truly, we are alive....

Though the blog has sat rather dormant, our lives of course have not. Though I am making no promises of how often I will blog, let's hope it is more often than once every 3 months.

But during my silence, some little girl turned 8. Does anyone else find that crazy?! That our Little Peanut, Tori, is growing up? I measure our China-years in comparison to her age (she was 2.5 when we moved to China). Tori, our wild and sweet girl, you add so much to our family. I love your sassiness and spunk (even when it drives me a little crazy). Your heart for others is so big that you have taught me to carry change ALWAYS because one never knows when you might see someone in need. And I love how it breaks your heart and you can never walk away without doing something. I love your daring and creativity.

Even at 3, you had such confidence. Rather appropriate that one of the first things you learned to say in Chinese was: 我自己做！(which essentially means: I'll do it all by myself!)

You are fearless. I picture you taking on the world with exactly that expression.

I love your joy and the beauty that I see shining from within you.

Happy birthday, Sweet T!

what will this become?

Pumpkins. Not much says fall to me like a pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Or pumpkin bread. And pumpkin soup. And. . . my list could just go on. Can you tell how I feel about anything pumpkin? Our first year here I had pumpkin in various dishes in restaurants, but couldn't find it at the markets. They are more common now, but really I was not looking for the right thing.

I had something like this in mind. You know, a pumpkin.

But as I mentioned in a previous post, 南瓜 (pumpkin) is a rather generic term that really just means any kind of gourd in Chinese. What I really needed to be looking for was this.

Impressive, don't you think? So far, we have used this pumpkin to make a crock-pot full of soup, pumpkin bars, and pumpkin bread. There is still just a little under half of it left. What will it become next? A pie? More soup? Pumpkin pancakes? Is anyone besides me hungry yet?!

**On a side note, these pics are both of little T. The first is her at 2 years old and my, how she has grown. 

date with little T

Yesterday, while trick-or-treat was happening in our neighborhood, I got to have a date with Tori. Now, before you think I am the worst mom ever, depriving her of yummy candy well, let's be honest, this is China candy. . .not a Reece's in the bunch. . . I think I even spotted some meat candy in Becca's bag. . . And now aren't I seeming a bit less like a mean mom?

But the bottom line is that anyone dressed in a remotely-scary mask freaks her out. I mean, we are talking about the kind of scared that has her up at 2AM crying unconsolably. She likes the dressing up aspect, but those scary masks are just too much. So to prevent all of this, we got on the e-bike, rode to the subway, and did something girly together and got our hair cut.

I have a salon that I really like here in Suzhou. The guy does a fabulous job cutting hair. The price is amazing (for both Tori and I, it was 45RMB. That translates to just over $7! And in case you are not getting how amazing that is, I'll state it again: 7 bucks for both of us!). But the only drawback is that the entire experience happens in Chinese. And while I have learned some of the words to describe how I want my hair, there is a lot of gestures happening during my haircut! And a picture is good idea as well.

We completed our evening with delicious gelato. Since our haircuts took a LONG time, we were later than I thought arriving at the gelato place. Which meant that we ate our dessert first and then went home for our dinner. But I think that all my dates with kids in the future will include dessert first. Isn't there some kind of lesson in that? Some kind of we are doing something fun, just the two of us, something so out of the ordinary, that we will eat our dessert first.

I need to wait for my little T to get an after picture of us. But pictures are forthcoming..... (so this is not a total blog-photo-fail, is it?!)

stories of life

You know how there are stories within a family that almost become like legend? I have a few that I tell of our kids first couple of years that they each love to hear me tell and re-tell.

Tori being the exuberant force to be reckoned with that she is, has quite a few stories. But perhaps my favourite is the jumping story.

As soon as she started walking, walking was not enough for her. She needed to climb. And explore. EVERYTHING. But being T, it didn't stop there. She also loved to jump. So she would climb someplace (often way too high for my comfort) and call out: jumping, jumping, jumping.

Then after 3 jumpings, she would jump. Didn't matter if the place was way over head. Or dangerous. Once she got to that 3rd jumping, she would launch herself.

I love that you can actually see her saying, "jumping, . . ."

I got to the point where I would listen carefully for her early warning jumping alarm and would rush over to have her hold my hand as she jumped.

Didn't stop her from jumping, just kept her safe as she leaped. But isn't that what we as moms are called to do? Not to limit our children. But be there to catch them as they fall.

And I have a feeling that our #3, our force to be reckoned with, is going to leap far. With her determination, her independence, her clever mind, we just see great things in store for her. Oh, the places she might go.

at home with the littlest

Monday Tori came home from school not feeling well. That night all she wanted to do was lay down or snuggle with me. I knew that little T was not herself so when she woke up Tuesday morning with a fever I was not surprised. After the others left for school, she settled in on the couch for a movie and was asleep before it was over. She woke up later telling me that her brain hurt (Tori lingo for a headache). Naps, books, and movies was the course for our day.

While I was disappointed to miss out on some of the plans I had for the day, I must confess that I was glad to be forced to stay at home. For when T napped, I tackled paperwork. I finally figured out the best course of action for the silly money order. Will mail it to a friend stateside who will include a money order and then mail it to the county office. That is a lot of work for $2! I also finished our Christmas letters. And gathered the rest of the documents that need to be notarized when we go to Shanghai on Friday. Though it seems like a slow start, I feel like we are gaining momentum in tackling all of this.

In other news, the countdown is on until the end of school. The kids have their last day next Friday, 16 December. They will be off for 2 weeks, back to school for 2 weeks and then Chinese New Year begins. The next month+ is going to be a whirlwind.

Christmas carols

The kids have been loving singing/listening/groovin' to Christmas carols. Josh and Tori listen to music every night as they go to sleep. Since the day after Thanksgiving, the carols have been rocking in their room. Downstairs on the family iPod, the kids have been lobbying for Christmas music since mid-November. I must confess that since it is some of my favorite music I let them play it when Andy is not home. He is the one with the strict not-until-after-Thanksgiving-rule. And yes, he knows that I flagrantly break this rule and he loves me regardless.

Anyway, little T has been walking around singing some of her favorites. Because the lyrics are not always words that are commonly used, she sometimes gets it a little garbled. I would love to let her keep singing the garbled-ness for the sheer cuteness factor. However, Becca and Josh insist on doing it right. [sigh]

 The best rendition I have heard so far is from Angels We Have Heard on High:

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing all over the place,

And the mountain does reply

Echo in the door with string.

Then she bursts into the best: Glo-o-o-o-o-o-ria

I am sure you can imagine it. It is indeed glorious.

And just in case you don't know the actual lyrics, they are:

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

I rather enjoy her version. Doesn't it make sense that angels would sweetly sing all over the place? And the mountains replying and echoing in the door with string? Oh, she just tickles me. 

Art Diva

Recently, friends of ours moved to India and gave Tori one of their old desks. She uses it daily. If it is quiet and I haven't seen her, I know where she will be found. Most mornings when we wake up, she is already at her desk working away.

And what does my little artist work on? She draws and often recently has been practicing writing.

While she likes to write English, she also frequently practices writing Chinese characters. She has written:
乐 心 山 大, various characters that she has learned or seen at school.

And the last two 美恩 are her Chinese name.

Sunday Snapshot: Organizing & Little Red Spots

It all started last week. Becca woke up one morning and had several red marks on her back that were really bothering her. Since they didn't look like mosquito bites, I immediately thought that they were spider bites. And yes, we are still battling the mosquitoes. Fierce little monsters. So that day we cleaned out her bed, washed all the sheets, and thought it would be better.

The next morning she woke up with even more. And I was perplexed.

But then I heard that one of the other kids in the neighborhood had chicken pox.

Uh-oh.

Even though she had been vaccinated, Becca indeed has chicken pox. And I sent her to school during the most contagious period of time. Oops.

But on the thankful side, she has a mild case. No fever, doesn't really feel bad. Just really itchy.

Definitely not mosquito bites. I think of this face as her, "are you really going to take a picture of me. Really, mom?"

No, B! Don't scratch! She has one just below her eye that is really annoying her. And one in her ear.

But somehow, she doesn't look that sick.

Then on Friday afternoon, I looked closer at the mosquito bites on Tori's face. Hmm, and now we have case #2. Thankfully, Josh had it 2 years ago. How he got them then and the girls didn't is beyond me.

So Andy and the girls stayed in this Sunday morning. We went to IKEA the other day to buy Becca a desk and various home organizing things. I know that it was a definite hardship for him to hang with the sick girls and build the desk.

The end result.

Then when Josh and I got home from church, Andy and J built a new shoe rack for us. You can see the old shoe rack lurking in the background.

There is something truly wonderful about building something with Daddy. Or a home improvement project together. But we rent our home and are not even allowed to change a light bulb. Not exaggerating, we have to call a property management worker to change a lightbulb or even hang a picture. So opportunities to build with Daddy are limited and these projects are to be savored.

 I am almost embarrassed to show you the shoe area before. But in the interest of full disclosure, here it is. And there are even more shoes littered around my feet.

And the finished, much neater version. We can now fit all the shoes for this season on the rack. And as no household in China would be complete without it, there is the required basket of slippers for guests on the right.

I find it immensely humorous that on the shoe rack, Josh has 1 pair of shoes. Just one. Equally surprising is that I don't have the most shoes on the rack. Granted, I tie for that dubious right. Can you guess who ties me for the most?

Little T, my petite diva shares that honor with me. My littlest loves shoes. Boots. Sparkly slippers. She truly believes that a girl cannot have too many shoes. So I find them on discount and second hand, and she rocks them all. Particularly her cowgirl boots.

And my next organizational challenge? The toy room upstairs. Since I will be home-bound with the girls and their chicken pox this week, I know I will have time to tackle this.

The Princess Party

If you know our third, you know that she is a girlie-girl through and through. So naturally she wanted a princess party for her 6th birthday. She invited several girls from her class and some of the kids that live in our neighborhood.


The invites. I had someone from Andy's work help me translate these into Chinese. I am sure that she was humored by me.

I wrote each of the girls' names on their crowns in glitter glue. While I am able to write some Chinese characters, glitter gluing in Chinese was definitely taking it to the next level. 

Once all the girls had arrived, we first looked for treasure hidden about our downstairs. The treasures contained jewel rings and jewels for the girls to use on their crowns.

The birthday girl showing off her bling. I mean, her pretty jewel rings. But c'mon, total bling don't you think?

We are getting ready to play pin the crown on the princess. One of the challenges of the party was explaining everything in both English and Chinese. And yes at one point one of the little Chinese girls from Tori's class corrected something that I said. You know, just to keep me humble.

Then we made beautiful jewelry bracelets. Tori with one of her good friends 印琬菁 (pronounced yin wan jing).

A good time was had by all the little princesses.

The cake. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but this has 4 layers. Since I can only bake 2 at a time in my oven, I was baking for most of afternoon! Tori kept telling everyone that her cake had 4 floors. This would be a moment where she knew what it was called in Chinese and directly  translated it to English. Just what is that girl's native language?

Such joy. But this year, we opted not to have the fire-flower candle. I was concerned that with the towers it might not work. Catching the cake on fire would not have been a good thing.

Such determination! But as she leaned closer to blow out the candles, I got worried and decided to intervene. . .

to hold the flowing hair back from the flame.

Tori posing with our 阿姨 (ayi), our house help. They have such a special relationship. In fact when we were back in the US, someone asked her what she missed from China. Her response: tofu and my ayi.

Can't you just see how much they enjoy each other?

We had asked each of the girls to dress as a princess or in their most beautiful dress. Tori informed us that she wanted to dress as a Chinese princess. I think she makes a beautiful one, don't you?

Happy Birthday, Sweet T!

normalcy

This week was so very normal. At least a typical summer week in the U.S. Filled with things like swimming lessons, camps for the older two, trips to the pool and LOTS of ice cream. So far, we have been pretty consistent and have had ice cream almost every day since landing in the States. It's hard work fitting a year of ice cream into just 7 weeks.

Josh with his swim teacher Nate. Loved the individual pairing of experienced swimmers with those still learning. 

Working on freestyle.

At the beginning of the week, Tori was using floaties and didn't like putting her face in the water. By the end of the week, she was swimming underwater, had learned to do both front and back floats, and passed the intermediate swim test at the YMCA. She is so determined that when she puts her mind to something, there is no stopping her!

People upon finding out that we live in China, make comments like: "Wow, you are so lucky." "It must be quite an experience for you and your children." "What a valuable childhood for them." And while each of these are true, sometimes I just miss the normalcy of life in the States. As you read this (Mom), don't get too excited. I don't miss it enough to move back. At least not yet. But our time here in the summer provides us with those snippets of American life.

Closing ceremonies of camp. B had such a great week. She looks forward to this week all year long. And this year didn't disappoint. Josh went for an overnight and will tackle the week-long-deal next year.

We miss things like meeting friends at the park. The convenience of driving. Ah, don't get me started on how much easier transportation is here. . . But our life is rich and full in China as well. How could I give up my favorite Sichuan restaurant? The diversity of our neighborhood? Each day is an adventure. The summer here provides the balance we need of comfort in contrast to the adventures of our daily life there.

T loves the garden and never misses an opportunity to help pick veggies.

So excited to be holding a hot pepper (that she only enjoys picking NOT eating).

And this summer is living up to expectations and providing all the comfort and calm that we could hope for. Though, I am seriously missing Andy. He left Monday and we are now down to 21 days until we see him again. Also must confess that I am getting a little tired of the 1 pair of shorts, 3 skirts, 10 t-shirts, and 4 tanks I packed. The downside to packing light. Maybe some shopping is in order?

The library. I cannot tell you how much we love the library. I think the library is one of Josh's favorite places in the world.

I love the pile of books sitting off to the side, just waiting to be read.

Hope that you enjoy your weekend!

Sick.

Tori woke up this morning with a slight fever. I did the "hand trick" as Tori calls it -- feeling her forehead to see if she is feverish. She asked me if she will be able to do the "hand trick" when she is a mommy. And nothing I have told her will convince her that her dad is also capable of determining fevers this way. "Mommies are just better at," she informed me.

She watched a movie in the morning and was playing and dancing. I began to wonder if she was really sick. After lunch she was walking around singing various songs (mostly in Chinese). After a bit she told me that her head hurt. I suggested that she lay down on the couch. Which she did. But she continued to sing. Adorable song after song in Chinese. Until suddenly she stopped. I walked into the living room to find:

She had sung herself to sleep. Sweet girl.

Talking with T

at the dinner table tonight . . .

I honestly don't remember what I said to her, but for some reason a comment of mine prompted T to roll her eyes. Not one to let this go, I asked:

Me: Tori, why do you think it is not a good idea to roll your eyes at other people?


T: Because it is bad for your eyes?

Umm, not really what I was going for. And as soon as she said it, Andy and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh. Andy somewhat hid his laughter, but I just couldn't keep it in. That girl is something else. I should have known that asking her an open-ended question is a dangerous and hilarious thing.