Tomorrow's The Day

Tomorrow is day one of the three days that I've been working hard for for the last year.

I'm (fill in whatever emotion you think of first).

All of those.

I vascillate between elation that it's finally here (and thus almost over), scared (really, 22.8 miles tomorrow, who do I think I am?), pride (I can do this) and then scared all over again (40% chance of rain = blisters and soggy tent). I well up with tears at least hourly.

I'm as prepared as I can be, I think. The only thing that will come between me and that ending line on Sunday afternoon is me. So, think good thoughts for me - specifically I want dry skies and cool breezes.

Thanks for all of your support this past year - emotionally, financially, etc. I will think of each of you while out walking. I'll post an update when all is said and done.

A few weeks ago - the 20+ group of women who got together for our 18 mile Saturday

and 15 mile Sunday. This was at 5:30 in the morning - can you believe we're smiling?

Who kheers, anyway?

Take 1: Take 2:

Take 3:
Getting a good picture of these two is like nailing Jell-o to a tree.

We headed over to a colleague of Vinay's last Friday night for Navratri - an Indian festival celebrating girls. It seemed like a good opportunity to put the kids in some Indian clothes. And how cute were they? That cute and then some, lemme tell you! Amiya was very dainty and delicate, holding up her hem at the slightest incline. Kev could have cared less, as long as the clothes didn't interfere with his climbing, he was fine. But he looked adorable.

The next day we stopped at a (non-memorable, to say the least) Indian restaurant for lunch. The whole meal was a bust, except for the kheer at the end. Kheer is a very milky and fragrant Indian rice pudding (although not set like an American pudding). It is delicious and, it would seem, the only thing that will coerce Amiya into finishing her dinner.

So, we made kheer. We made a lot of kheer. The recipe called for 2 quarts of milk. That's 8 cups. That's a LOT of milk. But that kheer was all gone within 72 hours. I will own up to eating my fair share of it, but the kids really put a dent in it. I'm not sure where they stored it, but they packed it away like you wouldn't believe.

Which leads me to this question for the kheer-making readers of the blog. Vinay and I have different opinions on whether the rice should be cooked pre-mixing with milk or if it should actually cook in the milk.* I should probably defer to his opinion since he grew up in India, but after almost 9 years of knowing this man I have never had the sense that he paid attention to anything that went on in the kitchen while he was growing up. (For example, he pulls out the pressure cooker to make dal - the kids and I exit the house and seek refuge at the neighbors.)

So, off to the comment box you go, please. Tell me how you make kheer. Or, better yet, come and visit us and teach me!

*I won't tell you which one he thinks is right and which one I espouse, but I will say that my opinion comes from reading no less than a handful of recipes online and they all had the same strategy.

10 Things You Must Know About Kev

1. If you value your houseplants, move them outside when he visits. Otherwise, you will find torn roots and deposits of potting soil where you least expect them.


2. He does not like his diaper being changed. If you value your stomach/breasts and want them to remain the shade that they are, wear protective armor when changing his diaper. The kid can kick.


3. Elmo is very, very exciting. If you need a hug, turn Elmo on. Kev will come running to hug anyone he can get his little arms around. Elmo is happiness to be shared.


4. If you laugh loud and hearty, Kev will laugh, too. This is especially true if you're under 4 feet tall.


Kev and Aiden hard at play

5. All is right with the world if Kev is in a swing at the park. Having a rough morning? Stop to swing. Having a busy afternoon? Stop to swing. It doesn't have to be more than 5 minutes, but it makes his day.


6. If you're in his way on the slide, he'll push you down. (We're working on this.)


Curmudgeonly Kev hoarding all his toys

7. Don't you dare try to take so much as a Cheerio away from him. I'm very serious about this. He doesn't share food well and that's saying it nicely. If you do, he will promptly swipe all the other food/drinks off of his tray in a fit of anger. (We're working on this, too.)

(He wasn't actually angry here, but you can see he's fierce about food!)



8. Don't think that you can place a beautifully decorated cake on the dining room table because he can't see it and out of sight is out of mind. He's got the nose of a bloodhound and will find it. And then he'll climb up onto the table and get at it.


9. If you need some calm in your life, lift up his shirt and do a big ol' raspberry on his tummy. It won't be calm, but it's better than any calm I've ever known.


10. He's still a monkey, 110% guaranteed.

Kev cuddling with his monkey and giraffe.

Of course.

Of course it happens that as Vinay is winging his way across the east coast to a conference for three days, Amiya pukes moments after going to bed.

He's not going for a vacation, so I'm certainly not upset with him. More with Murphy and his freakin' law.

So now she's in our bed where she'd better not puke because A. I'll probably puke as well and B. I can't put a new sheet on that bed without Vinay's superhuman strength.

1-800-MAR-RIOT

Photos

Amiya at Explore A Shore at The Florida Aquarium

Meeting Diego at the zoo on Saturday. Kev didn't really get it ... until he got it. And then it was "Go Go! Go Go! Go Go!" for a looong time.
Preview of Kev's future facial hair courtesy of Cocoa Wheats.

Amiya and Kev in shirts Grandma embroidered for them. Amiya's is made to match Ellie and Kelly and Kev's has a big ol' pear on it as a tribute to his fruit binge a few weeks ago.

Somewhere in there is Kev playing in the fountains at the zoo.

My favorite kind of penguin.

$3 for a 45 second pony ride.
It was worth about $20 to see how excited she was.

Amiya driving a Jeep at the zoo. Daddy was giving her the standard lecture, "Always wear your seat belt, drive slowly, no boys in the car."

Amiya News

Amiya has started preschool - finally! We had a bit of a concern when her school moved to a new location and the location wasn't up to code, but things are finally getting going and Amiya couldn't be more excited. Her teacher this year is Ms. Amina and Amiya loves that their names are so similar.

Before this school year started, we had requested that Amiya not be in the same class as her good friends Gabe and Aubrey. These three have been together since they were two years old and while it was great last year when school was very new to all of them, I felt it was really important that Amiya work on her skills making new friends. The first day of school was terribly hard on the way - Amiya cried, I cried, Kev cried. She didn't want to go, she didn't want to make new friends, etc. But, when I went to pick her up in the afternoon, she didn't want to come home. Since then, she reports that things are really great and she has lots of new friends. So, in hindsight, it was a good move, but a difficult one to deal with on the very first day!


Here you can see Amiya and Aubrey at a recent playdate. It should come as no surprise (based on previous posts) that Amiya is pushing her fondness for Indian attire onto her friends. She and Aubrey played dress-up for two hours with bangles and bindis and the works. And since this love of Indian attire is so strong right now - I'm working it in our favor! Amiya has agreed to have a joint birthday party with Kev this spring (whoohoo - only one party!) if on her actual birthday, she and Aubrey can wear Indian clothes and we'll all go out to eat at an Indian restaurant. I can't tell you how excited she is about this (and me, too!).

A Sorry State Indeed

Just about a week ago, we handed Kev his very own fork and spoon to feed himself. I'm not sure why we didn't do it earlier - it never really crossed our mind. Perhaps because we have enough of a mess to clean up after every meal, snack, etc.? Anyway, it was probably long overdue and now Little Man is entirely full of attitude about eating.

Here we see his overall mood when it comes to being bothered whilst eating. It's a bit Mary-Kate Olson, don't you think? ie. If I glare at the camera long enough, it'll go away. He was new to the fork here, but the mashed potatoes seemed to provide a good incentive to getting it to work. The broccoli was finger food (and that's fine) and the meatloaf (made in an amazing cheddar cheese pastry crust) was pushed to the side with disdain.

Here you can see him when we take the fork away. Except that this is relatively calm. He looks upset but not terribly so. Had you been in our home just one short hour ago, you would have seen terribly upset. Screaming, slapping food away, etc. All over three lousy crinkle cut carrots. The child hates carrots and wouldn't eat them for anything. Poor guy doesn't yet know that without veggies, there's no dessert!

And then there was lunch today, when he would not, I repeat would not, sit in his high chair. Screaming, clawing at me to be held, etc., but no going in his high chair. So there he sat in my chair, eating his pear slices* and sucking on his grilled cheese until it dissolved in his mouth in a gooey, cheese slime. Nevermind that he bumped his mouth not once, but twice, on the table, resulting in a split lip that must have really hurt, there was no going to that high chair. So, we'll be pulling out the booster chair and strapping it to a regular chair for this kid.

And finally, because food is his favorite thing lately, he has figured out how to help himself to foods in the pantry. Let's cast aside all that stuff about how a parent should never compare children - Amiya is four and a half and has yet to help herself to a snack. Kev is 18 months and waltzes into the pantry like he owns the place and pulls out what he wants, clamors over to the table, hoists the snack up and then himself. So, I'm going shopping tomorrow and swapping out everything in the pantry. Carrot crackers, carrot chips, carrot whatever. That'll teach him!

*Yesterday's pearcapade seems to have no ill-effects on his digestion, in fact quite the opposite, so more fruit for Kev today!

Grocery Bills Going Up

So I walk into the kitchen after using the bathroom and cleaning up the bedroom a scoce. This is what I see:



And this is what I picked up off the floor around the chair:

Vinay's on diaper duty tonight. :-/

And so it begins....

remember those posts about Amiya playing with her poop?

It's started again, except that this time it's with child #2 (pun intended) AND Vinay was home to partake of the full joy of the moment.

I was picking apart a seam on Amiya's school bag, Vinay was setting up new solar lights and Amiya was twiddling about all around us. Kev was sitting in his high chair watching the shenanigans. I looked up and thought, "Bizarre that it's 8 AM and Vinay gave him an oreo already." And then lightning struck and the next thought I had is not suitable for print.

And then we were off. Vinay later remarked that there's nothing quite like a shit-smeared tot to get two people working efficiently as a team.

Vinay found the whole experience from initial discovery to biohazard decontamination showers (for us) disgusting. I'm the jaded professional it appears as it was just another notch in my Mommy belt. Amiya found the whole experience funny and bizarrely seems to enjoy my recounting of her own fecal escapades.

And, because I love you and am sensitive to the fact that you are not the fecal cleaning expert that I am, I have spared you the pictures.

Tell me how much you love me!!!

So, we're 7 weeks away from The 3 Day. I'm tired. Tired of walking, tired of Gatorade, tired of walking, tired of Panera (our pit stop) and mostly just tired of walking. But I'm not complaining because I'm not one of the ones dealing with chemo, radiation, etc. Just walking. I can handle it.

But, if you'd like to make sure I handle it really well the weekend of, think about dropping me a note, won't you? I don't really need you to tell me how much you love me, but I'd sure love to get a note from the "post office" at camp that says you're walking a mile around your neighborhood at the same time that I'm walking mine.

Here's what the 3 Day wants you to know:
* Only letters will be accepted - no boxes or packages.
* Letters must be postmarked 2 weeks prior to the event to ensure delivery at the 3-Day Camp Post Office.
* Send to:
3-Day Camp Post Office
[Participant Name]
PO Box 5487
Sarasota, FL 34277-5487

* Unclaimed mail will be available by request for 2 weeks after the event. Anything still in our hands after those two weeks will become property of the 3-Day and will be destroyed.

So, please think about sending me a little note. It'll be like you're there with me, massaging my feet or lancing my blisters! (How's that for incentive!?!?)

And, if you've got a few extra minutes on your hands and you want to give a boost to some other amazing women, here are the women on my team who would also appreciate a word or two of encouragement. It doesn't matter if you don't know them - we like when strangers honk and cheer us on on the road, so a letter isn't any different!

• Connie Bainbridge, Survivor, Fellow Training Walk Leader
• Margaret (Maggie) Brodsky
• Mary Dobson - Fourth time participating in a 3 Day
• Jennifer Erdmann
• Pat Fairbanks, Second time walking, raised almost $10,000 in two years
• Whitney Lohr
• Amy McCall
• Jessica Rasco, Second time participating in a long distance breast cancer walk
• Joyce Raidle, Fourth time participating in a 3 Day

Feel free to pass this to friends and family - the more mail the merrier!

Christy

Just this moment...

...watching Dora together. Amiya whispers to Kev, "I love you, Kev." and gives him a huge kiss. Then she asks me if there is some medicine she can take to help her stop kissing Kev all the time.

Seriously. Can they be any sweeter?

About the saris...

Vinay likes these indoor pictures better, so I'll post them, too. Notice the bangles?

Here's the rest of the story. Amiya first started wearing these saris last Wednesday. She walked around all afternoon with it on and then decided that she would speak to Vinay in Hindi when he came in the door. So, she practiced her namaste all afternoon.

But no.

That wasn't nearly enough.

Then she wanted to know how to say, "My name is ....." But Amiya wasn't a good enough name. We ran through the names of all the Indian girls we know, including her Indian Barbie doll. She only liked Nisha, but she decided that she couldn't use that because that is her Didi's name. So, we ended up back with Amiya. From there I heard (apologies for the spelling) "Mira nam Amiya hain." all afternoon. Her pronunciation was absolutely adorable and probably much more authentic than her Polish/Irish/American mother's pronunciation.

So now we're at "Namaste" and "Mira nam Amiya hain."

You know that isn't the end of the story.

That still wasn't enough.

Now she wants to know how little girls greet their Daddies when they come home. So, I told her the only thing that I know about greeting an elder in India. I said you kneel down in front of Daddy and touch the tops of his shoes and then touch your forehead. (That's probahly not exactly right, but the specifics can come later!)

And so that's what she did. Vinay came home to an absolutely adorable little sight. Amiya namaste-ing and kneeling herself even more deeply into Daddy's heart. She looks absolutely beautiful in these saris and to see her so interested and excited about half of her heritage is wonderful.

She tells us now that her next birthday party is going to be an Indian party so that all her friends can learn about India, too!

Derelict in my Duties

And don't I know it! After a tearful, heart-wrenching missive from my Mother, here I am.

A brief update:

Kev is jabbering away and most of it is incoherent, but we do have a few words. We've got Da-da, Ma-ma, Di-di, and the general, can refer to any of us Nay! We've also got moooooooore (said in a very sing-songy voice), peez and choo (shoe). On occasion we get buh-ble, too. He is also showing signs of understanding very specific, routine commands. Yesterday I asked him to sit down, take his Crocs off and put them away. And he did just that. Ah. Enough to make my heart melt. Love it!

Amiya placed a very brief moratorium on kissing yesterday. I was not allowed to "smooch upon her" at all. Except for before naps. And after naps. And if she got hurt. And if she was feeling lonely. And when she wanted to cuddle next to me. And if she was going to bed. And if she was going to her room. After going through tht list of all the exceptions to the no smooching rule, she decided that there weren't a lot of times when I couldn't kiss her, but there were still some. I was not allowed to kiss her when buckling her car seat. (Until she saw me give Kev a smooch when buckling his car seat.) I was not allowed to kiss her when helping her in and out of the shopping cart. (Until she saw me give Kev a kiss when helping him in and out of the shopping cart.) And definitely not allowed to kiss her while walking to the store. (Until she saw me give Kev a kiss while walking to the store.) That worked out really well. The ban has been lifted and it is a regular smooch fest around here lately.

Kev, in pursuit of BA!, under the train table. He gets in and then can't get out.

The dynamic duo in a quiet moment. Notice one is reading right side up, one upside down. Even more sweet? Amiya's arm around her brother.

Daddy had to get dressed up for work, so Amiya had to get dressed up to be in a "fancy" picture with him. Are midriff baring dresses considered fancy? Not where I come from....

Saris are all the rage around here lately. Amiya has two passed down from her Nisha Didi and she wears them daily. It's a full-on process to get them on - first take off everything else, get the blouse on, then the skirt or sari, then the bangles, the anklets, the bindi, etc. If anyone teaches her about mehndi anytime soon, there will be trouble!!! It's enough to get her into this much!

Here we see Amiya and Gabe after a birthday playdate. For Gabe's birthday, he came over and had a pizza lunch, then these two decorated "pizza" cakes together with pepperoni, onions, peppers and olives made from candy. Frosting was the cheese and jam was the sauce. They loved it. Talk about sugar highs!

This is Amiya's aquarium. The colored tiles in the middle is the fish. The child needs a pet!

Kev following in his Daddy's footsteps. Always on the computer!

Amiya decorated this cake for Ellie's sixth birthday. If you look carefully between the purple tulip and the pink circle on the left side of the cake, you can see the E she made. We had to leave a birthday party before the cake was served and she was very, very disappointed. So, I promised her she could have free reign with the leftover icing and flowers. This is what she came up with! And yeah, she's the new (nearly) Naked Chef! It's a lot easier to get buttercream off of a girl than it is her party dress!

Please, start now.

This is an urgent plea to those in the know on these things.

Vinay and I have come to the conclusion that we should get Amiya into a traditional Indian marriage contract and the sooner the better. Please consult astrologers and pundits and find a suitable match.

We don't want Amiya and her future beloved to meet and we certainly, certainly do not want any sort of phone communication. We won't mind for a moment if he is hard of hearing, in fact that might be in our favor.

After a weekend of non-stop chatter, we fear that Amiya will never find a husband the American way. She'll chatter all through date #1 and there shall be no date #2s. Therefore, we'd like to get this matter arranged and finalized before the poor guy realizes what he's in for.

The Gimpsons

Happy Birthday Vinay!

The guy we all know and love celebrated his last birthday in his 30s on Saturday. The wee ones and I bought him a coffee mug from Starbucks that he had requested. Amiya had a good time trying to hide it from Daddy, holding the bag behind her back. Nevermind that the bag was bigger than her little self. It was pretty cute and Vinay did a very good job of acting surprised when she finally gave him the gift. Amiya also made Vinay three separate birthday cards. But the big gift was yet to come.

There comes a time in every man's life when he gives in to what is true and honest in man's character. Some get there sooner, some get there later. And so, I present to you, Vinay:

That's right. We bought a recliner for his birthday. It's burgundy/brown and really, really big. It's in the bedroom. It's conveniently placed near a window to enjoy reading by sunlight during the day with a lamp nearby for nighttime illumination. The king has his throne. He's been in it all day today, alternately reading and watching television. However, I will not complain as he has also folded at least 5 loads of laundry while in there and I'm not going to look this handsome gift horse in the mouth.

The anklebiters like it, too:

Miss Shaina came over Saturday evening so the grown-ups in our little family could enjoy a meal out - we had dinner at a great little Thai place. Eggplant and beef in basil sauce. It was delicious and so nice to not have to worry about what the kids would eat. Then we headed out to a bookstore and were home early. I've decided that there's no more denying the fact that we are definitely parents and definitely lame as adults at this stage in life. A night out - we could have seen a movie, gone to a comedy club, had a drink at a bar, etc., etc. But no, home by 10.
Lame was alright at 6:15 this morning though when the alarm went off.

Anyway, Vinay would probably say that he had a very nice birthday. His only concern is that since he had such a fabulous birthday present, I am going to want something big for mine in a few months. No worries, Love, no worries.

Some Cakes

I'm not sure if I've said already or not, but I am finished (finally) with fundraising for the 3 Day in October. I'm concentrating on training, training and more training. The longest I've walked at this point is 13 miles and while it wasn't fun, I got done and felt ok afterwards. The great news is that the smaller walks 7, 8, 9 miles feel easy now. And 4 miles is a breeze. After the walk is done, the 4 mile walk to/from Michael's will be a regular happening around here and since the weather will be cooler then, too, it'll be even better.

I'm still busy with cakes, too. Word has gotten around my circle of friends that I make some good cakes. Here are a few recent ones - some are obviously better than others, but they all called on new skills. I'm having fun learning this stuff! The new "thing" around here is Italian Meringue Buttercream. It's lighter and much less sweet than traditional buttercream. It's more difficult to make and harder to work with, but it's been a really, really big hit!

This was a tropical carrot cake with cream cheese icing and gumpaste decorations. I think this is my favorite cake that I've done lately! It also had these cute matching cupcakes:

This was a latte cake with caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream. It was for my neighbor's baby shower - she's about 7 hours away from induction! Good luck Cory!

This was a butter cake with caramel Italign Meringue Buttercream, covered in fondant with gumpaste Dr. Seuss figures. I was really pleased with the figures - I thought they would be a lot harder, but Dr. Seuss' style forgives a lot! The one disappointment was that it was supposed to be a topsy turvy cake (where the layers are oddly tilted), and it just wasn't really clear that that is what I wanted. Here's one more pic so you can see a bit of what I mean about Dr. Seuss' style being forgiving:

I had originally made a third tier for this cake to look like the red and white striped hat, but it just wasn't working. It didn't go. So, literally with about 10 minutes before my friend came to grab the cake, I rolled out some gumpaste and made this hat. It's not that I'm good, it's just that Dr. Seuss made it easy. Paint a few red stripes and then hatchmarks of black all over and it's done.

This was Vinay's birthday cake. Get ready - it was complicated. The cake was a dark chocolate mocha chip cake filled with a layer of melted dark chocolate and toffee bits (think Heath bar) and then a layer of dark chocolate ganache. Then, more cake. Iced in espresso Italian Meringue Buttercream and then wrapped in a semi-sweet chocolate wrap. The dark spots on top are dark chocolate covered espresso beans. It was a very, very rich cake, but also very, very good. I had an order for another one a few hours after this one went to work with V on Friday.

The World's Best Big Sister

There are some moments where a parent's feathers puff up. Amiya has provided several lately.

• Today at Gymboree. Amiya wanted to use a piece of equipment that was tucked away and she knows that she can only use what is out unless she asks the teacher. So, she very politely went up to the teachers and said, "Excuse me Miss Carole. May I use the blue [whatever] from the corner?" Completely unrehearsed, completely unprompted. Miss Carole said that she thinks Amiya has some of the nicest manners of any child she has ever seen.


• Kev in the kitchen. Amiya is generally in a state of hyper-alert big sisterness whenever she and Kev are awake and the energy that is Kev is uncontained. She closes doors, lets us know when something is out that shouldn't be, etc. Lately she has taken to patrolling the kitchen and making sure that when he climbs a chair, she is there to hug him down.


• At the airport on our way to Rochester. We were all bored - the plane was late in getting off the ground, but Amiya behaved admirably. She amused herself, she amused Kev, she even managed to crack a small smile on the face of the guy who's camera was swiped exiting security.


• At lunch today. Kev was taking an early nap, so Amiya and I had a girls only lunch. It's rainy in Tampa lately, so we had a rainy day lunch - toast with jam and hot cocoa. "Mommy, it's nice to have a girls lunch. Don't I have a lovely life?"

All of these little things, and so many, many more almost make up for the tantrum-induced cherry and macaroni & cheese-laced vomit fest we had Tuesday evening.

Let's Revisit

I'd like you to revisit the post re: Kev's climbing.

I thought we had that solved when last night, the monkey man climbed up onto a kitchen chair. He quickly decided that that was not where he needed to be and fell flat on his face on the kitchen floor (ceramic tile on a cushy bed of concrete). While holding and cuddling him through his tears, I felt sure that he had learned his lesson and would climb in the kitchen no more.

This Morning
7:32 AM - Kev wakes up
7:34 AM - Kev toddles into kitchen
7:34 AM - Mommy pulls Kev off chair
7:36 AM - Mommy pulls Kev off chair
7:37 AM - Mommy pulls Kev off chair
7:37 AM - Mommy pulls Kev off chair
7:38 AM - Mommy locks Kev into highchair for the rest of time

Kev's Balls

Our little man is in love with balls.

He sees one across a room and yells, "BA!"

Amiya touches one and he screams and yells.

They come in all shapes and sizes and he is forever making sure they are near.

At Gymboree he follows Miss Carole around when she has her box of balls. He's the mouse and she's the piper.

It's really just a little bit too cliché, I guess, to have a boy who is so into them. But then I guess so too is having a girl who can recite Cinderella verbatim.