A Beautiful Oregon Day!

Today we jumped on the MAX train in Hillsboro and made our way down to the Rose City and the Portland Saturday Market. It's a great place to find cool things by local artists. Today we found a bracelet for Maddie where the artist resized it just for her. Amazingly, she wore it all day long and it was torture getting it off her wrist at bedtime. We also found some great flannels for both Maddie and Amelia for when we come home at Christmas time. I do think that Maddie's most special find was the balloon man. I'm still amazed that she has conversations with people she doesn't know, but the though of getting a flower balloon hat definitely got rid of all inhibitions!!!

When we left the Saturday Market, we made our way to Dan and Louis Oyster Bar. When Andy was growing up and lived in Eastern Oregon he and his family would eat here so it's always fun to go back. On the way though, we saw "Shanghai"sign that was definitely a photo opportunity - how could we not?! Once again, Maddie ate shrimps for lunch - I think she's addicted!

We ate our Oyster Stew, Clam Chowder, and Shrimp before hopping on MAX back to Hillsboro. I think I love living so close close to Max - it's just so easy to get into Portland and Maddie thinks that all trains are just way too cool.

Maddie helped us pick up the house a bit and Andy started cooking for our first dinner guests. Barbara and Earl came over for a great dinner of yummy oven poached salmon (Andy used the Convection Oven for the first time), fresh corn on the cob, delightful olive ciabatta, and a garden fresh salad complete with dill and smoked salmon. I tell ya, my husband can really cook! We completed the night with Grandma Barbara ready Maddie's entire library to her on the couch. Maddie loved it and I can tell that she misses the stimulation of school. She's just one of those kids that thirsty for knowledge as her wheels are always spinning!

It was an amazing Portland, Oregon day and we'll treasure it!!

Maddie Can SHOP!!!!

I have to admit that I don't like shopping that much. I'm not a window shopper. I'm one of those people that likes to get in there - get out with what you wanted in the first place - and then be done with it. Let me tell you, that way of thinking does not lend itself to furnishing your first house.

Maddie has gone almost everywhere with us for the past four days. She has been to Home Depot twice. She has been to Macy's four times (though one time she was being.... um, three... and daddy removed her from the store after one of those infamous Wang Dang Dingers). She has been to Costco three times, George Smith Warehouse twice, Bombay once, and Sam Levitz once. She has been our official "Jumpability Tester" and has jumped on twin mattresses, full mattresses, and numerous couches. She has the right attitude.... shopping can be boring, BUT it's possible to see the good in every situation! :)

I still don't like shopping like this as much as I should, but I'm at the point where I'm taking Maddie's advice. If you're tired and there's a bed - sleep. If you're excited and there's a bed - jump. If the Sam Levitz salesman is driving you absolutely insane because he's the pushiest salesman you've ever met in your entire life and you're hungry - eat the free cookies and get out of there!

Thanks for the advice on how to shop Maddie!!!!

Warning... Warning... We're Going to Carrefour

You must prepare yourself mentally before heading to Carrefour in China. We've been to Carrefour in several cities, including Prague, Paris and even in a major city in Bahrain, but those outings never came close to what you experience when you go in China. The few foreigners I see in there are usually the ones new to China because the experienced ones know to stay away at all costs. Carrefour does have things that no other store has though so sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. As the last expat I saw in Carrefour said to her driver dude, "Mr. Wan - remind me to drink heavily before coming here next time." (I write that in Maddie's blog because I know that someday she will understand.)

As always, Maddie is a HUGE attraction. We try to ignore the stares and touches (impossible) while moving quickly through the aisles (impossible again) to get our things. Maddie can last about 20 minutes and then it's just too much to handle. As always, there are stories to tell afterwards so that is what I share with you today.

Maddie was eaten alive by mosquitoes last week so on top of the plug in, I also tried to buy some Raid so we could spray her room down a few hours before she goes to bed. I had the Raid - it was in the cart - and then some random person grabbed it out of my cart and started speaking to me in Chinese really fast, flailing her arms in all directions. I will translate: "Are you a crazy mother? You can't buy this poison if you have such a beautiful child. You must buy something that is more natural and won't be as harmful to her. Here - buy this one." She then proceeded to put in my cart what I should buy. What could I say other than, "xie xie?"

After 40 minutes in Carrefour, Maddie had officially given up and was worthy of another Wang Dang Dinger entry on her blog. As we finished getting our fruit weighed, we tried to make our way to the cash registers. We, of course, could not move very fast and were stuck in front of the final fruit stand with pre-marked costs. Maddie was throwing a fit because I would not buy a small carton of blueberries for $11.00. Just then, another random person started talking to Maddie in Chinese. Maddie then explained to the woman through her tears, in Chinese mind you, that she wanted those blueberries. So the random woman grabbed the blueberries and put them in my cart. What could I say other than, "xie xie?"

Author's Note: I put the attached picture as proof that I indeed paid 78 rmb for blueberries and I did not purchase Raid. AND if you know what the red fruit is on the side, please tell me. It's the color and texture of raspberries, but has a pit and is much bigger.

I love you Maddie....

A Wang Dang Dinger of a Day!

May 1, 2007

Dear Diary,

WOW! What a day this has been as Maddie's mommy and daddy. Today is a "special" day for us in that this is a day we celebrate all of the wonderful things in our life. No matter what is going on, no matter what comes our way, we celebrate and quietly remember what happened three years ago today. As much as we try to stay positive, it's inevitable that our nerves are on edge just a bit and I think that Maddie picked up on the vibes the very minute she woke up. The picture to the left is just one of the many time outs that happened today!

Two things to note that are special: She gave up one of her words today... you know, it was one of those baby words that we all think are so cute. We often sit around saying, "remember when Maddie said this or said that?" Well, not we add glop-glop to that list. In the bath today, she didn't ask for a glop-glop - she asked for a washcloth. I think she even surprised herself when she heard the word fly out of her of mouth! The second thing that's worth noting, Maddie is now alternating feet as she heads down the stairs. She been alternating feet going up the stairs for months, this was the first time she alternated her feet going down. It certainly speeds up the process a bit!

It took FOREVER to get out of the house because EVERYTHING seemed to be a battle. She didn't want a bath, she didn't want to eat breakfast, she didn't want to go to the bathroom before leaving, she didn't want to leave her balloon at home, she didn't want to sit in her car seat, she didn't want to stop scratching the car window with her plastic horse's legs.... she didn't want to talk without that whine in her voice. We love you Maddie.....

After a brief shopping trip, we headed to school in order to get some work done. Maddie actually likes to go to school with us on non-school days because we hook one of her movies up to the projector and she gets to sit in huge bean bags. What is truly special about today is she had a pair of scissors with her while she was watching Cinderella III. And guess what she did with those scissors?! Maddie gave herself her very first self haircut... on one side of her head only. I have no pictures as proof, but I do have several HUGE chunks of hair sealed in a school envelope that I will give to her when she turns 18! ;) I was thinking it was time for another haircut - now we are really get to get one.

Like I said, it was a Wang Dang Dinger of a Day! Oh but we really do love you Maddie!

Turtles and Frogs

Maddie REALLY needs a haircut. It actually couldn't be any easier. I call Cheryl who lives down the street, make an appointment for the next day, and then Maddie and I walk down to her house. So why can't I get it together enough to just CALL??!! Today has nothing to do with a haircut but when I download pics, the first thing I see is Maddie's hair. Mother of the Year Award - part 100! ;)

We did a major shopping excursion today to prepare for Jan and Greg's arrival on Wednesday. Andy was downright amazing as I usually hear about how I'm hording JELLO (ha, ha), but today he mentioned nothing about the massive amounts of food I was putting into the cart. We went to METRO this time which is usually Maddie's favorite place because of the fish section. METRO always has live and not-so-live fish in tanks, but the most interesting is the huge frogs and turtles in the tanks. She has always looked at them with great interest and is usually very excited, but today she just kind of stood back a bit, eyeing the frogs and turtles with a bit of apprehension.

After we go grocery shopping, it's a tradition to go OUT to eat and not cook so we made our way to Syzygy in the German Centre for some good food. Of course, Maddie chowed on fresh shrimp the entire time which meant that she at nothing for dinner. I finally figured out what was going on in her mind all day about those frogs and turtles though. As she was telling me what she was going to dream about tonight before falling asleep she said, "Mommy - I don't like to eat turtles and frogs." I quickly changed the subject and said that I'll make sure she gets a haircut tomorrow!