This Week!!

This week was pretty hectic...or I made it really busy for myself, in spite of it being a spring break! Monday started really sluggish, and by afternoon, i had finished all my chores and decided to clean all the appliances...then by evening, we both got ready and i dropped farah at play area and went off to do the step class...I spent Tuesday morning in the fitness center too and took farah for a haircut at Cookie cutters where we had to wait for nearly 1 hr before we got our turn...Wednesday i had to make the curries for the surprise baby shower and after that gave farah a good long hair bath,which she enjoyed..That evening was just great...except i felt bad for not going to fitness center...or guilty i should say!! Thursday we were going to see my neighbor's new born girl..she was just adorable.....and so precious....i really miss those baby days of Farah. by night, my Abu was here and Friday was as usual...by afternoon, we went to FC again.........i burnt 310 calories..that is my highest so far...felt sore to the core...:)..today bunked the FC(fitness center)...yet another week starts tomorrow, but atleast the temperatures are getting better...it is in 60s tomorrow..

we got the garden bed ready to transplant my new baby plants...i will post the pictures right from when they were put in the pot to being transplanted in the garden...i think in a few weeks my blog is going to turn from weather blog to gardening blog :) happy week ahead to all!!

Really into fitness now!

This Monday, I did my first Step Aerobics class...Man,I noticed how much i have changed...for the worse only..the miscarriage has definitely taken a toll in my physical appearance...and i am determined to go back to my old self...I cannot live like this!

I really enjoyed doing the group exercise, as it gave me tons of motivation, seeing others do and at the same time feeling better that I am definitely not alone. The next 2 days was hell..I felt as if I had run an 800m race..!Hey i used to do that...! But tuesday morning, i pulled myself up, as soon as i dropped my little one at school, i hit the gym again...On wednesday did not go, since i felt so exhausted. Today, i decided that i am not giving up...so after i dropped my kid at school again, i hit the gym and did some cycling for 6 miles..!woo hoo!

In the evening, i dragged my friendly neighbor with me to the cardio mix class..and was glad that she enjoyed it too...For the first time in Farah's life i left her at a daycare when i went for the class...I felt bad..that goes without saying...but i have to do this for myself! I deserve it!

When i went to pick her, she was so engrossed in painting, that she turned around and said,"mommy why don't u go and do exercise one more time, I am busy u see!!" i was taken aback....!Well what more can i ask for from my little one..This is my BOOST, Bournvita, complan..everything :)

Learn Arabic!

I came across this site, which teaches Arabic for free..It is really great.For those of you who want to learn or want your kids to learn Arabic, this site is one of the best.

http://www.madinaharabic.com/index.htm

Welcome Johnny Depp!!

Yoo hoo..my favorite hero Johnny Depp is going to be here in Aurora, just minutes away from where we live..

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=125479

Wish I could go and see him...maybe even take a pic..The shooting is scheduled to be on Apr 5th and 6th.

Weather report ...March 21,2008.

First Day of Spring..what do u expect?? Beautiful New green leaves on the trees, some buds of tulips..grass visible with all the snow gone..!!

But what do we see today here in chicago...snow spread all over the grass and with more snow storm warning..!!9-11" of snow.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!almost a foot! guess what..it is called the "heart attack snow" by the docs..it is such heavy snow that it might cause back injuries!!

I have started seedlings at home and they have come out very well..except that there is no possibility whatsoever to transplant them to the kitchen garden outside.

I never thought I'd say this..but i hate snow!!!!!!!!!atleast for now.

55....

yooohoooo...55 today...awesome....going out for a walk now....i feel like flying....la..la...la....so great...!!

my blog is becoming more like weather channel...:P but can't help it...i want this winter to be over...!!

Very Interesting article.

I read this in one of the blogspots for Indian moms. It makes me wonder how my kid will do when we eventually return back to India.How Indian education would treat her. I know how education
in India is..not much encouragement for people who think and do the exams...it rather supports those who mug up the book and then dump it over the answer papers...if you have good memory then you can certainly become a doctor. but after reading this article....it makes me wonder if this is what they call as child abuse...I wish someone put a stop to this craziness before it affects the future generations.

http://desimomzclub.blogspot.com/2008/02/nursery-admissions-get-ready-for-battle.html

If we put too much pressure on such little hearts and minds, wouldn't it affect their self confidence, if they are not up to the mark set by this Indian education. I hope this changes not just for the sake of my kid but every little one that has to go through this type of interviews and pressure.

God save us from the snow.

Snow snow snow....when will this ever end...spring seems to be far away..out of sight....Check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UG6BeCmlg0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S9e5M5OwRU&NR=1


So crazy!!!

Fitness..hmmm...too difficult!!

Finally I decided to enter the fitness center to shed a few winter pounds.I gained a lot of pounds over the last 2 months. I definitely don't feel good abt it. my favourite dresses aren't fitting anymore...:(

I didn't have the courage to enter the fitness center all by myself.so i asked my neighbor friends if someone could join me as a partner...luckily my dear friend saritha, joined with me. she had been going for past 5 weeks. she became my personal trainer..:) boy, was it difficult to do all the running and climbing..:) i did the stair master and the elliptical...next day was so horrible...so that's it i didn't go again....!! but no, i am not ready to give up..I am going to try again this monday..I am going to start walking in the track and take it up slowly.I don't believe that i have become like this. I am not going to give up.

I have always found water exercises to be easier. maybe after this month, i will go back to swimming. i hate getting in the cold water.but i definitely am not going to give up on the fitness. I am going to set aside 30 minutes everyday for this purpose...let's see how it goes..fingers crossed.

Definitely Democratic...but is it going to be Clinton or Obama??

Yes I am definitely democratic. But who will it be? Clinton or Obama??? 4 years ago, during local elections, i was supporting Obama. I still haven't changed my support towards him.

When Clinton stood for elections, i thought maybe a woman president would also do some good..but seeing the way she is handling things, my support towards Obama has gotten stronger. There are many websites against obama. there are many wrong things said abt him. I guess it is all in the game..But why is he being a gentleman??? He should come strongly and say those things that are said abt him are wrong.

I really hope Obama wins the democratic election. If not now, at least 4 years later. Lets see!

My Glass painting..

6 years ago there was this lamp in our home. it was a hand me down for my hubby when he was a bachelor. it was in pretty bad shape. When I came to US at that time, the lamp broke, so we had to throw it away. The only thing that i could rescue from it was the glass on which a vase could be kept.

I carefully stowed away the circular glass piece. When we went to India the next time, my DH got me the glass paint from Landmark. That was also kept away carefully.

Everytime i took it out to paint,something or the other came up. I couldn't believe that we even shifted to a new home and glass piece made its journey safely to its new home.

Last month, i was sick, so had to be in bed rest for most of the time. DH took care of my kid and so i had all the time in the world. I didn't want to be depressed, so decided to divert my time and mood to something useful. First thing i did was to start a cooking blogspot...(hotwok.wordpress.com). second thing that came into my mind was this glass painting.

So i took out the "Treasured Trash", and painted it.it came out pretty well for being a first timer.
Then I let it dry and forgot all about it. Then 2 days later, there was this posting in IHM about the next Online competition and guess what the topic was,"Trash to treasure". I couldn't believe it. So finally i went to the store and bought a little stand and displayed it and took a pic. I just finished entering too..

I feel so happy that i was able to accomplish something, and in addition to that,even enter it in a competition. A pat on my back for a positive thing i did this month.

Writer Sujatha Passed away.

Writer Sujatha passed away.He was one of the greatest writers that i have adored even as a child.I love his science fiction stories. His contribution to the tamil world is absolutely amazing.

http://www.writersujatha.com/aboutus.html

May his soul rest in peace.

Spring...Are u here??

Well, it has been a very rough winter. Such a winter was here 30 years ago. it was freezing and wind chills went 20 to 30 below 0 degree Fahrenheit. it was awful.Specially, Abdul had to do the cleaning alone this year and i felt very bad for him.Our snow blower decided to stop working.we got a new one after endless shoveling of the snow. That didn't seem to work well either.
Farah was the only one who had thorough fun in the snow. she wanted to make footprints almost after every fresh snowfall. it seems she is not at all feeling the cold.lucky her!
Canadian and 2 of US's groundhogs predicted early spring. Whether the ground hogs predicted or not, we simply need the spring like right now. I do see signs of spring but we can never predict anything. there was a rise in temp today and tomorrow will be 40...hurray!! Can't wait to welcome spring. can't wait to see my bulbs sprouting above the ground...can't wait for my plants to flower again..when will this white change to green???

Just had to edit this post now, cause we are having a snow storm yet again.....sigh..!!aahhh...there seems to be no end to this winter......and Abdul is already thinking about moving...!!

Feeling Blue...

Yes I am feeling blue....I am helpless...not depressed...yet feeling low....Jan 31st is the worst day of my life...I never felt so helpless...I found out i was pregnant on dec29th 07. It was the happiest new year i ever celebrated....but it is turning out to be the worst year, yes worser than 05, at least then, I got Farah as a consolation...!

It was like any other day. Woke up early, got ready and got farah ready for school...when i started the car in the garage it made a funny noise...so on my way to school, i called abdul and told him that the car might break down and wanted him to be ready in case we broke some where..but thanks to God, we reached school safely and dropped her. but when i came back to the car, it just wouldn't start..FATE! I got so nervous since i had my first appt for Ultrasound...I was going to hear the baby's heartbeat or so i thought!!

I called Abdul and he came to fix the car...after a lot of wasted minutes we finally called AAA...it had started snowing heavily..so we changed plans and dropped the car in mechanic shop and picked farah and went to the obgyn as a family..she fell asleep in the van, so abdul decided to stay outside while i went inside the doctor's office.

after the initial checkup, the ultrasound technician called the senior doc and he came and shook his head and was talking to the technician...all i could imagine was may be they didn't see the baby properly...then the doc held my hands and told that there was no heartbeat for the baby...WHAT? HOW? All that was in my head was, what is he saying...I don't understand a single word of what he is speaking?? All I could hear was my heart pounding...it took me a second to realize what kind of news he had said to me....I burst into tears and the nurse brought Abdul and Farah inside...

What can i do? what did i do? what went wrong?why did it happen? questions...still lingering...even though my mind has come into terms with the real world..that is out of our hands and that it is God's decision to take my baby with Him...my heart still aches...still feels attached to my unborn baby...to my daughter's unborn sibling..to my husband's loving son or daughter......

When some things happen and u have no control over it and when it might be smallest of the things and yet it leaves the biggest impact in your life....I think it is normal to feel helpless...I pray to Allah to give me the strength to overcome this loss...to help protect my family from the evil that exists in the world...for days filled with Peace...nothing more do i need from Him!! let there be Peace!!Insha Allah!

Travelling with Baby-International Travel Checklist

Okay this post is also for my personal reference.. I had a checklist in my Old laptop and it got corrupted by virus. so i am doing this again.

The following list and preferences absolutely suits me and my daughter. you might have to modify according to your needs and your baby's.

First Thing to be considered is the diaper bag itself..I prefer Backpack instead of shoulder ones. it gives me an extra hand to take care of my daughter :) I got mine in Ebags. They have a wonderful selection of backpacks. worth the money, cause of the quality and organized look.

Second thing is Umbrella stroller, which maneuvers easily, preferably one which can recline.

Diaper Bag:

* 15 diapers(this is because, my whole trip including the wait time is for about a day and then a few more hours to travel to my inlaws place..so it is about 36hrs)
* A Ziploc bag with few extra wipes than a regular travel size wipe pack. You can use the same for wiping the baby's face and her whole body. since u can't give her a bath. I use Huggies wipes.
* A Ziploc bag of baby powder and a bottle of lotion, since the skin gets dry in flight.
* 2 thin towels,one for spreading it in diaper changing station and other for emergencies,like throwing up etc. my daughter does that a lot.
* 2 extra dresses for your baby-again for emergencies.you can chose to take an extra tee shirt if u are going to wear pants, or an extra dress itself.you can put the dresses in the freezer ziploc, so that they stay dry in case of leaks in the bag.
* 2-3 regular grocery plastic bags.
* a ziploc containing medicines--Infant Tylenol, motrin, pediacare multi symptom cold. i also carry a sleep (i have my own that i got from India) medicine..usually the doctors here suggest benadryl(be careful and check before u leave whether it puts the baby to sleep or make them hyper) also find the right dosage that can be given.Orajel (small tube) if teething.(or motrin should do the trick)
* if bottle feeding--4 bottles with or without liners in a ziploc.
* 4-5 ready to feed 4oz similac bottles. u can get the rubber nipples which can be screwed on the bottle after taking the lid off, from eBay.this will reduce the regular bottles u carry.
* u can also opt for similac singles packet. the hostess can provide u with warm milk or water whenever u want.
* 1 ziploc with finger foods like cheerios.
* Your child's most favorite toy...for mine it was baby tad :)
* one brand new toy which she has never seen...I got a v-tech rhymes book which lights up and sings. make sure it has a on/off switch and volume adjuster.
* 2-4 lollipops or a bottle with warm water/milk(which i doubt u can get during takeoffs), so stick to lollipops, to keep their jaws moving and hence easing off the earpain that might be caused during takeoffs/landing.
* 1 roll of travel bounty that u can get in meijers( it is really small),
* 1 travel brush and paste for u.
* 1 comb
* wallet with few Indian rupees and few dollars( this will help u when u come back to US and hire a sky cab to pick ur luggages)
* 1 calling card like at and t...which can be used almost anywhere.
* passport and travel papers in a separate freezer ziploc, and keep tucked in far inside of the bag after u are done with it in the security check..don't want to lose it.
* ipod if u want to listen to music when she sleeps(this is totally optional)...i prefer shutting my eyes and getting some rest when she does.
* Ziploc with disposable bibs.

Regarding dressing your child for travel--i dressed her with pajamas that cover her toes too and has full sleeves and and zipper that closes from toe to neck....instead of one with buttons.it keeps the baby warm and also easy to take off and put on.

In the suitcase:

* carry at least 3 cans of similac or enfamil...u get these in India in shopping centers and u can also substitute with whatever is available in India, like pediasure, junior horlicks..etc.
* i carried 2 sams club size diapers(140+140) spread out underneath and above my suitcase.
* don't worry abt dresses. ask ur parents to get some. just take some special dresses to wear when visiting others and 4 full sleeved pajamas(to avoid mosquito bites).
* I took about 30 plastic packs of Gerber food inside a rubber maid container.
* Mosquito repellent for infants.
* i took the baby monitor with me.
* some dvds that she likes.
* I took a medicine box with extra Infant Tylenol,motrin, pediacare-multi symptom, pediacare cough suppressant,orajel, a thermometer.
* I took jungle gym with me, since she was only 6months old at that time, but u get that in India.
* baby nail cutter.

I steamed my bottles by just throwing them in the hot water(in boiling temperature) and then drained the water. This sterilised the bottles and nipples.

In Chennai, U get all the diapers(imported middle eastern diapers are just like the one in US) and formula, gerber foods in Spencer plaza. there is shop for it dedicated to that.Even if they don't have what u want, u could just call and tell them and they will try and get it for u. this is only if u need something very badly.

I used my umbrella stroller as my highchair. :)

I think i covered almost everything that i took. If I remember anything else will add again.

I highlighted the list, so if u don't want to read my chitter chatter...just mark off the highlighted ones in your checklist.

Good Luck and Happy Traveling!!!