Happy New Year!

Well, my friends things are hopping in China....bu dum bump!!! I am sorry, that was bad. Yes it is the coming of the New Year ....the year of the rabbit. Which means utter chaos here as the country prepares for the massive shifting of people from one area of the country to another. The next couple of weeks are like Christmas here for the Chinese. The landscape is decorated with lanterns of red and gold. There are massive rabbits all over the place. There is even a really tall white one that follows me around, his name is Harvey ..... Sorry, I am full of bad jokes and references today. Imagine the travel at Christmas in the US and multiply it by a few more million. People wait for hours in line to get train tickets etc.. For a lot of people who come to Shanghai in hopes of work and prosperity, this may be the only time they see there loved one's in a year. Not infrequently this may be the one time a year to see their only offspring, who are commonly left with the grandparents to rear. Of course they are expected to bring money and gifts back with them to show off their success. It can actually be quite draining for those that travel. There is a lot of pressure to come back with the product of their hard work. Not to mention the pressure to find a spouse and produce that single offspring.

I don't know, for the young Chinese of this newer generation, it has to be tough straddling these two different worlds. I read an article today with these types of stories. A young hairdresser traveled for over a day to get to her Auntie's house just to be greeted by a slew of her aunties friends excitedly grasping various hair dyes and permanents. She worked through the night for free, traveling the next day to her home town, just to be greeted in the same fashion.

What do we expats do for Chinese New Year? That's right....get the heck out of here. I was told right when we arrived that unless I enjoy hanging with millions of Chinese people and listening to fireworks go off all night, every night it would be a good idea to get out of here. (There are actually fireworks going off right now, as I am writing.) So I am taking the advice of wise expats before me and we are off to Singapore and Indonesia. Yes, the kids get yet another week off school in observance of the year of the rabbit. They also got to have another classroom party to celebrate. Private school, reminds me when I was a kid. We got to have all sorts of parties and activities to celebrate different holidays. So, I show up at JP's class to help with his Chinese New Year party yesterda, and he comes up to me and grins. "Mom, look at my wiggly tooth." "Hmmm let me see I say....then I yanked it out!!!!" Am I a bad mom? I couldn't help myself. It was just hanging there asking to be pulled. I am the daughter of a dentist you know.

With that I will sign off, I need to put my edentulous son to bed. Xing nian kuai le!!! or Happy New Year

Fitness, it is not just a New Year's resolution

Welcome to the New Year and the age old list of resolutions. Fitness related resolutions probably being some of the most common. I have never been big on resolutions because they are a set up for failure. So I am not saying I am going to get fit in the New Year. I do however have a little more time to think about staying healthy than I did in my pre-China life. I used to be quite healthy in my 20's I have run several marathons I would go to the gym regularly....then came the kids. Something happens when you have children and you no longer worry on about your well being, but the total health inside and out of your kids. Seriously, you know when your kids eat, sleep, jump or poop. Then you wake up one day and realize you chose their needs over going to the gym or hitting the pavement with your running shoes. For me, I am lucky, because I don't need exercise to manage my weight....but what about the other benefits from exercise; bone health, cardiovascular conditioning, muscle mass. I would say it is easier to have weight loss as a goal for exercise than hoping your bones are staying strong. I have sat across many a patient expounding the benefits of exercise, while I have barely been able to carve out a slice of time to partake in it myself. Because I am slim, no one would dare call me a hypocrite. Don't get me wrong, I am no couch potato as any of you who know me can attest, but as I start to look middle age in the face there are a few things that I know will pay off later down the road. You see I want to enjoy feeling good for a long time. I have the luxury of learning from other's experiences as an arthritis specialist. Bottom line"it ain't fun getting old." So the big question is how do I preserve a level of fitness that will take me sailing into my later years.

As we age we lose flexibility and muscle mass with that comes a decline in proprioception or knowing where our body is in space. Which is why older people are deathly afraid of falling because the don't get the same feedback from their muscles and tendons than they did when they were younger. They can't catch themselves when they start to fall and go down like cut tree.....TIMBER!!!

I actually took my previous level of fitness for granted. Now, three kids later it is time to get back into gear while the window is still open.

So what would be the perfect combination? I think a mixture of strength training, aerobic conditioning along with regular stretching....... Yes I said stretching. If we don't start stretching now you may never get to where you want your muscle to be. Ask Steve, he is working with a therapist for his back who has been stretching that 6 foot 6 body all over the place.....The man can touch his toes!!!!! And he feels better.

I started last week with a weight lifting class at the gym, it is no pressure and I can choose my own resistance. I was pretty sore, but it seems to be going ok. Then today, I did it. I went to my first Zumba class. I was a disaster, but the music was fantastic and it was fun. Could I get my heart rate up higher if I went for a run, sure. But there is something to be said about getting your arms up above you head and moving your hips that you just don't get with running. I have to admit I was cursing my 3 pregnancies a little as we were jumping around....note to self....go the the bathroom before Zumba!! Now here is the cherry on top that makes getting fit in China much better. It is called the Thai massage and it is less than 20 bucks for an hour baby. They crawl on your back, knead the muscles stretch you like a rubber-band and it is dirt cheap.

So there you have it. I challenge each of you to stop and take a look at your current level of fitness and your age. If you are getting close to your forties like me, now is the time to get into gear and lay down some healthy habits that will pay off dividends in the future.

Shanghai Tai Tai in Thailand

Well my kittens, it has been a month since my last post. Maybe it is because I have 3 small children and just spent my first holiday season in China. Unfortunately, I had a lot of blog ideas in the past few weeks, but the ideas seemed to be erased by the sun an fresh sea air of Thailand. So instead of a quirky Chinese experience I will give you an update of how we spent Christmas numero uno in Shanghai. First I had to be ultra organized in getting my shopping and cards done early. Steve made a trip to the US in November and took care of the wrapping and mailing of cards and gifts. I highly recommend early shopping, it takes some of the stress out. I also recommend getting your husband to do some of the leg work in the gift giving department. Check that off my list.

The end of 2010 at Concordia elementary was packed full. Anderson had his "school birthday", which entails cupcakes and goody bags as well as being king for the day. The boys had Christmas music programs on two consecutive evenings. The best part is that they go to a christian school so they actually get to sing songs about the birth of Jesus...you know he is the reason for the season. It was a little nostalgic to when I was a kid, when we were a little less hyper about separating religion from public school. This was followed by planning and executing a successful Christmas party for Jackson's class as one of the room mom's. Soccer ended with an exciting tournament. Jackson's team, which did not show too much world cup readiness, was on fire for the the first time which landed them in the finals. The games are short, and the score was 0-0. Then one of Jackson's teammates accidentally touched the ball with his hand, giving the other team a free kick near the goal......Jackson was goalie.... the kid kicked it....it went high.... jump!!!!! SCORE.....JP's team lost, but a good time was had by all, and we were so proud of how much the boys had improved.

Christmas break finally came with much anticipation. For the kids the dream of presents and gifts from Santa. For mom, the idea of getting away from China, was just what the doctor ordered. First I had to figure out what to do with the first half of the break. I have a hard time with the idea of spending Christmas in a hotel some where, so we did not plan our escape until Xmas day. I have to say there are a lot of cool conveniences in the expat world. I learned that there was a camp in my compound for Xmas break. The kids loved it, they played, swam, did crafts and sports. It was perfect and they had more fun than I could have come up with on my own especially since most expats vacate China for any extended holiday. We did have to make some adjustments to our family traditions: Instead of doing gifts on Xmas morning we opened presents on Christmas Eve, (let me tell you the kids weren't upset about this one.) I didn't get to prepare a lavish meal for a large group, (I wasn't too upset about this one either). We instead went to a very nice traditional Chinese restaurant for lunch with a wonderful family from New Zealand. The kids got to see a cool holiday model train and we had the fun of being together.

After an early wake up call on Christmas morning we enjoyed Santa's generous gifts then it was off to the airport for an 8:30 am flight to Phuket, Thailand. The trip was fantastic. We snorkeled, speed boated, explored the island's Buddhist temples, road elephants and enjoyed the ocean and swimming pools. The Thai people are so wonderful and love children. It is a place we would definitely return to. We also celebrated AC's 5th birthday in style at a New Year's Eve party to remember. Our resort hosted a huge party with entertainment, fabulous food and fireworks. The only downside was that we had an even earlier wake up call the next morning in order to catch our 7:30 am flight back to Shanghai. It was weird coming back to China. We were only gone one week, but it felt like longer. I am thankful for Skype, which allowed us to catch up with family on New Year's Day. The holiday season was such a bustle, it wasn't until Jan. 1 that I realized how much I missed spending the holidays with family. Being able to see faces on the computer helps.

With the coming of the new year I feel blessed for so many things. Every member of the Laughlin family has had tremendous personal growth in 2010. I am looking forward to what 2011 has to offer.

Oh....what does the title of this post mean. Tai tai is wife in Chinese.... I am a Shanghai Tai Tai....Love it!!!!