dinsdag 24 december 2013

Christmas Eve

Well, it's Christmas Eve but I'm off to work in about 20 minutes. 
By now I'm used to the fact that there is no Christmas in China. Tacky decorations abound but nobody knows what it is about anyway. It used to make me sad but not anymore. I guess that is what happens when you are living far away from where you grew up for a long time.


Last weekend we spent two nights at the Double Tree hotel by Hilton. They were doing a test run before opening up on Dec 28th. Adam invited us to come over and be "the couple with 2 young kids". It was good fun and everything was complimentary :) All we had to do was give feedback. On Sunday afternoon the inlaws came over for lunch at the hotel. The restaurant open that day was the noodle place. Mom in law told the Chinese General Manager that the Won Ton soup wasn't very authentic and tasted like it was prepared by a chef from the North (oh, the horror!!). She taught him the importance of several aspects that make a Won Ton soup taste good to Cantonese people. He was very interested and took it well. Good feedback!


Luckily the "Simulation Elevator" worked, hihi.

Fun in the big bed
We enjoyed the big bath tub in our room. I had a soak with the girls together and another one with Lexie. Just give her a plastic container and she'll enjoy herself for a long time.
We got a baby bed for Izzie but big sis claimed it as hers, haha. Jealous much? Izzie ended up sleeping in our bed. I also enjoyed the gym and worked out twice.

Sisters
The food in the Western restaurant was very nice. The decor and atmosphere worked well too.

Yesterday morning I had a class at 9.00. I'm teaching Liliana from Colombia Dutch. She likes to get the class in before work instead of having it at 16.00 before I have to leave and pick up Lexie. I prefer it too so we make it through powered by just one cup of coffee each ;) Next class is on Thursday.

Lexie having noodles with grandpa
Lexie didn't sleep well last night so neither did we. She woke up crying at 3 AM and didn't settle until about 4 AM. When it was time to go to school all she wanted to do was sleep, hehe. We managed to get her dressed and ready anyway and by the time she left she was happy again.

Izzie woke up early too so when Lexie left I gave her a bath and a massage (what a life!!). She got sleepy again since she has a cold (as do all of us) and I went back for a nap too. Lovely :) Just what I needed. OK, gotta go! x

maandag 16 december 2013

Beijng trip

Last Wednesday Isabelle and me boarded a plane bound for Beijing. High time for catching up with our friends that are living in the North!

Izzie asleep on the plane on the way over. Typical fruity combo of apple and tomato ;)
On the flight to BJ there were 2 empty spots on the other side of the isle. Since I was trying to feed Izzie whilst not having her kick my neighbour was proven difficult, I asked the one guy that was sitting there if it was OK to join him. It was and we made good use of the extra seat. Izzie slept and woke up about 1,5 hours before landing. This time she did get uncomfortable while the plane was descending. Poor thing! She cried on and off but not very long each time. At the airport we were welcomed by Sue.

Giggling with auntie Sue
We stayed at the Huxtable-Boardman residence. The cats were not very impressed with Izzie but they were fine with her being there. The first evening we met up with some friends I hadn't seen in ages. They are some of the last persons not on Facebook so we had a lot of catching up to do. It was good to see them :)

Hi auntie Siggi!
On Thursday we went to hang out with Sigrid and Oscar. We also saw Paul, her husband, for a little while. Oscar was born at the end of September. We ventured out for a walk and it was bloody cold due to a very unpleasant wind. Luckily Sigrid had an extra sleeping bag thingy for Izzie's stroller. She was snuggled up nice and warm. I used her other blanket to cover my hands as I pushed the stroller along.
For Siggi and me it was the first hang out session completely in baby style.

Cuddles with Oscar (Sigrid's son)
Sue picked us up after work and we went back to Park Avenue. Dave watched Izzie while Sue and I had a quick but very much needed manicure. Later that night Siggi and family came by for pizza.

Cuddles with uncle Dave
On Friday we stayed in during the day. I helped Sue make some jewelry and also did my own project; revamping grandma's old necklace. Sue taught me the technique for making a bracelet. The big stones got used up in the necklace. The little ones got left behind at first but made it into the bracelet later. 

The revamped necklace and bracelet
I was in the mood to go out and Sue suggested that I'd see what Siggi was up to. She had a dinner planned and welcomed me along. Sue and Dave looked after Isabelle. 
We had dinner in SanLiTun and it was extremely delicious. I had lamb chops with risotto. The risotto was simply decadent. Every bite I was amazed at how good it was.
Around 21.30 it was time for us mommies to go home and Sigrid and I shared a cab back.
When I got to the residence Izzie had just fallen asleep.

Non-neon red-, green- and blue lights :)
On Saturday (and Sunday) we had a relaxing hang out session on the big bed. 
It turns out that Isabelle is a party animal. She had a lot of fun at Birgitta's Christmas party on Saturday night. Dancing with the aunties and uncles until she finally nodded off in my arms.

No comment........ :P
On Sunday we created a TaoBao account for Sue and spent some time figuring stuff out. A brunch close to home and then it was time to head back to Guangzhou to be reunited with the other half of my family ;) 

Haiwen and Lexie had an OK time as Lexie was still a little ill. She got a stomach bug last Monday and hasn't been 100% since. She finally started eating again on Friday so that's good! She went to school this morning where she had breakfast without any complications. To be on the safe side we are picking her up earlier today.
Lexie was happy to see me last night. We have a new thing now: when I sing "slaap Lexietje slaap" to her, she'll sing it along with me. Very cute!

zondag 8 december 2013

Some pics


Izzie chilling out during the GWIC morning coffee 

With auntie Qiang at dimsum

Hanging out with sis

'Playing' along with Mozart piano concerto :)

Sinterklaas came to GZ too!

I've fixed my VPN but Lexie is watching TroTro on my laptop now, haha. 
You'll have to do with a short update from my phone ;) will try again this week when she's at kindergarten!