Christmas in August!!

Our stuff!!! Our stuff!!! Our stuff!!! Our stuff!!! :) :) :) :) :)

Our stuff has come! Our stuff has come!

I don't need to tell you how excited we were to get our stuff today! The boys were BEYOND excited to get their toys..and their books...and their outdoor play equipment...their train table...their trains...their balls...their squishy have-no-specific-purpose toys...their bubble machine...their stuffed animals...their bedtime music...their electronic keyboard, etc...etc...etc!!! They were even excited about their plastic plates, cups, sporks, etc! haha

Allen was excited to get his computer monitor...his keyboard...his wireless mouse...his iPod Home station...his Wii system...his electric screwdriver...etc...etc...etc.

Blue was BEYOND excited to get his toys, both old and new...some new snacks...his old food! :)

I was so excited to get...EVERYTHING!! haha Extra books to read, all the extra "western" food we shipped, the kids' toys, Blue's snacks and food, extra boxes of Costco wipes...our wonderful electronic TALL trash can...the few ROCKS I shipped for a centerpiece...OH, MY BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL Arizona rocks...I'm SOOOOO HAPPY to have them...they are soooooooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I'm excited to have extra medicine, linens...our BED...oh, thank goodness for our bed!!!! Oh! And my Gold Canyon candles! I'm sooooo happy to have those!!! Ahhhhhh...our stuff! A slice of hoommmee.

[I happen to be watching, at this very moment, the black/white version of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is trying to get back home and the Good Witch instructs her how to do it...There is no place like home. *click, click, click* There is no place like home. *click, click, click* I just unpacked my "shoe" box...what happened to my red sparkly slippers???!! Do you think my black sparkly Skechers will do the trick?] :)

The food. OMG! We shipped so much food, it's crazy!! haha But, I LOVE it! And, I love ME for thinking of most of it! hahaha Really! I had forgotten about more than half of the stuff that was being unpacked today and I was completely thrilled I had remembered to throw it in the shipment! I kept reiterating to myself, "Hee hee...Kim...you clever, clever girl!" Yah, you thought of malt vinegar! Yah, you thought of Clif Bars! Yah, you thought of trail mix! Yah, you thought of a Costco size box of tall kitchen bags! Yah, you thought of tepenade and bruschetta! Yah, you thought of extra doggie snacks! Yah, you thought of extra Flintstone vitamins for the kids! Yah! Yah! Yah! :) :) :)

Did we ship too much?? Yes, no doubt about it! However, unbelievably, we were told by the moving company that our shipment was very LIGHT compared to other houses/shipments. We had 3 crates and the movers had to go back to their warehouse for the two remaining ends of our outdoor play structure because they wouldn't fit on their truck with the original load. The movers said [usually], people have about 3 truck loads full of stuff...that's 3-4 crates to one truck load...so imagine having 3 truck loads full of stuff! Yikes! THAT is lot of stuff!

But, yes, even before our stuff arrived, I suspected we had brought too much over. As they kept bringing in the stuff, box after box...and then the bigger items...I watched our quaint house get smaller and smaller and smaller. Ugh! I can't believe how much stuff we have! I once had a discussion with May (Allen's ex co-worker) about why Americans have so much stuff. Even though I had a hard time explaining it then, I had felt that whatever the specific reason was for it, we were completely justified in it! Of course! haha

As our stuff was unpacked by the moving company, I have a much better understanding as to why we, as Americans, accumulate so much stuff. We have developed a need/want to make our lives easier on a regular, more daily, basis. This became clear to me as I counted 20 sippy cups for the boys PLUS straw cups galore, about 30 kid utensils, several plastic plates, even more plastic kid bowls...and it became increasing disgusting how many toys we have for the kids...box after box after box after box. Hey - defending myself here - when they are all put away in their perspective bins, it really doesn't look like so much! Not to mention all the clothes and shoes we brought over that we have absolutely no room for at the moment...which doesn't even include what we put in storage back home!! Why do we have all this stuff? Because back home, most of us don't have an ayi who cleans, organizes and washes on a DAILY basis! Seriously. We have lived out of suitcases for nearly two months now, but since our ayi washes our clothes every single day, this hasn't been much of a problem (with the exception of a much more limited selection). Now, it feels like we have a gross amount of clothing. Same goes for the linens...they are washed every other day by our ayi! Our boys have lived with TWO sippy cups each for [nearly] two months and since our ayi cleans them all of the time, I haven't really thought about it...until I saw 20 more sippy cups unpacked today. Same goes for their other plastic ware.

Back home, struggling with house, errands, shopping duties and kids...a woman must feel she NEEDS extra stuff so she ISN'T doing the same chores and/or errands every day!! And THAT is why we have so much stuff...to make our lives a little easier from the day to day, so we CAN leave dishes in the sink a little longer...and we CAN leave our clothes is the laundry bin until the weekend...and we CAN choose different colors/styles...ETC! AND why we have bigger refrigerators, bigger closets, bigger houses, etc, to hold all of it!

Movers. We had such a HORRIBLE moving company in Tucson (Firebird)...I thought for sure, the Chinese equivalent was going to be even worse. C'mon...look at our luck, so far, with Chinese companies! However, we were so pleasantly surprised today! This company was wonderful!! The name of the company is Santa Fe Relocation Services (I'm writing their name down in case I forget in two years) and they handled everything superbly! They had a Chinese crew of about 7 guys and they worked like clockwork until it was all done. They quickly and efficiently assembled my bike, the play structure and anything else we needed. They were great - whew!

Also, I SWEAR, the weather could not have been more PERFECT for doing this chore. it was overcast, raining, and actually an uncharacteristically very cool temperature. The boys were able to play for extended periods of time outside and since the doors were pretty much open all day, the temperature couldn't have been better to keep everyone cool. It was, quite literally, the best weather we have seen since arriving. Also, rain is a sign of good luck in the Chinese culture. So, hopefully, our stuff...our lives...have been "christened" by the rain today and things will eventually settle down for us. I hope, I hope, I hope.