Category: Parenting

Palačinky Saves The Day

Published on by Grace10 Comments

It was a little bit rainy today, so Jakub and I stayed indoors through most of the day.  Since it’s Thursday, and we normally do shopping on Fridays, the food supply in our household was quite depleted.  He already ate up his favorite snack.  Thus, supermama had to make something for this picky little eater.    I checked out the cupboard to see what I have and was lucky to find that I had flour, milk and eggs –  the main ingredients for palačinky.

my palacinky

Out of all the Czech foods I’ve ever tried to make, palačinky is my favorite.  Not only is it very easy to make but it is also very flexible.  Palačinky is a thin pancake very similar to French crepes.  It is very popular in Czech and almost every housewife knows how to make it.    Palačinky is normally eaten with jam/jelly as a filling.  It can also be made fancier with whipped cream on the side and chocolate syrup drizzled all over it.  It can even be made as a main course when it is stuffed with meat and veggies.  But the best palačinky variation I’ve ever seen was at my in-law’s house where it was made as a birthday cake.  I thought that was pretty innovative.

Birthday cake made out of palacinky

It was very simple yet delish.  I would never have thought to make it for that purpose.

So, to appreciate this awesome food even more, I am sharing here my Palačinky recipe:

Ingredients:

2 eggs

200g flour

400ml milk

pinch of salt

Procedure:  Mix all the ingredients together.  Pre-heat a cooking pan. Add a little bit of oil to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.   (If you are using a non-stick pan, there is no need to add oil.)  Take 4-5 tablespoons of the mixture and spread evenly on the pan.  Turn when the sides turn brown.

Yield: 10-15

Whatever the occasion, whether it is a simple afternoon snack, a main course or a party, rest assured that palačinky will always save the day.

When the “Baby” Looks After the Sitter

Published on by Grace12 Comments
This past weekend, we visited my husband’s brother in Brno, the second biggest city next to Prague.  It was the birthday celebration of my nephews, so we decided to spend the whole weekend there.  However, the weather was not cooperating.   So we were limited to doing activities indoors.
Saturday morning, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise.  Unfortunately, that was the best part of the day because it rained to whole day.  We were supposed to bring the kids to a steam engine exhibit but it got cancelled due to the rain.  So we proceeded to Plan B — go to an indoor play area.

We went to Bongo, a family amusement park.  There were a lot of attractions for both young and old, and I can tell the boys had a lot of fun.  While their fathers took the little ones in the bump cars, my 4 year old nephew begged me to come with him to the big slide.

I have a fear of heights. This fear started way back in my early twenties when I rode a roller coaster in South Korea.  As I grew older, the fear intensified. Now that I am a mother, it seems like I will be forced to conquer this fear.

Off we go!

I didn’t want to disappoint my little nephew so I went with him on the slide.  But when I got to the top, the nerves got me.   I almost didn’t go but it was too late.  My poor nephew was a little but surprised on why I was too slow.  Truth is, I was hanging on to the side rail.

Finally

Until finally, I found the courage to just let go and was able to catch up with him.  It was very ironic.   Instead of me keeping an eye on him, he kept an eye on me.  Oh well, I know this will not be the first time.    When Jakub will be old enough to go on great heights, I wonder what else I will get myself into.


Afternoon Coffee

Published on by Grace5 Comments

I like flavored coffee. Now that my son is at a stage where he tries to imitate everything I do, it is quite difficult to keep coffee away from him.  I always try to trick him by giving him milk, but he is starting to get smarter and cannot be easily fooled.  But I found a solution.  I found Caro.

Caro is a drink composed of barley, barley malt, chicory and rye.  The origin of this drink can be traced back to the Napoleon era.  During the war between France and England, there was a scarcity of goods from overseas, one of them being coffee.  To compensate for this, people experimented on ground cereals and grains as a replacement for coffee and thus came up with Caro.  Due to its popularity, with a taste closely resembling that of coffee, it stayed as a regular product.

In the beginning, we bought this drink so Jakub can have his “coffee” with us.  But recently, I have found myself drinking caro as well.  The same is true with Kinder chocolate.  I bought it for Jakub so he can have his own chocolate when I’m eating mine.  But recently, I am also finding myself craving for this chocolate too.

Having a kid awakened the kid in me.  So don’t be surprised if I offer you baby juice instead of beer when you are a guest in my house.

How about you.  Do you ever consume stuff for kids?

Fil Czech Kids Invade Kuliskov

Published on by Grace1 Comment

Last Wednesday, Jakub and I went to the Kuliskov children’s play area in Prague to meet some friends.  Since he doesn’t go to these places that often, Jakub was totally enthralled.  On the train to Prague, it was quite difficult to keep him in his seat.  Although not a very good idea, I allowed him to play with an mp3, if only to keep him still.

Tinkering with the mp3 on the way to Prague.

We met with 2 of my Filipino friends who are also married to Czech nationals.  When we got there, Jakub totally forgot about me.  He immediately rushed to the toys.  I could leave him there and he wouldn’t mind.

It was very difficult to keep the children still.  Thus, a group picture was close to impossible.  This is the closest photo that I got with all 3 of them sitting still.

Pose for the camera!

We tried placing them inside this enclosure, but look at what happens.  Somebody always has to leave.

Raising a child is not easy.  But it is always nice to know that one is not alone in this journey.  The meeting went very well and I am hoping for future get togethers with more moms and their kids.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Published on by Grace1 Comment

There used to be only 2 occasions in the year when I would expect flowers from my husband — on Valentine’s Day and My birthday.  But ever since I became a mother, the number increased to 3. I now require flowers on Mother’s Day.

Well, if I get flowers at any other time, that means somebody does not want to be in the “dog house.”

This year’s Mother’s Day flowers.

I’m not so into pink but I think these pink roses were pretty awesome.  Now I just have to take care of it to make it last longer.

Last year, when my son was still in day care, they had this cool project.  His caregiver helped him make a mother’s day card which I still treasure up to this day.

Jakub’s card for mommy – Mother’s Day 2011

This year, as he is now approaching “terrible two,” this is what he gave me  — a tantrum.  I’m glad it was my day and his daddy was there to deal with his meltdown.

Last year’s, “Dr. Jekyll”  is this year’s “Mr. Hyde.”

Spring Musings

Published on by Grace6 Comments

Although today, is relatively cold, we have been having warm weather these past few days. It is definitely spring! The flowers are in bloom and the leaves are just so full of color.

Macro shot of a flower in bloom.

To prepare for the warm weather, I bought Jakub his first pair of sunglasses from a local optical shop.  Unfortunately, he inherited mommy’s nose, so it has to come with a strap to hold it in.

Jakub’s new sunglasses
The boy with his shades.

Last week, Jakub also got his first ice cream.  There was a gelato shop close to the town square, so we got him ice cream which he eventually shared with his daddy.

Devouring his first ice cream — a gelato

I love  warm weather!   When we were living in California, it always meant going to the beach for body surfing, playing volleyball or simply hanging out.   How I miss those days.  I miss California!

Jakub and I at the Will Roger’s State Beach in California.

Unfortunately, Jakub will not get to do all those things now because he is in a totally different environment.  But there’s always something new to look forward to.  I know that the national parks in Czech will always be great.  When we got here last year, it got me amazed.

One of our favorite places in Czech — Adrspach.

From the  3 significant country moves that I’ve made in my lifetime, I find myself missing more people, more places and more things.   The good thing about all these moves is that I get to meet so many people, make valuable memories and form good lasting friendships.  Czech is probably not my last stop, as the world is constantly changing.  But for now, it is the place I call “home.”

Weekend in the Village

Published on by Grace4 Comments

This past weekend was a national holiday in the Czech Republic. It is formally called “Den osvobození ” (Liberation Day). May 8, 1945 marked the end of the second world war and the end of the German occupation in Czech.

We did not participate in any special celebrations, but went to my husband’s village instead to visit my in-laws.

In their village, this is the main mode of public transport.

The beauty about life in the village is that everything is pretty slow and everybody knows everybody.  It was interesting to note that even children are aware of this.

In the playground, the village children were checking out the “new kid in the block.”

During our trip, we also had the opportunity to visit my father-in-laws’ bestfriend and his family.

Friends for life

They had a very beautiful backyard and Jakub immensely enjoyed playing there with his grandpa.

Baby in the bucket.

After some time, the family princess came in with his daddy.  Since she is the first female child in the family, everyone was all over her.  Even Jakub wanted to carry her.  They’re almost the same size but he seems to think that she’s a baby and he is significantly older than her.

Jakub: “Baby, baby”

This weekend’s trip went very well and it made us realize once more the value of strong family ties.  I am glad that my husband shares my values.  There is nothing else in the world that is more important than family.

On our way home, we still got a glimpse of the Liberation Day celebration since this is what we saw on the road.

A scene from May 8, 1945?

That, and this….

A farmer in a horse-drawn carriage transporting hay.

Village life is so simple yet so full of color!

First of May

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May first is International Labor Day.  As such, it was a non-working holiday here in the Czech Republic.  In the long tradition of Worker’s parades on May 1, the Communist Party held a rally at the city center.   The  Social Democrats took over with their own gathering in the afternoon.  Meanwhile, the Anarchists also had their own protest on Střelecký island, which then moved on to Náměstí Republiky.  At the same time an extremist right party also gathered not far away at Můstek.  To abate any violence, the police was out in full force with dogs as well as on horseback or in helicopters.  Luckily, there was no major violence noted.

The second tradition unfolded in Petřín park near the Karl Mácha statue.  In a salute to the romantic poet who died at 25 not long after writing  the dramatic poem “May,” young couples kissed under the blossoming cherry tree.    Here in Czech, May first is recognized as a festive day of love.

Far from all those political demonstrations and the young kissing couples at Petřín park, we celebrated May first by going to Czech chateaus.    The first chateau we visited was Radim Zamek.  We  were there with my husband’s good friend and his family.  They had a friend who was managing the chateau so we had the privilege of having a guided tour where the kids even got to dress up as characters in a fairytale.

Radim Zamek
In the afternoon, we visited another chateau – Choltice Zamek.  The beauty of this place is in the lush greenery that is surrounding it.  The kids had a great time running through the grounds and playing in the small playground.   Although it was 29C,  it was surprisingly comfortable for me because of the nice breeze that was blowing through.
Prancing through the grounds at Choltice Zamek
Chasing after the ducks. He would jump into the water if we wouldn’t stop him.

I thought I was not going to get my kiss that day because Jakub was so active and both my husband and I had a hard time keeping him still.  We couldn’t even manage to get a meal together because one of us really had to watch Jakub lest he hurts himself.  But on the way home, he pulled over one of those blossoming trees and asked me to get out of the car.  It was not a cherry tree, but it was a blossoming tree nonetheless.  There, I got my kiss.  It is the month of love afterall.

One Bright Sunny Day

Published on by Grace2 Comments

Ambient temperature is at 25C today. It is very nice. Jakub and I were out on our daily walk, when we found this at the town square.

Upon seeing it, Jakub immediately ran to it.  There was very little I can do to keep him from climbing into one of the vehicles.  I was wondering what kind of vehicle he would pick .  He went straight to the excavator!  At his current age, he is quite amused with excavators, 6-wheeler delivery trucks and garbage trucks.

When the first round stopped, I was ready to pull him out when he immediately transferred to another vehicle.  Since he was clearly enjoying himself.  I decided to just let him have his way.  He went to the Jeep.  At some point, he even pretended like as if he was changing gears.

He went three cycles in this thing.  It took a lot of convincing to get him to transfer to this.

However, it did not have the same appeal as the vehicles.  He only jumped for just a minute and left.

He is very mechanically-inclined.  When he was a year old, this was how he played.

Maybe engineering is also in his future.    Afterall, his mom is a wife, daughter, daughter-in-law and sister of an engineer.  Would I be a mother of an engineer too?  I wonder.

Velikonoce na Moravě

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Our first Easter (Velikonoce) in CZ was celebrated in Moravia,  my husband’s hometown. As mentioned in my previous post, they have this tradition of whipping women on Easter Monday. This year, I had my first whipping experience.

In my husband’s family, the girls are outnumbered.  There are 6 males and 3 females.  Thus, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and I had to endure 6 whippings.  It was all in good fun though and one cannot wish for a better rationale than the one behind it.

Since it was a long weekend, we also spent some time visiting several relatives and childhood friends.  Several of my husband’s friends decided to spend their Easter weekend in a cottage by the woods.  On Black Saturday, we went there to say “hi.”

Cottage where my husband's friends spent their weekend.

We also went on a little hike with them and even participated in an Easter egg hunt in the woods.

Easter egg hunt in the woods.

Jakub enjoyed the trip very much because he got to play with a lot of children.

Back in the house, he also loved the company of his cousins.  Since it was raining on Easter Sunday, we had to stay indoors.  But even in the absence of toys, these boys know how to have fun.

Without any help from the women, they managed to stick themselves in their grandma’s living room cabinet.

Meanwhile, this is what their fathers were doing.

On Easter Monday, after whipping the women in the house, all 6 boys went around the village whipping neighbors, aunts and grandmas.  Us women, on the otherhand, spent our time drinking shots of slivovice (plum liquor) and becherovka, a Czech specialty spirit.  We talked about our husbands, sons, and life with them boys.   It was a great bonding time for us since my sister-in-law and I learned a lot from my mother-in-law and we somehow know what to expect when the boys grow up.

When the boys came home, each of the small ones brought a pack of these.

Jakub's reward for whipping the women in the village

For the big boys, they were given this.

I had a wonderful time spending my first Easter the Czech way.   With all those chocolates that my son got, he would need a lot of help consuming it.