Holidays 2018

Happy Holidays!

It's December 27 and we have had a terrific holiday so far. Alia (age 10, 5th grade) and Amelie (age 9, 3rd grade) were in school at Van Damme Academy up until December 21st this year. That left me with very little time to lead up to the holidays together. It also means that they will be out the entire week after New Years, which makes me a little anxious. Christmas was so close to the beginning of the break, it seems like a really long time to be home with no soccer, dance, or other activities to occupy their energy. (Thankfully I recently read  The Danish Way of Parenting that reminds me that togetherness is a way to celebrate family time, not just endure it!) However, to be completely honest, I've already referred back to the book several times to set myself straight!

Anyway, in my mind, I much prefer when they get out of school earlier so we can spend the time baking harmoniously while listening to Christmas music in the week leading up to the holidays. Oh, wait. Even if they were out earlier, our harmoniously baking with music (and a roaring fire!) in the background would actually go something like this:

Alia: Can I have the bowl to lick?

Amelie: Alia, you always get the bowl.

Me: Guys, it doesn't matter! I always make it even! You'll both get the same risk exposure to salmonella from the cookie dough!

Alia: So....then it doesn't matter if I get the bowl? I can have the bowl?

Amelie: But I always have the spatula. I want the bowl.

Enter Maki. Our 4 year old whoodle who LOOOVES eggs. She knocks the bowl and the spatula on the floor in search of eggs, and then Alia and Amelie yell MAKI!!!! and chase her (with doughy spatula in her mouth) onto the newly reupholstered couch, rug, and ultimately into the yard...running through one of her yard-offerings by mistake, and then tracking it back inside.

Turkey 2015

I just realized I finished this and didn't tie it to my blog. Here's a look at our summer in Turkey visiting Ajay's Mom. Fantastic trip. So relaxing and beautiful!

2015 update.

Hellllllllo!
I'm back. Just checking in the record the state of things.

Currently, Alia is 7 and Amelie is 6. They both go to Van Damme Academy....Amelie Kindergarten and Alia 2nd Grade. We couldn't be happier with our choice for their education.

I'm going to quickly post this so I can see how it posts, as I haven't posted in an embarrassingly long time.

So....did I mention....we got a doggie? Here's Maki!

Posh Nomad

Hello, loyal readers! Ok, so I haven't exactly been keeping up my little bog here...well, that's an understatement considering my last post was over a year ago.

Regardless, it's with great excitement I introduce my latest endeavor, Posh Nomad! So, this summer I decided to spend my time in Turkey looking around for the "it" product to bring back with me. But rather than settle on one product, I decided on lots of products. And with that said, I invite you to click the Posh Nomad  link above and visit my Facebook page! My website will be coming in the future, but for now, give me a "Like" and check out my photos and video of my products.

Alia & Amelie's room re-do...

I'm finally finishing this old blog!  I found this in the draft section of my home screen unfinished!

What's new in the Lalvani household? Well, let me tell you....construction!!!!!

That's right, readers, Andrea has taken on a new project...doors, floors, stucco, beams, paint. For those readers of mine that have been with me since my early blog, you'll know I'm no stranger to big home improvements. I love them. I am good at project management. I love love love renovation.

Last year at this time? It was the Laguna apartment, which I just realized I forgot to blog about. Project details to follow. In 2007 it was our home addition with pool, spa, and landscape. And before that in 2005, it was my whole house flip of my Florida house. As I sit here writing, I realize that I may have an unrecognized passion or talent, depending on how you feel about the outcome.

Here's the room before....you remember....

...and yes, back then, there were two cribs, side by side 
with a circle rug and a Ligne Roset futon for Mommy 

...and here are the two sets of french doors to the
 balcony, the changing table, and the rocker.

So the scope of this project? I said before, it's exterior doors leading to the girls' balcony which are so rotted that they leaked enough water to destroy the floors. And while we're at it, how about new floors?  And painting. Can lights. Base boards.

Before: This is as I was clearing the room. For awhile, I loved the painted
white wood floors. But over time the two sets of french doors began
 to leak and the floors by the window buckled.

If you look closely at the first photo, you'll also see an error in function. While everyone loves LOVES french doors, what happens if they are placed too closely to one another? What happens when you try to open both sets at once to get that breezy airy feeling that people love about french doors? They bang together. In this case, we could only open one door at a time, and when we did we'd literally have to move furniture around to open it full as the balcony is only maybe 4 feet deep. So rather than going with the same time of doors, I decided it was worth the extra work to eliminate the center support column, hang a header beam, and go with a single 10 foot slider unit where the opening is in the center and the side panels are stationary.

And here's the after....

Now the doors open in the center. Airflow is much better

Also notice the wall color changed too. The bright citrus green that I absolutely loved looked terrible with the new Mikado  porcelain floor...the dark color of the floor was way too much contrast with the bright green.

And where two cribs used to be, there's now a new bunk bed. Initially the downstairs contained the kitchen, but since Amelie was ready for a big girl bed and also because the room isn't huge, I realized I could just put another mattress inside the bottom.

For whatever reason, when I merged two of my photo libraries, many of my blog photos disappeared, so the above mentioned image can't be found.

Quote of the day from Alia, age 5

Alia: Mommy, what's the very worst thing that can happen to you in life?
Me: Well, I suppose being really sick....so sick that I couldn't take care of you.
Alia: Well, I think it would be catching on fire.
Me: Well, yes....I, ummm, think....you....ummmm, may be right....

Preschool Yoga at Montessori

So today was the end-of-the-year final yoga class at Montessori, and Alia's teacher allowed parents to come observe. Let me tell you....I'm not sure if you have almost 5 minutes to watch this video, but if you do, it's quite impressive.

Alia started doing yoga when she was 3, when Mrs. Newquist joined Montessori of Laguna Beach. Since then, I've been so impressed with Alia's progress. Watching this final class today was truly impressive...the teacher didn't say one word throughout the "show". The children, most of them 4 years old, followed (without prompting) a pretty complex set of movements followed by a short meditation.

Alia Flips! Well, kind of.....

Amelie: T-ball and Mani-Pedis

A few weeks ago, Ajay took Alia to T-ball solo because sometimes when Amelie goes, it becomes a competition for Daddy's attention.

She even dresses the part! And this girl works it....

So in response to Alia's need for some of Ajay's undivided attention, Amelie and I headed off to get our nails done. And yes, I'm straight out of the pool here so please excuse my appearance!

And can I just say that Amelie was a dream. Little toes and little fingers were painted and she was so patient. She waited and waited and waited for everything to dry and in the end....

...there were some pretty cute little fingers and toes!

Tempranillo

Ajay's working 24 hours today. 

I took the girls to the hospital to see him for dinner.

On the way home, I told the girls I'd like to stop at the wine store for a bottle of Tempranillo. I asked both girls if they could say Tempranillo. They both said it in unison. 

Amelie asked, "what's Temranillo?" and I replied, "it's Mommy's favorite wine at the moment". Amelie responded, "why do you like it so much?" and Alia chimed in with, "Amelie. It's simple. You like bears. I like frogs. Mommy likes Tempranillo."