Ahoy Matey!

This afternoon the boys and I enjoyed a beautiful winter day outside. Ellie went to a friend's house, so I got alone time with just the boys! We haven't been able to spend much time outside since we moved because it has been too cold! Today we hit the mid 40's, not exactly beach weather, but perfect for some fun at the park! We walked to the park closest to our house and I have to admit I was thrilled to see quite a few expats out and about!! I DO HAVE NEIGHBORS - yippee!! I was beginning to wonder if they existed!

The boys played and played on their "pirate ship"! Then, they decided they wanted ice cream, so we walked to the convenience store, which is also close to our house!

This is our newest landmark...a zebra in someone's yard. We use this house to tell people they are getting close to our house since street signs are basically non-existent!!

Seeing Red

We're getting closer and closer to the big Chinese New Year celebration as evidenced by the extremely loud fireworks and the red lanterns all over!! This year the festival begins on February 13th and we will enter into the Year of the Tiger!!

Searching for our Newest Family Member!!

Now that we have a backyard and more space inside, we have told the kids they can get a puppy. They are beside themselves every time we have to leave Jenni - they miss her so much! Ellie has been checking out books from the library on how to take care of a puppy and while we were home for Christmas, she took Jenni on almost all of her walks! We also have help in the house for when we are gone and our wonderful landlords have offered to take the pup when we are all in the US for visits! When we return home for good, Jenni will be used to having a puppy sibling now that my brother and sister-in-law have their new puppy Chief, so it should be an easy transition!! Yeah right - by that time, she will be almost 13 and probably a little grumpy!

Once we made the decision that we can make it work, we wanted to start the search straight away. On Sunday we went to the "puppy market". Big mistake - I wanted to buy all of the dogs there because I felt so bad for them. You must remember that it has just been recently that Chinese locals have started to have dogs as pets. There are very few regulations on dogs, and at the market, they can sell anything. We read that many of the dogs that are sold are sick because they have been taken from their momma's way too early and some are even bleached to look like they are a different color! Here are some of the pictures of the place where we took our three children to enjoy their Sunday afternoon!!

Sellers just set up shop in the middle of the parking lot trying to sell their pups.
Because dogs are located all over the parking lot, we spent a great majority of time trying not to step in, as Eens said, "poo mountain"!!

The search must go on for the newest St. Martin. We will be exploring all options over the next few weeks...a trip to Beijing, some research on-line to see if a company will ship us a puppy from a reputable place, and anything else we can think of!! I guess if it is meant to be, we will find a sweet little puppy looking for a home!!

Channeling Jamie Oliver

I begged Danny to buy me some Jamie Oliver cookbooks for Christmas. He pretended like he was not getting them for me, but low and behold they appeared under the tree!! Now that I am cooking more during the week, I wanted to try some new recipes. Many of the dinners I cooked in the US used "easy" ingredients that I am unable to find here. Most of the recipes in these cookbooks use all fresh ingredients and I can find almost everything I need at either the fruit and veggie market or the supermarket!!

On Sunday I experimented with a creamy, spinach, mascarpone bowtie pasta dinner. It turned out great, even Eens ate all of his spinach because I told him it was just some "spice!! Next time I'll add even more spinach! The funny thing was that our dear British friends (who got me hooked on Jamie in the first place!) were out enjoying a meal at TGI Friday's!! I guess we are pretty good influences on each other!!

Just What the Dr Ordered!

After a rough week fighting sinuses, Danny and I escaped for a little on Saturday night for an adult dinner and to check out a new bar!! We went to our favorite Sichuan restaurant called South Beauty with our dear friends! It was just the four of us, which was a rare treat!! The food is extremely spicy, which I cannot handle well, but I love it. (This was another great way to clear the sinuses!!) The waitress kept telling us that we were ordering too much food - 9 dishes for 4 people, but she didn't understand that Danny and I could only eat about 2 bites off of the really spicy plates, so we needed some variety to keep us going!! I bet we ate a lot more than she thought we could!!

After our mouths were thoroughly burning, we needed to cool off, so we went to a new German bar that recently opened. There are very few bars in Tianjin that I would suggest to go to just to hang out, but this one was great! The decor was just what you would expect in a German bar and the servers were completely playing the part as you can see from their uniforms!!

There were several musical acts, but this guy was my favorite!! I have no idea what he was singing because it was all in Chinese, but apparently it was really good, given the amount of beer people placed on stage and the tips he was given!!

This was a fruit platter that they offered you when you sat down. Very elaborate!!

This is one of my most favorite signs that I have seen while living here...

I am so thankful for good friends who find humor in the little things and appreciate the beauty of this crazy world we live in!!

Cheers and hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

Superstars!

Coop finally did it, he got his first award at Friday assembly!! If you ask him why he received the award, he will tell you, "I ripped a book!". This is, in fact true, however there is more to the story!! Last week Coop was looking through a book and he accidentally ripped it. He was quite upset, so he took it to the teacher and explained what had happened. He told her he wanted to fix it, so she took him to the library. The librarian helped him and gave him the award for being a "library hero"!! We are so proud of his honesty and truly hope he realizes he didn't get an award for "ripping a book"!!

Ellie Belle also received another award this past Friday! She received this one with a group of her friends for setting up a salad and smoothie bar in the classroom to demonstrate their understanding of how systems work. Well done El!!

Time for a Nap??

Seriously, this guy must have been really tired because this was a showroom right in the middle of IKEA!! Karen and I both took several pictures with our flash going off and he didn't flinch!! We always joke that people go to IKEA here not to buy anything, but to have a little rest! Apparently this is very true!!

You cannot go to IKEA without having some sort of issue it seems!! Last Monday Karen and I went prepared (she more so than me!!) with our lists to finish up our houses the way we want them!! We were making great time and were quite pleased with ourselves until we got to the check out lane. Karen needed to get some large furniture shipped, so I assured her that she could just go to the desk, show them the item number and they would ship it. Obviously I have never bought and shipped furniture from IKEA (or maybe it is a China thing??), but you must first load all of the extremely heavy furniture on a cart, push the cart, check out, and then take it all to the delivery counter where they will fill out the info for delivery. We didn't figure this out until after we had paid for our overflowing carts of other stuff!!

Within 5 minutes and without knowing it, we both pulled a typical tai tai move...we demanded to see the laoban (boss)!! The Chinese do not like it when you demand the boss, so they do become quite helpful very quickly. I got men to help me push the carts to the car and load it, while Karen got men to push her cart and put all of her furniture on it!! When we both finally got into the car, we were shocked that the ordeal had not took more time, until we both simultaneously admitted we had pulled the laoban word out!!!

It was a "China" week!!

It's been a week since I blogged and I have no real excuse, besides it's been a "China" week. I have Tianjin days, but this has been the first entire week that I have found it difficult to stay positive. It probably doesn't all have to do with China, but a big majority of my woes, I blame on China!!

The first problem I have been dealing with is a nasty sinus infection. Our weather, thankfully changed for the better, but it left me wanting to crawl under the covers and not get up for many hours. This year I have suffered from pretty bad sinuses and I'm not sure if it is the pollution, the weather, or just me. As the week went on, I was thrilled to see the blue sky for several days in a row - that did lift my spirits a little!! I also got in a couple of runs outside, which helped to clear up the sinuses, while at the same time giving the locals a good laugh. Why in the world is it so funny to exercise outside????

The second problem was the time zone!! When I really needed to talk to someone in the US, I couldn't do it because they were either sleeping or working. I just couldn't get my timing right, so I didn't get to talk to my mom (not everyday anyway!), my siblings, or my friends and I know they would have brightened my mood!! Many people may think that I don't miss my family and friends like I did when we first arrived. It is true, I miss them in a different way. Having been forced to step back, I see very clearly how wonderful these people are and at this moment, I may even miss them more if that is possible!

The third problem is the silly lunar calendar! You see, last year at this time we were sitting on a beach escaping the worst part of a northern China winter! Due to the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year falls in the middle of February this year. It has really been the wrong year for that to happen because we have experienced the coldest winter in 58 years here! Brrrr!!

I do tease a little that my week was all a complete downer - of course, that is not true!! I have wonderful friends here who know just what to do to make me laugh and smile. Some of them I feel like I have known my whole life - we just "get each other"!! So instead of ending on a sour note, I end knowing that I am blessed with my fabulous husband, wonderful children, fantastic family, and beautiful friendships!!

Ouch!!

That is what Danny is saying right now after undergoing his first session with a Chinese doctor! We decided that he should try alternative medicine for possible relief of his back pain that he has had constantly for years now! Some of my friends use this doctor and a few of them even studied under her last year to learn some techniques. We really weren't sure what to expect today when she came to our house.

She first listened to his pulse for a long time - she decided from that, that he could have poor circulation. Then she looked at his tongue - I'm not sure what she came up with from that. Whatever the case, she chose three different techniques. The first one she did was acupuncture. She put the needles around his neck area which is also bothering him. Next, she did the cupping method, which is where she lights a match into a glass and immediately puts the glass on the back to suck out the toxins. The last technique was scraping. For this she used the cups that were sucking the toxins to rub them up and down his back. He did get a massage after the torture, but I'm not sure how much he really enjoyed this!!

This is what his back looked like after she was done with him. OUCH!!!I'm pretty sure I am going to stick with traditional medicine!

Second Floor Unveiled!!

I am almost completely done with unpacking, organizing, and hanging pictures on the walls! It has only taken over a month, but I am so happy to finally be able to sit back and enjoy our new space. When we came back after the holidays it was wonderful to actually have places to put all of the things we brought back!!

This is the master bedroom. Through the door is the huge walk in closet and then directly attached to that is the master bath. I don't have pictures of those two areas because they were too dirty!! I love the attention to detail the owners chose! I think this wall is just wallpapered and then they used thin strips of wood to give it a neat geometrical design! You can see in the second picture that the ceiling is very interesting! The high ceilings throughout the house make it seem much bigger than it actually is! They have also put floor heating on all levels, which has meant that we have not turned on the furnace one time. I love getting out of bed in the morning and walking on warm floors!

Our bed is extremely high because the owners had purchased a mattress from the US not knowing that we had brought ours. They didn't have any place to put it, so they suggested that we just put ours on the first floor with a drape over it. I would have nothing to do with that, so we are sleeping way off the ground, on our own mattress!!
This is El's "makeshift" bedroom. When we first saw the house, there were only two bedrooms on the second level, plus a sitting room. We really wanted all of the bedrooms to be on the same level, so we asked if they could turn the sitting room into a bedroom. They did this very creatively with glass doors with blinds in the middle. It took a while to get used to, but El loves her big room and she likes sticking things all over the glass!


This is one of El's "walls"!!
This is the area at the top of the stairs. There is a nice sized balcony right out the door that we have been unable to use due to the snow! It should be a nice little sitting area in the spring! We also have tons of storage (this whole wall is closet space!). No worries though, I am filling every nook that I have available!
This is Eens and Coop's room! They love playing in here, as you can see! They are very responsible on their bunk beds. Coop has only attempted being Batman a couple of times! I'm still trying to figure out what to put on the wall by their beds - I'm sure I'll think of something!

Next up will be the third floor! I'm off to IKEA tomorrow to buy some storage units for the kids toys. Once I get it all organized, I will take pictures to share!!

It's Just a Little Pinch

Many of you know that we have been battling eczema around Coop's lip for almost 3 years now. When it first showed up we assumed it was teething and that it would eventually go away. Then, when it didn't go away we assumed it was the heat and humidity or the dry and cold winter air. These past few months we have been having a really hard time controlling this and many times it has been bleeding which puts him at risk for infection - especially here in China. When it gets really bad, I have to use cortizone for a few days, along with his Aquaphor which he uses probably 4 times a day. He will also sometimes get ear infections and just be out of sorts.

These past few days he has had a pretty bad outbreak, been crying, and not sleeping all night. Today I decided that we need to find out what is causing this so we can help him better. I took him to the doctor to have them peek in his ears (looked good!) and to ask about the eczema. He said exactly what I had been thinking...it is most likely a food allergy causing this. He decided to take blood and test for almost every allergy he could. He thinks it is most likely lactose or gluten, but also said it could be mold.

Coopie was extremely brave when the nurses took his blood. Mommy almost fainted, but he held tight to his lolly and only gave out a little cry when they "pinched" him. He told me later that it was much better than a shot!! I'm thankful he wasn't traumatized!

We should get the results back next week sometime. We really want the answers, but at the same time it is a bit scary. If he does have food allergies I will have to buy almost all imported goods for him because I cannot read the Chinese labels. The good news is that if he does eat something on accident - we will know right away when his lip flares up. We're praying for some answers because I really don't like to see him so sad!

Bathroom Cleaning 101

Now that we have moved houses, we have had to give up our thrice weekly cleaning ladies. I know, you are probably feeling really bad for me right now!! They were part of the service that our old compound offered. We did negotiate into our new contract that the landlords would pay for a cleaning lady because we were unsure if our ayi could keep up with everything, especially since we cut back on her hours. I was prepared to start looking for another helper this week, when my ayi said that she could handle everything. I set up a schedule for her so she would know what I thought was most important to have clean! I also bought her cleaning supplies for each floor so she wouldn't have to constantly climb the stairs.

I finally realized two days ago that some lessons in cleaning might be helpful. Today we started with the bathroom and boy, am I glad we worked together. Although she spent most of the time giggling that I was scrubbing the toilet!! My sister T and I were laughing on the phone about what she probably told her family..."Oh yes, the tai tai today thinks I don't know how to clean the toilet, so I got her to do it!!". Anyway, I was amazed that I had to show her how to take everything off of the countertop and then clean. My rag was pretty dirty, so I am positive this was the first real clean that poor bathroom had had - gross!! When we got to the toilet, she told me that all she did was squirt the blue stuff in - I couldn't believe she hadn't been using the scrubbing brush! The shower was interesting, apparently she was just wiping down the doors - forget about the tile and soap scum!! I taught her which cleaning products would work best and then when I used them she claimed they were too smelly!! I proceeded to tell her that she needed to use a lot and that it was okay to use as many rags as necessary (she likes to use the same rag all day - more grossness!)!

I hope our session was a success, but I'm sure she will go back to using a tiny squirt here and a little drop here when I'm not looking!!

A Piled up Snowman!

I know this is a bit hard to see, but I wanted to capture the Chinese version of a snowman before our snow melts! You can see the two heads, which are smaller than the rest of the body sticking out. They basically pile the snow up into almost a triangle and then pat it down. Most of the snowmen I have seen all over the city do have real veggies for the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose! I think the reason they must build them like this is that the snow does not stick here - I have no idea why, but it would be almost impossible to roll what I consider to be a "proper" snowman!!

Hope warmer weather is heading your way!! It's been a cold winter here and it's still January!! Danny and I keep reminding ourselves that according to the lunar calendar, spring will be here shortly after Chinese New Year, which is the week of February 13 - 20. It's not too far away!!

Just so you know...

My new exercise mat (I've been doing Jillian Michael's Shred lately) is non-poison!! Unfortunately though the claim that it is smellless, was not true!!! I love reading Chinese labels!!

What are we eating these days!

I thought I should include a blog about what we have been putting in our tummies lately! Of course, if we had a choice, we would probably eat a lot more western food than we do. I am getting better, but I still have difficulty finding some of the ingredients I need. This week, there was no sour cream anywhere to be found, so we sadly did without! I have a grocery trip planned to Beijing this Friday, so I am looking forward to filling the fridge!!

The Chinese food that the locals eat is nothing like what we think of as Chinese in America. We are considered part of northern China and the most popular food item is jaozi, or stuffed dumplings. Last year I think I ate enough jaozi for a lifetime, so I'm taking a break! I now have my ayi cook two or three times a week and the rest of the week I am in charge in the kitchen!

Unless of course we go out to eat or have food delivered (which does happen at least 2 times a week!!), which is what we did Sunday when I captured pictures!! We were at one of our favorite restaurants, Din Tai Fung, and I decided it was time to show you all what I eat. For those of you who have known me for a long time, you probably will be shocked!! Trust me though, the food is really tasty and we all enjoy it!

These are the small pork filled jaozi that Eens loves, but also needs a break from!!
Pretty basic, but yummy, pork fried rice.
These are noodles in a sesame sauce. They are a little spicy, but Danny and I really enjoy them!! I watched the waiter cut them for us this time and was shocked that he used his chopsticks. I always thought they had some hidden knives somewhere for cutting the noodles!
These are my new favorites. They are jaozi, but they are filled with veggies...spinach, mushroom, and garlic - they are delicious when drowned in the "potion" (vinegar and soy)!

This is the vegetable we always order. We have no idea what it is, but we've been eating it for 18 months and we continue to enjoy it!!
I crave this soup on a cold winter's day - it is their version of hot and sour soup. I'm not sure I can eat hot and sour soup in the US now and not wish that I was eating this one...it is the best I have ever had. (Michele...Panda House could compete though - it's just been so long!!!)
These may looks scary, but they are mushrooms that have been soaked in something and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Not something I would have chosen if my friend hadn't encouraged me, but now we order them every time!!

We ordered all of this food, plus sodas on Sunday and the bill was less than $30.

Hope you're not too hungry...and I really hope my mom did not just eat before reading this!!!

Well Done El and Eens!!

Last Friday at our assembly, 2 out of 3 of my lovely children received awards!! This is a big deal for them because these awards are not easy to achieve!! I'm so proud of both of my over achieving children!! Now if we can just get the third one up to par!! (He has been on "blue", which in nursery lingo means very, very good this week!!)

This picture is a little blurry, but I was giggling so much at Eens! He stood up there so straight and would not look at anyone!! His hair was also sticking straight up - poor kid!!

Working Woman!!

Before we left for the US, I was asked to substitute for Grade 1 during the week we returned from holiday. I'm not sure what part of my brain was working when I agreed to do this! So, this week I have spent my days with little 1st graders who are darling, but at the same time, a bit of work. By the end of the day I have been completely wiped out, so after I do a little shredding (thank you Steph - I'm still sore!), I am passed out on the couch.

Danny commented last night that I am really doing a good job of sealing my fate for not having to go back to work. I'm not usually a complainer, but I think working, jet lag, and winter blues have all done me in! He even said that if I was a devious person, he might think I was putting on an act of being so tired and not having any time just so he will encourage me never to go back to work!! I explained to him that it is hard for me because if I were a full time teacher I would get a little break (or should I say peace) after the students left and before I got my children, but here I let go of all of the students and 2 minutes later I'm chasing my three down the hall!!

It's been an exhausting week, but I would be lying if I told you I haven't enjoyed it at all! First, the students I have been with are super sweet and well behaved. It helps that there have only been 11 students each day, but they all have excellent manners and good listening skills which has made my job much easier! Second, I've actually been working in the class Ellie was in last year, so I know some of the routines. Her teacher was top notch, so all lesson plans have been very easy to follow! Third, I love the feeling you get when you know you have helped a student. It's selfish in a way, but that is one reason people teach, you feel like you are making a difference even if it is in just one student's lives. In one week I could never have an impact like a full time teacher, but it's nice to see the "I get it" look!!

One thing I have noticed this week is that my teaching style has completely changed since I have had children. There is a ton more empathy there than before. I was a tough teacher before and not always very forgiving. I now get the sense that if I were to go back I would still be tough, but I would definitely add in the forgiveness factor. I know my own children have forgotten things for school and I have always been so grateful when the teacher shows understanding. This has helped make my children love school - their teachers have used mistakes as learning times instead of always discipline time.

Even though I am completely exhausted and I'm still not sure I made a good choice teaching this week, I am thankful it is Friday and that I know I still love teaching!!

Happy Friday to all my working friends!!

Maybe not Appropriate!

(Sorry it is sideways, but iphoto didn't want to cooperate tonight!)

Eens received this card on top of a gift from one of his Chinese TA's for Christmas. I had to do a double take to make sure I read it correctly! Of course I did, it was a pack of playing cards for a 5 year old so he can play Chinese poker!! The thought was nice, but...

The Snow is Following Us!

We arrived back in Tianjin on Friday night and by Sunday we had almost a foot of snow on the ground. What is it with all this snow everywhere we go?? Of course, for Tianjin, this much snow created major chaos. I believe I wrote last year that snowplows are nonexistent here. Instead, they use manual labor to clear the streets and parking lots. This is typically sufficient because the snow usually only accumulates about 1 inch and we do not have many snowy days, but the system failed miserably on Sunday. Our school was cancelled on Monday because it would have been extremely dangerous for the buses. Somehow, I'm assuming some sort of construction equipment, was brought in late Sunday night to clear the major roadways by Monday morning, but it was very slow going on the roads! The kids are just hoping for some warmer temperatures so they can go outside and enjoy the snow!!

This picture shows what they are doing with the massive amounts of snow - why not just shovel it into the sewer? So, in the middle a major street, these bicycle wagons stop traffic to unload their snow into the sewer! Of course, it makes perfect sense!

Hope everyone is staying warm back home!! I think even mom and dad in Florida are a little bit chilly!! We're using extra blankets and I could quite possibly become a Chinese mom soon if it doesn't warm up here and dress my children in layer upon layer of clothes!!

Going Bananas!

We arrived in Chicago just in time for a huge snowstorm the next day. Danny and I ventured out for a wee bit to do a few returns and were shocked that the stores were EMPTY - that tells you just how bad the storm was. The rest of the weekend we were snowbound, which was fine with the munchkins because they were able to play with all of their new toys!!

After three days of being in the house, I decided that the kids needed some activity, so we headed to Monkey Joes (an inflatable bounce house haven!) for a few hours. The kids, and even myself, had so much fun running from bounce house to bounce house!! Our hair was standing straight up from the static and there was a lot of giggling going on! The kids enjoyed it even more because their cousin Matthew was able to join us!

Matthew and Coop are almost exactly 1 year apart! I'm pretty sure Coop will take over in the height category next year!!


I sure wish we had nice, clean places like this in China to take the kids on cold winter days!

Santa sure was good this year!!

Although we were away from our own home for Christmas (this was the first time in 7 years), my grandma and grandpa, allowed us to invade their home and scatter it with used wrapping paper, boxes, and toy pieces for Christmas morning!! Ellie and my mom had prepared cookies for Santa, so we were prepared for the hungry man! Cooper kept a diligent eye on Norad Santa tracker to help us know when we should all be in bed! He even sent Lucy vibes in Scotland that Santa was on his way! For those of you who don't know about the Norad Santa tracker, I highley recommend it. If follows Santa around the world Christmas Eve and at many locations you can watch short videos on points of interest there. This year, the kids were very in tune when he was flying around Asia and Europe because so many of their friends are from there. It was very cool to watch how much broader their horizons are this year compared to last!! Eens, was just Eens, being his cute little self bouncing off of the walls anticipating Christmas morning and changing his mind every minute on what he wanted Santa to bring him!!

The kids were delighted to wake up to loads of presents by their stockings. We try to teach the kids that Christmas is not about gifts, but every year I tend to go overboard. So, I could say that I feel bad for them because they don't get toys in China so I got them more gifts, but I do it every year, so no excuses! I love to see their faces and hear the excitement when the open everything!! I did find that this year, they were much more appreciative of their gifts. This could be simply because they are getting older or because now they don't get things all of the time like they used to! Either way, we had a wonderful morning celebrating with our family!!

After our little family morning, we went to my mom and dad's and opened another ton of gifts! I am thankful I have been blessed with tremendous packing skills, because the amount of plastic I put into our suitcases was enormous!! Danny's parents and brother joined us at my parent's for the madness! Then we went to my aunt's for our "traditional" Christmas dinner! Thanks Aunt Kath for hosting all of us - we all really enjoyed ourselves!

Unfortunately, after a wonderful dinner with my family, I had to say my good-byes because we were going to Chicago for the remainder of our time in the states! I really hate those good-byes, but I am extremely grateful for the three weeks we got to spend in the states this Christmas season!