A Lovely Little Christmas Story

A few weeks ago, I told you about the kids going Christmas caroling with Amiya's playgroup friends. It was a lot of fun and snowballed into something bigger than we ever imagined it might be.

A few days before we went, we slipped a note from the kids in the mailboxes of the homes we would be caroling at to let them know that we were happy to sing for nothing but staying up past bedtime, but if they'd like, we'd accept a donation for Metropolitan Ministries, an area food bank & social services center.

Well, we jingled and sang all the Christmas carols the kids could muster and in doing so, collected $150 and a rubbermaid tote full of canned goods. We did not take it to Metropolitan Ministries but did something even closer to home with it. Read on, but grab a tissue, because everyone who has heard the story so far has been a little choked up by the end.

There is a little boy in a kindergarten class who came to school the last Friday before break in the same clothes he wears every single day instead of pajamas for pajama day. The ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher came into the room and quietly gave him a bag with new underwear and socks. I asked if he had pajamas for the day and she told me that they have nothing. None of the kindergarten teachers had extra boy PJs either.

The family is living in an apartment with the help of Metropolitan Ministries. It seems the Dad was killed in Cuba and the family had to flee. There are three children and the mother - who is doing everything she can to get them back on their feet.

I ran to WalMart and bought him PJs and used the caroling money to purchase a $150 gift card for the teacher to use to buy this family some of what they need. We also took the food up to Clark as the teacher indicated that there are several families whose children are only getting hot food at Clark. She is planning to start a food pantry at the school.

I took the PJs to the classroom and was able to explain (in very bad Spanish) that they were for him to keep. And he started crying. This kills me. Amiya got pajamas for Christmas and while she said thank you it was in the way that someone who doesn't really need anything is grateful for yet another thing. But this child started to cry over pajamas.

And it didn't end there. Another family from our playgroup went out and bought this child several sets of school uniforms, undergarments and an additional $50 gift card for more household items. A family that we caroled for heard the story and went out and bought the family Christmas gifts, toileteries and books and games that emphasize beginning English words. And another family donated five grocery bags full of non-perishable canned goods and personal hygiene items. And finally, another family donated a homemade quilt for the Mom and yet more clothes for the children.I spoke with the ESOL teacher over break and she said that the Mom was beyond grateful and relieved to have a bit of breathing room as she continues to get her family acclimated to a new life.

I think it's a really beautiful story and I'm so glad the kids were a part of it. Amiya knows how we ended up using the money and I think it's been eye-opening to her to know that while she has at least 10 pairs of pjs in her drawer at any given time, the sweet little boy in her class didn't have a single one. It's been a great opportunity to talk about poverty and wealth - and how wealth doesn't equal worth and poverty does not equal sloth. And I hope it's helped her put our Christmas celebrations into perspective - how lucky we are to have what we have and how responsible we are for caring for each other.

Post Christmas Round-Up

Oh my. Another Christmas season has come and, in Florida, gone. Decorations are gone, gone, gone. We seem to be the only ones on our block who aren't with it enough to get the lights and such put away. It didn't feel so much like Christmas this year, what with the 85 degree weather on Christmas day and the AC running around the clock.


But I'm not complaining. Most of you reading have had really, really difficult weather. We had lots of fun and made the most of it.


Our Christmas tree was a lot of fun, even though I'd be lying if I said we did more than 1/3 of all the activities on there - it was a lot. But, when you're celebrating Christmas secularly, it's all wide open and we make our own way. A lot of the activities we did do were for others who are not so fortunate this year and that's the message we really want to convey. Absolutely it's about giving and receiving presents, but also taking care of those around us.


We managed to get a lot of non-tree things in, too:

Amiya on Santa's lap at the Lowry Park Zoo. I couldn't hear what she said she wanted, but she's stuck true to three things every time she writes a letter to the big guy (almost every other day).

Kev and Vinay on the kiddie roller coaster at the zoo. If you squint you can just make them out in the middle car. Vinay pretty much had to headlock Kev, but we could hear Kev laughing the entire time.


Kev on the Flying Banana ride at the zoo. Vinay somehow got him in there without my knowing it - this would never have happened on my watch. Which is why it's good that our kids have two parents - I'd keep them locked up and bathed in sanitizer. Vinay is the yin to my parenting yang. (That sounds kind of naughty, eh?)

Alright, to Christmas Eve. We are woefully remiss about the pictures - when wrapping paper is flying, the camera is forgotten. Anyway, a few, for the sake of posting pictures.

This is the best shot that we got, sadly. Have I used the jell-0 to a tree analogy before? I think so.

And this one is after the standing up proved to be too difficult and Kev fainted clear away. Amiya revived him with a bout of tickling and the world started spinning on its' axis once again.

Grandpa and Kev reading one of Kev's two new hippo books. Please note Kev's change of clothes - he opened up his Mickey Mouse PJs and had to change then and there.

Amiya checking out her new fish - this was the first present she opened and probably her favorite. It's a betta and it seems to be on its' way out - we'll see. She's named it Indigo, with India serving as its' nickname.


Vinay and my Dad have spent lots of time on the links lately and I'm loving it. I think it's great that Vinay's developing a hobby and that the boys are getting bonding time. I think they should take Amiya along to be the scorekeeper (it's good for her math skills) but they aren't taking that idea seriously at all. My Mom, the kids and I were stranded with no husbands/Dads Sunday, so someone had the brilliant idea to go to the beach. And I say brilliant because it really was a brilliant idea. I can piss and moan about 85 degree weather all day long, but it takes a northerner to make lemonade out of it and go to the beach. Anyway, off we went to Honeymoon Island - a very nice beach. The kids loved it, the weather was perfect and the waves were gentle.

Does this remind you of anyone?
Yeah, that's right. My son is buff like the future President. He'll need to lose the pull-up and maybe wear his shorts a little lower, but I think the resemblance is uncanny. I'll be the next Barbara Bush. But don't look to me to wear pearls. I'm a sapphire kind of girl. (More on that later.)

There's exciting changes coming for Amiya, but more on those in a bit, too. Until then, let's take a moment to check out the very last of her baby pudge. When she's in jeans and a t-shirt, her shape is so much like a girl that I can't stand it. It's only when she's in a swimsuit that we can see that she's still little and has just a touch of those thighs that had creases and the pudgy cheeks. She'll be mad at me for writing this when she's 13, but a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.

A few other things - if you got a package of cookies in the mail, this is what they should have looked like. It's my understanding that the oranges travelled well, everything else was a hot mess. We had fun making them and we hope they brought a little Florida sunshine to your day!

The kids and I were in a pretty serious fender bender (is that statement even possible?) two days before Christmas. We were sitting at a stoplight at a complete stop when someone slammed into the car behind us, causing that car to bounce back and forth between the offending car and us. We were hit twice, in rapid succession, but luckily no one in our car was hurt. The other drivers were taken by ambulance to the hospital, but the paramedics deemed us ok. Kev complained that his head hurt, but a trip for further review showed nothing. Our car is pretty banged up - about $3,000 in damages total. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there is a lot of undercarriage damage from the angle of the hit. The left side is bent out of shape, the bumper and door will have to be replaced, and something about the frame. The estimate-guy (technical term being???) was talking and all I heard was "yada, yada, yada, fixable." Alrighty then.

On the plus side, the importance of sitting in a car seat was hammered home to Amiya who is starting to complain that she's in a 5 point harness when some of her friends are in backless boosters. And even more, we were able to walk away. I hope the drivers in the other two cars were home for Christmas.

Vinay and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary on the 23rd - my how time flies! He got me a beautiful sapphire ring (I told you I was a sapphire kind of girl) and I, once again, reminded him that my gift to him is the two precious children that strew toys all around the house and never stop talking. No ring can compete with that. Ha! We spent our anniversary night addressing envelopes and writing out New Years cards - how romantic is that? (I'm not being sarcastic when I say that it was sort of fun to see our circle of friends and loved ones that seems to grow a bit each year. It's nice to come from such different places/cultures/backgrounds - we often remark on how much we bring to the other.)

And finally, the big Amiya news. It seems the little Miss is a pretty smart little piece of work. She'll be heading to the first grade after winter break. We've been talking with her kindergarten teacher since early November about how to better challenge Amiya and it was decided that the best thing to do would be to test her a bit and see where she really is. So, she took a reading test and her scores placed her up to a fourth grade, sixth month reading/comprehension level. That was just a computer test, though, so the reading specialist came in and gave her a very specific assessment - Amiya went through everything up to the end of second grade with very strong (perfect?) scores and then the reading teacher stopped her. She also took a mid-year math test that the first graders are given and scored very well on that. So, the decision was made to move her to first grade. She was initially very excited, then a bit anxious and then again excited after meeting her teacher and a few future classmates. So, she's excited and we're happy that she's taking it with a great attitude. She loves her kindergarten teacher, so I fully expect the night before the first day to be hard for her, but in the grand scheme of things, this is a good move.

Alright. That's all for now. I'll be back soon with a Christmas story that might make you cry. Have kleenex handy.

We are alive in Tampa.

But we've been really busy and it's all my Mom's fault.

So now that I've cast the blame on her she can't be upset that the blog hasn't been updated, right?

You see, my parents are in town and while that's very exciting and happy-making for me, it's even more exciting and happy-making for the wee ones. Oh, happiness is Grandma and Grandpa within driving distance.

So, we've been very busy with holiday stuff and grandparent stuff. You can't blame me for doing that sort of thing instead of sitting in front of the computer.

A few (a lot, actually) photos from the past few weeks:

Amiya watching cookies bake in the oven. We made spritz cookies for the first time this year - I had forgotten what a pain in the ahem the spritz things are to work. But Amiya loved it and spritz cookies are fast! Whoo!

Kev eating his PBJ with a fork. We tried to tell him not to, but he wouldn't listen. And then he poked himself and it all went downhill from there. He's in this mindset where every meal needs a spoon and a fork and come hell or high water he's going to use them both.

Ah, the green goatee. Green frosting from the Dunkin' Donuts breakfast the kids enjoyed one early Saturday morning.

Kev was trying to escape Grandpa's tickles, so he knotted himself up tight as could be.

Kev's first time on Santa's lap (I think). He didn't really get the whole concept until Santa pulled a present out of the bag just for Kev. Now he gets it and is always on the lookout for another Santa to talk with.

It's not lice. It's mac 'n cheese. Fudge and finnola. Can't we get one day, just one!?!?, without a bath?

Tell me he's not super cute in his tie and vest.
You can't, can you?

This is how much he loves his puzzles. He's cuddling with it on the couch.

We spent a day at Disney a few weeks ago. This is one of the new fairies - Amiya's read most of the books, but this one doesn't have a book out yet. I think her name was Iridessa and she rocked. I sort of really dislike the smarmy way the Princesses speak and this fairy had spunk and sass. Very. very. nice.

See? That's what I mean? Even the kids think they're lame and it was clear Amiya couldn't wait to get out of there.

Ah, Dumbo. Have I told you about Kev and Dumbo yet? I think so. This was a great moment for Kev. Dumbo is his favorite!

And the teacups. The crazy teacups. Mommy will not be going on the teacups again, the kids like to spin way, way too much. When did I get so old?

I love this picture. He was awestruck by the show at Cinderella's castle. He couldn't believe what he saw - this is a typical Kev reaction. Hand on the mouth, absolutely stunned.

From Disney to mudbogging, that's how we roll. Just a few days after our trip to perfection with fairy dust and mouse ears, we took a trip to Dade City for their annual parade. It was very fun with a lot of cool floats, but the highlight (for the grown-ups anyway) was the monster trucks. They are so tall they are absurd, so loud they are obnoxious. It's sort of fun to see how this different part of our culture lives. Sort of. Also very puzzling.

The kids got a puppy. It's name is Lucky and I can turn it off. Perfect puppy!

We went caroling tonight. There were twelve kids in all and it was a lot of fun! We carolled (two Ls, just one? not sure) for canned goods for a food pantry here and we ended up raising a bix box of food, plus a nice chunk of change. The kids practiced their songs and really did a bang-up job on Jingle Bells (over and over again). Next year, new songs.

Amiya was taking her singing seriously.

(Does anyone else see something wrong with caroling in short sleeves? It was 85 here today and very humid. Ugh. I feel for all of you in the frigid north and would happily take some of that cold off your hands.)

Kev was the jingle bell king. He had a stick of bells from Miss Sherri and he shook those bells everywhere we went. I'm not sure how he didn't crash early on, but he kept up with the big kids and had such a good time!

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.