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Not only do people rinse their mops in the canal, they also wash their clothes and their dishes. This woman seemed genuinely baffled as to why I was taking her picture :)

Today we left for church at 10 a.m. and didn't get back home until 5 p.m. Sometimes it's hard having church so very far away.

Mr. Du is going to find some fireworks for us. We have to get into the New Years spirit!

Last night I babysat for Mariannette's son while they went out. He was asleep when I got there and stayed asleep the whole time. It was blissfully quiet. I got caught up on email, homework and then just laid on the couch reading until I fell asleep. I never have that type of peace and quiet at home with the kids home 24/7. Even now, at 10:30 at night, Connor is awake and crying for his gloves. He has a new fixation with wearing his gloves as much as possible.

Zack is learning to ride a bike. He did really great his first day. I'm very proud of him. He's always been a very cautious child and this has sometimes held him back from trying new things like bike riding. He's too concerned about how much it will hurt if he falls. Well, he conquered his fear and went for it. He'll be riding that bike on his own by Friday, I'm sure of it!

Tonight as Petey and I were washing the dishes, he was chanting in a sing-song voice "Mace Windu, Mace Windu!" over and over.

I love those boys.

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One more thing: today as we were out and about, we saw a little girl in split pants whose mom was holding her in "the position". The position is with the child's back against the parents chest, and the child's legs over the parents arms. This puts the kid into a squatting position with their bottom and privates hanging down through the split. The boys noticed the girl, how could they not? Everything was showing. Just as we walked past, she started pee'ing and it squirt straight out. Petey and Zack both squealed "ewww, aaack!" I thought it was hilarious to see how grossed out they were. It turns out they weren't grossed out by the act of pee'ing. It was seeing a girl pee that freaked them out. Why shouldn't it? They don't have a sister and they've never seen that part of a girl before. They had a lot of questions.

China. I think since we've moved here my kids have had such a dose of "real life" as they've never had before. It leads to a lot of questions on topics that have never come up before. I think for the most part, this is a good thing.