Early Halloween Night

So I, Haga wanted Jesse to be like Eric from True Blood. Instead He were a zombie from rice farm (Jesse has a gag reflection. he couldn't put fake rubber teeth into his mouth).

Halloween Pumpkin

Saturday we carved pumpkins and lid candles.

Akiva and Kenaz Got HFMD

Akiva’s best friend in his class got Hand-foot-and-mouth disease a week ago. I knew Akiva would get it. Tuesday his teacher called me there were red rashes on his hands. Last year doctor miss-diagnosed him HFMD, so I asked a kindergarten doctor to take him to hospital. Akiva and Kenaz were segregated and came home earlier. When I see Akiva’s hand I knew this time he really got HFMD. However Akiva didn’t have fever (although he was very fussy), now he has sore mouth.
He had a lot of energy we went to a Sweet Osmanthus Park to climb at castle. Wednesday night Kenaz had fever and now has sore mouth. They cannot eat anything but ice cream!

I feel little bit lucky. Since I came back from Europe I needed more rest. Jesse and I take a turn from work and stay home with kids.

Milan Trip

I went to Milan for 7 days (plus 14 hours flight each) with two Japanese business men to attend EMO-, a world biggest machine exhibition. Milan was a beautiful city with many old buildings, good food and friendly people (There were also many cigarettes on streets).
Jesse and all my friends were happy for me about this trip. I get go to Milan for free and get paid a little (and first time away from kids). I was excited too. I usually like freebies. I had to get a chocolate cake sample whenever I was at CostCo. However it was really long to take a trip with strangers. I was with Japanese business men all the time from morning till I close my hotel room door at night.

When I was young, I had some guys to buy me dinner or drinks. I enjoyed for a while until I realized a dollar tacos I paid myself and ate with Jesse (Jesse never paid me anything) was the best. Anyway,

Japanese business men and I were at the exhibition for 3 days. 1 day to fly to Belgium to meet their customer. And 2 days we did sightseeing in Milan and Geneva.

Everywhere we went was expensive. Taxi was expensive. Food was expensive. We went to a couple good cafés, pubs and restaurants but very expensive even from Tokyo standard. We tried to go to local recommended places. It was good food but still very expensive. Best deal was happy hour. Many café/pub/restaurant offer happy hours between 4 to 8, charge 6-8 Euros for one drink and various buffet foods. Most the restaurant opens at 8. People hang around pub and enjoy drinking and talking before 8. If you are simply hungry and just want to eat, I think pizza or sandwich stands are better choice. Like Japanese business men who don’t like to talk but want to eat good food is really not fit into the life style.

Milan people were very friendly. Many people didn’t speak English at all, however they always tried to help me. I felt very comfortable. Milan people were very fashionable and over dressed. It was perfect weather to wear T-shirt, but locals were enjoying a fall fashion. They wore nice long sleeve shirt with light sweater and lather jacket or dawn vest. No one was sweating. I wonder espresso and Mozzarella cheese made their body temperature lower.While I was in Milan, I notice door knob was different from what I usually see. Most the door knobs in Milan don’t turn. You need to push and pull. When I was in an outdoor bathroom, I locked my self and I didn’t know how to open the door. I was supposed to press on the top of door nub and push. I really had no clue. It was small bathroom no window. I took deep breath and tried to open the door several times, but didn’t happen. I got so panicked. I looked around there was no vent. I started seeing back of my eye I was scratching the white door with my bloody fingers. I started screaming and banging the door. I was there for like 3 minutes, but I felt like an hour and I was almost fainted. Then a Japanese business man opened the door from out side. I couldn’t get my self calm. That night I couldn’t sleep. I totally got a close phobia. Every time I think about Milan, this accident appears in my head and my tears come out and I get totally freaked out.

(I've been to Europe!)

The Assignment, #1

Haga got a gig in Italy for 7 days, translating for some Japanese business types. I'm here with the kids. Which is very good in theory. But I have never been 2 days just with them. Kenaz does not like to eat with anyone but Mom and does not let me wipe his butt (and so will avoid pooping when mom is not around). This is going to be the most difficult job ever.

I don't have twitter and don't believe in micro-blogging. But below is what has happended, in trendy mirco-blogging format:

Oct. 3rd,
21:30 Haga leaves to go to Itally.
Oct. 4th,
07:30 Kids wake up. I prepare bottle. Too sleepy to do anything productive, I let them watch TV.
8:00 pop two anitbiotics, a tylanol, a decongestant, and a vitamin
08:30 Take them outside. Time Akiva running laps around courtyard. Then have Kenaz walk up and down 7 flights of stairs.
9:15 go to toy-store. All the toys are expensive. The kids no longer like Transformers...the like Kanen Rider and Ben 10. I take them to another toy store
10:30 I have raging sinus headache. See Ultraman Dyna toys at half off. Score.
11:00 Take kids to Starbucks to play. I get a coffee and 20 minutes rest

The Starbucks Playground

11:30 Burgerking. Kenaz eats 2 chicken McNuggets. Akiva feeds him some of his hamburger and Kenaz eats it.
12:30 Reverse-track the entire mall, arrive at playground. They practice climbing for 30 minutes
2:00 Nap time
3:40 try to wake them up. They wont get up. Put Star Wars Clone Wars on TV. They wake up.
5:00 Go outside to play
6:00 Walk to favorite Chinese restaurant. Its packed. Continue walking to Potsticker restaurant. There Kenaz eats 1 hard boiled eggs and a soy-milk drink. Akiva and I eat equal amount: 2 plates of potstickers and 1 soy milk drink
8:00 Return home after detour to park. Watch "Laputa" on TV. Akiva likes it alot.
10:00 in bed, lights out

Oct. 5th.
06:30 Akiva wakes us all up. I'm supposed to be active and play. But I let them watch 1 episode Clone Wars
7:30 Eat cake breakfast
8:30 I realize what i need is a girl. We go over to Gugu's house. I invite her to go with us to the Suzhou Youth Activity Center. Gugu's mother looks at me and says "you know...the three of them are very naughty...how will you take care of them?" I reply that the strategy is to get Akiva and Gugu to play together, so Kenaz will be left alone.
9:45 Arive at activity center. We just miss the robot show. We go in. lots of computer simulations, like a car simulation with a car. tug-o-war simulation. Rifle shooting sim with real-ish rifles (too heavy for the kids). The kids love it all. But I feel that most of the exhibits are broken. We toss a bowling ball on the left side and the screen shows it go down the right. Rifle registers a foot off the target. The canoe exhibit goes by some weird different physics model. etc. Kids like it all. Too many people cutting in line for the car and snow-mobile sim.
10:50 Time to line up to get in the robot exhibit.
10:58 instead of going by who lined up first, MC passes out numbered cards. I get one. 2 girls are hurt by other mothers pushing in to grab a card
11:00 The four of us go in to the exhibit to a control station. There are earphones, but they're not working. I can tell that there are two levers and a button; left-right, raise arm up/down, fire.
11:15 there were technical difficulties. The MC kept coming to our station like we broke something. Its clear the computer control system for the whole exhibit is bugged and re-booted.
11:20 There is a steal ball that comes our of the daddy robot and is supposed to roll down a twisting track into an spherical receptical. I don't know what this is supposed to symbolize. But it jumps the track and falls on the floor. The MC has no comment.
11:30 The "show" ended. Akiva asks what's wrong with the robots. I say that they were not made in Japan.
11:40 We make our way to the botanical garden (next to the activity center). Gugu spots an inflatable playground and we go inside.



12:00 I rally the kid to go to lunch. The kids are hot. Akiva teases Kenaz. Kenaz jumps Akiva, knocks him to the ground, and starts hitting Akiva's face. Akiva laughs, further infuriating Kenaz.
12:15 I get the kids settled down
13:00 We arrive at Dongwu Noodles. Akiva eats a bowl of noodles. Kenaz eats 1.5 plates of wheat glutton balls soaked in oil.


Two boys and a girl

13:45 Return to Gugu's house. The kids play there and I go back home to do dishes
14:30 Retrieve Kenaz. Take him home for nap
17:30 Eat cheese and crackers, cake and grapes with Kenaz. Kenaz eats some cake and a little cheese.
18:30 go out with Kenaz to get Ice-cream. Take long walk through park. I ate too many grapes and have the runs.
20:00 retrieve Akiva and go home. We watch "Tron". The kids like it, but don't get it.
21:30 Kids in bed and fall fast asleep.

Oct 6:
08:30 Kids wake up. Drink milk.
10:00 Go to Zhu Aiyi's house. We watch re-runs of the 10/1 National Day parade. Too much Hu Jintao...not enough People's Liberation Army women-in-red-skirt-with-rifle troops.
11:00 Eat famous Yangcheng Lake crab, and alot of other stuff with Aiyi and various relatives. Aiyi feeds Kenaz a lot of food, as well as peels a bunch of shrimp for Akiva
12:30 I return home to get a worker into the appartment to fix the toilet. Zhu Aiyi takes care of kids.
16:00 I return to Zhu Aiyi's house. Watch more 10/1 day re-runs.
17:00 Dinner. Eat more crab, cashew nuts, shrimp, etc. The kids eat a little, but I know they ate a lot already.
19:00 return home. Kids are tired...didn't take nap. They play but lack energy
21:00 shower
21:30 In bed


Problem is, I've never had the kids for

60th Anniversary of China

We have 8 days of holiday to celebrate 60 years' China national day. We went to park to take a picture in front of the holiday monument,
then we went to a newly opened Walmart shopping mall five minutes walking distance from our apartment complex. The shopping mall is pretty much like American mall. We have a Starbucks, Sephora, ZARA, QuickSilver, a bunch of good clothing stores and BurgerKing. I am so excited!!! I cannot wait to go back there again without boys.Boys had to carry bamboo sticks. And I had to save the sticks and carry them at the mall(you know, none of the store clerks took me seriously. A mom with bamboos).