Mehul Funny

When Mommy meets Mehul after school.

Mommy: Mehul, so what did you do at school today?
Mehul: In a Paper.
Mommy: What?
Mehul(yelling): IT'S IN A PAPER!!
Mommy: Oooookay.

He was referring to the sheet he gets from the daycare which lists all the daily activities. I can't wait for the teenage years.

Oh, ignored blog

Sorry for ignoring you for a week. I was busy at work and stitching at home. I have managed to peel myself away from the laptop afterall. Didn't even check my email entire weekend!

Anyhow, I am working from home today because I fell sick over the weekend. Great. No really, it's great that it happened this weekend instead of the coming weekend, which is when I'm running the 5K!

Mehul's Artwork. He really loves doodling on paper (has never used walls for a canvas! Lucky us). Usually his doodles don't resemble anything but once in a while he comes up with something. Here are some that he's done (and I've been able to photograph!) These are all his, no help from mommy or daddy!

This one's a car.


Here's an airplane!


And a heart.

Sorry for the blurry photo. He didn't let me take this one away as he wasn't done. LOL!

He also loves to make shapes out of food. For example, if he's eating a mini-pretzel, he'll eat one side and make it into an umbrella, or 'B' or 'C'. If he's eating bread or chips, triangles or circles appear. He can count to 20 and recognizes *some* of the alphabets and a number of shapes, including a Trapezoid! Yes, I taught him that LOL! It's really fun teaching him while playing :D

Have a great week! I promise to be more around, and show an updated Angel of Love WIP.

Another "Out of the mouth of Mehul"

"ButtFly"

"Watch It, Mama!"

"Fuffob" Mom's Translation: SpongeBob

Early morning. Looking out the window in Sitting Room onto a Snow covered backyard and beyond, mom spots a man wearing black clothes walking his dog. Shows son.

Son: "Oh, look! Penguin".

There is a Valentines Party at Mehul's Daycare. I only came to know about it yesterday when his teacher 'reminded' me about signing up for an item for the party. Umm..I didn't even know about it. Apparantly, DH forgot to tell me about this and the fact that we're supposed to give all the kids Valentines Cards. I signed up for bringing fruit platter (easiest, LOL!) Their entire menu is high on sugar - Cupcakes, fruits, fruit juice, cookies and chips (ok, salty, but not any better!) Ms. Jessy said it's good that they have a gym class after the party where they can burn all the energy. Yeah, good luck controlling a bunch of sugar-high toddlers LOL!

So, cards are done. Ofcourse I scrapped them. I made a version last night but it seemed too girly (but it was cute!) with pinks and reds. This version is more attractive and little boyish I think.



My sister reminded me that I never posted about the speech issues the teacher had brought up at the last Parent Teacher Meeting. I know I had said that it'll be posted later but I don't really think there is anything much to post about it. The teacher basically expressed concern about him not talking much in the class and not having a 'conversation' with the teachers. For example, instead of saying, "Ms. SoandSo, I need more applesauce", or whatever, he'd just say "More". She said he doesn't respond to questions. Our experience has been different. He responds to us most of the time and sometimes he doesn't (isn't that normal for a 2 year old?) I think the main reason he doesn't respond to either of his teachers is that their accent is kindof hard to understand. They are Hispanic and *we* have a hard time understanding Ms. S in particular. Other kids have probably adapted since most of them have been in the class longer than 6 months. We're not overly worried (read- we're not worried) She did say that the daycare has a Speech Therapist on staff who can work with kids as needed. That I think is wonderful to have. She has since told us that M is showing a lot of improvement, talks a lot, responds, etc. I just think he's getting to understand her more now.

Anyhow, I *know* it is hard to understand what he's saying a lot of times. Specially if it's a new word. We were sitting at Chipotle's last night and he came up behind me (no more high chairs) and held my face in his hands and said "da ya ddestane" That's what I heard the first time. After like 30 seconds I decoded it LOL. Do You Understand? Yep. That's what he said. No wonder teachers are having a hard time.

Scrapping is going on as usual. I have resigned from one CT. Their requirements increased suddenly when they added more members. Instead of just doing a layout with their new kits and posting in pre-specified # of galleries, they put additional demands on all of us. I just don't have that kind of time. I'm very happy with the original 2 designers. But I do have a guest CT spot for March with an *Awesome* designer. I can't wait for Feb to be over!

I have a lot more to say but gotta go. Have a great weekend!

Terrible Twos

I was lucky to skip Stretch Marks, luckily I skipped most of Morning Sickness, I also skipped the Heartburn. But not lucky enough to skip the Terrible Twos. They have hit us with full force. Temper Tantrums at the drop of a hat. You look at him wrong and there he goes. Complete with rolling on the floor and banging his hands and feet. Try to get him wear his Jacket or Shoes when he doesn't want to. This is especially fun if you're getting late for work. Meal times are even more fun now. He learned saying 'No' a long time ago and doesn't say 'Yes' still. Does that tell you something? LOL!

Last night we stopped by the mall to pick up something. He wanted to ride the escalator. DH happily obliged. When they reached downstairs Mehul spotted the train. It's a ride-on train that just circles around the lobby and in one wing of the mall. Well, the rides are only on the weekends, but who could explain him that? Tantrum ensued right there in the lobby. Took the escalator to come up and then again rolled on the floor for a bit. I told DH to just keep walking and not look at him. That technique usually works. Thankfully, the Carousel in the Food Court was working and he got to ride that. He wanted another go but we said Bye Bye to the nice lady at the counter and she closed the gate. We promised to come back. Crisis averted.

But all the trouble was worth seeing DH riding the Carousel with him. I should have posted the Father and Son layout *in this entry*. DH is the guy who went to Disney and didn't ride a lot of Roller Coasters because they can make him sick. And there he was, with his son on the Carousel.

I can't go without sharing this latest stunt of Mehul. Last night, he woke up around 2AM. He was sleeping on our bed in-between us (we really should bring the crib back). Anyhow, DH said he had fallen back asleep. I wanted to make sure that he was. I leaned towards him to see if his eyes were closed. And I heard M say "Mamma, lie down" OMG. It was hilarious. DH and I couldn't sleep for hours after this.

No. You can't have either of my guys :-)

I got my wish..

It did snow, though not much. Only a couple of inches. I did take some pictures this morning but didn't have time to download them from the camera. I'll probably do a LO with them soon.

Nothing exciting going on. There was a lot of bad eating and not exercising over the weekend. Hope to go for a run today and to get eating back on track. I made a few dishes with Spinach over the weekend. Still have so much of it left over (had bought a bag from Costco), I'm out of ideas! Maybe I'll just chop it up and freeze it. Mehul loves the curry that I make with pureed Spinach.

He is doing better. He's eating fine now but not completely out of the woods yet. His weight was the same as the 2 year appointment. He must have lost some because he must have gained some in the last 3 months. All the clothes were getting tighter (and shorter. I swear he grew longer overnight). The doctor said his weight is always so precious. LOL! So true. His first year graph looks so zig-zaggy. Anyhow, it's not too bad anymore. My scale hasn't been working for a couple of months now so I don't know how much he has lost. Oh well.

Here's a layout of my 2 guys.

Father and Son

Credits:
Miki Ferkul's Vagabond kit available at Scrapbook Elements.

Still sick!

I've made a pediatrician appointment. Can't be a virus he's ok one day and sick another. Maybe it's something in his diet. He was perfectly fine yesterday and day before but had diarrhea this morning. Milk might be the culprit.

TGIF. It has not been a good week. In more than one way.

Stomach Virus

Yes, it was a stomach virus. He had a round of diarrhea in the evening and threw up his dinner at night. I was so hoping it was over when he didn't do anything till evening. But he seemed to handle it better this time. Ate and drank normally during the day. I gave him wheat toast in the morning, rice (light khichdi) in the afternoon, and a roti with yogurt in the evening. Water throughout the day. I was going to get pedialyte but since he didn't have anything throughout the day, I thought he was fine. Oh well, he wasn't dehydrated or anything and played all day. Still we had him at home yesterday too, just in case. Thanks for asking!

Home again

Mehul is sick. He had pretty bad diarrhoea this morning as we were eating breakfast. He said he had to go potty, and started walking like Frankenstein. We thought it was funny until we checked him. Not funny anymore :( I had to give him a bath again. He and I are staying home. I don't know if it was something he ate or a stomach virus. Hope it's not the latter.

No more scrapping done yesterday, but since I was bored, I decided to learn something new. I learned how to make a blinkie. They're hideous IMO! But, it'll improve with time.


I had made a haircut appointment for this evening, and hope DH will be back before 6:00 today. Also hope that I don't forget. LOL! So, I'm writing it here.

Not a total bust,

but could have been. Mehul's show, that is. It started out great. I reached the daycare 30 minutes before the show was supposed to start. There was no parking available at the daycare. Many parents were already there, which was a surprise since it was a working day. Anyhow, I had to park on the street. When I reached inside, there was a line to get inside the hall where the show was to take place. It is actually the little one's gym and they usually have mats, etc. there. They had made a stage and decorated in a winter theme. Yesterday, only Gard 2 was going to perform. They have 4 sections within Gard 2 and each section was going to do an individual performance, and then later, a group song (Macarana remix) with all the kids together.

Mehul was in the second section. When the first section kids arrived, they were all happy and unaware of the fact that their parents were sitting there. Once they reached the stage, some kids froze, others saw their parents in the audience and started crying. Quite understandable. Some kids remembered to dance.

Same with the second section. Mehul and another girl were the only ones dancing among their group! Sooo cute. That video came out great. At the end of this performance, when the audience started clapping, Mehul got very excited and jumped up and down while clapping above his head. Just adorable. He was about to fall but Ms. S. caught him in time.

While going back to the makeup room, he came to us and started crying. Just wouldn't leave DH. So, I picked him up and took him back to the room. I helped him out of his costume and put the other one on. He was crying because the other kids in the room were crying. I was able to distract him with something for a while. He was fine after I left. Until the big finale.

He cried the entire time during Macarana. He was in the back and was scared of all the noise and so many kids on the stage. I wanted to get him out of there. I'm so glad I got the video of the practice day, without anyone screaming and crying. Really glad. Anyhow, it still wasn't as bad as it could have been. Atleast, he enjoyed the first song. I guess this is how it usually is with little ones. You just never know.

We started painting last night. Did one coat in the sitting room, and started taping the MBR. Tonight, we'll finish taping and hopefully, get one coat in MBR. Taping the ceiling is turning out to be a challenge. In the Townhouse, our ceilings were probably 8' so DH was able to tape them by standing on the bench we have. Here it's 9' everywhere, and inside the Tray ceiling, it's 10'. We can't avoid getting a staircase any longer.

His First Show..

Mehul is participating in his first show ever! Actually, everyone in the class is. They are preparing for the Winter Show. It will be held on December 13th at the daycare. And, guess what all the 2 year olds are doing? Hey Macarana! Can you imagine how fun it will be. The other night M was doing some 'steps'. He was waving his hands and marching in place. We thought he was just marching (he does marching while saying 'March, March') This looked different, but we assumed it was a new kind of marching LOL. Little did we know this is the dance routine.
The teacher told me yesterday about this, and said that he *loves* it, and does it pretty well with the music. He may not do it on the show itself, specially if he sees us, so I'm thinking of dropping in with the camera during their practice time.

I have been stitching a lot lately, and when that happens, scrapping takes a back seat for a few days. I did manage to do finish this layout yesterday featuring our new Christmas Tree! Mehul loves it, and calls the Tree 'Kisses Tree'.

Christmas 2006

Credits:
All papers from Diamante Designs Christmas Magic at The Digi Shoppe
Holiday Trim Freebie from Corina
Used Christine Nash's Templates to cut out the star shapes

It's a good thing, right

So, yesterday Mehul's teacher confirmed what we have been suspecting. Mehul is an Artwork Addict. Yep. At home, he may be doing something, and if I call him over for 'Aquadoodle' or 'Stickers' or even a 'Pen', he'd drop everything and come running. Yesterday, when DH went to get him, all the kids were doing playdough. He asked Mehul to get up and got a 'Nooooo'. Awkward moment for DH. He kept asking Mehul to leave but he wouldn't. The teacher said he really doesn't like if anyone disturbs him while doing art. LOL! And DH said he takes after his mom. LOL! Mehul, you make me proud!!

I have kept *all* of his artwork sheets he brings home. The filing folder is bursting now, so I have to use another one from now on. I have to scan them and do a LO too. Bought the Artwork kit by ScrapArtist ages ago in hopes to use it for his artwork.

In other news, we seem to have lost his potty chair. Now, how exactly does one lose a potty chair? It takes 2 moves, stuff kept in storage, and just not needing it until now. We're getting ready to train him, and his (beloved) chair is nowhere to be found. We had introduced him to the chair when he was 18 months old, so he would get used to sitting on it with his diaper on atfirst. Now, should we look for it some more, or just suck up and buy another one?

Guess that movie

Out of the mouth of Mehul.

"SharkBait Hu Ha Ha"
"DUCK!"
"He Touch Butt"
"STOP!"
"Wa Hu Wa Hu Wa"

Complete with all the sounds effects. This boy is crazy about Nemo.

In other news, my haircut is looking fabulous. It was just 1/2 inch trimming but I just love the way it bounces. Love.

Not much went on yesterday. I reached home around 7:45 and M was asleep by 8:30. Watched some TV, had dinner and off to bed. I tried to do a LO but 30 minutes and nothing, so I deleted what I had.

I want to share about the Artist Trading Card Exchange that is going on at The Wagon. You know where The Wagon is ;) If you don't, then you probably don't need to :) I have signed up for the exchange. It seems like fun and you get to interact with the other members. You make the ATCs 2.5 x 3.5 inches, and exchange them with the other members who are participating. This month's theme is "What I'm Thankful For". I'm looking around for ideas in the scrapping galleries.

Here is the Weasel video. It is a TOY not a real weasel. You need quicktime to play this. The quality is not great since this was shot from DH's Treo.



Another one I took after some time. Mehul had just woken up and had enough of the Weasel.

Still sick, but getting better

The diagnosis was 'Begining stages of Bronchitis'. Sigh. We took him at the right time. He was having much trouble breathing, you could hear the heavy breathing. They did an oxygen count test and found it was 93. It should be somewhere around 100. He wasn't wheezing but all the mucus is stuck in the nose/throat area, making it much difficult to breathe. He got a nice warm menthol bath (Johnson's) right after coming home, that helped some. The doctor recommended a higher dosage of Tylenol or Motrin in order to get the fever down, and it worked. He hasn't had fever since Wednesday afternoon. He has been given a 3 day steroid course to help with the mucus. And an antibiotic to keep the infection away. Poor guy :( He hates taking medicine. Today is the last day of steroids (which we didn't want to give, but I guess you have to weigh the positive with the negative).

He is feeling much better. I think the steroids are helping. Yesterday, he was back in full action and managed to get 2 timeouts from us. I took the day off yesterday. Why, oh why, does he like to throw all my stitching stuff away? The chart I'm working from, the floss baggie ring, the bead box! Arghhh. But, I would take this over him being sick anyday.

Back at work today, though Girish is home. Mehul didn't need to be home, but we kept him because we don't want to be spreading nasty germs to other kids. Hopefully by Monday, everything will be back to normal.

We got one of the Kitchen cabinet door replaced today. The cabinets we got are mocha stained. The stain has a rubbed finish (darker in the seams, lighter on the flat surface) They have quite a variation in color, which is to be expected. But, one door was looking way heavily stained than the ones next to it, making it seem odd. We had asked this to be replaced and they just got the shipment. It's looking much better.
I have a photo of my kitchen before we set all the stuff in. You can see the cabinet with the blue tape on, next to the microwave is darker. I love the color scheme in the kitchen. The tiles are my choice, as is the cabinetry. The granite was Girish's choice.
Oops just noticed, there should be a refrigerator in the big empty space next to the desk! It's there, really! I'll post an updated pic.

Nothing Exciting going on

It has gotten rather cold this week here. I have to drop our overcoats at the drycleaner's. I also need to wash our other jackets. Every year, I buy atleast one new coat/jacket. This year, I'm thinking of getting one with some sort of embroidery. I saw some on a site when a stitching friend mentioned it. It would be great to wear over my Salwar Kameez or Sari. I normally avoid wearing these dresses in winter, but if I had a pretty jacket, sure. Something like this would work. I could even wear this over jeans or other pants.



Stitching. Yes, I have started stitching again. Yay for me. I picked up the 'Angel of Love' to renew my love of stitching. Here is a WIP Picture from ages ago. Not much done after this. I have to also update my webshots album. I have started a bunch of new projects, and completed some.

Scrapping. I'm still scrapping. In fact, I am downloading some new goodies by Diamante Designs (Lori) today. Speaking of that, Lori has a secret! She'll announce it soon :) The new stuff is To Die For. Trust me.

I never gave an update on Mehul's Transition. He is doing great. He took the new class like a champ. No tears from him or me. Yay. The new class is also a lot more fun, because they get to rotate the classrooms. Computer room, Library, Gym, Coconut Theatre. Oh my. He has a lot of fun there. No more Buggy rides, though. They are only for Toddlers. I'm sure he misses them!

This morning, I was supposed to drop Mehul off at the daycare. DH has been taking him for a few days, but I'm generally the one to do that. DH and Mehul got out of the house, and I came out a little later. Mehul said Bye Bye and started to go toward DH's car. I said, "No, Mehul, you're coming with me." He made such a bad face. Started wailing and saying "Nooooo. Nemo" and went with DH. Sigh. Yes, I know I only have a small car and no DVD player. Guys know their cars LOL

Just Random Stuff

The outside temperature this morning, 38F. Thirty Eight. That is 3C. That is how cold it EVER gets in Delhi! Froze my butt off. Have I mentioned that all my warm jackets are still packed away in a box in the garage somewhere. I wore my jeans jacket today. Brrr.

Mehul is fully transitioned now. He is handling it really well. And me too! I haven't cried even one time! We left him at his new class today. They have rotating schedule for the 2 year olds. Left him at the Computer Lab and he instantly got busy puttering away. Who's child is he afterall! LOL.

This Sunday is our monthly potluck. I offered to make Aloo Gobhi (Cauliflower & Potato side dish). My Pindi De Chole (Chickpeas) last time was a hit. Got a reputation to keep!

We have a lot of unpacking to do this weekend. Apart from Sunday afternoon, we're pretty much free all weekend. There is no Cable or Internet yet, guess we don't have an excuse. LOL

Officially Moved

Yesterday was our first night at our new house. Technically, it was our second night as we had stayed the night of House Blessing or 'Havan' ceremony, but that was just us, without any of our stuff. Almost all of the furniture has been moved, with the exception of a side table, some decoration items, etc. Both the houses are currently looking as disaster areas, as is to be expected.

Lower Level

Girish assembled the Entertainment Unit that is in the Family Room. With some rearrangement of furniture there, that room will be done. I started setting the Kitchen, Refrigerator and that's all looking good too. In the Dining Room, the China Cabinet has been moved to it's proper place, inbetween the two east side windows. The table needs to be assembled. We couldn't find the drill bits for the electronic drill, or it would have been done yesterday! Manual process takes much more time LOL We don't have any furniture in the Living Room currently, as in our Townhouse, we had combined Living/Family Rooms. The Home Office furniture needs to be assembled back too.

Upper Level

Total disaster. Master and Guest Bedroom furniture need to assembled. Clothes are all over the place. I started setting our clothes in the Walk In Closet this morning. Mehul's clothes are all in a big pile. Finding a uniform for him to wear to Creme was interesting. I kept coming up with single socks from many pairs LOL

Transitioning

Mehul seems to be very happily settled in the house. He calls this 'Townhouse'. Apparantly, we did so much house talk in front of him, he picked this word up and had been using it for a long time before we realized what he was saying! He was running all over the place last night, and even went to sleep peacefully. He still sleeps with us, though. He never got used to sleeping in the crib except for naps. That's ok, we like it that way :)

As far as his transitioning to the Big Boy Room, today it's 2 hours, not 1 as they mentioned in the papers they sent home. Mehul and another kid from his class are starting there today. Atleast he has someone with him! He would also (probably) recognize some older kids from his class there. Hoping that he doesn't cry! He was a little clingy this morning as he has come back after a 3 day break.

Other

Today is KarwaChauth. I am fasting today. No food or drink before Moonrise! Please, Moon, come out early tonight!

In the middle of Packing

Most of the stuff has already moved, I am packing up the kitchen now. Just taking a short break. Girish had to go to work today, Mehul and I are home. I am also cooking a couple of meals now, so that we wouldn't have to worry about unpacking the kitchen right after moving, or eat out (like last time LOL).

I have done a couple of layouts that I'm not finding the time to upload here. You can browse my gallery at DST if you're so inclined. I have also made a card for Mehul's daycare teachers. I haven't posted that one, but I will post it after giving them to the teachers.

Speaking of that, Mehul will start transitioning over to the 2 Year Old room tomorrow. They ease them into the routine, so, tomorrow he'd be there for 1 hour in the morning. Next day, he'll be there till the afternoon but will come back for lunch in his toddler room. The next day, he'll do lunch and afternoon nap there, and so on. They take a full week to do the transitioning. I hope it all goes well. Since we're also moving today, it's a lot of change for him. From his perspective, his whole world is changing. Sigh.

Well, I have to get back to packing and preparing meals.

Let's rewind

I'm so pooped today. Yesterday, I had to do a lot of running around to get all the things ready for his party. We had gotten most of the stuff beforehand, but had to pick up the balloons (can't do that in advance, right), and the cupcakes. I got off work at lunchtime. The cupcakes were specially prepared for us (by Wegmen's; their staff is so helpful) with Red and Yellow icing. Did I mention the two stores are at the opposite ends from my house? Anyhow, I picked both up and went home to relax a bit and have lunch. Prepared a salad quickly. I was going to eat cake later in the day so didn't have a big lunch.
Girish was stuck in a meeting at the last moment, but thankfully it ended right on time. He came home around 2:25. When we reached the daycare, our little angel was fast asleep, along with a lot of other little angels. I took a picture, ofcourse. The kids had already started waking up. I set the table and put the food out.
Miss O. had to wake Mehul up, as it was around 2:45 and he had already napped for more than 2.5 hours. He opened his eyes, looked at me and Daddy. We totally expected he'd scream with joy and say Mamma and come running to me. Nope. He said "Emmo" looking at the balloons. Completely ignored us. Nice to know he remembers Elmo.
One of the kids has a lot of allergies, so he couldn't have anything we brought. Poor C. He was looking at the other kids, sitting at a different table. I felt so bad for him. Miss J. said sorry to him twice while serving him his food :(

The kids in the other class were peeking in. They were so excited to see the balloons. A lot of them started singing Happy Birthday!

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun to see all the kids. They sang Happy Birthday, ate and had a great time. I took a lot of pictures. Still have to resize them. We also took pictures of the house at daytime. Maybe I'll make one huge post with them.

We also did a quiet little cake and candle party at home. Mehul and I decorated a cheesecake (yep). Then, he was given his gifts. He was so excited about the first one, he didn't open the rest Hehe. It is the Elmo's Workbench as seen on Gina's Blog. It's the best thing. He was quite the carpenter last night! I literally had to peel him off the floor to go to bed. This morning, he was at it again. We'll open the rest of the presents today!

Curious George, or Elmo? Or, Finding Nemo?

These are the themes I'm trying to decide for Mehul's 2nd birthday party. He'll have 2 parties, one at the daycare with Cupcakes and juice boxes, and another at home next weekend (or the weekend after). I'm thinking of doing the daycare party with a theme. Although, I might do both with different themes. Wouldn't be the first time I changed my mind at the last minute.

The daycare has strict policy about food, though. They don't allow cake or candles. Only cupcakes, with an ingredients label on it, so I can't make them (I was contemplating that). Now, if we can decide on the theme, we'll get the items tonight or tomorrow night. Friday and Saturday will be *very busy* days. I'm not announcing anything on my blog because it's a surprise for some people. Shhhhh.....

Back to the themes - At first, his favorite character was Elmo. Loved Elmo. Still does. I remember we took his singing 'emmo' doll on our vacation to India. He danced when emmo sang.

Nemo - DH's SUV has a DVD player, he watches Nemo all the time when he's in the car. When he gets into my car, he's instantly disappointed that 'mooomie' isn't there. He saw moomie at the aquarium and was pretty excited.

Curious George - Recent addiction. We let him watch the cartoon on WETA when he sits down for breakfast. Now, when we put him on the chair, he demands 'Geoge'. It's cute.

The daycare party will be at 3PM on his birthday. That is the time everyone gets a second snack after the afternoon nap. I bet he'll be excited to see Mommy and Daddy drop in the daycare with food!

The other party will be at home, with lots of family friends and their kids. I have his dress for this party. Too cute. I don't know what I'm wearing for this one yet. Plenty of time to figure out :)