random photos

This afternoon we are getting ready for Ada's birthday party tomorrow. She was born on the 4th of July in Taiwan, 3 short years ago. We are going to have Hello Kitty everything, except for a big cake made by a woman I know who graduated from Cordon Bleu International in Paris. Yum!

The children are running around fighting monsters. Jonas is wearing his Monster Fighting Cape and Ada is wearing her Monster-Fighting ... Frog Suit. It's pretty effective, the frog suit. Actually, Ada has come up with an innovative way of dealing with monsters - she offers them her cheese and crackers, then they become her friend.

Now that she is 3, her imagination is really developing. Today, we were getting out of the car at the grocery store, the one in the basement at the mall, where you have to park on the 6th floor of the 12-floor building. Makes total sense. She was standing by the balcony of the garage and she was holding out her cupped hands up to the sky. She said, "I trying to catch bird". She's been intent on catching a bird these last few days. She said, "take bird home, buy a cage." She has it all planned out. I wish I could catch a bird for her.

Here are some recent photos:

Jonas' job is to set the table. Check out his creativity - plates on top of bowls, beetles for the kids. When I saw it, he tried to tell me that Peter had set the table, not him! It wasn't too hard to figure out.


Back in the old days, when Ada was only 2 years old, last week:


Jonas and the really, really, really, really big earthworm. There's another photo close-up at my Flickr page (click on the photo to get there).

Ada at school

Beading (note the tongue of concentration):



"Ni Ni!" she shouts, her best pal:



Learning the Chinese word for starfruit:



Making dumplings:



Click here for more photos of Ada at school.

some random photos

Click on any to enter my Flickr account and see some of the other photos I uploaded today.

We've been swimming a lot lately, now that Jonas has learned how to swim underwater and does not claim to "hate getting wet" anymore.

Peter and I look at this first picture everyday and crack up:





The brown bag backpacks I mentioned in my last post:



Jonas' new reading glasses:



Sleeping in:

on toy begging

This afternoon, I took Jonas and Ada to the bank to pay the ghastly-high rent on our little stone house. As we walked down the street, we passed one of three Hello Kitty shops located on the same road and the kids begged to go in. "They even have Pokemon, Mom! That's for boys like me!" Jonas exclaimed. I held my ground and said no, not only because the bank was about to close at 3:30, but because I dread having to turn down their repeated requests for new plastic, easily-breakable and quick-to-be-bored-of toys.

So we paid the rent, stopped at Starbucks for a necessary frappucino (for me; the baby makes me do it) and chocolate mints (for the kids), and then headed to the grocery store in the basement of Takashimaya department store - not an unusual place for grocery stores in Taiwan, particularly the kind that sell foreign import items like Cheerios (US$10) and whole wheat fusilli pasta (1 pound bag for US$7). I really miss the bulk section at the local co-op in our old U.S. neighborhood, but there aren't a lot of options here! One can't go for 5 years without Cheerios, come on, especially when one is pregnant.

Anyways, to get from the entrance of the market to the ATM (where I needed to get cash because I forgot to get cash when we were at the bank because the kids were making me crazy using the lobby phones to call Australia), we had to pass by really cute strawberry flip-flops at the Reef store, which Ada begged for and I refused, and camoflage sandals at the Outdoor store, which Jonas begged for and I refused. Of course, there were also fake Taiwan Power Rangers on the shelf in the grocery store, as well, which I refused to buy. The whole begging process was wearing me down, and making me feel disappointed in my kids - why do they feel like they need new stuff all the time? We're not 'stuff' people; we don't model consumerism like that to them. I finally gave in to a mini KitKats bar by the check-out stand. They'd never had KitKats before, anyways.

We made an excellent food discovery at the store, by the way, thanks to a sample stand: Taiwanese 'hotpot'. It's actually Japanese, but the sample lady called it Taiwanese. We bought some fresh udon noodles that come with a flavor packet (no MSG, I asked!), and when we got home, I tossed some carrots, broccoli, corn wheels, clams, mysterious white fish with no English description on the sticker but that Jonas promised he loved, and the noodles into boiling water. All ready in 2 minutes! And even better - the kids ate all the vegetables and immensely enjoyed the clams. (And Jonas did love the fish, too). Brilliant! Then they got KitKats for eating so well tonight.

After dinner, they played happily. With the brown paper bags that the groceries came in. Brown paper bags. First they did potato-sack races in the bags. Then the bags were on their heads. Then they looped their arms through the handles of the bags and wore the bags as backpacks ('packpacks' as Ada says) and pretended they were astronauts. Now they are asleep with the bags lovingly placed next to their bunkbed. I promised I would cut eyeholes out for them in the morning.

And I am realizing now what all of that begging for new stuff today was: it was simply their creative minds begging for something to do. I'm a pushover for the toy begging, normally spending the work week alone with the kids while Peter is travelling. Plus, just stepping out of the house offers a new opportunity to buy cheap stuff every 3 feet as you go down the street. (You thought Americans worshipped buying stuff? Welcome to Taiwan.) My kids get plenty of new stuff all the time, we are not that chaste around here, but it does me good to see that they don't sit around staring at the walls if they don't get everything new that they want.

update

I know I've been very out-of-touch, and hopefully I can get up to speed now. I have lots of photos of the kids over the last couple of months that I'll be busy uploading.

I'm finally coming out of my first trimester and feeling well again. It was rough going for awhile there, and many days I just ate saltines and tried to get by. The kids have had their various viruses, as well, including Ada's strange reaction to one virus that had her covered head-to-toe in giant, drug-resistant hives for over a week. Now that we are healthy and it is gorgeous outside - 80 degrees and sunny - I kind of have this feeling that I am coming out of hibernation.

For people who are asking to know what everyday life is like, here is a snapshot of our day today...

Today, Jonas had a screening at Taipei American School to see what grade level he fits into, since his birthday is right on the border between kindergarten and first grade. On our way in, he dropped his lollypop that he'd received from the doctor earlier this morning (he has pink-eye and a stopped-up nose - he says little people called the Booger People live in his nose and, among other things, they make him do naughty things). I felt bad about the lollypop because I knew he was nervous about the screeing, so I promised a trip to child-mecca, 7-11, afterwards.

At 7-11, he picked out an ultra-man belt for himself and some bubbles for Ada. He was so excited about the belt and couldn't wait to get home to put together his whole outfit, with the belt and also black gloves he got a few weeks ago. He talked about it all day and begged to have time to play with the new toy.

When we finally got home, what did he play with? The ultra-man belt? No. Dish towels. He and Ada fashioned them around themselves with rubber bands and danced like crazy for well over an hour. You can see it here. I'm not complaining, because I'm proud of how clever he and Ada can be with everyday objects, but why do I even bother buying toys in the first place?

After dinner (tofu and rice with broccoli), I was busy in the kitchen making gazpacho for guests tomorrow when Ada, naked, walked into the kitchen with a worried look on her face: "I pooped." I figured she wouldn't be so worried if the poop had gone into the toilet, so I followed her out to the living room and saw it on the rug. I couldn't fashion a warning fast enough for Jonas, who unknowingly walked through the poop in his socks. Smeared poop on rug and socks. Great.

Ada went into the bath, Jonas helped me Shout out the stain and I quickly pureed the last of the soup. We got a happy call from Peter in China, who said he's coming home tonight instead of tomorrow! Yay! Once the kids were clean and pyjama'd, we climbed into bed to read books. After books, I turned out the lights and asked the kids how many deep breaths they'd like to do together. "Pink," Ada replied. Jonas and I laughed, and she knew the answer was wrong. "Blue?" she tried again. "How about three?" I suggested. "Ada's two!" she said defiantly.

Now I am exhausted and they are asleep. I'm going to settle in with my hypnobirthing cd and hopefully get a good night's sleep myself.

Jonas at bat:


Ada at bat:


When you have little fingers, you can put tiny shell pasta on each finger:


Family circle on Peter's birthday:

easter bunnies and tienmu trail

This week an exciting box came from Nana and Grandpa B with some Easter goodies in it. Each kid got a little bunny, and it was very important to Jonas that we take a picture of the bunnies:



In other news, weeks of rainy clouds finally blew away one morning in a refreshing spring breeze, and I took the opportunity to go for my first walk up the Tienmu Trail by our house. It is only a couple of kilometres and takes you up to the Chinese Culture University at the top of Yangming Mountain. The signs:



In order to get to the actual trail, you have to climb about a thousand one hundred thirty four (not really, but it's a lot, and that is Jonas' favorite number) steps. The steps:



I like moss:



An historical item. When the Japanese occupied Taiwan for 50 years (starting in 1895), they built aqueducts to supply water to Taipei. According to the Taipei City Government, the Grass Mountain Waterworks, completed in 1928, "could deliver 28,800 cubic meters of water per day, meeting the needs of 150,000 people." Here is the main line of the aqueduct of that project, still in use today:



As with any nature hike in Taiwan, you get lots of non-nature spectacles, as well. Here is a kitchen-sort of thing. Is it a restuarant? A public use kitchen? I have no idea. But it has a nice view.



More non-nature things (that nature appears to be reclaiming):





A little house and yard along the trailside:



Watch out for macaques at dawn and dusk! Unfortunately, I was there at mid-morning and did not happen upon any.



Despite not seeing any macaques, I did get to breathe some nice, fresh air. It smells like lilies, moss and wet earth up there. Dreamy. And here is the view from near the top:

Curious sightings by a curious woman

When the sun is shining and it is warm outside, it just doesn't matter if your feet don't touch the ground at the bus stop.



Have dog, will travel.



These nails are poking out of a wall, right at eye level. It didn't look to me like it would be too hard to not see them and accidentally get yourself poked in the eye!



This is a clothing store that wasn't open yet when I snapped this picture.

taxi and park photos

It's always interesting to see how a taxi driver personalizes his cab by hanging stuff from the rearview mirror or decorating the dashboard.


This one had a decal on the backseat window.


At the park, Ada and Jonas made a rock birthday cake shaped like a fish. They stuck leaves in the top as candles.


These Taiwanese kids really wanted to play with the two blondies.

eating

Aren't you jealous of our lunch? Steamed Shanghai pork dumplings (shao long bao), braised tofu, and fresh sweet potato greens. We all eat heartily when we have this meal.

Last night, the kids and I tried out a new restaurant. It is new to us, anyways. Our favorite fried dumpling (guo tie) stand is closed, so we heard about another one. As soon as we entered the tiny place and found a table, somebody came over to help us fill out the order form, which is written in Chinese. Then he asked us where we are from, how old the kids are, where is Baba, etc. By the time our order was done, the entire restaurant knew all about us, as well as the whereabouts of Peter - I noticed everybody was listening intently.

Halfway through the dinner, an older couple came in and were charmed by Ada - she kept showing them how old she was and trying to talk to them. They started in with all the questions, too, and I kind of wished that somebody at the next table could answer them for us so we could finally eat!

Here is the cutie herself. How could you not be charmed by her?

Chinese New Year

It's Chinese New Year again. It's hard to believe that exactly one year ago, on our way to a caravan trip in Australia and Tasmania, we had no idea we'd be living in Holland the following month. Things move quickly in our household!

This is the first time we have ever been in Taiwan for Chinese New Year, since we always take advantage of Peter's big vacation time to explore somewhere new to us in the eastern hemisphere. Our first year in Taiwan, we went to Palau, then we went to Thailand, followed by two great years of caravan-camping in New Zealand and Australia.

After six weeks of visiting across the U.S. over Christmas and the western New Year, we just wanted to stay put and sleep in our own beds this year, even if it means a week or so of stores being closed, taxis doubling their fare and most people being gone on vacation. And we discovered last night that it also means all-night firecrackers!

When we moved in 3 weeks ago, the landlord promised this cherry blossom would bloom in time for Chinese New Year. He was sure right.



Ada's Chinese New Year dragon mask. She made it at school.



Jonas made this fish print at school. It says, "Happy New Year" on it. One day, he came home and told me about the dead fish that his teacher gave him to paint black, then press paper onto it. I'm glad that such a horrifying-sounding project turned out this nicely.



The famed red envelope (hong bao). Children get these money-filled envelopes at Chinese New Year from friends and relatives.