Adventures of Sunny

Sunny(my 6 year old) was invited by my sis-in-law(manna's another sister in Kolhapur) to travel with her family(hubby, 13 year old son) and group of 20 or so friends to Kabini jungle resorts. Manna and I were nervous at first since he has never lived without either one of us. At the same time we were pretty confident that he would love to go since he loves animals so much. I dropped him at sis-in-laws place on 15th morning. They left after lunch to drive to Hubali(town in a state of Karnataka). From there they took a overnight train ride to reach the destination. This was Sunny's first train ride. He loved travelling. He enjoyed the food that was served. In fact I was told that he over ate for every single meal! He also visited Mysor(another town in Karnataka) palace and the Mysor zoo. He saw the palace at night when it was decorated with beautiful nights.
He came back on 19th. 4 very happy days without mom, dad and Chiku. Chiku missed him a lot. Another victory for R2I where kids can visit places with their relatives and develop strong bond with them. I am really grateful to my sis-in-law(SIL) and brother-in-law(BIL) for taking Sunny on a trip. They took great care of him. He would always have fun memories about this trip.
Thanks BIL and SIL!

Hello Again

Hello,
You must be wondering about my where abouts. I am travelling to my Mom's place for kids summer break. We(me, kids, mum-in-law and Didi who works for us) left Gurgaon on 14 th morning at 4:00 am. to get to the airport. I had a 6:00 a.m flight to Bombay. We reached Bombay at around 8:00 a.m. We had breakfast at my sis-in-law's(brother's wife) mom's place. Kids had great time playing with 4 other kids in the house. We had lunch in Pune at my sis-in-law's(this time it is manna's sister) place. As usual she prepared an amazing lunch and kids were pampered like crazy! Around 5:00 ish in the evening we left for Kolhapur to visit my grandmother. By 8:30 p.m we were in Kolhapur. I saw my grandmom(mom's mom) in the hospital and spent time with my mom's side of the family.
From 4:00 a.m in the morning we had visited Gurgaon, Delhi, Bombay, Pune, Kolhapur! But I was not tired. I was happy to see everyone in my family. I was also happy thinking that this is only possible because I moved to India. It has been an incredible move to India so far. Everyone we meet ask us if we are happy and they also ask kids if they miss US. My kids always answer that they do not miss US much and they are really happy in India. That makes me feel very proud about our decision to move to India.
India's slogan for tourism is 'Incredible India'.
It indeed is an incredible country where people do so much for each other.

6 years of motherhood

Suuny turned 6 on May 8th. Of course this was his first birthday in India. As always we wanted to make it the best for him(it is a first child syndrome). So the celebrations started on 7th night night(a day before) when we went to a Jain Temple on the hill where we enjoyed the view of Delhi. He had asked for pasta and garlic bread for dinner that night. He loved the dinner followed by his favorite chocolate ice-cream from Mother Dairy.

On May 8th that day started with lots of gifts. He had wished for a watch since all the kids on the farm have watches and he is the only one who does not one(he claims because of which he does not know when to come home after playing!). Pappa and Mumma gave him a nice Mickey watch. He also received gifts from Chiku and Mummy Ma(Manna's mom). He received lots of phone calls from US, which was also one if his wishes for his birthday since he did not want any of his friends and family to forget his birthday. For lunch he had asked for Idli, Sambar and Chutney(a South-Indian dish). After eating lots of Idlis, we cut the cake when Papa got home early from work. I had baked vanilla cake in my OTG. It turned out really good with added taste of bananas and dry fruits.

Late afternoon we got ready to go to Mall for bowling that Sunny had wished for on his birthday. The bowling alley was wonderful and smoke free (I did not like bowling alleys in US for the same reason). Manna could not bowl with his injured elbow. So it was me and sunny who played the game. I think he is too young(rather not that strong) for the game since he got really tired of throwing balls after few rounds. The wonderful evening ended with dinner at McDonald's(the chain is good in India, even food wise). He loved the day!

The birthday party with his friends was planned for 10th may in Pizza Hut. How can a party be not fun when there are friends, games, PIZZAS, ice-cream and cake! Later that night we opened all the gifts. Thanks to all his friends and moms for wonderful birthday gifts.

Sunny loved his first birthday in India!

This is the list of all places we have chosen to celebrate his birthdays so far

1 st year = At home on the deck with lots of friends and family.

2 nd year = On a Domino's petting farm in Ann Arbor, MI.

3 rd year = At home where a train came to take kids around in the neighbourhood.

4 th year = McDonald's on Michigan Avenue in Canton.

5 th year = At glow in the dark golf place on Ford Roan in Canton.

6 th year = Pizza Hut in DT City center mall Gurgaon.

I am not helpless anymore!

So do you remember that I had some domestic help sent by my mom. Well you also might remember that he left right away. It took me lot of efforts to find the right help. But with all the experimentation I knew that I wanted someone above certain age(I mean lot of times maturity comes with age;-)). So I called the Maid Service where they help you find one. They take their finding fee(valid for 12 months) and they renew the contract after that when you pay the fee again. Simple structure. If you are curious, the finding fee is 1 1/2 times their monthly salary.
So my point is I found a Didi(means older sister, I do not like calling her maid) who is in her mid 30s and has two kids of her own. They stay with her parents in Orissa(a state in India). She left town to earn money since she is a single mom. I tell you she is really smart, she learned how to use all my appliances in one day. She cooks for us, washes our clothes, does whatever is needed in the house except sweeping and mopping. She has picked up all the work in our house in just couple of days. She cooks excellent food and she is caring since she is a mom herself. I have liked her a lot. I think she likes us too since we are a no fuss, well behaved family(don't laugh, these are her words translated in English!). She stays in our house where she has a separate accommodation with attached toilet and bathroom. Also the woman who cleans our house is an excellent one. She is very honest and nice to talk to. Again another too good to be true person in our daily life. So once again let's pray that these two women stay with us for a loooooooog time. That does not mean that I do not have any work, I can always clean my house more!
People is U.S. go empty your dishwasher or vaccum your house!
I am too full to move since Didi made us nice Parathas, Rajma and Salad for dinner.
Cheers, Live Life Kingsize!!

Something to make you jealous

It has just sprinkled out here in Gurgaon. It is not rainy season in Delhi yet but this unseasonal rain is very pleasant. It brought little relief from the heat and dry spell. So why should you be jealous?
I remember as a kid waiting for first rain of the season so I could get soaking wet. Do you remember that peculiar smell of earth after first shower of Monsoon?That is what I am enjoying right now from the sit out of my bedroom. I have my opened my glass door, I can hear the leaves bustling with wind and feel the cool breeze.
Moment like this make me feel glad to be back to my country!
Don't forget to listen to "for a moment like this some people wait a life time!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSSoMw3R-E8

What does Chiku(3 yrs old) think about world poverty?

I saw Chiku washing hands for too long, so I told her "Chiku, do not waste water, there are lot of people in the world who do not get any water at all". Some other day I was putting lotion on her body when she goes "Mumma do not waste lotion, there are lot of people in the world who do not get any lotion"
All I had to say was "Oh I am sorry!"