Leena's Journal

Gifted, but not gifted enough...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:37:56 GMT

Alisha went for her IQ testing today. The psychologist administered the WISC-IV and Alisha did really well, much more in line with where we thought she was. Her strength was in her processing speed (98th percentile) and her weakness was in memory (47th percentile, so basically in the “average person” range since 50 is average) There’s no doubt her scores are considered "gifted" in the clinical setting; unfortunately it’s still not high enough for the school district. Her Full Scale IQ needs to be in the 98th percentile to qualify and she was only in the 96th percentile. It came down to 4 lousy points. *sigh*

Seriously, why is the “system” so against the genuinely smart kids?? It is so frustrating, especially when you discover that they DO make exceptions: Although you need a 130 to qualify for gifted, you can also qualify with a 115 (which to me, makes it a not-quite gifted class), as long as you meet “part b” criteria: 1- Limited English Proficiency (can’t speak English) or 2 - you qualify for free or reduced lunch (you gotta be poor). If Alisha was a part B kid, she could have qualified with that 117 on the RIAS. I was really irritated when I discovered these exceptions to the rule. Although it’s no longer technically a “gifted” program in my mind, at least it would have provided Alisha with a free, somewhat challenging education. After seeing the low standards of the public school system through the eyes of a parent, I am really disappointed. It is really and truly a biased system. With all this in mind, it is highly likely that Alisha will be saying adios to public school and returning to Noonan Academy in the near future. Too bad we can’t take our tax dollars with us!

Jacob has moved & Alisha wants contacts?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:46:51 GMT

Didn’t I say it wouldn’t be long before Alisha started talking about contact lenses? Well, guess what she brought up the other day, after just 7 months of wearing glasses! I told her we could talk about contacts when she was 16. That’s how old I was when I got mine. That’s fair, right??

In JTK news, he has officially moved into his own bedroom, yay! We had to do some rearranging, so now the treadmill is in our room and the crib is in the guest bedroom next door. I wonder if he’ll even notice he’s in a different room. I thought 16 months was a good age for him to be moved, although I would have been AOK with it happening sooner, like at 12 months. With Alisha we waited until she was 18 months, but we really didn’t have a choice back then. We lived in a 2 bedroom apartment and our guest bedroom did not have enough space for both a crib and a queen-size bed. As for decorating Jacob’s new room, it is the last thing on my never-ending "to-do" list! Speaking of my baby boy, he just started turning on and off the light switch. Fortunately he needs out help to get to the light switch, but once he's tall enough to reach it, I can see his new skill being really annoying!

"Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat..."

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:36:15 GMT

It was ideal: Halloween on a Saturday plus an extra hour of sleep! I think they should change the date of Halloween from Oct 31st to the Saturday before we “fall back”, don’cha think?

This year, Alisha was a ballerina. She wore the leotard and tutu costume from her first ballet recital (in December 2008). Jacob was a football fan. Fortunately his “costume” only required a football jersey onesie and he was good to go. Yeah, the Kurians are low-maintenance like that. Some people really get into the “Halloween spirit” but not us. For the first time, Alisha was really gung-ho about getting candy. I remember in previous years all she wanted was to give out candy; this year her goal was to fill her pumpkin container to the brim and then fill Jacob’s too! She managed to achieve half her goal, but it was good enough. I mean, she’s only allowed to eat one piece of candy a day and she might ask to eat one 5 times a week. Plus, I ration out those Skittle/M&M packets so 4 or 5 will equal one treat (instead of the whole bag). Needless to say, I finally threw out last year’s Halloween candy to make room for our new candy stash. So, back to the treating - we went out from 7 until 9. Towards the end of the night people were giving out handfuls of candy. Alisha’s total (which includes Jacob’s candy) came out to 236 candy items, including some full-sized candy bars (yeah, I know, lucky gal!).

public school thoughts

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:21:43 GMT

Alisha was tested for the gifted program this week. In order to qualify for gifted, you need an IQ of 130 or above. Alisha’s was “only” a 117, which is a high-average IQ, but not high enough to qualify for the program. I have to admit, I’m surprised that her score wasn’t higher. The RIAS, which is administered through the school district, is considered more of an IQ screener than a full-fledged IQ test like the WISC-IV or Stanford-Binet. With that in mind, we are probably going to request a full IQ test through a private psychologist. If that doesn’t work out, we will most likely send her back to her private school at Noonan Academy.

Why send her back to her old school? There is a world of difference between public and private school curricula. The curriculum at Noonan is at least 1-2 grade levels above public school. It’s the reason why Alisha has complained, since the beginning of the year, that she’s in first grade “all over again”. In her current school, Reading, Math and Language Arts are the only subjects that receive A-B-C-D-F letter grade on her report card. Science (optional in 2nd grade), Social Studies (optional in 2nd grade), P.E., Music and Art get an S or U. Bottom line is that in the public school system it’s all about demonstrating Adequate Yearly Progress which is based on scores from standardized testing, such as the Stanford 10 or FCAT. Private schools don’t have to demonstrate AYP so they can design a curriculum that’s not all about “teaching to the test”.

So, why did we send Alisha to public school in the first place? It was Sanjay’s suggestion :) He went through the Florida public school system and had no complaints. What he’s come to realize is that going through public school on the gifted track gave him a totally different (and much better) educational experience.

Aside from the educational aspect, Alisha really enjoys public school. She goes to the gifted class for reading (she’s currently at a mid-5th grade reading level) and it’s the only time she learns anything new. I’ve told her that learning is the most important reason for going to school so she knows that returning to private school is a definite possibility.

Jacob is "counting"

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:38:01 GMT

I taught Jacob how to count from 1 to 5. Okay, so he doesn’t actually SAY the numbers but he does hold out his hand and wiggle his fingers, like he's counting along with me. What comes out of his mouth is more like, "zih, zih, zih," I’m not in any rush for him to start talking; I actually think his babbling is really cute. I wish he would stand still long enough for me to do some video-recording of his babbling because I know his grandparents can’t get enough of listening to their grandson "talk".

no, not bed-time!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:35:13 GMT

Jacob may not have any spoken words but he is finally starting to understand us. When we say, "Bedtime," he will cry, grab his blanket and walk to the stairs.

weekend in PSL

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:13:58 GMT

This weekend we went to Port St. Lucie to celebrate (Sam & Sonya’s daughter) Jasmine’s first birthday party. It was a good weekend to be out and about. The weather was perfect for outdoor water play, not a cloud in sight! Alisha was concerned that only babies would be at the party. Fortunately she had nothing to worry about; Alisha made friends with another 7 year old girl and they had lots of fun together. Jacob, the social butterfly, ran around, ate plenty, and slept well. What more could you ask from a 15 month old?

What a day...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:04:00 GMT

I was totally thrown for a loop today. Sometimes we take our life and our blessings for granted. We just have to keep the faith and remember that God is in control.

Jacob's social life...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:21:45 GMT

I’ve registered Jacob for a couple of programs to get him used to socializing with kids his own age. We go to Music Together class on Thursdays, and Playtime Pals (aka Mommy & Me) on Fridays. The classes are held at the Learning Tree, a preschool located in the local Jewish Temple. The best part is the location, just 5 minutes from my house!

The Music Together class has a lot of singing and dancing. I figured it would be perfect for Jacob, who loves shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately, he hasn't enjoyed it as much as i thought he would (or maybe he's just not showing it). I think it’ll just take time; he needs to get used to transitioning from one activity to another (and he hates to put his instruments away).

Alisha had no school today so she went with me and Jacob to his playtime class. Boy, did she love it! I’m pretty sure she was just happy to be included in snack-time, during which they had graham crackers.

Jacob really enjoys his playtime class!

It’s nice to have a space where Jacob is free to explore pretty much everything.

So far his favorite activities are going down the slide and "cooking" in the play kitchen. It makes me hopeful that (soon) one day I can enroll him in the Learning Tree. The school offers a program for children beginning at 18 months. It's only 2 days a week for 3 hours a day but something is better than nothing, and I could really use a break from him!

I really wish Gymboree Play & Music hadn’t closed last year. I remember how much Alisha enjoyed it when she was around 2 and I’m positive I would have gotten my money’s worth with Jacob. Now the closest location is in Naples, and it’s not worth traveling a half-hour out of my way just for that.

Shopping is more fun with a friend!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:29:14 GMT

This weekend Veg came to visit us for the first time since she moved to Florida (which was last year). It was nice to have a girls’ weekend out! We got our nails done and went to the outlet mall where Veg bought 2 Coach bags. They had their usual sale (50% off clearance) which is pretty good, but nothing tempted me enough to shell out the $. I’ve been on the lookout for a new bag, but I haven’t found one yet. The bags are either too small, too big, not my style or the wrong color. And let’s not forget, it’s gotta be in my price range! No rush, the outlet’s only 10 minutes away so I can go there anytime :) Maybe I’ll luck out during one of the after Thankgiving/after Christmas holiday sales??

Jamilla's visit; my thoughts on Disney

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:31:10 GMT

Jamilla & her family came over last night. They flew into Fort Myers and got to our house by 9pm. It was great to see them but I felt bad that Alisha couldn’t stay up late to play with the kids since she had to go to school this morning. If only Florida schools started after Labor Day! I just don’t get the reason for the August start date, but whatever it is, I don’t like it!

The Three Stooges: Arya, Alisha & Noah

By the time I woke up this morning, they had already left. Sanjay woke up early (around 5am) to see them off. When they said they wanted to get an early start on their drive to Orlando they weren’t kidding! I can’t imagine how the crowds will be, considering it’s Labor Day weekend.

Even though I’ve lived in Florida for 10 years now, I’ve only been to the Orlando tourist attractions a handful of times. Disney: 2x; Sea World: 1x and Universal/Islands of Adventure: 1x. The theme parks are SO expensive; I think a one-day Disney ticket costs more than 70 bucks per person. Sea World is the least expensive, but it’s by no means cheap. I’m just glad that the parks offer Florida resident discounts. Alisha has been talking about going to Disney, even though she just went there with her grandparents in June 2008. They just drove from Tampa (which is 1 1/2 hours away) for the day. In my opinion, the best way to visit Disney with a family is to stay at an on-site hotel. This way you can get an early start on your day and go back to your hotel room to eat lunch, relax and take a nap. Then, after you’ve showed/napped/rested, you return to the park around 5 and stay there until closing, which could be anywhere from midnight to 3am if you’re a resort guest. I wouldn't mind going back to Disney, but I don't see it happening until Jacob gets a little older. He's the kind of kid who would get lost in Disney without a leash!

Hooray for homework!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:25:43 GMT

On day 6 of school Alisha (finally) got her first homework packet. And it was pretty lame. Like, alphabetize 3 words and they all start with different letters...gimme a break! Last year Alisha was alphabetizing 10 words with half of them starting with the same first 3 letters!

Here are the spelling words for the general education 2nd grade class: has, way, bad, six, will, sat, had, fix, him, if, can, hit, blue, even, study, because.

Here are the spelling words for the gifted 2nd grade class: safe, smoke, escape, flames, tell, wildfire, forest, heat, firefighter, brave, danger, prevent, neighborhood.

What a difference, right?

Because Alisha is such a strong reader, she will be going to the gifted class every day for reading and language arts. Right now she’s reading at a mid-5th grade level. It’s kind of amazing how quickly her reading skills developed. I mean, she wasn’t an early reader; she started reading in Kindergarten, just like her classmates. But somewhere between Kindergarten and first grade, her skills took off! In first grade, she had already read the entire Ramona Quimby series (which I did not read until 3rd grade). Being a strong reader doesn’t mean she is a "shoe-in" for the full-time gifted program, but having good verbal skills certainly helps!

Week 1 of public school 2nd grade

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:26:23 GMT

Week # 1 of public school has come and gone with no homework in sight. However, we DID get a fundraising packet. Good to know they have their priorities straight :\ *sigh*

Alisha’s adjusting pretty well to her new environment. It’s certainly a change but I think it’s opened her eyes to what school is really like, at least here in Fort Myers. She went from a private K-8 school with <150 students to a K-5 school with 800-900 students. So far she likes the unimportant stuff, like “Fun Fridays” (aka free afternoons with movies/popcorn/no schoolwork), no uniforms, no strict nutrition policy (at Noonan they do not permit junk food), and a variety of “junkier” lunches, like corn dogs, grilled cheese, etc (compared to Noonan’s chicken and wild rice, or shepherd’s pie).

Anyway, I’ve already been in contact with the school guidance counselor to request that Alisha be tested for gifted. The main reason I chose this school is because it has a full -time gifted program for 2nd-5th grade students. We figured if we could get Alisha into a challenging public school program then why not go for it? It wouldn’t cost us anything (more than the $$ we pay in property taxes). Now, if Alisha doesn’t qualify…well, most likely she will return to Noonan.

AMK, a second grader with two less teeth!

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:52:16 GMT

My baby girl is now in 2nd grade. And in public school. I miss uniforms already (but we'll see how this works).

The Kurian family drove Alisha to school for her first day of second grade. Of course, I took pictures...to the point where Alisha was like, "You can go now!!!" (but I know she will appreciate my efforts...one day). Tomorrow she will ride on a bus to school for the first time EVER!

This weekend, Alisha lost both of her upper lateral incisors! Kinda crazy but that’s just how it worked out. And since Alisha said the tooth fairy pays double on weekends (have to thank Sanjay for that one), I had to cough up 2 bucks per tooth!!!

One tooth came out after it started bleeding from the way she bit into a cookie.
Here is Alisha minus tooth # 7.

The other one was just annoying her (and she didn't even cry).

Good thing Sanjay’s in charge of tooth extraction because I can’t bear to watch it, although I do take video when I can (for blackmail purposes) ;)

8 teeth down...12 more to go!

Here's an easy-to-read printable check-list if you're wondering what in what order teeth grow/fall out. Jacob's teeth are coming in at the rate that Alisha is losing them. So, she's lost 8 teeth and he's waiting for his 8th tooth (lower lateral incisor) to come in.

2nd grade Open House

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:33:02 GMT

Today we went to Open House at Alisha’s new elementary school. We went to her 2nd grade classroom where we met her teacher (a man, for the first time) and helped her get familiar with her new surroundings. Alisha is going from a private school with 150 students to a public school with 900 students, so you can imagine that it is quite a change for her. Alisha is very excited about going to a new school but she’s even more nervous about riding on a school bus (in the mornings only). The bus is scheduled to arrive at 8:20. Estimated arrival at school is at 8:45. We figured spending 25 minutes on the bus wouldn’t be too bad. It's hard to believe her first day of school is in 2 days!

JTK's first haircut by mom

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:26:11 GMT

So, I did something a little daring...I cut Jacob’s hair, all by myself! I went to Sally’s beauty supply, bought a ConairPro clipper set ($18) and buzzed Jacob’s entire head with a #4 attachment comb (which was the longest one I had). Jacob’s hair looks REALLY SHORT now. I think I should have gone with a #5 attachment but since it wasn’t included with my set I will probably have to exchange it for another one.

Yes, I know it looks sorta military.

Our weekend in NY for Dad's 60th

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:26:29 GMT

We are BACK from our weekend in New York! Didn’t know we were going? That’s kind of the point. We flew up to celebrate my dad’s 60th birthday with a SURPRISE party at the Cotillion.

Was he surprised?

Well, he knew he was having a party on Saturday, he just thought it was going to be Saturday evening. Hey, I’ll take what I can get. Jim & Tami flew up on Wednesday night and we flew up on Friday night. Sanjay’s parents even flew up from Tampa, on Saturday morning, just for the party! Everything went well but I am glad it’s over. I am done with "surprise" parties! Fortunately we have 2 years to prepare for my mom’s big day, but thankfully she wants to go on a cruise, easy enough!

As part of this surprise, we had to rent a car from JFK and stay at a hotel on Friday night. We stayed at the Melville Marriott which was barely a Marriott by my standards. The WORST part was that the hotel was laid out in such a way that if you had a room at the end of the hallway (which we did, our dumb luck) you had to walk like, a half-mile to get there. I would even opt for a hotel with exterior corridors over that, at least you can get in and out of your room in one shot.

Guess what Jacob mastered while we were in New York? He learned how to crawl down the staircase. So now he’s sporting his newly acquired skills on our stairs at home!

I can’t believe it’s August already!!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:08:40 GMT

Alisha starts 2nd grade in 3 weeks at Orangewood Elementary. Yes, we decided to give public school a try. Alisha is really nervous and excited about starting a new school, making new friends and no more uniforms! Nothing is set in stone, so we’ll see how it goes.

Jacob update – The kid is so active!!! He’s also babbling up a storm, something he started doing during our trip to New York. He’s also clapping his hands more than ever. He’s quite the energetic toddler. He keeps going and going until he conks out, whether he’s in his high chair or on the floor. The good thing about Jacob is, like his big sister, he is very independent. He doesn’t need me around for entertainment; Jacob actively seeks out things to do (even if it gets him into trouble). His favorite hobbies are crumpling paper, pulling on the toilet paper roll until there’s nothing left and shredding paper!!! I know boys are supposed to mellow out when they get older but those days seem light years away...

I need more space!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:06:44 GMT

So, I’m realizing that the pictures and videos from my new camera are taking up a LOT more space than they used to. I have a 62 second HD clip that is 84MB! Yikes! For the past 5 years or so I’ve been backing up my hard drive on a monthly basis. However, at the rate I’m going, my laptop’s 250GB hard drive is going to run out of space sooner rather than later. With that in mind, I bought a 1TB Western Digital external hard drive from Target. At 99 bucks, plus a 10 dollar gift card, I thought it was a decent deal. Should I continue saving my pictures/videos to my laptop’s hard drive or save to an external hard drive or move my old media to an external hard drive??? What to do...

@ the Florida Mall

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:55:53 GMT

Earlier this week we went to Orlando and stayed at the Florida Mall Hotel, a very average-ish hotel connected to the Florida Mall. The Kurian family could have stayed somewhere better (since we were tagging along with Sanjay for work) but the hotels in Orlando are not really walking distance to any attractions. In other words, I would have been bored staying anywhere else (outside of Disney).

While we were in Orlando I remembered why I never wanted to live there – the traffic!!

Highlight of the otherwise pretty uneventful Orlando trip – we had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Maggianos. It was my first time dining there and the food was really good!

Canon EOS Rebel T1i

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:43:43 GMT

Guess who's the proud owner of a digital SLR!?? I should have done it before our road trip (due to the malfunctioning flash on my Canon SX10) but better late than never, right?? I went to Costco and replaced my Canon SX10 with the Canon EOS Rebel T1i.

Yes, it is a more expensive replacement but I know it will pay off with fantastic picture quality! So far I love my new camera, even though I don’t really know how to use it. However, I look forward to the learning process :)

Kurian Road Trip, Part 2

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:41:49 GMT

We are BACK!!! All in all, it was some road trip. Was it worth all that driving for the convenience of having our own car?? I don’t really think so. But, at least we enjoyed some mini-vacations to break up all the driving.

So, where did I leave off...

Monday, July 6th: We drove to Nanuet and spent the night at Jamilla’s house. Kids had a great time. While Jamilla and I hung out (with Jacob), the dads took the remaining kids to watch a movie, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

June babies - Alisha & Arya - 7 years old!

Tuesday: Next destination – Boston, Mass. On the way we stopped by to visit Jenna & Hannah (who is almost 15 months old).

It was my first time being in their neck of the woods, since we usually meet up in New York. We had lunch at a Thai place and visited the West Hartford library (which has a FANTASTIC childrens’ section btw; you can even check out toys!!). From there it took 2 hours to get to Boston; it should have taken less time but there was traffic. It’s easy to forget about rush hour when you’re in vacation mode!

Tuesday night & Wednesday night: We stayed at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Boston. I don’t think I would have stayed there if we didn’t have our own set of wheels; access to mass transit was not close by (nor in the best of neighborhoods either, I don’t think). Space-wise, the hotel was great! Once again Sanjay’s points came in handy; he had enough Hilton Hhonors points for one free night so we only had to pay for the 2nd night. Hotel room was spacious enough for us not to have to share our bed with either Alisha or Jacob. Alisha and Jacob stayed in their own room; Alisha slept on the pull-out couch and Jacob slept in his Pack ‘n’ Play. It was really the ideal traveling scenario!

Here’s a summary of the sights we saw in Boston: Boston University, Boston Common, Fanueil Hall, Harvard Square.

Here's Alisha at the Boston Common Frog Pond.

The weather was actually pretty decent, so it was nice to walk around and enjoy the better-than-Florida-in-the-summer weather. Alisha's favorite things were the swan ride, the frog pond and (of course) the playground. On Wednesday night we got together with some of Sanjay’s friends from “back in the day” at Fire & Ice, a Mongolian BBQ-style restaurant. All you can eat dinner for $17 in Boston, not bad at all!

Thursday: We drove back to Commack, NY. It was quite a drive and we were stuck in some traffic along the way. Fortunately we weren’t in a hurry to get back, so we didn’t have to stress out about it.

Friday: Aside from packing for our return trip, our day was pretty open, which was nice. My parents went to the church retreat so we said our goodbyes when they left in the afternoon. We then met up with Sandy’s family for dinner at an Indian/Thai/Chinese restaurant. Guess what we all got – Thai! Food was good although the boys (Ethan and Jacob) were a little on the high maintenance side. I suppose we are getting to that age where it’s going to be difficult to go out with a toddler. I don’t remember Alisha ever being like that. Then again, Alisha was like the perfect baby. Or maybe she wasn’t and I’ve just blocked out all the not-so-perfect memories?

Saturday: We drove to Staten Island for Sanjay’s annual family reunion. If you remember, we flew up last November for the first reunion. Fortunately the “committee” agreed that summer would be a better time for family members to get together. So, what goes on during a family reunion?? Well, there was a lot of picture-taking, speeches, and various discussions about the future. When it came to voting for the 2010 reunion, it was pretty tight between Florida and Philly but ultimately Philly won. I have no problem with that because it means the Florida chapter of the family tree (which is basically us and Sanjay’s parents) gets to put off dealing with all the headaches of planning a reunion. We might get our chance in 2011 or 2012 though, but maybe the midwest family members will want their turn before we do. Hey, I’ve never been to Chicago, might be fun!

After the reunion we drove to NJ and spent the night at Joel & Namita’s house. Alisha & Joshua were so cute together.

The bookworms :)

Joshua was especially sweet; he followed Alisha around the house and hung onto her every word. As for Jacob and Lily, we attempted the “Ultimate Bully” rematch and Jacob took the trophy. What can I say, Lily might look tough but she’s still a girl (and there’s nothing wrong with that!). Jacob may be small but the boy’s got SPEED! I don’t know how he makes every kid cry, maybe because he’s so loud and in-your-face??

Sunday: We went to church in Philly. Got there a little late but who’s complaining?? After service we went to Sanjay’s cousins’ house for lunch. We hadn’t been to their house since we got married (back in 2001) so I guess you could say we were overdue for a visit. By the time we’d all changed into our traveling clothes and stuffed ourselves with food, it was about 4 o’clock. Man, it was SLOW DRIVING down the interstate. I mean REALLY SLOW. So slow that the traffic caused a 2+ hour delay in getting to our destination. It was depressing watching the GPS add more minutes to our arrival time as we moved along at 20 mph. Ideally we wanted to get to Savannah but we barely made it into North Carolina before stopping in Rocky Mount for the night. We got rooms at the Best Western. Exterior corridor rooms but we literally needed a cheap place to lay our heads for like 7-8 hours, that was it. So, why be choosy?

1st note to self: NEVER DO INTERSTATE DRIVING IN THE NORTHEAST ON A SUNDAY! Either leave on Saturday or wait until Monday. It’s just not worth the aggravation.

To add insult to injury, Sanjay got a speeding ticket in Maryland! Everyone was speeding, but the cop waited until we passed him to pull us over. Why? Because he wanted to make sure he pulled over someone with an out-of-state license plate; it’s less likely the driver will show up in traffic court to plead his case. Cost of the ticket: $160. Add that to the gas we spent and the hotel stays and at the end of the day, flying instead of driving up north might have been the better deal. At least my in-laws saved $ because they drove back with us. If they hadn’t stayed with us, we might have left on Saturday (after the reunion) and made our return drive over 2 nights instead of one. Doing the drive to New York with just one overnight stop is just too much, especially with kids.

2nd note to self: Until all passengers are elementary school age, take 2 nights to drive up/down the Interstate between FL & NY!

Monday, July 13: Left the hotel at 7:30am, spent most of the day in the car. It was a L O N G day. Fortunately my in-laws didn’t mind me sitting in front during our travels. They sat on either side of Jacob (in the middle row) and Alisha enjoyed having (what we call) the “way back” to herself. If Jacob started crying, we’d put in a DVD, otherwise we tried to avoid it; since Jacob refused to wear the headset, we all had to listen to the audio on the DVD. I love the Cedarmont Kids, but how many times can you listen to their songs on a 20 hour drive?????

After dropping off my in-laws in Tampa, we finally arrived in Fort Myers at around 10pm. After 2 weeks of being on the road, being home felt FANTASTIC!!!! I just appreciate my home sweet home even more when I haven’t been there!

Kurian Road Trip, Part 1

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:58:37 GMT

We’ve made it to New York! It has been quite the trip so far. Let’s see how well I can summarize our journey up to this point:

Monday, June 29: We spent the night at the Marriott, Coral Springs. Hotel itself was fine but we ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant and experienced the SLOWEST SERVICE EVER. Only a few other tables were occupied but it looked like there was just one person working in the kitchen. S-L-O-W.

Tuesday: Jacob turned ONE! Sanjay had work so Alisha, Jacob & I spent the morning with my grad school friend Shara. She recently joined the parenthood bandwagon and has a 5 month old son. Jacob had fun walking all over the place and checking out all the toys (and non-toys). Alisha went into the pool and never wanted to leave! We started our drive up I-95 by 4pm and kept going until we reached St. Augustine, where we ate a late dinner at Sonny's BBQ. From there we drove until we got to the Savannah, GA exit, where we stayed at the SpringHill Suites.

Wednesday & Thursday: It felt like we spent most of the day in the car. We couldn’t wait to get to our first vacation spot – Virginia Beach! We got there in the late afternoon so we had plenty of time to start enjoying the beach.

Jacob is probably thinking, "Yay, I'm no longer stuck in that carseat!"

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites which was right on VA Beach. Hotel room was a little cozy, but then again we don’t pack light and Jacob’s Pack ‘n Play took up some space. The best part was that this hotel didn’t cost us a cent; we used Sanjay’s Marriott Rewards points to pay for the 2 night stay. Finally, those out of town trips did us some good! I think if we ever go back to VA Beach, we should stay at the SpringHill Suites, so we have extra space to spread out.

It was nice to relax and enjoy the beach with nothing to do and nowhere to go :). Alisha wanted to go for a ride on the surrey so we rented one for 2 hours. The beach has a bike path but it was hot and going uphill was no picnic.

Next time I think Alisha should do the pedaling!

Friday: Ate brunch at Pocahontas, the "Best Pancake House in Virginia Beach in 2002" by "The Food Network". It lived up to the hype; the pancakes were delicious!! We left Virginia Beach in the afternoon and started the drive to Nueva York. It was a LONG drive, but we got to Commack around 9:30pm.

Saturday (the 4th of July) & Sunday: Steve drove up from Jersey to hang out with us on Saturday. On Sunday we invited the family over for a low key lunch/BBQ to celebrate Jacob’s first birthday. My mom always insists on whipped cream as the cake topping, even though she never eats any cake. I think most people prefer butter cream topping. I actually prefer Carvel ice cream cake to all others, but for some reason Sanjay hates ice cream cake. I just don’t get it.

On the picture-taking front, the birthday party indoor shots came out quite blurry...what a bummer!

preparing for the Kurian road trip

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:19:35 GMT

Tomorrow we begin our road trip 2009. Up the east coast, from Florida to Boston! With many stops in-between, of course. We have packed A LOT OF STUFF. I thought I had kept it to a minimum but the baby gear takes up quite a lot of space. Sanjay has to be in Ft. Lauderdale for work tomorrow so our drive will begin from there on Tuesday. Guess what else Tuesday is? Jacob’s 1st birthday!! So yes, we will be celebrating his birthday on the road as we drive up I-95. Fortunately he’s too young to care :)

Jacob's 1st trip to the hair salon

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:07:04 GMT

Today I took Jacob to Bananas Salon for his first salon hair-cut. It’s not cheap but I had a coupon and figured I could splurge for his first cut. It was a big day for my baby boy and I’m happy to report that he exceeded my (and the hairstylist’s) expectations. He actually stayed in his seat and didn’t move around too much. The stylist actually said she wished all 1 year olds behaved that well!

Here's Jacob! Before...

...and After!

Way to go, Jacob!