Year of the Ox

 Little Man made a goal this year to learn more about Chinese history and culture.  He decided one way he could do this was to research the Chinese New Year and throw a party for his family.  He was particularly excited because this year is the Ox which happens to be his animal.  He invited one family over to celebrate since we can't exactly have big parties these days.  It was a lot of fun.  He even did the decorating all on his own.

We've had a debate about two Chinese take-out places since we moved here, so Little Man decided to have us do a side by side taste test of dishes.  Without knowing who it came from you had to compare dishes and vote.  

The results were split almost down the middle.  China Garden won for Chicken Lo Mein and Egg Rolls, and Bo Lings won for Beef and Broccoli and Pork Fried Rice.  Sweet and Sour Chicken votes were half and half.  So crazy!  I was hoping for a clear winner.

Little Man asked Rebecca to prepare a craft, so she brought the supplies to make Chinese lanterns.  They're easy to make and looked great.

We ended the night with some more food taste testing.  Some foods fared better than others on the tasting scale.  

We had so much fun we've decided to make it a yearly tradition!

No School

 The wind chill was so low today that school was moved to completely virtual from home.  It's a bit of a bummer that they no longer do "snow" days, but it still was an easy day.  BB had a sidekick the entire time.  He may not have been all that helpful, but he sure enjoyed himself.  

Valentine Preparations

 I'm down to 3 who need Valentines and 2 who need boxes.  BB was super easy.  He just wanted Star Wars, and I love Hallmark, because they have a box and valentines you can buy.  Click!

Little Guy just needed Valentines.  It was pretty cute to watch him write his name on all the cards.  When he was done he declared, "My hand is SO tired!"

Little Lady's class has food allergies, so we went with bracelets. 

She wanted to make a cat box.  I may not get crafty often, but I felt good about this one.  Nothing like felt and packaging tape to make your world go round or at least to make a cat box.

Kitty Relationships

We're a week into our kitty fiasco.  It's still hard.  Stella likes to be close by, but doesn't really interact with Luna a whole lot.  Luna has snuggled up to her a couple of times, and every once in a while she tries to groom her.  Stella doesn't reciprocate,  but at least she's not hissing anymore.  She likes to sleep in the blue chair next to the cage.  Unfortunately, she continues to nip a lot and she's not very friendly right now.

Unfortunately, Luna is still having a lot of anxiety about the cage.  She hangs out in her litter box which is a sign of stress when dealing with new or unfamiliar circumstances. 

Joel and I have been regularly taking her out and having her sit on our laps.  That has helped quite a bit.  She also will rest on the coach for a while particularly if Stella is resting there.  For the first time ever she'll fall asleep in our arms. 

When she's not sitting in her litter she's kicking it out.  The cage is always a mess, so it takes the whole family effort to keep it clean.  Even Little Guy like to clean out her water which is regularly inundated with kitty litter. 

She spent the day at the vet today, so they could check to make sure everything's ok.  The X-Rays show it's starting to heal, so they're going to keep the splint on for another week before they change it.  Luna will spend each Friday at the vet until she is healed, so that they monitor how she's doing.  We really love our vet.  He's been wonderful through all of this, and he's called after hours just to check in to see how she's doing.  On a funny side note, when I picked her up from the vet today, he told me that Luna does NOT like dogs.  The vet has his dog with him in the clinic and every time the dog even looked at Luna she hissed at him.  They had to put up a partition, so that Luna couldn't see the dog anymore.  The vet thought it was hilarious. 

Chiefs Nation

 Spirit Week at school is all about the Kansas City Chiefs.  The theme for preschool was originally supposed to be Love, but since the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl they changed it to Love of the Chiefs.  My son has come home all week long with Chiefs crafts, songs, facts, etc.  He's never seen a football game, but he's been begging me for Chiefs gear.  The obsession is real about here.  

BB made a mask for Mardi Gras, but he still had a week full of Chiefs Spirit Week at school.

Kitty Sadness

 The honor of the first Thompson kiddo to break a bone goes to the feline variety.  I came home from Little Guy's piano lesson on Wednesday to find Luna limping.  She wasn't putting any weight on her hind leg, so I called the vet.  He had me bring her in the following morning.  They took X-rays, and it turns out Luna fractured her Tibia.  We don't have any idea how she did it.  It's one of those fluke accidents.  The vet thinks she was climbing something and got her leg stuck.  When she fell the weight of her body most likely caused the break.  

We discussed 2 options: She could have surgery costing anywhere from $4,500-5,000, or we could put a splint on it and have her remain in a dog crate for 4 weeks to keep her from wrestling with her sister and keeping her movement minimal.  We were conflicted, because 4 weeks is a very long time, but I didn't pay that much for the birth of my children, so the price tag was painful.  After discussing it further we found out that because she's a kitten and not finished growing that they couldn't guarantee she wouldn't need a second surgery.  She would still have to be in a splint and caged for at least days after the surgery.  We decided to have the vet splint her.  He kept her with him for 2 days, because Luna had extreme anxiety after she woke up post splint application.  He had to medicate her to calm her down.  

Stella was very confused.  It was the first time she'd ever been without Luna.  She followed me all around the house the first day.  She actually fell asleep with her paws in my hand.  She kept roaming around the house meowing.  She was looking for Luna.  She got mad and started nipping everyone.  By day 2 she was totally depressed.  She's usually so playful, but she spent the day sitting under the chair that Luna normally hides under.  It was hard to watch.  Nights have been hard, because she keeps attacking Joel's feet, so we have to close the door.  She spend the night meowing out in the hallway. 

Luna finally came home today, but she absolutely hates the dog crate.  She had major anxiety for almost 2 straight hours when we first placed her in there.  She was trying to climb up and even scale the top.  We tried to let her spend time with Stella to help her calm down, but the splint threw Stella for a loop , so she kept hissing and growling at Luna.  I'm sure Luna smelled different than normal.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  Everyone was in tears.  Gratefully, Luna finally settled down and Little Lady has camped out next to the crate to be next to her all day. 

 It's going to be a long 4 weeks.

Disappearing 9 Patch

For the months of January and February we're making disappearing nine patches for do.Good Stitches.  January is pink and purple with neutrals, and February is green and blue with neutrals.  

Before cutting:

After cutting:

Interpretive Artwork

 I know my days are numbered with getting cute artwork.  The kiddos are growing up fast, so I'm soaking in all the fun things Little Guy brings home from preschool.  I even had a fun passenger in the car this week.  

This week was Q is for Queen and Quilt.  I loved that he raided my scrap bin to make his own "quilt."

It's a Quilted Queen!