City Surprises

We step out on the streets of China--we take our lives into our own hands.

I saw my life flash before my eyes a few times this weekend.

We went to Shanghai for our church's district conference. Even though we aren't able to talk or teach about our beliefs to Chinese citizens, we're so grateful we can have church services every Sunday and a larger meeting with members in our area twice a year.

Traveling with two kids is adventure enough--adding in luggage, trains, subway stations, stairs, and busy streets makes it oh so crazy.

#1: Carrying a 15 pounder makes it a little hard to see where I'm going sometimes. That, along with a subway staircase with a ramp on one side is no good.

The ramp looked like this, but a little wider. Most people use these ramps to get their luggage up and down the staircases. It is quite effective as a means for fast travel as well. (Maybe not so great when you're carrying a baby though.)

#2: Maxi skirts and escalators don't mix well. Neither do sleeping toddlers in strollers on escalators. Mister had to jump in front of the oncoming Chinese to rip the bottom of my skirt out of the escalator. I seriously thought I was going to have to lose the skirt for a few seconds there.




Sometimes a little danger is fun, though. They know how to have a good time here in China.

We took Miss A to a play place near our home. She was sent to the smaller area made for kids 9 months to 3 years old. So many of the toys would not be allowed in the US.

a spinning octopus! 

merry-go-round

not very happy about the moving boat 

Doesn't this place look so fun?! 

We survived and had a wonderful weekend, too!

Snapshot

 This is our life lately.

Favorite pajamas until late morning. Wearing Mister's shoes because he is missed. Mister's shoes dirty because we live in China. (Nothing the shoe polishing machine at the bottom of our building can't fix.)

We've been in the second part of our Flagship stay in China for almost two months now. Mister is away at an internship 12 hours each day. He is missed dearly and talked about often. While he's gone I try to get at least one productive thing done and enjoy our cute kids. Sometimes I just try to stay sane.

We're loving this time, though, because when he is home
he is home 100 percent.

Thanks for that, China.

Happy Birthday #5 to Auntie S!

Two Months Two Babies

Guess who's getting way too old way too fast?

This guy!
He's almost 15 pounds at 2 months. Seriously.

We've had some mixed reviews on my parenting skills. Sometimes Brother is too cold, sometimes he's too hot. Sometimes I am crazy for having two children, sometimes I'm brave.

This is what I get the most:

-Hai you yi ge! Oh, there's another one! (Usually said when they realize the bulge on my belly is really a baby)

-Wei shenme? Two children? Why?

-The "thumbs up"

-The "back pat" (I'm not sure if the back pat is congratulatory or more of a sympathy thing)

-The "finger wag"

Most of the time people leave smiling. Who could resist these big eyes and sweet, sweet spirits?

The End of the Beginning

We avoided the millions of travelers during the holiday, but we still had a few adventures of our own.

We went bowling with friends, lit off fireworks, took Miss A to a way cool play place, lit off fireworks, tried to send off some floating lanterns from the top of our building, and lit off fireworks.

We went all out for the last day of New Year celebrations.

The entrance to a neat "Thai" restaurant that was really mostly food from Southeast Asia.

The Valentine Special started off with these lovely shrimp--legs and heads included! Definitely the first (and hopefully last) time I try to eat something with it's head still attached. 

Some of the food was pretty good, like the vegetables in the front. The soup toward the back, on the other hand, tasted like a latrine. mmm.

Miss A could tell this was a fish since it still had its eyes and everything. When this was brought out, they poured sauce on top and lit a fire underneath. Only Mister was brave enough to try it. Even at a nicer restaurant like this the fish is most likely caught from the lovely (green/polluted) Yangtze River.

Fun markets lined streets and shopping areas. We saw traditional cut paper, toy animals, beautiful dolls, and so much more. This woman was sitting at her booth making glass beads. 

We ended our day with a "Year of the Rabbit" treat for Miss A.