Hump Day

Last night was a crappy night and I don't care if anyone is bored by stories of my kids not sleeping (lack of sleep makes me cranky).  Ryan woke up an hour and a half after I went to sleep and as best as I can recollect, he fell out of bed again.  I brought him into our room where he requested a yogurt then went back to sleep.  An hour later I woke up to him kicking and punching.  I thought he was still asleep until he actually turned his body sideways so he could kick Tim harder.  He was squirming around and hollering and I couldn't get him to settle down to tell me what was wrong.  I took him back into his room where he lost it and started throwing his pillows off the bed.  It was really bizarre and I wish I knew what brought it on.  I'm guessing it was a nightmare.  After a lot of questions to find out if something hurt or if he was going to be sick, I just started talking to him about what we did yesterday and he began to calm down.  Finally he asked for a banana and water and after a few bites he laid back down and we went to sleep.  I was awake several times and at some point after Tim had gotten up for work I went back to my own bed to find Nicholas sleeping there.  I went back to sleep but not for very long as Ryan woke up again just after seven.  I got up with him then tried to sleep on the couch but that didn't last long.  Nick got up too and started bugging me to put something on the television for them.  It wasn't a great start to the day.

Ayi showed up early again just before nine o'clock.  The only problem with her coming at that time is that I have to pick up the toys and stuff so she can clean the floors and I wasn't quite ready for that.  Anyway, I managed to get it all done by the time Lena showed up for my massage.  Before we started I put a show from Netflix on television for the kids to keep them busy so they wouldn't bother us.  It was something new so they were interested in it until the internet connection stopped working properly and the show quit.  At this point they started to torment each other and since that wasn't entertaining enough, they came into my room and crawled up on the bed where I was getting my massage.  It wasn't too much of a problem until Ryan started jumping on the bed and they got louder and louder.  I kicked them out and went back to trying to relax until they bugged each other to the point that I had to get up, throw Ryan into his room and lock the door and send Nicholas to his room.  Lena resumed her work and for the next ten minutes Ryan stood on the inside of his door saying, over and over again, "Mommy open door".  She started to chuckle and I couldn't help but laugh too, especially since all he had to do to get out was turn the deadbolt.  Eventually the internet connection returned and so did the tv program the kids were watching so Nicholas, very quietly, came out of his room and stood there watching.  I asked him to let Ryan out and when he did they were as good as gold for the next fifteen minutes at which point the internet was lost again.  Then my cellphone rang, twice, so ayi brought it into me although I knew it was Tim and likely not with anything important so I wasn't going to answer it anyway.  Sigh.  We managed to get through the rest of the massage without me getting up but it wasn't under ideal conditions. 

Following my massage, which still made me feel good despite the interuptions, I made the kids some lunch then ayi left.  I put Ryan into bed for a nap and so wanted to join him but I refused to spend another afternoon in our apartment.  I texted Tian Ye and asked him to pick us up at 1:30 then went to get a shower and make lunch for myself.  I had no idea where we were going to go and didn't particularly care, I just wanted to get us out for a change of scenery.  Nicholas has been a bit homesick and is asking to go back to Canada.  When we walked to Carrefour a few days ago he told me that he "is feeling a bit blue".  He said he sees the same things everyday, to which I pointed out that that was also the case in Canada, but I thought maybe we could find something different to do this afternoon.

While I was getting us ready to go I came up with the idea of going back to Happy Family Department Store and mall.  We have been there once before, that fateful day when Mr. You had lunch with us, but didn't get a great chance to look around that time.  So I decided that we would go there first then, depending on the time, we would either get some groceries at one of the import stores or go with Tian Ye to pick Tim up at Michelin.  I told Tian Ye where we wanted to go and he said there was another Happy Family store near Michelin so I said we would go to that one.  Then he got on the phone and when he got off it he said that the mall he was thinking about wasn't called Happy Family but was similar.  I told him to go to the one near Michelin, that I didn't really care where we went as long as there was something to look at.  It took a lot longer to get there than it should have due to a minor accident that slowed traffic terribly.  When we did arrive we parked underground then took the escalator up to the first floor where we walked smack into the center of a big arcade.  The kids thought this was great and started playing on the race car games.  I didn't have any small bills to buy tokens and didn't really want to waste the money on games that were too difficult for the kids but then Tian Ye bought some.  He tried to get Ryan to sit with him so he could steer while Tian Ye did the pedals but Ryan would have none of that.  So, I sat down and stuck in a couple of tokens and held Ryan on my lap.  By the time I pressed all the buttons to select the car, decals and course, Ryan wasn't interested anymore and tried to jump down and run.  I didn't want to waste Tian Ye's tokens so I had to play the game and keep hold of Ryan who was squirming and kicking to get away.  I didn't do too badly considering.  After about forty-five minutes of running around to different games I had enough and tried to leave the arcade with Nicholas and Ryan while Tian Ye stayed and played.  Of course that didn't go over well with the boys until we noticed a skating rink inside the mall and they had to go watch.  They had skate rentals and there were quite a few people on the ice.

Next we decided it was time for a snack so we ventured out into the mall.  After a lot of staring and giggling by the mall workers we managed to get some desserts and lemonade.  We sat at the food court and ate until Ryan said he had to pee.  Coincidently, at the same moment he said that, a man came by with a little girl in a shopping cart.  He stood her up, pulled down her pants then held her over a garbage can (not a big one) and let her pee into and all over it.  Ew!  I understand as well as any parent that sometimes it's difficult to make it to a bathroom with a kid that's got to go, but this little girl wasn't squirming or showing any signs that she even had to pee.  And right in the food court?  Is that really necessary?  Anyway, WE went and found a bathroom so the boys could do their business in a toilet.

I always take Nicholas and Ryan to the ladies bathroom, for obvious reasons, and I only realized today that in the two months that we've been here, Nicholas has never actually used a squat toilet for a number two.  We got into the stall and both boys pulled down their pants to pee but only Ryan started to go.  Nick danced around then said, rather panicky, "Where do girls go to poop?"  I told him that the girls have to use the squat toilets for that as well.  "I want to go to the boys bathroom" was the response.  While telling him that it would be the same in the boys' bathroom I moved behind him and grabbed him under the armpits.  He resisted but I made him squat and all he could say was, "Mom, do girls REALLY poop like this?".  He couldn't believe that this was how it happened and I couldn't believe that this was the first time we had done this.  I guess it was only Ryan the other times.  The good thing was that I had replenished my purse with kleenex and wipes, although Nick didn't seem to appreciate it as much as I did.

We went back to the arcade where I got tokens and we played a few games.  Both boys liked the basketball one where you try to get as many baskets as you can in one minute.  We did okay although Ryan suffered a small injury.  One of the balls bounced back and when I tried to block it from hitting him in the face I scratched him just under his eye with my fingernail.  Oops!  Nicholas tried one of the motorbike games and did quite well at it.  For a while I stood behind him and helped lean the bike because I didn't think he had enough weight but then he kicked me out and did it himself.  He had to lean so far that he almost fell off the bike but he managed to make it around the course.  It was pretty cute to see and he had a few spectators.

By the time we finished at the arcade and found Tian Ye it was time to go pick Tim up at work.  We still needed some groceries at the import store so we had Tian Ye drive us to Ole, the new supermarket we really like (their hamburger is just like the stuff we get at home, no white chunks in it).  There was a lot of traffic and as we sat in the middle of a busy six lane street, Ryan informed us that he had to pee.  There was no way we could get him out of the van in time so we searched for a bottle.  No luck.  The only thing we could find was a bag.  I didn't know if he would pee in it but sure enough, as soon as I opened it he let go and managed to get my thumb.  Yay.  We finally made it to the supermarket and found our precious items like blueberries, soy milk, and good beef and were on our way back home.  Again as we were driving, Ryan had to pee.  I really didn't think he'd had that much to drink but apparently I was wrong.  We found another bag and this time he didn't even give me a chance to get it all the way open before he released.  This time he peed on my hand, Tim's hand (he was helping), the floor, and even got a few drops on Tian Ye's gym bag.  Oh the joys of parenting!  I have to try to remember to save a few empty water bottles and leave them in the van for these occasions. 

Once we got home Tim made us supper while I fed the boys some cereal and put them to bed.  I really, really, really hope they sleep better tonight so I will be well rested for tomorrow.  I have my Mandarin lesson in the morning then plan to get together with Celine and Caroline in the afternoon.  I am going to try on Friday or next week to get the kids in for their physical exams and blood tests so they can start going to the kindergaten.  I'm not looking forward to starving them for the morning then having them jabbed with a needle but, I think it will be worth it.  They need some fun and I need a break.