Amiya's Poetry

My Mom and I went to Amiya's school today to have lunch with her. Upon walking into the main office, we were told by several of the adults that Amiya had just been sent to the office to read a poem she had written. My first thought was, "There once was a girl from Nantucket...." What could she have possibly written about that got her sent to the office?

Here's her poem:

(Untitled)

Earth knows our feelings,
It knows of our sins,
It knows of our loyalty,
But mostly it knows of our cruelty.

Earth sees our engineers building weapons,
Earth sees us training young men for disaster,
But only they and earth
really and truly see our cruelty.

Where have all the young men gone?

Amiya has been reading a great deal lately about the Vietnam War, the peace movement of the late 60s, protests, Veterans' experiences, etc., so it seems that this is related to that. She watched a clip of Peter, Paul and Mary singing Where Have All The Flowers Gone? a few days ago, so that's an obvious inspiration.

How much do I love that we have a sensitive little soul in our midst? That there's one more vote for peace in the world? Am I over-reaching? Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe if this little dynamo of an eight-year old keeps on keeping on, she'll one day have a voice and a pulpit big enough and loud enough to make a difference. And if not, maybe she'll just make a difference in her own little corner of the world. Either way, I'm proud she got sent to the office today.

Kev Loves Us, He Really Loves Us

You may remember, back in January, I went on a banner bender and made banners for the kids' rooms. Well, Kev decided that it was not right that all the kids have banners and Mommy and Daddy don't. So, we have a banner now, too.

He loves us. He really loves us.

Florida Winter: Showing the Love

I whine about life in Florida a lot. But I also give it credit when due.

Witness:

It's a delight for the eyes and the tastebuds. And the kiddos picked the berries, so they were sweet, tiny and cheap! Whoohoo! This is going into Amiya's school for her teachers and the office staff. It's hard to be a public school teacher these days - so I try to show some love by sending in goodies. I get my baking needs worked out and then send the calories out the door. It's a win-win.

If you're interested, this is a divine little crust/filling that is applicable to lots of different toppings. It's Paula Deen inspired; you've probably done it a million times.

Crust:

1.5 c. flour

.5 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. butter

Pulse in food processor until one big ball. (How easy is that?) Using your fingers, spread dough in tart pan with removable bottom until even. Make sure you get it up the sides, too. Then press 1/2 c. chipped pecans into crust. Bake in a 350 oven until golden brown.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 - 1/2 c. powdered sugar, to taste

1 c. real whipped cream

Beat cream cheese and sugar. Fold in whipped cream. Spread in cooled tart crust.

Top with berries of your choice and then glaze with a little bit of warmed jam. YUM!

Help me.

I don't know how well you'll be able to read the screen shot above, but give it a try.

I walked in the playroom/den the other to find Kev at the computer. No biggie - he plays on pbskids.org at least daily. But he wasn't on PBS this time. He was on Google. He was googling. Let's remember that he's five (and just freshly five at that). How does a five year old know how to google? And what does this foretell?

So, we've had the "no googling unless Mommy or Daddy is sitting next to you" conversation. We just barely had that conversation with Amiya a few months ago when she was googling information about Polish culture. And we've already had it with the wee man who is not yet in Kindergarten or dry all night long.

Help me.

Happy Birthday Amiya!

Amiya's birthday party was this past Saturday and she had such a blast. More importantly (ha!), I had a blast, too. If you pick any random number and multiply it times a million, that's not even close to how much I love to plan these parties. I love them (the parties, but also the kids)! And since her theme was science and she wanted to do fun experiments, this whole party was a bit of a stroll down memory lane. It was like teaching again - except no testing, no discipline, no paperwork. Ah, if only every class could be like this one I'd be back in the classroom yesterday.


Some pictures:

I didn't mean for these first two pictures to be first, but I'm having trouble moving pictures around with blogger, so they're here to stay.
Amiya's goodie bags. I completely lucked into these science kits at the dollar store for $1 each. The pop rocks are just sort of science-y fun and the test tube is filled with a Nerds Rope but I told the girls it was really a strand of DNA.
The cakes. These were the most craptastic cakes I have ever, ever done. The fondant work was terrible (don't look too closely, Kelly!) but I had an hour to ice, cover and decorate, so it is what it is. Amiya wanted beakers and flasks, instead she got a petri dish with a big ol' germ (Léna made the germ and she did a great job - all the girls wanted the germ!), a cylinder that was bubbling over with some potion and a balloon beaker that was giving off lots of (dry ice) smoke at the time of the birthday singing. Amiya was happy with them, so I guess that's all that matters.

Amiya and her friend, Bella. Have you ever seen such beautiful smiles?

The scientists - before the first experiment began. I introduced each one as Dr. Amiya, Dr. Kev, etc. Cute!
These were the supplies at each spot. They got a t-shirt (to become their lab coats in experiment #1), safety goggles and their very own lab notebooks. All the experiment information was inside. This was so like teaching - the prep work, the lists, the procedures. LOVED IT!

The table set up - I am lucky to have lots of friends who loaned me tables, so we had outside tables for experiments and tables in the lanai for eating. I am also lucky to have a hubby who has real lab equipment at his disposal - so we filled beakers with colored water and Vinay put dry ice in them for a bubbly and smoky effect.
Is this not the cutest group of scientists you've ever seen? Love them! Amiya wanted a taco bar for her birthday party, so these girls were sitting and waiting patiently to be called up to make their tacos.

But first, they had to eat the contents in their petri dishes. I had explained to them that scientists use petri dishes to grow different bacteria and germs when they are studying them. I told them that I only used a few different germs - flu, cold, salmonella, etc., in their dishes and wished them well when they ate them. Several of the girls looked at me with apprehensive faces, but Amiya knew better:
Once they got going on their petri dish Jell-o, it was all fine. The looks on their faces beforehand were priceless!
The scientist of the hour getting ready for experiment #1: Tie-Dye T-shirts using Sharpies and rubbing alcohol.

All the scientists hard at work - learning how alcohol can pull color through a fabric when water can't. (Or not caring about that at all and just seeing who can make the best designs.)

Elephant Toothpaste: Experiment #2. We used chemicals for Vinay's lab for demonstration purposes. This got lots of shrieks from the girls.

Individual elephant toothpastes using common household products. Not as many shrieks, but still lots of fun!

Experiment #3: Oobleck. Cornstarch and water - who knew it could be so fun!? I think this was the favorite experiment for each of the girls.

(This one? Bored, bored, bored. He's seen it all before. He's too cool for this stuff.)

Experiment #4: Bionic Bubbles These bubbles can be caught and held and even bounced on a gloved hand. This was the least exciting experiment for the kids, but a few of them really loved it.

After all the experiments, the scientists agreed to pose for a group photo. Here you can see them all deep, deep in thought. I'm sure they are solving world hunger, water purification issues, etc.

And here they are in their natural state. And please let it be known that this is BEFORE the snack lab that Amiya wanted when they finished up the party by watching a movie. The snack lab had candy, popcorn, candy, pretzels, candy, cheez-its, candy, candy, candy and more candy. Some of the girls were very restrained with their candy consumption. Others, not so much.

I was talking to Vinay about the whole she-bang afterward and this is, by far, my favorite party ever. Each of these girls was so well-mannered, so thoughtful, so fun to be around. It was really a great time and I hope my daughter is always surrounded with such lovely friends.

The Very, Very Sweet Birthday Surprise

For a few weeks, Amiya's gymnastics classes have been passing out fliers for a Daddy/Daughter Dance that they were doing as a fundraiser. Vinay and I knew about it long before Amiya did and had plans for Vinay to take her since day 1. Amiya, when given the flier after class one night, wanted to go so badly, but I told her I didn't think it was a good idea because it was on her birthday and we all wanted to be together. Plus, I said I didn't think Daddy would like it. She came home and presented her case to Daddy, but he agreed with me. Crushing blow.


On her birthday, she opened up her presents to find a volleyball, a pair of rollerblades and the pretty dress you see below. She also got a gift certificate to the Mommy Salon - where her hair was sprayed into a fancy bun and her toes and fingers were polished with a pretty shade of pink. And finally, she got to borrow Mommy's pink pearl necklace and earrings. H.e.a.v.e.n.!.!.!.


She was oh! so! excited! when it came time to go. Hair done, toes pretty, even mary janes with a little heel (thanks to our friend Sherri who saved the day on the shoes!) and a beautiful new dress. And Daddy looking so handsome in his shirt and tie!

They had a wonderful time - for the most part. Vinay could have done without the shrieking everytime a Justin Bieber song came on! When Amiya came home she said that Daddy twirled her, taught her to waltz and fox trot and even did the YMCA. She crawled up on his lap for cuddles and told him over and over again how special the night was. Brought a few tears to my eyes - she's trying so hard to be so grown up, but she's really still a little girl. So precious!

Amiya's Birthday Week

It's Amiya's birthday week this week and here's the plan she enacted:

Saturday Dinner: Tacos
Sunday Dinner: Dal
Monday Dinner: Crepes
Tuesday Dinner: Pizza
Wednesday Dinner: Baked Potato Soup
Thursday Dinner: Twice Baked Potatoes Mac 'n Cheese

It's a culinary world tour with Amiya: Mexico, India, France, Italy, Ireland and the US

She switched from Baked Potatoes to Mac 'n Cheese because we have shamrock pasta that she wants to use on St. Patrick's Day.

Her activities include a walk to Dunkin Donuts Saturday morning for breakfast, going out for ice cream, a game night, a baby Amiya film festival, and a We Love Amiya poster celebration. She left one night blank because we have soccer three nights a week and gymnastics one, plus Léna's activities. So, she decided to give us a bit of wiggle room.

We've got lots of cool presents in store for her - and a very, very sweet birthday surprise!

Birthday Boy

And I was doing so well! Lots of posts, lots of updates. And then it all fell apart. Kev got the flu. And by the flu, I mean THE FLU. As in the kind that the doctor didn't even have to do more than wave the nasal swab in the general vicinity of the test to determine that he was a Type A flu victim.

We are no strangers to puke around here - both of our kids are pukers. Vinay and I have a rhythm down - whoever is there first soothes, holds, reassures the pukee. Whoever is there second goes for the towels, the buckets, the disinfectant, etc. Neither job is better than the other, both are vital. The times I've had to deal with a pukee and no Vinay were not pretty - mostly because throwing up as a child is a violent, ugly episode and they need to be held.

(Aren't you glad you're here on a Wednesday morning? You're welcome.)

All that to say that we're no strangers to puke, but Kev really gave us a run for our money. It started with a berry smoothie being brought back up late, late at night. And it ended five days later when we finally got him a prescription to help stop vomiting. He couldn't keep anything down, but wasn't ever dehydrated. The hows and whys are a mystery, but there were plenty of signs that he was fully hydrated. The little man has never been so sick, ever. Tylenol and Motrin around the clock to keep his fever in check - although it almost never went below 100 for the duration. He was lethargic like we had never seen and he wanted nothing to eat - not even popsicles. He just didn't know what to do with himself - two to three hour naps in the mornings and in the afternoons, barely being able to keep his eyes open long enough for a TV show. The flu this year has been vicious - and the strain that is being passed is Type A - which the flu shot (that both kids had) does not prevent. The doc prescribed Tamiflu for Kev, but his system wouldn't tolerate it and it just came right back up. So, two doses thrown right back up and eight doses remaining in the fridge. (I'd like a refund of the $50 copay. Please?!?)

Happily, he made an almost full recovery in time for his birthday. He was fever free for 24 hours by the time his big day rolled around, but still very, very tired. He went into school that morning just for a tiny bit to have cupcakes with his friends. His teachers this year are really fun - they have a recording of three or four different happy birthday songs - there's an Elvis version, a Chipmunks version, etc. The kids get into it and the birthday kid just shines! Love it!

And then we had his party. It was a blast. Parties are so tiring, but SO fun for the kids. I always feel like their birthdays should be a huge celebration - it's the day celebrating them for being them. Some pics of the fun (and a bit of not as much fun):
The banner was the bane of my existence this day - it read "Happy Hatchday Kevasaurus" but it wouldn't stay flipped the right way. Ugh.
Cupcakes and cookies. Léna and I made the cupcake toppers and had a lot of fun with it. Maybe I like fondant and gumpaste so much since it's like play-doh and it's so therapeutic? The cookies were a heart-shaped cutter (obviously) and I liked how it kept the dinosaurs a bit cartoon-y and a bit younger.
If you leave a dinosaur alone with a cake, you'll regret it. It was fun to see the kids walk by and do a double take when they saw the big piece missing.

Here's our bit of misfortune. See how his nose has a slight curve to it? That's because Kev and Amiya collided in the bounce house before the fun began and he had a very, very messy bloody nose. It was gushing from the mouth, the nose, and it didn't stop for a good fifteen minutes. Kev is well on his way to the Tom Hounsell crooked nose at this rate!

Léna's watermelon T Rex masterpiece. Everyone loved it!

This was the hottest activity at the party - the kids loved chiseling out dinosaur "fossils" from these plaster bricks.

The second hottest activity - only because Aunt Mia was there. She was a great help and stopped all that paint from becoming a disaster!

Léna was in charge of photography at the party and she did a great job. Unfortunately, Amiya didn't want to cooperate, so this is the only photo we have of her. Goofball. I think she is starting to take after her Uncle Mikey.

Don't look know, but it's a Kevceratops!

Opening up presents - he got some great gifts! These were Schleich dinosaur figurines. We have a million, but that's not enough. He plays with them every day!
This is my favorite picture - it's Kev and his best buddy, Brody. Kev loves this little guy so much and they rarely have a chance to play together, so his day was extra special because Brody was there!