Prepare and fly

I was to start from home on a Sunday evening, spend Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and the morning half of Thursday at work and fly out on Thursday afternoon.I had it planned in my head. I would meal prep for the 4 nights I would be away. The kids have cereal for breakfast and their lunches are at school. It was only the dinner I had to care about. My plan was pasta for one night for which I would make the sauce, paneer curry for one night and chicken for the 3rd. K could take care of the carb component by making the pasta, roti or rice. Wednesday evenings Pumpki has swimming lessons in the evening. So after the lesson the trio could have some dinner at the swimming centre.The only issue was I needed K to complete the grocery shopping so that I could proceed with meal prep. Seeing this plan, K was of the opinion that I was over reacting and over preparing. I said  wanted to ensure that the kids’ meals were taken care of. K claimed he was perfectly capable of doing it. I asked how. He said by buying stuff duh! I said that’s preposterous since I was more than willing to make the food with fresh and known ingredients. (You get the drift how this is going) This extended into a long drawn argument about how much was too much and I was being self-sacrificial while he was being flippant. Eod he did get the stuff I asked for and I did meal prep as I intended ;) :D 

 In other news, Pumpki was crying her eyes out nearly every night leading to my departure. She anticipated that she was going to miss me a lot and could not fathom being away from me. It was saddening but I also felt it was something she had to experience. Chiyaa being older was way more composed. But come Sunday afternoon, she started being a little clingy. She made some cards and origami art work for me. She didn’t cry but came to me and hugged me tight and said ‘I wish I could cry like Pumpki.’ I reassured her that there was no need to cry since she was a capable independent girl. She would be so busy over the days that she would barely notice me missing. But her words made me well up. It surely was a different and somewhat difficult time for both the kids. I gave them the example of when my sister and I were little and my mom used to work in a different city from us. We did not even have the luxury of video calls or WhatsApp in those days. But it eventually became fine. This was only going to be 4 days. It would pass in a jiffy.

Sunday evening, as the time for my departure to the airport drew closer, I allowed them to have some screen time so that they would be distracted. They were engaged on the tv and wished them goodbye and left. Their eyes looked sad but they were eventually ok as K attested :) 
I was undertaking the trip with a bunch of people I work with and also get along with. I don’t like spending time with people from work. I was wary of how this trip was going to be since I had to spend considerable time with folks from work and also spend considerable time at an office setting. I was assured that the office setting was quite cool. People who had been there from Leeds claimed that they used to go for a stroll and go around exploring whenever they felt like and there were no questions asked. I wanted to avail the opportunity but I wasn’t sure how chilled out everything would be. But we would cross the bridge when we get there. At the airport we got together near the check in counters and then it felt like any other travel. There was the usual kerfuffle  of checking passports, boarding passes and the whole nine yards. Formalities done, we now had a long wait for a flight. The flight was scheduled for 2230 UK time and to reach Romania at 0330 the next morning. It would be nerve wracking to get to work the next day. Everyone was strategising how to get through the next day. It was nice for people to just chat around with their guard down. I was particularly close to one of my team mates Michelle. We spent quite some time having heart to heart conversations about things from work and outside. 

It was a late night flight and we were zombies by the time we touched down. We went through immigration which took a while for us. For some reason they were a bit snarky towards British passport holders ;) After that we made our way to  made our way to the luggage carousel. We all got our luggages. Michelle’s was now where to be seen! There was one suitcase that was left behind as well. We guessed that someone must have picked hers up instead of their own and made their way with it. We got in touch with one of the airport authorities about it. He took us to a room where he asked us to note an email id and phone number to get in touch with lost luggages. After that he escorted us out quite unceremoniously. We had no way of getting and nothing else to do but head to the hotel. Michelle got some spare stuff from the reception desk at the hotel. 

I hit the bed with absolutely no idea what was in store tomorrow.

That makes way more sense

 My office has a big presence in Cluj-Napoca in Romania. And my manager is someone very keen on building relationships and hence one who encouraged us to travel and build a face to face rapport. I was not very keen on the travel, but then gave in thinking that it would be a good experience. K was happy with managing the kids for 4 days and said also asked me to go on the trip. It would be my first time away for 4 days from the kids. I had stayed a few nights away from them, but never 4 nights. It would need some getting used to on both sides. As soon as my tickets and accommodation were confirmed, I told the kids. I: “I am going to Romania”

Chiyaa: “What? With Sorina aunty? “ (Sorina is my friend and hails from Romania) 

I: No not with her, by myself.

Chiyaa: So nice.

There were some more questions as to when, for how long, who would put them to sleep, who would do the school runs etc etc. There were a few tears from Pumpki. I was very sad because she was sad, but then it was something that had to be done. The next evening Chiyaa mentioned , “You will be rid of us annoying kids for a few days and must be so looking forward to the trip”. K corrected her that that would be probably something he would do, not mummy. I was thankful for the reply and the girls were maybe convinced. 

That night while putting them to sleep I mentioned, 

‘If it was school holidays I could have taken you and daddy to Cluj. He could have taken you around when I went to office”

Chiyaa : “What do you mean he would have taken us around?”

I: “I would be at office so only daddy would have to take you for site seeing and all.”

Chiyaa : “Why would you be in office? And what office? “

I: “Oh didn’t I mention? I am being sent through work, so I would need to goto office every day.”

Chiyaa:”Oh so you are not going on a holiday?”

I:”Of course not, why would I go on holiday without you all? “

Chiyaa: “ Ohhhh I thought you wanted a holiday without us and would be having a fun trip by yourself.”

I : (hugging them) “How can I have a fun trip without you.”

Pumpki: “Now I feel sorry for you that you will have to goto office everyday.”

I: “Aww.”

Pumpki: “ Who asked you to goto Cluj.”

I: “My manager.”

Pumpki: “ I hate your manager.”

It was so weird and funny that missing 2 words for work made all the difference. All the anxiety of not having me around got transformed into anger for my boss real quick ;)

Much ado about nothing?

I hate going in to work. There was a team gathering that was scheduled in the first week of March. I was dreading it and had absolutely no inclination to go for it. So a week to the event I felt as if my eyes were looking a bit puffier than usual. I felt as if I was being vain or maybe it was just psychological because I had to go into work and spend a day interacting with people :) I was just concentrating on the weird look on my face. I even resorted to strange things like chamomile tea and dandelion tea to reduce the bloat! But a day before the event I could see that the eyes did appear a bit too swollen and I thought it might be better to get it checked. 

When I got in touch with a medical practitioner over the phone, she recommended that it would be a better idea to get checked in person. The next available appointment was the next day and I booked it in. In all honesty I was happy to miss the team gathering ;) The next day I went ahead with to meet the doctor. The first shout was perhaps elevated blood pressure. The measurement the doctor took then was a bit on at the higher side. But they do not decide that on one measurement. She sent me home with a BP monitoring machine and asked me keep tab for the next week. I did so, and there was no untoward measurement. But my face felt puffier for sure. I did not like how it looked at all and was a bit worried that something else was going on. I made another call and this time they directed me to the primary eye care people. Since it was pollen season, the trigger could have been something wafting in the air. I was given a high dosage of antihistamines to get it sorted. The cautionary word was things should subside within the next 2 days. 

I could feel no difference 2 days later. In fact I felt a mild swelling in my palms and feet as well. Then I remembered that a thyroid test had been recommended for me the previous month. I had a funny ache in my neck. There was nothing wrong with my tonsils. It wasn’t a muscular pain either. It was a weird full pain at the bottom of my neck. The doctor had then asked for a thyroid test, which I had totally forgotten about. I decided to get that done.

The report came back the next day and the doctor was in a tizz. The normal level for one of the hormones should be under 20 and came back with 143 for me. Because of the hormones being so out of whack, my kidney was under stress and I had very elevated cholesterol as well. She was quite scared for me and was shocked that I had no symptoms like breathless ness and the like. She diagnosed it as Hashimoto’s disease which is an auto immune condition. She put me on the stabilising hormone immediately. It would take a few months for things to settle down.The medicines started to work over the next month. I could realise the puffiness on the face reducing a lot. I felt better as well. I was super happy with a diagnosis since I was feeling weird inside but could not pin point the real issue. 

I can’t thank God enough for the diagnosis and the recovery.

My lil grown up gal

 Anyone who has more than one kid will vouch how one kid's favourite food is another ones worst. Same is the case in my household. Whatever Chiyaa likes Pumpki hates it and what Pumpki likes Chiyaa finds disgusting. Chiyaa loves roti while Pumpki likes rice. Chiyaa loves chickpeas and Pumpki finds them horrendous. Pumpki loves peas and sweetcorn and Chiyaa hates them but likes beans which Pumpki hates. I could go on but you get the drift 😂

So the other day I asked the girls what sort of chicken should I make. Chiyaa likes something dry out of it like a grilled chicken or patty. Pumpki likes it juicy in a curry of stew. One shouted grilled the other curry. But I can sometimes bring them to a compromise cos it's chicken after all. They can tolerate a form which is not their favourite as well. 

Chiyaa said, ' We had curry last time so we should have grilled this time.' 

Then Pumpki who is the more difficult eater at the moment said, ' But I want a curry'. 

Chiyaa being the sweetheart that she is said ' That's fine I can have curry '. 

I said,' I can make both, not a problem '. 

Chiyaa being the ever thoughtful sweetheart said, ' No that will be a lot of work, I can have the curry.' 

I said,'No it's not a problem for me, grilling is just keeping in the oven. I can do both.'

But I was so immensely touched by the empathy she had for me. She really is a mature sweetheart with her head in the right place. I so grateful to God for the thoughtful daughter of mine ❤️

Days of the week

 What's your favourite day of the week? I know the popular answer is Friday. Even mine was that for a very long time. But if you ask me now it's Wednesday! 

Well, the reason behind this is Pumpki. She calls Wednesday Hump Day, a term she learned from the show Teen Titans! She loves the day because it's packed choc a bloc. She has physical education, music lesson on the recorder, music lesson on trombone which are from school, then her private piano class. After this hectic day at school she has swimming. And she loves this packed-ness of the day. Cos it's the middle of the week the girls are allowed TV time which is fun fun fun! Seeing her enthusiasm for a day which is called hump day because it's so unassuming and mundane really makes me look at the day with a child like fun. It is really a fun day. Monday is too far from the next weekend. So Pumpki hates this weekday the most. The other weekday she detests is Thursday which in her words is a big fat day sitting between her fav day and Friday when the weekend starts. Tuesday is a step closer to Wednesday hence the second best week day. So her order for weekdays is Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday and Monday. The weekend days are more or less tied with Saturday winning by a teeny margin 😀 She and her logical  answers  just amaze and cheer me up.

The best half term ever

 I remember writing this ages ago! It was my very first term break with Chiyaa and tiny Pumpki. Now both are in school, Chiyaa in high school! And I just enjoyed my February half term with them. I must confess it was my best half term everrrrrrr!! 

With Chiyaa in high school, our wake up times have moved to an earlier time since she needs to be out of the door somewhere around 740. Pumpki still has an 40 more mins before her school start. So while I need to wake up around 0630 on a school day, with the school holidays I could wake up at 0800. It was full 90 minutes of extra sleep! OMG that itself is enough to close the case as the best half term ever ever ever. 

I let the girls be by themselves for the first 3 days. Since they are at an age where they have similar interests, they get along well - well most of the time. Their plan was lego for this time. So though the living room was an utter mess, there was some solid play time invested there. It was wonderful to see them creatively weave their way around the different creations of theirs. After some lunch it was time for another shared interest of theirs - video games. Pumpki doesnt quite have the dexterity to play some of the tougher games, but she does a swell job watching Chiyaa play and cheering her on. It was amazing to see them enjoy those sessions as well. I mandated some time for reading and practicing their musical instruments. Those boxes ticked, with an intermittent reminder to drink water and have some fruits - that was pretty much my job done for taking care of them 😂

3 days flew and the next 2 days I was on leave. Thursday we went to the city centre. The idea was to meet K and have a quick meal some where. But we chanced to meet a family friend as well and she joined us! More the merrier! We had some amazing pizza and then said our good byes. We went to shop for some mats for the girl's new room and a couple of plant pots as well. That done, we trekked to visit my sister who lives in city centre. The idea was to surprise her, but it ended up being a flop since she was not at home and we had to ring to find where she was and how long she might take 😝 The kids love visiting their aunty anytime and they had a good time stretching their legs. My sis had to get on with her work and we bid our second set of good byes before making our way back home 😊 It was a lovely day but the next day our plans were even bigger.

As a treat for Chiyaa's birthday I had booked in a nails pamper session with the girls. We had some manicure and pedicure done and our nails painted as well. It was the first for the girls and they hugely enjoyed it! By the time we were out, we were starving and rushed to the nearest cafe to get some food. We got some flowers and some grocery cos why not and marched home. The girls just loved showing off their newly painted nails. 

On Sunday I had to visit another town to see off a friend. She was my room mate in Hyderabad in India. She had been in the UK for the past 5 years. And if one stays in a place for 5 years, one tends to accumulate stuff. Some stuff one doesn't feel like throwing away. She had tried to get rid of most of her belongings that she couldn't carry, sell or donate locally. But some she wanted me to take for safe keeping. Either she would make a trip back and collect them God willing, or she rather I use it instead of someone else. Since she has a 16 months old baby, my kids really enjoy going to her place. It was an amazing day with her kids and helping her wrap up stuff. It was an emotional experience saying that good bye for sure because one has no idea where life will take us and where we might meet again. We have somehow managed to meet once every 5-6 years by the twists and turns of fate which is not true for so many lovely people who have come through in my life 😕 It also made me nostalgic of all the house moves we had done in the UK. Approximately 5 in 7. years before we finally settled in this house. I remembered us leaving Ipswich where we were quite unplanned and had to leave a ton of stuff with a family friend. It has been 7 years since we saw them *sigh* One day ours paths will cross again, till then we have Whatsapp 😌

Since we had this trip on Sunday, and the next day was the start of the new school session, we were more or less sorted ahead of schedule. Chiyaa and Pumpki took their time in the evening for some more uninhibited telly time before hitting the bed for the next school session on Monday. I must say it was the most amazing half term I have ever had. It was full of so much activity, so many emotions and so many experiences that it was the most whole some block of days. Touchwood, heres to many more 🙏

And then came the New Year

 On our penultimate day which was the New Year we ticked off the Secret Garden which was historically rich along with being a beautiful garden. The evening was spent riding camels in a palm oasis near Marrakech. This was a bit of an underwhelming experience because the oasis wasn't very well maintained. The trees seemed to be lacking the love and attention that the gardens in the city were getting. But the kids had a lot of fun and that was very satisfying.  That was one good New Year spent.

That evening marked packing up. Packing up lovely memories. Packing up being pampered by the facilities in the hotel. Packing up the experience of the most wide variety of breakfast every single day which ranged from European fares to traditional Moroccon ones which included the freshest cheeses, dips and breads. Packing up a really wonderful holiday at the end of year which was quite tied down and sedate. Shoukran Marrakech!