Pulled Noodles- Yum!

Some friends from the states are visiting for a few weeks so we have been trying to give them some opportunities to REALLY experience the Chinese Culture. Whenever possible I would try to take the kids along to enjoy some of the cultural learning opportunities. One such activity was pulling noodles at a local noddle restaurant. These noodles are from the Western part of China and are kneaded and then pulled by hand. It is amazing to watch the owners of the restaurant do their thing- they were able to pull their noodles as thin as a human hair and they can do it all without breaking them. My noodles were about as thick as my pinky and were breaking like crazy- I guess I'll have to take a few more lessons. :)






Our hosts couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a picture with the little foreign kids. :)

OUCH!!!!!

Recently CJ has been taking Badminton lessons- that's another topic I can discuss in a future blog. Anyhow, every Friday evening during CJ's lesson there are gymnastics lessons that run simultaneously in another part of the gymnasium. I couldn't get over how flexible the girls were and asked another mom that was sitting nearby how they accomplished that. She said, "They stretch for an hour on chairs." I thought, "There I go again, I have obviously have misunderstood another Chinese word- stretching on chairs for an hour?" Well, about 1/2 hour later I realized that I actually did understand the explanation. Each girl ran into an adjoining room and came out with a chair in hand. They then placed the chairs in a circle and hoped up... my eyes bulged, my jaw dropped and I crossed my legs. The girls ALL proceeded to stretch on the chairs- split/ straddle- I'm not sure which one it is but boy I was in pain for them. The teacher played some classical music and they held the position for about 15 minutes. They took a short break and back at it. 15 minutes later they took a break and up on the chairs again. This time they stood erect on the chairs and raised their leg beside their head and held that position for 15 minutes. Holy Macaroni. I couldn't believe my eyes.

See what I mean? :

Happy Mother's Day!

This year for Mother's Day Chris & the kids sat down and chatted about what they noticed I did around the house. The kids imitated me doing my house hold duties and Chris took pictures. They developed the pictures, wrote little notes on the back and gave them to me with small gifts. I loved the pictures and wanted to share them with you. What a joy to be a Mother. I'm so thankful for the time that the Father has given me to be a mother of these 3 sweeties.

CJ's imitates Mama doing the laundry. Yes, I always have a huge smile on my face when I'm doing house chores :)


Eliza takes a swing at home schooling her sister and brother- I think that her classes may be a little more difficult than mine :)


Miriam just loves mopping the floor. Yes, she too knows how happy Mama is when she mops the bathroom floor- whatever! This is one job that I can't stand because it never stays clean or dry. I have to mop multiple times a day because the tubs here are rarely stationary and/or caulked and therefor whenever you shower the water pours down the wall and onto the floor. But I will strive to have a Happy Heart and Smile like my Dear Mirsy when I mop.

Let me see your silly face!

When I was a kid I remember my parents saying, "Karen, let me see your sad face. Now your happy one. How about an excited face?" I should ask them some time how that all got started but I have a feeling it was because of my tendency to bare my emotions on my sleeve. Throughout life my overly dramatic faces have often gotten me in trouble... but I guess as a kiddo they also provided much entertainment.

Anyhow, we recently purchased a new camera and I was experimenting with it on my own kiddos. I found myself repeating the same things I heard my parents say: "CJ, let me see your _____ face. Miriam, your turn. Eliza you too." This is the final product... some fun shots of the kids.

Sounds of the City

So, I grew up in Philadelphia. That's a big city right? Well, it never prepared me for the size of the city we live in now. (But then I did grow up in NE Philly- not down town). The shear number of people out walking at any given moment just boggles my mind sometimes. There is so much going on that I often feel like I'm in sensory overload. I almost daily have to ask the children to speak louder as we walk to and from school because I can't hear them above the traffic (cars and people). Then there are the sales clerks in the store fronts that we pass on the way to school. They have their mega phones, loud speakers and radios blaring in hopes of catching your attention and drawing you in to their store. As we step onto campus the volume dies down considerably and we're able to hear the birds tweet, the roosters crow (is that what roosters do?- and I still can not figure out where someone hides a rooster in the middle of the city- I have yet to see the noisy fellow), and the never failing comments, "Look, that foreign lady has THREE children. Oh my!!! Aw, look how cute they are...". One of my most memorable moments... was when I finally figured out where the ice cream truck sounds were coming from. From early September on I could hear the song "Jingle Bells" playing on some type of vehicle in the vicinity. I never saw an ice cream truck but I always kept an eye out. About two months later when going to pick the kids up from school I saw the culprit... it was a large street cleaner with a tough looking driver in the front seat. I think I laughed out loud when I saw it. I was anticipating some cute little truck with a smiling face behind the front wheel. I giggled to think of what my husband would have said if he were told that he had to drive the street cleaning truck with Jingle Bells playing all day as he drove around town. It is always an adventure here!

What year are you?

Our family made yet another trip to the local park last weekend. While there we saw various animal statues representing the Chinese Zodiac calendar animals. If you have gone to a Chinese Restaurant in America they may have an explanation of the animals on a place mat or something else. We all had fun posing by 'our animal'.

Eliza- year of the pig

Mirsy- year of the chicken

CJ- year of the sheep

Karen- year of the cow

Chris- year of the tiger