How is it almost August? It seems like a common theme with my posts, or maybe a common theme of my life.
The summer is proceeding nicely. Our trip to Chicago for fourth of july was better than expected in some ways, more tiring in others. The drive out there (with a stop in Indiana to see some friends) went much better than I could ever expect. Nora was fine in the car seat, and the older girls were complete champions in the back. They didn’t even completely rely on the DVD player for entertainment – they entertained themselves for good chunks of it. Even on the way back (12+ hours in the car, straight) they were awesome. THe problem was sleeping while we were there . While Amyna’s parents have this *amazing* house (countless bedrooms, 7+ bathrooms , a historic house) and we had our own bedroom, we slept Annika and Savita with their cousins in the common room, and consequently they didnt get much sleep. Savita in particular needs a good solid chunk of sleep. Unfortunately, she inherited her mother’s idiosyncratically fussy sleep so her cope for the weekend was in precious supply.
We also went to Philly for a short weekend to see my grandmother, who is 92. MY parents did a little puja (prayer ceremony) for her, so the entire family came to be there. It was a short weekend and the girls were grumpier and less social than we liked. But then this past weekend we went to Baltimore for the day and they were *perfect*. We went to the Port Discovery Museum (1 year family membership groupon SCORE!) and they were great. They played semi-independantly, no big fights or tantrums, pleases and thank yous without being prodded (much). That behavior carried over to the afternoon while we were visiting Veena, and even to the next day. It seems like we’re turning a great new chapter in their lives, where we can do more active stuff without worrying overmuch about how they might behave.
Nora, on the other hand, is turning into a problem child. She turns 11 months in a few days, but she’s standing and taking steps, and crawling everywhere in her distinctive elephant walk. (Cue Elephant walk music!) She’s a few days or maybe a week or two from full fledged walking. She’s imitating sounds and voices and babbling, and starting to respond to instructions (like clap your hands, say ahhh! , things like that.) She’s not afraid to express her dissapointment (loudly). Which is a good thing – kids need spirit! – but we’re girding ourselves for toddlerhood. WE’re doing a birthday party for her in September – of course, we’re going to have to do an elephant theme.
On the other hand in more fuck-tastic news, my friend P. is in the hospital with a traumatic head injury. It turns out that he fell out of a golf cart, and then was flown to the shock trauma center. From last I heard, he’s still without the use of one leg and one arm, and is mixed in his responsiveness. It’s still early days yet and he has amazing support and love from his family and friends. But he faces a long road. Its shocking though – he has three young kids and an older daughter who’s in college, and he’s not that much older than I am. A very stark reminder that tragedy is really a moment away for any of us. I’m remiss in making sure I have enough life insurance and that I have a will and all that – I really need to make it a priority soon. And keep my loved ones even closer than they are.
I’m putting together the schedule for the fall. Annika will be in school five days a week, Savita three. Jyotsna is switching her day off to Monday, and I’m going back to my mens group on Thursday mornings. We have the calendar color coded – blue for me, pink for jyotsna, and green for the kids. (I hesitated to give each kid their own color -not yet!) I wish there was a good way to post the calendar on our fridge or something…. I could get a cheap tablet and just post a google calendar view, but that seems overkill.
Jyotsna and I are now on the beta T25 (after a couple of weeks off in between), I’m definitely have better muscle definition and strength (still cursed with weak ankles!) but the weight hasnt made a noticeable budge. Then again, Im not exactly focusing on the food. Starting this week I’m going back to keeping a food log – lets see how that goes.