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????

another tasty find????

Check this out? Walnut Peanut MILK? EEK! just really sounds odd. These are individual UHT milk boxes. They only had it by the case, so I didnt buy but I will keep an eye out for just one to try...sounds nasty? but ??? who knows?

shopping trip to carrefour....those are small lobsters in the buckets

Too bad they are likely from the east china sea and they may not be too tasty!

women hui jia le....

we have returned home.....
It's funny as I often don't know how to refer to being here - is it home? is it going over there? where are we going, anyway? but yes, it feels as much like home as anywhere, probably because our things are here and of course, Wrigley.
The trip itself was long....but uneventful, though we were quite close to missing our connecting flight in San Francisco due to a weather delay. I was literally sick to my stomach thinking of the effort to get our bags - all 6 plus carry ons, about 500lbs worth, by myself, getting what we needed for an overnight, checking it all into storage, getting a hotel and of course conducting a site seeing tour for the kids...when all I wanted to do was go into " way too long airplane ride mode" and just get home! Luckily, we made it with about 15 min to spare before take off. We treated ourselves to business class on the way home, we usually are too cheap to do so, but used some upgrades and it was well worth it! Everyone rested better, tons more room, better food and United actually had some service for us!

We are all still a bit goofy on sleep, but should straighten out in a few days. Getting into our routine here, with Tennis and basketball camp for Connor, art for Delaney, and a few other things mixed in. Everyone seems glad to be here, playdates started the minute we arrived home for C, and D was not far behind.

We arrived in time to celebrate e's birthday on Sunday....neighbors had us over for a bbq, he went for a massage and we all just laid low, unpacking and putting away. Will be back soon, once I get my china mind going...you have to rethink things again that you had figured out before..as it seems the minute you leave here, you just free your mind of all things chinese. hope I get it all back soon! later -

3, 2, 1......blastoff!

Countdown of our final days here has begun. Has been extremely busy - appts that bred other appts, way too much work, just literally running from day to day. Most of our things are packed (um, stuffed) with everything one could imagine you might need for a year in the netherlands of China. (ok, shanghai is not exactly a new frontier, but they don't have Luna bars!!!).

I think we are all ready to go, or we could have been ok staying, but I dont think it would make much difference to be here another week or so, and we really have no more room for things in our bags, so the shopping would have to stop. We will all be so glad to see the big pigman - we miss our man so much! I have spoken to him a few times since E returned, and he knows its me, with his tail wagging. I will also be glad to go before my clothes no longer fit, as my daily ice cream needs to come to an end! The fasting will start on Sunday, without a doubt.

We managed to work an upgrade for the trip home, we normally hoard those but in this case, I felt it was necessary to use it....about 13 hours from San fran, tired mom, tired kids, coach seats ....ugh. priceless. At least we will have something to entertain ourselves with - the fun seats, the tv's, the bag of goodies, lots of food, and some wine to boot. will take some pictures of the kids in their royal thrones, as they are most excited to be flying in the upper deck on the way home...and I hope the enthusiasm lasts the whole way there!
See you next week from the Big City!

gone but not for good....

I failed to update with a "gone for summer break" posting! well, we are gone for summer break!
not all of summer, but we are in back in the valley of the sun for 6 wks....enjoying the 110 degree temps, mexican food, lifetime fitness, nordstroms and target. Yes indeed, we are making up for lost time at many places!

The blog will be up and running again, with plenty of china tidbits..no worry. until then, I am enjoying driving, folding my own laundry,doing dishes, taking the kids everywhere, going into the office for work, grocery shopping, cooking....hmmm did I say ENJOYING??? I will be heading back to the big city in about 3 weeks to rest and recover from all this hard labor!

I will leave you with one chinese thing that is hovering the back of my mind...and that is the process to get back to the country with the flu virus rampant. I can only cross my fingers and say a prayer - as they are so strict...they take temperatures of all on the plane an hour or so before landing, then again upon landing and if someone within 10 rows of you has a fever, then you can just say goodbye. You are wisked away to a luxury suite in the middle of nowhere, where they only speak chinese, come in to check your temps hourly in their "space suits", feed you rice and some soggy vegetables. ugh. They will keep you till they determine if the one with the fever has the flu - if so - you remain in quarantine for 7 days and if no symptoms from you, you are free to go. If they find the person does not have the flu, they will release you but the whole process can take up to 2 days. Let's hope for no fevers around our seats, please..as 7 days with 2 kids in a chinese motel 6...not good.

On that note, off to get some work done, and a quick trip to our onsite health clinic to replenish my RX drug stash!! Happy July!

Other resourceful things I have been up to...

I label this resourceful as I do think you tend to be more resourceful here than at home...if you want certain things, you can't just go to Target and be done. You definitely have to keep your eyes open and look for options, and I am finding in many cases, they are there!

I have a new friend here, ni de pengyou. (my friend) Its a guy that on Saturdays, sets up his "shop" on the sidewalk about 2 blocks away from our house. there are always people selling things - toys, umbrellas, jewelry, movies, purses, junk, and more junk..but this guy...he is my friend. He sells MAGAZINES! yes, you read that right. I don't quite know where they come from? I don't ask...I just buy. you never know what he may have and sometimes there isnt much, but typically I can find something. Last week was a good haul: Vogue, Allure, Travel and Leisure and Redbook. I can get them for about $3usd, they are new, current issues and all wrapped in plastic. Honestly, they must come from some of the local stores that sell foreign magazines, but maybe they are stolen? or the stores figure they won't be able to sell them as they charge between $8 and $15 usd per magazine? I dont really care, I just am glad I can pick up a few to have for the week, as I take them to whatever kids activity to have something to flip through, or when I am in the car for longer than 20 min or so...something to do. Anyway, he is a nice guy, doesnt speak much english at all, but he loves to tell me his is my friend and he give me best friend price, only for me. of course.

Step away from the Kindle....

For Mother's day, I got a Kindle. If you don't know what a Kindle is...you can check it out here...I could take a picture and post, but then I know I would never get this updated!

http://www.amazon.com/

I had resisted this purchase, analyzing it last year before we moved overseas. I just couldn't get my head around not holding a real book..but a little computerized like screen. Practicality won out though, as here it is really hard to find books....there are a few stores with english books but they are normally really weak on selection and really expensive. Example might be a Danielle Steel book from 2 years ago for about $35USD! No, I dont think so!

So, I gave in. You can't use it quite as intended - it has a wireless option you can use in the states that you can even shop for books via your kindle, linked direct to Amazon, and do instant downloads. That doesnt work overseas, but it is quite easy to look on amazon.com, order, download to your laptop and then use the usb to transfer - it takes less than a minute so quite fast. So the good news is, I have read 4 books in the last 2 wks...the bad news is I now love to browse amazon so I can see what other books I need to buy! They run about $9.99 each, which isnt SUPER $, but I would feel better if it was say....$6.99 each? something about it being $10 makes me think...hm...should I get this or not? Psychological, I guess. ARE YOU READING THIS AMAZON? 6.99??? good price point! Anyway, I highly recommend it if you think you will be unable to acccess books for some reason, or if you have a lot of travel - how nice to download a few books and take this on the place vs lugging a bunch of heavy books!

Oh..and do I like it better than a real book? not sure. I kind of miss holding the book, its still a little strange, but for my purposes, I think it was a good purchase!

All dressed up and nowhere to go...

these costumes were quite popular in yangshuo...we thought they looked Russian but no, I guess not. Connor was a sport, as always....

Yangshuo

Last weekend we flew to southern china to a town called Yangshuo. They are known for their beautiful rivers and karst mountains. It was really very pretty - and the weather was great the whole time. We stayed at a mountain retreat right on the river, and it was very relaxing. It is still China - bathrooms were sketchy - our hotel and one other place we went had toilets - rest were squats - ugh. Other than that though was good! We did some hiking up a mountain called moon hill, went through the dragon caves, had 2 foot massages (the second was requested by the kids!!), did 2 boat rides down the river, saw the banyan tree - this HUGE tree that is hundreds of years old and went to a cooking school where we made our own chinese dinner that was super fun. They took us first to the market, where we didnt buy our things but they did earlier in the day...honestly it almost made you lose your appetite, but I went with the fact the school caters to westerners, the owner is australian, and I dont think they would be successful and in business if they were serving bad food! There were some nasty things in the market though! We also got a lot of attention - the kids especially - people stopping to take pics, watch us, etc.

We left Friday am, at least Delaney and I did, with another family. E and C flew out later as C had a field trip to the shanghai financial center, a ferry and to bargain at yu yuan gardens as part of his economics assignment he was doing at school. Logistically all went well, though we have now tested our international health insurance - SOS 2 times in the past week. Not sure how they respond in a true emergency, hopefully quicker than the 2 times we have called! C had been complaining of a stomach ache for a couple days but then seemed better, till Friday when it was hurting worse than ever. Sat he started out with a lot of pain but still wanting to go and do everything with his friends. He climbed the moon hill - about 2000 steps with a terrible stomach ache which is the point I decided to call SOS to figure out - if we had to see a dr, where would we go???

Worst case scenario was appendicitis, best case, well, that he just needed to go to the bathroom! while climbing the mountain I was able to call SOS from my cell - for a very low rate and had totally clear reception. Was able to talk to the dr who said - well yes it could be appendicitis but also could not be too. I think I see a future career opp for me - I could have fielded that call perfectly! They then said they would contact someone in beijing or hong kong and get further direction on where to go if we needed to....so 6 hours...yes 6! hours...they called me from Hong Kong to tell me they really didnt recommend any of the hospitals in the area...but if I had to ....here is a choice. Definitely didnt leave me feeling too good about things but by that time C was feeling a bit better and we just kept an eye on him. He continued to have some intermittent pain but mostly felt ok by the time we came home. Well, till today when he woke in the night to severe upset stomach. So, not sure what he had, but I do think he will be better soon. Just one think to keep in our minds around here - I dont stress too much about it in Shanghai but medical treatments and good facilities are not the norm here....it is a really lagging industry and has not caught up with the population nor today's level of skill you would find in US.

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment! The view from the retreat:

View from lake to retreat:

I will have to post the rest of the pictures separately as I am getting some strange error messages...Stay tuned and will add them as I am able!

Sunday Strawberry Picking....

Sunday we went out to a strawberry farm and got the most beautiful berries you have ever seen. YuWei had brought a box to Delaney for her birthday and we wanted to go back for more. He said you could pick your own, so we went with some friends and got a bunch! Next week I plan to give Yu Wei the money and let him just go pick them up for us!!

Lulu's Spring Walk

Last week the preschoolers went on a walk to look for signs of spring. We rode the buses to a small pocket amidst skyscrapers and apartments to a chinese park, with temples, ponds, wtih fish, ducks, swans, flowers, etc. It was so surprising to find it there, in the middle of town. We had a picnic lunch and of course there was a playground. They had a great time.