Thursday Catch Up And Fun Friday Morning

Yesterday we didn't really have much in the way of plans but that changed quickly when I woke up and realized we didn't have any food in the house.  The kids had no milk, we were out of eggs and just about anything else of interest to the boys.  I decided we would go to YooHoo since that is the only place that has both soy milk and the cereal that Nicholas and Ryan really like.  I gave Sue a call and asked her if she wanted to join us, which she did, and got us ready to go.  At 9:30 Tian Ye picked us up and we were on our way.

When we got to YooHoo it didn't take Nick long to remember that this was the mall that has a Subway.  Both kids wanted a sub so we headed up to the fourth floor and at 10am, they had their lunch.  This was probably pretty good timing for Ryan who was up at 5:30am.  Sue and I didn't have anything but the boys had a nice meal, in spite of the woman who stood three feet from our table starring at us for about five minutes.  I kept looking up at her, hoping she read my eyes that were saying, "Okay, you've had your chance to gawk.  It's time to move on and let the kids eat in peace" but I'm not sure it made any difference.  I'm really starting to understand what animals in a zoo might feel like, except that I can get up and leave if I want to.

From Subway we went to YooHoo and did our grocery shopping.  Ryan sat in my cart in the spot where kids are supposed to sit and Nick was in Sue's cart in the big part where the groceries go, both of them watching their iPods and being little angels.  Sue didn't have a lot to buy while I had quite a few things to get, but we both needed eggs.  We ended up buying these little baskets full of organic eggs.  I'm not sure how many eggs were in them but they were not expensive and were too cute to resist.  Unfortunately they didn't have any more of the cereal that we specifically went there to buy but I did get lots of soy milk.  Sue found a few more items that she hadn't been able to locate until now so it was a successful trip in that regard.

We made our purchases and headed back down to the parking garage.  To get there we have to take one of those escalators that shopping carts can travel on.  They are like the moving sidewalks you see at the airport except that they are on an incline like an escalator.  I was in the lead with Ryan and Sue was behind me with Nicholas sitting in the front of her cart, still watching his iPod.  As they got on the escalator her cart made a noise and she said it was about to tip right over.  I said that it was probably just the brakes locking in but she let go of the handle just a little and, sure enough, Nicholas outweighed her groceries enough that on the incline her cart would have tipped if she wasn't holding on to it.  I had time before we got to the bottom to lift him out of the cart but she said it was okay, she could hold it down.  We continued on to the bottom of the escalator and I gently pushed my cart off while chatting to Sue.  Next I heard a holler from behind me.  We had forgotten that at the bottom of the escalator there is a bit of a lip that you must push your cart over.  I hadn't thought of it because my cart went smoothing with most of the weight being at the back.  Sue's cart, on the other hand, was front-heavy and didn't quite make it over the lip.  When I turned and looked the cart was tipping up and Nicholas was on his way to the floor along with Sue's groceries.  I managed to grabbed him enough that only his bum hit then I scooped up the grocery bag.  In the meantime, the cart was still stuck on the lip and poor Sue was being pushed off the escalator but had no where to go except into the cart.  Luckily she was able to keep herself upright long enough for me to grab the cart and pull it free.  Nicholas was rubbing his lower back and bum so we asked him if he was alright.  He didn't say much since he was still watching his iPod!  I wasn't sure he even noticed being tipped out of the cart but he said later that he did.  In the meantime, I picked up the groceries that had fallen out of Sue's bag, including her cute little basket of eggs.  At first I thought only a couple of them had taken the brunt of the damage but I soon realized that others had cracks.  I offered to go back and get her some more eggs but she said not to worry about it, she was just glad that Nick hadn't hit his head.

When we got into the van and were on our way back home we had a laugh about the whole thing.  It was a lesson anyway.  Eventually Sue picked up the egg basket out of her grocery bag to see if some had survived and she quickly realized that the eggs, which we wrapped in cellophane, were leaking all over her grocery bag.  We got them into a plastic bag to keep them from ruining any more of her groceries.  When we got home we went our separate ways, still laughing over the experience.

Once we got inside Ryan went for a nap while I had lunch and watched some orca videos with Nick.  A little while later we got a call from Celine about going to the Sheraton to check out their playroom.  She had heard from someone who lived their that they had a nice area for the kids.  I was a little skeptical about using it because usually those places are only for people who are actually guests at the hotel, but it was worth a try.  Celine asked at the information desk and we were told it was on the fourth floor.  When we got there we walked into what didn't look like a playroom but more like a cross between a kindergarten and a pediatrician's office, with a few people sitting on fancy benches with their kids. There was a lot of staff wandering around and one of them told us we had to take our shoes off and put socks on.  We did that then just walked in since no one said anything else.  We went into one room that had nice climbing equipment, mats, slides and a ball pit.  The kids played there for a few minutes then we walked into another area that had a kitchen, a little platform with toys on it and a flat screen television.  Caroline and Ryan were happy to play here and Nick joined them until he wanted to go back to the first room, but when I looked someone had closed the doors.  On the walls in the room where we were sitting there were staff pictures and at least two of them were doctors, both white.  I checked out an area down the hall and saw a glassed in room with mother's and small kids listening to music and playing.  I knew as soon as we walked into the place that this was not a playroom but no one was saying anything to us so we sat and watched the kids play.

Eventually one of the staff, probably the only one who spoke any English, came by and sat down.  She asked us where we were from and if we lived at the hotel.  I said that we didn't and Celine tried to tell here that she used to live there (it was only for a week, but she didn't bother to mention that) but the woman wasn't quite understanding.  She stood up to talk to a couple who had a baby with them.  I knew they were talking about us and the mother of the baby was sort of glaring at us.  I wasn't sure what the problem was but I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.  The woman sat back down and Celine tried asking her about the place and what exactly it was.  The woman said it was a place for children to learn with music and art, but not for play.  Celine was confused and asked, "What is the purpose of play, if not to learn?  Why do you have all these toys here if not for playing?".  There was a lot of back and forth and they were not understanding each other so I asked the woman, "Is this a playroom?".  I think she finally clued in as to why we were there and said that no, this was not a playroom for the hotel but she could give us the name of a place nearby.  After some further questions we determined that the place had nothing to do with the Sheraton and that you had to enroll your child and pay to go there.  Why someone didn't just try to explain that to us when we arrived, I'll never know.  Maybe they just thought we were a couple of stupid foreigners and would figure it out or just leave.  Celine left for a few minutes to find a bathroom and when she came back I asked her if she was ready to go and she was.  It was getting late and Tim had to be picked up from work soon anyway.

We took Celine and Caroline home, dropping them off at their door since there was quite a downpour.  We were going to get Tian Ye to take us to our door but then I decided we would go with him to pick Tim up at work.  We ended up being more than a little late getting there but all was okay.  On the way home we stopped at Carrefour and I ran in to get milk since they didn't have the kind the kids drink at YooHoo.  While I was there I grabbed some eggs and after a late supper, Ryan and I took them over to Sue.  She said we shouldn't have worried about it but I felt bad about her eggs.  She was still just happy that Nick was okay.  We had a nice visit with her and Sonny then came home.  By then it was about eight o'clock and the boys had to get to bed.  That took a while and when we finally sat down, I was too tired to type.  I skyped with Sheryl then Tim and I watched some television and talked before going to bed.

This morning I wanted to get out of here to give Ayi a chance to get the place clean so I took Nick and Ryan up to Happy City in the wagon.  I love, love, love that thing!  Aside from the fact that we have to walk on the road for some of the trip because people park their cars on the sidewalk, it was a very relaxing way to travel. It was quick and I didn't have to worry about Ryan running too far from me.  We also got a lot of smiles, waves and honking in response to our new wheels.  After an hour at Happy City we went up the escalators to Carrefour and as I was walking into the store, the guy at the door stopped me.  I thought he was going to tell me that I couldn't bring the wagon in but he pointed at my purse which was inside it.  He directed me toward the service desk where I had to put my purse inside another bag which they attached a lock to before giving it back to me.  I have seen other people with these bags but I have been to that store at least a hundred times already and never once did anyone ask me to do this.  It is a measure to keep people from shoplifting but they are rather inconsistent about it.  I don't know what I would do if I needed a tissue, wipe, grocery list, or whatever while I was shopping.

We bought a couple bottles of apple juice with a lot of fan fare about the wagon then went on to the sushi takeout.  From there we found a bench where we sat and ate our sushi (yes, ALL of us!) with Ryan sitting on the bench next to me and Nicholas still in the wagon.  Lots of people stopped to look but we had a nice, quick snack and made our way back to Happy City for more play.  An hour later we left for good and visited KFC along the way for ice cream sundaes for the boys.  They were able to sit and eat while I pulled them home, stopping at the fruit stand for some bananas and apples.  I am never able to do that!  It's normally too dangerous for us to walk down that part of the street but with the wagon I can stop when there is traffic and it's much safer.

Now I am home, writing this blog while Ryan is napping and Nicholas, having just gotten a bath, is relaxing on the chaise.  I am very excited for this afternoon and evening.  Sue has kindly offered to babysit the kids while Tim and I go out for supper.  It's been a while since we've been out with just the two of us and we could use some down time.  I must go and get get a shower, dragging that wagon around can make a girl a little hummy!

Just before I go...Nicholas told me this afternoon that he is never going to get married.  He said he would never do that with anyone, not even Chloe!