China

Can you tell work has been a bit slower for me these days?  I am on a roll posting :)

So after our Memorial Day weekend, we headed home and it was back to work for me.  I had been working non-stop before this trip to prepare for a big meeting that was being held in Beijing, China (i.e. in my 70 hour pay period, I worked 189 hours)...thank God for overtime!  I had 2 more days or work and then I was off to Beijing.  Gabe and I coordinate things so that we never travel at the same time, so he would be home with the boys and plus we have our au pair.  This time however, our au pair was gone for 4 days straight and Gabe's mom was out of town as well, so he was really on his own in the beginning!  He did great, though...needless to say, it most likely squashed any thoughts of having a 3rd baby :)

I left Thursday night for 11 very long days away from my family.  The flight over was really not bad at all.  I am very fortunate that my work flies me business class, so I got on the plane, had my nice BIG glass of wine and fell asleep the whole flight until I landed in Amsterdam. NOTE TO PARENTS - If you want a nice uninterrupted sleep - flying to Asia is the key :)  I wasn't in Amsterdam long enough to see anything which was a bummer. 3.5 hours after I landed it was back on the plane to Beijing. Again, slept most of the way!!

When I landed in Beijing, I was honestly in shock. I know it is a different culture, but it is VERY different. It was so amazing to really see how the other side of the world lives!  I met one of my very close work friends, Rebecca at the airport, and we set off to check into the hotel and spend the day sight seeing...and shopping!

Shopping there is like New York on speed...they will haggle with you like nobodies business, but they want your money, so you can get great deals. We went on one shopping adventure to a "market". Once they realized we knew about good bags and shoes, they took us across the street to a basically abandoned building, knocked on a locked door with a curtain in front, and in we went to the most beautifully light room with every designer bag and shoe you could imagine. It was a bit scary, but very fascinating at the same time.

One of the most interesting things to me about China is that children there do not wear diapers starting at about 10 months old. Most children are potty trained by 15 months old (at the oldest I have been told).  In doing so, they wear pants that have a slit right up the back so they can stop and go whenever and wherever they want. You have to see it to believe it.

You can see the slit here..the first time I saw this, I just couldn't figure it out...

 After a day of sight seeing and a fun party local style, it was straight to work the next day. However, there were some perks.  I got some great massages and got the opportunity to see sights I never would.  One thing I could have done without is the food.  For those of you that know me...I am the pickiest eater ON EARTH...if you are picky, China is not you.  Some of the options consist of ox tongue, duck feet, cow liver, raw chicken and barely cooked beef...needless to say it was a great way to kick start a diet.  I ate fruit the entire time I was there!

Duck with the feet cut off...no thanks!

Once the meeting was over, we had a day and a half left to pack and relax, so we went and saw more and shopped more of course!

Beautiful gardens

A view from dinner

A different view

Part of the Great Wall of China - YES, it is really that steep

Making our way up

We went to see the Olympic area

The "Birds Nest"

The trip was absolutely a great and a once in a lifetime experience, but by the last day, I was really missing my family. It was hard to stay connected because of the 12 hour time difference, so I was ready to go home.

I left on what was Saturday afternoon around 3 pm and I walked into my house at 5 pm on Sunday. It was a very long trip back, but well worth it.

Gabe and the boys were great...can't say as much for my house, but it was still standing which is all I could really ask for, right?

Dylan in his authentic pj's with his new remote car

Landon loves his pj's as well!

Now I am home until my next trip away...Athens, Greece in October!