keeping my head above water

It's been a long time, but in my defense, a lot A LOT has happened. We've all traveled halfway across the world, went on vacation, returned from vacation, and I traveled more than 60,000 miles on business. that's lot of miles!!

So we went to India for several weeks, where the baby was spoiled silly by all the relatives and family. The Dr. and I had a good time, did some shopping, ate some good food. We got back and settled down into a comfortable routine...that was before...before what you ask...well, I have this mandatory certification that I need to do and I had been on the waiting list for a year. so when the chance came to sign up for the class, I took it (had no choice actually). Big mistake..this class is like 7 days a week and average of 12 hours a day. So I'm struggling right now to hold my head above water.

SO this is just a placeholder post to remind myself to post a longer more comprehensive post next weekend, when this class gets done.

later..

Fall anyone?

I'd decided I was going to do one blog a month, sort of like a chronicle of U's progress through babyhood. But of course, the best laid plans......
It's been a busy busy several months. From where I left off in June, I've had cousins stay over for several weeks in June/July. That was a fun fun time. I barely made appearances at work (well, physically I did, but mentally, I was so outta there - couldn't wait until 5:0, so I could go home). Baby U LOVED it when the house was full of people. She is quite adept now at bringing us her shoes, and saying quite loudly, "SHOES", as in, get your lazy butt off the couch, help me into these shoes and let's go out!"

She speaking quite a lot of words now, a mixture of my language and English. The pediatrician is very enthusiastic about her learning both languages. He did warn us that if she kept speaking at the rate at which she's picking up words, she might stutter, but not to worry about it. Something about brain being too fast for muscles. Now seriously!! Which doctor warns an anxious parent about POTENTIAL stuttering. Why you you do that, why?

She's currently with my parents in India, spending time with the cousins and attending a wedding. I'm joining her in a bit and will bring her back. Of course, according to some of my friends, this is akin to not just bad mothering, but the WORST mothering!! "how can you let your kid go away like that", "I can't do it, I need to see my kids" etc is what I've heard from "well wishers". But I've also heard, "wow, you're so lucky to have this kind of support". To tell you the truth, I'm divided. The Dr. misses the baby terribly and feels like he had no choice really considering my extensive travel schedule for this month. Either way, I hope we did the right thing. It's only a month, and my goals for her were to spend time with the fam, learn the language and have fun. And from all reports, boy, is she having fun. I believe she's having enough fun to merit her a smacking or two when she gets back:-) For example, shrieking when she doesn't get her way:-) HHAHHA..I miss her.

It's summer!

So the weather here has finally heated up. Now, make no mistake about it, I hate the heat, I get migraines from the sun, so for the most part I spend summer in a daze. But as i said in my last post, this past winter has been so harsh that even I would go dance in the sun.
Things are super busy in this household. I have had several family members visiting, so it's been an influx of laughing, loud (and I Mean loud) conversations, playing cards, and generally having fun. U has been so thrilled with all the attention she's getting that she's becoming a spoiled brat:-) My mom and cousins and I took her to California on an all girls vacation, visiting with my cousin who lives in the bay area. U loved it!! We used the new britax roundabout car seat that I finally bought after much research and the verdict is in! it's a winner!! For a baby who has frequent bouts of car sickness, this seat managed to hold it in. Not all the time or all the way, but much better than my last seat. So that's one point to me because when I bought it, hubby suggested, "do we need such an expensive car seat"..so there!!
Before I forget, we got our floors done, the family room and entryway now have laminate wood. Not as beautiful as the real wood floors we have in the rest of the house but suited our budgets better:-) Big improvement over the carpet. Now if I can only find like a zillion rugs so that A's claws don't make that infernal clat clat noise all day.

This winter has been so long, so protracted that I have difficulty believing it's over. Maybe this is a facade? Just a couple of days ago, the night temperatures dipped to freezing..freezing!! in late April?

Life here has been good in the U/A/Dr./me household. Now that my parents are living with us, life has fallen into a comfortable pattern. U goes to daycare once a week, and my mom does most of the cooking and household stuff. I know I know, before people start labeling me a "parent abuser", I know I have it good. I cannot and will not think of August when she starts her travel with my dad, for FOUR MONTHS!!! I don't know what I'm going to do. Now that my parents are here the Dr and I can have our own time to work out, run errands, whatever. I guess that'll be on hold for a while. Also, since my parents and I are very close, it's awesome to have them around.

In other news, U is now running everywhere. She's also climbing the stairs, climbing on top of furniture, basically climbing. She's a climber. Yesterday she scared me when I found a piece of glass in her mouth. It was from a plate that had broken way back in january and even though the kitchen has been swept many many times since then, she found it. Anyways, she seems to be fine, so I'm hopeful she hasn't swallowed even a tiny bit.

Today we're going to lunch at a friend's house. She has a 2.3 year old daughter and she gives me all her stuff. It's a LOT of stuff!!! I'm so grateful, I have stuff that I might never have bought but now that I have it, makes our lives so much easier and more beautiful. Thank you.

I need to blog more than once a month, else we miss out on so much stuff. I had a business trip to Miami a few days ago and U and my mom came along and stayed with my sister-in-law. A good time was had by all. Here's a picture.

 

hello from TX

So it's almost April and time is just flying by. We had a lot of things going on last month, i don't know whether I'm coming or going. Right now I'm cooling my heels in a hotel in Texas, so I have time to breathe, write a blog post, watch some TV..it all feels so decadent.
U is doing well. She's got like 7 teeth in already they look too cute. She's also become even brattier than before. She harasses the doggie like you wouldn't believe and he's just not taking it anymore. So we get to hear a lot of whining, barking, growling and the like. The Dr is doing well, still happy with his job, and life in general. We got another garden plot this year so now we have two. We shall probably be able to grow enough vegetables to last us all year.
Parents are doing well. Everytime they make noises of going back to India for a few months, I come up with a new excuse. Seriously, what's there to do in India? here they have me, the baby...actually...the baby and I have them:-)
So I wanted to write a post about people and perceptions. I'm trying to develop a more cool, less volatile personality. It feels like people perceive you for how you are on the outside and not for the work you do, or how you are on the inside. For example, one of my co-workers made a comment (as a joke) that my partner would do all the work while I cracked jokes and insulted people. Although this was funny and everybody laughed, I don't want anybody to have the opinion that this is how I am. Sure I make jokes, that's part of me. But I don't want the jokes to get in the way of people's perceptions. I know this sounds confusing, but it's sorted out in my head, so that's what matters.

Happy first birthday baby!!!

It's been a month since I last posted, and a lot has happened. First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little baby girl. I cannot believe she's 1 year old!!! We had cake, she loved it. She got loads of presents from her New York grandma, from her ammamma and muthachan, her aunt from florida, her aunt in california and her uncle and aunt in az..that's one spoiled baby.
Meanwhile, I've had a busy month. I was out almost THREE weeks in February on various trips. We also had a whopping 50+ inches of snow over the past 2 months. Since I was on travel almost the entire week of the snowmegeddoon (HA!!) I had to work, but the Dr got all FIVE days off!! the luck..after that we went to AZ to visit my cousins who have a beautiful home there. Baby U was already there with my parents, getting spoiled rotten. Now I'm in town for a whole month, before heading out for a week's trip.
Things are good at home. With my parents here, life has become so much easier. I have time to go to the gym, hang out, catch a movie with the hubby (DO NOT see Wolfman). I'm already sad that they plan to travel for a few months starting July.

We're planning to have a party in March when the baby turns 1 according to the malayalam lunar calendar. I'm also going to take cupcakes to daycare. Speaking of daycare, today was funny. We went to pick her up and she did not want to leave. It was funny, she kept crying for her teacher. Poor mom and grandma..

I'm going to try and be more regular in postings. My weight loss goal for the next two months: 15lbs, I know it sounds like a lot but I have to lose this pregnancy weight before it becomes my weight. I just have to. Will keep my readers (if I have any) updated.

It's 2010...where did January go?

Happy New Year everybody!!! Can you believe it's been 3 weeks into the new year already!! Today is the puppy's 12th birthday. Wow...he's now a senior citizen. But for me he's still my puppy. I still remember, clear as day, the day I brought him home. He was only 3 months old, and so tiny. And it was love at first sight. I'd gotten him from a breeder in Madison, WI and when we walked into the house, he and his siblings were in a cardboard box. The breeder said to me, "go ahead, he's yours", so I picked him up and cuddled him close to me, and he promptly tried to bite of my button!! The rest is history. He's an amazingly well-traveled dog, having lived in WI (as a baby), in Michigan, Florida, Texas and now in the WDC area. He's also gone on a lot of vacations in many many states. He made the drive with me from MI to FL and back many many times. He's also made the drive from TX to MI, and TX to WDC. Over the years we've had many trials and tribulations together. His seizures were something that I can still not talk about without cringing. He was only 6 years old when he got them, and he's been on meds ever since. But so far so good, knock on wood, they've been controlled as of the past 5 years. He's also had numerous trips to the emergency room because his paranoid mommy was afraid of the consequences of yet another thing that he foraged for, out of the trash, compost heap, yard, the list is endless.

All in all, the past 12 years have been filled with love and laughter and joy. He's brought to my life a pure joy that I am always grateful for. I love you baby dog!!