We had another really bad night. Abigail was awake nearly every hour through the night so I just found it exhausting and woke up at 7 feeling so bad. I made a decision that after last night I am really going to try and introduce the baby cereal even though she seems to not have any interest in it at all.
So, at about 8.45 when Dylan was having his breakfast, I made Abigail some baby cereal and put her in the high chair. No matter how much coaxing and praise and noises and everything I did – she would not open her mouth! When I tried to put the spoon near her she swiped it away!! Then I had an idea; I put Peppa Pig on the laptop and she was soon singing along 'Baa baa baa baa' and when she opened her mouth, I quickly popped the spoon of cereal in. The first time she was really shocked, but she ate it. After that, it was just timing it right and I managed to get her to eat about eight spoons of cereal.
After breakfast both the children played in the play room while I did a bit of tidying up. Pen had the day off today so spent the day working on his computer in our bedroom. My friend Emma was supposed to come over with her little girl Tia for a play date but I just was not up to it. I was feeling so exhausted and so emotional that I knew I wouldn't be any company so I cancelled them coming.
As Penri was at home anyway, I asked him if he would take us to the hospital so I could get Abi's injections (which were overdue). The hospital is fairly close to us but because of Penri's work timings, we never get to go. Anyway, at 2 p.m we headed to the hospital and Abi had her jab done. She needs another one in a month.
We came home and Raj Kumar cleaned and I finished tidying up. Abigail went to sleep at 3.15 which meant I was able to get some stuff done. It's so hard to do housework when I have Abi on my hip and DJ at my feet!
Isaac came over at about 5 ish and him and Dylan played cars, which I think is their favourite thing. At 6 I gave Abigail some more baby cereal and between Divya (Isaac's nanny) and I, we cooked the boys dinner. They had some food and then all three children had a bath and got into pyjamas. At 7 p.m Isaac left, DJ went to bed and I took Abigail to feed her and put her to sleep. It took just over an hour to get her to sleep!!
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August
Had the worst night with Abigail. She woke up at 3 a.m and would not go back to sleep. I was exhausted having only gone to bed at midnight myself. Abigail made up for it though by going to sleep at 9 and sleeping for 2 and a half hours. At that point, I couldn't go to sleep because DJ was awake.
I forgot to write yesterday – at about 3.30, the doorbell rang and when I opened it, the man standing there asked me if he could come in and check all our drains and a/c pipes outside. I asked him if he could come back as both my children were sleeping, but he said no he couldn't. So, I let him in and then 3 or 4 other men followed him. I was on Skype to my mum at the time so I asked Raj Kumar to stay with them and make sure everything was ok. As the men filed in and went to Abi's bathroom, I couldn't help but laugh! Here is the worst job in the world … the last man to come in was only little and he had a full harness on and was carrying a long piece of rope that was attached to the harness. I didn't quite realise why until a few moments later when the other men lowered him out of the window!! So, not only is he being lowered out of the 7th floor window, he has to check all the drains and make sure all the sewage water is running out correctly!! Gross! As I said, worst job in the world!!
Anyway, back to Saturday. At 12.30, we all got dressed and made our weekly visit to Ambience Mall. We went to Big Bazaar first to do our food shopping. I decided not to take the pushchair as it is always a nightmare with both a trolley and the pushchair even when there are two of us. So, I carried Abi and we put DJ in the trolley. We did a really big shop – food, nappies and we also bought some clothes for DJ. Only a few things like sleeveless pyjama tops and some more pants. We went and put all the shopping in the car and then went to McDonalds so DJ could have some lunch. After that we took him to the play area and I went into Mothercare. Abigail had fallen asleep in the pushchair (which we picked up when we put the shopping in the car) so I was able to shop hands free and with no children to watch.
After that we left the mall and came home. We chilled out and I put all the shopping away and then at about 5.30 Alex and Isaac came over. I said to Alex tonight I don't know what I'm going to do when they leave at the end of September because seeing Isaac is the highlight of Dylan's day. He loves having him over to play and when we get back from Doha, they'll be gone! I'll also miss having Alex so close by. Even though she works in the day, we still manage to catch up in the evenings. Anyway, not a lot I can do – it's the expat way of life – people come and go all the time.
Sunday 29th
We had a really bad night again. It took so long to get Abi to sleep and DJ, bless him, kept getting out of bed and taking his pyjamas and nappy off and going on the potty! I was trying to get Abigail to sleep (which took about an hour and a half) and I heard Dylan go into Penri three times saying 'Look Daddy, poo poo'. Penri kept cleaning the potty, putting a nappy and pjs back on Dylan and putting him back to bed.
The potty training is going so well. So much better than I could ever have hoped for. It's been four days now and the last two have been fantastic! No accidents at all and DJ seems to know when he needs to go and he just goes. The only problem is – he hasn't started asking me to go so I'm worried about when we go out whether he'll be able to actually ask me. Here at home, he knows exactly where the potty is and he just goes by himself and then tells me afterwards. At the moment, whenever we go out, I put a nappy on him but it's really not going to be long before he's ready to make the next step and be in pants all the time. As I said, he is doing better than I could have ever hoped for and it's so rewarding for both him and me whenever he goes on the potty.
Anyway, after a really bad night, both kids were up at 7.30 a.m. We mulled around the house, I did a bit of tidying up and then I put Abi down for her morning (late morning) nap. She didn't sleep so I ended up putting her in the pushchair and taking a walk down to the corner shop. It was closed for lunch so we headed back upstairs again.
We had a very slow, very relaxed day and didn't really do much at all. I did go back to the shop in the afternoon with both children and we picked up a few treats and came home, but that was really the extent of our Sunday.
I forgot to write yesterday – at about 3.30, the doorbell rang and when I opened it, the man standing there asked me if he could come in and check all our drains and a/c pipes outside. I asked him if he could come back as both my children were sleeping, but he said no he couldn't. So, I let him in and then 3 or 4 other men followed him. I was on Skype to my mum at the time so I asked Raj Kumar to stay with them and make sure everything was ok. As the men filed in and went to Abi's bathroom, I couldn't help but laugh! Here is the worst job in the world … the last man to come in was only little and he had a full harness on and was carrying a long piece of rope that was attached to the harness. I didn't quite realise why until a few moments later when the other men lowered him out of the window!! So, not only is he being lowered out of the 7th floor window, he has to check all the drains and make sure all the sewage water is running out correctly!! Gross! As I said, worst job in the world!!
Anyway, back to Saturday. At 12.30, we all got dressed and made our weekly visit to Ambience Mall. We went to Big Bazaar first to do our food shopping. I decided not to take the pushchair as it is always a nightmare with both a trolley and the pushchair even when there are two of us. So, I carried Abi and we put DJ in the trolley. We did a really big shop – food, nappies and we also bought some clothes for DJ. Only a few things like sleeveless pyjama tops and some more pants. We went and put all the shopping in the car and then went to McDonalds so DJ could have some lunch. After that we took him to the play area and I went into Mothercare. Abigail had fallen asleep in the pushchair (which we picked up when we put the shopping in the car) so I was able to shop hands free and with no children to watch.
After that we left the mall and came home. We chilled out and I put all the shopping away and then at about 5.30 Alex and Isaac came over. I said to Alex tonight I don't know what I'm going to do when they leave at the end of September because seeing Isaac is the highlight of Dylan's day. He loves having him over to play and when we get back from Doha, they'll be gone! I'll also miss having Alex so close by. Even though she works in the day, we still manage to catch up in the evenings. Anyway, not a lot I can do – it's the expat way of life – people come and go all the time.
Sunday 29th
We had a really bad night again. It took so long to get Abi to sleep and DJ, bless him, kept getting out of bed and taking his pyjamas and nappy off and going on the potty! I was trying to get Abigail to sleep (which took about an hour and a half) and I heard Dylan go into Penri three times saying 'Look Daddy, poo poo'. Penri kept cleaning the potty, putting a nappy and pjs back on Dylan and putting him back to bed.
The potty training is going so well. So much better than I could ever have hoped for. It's been four days now and the last two have been fantastic! No accidents at all and DJ seems to know when he needs to go and he just goes. The only problem is – he hasn't started asking me to go so I'm worried about when we go out whether he'll be able to actually ask me. Here at home, he knows exactly where the potty is and he just goes by himself and then tells me afterwards. At the moment, whenever we go out, I put a nappy on him but it's really not going to be long before he's ready to make the next step and be in pants all the time. As I said, he is doing better than I could have ever hoped for and it's so rewarding for both him and me whenever he goes on the potty.
Anyway, after a really bad night, both kids were up at 7.30 a.m. We mulled around the house, I did a bit of tidying up and then I put Abi down for her morning (late morning) nap. She didn't sleep so I ended up putting her in the pushchair and taking a walk down to the corner shop. It was closed for lunch so we headed back upstairs again.
We had a very slow, very relaxed day and didn't really do much at all. I did go back to the shop in the afternoon with both children and we picked up a few treats and came home, but that was really the extent of our Sunday.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday 23rd - Friday 27th August 2010
Monday 23rd August
Abigail was awake at 6.30 again this morning. I tried to take her into our bed to lay down with her but she wasn't having any of it! She wanted to be up and awake, so in the end I brought her into the dining room where I laid a duvet on the floor and put lots of toys out for her then I went to get a coffee. Dylan woke up at 7.30 and asked to watch Numberjacks. I thought he may go back to sleep, but he didn't. So, both children up really early this morning – I'm was hoping they would have a lunch time nap as we were going to Emma's house so Dylan and Tia could play. As it turned out, neither of them went for a nap.
At about 10 o'clock the doorbell rang and it was the security from downstairs bringing us another parcel! Thank you Laura! We had lots of fun opening the parcel and seeing what surprises were inside!
We left home at 2.45. Emma had sent her driver to pick us up and we made it back to her house (which is across the other side of town) in record time. We were there just before 3.15. Tia has a really lovely playroom with lots of nice toys so Dylan had so much fun playing with all the different things. At about 5.15, I said to Emma that I should be making a move as she was going to send us with her driver and he had to be back to pick up Emma's husband at 7. She went to get her phone and when she came back we got chatting. The next thing I knew it was 5 to 6 and too late for us to go with Emma's driver. So, I called Penri who couldn't pick us and then called Tyagi. Luckily Tyagi was available and he was with us by 6.20 to take us home.
The traffic was absolutely appalling and when we got to crossing the big highway, it was just solid stand still traffic! So, we were sitting in the car in the middle of a very main road trying to get across this junction and Tyagi gets out the car and walks away. He started diverting the traffic and telling people where to go and which lane they should be in. It was crazy!! Then the traffic would start moving again so he would jump back in the car, move a couple of inches forwards and then it would stop again. So, he'd get out again, go and direct traffic and the whole process would repeat itself. I was getting so frustrated and if I didn't have Abigail in my arms, I am sure I would not have been able to stop myself from getting in the driver's seat!
We finally got home at 8 o'clock after and hour and a half in traffic. It was late, both children were tired, neither one had been fed and I was exhausted. I cooked DJ's dinner as quickly as possible and then while he was eating I fed Abigail. Then I got them both showered and dressed and put them to bed. Within half an hour of them being asleep, I too went to bed!
Tuesday 24th August
We had an up and down night but again, we were awake early! Once Abigail wakes up in the mornings and sees it's light outside, it is very difficult to get her back to sleep! Because
she was up so early, she went to sleep at 10 a.m and DJ and I nipped out to the fruit and vegetable stall. Penri was still home and he was asleep too. I told him to listen out for her and that we wouldn't be long and off we went.
Can you believe – we bought : 4 large potatoes, a cauliflower, 6 carrots, garlic, ginger, 3 large handfuls of peas, a cabbage, 3 lemons, 4 tomatoes, a cucumber, 4 bananas and 2 green peppers for Rs.150 – about £2. Stuff like fruit and vegetables are so cheap here. It's so cute because DJ is starting to understand about paying for things so whenever we go to the shop (or the veg. stall), he always pays for the stuff and then gets the change. The funny thing is whenever he gets change, he thinks it is for him to keep lol.
When we got back from the shop, Abigail was awake and laying on the bed next to Penri (who was now also awake). He said she had woken up pretty much as soon as we left the apartment. She is really not sleeping so well these days and I don't know why. I can only imagine her teeth are giving her grief and causing her some pain. She has the top two front ones that have now cut through! I cannot believe how quickly they are coming in! I don't remember Dylan's teeth coming through that quickly. Anyway, it's great and SO cute!
Abi went in her walker while DJ and I washed and started to prepare the vegetables. I had decided to cook a roast dinner as I haven't actually 'cooked' a proper meal since we moved here. I mean I've made pastas and rice and vegetables and stuff like that, but not a proper dinner!
It is a public holiday today – brother/sister day or something. I tried to get Penri to take the day off but he told me there was no chance of that happening! Because it was a holiday, all the schools were closed so at about 11 a.m Isaac came over to play. He didn't actually stay very long before Divya (his ayah) said he was going home. So, I gave Dylan some lunch and then the children relaxed, played and watched some television while I did a bit more cooking. I marinaded the chicken in lemon juice, garlic, ginger and pepper and it smelt lovely. It's not how I would usually cook chicken for a roast, but I didn't have any other herbs or spices to use. As it turned out, it was lovely anyway!
At about 5.15 Alex and Isaac came over and the boys had fun playing and making lots of noise chasing each other up and down the corridor. Dylan went to bed at 7.45 and Abigail refused to go to sleep. I saw Stephanie online so Abi and I went on Skype and talked to her for a while. At about 8.15, Abi was starting to get restless and I could tell she was getting tired so I put her to bed. Penri came home just after 9 p.m and we had our dinner. It was really lovely and such a nice change but as Penri said – I'm not sure it was worth all the time and effort it took to cook! It was delicious though and there was nothing left but a bit of cabbage! :)
Wednesday 25th August
Today we had a relaxed morning. The children played in the playroom for quite a long time and I ended up taking my computer into the playroom so we could talk to my mum on Skype. She is in UK at the moment so it's actually much harder to talk to her because of the time difference. When we're up and about early in the morning, it's like 3 or 4 a.m for UK and then when it's afternoon in UK, it's evening here so I'm starting to get the kids ready for bed. Anyway, we managed to catch up with my mum, which was really nice.
While DJ was playing, he got the box of plastic animals out and was going through all the names of them. He would stand one up and say what it was, e.g 'cow', then he would look at me and say 'Where's other cow? Here it is!' while picking it up. It was so cute! When he got to animals he didn't know like hyena and polar bear, he would hold them up to me to tell him. We got to one animal and I have no idea what it is. He has two of them and I really haven't a clue what they are. It looks like a monkey in the body, but then it has a huge long thin black and white tail. Not sure! Anyway, he kept holding it up to me and looking at me for an answer. I didn't want to tell him the wrong thing so I was trying to distract him with other animals. He was determined to find out and kept holding up this monkey thing to me. In the end, I said 'raccoon' even though I know it's not. It wasn't a nice feeling not to be able to tell him! So, anyway, he lined all the animals up with all the horses together, all the cows together etc and then before I could stop her, Abigail rolled over and reached out for one of them and in the process knocking most of them over. They were like dominoes – they just fell one after the other. Dylan was so upset and he was saying 'No Abi! No Abi!' and then he just looked at me with despair in his eyes. I calmed him down and as quickly as I could, picked all the animals up for him so they were back in their line. He likes to be organised!! :)
At 1.45 both children went for a nap. I was really pleased because I had a taxi ordered for 2 o'clock to take us to Megan's house for a play date with Nathan. Laura phoned at about 2 just as I was trying to get sorted to leave. I dashed off the phone in a panic trying to get ready to go. As it turned out, I had a phone call from Tyagi to say the taxi was late and would be with us at 2.30. So, I called Laura back for a catch up. During our conversation both children woke up and I got them ready to go. At 2.30 with no sign of the taxi, I called Tyagi again and he told me that the driver coming to get us was late and would be with us by 3! I was really annoyed about this as I knew it would take about half an hour to get there and we had to leave at about 4.30/5 in order to miss the traffic so I thought we would only get an hour there.
The taxi turned up at 3.15 and we arrived at Megan's house at 3.45. She has a lovely house in a complex called Laburnam. She's in an independent house as opposed to an apartment and it's really nice. Nathan's playroom is really cool and as soon as we got there Dylan looked at me and said 'Bye Mummy' and went to play with Nathan. Megan and I sat and chatted and Abigail played on the floor in front of me. Dylan and Nathan played really well together and the time just flew by. At 5, I was thinking I really should make a move. As it turned out, I didn't leave until 5.25 because after changing both children's nappies and getting my stuff together I wasn't very organised.
The traffic coming home was HORRENDOUS! Even worse than the other day coming back from Emma's house. I don't think I have ever seen it so bad. It literally was at a stand still. At about 7, after being in the car for an hour and a half I was so tempted to get out and walk because we just were not moving! Two things stopped me – I didn't have a pushchair with me and I had two children and three bags; and it was starting to get dark and I wasn't 100% sure where we were. I spoke to Megan and she also said to me not to walk as it is not safe! So, we sat there in the traffic. For the first two hours of our journey Dylan was talking about what he wanted for dinner (as he hadn't eaten) and he was saying 'potatoes, carrots, cheese'. Then he would say 'DJ potatoes, DJ carrots, DJ cheese' and I told him that yes that is what we would make for him when we got home. At about 8 p.m (after being in the car 2 and a half hours) DJ said 'Bed! Bed! No potatoes, no carrots, no cheese. DJ bed'. I felt SO bad for him and there was actually nothing I could do. I put the nappy bag on the seat and told him to put his head on it and rest, but he couldn't fall asleep. Abigail had fallen asleep on my shoulder which was good because at least I didn't have to worry about her. We finally got home at 8.25 after THREE hours in the car!
As soon as we got upstairs I put Dylan some potatoes in the microwave, put some carrots on to boil and then I washed and changed both children while the food was cooking. I set Dylan up in front of Dora with his food while I took Abigail to bed. Ten minutes later she was asleep and I came back and helped DJ finish his dinner and then I put him to bed too. He was asleep with five minutes – he was just exhausted and I knew how he felt because I was too. I went to bed within 10 minutes of DJ being asleep! What a day!!!
I have decided from now on – no more play dates on the other side of town unless they are in the mornings or I can leave to set off for home at 3! I'm never doing that nightmare journey in traffic again. I said to Penri, in addition to the above, I either need to start driving here or we need to buy a second car seat for Abi so that when I travel in taxis she can be in a car seat because it was so difficult to hold her and keep her happy for three hours whereas in a car seat she probably would've slept the whole time.
Thursday 26th August
We had a very busy morning today. Our bank sent over a representative at 8.30 to get my signature (as I am going to be a signatory (is that the right word?) on our check book). He needed copies of my passport, visa, residence permit, marriage certificate and proof of address. I didn't have copies and asked if I could send scans over by e-mail but every document had to be signed twice so they wouldn't accept scans. In the end, the guy took all my original documents and went off to photocopy them. He came back about 45 minutes later and I signed everything.
We had run out of drinking water so I ordered some from the shop downstairs. We buy it in 20 litre containers so it is really really heavy which is why they deliver it. At 9.30, the shop delivered stuff and then at 10 o'clock, the doorbell rang again and it was this motorised bike I had bought for Dylan from a lady who is leaving. I was really disappointed actually because although I had seen it (when I bought it), I didn't actually try it out and it went super super slow!! I took the battery out and charged it for about 8 hours and tried it again – it moved at a good speed for about 4 or 5 minutes before going slow again. So, I charged the battery for another 8 hours and still, it wasn't great! So, I was very disappointed and a bit angry too. I would never sell anything knowing that it was faulty or not working properly. I have been thinking about ringing her to complain to her but what is she going to do?! She's leaving India on Saturday so she's not going to care, is she? I just think it's really dishonest! Just to give you an idea how slow it is – when he's riding on it down the corridor Abigail rams into the back of him in her baby walker because she's faster than he is!
Abigail went for a nap today at 11 and she slept until 2.30! I couldn't believe it – that is such a long nap for her!! While she was sleeping Dylan and I had some quality time together which was really nice. I think he really enjoyed it too!
I decided this morning that today is the day I am going to start potty training Dylan properly. I have tried a few times before but I have not been 100% committed to doing it. So, I'm really going to try this time. This morning as soon as DJ woke up I put him on the potty. He did a wee wee and I made a HUGE deal about it. Singing and dancing and whooping down the corridor. He thought it was brilliant! We also put up a sticker chart on his bedroom door and we stuck the first sticker on it. Then, I put him in pants. I have decided to put him straight into proper pants after advice from a few friends on the subject. We had a really successful first day of potty training and he did four wee wees on the potty and about eight or nine in pants lol. But, it's going to take perseverance and some time for him to get used to it. He loves the sticker chart though!
Isaac came over to play at 5.30 and I made them both pasta with carrots and peas for dinner. I made Penri and I a chicken pasta in sauce with onions, garlic and peppers. I was so surprised that Isaac preferred the pasta in sauce to plain pasta. DJ wouldn't eat the pasta with sauce at all! Also, Isaac liked the raw peas that Dylan loves. :) Dylan went to bed at about 8 p.m and Abigail didn't sleep till about 9.30.
I spoke to my dad and Mel on Skype tonight which was really nice. My dad has booked our tickets for Doha which I am so excited about. We are travelling at the end of September and will be going for a month! I can't wait to spend some time with my family and for my dad to meet Abigail. It was so cute – tonight when we were talking on Skype, when it was time to say goodbye, I said to Abi 'Wave to Aunty Mel and Grandad' and I normally lift her arm and make her wave, but she did it herself. It was amazing!! I thought it might be a fluke so I asked her to wave again – and she did!!! So wonderful! :) I love it when they learn a new skill – I get so excited by it (as I'm sure most mums do)!
Anyway, Abi went to bed and I called Pen to see when he was coming home. He said he didn't want pasta and asked me to order him a curry. Then he changed his mind and asked for pizza, so I ordered his food, ate my pasta and went to bed.
Friday 27th August
I woke up early this morning as I planned to take DJ to try out a new preschool. I ordered a taxi for 9.45 and then I set about getting things ready to go. It's like trying to plan a military operation just to get out of the house with youngsters. I packed the nappy bag, snack bag, my handbag (with dummy (just in case), a couple of toys, and all the other things – mobile, money, camera etc). Then I got myself ready and then finally at about 9.30 started getting the children ready. Anyone who has small children will know that you don't get them ready too early or before you leave, you will need to change a nappy or change clothes or something!!
I put Dylan in a nappy because although we had a successful first day of potty training yesterday, I thought it was too soon to take him out in pants. I explained to him that because we were going in a taxi and going to school, he would need a nappy but when we got home, he could wear pants again. He was very cool about it and was really excited to be going to school!!
The taxi arrived late again – at 10 a.m. It was a friend of Tyagi's. Normally Tyagi is pretty good – he is fairly prompt and if he is late it's only by about 10 minutes at the most. So far, I have not been impressed with any of his friends that he has sent as they have been late by at least half an hour! Anyway, we went downstairs to the taxi and when I got outside the security guy told me that the taxi was at the gate. I was annoyed, but glad to have the double buggy and set off to the gate. When I got there they told me the taxi had come inside. I was getting annoyed now because I was getting hot and bothered. In the end, after standing at the gate for five minutes, I walked back into the compound and found the taxi, who was just driving around to the gate.
We got loaded up and off we went. It took about 25 minutes to get there and as soon as I walked in, I was impressed. The facilities were really nice and clean and the environment was very calm and relaxed. I was also happy to see there was only one gate in and out of the school and there was security on the gate. I went in to meet the principal and she showed us around. Each class has a home room and when the children arrive in the mornings, they go to their home room for circle time. After that, they move around the school (it's pretty much all on one level), to different rooms for different classes. So, the rooms they have are : a library/reading room, a music/drama room, an art room, a cognitive skills room, a study room (where they learn about a different topic each week) and a large role play room where there is a play house set up with a little play kitchen and there are costumes and household things. Downstairs they have a huge open room with lots of ride on toys, a trampoline and a slide and then outside they have slides and swings. When DJ saw the downstairs room with all the ride on cars, you should have seen his face. It was sheer amazement! So, we walked around and then Dylan played in the role play room with the class that he would go into while I talked to the principal in the office. I was really happy with what I saw, impressed with the facilities and the cleanliness etc. Dylan would be the only expatriate child there but that doesn't bother me. He was happy to go and play and he seemed very comfortable there in contrast to the last place I took him. That is what sold it to me – how content he was.
After leaving the school we went to a mall I have never been to before called Sahara Mall. It was really nice to have a change of scene and we went to Big Bazaar in there which seems to be much bigger than the Big Bazaar in Ambience Mall. I found cake tins!! I was so happy that I bought three – now I can do some baking with DJ. I also bought Dylan some more pants and a couple of t-shirts, some new books and a couple of other bits and bobs. I did look for things for Abi but the clothes and toys for babies in there wasn't very good. We walked around a couple of the other shops and before I knew it, it was 1 o'clock. With both children and I exhausted, we headed home.
We got back at about 1.30, I made lunch, washed and changed both of them and Abigail went to sleep at 2.30; then at 3 p.m Dylan asked if he could go for a sleep too. They both slept for two hours and I know I should've been sleeping too at that point but I didn't. I did get loads done in that two hours though and I got to speak to Mel on Skype so it was worth not sleeping!
The children woke up at 5 and Isaac came over to play at about 5 to 6. I made the boys dinner at 7 and then Alex came over when she got back from work. They all left at 7.45 and I put DJ to bed and then went to put Abigail to sleep. Dylan didn't actually sleep until 11.30 p.m!! That is what napping in the day does to him.
Abigail was awake at 6.30 again this morning. I tried to take her into our bed to lay down with her but she wasn't having any of it! She wanted to be up and awake, so in the end I brought her into the dining room where I laid a duvet on the floor and put lots of toys out for her then I went to get a coffee. Dylan woke up at 7.30 and asked to watch Numberjacks. I thought he may go back to sleep, but he didn't. So, both children up really early this morning – I'm was hoping they would have a lunch time nap as we were going to Emma's house so Dylan and Tia could play. As it turned out, neither of them went for a nap.
At about 10 o'clock the doorbell rang and it was the security from downstairs bringing us another parcel! Thank you Laura! We had lots of fun opening the parcel and seeing what surprises were inside!
We left home at 2.45. Emma had sent her driver to pick us up and we made it back to her house (which is across the other side of town) in record time. We were there just before 3.15. Tia has a really lovely playroom with lots of nice toys so Dylan had so much fun playing with all the different things. At about 5.15, I said to Emma that I should be making a move as she was going to send us with her driver and he had to be back to pick up Emma's husband at 7. She went to get her phone and when she came back we got chatting. The next thing I knew it was 5 to 6 and too late for us to go with Emma's driver. So, I called Penri who couldn't pick us and then called Tyagi. Luckily Tyagi was available and he was with us by 6.20 to take us home.
The traffic was absolutely appalling and when we got to crossing the big highway, it was just solid stand still traffic! So, we were sitting in the car in the middle of a very main road trying to get across this junction and Tyagi gets out the car and walks away. He started diverting the traffic and telling people where to go and which lane they should be in. It was crazy!! Then the traffic would start moving again so he would jump back in the car, move a couple of inches forwards and then it would stop again. So, he'd get out again, go and direct traffic and the whole process would repeat itself. I was getting so frustrated and if I didn't have Abigail in my arms, I am sure I would not have been able to stop myself from getting in the driver's seat!
We finally got home at 8 o'clock after and hour and a half in traffic. It was late, both children were tired, neither one had been fed and I was exhausted. I cooked DJ's dinner as quickly as possible and then while he was eating I fed Abigail. Then I got them both showered and dressed and put them to bed. Within half an hour of them being asleep, I too went to bed!
Tuesday 24th August
We had an up and down night but again, we were awake early! Once Abigail wakes up in the mornings and sees it's light outside, it is very difficult to get her back to sleep! Because
she was up so early, she went to sleep at 10 a.m and DJ and I nipped out to the fruit and vegetable stall. Penri was still home and he was asleep too. I told him to listen out for her and that we wouldn't be long and off we went.
Can you believe – we bought : 4 large potatoes, a cauliflower, 6 carrots, garlic, ginger, 3 large handfuls of peas, a cabbage, 3 lemons, 4 tomatoes, a cucumber, 4 bananas and 2 green peppers for Rs.150 – about £2. Stuff like fruit and vegetables are so cheap here. It's so cute because DJ is starting to understand about paying for things so whenever we go to the shop (or the veg. stall), he always pays for the stuff and then gets the change. The funny thing is whenever he gets change, he thinks it is for him to keep lol.
When we got back from the shop, Abigail was awake and laying on the bed next to Penri (who was now also awake). He said she had woken up pretty much as soon as we left the apartment. She is really not sleeping so well these days and I don't know why. I can only imagine her teeth are giving her grief and causing her some pain. She has the top two front ones that have now cut through! I cannot believe how quickly they are coming in! I don't remember Dylan's teeth coming through that quickly. Anyway, it's great and SO cute!
Abi went in her walker while DJ and I washed and started to prepare the vegetables. I had decided to cook a roast dinner as I haven't actually 'cooked' a proper meal since we moved here. I mean I've made pastas and rice and vegetables and stuff like that, but not a proper dinner!
It is a public holiday today – brother/sister day or something. I tried to get Penri to take the day off but he told me there was no chance of that happening! Because it was a holiday, all the schools were closed so at about 11 a.m Isaac came over to play. He didn't actually stay very long before Divya (his ayah) said he was going home. So, I gave Dylan some lunch and then the children relaxed, played and watched some television while I did a bit more cooking. I marinaded the chicken in lemon juice, garlic, ginger and pepper and it smelt lovely. It's not how I would usually cook chicken for a roast, but I didn't have any other herbs or spices to use. As it turned out, it was lovely anyway!
At about 5.15 Alex and Isaac came over and the boys had fun playing and making lots of noise chasing each other up and down the corridor. Dylan went to bed at 7.45 and Abigail refused to go to sleep. I saw Stephanie online so Abi and I went on Skype and talked to her for a while. At about 8.15, Abi was starting to get restless and I could tell she was getting tired so I put her to bed. Penri came home just after 9 p.m and we had our dinner. It was really lovely and such a nice change but as Penri said – I'm not sure it was worth all the time and effort it took to cook! It was delicious though and there was nothing left but a bit of cabbage! :)
Wednesday 25th August
Today we had a relaxed morning. The children played in the playroom for quite a long time and I ended up taking my computer into the playroom so we could talk to my mum on Skype. She is in UK at the moment so it's actually much harder to talk to her because of the time difference. When we're up and about early in the morning, it's like 3 or 4 a.m for UK and then when it's afternoon in UK, it's evening here so I'm starting to get the kids ready for bed. Anyway, we managed to catch up with my mum, which was really nice.
While DJ was playing, he got the box of plastic animals out and was going through all the names of them. He would stand one up and say what it was, e.g 'cow', then he would look at me and say 'Where's other cow? Here it is!' while picking it up. It was so cute! When he got to animals he didn't know like hyena and polar bear, he would hold them up to me to tell him. We got to one animal and I have no idea what it is. He has two of them and I really haven't a clue what they are. It looks like a monkey in the body, but then it has a huge long thin black and white tail. Not sure! Anyway, he kept holding it up to me and looking at me for an answer. I didn't want to tell him the wrong thing so I was trying to distract him with other animals. He was determined to find out and kept holding up this monkey thing to me. In the end, I said 'raccoon' even though I know it's not. It wasn't a nice feeling not to be able to tell him! So, anyway, he lined all the animals up with all the horses together, all the cows together etc and then before I could stop her, Abigail rolled over and reached out for one of them and in the process knocking most of them over. They were like dominoes – they just fell one after the other. Dylan was so upset and he was saying 'No Abi! No Abi!' and then he just looked at me with despair in his eyes. I calmed him down and as quickly as I could, picked all the animals up for him so they were back in their line. He likes to be organised!! :)
At 1.45 both children went for a nap. I was really pleased because I had a taxi ordered for 2 o'clock to take us to Megan's house for a play date with Nathan. Laura phoned at about 2 just as I was trying to get sorted to leave. I dashed off the phone in a panic trying to get ready to go. As it turned out, I had a phone call from Tyagi to say the taxi was late and would be with us at 2.30. So, I called Laura back for a catch up. During our conversation both children woke up and I got them ready to go. At 2.30 with no sign of the taxi, I called Tyagi again and he told me that the driver coming to get us was late and would be with us by 3! I was really annoyed about this as I knew it would take about half an hour to get there and we had to leave at about 4.30/5 in order to miss the traffic so I thought we would only get an hour there.
The taxi turned up at 3.15 and we arrived at Megan's house at 3.45. She has a lovely house in a complex called Laburnam. She's in an independent house as opposed to an apartment and it's really nice. Nathan's playroom is really cool and as soon as we got there Dylan looked at me and said 'Bye Mummy' and went to play with Nathan. Megan and I sat and chatted and Abigail played on the floor in front of me. Dylan and Nathan played really well together and the time just flew by. At 5, I was thinking I really should make a move. As it turned out, I didn't leave until 5.25 because after changing both children's nappies and getting my stuff together I wasn't very organised.
The traffic coming home was HORRENDOUS! Even worse than the other day coming back from Emma's house. I don't think I have ever seen it so bad. It literally was at a stand still. At about 7, after being in the car for an hour and a half I was so tempted to get out and walk because we just were not moving! Two things stopped me – I didn't have a pushchair with me and I had two children and three bags; and it was starting to get dark and I wasn't 100% sure where we were. I spoke to Megan and she also said to me not to walk as it is not safe! So, we sat there in the traffic. For the first two hours of our journey Dylan was talking about what he wanted for dinner (as he hadn't eaten) and he was saying 'potatoes, carrots, cheese'. Then he would say 'DJ potatoes, DJ carrots, DJ cheese' and I told him that yes that is what we would make for him when we got home. At about 8 p.m (after being in the car 2 and a half hours) DJ said 'Bed! Bed! No potatoes, no carrots, no cheese. DJ bed'. I felt SO bad for him and there was actually nothing I could do. I put the nappy bag on the seat and told him to put his head on it and rest, but he couldn't fall asleep. Abigail had fallen asleep on my shoulder which was good because at least I didn't have to worry about her. We finally got home at 8.25 after THREE hours in the car!
As soon as we got upstairs I put Dylan some potatoes in the microwave, put some carrots on to boil and then I washed and changed both children while the food was cooking. I set Dylan up in front of Dora with his food while I took Abigail to bed. Ten minutes later she was asleep and I came back and helped DJ finish his dinner and then I put him to bed too. He was asleep with five minutes – he was just exhausted and I knew how he felt because I was too. I went to bed within 10 minutes of DJ being asleep! What a day!!!
I have decided from now on – no more play dates on the other side of town unless they are in the mornings or I can leave to set off for home at 3! I'm never doing that nightmare journey in traffic again. I said to Penri, in addition to the above, I either need to start driving here or we need to buy a second car seat for Abi so that when I travel in taxis she can be in a car seat because it was so difficult to hold her and keep her happy for three hours whereas in a car seat she probably would've slept the whole time.
Thursday 26th August
We had a very busy morning today. Our bank sent over a representative at 8.30 to get my signature (as I am going to be a signatory (is that the right word?) on our check book). He needed copies of my passport, visa, residence permit, marriage certificate and proof of address. I didn't have copies and asked if I could send scans over by e-mail but every document had to be signed twice so they wouldn't accept scans. In the end, the guy took all my original documents and went off to photocopy them. He came back about 45 minutes later and I signed everything.
We had run out of drinking water so I ordered some from the shop downstairs. We buy it in 20 litre containers so it is really really heavy which is why they deliver it. At 9.30, the shop delivered stuff and then at 10 o'clock, the doorbell rang again and it was this motorised bike I had bought for Dylan from a lady who is leaving. I was really disappointed actually because although I had seen it (when I bought it), I didn't actually try it out and it went super super slow!! I took the battery out and charged it for about 8 hours and tried it again – it moved at a good speed for about 4 or 5 minutes before going slow again. So, I charged the battery for another 8 hours and still, it wasn't great! So, I was very disappointed and a bit angry too. I would never sell anything knowing that it was faulty or not working properly. I have been thinking about ringing her to complain to her but what is she going to do?! She's leaving India on Saturday so she's not going to care, is she? I just think it's really dishonest! Just to give you an idea how slow it is – when he's riding on it down the corridor Abigail rams into the back of him in her baby walker because she's faster than he is!
Abigail went for a nap today at 11 and she slept until 2.30! I couldn't believe it – that is such a long nap for her!! While she was sleeping Dylan and I had some quality time together which was really nice. I think he really enjoyed it too!
I decided this morning that today is the day I am going to start potty training Dylan properly. I have tried a few times before but I have not been 100% committed to doing it. So, I'm really going to try this time. This morning as soon as DJ woke up I put him on the potty. He did a wee wee and I made a HUGE deal about it. Singing and dancing and whooping down the corridor. He thought it was brilliant! We also put up a sticker chart on his bedroom door and we stuck the first sticker on it. Then, I put him in pants. I have decided to put him straight into proper pants after advice from a few friends on the subject. We had a really successful first day of potty training and he did four wee wees on the potty and about eight or nine in pants lol. But, it's going to take perseverance and some time for him to get used to it. He loves the sticker chart though!
Isaac came over to play at 5.30 and I made them both pasta with carrots and peas for dinner. I made Penri and I a chicken pasta in sauce with onions, garlic and peppers. I was so surprised that Isaac preferred the pasta in sauce to plain pasta. DJ wouldn't eat the pasta with sauce at all! Also, Isaac liked the raw peas that Dylan loves. :) Dylan went to bed at about 8 p.m and Abigail didn't sleep till about 9.30.
I spoke to my dad and Mel on Skype tonight which was really nice. My dad has booked our tickets for Doha which I am so excited about. We are travelling at the end of September and will be going for a month! I can't wait to spend some time with my family and for my dad to meet Abigail. It was so cute – tonight when we were talking on Skype, when it was time to say goodbye, I said to Abi 'Wave to Aunty Mel and Grandad' and I normally lift her arm and make her wave, but she did it herself. It was amazing!! I thought it might be a fluke so I asked her to wave again – and she did!!! So wonderful! :) I love it when they learn a new skill – I get so excited by it (as I'm sure most mums do)!
Anyway, Abi went to bed and I called Pen to see when he was coming home. He said he didn't want pasta and asked me to order him a curry. Then he changed his mind and asked for pizza, so I ordered his food, ate my pasta and went to bed.
Friday 27th August
I woke up early this morning as I planned to take DJ to try out a new preschool. I ordered a taxi for 9.45 and then I set about getting things ready to go. It's like trying to plan a military operation just to get out of the house with youngsters. I packed the nappy bag, snack bag, my handbag (with dummy (just in case), a couple of toys, and all the other things – mobile, money, camera etc). Then I got myself ready and then finally at about 9.30 started getting the children ready. Anyone who has small children will know that you don't get them ready too early or before you leave, you will need to change a nappy or change clothes or something!!
I put Dylan in a nappy because although we had a successful first day of potty training yesterday, I thought it was too soon to take him out in pants. I explained to him that because we were going in a taxi and going to school, he would need a nappy but when we got home, he could wear pants again. He was very cool about it and was really excited to be going to school!!
The taxi arrived late again – at 10 a.m. It was a friend of Tyagi's. Normally Tyagi is pretty good – he is fairly prompt and if he is late it's only by about 10 minutes at the most. So far, I have not been impressed with any of his friends that he has sent as they have been late by at least half an hour! Anyway, we went downstairs to the taxi and when I got outside the security guy told me that the taxi was at the gate. I was annoyed, but glad to have the double buggy and set off to the gate. When I got there they told me the taxi had come inside. I was getting annoyed now because I was getting hot and bothered. In the end, after standing at the gate for five minutes, I walked back into the compound and found the taxi, who was just driving around to the gate.
We got loaded up and off we went. It took about 25 minutes to get there and as soon as I walked in, I was impressed. The facilities were really nice and clean and the environment was very calm and relaxed. I was also happy to see there was only one gate in and out of the school and there was security on the gate. I went in to meet the principal and she showed us around. Each class has a home room and when the children arrive in the mornings, they go to their home room for circle time. After that, they move around the school (it's pretty much all on one level), to different rooms for different classes. So, the rooms they have are : a library/reading room, a music/drama room, an art room, a cognitive skills room, a study room (where they learn about a different topic each week) and a large role play room where there is a play house set up with a little play kitchen and there are costumes and household things. Downstairs they have a huge open room with lots of ride on toys, a trampoline and a slide and then outside they have slides and swings. When DJ saw the downstairs room with all the ride on cars, you should have seen his face. It was sheer amazement! So, we walked around and then Dylan played in the role play room with the class that he would go into while I talked to the principal in the office. I was really happy with what I saw, impressed with the facilities and the cleanliness etc. Dylan would be the only expatriate child there but that doesn't bother me. He was happy to go and play and he seemed very comfortable there in contrast to the last place I took him. That is what sold it to me – how content he was.
After leaving the school we went to a mall I have never been to before called Sahara Mall. It was really nice to have a change of scene and we went to Big Bazaar in there which seems to be much bigger than the Big Bazaar in Ambience Mall. I found cake tins!! I was so happy that I bought three – now I can do some baking with DJ. I also bought Dylan some more pants and a couple of t-shirts, some new books and a couple of other bits and bobs. I did look for things for Abi but the clothes and toys for babies in there wasn't very good. We walked around a couple of the other shops and before I knew it, it was 1 o'clock. With both children and I exhausted, we headed home.
We got back at about 1.30, I made lunch, washed and changed both of them and Abigail went to sleep at 2.30; then at 3 p.m Dylan asked if he could go for a sleep too. They both slept for two hours and I know I should've been sleeping too at that point but I didn't. I did get loads done in that two hours though and I got to speak to Mel on Skype so it was worth not sleeping!
The children woke up at 5 and Isaac came over to play at about 5 to 6. I made the boys dinner at 7 and then Alex came over when she got back from work. They all left at 7.45 and I put DJ to bed and then went to put Abigail to sleep. Dylan didn't actually sleep until 11.30 p.m!! That is what napping in the day does to him.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd August 2010
Abigail slept really badly last night (Friday) and from about 2.30 till 5 a.m she was just laid in our bed between us gurgling away. She had toys and rattles and was quite happy not sleeping, but in the process, keeping Pen or I from sleeping either. I finally got her to sleep just after 5 and took her back through to her room and placed her in her cot. I then went straight back to sleep and then at 7 DJ woke us up! Early mornings and not sleeping through the nights is SO difficult! I was just telling someone the other day – Dylan didn't start sleeping through the night until he was a year old and it feels like Abigail will be the same!
Anyway, so I got up with DJ and went to play in his room. It was too early for breakfast and we couldn't go in the play room as I didn't want to wake Abi up. As it turned out, she woke up at 7.40 anyway. We had a quiet morning and when Penri woke up at about 11, I asked him what he wanted to do today. We really needed to get some shopping in but the weather was absolutely horrendous. Thunder, lightning and raining heavily! Pen said he wanted a lazy day, so I took both children and went for a walk to the Estate Office on our compound. The rain had started to slow down so although it was still drizzling, it was manageable. It's very strange walking in the rain when it is so hot that you are wearing shorts and t-shirt (well, the kids were – I had to wear trousers which I rolled up). I don't feel comfortable walking around in shorts and strappy tops here, even on the compound. The lady in the Estate Office wasn't there when we got there so I left her a note to call me on my mobile and I would come back to pay the bills that we had outstanding.
I text and phoned Alex to see if there was home but there was no answer. DJ kept saying 'Isaac's house, Isaac's house' so I decided to take the kids for a walk over there anyway (even if they weren't home). As it turned out, Alex had gone out but Isaac was there with his ayah, Divya, so we stayed and played. Alex came back at 1 p.m and DJ had some lunch with them and then I brought both children home to try and let them have a nap.
Abigail went down for a sleep but Dylan wasn't interested. Pen was still sleeping so I played with Dylan in his room and then we watched a bit of Dora on television. He is really into Dora the Explorer again. It's so strange – he goes through phases where he is hooked on one tv show and that's all he wants to watch and then as quickly as the fad started, it changes to something else. It's funny though – going between Dora, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat, Wibbly Pig and Teletubbies – he always seems to go back to Dora. Anyway, sorry – got a bit carried away there – we watched some Dora and then I made DJ some lunch.
Dylan then went in his room and asked to watch 'Numberjacks' (a new one that he's just getting into). I laid him in bed (thinking he may sleep), put Numberjacks on his DVD player and then went downstairs to go and pay Seema (in the Estate Office). Obviously before I went I told Penri I was going and asked him to listen out for the children. I was only gone about 10 minutes and when I came back both Pen and Abi were sleeping and DJ was still wide awake in his room.
At 5 o'clock I got a text from Alex saying they were going swimming and did we want to join them? I said no because I really didn't feel up to it. Dylan was also very tired so I decided to get both children bathed and into their pyjamas a bit early. I made Dylan's dinner at 5.45 and he was just sitting down to eat when the doorbell rang. It was Alex and Isaac; DJ couldn't sit down to eat then – he got up and went to play with Isaac. We all sat in the playroom and the boys played while Alex and I chatted and then at about 6.50, they left and I got the children to bed. Even though both of them were tired, it took longer than expected and they didn't actually go to sleep until about 8.15. While Alex was at our house, I started to get a tummy ache and by the time the children went to bed, it was even worse. It was really cramping and I was in a lot of pain. Pen got me some medicine and then because he was watching 'Lost' on the television in the bedroom, I went to sleep in Dylan's bed.
Abigail slept for a few hours before waking for another feed, which was great because I got about 3 and a half hours straight sleeping. She was then awake again an hour later and I couldn't get her back to sleep. I think I have mentioned this before but she wakes in the night (normally between 12.30 and 3.30 and is awake for 2 hours!! There is no getting her back to sleep – she just wants to be awake and playing! Anyway, I was thinking how can I get her out of the routine of staying awake for that couple of hours in the middle of the night and I had an idea. So, when she woke on Saturday night at about midnight and I could see she was wide awake and wide eyed, I tried to feed her (which she didn't want) so I laid her in her cot and left the room. She started to whinge a bit and then she cried. I waited for about 6 minutes, by which point she was crying properly. I went in and picked her up, soothed her and put her back down and then left the room again. Again I waited; this time it was about 10 minutes before she started to cry properly and I went in again. This time, I tried to feed her and she did feed and fell asleep! I laid her back in bed and I was back asleep again with half an hour. After that, she did her usual – waking up every two to three hours for a feed and then going straight back to sleep. She did wake up at 6.30 but because my night had been much better, it wasn't so difficult to get up at that time on Sunday morning. I am happy to say that my tummy was also better, which I was pleased about.
Sunday morning – DJ woke up at about 8 and we played until it was Abigail's nap time, which was 10.30. I put her down for a sleep and then went to see Pen. We decided to go out a bit later on as we needed to do some shopping. Abi didn't sleep for long but while she did, I managed to get quite a bit of housework done. DJ was happy playing in his room and Pen was chilling out in our bedroom.
We headed out to Ambience Mall at about 12.30 and went straight to Big Bazaar to get the food shopping. Amazingly, it was fairly quiet in the shop – normally on the weekends, you cannot move for people and you just can't get down the aisles! So, food shopping was pretty painless for a change. We got most of the things we needed and then Pen took everything down to the car and I took the children up to the food court. We got McDonalds for lunch and Pen joined us about 5 minutes after we got there.
After lunch we took DJ to the play area, which he couldn't wait to get in. It's been a while since we went to the shops – in fact, I think the last time was when Mel was here which is over a week ago. When we put Dylan in the play area, we gave our mobile number and for the first time ever, we left him in there. It's supposed to be completely safe anyway, but we've never left him before. We went into Reliance Shop which has a bit of everything – electronics, clothes, DVDs, homeware etc. We were looking for a couple of things but didn't manage to get anything we needed. After about 20 minutes we went back to the play area and checked on DJ. He was playing really happily and hadn't even noticed we weren't there. We sat at the back of the play area and waited for him to finish playing. While Pen sat with Abigail, I had a quick look around the baby shops. I never normally buy anything but I love looking!
Coming out of the play area, Dylan made a run for it – he ran straight into the Early Learning Centre and straight to this big garage that he always goes and plays with when we go there. They have it right at the front of the shop near the window and it's very enticing for children! The thing I quite like about ELC is they have lots of toys out that the kids can play with while the parents look around. It's a shame the security guard on the door is so slack!! DJ was riding around on a little trike in there and Pens and I were looking around. Obviously, I was keeping an eye on Dylan but he's so fast and I was carrying Abigail on my hip. Next thing I know, he's scooted past the security guard at the door and out of the shop. I went running to catch him just as this big Indian bloke stood in my way. I literally shoved through him saying 'Excuse me!' as I ran past. The security guy at this point, realised Dylan had ridden off on the trike out of the shop and he chased him too. You could see people laughing as Dylan is whizzing down the mall on a trike being chased by a security guy and a woman with a baby screaming 'DJ! Come back!' LOL. Looking back, it is quite funny! The security guard caught up with DJ in another shop and we wheeled him back to the ELC with quite a lot of argument on DJ's part.
Pen's and I were looking for a toy to buy for Dylan and we couldn't decide as there were lots of really nice things. The Early Learning Centre here is what I would call really expensive for India. The toys we were looking at were big toys and in the end we chose the garage that he always plays with every time he goes into the shop. I said to Pen – if we're going to spend a lot of money at least we know it will get played with a lot. We bought the garage and left ELC and went back down to the car. Pretty much as soon as I put Abigail in her car seat, she fell asleep so we decided to head home. It had been a really lovely shopping trip – probably because it's been so long since we've been out shopping.
We got home and I tried to put Abigail back to sleep in her cot while Penri built the garage with the help(?) of DJ. It is a very cool toy, this is a picture of it off the internet:
Just as I got Abigail to sleep, DJ came in the room and woke her up. So, I took her out her cot and put her in the baby walker. Both children played and then I made dinner for Dylan. For some reason, even though DJ hadn't had a nap, he didn't get to sleep until 9.30 p.m! Abigail on the other hand, was asleep at 6.30 even though she woke up quite a few times in the beginning part of the night.
Abi has another tooth pushing through. It's one of her top two! You can just see it under the surface so I don't think it'll be long before it pushes through. She has also started having major tantrums!! If she has something and you take it off her, she literally screams the place down and nothing will stop her unless you give her back what she had. You can see how this can lead to a difficult situation when Dylan takes something off her! The funny thing is – if you try and give her something else, she has now learnt how to throw toys out of her hand so you give her something and she just throws it down on the floor. It's realloy funny!
Dylan is great! He's doing really well and managing without his lunchtime naps. He is so chatty these days and it's really lovely! He knows what he wants and will keep asking until he gets it! At about 8.30 last night (Sunday), he came through to the lounge where I was watching television and said 'Ice lolly, Ice lolly, Ice lolly' with a really big grin on his face! I told him there weren't any but he just kept repeating it over and over. So, I stood up and he ran ahead of me to the kitchen. I lifted him up and showed him the freezer and said 'Look Dylan, there are no ice lollies left'. He looked at me with big blue eyes, thought for a second and then said 'DJ eat it' (pointing to his tummy). I smiled and told him that yes he had. He settled for a drink of juice with ice cubes lol.
Anyway, so I got up with DJ and went to play in his room. It was too early for breakfast and we couldn't go in the play room as I didn't want to wake Abi up. As it turned out, she woke up at 7.40 anyway. We had a quiet morning and when Penri woke up at about 11, I asked him what he wanted to do today. We really needed to get some shopping in but the weather was absolutely horrendous. Thunder, lightning and raining heavily! Pen said he wanted a lazy day, so I took both children and went for a walk to the Estate Office on our compound. The rain had started to slow down so although it was still drizzling, it was manageable. It's very strange walking in the rain when it is so hot that you are wearing shorts and t-shirt (well, the kids were – I had to wear trousers which I rolled up). I don't feel comfortable walking around in shorts and strappy tops here, even on the compound. The lady in the Estate Office wasn't there when we got there so I left her a note to call me on my mobile and I would come back to pay the bills that we had outstanding.
I text and phoned Alex to see if there was home but there was no answer. DJ kept saying 'Isaac's house, Isaac's house' so I decided to take the kids for a walk over there anyway (even if they weren't home). As it turned out, Alex had gone out but Isaac was there with his ayah, Divya, so we stayed and played. Alex came back at 1 p.m and DJ had some lunch with them and then I brought both children home to try and let them have a nap.
Abigail went down for a sleep but Dylan wasn't interested. Pen was still sleeping so I played with Dylan in his room and then we watched a bit of Dora on television. He is really into Dora the Explorer again. It's so strange – he goes through phases where he is hooked on one tv show and that's all he wants to watch and then as quickly as the fad started, it changes to something else. It's funny though – going between Dora, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat, Wibbly Pig and Teletubbies – he always seems to go back to Dora. Anyway, sorry – got a bit carried away there – we watched some Dora and then I made DJ some lunch.
Dylan then went in his room and asked to watch 'Numberjacks' (a new one that he's just getting into). I laid him in bed (thinking he may sleep), put Numberjacks on his DVD player and then went downstairs to go and pay Seema (in the Estate Office). Obviously before I went I told Penri I was going and asked him to listen out for the children. I was only gone about 10 minutes and when I came back both Pen and Abi were sleeping and DJ was still wide awake in his room.
At 5 o'clock I got a text from Alex saying they were going swimming and did we want to join them? I said no because I really didn't feel up to it. Dylan was also very tired so I decided to get both children bathed and into their pyjamas a bit early. I made Dylan's dinner at 5.45 and he was just sitting down to eat when the doorbell rang. It was Alex and Isaac; DJ couldn't sit down to eat then – he got up and went to play with Isaac. We all sat in the playroom and the boys played while Alex and I chatted and then at about 6.50, they left and I got the children to bed. Even though both of them were tired, it took longer than expected and they didn't actually go to sleep until about 8.15. While Alex was at our house, I started to get a tummy ache and by the time the children went to bed, it was even worse. It was really cramping and I was in a lot of pain. Pen got me some medicine and then because he was watching 'Lost' on the television in the bedroom, I went to sleep in Dylan's bed.
Abigail slept for a few hours before waking for another feed, which was great because I got about 3 and a half hours straight sleeping. She was then awake again an hour later and I couldn't get her back to sleep. I think I have mentioned this before but she wakes in the night (normally between 12.30 and 3.30 and is awake for 2 hours!! There is no getting her back to sleep – she just wants to be awake and playing! Anyway, I was thinking how can I get her out of the routine of staying awake for that couple of hours in the middle of the night and I had an idea. So, when she woke on Saturday night at about midnight and I could see she was wide awake and wide eyed, I tried to feed her (which she didn't want) so I laid her in her cot and left the room. She started to whinge a bit and then she cried. I waited for about 6 minutes, by which point she was crying properly. I went in and picked her up, soothed her and put her back down and then left the room again. Again I waited; this time it was about 10 minutes before she started to cry properly and I went in again. This time, I tried to feed her and she did feed and fell asleep! I laid her back in bed and I was back asleep again with half an hour. After that, she did her usual – waking up every two to three hours for a feed and then going straight back to sleep. She did wake up at 6.30 but because my night had been much better, it wasn't so difficult to get up at that time on Sunday morning. I am happy to say that my tummy was also better, which I was pleased about.
Sunday morning – DJ woke up at about 8 and we played until it was Abigail's nap time, which was 10.30. I put her down for a sleep and then went to see Pen. We decided to go out a bit later on as we needed to do some shopping. Abi didn't sleep for long but while she did, I managed to get quite a bit of housework done. DJ was happy playing in his room and Pen was chilling out in our bedroom.
We headed out to Ambience Mall at about 12.30 and went straight to Big Bazaar to get the food shopping. Amazingly, it was fairly quiet in the shop – normally on the weekends, you cannot move for people and you just can't get down the aisles! So, food shopping was pretty painless for a change. We got most of the things we needed and then Pen took everything down to the car and I took the children up to the food court. We got McDonalds for lunch and Pen joined us about 5 minutes after we got there.
After lunch we took DJ to the play area, which he couldn't wait to get in. It's been a while since we went to the shops – in fact, I think the last time was when Mel was here which is over a week ago. When we put Dylan in the play area, we gave our mobile number and for the first time ever, we left him in there. It's supposed to be completely safe anyway, but we've never left him before. We went into Reliance Shop which has a bit of everything – electronics, clothes, DVDs, homeware etc. We were looking for a couple of things but didn't manage to get anything we needed. After about 20 minutes we went back to the play area and checked on DJ. He was playing really happily and hadn't even noticed we weren't there. We sat at the back of the play area and waited for him to finish playing. While Pen sat with Abigail, I had a quick look around the baby shops. I never normally buy anything but I love looking!
Coming out of the play area, Dylan made a run for it – he ran straight into the Early Learning Centre and straight to this big garage that he always goes and plays with when we go there. They have it right at the front of the shop near the window and it's very enticing for children! The thing I quite like about ELC is they have lots of toys out that the kids can play with while the parents look around. It's a shame the security guard on the door is so slack!! DJ was riding around on a little trike in there and Pens and I were looking around. Obviously, I was keeping an eye on Dylan but he's so fast and I was carrying Abigail on my hip. Next thing I know, he's scooted past the security guard at the door and out of the shop. I went running to catch him just as this big Indian bloke stood in my way. I literally shoved through him saying 'Excuse me!' as I ran past. The security guy at this point, realised Dylan had ridden off on the trike out of the shop and he chased him too. You could see people laughing as Dylan is whizzing down the mall on a trike being chased by a security guy and a woman with a baby screaming 'DJ! Come back!' LOL. Looking back, it is quite funny! The security guard caught up with DJ in another shop and we wheeled him back to the ELC with quite a lot of argument on DJ's part.
Pen's and I were looking for a toy to buy for Dylan and we couldn't decide as there were lots of really nice things. The Early Learning Centre here is what I would call really expensive for India. The toys we were looking at were big toys and in the end we chose the garage that he always plays with every time he goes into the shop. I said to Pen – if we're going to spend a lot of money at least we know it will get played with a lot. We bought the garage and left ELC and went back down to the car. Pretty much as soon as I put Abigail in her car seat, she fell asleep so we decided to head home. It had been a really lovely shopping trip – probably because it's been so long since we've been out shopping.
We got home and I tried to put Abigail back to sleep in her cot while Penri built the garage with the help(?) of DJ. It is a very cool toy, this is a picture of it off the internet:
Just as I got Abigail to sleep, DJ came in the room and woke her up. So, I took her out her cot and put her in the baby walker. Both children played and then I made dinner for Dylan. For some reason, even though DJ hadn't had a nap, he didn't get to sleep until 9.30 p.m! Abigail on the other hand, was asleep at 6.30 even though she woke up quite a few times in the beginning part of the night.
Abi has another tooth pushing through. It's one of her top two! You can just see it under the surface so I don't think it'll be long before it pushes through. She has also started having major tantrums!! If she has something and you take it off her, she literally screams the place down and nothing will stop her unless you give her back what she had. You can see how this can lead to a difficult situation when Dylan takes something off her! The funny thing is – if you try and give her something else, she has now learnt how to throw toys out of her hand so you give her something and she just throws it down on the floor. It's realloy funny!
Dylan is great! He's doing really well and managing without his lunchtime naps. He is so chatty these days and it's really lovely! He knows what he wants and will keep asking until he gets it! At about 8.30 last night (Sunday), he came through to the lounge where I was watching television and said 'Ice lolly, Ice lolly, Ice lolly' with a really big grin on his face! I told him there weren't any but he just kept repeating it over and over. So, I stood up and he ran ahead of me to the kitchen. I lifted him up and showed him the freezer and said 'Look Dylan, there are no ice lollies left'. He looked at me with big blue eyes, thought for a second and then said 'DJ eat it' (pointing to his tummy). I smiled and told him that yes he had. He settled for a drink of juice with ice cubes lol.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday 19th and Friday 20th August 2010
We had a lovely day today. I relaxed at home with both the children and we just enjoyed playing and watching television. I knew we needed a day at home as it's always so difficult to get out and about here and when you are tired, it's even harder. I think it's the heat – it just seems to wipe you out completely.
In the afternoon, I could tell DJ wanted to go out so we went over to Isaac's house at about 4.15. For some reason though, Isaac and Dylan just wouldn't play nicely today. They were both fighting and shouting at each other and arguing over toys; in the end I said to DJ 'do you want to go home?' to which he replied 'DJ home' and went to get on his ride on car that he had ridden over to their house. So, after being there for only about half an hour or so, we came home. It was a lovely walk home as the weather was really nice and there was a cool breeze. On the way back, we stopped at the fruit and veg stall and bought a couple of potatoes for DJ's dinner. He has been really off his food recently so I've been trying to make him things I know he likes to encourage him to eat. So tonight for dinner I made him jacket potato, carrots and corn and sausages and cheese. That sounds like a lot of things, but it was only a little bit of each thing :) Anyway, he ate all the potato and carrots and pretty much left the rest.
As I was putting the children to bed, the doorbell rang and it was Alex with Isaac. It must've been about 5 to 7 I think. DJ woke up and got out of bed (obviously, because Isaac was there). I put Abigail down to sleep but within 15 minutes she was awake again because there was just too much going on and it was too noisy for her. So, Alex took Isaac home to put him to sleep and she came back half an hour later and both my two were in bed. Abi asleep and DJ nearly asleep. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and then sat and watched Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. It was really nice! Penri arrived just in time for dinner – he literally walked in the door two or three minutes after the food had arrived.
Alex left at about 10.30 and we went to bed. It was a really nice day!
Friday:
We woke up late today – it was about 8 a.m!! Nice to have a lie-in. I had arranged a play date for Dylan this afternoon with a little boy called Nathan. I had never met his mum, Megan – we just spoke on the phone and she seemed like a really nice lady. They were coming over at 3 so in order to make sure it ran more smoothly than our play date with Tia (I.e DJ behaved himself), we had a very relaxed morning and I put both children down for a nap at 1 p.m. DJ took a little while to fall asleep as he is out of the routine of napping in the day time now. At 3 p.m I went in and woke him up (Abigail was already awake by this point).
Megan and Nathan ended up arriving at 4 because they had been stuck in bad traffic. The play date was lovely and the boys played really well together. Megan is really nice and we had a lovely chat. She is 35 weeks pregnant with her second child and she is having a girl. She's having the baby in India. Anyway, we had a really lovely time and it was very relaxing. When they left at 5 ish DJ was most upset and started crying asking if he could go in Nathan's car with him. Bless!
We came back upstairs and I showered and dressed both children for bed (early) because they both needed changing anyway. I don't see the point in putting a new nappy on any time after 5.30 when I bath them just after 6 anyway. So, after I got them showered/bathed and dressed, I got Dylan his dinner and then both children played for a while.
I got chance to catch up with Stephanie on Skype which was lovely!! I haven't spoken to her for ages – before we left UK in fact, so it was really nice to chat to her. Penri came home early for a change so he put DJ to bed and I put Abigail to bed and then we ordered Chinese food.
In the afternoon, I could tell DJ wanted to go out so we went over to Isaac's house at about 4.15. For some reason though, Isaac and Dylan just wouldn't play nicely today. They were both fighting and shouting at each other and arguing over toys; in the end I said to DJ 'do you want to go home?' to which he replied 'DJ home' and went to get on his ride on car that he had ridden over to their house. So, after being there for only about half an hour or so, we came home. It was a lovely walk home as the weather was really nice and there was a cool breeze. On the way back, we stopped at the fruit and veg stall and bought a couple of potatoes for DJ's dinner. He has been really off his food recently so I've been trying to make him things I know he likes to encourage him to eat. So tonight for dinner I made him jacket potato, carrots and corn and sausages and cheese. That sounds like a lot of things, but it was only a little bit of each thing :) Anyway, he ate all the potato and carrots and pretty much left the rest.
As I was putting the children to bed, the doorbell rang and it was Alex with Isaac. It must've been about 5 to 7 I think. DJ woke up and got out of bed (obviously, because Isaac was there). I put Abigail down to sleep but within 15 minutes she was awake again because there was just too much going on and it was too noisy for her. So, Alex took Isaac home to put him to sleep and she came back half an hour later and both my two were in bed. Abi asleep and DJ nearly asleep. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and then sat and watched Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. It was really nice! Penri arrived just in time for dinner – he literally walked in the door two or three minutes after the food had arrived.
Alex left at about 10.30 and we went to bed. It was a really nice day!
Friday:
We woke up late today – it was about 8 a.m!! Nice to have a lie-in. I had arranged a play date for Dylan this afternoon with a little boy called Nathan. I had never met his mum, Megan – we just spoke on the phone and she seemed like a really nice lady. They were coming over at 3 so in order to make sure it ran more smoothly than our play date with Tia (I.e DJ behaved himself), we had a very relaxed morning and I put both children down for a nap at 1 p.m. DJ took a little while to fall asleep as he is out of the routine of napping in the day time now. At 3 p.m I went in and woke him up (Abigail was already awake by this point).
Megan and Nathan ended up arriving at 4 because they had been stuck in bad traffic. The play date was lovely and the boys played really well together. Megan is really nice and we had a lovely chat. She is 35 weeks pregnant with her second child and she is having a girl. She's having the baby in India. Anyway, we had a really lovely time and it was very relaxing. When they left at 5 ish DJ was most upset and started crying asking if he could go in Nathan's car with him. Bless!
We came back upstairs and I showered and dressed both children for bed (early) because they both needed changing anyway. I don't see the point in putting a new nappy on any time after 5.30 when I bath them just after 6 anyway. So, after I got them showered/bathed and dressed, I got Dylan his dinner and then both children played for a while.
I got chance to catch up with Stephanie on Skype which was lovely!! I haven't spoken to her for ages – before we left UK in fact, so it was really nice to chat to her. Penri came home early for a change so he put DJ to bed and I put Abigail to bed and then we ordered Chinese food.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wednesday 18th August 2010
We had a really lovely day today. I woke up with Abigail at 6.30 as she wouldn't go back to sleep. I brought her through to the kitchen and made a coffee for myself! It's amazing the effect that coffee has on me. Within 10 minutes of having a drink I feel ready to start the day!
Abi and I played in the playroom for an hour or so and then DJ woke up at about 8. Penri had left home this morning at 5 a.m as he spent the day working in Hyderabad and he had an early flight to catch. At about 9 a.m I started to tidy the house and clean up a bit. With Raj Kumar not coming to clean yesterday (as we were out in the afternoon), the house really needed a clean up. DJ helped me a bit … when I told him I was going to tidy up, it was so cute, he started singing the 'clean up song' that I made up a few days ago to encourage him to tidy up his toys. Whenever he sings it he nods his head along to the music; it's so adorable! So anyway, I started to tidy up and DJ started to help me. Abi was in her baby walker trying to run around and catch up with both of us. She hasn't quite got the knack of turning corners and moving at any great speed yet. I remember when DJ was walking in the same walker – he used to go at a great speed and could whizz around the corners with no problems lol.
Once we finished tidying up, I sat an had a cup of tea (or a 'cuppatea' as DJ calls it) and we waited for Emma to come over with her little girl Tia. We met them at playgroup that day we went and tried out at the school and we arranged for a play date today.
They arrived at 11.30 and within a few minutes of them being here, Dylan started playing up. He was so naughty!! Every time Tia picked up a toy, DJ snatched it off her then he started throwing things and he was just very very naughty! In the end, at about 12.40 I asked if he wanted to go to bed. He got in quite happily and asked for his blanket and juice and went to sleep! I made some lunch for Tia and DJ (for when he woke up) and then Abigail went to sleep. I woke Dylan up when the lunch was ready but he didn't eat anything; he seems to have lost his appetite these last couple of days.
Tia and Emma left at about 2.30 and then the children and I spoke to Mel on Skype until Raj Kumar arrived at 3. After that the afternoon just seemed to fly by. It's now 5.15 and Issac has just arrived for a play date before I put DJ to bed. Abigail is napping again so I am going to go and watch the boys, although Divya (Issac's ayah/nanny) is there with them.
Oh, I nearly forgot (how could I?)! At about 5 p.m the doorbell rang and it was security from downstairs. They had a parcel for us from Laura. So exciting to open it. Thank you so much Laura for the things you sent!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now I know why people call it a 'care package' because the things that were in the parcel were so thoughtful and so, so appreciated!! Especially the gravy … fantastic! I'm going to have to make a roast this weekend. At last I'll finally get to use the oven! Also, the other things you sent are brilliant! Looking forward to sitting down and reading my magazine tonight when the children go to bed! Thank you Laura! :)
Will write tomorrow …
Just had to come back on here to write a bit more. It's now 8.45 and Abi is asleep but DJ's still awake. I put DJ to bed at 7 and put Barney on the DVD player as he asked and then I went to put Abigail to bed. Half an hour later when I went to check on DJ not only was he still awake but he had changed the DVD to Postman Pat! I was absolutely gobsmacked!! He's obviously watched how I open the DVD player and change the disc and he's gone ahead and done it himself! Clever little man!! :)
I've also got some photos to add on here of the children playing tonight :
Abi and I played in the playroom for an hour or so and then DJ woke up at about 8. Penri had left home this morning at 5 a.m as he spent the day working in Hyderabad and he had an early flight to catch. At about 9 a.m I started to tidy the house and clean up a bit. With Raj Kumar not coming to clean yesterday (as we were out in the afternoon), the house really needed a clean up. DJ helped me a bit … when I told him I was going to tidy up, it was so cute, he started singing the 'clean up song' that I made up a few days ago to encourage him to tidy up his toys. Whenever he sings it he nods his head along to the music; it's so adorable! So anyway, I started to tidy up and DJ started to help me. Abi was in her baby walker trying to run around and catch up with both of us. She hasn't quite got the knack of turning corners and moving at any great speed yet. I remember when DJ was walking in the same walker – he used to go at a great speed and could whizz around the corners with no problems lol.
Once we finished tidying up, I sat an had a cup of tea (or a 'cuppatea' as DJ calls it) and we waited for Emma to come over with her little girl Tia. We met them at playgroup that day we went and tried out at the school and we arranged for a play date today.
They arrived at 11.30 and within a few minutes of them being here, Dylan started playing up. He was so naughty!! Every time Tia picked up a toy, DJ snatched it off her then he started throwing things and he was just very very naughty! In the end, at about 12.40 I asked if he wanted to go to bed. He got in quite happily and asked for his blanket and juice and went to sleep! I made some lunch for Tia and DJ (for when he woke up) and then Abigail went to sleep. I woke Dylan up when the lunch was ready but he didn't eat anything; he seems to have lost his appetite these last couple of days.
Tia and Emma left at about 2.30 and then the children and I spoke to Mel on Skype until Raj Kumar arrived at 3. After that the afternoon just seemed to fly by. It's now 5.15 and Issac has just arrived for a play date before I put DJ to bed. Abigail is napping again so I am going to go and watch the boys, although Divya (Issac's ayah/nanny) is there with them.
Oh, I nearly forgot (how could I?)! At about 5 p.m the doorbell rang and it was security from downstairs. They had a parcel for us from Laura. So exciting to open it. Thank you so much Laura for the things you sent!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now I know why people call it a 'care package' because the things that were in the parcel were so thoughtful and so, so appreciated!! Especially the gravy … fantastic! I'm going to have to make a roast this weekend. At last I'll finally get to use the oven! Also, the other things you sent are brilliant! Looking forward to sitting down and reading my magazine tonight when the children go to bed! Thank you Laura! :)
Will write tomorrow …
Just had to come back on here to write a bit more. It's now 8.45 and Abi is asleep but DJ's still awake. I put DJ to bed at 7 and put Barney on the DVD player as he asked and then I went to put Abigail to bed. Half an hour later when I went to check on DJ not only was he still awake but he had changed the DVD to Postman Pat! I was absolutely gobsmacked!! He's obviously watched how I open the DVD player and change the disc and he's gone ahead and done it himself! Clever little man!! :)
I've also got some photos to add on here of the children playing tonight :
Tuesday 17th August 2010
We had a quiet ish morning today. I tried to keep things calm and relaxed because I knew we were going out to a birthday party in the afternoon. We actually nearly didn't go because I hadn't got any wrapping paper for the presents so Pen was going to have to go out to the shop to go and get some. I was uming and ahing about whether to go or not and then Abigail was sick. I told Pen I wasn't going to go but then as soon as Abi had been sick, she was completely fine so I think she was just sick from overeating as opposed to actually being ill. So, I changed my mind again and decided we would go. Pen didn't have time to go and get wrapping paper so I went out to the maid's quarters (which we use as storage) and started going through all the suitcases as I knew there was wrapping paper in one of them. I found it but there was only Christmas paper. Oh well, it was better than nothing at all!
I wrapped up Charlotte's presents on the play room floor, which was next to impossible with both children there with me. DJ was trying to get the presents and Abi wanted the wrapping paper. It took me about 15 minutes to wrap two presents! Then we (Dylan and I) wrote the card.
I had asked Tyagi to pick us up at 2 p.m so I started getting the children ready at 1 o'clock as it just seems to take so long to get ready to go out! I washed and dressed both children and then I fed Abi, who fell asleep. This was about 1.10 p.m. I figured she could have nearly an hour's nap before we had to go so I let her sleep. When I came out of her bedroom and went to check on DJ, who I had left watching Balamory in his room, he too was asleep. I didn't mind so much because I knew it was going to be a busy afternoon. I spoke to my mum and Aunty Ann on Skype for half an hour and then it was time to get the children up and get ready to go.
We left home at 2 p.m and got to Melinda's house at 2.30. We were one of the first people there and her living room looked amazing. She had a huge table with buffet, and there were two trampolines (a pink one and a blue one), a ball pool, a slide … it looked really nice! As soon as we got there, DJ was off and playing on all the different things. I put Abi in the ball pool which she loved. There was another little baby in there who was 10 months old and it was so cute, they were passing the balls to each other and holding hands.
After we'd been there about half an hour more and more people had started to arrive and it was no longer safe to leave the babies in the ball pool as there were much bigger children running around. So, from then on I pretty much carried Abigail around with me. It was really lovely as I got to talk to and meet lots of other mums. Dylan was mostly well behaved apart from a couple of occasions – one of which, he made a four year old boy cry! Oops!! Then when it was time to leave I couldn't find Dylan anywhere. I was looking all over and I thought maybe he'd somehow gotten out the front door. Melinda found him in the nursery bathroom putting liquid soap everywhere! Definitely time to go!!!
Here are some photos from the party:
We had a really good drive home, I thought we may get stuck in traffic but it was actually pretty straight forward and we were home just after 5 p.m. Both children had nappy changes and then I gave DJ juice and he wanted to watch some television, which was fine as I had to feed Abi anyway. Abigail is now at the stage that when she is feeding, if anyone makes a noise (even just a whisper) behind her, she unlatches and turns her head to see who is talking/making the noise. So, I left DJ watching television in his room and I fed Abigail, who went straight to sleep. Within the 5 minutes that I was with Abi, DJ also had fallen asleep! I was exhausted too so I went for a lie down as well. Abi ended up waking up half an hour later and then half an hour later again. She eventually went to sleep at 7 p.m for the night. Dylan didn't wake up until 9 p.m when he had a jacket potato and then went back to bed. It was a long, but lovely day!
I wrapped up Charlotte's presents on the play room floor, which was next to impossible with both children there with me. DJ was trying to get the presents and Abi wanted the wrapping paper. It took me about 15 minutes to wrap two presents! Then we (Dylan and I) wrote the card.
I had asked Tyagi to pick us up at 2 p.m so I started getting the children ready at 1 o'clock as it just seems to take so long to get ready to go out! I washed and dressed both children and then I fed Abi, who fell asleep. This was about 1.10 p.m. I figured she could have nearly an hour's nap before we had to go so I let her sleep. When I came out of her bedroom and went to check on DJ, who I had left watching Balamory in his room, he too was asleep. I didn't mind so much because I knew it was going to be a busy afternoon. I spoke to my mum and Aunty Ann on Skype for half an hour and then it was time to get the children up and get ready to go.
We left home at 2 p.m and got to Melinda's house at 2.30. We were one of the first people there and her living room looked amazing. She had a huge table with buffet, and there were two trampolines (a pink one and a blue one), a ball pool, a slide … it looked really nice! As soon as we got there, DJ was off and playing on all the different things. I put Abi in the ball pool which she loved. There was another little baby in there who was 10 months old and it was so cute, they were passing the balls to each other and holding hands.
After we'd been there about half an hour more and more people had started to arrive and it was no longer safe to leave the babies in the ball pool as there were much bigger children running around. So, from then on I pretty much carried Abigail around with me. It was really lovely as I got to talk to and meet lots of other mums. Dylan was mostly well behaved apart from a couple of occasions – one of which, he made a four year old boy cry! Oops!! Then when it was time to leave I couldn't find Dylan anywhere. I was looking all over and I thought maybe he'd somehow gotten out the front door. Melinda found him in the nursery bathroom putting liquid soap everywhere! Definitely time to go!!!
Here are some photos from the party:
We had a really good drive home, I thought we may get stuck in traffic but it was actually pretty straight forward and we were home just after 5 p.m. Both children had nappy changes and then I gave DJ juice and he wanted to watch some television, which was fine as I had to feed Abi anyway. Abigail is now at the stage that when she is feeding, if anyone makes a noise (even just a whisper) behind her, she unlatches and turns her head to see who is talking/making the noise. So, I left DJ watching television in his room and I fed Abigail, who went straight to sleep. Within the 5 minutes that I was with Abi, DJ also had fallen asleep! I was exhausted too so I went for a lie down as well. Abi ended up waking up half an hour later and then half an hour later again. She eventually went to sleep at 7 p.m for the night. Dylan didn't wake up until 9 p.m when he had a jacket potato and then went back to bed. It was a long, but lovely day!
Monday 16th August 2010
We had a quiet day today. We spent the day relaxing around the house and I didn't even do any housework or tidying. Both my knees were still hurting like crazy and it was painful to even walk, let alone carry Abi around which I have been doing a lot recently. She's ok in the walker or the activity gym for a little bit, but she doesn't like it when I leave the room and starts crying. Or, if she is in the walker, nine times out of ten, DJ will take her off for a walk and leave her somewhere by herself which again, she doesn't like!
So, I had a really easy day today and I didn't do anything because I just couldn't. I just had to take the pressure of my knees whenever possible. The children were both brilliant today and really well behaved, which was great because even when they were both awake and playing, I was able to just sit on the play room floor and watch them while they played.
So, I had a really easy day today and I didn't do anything because I just couldn't. I just had to take the pressure of my knees whenever possible. The children were both brilliant today and really well behaved, which was great because even when they were both awake and playing, I was able to just sit on the play room floor and watch them while they played.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday 13th - Sunday 15th August 2010
I was going to go out to do some shopping today (Friday) but as it turned out Dylan wasn't well. He had a bit of a temperature and I could see from his eyes that he was not feeling like himself. He spent the day going between watching Dora and sleeping. He didn't want to do anything and had no appetite. I felt so bad for him and gave him Calpol to help with any pain he might have, but he was just very quiet and very subdued all day.
Raj Kumar had asked for today off because his sister was having a baby and going into hospital today. So, as it turned out, it was a very quiet day with nothing much happening. I did some housework and cleaning (as 'The Kumar' wouldn't be here for three days in a row).
Had a really bad night with Abigail on Friday night and DJ was awake at about 3.30 a.m for a couple of hours. So, on Saturday morning I felt horrendous! Not only am I fighting off the end of this flu/cold thing, but I hardly had any sleep at all. Both children were really snotty and coughing a lot today. Dylan looked worse than he did yesterday (on Friday) if that's even possible. So, he literally spent the day in bed. He would get up for half an hour here and there, but always ended up asking to go back to bed and watch Balamory or Teletubbies. That's when I know he's really, really ill – he actually asks for bed!! Abi had a long sleep this morning for about 2 and a half hours and I slept for about half of that. I find it really hard to go back to sleep in the day time no matter how tired I am. I think it's worse too as when I do get the chance to sleep (if both babies are napping), one of them always seems to wake up so I only get a few minutes and then feel worse for that. Anyway, we did absolutely nothing today. I made Dylan two of his favourite meals for lunch and dinner and neither one enticed him to eat.
In the afternoon Penri went out to the supermarket with a small shopping list. The main thing being nappies that we were absolutely desperate for. It got so bad because I hadn't shopped yesterday that DJ was wearing swim nappies for the day time and normal nappies for bed. Penri said the supermarket was absolutely bedlam! Worse than normal and it took him about 2 hours to pick up a handful of items. I am so glad we didn't go out too!
Today was another very quiet day. It's Indian Independence Day so we were told it was best if we didn't go out. So, I spent time playing with the children, watching a bit of television and again, making DJ some nice meals, but again he had about two mouthfuls. I am trying not to worry as I remember how I felt when I was on my really bad days of this flu – I didn't want to eat anything; I just had no appetite. I have given both children Calpol tonight before putting them to bed and they both went to sleep with no trouble. It's now 7.50 p.m and I am debating what to have for dinner.
Abigail is off her food too. The weaning was going so well and all of a sudden we seem to be doing really badly again. I feel like we're taking one step forward and then five back! She doesn't want anything apart from breastfeeding. I have tried her with several different things and she is just not interested. She shakes her head from side to side really fast so that I can't actually get the spoon in her mouth and when I gave her medicine earlier with the help of Pen, she literally just spat it all out and it went everywhere. Calpol is so sticky and sickly sweet and it was just all over her and me. Straight in the bath after that!!
I am aching today. My entire body aches and worse of it is … my knees. Both my knees are giving me so much pain that it's actually causing a headache! I look ridiculous as I am walking around with a knee support on each leg and trying to rest as much as possible. The worst thing is, I can't seem to get comfortable so there is no way of laying or sitting where they don't hurt me. Oh well, will keep my feet up and hope the pain goes away by tomorrow.
Not much news from here really. Things have been so quiet the last three days so not much to write about. I do have a photo to put on here. Dylan has this thing when he plays with cars or trains … he lines them all up in really neat lines. It's the cutest thing. He actually drives each car/train individually and places it somewhere then gets another one and lines it up behind or next to the other one. It's fascinating to watch! Mel reckons he gets that organisational skill from me lol. Yesterday, Dylan and I got out all his cars and trains and we lined them up together all in rows along the floor. He loved it and kept saying 'WOW!' Even when we were finished, I thought he was going to just mess it all up but he didn't. He started driving the cars out of the lines they were in and making new lines. So funny!! Anyway, going to go now and sort out dinner. Will write soon x
Raj Kumar had asked for today off because his sister was having a baby and going into hospital today. So, as it turned out, it was a very quiet day with nothing much happening. I did some housework and cleaning (as 'The Kumar' wouldn't be here for three days in a row).
Had a really bad night with Abigail on Friday night and DJ was awake at about 3.30 a.m for a couple of hours. So, on Saturday morning I felt horrendous! Not only am I fighting off the end of this flu/cold thing, but I hardly had any sleep at all. Both children were really snotty and coughing a lot today. Dylan looked worse than he did yesterday (on Friday) if that's even possible. So, he literally spent the day in bed. He would get up for half an hour here and there, but always ended up asking to go back to bed and watch Balamory or Teletubbies. That's when I know he's really, really ill – he actually asks for bed!! Abi had a long sleep this morning for about 2 and a half hours and I slept for about half of that. I find it really hard to go back to sleep in the day time no matter how tired I am. I think it's worse too as when I do get the chance to sleep (if both babies are napping), one of them always seems to wake up so I only get a few minutes and then feel worse for that. Anyway, we did absolutely nothing today. I made Dylan two of his favourite meals for lunch and dinner and neither one enticed him to eat.
In the afternoon Penri went out to the supermarket with a small shopping list. The main thing being nappies that we were absolutely desperate for. It got so bad because I hadn't shopped yesterday that DJ was wearing swim nappies for the day time and normal nappies for bed. Penri said the supermarket was absolutely bedlam! Worse than normal and it took him about 2 hours to pick up a handful of items. I am so glad we didn't go out too!
Today was another very quiet day. It's Indian Independence Day so we were told it was best if we didn't go out. So, I spent time playing with the children, watching a bit of television and again, making DJ some nice meals, but again he had about two mouthfuls. I am trying not to worry as I remember how I felt when I was on my really bad days of this flu – I didn't want to eat anything; I just had no appetite. I have given both children Calpol tonight before putting them to bed and they both went to sleep with no trouble. It's now 7.50 p.m and I am debating what to have for dinner.
Abigail is off her food too. The weaning was going so well and all of a sudden we seem to be doing really badly again. I feel like we're taking one step forward and then five back! She doesn't want anything apart from breastfeeding. I have tried her with several different things and she is just not interested. She shakes her head from side to side really fast so that I can't actually get the spoon in her mouth and when I gave her medicine earlier with the help of Pen, she literally just spat it all out and it went everywhere. Calpol is so sticky and sickly sweet and it was just all over her and me. Straight in the bath after that!!
I am aching today. My entire body aches and worse of it is … my knees. Both my knees are giving me so much pain that it's actually causing a headache! I look ridiculous as I am walking around with a knee support on each leg and trying to rest as much as possible. The worst thing is, I can't seem to get comfortable so there is no way of laying or sitting where they don't hurt me. Oh well, will keep my feet up and hope the pain goes away by tomorrow.
Not much news from here really. Things have been so quiet the last three days so not much to write about. I do have a photo to put on here. Dylan has this thing when he plays with cars or trains … he lines them all up in really neat lines. It's the cutest thing. He actually drives each car/train individually and places it somewhere then gets another one and lines it up behind or next to the other one. It's fascinating to watch! Mel reckons he gets that organisational skill from me lol. Yesterday, Dylan and I got out all his cars and trains and we lined them up together all in rows along the floor. He loved it and kept saying 'WOW!' Even when we were finished, I thought he was going to just mess it all up but he didn't. He started driving the cars out of the lines they were in and making new lines. So funny!! Anyway, going to go now and sort out dinner. Will write soon x
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday 12th August 2010
So we had a really, really bad night last night. Apart from the fact that Mel was leaving at 2.30. Abigail had a terrible night and I think I probably got about 2 hours sleep total. It's not only the sleep deprivation; it's also the breastfeeding which when you're tired is really hard work! So, we were actually up and about at 7 and DJ got up at 8.
I spent the majority of the day cleaning and tidying up. Abigail finally went for a nap at 2 p.m and because I knew she needed to sleep, I took DJ into my bedroom and put a DVD for him on 'his laptop'. It was 2.15 when I thought to myself, I will just close my eyes for 5 minutes. What felt like literally 2 minutes later, I heard DJ running down the corridor. I got up and followed him and he was at the front door. Raj Kumar was here and it was 3 p.m!! I had slept for 45 minutes without even realising it. I didn't even hear the doorbell ring! The only reason I woke up was because I must've been aware that DJ had got up from the bed. Anyway, Raj Kumar cleaned and DJ did his usual (following him around saying 'Kumar, Kumar') and I dozed in the bedroom. Abigail slept for two hours!
When I got up, I pottered around for a bit and had a snack and then the kids and I played. Issac came over at 5 and the children all played in the playroom then I made them dinner at 6. Abi and DJ are both a bit off their food at the moment, which I can kind of understand because I am too. It's this flu thing; it makes you lose your appetite. For me, it's not such a bad thing, I just need to remember to eat to keep my energy up but at least I am not snacking constantly like I usually do!
Once the kids had dinner and played a little bit more, we said goodbye to Issac and then I bathed and got both children ready for bed. It was so nice to be able to run them a hot bath without any stress! No running backwards and forwards with saucepans while trying to keep two kids happy and calm! They had a nice bath and then Dylan went to bed at 7 and Abigail followed afterwards.
By 7.45, I was laid on my bed, reading a magazine (thank you Laura for the mags) and thinking to myself, I should get up and get some dinner, but feeling so relaxed that I didn't! I just chilled until I found myself falling asleep!
I spent the majority of the day cleaning and tidying up. Abigail finally went for a nap at 2 p.m and because I knew she needed to sleep, I took DJ into my bedroom and put a DVD for him on 'his laptop'. It was 2.15 when I thought to myself, I will just close my eyes for 5 minutes. What felt like literally 2 minutes later, I heard DJ running down the corridor. I got up and followed him and he was at the front door. Raj Kumar was here and it was 3 p.m!! I had slept for 45 minutes without even realising it. I didn't even hear the doorbell ring! The only reason I woke up was because I must've been aware that DJ had got up from the bed. Anyway, Raj Kumar cleaned and DJ did his usual (following him around saying 'Kumar, Kumar') and I dozed in the bedroom. Abigail slept for two hours!
When I got up, I pottered around for a bit and had a snack and then the kids and I played. Issac came over at 5 and the children all played in the playroom then I made them dinner at 6. Abi and DJ are both a bit off their food at the moment, which I can kind of understand because I am too. It's this flu thing; it makes you lose your appetite. For me, it's not such a bad thing, I just need to remember to eat to keep my energy up but at least I am not snacking constantly like I usually do!
Once the kids had dinner and played a little bit more, we said goodbye to Issac and then I bathed and got both children ready for bed. It was so nice to be able to run them a hot bath without any stress! No running backwards and forwards with saucepans while trying to keep two kids happy and calm! They had a nice bath and then Dylan went to bed at 7 and Abigail followed afterwards.
By 7.45, I was laid on my bed, reading a magazine (thank you Laura for the mags) and thinking to myself, I should get up and get some dinner, but feeling so relaxed that I didn't! I just chilled until I found myself falling asleep!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday 11th August 2010
As I mentioned in my previous post, Mel went to Taj Mahal very early this morning. So I spent time with the children playing and just relaxing and doing a small amount of housework.
Mel came home at 1.15 and was absolutely exhausted from her morning out, but she got some amazing pictures of herself at Taj Mahal. Even though she claims she was feeling like crap all day, she looks lovely in all the photos. She ended up getting a guide and a photographer because my camera took one photo and the battery promptly died!
A couple of hours after Mel had been back, we were sitting watching TV when the doorbell rang. It was such a lovely surprise to receive THREE parcels! Thank you Laura!!! The kids had lots of fun opening the parcels (so did I). Thank you for the lovely things you sent; it's so very kind of you! Sorry for the phone call yesterday afternoon. Whenever I try to call anyone on the phone, it seems that is the time for both children to start wanting/needing/demanding things and Abigail was definitely saying her piece while I was trying to talk to you yesterday. Anyway, thank you again, very much!!
We put together DJ's trampoline yesterday. I was very impressed with myself that I managed to do most of it without anyone's help. I'm normally rubbish at that kind of thing, but I was able to build the whole frame and get the net mostly threaded through it. Penri just had to help with the last bit because it just needed a bit of strength to attach the mesh or net (or whatever you want to call it) onto the frame. Now while DJ is jumping on his trampoline, Abigail just looks on with desperation in her eyes to join him!
Abigail's weaning is going much better now. She is eating puréed vegetables and nibbling away on the baby biscuits. She seems a lot more keen to try new things although after two mouthfuls of cauliflower, she refused to eat any more!
Speaking of weaning, I have managed to wean myself off coke without even trying. Because of being so ill the last few days I haven't had any coke, proper tea (as I've only been drinking honey and lemon tea) or coffee and now I am used to not having it. I have been drinking squash instead of coke and I am so happy to say that I actually don't miss it, which is incredible!! Every time I have tried to give up drinking Coca-Cola before I have not been able to do it, but this time, it's just happened and I'm really pleased! :)
We had a water geyser installed yesterday in the middle bathroom as up until now we have just been using cold, well not cold but not hot, water to wash and shower in. Now the weather has started to cool down, we have installed a geyser in the bathroom so we can have nice hot showers. The last couple of weeks I have been filling the baby bath with water that I boiled in saucepans on the stove. It's fine, but not the easiest thing to do when it's near to bedtime and both children are tired and wanting to sleep. Try explaining to them that they have to wait for the water to get hot!! Anyway, I'm so happy, it's installed and it's working!!
DJ went to bed at 7 last night as he was so tired. Abigail followed half an hour later, but Abi was waking up frequently through the night. Mel had a taxi booked at 2.30 a.m so we stayed up packing and talking till about 11 and then got a couple of hours sleep. Tyagi picked her up and Abi, who was still awake at 2.30 and I went downstairs to see her off. I was so sad seeing her go; it's been really lovely having her here and I know we're all going to miss her lots. On a positive note, I know we'll see her soon :)
Mel came home at 1.15 and was absolutely exhausted from her morning out, but she got some amazing pictures of herself at Taj Mahal. Even though she claims she was feeling like crap all day, she looks lovely in all the photos. She ended up getting a guide and a photographer because my camera took one photo and the battery promptly died!
A couple of hours after Mel had been back, we were sitting watching TV when the doorbell rang. It was such a lovely surprise to receive THREE parcels! Thank you Laura!!! The kids had lots of fun opening the parcels (so did I). Thank you for the lovely things you sent; it's so very kind of you! Sorry for the phone call yesterday afternoon. Whenever I try to call anyone on the phone, it seems that is the time for both children to start wanting/needing/demanding things and Abigail was definitely saying her piece while I was trying to talk to you yesterday. Anyway, thank you again, very much!!
We put together DJ's trampoline yesterday. I was very impressed with myself that I managed to do most of it without anyone's help. I'm normally rubbish at that kind of thing, but I was able to build the whole frame and get the net mostly threaded through it. Penri just had to help with the last bit because it just needed a bit of strength to attach the mesh or net (or whatever you want to call it) onto the frame. Now while DJ is jumping on his trampoline, Abigail just looks on with desperation in her eyes to join him!
Abigail's weaning is going much better now. She is eating puréed vegetables and nibbling away on the baby biscuits. She seems a lot more keen to try new things although after two mouthfuls of cauliflower, she refused to eat any more!
Speaking of weaning, I have managed to wean myself off coke without even trying. Because of being so ill the last few days I haven't had any coke, proper tea (as I've only been drinking honey and lemon tea) or coffee and now I am used to not having it. I have been drinking squash instead of coke and I am so happy to say that I actually don't miss it, which is incredible!! Every time I have tried to give up drinking Coca-Cola before I have not been able to do it, but this time, it's just happened and I'm really pleased! :)
We had a water geyser installed yesterday in the middle bathroom as up until now we have just been using cold, well not cold but not hot, water to wash and shower in. Now the weather has started to cool down, we have installed a geyser in the bathroom so we can have nice hot showers. The last couple of weeks I have been filling the baby bath with water that I boiled in saucepans on the stove. It's fine, but not the easiest thing to do when it's near to bedtime and both children are tired and wanting to sleep. Try explaining to them that they have to wait for the water to get hot!! Anyway, I'm so happy, it's installed and it's working!!
DJ went to bed at 7 last night as he was so tired. Abigail followed half an hour later, but Abi was waking up frequently through the night. Mel had a taxi booked at 2.30 a.m so we stayed up packing and talking till about 11 and then got a couple of hours sleep. Tyagi picked her up and Abi, who was still awake at 2.30 and I went downstairs to see her off. I was so sad seeing her go; it's been really lovely having her here and I know we're all going to miss her lots. On a positive note, I know we'll see her soon :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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