Christmas without Snow

It's Christmas Day and for the first time ever there is just the four of us for Christmas lunch.  We feel like we are missing a wheel as we usually have Paul's parents with us.  We will be joining some friends for dessert and more drinks later on though.  

We were anticipating Snow would be with us but her Grandfather is sick so she had to go back to China during the Christmas break.  The day brfore she left on her trip we gave her our Christmas presents, which was pajamas, cozy socks, a Coach purse, mint chocolate covered graham crackers and a Terry's chocolate orange.

Santa brought us all some wonderful presents from the Apple store, Lululemon, Athleta, North Face,  Hollister, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Coach, Nordstrom and of course the liquor store....so I guess we must have all been on the 'nice' list this year.

For lunch we had roast beef, Yorkshire pudding (a British side dish which is similar to American popovers), gravy, Brussel sprouts, carrots and roast potatoes.  I have to thank my wonderful husband for taking them helm on the cooking today.  The food tastes much better when you don't cook it.  Dessert will be Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, profiteroles and chocolate sauce, mince pies and cheese and biscuits.

From us and ours, to you and yours....we hope you had a great Christmas and have a happy and healthy New Year.

Thanksgiving

Well, the holiday season is upon us and the frenzy of eating, drinking and shopping has begun. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays mainly because there is no pressure to decorate the house, send cards and buy presents for everyone including the mail man, plus Paul and I get 2 days off work.  Molly and Snow had 3 days off school, so with the weekend that was 5 straight days of not running them to school at 7am - yay!

On Thanksgiving Day we spent the day with our friends, The Wards - Lee, Mandy, Charlotte and Alex. Snow actually is in the same home room as Alex.  A couple of years ago we tried deep fried turkey and now that has become the tradition on this day.  The meat is so moist (probably with all the oil) and the whole bird cooks in 40 minutes....so tasty!  I did spinning at the gym that morning so I could eat without feeling guilty about it.  This as close to a British Christmas dinner as it gets, including the Brussel sprouts.

  

Another reason to love Thanksgiving is Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thankgiving) and any other sale that entices us to spend money we wouldn't otherwise spend.  I hate crowds so I chose to shop on-line on Black Friday and I actually went to the mall on Saturday.  My shopping is still far from being finished, but next weekend is the ladies' weekend away in Maine doing outlet shopping in Kittery and we may just have fun in a bar somewhere in Kennebunkport - just maybe!

Asian food night

On Saturday Snow invited 2 friends, CiCi and Lilly, over to the house.  Now Snow doesn't cook, but CiCi and Lilly do, so they decided to make us pork and Chinese dumplings.  Here is a similar recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-dumplings/

The three of them worked solidly for three hours creating one hundred of these artful little packets of pork, egg and Chinese (napa) cabbage.

   Snow and CiCi working hard

          Lily

Here is the finished product, served with a Chinese hot sauce containing salty soy beans - yum!!

Snow hid pistacho nuts inside several of the dumplings, giving luck to the person finding them.  Apparantly I am not very lucky, even though I kept trying my luck 'just one more time' before giving up with a full belly.

I also made shrimp Tom Yum soup which is a spicy Thai style soup.

11/11 - Veteran's Day and Singles Day

Today is Veteran's Day and the kids are off school.  The greatest thing about no school is that I don't need to drive the Molly and Snow to school at 7am so I got to sleep late - well 7.30am is sleeping late to me.  This is one of the rare secular holidays that is also celebrated in the UK, called Remembrance, Armistice or Poppy Day.  In China 11/11 is another celebration altogether known as Singles Day because of the four single digits.  The holiday is known in Chinese as "Guanggun Jie,"  which refers to "bare sticks" — slang for bachelors.  It is celebrated by hanging out with your single friends and gift-giving.  It has recently become the biggest shopping days of the year where retailers offer on-line discounts similar to those offered on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, known as Cyber Monday.

I am just about to head off to Spinning at the gym (the current time is 8am) but I don't expect to see the kids up until late morning.  It took the five of us three hours to clear all the grass and tree areas of leaves so I expect they will be tired.  I love working outside in the fall feeling exhilarated by the fresh air and hard work.  Here is a before and after shot of the front yard.

The kids working hard....

Gun talk

Growing up in England we have not bought into the gun culture and cannot understand the mindset of wanting to keep guns in the house.  It seems like it is every few months that we hear of another tragic shooting and yesterday's shooting at a school in Nevada claimed another innocent life.  I don't care what the constitution says, there needs to be federal laws to restrict high capacity guns and make people responsible for keeping them out of the wrong hands.

As the details of yesterday's shooting was unfolding on the news, Snow was caught up in my ranting as she just happened to be grabbing a snack from the kitchen.  I made it clear that we didn't keep guns and that she should ask whether her host family have guns in the house and if so, how they are kept.  I hope I didn't scare her, but these shootings (and terrorist attacks) seem a little too close to home sometimes.

Homecoming

This past weekend was Columbus Day weekend and also 'Homecoming', which meant for a very busy weekend.  Homecoming is an annual tradition here where people, towns, high schools and colleges come together to welcome back alumni and former residents.  On Friday night the CCHS football team had a home game where there was a celebration for alumni of the school.  This was a perfect time to attend my first football game since both Molly and Snow had arranged to meet their friends there and needed a ride.  Despite not knowing much about the rules I enjoyed the game very much, plus CCHS won which always helps.  Paul was en route back from Holland but next time we'll all attend and I'll  have him explain some of the rules.

On Saturday night the school had their Homecoming Dance, which is a big event as the entire school of 1300 kids are invited.  Although it is a formal event, thankfully it is nowhere near as costly or as time consuming as the prom, which comes towards the end of the school year.  The girls both met up with friends to do their hair and make-up and get hyped up for the evening.

Molly and Snow looking elegant in their dresses

The following day we had arranged to meet up with family at Canobie Lake Park for Screamfest.  We started out with a big breakfast at The Irish Cottage which was a great choice for food at any time of the day.  The breakfast at The Shawsheen Diner is still our favorite, mainly because it was our first American breakfast venue, but this comes a close second and does a wonderful traditional Irish breakfast complete with black and white pudding (if you like that kind of thing!).  Black pudding is blood sausage for anyone that doesn't know.

Molly and Snow having pancakes

Pass the wine!

Today started out very well.  Erin had an impromptu sleepover last night with the neighbor as today was a half-day for her and the high schoolers had a late start (8.40am as opposed to 7.40am), so I ended up sleeping until 6.45am - a full hour later than usual!  Molly and Snow had a ride to school so I didn't even need to made that dreaded school run.  It should only take 10 minutes but it is so congested around the school and the locals drive like lunatics.  Yesterday I was almost mowed down by someone passing a line of stationary traffic on my side of the road.  Idiot!

Up until about 4pm the day was very relaxed - gym, a little work, baked banana bread and prepared vegetables for dinner (more on this later).  Then came my typical running around dropping and picked up kids.  I now have 3 kids, so the after school schedule is very busy, particularly this week as Paul is in Holland so all the running around in on me.  After picking up Molly and Snow from school at 4pm I then dropped Erin at soccer practice at 4.30pm.  Forty minutes later I took Molly to her Youth conditioning class at the gym and returned home briefly to put the vegetable curry and rice on.  I then picked up Erin at 6pm then Molly at 6.30pm.  On the way back home we were caught up behind 2 car accidents that meant we didn't return home until 7.10pm.  Now, on normal day the kids would complain about being hungry and I would have headed straight for McDonald's drive-thru for chicken nuggets and fries.  Since dinner was still 1/2 hr away from being ready I was very tempted, believe me, but my alter ego reminded me how bad processed food is, something that is re-inforced by posts from Wellness Mama and Perfectly Nourished on Facebook every day.

I do like to cook, but sometimes I do myself no favors, today is no exemption, by planning 2 separate meals.  I had been meaning to make toad-in-the-hole for Snow for a while now, and since I had some left-over sausages that is what I had planned for the girls.  I, on the other hand, fancied a vegetarian curry since I enjoy vegetarian food, particularly when Paul is away.  After the first Yorkshire pudding batter failed I had to start over, so eventually we ate dinner at almost 8pm.  I tydied up and made lunches for us all for the following day while the girls finished their homework.  Tomorrow I have the usual school run at 7am followed by work, then after that the craziness begins again.  Despite all the complaining I do, I still feel blessed to have my life and to have my 3 wonderful girls....and not forgetting Paul of course.  Pass the wine!

Fan Dance

One of the first things we learned about Snow was that she was a dancer.  In fact, she has been dancing since she was 3 years old.  She is very flexible due to many hours of practice and stretching exercises over the past 14 years.  When she was back in China over the summer she danced for several hours every day, which is when she lost all her 'American' weight.  She has been deliberating over whether to join the school dance team and was concerned it was not serious enough for her. After talking to her about it she decided to join the team and hopefully she can change some attitudes with her dedication to the sport.

Tonight I was invited to see Snow perform a traditional Chinese dance at the benefactors' reception at school.  Just like the many times before when our own children performed in the music concert and school play, I was looking forward to it all day.  She choreographed the dance and taught the rest of the team the moves.  I was hoping to include the whole video of the dance but I wasn't able to include it here, however I was able to include a couple of stills that show her costume and flexibility.  Seeing Snow perform tonight made me very proud.....

Moon Festival

Today is the Moon festival in China.  Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie".  Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing, not to mention mooncakes.  While no-one in the family wanted to partake in dancing, we were all intriged and willing tasters of the mooncakes Snow brought with her from home.

These little cakes have Chinese writing on the top depicting their contents of a combination of sweet and savory, sometimes together.  There were egg yolks in one, 5 kinds of nuts in another and the last was filled with ham and a sweet paste.  I would say the outside is more of a sweet pie crust, but inside it was more like cake.  We enjoyed the nut variety the best.  Thanks for sharing this tradition Snow.  In return we'll introduce her to fruit cake at Christmas, but NOT the kind that contains neon fruit and gets passed around since no-one likes it.  I make a stellar variety steeped in Irish Whisky courtesy of Delia Smith.

Family time

Snow's Mom, Jane, returns to China next week, so we thought it would be nice to bring her to the house to see where we live.  When we first moved out to America we brought my Mom over to help settle us in, so we knew how much it would mean to her.  We enjoyed getting to know each other better over dinner and finding some common ground.  We share the love of tea, so Jane kindly left us some Chinese loose leaf tea - black and green mainly - which is so much better than the bagged variety.

   Snow and her Mom

On Sunday we had our first family outing to King Richards' Faire.  It was a renaissance fair offering various medieval themed shows such as jousting, juggling, fire-eating and freak sideshows.  It's not for everyone and after being there for 20 minutes we realised it wasn't for us either.  If we hadn't invested an hour and a half to get there and a decent entry fee we would have left right after we saw the guy who knocked a four inch nail up his nose and put hooks into his eyes.  It wasn't just the shows that were weird, the people were too, and by that I mean it was hard to distinguish the workers from the guests.  Seriously, there were people of all ages dressed up like Robin Hood and Maid Marian complete with Dr Spock ears and fox tails....I'm not sure what that is about.  On the journey home Molly made me promise never to take her again.  It won't be hard to keep that promise.

   Snow and Molly

Call me Mom

Snow has been with us for a week now but it really does feel like much longer since we have learned so much about her over that time; she has been dancing since she was 3, is left-handed (like me!), dislikes carrots but loves fruit and (so far) my cooking.

Anyone who knows me will agree I am somewhat of a foodie and I love to cook and bake.  I was nervous Snow wouldn't like my food or wouldn't try anything new, but so far she has eaten anything and everything I have given her and even takes leftovers to school.  I like to cook with fresh, healthy ingredients and I know she appreciates it.  Today she said when she is in America she 'gets fat' (for the record she is all of 100lbs) but loses the weight when she goes back to China.  She also said she gets hungry between meals in America but doesn't in China.  I am a strong believer that the processed food here IS addictive due to the sugar content and artificial ingredients; this is a testament to that belief.

I often think about her first two years in America and was curious why she left the previous host family.  She said it was her decision to leave since she wanted a 'whole family' and a bright, sunny bedroom as she had previously had a room in the basement with no windows.  Hmmm, "whole family?" I asked, unsure if we fit the bill.  "Yes" she said, one with both a Mom and Dad.  I guess she just wanted a family unit she was familiar with.  Over the past week she has opened up more as she has got to know us better.  The other day she asked what she should call me.  "Anything but Mrs Teece" I replied.  "Can I call you Mom?" she asked.  I was taken aback but absolutely thrilled she felt comfortable with that.  I am 'Mom' after all, or as Erin calls me, 'super Mom'.

From that moment I knew she would be a great addition to our familly.  She is an absolute delight to have around and I have noticed that Molly and Erin have adapted better than I thought.  Not only are they accepting and accommodating with Snow, but they seem to be more considerate of each other, argue less and keep the bathroom tidier....now if only they kept their rooms tidier!

Sushi and Kielbasa anyone?

Our family loves sushi and Snow had said she likes it too, so last night we went to one of our favorite restaurants - The Fusion House in Methuen.  She was a bit overwhelmed by the menu so we chose a nice selection of food to share; edammame, shrimp shumai, shrimp Tum Yum soup, various sushi and sesame chicken.

The photo isn't the best but I really need to remember to take more photos since I am a blogger newbie :). I stole this one from Molly.

I love eating out at the weekend, not only because someone else does the cooking and cleaning up, but it allows us to have conversations with little distractions.  We are a typical family who are busy with activities during the week and it's hard to get everyone to eat together.  Last night we learned that Snow has a head for numbers and is thinking of majoring in Statistics, just like I did.  And with Paul having an accounting degree she certainly fits  in very nicely.  It turns our her dad also works for a Dutch company.

When the furtune cookies arrived at the end of the meal we all tried to pronounce the Chinese word on the back of the motto and Paul took the opportunity to show off some Chinese he had learned from listening to a language CD in his car.  I'm not sure how impressed Snow was but I certainly was!  Erin then announced that she had learned the word 'Kielbasa' from our recent trip to Mexico.  With puzzled faces we finally figured out she meant 'que pasa' meaning 'what's up' rather than a Polish sausage.....even Snow laughed.  Maybe Erin didn't inherit Paul's aptitude for language after all.

Back to school!

Snow arrived safe and sound, albeit somewhat jet lagged from her trip.  Her Mom stayed in Boston over the summer at their house in Chestnut Hills, so I had the honor to meet her.  She spoke little English but enough to say "take care of my daughter", or something along those lines, and with those parting words we were gone.  I can't imagine how that feels to hand your daughter over a complete stranger after having met them for only a few minutes, but the EduBoston system is thorough and we are quite normal really....whatever that means.

Today all three girls are back to school.  Snow is a senior, which is her third year in high school, so she looked confident as she tootled off, unlike Molly who looked terrified on her first day yesterday.  Molly is off to a retreat at Camp Marist in The White Mountain region today to bond with her fellow freshmen.  Whoever though of that idea was a genius.

The girls are now ready for whatever the day brings.....

Snow in September?

It is the eve of Snow's arrival.  It seems surreal that we have been preparing for her for the past 5 months and tomorrow we will finally meet her.

Back in April the high school Molly will soon attend reached out to families with an opportunity to host a student from China for the whole school year.  I thought it would be a unique experience for the whole family to learn from someone from a very different culture.  When I discussed it with the family I wasn't sure what their reaction would be, but to my surprise everyone was as positive as I was.  Not a "I'm not sharing my bathroom" or "I don't think so" but instead "we can do fun stuff together".  I was blown away!

We finally discovered we would be hosting a 16 year-old girl named Snow, who is known not only for her unique name but for her likable personality and accomplishments.  She was invited to represent Eduboston (the company who arrange the placement of students) at the United Nations on the topic of enpowering women and making sure all girls are given the opportunity to attend school.

So, her room is all ready, complete with a new desk, fresh paint and a closet door that actually works.  I hope she likes it....