The Rain in Spain

OK, so I don't really know anything about "The Rain in Spain," except that it is a poem and it was used in "My Fair Lady." But I do know a little about the rain in China. As you might have guessed it rained today, and I feel that it has been a very educational experience. First things, I discovered today that my umbrella leaks. My first question that I asked myself was, "Why is it on a raining day that I find out that my umbrella leaks?" Then it dawned on me: first, unlike most Chinese I do not carry my umbrella with me where ever I go, and second, even if I did, the sun doesn't drip. So I think that would be the dumbest question I have ever asked myself. Of course I wouldn't find out that my umbrella leaks until a rainy day. Second thing I learned was that people here are more polite on rainy days. Not to say that no one stared...that'll never happen. But people stood up for me to sit down on the bus. I was carrying Lydia like always, and while lately people have just been avoiding eye contact, today they made a big show of it. One bus driver actually yelled at one of the guys sitting and told himto get up and let me sit, that doesn't usually happen.
But all this niceness did not stop the constant barrage of advice. Winter blew in on Saturday. Literally, Friday was about 85 degrees and Saturday, after the wind started, 65. So I dressed the kids warmly, sweat pants and sweat shirt. Yet, this was not warm enough. I was told that they were not wearing enough clothes. One little boy had on a shirt, tightly knit woolen sweater, and a sweatshirt...at least that was all that I could see. But one of the teachers, after asking if the kids were cold, said that it was because our health was better than theirs. This is because we eat more beef, she informed me. So to all my friends, here's to your health, have that triple cheeseburger delux today. If someone asks if you are afraid that it will make you fat or clog your arteries, just tell them it is the Chinese way to improve your health...you will have a heart attack, but avoid winter's pesky sniffles!
(This website is not certified to give health advice. Take any and all advice at your own risk. We claim no responsibility for that heart attach if you eat that triple cheeseburger delux! Nor are we responsible for any colds you may happen to catch despite eating the triple cheeseburger delux!)
Have a great day everybody!

I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want...

Rich Mullins was a singer/poet/philosopher of our day. He was kind of a rebel (part of which led to his early death) but wrote a lot of profound songs. One of his songs has a line in it that summarizes human nature. He writes speaking to God, "I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want, than to take what you give and I need." I found this to be true so many times in my life...mostly in situations that I would rather not lay out for public ridicule...but I have a cute story that gives some validation to his statement. Elijah is going through a rough time. The terrible 2's were simply a prologue to this time in his life. Right now, the major "daily" battles are potty training and eating...some child psychologists say that this is an attempt for a child to control his own life. In eating, usually before I finish cooking dinner he is crying in the kitchen telling me he doesn't like it and he won't eat it. But one afternoon I was baking, as I really love to do (and it shows!), I had the crisco, a very prized posession here, on the counter for me to use it. Elijah came into see what I was doing. I told him I was baking, and he immediately started in saying that he wanted some. I replied that it was not yet finished. He proceeded to demand that I give him some crisco. He insisted that he "liked it." He proceeded to scream and throw himself on the floor (something we are working hard to deal with). So finally after quite some ruckus, I caved. I scraped some up on my finger and shoved it in his mouth. Now I say I caved, but really, I hardly feel like I was giving him what he "really" wanted. Anyone who has ever tasted crisco can imagine that he immediately said he did not like it. Surprisingly just a few days later, I was making popcorn (the old fashioned way). I had the oil out, and the same scene started to commence. This time I learned a little quicker. I told him he didn't like it, and as soon as he began to fuss with me I poured some in his mouth. (I had clean that one up!) But just like the quote, Elijah fights me over every meal saying he won't like it and then insists on things I know he won't like. Tonight though, we had a major break through. He ate his dinner, Mexican chicken stew, a meal he repeated has turned his nose up at. I suppose I should thank the kindergarten. Since he only eats rice there (I suppose they give him candy, too), he's pretty hungry for dinner. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these stories from our sweet boy--oh, wait sorry, he's the King of the Wild Things. He's really a great little boy coming into his own personality!

Middle Child Syndrome

It has been recently noticed that our wonderful middle child Elijah has been left out of the picture taking and posting. He has fallen victim to the middle child syndrome. I repent, and we have taken some pictures. The reason that he has recently been left out is that Lydia is doing something new: crawling and pulling up; and Bella's teacher took some of the pictures and her class had an activity today. So, poor Elijah just got left out. I promise to try to work on more pictures this weekend of all of the kids. Hope you enjoy these! And feel free anytime to let me know that one or more of the kids is getting left out!









The cheesiest!




Strong man competitions have a new applicant!


Move over Emeril LaGassi, there's a new chef in town! (As always, it's pancakes. The favorite meal of every week is Saturday morning breakfast, usually pancakes.)

More "Good Times"

Sorry, some of the explanations of the pics on the last post were not so good. I'll try to be more careful this time.

It stinks to be the only one who doesn't know the song.

No, really, it really stinks...bad!

Actually, it makes me look really pitiful!

And, what every park ought to have...

GOATS!
I knew that was what you were thinking. I know that every time you go to a park in America, the thing you think is, "Man, I really wish we had some mangy looking goats." I was one of the few parents who weren't pushing their kids to go over and play with the goats. I am mean and cruel that way. Crazy thing, I didn't want her to be bit by a goat. I've heard they bite pretty hard, and they were pretty aggressive with the other kids.

In other more entertaining news, Isabella has said some really funny things lately. She's learning to read so quickly, we often tell her we are so impressed. So yesterday, she finished reading a small book, and she said very excitedly, "I"m so oppressed!" It took me a while to stop laughing. Then today, she said that she had to tell me something I would be really excited about: "Worm-aid." I asked if that was cool-aid made with worms. She told me no, it was a fish that was a girl. What she really meant, a mermaid. She's so funny.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm going to try to get a picture of my new haircut and get it posted...not that it's that important, but I'm kinda proud of it! Hope to talk to everyone soon!

One "happy" little girl

These are some really "cheerful" (sorry, there is no such thing as "sarcasm font") pictures of Isabella. Her class had an outing to the park today. She didn't really enjoy herself all that much...neither did I for that matter. Anyway, I think she still looks cute!

The kids all around her are singing, but she doesn't know the song.

All the kids around her look bored and uncertain...and now she smiles!

Chinese love the Nixon era "peace!"

The "when is this going to be over " look.

The pretty pond right next to where we are playing. (Sorry, the pic's a little crooked.)

Baby Still Moving

Up...

Up...

And Away!

Ooooo!

These pictures are so interesting!

This is the look we get when we all go out together in

China!

Hao ke ai O!

Baby on the Move!

I'd rather be crawling.

That's better!

Here I come...

There I go.

This crawling stuff is getting boring.

School Pics!

At the school, the kids frequently dress up as minorities. This is Bella all dressed up! The women with her are a couple of her teachers.

Who really knows what's going on here?

Well, as some of you have already heard, my very helpful informant--the one who told me that there was no school on Wednesday either--he was wrong! I am beginning to wonder how anything gets done here. I think I need to start drinking tea in the morning instead of coffee. I am now of the opinion that they read tea leaves to figure out what the day hold. Maybe it's like a magic 8 ball, swish the tea around and ask your cup "will there be school today?" My coffee grounds just aren't cutting it!
In other news, Elijah has stopped screaming when we take him to school. I think that is a good sign. His teachers even said he sat with the other kids for a while. I'm really not quite sure what he does while I'm not there. But, in the end, neither he nor Isabella are seeming to pick up either speaking or listening in Chinese. Isabella can pick out a few words as words she recognizes, but she doesn't know what they mean...she's not even close!
But her reading is really taking off. At first she could read it in the text book, but didn't feel confident to read it from a "book." Now she's really figuring it out, and is asking to try to read different books. She loves to read to Lydia.
Lydia is getting faster and faster. We can hardly keep up with her. Right now I have a big comforter thrown across the stairs. It really frustrates her, but even if she slips on it there is a little cushion from the hard tile and a blunting of the sharp stair edges.
And the last of our "fascinating" (ha!) life, I cut my own hair this week! That was pretty scary. As you know, my hair is really long and had gotten so heavy that my scalp was hurting. Kinda weird, I know. So I did a little research on the web, and thought, "hey, I can do this." Because there is no way on God's green earth that I'm getting my hair cut again in China! And I still have another three months before we our out again. So I flipped my head over and hacked away. Tim ended up having to straighten out the ends, like I said my hair is still really long. But in the end, it turned out not bad. I think we can manage to cut my for the rest of our time here. I do need to figure out how better to fix it though. And for the other hair cut this week, I gave Elijah a bowl cut. The reason I thought this was a good plan was because we keep his hair short in the summer, but in the winter we don't like to cut it so much. So the back and around the ears are really hard to maintain. But Tim wasn't real thrilled with that, somebody please tell me that the bowl cut is back "in" in the States! Oh, well, hair grows! (Except Isabella's.)
Well, the coffee is calling...the kid's are already at school, so I don't need to drink my tea!

Clearly, he wasn't clear

Well, today I found out that our security guard who wasn't clear about whether or not we would have school today, really didn't know. And there is no school today or tomorrow--I found the guy who got the memo (if there ever was one). But for the second morning in a row, we rushed about getting ready for the non-existant school! Then to top my morning off, I rode a different bus home so I could stop and get breakfast for myself, since the kids won't eat it. I missed our stop. And when I got to a breakfast place, both kids decided this morning that this is their favorite breakfast food. So no breakfast for me, but at least the kids have found a Chinese breakfast that they both like! We ended up having to walk farther than if we had just walked home from the school.
I think I'll move to Australia! (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day)

No School

Now, normally I would not consider a "no school day" to be blog-worthy, but today is an exception. This morning we got up early and did the normal things. The kids got dressed and Isabella went through her checklist of things to do. I have made her a chart with pictures so that every morning she knows what needs to be done and can do it without being told. She gets to put a stamp on her chart for each activity she completes. She loves it! So we went through the chart and were ready to go to school. My first hint that something wasn't quite right was the fact that there was almost no traffic. I thought that maybe it was Sunday, but then remembered that we had our meeting yesterday so that was out of the question. We got on the bus and went to school. We got there a little earlier than usual but still after the time that the gate should be open. But the gate being open was not really a big deal because over here everyone has there own schedule, opening when they want to not just when the sign says they will. The big deal was that no parents or children were waiting outside. There is always someone there before me. So I called Tim to find out if it was a holiday--something not so easy to know. Holidays are on the lunar calendar, which means that every year a holiday is on a different day according to our calendar. It's a lot of trouble if you ask me, no one knows when their birthday is. How inconvenient! But in the end, Tim didn't know of a holiday. As I was talking to him, though, the normal security guard saw me and came to talk to me. Now before you think that the kindergarten needs a security guard to keep munchkins from rioting, remember they have to employ 1.3 billion people someway! So he tells me that there's no class today. I ask the next logical question (at least you might think that), will there be school tomorrow? You will never guess the answer, so I'll tell. He didn't know, it wasn't too clear--yes, that's a direct translation and nothing lost in it! Now we all know that Tim needs and loves structure and schedule and that I'm less so--quite a bit actually! But this is too far for even me! People can be laid back and free-spirited, but institutions need the "Tim's" of world to keep them together!!!
Well, since all this happened, I've found out that while there is a holiday today (probably equivalent to our Memorial Day), it has nothing to do with the break. In town this week is Expo, and the school let out for that. I'm not really sure why. I don't think that kindergarteners are big into that kind of thing...maybe I'm just under estimating them!

First Day of School

Sorry folks, this was started almost two weeks ago and I am just now getting it finished and published. Please forgive the tardiness
Oh, I'm officially old...my two babies went to school today. As is with everything in my life, it was total chaos. I woke up late, after Lydia only got up once (a big blessing these days). The kids had been up late the night before so they cried a lot first thing this morning. But once they got to school they were ready. I took me well over an hour to get all the paper work done. Mostly because while I can read a little, I can't write anything! I didn't have a translator with me (big mistake!) and so the head teacher had to write everything for me.
So the kids have now completed two weeks of school. The first week, there wasn't much crying, but this second week has been a doozy!!! Elijah is not much of a fan of school. He keeps telling me he wants to go to the homeschool. Some major hurdles that we have had to jump have been the potty issue, my lack of language ability, and candy--lots of candy! As for the potty issue, the second day Elijah's teacher was really upset because he hadn't gone poop the first day he was there. (While in general I am not in favor of discussing "toilet habits," I felt that this was just too funny to pass up!) After reassuring her that he would go when he needed, she wasn't satisfied and was still visibly upset. I then told her that he went at home. Later, though, I found out what the problem is. In China, parents "potty train" their children at about 3 months. Before you say impossible, it almost kind of works (although I do see lots of women walking around with wet shirts.) It's based on our good friend Pavlov and his dogs' principle. Parents have two different whistles, and children "go" according to the whistle. So basically at three years of age the teachers herd 20-30 3 year-olds into the bathroom to do their "business." The foreign child who didn't "go" on command threw a kink in their morning. This second week the teacher seemed to think that Elijah wouldn't be able to use the bathroom in winter. I am sure it had something to do with wearing heavier clothes. Who really knows! The second thing that the whole kindergarten scenario has taught me is that my language is not that good. I can hardly understand the teachers, and as at most schools their are lots of notes for the parents to read--a major challenge for me. And the last is is candy, which the teachers give to our kids with absolutely no discretion! If they cry, they get candy. If they won't eat, they get candy. If they have a fever, they get candy! I have no earthly idea why they keep giving them candy. I specifically tell them not to, and yet I am greeted with sticky faces everyday!
Anyway, these are uncharted territories for us. Hope everyone is doing well!

The Guest Him(Her)self

Remember this looks smaller now that it's all curled up!

House Guests

So, you need a tetnus shot to go to the doctor...

We have decided that the time has come to send our children to Chinese kindergarten. This is a huge thing for us because we had always planned to homeschool the kids no matter where we lived. But now we are in a situation where our children can't speak the language, so they can't make friends. So we have found the kindergarten we want to send them to. It's the nicest one I've been to over here. A friend and I went to the school yesterday to settle the terms (not very good, I might add). The kids seem happy and well-behaved, not something I had ever seen at a school here. I was told that I had to get a health check-up for the kids if they were to be admitted. Let the chaos begin!!!

So my friend comes this morning to help me again. I can do a lot of things in Chinese, but not enough to do technical things. We left to go to the doctor about 9:30 and finally got back around 11:00. We get to the hospital, and have a hard time finding out where to go to get the checkup done. People keep telling us to go to the door, really vague directions. We finally find the check-up room. There are really no such thing as a waiting room and exam room...it's all one thing. So there are tons of kids and parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles...I guess who ever can come will. The kids are all screaming. The adults are all pointing at our kids saying how lovely they are. Counting all three of them. We tell the lady at the desk what we need. She writes out several pages of information. Then we take those to another part of the building and pay then we can come back. So the doctor weighs them. They have a free weight scale with a little metal folding chair on it. They have painted the chair green over the nasty rust. Afterwards the doctor check their heart, throat, and for some reason down Elijah's pants. While he's checking Isabella, Elijah is busy playing with the scale chair. Another little girl is also playing there. Elijah accidentally smashed her hand in the evil chair of weight. So I am sure that if she hadn't had her tetnus shot (which I'm sure she had not) she needs one now. Anyway, the rest of our doctor visit went without any major upset (save giving blood!!!) and now I have to go back to collect the results. All of which I will not understand. Oh, the frustrations of being illiterate.

Lydia and the Introvert!

Here's Lydia learning to sit. She can prop herself up for a bit, but if she tries to get something with her hands down she goes!

On the first night of our training, we had a dinner/meet and greet. Isabella grabbed everyone she could and pulled them over to hear her sing. If only she weren't so shy!!!

Baby Bruiser!

Just a quick fornote to let you all know that Lydia is OK, I repeat she is OK! It's been several days since the incident, and there have been no problems.

One crazy day. I had been keeping Lydia home because she had a cold. I had to go to the grocery store and the chaos began. I put Lydia in the cart with one of the baby seats. As I was looking for the juice, a random child ran up on the other side of me and slapped Lydia in the face. I totally freaked out! So I got in a hurry, and Lydia was crying. I rushed through the check out and was trying to get her in her stroller. As I put her down, I dropped my wallet. When I bent down to pick up my wallet, she tipped out of the stroller and did a flip out of the stroller and onto the floor. She screamed. I screamed. Instantly several people came rushing to see if she was alright. I eventually got all my things together and got out of the store. All I could think of was Isabella falling and that Lydia was so much smaller. But in the end, I think I was the one who ended up scarred. Lydia didn't even bruise. This was over a week ago, and she is still fine. But, I can promise you this, I belt her into the stroller now every time, no matter what I drop on the floor!

Oh, and the pictures are of her AFTER the fall...so you can all see with your own eyes that there is no damage.

The truth about Karma (and other traveling blunders)

As some of you know, a lot of Chinese are Buddhists. I learned a valuable lesson about Karma the other day. Karma is the idea that if you do good things, the universe will reward you back with goodness. But the interesting thing is that “good deeds” are in the eye the beholder. I noticed a Buddhist monk in a building I was going into. He stood there and watched me wrestle three kids and stroller through the heavy doors. Maybe he felt he had already done his good deed for the day or maybe he felt that helping the foreigner doesn’t add to ones’ Karma. What ever the reason, it got me to thinking about the things we think are helpful.
Case in point, making huge blunderous assumptions! I was traveling through the Hong Kong airport. As I was ordering my lunch, I noticed that next to me were two Asians arguing with the lady taking their order. They were trying to use Chinese currency (which is not the same as Hong Kong). I felt that with my language ability I could help the situation. So I translated into Chinese that they couldn’t use Chinese currency they had to use Hong Kong currency. Of course, I was very proud of my helpfulness. But, I was met with two blank stares, and the lady informed me that they were Japanese and not Chinese. That’s worse than calling a Southerner a Yankee! So instead of helping the situation, I offended everyone involved. It makes me so thankful that I don’t have to depend on Karma!

A Month at the Y

This is by far the longest amount of time I've ever spent continuously in a hotel. We have now been in the YMCA almost 3 weeks. We are starting to feel it too. There are some funny things we are starting to notice about ourselves. One thing is that in China, you can't drink the water. Well, in Singapore you can! We were completely shocked, but the funny thing is that we can't bring ourselves to do it. I boil water every night because I can't bring myself to turn on the tap and take a drink. I though that I was just going crazy, but come to find out that many of us who live in places where drinking tap water is not option feel the same way.
The other thing that I have discovered is that I don't know what side of the road Americans drive on. I used to. Now though we have traveled in all these countries that drive on the left that it almost seems more normal to me. In China they theoretically drive on the right, but really the whole road is fair game.
So now I wonder what else has changed about me. I see a lot of things about my kids that I really appreciate. They walk more than any kids I have ever met. I don't think that they will ever be kids that say it is too hot to go out to play. It's funny, in China, Isabella will eat just about all kinds of vegetables, except eggplant. Here in Singapore though she won't eat it. I don't know if she is holding out for something better or what!

Christmas Wish List

Christmas list
Isabella: size 5 (for length) needs
3 jeans, 1 khakis, 1 corduroy
Long sleeved shirts
2 sets of long underwear, tights/leggings
Elijah: size 3T needs
3 jeans, 1 khakis, 1 corduroy
Long sleeved shirts, heavy sweater
2 long underwear
Lydia: 6-9, 9-12 needs
2 jeans, 1 khakis, 1 corduroy
4 rompers, long sleeved onesies
Long underwear or snug fitting sleepers, tights, hats (warm)

Rachel: jeans (size 14 Old Navy), corduroy (size 14 Old Navy), long underwear, long sleeved shirts (not to short), leggings or stockings

Tim wants an MP3 player. As these are expensive, a couple of you might go into together. BUT, it can’t be shipped here or Mr. Wang at the Post will have a new MP3 player and Tim will go without. My Mom can put the money into our account, and we can buy it here. They are the same price here as the States.

I’ve looked online and Old Navy seems to be the cheapest place to get the clothes. I would ask that at least the pants be bought there because all of our kids are skinny and tall. Old Navy has adjustable waist bands. This will help us out a lot. We don’t need any underwear or bibs. Only other things are maybe some easy to put on slippers for the kids. Maybe some that go on like shoes and have good traction. You guys can let each other know what you are getting by responding to this blog at the comment spot on the bottom right.

Merry Christmas!