At a recent party, many people asked me if I knew the sex of the baby. I was very happy to say, “Yes! It’s a boy!” Almost everyone congratulated me and made a comment about having 3 boys, which is fine – I know people want to know, but then don’t know what to say when you tell them. But two people’s responses irritated me. The first person (a woman younger than me) said, “Oh no! Are you disappointed?” I said to her, “No. Are you disappointed that you have two girls?” And the other person (also a woman younger than me) said, “Oh no! I’m so sorry! You know they say the family isn’t complete unle ..read more

Vins is 11 now and starts middle school in August. How that happened so fast, I don’t know! Anyway, two weeks ago they had their ‘puberty talk’ in school. Boys and girls are separated, and given ‘the talk’. When I got home that afternoon I asked him how it went. He said it was very uncomfortable. I asked him if he had any questions he wanted to ask me or LagosDad, he mumbled ‘no’. Basically, he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. The following week I was talk to a friend. Her son is the same grade as Vin and also had ‘the talk’. She told me about her chat with him that day. They asked him wh ..read more

It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? So much has happened, and yet it feels like time has stood still. The boys are grown. Vins is 11 and Booni is 7. I lost my dad last September. I turned 44 this year. I’m still teaching kindergarten, and this might be one of the (if not THE) hardest years I’ve ever had to teach. Even more difficult than the 2019-2020 year. And now… Baby number 3 is on his way! LagosDad and I had a couple of conversations about trying again, but we didn’t really take it any further. Then when we really decided (in December), we couldn’t quite coordinate ourselves. And then in Janua ..read more

It had been one hell of a day… Term was ending, report cards were written and proof-read and Winter Break was two days away. Teaching in-person and online is a bloody nightmare. I couldn’t wait to get home. Booni sauntered into my room just as I was settling down. He asked me to do something (or watch him do something?) with him but then walked away, looked in the mirror and came back. Booni: Mama, do you know why I was checking my face in the mirror? Me: No. Why? Booni: I was checking that it’s bright enough and fresh enough to be the Flash. Me: Ok cool. Is your face bright and fresh enough ..read more

Vinay just took me to the playroom and said- he wanted to show me something. He showed me a picture of him and me at the Dubai Mall Aquarium. Me: Okay…? Him: You look so different!! Me: I guess I’m not that fat any more. V: (pats my stomach) Hmmm ..read more

Vinay: Mama- I think your spirit animal is a dog. Me: why? V: because you’re loving and kind. Me: then why’s yours a lion? V: I took a quiz. But also I have good hair ..read more

Varun: Vinay is a lion and the lion is king. So Vinay is king. I am a leopard, leopards are strong. So I am strong. Me: and what am I? Varun: you are… A cockroach! Me: can’t you make me a nice animal? Like a unicorn? Vinay: or a hippo ..read more

I took Varun and Vinay to Bravissimo. They were very busy, so I made appointment for next day. While I was doing that, Varun found the summer catalog. He came to the desk and asked the lady if he could take it home. She said yes. And he said, it’s so funny ..read more

When Booni was a few months old, I told LagosDad that I wanted another baby (I must have been out of my mind). He said ‘no way’ right away. But I kind of tried to persuade him a few times over the next couple of years. The thing is, even though I kept telling him I wanted a baby, I wasn’t sure if I did. I just kept saying I did. Booni is 4.5, and Vins 8.5 – they’ve both grown up so much. We’ve gone on nice holidays together – just the four of us, enjoyed days out and kind of get along a bit better now. We are just getting our lives back really, aren’t we? We spent the long weekend with friends ..read more

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small ..read more