The Polar Express

Witness the trauma we put our daughter through last night. You'd think we played The Godfather or a Stephen King movie for her. But no, it was The Polar Express. That's right. A charming, computer-animated, G rated movie. There was finger-gnawing, mouth-covering, pleas for explanations and even nose-picking. And this was all within the first ten minutes of the movie because that's all she let us watch before it got to be "too 'cary!!!"

And so, if you all could take up a collection and send us money for more of the Disney Princess videos, we'd be much obliged. We have to fast forward through about half of those as they can be "too 'cary," too, but at least there's no nose-picking or finger-gnawing when Cinderella graces the screen.

Quick Pics

Just two quick pics for you to see the new things in our life. The first picture is not just a towel and a pair of jeans on our hastily-made bed. It's actually Amiya, a towel and a pair of jeans. This is the new game. She covers herself up with a towel or a blanket and pretends to be a baby bird who has to hatch out of her shell. Once she pops out she says, "Good mornin' Mama bird!" and then goes back into her shell to break her way out again.

This morning we were treated to a happy Amiya during our morning meal. She not only compromised and had waffles instead of the promised pancakes (how could Mommy not have buttermilk in the house???), she also tore "coupons" for the Katrina families and then turned said "coupons" into a moustache and a wristwatch so she could be just like Daddy.

Turkey Day

Thursday was a great day in the Gupta home. It was the first Thanksgiving I've ever spent without extra people around - either in Green Bay, France (just once) or Urbana (just once). I was feeling a little trepidation going in - who wants to cook a turkey and all the fixings for three, no, 2.5 people? I wasn't so sure about it - but I did and it was delicious. It wasn't a whole turkey, but the breast and it was mighty fine. The mashed potatoes were good (who needs turkey when there are potatoes with butter and milk?) and the stuffing stole the show (for me at least). Vinay liked the rolls the best and Amiya was gaga for the canned cranberry sauce. I know, you'd think with my cranberry fetish it would have been homemade, but my hubby is a stickler for canned cranberry sauce.

The morning was spent with Mommy in the kitchen and Daddy and Amiya tooling around in and out of the house. Then a lovely, late lunch was shared and all three curled up in one big bed for a family nap. Nothing like a tummy full of turkey and a toddler's knees in your back to lull you into a deep sleep and jolt you awake with alarming regularity. After nap Amiya bolted out of the bed to begin decorating the tree. Mommy and Daddy had set it up the night before and Daddy did a masterful job with the lights and the ribbon. Amiya was enthralled from the very moment she woke Thanksgiving morning. She wanted to do it "now." We used this to our advantage and told her repeatedly that she needed to be a good listener if she wanted to decorate the tree. As you can see, she did a fine job. Daddy helped hold her to get the high branches and Amiya took care of the lower ones all by herself. The evening ended with a quiet walk around the neighborhood and yet another viewing of The Disney Princesses Holiday video. Who would have thought that the daughter of Christy would be into the Princesses? Ah well, what can be done?

And the best part of the day for me? I finally got my feather on Amiya's Thanksgiving Turkey. It took a little prompting on Daddy's part, but Amiya came through in the clutch. (See the naked turkey way up top all the way to the final turkey on Thanksgiving Day.)

It's been so long....

since an update. I know and I'd like to promise it won't happen again but that's not something I can stand behind, so I won't do any such thing. Suffice it to say that we've been busy, busy, busy and this gets pushed to the end of the list.

Amiya and Daddy headed to Busch Gardens on Saturday to give Mommy some much needed time at home without a 3' tall shadow. They looked at animals, took a ride on the sky cable and Amiya even got up on stage and danced with Dumphrey the Dragon. I'm still in a bit of shock about it - she's always been intrigued but frightened by this feathery beast. Not so on Saturday, apparently. Having Daddy nearby bolstered her confidence and she talked with Dumphrey and even blew bubbles for him.

The rest of the weekend was pretty standard with Amiya somewhere between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When in a Dr. Jekyll mood, she either wanted to play Princess or a new "vawiation" of the o-rolling game. When it's time to be Cinderella, Amiya wraps herself in her blanket and sings and dances. Mommy is always the Wicked Stepmother (again, trying not to take it personally) and Daddy is assigned the role of the Fairy Godmother complete with blanket dress and measuring cup wand. I'd post a picture of Vinay in his get-up, but I like my marriage so you'll just have to use your imagination. He's got the bibbidi-bobbidi-boo down pat. The part of Cinderella is played so authentically by Amiya that we weren't quite sure what was happening when she wrapped herself up once, ran for the bedroom and started to cry. All at once we understood that we were in the pivotal scene where the stepsisters have torn her dress and Cinderella dashes off to the garden for a good cry.

I'd also like to report that Amiya is trying to turn Mommy's hair gray at the playground. We were, for a few months, content to play on the slides, the swings, the rope bridge. Now we must climb on all the things made for kids with longer legs and better coordination. It's hard to stand by and watch. In some cases, it might even be considered neglect - one climbing apparatus is wound like a tight spring and when she's at the top and lets go her chin goes thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk as it hits all 84 coils on the way down. So, a happy medium is what we're looking for. She needs the autonomy to try new things and see what she can challenge herself to do. I'd like her to come home with no more scars or bruises than when we arrived.

And what's Mommy been up to? Well, the last cake for our cake class. It was supposed to be a wedding cake of sorts with cascading flowers and pillars. That's so not Christy. I opted instead for a combination & variation of a tiled cake I had seen in the Wilton Yearbook and a fondant formed turkey as the topper that I had seen at www.cakecentral.com . I'm pleased with the results and equally happy that the class is over. This is stressful stuff and while I originally thought I might like to do big cakes, drop cookies might be more my style! This has just been too many cakes in a row, too many vats of Crisco and a whole lot of stained fingernails. That being said, I'd love to do cakes for people
who want them and I am looking forward to Amiya's birthday cake. I feel like I've got the confidence and the skills to do it now.

And finally, what you've all been waiting for -
recent turkey feathers go to:
Uncle Jon
Uncle Andy
Uncle Mikey
Coucou
and Grand-mère

That's right, still no Mommy. But, if I've been awarded the role of the Wicked Stepmother it's pretty much the same thing, right?

Turkey Update

Just in case you were wondering who the turkey feathers have gone to lately:

Ravi bhayia
Ms. Lauren
Ms. Dana
Ms. Kim
Tyler
Baby Katie
and
Mr. Matt

Go back and read through all the feathers - notice anyone missing?

I'm trying not to take it personally! ;-)

The Morning After

We returned from Rochester late (late!) Monday night after
a hard day of traveling. Had it been just me or just Vinay,
things would have been easier. But add a toddler to any situation involving small spaces and quiet voices and tension runs high. So, it was a hard day of traveling.

Amiya finally went to bed about midnight Monday night - four hours later than her normal bedtime. (Are you wincing along with me?) She woke up about 8:15 when her little friend Aubrey dropped in while her Mommy went to the doctor. That's a pretty normal wake-up time for Amiya. (Still wincing? I am and it's Wednesday night now.) All was well, fantastic really, until Aubrey's Mommy picked her up. And then, well, there just aren't words, Friends.

Bucked it up, I did, and headed out to the fire station for our Moms Club tour. I knew I didn't stand a chance of fending off the ferocious tantrum monster but I knew that a combination of her other 3' friends and getting to sit in a real fire truck might just do the trick. And it did. It was even a bit surreal. When has this child ever, ever stuck to me like glue since she's been mobile? When has she ever, ever put her head on my shoulder for more than two minutes if it wasn't a stalling tactic to prolong
cuddling and avoid bedtime? And yet, she did. She only let go of me long enough to take a seat in the fire truck. I'm not sure that she really enjoyed it, but she did it. Both pictures are of her in the truck - if you look closely at the second, you'll see eyebrows, forehead and bangs. Maybe next year she'll be tall enough to see out of the truck. I had hoped for a pic of her with the firefighter, but it was not to be. She must be missing that gene that propels all straight women towards men in uniform because she wanted nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the hottie* in all the gear.
Ah well, there is always next time.

I think it's important to note that she had regained her form properly by the time we went to lunch with her 3' friends. I think our little circle is about to be banned from Moe's restaurant, but until the make it official, bring on the toddlers!

*Please know that I used the word "hottie" only because it's still in the mid-80s with a lot of humidity. I felt for the man. Poor guy. Really. What were you thinking, anyway?

A Weekend in Rogers

We were in Rochester, New York for the weekend to see Vinay's brother, sis-in-law, niece and nephew. Amiya had been in a state of constant agitation prior to our trip - any talk at all was of going to Rogers. Rochester is a mouthful when you're two, so Rogers it was until she heard the pilot say it as we touched down. Magically it turned to Rochester.

Imagine, if you will, the joy of seeing your cousins who you haven't seen in almost a year. Imagine the happiness of a two-year old with two doting teenagers. Imagine a constant grin on the face of our little angel (that's complete sarcasm on my part). It was a great weekend - nice enough weather in Rochester that we were able to be outside and lots of time to visit with family. Amiya loved playing with Nisha didi and Ravi bhayia (her cousins). She spent time at the park, on the swings, on Ravi's skateboard, making Nisha climb stairs and freaking out during the movie Chicken Little. She also spent an evening in the company of many pre-teen girls dressed in beautiful Indian clothing and showing Mom and Dad the hand anytime we ventured to see what they were up to. It's never been more clear that Mom and Dad are just accessories to this glam girl's life. Nisha didi, Ravi bhayia and her aunt and uncle are far more interesting than we. I'm not sure if they were prepared for the level of energy which is Amiya, but they handled it admirably. The only time Mommy got any cuddles was at night when Amiya insisted on being my second layer of blankets. And Daddy, well, poor guy. He got nothing. Nothing at all. It got to such a level of cousin-neediness that when Nisha left for soccer practice Amiya was a mess of tears and quivery lips. When we tempted her with chicken nuggets from Wendy's, she absolutely wouldn't go without Ravi. And upon waking Monday morning to find absolutely no one in the house but boring Mommy - you can imagine the chagrin.

And an unrelated side note:
check out the mustache. Amiya discovered
cream cheese while in Rogers and is in loooove! It's not really that much of a stretch given her love for cheesecake, but she'd never encountered cheesecake's simpler, savory cousin. Now that she has, there's no going back.

Wedneday, November 9, 2005 Waveland, MS

Today Christine finished sewing curtains with fabric we had. Tom hung the rods and they are up. We'll finish the rest at home and ship them down.

The deadline is passed for blue roof tarps and clean up sign up. If you haven't asked for help by now you are on your own. Those people who have not yet come back are SOL. Many people 10 weeks after Katrina are still living in tents waiting for Katrina trailers. We worked at POD today giving out supplies. People come up and beg for blankets and pillows. Towels are a very hot commodity, as are wash clothes. Same for dish towels, pot holders and all the other things we take for granted. It is so sad! We feel like we have done so much and yet we hardly see a dent in what needs to be done.

The men cut 15 big boards up into little boards and turned them into window sills in Hope Haven windows. They are looking so good. Friday the Social Services people will not be here so we are going to hit it hard and then head out on Sat early. We have 1300 miles to home and hope to get in late Sunday night.

Tom got a jolt (mild) from some electric lines that were lying near the shed he and Dennis jacked up and moved back onto it's foundation. Terri and I had both handled those lines last week when we cleaned out that shed and children had been playing out in the yard several times this week. The director called the electrician and he came and checked it. Two 110 volt live lines were laying there. We could have been fried! Most of the people living here are dealing with the same thing.

Today a truck pulled up and dropped off dozens of brand new blankets for people who come into Hope Haven. Instead of handing them out to those that need them the Social Services people were grabbing them left and right. We think it should be about need not greed. Some of them needed them, some did not.

Everything here, hand outs, free food, all will be done in two weeks and people will be on their own. Thanksgiving day is "it's over day". If you could see this area you would be appalled. Most of these people don't even have FEMA trailers yet. They are going into the winter living in tents. We are told that it is snowing in Arbor Vitae and we'll think of these people here as we throw another log on the fire.

T, C, D and T

Tuesday, November 8th, Waveland, MS

Hello Everyone,

We are nearing the end of our two weeks here and while we feel very good about what we have accomplished we are aware of how much more needs to be done. Not just here at Hope Haven but across the gulf states. Katrina cut a swath 10 miles deep by 45 miles long.
We have some interesting observations about the people that live down here, black and white. We have certainly had some of our prejudices (sp?) blown right out of the water. How wrong we are to judge a book by the cover.

Terri worked at the Point of Distribution Center again today with Katie. She feels that there are more volunteers here than there are needy in the food line today. We are sure why. Some charities are folding up and going home and perhaps people are starting to get a grip on the reality of this and of course, so many have left. Dennis, Tom and Jerod drove around and helped people cut up trees. They helped one handicapped lady that was trying to rake up the garbage and litter in her yard so that FEMA would deliver her trailer. Her walker was standing by her side and she could barely work. Her cat which was killed by Katrina was laying in her yard to be buried. We have talked that there is more wood here than all of us on Spruce Road would need in a lifetime for our wood burners and fireplaces. All of the quilts I brought are gone and I had a woman today asking for quilts as they have none and the nights are getting cold here. It broke my heart to tell her that we have no more. I worked on valances again today but didn't quite finish them all. We have a security guard here 24 hours a day because Health and Social Services has food stamps and things here and the building could easily be broken in to. They work 12 hour shifts and we have taken these nice young men under our wing.

Our letter is short today as we are tired. Everyone here is so grateful for the help that you are providing through your donations.

T, D, T and C

Inventory Control

If you have a refrigerator and a freezer (and you most likely do) you may have the same problem that we do: inventory control. Sometimes you might forget that you've purchased something - let's use ground beef for example. It's cheaper to buy it in bulk and repackage it. When I'm feeling thrifty I do this. But then I forget that it's in there and end up with 4,000 1 lb baggies of ground beef. Amazingly, we've never had this problem with ice cream. It's not because Vinay eats it and it's truthfully not because of me. It's our little girl. She told her Daddy up and down and all around that there was ice cream in the freezer. Not the fridge, she clarified, the freezer. Vinay thought it might have been consumed, but Amiya knew better. :-)

And today's turkey (besides Amiya) goes to her best buddy Gabe.

Monday, November 7th, Waveland, MS

Good Morning everyone.

We had another busy day on Monday. Terri and Katie worked at the Point of Distribution center handing out necessary supplies. Hot items are Calamine lotion, bug sprays, cold meds. Terri estimates that about 90% of the blankets, pillows and clothing are used and most are pretty thin and sad looking. Right now there is an overabundance of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Everyone is equal in the line. You may have been well off or poor before but now everyone needs everything. The food tent served a vegetarian stir fry with peanut sauce. We are so amazed at these amazing young people and the quality and amounts of food they produce.

Dennis and Tom cut up trees at two different homes yesterday. They need to cut them up in to logs small enough to be able to muscle them up to the road for pick up. Tom's chainsaw has an 18" blade and he couldn't cut through most of these trees without three cuts. The lumber yard has reopened with basically windows and doors. The men needed seven boards and had twelve to chose from. They replaced a broken window in the house and have started replacing window sills.

Jerod worked at the POD (Point of Distribution) driving the forklift and unloading semi's full of supplies. We are again amazed by our two young fellow campers. They are such hard workers and they are living in a little tent sharing our doorless bathroom and our meals. Their parents can be very proud of them.

I sewed curtain valances yesterday and made a dent. There are about two dozen windows to sew for and I am not quite half way done. I brought fabrics from my home stash and they are working out perfectly. It was like it was meant to be.

We have handed out all of the quilts we brought with us. We will need to do more so for all of my fabric stashing quilt friends please consider doing twin bed size quilts for this center. We need cotton batting and we need them machine quilted as they are washed often and tied quilts will not last. These children come to the center with all kinds of hygiene issues and bed wetting problems and so bedding is washed often. We think that another group is doing a sheet shower for the center. Some of you have asked what you can do. The kitchen here has no pots, pans, baking sheets, utensils, drawer dividers... all of the things that we take for granted.

November 7th, 2005

Today was my birthday. It was a nice, calm day as birthday's go and that's what I like. The part that was just a little bit tougher was that it's my 30th birthday! It's not so much the number, but just a realization that I am getting older. I've been wearing contacts for more than half my life, driving for almost half, voting for more than a decade, etc., etc., etc. So while I'm not freaked about the big 3-0, it's just a little startling to realize that some of the things that for so long were milestones are so long in the past. Here's to the future ones then!

For my birthday I was treated to this and this:


I know the picture would be nicer if the gleaming silver bowl were in the mixer, but I've used it so many times that it's hard to find five minutes when it's clean! Vinay also bought me a dozen beautiful red roses - what a man! Amiya treated me to a dozen red-faced tantrums - what a girl! I'm not sure she gets the concept of "gift" because these didn't bring me much happiness and I'd return them if I could.

My birthday dinner was perfect. I'd had a severe pregnancy headache all afternoon, so I told Vinay that all I wanted was for Amiya to be in bed and us to have a quiet meal without cajoling just one more bite of vegetables out of a toddler. I sent him out for a turkey sub, a bag of Doritos and a root beer. Just what a pregnant lady wants I tell you! I had thought of some delicious Thai food or maybe even my Italian favorite eggplant parmesan, but in this (still, annoyingly) hot Florida weather and with a headache, a sub with a cold, cold root beer is just the thing. And, despite all these cake classes, no cake for me. Amazing what being around the stuff so much does to your desire to have it. I need to take an ice cream class, a tortilla chip class, a pizza class, etc. Every class but a salad class and I'd be set.

And the turkey goes to....

Nisha didi!

I'd make it blink for you if I knew how Nisha, but I don't! Just know that Amiya loves you!

Turkey Feather Update

Just in case you were wondering:

Friday - Super Grandma
Saturday - Super Grandpa
Sunday - Babaji

Waveland, MS Monday, Nov. 5 & 6, 2005

Good Monday morning from Waveland, Mississippi. As we told you earlier this past weekend was our opportunity to complete the painting at Hope Haven Home for Abused Children. www.hopehavenshelter.org The building is temporarily headquarters for Hancock County Social Services because their building was leveled and washed away. The home consists of about 16 rooms. On Saturday we finished priming the walls and yesterday we completed the painting. It was easier because every room is the same color and so we just kept "rolling" along. It was two long hard days of painting and we are glad that part of the job is complete. The four of us along with our young couple were the painters. I brought fabric along and my sewing machine and have started sewing valances for all the windows. Full curtains and drapes are not practical because if a child arrives with head lice all fabric items in the house must be washed. There are so many things that we take for granted. The house uses disposable dishes because of the danger of transmitting some of the diseases the kids come in with. Although we are wondering if an industrial type sanitizer dishwasher would meet the needs here and allow them to use dishes that would make it feel more like a normal home? The stories of abuse that some of these children have endured would tear the heart out of the strongest of you.

Terri and I attended services at the little Baptist church across the street on Sunday morning. The service was held outside in the parking lot and we were warmly welcomed by the congregation of about 100. 90% of their people are gone. We again were impressed by the upbeat, positive attitude we encountered. The choir was lovely and the preaching was moving. We were so glad that we attended.

We also wanted you to know about the role of the Red Cross down here. They have small trucks that drive a set route each day delivering water, juices, snacks and hot meals along the way. We met people from Oklahoma and (Yahoo!) Wisconsin. They drive their route and stop in front of every house where people might be working and toot their horn. Anyone can get a meal from them and it makes it great because you don't need to try to go to the "Rainbow Cafe" for a meal. So many here are gutting out their houses and have nothing to cook with or on. We know the Red Cross is doing many more things here as well so your donations do make a difference.

New Orleans, LA November 4, 2005

Hello Everyone,

It's Friday night and we are just back from New Orleans. It was our relax day today and we used it to do laundry up in Kiln, Mississippi. Only a few washers and dryers working in one of the two Laundromats in Hancock County. We also found the "Broke Spoke" bar but it was closed. We did write our messages to Brett Favre on the wall along with hundreds of others. We also found what is left of his mothers restaurant.

We headed to New Orleans in the afternoon and found that the southbound bridge of I-10 into New Orleans was partially blown away. The north bound bridge is used for both directions. We had cafe au lait and cafe noir at the "Cafe DuMonde". We also had begneits. To die for! Then we met a friend from northern Wisconsin's daughter and passed on four quilts made especially for people she knows who lost everything. This lovely young lady led us to a quiet little street on the edge of the French Quarter where we ate shrimp, red beans and rice, greens and andouille sausages. We strolled down the same street weaving our way through piles of garbage and discarded refrigerators that smelled nasty. Almost everyone in the hurricane zone lost their frig's because the power was gone for weeks and food in them spoiled. We ducked into a "jazz" club and listened to a live group for a bit. Very nice to see that New Orleaners are working to take things back to normal.

On the way back to Waveland we found a Lowes open in Slidell, Louisiana and bought a shower curtain and curtain rods for the Hope Haven House. You do not know how luxurious a shower curtain is until you until you don't have one.

We are already feeling that we just won't have enough time to make a dent and we are thinking ahead to how we could come back down and do more. This situation will not be remedied in a few months. It will be years before the damage is repaired and twenty years before trees look like a normal landscape.

We had our first ignorant comment today in New Orleans. A man called out to us "it's time for all the carpetbaggers to go home" when he saw our plates on the truck. Our thought was "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot than to open your mouth and confirm it."

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Love, T, C, D and T

Waveland, MS Thursday, November 3, 2005

Hello Everyone,

We had another great day yesterday. We've been asked how we found this job. We contacted the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity and did not get replies and in fairness to them they are swamped. I then went on line and got into the state of Mississippi web site. They had a link for Disaster Relief help.

Thursday, the men painted the finish coat on the activity center room walls. Then they repaired a storage shed and made it water tight. Terry and I tackled another shed that was the lawn and tool shed. When we opened the door we nearly flipped. What a mess! Lawn mowers, tools, blowers,dozens of paint cans, oil, boxes of nails and house supplies and all mixed in to a muddled muddy mass. We debated, wait and work up our courage or hit it and get it over with. We hit it and cleaned it out. Most everything gets heaped on piles next to the road and then bull dozers come in periodically and doze and load garbage. The men found a hardware store and bought a few doors that they can install at the house. We had a young couple show up from Washington state with a tent and they will be here for a month or so. The six of us were invited for Spaghetti at the director of the centers house. It was a lovely evening and a nice break for he and his wife as the stress of dealing with day to day challenges here are heavy. The WalMart reopened here in a tent and has only basic groceries. A major step.

We did not take photos but will get many today. I have handed out all but a few baby quilts. I gave the three quilts from Cheri and Barb to three boys, grandsons of Hope Haven house, whose home was totally lost. They were so happy. The Red Wagon group quilts are being delivered Friday as we are headed towards New Orleans and looking for a laundromat. Have called DeeDee's daughter but she has not called back yet. Today is our rest day because we will work All day Sat and Sun in the center. The social services people will be off and we can work uninterrupted. We have a little southern Baptist church across the street that is totally gutted. We can see studs inside and nothing else and they are having service Sunday morning. So we are going. We are told that this is a black church by choice and I asked a little elderly lady at the meal dome if we would be welcome. She assured us we would.

We are doing this because we can not because we are looking for pats on the back, Nor is it our intention to put weight on those who can not be here. Everyone can help in someway. A local teacher was in yesterday and we helped her chose toys for her class. People here are so angry with our government relief plans but they all say that the people of America have been wonderful. We say a hand painted sign on a pile of rubbish that said "Thank you for helping us" It was directed at the volunteers coming in on this highway. This has made us aware of how much we take for granted. Look for a large report with photos of New Orleans tonight.

D, T, T and C

Turkey and then Turkey

Today Amiya is a genuine toddler turkey. She woke up at 6 AM on the dot, crooning to me through the monitor. "Mommy, I'm ready! Mommy, I'm awake." Mommy wasn't ready or awake and so there Amiya stayed singing to Bear for a good bit of time. The time change is killing Mommy!!!

Today is the day Daddy comes home. Ask me how many times we've talked about this in the 1.5 hours this child has been awake. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that he's coming home and I'm thrilled that she is so in love with her Daddy. It's just scary that I'm actually trying to initiate conversations about Clifford or Elmo instead of talking about going to the airport yet again!

And finally, today's turkey feather goes to Grandpa! Like Grandma's feather, absolutely no hesitation about who she loves!

Two Waveland, MS Sites

If you're interested in more information on Waveland's recovery efforts, please visit the following sites:

Rising from Ruin

FEMA Forgot Waveland

Waveland, Mississippi, November 3, 2005

Hello Everyone,

The weather here is beautiful today and makes it easier for those who are sleeping in their cars and on cots. Today we found a grocery store about ten miles away that had just reopened and picked up a few things. When we came out we stopped a young couple with four little children to ask if they needed quilts or toys. They said no they needed a place to live.

Tom and Dennis worked at cutting trees and moving wood again during the day. Terri and I went up to a grocery store parking lot where FEMA has a huge dome tent set up to feed people. Right now they are feeding about 300-400 people at each of three meals a day. The people that are working here are primarily what you might classify as hippies, dreadlocks, piercings, tribal clothing and flip flops. All young, in their 20's, and absolutely amazing. There are dishwashing tanks set up, cooking tents, and it looks like no one in charge and yet everything gets done. The philosophy is that you do what ever needs doing. Terri and I are called sister and mama interchangeably by the group. Todays lunch was fried rice with eggs and veggies, teriyaki chicken or hamburgers, green salad, bread, milk or water. After lunch we washed down tables, cleaned up and then cut several bushels of squash into chunks for tonight's dinner. This center also has a food distribution center where people can come and get groceries. We then met the met and worked at the shelter painting until 9. A long day but a good day.

We are learning what things we should be sending out to the relief efforts. Clothing is in abundance. People need everything for their homes, pans, pots, dishes, towels, bedding, dishes, etc. A suggestion for you, package clothing in zip up plastic bags and label them with sizes, etc.
That's all for today.

Waveland, Mississippi - Tuesday, November 1, 2005

This is the house that we are revamping.

It actually doesn't look too bad compared to the photos I have been sending. That's because immediately after the storm a group of Seabees was dropped in here to help this town. All city offices, library, fire, police were totally destroyed and so saving other things of use to the community became a priority and this shelter for abused children moved way up on the list. The Seabees dragged out every piece of mud soaked furniture, appliances and fixtures. The storm had flooded to the roof lines of this house. Three weeks before Katrina they had finished and opened an addition to this house that normally houses about a dozen children at any given time. The Seabees also ripped out all of the tile floors, wiring, plumbing, drywall until the house was a shell. They then rewired, plumbed, drywalled and repaired the exterior. They also cut up and moved all of the large trees that were destroyed and in the yard and hauled away all of the garbage. So then we volunteered to come do whatever they needed help doing and the center was happy to have us. Before we arrived some things changed because the social services department of this county had also been totally demolished. The board of this center decided that SS had the greater need at this time and is allowing them to use the building for the day. So we work in the center after 5 at night and do the painting and trim work. During the day we have been working anywhere they need us. The last two days Terry and I opened and sorted through at least 100 boxes of toys donated. We have been handing out toys and quilts to people and they are so grateful for anything. Thanks to the ladies of Winter, WI for the 63 quilts you sent. Many of the toys came from a drive in the Washington, Missouri area. The ladies from one of the churches sent a case of cookbooks to be sold as a money maker but no one here has money to buy them. Terry and I offered to take them back home and sell them. We'll then send the money to the center.
We are learning that there are better ways to send donations for things like this. We saw a parking lot that had clothing just dumped on the ground and people could dig through it. Yes, it gets dirty and rained on and will probably be bull dozed eventually. Wasted effort and donations.
We are amazed at the upbeat attitude of people. They are discouraged and unhappy about the way insurance companies and the government has responded to this but are so pleased for any help that comes their way. We also hear many stories of people coming in to take advantage of the situation. They say we'll repair your roof for X$ but need 50% cash up front because banks are not open. Then they disappear with the money. Same thing with tree cutting, gutting, and so on. Tomorrow I'll try to get a picture that shows the trailers that are everywhere. We had a lady that has foster children and they are nine total living in a 2 bedroom FEMA trailer. Trust me these FEMA trailers are bare bones basic and have no dishes, pots, pans, sheets, towels, supplies... and of course the people living in them don't have them either. Katrina took it all. The interstate 10 was under several feet of water and you see refrigerators, beds, furniture, clothing all along the sides where they bull dozed it to the side so help could get in. All in all it has been a tiring day but very rewarding. We'll close today with 2 more pictures from this city. The first is a house blown off of its lot and the second is the American Legion. By the way, many homes have their addresses spray painted on the front because they were moved to other lots by the Katrina waves. Please let us know if you do not want these updates. Oh and if any of you want to help, get in your campers or borrow a tent and come on down. There's room for you right next to us on this lot and plenty of ways to make a difference. The area is amazingly safe and we have a county sheriff living in a trailer next door because hazmat teams are now gutting his house. We really need a plumber and an electrician here so if you can please come on down!
Terry, Dennis, Tom and Christine

Who does Amiya love today?

Today's feather on our Thanksgiving bird is Grandma. There was no hesitation, no deliberation. A clear and quick "Graaaama!"

How cute is she?

Meet Carli, an avid reader (that's stretching the truth just a bit) of this blog. Her Mommy said I could put her pic up here because she's just too cute for words and because little Carli will get to see herself where she normally only sees her long distance friend Amiya!

How we look today

This post is for Vinay - so he can see what he's missing! (Ha ha ha ha ha.)

How come Amiya gets a short sleep and wakes up bouncy? Mommy gets a short sleep and wakes up pale? And, I'll have you know, neither the scarf or the hat that I'm wearing were by choice. We were going on a 'rip (trip) and apparantly I needed protection from the 'now.

Halloween Cancelled, Bring on Thanksgiving

You're probably looking for an Amiya as Clifford while Trick-or-Treating picture. Not going to happen. Someone started coming down with a cold Saturday, woke up to full-blown snottiness, crackling cough and lethargy on Sunday. Monday started a bit better after a night with the miracle product Gentle Vapors. She even woke up to tell me that she was feeling a bit better.

Not so. Not (bad word) so.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon when no nap was taken, despite constant yawning and circles like peppermint patties under her eyes. Let's skip right over the 45 minute tantrum where Mommy had to physically restrain Amiya from bashing her head on the tile floor or the changing table. Moving on to dinner where Amiya barely picked at her roast chicken (homemade like a good Mommy does when her child is sick) and potatoes, usually her favorite meal.

Let's move right to 6:30 when the first costumed cherub came to the door. Mini-meltdown and complaining of ear pain. Mommy swabs outer ear to find pints of pus and not the fake, costume kind. This is the real deal, another (bad word) ear infection. One dose of Nighttime Triaminic for the cold symptoms, one dose of Tylenol for the ear pain (after checking with the doctor to make sure doubling up was ok), one reading of Cinderella and one cuddle. Off to bed she went and was sound asleep by 6:45. She slept well until 4:00 this morning when the fun and games began again. I'm not nuts about the fact that she was wide awake and ready to go, but at least she was in a good mood. As I tried to sleep and she sang to Bear next to me, I got many kisses and "Shhhhhh. Mommy. Have 'weet dreams." in my ear.

Off to the doctor for yet another round of antibiotics.

The good news is that we're now on to my favorite holiday all year - Thanksgiving. I love it and not even because of the food. It's always been a good holiday in my family (and that's with pretty abysmal hotel food) and I've loved that it isn't about presents or fireworks or anything of the kind. It's just a day for being thankful for the charmed life I've had. And so, to get Amiya in the spirit we've been reading Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks. I think she gets that there are some things in these kids' lives that are nice and we've started to talk about what's good in her life.

We're also going to make our own Thanksgiving turkey. Witness the naked bird stuck on our refrigerator:

Everyday we'll add one feather to the turkey with the name of someone or something that Amiya loves. It might be a bit tough to get her to verbalize being thankful for, so we'll stick with loves. For Day 1, she has chosen a yellow feather and wanted to let everyone know that she loves Daddy. Guess who she's missing?

It's the Most Wonderful Time

This post has got nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Amiya. So if that's what you're reading for, read no further. This post is all about nature's most delicious, sassy fruit: the cranberry. I love the cranberry, so much so in fact that my internet name for many places is CranberryClo. If I must drink juice, it's cranberry juice. If I must (ha! because I've never been forced to eat a carb) eat quick breads for breakfast my bread of choice is cranberry bread. If I must eat dried fruit then bring on the cranberries. Just about the only thing cranberry I'm not a fan of is that nasty gelatinous cranberry sauce that slides out of the can for easy slicing. That wouldn't be fair to an ordinary banana, nor to an everyday apple. Why, oh why, have they demoted the cranberry to that fake, jiggly state?

Now is the time for cranberries. I can happily attest to this fact as they are readily found, even in Florida where cranberry bogs are as foreign to Floridians as lanais are to Wisconsinites. We must make hay while the sun shines as cranberries are not in season year round, unlike the cottony, flavorless strawberries in the stores or the seemingly year-round supply of apples and oranges that really spend their non-peak time in carefully controlled warehouses where the juicy life is leeched right out of them.

In light of this urgent need to consume this delicious morsel as joyously as possible, I submit to you the following recipes:

Oatmeal Pancakes - a great pancake base, we add orange zest, pecan pieces and dried cranberries and we use the real deal - old-fashioned oats.

Sparkling Holiday Jam - read the reviews to see how we changed it up. So, so good - so good, in fact, that I made two batches because I know it won't last! Fantastic as a mix-in to plain yogurt. Just enough cranberries, just enough sweet. (In the Bonne Maman jar - love that red, red color!)

Cranberry Jam - Matt passed this recipe to me and it's like homemade cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving - tart, tangy and delish! Let's not even talk about cranberry jam on top of pancakes. And I'm contemplating this as a filling for a butter cake - what a tasty, beautiful holiday dessert. (In the smaller jar.)

Cranberry Bread - perfect as is, but do not blend until well mixed. You should still see powder!

There will be more, dear Friends, there will be more. Somewhere out there is a recipe for turkey tacos with cranberries and sweet potato fries and a killer scone recipe. I'll get those up just as soon as I can. In the meantime, go out, get a bag and see what you can do. Cranberries are little bits of naughtiness and sweetness all in one bite. They're meant to be used and abused. And when you're done with all that, report back. This cranberry lover can never get enough!

Waveland Mississippi, Day Two

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween. Today Dennis and Tom cut up pines and maple for a volunteer of the Children's Shelter. They found a truck under the trees when they finally got to the bottom of the one pile. They finished with a pile about 10 X 40 X 10 feet deep. Terry and I worked on sorting toys in a pole building. We separated new from used and broke them down into boy, girl, baby,etc. New will be stored away so there will be things to give at Christmas. Used are given away now. Please spread the word to your schools, churches, etc. to not collect and send stuffed animals. They tend to hold moisture and molds as well as head lice and other critters so most of them that arrive will need to be disposed of. (Christy butts in: most local fire departments accept new and really gently used stuffed animals for children who have survived fires.) When you donate items to shelters and other disaster relief efforts please make sure they are washed and sorted. There are no places to clean up dirty donations. The warehouses have blown away. There is no water in most areas yet. There is no garbage collection. There are no city workers and the cities are bankrupt so they couldn't pay them anyway. You can not imagine the scope of this. Every police car in this area was destroyed. Officers escaped the storm by busting through the roof of the department and hanging in trees for hours while the storm raged around them. Unemployment before Katrina was 3% now it is at 47%. Nothing is open....the WalMart was blown down, the KMart will not be reopening. The closest grocery store open is half an hour away. Most people do not have electric yet. We are lucky in that we do have power to plug the trailer in but we almost feel guilty about it. We drove around two cities this morning comparable to Woodruff Minocqua and they are nothing but piles of debris. We saw houses that were blown up on to giant trees. We saw boats, big boats, on house roofs. We saw a semi trailer that had been lifted by the water surges onto a building. A two story home on the beach with the entire first floor gone.

We celebrated Halloween and had pizza at the home of the director of this abused children's shelter. His daughter and her family lost their home. The insurance companies are not treating these people well despite what they are saying on the news reports(sorry Al). Insurance companies are paying only for damage above the high water mark which in many cases was over the roofs. This mans daughter got $12,000. from her insurance. The banks are giving you 90 days grace on your mortgage payments added to the other end. We sat out in his driveway and handed out candy to trick or treaters. Young and old, parents and kids were in costume and in good spirits. We are all amazed at the positive attitude of the people we are helping that have lost so much.

Hurricane Katrina, Revisited

If you've never met my parents, Tom and Christine, they're pretty cool folks. (I have to put the qualifier pretty in there because, after all, they are my parents and to just say cool would be a bit much, eh?) They have gone on a two-week "trip" with neighbors Dennis and Terry. The trip isn't a trip of good times and fun only, but since these four are retired from their full-time jobs, it's a trip to use their skills and help the people whose lives and homes have been forever changed by Hurricane Katrina. I've asked if they mind if I post their experiences here and they said it's fine, but judiciously as they aren't looking for accolades or publicity. But, after what they wrote after setting up their camper, I think it's important to share it. Because of the Scotter Libby fiasco, Harriet Miers' resignation, the World Series, Hurricane Wilma, the horrendous earthquake in India, Saddam's trial, bombings in Delhi, etc., focus is slowly shifting away from these people who needed our attention six weeks ago and who will need it still six years from now. Maybe sharing it here will inspire some among us to write a check or find a displaced family settled in our area that we can help out.

It is with a very heavy but happy heart that we send this message out to you. We arrived here on the Gulf Coast just over the Mississippi/Louisiana border about dinner time and shortly before dark. In your wildest dreams you can not imagine what isn't here any more. We only had a little time to see things tonight and there was no way to handle the shock of it. We are including one picture and will send more tomorrow night. This picture shows the northern edge of this area. The southern end looks like what a Marine we met said looks umpteen times worse than the results of the 500 pound bombs they dropped in the first Irac war. We will be working at an abused children's shelter and other places around. It is almost overwhelming as to where to start. We (the four of us agree) that we are going to work as hard as we can for the two weeks we are here and we are going to keep telling you about what we see because the news media is on to other stories and this story will not have an ending for years.

This building was devastated by a 20 foot tidal surge. It left a chair tangled in the overhead power lines. Most of this area still does not have power. Most of the people who live here have lost everything. The four of us are looking around and feeling guilty for having all that we have. All of you can not be here, but you can work within your home communities and make a difference and please don't stop doing things for this area of the country. We can make a difference if we all do a little.

Dennis, Terry,Tom and Christine
30/October/2005

Shoe Shopping

Mommy has quite literally worn out the two pairs of shoes she wears all the time. They were cheap-o Target flipflops that I loved to death. But, as with all good things, the end has come. So Friday saw us out and about doing errands and Mommy bought not one, not two, but three pairs of shoes! As with most of my shoes they weren't terribly or even moderately expensive, but they are cute, quick and off and on easily.

Amiya was feeling decidedly left out. She hasn't ever been shopping where someone got shoes and it wasn't her. So.... while we were at the Dollar Store buying toothpicks and pastry brushes for the cake class, we happened across an even cheaper than Mommy's pair of shoes with (and this is really important) a matching bracelet. Amiya had to have them. Nevermind they won't fit for at least two more years, never mind they have heels, nevermind the fake daisies are peeling off. Much like her Grandma's shoe-love - she browsed, she saw, she (meaning I) purchased.

It's now day two with the shoes and love's strong flame has already started to flicker. The flat feet of a toddler are not comfortable in heels. The plastic safety latch that connects the two ends of the bracelet has already been sacrificed to the dark cavernous spaces of her car seat. And yet, I feel as if we've shared a sacred right of girl/womanhood. We've shoe shopped.

Sound the alarm!

We have experienced a major medical trauma in the last twenty-four hours. George Clooney and Noah Wylie have been called in for their expert medical consultation and both of these strong men have been beside themself with angst and desparation. We have bought out Sam's Club's supply of antibacterial salve. We have used no less than a million bandages. We have come this close (**) to amputation.

Witness the horror:

What? You say you can't see it? I don't believe you. Amiya's only two and she can see nothing but. Look again:

Surely you must be able to see it now. It's not the helpfully placed arrow but the gravity of the wound that draws the eye. Doesn't it look gangrenous to you? Don't you think it needs stitches? Steri-strips? At least a good soaking in an iodine solution?

You would think that Amiya expects a Medal of Valor for this. We hear talk of nothing (absolutely nothing) except for this owie on her hand. We try to feign surprise when she announces that the owie is still there five minutes after we last kissed it and told her it will go away in a few days.

And the moral of the story - don't play with mulch! We tell her this every.single.time we go to the playground and yet she still does. You'd think she'd learn.

Happy Halloween!

Today was the first of four (yes four) Halloween events for this little one! Imagine the happiness, the mayhem, the stickiness. I'd really like to suggest that we move Thanksgiving closer to Halloween because the tryptofan in the turkey is needed after the sugar highs of a toddler with a trick or treat bag. Luckily, Amiya scored mostly granola bars and she doesn't have the enthusiasm for those that she does for the newly discovered Nestle Crunch. I've got several pictures of the little Clifford in her costume, but we'll have to wait a bit on those as they've all got other kids in them and I don't like to put up pics without the Moms' permission first.


I will, however, share this picture of our Sunday morning. This is not a toddler in the throes of a tantrum nor a paper maché project on our living room floor. This is Amiya clipping coupons for the families. We're still talking about the families who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. She clips coupons for them every Sunday which means she tears up the Target ad. And, rather coincidentally, she always remarks on how the family must not have something she really wants. While waiting in line at Kinko's the other day, she spotted a package of very bright highlighters. When I told her that we had markers at home she very resolutely told me that they weren't for her but rather for the families who don't have markers because of the storm. (And if you look closely enough, you can see Baby Katie doing naked push-ups behind Amiya. I'm not sure if Amiya had her training for something or if it was a punishment but sometimes we don't ask questions.)

And finally, not really about Amiya, but I'm
pretty proud: the cake I had to make for our final week of class. I went into tonight thinking I was going to hate the basketweave thing, but I actually like it a lot when it's brown. The cake took forever but I'm pleased. And mostly I'm happy to have learned some of the techniques as I feel pretty confident that I could now make a really cool Clifford birthday cake should the need arise!

Daddy Daughter Day

Saturday is a good day in the Gupta household. Amiya's too young to be involved in sports and activities that require running about and so we've got the day to do with as we want.

Today started by trying out the new electric griddle that we bought. We really purchased it to make dosas without all the oil, but as this non-Indian can't handle many Indian scents in the morning, we made pancakes instead. And here's a little commercial plug - if you happen to live near a Target that sells Archer Farms brand (the Target brand) go out and get a can of their Maple/Pecan pancake mix NOW. It's that good. I'm not a big fan of homemade pancakes generally, I rather like the McDonald's pancake taste. These are a happy compromise plus what's not to love about pecans in butter and syrup? But I digress. Amiya devoured her pancake and didn't even realize that it was supposed to be donut day.

After this, Amiya and Daddy headed out to see Dumphrey the Dragon (or Dragon the Dumphrey, as Amiya calls him) at Busch Gardens. Mommy got some time to herself to rest and try and sleep off some more of this awful cold/throat thing Daddy passed to her. While at Busch Gardens she not only saw Dumphrey and gave him a hug and a kiss, but she rode on some rides with Daddy and saw a bird show, too.

Upon coming home, it was nap time and Amiya was having none of that. While Daddy tried to rest, Amiya serenaded him over the baby monitor with the tunes from the Dumphrey show of the morning. How he slept I'll never know - her vocal warblings were too much for me.

Having a much, much faster internet connection means a whole world of games has opened up for Amiya. Weekends regularly see Amiya sitting on Daddy's lap playing the games at Sesame Street, PBS Kids or Fisher Price. She also begs to type messges to Daddy on the kewpewter.

And in the sweetest news of the weekend, Amiya and Daddy got ready together Saturday morning while Mommy recuperated on the couch. After Daddy finished shaving, Amiya pressed her cheek to his and remarked on what a good job he had done making special note of how nice his "cheeksuff" (cheek stuff = aftershave) smelled. I can only relay the details secondhand as I wasn't conscious for this exchange, but suffice it to say that there was one charmed Daddy afterwards.

Completely confused

Willard Scott has nothin' to fear! We've been talking weather here for a few months now - we've got the basics (sunny, cloudy, rainy) down pat. That's really all we need in Florida. Somehow though, the kid thinks we're going to get snow and soon. She obviously hasn't been listening to the Wilma news. I left her wearing only her t-shirt dress and underwear in her big girl room for quiet time today and came back to find her dressed in her striped tights and two scarves. She tells me she's gettting "ready for the now, Mommy!"

Little Obie

In what will surely come as no surprise to any of you, little Obie had no desire to participate in today's peep show. He/She laid on his/her side the whole time thus giving us fantastic frontal views, but no profile shots without a lot (and I really can't stress that enough), a lot of poking on Mommy's tummy and uterus by the ultrasound tech. But can you blame the kid? He/She just found out about toes and spent the entire time exploring them. We saw constant movement of hands reaching for toes or one hand reaching for the other.

Obie's heart, brain, legs, hands, arms, etc. all look good. Everything is measuring right on target for a due date in early March. The tech was surprised to know that I had been feeling kicks already and that is reassuring as they are not constant and sometimes not even daily. We were finally able to see a profile after the tech pushed on my stomach hard enough to merge two kidneys into one. The picture (above) isn't all that clear, but you can see a head, a little nose and two obviously annoyed baby lips. Much like his/her sister, there's also a thumb on route to the mouth. And, we can probably assume from the halo around the head that this child will also be a mini-gorilla.

We watched the video when we all got home and Amiya could not have cared less. She was clearly expecting my womb to be in technicolor and animated by a team of Walt's finest. She did walk up to the screen a few times to give the baby a kiss, but only when something was so very obvious.

And in the big shocker of the day - while lying on the table Vinay made it subtly clear to me that he wanted to know the sex. Let me remind you: I do not want to know. But so hard to deny something to this guy who is amazing to me, ya know? So......... we have the sex of the baby written down with a confirming ultrasound pic in an envelope in my purse. What, oh what dear Friend, should we do with this? Vinay wants to read it, I don't and maybe it's heinous of me, but I don't want him to read it, either. I really want the surprise for both of us. Awful wife, I know. If he does read it, he's got no one to be excited with as he's promised he won't tell me and there is no way anyone else is going to know before me. What should I do? Is this grounds for divorce? Horrible cruelty? Absurd expectations?

Arts and Crafts for the Toddler and Mommy Set

Our Michael's store has a preschool crafts "class" every Monday morning. It's $2 and a very good time if you're two. If you're the Mommy, you sit patiently while your child does the exact opposite of what the project is and wonder to yourself when children actually follow instructions. But you wonder quietly to yourself, not wanting to squish creative instincts that are just starting to grasp things like glue and feathers and sparkly, plastic gems.

Amiya's creation this week is this fabulous Halloween mask. She didn't want to do it at all, instead focusing on gluing on the table itself. However, once the teacher showed her how to put shiny butterfly cut-outs on the whole party changed and she was ready to do some serious gluing! She was quite disappointed to not be able to wear her mask home. Alas, it was full of wet glue and sized for adults. Glue + toddler with long hair + car ride home = Mommy with scissors and child with short hair.

And for Mommy's class at Michael's it's only just a bit cleaner than the toddler class. Powdered sugar everywhere and gobs of frosting stuck to chests, fingers and hair. We're on royal icing now which is not really fun and, if you're a hand mixer, fatal because of the very thing that makes it so amazing to work with - it's thickness. But the good news is that the flowers are fantastic and a dead hand mixer means a new Kitchen Aid mixer for Mommy. Vinay agreed to it on the phone today - whoohoo! I'm holding him to it!
Mommy's last class is next Tuesday and I have to make a basketweave cake. Blegh! I don't really mind the basketweave itself - it's that the cake we're supposed to make is pastel colors with bluebirds. That is not Christy at all. So, instead I'll make it brown with fall leaves, flowers, pumpkins and acorns. I don't know if the teacher will "approve" or not, but I don't think she'll hold off my certificate because of it. But now I know where Amiya gets her little bit about not following project guidelines.

Bear's and Baby Sister's Birthday

As birthday parties go, I have to recommend having them for stuffed animals rather than actual living, breathing things. Amiya was thrilled with Bear's party and the guests were in and out within twenty-two minutes. Brilliant!

The party started well before the guests arrived with Amiya picking a cake mix at the grocery store and informing every single person we happened across that it was Bear's and Baby Sister's birthday today. We had to explain to several people that she had not yet consumed the frosting but was just very excited.

We came home to all take naps and Amiya woke up cranky. Upon seeing Bear's cakes being made, all was well. She even helped to coop out the batter into the mini-pans. A future Martha (minus the ankle bracelet), perhaps?

After a dinner of chicken, rice and raita, Amiya was all birthday all the time. Her good buddies Gabe and Avery were slated to come over at 7:00 and Amiya had her birthday hat on by 6:45 ready to party. Bear, of course, was subjected to the same.

Avery and Gabe joined the fun around 7:00 and everybody looked just a little confused. Who has a birthday party for a stuffed animal?

Whatever, they're two and a free-for-all with
cake and frosting sealed the deal for them. Avery preferred to bypass the cake and ingest the frosting directly, Gabe carefully applied his sprinkles and Amiya spent most of the time spreading her frosting - obviously practicing her hummus skills from the day before. And poor Kylie - Avery's one-year old sister. No cake for her. Miss Christy had only three mini-cake pans. Kylie's not going to forget this anytime soon.

When the good friends had left, Amiya tried to con us into making a tend (pretend) cake for Bear's birthday. Quick, strongly-worded persuasion on our part has convinced her that Bear and Baby Sister will not have another birthday until next October. And now, since I've got pictures with dates to prove it - there's to be no confusion!

After the "party," Amiya feigned exhaustion, bringing all of her pillows and blankets, as well as Bear and Baby Katie, into the living room to leep. In a happy turn of events for Mommy, I had to sleep with her. Ahhh the joys of having a child whose preferred play for the evening is pretend sleeping! She may have been pretending, but I can't say I would have been for long. Unfortunately, the sugar consumed meant her little body wasn't going to be still and playing sleeping wasn't going to last.

But after a good and thorough teeth-brushing and many hugs, she went to sleep happy. And that is the bottom line. If a silly party for a stuffed bear makes the girl this happy - then RSVP now for next week's gala!

Hummus Monster

Feeling uninspired by our standard lunch choices (fish sticks, pizza rolls, bologna sandwich), Amiya chose hummus for her meal today. She didn't actually choose "hummus", but rather "bread with dip." Silly kid. But, I knew once she tucked into it it would be gone in a flash as she'd devoured this on other occasions.

So, I placed half of the container of hummus (approx. 4 T.) on her little plate, sprinkled it with paprika and garlic salt and a bit of olive oil. Did a quick heating of the naan on our stove and off she went. She looked at it, then looked at me, looked at it again and decided, it would seem, that I hadn't done her too wrong with food lately, so she'd give it a go. Her entire meal was gone within ten minutes and she was begging for more. Knowing that hummus is not a bad choice, especially compared to our standard lunch menu), I was very, very tempted. But, it was lunch and she'd be napping soon and I wasn't sure that hummus + nap = happy big girl underwear awakenings. So, she sated her appetite with applesauce and told me that the hummus is her new favorite. All's well that ends well, no?

Here you can see her showing off her brand new knife skills as she spreads the hummus. She is towards the end of her meal here and frankly, what a relief. Impossible to take a picture before this as the food had been inhaled up until this point and our camera's shutter speed could not work so well so fast.

Happiness is...

...waking up on Saturday morning, knowing that the only things that need to be done that day are by choice and with friends and family.

...seeing Daddy and Amiya take Bear and Baby Katie on a walk through the living room, with Amiya pushing Baby Katie in her stroller and Daddy carrying Bear in the shopping cart so as to not kill his back.

...seeing Amiya gobble up her craisins and ask for more. I'm proud to say I've passed on the love of all things cranberry.

...Daddy untangling the window blind strings and Amiya giving him a "helping" hand.

...knowing friends will be coming for dinner tonight and enjoying the preparation for it.

...missing friends from Tolono and Bloomington, but knowing they understand.

...having a few hours to oneself while Daddy and the wee one are at the zoo.

You are cordially invited...

...to Bear's & Bear's Baby Sister's Birthday Party.

Amiya now has an entire family conjured up for Bear - we have to tuck Bear, her Baby Sister and her Grandpa and Grandma into the blankets for every.single.nap.and.every.single.bedtime. We are grateful that she hasn't really figure out the world of cousins yet. Daily we hear about the exploits of all the bear family and now she's imagined that it's Bear's & Baby Sister's birthday. So, Sunday we'll be having a small party. I've got loads of frosting left from my cake class, so I'll let Amiya decorate a little something and we'll have milk and cake and sing happy birthday to Bear.

If you'd like to join us, it'll be Sunday, sometime after lunch but before nap. No presents required as Bear has no opposable thumbs to deal with pesky wrapping paper. And if you can't make it, perhaps just a quick call to wish Bear a very happy day? I know one little girl who would be very happy!

Such consideration!

This morning I woke to hear Amiya saying, "Mommy, where are you?" then "Mommy, come get me." It was a bit earlier than normal and a middle-of-the-night nightmare on Amiya's part meant that Mommy was still tired. I was hoping, hoping, hoping that she would drift back to sleep. Not to be. Fifteen minutes later I heard, "Mommy I need you now!" This sounded serious so up I got and off I went.

I walked into her room to find her leaning against the side railing of her crib, ever so calmly. She was smiling and happy, not what I expected when I heard that command. And then she said, "I been tandin' (standing) for a while 'cuz I pooped and didn't want to get it on the sheets."

Can you believe it? I thought it was too cute for words - never mind the fact that she was fully clothed so the offending mass wasn't going to leak out anywhere. Vinay thinks it's a sign that she's growing up and that's surely true, too. But really, just too sweet and considerate. And the funniness of it made it so that changing the first poopy diaper in about a month wasn't all that horrible at that early hour of the morning.

Hoodlum

My Dad used to have this thing about us kids wearing hoods when we were younger. He didn't like them. Period. Especially if they were black. He said we looked like hoodlums. We never took him too seriously, though, and happily it was just another chance for us kids to tease him.
My brothers tease him still and they've found other ways of getting to him - still mainly to do with hats and haircuts.

So, when I told my brother Andy that Amiya was wearing a hoodie, he immediately said that Grandpa wouldn't like it because she'd look like a hoodlum. I don't think there's much worry about that though - there aren't many hoodlums out there who wear white hoodies with pink flowers embroidered around the neckline.

This one's for you, Grandpa!

The Not So Happening Guptas

It was an eventful, yet not really exciting, weekend in Tampa for the Guptas. Friday night was Sesame Street, Saturday night was a desi

party at our house and Sunday was a trip to a pumpkin patch in the middle of Hyde Park Village in Tampa.

We've told you all about Friday already so I won't say much. But I will say that we are still feeling the effects. It's no longer good enough to watch Sesame Street on TV. She shuts the TV off everytime. Nope, it seems once you go live you can't go back!

Saturday's desi (Indian) party was a nice night. We had three couples over who all hailed from various parts of India, as well as four children ranging from 9 months to 8 years. Amiya quickly found the only girl and grabbed her hand for the rest of the evening. She called her didi the whole night and would not let her be. Luckily, this didi is as kind and as good with little ones as her didi in Rochester, so there were no hard feelings. I will proudly say that there were several who were surprised and impressed by the authenticity of the food I had made and that's a bit of a feat for a chick who had never eaten Indian food before 1999.

Sunday was a mellow, low-key kind of day. We went to the "pumpkin patch" that wasn't really a pumpkin patch, but more nicely arranged pumpkins for sale. We had expected arts and crafts and the like, but it wasn't to be. Instead, Amiya, Gabe and two other little cherubs chased each other around the fountain for an hour or so and then spent the rest of the time drinking from the water fountain (bubbler if you're reading in Wisconsin). I don't think I've ever seen toddlers so well-hydrated. Since Sunday, every water fountain is a thing of wonder to Amiya. Ugh!

In a testament to how smart this little twerp is, get this: Amiya has been wanting to take naps in her big girl bed. So we've said, "Sure." Sunday she did a great job - mostly because she was exhausted from the "pumpkin patch" and nodded off to sleep immediately. Yesterday, not so much. I told her that if she got out of her bed to play with her toys she'd go immediately to her crib. Please keep in mind that she's 2 and doesn't have much volume control - usually when she's playing I can hear her no matter where she is. Not so on Monday - quiet as a church mouse playing with her toys in her room when she should have been napping. Here's the kicker though - Bear has a rattle in him, so I always know when she's tossing in her sleep or messing with Bear. And Bear never, ever leaves her side when she's playing. Five minutes after putting her in, I went back to check on her only to find that Bear was on the edge of the bed and Amiya was playing with all of her stuffed animals that do not have any noisy things inside of them. This child knew what she was doing!

And finally, if what they say is true and the older sibling always "knows" the sex of the baby to come, this one is a girl. Amiya talks constantly about the baby sisser in my uterus. When we ask her if she'll be ok if it's a baby brother she tells us she will but that it's a baby sister anyway.

Elmo's Coloring Book

Friday night saw the Guptas at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center for Elmo's Coloring Book. Amiya knew we were going to see Sesame Street as we had talked it up all week, but once we were there, she really had no clue what was to happen. And Vinay and I both think that there are not enough words in the thesaurus to describe her reaction. Dumbstruck, awed, enthralled, shocked, overwhelmed, etc., etc., etc.

It was almost too much for Amiya and she couldn't bear to sit in her own chair, so she spent the hour and a half performance alternating between Mommy's and Daddy's laps. She'd watch, watch, watch and then get too excited and have to turn for a hug. Full of love she'd turn and watch again. Seeing Telly Monster, Rosita, Bert, Ernie and crew was just too cool. We asked her after the show what her favorite part was and she said Cookie Monster. Saturday morning it was Blanche (the polar bear who stole the colors). Today we're back to Cookie Monster.

Mom's favorite part was in the second act (they had an intermission!!!) when all the monsters and tots and most of the Moms and Dads sang the Sesame Street theme and Sing a Song. It was pretty neat to share something from my childhood with Amiya. Mom's least favorite part was when Amiya's diaper (no way were we going to use big girl underwear in this situation) gave way right before intermission and Mommy had an unpleasantly wet lap for the rest of the show.
Daddy's not sure what his favorite part was - I think he's got a crush on Prairie Dawn and won't admit it.

Amiya was pretty sad when it was over, but the late hour made it so that she was more exhausted than anything and the night ended calmly. She's more excited than ever to see her Sesame Street friends and maybe one day we'll go somewhere that she could actually give Telly or Zoe or even Oscar a high five or a hug!

The Weekend in a Nutshell

What a weekend it's been. Grandma and Grandpa and Super Grandma (Grandma's Mommy) came to spend a few days with us.
They rolled in late Friday afternoon and rolled back out early Sunday morning. We had a good time; our child had an amazing time. Grandparents have a special bond with their Grandchildren and this relationship is not the exception to the rule.

Amiya enjoyed many, many stories in bed with Grandma and Grandpa before it was finally time to go to her crib on Friday night. Many, many stories more than Mommy or Daddy would have read, but that is the magic of Grandparents. She cuddled and snuggled with both of them and made sure that they knew exactly how to sleep in her new big girl bed.

Saturday morning saw us on our way to Tarpon Springs. It's a quaint little town with lots of stuff and the aroma of the docks. We lunched at Mama's Restaurant and Amiya wolfed down hers (and Grandma and Super Grandma's feta) as if she hadn't eaten in a month. Then we browsed in the shops and Amiya would only hold hands with Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone else was chopped liver. Story of our life, it seems. On our way home we drove past the Gulf of Mexico so Super Grandma could see what there is to see and Amiya, not surprisingly, didn't nod off for even a second. Instead she cooed and cajoled her little Baby Katie into resting and/or playing. If only she'll be so patient and soft-spoken with her little bro or sis!

Not so surprisingly, Amiya grew even more attached to her Grandparents and to Super Grandma. Big, long hugs were common among these four it was a veritable PDA fest in our house all weekend, but there's nothing wrong with that when one of the PDAers is a two-year old with gentle pats and soft little kisses. Saturday night saw Amiya and Super Grandma playing "cool" (put an 's' in front of it) for an hour or so while the remaining four adults got a chance to chat without the interruptions of a two-year old. Super Grandma is now cool stuff because it's not often that Amiya finds a grown-up willing to play on her terms for that long.

The three Grands had to leave early Sunday morning, so Amiya had the enormous disappointment of finding herself with just Mommy and Daddy to pass her time. Poor kid. She decided to help Daddy fold the towels, washcloths and napkins. Ha ha hah. More aptly said, she unfolded them while Daddy folded them. But even that simple task quickly evolved into a game. Amiya puts a checkered napkin on her head and becomes the Napkin Monster. Were you here, you'd have witnessed her running around the living room, snorting like a rhino and cawing like a crow while head-butting anyone in her path. I can safely report that while the Napkin Monster paid much attention to Daddy, he has come away unscathed.

And the weekend ended with a beautiful three hour nap on Amiya's part and many more cuddles and hugs than we could have ever hoped for. She cuddled up on Daddy's chest while watching her Clifford video and Daddy had flashbacks to her infant days. We both think she's growing up much too fast and we'd like her to sloooooow down.

All in all, a great weekend with our family. Simple, easy and full of happy moments. Our only regret is that we didn't take any pictures of Super Grandma with Amiya - we'll count on her camera for a few of those shots!