Pet & Plant Street

We have made the short trip to Pet and Plant street a couple of times since we arrived here in Suzhou because as any of you who know Stan can attest...the man loves plants. He comes by it quite honestly.....his mom is also a lover of all things green and she converted Stan's dad and they have created (read: worked their tails off for 7+ years) the most amazing back yard ever with ponds and bogs and plants and plants and more plants..... but I digress. Back to pet and plant street.

It is literally a street where there are probably close to 40 or 50 shops selling plants and more than that selling animals. I use the term "shop" very loosely as many are just a small room (imagine a flea market environment and you are close). Anyway-we made the trip (10 short minutes by taxi and 20 by e-bike) right before Xan began school about a month ago and I've had these pics just sitting on my computer waiting for me to share them with you. The plant part of pet and plant street is very lovely and lush but the pet part is a different story. There are literally hundreds of different animals that are for purchase and the conditions are certainly less than optimal. Those animal protection folks would go nuts but it does make for an interesting morning and some pretty good pictures too. So here is a random sampling of what we saw that morning....in no particular order. (thanks for the photo advice today from my friend Danielle on getting them to up load quicker....thus resulting in more blog posts--- hopefully)

A cage full of pigeons.

Tiny baskets for the crickets you can purchase.

There are TONS of turtles....all sizes, all colors, etc. One of the delicacies here is turtle soup and there is literally a whole turtle floating in top of the bowl when it arrives at the table. I haven't partaken but Stan has and he says it's actually not bad. I think these smaller turtles are for pets.....at least I hope so.

Yep....this is a bag full o' turtles.

Just because I could.....here is a picture of a shop owner cleaning her toenails.

This sweet little girl watched us very intently.

I was glad she let me photograph her without posing.......I loved this picture.

More cricket cages.....this is only about 3-4 inches square.

and if you want a bit more style for your cricket this one is for you

Here are some of the hundreds of crickets.....it was loud and I can't imagine wanting one for a pet. Obviously the locals can and do.......lots of them for sale and all kinds of accessories.

Xan was checking them out.

Here are some of the smaller plants.

Again...because I could...high heels are literally worn every day by all kinds of workers....doesn't matter what you do or if they even match your outfit. I'm shamed in my comfy flip flops or tennis shoes by these ladies walking the streets and working in their heels.

This is for Stan's mom.....Yep that is trumpet vine. Want some??

This large, lovely plant is now a member of the Everitt greenhouse. He had it delivered to our apartment that same afternoon with about 5 other smaller plants. It really is beautiful.

Stan is just loving life here.....he gets very happy when he is around lots of green things.

This is a very common stance for people here in China to do work. They squat and will sit forever doing tasks or just chatting with each other. The older folks do it too....the men will squat and play dice games on the sidewalk. I don't know how they do it.

This cutie pie stopped to admire the very large, ugly cement lions that we did not have delivered to our apartment that afternoon. (I do have my limits)

Just some pretty flowers-

Some kind of nasty worm....there was a shop with tons of these bins full of them. I'm not sure what they are for....not sure I want to know.

This guy was one of several in the bird section that had a great seat to watch the shoppers go by. He was quiet but there were lots that weren't.

More birds...

and because he can.......a man working without a shirt on. [Side note: unfortunately this is not the least dressed that I've seen a man working. I drove by a construction site one day and saw two men in their tighty whitey's and hardhats and shoes. I promise! It was almost traumatizing if I hadn't gotten so tickled.]

Fish.....lots and lots of fish.

Some of the dogs....most were the small breeds but we did see a few large dogs.

More fish...

Just a sad puppy.

Trying to fit in with the locals.......ok- not so much.

A basket of eggs that were near the pigeons......this picture doesn't do them justice. They were a beautiful almost see through white color. Very unusual...again not sure if they eat them or what.

That's about it for now. Would love to give anyone a personal tour of Pet and Plant street so if you're in the area be sure to call us.

Chat with ya later-

Maybe we'll win-

Our adoption agency, America World, publishes a calendar each year full of photos that families are asked to submit of their adoptive families. I submitted a few the first year we had Xan but since then the deadline always snuck up on me and I never did get any sent in. Well this year was different...I actually got them submitted on time (hey.....the very last day counts). I'm pretty sure I've posted most of them before but thought I'd share them again.

The prize if you "win" is to have your picture actually appear in the calendar along with receiving a few free calendars. As you can imagine, they receive many more photos than what they can publish but hey......I think she's pretty stinking cute so maybe, just maybe we'll win.

Chat with ya later-

China Safety

The Chinese have a ways to go before I'll be impressed with their safety features and protocols.......and this is one reason why.



This is an "e-bike" (almost identical to the one we have) and as you can see the owner got creative and did a little add on for his/her little one. We have seen this more than once and many times we've seen a Dad driving, Mom riding behind him and her holding a tiny little baby between them......tiny!

Like I said...they are a long way from the 5 point Britax car seat I insisted on just a short 4 years ago. But lest I sound too harsh on just the locals, we expats are almost as bad. We run all over town on our own e-bikes and merge and honk right along with the rest of them. When in Rome.....

Chat with ya later.

A New Ride

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A certain little someone had been working on completing a good habits chart for almost a month. She had been promised, by a certain other two someones, that she could have a scooter when she met the goal. There was a very specific scooter that was being worked towards. It HAD to be a pink princess scooter because another certain little someone had also received one recently. Well she did it and she got it and that little someone has been smiling ever since.

Wow!

My baby started school today. Wow! I have a lot of feelings about it as I'm sure most moms do when their oldest starts school for the very first time. It's the end of a very special time and there won't be a time like it ever again. It makes me a bit sad but then I'm also excited and happy for her to be moving into this part of her little life. In the States we would have waited an additional year before heading off to kindergarten but here in China they have international schools that have K1 and K2 and since she is 4 1/2 then she is in K1. We went Saturday and met her teachers and saw her classroom and even met a few of the other students that will be in her room.

The school is called Newton International Kindergarten and it offers curriculum for both the international students as well as a chinese only curriculum (for the locals). We, of course, are in the international side but that also accommodates other nationalities other than just Americans and also some Chinese that want their children to learn English. Needless to say her classroom is very global and we LOVE that. She has 15 classmates and I'm guessing that about 10 or 111 are Asian and the other 4 or 5 are American, European and Indian. She has two teachers...Miss Lilly who is the Mandarin teacher and Miss Brittney who is the English teacher (I know huh....their names couldn't be more perfect).

The one thing I was a bit anxious about before Saturday was Xan's comfort level with her teacher. She has struggled just a bit with people speaking mandarin to her and not being able to communicate with them. I know that this will pass but it was still a concern that if she perceived her teacher couldn't "really" understand her then she might be more apprehensive about going and not enjoying it. Well....as you might imagine....God took complete care of my little anxious mother's heart and gave us Miss Brittney. When we met her on Saturday she was the sweetest thing and

-She is from Charleston, South Carolina

-She helps lead music at our local church (we recognized her and she did us as well)

-She has an adopted baby sister from China.

I mean really.......could HE have given us an any more perfect fit for Xan. Not only does she understand Xan but she talks "like we do"......southern drawl and all, feels that she is doing exactly what God called her to do, and has a very personal understanding of the miracles related to adoption. WOW!

So....this morning after her requested breakfast of blueberry muffins she put on her brand new dress, I fixed her hair (complete with large bow of course) and off we went to catch a taxi so Stan and I could take her to school. We actually rode over with some friends of ours who Xan plays with all the time and was also starting at Newton today in K2. Callie, her mom Julie and her little brother Porter all rode over with us. The girls parted ways at the staircase promising to see each other on the playground and on the bus this afternoon. We got to her classroom and it went as smooth as silk. Miss Brittney helped her put her backpack in her cubby, change to her indoor shoes (a China thing) and get all settled before she ran to us, kissed us goodbye and went on her way. She didn't shed a tear or even act sad. I did pretty good too until we turned to walk away and I watched her through the window. I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a few tears before getting back in the taxi and heading home.

Stan was off work today so we've enjoyed a lovely day of just being together. We ran some errands, tried out a new restaurant for lunch and then home to watch a movie together. I'm supposed to go meet her bus in about 15 minutes and I can't hardly wait to see her and hear all about it. God is so good isn't HE.

Well.....I know there are some grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who can't wait to see some pictures so here are a few.
Xan and Miss Brittney on Saturday at Orientation

Exploring her classroom

Checking out her new ride....

And here she is....all dressed up and ready to go!

Baba walking her to the taxi

Our little friend Callie met up with us on the sidewalk

and away we went......

Wow.....I love this little person (and that big person too) so much!

Here is a snapshot I took thru the window as we were leaving.

And there you have it......my baby has begun her education. Like I said.....Wow!

PS- She bounded off the bus beaming and had a GREAT day. Her favorite part was coloring and she made 2 friends. Her teacher sent a note home that she was "a delight" and that her good manners were "refreshing. (you can go gag now but I am one proud momma today!)

Chat with ya later-