"Thurepe" Therapy

On Father’s day I suggested we play Thurepe( a card game from Kerala.) It is also known as 28. Growing up this is what we all did for fun. I thought it would be enjoyable for old time sakes; it turned out to be therapy for my dad’s recovery. My dad was always good at the game, he usually won. Most of the time while we were there, my dad looked week and tired. It was so cute to see his smile as he was winning; it was really therapy for all of us. The boys and Cruzan Dad caught on to the game quickly, and I am looking forward to many games with the family.

-- Mallu Mom

We played almost every afternoon.

"U" being coached by his grandpa.

The winning smile!

We're Back

We are finally back home after a round trip of almost 4,000 miles. I just want to sleep in my own bed!! I can't really complain about the trip, the kids were really great! We had some really good conversations and saw some beautiful country!
--CrucianDad

sorry we're new

We are still new to this blogging thing so our posts are coming out in spurts and a little out of sync (Ex we are still posting about our trip when we are just about back home) hopefully when we get home we will get on a better posting schedule

The Great Trip -- Pt 2.5 (another pit stop)

Well the next leg of our trip took us through Baton Rouge. And c'mon you don't pass even near Louisiana with out having some Cajun food! We found this nice little place The Jambalaya Shoppe it was tucked away in a strip mall right off the highway. The food was great I loved the seafood "JAM" as they called it. Mullu mom and Rose loved the Gumbo. Inch feasted on the fried catfish and "U" just loved their Crawfish Pie. We like the place so much that we even stopped on our way back up from Texas

--Crucian Dad

Stop on bye if you are going through Baton Rouge!

On our way to full bellies!

The place also had some great atmosphere!

The Great Trip -- Pt 2

After our pit stop at EWTN we kept on moving until we got to Jose's house in Jackson.
Jose treated us to a great dinner of rice and beans. We ate and caught up on old times.

Mystical Rose Trying to go to bed with a belly full of rice and beans

The next morning we went to mass with Jose before we headed off to Houston. It was just like old times, you never realize how much you miss someone until you see them again and then have to leave for the second time.

After Mass G-MAC wanted to give a high-five to the statue of Mother Mary

The family posing with Jose

-- Cruzan Dad

The Great Trip -- Pt 1.5 (the pitstop)

Well for the next leg of our trip we were going to stay with our friend Jose in Jackson Mississippi. We got to know Jose at daily mass (while he lived in Maryland) and through the Cursillo movement.
Mullu Mom realize that halfway between us and his house was Birmingham Alabama. So whats so special in Birmingham you ask? Why the world headquarters of ETWN that's what!!

This is what greets you as you get there

G-MAC enjoyed the stained glass windows of outside chapel

I love Religious with a sense of humor!

We tried to time our arrival to make it in time for the noon mass at Our Lady of Angels chapel. We actually managed to get there early so we spent a little time in the gift shop.

The kids thought that these sports rosarys were really cool

we thought about getting this for the car since Inch will start driving this year

The chapel was BEAUTIFUL. I thought that it was a little funny that this little chapel had a bunch of servo controlled cameras. We were told that the 7 AM service gets televised and the noon mass is mainly to allow the employees there to go to daily mass.

The whole family really like this sign outside of the chapel

This picture does not do the chapel justice. It is truely breathtaking

-- Crucian Dad

How to walk a Tiger

Tigers really are as big and poofy and soft as they look, and they purr like a freight train going by. You find this out by taking one for a walk. To take a tiger for a walk, you first need a tiger. Tigers fresh from the bush are not recommended for the inexperienced. What you need is one who's used to the procedure. He or she is thus liable to be merely playful, rather than actively irritated. You also need a friend, whom you really, really trust. The friend carries an apple wood cane; apple, or some other wood which will bend under stress rather than shattering. This, friend, is your backup, and the cane is his or her only tool for everything, from knocking stuff out of the way that the tiger is liable to eat, to crowd control, to hooking on and madly hanging on if things go wrong.

What YOU carry is a ten foot length of pass-link chain. This is your leash.

Pass-link chain is the stuff where the links will fit through each other. This is important. You need this so you can hook on a safety clip. The chain is looped about the tiger's neck and acts as a giant choke-chain, but the clip is there to keep a loop of some sort in case things go badly wrong. You carry the chain looped in one hand in a peculiar fashion which permits the whole length of chain to be dragged from your hand without taking your hand and/or arm with it. You practice this beforehand till you're sure you've got it right.

Then you go into the cage with the tiger. Your friend does not. You gauge the tiger's mood and put the leash on the tiger. There isn't a whole lot more to say about this step except to say that that is why your friend is there, OUTside the cage. On your side is the fact that the tiger knows what the leash is for by this time and presumably is largely in favor of the idea.

This is where you find out that tigers are soft and poofy. They are also much, much larger than you had ever dreamed, when you're standing next to one.

Then you take the tiger for a walk. Your friend walks in front with the cane to clear the way. You walk with the tiger at your side, keeping pretty good control and letting the tiger know that you are Paying Attention, because if the tiger thinks you are not Paying Attention, it will do what housecats do, let you know that you should be Paying Attention. Unlike housecats, the tiger is big enough not to have to do anything truly outrageous to rectify the situation. Reaching behind you with one forepaw and sweeping your legs out from under you is generally considered good enough by most tigers. They think this is hilarious. To this extent, tigers differ from housecats in that they seem to have a sense of humor.

It is possible that the tiger will see something that it wants. In this case, the tiger will go where it wants to go, and your job is to stop it. This is generally done by wrapping the chain around something that you pass, as the tiger drags you away. This will slow it down enough for your friend to jump on top of you and grab the chain as you go bulleting across the countryside. The weight of two adult humans will generally slow a tiger down enough to make things manageable, whereas one will not.

It is not usual for the tiger to react to freedom by turning around and turning you into fajitas, though this would actually (at least in the short term) be an eminently practical thing for the tiger to do. They enjoy their fun but are generally not ill-tempered. If they are they don't get taken for walks.

They also purr like a freight train passing. Experts in the field claim that this is not purring, that it means something else, but you couldn't put it by me. Sure sounded like purring, at 16-2/3 RPM, but it sounded like purring. All in all, an experience I highly recommend as a lifetime source of party conversation, but it sort of tends to leave you limp for the rest of the day.

-Inch

Things we love about our Dad

Happy Fathers Day Dad
all the kids wrote the top three things they love about their dad.

1. He changes my diapers
2.He reads to me
3.He works hard so mommy can stay home with me (unlimited nursing time)
Love you, G-mac

1. He wrestles with me
2. He takes me to the pool
3. He is my Dad
Love you, Mystical Rose

1. He always say "I love you" every night
2. He always sets aside time to help us with our problems
3. He never encourages us to take the easy route
Love you, U

1.He always encourages us to do better
2. He always teaches us new things
3. He has common interests with me
Love you, Inch

-Inch

Happy Birthday

Pay no attention to the horrible writing on that cake. It tasted great. I just can't write with those jell pens

Well "U" had his birthday earlier this month and his uncle "J" is going to have his really soon Appa ,Mullu Moms Father, wanted to celebrate while we were all here. Mallu made a delicious Tres Leches cake. We put 13 candles for "U" and 8 for his uncle (not a typo my brother in law is 8 years old... life happens). The cake went great with the ribs that were made for lunch..I don't think I will be able to fit into the car for the trip home!!
-- Crucian Dad

We all posed for a nice picture. that's "U" on the right and his uncle "J" in the middle

I think that is the third piece "U"ate

Uncle "J" made sure to keep up

Even G-MAC approved of moms cake

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there!!

This morning I had planned to sleep in but since the room we are in in right above the kitchen I woke up to the lovely smell of BACON. (I think I am going to ask for this little gadget for my birthday) Now it is a known fact that bacon is one of the foods that was created directly by the hands of ANGELS.... the smell is wonderful and the taste is like a little piece of heaven on your tongue ;-) Our amazing young Chef "U" made his famous omelets for everyone. I had cheese bacon and fresh spinach from the garden.

-- Crucian Dad

"U" picking fresh spinach

"U" cooking up another masterpiece

Mallu Moms Father has an amazing green thumb, going in his backyard is like teleporting to the South of India.

Mallu Mom with her brother and their dad

The Great Trip -- Pt 1

Well the first step of our trip was our longest one, we drove to Knoxville Tennessee. Now for the average car ride this only should take you about 8 hours. Making the trip with a one year old nursing baby it will take you around 12 !

This is pretty much what the rest of the family did while Dad drove

The kids were really great about keeping G-MAC entertained on the trip

Mullu Mom's wonderful brother surprised us by booking us a room at the Hilton Homewood Suites with points he earned. Now the entire family gave the place two great thumbs up. The suite was nice and large, the staff was incredibly friendly. But the real kicker is that during the week they serve a complimentary dinner. When I say dinner I don't mean some chintzy sandwiches and crackers, I mean Salisbury steak and potatoes. For those of you that like to indulge a little, they have beer on tap. I am sorry for not taking pictures of the hotel but may I remind you to the 12 hours of driving! After a good meal and a swim in the pool we all went to bed pretty early.

-- Crucian Dad

The great view made the driving a little easier

The Great Trip---Epilogue

Well Mullu Moms father just had surgery so we decided to go see him for Fathers Day. Well the only issue with that is that we live in Maryland and he is in Houston....... as in Texas. I don't know if you all have checked but Airline tickets are a bit pricey especially for a family of 6. So we decided to pack up the clan and make a drive of it. Because G-MAC can't handle too much time in the car we decided to break up the trip into three days. The trip actually was quite enjoyable.

--Crucian Dad

We're here (finally)

Well we finally broke down and got off of our collective butts and we now have our little piece of real estate on the INTERWEB!!

Hopefully this will be interesting and insightful but not totally take over our lives.

Since this is a family blog you will see a mix of posts from mom dad and all of the kids (except G-MAC of course) We will each sign our posts to help everyone keep track

--Crucian Dad