China Family Adventures

A New House

2009-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

We're buying a house! That's right - we are moving back to Austin and we just returned from a brief trip there. While in Austin, we did some house searching and we found what we hope is the perfect house for us. We ended up making an offer and getting it! We close in about a month. We are so excited and happy to be moving back home! The plan, for now, is a move home date at the beginning of August. Anthony will most likely have to stay in China for a few more months after that (possibly up to December, but we hope sooner). It has been an interesting journey over here, but I am ready for it to be over.

Disney on Ice, Chinese Style

2009-01-11T03:50:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to see Disney's Princess on Ice show here in Shanghai over the holidays. It was a great ice show and the girls loved seeing all the skaters dressed up as Disney characters. They lipsynced in English to Chinese lyrics for all the songs. That was very interesting and often times humorous to watch. It was a bit disappointing that all the songs were in Chinese, but this is China, so I understand. The place was absolutely FREEZING though - even out in the lobby areas, where there was no ice to keep frozen, there was no heat - it was freezing. We should have brought blankets to keep us warm during the show! For future reference, anyone attending a show at the Shanghai Gymnastics Stadium - they do not use HEAT and it is COLD so dress accordingly. When we saw Harry Connick Jr last year, it was at the same place, and again, it was cold, no heat.

Bless You

2009-01-07T18:39:00.001-08:00

Ryken just came up to me in the study, while I'm checking email. I tell him the study is a mess and mommy really needs to clean it up. He says "I'll go get you a ***(mumble)". I think he says Tissue - so I repeat - "You're going to get mommy a tissue?"and he says "No not tissue mommy a bless you and it's mine". He runs away and gets a tissue and brings it to me and says "this is a bless you, not a tissue".

I just thought it was funny and should share.

Tree and Cat

2008-11-18T22:24:00.001-08:00

Tree and Cat, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

I am going to try and put up some of Ashley's fabulous artwork! Yes, I think it's fabulous.

Interesting talk from ayi

2008-11-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

With all this election stuff going on, my ayi has seen me watching the debates and news on election coverage. She has asked me several times who I like and I have told her Obama. She seemed quite surprised. Then one day, she asked why I like him, when Americans don't like black people. I was shocked at her question and unfortunately don't speak enough Chinese to communicate effectively enough how America works. I just simply stated that it doesn't matter to me what color his skin is, I still like him. I asked her who she liked and she said Obama - I said why and she pointed her fingers like a gun and said McCain likes this too much. Hmmm...this is what she is hearing from Chinese media and her sons teachers. Today, when I told her that Obama won the presidency, she seemed happy. Then looked at me perplexed and again said that she thought Americans did not like black people so how could he win. I tried to explain to her again that in America there are many different colored people, that you can go to America and have a child and that child will be a US Citizen, will be American, no matter what color of their skin. I don't really think she understood me very well.

Rotesserie Chicken

2008-10-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

I found this the other day at our local Carrefour! I was so excited! One thing I do miss is the Rotisserie Chicken from our grocery stores back home. I love the smell and taste of them. They had about 5 different kinds of flavored rotisserie chicken when I was there and I bought one and brought it home for lunch. It was so yummy! I remember buying a chicken from Costco in Taipei when we lived there and when I opened the bag, the chicken still had it's head on it! That turned me off a bit on buying anymore full chickens in Asia. But this one was on display with no head! I will be buying these more often.

Bound to Happen

2008-10-18T18:16:00.001-07:00

first scratch, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

Well....here's the first fender bender we had with the car! I was driving....but it wasn't my fault. There are so many crazy idiot drivers here that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Some guy was going down the wrong way on the wrong side of the road while I was turning into our complex when he hit the front of my car. He drove off, which is a big no-no here in China. You are always supposed to stop and wait for the police to come and determine fault. Who knows why the guy left - most likely he knew it was his fault and didn't have money to pay out. It was a big ordeal going down to the police station and making the report - it turns out they had the accident on video from a street camera nearby and could state for insurance purposes that it wasn't my fault. The accident was on a Tuesday, I took the car to the dealer on Wednesday and picked it up on Friday all fixed! And the cost....300 RMB - that's about 43 USD! That was 30% of the total price - insurance covered 70%. I was amazed how cheap.

Going down to the police station to do the report was eye-opening. It was absolute insanity. I took a friend who can speak and write Chinese with me as they have no English speaking officers (yes, in a part of town where there are THOUSANDS of foreigners, they do not have anyone in the traffic police department who can speak English). We had filled out the report at her house in pen on the report form - but when we took it in - we were told we had to use a "special pen" to fill it out. So my friend had to write it out all over again using the pen from the police station which cost us 10rmb as a deposit to use. It was a normal black felt tip pen. While she was filling it out, I was watching all these people come in to dispute accidents and decide whose fault it was - some of these people had obvious broken bones, open wounds with blood gushing out and bruises with lacerations. The shouting and fighting over who should pay what was very loud. There were open arguments going on while police officers just sat back and listened. It was insane to me. I've never seen anything like it. When you visit a doctor here, you have to pay for it up front - so people were not getting treatment for injuries, they were arguing for money so they could go seek treatment after getting paid by whoever caused the accident. Sometimes, the injured would just sit back while relatives or friends would argue on their behalf. I was just stunned and amazed by this process. It makes me see how far this country really needs to go to become modern....

There was also a board up at the station listing the number of accidents for the month in our area of town (Zhangjiang 119 square km or 46 square miles) - the number for August was around 2400. I have no idea what that means or what the number includes (bike accidents, pedestrian accidents, motor vehicle, etc) but it is the traffic police, so all accidents would involve traffic somehow. I'd be curious to see real statistics on this versus other countries.

I've talked to several people who drive and own cars here and I've been told that accidents and scratches happen ALL the TIME. It is just so common here. One of my friends doesn't even tell her husband anymore and at the end of the every year, she gets the whole car body redone.

Our Couch!

2008-09-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

The new couch has arrived! We spent a full day furniture shopping last month and found this one. We had to order it with the color we wanted - by looking at a small swatch of a sample. So, we weren't real sure what the final color was going to look like, but we are happy with it now. It's nice to have a relaxing place to read and watch TV/DVD's.

Construction Worker

2008-09-26T17:25:00.001-07:00

man carrying blocks, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

Here's the worker carrying 2 blocks of concrete upstairs into the house. He did this for 3 days straight - all day.

Random Stuff

2008-09-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd post some random thoughts/observations from past few days.

On my home from a Class Parent meeting at Liz's school, I watched a taxi driver pull over on a 4 lane road (pretty major road) walk to some bushes and take care of business.

I did some shopping last night at Pines Supermarket, an expat market with imported foods, to get some imported yogurt and milk (until this melamine dairy thing is solved no local dairy products for us!) and noticed they've gotten in a big selection of US imported foods - like Teddy Grahams and Handy Pudding Paks and Fruit Loops and Mac N Cheese - ahhh good old healthy American food.

I am loving driving a car here in Shanghai! Yes, there are times it truly SUCKS - like being stuck in traffic and taking 1 hour and45 minutes to go about 15 miles with 1 screaming kid in the back - but overall, it is a nice freedom. I do get upset at the driving style here, but am learning how to deal with it without getting too mad. I say lots of swear words (sorry kids) and honk my horn way more than I would in the States.

They are doing construction in a house across our little street. They did about 3 days of jackhammering brick/concrete in the house - with piles and piles of it ending outside in the driveway/street. That was carted away and then a big truck delivered loads of big huge concrete "bricks". Then 2 guys spent all day putting one brick on each end of a stick and hauling them upstairs into the house using their shoulders. Will try to sneak a picture of it soon - it really is amazing. I guess they are just completely redoing the inside walls of the house. The complex we moved into is new and so there are all these "shell" houses that were sold by the developer and then the house owner competely renovates and finishes out the inside how they want. Since everything is done with concrete here, that means a lot of jackhammering and a lot of concrete dust everywhere! It has been interesting to watch the process. The construction guys also tend to live in the house they are renovating...so there is laundry hanging out the windows and they gather to eat in the garages in the evenings. So far, they've been friendly to us.

I am completely overwhelmed by having to keep track of the kids schedules - with 2 kids in proper school at 2 different campuses (would be similar to one in elementary school and one in middle school) and 1 in a little nursery at a different place. It's a lot of work just remembering who goes where at what time to do this or that. Thankfully, Liz is not at all interested in doing any sort of activity after school - that makes it a bit calmer. Ashley is trying out today for the Year 3/4 choir and then we have a meeting tonight to learn about the Touring Choir which she could audition for if she wanted - this choir would involve traveling to Vienna (!!!!!) to work with the Vienna Boys Choir. After tonight, we will see if she is interested. If not, there is always next year (assuming we will still be here). I am absolutely amazed at the opportunities offered at Dulwich for their students.

Our new couch should be coming today! I am so super excited - will post pics when it is here. We ordered it a few weeks ago and had to wait for it to be made. It is leather and L shaped. Currently we are using a friends couch (it only cost 35 kuai - about 5 us dollars - to have a taxi bring her couch to our house) until our new couch comes. The borrowed couch really only sits 2 people, which has been a bit of a problem when the kids all want to cuddle and read stories. We barely all fit!

We have gotten a Phillipino Satellite and I have not watched so much American TV since leaving the States back in 2004! The Phillipinos LOVED American TV. It's been great fun flipping around the different channels and finding some surprising things to watch - I found out in the mornings they show "The Today Show" - which is quite fun to get a different view and news perspective other than CNN.

Kids Bund Trip

2008-09-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

all 3, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

Before school started, I took the kids on a trip to the Bund. We parked on the Pudong side, took the ferry over to the Puxi side, took a one hour river boat cruise (kids lasted about 45 minutes) up the river to see a big bridge, then took the 'sightseeing tunnel' back over to Pudong for some Hagen Daz ice cream! We all had great fun and it was a nice way to end the summer. I've posted photos of the trip on our flickr site.

School Days

2008-09-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

The girls have started school! They are both very happy and are enjoying meeting new friends and getting into the routine. Liz looks so grown up in her school uniform and walking around at school. She had a bit of a meltdown her second day at school - Miss E (her teacher) said that after lunch Liz started crying for me and it took a while to calm her down. Liz told me that she calmed down once she was outside for playtime right after lunch. I am picking Liz up from school this week while she gets used to going and then next week, she will ride the bus to and from school. I picked Ashley up the first day and after that, she requested to ride the bus home!

Getting a License - or Wading Through the Bureacracy

2008-09-02T01:47:00.000-07:00

Husband post...

As Kimberly previously posted, we recently bid for, won, and paid for a license plate. Thought I'd share the experience of bidding and getting that said license plate. Many hours of my life that I will never recover...

1. Bidding
a. First go to pay for right to bid (2000RMB), and get documents including password to login
b. Bid online – 2nd or 3rd Saturday of each month, and bid process is insane and difficult, don’t even ask how it works, but it’s highly likely you won’t be successful since you have limited number of bids and they’re time constrained! (Why? I don’t know!) They usually allow 5000-9000 license plates each month – amount appears to be random.
c. Finally win bid, move to step 2

2. Take your documents and go to payment place – have to pay by that Friday.
a. Way over in different half of city, down a block off major road, have to walk 300 or 400 meters to get there. Large room where you pay your 5-6K USD, probably mostly people pay in cash, and then they give you more documents (certificate saying you paid, and some smart card, again, who knows why).

3. Now on to get the license plate – this is in yet ANOTHER part of the city, no where near the other two
a. First go to building, get a number and wait. Number gets called, show them your docs, they do something and give you another number.

b. This number gets called, and you pay the tax on your car – can’t use non-local credit cards or mixed forms of payment (I learned to my chagrin). Then get another number, still same room!
c. Wait, get up when no. called, and they take your proof or something and give you new documents – no idea why.

4. Drive to another building, get in line of cars, and go in with your documents and take another number
a. First have to get rub of VIN number from inside your hood (dealer w/ me had already done that before we left dealership, but other people were actively doing it there) – apparently license plate is tied to VIN of your car.
b. Call you up – here they verify it really is you and I guess get VIN info, checking face and documents, and store a huge number of Xeroxes of passport and work permit and so forth.

5. Drive to another building, this with a ton of people in it watching numbers (available license plate numbers, and numbers up for people to be helped) on big bulletin board. Take your number, wait for an hour. Btw, bathrooms were nearby at back on both sides of room... and they stunk!

a. Finally call your number, you take a piece of paper to a row of machines. Machines show you all the license plate numbers currently available. You hit “OK” and it randomly picks 6 of those numbers for you to choose from. You pick one, and that’s your license plate number. Spits out new piece of paper.
b. Take that paper to lady in an equipment cage, she finds your already made license plate number and hands it to you.

6. That is not it! You can’t put it on your car yet… SO….
a. Go out to parking lot, have to flag down helpers walking around in parking lot. They take license plate and TAPE it to front of car, then take picture of it, then remove it and hand over new number (or something). Have to stand in line to get picture eventually, which goes with registration document that stays in car

b. Have to flag same guys down AGAIN, and they install license plates on car. No idea why.

7. Finally, we are done and are the proud owners of a shiny new license plate. At this point, we can finally get after market additions applied to the car -> no modifications were allowed until license plate was done for yet another who knows why sort of reason…

Cute Picture

2008-08-31T19:12:00.001-07:00

Ashley, Liz and Ryken on stairs in new house!
They are getting so big! Ages 7, 5 and 2.5

Ryken's First Day of School!

2008-08-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ryken all ready for school - at the door to garage

Ryken at school - getting toys to play with

He is such a big boy. All dressed up and ready for school with his Thomas Train backpack. He was a bit unsure about going to school and didn't want to get into the car. I convinced him by talking about the playground at school. Then, on the way to school, I had to explain that he had to go inside first and play, then his teacher would take him outside to play on the playground. He walked into school with me beside him with no problems. We changed his shoes, put his bag away and went into his classroom. He washed his hands and went to play. That's it. As he was playing, I walked out. No crying today. I hope he has fun today and is excited to go tomorrow. I just can't believe my baby is at school! I was sad while driving home without him. The girls start school tomorrow - so it's going to be an amazingly quiet day tomorrow.

Moved in!

2008-08-26T02:09:00.000-07:00

We're all moved in to the new place. Moving day was a pain! And not something I want to do again for a long time. It was raining half way through the move - so lots of stuff got wet and the guys wanted to take lots of breaks to "wait out the rain" which then just pushed the end of moving day later and later. We finally got them out of the new house at 10:30pm, with lots of boxes still unpacked. In a house that has 4 stories, that's not exactly what you want.

Things are good though - we like the house and are slowly but surely getting things put away and organized. It will be much easier when the kids start school (NEXT WEEK!!!!) and I can have some downtime to get stuff done. I'll try to get some pics put up soon so you can see what the place is like. We love it after living in an apartment!

Our car is awesome and I am so happy to have it! I've been driving quite a bit since we have joined a club about 10 minutes away. The kids and I go to the pool there almost everyday (if it's not raining). When buying a car in China, you must also purchase a separate license plate for it. This is done once a month at an auction. Lucky for us, one of Anthony's co-workers husband thinks the whole process is fascinating and actually attends all the auctions just to watch it happen. So, he was able to bid at the last auction for us and we won a plate (not won, but won to BUY!). That just happened this weekend, so we still need to go by the license place and pay for the plate before we can put it on the car. I will be happy to get it as I am currently driving around with an expired temporary plate (they only last 6 days!). Will be nice to not have to worry about getting pulled over for driving without plates!

A Car, A Car

2008-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

While I was here in the States, Anthony bought a car for us in Shanghai! I am so excited to go back and have our very own car for driving around! The renting an old minivan was becoming a hassle and costing a fortune! I will have to post a pic when we get back but it is a Nissan Livina Geniss (which Anthony said the non-English speaking dealer pronounced as Guiness). I do think Guiness will be my new nick name for it - nothing like driving around a car named after beer :) It has 3 rows of seats but is more like a car than a minivan or SUV.

I don't really know how the whole sale of the car went down between an non-English speaking salesman and a non-Chinese speaking buyer, you'll have to question Anthony on that one. I do know that he brought a friend with him to help with the process. I've been told that our temporary plates last for 6 days and they will register them when we return, then hope that 6 days later we can get an official license plate. Not sure how that works, but hopefully, it does. Anthony also told me that when he test drove the car - the odometer wasn't working - he questioned the salesman about it and his reply was that they unhook it so there are no miles added to the car when testdriving before selling it!!! Isn't that crazy?!

Staring at the Clouds

2008-07-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

Being back in the States often leaves me breathless - just seeing the amazing blue of the Texas sky and the fluffy white clouds! I stare at the sky for minutes at a time, just admiring the beauty. Our backyard is also sometimes on the flight path for the airport, so we get lots of planes flying overhead. This makes endless entertainment for Ryken, who LOVES airplanes! Ashley commented today that the clouds in Texas have so many different "varieties" - fluffy ones, wispy ones, wavy ones, etc, etc. She loves them too. Nothing like living in a polluted city where you rarely see blue skies and rarely see clouds other than a grey cover all around to make you see the beauty of the unpolluted skies!

We are enjoying our stay here - not so much the heat - but at least visiting with friends and family! Anthony just arrived this weekend from Shanghai, which I desperately needed. Weeks without him makes me and the kids cranky.

Back in States

2008-06-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are back to the States visiting family and friends for the summer. Anthony flew with us but he is now back in Shanghai working and preparing to start an MBA program. It's been miserably HOT here in Texas - and miserably WET and RAINY in Shanghai. I think I'd rather have the heat than the rain.

The last days of school flew by for both girls. Ashley was very upset to be missing the last few weeks of school as her school year doesn't end until July 4th! Mainly she missed her end of year choir performance and school production. She was very excited to be in both of those and very upset that she missed it! Liz's school ended the week before we came back so she was able to have an early birthday party and an end of school party. This was the first birthday party we've had for her with school friends as normally we wait and have one at home during the summer. She was really happy and enjoyed having her friends over to play, eat cake and open presents.

Once we get back to Shanghai in August, we will be moving into a new house! I am excited about the house as it will have a small yard, more rooms, more storage space and room for guests!

Doing what we can

2008-05-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ashley's school has arranged to collect donations of blankets, clothes, food, toys and books to the areas affected by the earthquake. I was unsure how much to talk with the kids about right after it happened, but have since told them the truth. I asked both girls to go through their closets and pick out clothes and toys to donate. They did a great job going through everything. Ashley had chosen some of her favorite outfits and I had to resist making her keep them. I did ask her to think about the choices again and she responded that she did like those clothes, but that she thinks a child who has lost everything would really enjoy wearing them. I thought that was so sweet of her and am very proud of that. The school is also having a "memorial" assembly tomorrow where everyone is to wear their "best dressed uniform" and bring in a donation - the school has asked each child to bring in 20 kuai. Ashley then asked me if she could bring in more. I hope she continues to keep this charitable spirit alive throughout her life.

There has been a lot of news coming across the TV in both Chinese and English here. There is one English CCTV news station that has been broadcasting many hours of Live news and interviews. The first day the earthquake happened, there was very little news and I was very frustrated at the controlled media here - but it really has gotten better since then. There are so many LIVE reporters on the scene, I am actually amazed! There are also many personal accounts of what is going on at the scene through blogs, video and pictures. It truly is a first for China.

I've posted links to this site before, but will again! Shanghaiist is what I think the best place to go to get the latest updates and news reports from all over the world about the earthquake.

China Earthquake

2008-05-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post quickly to let everyone know we were NOT affected by the big earthquake today. I didn't feel it although there are reports of those in high rises here in Shanghai being shaken. We are saddened by the thought of how many may be horribly affected by this tradegy. We are trying to stay updated through this site. Due to media restrictions, it is hard to get accurate information here.

Updates

2008-04-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

Anthony pointed out to me that it's been well over a month since my post, so I should update it! Things have just been so busy in this last month. I got a MUCH NEEDED break without any children last month - with a short trip back to the States. Despite jet lag, which is so much easier to handle when you have no children, I was able to have a fun time and enjoy a few days of relaxation and visiting with family in Austin. Shortly after I arrived back home in Shanghai, then Anthony departed for a week visit to the States - to work and visit his parents.

Since then, we've gotten a minivan with a driver. That has been very useful and I am so happy to not have to wait for taxis and try to keep the little ones from slamming their heads into seats while taxi drivers drive crazily around town. The other big news is that I am now LEGAL to DRIVE myself here in China! Just yesterday, I took the test and passed with flying colors and was awarded my very own Chinese Drivers License. Since the driver only works 5 days a week until 6pm, it is nice to have the option of driving around when he is not available to work.

We leave tonight for our latest vacation trip! I am so excited to be getting out of China for a proper vacation! We are going to Boracay which is in the Phillippines! It is supposed to be absolutely beautiful with white sand and clear water. We are planning on some snorkeling and hope that Ashley will join us this time around since she is keen to try and snorkel. We leave tonight at 12:30 am (yes, in the middle of the night!) - that's what we get for buying cheap airfare tickets. We'll get into Manila around 4am, transfer to the domestic airport, take a small plane to Caticlan, then take a boat to Boracay. It outta be an adventure - especially with 3 small children. There are 5 other families from Shanghai that are all going, so we will know lots of others and they all have kids, so we're all in this together! Wish us luck!

I will try to post more when we return...

A Special Taxi Moment

2008-03-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

Today, I get in a taxi, outside of our apartment to go to the closest subway station. We drive about 5 minutes, if that, and the taxi drivers tells me in Chinese "wait a moment" as he pulls the car over to the side of the road and hops out. I am wondering "what in the world?!" at first thinking he got pulled over by a cop (which has also happened to me in a taxi here) - then as I whip my head around following him - he goes to the side of the street and zips down his pants - at that point I figure out what he's doing and go back to checking messages on my phone. He quickly hops back in the car and off we go. The things that make me go...hmmm...

Kids and Rock Band

2008-03-13T22:41:00.001-07:00

Anthony brought this game home at Christmas - Rock Band. I thought it silly that we had to check a box to bring back that was just a game - we wrapped it up in garbage bags, made handles out of tape and checked it in as luggage (Anthony tried to claim it was a family heirloom!). It has turned out to be really fun though and we have friends who enjoy playing it too. We've had more than a few band gigs complete with 5 sleeping kids in the house! Somehow our kids are able to sleep through the guitar, the drums and the singing with no problems. They also enjoying playing on it too! The guitar is a bit too big for Ryken, but he loves strumming on it and Ashley is able to play the drums.

Our first Shanghai Concert

2008-03-13T22:32:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, we went to see Harry Connick Jr, live in Shanghai! It's the first concert we've been to here and we weren't sure what to expect. We ended up with the best seats in the house - front row, right in front of Harry and his piano. The concert was held in an international gymnastics competition gymnasium. We roughly figured that it could seat about 5000 and maybe half of it was full - so we think about 2500 people came to the concert. And it was almost ALL foreigners. There were quite a few surly looking "security guards" standing around who seemed to not have one musical bone in their bodies! The concert was ok - I will admit that I was a bit disappointed. Not all the instruments were used and there were relatively few solos played by band members. The concert almost seemed to have been cut short. There have been some rumblings that due to Bjorks outspokenness the week before, Harry and his band were censored quite a bit - what a downer!

Big Boy BED!

2008-03-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

I put up the toddler bed yesterday - just to see how Ryken would do. He LOVES it. So far, he's taken 2 days of naps in it and one night. Last night, putting him to bed, he kept coming out of his room and getting up and playing with his toys in the dark. Everytime he came out of his room, I would tell him to go back to bed. This went on for about 30 minutes and I thought for sure he would need to go back in his crib to go to sleep. He didn't come out again and I went to check on him and he was lying in bed with his cars, almost asleep. He stayed in his bed with his cars and feel asleep - and slept all night! We'll see if it was just a fluke or if he is done with the crib! What a big boy!

It did SNOW!

2008-02-11T02:22:00.001-08:00

kids n snowman, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

I haven't been able to post in a bit, so I will try and catch up. It did snow enough last week to provide endless hours of fun for the kids to get nice and soaking wet in the snow and muddy from the wet ground underneath the snow. It really was beautiful! Anthony had to go to work, which was pretty miserable for him. It was the weekend before Chinese New Years and here in China, in order to have days off during the week for the CNY holiday, everyone is required to work the weekend before.

Chinese New Years was on the 6th and we headed off to a hotel on the other side of town for a few nights. The hotel was very nice and the room was plenty big for all of us. We watched fireworks for quite a long time in the middle of the night. I've got some video of it and some pics - will try to post them soon.

Liz and Ryken have come down with a sickness - most likely from being out and about with all the other millions of Shanghainese over CNY. I can only imagine what kind of germs they picked up. We are taking them both to the doctor tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

TV Woes

2008-01-31T22:16:00.000-08:00

Something happened to the TV. Yesterday, I went to check the news on CNN and there was no sound, then started flipping channels and many of the foreign channels were snow - the main one being STAR WORLD - which is what American Idol is shown on. Yes, I know I'm gonna get people saying "why in the world do you watch that show?"! But it's a fun, entertaining show and it airs 12 hours after showing in the States, so it's current! They've also been showing the new season of Heroes (so 1/2 a season behind the States) and we have just seen 2 episodes. But now that something is wrong with the satellite, I guess the illegal DVD shop keeper will get some more of our money! Too bad they won't be selling the Democratic debate that was on CNN today. I could watch it - with no sound and that doesn't really help in a debate! I was very disappointed not to be able to watch the debate today and will have to try and find some clips on YouTube.

One very cool thing that has been going on - Expats from all over the world will be allowed to vote in the Democratic primary at Democrats Abroad. The deadline for signing up for the primary has passed, but you can still sign up to get a ballot for the upcoming presidential election! There have been a few OBAMA rallies going on across China - at least in Shanghai and Beijing - and I believe his wife even phoned in to speak to one of the groups live.

It is snowing again here - just started an hour ago - at first, really light snow twirling around - now it's quite heavy and at this rate will start piling up. It seems cold enough out that it will stick to the ground and roads fairly quickly. Lots of people are trying to leave today and tomorrow for holiday - not sure if it will happen for them! We have booked a hotel for a few days next week in Puxi (the other side of Shanghai from where we live) and are looking forward to seeing some fireworks from up high.

Since the TV is out, I spent a large portion of the day reading stuff around the web. For those interested in the EXPAT LIFE - check this out - or this. The first link is to an NPR segment about Alan Paul, a guy I met while living in Beijing. His wife's job is the reason they moved to Beijing and he also writes a column for the Wall Street Journal about being an expat (second link). He writes some good articles and I enjoy reading them.

3rd day of snow

2008-01-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

liz n ryken, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

Yes, 3 days of snowy weather! Apparently, this is the most amount of snow days they've had in about 20 years (many different reports from 17-25 years). It is causing major havoc for those traveling for Chinese New Years - the only time during the year many people travel to see wives, parents and children. It is quite sad that many people are stranded at airports and train stations. There is one train station that had over 500,000 people stranded - can you imagine that many people at one station?

For us, it's been fun and a welcome change to rain! The kids have been having lots of fun playing in the snow and coming in to have hot chocolate (thank you Aunt S - perfect timing!!!!). Yesterday, it did not snow, even though the kids had a snow day - they cancelled school due to the roads being pretty bad. It was actually sunny for a bit. But, today, it has started snowing again and it is forecasted for more snow this weekend.

2nd day of snow

2008-01-29T20:18:00.001-08:00

jan 021, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

This was the second day of snow here in Shanghai. It was just a light dusting of heavy, wet snow. The kids had a blast though, making little snowmen and some really hard ice balls for throwing.

More Snow!

2008-01-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to more snow, that had actually stayed on the ground! The kids all ran outside and made snowmen and snowballs! It was a very wet and sticky snow - that made ice balls. Everyone had fun playing in it though - even getting all wet! It melted quickly and has been raining and snowing off and on all day. I will try to get some pictures up of it soon!

Snow in Shanghai

2008-01-26T04:48:00.001-08:00

ryken snow, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

It snowed ALL DAY today but none of it stuck. The kids loved it. Ryken and Liz ran around catching snow and trying to eat it. Ashley was staying at a friends house, so we missed out on pictures with her and the snow.

Boogers

2008-01-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

I took Liz to the doctor the other day for a skin rash she's had for a while now. While in the waiting room (with several other people) Liz started picking her nose. This is a habit many kids practice and from what I've read, it's best to just ignore it. But when her finger started going into her mouth, I had to say something -

You need a tissue for that, you will get sick if you eat it.

NO I won't. I eat lots and lots and lots of boogers and I'm not sick!

Why? Because this is China.

2008-01-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

I went out to lunch with a group of moms - some friends, some new people. We had chosen a Chinese food place over in Puxi, a beautiful old building with a nice grass courtyard. There were 7 of us and we were seated at a round table that really was meant for 4 people. When eating Chinese food, the dishes are shared by everyone, but there really wasn't any room at the table for that many dishes. So we asked to move - when I say "we" I meant "the Chinese speakers" asked to move (in Chinese) and we were told "no" by our waiter. No explanation.

We pointed to some square tables and suggested that we put 2 together to make a table big enough for 7 with room for plates and dishes. Again, "no" was the answer and explanation. After much debate between my friends and the waiter, another waitress came over explaining that manager was not there today and couldn't be consulted as to whether we could move those tables together and so we couldn't move them as it would change the look of the restaurant. (the tables were not reserved and the restaurant was much closer to empty than full) We finally gave up the debate and resolved to just deal with the small table.

After a few minutes though, the staff came with with a bigger round table and proceeded to replace a small table next to us with the bigger table and then reset all the dishes and move us over to the new bigger table. All of us were astonished at this. It was nice to have a bigger table, but wasn't it so much more work to go outside and get a new table and put it up and take away old table and reset table than just letting us switch tables that were already there and available? It just doesn't make sense. And the Chinese speakers who were with us could not understand it either. But at least the staff did something.

We can finally see...

2008-01-14T00:08:00.000-08:00

across our complex and more than 1/2 a block away! The fog and pollution cleared out when a cold front blew in this weekend. Last night, while walking home from dinner, it was sleeting outside and around 10 pm we saw SNOWFLAKES from our balcony. It was not enough to even slightly cover the ground and most people wouldn't believe that it snowed if there weren't pictures on the front page of the paper. More icy weather is expected this week.

We had a full weekend getting more things organized in the house. Of course, organizing the house means a trip to IKEA and that's what Ashley, Anthony and I did on Saturday - choosing the leave the younger ones at home. IKEA was packed and when we checked out every checkout lane (I think there are around 25) was full with 5-6 people waiting in line. It was pure craziness. We bought 2 bookcases for the living room and one cubed shelf unit for Ryken's room. The cost for this to be delivered to our house in Pudong (at least a 1 hour ride away) the very next day was 50 RMB (about 7 us dollars!) - what a great deal.

After IKEA, we went to check out BEST BUY. The first Best Buy store in China. And it's MASSIVE. It takes up 4 floors. But it seems to be missing something - it just isn't the same as a Best Buy back home. The most interesting thing I noticed is the lack of games, DVD's and CD's. But then, when you can buy all the copied ones right around the corner for so cheap, why would they sell real ones? I did check out the massive massage chairs they have for sale and that was an amazing 15 minutes! Talk about a comfortable chair!

Anthony and I ended the weekend watching ATONEMENT. It was a good copy (meaning no shaky cam and language was actually in English) except for the parts where some French is spoken. I am assuming that in the real movie, the French is translated with English subtitles - but for some reason our copy was missing that and if we put on English subtitles it would just say "(FRENCH)" - so that was no help. But even without knowing what was said in French - I thought it was a great movie.

Shanghai Pollution

2008-01-08T17:40:00.001-08:00

pollution shanghai, originally uploaded by Armstrongs in Asia.

Every morning, I wake up hoping to see clearly across the street, but it is no use. We try to limit our time outdoors and are thinking of getting some more indoor air purifiers. We have 2 really good ones (IQAir) but that may not be enough.

Happy New Year

2008-01-06T02:19:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas since we took a trip back home and spent about 2 weeks in the States. It was only for visiting family (so don't be offended if you're a friend and didn't hear from us!) and visit family we did! Lots of going back and forth between Austin and Dallas and many Christmas celebrations. The kids enjoyed seeing all the cousins and getting so many presents. Ryken had his first haircut and WOW - does he look different. I definitely miss the curls - but he's still adorable!

We flew back to Shanghai leaving the States on Jan 1st - this was a great time to travel since our plane our about 1/2 full - which left us with 4 extra seats to stretch out in. The kids did great during our travels - and we got within 300 miles of the North Pole. It was dark outside but we let the kids know where we were and that Santa was sleeping after being so busy with Christmas.

Since being back in Shanghai - we've taken the kids to the Aquarium and gone ice skating. Keeping the kids awake and busy during the day helps with the jetlag transition. The girls start back at school tomorrow and I am excited to have some down time!

For 5 seconds...

2007-12-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

I forgot I was in China! Why, you ask? Because I hailed a taxi and got in the backseat, only to discover there were SEATBELTS! And they even worked! Now that was amazing, so amazing, I texted Anthony right away remarking on this wonderful discovery. But, alas, all good things must end and rather suddenly they did. The guy started driving and I quickly understood why he had seatbelts. This is China afterall.

Our Newest Adoptee

2007-11-29T04:48:00.000-08:00

TITO!!!

He's a 4 month old kitten that was found in someone's garden. He was put up for adoption by a place here called SCAA (second chance animal aid) and we adopted him last weekend. He's cuddly and sweet and loves to play.

Our Little Brit

2007-11-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

Daddy, look at the bike, they're rich.

No, they're not rich. [chuckle]

But the bike is posh. It's so posh.

(Ashley on way to school this morning)

You Can Never Have Too Many Towels

2007-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

especially when 2 of your kids have the stomach virus at the same time! I used to think that having so many towels was a waste...ahhh, but now I know better. Nothing cleans up the puke as well as all those towels along with using 2 or 3 or even 4 to layer the ground around where the child is sitting or sleeping so that maybe, just maybe, you can avoid having to wash sheets, bedding, pillows, couches and rugs. I have also learned that just after you take a shower and clean yourself up, the kids must smell all that cleanliness and think, nows the time...and you are back to square one - standing holding a crying child who has just managed to puke all over your clean self and clean clothes. Who said having children was so much fun?

Watch out Disney!

2007-11-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a story written by Ashley - although a bit confusing, surely Disney would want the rights to this one...

the fariey tale of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Willam
Once upon a time ther was a princess called Elizabeth and a Prince called Willam. they Lived in a castle far away in the Kingdom of olivia. and then Elizabeth did not like willam. She Liked Prince James. but Prince James did not like Princess Elizabeth he Liked Princess Sana. but then Princess Elizabeth Liked Prince willam again and Princess Elizabeth and Prince Willam mareid and Princess Sana and Prince James mareid. the end

A cheap UNO game

2007-10-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here in China, we have noticed that the Chinese are very good at imitating – they copy anything and everything they can when it comes to consumer goods. For example, Ashley has a set of playing cards she got as a birthday gift this year. Liz and I decided to play a game with them today – they are California Barbie UNO cards – while playing, I noticed there were a large number of blue cards and sure enough, after checking the cards, there are only 3 colors in the deck, instead of 4 – so double the number of blue cards. I then thought I would check the box to see what brand it was – its’ a copy of a Mattel product – even have the red Mattell stamp on it – but upon looking closely – it says MaIIel instead of Mattel. Then on the side of the box, they list the phone number for the company, if you have any comments or questions – the number is 1(800)524-TOYS, which is the real Mattel US phone number. But, the website listed on the box is www.maiier.com. They even have the statement “safety tested. Conforms to astm F963” but do I dare believe that these copy cat cards have actually been safety tested? Not really.

One highlight of my days...

2007-09-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

I have discovered something that just makes me giggle and smile – something so utterly adorable – of course, it involves my own child. I have discovered that I can sit for hours (ok, maybe not hours, but mintues for sure) and watch Ryken eat. I just find it fascinating and so cute. He LOVES food. He giggles when food is placed before him and lets us know in an extremely grumpy manner if it has been more than 30 minutes since food has last been in his mouth. He is trying so hard to eat with a fork and spoon and will often hold the spoon or fork in one hand and savor the taste of his other hand with food on it. He smacks and licks his lips and does all the disgusting things that I find so distasteful when an adult does it. A meal is an event for him, one that usually requires a bath or at least a good washing down afterwards. We have only found one thing he will not eat – Eggs. We’ve been able to trick him a few times by hiding the eggs in with ham and cheese and veggies. But if it’s a hard boiled egg or a fried egg – the second it touches his lips the tongue comes out and nothing can go back in. I keep trying though – every few weeks, I’ll give it to him again and so far, same reaction every time. I wonder at what age I will no longer find awful table manners adorable and the need for some real learning at the table to begin?

Taxi Woes

2007-09-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

We needed to go to IKEA to look at some storage stuff for the kids toys. Finally decided to go on Sunday. It was raining, so thought taxi would be good way to go rather than subway since we’d have to walk around outside a bit. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. Ryken got a bit carsick and threw up in the cab – mostly on the floor but a bit on the seat and on Anthony. We cleaned up what we could. The ride took about 1 hour and 20 minutes! Thank goodness I wasn’t holding him when he puked because I think I would have puked too – I was also feeling carsick. When the cab driver dropped us off, he got out to inspect his seat (all seats have these white covers on them here for easy washing and cleaning) – he was not happy at all and started yelling at us. But what we were to do. I handed him the fare plus a little bit extra to cover the cleaning cost – but he was still standing there yelling as we walked away. Of course, all in Chinese, so I have no idea what he was saying…but I can guess!

Once inside IKEA, I took Ryken to the bathroom to clean him up – stuck him the sink to wash him down – while one of the bathroom ayis (I call all cleaning people ayi’s and every bathroom has at least one cleaning lady) was yelling at me to move him – she thought I was letting him pee in the sink! I explained as best I could in broken Chinese and gestures (gagging with finger in mouth) what happened and she finally calmed down. Then I had about 15 women staring at us and talking in Chinese while I cleaned him and changed him – I am pretty sure we caused a huge traffic flow issue out of the bathroom as everyone wanted to see this white mom clean up her white baby boy. When he was completely naked with all his bits hanging lose, there was a lot of commotion as everyone wanted to see.

It is definitely true that we live in a bubble in Jinqiao area – where there are foreigners everywhere and although people like to see what I buy at the local supermarket, we don’t get many looks and our children are usually left alone. But when we step outside that bubble we become a spectacle and everyone wants to watch us, touch our kids, take our pictures and generally just be amazed by the fact we have three children.

We did take the subway home, which is a better mode of transportation when you have kids who may be carsick and aren’t strapped into a car seat or even a seat belt. Although, I still do not understand how any handicapped or wheelchair bound people can go ANYWHERE in this city! The way to get down to the subway when we had to transfer lines was only by stairs. There was an elevator sign and we tried taking it, but it didn’t go to the right floor or right area. It was three flights of stairs. Luckily, we have a WONDERFUL stroller that only weighs 9 lbs, so carrying the stroller and Ryken isn’t that difficult.

It went around...

2007-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

no worries - the typhoon went right around Shanghai. We stayed home all day, waiting and watching the radar, but it never got very windy. Just a bit of rain and a little wind. Ashley is back at school today and Liz is still home. I'm not sure why her school was cancelled for the day, but it gives her some mommy time, which is good for her. Then I get to hear her say things like "mommy, everytime I keep picking hard boogers out my nose that are black".

It's only been less than one year since....

2007-09-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

our last typhoon! So, here we go again.

Typhoon heading for Shanghai

Kids school has been cancelled - Ashley for tomorrow and Liz for tomorrow and Thursday. After school activities were cancelled today for Ashley's school - was her first day of music class, so that sucks! It's been raining all day. I used a taxi to pick up Liz, made him wait, then take us both over to pick up Ashley. Due to the sure number of private drivers picking up students, there is no room for a waiting taxi at Ashley's school and it's impossible to catch a taxi because they can't get through all the private cars - so we walked home in the rain. We all got soaked but the girls had fun splashing in the pouring water. I saw some little frogs floating upside down going downstream in the water - sad.

This is an interesting way to keep tabs on the typhoon - this guy is CRAZY, but I'll be watching to see how he fares the brunt of the storm!

Culinary Delights

2007-09-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

It was not an adventurous weekend by any means! Both Friday and Saturday night were Papa John’s Pizza! Friday night we had dinner with Ashley’s best friend’s parents at their house – after Ashley had a playdate at their house – so pizza was the best and easiest thing for dinner – it was supreme with wine. Saturday night was dinner at another family’s house – ones that Anthony had met on the street months ago and got contact info from. They have 3 kids, all similar ages, but opposite gender. The girls had a blast playing with the boys and it was fun to see them all get along so well. Again, we had pizza, this time pepperoni with beer – branching out a bit. It was nice being sociable and meeting some new people and having some fun. Today, we had New Orleans style food for lunch at a place called Café Du Monde – the food is excellent. And dinner was at The Flying Fox – which is an Irish place – with Guiness Stew, usually very yummy.

Ashley got a new bike last weekend – with gears – so she’s been busy riding her bike and trying out all the gears. Liz started using Ashley’s old bike today and did great riding it around. I am starting to get used to riding the bike everywhere – even in the rain – which I really do not enjoy by any means! But it’s manageable, as long as it’s not pouring. This last week, I forgot to pull the rain poncho over the top of the handle bars, so it was just laying down the front side of me and I got SOAKED through – it kept riding up every time I would pedal and water would just come pouring in – I think that was a 4 shower day. I just keep reminding myself that I am helping the environment by not having a car. When it’s nice outside, I don’t have to say that to myself, as it is great riding around in the sunshine and warmth. But, when it’s raining out I have to remind myself over and over and over again – as I grind my teeth and charge through the cold and wetness.

Help, I'm Stolen!

2007-09-10T04:12:00.001-07:00

subway sign in Shanghai -what number should I call if I am stolen?

Breast Enhancement

2007-09-10T04:03:00.001-07:00

This is an ad on the backseat of a taxi in Shanghai. I'm not sure what it is for, but with the pictures I am assuming it's some sort of breast enhancement device. Looks like so much fun.

School, date night and weekend

2007-09-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Liz survived her first week at school. The first day she was happy to be left, the second day, she was not so happy and the third day, she screamed and grabbed my leg and wouldn’t let go. They said she refused to talk to anyone during the morning class but after lunch, she was fine and played and chatted. She loved going on Thursday, because it was swimming day! And Friday, she went but not really happily. I thought we might have issues today but she was quite happy to go and talked about school and what she was going to play with. Once there, she went to her room – changed her shoes and walked in to put her toothpaste away. She wanted me to walk her to the window where she could see me when I left, then she said goodbye and gave me a hug. No crying, screaming or fighting to stay today. I left and waved goodbye to her from outside (she’s on the second story so I think she likes seeing me from above as I cycle off home). Hopefully, she’s been active today and talkative.

Our weekend was good – the girls both started in gymnastics classes on Saturday. I took Liz first to the wrong building and then had to walk back to the right one. We walked next to a man and his daughter going to the same class – a taxi pulled up to the stop light and stopped in the crosswalk (a Very common occurrence here if they even stop for the light) and the guy who was walking, just kept walking straight OVER THE HOOD of the taxi! Instead of getting mad and realizing why the guy was walking on his car, the taxi driver just laughed amused at the guy.

Liz took a while to participate in the gymnastics class and I was dreading having signed her up – I was having to hold her hand and help her do some tumbles and things while ALL the OTHER parents sat against the far side of the gym watching their children participate and laugh and have fun. But, eventually, I was able to walk away and she actually listened to the teachers and did some things and she’s really good! She even smiled a few times. I was able to sit for a few minutes and watch her. I also watched some of the parents – there were many dads there as Saturday and Sunday are dad days here since not much time during the week is spent with dad – and there were many “blackberry” dads – those guys sitting on the floor of the gym – typing on their blackberry and randomly looking up.

Ashley liked her class and I have no idea what she did in it as the parents weren’t allowed to watch.

Saturday night, Anthony and I headed out for a date – we went to a few different areas, trying to find a place to eat – finally ended up at a weird local Chinese restaurant attached to a mall – the food was so-so. We had ordered a round of beer and it came very cold. Ordered a second round and mine was cold, but Anthony’s was not. They opened it before letting us see if it was cold or not – then because it was warm brought out ice to cool it down. Not exactly the best way to drink beer, but he was thirsty.

The place we were reminded me a bit of Taipei as there were lots of street vendor selling jewelry, purses and clothes on the sidewalk. There was even a bit of a pet market for puppies – oh so CUTE! But to buy from a pet market here is basically buying an animal for a few months – they tend not to live very long.

On Sunday, we went to a place called Bubbas (a BBQ place opened by a Texan) and watched some of the UT game from Saturday. It was a nice gathering of UT fans and ok food. It’s hard to enjoy a game with kids running underfoot – and cranky ones at that – Ryken did not take a nap! But we did the best we could and saw the UT victory. Looking at the crowd yesterday, really did not seem like we were in China!

I'm Back

2007-09-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

I found a way around the blocking of the blog here in China – as least for now. So, I am able to post and see the blog again! Thanks to this site:

Liz starts school tomorrow and Ashley had an amazing first week at her new school. She’s already made a best friend (from England, of course) and her English accent has returned full force!

Summer Days Gone Bye

2007-08-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

We are finally settled into an apartment in Shanghai. It has been a LONG difficult journey since June when we left Beijing with 5 suitcases and what seems like 10 carry-ons. I’m sure it wasn’t that many, but traveling through airports with kids, carseats, backpacks and rolling carry-ons sure makes for some difficult traveling. Our flight to the States went well , with no major issues.

Two minor annoyances in the Beijing airport - first not allowing the family into the lounge with A (who is platinum or whatever it takes to be in the lounge). They said only the ‘platinum holder’ was allowed – so he just went in and took the free food and drinks and brought them out to us. The other annoyance – we had already gone through security, so had done the whole “no liquids” thing - there were liquid drink vending machines in the terminal next to the boarding area of our plane, so we figured we were allowed to bring liquids bought AFTER security onto the plane. We bought water and orange juice and put them in our carryons. During boarding, the agents were checking through all bags and threw away all the unopened bottles we had just bought. ARGH! No signs, no information saying you can’t bring on board the plane. VERY FRUSTRATING!

The plane was full of some older American travelers who had just finished a tour of Beijing – they were definitely having some fun on the plane which made for some interesting people watching. You know when the captain turns on the fasten seat belt sign and says everyone needs to sit down for turbulence – AND THERE IS NO TURBULENCE – that someone has been having a bit too much fun on the plane.

It was wonderful being back home – visiting with friends and family. It was quite hectic with the three kids – going around visiting with people isn’t as easy when there are more kids – and one of them has to take a nap everyday. The kids were troopers though – going everywhere and staying in different houses without much fuss. Anthony went back to Shanghai weeks before the kids and me. I visited family in AZ with all the kids (never again will I fly alone with 3 kids until the youngest is able to sit in a seat by himself and watch a movie for the whole flight) and tried to visit with friends/family once back in TX. I did not get a chance to visit with everyone who I wanted to – and for those who missed out on seeing us, I am truly sorry and sincerely hope that next summer there will be better planning on our part.

My friend, P, took up the offer of a trip to China in exchange for helping me fly with the three kids back to Shanghai. She was truly a godsend and helped keep me sane during the trip – especially when the pilot turned the plane around 2.5 hours into our flight out of San Francisco and made an announcement that there was an alarm in the cargo hold that was going off and SF told him he needed to return for safety. ARGH. I have a rather high anxiety level when flying and this setback DID NOT HELP! So, 5 hours after we left SF, we returned to SF. Stayed on the plane for 2 hours – with lots of chinese high school students – before taking off again on the same plane. Talk about a NON RELAXING flight. The kids were absolutely positively angels during the flight. They slept a good portion of the flight and there were no fits going on at all. I was very impressed with their behavior – maybe they sensed the anxiety level in mom and decided that mom having a nervous breakdown on the plane wasn’t the way to go. So about 19 hours after getting on that plane, we arrived in Shanghai – at 2:30 in the morning! Everyone was happy to see Anthony waiting on the other side of customs.

We stayed for about a week at a serviced apartment and then moved into our new apartment. It is a good area with lots of greenery around. I am truly amazed at the pollution difference between here and Beijing. Not having dust everywhere and dirt covering everything is so nice. I have seen so many blue sky days that I just can’t believe it. That part of Shanghai I really do like.

Is He a Girl?

2007-06-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

Back of Ryken's Head

My ayi keeps telling me when she's out and about with Ryken, all the other ayis ask if "it's a girl?". I LOVE his hair - it is so cute and curly! It's starting to get pretty long and sometimes I call him my clown boy since he's kinda got that curly side hair thing. But, it's adorable. I suppose since he often plays with all the girlie toys we have - purses, dolls, barbies and yes, even puts hair bands and clips in his hair - people may think he's a girl. But I just can't cut it. Check out this photo - my little pirate man with a pink cell phone and black purse.

The Things We Miss...

2007-05-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

By being expats and living overseas, we often have to miss things we would rather not. Like, my sister's HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION! I am so proud of her and want to say "CONGRATULATIONS sis"! I wish I could have been there, but she'll have to wait for a congratulatory hug until July.

Truck Overload

2007-05-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

This is a COMMON site here in Beijing. This truck was going by our house - and stuff started to fall off the back. I took the picture when they were starting to pile stuff back onto the truck. The end of the truckbed is right at the left side of the gate.

No censoring?

2007-05-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here watching CNN International and they just did 2 stories on China that did not get blacked out. Occassionally, the TV will go black when there is a story on CNN or the Australian Channel (ABC) that the censors don't want to be shown in China. I am quite surprised that one of these 2 stories made it through the censors - as it does not make the government look good. One story was about some rioting that has been going on in rural villages regarding the enforcement of the "one child policy". Apparently, there have been government officials going around trashing peoples houses and belongings if the women don't agree to forced sterilization or birth control, along with fines up to 10 times the annual salary of these villagers.
Guardian Unlimited Story on Riots
The other story was interesting and funny as it was a CNN reporter going into one of the major "designer" markets to buy knock offs (looked like Silk Street Market to me). It was funny to see him haggling and dealing just like we have to everytime we shop at a market. He was able to buy a whole "designer" outfit for around $100, uncluding socks, underwear and a "rolex" watch. One reason I love shopping in the States, even if it is more expensive - I know I'm getting something that is going to last longer than one wash.
Article on Silk Street This is an article I found doing some searching on silk street market. The only reason tourists go there is to buy fake designer labels at a cheap price. I find it hilarious that there are people reporting less fakes being sold. Two years ago, the market was sued by some international brand names. I believe they don't sell those fakes anymore (although if you bring a picture of anything you are looking for, I bet there is someone there who can show you the same "fake" piece either in "the back" or "under the table". I mean this literally.).

Ashley's birthday!

2007-05-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ashley's birthday is tomorrow - she'll be SIX years old! She is growing up so fast. We had a party for her on Friday, after school. We'd invited her whole class (24 kids!) at her request. Luckily, the clubhouse here is able to cater kids birthday parties, including bouncy castles, so I didn't have a ton of work to do. I got her a cake from a wonderful bakery here called Exquisite. The price was HIGH - but the cake was GORGEOUS. A pink and purple castle. She loved it and it tasted wonderful. Reminded me of the cakes my mom made when I was growing up. The cake was strawberry flavor with buttercream icing. Yummy. We had the party in a small park across the street from our clubhouse - next to a little pond. It was a beautiful sunny day and just perfect for a party. Anthony did some games such as "Simon Says" and "Hot Potato" and "Musical Chairs". I think Musical Chairs was the favorite. The kids really seemed to enjoy that one. It was pretty overwhelming to have 20 kids (I think that's how many showed up) at the party but it turned out well and Ashley was thrilled with her party. We started a new tradition of not opening up gifts at the party - from what I've seen, only Americans do this at parties - it worked out really well. We were able to slow the process down and have Ashley open up a few at a time over the weekend so she could really enjoy them.

I've had a cold, so that hasn't been too fun. Luckly, Anthony was home this weekend for the party and for letting me get some much needed rest. He just left this evening to go back to Shanghai. It sucks when he leaves and we are definitely getting tired of this back and forth thing. I will be so relieved when we are all together in Shanghai.

Cute Video from Thailand

2007-05-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

I posted this video yesterday. It's a few months old, from our last trip to Thailand. Whenever I watch it, I am so proud of Ashley. She's such an outgoing brave little girl who isn't afraid of much. She was thrilled to get to go up on the elephant and she was so happy when he did a little trick - turn your volume up and listen closely at around 7 seconds she squealls with delight.

Liz, on other hand, was cowering in fright as close to me as possible - trying to make herself as small as possible. She's not a big fan of animals - big or small! Oh, the differences between siblings!

Ryken loves to dance

2007-05-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Ryken dancing in the car to his favorite music - the soundtrack to Curious George - Jack Johnson & Friends. He makes me smile and giggle everytime he dances.

And on a lighter note...

2007-05-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Liz can now ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels! She decided she wanted to do this last week and she did it. Anthony only had to help her out just a few times and she got the hang of it rather quickly. She's still a little wobbly in her steering so no tours just yet. Maybe another "L Armstrong" in the making :)

Where does it come from?

2007-05-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

Where does the product you are using come from?

This is something that has become an important question to me. While in the States, I didn’t really ever think about this. I simply trusted that anything being sold in the States was of good quality. It never occurred to me that it would matter. But here, in China, this is a big question. And in light of the recent event of contaminated pet food across the world, which came from China, I would say it is also a big question all over the world. It is amazing what gets exported here into the States and other countries, with little to no quality control. In China, anything can be faked, forged, replicated, reproduced, changed, etc. If it costs them less or makes them more money, they will do it, no matter what the cost. I do believe that this stems from a lack of education and not that these people really want to harm others.

Click on this to read an article from the NYTimes. This is one extremely sad case where someone decided it would be easier and cheaper to substitute a lethal product for sugar in medications, which was then shipped out over the world.

Being here in China, I hear all sorts of horror stories about China. Some examples of things I’ve read or been told (possibly just gossip) are (this is just from my memory and may or may not be completely true):

The pollution is so bad that metals are sinking in the ground from the air and contaminating farming fields.

Don’t trust your bottled water, even with a name brand on it, it could be fake (one company here has set up a number system on stickers where you can go to a website and check to make sure it is a real bottle that hasn’t been used before).

See that man spraying “water” on the side of the road? It’s not water, it’s “medicine” for the insects or pesticides, which is now all over your car because you drove past him as he was spraying it everywhere.

Be careful of medicines you buy here in China, even from reputable pharmacies, they may be fake or sugar pills.

Name brand liquor sold here is often diluted down with cheaper liquor or water.

The furniture you buy that is made here could be harmful to you and your children as it’s possibly made with toxic paint, toxic wood and toxic glue.

Shrimp farms use antibiotics to treat the shrimp, along with banned pesticides in the water to prevent algae buildup (figures I’ve seen are roughly 70-80% of the WORLDS shrimp comes from China)

Now, it appears that with all the export business going on with China, these sub-standards are going out across the world. Along with my most recent post about challenging yourself to go “greener” and think about your impact on the world, I would also challenge you to think more about the products you use, not just food. Although it is IMPOSSIBLE to know exactly where everything you have is coming from – just being aware of this and trying to buy some things locally is a good idea. I find it a bit ironic that many people with only buy American made cars, claiming that they want to support the local people and not foreign industry, but there is no big push to buy locally made food, grocery products, clothes etc. I do understand that the cost of buying locally made items tends to be higher and in order to save money, people need to buy the cheaper items which are usually imported in from other countries. I am not saying never to buy imported items, just to be aware of what you are buying and where it is coming from.

I also find it quite interesting that all those items you buy in the States that are “made in china” are usually impossible to find in the country itself. And when you do find something that seems like a great product you could find back home, it is often either a forgery or something that doesn’t work right or has problems. So, the government here allows quality control on items that are being exported but if it’s being sold in the country, there is no quality control. For example, I’ve heard that if there is something that doesn’t pass inspections or quality control on the way to export, it just gets turned around and sold here in the country. So, a piece of furniture may have paint used on it that contains lead – this wouldn’t be allowed to be sold in other countries, so they just sell it here. It doesn’t matter what gets sold here. There is so little education here about the quality of things, they have no idea that what they may be using could injure or kill them.

I’m sure this probably just seems like a big ‘ole ramble – at least it seems rambling as I write it. Hopefully, it comes across better than I feel I’ve stated it.

The next question I’m sure to hear is “why do you continue living and working over there then?”! At some point, I’ll try to address that question.

Vacation Week Over

2007-05-08T04:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great week with Anthony home on vacation and the girls off of school. I got to go away for some much needed ALONE time for 2 nights! Anthony put me up at the Hyatt downtown for 2 nights. I spent a lot of time reading, walking and window shopping. It was enjoyable, even with the masses of people around due to the May holiday.

Anthony and I also got a night away by ourselves - without the kids! The first time since before Ryken was born (unless you count the night we spent in the hospital while I had surgery on my nose, not exactly romantic, but hey, there were no kids). We left the kids with the ayi and went about 1.5 hours away. It was weird not being right there with them, but we trust the ayi and she loves our kids so much. They did great and had a good time without us. It was also wonderful to have a super happy excited greeting by the kids when we got home.

We stayed the night at a place on the wall - in a little "cabin" made to look like a little cave. Other than lots of bugs in the place, it was a really nice place. To walk about 1 minute and be on the wall was also pretty cool. It was a neat part of the wall, not restored, so harder to climb and but cool to look at. I didn't climb as much as I wanted due to my still sore ankle.

Rug Day

2007-04-30T04:15:00.000-07:00

We bought some new rugs. I've been wanting a good rug for the living room for a LONG time now and we finally broke down and got one. There are so many places to buy rugs here - and at a large variety of prices. You can buy pure silk, pure wool and fake stuff too. It's quite overwhelming, which is one reason I hesitated buying one. When I had some curtains made here, the lady told me she knew a warehouse she could take me to look at carpets. So I called Brenda, the curtain lady, and asked if we could go look at carpets. She had us meet here there - a warehouse for a Beijing carpet company. We checked out all the carpets and there were many that we liked. Some were quite expensive (around 1000 US) and some not too bad. I also asked if they had kids rugs and they had the most adorable kids dinosaur rug - I just had to get it for Ryken's room. So there they are, the two rugs we ended up with:

Wool and Silk Carpet - changes color with light

Ryken's Room - wool rug

The Environment and Me

2007-04-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

I live in a country where the environment is of little concern to the majority of it’s people. I think one of the reasons for this is that most people here are just trying to survive, on the littlest amount of money possible – so if something is cheap, that’s what they will use, no matter how bad for the environment it is. Or if they can make more money by using certain products, no matter what cost to the environment, they will. There are so many examples of this across China, it’s utterly amazing to me. Illegal factories, overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, the use of banned products in production of wood are just a few small examples. Seeing the horrible Beijing pollution firsthand and hearing all of the horrible stories of how the pollution across China has affected people here, has made me very aware of what we, as people, are doing to the environment.

In light of this, I am making a conscious effort to help our planet, to contribute to being more “green”. This can be quite hard and often overwhelming here in China, where I can’t read or speak the language fluently. Here are a few ways I have started trying to make a dent:

1. Use cloth diapers for the kids – Ryken is in cloth about 90% of the time and the girls both are using cloth “pull-ups” for night time.

2. Air-drying as many clothes as possible. With the pollution and the amount of sand blowing around in Beijing, this can be quite difficult to do – so often I hang wet clothes up inside to air dry them. When it is clear and sunny out, it’s a nice day to do laundry and have clothes air dry.

3. Use fewer paper towels – when we first arrived in Beijing, I often wished for a Costco or Sams Club, where I could buy things in bulk, like paper towels. We would go through a roll of paper towels in just a few days. I eventually realized that we don’t NEED paper towels.

4. Look for environmentally friendly products – this is the most difficult part to do here. The government has started to “certify” certain products with a little green label when they decide something is environmentally good. The problem with this is that everything is in Chinese and I often don’t trust this little label – things here are often fake in order to make more money, so it’s difficult for me to trust if something is truly what it is intended to be. So, for now, although this costs me more money, I buy things imported from other countries that are labeled in English, with ingredients I can read. These include cleaning products, laundry detergent and food.

5. Eat organic food – This is also quite difficult here. Luckily, it is becoming easier. There is a company that has started delivering organic vegetables, fruits and grains – I can place orders 2 times a week and it is delivered to the house. Yes, it is more expensive, but in a country where in ground pollution is rampant, it is so important to me to have a reliable source of produce that is organic. I attended a seminar on the “organic movement” here in China. The difficulty of going organic is the amount of time involved and that little money is made by farmers who do go organic. I’ve heard stories of farmers who have certified their land as organic – then at night, when no one is looking, they go out and spray fertilizer and pesticide on their land in order to ensure a good crop, with good looking fruit/vegetables. Farmers and distributors will get fake organic labels made up and stick them on their produce so that people think it’s organic when really it isn’t. I completely understand the whole idea of “knowing your local farmers”.

I am definitely not someone who can say they do everything they can to help the environment. I am trying to do my best for now and research things and continue to improve how I live everyday and how I impact the rest of the world. I still use a vehicle more often than I would like. One of the things I am looking forward to in Shanghai is living within walking distance of stores and schools, at least that is our goal.

I would challenge each of you to think more about the environment, think more about your impact on the world.

For those interested in China

2007-04-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting on China's Naked Capitalism

Read the articles on conditions ranging from inequality to pollution that earned the Wall Street Journal a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

These are very interesting reading for those who have an interest in China.

It's broken mommy

2007-04-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

That's what I heard at 6:30 in the morning. Anthony read somewhere about putting an alarm clock in the kids room to go off when they are allowed to get up. So I set the alarm clock for 7, told the girls that when it went off in the am they could get up and come wake me. I hear them talking and playing around 6 this morning and at 6:30, Ashley comes in my room and tells me "the alarm clock, it's broken mommy, it hasn't gone off". Well, that's because it is set for 7 and it is only 6:30, so you have another half hour. "but mommy, that's too long!" ARGH! So much for the alarm clock theory.

5 am - Early?

2007-04-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Who thinks 5 am is early?! I certainly do, but not my 3 year old! The sun rises around then here and it seems as soon as there is a bit of light peeking through the curtain, she thinks it's time to get up. She woke up Ashley, who was not happy to be woken up early. And of course, after pleading with her for 2 hours to go back to sleep, at 7:00, when I needed her to start getting ready for the day, she complains she's tired and wants to go back to sleep. I know that kids have shared rooms all throughout the years, but I don't know how parents survive it. My kids just can not share a room without being completely exhausted and grumpy from each other. I am about to put the baby in my room (ARGH!) so that Ashley can have a room to get some good sleep in and Liz can have a room to get up with the sun.

But I'm NOT Tired

2007-04-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

I've been having lots of issues getting Liz to sleep everynight. I really have no idea how each night is going to go and am quite surprised when it goes well. Given that the girls share a room and Ashley is usually keen to go to sleep, it is difficult to do any sort of bedtime enforcement for Liz - who will cry and scream for hours. The other night, I actually had Ashley tell me, with tears building up, to just be nice to Liz - that I should just let her have baby and go to sleep (Liz was refusing to lay down and I said she couldn't have her baby until she laid down). Poor Ashley doesn't enjoy dealing with Liz at bedtime and neither do I. I finally have just given up the fight. I get both girls ready for bed, do the whole routine, read stories, lay down and then just leave the room. If Liz gets up and follows me, I don't say anything, just go about my business and pretend she's not there. Sometimes, like tonight, this works GREAT! After 5 minutes of me doing other stuff, here is where I found Liz in the living room - and she said she wasn't tired...

Sleeping

2007-04-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

What is our driver doing right now? Sleeping...with his head on the steering wheel. Good thing we aren't driving anywhere! We have a sub driver, as Simon is out for the day and I asked him to come at 12:30, but I wasn't feeling well and feel asleep (guess it's a sleepy day here). I went out to him at 1:30 to let him know I didn't need the car until 2:30 and I had to shake him to wake him up. I am now eating lunch inside and looking out my window he's asleep again. It's quite a funny sight to see in front of my house.

Mahjong

2007-04-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

I've decided to learn how to play mahjong. Every other week, I get together with a group of women here who are also learning to play and we learn new rules and play together. I think it's a pretty complex game, so far, I've only learned the basics. I have heard there are many different variations to the game, including a "western style" for foreigners. Not sure why the foreigners need their own style. You can buy different sets, with the numbers written in English (1,2,3...) on them or with the Chinese Characters for the numbers. Today, I played with the English tiles and last time, I played with the Chinese characters. Makes one learn the number characters quite fast. I find it a fun game and it feels good to "use my brain" every once in a while! So, look out my friends! When I'm back home in the States, we'll have to set up a Mahjong night (the guys get poker, we can do Mahjong)!

Subway Collapse

2007-03-31T06:16:00.000-07:00

Don't know if this made the news in the US or not...I found it quite disturbing.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/30/content_5917218.htm

What to do?

2007-03-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

on a bright, sunny, beautiful RARE day here in Beijing, with three children, no husband and no ayi...go to Chaoyang Park! This is a wonderful park which has some great amusement rides for the kids. I wouldn't say that everything is in great condition (I mean, we are in China!), but most of them are rideable. The girls had a blast in the big jumpy castle - they probably ran around for an hour or so, while I tried speaking Chinese to lots of elderly Chinese women who ohed and ahed over our "pong" (Fat) baby boy. He was sitting in the stroller and got lots of attention. One lady was very attentive and kept speaking to me over and over again, but I could not understand anything she was saying. Luckily, a Chinese woman from England who spoke both English and Chinese, was able to tell me that the woman was from Shichuan (not sure about the spelling) and had a very strong accent for that region - so it wasn't just me and my bad understanding of Chinese, it was her strong accent!

The girls had lots of fun going on rides at the park - Ashley even went on her first real roller coaster ride - it lasted about 20 seconds - but it counts in my book. We walked a ton and got to see some cherry blossom trees blooming, which are beautiful. All the kids were exhausted when we got home.

I probably shouldn't have walked so much on my leg, but being cooped up in the house surely would have driven me more insane than I already am. I saw the doc today and was informed that I stretched the ligaments in this last fall and may have even tore some of them - we'll have to wait for 3 more weeks to see how the healing process is going. It still hurts quite a bit and I don't have full range of movement on the ankle. I'm supposed to stay off of it as much as possible, keep it elevated and wrapped for another 3 weeks. Fun, fun, fun. Not so easy to do! Especially now that the weather is finally turning nice - it's sunny and bright and getting warmer.

Funny China Story Time

2007-03-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

Dog in hospital after mating(China Daily)Updated: 2007-03-27 09:22

A male dog in Chengdu, Sichuan, had to receive an intravenous drip in hospital after being given Viagra and made to mate with three female dogs on a single day.
Wang, the dog's owner, has been very busy since mating season arrived. Her dog is considered handsome, and many owners of female dogs want her dog to sire puppies with their pets. Wang can earn more than 1,000 yuan ($128) per breeding session, so in order to boost her earnings she fed her dog Viagra and made it mate with three female dogs last Sunday. The effort was apparently strenuous enough that the dog had to be taken to hospital.

(Chengdu Evening News)

She can ride on two wheels

2007-03-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

Ashley can ride a bike without training wheels! We are all so excited for her. She’s wanted to do this for months and has been trying, but she’s been scared. We knew she could do it, if she got enough confidence in herself and her abilities. And this weekend, she did it. At first, we needed to help her get going, but then she figured that out too. We are working on going around corners and bumpy paths. She fell on the way to school this morning, but I made sure she was wearing pants on the way, so she didn’t skin her knees. Her friend, Kathleen, gave her a card congratulating her on riding her bike without training wheels and Ashley just beamed.

Day by Day

2007-03-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

Anthony has started his job in Shanghai. He flies there on Sunday evenings and comes back to Beijing on Thursday night. It is hard having him gone for the week, although we stay so busy with the kids after school activities that it does go by quickly.

Things got a bit hairy last week when I took a fall (yes, again!) and twisted my ankle. I thought it was allright, but once I tried to stand up afterwards, I couldn’t put any pressure on it. So, off I went to the doctor. Thank goodness for the ayi and for friends as they were all able to take care of the kids at the last minute so I could go. They did Xrays and determined that nothing was broken, just a bad sprain. My foot swelled up and is now mostly purple and yellow. I was on crutches for a few days and did a lot of butt crawling up and down the stairs. It’s getting better, but it’s definitely a day by day thing. I’m hoping soon I can fit it into a regular shoe and can stop wearing my slippers everywhere.

Ashley and Liz are both taking swimming lessons now. We had a major breakthrough 2 weeks ago when Liz put her head in the water while wearing goggles – because Liz did it, then Ashley did it – so we have finally gotten past that part. Liz is much more into learning how to swim and enjoys putting her head in and swimming around – she’s trying to see how long she can stay underwater – if she can beat her swim instructor. Ashley, on the other hand, is very much ready to just doggie paddle her way through the water without getting her head wet in anyway. So, the instructor sure does have his work cut out for him.

Some Videos

2007-03-11T00:49:00.000-08:00

I've posted some videos on Youtube...

Ryken's First Attempts at Walking

Liz taking video without me knowing it

Watch This Movie

2007-03-06T04:06:00.000-08:00

Today, I was privileged to be able to watch the Oscar Winning Movie “The Blood of Yingzhou District”. Although what I watched was not the original full length movie that won the Oscar – it was a modified, shortened version that has been released in China – only for viewing by private audiences and not for distribution (at least I think that’s what was said) – apparently the gov’t here wouldn’t approve the full version (about 10 minutes longer) for viewing because it shows the gov’t here in a bad way. Anyway, the film is great, very sad and disturbing. It’s about AIDS orphans in remote villages in southern China. I am glad that attention is being brought to this horrible situation. If you get a chance, please go see this film – it is so amazing that this has happened and is going on in the present day and age. I was told today that the movie is being released across the US in small theatres and this summer, in June, the movie will be shown on the Discovery Channel. Keep an eye out for it, definitely worth watching.

Let it snow, let it snow

2007-03-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

photo from http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/201455.htm

It snowed last night here in Beijing! We went out for dinner at Hatsune, our favorite Japanese restaurant - I absolutely LOVE sushi now - and then went out to a "cuban" bar for a few drinks. While sitting in the bar, I kept looking outside, thinking how the raindrops were so big, I could see them really clearly through the window. That's when I realized it was snow - and it quickly piled up. It was a beautiful drive home through the snow. The ground is warm, so it was mainly just slush - no real fear of it turning into ice as it wasn't cold enough. The girls played in the snow today, making snowmen, until some boys came and knocked the snowmen over (boys are MEAN!). Most of it melted by the end of the day. It was nice to see some snow though - it's the first precipitation we've had here since December 31st. Hopefully, it will clean some of the air up for a few days.

And the Fireworks Continue...

2007-03-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/200697.htm

Just read this article online, after listening to the fireworks here nonstop, insane for the last 2 hours. Took a long time to get the kids to bed tonight it is so loud - well, Ryken and Liz anyway. Ashley is the heaviest sleeper I have ever known so it doesn't bother her. So, according to the article, this should be the last night of fireworks 'till next year. I am really hoping so as I am seriously tired of the constant barrage of noise every night!

Ryken's One Year Stats

2007-03-03T00:20:00.000-08:00

Ryken went in for his one year checkup and got his height, weight and head circumference measured. For those interested, here are the results.

Weight 12.5 kg or 27.5 lbs

Height 79.2 cm or 31.2 inches

Head 48.8 cm or 19.2 inches

Basically, what all that means, is that he's a big, happy and healthy boy. He's above the 90th percentile for everything.

Frustrating Days

2007-02-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

We have ants in our kitchen – AGAIN. We had a large infestation last summer and now the ants are back. I’ve taped up a hole in the cabinets and that kept them at bay for about a day. But then, this morning, I opened up one of our cabinets and there were many, many ants. I called the local management office to have them come and try and take care of the problem. They came, pulled the dishwasher out, said it was all bad and they needed to do some caulk work. I said ok. They said it costs money and I must pay them. I said no – I am refusing to keep paying for maintenance and upkeep of the house when the landlord should be the one paying for these things. They seemed confused and said ok, they would send a quotation to the landlord to get approval to caulk part of the cabinet. ARGH. Yes, a quotation to put about 2 feet worth of caulk in the kitchen has to be sent to the landlord for approval in order for them to fix anything. This is ridiculous. I am quite frustrated right now about the whole rental thing with a landlord who isn’t accessible and a rental agent who only cares about getting money for herself, not about keeping the client happy.

We also had a rather large heating bill for December, when we weren’t even here for 2 weeks and I have complained and the rental agent just said to me – who cares, isn’t the company paying for it anyway? – Yes, this is the type of service we get. It sucks. That is one thing about China that I get really, really sick of. Customer Service. It just doesn’t exist (unless you are willing to pay for it).

Mortgage your credentials

2007-02-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

This is a sign in a local grocery store – the sign says not to take the cart outside the store, but if you have too, you can “mortgage your credentials”. Not quite sure how to go about doing that, but I guess they really care about their grocery carts.

Happy Birthday to RYKEN!!!!

2007-02-27T03:02:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Ryken! He is ONE YEAR OLD today! I can’t believe it’s already been a year, my baby, no longer a baby. We didn’t really celebrate at all – since Anthony’s out of town for work. We did open a few of the presents from Grandmom and Grandad – he enjoyed the boy toys – the girls actually took the boy toys and put them on their heads as hats and face masks. We will do a cake and simple "party" for him this weekend when Anthony is back in town.

Xin Nian Kuai Le

2007-02-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

The fireworks going on here are amazing - it does sound like a warzone! Tonight is the official New Years Eve celebration and it's loud and colorful. We ate at the clubhouse (Tokyo Teppanyaki) - and thought it ironic that we were eating Japanese food on Chinese New Year night - oops. It was good though. The fireworks were going off so we decided to bundle everyone up and take a walk around outside the complex. Even with all the loud noise, Ryken fell asleep and Liz was quiet the entire time. For weeks, she's been saying how scared she is of fireworks, but she was excited to see them tonight and enjoyed looking at them.

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ashley had to write on a heart at school for Valentine's Day - she was supposed to write down the names of those she loves. She wrote " I love Kathleen and Ella and Hugo". All her friends. Did she write "I love mommy and daddy"? Nope. And on our fridge that night, did she write "I love you mommy thank you for the chocolate"? Nope. She wrote "I love you Kathleen". Her best friend.

Anniversary means Party?!

2007-02-13T05:43:00.000-08:00

That’s what Ashley was hoping earlier this month when Anthony and I celebrated a day that we consider a mini anniversary. It’s not our real anniversary (that’s in August), but it is a day we consider special and unique to us. We mentioned to Ashley that we were celebrating this special day the morning of and Ashley immediately became excited! She asked to take our wedding photo into school and I thought, sure, why not? I thought it was sweet she wanted to show her teacher. So, she took it to school and immediately told her teacher it was our anniversary. Instead of explaining the whole thing to the teacher at drop off time, I just let it go, said thanks and went home. When I went to pick Ashley up from her ballet class, there were parents already there and they congratulated me on my anniversary! I must have looked perplexed and they said that Ashley made an announcement before ballet and told everyone there,all the kids, all the teachers and all the parents! I never imagined that our anniversary would mean so much to Ashley, that she would even recognize what it meant – and I found out later, when we arrived home, that she doesn’t know what it means! She immediately asked when we were having the party and where the cake was. Yep, she was excited because when I said “celebrating” she blocked all else out of her mind and just thought “party, sweets, candy, ice cream, cake”. She was quite disappointed when I explained it all to her. Poor Kid. But, as she pointed out afterwards, Ryken’s birthday is only in a few weeks, so we’ll have a birthday party then, right mom?

Liz is Married!

2007-02-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so not really, I mean, come on, she's only 3! But, tonight, Anthony had a friend come over from work - he works in Taipei. Liz has never seen this guy before. But, she's all excited that he's coming over for dinner. She's runs outside to greet him when the taxi shows up. Then, she wants to know if he's eating with us. She talks to him and chats. I tell her it's bathtime and she wants to know if he'll (let's call him Tom) still be here when she's done with bath, then asks if Tom can see her pajamas. I tell her yes, he can (thinking she means, can he see me in my pj's?). That's not what she meant, she takes her PJ's downstairs to show him! After her bath, she goes downstairs and asks him to brush her wet hair. This is hilarious since she has never asked anyone to brush her hair and Tom has never brushed a kids head before! She chats to him the whole time (which is so unusual for her) and she decides to marry him. She tells him they are getting married and dances for him in the living room. Ahhh, this is the first sign of trouble I have seen out of this child. As I put her bed, she aks if Tom is staying the night because she wants to see him tomorrow. Too bad her little heart will be broken when I tell her he won't be back becuase he's going to his girlfriend in Taiwan!

Toaster Oven, Iron, Vacuum and Bedding

2007-02-11T05:28:00.000-08:00

What do all these things have in common? They were the giveaway gifts for every employee at Anthony's company's party last night for Chinese New Year. Every employee recieved a ticket with a number and a Chinese character on it. There were four characters, one for each prize. So if your ticket had the character that was chosen for the iron, then you got an iron (that was ours). I guess they figure everyone needs household items, so it would be a good gift to give. Most people I talked to said they would give their gifts to their mom, since they didn't do the cooking or cleaning or ironing, but thier moms did!

We had a good time at the party, even though the whole thing was in Chinese. It was also very much like a TV studio - they had high tech video equipment, with one camera on a crane! They were filming the whole thing and then would also show everyone who was speaking or singing on 2 huge screens - this for a roomfull of about 200 people. Anthony did a sort of karoake performance with four other guys. He sang "Country Roads" and pretended to play a guitar. He did a great job. His company had hired a firm to help make the party a success and they came up with ideas for the show and had people practice for their "roles". They originally wanted Anthony to show up at 9am and stay all day to practice for his one song that he was singing with 4 other people. He said no and agreed to show up at 3:30 for a quick 15 minute practice and then to stick around until the party at 5:30. We both thought that was a little crazy for a company party. Before Anthony came out on stage, they brought me a bouquet of flowers and told me I needed to take them up to him while he was singing - and I agreed, but then asked how he was supposed to hold them since he would be "playing" the guitar. "Meiguanxi" was their answer - meaning no problem, it's ok. I get tired of hearing that phrase. So, I did take him the flowers and he did awkwardly hold them and the guitar and sing his heart out.

He finished his song and it was time for a raffle drawing. He's backstage and they call out a number and I'm trying to figure out the number in Chinese to compare to the number on his ticket when the people at our table start pointing to me and hollering! I realize that the number is our ticket! I go up to the stage looking very bewildered and really wanting Anthony to come out and take my place. They are talking to me in Chinese, I have no idea what they are saying. They tell me in English to shake some guys hand, I do, although I have no idea why - the lights are so bright on stage I can't see anyone in the audience, which is a good thing! Anthony shows up so at least I'm not alone now. Everyone is clapping and I don't know why - still. I know we've won something, but have no idea what. Then I break this egg thing to get a character to see what character goes with what appliance they have for the giveaway. We are told to go with this lady to get our prize and as we leave, we realize that we have won the MAJOR prize! The SONY LCD TV!!!! We don't know how big it is or anything, but we won the big prize. The big prizes were a Camcorder, a 5000RMB travel voucher and a TV. It was completely unexpected and a total surpise, especially since we had no idea! I just hope that the audience understood that I didn't understand and if I had of known I would have acted a bit more excited than I did! The TV is getting delivered tomorrow. One big downside is that it's 220 Volt, so no matter how great it is, we'll be leaving it here in China when we come home. No matter, we'll enjoy it while we're here. Thanks AMD!!!

KaPow

2007-02-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is next week and is the biggest holiday in China. Last week, along the road that I go on almost everyday, red tents were being set up. I had not seen these before and wondered what they were. I asked our driver and his answer was "kapow" - he doesn't speak much English - along with kapow he used hand gestures to insituate something blowing up. Ahhhh...FIREWORKS. The next day, we drove by the red tents and sure enough, they were filled to overflowing with fireworks being sold to celebrate the festival. We aren't talking small little bundles of fireworks, nope, huge packages of LARGE fireworks. I really have to wonder how many firework injuries there are here in China because I know they aren't exactly safe with them! We've been hearing and seeing fireworks going off every night now and every night, there are more and more. We will be leaving on the 19th to go to Koh Samui, Thailand until the 24th - partly to be spared the noise and celebrations of Chinese New Year. We've been told that it sounds like war zone for days during the festival, from evening until 4 in the morning!

New Painted Stripes

2007-02-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

On the main road outside our complex, I noticed today that the lane stripes were bright white - they were freshly painted. I am slightly complexed as to why they would paint new stripes, when I think it just confuses drivers. The majority of drivers here have no idea why there are stripes on the road, have no idea what lanes are and just drive whereever they want to. I am thinking that since it was supposed to snow last night and didn't - that maybe there were people hired to street sweep the snow away, but since it didn't snow, they thought it would be a good idea to paint lines on the street, give them something to do.

China here we stay

2007-02-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Anthony's been told he will start work in Shanghai after the Chinese New Year holiday - that's at the end of February. So, although we have yet to officially be signed on for a stint in Shanghai - it looks like it's going to happen. We've been thinking about this move for a few months now, but things haven't been so easy with deciding when and how and the logistics of it all. Schools are very competitive and full in Shanghai, so it is quite difficult to get a child into a good school given a few weeks or even a few months notice. We have decided to stay here in Beijing until Ashley finishes this school year, that way she can finally complete one solid year of school at the same school. So, for now, starting after Chinese New Year, Anthony will fly to Shanghai for 4 days a week and we'll stay here in Beijing. In April, our lease is up on the house, so we'll probably have to stay here in a small serviced apartment until school is over and we can then move onto Shanghai. We are still not sure what our stint will be in Shanghai - 2 or 3 years. We are excited about this - I'm excited about being somewhere for more than 1 year - I'm getting really tired of the moving around so much. Although most expats are used to the making friends and seeing them leave every year or so, it doesn't make it any easier. I've made good friends here in Beijing and it will be difficult leaving all of them, but there are new adventures that await us in Shanghai (and it won't be quite so cold in winter or as polluted!).

Ryken is Bilingual

2007-02-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Ryken is finally starting to speak, a lot of babble mainly, but there are three words or sounds that are worth mentioning. The first and foremost is DADA. Second is MAMA, which he's been saying for a while - but he says it the most when food is involved, so I think he thinks mama means food. We are trying to teach him to say "more" for food - when he wants to eat, but MORE to him doesn't sound much different than MAMA. The last one that I have yet to distinctly hear, but that my ayi swears he says all the time is jiejie - the would be the Chinese word for sister! I have heard him make the j sound before, so she could be right, but I haven't caught him actually saying jiejie to his sisters. So, if he's actually saying all those words, he is truly bilingual, since MaMa is said both in Chinese and English. If we can get him to say BABA (Chinese for father) before he says anything else, then he'll really be speaking another language.

School Cancelled

2007-02-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Today, Anthony took Ashley to school this morning since he had taken the day off. When he took her, they told him that there was no electricity or running water at school and they had no idea why. He could leave her and see if it came back on and they would call us to pick her up shortly if it didn't. Hmmm...definitely not something we'd experience back home, in the absence of any storms, weather phenomenom, etc. So, he left her, hoping the water and electricity would come back on. About an hour later though, I got a text message on my phone (very popular way of communicating here) that we needed to come pick up our children if possible. Anthony went and picked her up and they had no further news as to what caused the problem or when it would fixed. Ashley seemed excited to have another day at home with Daddy until lunch time - then she said she wanted to go back to school because they were having a buffet in her classroom. I learned from her that they were setting up lunch in the classrooms (lunch is catered by our complex clubhouse, which did have electricity) for those kids that had to stay at school. Usually lunch is eaten in the "basement" where the cafeteria is, but due to no electricity, it would be very dark down there. Ashley would have loved to have eaten in her classroom, but we said no, she had to eat at home with the adults - how sad.

Superbowl the China Way

2007-02-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

We did get to watch the Superbowl! Anthony even took off the day to stay home and watch it. The game started at 7am and ended around 11:00am. Anthony made breakfast burritos and then later, we had nachos (by this time, the game was already over though). One thing that is seriously missing when watching the Superbowl here - COMMERCIALS! Please let me know which ones I just have to see - and I'll check them out online. The only commercials we get here are ESPN commercials for upcoming games that will be showing on ESPN Asia. BORING! Would much rather see the commercials that companies pay out the wazoo to have aired during the Superbowl.

Mummy Dearest

2007-02-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ashley has been attending a british school here in Beijing, meaning that it follows a British School Cirriculum. Now, with a classroom full of diversity - I'm not sure how many different countries are represented in her classrom, but I would say at least 10 - you would think she would be able to maintain her own "American" accent. But no...she hasn't. On our trip to Australia, we found out just how prominent Ashley's new accent is. She kept getting asked over and over again if she was British! Since Ashley's 2 best friends both hail from England, Ashley has picked up on their accents. She says lots of words that we don't say coming from the States and I even have a new name - I am now known as "mummy". I wonder what Liz will be talking like in a few years.

Memory Loss

2007-01-27T18:42:00.001-08:00

What happens when Anthony and the ayi are both out of town? Well, I think I go crazy. I realize that with each child I have given birth to, I have lost a part of my brain. I wonder if it will ever come back – the intelligence, memory and patience I used to have – ok, maybe not patience, I don’t know that I’ve ever been a very patient person, but still, it must be the kids that have made it worse!

We needed new pots and pans – we were using ones I bought back in Taipei from IKEA – the cheapest set they had – I think I paid about 10 US for 3 pots. They were starting to flake off into our food, so it was time to buy more. After visiting IKEA three times to get new pans (the first time, I forgot that’s what I was there for – see, the memory thing – the second time, they were doing inventory and the pots and pans were blocked off with no access for customers, argh), I have already burned 2 of them! In one week. First, I put some carrots in water to make them soft for Ryken to eat – and promptly forget they were there until I smelled something funny – luckily I caught them in time and there was just a small layer of burnt stuff in the bottom. The pan was at least salvageable. But on the second pan, I was washing dishes and decided I should probably boil Ryken’s bottle tops and bottle nipples since he’s using them often now. I put the water to boil, added the bottle stuff and went to play with the kids. Ryken was a bit fussy, so I put him down for a nap and by then, the girls were playing so well together in the play room, I thought I could finally sit and read a book and relax for a few minutes. I was reading and didn’t notice a thing, until the fire alarms started going off. Smoke was rising from the kitchen – the water had boiled out, the bottle top rings had melted and there was smoke everywhere. Needless to say, Ryken woke up screaming in fright from the fire alarms and my few minutes of peace were no longer! I had just completely forgotten that I’d put them on to boil!

Australia, the Rest

2007-01-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it’s now January 26, 2007, and I never got to finish my posting about our trip to Australia. To make a LONG story short. Lady Elliot Island was amazing! Gorgeous weather, amazing sights and sounds. Birds nesting, birds hatching, turtles nesting – Ashley and I got to see a HUGE turtle lay eggs one night and Anthony got to see two different turtles build nests but he doesn’t think they laid any eggs in them. The snorkeling was amazing – seeing lots of fish, coral and turtles. We swam with turtles – turtles as big as Ashley – even bigger, how amazing is that? Anthony went scuba diving and saw a shark – that was cool. We also saw a HUGE ray at the bottom of the ocean floor while snorkeling. I have no idea how big he was, but I would guess about 8 feet wide. The girls had fun too, playing with the kids club “Reef Rangers”, playing in the sand and checking out all the things in the water on the coral reef.

We left Lady Elliot Island after 5 days and went to Fraser Island, which is just south of Lady Elliot Island. It is a very large sand island – nothing else, just sand – not exactly true – they also have dingos and some cool rock formations and a neat shipswreck called the Maheno. It is here where Ryken has an accident, we have to quickly pack up our stuff and take the ferry back to Hervey Bay (which takes an hour) and find the hospital to get him checked out. He bonked his head (his nose/upper lip area) really hard and since it was a head injury, we needed to get him looked at. He wouldn’t eat as it was causing him a lot of pain. They gave him some meds, then watched him for a few hours. We found a new hotel for the night and stayed there. The next day, we drove to Brisbane and stayed the night there, since we didn’t want to be far away from a hospital for 48 hours after the accident. He was soon back to normal and we weren’t worried anymore.

Our final place to visit in Australia was Lamington National Park at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. This is about a 2 hour drive south of Brisbane. It was absolutely stunning up there and we really enjoyed walking the trails and seeing nature at it’s finest. They have a wonderful treetop walk which is all suspension bridges linked together above the trees – it’s pretty cool and the kids loved it.

All in all, we had a great trip. I thought Australia was great – people were friendly and helpful. The best part of all – so many places had baby bathrooms – rooms where there were nursing chairs and baby changing areas and hot water for bottles and clean sinks and sometimes even little potties for the little kids. It was just brilliant! Really made me see how child friendly Australia is and how unchild friendly China is!

Australia here we come...

2007-01-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2007
My first post of the new Year! And it’s already the 10th of January. Wow. We had a wonderful holiday in Australia! It’s been my dream to go to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef for many, many years. Although it wasn’t exactly in my dream to take 3 kids along on the trip, that’s life, though, isn’t it. Better with 3 kids than never going at all! It was a long flight there, although overnight, so the kids did sleep. Ryken was in a carseat, which is so much easier on planes than having to hold him. We arrived in Sydney on the morning on the 17th. We stayed at a hotel in Darling Harbour. For the first day, we mainly just walked around, trying to find diapers and baby food and checking out Darling Harbour area. We found Sydney to be very expensive food wise and grocery wise, at least compared to the States.

On the 18th, we shopped most of the day. I was in heaven with all the stores! It was wonderful, although I must say, would have been much more wonderful had we not had kids who were completely bored and tired of walking and just wanting to play. To satisfy their appetite for fun, we stopped at a mall called Myer, where we saw that there was a Santaland train. The girls got to ride the train and look at all the Christmas decorations. Santa was also visiting Myer mall, but due to Liz’s complete fear of the man in red and white, we didn’t get to see him. After shopping, we went up the to Sydney Observation Tower and go to see Sydney from high up in the air. It was pretty cool and amazing how far you could see, along with how green and pretty everything is. Definitely a sight for sore eyes after being in polluted Beijing. After the observation tower, we took the kids to the Sydney Aquarium, where we got to see lots of fish, sharks, rays and even a croc.

On the 19th, our first stop was to the doctor, Liz had a UTI and needed to get some antibiotics. Fast, efficient and cheap, we were happily on our way after about an hour. We visited Taronga Zoo by taking a ferry from Darling Harbour over to the zoo and sightseeing along the way. It was windy and a bit chilly, so the sky ride (a gondola from the ferry dropoff up to the top of the zoo) was closed. The zoo was beautiful, with amazing views of Sydney from lots of places in the zoo. It started to cloud over and sprinkle a bit, so we headed back to Darling Harbour on the ferry. Once there, we went to a fancy seafood restaurant and had a good meal, while Ashley ran outside in the rain trying to scare people with her lion mask on. It was hilarious and I think she managed to scare a few people, along with make a few people laugh.

On the 20th, it was time to depart Sydney and fly to Lady Elliot Island via Hervey Bay. We had to get up early for our early flight, so we ate breakfast at the Sydney airport – we had Krispy Kreme donuts! YUM! What a treat. The flight to Hervey Bay was uneventful, although they wouldn’t let us take Ryken’s carseat as it hadn’t been preapproved and it wasn’t an Australian carseat brand (that was frustrating). Once in Hervey Bay, we waited for our flight to Lady Elliot. At boarding time, they came and got us and walked us past security and to the tiny 14 seater plane. Guess when you’re flying on something that small, no additional security measures are needed. The flight was about 45 minutes and the island was absolutely gorgeous from above. Amazing. I was so excited to get down and check it out.

Ashley's Christmas List

2006-12-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

This year, Ashley decided to write her own list - she did this on her own without any prompting. Since we are leaving next week for Australia for the holidays, she is desperately trying to get Santa her list so he knows what to leave in our Beijing house for her. We had the discussion with her that we don't have room in our suitcases for Santa to bring us gifts in Australia - so it was her idea that he would leave the presents at our house in Beijing for when we got back from our trip - Brilliant!

This morning, I was greeted with her Christmas list, here it is exactly as she wrote it:

DOg
Gifss
Wumclos
TUWOUYZS
a buol
sthikuzs
sthuftcAt

For those of you who can't read a kindergartener's spelling it means: Dog, Gifts, Warm Clothes, Toys, A Ball, Stickers and a Stuffed Cat - I did clarify with her that a stuffed cat meant a fluffy stuffed animal made with cloth and fabric - not a real stuffed cat!