Birthday party madness

After months of planning I finally managed Arav's birthday party in Bounce a Rama, an indoor amusement park. I was excited about meeting my friends after so long  but why didn't anyone tell me that even if a birthday party is at a place where everything is already in place (paid for) for you, it is still madness galore!!!

Honestly, having to follow a pre set itenary is crazy because you don't know what to expect next and it doesn't help if you are the host...but I guess the end result matters and seeing the smiles and happiness on my son's face made it all worth it.

As they say, there are some things, money can't buy......!!!

A rhyme for Arav's fifth birthday

Girls love dolls, boys love cars


Town&Country is a minivan, Camry is a mid-size car



Letters are no more just a design

I can read all road-side signs



I know water turns to ice

Youtube is my favorite website



English, Hindi, Spanish, Mandarin

Dora, Diego, Hanuman, Kailan



Bubble-face, kicks, splashes in the pool

Cheetos, choco-chip cookies make me drool



What? why? when? how?

Kind of making sense now



Dude, this is my special year

My FIFTH birthday is here!!!

Summer Vacations and a new schedule

More than half of the  much dreaded summer vacation has gone by and here I am not a pound lighter!! I was really dreading this long hiatus of my five year old from school thinking of how much I would have to endure with him being home all the time. But whew, thanks to a close network of friends, we have managed smoothly so far with planned playdates and weekend activities.
I have even stepped into a new routine of gymming every day while my son is out on playdates. Unfortunately the fat which sits round and comfortable on my body refuses to melt away and so far there have been no "positive" results. All my mom's love shed on me through different delicacies during my trip to India last summer has shown booming results and the "congratulations" (why do people assume a stork's visit every time you pile on..okay I do the same so fair game!!) and "you look so different" remarks just follow me everywhere. To make matter worse, a close friend posted our pictures from a decade gone by on Facebook. Ah, that set the wheels in motion afresh.

And so my sordid saga reels on......

India on American TV (slumdog millionaire effect?)

Having studied and worked in the media back in India, I cannot help but notice the increasing presence of Indians (from India) on American Television.   This is besides the more established media personalities of Indian origin like Fareed Zakaria and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  Indian  characters on TV are not restricted to being doctors and terrorists anymore (remember Parminder Nagra as a doctor in "ER" and Kal Penn as a member of an Islamic group in "24").
Post slumdog millionaire, talk shows, enterntainment news shows were abuzz with the the Bollywood theme. Dance shows like "So you Think You Can Dance" regularly feature a Bollywood dance round. However, what  really caught my attention and got me to make this small entry was watching the trailer of NBC's "Outsource", a new TV series centered around the call center phenomenon. Pasted below are the links to the trailer:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JrL3PYpWnM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTe9KAH6ZhU

The south asian/Indian theme has been incorporated in advertisements as well. The "Subway" five dollar ads have an Indian dance , an insurance product ad has scenes from an Indian wedding, "Intel" ads portray their Indian architects who have contributed to its brand value  but the most noticeable ad for me is the one for a chewing gum (cannot recall the product) which has these three teenagers buying gum from a turbaned Sikh at a store.
I am really curious to see how a show like "outsource" portrays the call center phenomenon considering that  there is a huge negative wave related to outsourcing especially in the wake of the recession.
Overall, there definitely seems to be an acceptance of south asian/Indian culture as part of the American mainstream and I hope this acknowledged is strengthened in a positive way with time.

A fun filled family trip to Maui, Hawaii

May was a special month for the family. Tired of holidaying within California we finally ventured forth and moved to destination Maui islands in Hawaii, no less!! Our group consisted of four adults and three kids and we decided to rent a condo in the town of Lahaina close to the water activites instead of a hotel and believe me it was a great decision. Staying in a condo gave the kids a lot of space to run around and just be themselves. Also, having a fully functional kitchen helps especially with infants and toddlers.
Lahaina in Maui is the hub for water activities like the submarine adventure and it really felt great to be able to walk to the waterfront instead of taking the car and paying for parking. Withing walking distance of our condo we had an array of gift shops and dining options. I personally loved the floral Hawaiian dresses and jewelery although most of the stuff could be bought for less elsewhere. Food groceries and gas are expensive in Hawaii and having done research beforehand we stocked up on water and soda for the week long trip from Costco (within a couple of miles from the airport in Maui)and food stuff from Walmart. I also bought a few freezer dinners since we had a great kitchen and it helped us stay on a budget. Another reason for preferring to eat in was that after a long day of sightseeing, the last thing one would want to do is take cranky kids to a restaurant!!!
When I was doing research on where to stay in Maui for first timers, I could not find a lot of suggestions online and now post trip, my suggestion to first timers especially those travelling with family would be to stay in the town of Kihei. My second choice of course would be Lahaina. Kihei had a lot more shopping and dining options than Lahaina and many ocean front condo complexes and hotels. In that sense the beaches would be steps away and since Kihei is midway, it would not be a long drive to most attractions. The Makena area and Wailea are more upscale with the best resorts.
We had initially planned to cover two islands but we chose to stick to just Maui for six days and chill out. That ways, we covered the entire island and soaked in its scenic beauty. The activities we covered were: submarine adventure aboard the Atlantis, snorkelling at Molokini,Road to Hana, sunrise at Haleakala, visit to Maui Ocean Center and the Luau at Royal Lahaina. The rest of our time was spent driving to the unexplored rural areas of the island, shopping and at the beautiful beaches.
It was an awesome vacation and I cannot wait to return and visit the other islands in this beautiful paradise!!!

Arav and Aarav

When my son was born way back in 2005, not only was it my first experience staying in a hospital in US, I was also new to the many nuances of the American system. I knew that I needed to chose a name fast for my son unlike India where there is no hurry to do so but I still wasn't prepared for a birth certificate form to be handed to me while my husband was away preparing the house for the baby's arrival. So there I was all groggy with painkillers and in my hand was the power to shape my son's future identity.
We had tentatively agreed on the name "Aarav" except that at the opportune moment I could not remember that it needed to be spelled with two "As" instead of one!! My hubby's phone being switched off didn't help either. So now my son stands tall at four and a half years, a very precise Arav in a world full of Aaravs thanks to the wide settlement of the the Indian diaspora.
I had almost forgotten about my little folly till I was reminded again by the presence of an Aarav in my son's swimming class. The swim instructor now has to deal with two Aravs' in the same class (with different spellings) of course!!!!

Childhood lies in the details

As a mom it amazes me to notice the small details of our lives through the eyes of my four year old. There are so many thing we overlook or take for granted as adults until they are pointed out to us by a child. For instance, a boot is L shaped and different from a normal shoe or an airplane and a fish are shaped similarly!!
Recently a childhood friend (Stutie) posted a picture of a cloud on facebook and asked for interpretations of its shape. Not surprisingly, the response was overwhelming with so many of us pitching in while jogging our creativity till it became a cloud of different possibilities just like the budding mind of a child. Reliving the details of the minuscule tidbits of life reminds me of the tales from Gulliver's Travels which fascinated me dearly until I learned as an adult taking literature classes that the book is not intended to be a children book but a satire on mankind!!
For now, my hope is to hold on to this amazing process of seeing life through different eyes and reliving the details once the innocence is gone.

Its a Deal!!!

So what do you do when you have a vacation hangover?? Simple, plan your next one which is precisely what I have been doing over the weekend!!!The desirable destination this time is Hawaii and I'm already dreaming of sitting under a lanai. For this dream to not fizzle out like many others (sigh..), we need to clinch THE vacation deal which will leave us beaming in a very "desi" way and leave our friends "wowing" away.
Not surprisingly,I have been spending a lot of my internet time on travel sites and I'm really amazed at how a slight change in flight hours or shifting dates by a day can make a world of a difference to the figures which define a vacation package!!! Hmm, need to speak to a friend who works with Travelport and figure out how these things work.
Till then..the Lanai and Luaus beckon......

Lake Tahoe

So finally we did spend the weekend in Lake Tahoe. Every time, I land between the snow and the lake, my first thought is about the itinerary (yes, even vacations have a schedule!!) and second about the food. Predictably a whole lot of time was spent about deciding on restaurants and locating them. The big surprise of this trip however was the beautiful log cabin we rented and even bigger was the cute deal we stole on it.
The weekend is over and I am exhausted but the image that stays on in my mind is not the natural beauty of lake Tahoe but my son throwing pebbles in the lake and squealing with laughter every time my foot got stuck in the snow.
Some moments in life are indeed priceless!!!

To Tahoe or not ....

So the big discussion in our lives this week has been if we are taking a weekend off for leisure in the scenic Lake Tahoe. Hubby wants to ski and I don't want to be left alone with our son babysitting as always!! The next best solution is to rope in friends for the trip. The idea of skiing for hubby and staying in a nice cottage for me are the big motivators. We should/we will make it to Tahoe but one of us has to take the INITIATIVE to make the bookings, rent a car etc.
Will it be me or him? The debate continues.....

It happens only in the bay area...

We celebrated the Indian festival of colors, "Holi" last weekend. Smearing friends and family with bright colors is an integral part of holi festivities other than munching on mouth watering sweets and delicacies. My husband mildly suggested that we play with dry colors but just the prospect of having to launder colorful clothes,scrub the walls and floors gave me a "mental" backache. I gave flimsy excuses about the skin reacting and so forth and ventured to a neighboring park with the family for a post lunch siesta.
It was a bright day and not surprisingly the park was pretty crowded. It would have been a day like any other in spring if not for two separate groups of my fellow countrymen smearing each other with bright greens, yellows and reds!!!! It was "holi" being celebrated far away from India right in my neighborhood. I felt a little self conscious just then but all I had to do was look around at the diversity of the bay area right before me and marvel at the freedom that the acceptance of different cultures offers...... Reminds me of the song "It happens only in India" just that for me the lyrics could be, "It happens only in bay area"

TGIF catching up with an old friend

TGIF!! and what a start to a bright friday morning. Instead of fussing over hubby's "departure to office" routine or reminding my son the nth time to shift his gaze from the TV to his bowl of cereals, I was on the phone dialing across seven seas to reach out to a high school friend, Priyanka.
Since I moved out of India six years ago, Priyanka and me just lost touch. Finally thanks to social networking, we have reconnected. An hour from my morning routine and an hour worth of her night's sleep spent on our phone conversation is not enough to make up for six years of life gone by, but somehow I feel younger and full of zest just by reliving our times together!!
Priorities change with time but the bond and element of trust we develop with childhood friends just strengthens into a comfort zone where you can always be,"forever young"

Movies child care swap and a long weekend

Tonight is the last evening of the long V day weekend and what a weekend it has been!! By gifting hubby a watch I ensured a much better (read expensive) gift in return for myself. My long term child care swap arrangement(basically we plan movies over weekends and leave our kids with each other, so if I go for the 3 pm show the other family watches my kid and vice verse) with two other families allowed me to catch up on the latest flicks and stuff myself with more than a 1000 calories worth of popcorn!!!
The rest of the week with its predictable routine lies ahead but right now, it is the dazzling beauty of the ice skaters for the Winter Olympics which casts a spell over me...

T for technology

Five years in the bay area popularly known as the silicon valley of the world and my technical skills are limited to MS office, surfing the net and social networking. NO MORE!!, I have silently sworn and so here I am with a book aptly titled "HTML for dummies"!! This is my year to erase my technology illiteracy and contribute more than just smiles and nods in technical discussions.
It is a week since I begun my trod into this virgin territory. It has not been as easy as memorizing Julius Caesar or critically analyzing Byron. Even preparing a publicity plan for my clients was easier but I guess this is the reason why technology rules and I must look upwards and not give up the trod....

Turning 30

Grey strands crop and loom over my once black hair
New creases define my skin
giggles fade into the past
domesticity beckons
Love takes on new meanings
a new decade begins….

Sunday Super Bowl/Work..Sigh!!

The one and only husband decides to head to  work today. "But its sunday..super bowl day!!", I exclaim from my dug out on the crumpled bed. I reel under the possibility of pretending to enjoy a game I have not  begun to comprehend as yet but anything to keep him from from leaving us (the 'us' includes the one and only son) all alone on a sunday.

He leaves!! I stagger out of bed and let sonny boy take over. Sodas and cupcakes follow. I can already imagine the weighing machine groaning but I will deal with it tomorrow. For now still waiting for hubby to be back. It does not help to know that he is working with a female colleague. Trying to keep the mind and vision from wandering in the oh so broad and adulterous lanes of very dangerous possibilities.