i am glad that you did not name me loquacious

this morning was a blur but the kids are apparently ready for their next adventure up north. both know that we are going but have little sense of time. K had another difficult drop off. she was very sad but i think she perked up quickly. R seemed eager to be at school though he was disappointed that there was not much time to read and journal.

the first year students arrived today. it was a mess on campus. we picked the kids up and went to the cheese shop. R was very excited -- it is a favorite destination. we grabbed some pizza and headed home. R was talking nonstop, K was contradicting and I was trying to tell Ruskin about some college news. Ruskin commented that sometimes R, K, and I are talking at the same time, the radio is on, and he is trying to think. i told him he did not need to think! poor ruskin. we all may be more desai than hunt in this matter.

K is just in a contradictory mode. no matter what anybody says, the answer is no. she was very excited today when i picked her up on the playground. steph, on the of the teachers, had found a frog. she was also thrilled because we walked out with her friend griffin who is a sweet gentle boy that has been in the same bungalow with her since she was about 8 months old. they ran to their respective cars while holding hands.

R was asking his usual ton of questions and i remarked that perhaps he should have been named jigna (meaning curiosity) and ruskin commented perhaps he should be named loquacious. R of course wanted to know what that meant. and when i replied "talkative." he said no i do not like that. i like my name.

today is also short as i have to finish packing and doing work and it is late. i am not sure what kind of internet access we will have up north so it may be sporadic until we return. this is our next minnesotan adventure this week -- a place on lake superior for the weekend. what else is left to qualify us as midwesterners? do we have to eat hotdish, say uff-da, or become packers fans? i think this may be as far as i can go!

as a consolation for the short text, here are some photos from the party... the first few are of R the paleontologist and the others of bday cake consumption
more to come

"real" minnesotans

the proof of R and K's Minnesota upbringing is slowly being established. yesterday was their third state fair (pretty impressive for a 2 year old). And they had the required fair food (fried cheese curds and mini-donuts) and visited the required sites of the fair (miracle of birth center for baby animals, machinery hill for old and new tractors, the circus train, and some crafts of the 4H variety). it was a good and exhausting time. so much so that mom and dad fell asleep. mom first in the rocking chair in R's room. Dad on the sofa. I joined ruskin on the sofa where we both slept until 4:30 AM when roomba turned on. so we turned it off and went to sleep. The nights of 2-4 hours of sleep caught up to us. the end of the summer crush is hitting us hard.

the kids had a great time with auntie hot hot at the fair -- she has been going since she was a wee one. i think going with her will be an annual tradition. the fair certainly draws a cross-section of MN. there were many Asian Americans, Chicano and Latino families, and GLBT folks around. not as many somali and african american Minnesotans which is interesting. but it was the perfect day and it is interesting to think about how this will shape my children's understanding of themselves and their childhoods. we aren't in ahmedabad anymore by any means. my children are not immigrants like my parents and i were. nor are they closer to the immigrant experience like my brother and sister. they are on their own paths. i hope i am well equipped to help them.

daddy would like some chocolate covered bacon

Up late and up early. sense a theme? R had acrobat class at 7:30 this morning! 7:30! only the elementary school kids are usually up that early. I do not know how the little 5 year olds catch the bus at 7am. yikes. i guess we should get used to it because this is one of our possible futures. our favorite local school starts at 7:30 i think. our trick for last night was to have him sleep in his clothes, so he only had to put on his shorts and shoes in the morning, and then eat breakfast in the car and at the center. he did great! but this is not a good strategy for the long term.

we were listening to public radio talk about the democratic national convention on the way to the appointment and R was very excited.
R: "mommy they are talking about obama! is he going to be our next president and will george bush leave the white house?"
Me: " I sure hope so."
R: "how will we know?"
Me: "well if everyone votes for him, then he will win."
R: "let's go vote mommy."
me: "soon kiddo"

He had a good appt. megan the OT/acrobat teacher said that he has already made some progress. so the bear walking and crab walking are working. ruskin and i have tried to make sure we work with him. R was so excited about being there. he told megan that he had to grow big and strong so that he could climb up and down on his bed. he also talked about the different acrobats in the olympics -- especially the divers and the gymnasts and he asked if she could teach him to do that. he talked non-stop to her. but his jumping, upper arm strength, and pinching grasp were clearly stronger. i was very pleased to see the progress in a month. we have to do more handwriting skill development however. it was clear that this was the least exciting to him. he gets bored and/or discouraged because it does not engage him enough. so we will work on it. i think the idea is to make it more fun just like the gross motor exercises that we have been doing. For some reason, i have a more difficult time wanting to do the writing exercises. i know about the handwriting without tears program . and megan will do some of the program as they advance into his therapy. but i suppose i need to do it at home as well.

K had a hard drop-off. this age is very funny. she seems to see me as her personal assistant. i should be available at all times and we should never be separated. her desire to be autonomous and assert her independence is balanced/countered by wanting as much contact as possible -- "i want you now -- NO."

Ruskin picked up R and went to the auto store to pick up a light bulb for the car taillight. K and i walked to the car slowly. she must have maxed out her being away from me as she was quite clingy as soon as i finished making dinner. she did not even make it through her mac and cheese before she wanted me to hold her. "mommy next, sit next." and then she asked for bed. though it was not exactly because she was sleepy.

R was fragile as i had expected. it took him a while to calm down and eat. he was upstairs by 8 and lights were out by 8:45. he delayed quite a bit but was quite tired. he seemed to fall asleep around 9:45 or 10. i wish it was 9:30 but i will take 10.

he woke K up because he wanted to give me a kiss. hard to mad at the kiddo for that. R is excited about going to the state fair tomorrow. (this is how i got him to go to bed and stay there.) i told him that we could have mini-donuts there. he asked if we were going to bring home chocolate bacon for dad. nice to know he thinks of his dad and wants him to experience the newest in food trends. i guess we will be buying some tomorrow at the state fair. and for those who know ruskin and his penchant for saying pickle juice, here is an article that mentions that both chocolate covered bacon and frozen pickle juice pops will be available at the state fair this year!

i am sitting here listening to michelle obama. and i have to say it is moving and very exciting!

all the athletes are kissing me!

Today was a big day. Last night Ruskin and I stayed up watching the last disc of season 1 of the television show damages after i prepped the food for the party. We were up far too late and yet it was a treat to see each other and relax. We were up early to get ready for the big extravaganza -- a joint birthday party for mira and r. there was not much prep this morning but since the party started at 10:30 and we were hosting, it made sense that we needed to leave the house by 9:30 with all of our stuff. which meant that the kids got to sleep in but we did not.

R and K both woke up happy and excited about the party. it made for more or less calm morning though they seemed a little bit touchy with each other. overall, it went smoothly with both of them calm enough to eat their breakfast. we were the first ones to arrive and it was a lovely location -- a playground and park building at lake hiawatha park. it was great -- there was a terrific playground that was quite deluxe, a pool, bike lanes, and a lake. This is a park that masee and uncle tom will need to visit by hooking up the trailer to their bike and taking the kids.

mira arrived soon after and she and R ran around like mad men. it was great to see them so excited. several of our friends were kind enough to bring balloons and banners so it was quite festive. thank you tracy and david.

soon the kids were running around everywhere and having a good time. we brought a fossil dig which is basically a big block of compacted sand embedded with plastic dinosaurs. the kids had chisels, hammers, and brushes as they played paleontologists. here are some photos that mira's dad jeff took. we will try to load up some later this week,

R enjoyed the fossil dig and was quite silly the rest of the time. he was quite excited and beside himself. he was happy to see his friends and he enjoyed the activities. i think having a party is good for his self esteem. after a while we all headed in for food, cake, and pinata time. R could not resist the frosting before the candles. It is nice to see him wanting the cake -- he usually is not that interested. all the kids enjoyed the pinata and were scrambling to pick up starburst candies, slinkies, and other goodies. overall, the party was a success. the location was great, people were relaxed and seemed to enjoy themselves, and the kids had a blast. both k and r needed a nap after the party.

we had a jaunt after nap for a little shopping (groceries, ikea, etc.). the kids ate some of their dinner in the car and we came home and settled in to watch the end of the olympics. R loved the closing ceremonies and K pointed out different features. it was nice to see him deriving so much pleasure from watching acrobats, drummers, and stilt jumpers. K liked the music and all of the unusual floating drums. R also enjoyed the highlights they played of swimming, gymnastics, and swimming as well as watching the athletes enter the stadium. he was adamant that they were all kissing him as they walked by the cameras and waved, kissed, and signaled their greetings.

after k finished her bath, i snuggled her while Ruskin finished with R. She was a bit scared of being in the back room (her room) and looking out the window. She was a little freaked out when she heard noises back there even though i explained it was just her dad in the yard. she is at the stage where she is developing fears. it is a little hard to watch my fearless child be scared. but i know that it is part of development.

R was awake at 10:30 asking for me to check on him. He sent several messages via his father indicating that he was waiting for me. his deferral tactics are annoying but he is darn cute. we have an impossible 7:30 OT appointment tomorrow. it has been a lot of activity lately and i look forward to a break this week. just one week with full day care and no appts would be so nice! but the party was worth it. it took some coordination but it was double the fun for the kids.

naps help, right?

I have been putting K to sleep the last two nights and it is so much easier. She climbs around, reads her book with you, and then pretty much falls asleep on top of you. I am not sure how sleeping on top of the parent started. Perhaps Ruskin can tell us about that one. But I can just snuggle her and then she falls asleep. It is quite luxurious and even though we would like her to transition out of our bed, she is quite a snuggly bundle and we know that this does not last forever. so i certainly tried to cherish and enjoy it while i have it. I woke up around midnight and came down to write the blog. I might have been tempted to stay in bed otherwise, but my audience was waiting!

I wrote the blog, looked for space sheets (not easy to find let me tell you!), and did some work. Ruskin went up around 1:30 but I ended up being up til 3:30 or 4. I know I will pay for that one. R joined us in the morning around 6 or 7 and K did not really go back to sleep after that. So it was a short night of sleep. How quickly you get used to it again. k and I woke everyone around 8:30 to try to keep the sleeping schedule somewhat regular. I decided it was a pastry morning, so we all piled into the car and drove to my favorite local bakery -- Rustica. the pastries are extremely buttery and light. yum. we had coffee/milk, pastries, and sausage with cheese for breakfast. everyone seemed happy and satisfied.

well perhaps we were sated. not quite happy. the mail line to the sewer is clogged again. we seem to suffer from this issue more than anyone else i know. it is a difficult matter as we cannot use the water as the sewage comes back up the basement sink. ruskin had a long list of house infrastructure things to do so i had the kids. we worked upstairs. R has not had a chance to try his bed as we are still in need of sheets. but there are other things going on so no time for me to go. he contentedly played with his birthday present from nani and nana. K found R's Thomas the Tank engine sandals and spent a good amount of time trying to put those on by herself. She did very well, though often getting the sandals on the wrong feet. i am still in the process of reorganizing the upstairs though things are kind of stuck as we have to make a few decisions. There is now a surplus of furniture and things are a bit crowded. K and R practiced climbing up and down into their "space station." This went well for the most part. She would try to do everything he did. It was cute. However, at one point, she did pull his hair something fierce. I was surprised at how angry I felt her as she did not seem to notice him crying. Usually she is very sensitive to his crying and tells me when he is having a hard time.

We got some more things cleaned up. The kids trooped down to have lunch. R put away more saag paneer, pita bread, cheese, and some cookies. K ate some rice and saag paneer but seemed not too hungry. I took her upstairs and she was out in 5 minutes. I came back, R finished his lunch and we read two books and he was out in 5 minutes. I guess everyone needed a nap. I took a shower and thought I was going on errands but Ruskin needed to go to the hardware store so I cleaned the porch (this part of the blog is not so exciting is it?). Meanwhile K woke up fairly happy but a little overwhelmed. she is afraid of roomba the vacuum cleaner. we cleaned, played, and read her elmo book.

R woke up from his nap fairly happy. we gathered things up and headed to auntie hot-hot's house. she and mr. springfield had generously invited us over for grilling. i figured it was the right way to end our day. it has been awhile since we had been there and both kids were quite excited. K was initially shy despite her excitement, but she warmed up quickly. They both had been cooped up all day and clearly needed to ran around with a lot of energy. we helped assemble some kebabs. mh ran around with the little fiends. It was a chilly evening and we can feel the impending autumn. How quickly it comes.

R had some difficulty with dinner and refused to eat some very safe foods. it took him quite a while to come around. eventually he did. i was a little surprised by the whininess and hedging. usually at mh's he behaves quite well. eventually he ate and ate quite a bit. he enjoyed auntie's zucchini bread and said that it tasted like the banana bread at school. we caught the end of the men's marathon which was quite exciting. the gold and silver winners were no where near each other. the bronze race was quite an upset. The fourth place runner came from behind and outran his fellow countrymen in the last quarter lap. it was exciting and heartwrenching. the one who came in third clearly was just trying to hang in there but could not sprint at the end. despite the heat, the olympic record was broken. tim had a friend running in the 5000m but we missed it as we had to come home and put the kids to bed.

K was clearly tired and very sensitive as we came home. R was extremely chatty. he asked a million questions about downtown, directions, what businesses do, etc. K was asleep quickly but R was still up at 10:45 -- tomorrow will be interesting. We will have to leave the house early to get ready for R and Mira's joint birthday party.

muck and cheese please

oops morning number 2. Ruskin turned off the alarm and everyone woke up at 8:30. we had a picnic teacher appt at 9 am. so it was a mad scramble to the car. we made it! Ruskin and K went and had a nice breakfast together at the Egg and I. R enthusiastically went to see Laura. he is a funny eater. he ate his sausage, and then surprisingly his next preferred option between saag paneer and a broccoli and cheese pocket was tons of saag paneer which we called indian cheese and green dip. we often are creative with the food to make it less difficult, and at one point, he hid the cheese in the muck (mud) and scooped it out to eat. and then he started calling it muck and cheese. my soon is now eating saag paneer. this does not make it easier for us to go to a party but he can now eat something that is important to me. laura says that he is eating age appropriate and we do not need to come any more. we have one more appt scheduled. i have mixed feelings about this. he eats so much more and is willing to eat more. he made a long speech at laura's in which he thanked for helping him eat new foods. he also thanked his parents who help him eat new foods. and he added: i eat all the colors of the rainbow and i did not used to do that but i do now. he said that it makes him big and strong. he was so self aware and proud. i am sure he has heard us talk about it. but i also think he has thought about it himself. he was certainly proud of his progress. on the other hand, when we went to the barbecue tonight, i noticed he does not eat tomatoes, salad, corn, or couscous. but this might also be pretty typical for narrow eaters. hence he may no longer be clinical, just narrow. we also talked about how nani will be so surprised that he is eating muck and cheese and will make him some. he said that nani will be surprised because she does not know that i call it muck and cheese. she won't know what i am talking about. well now you do nani! and you will have to make some for him when you come to visit. we are thinking that armed with his like for saag paneer, pita bread, and some samosa like objects, we are ready to hit the indian restaurant. maybe tomorrow?

after that, the kids played on ICD playground for a short time and then declared they were hungry. we headed to the seward co-op for lunch. R wanted more muck and cheese. after a potty break and trying to take turns with the mini shopping cart, we settled down for lunch. K had selected rice biriyani from the deli area, and as i went to get the napkins, R dropped the saag paneer on the floor. poor kid was upset. luckily we were in the grocery store so it was quickly replaced and much spinach was eaten by all.

we picked up dad after his meeting and K fell asleep in the car. I took R to the dentist for his check-up. mostly doing a good job. we did not get xrays as he could not bite down. i don't blame him. i don't like having the film in my mouth either. the visit was enjoyable for him -- as he told the hygienist : i am very curious. R had questions about everything. he told her that he knew about xrays. asked about her mask and glasses, about mr thirsty and mr sunny, about the communication panel, about the instruments, about the chair, about the toothpaste, about pretty much anything he saw. the dentist was kind also and it was a positive trip for him. he just likes to interact with adults. to celebrate his teeth, we went and got him a donut from the franklin bakery. it felt very janet evanovich (mystery writer).

K had a nice long nap. R was fortunate enough to have masee join us. she had the pleasure of R all to herself and got to play legos with him for a while. he showed her his new bed and was incredibly silly and sleep deprived. K woke up and had some masee to herself too. at one point, both of them were climbing on her. it is good for what ails you. they were extremely happy with her visit. and so were we. i did a little work.

tonight we had a barbecue to attend at jo and kevin's home. i had not told R that mira would be there. but she was waiting for him quite excitedly. they ran around like crazy. k was subdued and shy as she usually is in these situations. we sat everyone down and ate. r did manage to eat. but he and mira are so wacky when they are together. anyway, he had fun seeing her and exploring the house. they have a huge and lovely home that the kids love to play in. we came home and everyone had sleep prep and were out pretty soon after including me. i was up a lot the night before between 2:45-3:45 as R got up about 8 times. so i was quite tired today. ruskin literally had to clean the sewage out of the basement sink and did the dishes while the rest of us were zonked out. thanks ruskin.

here are some more pictures from august. i like the one of grandma sue personally.

staying home is super-good

last night i was not sleepy. tired yes, but sleepy no. some work stress has been nagging at me and the anthology is slow moving. i was up very late. and this morning, ruskin left without remembering that R had music class. he woke me several times but i was out cold. so the kids and i woke 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave. well you can imagine that this was not popular. R is so sincere and tries so hard. K is just peppy and ready to go. Despite the stress of making it out the door, we got to music class on time. R and K had soy sausages and blueberry muffin in the car. i did not get my dose of caffeine, but there was nothing to be done about it. we arrived in the nick of time. k and i wandered around the school and outside. she was curious and cautious. we drank from 3 different water fountains and she asked several times about her brother with concern. what a considerate sister. R mentioned that earlier this morning as well. when he helped her with her shoes, i said you are a kind and caring brother. he said that K was a kind sister too.

R had a good class and was quite happy. his music therapist had lavish praise about him and really said that he was a sensitive and caring boy. we agree! she said he was empathetic and showed concern about others as well as advocated for himself. i am happy to hear that. while the class was not the best fit, he really enjoyed it and was asking kathy about when the next class is. he was quite vocal about wanting to do it again next summer.

the next destination was the library which was closed. so that put a kink in our plans. we tried another branch and that too was closed. so we stopped by a grocery store for snacks and then went to the dollar store to prepare for the upcoming bday party. pinata stuffings were acquired and we finally made it to the library. by then it was noon and we were hot and hungry. but the east lake library was a nice cool treat. it is rarely packed and has a nice but contained children's section. many books were selected along with a sequel to alphabet rescue and a sequel to scrambled states of america. the latter is highly recommended.

more snacking occurred on the way home. Ruskin called as we were in the parking lot but it was not possible to talk while minding two children in the heat in a high traffic area. thus our conversation was deferred. naps were a little hard to come by. R rested peacefully in his bed, but K was all riled up and climbing all over me and trying to read. finally, she fell asleep. R and i worked on putting away his books in his new bookshelves on his bed. eventually he woke K up. i almost got her back to sleep but it was quite farcical as R popped in every few minutes to check to see if i was done and woke her up again. after about 20 minutes, i gave up and we all joined R in his room. mostly the kids cooperated and R was excited about working on getting his room ready.

we went downstairs on the late side and i unpacked all the farm veggies to try to get a farm fresh meal on the table. we had a nice dinner of sauteed chard and zucchini, fresh salsa, corn on the cob, soy chicken nuggets, and cucumbers. the kids had spanokopita and enchilada. k also had about 2 out of our 3 ears of corn -- just like her dad would have done. during dinner, ruskin came home and ate. then the kids had a nice long time to play. k and i read grandma joyce's present -- a new thomas book. and R looked at grandma joyce's really cool present of aquasaurs (tadpole shrimp). we decided not to try them out yet as we are going out of town next week and we do not want to have to have masee come feed our crustacea. so we will wait until we return. we also opened nani and nana's other bday present of Knex blocks. a good time was had by all.

bed time was smooth. R had had no nap so he fell asleep around 9:30. if only every night was like that! k was out by 9 or 9:15. it is early and things are quiet. i have a headache as predicted. but it was a good day. or super-good as my son says. we had a few rough spots but the kids were great and eager. i could have used about 15 minutes of quiet and some more caffeine. but all in all everyone enjoyed themselves.

happy belated raksha bandhan

In India, there is a holiday Raksha Bandhan celebrated on the full moon of the month of Shraavana. The full moon was Saturday, the day we were in transit. Unfortunately, we were unable to celebrate it as we were exhausted and had not had a chance to go to the temple or the grocery store to get any rakhis. It is a holiday celebrating the bond between siblings, specifically between brothers and sisters (either by blood or by affiliation). The sister ties a rakhi (blessed decorative thread) around the brother's wrist wishing him a long and happy life. He reciprocates by presenting her with gifts and offering his protection. I like the sentiment of celebrating sibling bonds. Growing up, I was quite pleased that Hinduism recognized this relation (one that is not celebrated in American culture with mother's day, father's day, etc.). However, I found it not very egalitarian as I wondered why the brothers were wished long lives and the sisters were not. I also found the symbolic and material exchanges interesting. Of course, women are more vulnerable in a patriarchal society in which women go to live in their husband's family. Hence, the protection of a brother is a supposed safeguard. Quite fascinating. Anyway, a long and happy life to Rakesh and R from myself and K. R has worn a rakhi before (tied by his masee) and seemed to like it so I am disappointed that I was unable to go to get one for him and his uncle.

We are trying out the new less-nagging, more consequence meal time. Breakfast led to some disappointment for R as he did not quite comply with the rule. By dinner he had it down. I think it will work better in the long run. We are setting the timer for about 30 minutes and giving him a plate of food. about half way through, we specify how much he has to eat to receive his sticker. when he has a few stickers, he gets a treat (watching volcanos or hurricanes on youtube for example).

we got everyone to daycare. i really like engineers. it feels more like a kindergarten environment. R seems to like it as well. he read and did a little drawing in his journal today. K had a difficult drop off because i went in twice. but she seemed so happy, proud, and confident before she saw me so i know she is thriving. she had a good day and was a little wired and energetic when i picked her up. Dad and R were in preschool bungalow gathering their things. There was some whining in the car while the kids snacked on dad's leftover french fries and some blueberry muffin. But mostly R was in inquisitive mode. Why this and why that. K was practicing toddler independence -- NO!

After the initial chaos of coming home, the kids settled down to eat, read, and talk. Ruskin ran around outside with the neighbors for a few minutes while the kids ate. R did well, eating a decent quantity and variety of food within the given time frame with minimum prompting. hooray! Afterwards, K and I did a Costco run for the bday party on Sunday. She was quite
excited to go to the "mum-mum store." she was quite chatty and we had a fun time. R stayed home and worked on his bed with his dad. i think it is complete! Ms. K decided she wanted to call her masee -- her conversation was primarily her pretending to chat (a di-di di-di, hmm ah hmm) with much gesturing and nodding. this is amusing in person but really funny to watch her do on the phone. poor masee could not figure out if she was saying anything or not. k went through the list of all the people that she misses today -- nani, nana, rocky mama, grandma sue, and sarah (previous teacher). "miss nani." "ball mama."

bedtime went well. everyone had some bathing and book time. k and i snuggled. she was tired but somehow still energetic. i fell asleep. Ruskin read with R and seemed to enjoy their time together. By the way, R did practice going up and down his bed. He is a little rusty but it is good for him. Ruskin said that we asleep some time after 10pm. so vague data tonight. it will take a little while to get back. not a bad day! now 4 days without daycare. i have them both tomorrow alone from 8:30 to 7 so wish me luck!

and miles to go before we/they sleep...

today is a short blog. the morning was uneventful. R spilled water on his bed last night and had to change his pj's and have his sheets changed. he was certainly tired this morning and reluctant to wake up. everyone got to the center at a reasonable time. R seemed happy to be in engineer's and happily perused his magic school bus books next to other kids who were drawing or reading. linda the teacher explained that he had his own journal that he could write or draw in if he chose. he declined to draw and chose to read. K had another difficult drop off and sat in leann's lap for a while getting settled in.

both seemed to have good days and R's cubby is now on the engineer side so it feels official. the outcome of our behavioral ped appt was a little unclear. we know the sleep-tantrum correlation, but it is not clear what we are to do pragmatically to help the situation. R slipped into a tantrum phase when it was time to leave the appt. i could not tell if it was hunger or fatigue or both.

our new strategy is to have a tangible rather than verbal consequence to his infractions. so we did our best to explain an outcome for his behavior. i am unsure of whether or not it worked but i explained a consequence and he was disappointed and frustrated and struggling but somewhat compliant. but of course at this point everything was a trigger for further tantrums.
we made it through some dinner for both of them and then had to go to a farewell party for ruskin's officemate lyric.

we could tell that they (and i say they because K is a mimic and will try whatever R does) would be volatile or labile at the party. i thought that a change of routine and place might also help them veer in the other direction and be somewhat silly and giddy. and yes that was the outcome.

in some ways, it was an entirely predictable evening. when he is tired, he alternates between extreme silliness and extreme disappointment. luckily the party at aunt katie's had inside and outside space for running around and playing. they both got to burn off some energy. after an adequate amount of running around, nibbling, and socializing, we took advantage of a quiet moment and whisked them to the car. everyone managed to get home without too much difficulty. R was quite chatty and talked about harry potter, magic, the st paul waterworks, and all sorts of ideas about animal rescues. it is just great when he is not whining or screaming.

bedtime rituals were quick. it is 10 pm and i think he will be asleep soon -- say 10:30. if we can tackle earlier sleep times, then the next challenge is shorter mealtimes with less nagging. both of these would improve our quality of life greatly. we are tired.

ahh ... daycare

The kids seemed to sleep well and be happily adjusting to being at home. They slept deeply. R woke up around 6:30 but dozed on and off until about 7:15. They both had some breakfast knowing that the more appealing food was coming. We tried out our "regular" schedule and with the lure of french toast sticks had everyone at school early. R was excited about being an engineer and returning to his life. We stopped by his bungalow first and let him adjust back to the space. Two weeks is a long time in toddler and preschool land. He was excited and shared his cicada and dragonfly with Kathy. She is very supportive of the kids bringing in nature stuff. He also had a magic school bus book to share. When mira arrived, R excitedly said hi and told her about his new bed. She was not very interested. ruskin and i worry about him and his experience still. K had a hard time returning as well. Luckily both Kelli and Leann were there and very few kids. They helped her out and she was still crying when we closed the door.

Ruskin and I were home by 9 and working by 9:05. It felt good to tackle the long list of "to do" items. But somehow there were not enough hours. Besides working on the anthology, planning for R and mira's party, and putting together R's bed, i did hours of email and other administrative tasks. Ruskin worked on his article and then assembled the huge and heavy bed.

When i picked up the kids, all the preschoolers were on the engineer's side playing. R was playing with Tyler making jet packs and very happily came along to go home. he spent most of the day in engineer's. he seemed quite content and had had a good day. k also had a good day. she had stayed close to the teachers but was happy and talkative. she played at the sand table and told the teachers she had played in the sand at the beach but had not gone in the ocean. she also ate her peas and liked them. we walked out with tyler and elle. all the kids ran around and we found out that tyler's last day is wednesday as he will be starting high 5 which is a pre-k program run by the public schools. it seems that many people do this and like it. it is free! R will miss tyler.

at home there was pizza and salad. K was spooked by something in the kitchen that we could not understand. she was quite upset throughout the meal. she kept pointing to the kitchen and saying "boom" and saying scared. but when i took her in the kitchen we could not find anything that she could show us that was scary. we thought it might be the AC but it was not consistent. nevertheless, everyone ate. K and ruskin went off to the hardware store to pick up misc hardware for the bed. R and I went upstairs to continue our rearranging and cleaning process. He discovered one of Rocky Mama's star wars presents that i had squirreled away for a rainy day. i told him he could play with the R2D2 figurine with the jet blasts after we finished cleaning. he was terrific and happy. no tantrums today.

K and Ruskin came home and everyone milled around upstairs getting ready for bed. r and i read a book about animals and swimmy while we talked about R2D2 among other things. it was quite pleasant. he did all of his procrastinating techniques and it is now 10:30 and i think he is asleep. well get back to 10 pm by next week if we can.

we were able to pick up a behavioral pediatrician appointment tomorrow for 20 min. it is not much but our scheduled appt is not until october so we will take it. of course, our "homework" was to work on sleep and we had done well before vacation but have lost ground. at least we can continue to report the correlation. when i asked R why he had no tantrums today, he said something about going to school. i am not sure but i think he might of been as tired of being out of daycare as we were. he might need a break from us as well!

vacation photos -- part 3

here are a few more, including one of the birthday boy and K trying on daddy's shirt...

beach vacation, part 2 photos

more fun at the beach...
take note of the snazzy deuce coupe -- don't let the photo fool you. it was heavy

photos beach week 1, part 1

here are a few photographs for your enjoyment

100m or marathon

I like this photo as he looks like a frog in it.

Some days of parenting feel like marathons (long and tiring), and some like the 100m dash (quick and exhausting). unlike the olympics, however, there are many gold medals and they happen a little more frequently than once every four years.

i was up late working (about 2 am) but since everyone slept in until 9, it was not too bad. K woke up in the night once, but R was out cold. R joined us in bed in the morning for snuggling which woke up K. she was quite perky and wanted to hug her brother. this did not go well until she was reminded to use gentle touches. once she did that he enjoyed her attention and reciprocated. one day they may like each other at the same time.

breakfast was fine. R ate well ( milk, sausage, ganthia, and bagels with cream cheese); k ate less than expected (smoothie and ganthia). then after much toileting and a bit of unpacking, we all headed out for gardening. things were pleasant for a short bit. both managed to play acceptably well together. they helped me garden by weeding and spreading mulch. after 2 weeks of being gone, it was quite overwhelming. the coreopsis flowers were about 8 feet tall or touching the ground. a new fern and a favorite columbine had dried up and there were about 2 dozen tomatoes on the vine. ruskin mowed and trimmed; i thinned, weeded, and mulched. i thought the kids might enjoy the sprinkler as it was quite a toasty day and it was just after noon. that was quite a mistake. K hated having water sprayed in her face and ran away crying and became clingy; it was clear that she needed food and nap. but K and I had to wait outside with R until ruskin came down from the ladder trimming the vines. R kept fidgeting with the sprinkler spraying us both. things went downhill from there leading to a full blown tantrum. at this point, K could not eat and was overwhelmed, R was screaming, and Ruskin and I both were wishing to be at the beach hauling buckets of water. all of this led me to have a migraine and cancel our plans to attend aunt sarah's party. how disappointing!

Ruskin put k to sleep and R tried to calm down. eventually we went down and had some lunch. he must have been really hungry because he put away quite a bit of food (tofu, spinach and cheese croissant, and cheeses). he also ate almost an entire frozen veggie lasagna for dinner with 2 bowls of ice cream. it's as if he is making up for not eating this past week in myrtle beach. i think also being on his home turf and having more variety helps.

he did have another tantrum and woke up his sister. ruskin tried to put her back to sleep but that was not successful. so she came down and had lunch next. she was starving and ate most of a grilled cheese sandwich while R played with legos. Ruskin and i thought it would be a good idea to start setting up his new bed as it will require much rearrangement of furniture. R has pretty much outgrown a toddler bed and needs more space. we have gotten a fun bed on craigslist. see picture -- it is a little frilly for us. but having just seen the movie Babe about the talking pig, we are thinking of calling it a barn or a farmhouse. (my other idea is a space station and decorate it with space stuff -- we are open to suggestions on how to make it more interesting and less like a frilly house.) the thing is massive and heavy. for the past few weeks, when i am lying in bed unable to sleep, i rearrange furniture trying to find away to make everything fit. despite all of this, i have not been able to find a satisfying solution. but ruskin and i talked through as many options as possible.

K will get R's old thomas the tank engine toddler bed but her room also has to be rearranged to accommodate the bed. we think we have figured it out. i took the kids out for a jaunt while ruskin "got to" rearrange very heavy furniture by himself. i am not sure which one of us was the lucky one. all afternoon R had said that he did not want to go to the library. so when i finally dragged them out of the house to go, it was closed. of course, this was when R decided he want to go to the library and became sad. at least, i can laugh about that one. we drove by masee's home but there was no answer so we did not stop. as we neared home, masee called and said that she was in our neighborhood. there was much happiness all around. both kids were very happy to see masee and tom masa. it was incredibly fortunate that they stopped by as we were able to move some more things around. thanks masee and tom. masee told us about her adventures on a bike, held legos, and changed diapers making everyone happy.

K was a mess at dinner, washing her hands in her water cup, refusing to let dad pour her water, and dumping rice in her lap. ah toddlerhood. she, of course, expressed surprise when the cup and the plate were taken away. she managed to eat some tofu, lasagna, and ice cream before being whisked away to bath and bed. what a funny age.

R had a quiet bath playing and narrating about barges, dredging, and water in canals. he did this for a while in the tub while i cleaned the bathroom. we did not try for a nap today and i am hoping to kind of short circuit him and get back to an earlier bed time. we finished reading by 9:15 and i left the room by 9:30. he was out by 9:45. keep your fingers crossed.

tomorrow he starts engineers (older preschool), K goes back to older toddlers and we try to have a quiet day working without children for the first time in two weeks.

end of beach time and back to the midwest

i must say the last week went quickly. and the end was both enjoyable and trying. the highlights definitely included more time with grandma sue and james as well as endless waterworks construction and rescuing animals.

on one of our daily jaunts about town, we spotted a black turtle that appeared to be contemplating crossing the road. so i requested that we return and show the kids a live wild turtle as we assist in crossing the street. ruskin parked the van and ran out in the nick of time to scoop up the critter which did not appreciate the manhandling. it hissed and squirmed, but was safely deposited across the street. our other animal interactions included a cicada and several frogs that required some assistance during the week. the frogs were quite curious and invited themselves into the house. both kids were quite thrilled with the rescues.

the day after R's bday, we went to the children's museum. it was a rainy day and there were many people there. ruskin and i find children's museums odd as they are definitely fun and playful but they are not often designed to actually teach anything to kids. it is usually too crowded and a little too dispersed to focus and parents do not always monitor the kids well. despite the crowding of a runny day, the kids enjoyed playing there -- K liked all of the live animals, including more turtles, bunnies, birds, and chinchillas. she also liked the puppets, ball activities, and the big bubbles. but much of it was clearly over her head. we were excited about the promise of the magic school bus exhibit as R is enthralled with the books (we have about 25 of them). the science part was hands on (circuits, magnets, etc.) but the magic school bus section was not very well done which was disappointing. luckily, parents are a lot more critical than kids. R enjoyed his encounter with ms frizzle and the gang. there were certainly fun sections that were interesting -- a soap bubble that you stand in and create by pulling a rope, a large medical exhibit, and building circuits (ok more fun for dad). we stayed a few hours and headed back home. it was fun but we definitely enjoyed the north carolina museum and planetarium more last year.

thursday and friday involved several trips to the beach. R pretended to be a dandelion that was rooted to mom as the waves tried to blow or pluck him away. he has quite an imagination. the waves were either lawn mowers or preschoolers who wanted to bring the dandelion home to their mommies. it was fun to jump in the surf with him. he is quite comfortable in the water and it seems a great place to help him with him large motor strength. k is warming up to the ocean too. she likes it as long it promises to stay out of her face. she does say "stop ocean stop." but alas the waves do not listen.

we took a drive on friday morning up to another part of the beach. we wanted to see the marshlands and beach rejuvenation project. the northern part of north myrtle beach -- cherry grove -- is getting quite built up and the shoreline seems less stable than the part near ruskin's mom. we read in the paper that there was beach rejuvenation happening starting on thursday. so, we decided to go and watch. it was utterly fascinating. out at sea was a barge that dredged up sand and pumped it through a huge pipe for perhaps a mile until it reached shore. the huge metal pipe was welded together and the sand piled up and was redistributed by bulldozers. it was fascinating.

thursday and friday brought increasing tantrums from R. on friday he had two that lasted about 45 minutes each. one was about having enough butter on his pancakes to cover them entirely so that there were no holes showing (there were no holes and the butter was cold and hard to spread). hard to know whether to laugh or cry about that one. the other one was post-nap. we had moved away from these tantrums to the point where he would not just flip out about every little thing. i hope being back here will change that. i think it is highly correlated with sleep. while we were able to maintain his sleep schedule with the desai's, the shifted beach schedule at grandma sue's with late dinners and late bedtimes seems to have led to the return of the tantrums. in the evening, it is hard to tear the kids and their dad away from the beach. we also wanted to make sure that sue and james got time with them as the kids don't have enough time with their grandmother. but this means that R did not fall asleep some nights til midnight (11 central). it will take a little time to readjust but i am glad that a good time was had by all.

everyone had a treat friday night -- grandma sue and james went to dinner with the kids and ruskin and i went to our favorite restaurant down in myrtle beach (collector's cafe -- the snapper in miso was amazing). though both kids had a difficult time at departure, they returned after we did and were quite happy. both had had pizza and zucchini fries for dinner followed by some live music at the park. R and James had a wonderfully silly time rolling on the ground telling each other secret passwords. R ate dinner redux around 10 pm. but he did finally eat a good meal, the only one of the day. Ruskin and his mom had some more computer and talking time. everyone went to bed around midnight tired.

Ruskin and i woke up at 6:30 and finished getting everything ready so we could be on the road around 8 or 8:30 for our 4 hour ride to charlotte. everything went smoothly. the kids played and slept. R loves his legos and is getting much better at the fine motor. i got nauseous on the ride sitting in the back of the van and was quite happy to reach the airport. it was hard to say good bye to grandma sue. it was a very good week for everyone. we all made it through security quickly and boarded our plane without a mishap. the kids were tired and had naps on the flight. we gathered our luggage and ruskin grabbed a taxi and went home. i took the kids to the light rail and we went for a train ride to the 38th street station. R was very excited that we go there before daddy. the kids enjoyed the ride and we got home around 5:30. a 12 hour day so far. then ruskin and i ordered some nice greens from rainbow the chinese restaurant (spinach, portabello and tofu with garlic, and gai lan with tofu). we all watched the first half of the women's marathon on the olympics while the kids got squirrelly. they were just difficult but tired. ruskin took k up to bed around 8 and i headed to the grocery store with R.

at whole foods, it was desi hour. half the customers seemed to be south asians. including our friend meena. R ate a spinach and feta pastry and vanilla merengue cookie among other samples. we came home and had bed time resistance. it is midnight our time and everyone is asleep (including ruskin on the couch). we watched more michael phelps and the incredible runner bolt who won the 100 meter race without even trying. he runs something like 30 mph. the french connection is on and i have many emails to go before i sleep...

it was a wonderful two weeks and we wish we could spend more time with family and that they were closer. we also are happy to be home in the twin cities. as much as we like other places, this is home. and a nice place to be.

is being 4 different than 3 R?

yes... it is more itchy.

so i asked R if being 4 felt different and as he answered the above as he scratched himself. well apparently turning 4 means staying up until midnight and then wanting a cake and presents. so it has been a fun and interesting time. we are sitting in a place with internet access finally. it has been a wireless week. we have been doing typical beach stuff and the children have been enjoying their time with grandma sue.

we left the desai's on saturday which was sad for the kids. R said that he wished that nani, nana, and rocky mama lived closer and that he could see them more. it was a touching moment. everyone took off for their various destinations. at grandma sue, belinda and aunt doris were waiting with sue for the lively youngsters who provided entertainment and amusement for all. R and K had a short nap afterwards and there was late afternoon time at the beach. sunday saw more of the same, late afternoon beach time and some dinner. Ruskin and K went for a walk for about an hour and a half. Dad must have some strong arm muscles to carry the 30 lb sack of potatoes around. she is quite happy to be carried and watch the waves.

Monday's highlight was a beach ride on a bicycle -- specifically a deuce coupe. we learned how old and out of shape mom and dad are. it is a recumbent side by side tandem bike with a "bumper seat" for the children. the pedaling was not so bad but the push on and off the beach nearly did us in. more up soon...

R's bday went well. he loves his legos and both kids received a lovely stash from sue and james. how spoiled they all are.

beach day week

the blog has been delayed for several reasons -- lack of good internet connection, kids, illness, and fatigue -- but the desire has been there. i wonderful if it has become as pleasurable for me as it is for others. mostly for lack of internet i must add as i can't seem to get a signal unless i am in a corner of the bed but not even then.

On sunday morning, K woke up and her first word was "ocean." She repeated it several times very excitedly. It was 7:45, Eastern time. So much for sleeping in. We were the first ones up. Ruskin made pancakes, the kids ran around to take inventory of the sleeping vs awake grown-ups, and generally there was a lot of activity. the benefit of being awake that early was that we could go to the beach, right outside our door, by 10 AM. R and K dug up the sand something fierce. K in her very wily ways convinced her Rocky Mama to fetch her a pail of water. well there were several dozens pails of water. There was much discussion about the cities we were building that were connected by a river. hmm sounds familiar. our very own waterworks with an extra overflow reservoir. Unsurprisingly, R was in the water with his dad, deep in the waves bouncing up and down. k, on the other hand, had to be convinced that the waves tickling her toes her ok. once i told her that the waves tickled her and she felt safe, she was delighted and was laughing out loud. soon everyone was outside. nani and nana went for a walk. k and i went for a walk. everyone else was swimming. there was a second round of beach after lunch (bhel courtesy of nani), nap and afternoon time. one was a guppy and the other sand crab. it was a pleasant time in the sun and surf. this was the beach house experience i had imagined. just a few steps to the ocean, people coming and going when they need, nice gentle day. seema and rakesh made dinner. tomato pesto with pine nuts, garlic bread, and salad. very yummy. since K had napped and R had not, ruskin put him down for bed. we kept K up long enough to get him to sleep and then the sandman came back for her. finally we had two kids asleep. ruskin and i had videos of the kid and a captive audience for a half hour. unfortunately, we can't post any of them here. the two favorites, however, were one of K deciding to deliver r's shoes to him, and then inexplicably dropping them and running back and forth over the same 10 feet while vocalizing very loudly like an airplane. the other favorite was one of her playing hide and go seek after she pulled her pants and diaper down.

monday morning actually brought us much more sleep (slept in til 9:30). after a good breakfast of soy sausage and english muffins or toast for most everyone, the kids went off to play with grandma sue and uncle tom while the desai's had a family meeting. ruskin generously participated and much was accomplished. the afternoon brought some more surf and sand time. k had had a short nap with uncle tom pushing her in the stroller, but she was clearly off beside her lack of nap. she clung to me pretty much for about 3 hours. R had a wonderful time building new aqua-architecture. grandma sue and Rakesh brought many buckets of water. my girl and I walked up the beach for a while. and then we got to sit in the sun and relax while catching up grandma sue. it was nice to see R playing with his two uncles, his dad bobbing freely in the water, and grandma sue hanging out with her sleepy granddaughter catching up on family updates. i have to admit that i am really enjoying doing the blog so that i can help family feel more connected and get these updates more continuously. after a bit, dad took k for a walk to rest, and i built a volcano with R. rocky mama brought magma from the center of the earth which he poured it into the volcano and became lava when he erupted. at the same time, the magic school bus was trying to escape from the center of the earth through volcano eruption so since R could hear the bus beeping and drilling, we had to ensure that the lava kept flowing and rocky mama continued his deliveries. if rocky mama ever needs a weight loss regime (and he does not), he can offer his assistance to the kids.

K had a fever and so did her masee. masee's was a lot worse and despite her not feeling well, she was quite a trooper about dinner. she and tom grilled some delicious veggies, tofu, and mushrooms for dinner. unfortunately, k and seema were both feeling poorly and had to take meds. we hope they both feel better soon. r ate veggie lasagna with zuke, spinach, and some broccoli in it without even blinking. how great is that! so i was very happy getting in those veggies. i think his aversion to green and vegetables is changing. k had ice cream and smoothie for dinner after 3 bites of several different items. i let it go because of her not feeling well and grandma sue assured me that she had had a good lunch. at dinner, we read some of the books that they had picked up at the library today. after dinner, there was "game time." this period entailed R and K going through each of the games we have (goodnight moon, dominoes, checkers, etc.) and playing them. which basically meant setting them up in some fashion and then knocking the pieces over.

Tuesday, nana had plans to look at condos and the rest of us were on our own. we ddid the usual with beach time, lunch, and naps. today r's waterworks plan became more elaborate and his sister enjoyed digging as well. she has still not grown to like being outside on the sand and beach. much of our time is spent walking up and down the beach. she does enjoy walking on the sand and in the water luckily. and another favorite is the sea gulls. we had burned english muffins from breakfast and she shrieked with delight quite like a gull when they flocked to her to tussle over the scraps.

We had dinner at Carraba's (italian) with friends of the family. but with a table of 13, it was difficult to have a conversation. the restaurant was not remarkable but my pasta was special order and quite tasty. there was an hour wait for dinner despite the call-ahead. most exciting for the kids was that it was next to the mini-golf place with the volcano. last year, R had been frightened by the rumble. this year, he and his sister were enthralled. they loved the waterfalls (boomshallah), the "eruptions" (fire spouting out), and the rumbles. both ate well, including zucchini "french fries" for K and R. one more veggie, albeit deep-fried. still it had a green skin and it went in. K wanted "happy to you" cake. we got one piece of chocolate cake to go and had candles at home. ms. k could not get enough of the singing and candles. luckily, everyone was happy to oblige the empress. as we left the restaurant, k pointed to the moon and said "moon, sleeping, sshhhh!' and held her finger to her lips.

Wednesday, beach in the morning, followed by an afternoon with grandma sue. ruskin's cousin belinda, aunt doris, and aunt bette were due in for lunch. though they did not make it until much later in the day, the kids went over to say hi and have dinner there. the rest of us barbecued and had some desai family time (with tom sullivan honorary desai if he wants to be).
R came back very excited about building robots with recycled parts. little did we know that this passion would extend to an obsession in gathering every spare piece of recycling and garbage that he could get his hands on. i opted to not go visiting as i had a migraine. my body is not used to the sleep. hydrotherapy was the best remedy i decided and spent some nice quality time with my brother rakesh in the ocean. we promised each other to keep an eye on the other. we survived and were joined by tom later. the highlight of the evening was everyone out on the back porch watching the lightening show after dinner. it was amazing and beautiful to watch the

Thursday, hooray. today we have been able to get K into the water. our success resulted from her participation in the waterworks project. she began to enjoy the waves entering the pool and worked up to wanting to be in them standing on her own. this was our longest and most enjoyable venture. at one point, she and he were in the water laughing at the waves. we now know she is a desai-hunt. the others also obliged us and let ruskin and i sneak into the water by ourselves for a good 15 minutes or so. it was quite nice to see each other and play.

dinner at the mexican restaurant was less successful. it took a while for everyone to arrive, order, and the food to be served. by then the children were past their peak. R was especially tired and ruskin was a little short on patience. we all survived and headed home for more lightening shows.

we're here

whew what a long day.

first of all -- welcome grandma sue to the blog. hopefully you should find out about it shortly!

all in all it was good traveling. we were up late packing, cleaning, and working. and then up early. the complication in getting to the airport is car seats. we can put them in a taxi and where do they go after that if you are not taking them with you? this challenge created a plan in which ruskin drove us to the airport and then went home with the car. meanwhile, i got boarding passes and cleared security with both kids. i also went to the gate and got our seats rearranged as ms k was designated to sit in the exit row all by herself. of course, she is a big girl or older toddler but even for her that might be a stretch. and luckily, i was able to get 4 in a row! then i started feeding the kids breakfast. by then ruskin had driven home and caught a cab back to the airport, gotten through security and met up with us. dad and the kids finished their breakfast and we were off for further adventure.

the next period of time was definitely interesting. first R mentioned 3-4 times that he had to make a BM. of course it was only on the final time that was during the boarding call that it was actual a productive visit to the restroom. once we were on board and settled, it was ms. k's turn. and she had a huge squeezing out of the diaper kind of BM right before takeoff. of course this meant i could not get up and change her diaper. i was reduced to sitting there and wiping away any waste that managed to escape. finally, everyone was cleaned up and they were hungry again. so the kids ate.

the plane ride was relatively smooth after that. k played with the baby in front of her, colored, did stickers, went to the bathroom several times, drank water, and was generally interested. only the last 5 minutes was she fussy and tired. R was wonderful too. he read his books, ate his food, and generally sat without too many reminders to be considerate. so far the best plane trip we have had.

when we arrived in charlotte, grandma sue was waiting for us. the kids were thrilled to see her and vice versa. we all piled into aunt bette's minivan (thanks aunt bette) and headed off to north myrtle beach. the kids settled in, more food and water was distributed, and some cds were played. soon there were nodding heads.
the short version of the rest of the evening is that we reconnected with the desai family. lots of hugs and kisses, stories, and hoorays. pizza was consumed. books were read, kids and others were tucked in. and a lot of groceries were purchased.
all in all a wonderfully smooth travel and arrival day. looking forward to the rest now!

prep day

the blog will be short in anticipation of seeing many of the readers tomorrow!

R likes his watch and k likes her new piano -- thanks masee! K likes to carry it around and say music. r had a good acrobat class and was very proud of himself for all of his exercise. today was much better than last week. he could concentrate on his activities. he did lots of core strength and some fine motor work too. our homework: dig beads out of playdough, play with ice tongs, and do some yoga. more writing and pinching would be good. i think he will improve if he can really do more outside of the session at home and use it as the guide and then reinforce daily with "homework." i wish he was not going to miss a month of OT in august.

i dropped him off around 12:20 -- he ate lunch in the car on the way and standing at the table; K was working on falling asleep. she was quite cute. at pickup time, when i went into the toddler bungalow, k was sitting with steph and seemed quite happy. molly asked K if she wanted to show mommy her painting. we went outside and there were lovely pastel swirls and splotches in many different colors all over the ground. the kids had painted with colored food starch paint. it was very nice and K was proud of herself. after pickup, we went to longfellow grill for dinner. the kids were all riled up but ate ok. on the way home, k practiced yelling her no's. she is so funny. "kaya yellin." did you think we did not notice? we came home and focused on the bathing, packing, and getting ready. tomorrow will be quite an ordeal! 2 hours early to the airport, 2.5 hour flight, 4 hour car ride, so an expected travel time from 7:30am-6pm. wish us luck.