sore thumb

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...