Then out to breakfast... with the ones that wanted to get out of bed "early" on a Saturday morning.
On the way home they got to do one of their favorites things... stop at the very authentic Chinese store. It isn't in the best part of town, but it is the real deal. It is so "real" the Chinese lady ran up and asked how much the kids cost. Hey, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I told her! Yes, I did. If someone born and raised here had asked me I would have been insulted, but when a Chinese person asks I just figure it is more their culture, and it is. Also, most Chinese "get it" that the US is so much better off than China and the kids are better off here in a family. Some Americans can't or won't grasp it. For example, we had our carpet cleaned yesterday. The carpet cleaning guy was going on about a spot I had on the carpet. The spot wasn't from the kids, but our sick dog. I told him I have a lot of kids and really a spot didn't bother me a lot as long as it was cleaned. He then freaked out about the number of kids we have, basically telling us our house isn't big enough for this blah blah blah... I went on to tell this carpet cleaner we don't live by man's standards and shame on him!!! Mike came in and saved the guy from my lecture. Ironically, he didn't take care of the spot he wouldn't shut up about. Meanwhile, he also blathered on about the fact I had cleaned one are the dog got sick with Comet telling me the combination of his carpet cleaning solution and the Comet was going to turn that spot bleach white. Guess what? That spot looks great. Apparently, this guy knows about as much about cleaning carpets as he does about what life is like in an orphanage.
But that is just the beginning of my Christmas rant (and it is a Christmas rant, since I'm cleaning for Christmas). Not only did our dog get sick this week and destroy the girls's carpet, our "new" washing machine broke. And of course the repairman that came out had to order a part and won't be back out until next week. Mike has been such a sweetheart and has been taking laundry to the Laundromat until the stinking part comes in (I'm in a mood). Anyway, Mike drags in a day's load of laundry back from the Laundromat and tells me a lady he didn't know started talking to him. He said at first he was thinking "is the Laundromat a pickup place?"; but then he realized she was from our church when she asked, "How much laundry do you have with all your tribe?" He said to me, "Can't I go anywhere without getting questions?" Welcome to my world. BTW, in case you're wondering what the answer to the lady's question is, Mike has been taking 5 loads a day to keep up and that is NOT counting any sheets, blankets or coats--and the kids are taking baths and sleeping in sweats they can wear the next day.
Merry CHRISTmas!
