CNY | Life in the Wee Hours

Been so crazy busy with Chinese New Year prep and the four days of visiting all over the island. Finally have some time to sit down and look at the hundreds of photos taken over the long weekend. I love that we had four continuous days to visit friends and relatives and we were in a very festive mood throughout.

We had a very full schedule for the four days. On Day 1, we went to my grandma’s place in the morning, followed by Adrian’s grandparent’s home in the afternoon, and finally Adrian’s uncle’s place in the evening. Oh, we had an awesome kumquat bundt cake made by Alpha Bakes on Day 1! Day 2 was somewhat better. The older kids accompanied their Aunt Fifi to a relative’s house, and then we went to my aunt’s place and had a great time there with the cousins. Day 3 saw us at Anya’s schoolmate’s home and then we celebrated Juan/ Sam/ Dan’s birthday at Juan’s place. On Day 4, we went to the Lobos’ new house and we had steamboat for dinner. Phew!

I love getting the kids new outfits for Chinese New Year and this year, their clothes were from Elly and Missy Messy. I wore my new vermilion Lark & Peony cheongsam on the first day, a yellow polka-dotted one from Tong Tong Friendship Store (that has been in my wardrobe for a few years now) on the second day, and Our Bitsy Prints cheongsams on the third and fourth days.

Even though CNY is technically 15 days long, I think I’m all CNY-ed out after the long weekend and I’m just looking forward to a steamboat dinner on Chap Goh Meh!

spent a lot of time walking around with oranges!

the three of them in their Elly outfits

attempted a family photo

looking for oranges

yummy kumquat bundt cake made by Debs

walking around the garden

another attempt at a family photo

Day 2 and another set of Elly outfits

harassing the wooden baby

one with all the cousins

love this tee!

Day 3 with matching cheongsam

with her friends

CNY swim

with the gang

Day 4 with at Lobo mansion

homeless-looking children in Missy Messy

water play!

they had a lot of fun

sparklers

I finally got a Chinese paper cutting (剪纸) of the family! I’d been wanting to get one since I spotted it in Chinatown 2 years ago before Chinese New Year but it was too crowded then. Last CNY, I was stuck at home (since it was my confinement period after delivering the baby) and couldn’t make the trip down to Chinatown. There’s less than a month to go before CNY but it’s not too crowded in Chinatown at the moment so it’s a good time to get the paper cutting done.

The stall I went to is near Pagoda St. After coming out from Exit A of Chinatown MRT, I walked straight then turned right into the first small lane. You choose the characters you like from the samples and give the man the names you want him to cut into the picture. You can have the name in English if you prefer. It’s $10 per family member and another $10 for the plain black frame. I didn’t have to wait very long, just about 15 minutes. I love the finished product!