Texas Road trip
Yaay..it was finally time for our vacation. We all were so looking forward to it.The itenary was pretty fixed. We were to spend 2 days in San Antonio and then two days in Austin and back to Houston on Christmas day. We were booked for Hyatt in both the cities.
Shiva's Christmas gifts were packed and ready to be placed under the tree for Christmas.On the 21st things were pretty chaotic, packing, wrapping the gifts..arranging snacks, drinks and goodies for the trip.R too was very busy wrapping up things at his workplace so that he could vacation in peace.
We love taking road trips. We plan in advance about what sandwiches, snacks, chips and drinks to carry. We also always buy new music for the road trip.This was taken care by R this time and he did a smashing job.This time on Shivas demand there was a new addition Justin Biebber and Gangam style.:)he is growing up!!!
As usual I went a little overboard with my packing, putting in extras for all of us.The end result a lot of bags, books, games etc etc. After packing , like always I examined and told R "Looks like I have packed more"..R rolls his eyes and says "so, whats new..." but also added "dont stress, its alright :)"
We were supposed to pick Shiva up from school and drive down to San Antonio. Just when
we were about to leave R said "Lets take Shiva's christmas gifts with us.." so we loaded the stuff in the car boot and took off.
Once all the chaos was taken care of and when we hit the freeway we started enjoying our drive. San Antonio is a beautiful city..It has this amzing riverwalk and all the restaurants and hotels including Hyatt are located on the riverwalk. It was a festive atmosphere..
After a wonderful two days at San Antonio we headed to Austin. Austin didnt quite meet our expectation. However we enjoyed visiting the Armadillo market and seeing various works of many talented artists and definitely enjoyed the trail in austin downtown next to the lake.
It was Christmas day and time to return to Houston , somehow we didnt feel like quite returning yet..so we headed back to San Antonio to revel in the holiday atmosphere a bit more.But before that we placed Shivas christmas gifts in the car and a special note from Santa telling him that since he is travelling, he parked his sleigh next to our car and dropped his gifts in the car instead of home..
Shiva's joy knew no bounds and he kept on wondering how on earth did Santa do this..I told him "well, seems Santa is very thoughtful" and he couldnt agree more :) :)
After that we took off to place called South Padre island, this was a 6 hour drive from San Antonio.South Padre island was beautiful, beaches, perfect weather , a room overlooking the beach and slow relaxed atmosphere..After spending a blissful four days there we decided to head back home.
Now this felt like a vacation!!!! Returned back to Houston refreshed and ready to celebrate the new year with friends...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Jealous..who me??
"I am going to be late today" says R on the telephone.."Ok.." I replied..Hmm, not the least bit angry I decide to use the free evening reading with Shiva and playing UNO.
Shiva loses 3 games back to back and is pretty angry. I say to him "Dont worry sweetie, it was just my lucky day"..he seems to calm down after hearing that.
I dont really believe in losing in a game with my kid on purpose just to make him happy.Play fair and square is my motto and I try to teach my kid the same.
After a book read and a question and answer session with Shiva, we usually do a q&a session after a book read, that way the reading is not done on a superficial level by Shiva.:) :) After brushing his teeth , Shiva is off to bed and fast asleep in a few minutes.
The husband returns a bit late as informed earlier.As usual his mind is still at work, he plonks himself on the chair , opens the laptop and starts typing something,,I may as well have been invisible. :)
I say "R, we need to discuss the A+ extra classes, shortlist and decide which ones to enroll Shiva in(A+ are extra classes offered in school)", R replies "Hmm..hmm"
I keep on talking and receive only a Hmm , hmm in return :(.....Gosh, husbands I tell you.
Finally I say "You know what, when I was at the gym today, this guy walked up to me and said..I really like you.." To this R looks up and replies "What,,,no ways, you are not going to the gym again"..
I laugh and say "Do I have your attention now?" To which hubby smiles, closes his laptop and discusses the various options for Shiva.
Hmm, not bad..ten years into the marriage and the husband still feels a bit jealous..not bad at all !!!!
Shiva loses 3 games back to back and is pretty angry. I say to him "Dont worry sweetie, it was just my lucky day"..he seems to calm down after hearing that.
I dont really believe in losing in a game with my kid on purpose just to make him happy.Play fair and square is my motto and I try to teach my kid the same.
After a book read and a question and answer session with Shiva, we usually do a q&a session after a book read, that way the reading is not done on a superficial level by Shiva.:) :) After brushing his teeth , Shiva is off to bed and fast asleep in a few minutes.
The husband returns a bit late as informed earlier.As usual his mind is still at work, he plonks himself on the chair , opens the laptop and starts typing something,,I may as well have been invisible. :)
I say "R, we need to discuss the A+ extra classes, shortlist and decide which ones to enroll Shiva in(A+ are extra classes offered in school)", R replies "Hmm..hmm"
I keep on talking and receive only a Hmm , hmm in return :(.....Gosh, husbands I tell you.
Finally I say "You know what, when I was at the gym today, this guy walked up to me and said..I really like you.." To this R looks up and replies "What,,,no ways, you are not going to the gym again"..
I laugh and say "Do I have your attention now?" To which hubby smiles, closes his laptop and discusses the various options for Shiva.
Hmm, not bad..ten years into the marriage and the husband still feels a bit jealous..not bad at all !!!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
A sense of accomplishment
For years I thought what it might be to be able to drive a car on my own.
Being in India all along, never really felt the need to learn, since there was always someone, either a driver or the husband to take me here and there.Also being brought up in Mumbai, where the public transportation is so good never thought of taking the wheels.
Then Shiva was born, now he is an outspoken 5 year old.Our move to the US specially in a city like Houston almost made it compulsory for me to learn driving.
All I could think of was to to learn to drive.But the fear in my heart was the size of a boulder.I used to look in amazement and awe at all the people who drove.
And then Shiva(my 5 year old) wished and wished that his mamma could drive.The final straw was one day in his taekwondo class where discussions were happening about going to rock-climbing for the kids as a group outing.At which my son declares to a crowd of people(other parents, his teacher and of course the kids) "my mumma cant drive"..That did it..I decided I just have to do it.
Yeah, it took a lot of courage and determination. Facing and conquering my fears was a huge thing. I knew if I could drive it would be a huge accomplishment for me on a personal front.
I decided to go for it.Took lessons from the professional instrutor and also from my very patient husband. After a failed attempt (the texas dl is pretty strict) I finally got my license.
When my examiner said "young lady, you have cleared"..I could have almost hugged her !!!
Today I drive my kiddo around to school, taekwondo class, soccer class, playdates, birthday parties, parks..the list is endless.
It makes me happy that I am able to do so and have faced my fears.
I still feel a wee bit scared and alert when I am driving.It is still not secondary to me like it is to many other seasoned drivers..but I am getting there.
It feels great and the sense of freedom and also the responsibilty which comes along with driving cannot be matched!!!
Happy driving!!
Being in India all along, never really felt the need to learn, since there was always someone, either a driver or the husband to take me here and there.Also being brought up in Mumbai, where the public transportation is so good never thought of taking the wheels.
Then Shiva was born, now he is an outspoken 5 year old.Our move to the US specially in a city like Houston almost made it compulsory for me to learn driving.
All I could think of was to to learn to drive.But the fear in my heart was the size of a boulder.I used to look in amazement and awe at all the people who drove.
And then Shiva(my 5 year old) wished and wished that his mamma could drive.The final straw was one day in his taekwondo class where discussions were happening about going to rock-climbing for the kids as a group outing.At which my son declares to a crowd of people(other parents, his teacher and of course the kids) "my mumma cant drive"..That did it..I decided I just have to do it.
Yeah, it took a lot of courage and determination. Facing and conquering my fears was a huge thing. I knew if I could drive it would be a huge accomplishment for me on a personal front.
I decided to go for it.Took lessons from the professional instrutor and also from my very patient husband. After a failed attempt (the texas dl is pretty strict) I finally got my license.
When my examiner said "young lady, you have cleared"..I could have almost hugged her !!!
Today I drive my kiddo around to school, taekwondo class, soccer class, playdates, birthday parties, parks..the list is endless.
It makes me happy that I am able to do so and have faced my fears.
I still feel a wee bit scared and alert when I am driving.It is still not secondary to me like it is to many other seasoned drivers..but I am getting there.
It feels great and the sense of freedom and also the responsibilty which comes along with driving cannot be matched!!!
Happy driving!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
We love Sundays!!
It began as a lazy Sunday….all of us getting up well beyond 9 am. After an extended tea , I was relaxing when Ravi who was busy on the laptop said "If I am busy doesn’t mean you don’t give me breakfast"… Mr husband is never short of sarcastic comments most of them targeted towards me!!!! By this time Shiva was also done with his breakfast which consists of chocolate milk and cereal each and everyday (Mummy cant make any variations)…
Prepared a nice cheese spinach omlette and served Ravi with a toast and a roasted tomato just like he likes ..My effort was rewarded with a smile
After doing a skype session with parents and extended family, we decided to set out. We had been thinking of buying a nice rug for the living room. After some research we shortlisted two stores in downtown Houston…after going thru the internet the second time which said the owner of the first store was arrogant..which made our life easier since we decided to skip that store altogether…wow the power of internet..
We finally reached our decided shop where we were greeted by a very friendly and knowledgeable salesman called ‘ John ‘… After a lot of discussion we finally found a rug suitable for the living room..All thru the sale Shiva was entertaining everyone in the house..At one point for a particular rug he said "Thts a very Roman looking rug"..I could see the salesman’s expression change to one of awe…he asked Shiva " Have you been to Rome" to which our smart-alec replies "No , but my teacher has read a book on it and also shown pictures"… Shiva has an opinion on everything , be it rug, furniture, lighting et all…what a delight he is makes me feel proud ..
After the rug shopping the husband seemed to be in a generous mood and took me shoe shopping…what a treat..got back 2 pairs of shoes …Give a girl her shoes and she is one happy soul :)
After feeling satisfied we returned to our car, had a nice snack at an Indian restaurant and returned home..we were happy to see that the rug we selected did wonders to the sitting room …
The day ended with us sitting back and watching Rock on…Just love watching the number "Sindbad the sailor" All in all an enjoyable and fruitful Sunday!!!
Prepared a nice cheese spinach omlette and served Ravi with a toast and a roasted tomato just like he likes ..My effort was rewarded with a smile
After doing a skype session with parents and extended family, we decided to set out. We had been thinking of buying a nice rug for the living room. After some research we shortlisted two stores in downtown Houston…after going thru the internet the second time which said the owner of the first store was arrogant..which made our life easier since we decided to skip that store altogether…wow the power of internet..
We finally reached our decided shop where we were greeted by a very friendly and knowledgeable salesman called ‘ John ‘… After a lot of discussion we finally found a rug suitable for the living room..All thru the sale Shiva was entertaining everyone in the house..At one point for a particular rug he said "Thts a very Roman looking rug"..I could see the salesman’s expression change to one of awe…he asked Shiva " Have you been to Rome" to which our smart-alec replies "No , but my teacher has read a book on it and also shown pictures"… Shiva has an opinion on everything , be it rug, furniture, lighting et all…what a delight he is makes me feel proud ..
After the rug shopping the husband seemed to be in a generous mood and took me shoe shopping…what a treat..got back 2 pairs of shoes …Give a girl her shoes and she is one happy soul :)
After feeling satisfied we returned to our car, had a nice snack at an Indian restaurant and returned home..we were happy to see that the rug we selected did wonders to the sitting room …
The day ended with us sitting back and watching Rock on…Just love watching the number "Sindbad the sailor" All in all an enjoyable and fruitful Sunday!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)