We Made It!

We made it to Tianjin without too much trouble - yippee!! The biggest issue was the luggage - between carry on and check in, we had 20 pieces. With 5 tickets, I didn't go over the luggage limit, it was just virtually impossible for Danny and I to hold all of the carry on pieces because they were too bulky! Thankfully we met some wonderful workers on both ends, Chicago and Beijing, who were more than happy to help us!

The plane ride was shockingly not too bad! They allowed us to board first because we had three children and so much "stuff" (Danny would probably use another word here!). We found our seats at the back of the plane and got Coop's new 5 point harness straps all set up. I can't remember the name of this harness, but it is FDA approved and fits in your purse. You connect it with the plane seatbelt so that little ones are more protected! It is the best invention and it saved us the trouble of hauling a carseat onto the plane! We took off almost right on time and Coop fell asleep right away! He slept for about the first two hours and woke at the smell of food! That child ate a ton of the food that was served. El and Eens were a little bit pickier, they did enjoy the cake that was served though! The kids pretty much played on their Leapsters, colored, watched movies, and slept the entire way. Coop had to run up and down the aisles a few times, which got him lots of smiles which he thrives on! He also dumped butter (yes, I let him put butter on his roll - and I'm sure most mom's would on this long of flight!) on his shorts, so he went in a diaper until it was time for PJ's! I had brought the kids pillows so at about 8:00pm I got them all settled and they slept almost right up until we landed!

We couldn't have a disaster free trip, so Eensie decided to provide a little entertainment at the very end! Right as we touched ground and I breathed a sigh of relief, Danny starts yelling, "He's puking, do something!" I'm on the other side of the aisle and Dan is sitting right beside him and he wants me to do something!! I threw him the bag from the seat and hoped for the best! It must just have been motion sickness though, because he was bouncing around after that!

Once we had collected all of our luggage, and yes, it all made it, we found our driver. Our driver is an older gentleman who is as nice as can be. He refuses to let me lift a finger, opens doors, and drives extra slow because the kids are in the car. I don't think we could have asked for anything more. Danny had arranged for 2 mini vans to come and pick us up, which was definitely necessary! We were then on our way to Tianjin!

Once we arrived, we were pleasantly (even a bit shocked) surprised that our air shipment was waiting in the family room for us! The kids made a mad dash to find their rooms, which they loved! Danny was great and had went grocery shopping and to import stores to make sure we had some comfort foods for when we arrived! We ate peanut butter and jelly and some fresh fruit that our ayi had cut up!

Bedtime was a bit rough at the St. Martin household last night. Ethan did great and he made it until about 5:30am. El and Cooper on the other hand were up at 1:30am for good. I tried everything, but they were wired - 13 hour time changes are not fun! I was exhausted because I had been unable to sleep on the plane so I only got about 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours. I just kept going though, I kind of felt like I just had a baby!

Today was interesting and fun! Dan had arranged for a guy named David to help me register. In China you have only a couple of days to register at the police station upon your arrival. The kids and I also need to change our Visas into residence Visas so that we may come and go, in and out of the country as we please. In order to do this I had to get an interesting Chinese physical. There were 6 stations that I had to go to - eye test, blood test, ekg hook up, chest x-ray, ultrasound of my liver, and blood pressure check. Now if I did all of these in the US I would probably spend at least a day in the hospital. Not here, David and I walked down the hallway and when one room was empty we went in and we were done with everything in about 20 minutes. I'm not sure exactly what they are going to use this information for or how it all correlates together, but I was too tired to ask too many questions!

The kids and I were also able to meet our ayi today. In Chinese, ayi means "auntie". She will be with us daily to cook, help around the house, do laundry, and babysit. I feel very spoiled, but I am also so grateful for the help. I'll be able to embrace the culture and language, volunteer, and spend more quality time with the kids than I ever have! Our ayi is the sweetest lady. Danny found this wonderful woman who loves children! She was hugging us and calling us by name (which is very difficult in the Chinese language) the moment she stepped through the door! We had fun shopping together today for groceries and she made an awesome dinner for us! I can already tell that we will become very attached to her!

One last event for our first day in Tianjin was that we did get to visit the SOS - international medical facility. Coop was complaining that his ear hurt and very fussy, so sure enough he has an ear infection. I was shopping when he woke up from his nap, so Danny went by himself with all three kids. This is a pretty impressive feat in and of itself, but you must understand that to get to the SOS right now is extremely difficult. It is located literally in our backyard, but all of the Olympic soccer players are staying at the Sheraton hotel, (which houses the SOS) and it is pretty much on lock down. In order to get in, you have to tell about 10 police, call for an escort, and then go through security, metal detector and all! I was very proud of Danny and happy that he got some medicine for poor Coop!

I'm off to hopefully a better night of sleep! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers we have received! We love hearing from so many people, it makes us feel much closer to home!