JASON . . .

Jason is in the 5th/6th grade play at school this year.  The play is Alice In Wonderland.  He's really enjoyed it so far, but the practices are MAJOR.  The play is the last week of this month, and he now has practice almost every single day until the play.  The week before the play he practices until 8:30 every night.  He's going to be EXHAUSTED!  But at least there's only 3 more weeks left.  And, like I said, he's enjoying it, so that's all that really matters.  We got a new video camera for Christmas, so my plan is to video the parts that he's in and then post them on the blog.  Of course, first I have to figure out HOW to post them on the blog!  But I still have 3 weeks to figure that out!

Today the kids have a half day at school and they get out at 11:30.  Jason has practice today from 11:30-6.  Poor baby.  But they did this last month, and I think there was a lot of play time as well, because he had a really good time, so I'm sure he'll be okay.  My friend and I are going to take Sarah and Andrew and her son David to the Mall to eat lunch and just hang out.  At least it'll get us out of the house for awhile.  And it's so cold, you really don't want to go anywhere.  This way, once we get inside the mall, we'll be fine.  I'm going to take Sarah's stroller so that if she gets tired she can just lay down in the stroller.

So that's our plans for the day.  I hope you're all doing well and staying warm.

I HATE COLD WEATHER!!!!

I HATE cold weather.  And it's so cold here.  Actually, it's not as cold here as it is at home, the problem is that there is no insulation in any of the buildings. And a lot of times when you go into buildings here, they LEAVE ALL OF THE DOORS OPEN!  Are you KIDDING me?  Like it's not cold enough, why would you leave the doors open?  Crazy people.  So eventhough you go inside, you still can't get warm.  I can't WAIT for February to be over.  Supposedly January and February are the 2 coldest months.  So once they're over, it should start warming up and maybe we can start venturing outside again more often.  It's kind of hard to get over cabin fever when you can't GET OUT OF THE CABIN!!!

HARD BEING BACK . . .

It's been really hard being back.  I thought coming back would be easier since we knew WHAT we were coming back to.  But it's actually been harder.  I think it's because it's so cold and yucky out and we can't get out like we did when we first got here.  When we first came here, we were always out doing something, trying to learn about where we were.  But right now it's so cold, and anyone who knows me knows that I HATE the cold, so I haven't been out much.  I'm sure that has a lot to do with my mood. 

I've made plans to have lunch with a friend on Tuesday.  And another friend another day this week depending on her schedule.  I'm sure once I get out and start getting back into the swing of things, then things will get a lot easier for me.  The boys seem to be doing well, eventhough they've both been fighting some major cough and congestion.  They are getting back into the routine of school.  Jason has been getting back to play practice.  His play, Alice in Wonderland, is the last week of the month.  He has practice 3-5 days a week until the play is over.  Needless to say, he'll be really busy.  But he seems to be okay with it.  He's excited about being in the play.  I'll record his part and post it on the blog after it's over.  I haven't seen it yet, but I can tell you, they are VERY SERIOUS about it, eventhough it's the 5th and 6th grade play.  I'm sure it'll be great.  Of course, I could just be a little biased! 

Anyway, enough of the pity party. 

VENTING . . .

Okay, this has been bothering me since we got back to Shanghai, and it's not going away, so I figured I'd blog about it and get it out of my system.  So here's the story.  We had a 1 1/2 hour flight from Louisville to Detroit.  Then from Detroit, we had a 15 hour flight to Shanghai.  LOTS of time on the plane.  And the Shanghai flight was completely packed.  They had to move some of the carry-on luggage below to the luggage compartment, because there simply wasn't enough room for everyone's carry-ons.  So you get the picture, the plane was packed.  And there are 5 of us.  Cramped into our small seats, just waiting for the time to be over.  (The upside - I got to drink Diet Coke the whole ride over.  NOT worth the 15 hour flight mind you, but at least it was a positive)!

So anyway, we get off the plane, go through Immigration and then go to get our bags so that we can go through Customs.  All 8 of them.  That's right, I said 8.  But that's another story I'll tell you later.  Anyway, we're standing there waiting for our luggage, and this lady is standing next to me, griping because she is "priority" and Shanghai airport just can't get it straight that her luggage was supposed to come off the plane first.  Over and over I kept hearing that people needed to get their bags off the luggage belt or the other bags weren't going to come off.  Now mind you, there were A LOT of people still waiting to go through Immigration.  It's a little difficult to get your bags off the beltway, IF YOU AREN'T THERE TO SEE THEM!!!!  I mean really.  Use some common sense.  WE were actually pretty lucky because since we had Sarah in her stroller, they put us through a "special" lane, which meant we didn't have to stand in line quite as long as everyone else.  And for that, I am VERY thankful.  But still, there were LOTS of people on our plane, and I know we weren't the only plane arriving at that time, so the line for Immigration was very long.  She just kept complaining and complaining that she was PRIORITY and her bags should have come off first.  After listening to her gripe for about 10 minutes, Jason finally asked me what Priority meant.  I wanted to tell him it meant someone who thinks she's hot sh*t when she really isn't.  But instead, I told him it meant that they, (or most likely their company), paid for Business Class instead of Economy.  I told him it's what Daddy is when he's flying by himself for work.  What I wanted to tell HER was that she just spent 15 hours on a plane, probably sleeping, LYING DOWN, ALL BY HERSELF!  I, on the other hand, was dealing with a 10 year old, 7 year old and 2 year old, and DID NOT get to lie down the whole way! If she thought I wanted to sit there and listen to how special she was, she was WAY off base!

It's funny, because one thing you learn after being here for awhile, is that the locals here can be VERY rude.  But what's really sad is when those of us that aren't from here, start acting like the people that are.  That's when you know you've been here too long.  And that maybe it's time for you to go back home.  Just my two cents!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all have a safe and happy new year, and I hope all of your wishes and dreams for the new year come true.

For us, we will be heading back to China tomorrow morning, so please keep us in your prayers during our 16 hour journey.

We've had a great time being home and catching up with family and friends, and we can't wait to come home for good in July.