6 months of Elizabeth Ann

5 years

Earlier this month, James and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage.  In five years we've had 2 kids, lived in 2 countries on 2 continents and in 3 homes...one of which was completely gutted and 80+ years old when we bought it.  We hosted at least 15 students, but the Saudi guys made me lose count. Combined, we've had at least 7 jobs.  We've welcomed 3 nephews.  We driven the stretch of I-40 between OKC and Amarillo more times than I care to count up. 

Some other highlights were hosting international students in our home, moving here to China, being debt-free (exclusive of our mortgage), a Christmas trip to Wyoming, our honeymoon in St. Maarten, an anniversary trip to Arkansas, being involved in our house church in Oklahoma, and of course, having Catherine and Ann! And James just read over my shoulder and said I should add "buying a trike" to our list of highlights. 

We were able to celebrate by getting "away" for about 24 hours.  We just went to a hotel a couple blocks from our house, but we enjoyed being removed from our normal life even if just for a bit.  A local friend watched the girls for us and did a fabulous job!  It was our first time away from Ann for more than 3ish hours EVER so it was nice to know we could get home quickly if we needed.  But, our local friend was amazing and the girls were good for her. 

Here's us pulling out of our complex.

 Some views of the hotel room.  Not bad for $48, right?  There's another area to the left of the chair I didn't get a picture of and another seating area and a small kitchen area. 

The first place we tried to eat dinner didn't exist.  Rumors.....grrrrrrr.

This is us at the second place we tried to eat dinner at.  We couldn't eat dinner because some tour group had the whole restaurant for the evening.  Then I had to use the restroom and it was bad enough for me to try to find an online complaint form.  It wasn't just bad for a 4/5 star hotel, it was bad for China.  :( 

 So we opted for a third location.  At least we weren't dragging the girls around from place to place with us and having time out and about in the city together was nice.  Although I wish I could say everything went smoothly at the third location, that's not exactly accurate.  Some of the things we wanted to order weren't available and we had to send some things back that weren't done; however, they were open, let us eat, had clean bathrooms, and resolved our issues well.  And we so enjoyed sitting and eating a meal uninterrupted by feeding little mouths or diaper changes. 

After dinner we stopped at a bakery for two pieces of cake. 

 James and I have kept almost every card, note, or letter we've written each other.  I had hoped to get them all compiled in to a binder or organized in some fashion.  At least I know have the project started.  It's just that the kind of task that involves spreading papers out across a surface is the very kind of task I can't do with the "helping" hands and feet roaming about.

Enjoying some last moments of rest before we return to reality. 

 Some views of our city from the hotel room.  16 floors up and floor to ceiling windows along two walls.  

my nephews

Check out their cuteness!



http://magicallytaylored.wordpress.com/

my inner "Westberry"

This post is dedicated to my dad. 

When I was young my dad fixed the stuff I broke.  He made me cradles for my dolls out of empty oatmeal canisters.  He made me cars out of empty push-up popsicle containers.  He let me paint my toy cars with fingernail polish.  He was a genius at "re-purposing" before that was even a thing.  I think he may have even made me a pinwheel out of a soft drink can.  I can't remember exactly because soft drink cans were used in the repair or many an item at our home.  Depending on the nature/nurture argument one could say I either inherited some of this trait or was conditioned to think about non-standard ways to repair/create things. It was great.

Enter our life in China.  This is a skill that is needed on an almost daily basis.  Last week (I'm a but behind in posting) there was a day that I used my "Westberry skills" all day long.

I figured out how to fix Catherine's mosquito net with a chopstick and tape. 

We had asked around about getting screens put on our windows but we didn't want to invest the 90 RMB per window for a house that's not ours when they're only needed a couple months of the year.  I figures out a solution that cost us 12 RMB for every window in the house. 

James kept referring to these and other solutions as my "Westberry skills" or "using my Westberry."  I was riding home from an errand on my bike, thinking of my dad and composing this post in my head.  Upon entering our complex I noticed something unusual near the door of the first building in our complex....two giant bags of American name brand men's clothes and shoes in and next to the trash can next to the building.  I did it.  I really did it.  The bag on top of trash can was open and I really did take out two Calvin Klein, size medium, slim fit, long-sleeved button-up, not-a-thing-wrong-with-them shirts for James.

I came home smiling and the first words out of my mouth were, "I just REALLY used my Westberry, James!"  I told him of my "find" and he agreed to let us keep the shirts.  They are now washed and ready but we'll have to wait for cooler days for him to wear them.

 You see, the other side of "being Westberry" is that my dad would pull the car over and pick up any tool (piece of junk) or other item he deemed of value that he saw.  And sometimes the solutions to his "fixes" left things looking not exactly as beautiful as they did prior to the fix.  However, his ingenuity is a trait I'm proud of and one that has saved us time, money, and the mafan of finding/calling repairmen.

And pulling the shirts out of the trash can reminded me that when a friend from another city was visiting here recently with plans to move here, she asked if I would show her the second hand furniture market. She likened the experience to "dumpster diving" but that is a post for another day. 

haircut. needed a change.

Before

During

 after

 after.  I know.  it's not a good after pic since you can't really see my hair.  I'll work on getting a better one up.

weird food pictures

One of the questions we are asked most frequently is about weird/different things we eat here.  We generally can't think of things when we're asked, but here a few recent pictures of some things not common to cuisine in America. 

James and I saw this on the menu at a restaurant we went to a few weeks ago on our date night.  We did NOT order it. 

leftover popsicle on her face

leftover GREEN PEA popsicle on her face!

dragon fruit.  not so weird and pretty tasty.  bright pink on the outside, white with black seeds on the inside. 

Oh how I miss time zones

Time zones. They make it very difficult to figure out who is where and if it is an appropriate time to call someone.  However, one drawback of NOT having them (as in the case of China, which should have 4-5) is the fact that it is fully daytime bright by 5:30 am in our city.  The other day I was up with Ann at 4:something and it was already getting light.  This means my children wake up at 5:30 or shortly after.  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, last weekend I spent some time sewing light-blocking material on the back of the curtains in Catherine's room. (What I actually did was disassemble velvet placemats and reconfigure them to sew on the back of the curtains).  Day one of curtain use:  Catherine slept until 6:45.  I don't think she'll sleep past seven until the summer is over, but I'll take the extra hour or so the "re-purposed" placemats bought me. 

I'll take new pictures and post them sometime, but the other thing we did last weekend was re-arrange our house.  We have 3 bedrooms, but one is pretty small.  James and I have the master.  We had Catherine's crib, the dresser/changing table, and all toys in one room, and the double size guest bed and my sewing machine in the other smaller room.  Ann had been sleeping in a......I'm going to call it a Chinese version of a bassinet in our room.  Our plan was that once she was sleeping through the night, we would move her into Catherine's room, maintaining a guest room.  We also would need to get another bed for Catherine. 

That plan didn't work for a few reasons.  I tried twice to order a toddler bed from taobao and it didn't work either time.  Both times there were issues with shipping something that large (a TODDLER bed) to our far-reaches area of China (It's a provincial capital, folks!   But, the rest of China thinks we still ride horses and live in tents here).  Anyway, we searched the city for a toddler-size bed but couldn't find anything other than twin beds or getting another crib.  So, Catherine got a twin bed and Ann gets Catherine's crib. 

We decided to put Catherine's bed and the dresser/changing table in the small room and move the guest bed and my sewing machine to the larger room and put Ann's crib there.  James was gracious to move almost every piece of furniture in our house :)  Now if we have guests we can easily roll Ann's crib to our room and it's just across the hall from us if she does wake in the night, whereas Catherine is a bit farther away, but generally sleeps well.  (expect for last night and today at nap time where she was quietly taking out every garment of clothing from every drawer and tub and making a pile with them on the floor of her room). 

Now here's to all children sleeping all night long in their new arrangements so mommy and daddy can sleep too!

Mother's Day

I'm not so timely with this post, but Happy Mother's Day to any moms who might be reading this!  What I wanted for Mother's Day was pictures together as a family.  We have a nice, giant frame we received as a gift for teaching the English Corner from the hospital.  It's a picture of James and me superimposed over a grasslands scene and the hospital with a poem.  It's was a nice gesture but not exactly the thing we want hanging over our couch. 

 So, in order to use the frame, I wanted to take some photos we could get printed for the frame.  We took a local friend to take the pictures.  We should have taken another to help get an infant and a toddler to look at the camera at the same time.  We took some ok pictures, but not any great ones.  Here are some of the best for your viewing pleasure.

I don't have the words to express how great being mom to Catherine and Ann is.  Catherine is at a stage where we see her learning to do some many new things everyday.  She LOVES to help with the  laundry, and mostly, it is actually helpful.  If I sort the piles, she loves to carry them from the hallway and fill up the washing machine with the dirty clothes.  Next Mother's Day maybe she'll be able to reach the buttons.  :)

Ann is slowly showing more of her personality.  She is active like her big sister, but seems to love to snuggle much more than Catherine did.  She smiles, giggles, and coos, and no longer stays in one place. 

catching up

Following are some pictures and stories from our life since we've last written.  They can't be filed under any particular topic and appear in no particular order.

Since the weather is much warmer now, we try to take Catherine out as much as possible and let her expend some of her over-abundance of energy.  On a special day we'll go to an indoor play area, a park, shopping, or a friend's house, but mostly we just take her outside the main door of our building and let her play in the yard.  Mostly she likes to go up the stairs, down the ramp, up the ramp, down the stairs, etc, etc, repeat, repeat, repeat.  It's also a good chance for us to chat with our neighbors.  

Our complex is slowly becoming more functional, more beautiful, and more occupied.  With the spring weather they've been working on the landscaping. 

 

 

This is Mike. He lives in our building.  He is really nice to Catherine.  He shares his toys and plays with her.  Our first conversation with Mike was like this (in English):

Mike:  Hello! How are you?
 Jill:  Hi.  I'm good.  How are you?
Mike:  I'm happy. Thank you, and you?
Jill:  I'm doing well.
Mike:  (long pause)
Mike:  What color is it?
Jill:  What color is what?
Mike:  (long pause followed by running away)

This is a classic example of Chinese kids memorizing the English texts from their books but not fully understanding when/how to revise/use  them and/or mixing up which text to use when.  :)  

I do commend Mike for being so nice to Catherine and for studying English well and being brave/confident enough to give it a try.

 

 This is how Ann plays outside.  

This picture was Ann's first play date. This little boys name is Michael.  His mom was one of my coworkers at the hotel when I lived here before.  Her little guy is so happy and such a chunk!  At the time of this photo he was five months old and weighed the same as Catherine (19 or 20 months old!). 

In early May we got to attend a very special wedding.  Our first wedding to attend in China that was held in a church (normally they are held in a restaurant) our first international wedding to attend in China (American bride, Chinese groom) and and the first time for James to have a part in the ceremony.  The couple asked him to pray a blessing over their marriage. (I think he looks so handsome in his new suit!)

The newly-merged family. 

Last weekend we went to one of the big parks in the city with some friends who have a daughter just a couple weeks younger than Catherine.  They are beginning to learn how to play together.  We didn't get to stay at the park long before a very unexpected sandstorm blew in.  We picked up the kids, threw clothing over them as best we could and ran to our friends' car.  I had thankfully just bought a new pairs of sunglasses the day before.  Even so, we were dusty and dirty when we reached the car.

sandstorm as seen from our house

And that's another thing....in the 4-5 years that James and I were back in the States, all of our friends began owning cars.  When I worked at the hotel in 2006-2007 I knew less than a handful of people who owned a car....now the majority of our friends have their own cars.  Being American, I can appreciate their desire to have one, but I don't appreciate the chaotic transportation it has created here. 

the girls

This update is mainly for the grandparents, aunts, and uncles, but maybe some others of you will find it precious, adorable, and lovely too :)

Catherine:
is now 20 months old.  She is FULL of energy.  She rarely stops moving.  She thinks every song should have motions and especially likes, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." In fact touching he head repeatedly is her motion that she wants to listen to songs.  We also have a toy lion/piano thing that plays 8-10 songs.  She thinks all of them should have motions and seems quite disappointed that James and I don't have motions for some of them and there's even one tune we don't know the words too.
She can say about 25-30 words:  some animals, some foods, most of her body parts.  She has said "mama" and "daddy" before but uses them rarely.  :( 
She loves to play tickle and be chased.  She loves to play outside and will take the hand of any random stranger or neighbor to have them walk around our housing complex with her. 
She is a really good big sister.  She can say, "pat, pat" and loves to pat and/or kiss her sister.  She is now beginning to mimic the ways we take care of Ann with her dolls and stuffed animals.  (putting them in the swing, burping them, etc)
She has learned to say "thank you" in Chinese and is stealing the hearts of all Chinese people by blowing them kisses as we leave any establishment.
She nods her head "yes" in response to almost any question asked.  (A very few questions will get a strong, verbal "no!")
She has a lovie we call "pinky."  She can't sleep without it.  Pinky is on the verge of needed to be renamed "brownie."  Since we don't have a dryer, I can hardly get it washed and dried before it's time for another sleep.
She loves dogs, books, and shoes.

Ann:
I think we have finally decided to call her Ann, by the way .  By "we" I mean that James finally joined me :)
She smiles often and has the cutest little smile.
She can hold herself up well and has rolled over, but doesn't do it often.  She LOVES to sit under her little baby gym thing (is that what it's called?) and reach up and pull on the toys.  She can grasp toys and likes to play with things. She always scoots around 90 degrees from whichever direction I put her down. 
She still rarely poops but her discomfort and gas pains seem to be subsiding and we are so thankful.
Everyone here comments on how big her eyes are.   And, she is three months now and her eyes are still blue.  It would mean some serious recessive genes at work if they stay blue, but it IS possible with two blue-eyed grandparents.
She likes people.  She seems to especially like Catherine and smiles when Catherine is near her.  We are just starting to get to know her sweet personality.  We'll keep you posted!

Some things transcend culture

The first time I (James) saw an Angry Birds shirt over here I knew that some things transcend culture.  Of course some things transcend culture and some do not.  Somethings you can find in any part of the world and some are distinctly out of place. For example, Coke can be found in almost every country in the world. Also, some things we try to adopt from another place, but we don't have quite the right context and so it seems really weird to the people from that culture.

Angry Birds - Transcends culture

Big Rooster - Does not transcend culture

People admiring your new vehicle - transcends culture

People admiring your new trike - Does not transcend culture

People saying hello to a stranger - Transcends culture

People asking you how much you make before they know your name - Does not transcend culture


 

-James

San (3) Eeek - Not for the faint of heart!

So I was sitting with one of my Chinese friends who often has to travel to South China and he told me a story about San Eeek that has given me day-mares for the past two weeks.

He began by telling me that when he was down there they eat some really WEIRD things.  He said one time he had to eat crickets.  There was a platter that had different compartments in it.  Crickets, Larvae, etc.  He said they gave him a hard time saying, “Oh, you are from the North we don’t think you can eat our food.”  

So naturally, he had to eat some.  He said they tasted ok, but it was just kind of nasty when you could feel their legs in your mouth.  However, the grossed thing they ate down there was called “San Eeek”.  

Now for those of you who don’t know, they speak a different dialect of Chinese in the South and it is completely different.  Now I knew that “San” meant “3”, but I thought that “Eeek” must be a Southern word.  What he told me sent shivers down my spine, and has haunted me for several weeks now.

He told me that San Eeek is live baby rats/mice they eat when they are still pink.  They make one sound (eeek) when you pick them up with your chopsticks, a second eeek when you dip them in the spices, and a third eeek when you eat them!  3 Eeeks!   Yuck!

Now maybe they were pulling his leg, or maybe not, but I really don’t think I could handle that!  He said it probably came from a time of famine that people started eating it.  Probably right.  Thankful I have grown up in a place and time that didn’t have to go through that.

James

For additional reading http://ramblelust.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/eating-baby-mice-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Csan-zhi-er%E2%80%9D-aka-three-screams/