Tea Time

One of the things my mom wanted to do when she visited was have tea in China.  So, on my mom's 6_th birthday, I arranged a private tea tasting in a Hutong in Beijing.  A Hutong is an old, narrow alley comprised of homes or businesses.  The company we went through was Tranquil Tuesdays.  Their website tranquiltuesdays.com gives so much information on tea.   The owner, Charlene, is about my age and started this business herself.  She is originally from California, but has China heritage.  Her entire business, outlook, and demeanour is absolutely brilliant.  She employes female workers from China in hopes of empowering them to work towards their own goals, dreams, and provide future networks.  Isn't that AMAZING?!  We felt every penny we spent on our tour was worth it, just to know money was going to help Chinese women feel more empowered in their society (not to mention the tea was fantastic).  Song Yan was there with Charlene to assist and teach us the proper way to serve Chinese tea.  There's a whole "5 principles of brewing tea" and lesson that went along with our tour.  We had an educational AND flavorful experience.

This is us starting out, practicing pouring cold water with a gaiwan.

Song Yan teaching mom "it's all in the wrist" with pouring correctly.

We were pros in no time.

I think it was a great way to celebrate mom's birthday.



Hope you enjoy your birthday and always remember the special celebration spent in China!

Dee Dee the teacher

My mom is a teacher at heart.  Always has been, always will be.  Her trip to Beijing would not have been complete without a visit to Bianca's little school.  Bianca attended Children's International Bilingual Academy (CIBA) two times a week.  

Not only did her visit include visiting Bianca at school, but also reading and crafting.  She brought leaf books (it was Autumn and all the leaves were "falling") and made a special song to sing about "Autumn Leaves are Falling Down" that was the melody to London Bridges.  She is so creative!  Funniest moment: when my mom stood up to teach the song to the class, Bianca marched right up front next to DeeDee and also "taught" the song.  She was very proud and acted like she knew the song and was also trying to teach it to her friends.  Hilarious!  The teacher, Mr. Edmar, loved it all and even wrote down her songs she sang.  Bianca still sings the songs on her own even months later.  

The night before mom and I worked on creating a craft to bring (see the leaf people below).  The kids seemed to really love it all and Mr. Edmar even wrote an entire page on it in his monthly newsletter.  It pays to have a grandma that was also a "top notch" teacher! You still have skills, Dee Dee!!!  The kids loved her.

Chinese acrobats/circus

One of my mom's favorite events while visiting was the Chinese acrobat show.  It was pretty cool, I have to admit.  Although they use no nets, no safety straps.... kinda blows your mind.

Back up a minute to getting tickets.  My friend sent me a phone number to call for "discounted" tickets. So I called a couple days in advance, got 2 tickets reserved, and was to meet the ticket dealer at the door.  It was PACKED full of people.  My mom was like, "How will they know who we are?"  Funny.  We were the only caucasian people.  Of course they would find us.  They did, and we got seated in great seats for a major discount.  

This just perplexed us. 

I was sweating when I watched this... I was so nervous for her.

Whoever knew spinning umbrellas would be a career?

At one time there were 12 people riding.  Crazy!!!  Can you imagine?

These were motorcycles.  You can see the globe behind them.  It is VERY small.  8 MOTORCYCLES were riding in there at once.  It was the finale act, which is good because my blood pressure and nurse instincts were really bothering me (as was all the exhaust fumes)!

Traditional Chinese dress.

Throw in a clown???  Circus?

It was over and we were just amazed.  I was glad we got to go to the acrobat show.  Mom really enjoyed it, as did I.

Say ahhhhhh......

In October, while my mom was visiting, we took Bianca to her first dentist appointment.  She was so excited to go, she talked about it for a week before the appointment.  We read Dora Goes to the Dentist, The Tooth Book, etc.  

Once we were there, she was so happy to get on the chair and get ready to say "ah!"

Then the dentist came and things got a bit......

Hairy.  The dentist said she had the cleanest teeth for a 3 year old she had ever seen.  Wanted to know how we managed to keep them in such good shape.  However, once the electric brush got going and the suction turned on.... she was DONE.  Totally freaked out, would not let anyone do any more to her.  Wouldn't even sit in the chair.

So maybe next year she will do better.  At least we know she has good oral hygiene.

The motherload has landed

(Insert.... I have a few blogs I will post over the next couple of weeks to "catch up" on blogging.  There are a few things I don't want to forget and I need to make sure they get posted before I start a new blog on Dubai.)

For those of you who know my mom well, you know she's a crazy lady who'll do just about anything.  Including fly on an airplane for the first time overseas SOLO... and to China nonetheless.  So when she said her flight got in at midnight, I told her my driver would be looking for her with a name sign.  She said, "OK!"  Kidding, mom.  I'll pick you up at the airport.

The next morning, Bianca woke up as happy as can be.  She knew Grandma would be there.  They greeted each other with hugs and a blanket fight.  I kept thinking, 'Was my mom this cool when I was a kid?' 

Probably not.

The first couple days were slightly uneventful, as we needed to get her caught up on "China time".  She was staying 3 weeks, but I knew they would go fast so after a day or two of settling, it was time to get going.  One of our first trips?  The Great Wall!  Of course, everyone who comes to China must see the Great Wall.  My mom was here in October so the leaves and colorings were just beautiful.  

On the way up, I told her to stop talking so I could sit with my head between my knees so I didn't puke or hyperventilate.  Did she listen?  No.... kept talking.  And took pics.

Alas... we made it. 

 Throw in a break or two......

Here we are.  Atop of one of the greatest, most historic pieces of the world.  You'd think after 3 weeks of her visiting one of us would want to jump (or shove) off this wall.  

Nope.... 3 weeks flew by with tears upon leaving.  More to come.

Reindeer Party

I've got party fever in my blood.  It's truthfully genetic, passed down generations.  I think since I happen to be the only girl in my immediate family, I might have gotten a double-dose.

Bianca is now old enough to get "into" the holiday spirit.... which makes partying that much more fun.  For me, party season starts in October (B's birthday), continues to November (Vivi's birthday), and completes in December (Happy Birthday, Jesus).  Throw an international move in there and we're really getting things hopping!

Come to our North Pole....

I had wanted Chinese lanterns but didn't know what to do with them.  Red & green for Christmas will make lovely memories.


The best "mood setter": a wood burning fireplace.  I LOVED this part of our home in Beijing.

Now I'm hungry.

I basically wanted it to be like a work shop for the little elves.  I had Christmas lights throughout the entire first floor of the house, so the main lights could be turned off.  It was awesome.  Magical.

Worker Elf station.

The Elves had to make reindeer food, of course.  Ikea jar = $2.  Reindeer food = old food in my cabinets.  Amount of fun = Priceless.

Even the little Elves had a blast.

Daddies got to do a lot of the dirty work while mommas enjoyed homemade mulled wine.  Compliments of Mr. Alex.... a little bit of European influence thank you!

 And a certain Ms. Iowa made homemade sugar cookies with all the trimmings to decorate.  Thank you Southern Belle Heather.

I love these Danish friends.  They are so sweet.

The "proper" way to pose while eating cookies.

There was hide and seek, magical peppermint sweet dreams pillow spray, tons of eating, and hot coco (kids) mulled wine (adults).  The elves were up wwaaaaaaaay passed bed time, but who could put a limit on fun?  The next morning we had a HUGE mess and less than 12 hours before departing for our house visit to Dubai.  All I could think was.....

I can't wait to do this again, next year.