Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Toddler transition

This week is Sahil and Samira's last week in the infant room. They are finally moving to the toddler room! They were supposed to move over sometime around July or August but it's taken a while to find two spots in the same room for them. I thought I was ready for them to move over, since they should have a while ago anyway, but now that it's near, I'm so sad! My babies have to grow up next week! No bibs, no sippy cups, no cribs, no rocking to sleep for nap, no help feeding them those last bites of yogurt in the morning....whhhaaaaaaaaahhh! My poor little monkeys!

Okay, so they are 20 months old now....I guess they're ready. I know they'll have more fun in the toddler room, since they seem to be getting a bit bored in the infant room. So I should be happy...

This is just another reminder that despite all I do to stop it, my babies are growing up.

Beer vs Wine

While Chetan is still into his red wines, I have (maybe temporarily) moved to drinking more beer than wine. I've always enjoyed a cold beer in the summer, at a BBQ, during the game, etc, but now prefer it even in cooler temperatures, like the Fall. Right now I am ALL about Fall beers, and have tried some really good ones. Chetan picked up some Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale the other day which I thought was fantastic! I've also had my usual 3 favorites - Sam Adams' and Greak Lakes' Oktoberfests, and Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, and am looking forward to trying many more before winter comes along :)
On a monkey note, Sahil now points to a beer bottle and says "bee-aah" and knows where we keep them in the fridge....a proud bad mommy moment for me.

Oktoberfest Beers


From Beer Advocate:
Märzen / Oktoberfest
Description:Before refrigeration, it was nearly impossible to brew beer in the summer due to the hot weather and bacterial infections. Brewing ended with the coming of spring, and began again in the fall. Most were brewed in March (Märzen). These brews were kept in cold storage over the spring and summer months, or brewed at a higher gravity, so they’d keep. Märzenbier is full-bodied, rich, toasty, typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content. The common Munich Oktoberfest beer served at Wies'n (the location at which Munich celebrates its Oktoberfest) contains roughly 5.0-6.0% alcohol by volume, is dark/copper in color, has a mild hop profile and is typically labeled as a Bavarian Märzenbier in style.

9/29: Bell's Oktoberfest. A good beer but little too light for me.

Pumpkin Ale

From Beer Advocate:
Pumpkin Ale
Description:Often released as a fall seasonal, Pumpkin Ales are quite varied. Some brewers opt to add hand-cut pumpkins and drop them in the mash, while others use puree or pumpkin flavoring. These beers also tend to be spiced with pumpkin pie spices, like: ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Pumpkin Ales are typically mild, with little to no bitterness, a malty backbone, with some spice often taking the lead. Many will contain a starchy, slightly thick-ish, mouthfeel too. In our opinion, best versions use real pumpkin, while roasting the pumpkin can also add tremendous depth of character for even better results, though both methods are time-consuming and tend to drive brewmasters insane.

I plan to try them all this Fall! :)

9/26: Shipyard Brewery Pumpkinhead Ale. A great beer! Nice mild pumkin flavor with a touch of spice.
9/30: Baffalo Bill Brewing - America's Original Pumpkin Ale. Made with real pumpkin. Good stuff! Maybe a touch too much spice in it, but a nice light brew. Definitely reminds me of Fall.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Summer 2009


Our summer was absolutely wonderful! The weather was questionable for a lot of it, but it didn't really affect us, since staying on the cool side actually worked well for us. We didn't get to Orange pool as much as we had liked to, but we did manage to go a few times. Sahil and Samira also took swim classes at the Westerville Community Center on Saturdays, so we did in plenty of pool time there. Some days they loved the class, some days they whined through a lot of it. The same held true for me too....

Every summer weekend was happily packed with parties, BBQs, long walks, parks, wine tastings, playing in the fountains at Easton, visiting the zoo, Crew games, happy hours, dinners with friends, making new friends, farmers markets, and lots of other fun stuff! All ordinary things, yet so special to me....

For the monkeys second Fourth of July and second Red White and Boom, we once again went to the Mt Carmel Foundation's RW&B party on the rooftop of Mount Carmel West. Mom & Dad and Mama didn't join us this time, but I think the monkeys still had a great time. We had a great dinner, drinks, dancing, and a perfect seat to the best fireworks show in the land! Samira's poopy diaper also got us into the nice restrooms vs the Porta-Johns. Mommy thanks you baby girl! :)

We took our "summer vacation" trip in September actually. We went to Ft Myers beach for 5 nights, and it was wonderful! Very relaxing! The monkeys had a great time, and it was so nice to spend so much time with them and not have to worry about everyday things like cleaning, bills, etc.

We also had many visits from friends and family! The monkeys met their cousin Shreya from Michigan and their cousin Nikhil from SF for the first time. Can't wait to meet up again!

All in all, it was the best summer ever! But it always is.... It made me feel so blessed to have such happiness and love in my life, thanks to my dear monkeys, Chetan and family and friends. Yes, I would now like some wine with that cheese :)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sad...

This used to be a sad blog, now it may be the saddest blog ever! I can't believe I haven't written any posts since June! My one reader has probably given up on it too!
This was supposed to be a journal-type for me, so let me try to revive it, for me. I can't see me going back and reading it it any time soon, but maybe one day?
Okay, today starts a new life for this blog!