Our Little Princess

is 23 months old today. Let the count down begin for her 2nd Birthday Party. We have bought our tickets to fly to Iowa and in a month Beli will be reuniting with her 5 primos, Ethan, Roman, Dominik, David and Daniel.

Will you come to my party?

Horseback riding in Split

I've always loved horses. This picture was taken when I was about 9 or 10 years old at my grandparents farm in Mexico. I remember telling my Grandpa, "one day Abuelito when I grow up, I will be a doctor so I can take care of all of your animals." Funny how life takes you in a different direction.

Twenty plus years have passed by and even though I didn't become a veterinarian I still love animals, especially horses.

This weekend we had a break in the rain and a group of friends and I enjoyed our Sunday afternoon at the Konjicki Klub located in the small village of Ogorje. It's tucked away in the hills outside of Split, about 40 minutes away.

I took this photo from inside the office and wondering where the mariachi sombrero came from. The owner, Ivica was a great host and had many stories to share from his years of owning horses. He mentioned that he also leads six-day expeditions to the Plitvice lakes, camping along the way. Doesn't this sound like a fun adventure? You can click here for more information. For the one hour of horseback riding it was 100 kunas or if you want to ride longer he also has a 4 hour excursion with lunch provided, he gives you the option to choose your meal. Hubby is thinking lamb. Me? tofu!

This is Nura the horse I rode, she is 17 years old. Isn't she a beauty?

There are over 70 horses on the ranch and Ivica takes great pride in taking care of them. We were even 'lucky' (depending on your point of view) to see one of his horses, an English stud mating with a German mare.

Beautiful scenery along our path.

We informed the owner that we were beginner riders and because he was concerned for our safety we had personal escorts but you could also choose to ride alone. Our friend Robert is leading the way.

Our friend Kelly and Jay are from Ohio and you can read about their adventures of living overseas here.

It was the perfect day for horseback riding. We had a small picnic afterwards and discussed that our next visit should be for the 4-hour excursion. How did you spend your weekend?

Dancing in the rain with Cubismo and walking in the city

Yesterday it rained.... all day long. I think it rained everywhere, right? So what did Beli and I do you may ask? We danced to Salsa music playing from our radio. It was a mixture of Spanish and Croatian lyrics! You can listen to some of their songs here and here. This music is contagious! I asked hubby and he said the band is called Cubismo. I'm a new fan!

This morning we were rewarded with a sunny and dry day, at least until noon! I hurried downtown and walked around the city to take some photos before the rain returned. Then back home for more salsa dancing!

Discussing how nice the weather is. Not knowing that rain would make it's appearance in a few hours.

Oh no, where is the sun? I got soaked on my way to the bus stop. Forgot my umbrella at home. Don't you hate when that happens?

What do you like to do on a rainy day?

Which language do I speak?

Spanglish, Spantian, or Crolish?



I'm not an expert on linguistics and I hope I'm not doing more damage than good by introducing all 3 languages at once (Spanish, Croatian and English) but I have heard that babies are like sponges, they will absorb everything.

I did some research about multilingualism and I found a fascinating website, Spanglishbaby ,"the place to ask and get personal advice and honest answers to all those conflicting opinions out there about raising bilingual kids." Here I found a link to Simona Montanari , an expert on early multilingual development, and this is what she had to say about teaching your child more than one language " ...decades of research have shown that children’s brains have all the capacities necessary to cope with and fully master two or more languages if they are given the opportunity to hear and practice these languages on an everyday basis. The idea of confusion in bilingual children is really a myth, an old belief prevalent in monolingual countries that has almost become political."

So hey maybe I'm doing something right? With the exception of my Spanglish!

We are just combining all 3 languages in hopes that as she gets older she will know the difference. For now we are using words that are easier for her to pronounce, for example Elephant is too long, instead we say slon. Of course as she gets older I will speak to her only in Spanish, my Hubby in Croatian and she will have exposure to English in school.


Just to give you an idea of my daily conversations with Beli (22 months old), it goes something like this:


Me: Good Morning Beli.

Beli: Goo-Moneen Mama.

Me: Dile good morning a Daddy.....(tell Daddy good morning)

Beli:Goo-Moneen Daddy.

Me: Como durmio my muneca?....(how did my doll sleep?)

Beli: Mama dai ruka!...............(Mama give me your hand!)

Me: Dojee Beli wait for Mama.....(Come here Beli, wait for Mama)

Me:Dame los shoes.....................(Give me the shoes)

Beli: Dai shoes Mama.................(Give you the shoes Mama)

Me: Quieres pintar en el book?.........(Do you want to color on the book?)

Beli: Book? dai colors Mama! ...........(Book?, give colors Mama!)

Me: Mira!..mali pas..............................(Look, a small dog)

She really amazes me because when I ask her in Spanish to tell me the body parts she answers in Croatian! I think it's because Spanish is the minority language and Croatian the majority( at least for now that we are living here). I'm not too worried about teaching her English, although she does get the exposure from hearing Hubby and I speak. How about you, do you mix languages at home or use one of these methods OPOL, T &P or mL&H?

First Photo Session

Her tiny hand print on the window.

Beli got a hold of my camera and went around flashing photos of our home. She took a photo of myself and being the proud Mama that I am, how could I not share it with you! So here it is. Not very glamorous. But I'm also posting one of hubby. Shhhh.don't tell him.

A Food and Beverage Festival in Split ~GAST

Do you have any idea what sort of toy this is?

I saw it yesterday at the food festival. At first, I thought it was some sort of Eco-friendly tea ball so I was showing Beli how to hit the ball with one of the bats. Then this nice couple with whom Beli made friends rather quickly mentioned that it was a bowling set!?

I think it has been raining world wide but yesterday the sky cleared up and Yippee! we saw a rainbow, just in time to walk over to the Food Festival.

Conveniently located across our street.

As described by the City of Split's Tourism Forum: GAST fair is a meeting point

of numerous food, beverages, hotel and hospitality equipment producers and merchants, and it is recognized as a key spot of touristic season logistical contracting.

For us it was an opportunity to enjoy free samples!

I like the yellow one, and you?

They had everything from beer, wine, cheese, fish, coffee, and gelato to life insurance companies enticing children and adults with free balloons and a chance of winning a prize for the best colored-picture. We submitted Beli's picture.

If you are interested in attending the price is 35 kunas($7) , Location in Split's Znjan. It goes through this Sunday, so plenty of time.

And if you know what that 'gadget is' that I'm referring to, let me know!

Happy To Be Living In Croatia

I have everything I need. I do my best to show my appreciation for what my in-laws have done for us. I know they want us to feel comfortable and happy. And although there are days I feel sad and isolated, I try to remain positive. Do you ever feel this way? Conflicted, because you miss your previous hectic-life in spite of having a relaxed and stress-free lifestyle?

Then I tell myself, "what are thinking crazy woman, enjoy your free-time, the minutes you share with your daughter are priceless!"

Since our apartment in Znjan is minutes away from the beach we try to spend our mornings outdoors: walks along the beach or throwing rocks in the sea.


Afternoons we prepare fresh fish from the market. These are langostines or large prawns.


Beli called them, "skapi" (scampi).

Late afternoons are spent outdoors weather permitting or sometimes we visit one of the many museums in Split. This past Sunday was my first visit to Poljud Arena to see the local soccer team Hajduk play it's first match of the season. Fan club Torcida was ecstatic because the team scored, G-O-O-O-L!!!!!!!!

Evenings are spent with friends at one of the many small cafes in the Diocletian Palace.

Since both hubby and I are stay-at-home parents and unemployed we schedule our day around Beli's needs. How can we afford this lifestyle you might ask? Well, we anticipated that finding a job would be near impossible, with recession and all, therefore prior to moving from Colorado, both of us worked long hours, saved as much as possible and when we left the States we were debt-free. We also have the full support of my husband's family. His father found us an apartment fully furnished,(rent-free). My brother-in-law has business partners in Italy exporting fish and once a week he is allotted a tray of fresh fish. His Mom works in a children's department store and we receive discounts when we make purchases for Isabela. All in all, we are blessed. Fortunate. Happy.