More on smog

Two nights ago the smog remained in the 400's all night, by morning in the 300's and steadily dropped through out the day to under 100!  It was so nice, we got to go out and run around in sweatshirts.

Today I woke to 466 and hoped for a repeat of the decreasing smog level.  It was the boys last day before school started so I wanted to do something with them.  By lunch time it was over 500!

Later that afternoon I got to talk to a friend in Texas who was telling me how windy it was there and told her to send some my way.  And she must've because the wind started whipping the garbage around outside up past our 10th floor window.  Then the wind calmed down dramatically and I could see the smog had improved greatly and checked it was 167!   Yeah, we can get outside for a bit.  So we donned our winter jackets and went back to the park that was teeming with kids yesterday.  We had the park to ourselves.  So I went down the slide with the kids, Ethan had my arm and the static electricity was a constant pain where he held my arm.  Ouch.  Then when I got off the slide I actually felt the sparks go through my toes.  Weird!

We only stayed out about 45 minutes to an hour and went back.  My plan to grab my purse and head back out to the store.  My mother-in-law wanted to wait for my father-in-law to get back from an errand to all go.  Okay.

By the time we leave the wind was whipping again, it ripped my mother-in-laws hat off her head, I felt mine threatening to fly and stuck it in my pocket.  The grocery bag on wheels was flying like a balloon and we were dragging the kids through flying sand and debris.  I left the gloves at home, since they were not needed when we went to the park, and had frozen fingers.  We decided it would be best to return home.  

About 5 minutes later we were at our entrance where several men were stopping people from walking that sidewalk at the entrance of our building, due to a fallen piece of..... roof? Landed on a section of glass awning leaving it crackly looking.  Oh my, had it just happened as we left?  I don't know.

The wind continues to howl through the door and down the hall, we sit laughing and shaking our heads that we went out in that craziness.  

I always trust the US Embassy smog numbers and when I read their six levels, to me it's not safe after 150.  Their reader is in the center of Beijing.  The Chinese reader is outside of Beijing and is normally lower, so I thought perhaps fudged, but yesterday it was higher.  Now look how they name their seven smog levels.  It sounds like it's safe until 250.

                                                            9 am 466 smog

                               Note the wording of 7 smog levels of the Chinese vs the US Embassy(above)

After a half hour of wind

Wally World

Today was cold and still overcast and dreary.  My plan if in-laws had none was to take the kids back to the bigger supermarket(Tessco)  1 stop down all by myself.  They didn't think this was a good idea and offered Walmart as a solution.  Sure, I wanted to check it out.  It started snowing as we walked to the bus stop.  

Behind a hopefully temporary construction looking scene there is a strip of malls and Walmart.  We ride the cart escalator down.  The Walmart generic brand and brand of clothing is the same here.    But it is very Chinese in the style of clothes and items in the store.  I found more Kinder eggs, italian seasoning, cinnamon sticks and the spices they use on the street meat kabobs!  We found a liter box of skim milk from Germany that the kids like.  They had more chocolate here than other places like M&M's and Dove.  They did have a toy department and most of the stuffed animals are in plastic bags else they are dirty.  But no real games to speak of; just chinese checkers and puzzles.  I've never had such dirty hands just from shopping around.  

Now the bus stop there was on the store side of the street, so to return we had to get to the other side.  Across 4 lanes to the divide under the bridge that serve as a bus depot, across another 4 lanes to the other side.  A bit hairy, I don't think I'd drag the kids there by myself.  But I will need to go look around again.

                                                            Our first snow

                                                             Kinder eggs:  Chocolate and a toy!

                                                 

   

Spicy seasoning for meat on a stick

Crown the day

We've had our first birthday here.  Aidan was so excited for his birthday he didn't go to sleep until after 10:30pm!  Finally I was able to hang up the train Happy Birthday banner I brought with us and put his crown on the table for him to see in the morning.  Gifts wrapped and placed high and out of reach.  At 6am I felt something at the foot of my bed, Aidan.  So I pulled him up and under the covers till Tao called and woke us all up at 7am to be the first to wish him Happy Birthday.    I eagerly waited to give the boys their Lowly worm favors I made before our trip.

So we still had the cake dilemma.  Luckily the boys can understand Chinese, because my father-in-law was about to escape out the door, when the boys cried they wanted to go too to get the cake.  So we tried the new bakery that opened in the strip mall at the end of the block.  They showed us their cake menu.   There was 1 cute kid cake in pink.  I asked if they can make a different color.  No, it's pink.  Could they do a different cake in chocolate.  No, it's x.  Really no thinking outside the box?  To me that was not customer friendly.  Birthday boy picked out a Black Forest cake.  Ready in 20 minutes!

So we went into the supermarket to waste time.  We picked up some more milk boxes to taste test.  I snuck Aidan over to the mitten area.  He shot down all the cute mittens.  But they had cute hats and we found a winner.  So when we got up to line, my father-in-law insisted on buying it as their birthday gift.  

While my husband was here he ordered a collection of 88 Berenstein Bears books in Chinese.  Luckily they arrived just in time.  There is enough for each of their birthdays and Christmas. Good thing they still have English in them so I can read them.

Saturday was a glorious day, it was sunny and warm.  By lunch time I could stand it no more being cooped up.  They had no plans to go out.  So I let the boys loose to run amuck in the garden.   We stayed out a couple of hours.  

All day Ethan went without his glasses.  They disappeared the night before at bath time.  We tore their room apart several times as well as the whole apartment.  I repeatedly asked him where his glasses where.  Besides "I don't know", I got some imaginative answers from him and his brothers.  His glasses were thrown over the roof (from our stair walk earlier), thrown on top of the closet (like he did his brother's lovely), down the toilet, down the tub drain and somewhere so small we won't find them.  Well there was some truth to the bathroom theory, they must've been put on something, fell off and got kicked under the tub.  Luckily they were lenses up!

Sunday was a dreary day, overcast and 367 smog.  I knew we were house bound and let the kids watch TV all day while I took a nap.  Today was the last day for fireworks and the sky was filled once again with a consistent booming.    It was warm again today, so I took the kids up to the roof and we watched another somewhat muted by smog, panoramic display.  It was so loud, I told the kids if they wanted to yell, now was the time to do it.  So we yelled and whooped over the fireworks.  Tonight was the first night since getting over jet lag that the boys were in bed by 8:45 with little yelling.  I wish every night worked like this.

Big Mac Attack

Maybe it is a Chinese thing?  My in-laws wear "house clothes"/pajamas all day until they go out, then they get dressed.  They can get ready pretty fast and where at the door with their coat on and casually ask, do we want to go to the store?  Maybe hoping for a no?  Another 10 minutes to get the kids to go potty, put on shoes, coat, hat and mittens.

While still on the first floor of he supermarket, 2 of the 3, have to go potty.  The 2 floor supermarket doesn't have a restroom, so my mother-in-law takes them and doesn't return.  Shortly the last has to go.  Now we have to rush to check out and can't look at the mittens.

We used the restroom at McDonalds and ate lunch there.  All the meals are combos, no re-fills and only sweat & sour dipping sauce.  All resturants are stingy on their straws and napkins.  The Big Mac combo was 19~ $3.10, good deal.  Kids meals 21~ $3.50, McFlurry 12~$2.  

Tomorrow is my youngest's birthday.  He knows we will be buying a cake and wants chocolate.  I told my mother-in-law my plan to take the bus to the fancy mall and get a cake from their numerous bakeries.  She thought we should try the larger supermarket 1 stop down from us and order a cake for tomorrow.  At Paris Bagguette, we found a cute cake with an airplane on top, but they informed us they would not make chocolate cakes for tomorrow.  I don't know why we couldn't buy the one in the display case today?

In the supermarket, their cakes were much better priced and found a cute rabit with vegetables, but their person who makes them was not in today and may not be in tomorrow?  What?  I did find Hunt's canned spegetti sauce you can get for $1 back home, imported  for 26~$4.50.

Again before we can get to the 2nd floor of the supermarket and see any clothes aka mittens they have to go potty again.  We hurry up and checkout to exit and find a bathroom in KFC.  Where a young girl selling Amway tried to sell us vitamins.

My goal was to try to learn how to crochet and knit here.  I've mastered the chain stitch.  I don't know if I'll be able to wrap my head around the next step she is trying to teach me. 

You may be wondering about my going on about mittens.  They have the CUTEST mittens here!

Happy Panda

Tuesday we took bus #31 in the other direction, past a walmart and several malls.  I can't wait to explore them!  We  got off at Happy Valley, an amusement park.  A lot of attractions, parks and the buses are free for the elderly, aged  65+.  So far we haven't paid for the kids yet either.  Yes it was a bit to cold to normally go to an amusement park and it wasn't full, off season?  The kids area was a bug theme!  First we rode spinning hot air balloons and my head and stomach didn't like this rides.  Then we went on a bumpy four-wheeler, tea cups and frogger.  I'm glad the frog hop was a kid only ride.  My favorite, the carousel, was freezing cold, I had to sit on my mitten and let one hand freeze.  It was in the shade.  The poor worker was jumping up and down the whole time trying to keep warm.  

It would be fun to go to with my hubby when he comes back, as long as someone watches the kids so we can go on the bigger rides.  

Wednesday we took bus #31 in the other direction, to ride the subway, transferred to a different line to go to the Beijing Zoo!.  They've got re-loadable cards to use for payment when riding both the bus  and subway.  It gives a discount on the bus from 100 to 40.  All bags/purses must go through a scanner before you go through the gate to the subway.  They have 1 person watching the scan, this diligent worker was talking to another co-worker over her shoulder.  So glad she has eyes in the back of her head to watch the screen.  At the zoo we saw some sleepy pandas and one really energetic one.  I've never gone to a bigger zoo in the off season, so i don't know what our polar bear exhibits look like, but it was sad to see the polar bear sitting on a slab of concrete and no water to swim in.  Having seen "No Water for Elephants", I was really saddened for the elephant in his tiny cell.  It made me think of something I heard somewhere about people's (selfish) need to see animals in the flesh, instead of letting them survive in the wild where they belong.   The elephants at the Toledo Zoo have it a lot better!  They had so many statues of animals to sit on or take pictures with, not like our token one, but like 20 wolves, 20 penguins, 20 monkeys and about 40 varying sizes of elephants.  I saw more happy faces looking and sitting on the statues than seeing the poor caged elephants or lone wolf curled up in its hole it dug in the empty cage void of any vegetation or sky above.

Afterwards we had pizza.  Yeah!  I choose the tuna pizza with onions & tomatoes.  This sauce as well was overly sweet.  They only have real tomatoes, ketchup & tomato paste at the store, no italian spices to make spegetti for the kids.  I'm doubting the pizza places have the right spices too.  

We tried to take a taxi home, but 4 in a row said no, max 4 people in a taxi.  We've road 3 adults  and 3 kids before and normally 2 adults and 3 kids and tried to do this combo.  But no only 1 adult with the 3 kids.  Luckily the kids wanted another adventure of the subway! 

                                                                          Happy Valley  
                   

                                                            Bug carousel

                                                                            Giant Panda

Emperess Penguin

Smog got you down?

We were really looking forward to taking the kids to a temple today, it was going to be in the 40's.  But when we woke up and looked at the smog report 376!  How frustrating! 

 Here are the levels of smog:

300+ hazardous

200-300 very unhealthy

150-200 unhealthy

100-150 unhealthy for sensitive groups

50-100 good

0-50 excellent

So we drank in the smog heading in a taxi driving with his window down to the Natural History Museum.  They boys loved the dinosaur exhibit.  I loved the sea turtles and fish.  When we got back home the smog was 411!

smog level 411

smog level 53

dinosaurs

"You see me don't you?"

Bobcat says: "Who stinks?"

Going to the doctor

So the day before Tao leaves we are finally able to tie up some loose ends since the holiday is drawing to a close and the people are back at work.  Even though we brought the boys shot record from home, they still had to get a blood test and physical here to go to school.  We took a taxi to the doctors office and got the run around as where to start.  The kids clinic is a short walk down a dirty alley around the building.  Before they will see us there, we have to get a blood test inside the main building.  To get the blood test, you sit on a stool in a narrow hallway and stick your arm through the window, they tie it and use good old fashioned iodine to clean the spot.  The boys went first and were crying bloody murder before they were touched by the needle.  The youngest went last and knew it would happen to him, took his own coat off and didn't cry a peep!

Back to the kids clinic, they got weighed on a small seat attached to a scale, height and old school E eye test.  Their waiting room only had colorful benches and inflatable dolphins on the ceiling.  No toys or books.  

I'm getting bored sitting in the house, they don't like taking the kids anywhere so I have to constantly watch the kids to ensure they don't get into anything.  I can't just let them play in their room, since it's my father-in-laws study and they've climbed on the desk and stuck over 30 stickers under the bed on the hardwood floor!  So we went up the stairs again and then to explore basement 1 and 2, which I thought may go to the parking ramp.  No, super scary, cameras there to see if someone goes down there.  Out of there fast.

At 5 we got to visit the boys school.  It is behind the apartment complex across the street.  Maybe a 5 minute walk.  It's huge, nice playground, artwork on all the hallways, lots of blocks and toys.  Aidan will be in the preschool room on the ground floor and the boys upstairs on the 3rd floor.  They could be dropped off as early as 6 am and pick up starts at 5pm.  They get all three meals there and a snack.  We shall see if my kids starve or not.  We looked at their on-line menu, seems to be a good assortment of food like hotdogs for breakfast.  

Afterwards we went to a high end mall for dinner at the food court.  My in-laws say it's just a few stops away on bus.  Good!  They have a ton of bakery stores there, so I might get the boys birthday cakes there?  After dinner I insisted on getting cake, so the boys and I each picked out own cake.  We got it at Breadtalk priced about 13-18~$2-3, right next door 59~$10!

Celebrating the New Year, Chinese Style

The noise maker fireworks started in the afternoon on New Years Eve, then sporadic fireworks as it got dark.  On TV, they have lots of New Year specials, set up like Lawrence Welk variety shows, lots of signing and dancing and skits I don't understand.  

We gave the kids a nap so they could stay up to see the big fireworks at midnight.  Bad idea, because they were whiney and wouldn't eat dinner when they met family for the first time for New Year's dinner.  All the meals are family style.  Rarely are there serving spoons.  Only your chopsticks you stick in your mouth and then all over the food.  At least in japan they serve the food with the back of the chopsticks and eat on the other side.  I try not to watch other's eating or taking food so I don't get grossed out!

Aidan fell asleep 15 min before the big fireworks started.  Many apartment complexes advise not to do fireworks on the premise, so we had a hard time seeing fireworks around the buildings out our window.  So we went to the stairwell to watch the panoramic fireworks display.  There is nothing like a Chinese Fireworks display!  The non-stop booming and cracking lasted about an hour and a half, then back to sporadic fireworks for a while.  I woke up around four and didn't hear any.  By daylight the noise makers were back at it. Fireworks will happen day & night through out the 7 day holiday.  

There are many festivals at parks.  We went to one specifically for a food vendor lunch.  It was like 20 degrees and there are people everywhere, going on rides like it was summer.  Crazy, my face and hands were already frozen, I don't know how they could stand going on a ride.  We ate dumplings, soup, meat on a stick(I love the spice mix on these, the boys did not care for the spices, good more for me!), a hot orange drink, fried garlic starch and my favorite haw(it's like a crab apple that is candied) on a stick.  

Later in the week we went to a different park where they also had games to play like fishing and angry bird or mean bird as my kids call it.  They each won something, so they were happy.  And booths to buy music, keychains, hats, novelty gifts, artificial flowers and puzzles to name a few.  Now we were into owls before it was cool, so when I saw owls on a stick(no not to eat, for decoration) I had to get them.  One for each boy and I got a singing bird in a cage, we found some American books in Chinese.  

Every other day we met family for either lunch or dinner.  Sometimes the boys ate a lot, sometimes they missed out on really good food like Peking duck!  But they weren't shy anymore.  To keep food off your lap they tuck the napkin corner under your plate and lay the rest on your lap.  Works good and keeps it from falling to the floor.  This doesn't keep chopsticks from flying on the floor though!

The boys received red envelopes from elder family  members for them to buy candy.  Of course the parents hold on to the money for them.  Red banners or signs are everywhere, other decorations are lamps, dragons, fish, and this year the snake.

Fish

A feast

Fireworks

Festival

Festival booths, rides and a sea of people

My singing bird

Peking Duck

Lanterns in tree

Angry bird festival game

Fancy room

Tofu noodle dish

Eating a sweet red bean bun as big as his face!

Giant New Year's Snake

To the top

So we've been eating out a lot, alternating a lunch or dinner the past few days.  We had dinner at a all you can eat hot pot resturant, kids under 1 meter are free, other kids are 1/2 off.  Adults were ~$20.  That night the boys were being picky and didn't want to eat.  They drank some expensive juice that night.  The resturant reminded me of another era, rounded booths in velvet and lots of gold with gold wires running from floor to cealing lining the booth.
A few times we've road the bus, ~$.20 a ride.  Their buses stop at every stop, unlike the Japanese buses I remember having to push the line when you wanted off.  Most of the time we piled into 2 taxis, and my father-in-law's taxi will always arrive first, regaurdless if he left first.  For a luncheon with several family members we arrived before them all.  Normally we get private rooms, and this one was lavish!  Gold and yellow, flowers above and below the table size glass lazy susan.  The boys actually got to run around.  And my husband and in-laws didn't stop them.   I was so happy they got some time to move around.   We managed to get them to slow down once the others arrived.  We tried many new dishes:  bamboo shoots as is and a bamboo shoot soup( I think if it could be pickled and used just like artichoke hearts), cut fish that looks like a porcupine when fried, fried vegetable balls, mini letuce wraps reminded me of PF Changs.
For Valentine's day I brought boxes of candy, good thing too, their chocolate here doesn't really melt in your mouth.  This was the first time the boys got to go to the store, I let them finally get their candy.  Aidan wanted to stay home with daddy to play his game tablet.  I promised to bring him back candy.  They boys were mesmerized by the row of tanks of live fish as water splashed over the floor to the drain.  I showed them the bloody fish cleaning station(it doesn't seem I gave them any nightmares).  They also liked the cart escalator going between the 2 floor supermarket.   While there my mother-in-law bought me a lovely blue coat, possibly leathere with a furry collar.  I have way too many coats at home, but I can't resist them!  I know I'll end up going home with a few more!
Because we took our sweet time at the store, we got home super late and ended up eating dinner at 8pm!  Sorry boys, have another tang tang(candy).  There is a Pappa John's pizza a block away.  We got a pepperoni for the kids and their "Land and Sea" for us.  It had shrimp, peas, pinapple, ham and peperoni on it.  I've never had Pappa John's pizza back home, so I don't know if this is their normal sauce.  Sauce was way too sweat for me, but good crust.  I think I'll try the Pizza Hut here next time.
For Valentine's my husband booked a room at the hotel across the street.  Upon arrival fireworks started outside our window for our viewing pleasure(pure luck).  Luckily they don't smoke the night away(they smoke everywhere here), so the room wasn't that stinky.  No kleenex, only a small roll of toilet paper that we used up, no clocks, and a hard bed.  But at least it was a big bed and flat!
It was too cold for the kids to go out and play, so I decided to take them up the stairs one at a time.  Ethan went first.  We ran 2 flights and walked the rest from the 10th flor up to the roof on the 27th floor.  Then we walked back down to the 10th.  The next 2 both wanted to go at the same time, I'm so glad I didn't insist on them going seperate.  We walked up to the roof and rode the elevator back down!  Whew, water please!

All moved in

Yeah I'm not living out of suitcases!  We left all the summer clothes in the suitcases and stored them, and the empty suitcases in the closet.  Our coats took over the coat closet, so the in-laws store their coats in their room.  Their bed is cool it lifts up on hinges to revel storage in the box spring.  Pretty much all of the clothes we brought is not making it home.  I was told I could go shopping.  Who is going to turn that down?  So I only brought 4 pairs of pants with me.  At home I had a dresser and closet plus off season clothes in storage.  Here I have a little cubby hole of clothes and 1/4 suitcase of summer clothes in storage.  Toothbrushes are hung up in cute little suction covers.  They don't make their beds in the morning.  They unmake them, fold it all and put it in a pile.  The boys love the water cooler that has booth hot and cold water and is just their size.   But it's kind of dangerous giving little boys little china tea cups on marble floors.  One already C-R-A-S-H-E-D!  So we found the cutest plastic cups sporting some amusing chinglish:

"Healthy Happy

You tired of your work

Always give yourself a holiday to enjoy the sunshine

We should be like an elephant running funn the sun"

The lights to the bathroom are outside.  Which is fine during the day when some light comes in, but I always shut myself in the dark room.  The bathroom also doubles as a laundry room.  Maybe that is why it was originally called a wash room?   We use a hamper for the boys clothes and it was already full in 5 days.  That would normally have been 1 load back home, here it was 4 loads!  Luckily I don't know how to use it, yet.  We only have a washer, the dryer is a drying line over my bed that can be cranked up and down.  

My "bedroom"  overlooks a large Chinese garden, filled with a pagoda, walkways and fountains.  The reality, my bedroom is a slightly uneven fold out bed between a cold window and a hospital reminiscent dividing wall that I throw a thicker sheet over and clip the curtains together for privacy.  The view should be promising once it warms up and they put the water in to fill the fountains.  

The boys all sleep in a full size pull out bed.  We are trying alternating head, feet, head.  At home we used to stagger their sleep times or they would keep each other up.  Here we are not and they've been out with 5 minutes.  However third day in a row they've woken up at 6a!  So I've had to fold my self to fit the short end of a full size bed in the hopes of some more shut eye as well as keep them quiet and not wake everyone up.

We made it

Hi everyone! We arrived yesterday 2:30 pm Beijing time, so 1:30 am Michigan time. I was dead tired with only a short nap on the plane.  Aidan, Wensen & Tao took good naps on the plane.  Ethan had zero and I think is the cause of his sickness as the plane landed.  There was a breeze, so no smog(that is always nice).  I was impressed with the boys and their first time on the plane.  They were great, plus the white noise of the plane is so loud we didn't have to tell them to be quiet.  The neck pillows I made were a hit.  We used the facilities numerous times and there were 3 types of latches.  We used the Halo spray for kids.  I never used any airborne stuff before, but traveling with kids, I wanted it and this was the only one for kids.  So far so good.  
Detroit was a lot nicer on using the kiosk than Lansing and we got to go through the old fashioned metal detector with the kids(they got to leave their shoes on).  So we pretty much walked into the airport and got to the gate for boarding.  Food was okay, but I think the midnight snack is my favorite sandwich, granola bar and cookies.  When we landed it was pretty easy, just a walk through of customs and picking up luggage.  
Tao's parents met us at the airport and we piled into two taxis back to the in-laws apartment.  I was "resting" my eyes, I obviously didn't' ride with the kids, so I didn't take in the sights.  It was a restfull 30 minutes in regular traffic.  Ethan immediately passed out and slept.  We went to sleep about 7 and I woke up at midnight to Aidan's crying as my mother-in-law is trying to wake them to go pee.  Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!  That is not going to happen again.  Ethan woke up a few hours later and took another nap till 7:30.  Wensen woke up about 6 and kept trying to wake Aidan.  Luckily I got to "sleep" in till about 8:30.  
Don't quite know the logistics of our 3 huge suitcases, if we have a place to store the clothes or if we will be living out of them for the next 5 months.  This isn't quite like my time in Japan, that was a bare apartment and we got a room totally to ourselves.  This is a 2 bedroom apartment that 2 people already live and moving in 4 others.  It's only 5 months, it's only 5 months, it's only 5 months.  
For breakfast we got haw on a stick.  My favorite street vendor snack.  The boys love looking out over the commons.  We live on the 10th floor  It's 26 floor building.  I'm planning on walking stairs as part of staying/getting in shape.

The countdown

     The countdown to our trip to China has been a long time coming.  It was impending since I quit work in the Fall of 2011, that it would be next fall.  I'm glad it didn't happen that fall.  I wasn't keen on the idea of Thanksgiving(my favorite holiday) or Christmas (my 2nd favorite holiday, my kids' favorite) away from home, friends and family.  It was set in stone we would be coming in Feb 2013,  just in time for Chinese New Year.  I put it out of my head, totally preparing for Christmas since before Thanksgiving.  I tend to over board on crafting, so I was busy trying my hand at mosaic bowling balls, mosaic trivets, fancy hand mirrors, infinity scarves and my first quilt(a small lap quilt for my husband to keep him warm when we are gone).....So everytime I was asked if I was ready.  No, I still have more crafts to do.
      Since the New Year I've had a laundry list of crafts I wanted to achieve before I left.  But none of those have been done, instead I made a new list of things to make, all neccessary to take on the trip.  Neck pillows and removable covers for them.  We tried the blow-up ones once.  Once.  I'm hoping the children will sleep on the plane.  I've made coordinating scarves for the kids.  Cases for all the game tablets with a pouch for their headphones.  I made wrist wallets for the kids and myself.  We tested them once putting offering money in them for church.  I finished my first quilt duvet cover for my in-laws as a thank you for letting us stay with them.
      I've alreayd warned the boys that we will be celebrating their birthdays differently, not only no daddy (his visits don't line up with their birthdays),  I won't be able to bake their cakes (their ovens aren't as big as ours.  Wensen was okay with this if we could get a chocolate cake.), and no party with friends.  So I had to make them favors for their birthdays.  Any excuses for more crafting?  I'm thinking them up, wondering if I really have time to make a nice luggage tag or if it will end up just tying  a pretty scrap of fabric.
     The suitcases finally came out Saturday, we leave Thursday!  So I packed most of my clothes, did laundry, packed most of the kids clothes, did more laundry.  And then stubbed my toe!  Ouch.  The first 12 hours it looked fine, then bang, purple.  I'm not looking forward to my feet swelling on the plane or getting stepped on during travels.  T minus 2 days till our quiet (ha ha) family of  5 travels for the first time by plane.  Now if I can only get all my stuff packed in time!