Danger in the Chicken Coop

For the past week, BuBu hasn't slept through the night. (I can't keep track of names...so, let's go with the most current version of their nicknames, ok? BuBu is 1, a little girl, and just about as sassy as they come.) First she woke up at 4am for a few days, then midnight for a few days. She doesn't take a nap, most days, and falls asleep between 9 and 9:30pm. Unfortunately for me, I'm a night owl and use post-bedtime-time to rush through chores around the house or things to be done on the computer that require the use of all of my attention. This means, I fall asleep around midnight, get woken up at some point (staying with her between 45 minutes and two hours), and then the alarm goes off at 7:30am so I can get my Kindergartner off to school on time. (My resolve to let him finish the year in the public school system wanes by the day. MAMA NEEDS SLEEP.)

Last night, as we were turning out the lights, I joked to Lo Gung, "I wonder how long I get to sleep before she wakes me up??!" With the prospect of interrupted sleep looming, it took me a while to settle down...but, eventually, I did.

At 4am, I was jolted awake. I lay there, but couldn't hear any crying. Then I heard another noise. A sort of screaming and chuckling sound. I realized several things very quickly. 1) It was my chickens making that noise. 2) It was 4am, and they had no reason to be awake. 3) They only make that noise when in mortal danger.

I jumped out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt and socks, and ran down the stairs. I flipped on the backyard lights and looked out the window. I couldn't see all my chickens, but I could see a large possum in the corner of the run, calmly examining the fence and trying to find a way out.

I ran back to the kitchen to find a flashlight. My children love flashlights so, of course, there were no real flashlights to be found. However, I did find the laser thermometer my father brought over a few months ago. That'll do. Laser gun in hand, I dashed outside, shoved my feet into my filthy pink Crocs, and ran across the deck. I whipped out the laser (thermometer) and...put a tiny dot of red light on the possum's back. He was still sitting in the corner, calmly looking for an exit, oblivious to my red point of hate shining on his backside. I waved it a bit, and the dot landed on the ground next to him. He glanced down, and then noticed me on the deck. He must have sensed my anger, because he turned and waddled back into the chicken coop. By now, I had located all four of my "girls". One was in the run, looking a little crazed, and three were still in the coop.

As the intruder lumbered up the chicken ladder to the upper portion of the coop, where the girls sleep, they were completely oblivious. I saw his glowing eyes appear over their shoulders and hurried into the run, letting the dazed Welsummer out in the process. I grabbed my less-than-bright chickens who were standing inches from the animal who wanted to eat them, threw them to the ground, and quickly shut all the coop doors.

Now, I had a large, lazy, slow possum...trapped in my chicken coop. I returned to the house, found a head lamp, stowed my "deadly weapon", and went back outside. This time, I grabbed a broom. First, I went into the yard to look for the Welsummer. I found her against the gate, waiting for me. I carried her back to the run, and tried to figure out what to do about the animal in the coop. I opened one of the doors that would let him out into the yard, instead of the coop. He didn't take the bait. Apparently, freedom isn't as inviting as a dark wooden box that smells like dinner. I tried banging the side of the coop with the broom. He didn't even flinch. I then carefully eased one of the upper doors open and stuck the broom handle inside, hoping I could encourage him to hop out the open door. He simply looked at me, as if he owned the place, and backed up a half an inch.

Harumph. Insufferable, lethargic, lethal creature!

Finally, I had to admit defeat. The girls were safely locked out of the coop, the possum was locked in, and he had an escape route. I left all the yard lights on, and turned on the chicken run light for good measure. My hope was that, as a nocturnal creature, at 4:30am, he would seek out darker places to hide out.

I went back to bed. (Lo Gung, it should be noted, was wide awake when I got there, and asked me all about the ruckus outside. His decision to not join me in battling for our stupid chickens' lives must be a testament to his confidence in my ability to handle the situation. Yeah. And yes, the chickens really are stupid. Heh.)

After explaining everything to Lo Gung, I laid back down and tried to settle myself for sleep. Eventually, it worked, and I began to dream. I don't remember much of it except the very end. A very large young man, part of a secret group of super heroes, had just given himself his 'super hero shot' that would grant him his super powers to go tackle whatever mission had recently been assigned him. As the medicine kicked in, he grabbed his hammer (now he's Thor?!), and jumped off a bridge. A really high one, apparently. The medicine failed to kick in right away as it was supposed to, and he narrowly missed hitting the tail of a jet in his descent. He then proceeded to land on the windshield of a black sedan, filled with a very surprised Japanese family. All while still falling through the air and still very far from the ground. Just as my mind was struggling to come up with a reason for a perfectly sound sedan to be a mile up in the air, I was jolted awake. Again. This time by a toddler calling my name. It was 6am.

I again grabbed my warm things and disappeared into her room. I wrapped her up in her favorite blanket and stretched out in the chair next to her crib, trying to get both of us back to sleep. I gave up on me sleeping after about 20 minutes, and pulled out my phone. Hey, scripture study done before 7am! This has to be a new record for me. Around 7am, she was still awake, and quietly asked for Daddy. Knowing his alarm would go off soon, I shushed her and shuffled across the hall to our room. I tucked her into the bed between us. She quickly got comfortable, rolling up against me, arm flung around my neck, and face pressed into my nose. (This, incidentally, is why I refuse to co-sleep with the child. Co-sleeping implies that both parties sleep. In our case, the sleep is very one sided..and it isn't on my side.)

By 7:30am, she was asleep. My alarm went off, and I carefully eased out of bed. I woke Siu Jeun (the kindergartner boy) up, went outside to check on the chickens (all four alive and accounted for, and no sign of the possum), and set about cooking Siu Jeun's morning egg.

Then I decided this night's story was one for the blog. Happy Friday, y'all.

PS - The Kindergartner was out the door at 8, I was on the computer to type up my story by 8:10, and BuBu was awake by 8:30, a good hour earlier than normal, and about two hours earlier than I expected to see her after her morning wake time of 6am. Good morning! 

Homeschooling, Day 11

(The 3 munchkins sitting on a table. The 2 younger are waiting for Miss Home School to finish her daily online quiz.) 

Homeschooling is going...well. Actually, MUCH better than I really expected. Ming Wai is an absolute joy to have at home all day, and I don't think I could have said that a few years ago. I'm grateful for the time she had in Public School up to this point. She has matured a lot, and (yes) learned to sit in a desk and just "get 'er done." I just love teaching this little munchkin.

Forgive me if I sound a bit scattered. My in-laws (read: daily 3pm reprieve) are out of town, and I'm a bit tired.

A normal day for us goes something like this.

7:15am : Mom wakes up
7:30am : Wake Siu Jeun up, help him get breakfast and get packed for the day
8:00am : Siu Jeun walks out the door to meet a neighbor for the walk to school
8:00am-ish : Ming Wai wakes up, finds her breakfast. (Interesting to note - for several years, I have mandated a protein filled, balanced breakfast to keep her fueled for school - grain, protein, fruit. Her natural rhythm is NOT the one I had set for her for her previous schedule. She is happiest if she can wake up, munch a Babybel cheese round while sipping a glass of water, and then begin her studies. It is a much more spartan breakfast than I am used to seeing her eat.) 
8:30am : School starts! Usually math first, then reading/spelling/composition, followed by Social Studies, Science, and/or Art
(Baby YingYing wakes up at some point in there, and eats her breakfast while I guide Ming Wai through her books.)
10:30am : BREAK. Everyone, who wants to, gets dressed.
10:50am : load up the car to pick up Siu Jeun from kindergarten
11:10am : We are home. The kids watch a cartoon while I get lunch together
12:00pm : If Ming Wai still has school work to do, we do it. Otherwise, the rest of the day is for play/chores/errands

Not every day is "normal", obviously. Wednesdays, I teach piano lessons before AND after school. Every other Tuesday, Ming Wai heads back to the elementary school for art with her old class. One Monday every other month we make time to put together a dinner for a women's shelter and drop it off. Things happen. But, thus far, my track record for stodgy things like Daily School and Finishing Today's Lesson is 100%!

I did the math as soon as the lesson manuals arrived. If we take NO days off, we will finish school the last week of May. Fairly impressive, given that we started almost two months into the school year! *phew* That said, I'm sure there will be days off. Like, oh...Christmas. New Years. Thanksgiving Day. (Although the jury is still out on Thanksgiving. I REALLY like nice round numbers and natural ending spots. The idea of being done with school on the last day of the last week of a month is VERY appealing. Poor Ming Wai.)

So. That's us, checking in!

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

FYI - We are using the 2nd Grade curriculum from Calvert School. It includes all of my lesson plans, manuals, test keys, online resources (including games and videos for nearly all of our subjects), and some specialized paper for things like writing and drawing. It is not the cheapest option, but it IS an all-inclusive one. Dummy proof, if you will. Which is perfect for a Stay At Home Mom trying to keep a toddler entertained AND a house up and running while still helping a bright young girl learn to love math again.

A Quiet Weekend

(The following is a slightly edited version of an e-mail I sent to my father this morning. With the rise of social media, and the ease and flow of tiny electronic tidbits of my story via Instagram and facebook, my blog stays fairly quiet. However, it has value as well, so I am here occasionally to update and write longer stories. The e-mail was edited to change proper names to our bloggy nicknames.)

All is well here! The big kids spent the night at MaMa and YehYeh's on Friday night. They also kept Baby BooBoo while Lo Gung and I ran out and did errands. $250 at Costco later, it was time to come home before we did any more damage. ;-) 

We got Lo Gung to the airport Saturday morning, and I got home just as the Cantonese speaker was coming on in conference. (That was WAY cool by the way. I switched to the Canto channel so I could hear it first hand, instead of seeing his mouth move and having the English voice-over. I can always listen to conference in Cantonese, but the translations are really hard to understand, because the talks are originally English, and the Chinese never sounds quite genuine. Hearing a talk in Chinese brought back fantastic memories.) 

At lunch time, I drove down to McDonalds to meet the grandparents and the big kids, but Baby BooBoo fell asleep on the way, so I just hung out in the parking lot until the big kids were done eating. 

We watched the afternoon session, and then tried to get some chores done. An hour into chores, I realized I had a $50 coupon to spend at Gymboree that expired Sunday night. Yipes! The prices online weren't great, so we took off for the outlet malls. We arrived at 4:45, and stayed for an hour. Quick trip, but I had promised my sister I would babysit after Priesthood. (I was REALLY happy with what I found. All the kids have BEAUTIFUL new church clothes, for less than the price of just one of the outfits full retail. The girls have matching blue satin dresses - stunning.) 

We came home, got dinner together, and waited for my nieces and nephew. While we waited for them, I heard a commotion from the chickens. By the time I got out there, whatever had gotten into the run was gone, and so was my smallest chicken. *sigh* 

My brother and his girlfriend came over to grab some oils from me last night for Mom, and I started Baby BooBoo's bedtime at 10. She was up again at 5, just screaming. Stinker wouldn't eat her snack last night, so that's to be expected. I gave her a bowl of applesauce, and she fell right back asleep, but because it was technically morning already, she wasn't deep enough asleep to put her back in her crib. I held her until 6, when I was able to get back to bed. 

We all slept in until about 8:45. Such a nice morning!! Pancakes for the kids, and conference playing on the laptop at the breakfast table. Pretty sweet. 

The kids are upstairs playing now, and Baby BooBoo is playing her favorite games on my iPad. 

August 18, 2014

Something in this pantry just doesn't belong...

This is the year the kids are learning more chores. I am letting our housekeeper know, and the kids will be doing a lot more around the house. It means a lot more work for me, of course. I know the kids won't see it that way, but...that is the nature is kids, is it not? 

"I can reeeaaaach!!!"

She found a mirror. Don't pretend you don't do the same thing when no one is looking...

August 12, 2014

Pulling into Manson- a smoky sunset over Lake Chelan. The wildfires have cast a permanent haze over this part of the state. 

Yeah, a picture of my lunch. I was trying an elimination diet, to pinpoint some tummy troubles. My sweet husband told me he would pack me a lunch and bring it along when he met us at the beach. He concocted this super yummy salad, full of local greens and fruit, with a delicious vinaigrette he cobbled together from items in our rental's pantry. Love that man! (Also? Wheat and I are not on speaking terms right now. Lame.) 

Post dinner baseball practice with uncles and friends. 

Boo Boo and Siu Jeun, getting their Chalk Artist on after dinner. 

My love and I, at the beach. 

Boo Boo, in her happy place. 

Boo Boo at sunset. 

8/6/14

Sometimes, unplanned days are the best ones! The kids were sniffly and sleepy this morning, so we didn't go to my Wednesday Zumba class. Instead, we went to the library to return books, and then I made a spur of the moment decision to take the kids to the children's museum. I LOVE our little local museum! 10 minutes away, small enough where nobody gets lost, and the exhibits are always changing. Today, we got extra lucky- a neighbor (Ming wai's best friend) happened to be heading to the museum today as well! They have a little girl BooBoo's age, and all five kids played together happily for about an hour before I had to leave to give BooBoo her nap. My neighbor asked if she could keep Ming Wai with her, and I agreed. 

I took SJ home, and let BooBoo take a nap. SJ and I had lunch (turns out he hates spinach and mushroom omelets. Who knew??!) and I got some work calls done. (I've just started as a Health Coach. Best job, ever.) 

By the time Ming Wai came home a few hours later, it was time for dinner. I tried to get fancy tonight. It was SUPPOSED to be brown rice, cauliflower "tater tots", Kung pao shrimp, and dry fries garlic green beans. 

Dinner would have been better if I hadn't named the recipes first. 

The rice was good. The "tater tots" were tasty, wouldn't hold their shape and ended up just cooked in a pan, like scrambled eggs. The shrimp was nothing like Kung pao, but was everyone's favorite dish. The green beans were practically raw, and had no garlic flavor, but fresh beans are nice too. 

So. Oh well. I tried! 

After dinner I ran out the door to meet Lo Gung at the temple to do Sealings. 

All in all, an excellent Wednesday! 

8/4/14

Busy day today! But then, summer days seem to be like that. Zumba in the morning, followed by a quick meeting with the instructors to plan Ming Wai's birthday party. As soon as I was home, I called one of the instructors back, for a scheduled training call (she is going to be a Health Coach with me!). I paid the two older kids to watch the baby during my call. $6 well spent. 

After a shower, we ran to Costco for our groceries, then picked up Ernie and Mimi (cousins) on the way home. The big kids played while BooBoo baby napped. I spent the afternoon contacting clients and answering questions. After the cousins left, it was time for the big kids to do their chores, and me to cook dinner. 

The kids and I had a serious talk this morning, as a result of a serious chat I had with Lo Gung last night. We talked about what I want my kids to learn. I will use a broken pen and a broken toy to illustrate. 

If a toy breaks, Siu Jeun will happily throw it away, while Ming Wai saves it as a treasure. If I offer a broken pen to them, as a gift, Ming Wai will refuse it while Siu Jeun would accept it as a treasure. 

Ming Wai hordes everything while Siu Jeun collects and desires all he sees. There is a difference there, one that I am trying to address. 

To help Siu Jeun, the Daddy Shop is closed. (This is a shop we created to help control where and how the kids spent their weekly allowance. Daddy keeps the shop stocked with small toys of our choosing, and it opens once a week for business. The kids get the same weekly allowance. As of this morning, Ming Wai has $45 in her wallet, as she usually buys nothing. Siu Jeun has $1.50 in his wallet, as he spends his money as soon as possible.) So, the Daddy Shop is closed. It will not re-open until it is easy for Siu Jeun to put money in his wallet and leave it there. 

Ming Wai is more difficult, but an opportunity came up tonight that helped her. A new toy came in the mail, one sent to Lo Gung to review. It is similar to one Ming Wai already has, and Lo Gung had already told her it was coming and that it would be hers. Instead, I asked her to take the package upstairs to give to her visiting cousin, Taylor, who had come for dinner. I explained to Ming Wai that this was a great opportunity to practice being generous and sharing. She agreed, grinning nervously. Afterwards, I asked her how she felt. "Weird." Happy her cousin was happy, but still a little sad to give something away. Which is about right. We will keep practicing. 

In other news, I'm also on a mission to help my kids learn more life skills. Namely, how to clean. They are all a little older, and ready to learn. I am going to talk to my house cleaner and either cut her visits in half, or do away with them completely. I haven't decided yet. Today, Siu Jeun cleaned windows and mirrors while Ming Wai polished all the bathroom sinks. All in a day's work! 

(Cooking dinner with a monkey on my back) 

(Siu Jeun polishes windows) 

March 27, 2014

Dear Journal,
Hi. It's been a while, yeah? Well, see...life. And reasons. But mostly Baby Ying Ying. Bedtime is back to being tough, and most nights I'm just too tired to put together anything witty or pretty or fun for posterity.

Having a toddler is tough, you know? The other night, she woke up in the middle of the night and was awake, fighting me and/or crying, for two hours before I gave up and threw her in the car. She screamed for a good 20 minutes before we could turn around and come home. That was a long night. The next night, she was only awake for 2 hours, and there wasn't nearly as much fighting. She has a nasty cough that is keeping her awake. I'm trying different essential oils to try and help...last night, it was Lemon (to break up mucous) and lavender on her chest (to calm airways) that finally did the trick.

Anyhow. Life, right? The kids are doing great, baby is awesome (aside from the anxiety-ridden nap times and bed times). Lo Gung is fantastic, and a complete rock star with the kids.

That is all. Just thought you'd like to know.

Sincerely,
LoLo

My Day

Inasmuch as this blog serves as a journal for me, and inasmuch as these are the years when I get very few 8-hour stretches of sleep.....there are a lot of details that I will forget if I don't get them down. So. Here is my collection of thoughts for the day.

For reasons unknown, SJ was in my bed at 12:30am. He hasn't climbed into bed with us in the middle of the night in nearly a year, so to say we were confused would be an understatement. I must have been dreaming about eating (ha!), because when I noticed him there, my first thought was, "Oh...FINE. He can stay until he finishes chewing, but then he has to go back to his own bed!" He must have "finished chewing" soon after that, because I could hear Lo Gung shoo him back to his own bed. *clap* My bedroom door was pulled shut. *bap* His bedroom door was pulled shut.

*waaaaah* The baby was awake.

OH MY GOSH. AS I WRITE THIS IT IS 10:05PM AND MY 7 YEAR OLD JUST CAME DOWNSTAIRS TO TELL ME ONE SIDE OF HER NOSE CAN'T BREATHE. What on earth am I supposed to do about that, child?! She just stares at me expectantly.

(Oh, I talk big, but I always give her what she asks for. I snuck into the sleeping baby's room to grab the Breathe oil blend that will help her, well, breathe. Baby didn't wake up, Big Sister can now breathe, and all is well.)

Where was I? Oh, right. 12:30, fed a really confused baby. She wasn't really hungry, because she'd only been asleep for three hours, but...she was awake. And that means Snack Time. So, snack time, back to sleep...until 8! Way to go, child. (Much better than the 6:30am wake up time of the past two days. Your schedule is a moving beast, isn't it??)

Breakfast with the kiddos. All was well, until I informed my children that I expected them to do a few To Do List things today. Practice piano. Get dressed. Make their beds. Get some time in on the iPad on Reading Eggs (an app we subscribed to to help them with their reading confidence).

Today's whining officially started at 9:12am. "But Mooooooom!! I already did the quiz on my level, and it didn't work, and they want me to do it again!!!!" We have been through this conversation several times, and I have even offered to sit with her and take the quiz with her, to just get it over with. (It is at 15 question quiz.)

And thus it went, on and off, all day. (They never did get anything on that list done, incidentally, beyond getting dressed and taking care of their rooms.)

I had the crazy idea to organize another cupboard in the kitchen, to forward my agenda of Total Domicile Organization over Mid-Winter Break. Genius that I am. So, I unloaded the cupboard where I keep all sorts of random pans, bowls and small appliances. No sooner had I spread the whole mess out on the floor when the baby starts clawing at my neck to get to the blender, SJ is picking up random bits and bobs and asking if he can keep them, and Ming Wai is surreptitiously trying to get to the cupboard where I keep the chocolate, to get a handful for Mommy. (She does that, whenever I get stressed or have a headache. I LOVE THIS CHILD. A handful of chocolate chips and a glass of cold water. Bless her.)

Anyhow, as you have probably guessed, Operation Organize didn't go well. At all. After a few minutes, I scooped the baby up under one arm and stomped upstairs, ranting about how I will NEVER get anything done. Ever. Again. Ever. (I'm slightly dramatic. Just a little.)

Not 5 minutes later, my two oldest kids come running upstairs and burst into the playroom where I am laying on the floor, watching my toddler dismantle her siblings' Lego sets. "Mom! Mom! Come downstairs! We have a surprise for you!" They had put everything back. All of it. No more Cupboard Contents, barfed all over the floor. These kids CAN be absolute sweethearts, and they really DO want to be good. I love them to bits!

Around 11:30am, I announced to Baby Ying Ying that she was ready for bed. I dumped her into her crib, and hid in the hall. The big kids had decided to have a bath, so I just sort of lay there, listening to all of my offspring.

This afternoon, I RE-organized the cupboard. (Now that I knew what was there, and what I was keeping, it only took about 5 minutes. Phew!) We took a trip to the library, too. Ming Wai is really getting into reading, and the library is one of our favorite places to go. The kids have it down to a science. We run in, grab the first 10 books that look good to each of them, check them out, and get back out. 10 minutes, tops. Baby gets frustrated quickly in a room full of books that she isn't allowed to rip devour mutilate read.

Dinner was a simple, but tasty, stew. I chopped up a few carrots, some leftover chicken patties, and some leftover baked potatoes. Added some seasonings, and let it simmer away. Everyone but Ying Ying seemed to really enjoy it (but she doesn't enjoy ANYTHING these past few days). Afterwards, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to the local frozen yogurt place. (Ying Ying didn't even want fro-yo! Something must be up.)

Oh, and just for the record - I added a carton of whole milk to our milk order this week. This is huge, because Ying Ying hasn't been able to really do well with dairy. She's big enough now, though, and I've been testing her with some cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. She seems to be ok with dairy! Hooray! I'm hoping some whole milk during the day will keep her a little fuller than just snacking on cereal and crackers. And also jump-start the weaning process. (Did you catch the part where she doesn't really like to eat? WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?! Her mama certainly loves to eat.)

Anyhow. There's my report, y'all. *mwah* It's 10:34, and I think my last child just nodded off.

The Post about Ying Ying's Cake

This post is nothing but photos of my newly-minted one year old attacking her birthday cake. And I'm not sorry. This is one of my favorite traditions - my family has used this forever to get an early glimpse at a child's personality. For example, my twin sister and I. My twin carefully dipped her finger into her cake and licked the frosting off. Me? I looked left. I looked right. Then I did a face plant. I'm sure it was glorious, and it is so me. I do, or I do not do. There is no try. 

Ying Ying was pretty thrilled that there was a whole cake coming her way. She is a bona fide chocolate lover, and she had already sampled some of the cake when I trimmed hers up to even up the top. 

Her brother and sister got a little bored watching her...not eat. So they came over to try and help. Ming Wai wanted to make sure she didn't eat anything before the Birthday Girl got her first bite. SJ...couldn't last that long, and I didn't want to push him over the edge. 

Speaking of pushing....

Ying Ying eventually figured out where the cake was. (She started by picking off the sprinkles, one by one, and eating those. That drove Ming Wai NUTS. Eating sprinkles doesn't equal eating cake. Which meant Ming Wai wouldn't let herself have any cake yet. She was shouting, "Eat the CAKE! THE CAKE! NOT THE SPRINKLES! ARRGGGGHHHHH!") 

(It was precious.) 

"Mommy, my hands...they are squishy. And sticky. I like."

Eventually, she just started poking holes all over the cake with her sticky little fingers. 

And then she handed me the plate. And that was that!

Happy birthday to my smart, sassy, opinionated, cheerful, playful little Dragon baby! 

Chinese New Year, 2014 and Ying Ying is 1!

Baby Ying Ying's birthday happened to fall on Chinese New Year's Eve this year. There was so much celebrating, we couldn't even fit it all in! We decided cake was more pressing than presents, so we will just have to stretch her birthday across a few more days. I'm sure she won't mind. 

Today was a really packed day. I got Ming Wai off to school at 8:15, then spent some time making pineapple jam to fill the tarts I want to make for a party tomorrow night. At 9:45, my parents called and we chatted for about 20 minutes. At 10:15, my visiting teachers (two ladies from church, assigned as companions, and assigned to visit me every month to leave goodwill and a lesson with me) showed up. I was still in my PJ's, but they don't care! I think we all prefer our visits to go like that...it makes us feel better about the messy kitchens we left at home! We had a lovely visit while our kids played. When they left, it was time for Ying Ying's nap. Shortly after I put her down, one of the Moms from Ming Wai's class came over so we could work on some furniture we are making for a school auction coming up. (I can't wait to show it to you!) 

We worked until 1, when my in laws came over to watch the kids so I could run to a friend's house for a haircut. Forty-five minutes later, I was back and running between the kitchen (helping Ma), Ying Ying (who missed me), and the garage (still working on that furniture). Phew! 

At 3, someone left to get Ming Wai from school. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some New Years cleaning, helping Ming Wai with her homework, putting together a birthday cake for Baby Ying Ying, and staying out of Ma's way while she put the finishing touches on our feast for tonight. She really outdid herself this year! Six dishes, and all of them were delicious. 

(My New Years display on the dining room table. One of the oranges had her leaves forcibly removed. SJ happened to walk by while I was getting out the table linens. Before I knew what was happening, he plopped his bum in the nearest chair and started trying to get the orange open. Starting by removing the stem. Poor kid - Ma was so disappointed! She only bought two. They aren't for eating - they are special, to display at New Years. Maybe he can eat them in a few days. Ha!)

These trays of treats are common in Chinese homes at New Years. I was told that they should have either 6 or 8 different treats, all of them sweet, to represent a sweet future in the new year. On offer this year (clockwise from bottom center): Candied lotus seed, guava hard candies, candied winter melon, dried cranberries, candied coconut, and candied lotus root. With the oranges ("gat") in the middle, representing luck. (Even if our lucky "gat" weren't very lucky this year!)

The evening's spread! 

In the right column, we have (top to bottom): Broccoli, Lettuce with Shitake Mushrooms, and Pigs Feet with Black Moss. In the left column, we have: boiled lotus root (from the night's soup), Salt Baked Chicken, and steamed fish. 

Pre dinner hamming. 

Post dinner carnage. OM NOM NOM. 

(One of the benefits of eating large feasts at home - tiny ones are free to roam around and play peek a boo after dinner.)

I'm sorry. This poor fish cracked me up. He's all, "Dude. I'm cool. No big. How YOU doin'?" It should be noted that my mother in law was mortified that I took this picture. 

One of the traditions that Lo Gung made sure we followed this year was to make sure that there were a few bites of fish left at the end of the meal. In this way, you make sure that your new year is prosperous (the word for fish sounds like the word for money). I'm sure there were a few bites of fish left somewhere in that bowl. I drained off the sauce, and bagged up the bones. We will throw them away tomorrow, after the New Year is safely underway!

After the dinner was eaten, the dishes were cleaned, the kids were upstairs playing and the adults were draped over any available furniture (attempting to digest the large amounts of food we had just consumed), it was time for...birthday cake! (As a child who was born on a major holiday, I can appreciate the special care that must be taken when a birthday coincides with a day already riddled with traditions! Ying Ying's birthday will certainly not fall on New Years Eve often, but I think chocolate cake may become a new traditional dessert for our family, all the same.)

At 7:30, we rallied the troops, dimmed the lights, and lit the candle. My baby...is no longer my baby. 

She enjoyed her cake immensely. 

Finally, after cake was done, it was time for the traditional Writing of the Characters. (My husband's aunt sent me a document yesterday that outlined all of the traditions associated with the 15 days of the Chinese New Year celebration. I had a bit too much fun with it, and tried to incorporate as many of the traditions today as I could!) According the document, the oldest educated male in the home ought to write out the character for "blessings", and affix it to the front door. So, with the last two pieces of red construction paper in the house...we proceeded. 

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you a very happy year of the Horse.