Sunday, August 19, 2007
Update
I have not been online for a month or even longer as I have been cut off from the universe. I.e. no Internet no phone and the rest......I do not understand how people survived b.f the web?
Anyway last day at work was awful in the sense I cried all day long and it was a lot harder than I thought. I go through it and then We spent the Saturday and the Sunday cleaning an packing. The apartment was inspected on the Monday and all went well. It was a nightmare getting to the airport with all the luggage we had and also we got stung badly with overweight. Jet 2 are not very generous at all........160 Euro. But we gladly paid up as we were so ready to go home. We stayed with Gareth's parents the first 2 nights as it took some time to get the furniture in the house and put together. We have re carpeted the house which was a treat. The days flew by and before we knew it,it was time to pack up again and head for the USA.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Last day
I certainly will miss the weather and I will miss the fact that it only took me 20 minutes to get to work and home. I will really miss the person that took over my position, as she is probably the nicest sweetest person I have ever met. I will miss my babysitter Beri and of course all my other friends I have made here, and I am sure that because of them I will come back one day.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Packing up
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Croatia
Lake Balaton
Friday, June 15, 2007
Like a pregnancy.........
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I just don't know how they do it
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Along came the friends
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Bratislava
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Our Friends and Family
Monday, May 21, 2007
Vienna November 2006
My pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracytracey/
I try and update them as often as I can, but I have not been as good as I should have.......Anyway enjoy.
Polen 6-9 April
I really love the picture of the old door so I had to include it on my blog.....
Budapest Teddy Bear sanctuary-Amazing
Monday, May 14, 2007
What are the chances........?
Monday, April 16, 2007
Jack's progress report nummer 2
JACK
Jack is a very active boy. He is forever on the go. He is restless and fidgety; he has a hard time sitting still. He is already able to sit while he is eating, but he stands up immediately when he thinks he is finished with his mouth full and without drinking. I always ask him to swallow the food and drink at least a little bit. And do it in a sitting position. (He doesn’t like to drink.) Then he needs to tidy his plate, cup etc. away. And after that I let him go. I think he already developed a lot in this aspect, because previously he had bitten twice from the bred and dropped the rest in the bin and run to play. And few minutes later asked for some breakfast again.
The other thing he has to learn is that he has to sit still during dressing time which is I can say better than it was before. We teach him to do or at least try to do everything by himself. For example "dressing alone": he tries to take off his sandals alone, and sometimes he manages. J
The sleeping time is a very hard time for him and for us as well. He prefers jumping on the beds to staying still on his own. Sometimes he just falls asleep easily, but when he is in a mood nothing can calm him down. So quite often he is not sleeping at all. Only when we go to sleep he is looking for his tummy and keeps on talking about it.
He is so cheerful. He brings sunshine into the class when he arrives with a smile on his face in the mornings.
He loves playing in the garden, riding a motorbike. We have a tractor in the garden; what if he wants to drive he needs someone to push. They are good friends with James, they like playing together; they get on well with each other. I was so amused to see how they cooperate when they playing with this tractor. They discussed who is driving/pushing, which way to go and they AGREED, and also swapped. It happened between two of them, without any help from the teachers.
Jack likes playing with his Pingu. He has a good imagination. He plays role-games with Pingu. Usually Pingu is a little boy and Jack is the carer. The girls often join him.
Jack refuses to wear a bib. He says he doesn’t need it and won’t make his clothes dirty.
He participates in craft activities more often than before. But it is still not his favorite, since he needs to sit while he is doing it.
He likes participating in circle-times, when we sing some songs and make movements connected to the songs. But he can’t participate for a long time. He usually jumps in for a while, because he wants to have a go, and out, because he can’t wait for others turn. He really enjoys singing and sings very loudly. He has so much fun when we play "theatre-game": he stands on a stage (the table) and performs a song. He is loud, brave, and confident and doesn’t want to stop singing. J
He is friendly, extrovert. He opens to everyone. Children follow him a lot. They consider everything he does is interesting and such a fun.
He knows the names of his classmates and teachers. And he realists when they are absent from school, and asks where they are.
He can be very helpful to his friends and teachers as well. He tidies up well.
He gets on well with other children. But sometimes it happens that he hurts someone. After that he seems to be ashamed and apologises for doing that.
He is curious and exploring; he wants to touch and try out everything.
We love him!!!
Best regards,
Anna Nagel, Tomo Kati, Heni
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Spring!!!!!!!
This week I think we are all going to go to Slovakia for the day it is only 3 hours on the train to the capital and such a good day experience and really cheap less than a tenner for a return ticket. We just need to fit everything in as the next weekends until we migrate back are going to be jam packed with visits and ourselves going away. We still have a weekend in Warsaw booked a week in Barcelona and a week in Croatia to look forward to. On top of that there is also 6 lots of visitors arriving all at different times - so all in all not much time. It is great having friends and family visiting and it is at the same time allowing ourselves to really get to know Budapest. I am just sad that we have not really had the chance to travel around the rest of Hungary-there just is no time.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Ti amo Roma
Ti amo Roma
We left on an seriously earlie flight on Wednesday 07/02/07 and came to a sunny warm Roma about 10 in the morning. It took some time to find the hotel, but it was worth it in the end. for 3 and a half days we just walked around taking in the gorgeous sights,unfortunately it rained for two whole days, but at least there was no ques for the Colosseum and all the other attractions....I think Jack liked it to, at least he was nice and snug in his little pram with rain covers on. We went to the Vatican on the Thursday and Jack managed to knock over a pole that actually chipped the floor in the Vatican, I was completely mortified and I was convinced we would get arrested or at least fines. But luckily the Italians love the little "bambinos" and ignored the unpleasant experience (Or they just did not notice, the big chunk missing of the 100 of years old marble floor.......) Oh well not everybody can brag that the chipped the Vatican floor. We went to all the usual sites like the Spanish steps, the different fountains, Colosseum and the rest. I think we could have spent weeks,or at least I could have. Jack and Gareth managed to get hold of matching Rome Football shirts (how Sad......If you ask me......) So, happy days for the boys. Other than that we just enjoyed the Italian life of pasta,pizza,Italian ice cream and little Espressos in the morning,afternoon and evenings.......I just love Italy.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Am I getting to old....?
Pet hate five Why is it people stop when they get to the top on an escalator? Why?
They just stand there and scratch their head or they decide that when they get to the top that is the time to take the flippi'n decision where to go!!!!!! Hello!!!!! what a about the rest of us, us behind you? Ever heard of the "domino effect"
Pet hate four: People jumping ques. I get to the office in the morning and I am stood nicely awaiting my lift to the 6th. floor. And as the lift arrives everyone runs for it and i get left behind. Hells teeth I come from a country where "if you see a que, you join it". And whilst on the subject of lifts what is up with the people getting the lift one floor???? ONE FLOOR?? there should be a law against it. I hate it!!!
Pet hate three: Why I ask why? is it so difficult to avoid poking peoples eyes out whilst handling an umbrella???????
Pet Hate two: The Nokia ring tone should be banned!!!!!!
Pet hate One: I have always wondered why the waiter asks you have the meal is whilst you have your mouth full of food?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Budapest
I must say though, that Gareth is coping very well, he is not used to living in the city and he is plodding along and adapting well considering he is used to the more tranquility up in the Rossendale hills. I on the other hand have learnt to appreciate the countryside and am looking forward to going back to rainy England. Probably on the basis why on earth would I be into sunny places considering my pale but interesting complexion? I do know for a fact that Gareth is missing his car badly, and who could blame him with the public transport. There is always a metro arriving every 3 minutes but they're always so crowded that your personal space does not exist. Jack is of course loving it as his obsession for public transport has just not worn of yet
Anyway we should not complain, we are now in the middle of January and it is 15 degrees outside, I say 15 degrees/ 59 F ? Helloooo? What is happening to this world? Well I can not say other than that the Tracey family had prepared themselves for a somewhat colder Hungary and spent an absolute fortune on thick clothes before we came down, You know....that saying of being well prepared and so on.......? Yeah whatever!
So let me talk about Hungary and Budapest. Great people and if they know you, they so want to please. Food is different and we do miss our English cuisine. They like to deep fry everything and anything, so you really need to keep an eye on that waste line. Sometimes you just have to take a wild guess regarding what you order in the local cafe where I have my lunch, so no room for picky eaters in this place! Gareth got kinda disturbed when he found pizza's with cauliflower and broccoli.......
Alcohol is cheaper than milk in the shops, and for some reason there is only a very small section with a few bottles of milk in the shops,do they not drink /use it?
I will NEVER take the quality or the service for grated when it comes to my local ASDA ever again. the shops are the size of the bread section in a local Tesco/Asda store. So the choice is not exact vast and it is possible cheaper to go out and eat, than buy all the ingredients to cook a well balanced nutritious meal. Unfortunately also the English language is not widely spoken amongst the population in this country, so it can get somewhat interesting when you have finally managed to prepare a meal..... and you realise what you thought they gave you as tomato paste actually is chili paste and you have already added the whole tube.........And my poor,poor,poor husband is gulping the soup to please you with tears in his eyes because his head and throat is on fire.
The best part of the shopping is if the product doesn't have a bar code "You don't get it" simple as that. The amount of times silly me has got to the till and there has been some "vital" ingredients that I am not allowed to have due to missing bar code. GREAT!
Jack's world
Tuesday 13/02/2007: Jack thinks Salami is Lama, and we are trying to explain the difference but he is not having it.........Also yesterday we put him to bed and he would not go to sleep, so Gareth went in for the third time to tell him off for singing and jodling. He must have heard him approaching the door because when he got into his room he was sat on the bed with his legs crossed his eyes shut and his fingers in his ears repeating over and over again "Don't shout daddy I am not listening....."
Friday 19/01/2007 The morning starts fantastic with all of us running around with our normal getting ready routine. Gareth goes into the Jack's nursery bag to check that he has a set of clean clothes and finds his nursery report. Aaaaww..... Jack's very first report. We open it with huge enthusiasm and we are greeted with the following;
Jack is by far the most energetic boy in the whole pre-school. He is bright and very loving,although sometimes his energy can be a problem. He always wants to play and be moving,and does not have enough patience to even participate in song time,which is an active time. He is a sweet boy and tidies up well. When we ask him to apologize to someone, he does. We just can not get him still even when we are changing his shoes to go outside. Jack is lovely and all the teachers like him,he just has trouble cooperating. Even though he doesn't listen to lessons there is no doubt he is soaking up information like a sponge. He talks well in English and is picking up Hungarian very quickly,without being thought in Hungarian. He just seems to understand what the other kids are saying in Hungarian and repeats it. Jack gets on well with the other kids except for one girl who has caught his habit of hitting,we are trying to teach both of them that hitting anyone is wrong. Jack is staying out in the garden longer and having lunch with the big kids. This has improved sleeping time a lot,and Jack is already making friends with the other kids he plays with, When he wakes up in the afternoon he is a lot more cooperative and friendly.
Oh my god we have produced a monster, was my first thoughts this morning after reading this, I quote the first line "Jack is by far the most energetic boy!!!!!!" and my next favourite "Jack gets on well with the other kids except for one girl who has caught his habit of hitting," HIS habit of HITTING?????????? I was completely mortified when I read this and I am already looking forward to school. I will probably be one of those parents that receive a phone call at least once a week "Mrs Tracey? we have your son again in the headmasters office, can you please come and pick him up?"
Oh well what can I say ? He didn't come with a instruction manual, it's just obvious that we are failing dramatically as parents........That was until I confided in some more experienced parents which just laughed at me and my concerns and told me to stop focusing on the negative and look at all his positive feedback. And it is true he is the most beautiful little man I have ever met
Thursday 18/01/2007 There is wake up calls and there is wake up calls. We currently have a guest staying with us, and he is occupying Jack's bedroom. So Jack is sleeping in a spear bed that we have bought and is placed in our bedroom with us. This morning I woke up with Jack being sat nicely on my head with a cold wet soggy nappy singing nursery rhymes, minding his own business as you do!!!!!
Sunday 14/01/2007 So we are out and about doing family stuff and pushing Jack down Vaci Utca in his pushchair Jack is singing and mummy and daddy are talking. Out of the blue Jack screams out " Mummy, daddy shut up! I am singing"
Saturday 13/01/2007 Gareth was flicking through the Hungarian channels on our TV when he finally found some sport. It was handball Norwegian v. Hungarian woman Handball. Jack was playing in the living room, and when the TV eventually caught his attention he stops up looks very thoughtful for a few seconds and then blurts out " Oh.... MY GOD!, Daddy !!!! they are doing it wrong" referring to the fact that they where holding the ball and not kicking it.
Friday 12/01/2007 Jack was carefully slipping his pennies into his money bank and when he had ran out of pennies he shouts "Can I please have some more money! " Gareth replies "No, Jack there is no more pennies" "But, Daddy I need some" "Well you will have to go out and get a job" So he looks at me and daddy, puts is head on the side looking very thoughtful for about 3 seconds and replies very chirpy "Okay" "me Jack go to work, bye,bye"
Saturday 06/01/2007. So Me and Jack are at Budapest Zoo looking and learning about all the animals. In the zoo they also have a farm section where they keep pigs, horses and a rather large and old cow........Jack is fascinated by the cow which at this point is trying to lick Jack's face. At the same moment the cow lifts his tail up and starts to pee, Jack at this moment nearly falls over with amazement and his huge big blue eyes are nearly popping out of his round face, in the next second the cow starts doing it's number two business and at this point Jack nearly passes out. And with no warning he stomps off to the zoo keeper starts pulling his top and shouts frantically and with a complete panic in his voice "Excuse me, excuse me you need to change his nappy, it is going every where and the cow is dirty"
Tuesday 02/01/2007
"What you do'in daddy"
" I am trying to get the shutter down"
" ohh.........."
(a few seconds pass....)
"Is it stuck,daddy"
"Looks like it"
" Ohh............give it a good bang, daddy"
My Elin
It was also Elin by the way that opened my eyes to the world of blog and to even taking my up and coming photo hobby to the next level. So thank you again. And the result of our photo sessions you can see on this BLOG all marked with date 13/01/2007