Weeds

These boys just keep growin'! They are so sweet, and they are so fun to be around.

Lunch Dad's Way

Because Tim works so hard Monday through Friday, he tries to have fun on his days off with us. Here we are out eating lunch together.


This is the part where Tim shows off his skill to the boys.


This is the part where Hunter tries it out (can you see the popcorn just about 1 inch down from the top?)


And Tanner proves he can do it too by dropping popcorn over his shoulder over and over.


This pizza was the strangest we've seen. It came in a cellophane "bag"! It was steam cooked... but to Hunter it was Pizza all the same.

One Messy Boy

Tim warned me not to give Tann an ice cream cone...

It was like he knew what his face looked like, he sat there and posed while the rest of the family was getting out of the Taxi.

Love ice cream goatees.

The boys ran laps around the yard while Tanner's face looked like this.

New Calling, Fond Memories

Our friends Steve and Michelle Smith are moving from Shanghai to Hawaii. One of the most beautiful places to live, a huge tourist attraction. We'd love to live there again. Simply because it's where our Hawaiian friends are. It seems we can't give a talk in church without mentioning them. Every time Tim is behind the podium he mentions Lima Harbottle and George Akeo. These are his two closest friends.

Tim says he went to UH for a Masters Degree, but got the best education from these two men. Their families have truly impacted our lives.

At that time, 5 years ago, we served the youth. I was a beehive advisor at church, and we were such a close bunch. Now that they are finally graduating from Young Womens, I am privileged to teach a new round of Beehives, in Shanghai. Beehives are so cool! I get to serve under Tami Christiansen and Tamara Asbury, and with Kathleen Reese. What a privilege.

I knew it was all meant to be for several reasons. But it was a "tender mercy" when Tami (Our President) put on coconut lotion and then confessed she knew how to hula....

My Handsome Brother Dave

I am setting up Angie's Blog, and asked her to send some pictures for her header. Here she is with Dave. Aren't they two gerogous people?! Sickening that they are over 40!

Summer Fun

We headed out to Alison Wilde's for another swim day.

I was playing with Tanner on the steps, then suddenly he got out, walked down the edge of the pool's perimeter 'till he got close to Liu Ming (Holly's son, we took them with us to swim). He stretched his hands out for Liu Ming to catch him. Liu Ming held him in the water, and Tanner just laughed and laughed. Funny how kids have certain connections with certain people.

That night I took the boys swimming, yet again! Tim got home and was sooooo exhausted, so we took off to the indoor pool at "mega fit". Funny side note: Mega fit is in a mini-mall. Part of the children's wading pool buts right up to the main walk way of the mall. So it looks like there's one big glass wall between you (in the pool) and the shoppers (inside the mall). When the boys got in the pool, a crowd gathered on the other side of the glass, and openly cooed and gawked over the boys. I had to laugh. It was as if they thougth the glass made them invisible to me. They are so polite and cautious not to stare. But in this instance, the boys got lots of admiring stares.

It got a little awkward so we switched to the other mini-pool, that was actually an over-sized hot tub. Note: don't think I'd ever seen so many speedos in my life. Anyway, there I saw a sweet little girl named "LinRong". She was very shy with me, then after 10 minutes, she kept playing with me and smiling at me. I wish I had a picture of her. It made my mouth water, it was at that moment I felt the anxiousness for the adoption of our chinese little girl to be final! LinRong made me want a chinese baby girl twice as much, though she was already 3 years old.

Afterwards, a flower street vendor (0ne that we're good friends with) approached us about her new gardenias.

They smelled so very beautiful. I gave in and justified that I'd give one vase to Kristen Lowman, a good friend who's birthday is tomorrow.

We ended up being at the Megafit pool 'till 9:30, then caught a cab home. The boys normally go to bed at 8, and get up at 7 am. This is Tanner the following morning, at 7:30 AM. The lights were on in his room, commotion all around him-- he was still totally zonked out!!

For My Larson Girls

This is for Tracey, Meagan, Heidi, and Emma. Your mom told me she missed the Radio here in China. She also said you gals like checking blogs because of the music. So just for you... I updated my playlist, and added double the selection for you. Some oldies, some more recent ones. Tracey, no worries, they are all clean songs-- that's how we roll around here.

So go ahead, and make your fist your microphone-- and "Rock On" as my sister-n-law Lynette said in her last email. Air Guitars totally acceptable.

Fried Rice Post

True fried rice is simply left over rice, thrown in a wok with all the left over ingredients from other meals. I suppose Gumbo has a similar background.

So this is my Fried Rice Post...where nothing really relates, and it's just all thrown together.


This is my nasty habit for remembering things. I'm sure most of you stopped this in high school. I usually only have one or two notes. Today I had 8.

Some of the notes of what's been going on (not all are direct downloads from my hand) today:

1.Order vaccines. China doesn't stock vaccinations, so you have to pre-pay/order them from the UK. Hep A just became available by some joint venture. We ordered 16 vaccines! 12 of them are part of a 3-part series (once a week for three weeks) of Rabies all four of us have to get. There are certain shots required for certain countries.
2. Plan the upcoming Young Women's activity.
3. Register for school. Weird. You have to pay cash to reserve a spot at the chinese schools. Funny story: while filing their applications, the boys were instructed to take off their shoes in their play area. I told them in chinese to do just that. Tanner raced to the entrance and sat down quickly, never losing eye contact with me while he followed the chinese directions. I could tell he was showing off that he understood the chinese. Tann still doesn't talk much, but when he does, lately it's been more chinese than english. Hunter got the directions by watching Tanner's interpretation. Kids pick things up so quickly.
4. http://www.skoosedesign.com/ website renewal. I can't believe it's already been a year since I started this business.
5. Finish a Taggie Blanket for Tami. Hunter helped me this morning, and we snagged one of the tags. So lucky Tami gets $6 off. The project took twice as long because of the "additional help" (that I welcomed, nothing is better than little helping fingers). We became pressed for time, then Hunter paused and said "Mommy, do you know why I'm helping you? It's just 'cause I lauv you". Hunter has the cutest way of saying the word Love. I figured I'm not just giving Tami $6 off, I'm actually paying her $6 for such a fun experience with Hunter. There will be a time when Hunter won't touch a sewing machine.
6. Today Holly's son came in town for the week.
7. Also, I've been learning how to design blogs (over the past month) that are now DONE:
My Own
Holly's
Lynette's
Trisha's
Cameron's
If you're bored, you can click on their links above to peek.

What else happened today??

Hunter and Tanner asked if they could be in their PJs... in public. I gave in. Can you see how happy it made them to do something so silly? So I changed them into their PJs, and we met Tim at work for Dinner. Holly's son came in town, so we gave her some time off.

Isn't Tanner getting so tall?

We met Tim at Pizza Hut. One of the pizzas there had salmon, crab, octopus and wasabi on it. Pizza was one of the many things on the menu. I'll have to take pictures next time. We went to McDonalds for ice cream cones and coconut pies (they don't have apple pies here). FYI, do you remember when the apple pies at McDonalds were deep fried, and now they're baked? They are still deep fried here. YUMBO BOB.


Another thing we did today was transfer our VHS tapes to DVD. Not for re-sale, just for us, so we could actually watch them! Here we are watching one in the car.

A Dad and His Boys

Though Tim worked till 7:00-10:00 PM three of the five nights this week, he still loves to play with these little guys.

Tim got this "Laser Light" key chain for 10 Kuai (like $1.50 US) for the boys. Hunter treated it like it was a light saber. He stayed up a couple of minutes making light saber noises with it. You know the sounds... (say it don't spray it;) LOL ). Then it was time to turn out the lights and take the "light saber" away. Tim turned it to the regular flashlight dial and did a mini hand-puppet show for Hunter with the shadows on the back wall. I could hear them both laughing from the other room. No wonder where Hunter got his imagination from.


I'm sure Tim's glad he now has a golfing buddy in Hunter. Tanner is still too young, so he hangs out with me. When Hunter and Tim left Tanner and I at the knock off market after getting the clubs, Tanner didn't let that go. He kept saying "Daddy Home? Daddy Home?" Then he started to whimper when he said it. I really felt bad for him. Dads truly are superheroes to their little ones.

News Flash: A dream come true for Tim: we just got accepted to an ALL Chinese Private school for Hunter next Fall for Pre-School. Tim is completely thrilled! Our friends that have kids that go/went here are speaking at almost a fluency level after 3 months!

Funny Story that I don't know how to tie in: Hunter was going to the Montessori here for a few months prior, and they just had their graduation ceremony. All of the children sat in a circle, and the parents stood behind. Toward the end, a teacher announced "Afterwards, we will have cake, fruit, water and coffee." Quiet Hunter piped up and yelled "HEY, we don't drink coffee!!!" The room filled with chuckles.

This Sunday

I woke up this morning to Tim saying he needed me to cover his lesson. He was sick, Hunter had a sick stomach, and Tanner was running a strange fever on Friday and Saturday. Then I got a call just before leaving for church asking me to come in early for a new calling. They called me to serve with one of my favorite people Tami Christensen, as her 2nd counselor in Young Womens. I'm soooo excited. If I could choose for myself, I'd choose Tami to work and grow with in this calling. She really loves the youth, and talks about them at random times, which really shows they are important to her.

So now for teaching Tim's Sunday School lesson for him. First let me say that I've been blessed with the coolest of friends, who have not discriminated me because of my beliefs. Thank you for that! So here's something cool that I loved learning about myself. The lesson was on "Perfection", and the reference verse was Matthew 5:48, where Christ commands us to be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. The footnote refers to perfect as "Whole, or Complete". This is such a cool topic to teach the youth, because there's no way a single one of us could go a single day without sinning once (bad thoughts, not doing something right--etc). And that's why it's so wonderful what Christ did for us. He knew nobody was perfect, and that we'd all need him. He would be our Savior for the whole world, and for each person individually. Because he is the Son of God, and part mortal man, he is the perfect balance of justice and mercy-- just what we'd need to rely on in order to overcome our "natural man" (who sins).

So, now check out this painting from Del Parson (below). The artist was very particular that the painting needed to look as close to the actual savior as possible. So he gathered descriptions from people who claim to have seen the actual Savior. Does that sound far fetched to some of you? I believe it. I really do.

Here's something you might not know about this picture. Did you know the artist painted his face to demonstrate both "justice" and "mercy"? If you cover half of Christ's face in the picture with your hand and compare it to the other half, you will see one of the sides demonstrates Mercy and the other Justice.

I won't tell you which side is which, you will see for yourself.

And I love that. Because isn't that the whole essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ-- to "come and see" for yourself. While Christ walked the earth, he taught in large congregations. But even more documented in the scriptures is the one on one and small group interactions-- like the woman at the well, or his raising Lazrus from the dead (whom he also cried for). I love how powerful and mighty he is, indeed the greatest superhero to ever walk the earth. But even a bigger superhero because he knows us personally and knew just what it would take to be our personal savior. It would take EVERYTHING he had to offer. He never allowed himself an "off day", and he sacrificed everything physically too on the cross. He knew us then, just as he knows us now. He knew it would take a lot of mercy to cover all of the bases, but he had to be just too in order to satisfy the demands of perfection so we could return to live with our perfect Father in Heaven.

When I heard the background of this picture, it became my new favorite. Google Del Parson pictures, and you will find several pictures he painted. Maybe you will love the Just/Merciful one like I do.

The Wilde's Pool

We went to the Wilde's for a day at the pool.
And if this picture doesn't describe it all:

Preston's gushing diaper after a long sunny day at the pool. What a blast we had!


Hunter swam around in this all the day. Of course he and Tann were just about the last ones out.


Didn't know if you knew, Buddahism believes in reincarnation. I believe I've found Buddah's belly at least.


These boys had a blast!


This is me pretending to take a picture of Tanner, but really sneaking a picture of Alison's backyard, small paradise in her very own backyard. Nevermind the waterfall behind the pool!!


The Moms! Christina Burke, Alison Wilde, Jennifer Castle, Tonya Devries, Me (I didn't get in, I'll tell ya later why), and Tracey Larson.

I used to be grossed out by sharing straws.

This morning Tim and I were woken by giggling and squeals from the boys who snuck in bed with us. Tanner's diaper leaked, and he laid right on top of me. I was careful the "number one" only got on me, not the bed. I laid there with Mr. wet pants for about 10 minutes of talking, the four of us, in a situation I would've hurled over 10 years ago.

My siblings used to tease me about never sharing a straw with them. They would strategically ask for a sip, and knowing I hated to share the straw, I'd let them have a sip, then claim I was "no longer thirsty".

My, my. How things have changed. Nice 30 minute scripture reading in the easy chair with the window cracked are now replaced with "get reading in while they bathe". Then Hunter's out, and on my lap, telling me to read aloud while interrupting with vitally important scripture finds such as: "MOMMY!!! I see a number 5! I'm going to be 5!!" and "I see H for Hunter!"

Just the night before I was up late talking to my Tim about how worried I was. One of the boys was going through a stage, and I was worried how to harness it. That night was one of those nights where our 20 minute interaction (he sometimes gets home at 9:30PM) changed me forever. He listened for a while then said "It's all going to work out fine. He'll get over it. But just enjoy it, Suzanne. Enjoy it. There will be a time when you'll wish you had this problems like this to work out when they're gone."

I remembered those nights where I'd fall asleep thinking about me. In a queen-sized feather bed, all by myself. Buying clothes that weren't on sale. Having a place for everything and everything in it's place.

And now, everything in it's place is relative. Sometimes "everything" is shoved in a laundry basket and hidden in the garage just before the door bell rings. Yet, I feel accomplished because the floors are pine-sol'd, only to have the kids lick the pavement. I still use anti-bacterial soap only to have them eat their boogers. I find myself jotting things down with crayon more than ink. All of that pertinent information on "Mazlows High Archery of needs" from school is now replaced with "if I change his diaper now, he might not be finished, and I might have to do it again in 5 minutes."

I laughed at myself when I thought of those things. I thought of all those things yesterday while the boys swam at the pool. I was feeling accomplished that day because my hair was blow-dried that morning. Only to be splashed by chlorinated water.

That night I whispered to Hunter "Hey Weedsie, ya know, when you get big you can do lots of things you can't when you're little. You can be lots of different things. I want you to know that being Hunter and Tanner's mommy is my most favorite!" And now, I not only share straws with my boys, but also drink juice with floaties in it.

Spare a Square Expats

Love him or hate him, Jerry Seinfeld had a pretty stinkin' funny episode titled "Spare a Square" on his TV series. Elaine is stuck in a bathroom stall without toilet paper. Now never, would you ever approach a complete stranger to give you something, noneless someone you can't even see. Unless you needed them to "spare a square". This is one of the few times a total social faux pau can be acceptable in order for the greater good or comfort.

The other day I take the boys to McDonalds and we are served some strange Wasabi dip for our nuggets. We give it a shot, but then it ended up being pushed aside. Next, a Latin woman sits right next to us in a long row of empty seats at the "bar stool" section. She holds her silence as long as she can stand it until she blurts (faster than my ears could adjust where her accent was from) "May I have your sauce". Surely it must've been her accent I wasn't understanding. Of course she wasn't surpassing the Sparin' a Square faux pau by asking for the left overs of my sauce.

Then she goes on to explain "I am a student, I traveled all the way out here to McDonalds just for this sauce. After they gave me my nuggets, they told me they were out of Wasabi. So may I?" "Of course" I reply. Of course. Of course I kept saying over and over in my head. Then it hit me that nobody would ask me for something like this, okay maybe my sister. And in this great big country, I was the closest thing this girl had to a sister. Of course. I later wondered why I didn't offer.

So many expats are here for different reasons. We are naturally drawn to each other. Like Mariana, who I just met from Italy. I've never played tennis with a full-blooded Italian before. She won the match, but I loved the few hits I got in that caused her to burst out in Italian swear words. I'd never heard them before. Ever. Swear words never sounded so sweet!

So many people feel alone when they arrive here. But, no where else have I lived where you look for the curly hair, or the brown hair, just to make eye contact, smile and say, in English "hello!" Which would, all together in one word summarize: "I love it here too, and I totally understand what you're going through here in a foreign country. And I would not only spare ya a square, but would you like some Wasabi too?."

Can We Fix It? Yes We Can!

Every boy feels some internal need to fix something.

Reason 546 for visiting me in China: Custom Clothes

Tim was testing the brightness of the flash, and snuck this picture. In the picture I'm wearing a shirt I designed and had made. It's a knock off of what I saw the ever-so fashionable Dawn Oler wearing at church one Sunday.

Ever dream about that shirt you would just love if it was just a bit longer, or if it had sleeves (etc)? Well for about $10 US, you can go to the "PuXi Fabric Market", pick out your fabric, and design your own shirt, custom fit to your figure. There are hundreds of booths to choose from in this HUGE 4-story building. Everything imaginable from costumes (uh, Heath, you heard that right!) to wool coats to linen dresses.

This design (below) is a slight variation to what I saw at one of the booths. It's pleated around the V-neckline, and also below the bust line.

When I wore this shirt, Holly LOVED it. Probably because it's made long enough for tall people, Holly is 5'10! She looked so great in it that she deserved to own it! So, I passed her on some jeans to match the shirt too. Just like I would do with my sister Holly back in the US.

Side note about turquoise: Did you know Marie Claire Magazine said that turquoise is the color that looks great on EVERY skin type?

This top is another one made at the fabric market.

Here is a close-up (of the shirt. And my nostrils). The collar is pleated. Never mind the snot streak that you'll see when you double click/enlarge the picture.

That's my reason #546 to come to China: Design your own custom wardrobe. What are you waiting for... Red Rover, Red Rover...

Happy Father's Day!

The boys painted these full-sized letters for Tim. They started with little brushes, then went on to fingertips, then full hands. You can see their little finger streaks in the "H", "A" and a few other places.


Behind the scenes: No shoes, No shirt, No Problem. Hunter and Tann painted with shirts off-- and it saved us many-a stained clothes! The below picture was the aftermath. But, totally worth it!

Just Like Dad

Nothing's cuter than finding things in "Daddy" and "Sons" sizes.

Hunter: "Mommy, maybe Daddy needs a good widget? Then he will wear his Crocks." Tim has only worn his twice. FYI: did you know Crocks are manufactured in China?

Marshmallow Buttons Calton Style

My neighbor Debbie the Dietition, introduced me to the sweetest of indulgences.
Marshmallow Buttons, a totally kid friendly dessert to make together.

She cleverly made it with "Fat Free" sweetened Condensed Milk, "Sugar-Free" Caramels... etc. She is the only person I know who can slip those healthy things into my diet. At our house, we go for "Full-Fat", "Full Sugar" etc. Heck, if you're gonna eat dessert, eat dessert!


Step 1: Poke all marshmallows with "swords" (the general public refer to these as toothpicks).
Then Freeze them.


Step Two: Have one professional or two carefully unwrap the entire package of Caramel. Add these caramels to one cube of fatty butter, and one can of fatty condensed milk. Boil until smooth.


Dip frozen Marshmallows in caramel, then have the two littler chefs roll them in Rice Crispies. More Rice Crispies on the floor than on the Marshmallows is part of typical results. More Marshmallow buttons making it into the little Chef's mouths than back to the freezer is also part of typical results.

Please, DO TRY THIS AT HOME.

Tom's World

Here are some pictures from "Tom's World", the Chinese "Chucky Cheese". We met Tim here after work.

For some reason, Tim has never complained about going to Tom's World, even after a long day at work. I think maybe every Dad loves arcades.

This is Tim "showing Hunter" how to play this game. Look at the intensity!! Can't touch that!

Graduation

Today was Pre-school graduation. Kind of silly when they are not really in school... Tanner just goes to "baby club" Monday and Tuesday Mornings. He learns a little chinese here, in addition to lots of mingle time with other kids.

Tootsie and I. Behind us is a mom and son from Germany. I believe Tanner is the only student from the US in his class.

This was hilarious!!!!! When Tanner got his Baby club "diploma" and everyone cheered. He was so confused. He didn't know what he'd done to get all the cheers. So he just stood there, frozen. You can't see, but the moms and dads in the background were literally falling over in laughter. It was so very cute!

Tanner had a special connection to his Indian teacher, Mipa. I dropped/picked Tanner up myself, so I got to see how excited she was to be with Tanner. Every picture I got of her had her eyes half closed. She is really a beautiful woman.

This is Hunter's room where they had the graduation party. Here is where the teacher said "Afterwards, there will be cake, fruit, coffee and water". To which quiet Hunter replied "Hey! We don't drink Coffee!!" All the parents started laughing, it was so cute.

Hunter and teacher Megan. She is single, so for all you single male readers, get in touch. She has a masters degree in Montossori Education.

In Hunter's class, he and Ian (who happens to live across the street from us) are the only American kids in the class. They have kids from Italy, Germany, India, Singapore, etc. I love this picture, b/c our kids truly are foreigners here! Tanner is in the background, he came for the cake part.

Hunter and Derek. Hunter is learning that all cultures are cool, and often asks what language people speak.

Okay, this is me being sneaky with my camera again. I'm actually taking a picture of the man in the background. Have you ever seen Mr. Bean? OH MY GOSH! This man is Mr. Bean. He acts exactly like him, has the same accent, and is absolutely hilarious (I'm pretty sure he's British, married to a chinese woman, he's Derek's Dad). I don't know if he'd ever heard of Mr. Bean so I didn't bring it up. I just always secretly hope that he's at every parent function. I totally dig this guy! HILARIOUS, really. He is so outgoing and funny, but like a genuine funny.

This is a good shot of Huter's classroom. Except they had already taken down all the art pices for the kids to take home. All of the shelves around the perimiter are stocked with little activity baskets to work on fine motor skills. IE: Eye dropper, a cup of water, and little containers to fill with water is all in one basket.