Susan Powers

I finally get what Susan Powers' meant when she said, "STOP THE INSANITY" as I feel like that with germs this season. Seriously!

While Ashish was in SFO, Nishad was sick. They also closed down Nishad's school because of illness. Ashish came back from SFO, and got sick. Now he is on the mend and Tiger is sick- three weeks later after Nishad. Enuff.

I am the most OCD person I know...my close friends can attest to this. With having a suppress immune system this season around (due to pneumonia in May and a severe reaction to shots), I am even more careful. I need to be 100% to take care of my babies. I just may be doing a goggle search on "BUBBLE OUTFITS."

At one point, Ashish called me mean, "just very mean." It's not out of meanness that I roll down a window when someone sneezes or coughs in a confined car- it's out of love for all involved. I didn't allow the kids to be around him when he was sick, not out of meanness, but out of concern so he could get the rest he needs and the kids remain healthy. Which, by the way, I think I figured out how Tiger caught some germs. The sheets I took off the bed that Ashish was sleeping on when sick were in the basket waiting to be washed. I believe Mr. Tiger was playing with them. :( I wish I cleaned those ASAP. Lesson learned.

The CDC also has some great recommendations for caring for someone with the flu or H1N1 on it's web site. One of the things I took from it was "no cloth hand towels to dry your hands" unless everyone has a seperate one (by color, perhaps). They also updated their symptom check to include non-fevers. This was one of the factors the hospital didn't think I had H1N1.

On a side note, while working with Tiger on his Hindi today (as he is home sick) I pointed to a mouse and said, "Chew-haa" (mouse in Hindi). At which he pointed at the mouse and said, "Aah-CHOOO!" haha! :) Very appropriate!

BOO BASH

This has become a "GRAND" tradition of ours; Boo Bash on Grand Ave in St. Paul. It really has that hip, city feel with all the big mature trees, eco-friendly customers, and houses that line the street that are filled with charm and character...when houses were built to last. Yes, much unlike the sterile burbs...this is always a Halloween treat!

This year Ashish was sick, so we missed his company as we strolled up and down Grand Ave. trick or treating, marveling at every one's costumes and being frequently stopped by passer-by's exclaiming how "ADORABLE" the boys are and what unique costumes. This happened so frequently that I think it started to go to Tiger's head. it wasn't before long that he started saying, "I'm cute! I'm cute!" A few people even stopped to compliment me about the choice of costume. They mentioned how refreshing it was to see boys in original costumes that weren't character/commercial costumes like Scooby-Do, Harry Potter and Spider Man. This was Nishad's first year ever trick or treating (minus the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party we attended at Walt Disney World last year at this time). So, he walked up to the first station, and though "Great, I have a sucker now...I'm all done." haha.. Then he caught on. He even went in a few places all by himself.

Of course, the boys amazingly talented and loving Auntie Kelly was the one that created these costumes for the boys! She can add this to her list of achievements like the NYC Metropolitan Opera House and Shakespeare Theatre Chicago (where she is currently employed- plug, plug!). All the credit goes to her as the boys dream of being penguins would not have been possible without her. She took the head accessory back to Chicago to work on them, so I had to improvise by making little caps. So, if it that part of the costume looks odd, it's my fault, not hers! :)

At 3PM, we went to the Stepping Stone Theatre off Grand Ave. to see Hanuman and the Girl Princess. I wasn't sure how Tiger would do as this was his first theatre performance. He did great! I don't know what I was worried about. He sat there so attentive and when the monkey came out he looked at me and said, "BUNDER!" (which is monkey in Hindi). Have I mentioned how I love St. Paul?

Funny story...we actually walked in through the backstage door. Heh. A man, who worked for the company was so sweet...so he showed us through to the theatre and directed us to the lobby doors. He said, "They haven't opened the doors yet, so just go right through and you'll see everyone in the lobby waiting in line." Boy did we ever! I opened the door to an eager crowd that suddenly said, "PENGUINS!" hahaha. Talk about a grand arrival! That's right...the Kumar's are AT the theatre!

Uptown Delight

Missed the curtain at the Minnesota Orchestra...so Nishad and I hung out in Uptown together and enjoyed ice cream at Sebastian Joe's. YUM. The best ice cream I've had in quite some time. We stuck with pumpkin and chocolate, but they had such ice creams such as garlic on their menu! Too bad Ashish wasn't with us to test out that one.

MOA Times

Ever feel like you've meet your long lost sibling? Well, Jewl's is my long lost sibling. She was even actually suppose to be named Beverly as well. And, I was suppose to be named William (they were sure I was a boy)...and her Dad's name is William. Freaky-leaky! I am so glad that I met her. She is just one of those people that you feel like you have a comfort-zone with and despite not being childhood friends, it's as though you've known one another your entire life. It may have been true that, at first, it was because of our boys that we found commonality. However, I can honestly say she is one of my closest friends and I just can't imagine not having her in my life. She always has a smile and greets me with a hug. Her friendship has made me remember how it was to have a dear friend live so close~ there is nothing like a gal pal that is secure and happy with herself...that isn't about a facade, but all about being real. She's already seen me and my worst and best...(and we've not yet known one another for a year yet) and despite everything, she's still my friend. Yup, true friendship! The best kind. Appropriately named Julie- as she is quite a jewel!

So of course I jumped at the opportunity to hang out with her and the boys at MOA for a little amusement park fun and lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. There are some people that despite what is joining on in your life, you drop everything and hang out with them. She's one of those people for me. :) We had a fantastic day at MOA.

After we said our goodbyes and parted ways, I let Nishad go to "Build a Bear" where he picked out a birthday turkey for he and his brother. haha! The line was long, but sure worth the wait to see the shocked look on his face when the girl about to stuff the turkey replied, "Can you jump to make the heart beat?" hahaha... I swear he looked at her like, "Look Lady, I can jump, but no amount of jumping is going to make this fabric heart beat."

PENGUIN PARTY

Waddle on over and join us for one "cool" party! We decided to have the boys birthday parties a bit early this year- Saturday, October 10th to be exact. With weekends being so busy, and Halloween actually falling on a Saturday, we thought this would pan out better. Plus, the boys get to turn their birthday celebrations in to a month long celebration. All good in my book. Heh. Well, you have to spoil them sometimes.

Auntie Kelly flew in from Chicago in honor of a very special 2 year old and a 4 year old. Tiger was bouncing around for the past week, "Party! Party!" and Nishad all a buzz with seeing his friends. For anyone that doesn't believe a 2 year old gets what a party means, they haven't met Tiger. He's one smart cookie.

Auntie Kelly helped me transform the basement into the Arctic zone after my weeks of planning and prep. I had to order a lot of things online this time around because I only had a week to prepare because I was sick and in the hospital from a reaction to the injections I was given. Full speed ahead...this Mommy refuses to disappoint, and I know with my true and trusted bestie at my side, nothing is impossible.

I ordered their cakes from a cake artist that hand designed two original cakes for the boys; Queen of Cakes located in Edina, Minnesota. For two cakes (one 9-inch and one 10-inch) it was $80.00. I can attest that the cakes were not only cute, but I received a lot of compliments on how well the cakes tasted. I couldn't have been happier with their work. Of course, Mother Nature also rose to the occasion, providing a dusting of snow on the morning of the party. There was just enough "powdered sugar" effect to make everything "naturally" perfect! The morning of, Kelly and I ventured out on some slick roads to retrieve the cakes. Alas, we got them, safely in on piece (Kelly held on to them for the love of cakes!).

The night before, she and I had so much fun decorating the basement with hues of blue and snowflakes. I ordered snow flakes that hung down in a row for $6 each (for a total of $28.00) at oriental trading company. We cut plastic dark blue and light blue table cloths, $1.50 each and stapled them to the unfinished basement ceiling for the sky. We made an igloo out of poster board, penguins on top and Kelly finished it off with a little finishing pond for the penguins to go ice fishing. I printed off 55 black and white photos to create a "darkroom" strung across the wall, which showcased pictures of the boys form birth to present. I rented three tables and 15 chairs along with a helium tank for $90.00 from General Rental in Monticello. Of course, with helium, on needs balloons. Upon seeing dark blue and light blue balloons, Mr. Nishad said, Mommy, you need some yellow as penguins and black and white and yellow! Over 60 balloons filled the house. It was neat.

For the menu, we served up (homemade) vegetarian chili, with chicken tortilla soup, and corn bread (shaped like fish), along with imported black and white bow tie pasta, salsa (to keep you hot), hot chocolate, cider and the most ADORABLE olive penguins...almost too flippin' cute to eat! Auntie Kelly worked on this precious army of black and white while I cooked up the rest.

Every guest that received an invitation was asked to dress in black and white. In turn there was a sea of black and white...everyone looked so cute! All in all, we had 34 guests; 21 adults and 13 children- not including two families that had to cancel last minute because they got sick (we missed you Benites' and Geryol!). Yes, a house full, but we care for everyone so much for everyone that attended and it means so much that they took the time to celebrate such a milestone with our boys, we would do it again in a second!

We played the "catch the fish" game, ice hockey-slap shot and carry the penguin's egg. The prizes were snowflake pencils and penguin notebooks. For the kid favors, we gave blue snowflake mugs filled with an organic penguin bar, Swedish fish and hot-chocolate. For the "family" favor, we gave black boxes filled with black and white candy, complete with a snowflake on top.

Thank you also to MB for helping me make the penguin banner and for helping the kids break in all their fun birthday toys while the clean up process began. The following day, we had to take both Kelly and Ashish to MSP as Kelly returned back to Chicago and Ashish flew out to SFO for the World Oracle Conference.

Thank you to all that attend. It was so great seeing you all. And a BIG thank you to Auntie Kelly for all her undivided attention, creativity and help (The boys just love you so much!). Another kiss of a thank you to my honey who let's me do as I wish. XO.

Busy times.

Busy! I am knee deep in penguin planning for one "cool" party! We've heard from everyone but one family that was invited, so I've been able to start purchasing things we will need and creating the favors, etc. I ordered special cakes...it's a secret! I've finalized the games and menu as well. MB even came over last week and got crafty with me. I'm looking forward to Kelly's visit on Thursday! With two photo-shoots this weekend (adorable families!), cleaning, some more shopping...and I'm subbing tomorrow for the duration that the kids are at school (at their school)...I can already feel the pressure of the week.

Tiger has been doing GREAT with the potty. He walks around saying, "I go in the potty." Nishad is so chatty these days. He loves having car and snake parties with Daddy. Daddy recently bought him a telescope...now he goes on and on about the planets and stars- he loves it!

I am feeling much, much, much better. I thank my friends far and near for all their support and care. :) I'm so lucky to have my Minnesota Besties. Thank goodness for finding such bright gems! Lucky me.

16 Positives

As the temperatures dip and skies envelope our days with gloom, I'm trying to be positive and remember all the good things about living in this state. I seriously was not sure last year that I could get through another one of these Winters. I'm still not sure.

1. Ashish has a good job that he likes.
2. He's gone from 7:45AM until 6PM. LONG, but as the season weighs on my nerves and dampers my mood, this may be a good thing as I'm less apt to pick arguments with him. This may save our marriage.
3. Our kids are able to go to a great Montessori school- in which we've met some wonderful people at.
4. Our house. We have a great house. Albeit, sometimes the location is a pain as we'd like to live closer to the city, but nothing to complain about.
5. Ashish gets to travel from work- so the kids and I get extra bonding time. It's fun to live vicariously through Daddy's adventures. I'm not even going to get into this being his 2nd time in SFO in a year. We all know the California girl...I was suppose to be.
6. One income. I can be the full time Mommy of our kids. Of course, I wish this also didn't come with the additional titles of Maid, Chef, Ref. Surely one day these adventures will spark my creativity. If I can recall where I left it.
7. Cost of living- pretty decent...and no tax on clothes (not that I'm a fashionista, so that doesn't matter for much being that I live in t-shirts and crop pants- even in the winter- again, my denial that I live here.)
8. Somewhat safe. It's no gated community, but I do feel safe here...though the city could light the streets better (that's another story!)
9. I'm going back to school. Whoo-hoo.
10. The summer is really nice.
11. COSTCO. They sell good wine- at reasonable prices. Yeah, I know they are "national" but there is nothing like a good wine to go with a good whine.
12. Elm Creek and Saint Paul Park Districts. The Best.
13. Special Minnesota friends: AD, LC & JH. XO.
14. If I ever really want to run away, I can hitch a flight to Chicago- a major hub ($59 on Southwest!). Or, 5 hours north to Oooooo Canada! Which is even colder, so if I am MIA, you know not to start your search there. However, if another republican was in office, I'd consider it.
15. Healthier lifestyle. Well, let's face it...there is no Lalo's, Gino's East or Veseky's here.
16. Nature. How neat is it to see an eagle, hawk, loon, crane and pelicans...? We pretty much have every kind of bird possible in our very own backyard (it backs up to a protected wetland area).

See, I'm feeling better already! I'll turn up the temps, make some hot-chocolate and get back to penguin birthday party planning. Yes, I said Penguin. See, unlike us adults that get set in our ways, children embrace most things. My boys requested a penguin party for their birthday. There are two special people that obviously don't think we have enough winter in Minneosta!

SAHM

I'm in constant amazement at our children, yet I'm not one to constantly praise with "Good Job!" or "YAY!" I would rather ask questions to them about what they do, which usually leads to highly level thinking questions by them. For instance, on a drawing Nishad would make, instead of "What a beautiful picture!" I say something like, "I like the colors you picked. Why did you choose those?" Therefore, I'm not placing value on something that my child just does for the love of it and sheer enjoyment of doing so. You reach a point in life when you realize, you are working for YOU and no one else. If you can't motivate yourself, no one else will. I know adults that struggle with this concept. It's my hope for my children to figure that out early on with my guidance.

Do I think they are gifted? Yes. However, I think every child is gifted. It's just up to us adults to figure out what those gifts are. Do I think Nishad and Tiger are beyond their peers on various levels? Absolutely. I think the majority of children that are not out-sourced for care are. This stems from being a stay-at-home Mom and working with them from the time they were infants. You are your child's first teacher. I'm so proud that my eldest never learned his colors or words from a DVD or PBS- he learned them from me. I was never so concerned about mastering a repetitive or mundane task like, spelling their name as my eye was always on the bigger, much broader picture. I'm also pretty proud that my children are not "commercial cows." Meaning that they have no idea who "characters" are like Superheros, etc. Most of that stuff is so violent, and being that it's on TV it's not a tangible experience... And we wonder why we have such a desensitized generation? Which, as a stay at home mom, I have more control on what my boys eyes do take in and see.

I am also not one to gage my child's development with outdated milestone charts either as if I were to refer to those, I'd be filling out MENSA applications. People forget that those milestone charts for development, height, and weight were done more than 30 years ago. Things have changed a bit. As though should...each generation is smarter than the previous.Being involved early on, setting up our household that includes them in ever room and by promoting early independence by making things available for them have allowed them to thrive. Yes, it is work. A lot of it.

Staying at home was also a sacrifice, not only on my "career" but our combined income. It truly is a luxury to be at home these days and I'm fully aware of how blessed we are to live on one income. However, people have forgotten that being a parent means sacrificing. That's right...putting someone elses needs, like your child, before your own. I do have dear friends that are not stay at home Mom's, that went to work. Do I love them any less? Of course not. Do I not adore their children? Don't be silly. I believe, with my heart, that we as parents only do the best we know how or we attempt to do what we think is best for our family.I can tell you that there is never a dull moment in our household- always an eventful day - and I am more busy now than I ever was working full-time, plus school, plus volunteering...all together. My days start early, and last into the wee-hours of the night. It's then that I think, "How can I fit exercising into my day?" and "Perhaps I can read that article now?"

About a year and a half ago, I opened up my own photography and design business. It's a business that only grows at a rate in which my children allow it to. It has been great to have something that is "mine." I also feel blessed with a gift to capture children~ minus the cheesy factor. Maybe it's my theatre, dance and education background...or a God given instinct combined with experience of knowing just when to "snap" that precious shot.

I feel like we as a family have finally reached a point that I can venture out into these other passions. As both my children are now enrolled in a 3 hour, M-F Montessori School, I have a little time to breathe daily. At least to pause for that cup of coffee and collect my thoughts before I run to pick them up. :)

For those Stay at Home Mom's that think, "Oh my goodness, this will never end" and find yourselves getting lost in the never ending piles of laundry, endless dinners to be prepared and cleaning...I am here to tell you, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Children grow fast, so fast that you'll be missing that special time at home as they begin their journey from under your wing. They will always be YOUR baby, just not A baby.

As I stand before a pathway of many differing paths that have led me to this single point of time and place in my life, it is my hope that you too see the plan so carefully laid out for you. For now, know that you are doing the most important "job" in the world. One which many admit they can't do, or choose not to do... Being a full time Mother to your children is not for the weak at heart. :) Whether you continue to stay at home when your children return to school, or rejoin the work force, remember you already have an edge on your resume that no one can top.

Apples of My Eye

Though I've only technically gone apple picking since moving to Minnesota, I can tell you that I look forward to this annual Autumn tradition and simply can't imagine an Autumn without it! There is something wonderful about eating an apple the way it was intended to be enjoyed: spots and all, minus the wax, juicy, crisp goodness. This was Tiger's first year picking his own apples. While Nishad's philosophy is all about getting to work and filling the bags, Tiger differs. Tiger is more of a...well, pick-a-little, sample even a-little-more! Apple Jack's in Delano, Minnesota never disappoints. This is our 2nd year visiting...who knows, we may even attempt raspberry picking next year. Prior to Apple Jack's, we visited a few places in Buffalo. We came home and made a pie crust from scratch and baked an apple pie- of, course! Nishad peeled all the apples and rolled out the dough...my little chef. Tiger happily sampled more apples. Thank you, Minnesota Apple Orchards!

No trip is complete without a ride on the cow train.

Big Boy Date Night

In celebration of the beginning of the school year, my friend J and I treated our boys to a little Mommy - Big Boy - Date Night! Planned months ahead of time, we swung by and picked up the two J's and headed off to one of our favorite places to eat dinner: French Meadows in Minneapolis. Delicious and oh so kid friendly! After dinner, we booked to the theatre to see, "Bert and Ernie Say Goodnight" at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre. Loaded with tap dancing sheep, Z's that need to be caught, songs and visuals to make anyone feel like a kid at heart...very cute and very exciting to be in the front row catching all the action just feet away.

Our Little Theatre-Goers armed with their play-bills. Of course we "had" to get them and their younger brother's matching t-shirts form the show. They ALL wore them to school the next day. Now that's a picture worth a thousand words!

Something to Smile About

A Day at the Beach? Yes! That's what Nishad said when he was sitting in the chair, dawning glasses they put on him. "Mommy, this is like a day at the beach!" Ha! Only if most adults would share his enthusiasm. I took Nishad to his first dentist appointment and we were both very proud of all the good things that the dentist had to say about his beautiful pearly whites. He commented that his teeth were the best he's seen on a 3 year old (soon to be 4) in quite awhile. He said he can tell he doesn't drink pop and eat a lot of sugar. Nishad was very excited to pick out a toy after (a jump rope) and get a new tooth brush and floss. We'll be back in 6 months! This made me think of how my parents took such nice care of my teeth. I loved going to the dentist- even as an adult. It's only recently that I don't look forward to it as I was so attached to my dentist back in Chicagoland. I saw the same dentist from the time I was 2 1/2 until I was in my mid-20's. I hope Nishad and Tiger for that matter, never have to go through the "aches" of cavities like I did.

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!