July this year went by in a blur! With the girls in summer camp all month, Varun traveling for work, and me at home working on the first few courses towards my MBA, this month just finished in the blink of an eye!
Abigail’s Birthday
Even though we had already celebrated Abigail’s birthday with an early pool party, I still wanted to make sure she felt like a special birthday girl on the day of her actual birthday. When I was growing up, my mother would always make sure that the house was fully decorated with streamers and balloons for every birthday. And no matter where we have traveled to or lived on anyone’s birthday, I have been determined to make sure that everyone in our family, including Varun, gets that exact same special treatment. When both Sara Gail and Abigail turned one in India, I made sure to decorate with whatever streamers and balloons I could find locally. And, luckily, I have also found a few places for the necessary supplies here in Ghana, too. I was just reiterating to Varun recently: if someone is in my house for their birthday, they are getting streamers and balloons!
At this point in their lives, both girls absolutely love rainbows and unicorns, so each year, for each of the girls, the decorations reflect this particular trend, starting with Abigail’s bedroom door!
It also just so happened that the summer camp the girls were attending threw a big celebration that Friday on her birthday as well. It wasn’t for Abigail’s birthday specifically, it had been planned for the entire summer camp, but the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for her. They had bouncy castles, popcorn machines, cotton candy, and, of course, face painting!
So even though Varun was traveling on the day of her birthday, Abigail still had a fun filled day with her sister and new friends, including a beautiful rainbow on her cheek!
It was quite a nice way to ring in her fourth year! And I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on how fast the time has gone by since we’ve relocated here to Ghana. The first birthday party we ever threw in Accra was Sara Gail’s fourth birthday, and now Abigail is already turning four! When we moved here, Abigail was still shy of one year old and now she has already left her toddler years behind! Ghana has been her home for most of her life – the only home she has truly known at this point. And she couldn’t be happier about it. She loves our house and getting time to play with her sister in all their creative games. She loves her school and is quickly picking up a very Ghanaian accent from her teachers. (These girls are going to confuse so many people when they grow up with their accents and olive-colored skin!) It has truly been a remarkable opportunity for us all, and I just hope that Abigail will be old enough when we eventually move to remember some of her time growing up here. I know when we do eventually settle down, not many of her friends will be able to say they lived in Africa as a child, and I hope she cherishes this time here as she continues to grow.
Hanging Out at Home
This month was not very eventful for the Raghunathan’s in Accra. Varun was offshore most of the month for work, the girls were enrolled in a summer camp full-time, and I was deeply immersed in academics myself. In May I decided to enroll in an MBA program with a concentration in Project Management, so when it is time for me to reenter the workforce, I will be fully prepared with a master’s degree behind me. Since I did have full-time course work to do, I had no time to dedicate to this blog, (which is why I am now so behind and constantly playing catch-up!) and very little time spent with the girls. Most of our downtime was just at home, and we spent it like we normally do, just hanging out around the house.
There was lots of coloring and TV watching during this month. Both girls are now in love with the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, just like their mother and uncles were before them. I also had fun with their hair because my brother’s wedding was coming up in September, in which both the girls were invited to be flower girls. At this point, I was still trying to pick a style, so there was a lot of experimentation to be done. I just love being a girl mom with such gorgeous locks to work with!
We also made sure to get some time outside, too. The neighborhood is still the perfect place for us to be living and to be raising these rambunctious girls! They are both at an age now where I can just send them out to play with the other kids in the neighborhood. Or, if it’s a hot enough day and I have the energy, I can just sit by the poolside while the two of them swim.
And, of course, I’m still doing my best to provide some variety in the girls’ diet, despite the difficulty in getting fresh produce, or at least a large variety of fresh produce. Somehow, though, we manage, and my Sundays are always a frantic day spent in the kitchen while trying to get all the dishes done for the week, especially when Varun is away on weekends! This month I decided to add a new lunch to the rotation, because Sara Gail has been begging to have an Indian meal at lunch time. During her last year at her previous school, almost all the girls in her class that she spent time with were Indian, so she would watch them all bring the traditional dishes for their lunches. Even though I do make sure to include plenty of traditional Indian meals in their diet, I reserve them for dinner time. I just don’t have the time or energy in the mornings to prepare fresh Indian food for their lunches. So, I made a compromise, I chose to include egg rice in their lunch rotation. In their lunches, I always make sure to include a protein, four different vegetables, and a grain. And it just so happens that egg rice fits the bill perfectly: eggs for protein, four different veggies, and rice as the grain. The girls aren’t always happy about the veggies, but they still love the dish overall, plus I always add a little bit of Indian spices to the eggs before I fry them. So, Sara Gail gets what she wants: an occasional Indian lunch, and I get what I want: a balanced lunch in an easy to make meal.
Well, thus ends another month here in Accra, and a short but sweet entry on our crazy month of July 2022. Come back next week to read about our August adventures which include a trip back home to New Hampshire, and preparations for my brother’s wedding!!
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