Quick update

Ah, enjoying a Yakult together

Coconut oil in the process of solidifying, winter is here!

A little sisterly stroll

Plenty of sass!

Strolling along

Me working out

Still here :)

Hi all, I'm still alive ;)

It just seems impossible to get a blog together these days. I'm either with Izzie, who wants to write the blog for me while possibly destroying my computer in the process, or I'm working. If not either of those two I'm working out or sleeping!

Enjoying the street side ride together

I have been working out like a mo** (insert work that mommies are not allowed to use) and am happy to report that the hard work has been paying off.

Grandparents Tummers have been here for a month. We went to Guilin and Sanya together. For Sanya we were joined by Jack and Jolien as well :)

Lexie on the balance beam at school

We had a lot of fun together and it's been a bit quiet here this week with everybody gone.

A little stroll in our compound

Now I have about half an hour left before I go to grandma Feng to keep Izzie busy while she prepares dinner. I have a case of sinusitis and I can attest to the fact that that is no fun whatsoever. 

Grandma picked Izzie up around 14.30 so I could have a bit of a rest. It's 17.23 at this moment.

Izzie's new hobby is walking..... Walking a lot!

Izzie surprised us all two nights ago by walking back all the way from grandma's house by herself. It took Lexie a few weeks to build up to that distance but Izzie had a big happy grin on her face the whole way.

Oooooooh yes, a relaxed holiday was had by all

Our music school is running better and better and I personally have some more students there as well. It is fun to be running your own place :) Our next concert is planned on december 21st. We had one the first weekend grandparents T were here as well.

Nice day for a lunch on the terrace

We kept the concert small on purpose so we could have it in our own studio. About 11 students and I played. The atmosphere was great and the students loved the chance to perform for an audience.

Hi!

OK, my head is starting to hurt from staring at the computer screen, so I'd better stop. Enjoy the rest of the pics and I hope to be back on here soon, xoxo, J

Having fun in Guilin with opa and oma T.

Me climbing away!

Lexie in the morning of her 3rd birthday with special gift from opa and oma T.

Birthday dinner with cake :)

Impromptu Iphone shoot

This morning I went out for a stroll with Izzie. It was very warm, even at 10AM. 

30C with a real feel of 36C to be precise. It is one of those hot days that happen before severe thunderstorms or even a typhoon.

All these pics are taken within a 2/3 minute walk from our house. The last one is an overview of the are, taken from our balcony.

TV shoot adventures

My life has been a little bit crazy as usual this week.

On Wednesday night Ward and Jelle from the TV show "Baanbrekers" arrived on a very delayed train from Shanghai where they had been shooting before. "Baanbrekers" is Dutch for "Trailblazers". Jelle and Ward have been filming people from Limburg all over Asia. I was numer 9 in line ;)

“Mom, I'm NOT tired!"

On Wednesday night we held a small meeting at my house, accompanied by some wine and chocolate. We discussed the script and made a plan for Thursday: our shooting day.

The day started off a bit late as they had trouble finding a cab. No worries, we are very resourceful and know how to get stuff done! My previous TV experience came in handy and we didn't need many takes per shot. We filmed a lot at our music school and then went on to Ersha island. By then it was lunchtime so I called my local tea restaurant to bring by some food. We ordered in because most of their equipment was in need of being charged.

Yay :)

By this point Jelle had lost his phone. Ayaaa, not good!! We went to the Icloud website and sent a message to his phone, requesting the finder to call me. Finder Simon did this and we arranged a five o'clock pick up at JiangXia metro station. In the meantime Simon had added me to his Wechat so we chatted a bit and he kept me updated :) How cool!! 

Before they went to the metro station we did a take in my house. Then we went outside for 2 more takes with a selfie stick, chatting as we walked. First in a tiny street and later along the river.

We then had only one take left at the foot massage, but the guys had to go pick up the phone. Again, no worries as I had to get back to mommy duty at that point anyway. We agreed to meet up in the evening as I booked 3 spots at the foot massage. It's safe to say that I've converted two more people to the wonderful world of foot massage ;)

Filming with Ward

After the massage we went for a drink to conclude our successful day together.

Family life has been good. Lexie and Izzie are slowly starting to play together a bit. Izzie laughs her head off when Lexie dances, so cute!

Ward and Jelle from the TV show "Baanbrekers"

This morning Haiwen came back home after he dropped Lexie off at school. He watched Izzie as I got a workout in. I did a HIIT of 30 sec work, 10 sec rest. After every exercise I jumped rope for 30 sec. It went like this: mountain climbers, jump, plank, jump, knee raises, jump, push ups (on the equalizer), jump, plank again, jump, clean and press, jump, weighted squats, jump, russian twist and jump. I did the whole thing twice through. Then I finished up with some yoga moves. Ah, I feel much better now! Getting rid of the baby weight isn't easy for me, but progress is being made daily. I even had sore abs the other day :) That is something as my belly muscles have been stretched far and beyond. The only correct word for this would be the Limburgian "oetgelemmeld". So, a muscle ache right in the middle is an event worth celebrating.

Katja is coming by to hang out later and this evening we're meeting up with another Dutch friend. All very close to home so we can take care of our two cuties as well.

Summer

Uhm, hi...... It's me..... the person who used to update this blog before.......

I've been super busy but luckily mostly with fun stuff :)

Since the last blog I've been in Holland, Turkey, Lebanon and HongKong.

Catching up with Carolien in Istanbul

The trip to Holland with Izzie went very well. We took a night flight and she happily slept away most of it. She cried in a few short bursts with a maximum of 2 minutes total. Not at all like the baby from hell who we sat next to on the flight back..... He kept on screaming and screeching really loudly. His parents were very nice and I felt sorry for them (and for me and Izzie). Izzie wanted to sleep but her bunk neighbour made that very hard for her. Well yeah, we made it back anyway ;)

Lexie on the train to HK

When I was in Holland I left for a trip to Beirut. I was invited to teach at the LeBAM summer music camp. I had a layover in Istanbul for 7 hours so I took the bus in to town to see Carolien. After a walk, a bottle of wine and some dinner I headed back to the airport. Izzie stayed with grandparents Tummers and I was updated through pictures.

Walking around HK with daddy

The music camp was great. Very tiring as well but I got to meet heaps of cool and nice people.

The last few days of the camp I started to miss Izzie a lot and we were both very happy to be reunited at Dusseldorf airport.

Back to GZ

Just now we were in HK to get some paperwork for Lexie done. We met up with Ans and hung out together. Now I'm pretty tired so I'm planning an easy day.

Reunited with Izzie after Beirut

Enjoy the pics up here. Sorry that they are not in order but this Chinese internet is doing my head in. Sloooooooooow and even slower. Super annoying. I'm just glad I got something posted ;)

Woodwind rehearsal

Students and Johnny dropping by for my birthday during class

Concert time!

Happy grandparents at Izzie's first birthday

Blog with text, haha!

What? A blog 2 days in a row? That is so 2012!! But yes, here it is indeed.

This morning I went out shopping with Izzie. I can now tell you that the stroller kinda fits in the dressing stall but it is not easy to open or close the door....

The elevators in the mall are notoriously small but I know how to avoid the busy ones and take the much less busy ones in the well hidden corners ;)

To be honest I saw nothing interesting or worth buying so instead we went to have some dim sum.
Mom in law already made some congee for Izzie that I took along so she had that and I had a few snacks.

After this refortification it was dry outside so we could slowly venture back. When Haiwen dropped us off we got caught in a sudden downpour. The trees provided some cover and we waited until the light went green to sprint over the street. You know it only rains when you don't take an umbrella so guess what I forgot........

I wanted to buy some gifts for my nieces and nephew so I went to a "baby" shop. Time for downpour number 2 which fitted our little shopping spree perfectly :) When it was dry, but completely horribly hot and humid we went out again. Our shopping morning ended with a visit to the fruit shop in our street.

Izzie was falling asleep before we went to the baby shop but all the new sights and sounds woke her straight up. Now she is in bed taking her afternoon nap.

For this afternoon I have nothing but chilling out with Izzie planned. In the evening it is time for yoga at our music school.

July is here!!! That means we'll be in Holland soon, I'll be in Beirut for the first time ever, Nicole and Vic will have their Dutch wedding and Izzie will turn 1. Craaaaaaazy times!! :) :)

Ha, downpour number 3 is here. I'll watch it from the comfort of my sofa, bye!