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!!"

Wednesday Playdate!

Every Wednesday, the kids get out of school early and they are usually home by 2:45. Wednesdays have typically been our playdate days because the kids have more time to play and the mommies have more time to chat! It works out quite nicely! This past Wednesday we arranged a playdate with our new neighbors and my friend Anna and her children. Our new neighbor's son, Jordan, is in Coop's class and so is Anna's little boy Justus! I'm pretty sure this was Coop's first playdate - he usually tags along to play with Eens or El's friends!!

I actually met Anna through this blog!! She had googled children's birthday parties in Tianjin and my blog popped up. She read a bit and realized that it was my dear son Eens who had thrown sand in her sweet Justus's eyes on one of the first days of school! I was horrified, but thankfully, she has two boys so she completely understood that sometimes they can be aggressive! I am so happy that Coop is now in Justus's class because I get to see her a lot more socially!!

First, we went to Audrey's house and had snacks (I had to make dirt pudding because I found all natural gummy worms here!!)! Then we released them to the wild to play outside. I decided that it would be no problem if I finish my yummy cup of frothy coffee before going out to supervise, we were in our compound and there are gurads at the gate! I really didn't stay in that long when I decided I had better check on the kids. I found Eens and El right away, but Coop was no where to be found. I checked both parks, the house, Audrey's house again, and still no Coop. At this point my heart had dropped into my stomach and I was pretty concerned - he's usually so loud that I can find him wherever he goes. Ellie started looking and sure enough she found him within minutes hiding on the side of one of the houses. That little stinker!! I'm pretty sure over the course of the afternoon we lost a couple more children, but only for a bit!!

Ellie and her friends put on a dance for us!!

It was a great afternoon and it made me realize that I am really going to miss our friends and the security of our little compound this summer!

Roses, roses everywhere!

Summer is upon us here in Tianjin (according to the lunar calendar!), which I am completely grateful for!! The kids are outside nearly every afternoon until dinnertime wearing themselves out and getting incredibly dirty due to the very dry climate! The only problem I have found with the change of seasons is the daylight coming upon us at 5:00am. We do not practice daylight savings time here, so for over a month, Coopie has been waking at 5:30, happy as can be, ready to start the day!! When will he learn that just because it is so bright that it might as well be noon, it is NOT time to get up!! I tried bribery last weekend, but it didn't work!!

I am enjoying all of the flowers and vegetation in full bloom! Last year when we arrived, it was extremely hot and I was extremely stressed, so I didn't really pay any attention to my surroundings (except of course, the dirt - I did notice that!!). Now I understand why Tianjin is called the "city of roses", they are everywhere! Here are a few small gardens in our compound!

We want the cakeman!

On Saturday Eens was invited to his dear friend from Denmark's birthday party! He was so excited to go and I was looking forward to a nice afternoon chatting with the other moms!! His friend had invited the entire preK (guess who gets to do the same in a few weeks!!) so there were a lot of little ones there!!

I caught Eens actually eating and enjoying a cucumber (a year ago he wouldn't touch a vegetable!)

They ate some lunch and then they played inside and out for almost 3 hours! The highlight of the party came when the "cakeman" was brought out. The "cakeman" is a tradition in Denmark for birthdays. It is basically pastry shaped like a person and then decorated with candy! The whole tradition is very endearing, but our friends also included an interesting twist...when the mom cuts the "cakeman's" throat, all the kids scream!! A little morbid, but quite memorable!

Jiaozi Boy!

Eens did it again!! This time he ate 12 of the jaozi ayi made!! These jaozi are not small, so this is quite the feat for an almost 5 year old!! His daddy is very proud!

What's a girl to do?

After starting Mother's Day a little sad and missing friends and family a lot, I went off on a shopping adventure in Beijing with some girlfriends! We had been planning this trip for months and did not realize until last week that it fell on Mother's Day. Danny was a little disappointed that we would not be spending the day together, but he was a trooper and enjoyed his day on daddy duty!!

Our first stop was back to George's Lamps, which is a bit difficult to find!! I think my driver thought we were crazy going into the alleyway to buy lamps!! These pictures give you a glimpse into the area surrounding the shop!! I was successful though and bought a tall lamp with a wood carved base - although Danny thinks it looks like a light post!!

I truly thought it might be down this road (it wasn't!)! There was a lot of dui bu qui (so sorry) going on to my driver!!
It has to be down this alley somewhere!!
Oh, of course, I'm so shocked we didn't find it quicker!!
Once inside, lovely!!

Next we went to Mrs. Shannon's Bagels for a quick, early lunch and then next door to Renaissance, which is a great little gift shop (yes, gifts were bought to bring back in a month!!)! Next stop was purse shopping! One of my favorite things to do! Here is Ginnette outside the unmarked door...hmmm!!

After a stop at the Silk Market, we headed to the "dirt" market (my first time!). It was amazing, with many treasures at every turn! Here are just some of the things that were being sold. It is very interesting to see how well they make pieces look old and claim they are antiques!! The colors are beautiful though!

After we shopped for a bit, we dared to take a rickshaw to a local furniture mall! It was a ton of fun...I couldn't stop giggling listening to Ginnette scream as their bike took off full speed ahead into oncoming traffic with shotty breaks!! I definitely need to get my parents on one of those!!

Yes, this is us going straight into traffic!!

Finally we were almost ready to call it day, but we had to make a quick stop at a sporting goods store to stock up on all of our tennis needs!! We are all taking tennis lessons now, so we need to look good so we can play great...hehe!!!

When I arrived home, I got a beautiful homemade card from my four favorite people!! And they even saved me some sheppards pie...yum!! I am so blessed to have such a loving family and wonderful friends, both near and far!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I'm sitting here at 5:30am (of course, with the amount of light outside, one would think it was 12:00pm!) and couldn't stop thinking of all the wonderful mother's that are a part of my life, Danny's life, and the children's lives!! I'm sending huge hugs to my dear mommy friends who are too far away, many who have played mommy to my own children on more than one occassion! I miss you dearly and on special days like today, I miss you even more!

I'm also sending huge hugs to my grandma, who is so full of life and love. The kids cannot wait to jump in the big chair with you (they have grown a bit since December gram so you may need a bigger chair!!) and tell you a hundred and one stories (all at the same time!)! I miss you so much grandma, I cannot wait to see you and here all of YOUR stories!!

I'm also sending huge hugs to Danny's mom!! You have accepted me as your own daughter from day one and I will always be so grateful for that love you have given me! I know you have made great sacrifices for Danny when he was a wee boy and you continue to do that for all of us even now! I miss seeing you and doing all the silly things we do! I miss watching the way you are so patient with the kids during a "project"!! Thank goodness for Nai Nai or else my kids would never be interested in the arts!! We all miss you, but even though you are far, you are a huge part of our life in China...we have a better understanding now of you and a day rarely goes by when someone doesn't say, "That's why mom/Nai Nai does ...."! Part of this adventure we are on is for the opportunity to fully imerse ourselves in the Chinese culture and give us all an understanding about the joys and struggles these people have that one can never understand in the Western world! Thank you for helping us along this very bumpy road we call life right now!!

I'm also sending huge hugs to my dear sister (and I'm sure soon enough this will include my sister in law and my baby sis!!). Even though you are the younger one, you have no idea how much you have taught me about motherhood. You probably do not know how much I miss our daily talks. It seems that not one conversation went by without you, in your quiet and composed way, giving me something to hold dear to my heart! I am so happy we are going through motherhood together, you always give me hope, even on the days when I want to pull my hair out! I love you so much and I love watching you love my nieces and nephews with every inch of your heart!!

And, of course, I'm also sending huge hugs to my own mother, mom, best friend, and the list goes on. How I have been blessed with you as my mother, I will never know, but I will be forever thankful!! (Okay, now the tears are flowing...I think I was in need of a good cry!) I'm sure if I told you that you are my inspiration for making the most out of living in China, Chicago, New Hampshire, Bettendorf, you would probably laugh. I know you grew up living in the same town where everyone was within walking distance and I know that is probably the life you envisioned for all of us. But, when dad needed you the most, you showed us all that you were much tougher and could hold our family together wherever we may be located. Tremont may not have been China, but I'm sure to you, it felt like you were a world away from your safety zone! Mom, you never let on how much you must have missed grandmas and grandpas and your sisters, you jumped right in and made new friends and insisted we do the same. At the time, you probably also never realized how the simple things you did would make such a huge impact on me in the future!! Not a day goes by that I do not long for a hug from you and honestly (I know this one may be pushing it), just to smell you! I am happy here in China and I do believe that thus far, we would all say this has been one of the most fascinating, positive experiences of our lives, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I miss you!! Anytime I think of our reunion (in less than a month), tears of joy fill my eyes! Thank you mom for loving me, supporting me, agreeing with me, and inspiring me on a daily basis!! I love you!!

Happy Mothers Day to all of you wonderful, fantastic, crazy, loving moms!! Enjoy your special day and know that you are loved!!