They did it!!!

I'm not sure how they were able to pull it off, but here is the balcony less than 24 hours after I had taken the picture with the kitchen on it!! Our new neighbors have been delayed, which Grace is thrilled about because of the smell!! They will now arrive on Monday to a totally remodeled and most importantly, finished unit!!! We hope they are fun and tolerable of the noise we tend to make!!!

Hen Mafan (Very bothersome!!)

This week we have not only been plagued with jet lag, but also the banging that is going on next door, as our compound attempts to prepare the unit for a new family. I had to call Grace (our manager) last night at home and tell her to call and have them stop working. Our units are connected so we can here the banging quite clearly! The other night they were working at 4:00am - but then they didn't show up until about noon the next day. I don't even try to understand!!

Anyway, I was giggling this morning as I went past the balcony for the fourth day in a row and saw that their "kitchen" was still sitting out!! My children are concerned that they may have to cook outside!! Grace seems to be more concerned with the smell of the paint, than the fact that the kitchen sink is not hooked up!! The family is arriving tomorrow from England!! I wonder if it will be ready...more to come!!

Carry On Perfection

After countless times trying to figure out what to bring in our carry on bags, I think I have it down. On our first flight over, I had adorable bags made with the kids' names on them. They were filled to the rim with individual activities. Dan was not real happy about carrying these bags and the kids used about 2 items I had put in them. Needless to say, those bags are now our "restaurant" bags full of goodies for waiting for food when we are out to eat. I now carry on my Vera Bradley and a book bag only. In these two bags I pack....

As far as I'm concerned these DS games are lifesavers during our flight! The kids love them and so do Dan and I!!
Leapsters, just in case they get tired of the DS or the batteries run out! Plus, I think the Leapster games are more educational!!

You never know when you will need some batteries!!!

These are fantastic kids' headphones for Ethan and Coop - they actually stay on their ears!! Yes, we have tried to find them in other colors besides pink for the boys, but have not been able too!!!

Another lifesaver!! Sorry it is upside down, but this 5 point harness for Cooper keeps him in his seat!! I now use it more as a threatening tool since he is getting used to flying, but for the first few trips, it was invaluable!!

Chewable Dramamine (thanks dad!!) is the way to go for our little motion sick boy!! He kept begging for more pills the whole plane ride!!
I have found that I can only sleep with this lovely pillow!!

Danny found this portable DVD player that has a 12 hour battery - perfect for a 13 hour flight!!!

Extra pair of clothes - no explanation needed!!!

Packing is now an organizational challenge for me - I enjoy it and take great pride in bringing as little as possible to get by!!!

What's in the bags?

I mentioned in a previous post that we go back to the States with just a few bags - the essentials, but we come back with overflowing bags! Some people have asked what we can't find here that we have to bring back. I mean everything is made in China - right, but the funny thing is, everything is exported out of China. We can find fakes galore, but quality items are quite difficult to come by! On this trip, I took advantage of the winter sales and stocked up on the kids clothes for next winter. I even found Coop a coat for next year!!! The washing machines are really rough on the kids clothes and my kids are much taller than the children here, so finding clothes here is a real pain. Plus, I love on-line shopping and I'm pretty sure I'm doing a good job of keeping Gymboree in business!!

I also stock up on kitchen supplies! Some of the things I needed this time were: 3 rolls parchment paper, 2 rolls press & seal, 3 vanilla caramel coffee mates, 6 bags Starbucks coffee, chocolates and more chocolates, muffin liners, granola bars, oatmeal, gummies, Tastefully Simple Beer bread and potato cheddar soup (great for Sunday nights when I have to cook!!), fun napkins and paper plates, and lysol cleaning wipes!!! I also like to buy candles and any little craft things for the kids to do. This time ayi requested Shout - she's hooked - it's much better than scrubbing at a stain with a bar of soap!! I also buy lots of gifts for kids birthday parties so I am prepared when they get invited!! There are so many things I'm missing, but I think you get the point - it's a lot!!!

This is what our bed looked like after 6 of the 8 bags had been unloaded!!

2 bags to go - it really feels like we are moving again when we begin to unpack and try to find space for the things we bring back!!!

Some Family Time and a Peaceful Good-Bye

Our trip to the US was bittersweet. We had so much fun spending time with our family, but I also wanted to visit my grandma's grave and say a final good-bye. My mom and I went to the cemetary after the ice melted to help me have some closure since I was unable to attend the funeral. As we were leaving, the most amazing thing happened, I looked out the window and staring right at us, were 8 beautiful deer. This really wouldn't be that big of deal, but in both my grandma and grandpa's obituaries, it talked about how they would take long drives to count deer. It was such a peaceful way to leave such a sad place, and I will be forever thankful for the sign that they were there and they will both continue to live on in my heart!

It was wonderful being back right after the holidays. There was really no place to rush off to and I got to see a lot of my family and spend quality time with them which is sometimes difficult during the holidays! We also squeezed in a run to Bettendorf (oh how I miss this place!!) for me to get a new license (wallet stolen beginning of December!), visit Dr. Omar (Coop had a double ear infection and we were advised NOT to take out his tonsils - yippee!!) and spend a quick lunch with friends at BK (thank you girls for making time for us - we miss you already!!), and meeting dear Jeannie in the parking lot for literally 10 minutes!! Danny's parents came down for New Year's which was fun and very relaxing!! We made it to Chicago for 1 night before we flew out the next morning! Unfortunately, 6 days went way too fast, but I am thankful for those six days and the memories we made!!

Coming to America

I have a bit of catching up to do...

I thought it would be fun to document our 23+ hours of travel time it takes us to get from our home in Tianjin to my grandparent's and parent's house in LeRoy, IL. When I decided to do this, I assumed there would be plenty of funny stories, but really the trip was thankfully quite boring!!!! The kids must be getting used to flying and they now realize they are stuck in the plane for about 14 hours - they can eat, sleep, color, watch tv, or play video games in the comfort of their tiny economy class seats!!! A little gripe about United - we are all Premier flyers and do we ever get upgraded to Economy Plus - never because there are too many of us!! The only preferential treatment we get is to skip the "big" line at the airport and be put in seating 1 - which allows us to find our seats at the back of the plane quickly - whoopee!!!!

Our journey begins in Tianjin...

On the way to the US we only take our minivan, but when we return we always have two minivans pick us up! We stock up on the things we can't find here!!!

Here are the boys fast asleep on the 2 hour drive to the Beijing Airport. El decided to read her book, so I followed suit! It was actually a nice drive until we had to wake Eens up!! He was a bear!

Once we arrived at the airport we quickly checked in our 3 suitcases with 5 extra ones tucked inside!! Then we proceeded to the Star Alliance lounge where we filled up on snacks and drinks because you never know what the food will be like on the plane!! The airport in Beijing is fantastic! It is very clean and easy to navigate! I also love that they have little carts all over so I don't have to carry all the carry on bags!! It truly is the little things!!! We also noticed on this trip that they opened up a Pizza Hut close to the gates!!!


Once on the plane, we play musical chairs with the fighting of who is sitting where!! I always end up with Cooper and this time I got both Eens and Cooper!!! The good news was that we had an entire row of 5 chairs for the 3 of us. Danny got the "easy" ride with Ellie and him sitting in the row in front of us!!

Ellie enjoying her first drink service out of 4 or 5!!

The boys and I keeping busy during the first hour of the flight!

Eens watching Wall E on the tv - thank goodness they normally show at least one children's movie! It keeps them occupied for a couple of hours and then we can turn on the Disney Channel for awhile!

No more tv for this boy! He's moved on to the DS, about 4 hours into the flight!!

After about 5 hours sleep takes over my boys!! They have now been travelling for about 10 hours!

Still sleepy eyed after about 7 hours of sleep!!!
It's time to brush those teeth - a necessity after all of the dry air circulating in the plane!!


After a little over 14 hours on the plane and about an hour going through customs, it is all worth it when we see grandma and grandpa!!!

Our 2 hour drive to my grandma and grandpa's and parent's house!!

Finally after a long journey, we are safe and happy to be with family!!

Happy 2009!!

We are enjoying our last night in the US! It has been a wonderful trip and I will post more next week when we get settled back in China!!

We hope you all have a blessed and healthy New Year! Lots of love to you all!