Today, Monday, May 2nd was a national holiday! The children did not have school and Danny had the day off from work. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and in the 80’s with little humidity! We were in Beijing and I wanted to take advantage of the blue sky, so we decided to take the kids to the Beijing Zoo. Seriously, why would I ever put myself and my sweet, sweet family through such mayhem? I learned during our first year to either leave the country or stay in the house during any national holiday. Going to any public place just equals chaos!
Today was no exception - people were out in droves trying to get the best picture of themselves standing in front of random things and pushing there way to see the animals! Thankfully our kids “got it” straight away and they each picked out one animal that they wanted to see! They were complaining a bit of the heat, so they each got a hat with transformer like sunglasses and a solar powered fan!! They were pleased with those and did very little complaining despite the fact that they were being pushed and shoved and photographed every few feet!!
I’m pretty sure this was the last public holiday we will be in China and for that, I am very thankful!!
We were finally invited to our first “Chinese” wedding this weekend! I am hesitant to say it was completely Chinese because our friends are very westernized and this was a renewal of vows ceremony. We went to the Shangri La in Beijing to watch the lovely ceremony. My friend looked gorgeous in her white dress and it was apparent how happy they were to exchange their vows in front of friends and family. They had gotten married 9 years ago, but they did not have a ceremony, so it was a very special day for them. Their two little boys both wore tails and walked their mommy down the aisle out in the garden on a beautiful sunny day!
There were only a couple of differences that I noticed between the wedding ceremonies I am familiar with and this one. The first was that there was an MC making announcements throughout the ceremony. He spoke in English which was nice so we
could understand everything that was taking place! Later, my friend told me that she had hired a wedding team to take care of all of the details and coordinate with the hotel! I’m assuming the MC was part of the “team”! Another difference was that the bride and groom served tea to their parents - it was a nice little tea ceremony after they exchanged vows! After the ceremony they hired a clown to entertain the kids while the adults mingled and snacked. There was music for dancing, but everyone pretty much just talked! There was one minor incident when one of the children fell in the stream that ran through the garden, but after a quick bath and change of clothes he was fine!!
Here was our MC for the day!!
Late in the afternoon we all went to our rooms to freshen up before dinner. Dinner was great because it was a delicious buffet where there was plenty to choose from! Once our tummies were all full, we went back out to the garden for candle lighting and fireworks.
I really enjoyed being a part of their special day! They made it completely family friendly and created a loving and warm environment!
I’m pretty sure my children have become honorary British citizens. They definitely have acquired the accent from their friends!! I also may have developed a slight accent, but I’m sure my Midwestern twang will return in no time this summer!!
There was no doubt in my mind that we would be watching the royal wedding on Friday night! And, lucky us, we were able to watch it live starting at 3:00 in the afternoon! Ellie and I couldn’t remove ourselves from the tv. Even ayi pretended to fold laundry for over an hour so she could watch it with us!! The boys were most interested in seeing Prince William and Prince Harry - there favorite was of course Prince Harry because he looked a bit naughty!! I had to get ready to go to a dinner while we were waiting for Kate to emerge from her hotel, so El set a timer for me while I was in the shower so I wouldn’t miss it! I had tears in my eyes watching everything unfold - I really thought it was a very classy production!!
Our British friends couldn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the special event, so on Saturday we spent the afternoon at a Royal Tea Party!! Karen had many “royal” games for the kids to play and she made traditional English tea (with milk - which I am finally getting used to and quite enjoy!) for the adults!! As always, we all had a wonderful time and were so happy we could spend the day together!!
Playing pin the tail on the Corgie (not sure about spelling!)!
Playing pass the "royal" jelly and then eating it!!
Or I guess I should really say, taking care of the littlest jiaozi, as that is what I call the little one who kicks me all day long!!
I can remember three years ago when we decided to move to China how thankful I was that I would not be having babies in China!! At the time, I had no idea what kind of medical care was available and having a baby in a foreign country terrified me!! It is amazing how my attitude has changed as we have spent the last three years making sure we all stay as healthy as possible. We have learned the ins and outs of the system through trial and error. I have filled out numerous health expense forms because our coverage at the SOS clinic does not cover some of the medical expenses, like strep throat tests! So far, I have been fairly satisfied with the care we receive, although it is nothing like what we get with Dr. Omar (our pediatrician at home!)!!
Once we found out we were expecting our little jaozi, I decided I would use Beijing United Hospital for my prenatal care. I knew the doctors were Western trained and I also knew several friends who had given birth there! The first few visits were fine and they were able to do ultrasounds to check the littlest one! As I got a little further along, the doctor I was using started insisting that I get an amnio because I was 35! Danny and I didn’t feel comfortable with that - they were going to send us to a Chinese hospital where no one spoke English. We were not willing to have something go wrong, so I started going to the SOS clinic in Beijing where I found a doctor who specializes in prenatal care. She cannot deliver the baby, but that is okay because I plan on being in the states when little bubs makes his debut. But, she can follow my care until we leave China! She was completely understanding about the fact that I did not want an amnio, so we came to an agreement that I would get a level II ultrasound at 20 weeks! The only issue with this was that I would have to fly to Hong Kong to have it done as she is not completely confident in the services in China.
I was completely baffled that I would have to fly 3 1/2 hours to Hong Kong for 24 hours just to have an ultrasound!! She assured me that the SOS would arrange everything for me and I would see one of the highest regarded neonatologists in Asia, who spoke English! Danny was very supportive, however with no family here to help with the children, he would have to stay at home.
Within 48 hours of finding out I would need to go to Hong Kong, my air tickets, hotel, drs. appointment, and transportation were all booked and arranged for the following week! I was surprised and thankful that the whole process required little more than me picking the best flight schedule and the hotel location! I was also thrilled when Karen said she would be able to join me on my little adventure!!
The trip to Hong Kong was fine! Karen and I got in a little shopping and a visit with friends for dinner!! My appointment went great and the doctor was excellent. His bedside manner was not overly friendly, but his expertise was apparent!
The next small hurdle in my care is the blood glucose test, which I have to do soon. I have decided that I cannot fast until 12:00pm, which is what time I would get to Beijing after dropping the children off at school! My other option is to go to the Tianjin clinic and drink the concoction then have my blood tested there. Then, the next day I can go to Beijing and see my doctor with all of my test results!
The other thing I will need to obtain before our final flight back to the US is a certificate to fly! Depending on how big I look, I may or may not be asked for it, but of course I would rather be safe than sorry!!
I love taking care of the little jaozi, but it is definitely not nearly as easy being in a foreign country as it would be in the US! I am looking forward to seeing my midwives again, even if it is for just a short time!
We have been blessed for the past three years to have gorgeous weather on Easter Sunday! This year was no exception, the sun was shining, it was warm, and we enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner with very dear friends!
The little ones woke nice and early, excited to see if the Easter bunny had visited us in China. Sure enough, the baskets were full of gifts and candy! They were thrilled with their new DS games, Legos, Nerf gun sets, and all of the chocolate! Thankfully the bunny didn’t forget to leave Danny’s favorite - Lindt chocolates and my favorite - Reese’s peanut butter eggs (mine are gone already!)!!
Later in the day we went to Paul and Ginny’s for a delicious feast of foods and an egg hunt! The kids loved hunting for the eggs this year because Em hid them really well!! Coop was crawling under bushes and Ellie was using her long arms to find the ones hidden high in the trees!! It was fun to watch the smiles and how they all helped each other find the same amount of eggs!
I did find the day a bit bittersweet, as I think I am finding many of my days now. The holidays take on new meaning for us here because there are so many new traditions we are learning from our friends and so many things we are sharing with them!! I’m sure next year as we celebrate the holidays, we will try and add bits and pieces of our China “family” to make them even more special!!
