Proliferation of 'Twins'

Some 10 years back I barely knew one or two families who had twins. Over the last 5 years I have known a few more. But lately the twin phenomenon seems to be going strong. Here's what I mean:
1. I worked for OSAF for 3.5 years and during that span 4 of us had twins
2. I take the kids to MyGym and among some 12 kids there are 2 sets of twins and the instructor herself has twins.
3. My kids are enrolled for a Music Class and among 8 kids there are 2 sets of twins
4. At ParentsPlace and last Friday I met 2 other moms with twins (among 15 kids)
5. Our local Mothers Club playgroup (ages 2-3) includes 2 other moms besides me with twins.

Is it that just because I have twins that I have begun to take notice of more and more twins around me or there is really some phenomenon going around that cannot be dismissed?

3 is the new 2

In case you have been too busy to notice, let me tell you 3 is the new 2. Being in various classes all week with the kids and being part of the local mothers club, I meet lots and lots of moms and there is one pattern that stands out clearly. More and more families are going for 3 kids. Yes, brave ones indeed and I applaud them. I have also met moms who are having their third kid in late 30s and early 40s. I have tried prodding them to figure out what exactly motivates them to extend their families beyond 2. I haven't found a general answer except the fact that these people are just family oriented people. They enjoy babies and kids and as soon as their older kids grow up they miss having little ones running around at home and that's part of the reason. Having 2 toddlers at home, I can completely relate to them but it would take a lot more convincing to get me to have a third. I mean just the amount of work involved and support required single handedly tilts the decision in favor of no. In the past I have worked for a company in the mid-west where having more than 2 kids was the norm. Everyone around me had at least 3 or more kids. Yes, some even 5 and these are people of our generation. It is true that beyond a point, there is economy of scale but there is certainly a delta of work that must be done by parents.
Anyhow, kudos to those parents who are going for larger families. Especially kudos to Casey, who is having her third baby anytime this week while her older twins just completed a year 2 weeks back.

Wild day with Thomas

If you have a 2 year old, you probably have heard, seen, worn and eaten anything and everything resembling 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. What's a silly looking train has the kids by their wits. My 2 year olds' first toddler toothbrush, toothpaste and underwear had Thomas on it. And it doesn't end there, next comes t-shirt, shoes, books, bag pack and what not. So when a friend mentioned that Roaring Camp in Felton, CA was having this event called 'Day out with Thomas' I naturally jumped on it. It was a dream come true for the kids, actually getting to ride on Thomas and hearing some of their favorite tunes. Of course, for the $18 that they charged us per ticket they could have made the whole experience a lot better than just a simple train ride through the redwoods. Everything else was an add-on. The place was packed with parents and kids dressed in all kinds of Thomas ensemble. The place is fun besides the train ride too. There are jump houses, clown shows, hay stack structures, playdough and bubble stations. The kids had a smashing time. Needless to say, we came back home more tired than the kids.

5 dump trucks and counting..

5 dump trucks, 3 fire engines, 3 diggers, 2 front loaders, 1 cement mixer, 1 bull dozer and more.
You can tell there lives someone in this house who loves anything and everything TRUCKS!!

What's up popcorn?

What's up with the different varieties of popcorn? What's happened to the simple old fashioned regular popcorn that we used to get. I visited a grocery store recently to pick up some for our movie nite. All I wanted was just regular popcorn.
I had to choose from:
1. movie theater butter style
2. blasto butter
3. light butter
4. kettle corn
5. caramel corn
6. unsalted and fat-free
7. 100 calorie
8. organic
9. buttery garlic
10. 94 % fat-free
11. fat-free
12. salt and cracked pepper
13. cheddar popcorn
14. Low-fat and low-sodium

Couldn't they just have one that is labeled "Regular"?

Vegetable Lasagna recipe

Ingredients:

1. Barilla Lasagna pasta sheets
2. Marinara Sauce - 1 bottle
3. Ricotta cheese,
4. Low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
5. Parmesan cheese
6. Chopped spinach
7. Zuchini
8. Carrots
9. Summer squash
10. Radish
11. Red/Green/Yellow peppers
12.Onions
13.Garlic
14.Italian Seasoning
15.Olive oil


Making the vegetable filling:
1. Slice up all the vegetables in thin, small strips
2. First fry the onions in olive oil, add garlic and once the onions are done, add all the veggies and cook them.
3. Add italian seasoning and some salt to it and keep is aside

Making the cheese filling:
1. Mix chopped spinach with the ricotta cheese,salt and some pepper and put that aside
2. Mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheese and keep it in a seperate dish.

Layering the lasagna:
1. Boil the lasagna pasta sheets
2. Take a large (9'x13') baking dish and cover the base with some marinara sauce
3. Put a layer pasta sheets
4. Add the veggie filling and top it with some marinara sauce and the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
5. Put a second layer of pasta sheets
6. Add a spinach ricotta cheese filling
7. Add the third layer of pasta sheet, top it with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Texan heat, here we come!

We are off for a family vacation to Dallas tomorrow. Yeah, I know lot of people have asked me why Dallas? When has Dallas become a popular spot for vacation and that too in summer. Well, my answer is 'Family'. Viral's family lives there and when you have kids there is comfort in going to places where you have family and home. I hear the temperatures there haven't hit the 100s yet so it may not be that bad. Besides there are lovely indoor pools and water parks to visit there. I will most certainly post the pictures after we are back. This is the third year in a row we are off to Dallas for the July 4th weekend. So Texan heat, here we come again!

Cleaning is theraputic

When you are home all day with two toddlers, as naughty and hyperactive as mine, you need doses of energy supplements and pain relievers every now and then. And instead of popping half a dozen pills, you begin to explore solutions best available right around you. When I was single, meaning with no kids, shopping at a mall was the most effective means of beating my blues. Even getting a $5 trinket coupled with couple of hours of window shopping was best to get me in the best of the moods. Well with that being a luxury these days, I had to find other stress busters around the house. Lately I have realised that cleaning up and organizing household stuff had the same effect. Not necessarily scrubbing the floors or doing the dishes but simple stuff like organizing kids' toys in their bins, labeling them, organizing the closets, putting batteries in the toys, arranging books in the book closet, downloading photos from the camera onto the laptop and AppleTV and just simple things like that. Most of the stuff really takes 30 mins or less but at the end of the day there is a sense of having accomplished something. And again the rewards are in those countless genuine smiles that flash up when a dormant choo-choo gets going again or one of their favorite books that was misplaced for weeks shows up in the closet again.

cherries, cherries and more cherries

Last weekend we set out for a picnic to Brentwood, the heart of Cherry farms in western California. The cherries were in full bloom but we missed other fruits like nectarines, peaches, apricots etc. We'd have to wait atleast a month more for those to be out in full bloom for picking but we were happy to just go pick cherries. Ripe, luscious and mouth-watering cherries were sitting in large looms waiting to be picked. The kids had fun picking at the low hanging bunches and shooting them straight into their mouths while we climbed the trees to grab the large ones looming at the top.

Viva San Diego

This memorial day weekend turned out to be quite memorable. Viral had to make a business trip to Santa Monica and like a loyal spouse I decided to tag along with the kids. Given my were parents visiting, they tagged along as well and it turned out to be one nice little vacation with the entire family. We spent a day in Santa Monica visiting the downtown and the next 2 days with Shamu the whale at Seaworld and elephants and the giraffes at the San Diego Zoo.

Tomatoes, basil and more..

Spring is in the air and you can't fail to notice those little flowers blooming everywhere - in the parks, along roadsides, in people's backyards, everywhere. Even the city does a good job planting those colorful shrubs along roadsides. It has especially been a delight taking the early morning walk and enjoying the whiff of fresh morning air muffled with fragrances of fresh flowers.
Taking this delight a little further we decided to embellish our otherwise barren backyard with some plants this year. So we started off with tomatoes and basil and if they survive the next two weeks we plan to add bell peppers,lemon grass, some more jasmine and possibly some mint.

Freshly planted basil and





and tomatoes



Roses in bloom

Visit to the Natural Bridges state park

We discovered a true novelty of a place over the weekend : Natural Bridges state park near Santa Cruz. Pristine beach, clear water and beautiful warm weather. The kids had a great time playing in the soft sand making sand castles and tunnels. It was warm enough that we could take their clothes off and let them feel the ocean water, something that they don't get to do often.

We had to later make our mandatory stop over at the santa cruz boardwalk on our way back. The kids just can't get enough of the rides there. Ofcourse the cheese and garlic fries are an incentive enough for us adults to keep visiting the place again and again.

Drums, Maraccas, Triangles and more..

I didn't think kids this age were attuned to music but here they are playing musical instruments to the melodious beat of 'Twinkle twinkle little star' , 'Wheels on the bus..' etc

An interesting article by Khuswant Singh

An interesting article on prejudices, Islam and the Prophet by Khuswant Singh.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080216/jsp/opinion/story_8909500.jsp

a Mom's story...

Many years back this email (attached below) was forwarded to me and I remember feeling overwhelmed with nostalgia at how closely this related to my mom's life back home when we were growing up.

Yesterday when I read this email again I could appreciate it from a completely new perspective, from that of being a mom, and I have to say not much has changed since the last generation.

--
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, 'I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed'

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.
She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button.
She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, 'I thought you were going to bed.'

'I'm on my way,' she said.

She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.
In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. 'I'm going to bed.' And he did...without another thought.

First Art Class

Kiddos in their first art class. I have to admit I had as much fun with colors and confetti as the kids.

Being a mom today

Like a babycenter mom put it, "What does it mean being a mom of this generation? We have vaccines for our kids, disposable diapers, dozens of jogging strollers to choose from, option of working from home, shelves full of parenting books, partners who cook, clean and watch the kids and mom friends who are only a phone call or an email away.
But flip that coin and life doesn't look that rosy. There's controversy about the vaccines, guilt over sending those disposable diapers to landfill, way too many choices over what you want to buy as a parent, the need to work more hours than we like, the media messages are getting louder, the world in general is moving faster and the pressure is increasing. So whether this is the best times for the moms or worst is one of the hotly debated topics.

To get a better sense of what modern motherhood is like, we have a discussion at our mothers club in the next upcoming meeting.

I personally think this is a better time. The best part of being a mom today is access to information. Even though it may get overwhelming at times, I would much rather have access to it than none at all. I love choices and the fact that I know what effect each choice has. I am sure there are moms who can argue for the cons and it will be interesting to hear the other perspective.

who's being silly and who's being cute

Look who's being silly..





and who's cutely posing for pictures



Boys are boys and girls are girls.

This amazing thing called the 'play-doh'

Ever since I became a mom and have been exposed to all the wonderful toys developed for the kids of this generation, I strongly feel that we had a deprived childhood. Just walk into a toy-store and they practically have a miniature toy for everything an adult uses at home. The other day I saw a toy shaving kit and I couldn't stop laughing
Just recently I discovered this amazing thing called 'play-doh'. Why didn't someone think of this 30 years back? Not only are the kids having fun playing with it, but I have taken a liking to it myself. I have to admit, I have been stealing chances of playing with it whenever the kids are busy with other things. How this little soft dough of clay renders beautifully between the moulds of your 2 hands.

We started out with some standard shape moulds and then gradually moved on to creating more interesting objects like the bouquet of flowers as shown below.

Our little 'Zoo' project

When you are a full time mom, your brains are operating on full steam looking for projects to keep the kids busy. Here's an idea I picked from a book. I got some animal stickers and cut out a big sheet from one of the cardboard packages we received in mail recently. I drew a basic landscape of a zoo - some grass, a few trees and a pond and had the kids stick the pictures of the animals all over it. Apart from some 'minor' discrepancy of crocodiles floating on trees and horses in the pond, the kids seemed to have a gala time working on this.

A nice 'Spring'y weekend

The weather has been phenomenal lately. The sun has been particularly kind with the early onslaught of spring this year. We had to exploit the weekend by doing stuff outdoors. We were at the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk on Saturday with couple of friends. The kids had a gala time on the Dolphin, water boat and train rides. The highlight of the trip were the signature garlic fries and caramelized kettle corn, a speciality of the place.
On sunday, we visited the Lemos Farm up near Half Moon Bay. The close proximity to the ocean always renders the place cold with some severe winds. Nevertheless, we were bundled up in 3 layers all determined to make most out of the sunny day. The kids had a fantastic time on the pony rides and the choo-choo train.

Aha, you may work for Microsoft after all

You may run but you can't hide. You may have worked for a small company doing really cool stuff with web technologies. You may have grandeur plans of seeing the company make it big and a time comes along when your management decides to sell out for some big bucks to one of those Internet giants. Along comes Microsoft and some how (you can't tell how) sees some synergy in bying your parent company out. And here you are, you have been fighting all your life from joining a mega corporation just because you love the small company culture where everyone from the CEO to the last man in Support know each other by their first names, whatever you do for the business makes it on the company blog, and everyone just hangs together like one big family. Now you are a small frog in a large pond not knowing where this is all headed and how are you going to make a difference.

Ah, coincidentally there is just something along those lines in the news today..

'Family Wisdom' is in..

Based on strong recommendation from my Dad, I finally started reading Robin Sharma's 'Family Wisdom'. It's a book on how to nurture leadership values in your children. The book has gotten off a great start and I can't wait to see how it pans out. I have read his previous best-seller 'The Monk who sold his Ferrari' and I loved it. So I am really looking forward to reading this one. If you find yourself with some extra time on your hands, be sure to get your hands on this one.

A sabbatical from work

The 4 glorious years at OSAF have come to an end. I sincerely hope Chandler will get a second boost of life from the slowly growing community that is using it. I still continue to use it everyday to maintain all of the kids' and my personal schedule and task lists. I am still subscribed to the users and design list so that I can answer occasional questions from the users or provide input on the design issues. The hardest part was letting my team know that the funding had dried out and therefore this stint was coming to an end.

On personal front, I am taking time off to spend with my 20 month old twins. It's a long overdue sabbatical from work. Having just completed 10 year work span and with 2 demanding toddlers at home, I figured there couldn't be a better time. I have a long list of things I want to accomplish during this time and I hope to get through at least half of those. List includes stuff like catching up on reading, finishing an oil painting, spending time on photography etc.

For now it's a break I am looking forward to indulging in..