Silly American Mom

Last night, my dad and a friend (Mike) drove up from Carlinville to help us tear out some old carpet and pop off baseboard as we prepare for new carpet in our bedrooms and a new kitchen floor. So, we took them out to eat at Golden Corral buffet. As usual, Shaling downed several bowls of soup, but also ate a plate of other items, including some ham, which she kept telling us was "really, really good". She also ventured out of her comfort zone and bravely requested to sample a bit of my sirloin.

Eventually, she ventured over to the dessert bar. I followed shortly thereafter. As I walked past her, she was juggling a bowl of gummy bears, a bowl of "fruit salad" candy, AND a full ice cream cone. I was impressed with her coordination, and exclaimed, "Oh, boy!"

She kept walking, but after several feet, did a u-turn. She walked up to me and just in case I forgot oh, so helpfully reminded me, "I not boy. I girl."

Yeah.

Not being familiar with American slang, idioms, exclamations, etc., when she heard "oh, boy" come out of my mouth, I guess she thought I forgot her gender.

Yep, Mom is just that stupid forgetful silly.

On another note, she got to spend the early part of Sunday afternoon with her Chinese "big brothers", Xiaoxiong & Guanghui Stengel. They took her along to a church-sponsored lunch & fun at The Incredible Pizza Company. Lynne (Mom Stengel) tells me that Shaling ate several bowls of soup (of course!). The kids then had a blast playing all sorts of games.

When they brought her home, she & Guanghui jumped on our trampoline for a bit, rattling away in Chinese. It is so good in so many ways for all 3 of the kids to have each other so close, but I'm also hoping that they will be able to help each other retain their Chinese language.