A Month Back in India

We've been back in India for over a month now! Turns out that life in India with 2 young kids plus a newborn is a little busy and hectic, which has made it hard to keep this up to date! I'm doing my best just to keep up with Mason's monthly updates...I don't want to neglect those since I kept them so faithfully for Landon and Layla!!

But India has been fun and exciting in the midst of the crazy! It took some time to get over jetlag, and Kyle got sick right off the bat when we arrived, but we're all feeling better and adjusted now. I'm figuring out how to just do daily life here with the kids - before we left, I was in a rhythm with Landon and Layla, knowing activities to do with them, how to manage grocery store runs, etc. But adding Mason into the mix has made it really challenging to know even when to do simple things like get groceries. Taking all three kids to the grocery store would be conceivable, but not easy! (shopping carts here are really tiny, so I'd have to wear Mason in the Ergo, and I walk next door to the mall to the grocery store, so carrying groceries back with 3 kids in town would be quite the workout). So it's been a little slower getting things figured out, but we're getting there! 

Here are some highlights of month one...

Being back with these people...the best!

Jetlag was a great excuse to watch the Royals play in our early mornings!

 My Indian "sister" Ankita got engaged just a week after we arrived! It's an arranged marriage, but she's really excited about it. Here she is with her new fiance Tushar. She gets married in November, and we're so excited to be a part of all the wedding celebrations!

She's engaged!!

 Bethany, Tina and I got to attend a live class/demonstration at our favorite restaurant learning how to make lots of fun salads!

I got to see Megha for the first time at the class! (She manages the restaurant...and she's Ankita's cousin...all our Indian family!)

 We ordered a few things for Mason, like a stroller, after we got here. The giant boxes things were shipped in provided literally hours of entertainment for Landon and Layla.

 We picked back up our Sunday morning chai tradition with our Indian family that has adopted us (we don't go every week...getting the kids up and out by 7 a.m. is not a challenge we take on every week!) This particular morning we got to meet Tushar, because he was in town meeting the rest of Ankita's family! (His family is from a different city). He's standing next to Kyle in the picture - we approved...he was a really nice guy! The only downside is that he currently lives and works in New York City, which means Ankita will be moving to the U.S. after getting married, while we're still here in India! Oh well...excuse to visit NYC someday!

Eating some cookies instead of samosas

Life in India is not complete without team dinners at Chili's

 The first week we were here, it was hot, but not unbearable. But then this crazy heat wave settled in for about 3 weeks. It was hot, y'all. Like, don't leave your house hot. I kept laughing at my weather app's attempt to add variety to the description of the day instead of just saying, "very hot" everyday.

Goofing off as we unpacked a suitcase!

 Ankita took Laura and I to a South Indian restaurant (food varies quite a bit from the different regions of India, so this is significant. Way different than the Punjabi food that Ankita's mom always cooks for us!). This giant pan fried, paper thin pancake looking thing is called a dosa. Ankita wanted to see my reaction when they brought out the "family sized" dosa that was about as long as our table! Makes the giant pancakes from Early Edition in Manhattan not seem quite as impressive. The whole thing wouldn't even fit in the picture. You tear off pieces and dip it in a mashed potato mixture and coconut chutney. It was delicious!

Then, this past weekend, the glorious day arrived...monsoon season.

 We had 3 days in a row of pouring rain, and it was just amazing. Temperatures are so much cooler. We are so thankful for the rains!

Also last week, our summer team arrived! It's fun to have some fresh faces around for a few weeks :)

 They all came over for breakfast with our team on Monday. Mason was loving all the extra attention.

Kyle left for a business trip to Dubai on Monday, so it's just been me and these three little loves hanging out.

 This morning it was cool enough to take the kids outside to play. Boy were they happy after nearly a month of being cooped up inside!!

I'm excited for many more trips to play on the playground now that the crazy heat is gone!

There you have it...life thus far!