Happiness is...

A good puddle that Mommy allows you to splash in.
:)

Grace Cathedral, and the newest Sherwood Sharma

We've had a nice few days; and some exciting family news.

On Sunday, our friend Auntie Christie invited us to join her and friends at Grace Cathedral's "A Cathedral Christmas" - a 90 minute, no intermission event at one of San Francisco's landmarks (that I had never been inside, before Sunday) - followed by a holiday dinner at Auntie Christie's house. To quote the program, "Grace Cathedral’s Choir of Men and Boys presents this annual holiday favorite, accompanied by full orchestra and our world-famous Aeolian-Skinner organ."


It was a 3:00pm performance atop Nob Hill, so we dropped Daadi & Yogesh off early to get good seats (we were in the wings, not Orchestra) while I stayed with the car (got a good parking spot nearby) while our boys napped. The concert was a resounding, wonderful event for 3 reasons:

1. The music was breathtaking. The old, gothic-style church, the clear sounds of boys voices; the tunes that I grew up with and ones I didn't know - gave me goosebumps

2. Our boys were good. Despite the bad naps, no toys except Daddy's pen and the program, and not a lot of food, our boys were wonderfully well-behaved - so well behaved in fact, that the older couple next to us remarked the following, at the end of the concert, with a smile:

Your boys were quite well behaved.

I could've puffed up like a blowfish, I was so proud.

3. Dinner at Auntie Christie's house was fun! Auntie Christie knows how to entertain & has a lovely new home, with a roommate who went to a neighboring high school in MD (Seneca Valley) a year behind me; and of all the things, she knew my high school prom date - so we had a lovely walk down memory lane together. :)

THE NEWEST SHERWOOD-SHARMA: MR. SPARKY


Sunday & today have been big days as well. Our beloved Mr. Idea hasn't returned, so we decided to go get another kitty at the SPCA or Animal Care & Control. Despite my interest in a short-haired kitten (and finding no kitties compatible with our rascals at the Ritz-Carleton-for-homeless kitties, the SPCA); we went to the pound, where the kitties are cooped up in small cages; and immediately this one orange little kitty ~ 6 months old, with a big fluffy tail, meowed loudly, practically jumped into Yogesh's arms as soon as he got free of the cage...and basically told US that it was about time we took him home.

So today, after his neutering surgery, we did. He has already adjusted well here; the boys love him, and thus, the newest member of our family is Mr. Sparky.

Spell my name

Deven was very proud this morning at the farmer's market, when he spelled his name with chalk. Mommy was so proud, she didn't even correct the 'N'. :)

Wet (almost) birthday at the park

Today is proof that a little bit of rain never stopped two boys who needed to get out from having fun. Ok, so Deven won't wear his hood, and Rohan won't even look at his winter jacket without whining, but on this cool winter day, a few raindrops haven't hurt any of us.

Today is also Rohan's second birthday party- his actual birthday is Pearl Harbor Day, & we have a small party planned for this afternoon. Daadi & Daddy are shopping for that now.

& the cake, you ask? As today is Rohan's day...it's decorated with a big yellow DIGGER, of course.
:)

Bye-bye, Naani & Grandpa

Note the (awful, wonderful) yellow truck in Rohan's hand...that one may lose its batteries before the night is done.
Naani & Grandma, we miss you already!

Reading with Granddad

Rohan and Deven have learned that Granddad's lap is a nice warm place to hear a story.

Granddad has learned that the boys love to hear the same story, over & over & over & over...
:)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Swingin' on Sunday

In true San Francisco fashion, today is a gorgeous 75-degree November day; no wind, bright sunshine, 1 tiny wispy cloud far, far away.

Deven & Rohan are now both able to swing on the big-kid swings. When did that happen? I recall when Deven would shriek in fear as we got near them before.

Note Yogesh on the swing next to Deven - who's the bigger kid?

I sat next to the boys today, and had a grand time - went so high that I came off the seat.

After a couple of big pumps, I was reminded of the Stablers' wonderful big disc-swing, over a huge hill, that I swung on as a child. I remember the fear & excitement of not being able to see the ground, and anticipation of the next push. I wonder what swings these kids will have to remember like that?

After the swings, we went to Ocean Beach, where we watched the surfers, checked out some jellyfish, & I got a nap whilee boys played ball (another first- Deven actually *played* instead of just holding the ball & trying to direct us all).

Aah, San Francisco!

Rohan Reading

The Wall Street Journal was Rohan's reading material this evening.
:)

Mini vs. Muni: the new Sherwood Sharma Family Car

Mini Cooper S, fully loaded (& gently used, of course). No more waiting for Muni, unless we want to!
Can you see the boys sitting in their carseats in the back, grinning ear-to-ear?

Yes, my friend Jeff said that the idea of a family in a Mini brought to mind the clown-cars @ Ringling Brothers; but we drove to dinner tonight, came home & parked in an 'impossible' spot - so we love it already!
:)

oops...

Happy Diwali 2010!

And may you & yours have a wonderful festival of lights & year ahead!

Sunrise soon after moonrise

Here's Deven enjoying a little pre-dawn color of the North Shore. Lovely!

Practicing

Rohan practicing catchin' a wave here. Look out waves - this kid may run away screaming today; but I'm willing to bet he'll come out to try you, soon enough!

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Batman & Robin...sort of

This is all we could get the boys into of their halloween costumes. Deven took some time, then got into it once I fixed (ripped) the Batman costume so the neck was looser, and Rohan (Robin) still had a ball, scaring everyone with his eyeshades.
A good evening was had by all.
:)

Toddler Picasso is NOT ALLOWED in the dining room!

..And now, the photo-evidence of the cleanup.

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Fwd: Toddler Picasso is NOT ALLOWED in the dining room!

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Kate Sherwood" 
Subject: Toddler Picasso is NOT ALLOWED in the dining room!

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Toddler Picasso is NOT allowed in the dining room!

As you can tell, the boys got a hold of some tough-to-clean oil crayons...and we spent an evening cleaning up as the aftermath in the dining room.

Yes, Dadaaji is a prominent artist (see http://omprakash.in), but they are not allowed to experiment on the dining room wall and floor!

Preparing for Hawaii

Don't we look cute?
:)

Flowers on a rainy Friday

From my sweetie (aka Daddy), because it's been a great day for me, and he's proud of me.

May our sons do similarly for their spouses & loved ones when they're all growed' up 'n good things happen.

:)

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Good boyz @ Cal Academy, and Deven the Sunflower

One of our favorite spots is the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park.

The boys *love* the events - the penguin feeding (shown here), the diver show (which is the only thing that makes the boys calm even a bit regarding their baths-though they still shriek when their heads get wet, but I digress), and others,
We are members, which means we get to enter 1 hour earlier on Sundays. What I'm proud of here is that our boys listened to the speakers, sat nicely where they were asked, and were generally good. It helped that they were both well-rested & well-fed first.
:)

In other news, Deven will be switching classes at school, to the Sunflowers classroom. We're really happy (ok, relieved), because the first one was, well, mayhem. Deven had started not wanting to go to school (he previously would beg to go on Saturdays!), having nightmares, and generally behaving much worse since he moved into the current room. Contrast that when you enter the other classroom for the same-aged kids, and it's the picture of calm, structure, and pleasant, unstressed preschoolers.
We think the new class should be much better for Deven. Yay!

Who's the kid?

We drove down to Half Moon Bay with family friends visiting, Uncle Daryl & Auntie Kathleen, and their friends Uncle Roger & Auntie Brenda. The weather was beautiful (this time of year is, after all, our summertime).

On the way home, we stopped at a pumpkin patch that also had a bouncie-house.

And the boys under Age 4 weren't the only children to enter & bounce - a large, 30-something Dad also enjoyed the springy fun!
:)

Rocky Raccoon, not Mr. Idea

Mr. Idea still hasn't come home, so we went to the SPCA and got a "humane trap" - a cage with a pressure-foot to close once a small animal enters. We bought some smelly sardines in oil, opened them, and put a trail of sardines outside the cage inside... and waited and hoped.

The trap tripped once but caught nothing...then this morning we reset it, and caught something - but not Mr. Idea. We caught a raccoon! We had to call Animal Care & Control to come open the cage; as the animal is of course wild and we didn't want to hurt it or ourselves in releasing it. Now we get to clean out the filthy cage - Rocky Raccoon made a real mess (I guess I would've too, if I were a scared wild animal in a small trap)


So, still no sign of Mr. Idea - I'm sad. I just hope that he, being the gregarious, talkative, sweet cat that he is - found a nice family to take him in. That thought makes me happy. Sigh.

Tarboooooz!

That's Hindi for "Watermeeeeeeelon!"

Obviously one of the boys' favorite fruits.

We've had fun here recently - Daadi came back from visiting relatives for a week, where she was welcomed with a loud SHRIEK of excitement from Rohan, and an ear-to-ear grin from Deven that didn't leave his face for as long as he was attached to her hip that evening.

Sadly, Mr. Idea is still missing - but we're going to get a humane-cat-trap from the SPCA and try to find him out back. A friend of mine who's on a sabbatical actually has a kitty who needs a home and we may be able to help out (but we still want Mr. Idea back if at all possible!)
Fingers crossed...

San Francisco Summer Food

The warm summer weather has finally arrived in San Francisco, and not a minute too soon!

I (Mommy) visited a friend Margaret today (who also has kids-super-cute twins 1 month older than Rohan), and she made us this wonderful summer caprese (sp?) salad with fresh tomatoes & basil from her husband's garden, & gazpacho soup. Lovely!

I've stuck to cleanse diet for 17 days now, it's been ok though I've cheated a bit with the mozarella today (totally worth it!)

After this cleanse is over, there are things I'll stick with:
- no sugar in tea, no caffeine, more veggies especially when eating out

Things I won't:
- alcohol & meat; I'll drink/eat both in moderation & when I am confident I know where the meat came from

And things I will go back to pretty much what I'd been doing, just more mindfully:
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Desserts - I'm going to (try to) avoid the cheap junk & only eat the really good, high-quality stuff

I haven't felt hungry at all while on this cleanse; my gastrointestinal system has been fine, and the 1 time I did have a glass of champagne, I honestly felt a bit tired & bloated afterwards. So, it's been a good experiment.

In other news, Mr. Idea still hasn't come home. :(

MISSING: GREY TABBY CAT

“Mr. Idea” - 9-year old grey tabby with white facemask, paws, and chest, and green eyes. Friendly neutered male indoor housecat, responds to “Here Kitty, Kitty.” Microchip ID # 43665B747F (first character may be an “A” not a “4”). Missing from home at Dolores & Jersey since Friday 9/24/2010. Please call Kate if you’ve seen him, thanks. Craigslist post here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/laf/1974660129.html COMMENT This is not a joke. He got out when the back door was left open for a long time on Friday afternoon - and we saw paw prints at the basement level in the dust on our back stairs. We think we might have heard him crying early this morning in a neighbor's yard, so spent all morning going door-to-door with flyers, and posting ads on light poles on our block. A few kind neighbors have let us into their yards to poke in the bushes, and we visited the local SPCA, but no sign of him yet. We're worried! :(

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.
:)