Jitters

It has been a busy weekend for us and we have a big day tomorrow.  Nicholas will start school in the morning and I don't know who's more nervous, the parents or the kid.  Luckily I know the best therapy for school nerves is shopping so that is what we have been doing.  Yesterday the four of us went to Happy Family department store and bought Nick a new Lightning McQueen backpack and a Spiderman pencil case complete with scissors, ruler, pencils and eraser.  We picked that stuff out pretty quickly then looked at toys and shoes.  I grabbed a sneaker off the wall and it just happened to be the right size.  I got Nick to try it on and low and behold, it fit!  I handed the sales lady the shoe and asked her to get us the other one.  She looked under the display for about five seconds then stood looking dumbfounded.  I indicated that we really wanted to buy them, could she please have a better look.  She knelt down and looked for a few more seconds then shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.  I took the shoe and started my own search which lasted about five minutes when I gave up.  We wanted to go to the Mix C mall to see Cars 2 (again) and we didn't have a lot of time.  I decided that we would go see the movie then look for sneakers at that mall afterwards.

We headed for the other mall and got there just in time to see the movie.  The kids were really excited to show Tim the theater and Cars 2 so it was a nice treat.  I enjoyed it again too.  Afterwards we stopped so Tim could take Ryan to the bathroom and when he did we met a German couple who are in Shenyang with BMW.  We had a nice chat with them and got their email address so we may get together sometime.  They have two sons and the youngest is as blond as Ryan with the same color eyes so he gets a lot of attention here in China as well.  The family has been here for two years and only has one left before they move back to Germany.

After the movie we went in search of shoes but the Mix C mall is still quite new and doesn't have a lot of stores.  I could only find one that had children's shoes and they were not the type we were looking for, ie. they were trendy and expensive.  We gave up on that idea and instead went to the toy store and supermarket.  We bought a few groceries then headed for home, deciding to forget about the sneakers until today.  On the way we stopped at Carrefour for some sushi then came home and devoured it like we hadn't eaten in days.  

Before we went out Celine had called to find out if our water was working since she had none.  It had been off Thursday but not yesterday so I suggested she call her landlady.  When I talked to her next she had seven people in apartment working on the problem and still no water.  It turned out there was a leak from their pipes into the apartment below so they had shut her water off.  Now she may not have any for a week and the floor in her dining will have to be ripped up.  Last night she and Caroline came for a visit so she could have a shower and Caroline a bath.  Today they were going to have to move to a hotel until everything is fixed.  What a pain in the ass for her especially since Caroline will have her first birthday this week and a little party on Wednesday.  I told her that if she has no water by then, she can just have her party at our place.  We will see what happens.

Today I slept in while Tim got up with the kids.  We decided that I would take Nick to get sneakers while Ryan stayed with Tim.  When it was time to go, Nicholas didn't want to come with me but Ryan did.  Figures!    I stood firm and only took Nick.  We drove downtown to the pedestrian street and back to the mall where we got shoes for the kids last time.  It didn't take long and we had success again and luckily the shoes we picked were half price.  Bonus!  Then we went in search of a birthday present for Caroline and along the way had to check out all the Cars toys we came across.  I was trying to find something to help Caroline learn to walk but everything I saw was very expensive (brand names tend to be overpriced here) and, more importantly, they were all loud and obnoxious.  Celine doesn't like noisy toys and I can't really blame her.  We ended up going across the street to yet another store where I found what I hope to be a better choice.  It's a little Winnie the Pooh wooden wagon for kids to push around and it doesn't make any noise.  We found more Cars 2 toys that the boys don't have for a better price than usual but I managed to resist buying them.  I think I did well!

With our mission complete we came back home, stopping again to get our usual sushi.  This is beginning to become a habit.  I also found a scribbler at Carrefour that had a big Canadian flag on it so I got that for Nick to take with him to school.  Tonight we packed up his new backpack and made his lunch.  Although they will feed him we told him he could take his own lunch in case he didn't like it.  Here is what he asked for:  two sandwiches, one peanut butter and one tuna, two freshly baked cookies, two juice packs, a banana and an apple cut up into slices.  I think he believes he'll be there for a week.  He seems to be excited and not too nervous now so that makes me feel better.  He's still awake though so I must go lay down with him to help him get to sleep.  Keep your fingers crossed for him tomorrow!