Where did May go?

I cant believe Ashu has less than three weeks of school left. May-June is such a crazy period in school what with concerts, sports day, farewells, lunches, coffees, partys,... There was nt a minute to sit down and take a note of anything. This month began with Ashu's birthday party at the Kindercity. I had completely outsourced the party this time partly due to my leg and partly because I was afraid Hd would walk out on me! So around 15 girls had fun making chocolate covered fruit sticks, knowing all about chocolate and having fun at the terrace riding trains and battery operated cars in miniature roads and taking home their fruit sticks, an apron and loads of fun memories! Ashu had a blast, so thats that.

Mid May was a 4 day long weekend and we planned at the last minute and went to Cinque Terre in Italy. Cinque Terre is 5 Villages along the rugged coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was so beautiful and so picturesque. We stayed 5 minutes away in Levanto and took the train to visit the villages. We walked only between two villages in the Via Dell'Amore. It was fantastic. We also took a boat ride one of the days to get the view of the villages form the sea. Its hard to describe the beauty of it. Half a day we just spent at the beach in Monterosso and it was pure bliss. Not to mention the Gelatto! Yum!

On May 22nd, Ashu had her Violin recital. She played a solo song called "Saraswati" which was in her book! And three more songs along with the group. The recital was very beautiful just like last time though Ashu made a teeny mistake in the note towards the end and I was all chuffed because I could recognize it! No one can call me tone deaf now! :) Since she is changing schools this year, we dont know whether she will continuing her classes with the same teacher. I hope she does but that would mean classes during weekends and I dont know if we are ready for it. Sigh! Decisions, decisions!

It is Cousin S's birthday today and I threw a dinner party for her and a few of her friends last evening. It feels so good to feed the young! :) My cake turned out fantastic much to my surprise. I made butter cream frosting for the first time and it came out yummy! And Rainbow cake on Ashu's request. Antu who never eats cake unless and until its plain licked the frosting clean this time. Happy Birthday, S! :)

And some friends are coming over in a while to watch the IPL finals together. Go CSK! :)

A Big Fat Indian Wedding.

Our India trip in April was such a hit! To begin with, this was the first time we were going to India for two weeks. Usually its at least 4 weeks! But I found out that one can accomplish a lot in 2 weeks in spite of a broken knee! :) Restaurant hopping like crazy - check. Shopping like crazy - check. Attend at least two weddings - check. The only thing I missed this trip was going to Kumbakonam where my parents live. But since they were to be in Madras the whole time, I thought it would nt matter. But what do you think happened? My parents along with my sister and Bil took both Ashu and Antu and went to Kmu for three whole days leaving me all alone with my ILs. All because Ashu said that an India trip is not complete if she does nt get to see her Thatha-Paati's house and her Kmu friends! Some people have it all, I tell you! Hd joined us only the second week and even then he had to work from there. 

My cousin R's wedding was on 12th and we were leaving on 13th, so the last 3 days were quite a blur. It was a beautiful wedding. And for the first time, Sis and I experienced the royal treatment one gets when ones part of the Groom's party! R and P made a cute couple and I really had to choke back tears when I was tying the third knot in the Thaali. I totally get now why certain women get crazily possessive when their sons/brothers get married! R's whole life flashed in front of my eyes in a second. How I baby sat him for an entire summer when he was teeny weeny baby, stealing his cerelac and eating it, how on the day of his ayush homam my ears were pierced, helping him with home work when he was a little boy, playing badminton, chess, carom and cards with him, how I named his first dog which was a gift from my dad, watching Baasha with him in Devi theatre, what fun we had in his poonal and what a brave boy he was when his head was shaved, how he spent lots of his holidays with us doing nothing remotely interesting except playing cards, how I confessed to him all my supposedly "boy friend problems" even though he was a lot younger than me, his "machinan" role in my wedding and his "maama" role in Ashu's birthday, ... and now here he was, my little baby brother, all grown up and married to a beautiful woman! Whoa! How time flies! Congrats again, Bro!

Ashu and Antu loved all the attention and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding. For Antu - it was like dream come true what with change of costume 5 times a day! My mom got the girls beautiful accessories, stitched paavadais from her old silk sarees, plaited their hair with sowri, (long fake hair) decorated with hair ornaments,... the works! Tough competition for the bride, I should say! :) Sis and I decided to dress up to the nines as well and were all matching-matching competing with Ashu and Antu! And the food! Oh God! The food! As if the wedding feast was nt enough, the day before the wedding we went to The Great Kabab Factory for dinner and loved it! Lovely experience! The flight to and fro was nt as bad as I thought it would be what with my knee! The wheel chair assistance was awesome. Ashu was thrilled to ride the golf carts inside the airports, her long time dream!

Its back to the grind now after all the fun. But there are always the photos to remind us of the fun times. :)