Baby Showers

We have 3 pregnant moms so a couple ladies thought it would be nice to have a combined baby shower for all of them.  It was at Ileana's house.  Her and Rachel did a lot of planning.  It was wonderful.

Andrea is due in March.  She has 2 boys already and she is having another.  Megan is due at the end of May.  She has 2 girls and is having a boy.  Marina is also due at the end of May.  This is her first baby and it is a girl.  Actually we have another lady pregnant but she just found out.  I'm sure there will be a shower for her in a few months. 

Me with the pregnant ladies...Marina, Megan, and Andrea.

I am so thankful I am not at the age or stage where I would have a baby.  I can't even imagine doing that in a foreign country.  Nothing here is easy and shopping for a baby is no exception.  I went to the mall to find presents for the shower.  First stop was the baby store.  Nothing.  Next stop was Jusco...the grocery store.  Again, nothing special but  I had to have something so they all got a baby toy and a big bag of diapers.  Pretty lame presents and I feel bad.  However, I tried my best to find baby outfits to no avail.  Everything was either ugly, white (which doesn't work well in China), Chinese writing on it, or crotchless.  Really lady at the store trying to sell me clothes...Do I look like someone who would put crotchless outfits on a baby?  I almost laughed out loud when she held them up for me to look at.  Oh my goodness it was a stressful shopping adventure.  One that I wasn't really expecting.  I thought I would be able to find something cute.  Nope, not going to happen in TEDA.

The shower was a surprise.  When the girls got there they were shocked.  It was cute.  They were showered with a ton of presents.  And yes, they each got a couple crotchless outfits.  There was a lot of laughter over this.  I can't wait to see these American and Mexican babies in crotchless outfits.  That will be hilarious. 

All the ladies.
Front:  Cecilia, Marina, Megan, Andrea, Heather, and Rosemary.
Back:  Nadia, Luz, Amor, Me, Pat, Erica, Rachel, Susan, Claudia, and Ileana.

Another fun day with the ladies.

Goodbye Marius

Today is the last day Marius will be in TEDA.  His family heads back to Denmark in the morning.  It was great getting to know them.  Marius lived in the building next to us so him and Cameron were able to play quite a bit.  He was a great friend to Cameron.  We are sad to see him and his family leave.  We will miss them.

We had one last play date with the whole gang.  I didn't really set out to have one...it just happened.  Cecilia called me to see if I could pick Manuel up.  No problem.  Once at school Herman asked if Cameron could come over but I told him he couldn't because we were taking Manuel home.  I told him he could come home with us and he was very excited.  We ended up taking Marius and his mom home so of course when we got out of the car Cameron asked if he could play.  No problem.  A quick popcorn snack and off they went to play.  Sent a message to Ileana to see if Alfredo wanted to play.  Next thing there was a knock at the door and Alfredo was ready to play too.  5 boys, a lot of noise and laughing...LOVE IT!!

Marius, Herman, Manuel, and Cameron...great friends.

Popcorn eating machines.

Alfredo joined in the fun.

Popsicle

Cameron is into making smoothies.  Last night we made too much so we poured them into Popsicle makers.  We stuck them in the freezer and forgot about them.  Manuel was over playing and Cameron remembered they were in the freezer.  We ran hot water to get them out of the container.  Perfect Popsicles.  Healthy too.  They are made with strawberries, bananas, kiwi, yogurt, and a little milk.  I see more Popsicle making in our future.

Silly Saturday

Up and at the gym by 7:00.  Back home by 8:00 and Mr. Hu picked us up at 9:00.  Off to the grocery store to load up on the essentials.  We then went to the 3rd Avenue Fruit and Vegetable Market to get fruit.  Back home.  Todd went back to the mall where the grocery store is to get movie tickets for Journey 2 The Mysterious Island. 

1:30 Cameron went to his friend Janan's to play.  His mom is the 5th grade teacher at the school.  They are a nice family.  We dropped him off and Todd and I went to Ren Ren Le.  It is a grocery store on 3rd Avenue that we never go to.  We had a gift card to use so we went to spend it.  It is a pretty nice store.  We were trying to find Chicken Powder.  It is one of the ingredients in our salsa and we haven't been able to find it in Teda.  We did find every other kind of powder but not chicken.  To spend our 200 RMB certificate we bought beer.  Beer for us at home but then a big Budweiser bottle  (in Chinese) for our brother in law and a Pabst Blue Ribbon can (in Chinese) that has a funky can for my dad's bar.  Pretty pathetic I know but we had just bought everything else we needed.  We have 20 RMB left because we just couldn't spend it.  I will have to go back now.  Todd and I made a big bowl of salsa and Todd grilled a bunch of food. 

Love how the meat is just sitting out in the open.
 I'm sure the germs from coughing, sneezing, hacking people stay away.

Every kind of powder possible.  Really?

Loads of yummy salsa.

We picked Cameron up at 3:30 then returned home for dinner and then off to the movies at 6.  Journey 2 The Mysterious Island was a really good movie.  It was in 3D and there were a couple times Cameron and I jumped pretty bad.  He may have even wet himself a little.  Best movie I have seen lately.  The sound was way too loud though.  I had a headache by the time we got out. 

Cameron and The Rock are best friends now.

Those are some big glasses.

Back home we all showered then played Lego Creationary game.  It is pretty fun.  Cameron and Todd are much better builders than I am.  We had a lot of laughs trying to guess what the others were building.  Great family game. 

Cameron is building a lamp on a table.

After the game, which Todd won, we all laid in our bed to watch a magic show.  Todd was out cold in about 5 minutes.  Cameron lasted longer but did not make it through the whole show.  When I woke Cameron up to go to bed he said "That show wasn't very good".  Hmmm, wonder how he knows that since he slept through it.

Sleeping or thinking?

Tests

Cameron came home from school today with a certificate in his bag.  It was congratulating him on scoring above the world average in all 4 sub tests.  He thought it was pretty cool that it said "world".  We are so proud of him.  Fingers crossed he keeps it up.

I couldn't get this to go the correct way.

Ladies Night

Ladies night was at Wei Ha Restaurant and Bar across the street from our apartment.  30 girls were there in total.  We pretty much took over the bar.  Trine and Maria are leaving to go back to Denmark so it was a going away party of sorts.  And Danita was back in town to gather some of the things she left behind so we were celebrating with her as well.  A lot of conversations going on and trying to talk louder than the music that kept getting turned up, then down, then back up.  At least it was good music.  After dinner I decided Ileana and Noga needed to learn to play Beer Pong.  They had never heard of it.  It was so fun.  I ended up having a guy partner who was pretty rude and cussing at the girls which we didn't appreciate.  We couldn't wait to get away from him but we still had fun.  It was even better that I won.  After the game Noga decided she had to go to the bathroom and so did I.  We walked back and she went in and said the door didn't lock (even though it did).  I told her I would stand guard if she did for me.  She came out and I went in.  I heard her talking to a guy outside the door.  Come to find out we were in the men's bathroom not the women's.  Neither of us even looked at the sign.  We started laughing and of course had to go back to the table and tell everyone.  But an hour later Amor went to the bathroom and Ileana walked by and knocked and said "You are in the men's bathroom".  At least more people made the mistake too.  It was a very fun night out with the girls. 

Sign says it all.

Stine, Jessica, Trine, Jovi, Amor, Olivia, Liz, Heather, Erica, and Stine's sister.

This shows how big our table was.

Marina and Cecilia.

Nadia and Ileana and all of Danita's friends.

Noga, Me, Mette, Ileana enjoying the night.

Danita and her girls were crazy with drinks.

Ileana and Noga learning to play from Shawn the manager of the bar.

I'm trying to make the girls miss.

They made one.

Always had to wash the ball in water before shooting.

Having a great time.

Lots of fireworks.  It is the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month.  The day the dragon wakes up (year of the dragon). 
Also, the Tibetan New Year.

This sign made me laugh.  They do not have a kitchen...they have a cook room.

36 Weeks and Lent

The weeks continue to fly by.  It is Ash Wednesday so Lent has begun.  Cameron made a list of things he is going to give up and I made my list.  Todd, even though he didn't say it out loud, is probably giving up pancakes.  He does every year.  Problem is...he doesn't eat pancakes.  The good thing is when Easter arrives that is when my mom and Aunt Sharon come to visit.  So looking forward to it.

Ladies Brunch

There continues to be more people moving to TEDA so Cecilia suggested a lunch.  Heather decided to hold a brunch at her house instead so that we could all get together and meet.  Unfortunately a lot of people were not able to attend.  There was still 14 of us though.  It was great to eat yummy food, talk, and get to know each other.  These woman are all wonderful and help make TEDA feel like home.  Very lucky and fortunate to have them all here.

Becky, Luz, and Ileana chatting with Bella and Harper playing.

Rachel, Andrea, Megan, Harper, and Ainsley.

Ileana, Rosemary, Luz, Jenny, Erica, and Mavis.

Carrie and Rachel deep in conversation.

Harbin--Sunday

Sunday...up at 6 to get ready, pack, eat breakfast, and head to the airport at 7:30.  Sat in the lounge at the airport until boarding time.  On the plane and headed to Beijing.  Mr. Hu picked us up and drove us to Teda.  Todd went to work for awhile and Cameron and I went home.  Skyped both sets of parents and went to bed.  Another great vacation!  This time with great friends!!

View from the plane.

A lot of mountains.

Harbin--Saturday

Saturday...up for breakfast and everyone met at 10:00 to go to the tiger park.  The 4 guys bought tickets which seemed like it took forever.  Come to find out they were trying to decide what animals to buy to feed to the tigers.  They ended up with a goat and 4 chickens.  The girls were less excited about feeding live animals to the tigers.  Loaded up in a bus with bars on most of the windows.  Here we go. We drove through some gates looking at tigers.  A vehicle covered in cage like bars pulled up next to us. We realized this was the chicken  vehicle.  We drove into the field where tigers were and the chicken vehicle drove in as well.  The driver opened his door and through a chicken on the roof. Tigers were circling the vehicle trying to figure out how to get it.  Door opens, out comes another chicken which landed on the hood.  A tiger jumped on the hood and snatched the chicken into its mouth.  Lots of "0000's and ahhhhhh's in our  bus.  The tiger dropped that chicken and got up on the roof to get the other chicken.  Out came 2 more chickens.  There was some slight fighting but 4tigers got a chicken lunch while other tigers had to wait until next time.   Alejandro (4) said "This is awesome.". Marcela (8) said "This is not so nice".

Tiger Park.

Cameron is going to get eaten.

He is just pretending.

Now all the kids are pretending to be eaten by a tiger.

Inside the tiger's mouth.

Waiting to get on the bus.

The kids have perfect seats.

Sharla and Will are ready for this wild adventure.

The chicken vehicle with one on top.

Who is going to get it?

Trying to get off the car.

Winner, winner chicken dinner...literally.

We continued driving through looking at the tigers when a blue dump truck looking vehicle pulled up, started putting the back up, tigers all gathered around, and out fell a goat.  2 tigers each grabbed an end and they were not letting go.  A 3rd watched.  After a 5 minute tug of war with the goat, they got aggressive.  All 3 had a fight of sorts and one lucky tiger ended up with the goat.

Tug of war.

The fight.

The winner.

Another area full of resting tigers.

We finished our drive and we were dropped off on a caged walk way.  We walked around looking at tigers.  A lady had a cage full of chickens and one pheasant.  We watched a couple people buy chickens.  The lady just handed them a live chicken.  They carried it to a spot to throw it in the pen with 10 or so tigers in it.  First tiger to the chicken won.  Todd and Will were concocting a plan.  Todd bought a chicken and Will bought a pheasant.  The chicken was a decoy to get all the tigers distracted and then Will threw in the pheasant, which can fly well.  The plan worked great.  Cameron was in charge of throwing the chicken in.  He didn't want to at first but then changed his mind.  He grabbed it from Todd but then had some difficulties getting it through the fence.  Its foot kept getting stuck. Mean while the tigers were circling.  Finally through the fence. All the tigers moved towards the chicken then one tiger spotted the pheasant flying.  He ran after it and jumped straight up about 15 feet in the air and hit the pheasant with his paw and knocked it out of the air then grabbed it.  It was cool seeing him jump like that.  We continued walking when Jose Luis decided to buy a chicken.  This time they hung it on the end of a pole.  He stuck the pole through the fence.  A tiger climbed up a tree to get it.  Another hit it and knocked it to the ground.  Then another tiger climbed the tree.  Amazing.

Container full of chickens.

The pheasant.

This tiger kept standing up on the fence to look at us.

It is a double fence so no worries.

Will, Todd, Sharla, Marcela, Alejandro, Cameron, Alfredo, and Me.

The first people to buy a chicken.

She almost ran into Sharla with it.

This is what it looks like when a chicken goes in.

Will and Todd choking the chickens.

Cameron letting the chicken go.

This is the tiger that jumped up and swatted the pheasant out of the air.

This was the worst way to feed the tigers.

Though watching the tigers climb this tree was pretty cool.

We saw white tigers, white lion, ligers, jaguars, and leopards.  The animals all look good just some of the pens need a little TLC.  Concrete slabs in the freezing temperatures aren't the best.  And some of the pens seemed a little small.

White Tiger.

Another White Tiger.

This is a Liger...1/2 lion 1/2 tiger.

White Lion.

Describing this adventure sounds a little mean and barbaric. But being there in person it was not horrific. Thankfully it was not like what we see on National Geographic.  A lot less gruesome. We felt bad feeding the tigers but Todd said they would have gotten fed anyway so we might as well watch. Afterwards Cameron said he felt like a murderer.  We assured him it was ok

Headed to the bathroom.  We had to pay and thank goodness we had Kleenex.  Very difficult to use a squatty potty with 3 layers and snow pants on.  In the parking lot a man was playing a Chinese instrument.  He let Cameron play it.  Then the kids played in the tiny amounts of snow while the adults had a drink and planned the next stop.

Fun in the park.

Going for a ride.

Taming the tiger.

This man was pretty good playing this instrument.

Will watching Cameron get a lesson.

Quick learner.

Next stop was the snow festival.  We piled out of the vans and our drivers pointed us in the direction. Problem was it wasn't in the direction of this snow village we passed which we thought was the snow festival.  Needless to say we were confused.  We walked to the ticket booth and it was going to be $40 a person.  Hmmmm.  Sharla asked a couple walking out what it was.  They said big snow sculptures but no slides or anything for the kids.  Executive decision was we were skipping the snow festival and we were going back to the village thing we saw. It was free, kind of lame, but a hill very slippery that the kids (and adults) enjoyed sliding down. This lasted a couple hours.  Again there were a lot of laughs.  Fun!

Notice the pee stain.  Why would someone do this?  This is not the only place we saw pee stains.

Climbing a snow sculpture.

This hill was so slippery.  Sharla is reaching to help Alejandro.

Wheeeeeeee!

Ileana couldn't stop laughing after she slid down.

Here comes Cameron head first...

Right through Sharla's legs.

Luz did not quite make it.

Tree with fake flowers taped to it.  Too funny.

This hill was impossible to get up.

Next we tried to find lunch.  The first place we chose was closed when we got there.  We decided to go to a restaurant called USA which we saw featured on the Anthony Bourdain show from Harbin. We saw the owner dressed in red pants, red Michael Jackson coat, and red cowboy hat.  He sometimes dances but we didn't get to see it because he left.  The restaurant had a whole bunch of inappropriate pictures and knick knacks that the kids were looking at.  We did not let them go to the bathroom where the walls were covered with naked pictures.  Weird!  We ordered a bunch of food to share. Drinks were good.  Sharla had the kids behind the bar and in the kitchen for various reasons.  Whitney Houston's "I will always love you" came on the radio and we all started singing and performing.  The Chinese people were laughing and taking all kinds of pictures.  Next thing we knew Sharla and the kids were standing on bar stools dancing to Party Rock Anthem.  The guy in the booth next to us played it on his camera for us when the overhead music was lame.  Everyone had a blast.  Time for the crazy Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans to head back to the hotel.

Sharla and Will could not stand all the excitement.

The kids trying to decide what to eat.

Cheers.

The guys with their street sign.

All smiles.

Love the sign.

Alejandro wearing his sweatshirt that matches the sign.

Marcela, Ileana, Me, Todd, Sharla, Jose Luis, Luz, and Alfredo.  Will is behind me hidden.

Cameron back behind the bar.

Sharla couldn't help but laugh at the way they sent home our left overs.
 We wanted to take our spaghetti home too but we were afraid they would just dump it also.

Dancing on the chairs.

Trying to get down.  Alejandro is looking at her like she is crazy.

Another sign.

Good place.  Lots of fun and laughs inside.

We parted ways and were meeting back up at 6:15.  We changed and headed to the lounge as did Will and Sharla.  Sharla told me she has to head back to Canada to take care of Will's sick mom.  Very sad and depressing news.  Back in the vans headed to a Russian restaurant called Around The World.  We had a private room.  Good dinner and more drinks with great friends.  Back to the hotel.  Sharla  lost her purse so her and Will searched the hotel and then had to go back to the restaurant.  No luck finding it.  Ileana, Fredy, and I took the kids to the pool.  First, everyone had to wear a swim cap so Fredy had to buy 4 caps...thank you!  Second, into the locker rooms where the workers stressed us out with all the rules.  Third, once in the pool area I was told I couldn't use my cameras.  WHAT?  That was the dumbest thing I had ever heard.  I snuck some video when one of the workers left for a minute.  Then the other guy just kept mopping in font of us every time Marcela got out of the pool.  At 10:30 the pool closed so the kids got out.  I grabbed Cameron's sponge ball and wrung it out next to me.  Here came the man with the mop.  We couldn't help laughing.  Definitely the strangest pool experience in a hotel.  Back to the room for bed.