Resolutions

In the hopes of actually keeping my resolutions this year I've kept it to two, blog once a week and cooking more.  I'm not as worried about keeping my resolution to blog weekly.  It is the cooking that will be harder, if only because finding ingredients can be a bit like a Where's Waldo puzzle, Shanghai style!  But, I am determined to do my best.  So, on to resolution number one...  Last week I took the kids to the Oriental Pearl Tower, a symbol of Shanghai that has amazing views of the river and the SWFC and Jin Mao, the cities two other gravity defying buildings.  The kids loved walking around the observation deck and spotting things far below.  Once we were done with our birds eye view of Shanghai we headed down to the base to see the Shanghai History Museum.  The museum, which is covered by the entrance fee to the tower, is mostly life size replicas of moments in Shanghai's history.  From the tea and spice shops to battles fought.  The kids loved the museum and I look forward to going back with Lucas, who could not join us because of his sprained ankle.

It was with resolution number two in mind that Lily and I headed to City Shop, a chain of grocery stores that carry one of the best selection of Western goods in Shanghai.  Lily was thrilled to shop along side me with a cart her size and loved putting things in "her" cart as we went up and down the isles.  Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Dr. Pepper were a few of the treasures we picked up.  Even more exciting than cereal and soda though, I FINALLY found ricotta cheese!  I've been looking for it for 10 months and have found it only once before.  I am looking forward to making lasagna next weekend for Eric and his family when we reciprocate the invite to his home for dinner before Christmas.  Eric and his family have welcomed us into their family with open arms and in the interest of doing our little bit in improving relations with our countries, we've invited them over for an Italian dinner.  Something that is hard to come by here and one of Eric's favorites.  I'm curious to see if his in-laws will enjoy the Western meal though.

With both kids home this week I decided it was best to get them out of the house for a few hours before somebody, most likely me, started climbing the walls.  We crossed river to Puxi and went to the Yu Garden and Market, although I haven't actually been to the garden yet, just the market.  It seems every time I go it's mobbed.  The kids and I did have fun walking around the market checking out all kinds of things for sale including a key chain with mini xiao long bao steamed dumplings (thought of ya Dad).  Since the kids were being so good for me I treated them to lunch at McDonald's, a rare treat for them.  Both gobbled up their cheeseburgers and fries like I hadn't fed them in a week!  Our last stop before heading home was at an artists stand where I had both kid's caricature drawn.  They watched while he painted the picture he's drawn of them and seemed to be enthralled with the whole thing.  A quick stop at the candy counter for gummy sharks and we on our way home for my favorite part of the day, nap time!


This weekend unfortunately called for rain and freezing temperatures, and with Lucas's ankle still healing we decided to stay close to home and work on some post holiday cleaning and organizing.  I spent a good part of Saturday going through our big hall closet and managed to get rid of some things and organize the rest.  While I actually have the motivation to clean and organize I thought a trip to our local Ikea might not be a bad idea.  Giving both kids a kid cart however, was a lesson in patience, and I'm happy to announce that Lily banged into my heals only once!  Our big finds of the day, an area rung for the living room and new pillows for the sofas.  Of course both kids could not live without a stuffed animal, a dog for Lily, and a bear for Charlie.   We also grabbed brunch before we left and I was surprised that they offered a very tasty fried hash brown and small sausages wrapped in bacon.  Their cinnamon bun left much to be desired though.

With a little bit of daylight left Lucas is took the kids outside to burn off some of their never ending energy.  Last night we bought Charlie a three wheeled scooter, which he has taken to like a bird to flight.  He's coveted Lily's scooter for some time, and was beyond thrilled to get his own scooter.

Next week it is back to our daily routine with Lily back in school and Lucas at work.  It has been fun having both home for the holidays but exhausting!

25 days till Florida!