Thanksgiving Turkey

The Gupta turkey looks a bit worse for the wear this year, eh? He's missing a beak, poor thing. But he is resplendent with feathers. We tried hard to do them everyday, but we sort of petered out as the sick rolled in.

Amiya was all deep and philosophical this year. She was thankful for food, the love of her family, her home, peace in the world (if only she knew). Kev kept it real. He was thankful for cereal, Dumbo and his spoon, among other very important items.

We spent a very lovely mid-day Thanksgiving at our friends' home. Deborah and Phil had us over for at least two different types of turkey, eighty-seven potatoes and the best damn banana puddin' I've ever tasted (not that I've had that many, but I've tried a few!). The kids played nicely with Benjamin, Freddy and Ethan and we had a nice time visiting. It was nice to be with others on Thanksgiving - that's something I miss about not being near family.


My Mom will be excited to see that I used my pursket for our outing to our friends home. I was able to carry a bottle of wine, a bottle of home-squeezed orange juice, a bottle of amaretto, diapers, wipes and a pan of banana bread all in this nifty little carrier. Thanks Mom for the birthday present that keeps on giving!

We came home from the nap and we all took big naps. (See, we are traditionalists in that sense!) And then we put up the Christmas tree. It's a beautiful sight - all blues and silvers and greens. Love it. Also too (I'm quoting Sarah Palin there), I love that most of the ornaments are concentrated about four feet high and dead center. I may do some rearranging at some point. I may not, it's kind of fun this way.

I took our turkey down and replaced him with this:

Twenty-five fabuloso balls for the holidays. Because we don't celebrate the traditions of a Christian Christmas, it's up to us to make it the celebration of family and sharing that it should be. So, each of these has an activity for us to do as a family on it - some silly, some calm, some charitable. Amiya can pull off each day's ornament and that is what our family will do that day. I've had the idea bookmarked since December 20th of last year - so I can't wait to see how it works. (And that fabulous tree? That's made with at least 4,756 cut-outs of Kev and Amiya's hands. I'll be reusing those!)

Recent Parties & Such

It has been a very busy month for cakes and cookies at the Gupta house. I've had three big birthday cakes/cupcakes to do, plus several cookie things for Amiya's school and even a cookie order for Vinay.

This cake was for Kev's friend Brody who turned three. He was having a fireman themed party - the figurine was made from polymer clay, everything else was edible.

Brody's cupcakes, spotted to look like dalmatians.

This was for Kev's friend Madison who turned three just a few days ago. Obviously it's Tinkerbell. I can't take design credit - that goes to Debbie Does Cakes in San Francisco - but I love the way it turned out! Tink does have two wings - the camera was only catching one. Madison also had a whole lot of cupcakes, but they were pretty standard fare as cupcakes go. Everything is edible except Tinkerbell.

Finally, I got to help out with a ton of this cowboy party - from invites to cake to favors! The invites were my design and I loved them, plus I was able to do them very inexpensively so that my friend didn't have to pay a ton for custom invitations.

Here you can see the cupcake tower for the party with chocolate, vanilla, latte and carrot cupcakes and caramel, chocolate, chai and cream cheese icings - all intermingled and cozy. I love the look of this cupcake tower - I think the bandana looks so cool. Unfortunately, the tower doesn't love me and it will be retired. It collapsed while serving. I think I need a real tower with real hardware.

The favors on each side were also my work - the horse cookies were Nutter Butters dipped in peanut butter candies and decorated with chocolate. I think the look of the bag is so perfect!

Gumpaste lassos, stars and hats on the cupcakes.

Finally, the thank you notes. I love how simple they are.

I really love the party planning thing - so much that I think I'd be really good at it as a business, but then I'd probably come to hate it because it's something I had to do. So, I'll stick with pestering my friends to let me help them! Until January, because then we can start planning for Amiya's birthday party! Whooohooooooooo!

But now, on to the real stuff, Grandma. You want pictures of the kids at these parties, right?

Oh my goodness. They look so old here. Sitting and staying without being strapped in.
Stop with the growing up already!

Getting ready for the cowboy party. Both kids in cowboy boots (thanks Grandma!) and denim - they're just missing the big ol' belt buckles that a true cowboy/girl wears!

The Oreo mustache and the grimace kill me. "You lookin' at me?"
Ah, the highlight off Kev's day. He got to pet some farm animals.
Heaven!

All the kids at the party got to ride on the pony. Our kids loved it, but the poor pony!

Kev on the oldest tractor you have ever seen! It was sunk about a foot into the ground so it was going absolutely nowhere, but he loved it!

Best.

I have the best hubby in the world.

Lemme just say that again.

I have the best hubby in the world.

He came home from a trip on Wednesday - late, late at night. He had a little throat issue going and it blossomed to a full on gross hack. He transferred that to me (honest to goodness I don't know how - for real) and I developed a full on head cold. The kind of head cold that makes a head feel like it might either pop or hit the floor like a lead weight. I was laid up.

So he did the grocery shopping.

And the feeding of the kids and I.

And the garage cleaning.

And the house straightening.

And eight loads of laundry.

Yep, that's right.

I am a lucky, lucky girl!

Best.

Husband.

Ever.

Did you miss me?

I missed you.

Everyday I checked many of your blogs, but just couldn't get four minutes to rub together and post. Life with Kev is busy. When I started calling him monkey way back when, I had no idea how apt it would be.

Everyday he amazes us with some new phrase that he has taken out of nowhere and made all his own. I have to start a little list, because I'm forgetting them even now. At least once a day he'll utter some cute little something or other and Vinay will look at each other and wonder where the speech-delayed, audiologist-seeing little one went. (For those keeping track at home, yes, another tally for the "My goodness, she really is a worrier column.")

We've had a great week or so since the last post. Post-election euphoria has been tampered down a bit with calm admiration for the get-to-work attitude we've seen.

I celebrated my birthday in fine fashion last week - I was awoken with two very lovely cards (one homemade, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!) and a beautiful bouquet of red roses. I made a cake during the day (not for me, but a super cute design so I was thrilled) and then the Guptas went out for dinner and to a movie as a family. There couldn't have been a better day! Yay for us!

This week, I thought, was going to be fabulous! We had a day off from school on Tuesday for Veteran's Day, so after calling Grandpa and the Uncles, we headed up to the park for a massive playdate of many of our former moms club friends. A beautiful day at the park - but when we came home I noticed Amiya's eyes were pink. She took a bath to wash the pollen and sand off and then to bed she went for a nap. I thought her eyes would be clear upon awaking.

Not so.

Off to the doctor she went. $25 later, 1 case of conjunctivitis and a note that she couldn't go back until Thursday. So, Wednesday should have just been pink eye and done.

Not so.

Coughing, low-grade fever, achiness, cough-induced vomitting, etc. Good times. Stay home Thursday, too. But surely, by Friday, she'd be fine.

Not so.

Friday morning, still coughing up not-so-delicious bits and pieces. Off to the doctor. Some sort of bacterial infection, antibiotics course.

While at the docs, I had him take a peek at Kev, too, since he was a little cough-y, a little stuffy, a little pink. I didn't think it was anything more than a cold.

Not so.

Also on antibiotics, also being treated for pink eye now.

See?


Poor little guy. This was after a 3 hour nap today and several warm compresses to degunk his eyes enough to open them up.

The good news, for him, is that being sick means all the Dumbo and Jungle Book (which he calls Elephans and beas (bears)) he can handle, along with juice boxes, icees from Target and sherbet for supper. Life is, somewhat, good, I guess!

On a much happier note, it has been sort of nice to be home with the kids this week without the hustle and bustle of getting ready for school by 7:20 every morning. There's been some talk of homeschooling Amiya and I've always balked, but maybe. I know, 4 days does not a good sample make. But maybe. That's all I'm saying. Maybe.

Blueberry Muffins

Amiya and I had a deal.

If Barack were to win, she'd have blueberry muffins for breakfast.

If McCain were to win, she'd have marshmallow muffins for breakfast. (I don't know the first thing about marshmallow muffins, but it's what she came up with.)

Vinay and I are not to tell her who is our next President until she sits down to breakfast.

I cannot wait to make bleuberry muffins in the morning.

What a night. What a night. Wonderful, wonderful night.

Update: Best. blueberry. muffin. Ever.

I Didn't Vote for Obama

(This made it's way to my email today, I rather like it.)

I Didn't Vote for Obama

I'm a middle-class white guy living in Jacksonville, Florida I've got a wife and two kids. Because the kids had no school today, I took a vacation day from work, and took the kids downtown to vote early. Fifty-nine minutes later, two smiling children and I proudly sported "I Voted" stickers.

But I didn't vote for Obama.

I voted for my ancestors, who believed in the promise of this country and came with nothing as immigrants.

I voted for my parents, who taught in the public schools for decades.

I voted for Steve, an acquaintance of mine from Kentucky. (Killed by an IED two years ago in Iraq ).

I voted for Shawn, another who's been to Iraq twice, and Afghanistan once, and who'll be going back to Afghanistan again soon -- and whose family earned eleven bucks a month too much to qualify for food stamps when the war started.

I voted for April, the only African-American girl in my high school -- it was years before it occurred to me how different her experience of our school must have been.

I voted for my college friends who are Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and yes -- Muslim.

I voted for my grandfathers, who worked hard in factories and died too young.

I voted for the plumber who worked on my house, because I want him to get a REAL tax break.

I voted for four little angels from Birmingham.

I voted for a bunch of dead white men who, although personally flawed, were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, and used a time of great crisis to expand freedom rather than suspend it.

I voted for all those people and more, and I voted for all of you, too.

But mostly, I voted selfishly.

I voted for two little kids, one who has ballet in an hour, and one who has baseball practice at the same time.

I voted for a world where they can be confident that their government will represent the best that is in this country, and that will in turn demand the best of them.

I voted for a government that will be respected in the world.

I voted for an economy that will reward work above guile.

I voted for everything I believe in.

Sure, I filled in the circle next to the name Obama, but it wasn't him I was voting for -- it was every single one of us, and those I love most of all.

Who else is there to vote for? Vote like it's about a better America .

Because it is.

We went to see Obama!!!

What a day it was! Last Thursday, Obama was speaking in Sarasota, a one hour drive from here so a friend and I decided to round up the kids and take a trip. It was fantastic - not only great to spend time with Courtney and her darling daughter Hannah, but also to find oneself in a community of like-minded thinkers. (Not Sarasota, mind you, which is very red, but the group of 12,000 who came to listen to new ideas.)


A few people have expressed anger that I'd take Amiya out of school to attend such an event. I feel a bit defensive about that - we've always spoken clearly and truthfully to her about things, at a level that she can understand. We have also never said a bad thing about John McCain or Sarah Palin (which, after the fake Sarkozy interview, takes a bit of restraint) in her presence. And when someone else does, we say that we don't need to say bad things about McCain to be positive about Obama. Anyway, Amiya will choose for herself one day. Until then, I will take her to events like this and let her see what it is. I was confident that an Obama event would be hopeful and positive and, given the news clips, one cannot always make the same argument for the crowds at McCain's.

Moving on. If you know me, you know I'm a crier and this event proved no exception. I am full of hope (and hot air, I'm sure my Dad would say) regarding an Obama administration. Should he win, he will have an enormous amount of work to do to get us back to zero, much less on the positive side of so many problems in our world. And should he win, I hope each and every one of us who supported him pre-election holds him to his word. Imagine what the world could be.

Courtney and Hannah, Amiya, Kev and I. Post rally, feeling euphoric! Amiya yelled "Go Obama!" or "Obama's The Best!" the whole time.

Kev and Amiya waiting in line - for about 2 hours. It was the longest line I've ever been a part of - probably snaking back and forth for the equivalent of 20 blocks - but no one was complaining. There were lots of people selling Obama goods - especially t-shirts and buttons. Amiya wanted a button that had the Peanuts gang on it and I got one with a quote from JFK.
Hannah having a seat on her Mom's feet during the line. Isn't she sweet?

In our seats, getting ready! Kev ate that whole tub of popcorn! (Please note, while I do think Amiya will remember this, I am fully cognizant of Kev just being there for the popcorn!)

The man himself. His speech was a standard stump speech that was covered on CNN the next day. It felt good to be with people who appreciated what he says. The crowd was beautiful and diverse - all shades and shapes, swank and sweats.

October has come and gone.....

... and I can't wait for next year because Halloween will be on a Saturday - which means the school party will be on a day that is different than trick or treating. Wow. What a treat Halloween was this year (and I mean that in the nice sense and in that holy crap am I tired sense).

The kids loved October, loved it, loved it, loved it. What's not to love? Pumpkins, sugar and general mayhem.

Amiya and Kev painting (because I am not a Mom up to carving just yet) pumpkins on the lanai. Please note that Kev's pumpkin had been pre-painted with a general jack o'lantern type of face.

The finished products in our front yard. Please note that Kev's jack o'lantern face has been completely obliterated by his paint job.

We took one afternoon last weekend to spend at Hunsader Farms with some friends. We had a great time listening to the Sweeney Brother Band (what's not to love about a band with a guy named Nubs?), walking around, playing games and eating fair food.

Our favorite jack o'lantern showing off both missing front teeth!

The first thing we did and the only thing Kev needed - he loved this!

Year #2 for Amiya on the bungee cords - that's her partially hidden by the arms of the thing way up in the sky. This year she was much more able to get some bounce going and she thought it was great!

The kids' pediatrician's office had a Halloween party this year and so we went all costumed up. They had a fun time and Vinay especially loved the efforts Dr. Jacob went to to turn his office into the Batcave.

At school the kids celebrated Book-A-Ween, where they had to dress up as a character from a book. Amiya chose Lauren The Puppy Fairy from the Rainbow Fairies series. I was thrilled with this choice because Lauren wears pink sweats, a pink tank top and tennis shoes! All things we had on hand already! Whoohoo!

At our neighbor's house for our first trick or treating of the night. Kev was shy for about 1 house and then he was, like last year, an old pro. He'd yell "Trick or Treat" well before the door was even open and then his little thank you, before bolting down the driveway to tell Daddy that he got more "cannies." Amiya didn't even try to play it cool, she was too excited, too.

Blurry, but the only full-length shot I've got of him! Ahhh! Stop MOVING!

The morning after Halloween, when long hair was no longer needed to be Gabriella, Amiya and I strolled over to another neighbor's house for a haircut. About 10 inches off and the cutest bob ever! The hair will go to Locks of Love tomorrow!

After the haircut, we drove over to St. Pete to cheer on this year's 3 Day walkers. Honestly, I'm happy it's not me this year - man that was a lot of walking! I'm happy to support the walkers in other ways and save the blisters!

Cheering Kev style. We're not sure why, but he yelled, "Go Michaels" the entire time. Not "Go Walkers!" but "Go Michaels!" Hmmm.

And because October wouldn't be complete with some massive sugar-induced tantrums, here is Kev in his favorite place to cry it out. The good news is that unlike Amiya, Kev's tantrums are gentle and short in duration.

Whew.

You Should Be Allowed to Vote

You got 15/15 questions correct. Generally speaking, you're very well informed. If you vote this election, you'll know exactly who (and what) you'll be voting for. You're likely to have strong opinions, and you have the facts to back them up.

Should You Be Allowed to Vote?

I feel such relief! Go to the link above (right there, in maroon) and take the quiz. I wonder how many one has to miss to be axed from the rolls?

Barack the Vote!

So, my friend Deborah and I took the wee folk to the local Obama campaign office today to let them see what it is.

What Amiya sees in the papers, the magazines and on TV is slick and orchestrated - massive crowds at speeches, nice suits, etc. I wanted her to see the ground level work that has to be done - and she did. The office was energized chaos, not neat and orderly, but flowing nonetheless. She saw the phone bank room, the computer room, the data room, etc. I'm not sure that she got all out of it that I had intended, but I know that she at least sees that it is every day people working together for this, not only suits and soundbytes.

What was interesting to me was that when we got back in the car I was perseverating a bit on the fact that there were all different shades of people working together. She finally said to me, "Why do you keep talking about it?" Silly me. I love that she's growing up in a culture that doesn't think it's such a big deal for all sorts of folks to be working together. As much as I have been down on Florida lately, it does have diversity going for it and the benefits to our family were abundantly clear this evening.

We have tried to keep the political discussion fair and balanced (that makes me sound like Wolf Blitzer). It may turn out that Amiya or Kev will vote differently. It is certainly the case that many of our friends down here will vote McCain and we do not want to judge that choice or have our daughter judge that choice when she's too young to make that call on her own. So, instead we talk about health care, taxes, and the war in Iraq. We don't demonize McCain's ideas and we don't idealize Obama's, but Amiya has decided that she is more in favor of Obama winning. She'll go to the polls with us and be a part of the process just as she has done for every election since she's been two. I hope she will always be active and interested in the process.

Amiya, Kev, Barack, Freddy (holding Dogga), Benjamin

We gave a small donation and Amiya got to pick out some buttons and I got to pick a yard sign. That's right Dad, there's a button coming in the mail for you - her doing, I swear!

Fall in Florida

It was about 89 F here in the shade today. I'll leave it to you to find an adjective to describe my feelings re: fall in Florida.

Anyway, since it decidedly isn't fall in Florida now (or ever), we're forcing the issue and bringing it ourselves.

Amiya and I made fall cookies for her teachers and for Mr. Bernie who won the acorn contest. They're on their way!

Our favorite Jack O' Lantern - she lost her top right front tooth last Thursday while eating a Haagen-Daaz bar (the child has good taste). It's adorable, absolutely adorable. Yet, very sad - stop growing so quickly! She's also cutting at least two molars, so her mouth is in a lot of pain. At least she says it is. It doesn't slow down the sounds coming out of it, so it's hard to be sure.

The best I could get at the pumpkin patch today. Kev and I went in the morning and I took Amiya and Kev in the afternoon to buy pumpkins. Kev was having no part of it, Amiya was trying so hard. She's such a trooper and he's such a stinker!

We got to see my Aunt Mia in Orlando last week. She was in town for a girl's week, so we drove over for ice cream and a quick visit! It was absolutely great to see you, Aunt Mia! Especially amusing was Kev (and even Amiya) calling her Grandma throughout the visit. Although their actual Grandma is very fabulous and they love her to pieces, Aunt Mia wouldn't be a bad choice if they had to pick one! Those two sisters are something wonderful!

Debate #2

Could they both just answer the question and quit the pissing match?

I want Joe Biden to be President. He deflected Palin's detritus without being snippy. This is crap tonight.

Three Day Cheering Station

Amiya and I spent last Saturday morning (wo)manning a cheering station for some of the walkers who are training for Tampa's 3 Day in a few weeks. They had their big 18/15 mile weekend this week. We took some snacks and met some others who brought snacks as well. While not cheering, Amiya hung out on the playground above with some of her friends. They had a very good time (if we look past the various tears at various moments) and they were super cute when cheering on the walkers.

Pajama Party

It was a pajama party day at Amiya's school on Friday. I'm not sure why - I think it must have been the letter P in the spotlight last week. Anyway, Amiya insisted upon wearing her tattiest monkey nightgown and somewhere picked up a fake flower from last year's luau to stick atop her head. She thought she was making a fashion statement. Me too. I thought Carmen Miranda. Anyone else?

Fuffles

Kev is fuffle obsessed. Obsessed I say. He loves the puzzle. Animals, numbers, letters, Elmo, Diego - doesn't matter. He's up to 40 piece jigsaw puzzles by himself and he'll do up to 100 pieces if someone is sitting with him. It's a bit nuts for a 2.5 year old, sometimes I think it's abnormal. But then he eats a freshly-harvested booger and it all averages out.

Here you can see his newest puzzle. It's an 8 foot long alphabet "fuffle" and he looooves it. Every two or three letters he'll stop and say, "Ok. Let's sing it!" He expects us all to drop everything and sing. Adorable!

Up Norf

So the kids and I took a trip to Northern Wisconsin a few weeks ago and we had a great time. I miss Wisconsin. A lot. I miss the Midwest. It's a different attitude and a different perspective. So, while Tampa is good for our family and my kids see lots of kids who look like them day in and day out, I guess deep down I'll never feel Florida is home. Our house is home, but I'd love it more if it were somewhere else. I didn't think I'd feel homesick 4+ years after moving, but I do.

It was incredibly refreshing to not have to be all over the kids when they were outside. No fire ants, snakes, gators, etc. Ahhh. They played in the woods, picked a million acorns, kicked up leaves, waded in lakes, etc. They got to be kids like I was when I was growing up. (See above paragraph.)

Anyway, we had a great, great, great trip. I was pretty much the fifth wheel - Amiya had Grandma and Kev had Grandpa and I was good for diaper changes and doling out goldfish.

Blogger is kind of being difficult, so here are a whole lotta photos in no particular order:

The duo, upon arriving. Amiya crouches, Kev thinks he needs to crouch too.

Grandpa at the tea party Amiya and Grandma hosted while Kev napped. Please note his pinky.

I love this picture of Amiya. She's holding a bucket with 855 acorns - we counted. Mr. Bernie won the estimation contest and we're sending him cookies as his prize!

Kev, Amiya and Grandpa picking bright fall leaves on our last afternoon. We took them home and dipped them in parafin to preserve them. I think Grandpa liked this better than the kids!

Grandma and Amiya at the campfire on our last night. "You go girl!" "No, you go girl!" was all we heard from these two the whole time!

Kev and Grandpa watching the Brewers game. I love that Grandpa is going to be in charge of Kev's baseball and football education!

Doesn't he look innocent? We picnicked on the shores of Lake Superior one day and the kids made full use of the playground right near the lake.

"'frowin wocks" was Kev's favorite activity of the entire trip. He'd still be there if we would have left him. He charged himself with the task of cleaning up the beach and he was taking it very seriously.

Can you blame me for missing it? Just look at those colors!

Amiya noshing on campfire cuisine - she's a potpie connisseur now.

Kev, less in love with potpies, and Grandpa sharing a seat.

I love this picture.

Devastation. Absolute devastation when Amiya tried to climb up his slide.

Grandma taught Amiya how to walk on a fence. Thanks Grandma.

Swinging at Lake Superior.

Amiya with the rabbits at a wildlife park we stopped at.

Amiya petting a deer at the park.

Kev with the same deer. He loved this park.

Doesn't she look fifteen?

He just looks two. If only he'd gotten the earpiece on the ear.


If you blow this one up you'll see how gorgeous she is here. Not that I'm biased.

Kev and Grandpa exploring a river bed.

Super Grandma and Grandpa and the kids. Amiya especially loved spending time with them.

Seriously.

I miss it so much.

And in a completely inappropriate yet very funny way to end our trip: Kev was peeling birch bark from this log at the campfire on the last night when all of a sudden he stopped, hunched over just a bit and got very still. And we all knew exactly what he was doing. That ended the campfire and in we went for the night. Leave it to Kev to end things in a very definite way.