School decisions

Yesterday we went to visit a small Montessori daycare and elementary school. They have a total of some 70 kids 20 of which are in daycare and the rest in first through fourth grade of elementary school. Coming from a posh Birmingham daycare, we've not been overly happy with a city daycare here and we knew right away that it wouldn't be a permanent solution for us. Here everything (daycare included) rotates around the school year. That means that daycare and school admissions are typically taken care of in May for the next school year starting the first week of September. I found this Montessori school online and thought it interesting enough to check out. I couldn't have been more pleased when we've visited the facilities. People were nice, toys, kids, everything. We somehow got past the waiting list as I know that there is a waiting list to get into this school as it is rather small. We got a call several hours later that we were accepted. We're very excited and hope that it will work out really well. It'll be safer for the kids. They'll have access to dance, tae-kwon-do, ceramics, piano, art and other classes in addition to the regular school program. They'll also do a lot of practical, hands-on work and a lot of art. Ivor in particular, is likely to respond well to that environment as he loves projects. His dislikes are having to sit down and write so this type of environment is likely to suit him well.

Pictures from the coast

I finally got to go to the beach! Sort of. :) My sister and I went to the coast a couple of weeks ago to drop of my nephew, Domagoj, at a pulmonary treatment medical facility. Apparently the air there is supposed to be perfect for people with pulmonary problems (like asthmatics) so he usually spends 3 weeks there every spring starting with spring break. Unfortunately, we stayed there for only three hours and then headed back home. But, the scenery was so beautiful. It looks very similar to what you’ve seen in the movies about Italy. Picturesque stone homes, curvy, steep roads, and of course, beautiful sea. We plan on going as a family in about a month and I look forward to a week of sunny weather in Southern Croatia close to Dubrovnik. My sister in law is coming so we’ll all go together while she’s here.

It's birthday time!

It's Mia's third birthday today and she is so excited. She's been talking about her birthday and planning it since her last one. She still remembers her cake and the party that we had for her 2nd birthday. The party is on Saturday and she can hardly wait. What a big girl she's grown into. :) Even though we're getting ready for a party in two days, my sister made her a cake for this special day so we enjoyed it with our dinner. When she saw the cake in the fridge Mia whispered: "I love it."

Tax time!

That joyous time of the year is here again. Yes, even though we're not there with you, we still have to do the dreaded taxes. There or not, we're still obligated to file taxes every year. I completed the federal tax return via TurboTax and have e-filed it last nigh. But, I don't have a copy of our last year's return (it's somewhere in storage with dozens of other boxes) so we still have to send a sheet of paper to IRS with our signatures on it. I was going to complete everything online but in addition to the federal thing I need to mail, it turns out that I can't e-file Alabama return since we no longer live in Alabama. That's a real nuisance. So for the first time in a very long time, we'll be filing via snail mail. To make things more fun, I ran out of checks (I was planning on paying online, electronically) and the rest of the checks are packed up somewhere as well. So, we'll use some ancient ones that somehow hid in my otherwise empty checkbook. The checks still say SouthTrust Bank on them instead of Wachovia. Oh well. It should still work out. I don't think our money will be turned down. And yes, we ended up owing on both federal and state. Oh what fun. :)

Funny names

I've been more aware of meanings of people's last names since I've moved back. I don't know why but many struck me as quite funny. Perhaps since I haven't heard many in a long time. The major of Zagreb (largest city in Croatia) for example, has a last name of Bandic. In my (unprofessional) translation, that would be something like "ganger" (as in gang member). How appropriate is that for a city major! :) The country's president, Mesic, would be translated something like "meaty." Then I read an article about plastic surgery. The guy mentioned in the article has a last name of Dzepina, which would mean "huge pocket." That one certainly beats the rest.

Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Easter and other religious holidays are a pretty big deal here. Croatia is mostly Catholic so Easter, along with a bunch of other religious days (not just Christmas), is a national holiday. Today absolutely everything is closed. Tomorrow, just a few shops will be open for a few hours and that's it. Croats like their days off. :)

It was a nice day today. Kids painted the eggs and helped bake cookies. Tomorrow is set for an Easter egg hunt. The weather is going to be terrific. Seems to be warmer here than in Birmingham.

The BIG 10

Chris and I reached the BIG 10 today and celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. I have to admit, it doesn't really feel like it as the time just blew by. If this is how it is, then 20 will be here before we know it. I hoped to do a lot more than a lunch together to commemorate the milestone we're proud of but that won't quite be possible at the moment. I plan on booking us a nice relaxing couples massage for next week and then maybe during the summer, we can have a proper party to celebrate. In that nice new home I hope... :) Come to think of it, we've lived at 5 different addresses so far and will soon add number six. That averages to less than two years per address. Wow! Didn't realize that. Maybe we can make the next one stick for a while.