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! :)

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 :-)

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 ;)

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).

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" :-)

Bad cold etc

AL has a bad cold since Friday. I didnt feel like sending her to daycare wiht her stuffy nose so stayed home with her today. She is a darling! Looks like its allergies as her eyes were watering and same time P also felt he was coming down with allergies and he eventually did. It has struck me also and I have a sore throat.

I sent AG as she really wanted to go and show off her new shoes to school teachers she was all excited about it. It was funny how we had to convince her last night she cannot sleep with her shoes on or holding them in her hand, she finally agreed to leave it under the bed and wear it in the morning and which she religiously did sharp at 6:30am :-) Thought how we could have cross checked such stories with my Mother-in-law had she been there to relate her nature with P when he was as young as her, there are so many anecdotes I cant keep up with and make notes about them...

One of our good friend's had a baby boy last Friday, their second born and we really liked the name of the baby, it was one of my shortlisted names also if we were to have a boy. They were craving for a girl second time at least as they had a boy already but alas! Its raining boys almost 3-4 families in our friends circles have had boys or are expecting a boy. Its a phase some months all you hear is boys then its all girls.. :-)

Interestingly a colleague of mine was commenting the other day how lucky we are to have 2 daughters. Initially everyone thinks there is no difference between a girl and a boy and to some extent some people secretly only want to have a boy but when you are retired you realize how valuable daughters are and the companionship they offer. I was a bit surprised as he has no kids and even still he voted for daughters anyday. Thats pretty cool anyway.

Kitchen

Its been a few months since I started my kitchen hunt for the girls. I had to wait until we moved ot the new place. Growing up the girly-girl that I was, I loved pretend play with my kitchen set, I had a plastic kitchen set but it was all utensils only and then graduated to some steel ones and I loved them. Anyway now you get the kitchen itself alongside all the kitchen ware. I saw a KidKraft kitchen at a friend's place and fell in love with it. Her son loved playing with it and she was very open minded and not stuck up that boys should not play with kitchen sets etc. Anyway I finally ordered it and it came and we fixed it. Its this lovely silver kitchen that I almost wish I had growing up. ;) This has been out of stock forever now. And finally I ordered it even though it was a back order but luckily received it within 2-3 weeks since I placed it and I didnt have to wait or look for another one...

Here is a picture of it. It has a fridge, freezer, phone, microwave, 4 burner stove, oven, dishwasher, sink and paper towel roll. Phew! the 3 girls in the house love it :-) I still have to buy them some play pots and pans etc  to get their kitchen function.

AG

Saw some M&Ms in my car trunk that I had hidden and I had to promptly give her (and obviously her sister) a few to avoid tantrums soon as we enter home so I could peacefully cook, she gobbled some and then was extra nice to me.

Its that simple...

Phew! Phew! days..

Last 2-3 days have been a bit overwhelming more like evenings have been tiring. AG has contributed a little bit to it by refusing to eat dinner and she wants to only eat Bourbon biscuits, cup cakes and chocolates and then milk and then we should rock her to sleep - yep that's her ideal dream dinner/night - everything else "No Thanks!" - this sweet gene of hers is drowning me LOL, where does she get it from - oh wait its her maternal gene? (and we have staunch chocolate and sweet lovers on both sides of my family) - a certain someone has been addicted to Lindt Milk chocolate with Hazelnuts - so addicted that she hides in the pantry and eats it so AG doesn't see it - yep its her mom . AL is slowly progressing too, she didn't quite like sweet and chocolates as much more like she didn't care and now she is advancing although she still doesn't enjoy that sugary icing (even I don't) but AG clearly likes even the sugary sweet!

　

Anyway the point being that the two-threee hours before their dad gets home - where in I cook for them, feed them, cook for us, pack us lunch for next day and then we sit down to eat dinner between 5pm to 8pm has been crazy past few days. And the main thing impacting the equation being AG not eating. Phew! some days effortlessly are smooth days and some days you put in so much more effort and yet its ends up being crazy busy. And then my caffeine impact. I usually have my tea around 2pm and I happened to take it bit later at work around 3 due to meetings etc and it impacted my sleep a tad bit. So there you go :-)

Smell the roses!

Having daughters it makes me realize that girls are Dad’s darlings they share this special rapport and relationship with their dads when they are little and yet treat their moms as best friends. How they do it? Only they know. 

Thank God for life's small pleasures and emotions. 

Speak up but be nice!

This morning when dropping off the girls to daycare. We were chatting and I was humming in between our conversations. AL tells me:

"Excuse me Mumma, please do not sing, we dont sing in the car" and continues talking about some color of the front door for one of the houses she saw.

:-)

We've been taken at 2 years 9 months!

AG declared she likes her Dad better  - I knew this was coming :-)

AL affirmed she likes us both -"amma-nanna, nanna-amma" she says

Then after few days AG affirms - "amma I want to be like Nanna" and to that AL says "I want to be like amma"

I knew it!

I knew it!

I knew it! LOL

There is a reason pre-school begins at 2.9 ...magical number is it?

da! da! daycare!

A huge roller coaster fortnight it's been:

1.       Busy social life – umpteen birthday parties to pick from and we drove to PA to be at a friend’s daughter’s 3^rd birthday and it was too much fun. They went full out with DJ and bartender etc and AG went beserk dancing nonstop for 3 hours I am NOT kidding – 3 hours nonstop even I couldn’t cope up with her. Well the downside is of such short outing – no guesses food department – girls were on liquid diet for the weekend we were there for 2 days.

2.       So we had introductory sessions in daycare and kids did well, they were so distracted with the toys though they didn’t notice anyone else around – friends or teachers– sessions were just 1-2 hours, mom and I sat with them in the class and let them explore. So far no issues love the daycare, the teachers, the people, the facilities, the curriculum, the menu…

3.       Right after the party weekend we were to start their daycare, AL had a mild cold and I was not upto it so extended their start day to 1/28, yep go with the flow. So the week was spent at home by the girls and what a freezing week it’s been, amazingly low temperatures. I had to shop a little bit for their clothes wasn’t as successful as it was just too cold. Managed some necessities and most importantly got them snow pants which are mostly out of stock by this time of the year.

4.       So daycare began yesterday and they are doing OK. Very poor in the food department and my heart aches as a mother that we have to let go of our babies for them to grow up and learn and unlearn some things. But I know it’s for the best. They are happy with new class, kids toys, activities etc They just had one episode of crying when they got separated for an activity where in AL was taken outside to play AG wasn’t as she was to go in a different group.  But I let them know its too early to separate them and they need each other until they completely get into a routine and get into schedule.

Today is Day 2 and Dad dropped them off and I am to pick them up. I spoke to their teacher once and they are fine playing, not eating but playing! Crossing my fingers and toes they eat something.  Yep! All I want is them to eat and drink some milk on their own.  Next month or so more social gatherings, more visitors and lots more things to do for the house. Some of them are exciting things like kids beds will arrive this week and other boring stuff to deal with like dishwasher review we are under going right now. More gyan on appliances later, cant get kids out of my mind for now…

Mundan done!

Yes I have bald twins now officially. The first year we had to wait for AG's small empty bubble-like blister on her head which took a year to vanish since birth as Doc had advised. Then having to wait for 1 year to pass after MIL passed away and we decided to keep it simple got it done at Super cuts in Burlington. Everything went smooth, girls were annoyed a little got distracted with lollipops stocked there  Ideally we wanted to get it done in Tirupati end of 2011 but circumstances changed and I didnt want to delay it any further. So the ladies at Super cuts were to the point did the job well I wanted it done together so in 20 minutes all done in 30 bucks for 2!

Girls are taking it ok. They love their hair and always asked for long her. They seemed to understand my concept that after this they shall have nice long her somehow. They do avoid mirrors for now and its just been a few hours since. Not that they stared into mirrors anyway but the salon has mirrors all over and they seemed to look away. Pretty smart I think. AG really needed this as she had really frizzy-curly baby hair.

At home I mentioned they have Caillou's hair style but they really dont need any reassurance :-)

This and That...

So settling down is taking us quite a long time as anticipated and planned. We are fine with day to day stuff, closets somewhat organized, pantry etc. But still consolidation, reorganizing etc will continue for a while until I am completely happy with the way things are. We are very particular I guess and 7 years in one place we got back some stuff which we have to eliminate by reviewing carefully  :-)

Just went to the temple and mall for the weekend. Got myself a pair of much needed basic blue jeans. Unplanned shopping in Zara. We are shop-oholics P and me should really stay away from malls for sometime, although I have better self control LOL. So Kids insisted they will carry the bags and AG left the bag on the ground when she wanted some water, we missed it and left the bag in the mall. Only to come home and realize and then call the mall lost and found and the Zara store and a good samaritan and returned the bag so went again on Sunday to pick it up. Lucky me got my pair of jeans back. Although it was inexpensive but still.

AL talks fast and has clear speech. Right from start she was more verbal. AG as mentioned is more baby talk when she comes to her speech, she talks, she expresses but lacks clarity in her pronunciations so most of the times only I can understand/interpret her plus her lovely husky voice impacts the pitch ;) So AL's cutest Grammatical errors ago like this:

I "camed" back Amma

Its all "brokened" - Aadu "broked" it

Playing with my fingers, and folding it like they are sleeping one by one she "waked up" my fingers.

And she says "chicken" for "kitchen" always mixes it up :-)

AG and AL are obsessed with the Spanish cousins - you know who? ;) so we get "Hola!" and "Come on, lets go amigos" - this is what AG told me yesterday. And here I am insisting they talk in Konkani to me, we will probably be talking in Spanish now LOL ;)

Westford Daycare Reviews

So its that time again. We were moving and I had to make a decision on daycares pretty soon so kids get into pre-school and a good one.

1. My first one was to Goddard School on Concord Road. Over all I have mostly heard very good things about Goddard in general. This was a relatively newer branch but the owners were very warm and hospitable and greeted me well. They were personally involved in running the place and seemed to care. Reviewed everything all the basics on routine etc so I will not focus on all that main stuff that we would ask and be informed as a default. I loved the feel and atmosphere of heh place. Happy kids, busy, smiling, plus it was around 10am so kids had settled in. Everyone greeted me etc. The Director walked me through room to room. I absoultely loved this place. The downside to me was they did not offer lunch plus they were most expensive of the lot for me. $2800 almost if I  remember correctly for 2 for pre-school. Personally I wanted kids to be offered food by the school as 1. it helps mingle and make friends at meal time and they learn to be independent and learn some discipline around food and eating habits. 2 Plus as a working mom its just easier for me if I dont have to plan their snacks and lunch - one less thing in routine I can dedicate it somewhere. That's my personal preference anyway. So thats why I give it 4 stars.

2. The next place I went to Acorn Child Care - First look I new I wasnt sending my kids here. Although kids were ready to nap and some even napped hence was rather quiet. Over all was very badly organized place, dingy, dirty carpeted. Very disinterested owner and Director was just ok but gave me no incentive to join the place other than the price probably working out around $2000 or around that ball park for 2 kids. Plus it was in some strip mall kinda place and had two levels and there was some laundromat next door or some such. Over all a big NO for me in present circumstances

3. Next I went to Kindercare Westford  - kids were sleeping here too post lunch. I have been to enough Kindercare and Knowledge beginnings classes and I was sort of already mentally prepared for this place that I would like it and would be in my budget. So layout and everythign else was fine and known to me. One incentive was the pre -school was a new clas starting Jan and hence all kids would be same as age as A &A downside was teachers were currently teaching smaller classes and will move to pre-school, although they claimed teachers had experience with pre-schoolers I wasnt sure especially as a good friend said form pre school curriculum isnt that great. They did offer food, monthly it would probbaly be about $2300 ish for both. Any classes needed to be paid extra like phonics etc, so that would add more bucks on top of fees.

4. Next I went to Child care center Inc - Again hardly spent any time in there. Staff was good, they seemd to be involved and had a good diet plan for kids etc, again kids were asleep and the dingy carpet thing didnt appeal to me. Cost I dont even remember now maybe around the same mark as Kindercare. I just didnt like the feel of the place.

5. NGCC - I somehow always felt this will be an expensive place from the outside but was curious on what they had to offer. Kids were waking up by the time I went there. They had a lot of place inside and outside. I liked their curriculum. They gave pretty decent meals and like all places catered to vegetrian meals for kids. I saw kids being potty trained when I went in. They would probably be somewhat slightly young for the class room but kids are outgrowing and moving out so new ones come and go. Works out to be around $2,500 for 2 kids.Plus I had couple of colleagues vouch for it and a colleague's friend works for NGCC and had all good things to say for it. Plus I got that feel good factor.

All schools had ratio 2 teachers to 18 unfortunately. Also since I had taken the day off and had to squeeze in all daycares in 1 day - I had to go when kids were sleeping which is an absolutely wrong time to go as one knows. Also there were couple more daycares I wanted to go visit but didnt have the energy and felt I will be happy with NGCC for now. Roudenbush - well they are primarily not a daycare to begin with so I was not motivated to go see the place. Maybe its good too.  Kids League is mostly after school for older kids. TLE - I would have probably liked this one too, but thought it was a little off path for us from work to home.

All in all I was stuck between Kindercare and NGCC and went with NGCC. Hopefully it all works out fine and kids like it here. The previous daycare was a total stop gap kinda place and they were really young so convenient wise worked out very well for us. Over all they went only 6 months at a stretch and part time few weeks here and there. All I cared was an affectionate teacher which they found in Zoila and loved her and she loved them. When they changed classes and we decided on the home I decided they will directly go to a new school instead of changing classes again in Learning Zone at Waltham Plus I did not like the new class and attitudes there. We will miss Zoila and the proximity to. I am looking forward to this new daycare. BTW we do have an Indian lady who offered to baby sit our girls within the community but I am not a fan of home daycare in general so didnt opt for it.

To WI and back

Had a productive work trip to Waupaca, WI. My only concern was getting stuck at airport due to unpredictable weather. I flew via Chicago the onward flight was delayed a little bit but still made it on time, was a good hour drive form there due to lousy weather. I got back really late last night around 2am as I chose to come home rather than take an early flight next day as I wanted to be home morning when kids wake up plus had an early training session, which I just made it, so luckily no weather issue delays. There was a fresh layer of snow I had to deal with on my car as I left the car at the airport and couldnt find closed parking previous day and had to leave it on the top open floor.

AG this mornign was excited with snow in accmulated in the balcony. AL narrated about her getting a boo boo and she falling in the parking lot (which happened a few weeks back). They dream so much I think nowadays the first thing they wake up is narrate stuff to me like it just happened. About some kid or animals or some fire trucks, fire alarms, boo-boos and so on. Simple dreams that they weave from the characters and situations occuring in their small but rapidly growing and pure world :-)