Na! Na!

Kev isn't talking a whole lot yet and he doesn't really need to because he's got a sister who talks non-stop and for him. He does, however, know how to communicate that he wants food.

"Na! Na!" means Snack! Snack!

"Eee! Eee!" means Eat! Eat!

Today while I was preparing dinner, Kev was feeling the pangs of hunger and started to help himself to a snack:

Cannelini beans, navy beans, chocolate chunk granola bars and uncooked old-fashioned oats with a chaser of canola oil.

Mmmmmmmmmm.

Ears Lowered, Big Boy Style

Kev got a haircut today as he was starting to look a little scruffy around the edges. I told the "stylist" to take an inch off all over. She took at least 2. She also whipped out the buzzing, electric clippers before I could say, "Whoa!" Kev took it like a champ, but I'm still simpering. We won't be visiting Carmen again, she took my baby and made him look like a school age (dorky) kid.

Amiya doesn't like it like this. Mommy doesn't care for it much either. It's all straight and serious and bleh.

This is better, but still sort of severe. Grow hair, grow!

India! India! India!

The theme of the month at Amiya's school is Asia and Friday of this week was specifically about India! Amiya was marginally healthy enough to go to school - her nose was still letting off flourescent green stuff (see picture of Kev's bed for accurate color sampling) and she still had a pretty big cough, however, she was on antibiotics and frankly, it's not often that this part of Amiya's heritage is going to be celebrated and focused on, so she could have had tuberculosis and I still would have sent her. (Ok, not really, but it would have been a moral debate before I decided which way to go.)

Amiya's teacher had asked me to come in and help the kids cook something Indian, so we decided on samosas. Easy enough to make in school as long as everything was prepped. The kids were icked out by them, until they tasted them. Then it was looooooove. (And frankly, why not? Deep fried potatoes in a crispy shell? Spiced ground beef (more on that later) in a crispy shell? It's like a deep fried Happy Meal!)

We made both aloo mattar samosas (the favorite!) and spiced beef samosas. Amiya's teacher is of Pakistani descent, so she suggested beef for the kids who wouldn't try the potatoes. I know beef samosas aren't authentically Indian, but hey, it's all about Pakistani-Indian cooperation!


We used wonton skins (I know, not authentic!) and stuffed them and then fried them in a portable fryer. Amiya and I also brought in kheer and fresh mango for the kids to try. It was all a big hit!

My favorite part of the day was seeing "Mr. Vinay" talk with the kids. He was very good at containing 10 free spirited 4/5 year olds. He taught them to count to 3, say hello and goodbye (Namaste! for both - it's a 2 for 1 word!) and even showed them some Hindi words on the board. The kids were most excited about the word for cow - guy! They think it's great that you can yell, "There's a guy!" and what you're really saying is "There's a cow!" Vinay also told them about how people in India take baths - this topic is of endless fascination to Amiya - I suspect she imagines a lot more splashing and sploshing of water - but it wasn't so exciting for the kids!
The night before "India Day" was Step into Asia at school. Each classroom was assigned a country and that teacher developed a craft for the kids to do or cooked a recipe from that country. Amiya's room was Pakistan, so the teacher asked me if I would help her do mehndi on the children's hands. We decided to do first initials only and it was a big hit! Her teacher said that the kids were very excited to show off their "henna tattoos" the next day at school!

Big Boy Bed!

Because of Kev's propensity to climb tall things, we've moved from crib to a "big boy bed." It's really just the top bunk of Amiya's old bunk, sans legs, painted bright green. He's in lurv!

To be fair, he has always loved this bed. When it was not painted lime green and in Amiya's room, he still made a beeline for it whenever he could. He likes to sit on it, he loves to read on it and it seems that he even marginally enjoys knocking his lips against the wood when he misjudges distances whilst maneuvering in and out.

Yesterday's nap, marginally successful. He came out three times, but did fall asleep.

Yesterday bedtime, hugely successful. Right to sleep until 7 AM when he woke up and came toddling out with Elmo.

Today's nap, no more putting up with "getting used to it." He got out once and straight into the crib he went. We're hoping he'll learn that if he gets out of bed, he'll have to go to his crib and that'll be the end of that.

What's that you say? Naive? Who us?

But of course.

Why didn't I think of this? Such a practical arrangement of chairs in the kitchen. We can all eat and share germs at the same time. Genius. Something so practical yet so simple, only an (almost) two year old could come up with it.

Over.

And over.

And over again.

Yum.

That's right Folks. This is how the day is beginning.

He toddles about in the playroom, bringing me plastic animals to see or raw rawing at Baby Jaguar, acting as if nothing is amiss. And then I turn a corner and see snot tusks dangling from his nose. He could care less. They get in his way and he licks at them. He would prefer snot accessories to getting his nose wiped, so he runs when he sees me coming with tissue in hand. And then it comes to this stage.

Oh, Kev.

Delusional

Amiya is standing next to me as we speak telling me about how she's such a good helper.

"I help you by playing wiff Kev. Then you can do over stuff. Like cleaning. You love cleaning Mom."

I wonder when it dawned on me that my Mom cleaned all the time not out of a love of cleaning but because if she didn't the chaos would consume all of us. She is and was better at staying on top of things than I am, no doubt, but it would seem we both convey an utter love of cleaning to our children who don't get it at all.

What the h#($?

The Gupta Family Soundtrack

(For maximum effect, please make the sounds, do not read the words.)

Blegh, urp, cough, cough.

Sniffle, snort, urp.

Cough, sniffle, bwah, wah!

Mommy, urp, help!

Cough, snort, snifflesniffle.

Cough, snort, snifflesniffle.

Sniffle, urp, cough, urp!
Tissue, please. Now!
Cough, snort, urp, sniffle.

Blegh, green, wah, Mommy!

Cough, snort, snifflesniffle.
Cough, snort, snifflesniffle.

So we've gone from gimp/limp little Man and almost-meningitised little girl to two kids with runny noses and shallow coughs. Seriously.

Someone please find the bread-winner in this family a job in a very, very cold climate because Florida doesn't get cold, there's mold and germs and all that stuff all year long and I'm going to start pulling my eyelashes out one by one if someone, somewhere doesn't help us have just one week with zero co-pays, zero Tylenol, zero inhalers, zero Vicks and zero runs to the store for yet more kleenex. Kev is almost high right now because of the Vicks (infant formula, tyvm) rubbed onto his chest and Amiya's poor nose is chapping from kleenex use and we use the super soft, extra delicate, fluff from Angel's wings sort of kind.

Short of giving them vitamin C intraveinously and keeping them in a bubble, I'm not sure what to do!

I heard there's a house for sale on a lake in Wisconsin? There's going to be a newly remodeled kitchen and everything. If only V could telecommute to his job from Minocqua!

Nothing slows him down....

So he's still hobblin' about a bit, but you'd never know it by the pace at which he moves. The kid just doesn't ever sloooooooooow down.

Here we see him pretending to be an elephant with an empty paper towel tube. He is in love with the animal sounds that he knows how to make and random growls, howls and moos are emitted from the back seat of the car as we make our way around town. He'll roar and we'll say, "There's a lion in the car? Thank goodness there aren't any monkeys in the car." And then we hear "aaah aaah oooh oooh." And so it goes, on and on. It's absolutely fun and great to be able to play with Kev this way.

One of Kev's favorite Christmas presents is his Aquadoodle. That is, please be aware, only if it's on an elevated surface upon which Kev can also be elevated. It must be on our coffee table (above) or the train table in the playroom. Kev must be able to sprawl out on his tummy and doodle to his heart's content.

Strike!

Amiya went bowling for the first time this weekend at a classmate's birthday party. She was very, very interested in the whole thing until it wsa actually time to bowl. "The ball is so heavy, Mom." "Can you do it
Mom?" "But I just went." "But it's so slow." And that last complaint is fair, it took her ball an average of 3 minutes 36 seconds to get from top of ramp to first pin down the lane.

It was far more fun to play ring around the rosy on the slippery floor with the other girls from school. And eat pizza. And chicken fingers. And quesadillas. (That's a week's worth of junk food in our house!)

All that being said, she still somehow managed to aim the ramp just right and get that ball going fast enough to create enough commotion and get her first ever strike! If you look closely at the screen below, her row is above the row in red - you can just make out the X for the strike.

We're going private again!

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Want to keep reading?

Drop me a comment in the comment box or send me an email - we've decided to go private again, so if you want to be included in the list of "allowed readers" let us know! We'll set the private control again next weekend.

C & V

Running On Empty

Wednesday 2:28 PM

Upon picking Amiya up from school, I am told by her (fabulous) teacher that she isn't feeling well. She had been putting her head down between tasks, asking to go lay down somewhere, generally acting lethargic. Bizarre behavior for Amiya. I am concerned.

Wednesday 2:34 PM

Amiya steps up in to mini-van after walking from classroom to car. Turns. Hugs Mom while crying. Something is definitely not right.

Wednesday 2:36 PM

Amiya retrieves water bottle from lunch box to drink on the way home. I notice everything healthy was eaten, two chocolate chip cookies were left. Further proof that the world has stopped turning.

Wednesday 2:39 PM

Amiya falls asleep on the way home from school. This is unheard of. Has.never.happened.before. Ever.

Wednesday 6:45 PM

Amiya goes to bed with nary a complaint. In our bed. No problem. Temperature at bedtime (several hours after administering drug) 102.

Thursday 3:45 AM

Amiya's temperature through the roof (based on scientifically accurate Mommy's lips on forehead). More drugs.

Thursday 11 AM

All is well. There is nothing that High School Musical can't fix.

Thursday 1:30 PM

Amiya enjoys leisurely bath meant to keep her temperature and body comfortable. Mommy cleaning Kev's room. Kev in crib demonstrates over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over (literally) that he can climb up onto his crib railing. He puts both feet over and hangs his little bottom down, gripping the side with his hands. At this point he doesn't know what to do. Mommy grabs him and puts him back in crib. Up he goes again. Shit.

Thursday 3:45 PM

Temperature back up to 103. Complaining of neck pains. Mommy frantic.

Thursday 6:00 PM

At after hours, not-our-usual pediatrician thinks Mommy is a nut. Viral infection is confirmed. UTI, flu, strep and meningitis ruled out. No new drugs prescribed.

Friday 11:00 AM

Amiya pale while walking 100 yards in mall. Hangs on admirably - we were going to buy her a game, after all!

Friday 4:45 PM

While attempting to keep Kev away from Amiya by playing with him in the playroom, Mommy mounted the gate onto the wall. Kev climbs gate. Gate falls on Kev. Kev screaming in pain, holding his foot.

Friday 4:50 PM

Kev tries to walk. Cannot. Instead sits, scoots on butt like lame puppy.

Friday 4:51 PM

Mommy wilting, says words she shouldn't.

Friday 5:27 PM

Daddy meets the rest of the family at Urgent Care. Kev limping. X-rays. Nothing. Just a sprain.

Friday 6:03 PM

Mommy breathes humongous sigh of relief as Kev + cast = disaster

Saturday 6:30 AM

Mommy woken up with Amiya via tickling of toes. Kev handed to Mommy so Daddy could make mad dash to get garbage out.

Mommy skipping rejuvenating, much needed walk with 3 Day friends to help out around the house. Cranky Amiya, hobbly Kev = too much for any parent to try alone!

Saturday Morning and Early Afternoon

Gupta family on road to, from and at IKEA. Spent huge amounts of money on a new bed as Kev has learned to climb out of his bed. Trying to avoid face plant into floor.

Saturday 4:16 PM

After playing contentedly in a neighbor's playpen for a few hours (seriously! without so much as a peep!), Kev decides he has had enough. Climbs out. Flippin' face plant into floor.

Saturday 8:26 PM

Snail Trail

I have pictures of ginormous slugs from my first stay in France. There they are called les limasses (lay lee-mahs) and that's about it - no one notices them. They are the wallflower first cousin to the coveted escargot. I, however, was fascinated by them. So big - one would stretch from the tip of my index finger to the base of my hand. Not that I ever touched one, but just to give you the idea. I couldn't imagine such a big creature pulling itself across a paved road - did it not have nerves on its' underside? Did it not get scratched? I digress, but to show my point - I really spent a fair amount of time thinking about these slugs. Maybe it was homesickness in the first few months when I couldn't understand or be understood. Maybe it's just that I'm weird. Can't say - I just remember them clearly.

And so I remember the slimy, rubber cement-like trail they leave behind. And when I saw Kev's face during his mid-morning snack while the others were at the football game, I immediately tore around the kitchen trying to find the huge limasse that had left this trail from his nose to his hairline. What I particularly enjoy is that it traveled directly through his eyebrow, plastering those hairs up and all over the little guys temple.



But that is not the only snail trail in our house these past few days. Kev has learned a new trick. It involves the removal of both his pants and his diaper. For the most part, I think it's pretty funny - it's cold in Florida lately and so it's a bit cute to see him with shirt and sweater on and two perfectly formed cheeks peeking from below his sweater. But I did not think it was cute a.t. a.l.l. the first time he pulled this fancy trick. He had pulled off his pants and diaper while sitting on the floor and scooted himself over to show off his new skills. "Scooted himself over" is the important part of that last sentence. Use your imagination.

Snail trails indeed!

Go Badgers!

It seems Wisconsin spirit has invaded our house! My parents, Vinay and a neighbor were planning to head to the Outback Bowl to see the Badgers tromp the Tennesse Vols but the neighbor came down with the flu, so we sent Amiya instead.

Amiya had been begging to see the game ever since we saw the band a few nights ago. We kept telling her no - we didn't have a ticket for her. So, when our neighbor got sick, we decided that Amiya could go, but we wouldn't tell her until she was sitting in the car. She was all hyped up to be wearing red and white, have a big ol' W on her face and then go to the park to play football with me while the grown-ups (love how I'm not a grown-up!!!) were at the game. It was all very anticlimactic when she found out she was actually going - she didn't want to. She said, and I quote, "It'll be more fun at the park."

Anyway, she finally was off and from all accounts she:

1. didn't stop talking for more than 4 consecutive seconds,
2. made up her own cheers when the ones yelled by the crowd didn't adequatly convey her feelings of Badger Pride. Not just, "Go Red!" but "Go R - E - D!"
3. pumped her fist into the air with the best of 'em and
4. in true Bollywood style, sang an emotional tribute to the Wisconsin team.

Amiya and Grandma with matching Ws. They sing a song called "Twin Sisters." Funny, cute and just a little bit weird because clearly, not twins.

The lucky four posing before the game! Go R - E - D!

This man is too sexy for me. I love when he goes all nerdy New Years partygoer on me! Also, please note Amiya with Grandpa's binoculars. Grandpa got to use them for 2 plays in the entire game and then only because Amiya's neck was hurting!

Cheering on her future Alma Mater! Love it!

And here's to 2007!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some other December pictures:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exhaustion

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

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

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



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




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

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

Growing Up!!!

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

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

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

Turkey!

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

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

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

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

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

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