I have to admit that I did NOT take all of these photos over the course of just one day (as the astute viewer will recognize several different outfits on us throughout the pics) -- I had good intentions to capture an actual DAY, but it'll have to do with a combination of several physical days --- all adding up to what a NORMAL day for us looks like.
I get up at 6:30 (give or take).
FIRST thing that MUST be done ::
Instead of a household water heater like you may be used to, each bathroom in our house has a "geyser." Unless you turn on the switch for the geyser, you won't be getting a warm shower!!
Next up is packing lunches and getting ready for breakfast. I wake the kids up around 7:00 -- although truth be told, most mornings Mia beats me to the punch.
They eat eggs, pancakes, waffles (what a treat!), cereal, bagels, fruit, etc.
I spend a few moments writing a note to Shanti with the day of instructions (what is for dinner, whether we'll be home for lunch, etc.).
While the kids eat and watch a cartoon, I get myself ready and make sure all of the necessary bags are ready at the front door .... I've become a jewelry freak, so I make sure to give a couple of minutes to picking out the danglies for the day.
Then starts the hollerin' all through the house. Get your shoes on. Get your backpacks. Turn off the TV. Get your SHOES ON! Where are your library books? I SAID GET YOUR SHOES ON!!!!!
We grab three bottles of water ... one each for the drivers and one for the guard and head out. The drivers get the kids buckled in .. last minute "have a good day" smooches and off we go.
It's approximately a 15 minute ride to school. Sometimes only 8 minutes and sometimes closer to 20 ... but average drive time is 15 minutes. First stop is to drop the boys ... Terran grabs his backpack, turns to wish the littles a good day and off he goes. Through the turnstile, displaying our identity badges, Mia and I escort Tony to his classroom.
Then it's back in the car for a short couple of minutes drive to Mia's school. Backpacks through the x-ray machine, us through the metal detectors.
The drop-off crowd is a mix of both parents and ayahs ...
Then I'm "free as a bird." For about 3 hours, that is. Some mornings I have Seven Cities Tours, others are for photography classes. Some mornings I sit at the American Club and gorge on greasy potatoes with too much cheese and drink coffee with my girlfriends. Some mornings I head out to get market shopping done.
One of the closest and simplest places to shop is right near the school. Most times, shopping consists of pointing to the items I want, someone takes them to the counter for me and then carries them OUT to the car as well! Talk about service!
Lunchtime means it's time to pick up Mia. We recently hosted a Flat Stanley from Oklahoma and he enjoyed still getting to have french fries and ketchup for lunch even though he was ALL the way in Delhi, India!
Mid-afternoons typically consist of Mia and I heading home for a little snuggle time on the couch with a movie and "white milk" in the sippy cup. She then stays at home with Shanti while I go to pick up the boys from school.
These guys greet us right after walking on to campus.
After the mad rush of pickup time, it's the moment for negotiating playdates,getting brownies, popcorn and lemonade from the kiosk, figuring out homework, discussing the rest of the week's plans and catching up with friends. The kids' campus is so large that to make it from one end to the other --- while stopping to chat along the way of course --- can take quite awhile!
We call Kushal and he pulls up to get us ... and off we go.
Home ... shweew .... Shoes get kicked off as soon as we walk into the house. Everyone scatters ... Terran to his room to turn up the music and drown us out while "doing homework," Mia runs up to ask Tony how his day was.
We eat dinner fairly early ... and then on a GOOD day, when I'm organized ... we have baths, a little tv time and then on REALLY good days, when I'm being a good mother ... we read before the kids fall asleep.
There's no pictures out of the ordinary for the end of our day ... it looks an awful lot like it did back at home.
Hope you've enjoyed a snapshot of our days!!
