Hotter than a Pepper Sprout

It's really, really hot in southern China in May. The heat index has consistently been averaging 104 fahrenheit. I'm still not thinking metric or celsius, thank you very much...or in yuan as opposed to dollars. I'm sure I'll get to the point when I don't have to really think about how much something REALLY costs when given the price. For instance, when a friend invited me to a benefit event, she mentioned that the cost of the ticket was 350. I was of course thinking "WHAT?? $350???" when actually it was going to cost me U.S.$45 for dinner and a show. I need to work on that...

So, anyway, about the heat. When I walk down the stairs to pick up Andrew, holding Ella, I get to school completely covered in sweat. Today I was pretty sure I was sweating on the inside as well, and I understood how the wicked witch felt when she was melting. I have found it helps to use an umbrella to block the sun - you see more umbrellas on sunny days than on rainy days here. Here's the strange part about the summer heat - the air is actually much cleaner here in summer than in winter. I guess the winds blow in from the ocean in summer, forcing all the icky air and smog and stuff further inland so the skies are clear here. I suppose that since we're on the other side of the world, a few things are bound to be a bit different, eh?

The kids are doing well. Ella is going through a silly stage - she makes faces back and forth with me until we both crack up. She also tries to fart with her armpit because that's what her brothers do. She's a riot. She refuses to wear dresses, of course, and is now also refusing to wear any clothes I pick out. She has to pick them out. Yesterday she was wearing red penguin pajama bottoms with a white and pink sleeveless peasant top. Very nice.

Andrew is very active and is having many playdates with his friends. He's usually covered with dirt and sweat and is out of breath from running around, playing soccer or being silly. Lots of baths here...

Alex is loving school and making some great friends. Summer is going to be lonely here once school gets out - all his friends will be leaving for the summer. We'll have to make it fun.

I went to Hong Kong the other day to shop with my friend Marcie. We went to Toys R Us, which was really a treat. You can't really buy nice toys in China, and Wal-Mart has a tiny toy selection of really cheap toys or else a few really expensive imported toys (WAAY overpriced barbies, for example). Hong Kong, however, has Toys R Us. I had a ball there and picked up a toy for each kid. I also hit the ESPRIT outlet store which has clothes for everybody, not just teeny-boppers like in the U.S. There are all sorts of outlet stores hidden around Hong Kong where you can get great bargains. I took Marcie to the Hard Rock Cafe where she had FOUR refills of her root beer...guess what else you can't get in China!! She also kept me entertained with stories about growing up Mormon in Texas. She loved the food - had their awesome bbq pork sandwich, and some baked beans we were both fighting over. I had a big, greasy bacon cheeseburger with fries and a load of ketchup. It was a beautiful little slice of normal for us.

Riding the subway was a challenge with big shopping bags, a stroller, and an obstinate 2-year-old who didn't WANT to ride in the stroller. Another challenge was when it poured and we got completely soaked with our babies...not fun. I bought a big, giant Hard Rock Cafe umbrella, only to find I couldn't fit walking down the street with all the other people - the umbrella took up too much space! So, we got really, really wet. All in all we had a nice, normal day. You don't have any idea how precious normal is until you live in China or someplace else where nothing is really normal.

It's the rainy season here so we can expect torrential downpours many days. It's nice, though - it cools things off!