Chinese New Year

Today was one of those days that flew by in a rush.  I can barely recall its beginning or ending.  But I sure remember the middle.

I had the fun pleasure of being the craft organizer for our annual FCC (Families with Children from China) celebration of Chinese New Year.  Of course, I was super excited to come up with some ideas that would be indicative of New Year and The Year of the Rabbit.  Here's what I came up with:

1. The ever so popular Chinese lantern.  They looked amazing strung up across the tables!

This is one of the lanterns Emmett made after we took it home.

2. Shakers to be used in the Dragon parade.  Funny, enough the children were too busy being dragons that they forgot to use their shakers!  Oh well.

Can you guess which children are Lilly and Emmett?  I'll give you a hint: they are not in Chinese clothing!

3. Shrink-a-dink rabbit necklaces and zipper pulls.  This was a HUGE hit.  I literally spent 4 hours helping children (I think there were about 60 kids) trace, color, cut, punch, and string beads.  My fingers were raw when we were finished.  But they were totally fab!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Here we are in our matching Chinese t-shirts!  What a CUTE family!

 

Snow Day

I don't know why, but sometimes I just can't help myself.  That's how I felt this morning anyway when I saw Hannah quietly cuddled up in blankets enjoying a sleep in on this snow day.

That's when it hit me that I should probably wake her up...by singing OPERA of course!

So, with a lung full of air and a suppressed grin, I tiptoed to the bed and let it rip!  I hit some notes that I am certain only dogs can hear.

With a startled yelp she opened her eyes, sat up , and announced "I'm awake!"

Music to my ears.   

Sick Day

Lilly stayed home with a 100.8 degree temperature.  She was so excited.

It is not often that Lilly and I get a day alone, so we had to fill it with some creative collaborations.  We decided to make some Valentine's Day decorations for her upcoming party.

First, we made a paper chain to drape across our dining room chandelier.  All it took was 6 - 12x12 scrapbook papers in pink and red colors and a stapler (we tried double sided tape at first, but it was not doing so well with the thicker paper).  Lilly had to take some time to figure out how to successfully hold the paper and stapler at the same time.  But after a few times, she was a pro!

Still struggling to figure it out.

Got it!

Look at Lilly modeling our paper boa!

Finished product - but looks a bit plain...

 

Then, we decided we needed to make a tissue paper flower to fancy it up a bit (we ARE Fancy Nancy fans after all).  Lilly had a fun time helping me fold the paper and hang our beautiful flower.

Fold 10 sheets of tissue paper accordion style.

Tie a pipe cleaner tightly around the middle.  Make sure to make a loop with the extra for hanging.

Pull five sheets one direction, and five the other direction.

Now that is MUCH fancier!

Not a bad start to our party decorations!

Good Riddance!

We are so excited to announce that Emmet is now cast free!

No longer will we have to endure baths in the sink that turn into wrestling matches as we try to pin Emmet down long enough to wash his hair.

No longer will we need to cover his cast with one of Eric's socks thus leading to an epidemic of holey, mismatched socks. 

And no longer will we have to smell his stinky little foot!

It is amazing how excited I was to give his foot a bath.  Except it was really icky as six weeks of dead skin and scabs were washed away.  Hannah and I were laughing hysterically because every where Emmett sat he left a pile of discarded skin cells behind.  Way Yuck!