The-Courier-recoveringnoah

About a year ago, I started following the blog of a family who was adopting a rather high profile child. You know, one of the kids that has an urgent appeal and his or picture gets passed around on adoption forums and blogs and Facebook.

I was so excited when this child found a family. I participated in fundraisers and eagerly stalked  their blog for updates. When they were in-country, I would wake up and check their blog first thing in the morning to see if they had posted. I was so incredibly excited for them. I wanted to know how he was doing, what foods he liked, what he thought of his new family, everything.

But, you know what? He came home and the family stopped blogging. And in a really weird way, I was crushed. I almost felt betrayed. I know that's really silly, because they are complete strangers, but some of you might know what I'm talking about. It's just that I was so emotionally invested in his adoption and I wanted to keep updated and then they just sort of disappeared.

Ya'll.... I've become that family.  And I'm so so sorry.

What I know now is that the family was probably extremely overwhelmed and extremely busy and trying desperately to find a new normal.  And the reason I think that is because that's where we are right now.

And the reason I'm writing right now is, because, after nearly a month home (on Friday), things are starting to slow down. Only by about 10%, but that 10%?? We'll take it!

Before I worry any of you, let me just say that Naveen is a dream.


He is wonderful. He has an incredible personality and is such a ham. He loves to show off his dance moves and let me tell you, that boy has rhythm! Expect to see him on So You Think You Can Dance in about 15 years time. He's really playful and loves sweets. He's currently on the "all-white" diet"... bananas, rice, yogurt, potatoes, corn chips, popcorn, ice cream, noodles, cookies.... you know, just like the food pyramid recommends.

Food has probably been our biggest issue. He ate non-stop when he first got home. Literally 4 or 5 hard-boiled eggs and 4 bananas at a time. I'm being serious. This past week he's really started to get comfortable with us and his eating has slowed down a lot. He won't try a single colored fruit or vegetable to save his life - even in smoothie form. He and Noah are soul mates.

Speaking of the kids, they're doing great! Nandi and Eli adore him and it's been so good to see that each of them actually has a caring side. lol  I really do believe that Naveen is our missing puzzle piece. He's united the kids together in a way I never thought possible.  Noah... well, that's a different story. He cried for the first ten days and it broke my heart. Every time I came near him, he'd just cry and push me away. I can't even begin to tell you how devastated that made me. See,  I used take Noah for a ride on his bike everyday, but Naveen wants to be carried all the time and I can't push Noah on his bike (it's an adapted bike) while carrying Naveen.  I used to read to Noah all the time, but Naveen starts distracting me to get my attention, so the book reading has taken a backseat. I used to bathe Noah every morning while reading to him, but Naveen wants to climb in there with him and bathe him himself. Everyone could see that Noah was struggling, so my parents and Simeon try to do something special with Noah every few days. It might just be going to Lowe's with Sim or going to Whataburger for breakfast with Nonna and Papa, but slowly, Noah's started to accept that Naveen is not the devil incarnated. In fact, I scolded Naveen the other day and Noah slapped me on the shoulder and gave me a dirty look. I think the little devil angel might be winning him over.



But, really, the main reason I haven't been able to write is because... well... truthfully... Naveen is quite the handful. It's a bit like having a Laborador puppy... you can't leave him alone for even one second.  He's poured a tub full of legos in the washing machine. He's flushed things down the toilet several times and stopped it up. I took a phone call and in those ten minutes, he pulled a chair up to the kitchen sink, plugged it, emptied a whole bottle of dishwashing  liquid, and turned on the water full blast. It flooded the kitchen. He poured an entire salt shaker on the dog food. He's obsessed with the toilet and I have caught him several times washing his hands in the toilet. He also gave me a drink of water.. from the toilet.  Didn't catch that one until I watched him go get a refill. Ewwww.  He's emptied our bookshelves a few times. The boy is lightening fast. I can be standing right next to him and he can clear a bookshelf in less than 5 seconds.




Cooking is impossible and as much as I hate to admit this, I have to keep it real. We had fast food every day for the first three weeks. Sometimes for each meal. I'm not joking. It was disgusting, but I was so overwhelmed, Sim went back to work two days after we came home (and is gone 13 hours a day), and Naveen alternated (and still alternates) between being so clingy that I can literally do nothing but sit down on the couch with him or so hyper that it's like running around the house chasing a wind-up toy. Or a balloon that someone filled up and then let fly across the room. Laundry piled up, the house was/is/will always be dirty, but I have to make sure that Naveen adjusts to us and bond with us and so everything else is on the back burner.

On Friday I went on FB and begged for everyone's favorite crockpot recipe because I had become so disgusted with eating things that came in cardboard boxes. The crockpot has become a lifesaver. And if you have a favorite recipe, please feel free to share it!!  As Naveen now refuses naps, he gets clingy and whiny from 4 o'clock on and it makes doing anything in the kitchen impossible.... so the last 4 days, I've made things in the morning and they're ready by supper time and why oh why didn't I think of this before?

By the way, I just have to say that if you know of someone who is adopting and you want to help, honestly, I think the best thing to do would be to bring them a meal. People bring meals for newborns and they just sleep all day (okay, not really, but you know what I mean).. But a 2/3/4 year old will pull out every single drawer in the kitchen, find where you hide the screwdriver and stick it down the garbage disposal and flip the switch before you even get the milk out of the fridge. I suck at asking for help, but I swear that if someone had brought us a meal, I would have started sobbing, french kissed them, and then changed Naveen's name to whatever their first name is and sent them flowers every month in appreciation.

There's so much to say and I don't even know how to describe all that's gone on in the last month. But I know that Naveen needs me and needs my time. The kids need me and need my time. Although they're all adjusting well, we've seen some old behaviors crop up. Peeing in the bed, on the floor, outside. Sleep disrupted. Clinginess. Every single one of them wants me to hold them and rock them. There's been birth parent sadness, a husband who now shares his bed with a toddler, a mom who is so tired and overwhelmed.... but there's also been more laughter in this family than I can remember. Naveen is so funny, and although things are hard right now, I wouldn't change it for the world.

I honestly don't know how often I'll be updating. Right now, the kids are outside in the pool (not Naveen, though, he's scared of the water, so he's playing in the sand box), and I'm on the back porch with them typing on the lap top. But I don't want it to become a habit. I don't want their summer to go by with me sitting on the computer all day.  So I'll update when I can.

I do get on Facebook more often, so if you want to friend me on Facebook, then feel free to email me your name and I'll friend you. My email is recoveringnoah@yahoo.com .

And, lastly, I have now have a three year-old! Today's Naveen's birthday. In typical Leslie style I haven't taken a single picture. We're having a party at my mom's on Saturday, so I'm sure there will be picture taking there. He did find his present (a shopping cart) a few days earlier (little snooper!) and he loves it.


That's all for now. Sorry it took this long to update. Have a great week!

Hi!! Yes, we made it. I'm sorry I haven't updated. Naveen is doing great, but he's sooo clingy. I have so much to write, but for now, I'm being lazy and just copying and pasting my Facebook status update that I just posted on the Holt boards.

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Hey everyone! Yes, we're Home!! Things have been so crazy busy that I haven't had a chance to do anything. Naveen is slowly finding his wings, but he has been very clingy and VERY scared of our dogs. I haven't had a chance to sit down and type, so I'm just retyping what I just posted on Facebook....

Thanks for all the emails and messages. I'm so sorry I haven't replied back. I'm buried under a sink of dirty dishes, a table full of fast food wrappers, mountains of dirty laundry, and a VERY clingy 2 year old who has a terrible case of the runs. Despite how it sounds, things are going great. Naveen's bonding has surprised us all. N & E adore him! But Noah is having a hard time. He spelled out I E-N-V-I-O-U-S. =( We're all trying to adjust to our new normal - which is a wonderful normal - but new all the same. Things are just busy, busy, busy and it's hard to type/update with a child hanging onto you. Naveen's great, though. Part Tarzan/Part Comedienne/ Part Cuddle Bug and a little bit of Hellraiser. Pray for my sanity. =) Thanks again for all the msgs. If you have my #, the phone is the best way to communicate for the time-being.

I'm sure in a few days, things will calm down and I can post pictures and update my blog. (Thanks for reading!!). I'm so thankful Sandwich went with me. If only you could all have a Sandwich. She was amazing and I couldn't have done it without you.

I'm thinking of you all who are in the process or just starting. I have nothing but good things to say about ****. They are the best! Naveen was definitely loved and definitely taken care of. We saw his nephrologist yesterday and he was blown away with all the medical records we have on Naveen. He said he's never seen a child come home from an orphanage with such good records.

Well, it looks like 2 minutes is the limit on the amount of free time Naveen gives me. I'll try to update more later.


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Before I go, though, I want to thank everyone for all the comments you left while I was gone. It's so exciting to see all these new names! And I'm so excited about meeting all of you who are adopting from India!! Hopefully, things will calm down and I can start visiting your blogs and such. Just know, in the meantime, my thoughts are with you!


I hope to post pictures soon and let you all know the ins and outs and all sorts of tips. That first week home is a bit rough. But it's worth it!!


Will try to be on here soon.


Leslie

So, 11:45 Thursday night, our taxi arrived.  Mrs. S had her guys watching for it and the gate called down when it came into the compound.  Up they went and a few minutes later, down they came, one with Leslie's suitcase lifted over his head, the other with my suitcase plus Naveen's checked bag, plus her two carry-ons.  Wow, these guys are strong!  There is nothing to them, yet they hoist 100 lbs. of luggage like nothing!

Since Wed. the tall, lost Sikh guy had been Leslie's taxi driver, and tonight was no exception.  We hopped into the taxi-van and headed off through the streets of Old Delhi.  Literally.

Now, I was awake when we arrived FROM the airport, and I swear that first scruffy driver took all highways to get us to the Sham Nath Villa.  We were cruising through the empty streets going, oh, I don't know, 40 km/h.

Tonight we took every possible back way there was to get to the airport.  It didn't actually seem to take very long, but it WAS stinky.

We arrived at the airport with a sleeping Naveen.  The driver brought over two trolleys for the luggage and I laughed at him.  I said, me, luggage.  Her, baby.  ONE trolley.  Oh, ok.

We found our check-in point, checked in, navigated security (which Naveen didn't like.  The nice young lady behind us in the long, long line gave him her Dairy Milk bar.  This helped.

Once through security, we headed for our gate.  At this point, everything begins to blur together as I developed narcolepsy and fell asleep every time I sat down.  Naveen did pretty well, for having had only a 30 minute nap since 4:00.

We boarded without issue but once on the plane the militant flight attendant insisted that if Naveen had his own seat, he had to sit in it and be buckled.  Lelsie tried to explain that he wasn't going to like it, and the FA basically said, too bad, maybe if you hold his hand, he'll be ok.  Yeah.  Right.

Taking off wasn't so bad.  He didn't like it, but he was fairly distractable. (did you know that's not actually a word?)  Fairly easily distracted.  There.

The food was again horrible and I didn't eat any.  I was sleeping. Naveen slept for most of the flight but kept rolling off the seat.  Also Leslie's armrest wouldn't stay up, so she had to hold it up with her arm so it wouldn't fall and crush Naveen's head where he was lying on the seat.  Finally, I rigged up my passport pouch over the back of the seat and around the armrest to hold it.  Still, she didn't sleep.

 For the landing, the screen said 8 minutes to landing, so we buckled Naveen in.  He cried.  We circled and 8 minutes turned into 15 minutes.  He cried.  The man across from us plugged his ears with his blanket.  The FA never actually came by to check that he was buckled.  Waste.

Our layover in Frankfurt was 3 hours and by this time, Leslie was fried.  She had been up since 6:30 am on Thursday (it was now some random time on Friday).  Naveen was a powerhouse.  He was good, just busy and wide awake.  He decided it was now ok to go more than 10 feet from her and would run down the hallway until he could just about not see her and then come running back.  They went to the bathroom.  They ate Parle-Gs.  They drank pani.  Lather. Rinse. Repeat.  I alternated falling asleep and taking Naveen to the window to see the airplanes (he goes with me now, short distances away, if he can still see Mommy).

Finally, we boarded our flight with NICE flight attendants, who brought Leslie a lap belt for Naveen so she could hold him for take off and landing.  He was awake and playing for the first 3 or 4 hours.  He didn't eat any dinner.  Leslie got disgusting vegan meals (nothing against vegans, just don't order vegan on a plane).  They were able to substitute it for the regular veg at least once.  Naveen did not eat.  I slept through snack and dinner.

With still 6 hours to go, I suggested she put him to sleep.  She hesitated because she knew he would cry.  I said, tough.  There were other babies crying and that's just the way it goes on a plane.  She laid him down.  He popped up.  She laid.  He popped.  He began to scream.  He twisted, he fought, he climbed onto the floor.  She picked him up.  I thought about wrestling octopi.  That's seriously what it looked like.

In the end, she stayed strong (what a mama!!), he gave in and subsided to whimpers, then fell asleep.  YAAAAAY!  I think he slept for 2 hours or so. Leslie dozed.  I slept.  I watched a movie.  I slept.  I watched a TV show.

He played happily the last 3 hours.  She had bought some nesting boxes, little pill-sized boxes with mirrors and he played with these a long, long time, stacking, nesting, opening, closing.  I had also brought stickers and he liked peeling them and sticking them up and down his and Leslie's arms.  He played with his sunglasses.  He ate biscuits.  He crossed the aisle to me once or twice.  He threw his sunglasses on the floor.  He picked them up.  He is an amazing little person, and probably Leslie doesn't think so, but I thought this flight was really smooth and he did so well.  10 hours is a long time!

Landing went fine.  He was really tired by this point and fell asleep for the last 5 minutes of the flight.

American soil!  He didn't like standing in line for immigration.  When we got up to the counter, we found out she had to go to the "special room" with his packet.  She got cleared, I was cleared and off she went.  I went downstairs to collect our bags and wait.  I watched the drug-sniffing beagle do his work.  He did sniff out one suitcase, which his handler searched and found nothing.

After about 20 minutes, they came down and we headed through customs, which was a piece of cake.  Then, the meeting!

They went ahead and I came behind with the trolley piled over my head with luggage, camera held aloft.

Leslie was expecting Simeon and the kids, but her parents had to work at their flea market--Friday is a super busy day, so it was to be a low-key reception.

Not so!  Sim and the kids were there.  Her parents, grandparents and some cousins and aunts!  It was fantastic!  Naveen did great, clinging to Leslie, but not crying when people came close to say hello.  After a bit, he did get down and let people touch him, even.  It was such a beautiful and joyous meeting!

We all hung around at the airport for 45 minutes or so and then people began to leave.  I said good bye to Leslie, her mom and grandma hugged me.  They are such a warm and sweet family!

I am so blessed to have been a part of this journey from the very beginning to the very end!  It was amazing to watch and such a privilege for me, not to mention FUN!  I feel like I got to have an amazing vacation (twice!) in the country I love, while participating in the miracle of building a new family.  Plus, having done this twice, I have to say, I LIKE being the Aunty!  All the fun without any of the exhaustion!  :P

I continued my narcoleptic ways and fell sound asleep for an hour waiting for my flight.  I had my arms and legs wrapped around my stuff, but I don't know if I would have noticed if anyone took one of my bags.  I ate a sub from Subway and spent another $7.99 for internet access in the Dallas airport.  I Facetimed with the kids.  5 hours is a long layover when you're almost home.  2 hours on the last flight is forever!  I slept.

******, unbelievably, came to the airport to meet my 10:40 flight.  He fell asleep at the regular time and then dad put a sweater and shoes on him, they went grocery shopping, then came to the airport.  He grew 3 inches it seemed, while I was gone.

And so we got home at midnight, had a shower, and OH, I love my memory foam!!!  Heaven.

Thanks, Leslie, for the opportunity to share this wonderful time with you and your family!  It has been my joy!

Thursday morning I woke up feeling sick and kept fighting it for a couple of hours.  Leslie and Naveen went down for breakfast and then headed out to the embassy by taxi to pick up his visa packet.  Done and done!

By the time they returned, I had taken an antibiotic, thrown that up and was moaning on the bed.

Let me just say at this point, I really don't think it was the street food tour.  Leslie and Naveen ate all the same things I did and didn't get sick.  That was Tuesday and this was Thursday and I was fine (except for a headache) all Wednesday.  Probably a random touching of some object  and then not washing my hands thoroughly.  Anyway, I don't recommend it.

The plan had been for us to go back to Dilli Haat and finish up our shopping today, but I was clearly in no shape for that.  Leslie the Incredible India Adventure Girl, set out on her own for the subway.  Dilli Haat is a straight shot, 10 stops down our line.

I lay down and slept for a bit, then managed to make another antibiotic stay down (I only ever threw up the one time, thank goodness, and I spare you any further gory details).  I rested for a few more hours and woke up at noon feeling much better.  I began to choke down a liter of oral rehydration salts.  Gross!  I finally put two lemon Airborne tablets in the bottle to make it somewhat tolerable.  I also ate a few of Naveen's goldfish crackers (he doesn't like them anyway).  Then I organized Naveen's suitcase.

Leslie and Naveen returned about 1:30 laden with stuff and in a foul mood.  Not only was she carrying her packages, but no one had offered her a seat for 7 stops on the subway while holding Naveen and she gave some young girl a verbal tongue-lashing.  Finally some lady intervened and made someone get up and let her sit down.  Don't mess with the mama bear!

They went down for lunch and I was feeling well enough that I came down too and had some black tea and a packet of Lipton chicken noodle soup mix I'd brought along for just such an emergency.  You know, I liked that stuff as a kid and I remember the noodles being crunchy and fun.  As an adult I just found them crunchy and pasty.   The broth and the chicken (surprisingly!) were good tho.

Naveen lay down for a nap and Leslie faux-packed.  She said she was packing and she swarmed around moving things from here to there, but mostly she checked her Facebook. :D

By the time he woke up, I was feeling well enough for shopping.  I still had a huge list I hadn't tackled and we were leaving in 8 hours.  Leslie had her heart set on visiting this lake with swan boats we'd driven past on Monday.  I told her I refused to set finger in a mucky Indian lake and she admitted it was silly and she couldn't put her finger on why it was important, but, by gum, she was doing it!

So we hopped on the subway again and parted ways at Rajiv Chowk where I got out to walk to the Central Cottage Industries Emporium and she changed lines for the lake.

Turns out she met the nice Hong Kong lady, Aree, on the next line and Aree said, what the heck, I'll come with you!  Aree is kind of a card!  She's about 65 or 70 and completely her own person.  She wears a tshirt and jean shorts with running shoes and does whatever she wants.  She's so sweet.

They got to the swan boats and discovered you had to pedal them yourselves.  Aree said no way and paid to have someone else do it (or a motorized version, I'm not really sure)  It was an extra 120 Rs. or something, I think.  They had a blast!

I asked for directions and took off walking to the Cottage Industries.  I asked for directions and kept walking.  I asked for directions and when everyone kept telling me I was headed the right way, assumed they were all telling the truth and kept walking.  I asked one more time for good measure and after about 7 minutes, saw the big building I remembered from our first trip to Delhi.  It really was a straight shot, about half a kilometer from the metro station.

The store was peacefully quiet and empty and I whipped through my shopping like nobody's business.  The prices are quite good here, I thought, and the things are very nice.  No bargaining and they sell EVERYTHING!

I got a sari for one of the girls, a chess set, drums, paper-mache pill boxes and a Christmas ornament, a journal, earrings, and more.

I was all finished when I meandered into the china area.  For years I have wanted a tea set, all matching pieces and I've always wanted an ethnic one of some kind.  I've looked and looked at SERRV and never found one that tripped my trigger.  As I was wandering through the china area, I spotted a Warli painted tea set that took my breath away. 

Warli is a very simple, stick-figure art by a tribal people of Maharastra.  It is beautiful in its simplicity.  We learned about it 2 years ago at Camp Masala when we studied that area of India and the kids made their own Warli drawings.

Here is Mack's design, which I scanned and made into a scrapbook paper.


ANYway!  The tea set.  Was breathtaking.  I hesitantly picked up the teapot to check the price.  780 Rs.  For the teapot.  All the sets I'd looked at in the States were $30-50.

I picked up the creamer.  No sticker.  The sugar bowl.  No sticker.  A cup (there were SIX of them, plus saucers).  No sticker.

It was 780 Rs. FOR THE WHOLE SET!  I almost fainted.  I decided on the spot I was buying it.

Then I thought about getting it home.  I asked how they'd wrap it.  In bubble wrap, Madam.  In bubble wrap, in a box, I said.  No box.  Bubble wrap.  I said Airplane.  Box and bubble wrap.  Yeah, ok, no problem.  I thought about the tea set arriving home in 780 pieces.  I decided for $15, I'd just set my mind on the pieces, buy some super glue and hope for the best.

By now I was pretty whipped and it was 6:30.  When you shop at the CCIE, you bring your item to the counter in each department and they ring it up, take the item and give you a receipt.  When you are all finished shopping, you bring all your receipts to the payment counter where you...(wait for it!)....pay.  Then they stamp everything in triplicate and you take the paid receipts to the receiving counter.  Their they collect all your purchases, sorted by department, bag them and hand them over.  It's quite a system!  I had to wait eons before they finished bubble-wrapping and boxing my tea set.

Can you say heavy?  Holy moly!  I left the store, stepped into traffic and knocked on an auto.  He pulled to the side of the street and let me hop in.  Back to the metro station (20 Rs.) and I was down the stairs and on my way with my packages.  It was rush hour by now and the train was crowded, so I stood, but it was only 4 stops, so not bad.

Leslie and Naveen were in the room and had just returned from their boating adventure.  They went down to eat and I unpacked my whole suitcase, sorted and repacked.  The souveniers all fit.  The dirty laundry didn't.  I ended up abandoning two pair of pajamas, a skirt and a pair of sandals, along with all the snacks I wasn't taking in my carry-on (I wonder what the Indians think of tuna?), some random medications that have been to India 5 times and never been used (can you even take expired Immodium?) and the M&Ms.  Mrs. Shalini later told us that actually, lots of people leave things behind and her assistant, Seema, sorts through them and distributes the things to staff and others.  Most of her staff, she said, wear shoes left behind by travelers!

Leslie came back to the room and faux-packed some more.  I rested on the bed.  Naveen played and unpacked the little she had accomplished.  This went on for 2 more hours and she did finally manage to sort and fit everything in.

At 9:30, Mrs. S. came up to say good-bye.  We mentioned how pleased we'd been with our stay and how we wanted to recommend her place to other adoptive families.  Our only concern, we said, was that the beds were so hard, and while it hadn't bothered us, other people might not care for it.  "Oh, you girls!" she said.  "Why didn't you ASK me!  I have stacks of soft mattresses! Lots of people ask for them and one Norwegian couple even wanted TWO on each bed!  You should have told me."  Uh, how were we to know?

So anyway, we can now unequivocally recommend the Sham Nath Villa for your stay in Delhi, complete with soft mattress-topped beds.  Go!  Stay!  Love!

I lay down and closed my eyes some more.  Leslie took a shower, Naveen played.  The little monkey actually stayed awake until 11:45 when our taxi arrived.  Leslie woke me up a few minutes before and I went down to watch for it.

To be continued...

Delhi--Wednesday

A laid back day. I woke up at 6:30 and hustled downstairs to FaceTime with the kids before bed.

They have been having all sorts of adventures while I'm gone. A trip to the emergency room, a lost retainer, the cat caught a snake and they forgot to pick ********
up from school. Hopefully the rest of the week will be uneventful.

I had a headache today (what is it with me and Wednesdays in India? I didn't feel good on the last trip) so, since Leslie was going by non-adventurous car just to the doctor and the embassy, I begged off and hung out here.

Naveen was very good for the day's errands, he just ate a whole container of biscuits. They were at the doctor by 10:30 and got right in. Reading the TB test took just two minutes, but waiting for the photocopies to take to the embassy took an hour and a half.

When she came out she couldn't see the driver. Monday's driver was standing outside the medcentre watching for us and he took very good care of us the whole time. Today's guy just vanished. So she got to the steps. No driver. She got a little panicked and eventually managed to round up 4 guys on motorbikes driving up and down the street looking for him (she was able to put her hand way above her head to show he was tall and made a circle around her head to show he he wore a hat (he was Sikh). Seriously I'm cracking up listening to her describe it so I can write it down for you.). Then the 4 bikers berated the poor driver for not leaving her a phone number.

Next they raced off to the embassy before they closed, supposedly at 1:00. She got there at 12:20. Phew! Only, naturally they've changed the times and now they don't take anyone after 12:30. Not so phew.

The embassy went smoothly. It's very streamlined and efficient (u.s. govt? Gasp!) and the easiest of the three times she's done this.

Off course, once out, she had to play dumb American lady and flag down someone with a mobile (that's a cell phone) to call the driver, whose number she now has. She can't understand him, so the mobile owner has to call him back and talk to him.

When she got back, she gave him 1000 Rs. note, but he didn't have change. Naveen was exhausted and starving by this point, so she just told him to keep it. (650 was the charge). Later when Mrs. S talked to him, he told her that (at least he's honest) and she is going to get Leslie's change from him.

Naveen is just so cute and he's really opening up. He ate so well today, even eating rice with "stuff" in it. He's letting me play with him and talk to him. He says bah-nah-nah, No!, mommy, Aunty. Last night Leslie was teaching him to say I love you and he said it. I videoed that!

He's also testing limits and does stuff and laughs. He hits a little bit. Today he started screeching, just for fun. He tries to take the telephone off the hook. He's pretty typical 2-year old, nothing I haven't seen before. He tried to unplug the mosquito thing today and when Leslie slapped his hand (not hard!), he laughed out loud. So much for corporal punishment.

This afternoon he started, for the first time, going more than three feet away from Leslie. He and I played ball while she was posting on FB. I would "hide" it behind the couch pillow or under the table (while he watched) and then he would "find" it, cracking up the whole time. He has absolutely the best little laugh! Then he took it and "hid" it for me! He is so, so smart!

While they were having adventures, I posted to the blog and took a nap. Here's a nap in India:

Fall asleep. Answer knock on door. Let housekeeping in to sweep bath (the bed-maker has already been here, but now the sweeper is here. They are two different people). Lie back down. Doze off. Answer door. The boy is here to change the duvet covers (apparently also different from the sweeper and bed-maker people). Since I knew the fan-fixer was also coming, I decided to accept defeat and went downstairs. (our fan has developed a terrible screech -- kind of like Naveen -- and needs to be taken down and oiled.)

Leslie and Naveen returned soon after and our lunch was brought in. Mrs. S had had her cook make us rice and dal, spiced and plain rotis, baby eggplants in a sweet and sour sauce, stir-fried veggies and some corn-stuffed potatoes. With rice pudding for dessert.

I need to take up running.

While we were eating, she brought in a new guest to meet us, a nice lady from Hong Kong, here to set up her British husband's household while he works on a metro project here. They've been in Bangalore the past two years. I think I already mentioned the other guests, the army major, the Sri Lankan, and the Bangladeshi couple (did I mention that we ran into her while shopping in Chandni Chowk yesterday? Of all things!). Everyone is so nice and it's so much fun to talk to them all and hear their stories!

Mrs. S's daughter also stopped by to convince Mrs. S to adopt a golden retriever rescue. The daughter has been working on Mrs. S for two days now. She really doesn't want the dog but her daughter is very persistent. We'll see who wins out!

By 4:30 we had to leave for the metro to go to Amanda's for dinner. She's the one for whom I brought half a suitcase of stuff. (now I have room for shopping!). I loaded up my backpack and a shopping bag and we headed out.

This was the first time we had to change trains. All our traveling has been on the yellow line thus far. It is so easy! Everything is very well marked.

Once we arrived at our stop we had to catch an auto to take us to their apartment, which was also fairly easy. He had to stop and ask for I reactions about 9 times.

Amanda is very sweet as well and a very gracious hostess. We arrived at 5:30 and ate about 6. She had made chicken-fried rice and some saucy chicken and we had a salad. She has a boy and a girl, 5 (tomorrow) and 7. It was interesting hearing about their transition to India and the work they do. Her husbands job has quite good benefits, so they feel blessed to live in a very nice place.

She had made a cake and bought ice cream, so we sang happy birthday to her son.

Naveen initially cried when he saw her 6'5" white husband, but Zak had to go somewhere and when he retuned later, Naveen was fine with him. They had Legos, which Naveen loves, so he played with those quite a bit. He also warmed up some to the kids, sharing his chips with them. He also let me teach him to ride the little boy's scooter (in the house).

About 8:30 Naveen was getting tired, so Zak and his daughter walked us down the street where I flagged down an auto and negotiated the right price back to the metro station.

On the ride back we talked with the nicest couple. When they found out where we were going and that they were going a few stops past that, they insisted we come with them and they'd help us change trains. We could have done it alone, but we played along.

The wife kept saying what a nice thing we were doing, but she also rightly pointed out that it was good for everyone. Baby gets a family, mother gets a child to love her, she said. That's a switch from the usual comments where everyone only sees how lucky (in their eyes) the child is to go to America. I don't think most people even acknowledge that he gets a FAMILY (Hello!), they just see his free ride to America, the land where dreams are made.

So then she took it upon herself to be our official train ambassador, telling everyone around her (in a loud voice) that we were adopting and he was from Pune and was going to America and blah, blah, blah. It was actually kind of comical, like something in the movies. But we didn't get any negative feedback and we just sat with our eyes to the floor thanking God she was celebrating us and not berating us!!!

We finally escaped the adoption train at our stop and walked back the block and a alf to our villa. Nighty night!!

Oh, BTW, if you're not interested in today's pooping adventure (soon he has to run out of new and interesting ways of doing this), stop reading now.

This morning he pooped in his diaper. When Leslie took it off and was throwing it away he went into the bedroom and squatted on the rug. While she was exclaiming over and cleaning THAT up, he went into the bathroom and squatted on the floor in there. I was, sadly, not present for this performance. :D

Tuesday--old Delhi

Woke up. Ate paratha aloo.

Our plan was to go to Dilli Haat, an ethnic crafts market via the metro. Mrs. S loaned us metro cards to use, and the Civil Lines stop is literally 2 min. walk from here.

At the station we added 100 Rs. to each card (they each had just a bit on them). And the Delhi Metro is just amazing!!!

It's super clean (for India), super easy and super fast! You go through the scanner in the ladiies' line, they scan your bags, you lay your card against the turnstile and then go wait for the ladies car.

Every train has a ladies car, either the first or the last, only for ladies and their children.

Each car has a marquee inside listing the stops in English and Hindi, and there also a map with lights showing where you are. AND they are making announcements in Hindi and very clear English. You cannot get lst and it's very safe.

And so cheap! We rode 6 times today and spent 60 Rs.

So off we went to Dilli Haat. We found it after asking one direction, and went up to the ticket window. But just as Leslie was going to buy a ticket (you pay to get in and then there are no touts), I saw a sign in the window saying it was a changeover day, being the first of the month, and only two shops were open. It must be that different merchants sell each month.

Change in plans.

So we decided to go back on the Metro to Chandni Chowk which is another market area. This was pretty overwhelming, even for us seasoned India-navigators, but we pressed on. Relying on my amazing sense of direction (truly), we set off in search of steel. This area is very crowded, dirty, broken sidewalks, pushy men desperately trying to sell us mustache trimmers (note to self: check if walrus hairs need plucking). The first side of the street had nothing for us, but then we spotted a kitchenware shop and found all the things we needed. I finally got my dosa spreader (Kristin V.!). On the way back, Leslie found the rest of the outfits she needed to pick up and I found something for a certain 7 year old who is getting a lot of presents from this trip!

Metro back to the villa and order lunch for Naveen who was asleep before it arrived. But! News flash! Before his nap, he pooped in the toilet! Potty trained, I tell you! Some people have all the luck! (meaning only that Leslie gets to bring home a potty-trained child, not that I need to be potty-trained

Leslie had missed printing out one important document she needs tomorrow and had planned to go to an Internet cafe across the street Mrs. S told us about. Naveen was really tired, tho, and we had to leave again for our street food tour at 3:30, so after he went to sleep, I had her email it to me and I set out.

Our street was easy to cross, not busy at all. All I knew was that tha place was somewhere across the street and down a block or two, nothing more. The first place I asked had no idea. Past the Metro stop, there were some small shops down a lane, so I headed that way. I asked at a food stand/restaurant and they pointed it out.

I went in and asked to print. They showed me to a computer and I got logged on. Someone came and took my passport to photocopy. I opened the email. He sat down to log my information into the book. I waited for him to be done. When he handed back my passport, I asked to print. He copied and pasted into word, printed 4 sheets, I paid my 40 Rs and was done!

I went back to the food stand/restaurant and ordered some veg Hakka noodles for 80 Rs. ($1.50) to take away. Talked with a lady from Arkansas who was eating there with a colleague (Indian) and said the food was good and safe.

Brought it back along with a menu and Leslie's papers and we ate the noodles. They were like lo mein and sooooo good!

Let Naveen nap until 3:15 then got him up and headed for the Metro again.

Our street food tour was so much more than that. Dhruv showed us little thing we wouldn't have noticed on our own. We ate Aloo Chaat (spicy fried potatoes), veg patties, Mutter Kachori, and gulab jamun. We drank sweet lassi from a clay cup.

We went to his home where his very nice wife, Richa let me help make the fried appetizers and we talked recipes. We met their teenaged daughters and had a tour of their home, traditional for this area called a Havali.

Naveen did great until dinner and then we had to rush through it a bit but it was delicious. We had Rose (flavored) kulfi (ice cream) for dessert, which Naveen loved.

Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted we call him when we were safely back at the villa. We really enjoyed this tour!

(here is what I wrote for tripadvisor:

“Excellent experience of the "real" India”

My friend and I travelled with her two-year old son and she booked this tour via the Internet, based on the excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.

It was everything already stated in the reviews and a wonderful experience!

Dhruv took excellent care of us and was very responsive to the needs of the child. He contacted us a few days before our tour to suggest an earlier time than normal, and perhaps he cut a few things out when the child became fussy, but no matter, it was all wonderful!

We felt safe eating the street food and did not get sick. No one bothered us while walking.

The highlight was visiting his home and needing his family. For those who scoff at the cost, THIS is what you are getting for your money! The is more than just a street tour, but a chance to spend time with a real Indian family and to see how they live.

Mrs. Richa let me help make the snacks and we exchanged cooking tips as I also cook Indian food at home. She was so warm and friendly.

Our only regret is that our dinner was rushed because the child was becoming tired, but even then they were so gracious and did not make us feel badly. They even brought him extra kulfi, which he enjoyed.

Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted that we call to let him know we had returned safely.

This was more than a tourist gimmick of see this, learn that. This was about relationships and getting to know people. Well worth the money, in my opinion.

Thank you Dhruv and Richa!

Visited May 2012