Day 5 - Sorry, I disappeared

Well, that's a great way to start the New Year - by breaking my resolution :) :) :) :)!

Sorry for the disappearance act. I goofed up big time. I actually wrote blog posts for Jan 2nd and Jan 3rd, and scheduled them to be posted at 11.30pm each day. Only to realize that I put '2015' instead of '2014' so they were never posted here. I have NO idea how I messed this one up.....

But, I will post them after this one, and backdate them. Hope that's okay.

I started my half marathon training. First run was 3.5 miles in 40 minutes, followed by a core workout session. The trainer is one tough task master, so whether I finish this half marathon or not, I'm sure I will be much fitter by the end of this training. Here is the group photo on day 1:

I have my training plan in front of me....and its slightly intimidating. But that's good, right? One of my goals this year is to get more uncomfortable, outside of my parenting responsibilities. And this training will do just that. Wish me luck and an injury free 3 months :)!

Day 4 - Words, sounds, and actions

When I met our ped last month for another ear infection on the son's right ear, she mentioned that back-to-back ear infections could cause hearing issues and speech delays. I took the opportunity to discuss his milestones with her, and was relieved when she told me he is WAY above average.

His milestones have gotten very little attention on the blog. So time to fix that :).

Next week, my little man turns 16 month old. We will see an explosion of vocabulary around 18 months of age, but he talks A LOT already.

His first word, apart from mama, papa, dada, and nana was "light". He was, and still is, mesmerized with lights. He LOVED watching the Christmas lights at home and all around town. Department stores attract him a lot, so does the iPhone which is his favorite gadget :).

He can now say "didi" very clearly....and its fun to watch him chase her around chanting "didi didi didi" - music to our ears, but not to hers :) :)!

Some of the other words he says are:

NO - probably the most important one of all
No No No No No - with actions - the frequently used one
aapo  - gujarati for give me
aav aav - gujarati for come here
doodhoo - gujarati for milk
aaaanu - for our friend A
nani, dadi - for grandmas
key
aalo - for hello :)
booooooo - for book - the cutest thing ever.
bhua - for water
aaaaple - for apple
cat
tar - for star
moooooo - for moon - another adorable sound
boa - for ball
bub - for bubbles
khakho - for any snack or food or to tell us he is hungry
tight - for light
cheeee - for cheese
Names of ALL of his daycare friends - he can even say a complex one like "Dhruva"

And I'm sure I'm forgetting as many as I wrote above. But he is definitely not delayed, inspite of the multiple ear infections he has had.

He is also building a good database of animal sounds. He can say the following when prompted: cat, dog, cow, sheep, snake, lion/tiger, bear, owl and elephant. They are clear, and distinct, and oober cute to listen to :).

And my favorite part about him right now is all the actions he does. The BEST are his dance moves - he dances to the beat, shakes his head, throws up one hand (sometimes two) up in the air and goes round n round.....he gets into a trance and it's a joy to watch him do his thing on the floor.

One day, he woke up very early in the morning, and got into a position on the bed quite far away from me. He started his 'mumma mumma' chants, and I was a very grumpy person when I opened my eyes. But as soon as I looked at him, I saw him crouched down on the bed, looking at me, and he started waving his hands while saying "aav aav aav aav aav". I saw a huge relief on his face and a megawatt smile soon after - he had accomplished a new feat afterall. All my grumpiness melted in an instant and I scooped him up in my arms!

When we say "didi ne hug karo", he will RUN towards her and hug her tight, wrapping both his arms around her. Absolutely priceless to watch. (She does the same to him too - when she is not throwing her tantrums around :)).

It is very interesting to see his personality develop. He is a mover (can never sit still), a destroyer (of blocks, puzzles, books, anything that he can lay his hands upon), a transportation engineer (he loves to move and push things around), a dancer (he's got great moves), and a heart charmer (he has the BESTEST smile).

He has fallen in love with books (finally, after an entire year of not reading) and can't get enough of them. The first thing he wants to do after waking up is to plop his bum on my lap and read a book. I never say no :).

It's a blessing and a privilege, to watch him grow. I love my golu SO SO much!

Day 3 - Playground

Took time off from work yesterday and today, as I felt like spending time with the kids. The weather has been amazing - unusually warm and sunny, and very spring like. We need the rain but it's not coming, so might as well enjoy the sunshine.

Took the kids to the park on both days. They had a blast. I tired them out so well that they napped for 3+ hours on both days - BLISS!

Swings - unlimited fun.....

Big kid swings - dont-want-to-get-down-ever kind of fun! Even the little one was hooked. This mumma is still scared when the daughter goes higher and higher in the big kid swing.

Chasing each other and pausing to take a break.....

My son (and all boys) = 90% mischief, 10% dirt.

And who said girls don't like dirt :)? Mine sure does. She was making "french fries" for me...which were served piping hot with ketchup for a snack - they were yummy!

Partners in fun and crime, and DIRT :)

Slides - one of a parent's best jobs is waiting at the end of a slide :) :) :) :)!

Playgrounds are SO much fun! My time off was worth every minute of it.

And talking about playground, I just realized that writing here on this blog is my playground. I have SO much fun doing it, I look forward to it every single day!

What's your playground?

PS:  This is a popular park in the center of the city....close to many neighborhoods. It is typically frequented by many Indian families, but I did not see a single Indian or even Asian family on both these days. It was very surprising. Either they were all working or traveling - I hope they were not stuck indoors in this gorgeous weather.

Day 2 - Portraits

These were clicked on Christmas Day, in our backyard.

I loved them all for their simplicity - natural hair, no makeup, no Photoshop, no fancy outfit - simplicity at its best! {and a good camera ;)}

And one more, from the same day -while soaking in the Christmas Day sunset at the hilltop, just outside our community. I LOVED this one, my favorite!

Like :)?

Day 1 - Welcome Twenty Fourteen!

Wishing all my friends here a very happy 2014!

I'm very much looking forward to this year....lots of exciting stuff to look forward to!

As you may have guessed already from the title of this post, I'm going to try doing a blog marathon this month. No compulsion of any sort, no contests that I plan to participate in - I just LOVE to write and I need to make time for it. Hopefully a marathon will get me going in the right direction for the rest of the year :)!

So, how was New Years' eve and the first day of this year for you?

Mine was fairly simple. I worked a bit on New Years eve and then went for 'running shoe' shopping - I have signed up for half marathon training (yet to sign up for the actual race) so I need gear :). It was exciting....did not get the shoe I wanted in wide width but know what I need to buy now. I also popped into a cute little bookstore (the only one around here) right across the footwear store and found "the perfect puzzle'' for the daughter on sale for $6. Also found a great book for a friend. And a diary for myself. A successful outing :)!

We spent the rest of the evening at a friends place....played poker and chatted....I won both the games we played (no real money, just played for fun) so it was a lot of fun for me. We had 2 sets of parents who were trying hard to figure out the rules of Texas Holdem and were struggling....THAT contributed towards many laughs we youngsters enjoyed :). The whole group has kids, so we were really busy trying to keep the kids entertained and prevent them from shoving the poker chips into people's shoes :). When the clock struck 12, we just said "Happy New Year" as a group and parted - no drinks, no partying - that's how you celebrate when you have young children in your household. Even the snacks we had were kid friendly.

This might sound boring to 90% of my FB friend's list - all of those who partied hard and have posted pictures of their outings and dress up - but this was just PERFECT for me - close friends, laughter, kids playing, simplicity and togetherness. As such, hubby and I abstain from Alcohol so we didn't really miss out on anything.

New Year's Day was simple as well. The four of us stayed home ALL day - without any visitors. Quiet rare for us. But I cooked yummy food (daughter's choice). We all napped for 3+ hours in the afternoon - bliss!. We read books throughout the day. We had a fun dance session coupled with ringa ringa roses with kids in the evening. We blew bubbles. We did puzzles. What more would you want - we ate together, stayed together, read together, danced and played together, slept together. Simple, yet perfect!

I'm currently reading "The Miracle of Mindfulness" and it's SO good. The perfect book to read at the beginning of the year, where we soft reset our systems, internal as well as external. A great book to bring about positive changes in our lifestyle (which, for my husband, means washing the dishes mindfully :) :) - you will get this joke if you read the book). {there is a free online pdf of the book if you google for it - fyi}.

I really don't have any traditions for New Years day - I would have liked to go to the temple but it didn't work out today, so we will try to go during the weekend. I usually don't have many resolutions either - to get fitter and stronger, both physically as well as mentally, is always a goal. So is being creative, and growing myself. Travel is also always something I look forward to (have a trip planned in Jan - yay :)). I am going to give this running thing a shot - I've always wanted to try running (vs the walking, hiking that I am used to) so I want to run a race or two and see how I like it. If I don't, I won't push myself to do it, and I'll stick to what I'm good at anyway.

So there it is - a simple yet detailed account of the last couple days. And whether you like it or not, you'll see me here everyday for the rest of the month :)! DO visit, and DO comment :)!

Before I end, here is a collage of the kiddos having fun at home in the evening - notice the matching pajamas...there is a story to it which I will reserve for a future post :).

Wish you all a very happy, healthy, adventurous 2014! Hugz and much love from me to you!

Blog Review - The Flirting Kaapi

I decided to participate for the first time in the Indiblogeshwaris "That Tuesday Thingy"....this time it's the "Secret Blog Elves 2013".

The blog I was given to review was "The Flirting Kaapi". I had never read Sneha's blog before, and I was looking forward to reviewing it.

I've been reading her posts on and off for a couple of weeks now :). I must say - so many aspects of Sneha's personality are similar to mine. Like when she says, "I can never come out of a bookstore without buy something - anything" - that is SO me. During the recent thanksgiving long weekend in the US, the only place I really wanted to shop at was Barnes and Noble. When I visit India, the first place I shop at is Crosswords. I knew I would enjoy my time reading Sneha's blog just after reading this one sentence :).

Sneha is (much) younger than me, and all the while I was reading her blog, I wished I started blogging much earlier in my life. She is one lucky duck! I feel sad that my blog has pretty much turned into a mommy blog now, as whatever little time I have to pen down my thoughts, I prioritize penning down my children's lives versus other musings.

Her illustrations are fabulous. She does a really good job of posting freebies for the monthly calendar....do check them out. She also does a lot of giveaways, and that is another aspect that I loved. She should be getting hundreds of comments on her blog, and I wonder why she does not. And I've never done a giveaway here on my blog, so I MUST do one soon!

I have always loved to read writing that makes me think. Sneha's blog definitely makes me think. One of her posts says "Think about the last time you smiled/laughed a lot, and you want to relive that moment again and again"....and when I read that, I looked at my son, who was napping next to me, and remembered him ruffling my hair and giggling non-stop for 15 minutes prior to going down for his nap. It was priceless and precious to hold him and see him so happy. And I will always cherish that moment.

Some of her posts also give me a feeling that she values her solitude, and some of her best creativity happens during that time. I'm kind of that way too....solitude resonates with me. I find large groups of friends stifling...I do best with 1:1 conversations.

Ada's travel tales showed me that she can weave wonderful tales from her travels - whether they are routine or to exotic places. She clicks amazing pictures....and I love that they are not heavily edited. They are the kind I would click, evoking a certain feeling in the viewer, but still presenting a picture as is.

She looks amazing, loves coffee, loves books, loves traveling, is a great illustrator and writer, dreams living out of a backpack, loves music and is a Rahman fan - oh well, if I was a single guy, she would be the girl of my dreams  :) :)!

I hope I've done justice in reviewing "The Flirting Kaapi" - it is sure an inviting place, so DO visit!

Visiting the oldies

Wednesday morning was very stressful for me. I woke up 15 mins later than usual, and the kids decided to be at their crankiest best all morning. Even though our cook aunty came to help me, I was late in getting everything ready for the day. The son was hitting the daughter with a big glass bowl on her head, the daughter was throwing tantrums as I refused tablet time for her, and packing lunches took way longer than usual.

We DID finally get out of the door, even if we were very late. Throughout the chaos, I kept my cool. Not once did I raise my voice, or threaten the kids, or give them timeout, or spank them. I felt quite proud of that. 

After dropping the kids off, I headed to the low-income retirement home in town. I reached "on time" at the venue for a planned visit with a few of my colleagues, which itself was an accomplishment, considering the chaos I went through in the morning. I had the goodies prepped and ready the previous night (again a pat on the back for that :)) so I went in, not knowing what to expect.

The oldies were all waiting for us. They did not know who was coming, and what they were bringing. We planned this visit as a last minute thing for this holiday season, based on an email thread from an employee whose mom lives at this facility. We decided to take "treats" - homemade or store-bought, and a "rose" for each person. 

Once the room was full and we had the table all set up, we greeted everyone. We gave a "rose" along with holiday wishes to each person, followed by cookies, and chocolates, and gingerbread, and other goodies. They were all SO happy and pleased. Some took seconds, some saved chocolates like "ferrero rocher" for eating later in their rooms, some had tears in their eyes on seeing the generosity. 

And, I got to chat with a few people as well - the part I was most looking forward to. 

The first was this beautiful 90-year old lady, who was so worried about her hairdo being PERFECT for pictures. She made us delete so many pictures before approving the one below :). She worked her entire life for the federal government, as a database administrator (so amazing), and is still pretty active for her age. She described herself as an avid reader, and I got a feeling I would get along with her really well. 

The next was this World War II Veteran, who spent most of her army life serving in FIJI. A classic Alzheimer's patient, she kept asking me "where are you from" every couple of minutes. Not once was I bothered by it. She was born in 1923 (according to her) so that makes her 90 years old as well. After retiring from the army, she was a high school teacher in the highly ranked Fullerton School District in LA. She had lots of stories to share from her World War Experience.

We also found time to visit a couple of folks who could not come to the main greeting room. The lady in maroon pajamas next to me - she turns "100" next month, on January 23rd. She was so humbled and overwhelmed to see us with a "rose" and "treats" when she opened the door for us. She loved our hugs, and was really appreciative of us visiting her. 

The lady in blue, to my left, was the star of the show. Her name is "Carmel" and it felt as if she ruled the place. A leader. She is 82 years old, but honestly, felt quite younger during our conversation with her.  

I only spent an hour here, and it was just TOO short. I'm definitely going back to spend some more time with these folks. There will be so much to listen, and learn from them. 

I have no grandparents alive as of today. Each of these women reminded me of my grandma, who lived with us since I was born, and passed away a month after I came to the US to pursue my higher education. I was fortunate enough to spend 21 years living with her under one roof. I was very close to her. She was a GEM of a person, who really treated my mom as her "daughter" and not a "daughter-in-law". Very forward thinking for her age, and very talented too. She would have been in her late 90's if she was alive, and I really missed her after meeting these wonderful folks. 

What a great visit, that I will cherish for many years to come!