And here's to 2007!

So many things have happened in December to make it a memorable month - it's maybe my favorite month of this year!

My parents have been here for a good part of the month and they seem to bring out another layer of the wee ones' personalities. Amiya becomes more dramatic as she seeks to keep their attention on her and away from anyone else. Kev becomes more mischevious as he seeks to evade kisses and squeezers. Both the wee ones and my parents enjoy each others' company, although I suspect the kids could spend weeks on end like this while my parents have a firm 12 hour or so limit before claiming exhaustion. That's not a critique - sometimes one morning of errands with Amiya and I'm pushing my eyeballs into my sockets to distract from the ringing in my ears.

Vinay and I were given a fabulous reprieve from the round-the-clock parental duties last night when my parents stayed at our house and we escaped to a nearby city for some R&R. I'd like to say it was a wild and crazy night, but we're older and wiser now. We needed sleep and quiet. We napped, went to dinner, returned to the hotel to read and slept in. That's right, we slept in. All the way until 8 AM. Back in my college days, 8 AM wasn't considered sleeping in. But today it felt that good. There was no milk to be poured upon getting out of bed, no Fireman Sam to turn on, no paper to be snatched from sticky little fingers looking for pictures of Elmo. It was absolutely what I needed (Vinay claims to be immune to these little daily grinds) and thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out!

Vinay, Dad, the kids and I spent the evening at a pep rally for the U of Wisconsin football team who is playing in the Outback Bowl here on New Year's Day. We got all dressed in our red shirts and headed down to Channelside. Amiya and Kev were getting antsy waiting for the band to march in, but once they did it was all eyes front and center. If you don't know the UW Band, they are something else! A lot of people say they are the best marching band in the nation. I don't know about that, but I do know that they are a lot of fun to see! They came marching into the courtyard, led by the tubas and it was all out from there!

Here you can see the tubas coming in - the brass would file in soon. The kids were already completely spellbound!

Kev in the backpack on Vinay's back. The backpack is a blessing because he stays up high where he can see and people don't bump into or trip over it like they would a stroller. Kev had a great time and yelled "YAY!" and clapped after each song.

Here you can see why Kev had such a good time. His eyes did not leave the cheerleaders even once. He liked their shiny "pompons." I think their "pompons" were liked by a lot of the males present.

After the show, we were walking back to the car and we saw some of the cheerleaders waiting to get onto the bus to leave. Amiya wanted a picture with one, so I asked this guy if we could take a picture. He jokingly wanted to know if Amiya wanted to be tossed! We settled on this and it made Amiya's night!


Another big highlight of our month was a short trip to Disney World. Amiya had never been before and I really felt that maybe we had missed the mark. She's moving beyond the princesses now - her new thing is Mary Poppins. She sings Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in the most adorable way. But all evidence to the contrary, it seems, because her eyes were huge upon seeing her favorite ladies dancing on the stage shortly after we made it into the park.

A family picture in front of Cinderella's castle. Amiya couldn't stop glaring - the sun was really bright. A bummer though because it would have been a nice picture otherwise!

The four of us checking out the opening show. Amiya was enraptured, straining to see each of the Princesses as they twirled and sang.

The closing show at the end of the night. Amiya was exhausted, but still completely enamored.

Kev at the closing - he'd had a short nap, so he had a bit of oomph left in him. He did really well for the 15 minutes of sleep that he had. He laughed and clapped at a lot of the different things which surprised me.

We have pictures of Amiya with Princesses Cinderella, Aurora and Belle, as well, but they're on Vinay's computer and I don't have them yet. Amiya surprised my when she saw Aurora. She told me that it wasn't the real Aurora because this Aurora had blue make-up on and the real Aurora would never wear blue eye make-up. She also told Princess Belle that I liked her the best because she's the smartest. You go Amiya!

It's A Small World was by far the best ride in the park, I think. It is fantastic! Everything is detailed and incredibly thought-out. I loved it! Kev liked the train and Vinay enjoyed a roller coaster with Amiya. I can see now that I'll be the one holding the bags while the Guptas three ride the rides. Fine by me, I was getting sick from just the Peter Pan ride.

It was really a nice experience to be at the park with our nuclear family and Grandma and Grandpa. As I listened to so many different accents all around me, it was driven home how fortunate we are to be able to afford such a trip. So many people there that day must have saved for a very long time to be able to travel around the world or across the country for such a day. We are a fortunate family.

Some other December pictures:

Amiya and Kev at The Polynesian (a Disney resort). I wish I would have dressed them differently - the landscaping was perfect for a holiday picture!

Couldn't you just gobble him up? That's the face he puts on right after he says "Chee!"

Growing up much too fast. I think she looks seven here!

I was trying hard to get a picture of them looking peaceful together, so I decided to try a sleeping pose. I waited until both were asleep and then put Kev in Amiya's bed for a quick photo shoot. I ended up leaving him there for about 20 minutes to lull him into a deeper sleep because he kept frowning when the camera flashed. He came out of her room crying - he had woken up and wasn't sure where he was or what was going on. Poor guy! Bad Mommy!

Remember that picture of Kev as a lounge singer? It seems to run in the family and so ends the Gupta streak of studying at top-notch universities. My kids will be "studying" in Vegas. Amiya was putting on a Christmas Eve show for us. She sang three songs with a brief section of audience questionning in between each song. We have it all on video - if she decides to get married we'll have to serve popcorn because the movie of corny Amiya moments will be very, very long!

Kev trying to save himself during a mic check between songs.

Here you can see her singing a very emotional ode to a Christmas tree ornament. She cupped it in her hands and tossed her head around for a good three minutes while expressing herself.

Kev, festively adorned, getting down to the business of opening presents shortly after the show!

Amiya with her plate of cookies and apple slices for Santa and the reindeer. She left out three cookies, a piece of peppermint bark, some spicy cashews (because Santa needed something healthy, she said) and apple slices for the reindeer. Rudolph left her a note that said she did good on the apple slices - they were way better than carrots!

Exhaustion

Is there anything more tiring in parenting than taking two kids to get pictures taken? Maybe. Probably taking three kids which is as good a reason as any to stop at two.

We made it to the mall (the place I loathe between Nov. 1 and Jan. 1) in plenty of time, so stopped at Panera to share a scone and have some water before the torture picture session began. Made it to Picture People in plenty of time to get the kids changed into their outfits - when did they relegate changing to the bathroom? That was not a lot of fun - Amiya wouldn't take her shoes off to get into her tights, Kev wouldn't stop lunging for the toilet and somehow my sunglasses found their way into the toilet. So, twenty minutes (and a new pair of sunglasses on the shopping list) later, we finally were ready to go.

Getting Kev to sit still for the pictures was impossible. Happily I made it clear to the photographer that I wanted one (just one!) nice pic of the two posed and then the rest could be candid just as they are. We still had a bit of trouble getting Kev to sit still, but here's what we got for the posed one:



Amiya went next, insisting that she should be able to take her little bolero jacket off since it wasn't a "fancy" picture. The photographer asked her to stand with her hands on her hips and it didn't really seem like Amiya. I asked Amiya if she'd like to twirl and this is what we got. I love it - it's very, very Amiya!




And finally, Kev. He was loving the attention by this point, but wouldn't stand still at all. It wasn't until after the camera was put away and he was back in his play clothes that he decided to sit on the screen and yell "chee" at everyone who walked by the store! I love this picture - I think he looks like a lounge singer.

And yep, they are barefoot - so much cuter than any shoes I could possibly find!

Growing Up!!!

Ugh! When did this happen? Here we see Amiya reading (reading!!!) to Kev for the first time. It's Brown Bear, Brown Bear and, granted, she knows it by heart, but she still sat with him and read it to him.

Kev's usual method of reading is to grab a book and back up onto one of our laps (cue backing sound: beep, beep, beep). He backs until he nudges a knee and then yells "buu, buu, buu" until we start reading. We usually get 1 - 2 words in per page before we have to turn to the next (or prior). Not so for Amiya though. She got to read e.v.e.r.y word.

Please ignore their matching pajamas (now we'll have to find a new Christmas card outfit!) and the fact that Kev is wearing a girl's turtleneck with satin trim. They were out of the boys shirts!

Turkey!

Me, I'm the turkey. No reason not to be blogging (according to my Mom), but it just seems to get pushed back and back and back on the list. So, to appease the parental unit, a few photos. More to come soon. At the zoo - Kev's first trip in the backpack. He likes it and it makes it a lot easier to see the animals. Here you can see Kev, Amiya and Vinay checking out the turtles!

Quiet (ha ha ha ha ha ha) reading time. As soon as we took the picture, they were done.

Who needs toys? Santa is bringing these two leftover moving boxes.
Amiya dipping candles at Cracker Country. It's not a derogatory term in Florida. Who knew?

Kev, awestruck, at the Sesame Street Live show we went to a few weeks ago. Who do you think enjoyed it more - Kev or Vinay?
I think this is the toddler equivalent to waving a lighter in the air during a slow song.
She tells us she's too old for Sesame Street but she was into it!

Someone had the idea to buy a big ol' slide for our living room. I'd take credit, but I gave him too much slack and it has actually worked out alright. Kev is climbing less on furniture and more on the slide, so we'll keep it! Amiya loves when his hair gets charged up from going up and down.
If he knows you're trying to take his picture, this is what you get.
Nah, he doesn't look like Vinay at all.
I don't know if I put this up or not. This is from a Princess Tea Party Amiya went to a few weeks ago. The girls looked so cute!
Amiya doing crafts on her "ho-made" desk. Why's she calling herself that?
This is how she went to school - she was trying to look like the Pilgrims. She gets her fashion sense from Vinay.
Our little Indian. Ha! We keep trying to get her to say Pilgrims and Native Americans, but she is convinced it's Indians. She asked her teacher if the Indians taught the Pilgrims how to make chana!

Our Turkey. It looks good, hey? We had the old stand-bys - I'm thankful for Grandma & Grandpa, Nisha Didi, Mommy, Daddy, etc. and a few new ones, too. My favorite: "I'm thankful that Mommy isn't mean like the octopus in Dora."

The Guptas Wish You a Very Happy Holiday!

Happy Holidays To You!!!

Turkey/Turkeys

Turkey:

It's Turkey Time again! We've put our naked bird back up on the fridge and have cut out our feathers. Each day Amiya and Kev (via Daddy, Amiya and me) will decide one thing that they are thankful for and write it on a feather. Pretty soon our turkey will be resplendent with remnants of scrap paper turned into our "Thankful" feathers.

No luck getting a decent picture of the two next to the naked turkey. And no luck leaving the turkey that low on the fridge. Poor turkey wasn't there more than four minutes before Kev got very curious and tried to pull it apart.

Turkeys:

After an exciting morning at the pediatrician's office (Amiya has walking pneumonia, thank you very much) and the ensuing wait at the Target pharmacy, we came home for a hot date with Sesame Street, lunch and then some playtime in the playroom. Upon telling the dynamic duo that it was naptime, this is what I turned around to see. Both of them pretending to sleep on the bean bag chair, eyes closed, giggling away.

Happy Halloween!!!

It's the day after and the sugar rushes are wearing off! We had a great Halloween - we started our celebration with a party at Gabe's house last week. The kids did crafts, made pizzas and ate yummy cupcake ghosts.

Then over the weekend we headed to a pumpkin festival at Hunsader Farms. The kids wrestled with pumpkins, played some carnival games, checked out the goats and ate a lot of fair food.

Pumpkin #1

Pumpkin #2

Amiya surprised us by wanting to try the bungee jumping thing at the fair - she's not one for bounce houses, trampolines and the like.

Lookin' a bit nervous.....

...but havin' a great time!

Fast forward to this Wednesday when Amiya had an Under the Sea party at school, then a party at Tyler's house and then Trick or Treating. (Today is low-key. No surprise there, right?)

Trick or treating was a lot of fun with both kids - Amiya was completely into it reciting the elegant trick or treating poem at every house:

Trick or treat

Smell my feet

Give me something

Good to eat.

I put it in pink to really highlight the irony. Dainty Princess Aurora in pink tulle and metallic nylon (!!!) complete with curled hair and lip gloss, offering up her toes for our neighbor's olfactory pleasures. No one took her up on the offer.

Princess Aurora and Fireman Kev

Kev was a master trick or treater and very unhappy when the night came to an end. It took him all of one, count 'em, ONE house to get the idea. He was given a Twix bar at that house and walked back to Vinay at the curb smacking his lips trying to get to that candy. From then on, from house to house all we heard was Kev smacking his lips. He did remember his manners though and said "Eckgecko" at each house. (That's monkey for thank you.)

We also carved a pumpkin for the first time this year. Amiya designed, Mommy carved, Kev supervised. It's got oval eyes (very precisely ordered by the designer), a triangle nose, a regular mouth and a K on one side and an A on the other. Kev thinks it's Elmo and every time we go out the door, he runs to it and gives it a big ol' hug. It's about to rot (gotta love Florida humidity), so I've got to make it vanish before he heads out in the morning.

The Princess, The Fireman & The Pumpkin

Pacifirus Extinctus

Whoohoo! We are officially a pacifier-free family!!!

You may recall a very trying three days a few months ago when it was non-stop screaming at nap and bedtime. We went cold turkey on the pacifier and the little monkey was having none of it.

Fast forward to last Wednesday when I sat at Panera with other Moms from Kev's playgroup. We were all talking about the battle of the pacifier and I got a hair you know where. It's just time for him to be done with it. So, I came home and snipped the tips off 3 of 4 when he wasn't looking. The intact pacifier (the yellow one) was hidden in case this experiment went horribly wrong at three o'clock in the morning.

I offered Kev a pacifier at naptime that day and he popped it in and tried to make it feel right, but it just wasn't working. So, he handed it back to me and tried out the other two. Nothing doing. He popped one in my mouth and lunged for the crib.

Done. How nice is that?

Littlest Fireman Ever

We tried on his costume today.
And now "we" cannot take it off.

The Three Day

I feel like I've been saying, "After the walk...." for months now. And it's finally after the walk. It was the most amazing experience and I can't even think about it without tears welling up in my eyes. It's a powerful experience to be part of that many people working toward a common goal - not by throwing money at it, but by putting themselves whole-heartedly into it.


Friday morning came awfully early - the alarm was set for 4 AM for us to get down to Sand Key Park in time for opening ceremonies. I walked out into the front yard and saw a sign from my friend Sue and her family. Cue tears for the first time on Friday!


Opening ceremony was great, although we stood around for about 2 hours. No one was happy about that - it's hard to be pumped, and then stand around and then get walking. But, our walk was started with a rainbow over the ceremony - if that's not a sign, I'm not sure what is! We headed out of opening ceremony over two big bridges. What?!?! The hilliest place we trained on was going under a golf course overpass! However, they weren't nearly as hard as I thought they would be. I had a great new friend - Jennifer - by my side keeping me focused.


Friday was the hardest day for me, hands down. The route planned was 22.8 miles, however rumors swirled around camp afterwards that walkers who tracked via GPS reported 26 miles of walking. I was unable to walk all of it - my body wasn't handling the heat (heat index above 100) well at all. I stopped peeing, stopped sweating (an incredible fact for me - I would win the Ms. Sweaty USA title without even showing up) and my heart was racing. I was extremely disappointed in myself, but Vinay helped me understand that getting sick would not help a cancer patient get better. As always, he's my rock. The medical crew was calling the day a Code Black - meaning the weather couldn't have been worse for us.


The best part of Friday, for me, was the Popsicle Princess. Amiya, Kev, Vinay and my parents were on the route handing out freezer pops to walkers. Seeing them helped me keep going. As I sat on the sweep bus afterward (for walkers who cannot complete the route), I heard the woman in front of me talking about the "sweet and cute" little girl passing out freezer pops. I asked her if she had long dark hair and she couldn't remember - only that she had a hat that said "Popsicle Princess." When I told her that was my daughter, a lot of the other walkers on the bus started saying how she helped them get through another mile or two. I really wanted Amiya to have a way of interacting with the walkers and she seemed very happy to be talking with them as they went by.


Friday night saw a storm predicted for our campsite, so walkers were relocated to the "penthouse" of a parking garage. We were supposed to take our shower in camp, pack up only the essentials (sleeping bag, mattress and medication) and board a bus for the parking garage. Instead, I called my favorite taxi service: 1-800-hus-band and he came and took four of us walkers home. My bed v. parking garage floor. Not a hard decision. It would have been an adventure - and from what those who stayed said it certainly was - but I'm happy to have been at home.


Saturday morning was goooood! The weather was overcast, but not rainy. Just a tiny bit humid with nice, cooling breezes! And we saw porpoises playing in the water as we crossed our first bridge of the day!!! Saturday's walk was 18.9 miles and I did about 16 of it. I took a van twice to get to the next pit stop - the last time for medical attention. The blisters on my feet were out of control. If I weren't a married woman, I might have proposed to the medical crew member named Tom. He took care of my blisters with all sorts of products and potions. When I pulled into that pit stop and hobbled off the bus, I was sure I was done for the day. He was wrapping up my feet and never once made mention of getting back on the bus. Without pressuring me, he said over and over, "You've only got three miles until camp."


My friend Pat and I hobbled into camp together Saturday around 4:45 PM. Pat is a speedster who left me in her dust all the time on training walks. She's also incredibly thoughtful - she hung around on almost all of the training walks and walked back to meet those of us and chat with us while we finished the last mile or so. She and I did the last half of Saturday together, alternately complaining about St. Pete's slanted sidewalks and scouting out medical tents. There is a medical condition that can happen on any event where you spend a lot of time on your feet in the heat - road rash. Pat was told by numerous medics that she won the prize for the worst case. And yet she kept on walking. She wasn't harming her body, just making the rash worse. She said if I could walk on my blisters, she could walk on her legs. She was great company for the last half on Saturday.


Saturday night back at camp was a really great time! We had dinner, took showers in a semi (a new experience - not too bad at all!), listened to a Survivor speak and hung out by our tents waiting for lights out at 9. Around 8:40 there was a collective groan throughout camp as we all tried to get up off the ground and onto our feet to head to the port-a-potties for one last pee.

No one slept well on Saturday night, but we all rallied to be ready to go at 7:30 in the morning. Tents packed, bags back on the trucks headed for closing ceremonies, breakfast eaten and water bottles filled. It was the last day and only 16.something miles! It was a muggy day and the sun played peek-a-boo behind the clouds, but nothing compared to Friday. I walked the first half of the day mostly by myself and then met up with my teammate Denise at the stop shortly before lunch. I think we saved each other from giving in and taking a van. Denise had a hard time with miles 10 - 13 and me with miles 13-16. But we did it, sometimes chatty, sometimes silent. We both think The 3 Day needs to check their pedometers - the last mile before the end was the loooooooongest mile ever.

All three days of the walk saw the streets lined with spectators and supporters, offering water, gatorade, candy, popsicles, etc. And if people weren't standing on the grass, they were driving by in their pink-ribbon bedazzled cars honking and yelling. There were also people in boats, decorated houses, babies in strollers with signs saying, "You walk so my generation won't face this." and parents holding pictures of their daughters who lost the fight. It was impossible not to cry. It is still hard not to cry. We would moan about our blisters, but the simple truth that we all knew deep down is that the blisters will heal in a week and our bodies will go back to being healthy and whole. Chemo and treatment lasts much longer for a cancer patient. There was no shortage of inspiration and no shortage of tears.


Walking into closing ceremony is something I will never forget. My feet hurt and I almost couldn't keep pace because of the hobbling, but I got there. About a week before the walk began, all the participants got an email about visualization. I knew that at closing ceremony, all the walkers held up one shoe to salute the Survivors. That was my vision while walking when I needed to focus - me holding up a shoe to Genevieve, Connie, Karen, Peggy and more. And I did it! I couldn't stop crying - no one could. We held up a shoe and took a knee. Us walking warriors, saluting those for whom we walk. I hugged those around who encouraged me and who I encouraged and sobbed pretty much the whole time. I thought this would be what completely broke me down, but it isn't.


We marched into closing ceremony in parade formation, 10 strong walkers across. Walkers in white, crew in gray, Survivors in pink. I couldn't see my family at all, just the balloons that they had brought. And then I saw Amiya, perched high on my dear friend Sherri's shoulders. She was up there smiling, yelling and waving pink pompons. This is my image, what I will remember. This perfect little bundle of energy, vibrant and healthy with no idea what it is to battle something greater than herself or face a fear scarier than a shadow on her windowshade. I thought of my walking partner who had lumps removed the day after her prom and was terrified to even think what it might be. I will always remember Amiya up there smiling and waving at me and I hope that some day if she finds a lump it means nothing more terrifying than seeing the doctor, taking some medicine and getting that pink shirt because there is no outcome other than being a Survivor.



I promised Vinay I won't walk again next year because the training and fundraising took a lot of our family time, but it will be hard to keep that promise. This was women (and a few men) working together to change the world we know. No division of religion, politics, race or class. I will walk again another year and I hope you'll consider walking with me. Our team - Our Cups Runneth Over - will have raised $51,711.62 when all donations are cleared and this year's Tampa walk has already raised $5.4 million.

3 Days, 60 Miles, $5.4 million closer to a cure.

Amazing.

Pictures from The 3 Day

The sign I found in my front yard early Friday morning!

Thanks Sue - it definitely encouraged me!

My number one supporter! He put up with less than
stellar housekeeping and a wife crazed with raising money
and training walks. I could not have done it without him!


A rainbow in the sky during opening ceremonies -

what more did we need?

The sign letting us know how bad Friday's

conditions really were. No kidding.

The Popsicle Princess on Day One. All in pink
and sampling the goodies to make sure they

were safe for us!

Before walking on Day 2. From left to right:
Jennifer, Whitney (Princess Giggles), me, Amy, Pat

Tom, the man who fixed my feet, and never
for a single moment gave voice to the thought

that I couldn't finish that day's walking.

Whitney showing off her incredibly expensive
and medically-trained method of blister control:
duct tape.

Hangin' around camp Saturday night - Amy, Jennifer, Whitney.

More of the same: Dawn, CW, me!

Pat - standing tall, looking good!

Pat - not so good! This is road rash at it's best!

Camp at sunset. Pink tents as far as you could see!

Our team picture with a few missing after we were finished on Day 3.
Have you ever seen such strong, gorgeous women?

The worst of the blisters. In a few weeks it'll only

be an annoying sidenote to the walk. I call it Maggie.

One of the Safety Crew. If you look closely, you'll see
that his helmet is a boob with a nipple on top! LOVE IT!
In any other situation, I'd think he was a complete cad,
but here it was appropriate and uplifting!

Cheerleaders (and then some!) along the route!

These ladies were everywhere!

A billboard we walked by on Day 2.

A boat that followed walkers from bridge to bridge as we passed

through St. Johns Pass and Treasure Island.

Aside from the Popsicle Princess, this girl was my

favorite supporter. Seeing her with her sign,

tocking off the miles was a huge, huge incentive!

Please know that many of the pictures without my friends are not mine, but taken from an online picture gallery here.

If you'd like to see a video of coverage, click here and then click on Video Story.