Whisked Away

Ah, the weekend. I can't even believe how long this week felt. Maybe because we only had a 3-day workweek last week. Or maybe because it just dragged on because of my slow-witted students. In any case, the weekend is here and I'm happily destressifying. Well, as much as a pregnant mom with a toddler can unwind in any event.

I'm thinking about Mother's Day and hoping for a lovely, fun, relaxing day where I feel treasured, pampered and not at all aggravated in any way. Yeah, I know. Good luck with that, right? It would be so nice to be whisked away on some incredible vacation filled with fancy hotels, shopping and dining. I'll settle for a fancy lunch somewhere nice and a day with no visits from the dimwits. That is my vision for a truly perfect day.

Of course, something has been whisked away and sadly, it is not me. It is my actual whisk. I cannot find it anywhere in our home. I noticed when I went to make hollandaise sauce. My whisk was not with the spatulas and other cooking utensils like it should be. I sigh heavily and dig through the drawer of miscellaneous kitchen utensils and other crap (where my rolling pin can usually be found covered in flour and dough bits thanks to MIL) but it's not there either. I check the other drawers just in case but no whisk. I check logical places and illogical ones too and it is gone, baby, gone! My husband thinks I'm crazy to accuse his parents of this. Who else would it be? You? I put my whisk in the same place every time. Someone else moved it. I am not out of line for saying that. I didn't say one of my in-laws did it on purpose. I just think they moved it somewhere else. I hate when they do this too because it is MY kitchen. Please put things back where you found them.

But the whisk is not the only thing that has disappeared. Raelynn's craft apron has also vanished. I had it on the shelf above our shoe cabinet by the front door. It was there when the guy came to fix our sink. My in-laws moved a lot of the stuff that was over in that area into the living room so the guy could work without ruining the things that were there. Each week, I have to pack it for when she has her pottery class on Wednesdays. After that class, it gets sent home to be cleaned. I had set it there so I could toss it into the next load of laundry. But now it is nowhere to be found. I've checked all over the place and Jeremy even asked his mother. She said she hadn't seen it. Moron. I bet she accidentally threw it out or it's buried somewhere idiotic where I'll never find it. I even checked the shoe cabinet, thinking she threw it in there, but it's not there. I'm running out of places to check.

Most recently, one of Raelynn's small dolls that she likes to sleep with has also gone missing. This is most likely Raelynn's doing but it was there when I got her out of bed one morning. We went to school and before bedtime, I noticed it wasn't in her bed. She could have taken it out of her bed and put it somewhere else but I cannot find it. Thankfully, she hasn't asked about it or worse, cried. Nothing is worse than a child that won't go to sleep because something isn't quite right and there is no way you can make right what is wrong.

Well, something is worse than that...in-laws that move your things around from the places you usually keep them. Or just in-laws, period.

The Streak Continues

Where have my in-laws been?

And now it has officially been 2 weeks since seeing MIL.

My in-laws were supposed to come over for dinner earlier this week on Tuesday. Jeremy had told me they'd come around 4pm to spend some time with Raelynn. I wasn't bothered by this since they'd given us some space. In fact, I think when an interval of this much time has elapsed between visits, I don't feel cornered or intruded upon. I feel happier to see them when they aren't constantly in our faces and in our business.

But 4 o'clock came and went without any sign of either of them. I called my husband to make sure I'd heard him right. He did say it was for that night, right? Indeed, he did but unfortunately, MIL, who had been just fine the night before when he'd spoken to her on the phone, was quite ill. I felt bad for her. What, you think I'd gloat over something like that? I'm a bitch but not a heartless one.

Jeremy brought her medicine and he and his father had to drag her to the hospital for treatment. Now before you completely freak out about that one, in China (and Korea as well) you go to the hospital for check-ups and non-emergencies too. Each hospital is specialized. Some are for emergencies. Some are for maternity and babies. Some are for cardiovascular problems. You get the idea. When I lived in Seoul, I had to get over the whole gasping shock I'd emit when someone told me they went to the hospital for something. In the states, you only go to the hospital if something is seriously wrong or you're having a baby. Here, things are quite different.

MIL doesn't take good enough care of herself which is a shame. Several weeks ago, she was complaining about her teeth. She said it hurt to chew and she was only eating soft things, like dumplings and noodles. Things that don't require much chewing. With the help of Jeremy, I lectured her about how foolish it was to not take care of herself. She refused to go to the dentist. We even told her not to worry - that WE would pay for it - and she STILL refused. She is as stubborn as a mule which is exactly why they had to drag her to see a doctor at the hospital.

This morning, FIL came over by himself to watch Raelynn for a couple hours while I went to see about doing some freelance work for Qingdao's city magazine, Redstar. It's my hope that I can keep building my portfolio while out here so that when we move back to the states, I have some recent work to show. That, plus my prior experience plus the experience of living in 2 different countries should hopefully count for something. When I returned, I asked FIL how MIL was and he said she was very bad. Even though my husband did so the other evening, I grabbed a bag and filled it with apples for her. I wanted to do what my husband adorably calls "show your nice"so that she would know that I wished her well.

I guess with FIL coming over it kind of ended the streak, huh? Oh well. Anyway, here's hoping MIL does feel better soon.