I have been going back and forth about putting up our Christmas tree. It has been our family tradition that we put it up after Thanksgiving, but since we will be gone for Thanksgiving and our Christmas holidays start on the 11th of December, I figured what the heck put it up.
I also received a lot of encouragement from my facebook friends... talk about letting peer pressure get ya!
I took out the boxes with the decorations and remembered that everything was bought here in India. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful I even found a tree and decorations two years ago.
While going through what we had, Carissa reminded me that our tree used to have a theme every year when we were back in the States. I was even more discouraged with my decorations, so I decided that I was going to make them and our tree would have a theme this year.
We talked about different ideas on the way to school, some were totally not even close to happening and some were just plain cheesy. As we drove into school, Carissa came up with our
"India" themed tree. Now it was up to me to get all the decorations done. So with my trusted helper, Mustafa, we started putting things together. I am sure he thinks I am one Crazy American. He just couldn't understand why we were changing the decorations, when we already had a box full. I told him not to ask why because it was a woman thing about changing her mind all the time. He just laughed and kept on cutting.
After 1 day and a half, our "India" tree was ready to be assembled........TA DA!
Bangles
Peacock feathers
Tree top
Namaste, Merry Christmas to All!
Happy Halloween....... this year Halloween has turned into a 3 day event for us.
It all started on Friday with Halloween parties at school. Luckily this day I only had to worry about Carissa since Ryan is still in Pre-school. The school parade started at 2:15 followed by snacks in the classroom. It was small but nice. I am almost sure that every kids actually contributed to the party, which is quite odd. We had about 10 mom helping out...another rarity. It is good to see that parents are actually participating in their child's classroom.
Saturday was a party at Sparky's , India's version of an American diner. It was nice. The place what decorated, the staff was all dressed up, their were games for kids to play, food to eat, but the highlight was the "American" candy that was given. Carissa and Ryan were in heaven with tootsie rolls. Ben and I were excited about the jolly rancher candies. We had diner with our "new" but already good friends, The Pearce Family, Les, Karen, Joey, James, Alina and Anna. I think we all get along well because they are fellow Texans. There were many other American school families attending this dinner so it was Great fun for both the kids and adults.
The last of our Halloween hurrah was on Sunday. We went to the Halloween Brunch at the Taj hotel. This event was organized by some moms who wanted to do something fun for the kids.
There were many crafts to be made...Halloween mobiles, mosiacs, skeletons, bag decorating and wooden spoon witches. There was one game...guess how many pieces of candy corn in the jar. We all examined the jar and submitted our guess. During lunch the winner was announced......Drumroll....... Ryan! Our little guy was the closest to the actual number and the best thing was the prize... The whole jar of candy corn!!!!! I can honestly say I have never been a big fan of candy corn, but like the saying goes... You don't know what you have until it is gone. When the jar was placed on our table our other American friends had sad faces working so we shared.
The kids has great fun with the crafts and playing with friends. We had fun chatting with friends and making new ones.
The week was hectic and the weekend was crazy, but a GOOD time was had by all.
On Thursday the school celebrated United Nations Day. This is a day where all different countries come together as one and put on ' one heck of a party'.
It started with the parade of flags. There are about 28 different countries that attend our school. Each country's flag is carried in by children from that country. It is a very touching ceremony. As my friend stated..." It is like we are watching the Olympics".
Once all the flags were in, a song was sung by the ESL kids, "It's a Small World" was sung by the 2nd graders, but the best was the choir, made up of kids from all countries and grades, singing "We Are The World". I don't think there was a dry eye in the gym.
After the assembly, the real entertainment was next.....LUNCH! The mom's from each country got together and prepared food, for 1000 people, from their country. Some mothers were up at 4am making food. Us Americans decided on preparing "The Great American Cookie Bar", we had chocolate chip, sugar with m&m's, sugar with sprinkles, oatmeal and snickerdoodles.
I don't think I want to see another cookie for a loooong time.
The day was Amazing and I think everyone had a good time. It was very hard work, but well worth it.
When Ben brought up the option of going to Vietnam for fall break, I was not too thrilled.
I thought all we would see was a war torn country and the people would not like us, but I was totally wrong. Vietnam is a BEAUTIFUL country and Americans are very welcome.
We started off in the Northern part of the country, Hanoi. We stayed in the Old Quarter at a little 3 star hotel. It was very nice, clean and quiet, but open the doors to the street and the city
is hustling and bustling.....
After enjoying the everyday city life, it was time for us to head to Ha long Bay for our cruise.
After our cruise we enjoyed more sights of Hanoi and went to a water puppet show. It was like watching Pinnochio. We also visited the Hai Lo Prision. It was also called the "Hanoi Hilton" by the prisions of war. It was VERY disturbing to see how they protrayed the prision. It was totally one sided and they showed that they treated the POW's in a kind manner. There were pictures of them playing basketball in new shoes, having a christmas party and watching movies. I was so upset when we left, but I got over it.
It was then time to head down to the southern part of the country.... Saigon. The name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City after the war. All the people from the city still prefer to call it Saigon.
We visited the War Remnants Museum, the Cu Chi Tunnels, Cao Dai Temple, Reunifaction Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and the shopping markets.
It was a Fantastic trip and I highly recommend it. I can't wait to go back and see more of the country.
Diwali is the biggest festival here in India. It it like Christmas and New Year all rolled into one.
The PTA of the school plans a celebration every year for the families. It is so much fun to see everyone in their Indian attire.
Everyone had a good time dancing. Yes, those are sticks you see in everyone's hands. It is a type of dance called Dandiya. You hit the sticks together to the beat of the music.
Ryan and Ben
Carissa and her best friend Clara dancing up a storm
Ben and I trying not to hurt each other
I have to say this years celbration was the best by far... the food was good, entertainment was fun and the firework show was OUTSTANDING.
This year Carissa decided she wanted to practice her swimming. She is a pretty good swimmer, but she wanted to get stronger. I talked to our Aquatics Director, Ms. Elizabeth about what options were open for her. She informed me that Carissa was a good swimmer and she could work out with our Middle School and High School Swim team(note: Carissa is in 4th grade). I talked to Carissa about it and she was a little hesitant, but said she would try. So off we went to day one of workouts, Carissa was relived that she knew some kids from 5th grade that were also training so her confidence level rose a notch. I have to say that the older kids did not in any way tease or belittle the younger kids. They actually gave good advise and helped their confidence.
After day one of work out, which was from 4 to 5:45, Carissa was exhausted. I was not sure if she was ready for this, but the competitive child that she is she was going to give it her all. So now we had swim practice four times a week and time trials every other Saturday.
After the second week, Ms. Elizabeth informed us that the Big Bad Blue Swim Meet, ho
sted by our school, was coming up in the middle of September and that Carissa would be able to swim.
There was going to be about 120 swimmers from different swim clubs in Chennai. I was a little hesitant about his, but Ben said it would be good for her. We told her the night before the meet that we just wanted her to try her best and not give up.
On Saturday morning, Swim Meet day, she was so jittery. I had never seen her so nervous (not even at the softball state championship). She told me she was afraid of coming in last. I told her not to worry about that and to "Just Keep Swimming", she laughed and was on her way. Her first race she came in 3rd. The jitters were gone and she started having fun with the rest of the team.
When all was said and done, she was in the top half of the kids with regards to time. Not bad for a 4th grader. Just wait until next year........
After 2 1/2 years, I decided to take the kids to Mahabalipuram. This is 7th century city about 60 km south of Chennai. It has beautiful rock carved temples, statues and caves. Some of the monuments are World Heritage sites. Carissa and Ryan had so much fun climbing and hiding in every nook they could find. We had a great time playing around and taking pictures.
Cariss and Ryan at the Shore Temple
Daydreaming
Carissa is on top of the world
Here we are
They needed a nap (Flintstone Style)
Meditation break
Girl power
I think I can, I think I can
Getting some shade.
Well now that I am back and finally getting back into my blogging mind, I have decided to start with the recap of our summer. As you can read from my previous post we started our summer with a family camping trip.
From there the kids went home with Nana and Popo and Ben and I went on a "little vacation" for just the two of us. We headed back to Phoenix and had lunch with Ben's old college roommate, Carlos. It was nice seeing him again and meeting his family. We had fun catching up and remembering the college days, but we forgot to take pictures.
Then is was on to "Vegas
Baby". We had a good time gambling, eating and shopping. We even had a chance to have dinner with one of Ben's high school buddy's, Ramon.
Our mini vacation was over and Ben was heading back home to India.
Two weeks in Phoenix with my sister and then it was the 4th of July. Our whole family decided to celebrate together and to "Welcome Home" my cousin, Candice
who was in Iraq.
It was also decided to celebrate Ryan and Karolina's birthdays. It was a fun filled weekend....
The day was July 12th and my little boy turned 4. Nana and Popo insisted we make him a cake to celebrate.....
The kids had so much fun spending time with their cousins. They took turns staying in NM and then in AZ.
Carissa, Mariah, Ryan and Miranda getting ready to hit the lanes.
The time had come for us to spend our final week with the family. Again, we went camping and fishing in Alpine, AZ. All the kids had a blast and it was good to end our summer with the family.
We will miss our family, but it will make next summer something to look forward to.
WE LOVE YOU ALL!
Our family decided to go camping when we arrived back in the USA. The kids were really excited to see all their cousins.
We are the typical mexican family, we don't do things small. There were about 19 of us out there for a four day weekend.
We went up to Greer, Arizona and stayed at Antler Ridge Lodge.
The guys fished and fished and fished. The kids played and played and played. We all laughed and laughed and laughed. It was good to be back with family.
While living in India, Carissa has had to find other things to do since they do not have softball.
While looking at that newspaper one morning I ran across the advertisement for John Britto's Dance Company.
They were having a dance camp called "Summer Shakes". She decided to give it a try so we went to the first class and registered. We found out that it was going to an hour class everyday for the next 15 days. It was going to be tough since she had after school activities until 4:30 and dance started at 5:15. Carissa was totally into it so Mustafa, our house manager, came up with the best plan on how to make it happen.
** Mustafa would go to the ends of the earth for her**
So away we went, 15 days flew by and it was time for the recital. I apologize in advance for the video, but lighting and sound are not the best here.
Enjoy the show......
Carissa worked hard and practiced at home. It paid off because she was awarded the Best Female Dancer from her studio. Here she is with her friend that got the spirit award.
I think we found out what Carissa likes to do. Her uncles have given her a new nickname, introducing.............HAPPY FEET!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BRADLEY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !
Love your pal,
Ryan
I know...I know... I have not blogged for a long time, but I was too busy...ha ha ha.
I don't think any of you who actually read this are going to believe it.
Ok, here's the truth and nothing but the truth.....
I didn't think anyone was reading it anymore so I stopped posting.
I am happy to say that upon receiving much grief I am back to posting.
So stay tuned and I will try and catch you all up on the past couple of months.
With that housekeeper position filled , I decided to accept an invitation to a Cocktail/Mocktail lunch at the new Taj hotel on Mount Road. I haven't been in the mood to go out lately, but one of my old friends persuaded me to go and I am glad she did. There was a total of 16 of us and we had a BLAST!
We started off with these cocktails:
Apple & Star Anise Martini
Cucumber & Basil Mojito
Kiwi & Lemon Margarita
The hotel staff figured we needed to balance our alcohol intake with some mocktails, so we were given these to try:
Watermelon mint cooler
Citric Energy
Raspberry Ice Tea
Being a bartender is hard work. So be sure a tip them well.
After the cocktail/mocktail hour we headed for lunch. That is all I am going to say about that. I am learning if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!
So I went from a Domestic Engineer to a Bartender, My Parents should be real Proud!
P.S. Now you all know what I do with all my free time :o)
