j-p,it rained last night. i am looking out the window at our wet shoes on the back patio. this is the first day we've stayed inside. my grandma and i have been reading jane austen books, watching jane austen movies, shopping, and drinking blueberry soda from trader joe's.
is there a trader joe's in china? i don't think i can move there if there's not.
last night grandma instigated a dance party. you would never guess she is in her 80's. ian went crazy. he LOVES to dance. almost gave himself whiplash. max did a few half-hearted dance moves. he hasn't been himself this week. still misses you.
oh, and ian is now 14 months. he is picking up new words everyday. things like "oatmeal" (oh-meal), "avocado" (acado), "car", "truck", "drop it" (as he drops food on the floor. and laughs), "banana" (nana), "nose", "neck", etc. he's a total genius. well, either a genius or fortunate to have a chatterbox brother talking (yelling?) at him all day long.
i am so exhausted by the end of the day i can't move. but that's not the only reason i miss you.
be safe. and don't eat pork.
je t'aime,
m-a
Dear J-P,
My days begin promptly at 5 a.m. I endeavor to put the baby back to sleep, yet to no avail. He is wide-eyed, increasingly talkative, and laughs at my vain attempts. It is impossible to stay mad at him, however, when he showers me with kisses, hugs, and spends his morning playing, laughing, and dancing about the room.
Max misses you. Immensely. He has been acting out in the most atrocious ways. No doubt a direct result of your absence. Before your next trip you must teach me the dump truck song, the fire truck song, and the big rig song. He is deeply vexed by my inability to carry a tune, and even more disturbed when I am unable to comply with his request for a backhoe loader song. As a result he is on a nap strike. Yesterday he spent an hour and a half jumping up and down in his crib while screaming "NO, I NOT TAKE A NAP!" over and over through tantrum-style tears.
The weather is absolutely divine. We spend the better part of the afternoon outdoors. Today the forecast predicts another perfect 78 degrees. Great-grandma McDonald is enjoying her stay and has been obliged to read to the boys, giving me a much needed break from the truck books.
Please make haste in returning to us, as the children find me a dull, insipid playmate in comparison to you and I'm not sure how long they can endure your absence.
Affectionately,M-A
p.s. if you continue to find the pollution incapacitating, i urge you to forgo your pride and install a gas mask about your face.
Hello again. Sorry about the blogging hiatus. I'm not pregnant (I know you were wondering). We've been busy. And sick. And tired. And traveling. And I have been reading. A lot. Too much. I can't help it. Jane Austen is a genius.Holiday Highlights 2008:-Ian suffered the violent wrath of the stomach flu-We spent Christmas in Utah with J-P's fam-Max made his acting debut as a shepherd in the family nativity production-J-P and siblings installed a new wood floor for his mom-
J-P and siblings took snowboarding trip-We spent new year's eve in CA with my fam-Played at the beach-
Played with cousins-Rushed max to the ER due to his worst allergic reaction yet. 
We are finally home (ok, we've been home for almost 2 weeks), and chugging into 2009 at full speed. J-P's January India trip was canceled (darn terrorists), so his professors decided to take them to Shanghai instead. I have been busy trying to put our house back together and clean up after the toddler tornado duo. My new year's resolution is quite simple: Survive. If I survive, my additional resolutions are: Organize (because it restores my sanity), Simplify (because I can't do everything. believe me. i've tried), Eat more miso soup (because it makes me happy), Spend more time outside (because who doesn't need more vitamin D), read to my children more (because it's the least I can do).That's all. Happy 2009.
p.s. most of our holiday pics are on J-P's computer so i'll post them later.
p.s.s. the weather is entirely perfect here. a sublime 75 degrees. not a cloud in the sky. it is impossible not to be happy.
last night grandma instigated a dance party. you would never guess she is in her 80's. ian went crazy. he LOVES to dance. almost gave himself whiplash. max did a few half-hearted dance moves. he hasn't been himself this week. still misses you. 
oh, and ian is now 14 months. he is picking up new words everyday. things like "oatmeal" (oh-meal), "avocado" (acado), "car", "truck", "drop it" (as he drops food on the floor. and laughs), "banana" (nana), "nose", "neck", etc. he's a total genius. well, either a genius or fortunate to have a chatterbox brother talking (yelling?) at him all day long.
