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" :-)

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.

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 :)

PANEER!

We are not a huge fan of frozen meals. Somehow never got to liking it. In fact peas are the only vegetables I use frozen cos I am forced to as we dont get fresh 'peas'. Frozen parathas are our last absolute last back up at home. I cook fresh food everyday which is a challenge here in the US as you have to stock your grocery in advance unlike India where you will fnd it round the corner at a store. But I go the extra mile and make sure we use fresh veges except peas. I am sure it works well for some women and I respect that, never worked for us...

P really wanted to try Haldiram's paneer tikka and I wasnt so sure. I loveeeeee paneer so didnt want to take a chance of disliking a paneer dish BUT it was awesome. Totally recommend it hopefully they maintain the taste.

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.

Respect

Past 2 weeks the response from the forces has been amazing. The way the whole operation was conducted to catch the suspect. The way the Mayor the Governor conducted themselves, reassuring to the public. Its been truly amazing to watch. American citizens are lucky to have such discipline, rigor, respect from the Government and services and in return you get more respect and awe from citizens in such tough situations. Politics is the same everywhere, but quality of politicians differs. Somewhere there is a tinge of sadness and little bit of jealousy when I see this, I feel I wish back home in India we could have similar people working with passion and care. I wish I could be a little more confident that wrong doers will not go scott free but be punished and pay for the wrong things they do. I know things are improving and I have faith like million others in India in the system and the ever increasing population of the youth in India.

Past week on the freeway there were Thank you notes to the public for the patience and co-operation. It was very comforting. Then whenever I see some cops around it reminds you of the young policeman who was unnecessarily killed at MIT by suspects. Maybe I have been smitten by the media bug the way they portray things, I also agree that it was unfair that the Iraq bombings did not get media attention, but I am appreciating the fact that they bring in that respect and awe to the system and show you the value of "lost lives" in ones' country.