Nice naps

The kids seem to nap a lot better here in India for some reason.  They sleep a lot longer without waking up peridically (unlike in Seattle).  We think it's because Thatha and Amama's home feels quite comfortable, balancing the outside warmth with soft electric fans and thick concrete walls, ceilings, and floors to keep the temperature down.  It's been in the 90's lately....folks feel summer is arriving early.  But inside our home, it's very nice.  Under similar weather conditions in Seattle, our home there would be a stifling oven.

Shopping

This day would look a lot more interesting if i had pictures to go along with it...but i don't. Mom and I and one of her friends went shopping. I think i was invited because they needed a pack mule...but whatever. I know shopping doesn't sound that exciting, but it was fun for me...we did it Indian style and in my old neighborhood. Things have really developed since we lived there...there's even a KFC and Subway within walking distance from our old house.

We bought:

- flip flops for J (he's "stealing" everyone else), myself and Sam (they don't fit, so we'll have to get him some other ones)

- cloth to make cloth diapers for J (have to be exchanged since it actually might be cheaper in Wal-Mart)

- fabric to make little cotton long sleeve "petticoats" for B - to keep her arms covered from the mosquitoes and still keep her cool

- sappotas...yum!

- and looked at some furniture for my parents

It was nice to get something practical done, but boy...was it hot outside...i think 1 1/2 hours is about all we can handle outside in the middle of the day. We thought about bringing B along, but she wouldn't have been able to handle the walk or the sun. Glad she stayed at home...

While we were buying sappotas i wish i'd had a camera...but if i have a camera then i also loose my bargaining power since it shows i have "money"...problem.  Solution: cell phone camera.  Brilliant!  Even the fruit vendors have mobiles...so it's not a big deal to carry mine around.  Yeah, problem solved.  There'll be pics from the next time we go shopping again.

Bath In A Bucket, Part 2

A sequel to "Bath In A Bucket", starring "J"!

On the mend...

Well...S is much better.  I tried some cheese last night...not a good idea, but am better today.  J is the only one that is really out of it today...i guess it's his turn.  He's only had water, but at least he's drinking something...and he had a couple pieces of toast...so we'll see.  We have been shoving some glucose biscuits (comparable to crackers) at him...and he's been eating them...yeah

Also gave the kids haircuts...the weather is getting quite warm here...in the 90's.  There's a couple spots where J moved, hopefully it'll grow out soon.  B kept changing her mind...first Mulan, then Belle, then Jasmine...she doesn't know that no matter what she wants, it'll always end up as whatever Mommy wants.

This evening we went for a walk to my "close" aunt's house.  It was good to get out of the house.  Because of the bug, we haven't left the house in a few days and i think the kids had cabin fever.  Getting out was nice...we saw a mummy pig and her piglets and lots of dogs.  What an education for B!  

I visited the beauty parlor - they're all over the place and they're only for "ladies" in case men get any ideas.  It was nice to get a little pampering for quite a reasonable price.  Yeah...wish i could come here more often than once every three years.  S and the kids hung out there...B and J watched "Finding Nemo" for a bit and S and my uncle watched some T.V.  All in all a good day.  

J allowed me to feed him a few bites of plain white rice, which is a vast improvement since yesterday... he's getting better... This thing has taken us out for an entire week...here's to a fun weekend.

It's S turn

I feel a little better today...still a little weak, but better.  S, however, is knocked out.  He's been in bed all day without eating anything.  This bug is really kicking our butts.  My mom made a little tapioca pudding which is supposed to help...he says he felt a little better after that and some coconut water (fresh out of a coconut). 

Dad was fine after he woke up, so i think he's on the mend.  Hopefully this is only a 24 hour bug...  I thought J would be fine, but he wasn't...just a little delayed.  He has no appetite now, so i hope he'll be ok overnight...he's been playing fine, so didn't think he'd be affected.  

We've narrowed it down to the lunch we had at church...the catered lunch.  Mom didn't go to church with us, so she didn't have the lunch...and she's the only one that hasn't had this bug.  Also, we've heard that a few other people from church are also "sick"...well, what conclusion would you come to?

Bad...bad...day

Should have known this day was going to be "one of those days" when i was woken up at 4:30 a.m. J overflowed his diaper, which got B wet too.  We had to change both the kids and all the sheets!  Sheesh!

So, we put B in the living room and J with my parents, while we changed the sheets.  Before putting B down, i sprayed her with "pesticide free" mosquito repellent - our living room gives them plenty of space to hide and they come out while you're sleeping.  B seems to be particularly allergic to mosquito bites, they just swell up on her.  That and the scratching...i'm surprised we haven't been to a hospital yet because of infection.  We have been practically bathing her in calomine lotion, hopefully that'll stave off any infection.

Anyway, when i sprayed the repellent, i happened to inhale some of the fumes...it was literally nauseating..I couldn't go back to sleep.  And that began my day.  I dozed off for a little while but did not feel good AT ALL.  Had breakfast, but upchucked it all within an hour.  Talk about an upset stomach...it was pretty bad.  Well, safe to say, i didn't eat anything all day and i'm not even hungry...

Oh yeah...and B had her own "issues" during her afternoon nap...so had to change those sheets too.  This day can't end soon enough...  Am going to try and get some shut eye - both S and my dad say that they're not feeling the greatest either.  What is going on?! 

No Exhibition

Well...we didn't go to the Exhibition today...that's about it.  Stayed at home and rested.

Mom said that whatever we saw at the Exhibition, we could find in the city somewhere and there were some other deals going on we could check out close to our home.  That and the cost and time it took going there and coming back wouldn't save us that much money if we just shopped around here.  Also, since it's the last day, the crowds would be crazy.  And last, but not least, we weren't fully confident that Sam and my Dad could handle the kids for that long...they'd be chewed up and spit out before they knew what hit them.  Ok, it wouldn't be that drastic, but i feel like i'd owe them big and right now, i don't feel like "owing" anyone.  

So, i got an afternoon nap in...yippee

Bella got a little bit of a tummy problem tonight, hopefully it'll resolve itself by tomorrow

Church...strange, Valentines...good

Church was the same…and yet different...the format was the same, the songs were the same, prayers were the same, but the faces were different.  There were even a couple "foreigners" there, not including S.  It was disappointing.  I must have been hoping for a mini reunion ...argh, unmet expectations.  After the service I mentioned to S that none of the crowd that I hung out with (13 years ago) was still going to this church…my “gang”.  OK, I take that back…there are still three around...and one of them is me.  There used to be a rather large young adult/career group…about 20 - 30 of us and what fun we used to have together.  The "gang" probably consisted of 5-6 of us of the whole.  Most of them are gone now, some in Australia, some in the UK, couple in the US and I know some are still here…but don’t go to this church anymore.  
 
When we came here last, three of "the gang" were still coming here, so I at least got to see them on Sundays.  This time around, only one…the other two have disappeared and I have no idea how to get in touch with them.  Sad - to come all this way and not be able to hang.  But it was good to see the other one…in the last three years she’s gotten married and is expecting a little one in May.  It’s amazing how much you can miss when you’re gone for even a short while…but I guess a lot can happen in 3 years.  We not only had J, and he's had surgery, and it's been over a year since his surgery and he's almost two.  
 
One of the couples celebrated their 1 year anniversary, so they treated the church to lunch after the service.  It was good, but extremely greasy (to be expected of catered food)…I and J enjoyed the rice and chicken and curries…fish was too spicy for them, but J had a few bits.
 
S and I got a chance to go out on a date, it being Valentine’s and all.  We walked to a little joint and had pani puri and shakes...and took some dinner back.  S thinks we should introduce pani puri to the West,  but it probably wouldn’t taste the same.  We might be able to find them in some restaurants...but it'll be quite the search and i don't think that's part of our budget.  Besides, we're still working out the other Indian eatery idea.  

Dinner consisted of: Singapore noodles (ehh....way better in Singapore =D)
Siddharth Special noodles (same as above, but with more grease, spices and cheese).  
Aloo palak (potato and spinach curry) - very bland
Roasted chicken curry (from a curry stand) - pretty good
Badam milk (almond flavored milk) - eh...
 
We'll be visiting the curry stand again.  The noodles place - their shakes and pani puris were decent.  Will have to introduce S to the usual way we eat pani puris - one at a time, standing up.  Probably get the full quota that way.


Tomorrow...exhibition

Two of my mom's sisters live in this city.  The one closest (about a mile) to us has three kids: the youngest one is still in college and the older two...post college.  The one farther away (about 10 miles) from us has four stepdaughters - with a combined total of 7 grandkids.

Today we visited both sisters.  The close one had toys for the kids, so they really liked that, especially when they were allowed to "borrow" the toys for the rest of our time here.  And since her kids are "younger", they were quite enthusiastic about playing with their niece and nephew - hopefully we can use them for some babysitting int he future.

I was worried about our visit with the "far" aunt...but was told she has cable, so yeah!  Got there and the cable was terrible.  There was maybe one kids show, but it was in Hindi.  S and I welcome shows in Hindi for the kids, gives them more exposure to half their heritage.  This show was terrible - the kids were so violent!  We didn't spend more than a few minutes before changing the channel.  So, the kids spent time running around the balcony and getting themselves super filthy...but boy! did they enjoy themselves.  Our kids are very happy about anything outdoors, even on a balcony.  We didn't my aunt prior notice that we were coming, so when her husband got home from work and saw us, he went back out and got some goodies for the kids, including a couple teddy bears.  Un-needed (is that a word?) but much appreciated.

Even though the "far" aunt lives about 10 miles away, it takes us between 1 and 1 1/2 hours to get there by taxi, much longer by bus because of all the transfers.  It's been a long, full day...time for bed and church tomorrow morning.

We learned this afternoon that my father's oldest brother passed away a couple hours before.  He was around 85.  The funeral is early tomorrow morning, so Dad's catching the night train to get there in time, but he has to hop back on the next train in order to be back for church on Sunday.  S is amazed that they can arrange things this quickly...i am a bit puzzled as well. 

To make Dad's departure a little easier, a couple hours before he leaves the UPS blows up.  The "UPS" is a battery system that supports the computers that are used at Dad's work.  Apparently, it can support up to 3 comoputers at one time...and i turned on a 4th.  Oops!  Due to the fluctuation in their power supply, my parents got this battery system.  When the power is on, it charges the batteries and when there's none, the computers can still be used.

Here in India, and i know in China too, there are scheduled power cuts to balance the input and output of electricity.  They're supposed to tell you when they're going to do it, so you can be prepared, but of course, there's no way to hold them to that.  So...we have no idea when the power goes out...in fact, it comes and goes all day long.  It's much more steady in the evenings when offices shut down.  Havind said that, because of the constant use of computers here, our batteries (the UPS system) have not had a chance to recharge and the system got overloaded, hence the "fireworks".  Basically, the batteries that supported the computers are fried and they have to get a whole new system.  Since i'm the one who doesn't need a computer to get my "work" done - getting on one from now on is going to be a privilege.  Frustrating, but i guess i should count my blessings.

So, Dad's off to his hometown for his brother's funeral and our first weekend back home begins...