What a weekend?

It has been a whirlwind weekend filled with activity and tons of fun. The weekend started with the kids and me spending the morning hanging out at home. This is unusual in that normally Saturday is my day to sleep in. However with Richard in Israel, I was on morning duty. Anyone that knows me knows that I do not do mornings. My poor, poor children, they had to deal with cranky, tired mom. Anyway, little did they know that even thought the morning sucked, the afternoon was going to be fun. One of the larger international schools (where my good friend Cathy Sue is a teacher) was holding their Holiday Bazaar. This has become a highlight of the holiday season and it really did not disappoint. I actually believe that every Expat in Shanghai was in attendance – it was packed with people. The funny thing was that even though we have only been here 4 months, I already knew so many of them. It actually felt very comforting and it was hard to believe we are in the middle of China, as carols were being sung and we were surrounded by Christmas spirit.

Everything you could want was there – Christmas wreaths, nativity scenes, handmade gifts of all kinds, candles, stockings, cotton candy, popcorn and tons of yummy food. The kids were in heaven, but little did they know there was even more fun planned. After doing a quick run around to see what was on offer, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed for the special place.

The special place was a chance to meet Santa and tell him exactly what they wanted this Christmas. With our upcoming trip to the UK this year, I think the kids were a little worried that Santa would mess up and deliver their gifts to the wrong address. I can now report that Santa is fully aware of where they will be and what they need him to bring. We managed to get a nice photo for the scrapbook complete with the mandatory Chinese misspelling in the greeting – It says Mreey X-Mas, it true Chinese style. When I get a chance I will share the official photo - but here are a couple I took from the sidelines.




Cadence did not want her photo taken, but with the promise of cotton candy she will do almost anything - in the official picture she has a big smile. Immediately she returned from Santa’s lap she was heading for the door and that candy stand. We headed home and decided to walk back since there were no taxi’s in sight. We made it half way there before a lone taxi arrived and we were able to catch a ride. Caught up in the spirit of Christmas, I stopped by the dvd store and picked up Christmas in Wonderland for us to watch after dinner. I am mentioning this to for warn anyone who may be thinking of buying or seeing this movie to avoid it like the plaque. It has to be the WORST movie I have ever seen in my entire life. It was terrible; there are just no words to describe it. I paid 10 rmb for it (about $1.50) and I have to say I was robbed. It was not worth one cent of that price.

Sunday started way early- 6.30am when Hansen decided he would wake the whole family with his singing. I stumbled out of bed to find him laying on the couch in the family room singing to himself. No this kid should know by now that 6.30am is not a time to be awake on a Sunday, especially when his Dad is not home. I was less than thrilled, but managed to snooze on and off while he watched a movie and until 8.30am when the girls woke up. The whole day was spent counting down the hours first till Richard was due home, then until Aimee and I headed to the airport to pickup our good friends Mary and her daughter Olivia ‘Livie’, and then finally until 4pm when we were due at Cathy Sue’s home for a good old Thanksgiving Dinner.

Aimee and I headed to the airport around 3pm to meet Mary, and Rich and the kids made their own way to the TG dinner. After a slight hiccup at the airport (where I told our driver we were supposed to be at terminal 1), we made a mad dash to Terminal 2, where Mary and Livie had just landed. Thankfully, they had to wait a while for their bags, so were none the wiser that we had been running around like loonies. It was so wonderful to see them come through the doors. Mary has been an incredible friend to me over the past 4 years and I miss her terribly now we are here in Shanghai. I am so looking forward to our trip together, I know we are going to have a lot of fun. We all jumped in the car and headed straight for Cathy Sue’s. Poor Mary and Livie looked exhausted, but they made it through the dinner and we all had a great time. It really did not feel like we were in China at all. Looking around the room, I felt that I have a lot to be thankful for; great friends from all over the world, an incredible family, an awesome husband and tons of yummy food. What more could a girl want?


The reason he looks so mad is that one of the girls took away his 2nd Barbie doll!!!