Tet Celebrations

The area we live in doesn't really have a Tet or Chinese New Year celebration. So, this year, we are inventing our own. On Monday, we celebrated by having take out from the local Vietnamese restaurant. Yummers. Tonite, Daddy wants to take Maelie to a local high school hockey game...it's the two rival area schools' grudge match. We'll see how THAT goes. And tomorrow, we are going to my mom's house, with my brother and his wife, my sister and her husband, and my niece, and we are going to party like it's 4707!! (That's the Lunar year.) We're going to have some Vietnamese dishes...modified a little for those in our family who are BORING...HA!!! :) I'm going to make a loose beef type sandwhich on baguettes like the Banh Mi sandwhich. We're going to play games, have a Tet cake, and shoot of some fireworks. Shhhh...don't tell anyone. :)

Funny story about the cake...I ordered it from a local bakery. Of course I wasn't shocked when they didn't know what Tet was, but I thought it was funny...I had them put 'Happy Tet' on the cake, and at first, she misunderstood. She thought I said 'Happy Ted'! Too funny.

I'll post photos of our Tet celebration on Sunday!

Tet Photos

When we were in Vietnam, we bought a couple of Ao Dais, the national dress of Vietnam. Many adoptive families buy a dress in many sizes and have their child's photo taken in it on their birthday. I decided to do something a little different, and we are going to have Maelie wear her Ao Dai and have an annual photo taken at Tet. We had her Tet photos taken this weekend, and these are my favorites.

First Tet 2009

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet, for short! This year, we celebrate the Year of the Water Buffalo, or if you follow the Chinese Astrological Chart, the Year of the Ox.

Just for a little background on what Tet is, from Wikipedia:

Tet Nguyên Đán, more commonly known by its shortened name Tet, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year which is based on the Lunar calendar.

Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tet shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tet by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tet, like visiting a person's house on the first day of the new year (xông nhà), ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year's greetings, and giving lucky money to family and friends.

Tet is also an occasion for family reunions and gatherings. During Tet, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year.

Happy Tet, Everyone! We wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Pipe Fixed

Well, our steam pipe is now repaired, and there is a hole in our ceiling. It's now covered by styrofom, which is good. The paint and plaster on one wall has been cracked off in a lovely tenament design, there's plaster dust stuck on the floor, and a huge hole in the ceiling...BUT there's no more leaking!!!!!!!!

Work should begin next week, I believe, for all repairs. Rough estimates put it all at about $7,000; insurance will pay for most of that, minus our deductable. And, while it looks like a complete crap shack right now, I cannot wait for it to be done...it will finally be my dream room up there! Or, at least getting closer to it!!

I'll have to take some photos so we can have a before and after shot. Onward and Upward! Sigh...I need a nap. :)

Of Contractors and Insurance Adjustors

Today we were visited by the insurance adjustor and the contractor for the damage upstairs. We were told that the ceiling, wall, light fixture in our room and the bathroom, plaster, everything that was damaged, will be covered by our insurance...except for the problem that caused the damage in the first place. We had originally thought the problem was an ice dam on the roof. I kept saying, what if it's a broken pipe? I was told repeatedly, no no no, that could never happen. HEY, guess what?? I ain't so dumb!!!! Turns out, the leak in the attic is caused by a cracked steam heat pipe, so whenever the heat kicked on, the steam would come shooting out of an 8 inch crack. Yeah. But, what do I know??? I'm just a girl!

Note to Maelie for when you're older...ALWAYS remember that because you are a girl, you are probably brighter and smarter than your male counterparts!!!! :)

Getting that off my proverbial chest (wink)...I am happy that the mystery of the leak has been solved and that insurance will cover the damage. Now, onward to construction! Oh yay....

The Sky is Falling

So, our bedroom ceiling has been leaking for the past few days. Our bedroom is large, and is basically two rooms...one with our bed, and the other is supposed to be a sitting area. I've been wanting to finish that room since we moved in 9 years ago, and we just haven't yet. Luckily, the leak was in the sitting area...basically, a wide open space. And, the odd thing about it leaking is that the weather here has been extremely cold...like -25 at night. We had a guy come over and clean the snow off, but it was still leaking.

Mike called the roofing guys yesterday to tell them about it, but a few hours later.....KABOOM...the ceiling came down. CRASH. A whole section of sheetrock came down, took down part of the ceiling fan, water all over, BOOM. Yeah...good times. And does it stink up there...wet sheetrock, wet wood, musty, gross. So, we had the roofers come check it out last night, and figured it was just an ice dam. So, they were here all afternoon steaming off the roof. It seems to be only ice build-up and not a bad roof. Mike also called insurance, and to clear the ice off and any damage inside is covered!!!

The irony is, when the leak started, Mike and I had a serious talk about us fixing up the house. It's an old house, built in 1906. We've decided to do some renovating, like starting this Spring. Paint, fixing the floors, fixing cracks, etc. Well, renovations will start sooner than expected, with our bedroom. New ceiling, electrical gone through, paint, floor, etc. But, in the meantime, it stinks. Mike and I slept downstairs last night, on the couch and in our chair and a half. We had thought of going out to my mom's, but Maelie sleeps so much better in her own bed, so we just camped out in the living room. We'll probably be doing that for awhile. Exciting stuff, eh?????? Yeah.

At least no one was up there at the time. Mike had just dropped Maelie and me off from a trip to Target and he was out getting us some dinner. Maelie was fussy, so he brought us home and went back. Maelie and I were downstairs making her a bottle when I heard it come down. The house shook!! The sheetrock was sagging earlier in the day. Then I had to wait for Mike to get home to tell him...a tense ten minutes, let me tell you! He walks in and I just burst out crying. At first he thought the whole roof collapsed, and that if he went up there, he could see the sky. No, just the sheetrock. He figured, as I did, that it was going to come down, but neither of us wanted to say anything outloud. Sigh. But, no one was hurt, nothing important was damaged, and insurance will cover it.

Oh, the fun we have.....

You know you're a mom when...

I'm starting a new little thing on my blog, of things I realize I do now, since I'm a mom. Sometimes it still takes me by surprise when I say I'm a mom!!!

Please feel free to add stuff in the comments!!


You know when your a mom when...

You wake up in the morning with the 'Play with Me Sesame' theme song in your head.

You're all excited to see the new barn set on Sprout's 'Sunnyside Up Show.' (seriously, I need a hobby.)

You can wipe away a boogie with just your fingers when there isn't a tissue in site.

New Year's Day 2009

In the last of our holiday photo series, we have photos from New Year's Day. We spent it out at my mom's house, played games, ate too much, you know the routine. Good times. :) The only unfortunate incident was when Maelie had a...ah...explosion blow-out and the only extra clothes we had with was a t-shirt. DUH..bad Mommy. So, a bath at Grandma's and a load of laundry later, we were fine! And no, she really isn't drinking Diet Coke, but she has been taking to pretending to eat and drink things. It's really cute. She'll lick a cracker and then 'chew' with this impish look on her face like she's really getting away with something. It's so cute. She was doing this with the soda can, too.

I know I said this before, but we are so fortunate and blessed to be able to ring in the new year with our Maelie. Again, Happy New Year to all of our friends and family.

Spontaneous Shopping

Today, a local fireman's home burned to the ground - unfortunately, the ultimate in irony. Mike knew him from working with the fire department, and had been at the scene of the fire. I'll post photos of it in a bit.

When Mike got home from work, we decided to drive over to the scene so I could check out the carnage. This quickly turned into a spontaneous shopping trip for Maelie, Mike and me, as the gentleman and his family of four young children were also there to see the wreckage. I couldn't bear to think of his two young girls (First and Third grade), ten year old son, and teenage daughter sitting in their hotel room tonite with nothing. Nada. Zip. So, Maelie and I sprung into action and had a shopping spree. Color books, Care Bears, Chutes N Ladders, card games, hair brushes, color books, crayons and markers filled the cart. Hey, it was HER idea to spend $250....

While I was shopping, Daddy and Maelie found their own adventure, as they usually do. I'll have to make a list sometime of all the strange and different adventures they have had together. Tonite, Maelie was a cashier at Target. Yep. The cashier wanted to hold her and a customer came up, so she held her and checked the guy through. Oh, the adventures they have together.

At least I know those kids can cuddle up with a teddy bear tonite, play a game of Uno, have a little bit of normalcy. And Maelie's Daddy donated a $100 Target gift card, $100, and his brand new North Face winter coat. Hey, we do what we can, right?

Do I say how much we spent to pat ourselves on the back? No. But, I know some people who read this blog don't always realize how generous Mikey can be, and I absolutely love him for it. Hopefully, this is one lesson that will stick with Maelie.

Christmas with the Z's 2008

Another Christmas?? Yep..this time with Mike's family. We all got together that Saturday after Christmas when Mike's brother Bill, wife Cat, and kids could come up. It was a very nice time, and what I'll remember the most, besides the yummy cosmos (heehee), is the GREAT PHOTO CHALLENGE. It will live in infamy. All Grammie wanted was one photo of all the grandkids by the Christmas tree. Oh, the humanity.....

By the way, from left to right we have Nick, Evie, and Alec...

Present Day 2008

Maelie finally gets to open her presents from Mommy & Daddy and Santa!

Christmas Day 2008 Photos

If you recall my post, our Christmas Day was pretty quiet. We visited Mike's parents, and we were going to open Miss Maelie's presents that night, but she was just too tired out. So, Mike and I opened our gifts and waited for Friday to open Maelie's. Here (finally!) are some photos of Christmas Day.

Doctor Appointment

Maelie had her 9 month wellness check-up today. She has gained 2 pounds and now tops the scale at 18 pounds, and has grown an inch in height, making her 28 inches! We're so proud. Poor baby had two more shots today and needed to have blood drawn from her arm for blood tests. She did NOT like this one bit. An older woman in a waiting area, separated from the lab by doors, mind you, teased us about her 'good lungs' when we left. Yeah, they heard her screams through the whole clinic. Poor little thing. I HATE that!!!!!

Here are some photos of our day, including her and her daddy in the waiting room, and our little mastermind trying to hack into the clinic's computer system...sorry they are backwards in order, but blogger is being a bugger tonite.

Christmas Eve 2008 Photos!!!!

Maelie Gives Back

This photo was taken the day of her visit with Santa. She's donating some money to Salvation Army with her Daddy.

Pictures

Pictures, Pictures, where are the Pictures!!! I know, I hear ya....they ARE coming. I just finished downloading 537 photos off of my camera from the holidays. Yes, Five HUNDRED and thirty seven. It just took me over an hour to look through them all. I'll have to break it down and post them day by day, and YES, we will start this later today. It's now midnight and I need to go to sleep. I know....the photos of our little princess are more important than sleep, but......Mr. Sandman won't take no for an answer!!

Stay tuned......

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We wish you all a very happy New Year and hope that it is filled with much happiness, laughter, and love.

Love,
Michelle, Mike and Maelie

ps - YES, there WILL be new photos soon, I promise. :)