Warning to non-parents: this is about poop.
Jo kept notes for the first couple of weeks on Vivian's poops when she was a new born. Time and date, color, consistency, amount - that sort of a thing. We obviously did no such thing for Evan. Similarly, Evan's potty training has been generally overlooked. Last year in March during our second visit to Goa he hopped up on the potty one morning and took care of it by himself, a practice he continued till we landed in Hawaii a month and a half later. Then he regressed. And progressively stonewalled. Up till a couple of weeks ago when he wasn't pooping for up to five days at a time. He'd be ecstatic on the first day following a poop, somewhat happy on the second, meh the third, antsy on the fourth, and like a crack addict on the fifth - even when he was not be able to contain himself literally. He hated sitting on the potty and cried miserably.
I'm happy and proud to note that Evan's more or less broken the poop stigma. He's been in big boy underwear for the last week. He's going to school and taking his afternoon nap in the same. And he's slowly but surely overcoming his attachment to his own poop. Just when I thought it was time to bring in a poop shrink.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Peyton & Devyn
The other day I finally imported the iPhoto album from my old Mac book to my current one. It took me almost four years to get around to it. But now I suddenly have six thousand old photographs that are new again. Here are three pictures of Peyton and Devyn from our wedding. Vivian and Evan will have trouble recognizing them. They saw Peyton in India about 16 months ago and Devyn looks like cousin Ava. The girls are almost teens now.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Goons
Do you have a dirty job? Someone late on their payments again or a troublesome fire pit that needs to be given the mud treatment? Don't be fooled by their looks - they are all business. This could be far more lucrative than the lemonade stall. Though that is a solid front.
Vivian Style
Vivian is really loving her red cowboy boots. Here are a couple of shots from Saturday. In the second she's accessorized her pajamas for an early morning jaunt.
A Gem
This could have been a cover for a Beatles LP. I found this gem in my iPhoto library. It was taken by Vicky last summer during our trip to Baltimore. The kids had just finished playing in the water fountains. Earlier we had walked around the inner harbor (our hotel is that tall white building directly in the background). I love how the little ones are copying the older two and trying to look cool with their feet up on the concrete barrier - even though it's quite a stretch for Evan.
Monday, January 21, 2013
In Memory
During the last seven days there were three events related to people we love who are no longer physically here with us.
My friend's mother passed away on January 16 back in Hyderabad. Her husband described her as "nicest most gentle person I ever knew". I saw her the last time I was in Hyd. Rest in peace, Auntie. Evan and Vivian never met her. When I told Vivian she asked if she was older than Grandpa.
That same day marked the tenth anniversary of the death of my mother. I lit a candle and placed a flower in front of my mother's photo on my dad's dresser. Later that day Vivian came and took me by my hand without saying a word and handed me a flower to place by the photo.
Two days later Jeanne and Simran and us celebrated Arjun's birthday. He would have been 50. Simran was a sweet nine year old when he died. He would be so proud of his little girl now. Vivian and Evan and Simran thankfully refused to let the gravity of the moment get to them and soon we were all a bit giddy with laughter and gelatos. Which resulted in the funniest quote of the evening "why would you sell your dead father's shoes on e-bay". Thank the stars for youth.
My friend's mother passed away on January 16 back in Hyderabad. Her husband described her as "nicest most gentle person I ever knew". I saw her the last time I was in Hyd. Rest in peace, Auntie. Evan and Vivian never met her. When I told Vivian she asked if she was older than Grandpa.
That same day marked the tenth anniversary of the death of my mother. I lit a candle and placed a flower in front of my mother's photo on my dad's dresser. Later that day Vivian came and took me by my hand without saying a word and handed me a flower to place by the photo.
Two days later Jeanne and Simran and us celebrated Arjun's birthday. He would have been 50. Simran was a sweet nine year old when he died. He would be so proud of his little girl now. Vivian and Evan and Simran thankfully refused to let the gravity of the moment get to them and soon we were all a bit giddy with laughter and gelatos. Which resulted in the funniest quote of the evening "why would you sell your dead father's shoes on e-bay". Thank the stars for youth.
Arjun and Simran dancing the evening before our wedding
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Downtown Musclefest
Crossfit had a musclefest downtown this weekend. It looked like a Lulu convention gone bad. We put the kids in the double stroller and wandered over. The highlight was Jen slamming through a large number of reps of a 65 lb snatch (insert jokes here) routine. As I don't have a photo of that (more jokes) I have added a photo of Jen on the pullup bar.
Later the weather was perfect and we went for margaritas and lunch to Takoba. An unsuspecting victim ordered dessert and our children mobbed her. Here's a picture of Vivian's hand reaching over.
On the way back on 6th Street I was waiting at a red light and I saw this parking sign. Aren't we so cool?
Later the weather was perfect and we went for margaritas and lunch to Takoba. An unsuspecting victim ordered dessert and our children mobbed her. Here's a picture of Vivian's hand reaching over.
On the way back on 6th Street I was waiting at a red light and I saw this parking sign. Aren't we so cool?
Proposals
Vivian is getting to that age when her parents can expect marriage proposals. So her dad shouldn't have been so surprised when the following situation unfolded the other day when her dad went to pick her up from her class (Kinder A). As Vivian was turning to leave, Andrew ran up to her and hugged her tightly. After a reasonable period her dad told him that that was long enough for a hug. That's when Vivian's friend, Isabelle, standing at her side commented "Andrew wants to marry Vivian. But she won't let him." Good girl, thought her dad.
Later that evening I was recounting this story to Jo. Evan overheard all this talk about some boy wanting to marry his sister. He puffed up his chest and announced loudly to her "Vivi - I is a boy and I is marry you".
Later that evening I was recounting this story to Jo. Evan overheard all this talk about some boy wanting to marry his sister. He puffed up his chest and announced loudly to her "Vivi - I is a boy and I is marry you".
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Mind is a Strange Thing
Living with my dad is mostly waiting interminably for him to do things. But once a while like a National Geographic photographer I glimpse something astounding. Today it was the weirdness of a very good mind on it's way out.
At 6:45 am Jo walked into the bedroom and announced "Your dad is turning on all the lights all over the house".
I roused my old ass from the bed and gently turned off some lights my dad had just switched on. My dad said without looking up "Leave the lights on". I asked why. He said he needed to go downstairs and get the milk. He was clearly misplaced somewhere in time and space but where?
I tried to tell him that the milk had been taken care of. But he was persistent. I realized that he was looking for a way downstairs. I took him to the window and showed him the yard and trees and street and told him we'd need to dig to get any lower. But he remained quite adamant. I changed tacks and took him to the fridge and showed him the milk. He sidestepped it by claiming he had got some more milk this morning. I asked from where. He indicated by using a very Indian shake of the hand that it was from someplace just to the right of the front door. I opened the door to show him the neighborhood. He said it was down the street. Jo yelled to close the door (it was freezing and there was a stiff breeze). We walked back to the dining table and I served him tea. He was clearly not satisfied.
Fast forward to this evening. I got him up from the chair in front of the fireplace and took him to his bedroom to get him ready for bed. He was facing the doorway and I had my back to it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jo walk by in the hall beyond the open door. My dad almost jumped and asked who that was. I said "my wife". He said - "No - this person has a turban on. I know what your wife looks like". Jo had finished showering and had her hair wrapped in a towel. I explained to my dad. He said "Oh good. I thought it was a strange sardar (a sikh) wandering in your house".
At 6:45 am Jo walked into the bedroom and announced "Your dad is turning on all the lights all over the house".
I roused my old ass from the bed and gently turned off some lights my dad had just switched on. My dad said without looking up "Leave the lights on". I asked why. He said he needed to go downstairs and get the milk. He was clearly misplaced somewhere in time and space but where?
I tried to tell him that the milk had been taken care of. But he was persistent. I realized that he was looking for a way downstairs. I took him to the window and showed him the yard and trees and street and told him we'd need to dig to get any lower. But he remained quite adamant. I changed tacks and took him to the fridge and showed him the milk. He sidestepped it by claiming he had got some more milk this morning. I asked from where. He indicated by using a very Indian shake of the hand that it was from someplace just to the right of the front door. I opened the door to show him the neighborhood. He said it was down the street. Jo yelled to close the door (it was freezing and there was a stiff breeze). We walked back to the dining table and I served him tea. He was clearly not satisfied.
Fast forward to this evening. I got him up from the chair in front of the fireplace and took him to his bedroom to get him ready for bed. He was facing the doorway and I had my back to it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jo walk by in the hall beyond the open door. My dad almost jumped and asked who that was. I said "my wife". He said - "No - this person has a turban on. I know what your wife looks like". Jo had finished showering and had her hair wrapped in a towel. I explained to my dad. He said "Oh good. I thought it was a strange sardar (a sikh) wandering in your house".
Should be tweets
I need to revive my arunzadad twitter account now that Evan's joined his sister by saying weird things regularly. Here are some recent bablings.
Evan: Mommy's boobs are very very very very big big big.
I had this on video but lost it when my iPhone went for a swim in Belize.
Vivian: Are they trying to kill us by changing our netflix?
In response to not being able to find netflix on the wii after we returned home from Belize. "They" refers to Alu & Michelle. It turned out to be a minor temporary technical glitch.
Evan: I spit it out. If I didn't I'll choke on it and then I'll die.
Discussing the fate of his after dinner mint from Vivo. Jo had told him why he needed to spit it out. He then did spit it out and narrated to Vivian and me why he did so.
Evan: Can I have a 'ego party and a Dora cake?
Evan wanted a Dora party. I said that was for girls. So he decided on a Diego party but still wanted his Dora cake.
Evan: Mommy's boobs are very very very very big big big.
I had this on video but lost it when my iPhone went for a swim in Belize.
Vivian: Are they trying to kill us by changing our netflix?
In response to not being able to find netflix on the wii after we returned home from Belize. "They" refers to Alu & Michelle. It turned out to be a minor temporary technical glitch.
Evan: I spit it out. If I didn't I'll choke on it and then I'll die.
Discussing the fate of his after dinner mint from Vivo. Jo had told him why he needed to spit it out. He then did spit it out and narrated to Vivian and me why he did so.
Evan: Can I have a 'ego party and a Dora cake?
Evan wanted a Dora party. I said that was for girls. So he decided on a Diego party but still wanted his Dora cake.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Back at the Ranch
We returned to Austin after midnight last night. Alu got us from the airport. And this morning I dropped Michelle and Alu off at the airport for their trip back home. On the way out because our vacation was delayed by a day Vivian and Evan got to spend one day with their uncle and aunt.
My dad looks happy and perhaps a little bit spoiled by Alu and Michelle. But he seems to be saving the shaving job for me. I've never seen him this hairy. Vivian and Evan missed two days of school but jumped right in today. Then this evening we went to Vivo's. They both dressed themselves nattily for dinner.
Evan chowed down on the chips and salsa and drank a gallon of iced water in between because the salsa there is hot!
My dad looks happy and perhaps a little bit spoiled by Alu and Michelle. But he seems to be saving the shaving job for me. I've never seen him this hairy. Vivian and Evan missed two days of school but jumped right in today. Then this evening we went to Vivo's. They both dressed themselves nattily for dinner.
Evan chowed down on the chips and salsa and drank a gallon of iced water in between because the salsa there is hot!
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
No Pictures All Words
I took a lot of photos in Belize with my iPhone. It was my first trip without my camera or computer. My phone does both jobs reasonably well. So well in fact that one morning when I went swimming at the beach I was careful to take off my shirt and take out my wallet but I jumped in with my phone. By the time my sensible wife showed up and asked it was too late for the three month old phone and all those photos. And because there was no wifi in our condo to backup my phone, the only cloud was the one in the sky and it didn't have my backup.
This morning I visited the apple store back in Austin. My phone is chock-full of salt and sand. The bits that held my photos are gone. I needed a new phone. The good news is that about five minutes after the "genius" unpacked a new phone it felt exactly like my old one before I filled it with sand. All my apps, music, non-Belize photos, contacts and calenders were loaded and the screen had Vivian and Evan's picture. It's nice that the technology works so well.
So, dear blog - you'll have to read the stories about our trip to Belize and back and imagine what it looked like. Meanwhile here's a motley collection of photos. One from my iPhone that I had already posted to fb, and rest from Jo's iPad.
This morning I visited the apple store back in Austin. My phone is chock-full of salt and sand. The bits that held my photos are gone. I needed a new phone. The good news is that about five minutes after the "genius" unpacked a new phone it felt exactly like my old one before I filled it with sand. All my apps, music, non-Belize photos, contacts and calenders were loaded and the screen had Vivian and Evan's picture. It's nice that the technology works so well.
So, dear blog - you'll have to read the stories about our trip to Belize and back and imagine what it looked like. Meanwhile here's a motley collection of photos. One from my iPhone that I had already posted to fb, and rest from Jo's iPad.
A Real Safety Net
Ava and Vivian love to play on the trampoline together. They are getting spirited enough to where we feel that some more space would decrease the likelihood of collisions. Which led Jo to suggest that perhaps it was time for a larger trampoline. Then she reconsidered and suggested taking the netting off the existing trampoline which would open it up a bit. To which I told her that Ava and Vivian love to bounce off the net. While I think of the net was a safety feature Jo considers it a trampoline nanny. "They'll never grow up and learn to do it right if they have that net all the time."
I have a brilliant suggestion if I may say so. It would appeal to both types of parenting philosophies: a trampoline with a concertina wire net. It's exactly the kind of compromise today's politicians are unwilling to make.
I have a brilliant suggestion if I may say so. It would appeal to both types of parenting philosophies: a trampoline with a concertina wire net. It's exactly the kind of compromise today's politicians are unwilling to make.
Getting There
My list of hard to reach vacation places grew by one rather unexpectedly the other day. Unexpectedly because the flight from DFW to Belize City is only two and a half hours long and covers a majority of the distance between Austin and Sueno del mar. It was the minority that mattered in this case. Our first effort to get from Austin to DFW on New Year's Day ended on the taxiway of Bergstrom airport when the pilot discovered that a maintenance problem from the night before had persisted. Alu came back to the airport and got us, thereby ending a five-hour stint at the airport during which our most productive activity was to consume airport breakfast.
Alu was awoken the next morning at an even more uncivilized hour to try again. Due to a scarcity of seats between Austin and Dallas we had to take an earlier flight and then spend five hours in DFW. Another sumptuous breakfast this time at DFW and a train ride around the airport just for fun killed off about a whole hour.
We eventually got to Belize City. Because we had a tight connection from the Belize City airport to our first ferry to San Pedro we had opted to travel with only a couple of carry-on bags. So we were able to walk off the airplane and into a waiting taxi in a few short minutes. Then the taxi driver took it upon himself to get us to the ferry in record time - while discussing his family and previous failed relationships. When we arrived at the terminal it was 430 pm. I commented aloud that it was a pity we had missed the four fifteen San Pedro Belize express ferry. I was hastily corrected that we hadn't and our luggage was quickly piled on to a waiting cart. I went off to buy tickets and suggested that Jo "act like an indian" and push her way to the front of the crowd if we didn't want to wait for another couple of hours for the next ferry. When the ferry appeared turned out to be a regular boat - the type of boat that would take a party of 10 a dozen miles out for a day of deep sea fishing. About a hundred of us boarded this boat and sat like sardines. Then in a cloud of diesel fumes we were off for the hour long trip. Evan clung to Jo while Vivian managed to curl up and sleep on the bench between us.
An hour later we pulled alongside a pier and Jo and the kids and I hopped out. When we reached the end of the pier Jo peered through the evening gloom and read a sign that led her to correctly deduce that the ferry had made an unscheduled stop on another island - Caye Caulker. We hurried back in time to the ferry which by this point had taken on even more passengers and "acted like Indians" again and obtained some seating space. Another hour later - this time in darkness - the ferry slowed and then docked at another peer and we were at the bustling metropolis of San Perdo on the southern tip of the island of Ambergris Caye. Then we met our cab driver George who took us to a grocery store. We bought some supplies (wine, beer, water, chocolate) and then he drove us a hundred yards to another pier with a tiny boat with a outboard motor and a bimini flapping in the wind. We loaded our selves and our supplies and luggage. The captain explained that it was going to be rather rough because the wind had picked up. When he asked "Are you ready for this?" I knew Jo wasn't going to enjoy the ride.
In the darkness sea water and spray whipped us and the boat rose and fell with hard smacks that jolted us out of our benches and slammed us back on the thin cushions till our kidneys complained. Jo and I sat across from each other clutching a child each. I had Evan who was oblivious to everything else except the bag of gummy bears that I was feeding him from. It was a bit of a job to extract a gummy out of the bag while the wind tried to rip the bag out of my hand. Then I tried to time the jolts and slams to increase the chances of a successful hand-off. And finally Evan had to do the same to transfer the gummy to his mouth. Many ended up as fish food. Meanwhile the resorts gave way to jungles and complete and total darkness. Jo clutched Vivian so tightly they breathed as one. Occasionally we'd round another bay and the lights of a resort would break the darkness but we plunged on. Till the very last set of lights after which it was the darkness of the open sea. And the boat slowed and we were at a clean well-lit pier. The boat quickly stopped, the sound of the diesel engine dropped and someone on the pier said "Mr. Arun - Welcome to Sueno Del Mar" and extended a tray with four glasses of drinks in our direction. It was 8pm. We had spent 20 hours getting here.
We thanked our lucky stars and walked down the pier towards the palapa on the beach sipping our drinks. Jo leaned over in my direction and whispered "I was pretty sure they were going to conk us on the head and throw us overboard and no one would ever know". And another vacation was underway.
Alu was awoken the next morning at an even more uncivilized hour to try again. Due to a scarcity of seats between Austin and Dallas we had to take an earlier flight and then spend five hours in DFW. Another sumptuous breakfast this time at DFW and a train ride around the airport just for fun killed off about a whole hour.
We eventually got to Belize City. Because we had a tight connection from the Belize City airport to our first ferry to San Pedro we had opted to travel with only a couple of carry-on bags. So we were able to walk off the airplane and into a waiting taxi in a few short minutes. Then the taxi driver took it upon himself to get us to the ferry in record time - while discussing his family and previous failed relationships. When we arrived at the terminal it was 430 pm. I commented aloud that it was a pity we had missed the four fifteen San Pedro Belize express ferry. I was hastily corrected that we hadn't and our luggage was quickly piled on to a waiting cart. I went off to buy tickets and suggested that Jo "act like an indian" and push her way to the front of the crowd if we didn't want to wait for another couple of hours for the next ferry. When the ferry appeared turned out to be a regular boat - the type of boat that would take a party of 10 a dozen miles out for a day of deep sea fishing. About a hundred of us boarded this boat and sat like sardines. Then in a cloud of diesel fumes we were off for the hour long trip. Evan clung to Jo while Vivian managed to curl up and sleep on the bench between us.
An hour later we pulled alongside a pier and Jo and the kids and I hopped out. When we reached the end of the pier Jo peered through the evening gloom and read a sign that led her to correctly deduce that the ferry had made an unscheduled stop on another island - Caye Caulker. We hurried back in time to the ferry which by this point had taken on even more passengers and "acted like Indians" again and obtained some seating space. Another hour later - this time in darkness - the ferry slowed and then docked at another peer and we were at the bustling metropolis of San Perdo on the southern tip of the island of Ambergris Caye. Then we met our cab driver George who took us to a grocery store. We bought some supplies (wine, beer, water, chocolate) and then he drove us a hundred yards to another pier with a tiny boat with a outboard motor and a bimini flapping in the wind. We loaded our selves and our supplies and luggage. The captain explained that it was going to be rather rough because the wind had picked up. When he asked "Are you ready for this?" I knew Jo wasn't going to enjoy the ride.
In the darkness sea water and spray whipped us and the boat rose and fell with hard smacks that jolted us out of our benches and slammed us back on the thin cushions till our kidneys complained. Jo and I sat across from each other clutching a child each. I had Evan who was oblivious to everything else except the bag of gummy bears that I was feeding him from. It was a bit of a job to extract a gummy out of the bag while the wind tried to rip the bag out of my hand. Then I tried to time the jolts and slams to increase the chances of a successful hand-off. And finally Evan had to do the same to transfer the gummy to his mouth. Many ended up as fish food. Meanwhile the resorts gave way to jungles and complete and total darkness. Jo clutched Vivian so tightly they breathed as one. Occasionally we'd round another bay and the lights of a resort would break the darkness but we plunged on. Till the very last set of lights after which it was the darkness of the open sea. And the boat slowed and we were at a clean well-lit pier. The boat quickly stopped, the sound of the diesel engine dropped and someone on the pier said "Mr. Arun - Welcome to Sueno Del Mar" and extended a tray with four glasses of drinks in our direction. It was 8pm. We had spent 20 hours getting here.
We thanked our lucky stars and walked down the pier towards the palapa on the beach sipping our drinks. Jo leaned over in my direction and whispered "I was pretty sure they were going to conk us on the head and throw us overboard and no one would ever know". And another vacation was underway.
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