I love my kids, especially after they are asleep at night. I forget all about the messes and the fighting and the back-talk, and almost want to wake them up to give them one more hug and tell them that they are special. It's very hard to tell them this before they go to sleep; after nagging them all the way up the stairs; after Zoe's nightly amnesia of how to brush her teeth; after me having to brush them AGAIN, as she tries to chat the whole way through spitting toothpaste all over me; after reassuring John that neither the whale, nor the rhinoceros is coming to bite him; after telling Lily that if she laughs at John's potty-talk one more time she will get soap in her mouth too; I just always want the routine to end as soon as possible to get to my cup of tea. Then, when I am sitting comfortably by myself, I realize that they are growing up too fast. I will always have me and my time; but I lose a little of them each time they go to sleep and wake up a day older.

I had a few funny stories to tell, but I have forgotten them over the month that the Great Firewall of China has kept me off the computer. I guess they were worried that I would get on facebook and actually have a life, or perhaps they think that letting John watch Bob the Builder on YouTube is anti-communist (he does seem to esteem himself above Scoop, Muck and Dizzy - the capitalist roader!). At any rate, we have subscribed to a proxy, which at the moment I think is the best $6 we've ever spent.

So, to sum up the month, we have celebrated Lily's 8th birthday, spent way too much money at IKEA and Starbucks (we've had no Internet, what else are we supposed to do???), we've joined a fitness club with a swimming pool, we are practically a diaper free household (first time in 8 years!), and Eddie's restaurant has come to Manjitan.

I do plan on keeping this updated once a week, so stay tuned!