Sad to say...

Elias' last day of soccer was yesterday. He played five ten-minute games. The fastest he ran all day was when he ran off the field to go home.

Because I am starting school in the fall, we have asked our ayi to start working full time for us. She said she would if she could start now and I think that was a good compromise. If she begins working for us now, she gets basically three weeks off while we're in America, only needing to come here twice a week for a few hours for Brad, and she can keep her son at home with her. I don't know if she told her other "tai tai" or not...I know she was very afraid to do it and on Tuesday she told her she was sick. I don't want to ask again for fear of the answer.

I'm trying to get Zuri used to being with her so I go to Starbucks and study Chinese for a little while each morning. I now know about 80 characters.

It has been raining all week. I have a love/hate relationship with rain. I don't really like it but it keeps the pollen down and my eyes don't itch as much. Today was the first dry morning and my eyes are itching so badly. I hope whatever I'm allergic to quits blooming soon. I'm sick of it!

So, this is the first morning that we could go outside and play, something I want ayi to do every morning with Zuri. There are lots of ayis with babies around Zuri's age who meet outside and play every morning. (Zuri needs to hear the Chinese conversation.) She was so afraid! So I told her that I would take her down there this morning. Every time I walk by with Zuri, they always strike up a conversation so I know they are friendly people. I left her there to head to the fruit store (I heard someone say, "Three son mamma" as I walked away) and when I returned, she was sitting on a bench in the middle feeding Zuri a piece of bread that a friend had given him. He looked so funny there...the only red head in a sea of black. It was so cute. I left them there chatting and came on home.

I'm so proud of Ezra's Chinese. He's really beginning to try now! It has taken ayi a little while to understand "Ezra speech," but she can now understand him. He can say simple things like, "I need to use the bathroom." The other day, he said literally in Chinese, "My little brother's eyes are closed." and I asked him what he had said (just to see what he would say). He answered in English, "I said 'My little brother is asleep.'" He paused. "No, I mean *speaking now in Chinese, literally and more correctly*, 'My little brother is asleep.'" It's so interesting to see how he's learning it...totally different from how I am. (You may need to read that twice, lol.)

Yesterday, a friend showed me the ropes of the buses. Having lived in the suburbs my whole life, I never knew the bus system was as easy as the subways.

Funny thing, we went out to eat last night and then hailed a cab to go home. The driver already knew where our home was! (He remembered the three red headed boys.) So, as soon as they know where we live and we don't have to tell them, I learn how to use the buses. Oh well.

Roller blading is dangerous.

So yesterday, we were walking home from going out to eat lunch and a couple of roller bladin' little girls passed us. They were cute, decked out in all the best safety gear, from knee and elbow pads to helmets...much more than you'd ever see them wear if they were riding their bikes out on the highway.

We were walking down a little street that only allows one car at a time to come through due to illegal cars parked on the curb (a huge pet peeve of mine). My kids are forced to walk in the grass at all times and I yell at them like a maniac if they step one toe into the road...I walk in the middle of the road behind the kids so that if a car comes behind me that I can't hear (there's lots of noise pollution around), there will be NO way it can hit my kids because it'll have to wait for me to get out of the road. I started doing that after this happened.

I digress.

Anyway, another car was driving toward us. He was going pretty slowly, luckily, because the second little girl fell down as he passed and her foot slid up toward the back tire. I started yelling at the driver, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" His reaction time was much too slow. I thought I was yelling in plenty of time for him to stop. I was so pissed...he should have stopped as soon as he saw those two little girls coming toward him.

Anyway, I didn't want to touch the little girl for fear I'd hurt her worse. The driver came around and tried to pull her leg out but it was stuck firmly under the tire. He had to reverse back off her leg. She was okay, luckily, and roller bladed on home after calling her dad.

I made it a life lesson for Elias and Ezra. "Now you know why we're always yelling at you to stay out of the road." *And do we yell.* Of course, it may have done more harm than good because now they might think you can get run over and walk away from it. sigh...

Ezra rubbed peanut butter all over his foot and leg this morning before school just because he wanted to. You can't take your eyes off that kid for a second.

Zuri: The Ace In My Pocket

We've been working on signing a new lease for our apartment. In China (maybe just the expat community), you bargain for things that you want. So, for instance, we told them last year that we'd be willing to rent this apartment for X RMB per month if they got us a sofa couch (and some other things).

This year, we didn't need much so we decided to tell the landlord that we wanted a new chair to replace that ugly orange one that is in all my pictures. Not only because it's orange but mostly because Maggie has ruined it.

The unbelievable answer: NO. And we must pay for it when we move out.

This is unheard of; we didn't really ask for anything else (just some general repairs that should have been done anyway).

The landlord came over to watch the repairs a couple of days ago and asked to hold Zuri and I was so irritated with her that I didn't let her hold him! When she tried to, I walked away.

But before she left, she had found a way to replace that chair. haha. Chinese people LOVE babies.

I guess she can hold him next time.

Busy day today...and my phobia.

My goodness, between going to Walking Street to bargain for bags to lunch with Elias to buying birthday presents to the actual birthday party, today has been a full, exhausting day for me.

The other night, I left Brad playing the real pianos at the music store because we never get a chance to do this and I took the boys on home. I had all of our groceries, including two glass bottles of apple juice, stuck in various places all over the stroller. I have to go up about 8 steps to get to the elevator and I do it by rocking the stroller back and forth to get up the steps.

You guessed it, the apple juice toppled out and busted at the bottom of the steps.

You may blame it on my stupidity but in all actuality, it was the fault of the camel-cricket-esque creature I saw crawl behind the garbage can as we walked toward the bottom of the steps. In my hurry to get up the stairs and away from my evil foe, I ignored the apple juice.

In the choice between ultimate death-by-camel-cricket and a bit of broken glass, I chose the broken glass.



This, friends, is a camel cricket. Stay away at all costs. Makes ya sick just looking at it, doesn't it?

Grease and the er hu

If I were a Chinese mother, I think I would have some major negative opinions about my ability to be a mother. All the older generation (and sometimes just other mothers) do is criticize.

In the winter, it was that I had them dressed in too few clothes and now, I have them dressed in too many. Apparently, wearing a onesie on hot days is just too much. Oh, and the diaper I put Zuri in is too small and will make him hot. O.M.G. I honestly wish I could go back to not speaking any Chinese (like when Ezra was a baby) so that I do not have to listen to their opinions.

Why, oh why, are they so concerned with my child's temperature? He's not crying. He's not red from heat or blue from cold. What's the deal?

Sunday was a busy day. Starting with Elias' piano lesson, we afterwards went (with another family and five other kids) straight over to a Singaporean cafe and I had the best Laksa I've ever eaten (that's a spicy noodle soup made out of coconut milk and shrimp). The kids then played outside for a little while. Elias, Ezra and their friend M played in the water and got wet and very cold. I took Elias' and Ezra's pants off and luckily, I had two blankets for Zuri so I wrapped them around the boys like a skirt to cover up their bums.

I was also letting Zuri suck on a lollipop. You should have SEEN the looks I was receiving. First, they'd look at Zuri sucking that lollipop and then look up at me like, "HOW COULD YOU???" Then, they'd look over at Elias and Ezra wearing the "skirts" and look at me again in surprise and disgust.

goodness gracious.

Anyway, after a trip to the Neighborhood Center, home to wash the balcony (Ezra asked me the next day if he could help me wash it again) and then out to eat with Shirley at Tex Mex.

On the way back home, a man stopped us, carrying his er hu, and told us in English he was about to "put" it. So we turned around. He played beautifully. It was so nice to sit outside listening to the classical Chinese instrument. Zuri fell asleep. Elias started dancing and the man could play "Old McDonald" on it. It was so funny!

I fell into bed that night, exhausted, my legs aching from so much walking.
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This morning, I was being cool mom and let Ezra have a piece of pizza for breakfast. I left to take Elias to school so Ezra was downstairs all by himself. His imagination got the best of him (there are monsters that come out all hours of the day when he's alone now) and he had to carry it and the small cup of garlic sauce upstairs to be with daddy while he got ready for work. Wouldn't you just know it that he spilled the whole cup of sauce on my favorite skirt? I spent a long while this morning battling it with dish washing detergent. I hope I'm not left with a huge grease spot. Clothes these days are hard to come by for a mother who is still holding on to a few pounds post-third-child-birth. :)

TWO NEW VIDEOS

Just go to www.dropshots.com/carleigh if these don't work.

One is Elias' piano recital from last weekend and one is Ezra singing a song in Chinese.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Elias' Chinese name is after all Long (or Dragon)

I ran over to a Korean restaurant and picked up some Korean sushi (and other foods) for dinner tonight.

Elias and Ezra LOVE sushi. Like me, they also love dried seaweed. We could all eat that all day long.

Anyway, I had also picked up some Wasabi. I told the kids they could try it if they wanted to. I told them it was spicy...that it would make you feel like a dragon if you tried it.

Elias said no but I think Ezra wanted to see what it would feel like to be a dragon so he tasted it. And then, he started crying. I felt HORRIBLE! It's hot but it only lasts for a few seconds, I didn't think it would affect him so much.

Well, Elias, upon seeing Ezra freak out, decided HE wanted to try it. Okay, kid. I'm all for trying new things. He liked it and even made himself a second piece of sushi with wasabi. I was kind of proud of him. Actually, I was proud of both of them, no matter what the outcome.

I like it when they are willing to try new things.

Oh, and I gave Zuri some of this Korean red sauce that's a little bit spicy and he didn't flinch. I think I ruined that kid's taste buds with all the Indian food I ate when he was an infant. He eats EVERYTHING...from seaweed to gumbo...that kid is a trooper!

Which reminds me of something that happened. My mom told me I should *never* tell this one but against her better judgement, I think I'll want to be able to tell Zuri's girlfriends all about when he was little and I used to CONSTANTLY pull things out of his mouth. Things like erasers, lint, toys, dice, old food that dropped on the floor, toilet paper and even once, a cat hairball mixed with a bit of regurgitated cat food. This kid has a stomach of STEEL!!!!

I think his Chinese name should be La ji. That means garbage. What do you think?

The wonder baby.

"Conversation" with Zuri:

"Where's Ezra?"

*arm moves in the direction of Ezra* (Did that just happen?)

"Zuriiii! Where's Ezra?"

*arm moves again in the direction of Ezra* (WOW!!!)

"Where's Elias?"

*no response*

"Where's Elias?"

*no response*

Brad and I both point and say, "Elias is over there!!"

"Zuri? Where's Elias?"

*arm moves* AND he said, "O-Dair."

!!!!!!!!!!