Jet Lag again

Jet lag is a nasty thing. Before we moved to China, Andy and I had both traveled various other places and had some experiences with jet lag. But really, I had no idea what an ugly thing jet lag was until: 1. traveling to Asia and 2. experiencing it with small kids. The time difference between where we are in China and Eastern Standard Time is 12 hours. So essentially, we need to totally flip our days and nights. Usually, you fade early each night and have to power through it to stay awake until a resonable bedtime (you know, like 9 PM). Gradually you push it back until you are on schedule. As an adult, I can force myself to stay awake, but just try and explain that to a 3 year old. The other challenge is that each morning your body thinks it is time to wake long before any sane person would be getting up. This week Tori has gotten up at: 3:30, 2:30, 4:00, 5:30, and 5:00 and yes that is AM! (yawn) This is why we planned to arrive in China over a week before school started just to give us all a chance to get on the right time.  Eventually, we will be sleeping at the right time, but until then we will continue to see this at 6:30 PM:

Flying Solo

The kids and I left Cincinnati last Thursday (August 20th). While I thought that they would do great and that the trip would go well, I still had a few concerns about flying solo with three kids (to China) for the first time. We had planned it so that we didn't take off too early. I was thinking that I would just do curbside check-in because I had beaucoup bags - we checked 5 bags and a box. But it seems that things were conspiring against me. When we got to the Delta curbside check-in, I was told that due to the merger with Northwest that NW's curbside check-in wasn't working. But when another man came along and asked if I wanted help in with my bags (of course, in return for a gratuity- which I normally avoid at all costs, because I am indeed cheap), I gratefully answered yes. 

We were flying Cincinnati to Detroit and then Detroit to Shanghai. Our first leg of the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Detroit with over 3 hours to kill. We ate lunch and then found all 3 play areas in the Detroit airport. :-) One moment that amused and annoyed me in turns: I had taken all the kids into the family bathroom. And can I state that I think family bathrooms are WONDERFUL. While we were in there, someone began knocking on the door. I politely called out "Just a minute. Lots of people in here." The knocking continued rather insistently until we finished. When I came out, a woman barged in. Yes, just a woman. Her friend wondered why it had taken so long. I, the woman traveling alone with 3 kids, looked at her in disbelief and said that there was a women's bathroom right around the corner. She then informed me that there was a line and she didn't want to wait. I stared at her speechless and walked away from the FAMILY bathroom. I mean really, people. Okay, enough with my bathroom stories! 

We boarded for our 14-hour flight around 3:30 PM. Can I just tell you all that I think my kids are fabulous? They had had grumpy moments off and on all day, but really they did amazingly well on the long flight. Especially considering that the in-flight entertainment was on overhead screens that they couldn't even see. They read, played, ate, and slept some. Becca had some trouble getting comfortable and going to sleep, but at one point all of them were asleep for almost 2 hours. Truly incredible! We landed in Shanghai and staggered tiredly through long lines in quarantine and immigration. Tori kind of grumped all the way through wanting me to hold her. Which was rather impossible as I held all of our carry-on bags. Andy met us after we had picked up our bags and went through customs. A 2 hour drive later and we were home. And after it all was done, I would plan on doing it again in order to have more time in the U.S.

Leaving....

We are leaving Thursday (tomorrow) AM. I have such mixed emotions about this. I am excited to get back home, but at the same time I am sad to leave all the people we love. I expect that at least one of the kids and I will be fighting tears on the plane. My guess is that Josh will have the hardest time because he is just my emotional guy. I am mostly packed. And hopefully, my bags won't be overweight! So, if you have a moment tomorrow, think of me and the 3 kiddos winging our way back. I am hoping for no delays and kids who sleep!

Looking ahead

We have had an amazing time back this summer, but all good and wonderful things do come to an end. I have mixed emotions about this. It has been relaxing to blend in and do everyday things without being stared at. And it has been so good to see family and friends. But I find myself longing for home and our normal routines. I also greatly miss Andy. We have now been apart for 11 days and still have 10 more before we will see each other. This marks the longest time we will have been apart since we got married. In the meantime, I am going to take a trip to Seattle solo. You read that right.... I will get on an airplane by myself and then have the opportunity to spend 3 days with one of my dearest friends. But first, I am off to finish my shopping and begin the challenge of packing. (yet again. I have lost count of how many times I have packed and unpacked this summer.) This vacation has been a blessing, but also a ton of WORK. :-D

Date night

For some crazy reason, we took pictures of us separately and none together. Who knows what we were thinking?! (If you can't read the sign, this is the Purple People Bridge)

While we were in Cincy, we left the kids with grandma for a night and had a night out. We went to Ambar Indian (one of our absolute favorite places) and then headed to Sawyer Point to walk across the Purple People Bridge and on to the Newport Levy. Even though I did not grow up in Cincinnati, it seems like home to me because I went to college there and then we lived there for our first couple years of marriage. As we walked along the levy and looked across the Ohio River to Cincinnati, I was struck with how small the city looked to me. I wasn't even comparing it to anything else in my mind, but it just seems a bit smaller than I remember. Maybe it is similar to when you are a child and certain things or places seem huge, but when you come back years later those things seem to have shrunk. Obviously, nothing around me has changed but I know that I have. And often until you come across moments like those you don't even realize how you have changed. So Andy and I sat there on the levy watching the sunset and reminiscing. On our time in Cincinnati, but also over our last year. Sometimes as I have been back this summer it has seemed so surreal. Here are places that are so familiar to us but yet at the same time they seem different. While I know that my perspective has changed, I can't always point at something specific and say, "That. That is the difference in me." But I do think that one of the biggest differences this year has brought about in me is my willingness to adapt. And really the expectation that I will need to adapt on a daily basis. This last year has often brought me to the point where I realize that my attitude about an event or circumstance makes all the difference. Because I often have little control about the circumstance or problem, only my reaction to it. Really that is true no matter where we live, but I think it just becomes more pronounced living in such a radically different culture. And as I have had ups and downs, I am realizing more and more that choosing to have joy and see humor in crazy circumstances drastically alters the outcome. Not necessarily of the event but maybe my remembrance of it and how it impacts me and our family. Wow, how did I get from our date night to here? I guess as I remember all that we were talking about, I got to thinking. One conclusion that Andy and I realized is that we are so glad that we took that step and made the move last year. What an adventure it has been!

Back to Cincy

Just for the record I am still several weeks behind, but I want to chronicle our time back in the US. After spending a week with my parents in Vandalia, we returned to Cincinnati and were able to see lots of friends and spend some more time with family. 

Monday we went with Dwight and Duease to the Cincinnati Zoo. For years when we lived in Cincinnati we were zoo members. So coming to the zoo was so familiar even with all of the recent changes and additions there. I did feel like I should qualify for a previous member discount. You know, like a zoo alumni members perk or something. Ah well, just my frugal self coming out and not wanting to shell out full-price for all of us!

Watching the gorillas

Riding on the scooter with grandpa was a much coveted experience!

Feeding the goats at the Children's zoo. I love how Tori has her mouth open-wide.

Becca enjoyed feeding the goats. She just did not want them getting too close to her. Her expression says it all.

Tuesday through Thursday Becca attended a nature camp through the Hamilton County Parks. She had a wonderful time. When we were talking about coming back for the summer, Becca and I were discussing if she might want to attend a camp. Being me (and the researcher I am), I had read that this was a good idea for kids to keep some normalcy about the summer. Because as we travel all over the midwest, much of our time is busy and essentially like a 6 week holiday. While that sounds like a good idea in theory, in practice it can be tiring and overwhelming for everybody. So it is good to not just do all the fun and exciting things (like the zoo and museums), but also some normal summer activities as well. We talked about all kinds of camps and she landed on nature camp. I warned her that she would not know anyone and asked if she would be okay with that. Her response: "Well, I will know people by the end of the week." Now Josh's response was his eyes got big and he said, "Do I have to go? I think I just want to spend time at grandma's house." Amazing how different they are!

Thursday I picked up Becca from camp and then we were off to our next stop in the Wilcox crazy summer visit train- Indianapolis.