Christmas Tree

Looks like the Dollar Tree threw up on our table

Here in China, our Christmas tree, purchased off a chinese site which is a cross between amazon and eBay, came with lights, a fake tree which stands about 4 feet tall, and a HUGE bag of decorations that look like someone had a shopping Bonanza at the dollar tree.

It's not what we would have at home, by any means, but it is our tree this year, and Sal seems to dig it.

Thank goodness kids are so easy to please.

Little Hands Wreath

 

Little Hands make perfect Christmas wreaths.

 

 

All I had to do was get Sal to hold still long enough to do a rough tracing of his hand to be used as a pattern. I cut out 9 little hands, overlapped them and glued them together ( which failed). My glue wasn't strong enough to hold them together, so I ended up stapling them, but if I were in the States I would have just used my glue gun or Aleene's craft glue. I had a left over bow from our Christmas Tree explosion that I topped the wreath with  and hung it from a 3M command hook which seems to be our ONLY option for hanging things here.

 

An easy, cheap way to commemorate baby's first Christmas.

Grateful: Day 30: Fitness center

Once upon a time...

I was impeccably fit.

And let there be no excuses, other than life got in the way, and laziness got the best of me.

So, today, I am thankful that NZ and I are back on track. We finally secured gym memberships and have put them to use. We're working on a schedule that allows for us to both be able to go at least 3-4 times a week without compromising our time together as a family. When we were young and dumb it didn't matter as much if we ate dinner together or not. Now with a son, we make family dinner a priority.

But, just as eating together is important to us, so is setting a good example for our son in terms of living a fit, healthy lifestyle.

So, today, I am thankful that we have access to a gym within our complex, and the means necessary to put physical fitness back in our day to day lives.

Grateful: Day 29: Hand-me-downs

Even though Sal's aunties take good care to make sure he never has to wear a pair of split pants, and always has a fresh burp cloth, I am extremely thankful for the kindness of both my sister-in-law and a fellow expat family for their hand-me-down and loaned clothing. We borrowed a bunch of clothes from my nephews while back in the states, which got us through the first 6 months with ease. When we moved here, I had a stockpile of "new" clothes from my sister, and shortly thereafter, Sal inherited a little boy's wardrobe of 9-12 month clothing from an American family also living here.

It makes me feel good to get more use out of something. Especially living here, where many people survive with very little. I admit, seeing people here, and the conditions that some of them live in, makes me feel guilty for living so well. So, if I can squeeze out some more wear from clothes, and save money, why not?

If Sal could speak, I am sure he would say that he could care less about whether his socks matched his onesie, or that he had on brand new kicks. He'd be more excited to tell you about his hand-me-down practically new cars and push toy. We're so very thankful for the kindness of others, and hope we can share these toys and clothes with someone else down the road.

Humbugs

This morning when I woke up, it hit me.

We obviously won't be home for Christmas, and I'm a bit sad about it.

Sheesh, December hasn't even hit yet, and I've got a case of the humbugs.

This is the first year since NZ and I have been dating, actually, that we haven't been with our families for Christmas..that's a long time. We were lucky back home. We had both families within an hour drive (except my dad who lives in BFE-but he knows this, and makes the drive south to join us), and would spend Christmas Eve with my side of the family, and Christmas Day with the Zentil side.

This is the first year we have a baby to show the holiday spirit. I've looked forward to this milestone for many years-and now it's here-and happening to us...and we're not in our element to show him what the American holiday season entails. It makes me sad. One of the things I want to make sure of while we're overseas, is that he isn't denied any American childhood rites of passage, just because we're here and not there.

So, "operation Christmas" is under way in our apartment. China may not celebrate Christmas as we Americans do,  but we will try our darnedest to make sure Sal gets a proper first Christmas. He may not be joining his grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins for a huge Christmas feast (mmm, I can almost taste the Dego burgers from last Christmas), but he will have his mom, dad and good old Beav to watch his eyes light up when he sees the Christmas lights flickering and stockings hanging. Pandora's Christmas station will start playing 24/7 to try and get mama into the spirit when she feels anything but.

It's hard to be away from loved ones during the Holidays, but for now, this is our home, and we will embrace the experience for what it is.

Grateful: Day 28: Grandparents

Today I am thankful for my grandparents.


                                 Sal gives grandpa Jimmie a laugh on the lazy Susan.

My relationship with them is not typical. I grew up across the street from my mom's parents, and my dad's parents lived across the canyon, less than one mile away. I thought it was normal to see them on a regular basis. This was, of course, until I found out that my friends had to get on airplanes to go to Minnesota to see their grandparents.

my grandmas, me & my mah
December 2011

I've learned a lot from them all. My granny pat taught me how to shop, while grandma Dottie  has quite possibly the BEST buttermilk pancakes and aebelskivers in the West. And guess what. She shared her recipe. Isn't that special?  My grandpa Bud was a patient man who spent time perfecting my backhand on the tennis court. He called me toots, and looked out for the ladies in his life. My grandpa Jimmie taught us lawn darts, how to feed blue jays and introduced us to Italian donuts (certs!) and a love of the Santa Barbara breakwater.

Both of my grandfathers have passed away, grandpa Bud in 2007 and grandpa Jimmie just this past October. I am grateful that they have all lived through a good portion of my adult life, and that I still have both my grandmas to call on. I realize that the family dynamic I grew up with, having grandparents at my disposal, is quite uncommon, and for those years we've had together, I am so very thankful.

The "Bud" smirk.

Side note: I really wish my grandpa Bud were alive to see Sal. Sal has started making a few facial expressions that bare a striking resemblance to those of grandpa.

Grateful: Day 27: Weekends

One thing that's been quite a change for us since moving overseas, is having weekends that are WIDE open for doing a whole lotta nothin together. Back home, owning a house--NZ always had a honey-do list to keep the house maintained, and I had my list too. We both had our hobbies that ate up a morning or afternoon, and then by the time our household duties were done, it was Sunday night again.

Towards the end of our time in the States, we were traveling, working on the house or having garage sales every weekend for the three months leading up to the move. Add to that the fact that NZ sometimes had to travel for work, meaning many Sundays were spent saying goodbye, rather than watching a Dodger game on the tube together.

So, one thing that I am grateful for here, is the fact that for the first time in years, we have from quitting time Friday until the Monday morning alarm goes off to do whatever we please. No sprinklers to fix, no lawns to mow, no obligations whatsoever.

We are starting to get a little stir crazy by Sunday afternoon, but we just joined a gym and are excited to be lacing up our sneakers again and throwing around the weights.

I'm sure in time, we will fill our weekends here with activities, but for now, its been nice to be able to  take our weekends slow.