Summer Vacation

As they say all good things must come to an end so has school for the students of Gopolan National School. Coinciding with the end of school are two important events of note. The first being Annual Day which I will go into detail here. The second and perhaps more scary for the author is the two plus months the kids will be out of school and on summer vacation. That blog is still forming so more on that later.

Annual Day is nothing short of insane. The school is light up with thousands of lights and banners and the students are dressed in the most amazing costumes and the parents are rapidly taking photos which is against school policy but we are in India so fire away.

Kay's class came out and performed a marvelous dance to a beach theme and Kay was dressed in her two piece pink bikini along with an orange sarong. This orange sarong caused quite a scene as Kay came home from school the day before the event with this orange sarong thing but no one told us that she needed it for the performance, so we left it at home. Well the Ma'ams were mad Saravana drove home to get it which takes about 15 minutes each way and finally returned with it. I mean what is Annual Day without a little drama!

The next came the children of prep D in which Jimmy is a pupil. The class was i all dressed in black pants and white puffy shirts that would have made both Elvis and Steinfield jealous!!

They performed the timeless classic from Sound of Music, "So long farewell auveidersein go bye"

of course Jimmy was having a ball and we were extremely proud Parents.

This year the school showed amazing insight and had the younger children perform first and then had an intermission for which we could gather our children and retreat home, which we did.

Billy was left out as he is not old enough to be in the program and he kept saying " but I want a program" however not to be out done he and Noah played and had a good time.

Now to the academic reflections on our little ones:

James is learning to be a better listener. He is enthusiastic about all his class activities.

In English he began the term with the mark of excellent A+ keep up the good work. He finished out the term with " Excellent grasp over grammar coupled with good vocabulary, keep going"

Mathematics began with James is an observant child and he grasps concepts quickly and ended with the marks of mastered, well done Jimmy A+.

In Hindi James has improved steadily and by terms end James has mastered the recitation and hand writing.

James is ready to step up the ladder and is promoted to Standard 1 and is to report promptly on 4th June 2008.

Kay Marie Leon Murphy:

For some reason we can not get the school to properly spell Jeon so Kay is known as Leon..Kay is a bright and energetic child in class, has unusually good memory. She is very good in verbal skills and her vocabulary needs special mention. She has great talent in drawing and also shows good leadership quality.

She know knows here name and her address as well as she can walk in a straight line. She needs to improve in her ability to speak politely to others and respect their rights and property.

She enjoys the splash pool and is keen in the areas of dance and art. Kay Marie Leon Murphy is awarded the path to nursery and should be promptly in place on 11th June 2008.

William Francis Kim Murphy:

The child is a joy to have in class. He is interested in airplanes and has a veracious appetite for books.

He is learning colors and numbers. It is our extreme hope that William will move into PGII and thereby into the main building and at that time he will be free from mosquito bites.

William Francis Kim Murphy was been awarded the passing grade of A+ and will continue on his path to enlightenment. He is requested to be present for roll call on the 11th of June 2008.

As they say, a hearty congratulations to all our graduates:)

Holi a Celebration of Colors

Holi – Festival of Colors!!!
Holi is spread out over two days (it used to be five, and in some places it is longer). The entire holiday is associated with a loosening of social restrictions normally associated with caste, sex, status and age. Holi thus bridges social gaps and brings people together: employees and employers, men and women, rich and poor, young and old. A common saying heard during Holi is bura na mano, Holi hai ("don't feel offended, it's Holi").
On the evening of the first day of Holi, a public bonfire is held, commemorating the burning of Holika. Traditionally, Hindu boys spend the weeks prior to Holi combing the neighborhood for any waste wood they can find for the bonfire. The fire is lit sometime between 10 PM and midnight (at the rising of the moon), not generally in an orderly fashion. Everyone gathers in the street for the event, and the air rings with shouts, catcalls, curses and general mayhem.
The central ritual of Holi is the throwing and applying of colored water and powders on friends and family, which gives the holiday its common name "Festival of Colors." Also it celebrates the coming of spring with all its beautiful colors and vibrant life.





As you can see the young loudamericans had and awesome time!!

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny arrived in Palm Meadows very early after Mommy's party and we had to stay in bed until 9:00 but it was worth it. The Bunny brought us colored eggs, and real and true baskets filled with chocolate, candy and the best of all 8 inch tall chocolate retention of itself,we are way blessed~!

It did not end there OH no. We were scooped that the bunny had way to many candies to carry all the way to our house so the Bunny dropped them at our neighbors Abhi, Amber and Roshens house. So about five families and at this point who is really counting adults, and 7 candy seekers descended like crazed chocoholics.

The alarm was sounded Wade manned the door and without any further fanfare he released the hounds, kids I mean, candy seekers, sugar junkies and non- breakfast eaters, no matter, we were on the hunt. And what a glorious hunt it was.

Plastic eggs never before seen in Bangalore were hidden strategically around the yard or small area with grass that some homes have and others don't, I mean what is up with that? Any way back to the hunt. Eggs and glorious chocolate along with M&M's and actually gems jelly bean like things, all was right with the world.

The adults then interceded and we were off to the Taj West end for a remarkable Easter Brunch. The reservation was for 25 but being my Dad knows half of Bangalore and my Mom the other half we ended up with about 3.5 million people, actually there were only about 35 but when you are 4 and can only count to 20 skipping the number 13, that is alot of people.

We had a great Easter and hope you all did to. Remember my birthday is coming up right after Uncle Brian's, Uncle Jim Fellows, Mom and Dad's anniversary, Mommy's birthday and then July 10th, MY birthday, so it is real soon. I would like to offer a birthday present suggestion, just do not tell my Mom and Dad, the suggestion would be Chocolate, in any form just raw or in the form of a bunny, large version of the Taj Mahal ,the continental United States you get the picture, right?

Happy Easter,

Love ,Kay

Introducing the new Director

Of Business Services for Target India, Tracy Murphy!!!!

It is with great pleasure and pride that I say congratulations to Tracy for her outstanding accomplishment. Not only is she a dedicated Mother and a fabulous wife she has proved in her drive and ambition that she is a very capable worker.

She endured a total of 12 of interviews,2 Psych tests a live simulated strategy meeting, along with a trip back to Minneapolis to interview with the CEO and not only survived she was strongly recommended and therefore is now Madam Director.

So it was without future prompting that the kids and I planned and through Tracy a promotion party. We had the house decorated in true Indian fashion with lights, two bars, a fully catered meal for the small crowd of 75 well wishes, both from work and our friends whom arrived to congratulate Tracy.

The rain was relentless however Saravana ands Raj both assured us it would not rain that night and it did not. We had the terrace all decorated with tables and lights and even Target Brand table cloths to which Saravana exclaimed, " Tom this place has become grand" And a grand night it was.

Tracy's Aunt Lynn, another outstanding person had this to say "You have been in my thoughts lately because of the wonderful news of your promotion, I am so PROUD of you! Believe me, I KNOW what a significant accomplishment this is and I am really impressed. Any and every woman who achieves this level of accomplishment is not only doing something at a personal level, but is serving as a role model for other women. You are showing them that it is possible to be rewarded for hard work and genuine ability. I know this will bring you personal gain, but I hope it also brings you tremendous satisfaction. You deserve it all!"

Jimmy,Kay ,Billy and I are all very proud of Tracy and as the kids always say this time of year as Mommy gets ready for her annual 150 mile bike ride, the MS150, she still needs pledges by the way, GO Mommy Go!! We Love You!!!

For all of you whom missed the celebration in Bangalore have no fears because we will be back this June and will have a celebration at our house in Golden Valley more info to follow....

My Favorite Things

To the tune of, My Favorite Things:

Raindrops on Mango's and noise from the blender

Billy announcing I have to go Potty

Brown colored packages where they belong

These are a few of my favorite things

Creamed colored chapatti and fresh made nan

Spencer's and Spirits and lunch at the Leela

Billy announcing I have to go Potty

These are a few of my favorite things

Kids out of diapers during the daytime

Old Monk and mango in tall clear glasses

Billy announcing I have to go Potty

These are a few of my favorite things

When the kids scream

When the power goes

When I haven't a clue

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

repeat

Yes it is true as of March 21st, 2008 William Francis Kim Murphy has cast aside the daytime diaper for his new Lighting McQueen big boy underwear. For all you you keeping score this means we are one step closer to getting a new dog, God help us.

St. Patick's Day

Erin Go Braugh !!

The Irish contingent of the Overseas Women’s Club was in high gear this past week as preparations for the big St. Patrick’s Day Gala were under way.
The venue was the Taj residency and the turnout was well, Grand.

Tracy and myself along with Angela, Wade and Petra were decked out in our St.Patty’s Day attire and Saravana was prompt and we were off. The evening started out literally with a bang as the skies opened up and the rains came. "Hey were did we go, days when the rains came, down in a hallow playing a new game? Skipping and a jumping ,Oh by the waterfall, with you…." sorry.

Now these were no ordinary rains ooh no. Having become old hands at living in Bangalore, we all knew these rains were inevitable. We also knew that this meant mangos. Yes, yummy tasty lovely Mango’s!! We were all excited as we talked about how busy Raj our cook would be over the next few weeks making us Mango drinks. In the middle of this levity, BANG a bus actually hit us.

How could this be we were not even moving? On the contrary we were sitting still on the Martihalli Bridge, inconceivable. Of course Saravana blew a gasket and put the van in park and got out and starting yelling at the driver who claimed that we hit him. Saravana of course would not let it go and finally got back in the car looking somewhat a kin to a drowned rat! Turned out this was a Government bus and we had to just forget about it and the incident, which is somewhat easy to do, when the vehicle in question is not yours to insure.

Back to the party, sort of. The rain along with bringing mango brings traffic jams. What normally should have taken us about 30 minutes took a wee bit more than 60 minutes but we made it. Now I found it quite funny that when we arrived to the St. Patricks Day party that the welcome drink was a glass of pink non-alcoholic punch. Ironic. There were a few people there and I will not name names who were aware of this small oversight and came prepared with small bottles of what we called in the younger years “ spike” for the punch, you have to love the Irish!

There was a spread of great food from, Guinness Stew, Irish stew potatoes and Salmon cakes and yes we ate too much. The festivities included many different games on was a quiz and several people were not paying any attention to question number 10, I know as I was grading the quizzes. There was a contest to name several “photos” of Irish people and or games. There were a total of 30 questions with three teams (tables) getting 27 rights. Our group from Target ended up with a whopping 11 correct earning us the “ bobby” prize.

The evening wore on and one of our friends, Paul, even produced a bottle of green food coloring and the Kingfisher became green! What would a St. Patrick’s party be with out off key Karaoke.

The group continued on as Shane O’Neill was in constant discussion with the hotel security as they tried to close the bar at 11:30. Shane was heard saying “ now you go down to the lobby and tell the police that this is an Irish party and may very well go into the wee hours of the morning. Now be a good lad and fetch me another pint on your way.”

Oh, question number 10 “ How many calories are there in a pint of Guinness?” Answer? Well there are two really one being, who actually cares and the second being 198, you choose.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Even my vacation/dreams have a sound track!

The LoudAmericans ventured out with the Wacmillers and Wherearethefischers for a long weekend in Kerala. Not sure that I would call 6 adults and 6 kids 6 and under in a TT bus a “vacation”, but it was an adventure. We had 4 days and 3 nights planned to cover the whole coast of Kerala – Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Alleppey and finally Cochin. When I told this to my friends at work, they all said “YOU ARE CRAZY”. Well crazy we are, so off we set.


Now to set the stage, this trip is meant to be a final going away trip with the Millers before they head back to MN and for an added bonus, Bob turned 38 while we were together. Too many things to celebrate and not enough time. However, I was not feeling good and I think I win the “bitchiest Mom of the year” award for at least 2 if not 3 of the days of our trip. However, the kids were in heaven, they each had another kid their “same” age and Kay even had a girlfriend to play withJ The bus we were in had a TV and CD system. Our music/movies of choice? Since we are Americans, the greatest hits of ABBA, Brian Adams and the BackStreet Boys, played over and over and over again. After 6 mind numbing hours of this, we decided to watch a movie or two… Our choices here? Old James Bond, including Dr No and the Man with the Golden Gun. I have to admit, I have a new found respect and appreciation for the Austin Powers movies now. Wow, I really missed a ton of the jokes in that movie. Needless to say, I used the time on the bus to fight with my kids, sweat and sleep.

I digress… back to our adventure… Trivandrum is the very tip of India where the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal meet, southern most point in India and a hell hole. We basically drove for 3 hours to get out and realize, there is NO beach, NO parks, NOTHING for 6 kids under 6 to do other than roll around in the grubby dirt. We did climb the tower to look out over the oceans but the wind was so strong it blew Grayce’s hat off and caused a crying fit because “her grandmother gave me that hat and even took it to Thailand with me”. I don’t blame her at all actually, I was feeling like crying at this point too. Bob, however, was the hero, fighting waves and wind and garbage floating by the shore to save the day and save the hat. After an adventurous 30 min’s site seeing trip and restroom break, we packed it back into the bus for the 3 hr + trip to our 1st overnight stop Kanyakumari. How was the stay you say? I honestly cant remember and don’t have any recollection of our room. Not sure if this is a good sign or not… Too much fun or not enough…Did I mention that I wasn’t feeling well this day, or is it obvious in my description?

We got up early on Sunday and off we went to Alleppey, now this is WAY more our speed. The cabin’s were very quaint Kerala style (open air bathrooms, sort of cool) with mosquito netting and the like. It sat on a peninsula overlooking the backwaters and had gorgeous flowers, great food and a pool. We spent the day on a houseboat, slowing moving past more flowers, villages, villagers, eating fresh seafood, drinking white wine/beer and “fishing” with the kids. Think of it as India’s version of a day on the pontoon in MPLS summers. Relaxing, fun for the kids, great conversation and family bonding time. We docked in time for some serious swimming in the pool an early dinner followed by kids passing out and adults sharing a cocktail while we watched the lightning bugs. I was feeling better this day and was considerably less bitchy (Angela and Chandra, feel free to disagree if you’d like). I awoke, during this blissful peace and quiet to the sounds of a full on orchestra/chorus calling morning prayers for about 30 min’s at 4:30am. My 1st thought… wow, even my dreams have sound tracks now….

Monday morning we had a leisurely breakfast which included an off key rendition of Happy Birthday follow by chocolate cake for Bob. While the setting was beautiful, the ever present lake with 4 kids who don’t know how to swim was starting to take its toll on me. Plus, I wanted to get to the other resort in Alleppey as it has A BEACH!!
After chasing butterflies in the butterfly garden, we pack it up into the bus for more ABBA and our quick trip to the next resort.


This resort ROCKS!! There is a sand beach, large swimming pool, 2 beach side bars, badminton, tennis and a SPA. I am in heaven already and wonder why we just didn’t come here 1st and save all the trouble… Next time. The girls ran off to make Spa appointments, Tom and I ventured to the local munie for wine and the boys “supervised” some controlled chaos. We met up for lunch and all hell broke loose. Kay and Billy refused to eat, started to squirm and basically be as naughty as they could over lunch, in front of 20 other adults trying to vacation. I lost it. Kay was on 3 separate time outs during lunch including one in the bathroom. I finally gave up force feeding my kids and took Kay back for a nap. Billy soon joined. I had the privilege of fighting them for 2 hours to take a nap. Finally Kay declares “I have to poop” and boy does she ever. I get her back into bed and Billy announces “I have to poop” and boy does he ever. I am not even back from my 2nd pooping trip and Kay is passed out cold. Followed 5 min’s later by Billy. I guess when you have to poop, you not only have a pain in the ass, you are a pain in the ass. So, while Tom was with Jimmy at the beach riding the waves, I was sitting in our room doing Suduko. Did I mention that I don’t feel good this day either? Her royal bitchiness has arrived.

In case you think the whole weekend was a bust, things do get better. Kay and Billy awake, happy, go lucky, cooperative and ready for dinner. All 5 kids eat without so much a peep (Caden has passed out on his own at this point and is enter hour 2 of the next 12 hours he’ll sleep). There is a HUGE swing and they are playing tag, giggling and basically being really fun to be around. Jimmy and Grayce had their 2nd date – dinner by candlelight by the poolside. We tried to ease drop on their conversations and they were quite cute. As it turns out, this is all part of Grayce’s master super secret spy plan that she has hatched and tried to recruit Owen into. We found this note in her backpack “Super Secret Plan – Have Owen help me to make sher Jimmy falls in love with me”.

We get the kids tidied up from dinner and back to the room for the babysitter. Yes, its our last night, Bob’s birthday and we are at a great seaside resort with fresh seafood, DAMN IT we are getting a sitter and having an adult meal. Even though this resulted in a call to our table from the sitter, with a confirmation from Jimmy “yes we are very wild” it was well worth it. Chandra exclaimed it was “the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been in India”. It was fun, relaxing and the music divine. The guitarist was channeling Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, Bob Denver, Judy Garland and the most romantic of all … The Monkeys. At one point, we were all singing along and I’m sure the other guests where hoping we’d bring the kids back out just to round out the experience.

The next morning was a challenge to figure out how to squeeze as much time as possible in at the pool, order lunch to go and leave at the absolute last minute for the airport. I should have known the plan was inauspicious when the sandwiches “to go” showed up on china plates. But, this is India, so you adjust. And we adjusted our bill, our lunch, our bus and our payment until we finally reach the airport early only to find our flight delayed. UGHH!!! The silver lining… The Kerala airport is impossibly clean by Indian standards and has a TV dialed into Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel. I love TV!!!

So, we are back, home and grateful for my own bed and choice of music. I do think the kids had a great time and I hope that the adults can forgive me for being a bitch.

And, no, I don’t think Jimmy is “in love” with Grayce, but he sure loves having her as a friend. I cant wait to pull these photos out at their rehearsal dinner….

For other perspectives of the trip, visit: http://www.wacmillers.blogspot.com/ or http://www.wherearethefischers.blogspot.com/.

A day in the life of Tom

The continuing story of a stay at home Dad and what he does...

Trying to surmise what happens on a daily basis is not something I can do as Tracy and the kids have somewhat of a fixed schedule I have more of a fluid one like today.

I was up after Tracy as she headed out around 6:45 for a run, I meanwhile was up around 7:00 to get breakfast stared and to iron the daily clothes allotment so as I could get Jimmy up early to finish the homework he did not complete the night before. Surprisingly he was in good spirits and by 7:30 home work done, was eating 4 pieces of french toast and a half a pound of bacon when Tray returned. While Tracy was getting the lunches ready I set upon the task of getting Kay and Billy out of our bed, again, and down stairs for breakfast and then ready for school. Saravan was on time and with little fanfare the kids were off.

While Tracy was getting ready for work I had breakfast and planned my day. My hopes were to go to the gym, have Hindi lessons go to the store and get the groceries have lunch and then a nap and get the kids dinner Tracy would come home early we would have dinner and get to bed early, sounds easy right.

The gym was fine, had to leave early as Raj, our cook, called and needed some things to make lunch and dinner. I went to the ATM to get some money and my card no longer worked? We have an Indian Citi bank account with plenty of rupees and a December 2011 expiration date , what was up? Being in India I figured it was the ATM that was the problem so I proceeded to the store and got what I needed and they could not take my card saying it was no longer valid, what? They allowed me to take my supplies and pay them later. I got home and Rajish my Hindi teacher was there and wanted to use my hour to grill me about potential customers and did I know Alex and is Alex a boy or girl? Could I help him expand his base here in Whitefield or Bangalore itself, you know a lot of people right. Rajish then was interested in American slang finally I said wait , you need to teach me today and then the kids arrived and the "Hindi" lesson was over? What happened?

Then several of the Charities I work with called wondering when I was going to deliver the allocated funds from the OWC and I had to spend an hour figuring out when where and how meanwhile I received an e-mail from the facilities people at Target instructing me to go online and register my family as travelling foreigners so the US government could keep an eye on us and e-mail us pertinent information. Not to mention that I was broke and unable to contact Citi bank because the card number is invalid in their telebank system and there is no other number to reach them by. Fortunately I had the mobile number of the banker who took 6 months to set up our account in the first place so I called him. After 7 unanswered calls he finally answered and informed me it was Citi Bank's problem to which I replied that was why I called him. He responded with " Sir that is why it is Citi Banks problem not mine I have left them and no longer work there". I asked for the branch number he used to work at and he told me they do not have a phone there." WHAT

Off to the store figuring I would persevere and get our supplies. The first store was closed for remodeling and the next did not receive inventory. Finally in a defeated status I went to Frosty's our local fish and meat market and bought $75.00 worth of meat, that's right just meat and paid with our World Perks Visa getting not only an additional 3% service charge but World Perks miles as well! And finally crossing one thing off my list.

The website for the US consulate is like navigating a rural road in Coorg, India which means impossible to do with out sever damage to your vehicle and self included, try it . Go to Travelregistration.state gov, those last two words should have warned me. PSA, do not use any blank spaces. How come I have not heard back from Citi Bank. OH Christ Raj and Florence are leaving Saravan is asleep on the couch and where did Jimmy and Cody go? God bless Raj he made me tea maybe a moment of peace and quiet. Doorbell rings and it seems an altercation with Jimmy, Cody and the neighbors. Cody goes home and Jimmy gets a time out. Kay and Billy are banging on their door, their nap is over mine is a fleeting memory.

Kay suddenly decides that the artist in her must come out where are the paints? Honey we only have watercolors no paint, OK where is my plate. You see she likes to take a dinner plate and put colors on it and use that as her palate which essentially ruins the plate, we are down to only two plates that match. Kay has paint everywhere and has managed to staple party hats to paper plates announcing that these are special and must be used in the bubble bath scheduled for later this evening. Billy is proud that he can now go poopy and potty all by himself and proceeds to constantly do so. It is of no help that for the last day he has eaten only beets and therefore, well you figure it out.

I then received the following e-mail from Citi bank:Many thanks for the mail.
We request you to kindly share the Suvidha account number for us to check Status.

And then:

In receipt of the below mail, we confirm the fresh card has been issued on the 11th march and is dispatched to respective mailing address.
The relevant pins also been dispatched to the below mentioned communication address
Kindly confirm the Receipt of the same.

My mobile phone the chimes as I now have a message: In the car. Which means Tracy is now on her way home and I can not wait. The kids finally have worn out their need to be an artist a drummer and an auto repair man and it is time for the previously mentioned bubble bath,. Jimmy is out of the dog house and instead of a bath opts to do part of his homework for 15 minutes of computer time. Kay and Billy do the bubble bath dance and up we go. The tub is filled the previously made special bubble bath pieces of art are absent and the bath goes on. I have mentioned that my blood pressure rises slightly during this event as the kids tend to get more water out of the tub than in but this time miraculously they are cooperative., Kay announces it is time to get out and pulls the plug. The drain promptly clogs and the entire tub is emptied onto the bathroom floor...My mobile phone chimes again..over the bridge Tracy will be here in 10 minutes where are thing one and thing two when you need them?

The kids and I great Mommy at the door teeth are brushed and Tracy takes them to bed while I get dinner ready.

We sit down to eat and Tracy ask's so how was your day...

Home again Home again Finney Finn Finn

I am on the long long journey home. Its amazing how a crazy busy week in MN lends itself to passing out from exhaustion on the plane:)

I am on a MPLS to NY to Dubai to BGLR adventure. The flight from MPLS to NY was relatively uneventful. NW plane full of tall Norweigian Lutherns. Nice and quiet. I even took a nap!

Welcome to NY-JFK. This is an amazing airport, the diversity you see is absolutely amazing! I would probably even enjoy it more if I didnt have a 6 hr lay over. No worries, I was playing with the idea of grabbing the subway and heading into the Big Apple. I mean, heck, I have taken 8 kids and 9 adults on the subways of Seoul with no casualties and I dont even speak Korean! I mean, how hard could it be? I am American, I speak English, I have lived in India for 18 months. No problem, right?! Well, I chickened out. I start thinking about the 100+ emails in my Outlook, the fact that I havent spoken to my family during THEIR time zone in 18 months and the VERY VERY nice Emarites Business Class lounge. Luxury & work wins out over adventure so I spend 2 hours working, 3 hours chatting with family and an hour getting caught up on US politics while eating Filet Mingon, shrimp, bachlava and chocolate covered strawberries. Did I mention the full bar of GREAT wine and tasty champagne? Yes, all I need is a sun lamp and this is practically vacation!!

The flight to Dubai is awesome. They have 180 degree reclining beds, 150+ movies on demand, massage "zones" in the chairs and a never ending supply of big beefy cabs. Too bad I am too tired to enjoy any of this. I sleep for 7 hours. (For those of you who dont consider this luxury, read my day in the life blog. You'll realize any span of 7 hours of sleep that doesnt include a 3 yr hogging the blankets is practically nirvana). I wake in time to catch 1 movie and breakfast. "Enchanted". Angela, I wish I had bought you this movie. I LOVE it!! Holy cow was it a fun diversion.

Now I find myself in the Dubai airport for a 2 hr layover. It is probably the NICEST airport I have ever been to. Really. NY-JFK I now realize is white bread America Disneyland compared to this airport. The diversity and color and change blows your mind. There are sheiks, Indians, Eygptians, Israelis, Africans, Europeans, Asians...Just walking around I see flights to Kuwait, Tehran, Kubal, Mumbai, Islamabad, Bangkok, Karachi, Colombo, Muscat. I dont even know where 1/2 of these places are on the globe. Add to it, shops like Cartier, Hermes, TagHeuer along with gold gold gold and electronics. Everyone has the best, state of the art laptop and cell phone (make that Treo) Its humbling to be an American here. I feel so unworldly and unaware. This place is an amazing mix of East meets West and the wealth is unlike anything I have ever seen.

So, I am biding time, writing my blog and thinking about another glass of red. Yes, Tom, I did get 2 bottles of nice wine. I know you would probably choose better or differently, but I did my best.

I cant wait to get home, hug my kids, kiss my husband, gossip with Angela and sleep in my own, hard as a rock, but all my OWN bed.

Love to everyone!!!!
T

Jimmy's Day

Usually I am sound a sleep and I hear this sound sort of like the sound that a car makes when it backs up or maybe a truck or something regardless it is quite irritating, still it continues until I realize it is my Dad telling to get out of bed. He is driving some kind of crane type thing in the middle of my bedroom and hooked to the cable is my left leg and he is dragging me out of bed and I say, " come on man it is too early" " it is 7:30 and time to get up, do you want me to drag you out of bed or carry ya?" Carry ya" and so it goes...


07:35 Mom I am starving can I have some scrambled eggs, three and can you make me some peanut butter toast while I wait, please and I did my homework last night can I have some chocolate milk too. Being that I am only 6 I have not yet figured out sentence structure and continue to rattle on and on but anyway, where are my eggs...



07:57 I am rushed into my school uniform because Saravana will be here at 08:00 to take us to school..Brush my teeth and fiddle around with some stuff, drive my Dad crazy trying to get dressed my Mom batty not paying attention finally I am in the car and on the way to school and I can rest for the first time of the day...parents



08:30 We arrive at Goplan National School where I am in prep and really like school. I have several friends and they are cool and sometimes we have play dates. I study pretty good and always get stars for math and English. My Mom and Dad think it is funny that I am the best in English in my class..Hindi is hard but I am learning the consonants and montras, in the US we call montras vowels. I sometimes have art or sports but most time I am learning using my brain and thinking a lot and I get a snack around 10:45 and Mom has learned not to pack junk food because my Ma' am gets mad at me...



12:30 Saravana and my Dad come and get us kids and we go home. Raj and Florence are always there when we get home and sometimes when I am really hungry Raj will make me green chicken I eat the whole thing. I also like red chicken and spicy meat and rice and the my favorite is Maggie's noodles, yummy yummy. I do not usually take a nap any more so while Raj and Florence get Billy and Kay fed and into bed for a nap my Dad and I go out to play.

12:30-4:00 I am usually trying to learn some kind of sport, badminton,soccer, baseball really any sport that involves me running or chasing something seems to be my Dads favorites! we sometimes give the sports a rest and we go off to the pool and swim and I even get french fries..
My favorite thing though is when I can go to my friend Gautums and have a play date, it is the best. Deedee, Gouthams nanny makes the best Maggies noodles and chicken nuggets even though I had lunch at home I can't help but to eat some.
Then we play and play and finally my Dad comes and gets me and we go back home because it is time for dinner.

4:45-7:30 I am mostly playing my new drums as LOUDLY as I can. I am getting pretty good and I also take lessons. I sometimes have homework and my Dad makes me do it before dinner. I also like to watch a movie and then I will also color with my brother and sister. We at times like to finger paint and that always ends up with Dad dragging us upstairs for showers/bath because I mean you can't just finger paint on paper with you brother and sister easy targets! Dad says that when we takes bathes at least the bathroom floor is really clean.Dinner is sometimes hard for dad because Billy and Kay are slow and picky eaters but not me. I like to have a couple of chicken burgers some frozen peas a couple of oranges or a pineapple along with a quart or 2 of water, YUMMY.

7:30-Onwards is usually taken up with painting or coloring and I sometimes play on the computer. I have a list of about 30 favorite websites that I keep adding to because I know how to log on search for spider man or any other superhero website and start defending the universe. I can not wait until June 13th because the new Hulk.com will be ready, I know this because I can now read and that is what it says.

Like all kids I resist going to bed until I am so tired that I fall asleep in a chair practicing my guitar.

Quick scenarios of life in India

I do love living here, the daily amount of amazement and laughs is enough to cover me the rest of my life! There days I drive home and think ... Wow, I really DO live in India... crazy....



Some examples...



~ Angela got a great photo on the way to work yesterday... a tiny calf riding in between 2 guys on a motorcycle. The best part, the calf was completely complacent and looked very relaxed. Not sure where he was going, but he definitely didnt mind. Other interesting animals on the highway have been the donkey riding in the autoricksaw, his head out one end his butt out the other, a camel wandering down the 4 lane highway pulling a cart and the ever present bull carts pulling loads of construction equipment.



~ We ordered pizza for the kids last Friday night as a special treat (yes, we do have Pizza Hut here!). Tom ordered a large cheese and a large 1/2 peperoni and 1/2 black onion (I told you, our kids have weird tastes, see Kay's blog). The pizza came and we had 4 boxes. That's weird we only ordered 2 pizzas.... We open the boxes and I almost pee my pants I am laughing so hard - they have cut all the pizza's in 1/2 and put the 1/2's in separate boxes. I am sure that we are now known not only at the loudamericans, but those weird americans that want us to put their 1/2 of pizzas in separate boxes...



~ They have been doing construction work on the driveway to our building for the last month.
This has been entailing jack hammering, cement pouring, and sewer rebuilding. While this would be a challenging (and fun) project in the states, it brings construction to a whole new level here.... Most of the workers dont wear a helmet and the main jackhammer operator has been "operating" without a helmet, eye protection and in flip flips. My 1st thought was "holy crap, just dont look". WWOS? (What would OSHA say...) or as Angela says ...at least they look like they know what they are doing....

~ Your dreams here are SO vivid. I think its the sensory overload you get each day. Your brain just doesnt shut off. Some recent examples ... I dreamed Sean Penn was my driver. He was using it as method acting experience as he was going to play an Indian driver in an up coming movie. He insisted on calling me ma'am and no one at work could really appreciate that SEAN PENN was my driver! Angela and I were in awe. Then, I dreamed that Tom saved a giraffe from drowing by giving it mouth to mouth rescisitation. The zoo was so happy, they let Tom go into the giraffe pen and get his photo taken with the other giraffes. Did I mention that they were thrilled because the giraffe was pregnant with twins? Finally, and this was a while ago, I dreamed that I successfully recruited Britany Spears to my Target India team. That is what we could now call, a bad hiring decision.

I am sure there is more, but for today, this feels like MORE than enough:)

Our Native Village or My Name is Village as Kay calls it...

The following blog is long overdue and blatantly plagerized from our friends site, but... when you are home alone with 3 kids, no power and therefore no internet, you can get a little behind on blogs. So... bare with us, we'll get back into the swing of things again soon:)

" It didn't take long after reaching Bangalore to decide we needed to make some plans to get out. I spent the next weekend, and our dating anniversary of 12 years (an occasion Wade really finds special; don't get me started) with Target visitors in town touring. I enjoy it, but the six-day work week followed by what feels like four jobs (cruise boat hostess, manager of the team represented by visitors, manager of the teams not, and admin assistant) gets long.And so the following weekend was time to head out of town, but this being Bangalore, not too far out. Wade has frequented a place called Our Native Village several times now and I hadn't been, it's only 20 km outside of town, and has the quiet serenity of a farm. Perfect.

After the two hour drive (yep, about 10 miles all told) we had reached the countryside. The kids embraced the occasion with befitting enthusiasm while the adults strolled behind comforted by the fence around the perimeter.Kay, Caden and Jim take a spin on the bullock cart. As it pulled away out the gates, Tracy and I briefly questioned the wisdom of the trip...briefly. And they had fun.

The swimming pool is a natural one, with reeds and frogs to support the eco-system. The kids had a blast while the adults enjoyed the weather. (Suddenly, MN in Feb doesn't seem to grand.)

I do have to repeat though a thought that I've noted before. The Indian massage is...uh...really something. Violating. To say you have to experience it to experience India is sort of like saying you have to spend quality time in the red light district to understand Amsterdam. So I'll just tell you to trust me and opt for the head and shoulder massage. I'm sure the ayurvedic principles are solid, but I wouldn't describe it as relaxing unless you can "go to a happy place" during the process. Which takes place on a solid wood table that looks like something out of Princess Bride and involves enough oil to make Dubai nervous. And ends with a green goo soup to get the oil off "but not too much" in the words of my masseuse. Anyhow, I've decided not to do that again. I digress...

We also made pottery. Caden had a blast and it was a beautiful setting for a getaway. We also rode bikes, sat in the sunshine and put the kids to bed to enjoy the evening hooka. Not a bad day at all.It was a great getaway - and a great place...20 kms can be so far away. The drive home brought that thought back just a little bit... :) "

Kay Marie and the Terrible Horible No Good

Really Bad Day

And we are moving her to Australia.... (Watch out Gertners!!!)



Kay Marie of late has had a somewhat rough go of it. She being 4 and1/2 ,which we can not believe, has had the 1/2 year hormone monster show up and the monster is currently kicking our butt. We are not looking forward to prepubescence.




Kay does not have a scheduled normal type day, more of a day that happens in bits and pieces around chocolate and when she got the last piece, when she will get the next one and then Kay stings these moments of chocolate induced highs into what eveyone else would call a schedule.. We will let Kay explain.





0:700 Mommy I want Chocalate for breakfast. I want it right now. Do we have any of those other things I like? What things Kay you know those chocalate things? My parents are strict in th emorning and I never get any chocalte for breakfast.:( Mostly I eat scrambeled eggs, sometimes cereal or what ever is left from last night Mom makes into breakfast.





0:730 I like to get right out of bed and get dressed all by myself. Daddy puts my clothes for the day on the table where I can reach them and I get dressed. Sometimes I like to pretend that I can do it just to she what Mom and Dad will do and you know what most of the time the still make me do !





07:50 I try to watch Tv sometimes because we are always waiting for Saravana, our driver and lots of times I make it outside and find something that I should'nt be doing and start doing that until I hear Mom " Kay Marie...get in the house and brush your teeth" I am consatantly be bothered to " brush my teeth" for cripes sake they are going to fall out anyway so why go through all this wasted effort.





08:10 Finally Saravana is here and off to school I go to get my first piece of chocolare for the day!! You see I have this plan that works pretty much everyday. I convince Saravana that if he promises to bring my chocolate for the ride home after school I will behave on the ride there. Ok Kay Kay you promise, Yes Saravana Ok. That being fixed I turn my attention to the teachers.





09:10 My first stop after assembvly is Billy's classroom. I simply let his teacher know what a good job she is doing and bingo a piece of chocolate for being such a nice child. Then it is off to my class and for this particular piece of chocolate I must work for it. I can count or sing or use any of the many other talents I have to obtain that piece of nirvana.





12:30 School is over for the day having secured two pieces of chocolate I now turn on the smile and ask Saravana. "What have you brought me today Saravana?" Chocolate Kay Kay. Thank you Saravana" being polite is a very useful tool when planning for my future chocoalte needs.





1:15 After arriving home I am somewhat jazzed up on all this chocolate succuss it is hard for me to concentrate on anything else, like sitting still or sometimes making any sense at all. My Dad says it is because of all the sugar but what does he know, he makes me brush my teeth rememeber! Raj and Florence finally interceeded and I am off to my room for a hand feed lunch and then a bath and by that time I am wiped out and ready for a well deserved nap.



4:15 Dady usually wakes me up from my nap and then after a few minutes of screaming hystecically I calm down and we go outside to play. I on most days try and talk Daddy into taking me to the store for you know, chococalte but he usually never does. But sometimes if we eat all our dinner and listen to Daddy he will take us to Baskin and Robbins for ice cream. I am not a big fan of chocolate icecream but Mango Black Currant rocks, go figure.



5:45 we head back inside from playing before the bugs come out. Daddy makes dinner while I demand to color, paint, glue, cut or whatever other artistic talent wants to emerge. Sometime we have body painting competion and it drives Daddy nuts!! We love it !



6:15 Dinner is served and of course I can not sit still and wiggle around in my chair and do not eat. Jimmy and Billy are always done before me and I end up on a time out or two before I finally wear down Daddy and convince him I have had enough. After dinner it is back to the arts! I love painting coloring and I really love glueing. So much so that I can go through two glue sticks in one night. Daddy tells me to learn about inventory management because we are always out of glue. All this generally makes a big mess but I have a plan. ' Daddy if I clean up this mess can I have chocolate?" I always get the same answer " No Kay it is to late" but a girl "has got to try what happens if you don't try, you have to try, so after much consideration could you make mine a cheeseburger?"



8:00 The bewitching hour. Daddy fortifies himself and sets off to the task of getting us to bed. The nightly ritual takes on a spirit of it's own. There are the rare days that I actually go to bed the first time Daddy ask's, but as I stated before you must not always give these grown ups their way. I like to wait until Daddy has Jimmy in bed and then Billy tucked in and has given us kisses and hugs and just as he heads out the door " Daddy, I am hungry can you bring me some food?". No Kay I told you before that if you do not eat at dinner time there is not going to be another dinner!! "Daddy can I have some cold water in a sippy cup with ice, and I mean cold water,PLEASE" " Ok Kay but if you get out of bed there will be no water!!" "Ok I won't" I get my water and wait for the final phase of my plan.



9:00 ish Mommy is home! "Mom you know Mom I have to tell you something" What Kay?" " Daddy didn't feed me dinner I want to have dinner with you because I love you and we didn't get to talk today" " No Kay it is bed time go to sleep!!' Mommy wait, wait I said I have to tell you one more thing" Yesss Kay..Mommy if I stay in bed can I have chocolate for breakfast....



That is how my days usually go....

Billy The Kid

Oh Oh what I want to know, where does the time go?





So sorry for the lack of communication over the past several days we have been without internet, AGAIN. This time it appears that some cables off the coast of somewhere were cut by something and therefore we needed to watch TV to learn when internet would be back, it is not my fault, Sir.....





Meanwhile Billy has been bery bery busy doing things that three year olds do, like keeping sibling rivalry up between the brother and sister, working on his cars and not eating.





Billy's typical day would be somewhat like:






04:13 Hey it is kinda scary here I think I will make a break for it and go bother Mom and Dad






04:15 I better slam this door so the monster doesn't follow me in here. Hey Mom move over I am cold





05:00 Somebody get me Chocolate milk right now...loud screaming ensues until either Mom or Dad get the Chocolate milk. ( side note: Many of you may know that Billy actually does not drink chocolate milk. When he was about two we would add chocoalate Pedisure into his Milk, per Raj, because it would give him strength, Raj did not know about Guniess, anyway once we ran out of chocolate flavored Pedisure, we simply stopped putting it in his milk and he would ask for chocolate milk, we would give him unflavored white milk and he was fine, so we went with it:)


06:30 My chocolate milk is gone so I may as well bang my sippy cup on the bed for awhile and see what that does.



06:31 Dad takes my sippy cup away. No matter I am really tired so I think I will take a nap for awhile


07:20 What is that grabbing my arm, Oh it is Dad hey I am not getting up it is too early. If you wake me up I will scream like crazy and then I do. Everyday this same thing happens. I get carried downstairs screaming my head off, placed in my high chair and Mom makes me breakfast that I refuse to eat. All I really want to do is play with my cars but can I do that?? NO, I have to take a bite, now swallow, I said swallow, this is painfull. No cars and I have to eat food or...Oh yeah, I forgot, no stickers, & "don't you give me that look".






08:00 By now I have calmed down after three or four time outs eaten all my rice and dal and just to get even just before we get in the car to go to school I like to, poop, it drives my parents crazy:)






08:15-12:30 I am at school, not. I go to this daycare place where they let me play with cars and trucks and go potty on the floor, it is great. I then have some scheduled time with an actual teacher but so far I still color out of the lines and mostly use the wrong color but I get treats. Sometimes they bring in animals like a turle for me to play with. I also like to talk and keep a running banter up with the other kids.


12:30 Most days my Dad comes with Saravana to pick us up but sometimes it is just Saravana and he gives us treats too.


1:00 I get home and I am really tired so Florence takes me and my sister upstairs and feeds us lunch. I eat a lot and then get a bath and take a nap for and hour or so and then Dad comes and wakes me up.


4:00 I am usually cranky and whinny when I get up but that usually only lasts forever my Dad says and then joy of joys outside to ride my bike. My friend Caden gave me his bike that he used when he was three and I have become very possive of it. So much so that if anyone even looks at my bike I will have a meltdown, can not be helped just the way I am. I ride my bike up and down the street, around in circles and sometime to the park and or the store. But I can not ride off our street with out Mom or Dad or I will lose my bike, and I know that is true because one time Jimmy did and boy was Dad hot. Jimmy did not see his bike for a whole day.


When we go to the park I like to dig in the sand or slide down the slide or sometimes swing.




Then we finally head home and my Dad and I get into a big fight around dinner as he has not figured out that I am not going to eat... ever. Only this time I announce that I have to go potty and this take his mind off trying to feed me and I actually go potty on the potty like a big boy. Well sort of like a big boy I am not tall enough so I climb on the rim and stand there and go.



After the dinner bout is over, Dad 150 Billy 151, I color with my sister or play cars with my brother and then it is bed time. For the most part I cooperate here but you know having a reputation I have to pitch a fit now and then. I also have to give hugs and kisses. Just recently I have developed this unique kissing system. First I kiss Mom and Dad on the mouth then their left check and then their forehead, for some unknown reason I ignore the right check, Oh well.




Finally I fall asleep until "THERE IS A MONSTER UNDER MY BED" and my day starts all over

Back to Reality

We have been on a roller coaster for the past month or so getting and then going to Korea so we thought we would update you on what each of us is up to back home, here in Bangalore ( not sung to the tune of Camelot).



Remember that being an Ex-pat here in Bangalore is somewhat akin to the movie Groundhogs Day and you wake up wondering if it will be any different today than it was yesterday or even last month...

Here is what Tracy is up to on any given day...



4:15am - Huh, who’s that?! Someone has crawled into bed with me and is stealing my pillow and the covers! Oh, just Billy for his nightly cuddle-fest. Roll over and go to back to sleep…

5:45am – In a sleepy haze, I hear the local mosque doing their calls for prayers, it sort of relaxing and soothing chanting every morning…

6:15am – Ok ok ok, time to get up, Angela will be here in 15 min’s to do yoga…

6:30am – I have started a load of wash, put out milk coupons, gotten the yoga DVD ready and put away dinner dishes from the night before, where’s Angela?!

6:40am – Starting my 60 min, Rodney Yee Power Yoga DVD. 4 of 5 times Angela is on time or even early, but this last week, I’ve had to go it alone as she’s tired. On the days we don’t “yoga”, I have been running about 30-35min’s/morning. Surprisingly, I don’t go that far I can't decide which is better, getting up god awful early to yoga or getting up god awful early to run. Equally hard to do… but I feel so much better through out the day…

7:25am – Billy comes down stairs and wants to love me up while I am doing yoga, I think this is the power part of power yoga. They should make a DVD where you do yoga while an affectionate 3 yr old hangs off your body. It would be a big seller and women would no longer need to go to the gym to do weight training!

7:35am – Holy SH_T! The kids need to leave in 20 min’s for school, time to wake them up and get them downstairs for breakfast. This consists of, Tom literally carrying Jimmy and Kay to the table still wrapped in their blankets. I make 3 box lunches, 4 breakfasts (5 if Tom is nice to me), brush 4 sets of teeth (Tom is on his own here), get 3 people dressed (I reserve my shower for after the kids have left for school), stickers on the day before’s good behaviors, load up 3 back packets and shuffle 3 kids out the door and into the car for a hug and kiss before they are off to school. (Wade calls this part II of my morning work out)

8:15am – Finally, time for a shower and little decompression time (Scary that I consider blow drying my hair “my time”).

8:45am – Angela is BACK! Time to head to work. This is always an interesting experience as depending on traffic, it can take 40-90 minutes to get to work. The good news is … The bridge is almost finished and a new “road” has been paved on the way to work. We can actually get the car up to 35 mph. Yippee!

9:15am – We slowly move past the herd of water buffalo that walks towards our building each morning. We never see them walking the OTHER way. Huh… curiouser and curiouser… I guess everyone has a daily commute.

9:25am – I “reach” work. Why am I so tired?!! Where’s the coffee??? Yes, sadly, I am no longer caffeine free, the Indian coffee is small in size but huge in flavor and a great mid morning pick me up. Just dont have 2!

9:30-10:30am – Time to catch up on all the emails from MPLS. This ranges from 50-100 per day. Usually there are good bits of info embedded in them like; sales results, juicy gossip on people who are moving up/out, business updates and new deadlines to meet. Sort of a virtual Starbucks run if you will.

10:30-12:30 Meetings, Meeting, Meetings…. Many of which pop up on my calendar or change 5 minutes before I am expected to be there. Meetings at Target India are sort of like Roller Derby. You need to be prepared for the unexpected, reach from behind, surprise attack. You also have to be strategic about which you’ll go to, which you’ll send a peer/friend to, and which you’ll pretend you didn’t see coming. Always planning 3 moves ahead. Add to that, the daily dose of rooms changing or being double booked and you need that boost of coffee just to get by.

12:30-1:00 – LUNCH! Twice a week we are learning Hindi, the rest of the time is spend shoving food in our mouths quickly and sharing news from MPLS (see 9:30-10:30). I have successfully learned to count to 5, say “I don’t speak Hindi”, “I don’t know”, “excuse me”, “Thank you”, “what’s up man” and “hey you, pay attention!”. All very handy tidbits to know. Occasionally, there is a lunch “outside” or visitors in town and then we get the ever exciting treat of Pizza Hut pizza. Since I’m not a big fan of pizza, this is hardly the exciting event that my team (and kids) seem to think it is. Add to it that every Indian I have ever met puts ketchup on their pizza and that most of the toppings are some sort of Indian side dish (curry, tandoori, baby corn) and you can see why I get hungry mid afternoon.

1:00-5:30 – See 10:30- 12:30, but add into it…..my team stopping by to chat, ask questions, say hi, cut a birthday cake, ask for my signature on a visa form, etc….

5:30-6:15 – Strangely dull down time. The team is wrapping up their day to head home and calls with MPLS haven’t started yet. What to do, What to do … Oh that’s right, all the work I couldn't get to all day while I was sitting in meetings.

6:30-8:00 – Conference calls with MPLS – Believe it or not, I have gotten so efficient, I can fit in 3-4 of these calls a night. Mostly they are phone calls, but there is always the occasional video conference that entails trying to figure out the equipment, how to call, how to zoom and how to adjust the volume. (Note to self, dont wear patterned clothes on this day, it makes the folks on the other side of teh video conference dizzy). I swear, these are harder to work than my cell phone or my DVD player. But, I do enjoy these, they help me feel connected to my teams in MPLS and I also get to feel the MPLS vibe for a few minutes a day. That said, I can't wait to come off daylight savings as that will give me an hour of my day “back” and I can wrap up by 7pm.

8:00-8:15 – Angela and I are rounding each other up, sending email after email saying… “1 more minute”, “1 more call”, “1 more email”, “1 more trip to the bathroom” and I’ll be ready :)

8:15-8:45 – We ride home and decompress on our day. Surprisingly the ride home is less stressful and faster than the ride in. Or…maybe its because its dark and I cant see the garbage, poverty and dustiness that is Bangalore. We are tempted each night to stop by the “bar” on the way home. It’s a make shift counter where you walk up, drop 20 rupees on the counter, get one glass of whiskey and then walk away. In the last 18 months, I have NEVER seen a women at one of these bars. Angela and I figure that if we actually stopped at one, we’d get the same sort of reception as if the Dali Lama were to show up. Sort of shocked submission. When we do get up the courage, we'll be sure to take a photo and blog it.

8:45 – I’m HOME!! The kids are in bed, but no where near asleep. 2 extreme examples: (Most nights are a combination of the 2)
~ Belly laughs are coming from the kids bedroom. I have no idea what they are doing/talking about, but they are cracking each other up. Over the next 20 min’s the laughter subsides and they all fall asleep. How cool is it to have kids?! we ask each other
~ Kicking, screaming and fighting that sounds like the latest episode of Gladiators is happening directly above my head. Do I go up? I operate under the assumption that as long as they are being loud enough that I can hear them, no one is permanently maimed or injured. Last week Jimmy punched Kay in the nose and gave her a bloody nose (she was antagonizing him). He freaked out, and started crying. She didn’t shed a tear, but instead said “that was a really really bad choice Jimmy, you know, there are other choices”. These are the days we question our ability to make good choices ourselves.

9:00 – After kisses and hugs all around, answering a thousand “one last question” demands and tucking everyone in, its time to eat. I am starved and eat everything in sight. I’ve begun to question if I really like Indian food, or if I just love that food is ready when I come home and I can eat my fill. Either way, our cook Raj, is the best cook in Palm Meadows in my book. This also explains how I ended up eating brains for months and months without questioning anything (see former blog)

9:30 – Dishes, clean up, prep for tomorrow…. If I’m lucky, one of our visitors will have brought the latest US Weekly or People magazine and I’ll read it quietly at the table. Its no wonder that last year I dreamed that we recruited Brittany Spears to my Target India team. On the nights that I don’t have my latest fill of American pop culture, it’s a glass of red wine with Tom on our veranda, gazing at the stars. It is sorely needed time to let my brain stop functioning.

10:30- To bed to bed!! My head hits the pillow and I’m asleep before Tom finishes brushing his teeth. I love that each of my days is so completely filled with laughter, challenges, hugs, decisions, sensory overload and fantastic stimulating people (both at home and at work).

I am completely exhausted and sleep like the dead.

What a Journey

So as you can see we had the perfect trip back to Korea. I am unable to really sum this up in words or chose what was the best. The fact that our families met our Foster Moms and their families or that we were all together in Seoul to ring in 2008 or any of the many other events that happened, all I know is that Tracy and I are blessed in our lives and in our families.

So here are a couple of cute things that happen when you get together with family and kids.

This year for Christmas in preparation for our trip to Santa gave each of the kids a hat and a pair of gloves. Kay received a nice crochet black hat and a pair of mittens.

Kay Marie, not Grandma Kay, was really in need of as haircut and here in India they are really bad at giving kids, let alone Korean kids haircuts. So Grandma Bunny said that when we she her in Seoul she would cut Kay's hair. So she did and being we did not have a proper scissors she used a well, I believe a cuticle cutter and she did a great job. Tracy asked Kay," How do you like your haircut?" Kay said " Well it looks like my Hat"!

Now everyone knows that there is a long standing rivalry between the Vikings and the lessor known team, the Green bay Packers. Even more renowned is Aunt Sue's clinical addiction to the Packers and countless therapy sessions she has had in regards to this. She has even gone so far as to use Mrs. Holgrens ticket and sat in her booth during a playoff game. Well you can take the girl out of Packerland but you can not take the Packers out of the girl, enough said!

It is hard enough when you are the parent of three, screaming kids or the parent of two screaming kids, or the parents of the other three screaming kids no matter how your math works 10 adults and 8 kids under the age of 6 1/2 means the adults are out numbered.

The Grandma's and Grandpa's Murphy and Hickey were such a wonderful addition to this trip that without them we would not have had quite the fun. They endured the extreme cold, jet lagged kids, theirs and their grandkids as well, and helped make this a remarkable and fabulous trip. We can not thank them enough for their presence and support in our everyday lives.

As we were all getting ready to leave the good byes were said and hugs were given and the kids all went off to sleep. Now Aunt Julie's kids Cedric and Solomon were the last kids to leave and when they work up the next morning they went downstairs and could not findJimmy, and were sad. Where is Jimmy,we want to play, Julie had to tell them that we had left and they kept going into our room and saying " where is Jimmy?" When they returned home to Costa Rica Cedric looked at his mom and said " When can we go back to Jimmy"s house?" " we miss eveyone and it was soo fun", anyone have a Kleenex, kids they say the damnedest things.

Aunt Tammy and Uncle Jeff had the added stress of planning Georgia 4th Birthday. So we had pizza and ice cream cake and being that we had traveled , well some people had travelled half way around the world, the adults got into this " brought the best present, no Ibrought the best present" routine, Georgia was cracking up and getting really excited about all these cool presents she was about to receive. Long story short, Georgia loves baked beans so Tracy carried,or one of us carried, the can from Bangalore to Seoul and even wrapped for the big day, which is also New Years Eve, is anything ever easy in this family? And, even after all that, Georgia voted the new pink hanbock her favorite gift.

One last thought ... It might not be over! On our last day, a reporter from the Chosen Times found out about our raison d'etre in Korea. She came and spent 3 hours interviewing EVRYONE in the family and taking tons of family photos. So... once we get the article and photos (and get it translated into English) we'll post our final blog of our once in a lifetime, how can we be this blessed, arent we so lucky, wonderful, adventure "The LoudAmericans go to Korea" otherwise known as "Family Vacation - Seoul".

Until then, back to our regularly scheduled programming, The Murphys in India:)

A Korean Bath House- Guest Author-Grandma Bunny

Tracy has asked us to comment on our adventures in Seoul and I would like to begin by saying we enjoyed all of them. We were most impressed with the people and how warm and friendly they were by grabbing a hand of a child, offering candy, gum, a kleenex, and even money. There was a feeling of safety and caring.

Julie read in the guide book that you must experience the baths so she got directions to the closest one which she said was right next door. We set off for it on our last day with directions from the people at Eastern , it was called the Happy Day Spa. After walking for a while, we finally asked at the hotel if they knew where it was and they pointed us to the tall building a block or so down. We got lucky when we entered the building as there was no English lettering telling us we were there, in fact there was no English at all so we had to guess at what we were doing. With a lot of gestures they figured out what we wanted and equiped us with little pink shorts and T shirts to wear in the sauna and 2 hand towels each.. Before we even entered the spa we had to put our shoes in a locker and then were given another locker for our clothes. Other than the sauna it was obvious that we would not need our clothes until we left. The saunas were 4 little buildings like igloos amongst mats with people sleeping in little pink outfits for the women and white outfits for the men. We warmed up there for about 20 minutes then set out to find the steam bath and pools. Donned in our birthday clothes we ventured into the huge room with row upon row of showers with little stools and many people [all women in this section]. There were 3 whirlpools that could hold about 20 people each with different temperatures, individual whirlpools and one big pool that was very cold. We would spend about 3-10 min. in the steam bath and then rinse our selves off to jump in the cold pool which felt wonderful. There were strong cold jets above that you could stand under and they pounded out any aches and pains you might have. After doing this for about 1-2 hours we felt wonderful and decided that we should have discovered this place the first day. It was definitely a place you wouldn't want to miss.

(Note, there are NO photos of this experience:) )