I don't actually know where to start

So, I'll opt for where I left off.  The move.

We moved out of the hotel residence apartment to our current (permanent) apartment home on the 27th of July, which also happened to be Neil's birthday.

I was 27 weeks pregnant.  My husband was traveling more than he was home.  It was incredibly hot.  These are the things that I remember vividly.

However, I also recall how wonderful it was to receive delivery of our main shipment from the States.  All our stuff was finally here!  And in our new home!  Granted, it was not organized nor was our home set-up for everyday life- much less set-up to welcome a brand new baby in two weeks- but it was at least here!

I sat and checked off each box as it arrived.

The moving company was awesome and put all of the boxes in the rooms I requested and then unpacked and assembled anything I asked,  Neil arrived home a few hours after the delivery began, and we spent the day with just the shipment.  

On the 28th, a few friends and our driver helped us move our suitcases and a few boxes of items we acquired since moving here from the hotel to the apartment.  From that point on, we were in our home.

The to-do list was (and still is) a mile long.  And it had to be prioritized based on the baby arriving in a matter of weeks and having a place of our long-term guests, Neil's mom and dad, to comfortably stay for three weeks.  One problem.

Neil went back out of town the following Monday

Luckily, I already have amazing friends here in Shanghai, and two of them came over and helped me sort and organize both the guest bedroom and the kid's rooms.  It was amazing.  I was so pleased, but Neil was truly ecstatic when he returned home to find that the majority of his weekend had been cleared to work on other projects.

Things have changed so much since then; we are fairly settled and getting more organized every day.  The place is really starting to feel like ours.  But, I am still driven crazy by the lack of art on the walls (which are made of concrete and plaster.  One does not just hammer in a nail and solve the problem) and the unfinished nature of Quinn's nursery.  But, we have time.  And that is a good thing.

And, on a final note, here is the beginning of the long excuse as to my hiatus.  When we stayed at the hotel, the wifi signal was routed in a way that allowed access to sites usually blocked in China- Facebook, Blogger (and any blog, for that matter), Twitter, and other social networks.  We moved and POOF!  Access denied.  We knew the answer to fix the issue.  But, Neil was traveling and needed to be home to fix it.  When he got home, turns out we needed a new router too.  That piece arrived from the US along with his parents.  The day after his parents arrived... I had a baby.

And family has dominated that last four weeks as we settled into a new rhythm and pace and routine.  And I let the blog continue to what while I slept when I could, cuddled when I could, and cared for myself as best I could.

More posts to come, but know that we are are settled in and everyone is doing really well here.  I miss my family and my friends so much.

I leave you all with a few pictures of the beautiful garden walkways and fountains in our apartment complex.  The girls and I take walks through them each evening before dinner, as do many other families with small children. That time together is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of the day.

Triumphant return

Hi.

Many reasons.  We moved (!!!) and lost access to Blogger for weeks.

The week we got it back, I had a baby.

That baby likes to eat.  And I like to sleep.

Hence why there have been no updates lately.  However, I started writing again yesterday, and I will try to write a little each day to catch you all up.  I have a bunch to share.

The blog make-over should be installed soon, too.  Not only will I have content on the blog, but it should be a pretty blog soon as well!

Okay, back to the toddles and the squishy baby.  See you all very soon!

Teaser picture: Harper sharing her kisses with little sister, Quinn.

Good news/ Bad news

Bad news first- I have sliced my finger.  Stupid bread knife.  I'm fine, no stitches, but that really great throbbing is in full effect.  So, typing is pretty difficult, and I'm not writing a bunch today.

Good news- I *think* I have officially hired an ayi!  She is wonderful, highly recommended, and great with kids.  I interviewed her yesterday and will be working out the details over the course of the week.  I promise that when the finger heals a bit, you will get a longer post about exactly what an ayi is, how I found this one, and what interviewing is like in different cultures.

Until then, I am off to get the dry cleaning ready, put in an order from the City Shop (grocery stores deliver for FREE!  Heaven.), and start reading my new Etiquette Guide to China.  Hopefully it stops raining so the toddles and I can get to the playground after nap time, but something tells me we might be taking a stroll through the mall.

Things I don't want to forget

Update from previous list:

The washer and dryer problem has multiplied.  The clothes were not drying.  Ever.  I was basically steaming them to death, and I had no idea what was wrong.  I called downstairs, they said to empty the tray.  I looked for a tray.  Nope, didn't see one.  Saw a heat conductor thingy, tried to dump it, but alas, nothing to dump out.

Then the washer stopped working.  Well, it would start a cycle, ding to say done, then the clothes would be sopping wet when I opened it.  I gave up and called for a service man to come up.

Service man speaks no English.  He assessed the situation, called downstairs for a front desk clerk, and then proceeded to speak to her rapidly in Mandarin.  She called me in, said that the service guy said I needed a lesson on the machines.  Well, duh, dude.  They then explained that the setting I chose on the washer was just a rinse cycle.  Doh.

In my defense, I chose it based only on the temperature reading and the length of time on the display.  It was all I had to go on.

He then showed me the cycles I would want to use, the buttons and what they do, and such.  He made me laugh because he clearly thought I was dense- many times he said, don't touch that, just make sure these lights are on, only use this or this.  I was incredibly thankful.  And I would get actually clean clothes instead of just incredibly well-rinsed clothes.

And I asked about the dryer while he was there.  The man reaches up, pulls on the side of the top of the machine (well above my head) and pulls out a giant tray full of water.  You see dear readers, the machine is not vented.  The steam collects in the tray, condenses, and you empty it after each cycle or two.  Or else, steamed clothes that do not dry.

I could have kissed that Chinese service man right on his mouth.

Small side note: I may have broken the microwave today.  When it just stops working in the middle of cooking your frozen lasagna for lunch?  And then won't turn back on for an hour?  That's broken, right?

Other items to remember:

• Every time Harper sees the stroller in the apartment, she says "bye-bye?" and pushes it.  She loves our trips out so much that we have taken to hiding the stroller in the guest bathroom to keep her from pitching a fit to go out when she gets bored.
• We finally opened a set of blocks we have been saving since Christmas.  My Aunt Janie gave them to Harper, and they are blocks in the classic style, but with Chinese lessons on them.  Simple words, characters, phrases.  She LOVES them.  Harper wants either Neil or I to sit with her and build tower after tower and makes the funniest shocked face when she knocks them down. 
• Harper has a "lift-the-flap" book of animals at the zoo.  The first set of flaps focus on animal sounds.  She picks up the books hissing for the snake sound every time.  Takes after her Papaw, there.  
• I just made a trip to Metro- think Sam's, Costco, BJs- and was ridiculously excited to buy a broom and dustpan with a stand-up handle.  No more pregnant lady on the floor trying sweep up around the high chair.  High class right there, people.
• Harper's pure joy when we opened the air shipment and she rediscovered her chair and her musical instruments.  We even opened a new baby and a stroller.  Of course, she LOVED it.  Strolled that baby all the way to the mall for a grocery shopping trip.  She was the talk of the town, I tell ya.