Need Rice?

they have about 8 of these huge vats, with hundreds of pounds of rice in bulk. maybe thousands. no sour cream, but we do have rice !

It takes a village....

of stores it seems, to get the groceries you need here! Despite having a store bigger than most super walmarts, plus several smaller ones nearby, I have still been unable to find any sour cream lately. poof, gone. I got smart this week and started haunting the online stores that deliver - they are painful here, some words only in chinese, slow, etc - but I found some online and it should appear today? So they say. We will see. I am afraid it will not be the case and their website was wrong. I did find my favorite Stacy's pita chips at one store...and had 3 bags sent over last night...and I got super excited, but came to reality fast - as one site shows Diet Coke from US, 24 pack for about 9 dollars! I knew it couldnt be possible, but ??? alas, it was not correct. Chinese Coke Light. blech. oh well.

all I want for Christmas.....

Is this wine tasting machine! I found a wine store here that sells a few we like and they have this tasting machine. You prebuy a card, and slide it in the slot when you want a tasting and it deducts depending on the wine you purchase - you can choose small, med, large of any of the wines and on the backside they have all the rose/whites. Its such a great way to try different wineries, especially here as so many are from South america or europe. The one 4th from left, you can hardly see the name - they put in because we were coming in....its how I found this place as I was looking for this South african wine - The chocolate block...for years! I could never get it in the US, but found it here and have bought some. Anyhoo...they plugged it in for us this weekend. We had a great happy hour, as I threw together some cheese and bread, oil, salami fruit...yum!

Are you ready for some football in China???

I know C is, for sure...they have been practicing 3x/week for 2 hours each all month ..and he is ready to play a game! the first one will be after the mid-autumn holiday, which starts next week. He got his position(s) yesterday and is glad to report he will end up as wide receiver and cornerback....this was good news, as in jump for joy news as he was so afraid he may just have to "be on the defense line"...we suggested he run faster and he might not need to worry about losing his spot! Not sure about baseball yet, they haven't started games either, just skills and practice till Oct. He isnt as concerned about where he will end up for that one.

The other thing the kids are doing, well, its not a sport but I think its going to be great - is....KUMON! yes, kumon the math program..I have heard about it from so many people at work, and I happened to notice there is one really close by, as in we could walk? so after returning this summer, signed them both up. So far, I think its good...they do a daily packet and go in once a week. They start them out pretty low end but Delaney is already starting to add things like 1000+10, 899+1, etc...and I can guarantee they aren't doing this in K! Last paper she brought home from school was practicing drawing lines from pt a to pt b. C isnt quite at 4th grade level in Kumon yet, because of where they start them out - but he is doing well with it and his speed has increased dramatically, while the complaints have decreased! It is now just part of the day. I would estimate by Christmas we will see some real payoff for him, and while they don't know this, I am committing to the year of Kumon for them both and maybe they will continue back in AZ!

That's all for now, work to be done, and packing, too...as we leave friday for an island in the philippines for a week!

living the 'hai life....

in big bidness class...
we flew back business class this summer, unforunately they didnt have the planes with the upgraded sleeping pods but I will tell you it was well worth it! tons of room, much better food, service, etc. we all slept and had a relatively good flight. They have since updated the flight from here to the new configuration - hoping we can upgrade next time we go! it makes such a difference!!!

and another...

Of the Littlest Miss...at her table in her classroom. So far, a week later, the smile remains!

one more school pic...

from the first day....He looks to handsome not to post this!

FDOS!

Big day here in Shanghai, finally the first day of school. Kids were both happy to go I think, and I was more than happy to take them. Should be a great year. Both were smiling and happy when we left them, and looks like teachers and classmates will be great this year. yah!

Kids Gallery

Delaney has really enjoyed classes at a local place called Kids Gallery. They have such great projects. During the school year she goes one day per week, and this summer she has done some half day camps. This is from the funky fashion class...pic a bit fuzzy, but what will work considering it was via my phone. she has some odd model pose going one? with her butt and stomach pushed out, ready for the catwalk?

Funky Fashion handbag!

Could this be the next project runway winner????

Secret Garden....

This was a project based on the book, the Secret Garden. Delaney did this last week at art camp. They read the story, and then had to plan their work for the week to complete in time. The have a fold open book that is decorated - kind of hard to see in the picture, but very cute and they made the dolls, and the wheelchair and the big golden key. She loves her art classes and they have the cutest ideas!

Secret Garden Project...continued!

"Lose 5.5lbs in 36 Hours!" find out how....

ugh. I dont recommend the diet I was just on... I guess you would call it the food poisoning diet? I can't be for certain it was FP, but am pretty sure it was. Also not 100% what caused it, but again, pretty sure I know what it was. Surprisingly was at a western restaurant, western food, and prices and you would not expect to have something like that from there, but oh well. I basically had to write off the night of August 20 and all day the 21st as I did absolutely nothing. nothing. I couldnt do anything! kids had activities, Michelle got them all where they needed to be. I laid in bed, slept, and felt sick. nice, huh? one good note...last night, when I finally got up for a few minutes, I was able to watch the new Project Runway! yes, that's right! We got a new toy in the US this summer..called slingcather - allows us to tivo/dvr shows in AZ, and watch them right here on our tv. very exciting. I haven't watched much but kids have enjoyed having, and I can say that watching PR was such a treat, especially while feeling so sick!

I will be back with more, we had quick trip to Singapore this month and had a lot of fun, so will report out on that. Meanwhile, school begins Monday - hurray! and E is off on a hiking team bldg with work for an overnight, then leaves for the US later this week. My 70lb duffle bag is almost ready and waiting for him to pick up! cant wait to get goodies!!!

Oy Vey...

Connor has been at camp the past 3 days, held at a school nearby. They have a policy they began this summer, that all visitors to the campus have their foreheads scanned to check temperatures. I have no idea how they plan to do this when school begins, but will let them worry about that! Today, I went to pick him up on the scooter...finally no rain! It is quite hot but nice to be outside. He scanned my head - beep beep! oh! bu hao! no good! ???I am thinking? I do not have a fever, is he wacked?? I say - wo de erzi zheli, wo yao qu ta- my son is here, I need to get him. mei you da wencha( i dont have big temperature) they all squack in chinese back and forth - no, I have to wait a minute, come into the little guard station where there is a/c. I can't go in, my temp is too high. So I stand there, feeling like I have a scarlet letter on my chest as other people go by, stare at me, they check their temps, no problem...I wait...finally, he checks again -oh, ok..its ok now. uh, duh? and if I really had a temp, standing in the guard station for 3 minutes is not going to bring it back to normal! luckily, I was free to move about the campus. Only in China. Will be curious to see if they have this at our school in a couple of weeks, what a pain!!

Phil Mickelson in Shanghai?

or is that just E, living the dream! Will we ever be able to live a normal life again??? I just don't know, often asking myself that question. I think we can, but days like this make it seem unlikely! It's raining here...and has been all week. pretty unusual weather for this time of year as June is really the rainy month, and it really didnt rain then, so maybe its making up for lost time? E is playing golf...its good for strep throat, I guess? He sent over a picture to show how terrible its going...nothing like having someone hold the umbrella for you so you can putt on into the hole....

wo de laoshi de mandarin....(my mandarin teacher)....

had to drop me as her student. No, not because I was so awful, but because she has a fulltime job in a school teaching and doesnt have time. bummer. she wasn't what you would call a ball of fire, but I liked her, and we had a good routine. So. I tried out Vicky last week. I really did go into it with an open mind, thinking am sure she will be fine. I met her, we had our lesson. oy. vey. shi yi shi le...I tried. She spoke very good english, and I am sure her mandarin was beyong reproach. The only problem was, I couldn't understand her chinese. at. all. She spoke in a very sing songy, run together soft voice and I think I caught maybe one word per sentence. Not to mention the things she was saying for me to respond to were kind of weird - we said our names, introduced ourselves, then she proceeded to say she has a father and a mother? um, ok, don't we all? at least in some shape or form? Anyway. She left, finally...and later I was talking to E.

"so, I met the new mandarin teacher"...I said.
" how was it"...said e.
"well, it was not good, I couldnt understand anything she said in chinese, I dont think I am going to be able to have her as a teacher. Why do you think she was so hard to understand?", I complained.
E looks at me..." maybe because you don't speak mandarin?"
Good grief. details, details! I should never have complained to him! nothing like bursting my bubble :(

Next week, I will try with Jennifer...and will keep you posted!

in case you were worried....

sleepless over the most awful picture of me...never fear, it seems to be on the mend. I did run to the dr to check it out, seems it is likely mosquito bite as there is no infection or sty....very odd, though. I stopped and bought mosquito nets for all the beds on the way home.

It is still swollen, though much better thanks to cold pack and benadryl. hopefully won't be repeating that event AGAIN!

omg number 2...

does this not look like I have been on a drunken bender, beaten up and have a black eye? This is crazy!!! any plastic surgeons want me for before and after pics? I promise I dont normally look like this!

OMG!

I woke up this morning with my left eye lid COMPLETELY swollen, probably 5 times normal? I can not imagine what happened? My first thought was moquito, as I have 2 bites from the night last night (GRRRR!) the first 2 bites since I have returned home. I will have to commence my mosquito hunting before bed again, I guess. Anyway, I woke around midnight to scratch a bite on my arm and my jawline, then 5 hours later woke to this frightful sight! good grief. not a good week in the household, I can confirm that. E has strep throat, the kids who have said they have had sore throats this week are now also on amoxicillan, as ped said if you have a symptom, he treats the house and the rapid test is not always right. And myself, (who thought today was going to be good) have had a stomach flu the last 2 days (chinese cucaracha's?). Boy can it get any better???? Off to put a cold pack on my eye to try and bring the swelling down. sigh. Have a great weekend!

Waffle Iron, Waffle Iron...where art thou waffle iron?

Well, it doesnt take long for TCF to kick in. The kids have been on a waffle kick, and normally, I admit, I buy frozen ones. They do have eggo waffles at a few places here, not cheap but they do exist. I decided to buy a waffle iron here when we got back. easy, right? I have seen them at various places before, no problem. Except. I can't find one anymore!!! Drives me absolutely insane. I have been to 3 places that I was expecting to have them...and no. nothing. I have a couple more places to check next week, but please, how hard can this be? I am sure all waffle irons are MADE IN CHINA...so why oh why can't I buy one here????