The giant rubber ducky draws quite a crowd

Yeliu park

Enjoyed a visit from Kelsey and Dave

Hiking with...cows?

Sum-Up

How do you sum-up a year?  There are the moves and vacations and milestones, but how about the less tangibles?

Things we've struggled with:

-bedtime (getting everyone calmed down and staying in bed without resorting to ugliness)

-church (keeping our cool when all four kids are climbing on us, snatching things from one another, using loud voices or running away)

-weekends (occupying the kids while still get the mountain of laundry, housework, cooking, lesson prep, etc. done)

-how to react when one sibling is mean to another, and how to be consistent when it happens many times a day

-keeping up with our school work, setting priorities, finding a balance

-making meals that meet my requirement of whole foods that kids will eat that I can prep in 30-40 minutes and don't have to think about ahead of time.

Things we've tried:

-Our latest bedtime solution is that we put all four kids in the same room, flipped the breaker so there are no lights, removed all toys and books.  I sit outside the door and attempt to study.  If something requires that I go into the room, there are consequences for the culprit: the girls pay me money or a job, the boys get "glued" to their bed (me laying on them for 30 seconds--they don't like it).

-For church, occasionally we have Claire sit with a teacher or grandma, and she is inevitably well behaved.  The boys?  We're hoping a morning meeting time next year will help.

-Something we are trying on the weekends is dividing up the time into two-hour segments and alternating who is with the kids.  So, we still have some time we can count on to get things done, but the person watching the kids doesn't get too tired, either.  As a result, I've been in a better mood on the weekends and enjoy the kids more, most of the time.

-I'm being very strict with myself as far as my schedule, when I go to bed, when I get up, what I do each hour of the day, each day of the week.  Unfortunately, that ends up only covering the very basics, and I'll catch up on the rest next year, right?

-I've reduced us to about seven meals that can incorporate any vegetables we get in our delivery and meet the requirements above.

M: burritos, T: pasta, W: stew, Th: stir-fry, F: pizza, Weekends: leftovers, sandwiches or soup

I haven't had time to read much this year because my focus has been Chinese, but three books I can highly, highly recommend:

Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel 

Even if you don't scream at your kids (or grandkids), you probably react to them in some kind of way you don't like sometimes.  This book explains how growing up yourself can change a lot of dynamics at home.  I've held very tightly to it since I read it.  The catch phrase for me was "You are not responsible for your kids.  You are responsible to your kids."

Remembering Hanzi, How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Chinese Characters by James W. Heisig and Timothy W. Richardson

I happened upon this book in the library, and their method clicked with me in a way nothing has for my 19 years of learning Chinese (yes, I've been at it that long).  I've spent so much time spinning my wheels when it comes to learning Chinese characters and finally, finally, they are sticking.  And, I'm excited to memorize them every night--it's the part of the homework I do first.  Highly effective for me.  I started the book in October, and I'm already past 1000 characters (some of which I had learned before but could no longer write from memory).

The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens

A beautiful book that expresses how I feel about life in a way that resonates with my soul and I think would resonate with anyone's, whether they are a "believer" or not.

Things we've let go of this year (but do hope to regain next year):

-Keeping up the yard or the house.  We maybe get the kids to clean up enough to vacuum on a Friday night if there is something they really want to do on Saturday.  Other than that, we've split everything up between the two of us: I do food, dishes and laundry; he does floors, bathrooms and trash.

-Keeping up with family and friends.  We each talk to our parents about once a week, but other phone calls rarely happen.  Hope you are reading our blog. :)

-Social time with friends here. We try to be friendly, but other than an occasional church activity that we can justify because we are speaking Chinese or some school event where the kids are involved, we really aren't having people over or going out with friends.

-Personal time for reading, web surfing, watching shows, etc.

So, what should I do with my life next year?  "Going back to school" has been a lot of fun, and being away from the kids during the day has given me some perspective on life and its stages.  I've felt guided down this path, but that doesn't mean I know where it will lead.  The kids are still young and need a lot from me, but our options will open up a lot next year as to how to arrange everyone's time (except Jonathan--he might be really busy at work--we'll see.)  Always a new chapter ahead...

Play time

Thanksgiving 2013

We really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year.  Part of it was that I made a lot of the food ahead of time, so there was no pressure day of.  Part of it was that the kids were in school during the day, so we peacefully prepared things at our leisure.  Part of it was that the recipes all turned out super yummy (J's best pumpkin pie ever).  But, most of it was that we just feel so blessed.  Life is good.

Jiu Fen

Another outing with church friends to an old mining town that has been restored as a tourist destination with winding streets, shops and tea houses.  It was too rainy to see the ocean, but the food was good.

Halloween 2013

We had multiple Halloween events (I guess this is typical these days).  Back-to-back church and work parties, the actual night of trick-or-treating, and various events at the schools. The dress-up box really got some mileage this year.  And, the candy bags--whoa!  The kids sold us some of the candy, some they have since lost for bad behavior and the rest we've tried to dole out reasonably.  Although I have to say I've found plenty of wrappers under the girls' beds.

 Since we live in a neighborhood that has been "American" since the 60's, there is quite the tradition of trick-or-treating.  Despite the rain, I think we got over 300 trick-or-treaters (for a 25-house neighborhood).  I just sat outside in the carport and handed out candy to a steady stream of kids (about half local, half foreign).

Temple in Taipei

Yilan

We went on a group tour to Yilan with friends from church, and one of them put together this little photo collage of the kids.  It is a nice coastal town with parks and lakes.  It was a rainy day, but the kids didn't mind.  Four blonde kids draw a lot of attention.  Even Sylvie and I are considered blonde in Asia.

 

 

Robots

Some of you may remember the robot party we had for Joel's first birthday.  Well, I still had a few old formula cans left and an afternoon to kill with the kids, so we invited neighbors over for arts and crafts and made "recycled robots."  Kind of a Mr. Potato Head concept using trash.

Preschool

A crisis occurred in our family when our awesome babysitter's old back injury flared up, and she had to quit. We started scrambling for a new solution to allow me to continue in Chinese training with Jonathan. We asked everyone we know here for ideas and considered everything from hiring a live-in Filipino helper to sending the boys to full-time preschool. We had reservations about all options, and the search process took me back to my original conflicted feelings about not being home full-time with the boys.  However, on a sleepless night, I reread my journal from earlier this year and revisited my original thought process and feelings. I felt assured that we'd find a way meet our children's needs and allow me to take advantage of the incredible opportunity this year to get full-time advanced training in Mandarin.  In the end, we decided on a local preschool where the boys can be immersed in Chinese, and luckily they were willing to bus the boys to and from our house (important logistically for our schedule).  Here they are on their first day--excited to be like their big sisters--going to school.

Somehow I survived a solo outing with the kids at the zoo...via the metro.

Hiking Grass Mountain

Ward Party

We decided to attend a local church congregation (versus the English-speaking international ward) this year while we are in Taipei.  We have felt so welcomed, and they have already put us to work as teachers.  Today was a holiday (Mid-Autumn Festival), and the bishop had mentioned that he and some of the other leaders wanted to come by and bring us lunch, so we'd have a chance to get to know each other.  We thought this would be great, especially as we have a hard time remembering Chinese names.  Turns out that 40 people came, including a lot of kids, so we had a full house.  They brought all the food and did all the clean-up.  They even brought name tags, and we took pictures of everyone to quiz ourselves.  What a fun welcome to the ward!  Turns out that I had actually met three of the women 15 years ago when I was in Taiwan.  They remembered me, but it took me a while to place them.  However, I pulled out my pictures from way back then, and there they were!

pomelo hat and moon cakes

The fruit of the season is pomelo (like a grapefruit with a very thick skin). Apparently, the Taiwan tradition is that at mid-Autumn festival, kids wear the peels as hats. We had to try it out...

The other food associated with mid-Autumn festival is moon cakes.  I get the feeling they are like fruitcakes at Christmas.  They are more about form than function (it's all about how pretty they are and the pretty box they come in).  They also like to be re-gifted.  I'm guessing only a few people out there actually like to eat them—my  mom (fruitcakes, that is) and as we discovered last night--Paul (moon cakes, that is).  You can see the different kids' reactions as we tried the moon cakes a sister at church re-gifted us (she told me as much).  These have red bean paste and a cooked egg yolk in the middle.

Sylvie wants to know why she can't have one of Grandma's chocolate chip cookies instead. Claire ate the bean paste part and tossed the yolk.  Paul gobbled the whole dry pasty thing down.  Joel's ended up in bits all over the place.

White Sand Bay

Some colleagues recommended this beach which is about an hour from our house.  We went on what turned out to be the perfect day.  Not only was the weather great and the beach full of conveniences like tents for shade and hot showers after, but because it was the Saturday before the holiday, most people were working to make up a day, so it wasn't crowded.  Our kids LOVED it.  Claire even managed to make friends with someone with a net and brought home two tiny fish (that died the next day).  Jonathan got to try out his thrift-store-purchased skim board (not as easy as he remembered), but the kids had fun getting rides on it.

Cake Museum

We got to go on a field trip this week to a "cake museum" where we made our own moon cakes and learned about the history of a famous pastry company in Taipei. They are one of the leading sellers of wedding boxes and other special occasion treats. They taught us about different traditions associated with important occasions, including this tradition of marrying off rich daughters who for some reason weren't already "arranged for" (maybe too ugly or other problems). The veiled girl tosses a fabric ball into the crowd of potential husbands, and then whoever catches it unveils her to see what fortune brought him.  Somehow we were chosen for this reenactment. 

Joel's naughtiness

Our youngest is no longer an innocent baby. I discovered him like this after a "nap."  He had climbed out of his crib (a first) and pulled every single item out of the dresser, most of which he somehow got into his crib.  He then repeated this trick for his babysitter three more times this week.

Settled

Homemade bread means we're settled. All kitchen appliances made it, our 12 bags of wheat are sealed in their buckets.  The musty sheets and towels that were in storage for a year are washed and put away.  Toys and books, clothes and dishes--it's all here.  The last step is pictures on the walls, and that is scheduled for next week. (We are spoiled that they do it for us.)  We even have our wheels already--we're set up!

Outing with Grandma & Grandpa

We were sad to say goodbye to Grandpa Tom and Grandma Karin, but a cross-Pacific flight probably sounded like a relief to them after being at our house for five weeks.  Even the night before they left, they watched the kids to let us get in a date to a famous dumpling house and the temple. They also took the boys on a big outing the day our last shipment arrived. It seemed the boys got a taste of Taipei--lunch at the 101, donuts on the go, and to top it off, mango ice AND yogurt with sprinkles.  Yum!

Novelty Restaurant with New Friends

Jonathan took the girls to meet up with new friends at one of the Taipei public libraries.  We wanted to get a supply of Chinese books for the boys' new babysitter who starts this week.  After, they got lunch at a car-themed restaurant with a supposed Western menu.  You would think it might be diner food, but it was more like fine-Italian cooked Chinese style. Not so tasty.

Teacher's Lunch

This Friday we had a lesson on alcohol (and how to politely refuse it) and then the teachers treated us to a special lunch.  These were the first two courses, both cold dishes.  The first was lobster over fruit in a boat.  You can't see the lobster because it is covered in mayonnaise.  The next one (starting at 11 o'clock and going clockwise) is giant shrimp, jellyfish shredded with some vegetable, squid, and mayonnaisey abalone.  In the center is some kind of translucent sausage.  There was a soup where every ladle full brought up a different surprise--intestines, chicken feet, chunks of fatty meat, etc.--I played it safe with a lotus nut and piece of taro.  I think our favorite dish was a kungpao shrimp, being the boring Westerners that we are.  Luckily we were sitting at the table with the teachers who also don't drink, so no pressure there.

Break in the Rain

It is typhoon season here, and we've had tons of rain the last two weeks.  But, we did have a nice day with blue skies in the middle.  This is one of the views from our training facility.  We love walking to work, seeing the clouds roll in, hearing the birds during class and the general relaxed atmosphere. We have 4 hours of class in the morning and 2 in the afternoon.  The morning classes only have 2-3 students in them, and the afternoon is a one-on-one tutor and then a "large group" of 6.  I love being a student again and just wish I could carve out more time to study. We get home by 4, but so do the girls, and it is pretty much dinner prep on to bedtime until 8.  And then I've always needed my 8 hours at night, so I have to go to bed by 9:30 to be able to start my day at 5:30 and get the girls on the 7am bus!  Saturday is tag-team shopping, laundry and cleaning, and we're hoping for a date night.  Sunday is cooking, blog, church and Skype.  And, then it starts again on Monday.  Sorry for the detail, but our focus is on routines right now.  It is the good kind of busy, though, and we know this year will fly by.  Two of our three shipments came last week, and we're hoping for the last D.C. shipment (the useful stuff like toys and food!) and our car this week.

Our Neighborhood

One of the best things about our life is the neighborhood we live in. We have about 20 American neighbors, we live on a cul-de-sac, and there are tons of kids.  The cul-de-sac is an actual circle around this most fabulous climbing tree. We also have a big fenced-in yard and a playground right next door.  Oh, and there are police at the top of the street that are constantly monitoring, so I feel pretty safe sending the kids out to play.

First Day of School--Hooray!

I mentioned before that the local school didn't work out, but we were happy to find that the Taipei European School had a space for both girls.  They wear these British uniforms (the handbook keeps mentioning "smart" looking shoes, etc.) Several of the neighborhood kids also go to the school, so they have friends on the (7am!!) bus.  We also heard the school has a strong Mandarin program, so we're hoping the girls can pick up where they left off. They like their teachers and all seems well.  There are also German and French sections at the school, and some activities and classes are combined with them.  About half the school is made up of local kids.

For the boys, we've arranged for a babysitter we met at church.  She is a stay-at-home mom, but her son is in 6th grade, so the timing works out for her.  There is even another woman at church who will be her back-up if something comes up.  They both have cars, so they can come to our house, and as long as they can handle two very active boys, we're hoping things are settled.  She starts in September when J's parents go home.  We really couldn't have done this without Tom & Karin.  They've been so patient with the whole settling-in process.

Local Greens

Living on the mountain is fabulous except for the fact that there is only one grocery store, and it isn't that well stocked (and quite expensive).  I had heard there is a morning market nearby, so I asked a local women (we were paired up with a local family through our teacher's connections) if she would take me. It was great to have her introduce me to the vendors and tell them I was her friend and to give me a good price.  These greens are the tops of sweet potatoes that grow on this mountain.  We had tried the sweet potatoes before, and the kids loved them.  These were quite good, too.  I think the market will be a regular stop for us.  It is only 3 bus stops away and near a hot spring and park.

Food

Coming from Bangkok where the food is hard to beat, I thought I might be disappointed here.  It's true that Chinese flavors aren't quite as bright at Thai ones, but we are finding plenty of favorites here.

Here's typical breakfast-shop fare: sweet soy milk (cold or hot), a crepe-like wrapper with egg and "oil sticks" inside, another pan-fried veggie filled wrapper thing.  There's also steamed bread, glutinous rice cake things, flaky pan-fried bread, etc.

Here's a fancy lunch out with our teachers (their treat).  Way too much food.

Here's a Taiwan classic--mango ice.  And yes, the mangoes here might even be better than Thailand if that is possible.  They are in season right now.

 Can I also mention how fun it is to go on a lunch date with my husband every day?  We mostly just get cheap noodles, dumplings or cafeteria-style veggies, etc. on rice, since we are near a university with lots of those kinds of places.

Snake!

Claire found a snake in our house this morning. Yes, it was a baby, no bigger than a long worm, but babies have mothers. J trapped it under a glass, and I went to get the neighborhood guard, because the instructions we received were to call the fire department anytime you find a snake in your house (I'm assuming so they can identify whether or not it is poisonous). The guard came and took a look and said he'd be back with a tool. He returned a few minutes later with a pair of disposable chopsticks and an empty cup, presumably from his breakfast. The snake was so skinny (and MAD) that he had trouble catching it, but once he trapped it under the edge of the glass, he was able to squeeze its head with chopsticks until it died. Of course, the whole time, Claire was saying "Don't kill it.  Don't kill it." Some of you may remember that Claire caught a snake earlier this year when we were camping in Virginia. She really wants a pet--of any kind.  But, we've already had several serious talks with the kids about poisonous snakes here.  In fact, one morning Paul told me, "Dad told us about dangerous animals."  I said, "What kind?"  He said, "Um, snakes...and dogs...and dinosaurs."

 

 

the fruit

I'm trying to show the size of these huge Asian pears. 

We are back in a land of wonderful tropical fruit. Mango season in Thailand was in April, but apparently it is right now in Taiwan!  We are so happy!  

We are finding groceries to be more expensive than the U.S., but it also takes a while to learn the best places to shop. There are traditional markets that seem to have the best produce. The neighborhood grocery store is walking distance and has the basics, but is expensive.  Costco has some American and some local products but not always the best prices, plus it is far from us, and we won't have our car for a couple months.

 

 

Yangmingshan

Always so much to say about our first few days in a new country...

Our house is great, very spacious, huge backyard.  We do have to be very diligent about cleaning to keep the ants and cockroaches away.  There are also several poisonous snakes in Taiwan and lots of stray dogs.  We are living in an area called Yangmingshan, which is on the mountain on the north side of Taipei. It is beautiful up here, a little cooler than the city, tons of hiking and views (see picture below) and hot springs. We live in a neighborhood that used to be U.S. military housing and is still used by State, so all of our immediate neighbors are also Americans. We've never lived like this before, where we just send the kids outside, there are tons of great families and we are immediately part of the community. The kids love it!!

J and I have started orientation for our training. Always tons of bureaucratic check-in stuff, plus all the set-up of phones, Internet, currency exchange, grocery shopping, etc.  There are about 25 students in the language training, and the teachers took us on two bus tours of different parts of the city.  Next week there are language evaluations and class starts officially on the 19th.  Of course, all of this is possible because J's parents, Tom & Karin, came with us and can watch the kids while we run around.  Now the big challenge is figuring out care for the kids after they leave.

Our plan was to send the older kids to local school.  We had emailed the school several months ago, and they said to just register when we got here.  Well, when we went into the school, they told us the kindergarten was full.  Hmm.  We called other local schools--same story.  Back to square one.  We talked with other families in the neighborhood and decided to apply for the Taipei European School which seems to have a stronger Mandarin program than the American school.  Usually they are full at this point, but when we called they said they had a few spots, so we submitted the forms, and we'll see if they take the girls.  As for the boys, we're still exploring options (day care, nanny, etc.)

 

 

China Airways

It was our best international flight yet. We basically plugged everyone in until they were tired, they slept, we arrived. We've learned to request special meals for the kids and ourselves (China Airways offered a Hindu vegan--delicious!!)--you get your meals served before anyone else.  Look at this awesome hot dog posing as a squid in a child's meal. We did use Benadryl for the first time with the kids. Definitely made a difference.

 

 

Taiwan

This is where you can follow our life in Taiwan.  You can subscribe to Taiwan posts via email or otherwise on the right. The link above to the photo gallery is where you can see more photos of our life, if pictures speak to you more than words.