Batman meets Cowgirl

Pravan and Brooke have been friends for a while now and they affectionately refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Brooke's parents are good family friends.They live in Truckee but our hubby's work together and went to school together. On Friday was Nevada day. Nevada is now 144 yrs old. It is a holiday in NV so school was out. We took the opportunity to visit the Vaughan's for the day. Brooke was in school for half the day and Pravan was thrilled when she came home. Here are some pics of them.They had not seen each other for months.

Truly magical

So who says fairy tales do not come true. They did for Todd and I. It has been a long long road to staying together and being happily married is no picnic either. Marriage is a lot of work. Years ago, twelve to be exact in 1997 I arrived in Philadelphia as a Aupair. I took care of two kids. A newborn and an 18 month old. The dad was Indian and the mom was American so the kids were a great mixture like my kids are.

I was at a park and so was Todd. I did not know him off course. The little girl was going through a phase of throwing away her shoes like most kids do. I worked for a rich family so the shoes were expensive and were from Nordstrom's. I was warned that no more shoes could be lost. On that day she threw away her shoe and Todd found it. He followed me down the street as I rushed on my way to bring them home for a nap and a bottle for the baby. I was late and needed to race back to the house. Todd handed me the shoe and said " your daughter lost her shoe " I made it clear that she was not my child and that I was single. He handed me his business card and asked me to call him.I thanked him and walked on and did not think about that for a while.

I told another friend of mine about what happened and she said that I should call him. Well I was not allowed to talk to guys never mind call them. I was quickly reminded that I was 10 000 miles away from home and my culture and I should enjoy life and my new found freedom. My friend really wanted to go to an adventure park called Dorny Park which was about 2 hours away. We did not drive so we needed someone to take us. She exhausted the list of people we knew with cars and then she suggested I call Todd.

I did and our first conversation was more than five hours long. He agreed to take us to the park and also brought his room mate along to hang out with my friend. There was instant chemistry between us for sure but I knew that it was a one day thing. boy was I wrong. We dated and there were so many obstacles along the way. Immigration, Atlantic Ocean when I had to leave for England and then the Atlantic Ocean when I left England to go back to South Africa. Well that is a whole other story and too long to talk about today. So we met with a shoe just like Cinderella.

Cinderella will always be my favorite princess. Well on Friday night while trick or treating I has Priyasha in the wagon and Pravan ran ahead of us. We stopped at a magic show that one of the neighbors put on on halloween night. Priyasha did great but finally she asked to go to the bathroom and we were at some body's house. I did not know them but they lived on the other end of my street. They let Priyasha use the bathroom. There were so many kids racing to the doors and there was so much excitement. I warned Pravan to stay where he was at the front door and not to go to the next house without me. He listened well but when I got back he was so excited.

" Mommy I found Cinderella's shoe " He showed it to me and I was so amused. I laughed and took pictures of it. He then said " Cinderella's name is Taylor " He knew who it belonged to so we did not have to send the kings men to all the houses and have every little girl try on the shoe. As we walked down the drive way the mom was carrying her little girl that was crying. Pravan put the shoe on her feet and she was happy again.Taylor is the sister of a little boy that is in Pravan's class. Isn't she beautiful. Well Pravan has never played with her before and I am not expecting any kind of ending with this. It was so magical for him and I could hardly contain my excitement and amusement. Here are some pics for you to see the story that happened.

A real Cinderella story on Willow Ranch Trail. There was no prince just batman. So a small twist but a great one.

Pravan loved helping with this trick. They got a goodie bag with two tricks in it and Pravan has spent a lot of time practicing it.

Well these two will live happily ever after but maybe not together. Tracy your daughter is beautiful and some day her Prince will really come and sweep her off her feet and when that day happens remember that you will not loose your daughter you will gain a son.From one mom to another I hope it is not too soon. Thanks for loaning Cinderella to us for the moment !

Happy November

Another month, another holiday to look forward to and the beginning of the holiday stress. Seems like this month is full of activities for the Landry household.I am taking a deep breath before I dive into the next challenge life has to offer. Although Halloween is over I need to share pics of trick or treating and also a cute little story that happened while we were trick or treating. I just need to go through pics and upload to the blog.

Tonight we get an extra hour of sleep as we turn the clocks back by an hour. Priyasha usually gets up at 6:30 am so tomorrow she will be up at 5:30 am. I swear that little girl is a night owl and a morning bird . She has a little of mom and dad. I am looking forward to an extra hour of sleep. I am just beat from this past week and I am so glad Halloween is over. It was a lot of fun but I am ready to slow down this week. I plan on working on the pictures. I just uploaded 545 from this past week. I am learning the painful process of deleting the bad ones and keep only the ones I love. This is getting easier but it is a slow process. Hubby added more ram to the laptop so it is running faster. A new month mean backing up all the pics on it and removing to the external hard drive.

I am off to catch up on the shows I recorded this past week and sip on some nice wine from Cape Town, South Africa. Have a good night and I will fill you in tomorrow on Pravan's encounter while trick or treating. You will laugh !

How to carve a pumpkin

The very first step is to pick one out either at a farm or the supermarket. We drove about two hours away and made it a day trip as a family. Reno does have a few pumpkin farms though. We enjoy the drive and the get away.

Then you pick out a design that will work with your pumpkin. My kids picked hard ones for me. They helped a little but not with the knives. I have special tools and a battery operated carving knife which is a life saver. Pravan insisted on helping with the knife and I let him but just for a short while.

You draw a circle on top of the pumpkin that will be the lid.

My kids love to pry it away from the pumpkin and sometimes it can be tough. I love when they pull it out and look at all the seeds that are stuck on it.

Then you spend some time scooping out the seeds. It is a long process when you are stuck with four. Hubby does not like crafty things and I love it so it is easier for me to help with this type of things. I do not scoop out too much of the flesh as I cannot be bothered and really do not like a pumpkin that is skinny. We all did our fair share to scoop out the insides.

Priyasha was freaked out as the strings were slimy and sticky. She could not get it off her fingers and started to scream. I thought it was so funny. She then looked at me and said " that ezzz not tunny " ( that is not funny ). I was even more amused as she was mad at this point. She calmed down after we took a break and the pumpkin princess was happy once again.

You then attach your pattern and poke lots of tiny holes with the special poky tool.Remove the pattern and you start carving. Use knife to cut away extra flesh from behind the design you carved.

Replace the lid and remember it is like a puzzle now and will fit just one way. The way to cut it out. Place a battery operated candle inside and watch it glow. To have your jack -o-lantern last longer you can place in the refrigerator. I do not do that.I never have room in the refrigerator and I have two. I love being stocked up with food at all times. I carve mine the night before Halloween.

Admire your hard work and place by the front door.

Thanks for looking at all the memories we create.

Hope you carved a delightful pumpkin. Please add a link to the one you have carved.

Happy Halloween

Today I am up in Truckee California at a friend's house. Our husbands work together and at lunch time we will go to the office with the kids all dressed up in their costumes. I made it through yesterday. I was so exhausted that I was falling asleep while watching CSI. I am such a tv junkie. I am so behind with the DVR recordings and I hope to catch up this weekend. Well I got my second wind and made it through watching Grey's Anatomy that was recorded as well.

Carving the pumpkins took me about two long hours. Pravan insisted on the hard patterns yet I was left to carve them out while they watched a Halloween movie. Well it was relaxing and I am impressed with the end result. I think I enjoy the end result more than the process sometimes.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy. I have so many more and will make a slide show out of it. Don't hold your breath though. Things will calm down after today. Have a wonderful weekend.

without flash on the front step. with flash on the front step.

Yes that is a white pumpkin that Pravan insisted on picking at the pumpkin farm. It was actually easier to carve than the orange ones. It was much softer.

In the kitchen with the lights off. Priyasha insisted on using her flashlight. The excitement on their faces is great. This is after I set the lights in the pumpkins and called them to see the end result.

Free Spirit !

on overdrive and lots of links

Okay this is a busy week. Friday is Nevada day and school is out so homework is due one day early. Normally that is no problem but this week we have had so many activities. Well last night was my date with hubby. I had a delicious uninterrupted dinner. Well except for the server. he kept asking if I was done as hubby was and I savored every last bite of my delicious rack of pork with mash potatoes and apple cabbage and bacon. It was out of this world and my drink was fabulous. I had a cosmopolitan with stoli raspberry and a sugared rim. Hubby had wine but a very smooth expensive one. We had a great time hanging out and talking. Well I won't tell you about the rest of the night. I will spare you.

On the home front I am working on making coffin boxes for Pravan's class and we are baking brownies today. Priyasha is learning how to read words at 2.5 yrs old and I feel like I am going to school all over again. It is a lot of fun but exhausting. I will post pictures later this week or maybe on the weekend.

I am getting help from so many wonderful woman about the postcards and Pravan is thrilled. He asks me about it every day when he gets home. I want to say thank you to Tracy. A cyber buddy of mine. She added a link to my blog and is helping me spread the word about the postcards. Check out her blog :

http://tj-runningwithscissors.blogspot.com/2008/10/paper-paradise-november-kit-and-plea.html

Also here is a link to the Splitcoaststampers site. Those woman are great and talented and always willing to help. I love you all for helping.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393492

If you can be so kind and post a request on your blog. This is a link you would post on your blog.

http://twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/2...6_archive.html

Okay of to do homework and cook dinner. Still need to carve pumpkins. Maybe tomorrow. I still need to read a Junie B Jones book. The funny thing is that I really enjoying reading these books to him. I actually like reading now. I learnt this from my kid. Mixed up ahhhh !!!

Postcard update

Following up on this link

http://twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/2008_10_26_archive.html

I have received several messages letting me know that people will mail Pravan postcards. So far we expect to receive postcards from

Australia

Buffalo NY

California

India

Kansas

Minnesota

Missouri

Niagara Falls Canadian side

Oklahoma

Peurto Rico

Scotland and

Texas

Thank you to all that will assist with his mission to get postcards from all over the world. Please feel free to post a link to my blog to get more people involved or to post this on your blog. Here is a link to the original post. Thank you so much for helping. The link below is the link you can post on your blog. Thank you for helping.

http://twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/2008_10_26_archive.html

Happy Birthday to Hubby !

Happy Birthday honey ! I hope you are having a pleasant day at work. Todd is going out to lunch with his co-workers today to celebrate and I am looking forward to taking him out to dinner tonight. We are going on a date which is long overdue. The kids were excited this morning to give daddy his present. They bought him the new Jim Cramer book " Stay mad for life" He is the guy that talks about the stocks and gives advice on it. Todd loves watching his shows and does so religiously every night.

Yesterday the kids helped me make a card for daddy. Pravan enjoyed cutting and gluing the ribbon and Priyasha helped turn the handle on my cuttle bug. Pravan wrote in the card and Priyasha tried to tried. Well she is only 2.5 yrs old and did a beautiful job. Pravan however was not impressed. he has forgotten that he started the same way. Dad was happy to get his card and book. Tonight we will have ice-cream cake after dinner. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Diwali !!!!

Deepavali ! These seems to be words echoing in the distance at the back of my mind. It has been may years since I celebrated. Being int he US makes it hard and almost impossible to follow a culture. I have let go but will always long for something that once appears to be like a dream to me today. When I was a little girl living in South Africa I was mostly exposed to Indians. I lived in an Indian community but we were from different cultures and not all of us celebrated in the same manner. Some were christian, Muslim, some were from North India ( Hindi's ) and some were from South India ( Tamils, Telugu's ). We never had a car until I bought my first one when I was 21 yrs old. My oldest brother who was the father figure as my dad passed on when I was just four always took me on a long , long walk around the entire neighborhood looking at all the houses and how they were decorated with lamps.We must have walked about 3-5 km. It was the way of life and I never complained. He off course ended up carrying me on his shoulders for part of the way.He was the first kid and I was the fourth so we have a huge age difference.

We also lit lamps. It was a clay lamp filled with oil and a cotton wick made out of cotton wool. It was my job to make the wicks by rubbing them in between my palms. I also had to help mom polish all the brass ware in preparation for this big day. We baked goodies for a whole week and it was ll very involved complicated recipes. We then made little packages and on this special day we would give them to friends, family and neighbors. I also remember wearing new Indian clothes and taking a bath with three different kinds of oil to cleanse my body. I also had to drink Castor oil to clean the insides. that was not my favorite thing in the world.

So what is it ? Here is a description from wikepedia :

A row of lamps, part of the Diwali observance. Also called Translation: Row of Lights; Deepavali, Festival of Lights

Deepavali, or Diwali is a major Indian holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, [Buddhism]], and Jainism. [3] Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Lights," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. Diwali is celebrated on the first day of the lunar Kartika month, which comes in the month of October or November. In many parts of India, it is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest, after he defeated the evil Ravana.[4] The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name: Deepavali. This word, in due course, became Diwali in Hindi. But, in South Indian languages, the word did not undergo any change, and hence the festival is called Deepavali in southern India. There are many different observances of the holiday across India.

Among the Sikhs, Diwali came to have special significance from the day the town of Amritsar was illuminated on the return to it of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) who had been held captive in the Fort at Gwalior under the orders of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir (1570-1627). As the sixth Guru (teacher) of Sikhism, Guru Hargobind Ji, was freed from imprisonment - along with 53 Hindu Kings (who were held as political prisoners) whom the Guru had arranged to be released as well. After his release he went to the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in the holy city of Amritsar, where he was welcomed in happiness by the people who lit candles and diyas to greet the Guru. Because of this, Sikhs often refer to Diwali also as Bandi Chhorh Divas - “the day of release of detainees." The festival is also celebrated by Buddhists of Nepal, particularly the Newar Buddhists. In India, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Since I am not celebrating today thank you for letting me share my memories and I will also share some pics I have of the kids that I took a while back. I have so many more and I will make a slide show and post to the blog. Thanks for stopping by and remember to please send some postcards. See post below.