Mom to the Rescue!

Everyone has been adjusting to our new family dynamics in their own ways. Though you would think Ander would act out the most, he has actually done well and not taken anything out on the baby. However, he was definitely a Mama's Boy before and with Scarlett's arrival we saw that go into overdrive. 

This ^ is Ander trying desperately to get into the car when Nathan and I left on our first date after Scarlett's arrival.

So like he always does, Nathan steps in and gives out the extra attention to the kids whenever and however he can. It helps immensely. But we were still trying to keep our heads above water. Then guess what? My mom, who thoroughly dislikes flying (especially internationally) flew to Taiwan, on her birthday, which happens to be September 11th! all to come and help us out... okay, and maybe to get a few snuggles in with her new grandbaby.

My mom coming was a surprise for the kids, and they were ecstatic. The morning she arrived was a Monday and the kids happened to have the day off for Moon Festival. We had a big swim party and BBQ with our neighbors.

All 6 of us adults had gotten together the night before to decide what to eat and I'm not sure exactly where things got out of control but we had SO much food. Amazing food.

But with our 16 kids between us + adults, we made quick work of it. It was a lovely evening just sitting out in the humid balmy evening air, enjoying good company and food. Plus my mom was there, which simply makes everything better.

Just ask Scarlett.

Sweet baby girl, just one month old and growing fast enough to make me cry. xoxo

Know what else makes me want to cry? The fact that 3 weeks have flown by and my mom leaves tomorrow :(. Either one of those things might make me cry.

I doubt that even chocolate could make me feel better.

I better try though, just in case.

5 Is Not an Even Number

So... our balance is off a little lately. 5 is not an even number you know, so we'll blame it on that. It's true, little Scarlett's arrival has thrown off our groove a bit. Not that we don't welcome the challenge and the change, but just an itty bitty disclaimer as to why I haven't been: blogging, leaving comments on blogs I love and read regularly, responding to emails, answering the phone, showering, getting dressed... shall I go on or do you get the picture?

 Speaking of pictures, Nathan took these the other day while we were snuggled up watching a movie. When your arms are full with children, your heart is full of gratitude. (All right, whose been reading Chicken Soup for the Mothers Soul again?!)

I figured our girls would be dying to hold Scarlett every chance they got, and I was right, they definitely do. What I didn't quite expect was the boys. Ander wants to hold Scarlett ALL the time. He jumps up on the couch, puts a pillow in his lap and holds out his arms to me, like, "hand her over, lady!" Slightly less sweet is when he walks up and attempts to pull her out of my arms by yanking her legs... his heart is in the right place, he just wants to hold that baby, dang it! The fact that he is still a boisterous, rough, nearly two year old surely has nothing to do with it.

Nathan set the baby on the floor one evening as kids were being put in bed and I came out to find Kohen just quietly laying next to Scarlett. He is the only kid who volunteers to hold her even if she is screaming. He swears up and down it doesn't bother him. I put her in his lap the other day and she was howling. He assured me he didn't mind and I hurried off to finish something. Soon things were quiet and a few minutes later I came back to find him bouncing her gently. He was sweating from the exertion of bouncing her with his arms straight out, but he just smiled and told me, "She really likes it when you do this." Sweet boy.

Over then next few months be prepared to see lot's of seemingly unamazing pics of the baby- just a heads up- because with all of Nathan and I's family a half a world away, pictures are the only way they'll get to know Scarlett. I'm not apologizing, just giving you fair warning.

Eat Your Heart Out

Perhaps you remember shortly after Ander was born I wrote a short post on the traditional Chinese soup that our realtor had generously made me but I was too grossed out to eat. I literally couldn't even taste it I was so horrified. Thus this post is brought to you today in part for you to feel sorry for my latest encounter with the darn "New Mother's Soup" and also for you to see just how far I've come over the last two years. 

It all started when the same realtor Fiona, called Nathan and asked if she and our Landlady could come by to see the baby. I really like both of these women so I was glad to have them. I figured they may bring the soup again but thought I would be able to thank them graciously as I had before and then stick it in the fridge until Nathan could properly dispose of it.
The ladies arrived bearing gifts, one in a suspicious smelling pot. After we visited for a while and they each held Scarlett my heart almost stopped when Fiona asked where a pot was so the Landlady could cook some noodles. Say what? In my mind I was praying I had misunderstood but in my heart I knew. I knew what was about to go down and that there was no getting out of it.
Minutes later the noodles are cooked and Fiona is translating what the Landlady is saying about the nutrition and purpose of the soup. Again telling me how the broth is based from alcohol and then they use "chicken" and "pork" but thankfully this time they refrained from throwing in the kidney that is typically considered a delicacy. The Landlady filled my bowl to the brim and we all sat down to eat together. There was no where to run and no where to hide. I wanted to die.

I had to get a picture of the "meat" without the alcohol broth. I testify to you now that eating this soup would have been completely impossible for me to do two years ago. I have truly come a long way, because I sat down at that table -and though I was silently praying for deliverance the entire time- I gave it my best and tried to eat that soup.
Both Fiona and the Landlady inhaled theirs, noisily sucking the meat off of the bones and slurping up the broth and noodles. There was even a bowl to put your discarded bones in- you're thinking cute little chicken wing bones, no, they were chunky marrow filled hunks of bone. I tried to find a safe piece of meat to eat but ended up with little bits of bone in my mouth, which was alright since then it kinda looked like I had something to contribute to the bone bowl. I did my best to gag down enough so as not to offend my guests. Both of them had seconds.
Lord have mercy.
Literally.
Lot's of silent prayers went on.

Any guesses what part of the chicken ^ this is?

I was finally released from the torture due to an accident. Lunch seemed to be dragging on and by now the baby was fussy and hungry since I hadn't planned on these ladies staying through lunch. Ander's nap time was fast approaching and he was running around like a little wild man. At one point he was filling a cup of water from our dispenser which has spouts for cold, room temp, and pretty much boiling water. He is aware of the hot water and it's never been a problem so I am not really sure what happened. I guess I was a little preoccupied trying not to offend my guests by throwing up the lunch they had generously made me. Anyway, Ander burned his arm with the scalding water.

Thankfully the ladies seemed to sense it was time to go and I was able to comfort my little guy in peace as I began the process of blocking out the last hour and a half. Ander's arm has a first degree burn which is healing really well. My new emotional scars? mmm, not so much. 

Thrown Under The Bus

I was home with Scarlett today so Nathan had all four kids at church by himself. He was holding Ander in the back and a couple of YW were sitting with our other three. Apparently Kohen asked one of them if he could bear his testimony, she asked him what he wanted to talk about and he said Family Home Evening. She thought, that sounds fine, and let him go up. He proceeds to say:

"Hi my name is Kohen and I want to bear my testimony about Family Home Evening. Last Monday night we didn't have Family Home Evening. My Dad put me to bed, and as I was laying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep, and a thought came to my mind that, Hey, we didn't have Family Home Evening! So I got out of bed and went and found my dad and I told him, "Dad! We didn't have Family Home Evening!" and he said, "Go to bed!". So I went back to bed, and eventually I fell asleep. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

Kohen walked proudly back to his seat soaking up the rare out loud laughter in a Sacrament meeting.
Needless to say, Aly's request to bear her testimony was promptly denied.

Made in Taiwan

Scarlett Mei Jensen

Born August 25

6:45pm-ish*

6lbs 6oz

18.5 inches

If she was trying to gain a little favor with me by coming 6 days before her due date, it worked. Scarlett Mei (pronounced May, it's Chinese for beautiful) is a week old today and it has taken me that long to wrap my head around her birth and try and decide what I wanted to write on here. Right now she is snoozing next to me, smiling in her sleep, so I have a few minutes to try and get down the gist of it. 

We were using the same Dr. Albert who we saw with Ander, so we would also be delivering at the same old dirty hospital. I was dreading it. DREADING IT. But as the time got nearer I just quit thinking about the things that made it uncomfortable or unpleasant and focused on... I don't know what, just not that. 

So last Thursday around lunch I started to feel like the Braxton Hix that had been my near constant companion in recent weeks were actually starting to hurt and become regular. After eating, drinking and resting that hadn't changed. I didn't want to get everyone all excited (a theme I clung to the entire day for some ridiculous reason) so I casually texted Nathan, told him I was having some contractions and maybe he could come run interference with the kids since they would be home soon. He was on his way in no time. 

I spent the next hour or so taking my time in the bath and getting ready, just stopping through contractions as we went. I endured mostly the 3 older kids coming in at regular intervals for me to help undo some scuffle they'd gotten into which was a little frustrating. Nathan soon took them all to our neighbors for a little bit and the house was gloriously quiet. Sometime around 4:30pm is when I would guess active labor started. I began walking laps downstairs and timing the contractions, they were 2 min apart and 30-45 seconds long and they were getting difficult to relax through. Again, at one point or another all of the older 3 showed up randomly at the house whining at me for something after having slipped through Nathan's radar. Laboring with kids around = not ideal. 

Nathan brought the kids back at 5pm and quickly slapped together some grilled cheese for them then started to pack up some stuff. Looking back, at this point I should have said, forget packing, we need to go. But for whatever reason I was still being polite. 

FINALLY we were headed out, our neighbor Brandie came up to watch the kids with Carrie's daughter Sydney and Carrie was coming with us as a support and someone to run interference with the Chinese nurses etc. As we were headed to the car I felt a pop and an immediate release of pressure. I'm not gonna lie, this is where things started to get a little panicky for me. There was meconium in the water so that was distressing to see. Plus I was starting to feel a bit shaky and like I might need to throw up which are all signs for me of transition. The girls got me some new clothes and we were on our way. 

Did I mention it was a peak traffic time? And never have I been so keenly aware of how terribly bumpy Taipei's roads are. It was impossible to relax through contractions at this point. We thankfully made lot's of lights and arrived at the hospital. Carrie went to go park the car and Nathan and I made our way up to the 8th floor.

Our Dr. was there all casual hanging out, he was planning on going to dinner with a friend. They took me into a Labor Room, circa 1970, I don't know why they didn't take me into their one Labor and Delivery room but I bet they were regretting that later (just a little foreshadowing for ya).

The Dr. checked me and said I was a 3, 80% effaced and a -1 station. But all I heard was a 3... 3??!! He then left and nurses came in to try and make Nathan go down to the first floor to get us registered but he refused to leave me. He went out in the hall to try and convince them to bring the paperwork upstairs and meanwhile I had a couple more hard contraction and I was telling Carrie, almost in tears that I didn't think I could do this much longer. 

Cut to about 30 seconds later when I had another contraction and the baby was born. No, you are reading that right. Born. I need not get into details but it was a pretty crazy couple of minutes, Carrie alerted Nathan and the nurses when I realized what was happening and there was no stopping it.  The Chinese nurses ran off in different directions shouting (we've never seen Chinese people move so fast!) and there stood Nathan, Carrie and a lone nurse. Looking back now it's kind of comical but at the time it wasn't. Poor little Scarlett, in the States had there been meconium in the water they would have had the NICU waiting at her birth. Well, there was no NICU, no place to set her with say, a warming lamp, no blanket, no delivery room and no Doctor. Thankfully I was at least on a bed. 

A few minutes later the Dr. ran in, in complete disbelief, he's never missed a birth before and couldn't believe what had happened. As things calmed down a little bit we realized no one knew what time she had been born, but we all agreed it was probably 6:45pm. Thanks to the time stamp on our parking ticket we figure Scarlett was born no more than 15 min. after we arrived at the hospital. Had we hit a few more red lights things could have been very different. 

This is me with my 'I can't believe that just happened' look

Nathan was just glad he wasn't down on the first floor when Scarlett was born...

And Carrie who now has a pretty good track record as a Doula- we joked that she'll have you in and out in 20 minutes! I was so grateful to have her there.

Eventually the NICU realized they needed to check out the baby and they kept her overnight to monitor her breathing. We were grateful that there were no lasting effects or problems.

The next morning Kennedy got to go in late to school and come meet her new baby sister all by herself. She had helped Nathan get everyone up and going out the door to school and we were happy to let her have a special moment with her sister that for once she didn't have to share.

 Because later that afternoon when everyone but Ander was there... she had to share :) Please excuse how sweaty and wild looking the kids all are, it had been a hot and muggy day.

 Oh, and did I mention that Aly broke her arm earlier that week? Yeah, she fell off of the play ground at school and broke her elbow. Thankfully nothing major.

When we pulled into our neighborhood when we were bringing Scarlett home we saw this first thing on our neighbors gates:

 (Welcome to the neighborhood Scarlett, you're gonna love it here!)

And this sign on our gates that had a note and hand prints from each of our kids, the sweetest was from Kohen who toiled so long to write how excited he was to be her big brother. The signs made me teary, I felt so loved.

We are so grateful that Scarlett made it here safely and so grateful for good friends to take care of us when our families are so far away.

First Day of School 2011/2012

Aly woke up in time to get in on the first day of school pics before Kennedy and Kohen went to catch their very first bus ever. Kindergartners had shorter days the first week. We now have to be at the bus stop at 7am. Have I ever mentioned I am NOT a morning person? 

 Kohen is showing the Chinese hand symbol for 7 to show how old he is, and then his other hand is to show he is starting First Grade. Are you picking up what he's laying down?

 Atta Boy

Is it me or is Kennedy looking far too grown up in these pics?!! Help!
She is starting 3rd grade.

 And Aly, my Kindergartner. They do all day Kindergarten here so I have had a huge adjustment to not having any of my older 3 around. I still feel like 5 is a little young to be gone all day. Thankfully Aly has adjusted well so it makes me feel less guilt about it since I can't control it anyway. No surprise Aly loves her new class.

 For now that just leaves Ander and I. He has been so cute each morning he runs through the list asking where everyone is, "Aly?... Tohen?.... Dee-Dee?........Dad?" He is dumbfounded where they all went and certainly why he wasn't invited to go with. But we have been enjoying our time together just us two.

So my kiddos started school pretty early, this year it was Aug. 11th, so we are starting to get into the swing of things (maybe). I just can't write this post without saying, is anyone else freaked out by how quickly time is going? Didn't we just end the last school year like, a week ago?

Kohen Turns Seven!!!

 The day before school started was Kohen's 7th birthday. The night before, while he was asleep I tied some balloons, hung his new Superman T-shirt and left a Spiderman cup that had a couple cookies in it and a note from Nathan and I, all for him to find when he woke up. Apparently he woke up earlier than I anticipated because he came in our room at 3am to thank us for the goodies. It was really sweet actually. Even sweeter because he promptly went back to bed. :)

 Kohen ended up having a great birthday, all of our neighbors came over swimming and then sang him Happy Birthday before sharing some cake and ice cream.

Between my neighbors Carrie, Brandie and I, we have (or will in a few days once this baby arrives) 16 kids. Two of Carrie's are off at college now but I tell you what, we still make quite the party when we are all together, it's great!

 Kohen was his usual hilarious self while opening presents, I have to say both of his grandma's know him well because their gifts are the favorites.

 Love this series of pics... so Kohen.

Oh man, when I try and find the words to describe this kid, I usually feel I fall short. He is funny, wise beyond his years, very empathetic towards others and not afraid to reach out to someone who is hurting. He has the gift of gab like his dad and knows very few strangers. At church during the summer especially he has had many different Sunday school teachers due to the out going and incoming people that leave and arrive during that time. I swear every Sunday he is begging me to let him invite his teachers (usually a younger couple w/o kids) over for dinner. Every Sunday.
He's the brother who, when Ander was crying cuz I didn't make him a piece of toast (my bad!) asks if he can give his half a piece left to his crying brother. And if you know Kohen and how much he loves food, you know what a selfless sacrifice this is. But it's very much the norm for him, he truly thinks of others first.
He's one of those kids where I know I'm the privileged one to have him in my life. I love him so much.

Surprise! We Moved!

I still can't believe we did it. There were lot's of pros and cons but in the end we decided to move houses here in Taipei. The short list of reasons had to do with our previous house being secluded where the school bus wouldn't come, in a very large house that was difficult to maintain and had bedrooms on all three levels. Our contract was up for renewal and our landlord and his wife were kind of being nasty and wouldn't make any improvements or even discuss price. They have an inflated view of what their house is worth rent wise which has been proven so far in that it currently sits vacant. His realtor actually told Nathan when Landlords get like that the realtors actually hope that the house sits vacant to humble the Landlord.

(the tube top they put on to protect the couch didn't stop the kids from using it!)

The pros of moving to this new house: We had seen this house when we first came house hunting years ago. It needed a lot of work and we had no concept of how quickly renovations are done here so we didn't really consider it a possibility. But our Bishop's family and now another family from the Ward with 5 kids both live on the same lane as the house. After sitting vacant for about 5 years the owner decided to renovate. Ross (Bishop) speaks great Chinese and would go over daily to talk over ideas with the owner about how to improve the home and make it appeal to Westerners. Then he and our other neighbors started working on us to move.
We prayed A LOT about the decision. The pros would be, a less expensive, beautifully newly renovated house that is smaller, has the bedrooms all on the second level, has one of the bigger kitchens and yards I've seen here, the bus comes to get the kids, and we would have neighbors. Not the kind you pretend aren't there, but real, help each other out, let the kids play together, neighbors.

So, a couple of days after we got back from the U.S., local Asian movers came to pack up our stuff. It took 3 days to pack up and move everything... how do I find myself moving again at fully 9 months pregnant?! At least someone else was doing most the lifting for me.

 Here is one of the trucks going down our old crazy steep hill (that the TAS school bus refused to deal with) taking our stuff to our new house!

So as wonderful and new as so much of the house is, there are still a few Chinese-isms that have had to be dealt with. Ross (and Nathan and I) really spent a lot of time guiding our new landlords with house decisions. I was nervous to leave for the summer because I knew that they would slip in some funky stuff when I wasn't there to prevent it. Luckily for the most part our neighbors had our back. Like the day Carrie and Brandie walked over to check on things and found:

This is the email I got with the pics:

Here is a treasure for you.... 
It kind of looks a little like a birthday cake and it is on the ceiling of your house (in the front kid's bedroom) Brandie and I were up there a few days ago and were both looking rather quizzically (actually laughing in complete disbelief and amazement) at this little apparition when the electrician happened upon the scene. Our shock and disapproval must have been obvious because he quickly (in chinese) assured us that this fixture being mounted in the front kid's bedroom was a mistake. Whew!
We enjoyed this moment of relief until he continued by saying (in a most pleased way) that this special light was not supposed to be in the kid's room, but in the master bedroom! Visions of you laying in bed at night looking up at the love light (see the glowing effect in pic 2) and the joy it would bring you, did elicit a few fits of laughter (in a horrified sort of way) from us, I have to admit. The poor electrician, with a surprised look on his face, asked if we really didn't like it? I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but had to assure him that you would really NOT appreciate this kind of decorative touch and they should just put the same (quite nice) light in the master bedroom that all the other rooms had. I haven't been up to check, but I think he understood! Hope you don't mind my taking the liberty to make that decision for you. And apologies in advance if the light was one that Nathan had specifically ordered for you! :-) So funny.... 

Double click for the full effect of  "the Love Light" :)

When we arrived home Ross was out of town on business. Meanwhile our landlord had been toiling SO HARD out in our beautiful yard to lay the sod:

 Your eyes do not deceive you, the checkerboard look was intentional. Our older cute landlord worked so hard out there laying the sod and stamping it down while his wife stood out there for hours with an umbrella. He is convinced the sod will "fill in" and that this will best prevent weeds.

 Not wanting to seem ungrateful or make our landlord "lose face" we waited several weeks until we finally told our realtor Fiona (realtors are a major go between and do much more than those in the states, they are who we call for any problems with locals or with the house etc., we LOVE Fiona) that we needed to come up with something, and after much debate she discussed it with our owner and he came and cut out little strips to put in between the larger squares.... progress!

 A few other quirks we ended up with are two of the showers in the (otherwise) beautiful brand spankin new bathrooms, inexplicably go past the window. As in, part of the window is in the shower. ???????????????? It makes hanging any kind of blind or curtain a little tricky.

So we have had quite the busy last few weeks, but it was all made doable thanks to awesome neighbors pitching in to help. We still have been dealing with a LOT of trouble shooting, but some of that will happen when you live in a house that hasn't been lived in for 5 years. Just a few for posterity's sake:
Initially, no hot water, very little water pressure, washer and dryer drama, oven not lighting, lot's of giant spiders, problems with the phone, problems with the internet, the guys came to lay carpet on the stairs and about fumed us out with glue for an entire day, waiting on a new A.C. unit for upstairs main space therefore when it is 110* out it's a little overly warm upstairs. The list goes on and on. Though I'd rather get it fixed before the baby comes.
I will post pics soon of the actual house, but upstairs there are 3 beautiful giant windows and of course windows in the kids room that needed coverings. It gets dark early and light very early and being able to darken a room is imperative. I met with two different families/"companies" to pick stuff for curtains (where were my sisters when I needed them?!) but I had to sneekily take this pic of some of the fabrics one company brought.

The red was for the boy's room, the white and pink was their suggestion for the girl's room and my favorite, the kind with the lambs was for the nursery... thankfully they didn't seem too offended when I asked to see what else they might have available.

 It's been quite the experience. But let me just say we feel so blessed to be here in this house near neighbors and in a house that feels more like a home. We are very grateful for the opportunity we had to move.