Yep, I've done it. I've become that guy. I bought my 3 year old and 4 year old wet-suits. What finally made me break down was the other day we were in the pool at the apartment, and the heater must have been broken cause the water was cold (1st world problem). The issue was the girls only lasted about 10 minutes before they were shivering too much to stay in the water. I felt fine (go figure), but I realized that I have two girls without an ounce of body fat, and I wanted them to have fun in the water.
We went to Scheels, and found a kids wet-suit for $75. I didn't buy it, cause I'm that guy, but I'm not really that guy. The benefit to that was Mirinda was able to try it on so we could check sizes. Priya wasn't interested in trying one on, but she will be. She will be.
There's a huge fish tank at Scheels, so Priya started kissing the glass to give the fish a kiss, and Mirinda was terrified that a fish was looking at her.
I've decided it's time for some music education for my daughters, cause I need to fortify and warn them against things like Frozen (let it go). The other day I showed them the video for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", and though the horror of that video will forever be burned into my mind, it's still a great song and the girls loved it. Mirinda loves to sing it with me. Priya's initial reaction to music is to tell me no. I think it's mostly because she's learned that word and likes the power that it has.
Last night we moved on to Rainbow Connection. We watched it on YouTube, so it became Mirinda cuddling with Mom and singing the song, and Priya doing an interpretive dance. Kermit would be proud. We then moved on to some BNL (Lookin Up and One Week), and they both danced to that. Once they saw how good music could be, I felt they were ready. I had them watch Weird Al's "Tacky", and it was a proud father moment when Priya started to imitate the people on the screen. It was a proud moment until the woman on screen grabbed her chest and Priya did the same thing. I may have to screen those a little more closely, but seriously it was Weird Al.
I'm a huge Weird Al fan, though. I have been since the 80's, and it will never go away. If you ever get the chance to see him in concert, it's well worth it. He puts on an amazing show.
This weekend will be Priya's first time camping. Actually it's pronounced glamping (glamorous camping). It's at Conestoga Ranch in Bear Lake. If you've never been there, it's extremely cool. They have covered wagons and tents, but inside the covered wagon is a king size bed and 2 bunk beds, and inside the tent is a king size bed and two twin beds. The covered wagon is novel, but a pain to walk around in (again, 1st world problem), and the tent is huge. There is a place to rent bikes, they have pavilions, and plenty of stuff to do. There are bathroom and showers, and they're all individual ones. There is a huge tent that has a bathroom attached. It sleeps like 16 people, but it's like $450 a night. It's a cool place for a family reunion, cause each family can rent a covered wagon, and they'll circle the wagons for you. They've got an open air restaurant that is actually really fantastic. We've started doing it for Amy's birthday each year, and it's a lot of fun. So Priya's first attempt at camping is going to be in a king size bed. I figure she had a tough enough start to life, I won't make her rough it.
For my recommendation this week, I'm not going to do a food one, though if you haven't gone to get an I Love Lucy at Fizz what's wrong with you? Instead, my recommendation is a website. It's ThinkGeek.com. If you're into geeky stuff at all, this is the place for you. There's a lot of unique stuff from a ton of different geek genres. They've got it all covered from Harry Potter to Star Wars to Doctor Who and on and on. There clearance section is always worth taking a look at. I got a Death Star and Millennium Falcon kite from there and I love them. It's a really great website if you're looking for a white elephant gift at Christmas time, because of the unique stuff you can get. I definitely recommend taking a look at it.
I'll give everyone an update on how things went camping when we get back. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
The guilt never really ends
Last week I went to young men's camp in the thriving metropolis of Orderville, Utah. It was actually a really great time, and it's a really pretty area. There's a German bakery there that wasn't bad, though admittedly I don't know a lot about German bakers. I hate German chocolate cake, but that's about it. Had the opportunity to drive through Zions Canyon which I haven't done in a long time, and went to see Solo in Hurricane (we weren't in a hurricane watching Solo, we watched Solo in Hurricane). Also found a Fizz in Hurricane, so I count that as a good day. Update: Jim Bob and I were in charge of the shuttle, so the boys and leaders hiked, and we had 8 hours to kill until they were done with the hike, so went to see Solo. It was ok.
The issue is how upset it made my daughters that I was leaving. Literally I was gone for 1 full day, but it felt like I was getting on the last plane out of Vietnam the way my girls were acting. And I fully understand. I love that they love to be around me, but I don't think I was prepared for the level of guilt that I would feel as a parent when you have to leave your kids for a period of time. Priya burst into tears at the mere mention of me leaving, and any time I talked to her she would start crying. It's hard trying to explain to a three year old that I needed to go, but in the end I came back home. As I drove up to my apartment, I realized that they were out on the deck watching for me as I hear squeals of delight and Mirinda singing "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home" at the top of her lungs. You need to remember times like that when they're throwing an hour long tantrum, or when they're teenagers telling you how horrible you are.
I did bring them a present from my travels, however. They got rocks. Yes, I spent $10 on rocks, but they were cool rocks, and those two love rocks. I probably could have picked up some rocks in the parking lot, but I can just see them sitting in a therapists office years down the line wondering why their dad brought them parking lot rocks as a present from his trip. I felt $10 now was better than thousands of dollars down the road.
After I got home it was a Father's Day celebration which started off by a trip to the carwash. That's the best $7 I've ever spent for their entertainment. It was one of those self service places, and they were giggling the entire time watching me wash the car.
Next we ate our own weight in meat at Tucanos. Priya has really come a long way with what she will and won't eat. When we first got home we were really concerned because she wouldn't eat much, and she definitely wouldn't eat meat. Now she's realized the wonders of meat, though we always have a fruit and veggie to go with it, and she's starting to gain a little bit. I tried to get Mirinda to eat a chicken heart, but she wasn't going for it. Next time, next time.
We had a great Sunday for Father's day. Amy and the girls made me breakfast and they gave me a shirt and a present they made.
Father's day is a good and a bad day for me. I miss my dad a lot. We went to his grave and left flowers, but it does make me sad that he isn't able to spend time with Mirinda and Priya in this life, cause he would have got such a kick out of those two. They would have loved him too. I always like to tell stories to them about Grandpa Bob. He was an incredible man, and he was my best friend.
It's been really nice to have a break in doctor's appointments for Priya. We did that on purpose. Not only did we need a break, but she needed a break, and needed a chance to have fun in the summertime. She absolutely loves the splash pad a Lagoon. She'll put her face right over it, and then laugh as it sprays her in the face. Mirinda tolerates the splash pad, and is more concerned about getting on a ride. If you're at Lagoon on a Saturday, know that we'll probably be there at some point.
My recommendation for the week is Fizz. I absolutely love that place, and that's my treat every Saturday for surviving another week. There are a lot of drink places, but Fizz really is the best because they do mostly real fruit puree's in their drinks. Swig drives me insane because every freaking drink has coconut in it. Coconut doesn't go in every freaking drink. Stop putting the coconut in every freaking drink. That's another reason to like Fizz. They do have coconut in some drinks, but not every freaking drink. If you haven't tried, I definitely recommend it. Here are some of my favorites: If you're a coke or diet coke fan, get an I Love Lucy or and I Love Leia. It's rasperry, cranberry, and cream. (I love Leia adds lime). It is seriously the best tasting drink. If you're a Mountain Dew fan, I recommend Timber, Jar Jar Drinks, or Spider Monkey. All of those are actually good with Diet Mountain Dew, and it works out nicely cause it covers up the taste of Diet Mountain Dew.
Thanks for reading! As always feel free to comment or share this with anyone who might be interested!
The issue is how upset it made my daughters that I was leaving. Literally I was gone for 1 full day, but it felt like I was getting on the last plane out of Vietnam the way my girls were acting. And I fully understand. I love that they love to be around me, but I don't think I was prepared for the level of guilt that I would feel as a parent when you have to leave your kids for a period of time. Priya burst into tears at the mere mention of me leaving, and any time I talked to her she would start crying. It's hard trying to explain to a three year old that I needed to go, but in the end I came back home. As I drove up to my apartment, I realized that they were out on the deck watching for me as I hear squeals of delight and Mirinda singing "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home" at the top of her lungs. You need to remember times like that when they're throwing an hour long tantrum, or when they're teenagers telling you how horrible you are.
I did bring them a present from my travels, however. They got rocks. Yes, I spent $10 on rocks, but they were cool rocks, and those two love rocks. I probably could have picked up some rocks in the parking lot, but I can just see them sitting in a therapists office years down the line wondering why their dad brought them parking lot rocks as a present from his trip. I felt $10 now was better than thousands of dollars down the road.
After I got home it was a Father's Day celebration which started off by a trip to the carwash. That's the best $7 I've ever spent for their entertainment. It was one of those self service places, and they were giggling the entire time watching me wash the car.
Next we ate our own weight in meat at Tucanos. Priya has really come a long way with what she will and won't eat. When we first got home we were really concerned because she wouldn't eat much, and she definitely wouldn't eat meat. Now she's realized the wonders of meat, though we always have a fruit and veggie to go with it, and she's starting to gain a little bit. I tried to get Mirinda to eat a chicken heart, but she wasn't going for it. Next time, next time.
We had a great Sunday for Father's day. Amy and the girls made me breakfast and they gave me a shirt and a present they made.
Father's day is a good and a bad day for me. I miss my dad a lot. We went to his grave and left flowers, but it does make me sad that he isn't able to spend time with Mirinda and Priya in this life, cause he would have got such a kick out of those two. They would have loved him too. I always like to tell stories to them about Grandpa Bob. He was an incredible man, and he was my best friend.
It's been really nice to have a break in doctor's appointments for Priya. We did that on purpose. Not only did we need a break, but she needed a break, and needed a chance to have fun in the summertime. She absolutely loves the splash pad a Lagoon. She'll put her face right over it, and then laugh as it sprays her in the face. Mirinda tolerates the splash pad, and is more concerned about getting on a ride. If you're at Lagoon on a Saturday, know that we'll probably be there at some point.
My recommendation for the week is Fizz. I absolutely love that place, and that's my treat every Saturday for surviving another week. There are a lot of drink places, but Fizz really is the best because they do mostly real fruit puree's in their drinks. Swig drives me insane because every freaking drink has coconut in it. Coconut doesn't go in every freaking drink. Stop putting the coconut in every freaking drink. That's another reason to like Fizz. They do have coconut in some drinks, but not every freaking drink. If you haven't tried, I definitely recommend it. Here are some of my favorites: If you're a coke or diet coke fan, get an I Love Lucy or and I Love Leia. It's rasperry, cranberry, and cream. (I love Leia adds lime). It is seriously the best tasting drink. If you're a Mountain Dew fan, I recommend Timber, Jar Jar Drinks, or Spider Monkey. All of those are actually good with Diet Mountain Dew, and it works out nicely cause it covers up the taste of Diet Mountain Dew.
Thanks for reading! As always feel free to comment or share this with anyone who might be interested!
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
My Little Assassins
Thanks for all the feedback on the UTI issue for Priya. I didn't realize it was an issue for a lot of kids. Probably because it's not a fun subject to talk about. We've got her on the antibiotic now, and they're going to try the dye solution first. It sounds like a whole lot of soft science to me, but what do I know. I think comic books have ruined me for a procedure like that. I just keep thinking about the Hulk, which makes me think of Bill Bixby walking away slowly, which makes me sad.
The orphanage was very good at giving Priya the vaccinations she needed, but unfortunately only one of them actually worked, so we're in the process of slowing giving her those vaccinations again. She had two yesterday, but did pretty well with them. She went to the eye doctor, and there's nothing wrong with her eyes, so we're chalking that up as a victory. She's realized that she can make her eyes cross, and she thinks it's hilarious, but it's freaky to be talking to her and suddenly her eyes cross.
Most of our summer activities revolve around water in some way. We have a pool at the apartment we live in, and it's heated, so we love it. Neither of these girls have an ounce of body fat, so if the water is cold at all they freeze. We try to go to Lagoon-a-Beach, but it's about 30 degrees in the water until August 15, and then it's 35 degrees. We actually do love Lagoon-a-Beach, but we have to wait until July. I'm seriously considering buying wet suits for the two of them, but then I'd be the guy that bought wet suits for his 3 and 4 year old. I don't want to be that guy.
One of Mirinda and Priya's favorite things to do in the pool is to have Dad go under the water. Neither of them have figured out how to hold their breath yet, but they're happy to have Dad do it. Last night they found it was even more fun to have Dad go under water, and then to hold his head under the water, and laugh hysterically. I tried to explain the Judaeo/Christian ethic of Thou Shalt Not Kill, but that made them laugh even more. It looks like I'm going to have to start sleeping with one eye open from now on. Mirinda's toenails could gut a fish, despite our best efforts to keep them trim.
One of the things I like to do is buy cereal that I loved from my childhood and let my daughters try them. We're really into Capn Crunch with Crunch Berries (for the vitamins) and Oops All Berries right now. It's fun to see what they like and what they don't like. However, this has made me try cereal I thought was good as a child, and it's really, really not good. Honeycomb is one example. I loved that as a child, but I'd rather eat Styrofoam peanuts. I'd get more fiber from them anyway. It's way, way, way not good. I still have 3/4 of a box in the cupboard. If you want it let me know.
Another one that is so not good is Golden Grahams. It's got a really weird after taste. It tastes like mom burnt the toast, and then accidentally dropped it on the ground, but then gave it to you anyway and told you to eat it. There are others however that I've fallen in love with again. Cocoa Pebbles is an example of that. It's the best chocolate cereal on the market, even better than Cocoa Puffs, though I do love those. Amy likes to buy the no-name brand of cereal sometimes. I can't do it. I work to hard to buy no-name cereal in a bag. We'll go for name brand cereal only. I always remember that day at school when you'd get the packet of free samples, and there was always the malt-o-meal hot cereal packet in there, and you'd think it was so cool cause you'd bring home a free sample, and then you'd eat it and realize why it was free.
That actually brings me to my recommendation for the week. It's not food this week, it's a podcast. It's called Baconsale. You can listen to it on podbash.com or baconsale.com. They have a new episode every Monday, and I wait for it all week. It's 3 guys that are all from Utah. One is a movie critic, one performs at Quick Wits, and the other is the moderator. It's all about pop culture, and there are some extremely random episodes, but they have an amazing chemistry with each other. They've done an episode where they ate everything on the menu at McDonald's (they were so wrong on the Big Mac), everything on the menu at Taco Bell, they've done shows on sound tracks, etiquette, video games, movies, Dr. Who, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and a ton more. Even if none of those subjects interest you, go check it out because you'll probably find something that does. One of the reasons for going back to childhood cereals is they did a whole show on ranking sugary cereals, and it's one of my favorite episodes. Go to baconsale.com and search for cereal and it will come up. Listen to that one episode and you'll be hooked. As a bonus, I saw Jacob (the moderator) at Sweeto Burrito, and Kent at Lagoon, so they have good taste.
Thanks for the feedback and for the views. If you like what I have to say, please tell your friends about my blog. Also, it's interesting how often I get questions on adoption when we're in public and people see two extremely white people with two Indian girls. If you have any questions about adoption, or know anyone who does, feel free to send them my way. We're extremely passionate about adoption, and how wonderful a process it is, so I'm always happy to talk to anyone who is interested.
The orphanage was very good at giving Priya the vaccinations she needed, but unfortunately only one of them actually worked, so we're in the process of slowing giving her those vaccinations again. She had two yesterday, but did pretty well with them. She went to the eye doctor, and there's nothing wrong with her eyes, so we're chalking that up as a victory. She's realized that she can make her eyes cross, and she thinks it's hilarious, but it's freaky to be talking to her and suddenly her eyes cross.
Most of our summer activities revolve around water in some way. We have a pool at the apartment we live in, and it's heated, so we love it. Neither of these girls have an ounce of body fat, so if the water is cold at all they freeze. We try to go to Lagoon-a-Beach, but it's about 30 degrees in the water until August 15, and then it's 35 degrees. We actually do love Lagoon-a-Beach, but we have to wait until July. I'm seriously considering buying wet suits for the two of them, but then I'd be the guy that bought wet suits for his 3 and 4 year old. I don't want to be that guy.
One of Mirinda and Priya's favorite things to do in the pool is to have Dad go under the water. Neither of them have figured out how to hold their breath yet, but they're happy to have Dad do it. Last night they found it was even more fun to have Dad go under water, and then to hold his head under the water, and laugh hysterically. I tried to explain the Judaeo/Christian ethic of Thou Shalt Not Kill, but that made them laugh even more. It looks like I'm going to have to start sleeping with one eye open from now on. Mirinda's toenails could gut a fish, despite our best efforts to keep them trim.
One of the things I like to do is buy cereal that I loved from my childhood and let my daughters try them. We're really into Capn Crunch with Crunch Berries (for the vitamins) and Oops All Berries right now. It's fun to see what they like and what they don't like. However, this has made me try cereal I thought was good as a child, and it's really, really not good. Honeycomb is one example. I loved that as a child, but I'd rather eat Styrofoam peanuts. I'd get more fiber from them anyway. It's way, way, way not good. I still have 3/4 of a box in the cupboard. If you want it let me know.
Another one that is so not good is Golden Grahams. It's got a really weird after taste. It tastes like mom burnt the toast, and then accidentally dropped it on the ground, but then gave it to you anyway and told you to eat it. There are others however that I've fallen in love with again. Cocoa Pebbles is an example of that. It's the best chocolate cereal on the market, even better than Cocoa Puffs, though I do love those. Amy likes to buy the no-name brand of cereal sometimes. I can't do it. I work to hard to buy no-name cereal in a bag. We'll go for name brand cereal only. I always remember that day at school when you'd get the packet of free samples, and there was always the malt-o-meal hot cereal packet in there, and you'd think it was so cool cause you'd bring home a free sample, and then you'd eat it and realize why it was free.
That actually brings me to my recommendation for the week. It's not food this week, it's a podcast. It's called Baconsale. You can listen to it on podbash.com or baconsale.com. They have a new episode every Monday, and I wait for it all week. It's 3 guys that are all from Utah. One is a movie critic, one performs at Quick Wits, and the other is the moderator. It's all about pop culture, and there are some extremely random episodes, but they have an amazing chemistry with each other. They've done an episode where they ate everything on the menu at McDonald's (they were so wrong on the Big Mac), everything on the menu at Taco Bell, they've done shows on sound tracks, etiquette, video games, movies, Dr. Who, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and a ton more. Even if none of those subjects interest you, go check it out because you'll probably find something that does. One of the reasons for going back to childhood cereals is they did a whole show on ranking sugary cereals, and it's one of my favorite episodes. Go to baconsale.com and search for cereal and it will come up. Listen to that one episode and you'll be hooked. As a bonus, I saw Jacob (the moderator) at Sweeto Burrito, and Kent at Lagoon, so they have good taste.
Thanks for the feedback and for the views. If you like what I have to say, please tell your friends about my blog. Also, it's interesting how often I get questions on adoption when we're in public and people see two extremely white people with two Indian girls. If you have any questions about adoption, or know anyone who does, feel free to send them my way. We're extremely passionate about adoption, and how wonderful a process it is, so I'm always happy to talk to anyone who is interested.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Being Cursed at in Marathi
It's been a little while since I wrote anything. I'm not entirely sure I was prepared for having 2 girls, despite a lifetime of being surrounded by women. Yesterday we went to Lagoon with some close friends. We had a wonderful time. They have 3 cute little boys (and a little girl on the way). Mirinda became obsessed with their oldest boy Charlie. Normally when we go to Lagoon she wants to ride every ride with daddy, but not yesterday. Every ride had to be sitting next to Charlie. It was cute and terrifying all at the same time. Now she keeps asking for the boys to come over and go swimming. As things go, Charlie is a good kid and he's got some excellent parents, so it could be worse.
Priya, on the other hand, is cursing at me in Marathi. I'm convinced of it. Her English is really improving, and she's putting more sentences together, but sometimes she'll just start to say a lot of things that no one understands, and I think it's that she's cursing at me. If I can find a way to prove it, there will be no college for her. Unless she teaches me how to curse in Marathi as well.
Priya met with a Urologist a few days ago. She's got a condition where her urine is basically cycling through her system twice. Because of this, she'll get kidney and bladder infections quite often. They're putting her on a low dose of antibiotic to help treat any infections, and we're looking at the different options available. One is this dye that's about 65% effective, and another is surgery that's 95% effective. Her poor little body has gone through so much it's hard to want to put her through more, but it has to be fixed.
The day of the urologist was interesting, because she had like 5 doctor appointments that day. Mirinda stayed with my in-laws all day for obvious reasons, but all day long Priya kept asking where Mirinda was. They really are starting to enjoy being together, and developing a strong sister relationship. It's fantastic to watch. I'm sure they'll try to kill each other at several points in their lives, but for right now they think each other is really cool, and I'll take it.
Priya went on the tilt-a-whirl at Lagoon for the first time yesterday and absolutely loved it! It was me, Priya, Mirinda, and of course Charlie. If there was an Olympic sport for seeing how fast a tilt-a-whirl could go, I would have the gold medal. I would wear that gold medal proudly as I finished off a box of donuts. I finally had to hold on to Priya because she's so tiny and I was afraid she was going to whip out of there. Centrifugal force is a cruel mistress.
For my recommendation this week, I recommend Fat Jack's burgers. It's on 200 S. and West Temple, and it's absolutely amazing. I had the peanut butter and jelly burger (just try it). The fries were amazing. They have a Mormon burger that has funeral potatoes on it. Everything was really fantastic.
If you have any feedback, or any questions, feel free to comment. Thanks for reading!
Priya, on the other hand, is cursing at me in Marathi. I'm convinced of it. Her English is really improving, and she's putting more sentences together, but sometimes she'll just start to say a lot of things that no one understands, and I think it's that she's cursing at me. If I can find a way to prove it, there will be no college for her. Unless she teaches me how to curse in Marathi as well.
Priya met with a Urologist a few days ago. She's got a condition where her urine is basically cycling through her system twice. Because of this, she'll get kidney and bladder infections quite often. They're putting her on a low dose of antibiotic to help treat any infections, and we're looking at the different options available. One is this dye that's about 65% effective, and another is surgery that's 95% effective. Her poor little body has gone through so much it's hard to want to put her through more, but it has to be fixed.
The day of the urologist was interesting, because she had like 5 doctor appointments that day. Mirinda stayed with my in-laws all day for obvious reasons, but all day long Priya kept asking where Mirinda was. They really are starting to enjoy being together, and developing a strong sister relationship. It's fantastic to watch. I'm sure they'll try to kill each other at several points in their lives, but for right now they think each other is really cool, and I'll take it.
Priya went on the tilt-a-whirl at Lagoon for the first time yesterday and absolutely loved it! It was me, Priya, Mirinda, and of course Charlie. If there was an Olympic sport for seeing how fast a tilt-a-whirl could go, I would have the gold medal. I would wear that gold medal proudly as I finished off a box of donuts. I finally had to hold on to Priya because she's so tiny and I was afraid she was going to whip out of there. Centrifugal force is a cruel mistress.
For my recommendation this week, I recommend Fat Jack's burgers. It's on 200 S. and West Temple, and it's absolutely amazing. I had the peanut butter and jelly burger (just try it). The fries were amazing. They have a Mormon burger that has funeral potatoes on it. Everything was really fantastic.
If you have any feedback, or any questions, feel free to comment. Thanks for reading!
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