We are finally unpacked!

Well, the movers came one week ago today and I can gladly say that every box is unpacked, except one that has a ton of garage junk in it! The delivery guys unpacked some of the boxes for us that helped. I also have an ayi now who helped me unpack the kitchen things. In China, you can hire a woman to come to your house and help you clean, cook, etc. and she is called an ayi. It is very inexpensive to have this kind of help here and I am so thankful to have found a good one and to have one! A person I met online was moving to Singapore and trying to find a new family for her ayi so the rest is, as they say, history. Our Ayi, Fang, is great. She is very helpful and makes us wonderful Chinese dinners 3 times a week. Yes, indeed, I am getting spoiled. For those that don't know me well, I hate to cook so to have someone who cooks for our family is a HUGE blessing to me! It did feel a little odd at first but was certainly easy for me to get used to! :) The meals she cooks for us are simple Chinese dishes but they are really good. And, frankly, if I don't have to cook them so I really don't care what's for dinner? The girls are great at eating what is put in front of them so every one is content with the meals that are coming out of the kitchen. I have pictures of a meal she cooked for us but they are on my camera and at the moment I cannot find my adapter to get them to the computer...such is life in a house that is unpacked but still completely unorganized! :) I'll post them later!

Back to the house - we are so glad to have our familiar things around us. It certainly makes this house feel much more like our home! This house is so different than anything we would have in the US so it is nice to at least have it feel like home with our stuff! But I was absolutely reminded of our excess as things were coming out of the boxes. For instance, why do I have 8 different knives that all do the exact same thing - cut! Yes, maybe one cuts something better than another but really at the end of the day, they all cut. And frankly, I have lived the last 2 months with only one knife and we have been just fine! I have probably 20 more examples of that exact same thing but I won't bore you with them. As Fang was helping me unpack the kitchen, I was just really amazed at what all I thought was SO necessary to bring with us. Fang, of course, was looking at it all in utter amazement. In American, we all have so much! I think it is both a blessing and a curse!

On another note, both Leah and Lauren have now learned to ride their bikes with no training wheels. Lauren has been asking us for months to teach her to ride with no training wheels but with the move, it has been a very low priority. So on Saturday, John took her out and got her going on it. Leah still had training wheels also because, frankly, she is our very cautious child and riding without training wheels just seemed way to "dangerous" to her! :) But not to be out done by her sister, she took the plunge also. So by the end of the day Saturday, Leah was riding a two wheel bike all by herself with little problem. By Sunday, Lauren had gotten the hang of it as well. So now we have 2 very big girls that can ride their bikes without training wheels. It was funny though because our Chinese neighbors (2 doors down) were outside with their 2 year old daughter and they thought it was so funny, hearing these crazy Americans yelling, "pedal, pedal, pedal." It seems we always make quite a spectacle.


On Sunday, I bought the coolest bike ever for me. It is one that would NEVER be sold in the US because of all the product liability lawsuits but I think it is great. Here's a picture so you can see it.
Yep, you got it - it has a seat and handle bars for me and a seat and handle bars for Kate (or Leah or Lauren, for that matter). It is so fun and Kate loves riding on it with me. By the way, if you are looking at this picture and judging me because she is without a helmet, please know that I really do always make her wear her helmet. :) This was the very first ride on the bike so it was without a helmet or even shoes for that matter! But it was very short and then back to garage to get shoes and a helmet! It is great fun though to be able to go for bike rides!

We also got started on school this week. Leah and Lauren were eager to start. We got through the first 3 days with little problem. Kate is actually doing a surpisingly good job of keeping herself entertained for most of it. She spends most of the time in the room with us but is content to read her books, do her puzzles, etc. So far so good!
That is all for now. As always, it turns out to be much to long!