Wah Ustad Wah!

Finally got to attend Ustad Zakir Hussan's concert with Masters of Percussion and it was magical. Was elated with the jugalbandi between tabla and mridangam and sarangi. My first experience and hoping for many more such in the near future. 

Back

It’s been so long since I have come to this page.

Cos it’s been nice and busy. Yes busy! I have hands full and manage well and I like to acknowledge that J

A week-long trip to Mothership – near Frankfurt and summer fun has begun - beach trips, theme park visits, (amazing experience at storyland for the kids I must say), cousins visit from Cali, mom’s visit to Vancouver to see her aunt after many years, surprise birthday party for me (absolutely crazy and great experience thanks to a bunch of mates), pujas as shravan maasam begins –hosted a record number of 35 ladies for parentam at our house on Vratham day which happened to my birthday (Thanks to my MOM who has always been there for me) -  it’s been an awesome 3 months. 

Awaiting an awesome August ahead!

Happy 4th Birthday!

So we have clocked in 4 lovely years of parenthood last Monday! Girls had fun and clearly they have come a long way since their 1st birthday ;) We had 3 families over and totally 5 kids I had organized an evening at gym for them. And just a lazy day at the Kimball’s farm barely 3 miles away from home, pony ride, petting animals (Iguana, Ferret, a corn snake, a Boa constrictor, Alligator, Chinchilla). Kids loved it. They did bumper boat rides, lunch and the best part about Kimball’s farm – Ice cream. I believe I have tasted the Orange Pineapple flavor one for the first time and it was outstanding! A school friend was visiting the area from New Jersey and she stopped by as well to catch up briefly. Over all Kids had a lot of fun! AG got her orange cake with Belle princess and AL got her yellow cake with Sleeping Beauty! Kept it simple and fun! It was very relaxing for us parents too.

Been so long.....

I guess it’s just been so long that I don’t even know where to begin. Just a hiatus for no reason :-)

While we are all eagerly waiting for Summer to set it and the not so great Spring to pass it has still been blissful in other aspects besides our overactive social life which has now become more balanced. My parents are here and its almost close to 3 months now, kids are getting spoilt and so am I. Since from day 1 girls have been around them I guess they have a special bond. I have always considered it a blessing especially having 2 kids from Day 1! :-) While my friends spoke of managing independently with a single child I see the tide has changed once the second one enters, grandparents and any additional help and break you get is valued :-) Yep all I can do is grin and wink.

Kids turned the big 4 per the Hindu calendar yesterday. Did a small Puja at home and then we were thinking wow! it’s been 4 years of parenthood and how wonderful and blessed I have felt every moment. No amount of pictures or praises in albums or Facebook will ever explain the joy of being a mother to such beautiful daughters.

Finally I had the much anticipated make over haircut. Yep! I went CHOP CHOP CHOP and have got tons of compliments even from people who I never really spoke to at work in other areas. Job well done and I maybe my search has ended for the official favorite hairdresser versus the nomadic visits to different salons I have had in the past.

Last but not the least enjoying our days in the brand new house which is already a year and a half old now almost. We have been lucky to be able to build a customized house in the US. Literally from the flat land. Not having to adjust to a pre built model and deal with all that additional upgrades etc

Now waiting for some warm sunshine tick tock! Tick tock! :)

New Year...

It’s been a while since I have posted something. Deliberately did not post a summary of my disappointments or achievements of 2013; just hoping for a better year, each year like we always do. Lots of things to be grateful for, a few things that brought grief and sadness and a few others best forgotten…

As usual our social life has been nice and good-busy since summer and it’s not slowed down even in winter. Lots of occasions to meet friends, to host and have people over, enjoy some meals and time together and then the career part along with kids makes our days full and complete.

Winter has been amazingly cold this time too and lot of variations in temperature. Not as much snow like some other parts have received. But just very cold temperatures one week and rather warm the other. No complaints though it is what it is – Winter!

Winter beauty

So snow has finally arrived since winter has set upon us. It’s cold yet beautiful everywhere.  Nature and its seasons really amazes me. In New England we are blessed with 4 clear seasons and each season is so beautiful. I really cannot complain about it anymore. It sure has its shortcomings like any other season but this too shall pass like it does every year. This peace and quiet around is amazing!

Girls are very happy with winter and its snow. Despite getting their first cough and cold bout they maintain cheerful faces and run around. We have to really learn from such cherubic angels to live in the present and not complain. They are the fuel to our engines, truly such a pleasure to watch them grow and care for them.  We put up or first Christmas tree and Alex (after Alexander the Great!) our little elf arrived home this year. Life’s simple pleasures I must say.

As this turns out to be a busy December at work and is keeping me on my toes, my cooking adventure has also been going very well. I reached another personal milestone. A target I put for myself to cook and learn that I hadn’t tried before. Something very satisfying about cooking I love and enjoy. I put a lot of thought into methods and ingredients and it’s close to heart.

Girls are growing up as usual and talking a lot. Its simply amazing to see the kind of things they say and do now. One moment they teach me how to cook and another time they need to be held and embraced. Truly, girls are girls. They are Daddy’s girls and Mommy’s girls! Only those who have them know how blessed they are!

Thanksgiving and its been 2 years...

Thanksgiving at DE and PA was so much fun, Friends, pujas, dance parties sums up our 5 day trip.

As a friend purchased new home we were able to attend and as one big family and spend some good time. Even squeezed in a birthday party and attended my first even Sai Baba vratham Puja which I never did before in anyone’s house.  And then hanging out was a lot of fun. Kids did great; they had a lot of fun playing with friends.  Now we are busy planning NYE.

It was MIL’s 2^nd anniversary which we performed here. Went as planned and scheduled.

I should get back to more blogging amid all the fun….

Hiatus

Been away from this space for a while now, why? Well, for no apparent reason. Days and weekends have been nice and full! From lake house trips in Fall to NH with kids and the gang to sleepovers to birthday parties (almost every weekend!) to kids very first performance on stage at a social event and the umpteen practice sessions that I conducted for a dozen crazy 3-4 year olds in the basement for the event, to our first Diwali in our new home! It’s been awesome! And then my regular drives to and fro work and home are getting more and more scenic by the day, getting to appreciate the nature – fall at its peak and then the quiet winter setting in, amid some beautiful sunsets I have never seen before – it’s like the sky is strewn with these pink, orange and grey streaks! I look into the sky and there is this weird sadness that sinks in and then it reminds me of this amazing lady who has left me and my family with some amazing memories, my grandmother….and its back to our crazy routine with the kids who are growing up too fast and always bringing excitement and joys and reminding me of simple pleasures and be thankkful and grateful for what I have!

Apples and Blueberry picking :-)

Whattay week!

It’s been a crazy absolutely CRAZY but the fun type crazy week. Not sure where I should even begin. FOOD + FRIENDS = FUN I guess. Something we always do every long weekend with our friends from other states but we stayed local this time. In summary we had planned sleepovers with the local gang for the first time.  Friday we had a Karaoke night in the neighborhood at a friend’s. Then Saturday fruit picking – blueberries and apples and hayride at the Farm and we had 3 more families come stay over. It was like a wedding party home. Chaos and fun, I cooked a lot, cleaned a lot, exhausting late nights and sleep deprived but fun. We then shifted base to another friends Sunday night after Saturday night at our place. Due to inclement weather had to skip the whole picnic by the lake plan. Headed home Monday to host our friends from CA staying over for this week.  A short week and luckily quiet one at work (calm before the busy 4 weeks actually), so have been snoozing the alarm for an hour before I wake up. Plus kids have started a new class with new teachers and they think it’s a temporary thing and ask me when they go back to the old class when I drop them off.  They miss the old class without them knowing it.

Growing up I spent a lot of time at my Grandparents and somewhere looking at my Grandmom hosting people, cooking last minute for surprise visitors just became part of our life. In fact it was every single day. My grandparents were social butterflies and never cringed that they had to make extra coffee or tea or tiffins or meals or if someone stayed over their comb goes missing or the sugar dabba kept in the wrong place, it’s just too PETTY. There is always time after the guests leave to maintain your house the way you want or a way to get around things if it’s more mid to long term arrangement. But respecting and providing warmth and gracefully managing the situation comes with experience and am so thankful for the wonderful family I have been born into who have taught me that and also showed me the pleasure of GIVING in whatever way you can. While my Grandmom always said we should have be able to save for the rainy days. She also insisted on quality and quantity of food. Not a single day passed without giving some leftovers to the maid. She worried if there were no leftovers and I can see how it has rubbed on to me, makes me terribly uncomfortable. When you have so many people over minor wastages are part and parcel of hosting. I made a lot of Pudina Pulao for example and per my count it was more than enough for people I counted but not a morsel was left although it was apparently really good but I feel so guilty till today L  

I really hope these small things rub onto the girls. Plus I am learning so much from experience. Gaining new skills, I have never had to wait or share anything in my life being an only child. Everything was organized and kept the way I wanted where it should be. I have come a long way :) This weekend I would try to cook something for example and all kids would run around, playing very loudly, asking for so many things, my friends would need so many things from the kitchen or fridge etc or a towel - so many distractions so many things going on after only 2-3 hours of sleep for 2 days in a row I did not lose my cool or take it out on visitors or P.  Of course P is an important part in everything and pitches in both he and I dont see it as a “help” from a husband but an obvious instinct and responsibility from a family member of the house– since we do everything by ourselves unlike back home no one to makes our rotis, nor cleans the house, nor cut vegetables – we do everything from scratch and have fewer dependencies that way the perk is that we do everything as a family for our family and share the chores.

I hope the trend continues and the visitors keep coming. Until then catch up on some sleep for this weekend ;).

Ha! Finally

So many updates don’t even know where to start :)

Typical crazy summer weekends, just the way it should be - OUTDOORS!

I had a pretty quiet birthday otherwise, being a weekday and pretty busy weeks at work in general. The girls made my day by meaningfully wishing me Happy Birthday and giving some big hugs and kisses, later during the evening cutting cake and eating it with me. Simple pleasures I say! They cutely tried guessing my age starting 6 then 10 AG jumped to 50! :) I had lunch with girls at work we just got take out from favorite Sichuan place. Dan Dan noodles my favorite ;)

I had wanted a beach trip weekend after the birthday and that we did. My favorite beach – Crane beach! Kids had fun and we walked miles that day and collected shells and had a very relaxing day. Met a few friends there but absolutely loved the beach walk and kids didn't want to leave. Also went to Canobie Lake Park that same weekend. It was our first time and didn’t know what to expect but kids had a ball with the kiddie rides and then automatically so does the Mommy! They went on most rides independently which surprised me as we havent taken them to too many parks except one in PA whjch wasvery basic/small. Over all a fun and busy weekend post birthday.

Being our new home and all this time the Varalakshmi vratham was a different experience all together fun and hectic is all I can say. Having so many desis around has its perks mostly. What was supposed to be a visit from 9 ladies and them me visiting 3 or 4 houses became a good long night – almost had dinner at 10pm or so and hit the sack phew! Kids had a ball dressed in Indian clothes and P drove us around – our Pilot making frequent stops. I don’t think in India also I would have had pooja in this scale, actually am pretty sure the way festivities at home are declining in India we are doing a much better job here for all you know ;) lol  Girls also had great fun in general at home too ringing the bell and non-stop arthi time with pooja thali :)

Post that we went to Old silver beach at Falmouth on Saturday – was a total disappointment – it didn’t even come close to Crane or like Wingersheak! But after that long day we stayed over at a friend’s place watched Chennai Express even got a cut a yummy cake for the 8^th Anniv and it was over all a good weekend.

We continue to have busy weekends with some birthday party or potluck invites, but Fall is setting in as we are this close to Labor day weekend. Summer feels too short. P has done such a great job with gardening on the deck. That was totally his Project and he has done well. Sad that it will have to stop with the cold weather pretty soon, but I think our first year harvest he did a great job and I have to now use them to fullest in my cooking.

Over all been one of the busiest month/planning cycle at work too many things popped up, a lot of analysis work and to think next 2 months are going to be even busy with upcoming trainings and go-lives etc – phew! Totally looking forward to it, challenging but busier I get – the more I like it!

Week 32 Update :)

Had a good long day at Southwick zoo last to last Saturday. Kids had fun. Couple of things that even got us excited was the Deer park we could directly interact with the deer, a white peacock and a gigantic tortoise  - well there is a child in all of us :-) 

Sunday we ended up going to the Ashland temple and hence it got a little tiring, we typically always like to stay home at least 1 day over the weekend but summer is always flooded with gatherings and birthdays I guess. 

Made lot of discoveries with regards to my kids and some really deep stuff ...was discussing with a colleague and its pretty exciting to have such meaningful discussions. To stop take a step back re-emphasize on priorities and not get sucked into petty things. Totally relation to fundamental reason of "why we have kids" I hope to pen down and post it sometime when I am ready to share. 

There is also lot of new friends in neighborhoods we are making and with so many Indians its fun and as we start interacting more in the coming year with kids growing up it will nice to build some good friends for the kids in such nice neighborhoods. I am glad we made a decision to buy a home and neighborhood was a criteria. 

Other than that has been a particularly tiring week busy at work and just got some mini projects to complete next month before we get into a bigger project at work so pretty busy and long days ahead  :-) 

Realized AL got a big insect sting/bite and it became a mini-infection to which she has to take some medication. She is fine otherwise but with inflammation and pain in that area she is a little sensitive and moody. 

When the girls were about to turn 3 I tried potty training and they didn't seem interested I left it to them after that. After 2 weeks they decided to ditch  the diapers themselves. AG was first and AL slowly and cautiously tried it on and off. Now past few weeks they are doing ok although accidents happen and it happened yesterday after a long time. They take it seriously but I tell them it's no big deal. After all every child is different and there is no rush. I am quite proud of myself not trying to compare them to one another or to others and offer them a diaper if they are not ready. But it's perfectly ok to have an accident when you learn... 

Past weekend we ended up staying home, a movie and some badminton after a long time, while the kids played and Dad was off playing Volleyball :) Simple pleasures!

Phew Phews! :-)

Its taking us this long to get over 2 back to back birthday parties on Saturday :-) Plus the two places were 50 miles apart and I had one of the girls taking an overdoze of cup cakes - correction over doze of cream on the cup cakes and cakes which I had no control over. Over all a fun but tirng weekend that we had to carry forward the load for next couple of weekdays too ;) AG after eating cream from 3 cup cakes and 2 cakes at 2am on Sunday morning had a nice colourful throw up and trust me as a mom I knew that was coming. But sometimes we have to let go. She fell asleep and was on track after that much needed throw up. I couldnt digest seeing her eat that sugar how could her small little belly? Not to mention all cakes and cup cakes we savored were from Konditor Meister. By the end of it I could not take it anymore. They are undoubtedly the best, but how much of these cakes can you handle all in 1 day ;)

Fly Fly weekend

Whattay weekend. 2 birthday parties and 1 baby shower amongst usual weekend chores and grocery shopping etc. Plus we squeezed in a visit to Butterfly place nearby, so over all a good-busy weekend. But we had to give up one birthday party as we couldnt fit it in and we got double booked. Just catching up with breath etc..

Butterfly place was much smaller than expected and was an interesting short visit. Being an instragram addict that I have become clicked a bunch of pics..Saw some really neat colorful butterflies and some chinese quails too. Was a short and quick entertainment for the kids and us.

Sunday night finishing up some pending work to begin the week ahead...

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?

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" :-)

Holi 2013

After maybe 13 years enjoyed our first Holi celebration last Saturday. Due to weather typically in New England they celebrate it few weeks after. So the whole community got together about 20-30 families, all Indians and celebrated in the community park. It was a huge potluck gathering with music, food and colors. We met a lot of new people from the neighborhood, kids of all ages was a lot of fun. Seriously! Loved this whole community bonding here! They are starting more activities for summer.

A&A played a little and didn't want to get messy. It was only dry colors and no water colors involved. But still this was their first holi and they keep talking about it :)

Cooking routine

I am a fairly decent cook but for some reason Tea and making rotis were two things I never attempted since I started cooking in 2005 after wedding. I have made very complicated and time consuming recipes so I am not sure why I avoided these two.

I am a tea drinker I love my typical desi chai. I started using the tea bags although didnt give the same taste. Finally in 2-3 years started making tea, properly boiled with mil and sugar etc. I can finally claim I make decent tea for some time now.

Recently I started my roti making project. Its been a month and I have made great progress. I have used up for the first time a 5 kg bag of chapati atta in almost a little over a month. I started making the typical south Indian version of chapatti, the thick ones with many folds. Then graduated to basic roti. The main reason has been gas stove and tava. Past 7 years one the electric stove not sure why I never was motivated to make rotis. I have a goal and hope I get there in 2-3 months.

I am really content with the past cooking routine. Especially with rotis since unlike working women in India you do not have any help here (not that I am complaining I feel the kitchen hands or maids make you lazy, bossy and create depdendency on them!). So right from making the dough and cutting vegetables, loading, unloading dishwasher, cleaning the house, folding heaps of laundry etc is a lot of work and time. 

Although its a lot of cooking at once at night as I cook lunch next day to take to work, since mornings are unpredictable with the twins, feeding breakfast getting them all ready to goto school the whole routine can be smooth to a lot fo work depending on how they feel altough its getting better due to less cold etc with the weather improving, you never know ;), so I dont want to take a chance hence I cook lunch in advance and refrigerate it. That way it helps me prioritize and focus only on the girls in the morning.