Happy Holidays!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday!!  We were in London and India for much of December, and also went to Florida over Thanksgiving. Too much traveling over too short a time span! Live and learn, I guess.  :)

We're pretty used to traveling, though, and we take our kids with us. In fact, I've been to India four times now (all my in-laws are there), Oldest has been there three times, and Youngest has been there twice. It takes two days to get to India, so we're all accustomed to long plane rides. In fact, Youngest asked a hilarious question just before Thanksgiving...

Me: Guess what? We're going to see Grandpa in Florida over Thanksgiving! Does that sound fun?
Youngest: (squeals) Yes!! Who else is going to be there?
Me: Well, Great-Grandpa and Grandma, and there will be a couple kids to play with, too, who are your age.
Youngest: (more squeals, then he stopped and looked very thoughtful) Mommy, how many days will it take to get to Florida?
Me: (stifling laughter) It's only 2 and a half hours.
Youngest: (aghast) Two and a half days? That's really long!
Me: (laughing now) No, sweetie, two and a half hours. You could watch a movie on the plane, and when it's over we'd probably be landing.
Youngest: Oh! Okay. (he grins) That's really short.

I guess it's all in your perspective.  :)

Happy Diwali! (a little late)

So, I know this is a little late and all since Diwali was the weekend before last, but...

HAPPY DIWALI!!!

We went to a friend's house to celebrate this year and I wore a sari. 

Then my dad came to visit and we went outside to set off firecrackers (the quiet variety so our neighbors wouldn't lynch us).

The kids had a lot of fun, even though it was cold outside.  We also filled up the whole street with smoke, and a few people came outside thinking there was a fire somewhere.  Erm...no, it was just us.  :)

We ended up going inside earlier than we expected (both because of the cold and the smoke), and we've now got LOTS of firecrackers for the next 4th of July.  :)

Happy Halloween!!

To all of you who celebrate...

Have fun, and don't get too sick on all the candy.  :)

More Funny Things Kids Say

We went on vacation to San Francisco last week (got back yesterday). The boys had a fantastic time seeing the cable cars, the Golden Gate bridge, and had a great time exploring the tasty food San Francisco has to offer (photos to come).

Youngest is actually very well spoken for a four-year-old. He's been speaking in full sentences since his second birthday. But there are times when something gets stuck in his head, and even if he repeats back the correct pronunciation, the old one comes back later. This happened a couple times during our trip.

The first day in San Francisco, we walked around Chinatown and the kids saw toy cable cars. They got excited, and Youngest turned to me and said
"Mommy, I like Fransincisco because they have cable cars."
I smiled. "You mean San Francisco?"
He nodded. "Yeah, Fransincisco. Can we go ride the cable car now?"

Later, walked to the end of a cable car line, and the drivers put it on a turntable to spin it around so they can go back in the other direction. The kids thought this was amazing, and Youngest pulled on my arm, pointing.
"Mommy, the cable car is on a turner-tainer!"
"You mean a turn table?"
"Yeah! Look! It's spinning!"

These two names are stuck in his head, and he is still talking about how the cable cars spin on the turner-tainer in Fransincisco. :)

The Holiday Train

The weekend before Thanksgiving was the Lights Festival on Michigan Avenue. We have been meaning to go every year for the past ten years or so, and we never remember in time. This year, we finally remembered just in time.

So we packed up the kids and took the train to Michigan Avenue...and if we ever do this again, we'll do it very differently. The crush of people was so insane that we couldn't really move. And, we were at the beginning of the parade, so it was pretty boring - lots of downtime between the floats. We were carrying the kids, partly because they couldn't see unless we picked them up, and partly because there we so many people I didn't want them to get stepped on. And, let me tell you, holding a child high enough so he can see over the heads of all the adults - for an hour - is exhausting.

Parts of the crowd were funny and interesting, and parts weren't. There was a group of college students behind us, and one of them would complain every time I lifted my son up so he could see the float. I mean, seriously? She's complaining that a four year old child can see and she can't? He's a child. I think she'd like it less if he started crying because he couldn't see.

Anyway, we after the parade was over, we picked up something to eat, and then slowly made our way to the subway station. It was still incredibly crowded, and there were CTA officials regulating the number of people allowed on the train platform, but the kids were doing fine so we all waited patiently. When it was our turn to head down to the platform, we were rewarded with an amazing surprise: The Holiday Train!

Every year, the CTA takes one train and decorates it like crazy with lights, tinsel, decals, window decorations, you name it. They go all out, and you can see the lights and Happy Holidays signs for blocks. There is even a flatbed car with Santa and his sleigh, and he waves to all the passengers waiting on the platform. But this is the only train decorated like this, in all the trains running on all the lines. And we were lucky enough for it to pull into our station.

It was amazingly crowded, but the conductor was patient and we managed to find a train car that wasn't packed to the gills, so we squeezed on. The kids were staring around with wide eyes and grins on their faces. It was very cute.

We got off at our stop, and DH got out his camera for some pictures. Most of which came out really well. We waited on the platform so the kids could wave to Santa, and then we headed home.

Happy Halloween!!

I am not sure how this happened, but I think someone gave my neighborhood the wrong calender. Because, even though today is Halloween, my neighborhood did trick or treating last sunday. Why? I have no idea. So we took the kids out, along with everyone else, and they brought back quite a lot of candy.

But it gets even more interesting. The city of Chicago has no 'official' times for trick or treating, except that it must be on Halloween. So, there is still trick or treating in my neighborhood today, because it's Halloween. As a result, my kids will get to go trick or treating twice, and will have pulled the most amazing haul of candy that's probably ever been known to mankind. It will be all I can do to keep their teeth from rotting out (or to keep myself from sneaking into said candy). But they are beside themselves with excitement because they get to wear their costumes again. :)

So, here are some pictures from last weekend.

Fall Fest '09 and Happy Diwali!!

Last saturday, my kids' school put on a great Fall Fest, and the weather even cooperated for most of the day. My dad had also come to visit, so all of us trekked on over to the school as soon as there was a break in the clouds.

Like last year, they had a petting zoo and pony rides, and even had a camel ride. My oldest son had ridden the camel last year and loved it, so he was practically first in line for another ride this year. He rode with my dad. Then, my youngest was watching and decided he wanted to ride too, but only if I would go with him. So the two of us went....and then he decided that camel rides were not for him. :)

Fortunately there were lots of other interesting games and such that kept his attention until it was time to go.

Last saturday was also the Indian holiday of Diwali,

or the Festival

of Lights. We went to a friend's house to celebrate with them, and I wore a saree for the first time in forever. I'd almost forgotten how to put it on. :)

We had intended to set off fireworks later that evening, but the kids were so tired that we ended up going straight to bed. Anyone know if fireworks will keep until July?? :)