Birthday Party

Todd worked all day and Cameron had a birthday party to go to.  It was pretty quiet around the apartment.  When Todd got home he said some people were going to Jacky's for Manuel's birthday (April 1).  We decided we would go.  Ileana got her ayi to watch all 4 kids which was nice.  We walked over to Jacky's at 7:45 planning on being home after a couple of drinks.  Well, we forgot how much the Mexicans like to do shots.  UGH!!  We all had to do 3 shots.  The girls did wimpy shots which were pretty tasty.  There were a lot of funny, weird conversations.  We finally walked home at 11:00.  As we were crossing the street Todd said "That was dumb"...meaning too many drinks and out too late.  We grabbed Cameron and headed to our apartment so we could go to bed.  After showers of course since Jacky's is a smoke factory at night.  It was a fun night.

Cecilia and Birthday boy Manuel.

Me, Scott, Bob, guy I don't know, Cecilia, Manuel, Ileana, Fredy, and Todd having fun.

Good times. 

One of our shots.

Doctor Again.

Cameron didn't have school because of parent/teacher conferences so he spent his morning at the doctors office.  We arrived at 9:20 but didn't get to see the doctor until 10:15.  Once in with the doctor he took a look at Cameron's ears and throat.  Everything looks good.  He still has a tiny hole in his membrane but we do not need to worry about that.  Then he chatted with us for a bit about where we have traveled and how we need to go to Tibet.  Finally Cameron asked him if he could look in my ear with the scope.  The doctor looked surprised but then said sure.  He showed Cameron how to hold it and how to do it correctly.  He then handed it to Cameron and Cameron was a doctor for a couple of minutes.  He was excited. 

Proud Parents

You have those moments (hopefully frequently) as a parent when you look at your child and think "Man, how did we get so lucky".  Today was definitely one of those days.  I went to pick Cameron up at school today and he immediately said I had to go talk to Ms. Williamson...the principal.  WHAT?  He said "No, I am not in trouble?"  We went into her office and sat down.  She started telling me that Cameron was selected to the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer program.  WOW!!  I had no idea what this meant but I knew it had to be good.  This center does a global talent search and takes the students who scored at or above the 95th percentile on standardized tests.  Cameron missed getting in on reading by 2 points but he was selected because of his math scores.  He now has to take a SCAT test which will determine the opportunities he can take advantage of.  COOL!!  Way to go Cameron.  We are so proud of you!!   Stay tuned for what happens next.

Crazy Idea

I went to lunch today with Anna, Stine, Peter, his parents, Sharla, and Erica.  After lunch Sharla decided we should go get our ears done.  By done she meant do the candle thing that pulls the wax out of your ears.  Stine and I looked at each other, laughed, and said "why not".  In the van we go to the shop.  It takes about 10 minutes.  They lite a straw looking thing on fire and it is suppose to pull the wax out.  They were different than the last time Sharla was there and she said these didn't work as well.  It took some stuff out.  Funny concept.  Just another crazy thing we do in China.

Stine and Sharla getting candled.

My turn.

This came out of Stine's ear.  Gross!!

A close up of what they do.

New Driver

Today at 10:00 Mr. Hu, the owner of the company that hires drivers, and a new driver met with Todd.  Here is how the conversation went:

Driver:  What time do you go to work?
Todd:     7:00 a.m.
Driver:   Can you make it 7:30?
Todd:     No.  This meeting is over.

Strike 1.

At 1:00 the same people met again with Todd but with another new driver.  This meeting went much better.  Todd called me to say he was nice, agreed with the things we already had planned, didn't have a problem with the start time, and he will be with Mr. Hu when he picks me up.  Great.  At 2:30 I get in the van and meet Mr. Xue (Shwa).  Smiles a lot, seems happy, and he was listening to Mr. Hu tell him how to drive and stuff.  Well, I think this is what the conversation was.  When we got to the grocery store Mr. Hu was talking and pointing and Mr. Xue was doing exactly what he was saying...pull up here, stop, open door, she'll get out, close door.  Again, this is what I think was being said.  He will start with us tomorrow morning.  Fingers crossed we like him.

Sad, Sad Day

Ileana and I went to Chinese class.  When we go there Mr. Hu wanted to talk to Todd.  Ileana waited in the other room while Me, Todd, Mr. Hu, and Febe talked.  Mr. Hu was going on and on in Chinese to Febe.  All I understood was my name once.  Then Febe started to talk.  She said "Mr. Hu needs to quit" and before she was even done with her sentence I started crying.  I had a gut feeling this is what he was going to say.  Then Febe went on about Mr. Hu...his dad feel out of bed on Saturday (I was with him and he said he had something urgent he had to go home for) because he has leg problems and can't really walk, he is getting divorced, he doesn't know who is going to take care of their baby (who will be 8 next month--not a baby), and he has to take care of his family first before working.  I continued to cry.  Febe asked me if she quits if I will cry too.  No, probably not because she isn't part of my family like Mr. Hu is.  We love him.  He takes very good care of us and we will miss him terribly. 

Todd and I really couldn't say anything.  We were speechless.  Mr. Hu then went on about how we have been so good to him and he feels bad that he has to quit but he will help find a good replacement for us.  That didn't really make me feel better.  I'm so nervous now as to what kind of driver we will get.  Mr. Hu just knew what I meant when I said something.  He knew our routine, he knew where we liked to go, he knew everything.  We were so hoping to get through this whole journey with Mr. Hu with us.  I guess we now need to alter that plan and welcome someone new into our family.  I'm hoping and praying he is as good as Mr. Hu.  We feel really bad for Mr. Hu and all he has to deal with right now but on the other hand we are also worried about us.  Some of you may think "oh, it is just a driver anyone can do that" but that is not the case.  When you do not speak the language it can be extremely difficult.  Plus, a lot of drivers do not care about the people they drive for, aren't on time, don't help carry things, etc.  We are with these drivers a lot and trust them with our lives.  Finding a good match is not an easy thing to do. 

SAD, SAD, DAY!!

PHONE

Todd decided to update my phone.  When he did I lost all my contacts, apps., and pictures.  GASP!! I know.  Luckily, the pictures I immediatley e-mail to myself so even though they aren't on my phone anymore I still have them.  My apps. are saved on icloud so I just had to reload them.  And with my contacts Heather had a list of all of us from the same company so I just had to put them back in my phone, sent out a few e-mails to some of my friends for their information, and then thanks to the app. BUMP Ileana could bump me the other contacts I needed.  If you don't know what BUMP is check it out.  You bump 2 phones together and the information goes from one phone to the other.  Awesome.  Losing all my information was a lot less painful than it could have been.

Crazy Job

I know there are a lot of people in the world that have crazy jobs.  However, today I think I saw the man with the craziest that I have seen.  Ileana and I were at Rachel's this morning.  We finished working out and were filling Easter eggs.  She lives on the 24th floor.  All of a sudden we saw a rope hanging outside of her apartment.  Rachel said "I hope the man comes down the rope".  I went over to the window and looked for him but couldn't find anyone.  About 5 minutes later Rachel said "there he is".  We looked up and I yelled "STOP".  He obviously heard me because he did.  Ileana and I grabbed our phones to take pictures.  The man is sitting on a swing type seat connected to a rope.  He is not strapped in or harnessed in or anything.  He just sits there.  CRAZY!!  Rachel decided she would like to have her windows cleaned.  She yelled for her ayi and they opened the window to chat with the window washer.  I went over to get a closer look and I said "He isn't even strapped in".  He shook his head no (he must have understood me) and then motioned to me to come sit on the seat.  He had a huge smile on his face.  I said "Are you crazy.  No way!!"  He laughed some more.  They finally agreed he would wash the windows today for 500RMB (about $80).  Rachel seemed thrilled. Definitely not a job for me.

This is when I yelled stop.

He started posing for us.

Trying to work out a deal.

Knock Knock

We were in the middle of a movie when we heard a knock at the door.  We paused the movie and went to the door.  Once opened we saw Alfredo and Alejandro standing there with a bag.  I motioned for Todd to come over.  When he got there the boys said the bag was for him.  Alfredo said it was from him and his mother because they got it in Beijing today.  Todd laughed.  In the bag was a few different kinds of cheese and a bag of crackers.  What a great present.  Alfredo said he knew what Todd likes so he told her to get that.  I had to laugh to myself because Ileana asked me earlier today what she could get him.  After telling her nothing or buying him a beer next time she saw him  (which she didn't like those answers) I finally thought of cheese because it is becoming harder to get here (not in the grocery store anymore) and he loves cheese.  We have the greatest neighbors ever!!  Thank you Carrasco's.

Alejandro and Alfredo giving Todd his birthday present.

Lots of yummy cheese and crackers.

Spring Time

The Chinese people feel like they always have to tell the Westerners how to dress.  In the winter we get yelled at if our kids do not have long underwear under their clothes.  They feel the need to point out if our kids do not have a hat on but their children run around with crotchless clothes.  I don't get it.  Today was no exception.  It was 63 degrees out and sunny so I wasn't wearing a coat.  I also had on sandals.  I was completely comfortable.  However, I got stared at, pointed at, talked about, and I think yelled at (I can't be sure) by all kinds of people today because of my clothing choices.  The Chinese still have long underwear on (we see it hanging out of their pants), coats, and hats on today.  Hopefully someday they will realize we can make our own choices and dress ourselves.  Funny stuff.

Todd's Birthday

Todd celebrated his birthday by working all day.  I celebrated by getting a manicure with Rachel and Claudia.  I'm sure I had more fun than Todd.  When he got home from work dinner was on the table with a special cake on the table too.  We ate and then Cameron lit the candles.  I sang in English and Cameron sang in Chinese.  Todd blew out the candles and we cut into it.  It was Red Velvet Cake...Todd's favorite.  My friend Heather made it for us.  It was really, really good too.  A HUGE thank you to her.

Let the birthday dinner begin.

Cameron taking out the candles.

Todd enjoying his Red Velvet Cake.

Yummy goodness.

We got Todd some wine glasses and an original water color painting from a famous painter out of Beijing.  It is a picture of a house in the Hutongs which is in Beijing.  I need to take it to get framed now.  It is really neat.  I went to an art show...I know, that is another first for me...at Heather's a couple of weeks ago and the artist was there.  He brought a ton of his work to show us.  It was kind of fun I guess.  At least I got a present for Todd. 

Cameron blind folded Todd so he could give him his present.

Here is the painting.  Very cool.

We finished the night off by watching Dumb and Dumber.  I forgot how funny that show is.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!!

Todd's Birthday Weekend--Sunday

Started the day by getting up at 6:22 a.m.  Why does my family not sleep in?  We headed to the gym.  Todd did the elliptical, I was on the treadmill, and Cameron worked on karate and sit ups.  Back to the room to take showers.  Down to breakfast.  It was very tasty.  It is the whole big spread that we haven't had in quite awhile.  Cameron must have really enjoyed it...2 bacon, ham, and cheese omelets, 3 pancakes, 1 french toast, 2 glasses of juice, and some bacon.  I don't know where he puts it all.

9:00 Mr. Hu picked us up.  We had to call him because he was at the apartment instead of the hotel.  I'm sure he was completely confused as to why we stayed there.  He took Todd to work and us to the grocery store.  On the way home Mr. Hu told us there was "urgent at his house" and he had to go home.  He dropped us off and he sped out of the complex.  Hopefully everything is ok. 

12:30 Cameron and I went upstairs to my friend Noga's apartment.  They are from Israel and are headed back the 17th of April.  They had a bunch of people over as a going away luncheon.  They are a nice family and we will miss them.  They made all kinds of Israeli food.  I did not try any though.  Everyone else said it was great.  They were planning on being here 2 years but it ended up being less than a year.  So sad to see them leave.

Noga, Doron, and Shir.  (Roni was sleeping)

All kinds of great Israeli food.

On Saturday I sent out a massive text saying the weather was suppose to be nice, we would be playing in the open field, and the kids need to run and play for anyone who would like to join.  It was an actual blue sky, sunny day.  A ton of people showed up.  There was over 20 kids running around playing.  The funniest part was the adults all sitting in one location talking and watching. Some brought blankets.  One family came with a cooler of beer to share and lawn chairs.  The Danish sent Peter to Times (Western grocery store) to buy water and beer.  It turned into a real "picnic".  There was a ton of laughter, screaming, and fun going on.  Todd and Jahyme played baseball with a group of kids.  There were kites, bikes, soccer, hula hoops, badminton, playing in dirt, and golf ball finding.  Everyone stayed for 2 1/2 hours.  It was just beginning to cool off when we all headed home.  The boys continued for another hour riding bikes and playing in trees.  I went out to tell them it was time to come in.  I saw Diane and Dean and they told me the kids were in trees over by their apartment.  They laughed and said they love to see kids being kids.  They reminded me how lucky we are that this is a safe environment for them to play in.  Cameron was exhausted from all the fresh air he has gotten the last two days.  Spring is here we think.

A group of kids playing.

More kids playing.

We call this parent hill.  Notice Vera sipping beer.

Marcela found a basket full of golf balls.

Some really cool parents...Mette, Ileana, Me, Crista, Peter, June, Trina, Stine, and Jakob.

Todd's Birthday Weekend--Saturday

Todd's birthday is Monday so we decided to go over to the Renaissance and spend the night.  Yes, it is right across the street from our apartment but Todd had a free night with free breakfast.  The gym people handed him 2 of certificates one day when he was at the gym.  Still not sure why but we will use it.  The free breakfast is worth it. 

We packed the cooler and a few clothes and walked over.  Our original plan was to swim but since the doctor told us Cameron couldn't we had to cancel that.  We checked in and checked out our suite.  Cameron said "I have always wanted to stay at the Renaissance."  Luckily we made another one of his dreams come true.   Not to shabby of a room for free.

Living Room

1/2 bathroom.

Hallway.

Bedroom.

Bathroom.

We then headed to the lounge for snacks and drinks.  We played Skip Bo and Uno while there.  We then ordered Jacky's pizza to be delivered.  When we got back to our room there were fruit  kabobs and a bottle of wine waiting for us.  WOW!!  We ate pizza and watched the new Muppet Movie.  It was pretty cute.  A couple times Todd finished a line from the movie and Cameron was shocked.  We think he might be a closet Muppet freak (or he has a really good memory from watching Muppets as a kid).  Off to bed. 

There was a Rubik's Cube to play with.

There is where we live.

Skip Bo, food, drinks...life is good.

Fruit kabobs.  Yum!

Underwear boy and birthday boy.

Saturday Fun

The weather is finally getting nicer.  The kids were able to play outside all day.  They started off with roller blading with walkie talkies.  They then rode scooters.  Fredy got his gas powered remote control car out so Cameron had to get his car out too.  They were driving them through the parking lot.  We got quite a crowd over to watch.  Todd was at work all  morning and Ileana and I just stood outside talking.

Fredy loves racing his car.  The Chinese loved watching.

Alfredo is driving Cameron's car.

After racing cars they all decided to play a game they call zombies.  Fredy chasing the kids around is what it looks like to me.  They love it though.  We then decided to fly kites.  It was a very windy day so it worked great.  We had the big shark up for the first time since buying it in Qingdao along with the bearded emperor.  They are pretty cool.  The kids took turns flying them.

The bearded emperor and the shark flying high.

All the kids watching Todd.

Marcela is taking her turn.

Cameron flying the emperor kite.  The shadow is cool.

The shark shadow.

We all went in to eat lunch.  Todd has been in parking wars with Warner Garden and our relocation agent for a few weeks now.  Since the tower has people living in it now there are cars all over the place.  Sometimes up to 25 cars parked in front of our building.  It makes for a very dangerous situation.  Todd sent a message last week saying if it isn't fixed we may need to look for a new place to live.  They sent a message back saying they all agreed we could find a new place to live if we want.  WHAT?  Instead of taking care of a few cars they would rather have us move.  Bright people.  They finally blocked off in front of the tower but not our building.  Todd would take cones from their side and move it to ours.  They move them back.  Todd moves them back.  They move them back again.  Today Todd was fed up.  He told me to get Serena over at 12:30.  I sent her a message and tried to call her but she wouldn't answer.  Todd started calling her.  She finally answered and came over.  After a car pulled out we put a sand box with rocks in it to block the spot.  Someone moved it and parked their car there.  UGH.  Todd had a nice conversation (yeah right) with Serena and the property manager.  It is suppose to be taken care of by Monday.  We shall see. 

They finally have one side blocked off.

All but one car was gone so the kids were able to play out front. There are even a few cones trying to block traffic.  2 Chinese kids were playing with our basketball hoop.  They were taking turns taking pictures of the other shooting or trying to dunk.  They had the hoop down as low as it could go.  It was funny to watch them.  Our kids were playing Jakaree and a racket game we bought in a park one day.  They were having a blast.  It was a great day to be outside.

Playing out front.

Alejandro and Marcela are trying to play catch.

Basket of Goodies

Our first expat had her baby on March 18th in Tianjin.  Andrea and Troy Schlotman brought little Cooper into the world healthy and happy.  Big brothers Carter and Keaton couldn't wait for Cooper to get home.  Our friend Megan organized some girls to take dinner to the Schlotman's for the next couple of weeks.  Tonight was the Wallace's turn.  It was a crazy day with a sick kid and Todd out of town.  We still got it done.  After the SOS clinic Cameron and I ran to the grocery store to get some supplies.  Then at 2:15 Cameron and I ran back to the mall to pick up Subway and McDonald's.  I talked to Andrea and she thought Subway would be great.  We figured the boys would like McDonald's better.  We took the basket of goodies to school and put it in Rachel's van so she could deliver it to Schlotman's. 

We figured since Andrea couldn't have the baby at home we would fill the basket with goodies from home.  We put in granola bars, microwave popcorn, mac n cheese, oreo's, chips ahoy cookies, green beans, corn, quaker oatmeal, potato chips, nacho chips, apples, Subway, and McDonald's. 

Basket of goodies.

 

Sick Day

Cameron did not go to school today.  Yesterday when I picked him up he said his ear hurt.  When we got home he said "Ow, it really hurts mom".  He played with Alejandro and every once in awhile he would say his ear hurt.  He slept with me last since Todd is Harbin.  He woke me up at 5:30 a.m. and said it still hurt really bad and he had a horrible headache.  He said he didn't want to go to school.  I called the SOS Clinic right at 9:00 when they open.  They got us in at 9:30.  The nurse weighed, measured, and took Cameron's temp.  It was 99.68.  Dr. David Wong, made me think of Breanne since her last name is Wong, was very nice and spoke to Cameron.  He then checked him all out.  He said with the low temp. it meant there was an infection.  When he was done he logged into his computer so he could show Cameron what was wrong with his ear.  He showed him photos and explained it all so Cameron (and me) could understand.  He then walked us out and had us sit while he went into the pharmacy to get the medicine.  He then sat down next to each of us and explained the medications.  Made an appointment for next Friday so Dr. Wong can make sure nothing is "wong" with Cameron.

Diagnosis:  Tonsillitis, punctured membrane in his right ear, and his left ear is completely congested (he couldn't believe it wasn't hurting Cameron).  He has to take 2 sachets of Amoxicillin dissolved in 100 ml of warm water twice a day for 10 days.  Then he has to have 2 drops of medicine in each ear 4 times a day for 2 days.  I had never heard of or seen sachet of antibiotics.  Cameron says it is very tasty...NOT. 

Hopefully these medications do the trick very soon. 

Thank goodness TEDA has an SOS Clinic.

Waiting to see the doctor.

Dr. Wong checking out the sore ear.

Listening to his chest.

Dr. Wong in the pharmacy getting meds.

Cameron said his medicine looks like pee.

He does not enjoy drinking it.

Ear drops time.