Halloween 2011

This year V was Optimus Prime from Transformers. He has never seen the movie. One of his friends in school brought a transformer toy from show and tell and from then on he is into transformers.

Pity Party For One Please

Well, that's what you do when you are alone in a hotel room with your laptop and no one in sight to talk. You throw yourself a pity party. You can also say to hell with it and go have a real party but then there won't be much to talk about ;).

I'm in Chicago for the week on a work trip. It was very last minute but one that was very much needed. The family was great and supportive and had no problem. Then why the hell am I having a pity party. For one, I am dreading going back home. When I got home after the last work trip, the little brat was waiting for me at the airport with flowers and a big hug and it was super sweet. But then I got, "We didn't miss you much. It didn't matter if you were here or not. V was fine and we did great with out you" from my mom. Ouch. I love you too mom, want me to get out of your way now? I don't think I want to hear anything remotely close to that again , so yes, kind of dreading going back home.

The more I think about it, I wonder if it's 'female brain' thing or if I am having mixed emotions because it's actually the first time I am staying alone without the family around. Funny thing is, I have never heard mom say it when Chaitu or Prabu were travelling (Oh yes, I am comparing and I will:)). It also doesn't help that I get zero calls from home when I am away. It's usually me calling and trying to talk and it's never the right time for a decent 10 minute conversation. Now that my bitch-fest is over, here's the deal. Finally I am at a place where I can honestly say, I love my job. Mother can give me hints but that's when I have to remember that she was born in 1954 and I wasn't.  It's hard to explain to her about the adrenaline rush you get when you accomplish something, so it's easy to bitch about it, shake it off and then go on with the work :). And to quote one of my favorite author, "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

Why I Do What I Do?

I used to sing
Sing to forget the pain
because singing made me happy
One day I stopped
Singing was annoying people

I used to cook
Cook to forget sorrow
because cooking eliminated the bad flavors in my life
One day I stopped
Cooking was not paying my bills

I began to work
I work hard, I work long hours
It gave me recognition
It gave me friends
It gave me money
It gave me happiness

I do not have any guilt
I played the cards I was dealt
I will not take the money to my grave
To say no now is not brave
I will buy that house
I will pay for those diamonds
Stop me if you can
For I am about to rise
Karma will take it all away
And I will be back
Singing, Cooking and Making Money

"I Am A School Ager"

That's what V's been saying for past few weeks. He was so excited about starting kindergarten today. He couldn't sleep last night because, well god forbid sun doesn't rise and he misses first day of school :). It was way too cute to watch him so happy and excited about school. I hope it lasts another few weeks :). Today we had to drive him and we got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. It was only for an hour. Tomorrow my boy will be riding the school bus. It will be from 9 - 1 tomorrow and Monday. From Tuesday onwards it's full time which is 9 - 3 :).

Here's him getting ready for his first day of school today.

"An Affair To Remember"

Couple of months ago I went out to do some grocery shopping leaving the boys alone at home. When I walked through the door V announced that he had dinner and threw up afterwards. I noticed Prabu cleaned up the carpet and was washing V’s clothes. Can I help you, I asked, and my man declined saying he’s got it under control. All was well. Few weeks after that, I took out the big bad vacuum (I have a tiny one I use every other day and keep the big bad one for monthly). I thought the bin was full and decided to empty it out. Boy oh boy! As soon as I opened the bin, I shut it back in and called Prabu at work. I was seeing red by then but was very composed on the phone (Surprise, surprise) ;).

M: Did you use the vacuum 2 weeks ago to clean the carpet when V threw up?
P: No
M: Are you sure? Because I just opened the bin and I can’t even explain.
P: No. Why would I? I used the wet scrubber we have.
M: Ok. Then I guess I have to believe that there are ghosts or something paranormal.
P: What?
M: Well, I didn’t do it, you didn’t do it. But then the vacuum is looking and smelling like hell if you open it. So yeah, I think there are ghosts in the house. It’s ok, I will see you at home.

He came home, went straight to the vacuum. Took it outside, opened it and came back to clean it. I told him to throw the filter out and he has to scrub the bin down. Ok. Awesome. He does it all and comes back to say “Sorry. I think I did use this vacuum that day. You can buy a new one.” Here is where I should tell you that I had my eyes on a new vacuum since last year but didn’t want to argue with, “We Americans are all about the next new thing”. But the second he said you can buy new one, I was all over it. After few days, he says why don’t we just order a new filter instead of a new one. And I was just shaking my head going, “Men”. I got a new filter and all that jazz but I can’t shake the smell out of my head and the feeling of ewww looking at this damn vacuum.

Finally, last night, I decided to have the affair I always wanted to have. Oh yes, you heard that right. I decided to have an affair with ‘The Dyson’. I took the plunge and ordered my new toy. He will be at my door in 5 to 10 days. He promises to clean the house better as long as I promise to guide him through the rooms, the corners, and the hard to reach places. He also said he will be with me for the rest of my life and if I am not satisfied at any point, I can send him back. Come on over in few days, if you want to meet my new boyfriend ;). At $200 less than retail, this will definitely be an affair to remember :).

Finger Puppet Holder

It's ridiculously hot in Phoenix and there is only so much of playing V can do inside the house. So every now and then, I tend to do something fun for him that keeps him occupied for few hours to days (depends on what I make). The jail I made is still going strong in the 'play' department :). I was in a major cleaning/tossing/organizing mood this weekend and noticed these plastic pins that I saved from the flowers I received from sis-in-law for my birthday (don't ask me why I saved them, I do those kind of things). I also had some Styrofoam from the packaging from Ikea. And I present to you finger puppets on flower pins ;). I only had 7 pins so for others I used some cardboard I had. We bought these puppets from Ikea when v was 2 years old and it worked wonders for our drives :).

Ikea does sell the puppet holder that you have to screw into a wall or any other surface. The way I did, I don't need no nails or screws ;). And I don't think I have to tell you that it was a hit with V :)

Chick Hicks In Jail

Few months ago V saw a Police Station/Prison set in a toy store and said, "It's just for looking right. We can't borrow it right". So I told him yes, we can't "borrow" it. I thought I would make him a jail. I made one for him yesterday using some Styrofoam bought at home depot, patterned paper and this wooden "thing" I bought long time ago from Joann's for 59 cents. You can see my lovely ridiculous work. I can't cut things straight for the life of me nor am I that "artsy". The walls used for this jail are made with cardboard from a shoe box (Note to Husband: See how important it is for me to buy shoes ;))

V loved the jail and played with it all day yesterday. Today he called me into his room to show me a "Truck Festival" he is having. It was very cute. He arranged all his trucks on the wooden planks and was explaining about each one to me. After few minutes I thought, "Let me take some pictures." By the time I got the camera and went back to his room, I saw this:

Me: Vikram, what happened to your festival? I was going to take pictures and show it to Attha and mama.
V: Chick Hicks came in and crashed all the cars and trucks
M: That's not nice of him. Didn't you tell him not to crash.
V: I did and he didn't listen to me
M: Well then may be chick hicks would like a little time out
V: Don't worry momma. I put him in Jail. Look here momma.