This & That

Girls are 2 years and 1 month old. already. :-)

Mom has taken over the kitchen as she insists I take a break and spend time with children and other things in the checklist and doesn't let me do anything. I have no qualms or control issues so I am gladly lazying for that 1/2-1 hour in the evening with cooking occasional dishes I cook here and there . Did I forget to mention how pampered I am? ;) Plus she is basking in the glory of duties of a maternal grandmother. That way I am so glad my kids have spent so much time with grandparents and the kids realize the presence of support system :-)

Hunting for a bigger space is still up in the air. We saw some ups and downs in our journey and we are very picky, so just planning to let go of the hunt for sometime.

AG and AL had their 2 week appointment and they hated it. The Doctor got a earful of - STOPs! - DOCTOR YOU ARE A NAUGHTY BOY, BYE BYE, NO NO NO! These 2 are just not submissive and boringly obedient! They are boisterous and a bundle of energy. There is never a dull moment with these two (and thank god for that), I never somehow expected spells of naughtiness, so this pleasantly surprises me and brings a lot of extra smiles in your day. It must be so easy to parent a quiet and behaved child indeed, but its so much fun to be a parenting a naughty one, I tell ya! :-)

Got my car serviced 30K mileage one. Now time to address the bumper. Few weeks back the bumper touched/hit the front car when driving back home on the freeway. Traffic was slow, I was distracted trying to make a call as I was running late and concerned it might get late to pick up the kids and somehow I couldn't brake on time as I was quite close to this car. Luckily it was so slow nothing happened to front car and that guy just let go without any dialogue as his car didn't get a scratch plus he was from out of state plus he was in a hurry, but my poor white Rabbit's bumper took a hit. This is my first hit ever but its not official anyway since there is no insurance claim by the other party.

Finally felt very strange to accept gold from my Father-in-law. My Mother-in-law loved jewelry and she would with great interest be the person in charge of such things. She meticulously planned and saved up and got all sorts of variety of things done. It felt very incomplete and strange to accept the gift, although very thoughtful of him.

Parents

Our parents are here finally. After a huge family loss being together for us means a lot. There is a lot of vacuum especially for my Father-in-law. That's why I am glad my parents are home as well so he can get some alone time or not get any alone time based on how he wants it to be. The girls immediately opened up to the Grandparents and bonded, something amazing for me to watch. Even AG who takes time to warm up to people generally just knows they are the grandparents and they are basking in all the love and attention they are showering on them. They get worried even when one of the grand parent is missing (either in the restroom or they have gone for a walk), they expect everyone to be sitting in the living room and visible to them always...there are a lot of such wonderful moments so hard to pen down all of them though.

After a long time P confessed that his birthday couple of weeks back was the toughest for him to get through and really missed his mother. He did mention there should be no cake etc For the sake of girls and especially AG who has a sweet tooth, I got him like this really small pastry. But makes me feel really sad. The girls keep talking about Chinni Bamma, my MIL's sister and makes it sad as they dont know their Bamma anymore, other than in pictures.

I guess we all have our own ways to come to terms with such a huge loss, we all will at some point of time accept she is "really" no longer here with us.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Really grateful for the lovely friends we have in our life. Their homes are like literally having a second home or a vacation home. They treat us very well emotionally and physically and are such wonderful hosts. Since the time we have had kids, they willingly give their Master bedrooms to us taking into consideration we have come after a long drive with two kids and need more adjustment (since they have a home ground advantage and dont need 'settling in' never selfishly look for their own comfort, their routine, besides in all fairness the guest rooms are equally comfortable), we all take good care of each other and each other's kids, ensure everyone eats and food is provided,(if you let your guests starve, you will never ever have guests to stay over ever :-) and we repeatedly visit each other's houses so that says a lot), by being genuinely very nice, and showering love on all kids; we can just be our true fun self without any pretence, or hurt or insults! Its the warmth and the welcome feeling you generate so guests/friends want to come back to your home again and again.

I truly acknowledge and Thank God for the lovely friends we have!

And they turn TWO!

Its amazing how time flies. I am a mother of 2 year olds; 2 year old extremely naughty girls :-) It has definitely been a rewarding and a journey totally worth it. . Couple of weeks ago, just before their birthday they both actually said I love you Amma/Mamma and generously gave me kisses. They have been planting kisses for a while now. AL comes close to my cheeks and plants her lips there while AG just licks me on my forehead and cheeks. Everybody tells me how much changes there are ahead. :-).

We had a low key, busy and fun 2nd birthday. Got them some yummy and pretty cakes which they cut (Konditor Meister yes! yes! yes! I put in a lot of thought into the kind of cakes I should have for them), spent time with house full of lovely friends and kids and had a good time overall in DE. Went to Dutch Wonderland in PA where they hopped onto a few rides and enjoyed, it was a rather hot day so they got tired pretty soon. AL was taken into this scary water ride (scary for me) and she was too dumbfounded to react and it was over by then, she is a brave one. AG was complaining why everyone was leaving her to go on the scary water ride while she wouldnt want to step in it. Both of them enjoyed the choo-choo train, carousel etc the usual ones.

Couldnt help but wonder how thrilled their Baamma/my MIL would have been to see them grow into such pretty and strong girls.

Another 10 days or less my parents and FIL will be here and looking forward to that.

Back to our routine otherwise, takes a week to get over the long weekend of merry making and fun! :-)