Three weeks to go...

So we are scheduled to move in three weeks. Three weeks!!! I can't believe this is all happening. Especially since if you look around our house and ignore the 7 empty suitcases stashed in different corners of every room, it doesn't really look like we are even remotely close to being ready to move half way around the world.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before becoming a full time stay at home mom. This is one of the things that makes me most anxious about this whole adventure. That, and dying of food poisoning. The good news is that the guys who killed all the babies in China by putting melamine in the baby formula wil most likely be put to death for their sin. Hopefully this will discourage other greedy idiots from poisoning food to make money.

Halloween...

We carved a pumpkin with Timmy this year. By we I mean Scott did most of if after I drew lines on it for him. Timmy helped by putting all his magnetic toys inside after the seeds were all out & carrying around a spoon. In honor of our impending move to China we dressed Timmy up as a Chinaman for Halloween. It was a silk pajama set that Scott brought back from his trip in May. He went trick-or-treating to both Grandma's houses and mostly had no idea what was going on.

Making Plans

For those of you that are following along with the story of our lives, here are the latest plans...

Scott is scheduled to begin work in Shanghai in January 12th. Between now and then we have decided to put our house on the market (sorry Candi & Ashley). So if anyone is looking for or knows people that are looking for a really cute starter home in Lombard, please let us know. We are praying that we get a quick sale, but the average time on the market is around 200 days!!! eeek!!! Anyway, we are excited and overwhelmed at our decision to make this move, but it will be an adventure and we love those!

Consider this your personal invitation to come and visit us in China, we would love to have you and show you all the fun and ridiculous things that we love and will come to love about Shanghai.

Coming Home

We're leaving tomorrow for home. Scott and I were talking yesterday about how we miss everyone and the comforts of home, but we've started to get used to living here already. These are some pictures of the neighborhood down the street from us. Its called Spring City. I think you can buy anything there. Its amazing how quickly we've been able to adapt and grow to enjoy and tolerate the odditites of this city. I am excited though for cooler weather (the temperature today is 84 degrees with 80% humidity!).

Scott misses football - he watched about 8 of last Sunday's games through Chinese sports highlights. We don't have cable or satalite TV yet, so we've been watching the one English station and the Chinese kids TV for the last two weeks. Last night Timmy and I watched Dora the Explorer in Chinese while they teach you basic English words (instead of the English version where they teach you basic Spanish). Its pretty interesting.

I think Timmy misses his grandmas and Sarah and all his toys. I can tell he is sick of being with just mama all day. He has definately made a new friend with Scott's co-worker Chun Lei. He squeals with delight when she is around. His favorite new treat is anything through a straw - see picture.

If you haven't seen our pictures from week three of this adventure, click here (it is a public link, you do not have to have a facebook account to view them): http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7632&l=dfcb5&id=1145683473

The Sterilizer Strikes Again and Other Adventures

Timmy has discovered the oven/sterilizer. He loves to open and close the door. Since everything in China is made for people that are shorter than the average American, the handle is just his height. He decided that Cow was dirty and needed to get sterilized. Shortly thereafter he smashed his finger in the door of the dang thing. I hate sterilizers!

The owner of Scott's company is in town this week. After dinner last night he wanted to get a hair cut. Scott took Timmy home and I went with. They said if you don't need a cut, why not at least have them wash & dry your hair. So I said sure. After about 15 minutes of washing/scalp massaging, they rinsed my hair. Then I got a 30 minute back rub from the hair wash guy. Then three new guys came and blow dried my hair. I wish I had a picture. There were three guys, maybe in their early twenties working together to dry and style my hair. They did a great job. And it only cost about $4. Crazy.

Brazilian Barbeque...the Chinese version

So many of you have been to Brazilian steak houses in the US. They are full of delicious cuts of rump roast, filet, leg of lamb and roasted chicken all served on swords. Yesterday for lunch we went to a similar place. Meat on swords, sounds good right. So soon after sitting down and ordering drinks, the meat men come around and offer chicken hearts, eel, mystery fish, and pizza on swords. Okay, so the pizza was on a platter, but it was still strange. Eventually we got some chicken wings and beef, but it was a pretty weird experience.

Its raining here again. It seems to rain or at least look like its going to rain every afternoon. Oh well. We've developed a way to shield Timmy while he's in his stroller. The other picture is to show that we are in a tropical-like place, palm trees and all.

Bow-staff skills, etc.

Timmy's favorite toy in Shanghai is a broom. He has now learned how to hit Scott with it. We call it his bow-staff.
This picture is of our apartment building's "dumpster". Keep in mind that we live in an 11 story building, with at least two apartments per floor. So that makes at least 22 people sharing this garbage can. On the bright side, I think they empty the darn thing at least ten times a day.
The last picture is of Timmy's latest skill - hailing a cab. Every time we go outside near any road he sticks his hand up to get a taxi. Its so awesome.