stop...

to smell the flowers

we were at the beach yesterday
with another GF of mine and her kids.

now my town beach .. is not Bermuda!
but has an excellent board walk... with well-marked mileage, breath taking views of long island sound, beautifully landscaped grounds, grass blue skies and rocky cliffs.
dancing for senior citizens, a small children's play scape, tons of benches, a well-secured bocce court, a veterans' memorial, beach volleyball, a skate park, piers, sandy beaches, lots of opportunities for fried seafood, you can even swim if you dare and some people do.

every time i visit the shore... the waters are a different color.

while my GF and I took a walk, the 4 kids were building sand castles, collecting shells, drinking lime-onade n eating chickadees with sand covered hands ..E

heading back...
the kids got fussy...

to keep them occupied...i suggested we stop to pet the dogs we see.
*of course after checking with their owner*

the 4 kids enjoyed it so much as did the doggies... lapping up the attention.

when we passed this giant bush of Black Eyed Susans...
ryan went over...
spread his arms out...
n stopped...
to smell the flowers.

i was SO touched... my 4 year old boy...
is so sensitive.

my kids...they teach me to appreciate the finer things

Showers

of kind words
of gentle concern
of blessings from a thirukalyanam at Bridgewater temple

of good food
of good luck... with finding just the right sneakers.. FINALLY!
of a long walk at downtown Stamford

of long chats
of funny company
of calm n quiet weekend

and... at what price?!

ex-HAUSTED!

a nite of disturbed sleep...
woke at 7 am

left with kids at 845 to drop off at summer n softball camp
* vent....last coupla days, at drop off...ryan's been cryin ...huge bawling tears...wtf?! his camp teacher is a pretty much clueless teen... n just sits there. well... what do u expect of a kid who takes up a summer job to timepass n drives in, in a bmw Z6 sports car?! *

hit the beach at 915 and took a 45 minute walk with my gf

got to kohl's at 1015... shopped again for shoes... no luck
got home at 11... had a a shower n went back at 12 to pick up kids
got home at 1 ish...
had lunch
paid a coupla bills
printed out some work related stuff
called an HR person
n cot up with the various pals on fb/gtalk/yahoo.. waiting for me
threw in a load of laundry
looked cloudy outside so ran the dryer instead of line drying

left again at 4 to piano lessons
stopped on the way, at the bank and it was CLOSED!!!! Which fuckin bank CLOSES AT 4 PM????... apparently Bank of America does. lazy asses.. grr!

ryan falls asleep in the van ride to the class
cool our heels while rave is at her lesson...
ryan wakes n decides its the best time / place to poop...
old man walks in while we are in the bathroom n freaks himself out...more than us!
rave's teacher walks out n is all ravez about her. saying she memorizes so fast..its like shez been practicing all week long.

got done at 5
and i am all aglow with the praise my kid's got...
so decide to treat her to a mall visit
drove to THE mall
shopped more at sears for shoes. no luck again.
hit the play scape
r n r played some

went into the pet store...
rave all starry eyed at the doggies n chinchilla's..
with ryan wanting to reach in n grab a rabbit or two!
its 7 pm...kids want dinner

burgers! rave orders!
none of the shops in the food court serve kid-sized burgers
so we eat chicken / steak chalupa at taco bell
and i spot this HUGE sign...screaming at me.. from across the food court
H&M... 75% off sale

cant resist...
in 5 minutes and weaving thru the crazy-eyed women shoppers, i picked up a cool pair of jeans n a brite orange halter neck blouse in MY SIZE!!!
hold your breath.... the jeans was for $10 *originally ticketed at 50 bux* n 6 bucks for the skimpy blouse. woo-hoo-to-me!

came home
gave both brats a bath
sudden spur of energy...decided to pack away all the clothes they have outgrown.
i pass them onto a GF of mine with 2 lill girls
was surprised to fill only 2 shopping bags.
have no heart to pass on the precious n elaborate ghagras rave's been gifted from family the last 2 yrs... sniff sniff...
*i can be quite stingy at times!*

i seem to be running on this power house of whirlwind energy today!

looonnnnggggg day... but naaaaaaiiiceee day!
hope all that walking n driving i did...knocks off a pound tmrw ;)

scaling down

2 days...of ditching carbs *rice... bread... pasta... n the dreadful parle-g biscuits i devour with t-E*
uping the fruit intake *blu'n'straw berries*
dannon activia yogurt
walks at the beach
8+ hrs of sleep
green t - 3 cuppa-day

am down 3 pds
wooooooooooooo-hoo!

my scale.. loves me..now ;)
back in the 130's

life isn't all thaaaaaat bad


inspired by this...

nobody loves me...

no more.

ya! its true!
even when i say it out loud...
i get bland responses...
why u sayin tht to a heartless flying dutchman?
whatz with the drama?
n such

my scale is consistently reading over the 140 mrk... grr!

down pours...x'ld out one kids softball camp

dragged a moping kid along to kohl's... found a pair of sneakers i love... try it on..one feels a tad tight.
turns out the only pair in my size is mismatched and after 1.5 hrs of opening every orange shoe box...there are no more on the shelves or in the back rooms.

all i find everywhere are empty boxes...
empty box of pops in the freezer..
empty packs of cookies...
empty box of almonds
empty empty empty... goes in the bin!

whtz for my dinner?
can you pay this bill
run that errand
call so n so... n get this done?
laundry..
grocery shopping...
cooking...
doing dishes...
cleaning...
kid raising n chauffeuring...

overworked n underpaid..
endless maid jobs!

blame it on the culture i was raised....
u got the boobs..means you do the cooking.. cleaning... laundry

Ryan one liners

Ryan: Mom are you going to India?
Me: No...
Ryan: Do yo love your Mommy?
Me: Ya... very much
Ryan: Then why are you here?
Me: *stumped*

.............................

Ryan: I didn't sleep an inch
Rave: It's 'I didn't sleep a wink' *rolling her eyes*

testing times

my BIL was hospitalized this last week.

low bp... extreme fatigue... shrunk liver... discolored stools due to internal bleeding... white nails.. white eyes... blood hemoG count at 3

all his symptoms were not pointing to any good place on google.
2 days and a battery of tests followed...

the family was badly shaken up...
made me realize what my sis and her happiness meant... to me

turns out google can kiss my a**

endoscopy tells its a bleedin' stomach ulcer.
everything is under control now with steroids and blood transfusions happening.

P H E W !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on a lighter note...
when i spoke to my BIL... day 2 of hospitalization...
hez all drugged... swollen...gone white... straped to drips.. monitors n such...
i go...'hey bhav... you freaked us out man!'
he goes.. *all slurry speeched n mournful voiced*...'kai barre nai ithe... ek nurse bhi bhes nai'

loosly translated it reads...'nothing is good here...not one nurse is good lookin'

n he apparently told my worried sis...
'look at it like a honeymoon.. just the 2 of us... alone... in hospital!'

* humor always ROX... no point whining in life..huh?!*

my birth story

had a birthday recently and when on the phone getting my mama's wishes n blessings...
she went down memory lane... n told me with immense fondness... my birth story

Prologue
I am the last of 3 kids... all girls... and pretty much was not planned... at all!
and therez a 7 yr n 5 yr gap between me n my first and second sis

-----------------------------------------------
June 13...

4 am...
Mom's labor pains started at 4 am ish... and she was bearing it silently to keep from waking her mom and younger brother.

5 am...
Mom had to use the bathroom and woke grandma up.

6 am..
The kid brother was shaken awake to go fetch a cab.
Mom's house in Ooty is atop a steep hill with a winding road. apparently the cab couldn't make it up top... not even on 1st gear.
So she walked down... *GOSH! gasp!! what grit!!!*
my Dad of course is nowhere on the scene!

7 am...
whilst Mom was checking into the quaint european hospital in the sleepy town of Ooty, the front desk staff asking her numerous questions...
my uncle was getting impatient to see his sis in pain and swearing choicest expletives in marathi at the nurses for not admitting Mom in pronto.

7:05 am...
*this is my favorite part...makes me feel so special and all*
i arrive... to the sound of temple bells ringing from the mandir across the street

Mom makes it sound so romantic n beautiful... by saying... had she been delayed a few minutes I woulda been born in the back seat of a rusty old cab :)

*Mom has no clue.. how much it sucked... to hear the next part, as a child...
she HAS to say this and break my 'bask in how awesome am i' bubble...*

the doc said its yet another.... girl
and the whole Bagre family vacationing at the family house that summer, stood around her n the baby and cried...
my mom... grand mom... grand uncles....grand aunts....cousins

n my Dad ... didn't come to Ooty to bring Mom n baby back home...
'coz of the disappointment

-----------------------------------------------
Epilogue

i've heard this birth story many a time...
not just from Mom.. but from various relatives present that day and a sprinkling of cousins who put a mean twist to it.

and i think it got into me ... from very young...
to rebel.. to defy custom / tradition / stoofid rules all my life.
to be the son my Mom SO wanted n make her proud.

devaa! is that mental scarring for LIFE or what?!
I need to head to therapy or something... NOW!

lol

no more whines

gets you no where

week 2 of swim lessons for rynu and i struck up a conversation with this other mom... who was at the bleachers.

she and her pregnant pal come in for lessons with a whole bunch of kids.

as always i havn't been too observant... and 5 minutes into the conversation, i ask her if she has 3 kids?
she goes... no... i have 4 kids.
and i have to get nosy n HAVE to ask... how many boys/ girls?
she goes... ALL girls.
and her preg pal who is her Sister-in-law also has 2 girls n another lill one on the way.

n i whine about entertaining 2 kids... :)

i see a lot of my stay at hoem GF's who are raising their kids ... mostly on their own.

so what does it take...to enjoy parenting?
my 2cents...
1. BOTH parents need to love kids
2. BOTH parents need to share kid/home chores w/out having to be ASKED / TOLD
3. you need reliable help in terms of a nanny / extended family for that much needed 'me time'

period end of story.

having said that... my world goes around coz of my kids.
they can snap me *or anyone who know them* out of the deepest of doldrums in split seconds.

in that way... they do me more good ...than me them.. E

poconos

my long weekend...

3 day stay-cation...
at poconos, pa



with 9 great kids for company...
driving 5 kids...< 4 girls n one boy...>
thru winding scenic rolling mountains....
who were belting it out with MJ.... to .....'i'm bad...i'm baaad '
even while flinging pillows at me while doing 80mlz...
n me responding with 'you r bad.... you r bad'
n them shrieking in delite...even more............ E

white water rafting...
water theme park....
scenic oh so beautiful bush kill falls

hotel rooms with connector doors...
early am knocks... from the dear friends next door
the kids running in and out...
thoroughly enjoying being together!

was good...
to get away...
from home