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I'm moving to http://www.xanga.com/juliesteiner I can't open julieinaforeignland because Blogger is being blocked in China. I can obviously post (since I am right now) but I can't actually see my page so I don't like that. Blogger's been great but Xanga is great, too. See you there.

Today I'm making a chicken dish in the crockpot with sourcream. It's actually quite amazing that this is happening. I would never normally have sourcream here because first of all I'd have to make a 30 min trip (not including the prep time to get the bus or taxi) to METRO in HanKou and secondly I'd have to spend a large sum of money for a gigantic tub of sourcream that wouldn't even fit in my little fridge and on top of that Phil doesn't even like sourcream (poor fellow). So how did I get this wonderful gift? The office bought a big tub for a party and they sold the leftovers. So, I'm making something like chicken stroganoff. For those concerned about what Phil will think, he'll like it because it's mixed in the dish. There's a stray dog that's been living on our floor (12th floor apartment) outside of the elevators. She showed up a few days ago. She either walked the 12 flights of stairs or rode the elevator. She's little, blac...

Today I'm making a chicken dish in the crockpot with sourcream. It's actually quite amazing that this is happening. I would never normally have sourcream here because first of all I'd have to make a 30 min trip (not including the prep time to get the bus or taxi) to METRO in HanKou and secondly I'd have to spend a large sum of money for a gigantic tub of sourcream that wouldn't even fit in my little fridge and on top of that Phil doesn't even like sourcream (poor fellow). So how did I get this wonderful gift? The office bought a big tub for a party and they sold the leftovers. So, I'm making something like chicken stroganoff. For those concerned about what Phil will think, he'll like it because it's mixed in the dish. There's a stray dog that's been living on our floor (12th floor apartment) outside of the elevators. She showed up a few days ago. She either walked the 12 flights of stairs or rode the elevator. She's little, blac...

We're busy. I think it's actually the DVD players fault. And also we've had several visitors. Last night we went to The Best Western for supper. Maybe you don't imagine The Best Western as a classy joint but when it's an international chain it is. It was very nice and the buffet was wonderful. It supposedly had an Italian theme but the Italian food I tried was not the best stuff there. The best dish was diced potatoes with onion and bacon. It was a little spicy and just really great. Also the bread pudding was delicious. Not only was the food great but Maddie had a highchair. We always take the stroller or baby backpack with us to restaurants because there are never highchairs. We had our stroller with us but when we arrived the staff had already put a highchair at the table. It was really big and plush. I think Maddie liked being up at the table with everyone and she had just as much fun throwing almost every bit of food we gave her on the floor. She...

We've gotten a DVD player for our tv. The first night we had it we couldn't stop watching season two of The Office. We're still amazed by how great that show is. Phil's been busy writing papers on the computer and I've been busy for the past few days making birthday invitations whenever I had a minute alone. I say all this because I haven't blogged for several days. Maddie's birthday is on Nov.10th. All the invitations are done now. It's a dog face (looks like Blue's Clues but not blue - but that's who I used for my model) and it's attached to a square piece of paper by a ribbon. The paper says: Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! (Happy 1st Birthday, Maddie) Join us for lunch and a party on Friday, November 10th at 12:15pm at Maddie's home. They're cute and they took a lot of work. Thankfully, I only had to make 12. I'll take a picture and post it so you're all invited. I chose a dog invitation because she LOVES them and she mak...

This morning Phil took care of Madeleine for a couple of hours before he had to go to the office. I got up and nursed Maddie and then went back to bed. Then I got up and had coffee and breakfast on the balcony while Phil and Maddie took a walk. I REALLY enjoyed it. It's still cool. The current temp at 10:12am is 63 degrees. High of 71. Yesterday was one of the clearest days I've seen here. Phil actually saw some stars on his way to teach last night. Tomorrow Phil's taking time off in the morning. We may go to HanKou with Rhoda. Mr. Donut will be on the agenda as well as shopping for DVDs. Hopefully it will be another nice day. I realized the sweater coutdown is off by a few days. 22 days left.

Maddie seems better this morning. This morning I woke up to a beautiful blue sky with little wisps of white clouds. Then I opened the door to the balcony off of Madeleine's room and a crisp, cold rush of air hit my face. Oh, what a wonderful feeling! It made me so happy. Madeleine got to wear her purple fleece sweatshirt for the first time and she looked so cuddly and sweet. We took a walk along the river and I actually felt cold with the wind blowing in my face. Madeleine seemed just fine. Jolene and I have ordered our sweaters. Her's is machine made and it will take 10 days. Mine is handmade and it will take 20 days. I can't wait to pick it up on Nov.15th. I really hope it comes out how I want it. I found a really nice dark gray yarn that I think I'll really like. I kept telling the ladies (through Jolene) that I didn't want it fitted. They seemed to understand. I also asked to have a V-neck which is a change from the original displayed at the store....

Madeleine is sick. I can't say with what but she's definitely not feeling well. Yesterday she was so fussy and took three naps. She just wanted me to hold her all day and since that's impossible she wasn't very happy. Around 7:15pm she went to bed without a fuss. She cried out a few times in her sleep and I thought for sure she'd keep crying but she slept until 6:45am. This morning she seemed a little happier but she still just wanted me to hold her. After lunch she threw-up a little bit. She's sleeping now - again, her 3rd nap of the day. I nursed her a few times yesterday afternoon because I felt so bad for her. I nursed her this afernoon, too. I read recently that nursing is one of the best things for a sick baby. Breast milk is very gentle on little stomachs plus it's full of good stuff for fighting off illness. So, I'll drop the weaning regiment until she seems better. Before anyone has a chance to say it...I know, it could be teethin...

It's Saturday. Phil's gone to the University to participate in the HIV/AIDS training. Maddie and I are here trying to take a nap. I'd love to take a nap but Madeleine would rather act really sleepy and then refuse to sleep. She's screaming as I type. I wonder when our minds make the switch from thinking that naps are the most wicked form of punishment to thinking they are one of the greatest activities on earth. The problem is that the switch doesn't happen for most people until a time in life when all you'd like to do is nap but you can't. Sounds like Madeleine decided to sleep. That didn't take long. It seems that the times when she screams the loudest are also the times when she falls asleep the fastest. I'd better get my nap, too. zzzzzzz...

Today is rainy and cooler. I say cooler instead of cool because it was in the mid 80s yesterday and in the 70s today. I'd like it cooler but it's a nice change. I'm really missing the changing of summer to fall right now. My Taste of Home magazine came in the mail yesterday and it's full of T-giving foods plus cozy soups and warm breads. I'd love to really need a sweatshirt (I wore one this morning but didn't really need it) and feel a crispness in the air. This morning when I saw the rain coming down outside the window and as I put on my slippers I wished that I could go sit on my in-laws screened in porch and drink coffee. I love cool mornings on a porch with coffee. I'm sure it's a little taste of the joy of heaven. CS Lewis says that when we have longings like this we're actually longing for heaven. I can see that. On our walk I picked up a few leaves that had changed to yellow and red. This is by no means to imply that the trees are ch...

Saturday night turned into a really fun night with Rhoda, Ally, and Hope (co-workers). They came over for a chili supper. We had fun eating Western food together. Rhoda's from Canada. Her grandparents are from Hong Kong so she blends right in here but she's definitely North American. Ally and Hope are Chinese. I guess they're all in their 20s. They all love Madeleine so it was fun for everybody. We sat in the living room to eat because we have the smallest dinning room table ever made. Maddie sat in her highchair in the living room with us so that we could all eat without her grabbing everyone's dishes. Along with the chili we had a big salad with ranch and Italian dressing. The dressings were made from those nifty spice packets from the States (thank you, Colemans). Rhoda, especially liked having a salad with ranch dressing. Salads are just not that common here. And if you do get a salad it's not anything like what you'd expect when you hear ...

It's Friday. We have class tonight. Hope is coming to watch Madeleine. She's in a great mood right now. She did not want to take an afternoon nap but we made her stay in her crib. She slept for about 40 minutes and has been in a great mood. One thing that helps is that she loves drinking milk (cow's) now from her sippy cup. So since I'm down to 2 nursings a day - morning and night - she's drinking more milk. I say that it helps because I think having her sippy cup near her to dink whenever she feels a little hungry is keeping her happier. It makes sense to me. The problem is that I've noticed when she's drinking milk she doesn't eat as well at meals. She loves grilled cheese. I'm glad she likes it because it's really easy and fast to make for her. However, I'm not thrilled about her eating white bread, butter and processed cheese. She ate a whole sandwich for lunch today. Yesterday I got more birthday gifts. A package came fro...

We didn't get to Hankou (I've been spelling it wrong for those who've noticed) today. Which is fine. The weather was awful. So much pollution. So I had an hour long massage instead. 5 Sisters is a body massage and facial shop right outside the complex. It's really a massage shop unlike other "massage" shops here that cater to men. Rhoda and I went together. It was wonderful. We had a room with two massage tables, low lighting and soft classical music. Sounds romatic or relaxing. It was relaxing. And it wasn't painful. That's always a plus. Phil, Madeleine, and I went out for Chinese tonight. It was really good. Phil is teaching class now and Maddie's sleeping. Phil got me a beautiful jade bracelet. So, two good birthday days.

Today I am 29 years old. I don't mind being a 29 year old. It has it's advantages, I'm sure. It's only 7:33am so I don't really know how my actual birthday is going to be but yesterday was great. After a meeting here at home with the other Seminary English teachers, Phil told me that Terri (coworker) wanted to see me the office. I knew something was up and when I walked into the office everyone was standing there, Terri was holding a cake with candles, and they all started singing "Happy Birthday". I wasn't surprised that they did something but I was surprised to have everyone there at that moment singing to me. I'm enjoying a piece of the spice cake right now with coffee. They also made me a really sweet card that was very encouraging. Terri and Buddy(dog) came over around 5pm last evening so that Phil and I could go out. I knew we were going to a restaurant and I knew we should dress a little nice. We both looked nice but we couldn't...

A 6th tooth is popping through. I'm not sure when I'll wise up and begin to associate Maddie's really fussy days with a new tooth. A couple days ago she was super cranky, clingy, feverish, had a bit of a runny nose, and didn't want to eat. A more experienced parent would say, "Yep, she's teething." I just complained about how fussy she was. Then that evening I decided to look at her gums and there it was, the 6th tooth just coming through the skin. I think I've done this with every single tooth. Maybe I've learned. We'll see when the 7th starts...wait, maybe it already has. Last night a strong wind brought in cooler weather and rain. I went for a run and enjoyed the breeze in my face. Last night was also a night to celebrate Mid-Autumn Day. So there was a huge fireworks show down the river. I was able to watch from one particular apartment complex that sits on top of a parking garage so it's higher than the rest of the complex. ...

PengAiYi is here now. She's our cleaning lady. Okay, so I said I didn't really need help cleaning but the break would be nice. I couldn't clean the way this lady cleans. I guess I could but I just probably wouldn't unless I was being paid. She's amazing. She walked in the house talked to Maddie for half a minute and started cleaning with a vengence. Now I know why everyone else's apartments look SO good (several teammates use her, too). Needless to say, I'm happy she's here. Thanks to those who commented on my dishes. I'm glad you like them. If you come to visit you can eat off of them - hint, hint. Maddie's still sick. Today she has a fever. The good news is that she slept through the night again. We used the air purifier last night. It makes nice white noise so maybe that will help Maddie sleep, too. Phil's out walking with Maddie right now. Even though she's sick I know she'll still enjoy her walk. Plus it helps her...

Maddie slept from 7:30pm to 6:55am. Now you know why I sing. I can only hope she does it again tonight. We have been praying for this. I think she's sick. She's been sneezing and coughing more over the last 2 days. Today when we got back from our morning walk she threw up on the floor while she was playing. The problem is that I don't know if it was because I carried her home and I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on her belly. I was holding her with one arm and holding several bags with the other so it was awkward. But there's just something about her that as a mom I sense isn't quite right. We're going to borrow an air purifier from a teammate for Maddie's room. She's a nurse and she told us that babies should have a purifier in their rooms until they're 2 years old. Chinese cities are notorious for giving Westerners asthma. I feel bad that we haven't gotten it yet but our teammate's been really busy and we haven't c...

Today is still cool and rainy. Maddie and I went out for our morning walk since it wasn't raining at the time. I was actually surprised to see other kids out in their strollers. I figured they'd all be wrapped in electric blankets in front of a heater at home. It was great weather for a walk. I wore my Kolbs Dairy hoodie and it felt so nice to need a sweatshirt. Maddie wore a hooded jacket over her onesie. She had on cute little Old Navy sweatpants and of course shoes and socks. However, it wasn't quite enough I guess because I did get a few comments. Next time I'll pull out the ol' snowsuit. I also got some good advice on how my cell phone and wallet were going to get stolen. They were out in the open but some one would have to be pretty fast and bold to get them. However, it is common in some places to have your cell phone taken. Some how I just can't imagine the old ladies talking to me and Maddie while we waited for our breakfast to be cooked runn...

I realized today that we've almost been in Wuhan for a month. We arrived on Sept. 2nd. It doesn't seem that long. But when I think back to that first night here and then our first full day it does seem awhile ago. We're all so much more comfortable now. My Wednesday mornings are going to get a lot more comfortable. I'm getting a cleaning lady! She'll come around 8:30am and stay until 12:30pm. Other coworkers here use her and they say she's a great worker and is also great with kids. She'll do whatever cleaning, laundry, or shopping I need done. I'm hoping it works out for her to watch Maddie some too during that time so that I can go out and do some shopping or just get out for awhile. The main reason I'm going to use her is because I just need a break. I shared with my coworkers today that every few days I have a meltdown. It's just that everything builds up and then I just feel so down and discouraged. There's a lot that contrib...

Fireworks on a Monday night that go on for 45 minutes for whatever reason. Not just little fireworks but big huge fireworks that I can see from my 12th floor apartment half way across the city. It's so fun. Ladies that give Madeleine food. This morning as we went out for our morning walk an older lady that always talks to Maddie was coming home from shopping and she had 2 steamed buns. They're huge and she wanted to give one to Maddie. I kept refusing and she kept insisting. I finally took it and Maddie really liked it (I did, too). Later on the playground Maddie had all the food she could ever want as every grandmother there kept giving her little pieces of food. It's a good thing I'm not a germ freak! Again, Maddie loved it all. Chinese take-out. We've decided that we'll have Chinese food delivered on Sunday nights for supper. This great restaurant that the team often visits is just outside the apartment gates and they deliver as long as it's ov...

We have cell phones. The cheapest phones I could find with Mandy. Mandy is the absolute queen of cell phones so it was pretty funny with me being the absolute moron of cell phones. I had to call her today to figure out how to turn it on. The last few days have been busy. Thursday - Maddie and I met Mandy at a mall that has a TCBY. TCBY was great except for the fact that Maddie started choking on a cracker and I had to do the ol' finger sweep to get it out. When we were leaving the shop Mandy said, "Maddies first time to eat at TCBY is in China." and I said, "It's also her first time to almost die in TCBY." Friday - Maddie stayed with Hope while Phil and I taught class. Class went well except that we were late because the taxi driver took us to the wrong church. After class Phil and I took advantage of having a sitter and we wondered the streets around the church. I bought a pair of pink tennis shoes for about 3 dollars. They are so cute the style r...

Milk tea is this wonderful drink that's very popular in Taiwan and can be found in some areas of mainland China. It's cold and it's simply black tea made with sugar and milk. I'm not exactly sure if it's just regular sugar or sweetened condensed milk but it's fabulous. Phil's actually the biggest fan in our family but I really like it too. It comes with these little black "pearls" that are some kinda of gummy tapioca like stuff. I don't really know what they are but they're a little weird and don't really add to the drink so we usually request that they not be put in our tea. So there are at least 2 shops that sell milk tea near us. And the most important detail is that it's REALLY GOOD milk tea. We've had milk tea in other parts of China and it was not good so this is a really great thing. Maddie and I were out for a little shopping this afternoon and we bought 2 for Phil and me. I started telling the lady what I want...

For all those who are biting their nails wondering if I got new dishes.....I didn't. There are several problems with getting the perfect dish. One, if you're me, you need enough time to look at every single dish and think of every single scenario that might involve that particular dish Two, you have to then look at the design and decide if you will love it for the rest of your life Three, you have to remember that you walked about a mile to the store with the stroller, you already have a crockpot, an iron, and you still need to buy food - how will you carry a 10 person set of dishes home? Fourth, you could always just come back later with Phil. So the saga continues and really there is no end in sight. We did get the cheese, meat, bread, and I'm very happy to have the crockpot. And the fact that I understood a lot of what the salesperson was telling me about the crock makes me almost as happy. It's amazing how much the salespeople know about their products. Pick up ...

Tonight was our 1st English class at the seminary. We have 2 classes with about 25 students in each. It went really well. It's too bad that Sharon, Jolene, and I can't always teach together because it was a lot of fun. We all went tonight just because we thought it would be the best way to start the 1st class. Phil has the beginners and they are definitely beginners. Our class is a nice mix of high beginners and intermediates. There are a few really high level students, too. So, I'll see them again on Friday. From what we were told Maddie did really well with the sitter. Her name is Theresa. She is a daughter of a Chinese coworker. She got a little nervous and called her mom to come over and help so they were both here when we got home. I'm not sure what made her nervous. We had asked her to give Madeleine a bath. Again, I'm not sure what she did but she told us that Maddie's shower was short because she didn't like the water. So I'm assum...

Well this Sunday has proved to be much better than last. Last week we stayed for an hour and 10 mins. of the service and had to leave. Maddie just couldn't take anymore. She proved it by screaming for the entire taxi ride home from church. This week she made it all 2+ hours plus went out to eat afterwards. She wasn't very happy during lunch but she did very well. She fell asleep on my shoulder during the ride home and is still asleep (going on 2 hours now). There are rewards for putting up with a fussy baby long enough! Towards the end of service Maddie started making hen duo xiao pengyou (many little friends). I guess the children's services let out before ours did so several kids came into the adult service. They were all playing in the back where Maddie and I had drifted back to. Maddie loved it. She was cruising around the pews trying to keep up with one particular little girl that had given her a cookie. At one point I was talking to a young lady and while ...

I just have to share that Madeleine took her first steps tonight. It is such a precious little thing to watch. This evening we noticed that she was getting much more bold in her cruising around the living room furniture, going from couch to coffee table to chair to coffee table to couch. Then when I was with her in her room she cruised along the side of her bed and then took one step in order to reach her crib. Phil rushed in as I called him to see and then she did it again. As I told some friends earlier, I'm starting to understand why being a parent is so great. We just care for this little person so much and are so happy when she succeeds at any and every milestone. Ahhh....proud parent.

A couple really good days to tell about. Thursday, Mandy came over around 3pm and left at 7:30pm. She took a million pictures of Madeleine and Madeleine immediately loved her. In fact Mandy got to the apartment as Maddie was waking up and so Mandy went in the room with me to get her up. I picked her up and she looked at Mandy and then reached for her. Maddie knows what she's doing! The three of us went for a long walk along the river which is just across the street from our apartment complex. The city has a really nice park like design that runs for a long ways along the river. It has nice smooth sidewalks so we used Maddie's stroller. Phil was at home for supper and a coworker, Jolene, also joined us. Jolene and Phil went to an English Corner for the evening. Mandy is excited to spend as much time with us (Maddie) as possible and we're excited to have a babysitter that's available almost whenever we need her! Plus we really like Mandy. Friday, was a great day,...

Today Madeleine and I went with Sharon to the fresh market. I wanted to show Sharon the cuts of meat that I buy. I can get pork loin for a little over a dollar per pound and beautiful chicken breast for less than a dollar a pound. Can't beat it! Sharon has been in China for a long time but she usually doesn't buy meat from the fresh markets. I'm really thankful that we spent almost 2 years in a small town in China, Ningxiang. It forced me to use the fresh markets and learn about meats. Here in Wuhan I could go to the big grocery store and buy all my meats on a nice clean tray and wrapped in plastic wrap. I'm sure I'll do that now that I have the opportunity but I still like using the fresh markets the best. I think it's the site of huge hunks of meat hanging on hooks that is overwhelming to us foreigners. I had Vivian in Ningxiang to teach me the different cuts of pork and how to ask for pork chops. Without her I don't know what meat we would have ...

I've struggled in this current move more than I anticipated. It's so different having a baby with us. I knew in my mind that it would be harder but there was no way to know exactly what that would mean. I've been reading other people's thoughts and thought it might help me to share my own. I'd like to use this space to share good and bad stuff. All just put out there to be processed by myself and others. Mainly myself. Today started off rough. I was excited to take Maddie to feed the fish that live in a man-made stream in the complex. We left with Phil as he headed to the office and we had our bag of bread. There were 3 other Chinese ladies and 2 kids already at the stream feeding fish. How nice I thought. Right away I regreted being there. All 3 ladies couldn't stop talking about how poorly Maddie was dressed. She had on a t-shirt and pants. I had actually forgotten about socks but it was a nice morning so no big deal. I don't know what they k...