At my Tuesday mom's group, we were asked for ideas to compile a list of "You know you're a mom in Hong Kong when...". I just cut and pasted from a previous blog entry, which mostly worked for this little project. We got to hear the list yesterday and I thought it was cute. I haven't even been a mom in Hong Kong very long, and already I can relate!
You know you're a [expat] mom in Hong Kong when...
~ 'Escalator' and 'Elevator' are among your child's first words
~ you long for even the smallest patch of grass for your kids to run around on!
~ You enjoy grocery delivery
~ People take pictures of your children-with or without asking- or even pick them up without asking to have them in pictures
~ You shop at several grocery stores looking for a precious ingredient for a recipe from home and you are willing to pay triple the price for such items
~ You can't believe you don't put your kids in car seats in a taxi
~ Your son chooses dim sum over McDonalds for breakfast
~ Your son tells you his classmates were asking to trade snacks with him the day he brought dried cuttlefish to school
~ You use your stroller to "part people" as you walk through the crowds
~ You come home with SEVEN colorful bottles of medicine after a visit to the doctor for your child who has a common cold
~ You nod and smile when a local elderly woman scolds you for letting your child play with a stick she considers "dirty" *(actually I have nodded and smiled for all kinds of various scoldings- like how my children aren't dressed warm enough when the temperature is actually in the high teens)
~ Your children run in circles in your living room and/or up and down your hallway on a consistent basis (a result of having no yard...)
~ Your children see hula dancers at a Disneyland performance and say "I sure liked the dance of the Filapina helpers!!"
~ Your children SQUAT on a Western-style toilet to go potty (yes, Annika has learned how to use the "squatty potties" and actually takes great delight in using them)
~ You return for a visit to the States and your children keep asking to play in the park, and it is actually someone's YARD!
~ Your child cringes when you take off her shoes in the grass because she doesn't like the way it feels
~ Your daughter asks to go shopping at the Mong Kok market
~ Your stroller costs as much as a used car
~ the locals like to touch your kids blond hair (golden hair = good luck)
~ Your kids think 700 square feet is a big house
~ You can juggle two kids, a stroller and several grocery bags no problem, you can even haul all of this on a mini bus by yourself... just another day in the life!
Here is the only picture I took of Mike spending time with his old pal, Paul. It was really great to get to know him (the girls really loved him and his friend Mark as well!), and Mike really appreciated getting caught up after so many years. We now have hopes of visiting him in Shanghai!
When our friend Matthew fixed our computer, he was kind enough to put Aperture on for me, and I just discovered how to use some of the settings. Otherwise, I don't really know what I'm doing in Aperture, but it seems fun!
Thanks to our dear friend Jocelyn for being the photographer of the family shots!
As we left the Walled City to head to a playground as a reward for cooperation we came across this man walking around playing some Chinese tunes. He stopped and played for us, and then played for the girls "It's a Small World after all", which they recognized and loved. 
Then, he took out some origami paper and tore little animals for each of the three girls. What a nice guy!
Happy Chinese New Year! Mike and Annie just finished their last day of school for 10 days. We are excited to see what life is like in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year (CNY as we see abbreviated often). Last Friday, CAIS had a CNY evening for families of staff to come and participate in a few activities and eat some CNY food. So we came- the girls looked the most festive of everyone! haha... actually the Chinese ladies all seemed to love seeing them in their Chinese dresses. First we learned how to make lanterns and fish from the red envelopes. 
Oh Annika...it never gets old! Actually, I have heard her say "Do you want to see my funny face? My friends Jesse and Diana from Canada taught me how to do it."
I learned how to make dumplings, which probably isn't much different than perogies or vereneky. I thought it was a lot of fun to stand around as a group and make them. 
The girls especially enjoyed eating the dumplings that we made, and the noodles that were cooked!
Lastly, Annika's class had a "twin day". This is her new friend Ruby who just moved here, and as you can see, she probably looks closer to Annika's twin than the rest of her classmates would have! Ruby is from the USA, but actually says she's Japanese since that's where she's lived her whole life! So cute!
Annika has had a loose tooth since just before Christmas. This morning, we were already running late for school since she just wasn't waking up, so Mike and I decided to just let her sleep and I would bring her in late. She slept all the way until 7:45, which is pretty late in this house! As she was getting ready, I noticed her tooth looked like it was barely hanging on, so I asked if I could try to pull it out, and all it took was one little tug. Excitement! I had to take a few pictures of her new smile, and of course we were later than ever! But the first thing she did was run and put the tooth in the pocket of her "tooth fairy pillow".
What do you do to keep your tooth from getting lost under your pillow? Well, when I was a child, I was lucky enough that my mom made me a special pillow with a little pocket where I could keep my teeth. Really, I think it was so that it would be an easier job for her to find the tooth and exchange it for a quarter. But I loved the pillow- it was pink with lace around the edge and a pocket in the middle with a white hippo on it. I'm sure I still have it, and I know exactly where I'd go look for it if we were still in Spruce Grove so I could pass it on to Annika. But now it's packed far away in the depths of a storage unit. And unfortunately for Annie, her mom doesn't have the skills to make her a pillow. But... FORTUNATELY for Annie, her Grandma still does! Must be something about being a grandma, because this pillow seems even fancier than the first! 
So tonight Annika is in bed with her pillow at her side, dreaming of the tooth fairy to leave her enough money to buy a toy. Probably it will only be enough money to buy some Puccho or HiChews. And today marks the first time I've ever had to be a tooth fairy! Crazy!