Avi and Dressing

It started couple of weeks back. My docile child (as far as dressing up goes/used to go) fired me from my job of being his stylist. Every morning he wants to select his outfit which basically means only orange T.Shirt with no. 5 on it or the thick cotton collared long sleeves dark blue striped shirt. If I don’t write the description I won’t get as much kick out of it 20 years later when my memory will be as old as I will be – well I’ll have pictures but then thanks to digital camera, it will be quite a work to locate just that one in the file which is packed with picture CD’s . I usually have about 15 shots of one pose to get that ‘perfect one’ and when I download them to camera, that perfect pose is usually scattered over all 15 of them. In some I have the perfect smile of theirs but the eyes are squinting and if the eyes are perfectly doe….eeish then that charming smile would be replaced by caricature kinds. It makes it hard to delete the rest of the 14. Result – I am sitting on record no. of pictures on CD’s which some day will be discovered by Aliens if we are invaded.

I do tend to digress from the topic of the post a lot. Getting back to it- I usually do 3-4 loads of laundry, mostly all of them the same day and Avi wanting to wear the same two shirts on rotation is throwing my perfectly good laundry schedule out of chart. I thought I could gross him out by telling him that both of his favorite T.Shirts are in the laundry basket probably wrapped with the same shirt on which Neev threw up his food (in my attempt to feed him more and not taking his cues of gagging on every extra bite I was so bent on getting in his little stomach – you think I will be smarter than that since not only he is my second child but also this seems to be a recurring episode on dinner table). Thankfully he did not insist on pulling the vomit covered shirt from the basket which could be an indication that he will not live in a pigsty way later when he moves to a dorm or something (At least I can comfort my heart for now). But what he insisted on was to only wear the robe until I washed and dried that shirt.

And it’s not just the shirt, its matching them with his choice of shorts or pants and shoes too. He is choosing brown shorts with his dark blue striped shirt. Despite my telling him that grey or black will look much better with that one, he wants only brown shorts (Some of it could be genetic since Anurag always needs my advice to co-ordinate colors of his shirts and trousers). It’s not the color combination which is driving me nuts but the weather suitability of his choice. He insists on putting on full sleeves and pants and sneakers when it’s around 80 degrees outside and all he needs is a light shirt, shorts and sandals. Thanks goodness all the sweaters, heavy jackets & boots are out of sight or he could be ready for snowboarding in August. Also it’s a good thing that despite living close to Hollywood we don’t have any style police in the neighborhood, just moms like me who don’t need an explanation for his very unique fashion sense.

Busy week, weekend and a great coincidence

This past week and weekend passed by like it never came. In a way I like it that I don’t have to think about keeping the kids entertained. If the calendar is full, all I have to do is be their chauffeur. On Tuesday we went to Mariner’s for Bubble day. It was great fun for the kids. Big bubbles, small bubbles, blowing bubbles, popping bubbles –whatever most you can do with bubbles. They also enjoyed the bubbly view from the top floor where it was cooler. Avi kept telling Neev not to crawl towards the gate and Neev was not happy being commanded by Avi. Avi likes to always look out for Neev which is good for me (since he is alarming me every time he catches Neev near the trash or toilet which are seemingly two of Neev’s favorite things ) but not so great for Neev since he constantly hears ‘NO NEEV NO’ from his big brother and finds it very constraining –obviously. As a result, anytime Avi calls out his name , Neev has this scowl on his face like ‘I know you are calling my name and I know it can’t be good” :)

Wednesday was my big laundry day (its one of the chores I don’t mind so much). Thursday I drove the kids to Balboa Beach where we were joined by other friends. Avi did not go in water but had fun digging sand and collecting sea shells with his friends. It was Neev who did most experimenting with sand. It was delightful to watch him as he scooped sand in his fists and then let it fall. He bent himself in sitting position and stretch as far as he could and then gathered sand. He liked to use his hands and feet than the shovel. He reminded me so much of Avi when he had his first taste of sand at 7 months and then I hoped that they don’t grow up and grow out of pastoral pleasures of life, not too soon anyway.

Friday night we went to the Great Park for Salsa Dance Party. Unfortunately for me Avi was more interested in playing with his friends and watching the hot air balloon than shaking his booty. I still managed to stay awhile and watch people groove (combining two of my favorite things ). When Neev and I were walking around , I noticed the board of the Great Park. It’s catch line ‘one park for everyone’ was written in many languages which represent the cultural mix of Orange County. And there it was ‘ek park sabke liye’ written in Hindi. Felt good. I took a picture.

Saturday we went to a birthday party and kids had a blast with “Winnie the Pooh”. Saturday evening we went to Mandir to celebrate Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s b’day). Sunday we had a potluck barbecue party at the pool after which Avi and Neev took a long late afternoon nap – usually not so good for Sunday evening when we try to wind down early but this Sunday it proved to be the best thing. At 7 PM my Uncle called from Sydney to tell me that My dad’s cousin and his family were visiting somewhere close to our place and passed his no. When I called him up , he happened to be staying next to the same beach I drove the kids on Wednesday (Balboa). He was leaving the next day for India. I was super excited. After a quick dinner we drove down to see them. The last I had seen them was some 13-14 years ago. We spent a lovely evening with them and took a late night walk on the pier. It was great to catch up with them and a great way to end my week.

India's birthday celebration weekend

This weekend we celebrated India's 61st birthday !

On Saturday Mandir (temple) organized 'Swatantra Divas Mela'. A lot of us were in the spirit with Tri -color clothing and waving Indian flags. It floors me how the volunteers step up to make events such as these a great platform for bringing people together on a land which we have made our home. Amidst food, fun and cultural performances there ran a thread through all of us. People who did not know each other still said ,'happy independence day'. My favorite part as always was to watch cultural performances. As I sat with Avi and Neev and enjoyed the dance performances , a part of my mind raced back in time. Every Independence day, Republic day, School function was an opportunity to perform - folk dances and skits were my favorite and also my forte. I do not remember being an audience in any of the events from school to college. I was up there .....and I remember enjoying it .....immensely. Being on the other side is also fun when all you need to do is relax and enjoy and that's exactly what we did. Overall, it was a fun fiesta at Mandir !

On Sunday we were invited to join Mr. Harry Sidhu, councilman for city of Anaheim to celebrate India's birthday at his elegant old Yorba estate. This evening turned out to be a real treat. My only disappointment was forgetting my camera. As we entered the huge gate guarding his sprawling bungalow, Avi was quick to spot the enormous statues of Dinosaur, Elephant & Giraffe in the driveway. We were led to a big , open area in front of the house where the stage was set up. The whole area was elegantly decorated with Indian theme, tiles with Rajsthani art influence and cushions with batik and tie & dye prints. Something I could not get over was the view of Riverside from there . His house sat on the top of the hill so the whole city was in view. It looked beautiful in the backdrop of Sunset. The ceremony started with the guard of honor to the flags of America and India followed by national anthems of both countries. The councilman delivered a speech honoring our birth nation. The unforgettable part for me and most other people was a performance by 6 very talented girls. They performed the classical form of dancing 'Bhartnatyam' and the theme of the dance was 'Pushpanjali' (opening of the Lotus flower and offering it to The Divine). The girls rocked. It was a 20 minute performance and they did a lovely job of not letting their breathlessness show under their graceful gait and charming smiles. Their costumes, makeup and jewelery ...everything was flawlessly co-ordinated and their talent, admirable. I should mention that equal credit is placed to their Guru, whose calm and eloquent description was just as bit impressive as the jiggle of her student's ghungroo clad feet. It won't be an exaggeration on my part to say that this was one of the best 'Bharatnatyam' performance I had seen so far. To some, it was a show that they enjoyed , to me it was one of the things that make me proud , to be able to say, "that, my friend is a glimpse of India's cultural grandeur for you" !

My experience with fire and tornado !

Man , I should have posted this one with the earthquake post . Then the title would have been 'My experience with fire, earthquake and tornado' and just by the title of it you would have thought , 'Vow ! Is she trouble or what'. Well I don't know ...may be I am but since you are here reading about it........chances are you like it......trouble aka me :)

Here goes..........

I love California, I love this city and most things about it . It 's very attractive here, even to all the natural calamities it seems. We had the worst fire last year , an earthquake 2 weeks back and now I just read about another tough fire spreading wild in Northern California. I very well remember the scare it gave us last year. It was Sunday and Dushehra day. We had stayed home inside all day and had no clue about the fire (it was all over local news on TV and we don't watch any). Anurag knew thru' the internet but did not have any idea that it was going to hit home soon.  In the evening we got ready to go to the temple for 'Ravan Dahan' (Burning of the demon's effigy). Sky looked  darker and  I could smell smoke. A friend called on the cellphone and asked us if we were okay. Turned out that we needed to be worried about 'dahan', not necessarily of Ravan though. We can see hills from where we live. Drove up the way a few hundred yards and we could see the flames. I could not believe how quickly the sky turned into a black lid and it smelled like a barbecue way overdone. We returned and closed all the windows and doors. Turned on the T.V. and sure enough our county was on fire. The flashing emergency message on the bottom of the screen said 'mandatory evacuations for Portola Springs which is only 8 miles from us. That was it ! We started packing our bags - documents,pictures, flash light, set of clothes, water and food. We decided that it they announced voluntary evacuations for our area, we would be out. We put the kids to bed and sat tight. I could not imagine the state of home owners whom lifetime's savings were about to turn into ashes. I always thought about what it would be like living in one of those houses sitting pretty on hills .....not so much that night. I must have dozed off on sofa because Anurag told me that the wind changed direction but we were not out of the woods yet. Next morning we woke up to a grey dull sky instead of a bright blue and sunny California morning that I am used to.  Our porch was covered in soot layer and windows were dusty. The fire kept burning for another few days and was declared as the worst of 2007. It destroyed 1500 homes , burnt over 500,000 acres of land and swallowed 9 lives.

Since we are talking about fires and earthquakes I feel like recording my experience of being in tornado watch too. This was year of 2006 in Ohio. The things I remember - It had been raining hard and wind was something else that day - a tempest. I remember Anurag waking me up in the middle of night because he heard the siren which goes around when you are/could be in tornado's way. I held Avi close to me and we all ran down to the jacket closet. I need to remind that it was a tiny space. Thank God that Avi was/is a good sleeper and did not catch the tension and the stress in my body. I remember feeling terrified hiding in that tiny closet  The siren was going on outside. The rain sounded like a bad rhythm of banging drums. After a while Anurag got out and switched the radio on for latest warning. Thankfully tornado did not come. Laying on the bed with Avi beside me I went through lots of thoughts and they were all scattered - I don't remember most of them but there was one which I get every now and then , specially when I see/read about natural or man made wrecks in our world - Being Grateful ! 

Twenty bug bug

We have a big round circle of grass in our apartment. Usually kids ride their bikes, scooters and play there. Today we were spending our afternoon there and after a few rounds of scooter riding Avi and his friends (age range from 3-10 years) sat on the grass to take a break. Avi who loves to make up stories came up with something, 'look there is a twenty bug bug'. There was no bug in sight. All the kids turned and asked, 'what's a twenty bug bug' ? Avi goes, 'its a teeny weeny, insy,winsy kinda bug and its called twenty bug bug. If you look hard enough you can find it". The younger crowd seriously started looking for 'twenty bug bug' and the older crowd started to pretend like there really was a 'twenty bug bug'. They started playing and saying, 'hey look there is a twenty bug bug up your shoulder, hands, head'. Soon, it became a favorite game and they were using terms like twenty car car, twenty pool pool, twenty tree tree, twenty bike bike, twenty grass grass, twenty stick stick. It was catchy and they were laughing hysterically and running around. I have a feeling this bug is going to last pretty long :)

Subah hoti hai, Shaam hoti hai, Zindagi yoon hi tamam hoti hai !

Every morning the Sun rises and every evening it sets ! Just yesterday it shone on my face when I stepped out to reach for the bicycle to hurry to school . I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of morning sun..................... I don't know if I liked the dancing tantalizing patterns of colors against the sunlight and behind my eyelids or I simply wanted to savor the tingling of warm effulgence on my skin....................seems like I took a long journey of that experience (s) because when I opened my eyes, a long time had passed me by, a long long time. My bicycle was not there. I wasn't at the same place. I wasn't going to school. Suddenly --wham!-- I realized it was not a few moments which just passed me, it was a decade or more.......................I looked around - a lot had changed , I went to find a mirror and when I did, I took a good long gaze. I looked dissimilar to me and I felt differently towards...................everything in general. No, I did not go in a coma, I lived my odyssey up close, some moments so fresh and close to my senses, they could still scintillate my mind. I felt humbled by the radiance and the glow the sunshine bestowed on me all this time. I blossomed in it . All this so wonderful.............................so why do I feel melancholic ? Perhaps because literally all of it was just blink of an eye, poetically because so many seasons have passed and of some I might have missed the fickle............not knowing what I missed was delight or disappointment but it doesn't matter..........the point is I might have missed it. I will never know it. I know time will not stop, nor would it slow its pace and shorten the passage but when I close my eyes this time, would it be too much to ask that my fare not be a flash ?

                       -From a piece I am writing. More to come in following posts , just bear with me if it takes longer, as you know with 2 kids the only time I get for myself is night and on most of them my thinking cap can only go so far as to 'would Avi be bored with waffles or cereal if that's the breakfast choice I give him next morning (4 days in a row)' :)

Fire Ring Extravaganza

This time Anurag was able to join us as we went to Nature Center for camp fire. We did it earlier this summer but Anurag was working that weekend so it was only half the fun. We did all the usual of the campfire - roasted marshmallows, made s'mores and enjoyed going on the trail and wooden bridges. We learnt that Hollywood is named after Holly shrubs around that area. We enjoyed looking at those attractive, shiny, dark green leaves and large, red berries. We saw massive Cacti plants, huge 2 foot diameter Aloe Vera plants, poison Oaks, Rosemary , Jojoba trees and some other interesting plants and shrubs. I found the Aloe Vera plant very interesting. It had big succulent leaves. We were told that Aloe flower nectar is hummingbird's favorite. Avi loved practicing his balance on the stone labyrinth while I enjoyed looking at the sole house sitting on the top of the hill, wondering about the view from there. When it got dark Neev kept pointing his finger at the moon and stars, saying 'there'.And I almost forgot to mention, when we were singing songs, they asked all the kids to join for 'Old McDonald had a farm.....'. When they asked Avi which animal would he sing for, he replied, 'rattlesnake'. Everyone laughed. You can't blame him as they have put rattlesnake's pictures everywhere mentioning its their natural habitat. He actually enacted it pretty well with the hissing sound :)

Pictures

So I can upload the pics now. Here we go from last week's fun...

Saturday Summer Party and Sizzling Sunday

On Saturday Cisco organized summer party at Mason Regional Park. It had Hawaiian theme and the event management company that they hired did a good job arranging it. We enjoyed the food and drinks but the dessert was the best. It was like a fruit medley with marshmallows and  coconut flavored creme. It was delicious. I also enjoyed peach tea and kept going back for it since chasing after Avi and Neev was a challenge without getting dehydrated. 

They had a lot of games for kids but Avi wanted to do his own thing. He kept himself busy by doing somersaults on the grass and amusing Neev. It was all a lot of fun but my purpose of writing this piece is that when time came to announce the best dressed kids in Hawaiian dress, Avi and Neev had total works without a doubt. Infact they both gave each other competition (it wasn't hard to guess by the applause they both got). Since it was hard to pick a winner, they both won the prize. Avi totally rocked in his orange floral T.Shirt and matching shorts which I also decorated with surf boards and more flowers. With a floral garland and a Hawaiian guitar (also decorated with floral stickers) he looked ready to play Hawaiian tunes on stage. Neev dressed in a red floral shirt and matching shorts and looked adorable with the garland. Even though they were in it, it was my game and I loved playing it :)

We spent Sunday evening at Woodbridge Center watching and rocking to the Rock n Roll Concert. Neev rocked on mine and Anurag's shoulders on the beats and Avi could not get enough of rolling. He watched a piece of dance on 'Step Up 2' earlier and thinks that this is the best form of dancing. Combining that with the influence of gymnastics class he's developed his own technique which is part jumping , part rolling, part falling down on purpose and part sword fighting. Its hilarious to see him do that. I have to remember to go next week since they announced that Indian wedding music and dancing is going to be there. Yoo...... hoo....Balle......Balle.....!