Hiding out

I kid you not. Here I sit in my bedroom bc I feel like I should be cleaning because Tai Ping is cleaning. But, I want to get this post written and Cooper's sleeping and I have a precious 30 minutes until Soph gets home from school. So, I'm hiding out. :) Everyone says you get used to the idea that someone is cleaning your house for you while you sit and watch tv but I don't think that will ever happen for me. It's just weird!!

So, I'll start this post by talking a bit about my first day (and today) with having a housekeeper for 5 hours a day. Please know I think this is just as ridiculous as you do. :)

So, yesterday she showed up right on time, I showed her around the house, encouraged her to look through any cupboards or whatever to get a feel for where things are. She had asked me to write down a list of the things I would like her to do and when. She was surprised that I asked the sheets to be washed only once a week. Do I want them ironed, she asked? Um, no, that's quite all right. (Have I mentioned how this just feels wrong?? :)
Everything seemed to her liking and off she went with the vac to the upstairs and Coop and I headed back to my bedroom to a) hide out and b) empty out another big box that needed to be unpacked still. She was making quite a bit of noise upstairs but I figured she was shuffeling around some things. I'll just hide out in here.... After putting Coop to bed I brought some of Soph's things upstairs only to be met with this amazing site. See, when the air shipment came last Thursday they literally unpacked the toys by opening the boxes and turning them upside down into piles. So, the play area was essentially a huge mess of Barbie shoes and dress up clothes and Soph's dollhouse and Coop's therapy toys and books, books, books. When I had shown Tai Ping the upstairs I shamefully showed the mess to her explaining that Ben had just bought a bookshelf that he would be putting together and we did have bins for it but we just hadn't gotten around to it yet.....Guess what she had been doing. Every toy was picked up and put away. The books were lined up on shelves according to adults, kids and picture books. The entire area was organized and put away. I wish I had taken a before and after picture so you really could have a sense of what she accomplished. I gasped when seeing it and she says, "It's ok?" It's OK???? Um, it's amazing! I told her she didn't have to do that and thank you so much and wow, it looks so good. She seemed pleased.

So, this is how the rest of that first day went. She mopped and vacuumed and dusted and cleaned bathrooms and did dishes. I kept asking her to sit and have tea but I think she wanted to make a good first impression because she just carried on, right until 530. By 5 I thought, man, what'll she do tomorrow? This place is spotless! Ben came home at 520 and met her. She asked if we were happy with her work for the day. Again I said how amazing she was and how grateful that she is working with our family.

So last night we went out and bought some things she had asked for. Today when she showed up she thanked me for the items and got right to work. Ironing, mopping, straightening out toys that Coop had messed up. Dusting, doing laundry, doing dishes. See why I feel like I should be out there cleaning?? Although, honestly- what'll I clean? This is so odd (but kinda nice, too... :)

Ok, I've got to get Coop up and then go get Soph off the bus but I will write about our big move tonight and get this thing posted!

Ok, I'm back. So, the move. It was supposed to happen on the 15th but then got pushed back to the 16th bc GE wasn't approving the lease. It got approved and so we packed the old place up Wednesday night. 1 am Thursday morning rolls around and Soph comes into the bedroom raging hot. Like, 103 kinda hot. *sigh* Ok, so up Thursday morning, she's not going to school but instead gets to tag along sick as we move our entire place from one part of the compound to the other. A HUGE shout-out to my friend, Laura, who let us use her driver for the day. We would have been totally screwed without that! We loaded up our suitcases and some boxes I'd kept, brought them to the new place, dumped stuff out in the rooms where they'd go, go back, reload everything and repeat. There were piles of stuff everywhere in every room. Total chaos, a sick kid, then Coop got home at noon and while he napped at the old place, Ben was at the new place while some temporary furniture was being delivered. Suddenly our air shipment had arrived as well so he had them unpack the boxes and, again, dump things into the rooms they would be in.

This was the really annoying thing. I was taken around by a rep from SRC to approve furniture for our place weeks ago. I approved it but then when we went to check on it a few days before moving in, none of it was in place. They had thrown in some old junky furniture without telling us they'd changed the plans. After days of arguing and fighting they finally decided they'd give us what they originally said they would- 3 days after we moved in. Grrrrr!!! This is how things work in China. Your word means nothing, time wasted is nothing, money spent and wasted is nothing. SOOO frustrating and not how I'm used to living and dealing with people.

So, the furniture got changed on Saturday but we're still waiting for the couches, chairs, coffee table, rugs, lamps, tv console and a few other things. They won't be delivered until March 15th- or so they say.... *sigh*

But, now we're basically unpacked, organized and clean (thank you, Tai Ping!). We need to set up Coop's therapy area yet but Ben's been on work calls every night this week so, yeah, we'll see when that happens as well. We're hoping to get to the flower market this weekend and get some nice plants and such for the place. We have a huge balcony that needs a little love. :)

Ok, as promised- the pics. Please forgive how bare it is- we have to get pictures up and the other furniture yet. :)

Our kitchen! To the far left is a curtain- that's where one balcony is. It's a bit dark at night but during the day there's so much natural light.

Other view of the kitchen- in front of you is the laundry room- to the right is that balcony. To the left is the doorway to the rest of the house.

To the left is the cubby hole into the kitchen, in front an entry to the big balcony, the 55-in plasma that Ben drools over nightly, to the right arched windows in a half circle overlooking the development.

A look from the family room into the dining area. To the left is the rest of that circle bank of windows, then the couch, and the dining table and chairs. The spare bedroom is on the other side of the wall from the dining area, then a bathroom right in front. To the right is the front door.

The view from our balcony of the develpoment.

Part of the balcony- you can also see the clubhouse straight ahead through the rain.

View coming in from the balcony- family room to the right, dining area straight ahead, stairs going up to the play area/Soph's bedroom/4th bathroom. Kitchen just beyond the dining area.

Spare bedroom/ Ben's office (I told you it still needed work)

Cooper's bedroom- a little bare, I know

Half of our bedroom

The other half of our bedroom

The play area upstairs

Sophie's bedroom

View from upstairs to downstairs

So, I didn't show the 4 bathrooms or the other 2 balconies but, you get the jist. It's nice and we'll be happy here. It'll be really nice when we get the rugs and other furniture and pictures up. All in good time. :)

Prayer Requests:

-Sophie's fever lasted on and off for 3 days but she now just seems to have a cold. Cooper has a nasty cold right now and I'm also still on antibiotics for my sinus infection. Pray for health as we finish off the winter!

-Praise for a (relatively) smooth move, that we are in our place and that routine is (again) setting in.

-Ben has been very busy at work and pretty stressed out. Pray he has peace of mind and clarity of mind and finds moments of humor and fun in his day.

-Now that we're off GE's dime for eatting I am on my own for cooking us food! Pray I am able to find healthy options for our family that won't break the bank. :)

-Pray I may be a light for Christ to the many here that need Him- friends, my ayi, and even strangers. I know God has a plan for my outgoing personality so pray I hear where he wants me to go and what he wants me to do.

Thank you all for reading again! I love that so many of my friends and family can keep up with our craziness. I promise not to slack again so badly. :)