Brinda on day 1

Well, actually Day 2, since she slept all of day 1.

She still likes to suck on her fingers/fist although she hasn't found her thumb.

For comparison - at 4.5 months

Spring Fling at School

They had a lot of fun, although the pictures are craptastic quality (I was supposed to go, and I'm the one with the camera always)

Kennesaw Mountain

We drove up Kennesaw mountain last Friday and hiked up a small distance. Sudha was confused with the steep hill and tried to climb on all fours. :)

"My Baby"

Wrapping my lunch

I seem to be on a wrap drive, loving all kinds of wraps. The other day it was sauteed vegetables with guacamole in a wrap, and today its this colourful salad.

Note: I couldn't resist eating this as a chur-muri also. Added a little bit of puri for one of my favorite snacks.

Earth day celebrations at the East Cobb park

The weather was just perfect for some fun at the East Cobb Park.


m

Rolly Polly Smiley Baby

She's not really that rolly-polly. Just her cheeks and double chin make her seem so :)

Fun at the Kannada Koota function

Sudha had a total blast at the Kannada Koota function today. It was a Kannada comic and they had arranged something for the kids for the 3 hrs and

Playing Duck Duck Goose. She was totally hyperactive and kept running with everyone.

With the "princess" puppet she made.

Looking at everyone at the "puppet show"

Homemade Pita Pocket Pizza Lunch

The yummiest pizza EVER!! Hands Down !!! I can't believe I made something this good!




Recipe:
Pita Pockets
Homemade sauce (Puree Tomatoes. Powder pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to puree and bring to boil so excess water evaporates).
Layer pita pockets with sauce (don't separate the layers as some internet recipes tell you to)
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
Add vegetable off your choice (I added onions, tomatoes, and yellow bellpepper).
Bake for 10 min in a 400F oven or until cheese melts.

Each pita pocket is 70calories.
Low fat mozzarella cheese adds 5-10 calories/pizza.
Sauce - negligent amount of calories because it has only tomato and spices in it.
Toppings - 0 calories since its all only veggies. The more the veggies, the more filling the pizza is.
So a complete mini-pizza is only about 80 calories.

Guilt free lunch of 3-4 pizza per person. :)

Need better time management

I'm usually good at organizing my time. Work wise (and in school) I never procrastinate. I always am well prepared in advance to meet deadline. I keep my workplace clean and organized so I can find anything I want quickly. I am NOT a person who brings out their best work during stress.

But - throw in housekeeping and 2 kids in the mix and I am overwhelmed. My house is a mess, like a tornado ran through it all the time - and it has nothing to do with my toddler, although I take cover behind the that excuse. I procrastinate, I find excuses, I am out of ideas, I cannot purge, I cannot organize, I go to do something and just plop back doing nothing. I try taking babysteps, but I just give up after a while.

I feel I have so much "stuff" at home. All these toys, that Sudha will start playing with if I pack it up. All these "storage" for her stuff that in turn adds more of a mess. The rooms upstairs that are collecting dust because we never use them. The bedroom which is a place for everyone and everything.

I start to do a deep cleaning, then something else needs to be done. Brinda is hungry, Sudha needs something, cooking needs to be done, some work on the computer comes up, something or the other - all the time. I get someone come in once a month to clean up, but even that is only in parts, because I have all the other junk lying around.

I . am . just . overwhelmed.

All things Easter

Started with the egg hunt at YMCA. We decided to go on an impulse and she didn't really know what an egg hunt was. We were a tad late, and the kids (and their parents) had cleaned out the field in just 10 seconds. Poor baby found only one discarded egg, and that had gum in it. We had a mock egg hunt at home when we got back to make up for it. I had empty eggs from last year and filled it with nuts, crackers, little clips, and some snacks for her.



She went swimming with Daddy after that and joined in the dancing and other activities outside. She enjoyed dancing the Zumba, but did all the dances facing backwards. Only later I realized that she was actually looking at the huge easter bunny and dancing - she would not go near the easter bunny though.



Then came her Easter/Spring party at school. We baked cookies for her class the night before(shhh ... I cheated and got the Nestle Toll house ready to bake ones). They had already had the egg hunt in the morning. Apparently Sudha was quite used to the egg hunting routine by now and she would pick eggs, open them and devour the candy. And looking at her, all the other kids did the same as well. So they all had candy for morning snacks that day :)

BFF

A substitute for "Zari Langa"

Because I ripped the zipper off the one she wanted to wear.

Birthday gift - Finally!!

I am NOT a fan of the Disney Princess, but it was the only basket they had left. And it was worth the squeal of "oh so pretty" that she gave when we put up streamers. And she loves the bell.

First day of spring weather

It was gorgeous and mild. We decided to go picnic at the East Cobb park. Could not stay too long with both kidlets, however the short time was nice.





Sudha had her first store bought sandwich(Quiznos) and she devoured it with "shark bites" :)

First Adventure out with both kids

I took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium today. First time I took both of them out someplace and it wasn't all that bad. But it was way too crowded (Friday before the Spring break) and we really did not see much other than the 3D/4D movie.

Sudha was a little scared at time in the movie, but we got through it.

(I forgot the camera and so the couple of photos I got are a little blurry and dim from my iphone)

A little too young for this, don't you think ?

Setting up the playmat

I just finished "installing" the little playmat for Brinda with its little toys hanging off. Need to make sure that Sudha doesn't pull them off.

Adventures in Tracing

I started working on tracing lines and letters with Sudha a week ago and she is doing wonderfully !!! I had Kumon workbooks from long back and got her to work on them - top to bottom, left to right and she is picking up wonderfully.

Yesterday she did sheets and sheets of L, T and H. And I didn't even have to ask her. She would've kept going had I not insisted that she had to eat dinner.

Just goes to show that I really need to take an interest in spending just 20-30 minutes each day and teaching her stuff, because she obviously enjoys learning. And I need a tad bit more patience than I have. I sometimes forget that she is just learning and expect her to be perfect. Sigh ... I am going to be on a learning curve as well. But I really am excited to teach her, just because she is so enthusiastic about learning and wanting to do things.

Struggling

Sometimes I struggle to let the past go.
Sometimes I struggle to forget and forgive.
Sometimes I struggle not to remember the past in times of the the present.
Sometimes I struggle not to place all the blame on someone else.
Sometimes I struggle not to take all the blame on to myself.
Sometimes I struggle to learn how to makes things different.
Sometimes I struggle and don't have the patience.
Sometimes I struggle to understand.