5 Ways You Can Teach Your Children About Different Cultures

I recently participated in the Periscope With Purpose Challenge put on by Blog Clarity. It was an amazing opportunity to try and Periscope and meet some amazing people. One gal I met while completing the challenge was Susan from 5 Minutes To Mom. I quickly fell in love with her blog. It's a place for moms to connect. They share about everything parenting to social media tips. If you haven't checked them out yet, this is this time! 

I'm very excited to be featured on their site today! 

I get asked how to teach children about different cultures every day. It's a shared desire among many of you, but the "how to" is hard to figure out. Today, I am sharing 5 simple ways you can teach your children about other cultures. It's a chance to include the whole family and spice up your week! If you are interested in hearing more, click here to read my article. 

Family Essentials: 6 Things We Can't Live Without

Every single night, we go through the same dilemma. We get our kids ready for bed. Which is pretty much an hour of chasing the boys, getting their pajamas on them, Levi stripping naked, getting his pajamas back on him, convincing Levi to let me brush his teeth, keeping Liam away from water so he doesn’t wet the bed, finding Levi has made a disaster in the kitchen, and finding the elusive puggy (paci, binky, or whatever you call it).

 

When we move, we’re going to find dozens of them around the house. We have purchased COUNTLESS puggies, but it doesn’t matter. They always go missing. The funny thing is that Levi always finds them when we take one away from him. I swear he stashes them around the house. However, when we need one at night, none of us can find one.

 

I was thinking about it today and realized there are a few things our family can’t go without. They all make our life a little better.  

 

1. The ergo.

 

This thing has saved us so many times. We have tried a handful of carriers over the years, but this is my favorite. All of your child’s weight is in your hips, not your shoulders. You can wear it for hours and it’s comfortable. The best part is that it’s good for children from birth until three years old; although, I think it's best from about 3 months on. It's a little too loose when they're itsy-bitsys. 

 

2. The baby.

 

This is Toothless and he is Liam’s favorite toy in the world. We can’t go anywhere without him. He’s also our third Toothless, not that Liam knows of course. We have lost him time and time again. This little guy is ten dollars at Target. They have the characters to different kid’s movies and our kids love them. I love the price too because you know we will end up needing a fourth Toothless. 

 

3. The boots.

 

Independence is vital in a house with three kids under four. I love it when my kids can do little tasks on their own. I’m still waiting on the independent seat belt buckling. That day will be glorious! For now, my favorite is the fact my older two kids can put their own shoes on. We have about six pairs of rubber boots. I don’t care what the weather is like. The answer is always easy to slip on rain boots. 

 

4. The coffee.

 

This is an obvious choice. Coffee consumption is the only way to stay sane with three boys. 

 

5. The books.

 

Our house is full books. We’re all readers. I love that this has been passed on to our children. They could sit in our living room with their piles of books for hours. It’s so great for their imagination! My youngest Liam has even started to learn how to read!! It's so much fun!

 

6. The puggy.

 

We have probably spent a few hundred dollars on these bad boys. Our first child hated them. I think he associated them with bed time and refused. However, our second kiddo is OBSESSED. In fact, I constantly find him with two in his mouth at a time. We had our third kiddo and Levi, our second, forced one on him. Now, he’s obsessed. 

 

What are the essentials in your house?? Post a picture and tag me and use the #almostindianwife. 

Enjoy Every Season Of Parenting

People are constantly asking us if we were crazy, deciding to have three boys so close together. Maybe a little, but I’m loving this decision more and more everyday.

 

Everyday I look around at a messy house, knowing it was caused by creative little minds at work.

 

Everyday I look next to me to see all three boys within arms reach, fighting over who gets to cuddle mommy more.

 

Everyday I hear them in their rooms playing, while Liam teaches his younger brothers valuable lessons.

 

Everyday they try to convince to me to extend their bedtime for a few more weeks.

 

Life with my three little boys is truly a blessing. Yet, there is a constant fear in the back of my head. Time. As much as I try to hold time still, I feel it falling through my fingers. My babies are growing so quickly. My little Lucas Love is now in three-six month clothes. I’m not a sentimental person, but I couldn’t help getting emotional. My boys will never be in newborn clothes again. They won’t ever fit in the itty bitty clothes, filled with memories.

 

I know what you’re all thinking. They will just have another one. I can’t even begin to think about having another little one right now. I was eager after the first too, knowing I wanted a big family. This time, I find myself trying to make time stand still. I can’t think of the next baby because all I can think about is keeping my three boys small forever.

 

Parents are always staring at my boys, reminiscing over their little baby days. It’s been so long for them, they find themselves begging to hold Lucas. In the back of my mind I’m thinking your children are independent! I long for the days of independence.

 

This week it hit me. Independence means my little baby boys won’t be little baby boys forever. Maybe I’m ok with my dependent little babies. Maybe I don’t want them growing as fast as I thought.

 

Every stage has been so fun so far. My husband says Levi’s age is his favorite. He’s mischievous and full of such innocence. 

 

You’ve probably heard this before, but take time to realize what a blessing this season is. This season right now. Your children are growing up before your very eyes. Instead of wishing they were just a little bigger to make things just a little easier, soak it all in. 

 

Soak in the cuddles, the kisses, the chaos, the imaginations, and all the little baby coos. Remember it doesn't last forever, but hold on tight while you're in it. 

 

What's your favorite stage of parenting so far?  

Sunny Days and Muffins

These delicious muffins are a new staple in our house. I found them on a blog forever ago. Ever since, the boys and I make them and change out the filling each time. They are just a basic muffin recipe and it’s on your shoulders to be creative and turn them into something tasty. 

 

This time we made a cinnamon sugar batch and a dried cranberry batch. They came out of the oven and my boys eyed the cranberry muffins suspiciously. They wouldn’t touch them until I told Liam they had craisins in them. Then Liam got excited which made Levi realize they were on a big brother approved list. 

As you can see, I turned my back for one minute and Levi the naughty already stole a bite. 

I love how close my boys are getting. Levi looks up to Liam so much. He wants to be just like him. I', constantly trying to convince Liam of this. Liam’s always getting frustrated with his little brother for bugging him. 

 

My husband told Liam that Levi is his tammudu, pronounced thum-or-dew. He told him that he always has to take care of his tammudu because he's little and needs a great big brother to look up to. The look of pride on Liam’s face was priceless. 

 

My husband and I are going to remind our kids, daily that they are important to each other. They will always get on each other’s nerves, but they’re always going to be brothers and they need to take care of each other. 

 

In Indian culture, it is the older brother’s responsibility to take care of their younger sibling. I love knowing all my boys will take care of each other. 

What is your favorite memory with your sibling(s)?

What Do We Do About Bullying?

As an adult, you start to take pride in what sets you apart. You want to stand out and be different, one of a kind. 

 

As a child, you want to blend in. You do everything you can to avoid being different. You want to be just like your friends. 

 

Growing up, I had one thing that set me apart from most of my friends, my freckles. As you can see, I don’t just have a few. They’re everywhere. During the summer, they multiply like bunnies and take over. I would even try staying in the shade to avoid the inevitable. 

 

Now, I love my freckles. They make me unique. I even prayed my little Indian babies would be born with beautiful freckles. I’m still praying for them to come every summer. 

 

If only our children could bypass the shame and go straight to being proud of their differences. 

 

I was talking to one of my husband’s cousins recently. She was talking to me about school and shared something with me. She told me she would never bring Indian food to school for lunch. I thought she was kidding, but the look on her face said there was a story behind this declaration. 

 

She told me she brought a curry dish to school one day. Her mom is constantly making Indian food, so it would be like you bringing leftover spaghetti. As soon as she opened the tupperware, her friends noses went straight up. They instantly started making fun of the “gross Indian smell.” They ganged up on her asking how she could like something that gross. 

 

My heart broke for her. She brought one of her favorite meals to school. She wanted to show it off and share it with her friends. Instead, she was mocked and ridiculed. Now, she has declared to never repeat the situation again. 

 

How can kids be so mean? It makes me want to hide my children away forever in a little house in the middle of nowhere. I guess I can’t really do that. Instead, I’m going to do everything I can to teach my children to be proud of who they are. 

 

If they can remember to celebrate their differences, they won’t be so caught up in covering them up from everyone. I want them to remember that God has made us all different.

Often times, society tries to tell us we’re all the same. Buy the same clothes, do your hair the same way, get it cut the same way, say the same things, but we can’t ever be exactly the same. We need to challenge our society and remind children their differences make up who they are.   

Do you have a similar story? What makes you unique? Were you always proud of it?

 

 

All Parent Should Listen To Advice

My little baby. I remember when I was pregnant with him. Every month was new and exciting while I watched my belly grow.

 

I had so many crazy thoughts about pregnancy. 

 

One day comes to mind. I was in the car with my husband and sister in law. We were talking about something, I haven't the slightest remembrance over the topic anymore, and it was getting heated. All the sudden I started yelling, telling them to be careful what they were saying in front of my unborn child. I didn't want all of this negativity in front of him!

 

Wow... Like my child could actually understand a word we said. I'm so grateful they gave me such grace and didn't just laugh in my face. Luckily I have very loving family who puts up with my crazy. 

 

As new parents, my husband and I had so many ideas about parenting. We thought being in youth and children's ministry made us pros. We planned on raising perfect children, since we had it all figured out. 

 

It didn't take us too long to realize we actually knew nothing about having a little baby. 

 

It doesn't matter how much you think you know, even after five kids. There is always something to learn about raising kids. Each child is different and children go through different seasons. 

 

If we would have remained the know it all parents, our kids would be completely screwed up by now. One thing I love about Indian families is their the village raises the child mentality. You're not ever on your own. All of your pinnis (aunts), mamas (uncles), and parents teach you what they've learned and give  you advice. They've taught us so much about raising kids. 

 

If I could give you new or seasoned parents advice, it would be to ask for and be open to advice from others. You don't have to listen to everything, but at least hear them out. 

 

Make sure you're only asking people if you actually want their advice. I try to only ask my close friends and family. 

 

You don't have to know everything there is to know about raising children. Accept help and advice from the people you love and respect. 

 

Share the best piece of parenting you've received from a love one on my facebook page, tag me @almstindianwife, or on Instagram with the #almostindianwife 

What Do Real Parents Look Like?

Things around our house have been a little crazy since baby Lucas joined us. Most days consist of coffee, breastfeeding, movies, dishes, spit up stained clothes, toys everywhere, constantly stepping on said toys, bad attitudes, sword fights, towers of laundry, nap time, and repeat. Our day isn't structured much beyond nap times. That might be because I count down until nap time sometimes... ok a lot of the time. Joel will come home from a trip and ask about our week. I always have countless stories to tell him about our silly boys, but it's usually not a lot of anything productive. Some days are more about surviving while Joel is away and other days we are adventurous and decide to go and have a play date. Most of the time, I'm completely satisfied with my days. I know this is a busy season for our growing family. We have three kids under four and life with them is chaotic. Then it happens... I go on Instagram or Facebook and see other moms. They snap a quick picture of their seemingly perfect lives and I stare at it for more time than I'd like to admit. I sit their thinking what a better mom they are than me, how perfect their house looks, how much fun it looks like their kids have, how put together the mom looks, how their husbands are always right their in the picture.. It's easy to start comparing myself to them. Why can't my life look like that?Wait. Why does it have to!? If you think about it, it's easy to take a peaceful picture of your beautiful living room, interesting book, and not let the viewer in on the fact that all of your children are screaming in the background. We are constantly showing the best glimpse possible into our lives on social media. I'm guilty of doing it too! Why do we do it? Well, I know I'm the one that does it to say, "Look at my perfect life." I want to show off how great it can be sometimes. I want to prove that I'm doing a good job. While it's not bad to be grateful for the blessings in our life, we need to be happy regardless of how perfect our day is. We need to be happy in the midst of chaos and in the peace and quiet. Life as a parent is a compilation of different seasons. You have the newborn season, the crawling and getting into everything season, the send them off to school my house is empty season, the oh my gosh when did my kids get smarter than me season, the wow my kiddo is my best friend season, the why won't my kid remember how cool I am season, and all of those can be great. I challenge all of you to share a real picture of your day on Instagram and use the hashtag #RealParents. Beautiful you in the middle of a messy house, with your dinner burning, and all. Ok. Well, hopefully your dinner won't be burning, but you know what I mean. It's so encouraging to see other parents in the midst of it all. We can be there and encourage each other on those draining days and jump up and down together on the great days. 

Why Are You Sorry I Have Three Kids?

If you're a kid person at all, you love babies. They're so cute! You can cuddle them, make silly sounds to them, and everything they do is adorable.When I had my first son, Liam, everyone was so encouraging! I'd walk into grocery stores and would be stopped down every aisle. They all wanted to look at the little boy with "all that hair!" They started gushing when I said he was my first. We got pregnant with Levi and most people were still thrilled. They said I was crazy to have them so close, but were still positive overall. My little Lucas, baby number three was a different story. Instead of being positive and encouraging, I got a much different response. "Wow. Are all these kids yours?""Three boys? I'm sorry."

I have heard these two statements so many times in the last month. At first I laughed. Now, it bugs me. Why are you sorry I have three boys? I'm not. 

 

I love my children. 

 

Is it always loud in my house? Yes. 

 

Do my boys have constant energy? Yes. 

 

Do they sword fight from the moment they wake up until the second the go to bed? Yes. 

 

Do they always need a bath? Yes. 

 

Do my kids require a no farting at the dinner table rule? Yes. 

 

Are they messy? Yes. 

 

Will they ever understand what an inside voice is? Probably not. 

 

Am I outnumbered by boys? Yes. 

 

Are they as sweet as can be? Yes. 

 

Does my oldest play with my hair to be sweet? Yes. 

 

Do my boys love each other deeply? Yes. 

 

Are they best friends? Most of the time, yes. 

 

Are my husband and I proud to raise all three of these boys to be strong men? Yes. 

 

Having three little boys is loud, messy, chaotic, exhausting, and a blast. I love it. I'm not sorry at all. 

What do you say when you get comments like this?

Speaking Telugu and a Bit of Nostalgia

My husband Joel learned Telugu as his first language. He lived in India for a few years when he was little and moved back when he was only about four. He started school and quickly learned a sad truth. Kids can be terrible. He was asked a question and answered saying, “kukka,” which means dog. The classroom immediately erupted into laughter. All of the kids started to make fun of him.

 

Poor little Joel stopped speaking Telugu. Even though he was fluent, he slowly started to lose the language. He speaks it now, but he compares his ability to that of a child’s.

 

Joel rarely gets opportunities to be around people that are fluent in Telugu. When he is, he loves speaking with them! It’s a moment of nostalgia and he feels like he’s back home. Vacations with Joel’s family is full of Telugu jokes and Joel’s hyena laugh!

 

This leads me to our first clash of cultures. 

 

I met Joel’s family, while we were dating, over Thanksgiving. I was a nervous wreck! I wanted them to like me and wanted to give a great first impression. Which of course meant I over thought EVERYTHING. 

 

Joel and his family would start speaking in Telugu mid conversation. So, of course I was convinced they were talking about me. I kept my paranoid thoughts to myself for our first few visits. Then I finally brought it up to Joel. He laughed, which by the way is the wrong response when your crazy wife if being crazy! He said that they were merely saying Telugu jokes to each other most of the time. 

 

Oh. 

 

We then decided what to do in the future when people spoke Telugu around me. Joel said he would start interpreting for me. I also said I wanted to learn Telugu. To be very honest with you, this can still be a source of contention for us. I get mad because he isn’t interpreting enough and I also haven’t spent as much time as I should learning. It’s a process. 

 

Yet again, this is why you need grace and communication. I have to be willing to talk with Joel rather than internalize which always leads to me blowing up. We also need to have grace for each other when we fall short.

 

It’s always easier to blame others instead of taking responsibility for your own actions. I can’t blame Joel for me not feeling like a part of those conversations. First of all, I’m not Indian which means Telugu is brand new for me. I can say hey I don’t know it so it’s your responsibility to make up for that or I can make the commitment to learn. 

 

I never want Joel to stop speaking in Telugu because I don’t understand. I want to take part in those conversations! I also want my kids to speak Telugu and understand which means Telugu has to be a part of our home. 

Stop Touching Me!

Before I was a mom, I’d look at moms cuddling their kids and say to myself, “I can’t wait until I can cuddle my kids all day!” It just looked like so much fun. Who wouldn’t want a little baby at home to cuddle with? 

We had our first little boy, Liam, and it was amazing! I snuggled with that kid all day long. About a month or so later he started the cutest thing ever, or so I thought. He started sleeping with his hand on my face. Adorable! He loved me so much he wanted to touch my face while he was asleep for comfort!! I loved it. He started doing it a few times a day, then every time I’d hold him while he slept. He slept in our bed at night which also meant he would cuddle my face all night. I loved it for the first month… Then I realized he now HAD to sleep like that. If I moved his hand, he’d lose it. 

Liam is now three years old and still does it! He says he’s cuddling us when he does it. We even have rules on when he can cuddle our face. It’s only when we’re going to sleep and once in a while during the day. I’m always trying to show him other ways to cuddle, but he reminds me that it’s not how HE cuddles. 

 

Levi tries to do it now as well because he sees Liam doing it. They even do it to each other! That usually ends in them hitting each other though because they fight over who can cuddle each other’s face. 

I love my children. Don’t get me wrong. I know one day I will cry to myself wishing for this time back. However, my kids are touching me all. day. long. I never thought I’d actually have times I’d beg my kids to stop touching me! 

 

If you sit on the couch at our house, all the kids swarm you. I’m usually nursing Lucas and then my other two kids want to sit on my lap or “cuddle” me. 

If you don’t have kids, relish in the times you can sit on the couch without a child touching you! If you do have kids, remember this time doesn’t last forever. If you want to get back at your face cuddling child, do what we do…

 

Joel and I will lean over and put our hands on Liam’s face. Both hands. Covering his whole face. He tries to move and we follow him saying we only want to cuddle his face. This always turns into wrestling or chasing. It’s very mature and makes you feel much better. 

First Day Home Alone

My first day home alone with the boys. Well, they all survived... The house definitely looked like a construction zone while Joel was gone, but we pieced it back together pretty well before he got back. Joel was great and let me sleep in until he had to go to work. He had some training to do and had to go in a few times over the week. My usual routine is to wake up, make an iced coffee, get the kids breakfast, and start on some housework. I figured I'd aim for the same routine. Instead it took me two hours to make my coffee... When you're running on fumes, coffee is a MUST. Why don't my children understand that fact? We are huge coffee drinkers in this house. They even know daddy will not play or wrestle until he's had his coffee in the morning and start yelling for someone to make coffee when he wakes up! Come to think of it I don't even think they had breakfast... Wow. I really don't remember if I fed them an actual meal that morning. I know they had lots of crackers and snacks at least. Well, they ate right? I'll count that as a success. They even had a bath! Although it was unintentional. Levi got into the bathroom and turned the tub water on. He ended up getting wet enough that I figured he might as well. I left while the tub was filling up to get towels and of course both older boys had already hopped in. The rest of the day was spent keeping my kids up for the plumber to come fix our sink. It's been clogged for two weeks!!! I scheduled him to come while the kids napped. I figured I'd keep them awake until he got here and then put them to sleep while he was working. Each minute I waited felt like an eternity. He got lost and ended up getting there a few hours late. Luckily it only took him five minutes to fix the clog!All in all day one was pretty productive. I made myself a coffee, gave my kids a bath, fed them, and got our sink fixed. I feel like I deserve two gold stars for my day!

How was your first day alone with your new additions? Share you stories in the comment section!

He's Here!!

I'm sure you've all noticed my little hiatus lately. I promise I have a good excuse. Let me just show you. Lucas Jude was born December 3rd at 3:20 in the morning. He is our biggest baby yet! He was 8lb and 6oz. Even though he's our biggest, he seems so teeny, tiny. After an exhausting night of labor, Joel and I slept on and off the rest of the day. It's funny how quickly your body remembers the newborn sleep schedule and somehow allows you to function off of such little sleep.We were able to go home that night. Some people love staying at the hospital after having a baby because everything is done for you and you don't have the responsibilities of the home. I'm definitely not that way. I miss my bed way too much. I go home as soon as I'm able to. Now, that I can look back on my first few days home, I'm realizing I probably should have stayed!Our second night home proved to be the start to a horrible few days. Levi, our now middle child, puked all over his bed. Joel and I immediately went in there, took Liam out to the couch, and tried to comfort Levi. He cried for an hour straight while we cleaned and tried to help him feel better. We ended up deciding Joel would be with Levi all night since I wouldn't be able to. My mom is still in town, so she took Liam. Then I had Lucas all night. We were very lucky to have all three of us that night. The next day... Joel got sick. We decided to quarantine Joel and Levi to make sure all the germs stayed in one room of the house. Levi started feeling better pretty quickly, although the first week after the flu is never fun. He wants to cuddle mommy all day. It just figures our family would get the flu NOW! We rarely ever get sick.I'm pretty proud of our little family. With everything that's been going on, everyone is adjusting to our new normal and I love it. Liam wants to take care of everyone, Levi is proud to be a big brother, and Lucas is such a happy little guy!

Early Birds, Coffee, And The Secret To Parenthood.

While most people in the little town of Bellingham are sleeping my children and I have already been awake, had coffee, enjoyed breakfast, taken showers, and mediated at least two fights between the boys. All of that by 7 am. Am I proud of this? Feel superior to other parents. Heck. No. I wish I had the secret other parents must be hiding. How in the world do you keep your kids in bed past 7!? I will pay you. I will bring you coffee. My aunt has to drag her five year old out of bed most mornings. I even have her over all the time to have her rub off on my kids. Never works. Instead my kids fall asleep first and wake up first. They wait by the door until she begrudgingly drags herself out of bed. I'm always asking moms out there what time their kids wake up. Once in a great while I will be pleased to hear a similar story to mine, but usually I leave bitter.  Then someone told me a little secret to help keep early birds in their beds. The clock. Not a clock. THE. CLOCK.This clock is brilliant, if you couldn't catch that from the name. It was also 50% off which thrilled the cheap side of me. This clock glows yellow at night and then turns green at the time of your choosing. Liam is thrilled waiting for the green light. The best part is that it keeps my kids in their bed all night. All I have to do when they creep into my room in the middle of the night is ask Liam what color it is and he stomps back to bed. Then I hear them in their beds in the morning talking while they wait for the infamous green light. I heard the chattering start at 5:30 this morning. Mommy isn't nice until at least 6 am. I'm getting them used to the light by setting it at 6:10, but as soon as they get the routine down... Mwuahahah. (evil laugh) Then I start changing the time slowly. Maybe I can actually get them to sleep in until 12. Come on a mom can dream right. Fine. I'd be happy with 7. Especially with baby number three coming. If Liam and Levi actually think they can convert this new, impressionable child to become an early bird.... They. Will. Pay. 

Rainy Days

As many of you know, we live in the Pacific Northwest. What does that mean? Beautiful summers and rainy everything else. The summers are great because the kids live outside, we can go hiking, camping, and go swimming. You really just need to go inside your house to get food, then back outside you go. The rainy season is quickly approaching. We're having a few rainy days here and there, but pretty soon it just won't stop. I'm also 30 weeks pregnant. Add both of those up and TV here we come. TV is the easy answer so I can rest of get my stuff done in the house. Instead I'm challenging myself to keep the TV off until after nap time, then they can watch a small amount. Now, I need to start getting creative for our rainy day activities. Our society is so quick to push technology on kids. Rainy day? Let them play on the iPad. My husband and I always argue over this, but I think that technology can kill a kid's imagination if your not careful. Yes, there are great educational games for kids that I think are great. In fact, we have an iPad just for our kids that is full of them. It's usually used for traveling, but they definitely see it through out the week.However, the problem with technology, like everything else, is the lack of parental involvement. As our kids get older, we tell them they can watch TV, play a video game, or text/call friends. How long do you let them do this? There are families that have the TV on for the entire day, let their kids play 12 hours straight of video games, or hold their phones in front of their face for the majority of the day. We've all been guilty of one of those at some point. What happened to our kids going outside to fight dragons?Building forts?Turning bedrooms into fantasy lands?I have so many memories with my brother playing outside until the last few seconds of the day. Running home when it started to get dark so we didn't get in trouble. Joel has the same memories. He would be playing outside with his cousins until the street lights came on and then they'd race home. Being inside felt restrictive and kids just wanted to play outside.Now, we have to fight our kids to play outside or in their rooms. This is why we're making the decision to limit the technology in our house. There will be seasons that we allow more. I'm assuming that will be the first few weeks of life with a newborn. There will be seasons with little to none. There will also be seasons where we find a happy medium. So how will we fill our time in the rainy days?1. Turning our sandbox into a sensory box, filling it with beans, toys, and moving it into their bedroom. 2. Art projects. (These are my favorite!)3. Teach my kids to build forts. (Hopefully daddy will help with this because my forts tend to be a blanket over the table.)4. Turning my boys into my baking assistants. 5. Playing in the rain. (I guess they won't melt.)6. Puzzles (These are Liam's new favorite thing to do!)7. Reading books.8. New toys. (I'm organizing the boys toys into tubs. This way I can stash some on the closet and switch out tubs periodically. This helps make their old toys novel instead of having to buy new toys all the time!)What do you and your family do on rainy days? If you don't have kids, what did you do as a kid on rainy days?

The Prodigal Son

I've mentioned how close Indian families are before. They are so close that the children even trust their parents to choose their spouse. White families can be close, but they value independence more. We turn eighteen and think we've achieved greatness. We can finally make our own decisions and don't have to listen to anyone. It becomes our life and we do things that make us happy. Joel and I were talking this week about different parenting styles. Kids make bad decisions. Some worse than others. Some make decisions so badly that it can effect every part of their lives. As parents, we try to protect our kids from this. We do whatever we can to teach them our mistakes so they don't have to make their own. What happens when they do? In an white family, the child deals with their own consequences. Some parents forgive and others close the door, but the child deals with the brunt of their consequences. In an Indian family, every family member deals with the consequences. The child's actions reflect on everyone. It shows that the parents didn't do their job, the siblings weren't there for them, the grandparents didn't guide the parents enough, etc. It's almost a sense of accountability for Indian children. It's not just their lives on the line. So which family would you rather be in?White families may be more individualistic, but are they there for each other like Indian families?I've seen so many pros and cons of White and Indian families. I love that I'm in a position where I get to say I'm part of a white and Indian family. I think their are things we can learn from both cultures. We need to challenge ourselves to love our kids and always be there for them. 

My Little Troublemaker

Oh my little Levi. He's the baby of our family for the next two months. He's sensitive, independent, loving, and the biggest handful alive. Our oldest, Liam, is extremely social. He always wants to be in the same room as you, telling you some story merely to make sure you're paying attention to him. He's also pretty easy to discipline. All you need to do is ground him from a toy, put him in timeout, or let daddy tell him no (apparently that's worse than the rest). I think we assumed Levi would be the same way. Oh, were we wrong...He couldn't be more different. He has cute curly, wispy hair. He's independent and could sit on his own and read all day long. He's impossible to discipline. He will actually go touch something he shouldn't, look at me, and then put himself in timeout or tell me to spank him. If I don't he actually yells at me. Mom, pankin!!Then of course I laugh and he wins. This adorable child wears me out everyday. I have to remind myself that he's only 20 months and is only doing it on purpose part of the time. Recently, we've been able to start having some alone time. He's about to be one of three children and I know alone time for our kids won't always be easy to facilitate. Liam goes to preschool for a few hours, twice a week. Usually, Levi and I drop him off and come home. It would be easy to focus on cleaning the house since he just wants to do his own thing. Instead, I've tried really hard to spend quality time with him the whole time. At first, he almost acted offended that I wanted to play with him. Mom, I can finally play with all of Liam's toys. Leave. Me. Alone.I think I've finally won him over. Now, he wants to play with me! One point for mom! I don't want this to end. I always want to have alone time with my kids. Will it be easier to just have them all be together all the time? Obviously. I want each of my children to know how much I love them. I want to know each of their little personalities and all about their lives. I'll always fight for my relationship with my children. How do you get in good quality time with all of your kids?

Your Inner "Greatness"

As you all know, Joel travels quite a bit for work. He had a bit of a break in travel the last week or so, but he's getting really busy the next two months. I'm due in December so he's trying to get all his travel in before so he can take some time off. It's definitely worth the next few busy months for help later. I'm still not entirely sure having three kids under four is possible...These little boys sure miss their daddy when he's gone. We decided to take a little family trip to Vancouver, Wa. We packed it full of some super fun things!Bollywood Theater was by far my favorite! It was delicious! If you're in the Vancouver, WA area you have to go and tell me what you think!!! You walk in to see a Hindi movie playing and stand in a super long line. The word is out. This place is a hit! Don't let the line scare you, their service is amazing!!They use authentic Indian utensils and dishes. If you were to go to a restaurant in India, you would see the set up in the picture above. They even have a little modern flare to some of the dishes. Everything we got was spicy. On purpose. Oh man was it amazing. Don't worry, they have white friendly, not so spicy food as well. Liam wasn't as thrilled with the heat level. I kept giving him these cucumbers in yogurt to help. Nothing was helping. He was getting upset and I made a final attempt to give him a cucumber. Joel saw what I was doing and stopped me. "Babe, you know those are really spicy right?" Umm..... Nope. I'm a "great" mom. I finally gave Liam regular yogurt and it fixed it all. After I tormented him. Come on, I know you all have them. Those moments where your inner "greatness" comes out. Share your stories!  

Can Little Boys Survive Their Adolescents Long Enough To Become Best Friends?

Brothers. I have always wanted to have boys. I have six and let's just say, things are never boring with brothers. We had our first two and expected things to be tricky from day one. Nope. They were instant best friends. Liam would always try to "help" brother. This usually meant feeding him goldfish crackers at two weeks old, covering him with blankets, wrestling with a two month old, etc. Even though Levi didn't always appreciate it, it was always in love. Joel and I assumed that meant they would always be best friends. Then reality set in. Don't get me wrong. They still have fun together. Food is usually involved when they are smiling. Maybe they are just too distracted to fight. There was a change in our house recently. Instead of having two sweet little boys... this one developed an attitude. Last week, I heard Liam and Levi fighting. I figured they could deal with it because it didn't sound like anything crazy. All of the sudden, Liam started screaming. I ran into the room to see what was wrong. "BROTHER PINCHED ME!" I picked Liam up and cuddled him for a few minutes. As the crying continued and didn't subside, I told Liam he was fine and needed to calm down. He asked me to kiss his owie. Fine. When I looked I felt like the "best" parent in the world. Levi not only assaulted his brother, he bit him! Liam had a huge bite mark. I told Levi biting is NOT OK and this is what I got.Now they are constantly fighting. Liam is constantly instigating fights with Levi and Levi is always retaliating. We can no longer let them deal with their own battles. Instead we RUN into the room as soon as they start fighting to try and stop Levi from biting. We're rarely successful and Liam is quickly learning not to mess with his little brother. Are we crazy? Now we're adding a third boy to this! Three boys three and under. What have we gotten ourselves into? I expect the next few years to be full of diapers, screaming, biting, hitting, fighting, wrestling, sports, and chaos. Hopefully they make it through their adolescents long enough to become best friends.  

Levi's Little Gap

Joel and I laid in bed a few nights ago talking about our adorably naughty kids. We talked about how big Liam is getting and how unreal it is that he will be starting preschool in a few short weeks. Then I rolled over and said...."I see dollar signs when I look at the gap between Levi's teeth, but all I can do is smile at him!" When Levi started getting his teeth, we noticed a little gap. Liam had one too until his other teeth started growing in. We didn't even think twice about it. He got a few more teeth and the gap became bigger! It is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. He works it too. He has become increasingly more naughty lately. When he gets into one of his "Don't mess with me moods," Joel will warn him. "Levi, do you need a spanking?" Levi looks around at the situation, stares at us, and gives us the biggest smile he can! It works every time! We don't stand a chance against the gap! We laugh with him every time. I told Joel that one day this gap will turn into us spending tons of money on braces, but as of right now it's priceless. Joel says we won't ever touch the gap. He says it's amazing and he won't let us change it. I look at his cute little smile everyday. I wouldn't change it for a thing. 

Half Indian Toddler Problems

A toddler's life comes with many difficulties. People don't let you do whatever you want, discipline your younger siblings, eat cookies all day, and the worst of it all... they don't always understand what you're saying so clearly. Now, try being half Indian and half White on top of it!

We've been slowly teaching Liam and Levi little Telugu words. I only know the ones Joel and his dad have taught me. I've tried to look a few up online, but I was only met with hysterical laughter after I used one of my internet taught words. They were either completely wrong or I was using them in the wrong context. Joel sure got a kick out of it. 

As we started to teach Liam some of the Telugu words, we ran into a problem. So many of them sounded like something else in his toddler vocabulary. 

Annum

Rice is served with just about every Indian dish so we have a lot of it around here. When we told Liam what the Telugu word for rice was he just looked at us and laughed. 

"Mom, this isn't annum, it's rice!"

He thinks it's hilarious because he calls our cousin Autumn, annum. When we tell him he's eating annum, he thinks we're teasing him. 

Thatha

Obviously, the "th" is always hard for a kiddo to say. Liam calls Joel's dad Sasa instead of Thatha. It's never been a problem until this weekend. I gave him chips and salsa for lunch. He asked me what the salsa was. No this is not the first time he's ever had salsa, but it's the first time he's actually paid attention to it. I told him it was salsa. He just stared at me. 

"If you say I'm eating my Sasa one more time, I'll tell daddy."

I tried to explain the difference between Thatha and salsa, but he told me to go into time out for not listening instead....

Naan

Naan is the delicious Indian flat bread that we always find an excuse to make around here. It. is. delicious. We didn't make it with an Indian dish one time for my family and they all looked at us like we were insane. Naan is definitely not a hard word to say. However when you're family is always making naan jokes, it gets distorted quickly. What are naan jokes you ask? Oh, let me tell you. 

As a response to someone asking you if you had any naan. "Nope, I've had naan." 

"I'll have naan of that." 

You can see where it goes. It's one of those jokes that happens at least a few times during all of our Indian dinners. Even Liam is doing it! He has no idea why it's so funny, but he loves saying naan while running around the house laughing. 

I wonder if Indian families sit around the dinner table making naan jokes during dinner. Oh yeah, that's probably only something us whiteys do...