Watch out Hong Kong

This past weekend I got to get away with some girlfriends and enjoy the shopping and nightlife of Hong Kong!! Danny and I have taken the kids there two times and we love going because Disney is right there and it is very easy to get around. I was excited to go and see some parts of the city that I don't get to see when we have the munchkins! Hong Kong is like an adult's playground, with fantastic shopping, amazing food, and over the top hotels!

Imagine 6 ladies sitting on a plane anticipating two days of shopping and eating! We cannot be expected to be quiet, but apparently the gentleman sitting in front of me thought it was nap time! My two friends and I were not rude (well, we did make fun of the China Mobile guy I had to talk to multiple times trying to add roaming to my phone because he continued to tell me not to repeat my phone number!!) and we were not loud (maybe a little when we were giggling!), but we must have really annoyed him because about halfway through the 3 1/2 hour flight he turned around and told us..."1. Welcome to China, 2. Be Quiet, 3. Thank you very much". Then he proceeded to push the service button and asked to be moved to first class. We all thought this was absolutely hilarious and we should have said, "1. Welcome to ECONOMY, 2. It is 11:00am, not nap time, 3. Thank you very much!" He was eventually moved after asking several times, but in that short time he provided great laughs for us throughout the weekend!

We behaved for the most part throughout the rest of the weekend! We may have irritated the bar staff at the W when we insisted on snacks and had an impromptu karaoke session, but they put on a happy face!! Three out of the six of us ended up with overweight bags and we had to pay extra!! We also almost missed our flight to go home on Sunday, but thankfully we were saved be a delay so we actually got to sit down and eat! When I finally arrived home on Sunday I couldn't wait to hug my babies and Danny and spoil them with a few gifts. I bought Danny a very nice pair of sunglasses only to be completely disappointed when he told me they were ladies! Oops!! I am so thankful that Hong Kong is so civilized because when I called the store and told them the problem, they were willing to refund me my money if I send the glasses back!!

It was a wonderful weekend with fantastic friends!! I sure am going to miss them all this summer!!

Gardening Dilemma

Last month I wrote about how happy I was that I had hired a gardener to help me water my newly planted grass! As with almost everything in China, things have not worked out exactly as I had expected them too! I thought I would have grass in at least a month...

And this is what I have!!!
I also have some random cilantro
a little spinach scattered about
and a load of mint placed in random corners around the yard!
This is the front yard that has been sprinkled with many different seeds between last fall and this spring by our landlord. She told me there were many different veggies that would be growing! I assumed (wrong thing to do in China) that she planted them in some order - nope - anywhere and everywhere!!

I have now hired a new gardener (long story with the first one!!) who has agreed to plant more seed. However, if he continues like this, it is going to be a very long time until all the bare areas are full of grass!! I think he is trying to extend the timeframe that he needs to work daily for me! If he continues to plant grass, I have to continue having him water it everyday!! This could go on forever!! I guess he is extremely intelligent in some sick sort of way!!

As frustrated as I am with our grass situation, we do enjoy spending time on our deck!! El helped plant lots of flowers in pots so we could at least have some color while we patiently wait for our grass to grow!!

Ocean Expert

Last week Eens completed his ocean unit of inquiry with an ocean exhibition! The children were able to choose their culminating project to display at the exhibition. Eensie chose to make up a board game. He had actually made a board game about the ocean with jellyfish and oil spills before we even received the assignment - he really excels in this learning environment! His teachers guided him in adding a little more details and then he set off to make the "big" version of his game! He truly loved learning about the ocean and so many facts stuck with him.

The purpose of the units of inquiry are twofold. First, of course, they teach students about the subject matter. They do this through student inquiry, which helps the child become a critical thinker. Some students excel in this learning environment, while some find it difficult. Eensie loves to learn and discover, so he does well in this less structured environment! He has learned so much this year and I am extremely proud of him!!

My serious little boy!!! He made sure to tell everyone not to throw paper bags in the ocean because the turtle will think it is a jellyfish and eat it and die. Not sure where he found that information, but I'm pretty sure he won't forget it!

Yee Haw!

On Friday night, Danny and I went to an event sponsored by our local expat group. It was a country western dance to raise money for breast cancer awareness! Danny was very reluctant to go and he never did put on his cowboy hat that a dear friend looked very hard for, but we all ended up having a lot of fun! It was a smaller event than most of these parties we go to, so it was very nice to spend time with people that I don't get to chat with often!! There was a lot of dancing going on (not all to country music thank goodness) and a lot of goofiness! I did manage to get Danny home by 12:30 so our entire weekend was not spent trying to catch up on sleep!!

The only way Danny can stay sane at some of these events is to enjoy a little pijiu!

Do you think they know??

I'm an American!!

I often wonder when I go to Beijing to Jenny Lou's for groceries if they know by my purchases that I am an American! I am almost positive on Friday they must have suspected my origin before I even opened my mouth to speak! I bought 7 boxes of cereal because it was all on sale for a little over $2 - cheaper than I can get it in the US!! This is rare, so I checked all of the expiration dates and found nothing wrong with any of the packaging. I'm going to just think of it as my lucky day! I also found Tyson chicken nuggets in the freezer section! It is hard to admit, but I spent $10 a box for these! I guess the two things balanced the bill out!!

Just to give you an idea of how expensive import food shopping is, all of these groceries cost almost $200.

Little Ms. Over Achiever!

Ellie has recently become quite interested in succeeding in school. She has done well in the past, but that has come about through great deals of arguing over doing homework and practicing things she needs extra help with. Over this past month she has done her homework without much fuss and she has also asked me questions to make sure it is accurate - it hasn't just been a rush to finish it! She also became very interested in the solar system unit they were studying. I told her that I made a paper mache planet when I was younger so she set to work to make her own of Jupiter. She even printed pictures off of the internet to use on a poster and to help her paint her planet correctly! This was all extra work that she chose to do! I was so proud of her and she was very proud of herself!! I hope she realizes that if she just puts a little extra effort forward she can achieve great things!!

Furniture in the making!

It seems like this time of year must inspire me to buy furniture! Last year I bought several lovely reproduced pieces and an antique table. This year I don't have much space in the house because our landlords have provided us with so much furniture! I did make a trip to CLMa recently which is where I like to buy my furniture. It is a bit more expensive than some of the other furniture outlets, but the gentleman who owns it gives us a discount and the quality of the pieces is excellent!! I only bought an antique chest on this visit. The chest was used about 100 years ago when a woman was married. The chest contained all of her embroidery and clothing that she would take to her in-laws home. Inside the chest is the original paper lining. I was going to have them replace it, but I decided against that because I didn't want to take away from the integrity of the piece!

While we were in the factory, we got to have a good look at the craftsmanship that goes into the reproduced pieces. The detail that goes into some of the pieces is exquisite.

This gentleman is painstakingly weaving the seat of this chair.
This woman is using the white paper design and copying it swirl by swirl!

While I was there, I thought about how much my grandpa Kimler would have loved to visit here. He would have enjoyed watching the furniture being made from start to finish. I'm sure the many afternoons I spent "working"(really finding a mattress far from grandma and having a nap) at my grandparent's furniture store when I was younger helped establish my love of quality furniture!