Ukraine - Kiev & Yalta

Brief background on Ukraine:

Ukraine was the largest and most powerful country in Europe during the 10th and 11th century. It was part of the Soviet Union which then gained its independence in 1991 when communism was dissolved. Eastern Orthodox Christianity had a great influence on the Ukrainian architecture, art and music, which is the dominant religion.

I wanted to share these pictures of Kiev and Yalta taken in 2004. It was a great experience! Definitely, the architecture caught my attention the most. I can't find the pictures I took of the buildings in Kiev and only had this with the temple background.

Temples in Kiev



The Black Sea, named Pontus Exinus, is historic. It was the center of trade, passage to colonialism, etc.

Black Sea



 The Massandra Palace was designed by a French architect, Bouchart, for the emperor Alexander III.

Massandra Palace, Crimea



Nikitsky's Botanical Garden

Picture of the Romanov Family - Romanov Palace



Swallow's Nest

 


* Taken from http://www.crimeaconsulting.com

The Vorontsov (Alupka) Palace was built in 1828-1848 for Count Vorontsov. Amazing architecture!



Vorontsov's Palace that overlooks the Black Sea



Entrance of Vorontsov Palace



One of the gardens in Vorontsov Palace



Colors of the Night

Moving Up 2011

Their names were being called out for their certificates

  It was Matt's kinder graduation. He looked forward to this day because it meant the start of summer vacation. Yey! Not only that, he was excited to perform since he's been rehearsing his dance to Katy Perry's Fireworks. I was so proud of him, especially when they did the Chinese number. His Chinese is pretty good and I hope he can continue learning the language. 



Performing their Chinese number

At the end of the closing speech, it was picture taking time. He was so happy to have his picture taken with his "girlfriend", Sofia. Such a pretty girl and very sweet. We asked Matt what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said he wanted to be a pilot. He's been wanting to be a priest for the longest time so we were surprised. We asked him why. He said he can't have a girlfriend if he becomes a priest. So funny!

With Sofia, Justin, Theo and Renz

The kids were so cute having their pictures taken together. I was sad for Matt. I actually felt it was my own graduation. High school graduation was very sad for me. I left within two weeks after. Leaving my friends (who I knew since grade 2) was tough. 

We were in Grade 3

A week before graduation. Still the same tyre on top



And the same feelings washed over me when the kids grouped together with their friends. Next school year, Matt and his friends will be in prep. So most will be moving to other schools in preparation for Grade 1 - better transition. Silly as it may sound but I was getting teary eyed when they were all hugging each other and bidding their goodbyes. Sigh.



Sick of being sick

For the past three weeks, I've been feeling under the weather. Nauseas most times (no, I'm not pregnant), terrible headaches which I thought could be migraines, my right eye hurting that probably could be part of the head ache and extreme fatigue. I got worried since I had these huge insects bites that were swollen and felt hot. They weren't as itchy but were slightly painful and diturbingly hot, which can cause infection.

Though my Monday was pink, I was actually feeling sick. So that evening, Dennis took me to the ER to have me checked. I hate hospitals but I like The Medical City. It's not as scary as the last one I went to, Capitol. They checked my blood - hate those painful needles! The doctor also wanted my nose area x-rayed. I had a pregnancy test to be sure it was safe (that's why I know I'm not). Silly me but I was scared of having my face x-rayed...hahaha!

After waiting 3 long hours in the ER, my blood test turned out I have infections. My xray showed I have acute sinusitis. It was in the areas where I complained about the pains. I thought sinusitis was just having a cold. I didn't realize that it would cause so much complications - such as everything I've been feeling, especially the fatigue.

I hate being sick. I hate not being able to function normally. I hate having to drink so many medicines.

Antibiotics, paracetamols, etc...

Though...I have a chance of losing weight due to my lack of appetite :o)

Pink Monday

Today is PINK Monday!

Almost everything on my desk is pink. From my pencil holder, tumbler and lunch bag.

Looking at these pink items, you would think they belonged to either a young girl or a teenager obsessed with the color pink. But no. They actually belong to a someone in her mid 30s.

Even the green pencil had something pink on it

Pink makes me feel young and feminine. Wait...isn't that a commercial of some feminine hygiene?

 



Pink top, too



Fat Fury Felines



Toshka, my sister's cat



I like animals in general. Growing up, my dad used to buy us hamsters, guinea pigs, yellow chicks and green/yellow ducklings as pets. We had a puppy that ended up biting me on my neck. My fault, really. I squeezed him too tight out of sheer joy. Trips to the hospital for my rabies shot was the price I had to pay. My brother and I used to even adopt cats from the streets and put “necklaces” around their necks. These supposed necklaces were actually sewing threads or strings with Christmas trinkets as pendants. We never got them to stay in the house like the pet cats we saw on tv. They only came home when they couldn’t find food outside.

Our first real pet cat was when we were living in a hotel. Yes, we lived in a hotel for 5 years. The hotel’s name was College Hotel. The street cat, Mimi, we adopted got pregnant. We kept two of her kittens – Chubby and Pee Wee. Not sure how my brother and I came up with the names. We had them for such a long time and I’m not even sure if the hotel knew or pretended they didn’t. Nobody complained. My brother would change the litter box late at night when no one would see him throwing and getting new soil from the garden. Did the hotel gardener ever wonder why all of a sudden there’s a pile of stinky soil with poops? Every time the house keeping head, Mrs. Kabulwa, had to conduct these room inspections, we’d hide them in the top drawer of the closet. They were very good sports. They kept still as if they knew what was going on.

Sigh. Such fond memories of our cats. Too bad I don't have any pictures of them.



This is our current cat, Vodka

 Obviously, I’m a cat person. Cats are fascinating pets. Unlike dogs who look up to their owners, ready to please and display strong loyalty, cats are simply the opposite. Often times I feel they look down on humans. They make demands when they want to be fed, petted and loved. When they want your attention, they will head butt you (push their head against you), brush themselves against your legs, walk in front of you until you literally trip. They will not stop until they get what they want. And once they’ve had enough of your attention, they nip or bite. Their way of telling you, “Buzz off. You’re no longer needed. Or, you’re bothering me.” They have such personalities and it’s YOU that needs to adjust, especially to their moods. Unbelievable! Yet, I love and hate their behavior just the same.

Nevertheless, they are so adorable. They make great companions and are low maintenance.  Just be sure you have a litter box and a scratching post :o) I recommend cats as great pets. Though they are pretty useless most times - sleep, eat, poop, asked to be brushed - and feel extremely superior. But, they're such loveable fur balls!

Getting a 5 year old to study

With Matt’s Q4 assessment coming up, it’s time for us to do serious reviews with him, especially since I’ve been receiving notes after notes from the teacher with his unfinished work from school and his challenges. For the past quarterly exams, the reviews were simple. But now that they’re learning how to read and do math, it’s difficult to become creative and not bore him to death.

Thank God for internet! I was actually looking for stories online for pre-schools that he could read to me. Stories with the following families:

_at _an _op _it _ig _ot

I came across this website http://www.starfall.com/ which had different online activities for reading. It included the phonetics which helped him learn to read other words. I haven’t seen my little boy so excited to identify and read words!

Another good one is http://www.softschool.com/. We had a few challenges with math, which frustrated him. It was tough adding two numbers that were more than 5. He said he didn't have enough fingers on each hand. But he’s gotten the hang of being able to add numbers more than 5. By doing the exercises online, he’s beginning to memorize the answers.

He’s enjoying these online educational activities and it’s made things more easier for me and Dennis. What’s funny is when we come home in the evening, instead of asking if he can play Wii, he’d say, “Can I study on the laptop?"

I think it’s great that his attitude to learning is positive. And as parents, it’s our responsibility to ensure that it’s a fun experience so that he can continue to look forward to learning.