Looking Forward to a New Week

This week has been a challenge to say the least. It started out Sunday, when we found lice in Jay and Eli’s hair on the way home from church. Well, that changed our Sunday from a relaxing one, into a “getting rid of lice” one. That was no fun! I cut Jays hair really short, and spent over 3 hours on removal from their hair. Then there was the washing of everything, and bagging…you know the routine! It wasn’t fun. Then, they stayed home from school on Monday. Eli certainly won’t let himself get bored! He found plenty to do while at home. Cutting pants and putting my make-up all over himself, are among some of the ideas he had. Tuesday, all were back at school!

Thursday morning, Caitlin and Rachel woke-up to water all over her bedroom floor. She could hear something coming from downstairs. We had a lovely wake-up. We have terrible plumbing, and terrible toilets. Rachel could hear water running, and it was all over her bedroom. (this was 5:00am) We came downstairs, and it was pouring like a waterfall from every light fixture. There was at least 2 inches of water everywhere, clear into the kitchen. I want to say, maybe 30 square yards. Also, we turned off the water from the toilet, and filled more than 10 5 gallon buckets as the ceiling cleared itself out. Did I mention it was pouring all over the entertainment center? The Big screen TV, the Sound system, DVD player...everything. It was lots of work. Apparently, the toilet mechanism didn't work right, and the toilet didn't stop filling. The pipe was clogged further down the drain, and the drain that is in the bathroom didn't work. It wasn't a really great day. I think we will all have a fear of toilets when we leave. Anyway, the owner came on Saturday to offer his kindness to pay half of the bill! So this is the big drama at the moment. I guess we see who has the most stamina! Yesterday, the heater broke, and we were very cold last night. But, they fixed it today. I’m hoping that is our third problem, as they say they come in threes, right? We should be good for at least a week!

Some really nice things happened this week as well. Mike and I were able to see Rachel play in a Basketball game. She did really well. Mike and I were able to celebrate our 16th anniversary. We had a wonderful evening. Caitlin, Jay, and Eli had a fun sleep-over at the school, and Rachel and Nicole had a dance. We are all excited for Christmas. The kids get out of school this Friday, and we will go over-night to Shanghai.

Some Photos...

Happy Birthday Caitlin!










Ready for the Christmas Ball. Doesn't Mike look great?



Cooking with Yulan and her friends

It's December...

We've had a good couple of weeks. The girls survived their semester exams, Mike survived his "company bonding" trip, and Caitlin made it to eleven. Jay and Caitlin have been practicing hard with their circus training. They are actually pretty impressive. Especially Jay with his diablo (no idea how to spell that) which is like a Chinese yoyo. Now, we really will be the Wadley Family Circus. We got our Christmas decorations put up last weekend. We found a really big fake tree, and with all of the decorations and lights, it doesn't look too bad! We had a great time decorating it, and the kids decorated our last year's tree (remember the sad one?) upstairs. Back to Mike and his company trip. They went to an outbound resort, or that's what it called itself. He wasn't excited to sleep in the very short beds, and eat the very chinese meals. Anyway, he said it turned out good. One funny moment, was when he thought he was telling his Chinese co-workers he was too fat: Tai Peng le! Instead, he was saying: Tai Bang le, which means, " I'm really great!" Well, they kept agreeing with him, and when he found out he was saying how great he was, he was so embarrassed!!!

Caitlin had a nice birthday. Mike and I took her to dinner on Wednesday night, to a Lebonese restaraunt. Not your typical 11 year old choice! Things are different here. Anyway, it was fun. She is growing up so much. She had her traditional spaghetti dinner on Thursday (although, I have now been taught by my Italian friend, how to make Ragu Bolognaise...how official!) and Brownies with a chocolate chip cookie dough frosting. I'm still sick from the richness of it all. She got a rasor scooter, and a handmade Teddy that looks just like Mr. Bean's bear. Eli gave her a special gift: He asked her if she wanted a foot massage (he hears us talking about foot massages a lot as they are so cheap here!) for her birthday. She said, sure, and he gave her a very vigorous back massage with his feet!

Mike and I got a phone call at 1:30 am this week! It was my brother Todd, announcing his engagement to Jennifer. We are so excited for him! Now that I have seen a picture, I have to say,"Way to go, Oggie!" I am so excited to meet her.

Yesterday, my friend Yulan brought over a bunch of her classmates from the Chinese School of Medicine. They were very excited to learn some baking. They wanted to make an apple cake, some cookies, and some muffins. There were eight of them. They were all so much fun, and enthusiastic! I had a great afternoon. They want to come back and learn some savory dishes next time.

Last night was the young women sleep-over here at our house. I think they had fun. It is now Saturday morning, and they have been busy in the kitchen making every kind of pancake you can imagine.

Tonight is the expat Christmas Ball. I am excited for it, as I will get my husband to dance with me! It's fun to dress-up, too! I'll post a picture.

Well, Nanjing is getting colder, though not unbearable yet. The kids are looking forward to Christmas, and we all can't wait for Kellee and Jared to get here the day after.