Vanyo's name day...:)

Vanyo's name day was on January 7th /Saturday/. Vlado and I had picked the children up from Karlovo the previous evening, so the four of us celebrated it together...:) We visited my parents for lunch as my dad had a name day too and we spent a very nice time there - enjoying delicious food, good drinks and a funny conversation...:) 

Needless to say, Vanyo got some nice gifts for his name day - a Lego City set from his sister, his dad and me and some money from my parents and my mother-in-law...:) He was soooo happy!!!:)))

The Monday that followed Vanyo's name day /January 9th/ was the first school day after the Christmas holidays, so my son brought two boxes of chocolates as a treat for his classmates and teachers...:) He was very proud that his name day was celerbated that long...;)

Other than the celebration of Vanyo's name day, that weekend was quite uneventful... I guess the only other thing worth mentioning is that we saw 'Real Steel' /wonderful movie - interesting, touching, exciting... And it also has Jugh Jackman in it... What else could a girl like me need in a movie?!:P/. 

Last weekend we saw another nice movie - 'Johnny English Reborn' /quite funny, I liked it a lot:)/.

Yesterday was a very busy and stressful day - I had to get up too early /5.45 a.m./ in order to catch a bus to Botevgrad /a town in the mountains, 60 kilometers away from Sofia/ as I had a case there...:( To top it off, it had started snowing that morning, but luckily I didn't have any unpleasant road adventures!!!:) The views of the snowy mountains were fantastic!!!:))) And the best thing about the trip was that I made it to finish reading the fourth book of the Vulgar Novels series of the Bulgarian author Hristo Kaltchev - 'Liquidate the General'. I have read it in 1998, but it was nice to re-read it after a few years /this time as an e-book on my phone/...:)

Our Christmas holidays...:)

December 23rd /Friday/ was the last day before our Christmas holidays... Vanyo had a Christmas party at school that day, so he brought some cookies as a treat for his classmates and teachers...:) All the children got a very nice Franklin Christmas package at the party, so Vanyo was super happy...:)

I worked only until noon that day and just as I was about to leave the office, my boss called me and gave me a Christmas bonus...:) I was so shocked as I didn't expect that at all!!!:))) Needless to say, this surprise added quite a lot to my Christmas mood!!!;)


We arrived at Plovdiv in the afternoon and we were more than ready for the beginning of our Christmas holidays...:) We spent Christmas Eve in Karlovo with my inlaws and we had a very traditional celebration...:) This year Vanyo was the lucky one - he got the coin in his piece of 'pitka'!!!:) 

While we were having dinner, Santa Claus had put the presents under the Christmas tree!!!:) The children got spoilt as always!!!:) 

Minnie got a tiger puzzle /500 pieces/ and a dog folder from my parents, a 'She is cool' toilet water from my sister, a FOX sweater from my in-laws, lots of cosmetics and stationery, two books in English /'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle and 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins/, and a helicopter toy /she had chosen it herself/ from her dad and me...:)

Vanyo got a Rescue Centre toy from my parents and my sister, a helicopter toy from my in-laws, some Lego toys and a tiny skateboard /Tech Deck/ from Minnie /she receives a scholarship this school year, so she wanted to buy some Christmas gifts too;)/, a TMNT helicopter toy /helicopters were obviously the hit for our children this Christmas;)/ and two books /fairy tales from different corners of the world, part of a series he is collecting/ from his dad and me...:) 

The adults got some nice little gifts too, mainly cosmetics, so everyone was happy...;) 

We got back to Plovdiv the following day /December 25/, but before going home we went to visit my parents for a while... We had a short, but very nice time together...:)

The rest of our holidays were spent quietly at home... We watched TV, read, and most of all - relaxed and enjoyed our time together to the fullest!!!:)

I also met some friends and had such a wonderful time catching up with them!!!:))) I've missed them all so much!!!:)))

We made it to see only one movie during our Christmas holidays - 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. It turned out to be very nice, much better than I expected!!!:)

We celebrated New Year's Eve at home and we had so much fun...:) We had yummy food, good drinks, we danced and laughed a lot!!!:))) 

January 2nd /yesterday/ was the last day off for Vlado and me... We went to visit my parents once again and then drove to Karlovo... Minnie and Vanyo are still on holidays /until January 9th, lucky them;)/, so hubby and I left them with my in-laws and continued to Sofia... We were a bit sad to leave the kids but it's just for four days and then we'll be together again...;) They love spending their holidays in Karlovo, so they'll be fine...;) Plus, hubby and I need some time as a couple every once in a while too...;)

 Today was my first day at work and I was feeling quite stressed out, but I hope that I'll be back in track in no time, fingers crossed...;)

Minnie's 15th Birthday... and some Christmas activities...:)

Quite a lot has happened since I last wrote here... You probably remember that Vanyo had his tooth taken out in the beginning of December so the Tooth Fairy was about to put some money under his pillow... Well, unfortunately Vanyo was very disappointed when he saw the money as it turned out that he had expected a toy instead...:( So we returned the money under the pillow and when he got back from school, he found a Lego City toy instead...:) Needless to say, my son was totally satisfied with his gift this time!!!:)

That Sunday /December 11th/ was Minnie's 15th birthday!!!:) As always, we spent the weekend in Plovdiv, but we came back to Sofia earlier than usual because of the birthday party...:) Minnie celebrated with her best friends in a bar, called 'Antre' and even though they were only four kids, they all said they have had a great time...:) Minnie had a very special chocolate cake, called 'Cleopatra' which was super delicious...:) And she got some really cute gifts from her friends...:)

After the party with her friends, Minnie had another celebration - this time with her family...:) We got some KFC food at home and had a nice quiet dinner, just the four of us...:) Minnie got some nice presents from us too - some clothes from her dad, her brother and me /a new top and a new leather belt for her jeans/ and some money from her grandparents and aunt /which will most probably be spent for clothes as well:)/.

We also managed to see a Bulgarian movie during the weekend of Minnie's birthday. It's called 'Footprints in the Sand' and we greatly enjoyed it!!!:)))

The following week was rather uneventful... The only interesting thing that happened was that we saw 'Mr. Popper's Penguins' /a very nice movie for the whole family:)/.

Yesterday was the Christmas party at Minnie's school...:) She brought some chocolate muffins for her classmates and the kids have exchanged gifts...:) 

And in the evening Minnie, Vanyo and I went to the 'Saturnalia' organized by the 10th grade students at Minnie's school. The performance was excellent and very, very funny...:) The children did a great job imitating their teachers...:)))

That evening was also my office Christmas party so as soon as we were back from the 'Saturnalia', I went to the pub where my colleagues were already celebrating...:) We had a very nice evening together, enjoying yummy food, good drinks and an interesting conversation...:) 

So yesterday was a very busy, but fun-filled day as well!!!:)))

Missing home...

  

I've been missing my home and city so much lately...:((( Looks like I will never feel comfortable at the capital, no matter how spectacular, cool and shiny living here might seem...:((( I'm afraid that if we didn't go home every weekend, I might become depressive... So even though all that travelling is quite tiring, it's necessary for my mental sanity...;)

Of course, I'm happy that our family is not separated anymore, but I miss my previous life so much... Sigh... Oh, why does everything have to be so complicated?!

Anyway, I didn't mean to complain... All I wanted to do was to share what's been going on here in the past few weeks...;)

My news are mainly about Vanyo now...:) In November he started attending Fun Mathematics lessons and he really likes it there...:) It's great to see him so interested in Mathematics!!!:)))

Yesterday he made me super proud!!!:))) He had found some money at school and had given them to the teacher...:))) You can imagine how happy had been the girl who had lost the money!!!:)))

And today Vanyo had his third tooth taken out /the second bottom tooth on the left/... He was very brave and didn't cry at all!!!:))) I guess the Tooth Fairy will put some money under his pillow tonight!!!:)))

I have some book news too...:) In November I finished the third book of the Vulgar Novels by the Bulgarian author Hristo Kaltchev - 'The Cycle of Messalina'. Just like the previous two books of the series, I have read it in 1996, but it was very interesting to re-read it - this time as an e-book on my phone!!!:)

Two parent-teacher meetings and Minnie's name day...:)

Last week was super busy… Besides my usual obligations I also had two parent-teacher meetings to attend. The first one was at Vanyo’s school – on November 10th /Thursday/. I was a bit nervous as I was afraid that Vanyo’s class teacher might not be completely satisfied with his discipline, but luckily it turned out that all my worries had been in vain…:) Actually the teacher was very pleased with him!!!:) She even told me that once they were having a discussion in class about being tolerant towards the different people and Vanyo had made a very long and nice speech about how important it is to be good to everyone around us…:) The teacher was greatly impressed…:) Needless to say, I was super proud when I heard this!!!:)


The second parent-teacher meeting was the following day at Minnie’s school. This time I wasn’t nervous at all as I knew that I’ll hear only good comments about my daughter… And I was absolutely right!!!:) All the teachers I spoke with were very pleased with Minnie and kept saying what a pleasure it is for them to have such an intelligent, serious, hard-working student as her…:) I was so happy and proud, that I even got tears in my eyes…:)


That day was a Friday, so as soon as the meeting at Minnie’s school was over, the four of us drove to Plovdiv for the weekend. It was also Minnie’s name day then, so we stopped at McDonald’s for dinner…:) Of course, Minnie had also brought a box of chocolates to school that day as a name day treat for her classmates and teachers…:)


The celebrations for Minnie’s name day continued yesterday as well…:) My parents came for lunch and we had a wonderful time together…:) Of course, Minnie got some nice presents for her name day…:) She got a Calliope shirt from her dad, her brother and me /we had bought it together at the mall the previous weekend/. My mother-in-law had given her some money in advance, so Minnie bought herself a new winter jacket and a long sleeved top from the New Yorker shop that day at the mall too… My parents gave Minnie some money too so we’ll have to figure out what to spend them for… Most probably for some new clothes again…:)

A few more nice weekends...:)

The last few weekends were very nice indeed...:) Maybe it was so because we spent them at home, in Plovdiv?!;)

On the morning of October 22nd /Saturday/ Minnie and I went to the hairdresser for a much needed cut and then the four of us visited my parents for lunch. :) We drove back to Sofia on the Sunday and we stopped at Karlovo on our way to visit my mother-in-law for a while… We even made it to see a movie that weekend – ‘Captain America’ /very entertaining:)/.

The following weekend /October 29-30/ we once again visited my parents for lunch on the Saturday...:) And once again we saw a movie - this time it was 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' /breath-taking, super exciting and touching end of the saga... I had misty eyes most of the time... I can't believe that the whole adventure is over now... Sigh.../

Last weekend we stayed mostly at home as I was trying to recover from the nasty cold I had caught the previous week... But we still made it to see a movie - 'Friends with Benefits' /a very fresh and nice movie, I liked it a lot:)/.

A long weekend, a radio show, an Ancient Feast, and some other news...

The long weekend at the end of September /September 22-25/ was wonderful - we enjoyed our time in Plovdiv to the fullest!!!:) We didn't do anything special, just relaxed at home... My parents came for lunch on the Friday /September 23rd/ and we had a great time together - yummy food and nice conversations...:)

Of course, we saw some movies as well - 'Zookeeper' /well, maybe not the funniest movie I've seen, but it wasn't too bad, either;)/, 'Morning Glory' /a very nice movie, I liked it a lot:)/, and 'Fast Five' /I loved it - lots of breath-taking action scenes and incredible Vin Diesel:)/. 

We spent the first October weekend /October 1st - 2nd/ in Sofia and on the Sunday we decided to go to the park at the National Palace of Culture /a walking distance from the flat we're renting/. Vanyo rode his scooter there and the rest of us just enjoyed the gorgeous weather sitting at one of the numerous cafes there...:) 

As Minnie is studying Ancient Greek this school year, I've decided to give it a try too and I started sudying it in the beginning of October... So far I've only learnt the alphabet, but I'm very proud of myself and I hope I'll keep it up...:)

The second October weekend /October 8th - 9th/ was spent in Plovdiv again...:) And once again we had such a wonderful time just staying at home and relaxing...:) My sister and my parents came on the Saturday and we had a very yummy lunch meal together...:) And on the Sunday we listened to a kids' radio show where Vanyo was interviewed...:) We were so amazed when we heard him speaking about the phases of the moon, asteroids and meteorites, black holes in the Universe, and other things we had no idea he knew about...:) We were all so proud of him!!!:)

This week I finished reading the second book of the 'Vulgar Novels' by the Bulgarian author Hristo Kaltchev - 'Caligula the Furious'. I have read it in 1996 but I greatly enjoyed re-reading it as an e-book on my phone...:)

Yesterday there was an Ancient Feast at Minnie's school. She had to recite a poem in Latin, so she was a bit nervous, but she did fine...:) She told me that she has had lots of fun there!!!:) They showed the event on the news and it seemed very interesting indeed!!!:) She is so lucky to study at such a great school!!!:)

Today is a rather uneventful day... The only thing worth mentioning is that it was snowing this morning... What a shock!!!:((( I can't believe that the winter is trying to come so early...:((( Luckily they're predicting warmer weather next week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some more sunny autumn days!!!:)