Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Xin nien kuai le!

Today is the Chinese New Year of the Tiger (our year, so guess how old me and Da Man are?). It also happens to be Valentine's Day AND on Monday, Ontario Family Day. On Tuesday I have the day off to take the Tater to get her 18 month needles (coincidentally, she is 18 months old on that day!).
Do the math:
Saturday + Sunday + Family Day + Tater's Day = Loooooong weekend

At daycare on Thursday, they did their Chinese New Year celebration and we dressed both kiddos in whatever we could find was traditional.

Friday was Valentine's Day at daycare so we slapped them in hearts:

Saturday was Chinese New Year's Eve which is the traditional day of family reunion. My mum and little bro were at the aunties' house for the reunion dinner. We had no one else but us so we did our own version of a nice Chinese dinner (that involves a lot of cooking on my part and crying on the part of the Tater). We did call in the morning to speak to Poh Poh to wish her and Uncle Al a "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

Here's a picture of the grub.

Girl-chick learning the chopsticks.

Tater tried to figure out chopsticks too.

And dessert was red bean ice-cream!

Been busy

Since the last post, we have had family birthday for Girl-chick and a birthday party at gymnastics the ensuing weekend. The Tuesday after that saw Girl-chick and Tater at the pediatrician's office; one for her four-year-old check-up and the other for some tummy troubles. Nanny was then dispatched at the airport to fly out to New Brunswick to the other Dawson crew. We are now settling back into a routine.

Things are shaping up fast house-wise to which is good. Our friend has set a start date to completing the basement and we are quite excited because that means more spaces to play for all of us, more of our stuff languishing in the garage get to come in and be stored away in their homes and the poor little car gets to sleep in the garage once again. We have had some days of bitter, bitter cold and mornings with the little fireball has been of whining and complaining. (I mean the car but in retrospect it applies to Girl-chick and Da Man too!)

Today was a stay-at-home day for me. Quite unexpected but the Tater woke up spewing forth partly digested supper and blazing hot. By the time morning rolled around she was still hot and so I bravely "volunteered" to stay home. Tomorrow Da Man is home anyways and I will take the early bus into town and work until 2. Lots of work to do!

I have to go and finish off some blankets - my first commissioned pieces of 2010!