GNO

The cutest girls on this side of the river! Ha! :) These are some of my favorite Otsegoians and Superwomen! One of our friends moved to Anoka, so we went to see her new house and headed out for dinner together at a local place. It was great spending time out and taking a break. How nice to be in the company of smart, fun and positive-happy people!

School x2

Both of my babies started school this year! This is Nishad's second year at a private AMI Montessori School, and Tiger's first year attending in the toddler community. How amazing is that?! How blessed we are to be able to have both in such a school of excellence, in which we are surrounded with a tremendous staff and wonderful parents. Tiger will be right across the hallway from his big brother. Staying true to Montessori, they both attend 5 days a week for 3 hours a day.

Tiger had phase-in for a week. Nishad waltzes in like this is his second home. His teacher said he is all smiles and happy. He is a hard worker and loves that his best friend J is with him every day.

Tiger on the other hand, is fine when Daddy drops him off, but not so fine when Mommy has to drop him off. He cries and looks for me. He's also in cotton undies now and has gone on the potty a few times. He wears his cotton undies at school, so we had a bit of an extra incentive to get on the potty-train with him. Tiger has made a special friend already though. A little boy in the class by the name of Hudson. He turned 2 this past April. Nishad told me that he saw Hudson helping Tiger on the playground. Hudson has already made his name into my heart.

The owner of the school asked that I write an artcile to be sent out to all of the parents. I was very excited and honored to do this. The title of my article is called, "15 Schools Later." Which, I think speaks volumes about what the article is about.

Ice Cream Social

Everyone gather around for the ice cream social, back to school party! I had to pass out security cards and name tags this year downstairs at the front door, so the boys were upstairs playing without me. Of course the staff kept an eye on them, and when our friend's the J's came, they watched over them...but they were without Mommy at their side, which was a good experience for Tiger (being that he'll be going to school!). I have to say it felt so good to receive not only compliments on an article I wrote for the school, but I really relished people coming up to me telling me how well behaved my boys are... That was so nice of people to share with me- especially, because I couldn't see everything going on. Back to school already?? Where did the summer go. Since the weather wasn't that great this summer, I hope we have an extended summer via the weather!

Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Swish

No, we are not in Italy this week...


Ashish and I have developed an affection for international wine. However, sometimes you should check what's available in your own back yard, before you venture elsewhere, right?

Well, we did just that! We spent the day in Stillwater where we had a picnic lunch (lovely all organic grocery store right in town) and spent some time wine tasting at the local winery. Tuscany, Napa...it's not. But it was fun...and it was a gorgeous day to be along the banks of the river. We passed our time strolling the siewalk and sharing the enthusiam of two little boys who couldn't get enough of the boats and the lift bridge.

Home improvements can wait for another weekend when it's not so sunny. Living in Minnesota, you have to take what you can get.

Baby K

Awaiting Kalegeta... Some babies are not born under bellies, some are born in our hearts. My dear, sweet friend MB is eagerly anticipating her baby in her arms. Kalegeta was born in Africa this past May, and is this short time, he has already made an imprint among our hearts. I can not wait to hold this baby in my arms...I can only imagine what MB is going through. We had a lovely garden baby-shower for her. I made the diaper cake, invitations and thank you cards...all an honor. I just love MB and can't wait to hang out with her again...soon!

2000 Tickets

While Daddy flew back to India because of his Mom's passing, I treated the boys to Space Aliens'. (By the way, love their tag line- "Fill Your Inner Space.") I had to compose a post about this because there was a couple there that boosted mine, and the boys spirits. I was really missing Ashish and I could sense that the boys were as well. Of course this is something he had to do, and we fully supported him, but none-the-less, it's hard...especially on a 3 year old and a 1 year old. While playing games and waiting for our food, an older couple came up and they were watching Nishad passionately pounce on a "shark" game and laugh with glee when he collected his ONE ticket. haha. They smiled and said, "What are you going to do with all of your tickets?" He just smiled and then they said, "Well here. Our Grandchildren don't live near us and you are such good boys, we want you to have this" and they handed us all their tickets. How sweet was that? The boys now only had their Grandpa's left on this earth, and they too were far away in Chicago and India. We stood at the ticket redeemer feeding tickets in for quite awhile. The boys had about 2000 tickets all together! Nishad beamed as he was able to pick out the tractor/farm set displayed way at the top. Tiger was happy with anything! He's always happy. The couples act of kindness might not have meant a lot to them...but it sure did mean a lot to two very special boys.

Como Fun

It was a beautiful day at Como Zoo for a picnic and visit with the animals. Of course, everything is just that much better when you have a friend to share in your adventures. Nishad and Tiger had fun with L and his little baby brother. Good times from A to Z!

And with a blink of an eye...

August is here! So much for the dogs days of summer...especially, when "summer" arrives a bit late! Despite the cool temps, we've been enjoying our summer and keeping busy. (Sometimes, a little too busy for my liking!)

July greeted us with fun visits with friends! Some play dates, open gym, 2 straight weeks of daily swim lessons for Nishad, a pot-luck luncheon, toss in "Peter and the Wolf" at Minnesota Orchestra Hall combined with fun times at Como Zoo, Minnihaha Park, Lake Calhoun, Lake Beebe, Elm Creek, a water park and....whosh! July flew by!

Nishad is such a fish ~ and Tiger wants to be "just" like Nishad. He tries so hard to swim like his big brother- even jumping in and going under, flapping his arms and kicking his legs. Nishad always loved the water, however, I think the consecutive swim lessons for 2-weeks were just the boost he needed. He has made such strides, and loves to swim around with a simple ring around him. He hasn't mastered the back float yet- something we have to work on. We may have to get him some ear plugs as he says he doesn't like it when water gets in his ear. He was in a class with 5 year olds because the other two 3 year olds were below his level, so after an evaluation, they thought they would give him a little challenge. Being that he will only be 3 years old this September, he's still a bit young for these classes...but his age has never stopped him!

Flip, Flop and Fly

Yay for gymnastics! Nishad has been itching to get back to the gym and I've been itching to see my firend JG and her kiddos~ a perfect solution...open gym at Gleason's! Ashish and I have decided to enroll Nishad this Autumn after waiting through the summer. He took a trial class last Spring and loved it. Despite his Mommy's tap happy feet, he's definetly a gymnast! Hey, you have to be your own person! :) I adored D calling me "Miss Beverly." He would run up to me and say, "Miss Beverly...where were you? I was looking for you! There you are!" Followed by a big smile and a giggle. :) We are so happy with 2 boys, but I wouldn't mind having D- that is for sure! Tiger also tested out everything and was so happy to run, jump, climb and balance! We stopped off at Trader Joe's (I have a slight addiction to the sparkling pink lemonade they have) and headed home for a nice, well-deserved nap!

Lake Calhoun

This was our first trip to Lake Calhoun, and oh my, did we love it! We enjoyed the time playing at the beach, walking the path (the kids rode their bikes) and gazing at all of the gorgeous houses that surround the lake. Ashish and I have such a better understanding of where we would like our next house to be. Live and learn. We love this area and could "live local." After we stopped off at an all organic restaurant that comes highly recommended from the locals; Luccia's. Oh my goodness! We had quite the p0t-luck from their for dinner that evening! Vegetarian chili, moz-basil pizza, black bean cakes, bread, curried chick pea sald (my favorite!) and two del.i.cious sandwiches!

Wild Playdate

The two J's visited "the country" (aka our house) to party like an animal. After all, it was JH's birthday (albeit about a month prior!). We made binoculars, went on a safari hunt, created yummy (corn fructose lathered) animal choo-choo's, had lunch and played in the pool! The boys slept very well after we big the J's a farewell. Nishad never likes to say goodbye...especially, to his buddy. I assured him that next Friday, we'll be visiting "the big city" (aka the J's house) for another wild time!

JH has been such a blessing in my life...she's such a girls girl! She's wonderful! Who needs coffee when they have a friend like JH?

4th of July

My Dad called and Nishad picked up the phone and he responded, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" YES! Happy Birthday, America! We celebrated with a bonfire, s'mores, pool action and a BBQ. Life is good! Ashish and I also knocked off a lot off our "to do" list. There's always tomorrow! :)