Add a few more zeros to that and you’ll have an idea of how long it feels like we’ve been here.

Hey, bonus –  it’s hot here now. 

So yeah, this process is geared to make you give up and quit.  And if you don’t, you are superparents and deserve some kind of prize.  Wait.  The prize is sleeping in the other room as I write this.  He snores and steals the covers, but he’s a true prize in our book. 

My advice to anyone considering International Adoption of an Older Child that Requires You to be Away From Home for More than A Weekend:  It takes lots of patience.  Then it takes more patience.  And when you’re thru with that part of it, break out the patience.  And the alchohol.  Oops.  Did I say that out loud?

ToughGuy is, well, tough.  He is a strong little dude who is stubborn, opinionated and always right.  Huh.  Just what I needed – another one.  He is also quite a good little mimic.  And to all my friends out there, I’d just like to apologize to each and every one of you.  After seeing myself acted out back to myself, I don’t even like me any more.

Every afternoon, Monkey works on his Kindergarten homework which we brought with us because we wanted more reasons to force a child to do something, for the love of all that is holy.  During that time I’ve started working on English flashcards with ToughGuy.  I will show him the picture of a kitten, ask him what it is, get the answer in Hungarian and then tell him what it is in English.  As soon as I say the English word, kitten, he very kindly and patiently explains to me that that is incorrect and repeats it in Hungarian.  We do this a few times back and forth until I patiently explain to him that we are all going to get on an airplane and fly to America, where they no speaka da Hungarian.  After giving an exasperated sigh, he whispers, kitten.  Then we move on to dog and the whole process starts all over again.  He can easily count to five, but dissolves into giggles whenever he has to say six.  Not sure why that is funny, but evidently it’s a real knee slapper over here.

Without a car, our days are kind of limited to whatever we can walk to and gosh, does Monkey LOVE walking everywhere.  No whining about that.  No.  Then, every once in a while someone mentions a place we can get to by bus or taxi that is fairly local and which we might find more interesting than the three parks we have visited so many times we have assigned seating on the park bench. 

Another travel tip:  If, while you are asking directions, a Hungarian person says to you ‘Verry, verry easy – you find it, no problem.  Is verrrry easy.’  It is now written in stone that you will get lost.  100% for sure.

But someone had told me about a water park here that I knew I wanted to visit.  And since this past week has been, ah, quite warm, we decided to do it last Thursday.  We finally found a taxi, told the driver where we wanted to go, how much we wanted to pay and off we went.  We arrived at the water park and everything that we could see from the outside, including the kids water playground, was empty and there were two guys with an umbrella working on repairing a gazillion little one inch tiles.  So I was a tad disgruntled.  But there were also rumored to be some other things to do there, so we paid our money, got our super secret laser watches rather than a ticket or a hand stamp, which was the highlight of the day for Monkey, and went inside.  I found the changing rooms, which are co-ed, huh, found a locker for our stuff and unknowingly entered the coolest place we have ever been.  These are cave baths, which have existed in one form or another for centuries.  Benedictine monks used to swim here in the 16th century.  And if it’s good enough for them, you know I belong there.

It starts with a really cool building built around the outside of the bottom of the mountain.  There is a regular spa there, with lounge chairs, jacuzzi and small pool, as well as six fountains coming out of these stone statues which are surrounded and covered by a layer of natural salt that is probably six feet deep and 100 feet high.  Spectacular. 

Then we entered one of the cave passages and it’s the coolest maze inside with openings every so often to pools and little rivers that you can swim in.  Some are a little cooler and some are really warm.  They have amazing lighing in there and there is even one room that has a spectacular domed ceiling with stars and planets on it.  Guess who loved that room?  Uh-huh.

After spending the entire morning in the caves, we got dressed and walked to a little arcade area for lunch, the boys played on a really neat playstructure that was four stories high and had big enclosed slides coming down from it and then we went to ride on a bobsled track.  In the woods.  Another super cool and fun thing to do.  We ended up back in the cave baths for the rest of the afternoon and it was a truly spectacular day.

Yesterday was probably our most challenging day yet with ToughGuy, who woke up spicy and just got hotter as the day went on.  I was a bit leery of how today would be, especially after Hubunit announced that he was going to be taking the day off from parenting today.  All decisions were up to me.   

Yippeee!!!  Now, Hubunit marches thru life and expects, and usually gets with willing cheerfulness, complete compliance from us probies, otherwise known as his family.  Me?  I flit thru life.  I rarely have a plan.  I can fritter away vast amounts of time while accomplishing nothing.  I call it thinking outside the box.  For my do-er Hubunit, that is kinda like a seat at the table in the fifth ring of hell.

So after frittering thru the morning, we ended up at this little square by the center of town where they have fountains that bubble up from the pavement.  It was hot, but I hadn’t brought a change of clothes for the boys, so we had them remove their shoes and socks and t-shirts and off they joyously ran to play in their shorts.  I did mention that it was hot, right?

Well, about an hour later when we were getting ready to leave, an old woman came by and started to talk to the kids.  I called them over and when she saw they were with us, she came right over too.

Old woman:  a bunch of hungarian.

Hubunit:  I don’t speak Hungarian.  We are american.  I’m sorry but I don’t understand you.

Old woman, more animatedly:  a bunch of hungarian. 

Hubunit:  Yeah, lady, I don’t understand you.  But we’re good.  The boys are good.  We’re fine.  Thanks.  Alot.

Old woman, animatedly waving and trying to pet the boys hair while making cooing sounds because she was convinced that they were COLD:  a bunch of hungarian.

Hubunit:  Look lady, you know I don’t understand a word you’re saying.  You can’t understand a word I’m saying, but that’s not stopping you is it?  Nope.  You’re just gonna keep right on telling us how to parent our kids aren’t you?  Yep.  Plus it’s so much more fun when you drink your lunch, isn’t it?

During this heartwarming cultural exchange, I was getting the boys dried off and re-dressed.  They were nothing but happy after playing in the water, joyously boylike.  ToughGuy kept looking at the woman like she was crazy.  Thank goodness, because usually he reserves that look for me.

And finally, tonight, we had some of the best pizza on the planet and are now enjoying the wind generated by the fan we bought this afternoon.  Plus I have this really yummy candy bar sitting next to the keyboard.  It’s been patiently waiting for the kids to fall asleep and for this post to be done.  It’s like a Hungarian Little Debbie peanut bar.  But without the peanut.  Plus Little Debbie traded in her wholesome pinafore dress and hair kerchief for some painted on acid washed jeans and a tube top.  Cause that’s how Hungarian Honey’s roll.

Ahhhh.  I think I should be in control of frittering away EVERY day.