Toyko Disney March 7-11, 2012

Our trip didn't start out as smooth as we had hoped.  We boarded the plane only to be told we'd be delayed due to unscheduled maintenance.  A bit later we pulled away from the gate only to turn around and return for MORE maintenance.  At this time I was beginning to think our plane was doomed.  After several mechanics were in and out of the cockpit, and 2 hours passed, we were cleared to depart.  Of course, Nick was a perfect baby and asleep the entire time, only to awake as we began our take-off. Even though we departed just about the time we were supposed to be landing in Tokyo, the kids were troupers and very well behaved!!

After the stressful journey, we arrived safely to our magical room at the Hilton at Tokyo Bay.  Our room was decked out as a fairytale.  It had a magical key that lit up the lock while playing an enchanting melody.  The walls were painted with a mural telling a fairytale.  As the bathroom mirror began to fog up, the outline of a royal shaped mirror stayed fog free.  After exploring the room, we headed off to Chef Mickey!  As usual, Mickey was a fantastic chef.  The spread included asian dishes (Mickey shaped sushi) as well as the normal western ones for those of us who are less adventurous.   The dessert buffet did NOT disappoint.  The characters all stopped to greet us and take pictures.  Nick wasn't quite sure what to think of the characters.  He was more interested in eating.

For our first full day, we headed to Disneyland.  This is very similar to the Magic Kingdom.  The weather was cold, but it didn't stop us from having a great time.  We rode a ton of rides and met some characters.  We were kind of expecting the characters to be Japanese, but they weren't.  They were all very excited to see fellow westerners and be able to carry on a conversation.  Snow White and Prince Philip spent a long time talking and taking pictures with us.  

The experience of going to Disney is much different for the Japanese people.  The women were all decked out in skirts and very high heels.  A far cry from the running shoes and Crocs that us Americans hit the park in.  I never thought I would feel underdressed at a Disney park!

We concluded the evening with the electrical parade Dreamlights.  I didn't think a parade could get better than Disney World's but this topped it!  It was a parade on steroids.  Pictures do not do it justice, but it was amazing.

The second day we went to DisneySea.  This is like Epcot and Hollywood Studios rolled into one.  I think this is probably Disney's neatest park.  The weather was rainy, but it didn't matter once we stumbled upon King Triton's (from the Little Mermaid) Kingdom.  This was like an entire other park IN DOORS.  The theme was obviously 'Under the Sea'.  There were several rides, a playground, Ariel show and restaurant.  It was the perfect escape from the rain.

We went back to Disneyland the third day.  It rained, so with low crowds and the Fastpass system, the lines were pretty short.  The food situation was a bit of a challenge with the kids.  Most of food was asian and not kid friendly.  Thankfully our neighbors had warned us, so I came prepared with loaves of bread and jars of PB&J.  We did find a restaurant in Adventureland that overlooked the Pirates of the Caribbean.  It was a set 4 course dinner which everyone devoured!  There is a limit on the number of PB&J's one can eat in a weekend!

Our final day was spent back at DisneySea.  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful!  We were able to enjoy all of the outside attractions and scenery.

We ran into Jafar who tried to put a spell on Nicholas to put him to sleep.  All it did was scare him.  I can't image why!!!

The rest of our time at the park was spent strolling along the waterfront.

Despite the weather, we had a great time.  Of course we all came down with colds afterwards.  For my never ending cough, my Ayi made some kind of homemade 'tea'.  It was made from a lot of ginger, pears, apples, and other funky stuff.  She warned me that it would be a little spicy, but NOTHING could prepare me for how awful it tasted.  The only way I could describe it is that it tasted the way my brothers sweaty hockey socks used to smell.  DISGUSTING!!!  She made enough for a few days, so she poured the extra into a cup and put it in the refrigerator.  The pale yellow color resembled lemonade, which I didn't realize until Ed took a huge sip and shouted in agony. NOT what he was expecting!  But, he hasn't coughed since.  All I keep thinking of is the Calgon water softener from my childhood when the lady says "Ancient Chinese secret, huh!"  I think this will be one chinese secret that will stay in China!

March - April 2012

How has another month gone by already?  These 2 years are going to fly.  We were very happy all of our sea shipment made it here.  Some of our furniture came out with a few bumps and bruises, so we are in the process of filing claims.  The most important stuff, FOOD and DIAPERS, all made it safe and sound.  I think the kids were more excited to see Cheez-It's than they were for Santa to come.  I have to admit, Ed and I were just as excited!!  Seven cases of tuna fish has never looked so good.  Ed was also very happy to get all of his work clothes.  Our 'not so smart' movers' packed them, and his shoes,  on the sea shipment instead of air.  Good thing he had a few shirts and pants at the dry cleaners to get him by.

Grace had a fantastic time at the Daddy/Daughter dance.  I took her to our club house salon where she had a team of 3 people working on her hair.  As you can probably guess, she LOVED all of the attention.  Grace and Ed looked very dapper in their tailor-made dress and tux.

They had fun dancing the night away with all of Grace's girlfriends.  Unfortunately, Ed did not win the title of 'Best Dad Dancer'.  Not to worry, Grace and Hannah have devised a plan for him to win next year.  It is full of rockin moves, including a few flips and hand-stands.  We are all optimistic that eleven months is enough time to tweak his moves.  Just in case, I have begun the search of a good Chiropractor.

Drew finished up his basketball season with his team finishing in 3rd place.  They may not have been the best team, but they all seemed to enjoy it.  Baseball is still his sport of choice.  I think it is safe to say he is the happiest person in China to see the Detroit Tigers playing again.  It has been a LONG off season for him.  Thanks to our sling box and my parents remembering to record every game, Drew is a very happy guy!  He is the first one off the bus, running home to watch the games each day.  An added bonus for him is that our neighbors are from Boston.  Drew could NOT wait to talk a little smack after the sweep.

For book week at school, Drew had to dress up as his favorite character.  He finally decided to be The Cat in the Hat.  Unfortunately, he only gave me 2 days to come up with a costume.  Back in the states, that wouldn't have been an issue.  Here, it's torture!  I went to several fabric stores (in the fabric market) looking for felt-like material.  Who would have guessed that felt was so unpopular here?  It gave me a LOT of practice with my Mandarin.  I also had to go to  6 different stores which are supposed to be like a Party City.  In reality, it was more like unused junk from someones attic.  I did finally find a top hat and white gloves.  With what little creativity I have, I created a costume which I was very proud of!!  I will never again take for granted the luxury of having a Michaels or JoAnn's at my disposal.

Hannah is my little partner.  We have continued to explore Shanghai.  Well, at least most of the kid-friendly restaurants and shopping venues.  There are a ton of restaurants that have outdoor play areas for the kids.  With the nice weather, we are able to grab a table outside and spend the afternoon playing.  Nick usually falls asleep on the walk there, so he misses out on most of the fun.  All of the kids have started playing soccer.  Hannah has proven to be quite the little star.  She has scored every week so far.  We now call her Little Pele`.

Nicholas is a real handful now.  He crawls everywhere, and is ALWAYS touching something he shouldn't be.  His new trick is pulling himself up and standing in the bathtub.  When I scold him, he just giggles.  He has two teeth, with two more coming, and only wants to eat vegetables.  I'm starting to think he really isn't a Pleet.  At 8 months he now weighs in at 19lbs 2oz.  I think you can attribute his love of ice cream for a couple of those ounces.

Ed and I were able to have a nice date night a few weeks back.  The kids school held an Art Auction to benefit several of the local charities they sponsor.  Each of the classes created a piece or two of art for the Auction.  The kids gave us strict orders to bid on their pieces.  We really didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be a very fun evening.  We were successful in our bidding and came home with a VERY LARGE painting of the earth with several animals bordering it and a really cool bench with a dragon painted on top.  We also won three other pieces.  If the wine hadn't been so good, I don't think we would have come home with five pieces.  Either way, we are very happy with our purchases and have two kids who think we're awesome!

We also took the kids across the river one afternoon to see the Shanghai skyline.  There were more people taking pictures of our kids than of the city.  Again, I find this to be humorous.  The kids think it's funny too.  The girls always break out into their diva poses.  I'm sure it's not helping to improve their impression of Americans being high-maintenance!  Oh well!  The weather was beautiful, so we were able to walk along the Bund and enjoy some ice cream.  One of these nights Ed and I will get back there for dinner to see the city all lit up.

We've been here about 3 1/2 months now.  Overall, I would give it a rating of GREAT!  The friendships we've made will definitely last a lifetime.  My goal each day is to fully appreciate this time we have been given here.  A year ago, I never would have imagined I would step foot in Asia let alone live here.  The places we've been and the things we've experienced have been amazing.  The hardest part is keeping this in perspective for the kids.  As they talk about which country they want to go to next month, I remind them that a lot of kids never even leave Michigan!  Nick is 8 months old and has been to USA, China, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia!  I can't imagine how spoiled, and far from reality, they will be in 2 years.  For now, we will continue to live it up in our dreamlike world.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Things have been very uneventful here.  Everyone is in a routine and enjoying Shanghai.  Even though it will be 2 months tomorrow, it is actually beginning to feel like home!  Except for the fact that we STILL haven't received our sea shipment.  Apparently we GREATLY exceeded our food allowance.  The nice lady with the moving company here wrote a letter on our behalf to customs explaining we have four children and are not intending to sell the food on the black market.  It sounds like they agreed because it is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow!!!   I sure hope they show up because all of our rental furniture just drove off and we will be sleeping on the floor tonight.  Not that the wood floor is any more uncomfortable than the beds we've been sleeping on.  It will be nice to finally have our own things.

Ed has been super busy at work and traveling a lot.  He's currently in Barcelona with Bill Ford.  He assures me he is working hard!!  The end of the week he will be making a quick stop in Russia before heading home on Saturday.  My goal is to have some of our stuff unpacked so he can continue to believe I am working hard too!!  He was in India a few weeks ago and was able to return in good health.  Some of the neighbor men weren't so lucky.  I think it's safe to say we won't be going to India on one of our many vacations.  Last month he traveled to Germany where he bought the largest jar of Nutella I have ever seen.  The kids were very excited!

Grace started gymnastics after school and really enjoys it.  She is doing really well in school and loves going.  I found out she is the only American in her class.  She has friends from all over the world, and has no idea how cool that is.  The kids all participated in our clubs cooking class again. This time they made cupcakes.  Grace was even awarded the Master Chef Award! While that was exciting, she is most excited about her Daddy/Daughter Diamond Ball on Saturday.  We had a tailor come out and measure her for a hand-made dress.  She delivered it yesterday, and it fits perfectly!!!  She has an appointment to have her hair done, complete with a princess tiara.  It is ALL about the bling!!  Ed had a tux made for the occasion, but it's much less flashy.

Drew is still playing basketball and has baseball assessment on Saturday.  He seems to really like school, at least from what I can get out of him.  His teachers all said he was doing well and was very popular among his classmates.   He did complain about the girls aways wanting to sit next to him at lunch, so I'm assuming this is what his teachers were referring to.

Hannah is as feisty as ever.  We've been passing the time visiting different museums and kiddie places.  There is one mall that has an entire building (6 floors) geared toward kids.  The top two floors are a giant play area and something similar to Chuck E Cheese, minus the pizza.  We also just found another  playgroup in our subdivision with other preschoolers.  Hannah also likes to play school and work on little workbooks we bought her.  She got a hold of Drew's cursive writing worksheets and is now practicing her writing.  Good thing because they begin to teach cursive writing in Kindergarten!!!  Another highlight for Hannah is when we go out for lunch.  She always chooses a place called Johnny Moo's.  They have an american style menu complete with ice cream sundaes for dessert.  Somehow she is always too full to eat her lunch but has plenty of room for the ice cream.  At least she shares it with Nick.

Nick is growing like crazy!  He loves to eat.  He is super strong and moving all over.  He hasn't perfected the front crawl yet, but gets to where he wants by going backwards and sideways.  His legs are so chubby that his clothes are all skin tight.  He will be very happy when his 12 month ones arrive!!  He still attracts lots of attention from the locals.  This past week I've been told he was cold by more women than I can count.  Just because I only dress him with a fuzzy outfit and fuzzy snowsuit, they think he's cold.  Their babies are ALWAYS dressed in a ridiculous amount of layers.  Think Christmas Story!!!  I don't know how these kids ever learn to crawl or walk.  They can't even put their arms down to their sides.
Nick's favorite part of the day is when the kids get home from school and have a contest of who can get him to giggle the most.  So far, Grace is in the lead.  My favorite part of Nick's day is when I have to wake him up at 7:15am to go to the bus stop.  Not once has he greeted me with less than a huge smile!

I've been spending a lot of time exploring.  My neighbor took me to a 'wet' market.  Basically it's a very large farmers market.  I've never seen so much fresh fruit and veggies...and for dirt cheap!!  Just outside the market is a chicken slaughter house.  Actually, you can buy any kind of bird you feel led to.  The smell was awful, but the thought of someone actually picking out a pigeon for dinner was worse.  There was one lady pulling off all of the feathers, while a man was cutting the chicken (I think) into pieces all while holding his cigarette over the bird.  I watched to see if the ash was going to fall on the meat, but his  timing was perfect and it hit the table instead.  I wanted to take a picture of the blood splattered on the wall, but I figured I didn't need to since the mental picture will stay with me for a long long time.  The highlight of my week was going to my neighbors to watch the Oscars while the little ones stayed home with the Ayi.  Us wives have to spend our days doing something!

Some of the highlights this past month have included a professional basketball game.  We went and saw the Shanghai Sharks play some other Chinese team.  It was really fun.  In case you didn't know, the dance team dances to all american music.  I'm very doubtful they understand the words because several should have been bleeped out.  My kids didn't notice though.  For Valentine's Day, Ed brought home some really cool roses.  They were painted purple then dipped in silver glitter. I guess the thinking is everything is better with a bit of sparkle!  I think the kool-aid pitcher vase classes it up too.

I am very hopeful that tomorrow at this time we will all be snuggled up in our own beds after eating a yummy American dinner made with a few items from the hundreds of pounds of food we shipped!
If not, I may have to spend the day at our pool and spa to lift my spirits.

Friday, January 27, 2012

What a week we've had!!  Ed has been off work for Chinese New Year, so we tried to take advantage of this time to explore a bit of Shanghai.  Sunday, we went to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.  They must have seen us coming, because within 5 minutes we were proud owners of a season pass.  It's a good thing the aquarium is great, so I will actually want to go back and not feel guilted into going!  The kids really enjoyed themselves and were amazed at some of the fish we saw.

Sunday night was New Years Eve, so we went to our neighbors (fellow Spartans) for a little gathering.    They have two daughters, Isabelle (8) and Brooklyn (4).  Another neighbor also joined us with three daughters.  (Drew was a bit out numbered)  We hung out waiting for the 'real' firework show to begin.  AND did it ever!  At about 11:45pm, the sky lit up like I've never seen before.  We ran to their rooftop  deck and were amazed that you could see fireworks in EVERY direction you looked.  There is no way to describe it.  AND, it's continued all week.  I've learned that you do NOT have to wait until dark to shoot off fireworks.  We hear them 24 hours a day.  Amazingly, the kids can sleep right through them.

Here is a link to a short video of the fireworks...

http://youtu.be/OaL2fsgXPFw

Monday we ventured out to a local water town called Qibao Ancient Town.  They say it has a history of over a thousand years.  Unfortunately we didn't see much of it.  There were tons of people there lighting incense and praying to the Buddha statues.  Drew's comment "Why are all these people bowing to the fat guy?"  This led to a great discussion on how God can use us to share our faith.
Our visit was cut short due to the very unique smell as we walked through the streets.  We aren't sure what the smell was, but my gag reflex was working overtime!  We were happy to get back to the car without any incidence!  Maybe we'll try another water town in the future.

Tuesday we tried to go to a museum, but it was closed for the holiday.  So we ended up at our favorite store...Ikea!  We spent more money in the food department than the actual store.  I can honesty say I have never been more excited to find hot dog buns!  I guess I need to add Ikea to my list of frequent grocery stops.

Wednesday we went to the Yu Yuan Garden and Bazaar.  We made it through to several of the shops, but not to the actual gardens.  The crowds were unbearable.  We were being shoved in every direction.  I now know what it's like to shop at Walmart on Black Friday!  I guess we'll wait until after the new year holiday to visit again.  It was neat to see the bazaar area all decorated for 'The Year of the Dragon'.  As we took pictures of the decorations, the Chinese people took pictures of us.  Talk about bazaar!!

After the garden attempt, we went to the Shanghai Exhibition Hall.  This was a really cool.  We learned a ton about the history of Shanghai and its people.  The highlight was a scale model of the city.  The kids had fun trying to find our house.  We weren't much help since all of the street names were written in Chinese...so we guessed.

Thursday was an 'Only in China' kind of day.  We went to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.  And boy, was it WILD!  Who knew for a few RMB you could actually ride the animals.  It started out quite tame with the girls and Ed riding a camel.

Then we found a spot where they let you hold a tiger cub.  Seriously!?!  We didn't even have to sign a  waiver.  

THEN, we stumble on the elephants.  Yes, you can ride an elephant at the zoo.  I can now check that off my bucket list, even though I didn't know it was on the list.  The only thing running through my head was how at any moment we could fall to our death if this elephant decides to stand up on his hind legs. Obviously, he stayed on all fours!!

 
Hannah was the only one of us thinking rationally and chose to forgo the elephant ride for a much shorter llama.

After all of our rides, we headed to the buses for a tour in the 'wild' area where the animals run free.  It was pretty cool to see the animals come right up to the buses.  This looks more like a man in a costume than an actual bear.

Even after all of the excitement at the park, the only thing Drew could talk about on the ride home was how the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder.  Some things never change!!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Here is a picture of the kids dressed for school.  Drew's class sang a song in the assembly, but he of course, doesn't know what it means.  It sounded good though!!!

I forgot to write about my Metro experience.  It was quite interesting.  It is very much like Costco, but oh so different at the same time.  They sell the normal stuff like clothes, luggage, cleaning products and food.  BUT, I can't remember the last time I saw pig feet and snouts in the meat department of Costco.  And it smelled like there were pig parts laying around.  Overall, it's a great place to shop.  I now know which areas to stay clear of.  I'm hoping someday to feel adventurous enough to try some of the 'local' delicacies, but not in the near future!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Today is the day my life got exponentially easier.  My Ayi started today!!!  For those of you who don't know, an Ayi is someone you hire to help take care of the home.  She cleans, does laundry, cooks and babysits when needed.  Basically, I have an Alice from the Brady Bunch (except she doesn't live here).  I was a bit apprehensive of having one at first.  The thought of someone in our house with me during the day kind of creeped me out.  As I learned, everyone here has one, so why not?  I could use the help!  So, Ayi Li started today.  I have to admit, I spent all yesterday cleaning in fear of her wanting to quit after seeing our disaster. (We are still living out of bins since our furniture won't be here for another month.)   She stayed all day and even said she'd be back tomorrow!!!   Praise God!!!  It will take some time to get over the guilty feelings I had.  I was sitting on the couch feeding Nick and reading my kindle while she was scrubbing toilets and carrying laundry up and down two flights of stairs.  I might not have felt so guilty if I weren't reading The Help!  I might have to reconsider my book choice until I'm more comfortable with her being here.  In the end, she was AWESOME!  She made a very yummy dinner, and even cleaned up the mess.  I now understand why everyone has an Ayi. 

Drew started playing basketball.  He's really enjoying himself, and starting to get the hang of walking and dribbling at the same time.  Baseball is still his sport of choice, and has started a countdown until the season begins in March.  Grace begins gymnastics after school in a couple weeks.  She's never done it before, but is very excited.  Our neighborhood club has a singing/dancing/creative activity class for Hannah.  She's going to try it out after the Chinese New Year.  All of the kids participated in a children's cooking class at our clubhouse.  This time they made donuts.  The kids had a blast.  They had chef's jackets and hats for them to wear.  Plus they each came home with four donuts that they decorated and filled.  Hannah was the only one who shared them with me. 

This weekend begins the Chinese New Year celebrations.  The kids have a half day tomorrow. Instead of their uniforms, they get to dress in traditional Chinese attire.  We'll post pictures tomorrow.  They also have all of next week off.  I heard it gets a bit crazy here with fireworks every night...for 2 weeks!!!  Most people take advantage of this time to go on vacation.  We are staying here with all the other expats who moved here too late to book any trips!  At least we'll have time to finish unpacking.

Some pictures from the first day of school for the kids in China: