i've Been Meme'd

whatever meme'd means...so here is are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

so my 7 things are: which you all probably know already since i'm not that private especially those things I have any opinion on.

1. I love to smell things, especially related to my body and if you watch me closely you can catch me doing it as I can't resist even in public, but I try to do is discretely: my hands after i wash them, the dandruff from my head after I itch my head, zit puss, the stuff that resides in your belly button, and the stuff that you find on the back of your earrings if you've worn them a long time (like me who never takes them out except to clean them) and last but not least those yellow-ish looking seeds/ balls that sometimes release themselves from the back of your throat (i discovered them at a young age playing oboe and became more addicted when another friend showed me how you can scrape them out with the end of your toothbrush)

2. one of the biggest things Kyle loves about me is my ability to use words incorrectly and mix up idioms/ commonly used phrases.

3. I rarely laugh at other people's jokes, only my own. I'm not quick enough to laugh at the right time or don't understand the humor when it comes to other people's jokes. Or I just don't think its funny.

4. My Indian landlord saw me naked once as he arrived at and opened our door unannounced and I was about to get dressed after taking a shower. He said "Oh God, sorry" (apply Bengali accent here)

5. Our son Isaac was conceived at London's Heathrow Airport on our way back to India from a visit to the US.

6. I am a bleeding heart

7. I have cute feet

so now I tag... Sam Cullum , Carrie Miller , Sandy , Kate Tucker and all you other peeps that have been meme'd that are my friends that haven't posted yet.

New Things

Besides swimming, Prema and Isaac are learning to ride 2 wheel bikes. For the past 2 years we have tried several different techniques to help Prema learn. She has bent every set of training wheels we have tried (some super heavy duty sets too) and its a lot of work trying to hold her up while running along side even while holding one of those handles designed to hold kids up on bikes. She gives minimal effort to pedaling correctly on our tow behind bike and is always leaning against Kyle, thus not really teaching her proper balance. After many attempts with long sabbaticals in between with hopes of growing in maturity and strength, we became hopeless that we would ever enjoy a bike ride as a family without having to tow along our oldest. As one last hope I began searching the internet for "learning how to ride a bike" and came across several sites with a self teaching method. The very next day we got Prema's bike out and took it apart as directed and bought Isaac a new bike his size taking it apart also. We didn't want to spend the money buying the Skuut bike (click on the bike image to see a video of the learning process) or imitation so we decided to work with cheaper bikes they can use later We removed the training wheels, chain, and pedals. Since then they've been "walking" the bikes every day to and from the pool. Each day they get faster and faster and use their feet less to slow down or stop on declines. Their balance and steering have improved and all along the way Kyle and I have not broken a sweat. We just walk Eli in the stroller at leisurely pace watching them learn on their own. Isaac has come farther than Prema, but at least we're hopeful that Prema will learn and we won't have to become so frustrated in the process. Eventually we will put the chain and pedals back on, but there will be no need for the training wheels.




On July 19th Kyle and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We spent the evening eating at our favorite Italian restaurant, as has become our tradition. The food and company were great. Its been quite a LONG 5 years...its amazing how India, and all of our kids have changed us and our marriage (including the number of pictures we have of ourselves together...we seem to only get a picture in here or there with one of us holding the camera).

The week before our wedding anniversary, I got LASIK surgery done. So far the results are great. My sight is improving each day and minus some pain about 2 hours after surgery, the recovery was good. Sometimes I still go to bed thinking I forgot to do something (remove my contacts) and its amazing to wake up in the wee hours of the night for a child and be able to see them immediately.

4th of July

We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July this year. We stayed in town and celebrated with the Drew and Karamin Heuertz family. We started the festivities at our neighborhood pool swimming a bit. Then we all came over to our house and had a cook out. After eating we had the kids complete a craft activity in an effort to keep them more calm before the fireworks. They made 4th of July hats (pictures below). It took all four adults to assist them in the project due to the properties of duct tape, but it was at least more calm than usual after dinner and less noisy. Then we all headed to the Largo HS football field for some fireworks. Drew is one of the football coaches so he was given permission to take us all through the gates and onto the field to watch the fireworks. It was awesome. Isaac brought his football and helmet so he could play on the field. The kids got to run around freely without any fear for the adults about crowds or personal fireworks. Then we also did our own sparklers on the field at dusk. We ended the night sitting at the top of the bleachers watching the city show right in front of us with several other public displays in the background. It was beautiful.

The best quotes of the evening came from Isaac as he tried to understand the idea of the 4th of July. I had been telling him it was America's birthday celebrating our freedom. He knows America in the context that he lives in America and that it is not India where Prema used to live. When Karamin brought the 4th of July cupcakes in our house, he really knew it was a "birthday" celebration as that is the only time we have them. When it was time to eat the cupcakes Isaac wanted to know "when is America coming so we can eat the cupcakes" (he thought we should sing "Happy Birthday" to her and knows you don't eat before the guest of honor). The when he saw the city fireworks display (his first time seeing a public display) he shouted with excitement "America's birthday candles!"

Little Fish

We have some swimmers in the pool now. Isaac, Prema and Eli are all doing well. All three do a cross between "dog paddle" and "front crawl"(aka freestyle). They all put their faces in the water, paddle the arms and kick. No one is strong enough yet to get their arms out of the water for a front craw stroke, but Prema has some good attempts. And No one is strong enough yet to swim continuously lifting their head out of the water to take a breath. Prema's kicking is quite weak and awkward as she struggles to keep her legs straight and toes pointed. Once she started wearing goggles she was no longer afraid of the deep end and working hard to swim further. (I think with the deafness she relies on her eyes so much more that goggles helped her feel more safe as she could see under water better). Isaac is jumping into any depth of water and swimming back to the wall on his own. Eli gets in to the pool just like all kids (turning around and sliding in feet first) hangs on the wall with one hand and lets go trying to swim to mom/ dad. He drinks a lot of water in the process but is always smiling and laughing even under water. His big gut is gigantic by the time he is done swimming...full of water. We have been swimming just about every day since the beginning of May...one of the great things about living in Florida. A few times we have

Baseball Fans

If you don't know it yet, the Tampa Bay Rays are number one in baseball right now. Its an exciting time in our house as Kyle has always been a fan of baseball, but now Isaac is old enough to have an interest too. Since Isaac's first trip to a major league game in the spring, he has had a big interest in being a baseball player. He became even more of a fan when he say his second cousin Isaiah Cullum (who is REALLY good) play a little league game. He came home from the game with knowledge of the dug out happenings, running bases, hitting and pitching. And since then he has gone to several TB Rays games with Kyle.

Now that its baseball season; the football, helmet, and marching band have been taking long break. So instead we hold daily pitching and batting practice sessions (sometimes 4 a day) out in the front yard. Isaac has quite an arm when it comes to pitching. He can throw you a strike when he pays attention. He can also hit a pitched ball quite well. He needs some work on fielding and catching, especially using a glove. What I really love about practicing with him is that he loves to takes turns batting and pitching, so I don't get stuck doing one or the other.

Prema has gone to a couple games too. Once she touched the live rays, scanned the crowd a few times, and watched the mascot Raymond dance a bit, she is no longer interested. She just wants to leave and get ice cream (which she will ask you about the entire game over and over and over and over again).

Prema thought it was funny to wear her hat and make this face.

touching the Rays at the game.

Bonk Beds

If you've ever been around David (Kyle's dad) you know he loves to make puns. Puns have always been a part of Kyle's nature too given he is his Dad's son, but over the years of spending consistent time with his dad, puns have become more of a part of his comedy routine too. Isaac has always had a very good sense of humor, picking up on some of David and Kyle's jokes I even struggle to understand. But now he has also begun to create his own puns: a true Cullum thing.

On the first night sitting in his new bed (bunk beds), he bounced in excitement ultimately bumping his head on the upper bunk. He climbs down from the bed laughing exclaiming "Its okay I bonked my head because they are BONK beds." I think he really did believe their name was BONK beds at the time.