Chillin'

Originally uploaded by meredith w page

Amelia is so go-with-the-flow and she loves interacting with people - here she is just enjoying Bach Dang Street at lunchtime.

the good and the bad

Let's do the good first, yes?

There is a wonderfully beautiful website called The Sweeterie run by two amazingly talented ladies - one writes the words and the other takes the pictures - anyhoo, they opened up their site to a contest of sorts, and you could submit pics - guess what?? they chose one of mine - swoon :)
check it out here - http://www.trufflegirls.com/

And now the bad (or more like inconvenient)

Our modem semi-exploded yesterday, so we are without internet at home for probably two weeks, so posting will be spotty......

be well and happy until then - xoxo

sisters

Do you know how hard it is to photograph an overly-active toddler and a baby who wants to stand, together, in a moving glider? Thank goodness for digital photography. I didn't get the picture I was hoping for, but I think the candid ones I got are much better - check out these sisters.

Amelia thinks her big sister hung the moon and that she is hysterical!

Alli will do just about anything to get Amelia to laugh.

Are they related? I love that they have the same facial expression in this picture.

and the award goes to....

Today at 4:00 p.m. ish

Alli: Can I have a snack?
Erik: No, it is too close to dinner time.
Alli: (Again) Can I have a snack?
Me: Honey, what time did you feed Alli lunch?
dead silence
Erik: I thought you fed her lunch. You didn't?
Me: I thought you fed her lunch. Alli, did you eat lunch today?
Alli: Um, nope.

Mooncakes

Mooncakes are given this week to celebrate the harvest/moon/fall festival. Mooncakes are pastries that traditionally have a thick filling made from lotus seed paste and/or may contain a whole egg yolk that represents the moon. The top of the mooncakes are imprinted with Chinese characters that represent everything from longevity to harmony to the name of the bakery. They are a labor-intensive product, and can be quite expensive.

They are usually eaten in small wedges and served with Chinese tea. OR if are my oldest daughter, you eat a whole mooncake off the counter when no one is looking.

Enter the 21st century - you can now get mooncakes in a variety of flavors with different fillings while the pastry itself can be made of many different ingredients, including gelatin.

I am a sucker for beautiful packaging, and the little red boxes that hold each mooncake are darling, but when you see an entire store or booth set up with hundreds of these boxes, it is amazing.

The first two photos are mine, but I took the rest off of Google images.

The Week I Ironed

We are lucky enough to have a wonderful couple work for/with us here in Saigon. Ty is our nanny/sitter/translator/helper/all around rock star. Ty's husband, Toan, is our driver. Last weekend, Toan's father died and they have spent this week out of town with their family. In the short time we have been here, they have become a wonderful addition to our family and greatly increase the ease with which we live our daily lives.


I knew when we joined the FS that there were posts where having household help is common, because it is affordable and in some cases, necessary. Erik arrived at post, which is our first, before I did and I distinctly remember telling him that I wasn't sure we would need a full-time nanny, we probably wouldn't need a cook and definitely wouldn't need a driver. Ha! I learned very quickly never to make decisions about our day-to-day needs until I was actually at post with a bit of time under my belt.


It is still feels very strange to write about having "staff". I know it makes our life seem very glamorous, and in some regards it is. Trust me when I say, I know how lucky we are to be able to afford such amazing help. But also remember, we live in a country where I am not comfortable driving and I don't fully speak the language, so imagine trying to run errands with those two hurdles!

All in all, it was a good week. I managed both non-napping children, I multi-tasked, I ironed, I conducted some serious poop clean-up, and I mostly kept my calm. I didn't truly "cook" any meals and I only washed my hair once. As the week comes to a close, I give myself a B+.


The thing is - while I did miss Ty's help - I actually just really missed Ty. She always checks to see if I have eaten lunch. If I have a late night with Alli, and an early morning with Amelia, she insists I take time to rest while she is here. She tells me which outfits look great and which don't. She helps me translate with the building staff when I need a change of sheets or new towels. She runs errands with me because she knows where to find the best stuff and she gets a much better deal than I do. She does the tasks I hate (washing baby bottles) and allows me time to do what I love (hitting the gym).

I think that while we are away from our families, we look to create a new sense of family here in Saigon. I feel lucky to have Ty, Toan, neighbors, teachers, colleagues and new friends make up our Saigon family and am hopeful that we will be this lucky at all of our posts.

And, as always, in the spirit of full disclosure, I only ironed Allison's school uniforms, while Ty irons every.single.thing we wear, so if you see my hubby around the Consulate this week looking shabby, that is totally my fault.

Harvest Moon Over Saigon

This photo does not do justice to our night sky - the harvest moon is breathtaking and bright enough for moonshadows...