Trip to the Zoo

She started freaking out when she saw the animals (the same thing happened the day before at the Aquarium). So no pictures of animals. But

We got a bunch load of these.



And these too.

A comparison to October 2008, last year. (wearing the same top!)

Photo Spree!

My happy baby doing her favourite "Superman" pose. The Pediatrician was quite impressed how long she was able to keep this up. Said it strengthens her lower back.

She only looks like she's chunky. She's not. She's a small thing weighing just 14 oz at 6 months.

She's almost too big for the bouncer now. And can hit the frame when she kicks her legs.

Funny how both of them have the same expression :)

Sudha's very own doll.

Everybody loves Brinda :)

This one just melts my heart and makes me all sappy.

6 Months old

Brinda is 6 months old.
My darling, easy going sweetheart. Sudha's best friend and favorite doll :)

Her personality is showing through these days. She loves it when Sudha plays with her, and doesn't protest Sudha's mild rough-handling. She wants to grab and chew every single thing - especially the belt of her car seat. She smiles a ton, but not if anyone else has a camera. She "talks", especially when she sleepy and trying to get my attention (or she is forcing herself to stay up more and not fall asleep).

She does a lot of "push-ups" and "supermans". The Dr. says the Superman post helps strengthen her back and muscles. She tries sometimes to get her butt off the floor to get up on all fours, but is usually content to roll around.

She is very interested in food. Her eyes glaze over and mouth starts working up, and she gets all excited making sounds when anyone is eating nearby.

I love her so much. My tiny baby with big cheeks and thunder thighs :)

Chunky Thighs

Thats what the nurse called my ity-bitty Brinda baby.

We went in for her 6 month visit and poor baby got 4 shots+1oral drop. She weighed 14lb 1oz (10-25th percentile) and measured 24.5 inches long (10th percentile).

So really quite a small baby. But guess she inherited thunder thighs from me.

Homemade Dinner Goodness

I was going to make the bread in the proper Pav shape, but I had left the dough out too long and it was way too sticky to shape, so I baked it in a loaf and sliced it. I love love love home-made bread, although Guru thinks I'm carrying the hippie business a little too far (but he's not complaining while eating the bread).



Bhaji masala has 1 small ... Read Morepotato, 2 carrots, 1 cups french beans, 1 bell pepper, 1 cup peas and 1/4 cauliflower and lots of lemon juice.


This was supposed to be palya bun, but the sticky dough made it difficult to shape it. It would've been better as a pizza base, but it tasted good nevertheless.

Fun in the Fountain of Rings

To finish off a fun weekend, we went for brunch at Crepe Revolution and headed to the Centennial Olympic Park, where there was an Indie Crafts Festival (not much, just about 20 or so stalls) and the RINGS!!! I'd never appreciated the rings of water as much as today, probably because it is more appealing to kids than grown up to romp around in the water on a hot day.

Gingerly testing the waters. She was so uncomfortable because she didn't have her swimsuit on. But I had a change of clothes for her and took her in.

Full blast in the ring. The highlight was me and her screaming "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" when the water came up. Made me feel like a kid again :)

Don't I look good? (even though I say it myself)

And what was our littlest peanut doing all this time? Sitting cozy in the stroller watching the fun!

Pool Time

The summer heat has started in Atlanta and we're glad to have the pool open.

A comparison shot from Last Summer

Birthday Dinner

I cooked Guru a 5 course dinner for his birthday - Mirchi Bhajji, Poori, Channa Masala, Tomato Pulav, Raita, and Gulab Jamoon(not in pic). Its been forever, perhaps more than 3 years since I cooked a full course dinner for ourselves; and candlelights - certainly remnants of pre-Sudha days.

He also got a gift of Wallet, Belt and Running watch from Fossil that he picked out himself.

Thats how nice I can be when he does something nice for me (ref: Mother's day weekend getaway)

Bread!

I made bread yesterday. It was the BEST !!!
I halved the quantity and made half a loaf, and I now regret it. We ate the entire half loaf and wanted more! I certainly know what I'll be doing every other day now.



The Recipe:
*I substituted Agave nectar with more honey*

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teasopoons of agave nctar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Instructions:
1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

Big Things Planned

Memorial day weekend is coming up, which means the pool will open. Yay!
And Guru's birthday too.

I haven't really done anything for him for the past 3 years. The standard gift has been a massage gift certificate. Since he took so much effort this Mother's day, I think it'll be nice if I could do something other than a gift certificate.

So, I'm planning to take him shopping. ok. The shopping part is really for me (Sudha very badly needs some sleepers, and I need one decent outfit that actually fits.), but he will have the choice of Coach, Fossil, Dooney and Burke, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Banana Republic and other high end shops to choose a wallet.

And then - on Monday, I'm taking him to brunch at this crepe place. Its supposed to be really good, and I know he's never been there. I wanted to get a babysitter, but Katy never called me back. hmm... so the whole brood it is.

So that leaves us one day free. Hmm... what to do?

• Gardening? Needs weeding and some flower planting.
• Painting? The bonus room needs a makeover and I'm choosing a rust colour. I think. Unless I back out and change my colour plans again.
• Deep Cleaning? The closet, and the bedroom - needs help - bad.
• Finish Sudha's room? Its been painted and waiting since 7 months ago. I need to put up the netting, drapes for her room, closet shelves and move all her clothes up, move her toy boxes and toys up, get some drapes for her window, add in all those "Finding Nemo" wallies, AND find a music player for her. Whew.
  
• Just lounge around and have fun?
  
• Strawberry picking? If the weather is good and the farm is open.
  

Whew! Big Plans.

Public Embarrasment - First time ever

Sudha is generally a very sweet girl who hasn't yet landed me in any embarrassing situations. But yesterday, I had 2!

We were coming out of daycare and I was talking to another mom who also had a younger toddler with her. The little boy had a brown truck that he was showing to Sudha. Obviously a favorite toy, the truck was brown, chewed in places and had all the marks that a well loved toy has. Sudha looked at it and said - "What's that? That's nasty." While I think her comments may have come from the fact that she hasn't actually seen a toy truck, the other mother felt bad about the use of the word "nasty". I tried to explain Sudha's point, and told Sudha that it was a favourite toy and definetely not nasty, and gave her other word suggestions to use, but the damage was done. Honestly, I didn't know how else to react either.

And then, we went to the park and the Y after that. We were walking back to my car, and with 2 moms just opposite me, Sudha says in a loud voice - "Amma, you have a big booty". Gee thanks, sweetie. I don't need reminders. And the other moms, totally burst out laughing.

Sigh - kids say the darnest things.

Not enough hours in the day

I'm conflicted and torn again with my time management skills, which used to be so good! (I used to have timeslots for everything and stuck to it, and got things done)

I look at all the things I need to get done in a day and start palpitating.

- Cook - 1 hr
- Gym - 1.5-2hrs (I am there only for 1 hr, but nursing, driving, dropping off at the play center for drop off and pick up, makes it a good 1.5hrs+ thing)
- Nursing - 3-4 hours/day (30min x 6-8 times)
- Trying to put Brinda to sleep - 3-4 hrs/day (for an actual naptime of 4-6 hrs)
- Work - 5 hrs/day (Would LOVE it if I got a continuous stretch, but doesn't look like thats going to happen anytime soon. When this moves to 8hrs/day, everything is going to go whooosh)
- Time with Sudha - 2hrs/day (When she gets home, includes dinner homework bath; not much is it)
- I gotta sleep, right? - "bedtime" = 8 hrs/day sleep time = 4 hrs/day.

And there's the 24 hrs in a day.

Other things to squeeze in somehow
- Cleaning stuff
- "Me" time (even if its just shower time)
- Eating
- "Family" time with Guru (a distant last thats missing out these days)
- Prep time (for whatever - work, going out, cooking, anything)

Add to the mix, Brinda's fussy times when only I can soothe her, and .... there are just not enough hours in the day.

ps: I was hoping that writing everything down like this would make me feel that its not so bad after all, but writing it down has made me feel even more panicky.

The Warmest Fuzziest Feeling in the World

Sometimes when Brinda is tired, or maybe its when she first starts feeling sleepy, and when I pick her up she stays still in my arms and slowly puts her head on my shoulder. She snuggles and rests there for a while.

And its the warmest fuzziest feeling in the whole world when she does that.

At that moment I realize, more than the ever, how much this sweet innocent baby trusts me.

How to win an argument

By presenting solid facts for the arguee to see :)


When someone is snarling about how much work they did all of the weekend (*rolling eyes*), it diffuses AND wins the argument when presenting hard facts.

Mother's Day Gift

That Sudha made for me at school :)

Mother's Day Weekend !

Guru planned a Mother's Day weekend getaway for us at Callaway Gardens. He told me to put all work on hold for the weekend, but didn't tell me anything specific, although I kinda guessed since he had mentioned the special offer at Callaway.

The weekend was perfect! We did a lot of things, the whole brood was with us, but I still felt rejuvinated! It must be the air with the natural beauty and being away from everyday life. The thing that actually made the weekend perfect - Daddy. He was perfect! Awesome! And even came up with brilliant ideas in the middle of the night when Brinda woke up and didn't go back to sleep!

One funny thing we did (well, it was funny to us) - our package included a game of golf. We wanted to play, but by the time we got to it, it was already 5.30pm and Sudha was getting angsty. So Guru ended up completing one hole. The second hole, everything was wild and Sudha turned into ball Nazi refusing to let him play. Finally we ended up just driving around and enjoying the Golf cart :)

The little things that made it an awesome getaway -
THE perfect card :)
Not losing our (his) temper even once.
Becca's green tea soap that I remembered to stowaway with me.
My face clearly showing the difference 10lbs and 2 months worth of consistent gym can make.
Not stressing about things as I tend to do.
Not checking my email and the internet even one.single.time in 3 days.
The two most perfect awesome adorable kids EVER!

The whole trip was about seeing the butterflies for Sudha :)

Sitting pretty among the flowers and the butterflies at the Day Butterfly Center.

They had this Cockatoo out when we went the second day, and Sudha was so excited. It was difficult to see who screeched the loudest - Sudha or Reno, the Cockatoo.

Sudha thought this was a real dog and was freaking out until Daddy went and petted the dog. She went in and touched it for a minute and ran back. Silly Girl :)

Sudha and Daddy went boating in the lake. Unfortunately, I could not go since we could not take Brinda on the small boat. She surprisingly sat still for the entire 30-45min of the ride!

With the afternoon heat beating down, Sudha spotted some teens eating popsicles, went up to them to ask where they got it!! Their father gave us directions, and Sudha proceeded to ask Daddy if he had money to buy her the popscicle!! Wonder when she figured out that we need money to buy stuff.

Brinda had the best time of all. Eating, sleeping on demand and riding royally in the new Mountain Buggy single, which was awesome even when we pushed Sudha in it.

I was tired at the end of the day, but so happy and relaxed. I had a good time, Daddy had stepped up 10 notches and did everything perfect. And ... I looked good, since slowly and steadily loosing some weight.

By the time we left, Sudha was fascinated by the lunch cooler and dragged it around like she was born with it. Me thinks its time to get her own pull behind luggage.

My Mother's Day Card

An Ode to MY Mother

It isn't usual for me to say how much I love my mother, it is just understood one of those un-spoken things. But today, I want to take a minute to say how much I appreciate her.

I love her for making me and Shali her #1 priority in life.
I love her for all those times she relentlessly stayed up to help with my homework, and to push me towards my career goal.
I love her for standing steadfast to her ideals, even though it might drive me crazy at times.
I love her for the unfailing devotion and faith she has in God.
I love her for taking time off and coming to stay with us when Sudha and Brinda were born, inspite of not really wanting to stay for so long away from home.
I love her for her dedication to keeping fit and taking time from every single thing to walk for 1-1/5 hrs every morning and evening.
I love her for always being right, even if I'm frustrated that she is always right.
I love her for so many more things.

Thank you, Amma, for being there to guide and love me every step of the way.

Inman Park Festival

We went to the Inman Park festival 2 weekends ago. We were planning to go in time for the parade, but we decided to take MARTA and because of construction, it took us 1hr 20 min to reach there from Dunwoody, and the parade was long over. We just hung out for sometime, and enjoyed the music concert before heading back home.

First time on the train on MARTA

And first time on the bus!

Enjoying the rock concert. Sudha was really rocking out to the hard music!! At the end of the show, she insisted on going up to the band and give the singer a high5!

Tired out and waiting for MARTA. Sudha had walked long, and we put her in the stroller so she could rest a bit.

Happy 5 months

Five swift months, passing by so quickly. I am so much in love with Brinda each passing day. She is a delight (well, almost a delight even during the nighttime partying) and we love everything about her.

Today Sudha was acting silly and making Brinda do belly laughs. The best sight ever - two sisters, and best friends laughing :)

Cinco de Mayo

While searching desperately to cook something new for the day, I read through google headlines about Cinco de Mayo festivities.

So - Cinco de Mayo cooking it was.

Lunch today -
Homemade Guacamole - *THE* yummiest ever, from fresh ripe avocados.
Vegetarian Fajita - With onions, coloured bell peppers and chickpeas(ok, the chickpeas brought in a Mediterranean twist to it, but I love chickpeas and I didn't have anyother veggies at hand.

Guacamole - or what's left of it

The filling for Fajita

Note: A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day (that's September 16th.) The holiday actually commemorates the Mexican army's defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. And what better excuse to celebrate some Mexican food!

Tired, sleepy and pooped out

A recipe for domestic disaster

I prayed and prayed over and over that I would not be writing these posts this time around. But guess I don't have any power over it.

Brinda.

She had been a good sleeper until 3.5-4 months. And then she changed.

At 4 months, she stopped going to bed at 9-10pm and would do 12midnight instead, but then sleep until 4am or 6am , nurse and back to sleep until 10-11am.

At 4.5 months she started fussing, fussing really bad between 8pm and 12midnight before finally succumbing after I gave her around 2 oz of EBM. Nothing would help the fussy periods - bath, massage, cluster feeding, nothing.

At 5 months, she moved back to going to bed at 9pm, but .... wakes up every 2 hours, and ... will wake up for nursing at around 1-2am, and then .... refuse to go back to sleep. She is wide awake and wants to play for the next 2 hours. I really don't care what she does as long as she let me drift in and out. But, she will not sleep in the dark alone, she wants someone to hold/play, the swing annoys her at that time, and nothing will do. So, Dad and I are in some weird dazed state for 2-3 hours, on the edge as Brinda's cries/whimpers might wake up Sudha.

The result - the next morning, I am exhausted, low energy levels. I don't want to do anything, but I have to work. So work it is, cooking suffers, housework is in neglect, tempers are frayed. Add to this a partner who considers sleep to be the greatest gift to mankind, and is way beyond respectable grouchiness because this precious gift has been messed around with for the past 3 years.

Makes a wonderful recipe for domestic disaster.

A Family Day Out

After a very very long time, we went out as a family. We initially wanted to go to the zoo (long story on why *someone* wanted to go on a day scheduled for 60% rains instead of the next day when it was supposed to be sunny and FREE). We packed a picnic lunch, and were halfway down when the thunder started rolling ominously. We took a detour and decided to go to the indoor Children's Museum instead.

Fishing!
This raincoat was like a fairy/pixie coat and really really cute.

Moonsand fun

She wanted to see the fishes at the Aquarium next door as well, and since I had an annual pass to the Aquarium I took her in for a few minutes to see the 3D show. She was tired out and it was the thunderclouds were looming once again, so up she went on Daddy's shoulder's to hitch a ride and escape the storm. We *just* made it to the covered parking garage before the rain came down!

Brinda rolled over!!!

Brinda went from her back to belly today. She had been trying to do so for quite a few days, but wasn't able to lift her head/shoulders far enough. Today she got it - twice, and promptly went on to cry because she was "stuck". Silly girl hasn't yet figured out that she can roll back the other way.

Sudha never did any of these milestones, so I'm all the more excited to see Brinda do all this.