Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year started on Monday 
Growing up Filipino, my family didn’t celebrate the Lunar New Year. All I remember is that I was always a little jealous of the Chinese and Vietnamese kids who got money for New Year. I mean, they didn’t have just Santa to gift them — they got money from ALL their relatives. How cool was that?
Though The Hubster ™ is Vietnamese, we don’t formally celebrate the Lunar New Year though we have “accidentally” celebrated it. How do you accidentally celebrate it, you ask? It involves deciding, “Oh hey, a bowl of pho would be great!”, driving down to favorite pho restaurant to get stuck in the traffic jam from hell, only to realize that it was the Lunar New Year eve. I somehow managed to do that TWICE while we were living in San Jose. I definitely had some fun watching people set off fire crackers at the Lion Center and got a taste for the Lunar New Year treats.
Since then, Lunar New Year has become a time for me to grab some lotus candies and banh chung from a Vietnamese deli. Not a formal celebration to be sure but still a tradition tha I liked to keep. While living in San Jose and later, the East Bay, this wasn’t a problem because there were always either a Vietnamese deli within a short drive or a well stocked Asian supermarket. I went looking for our required lotus candies and banh chung at the local Asian supermarket this weekend. To say I was massively disappointed would be an understatement. There isn’t a large Chinese or Vietnamese population in this particular area — East Contra Costa County is considered to be more the Delta than the Bay Area — so this wasn’t surprising.
I’d like TLE to learn more about her heritage and be able to participate in both Filipino and Vietnamese traditions. Seeing as I’ve already indoctrinated the poor thing into being Filipino by doing the whole baptism + big ass Filipino party, it is only fair that she get to explore her Vietnamese side as well. The Hubster ™ and I have decided that next year, we will make more of an effort to celebrate Lunar New Year though honestly it wasn’t for a lack of trying this year. We’re just in the wrong city 
On time alone
On a local parenting mailing list, a mom asked everyone how much free time other parents get. Since becoming a stay at home mom, I’ve had maybe an hour of “free time” to myself, without The Little Empress. And that “free time” was spent doing interviews for the paper that I contract with so I don’t really count that as free time.
And while I will have moments of weakness — usually after a bad day when TLE has bitten me incessantly or been unreasonably cranky for some reason — I don’t regret being at TLE’s beck and call while she’s little. As I’ve said here before, the days are long but the years are so short. TLE is our “one and done”; we don’t plan on having any more children so every precious moment we have together is a moment well spent. Being a stay at home mom, I’ve come dangerously close to taking these moments for granted. Day after day, day in and day out, “just” taking care of The Little Empress…. and yet, when I take a moment to step back, I feel so blessed to have witnessed so much of her life. Every day, she learns or tries something new. She changes day to day and I am here to see all of it. And I can’t ask for anything more, even time alone.
The house of sick
Ah, it was bound to happen. Despite being fully vaccinated and breastfed, The Little Empress has fallen ill with some sort of virus. Unfettered by whatever virus she has caught, TLE has gone about her business, ever the intrepid explorer. The only clue we had to the fact that she was sick was that she was just a little more irritable than usual and her poop was… well, not as it should be. And has been, well, not as it should have been for about four days now, joined by slight sniffles and sneezing. A few sneezes haven’t slowed her down one bit, though. She’s still crawling all over the place, climbing over things and is intent on learning to walk, darnit. A little cold will NOT stop this child! She laughs in the face of fevers and colds. She also would like it to be known that she haaaaaaates that suctioning bulb and would much rather blow snot bubbles all night.
Since her poopie issues have continued, off we went to the doctor who said she had a cold and a bacterial ear infection from the congestion. Great. That went a long way to explaining why she was so sensitive to being laid down to sleep and would wake up screaming. Luckily, wrapping her would lull her to a comfortable sleep… though it has meant that I’ve been spending at least part of the night either rocking her in her wrap… or sleeping upright with TLE in the wrap.
Did I mention I’m sick too? Ugh. I have a pretty I am so exhausted right now. Despite having the sickies, TLE isn’t sleeping any more than she usually does which means that I’m SOL for getting more rest myself. I bought some DayQuil but remembered to call my doctor to see if it was okay to take. It’s not. So here I am, sniffling, congested and pretty miserable, hoping that my coughing doesn’t wake TLE. Ughx2. Now I know that I am too much of a wimp to take care of TLE and be sick at the same time.
How does your garden grow?
When we were looking for houses last spring, one of the “must haves” on our list was a backyard big enough for Miyuki and a decent food garden. We moved in mid-summer so planting wasn’t an option but now that spring is around the corner, I’ve been giving some thought on how to approach this.
For one, I know jack about gardening. My dad had a vegetable garden for a bit during my childhood and I don’t remember much about it other than a bumper crop of tomatoes. So I really have no idea where to start. Secondly, our back lot was cleared over the summer but since then, lots of wild grass and weeds have grown in everywhere. Our back yard is huge but unfinished and I want to get it decent looking and safe for TLE to play in once she’s a toddler. I was so excited about the idea of a food garden but now the idea is daunting.
Still, I’m determined to have one but am hoping not to over extend myself and fail at this experiment. I’m hoping to have an herb garden with two types of basil (Italian and Thai), red perilla, mint, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) and mizuna. These are all herbs that we eat on a regular basis and I’d much rather walk outside to get them than to go across town to pick up some sad looking greens from the market. I’m also planning on planting some cherry tomatoes. I love heirlooms but I don’t know if my gardening n00blet self should be trusted with such produce. Another green that I’m hoping to raise is wild betel leaves or la lot. Because, yes, I love that beef wrapped in la lot leaves dish so much. It’s not an easy herb to find and I’ve only ever seen it in ONE supermarket in the San Jose area so it will be interesting to see if I can even find seeds at all much less start them and raise them to maturity.
My dad offered to buy (and plant) some fruit trees as well. I know that I want a Meyer lemon tree. For one, they’re small and grow well in pots so I don’t have to worry about transferring. Plus I love the idea of having that sweet lemon as lemonade during the summer and making Meyer lemon curd and bread and…. oooh the possibilities. Mmm, nummy. I’ll probably also ask my dad if he can buy me a rainier cherry tree and a peach tree. I love cherries and peaches and they have such pretty blossoms.
Hopefully I’ll be able to do this. I need to read up and ask local nurseries if some of the greens I’d like are even possible!
MIA
Ah, so much for keeping to schedules. The last few weeks haven’t been the greatest when it comes to work-life balance. Got gobsmacked by some personal stuff and as a result, got a bit over my head with work. Not good considering it is just January. I took a week “off” (ie. not taking or looking for any assignments) from writing to get my head screwed on.
I have to admit that during this week “off”, I didn’t do much of anything, including writing for fun. I’m sort of kicking myself for this now because I feel like I’ve wasted time that I could have used to do something, well, useful. I’m sure that I did more than “just” take care of The Little Empress, something that I’ve discovered is becoming more challenging. TLE fits the classic definition of being “high needs” and I confess that it has been leaving me drained both mentally and physically By the end of the day, I am just plain exhausted by trying to keep up with her.
I’m hoping to get back into a better frame of mind this week, get some more stuff done without feeling like I’ve been beat down. sigh Here’s to trying.
Menu Mondays – 1/26/09
Here’s our menu for the coming week:
Monday: Baked chicken & salad Tuesday: Pork adobo Wednesday: Baked chicken & salad Thursday: Beef salad Friday: Baked chicken & salad Saturday: Lasagna Sunday: Superbowl Fried Frenzy
Breakfast choices: Cereal, oatmeal, breakfast burritos
Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie
This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie
Fun night
I just said goodbye to some friends after spending the evening playing Rock Band 2, watching anime and YouTube finds and noshing on pizza. Fun times were had by all, including The Little Empress. She was a bit fussy at times but went down for nap and then finally for the night while being worn, allowing Mommy to play Rock Band and have fun with friends but still be close to baby. It is a testament to how well she sleeps in carriers that she didn’t wake up even when Rock Band was blasting in the background. Babywearing for the win!!
Menu Mondays – 1/19/2009
Here’s our menu for the coming week:
Monday: Spaghetti & meat sauce with green salad Tuesday: Baked chicken & stir fried bok choy, served with rice Wednesday: Sour beef soup with bok choy & daikon, served with rice noodles Thursday: Baked chicken & stir fried bok choy, served with rice Friday: Shaking beef over green salad
Baby menu – yogurt, cheerios, cheese, chicken, banana, peaches, peas
Breakfast options – oatmeal with dried fruit, cereal & milk, yogurt
Lunch options – Leftovers, green salad with baked chicken
Snack options – baby carrots, yogurt, trail mix, fruit
Baked treat of the week: CUPCAKES!! 
Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie
This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie
Proof that The Hubster ™ and I are complete geeks.
1 – We spent our Friday night… watching the Season 4 Teen Titans animated television series on DVD.
2 – We spent the evening making comments like:
During a Raven episode
Me: “… hey, didn’t Robin just train all those ghosts onto them?” The Hubster (TM): “Don’t worry, they’ll drop aggro soon.” Me: “Hey, looks like they dropped aggro by zoning!”
During the Starfire & Robin episode
Me: “Aww, Robin is emotion dyslexic… such a Bat.” TH: “Oh dear god Robin. Whatever he does, I hope he doesn’t ask Bruce for relationship advice!”
During a Cyborg episode
Me: “Oh, we know Cyborg’s lust for that chip.” TH: “And the chip is made by Star Labs!” Me: “Second only to Wayne Enterprises.” Me: “Aah, he’s overclocking himself!” TH: “Yep.” Me: “I wonder if he invested in a good heat sink. Water cooling would probably be good.”
3 – When confronting The Hubster ™ about his “”Aww, they’re so cute!” about Starfire & Robin…
TH: “Sue me, I like cute couples.” Me: “… so what would you call us?” TH: “…”
Yes. We spend our free time geeking out while watching kiddie cartoons based on comic books and making dumb snarky commentary about them. Which is pretty much what we did before The Little Empress was born. Who said that your life is never the same after having a kid? Although she’ll probably rolling her eyes at us and wondering why she has such unrepentant geeks for parents soon enough.
Menu Mondays – 1/12/2009
Here’s our menu for the coming week. The Hubster ™ suggested that we try to eat more vegetables, less meat and starch for our health. Helps our budget, too.
Monday – Taiwanese Ground Pork with rice & sauteed bok choy (L) Tuesday – Thai-style papaya and carrot salad with grilled beef Wednesday – Thai-style ground pork with papaya salad and steamed rice Thursday – Vietnamese shaking beef over green salad Friday – Vietnamese cold noodle bowls with grilled pork Saturday – Japanese yakiniku (tableside grilled beef) with kimchee, rice and nori Sunday – Cold peanut noodles with grilled chicken & Vietnamese salad rolls with pork & shrimp
Breakfast choices for the week – Oatmeal, cereal, tea & toast Lunch for the week – Leftovers from the previous night Snack choices for the week – carrots & hummus, fresh fruit
(L) – Denotes a leftover meal (F) – Denotes a freezer meal
There’s meat in every dish but for most of these dishes, meat is a flavoring rather than a significant part of the dish. I’m lucky that the Asian market has pre-shredded carrots and papaya. That takes most of the work out of papaya salads
Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie
This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie
About
My name is Michelle. I write, I shoot and I mom, not necessarily in that order. I'm aware that 'mom' isn't widely accepted as a verb but I think it should be.I'm a self-professed geek and caffeine addict. (Some may argue that the latter is a requirement of the former.) I live with my husband and our daughter in the California Delta.
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