Tofu and bean sprouts

When we first arrived in China, the first few months of eating were rough on all of us. The first month, we spent living in a hotel room, so we ate out a lot. The following few months, I was adjusting to cooking in a kitchen I didn't understand and with ingredients I wasn't as familiar with. I tried new recipes, and often threw the finished product in the trash. During that time, Josiah mainly lived off of Ritz crackers and raisins. Literally. He gradually started eating yogurt and Chinese food, but it took a while for him to transition.

These days, I'm comfortable in the kitchen and a much better cook than I was even in the comfort of the States. But, I still lack a serious skill.....

...making all veggies so delicious that my kids and I want to gobble them up. Who has this skill? A LOT of Chinese people!

In particular, our helper. She comes once or twice a week to clean and cook for us. She is amazing! She buys the ingredients she needs to cook, and whips up 4-5 dishes every time. And my kids devour her food--every time!

For example, the other day she made homemade tortillas with 4 different fillers: green peppers and potatoes, tofu and bean sprouts, broccoli and garlic, celery and potatoes...and then a sauce with eggs in it (sounds gross, but was DELISH).

I had to chuckle tonight as the kids and I all scarfed down 4 wraps. At one point, I had just helped each boy take a bite, and bean sprouts and tofu were hanging out of both of their mouths. If we still lived in the States, I'm not sure this would have ever happened.

Another interesting thing? We eat much less meat here, and don't even notice it! In our home, we eat mostly chicken, and usually only a few times a week. The veggie dishes are so good that we don't even miss the meat! 

I have some serious learning to do.

*I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad, just trying to share that kids (and formerly very picky adults!) can love just about anything if it's made with some pizzazz!!

Times are a Changin'

Out of the blue, Josiah starts this conversation with Erika, who is visiting right now

Josiah: Do you have any games?
Erika: No, do you?
Josiah: No, I don't have a phone.

Ha! We do have board games that he also loves to play, but I guess his mind was just on electronic games at the moment!

Easter!

On Easter Sunday, we went to a friend/former tutor's house to have dinner and play. Her son is also 3, so he and Josiah hit it off well. Who cares that they don't speak the same language?! All they needed were toy guns and all those "boy" noises! :)

 

I brought along some eggs filled with treats and we hid them around one of the bedrooms. Sadly, it was still too cold and too much ice was on the ground to do an outdoor hunt. But, the boys didn't care! It was EnTong's first hunt, and he had a blast!

Then we sat around and played the piano, guitar, and danced. Such a fun family!!

The day after Easter, a group of my classmates and our tutors had a party. We dyed eggs, decorated cookies, and told the Easter story with the help of Resurrection Eggs. It was a lot of fun and cool to see how much the locals already knew of the story!

**Oh, and yes, the kids didn't have special "Easter attire" this year because it's still so cold! So, they just wore their spiffy winter attire. Ah well...they sure didn't notice!