Children's Morning

Last night, riding to the store in her stroller, L-- took off her shoe.

She doesn't seem to fully understand what happens when you drop stationary objects off of moving vehicles.

Her shoe is gone.

So, this morning I packed up the kids and headed off to the Pu'an Lu Children's Market.

I think I've written about it before. As I'm getting used to the spot, I'm becoming quite comfortable there. It's very Chinese, and I look forward to taking any visitors to this or another local market. But today, we were looking for shoes.

I bought 4 pairs of kids shoes for 270 Yuan. That's about $36. Whoever says that things in China are cheap doesn't know what they're talking about. Sure, you can find low quality items for next to nothing. But children's shoes and toys that won't fall apart or leave lead paint flakes on their little tongues sell at close to American prices.

I wanted to buy little winter coats as well, but L-- was having none of it. She insisted that she had put up with enough shopping for one day. It was time to head to the playroom.

Think of a McDonald's playspace, only quite a bit larger. Unlike the other playgrounds and toys I've seen, I felt like the kids were perfectly safe here. No holes were large enough for a head to fit through. No edges were steep enough for a child to topple over. The attendants were very friendly, and played well with both of my kids. I may even have been able to leave them there while I shopped... hmm, I wonder if that's the idea? We spent a lovely hour jumping on trampolines, squirming in ball pits, crawling through tunnels and runnning over bridges. The more I explore this city, the more I like it!

After a morning on an indoor playground, it seemed only fitting to go to McDonald's for lunch. This is not the same experience as going to a McDonald's in the states. The link above will take you to McDonald's in China. There was precious little English - except the large lettered sign saying "i'm loving it". And surprisingly, there were very few hamburgers. The Chinese seem to be much more keen on chicken sandwiches, of which there were many varieties. But my double cheeseburger tasted much like a double cheeseburger in the states, so they're clearly using the same recipe for their patties.

For 32 Yuan - about $4 - I got a happy meal, double cheeseburger, medium fries, and a drink. They didn't ask me what drink I wanted - I was given a Coke, and it was rather flat. They did ask what I wanted in the happy meal. I asked for chicken nuggets, yogurt and milk. The milk was warm, the yogurt was quite tasty, the "chicken nuggets" were a drumstick and chicken wing fried in thick batter, and it still came with fries. I don't think I'll give the chicken bones to my 2-year-old daughter anymore, but I do think that I've found the comfort food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If only the experience were more comforting!

Addendum - once home, S-- screamed for about half an hour, needing to be force fed her lunch. Please pray for her.