Thanksgiving in Taiwan 2009

Over eat at Thanksgiving and you'll have as many chins as this little Pilgrim*! (*It is considered 'cute' for babies to have multiple chins- adults? not so much.)

What a weird Thanksgiving. Sunny, 85 degrees out, Nathan at work, no parades on TV, definitely no family around and most assuredly no delicious smells emanating from my kitchen. I spent most of the day in a bit of a funk but never letting myself fall all the way in since this was supposed to be the big day of giving thanks. Pretty much a crime to feel sorry for yourself on Thanksgiving, no? I think the residual jet lag I fought valiantly all week worked against my mood as well.

***~Thanksgiving this year was marked by a Taiwan first (and hopefully last): hitting my first pedestrian. That's right, I seriously did. A little digression if you will. Heretofore I was driving the smaller Toyota Previa around. What's a Previa? you may ask- a cruddier, cheaper version of the Sienna. The Honda Odyssey the leasing co. imported for us finally arrived so I am still adjusting to the wider vehicle. It's crucial I do this quickly in a place where every inch counts as you squeeze yourself down the narrow and congested streets.

Anyway, I was on my way to pick up Thanksgiving dinner and driving down a narrow street with parked cars lining both sides and some pedestrians walking on the street as well. I was going around them as usual when I suddenly heard a terrible "thump" and look to my right to see my side mirror turned in. I could barely believe what my mind was telling me- I had just hit that old guy walking along the road! Grandpa!!! Well, someone's grandpa anyway. Thankfully he was still laboring along (was he laboring before I hit him?!) and so I stopped and rolled down my window and when he got to it I asked him if he was okay and he kind of smiled sheepishly at me and waved his hand like 'no big deal'. It was either 'no big deal' or 'get the heck out of my country', it was hard to tell.

As I mentioned I bought our Thanksgiving meal this year from the catering company out of TAS. We knew I'd just be getting home from the U.S. and it would be an incredibly crazy week with Nathan so busy with work etc. The turkey we got looked just wonderful but some of the sides left something to be desired. Upon closer inspection we discovered the mashed potatoes were instant. Didn't they know it is an unforgivable crime to serve an Idahoan instant potatoes? Or does the crime lie with the Idahoan who actually paid for them???

Then we had the "cranberry sauce" that was still in the shape of the can it was plopped out of.

And what we lovingly referred to as the "crazy loaf" of Stuffing. Have a... slice?

And last but not least, the Pumpkin Pie that was brown with a hint of deep green. At least that one tasted good. We were pleased to have Nicole and her daughter Jadyn over to share our dinner though we missed Cody her husband who was out of town. Nicole whipped up some Stovetop stuffing real fast while Nathan made some authentic Mashers and green bean casserole. The turkey was quite good and the Henry Weinhards Rootbeer Nathan found at the import store didn't hurt anything either. By the end of the day I really was feeling better and grateful for the many blessings we have and the opportunity we are forced given to make new traditions.

Ander's 1st Trip to the U.S.

Just a few short days ago Ander made his first trip to America ^. With all of the sickness going around I was pretty obsessive vigilant about germ fighting during our long hours of travel. I wore a mask most of the time, kept his car seat covered with a blanket and used antibacterial wipes on stroller handles and other high use areas. Ander did as well as can be expected for a little one and other than having to stand with him for an hour until my arm was about ready to fall off, he was a peach.

What's the first thing I did when we landed in a U.S. airport you may ask? Buy some decent gum.
We arrived in Boise SO excited to meet family. The grandparents all fawned over him and snuggled him up, that alone made the trip worth while.
As far as jetlag goes, it took Ander the better part of the first week to flip his schedule but we managed. I find you can really put up with a lot when you only have one child to deal with. Such information might have been helpful about, mmm, 3 kids ago.
One morning Ander and I met up with his Aunt Tara and new cousin London Sophia (she's 1 month younger than him) at Gpa Norm's work at Well's Fargo to let him show off his newest grandbabies. These two babies make #'s 19 and 20 for Bonnie and Norm. Norm also validated me when after carrying Ander around the office for a while he handed him off cuz his arm was pooped out. This kid is heavy!
Papa John was working nights half of the time we were there so he and Ander were on similar crummy sleep schedules.
Getting to meet his Great Grandma and Grandpa Cheney was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. There is something special when you see gaps of generations close in one simple meeting.
Funny story. My BIL Shayn was playing with Ander- he had him smiling, cooing and doing squats as Ander would stand until he couldn't anymore then he would sit down on his legs. Did I mention Ander hadn't pooed in a week? Yeah. And it turns out helping a baby do squats for 10 minutes also helps them do something else. He slimed Shayn good- he actually required a shower. But Shayner is a good sport and didn't miss a beat hanging out with his new nephew every time he got the chance. As you can see below, he even found the magic position to settle down the little guy with a combination football hold slash covering his face - two of his favorite things.

Little London and Ander out to lunch with their grandpa and grandma- they slept like babies...imagine that.
Aunt Natalie even flew in from out of town to meet this little guy. She and Ashley watched the babe one morning and they sent me off for a massage where I discovered it had been WAY too long since I had had one. I mean seriously, when I am ready to have the masseuse written into our Will after only 15 minutes, I think it speaks to how much I enjoyed and needed it. Thanks Seeesters.
This is some of the classic nonsense that endears my children to their Aunties. Here are Ashley and Natalie singing "Ring of Fire" to a much entertained Ander.
My little sister Ashley has an eye for decorating and could literally be a professional bargain shopper. I stink at decorating and shopping anywhere but Target and even then when it comes to clothes I often fail. But Ash knows how to work stores like Ross and Marshalls (places I literally avoid like the plague) and I would arrive to find her with a cart full of clothes all ready for me to try on. I can't even think of the words to write for how grateful I am to her for doing my least favorite part of shopping for me.

My little brother came into town from college both weekends which was great and I also got to spend an evening out with my SILs and MIL which went by way too quickly. One of the things I miss most about living near by is all of the sharing, advice and encouragement I get from these girls. I did also get to go watch favorite tv shows at my SIL's house a few nights, it was just so fun and such a treat to have the freedom to go when and where I wanted to.

Anyway, I know this post is just a bunch of pictures of family members holding Ander but the fact is, if we'd lived in the states you would have seen these pics spread out over the first few days and weeks of his life, instead we packed it all into one trip. Ander did see the Dr. and all is well, details in a post to come.

Okay, I give.

I finally changed the name of the blog. Don't worry though, I will not be changing the actual address- not that you ever look at the address anymore since it's obviously in your 'favorites' anyway, right? right? I started thinking about what to change it to pretty much the minute I saw the second line on that fateful stick and knew we would soon be tucking in more than three.

For a time I thought I could get by on a technicality. Certainly we consider Kenna able to tuck herself in and we just kiss her goodnight, but that seemed like a bit of a mouthful as far as titles go. Then I ran a preliminary title by Nathan. He loved it and promptly started telling people without my express written consent and my BIL Mike immediately shut it down saying it wasn't up to par. Ouch. Sometimes the truth hurts.

I kept at it and after gathering courage I previewed the new one to a select few and the response has been positive. I would like to disclaim that you can only write a title in caps which takes away from the 'four', people might just think I don't spell check but oh well. I bet you never knew someone who took so much time dithering over a silly title. Now after all this palaver if you don't like the change, please lie.

Speaking of adventures, Nathan found this restaurant that is completely decked out in dinosaur bones and he was really excited to take the kids. One night we had to make an unexpected trip downtown after Ander's resident card came to us with his name misspelled mere days before we were to leave for the states- so since we were near we stopped by for dinner.
The place is thoroughly decorated with no detail overlooked. Claws hang from the ceiling holding the lighting, bridges over water with Koi swimming around below and huge pretend fossils everywhere you look. Even the table and chairs go with the theme.
The kids thought it was fantastic- especially the part where like most places here there is no attention paid to safety of things that would certainly result in a lawsuit in the states. Like the bridge below where some of the 'rib' bones that were supposed to keep my kids from falling in the water had broken and left even bigger gaping holes giving you a clear path into the water. Maybe they just don't have the money to fix it. That is plausible since we were literally the only patrons that evening. And maybe that is because their menu leaves something to be desired. And by 'something' I mean everything.
But the ambiance was definitely unique and fun once you forget the danger lurking at every turn for 3 curious little ones. They had a fun time exploring and even dancing to their hearts content since there was no one else around to disturb. Overall the place gets a thumbs up, though I think if they served pizza they would've won me over completely.

Toroko Marathon

(This time Nathan really is in the picture, right smack in the middle.)

Here I sit in Boise Idaho while Nathan is taking care of 3/4 ths of our children back in Taiwan. Doing both his daughters hair every morning before getting all three off to school and doing the daily routine by himself on top of his regular work may be even more difficult than the marathon he just ran. I still wish so badly I could have been there. Then again maybe not, seeing as Nathan was dripping with sweat before he even started the race. That's not my idea of fun, the sweating or the 26.2 miles.
The above picture tests my post-baby bladder control. Nathan and Adam spotted this gem walking by with his homemade anti-chaffing remedy. The boys brilliantly came up with the plan to have Adam walk by the guy and have Nathan pretend to be taking a picture of Adam but of course get them both. The look on Adam's face cracks us up, I don't think I could keep a straight face next to that guy either.
I love this picture. How beautiful is Toroko Gorge? And look at all of those people. What an awesome shot.
Several friends and their families also went down and ran I think it was a 5k and a half marathon. Nathan was the only one who did the full marathon and I was so grateful they all stayed to cheer him across the finish line. It started pouring while they waited and Reid ^ figured out an ingenious way to stay dry. That my friends, is what we call problem solving.

(Creative Cone Usage #2 ^ )

Here he comes! This was Nathan's most difficult race to date. About half of it was up hill and towards the middle he started to cramp up and was forced to slow down at some points. He kept on though, and finished- where as I might have caught a taxi and just gone home. Truly he did awesome and he is looking forward to beating his time next year. I am certain he will since he hardly trained for this race at all (due to our recent crazy lives) and I am sure that alone will help improve his experience for next time.
This is the whole gang- they all did great. I am hoping next year to be able to experience it for myself. And we are going to have to go back and explore the Toroko gorge, it looks stunning. And Nathan, you did awesome.

Quick Post

I am sitting in the Narita Japan Airport with Ander about to board our flight to LA then Boise. SOOOO excited! We are coming to have Ander's breathing looked at (He retracts when he breathes, has since a few days after birth) and to let him meet his Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and cousins. I will post again soon I am sure, as soon as the jet lag wears off.

Hopefully your Halloween candy is finally dwindling down, I know I look forward to that. I froze our tons of left over bite size Snickers as I was the only one snarfing them. Turns out frozen Snickers are really good too. dang it!

Love this gem from Kennedy:

She walks into the kitchen holding a little Hershey bar and says, "Look Mom! This is half healthy- It says Milk chocolate!"

A Warm Up

A week or so ago Nathan got up insanely early (I only get up that early when a little baby's nourishment depends on it and I can go back to sleep) to go and run Nike Human Race in Taipei. Nathan ran the 10k and rocked it as usual. However, he did commit "Spouse of a Blogger" Offense numero uno: No camera. No camera = no pictures = lame post. So since Nathan is a wise and clever husband he managed to find a picture of the crowds of runners at the starting line. He had described it as "a sea of people all wearing red, SO COOL!" And now we even have the picture to back it up. You can actually see Nathan about half way up the picture to the left!

Okay, that's a lie. You can't see him.

Anyway, tomorrow morning (your Fri. night) Nathans going to go and run the Toroko Marathon and unfortunately I won't be able to go and cheer him on. I was hoping this post might elicit some well wishes for him since he'll be on his own which is a bummer. Nathan promises to run with a camera this time because the Toroko gorge is breathtaking and because he's a quick learner. Good luck babe!!!

The Halloween Gauntlet

5 Halloween parties in less than 36 hours = lot's of fun... and one exhausted Erin. Our Friday started early getting Kohen and Kenna off to school. While Nathan took them I frantically got ready (which means my teeth were brushed and I got concealer under my eyes) fed the baby and got Princess Aly ready for her Halloween party at school. As soon as Nathan got back we were off.
Aly's preschool put on quite the bash with projects, carnival games, a LAME-O "clown", trick-or-treating and prizes. Aly won for best costume in her class, I didn't even know there was a competition...

The picture is Aly with her little friend Lizzy. The girls are quite a bit alike, their birthdays are just a couple of days apart. When they are playing together I regularly can't tell whose voice is whose which is saying something since a Mom knows the sound of her child's voice...usually.
Next we race over to TAS and into Kohen's Halloween festivities. Again lot's of projects and games. I got Kohen's costume on clearance last year. He doesn't know what a Power Ranger is so he was a self proclaimed "Super Hero" and went around kicking the air, tumbling on the floor and whacking unsuspecting passerby's all day. Pretty much his best day ever.
It was almost time to go help Kennedy get her costume on when I realized... I forgot her costume at home in our haste to leave. Crud. I grab the car keys and Aly and leave the babe with Nathan and Kohen and race out to the car and speed home. It wasn't until I pulled up to our house that I realized I had neglected to bring the keys to open the gate to our home. There is no penetrating the fortress without the keys (#@!!*%). I raced back to the school, parked illegally, threw Aly on my hip and ran clear back inside. Got the keys (#@!!*%) and headed home a second time.

Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I take Aly to the bathroom and her shoe ended up in the toilet. Yeah, we both went to flush with our foot and I knocked her little heel off and right into the pot. Perfect. Anyway, I made it to Kennedy's class with a few minutes to spare. She was excited we were there so she could show us her face painting. After her parade we all raced (I keep using the same verb not to annoy but because it's literally what we did all day) home to get ready for a party for adults at our house.
The next several hours were spent neglecting our sugar-high children as we tried to finish the house, food and costumes (I was Facebook and Nathan was one of Taiwans dummy flaggers, one of my favorite things here). I was co-hosting with two other gals and the party turned out awesome. I haven't laughed so hard in a while which was a nice change.
Check out Kenna's hair for the Sat. Ward party. I don't think anyone noticed cuz she wore that tiara but I was really proud of it at any rate.
A picture of my trio of trouble on Saturday. As you can see Aly switched costumes to be a Witch this party. The girl likes to keep it fresh.
Here's a picture of the fam before the kids scattered like cockroaches when the lights turn on. There were so many games to play and treats to try, it was quite the production. You can't really tell in this picture but Ander was Nathan and I's dwarf. He switched all night from being 'Sleepy', to 'Grumpy', to 'Hungry' (the elusive 8th dwarf) and then 'Happy' again. When Kennedy found out I was going to be Snow White the first thing she asked me: "Are you going to wear a wig?" Hmph. The hair's the one thing I got!!

Anyway, there was even a trunk-or-treat at the end and after that we went up the mountain to a neighborhood that has quite a few ex-pats and where some real trick-or-treating goes on. It's only a street or two but it was just enough to let the kids feel like they got an authentic Halloween experience.

Think how exhausted you are from just reading this post... it was insane but really fun.