Happy Diwali

Back after a long break, seems like the only time i get to post is when i am in Bangalore. Must be something to do with having a computer with internet on all the time, and people to keep the kids busy!

A quick update

1. Back to work after 6 months maternity break from July 15th. Very hectic, got involved in 3 large deals as soon as i joined back, late night, conference calls at home after that, early morning calls, then our audit started as soon as the deal pressure eased, finally work hours became reasonable from September. On the negative sise, my mom was heavily burdened looking after both the kids for long periods without a break. A was specially troublesome, refusing to drink milk many times, and fussing for food. S was a doll, and totally adores my mom, so at least no problems on that front. On the positive side, since i put in the long hours for 21/2 months have been able to negotiate a 6 months part time work from home option from office, which means i need to work only from 11 am to 4 pm, that too from home, and go to office once in two weeks. Of course the 11-4 pm does not always work, and the biggest difficulty is having continuos connection so sometimes i am accessing and replying mails at 11:30 in the night. But overall colleagues have been extremely considerate and not troubled me too much outside my work hours.

2. S has started school and is happy!!! (Thank God). I was very apprehensive after her summer camp fiasco (where she vomited everyday at school and was very unhappy at the thought of school). Yes there was the initial crying and vomiting (once!) but within a week she was settled and now talks about her friends in school! She seems to be learning a lot at school and already recognises all the alphabets, talks fluently in English and Hindi, and knows her numbers as well. She is still shy in interactions with other children, but a couple of times when i have picked her up from school and she has not seen me at the door, I have seen her interact well with other kids.

3. A is now 9 months old. She crawls all over the house, stands up holding the furniture and even walks holding the furniture. She says mamma (mostly when she's upset because we've taken away something she's been stuffing into her mouth, or if she suddenly sees me but I'm busy working and cant carry her) and dadda also. She follows her sister wherever she goes, and insists only on playing with the toys/puzzles/books S is playing with. S is very patient with her and I am amazed at her patience. A has the shrillest cries i have heard and she still gets up in the night and either wants to play/cry. Cant remember S being as difficult in the nights, but i guess you tend to forget the difficult parts and only focus on the good parts. 

Both kids play together to some extent now, mostly in the evenings they are either bouncing on A's bed, or crawling all over the house (S has made a game of crawling in front of A and trying to make her follow her). 

4. Hubby has got a foreign posting and is delighted. Its a great job title /role for happy and I have always wanted to have an international posting as I think it would be wonderful for the kids. Am a bit apprehensive about the place as there's a language issue and its very cold for large parts of the year. Help is not easily available and with 2 young ones is going to be a challenge. The hubby has also warned that he would be travelling for 2 weeks every month since his is a global role. Am quite a scaredy cat in addition to being inexperience in cooking/keeping house etc etc and i asked my sis in law, how did she manage with her two little boys, and she said you do what you have to do. And thats it I guess, I'll do what i have to and see how things come along.

We had a great Diwali in Bangalore. S was a bit upset as first since my mom had knee replacements just before we went there (my brothers and I took turns to be with my mom - with one brother for each operation, and me after mom gets back home) and she was struggling to get up and was using the walker and was lying all the time. Very different from the ajji she was used to. But she got used to it, and used to hand my mom her walker when she tried to get up, go lie down with her, and take a lot of care when she was around her. My mom's legs are much better now, but i plan to go to Bangalore again for 2 weeks in December and spend more time with my mom. We had a nice Diwali party at home. My cousins cam over and they have kids S and A's age and S and the older ones had fun with sparklers and fountains downstairs, and later all the kids playing upstairs. We had the oil bath and pooja function in the morning though we could not burst the traditional crackers in the morning, since i was unable to buy them the previous day. But we more than made up for it, over the next few days. 

Happy Diwali again!!