Women's Day

This morning we all woke up early and got ready very quickly. There was no reason for it.  We decided to split up today. I took the boys to our park and Jeff stayed here with Elliana. The boys did great at the park.  I am trying to teach Hunter how to work a swing. He got the idea about the legs just not exactly when he needs to move them. I also really want to work on upper body strength. I started to flip around and due arm pull ups on the bar. Spencer and Hunter finally left the swings and wanted to join me. I was glad my arms were about to give way. They tried and I had to help them pull up and flip. I did get a nice kick in the face trying. I was just happy they were working their upper body that I pretended it did not happen.  It also helped them to bend their legs more. This is something else the kids are lacking in. We will just have to keep on trying. In the mean time I am getting my work out in.

Sunday in Latvia is very quiet. People either stay at home or they go to church. All shops are closed. The only places open are restaurants and grocery stores. Due to having to buy food all the time, food places could never really close here. The other thing we notice not just today but every day is how many people are carrying flowers. You can get 6 tulips for $0.80 Euro. On my way to the park I felt like everyone around me had a flower. On average about 40% of the people will have flowers however today it was around 80%.  Well this afternoon our door bell rang. I answered it and it was our apartment staff giving me flowers and bags of cookies. Today is Women's day. If you are a women then you get flowers. It was very sweet of them.  It also add some color to our apartment.

I have been wanting to try sushi at a local restaurant. On the way there Spencer was starting to get very agitated about not having lunch. Every place that had a pictures of food he kept saying "I want food.".  We don't have bad food issues but Spencer likes to know food is around.  The place we picked also have other Chinese food so Elliana will not have to freak out about fish. The girl seriously will cry if she sees fish. Well they were not serving sushi today.  So we all go the buffet. The favorite food for our kids was the oranges, tomatoes, and beets. Yes our kids love beets. They did enjoy the soup as well.  Daddy made a mistake and put sweet and sour fish on Elliana plate. She was done and got upset for a long while. We cheer her up with removing the fish and putting oranges on her plate. We had to teach her how to eat it on the peel.  That took about 15 minutes. They brought out some fried apples. The kids really liked that too. Before Elliana put it to her mouth Daddy said it was fish in a joking manor. Well Elliana knows the word fish and freaked out. It took Daddy a bit to calm her down and to show her it was an apple. So no joking about fish.

We have been trying to correct the kids behavior by doing redo.  If they throw something on the ground they have to pick it up and place it nicely on the table or wherever. It really helps. They normally don't throw things again. The boys have done this a few times. Elliana had her first redo today. It took her 20 minuets to calm down and pick up what she threw. She did not want to and she screamed, cried, hit the wall, hit the tub, and was yelling.  Then finally she relaxed calmed down picked up what she threw and put it away.  I just sit there calmly and once in a while remind her of what she needs to do in less then 10 words. The boys only need about 3-5 minuets before they will pick it up. After this issue was over she was not mad at me. According to TCU the kids actually feel like they accomplished something by doing a redo. We also praise them for doing it correctly.  If TCU is correct the length of time it takes will decrease. I just hope so.

We watched our first movie in English Mulan. It is one of my all time favorites. Well Elliana watched it and so did Hunter. Spencer fell asleep.  We did have to bring out popcorn to keep them here. When the movie was over I picked up Spencer. He freaked a bit and wanted to touch the ground. When he finally was fully awake, and understood what I was doing he wanted to be carried again. He does not give me eye contact when we are loving on him. I make him give me eye contact for a brief moment. I will say look at my eyes Spencer. Or I will gently turn his head. He will give me just a flash but it is a start. The other two have no issues with this at all.

After the kids go to bed Jeff and I talked over a bowl of ice cream.  Everyone talks about the cakes in Latvia but their ice cream is really good. It is very smooth and the flavor is amazing. The cakes here are good but Jeff and I are just not huge cake eaters.  We have tried about 7 different cakes but the ice cream here is the best!! They also sell ice cream in a tube as well as your typical cardboard container.