A New School Year

I have completely forgotten how busy this time of year is. Trying to get schedules coordinated with 40 different accounts, hiring and training teachers to teach those accounts, attending open houses...yikes. I am tired and I have 2 more weeks of this before things become a little more manageable. I haven't had time to post anything from Anisha's Annaprasan yet, but I will soon. I did add a link to the photos though. More to come...

State Fair 07

The State Fair is a highly anticipated event for John and I. Although it usually marks the end of summer, anyone who knows us, knows how much we love to eat. So many foods on a stick and it's all so greasy, mmmmm.... So it's a little disappointing that our own son, doesn't enjoy eating the same way we do. This year however, he surprised us both by wanting to at least try everything we were eating. We started with corn fritters, fried green tomatoes, quesadilla, fried apples, scotch egg, corn dogs and roasted corn. Anisha spent the whole time staring at us like we were so cruel to eat in front of her and not offer anything. I am finding that breastfeeding is the perfect time to go stuff yourself at the fair because I never get full. We will most likely be going again before it ends on labor day, but the kids will not be with us.

You will notice in the photos that we are all wearing an obnoxious orange t-shirt. John's employer, Boston Scientific, provided these shirts for the family along with discounted tickets, so I felt a little obligated to wear them. I have to say though, that when your toddler takes off into the crowd, it's easy to spot him wearing such a bright shirt.

Photos and Facebook

So I found the camera and here are some pictures of my baby girl and Noah at the wedding last weekend. She is growing up so fast and already making crawling motions. She will be 6 months already on September 7. Her Annaprasan ceremony is next weekend. Noah is growing up too. He will be attending a montessori school next month. I am very excited for him to actually learn something, but I know the change is going to be difficult for him. His new favorite phrase is "Gimmee dat." And when I give him the mom look, he says, "Gimme dat, peez."

I have recently entered the realm of Facebook and I am intrigued. This blog has been added to my page and I am trying figure out what 'poking' someone means. I started with 1 friend (thanks Suman!) and in a couple of days I am up to 8! Yippee! This is all just more stuff I have to keep up with (in all the spare time I have) and yet for some reason I can't ignore it. We'll see how it goes. If anyone has tips, please find me and share them.

Busy Times

So I've been reprimanded by many people lately because it's been a month since I've posted anything. I'm not sure where the month of August has gone, but it's been a whirlwind of activity.

The beginning of the month started off with the Uptown Art Fair. We usually miss it every year so this time I was determined to go. We ended up meeting our good friends, Amy and Jose, there and wandered around. John and I fell in love with a beautiful photo, but decided it would be better not to buy it so impulsively. It was pretty expensive and I think we made the right decision. Although, when I walk past the spot I planned to hang it, I shed a little tear. Just a small one.

The next weekend, John's cousin, Erica, got married. I was her maid of honor and it was a beautiful ceremony.

This past weekend proved to be the most hectic as a very close family friend got married. I grew up with Ina and her family, and she is basically like a little sister to me. It was a 3 day event and so much fun! A lot of people who used to live in Minnesota came to the wedding and it was so great to see them and catch up. My dad and I decided that there should be a big wedding every year so we can all hang out and enjoy ourselves. (Did you get that Rai?)

Next weekend we are going to the state fair to pig out and then the following weekend is Anisha's Annaprasan (rice ceremony). I can't believe she is almost 6 months old!

On top of all this, Noah has been quite challenging up until a couple of days ago. He was not sleeping which caused him to be VERY cranky and whiny. He has entered his "Noah's turn" phase so we pretty much have to do everything twice. The first time I complete a task, because I forget that he wants to do it. This is followed by a lot of whining and screaming and then I have to undo everything I just did, so that he can do it himself. It's impossible to get out the door on time. He surprised everyone tonight however, by opting to skip his milk and cookies and decided he wanted to go to sleep. I am still in shock. I had so much time on my hands I didn't know what to do with myself.

Anisha continues to be an angel, so far. Although I think she is teething so she has her moments. But those moments are short lived and she usually just falls asleep eventually. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she stays this way.

I will post some pictures soon. Noah hid my camera and I have no idea where he put it. Sigh. Life would be boring without him I think.

Milestones

Well, both of our kids have reached important milestones. As of today, Anisha is rolling over on to her stomach. Although she hasn't quite figured out how to get her arm out from underneath her body. It's pretty funny. She is growing so quickly, I don't know where the time goes.

Noah is talking in sentences now and he gets better everyday. I'm sure I am one of the only people that can understand what he is saying, but it's still pretty amazing to be able to converse with him. His favorite sentence is "What's [insert name] doing?" I think if I counted how many times he says that in one day, it would be over a hundred. Lucky me...I get to answer him that many times in one day.

Road Trip

This past weekend, we (the Mullin's and my parents) took a VERY impromptu road trip to Milwaukee to visit my aunt and uncle. John was returning from a business trip from Ireland and happened to reach him during his layover in Newark. He courageously agreed to go with us and so we rented a minivan and departed from my parents house at 5:30pm. It took about 6 1/2 hours to get there. This was not Noah's first trip, but he did so great. And Anisha, well we didn't hear a peep out of her all weekend. Ok, that's not entirely true. On our way up, we stopped at Taco Bell because Noah's favorite food are tacos. I was ravenous and ended up eating way more than I should have. I paid for it the next day and so did poor Anisha, but it was short lived.

We had such a great time just relaxing and catching up. Road trips are great, but driving home is always such a chore. The highlight of the trip home however was that we had to stop in a small town for a diaper emergency. All of a sudden we heard a train whistle and it started to come by about 100 feet away from us. Noah is obsessed with trains, so you can imagine how excited he was (and a little scared, it was pretty loud).

The 4th of July

Independence day was spent with the extended Mullin family in Hugo, MN. (Close to Stillwater) Every year, John's uncle Jim, hosts this very important celebration. He views it as an incredible teaching opportunity for the next generation(s) as to why this holiday should not be taken lightly. In short, without this holiday, we would not be able to celebrate any of our holidays, regardless of race or religion.




We began the evening with an enormous feast and lots of catching up. We only see some of John's cousins once a year at this gathering. Next we get ready for the parade. The entire family decorates bikes, tractors, wagons...you name it! We also put some decor on ourselves to get in the spirit. Then we parade through the neighborhood and make our way back for an inspiring talk about the significance of the 4th and a ceremonial raising of the flag, followed by the pledge of allegiance. This year we were entertained by a hilarious magician and the kids (and there are A LOT of them in the Mullin family) participated in minnow races. Noah even came in 2nd overall! He was very proud of his little minnow. The evening commenced with fireworks in the backyard. Anisha slept through the whole thing and Noah enjoyed them very much...from inside the house and daddy's hands over his ears.