The Ship is Complete!!

I cringed when Eens said that he would like the Lego pirate ship for his birthday. All I could think about were the thousand little, teeny pieces that I would likely be putting together! I decided a few days before his birthday to hint to the older boys (there are 4 who love Legos) that Eens may be getting some Legos soon and they were welcome to come and help him build. It was a genius move on my part!! In less than 3 days, we have the island and the ship built and ready to play with!! Of course, I'm imagining that it will only take 3 more days until it is in pieces again, but for now, it is complete...

Happy Dragon Boat Day!

On Thurday we celebrated Dragon Boat Day here in China. The story (from what we understand), behind this holiday goes something like this...there was a famous poet who got very depressed and decided to jump into a river to end his life. The people were very upset so they decided to row their boats to the middle of the river and throw sticky rice cakes (there's a name for them, but I'm not sure how to spell it) in so the fish would eat the rice cakes instead of the poet's body. This is obviously a very simplistic retelling of the story, but because of these events hundreds of years ago, the government decided, for the first time this year, to make the day a national holiday, which meant Danny didn't have to go to work! The kids still had school because our calendar was already set before the day was declared a holiday!

Danny and I decided to keep Coop home so we wouldn't have to go out to school at 12:00 and pick him up, but, could instead go explore the Italian concession and have lunch! The Italian concession area has just recently been renovated and it is quite lovely. There are still some buildings that are not complete inside, but the facades are all done and you can picture what the area possibly looked like from 1901 - 1947 during the time in which it was governed by the Italians. In 1947 the area was relinquished to the Chinese government. Tianjin was one of the first cities in China to give authority, in certain areas (concessions), to European countries during the the late 1800's and early 1900's in order to protect the foreigners that were there to provide the goods that were desired by the Chinese market. There were a total of 8 concession areas in Tianjin.

I have read several historical fiction and biographies about Europeans living in China during the time period of the concessions. While we were walking down the street I told Danny that I could just see the ladies in their elegant dress, pretending as if they were still in Italy. I could also imagine the entertaining that went on in these grand houses and the meals that must have been cooked. The funny thing is, we don't live in a concession area, but we do live in a compound where we all, in our own way, try to recreate our home country in this strange, wonderful country!

After exploring, we had lunch outside while we listened to the saxophone player and some violinists!! I almost forgot we were in China for a bit!!

We're Filling the House!!

I have always loved furniture and putting together spaces in our houses, but I really thought that being here would hinder my ability to do these two things! Thankfully, I am using my creativity, and despite a bit of smudged paint in places, I have been able to update our house here. Over the past week I had our office painted because I couldn't live with the white walls anymore. I just did a light chestnut, it makes the room a bit softer and more inviting! I also had my entryway painted red to match the wall in our family room. The primary reason for this was the white wall was showing my lovable children's handprints. I was worried that the red may make the space look smaller, but it just makes it a little more cozy!!

Of course, if I get new paint, I really need new furniture! Actually, it was the other way around...I bought new furniture and insisted that we needed to have some of the spaces painted!! Last month I picked out several new pieces and one old piece of "Asian inspired" furniture. I didn't want any difficulty in importing the things I have bought here back to the US, so the new pieces are actually reproductions of older pieces! It is fun buying all these pieces and imagining how they will fit in with all of our furniture that is in storage in the states!! Oh, the possibilities are endless!!

Our "old" entryway table and nine dragon screen carving...Our "new" chair and table set - the chairs have a little peony carved in the back...The "new" altar table with Danny's dragon vases on each side!

Elegant Ellie's Art

I have forgotten to post pictures of Ellie's last two paintings from her art class! We have seen tremendous improvement in her ability to finish the pieces without much direction or help from her teachers. In the first picture, her teacher sketched the drawing and El did the watercolor painting. In the second picture, Ellie sketched the drawing herself off of an image from the computer and she also painted it. It takes a lot of patience and she can now sit for about 1 1/2 hours before she gets antsy! We're excited to see what she will be able to accomplish next year!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Danny and Eens!!

Wednesday, my dear husband and sweet little boy celebrated their birthdays together!! I remember when I found out my due date for Eens was May 31st, I thought it would be fun if he was born on his daddy's birthday!!

In May of 2004, I went to my midwife on the 26th (day before Danny's birthday) and she said that she thought I still had a few more days to go! That night I made Danny his favorite cake (carrot), vaccuumed and cleaned, pretty convinced that my little boy would not be arriving on his daddy's birthday after all! I got up the next day and thought I felt a bit odd, but I dropped El off at nursery and went in to teach my lovely 4th grade class! After finishing with attendance and morning routine, I continued to feel off, but blamed it on being at the end of my pregnancy! Finally at about 9:30 am, I went down and asked the principal if he could get a sub for me because I thought I was possibly in labor. Of course, I told him I would go and teach until he found someone. He quickly thought about it and after recalling another teacher having her water break in front of the class, he sent me straight to the doctor's office! My midwife was surprised to see me back so soon, but sure enough, I was in pretty active labor! She sent me on to the hospital! I remember sitting outside on the bench waiting for Danny to come from work, I was surprisingly calm! By the time we reached the hospital (I fiddled around at home, called mom to drive from Chicago to pick up El, and Danny got some lunch), it was almost 1:00pm! I obviously didn't realize how fast my labor was going because by 2:20 my sweet little Eensie was in my arms on his daddy's birthday!! It was the best birthday present I have ever given anyone!

I'm realizing now as Eensie gets older that having two birthdays on one day is not that easy!! They both want to do different things to celebrate, but we're making it work! On Wednesday, I made Scooby Doo head brownies for Eens to take to school! They required a bit of work on my part, but all was worth it when his face lit up in the morning when he saw them!! For dinner, Eens chose to go to Din Tai Feng, which was a huge surprise, hehe!! He enjoyed his long noodles and his mini jaozi!!

During the afternoon, I realized that I had not made Danny a cake. I didn't want him to feel left out so I pulled one of mom's recipes for Mississippi Mud cake out and then went on a frantic search for cocoa powder. After living here for almost a year, I have learned to improvise, so with the help of many neighbors, we decided that Milo would probably do the trick!! It smelled good, so off I went with my little bag to make a cake! With the help of ayi, I managed to bake the cake, get all of the gifts (thanks to all who sent wonderful presents from the US) out, and supervise about 10 children who were playing with Eensie's new lego sets!!

When Danny got home, we opened gifts! I was very excited to give Danny my gift because I could not believe I was able to keep it a secret. I had arranged a trip for him and his two friends to go to the Shaolin Temple (the birthplace of kung fu) for a weekend this summer!! He was so surprised!! Off we went to Din Tai Feng where I didn't eat too much, because we had plans to meet up with friends for a late dinner!

After dinner we brought the kids back home to ayi and then Danny, myself, and the Milo cake made our way to another favorite restaurant, YY Beer House, to have an adult celebration!! It was a wonderful night full of lovely friends, food, and even a bit of singing!!!

Jiaozi Making Fun!!

Today was our last day with Ellie's art teachers until next fall! We decided last week that they would teach us how to make jaozi (Eensie's favorite food!) after Ellie had her art lesson! Honestly, I have eaten hundreds of jaozi over the past 10 months, and until today, I had no idea how much love goes into those little bite sizes pieces of goodness!!

You must first start out making the dough, which is pretty simple, some sort of Chinese flour with water. You knead it until it is smooth and then you let it sit for a bit!! While that was resting, we made the filling! Today we used minced pork, star anise, shallots, ginger, and some other long green veggie!! Basically, you cut all the veggies and mix them with the pork, add some salt, egg white, and a bit of soy sauce, and you have your filling!! Now the next part is the hardest, rolling the dough and then stuffing the little things!!

Can you tell from the picture which ones were done by Danny, Ellie, and I??!!

I'm not sure I could make jaozi by myself, but next time I eat them, I will appreciate more all of the effort that goes into making them!!

I have to admit that when it was time to say good-bye, I had tears in my eyes. I know I will see "the girls" next fall, but we will truly miss them. It has been a wonderful cultural exchange between our family and them. Not only have they taught Ellie to produce some fantastic pieces of work, they have also given us an inside peek into the lives of locals in our host country!! Zai Jian (good-bye) for now sweet friends!!

Sports Day!

On Saturday, Danny, myself, and the munchkins got up bright and early to be at the school for a make-up day!! Yes, we had to make up a day of missed school (due to the lack of electricity one day in February!) on a Saturday!! Unlike the states, there are no built in snow days or make-up days in our calendar. It rarely snows here and from what I understand, the only reason school is delayed is because of fog in the late fall! So, there were some parents that wanted their money back from the missed day...what a nightmare for any administration!! There was really no feasible way to give the money (that has been used for building fees, teacher's salaries, supplies, and the list goes on!) back, so the administration decided to make a 1/2 day on a Saturday and they made it Sports Day! Because so many families and teachers leave immediately after school is out for the summer, it would have been very difficult to extend the school year!!

It was not fun dragging all of us out the door, but it was fun that Danny was able to participate for the entire morning. Most of the activities that the kids do are during the school day, and although he tries really hard to be there, it is not always possible! I thought the day was very well organized. The entire school had been broken up into colored teams, and then they were further broken down into lower elementary, upper elementary, and seccondary. There were 6 different games/rotations that each group went through! Our kids favorite was the bounce house, of course!!

Watergun Wednesday!!

This past week we have been trying to beat the heat anyway we can!! Temperatures have been hovering around the mid to upper 90's - I like the heat, but goodness, it is only May!! Our neighbor found some waterguns last weekend and I watched how the kids looked longingly at the "big" boys and their water fight, so I finally broke down! On Wednesday I went and loaded up on waterguns for El, Eens, Coop and Karen's kids!

After school there was an all out war!! The big kids and the little kids got soaked and kept themselves entertained for almost 2 hours!! Karen and I were the targets a few times, but for the most part we did the refilling of the guns!!

Taking a break and shooting the shrubbery!!

I think a break is in order!!!

What I witnessed today has made me come to the conclusion that I am in need of a break from our beloved China!! I'm having a difficult time with China right now mainly due to the blogger situation - I mean, is it really necessary to block all blogger sites?? It is so incredibly frustrating, but like I said before, not much can be done by a foreigner!! I've read some articles that possibly some of the bans on particular websites may be lifted in June or July...we'll see!! I guess I am oversensitive on this matter because I know if I were in the US, I would not have to worry if blogger, facebook, or skype is blocked on a daily basis...these are my lifelines here!!

Okay, so today I am at the Sheraton (China standard 5 star hotel, definitely not the Ritz!!) sitting by the pool while Ellie is having her swim lesson! All is well, I'm having a little book time and I finally got to chat to my dear husband on the phone. After I hang up the phone, I look over and see a little boy about 4 years old with his pants down. I don't want to look, but he is right by my chair and I am a little concerned! I look a little closer and he is peeing in a bottle. Some of you who know China are probably thinking it is better than just peeing on the ground, but for goodness sakes, the bathroom is less than 50 feet away. Then, the adult he is with did not even have the audacity to throw out the bottle, she left it sitting right there for everyone to look at the little one's pee! So, at the moment, I am very thankful that in a little more than 3 weeks my feet will once again be standing on good, old US soil!!

I must add that Danny just got home and all I said was, "You'll never guess what I saw today?" He answered, "Where did someone spit, pee, or poop?"! That pretty much sums up the behaviors we witness here everyday!!

The Great 5,000 Step Run!!

It was exhilerating, amazing, and darn right scary running on the Great Wall!! This was our first time seeing any part of the Great Wall, so when we first caught sight of it, we were completely enthralled. To think, hundreds of years ago this wall was built to keep out the Mongols - a little crazy, maybe, but definitely fascinating!! Then we began to look closer at the image that was before our eyes and reality set in that we actually had to run on the thing!! I guess, I just thought the Wall would be like the pictures we saw - pretty flat, built up on both sides so that we were protected. Um, not quite...there were parts of the wall that were exactly as I envisioned them and then there were the parts that were completely narrow with only one side of the wall and a rope to hold on to, not quite my cup of tea! You see, I'm terrified of heights, so despite the amazing views, I spent most of the run hanging onto ropes for dear life!

We're still having fun...

If only I knew what was up and over those steps!!

This is where fear gripped me!! It's really just a cliff!!Some of the amazing views that I didn't see until I downloaded the pics! Thanks Danny for being the photog!!!

This is just me hanging on with both hands...I'm thinking I'm almost done...hehe!!But look, there's more uphill running, therefore, I realize I will have to come down again!!This was our final decent...I'm not sure I have ever been so happy to complete something since giving birth!!Many of you are probably thinking we ran a marathon, the way I am going on and on. No, we only ran a 5K which took us almost an hour to complete!! Would I do it again? No, probably not, but I am happy that I did it once and got to experience the Great Wall while also doing a bit of one of my favorite activities, running!!

Why does it have to be so complicated??

Just want to let you all know that blogger.com, the site I use to create this blog has been blocked for the time being in China. UGHHH! I'm not really very happy about it, but there is not much that can be done! YouTube has been blocked here since March. Both YouTube and Blogger are part of Google, so the government must not be happy with something they have done!!

You are probably wondering how I am able to blog right now...ahhh technology!! Danny's work computer is actually on a US server so when he is home, I can use his computer!! I guess all I can say is that I will enjoy the many freedoms of the US when we return for our home visit this summer!!

It's Eens and Coop's turn to shine!

I've written several posts on Ellie's shining moments onstage during Friday morning assemblies, but today it was Eens and Coop's turn. Their assembly centered around kindness and being good friends. The nursery class did a couple of songs and then the pre-k class performed skits that they wrote! It was pretty obvious they were original when Eensie's hippo group started talking about how it would be a good idea to put soup in their shoes!! The things that 4 and 5 year olds come up with!! Coopie's moment in the spotlight started a bit rough when he refused to stand up while the other kids were jumping around doing a Jack in the box dance. I thought he might be crushed, but Miss Kerri (one of Eensie's teachers) came to the rescue and cuddled him just before the tears started! For his next number he got to use rhythm sticks and it was all good after that!!!

Costumes, courtesy of the creative minds of pre-kers!!

Mrs. Carollo, the principal had to joke that she should use nursery/pre-k assemblies as a fundraiser!! There were so many parents there, and this should be no surprise, they are so cute and unpredictable at this stage!!

As all of their teachers say, "Well done boys!!"