TGIF

This has been a rough week. I've lost my temper (badly) on the daughter almost every morning. I feel so terribly guilty as I write this. She refuses to co-operate and does not wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, get out of the door for school every morning. She had her appointment with the pediatrician today (yearly checkup, nothing unusual) and I expressed my concerns to her doc....came back terribly disappointed by her recommendations and opinions (she talked about making my child feel humiliated which I would never do intentionally).

The Syrian crises has constantly been on my mind. I've looked at local resettlement agencies to volunteer at. Maya Angelou is on my mind:

The manager had to take an unexpected week off due to family illness, so work has been stressful in terms of responsibility (but thankfully, not in terms of time). 

I'm realizing that a change is necessary - either my job, or my routine (less work hours, more hours for kids), more exercise (I have worked out three times this week, but maybe it's not enough?), more quiet/meditation time (this one routinely takes a backseat), picking up a new hobby for myself (I bought some adult coloring books and primacolor pencils and I'm going to start working on them this long weekend) - something has to change. I'm tired, bored, frustrated with this routine!

Hubby and I have not gotten along at all this week - this is rare. We usually parent well together. But this week has tested both our boundaries. Hoping the long weekend fixes that.

All this makes me wonder: Do I have very high expectations of myself and my family? Do I need to slow down and scale back? How would that play out in the long run? I'm generally good at living in the moment and keeping the pace of our lives fairly slow compared to others around us. Maybe I need to rebalance and regroup and set the priorities right again!

On the positive side (and this outweighs all the lows above) - I get to spend the next few days with my mommy and daddy, with my sister and my little 1-year old nephew! They sure will take me out of my funk and restore me to normalcy!!!!

Here's to a relaxing and fun long weekend!

1st day of Kindergarten....

Kindergarten - WOW!!!

The kiddo started Kindergarten today. Bye Bye Preschool - Hello Elementary!!!!

After a lot of stress and anxiety over which school to choose, and a lot of politics+shaming by Indian parents in my network, I decided to change her school last minute. As a result, she is going to a school where none of her preschool friends are. We did a play date with a couple of her new kinder friends last week....and at her age, I can safely say she will make new friends as time goes by.

I was extremely anxious and nervous, but the kiddo did great this morning. She woke up early, was well rested, ate her breakfast like a champ, and made no fuss about her clothes or shoes.

At drop off, she mingled with friends, and got introduced to her teachers.

When I called at lunch time to check on her, the principal reported that she was doing just fine.

She just turned 5 years old a few days ago, and that makes her one of the youngest in her class. But there is no lack of self-esteem, and she is more than ready to tackle kindergarten!!

As her mom, I will always be her advocate, and confidante! I will help her not only with her curriculum, but also with social and emotional issues as she navigates her years at school.

Wishing my growing superstar, and sweet, sweet girl a great year at school! Our love and blessings are always with you!!

Modes of transport....

The kids had their annual summer break from preschool earlier this month. Even though they go to a private school which runs year round, they get a break every quarter. Hubby and I always take time off during their break, and usually, we like to travel during this time. Our destination this time was the gorgeous Pacific North West - mainly the beautiful sights in and around Seattle.

Rather than taking a flight as we normally do, we decided to ride the train. I have amazing memories of numerous train journeys that I took with my family in India, and I wanted to create similar ones for my children. I was a bit apprehensive of the length of our journey (close to 24 hours), but decided to go for it anyway. It was a good decision. Even though we faced delays, we all thoroughly enjoyed our journey.

The best part was that the kids made friends with 2 girls who were traveling with their dad, and got ample time to play and bond with them. They did art, sang songs, played I spy, ran up and down and across compartments, spent time in the lounge, ate snacks and even napped at the same time. We enjoyed the pretty vistas and the ocean views as well, but making new friends was the highlight of their train ride.

We also rode the ducks of Seattle - an amphibian craft that rides on land as well as water. The kids were amazed when our bus turned into a boat and splashed into Lake Union on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. We saw many float planes take off and land right in front of us. Combined with the awesome music and energy of the fellow passengers, it was an experience to remember!

We spent an afternoon at Lake Sammamish State Park, and took the kids pedal boating. It was their first experience of boating, and it was our first time with both kids on a boat and no one else to assist. Even though the daughter was very apprehensive of getting in, soon after we got into the lake, she said she never wanted this boat ride to end :) {after all, we were pedaling, not them ;)}. The son wanted to jump around and splash water, and we had a hard time getting him to stay put on his seat....but he thoroughly enjoyed himself as well. It was an hour very well spent as a family.

On our last day in Seattle, we visited Alki Beach. It was a sooper hot day and there is no shade whatsoever on this beach. Rather than getting roasted in the heat, we decided to rent the Surrey. We biked the entire beach until we got to the end and were treated with magnificent views of the Seattle Skyline. The kids rode in the front seat, ringing a bell whenever they saw a pedestrian ahead of us. Once we were back, we bought them snocones which helped them cool down. I highly recommend this experience if you happen to be in the area.

I was chatting with the daughter on our flight back about these modes of transport, and I could see the happiness on her face while she recollected our outings. The smiles continued when they went back to school and shared it with their teacher and friends.

All these new experiences, combined with our long car rides to get to our destinations, made it a very memorable trip for us!