CNY Tea Treasures!

I have had an uncomfortable last week, with a tooth infection, extraction and now I have an even more painful dry socket.... Just my luck! I hope it does not bode anything for the upcoming year! It is also Chinese New Year tomorrow and Andy's birthday! Aubri's birthday is next Thursday! Life does not slow down when you want to hibernate... Getting myself animated to go to work this week, get the basics done here at home, get out to help him select his gifts and celebrate has been a bit tough, but in trying to find ways to do this while also soothing my nerves and sore face, we discovered a really cool kind of tea! Flowering tea!

The kids love to watch it bloom! Click on the photo of the tea to watch it yourself!

I had seen these little tea bulbs, so to speak while we were touring the teahouse in Beijing, when we traveled to bring Andy home. We never toured while bringing Sera home, but I know I also saw some in one of our hotels. I thought they were really odd looking and of course I was not brave enough at that point to investigate further. I read about the Numi teas while looking for some herbal relief and saw this photo. I had to check it out further. Turns out our local health food store carries it! It is tea leaves sewn together with flowers, which are also used as teas. When the boiling water seeps the tea benefits from the leaves, they unfurl and open. We don't have a glass teapot, but our glass measuring cup works great too! Maybe someday a teapot will turn up in my oldest's birthday gifts... Just maybe :-)

Now, finding this will not be all we will do to celebrate the CNY or Andy's birthday, don't worry! I just thought that it was a neat new experience and a different way to share my kids culture with them. Tonight we are going to our local Chinese community gathering for CNY. Andy has chosen to have pizza for dinner tomorrow, even though it is the real CNY. On birthdays, the birthday kids gets to pick the meal. so pizza it will be! He picked out very age approprite gifts which didi not break my bank! For that, I am so thankful!! He only wanted a Magna Bones Sabre Tooth Tiger, and Sp*nge Bob Lego kit and a Ben 10 DS game as his birthday gifts to open and a trip to TRex ( a huge restaurant with a fossil dig and animated dinosaurs) in Kansas City ( to be taken when mom is not on pain killers and can drive on the highway :-). Pictures will follow, don't worry!

This little boy is growing up so fast!! I so love the excitement on his face when he talks about dinosaurs, legos, Pokeman, Ben 10 and his DS! Oh, and when he even thnks about or talks about pizza and having a special day just for him, his eyes light up so brightly and he even bounces! It is just too cute!! I hope I can get some photos of that to share with you. It is the best!! Even if my face fell of, this old mom could not be more thrilled to watch him be so full of glee!

In the mean time, we are all getting our hair trimmed this afternoon and getting ready to celebrate the Year of the Ox. I wish I could say that I cleaned the house top to bottom to welcome the new lunar year...... But at least the kids have clean new clothes to wear, birthday plans in place and all their laundry is done for the week!