Monday, January 31, 2005
Friday, January 1, 2005
Very low key New Years Eve, especially in light of the recent tsunami tragedy. At midnight, the quiet night exploded with fireworks for about 20 minutes, then it was quiet again.
Monday, January 3, 2005
Maya's back in school. Thank goodness no one that we know of among the families at the school was hurt in the tsunami. One Canadian family we know went to Sri Lanka (they're both teachers there, and one of the sons is in Maya's class) but they're back safe and sound.
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Celebrated Charlie's 1st birthday today. All of a sudden Charlie's got a fairly thick head of hair and, some say, he's starting to look like me now that he's getting teeth. Had a cake and ice cream with the family and Charlie got a play barnyard toy from us and a beautiful truck from Nanny.
Friday, January 7, 2005
Nanny, my Mom, a.k.a. Eileen, arrived Wednesday night at 2 am. In the light of day we noticed that there was a bag snafu--Mom and an Indian man had exchanged suitcases (they were identical--both still with the Sears price tag on them). Mom was surprised to open hers and find mens' clothing, and I'm sure he was just as surprised to find kiddie toys and toiletries. Badri called Lufthansa and in no time the exchange was made.
The kids and Mom are all so excited to see each other. Molly woke up from her nap the first day Nanny was here and said, "I want to look at Nanny!" Mom seems to be getting over the jetlag very nicely.
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Today we had some people over for Charlie's first birthday. Turned out to be mostly people from the neighborhood who we see nearly daily at the park or on walks--Nandita, from my yoga class, and her two sons; Venkatesh, a realtor who walks in the park across the street; Sheelu, who I see every morning when walking with Charlie and Molly; Koyal and Ghazal, two sweet girls who live a couple blocks away, and are the daughters of friends of Badri's older brother; Gauri and her 7 month old daughter, Kia; Yuganther, a colleague of Badri's; Richy and Cajoli, relative and friend of Badri's; Upasna and her 15 month old son, Maurya, who we always see in the park (this was the first birthday party he'd ever been to, and he looked a little shell shocked); Nicola, an English friend from the Overseas Women's Club, and her adorable 15 month old daughter, Jasmine (we'd been to her 1st birthday in Sept., and that's how we discovered the Taj Sweet Shop, who makes the best birthday cakes I've ever had); and of course my Mom visiting from the U.S.
Everything was fine and dandy at the outset. The caterer, Casa Piccola (a local Italian restaurant) arrived nearly on time. Charlie was asleep when everyone arrived shortly after 4 pm. He woke up and took the crowd okay. In fact, he stood on his own for the very first time in the middle of the party. Maya changed her dress a couple times, and Molly stripped down to her t-shirt and diaper, saying she wanted to use the potty. Just as a couple people were saying they'd have to run because their kids were getting cranky around 6 pm, the lights started flickering. I thought I'd smelled something burning earlier in the day, but I'd chalked it up to people burning cooking fires or leaves in the neighborhood. While the lights were dimming and some people were heading for the door, we decided to quickly sing happy birthday and cut the cake. Then while we were handing out the cake, the lights went out altogether. The neighborhood's power supply had failed, and our UPS (uninterrupted power supply--a misnomer) also failed. So shortly after 6 we were hurriedly passing out cake and ice cream in the failing light. Thankfully, we were upstairs and we have a couple skylights up there so we could actually see what we were doing for a while.
Most of the guests left before it was pitch dark, but a few stayed. We lit candles and rounded up the few flashlights (torches) we had. The caterers cleaned up the chafing dishes and packaged up leftovers by candlelight. Charlie played happily nearby. Good thing we had the candles, because I remember when we'd been in Coorg last week and the lights went out for about 10 minutes at night, before bedtime, the kids really panicked.
The electricians and UPS man came by, and after checking out the situation told us that the UPS system had burned out. So next time we lose power, we'll have no backup until the system is fixed. This is one reason we're seriously considering moving from this stand-alone house to an apartment (flat).
All in all, a very nice party day.
January 13, 2005
Had a great dinner out with a few other moms--Laura from the U.S., Nicola from England, and Aarthi, of Indian origin, also from England. It'd been a while since I'd gone out with friends, so it was much needed. Great senses of humor, these three. Nicola sent "minutes from the very important meeting" the following day so we could all remember the points we'd brought up and meant to follow up on.
Tuesday, January 17, 2005
Mom and I were talking before going to bed last night, and all the lights went out. Power cuts (for whatever reason) aren't unusual and frequently happen during the day, but they're most annoying at night when you need lights. We have had bad luck with our UPS system, as I mentioned above. After Charlie's birthday party our UPS guy, Prasana, installed a temporary system, but it's a third less powerful than the original one. He was to have replaced it by Saturday, but of course didn't meet that deadline. So when power went out last night, there was no back up because the UPS system could only support the power required by one or two lights. Turned every single thing off in the house and then was able to re-start the back up system.
January 18, 2005
What a day, what a last--oh, I'd say 4 or 5 months. Molly's tantrums leave me feeling as though I've been wrung out and hung to dry. Tonight I was thinking maybe it was her molars, because she who hates having her teeth brushed was begging me to brush the back of her teeth hard. I brushed for her and gave her Tylenol, and that seemed to help.
Poor Maya has been having stomach pains. Mom (Nannie) is here and we're trying to figure out if it's parasites. Sister Patty and I were on the phone last night, Googling "stomach pain" across the miles and talking about what it might be. We've already de-wormed her and Molly (it's a liquid medicine they take every 6 months). Next up I'll get a sample and take it to the lab. She hates missing school, but she's not able to eat much, so is pretty weak and tired.
Prasana's UPS people came by today and replaced the backup system. I'd called Badri in London to let him know we were in the dark last night and I guess he called and lambasted the guy.
Having a great time with Mom here, despite the kids physical and mental(!) health. We went to the local high-rent Leela Palace yesterday and while Mom had a manicure and pedicure (about $10 U.S. total for both), I had my hair cut by the same woman, Stella, who worked miracles and cut Molly's hair a few days ago. Then we had lunch in Citrus, one of the Leela restaurants, outside by the pool. To give you an idea of how pricey the joint is, they charge you 1000 rupees ($22 U.S.) for the use of the pool for the day if you're not a guest there.
Badri left two days ago for a three week business trip to London, Minneapolis, and various parts of California.
Thurs., Jan. 20
Maya went back to school. Put her on the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet yesterday, much as she hates it, and this morning she felt fine.
Fri., Jan. 21
Baig, our day watchman and gardener, has today, Sat., and Sun. off for Eid-al-Adha, the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid-al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham's (Abraham's) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.
Sun., Jan. 23
And on that note, went to a Catholic church in India for the first time with Mom and the kids (actually, first time ever for a Catholic church anywhere for the kids). Didn't stay long, since Charlie was getting antsy. Molly was suprisingly calm until she saw me peek my head in the window with Charlie. After ducking out of Mass, we asked Ramesh (our driver) to bring us to a sizable Hindu temple in town so Mom could see what it was like. We went to the Shiva temple near Ulsoor lake (we were told it's 700 years old) and as luck would have it, we got to see part of a wedding there. That was nice, because Mom had been invited to a friend of a friend's wedding, but it was the day after she landed in India, plus Charlie's birthday, so she'd decided to forego it.
Mon., Jan. 24
Charlie's first haircut today. One woman at the park who sees him often said he looks like a girl now, but of course I think he just looks cuter than ever. Went to the same place (Leela Palace's M&W salon), same woman (Stella), and had another stylist there take a few pics of the historic moment. Funny, every time I go to that salon (three times now), I run into someone from the OWC (Overseas Women's Club). They really know how to pamper, and I guess the word gets around.
Tues., Jan. 25
My Mom made it back safe and sound to New England, despite Boston being in the thick of a huge nor'easter (big snow storm) and very few planes able to land yesterday. Mom was amazed that my brother-in-law Andrew had shoveled her entire driveway. And my sister Mary braved two feet plus of snow with her two boys, Max and Alex, to go pick up Mom.
Big news in town last week was that Benny Hinn came to town. Maya's school was even closed for the day, last Friday, because they were afraid that thousands of protesters would come out and disrupt traffic. Benny Hinn is an American televangelist and "miracle healer", the host of one of the most popular Christian telecasts (This is Your Day!) in the world today. The controversy was that people were afraid he would be converting Hindus to Christianity.
Mon., Jan. 31
The big news to end up the month is that Charlie took his first steps today. Very exciting. And happily he took those three steps to his mama.
I'll post pictures either through Ofoto or in next month's post.
Very low key New Years Eve, especially in light of the recent tsunami tragedy. At midnight, the quiet night exploded with fireworks for about 20 minutes, then it was quiet again.
Monday, January 3, 2005
Maya's back in school. Thank goodness no one that we know of among the families at the school was hurt in the tsunami. One Canadian family we know went to Sri Lanka (they're both teachers there, and one of the sons is in Maya's class) but they're back safe and sound.
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Celebrated Charlie's 1st birthday today. All of a sudden Charlie's got a fairly thick head of hair and, some say, he's starting to look like me now that he's getting teeth. Had a cake and ice cream with the family and Charlie got a play barnyard toy from us and a beautiful truck from Nanny.
Friday, January 7, 2005
Nanny, my Mom, a.k.a. Eileen, arrived Wednesday night at 2 am. In the light of day we noticed that there was a bag snafu--Mom and an Indian man had exchanged suitcases (they were identical--both still with the Sears price tag on them). Mom was surprised to open hers and find mens' clothing, and I'm sure he was just as surprised to find kiddie toys and toiletries. Badri called Lufthansa and in no time the exchange was made.
The kids and Mom are all so excited to see each other. Molly woke up from her nap the first day Nanny was here and said, "I want to look at Nanny!" Mom seems to be getting over the jetlag very nicely.
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Today we had some people over for Charlie's first birthday. Turned out to be mostly people from the neighborhood who we see nearly daily at the park or on walks--Nandita, from my yoga class, and her two sons; Venkatesh, a realtor who walks in the park across the street; Sheelu, who I see every morning when walking with Charlie and Molly; Koyal and Ghazal, two sweet girls who live a couple blocks away, and are the daughters of friends of Badri's older brother; Gauri and her 7 month old daughter, Kia; Yuganther, a colleague of Badri's; Richy and Cajoli, relative and friend of Badri's; Upasna and her 15 month old son, Maurya, who we always see in the park (this was the first birthday party he'd ever been to, and he looked a little shell shocked); Nicola, an English friend from the Overseas Women's Club, and her adorable 15 month old daughter, Jasmine (we'd been to her 1st birthday in Sept., and that's how we discovered the Taj Sweet Shop, who makes the best birthday cakes I've ever had); and of course my Mom visiting from the U.S.
Everything was fine and dandy at the outset. The caterer, Casa Piccola (a local Italian restaurant) arrived nearly on time. Charlie was asleep when everyone arrived shortly after 4 pm. He woke up and took the crowd okay. In fact, he stood on his own for the very first time in the middle of the party. Maya changed her dress a couple times, and Molly stripped down to her t-shirt and diaper, saying she wanted to use the potty. Just as a couple people were saying they'd have to run because their kids were getting cranky around 6 pm, the lights started flickering. I thought I'd smelled something burning earlier in the day, but I'd chalked it up to people burning cooking fires or leaves in the neighborhood. While the lights were dimming and some people were heading for the door, we decided to quickly sing happy birthday and cut the cake. Then while we were handing out the cake, the lights went out altogether. The neighborhood's power supply had failed, and our UPS (uninterrupted power supply--a misnomer) also failed. So shortly after 6 we were hurriedly passing out cake and ice cream in the failing light. Thankfully, we were upstairs and we have a couple skylights up there so we could actually see what we were doing for a while.
Most of the guests left before it was pitch dark, but a few stayed. We lit candles and rounded up the few flashlights (torches) we had. The caterers cleaned up the chafing dishes and packaged up leftovers by candlelight. Charlie played happily nearby. Good thing we had the candles, because I remember when we'd been in Coorg last week and the lights went out for about 10 minutes at night, before bedtime, the kids really panicked.
The electricians and UPS man came by, and after checking out the situation told us that the UPS system had burned out. So next time we lose power, we'll have no backup until the system is fixed. This is one reason we're seriously considering moving from this stand-alone house to an apartment (flat).
All in all, a very nice party day.
January 13, 2005
Had a great dinner out with a few other moms--Laura from the U.S., Nicola from England, and Aarthi, of Indian origin, also from England. It'd been a while since I'd gone out with friends, so it was much needed. Great senses of humor, these three. Nicola sent "minutes from the very important meeting" the following day so we could all remember the points we'd brought up and meant to follow up on.
Tuesday, January 17, 2005
Mom and I were talking before going to bed last night, and all the lights went out. Power cuts (for whatever reason) aren't unusual and frequently happen during the day, but they're most annoying at night when you need lights. We have had bad luck with our UPS system, as I mentioned above. After Charlie's birthday party our UPS guy, Prasana, installed a temporary system, but it's a third less powerful than the original one. He was to have replaced it by Saturday, but of course didn't meet that deadline. So when power went out last night, there was no back up because the UPS system could only support the power required by one or two lights. Turned every single thing off in the house and then was able to re-start the back up system.
January 18, 2005
What a day, what a last--oh, I'd say 4 or 5 months. Molly's tantrums leave me feeling as though I've been wrung out and hung to dry. Tonight I was thinking maybe it was her molars, because she who hates having her teeth brushed was begging me to brush the back of her teeth hard. I brushed for her and gave her Tylenol, and that seemed to help.
Poor Maya has been having stomach pains. Mom (Nannie) is here and we're trying to figure out if it's parasites. Sister Patty and I were on the phone last night, Googling "stomach pain" across the miles and talking about what it might be. We've already de-wormed her and Molly (it's a liquid medicine they take every 6 months). Next up I'll get a sample and take it to the lab. She hates missing school, but she's not able to eat much, so is pretty weak and tired.
Prasana's UPS people came by today and replaced the backup system. I'd called Badri in London to let him know we were in the dark last night and I guess he called and lambasted the guy.
Having a great time with Mom here, despite the kids physical and mental(!) health. We went to the local high-rent Leela Palace yesterday and while Mom had a manicure and pedicure (about $10 U.S. total for both), I had my hair cut by the same woman, Stella, who worked miracles and cut Molly's hair a few days ago. Then we had lunch in Citrus, one of the Leela restaurants, outside by the pool. To give you an idea of how pricey the joint is, they charge you 1000 rupees ($22 U.S.) for the use of the pool for the day if you're not a guest there.
Badri left two days ago for a three week business trip to London, Minneapolis, and various parts of California.
Thurs., Jan. 20
Maya went back to school. Put her on the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet yesterday, much as she hates it, and this morning she felt fine.
Fri., Jan. 21
Baig, our day watchman and gardener, has today, Sat., and Sun. off for Eid-al-Adha, the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid-al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham's (Abraham's) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.
The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the poor.
We've been invited to Baig's daughter's wedding on Feb. 7. It will be our first Muslim wedding.
Sun., Jan. 23
And on that note, went to a Catholic church in India for the first time with Mom and the kids (actually, first time ever for a Catholic church anywhere for the kids). Didn't stay long, since Charlie was getting antsy. Molly was suprisingly calm until she saw me peek my head in the window with Charlie. After ducking out of Mass, we asked Ramesh (our driver) to bring us to a sizable Hindu temple in town so Mom could see what it was like. We went to the Shiva temple near Ulsoor lake (we were told it's 700 years old) and as luck would have it, we got to see part of a wedding there. That was nice, because Mom had been invited to a friend of a friend's wedding, but it was the day after she landed in India, plus Charlie's birthday, so she'd decided to forego it.
Mon., Jan. 24
Charlie's first haircut today. One woman at the park who sees him often said he looks like a girl now, but of course I think he just looks cuter than ever. Went to the same place (Leela Palace's M&W salon), same woman (Stella), and had another stylist there take a few pics of the historic moment. Funny, every time I go to that salon (three times now), I run into someone from the OWC (Overseas Women's Club). They really know how to pamper, and I guess the word gets around.
Tues., Jan. 25
My Mom made it back safe and sound to New England, despite Boston being in the thick of a huge nor'easter (big snow storm) and very few planes able to land yesterday. Mom was amazed that my brother-in-law Andrew had shoveled her entire driveway. And my sister Mary braved two feet plus of snow with her two boys, Max and Alex, to go pick up Mom.
Big news in town last week was that Benny Hinn came to town. Maya's school was even closed for the day, last Friday, because they were afraid that thousands of protesters would come out and disrupt traffic. Benny Hinn is an American televangelist and "miracle healer", the host of one of the most popular Christian telecasts (This is Your Day!) in the world today. The controversy was that people were afraid he would be converting Hindus to Christianity.
Mon., Jan. 31
The big news to end up the month is that Charlie took his first steps today. Very exciting. And happily he took those three steps to his mama.
I'll post pictures either through Ofoto or in next month's post.
# posted by Kelly @ 5:16 PM 
