sachinkishan

It is wednesday and Sachin and I started the day talking about what bionicle we are going to get in the evening..remember it is Wednesday.

I was also thinking of Gresh, a bionicle that Sachin did not have and was looking forward to getting the good guy, Gresh and playing a game with Sachin as he already has a bad guy, Glatorian.

In the evening, when I picked up Sachin he said he changed his mind and instead wanted a Nintendo DS game. We went to Walmart and found Kirby Super Star Ultra game and were quite thrilled to get this game.

We then went to Subway and had our dinner. Then we went to Costco and did some quick shopping. We came home and Sachin started playing the Kirby game.

Sachin’s narration from here: In the Kirby game if you swallow an enemy with B, Kirby is going to swallow an enemy and after the swallow if you press X, you get a new Kirby and the enemy’s powers will go to Kirby. And if you press X again, Kirby’s enemy will be a good guy on Kirby’s side. So if you swallow another enemy and if you have someone on your side already, Kirby will turn to that enemy’s powers again. But if you press X and if you already have someone in your side, Kirby will spit out the enemy, but the enemy will be destroyed and the key will be destroyed and will get out of Kirby’s mouth. But Kirby’s enemy that she just spitted out with X and he has some one out of his side, Kirby will be Kirby, just no animal Kirby, thats it. But if Kirby swallows one of the enemy’s and he takes those powers away and the enemy on Kirby’s side and if you get to the boss, the enemy will help you, but if the enemy’s energy is gone only Kirby is there. But if the enemy is still on Kirby’s side and fighting the boss, Kirby’s powers and his enemy on his side will be the same on the same level. But if you want to be a different Kirby you need to spit out the key with an X. Even the powerfulest one is the enemy on the first level that comes to Kirby, because if you just press A and you dont leave it, a very big attack will come. Even yellow star blocks can break if a jump hits the block (or the attack I just told you about can hit 10 or 20 blocks. I dont know.) Well, I think that could be all..whoever is seeing this message..ok…good night.

Day 6 was the first work day after a long break. I wish we have a lot of home days

We carried out our routines but both of us miss Radhika a lot and so are eagerly looking forward to her return.

I had to get Sachin back to the office as I had to complete some work.

As expected, Monday was declared a snow day and Sachin did not have to go to school.

I did not tell him this as soon as he woke up, instead waited for him to get ready and complete all his ’school day’ morning tasks. Then when I told him about the snow day, the expression on his face was just priceless

We spent some time arguing if  ’snow days’ have to be considered as school days or home days…and Radhika helped us by giving the judgement that it was to be considered like a ’school day’. Sachin agreed to it reluctantly, but he was a perfect gentleman in that he took the decision quite sportively and followed it.

After spending the morning at home, we went to Sachin’s friend’s place and played for a long time there. We had dinner there and came back home late in the night…nice to have snow days.

Sachin continued to make full use of his home day privileges today also. He woke up early again (not sure how he manages to do it on home days only ) and we did one more round of pan cakes. I also made the ‘worlds biggest pancake’ which he dismissed saying ‘look at the mess you have made’.

We went out for lunch, watched Star Wars III and came back home later in the evening.

He read his E-I-E-I-Oopss again tonight before going to bed, so I know he is serious about his concert.

btw, just heard an announcement that the schools are closed tomorrow (Monday) due to bad weather. I might have to stay home with him as the only other option of taking him with me to work might not be welcome in my office.  The most important question that is running in my mind is: Will he realize that it is another home day and use the ‘Boss On Home Days’ rule?

Will let you know the answer as soon as I find out

This was our first home day and as per our agreement,  Sachin was the boss.

He sure was or should I say he was in full flow? I explained to him the concept of  ‘Servant’ and he heard it wrongly as ‘Seargent’ and kept calling me ‘Seargent’ all the time.

We started the day early and right after we went near the dining table he said ‘Seargent, make pancakes for breakfast today’.

It was a pleasant learning experience for me.  I learnt how to make pancakes from Hungry Jack mix and in the process joined the selected few guys in this world who can make Pancakes and Dosa .. really selected few, right?

Sachin spent a lot of time playing on his Nintendo DS and then on the PlayStation.

We had a late lunch and I perfected my Mac and Cheese preparation skills this time with a much more accurate planning. We also watched a movie called ‘Spectacular’ (a teen movie) – to my surprise Sachin was very interested in watching it.

Sachin finished his home work in the evening and also practised his E-I-E-I-Oops song in preparation for his May 1st concert. I have no idea who is preparing two months ahead of time for a concert! Anyway, I was happy that he was doing this all by himself.

We went out for dinner again – this time he got his BK Kids Meal (with a Pink Panther toy – i know he wanted just this) and I got my usual Subway sandwich. We went to Radhika’s cousin’s place for desserts (ice cream and chocolates) later in the night and came home at 10pm or so.

Overall it was a very good change from the rigorous routine that I had setup for Sachin for the week days.

After a simpler start on Day1, Day2 was more exciting.

Oh My God! I just cannot imagine how many things Radhika was taking care of. Hats off to my wife . I was thinking running a team was tough, all men – try managing the house!

Sachin and I are following our time table as closely as possible.

Sachin packed his own snack box and also tried to take care of all his stuff himself.

I picked him up at 6pm and he was quite upset that I did not come early. We came home but both of us were not in a mood to stay home.  So we went to Applebees for dinner and had a good time there.

We skipped the home work routine as we wanted to give ourselves some flexibility, hoping to do it on Saturday

Sachin and I did most of our work as per the plan for 18 Days.

Sachin did miss his mummy a lot and wanted her back sooner. I had to convince him that her best friend cannot get married without mummy’s presence.

Here are the quick updates -
He woke up on time
Did most of his tasks himself
We successfully ended one more day without any TV

Sachin and I have come up with a simple agreement.

On school days, I am the boss. On home days, he will be the boss.

Due to my project management background, I have come up with a schedule and a plan for school days.
7am: Wakeup
7am to 7.30am: Exercise, Getting Ready (Shower, etc)
7.30am to 8am: Breakfast
8am to 6pm: School
6pm to 6.30pm: Games
6.30pm to 7pm: Dinner
7pm to 8pm: Homework
8pm to 8.30pm: Reading Books
8.30pm: Go to bed

Due to his ‘dynamic’ management style, Sachin will let me know the plan for home days when the time comes

We went to Walmart and got a SpongeBob game for Sachin’s Nintendo DS. He was very happy.
The plan is to also get him a new toy/game every wednesday if he is a good boy during the previous week. I bet he will remember exactly when wednesdays come

Sachin’s Narration of how the plan works:

Daddy to continue working and Sachin will play on his Nintendo DS and his game is Spongebob Squarepants Globs of Doom.

Then me and Sachin will brush our teeth after we do our things that we do on home days.

I hope that me and Sachin are going to play Bakugan and I hope you had a wonderful trip to India.

I am Sachin’s Dad. 18 Days is a series of blogs that I have planned to post here on Sachin’s site.

Radhika left for India on 25th evening for her best friend’s marriage. So Sachin and I are home alone for 18 days, until 15th March. I have never managed Sachin alone in the US before and am planning to do it using a series of tasks and a time table that Sachin and I have worked out together. I hope to also see if this can help me handle my work and personal life without letting one affect the other.

Lets see how it goes. Wish me good luck, I will surely need it.