Learning to speak

Mia said her first full sentence in Croatian this morning. I was very excited when she addressed Ivor in Croatian. We actually don't know how much they know. The kids are just absorbing things and they seem to be understanding a lot more as days progress but I never know exactly how much. We're not pressuring them in any way so we still speak English amongst ourselves. I believe that might be slowing down the process a little but it does help them feel more secure. They spend the day at daycare surrounded by the new language. Today at pick up time, the teacher excitedly waited for us to tell us that Mia spoke a whole sentence to her in Croatian. She didn't know about our linguistically exciting morning. The kid is on her way to getting it. Ivor is doing very well too and is asking about many new words but I haven't had a breakthrough moment like that with him yet. Chris is doing well also but kids will surpass him in no time. We've expected that. Pretty soon they'll be able to talk behind his back and he won't know what they're saying. :)

The white stuff

The white stuff (aka snow) has finally arrived. We were excited to wake up to the white rooftops and snow covered meadows. It doesn't look like it's here to stay but at least we got to see it this year. Kids helped clean off the car and enjoyed their first snow fight. I'll post some pictures later on when I get a chance.

A hurricane?

I thought that by moving to Zagreb I would leave behind tornadoes and hurricanes. That simply doesn't happen around here, right? Well, turns out that I was wrong. A hurricane came through yesterday. Apparently it swept through Great Britain and Spain and kept going inward. We had some high winds yesterday but no major damage. No rain though. When Kyril swept through last night, it felt much like when Katrina swept through Birmingham. Sounded bad, but went by and today we have low wind and sunny skies. Kids got scared though and couldn't go to sleep because of the sounds the wind made so they both ended up in my bed all huddled up like puppies. That was kind of nice. Today it's business as usual. As for tornadoes, I believe they get them in Great Britain but I don't think it's ever happened here.

January here has turned out to be the warmest one in recorded history, just like December. I keep promising Ivor some snow but that hasn't happened yet either. Last year they had a good bit so I felt safe when I promised it to him. I've heard some talk of possibility of snow on Tuesday or Wednesday. Forecast also says that it wouldn't really last either. If it snows, we'll have to take a day off from daycare and build at least one snowman if at all possible. Otherwise, Ivor will be very upset with me for making promises I couldn't keep.

Cat tales

This is what a hard working kitty looks like. She “assists” me by lying next to my computer while I work, takes naps or sleeps with me when I sleep and generally follows me around the house like a puppy. Who knows, maybe she thinks that she’s a dog. While she lies by the computer, she assumes the mandatory “pet me now” position. You see, she does that in order to reduce my stress levels while working. It’s been documented that petting animals reduces stress and lowers blood pressure. So her desire to be petted is entirely designed to help me out and has nothing to do with her enjoying it. She also serves as an emergency hand washing attendant. If she deems my hands too dirty to touch the keyboard, she’ll lick them to insure my fitness to work. Who wouldn’t want a cat like that?

Construction update

Check it out! Things are shaping up. We're still some 2-3 months away from getting the keys (at least) but at least the walls are up and the place looks great. I've circled the two floors that will be ours (click on the photo to enlarge). We've made our tile selections and the tile has been delivered. Hopefully, they'll start applying it soon. We've tried to make interesting choices so one of the bathrooms has light and dark gray tile. Maybe I shouldn't brag, but I designed it myself. If it turns out bad, then I will retract this statement. Otherwise, I'll post some pictures and brag some more. :) The fun part is that it will all be a surprise for Chris. That means, no interior pictures until Chris is back in Croatia. Sure enough he helped pick out just about everything, but there is still room for me to come up with creative ways to get it all together. He agreed that I could surprise him. Can't wait until the gray bathroom tile is up. We also still have to finish up the kitchen layout, materials and appliances selections. That part we're doing on our own as kitchen cabinets here are considered furnishings, not a part of the apartment. It's all great until it comes time to pay but we're trying not to let that spoil the fun. Now remains the electrical, heating, flooring and tile, drywall ceilings on the top floor, balcony fencing, facade... Still a lot to do but, nevertheless, the end is nigh. Thankfully. We've moved three times in the last year and a half and have one more move to look forward to. I think we're ready to have a home again and to be able to finally unpack and settle down.

Christmas surprise

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging because I haven't felt like it. Much has happened in the past three weeks and it got me down. No, nothing terrible but bad enough to mope about. As most of you know, I've spent over 15 years in the US. Many of those years were spent sending applications to INS and waiting for a year (or two, or three) for that application to be processed. I thought those times were behind me. Now that I am no longer an alien, Chris is. So it all starts over. I know it's our fault. We didn't have to move and all... Sure keeps us on our toes.

Here is the short version. Any foreigner can stay in Croatia for 90 days (consecutive or non-consecutive) in any given 120 day period starting from the day the individual first enters the country. For Chris that started 9/21/06. Chris submitted paperwork for a tourist visit while we waited for documents from FBI to arrive. Once we had his criminal history records (no, no skeletons in his closet turned up), we could submit the permanent resident application and all would be well. Right? Not really.

FBI criminal record check took 6 months to get to us. We requested it at the beginning of the summer. Such a delay was unexpected. Once we got it at the end of December, we took the complete application with a bunch of other paperwork to the immigration office. We thought it was at the last minute. Not quite they said. They explained that there is no "status pending" option in Croatia. If your status has expired, you've got to go whether you've submitted an application or not. That translated into Chris having to leave within 48 hours. On Christmas eve mind you. We were also told that police comes and verifies that the foreigners have left the country and that we shouldn't be surprised if there is a police check. Great! It was Thursday evening and we had to make flight arrangements right before Christmas. I've called the visas department, ministry of the interior, ministry of the exterior... Everyone was nice and helpful but no one had any better suggestions other than to try to speed it up through the Croatian consulate in Washington DC. So that's what we did. Chris flew out at the crack of dawn on the 26th, before the kids even woke up. Not such a merry Christmas after all.

Yes, Chris is in Birmingham now. He's been gone for 18 days and is coming back in 71. Can you tell that I am keeping track? There is a slight possibility that the application will be processed sooner. Should that happen , we'll modify his ticket return date and he'll be back sooner. Otherwise, application approved or not, he can return to the country at the end of March as the 120 day period expires then. Have you noticed how he conveniently misses the entire Winter? Who is supposed to keep me warm then? I know. Life isn't fair. We all miss him a lot. If you see him around Birmingham give him a hug for us.