Chinese New Year and Down Time

Honesty is the best policy, no? Because if I'm being completely truthful with you all, I've been in real people clothes for maybe 7 of the past 25 days. I'm not ashamed to say that I've done every single dog poo walk in my pajama pants and have even done one or two of my pop out for groceries runs in them, too. And since I've spent the last seven years working my ass off supporting my family and in work clothes for 40-60 hours any given week, I'm more than happy to revel in sporting sweats daily for the entirety of this break. 

So, what have we been up to? While Rob was out of town for two weeks, I spent much of my time daydreaming, petting the animals, and snacking. The Chinese New Year fireworks (which were set off in the apartment community every 5 minutes by families to celebrate, day and night, for 48 hours straight) was pretty rough on the animals. Miles crapped inside a few times after some jerk set off a string of firecracker in the middle of us walking past him outside. Couldn't wait the 30 seconds for us to get out of the way? And Eddie got nervous, hid a lot (not normal for her), and lost her appetite for about 6 days, so I took her to the vet after she peed on our bed and didn't have a poop for 3 days. No diabetes, no bladder infections, no indication of problems other than stress. Poor little girl. And I swear to you here and now that I won't blog about my child's bowels when they arrive, it's just especially stressful when your cat baby (I've had her for over 9 years!) is showing signs of bladder infection or kidney failure (with a post-holiday diagnosis of "nothing is wrong") and personality changes just as EVERYTHING shuts down for 6 days. But, we're all back to normal, Rob is home, and we've had the really nice opportunity to get out and explore more of the city while all the students are still away and it's nice and quiet. 

Anyway, here's a few photos of the last few weeks and captions to fill you in on what's been up. 

My holiday uniform (pajama pants, crappy socks, and a random cozy top) plus a floppy-eared sidekick.

Daydreaming- making plans to buy a few household things for summer- crib, guest bed (for my mom when she comes to stay for a bit after the baby arrives), and a dresser. Because I'm happy to pay for furnishings myself in my furnished apartment since Chinese interior decor taste is pretty atrocious.

Our morning norm- Miles under the blankets to the right of my legs, and Eddie firmly snuggled between my knees. It's rare that she isn't snuggled into my lap if I'm sitting down lately.

Upon his return, Rob and I have been playing epic and cutthroat games. If you've never played Fill or Bust, find it and give it a whirl. You'll either love it or you'll start a war. 

My ultrasound records. Which the baby was too small for at 24 weeks, so they asked me to come back to try again. And now, the fun of retranslating them (I got the verbal explaination and all is a-okay, but I like having a record for myself).

One of my few for-fun trips out of the house. I went to Shantang Road in Old Town, Suzhou and finally found a pineapple vendor who uses this special v-shaped utensil to prepare the fruit. The big cleaver thing is for stripping and chopping sugar cane. If you see either of these utensils for sale in Williams-Sonoma next Chistmas season, thank my sister, who lived in Beijing and fell in love with how deftly the vendors could fresh-cut fruits for you, and is convinced the American obsession with kitchen gadgets will make these an easy sell. You're all welcome in advance.