A weak 4th July

On the 4th July (Saturday) we couldn't really celebrate. There were several reasons for it, but in short: we had been ill. The week before E.'d had some stomach bug which I seemed to catch as well. I had no time to prepare anything for the US celebration whatsoever. Not to mention the busy Saturday we had at a friend's place (luckily we both got better by Saturday).

So my plan was to do at least ONE 4th July related activity out of the tons of great crafts and fun ideas I've collected on my pinterest board.

On Sunday morning (5th July) E. woke up with a sore throat. She felt all right in the morning so I thought the afternoon would be dedicated to a US flag craft out of popsicle sticks. After her  nap time she was weak. I asked her if she felt like doing some crafts and she got excited.

the beginning

We did try it, however, E.'s temperature was quickly climbing high and she kept saying: - Mommy, you do it. during the activity... Poor thing :( (Every 15 minutes she got Schüssler salt tablets and her immune system reacted very quickly.)

Finally we (I) managed to finish the flag, but it wasn't much fun.
Afterwards, I put her to bed, gave her tea and read her some stories. She felt very poorly with high temperature by the end of the day.

Maybe next year we'll be luckier and do some more 4th July related activities.

the final result

Just for your information:

- What you need for the  popsicle stick US flag:

• 6-8 popsicle sticks (we have wide ones so we used 6)
• red and white paint + paint brush + a little water
• a small piece of blue foam sheet (I used leftover foam)
• 10 white beads (each represents 10 states)
• glue
• cellotape

- How to make it:

E. wanted some glitter glue on the red ones

1. paint 5 of the 6 popsicle sticks (3 red, 2 white) and let them dry
2. cut our a rectangle shaped blue foam and stick the beads on
3. when the coloured popsicle sticks have dried, turn them upside down in the right order (red, white, red, white, red) then put little glue on the edges and stick them together. I added some cello-tape on the back to make sure they'll stay together.
4. After a few minutes turn them back and stick on the pole and the blue foam with the beads.
5. Let it dry - FINISHED

If you have a younger child (around 2), you should do the cutting and the sticking while your child is painting, but if your child is older you can also give him or her more responsibility, like cutting out the blue foam, pushing glue dabs on it and adding the beads. Still, you'll need to do the final touch, the assembling.

May the 4th be with you ;)

What do we have to do with Australia? - Part 2.

Our Australian friends (who we'd met on our honeymoon in Istanbul) came to Europe for a cruise on the Danube. Their ship left from Budapest and they could visit us as well. They killed two birds with one stone and it was again a great opportunity for E. to "test" her English. (You can read about E.'s 1st real life test here when she met her English speaking cousin)

As soon as M. and B. arrived at our place, M. and E. hit it off. E. wanted to show her room and her kitchen and what she cooked. I was astonished to see it as she is never so open and welcoming to anyone, not to mention a stranger. There was no language barrier as such. It was absolutely natural for her to use English with M.

E. got some sweet presents (soft toys and books) from M. and B, which were all Australia related.

Presents for E. - Books

At first, she was a bit afraid of Jacko and the beanstalk (I guess because of the scary crocodile), but by now she's okay with it.

She really loves to identify the Australian animals in the little booklet in the top right corner. As this book also includes the national anthem, we spent one evening after dinner to listen to it on youtube

(together with several other national anthems, like the British, the US, Irish, Spanish, Colombian and the German)

Toys E. received from M. and B.
Her favourite is the platypus (E. named her Platy). And we agreed they can talk in English only. She accepted it without any problem.

So our friends, M. and B., came to our place. I showed them around our area and invited them for a traditional Hungarian lunch (goulash soup, fried chicken breast in bread crumbs, mash potato plus green salad).

E. took a nap and as soon as she woke up we left for Szentendre, a town near to Budapest on the bank of the Danube.

Szentendre in pictures

Just arrived

Main Square

On the bank of the River Danube

We had a wonderful time together. E. proved her great level of English again. We've been enriched with some books on Australia, some stuffed animals from the country and the time spent with this lovely couple.

Thank you, M. and B.! We hope to see you again!