Day 2 - Hong Kong

The next day we set out to SHOP, of course. But to get to the mall we wanted to hit, we had to take a ferry across Hong Kong Harbour.  So we followed our leaders for the day to the subway station to buy an Octopus card, which we could use on pretty much all forms of public transportation.  Then, we walked to the pier.  Along the way, we were bombarded by Middle Eastern men trying to sell us "copy handbag, copy watch."  Seriously, they would literally push through the throngs of Chinese people to get to us because they just knew we wanted to buy their crap.  Alas, they were wrong.  We also passed the world-famous Peninsula Hotel:

As we waited in line to board the ferry, a seemingly nice, older British woman warned us to "watch yur bags." On second thought, she seemed a little sketchy and we figured we'd better watch her.  But we thanked her for her advice. Here we are not watching our bags:

Here is a view of the harbour.  Yep, that's smog.  Doesn't it just make you want to take a deep breath?

This harbour is a popular cruise port and every day we saw a different ocean liner:

We arrived on the other side and did some serious shopping, of all sorts. Here I am doing a little window-shopping, which was all we could do sometimes because, let's be honest, the military isn't setting any records with it's pay charts:

We did plenty of bankruptcy shopping, as well, but there was no time for pictures during all the trying-on of shoes and jeans and clothing. My favorite line from the day: "You a 26 up here," spoken to a friend by the sales woman at Seven for All Mankind (who proclaims she is "never wrong"), while indicating her neck and face region, after being wrong about my friend's size. We had lunch on the rooftop of the mall and continued to shop til we dropped that day.  I think I ended up with Nine West suede peep-toe booties (that were nearly free, I might add), two pairs of Sevens (I heart Dojo), a sleeveless trench, a denim jacket, a blouse, some kids clothes and a Superman costume - all from H&M, a dress from Zara and...I think that's it!  All in all, I'd say we had a very productive day.  We ordered Chinese food in the room and crashed.

Hong Kong!

Last week, I had the great opportunity to spend a few days in Hong Kong.  Six other women and I took off on Wednesday and returned on Sunday.  It's no secret that we have to watch ourselves in China, and being military spouses, we knew we had to be very careful and very aware at all times.  You always have to wonder if Big Brother is watching.  And if you're rooming with Michelle, you really start to believe (no matter how badly you don't want to) that the second smoke-detector is, in fact, a decoy and is the bug.  She'll freak you out like that.  This would be a really long post, so I'm going to break it up a little.  Here is a little summary of Day 1 of our adventure.

Wednesday afternoon, we arrived at the Naha airport early, only to find that our flight was delayed.  We quickly all agreed that we weren't going home until Sunday, no matter what happened.  About an hour late, our flight departed and two-and-a-half hours later, we landed in Hong Kong.  Here are some of the girls, upon arriving:

This was Alan, the guy who showed us to our bus.  When I told him that my husband's name was also Alan, he just waved me off.  Either he didn't understand me, or - more likely - he already knew what my husband's name was and wasn't impressed with my useless info.  That's right, Alan.  I'm on to you.  You aren't getting any national secrets out of me.

The first night, we walked to a little restaurant row not too far from our hotel, and had dinner at a quaint little Italian place:

And paid a quaint little Italian bill:

That's about $420 USD.  But when you're paying with Monopoly money, it's basically FREE!  After that, we called it a night...once we figured out how to turn out the lights.

Sarah's Home

I feel obligated to let you all know that Sarah Chidgey Hughes has gone home.  Please say a prayer for her family and everyone who was touched by her life, and give thanks that she may now rest peacefully with Him. 

Let Go

I know you're all looking for great photos and details from my little jaunt to Hong Kong.  And I promise, that's coming.  But today, upon receiving sad, sad news, I thought it seemed insensitive to write a post about all my shopping and eating and drinking and fun-having.  The best friend of my sister's sister-in-law, Sarah, is a person I never had the pleasure to meet, yet consider a friend somehow.  Sarah has been fighting an impossible battle against cancer for the past about six months.  Recently, her condition has become much worse and she has now stopped cancer treatment and has transitioned to Hospice care.  As you know, it's just a matter of time... Sweet Sarah, you have been such an inspiration in your grace and faith and peace.  I can only imagine what an amazing angel you will make for Him.  You have shined bright, firefly.

I ask you today for prayers - not for her recovery, because she has accepted that she is beyond that - but for a smooth transition.  Pray for her peace and pray for her family and friends, who will struggle to fill the void that she leaves.  Just pray.

If you would like to know her a little bit:

http://sarahchidgey.blogspot.com/

Helium

The babies got some balloons for their birthday party and the next day, Adam was asking about how they float.  Daddy told him they were filled with helium and that Mommy could teach him about helium.  I told him helium was a gas, kind of like the oxygen that he breathes, and that you can't see it or feel it.  Then I told him that I didn't think you could smell it either.  He replied, "Well, I can smell mine."  Dad asked, "You can smell your gas?"  Adam replied, "Yep."  Nice.

While he still provides plenty of laughs, lately he's been making us pretty proud too (not to mention making us feel a tiny bit better about the yen rate being so crappy that it costs us an arm and a leg to send him to Montessori preschool).  Here he is doing some double-digit math, which we were impressed with.  Brains and a sense of humor?  I have a feeling our days are numbered ;-)

Ichi!

This day unleashes so many emotions in me - excitement, happiness, relief, even a little sadness and fear (because, let's face it, now I've been through a year and I know how hard it is, so I'm scared of the next 18+).  I remember this day a year ago, like it was yesterday.  I remember being relieved that my doctor was going to deliver the babies.  I remember being scared that Alan wasn't going to make it in time, then so overcome with emotion when he did.  I remember feeling so violated, with 20 people in the delivery room, but then feeling so special because they all wanted to be a part of delivering two babies.  I remember feeling so excited when I heard "it's a girl" and so proud when I heard "it's a boy" (because I do love being right).  I remember the pride in Alan's face as he held each one, showing them, introducing them to me.  I remember thinking of my Mom, waiting in the recovery room, and how excited she was going to be to meet them both.  I remember thinking of Adam, and praying that he was going to be okay with the names we had chosen (because they weren't the names he had picked).  I remember feeding them for the first time.  I remember our first night together.  I remember Adam meeting them and holding them and being so excited, but at the same time looking so confused and scared of what this all meant.  I remember it all, like it was yesterday...but it wasn't yesterday...

"Ichi" means "one" in Japanese.  As in THE TWINS ARE ONE YEAR OLD!!!  OMG.  Seriously??  Yes, seriously.  I can't really believe it myself, but they certainly are.  This year has been such a roller coaster.  It is such a relief to have made it through this first year, all in-tact, milestones met, alive...because, if I'm being honest, it was kinda touch-and-go there for a while at the beginning.  I really thought something was going to have to give.  But somehow we all survived.  It wasn't always easy and it was hardly ever pretty, but WE DID IT!

Anaya

Miss Thing.  'Nya Girl.  As my friend, Michelle, says, "You've gotta cut the mustard with her."  She has remained consistent this year in that you have to earn her love.  She'll stare, emotionless, sizing you up, judging you, while you put on your best show to impress her.  Then she'll get back to you when she's ready with her decision.  She's a tough crowd, I'm not gonna lie.  But once you get a smile out of her, you forget all about how hard you had to work to get it.  She's precious and crazy and my little hot-mess.  She knows exactly how to perform the perfect frowny cry to let you know you've hurt her feelings.  And she knows exactly how to make her brother look like the guilty one, whether he is or not.  Like here - I happen to know that all he did was crawl by her:

She likes to kick and flip and hang upside down.  She's going to be the daredevil, I think.  She has us all wrapped around her finger.  She's crawling now, of course.  And with that came pulling up and cruising.  She hasn't yet mastered letting herself down once she's pulled up.  She currently prefers the "scream and wait" method.  She loves strawberries, bananas, peaches, oranges, ravioli, lasagna, hot dog and quesadilla.  She also loves bath time, playing with Rosie, and chasing her brother around.  When she really loves something, she'll bat her eyes at it, like this:

She is one-of-a-kind and she definitely keeps us on our toes.  I can only imagine what life with Anaya is going to be like...and it scares me a li'l bit. 

Audie

Audie is completely opposite of Anaya in the consistency department.  It's surprising he isn't a Gemini, like Mom (I'm not buying into the whole "sign change" thing - I think I'm grand-fathered).  He's mostly sweet and cuddly and warm, like a puppy dog.  And he's generally game for anything and anyone.  He's quite the ladies' man and likes to flirt, which is so much like Adam was.  He leads Anaya in chase, laughing all throughout the house.  But then, he crawls toward a door that was accidentally left open, or the fridge when it's open, and we pull it shut as he nears it...total meltdown, complete with throwing himself on the floor, kicking and screaming.  He's becoming quite dramatic.  And he has this little fake cry he does right now, where he just squints his eyes and opens his mouth, displaying his one tooth, and yell/cries.  He's crawling fast and cruising like a pro now, even letting go every once in a while, balancing there for a bit.  He's ambitious and I think he'll be walking soon.  Audie likes to wake up about 15 minutes before his sister and steal some "Mommy time", which I'm okay with.  He has a sweet smile and is definitely passionate about life.  He generally loves everything we feed him, but when we offer him something he doesn't love, he vehemently declines, as if we've offended him by even offering it.  He can hold up one finger when you ask him how old he is, like this:

He can hold up two arms, when you ask him how big he is, like this:

And, one of his favorite things to do: steal toys from his sister, like this (never mind that it's a dog toy):

He does a few signs, like "all done" and "more".  He's my little sweetheart.  I think life with Audie is going to be pretty fun...but also pretty messy. 

WE DID IT!!  Now, it's supposed to get easier, right?  Maybe we can fool ourselves into believing that.  We'll keep you posted and let you know when it's easy.

    There's a cake-eating video to come...