I am very happy that I am atleast trying to blog regularly.
This was a very eventful Thanksgiving - well aren't most of them anyway. We spent the weekend playing NYC tour guides. It was fun as well as exhausting.
The drive there was not bad. Abhay fell asleep as soon as we headed out which was around 11. We broke for lunch when he woke up and then started driving again. He got a little antsy after some time, watched George for an hour or so. The plan was to do Statue of Liberty from Jersey side but we managed to not make it on time for the last ferry. We went straight to Hari's place. Abhay was just plain excited to be out of the car seat - he literally ran circles around the sofa I was sitting for 30 - 40 minutes. It was just plain fun to watch the excitement on his face. And of course at Hari's place he had the space for it. Sampath's friend Sridahr and his family and Karuna with the kids were there. Vijay and Ramya joined us at Hari's place and it was very nice to see them. But unfortunately with so many people around we did not get to spend quality time with them. We went to Bridgewater temple after that and as usual Abhay had a blast. He went from Sanidhi to Sanidhi and did his version of "Kai Kupp". And then it was run run run......
Next day - we did the NYC tour. As usual we had some time related challenges - you will see that this is a recurring challenge. Sampath (and of course Abhay)Sridhar and Maama missed the first hour of the tour. The best part was when we took a break near the seaport before boarding a boat to see Statue of liberty - Abhay just ran around chasing pigeons. The joy on his face as well as the look of intent (I am going to get those things) was just a wonderful sight. He also had a lot of fun on the boat and took the turbulence in his stride and kept moving. He slept as soon as we hit the bus. We got home pretty late and exhausted.
Saturday - Abhay and I stayed back at home when Sampath took them sightseeing. This is the part I hate the most - separation. Abhay had a good time and we (me and Abhay) had a nice nap in the evening.
Sunday - pack and leave. We stopped at Subzi Mandi to stock up as well as buy some stuff for Appa's anniversary ceremony. Again I did not get a chance to get out and do my usual shopping and picking up of some unusual and new things but that was not a big deal.
We hit some bad traffic on your way home. Abhay was antsy for some part but on the whole it was not bad at all.
On the whole a very eventful trip. Kala and Hari's house was awesome and they were very gracious. It was awesome to have spent time with everyone.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Nov 19th weeknd
With Sridhar maama here, we are playing DC tour guides again.
It has always been very hard to do tour guide thing. Add Abhay, work and age into the mix and it gets harder.
Let's put this in perspective:
1. Abhay - Pack his snack boxes ( 5 different ones he likes so that we can try different things in case he gets cranky), diaper bag ( making sure he has enough diapers, changes of clothes, toys, IPAD), jackets and outdoor clothing - two different types - one for being indoors and one for being outdoors, stroller (s), milk, food for lunch, dinner incase we get late (couple of alternates in case he does not like the first one offered) and making sure all of this is stored properly (either hot or cold and I could go on and on.... but I think you get the drift.
2. Work - With me working full time now, the weekend is the time to do grocery and any other shopping, cleaning, minor household chores, laundry.....But with the weekends consumed in touring I have to find time during the week to take care of everything. And not to mention come Monday morning I am still exhausted.
3. Age - I had to throw this one in there - I am getting old - I cannot do things like I used to. Cook lunch, pack lunch, plan dinner, tour Dc the entire day, cook dinner and do all this being extremely civil and social.
Not mentioning the emotional conflicts - I want to make sure Abhay is not taxed too much. Which means either staying at home or doing part of the day. That means cutting down on Sampath/Abhay time.
Nowhere is these posts do I mention that the strain on relationships but I do not want to go there here.
Ok, moving on to the fun part.
We started a little late on Saturday after eating lunch. Abhay was so sleepy and cranky by then that it was really hard to even get him into the car seat. He fell asleep in a few minutes. We went straight to the White house. Abhay was still sleep when we go there, so I stayed back in the car with him. After he woke, we met up with the others and then did a circle of the white house. We came of the stroller and then he was just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal happy after that. He ran after a truck that was pulling into the white house (of course on the other side of the barricade). He tried saying "tuc....tuc". He will not repeat it if you ask him to though. Then he ran on the grass, rolled around like a dog and in general had a blast.
Next we went to the Capitol, he was so tired he fell asleep again in the car but woke up as soon as the car stopped. Felt bad that he was not getting the rest he wanted but that lasted a few minutes only. He was back to running on the grass towards the Capitol in full flow. He then went and said "hi" and waved to random people and the police guarding the place. He also ran on the metal grating in a straight line. Which was something new. He did not want to leave this place. Again, I think just having a lot of room is the only thing he needs.
This goes back to my rant about the day care we drop him off - she just does not have too much space but has a lot of stuff. So I guess it is a trade off.
Back to Capitol - we went to the union station from there. Abhay and me were very tired by then so we bought some food and sat down, ate and sang some songs. Then headed home. END OF DAY 1.
On Sunday we decided to leave as early as possible - so packed lunch for us and Abhay and left. Abhay fell asleep as we were nearing DC. And Sampath found prime parking near the Archives museum. Amma and Maama went to the Natural history and we met them there after we gave Abhay his lunch in their cafeteria. After that we had lunch in the sculpture garden. Abhay enjoyed watching the ice skaters there - after a while he wanted to go in there himself. Both Sampath and I do not skate so we will have to figure that one at some point. We went to the archives museum - this was the first visit for both Sampath and me. It was very impressive. Unfortunately Sampath could not see much as he had to take Abhay outside as he was beginning to enjoy his echo a lot. He would make a loud noise and look up to "see" his echo. We then dropped them of to see the IMAX movie and we hung around to pick them up. We thought Abhay would sleep in the stroller but he did not. After that we headed out - it was getting dark and rainy. Abhay fell asleep almost immediately. We then had coffee, drove around the monuments, took pics of Jefferson and Washington Monument reflection, ordered from Madras palace and went home. END OF DAY 2.
Take away - Abhay looooooooooooooves being outdoors, even when it is freezing.
It is already Tuesday today and we are getting ready to go to NJ/NY over thanksgiving weekend.
It has always been very hard to do tour guide thing. Add Abhay, work and age into the mix and it gets harder.
Let's put this in perspective:
1. Abhay - Pack his snack boxes ( 5 different ones he likes so that we can try different things in case he gets cranky), diaper bag ( making sure he has enough diapers, changes of clothes, toys, IPAD), jackets and outdoor clothing - two different types - one for being indoors and one for being outdoors, stroller (s), milk, food for lunch, dinner incase we get late (couple of alternates in case he does not like the first one offered) and making sure all of this is stored properly (either hot or cold and I could go on and on.... but I think you get the drift.
2. Work - With me working full time now, the weekend is the time to do grocery and any other shopping, cleaning, minor household chores, laundry.....But with the weekends consumed in touring I have to find time during the week to take care of everything. And not to mention come Monday morning I am still exhausted.
3. Age - I had to throw this one in there - I am getting old - I cannot do things like I used to. Cook lunch, pack lunch, plan dinner, tour Dc the entire day, cook dinner and do all this being extremely civil and social.
Not mentioning the emotional conflicts - I want to make sure Abhay is not taxed too much. Which means either staying at home or doing part of the day. That means cutting down on Sampath/Abhay time.
Nowhere is these posts do I mention that the strain on relationships but I do not want to go there here.
Ok, moving on to the fun part.
We started a little late on Saturday after eating lunch. Abhay was so sleepy and cranky by then that it was really hard to even get him into the car seat. He fell asleep in a few minutes. We went straight to the White house. Abhay was still sleep when we go there, so I stayed back in the car with him. After he woke, we met up with the others and then did a circle of the white house. We came of the stroller and then he was just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal happy after that. He ran after a truck that was pulling into the white house (of course on the other side of the barricade). He tried saying "tuc....tuc". He will not repeat it if you ask him to though. Then he ran on the grass, rolled around like a dog and in general had a blast.
Next we went to the Capitol, he was so tired he fell asleep again in the car but woke up as soon as the car stopped. Felt bad that he was not getting the rest he wanted but that lasted a few minutes only. He was back to running on the grass towards the Capitol in full flow. He then went and said "hi" and waved to random people and the police guarding the place. He also ran on the metal grating in a straight line. Which was something new. He did not want to leave this place. Again, I think just having a lot of room is the only thing he needs.
This goes back to my rant about the day care we drop him off - she just does not have too much space but has a lot of stuff. So I guess it is a trade off.
Back to Capitol - we went to the union station from there. Abhay and me were very tired by then so we bought some food and sat down, ate and sang some songs. Then headed home. END OF DAY 1.
On Sunday we decided to leave as early as possible - so packed lunch for us and Abhay and left. Abhay fell asleep as we were nearing DC. And Sampath found prime parking near the Archives museum. Amma and Maama went to the Natural history and we met them there after we gave Abhay his lunch in their cafeteria. After that we had lunch in the sculpture garden. Abhay enjoyed watching the ice skaters there - after a while he wanted to go in there himself. Both Sampath and I do not skate so we will have to figure that one at some point. We went to the archives museum - this was the first visit for both Sampath and me. It was very impressive. Unfortunately Sampath could not see much as he had to take Abhay outside as he was beginning to enjoy his echo a lot. He would make a loud noise and look up to "see" his echo. We then dropped them of to see the IMAX movie and we hung around to pick them up. We thought Abhay would sleep in the stroller but he did not. After that we headed out - it was getting dark and rainy. Abhay fell asleep almost immediately. We then had coffee, drove around the monuments, took pics of Jefferson and Washington Monument reflection, ordered from Madras palace and went home. END OF DAY 2.
Take away - Abhay looooooooooooooves being outdoors, even when it is freezing.
It is already Tuesday today and we are getting ready to go to NJ/NY over thanksgiving weekend.
Nov 11 - Nov 12
I decided to write about current events before I do catch up which never seems to be possible.
Last weekend, we (the whole family) had planned on going to Pittsburg. Rangesh and family was supposed to meet us there. On the way back, Sridhar maama was going to come back with us. But.... with Abhay still not fully recovered, I decided to stay back with him. It was a relaxing day. Abhay had a long tub-play-bath. Then had a very light lunch as he was still throwing up after meals. We both slept for 2.5 hrs. Then came the tough part as the evenings are the hardest and it has always been so. We played in the new ball tent for a while, watched some TV, had dinner. When it came time to sleep he did not want to be upstairs. He finally slept on me but facing the door hoping his dad would be back soon. Dad came home by 10 but Abhay was asleep by then.
Sunday was a different day though. We had lunch and headed over to Mt. Vernon - General Washington's estate. Abhay had a blast. he was a little irritated at being restrained as we did the tour of the house. Once outside, the vast estate was his playground. He has a hard time restraining himself while running. He ran full blast downhill but with so much momentum he could not stop himself and did a full roll. He was not hurt but the shock of it had him bawling. But all that lasted for less than a minute as he was then off running again. Anyplace that has so much space for Abhay to run around and not get into too much trouble rates an "Awesome" in my books these days.
Monday morning blues set in on all of us on the way home.
I still feel real terrible whenever he starts clinging to me. It is a very vicious cycle. He clings to me, I feel guilty that he is missing me and I become more tired from this emotional drainage and become irritated. Sampath sees this and wants to help and tries picking him up - but he will not go to him. This irritates all of us. Abhay - because he is being taken away from mommy, Sampath - because he will not go to him. Me - because I am tired. My MIL - because "you don't come to me when your mom is around". All in all - HARD!!!!!
Last weekend, we (the whole family) had planned on going to Pittsburg. Rangesh and family was supposed to meet us there. On the way back, Sridhar maama was going to come back with us. But.... with Abhay still not fully recovered, I decided to stay back with him. It was a relaxing day. Abhay had a long tub-play-bath. Then had a very light lunch as he was still throwing up after meals. We both slept for 2.5 hrs. Then came the tough part as the evenings are the hardest and it has always been so. We played in the new ball tent for a while, watched some TV, had dinner. When it came time to sleep he did not want to be upstairs. He finally slept on me but facing the door hoping his dad would be back soon. Dad came home by 10 but Abhay was asleep by then.
Sunday was a different day though. We had lunch and headed over to Mt. Vernon - General Washington's estate. Abhay had a blast. he was a little irritated at being restrained as we did the tour of the house. Once outside, the vast estate was his playground. He has a hard time restraining himself while running. He ran full blast downhill but with so much momentum he could not stop himself and did a full roll. He was not hurt but the shock of it had him bawling. But all that lasted for less than a minute as he was then off running again. Anyplace that has so much space for Abhay to run around and not get into too much trouble rates an "Awesome" in my books these days.
Monday morning blues set in on all of us on the way home.
I still feel real terrible whenever he starts clinging to me. It is a very vicious cycle. He clings to me, I feel guilty that he is missing me and I become more tired from this emotional drainage and become irritated. Sampath sees this and wants to help and tries picking him up - but he will not go to him. This irritates all of us. Abhay - because he is being taken away from mommy, Sampath - because he will not go to him. Me - because I am tired. My MIL - because "you don't come to me when your mom is around". All in all - HARD!!!!!
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