Category: Parenting

Can You Drive?

Published on by Grace13 Comments

When my husband tells me that I can’t drive, I get annoyed and oftentimes it becomes a catalyst for me having a bad day.  I have a Philippine driver’s license and a California driver’s license.  Unfortunately,  both of them are not good enough for Europe, so there is still a need for me to get the Czech Driver’s license.  Since last month, I have been enrolled in a driving school to help me secure that Czech license.  Although confident with my driving skills, I soon later found out that driving in Prague can be stressful and can be hair-raising at times.

When I came home from driving school one night, my little boy eagerly ran to greet me.

He asked:  “Mama, can you drive?”  Thinking that he was touted by his dad to ask me that question, I annoyingly replied:  “Of course, mama can drive!  Mama has been driving for years!”

But then he asked me again:  “Can you drive in a police car?”

Now that’s another story.

The Little Boy Goes to School

Published on by Grace15 Comments

This past week had been a busy one for us.  Our little boy had his first day of school last Thursday and I started a new gig.  For a two year old,  Jakub is pretty good with separation anxiety.  In the beginning, he was overwhelmed with the new surroundings and the new faces, so he was clinging on to me.  But as soon as he saw the toys and warmed up to the people, he was perfectly fine.

Photo courtesy of Zuzana Yousif

Sending him to school was like replaying those memories when I had to put him in daycare because I had to go back to work.  It was a little bit tough to go back home to an empty house.  And of course, it is also normal for a mom to be anxious about her child’s safety when in somebody else’s care.  But because I know that  he is safe and can survive by himself, it was a lot easier for me.  There were no tears shed.  When I picked him up that afternoon, both of us came home happy and satisfied.

He is recently attending a private preschool close to our place.  The place is called Krokodyl Kolin and it is operating on its first year this year.  After a quick search on preschools within our area, I opted to let him go to Krokodyl because of its  Montessori pedagogy approach that favors individual work of children, where the caregiver is a guide and mentor and the child is encouraged to get things tested and explored.   Tasks like  dressing, hygiene, working with utilities, cleaning, preparing snacks etc. are just a few of the activities that they teach.  Teaching is mainly in Czech which is perfect for Jakub’s adaptation into Czech society.

Photo courtesy of Zuzana Yousif

Krokodyl offers a variety of programs to suit each child’s needs.   Whether you prefer sending your child to school the whole week, 2x a week or even once per week, the choice is yours.  Since Jakub is only 2, I decided to let him attend classes two times per week, halfday.  Besides, we have an exercise class that we regularly attend on Mondays, and I wanted to spend the other 2 days with him.  Ten hours of “me” time per week is enough for me.   So far, I have observed that he is quite happy with this arrangement.  He comes home with artwork that he did in class and sometimes I would catch him singing nursery rhymes that I am not familiar with.

The little guy serving his own meal.

If you would like to know more about Krokodyl, please click on this link.  You can also find them on facebook here.

On his first day, his teacher promised to send me a text message to update me on how he is doing.  She said:  “Jakub is perfectly fine…the quickest child here.”  I am not so surprised.  Even if he is my only child, I already have my hands full.

One Happy Mama

Published on by Grace17 Comments

Today is one of those days when I feel like we hit a significant milestone.

On a normal day, Jakub plays like this.

He is either on his bike or pulling his toy trucks.  Sometimes he will be pushing his toy mower.

Since I was busy with house work, I allowed him to play by himself in his room.  When everything got quiet, I thought he fell asleep.

Some days, it is normal to find him like this.

Sleeping on the living room couch.

But it was way too early for a nap, so I got nervous.  What happened to my son?  Did he get into an accident?

But here he was…reading a book.

Apparently, he took a chair to go up and get the book.

Normally, he would take my hand, point to a book and ask me to read it to him.  But today he decided to do it himself.

Although going on top of the chair can be dangerous, I appreciated the fact that he loves to read!

To add to my joy, he even handed me a flower he made out of his legos.

Today, I am one happy mama.

Všechno nejlepší k svátku!

Published on by Grace27 Comments

“All the best for your name day!” That’s what the title means.

Here in the Czech Republic, everyday is somebody’s name day.  So technically, Czechs have 2 celebrations of their existence – the day they were born and their name day.   Although name days commonly bear less importance than birthdays, quite a few people still celebrate it.  Based on my research, it is either celebrated by giving flowers and chocolates or if the person is older, by going out with friends and co-workers for beer.

It is interesting to note that in the past, parents were compelled to choose the names of their children based on the name days in the calendar.  Any highly unusual name needs the approval of a “special office” before a child can be baptized or registered using that name.

I don’t have a name day.  If I were Czech, my parents would’ve appealed to that “special office’ to get my name approved.  It is not on the Czech name day calendar.

If  fate was written in the stars, Jakub’s name was written on the sand.  As I was noting down schedules on my Czech calendar this morning, I just realized that today is Jakub’s name day.  I wonder what I’ll do to celebrate it.  I cannot buy him flowers or chocolates nor can I go out for beer with him.

What would you do if I were you?

Reminiscing

Published on by Grace22 Comments

In a few weeks, my parents will becoming to the Czech Republic.  Although we talk on skype almost every other week, it has been 3 years since we last saw each other and it will be the first time when they will meet Jakub.

As I am getting anxious about their arrival, I am also reminiscing the good memories we had when they visited us in the US.

This was 3 years ago, when they initially met with my husband’s parents.  Despite the language barrier, everyone became instant friends.

At Sequoia National Park, my dad and my father-in-law explored Tunnel rock together.

But over here at Mono Lake, you can see the geographical differences in their origins.  It was evident in how they responded to ambient temperature.  It was 23C that day.  The Filipinos got cold while the Czechs were complaining of warmth.

But under the warm California sun, everyone felt good the moment we got to Yosemite.

But San Franciso was still cold….even for the Czechs.

This year, it will be a reunion for this team….. with its newest team member.

I can’t wait!

“Happy Day”

Published on by Grace7 Comments


This past weekend, a couple of friends visited us in Kolin. There was a children’s event at Kmochuv Island and we went there to check it out.

A famous TV personality for a children’s show was supposed to show up.  But for some reason, her appearance got cancelled.    Ironically, the event was called “Happy Day.”  But I guess it wasn’t too happy for the kids who got disappointed with the TV personality’s absence.

So the organizers made sure that the kids enjoyed the children’s disco.

But for our group, it didn’t matter at all.  We still managed to have fun.

..At least the kids did.  We were there for the children’s disco.

It was fun to watch my little boy dance.

At the end of the event, everything would’ve been perfect except for a mini meltdown.  He refused to wear shoes!

Luckily, his ever-patient daddy dealt with it.  After all is said and done, it was still a “happy day.”

How was your weekend?

My Little Comic

Published on by Grace10 Comments
A few days after he was born, he already knew how to pose.

Don’t you just love the innocence of a child?  Here are a few snippets of my encounters with my almost 2yr old boy.

One morning after getting out of bed, Jakub picked up his toy cellphone and said:  “Babi, mlecinko is gone.”  (Grandma, milk is gone)

To stop him from climbing the cabinet, I told Jakub:  “Don’t climb this or mommy will be mad at you.”  I then went to his bedroom to ventilate his windows.  When I came back, he was already carrying a chair so he can open the cabinet.  Knowing that it was still wrong, he looked guiltily at me as he exclaimed:  “Mommy, ne mad at you.”

Tommy, Jakub’s cousin who is the same age as he, has blond hair.  Whenever he sees blond-haired boys (which is 50% of all the boys in the playground),  he calls them Tommy.

To lure him to sleep, I told Jakub that I will make palacinky when he wakes up.  I then proceeded to ask:  “Do you like palacinky?”  He responded:  “Ne.  Ice cream”

Jakub calls our car “taxi” because he gets to sit in the back.

So I can do household tasks, I oftentimes let Jakub watch educational videos.  On a Barney show, children were pointing at things and identifying what they were: “it’s a bird,” “it’s a rainbow,” “it’s a plane….” Jakub, tugging his diaper said: “It’s kaka (poop).”

Who needs to go to a comedy club when I have a comedian at home.

SUN Day

Published on by Grace4 Comments

It was bright and sunny yesterday and the temperature was in the mid 20’s. It was the perfect day for a picnic.

We found the perfect spot under a tree very close to a gazebo.  Our little boy is now very active and just doesn’t seem to stop moving.  Being in the park was perfect since there are a lot of things to explore for our little guy.  But even on the picnic mat, he still doesn’t stay put.

He is either horsing around or trying things he’s not supposed to play with….like mommy’s sunglasses for instance.

I rarely have photos with him since I am mostly taking  the photos.  But I finally convinced him to stay put for a picture with me. He wasn’t too happy with it and managed a fake smile.

All he ever wanted to do was play with his daddy and run around.

These days I really find it hard to keep up with him.  It’s difficult to be an old mom.

Nevertheless, I hope you had a great weekend!

Of Boys, Books and Toys

Published on by Grace9 Comments

As Jakub is about to turn 2, his preference for toys are now more and more “boy-like.”

He just loves the bike.  Although here in the Czech Republic, it seems like having a bike is mandatory.  Every Czech kid has to have one.  The bike models change as they grow too.

Another machine that is clearly fascinating for him is the train.    On our last trip to Brno,  his dad and his grandpa took him and his cousins on a 1km miniature train ride.  They were beaming with joy.

Although he has been on a real train several times, nothing beats being on a toy train.

I guess seeing the machine in its entirety is better than being inside it

.

But if there is one thing that I would like him to love, it is books.    I believe that it is a valuable legacy that can be cultivated at this tender age.  And since we are in a multi-cultural household, he has books in different languages.

Right now, majority of his books are in Czech rather than English.  There are only limited English titles that are available here and some of them are not appropriate for his age.  I’m glad that at his age, he doesn’t mind if I repeat the english stories over and over again.  But recently, my mom-in-law solved the problem.

This is a gift from his grandma – a dual language book!

This is the perfect book for this household.  We have a rule that whenever I talk to Jakub, I will only use English and whenever his dad talks to him, he will only use Czech.  If my parents talk to him, they will only speak Filipino.  That way, he can learn several languages at the same time.

It is funny though because at his age now he is mixing everything.  One day I was teaching him the ABC song and he sang it like this:  “A, B, C, D, už je tady….”  (already here).  Oh well.

An Eventful Weekend

Published on by Grace9 Comments

Despite the scorching heat this past weekend, it was a very eventful one.  On Saturday, friends from Prague and Brno came to visit us.

Picnic at the park

Jakub had a new favorite buddy –  Kuya Mico.

He always likes to play with big boys.

On Sunday, they bonded again because we went to Prague for the FCA dragonboat recreational activity.

While the kids were checking out the boats, we were paddling on the river.

The dragonboat activity exceeded my expectations.  In a scale of 1 to 10 for fun, it was a 10!  I got nervous in the beginning fearing that the boat would capsize because all the paddlers were amateurs.  But we amazingly did well.  Thanks to a great team and wonderful coach –  FCA President Marison Rodriguez.  The Prague Dragonboat Club were gracious enough to let us use their boat and their facilities, and the generous members of FCA brought yummy food, so the bbq portion that followed the activity was equally enjoyable.

With fun activities, good food and good friends, this weekend was one of the best I’ve had here in Czech.

Photos courtesy of Arnel Cueto and Glenn Sanchez