Running out of bathrooms

Sindhu boycotted one bathroom after seeing two cockroaches in it. Then last night when showering, she spotted another one, she ran out midway through her shower. Two bathrooms down. Later she told my mother that she'll only be using the guest bathroom from now on. I don't have the heart to tell her there will likely be cockroaches there too.  I need to get the exterminator but we're still surrounded by so many boxes. If I don't take action soon, Sindhu may move out. I can't blame her, I want to move out.

Annual Day

Rushil's elementary school had their annual day last week. Sindhura is in middle school hence did not participate. Rushil was very excited about the acrobatic dance he performed with his classmates, he was particularly proud of the finale, they did repeated cartwheels and ended with the splits. He practiced and showed-off his splits skills repeatedly the weekend before and had trouble walking for two days :-)

It was an impressive event with each grade representing a different country. At the end, the entire school was on stage (1st grade through 5th) and they all belted the school song and national anthem.. I felt  slightly emotional that it will likely be their last annual day at the school.

I have also added pictures of the school and the grounds, these were taken a couple of months ago.

Show took place at the school's outdoor amphi-theatre.

Rushil is in the front to the right.  The lighting was poor so we couldn't get good pictures.

The Dreaded Move

So we finally moved to our new apartment this weekend. It was a painful move. We're trying to fit everything we had in a 4 bedroom apartment into a 3 bedroom one. We have tons of boxes in storage and I'm not sure what to do with them. It's not just the extra bedroom we're missing, it's all the storage space, a larger kitchen and larger living room. Even the movers were skeptical about whether we would have enough space. I'm sitting here surrounded by boxes and furniture we have nowhere to fit.

You would think that since we're moving within the same complex that the move would have taken less time but it took 3 days, more than any other move we've experienced. Today, the moving company forgot about us and we had to threaten to not pay in order to get them to send a team. They sent the "finisher", he quickly got things into order and wrapped it up. He apparently moved us from our old home to our apartment almost 2 years ago with another moving company and can you believe he recognized me, what are the chances?

I feel like I've had to yell so much in the past few days to get things done. The satellite dish guy, the internet guy, the movers, the electrician, the cleaners, perhaps things could have gone smoother if I called them earlier.

There is a lovely view from our living room of the Bellandur Lake and the breeze in the mornings and evenings cools down the apartment far more than our other place. The lake hosts sewage so I'm sure when it rains, we'll get a much stronger whiff of the lake now that we're directly facing it.

Last night, Sindhu spotted two cockroaches in the bathroom and screamed so loud, we were sure, she was badly hurt. I need to find a good exterminator in the next couple of days after we get rid of some more boxes.  I dread going into the bathroom at nighttime and Sindhu has altogether boycotted that bathroom. She is upset that she doesn't officially have her own room and we combined S & R's stuff into one room, she's coming around though and will adjust in a few days. I see her point though, she does need her space and also needs somewhere quiet to do her homework.

Unpacking is going to take forever as we're disposing of things and it takes much longer when you have to actually go through the items. I've given away so many books, Prasad is annoyed that I accumulated so many children's books in the last few years. Since I'm so attached to them, I have to find the right owner for each one, I almost feel like I need to share the experience I had reading those books to S & R.

Oh and one more gripe, the cell coverage is poor on the 10th floor, it was far better on the 7th, I hope there will be less mosquitoes as compensation. And the light and fan switches, they are in the remote corner of the room and of course, there are a dozen of them in each room and most covered by boxes. We really could have done without this move, what a pain!  I'm thankful that my parents are here, they have been so helpful.

US Visit

I was a little worried about driving my rental as soon as I landed in San Francisco.I was jet lagged, I haven't driven in 9 months and barely in the last 3 years, and I am not used driving an SUV but I managed.I actually enjoyed the freedom. See, I can manage without my driver who does all our groceries, runs errands and pays our bills, and drives us around too, who am I kidding?!? I had a wonderful time in the US. The main purpose of the visit was taken care of during the first two days. I shopped, I visited our house, experienced some fine dining, was a little freaked out by how competitive the schools were but the best part of the trip was feeding my soul. I spent 3 nights at Krithiga's and 3 nights at Sri's place and we spent countless hours catching up. I went to a few girl's night outs with both playgroups, lunches and birthday parties, and it was so much fun! I am so looking forward to moving back, it feels right to be back in the US. Many people ask Prasad why we are moving back, India is the place to be, blah, blah, blah, but how many people really move here because of that? Most move because of their families, many stay because of all the help they can get, some move because they think India is a good place to raise their children but very few because of the booming economy although it is a bonus. I and the kids are ready but Prasad is not sure, he will probably have the biggest adjustment.

I can't believe they can be so tiny!

My cousin delivered a baby girl less than 2 weeks ago. I couldn't visit them in the hospital before my trip to the US but we went to see her yesterday. I couldn't believe how tiny she was!  She was so adorable and she even stayed awake for us for a couple of minutes! Rushil quietly sat next to me  as I held her in my arms and stared at her in awe. When I finally handed her off to her my mother, he sat in my lap for a few minutes. Her 4 year old brother, Prachet sets the rules in the house and decides who can hold her and who can't, he's mainly worried someone will take her away so only the trusted are allowed to hold her. Although Prachet hardly interacts with me, fortunately, I made it on his list. When I was in the US, I  picked up at least one outfit from practically every store I went to, the infant clothes are so cute, it was hard to resist buying even more.  

Rushil's 8th Birthday

We celebrated Rushil's birthday a day early since he couldn't wait till next weekend and I was going to the US on his actual birthday. He asked me to send him birthday wishes first thing in the morning and to make him a card. My father put together this sweet card with pictures of sports figures and had us sign it.  Sindhu ran to the store with her dad this morning and picked up a fountain pen and made him her special popup card. My parents bought him a new tennis racket and clothes. He received a bey blade stadium and lego set from us.  The party was held at Decathlon, this massive European sports store that recently started hosting birthday parties on their front lawns.  We selected 45 minutes of soccer and 45 minutes of athletic games but the kids mainly played soccer. I have not seen so much juice and water consumed at a party.  They had so much fun, if we were here for another year, I'm sure we would throw the very same party next year.  The coach who managed the sports for the party was a student from France and was very personable and easygoing. We ran into a few snags along the way. Rushil's soccer ball cake collapsed from the heat and we had to order a cake midway through the party, fortunately he took it well, probably because he had such a good time. The cake was delicious but just looked like a mess.The best part about having a party at a store, is that I bought the goodie bags during the party since hardly anyone RSVPs  so you really don't have a good idea of the headcount.   I bought sports t-shirts for everyone and I was able to buy the right size for each child and had no worries of running out of shirts or buying too many. It was exhausting to be out in the sun all day but it was well worth it to see that smile on his face especially after he scored a goal and ran his victory lap.

Rushil's personalized and probably most favourite birthday present

Prasad was lamenting that we couldn't find any good Nadal posters in Barcelona when Rushil's tennis coach suggested that we could make our poster. Suraj designed the poster and gave it to Rushil as a birthday gift. Isn't that sweet or what? 

Fashion Tips from a 3rd grader

One of the girls that I tutor at Parikrma has been giving me fashion tips.

Student :  Akka (they call all the female teachers/tutors akka which means elder sister), are those the only chappals you have?
Me: You don't like them?
Student: (She crinkles her nose and waves her head)

Next day

Student: Is that the only shirt you have? 
I wore the same kurti twice in the last month.
A few minutes later.
Student: You know you will slip and fall when you walk down the stairs if you wear those sandals

Well I agree with her but she's the one who told me that I needed to change my chappals the day before.

Poor Culinary Skills

Yesterday I went to work to catch up with my colleagues. At lunch, someone asked me if the kids are enjoying me being at home and if they are savouring my cooking.  I laughed and said, no not really, cooking is really not my thing. Yesterday evening, I picked up a brownie mix and pizza dough since I felt guilty. Not that using a  brownie mix and pre-made pizza dough is really cooking. I burnt the bottom of the pizza, granted, I was cleaning up and probably left it in there too long. Now I know why people use timers, I have always said, timers, shwimers, who needs them!?!  Today I tried my hand at making brownies, I was little more successful but still the bottom was slightly burnt and the brownies were not as sweet as the ones you get in the US. When S&R are adults, they will probably not have any fond memories of my cooking and not crave anything. I don't know if they'll even let me into their kitchen. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

A Reluctant Move

It's been awhile since I've posted anything,.  It's not that things are slow on the homefront.  It's actually the contrary. The owners of our apartment are moving back to India so we're being booted out. We've been frantically looking for an apartment. We've finally found a place but it's a 3 bedroom so we'll need to fit our stuff into a smaller apartment. Our main criteria is to stay at the same complex since the kids love it here and we can't imagine living anywhere else. We've sold a few pieces of furniture to ease the transition from a 4 bedroom spacious apartment, I'm trying to sell Sindhu's Ikea set but still no buyer.  I may put our baker's rack on sale, we never had a good place for it at our home in Fremont and it's sitting in our storage room in this apartment so I think it's time to give it up. It'll be hard though, I've had it for 15+  years and I still love it! I have a lot more things to get rid of, I'm a bit of a pack rat so it's not going to be an easy task and one I don't enjoy doing.

Next week, I'll be in the US for a short trip and then we'll move a couple of days after I get back. It'll be a crazy month, actually the next few months will be crazy.