Fit at Forty
Friday, 10. August 2007, 09:43:11
That's my new goal. I'd like to be able to do a family bike trip (several days or a couple of weeks) around Denmark when I turn 40. Shawn says that Denmark has bike roads with stop lights and everything, so it would be very safe and nice to see the country slowly.
With this in mind, I started Jazzercise on Wednesday. WHOOOOPPEEEEEE! I am doing Jazzercise again! I was a regular 9 years ago, exercising 5 hours a week there, but when I got pregnant with J, I had to quit. (Thanks Cris for introducing me to Jazzercise!
Then we moved to a smaller city and there was no Jazzercise. I pined for it for about 5 years, until I got sick, when just fixing dinner became exercise. Amazingly, Chennai has the only Jazzercise in India - and it's held right in the gym at the kid's school!
Sometimes, I just can't believe how lucky I am! Although it is kind of funny that I had to move halfway around the world to find a Jazzercise class.
Meanwhile, the week has been good but very busy and eventful. The kids are doing well at school - J likes her new teacher alot, and goes fairly cheerfully even when she has an upset digestive tract. I took her into the doctor on Wednesday because it had been 10 days of on again/off again diarrhea, nausea, and headaches. She got lots of prescriptions - all were for OTC drugs in America - and we have been doing intensive tummy therapy since then. (This involves taking all the medicine on time, striving to keep her hydrated, and getting the lactobacillus capsules into her, so she can build up the good bacteria again.) She is energetic enough and hasn't had a fever for over a week, so the doctor said that she could go to school. J likes her teacher so much, and has made so many new friends, that she was pleased at that.
We will be enrolling her in yoga and art after school, with her best little friend M. That should make school even more fun. So far, she hasn't had any homework other than reading, so I think that a couple of extra curricular activities will not overwhelm her. The birthday parties and playdates have already started - I can see her social calendar is going to be very busy.
L also continues to do well in school.
He has not had ANY hitting or kicking incidents at school at all. I can't hardly believe it. His teacher said that he is doing so well that she may not need an aid for him. We are going to keep him at half days for the first semester (40 days) and then gradually build him up to full days. That way, he will be ready for full-day kindergarten here next year. He has entirely stopped napping, so I think that the afternoon session will be good for him; but his teacher, who is an absolute genius, doesn't want to put too much pressure on him. After talking with her I think she is correct. She is very exacting in her behavioural standards, which he needs, but it is a lot of pressure for him to handle. We are continuing to pursue getting his auditory processing evaluated.
S is working, working, working....at the plant all week this week. When he goes to the plant he has a 4-hour roundtrip commute, which doesn't bother him. (Yikes! I would be crazy.) He says he gets tons done - studies his scriptures, e-mails, phone conferences - he even changes in his car. It's too funny, but so like him; he's the only man I know here that doesn't protest about the awful commute. This month he is going back to Russia for a week; I'm not looking forward to that.
And me? Well, I'm just so happy to be back at Jazzercise. I am making lots of new friends at school, volunteering at J's class, doing the primary music, and running the household. As long as I stay rested, I can handle the daily crisises of the "marble manor". Today was a typical day: the stove wouldn't light when I went to fix breakfast, one of the maids burned her arm badly at home and can't come into work, and the milk bill needs paid.
Dealt with the stove: I checked and we were out of gas (it comes in cylinders), again. We shouldn't be, so I had the driver check the connection....and it seems we have a leak. Apparently the night guards smelled gas. Ergo, we need the gas connection repairman to come out. I call the landlord, sic "sir" (hubby) onto the landlord also, and then have Mr. Fixit take a look at the connections. (Note how I am triple-attacking the problem with no less than three options for a solution; this is an important household management skill here.) Then I concoct a back-up plan: meet S for dinner in the city.
The maid: send driver (the one who is not her friend) out to check on her and see if she actually has a burned arm. (Since her toddler also fell and took out his front teeth, and her other child had a bad ear infection, all in the same week, I'm more than a little suspicious.) I hope she doesn't have a bad burn, but if she doesn't, then she is out of a job.
Milk: count out exact change and send driver to pay bill.
So all of this is becoming second nature. We got some more curtains, which comforts me. About half the house now has curtains. Maybe I will just give up on the other half. No, more likely, I will sew them myself and cut out the trips to the city to look at fabric, the long waits, and the bills. I also need some more lights and bookshelves, but all things in good time.
Well, time to check on the gas issue and decide what to do about dinner.
With this in mind, I started Jazzercise on Wednesday. WHOOOOPPEEEEEE! I am doing Jazzercise again! I was a regular 9 years ago, exercising 5 hours a week there, but when I got pregnant with J, I had to quit. (Thanks Cris for introducing me to Jazzercise!
Then we moved to a smaller city and there was no Jazzercise. I pined for it for about 5 years, until I got sick, when just fixing dinner became exercise. Amazingly, Chennai has the only Jazzercise in India - and it's held right in the gym at the kid's school! Sometimes, I just can't believe how lucky I am!
Although it is kind of funny that I had to move halfway around the world to find a Jazzercise class. Meanwhile, the week has been good but very busy and eventful. The kids are doing well at school - J likes her new teacher alot, and goes fairly cheerfully even when she has an upset digestive tract. I took her into the doctor on Wednesday because it had been 10 days of on again/off again diarrhea, nausea, and headaches. She got lots of prescriptions - all were for OTC drugs in America - and we have been doing intensive tummy therapy since then. (This involves taking all the medicine on time, striving to keep her hydrated, and getting the lactobacillus capsules into her, so she can build up the good bacteria again.) She is energetic enough and hasn't had a fever for over a week, so the doctor said that she could go to school. J likes her teacher so much, and has made so many new friends, that she was pleased at that.
We will be enrolling her in yoga and art after school, with her best little friend M. That should make school even more fun. So far, she hasn't had any homework other than reading, so I think that a couple of extra curricular activities will not overwhelm her. The birthday parties and playdates have already started - I can see her social calendar is going to be very busy.
L also continues to do well in school.
He has not had ANY hitting or kicking incidents at school at all. I can't hardly believe it. His teacher said that he is doing so well that she may not need an aid for him. We are going to keep him at half days for the first semester (40 days) and then gradually build him up to full days. That way, he will be ready for full-day kindergarten here next year. He has entirely stopped napping, so I think that the afternoon session will be good for him; but his teacher, who is an absolute genius, doesn't want to put too much pressure on him. After talking with her I think she is correct. She is very exacting in her behavioural standards, which he needs, but it is a lot of pressure for him to handle. We are continuing to pursue getting his auditory processing evaluated.S is working, working, working....at the plant all week this week. When he goes to the plant he has a 4-hour roundtrip commute, which doesn't bother him. (Yikes! I would be crazy.) He says he gets tons done - studies his scriptures, e-mails, phone conferences - he even changes in his car. It's too funny, but so like him; he's the only man I know here that doesn't protest about the awful commute. This month he is going back to Russia for a week; I'm not looking forward to that.
And me? Well, I'm just so happy to be back at Jazzercise. I am making lots of new friends at school, volunteering at J's class, doing the primary music, and running the household. As long as I stay rested, I can handle the daily crisises of the "marble manor". Today was a typical day: the stove wouldn't light when I went to fix breakfast, one of the maids burned her arm badly at home and can't come into work, and the milk bill needs paid.
Dealt with the stove: I checked and we were out of gas (it comes in cylinders), again. We shouldn't be, so I had the driver check the connection....and it seems we have a leak. Apparently the night guards smelled gas. Ergo, we need the gas connection repairman to come out. I call the landlord, sic "sir" (hubby) onto the landlord also, and then have Mr. Fixit take a look at the connections. (Note how I am triple-attacking the problem with no less than three options for a solution; this is an important household management skill here.) Then I concoct a back-up plan: meet S for dinner in the city.
The maid: send driver (the one who is not her friend) out to check on her and see if she actually has a burned arm. (Since her toddler also fell and took out his front teeth, and her other child had a bad ear infection, all in the same week, I'm more than a little suspicious.) I hope she doesn't have a bad burn, but if she doesn't, then she is out of a job.
Milk: count out exact change and send driver to pay bill.
So all of this is becoming second nature. We got some more curtains, which comforts me. About half the house now has curtains. Maybe I will just give up on the other half. No, more likely, I will sew them myself and cut out the trips to the city to look at fabric, the long waits, and the bills. I also need some more lights and bookshelves, but all things in good time.
Well, time to check on the gas issue and decide what to do about dinner.
. This might be in part because I've been spending a lot of time on the car that won't start, the cell phone that went nutso and quit working, and the very slow (as in useless) internet. Also, yesterday, one of the ACs went down (and it's still 36 Celsius here!) Welcome to life in India - constant breakdown is status quo.
(These comments were meant to be helpful but I didn't find them so at the time, sadly.)
WIDGETIZE