Pics of the Place

So...our place is still very much a work-in-progress, but thought I would post a few pics of rooms that are on their way to being done.  Or at least, rooms that aren't still cluttered and in need of unpacking!  While it might not be anything fancy, we're enjoying the extra space and love looking out our windows. =) 

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Views

Future Baby Boy's Future Room =)

Finley's "Big Girl Room"

(See that wonderful painting?!  My cousin Joe made it for Fin - http://www.joemohr.com/)

Kitchen/Helper's Room Entrance

More pics of the living room and guest room/office to come..

Look Who's All Grown Up!

Since we moved into our new home, we've been trying to talk up Fin's "big girl room".  After a week of sleeping in the crib in the "baby room" here, it seemed like Fin was comfortable enough with her surroundings to make the move to a bed.  And I decided now was as good a time as any to lose sleep for a few nights as we made the transition.  Lucky us, Fin is a champ!  She made the switch with no fuss, no getting in and out of bed a zillion times and is sleeping even better than she usually does.  Woohoo!  We're now one step closer to being ready for Baby Boy!

The Weekend

Hong Kong is being very kind, and gave us gorgeous weather this week....which we're enjoying immensely before it becomes unbearably hot and and humid in about a month.  On Friday, Finley and I went to a playroom with our friends Alicia (mom) and Mia (tot).  Afterwards, it was so nice outside that the girls ran around by the waterfront for almost two hours while Alicia and I got to know each other better.  I feel so lucky to have met so many fun people since we moved here.

Saturday we dragged Fin around town as we continued to look for furniture for our place.  Thank goodness we found a couch, although everything else is pretty slow-moving.  In the afternoon we babysat for our friend's five-year old daughter, Paige.  She's such a sweet girl who is in total big sister mode when she's around Fin, and most of the time Finley loves copying her every move.  Then of course there's moments when they argue over who gets to push the button in the elevator and who gets the red crayon.  Oh well.  In an attempt to be super fun parents and babysitters, we visited the park, and went out to eat for pizza.  We may have even concluded the night with gelato and some running around Stanley Plaza.

Today was amazing....PERFECT weather.  We woke up to 70 degrees, low humidity and lots of sun, so we immediately packed a bag and hit the beach.  It wasn't quite swimsuit weather (thank goodness for me), but we had fun playing in the sand and running around.  Here are some pics from our morning.

If you look at the pic below, our building is the shorter of the two tall buildings.  We're about a ten minute walk from the beach.

Fin would squeal with laughter every time a wave came in. 

Moving On...

Okay, moving on from recent traumas....

We're settling into the new home quite well!  There are a TON of kids here in our complex, and afternoons at the playground are always packed with children - sharing bikes, toys, balls, chalk and bubbles.  Fin is in a bit of a shy phase - likely from the lack of playdates over this past month - but I'm hoping that the more we're out and about, the sooner she'll be back to her old self.  The moms and kids we met our first day here are quickly becoming a fixture in our lives.  We've met up at the playground or run into each other every single day, and tomorrow a few of us are taking the kids to an indoor play place and then out for lunch.  Expats seem to be super friendly and welcoming, and we're grateful for that.  Making new friends has definitely made the transition here even easier than it has already been.

And it's not a good update without a pic of Fin.  Here she is in Stanley, where we headed to play, run errands and watch the fishermen earlier this week.

One Month in HK!

We're FINALLY out of corporate housing!  We moved yesterday morning (Sat), and although we're completely exhausted it's nice to be settling into real life.  All in all, the move went well with only one big loss....our couch. =(  It didn't fit in the elevators or up the stairwell, so one of our movers is probably lounging on it as I write this.  And as I write this, I'm looking down at Dave is who is stuck "lounging" on the wood floor.

Today was a gorgeous day.  After I got out of bed, I opened our curtains and was completely awed by the beautiful sea view (pics of that to come soon).  Later in the morning, Dave, Fin and I took our building's shuttle bus to the village of Stanley (about 5 minutes away) and did some walking around and exploring. 

Our building has great facilities - tennis, squash (whatever the heck that is) and basketball courts, a gym, indoor/outdoor pools, a restaurant, an indoor kid's playground and more.  While Finley was napping, Dave was able to hit balls at the golf cage...and when she woke up we went down to the outdoor playgrounds.  Within five minutes, we met three other families with two year olds and exchanged numbers.  One of the moms is also pregnant with a boy and due just a month before me.  Everyone was so friendly that I'm hopeful we'll have lots of playdates in the near future!

The Worst Things About Hong Kong

1.  Baby Boy will not be eligible to be President of the United States since he will be born in Hong Kong.

2. If Baby Boy is born before 1:00 p.m. on whatever day he chooses to arrive, living in Hong Kong will give him a different birth date than he would have if we were in Chicago.  This makes me crazy.

Other than that, no complaints here.

Get a Life

So this is what people do for fun in Hong Kong on a Friday night.  Really.  Or rather, this is just an example of the lengths Dave and I (a.k.a. Cow and Horse) will go to in order to make Finley laugh.  I believe it was right after this performance that Dave and I decided to move forward with hiring a live-in helper.  Clearly, we need to get a life.

Saturday, we did some furniture shopping in preparation for the move this weekend.  Finley met a little girl named Kya and they immediately hopped in the sack together.  And yes, that's a display bed.  The good thing that came out of this is that Kya and her family are also new to Hong Kong - originally from Canada, by way of Shanghai.  Dave and Ian (the dad) exchanged numbers and so we hope to set up a playdate soon.  No shacking next time though!

Later in the day, Fin experienced her first walk on the famous (world's longest, I think) escalator in HK.  She was in heaven.

And lastly, we got out of the house and headed to the ferry piers yesterday so Fin could watch the boats.  Despite Hong Kong's pollution, we're relieved this was fog and not smog.

And now we continue the countdown until our move date.  We're ecstatic that after this weekend, we'll be much more settled.  Fin will be thrilled to have all of her toys, a playground, a pool and other kids to play with.  I'm just excited to be getting away from the noise and the crowds of downtown, and happy that soon I won't have to carry Fin every single time we head out the front door.

A Not So Interesting Week

I wish I could say that we've been so busy doing fun and exciting things this week that it's left me no time to update this...but that would be a total lie.  Monday brought cold temps (well, 50's) and rain, which introduced a new challenge in my world of entertaining Fin.  As you can see in the pic below (exhibit A), our living space is pretty tiny.  Keeping Fin happy and entertained here is pretty much impossible!  Seriously, it was bad.  I must have looked at the pics of our new place 734 times that day in order to reassure myself that things will get better soon! Time appeared to stop moving, so it came down to me spending a good chunk of time putting stickers on my nose and asking Finley where they were (exhibit B). Fortunately, she found this game hysterical.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

We finally got out of the shoebox and went to one of the million malls here in HK, which is accessible via a covered walkway.  Since there are no child labor laws here (or are there?), I made Fin hold the basket at the market.

As a reward for her hard work, I treated her to some Yo Mama (frozen yogurt), which she scarfed down by herself before finally offering me the last, melty bite.

Today we finally got to be the social butterflies we like to be.  We went down to my friend Jessica's flat (which is in the building we're moving to), and then the three of us headed out for shopping and lunch.  Afterwards, I took Finley to a waterfront playground in Ap Lei Chau before getting adventurous and taking the city bus home. I'm happy to say we found our way back and I'm quite proud of myself for not getting lost!

This weekend we're looking forward to hanging out with Dave and possibly doing some sightseeing/furniture shopping in Hong Kong and Macau in preparation for next weekend's move!

Weekend #2

This weekend brought a much-needed break for me!  Finley and I kicked off the weekend by meeting up with Dave's cousin for "happy hour" while Dave was stuck at work.  Dan lives in Singapore and was in town for the weekend, so we were able to catch up over some coffee and Finley was spoiled by the art supplies and attention he gave her.  Meanwhile, Dave took advantage of the fact that some of his new coworkers were getting drinks after work, so I was a nice, selfless wife and gave him the green light to go.  I figured he might as well get it in now before we have two kids and are living a bit further from the office.  I may not be quite as agreeable then...

Saturday we got a late start thanks to Fin's awesome sleeping, and for lack of any better ideas we headed back to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens.  Fin wore herself out running around and we all enjoyed being outside, so it was a win-win. 

While Fin napped, I ventured out ALONE (woohoo!) to get a manicure and walk around SoHo a bit.  Then my fancy hubby was off to pick up his very first custom-made suit - made by "Sam", the same tailor to make suits for Bill Clinton, Prince Charles.....and Blondie!  Apparently everyone in HK has their suits custom-made, so Dave couldn't be the only slob walking around town in an off-the-rack suit.  Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be for him???

Yesterday we had brunch with our new friends Dave and Jessica, and their daughter Paige.  They took us to the American Club, and it was wonderful.  Their daughter was very sweet and patient with Finley, and both Dave and Jessica are so friendly and a lot of fun.  They live in the building we're moving into, so we're looking forward to lots more fun times hanging out.  After that we were able to see Dave's cousin once more before he headed home to Singapore. 

And now it's Monday again, which means Dave is back to working 12-14 hour days.  These are the times when I miss my "mom friends" and sister.  The playdates and post-work pop-in by Aunt Julie break up the day when Dave is working long hours!   It's raining out today, so it's gonna be a long one.....  

Getting Acclimated

Every time I think I'm getting to be a pro at getting around town, I realize I'm still completely clueless.  First off, our BOB jogging stroller is just about the most impractical thing for getting around downtown HK.  I have yet to see anything but umbrella strollers, so when I'm trekking around town with Fin, we're taking up way too much of the sidewalk, I'm clipping people's heels and people are looking at us like we're total freakshows.  Second, Hong Kong is situated on a mountain, which means that getting from one street to the next often involves about 25 stairs.  Obviously, that's not doable with a stroller, so I often find my seven-months-pregnant-self carrying my 28 pound child for blocks and blocks on our errands.  Again, people stare.  I'm a big, frizzy-haired pregnant woman carrying a child and a huge diaper bag and usually a bag of groceries.  It's inevitable that we stand out.  Luckily, it's not really getting me down and I just laugh at how ridiculous we must look.  Although I'm convinced my left bicep is noticeably larger than my right one, and that kind of bugs me.

This morning, I researched playgrounds in our area and Fin and I set out to go play.  After a long walk uphill and through several markets, we found it!  Yes.....one slide, two swings and a bunch of old and decrepit people wandering in to use the public toilets.  Oh well, Fin didn't mind and she enjoyed the space to run around!

Typical Fin....after playing a while she decided to make it her mission to pick up the leaves one by one and throw them away to clean up the park a bit.  I'm afraid that this quirky, OCD thing is a dominant gene from both Dave and I. 

Here's a typical side street in HK.  They look super run down, but it's just par for the course....

After playing for a while, we headed west to explore a new part of the neighborhood.  This sight made me do a double take, turn around, walk back and take a picture.  I really want to be open-minded about life here, but I just think there are some things I'm not going to be able to get used to!  Yes...that' s meat.  Just hanging out in the trunk of a van.  Shudder.

Out and About

Finley is sleeping like a champ here in HK....probably because we spend every waking moment outside in order to keep ourselves from going stir crazy!  I've learned that whether I'm in the US or HK, I'm a creature of habit - as evidenced by our second trip back to Kowloon Park.  Here's Finley mesmerized by one of the fountains.   

And here are some of the gorgeous flowers and plants at Kowloon Park. 

And of course, we had to finish up the visit with another trip to the playground.  It was quiet for the first 20 minutes or so, and then all of a sudden some elementary school kids showed up for about 10 minutes of playtime.  The boy's uniforms had me cracking up, and Fin stood and people-watched the entire time they were playing. 

After Fin's nap, we headed out to a plaza about a block from our temp housing.  Right before we arrived in HK, it was the Chinese New Year and so these tigers are from the celebrations.  (It's the year of the tiger, duh.) 

This morning, I took Finley to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.  She took quite a liking to this statue of King George, and spent a few minutes saying, "Hi George, how are you doing today?" before moving on. 

And lastly, this is us checking out some monkeys.  The zoo was filled with a lots of expats, so we actually met a mom and son from NYC and swapped numbers.  Everyone we've encountered has been so friendly, and we're told that the apartment complex we're moving to has TONS of young kids.  We're definitely excited to start socializing. 

All in all, this move has been a lot easier than I thought it would be.  It probably helps that I'm talking to my parents, Julie or Jana nearly every day via Skype.  We're staying really busy, and we have been so lucky to have landed a great apartment and to be making friends already.  I think my biggest complaint is my frizzy hair...and while that's pretty serious in my book, I guess it means life is going pretty well.

Lastly, I have the song China Girl by David Bowie in my head at least a few times a day.  It's driving me insane.

Not Too Shabby

Woohoo!   In a few short weeks, this will be what we see when we look out our windows each day!  Don't get me wrong, I loved my street/alley view in Chicago....but this is bliss.  I'll post more pics once we move in, but just had to share the view.  =)