SPRING!

Birds are singing, the sun is shining, babies abound...it must be Spring!! Finally! There is something that about the arrival of Spring that awakens the spirit. It's a renewal of hope and a sign of relief that we made it through the winter- all in the same breathe. Stirrings, rustlings, an itching to get out, explore and bask in the wonders of the outdoors. There are so many things for Tiger to discover this year. So many things for Nishad to experience. I can't wait to see Spring through their eyes! Nishad is still talking about our bountiful garden from last year. It was a highlight of our summer activities, for sure! He loves to garden, as do I. Judging from the house plant that Tiger has already had his hand in, surely he has a green thumb as well. Due to the success of my vegetable and herb garden last year, I plan on expanding and growing a few more variety of things. My "rock star" plans of the front yard and backyard are finally starting to fall into place. This March 25th, we'll have lived here for 4 years. everything in good time. I'm pretty proud that I planted and designed the lay out for everything in the front and back with the exception of the sod. Such in life, and art...my garden shall continue to evolve.

On the first day of Spring, it snowed here in the morning. Just a grazing- enough of a joke for Mother Nature to pull on us all to remind us that there are things you can control, and other this that you can merely control your reaction to. Which is what Arun and I did from the front window. We chuckled and giggled...we knew the snow wouldn't last for long with the temperatures approaching 40-degrees. Ha,Ha! As a matter of fact, we already were grilling.

I love the lot that our house is on. During the Spring we can see all the baby birdies, ducklings, watch the mink and the beaver in the creek and hear all the great sounds to go with it. Soon, Nishad and Arun will be chasing stray frogs from the creek. In the Summer, our yard is screened by trees which adds a wonderful element of privacy. This was something that really attracted us to this house. In the Autumn, we witness all the changing colors reflected in the creek. In the winter, it appears as powder sugar coats the trees that line the creek. Just beautiful...and I'm not a fan of winter, so that says a lot!

We bought Nishad a new big boy bike this past week! He passed his little toddler bike down to his baby brother (who is ecstatic about it!). His new bike is a construction zone bike (what other bike is there for a boy to have?!) complete with a dump truck helmet. He's pretty proud of his bike. This Spring was the right time to make the transition too. Now over 44-inches tall, his legs needed the room to pedal.

We seem to be just clearing the woods of a nasty run in with the stomach flu. I was so happy that the boys had such a healthy winter~ and then it got them at the end. At least, to this day they haven't had any earaches...I've heard some pretty awful stories about that this winter. My heart goes out to any baby that is sick. Nishad's fever was pretty high. Thank G-d that he is now 'back to himself'...I'll keep him home from school as a precaution. He'll go back on Tuesday.

We have quite the busy week ahead of us. I'm not sure I feel rested enough to dive into it! I'm coordinating a staff appreciation luncheon at Nishad's school that I am very excited about. There are some phenomenal teachers/people at Nishad's school. What better way to say "thank you" to those who enrich our children's lives so much? I made flower invitations for the teachers in the color of lilac and sage. Each teacher will be take with them a little envelope of wild flower seeds to plant so they can continue to bloom during the summer and remind them of how much they are appreciated. I think it will be fun, and I'm enjoying getting to know some other parents through this adventure.

Arun also has his 16 month appointment (a month late...oops!). Ashish is taking the morning off and we'll drop Nishad off to school, go to Arun's appointment and then have breakfast together and hang out for a bit...just with Arun. I also have a photography booking this week that I am looking forward to! I just created the most gorgeous baby announcement for Rocco! He's ADORABLE! I also created a promotional postcard for Chicago Makeup Professionals to be used at the Chicago Bridal EXPO. It looks pretty awesome! I think they'll get lots of inquires. This Friday marks the last day of school for Nishad before Spring Break! We found out some wonderful news last week!! Kelly is coming to visit us on the 31st through April 3rd! We always look forward to visits from Auntie K!

The Egg Hunt is quickly approaching as well. We have set-up on the evening of the 3rd, and the hunt is on Saturday. Which, after being the chair for 3 months now (3 meetings), I think I'm finally starting to settle into the role and feel a bit more comfortable with Ronald's Rules. It felt odd at first because I'm the first chair that had to be so 'structured' and on top of everything, we are now moved to the chambers. So, I really have no one before me to learn from or use as an example. I do feel support from my peers and I know that they understand. I do feel like our meetings are going well and we are getting more done. I also feel like everyone is heard now or has the opportunity to take the floor. I was pretty nervous my first couple of times! Though one side of me did want to just belt out a high note or two...haha.

Nishad actually has his best friend's 4th birthday party to attend on Saturday, so he, Ashish and Arun won't be at the Egg Hunt. We'll have our own in our back yard! You can bet you'll get pictures too!

Shopping with Nishad

Some of the reasons why I love shopping with Nishad~ He always makes the trip eventful!

November, after Thanksgiving: While grocery shopping in Byerly's a lady smiled and said, "Oh, what cute boys!" I smiled and said, "Thank you." She then asked, "Did you have turkey for Thanksgiving?" I smiled and said, "Actually, they don't eat turkey. They are vegetarians." At which point Nishad quickly chimes in, l-o-u-d-l-y, "We ate LOBSTER! BIG, BIG LOBSTER with BIG CLAWS!" Again, I smiled hoping Nishad would then stop with the lobster claw movements that went along with his words... Then lady smiled back and said, "Lobster isn't quite vegetarian." I said, "You're right." ha,ha.

Nishad went through a phase about a month back where he thought it was hysterical when he called people "hot-dogs." Yes, up and down the isle as people would say "Hello" to him, he would reply back, "Hi, there Hot Dog!" I take the approach of, "Nishad, when someone says hi to you, all you need to say is hello back to be polite." Ashish on the other hand, takes a different approach. When we were shopping and Nishad called a clerk a hot-dog, Ashish quickly replied, "Oh he LOVES hot-dogs. He likes them a lot!" ha,ha. Ok, Daddy!

Nishad makes his 'own' list for the grocery store. Imagine my surprise when I go to add something in the cart on 'my' list only to find out that it's not on his list, so we don't need it after all. However, things on his list, aren't on my list either!

When we are shopping, and Nishad wants to check something out....like toys. He'll try to pull me in by saying, "Mommy, we should go investigate in the isle over there. I'm curious what is there." It usually then turns out to always be..."MOMMY it's a humongous semi-truck!! I don't have a humongous semi-truck." Which is followed up by me saying, "But you have a HUGE amount of toys at home."

Though I do love to put both kids in the cart when we shop, lately Nishad has just wanted to walk. Which is fine. However, last week his "freedom" of the cart led to an interesting experience. We were checking out at Byerly's, which has a drive up service for groceries (so much easier with kids! I love to order online and avoid the store all together when I can.) I handed Nishad the two numbers that the clerk gave us to pick up or groceries as I was getting Tiger's coat back on him. We went to the car and suddenly, there were three numbers, not two. So, I said, "Nishad, which were the numbers I gave you?" Which he said, "These Mommy." (As he hands me the first two and holds on to one.) Sometime on the way out he picked up another number on the way out of the store. I didn't actually look at the numbers, so I had no idea which numbers were ours and which was the decoy. ha,ha. Luckily, two the three numbers were there. We went home with all the groceries we paid for.

As we walk past the toy section, there are books sitting on a shelf. "Oh, Mommy! Books are NOT toys. It must be Wacky Wednesday!"

As we walk past a lading stocking the shelves. "Mommy!! What is that lady doing with all of those cans?" I reply by telling him that she works at the store stocking the shelves with food for us to buy. Approaching the lady, he says, "What's her name?" I say, "I don't know Nishad." At which she turns around and says, "Julie." At which Nishad slides down in the cart and gets all red. haha.. That made him quiet...until we were about 5 feet away when he exclaims, "Mommy! Go Back! She is putting the cans out for us!" Everyone in the store heard that we needed cans...cans of a product that we don't even eat.

Picking up wipes in Target, Nishad turns to Arun and says, "Arun, we have to get some wipes because you have so many poops."

C&C

Conferences and Como!


With the weather in the mid-40's we headed off to Nishad's parent-teacher conference. We think so highly of Nishad's school and adore his teachers. It was fun to touch base with his teacher and listen about Nishad's work cycle. He's a hard worker. He's good friends with everyone- especially, Joseph! Which, doesn't surprise us at all. Before long, Tiger will be attending too!

Ashish and I have been tossing around the idea of me going back to school once Tiger and Nishad are in school- maybe, I'll get my Montessori Training Certification? Or, the possibility of doing next Autumn and being creative with scheduling as so when I'm at school, Ashish will be with the boys.

After we said bye-bye to Daddy as he headed off to work and we headed off to the Como Zoo and Conservatory! Nishad has been looking forward to this. Last night, while reading "Put Me In the Zoo" he declared that when he is older, he's going to live in a zoo! We had a great time meandering in and out of the animal houses. Tiger enjoyed walking and stretching his legs as well. Before long, it was time for lunch...at the zoo. After we headed to the conservatory for a splash of color and warmth. It was so hot, we had to take our coats off. Before long, we were thinking about how nice the cool air will feel once we were outside of the 85-degree tropical temperatures. It only took about 5-minutes outside for us to then think about being back in the tropical temperatures!

Hari Krisha

The new favorite song in our house: Hari Krishna. Nishad is so funny. Ashish was driving him to school last week playing the tune. All of a sudden Ashish heard Nishad belt out from the backseat, "DADDY! He said HAIRY KRISTA! This song is about Krista!" ha,ha! He's such a hoot! He has so many funny and witty one liners- I need to start writting them down already.
Here's Arun doing his thang! haha. Nishad is also quite the natural gymnast- break dancer - singer - actor - extraordinaire! I do have glimpses of him on video (and a few lucky people have actually witnessed him live)...but nothing like he does off camera, just for the sheer joy of dancing!

Best Buddies

Nishad and Arun playing together on Friday. They love one another so much!

Weather Update

Nishad talking about the conditions on Thursday.

master of the stairs

15-month old Arun shows us that Nishad is not the only big boy in the house!

Tech Fest

We had a BLAST at Tech Fest! This was an event held in Edina for kids at the Community Center, presented by "The Works." It was a free event, complete with presentations, exhibits, guest speakers and lots of chatter about math, science and innovation! I of course was reminded of a time when Ashish use to volunteer as a coach for a grade school LEGO's Team. I think their team name was "The Techno-Hurricanes."

Nishad's favorite part was creating and designing a car. I helped him start it off, but then he had his own idea of what he wanted to do. His car was unbeatable! He had 10 year olds and 11 year olds asking him to race them and he won. Then they would ask him for a re-macth. He was pretty proud! We made a mini-hover craft and launched a rocket we made. We were even able to take the control of a robot! Pretty cool stuff for a 3-year old! Arun's favorite part was the "Green Monster" robot that tossed a big red ball in front of him.

We stopped off at our favorite Indian resteraunt for lunch- Taste of India in St. Louis Park. We arrived hom and we ALL had a nap. How rare is that? After we woke up, I made falafels for dinner. yum! It was a perfect Saturday~

Shoveling Abound!

After listening to the weather forecaster, we thought for sure that Nishad would have school on Thursday as we were expecting a bunch of snow! Regardless, I'm convinced that the Wayzata school District never closes. (ha,ha) Luckily for us, the snow waited until about 11AM to begin. Ashish picked Nishad up from his pre-school and worked from home half day. The following day, they had school as well. However, the roads were fine...It was a fast system that dumped a lot of snow on us and then moved out quickly. Friday, after I picked up Nishad, the boys and I had lunch and then we went out to shovel some more. Needless to say, the both of them were not happy about the temperates and are more beach lovers than snow lovers! So, we headed in after about 30 minutes... I try to 'embrace' the weather, at least in front of the kids. I'm really ready for Spring though! It's a good thing March is right around the corner. I recall being in Florida 2 years ago the first week of March and having our flight re-scheduled because Minnesota got 18-inches of snow! I'm hoping this was our last B-I-G snow fall!

Valentine

[ This is the Valentine that Nishad handed out to his friends at his school. ]
[Valentine's Day, 2009 Annual Phototine Card]

Happy Valentine's Day!

We're not much for Hallmark holidays and we believe there should be a bit of Valentine's day throughout every day of the year. However, it's nice to take a moment to pause and wish those special to you...a "SWEET" Valentine's Day. Besides, the world needs more l-o-v-e!

Being that Bob's Produce closed down, and I still had the $20 gift certificate that the city gave me for Christmas, we headed to Fridley (the original location). We purchased $40 in Alaskan King crab legs and another $10 in mini wild lobster tails. I made a big heart shaped Ghirdelli brownie, along with a heart shaped pizza for the boys. What can be better than being a peskitarian and having chocolate? Oh yeah...being with those you love!

Below- Nishad wishes a Happy Valentine's Day!

Bee Mine?

Our 7 day vacation at Walt Disney World inspired this years annual Valentine's Day card. In the Magic Kingdom, the kids enjoyed meandering through Winnie the Pooh's "environment." They crawled through "honey," climbed up on it as well, played in the tree house, rang the bell, had fun on the slides and marveled at the Autumn leaves on the big oak tree (bit of Disney magic at work!). This was the perfect setting for any Mom, let along photographer, who happens to be a Mom! Of course, this broke my tradition of using a song as a theme for our Valentine as in previous years. However, I'm a firm believer that change is..."sweet!"

Before we left for Florida we started to "prepare" for Nishad's valentine celebration at school. Using different mediums, Nishad was to create a Valentine card for one person in the class. His Valentine was a 5 year old girl in his class- it was hard to keep it a secret for so long! We had a lot of fun creating this Valentine filled with layered paints in patterns, hearts, a flower, stickers, butterflies, a pink tower (Nishad's first memory of her), fireworks and "X's" and "O's." Adorable, if I may say so! I think his Valentine will be excited about it.

Nishad and I also found the cutest Valentine shirts. Being that he still "loves" the shirt that Auntie Kelly sent him and his brother (To Be Or Not To Be- with actual bumble bees in place of the be's) he instantly liked the shirts at Children's Place: "BEE MINE." Of course, a cute little bee completed the picture! Of course, this Mommy has so much fun matching our boys. So, we had to purchase one for Tiger too! So, off he went to school on Friday, with treats in hand, dressed in his Valentine shirt, buzzing like a bee!

After school we had a special Valentine lunch date planned with his buddy in class at their house. Immediately upon entering the car Nishad quickly said, "Mommy, if you don't know where he lives, just follow his Mommy's car. They live in a yellow house, in the country. We're going to have hummus sandwiches and a cupcake. Then we will play." Obviously, he and his buddy had quite the conversation at school! haha! They seem to have everything planned out as well.

We had a great time with his friend, and his family. This is the second time the boys have been able to get together outside of school. They play so well together, and what is an additional benefit, is that Nishad's buddy has a younger sibling, only about 6 months older than Tiger.

After, we headed home to find that Daddy beat us home! In fact, he had the entire house cleaned complete with two dozen roses awaiting our arrival! What a Prince. I had a nap while he played and fed the boys dinner before we were off to the theatre! Nishad was very excited to show us the Valentine from his friend and his teachers. Both were so cute! His teacher's made everyone in the class one attached with a banana as they wrote they are, "Banana's over them!"

We purchased second row tickets to see "The Gruffalo" at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre. It was a 7:30PM show so I wasn't sure how he would hold up (being that he already had an eventful day and missed nap). He did great! He was so excited driving to the theatre. Since we own the Gruffalo books, he was re-telling me the stories. We had fun guessing how each of the characters would be costumed. To my surprise, there was singing and dancing in the show. (Think British Punk Band.)It was interactive as well. We love the Minneapolis Children's Theatre! This is our third show there- they never disappoint.

Slackin'

As you see, I've been slacking on blogging! Being a slacker... in a good way though! We've just been so busy and on vacation. We refused to "hybernate" this winter so we've been out an about. It's wonderful that "Spring" is in the air. Isn't it sad that the first high 30's day comes along and we all get Spring fever? It shows you how deprived we all are for living in this artic zone.

Once I get back into the grove and have some time to compose my life's song (which, anyone that knows me knows I love to write!) I will be posting new blogs soon!