Mommy, you're pretty

Deven won more than a few 'points' towards his next tantrum, when he spontaneously shouted "Mommy, you're pretty!" after me as I was walking faster ahead of him, Daddy & Rohan this afternoon. I hear that Daddy coached him to say it the first time, but a) I'm OK with that, and b) Deven continued to say it - I think because the reaction he got was so positive, he wanted more (and, uh, yeah, so did I!)

Last week, we got some wonderful gifts from Aunt Carolyn, and a friend of hers created them - the boys names, carved in wooden puzzle-pieces. Watch here for the boyz trying to put them together right out of the gift-wrap:




In other news, Deven spontaneously started saying words that he was reading this afternoon - "Deven" "Mommy" and "Daddy" were all stated, matter-of-factly, when I drew them on the paper placemat at the restaurant we ate dinner at tonight.

These photos were taken before the screaming and wrestling match over the "N" of Rohan's name caused many tears and frustrated shouts. Oh well, the wooden names are still unbroken...as of 4 days later, at least.



This last photo is of the family stuffing their faces with food I made. Why is that a photo-worthy event? Because in this household, I'm the one that others try to keep OUT of the kitchen most of the time. Fact is, I love to eat but don't enjoy cooking...at all. But because I'm on this mad vegan-no sugar - no gluten - no alcohol - no caffeine diet still (and 9 days to go!) - I cooked pancakes...and they weren't half-bad!

Daadi's Recipe for a Happy Life

Eat half of what you eat,
Drink twice the water you drink,
Exercise four times what you exercise,
And smile eight times what you smile,
You will lead a happy life.




(Photos are from her 75th birthday this year - the other baby is a friends' 9 month old, James; and from our visit to Cedar Lake, Indiana).

Deven on the monkey bars, and Mommy's Food Experiment

Deven has loved the monkey bars since he was able to reach them (what kid doesn't?!?) and has talked about them incessantly when we discuss his school or a nearby park.


Yesterday at the park, however, I noticed that he wasn't just hanging on the first-bar that he could touch - rather he can now swing from 1 bar to the next like a, well, a monkey! Rohan, not to be left out, can slide and climb with the best of 'em, too. And just in case you think the house is full of peace, Deven gave Rohan a not-so-playful bite this morning when Rohan didn't share the etch-a-sketch magnet. Sigh.
At least I have 'em both enjoying the mini lacrosse sticks I got Deven for his 3rd birthday. :)


MOMMY'S FOOD EXPERIMENT

I've been feeling rather tired for the past few months, and have previously taken the steps of writing down what I eat, seeing a nutritionist and an acupuncturist (my lower back has ached since having the boys); and talking to friends about various "cleanses." So far, I've learned that
- I don't eat particularly well (not particularly horribly either, but not great)
- I don't sleep enough (shocking, with 2 kids, I know)
- I'm too stressed (duh...who isn't these days?)

So, I decided on an experiment that I'm starting today. It's called the Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston, and it was recommended to me by a friend who I saw on it at work (who said he felt great while he did it). Basically, it's a slight diet modification that shouldn't be too hard - no counting portions or calories. It requires that I eat whatever I want, EXCEPT

Sugar (any added types)

Animal products (including meat, fish, dairy & eggs)

Gluten (insidious plant-based product found in tons of processed foods)

Alcohol (oh, gosh!)

Caffeine (shouldn't be too hard as I wasn't doing much to start. But wait...chocolate has caffeine...)

Since it's basically a vegan diet, I figured I can do it for 21 days (according to the author Ms. Freston, you'll feel a little bit of withdrawal at first, but then start feeling better in a few days). So far this morning, I've eaten a big bowl of oatmeal w/soymilk, and a glass of soymilk with protein powder. I like all the things you CAN eat on this 'cleanse' (more on that later) so I'm excited.

Ek-doh-teen

My boys, brilliantly singing their A-B-Cs and saying 1-10 in Hindi (Ek-doh-teen = 1-2-3)

Years, not months

San Francisco has finally warmed up and with cloudless skies the entire weekend, it appears our summer is finally starting. As a lovely Labor Day weekend draws to a close, I'm unable to shake a thought that struck me in conversation with new friends this weekend - friend-of-friends who themselves have 2 kids 20 months apart, with their older one just 5 days younger than Rohan. After a good chuckle and telling them "it does get easier after the first year" - when Mom ("A") asked how old Rohan was, I said "oh, 19 or 20 months" - and when she remarked that her older one (again, 5 days younger than Rohan) is already 21 mos old, I laughed and realized I hadn't really been counting lately.

He's just Rohan, my sweet, chubby-cheeked cuddly younger son, who still loves sitting on my hip and being carried around; who now cries "Up!" if he wants to be held; and who still wants me to rock him to sleep (which I do, because hey - I figure he'll be a sweaty/smelly teenager soon enough and won't want to look at me...so I'll enjoy the unconditional love & attention while I can get it).

The thought that I couldn't shake, was that soon enough, we'd be counting both Deven's and Rohan's ages in years, not months. I wasn't quite prepared for it. Sure, I ask parents of school-aged children here in San Francisco "Where do your kids go to school?" and other questions reserved for the 5+ set, but I hadn't thought that sometime soon, my little Rohan wouldn't want to be carried, and Deven wouldn't want to play on just a tricycle (rather, he'll have a bike).


I know it's coming, but for now, I'll savor the weekends like these, full of fun at parks (where the playground, rose garden, and doggie-sculpture provided ample fun), the Kings Mountain Art Fair where the boys made "spin art," and the beach (where the boys were thrilled by our kite and shallow warm tidepools). Here's to my boys, now 21 and 41 months old!

Deven's first reading

Deven read the 'Made in San Francisco' label this evening. It's wonderful that he's reading! But is it bad that his first reading material was a beer bottle?

Want to Walk

While Deven & Daddy were having fun here, Mommy & Rohan went for a quick trip to Naani & Grandpa's house in MD.

Rohan had lots of fun in the warm weather, splashing about in water, drinking water, burping & saying 'burp' then giggling like crazy as he made Naani & Grandpa laugh.

Mommy enjoyed the warmth, the greenery, and the country crickets, but not the mosquitoes.

On the way home, Rohan kept using 3-word sentences like 'Want to walk' in the airplane - which we did, up & down the aisle endlessly (the flights were longer than expected for weather delays, ugh). So nice that he's speaking well these days.
Missing MD already!

Fw: Gourmet pizza

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: [Daddy]

Went to a pizza place rated the best in SF - Delfina. All Deven 'ate'
was apple juice. 'i want to eat fish at home' he said to my chagrin.
The spicy water melon caused an intense but short crying bout. $40
later, I am at Dolores Park at a big artsy hippie event, Deven
playing and half a gourmet pizza in a doggy bag. But a day with my
quirky older son: priceless. :)

What took me so long?

Because I work in the renewable energy industry, and we live in eco-conscious San Francisco, you'd think that I'd have an appreciation for things like basic home energy efficiency. I guess I have done a teeny bit: We have already
- replaced horrid old aluminum-framed single-paned windows with high-efficiency double-paned ones,
- caulked and weather-stripped around leaky doors and other windows.

But about a month ago, after living in this home for 4 years (and knowing that it's cold and drafty and not very energy-efficienty the entire time, and Daadi's complained since day 1 about it, saying the heat just rises away), we paid for a proper Energy Audit by the energy audit firm Recurve.

They were great - spent a few hours crawling around our home, checking things out - and the results were surprising. Fully 45% of the heat in our home & 57% of the cooling (we don't have A/C, but we still pay ~$200/month for electricity) is lost, straight through the roof.

Basically, insulation should cover ~ 12" thick above the top floor (which our unit is in our building); and ours covers 0 - 3", for a R-Value of ~ 3.

Just sealing some holes into the attic, checking some old wiring, and adding insulation up there should take us from the R-Value of 3, to 38.
There are also more-expensive things we could do - but not that expensive; such as upgrading our baseboard-heater units, and replacing our boiler (but those won't be as impactful, so we'll likely forego those upgrades). So even a minimal amount of spending now for a bit o' caulking and insulation - while it won't be free, assuming we decide to stay in this home, it will pay for itself quickly. Wow!

Rohan is Robin, and I'm Batman

Deven announced this, this morning as both were eating raisins. Rohan agreed, but preferred to be called Rohan, not Robin (understandable!)

Photo is of 'huggies' - when we ask them, the boys will spontaneously hug each other nicely. It's a good contrast to things like biting (Deven broke skin on Rohan's back with his teeth yesterday, for no apparent reason).

Back to the main point of this post: I think I know what costumes the boys will wear for Halloween this year. More importantly, I love that our boys are friends.
:)