For those of you who know Catherine pretty well, you'll know that she LOVES to pretend (with our help) to be other people- namely, characters from TV shows like Dora, Boots and Swiper; Diego, Alicia and Baby Jaguar; Leo, Annie and Rocket; Pooh, Tigger and Piglet, etc, etc. Wow- that makes it sound like she watches a ton of TV, but really she's just got a mind like a steel trap and remembers EVERYTHING.
In any case, today, she just about knocked our socks off at dinner when she declared: "OK, let's pretend. I'm President Obama. Mom, you're the daughters, and Dad, you're their new dog."
HAHAHAHAHA! We almost DIED laughing. Of course, as Republicans, we're not quite sure how we feel about this new "fantasy" of hers: should we be proud that she's pretending to be the President of the United States, or should we be worried that she's pretending to be a- gasp- democrat?
Just thought I'd share! Hee hee!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
We've hit our stride!
Finally- a decent schedule.
Catherine has started "Summer Camp" at a local preschool, the TreeHouse. It's one of the better preschools in the area, and a lot of expats send their kids to school there, so that's a good sign. She'll attend camp every morning 9-11 for 4 weeks! This is a long time, but it's really helped to structure our day better. Plus, she can meet new friends and have some time away from Mom.
Of course, the standards here are MUCH different than in the U.S....there are no tables and chairs, so the kids sit on the floor to do everything, including snack. There are mosquitos in the school (they are EVERYWHERE here), so I have to spray her down every morning. The puzzles are all wood, have paint chipping off and are missing pieces. She has told me that they don't make them wash hands after potty, so I'm drilling her several times a day to say "My mommy says I HAVE to wash hands after potty and before snack!" Oh, ya gotta love it!
So now, we are all up by 7:30, get dressed and by 8 pm, we are actually siting at the breakfast table together! It's so refreshing to see Mike in the morning, and it's fun to see him interact with Catherine while she is still on her "morning high"! (Plus, it gives me a few minutes to suck down a cup of coffee so I can be on MY high!) We load into the car by 8:40, and drop Mike off at work, then I drop Catherine off at camp by 9. I then get 1 whole hour to myself! Yay! Gracy and Leticia show up at 10, and then I'm out the door at 10:45 to pick her back up. We run an errand or 2 (since stores don't open till 11!) and then back home for lunch and quiet time. In the afternoons, we either go down to the playground or to a playgroup in the local area- some playgroups are 45 minutes away and I don't like to do those.
So, overall, things are going much smoother for us, and I think that we are all a little happier!
This weekend we are headed to Ahmedabad, a city in the state of Gujarat. Mike has a business conference there next week, so we thought we'd join him for the weekend and check out another part of India. There is a lot of history there- many temples and mosques to visit, as well as a nice lake and some ancient wells. Should be interesting!
Catherine has started "Summer Camp" at a local preschool, the TreeHouse. It's one of the better preschools in the area, and a lot of expats send their kids to school there, so that's a good sign. She'll attend camp every morning 9-11 for 4 weeks! This is a long time, but it's really helped to structure our day better. Plus, she can meet new friends and have some time away from Mom.
Of course, the standards here are MUCH different than in the U.S....there are no tables and chairs, so the kids sit on the floor to do everything, including snack. There are mosquitos in the school (they are EVERYWHERE here), so I have to spray her down every morning. The puzzles are all wood, have paint chipping off and are missing pieces. She has told me that they don't make them wash hands after potty, so I'm drilling her several times a day to say "My mommy says I HAVE to wash hands after potty and before snack!" Oh, ya gotta love it!
So now, we are all up by 7:30, get dressed and by 8 pm, we are actually siting at the breakfast table together! It's so refreshing to see Mike in the morning, and it's fun to see him interact with Catherine while she is still on her "morning high"! (Plus, it gives me a few minutes to suck down a cup of coffee so I can be on MY high!) We load into the car by 8:40, and drop Mike off at work, then I drop Catherine off at camp by 9. I then get 1 whole hour to myself! Yay! Gracy and Leticia show up at 10, and then I'm out the door at 10:45 to pick her back up. We run an errand or 2 (since stores don't open till 11!) and then back home for lunch and quiet time. In the afternoons, we either go down to the playground or to a playgroup in the local area- some playgroups are 45 minutes away and I don't like to do those.
So, overall, things are going much smoother for us, and I think that we are all a little happier!
This weekend we are headed to Ahmedabad, a city in the state of Gujarat. Mike has a business conference there next week, so we thought we'd join him for the weekend and check out another part of India. There is a lot of history there- many temples and mosques to visit, as well as a nice lake and some ancient wells. Should be interesting!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Mumbai Facts and Figures
I've been thinking that I don't really know too much about the city in which we are living...and that's a bit embarrassing. So, I did a little research, and this is what I found:
- Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
- The total area of the city is 440 sq. km or 170 sq. miles.
- The population is 18 million, projected to reach 28.5 million by 2020.
- Mumbai is the capital of the state of Maharashtra.
- Marathi, Hindi and English are the main languages.
- Climate - Summer 200 C - 390 C, Winter 120 C - 340 C. Mumbai has a truly tropical climate and temperatures remain fairly uniform throughout the year. You never need to pack woolens for Mumbai, not even in December. Mumbai is drowned every year under torrential Indian Ocean monsoon rains between June and September, usually beginning by 7th June every year.
For more (actually very interesting) information, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai
It's not a bad thing to expand our minds every once in a while! :)
- Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
- The total area of the city is 440 sq. km or 170 sq. miles.
- The population is 18 million, projected to reach 28.5 million by 2020.
- Mumbai is the capital of the state of Maharashtra.
- Marathi, Hindi and English are the main languages.
- Climate - Summer 200 C - 390 C, Winter 120 C - 340 C. Mumbai has a truly tropical climate and temperatures remain fairly uniform throughout the year. You never need to pack woolens for Mumbai, not even in December. Mumbai is drowned every year under torrential Indian Ocean monsoon rains between June and September, usually beginning by 7th June every year.
For more (actually very interesting) information, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai
It's not a bad thing to expand our minds every once in a while! :)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Catherine-isms
Catherine is becoming quite the little comedienne. She is constantly CRACKING me up, so I thought I'd share a few of her most recent one-liners:
1. When asked if she'd like something to drink: "You'd better believe it, kid!"
2. At bedtime: "No matter what, I love you to outerspace and back!" (Sigh!)
3. When discussing baby names, and Mike suggested Marlin: "Well, I love the Nemo movie, Dad, but I don't think Marlin's a good one."
4. When asked by someone what we're going to name the baby: "My dad is stuck on Smith, but I keep telling him that's not an option!"
5. After any meal: "I can feel MY baby kicking now, too!"
6. Early in the morning, when I'm still groggy and cranky: "Did you have your ONE cup of coffee yet, Mom?"
7. After trying pepperoni on pizza: "Maybe I'll like pepperoni when I'm 10 years old..."
8. Sharing an elevator with an Indian man: "That man is a weirdo- his hair is all twisty!" (Cringe!)
9. After Sachin (our driver) teases her: "Sachin, stop teasing me, I'm just a little girl!"
10. Upon seeing me in the shower: "I like your big boobies, Mommy!" Hahaha!
1. When asked if she'd like something to drink: "You'd better believe it, kid!"
2. At bedtime: "No matter what, I love you to outerspace and back!" (Sigh!)
3. When discussing baby names, and Mike suggested Marlin: "Well, I love the Nemo movie, Dad, but I don't think Marlin's a good one."
4. When asked by someone what we're going to name the baby: "My dad is stuck on Smith, but I keep telling him that's not an option!"
5. After any meal: "I can feel MY baby kicking now, too!"
6. Early in the morning, when I'm still groggy and cranky: "Did you have your ONE cup of coffee yet, Mom?"
7. After trying pepperoni on pizza: "Maybe I'll like pepperoni when I'm 10 years old..."
8. Sharing an elevator with an Indian man: "That man is a weirdo- his hair is all twisty!" (Cringe!)
9. After Sachin (our driver) teases her: "Sachin, stop teasing me, I'm just a little girl!"
10. Upon seeing me in the shower: "I like your big boobies, Mommy!" Hahaha!
Mumbai sights
We toured downtown Mumbai this past Saturday- it's very interesting! I'd like to go back again when it's not so hot, I'm not so BIG, and I know more about what I'm looking at. BUT- here are preliminary pics for those of you who've never seen anything at all from India (God knows I never had before we got here!)
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