Our Birthday Staycation

Adam is 30!  WOW!  I didn't think anything of the number 30 until I realized that my husband is now in his 30's.  Not that I think it's old but it sounds soooooo different than being in your 20's. 
So Adam is 30?!?  I still can't believe it.
Anyway...
Our original plan was to take a trip to the beach, however with the unknown amount of work we need to do on the rental before we sell it and the cost that adds up with every new project; we thought it best to save money on a memorial weekend inflated hotel price and stay home.  Adam took off from Thursday to Monday. 
Thursday we spent the afternoon with Adam's parents eating way too much and showing off all the cute things Zack is doing.
Friday we went to the Science Museum in Raleigh and ate lunch downtown. 

In front of the Cree LED display

Zack was not happy I took him away from daddy for a picture.

Saturday we spent the whole day at the pool (minus Z's nap time which was a perfect break from the sun).

We got Z ready for bed dropped him off at his girlfriends house and went to dinner and a movie.  Indian food and MIB 3 in 3D...perfect to celebrate my man.
Sunday we went to church, had lunch with Adam's Chinese coworkers and Adam took them downtown for some sight seeing.
Monday we went to the pool and got some energy out at the mall.
It's Monday night and I am so thankful for the time we have had together.  I am kind of glad that we didn't go away...I mean the packing and preparation, the sleeping in a hotel, the traffic, the laundry pile after.  I know this is a pretty lame way to celebrate such a major milestone but we all had a great time (and when I say all I mean mostly Zack...I don't know what will happen when Daddy isn't here to play all day).

Z's First Birthday Party

We live in NC so I figured what are the chances that it would rain...well according to the weather report 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms and possible flash flooding, hail and maybe tornadoes...WHAT!  I decided that rain or shine we were going to use the shelter I booked over a month ago, I was going to show off all the decorations I cut, curled, designed, painted and I was going to use all the food that I prepared ahead of time in the fridge.
It turned out to be the best decision.  I was worried that the kids will be bored since we wouldn't set up our yard games...but they sure weren't!

The only thing the rain did was make the streamers so wet we couldn't hang them up and by the end of the party the rest of the paper became damp and wilted and the tape un stuck. 
I was really pleased with my decorations...

DIY cupcake stand, DIY banner, DIY cupcake toppers

A couple people said the puffs were too girly but I liked them.

lily pads cut from foam, Chinese Takeout boxes (to represent the time spent abroad) with frog lollies and cheap plastic frames that can be used again with some of my favorite pictures...It was hard to pick only 12...I figured too many more and it would look like a memorial service.

get it TOADally...and the chocolate pretzels were a big hit.

Zack loved finding sticks and rocks in the puddles...
thank goodness he didn't wonder off the side walk and into the mud.  He did however fall right into a puddle...

Everyone loved watching the children play in the puddles...almost as much and the kids liked splashing.  When it came time to sing happy birthday and eat cupcakes little man wasn't sure what to do...

Now I see some consistency...remember the finger painting fiasco?  Yeah...I had to hold the cupcake for him because he didn't like the frosting on his hands.

I tried to get a picture of the frosting face but this was the best I got:

Zack had an amazing time and so many wonderful friends and family members came to celebrate with us...Tante Lorie won the award for furthest traveled, coming all the way from upstate NY!  Her award...she got to clean my kitchen and wash my dishes. 

We waited until we got home to open gifts because someone was having too much fun walking in the puddles to be bothered with gifts...hey, it's his party he can do what he wants to!

all I hear all day is "ba" (ball)...he may never say another word because frankly why would you need to talk about anything else?

He really wasn't into opening gifts but he sure did enjoy seeing so many new toys!  My evenings went from fishing 10 balls from under the sofas to 165 in just one day (literally...thanks mom). 
Toys are so much more fun now that he sort of understands what to do with them...meanwhile Adam was almost as excited about these toys...much more fun than rattles and lovies!

Zack is 1!

Today was an AMAZING day...I am so glad we had nice weather!
Adam had the day off since he has to work next Saturday and we wanted to do something special (even if Zack would have no idea what was going on).  We went to the Museum of Life and Sciences.  I had been there several times on field trips and I LOVED it.
We ate lunch under the dome which made a cool echo when you were loud!

We showed Zack all the animals...

he liked finding "balls"

We took him to the butterfly house...

he was excited to walk on the bench and touch leaves.

He loved the wind exhibit...

Not the sand so much...

He wasn't so sure about the dinosaur...

he imitated my bear noises at the bear exhibit (so cute)...

he really enjoyed crawling up the stairs...

When we got home we ate cake...

and played with all the balls...

I think 1 is going to be a good year!

Two Birds…One Stone

…and as someone who is not too fond of birds I am happy to get rid of 2 using only one stone…(mean I know but birds kinda freak me out). 
I DIGRESS…So as I was writing this I had a little déjà vu action going on…than I realized that I actually used a similar title for another blog I wrote and began that entry almost the same way.  Have I really gone full circle…if I didn’t have the baby would I have anything new to say?
 This past weekend we went to Hong Kong for Zack’s doctor’s appointment and turned it into Adam’s birthday trip.  I didn’t feel too bad about jipping Adam on a birthday trip since I let him buy a blue ray disk player for his birthday (when I say that I mean I would have picked out the cheapest lowest grade one because I hate spending money on complicated technology…especially since buying one thing means you have to buy 10 more things to make the first thing work to its full potential and before you buy your 10 new things there is a better, newer cheaper version of the first thing you bought…Ironically we needed to get this blue ray player because we just bought a home server and the only way we can watch downloaded movies and TV shows is through our laptops, so now we need this blue ray player because it has wireless capabilities and can play things from the server onto the TV…I don’t know…I just know that I probably won’t be able to watch TV during the day without calling Adam).
We left Sat. morning for Zack’s 12:00 appointment…we were not too excited about this one because he was getting his first set of immunizations since the ones he got at the hospital right after he was born.  He didn’t cry at all last time, but he screamed when they took blood at his 10 day appointment.  This time they gave him 8 vaccinations in 2 shots and one orally.  I held him on my lap (he likes sitting like a big boy) and held his arms in.  He was taking in the new environment and flirting with the pretty nurses.  He drank the oral medication like a champ and all of a sudden it went from looking around the room to mouth wide open but nothing coming out and whole body turning bright red…this means big scream.  I was able to feed him to calm him down.  Other than that his appointment went well!  He is now 11 lb’s 5 oz (25^th percentile).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

…and I don’t mean the little one.  Adam is 29 years old today (for those of you that haven’t realized 29 is one away from 30).  For his last year as 20 something we aren’t doing anything as cool as we did last year.  I love Macau but I draw the line at bringing my baby to a casino.  We already had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Zachary so we are making a weekend of it in Hong Kong.  Today Zack and I are taking Adam some brownies for lunch and we are taking him to dinner.  If all goes as planned this will be our last birthday celebration in China!

Nothing Says HAPPY BIRTHDAY Like Disney!

Since Adam and I don’t “need” anything, and we really don’t want more stuff…more stuff means more furniture to put the stuff, which means we need more space and a never ending battle of STUFF!  So we go on trips for our birthdays, anniversary, etc…  Who knows with the little one coming soon this may be our last birthday trip just the two of us (but don’t feel too sorry…we still have 3 more big trips planned through the end of the year).  We may end up turning to the “something we need but don’t buy because we would rather spend money on the baby” gift giving couple (which is totally fine), but for now it’s all about Disney!

Everyone told me not to go in with high expectations (not possible…I but on a calm face but I was totally giddy on the inside); they said it is nothing like Disney Land (or World) in the states.  But Disney is a magical place no matter how lame it may seem.  I figured my friends 4 year old can celebrate his birthday there and have a good time, the for sure I can. 
First of all Disney Hong Kong has its own train on the MTR which truly gets you into the Disney spirit (windows and rings shaped like Mickey, statues of the characters etc…).

We stayed at the Disney Hollywood Hotel (a 1950’s Hollywood themed hotel) and spent all day Saturday at the Park.  There were only 3 rides that “expectant mothers” weren’t allowed on.  I actually went on one that wasn’t a ride but a haunted hotel.  We did everything from see the top shows to riding it’s a small world, to waiting in line to have our picture taken with Mickey, to sitting front and center for the parade and fireworks. 

A really cool part of the trip was this was the first weekend of the Halloween theme so all the characters were dressed for Halloween, the Disney villains were the stars of the parade, and they had special Halloween events.  We left totally satisfied with what we were able to do, and with me just beginning to feel the “pregnancy soreness” after a day in the sun and on my feet.  I can see why people aren’t impressed with HK Disney; honestly we could have done it in a half a day if I wasn’t pregnant (spending time searching for the perfect baby gift, taking snack breaks every couple hours etc…).  But I had an amazing time!

What a Wonderful Life

Year 21 I graduated from college and got my first REAL job…my dream job.  Year 22 I bought a house.  Year 23 I met the love of my life.  Year 24 we got engaged.  Year 25 we got married.  Year 26 we moved to China.  And that is just the past few years!  I am amazed at how much has happened and at how totally blessed I have been.  I still feel like a teenager, I should be living with my parents, it was all a dream…did I really already attend and graduate from college?  Did I really already get married?  Do I really live in China?  It is all surreal.  I can’t be old enough for any of this!  Is this what life is like for everyone?  My life is too good to be true, and now I get to experience another year where something wonderful and life changing will happen.  I am so excited for what is in store for year 27.  All I know is I have a lot to look forward to…and I am not just talking about my birthday trip to Disney Hong Kong!

Celebratng My Man

Let me start at the end by saying we have decided to begin planning our next trip!  Yeah…it was that good.  We got to the hotel (I picked the cheaper hotel that was still nice but not attached to a huge casino…but close enough) where we learned that they upgraded our room for free.  I booked the room through the Chinese version of Orbitz (giving us an excellent deal) so the only reason I can think of that they upgraded us was because we were Americans.  Our first night we took it easy and went to one of the big casinos close by. 

After 3 hands of blackjack each and 2 hours on a slot machine we were down 380 Hong Kong Dollars (FYI: I budgeted for 1500 in entertainment gambling which is under $200 US).  Saturday I had tons of plans but we ended up spending the day at the casino…it’s really fun to watch people and to try a little luck yourself.   Last time Adam had luck at the roulette table while I stuck to losing money at the 2c slots (with the exchange rate it comes to like nothing in US).  This time we teamed up and conquered the house at roulette.  Well made a small dent in their large profits. 

When we walked away from each table we made a personal bet with no money on the line...after being up 2000 HKD Adam's personal bet was put everthing on 24...

This is adam's face after the marble landed on 24 with none of our money on it

Adam kept track of numbers and I was in charge of picking the combo’s and saying when to leave the table.  Now with Adam’s good number sense and my instinct and hate of wasting money we made a pretty good team.  We walked away from the first table up 500 HKD (after you count the money we started with and the money we lost the day before).  We went to another table and lost the 500 (mainly because we started getting aggressive).  After being back at 0 we went to the Hard Rock casino and saw a show (YAY FOR FREE SHOWS) and went back to the tables.  This is where we perfected our strategy and won 3525 HKD (after subtracting what we started with).  We started with 500 and played conservatively splitting chips among 4 numbers (4, 14, 24 and a number that hadn’t been played in a while…our 14 and 24 are our birthdays and 4 is our anniversary) once we collected a few times we would split between 2 and pick 1 number to put a chip on.  Once we collected from those we set aside what we started with and started playing more numbers that hadn’t been picked in a while.  Then when we were VERY safe we became more aggressive.  Since it was raining we went to ANOTHER casino after dinner at the Macau Tower (the highest place in the world to bungee jump from…or something like that) and went back to the roulette tables.  We were a lot more aggressive in the beginning and that was our downfall…we lost 1000 of our winnings.  In the end because of what we won we were able to pay for the hotel room and the ferry tickets, all our cab rides and 2 meals…so basically our weekend in Macau cost a trip to Starbucks, a lunch and a small dinner.  On Sunday we decided to do the sightseeing that I planned for the day before but it turned out that it was the same place we went the last time we were there…oh well it’s always nice to see something a second time.  We really didn’t do even half the stuff I planned but we had a good time and hardly knew it rained a lot.  We (control freak Lindsay and Adam who is better at everything then I am, plus with our competitive nature) really learned how to work as a team…I know it’s an odd thing to learn at a casino.  Adam had a great birthday and personally I am much happier giving him a trip rather than a present he doesn’t need.

Macau For Adam’s Birthday

Rather than gifts for birthdays or what not we go on small trips to create memories.  Being in China has put us close to many exciting short trip places.  This weekend we will go back to Macau.  The last time we were in Macau we barely spent 1 day there.  This time we will have a chance to do some sightseeing a little gambling and see the city at night.  Not to mention trying some local cuisine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM

Today Adam turns 28 years old!  Since it’s Monday he had to work…but since I’m Lindsay I brought a cake for Adam and his co-workers to have after lunch (I miss kindergarten).  I took pictures! 

Chinese grocery stores don’t allow for much creativity…or too much creativity (depends on how adventurous you are).  Anyway I used some of the valuable ground beef that I bought in Hong Kong last week to make Hamburgers.  I made some Nachos (using tortilla chips and Mexican cheese bought in Hong Kong).  I used the salsa brought from the states.  China does provide some cheap fresh ingredients!  I made guacamole with fresh avocados and corn on the cob.  For desert we had fresh watermelon cantaloupe ice juice and chocolate cake from the hotel.

Enough about the food…back to the Birthday boy…Adam is working hard and loving every minute of it!  His job here requires a lot more leadership and is able to see the factory from before the beginning.  He is still wonderful and patient and my best friend!  I LOVE YOU!