April 26, 2009 - Week 28

Sometimes I cannot tell if it's the baby growing or just some body part which doesn't need to be bigger. My body definitely reflects my Mom's great cooking. She and I made some very good baby purchases this week. I am now afraid that they will not fit into my suitcases for the trip back to the USA. I was also sorting out old baby books and cleaning my parent's attic from my high school and college stuff. We went to my Grandma in Napajedla for firewood because they had to cut down two of their big trees. We needed a big delivery truck to transport them to our yard. Before my brother left to England, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa in Hradiste. On Wednesday, I had a little family birthday party outside in our yard. I've had luck with the weather since I arrived here...beautiful warm temperatures often in the 80's. I took my Mom and my Grandma to the musical "Carmen" in a theater in Hradiste. We went for a nice dinner before the show. I reserved the last three tickets so we sat in the balcony. I enjoyed the musical...the performances were very good. On Friday the 24th, my actual birthday, I took my Mom to a movie called "You are Kissing Like a God". It was a great comedy and we had a very good time. It was in a huge movie theater, but including us there were just 17 people. Over the weekend, Mom and I went to Hradiste to shop for the rest of the baby stuff and we went for lunch together. I also helped my Dad plant his nice tall tomato plants. I have to remember the way he did it so I can do the same next year at our home. He had beautiful tomatoes last year. We then relaxed by the open fire and cooked our dinner...smoked sausages.

Nekdy nevim, jestli to roste to dite nebo ostatni me partie tela, ktere nechci, aby se zvetsovaly. Me telo definitivne odrazi mamcino vyborne kuchteni. S mamkou jsme take vyborne nakoupily detske veci. Obavam se, ze se mi to nevleze do mych kufru na zpatecni ceste do USA. Tridila jsem take detske knizky a vyklizela jsem huru, kde jsem mela veci ze stredni a vysoke skoly.
Byli jsme u babicky Napajedelske, kde jsme sbirali drevo, protoze oni museli pokacet dva velke stromy. Nakonec jsme potrebovali velkou dodavku, aby jsme to mohli prevezt na nasi zahradu. Predtim nez bracha odletel jsme zasli k babicce a dedeckovi do Hradiste na navstevu. Ve stredu jsme meli malou rodinou oslavu mych narozenin na nasi zahrade. Mam stesti na pocasi od te doby, co jsem priletela...znovu teple pocasi okolo 20 C. Pozvala jsem mamku a babicku na muzikal "Carmen" do Hradiste. Pred predstavenim jsme sly na veceri. Dostala jsem posledni tri listky, tak jsme sedely na balkone. Velice se mi muzikal libil...vystoupeni hercu bylo vyborne. V patek 24., tedy presne na me narozeniny jsem pozvala mamku do kina na film "Libas jako Buh". Byla to skvela komedie, vyborne jsme se bavily. Je to velke kino, ale prislo tam pouze 17 lidi vcetne nas.
Pres vikend jsme s mamkou jely do Hradiste dokoupit posledni detske veci a zasly jsme si na obed. Take jsem trochu pomohla tatovi nasadit jeho krasne velka rajcata. Musim si zapamatovat jak to delal, abych to mohla udelat doma pristi rok. Mel skvele rajcata minuly rok. Pote jsme relaxovali u ohnicku, kde jsme si opekaly nasi veceri...spekacky.

April 19, 2009 - Week 27

We had another beautiful week in the Czech Republic...no rain, no clouds and temperatures between 75-80F. I love my work schedule because I can enjoy the sun in the morning and early afternoon. I took our baby multiple times for a walk and still tried to exercise a little. My Mom and I made some baby clothes purchases so I think our baby is taken care of up until 9 months. Mom also gave me a few clothes from when my brother and I were little.
We celebrated Easter Monday holiday with my family in the town of Strachotin. Because I could not go on the bicycle trip with the rest of the family, I drove Marta and Romy to the town of Mikulov where we met up with the bikers. It is a beautiful historical renovated town with a neat château on the hill. We did a little hiking to the ruins with a view of the city. We also drove to the château and gardens of Lednice. This place is famous for their fish ponds. We went to see a birds predators show. They had maybe about 30 predators such as different kinds of eagles, vultures, and more. They were trained and showed us an attack on a fake moving animal.
I also went to see my girlfriend with her two kids in the town of Polesovice. We had many detours so the trip took longer then normal. On Saturday, I drove to my college town of Olomouc to get together with my classmates. I have not seen them already for 9 years. It was great to listen to their life stories. There were two of us living outside of the Czech Republic...one girl is in Stuttgart, Germany. I enjoyed the time together very much. Many of them have kids and four of us are expecting a baby this year. My cousin Eva and her boyfriend Pavel told us their news this week too and she is also expecting just two months after me in September! I can tell this year is another baby boom. I went to see a Czech movie called "Normal" afterwards which was an investigation about a serial killer...definitely something you want to see alone and in the middle of the night in a strange city :-) I slept in the town overnight at my parents rental apartment. They still rent my little college apartment to four students. Luckily, there was nobody home that weekend.
I left the town of Olomouc to visit my girlfriend's family from Des Moines in the town of Ostrava. Again, it was a great day to travel so I stopped on the way home at some castle ruins called "Stary Jicin" for a little hike and some ice cream.

Meli jsme nadherny tyden, zadny dest, bez oblacku a teploty mezi 20-25C. Libi se mi muj pracovni rozvrh, protoze si muzu uzit slunicka rano a v brzke odpoledne. Nekolikrat jsem vzala nase ditko na prochazky a take se trochu snazim cvicit. Nakoupily jsme s mamkou detskeho obleceni, tak si myslim, ze nase ditko je "poklizene" do 9teho mesice. Mamka me take dala nejake veci po me a po brachovi.
Velikonocni pondeli jsme oslavovali s rodinou porad ve Strachotine. Jelikoz jsem nemohla jezdit na kole, tak jsem vzala Martu s Romankem autem do Mikulova, kde jsme se potkali s nasimi "cyklo nadsenci". Je to krasne, historicke a zrenovovane mesto se zamkem na kopci. Sli jsme se podivat na "Kozi Hradek", kde byl krasny rozhled na mesto. Take jsme se jeli podivat do Lednice na zamek a zahradu. Lednice je znama pro sve rybniky a ryby. Shledli jsme prehlidku dravych ptaku. Meli jich tam aspon kolem 30ti, byli to ruzne druhy orlu, sup a vice. Byli cviceni a ukazali nam lov na umele vypustenou malou zver.
Byla jsem navstivit moji znamou s dvema detmi v Polesovicich. Mame tady hodne objizdek, tak ta cesta vetsinou trva dele nez normalne. V sobotu jsem jela do Olomouce na sraz z vysoke skoly. Uz jsem je nevidela 9 let. Bylo to skvele poslouchat jejich zivotni pribehy. Jsme dve, ktere nebydli doma v CR, jedna holka zije ve Stutgartu v Nemecku. Velice jsem si tento sraz uzila. Mnoho holek uz ma deti a byly jsme tam ctyri, ktere tento rok ocekavame potomka. Moje sestrenka Eva a jeji pritel Pavel nam jejich novinku oznamili take tento tyden, oni ocekavaji dite jen dva mesice po me v zari! Muzu rici, ze tento rok se s tim roztrhl pytel. Pote jsem se sla podivat na cesky film "Normal", coz bylo vysetrovani serioveho vraha...urcite neco kdyz jsi sama, v noci a v cizim meste :-) Prespavala jsem ve meste na private, ktery rodice porad pronajimaji ctyrem studentkam. Nastesti tam tento vikend nikdo nebyl.
V nedeli jsem odjela do Ostravy, kde bydli rodina moji kamaradky z Des Moines. Znovu bylo krasne pocasi na cestovani, tak jsem se na zpatecni ceste zastavila na zricenine "Stary Jicin", kde jsem si to vyslapla a dala si nahore zmrzlinu.

April 12, 2009 - Week 26

We have had great temperatures here in Czech...80's each day. They say it is the warmest April in 50 years. I enjoyed working outside on my parent's deck in the sun. I biked twice on their stationery bike in the basement and swam in the little pool. I usually spend the afternoon working from 3-11 pm when Des Moines is online. It is great to have your own schedule. I went to visit both my Grandmas and Grandpa.
Everyone was looking forward to Easter because almost the whole Czech side of the family got together. We drove on Friday morning to the south of the Czech Republic (very close to the Austrian border) and the town of Strachotin. My cousin Eva, who studies in France right now, came with her boyfriend Pavel. Another cousin Marta came from Germany with her 16 month old son Roman . My brother Jirka flew in from London and my Aunt Ruzka flew in from India. My cousin Radek with girlfriend Zaneta came from Prague and then my parents and Aunt Inka and Karel came from my hometown. It was great to see everyone! I enjoyed the conversation and the time together in the true "wine country". We literally slept above the wine cellar and some of us tasted the wine numerous times. I was the designated driver. We could not have better weather so some of us did some biking and the rest did some hiking to the castle ruins from the 16th century where we enjoyed a beautiful panorama of the surrounding villages. We also enjoyed home cooked traditional meals such as dumplings with pork and cabbage, goulash soup, schnitzel with potato salad, and of course great sweets.

Mame tady v ceske zemi nadherne pocasi, kolem 25 stupnu skoro kazdy den. Rika se, ze tento duben je nejteplejsi za poslednich 50. let. Rada jsem si zacvicila na slunicku na terase u rodicu. Dvakrat jsem si take zaslapala na kole a zaplavala v bazenku. Obvykle pracuji od 15-23 hod, kdyz Des Moines je na siti. Je super mit svuj vlastni rozvrh. Navstivila jsem take obe babicky a dedu.
Vsichni se tesili na Velikonoce, protoze se skoro cela ceska strana rodiny sesla. V patek rano jsme vyjeli na jih do Strachotina. Moje sestrenice Eva, ktera je nyni ve Francii prijela s pritelem Pavlem, dalsi sestrenice Marta s 16ti mesicnim synem Romankem prijeli z Nemecka, muj bratr Jirka priletel z Londyna, moje teta Ruzka priletela z Indie, muj bratranec Radek prijel s pritelkyni Zanetou z Prahy a potom moji rodice a teta Inka se strycem Karlem od nas doma. Bylo to uzasne je zase vsechny videt! Uzivala jsem si pritomnosti vsech a povidani v te prave "vinne oblasti". Doslovne jsme spali nad sklepem a nekteri nespocetnekrat kostovali ruzna vina. Ja jsem prevzala povolani ridice. Nemohli jsme si prat krasnejsi pocasi, tak nekteri take jezdili na kolach a ostatni se prosli ke zricenine hradu ze 16. stoleti, kde jsme si uzivali krasneho vyhledu na vesnicky. Take jsme si uzivali domacich navarenych jidel jako vepro, knedlo, zelo, gulasovou polevku a rizky s bramborovym salatem a nemohlo chybet velice dobre cukrovi.

April 5, 2009 - Week 25

For the first time I am writing from the Czech Republic. Before I left on Saturday, Paul and I went for another seminar called Postpartum Adjustments. We were listening to stories and experiences from new parents with young babies. I also went to my doctor before this long trip to Czech. Everything seems to be fine, baby's heart beat is 150 a minute. The doctor gave me some paperwork for the trip in case of an emergency.

I also played co-ed volleyball for the last time. There is one more game left next week, but I will already be gone. Marvin and Jean came up this Saturday before I left so we went to a Chinese buffet. Late afternoon, Paul took me to the airport and I was on my way to Europe. I got a little worried in Chicago because the plane from Des Moines had to wait on the runway for about 40 minutes. Consequently, I did not have much time in Chicago to board for the overseas flight. I couldn't get much sleep on the plane, but I felt pretty good arriving in Vienna where my parents waited for me. We had little trouble getting out of Vienna so we took a sightseeing tour through Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

I picked a good time to go to Europe because I did not need to deal with the snow which came to Iowa on Sunday. The temperature here was high, around 70-75F...it felt so great. I could not resist and I had to take a picture of my parent's yard and send it to Iowa. I quickly settled down in my parents dining room so I could smell all the good stuff coming out of my Mom's kitchen. Right away, I had bean soup for dinner, sweet rice with peaches for breakfast, and tomato sauce with dumplings for lunch and dinner. I am sure I will come back twice as big. Mom and I went to downtown to take care of few things and I made appointments for a massage and facials. We also stopped for ice cream with very good sweets.

Poprve pisi z Ceske republiky. Predtim nez jsem v sobotu odletela jsem s Paulem sla na dalsi seminar nazvany "Obdobi po porodu", kde jsme poslouchali nove rodice s malymi detmi, kteri nam davali typy do budoucna. Take jsem sla k doktorce pred moji dlouhou cestou do Cech. Vse doposud vypada v poradku, ditko ma 150 tepu za minutu. Doktorka me dala papiry na cestu, kdyby se nahodou neco stalo.

Take jsem naposledy hrala volejbal mixu. Hraje se jeste jeden zapas pristi tyden, to ale uz budu pryc. Jean s Marvinem prijeli tuto sobotu pred mojim odletem do Des Moines, tak jsme spolecne zasli do cinske restaurace. Pozdeji odpoledne me Paul vzal na letiste a uz jsem byla na ceste do Evropy. Obavala jsem se trochu v Chicagu, protoze to letadlo sedelo na pristavaci plose asi 40 minut nez se uvolnilo misto na "zaparkovani". A nasledovne jsem tam nemela moc casu na presednuti na zaoceansky let. Moc jsem toho v letadle nenaspala, ale nakonec jsem se citila dobre po priletu do Vidne, kde na me cekali rodice. Meli jsme trochu potize se dostat z Vidne, tak jsme to nakonec jeste vzali vyhlidkovou jizdou pres Bratislavu.

Vybrala jsem si perfektni cas odletet do Evropy, protoze jsem nezastihla snih, ktery padal v nedeli v Iowe. Tady bylo velice teplo, okolo 25C...bylo to vyborne. Nemohla jsem si pomoci a musela jsem vyfotit zahradu rodicu a poslat ty fotky do Iowy. Usadila jsem se s mym pocitacem v jidelne, tak jsem hned ucitila tu vuni linouci se z mamcine kuchyne. Na zacatek jsem si dala fazolovou polevku na veceri, sladkou ryzi s broskvema na snidani, rajskou omacku s knedlikem na obed a veceri. Vypada to tak, ze priletim zpatky jedenkrat tak vetsi. Sla jsem s mamkou do mesta vyridit par veci a pote jsem se objednala na masaz a na kosmetiku. Take jsme se zastavili na zmrzlinu a dobry zakusek.