And then they turned 3!!!

So A&A's big day arrived. They had decided on the cake colors and shape and characters they wanted this time and they were more sure about it. At 2 they suggested what type of cake they wanted but it kind of kept changing every time I would ask them. I even had AG arrange napkins counting every kid who would be coming home for lunch and to celebrate their birthday. It was awesome to watch her. AL wanted to be responsible to give return gifts, I didnt find her one time so I gave it instead, she turned up out of nowhere and got upset and she took it back and she then handed it over again. She is the official "giver" in our family now (AG is the hoarder - joy of twins!) :-)

So the cake was from Konditor Meister as it has been for the previous 2 years, its almost a tradition now. So Saturday was their birthday per Hindu calendar so we went to the temple, picked up cakes for next day and picked up grocery also. It was a long tiring day on Saturday as weather was lousy wet and cold (I know and its supposed to be summer?) so we got pretty tired since all 3 places were in different directions. We invited about 4 other families for lunch next day, it was a simple get-together. Initially we thought we would order food. But since there were only 11 adults and 7 kids I decided to cook myself a simple meal which turned out to be yummy - thank goodness. I was a tad bit nervous since I wanted everything to go well when its to do with kids. I made: Rajma/kali daal and Raita with Peas Pulao and Pau Bhaji. For starters we baked samosas we got from outside and paneer tikka as well. Dessert was Rasamlai which was also from outside. I cooked everything the same day morning and it went well.

It was Dora and Diego themed, so we got lots of streamers, balloons those big sized Dora Diego balloons, cups, plates etc as well and filled the hallway with decorations and Dora/Diego Happy Birthday banners and balloons of course. At lunch I got a lot of compliments for the yummy food which I gladly accepted ;) My friends mom visiting from India thought my Pau bhaji was really yum, and a friend loved my Rajma/kali daal so that's nice. Girls were getting a bit tired so we cut the cake in the afternoon after lunch and we all enjoyed the cake. Evening everyone left and then one family was supposed to stay over but their son wasnt feeling too well so they left. Over all it was a simple and fun day! Due to wet and rainy weather we couldn't do some outdoor activities planed with the kids like zoo, farm etc which hopefully we can do coming weekends sometime. We distributed cake to all our new neighborhood friends and at work and now back to routine but hey its a short week!.

Girls I tell ya!

AL:

"Mumma I am tired" - yaaawwn

"I have a headache, two two headaches"

Later I ask is your headache gone? you had two - two of them?

"No, now its only, 1"

AG:

When doing a puzzle and pointing to state of Georgia. AG asks "Is that where George is from?"

(Curious George she means).

Think twice before you judge another MOM

Recently I stumbled upon some forward that reminded a mom, no matter what "you are a good mom". Some moms do it one way others do it another way, it still makes you a GOOD MOM.  Remember being perfect is impossible and its a myth. It was nicely written and should have saved it perhaps. Its happened only once to my face my kids and I were criticized by another mom, I swallowed it, as it wasnt the right time to respond and on hindsight it's a good thing I could have said such nasty things but how would I be different then?. But I was mad, as a mom I know best what my kids need and each child is precious and different. But I think sometimes until you have 2 kids people will not realize how much more different and more effort it is to raise twins and 2 very different children from the same parents. And I have had a lot of my friends acknowledge it to me now who did not realize it earlier. As a MOM compassion and empathy for other moms should be nurtured. 

:-)

Had a pretty good weekend. Met my best friend SJ after like 7 1/2 years, last I met her was at our wedding. So many things have happened in our lives since then. She couldnt bring her 6 month old baby boy with her but she came to see me just for a day. She left the sonny boy at NY at her sister's for the first time as she is concluding her 3 month journey and heading back to Australia. It was truly awesome to see her and spend time with her and the girls grew fond of her quite easily. This all one needs true and sincere friends around you. It was like it hasnt been 7 1/2 years at all....we've been good friends since like 1994 or so...wow! seems so long now..

This and That...

So kids had fun over the weekend at a birthday party, cake, ice cream and new toys when you visit someone's house. I must say our friend like most people was very accomodating as kids were exploring the toys.

Sunday we stayed home and did usual stuff...

We gave a shot at potty training the girls, we were not too serious and so were they. Earlier this year they seemed quite ready but with new house moving and lots to do we were not ready for them. Now finally when we are ready they seem to be taking it as a joke. Anyway I did not pressurize them we will probbaly wait and try later seriously. Most people say the later you try the better it is in a way as you wont have prolonged period of accidents and messes, plus each kid is different and I have 2 very different kids of the same age so its that much more challenging in a way...

I got out of 2 work trips, next week I was supposed to goto WI and August end to Germany. I managed to get out of both. Thank goodness, hoping for a no-flight year this year!

Next week kids are gonna turn 3 -unbeilvable! Has it been that long? Hmm yes it has...

Last 2 days the weather colled down again, OMG where is spring?

Stuff!

Reached another personal milestone in cooking this week. Mighty pleased with myself.

My excercise routine has gone to the dogs for 1 month now, so need to do something about that...

Getting through the warranty punch list with our builder which is always not easy, in terms of completion times not happening as anticipated. Hopefully the wrap it up soon. They need to fix some grout in the tiles for the master bath...

Quotes

Read this somewhere

"The biggest mistake most human beings make:
Listening half
Understanding quarter
Telling double"

kinda true right?

And then "a lot of problems would disappear if people talked to each other instead of about each other..."

Happens all the time especially if the mediator is living upto the quotation above.. :-)
....

More the merrier..

So this weekend we have had more people over. 2 of my colleagues and 1 family of which lives in our community came down with their families for lunch, we had a nice time. It was a potluck. Girls got their nap and back to another playdate plus dinner another family came over from South of Boston, a bit of a drive now, had a good time again. Their 1 year old baby girl was adorable. Couldnt help but rewind how soon my girls are growing up. Today, Sunday it is routine stuff. I finally did something which was on my to-do a list - which is a recipe and am happy with myself for that. The allergies are continuing in the household for now. P had it, I have a bad throat etc.

My colleague who also came for lunch yesterday has her sister's family visit her for over a month or so, I like her mature, friendly and we are chai buddies at work meaning we take our chai breaks together after lunch. Somehow in conversations she mentioned that she invited her sister's family over and she has a naughty and restless 7 year old boy, although she lives by herself and has no kids and is particular about how her house should be neat and everything has a "space" just like we all like to be in an ideal state, the fact that guests and especially kids are around you should be prepared for some level of changes otherwise don't have people over and be vocal and blunt about it. I was surprised and thought such a small thing but very nicely said. I have in my lifetime even met people with kids who behave so irrationally with other people's kids when they are noisy, messy I was actually disgusted. Every kid is different and every kid is precious and she even though not a mother understood that, bravo! nice to be associated with people who are sensible...

It was refreshing to also catch up with my other friend in the evening. Our lives our similar and parallel with 2 kids, full time jobs, houses to maintain by ourselves, we cook a lot and wouldnt trade any of it for anything else and we are very like-minded in a lot of things...

Loooong week!

It feels like a rather long week, not because of kids but mainly cos I am a bit under the weather. Sore throat and a bit stuffy, body ache and lack of sleep is making it a long tough week. Impact of changing weather conditions.   :-)

Dentist!

So today finally took the girls for their first Dental appointment. It was a quick check up, to ensure nothing is really bad out there and the girls also listen, hear and understand that they need to brush twice a day from an outsider to re-emphasize oral hygiene. The Dentist was so good she made it so easy with toys and books around, they got balloons, foody bags, got their picture taken with the Doctor. They counted how many teeth they had, followed instructions to open their mouth wide - super cute! Over all was fun and easy! I was very nervous as it was the first time..

Oh! and a very young distracted driver came and bumped into my car from behind. It was on a regular internal road just when we had almost reached the dentist's office and traffic had slowed down and she missed that, I was with AG who was surprised, it was just a basic jerk as speeds were  so low Thank goodness! I was agitated though as I was with AG and didnt like her experiencing it one bit. Luckily nothing happened to my car although I still will get it examined, exchanged insurance details anyway as per protocol...moral of the story "accidents happen sometimes mumma" :-)