Bangalore Ink

The kids have the next week and then some off of school for Diwali!  Since they will have a vacation day on Halloween the school had a special day for them today.  For 10 rupees they were allowed to dress up (the money collected goes towards helping the Indus Community School).  The Fab Four decided that they didn't want to wear their "actual" costumes to school today.  Michael imparticular was concerned b/c his "real"  Halloween costume is a jumpsuit style costume.  He came to me in hushed tones and said, "Mom.  What if I have to go pee at school?!"  I told him, "Well, there is Velcro on the back and you can take your costume off."  "Mom!  Everyone will see my underwear!"  "Yep, pretty much," I said.  He quickly decided wearing his "real" costume was probably not the best idea.  So, off to the mall I went to see what I could come up with.  I did find a small shop that carried miscellaneous (and extremely overpriced) costumes.  Actually, saying they had costumes is a stretch.  Mostly, it was costume accessories, no real costumes.  After waiting outside the shop door for 40 minutes (in the middle of the day), apparently the store employee decided to go to lunch!?  I had just decided I was giving her 10 more minutes when she showed up. 

Erica was so excited about my purchases that she immediately went to work picking out just the "right outfit."  Such the little budding Fashionista!!
You're one tough cookie, Erica (with great dimples!) 

Mikey was into it as well!  Checking himself out in the bathroom mirror and analyzing exactly how tough we was looking.  (His Daddy does the same thing every morning when he's getting ready for work!  Wink-Wink!)  I don't want to burst Michael's bubble or anything but I'm pretty sure he was "Born to be Mild!" ;0)






After much prodding, I convinced them it was time to take off their biker gear and get to bed.  I wonder as they dozed off to sleep if they had visions of Hot Rods dancing in their heads!?  It was no surprise that they woke up "Wound for Sound" and ready for their fun day at school.  I managed to snap a few pictures of them before they boarded the bus.

B-B-B-Bad to the Bone!

Amigos Cuatro - For Life, Man!

What chu Lookin' At?!  Yeah, dat's right, I'm part of the
 Pre-School Punk Posse! 

Wanna make sumpin of it?!

I think part of the reason the kids were embracing their biker attitude is because Daddy recently became the proud owner of a 1963 Royal Enfield.  He's going to have to go through the Indian system of getting a license (which should prove to be interesting) but we've been having a good time driving it around "The Hood" (neighborhood for you softies!)

It's a thug life, Baby but somebody has to do it!

While we were out riding we determined that this bad boy does about 0-60 in 2 minutes!  Zoo-ee-Mamma!  Hold onto your socks!  Actually, it really is a cool bike and the boys are loving it.  I'm not sure Erica has even got on it?!  She's afraid of all the pipes and "hot parts" and is convinced she's going to "melt her skin off!"  Rachel, per her usual, was all about the theatrics BUT she did get on & go for a ride!  Even though just moments prior she had launched into her dissertation and told Matt that under no circumstances, no way, no how would she EVER be riding on that LOUD, RIDICULOUS motorcycle.  She thought we should have gotten a little mo-ped.  Hahha! 

"Oh, please, Sweet Jesus, I think this is a very bad idea...
Please don't let me die!!!"

When out and about in Bangalore traffic we now enjoy looking for other Royal Enfield Bullets.  The most we've seen riding on one is FOUR, yes count 'em FOUR people, riding on a motorcycle.  Haven't managed to get a picture of that yet but I will!  I did snap this one just in time:

Look at that sweet baby slumped down between its mother and father...SLEEPING!  Some kids really can sleep anywhere!

The kids tattoo sleeves made me miss my friend, Heather, from home.  She'd be so proud we're "starting them young."  Hehehe!  Her husband, Tim, is a wicked good tattoo artist in Buzzards Bay, MA.  You can check him out on-line at http://www.diamondmindtattoo.blogspot.com/

And when you swing down to the Cape to get inked be sure you tell him Jenny from the B'Block sent ya! 

Peace out, My People! xo
 

Diwali

We are officially on vacation!  Yep!  For the next 12 days!  The kids have off of school for Diwali and we are Outta Here!  He are heading to Kerala India where we will be staying at http://www.tranquilresort.com/
Click on the Accommodations link and then on Tree Villa - That's where you will find the Weimann's for the next few days.  Hanging with the tree monkies ;0)

Not sure what our internet set-up will be while we are away but if I can blog I will ;0)  We also found out today that our sea shipment is supposed to be arriving next week and hopefully if Matt's cousin, Miriam, can get her visa/passport in time - She's coming from Bangladesh to visit us here in Bangalore!  Lots of exciting things in the coming days!  Can't wait to share it with you!

Thanks for reading and being a part of our adventure.
xo
JEN

Watch where you step!

Our sweet David is our accident prone child.  He's frequently seen sporting band-aids on both of his knees and elbows.  Poor kid is always tripping, falling off his bike or crashing his scooter.  He's always been this way.  I haven't quite figured it out but I've got two theories.  A.)  He's a complete and total klutz!  B.)  He's younger than the other children but doesn't let his age determine what he will accomplish.  He may be littler but he can hang with the Big Dogs.



David eating his donut in the school courtyard.
"LOOK MA!  NO BAND-AIDS!!!"


I think it's a little bit of both.  He IS a klutz but he's also attempting to keep up with his siblings.  We often have to remind ourselves..."He is ONLY four!"  (Although, he looks like your average 2nd grader!)  He's our Gentle Giant and the child that if harm is going to befall "someone"...David is THE one it will happen to.  He's like an accident magnet!

We had a big family shopping trip this weekend and while we were heading into the mall...you know, casually walking along the sidewalk....David nearly falls into a hole!  YEP!  I saw it coming a mile away. 

It kind of goes without saying, you should always be careful of where you are walking in India.  Most areas are an active construction zone or at least that's what they look like.  Things are generally unkept and run down or unfinished.  It is not uncommon to find huge gaping holes...random holes....some of them VERY deep and some obviously related to construction but some are just basically items in disrepair.  So, as the family is strolling down this sidewalk hand in hand....I can see we are approaching this hole.  Not a cavernous hole but a HOLE nonetheless.  David, in his typical, carefree and generally speaking "Not paying attention" way, is literally a second away from his whole LEG going down this hole.  Me, in my generally calm and collected way, (NOT!) I reach out and the only thing I can get ahold of is the back of his t-shirt.  I manage to snag just enough cloth and I give it a good yank and shout, "HOOOOOOOLE!!!!"  After I've just saved the Clueless Kid from what surely would have been a DISASTER! He looks at me and then looks down at the hole and simply says, "Oh!" 

"OH!?!?!  Oh yah!!  Geesh, Boy!  WAKE UP, I SAY!!!"  Immediately, all of the other kids start laughing!!  In retrospect, in my moment of panic when I reached out to seize The Child, I realized I had been quite LOUD and dramatic but I seriously thought he was going DOWN and I wasn't sure what he would have lost in that Abyss!?  His shoe?  His foot?  Dear, God, His entire LEG!?!  (Drama.  I'm all about the drama!  Hahaha!)  And David's reaction was so typical David.  Little was uttered just a simple, "Oh"  but in that one word I can read him like a book so many thoughts in his mind.  "Hmmm.  Didn't see that there."  "Wonder where that came from?"  "Tricky those holes!"  "Never saw that coming."  He's just calm, that David.  Cool.  "Hmpph.  Interesting."  "A hole."  "Oh." :0)

I have a feeling it might have been one of those "Guess ya had to be there" kinda moments but it was really funny once the moment passed and our brains all started to rewind what could've happened and thank God what didn't happen.  I immediately did an about-face and snapped a picture of the seedy sidewalk.

Gotta love how there is SOOOOO much space all around where you could walk and risk no bodily harm and where was David headed?  Yep.  Straight for the this Crazy Chasm!!!

(Good thing I have lightning fast reactionary shirt yanking skills!)

God only knows what's down there!?!

Well, actually, I probably do.  POOOOOO!

D R Y    H E A V E!!!!!

In David's defense, I will divulge a little secret about myself.  I'm not exactly the Poised Princess (SHOCKING, I know!)  You know the 'ole phrase, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."  Well, I think we might be witnessing a little "Apple / Tree" action here.  While walking with the girls one day, although it wasn't a gaping gorge or anything, I somehow managed to put my foot down in just the right crevasse  (Pronounced Crevause if you are Bear Grills) and BAM!  It de-shoed me!  One minute I was tromping along and the next I was Cinderella with only one slipper to my name.  SOOOOO!  Even if you think you are watching your footing - It can happen and I was left saying the same thing as David, "OH!"  "Geesh!  How did that happen!?"  "Give me back my shoe you sneaky sidewalk!"

Ever Vigilant, Jenny from the B'Block ;0)

Don't Drink The Water!

Yep, it's no joke.  Whilst in India...unless you are a FOO (a CRAZY fool!) don't drink the water.  Ever.  We use bottled water for everything.  We have water coolers in every bedroom as well as the kitchen.  It might be overkill but we haven't brushed our teeth with anything but bottled water since we got here!  (Actually, double check with Matt on that one.  I'm pretty sure he claims to be "An Oak" so I think he uses the tap water on his teef (yes, I meant to say teef.) but he's NUTS!  The rest of us "Saplings" are not taking any chances!

Yep.  Even the kids have become teeth brushing pros.  At first it was very hard to remember not to use the sink water.  Initially, I would put a washcloth over the faucet when the kids were brushing so that they would remember NOT to use that water.  When we first got here and we were living in the hotel I used to sound like an old scratched vinyl record while the kids were brushing their teeth or taking a shower I'd be yapping in the background at them the same old phrases....every SINGLE time... "Don't open your mouth in there.  I'm not kidding....Don't get that water in your mouth.  You're not drinking that water are you!?"  I was the water Nazi .  Take no chances.  Drink no water.  Eat no ice.  Drink no fountain sodas.  All of them are guaranteed to bring you a bad case of the green apple trots.  We had two bathrooms in our hotel and on one occasion I realized that Michael had been in the bathroom for a VERY LONG time.  As I rounded the corner, I could hear the shower water running and could see that the steam was starting to billow out the crack of the slightly opened door.  Unlike other shower nightmares where the kids had taken down the hand nozzle and sprayed the water UP and OVER the gap at the top of the glass shower door and were screeching with delight at all of the fun they were having.  This time it was different.  It was far too quiet in that shower and what I wasn't prepared for was what my poor little eyes encountered in the next moment.  I swung the door open and you'd think after all of my water worries and constant lecturing about aqua vigilance...what do I behold but Michael laying FACE DOWN on the shower floor!  For those of you that your mind instantly shifts to horror and "Oh no!  What was wrong with him!?"  OH NO!  There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with him.  The little heedless, imprudent, negligent and thoughtless TERD was RELAXING on the SHOWER FLOOR!!  (Prone, mind you!  EWWWW!)

Yep!  Found him just like my friend, Pinocchio here (and nope, I ain't lyin')

I'm tellin' ya, he was soooo relaxed and for all I know, he might have even been sleeping?!  He was definitely "Chillin' Like a Villain!"  Well, that is until I surprised the snot out of him and turned into "Manic Mom" squealing out a million "What were you thinking?!"  "Why!?"  "Seriously, are you kidding me?!  GET UP!!!!!  If you shouldn't get that water in your nose... mouth.... eyes....what makes you think that laying
 BUCK NECKID on the shower floor would be a good idea?!" 

That's when I excused myself and assumed my own prone position......

 Oh man!  I love ya, Mikey!  But Momma just lost her lunch!

D I S G U S T I N G !!!!!!

As my Mom used to say, "Why Mother's Turn Grey!"  I definitely gained a couple more "sparkly ladies" that day! ;0)



India Night 2011

What a night!  Hundreds of people from all over the world showed up in their best Indian attire to support the OWC's (Overseas Women's Club) local Bangalore Charities. 

Salome came over to watch the children for the evening and she arrived early so she could help me put on my sari.

We're talking a WHOLE LOTTA fabric!
Thank God for Salome! 
I could have never got it right without her!

TA-DAH!!!!  Bangles, Bindi and all!
(Unfortunately, not the best lighting but it's the ONLY full body shot
of my sari from the ENTIRE evening!)

Erica took this picture of us in our living room right before we were ready to leave.

The party was held at the Leela Palace Hotel here in Bangalore.  This is where Matt and I stayed when we came over on our "Look See" tour.

 

The Leela Palace Hotel

The Leela All Lit Up!

This is where all of the drivers pull up and let their passengers out of their cars.

Entryway doors

I felt a bit like Cinderella at the grand ball as I climbed the staircase.
Luckily, Prince Charming was already at my side and I didn't have any ugly stepsisters trailing behind me!

En route to the Royal Ball Room

One of the first people I spotted when I walked through the door was my friend, Jet, from Holland. 

Me and Jet (pronounced Yet!)

She's got a great sense of humor and from the first day we met at the bus stop - We clicked!  Her two children, Elise & Bart-Jan, ride the bus with the Fab Four.  When their kids first got to Bangalore they only spoke Dutch and even though it's only been a couple of months they are already making great strides at learning the English language.

Finding Jet was easy in the sea of people because her husband, Bouke, has got to be about 6'7!!!  I thought Matt was tall at 6'2 but Bouke towers above the masses.  They are great people and I'm so glad that Bangalore has brought us together!



Cheers!

One of Matt's co-workers, John, and my shopping buddy, Joan!
Fabulous and FUNNY people!

I know this is probably a terrible thing to say but I have made an observation in our short time here...There are two kinds of people that come on assignments to India...DORKS and FUNNY FOLKS!  I would like to think we fall into the Funny Folks category but that might be up for debate b/c we can be pretty big dorks too!?  You know what though...I'm okay with that!  Embrace it!  Be who you are!  I say, "Nerds of the Nations UNITE!"  All in all it works out great b/c the funny people are able to sit back and see the humor involved in so many situations here in India.  I mean, if you haven't got a sense of humor - I don't know that you could survive here for very long.  It also works out great that there are so many Freaks & Geeks running around b/c the funny people have something to chuckle about.  (I know.  That's not nice.)  Might I just add, we are ALL special in God's eyes & He loves us just the same! ;0)  HEHEHEH!  AND!  Like I said, most of the time I'm not quite sure which of those categories we fall into....Remember I am nearly 6'0 tall myself and I am riding a scooter to the bus stop that's built for a 5 year old....I'm pretty sure that's got GEEK written all over it!  But there you go, I'm sure somebody is chuckling under their breath at me and that my friends is the "Circle of Survival" here in India.  Lose your sense of humor and you're a dead man walking! ;0)

 

There's another Jenny from the B'Block!  This is my friend, Jen, from Chicago!

Jen's another Hip Chick!  Love her.  Now that I think about it - We met at the bus stop too.  She has two boys and one of them is Michael's age.  We attend the same church, share a love for jewelry and her husband (who I didn't get a picture of) is one of THE funniest people I've met in India so far.  So, yep!  They're surviving, smiling, living on laughs and just signed on to stay in Bangalore a little while LONGER!!! YAY!! I'm so glad they aren't leaving.

 

Derek and Matt

Derek is definitely one of the dorks we've met in India!  KIDDING!  See, I can say that b/c when/if he reads this - He's a wicked funny guy and will LOL when he reads that! (Fist Bump...Love ya, Man!)  If you'd believe it - I met Derek's wife, Katie, when we were here on our "Look See" trip (Cue the creepy little dolls singing, "It's a Small World After all..."  Katie and Derek are from Illinois BUT Katie's parents recently moved to MN and they live in the SAME TOWN as my parents!  WHOA!  What are the odds of that one!? 

 

Katie is a real Cool Cat!  I totally dig her!

She was cracking me up telling me how her MIL was freaking out when she saw the henna on her hands because she thought she really got tattooed here in India.  Then Katie says, "I can't wait to show her my faux nose ring...That's really gonna put her over the top!"



 Henna Hands

 

 

Henna is often used to decorate hands and feet in the Muslim and Hindu

cultures for various ceremonial purposes.   

 

So as to make sure I haven't offended any Nerds or Freaks in the writing of this blog I took the liberty of checking out www.wisegeek.com and I found out what they had to say about Henna to be very interesting!  I knew a little bit about it but not much.  Here's a little blurb to catch you all up to speed.

"Henna dyes hair, skin, and fabric organically, similar to a black tea dye. Henna is extracted from a tree by drying and grinding leaves and stems. The greenish powder, when mixed with an acidic liquid, makes a temporary red, brown, or orange design on a porous surface. People use henna in ritual skin painting, called Mehndi, for birth and marriage celebrations. Western cultures have adopted henna to make temporary tattoos and organic hair dye.

The henna tree, Lawsonia inermis, grows in hot, arid regions like North Africa and India. For centuries, people ground the foliage of the plant into a powder to dye cloth and skin. The strong pigment, lawsone, actually temporarily stains the skin. Lawsone is a tannin; tannins are also found in wine and tea. They infuse porous surfaces with a darker pigment, but do not chemically alter the surface permanently.

Henna works because lawsone is absorbed into material like hair and skin. You mix the powdered henna into a mud, using hot water, lemon juice, vinegar, or other acidic additives. An acidic mixture strengthens the dyeing properties. Then you apply the henna mud to a surface like the palm of your hand, bottom of your feet, or anywhere on your body. Leave the mud on for as long as possible, up to 48 hours. When it dries and crumbles off, the skin will have darkened to auburn, orange, red, or brown.

Interesting, right?!  There were a lot of people at the Indian Night with henna.  I was not one of them.  I have to leave something "New" to do next year, right?! 

They had several Bollywood dance performances throughout the night. 
The video footage I took isn't working but here's something similar to what we saw that you can watch via You Tube.

Check out the dudes shoes at about 3:30. 
 Matt's looked just like that... unfortunately no photos to prove it.

Check out these guys!!!  I wonder if I could rent a costume like that for Halloween!?

 Too bad we forgot our swimming suits or "Swimming Costumes" as the Indians call them.

Would have been the perfect night for a dip!

Lots of great food!

Although it was a very Cinderalla-esque night - We didn't have to worry about our carriage turning into a pumpkin or my sari turning into rags at the stroke of midnight b/c in India in an effort to get people to "shut it down" at a reasonable hour - They stop serving alcohol at 11:30 pm and that pretty much forces people to head home or at least head to 'a home' and get off the streets. 

We had a great night!  I am already looking forward to next year!   Anybody wanna join us!?!?!?

Tonight is THE Night!

To say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement....Tonight is the "India Night" party.  Everyone is to wear their best formal Indian duds! :0)

You got to see my saree shopping adventure so thought I'd share a couple photos of Matt's kurta shopping experience.

David, Michael  & Rachel checking out all the handsome kurta selections.

Michael found a really cute set but we had to explain it was a little bit too

small for him.  Especially now that he has started reading!!  

(This week to be exact!  He's really pulling it all together and turning into a reading 

MACHINE and he's so proud of himself!)

We're proud of you too, Little Buddy!

"Dad!  You should TOTALLY rock this turban!"

David asking, "Daddy.  You got rupees to pay for dat?"

I am very excited with what he picked out!  Hope to post pictures of the grand gala SOON!!!!

xoxoxoxox

I'm Blue da ba dee....

Do you know that song?  I'm Blue da ba dee....

This is my mood today & that song keeps popping into my head.  I pretty much feel like my life is a musical!  My brain just goes from one song to the next.  You have no idea how much I would LOVE to just randomly breakout in song throughout the course of my day - But not just me alone, mind you!  Bystanders as well - ALL TOGETHER NOW......SING!!!  (Dance too if you're so inclined!)

You know!?  Something like this?! 

I LOVE the movie Enchanted! 

In this clip, Giselle, just randomly breaks out in song.  The way IT SHOULD BE!!! ;0)

I also am secretly hoping that you all get this song stuck in your head ALL DAY LONG and can't get rid of it!  I shouldn't have to be the ONLY one singing it!

Another random side note (because that's how I roll!) my friend, Toni, just organized a Flash Mob at Faneuil Hall in Boston last week!  Another thing I MUST DO at some point in my life.  I'm destined to be a flash mobber!  Most of these gals (if not all) are from the South Shore and a lot of them are my Zumba pals from home.  (Toni is an instructor).  Anyhow, check them out.  Toni did this as a birthday surprise for her friend, Ali.  HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?!?!  I mean really!?   How many friends do you have that would organize a Flash Mob for you!?  A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!  (My birthday is January 15th if anybody wants to start organizing/practicing!?  hahaha!)

Wow!  I am so ADD!  My comment "I'm Blue" really got me sidetracked from the true reason for this post.  The long and the short of it - I'm feeling "Blue da ba dee" today :/  It happens to the best of us.  Instead of dwelling on the good in my life - I'm just feeling a little down. 

I know partly it's because one of my children was more of a Hellian than a Cherub this morning and instead of rising above the situation - I stooped to her level.  Always so proud of myself when I act like a nine year old instead of acting like the Mother.  Epic Fail this a.m.  Anyhow, the last time I was in the dumper like this it stemmed from missing my dog, Charlie.  What's the matter with me?!  It's all his fault - I love that dumb dog so much and I find myself feeling on the verge of a teary meltdown every time I think of him.  I tell ya what, I know what's brought it on this time....CATS!! Well, kittens to be exact. 

If you are a cat lover...you may want to stop reading this as I am surely going to make enemies with the words to follow.  I HATE CATS!  There.  I said it.  I just do.  They are sneaky, scratchy, randomly psychotic critters and I hate them! (I promise not to be so harsh towards cats if you want to stick with me from here on out!)  So here's the dealie-o.  A cat had kittens in one of the classrooms at the kids school.  Three, actually.  Well, wouldn't you know it....Erica comes home and tells me that she can HAVE one of the kittens.  She just needs a slip that says, "I have permission to keep a kitten" signed by moi and a box to bring the kitten home on the bus in.  "WHOA WHOA WHOA!  Back up sister!  What do you mean?!  Surely, if there are 3 kittens in a school of hundreds of children how come you get to keep one!?  How can this be fair to the other children?!  Exactly how does one feed and take care of a newborn kitten?  I don't want it croaking on my watch!"  

Long story, shorter version.  Erica has been helping Miss Monita with the kittens since they were born.  She asked if she could have one and well, pretty much like she said, "If we give her permission and a box"....  We are cat owners!  ACK!  Oh, Sweet Jesus.  Take me now.

I tried explaining to Erica that I have allergies to cats (which is true!) but somehow I still got talked into going to the school to "meet" the kittens and see if my allergies bothered me.  What I didn't expect was to see ALL FOUR of my children in the office helping Miss Monita take care of these cats.  The kids are smitten!  They have picked out which one is "ours" (apparently the other two are already spoken for as well).  Meanwhile, my loyalties lie with Charlie.  Char-Low.  Charbar.  Charchie.  March.  Charmar.  Charlie-Barley.  The Charmister.  (Do you want me to keep going?!  I've got a million nicknames for him.)  I keep thinking if he were here this wouldn't even be an issue.  If they had asked to bring a kitten home it would have been so simple to say, "NOOOOO!"  "Charlie will eat it!?"  I realize I should be able to tell my kids, "Listen here.  I've got allergies and if I can't breath...well, ya know...you DIE!"   ;0)  Well, see for yourself...it's not as easy to say "No" as I thought it would be.

Erica with "The Chosen One!"





Mikey carefully taking one of the kittens out of the basket.



All four of the kids lovin' on the kittens.





Michael was trying to manage two kitties at the same time -  It was proving to be a little more difficult than he had thought.  Looks like David and his kitty are playing peek-a-boo!?  Haha!



Rachel still remains the resident animal expert & taking care of two kitties at one time was like second nature to her.  (It was almost freaky.  It seemed as if the kittens could tune into her calm spirit & so then they were calm!?  Could this have been true?  All I know is when you put them in the boys hands...they turned into Crazy Cats!!!)



Rachel was so happy to be taking care of these babies.



I know!  I know!  I NEVER should have held it.  It started to melt my stone cold cat heart! :/  It was the cutest-most hideous thing I've ever seen!!

So now what!?  As you can see, I have a dilemma on my hands.  I wasn't able to discern if my allergies will give me troubles or not because these guys were so little they didn't have enough hair to keep themselves warm let alone send me into sneezing-spasms!  Erica is convinced the kitten is a girl; while Rachel insists she ONLY wants a BOY cat?!  I mean really!?  How exactly do you determine if a kitten is male or female (actually, I probably don't want anyone to answer that question!)  The kids have chosen SEVERAL names.  Since Erica is convinced it's a girl she hasn't wasted much of her time pondering "boy" names.  She's got one and ONLY one boy name....Drum roll please....dundadaddah!......Kumar!  Hahahha!  (I actually LOVE it!)  Gotta nice ring to it...Kumar the Cat!  Meanwhile, the girl name list seems to be endless!  Everything from Prathiba to Sparkles!  I think their top choice right now is Bindi!!

This is a Bindi

CRIKEY!  This is ALSO a Bindi!

Bindi Erwin!

 Rachel & Erica used to love watching Steve Erwin's daughter, Bindi, on television.   Erica has changed the little tagline jingle, "Bindi the Jungle Girl" to "Bindi the Jungle Cat"!  She loves to sing it and thinks she's so clever!  ;0)

I had suggested Indy b/c the kitten was born at the Indus School but the children couldn't get past "Indy" being Indiana Jones and since "most" of them are so anti-male-cat....Indy was quickly scratched off the list.

So what am I to do!?  I mean, this kitten is going to destroy my house, isn't it!?  Don't even talk to me about litter boxes.  Ish.  What do I do with that!?  Oh dear and then - I go back to BLUE.  I'm Blue without my Charlie.  Regardless of how this may or may not end - Know this - I will ALWAYS be a dog person.  I do NOT want a cat.  I will always detest them BUT!!! I love my kids soooo much and I know this would mean a lot to them....I'm torn.  Oh Charlie - I wish you were here and then this "problem" would just dissolve!  Always a dog lover and MAYBE I could be convinced to condone this Cat :/  Sooooo!!!  We shall see! :/  Thoughts?!  Is it too much to hope for that this story could have a happy ending!?!?!