Blogging from Delhi (again)

A return trip to this city for a few days, and now it's time to head home. In a about 30 hours I'll be back in Houston. Last set of pics will be uploaded then, including ones from todays visit around the city seeing a few cultural points of interest including India Gate and a Gandhi monument and shopping for crafts in the Dilli Haat. It's been an awesome trip. Really great to meet co-workers and spend time traveling around the country. But looking forward to returning.

Blogging from Bangalore

Bangalore has been great. I arrived Friday night in time for our team dinner where I got to meet many of my co-workers resident here who I have only communicated with via phone and email. Our hotel was the nicest one yet (see pictures added at the end of the India photo album) with a terrific Szechwan restaurant. We also had some time to do a little shopping. Bangalore is quite different than the cities we've visited so far - seems much more modern here. It was so relaxing to have a couple of days off from working, and to leisurely wander around our hotel grounds, as well as visit the amazing Leela Palace hotel. Suddenly it's 1:00am Tuesday, and we are getting ready to leave work and head back to the hotel to catch a few hours sleep before heading to the airport in the morning.

Blogging from Hyderabad

I am getting ready to leave Hyderabad, and it has certainly been my favorite city so far. It is just as crazy and busy as Delhi and Kolkata, but far cleaner. Seven of us flew together here on Wednesday, and six departed on Thursday for Chennai. I remained behind in Hyderabad to continue working. But this was a good thing because a) I *finally* had a day without flying to get out and see some sights (we work evenings here, but have been flying each day so far) and b) I was really excited to spend extra time with this partner focusing on improving HP eSupport (chat & email.) It was very special of the partners to include us in presenting awards to outstanding agents during their reward and recognition ceremony. Today, one of the managers from the partner guided me all around the city. We toured Golkanda Fort, saw the Charminar in the middle of the old city, viewed the giant statue of Buddha on Hussain Sagar Lake, drove around upscale neighborhood of Banjara Hills, checked out Hitech City where many companies are setting up shop, and made sure I didn't get ripped buy buying pearls (which Hyderabad is famous for.)

My pictures from India are finally uploaded and captioned.

Blogging from Kolkata

Another day, another city. I have been taking my malaria medicine on schedule, and I sure am putting my faith in it because the car ride back to the hotel this evening was shared with many mosquitos. I have taken a few photos, but we haven't actually gotten out and about to sightsee yet, and they are all from the back seat of cars. Which is a bit distracting because there are so many other things to focus on. Like not hitting the dogs or cows, or bicycles, or trucks or potholes. Flying domestic in India is a bit interesting. But after tomorrow's flight it will be 48 hours before I get on another plane. What a welcome respite! It's 2:30am here, and definitely time to get some sleep!

Spencer's Greatest Hits, Vol.1

While Bonnie is away in India, Spencer decided to serenade her via video. He was in rare form tonight, and bounced (literally) from one song to another... He warmed up with Twinkle, Twinkle... and then broke into The Star-Spangled Banner. His grand finale was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I uploaded the video for Bonnie to check out, but I don't think Spencer would mind sharing it...

Blogging from Delhi

It's been a very long day. Actually, that's not quite right because it's already Tuesday here, and Monday only lasted about 10 hours or so, almost all in an airplane. Whatever the case, I have made it safely to India, and am told that Spencer misses me. Of course, the past two weeks he's been a daddy's boy, but I guess all that has changed since I left. No pictures from here yet, stay tuned.

Zube 2006

Although a family outing did not materialize today (Jim was stuck in an accouting review at Rice) Spencer and I headed out to Zube Park to ride the trains for the first public run day of the season. Sadly, we were not able to get through the afternoon without Spencer going to timeout (after throwing playground mulch for the third time after being asked not to) but overall it was a pretty great afternoon. But I still wish we had more consistency in our days. Breakfast was simply awful this morning - Spencer didn't eat a single bite of pancakes or strawberries, which he loves. And he melted down at bathtime too. I guess we're making progress over where we were last month, but I miss that agreeable little guy who was my buddy last summer.

funny man

We've always found Spencer to be quite goofy. But now that he's talking, and singing, his comedy is brought up to a new level. Last night I was hoping he could show off his rendition of The Star Spangled Banner to mom (because it is truly awesome when he goes for those high notes!) and he just wanted to sing the song his way. Essentially, he sang along until something caught his eye and then plugged that noun in instead. So it sounded something like "Oh say can you ICE CREAM! by the dawn's early ANIMAL HOSPIAL! what so proudly we SCARY BEETLE!..." Oh brother.

Happy Purim

Last night we went to temple to celebrate Purim and Spencer had a blast! He spun his gragger so enthusiastically he even bonked himself in the head once! And he loved watching the Lion King version of the Purim play. Here are pictures of Spencer from from last Sunday's Purim carnival!

Bada Bing!

Man it was awesome seeing the gang back on The Sopranos last night. Even more amazing than last season (almost two years ago!) since now we watched them in HD on a huge widescreen tv. Just like Tony was in my living room! But somehow during the time off I forgot how disturbing it is to watch the show. How it turns my stomach just watching people get beat up, and how it bugs me long after the show ends that people are powerless to control their destiny.

i hate salespeople

and yesterday I had to be one of them. Although I was pleased to have the opportunity to set up at table at Babies R Us and share information about the Baby Signs Program, I really hate trying to foist stuff on strangers. As Jim noted, it's pretty close to bottom of the barrel cold calling (well, maybe warm since they are already in a baby store) and even though most every one was indeed interested and glad I had stopped to talk with them, I still don't like the whole deal very much. Hopefully this generated enough interest to encourage folks to sign up for workshops for more information, but most likely it ws just one more of the required seven touches before they come knocking.

HUGE thanks to Lori and Michelle and Jennifer who helped me so much this week!

Work Night

Tonight was 'work night' in Spencer's class at school. What this meant was that all of the parents were invited to drop by at the end of the day and spend a little time with their kiddo while he or she showed off their skills doing some work. (Note: 'work' is the Montessori term used for most of their activities, puzzles, etc.) Spencer was just delighted to have the two of us there as a captive audience to show off his (almost!) mastery of different skills. But it was also quite a sight to see other parents, and some older siblings, huddled around to check out what the kids were working on. And everyone in the room was just beaming with pride. Awww.

I want to be a...

This evening we were reading a book about Dora, who was talking about all different jobs people do and explaining that we have choices to be whatever we want when we grow up. Spencer identified the pictures of the doctor, the policeman, the soccer player, the train driver, the teacher, etc. I asked, "Spencer, what do you want to be when you grow up?" And he looked at me and responded, "I want to be a ladybug!"

resurfacing

The last few weeks have been outrageously busy. I though all would be calm and quiet once the exam was behind me, but that didn't exactly happen. Last weekend we had a fabulous visit with mom down from NY and fabulous weather to enjoy here too! We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (just the livestock show, actually) and Spencer had a blast seeing all of the "chickens and eggs and ducks and llamas and chicks and pigs and chickens!" as he was still recounting this morning, "and dinosaurs too!" Umm, no.

Spencer also had his first sleep over last weekend as a trial run to prepare for later in March when Jim will be in class and I'll be out of the country. Fortunately, it was a huge success. Spencer had such a blast, ate everything that was prepared for dinner and breakfast (not a big shocker) and behaved very well. At least that's what our friends told us, and we believe them because they are looking forward to the next sleepover!

Here are some pictures from the livestock show and a trip to check out Oprah's efforts to create Angel Lane.

Bonnie Leach, PMP

I did it! I passed the PMP exam this morning!!! Gosh it feels great to have accomplished something significant outside of the sphere of parenting!

Terrible Twos

We thought it might not happen, but for the past month Spencer has indeed been exemplifying the frustrating behavior of a terrible two-year old. Last week was really the breaking point for both Jim and me. On Wednesday I had two honest and open conversations with some of my mommy friends who have already gone through this phase. Confirming that it is indeed a phase helped me feel better, and they offered some specific suggestions as well. That evening I also spoke with Spencer's teacher at school for strategies, and to make sure we are consistent between home and school. Even though I had already had simliar conversations two times earlier that day, suddenly I found myself getting very upset and a bit choked up when talking to her. We discused Spencer's behavior for quite a while, and I left feeling encouraged and empowered with information. I also left with a copy of Supernanny, which the school keeps on hand specifically for the purpose of lending out to parents. It is so reassuring to know that Jim and I are working as a team with the teachers and the school. We have already begun modifying our behavior, and hope to see incremental improvements in Spencer's behavior as well.

I noticed after the original post that Spencer's age today is two years, two months, two weeks and two days. Argh.

Rose-colored glasses

As a momma, like any other momma, I just can't help but think that the child we have created the most beautiful one around. Sure, other people have cute kids, but ours is exceptionally handsome. I remember when Spencer was tiny, I said to Jim with complete seriousness that we should investigate modeling options. Well, last week I was looking through some pictures of Spencer from that age I couldn't believe my eyes. He was just as strange looking as the next! Good grief! What kind of hormones pump through the body of a new mom??

Torino?

Last night while putting Spencer in his PJ's, we referred to our big world map to show him where the Olympics were being held. We looked all around Italy, but couldn't find 'Torino' on the map, and Jim and I decided that it must be 'Turin.' Tonight at dinner, Jim said he heard that NBC had decided to use 'Torino' because it sounded better. Torino, Italy. Good grief. As we discussed this a little bit more, Spencer decided he wanted to add something relevant to our conversation and piped up, "wanna go look at the world map?"

Spencer's first concert

Well, Sesame Street Live isn't exactly a concert per se, but to me that was the feeling at home getting ready to leave for the big show. Maybe it was the fact that this was one of the few times Spencer needed an actual ticket to attend an event, or maybe just the fact that the pair of tickets themselves cost nearly $50! I was concerned that he still might be too young, but he was delighted to see everyone dancing around and singing, and thoroughly seemed to enjoy himself. This morning he told Jim about the long list of characters we saw last night, and this afternoon when we were watching Olympic ski jumping he noted, "they are flying like Grover!"

time outs --> cooking

Yesterday after we returned home from school, Spencer approached me as I was sitting on the floor and asked "want to go to time out?" Sigh. "No, Spencer. You're a good boy. We can play together now. You don't have to go to time out." Then he repeated his request, "want to go to time out?" after which he took a few steps closer and smacked me a few times on the leg!!! What the hell, Spencer?? I just stared back in disbelief and disappointment. "Now go to time out?" he asked. Still stunned, I just pointed my finger as he marched off to designated spot, turned around, and sat down.

I can't help but feel like these issues we are experiencing with time out are completely bizaare!

So, what happened next? While he was in time out I thought back to a conversation from 24 hours earlier with my mommy friends at our monthly dinner out. I was venting that this week has been a bit more of a struggle with Jim traveling, as I have to divide time after work/school between playing and getting dinner ready. One mommy to four little ones responded quickly, "have him help you make dinner." Hmm. I love cooking, and fully planned to raise Spencer to be comfortable in the kitchen, but so far his involvment has been limited to playing with dough scraps. I just didn't think he was old enough yet. But in an effort to avoid any more time outs for the evening, I decided he had suddenly reached the proper age to assist.

When time out was over (and after an apology and a hug and a kiss) we went to the kitchen together. I asked Spencer if he could help me make dinner and he immediately seemed interested. With time being short, I decided the menu would include salmon croquettes. He was a champ at cracking the egg, mixed like a pro, and scooped matzoh meal from the canister into the bowl. And he was having a blast - grinning hugely and oh so visibly proud. Especially when it came time to shape the sticky mixture with his hands! I held him up to watch them cook in the pan, and he ate the final product with much delight (ok, so that's not a deviation from the norm!)