Homework

For a first grader Vivian has shit loads of homework. And she isn't alone. Eleanor, her neighbor across the street who goes to a different school seems to have even more. It surprises me. On the other hand, once Vivian got into the flow of things, it only takes her about half an hour each evening - which isn't too bad.

Evan used to get bored out of his gourd and bug the crap out of us while Vivian did her homework. But about a week ago I discovered a workbook that Jo had bought a few months ago and Evan and I sat and did his "homework". He loves to do his homework now. Yesterday Jo said "Evan - why don't you watch a cartoon?". "No, mommy - can I do my homework instead?"

Here they are - both doing their home works after dinner tonight.  And there's a puzzle we did on Saturday instead of doing homework. Thanks, Jeanne and Simran for dropping off a box full of puzzles.

Birthday

I celebrated my birthday afternoon on Sunday by taking Vivian to Pump It Up - a jumpy castle place - for a birthday party for Vivian's friend. Nine squealing girls. Two hours. Enclosed spaces. Happy birthday. They turned off the lights and turned on UV lights and really bad 80's disco music. Vivian had a blast.

Leak

Some time back we noticed a spot on the bathroom ceiling. As it doesn't rain here for months at a time, it wasn't until a few weeks ago that the spot turned into a crack with a tiny stream of brown water after a rare shower. Darn flat roof sprang a leak. Jo and I had liked the idea of an upstairs balcony and during the Big Remodel nine years ago we put one in over the bathroom - which necessitated said flat roof.

I called my insurance agent who sent a handyman to give me an estimate. Turned out to be a dud. So today Gunaraj and I started on it ourselves. We took down four huge epay beams and sawed the steel gazebo structure so we could remove the corner post that seems to be the source of the problem. Tomorrow the roofer comes to take a look. Looks like there's extensive internal damage. Big project ahead. But great weather to be outside.

Evan stayed home today because he had a slight fever yesterday. He deftly supervised our work.

Green Card

Yesterday we got two letters from US Citizenship and Immigration Services - one for me and one addressed to my dad. Jo opened mine and said that it sounded like my dad was getting close to his green card. I opened the other, and it said "...It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to permanent resident status to the United States of America...."

When my dad left Hyderabad for Austin last September, he had about two years left on his US visa but his Indian passport was due to expire in six months. After procrastinating till it finally did expire, I had to fill in prodigious amounts of paperwork and then with the aid of very helpful staff at the Indian consulate in Houston he got a new passport (normally temporary visitors from India are expected to renew their passports in India). Then with the help of a young Pakistani-born immigration attorney I started the process of applying for his green card. The attorney mentioned that the lack of a birth certificate (they didn't hand them out in India when my dad was born) would hamper the process. She suggested that I get an affidavit from an older relative who had witnessed or was knowledgeable about my dad's birth. I told her that wouldn't be possible as my dad was the oldest living person in his family. More paperwork and a trip back to the Indian consulate in Houston.

Looks like it all worked out even though it wasn't useful in the end. Oh - and that's a photo of my dad and mom on Alu's motorbike from the early 1980's.