Susan Powers
I finally get what Susan Powers’ meant when she said, “STOP THE INSANITY” as I feel like that with germs this season. Seriously!
While Ashish was in SFO, Nishad was sick. They also closed down Nishad’s school because of illness. Ashish came back from SFO, and got sick. Now he is on the mend and Tiger is sick- three weeks later after Nishad. Enuff.
I am the most OCD person I know…my close friends can attest to this. With having a suppress immune system this season around (due to pneumonia in May and a severe reaction to shots), I am even more careful. I need to be 100% to take care of my babies. I just may be doing a goggle search on “BUBBLE OUTFITS.”
At one point, Ashish called me mean, “just very mean.” It’s not out of meanness that I roll down a window when someone sneezes or coughs in a confined car- it’s out of love for all involved. I didn’t allow the kids to be around him when he was sick, not out of meanness, but out of concern so he could get the rest he needs and the kids remain healthy. Which, by the way, I think I figured out how Tiger caught some germs. The sheets I took off the bed that Ashish was sleeping on when sick were in the basket waiting to be washed. I believe Mr. Tiger was playing with them. 🙁 I wish I cleaned those ASAP. Lesson learned.
The CDC also has some great recommendations for caring for someone with the flu or H1N1 on it’s web site. One of the things I took from it was “no cloth hand towels to dry your hands” unless everyone has a seperate one (by color, perhaps). They also updated their symptom check to include non-fevers. This was one of the factors the hospital didn’t think I had H1N1.
On a side note, while working with Tiger on his Hindi today (as he is home sick) I pointed to a mouse and said, “Chew-haa” (mouse in Hindi). At which he pointed at the mouse and said, “Aah-CHOOO!” haha! 🙂 Very appropriate!
BOO BASH
This has become a “GRAND” tradition of ours; Boo Bash on Grand Ave in St. Paul. It really has that hip, city feel with all the big mature trees, eco-friendly customers, and houses that line the street that are filled with charm and character…when houses were built to last. Yes, much unlike the sterile burbs…this is always a Halloween treat! 
This year Ashish was sick, so we missed his company as we strolled up and down Grand Ave. trick or treating, marveling at every one’s costumes and being frequently stopped by passer-by’s exclaiming how “ADORABLE” the boys are and what unique costumes. This happened so frequently that I think it started to go to Tiger’s head. it wasn’t before long that he started saying, “I’m cute! I’m cute!” A few people even stopped to compliment me about the choice of costume. They mentioned how refreshing it was to see boys in original costumes that weren’t character/commercial costumes like Scooby-Do, Harry Potter and Spider Man. This was Nishad’s first year ever trick or treating (minus the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party we attended at Walt Disney World last year at this time). So, he walked up to the first station, and though “Great, I have a sucker now…I’m all done.” haha.. Then he caught on. He even went in a few places all by himself.
Of course, the boys amazingly talented and loving Auntie Kelly was the one that created these costumes for the boys! She can add this to her list of achievements like the NYC Metropolitan Opera House and Shakespeare Theatre Chicago (where she is currently employed– plug, plug!). All the credit goes to her as the boys dream of being penguins would not have been possible without her. She took the head accessory back to Chicago to work on them, so I had to improvise by making little caps. So, if it that part of the costume looks odd, it’s my fault, not hers! 🙂
At 3PM, we went to the Stepping Stone Theatre off Grand Ave. to see Hanuman and the Girl Princess. I wasn’t sure how Tiger would do as this was his first theatre performance. He did great! I don’t know what I was worried about. He sat there so attentive and when the monkey came out he looked at me and said, “BUNDER!” (which is monkey in Hindi). Have I mentioned how I love St. Paul?
Funny story…we actually walked in through the backstage door. Heh. A man, who worked for the company was so sweet…so he showed us through to the theatre and directed us to the lobby doors. He said, “They haven’t opened the doors yet, so just go right through and you’ll see everyone in the lobby waiting in line.” Boy did we ever! I opened the door to an eager crowd that suddenly said, “PENGUINS!” hahaha. Talk about a grand arrival! That’s right…the Kumar’s are AT the theatre!
Uptown Delight
Missed the curtain at the Minnesota Orchestra…so Nishad and I hung out in Uptown together and enjoyed ice cream at Sebastian Joe’s. YUM. The best ice cream I’ve had in quite some time. We stuck with pumpkin and chocolate, but they had such ice creams such as garlic on their menu! Too bad Ashish wasn’t with us to test out that one.
MOA Times
Ever feel like you’ve meet your long lost sibling? Well, Jewl’s is my long lost sibling. She was even actually suppose to be named Beverly as well. And, I was suppose to be named William (they were sure I was a boy)…and her Dad’s name is William. Freaky-leaky! I am so glad that I met her. She is just one of those people that you feel like you have a comfort-zone with and despite not being childhood friends, it’s as though you’ve known one another your entire life. It may have been true that, at first, it was because of our boys that we found commonality. However, I can honestly say she is one of my closest friends and I just can’t imagine not having her in my life. She always has a smile and greets me with a hug. Her friendship has made me remember how it was to have a dear friend live so close~ there is nothing like a gal pal that is secure and happy with herself…that isn’t about a facade, but all about being real. She’s already seen me and my worst and best…(and we’ve not yet known one another for a year yet) and despite everything, she’s still my friend. Yup, true friendship! The best kind. Appropriately named Julie- as she is quite a jewel!
So of course I jumped at the opportunity to hang out with her and the boys at MOA for a little amusement park fun and lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. There are some people that despite what is joining on in your life, you drop everything and hang out with them. She’s one of those people for me. 🙂 We had a fantastic day at MOA.
After we said our goodbyes and parted ways, I let Nishad go to “Build a Bear” where he picked out a birthday turkey for he and his brother. haha! The line was long, but sure worth the wait to see the shocked look on his face when the girl about to stuff the turkey replied, “Can you jump to make the heart beat?” hahaha… I swear he looked at her like, “Look Lady, I can jump, but no amount of jumping is going to make this fabric heart beat.”