KJ

So. It’s 9:15. I’m bitterly exhausted. Tomorrow is…another day, another day, another day. Another day feeding them, talking to them, tending them, wiping them. Another day. If I go to bed now I’m likely to get some sleep. I will be more rested for them. But the day will come…sooner. And there I will be.

Being a Good Sport Originally uploaded by kjda I squeezed her cone trying to peel the wrapper off, but she can take it. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

See What I Mean? Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

How Lucky We Are Originally uploaded by kjda Four kids, so far, is surprisingly not orders of magnitude more difficult than three. (of course, we cheated by not adding a baby). Things I expect to be difficult–like taking two three year olds who are asleep in the car to the grocery store, or taking them all to the pool–so far have underceded my expectations. (Is that a word? It should be.) If the difficult days are yet to come–the teenage […]

But I’m going to assume those are happy noises until somebody comes and tells me otherwise.

Was Friday a low? I don’t know. We’ll have to get a lot further along in life to see where the lows are…But Friday was not a good day. Today, on the other hand, was and is. Everyone got a mostly good night’s sleep, although not necessarily in their own beds. We rode the 20 mile route in the Prouty (the shortest, and not what we’d planned to do, but we haven’t been on our bikes in a month!) Rory […]

On the way to a better afternoon Originally uploaded by kjda She played outside for a while–some fun, some howling and fighting over bats and swings–and now, a nap. This seems to be a usual nap time for her, so we’ll hope it bodes well. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Alcohol Ocean Originally uploaded by kjda I meant to offer up this odd little bit of China yesterday, but other events intervened. It’s right next to the White Swan hotel, and I can imagine a few adoptive parents needing it. I particularly enjoyed the stunned-looking older couples wandering around with the ten-or-so- month old babies. Every one of those truly new parents needed a drink. We are home, and happy to be here, brushing out teeth with water from the […]

You won’t believe this! Originally uploaded by kjda We are delayed…. Because they are quarantining the plane in Shanghai! At least we aren’t on it. How many ice creams do you think my sleepy wants a nap Rory can eat? We are having a really good day, but Wyatt’s growing pains are showing… KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Full disclosure: Lorelei Rebecca Seelig, fka You Wan Rebecca, has had more sugar in the past week than in her entire previous 3 year, 9 month life. She has had candy. She has had lollipops. She has had Sprite, Coke and Orange soda. “I like tandy,” she tells us, helpfully, before meals. “I like Sprite. I like cookies. No dinner, just cookies.” We have no routine, of course, no set rest time, no set bed time, no ability to have […]

I overheard our guide explaining that each of the 500 Buddhas represented a different emotion, and that if there was a particular state of mind you were struggling with, you were supposed to do–something or another–with that Buddha. I didn’t catch what, nor am I sure what the significance of some of the more mustachio’d Buddhas would have been, emotion-wise. But whatever it was, I should have done it with the impatient looking Buddha, and the Buddha who couldn’t enjoy […]

Regrouping Originally uploaded by kjda The easiest number of children to deal with is always one fewer than what you have. It’s been true every time and it’s true again. Rory had to go get her tb test read, so I had breakfast at the buffet with just these two, which last week I would have considered a chore. But they know what they want to eat. They know to walk to the table. They can be left eating by […]

Here she is Originally uploaded by kjda Utterly fearless. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

We had a beautiful, if hot, day for climbing. The kids were troopers. Some of the stairs were so high they came up to Wyatt’s waist. It was hot, hot, and getting crowded as we came down. People here use umbrellas against the sunshine, so here we were, on this amazing day, climbing down in a sea of umbrellas. Our flight to Fuzhou was uneventful (no temperature taking or hazmat suits…) and the Shangri-la is a very nice hotel, too–haven’t […]

I’m not entirely sure, but I can get us as far as Rory. We leave. We eat breakfast. We swim, we shower, we try to be a little mellow. At 2 there will be a cake for Sam’s birthday (Monday, really) and at 3 there will be kite-flying at the Temple of Heaven Park for same. I think there will be acrobats that night–we’re making up for lost time. Sunday: Great Wall. Airplane. Monday: Rory. There remains plenty that could […]

Fwd: beijing ditan hospital.jpg Originally uploaded by kjda Pic of the quarantine hospital. (Beijing Di Tan) On the way out I noticed that they had 2 people in some of the little 8×10 cells.

Fwd: Nurse in hazmat suit Originally uploaded by kjda All staff on the ward are dressed this way. (at the hospital)

Fwd: padlocked door.jpg Originally uploaded by kjda If you can zoom in on this picture, you can see that they have the door of the hospital chained and padlocked.

Wyatt finally gets a hot dog Originally uploaded by kjda For breakfast, of course. He ate 4. We think this is our last breakfast here… We are taking lots of pictures. We will put them up tomorrow, I hope. Rob has the camera charger. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Yum? Originally uploaded by kjda Every single one of us at least TRIED this. Wyatt and Lily had several bites each. I can’t say anyone really liked it, but we tried it. The sign said it was a bean, but I have serious doubts. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Just fyi, Google’s off completely here tonight. So no gmail. I don’t know why. Dad, in particular, I was about to email you…if it’s still a problem tomorrow I’ll find a way around it. Yahoo’s fine.

I was hoping we might all learn a little gratitude for much we have and a little understanding of how little we need from this, but my five-year-old is having a tantrum because there is no ice for her coffee.

Our Breakfast Looks Better than Rob’s Originally uploaded by kjda This morning features a group of about 10 people exercising together. E, R, San, Se they count. I don’t think they would like it if we joined them. One Chinese American joined in, but briefly. These are the famed morning exercises, done at schools, factories, businesses, and they all know the routine, but they applaud their leader anyway. It’s hot today, hot hot hot. When one of the kids runs […]

Fwd: GuoMen Quarantine Hotel as seen from Beijing DiTan Quarantine Hospital Originally uploaded by kjda

Fwd: My cell Originally uploaded by kjda

Fwd: Lunch at hospital Originally uploaded by kjda

Good Morning Snaily Originally uploaded by kjda It is very cool here in the morning. The fountain isn’t on, which the fish seem to prefer. They are swimming around. You can see the dead ones floating around in the water clearly. There are two. There is a couple playing badmitten. They seem to be having fun. I like to imagine them reconnecting, now that they have to spend a week together in quarantine. Maybe the last time they played badmitten […]

It’s a very scenic hotel Originally uploaded by kjda If you like signs in Chinese, and dejected looking people in masks. I asked my friend Julia to put up an update, but I can’t see the site now–I should have a connector cord later today. I just belatedly realized I could blog this way. As I said, we are all fine. Feeling a little too lively. Fortunately, the hotel has all the amenities…ping pong, badmitten, holes in the walls, 3 […]

Where are we now? Originally uploaded by kjda The guo men hotel. If we walk to the end of the fence and stand by the guard shack, we can see Rob’s hospital, where he is in a 10×10 pen with a metal cot and a specific daily water allotment (for showering, not drinking, it isn’t that bad). It’s a dump. More later. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone