Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Our CNY 2010
25-FEB-2010:
This year's CNY is a little bit more exciting than usual, first being the only CNY we have celebrated without Saimun and secondly the first time with both my kids.
Before I got married, CNY was mostly fun and merry. There would be a reunion dinner on the eve at my grandmother's house where I would get to meet my cousins, uncles and aunts. On the 1st day of CNY, there would be an open house with lots of guests, mostly distant relatives that I saw only once a year, catered lunch, lion dance, fireworks, beer and a private "lok-lok" (steamboat) stall at the house (we used to have satay instead of lok-lok for many years until someone decided that satay was too boring). After I got married, there wasn't much of a celebration at my in-law's. With the exception of this year and last, we had a reunion dinner at home where I would cook a few dishes from my own home and SIL would cook a few from hers and we got together to eat. The 1st day of CNY was just an ang-pow exchange session and a few family photos. That was it. Last year we made it more interesting by traveling to Penang.
This year, however was different. We had a combined reunion dinner with my FIL's sisters (and brothers?). There were lots of people. Mainly I was popular because of Emily (hehe). They couldn't stay away from her (because you know she was so lovely, obviously!). And Dom had a lot of fun playing with the other kids. There was also an open house on the 1st day of CNY, so we actually DIDN'T spend CNY taking afternoon naps this year! :-)
On the 2nd day, we travelled back to Ipoh with my brother and his family - altogether 3 adults and 3 kids in one sedan - pretty cramp actually but I didn't want to drive on my own. Our luggage was aplenty too. For a one night's stay, it looked as though we were going away for one whole week. You know, with kids, there were toys and snacks as well as the other essential stuffs. I let Dominic bring his Trunki and asked him to pack his own suitcase. He packed his Lego's and a few books. "How about clothes?", I asked. "Don't you need to change?". "Oh ... sorry", he replied.
Dom made his first trip to Ipoh when he was about 3 months old (the same age Emily made her first trip to Ipoh). Both of them made the first trip without their daddy. I felt a strong sense of deja-vu. Both times, my brother drove us, although back then he didn't have a family yet so there was plenty of space in the car for "non-essential" stuffs. He asked if I was moving house when he saw what I brought including a moses basket for Dom to sleep in (which we didn't use). This time round with Emily, I went through the same thought process. Should I pack along her travel cot? Should I bring the bath tub along, otherwise how would she bathe? In the end, I did without any of them, since there won't be any space in the car for them even if I had wanted to.
Traditionally, there would be lion dance at my grandparents' shop on the 2nd day of CNY, so we went there straight. There, Dom was treated like a VIP customer where he was asked by my grandma to choose anything ... anything at all from the shop. :-D
We had dinner at Royal China (I think) that night and we had our own private room with 2 tables and an attached private loo. I think it was really fun, especially for the first time I had a maid to take care of my kids while I enjoyed dinner! There was an almighty traffic jam on the PLUS highway the next day and it took us 4-5 hours to reach home.
Here are some photos. More to come when I've collected the rest of the photos from the other cameras.
