbq, where undoubtedly too much Vilmos will be consumed. Strange sidenote - on their website, they have a great video of the ropes course, set to the tune of death and destruction via Iron Maiden's 'Two Minutes to Midnight', which I must confess I rocked out to at some stage in the good ole' metalhead days of yore. You have to wonder, how did they pick such a random song that is soooo not appropriate to advertise entertainment for children.

Tuesday the boys are going to Lake Balaton to spend a few days with their friend Barnabas and his family. I'm hoping for some version of a girls night out on Tuesday, although it won't be anything wild, as most of the girlies aren't in Budapest at the moment. Keira and I will head to Siofok (also the Lake Balaton) on Wednesday for a couple days, and we will all head back together Thursday evening. We will pack up and close up the house on Friday and head to the airport Saturday morning. Two weeks gone again, in the blink of an eye.

Our house is still for rent or sale by the way, in the event that someone stumbles across this and is looking for a fantastic pad in Budapest, Hungary. Here's the link to my 'rent/buy this house' blog: http://whowouldntlovethishouse.blogspot.com/

Will wrap for now, as I'm all over the place and unable to focus. On a final note, twenty days to the season premiere of Gossip Girl. Imagine that I don't even have to wait a week and download it, I can watch it with the rest of the losers in America who find it entertaining. You have to at least respect the fact that I'm not a closet fan, that I'm happy to admit to being as deep as a puddle :) Having said that, it's a fabulous show and I don't care that I'm a 37-year-old woman watching high school drama (it's pretty sophisticated high school drama). Trust me, if you watch a few episodes, you may just like it. It's not Veronica Mars, which is still top three of my all-time favorites, but it's pretty darn fun to watch. Link to some of the season premiere promos: http://www.gossipgirlinsider.com/2008/07/gossip-girl-promos-season-two-premiere/

Okay, really going to wrap it up now, but not before I share my utter disdain for whatever technical glitch is preventing me from sending videos from YouTube directly to my blog - I'm so annoyed, and nobody seems to know why it's not working, on either the YouTube or Blogger end of things. Arghhh! Will post again tomorrow or Monday with some wedding photos. xo.

Hi all. Reporting from hot and sunny, but not-so-humid, Budapest. We arrived on Monday to hot and muggy, but we got some rain and it's been unbelievably beautiful since then, like May weather. Hope it will stay this cool through the weekend, would make the wedding festivities alot more comfortable. Our flights over were good, and we're happy to be back for a couple weeks. It's 8am on Friday and I've been up since 4:00, but 11pm-4am is the best night's sleep I've had since we landed. Not sure why, but I'm the only one who seems to get pummeled by the jet lag. Anyway, we've had a fairly uneventful week, trying to clean the house and dig out the jungle which is our garden. Can't believe how many cobwebs and how much dust can accumulate in a month with the house locked up tight. The kids have had a great week, just hanging out with friends and entertaining themselves outside. We lucked out big-time, as our great friends the Feketes, who live in Moscow, are still in town (actually John arrives this morning), so they've had a blast catching up with Sean (my fairy Godson, who's nine) and Sonia (Keira's long lost girlfriend - she's five).


We went to see on Tuesday with some other friends, Peti and Barnabas, which was lots of fun. Have a bunch of photos/video, nothing exciting, but a peek at what we're up to.








Also have a TON of photos/videos of Keira's trip to Italy, but no idea how I could ever post all the great ones - they must have taken a million in the course of a week. We are SO VERY HAPPY to have our little princess back. Goes without saying, but she puts the sun in my shine, and I'm afraid I won't be convinced any time soon to let her out of my sight for any extended period of time. Seems like she changed so much in a month, although I know she didn't. The first few days were a bit hard for her, as she couldn't express herself in English the way she wanted to, and eventually I just told her to tell me in Hungarian. Funny, how much being submersed in one language for a month changes the way your brain spits out the other ones. Haven't noticed it as much with the boys, but then they have been using lots of Hungarian while we've been in Florida (they still use it with eachother).


Having lunch at Chili's at JFK. We had a seven hour layover, always fun.

Plugged in (to the PSP), and charging (the iPod)...


Queenie in her new bikini...check out the gut on that girl. She loves her new suit, will only take it off to sleep at the moment.


Here's my favorite video of Keira's travels to/from Olaszorszag (oh-lahs-or-sah-g = Italy)...

So, Keira spent a week of her summer in Lajatico, Italy, which is a small village in Tuscany, about 30 miles from Pisa. She went with Linda and Szabolcs (who are getting married - yes, married - tomorrow - sorry for obscure Sixteen Candles reference, couldn't help myself) and Szabolcs' daughter Blanka, who is nine. Now that you folks back home are trying to figure out how one might possibly pronounce Szabolcs, say it with me, sah-bol-ch. She got to go to Pisa, as well as Volterra and SanGimignano (apparently she was the only one who figured out how to pronounce the last one). Linda gave me a disc with all the photos and videos from their trip and it took me a good 90 minutes this morning to look through them all. They had so much fun...sightseeing, swimming, eating, swimming, waterparking, swimming, trampolining, swimming, amusementparking, swimming... Keira definitely had the best summer getaway, hands down. And Linda made her a big book of her adventures, complete with a journal for every day and photos of their trip. They stayed in an amazing villa, complete with ginormous swimming pool. Have dreamt of a holiday under the Tuscan sun forever, can't believe my darling 4-year-old beat me to it.
Here's a map, and their coat of arms (fittingly, a girly theme)

Here's the little lady standing in front of the leaning tower of Pisa

And a bunch more shots of her Italian adventure.

Sziastok! Thought I would check in before we head back to Bp. tomorrow. We had a pretty quiet week here, not much to report actually. Bill's mom and dad arrived on Weds, so Bill and I took advantage of our babysitters and went out on a hot date night last night. Found a great seafood restaurant about ten minutes from here, in a strip mall of all places, next to my favorite shopping place on earth, Kohl's Dept. Store. It's very hard to get used to the idea, but even the best restaurants out where we live are in strip malls. So much for the glamour and glitz of places like Goa or Spoon in Budapest.

Anyway, we had an incredible meal of fancy flatbread, salad, and crab cakes (Bill had huge shrimp and ginormous scallops), washed down with a big fat pitcher of yummy white sangria. We took a stroll after dinner (up and down the strip mall - soooo romantic) and grabbed a bottle of wine at a funny little wine shop before heading home. Got a horrible Pinot Grigio with a screw-top, and I know it will shock most of you, but I drank it anyway :) The boys ended up at Chuck E. Cheese with their ever-indulging grandparents, followed up by a trip to Coldstone Creamery. They have the best ice cream ever, but way too much for one human to consume in one sitting - check out their signature creations: http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/icecream/signature_creations.html - Pure evil, I'm telling you!!

The boys also got their mobile phones yesterday, and are very excited. Since they are getting on the school bus from Aug.18th, and since 'all their friends have had them for a hundred years' (slight exaggeration on their part), it was about time that we got with the program. Dad stepped up to the plate bigtime and splurged on phones that are much nicer than either of our phones, but they make it such a deal when you are signing up for a two-year contract, it's hard not to buy one step up. It only costs another $20/month to add two phones to our plan, so as long as they don't abuse the minutes, the only real cash outlay is the phones. T-Mobile is also introducing a new online system in the next few weeks, whereby I can monitor their usage, the times they can use the phones, etc... Pretty cool. We also each have 5 numbers to program into 'MyFaves', which we can call for free anytime.

In other worthy news of the week, we bought chaise lounge chairs. Seriously, I hadn't seen them anywhere, but we got the deal of the century at Bed, Bath and Beyond - 40% off clearance price minus an extra 20% because I bought the floor model with a few dents and dings. Here are Riley and I checkin' out the comfort level...

Even more exciting, our little baby palm trees got a haircut this week. Check out the before and after pics...yes folks, these are the headlines from Chez McGann this week - try to contain yourselves...

And now... please don't think that I didn't save the juiciest tidbit of news for last... here is rare footage of a cumulous cloud in the shape of a grizzly bear. Can you say, 'here's a girl that needs to get a job, or something to occupy her otherwise easily stimulated grey matter'. What in the world?

Might as well wrap up this edge-of-your-seat update with some shots of 'where the magic happens'. Took these photos yesterday because I'm soliciting ideas from a professional on what to do with the empty corner by the window. Found a sofa and ottoman that I love, but not sure if it really works with the rustic pine furniture. I definitely don't want to go out and buy new furniture, so I have to come up with something that will look okay with it.

Here it is, what do you think? Too foo-foo? I DO NOT have a great eye for this stuff, and not a whole lot going for me in the decorating dept. I just like it because it looks cozy and inviting. Also hadn't contemplated that it's a silk fabric, which means the dogs will probably scratch it up in a NY minute. Not very practical...but it's 50% off - that counts for something, no?

Will close with a couple videos of the danger brothers doing surfboard stunts into the pool.

Have a great weekend! Will try to update from the other side of the pond. I can't wait to see my little princess on Monday! I just talked to her on Skype, and she's having a ball, as usual. She went to the zoo with her boyfriend Boti on Thursday, and she's off to the waterpark again tomorrow. Rough summer. I'm sure it will take her a few days to get used to speaking English again. Linda's wedding is next Saturday, and Keira will be a flower girl (I think there are nine). Should be fun - in ten years, I've never been to a real Hungarian wedding. Will take lots of photos. Don't want to even think about Keira and Linda saying goodbye, but at least we know that Linda and Szabolcs will be here on Dec.26th. And we all know that Christmas is right around the corner. xoxo.

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...

Happy Birthday Mr. Bill!!!
We made a few silly videos in honor of your special day (see posts below). We miss you lots and are anxiously awaiting your return next week. I love you very much, and am very happy that after ten kooky years (almost eleven), we are about to embark on the next kooky chapter together. Nobody ever said this marriage gig was a walk in the park, and I'm definitely not an easy creature to live with, but I know we're making good decisions and that our new life in the US is going to be fantastic. Hope you have a great day! xoxoxoxoxoxo. K.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Hi Daddy! Sorry we can't be with you today. We love you very much and can't wait to see you next week!!! USA, USA, USA!!! (FYI, for those of you who aren't regular Nickelodeon watchers, the 'USA, USA, USA' chant is from an episode of Drake and Josh).

Happy Birthday Daddy Part II

Why did I insist upon singing with them? :) Here it is in Hungarian and French. Happy Bday Daddy!

Liam's Bday Wish

Under all that hair, he's a big teddy bear. Love him! And he loves his daddy.