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Well, it happened... we finally moved! Actually, the move happened exactly one month ago, but for the first two weeks following the move I could not find the power cord for my computer. Thus I could not update the blog.
A lot has happened since we have been here, and there is still quite a bit that is still going on. I will say that living here has been one adventure after another. The day of the move-in, we tried to settle down for our first dinner in the new house. Unfortunately, we had temporarily misplaced the tray for the Butterfly's highchair. So, we decided to eat on the floor. But, because of the large perimeter of food that we typically find around the little Bug, we decided that it would be in the best interest of our brand-spankin' new floors if we put emptied, flattened boxes under the Bug. She loved it!
Dinner wasn't anything special, just some Subway sandwiches. But boy did they taste great (it must have been that "new house smell" that helped!).
Dessert is often fresh fruit. Mmmmmmmmm, strawberries!
One of the things we needed to do right after we moved in was check the smoke alarms. Because they were all new, they had little orange/red plastic covers on them which looked a bit like shower caps. The Butterfly thought they were perfect for her head! She proceeded to walk around the rest of the evening looking a bit silly, but enjoying every minute!
Checking in on the workers in the basement!
The huge vaulted ceilings provide tons of room for the Butterfly and daddy to have fun!
But despite all of the excitement, some of my favorite moments in our new place are the quieter ones.
One of the things that we are having completed (while we are living here mind you) is our basement. It should be completed within the next two weeks (cannot wait!). The builders have been working on it for a little while, and are only waiting for the bathroom vanity to arrive to finish the job. It is very exciting to watch the space go from bare nothing, to a skeleton of rooms, to rooms with walls, paint, and carpet. But, as anyone who has lived through construction knows, there is a ton of dust that is created daily. Recently the dust has settled down a bit, but those first couple weeks were just awful.
I remember when I was a child, my mother claiming that there was so much dust where we lived that within a week she was able to write her name in the dust. Well mom, I have you beat! I was able to write my name in the dust in just one day!
Although most people would probably hate all of the dust, and honestly I did in the beginning primarily because of my allergies, I found myself intrigued with it one afternoon. The Butterfly was wandering around the living room, checking everything out. I, knowing that she tends to get in trouble every once in a while (almost always) decided to follow her tracks to see what she was doing. As I walked up to our unplugged TV, which was sitting on the floor against the wall, I noticed something very special... a tiny hand print, so innocently placed on the back of the TV as she looked out the window. This tiny print made me smile. I realized that through all of this dust that was settling daily in our house, my baby's hand was temporarily preserved. I never realized before this point that her hands had touched so many things in our old house, but she never left a visible hand print. It wasn't until we moved here that I was reminded how special these little prints are.
So as I look out in my living room and see the dust everywhere that seems to accumulate so quickly, I now have a different perspective... I love the special memories that this dust is leaving in my heart.
~~Aloha!
The Ladybug has been taking ballet since September, as some of you may remember. Every Wednesday I pick her up, take her home to get ready, then we are off to the ballet studio for her lessons. Part of our getting ready routine is getting her hair done, usually up in a bun and her bangs off her face. Unfortunately, with so little time after school to do so before her lessons start, her hair (in September and early October) ended up looking a little messy. Fortunately, the Bug has a great teacher who loves to do my little girl's hair... woohoo!!! This teacher is very creative, each week coming up with a unique design, and ends up doing such a great job with the hair that we often leave it up for a couple days.
Yesterday the Ladybug had one of her lessons, so as usual, her teacher pulled her hair back. This time the teacher used about 14 little rubber bands which streamed down either side of her head, holding more and more hair with each band. The final look was adorable, so much so that other mothers at the ballet studio commented on how cute the hair looked. (Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the hairdo, honestly, it really was adorable. I am just kicking myself now for not getting that pic.)
Because her hair still looked great this morning, we decided to leave her hair just the way is was, no reason to take it all down when it looked so cute. So this evening, the Ladybug had to take a bath and her hair finally had to be taken out. Daddy and the Bug walked into the bathroom to start taking out the rubber bands. I was in the other room as I heard the two of them giggling every few minutes. Then, about ten minutes later she walked out into the living room and started to sing... "She's gonna be a big sensation... Izzy's got the Frizzies!"
Now, for those of you who are not familiar with that little tune, it comes from a popular cartoon called Phineas and Ferb. Izzy is a close friend of the two main characters. One day she encountered a lot of humidity and her hair turned very frizzy. The video below is from the episode and is of Izzy dancing to the song:
So, when the Ladybug walked into the room singing the song and doing the dance I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. I think that the Bug looked exactly like Izzy. See for yourself!
~~Aloha!
Sorry about my lack of posts. We successfully moved into our new house about 2 1/2 weeks ago. However, with our move I lost the power cord for my computer, thus I have not been on my computer or facebook at all while at home (plus we have been getting settled into the new house, so many boxes to unpack). Though I have limited access from work, everything I usually use for my posts is on my main computer such as the editing software and all my photos. Fortunately, I did find the power cord on Sunday, so I will be posting again normally very soon.
In the mean time I saw this little video and had a good chuckle. I thought that everyone else who has ever been to China will find this amusing. The 5-minute video is called How to Do the Asian Squat. I recall many people in China who squat down like this all the time. While at a Buddhist temple, I saw a worker on her lunch break, squatting down to eat her bowl of noodles. However, where I found the squat most useful is at a "squatty potty," or for those who have never seen one, a hole in the ground where you are expected to go to the bathroom. Children are taught this skill at an early age, and the squatting continues throughout their lives. The image below I quickly snapped of a mother helping her little boy go to the bathroom on the ground of the Temple of Heaven. Notice both of them doing the "Asian Squat."
For Westerners, this bending at the knees all the way to the floor is not fun at all. Mix that discomfort with the humiliation, aggrivation, frustration, necessity of having to go to the bathroom in a way that you are completely unaccustomed to. Nope, not fun at all. We are just used to the "throne" as some call it, and I will take a "throne" any day over the squatty potty. Either way, it is a very different experience for those who are used to doing their business at a bit higher altitude.
I found this photo of the Ladybug while we were in China. Looks like she has got the squat down pat. Must be nice to be young... and limber.
Here is the video, enjoy!
HOW TO DO THE ASIAN SQUAT (Hi-Res) from Daniel Hsia on Vimeo.
~~Aloha!
Some of you have wondered why I have not been posting as often as I used to post. You may have also noticed that I have been rather tight lipped about what has been going on out here (I guess that I just didnt' want to jinx anything). Honestly, we have been really busy at our house. But, I am finally willing to share.
Yes, you read it right... we are moving! Our house is sold (we closed yesterday) and the official move will happen this Saturday. We are really busy right now so I don't have much time for a long post to give all of the details. But, just know that we are not moving very far and it is all good. The (old) house is filled with boxes, just waiting to be moved. Saturday cannot come soon enough. (Try walking around your house when it looks like this!)
I will post from our new house once we get things set up. Wish us luck!
~~Aloha!
