A Beautiful, Busy Sunday

Shortly after we moved into our apartment on the sixth floor we realized that someone on the second floor, who has access to the rooftop area over the pool and ping pong rooms, had a couple of dogs.  You may remember seeing a picture of them in one of my posts.  They would wake us up every morning around 5:00 with their incessant barking.  It would continue throughout the day and evening and while it was annoying, it really didn't hurt anything.  Then about a week and a half ago they left the dogs out all night and one of them didn't shut up the entire time.  We had a very sleepless night and the next day Tim called our housing agent to ask her to complain to someone.  We hated to do it but it was really loud - I can imagine that someone on a floor lower than us probably said something too.  That night it was very quiet and it was wonderful.  The next day, still no barking.  I began checking out the window and there was no sign of the dogs, not that I was disappointed when there wasn't, and realized that the dog dishes were gone too.  I was feeling kind of bad, hoping that they hadn't done away with them or anything.  We just didn't want them barking while we were trying to sleep.  Well, the week and a few days of peace are now over.  Last night, only a few hours after expressing slight concern over the dogs' whereabouts to our guests, the barking began again.  Sure enough, very late into the night then again, at 4am this time, we were awakened and unfortunately Tim never got back to sleep.  To say he was a little cranky would be a big understatement.  He will make another call to the housing agent tomorrow.  Sigh.

The kids decided that they would get up at six and since Tim was already awake he, thankfully, got up with them.  I slept a bit longer before managing to drag myself out of bed.  After some breakfast I told Tim to go back to bed and I took the kids to Happy City.  They really love that place.  They played for an hour then had snacks and back for more.  There was a Chinese woman there who spoke some English so we chatted and she was asking me all sorts of questions about what I feed Nicholas because he is "so strong".  She said her son was weak and would only eat vegetables.  I wish my kids would eat some vegetables!  I told her that my kids are strong because they play a lot.  She said that in China most kids aren't really allowed to start playing and running around until they are two.  She also asked me about letting them play the iPods and watching tv, whether or not it was bad for their eyes.  I just said everything in moderation (like I would know!) and I let them be active and independant.  She seemed to like that answer.

Unfortunately the good times at Happy City ended quickly when a little girl came over to Ryan, who was standing in front of me but behind the counter where the parents can sit and watch, and shoved him so hard he fell backwards.  I couldn't reach him so I told him to get up and come over to me and when he did she kicked him.  I think Nick was ready to smack her but then her mother, who was in the play area with them, grabbed her and gave her a scolding.  I just lifted Ryan over the counter, got his shoes on and we left.  It was time to go anyway and that just made it a little easier to convince the boys.  The entire walk back home we relived the event over and over.  Nick said he didn't see the girl shove Ryan but should have been there to protect him and next time would hit her back.  Isn't that sweet?  My four-year-old boy wants to protect his little brother by assaulting a girl.  Aww.  I explained to Nicholas that if an adult is there to stop it then he shouldn't do anything but if not, he could grab the kid's hand so that he/she couldn't hit Ryan anymore.  Does that sound like a good answer?  That's not what I really wanted to tell him but I thought it was probably the best advice.

After we got home from Happy City, once the story of the assault had been recounted to Tim in great detail, the kids had lunch and a bath to prepare for haircuts.  Dave had kindly offered to cut the boys' hair after I told Anna that I was looking for a 'kid friendly' barber to get them a much needed buzz.  At home it was always their Nanny that cut their hair and it was often an affair that involved a lot of crying; sometimes by both the cutter and the cuttees.  It started off kind of sketchy with Ryan nervous of the clippers but once I sat him on my lap he was easily distracted by television and iPod.  Dave did an awesome job even when he had to try and manouver around me.

Next it was Nick's turn and as I suspected it didn't go smoothly.  He is more cooperative at the dentist then he is getting his hair cut.  But, Dave managed to get it done in spite of it all.  Since Dave and Anna are only planning on being in Shenyang for one year Tim thought he had better watch and learn so that he can cut their hair from now on.  Good plan!

After the haircuts and a nice chat we got ready to go meet some other expats and our prospective new babysitters.  The Moal's (another Michelin expat family) invited us for a 'gouter', which in French means an afternoon snack, at 3:30.  We had asked Mr You if he wanted to work for a few hours today by using the internet to translate and the new printer to print it off.  We showed it to him yesterday and he said okay but when we went down to meet him at 3pm, he wasn't there.  We waited a couple of minutes then had the guard call a taxi for us.  He said it would be five minutes and we thought that would be okay.  We had some extra time although we wanted to stop at a bakery and pick up something to take with us.  By 3:25 the taxi had not arrived so we had the guard call again.  As he was speaking to the taxi company, down the street, horn blasting, came Mr You.  We piled into the van then had to wait for a mini traffic jam to clear before we could leave.  He indicated to us that he was stuck in traffic and that's why he was late.  Needless to say, we were not impressed.  I don't like to be late for anything but I especially want to arrive on time when I am meeting someone new.  Luckily Tim managed to get a phone number from Dave so we were able to at least call and tell them we would be late. 

We didn't get to stop at a bakery but did get some ice cream at the convenience store in Riverside Garden where the Moal's live.  The couple has four children and shortly after we arrived another Michelin family showed up, also with four children.  We had a fantastic time chatting and munching on sweet bread, ice cream and a delicious little tart/muffin that had apple in the middle.  There were eight kids under six-years-old and three others aged 10, 12 and 15, and everyone got along great.  Nicholas and Ryan played soccer outside and enjoyed their new babysitters, Matthieu and Manon.  They especially loved playing with the older boys and later on when I asked Nick what he thought of Matthieu, he figured he and Ryan would have a lot more fun playing with him than going out to supper with us.  Perhaps next weekend...

So that was our busy, but fun, day.  I couldn't figure out why I was having so much trouble keeping my eyes open while I wrote this post but then I remembered that I took two Advil PM (sleepy pills) about an hour ago to try and get rid of my headache.  I am almost drooling on the keyboard.  I guess that means I should finish now.  Zai jian!