One Year in China

Can you even believe that as of today, we have been in China for one year??!!?? The picture above was taken on our way to China one year ago.  In some ways, it has felt like the last year has flown by and in other ways it has felt like the last year has been super long.  The ironic thing is, we are not even in China today, we are actually (hopefully - I am writing this ahead of time) enjoying our first family vacation of 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. I thought it would be fun to update you through a set of frequently asked questions and answers to get you all caught up on our first year of living abroad - you can revisit the first question and answer post here.

What do we wish we would have packed/brought  more of in our sea shipment?
Toilet paper - for realz though, I thought we brought a ton, but we just recently ran out and I am sadder than I should be about that fact. Let's just put it this way - all toilet paper is not created equally.  All of the other expats I have talked to agree with this.

Other than that, though, we brought shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, contact solution, paper towels, laundry detergent and stain remover (I am super picky about that stuff) and a plethora of over the counter medicine and would recommend those bulk buys for anyone going on an assignment to somewhere unfamiliar.

Of course we wish we would have brought more food - especially Rotel, Bisquick and brownie mix.

What were the 'most valuable things' that we have packed when loading up our suitcases at Christmas to bring back?
Did you notice that we brought 11 suitcases back with us?? Here are some of my favorites: Central Market coffee (specifically 12 pounds of Maple Pecan Nut), rotel (did you see above?), brownie mix, mac and cheese (for the girls), birthday presents for Emma, clothes for the girls and me, Christmas presents (especially my baby blardigan), hot sauce...

Have I bought any clothes for the girls here?
No, and Wes and I have not bought any clothes either.  The store brands are really expensive here (Gap is about 2 - 3X what you would pay in the states) and you guys know by now I am quite particular about the girls clothes and I was fortunate enough to go home twice in the last year (once as a whole family) and so we just buy ahead and bring back with us.

Have we made friends?
Yes, but not as many as I thought we would have made before we came.  To be honest, there are just not that many people that are expats that are in our life stage with little ones at home.  Most are older with grown kids or my age/slightly younger with no kids.

Have we hired a babysitter/gone on a date?
Ha! Nope.  We do have a friend that I work with that also has little kids and so Wes and I were able to grab dinner by ourselves one or two nights.  But, I actually find that it seems like after the girls are asleep, Wes and I spend more time catching up (less access to TV, I suppose).

What does a normal work day look like? 
Really quite boring.  We all wake up between 6 and 6:30 - Wes makes coffee and the girls like me to make their breakfast before I leave.  Get ready for work and leave by 7.  Wes gets the girls ready for school and they head to the bus stop by 8.  The bus picks them up at 8 and they head to school for the day. While they are at school, I work and Wes will run any errands/take care of all the house things.  He picks the girls up from the bus stop around 3 on short days (Tuesday and Thursday) and 4 on the longer days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). I leave work around 4 and make it home by 5. We eat dinner and do baths, some sort of family activity.  Then we watch Mickey Mouse while Everly sits in my lap and then watch Lion Guard while Emma sits in my lap (it is very routine driven and they like this routine).  In between Mickey Mouse and Lion Guard we brush teeth, get into jammies and pick out books.  As soon as Lion Guard goes off, we head to bed to read books and go night night -lights out at 8:10pm.  Then Wes and I will hang out or I will work on my blog/read blogs or we try to watch a little tv together.

How do the girls do on flights/how are they at traveling?
The girls are excellent little travelers (especially when it comes to flying).  This is only true now because of all the practice they have had.  It is not to say they are perfect because they definitely have their moments - Everly, I am looking at you going through the DFW security on the way back to China (I have never been more flustered/embarrassed in my life at the meltdown that she had), but overall they are so so good.  On vacations, we try to keep it a mix of what we think would be fun for them to do and what Wes and I want to see/do.  We will always tend to favor what is more fun for them because obviously that keeps them much happier. But when there is something that we want to do, we also try to prioritize that too.  For example, in Tokyo - we are spending two days at Disney, but we are also taking a Mt Fuji/Lake Ashi tour because that sounded interesting to me and Wes.

Where was our favorite vacation so far?
Thailand, hands down.  We are actually talking about going there 2 - 3 times this year, we just love it so much.  It is relaxing for us, relaxing for them, lots of English spoken, water activities which will always win (even over Disney in their book) - it is just all around our ideal vacation.

What is the best part of living in China?
We feel really safe here.  I don't get into my political/world views ever on the blog, but there is just so much unrest right now in the states that it really feels like in China we get to live in a bubble. I have not watched the news in a year now and there is something really nice about that.  Other highlights for us: the travel mentioned above, my job (it is challenging and exciting and I really like it), the parks and playgrounds for little ones, getting to spend so much quality time together.

What are the challenges of living abroad?
Missing our families - coming back from Christmas was the hardest, having to say bye to the people we love the most is the worst feeling. I honestly don't think that part will ever get easier? Maybe the last time we have to do it when we know that the next time we see them we will be home permanently? Other than that we are pretty used to the car and driver situation now and while still not ideal, it no longer drives me crazy on a daily basis and it is something we have just accepted.  

Do we like the food here?
Hmmmm, we really like Mike's Pizza - maybe I should just leave it at that? Wes has gotten really good at cooking and has made some delicious Chipotle style burrito bowls.  Honestly, we just prefer his cooking over any Chinese food - we eat it on certain occasions so we feel like we get our fill of it.  We eat mainly chicken because the ground beef just has a weird flavor over here (and we have tried several different varieties).

Have we learned any Chinese? Have the girls learned any Chinese?
Wes and I have learned next to zero Chinese (we know a few phrases and that is about it...) and the girls have not absorbed as much as we had hoped they would pick up on during school. So needless to say, we rely on our driver and my friends from work quite a bit whenever we need help, but we find that on a daily basis, we do not need to know Chinese.

I am coming to Chengdu, what should I do?
My parents are actually coming this summer!!! We are so so so excited to have Nonni and Papa George here with us and we can't wait to show them around.  I am going to come up with some options for what they/we should/will do and then I will share that with you - but see the pandas, definitely do not miss that!

As always, if you have any other questions, you can leave them in the comment section and I will be happy to answer (as long as they are not too personal ;)).

Four Random Things

One. I have not used a blow dryer in more than five years (with the exception of when I get my hair cut and they blow dry it there – and as you might remember, Wes cut my hair until we moved to China, where I have had two haircuts since we moved here). My hair was broken and damaged and one morning I just decided not to use it again and I have never looked back (I am almost positive this was right before Emma was born).  I am not one that you would look to for hair styling tips, but this is what my ‘routine’ (if you can even call it a routine) looks like.  I wash my hair every other night and I let it air dry for about 30 – 45 minutes.  At that point, I run my daughter’s wet brush through it.  That is it.  If I go to bed right out of the shower, I find that my hair will get frizzy while I sleep, but if I follow this – there is hardly any frizz.  I got some dry shampoo for Christmas and I have been trying to learn how to use it, but so far I have been unsuccessful.  Occasionally, I will wear my hair ‘curly’ and put some hair mousse in it, but since moving to China this is pretty rare.

Two. We have been doing ‘homework’ with Emma every day after school.  She is really coming a long way in letters and sounds and has some sight words and can sound out some words, but I would say she is definitely not reading yet.  We are trying to help her get some extra practice at home with just one page sheets that we often make up ourselves or that we downloaded from the internet.

Three. When I was looking at my closet the other day to do some spring cleaning I actually came across a spring training t-shirt and I realized that I may have never shared this fact with you – when I was in middle school and high school, I was head over heels in love with baseball and my dad and I went to spring training in Florida and then in Arizona a couple of times. I have really fond memories of those trips - just me and my dad (which is rare when you are one of four) and every time I pull out that t-shirt it puts a smile on my face.  I hope to take the girls on some one-on-one trips when they are a bit older too especially seeing what an impression it has had on me.

Four. Emma and Everly are enamored with the idea of getting married and having babies.  I am not kidding you when I say that we have no less than 10 babies pop out of our tummy a week (all girls (duh!) and mostly named flower or heart jewel).  In addition to having babies, they talk about weddings and getting married all the time (mostly Emma leading and Everly following in the marriage department).  The picture above is just one example of how Emma convinced Everly to walk arm and arm like they were heading to their wedding ;). I just do not remember being this girly when I was little so this all sometimes comes as a surprise to me.

p.s. one bonus random thing – even though it is March, I am still drinking my morning cup of coffee at work out of my red cup simply because it makes me happy. I just thought you would like to know that ;).

Beijing | Summer Palace

I was really excited about visiting the Summer Palace - I knew it was huge, very pretty and had a dragon boat that you could ride so I was all in.  Here are some pictures if you would like to take a look.

^ the entrance to the Summer Palace - we waited here while Glenn got our tickets ^

^ the place was gigantic ^

^ i was excited about walking on the longest corridor in the world ^

^ the girls loved these lily pads ^

^ weeping willow ^

^ family picture (3 out of 4 looking is not too bad) ^

^ loved all of the color and patterns ^

^ the beginning of the longest corridor plus that is Glenn on the right ^

^ i loved this door ^

^ we saw some new and interesting designs that we had not seen previously at the Forbidden City or Temple of Heaven ^

^ if you go, don't forget to look up ^

^ the views were stunning ^

^ can you see that steep incline to get up to the viewing deck of the temple? we decided to pass because lugging up a stroller plus two little ones did not sound like much fun :) ^

^ a dragon boat ^

^ this boat was made out of marble ^

^ it's our turn!! ^

^ Glenn took this and literally had to chase after the boat because it had pulled away while he was still on the deck ^

^ view from the water ^

^ little girl, exploring this big world ^

^ love that he is always up for a boat ride ^

^ what the dragon boat looks like from the side ^

^ i am so glad we decided to pass on those stairs ;) ^

^ Evsie's and I went on a little tour to the front of the boat ^

^ that smile! ^

^ the boat ride was fairly short and when we got to the other side, we walked across the bridge to an 'island'.  on the way, we saw the biggest kites in the whole wide world. ^

^ love the view of of the boats sprinkled all over the water ^

^ getting one of the kites off the ground ^

^ common thing to see all around China - it is good luck ^

^ the bridge! ^

^ looking at this, I can tell I am pretty tired. it was hard work to carry that girl around on my back all day! ^

^ Emma and daddy - I know I talk a lot about Everly and I looking alike, but these two are still twins in my book ;) ^

^ happy girls plus Glenn in the background ^

^ we could have stayed longer and kept exploring but we were all feeling pretty tired - so we told Glenn we were ready to head back to the hotel for the evening.  I am pretty sure we made it back out for dinner at the mall near us and quite possibly had some more donuts because the ones the night before were so delicious. we had to get a good night's rest - the Great Wall was waiting for us in the morning!! ^

Beijing | Olympic Park

I L.O.V.E the Olympics.  Growing up, my parents took us on a summer vacation each summer and one of my fondest memories is stopping at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs - I just get giddy anytime I think of the Olympics (or that trip).  So I was definitely thrilled that seeing the Beijing Olympic park was on our list of things to do while we were there.

Emma was pretty thrilled about it too - just kidding, she was happy to be out of the car - the taxi ride from the Temple of Heaven to the Olympic Park was quite long.

She jumps everywhere we go.

Loved seeing the water cube.

Do you see that all of those buildings make a dragon - Glenn told us these are the most expensive apartments per square footage in Beijing.

When she is not jumping, she can be found twirling.

Detailed shot- I have vivid memories about watching the 2008 Beijing games.

I believe this was actually built after the Olympics were over.

Water cube plus our first look at the bird's nest.

Future Olympic athletes ;)?

I really got a kick of watching them run everywhere (without a care in the world) - when we travel, I am just constantly amazed by everything they have got to do at such a young age.  We are absolutely thrilled that we get to give them these opportunities.

Some family snaps in front of the water cube - where all of the swimming and diving events were held.

I was so so so super excited to see the infamous Bird's Nest. I cannot even tell you how many times I saw this on TV during the games. The girls were just as excited ;).

Whenever the girls are in a 'mood' I try to suggest we do a 'go team' picture and it normally snaps them out of the funk (at least momentarily).  We also try to tell them/coach them that their family is their biggest team in life so when we say go team, we are really talking about rooting for our family.

The way the sun was hitting the Bird's Nest was just so sparkly and full of magic.

I really want to be able to go to an Olympic games with this guy one day!

Loved seeing these Olympic rings.

Family picture :). Have I mentioned that this was one of my favorite parts of hiring a private tour guide - unlimited family pictures included ;).

Can you see Ev's?

Evsie's and Daddy :).

I *think* this held the Olympic torch during the games, but I could be wrong because it has been 6 months since we have been and I have slept since then ;).

We opted not to go in to any of the buildings because Glenn told us there was not much to see, so we just walked around and enjoyed our time there. For lunch, Glenn took us to his favorite place that was close to our next stop, the Summer Palace and we finally tried a Chinese Hamburger!

And we ate up some other food too -the cauliflower was definitely a favorite!

After we were full, we were off to our last stop of the day!