To do or not to do...

My dilemma is regarding the Stoneridge 5k on October 16th. Its a Saturday and its in our neighboring community and all the proceeds go to the school that has the most number of participants representing them. Last year Sean's school took the money and I felt bad that I didn't participate. So this year I'm seriously considering doing it. It may also be the one thing that'll get me on my treadmill more often. I know I can swing a 5K with minimal training now - thanks to the last 10 years of yo-yo running but I dont want to be one of the very last ones in the field considering I have a lot of colleagues that may show up since they all live in the said community.

One of the other reasons why I'm pondering if this is a good idea is because I was planning to have a get together at our house that same evening. I havent sent out the invite so dont know for sure if it'll work out for everyone but if it does what do I do? Do I want to do both or not???

Decisions...decisions..

New outfit

Over the weekend Aji was on a getaway with the guys in Miami. I got Rhea a top to go with the skirt that Mummy got for her this time. Here she is right before we left for church..

Chocolate fix.

Yesterday I was channel surfing and came across teh most delectable chocolate pudding recipe. And something unusal happened, for once I had all of the ingredients in the pantry.So even though I had initially planned to make it over the weekend I just couldnt wait until then esp. considering I had everything I needed on hand. Best part it wasn't time consuming at all.

It's been awhile since I made any dessert so I knew the kids would enjoy it as well even if it meant waiting until today for them to eat. So after I got dinner on the table and before the second round of homework, i quickly got the desert all done and put it in the refrigerator to set. It smelled divine and I couldn't wait to get a taste.

By the time Aji got home and had his dinner it was close to 10pm. That was enough time for the pudding to set and so he and I shared one! It was really good!!

Here it is - Delectable home made chocolate pudding.



The kids had it as a snack after school today!

Work and Life balance

I struggled with this a lot last year. I was managing two very demanding projects. They were both very crucial in terms of client satisfaction and complexity. That meant very long work hours for me. I would put long hours at work, barely make it on time to pick up the kids, try to get through Sean’s homework, their dinner and put them to bed only to again login back from home. It was a very challenging and stressful year. Long hours for me at work also meant that the kids were also forced to have a long day at school. That resulted in huge Mommy guilt every single day in addition to all of that work stress. I’m thankful for Aji for all the support and oh so grateful that all of us lived through it without damage. Both my projects were extremely successful and received client accolades.Thank God for that!

One of the most important things I realized last year was that I never ever wanted to short change my time with the kids and Aji. I wanted to give them my 110%. After a lot of thinking, pondering and losing my mind, both Aji and I decided that it was in the best interest of all of us that I go part time. So I spoke with my management and they were so very receptive right from the first time I brought this up. So starting September I’m now doing 32 hours per week. I do 8:00-2:00pm Monday through Friday with an additional hour two days a week to round the total to 32. I have to admit this has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. There are days/times I feel bad about my reduced responsibilities. Lame as it seems, there are times that I miss those minute to minute and second to second curve balls that came my way when I had an overflowing plate full of work and not enough time. But then, I realize that I’m so much relaxed and nicer to be around now. Another big plus - Sean can take the bus from school now rather than having to go to after school care. This means he and I can spend some time and get the bulk of his homework done while he has more energy and before other distractions namely his little sister gets home. I pick her earlier than previous years as well and it is so much better.

The other good thing that came out of this is that I have more time and energy to plan for a weekly menu so I don’t serve the same 2 or 3 items the whole week for dinner. I also wanted to make sure the kids are eating less processed foods (I've lost count of the bags of chicken nuggets and fish fingers we have bought from Costco) and fewer trips to Mc Donald’s. I have started planning my weekly menu in advance so I can stick to my grocery list and not be distracted with the 10 other items that are calling my name at the store. This has made such a huge difference. Previously I would stray from my list so very easily because I'd be planning my dinner as I did the grocery. Which meant I'd pick up things that I really did not need rightaway and just end up eating space in the pantry. Which reminds me - Time to clean out the pantry. There are quite a few items that need to be purged or be used soon.

I’m also trying to make meal time more fun and educative – using food as a passport to travel around the world. So if we had Chinese for dinner, we do 3 fun facts about China like – capitol city, currency, language. This means I have to keep trying cuisines from different parts of the world which is fine because I enjoy cooking. I hope that by doing this Sean and Rhea start enjoying cusines from around the world and also get introduced to the diverse cultures.

The only thing left to do now- Jump back on that workout wagon. I can’t use the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse anymore.

Exam Week

This week is test central for Sean. He has a Math test today, Social Studies tomorrow and spelling on Friday. Busy week indeed. I'm still getting used to the busier pace of second grade. First grade seems like a cake walk now. Yeah I know, I didnt feel like that last year going through it. Anyways, its time to get a little bit more serious. Sean did very well on his first spelling. Drum rolls please -
He got an 'E' (Exceeds) for getting all correct.

For the second test he got one word wrong. He had done it all correctly at the home test so I was surprised and felt really bad for him. The word that stumped him - CITIZENSHIP. Just means that we'll have to work a little bit harder this week.

To add to the extra home work and test schedule that Sean has this year...madam Rhea has homework too!! She is super excited about it though - no kidding.I was beginning to wonder if she really was my kid...loving homework and all...until I cracked the secret reason behind this love. She has seen Sean doing homework forever and always felt that it was one of the defining attributes of being a 'BIG KID'. So now her time has come and she is just so excited about it...poor lil darling. She has no idea what's in store. Anyways, the good news (for me) is that she doesn't have homework everyday - just Tuesdays and Thursdays. We'll see how things go. So far she seems to be enjoying it and even wanted to do extras over the weekend when Sean was doing his Kumon!

Health and Fitness

I've been shying away from my workouts more often than I'd like to admit but that has been the reality. So now after feeling miserable about the extra jiggles I'm back again on the quest to embracing the healthy and active life style...i'm trying to clean up my diet and slowly build my endurance. The weather is just adding to the misery...I'm waiting for spring to go back to my boot camp classes but until then the plan is to build up my mileage on the dreadmill. I'm hoping to get upto 10 miles this spring. Last sunday I did 5.2 miles. I was thrilled because I really didnt think I would last that long. Not at the pace I'd have liked but what i realised in the last week is that I can choose to either huff and puff at my previously 'comfortable' pace and not last very long or take a step back slow down a bit and work on building back my endurance. As much as I hate that, it is exactly what I did.Yesterday I did 4.15 miles - added a bit of interval training so my ego wasn't bruised all that much. I'm hoping to increase my mileage every week..which reminds me, time to get a new pair of shoes..might make a stop at the running store this weekend.

My secret childhood wish ..

I love this picture. One big reason - Growing up I always envied my friends with big brothers. I always secretly wished for one and thought that if I had an older brother in addition to big Sis and little bro, it wd have been perfect. Sean and Rhea are at each other's throat a lot but can't deny how close they already are..they are each other's best buddy..and are always looking out for each other..

Here's wishing and praying that it always stays that way!

Aal izz well !

So the ‘it’ thing now is the movie 3 idiots. We saw it the day after New Year’s. It was the first time we were going for a Hindi movie as a family. The bonus was that it was a kid friendly movie as well. Sean and Rhea thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the theatre. With the big bucket of pop corn, their favorite candy and the sugary sodas…what’s not to love…the movie was just the cherry on the sugar loaded extravaganza that lasted a whole 3 hours :)Both of them enjoyed the songs and sat through the entire show with no complaints. They really didn’t have any time to complain since they were downing the ‘goods’ at record time which surprisingly Mom and Dad were surprisingly getting them (that’s a first) They were living the dream !!
So fast forward to this weekend and I got the CD and the kids have been listening to the tracks while ‘trapped’ or ‘securely belted’ as the case maybe in the mobile and forcefully shuttled around town for various errands. Yesterday Sean and Dad got back from tennis and we had to leave for church soon so I prodded him to the bathroom so he can take a quick shower. I love our little humbug of a boy..he has an amazing sense of humor and comic timing…what do we hearafter the showers were turned on…he’s singing out loud ‘All iz well…’ complete with the dance moves and everything grinning ear to ear…so that became the mantra of the night….if there was any crabbiness….we would say ‘All iz well!’ and there was an immediate smile on the face. After getting back from church.. Rhea was being especially difficult (what do you expect…she missed her afternoon nap). She was getting upset about something and calling out for us. We send the ‘Happy Messenger’ from downstairs to cheer her. Sean went to her and said ‘Rhea, All is well!!!’ she started laughing…its amazing how something so small really lifted everyone’s spirits…

So that’s the Joseph family motto going fwd….so sing it with me…AAL IZZ WELL!!!

You don't like me?

Yesterday morning, while the boys went for tennis,the girls hung out at home…well, mom was cooking and daughter was watching ‘Sleeping Beauty’. I took a few minutes break from the kitchen and I sat down with Rhea. The morning sun was on my face and I moved from the couch to the love seat. Rhea was so engrossed in her movie I didn’t think she even noticed me moving to the other side. A few seconds later, she looked at me and said ‘You don’t like me?’ My heart just about stopped….i felt so horrible…she thought that I moved to the other side because I didn’t want to sit with her. I’m sure that’s what happens in class everyday. I gave her the biggest hug ever and told her that I loved her so so much! And that I moved because the sun was on my face. She was happy to hear that. Later on in the day when I came back for yet another one of my ‘quick breaks’ I again sat on the other side and she looked at me with a big smile and pointed to sun on the couch next to her and said ‘Mommy, the sun is here’.

Aaww my baby! She is such a smartie and growing up so fast!!

Merry Christmas!

We have a white christmas thanks to all of the snow from the last few days! Today morning the kids woke up bright and early and came down wanting to open the gifts! Mom and Dad were still sleepy after the long night but seeing the excitement on their faces was priceless. A cuppa coffee did the trick and we were around the tree with camera and video in hand to bottle up Sean and Rhea's hysterics :) They already started guessing which gift was theirs and what was in it. So Rhea went in first and she got a Princess treasure chest with 3 beautiful princess gowns complete with tiaras, necklaces and shoes. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and we had to remind her that she still had more to gifts open. The next one had 2 movies - Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbelle just like she wanted. The bonus of course was the cinderella book with the CD of the book complete with the songs. She was super excited! Next came Sean's turn and he got...drum rolls please..the Nintendo DSi. It also came with a Star wars game. He was beyond thrilled. He wanted to dive into it immediately and master the features. This i think is a good distraction from the usual TV fest or not...will know soon :) Aji got a beautiful watch and Armani Code and I got cash to Shop! Yay!

The rest of the morning was spent making the Buche de Noel cake that i was taking to Anishchayan's place and calling up near and dear ones to wish them a very merry Christmas!

We went to Anishchayan's place a bit early. Sarah got a DS lite and we had got her two games and Suzanna was beyong thrilled with her gift certificate to Hollister.

After a nice Naadan feast and Biriyani and the works and chocolate laden dessert we came back home around 11ish and called it a night...

Christmas Eve in Washington!

First of all, the title because I just love the namesake song...its one of my favorites. I wish I could embed it in here with this post..that would be Super!

That said, Christmas is finally here! Yay!! We went for the Vigil Mass at 5:30pm today and as soon as we got back home, the kids were very excited and wanted to put baby Jesus in the Nativity set. Usually I do that only after midnight but seeing Sean and Rhea so excited we lay baby Jesus in his crib.

They were both so hyper and was eager about the next big event of the night...Santa's arrival. It was the easiest night to get them to bed...since they had got Santa's letter telling them to go to bed early and they didnt want to disappont him lest he 'forgets' their presents :) So after keeping Oreo cookies and a big glass of milk they both went to bed early.

Few minutes later, we could still hear them chattering exicitedly about Santa. Quote of the night from Rhea - Seany, sleep fast Santa is coming soon!!!

Today afternoon, Sean got his letter from Santa and needless to say he was super excited. He was quite puzzled how the elves would know to make a DSi since it is a very hard thing to make. We did convince him that the elves are pretty handy when it comes to making things and they should not run into any issues :) He seemed pretty convinced. Ha Ha or is it Ho Ho Ho :)

Here is a transcript of the letter Sean received from Santa,


Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas, Sean!

Everyone here at the North Pole is very busy preparing for Christmas Eve. I've been checking my list and then I had my elves check it twice,and I see that you have been a good boy this year!

I know you are six years old and have been very busy! You have been working hard on your homework and Kumon and have become such a good reader. I especially enjoy all the stories you write in your class projects. You have also been working very hard on your tennis. I am very proud of you!

Even though some days it has been difficult to be a good boy, I see that
you have tried very, very hard! This is why the elves and I have made something special just for you!

Christmas is such a special day. Give thanks to Jesus on his birthday for all the wonderful things he has blessed you with. Please be sure to be in bed early on Christmas eve. The reindeers and I will soon be on our way to visit your house in South Riding just after midnight to deliver your gifts!

Keep on being a good boy and listen to your parents and teachers and watch out for your little sister. Also, tell your friend Joey to be good.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Love,

Saint Nicholas

Why are you calling me?

That was what Sean asked his friend Joon from school who called today. It was hilarious. Just a little bit of background. First off, it was the very first time he was getting a call from any of his first grade friends. We havent given our home phone number for the school or class directory just Aji's cell number. So it was even more surprising when Aji got a call from this 'Joon' as he was rushing out the door this morning. You could sense the excitement in Sean's face when Aji asked him if he knows 'Joon' from class but the first thing he said on the phone to his bud was 'Why are you calling me?'. After that of course he chatted away for the next 30-45 secs. They said thair bye byes and he turned to me and said 'Mom, Joon called me because he is my best friend!' That I thought was so so cute!

As far as his first reaction...in a few years from now he maybe glued to the phone and his friends all the waking hours of the day...i very much prefer the reaction from today :) although i know its not going to last that long..

Time to relax and enjoy!

That's exactly what the kids did yesterday since schools were closed due to snow. Sean's school ofcourse opens only after New Years so he is having a relaxed and chilled out time. He does have to do Kumon but otherwise its Tv time, play time, snack time. I have relaxed the 'candy' rules so they have been having a jolly good time. I had bought Egg Nog Ice cream last friday and yesterday both Sean and Rhea wanted to have ice cream with sprinkles. I couldn't bear to have ice cream when there is 3 feet of snow just outside our windows...it just makes me go Brrr...but they seemed to enjoy it and even went for seconds..


Oh! What a life!

After work yesterday I made truffles. Sean is the resident chocoholic and he was behind me the whole time i was making it wanting to taste a bite. I held him off until I finished and gave him a taste...he was absolutely thrilled...

Truffles
The first thing he asked me today morning...yep...can i have one now mommy?

Give Thanks!

It's that time of the year when you really take a moment to appreciate the people that make your everyday life a little easier. Of course you appreciate your family and friends but this is also the time when we do a little something to appreciate the kids teachers and the other support staff, in my case my cleaning lady who I really look forward to every 2 weeks to straighten out the house, my hair stylist who does a fantastic job, my beauty parlour ladies who are more like friends since i've been going to them for over 7 years now. Every year at Christmas I give them a gift, since last year I have started to give them some of my home baked goodies. Today was cleaning day and Gloria got this (see below) in addition to her holiday cheque.

Candied Almonds and Truffles

I also made a trip to get my eyebrows done and I delivered some truffles and 'Food for the gods'. See below.


I have a hair appt on Christmas eve and Maggie will get some of the bars and some candied almonds. She is middle eastern and I'm sure she will appreciate the fruits and nuts.

Rhea's teachers are getting gift cards and a boxof truffles this year. They are all packed so I will drop them off tomorrow. Sean's teacher will get her gift after school opens. They closed early for Christmas break due to the big snow storm. This means I'll have to do some more baking...all of the goodies will be wiped clean by then :) And I will also be dropping some for our neighbors.

Rhea's holiday party at school!

Rhea had her holiday party at school this past Friday. Daddy went to this one. He was a little late but got there in enough time to join in the festivities. They had songs and the kids decorated cookies which rhey then gobbled up. She got a letter from Santa! Yeah confirming that she has indeed been a good girl and will be getting some special gifts on Christmas Day!! Needless to say she is thrilled...

here are some pictures from Friday and a transcript of Santa's letter..

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas, Rhea!

Everyone here at the North Pole is very busy preparing for
Christmas Eve. I've been checking my list and then I had my elves check it twice,
and I see that you have been a good girl this year! I am very proud of you!

I know you are three years old and getting so big! Even though
some days it has been difficult to be a good girl, I see that
you have tried very, very hard! This is why the elves and I have
made something special just for you!
The reindeers and I will soon be on our way to visit your house in South Riding just after midnight to deliver your gifts. Please be sure to be in bed early as Christmas is such a busy day!
Keep on being a good girl and Merry Christmas to you
and your family!

Love,

Saint Nicholas

A very productive Sunday!

One of the good things about getting snowed in...there's only so much you can do at home and you are forced to gravitate all of the otehr projects that you have been procrastinating. The big one for me was the basement and specifically the kids toys. Their toys starting from Sean's baby years were all in the basement. More than half of which they dont even take a look at. I've been meaning to sort through them and get rid of some for a while now. So Sunday was the day for that. I made 3 piles - Keep, Throw and 'Good to sell'. All of the Mc Donald toys went to the Throw pile along with the ones with parts missing or parts with the main toy missing...yeah they are entirely different :) We had puzzles with pieces all over and to figure out if we have all the pieces, I sat through and put them together...without a their boxes i had no clue what they looked like assembled but puzzle time turned out to be quite a good break in thye midst of all the toy sorting. I put away all of the toys we can give away or do a yard sale with. Sean already proclaimed that all money from the yard sales go to him :) The basement looks so much cleaner now and it just has the toys that the kids play with now. I think this is going to be an excercise that I have to do atleast every year or maybe even every 2 years. Since they are out of the baby and toddler years they wont outgrow their toys as fast and ofcourse the toys are not that bulky either (atleast for Sean), so that's always good for space management :) I should have taken a before and after picture....what a world of difference! esp after the vaccuming and febreezing...it does need a coat of paint and i'm hoping we'll get to that sooner.

The rest of Sunday was spent on laundry. 5 loads washed folded and put away. Phew! Everyone has clothes in their closet...that is a great feeling :)

Most of the time our weekend just whiz past since those are the only 2 days to get everything done. Since we were stuck inside the house this weekend it was great to tackle a few of the projects that were on the back burner. I really wish there were more days like sunday to tackle the 'back burner' projects!

Snowed in weekend

The biggest Dec snow storm in DC history moved in on us Friday night and was here to stay until Sunday morning. We were tiotally bombarded with Snow...I havent seen so much ever...upward of 2 feet. It was beautiful outside...a winter wonderland.

We did get out briefly on saturday for couple of hours and the kids had a fantastic time playing in the snow.




When it was finally over we received close to 2 feet of snow. This is the deck.


Sunday Aji and our neighbor again cleaned up the drive way but we swtill have a lot of snow that I'm bet is going to stay for a few more days...

Tis the Season..

For indulgences that is...I've been putting off any kind of holiday baking until today. I gave in and made the most scrumptious candied almonds.



i've already snackwd on enought to have gained 3 pounds :( Must stay away from them...

School Night and a special dinner treat!

Couple of weeks back we went to the mall and they wwere selling corn dogs and funnel cakes...true fair food. Of course the kids were hungry and Aji got them corn dogs. It wwas their first time eating it and they absolutely loved it. What's not to love....Hot Dogs are one of Sean's favorite foods and so corn dogs only meant something better than that. I was very surprised that Rhea enjoyed it as well. Finally something both of them liked! Ever since that day Sean has been telling us that the school cafeteria serves corn dogs once a week and that he wants to eat from there. We've been trying to keep him away from the cafeteria food as much as possible so this weekend I told him that I'll make him corn dogs. At first he didnt believe me and since I didnt have corn meal at home we put it off and I promised him Corn Dogs for dinner Monday night. Today I picked him from swchool and the first thing he said was 'Its corn dogs for dinner tonight Mommy!'. So we went to the store got the corn meal. After snacks and home work I dropped him off at church for CCD and promised hot and crisp hot dogs when he got home. He was so excited when he got home and had like 3.5 corn dogs...he wanted to finish the last one but was way too full.

Guess what he's taking for lunch tomorrow ...That's right...Corn dog it is :)

Movie Night

This past weekend the kids wanted to have movie night. It was all impromptu and since it was cold and frigid outside and it seemed the perfect way to spend the evening. The refrigerator was totally empty and I really didnt feel like slaving out in the kitchen. So since everyone was Ok with 'Sandwich' for dinner, I did a quick run to subway. After dinner we all sat down, the kids picked out 'Polar Express' of course tis the season...



i thought of making 'Movie night' a bit more special for them...so i let them have dessert in front of the TV. They absolutely enjoyed the Ooey gooey S'mores..