Pooh, Indian banquet, and first snow!

*Hopefully, there will be photos with this post soon! We have a new camera that is not playing nicely with our computer!*

One really funny thing to report from Miss Anya Rashi. At a baby shower last summer, someone gave us a package of Huggies diapers featuring Winnie the Pooh on the front of each diaper. She has a Pooh stuffed animal, and was REALLY excited about the diapers. In true almost-two-year-old fashion, she turned the whole thing into a mildly embarrassing episode. In public, to anyone who is remotely interested (or not!), she will point to her diaper area and say loudly, "POOH!!" So far, the response has been a few semi-horrified looks, and one person who said, "Looks like mommy needs to change you." Ha!

In other news, this weekend, my sister Alicia visited. She lives about 100 miles away, and we always wish we could see her more. She's the ultimate fun aunt, and gets right into whatever the kids are doing.

This time, Alicia came for a grown-up reason: to go to an Indian event with me! Our city has an organization called Indus, which is a group for both Indians and non-Indians who are interested in Indian culture. Each year, they do a variety of cultural, educational, and fun events. Friday was their 10th annual banquet. The food was outstanding! The theme was "Fusion," and the menu included:
Paneer Tikka Pizza
Chicken Masala Almandine with Pinapple and Nuts
Sweet Potato Kofta in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Grape Raita
Lime Pickle
Naan and Papad

There were about 300 people, including two congressmen, our mayor, and variety of community leaders. About 2/3 of the crowd was Indian, and it was glorious to see the variety of Indian dress represented. The women wore elegant, beaded saris in every possible hue -- beautiful! I saw my doctor there, as well as an Indian mom that I knew from swimming lessons at our YMCA. There was a silent auction, and a play about the blending of cultures in a first-generation Indian family.

Also attending was another mom with three adopted children from south India. Her kids are all quite a bit older than Anya Rashi, but we've gotten together at a local park and e-mail each other. She was seated near one of our congressmen, and went to bat for Wisconsin families who have adopted from India and Korea. We have to apply for and pay $450 for our Certificate of Citizenship, in contrast to families who've adopted children from other countries -- their children are citizens upon their arrival in the US, and pay nothing for the exact same piece of paper. She's investigating a letter-writing campaign to lobby for the fee to be eliminated. Go Mary Beth!

I "won" a gorgeous embroidered kurta in the silent auction. (All the proceeds went to fund early childhood education in our city and in India.) I will be happy to wear it for a few special occasions, then I plan to pass it along to Anya Rashi when she's older.

Oh, and today we woke up to our first snow of the season! I had a good time shoveling with Anya Rashi "helping." :o)