Trip Back to the US 2010

Cash and I left for Utah on May 3. We had a great trip, and my only regret is not taking hardly ANY pictures, and the fact that it wasn't long enough. We were there for 12 days and then we flew to AZ to meet Chip and hang with the Browns.

Unfortunately we all got sick for most the week there, but we still had a great time seeing family - altho once again it wasn't long enough time there either! However, we did get to enjoy Heidi's mission farewell talk, hang out for a bit with her before she left, and get a family photo with the ENTIRE family (been awhile since this happened). It was really hot, so only a couple takes, and of course being 32 weeks pregnant here is not ideal for me, but oh well!

Both Chip and I felt the trip wasn't long enough and had little desire to leave and come back to China, altho we do like it here and now we are back it is fine - but boy do we miss our families and wish we could see them more --- so plan your visits over here ya'll before the fall!

Thanks for having us - I feel I have the 2 best families ever!

The trip home, however, was a complete disaster - we sat on the plane in SF for 2 hours before being unloaded and told we had to wait another 3 hours to board a new plane. This caused us to miss our flight in Korea and get stuck in the airport hotel overnight - our 18 hour trip turned into a 40 hour LONG LONG LONG trip!!!! UGH!!!!

Thankfully we have such a great little son who travels so well and is always happy, and managed to escape getting the flu bug too we all had - so that made it better! I hope to never have another flight schedule like that again in life tho!

The entire Brown Family - LOVE these guys!

Cute Missionary Heidi with Betty and Charlie - so sad you got sick the first 2 days in the MTC!

Aunt Hannah with niece Adella and nephew Cohen - Cash was running away!

Grandpa and Grandma with the 3 grandkids - what a feat! Also, note Cohen is the yongest of the 3 but bigger than both the others - he is going to be one big boy - I hope Cash can catch up some day!

The Brown family with no in-laws --- what a great looking and awesome group of people!

Our little family of 3, soon to be 4!

Only A First Time Mom Would Brag About This!

So I am officially nesting (not the part I am braggin about)! But anyways - since I have been back in Beijing (story of trip to come soon) I have been in a cleaning/organizing frenzy. I unloaded my suitcases the day after we got home (record for me as usually it takes at least a minimum of a week to do this), got all Cash's winter clothes put away, got out all the baby stuff, and organized my closet and our other big closet with all our storage items - feels great to be organized!

Today, as I was doing the biggest closet Cash came in and grabbed my hand. He dragged me into the bathroom and pointed at the toilet. At first I was a bit confused, thinking he had thrown another something into it - but after looking and seeing nothing I then realized - he said "pee pee". What? I said to myself - this is a joke - i am NOT even trying to potty train right now - I figure he isn't even 2 yet, and it is much easier in China to just have him in diapers then try, so was going to wait til we get home in the fall to try anything. However, I obliged him and let him get up and sit on the toilet. To my shock - he actually went - he then said "poop" and preceded to pop one out! Total shock, and total elation to for me - maybe he is going to just potty train himself without much coaching! I am not sure if it will happen again any time soon - but a fun mommy moment!

Anyways - he is SO MUCH fun and I just want to document a few of my other favorite things he is saying/doing:

He has started answering in the affirmative now when he wants to say yes: He actually just says "uh huh" and it is so cute and fun that I know he actually does like or want something!

He LOVES when his daddy comes home and jumps up and down and gets SO excited! He always wants to go outside with him!

He says "beijing" when you ask where we live!
When he sees airplanes he says "airplanes, arizona"!
When I say grammy he says "grammy's, otterpops!" (he loved those at my moms)

He love his VAN shoes Aunt Emma gave him and says "new shoes" and then points at the laces and says "butterflies"! He likes to try tying them too!

When we ask him what the baby's name will be he says "Cooper"! This is because Linds baby is named Cooper and I talk about him and we saw him in Utah - he won't say any other name!

He likes to give the baby kisses on my belly and say baby!

He LOVES to help clean and is a fun little sidekick to have when doing chores.....most the time!

He likes to wear his sunglasses here and the people go NUTS over him! He even wore them the entire time we were getting sushi inside the restaurant - the waitresses kept coming over just to look at him!

He is the best little travel buddy and did great on our 40 hour excursion home even when I wanted to scream for a LOT of it - always happy and excited about life!

He loves to ask for Muchi and Sam - 2 of his favorite people, and whenever we pass a school and I say "school" he starts to wave and says "muchi, school; muchi, school" and looking for her!

He gives me lots of kisses and makes me so happy each day - and I can only hope the next child is as great and happy as he is! He has a lot to live up to!

It has been over 15 years since................

I GOT THE STOMACHE 24 hours flu bug!!!

We are in AZ, enjoying family vacation and having a blast, and I wake up on Monday with everything feeling fine! Go for my 2 mile walk, come back, go visit my grandparents, come back, go swimming with my sisters and Chip and Cash, come home, feeling a little sick so I eat lunch --- and then it gets BAD!!!

My stomach started hurting worse and worse and writhing in pain and NOTHING was fixing it. I even took a nausea pill I have for pregnancy, which normally works within 15 minutes and to no avail! I tried everything to get comfortable, only to have it get worse. Finally, I got in the shower and let the water just run over my back while I sat on the floor, but that didn't help either. I just felt worse and worse til finally I knew it wasn't going to get any better until..............
I threw up!!!!

Anyone who really knows me well knows I am afraid of vomit! i can NOT handle when someone else does it, can't stand the sound of it, the sight, or worst of all the smell, and I get really scared when I think I am going to throw up -- yeah, some mom I am huh? Good thing Cash has never had a single episode of this yet (knock on wood as Chip woke up this morning with what i think i had - so Cash might be next)

Anyways, I threw up, and after I realized it really wasn't so bad - and I even felt SO MUCH BETTER!!! I thought maybe I just ate bad food, but figured soon enough that was wrong. After 45 minutes I was back to feeling awful, and after 2 more vomit episodes so that I was actually just dry heaving and in so much pain i wanted to die I really was wondering if I might survive the day!

Anyways, to make a long story short, and spare you all the gross details of everything, I did end up making it and the next day felt much better. I am just worried now that Chip and Cash will get it, and Chip woke up this morning feeling sick - Charlie his dad got it at 3 am --- so I am praying that Cash doesn't get it!

Also, I hope it is more than 15 years again before it ever comes back - becuase being pregnant made it just that much WORSE!!!!

I HATE THE FLU!!!

When did that happen?

This morning as I was getting Cash dressed I was looking at his teeth and one looked a little funny! Upon further scrutiny I realized I think he has a chipped tooth! His front left tooth is curved funny and yet I hadn't noticed that for the last few weeks!

I then started thinking back to when he was in his time out about a month ago and was jumping in his crib and started screaming. I went in and there was blood pouring out his mouth - I checked then but thought he just bit his lip because his lip was bleeding. However, I think he did a little more - I think he chipped his tooth!

If not at this time, I have no idea when else it occurred - his cute little toothy grin is now just a little more crooked and goofy! Good thing he is so cute!
(however, I am slightly disturbed about it this morning after the realization - thank heavens it is a baby tooth!!!)

I LOVE monday holidays!!!

So yesterday was a holiday in CHina - not sure what it was for but We'll take it!

Fun to have Chip home from work and get to do fun things!
First, I went to the Dr. for my 29 week checkup and diabetes test!

I am TERRIFIED of needles, drank the gross lick-a-stick tasting stuff, and then it went so smoothly I couldn't believe it! I was so anxious the whole way there in the cab and Rian was just laughing at me and asking if she could hold my hand. She is teh most chill friend I know and nothing phases her. I wish I was like her in so many ways!

She came in to distract me, since her apt. wasn't started yet either, and yet the nurse did SUCH a good job - in fact, the best blood draw i have ever experienced - I literally could not feel the needle even go into my arm, and before i knew it I was done.

Then, I met wiht Dr. Lee, a chinese lady who was so nice and sweet. I would be happy if she was my delivery Dr. She addressed my concerns checked me out, and everything looked great with baby boy #2! The best part also for me of the whole apt was finding out I had actually lost a little weight! Baby gets bigger, I get smaller - hmm...what could be better news?
(I still feel huge tho and getting more uncomfortable every day!)

While we were at the Dr. the husbands took our kids back to Chaoyang park where they had a blast renting a bike with the big basket on the front for teh two boys, and the rest on the back with Chip driving, and going all over the park, enjoying the rides, the bumper boats for little kids, and hot dogs on a stick! Cash apparently had a BLAST and Chip decided he wants to be a stay at home dad and I can go find a job! (if it was only fun and games every day daddy!:)

When we were finished Rian and I went off to the fabric market - WITHOUT KIDS!!!! The best experience and early mother's day present I could get! It was SO much fun! We walked around, found awesome fabrics for our projects, and just had a blast with no worries! I forget sometimes how is feels to not have a little one to worry about every second adn it was a great break!

Then we came home and chip went and got a massage! After we went to the market. Chip had a bone to pick with one of the sellers at the booths who told us something was real silk and we could bring it back if it wasn't. Well, it wasn't and so he took it back and she refused to give us our money back or give us better items - it turned into a HUGE scene, with her yelling at Chip, and then Chip standing there and telling everyone who came up that she was a liar and not bo buy from her because she would rip them off and sending all customers to other booths - it got so intense Cash and I went down to the 1st floor to get some shoes! Well, than I got a call from Chip saying 10 security guards had escorted him to the front place, he was explaining his plite, and I needed to come up and verify that she had in fact told us we could bring them back! Well, then he ended up talking them into just giving him some of the money back - but boy oh boy were they mad! However, we have had ENOUGH of the liars here, and he wasn't taking it - and i was glad - it was actually hilarious! They tried to say that in their country they are honest, which is the biggest farce ever, but the experience, even without getting what we actually wanted was so worth it - and then we got our otehr stuff and headed back to dinner with friends!

Overall, a fun experience once again and a great holiday!

Potty Training and Prostitutes!

So this weekend once again was packed with adventures and interesting events!
I would just like to share the 2 that shocked me the most and made my jaw drop!

First, as I have established before, the chinese culture is very different here! One thing that is different is how they pottytrain their infants/toddlers! First, they have them wear split pants and just let them walk around with their bums blowing in the wind - it is very weird and gross to see sometimes as we are places, and I have to really watch the play areas I let Cash in because I don't want him picking up any diseases from the unsanitary conditions that are caused by these! Then, when they want the child to go to the bathroom they put them over a sink, or some other place in nature, or even a garbage can in the stores, and start whistling or running water to get them to pee. I think this is weird alone, but then i saw this:

We were enjoying some shopping at ChienMen with our friends, and Rian and I just had bought hats and were headed to find the bunch, when I looked down at a dad holding an (probably) 8 month old on his lap in cradle style. I thought nothing at first until I noticed ann empty water bottle held to the boy's crotch, of course he had split pants on, and he was whistling - he was getting this little baby to pee in a bottle right there in front of a store - SO WEIRD!!!! I am not sure if it was working - but it was really weird!
Is it bad if I sometimes want to start whistling when I see people holding their children with the pants on to see if I can make them have an accident on their caretaker? I just wonder if it would work!

Now for shocker #2:
We were trying to get into taxis to go home, a major hard thing since it is a holiday weekend and we needed 2 cabs for us both, but Chip had finally found one and Rian and I were loading the 2 boys in with us when this man approached Chip and asked if he spoke English. The guy had a very thick Russian accent and looked so greasy and dirty. when Chip said yes the guy then preceded to ask "Do you know where I can find girls in the city to have sex with?"

Hello - first of all what a perverted world we live in that people would even ask questions about this, but also do you not see he is helping his pregnant wife and child into the car - do you really think my clean cut, loyal, and wonderful husband would be the person to ask this too! Sheesh! My jaw is still on teh floor from this question, and all right in front of us and the kids!

However, we had a great time, got a cute cute hat I will probably wear sometime in Utah next week so look for its cute debut, had a wonderful evening picnic in the park with friends, fun in the water for Cash at our place that has fountains coming up out of the ground, and numerous photos taken of us and the kids when we were out and about at our shopping trip. At once point Rian and I had the 2 boys, are both pregnant, and we had about 20 people looking at us and taking pictures - I almost felt like an animal in a zoo or something - and we thought maybe we should strike a pose, but instead just kept talking and ignored them! Really, don't think we are that much of a spectacle to gawk at, but boy do the chinese people like too!

Happy weekend! Off to eat some killer dinner made by Chip with some awesome friends!