OMG, my BFF is moving to Germany. ATAB.

I figure I had better brush up on my netlingo since we'll likely be having more and more conversations online. With the 8 hour time difference and the cost of international calls, our daily phone speak will all but disappear. Our friendship is going back to where it started... online.



Katy and I met through a Yahoo group serving a Colorado Springs playgroup. I posted a message there when we were considering the move westward, and she was one of the first to reply to my bombardment of questions. We exchanged a few emails and based on those alone, I thought she was Chinese (her last name is Ong) and she thought I was Indian. It wasn't until we met that we found out our interracial marriages were just the first of a long list of things that we'd have in common.

Katy is the kind of BAC that I can always count on... whether it be to finish off a bottle of wine, to watch my kid while I'm visiting my sister in Germany, to recommend a good book or movie, to join me in letting loose on the dance floor to old 80's hits, to give me sound parenting advice, to research and put together a training plan for the triathlon we would compete in together, to put up with my annoying call-backs when I think of one more thing to tell her or to find and share in fun activities around town for the kids. She acknowledges and puts up with my stubbornness, my desire to always be right, my competitiveness and the bounty of other character flaws that I possess. Our relationship moved quickly passed the acquaintance phase to where now there are absolutely no formalities between us. Just the way I like it. We are like sisters and I'm really, really going to miss her. I'm not usually a touchy-feely person, but the realization that she's leaving Colorado and there are but days left, is making me all sappy and out of sorts.

LUMTP Katy!

* If you need help deciphering any part of this blog post, check here.

7 Shopping Days 'Til Christmas

I'm not sure what happened this year... well, perhaps it is in part due to my addiction with Facebook and blogging... but Christmas really crept up on me. I didn't see it coming and therefore am about as unprepared as I've ever been for this monstrous event. (Sorry Mom and Dad, the house is a mess. Hopefully, that will resolve itself before your arrival on Tuesday.)

In preparation for the annual Natarajan newsletter, we did manage a Christmas photo shoot with the tripod, matching outfits, our decorated tree and a few seasonal props. But as of yet, nothing has materialized from that afternoon of smiles and self-timer flashes except loads of amateur photos with bad lighting taking up precious space on my ever-shrinking external hard drive. But, alas, I did find something really cool to do with the pics.

In lieu of actually receiving a real live letter in the mail from me this year, I ask that you accept my sincere apology for my utter laziness and enjoy this fun little holiday video instead.

To paraphrase the words of a really good friend in a far away land, "May the Easter bunny bring the tooth fairy over for a glass of eggnog this season" or, in other words, "Happy Holidays my Friends".

Frigid, Subfreezing, Bitter Cold, Frosty, Wintry, Nippy

Some well-suited adjectives to describe the current weather hovering over our state. No amount of sunshine or proximity to the sun will make days like these feel balmy. For those of you wishing you could experience this pure delight, I give you the following images of 9°F in Colorado:





And this brand new piece of electronic equipment may or may not have been sitting out in the sub-zero temps for 2 days on our front porch...



That's right, estimated ship time = 9 days. Actual ship time = 2 days... perfectly timed to arrive just after we left town for the weekend.

Here's hoping that puppy works when we plug it in.

Winter Landscape, Summer Clothing

It's December, we're in the northern hemisphere and Priya is wearing a sleeveless summer dress with sandals while playing in the snow. That's the beauty of Colorado... even in the middle of winter you can count on a day or two like today. Something about the lack of moisture in the air combined with being so darn close to the sun makes cloudless days balmy, no matter what time of year.

To My 7 Year Old (7 days late)

It's hard to believe that I've been a Mom for 7 years already. The time seems to pass too slowly at times and too fast during others. When you were an infant, I was overprotective of you, cherished you, spent a lot of time staring at you and holding you... this beautiful but dependent little being that I helped create. I fumbled through a lot of things not being fully prepared for the changes you would bring to my life. I vowed to do some things different "the next time around". And, oddly enough, when given the chance to do it all again, much of it looked the same. As much as I disliked my disturbed nighttime sleep, I wasn't able to give up falling asleep beside you every night. Daddy was the one who finally separated us... you were, after all, almost 3 years old.

Sometimes I look at you and see someone more mature, more grown up than I remembered from yesterday. It reminds me that the time is passing and I need to capture what I can in pictures or words before you go changing on me again. You say things like "I. Don't. Care.", just like that with the punctuation and everything and I wonder if you might already be a teenager. Or, like yesterday, you picked out a pair of jeans that you normally wouldn't wear because they don't look good aren't cool enough. Since we were just hanging around the house, it didn't bother you to wear them, but we'll never see you don that pair for school. When talking about your day at school, you will declare that "the best thing happened to you today" when a friend chooses to play with you at recess instead of the friend she usually plays with. The cliques are already forming in first grade. As much as you want to be part of them, you don't like leaving anyone out. I think you are really torn by this social anomaly. Always aware of other's feelings you are, because you yourself are so sensitive. Emotionally, I would love to toughen you up a bit.

Today was the first day back from Thanksgiving break and we walked into school together. I felt especially close to you, as the snow packed road muffled the sound of moving cars and students hurriedly walking to class. In the peacefulness, my mind drifted to our hands... yours in mine. Our gloves thick enough to keep our hands warm, yet thin enough that I could feel the exact shape of your hand in mine. You didn't want me to leave you at the sidewalk... instead you insisted that I walk the full distance back to your class line. My warnings of the icy sidewalks struck up a little fear in you, and you didn't want to be left to tackle it alone. You held my hand securely knowing that if you slipped, I would be there to catch your fall. And, indeed I was ready. Always and forever, I want to be the one to catch your fall... no matter how big you get or how independent you become. I'll be there for you. Your kid, adolescent and adult hugs and kisses will always be welcome with me. I love you with all my heart little girl!!

Snow Day

It was snowing this morning when we woke up and it didn't stop all day. Lovely. Glorious. And, here are the pictures to prove it:









Sledding Tip: When you don't want to fight the crowds at the sled hill across the street, convert the deck steps into a slide. When we did it last year, the kids trampled the snow while walking back to the top, so Bartee devised a clever way to launch them back over without damage... to the slide, at least. Priya's snowsuit, on the other hand, took quite a beating.



And, this is what it looks like when you put it in motion...

About Us

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it would be fun to put a little spin on it. Bartee and I both answered the questions about how we met and here are the results.



Turns out we do have conflicting opinions on what was our first date. His happened 2 days before mine and it really wasn't supposed to be a date. Some other friends were going to join us and they bailed at the last minute so we ended up at the bar on a couch chatting the whole night. Since we were alone, it probably was more like a date... but since he didn't officially "ask me out" until Monday, I discounted it as our first date.

1. Where did you meet?

Sandy: We were co-workers at Thomson Technology (TTSG). Practically the whole group was single and in their 20's. It was a great place to meet your future spouse, and several of us did just that. Seeing how we worked so well together, our managers kept putting us on the same common services projects. One of our first assignments was to develop the thread pool for our servers to access the database. We had all kinds of design discussions, just the two of us, where I really learned just how brilliant Bartee was. He taught me a lot about programming in those months. As soon as the managers realized we were dating, they immediately separated us. :(

Bartee: Thomson Technology Services Group, Maryland.

2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?

Sandy: Who does this guy think he is coming late to every single meeting? He didn't make a great first impression on me. It took another co-worker saying to me, "Have you ever talked to that Bartee? He's really funny." before I thought it might be a good idea to get to know him.

Bartee: Wow, hottie! (Seriously: What a smart, fun-loving and social person! I'd like to be her close friend.)

3. Do you remember what he/she was wearing?

Sandy: Have no idea, but he was sporting a nice bushy mustache. :)

Bartee: No clue. Probably jeans and a full-hand t-shirt. Standard outfit..

4. Where was the first time you kissed this person?

Sandy: At his apartment probably... cannot really remember.

Bartee: At my condo after our first pseudo-date.

5. Where did you go for your first date?

Sandy: He asked me over to his apartment after work on a Monday. He cooked for me. Channa, if I remember correctly. I thought it was really good, but he said it didn't turn out well because he was distracted.

Bartee: It was a pseudo-date.. meaning, not meant to be a date, but ended up feeling like it. At a pool-bar in Gaithersburg. Don't remember the name.

6. How long did you know this person before you became a couple?

Sandy: About 9 months. Several of us got together for hiking and sometimes biking on the weekends... he and I were both part of that crowd.

Bartee: 8 months.

7. How did he/she ask you out?

Sandy: See Question 5.

Bartee: It was sorta mutual. It was more like a 'let's go to a bar without any other friend'. I don't remember either of us wording it like that but we knew what we were thinking.

8. Have you ever broken the law with this person?

Sandy: Yes... in our early dating, I was driving to Baltimore and got pulled over for speeding. Was the story of my life back then. These days I drive a bit slower.

Bartee: I sometimes steal money from her purse. Does that count?

9. When was the first time you realized that you liked this person?

Sandy: While hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail we had some serious discussion about religion and family values where I realized that we had some of the same views. Then a little later when I asked him what type of person he wanted to marry, he said a South Indian girl. Although a little disheartened, I knew I wanted to keep pursuing him.

Bartee: Pretty soon after we met. But as a couple, after she went on an official London trip and I felt I missed her a lot!

10. What is the best gift he/she gave you?

Sandy: Bartee's not a great gift-giver... it's usually last minute and involves a budget where I get to pick something out that fits within it. But, I know this about him and that's totally cool with me. Probably one of the best gifts was one I never even had the chance to use. He once gave me a gift certificate to a spa and when I called to set something up about 5 months later, I found out that the spa had gone bankrupt and closed down.

Bartee: Such a comforting presence at times. That's the best gift when I really feel 'Glad she's with me'. Materially: must be the Indian goodies she cooks..

11. What is one thing he/she does that gets on your nerves?

Sandy: Over the years, we have learned to live with each other's idiosyncrasies so there's not much that bothers me these days. I do however wish he could part with the drawstring underwear. They grab hold of everything around them in the clothes dryer. Untangling that mess is a nightmare. These days, I just hand him the wad of clothes and let him figure it out. If, by some miracle, they make it through the cycle without getting tangled in the socks and towels, they will come out string-less and need to be restrung. And, on top of all this, you can only buy them in India. See what I mean? There's not one good thing about them.

Bartee: Quick to get angry.

Bed Head Runs in the Family

Last week on Friday when Sanjay awoke from his nap, the hair was particularly unruly. He looked at me, with all seriousness and a bit annoyed because it was interfering with his computer gaming, and said, "Why does my hair look crazy?". My immediate thought was "because Mommy thinks you'd look cool with the long, scruffy Colorado ski hair so she refuses to cut it". But instead of all the explanations, I just grabbed the camera. And, these shots really do not do the bad hair justice... it was really much wilder in person.



Then today I noticed something interesting while we spent the better part of it braiding friendship bracelets. I now have a better explanation for you, Sanjay... it's because half of your genes came from this guy.

Happy... Happy Birthday to Me

Tonight the girls and I are headed out on the town. My prediction is that in the next 24 hours the following things will happen:

1. Loud singing and crazy dancing to Green Day, All-American Rejects and Blink-182 covers.
   
2. Some guy will talk to us because he thinks Susan is hot.
3. I may hug or even kiss Kristi to keep the annoying weirdo away.
4. No one will believe us when we tell them we're nearing 40 and happily married with kids.
5. Some guy will talk to us because he thinks Katy is hot.
6. I will wink, smile and flirt with the bass player only to find out later that he's gay.
7. Katy will want to hear a song, mention it to us and the band will immediately start playing it.
8. Kristi will use her contacts to get us up close and personal with the band during their breaks.
9. Susan will drink one too many gin and tonics.

Most importantly when I spend time with these girls, I'm guaranteed to have a good time. Thank you my good friends for celebrating this occasion along with me.

Hide-N-Seek

I was thinking of saving this box until Sanjay found it and deemed it his new hiding place. He's really into hiding these days. Although he never asks me to seek. He just thinks it's funny when I suddenly realize he's missing, then start wandering around the house calling his name and looking for him. He maintains his silence and starts laughing hysterically when I finally find him behind the laundry basket, for example.



After what seemed like hours of him getting in the box, out of the box, leaning back in the box and playing in the box, it now looks like this. So instead of storage in the basement, this box is headed to the recycling center.

Priya's Art Gallery

Almost a year ago, I noticed a commonality in Priya's drawings of people, namely that they all seemed to be leaning to the left and wearing bell-bottoms. Hippies possibly?

This year there's something new that I see in her artwork. The rays emitting from any sun she draws seem to have a nice girlie curl to them. Check out this watercolor she brought home recently...



And in this depiction of people working, I noticed that her people still only have 3 fingers, just like last year.

Handyman Hubby

In his own words, straight from his Facebook status, "Bartee is now painfully aware of his handyman limitations." This realization came when he tried to install a new sprinkler head in the front yard back in September. It only took 2 days, but he did manage to get the thing to spray water in the coverage area that he selected.



Weeks having passed, and the frustration of that day having dwindled, he attempted yet another homeowner repair. Time to quiet the vibrations in the garage door. He lubricated the chain, tightened some bolts on the hinges and cleaned the sensors. He gloated when it was done, closing the garage door and then asking me if I could hear it. I have to admit, it was barely audible. Success!

Well, not really. The next day when I tried to close the door, it got stuck at the first hinge. By holding the door opener button down, we managed to get the door shut. "Probably I tightened the bolts a little too much", he says. So, some adjustments were made and again the door seems to work. A day or two later, same thing, the door won't close. Since then, I think he loosened the suspicious bolts about 4 different times and still we are having problems shutting the thing.

The new conclusion is that it must have something to do with the sensors. So, today it was time to break out the manual to find out how to adjust the sensitivity. Some more time spent in the garage. Now we've got a garage door that closes 100% of the time on one push of the button, even if something's in it's path. Not exactly the fix we were looking for. He'll be working on that later this week. :)

I gotta give it to him though. He has the utmost patience with this kind of thing. Although there may be glitches and it will likely take him longer than the average person, he always manages to solve the problem.

Biking on Two Wheels

Recalling a video from my childhood, I thought it would be fun to sort of reenact it this summer when we went home... only this time starring Priya. I asked forced my Dad to go outside and push her around on the two-wheeler while I videotaped the whole ordeal.

I may have actually been expecting a bit more success since she wouldn't dare throw around the sassy attitude with Pappy that she usually reserves for Mom and Dad. No sassy attitude, but no matter how much encouragement we offered... she really wasn't into it. Lots of the footage included her on the bike with her feet on motionless pedals while my Dad pushed her around the yard. Sorry Dad, you were a real trooper.

Disclaimer: This video shows partial nudity*, so please use discretion when viewing.



* Apparently partial nudity was perfectly acceptable for girls of a young age in the Fredneck of the 70's.

Diwali Performance

Last night was the culmination of hours and hours of weekends spent practicing with other 6-8 year olds the art of Indian dance through Bollywood songs spanning the 1960's to the present.



Here is Priya in her 6 minutes of fame... she's the one in the red top and blue skirt. The music montage has 5 songs, she's dancing in songs 1, 3 and 5.

The Song I Can't Get Out Of My Head

Priya is performing in the Diwali show tomorrow night and she'll be dancing to a portion of this incredible song.



I tell you what... the Punjabi folks really know music and dance. It's my favorite Indian style of music. The beats, the rhythms, the uninhibited people that express it; I don't know what it is, but I just love it. I have no clue what they are saying or what the lyrics mean, but I can't stop singing along. We had a family dance session to this song tonight in the basement... fun, fun.

For those of you who like to be turned on to new music I thought I'd share this little ditty with you. Enjoy!

Dinner Conversation

Priya started the joke-telling at dinner tonight with her favorite knock-knock. It's the only one she remembers and she thinks it's really funny. She laughs everytime she tells it, and I pretend to think it's funny.

Priya: Knock, knock
Mommy: Who's there?
Priya: Interrupting cow
Mommy: Interrupting... (before I can finish)
Priya: I'm interrupting you.

Not to be outdone, Sanjay started with his jokes which are, as you can see, very much his own creation.

Sanjay: Why did the lights cross the road?
Daddy: I don't know.
Sanjay: It's hard isn't it? (small giggle) I'll give you a clue. There was a red one, an orange one, a yellow one, a white one, a green one and a blue one.
Daddy: I still don't know... why?
Sanjay: Take a guess.
Mommy: To get to the other side?
Sanjay: Yep, that's right.
Daddy: That Mommy's smart, isn't she?

Sanjay: How did the lights cross the road?
Priya: They climbed?
Sanjay: Yeah... they climbed what? It starts with a "wuh", a "w".
Mommy: Wall?
Sanjay: No... "wuh".
Priya: Water? Window?
Daddy: Willow Tree?
Sanjay: No.. a "w", like "wuh".
Mommy: We give up, what is it?
Sanjay: A wadder

Knowing that we could also choose words that start with "L" would have opened up a lot more options. Forgot that for Sanjay, L's and W's still sound the same.

Blog Anniversary

So, it's been a whole year since I started this nonsense. Looking back, I see that much has changed. A year ago Sanjay was working on potty-training and calling my iPod an iPie; Priya was just starting to correctly pronounce "breakfast". I'm glad that I've discovered yet another way to record our lives. As adults, my kids will be able to splice their childhood together from the picture boxes, scrapbooks and now this... my journal with occasional pictures.

All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go

Last week Sanjay had his school pictures and while he was looking snazzy, I just had to take a few photos myself. He really cleans up well, this wild child.

Happy Diwali!

Tonight we celebrated Diwali by having a potluck dinner at our house with some close friends. The mouth-watering menu follows:

Appetizers: Vadai with Sambhar and Coconut Chutney, Aloo Bonda
Main Dish: Rasam Rice, Cabbage Poriyal, Green Bean Usili, Saag Paneer, Pooris
Dessert: Rava Ladu, Besan Ladu, Jaggery Balls, Brownies

The kids actually managed an organized game of Monopoly and we all enjoyed each others company. We went to bed far too late and with overly full stomachs. Hope all our friends and family on the other side of the world enjoyed the day as much as we did.

Weather for All Seasons

From this picture, it's difficult to tell... is it Fall, Winter or Election season? That's right, we had our first snowfall last night. Not much of an accumulation, but still a step closer to winter and the official start of ski season. We're looking forward to it, although I'd like another week or so of warm weather to get us through Halloween night. This would ensure the kids will be able to show off their costumes instead of hiding them under layers of clothing and jackets.

Happy Birthday to You!

Susan,

This is for you. Memories of last night's birthday celebration on the town! :)

Hope you have a great birthday...

Sandy

Look Ma... No Training Wheels

Now that Autumn is officially here, Priya is riding a two-wheeler. They say once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. Let's hope the cold, long Colorado winter doesn't spoil that. :)



We took a family bike ride to celebrate and here are the pictures from that little outing if you're interested.

Stealth Tooth Fairy

I have had issues as the tooth fairy, in the past, as you may recall. So, this time you'd think I'd be better prepared. Nope, not the case. This morning when I woke up, the first thing I realized is that I forgot to deliver the goods last night. So, I peek in Priya's room and notice she is still sleeping. Wow, did I ever get lucky? So, I quickly ran downstairs grabbed some cash and walked back up... this time when I look in her room I see that it was an illusion. She's not sleeping, instead she's on her side reading a book. Hmm... what to do?

I'm thinking maybe I can still pull this off. I walk in and watch over her shoulder while she reads... we exchange a few words... and I reach under her pillow and steal the lost tooth while placing a dollar under one of her stuffed animals on the floor. Unbelievable, she didn't even notice. I quickly returned to our room to give Bartee the scoop. Minutes later, Priya shows up and this conversation ensues...

Priya: "Mom, I have some bad news."
Me: "What is it honey?"
Priya: "The tooth fairy didn't come last night."
Me: "Are you sure?"
Priya: "Yeah... my tooth is still under my pillow."
Me: "Let's go have a look."

Back in her bedroom, she lifts her pillow and cannot find the tooth. She starts searching under the bed, but to no avail. Of course, I'm trying to convince her that indeed she has come and I have to point out the money left under her stuffed animal. "See... she was here", I say.

A lot of time passes and she's sitting on the floor going over the events of the morning and I hear her mutter, "I know the tooth was there when I woke up; I'm sure I saw it". How many years of therapy did that just cost us? Hopefully, she'll just move right along and one of these days when we read this journal together, we'll both get a kick out of this little story.

Looks like I have been given a chance to right this wrong. Sanjay's ball-kicking accuracy knocked a very loose tooth from her gums this evening.

Ours Is A Haunted House

After putting up the three and a half Halloween decorations that we own, Sanjay announced "Ours is a haunted house". In his defense, the fiber optic witch is pretty scary. The rest of the stuff... not so much. Joining in the festivities, Priya came up with a little jingle that goes like this "We are the halloween haunted house people, people, people" which should be sung so that the volume fades out at the end.

The kids are really excited about the holiday this year more than ever. And it looks like they'll be wearing their costumes for a record three events (Halloween With The Horses, Birthday Party, Halloween Night). Sanjay gets a bonus day because his school will have a Halloween parade.

Maybe I'm Doing Something Right

Sometimes with this moody 6 year old who's testing me daily, I really wonder if I'm doing something wrong? Am I really the best role model for this little girl? There are days when I feel utterly defeated and Bartee has to remind me not to let that show. He's right. At least I should act like it's all part of the plan and I've got it all under control.

Just last week she told me that she didn't want to see me for a week... I needed to go away she said. She is constantly pointing out the fact that I need to treat her the way that I want to be treated. Which is a great rule, the golden rule even, but it doesn't always apply to the mother-daughter relationship. Reminding her of this doesn't calm her nerves. According to her, I shouldn't be putting her in timeout, spanking her, taking toys away or yelling at her... because "that doesn't work".

She's probably right about the yelling, but something is working and there's even evidence. In the car the other day, she was bickering with her brother, hit him and told him that she didn't like him, so when we got home she was sent to a timeout in her room. When it was over, she walked out producing this document which she had me read to Sanjay.



Translation: I am so sorry that I said I don't like you Sanjay. I love you Sanjay. From Priya.

He had already forgotten what happened and she was forgiven in his eyes, but this prompted him to say, "I love you too, Priya (now come upstairs and play with me)". He didn't actually say that last part, but I know he was thinking it.

Can we really call this coloring?

I've been sharpening a lot of pencils lately. Wanna know why? Well, Sanjay has created his own style of coloring. He spends lots of time meticulously filling in between the black outlines with, not a brilliantly-named Crayola crayon, but instead a No. 2 lead pencil. He declared, "Look Mom, I colored it grey. Grey is so coooooool".

We now have several coloring books in the house filled with pages like this:



No wonder he was so upset when I re-gifted 5 of the 10 Halloween pencils we were given.

Something Fun

Ever wonder what you would look like had you been born in a different generation? For instance, if you were a teenager in the 50's, 70's or even the 90's? Well, wonder no more! You can Yearbook Yourself in any era. Just upload a recent picture of yourself and plug it into their classic yearbook hair shots and see what you think. Here's what happened to me....



1966 - Man, I look like Weezie.
1976 - My 8th grade school portrait looks like this, but it's in color.
1994 - I'm pretty sure I could dig up a photo of Michele that looks identical to this.

Preschool Love

Today we went to the zoo with Sanjay's class. Although this orangutan had eyes for Sanjay,



Sanjay has eyes only for this little girl.



Very recently, Sanjay has been talking about this little blue-eyed cutie with giddiness in his voice. He said to me tonight, "More than Matthew, I love (little-girl-in-blue-shirt)". And, while flipping through the photos of the day, he announced, "I love these pictures... the ones of me and (little-girl-in-blue-shirt)". Mind you, as always, I had taken a whole slew of photos at the zoo but it was this small set containing the little girl* that he liked best.

* I have others that show them from the front. If you'd like to see them, just ask. Thought it would be best not to post them here out of privacy for the little girl.

You Did What?

Sanjay: "I saw a spider and I flipped him off".

Just one little word used incorrectly can send a Mom into a fit of laughter. I wanted to say "Flicked honey, it's flicked" but I couldn't stop laughing at the image conjured up in my head.

Little Boys

Typically we find Sanjay wandering through the house, looking for something to beat on. It's not out of the ordinary to find him playing drums on the recliner chair, the carpet, our bed or even one of his good friends. Well, this evening I'm getting dressed in the bathroom and I hear the oh-so-familiar muffled beating that assures me Sanjay is somewhere near, followed by Priya's warnings... "Sanjay, don't do that, it's disrespectful". I walk out to find Sanjay with Priya's stuffed cheetah in his hand beating it senseless into the carpet, one blow after the next. Just last week we lost Texas Longhorn to this same treatment, so I threatened him, "If that cheetah gets a hole in it, YOU are buying Priya a new one with your OWN money".

He has an immediate reply. I'm thinking he's about to tell me that he doesn't have any money (which he doesn't) or that he doesn't know how to count money (he doesn't even recognize all the letters of the alphabet, how can I expect him to know difference between a nickel and a dime?) or something along these lines. Instead, he says very seriously, "But Mom, I don't know how to drive!".

Where does he come up with this stuff? I guess the emphasis on YOU threw him off and he thought the responsibility of replacing cheetah was squarely on him, or just maybe he's secretly hoping that I'll let him behind the wheel of something other than a matchbox car.

Overheard in the Bathroom

Recently, I was very worried when I heard this from Sanjay in the bathroom...

"I'm gonna go a dangerous way. Look it, Mom... how dangerous this is."

Dangerous? I gotta see what he's talking about. When I look over at him standing by the potty, I see that he has not lifted the seat. He's attempting to stand up and aim the yellow stream over the seat and down into the water without even a droplet misplaced. I'm nervous, but watching carefully I see that he's well-trained. He manages with no drips.

You gotta give it to him though. Being already sports-minded like his Daddy, he's turning this into a competition. Each time trying to outdo himself. A couple of days later, he wanted me to see the new challenge... "even more dangerous" he called it. This time with the seat down AND no hands to help aim. What do you know... every little drop landed where it was supposed to. Now, if he could only have this kind of control over the water in his cup at the dinner table.

Taste of Colorado

Thanks to a good friend we have found a new festival to attend annually. We will add the Taste of Colorado to our list of events-not-to-miss which already includes the Pueblo Chile Festival, Halloween with the Horses, Colorado Balloon Classic and Territory Days.



The Taste of Colorado is a huge event in a very lovely park in downtown Denver. Sanjay walked away with a dinosaur-shaped balloon made by a well-dressed clown. Well, it lasted all of about 10 minutes before his rough playing caused body parts to randomly fall off until we had to throw the whole thing in the trash. Priya made a cute patriotic headband, which I think she left in the car last night. And Mommy and Daddy loaded up on free samples of ice cream, blue cheese dip, organic crackers, toothpaste and a paper towel, then purchased food from a couple of local restaurants. We walked away with full bellies and the desire to return again next year.



If you're interested in seeing more pictures from the festival, click here for the KodakGallery album.

Waffle Dinner

Tonight it was waffles for dinner... unannounced and a complete surprise for the kids. Priya's friend was over and got to join in the fun of breakfast-for-dinner, too. When I asked them to pick up the playroom, so I could start making the waffles... Priya was all out of sorts. She stopped in her tracks, turned around to me and said, "For real?" followed by a long stare. When I said, "Yes for real" I think the neighbors probably heard the ear piercing scream that she bellowed out. She kind of looked at me funny in a sort of how-did-you-know kind of way, but I never let on that we found the note in her room about it. I have never seen the girl so cooperative and speedy when cleaning up the playroom. Bribery has always worked with this one.

Drawings

I love looking at the details of Priya's drawings and how things are changing as she grows. You can almost literally watch your children learn at this age and it's so fascinating. One day they are spelling it "flawer" and in a couple of weeks or months it's become "flower".... "awt" becomes "out"... "bolld egel" becomes "bald eagle"... "perity" becomes "pretty". Her drawings are becoming more accurate like her spelling. She draws more details and is showing proper proportion in the pictures. The trees are taller than the people; the heads are smaller to fit the bodies that they are drawn on; the swimming octopus has lines around it indicating motion.

Here is a picture that Priya brought home from school recently showing some of the ways in which her drawings have matured. It's a particularly flattering image of me 'cause I'm looking quite skinny! :)



I don't want to read too much into her drawings, but check out her picture of Mommy at the park when compared to the picture of Daddy at the park. If you happened to be an onlooker of our family enjoying an evening at the park, you'd be more likely to find Daddy climbing the jungle gyms, sliding down the slides or swinging on the swings and Mommy hanging on the bench.

Priya's Journal Entry

Found this in Priya's room today...



Translation: For dinner I like to have waffles, but Mom doesn't let me. My brother Sanjay likes it too.

It was on scratch paper on her dresser and I'm not sure when it was written. It's just her expression of a private thought since she never bothered to share it with Mommy or Daddy. Maybe I'll surprise her with a waffle dinner one night this week. Wouldn't that be fun?

Catastrophe... Calamity

We've had some things go wrong lately and they all seem to revolve around water. The month of July was the driest on record here since the Great Depression and though I haven't read any news on it, I would venture to guess that the month of August 2008, even in its 18 short days thus far, is probably the wettest!

It feels like we have had more rain in the past week than we've seen for the entire 5 years that we've lived here. Ok, probably a slight exaggeration but nonetheless the steady rainfall on Saturday was a mess and these crazies were even out running in it. As usually we are concerned about our basement gathering water during big storms, we checked on it every few hours starting Friday night. Bartee meticulously pumped the water out of our window wells at regular intervals so that it wouldn't overflow in through the windows. We were on top of it... so we thought. In the late afternoon on Saturday, Bartee walked downstairs to discover a rather large puddle on the floor. This is like the third time we've looked at each other and said... "Thank goodness we didn't put carpet back down here". To solve the mystery of where the water was coming from (because it certainly wasn't the window wells this time) Bartee actually saw the water "flowing" downhill and when he realized where uphill was, he opened the utility closet and it jumped out at him. Our concrete half-wall that holds back the dirt in our unfinished basement has a crack in it! The water was seeping out of it like a mini-waterfall. Well, the good news is that we found the source and can probably fix it enough to at least contain the water to the utility closet if we should happen to get this much rain again.

This basement leak followed an upstairs flood we had only a few days before... the dishwasher of 14 years sprung a leak and dumped water all over the kitchen floor. So we are now handwashing all the dishes (ugh!) and researching floor options to replace the laminate flooring that is now gone from our kitchen.

Tonight, the third and hopefully final in the trilogy of water-related catastrophes involved Sanjay. I'm reading a bedtime story to Priya and Sanjay comes running in with a worried, very concerned look on his face. He tells me that his car is gone. I'm thinking in my head, "I just heard the toilet flush... I wonder if that has something to do with the disappearance of said matchbox car". Sure enough when I asked what happened he told me "It's in the potty", and I promptly sent him to Daddy to take care of it. Sanjay usually carries about 4 cars with him during his bedtime routine because he plans on sleeping with them. Well, tonight it seems that one accidentally fell in the toilet and he probably freaked out and the only thing he could think to do was flush it. While watching it disappear down the drain, the tears started flowing. Daddy tried, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to retrieve it. It should pass through our house without causing any damage, right? Priya wants to know what the water company does with all the "stuff" that they filter out of the returned water. I think she's hoping that Sanjay might some day get that car back in his possession. Sanjay on the other hand will be mourning for some time over this. He's losing sleep over the flushed matchbox and is ready to go buy another one, since none of the other 37 cars he owns can possibly replace it. Daddy did manage to calm him down with the promise of a sleepover in our room one night this week.

Let's hope we're through with these kinds of problems for a while.

Back To School

Today was Priya's first day of school. Summer went by too fast this year, but ready or not, it's time to get back into the routine... going to bed on time, eating breakfast before 10:30am and learning lots of new things every day. First grade is the real deal, and at her school she has entered the French Immersion program which means most of the instruction (at least by the end of the year) will be in French. This should be an interesting year for all of us. Today her teacher sent each of them home with a high five and an "au revoir".

Translation Please

I realized recently that even after their speech is nearly perfect, kids still require translators. Luckily, we have Priya to help us out with Sanjay. We call on her often when his words are disjointed and archaic... at least to us. With her telepathic link to the boy, she can usually discern the meaning.

In fact, just last night we were playing family charades. Sanjay wanted in on it, so we thought we'd give him a chance, expecting very little. We were quite surprised with the creative things he came up with... Merry-Go-Round, Roller Coaster and even Hubba-Hubba-Highway (a ride from the water park). But he really stumped us with this next sign. He held his hand flat in front of him, parallel to the ground, then started it in forward motion while at the same time lifting it slightly up and down. Mom and Dad were shouting out things like “Bumpy car ride”, “Airplane turbulence” and within seconds Priya yells “Bouncy Rocket”. Sanjay announces that she's right... he was indeed doing his version of a “Bouncy Rocket”. What?!? See what I mean about the telepathy?

Anyway, I have compiled a list of some things the kids have said lately that have required translation. Here are the results of my very scientific study...

Actual Spoken Words By Sanjay	Translation
He's hiding behind the water goes up.	He's hiding behind the water fountain.
Did your eyes sprinkle? (Question posed to Priya after she ate something spicy)	Did your eyes water?
Look at this, I'm down blinking.	I look over at him and his eyelids are opening only half way and he's speed-blinking them.
I have x-ray eyes... I can see through the water.	Said after popping his head up from swimming underwater in the pool.
Does your band-aid hurt?	Does your boo-boo hurt?
He's down... he's working. (His reply when asked about Pappy's whereabouts.)	He's downstairs working. (It didn't occur to me until then that he thinks all Daddy's work in the basement, since that's all he's known.)
Actual Spoken Words By Priya	Translation
Let's play body talking.	Let's play charades.
After Nana said, "I forgot"... Priya replied, "That's ok. You're too old to have your memory good."	Needs no translation, but I wanted to capture this because it made all of us laugh. No worries... she was quickly forgiven.

Long Lost Friends

Thanks to Facebook I found an old high school friend that I'd lost touch with over the years. I don't have the good fortune that my friend Kristi does with running into these folks at random places on various occasions, so I have to rely on the good ole internet to bring us together.

We spent the afternoon discussing high school and college days while our kids played. What fun! Although 20 years has aged us more than a bit, our friendship remains as it was in the first photo... we just picked up where we left off.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

We leave tomorrow and although we're looking forward to sleeping in our own beds and seeing all our friends back in Colorado, it's still sad to say goodbye. Priya asked me this morning if she could stay and enroll in school here. Then she reminisced about last year when it was time to leave and she started crying. She's wondering whether she'll do that again this year and whether Sanjay might follow in her footsteps. Last year Sanjay couldn't wait to get back to the familiarity of home... but this year I know he'll have a harder time leaving.

When asked what she had the most fun doing on the trip, Priya didn't mention the rides at Busch Gardens, playing in the sand at Greenbriar State Park, the slides at the water park or even all the parties and friends she made while she was here. Instead she said, "Being with you, Nana". So, it's these seemingly purposeless photos, filed in my "AroundTheHouse" folder, that I'm so glad I took the time to capture...