Lunch Box Idea

It is a rare occasion when the kids (both of them) remember to tell me in the evening that I packed a great lunch or that they absolutely loved it. Yesterday was one such miraculous day.
I bought garlic bread from Sprouts and gently toasted it. I packed it with pasta sauce for a dip, milk and some fruits for snack. It was a huge hit and all it took was a few minutes to pack it. The one thing missing on the lunch menu was veggies. Dinner was spinach dal and scrambled tofu.

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Balance 101

How do you bring about a balance in life? It is bountiful and my interests are diverse to be focused on a few aspects at a point of time. Balance to me means; focus on priorities that need my attention the most at a particular time. Most often I try to do this on a proactive basis instead of reacting to adverse events.
There have been weeks where work has been my #1 priority and I may have neglected others to an extent. At times it’s something as basic as keeping the kids’ active and eating healthy.

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San Antonio ... Revisited

Who visits the same place twice in a row and that too with in a month’s time? This was an official trip and was for most part a PR one. I wish there were more of these and less of those with 6 to 8 hour marathon meetings.
It was fruitful for a variety of reasons. One, my two week vacation to India is approved. Of course my boss knew it was coming sometime soon. Two, he seemed convinced that I am executive material and approved my training for executive education at McCombs School of Business @ Austin.

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Effective Feedback

I absolutely love Ro’s Montessori school. The teachers know my son personally, his likes, dislikes, what he needs to work on, his strengths, his play dates and his preferences. Yes, he’s hardly five and has preferences. Like if there’s a snack or a birthday celebration, he prefers two servings rather than one. He prefers to sit in the corner most location for mat/work-time as he likes to slide and literally fall into his spot.
Working moms need meticulous scheduling to meet the demands of kids and work. I am sure it’s the same with moms who do not work outside. At any point of time, I maintain a social calendar, Ri’s school calendar and my work planner. What drove me up the wall was an email from his school informing me that pre-k’s graduation was scheduled for a day three weeks from now. The event is a big day for pre-k’ers and why would I miss my son’s event for lack of planning on the part of the school

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Friday Live

The 4th and 5th graders in Ri’s school, interested in filming sign up to be a part of the Friday Live Crew. Today, the show Ri helped record premiered during the school’s spirit assembly. The show starts off with the pledges (national, Texas and her schools’) followed by a moment of silence.
The set up comprised of a news reader stand with Texas and US flags right behind it. Ri talks about a few teachers who were presented with a certain award. Then her co-host shares his insight about the spirit assembly. Ri's "expressive" reading and her sense of humor shone throughout the show.

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Roles Reversed

I knew this was coming, not this early though …. Ri and I went shopping this weekend for my clothes. She is working on keeping me away from the color black and gave me a few guidelines to stick by while choosing colors. Her rules were –
Choose complimentary colors, like yellows and purples in pastel shades. She asked me if I noticed
Bharatnatyam outfits, where complimentary colors were used. I jumped with joy. “That’s my desi girl!!!”

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My Little Banker

Ri’s school in collaboration with a local credit union operate a bank. The fourth graders perform various duties to run it. In the beginning of the year, the kids fill out a form for various jobs like security, customer service, book keeping, cashier, marketing etc. Ri wanted to be the book-keeper.
The kids work once a month. They have a uniform (a tee basically) to distinguish the bankers from the clients. The security streamlines the crowd/customers and sends them to the cashiers in order. The cashier accepts the money and does a quick count. The book-keeper counts it one more time and logs it. There are kids in marketing, who entice other kids who are not customers by dressing up in costumes and by other means.

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Kick Start Metabolism

YogaJournal is a magazine I enjoy reading. Its website is informative and a convenient way to compile poses for workouts as shown above.
I try to practice Sun Salutations or Surya Namskar right after I wake up in the morning.  There are numerous adaptations to the sequence and this is the flow I follow, breathing in and out with every pose change.
1. Hastauttanasana or Raised arm position

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A Flurry of Activities

It’s a joy to dress up little girls and it only gets better with age. Ri had her Bharatnatyam performance this Sunday, after weeks of individual and group practice sessions. The kids danced to ‘Bhaje Muraliya’ dressed in knee length pattu-pavadais similar to last year. However accessory-wise they wore the entire suite from false hair to nethi-chuttis and ottiyanams. She sure is transitioning into a graceful dancer.

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Double Standards

No matter how late the kids or I wake up, the kids cannot leave the house without eating a healthy breakfast and milk. That rule does not apply to me. Late for a meeting or dropping the kids ...rush. I save time by skipping breakfast and before I know its past lunch time. I compensate for all the calories I skipped in the morning by my mindless snacking right after I come home from work.
For a couple of months now, I have not left the house without breakfast.

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Facebook Babies

With cousins all over the globe, this is the second baby announcement I first hear on facebook and then the customary phone call follows. Hey, I am not complaining, its a great way to get family updates.

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Katcheri Crashers

We are not seasoned carnatic listeners. But this Katcheri was special as one of my classmate from school was the lead violinist. A couple of my friends from school and I decided to meet Embar Kannan right after the concert. He introduced us to Unni Krishnan, the lead singer and Arjun Kumar, the percussionist.
Needless to say there were tons of picture taking opportunities. Me and J could not resist the temptation to sneak in a picture with Unni.

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Ro's Play Dates

For the past few weeks, Ro and V have had regular weekly play dates, in the middle of the week. How do they make this happen? Simple. When V's parent's come to pick V, Ro would put on one of his sweetest smiles and say, 'Can I come along with you to play in your house, today?". V would do the same when I pick Ro up. Saying no to such sweetness is tough. Its easier to say, "I will pick you up this Friday." .

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