I love being home!

We are home and couldn't be happier! We had a fun weekend but it's always nice to get back to your own home-especially when traveling with a toddler! Emma Grace didn't eat much (or any) of the food where we went so she survived on a diet of crackers and bananas. She was so content when we got home and didn't make a peep when we put her in her bed to sleep. I think she's a homebody. We got home early enough in the evening that we were able to unpack and have a home cooked meal. It's nice to be settled back into life at home! The next plane we get on will be heading to America! WOW! Ok, hope to get some pictures up this week!

Taco Bake and Coffee Talk

Pregnancy Brain is real folks. When I got married, my grandmother wrote out some of her favorite recipes for me, including a recipe for a Taco Bake that sounded super yummy. I can't get all the ingredients here so I have never actually made it yet. I have been planning to make it for a while and have been gathering all the needed ingredients for it-two of which had to come from America in some stuff my mom sent and another from a shop across town I rarely go to. So finally I got everything together and was excited to try it. Last week it was on our menu but something came up that night and I ended up not making it. This week it was on the menu again but somehow I have managed to lose the recipe card. I've had this thing for 3 years now and every time I open my recipe box and see it I think, wow, I should make that. Now that I am finally getting around to it, I can't find it anywhere! I looked in my recipe box, my cabinets, my folders where I keep lots of planning stuff-no where to be found. Sad. I am chalking it up to pregnancy brain. So, if you have a good taco bake recipe (that includes green chilies please let me know!)

In Emma Grace news-she loves coffee. Let me explain. When I was little the same grandmother who gave the taco bake recipe also introduced me to coffee. She and my grandfather love coffee and drank it black with most meals. I wanted to be like them so they allowed me to sip a small cup of coffee with them after dinner sometimes! I loved being like them though I didn't really like strong black coffee. But with time, it grew on me but I was only introduced to cream and sugar in college. After meeting the caramel macchiatto, my life was changed. I still like a strong cup of coffee in the morning with only cream-no sugar. But I must admit, I have a thing for any and all things that contain small amounts of coffee and lots of creams, flavors, syrups, whipped topping, etc. I was planning on waiting a little longer to introduce my daughter to the wonderful world of coffee, but my newly converted coffee drinking husband had other plans. He told me last night that at breakfast (I was really really tired yesterday so he let me sleep in) Emma Grace started pointing to his coffee. He thought it wouldn't hurt to give her a little, since there is no way she would like it! Boy was he wrong. With the amount of sugar and cream he puts in his coffee, it's no wonder she liked it! After her first sip, she said, "MMMMMMMMM" Her way of saying yummy. We often say this when we are pretending to cook and eat things. Oh no. Andy said he drank his coffee as fast as he could so she wouldn't be asking for more. I was thinking of starting her off with her first cup of strong black coffee at about age 3-letting her learn the ropes of coffee drinking like I did. I am proud to say I enjoy a strong cup of black coffee as well as a frappalattemocchacaremeldeliciousiousus (with whipped topping) as well. The coffee industry is a little over the top with the names of some of their drinks. I am not sure my girl will be able to appreciate the simple taste of black coffee like I do now that my husband spoiled her!

Sorry no pics this week. We've been living life and not really stopping to take any pictures of it. We'll be out of town til Monday night so we'll be off the blog for a few days! Have a great weekend!

Not much going on...

Not much to report around these parts. But here's a run down of the normal, everyday, not worth taking pictures life of the Huffmans as of late:

Polish Sausage and veggies on the grill Monday night. A fun scrap booking sleepover where, as usual, we didn't accomplish as much as we'd hoped. An amazing day with EG yesterday-I was convinced I had the perfect child. Until today. Now I am convinced I am the worst parent ever. The major swings in my perspective can't be healthy. Bought a broom and dustpan for Emma Grace today and a little push toy that I managed to break before we even got home. Maybe that's because it cost two dollars. Had to wash both "Peanuts" in the same day. (That's EG's stuffed elephant that she's seriously attached to. We bought a back up in case we lost the first and also to switch out when one is dirty.) Yesterday was a very dirty day! EG has been taking some great naps lately which has helped me to rest some-I'm getting varicose veins from pregnancy and my legs are sore. Noticed today that I am outgrowing some of my maternity clothes. This can't be good. I've got three months to go. Andy read a whole book over the weekend and our waiting-for-the-polish-sausage-to-cook conversation included him giving me the cliff notes version of the book and then him analyzing some of the literary themes while I listened. Man, I should read more. And finally, leftover Polish sausage and veggies from the grill for dinner tonight. Wow, this is so normal it's almost not worth writing...or reading.

I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon for a little time away. I like to go into the city on these days to sit at a coffee shop and read, think, pray, plan etc. But this time I am just not feeling up to the drive or spending the money to get there. So, I'm opting for a local tea house that's a two minute walk from my house. Should be nice to get away, even if instead of sipping a latte and listening to some soothing coffee house tunes, I'll be he-ing the cha and listening to some loud old Chinese men play cards in the back part of the tea house.

he-to drink
cha-tea

I love Oxi Clean

After EG was born, my dear cousin Brandi told me about the most amazing stain remover known to man -Oxi Clean! This stuff works wonders and it's a good thing because Emma Grace loves to get dirty! From the sandbox to learning to eat with a spoon, we are becoming professionals at getting clothes dirty and then getting them clean again! You can guess which one of us specializes in each of these skills. The great news-Oxi Clean is available here for about the same price as America. I found out the other week, right after I'd had mom send me some more from America. Oh well...now I know! I am even spreading the oxi clean love to those around me. I've started passing out samples to the grannies in my courtyard when they comment on how clean EG's clothes are and tell me they can't seem to get their grandchild's clothes clean.

That's right EG-the more sand in your pockets and on your clothes, the more fun!



Here's a clip of EG eating oatmeal with the spoon. Note she is using her left hand and that she says oatmeal right at the end! Sorry these videos are so short. My camera will only do 15 second clips and I need Andy to teach me how to upload video from our video camera to YouTube and then onto our blog. I should put that on my list with the other gazillion things I need to get done before baby number 2 comes!

Well I need to run rescue EG from her room. Actually she is playing very happily and quietly-actually too quietly. Seriously, I better go see what she is in to. Too quiet is never good.

Pregnancy Brain??

I have heard of people saying they temporarily lost their minds during pregnancy and I always thought it was just an easy excuse for the dumb things they did while pregnant. Now I am looking for an excuse for the dumb things I've been doing so...I officially say-I am a firm believer in what preggos call the "pregnancy brain." Seriously, my brain is not working right. I keep saying the strangest things in Chinese. I mean, my Chinese is not good to begin with but the other day I told Xiao Li, "Here is a list of things from the market that I need you to get for me next year." I meant tomorrow. And today I started the day by trying to put mascara on my lips! For those of you into the goth look, I think mascara is longer lasting than regular lip gloss. Then I took Emma Grace on a walk while talking on my phone. I realized after we got out the door that I was talking on my house phone-not my cell phone! No wonder there was so much static!

In other news-we've had a very low key week and I LOVE the thought of not having to go to the store again for a long time! Our bunker is full of enough goods for another Y2K or something so I am free to stay at home for the next 2 months straight! Julianna, our neighbor started preschool this week so that was the big buzz in these parts. She was so cute-we made a poster and stood outside to cheer for her as she left for her first day of preschool! It's fun to think about EG doing the same in a couple short years!

When Laura went to pick up Julianna, she dropped Lydia off for a little play time with EG. The girls were laughing at each other and practicing their clapping skills. It's so fun to have friends!! These girls will probably start preschool together!

EG is officially trying to drop her morning nap-so we are looking for fun things to do during those "I'm sleepy but won't actually go to sleep if you put me in my bed" times of the day. You moms know what I am talking about. Yesterday we spent about an hour outside in the surprisingly cold weather walking, talking, digging, picking up rocks and of course eating a few sticks, leaves, and flowers!

We are planning a scrap booking sleepover on Saturday with our friends John and Alisa. We are trying to set the record for most "sleepovers that are more for the adults than the kids" in one year. We are up to four this year I think! HEHE. The plan is for the women to scrap and the guys to take Kayleigh and EG to a fun indoor play area in the afternoon. Should be a blast for everyone! Also on Saturday our friends Marianne and David return from the land of good eats (America) and we plan to welcome them back home! Should be a fun weekend.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

It's Tuesday morning-EG is in her room playing and Andy is working in his office. I decided I'd hop on the blog and say hello. I am slowing down these days. The second trimester of my pregnancy was great! I ate everything in sight, had tons of energy, and wasn't sick or uncomfortable. I am entering the third trimester and starting to really slow down-my breathing is getting more labored, I don't have as much energy, and this child inside me is training for the 2024 Olympics-I am pretty sure he or she will be competing in gymnastics! I don't remember Emma Grace tossing and turning and poking and prodding nearly this much. And I have entered the "must sleep on your side at all times" phase of pregnancy. No fun for me as I love to sleep on my stomach! The reality that I have to go through labor again is setting in. Man that was the most painful 12 hours of my life. And here we go again! All in all, we are getting really excited to meet this little person God has created! (and to be home for Christmas!)

Emma Grace is walking everywhere. She currently is obsessed with pushing her baby stroller all over the place! She gets frustrated with it sometimes if she can't get it to go in the direction she wants and then she proceeds to wrestle it to the ground and show it who's boss! Actually the stroller wins about half of the time. That girl cracks me up!

Well, she just pulled the fan off the window sill where I had set it , thinking it was out of her reach. oops. Mommy of the the year award again goes to...not me! Guess I better run!

Outta here, You Stinky Pines!!!

Andy and I did our little survey to try and unearth the real reason all our beautiful pines were snatched up this past week. Here's where our investigation has gotten us so far:

The first person we asked gave us his very long and very detailed opinion on why they are being removed. We walked away and Andy looked at me and said, "did you get any of that?" My response: "Not a word." We have studied this language for 5 years now and what that man was speaking is not the same as what we learned in class. I am sure it was some local dialect but it sounded like gibberish to us. We decided to start asking people who didn't look as local, in hopes of finding some answers in the standard chinese we have learned. Here's a run down of the answers we got:

The pines are too tall.

The pines have worms/bugs?

The new trees have a great fragrance.

The pines are ugly.

They want to have uniform trees all over the city.

They want to redo it.

They are redoing it. (We know that. We want to know why!!! Thanks for no help water delivery man!)

The pines are going to fall over soon. (this was the most common answer we received)

They need to redo it and bring in new dirt from another part of the country. (a part of the country with better dirt that will better support the trees, I suppose)

The roots of the pines can't go deep enough (thus they will fall over soon)

And my personal favorite...

The pines stink! That's right Americans-what are you thinking with your pinesol and your pine scented candles and your pine roping at Christmas?! Don't you know that pines are stinky!!!???

After we evaluated the answers we received, some of which we only heard once and some multiple times, we landed on a conclusion to our mystery. We decided that whoever "they" is has told the commoners of the town that the pine trees' roots won't grow deep enough and that they will soon fall over, endangering our townsfolks-thus the need for new smaller trees! There you have it! Mystery solved. It's not for us, simple townsfolk to question whether or not the roots can in fact grow deep enough to support the pines. We're just going to be happy that we don't have to worry anymore about those dangerous falling stink bombs! You're outta here, you stinky pines!

Note: I really want my blog to be a blessing to those who read it. I try hard to show the great parts of our life here but also at times do show the parts that are difficult for us. (removal of beautiful trees, having to shop at 10 different stores to get what I need) But I in no way want you to think that I am down on this country or want to use my blog as a place to blast this country for the things I don't like about it! Humor is a way we have found to deal with the uncomfortable parts of our life here. We often remind ourselves, "it's not wrong, it's just different." But to be honest, living in a different culture, sometimes things feel flat out wrong to us. That's just a challenge of life outside our home culture! Thanks for laughing with us and also for understanding that life here is great but has it's hard parts too! I do hope that through our blog you too will come to love this pine treeless country and it's people!