We love them. Honest.

Today we went to visit some relatives in their homes. I told Raj to take the kids and go on ahead without me, but the man was not buying what I was selling. You see, there's a chance my husband and I may have made some mistakes, lo these many years of parenting, but we are not clever enough to figure out where the crap we've gone wrong. As a result (haha I typed reslut. Like a  repetitive floozy), our children are often ill-mannered, particularly when we release them from the confines of our home. The larger their audience, the worse their misbehaviour. And my face flushes red with embarrassment beneath a quarter inch of covergirl make-up.

I blame Ammon. He was the sweetest little baby. A real darling as a toddler and preschooler. His top attributes were sharing and being obedient. He would cry with remorse if I quietly told him something he did was naughty. A cuddlebug, full of passion for choo-choo trains! Raja and I liked him so much, we wanted a pile more just like him!

But these girls are giving us a run for our money. They have some real sweet attributes too, but they're trying their darndest to keep them a secret. Oi vey.

First we went to see Raja's Mom's dear friend who is also a cousin. She recently lost her husband after a long illness. Widows here must stay in their houses for at least 11 days of mourning, so everyone goes to spend time with them.
Well, Raja's kids ran around, screaming and fighting for the duration of our visit up until Teja was kind enough to break the necklace Maya was wearing, (maybe she lost her grip while choking her?) scattering tiny beads all over the bedroom.
"Excuse me, dear woman who is mourning the loss of her husband, but it seems some wild animals broke in  and , well, could you please get me a broom?"
Yeah, that was another proud moment in my life as a Mother.

On to the next house as the show must go on, and this one was more like a sideshow, like the incredible whining almost five year old, and the amazing baby that cries whenever anyone looks at her, making them feel bad. Ammon didn't have an iPod or the DS to play on, so he made sure everyone knew his misery.
Maya and Teja continued their brawling but with more screaming and almost pulling down a curtain. They ran into rooms of the house they had no business being in and ignored their parents' warnings, threats and so-help-me-child-I'm-going-to.......s.
Raja even concealed his fury under a mask of pleasantness and played the old "Come sit on my lap and cuddle with Daddy" card. But those girls were not buying what that man was selling.
When Raja asked me if I was ready to go, I shouted "Yes!" before he even finished the question, in a voice much louder than I had meant for it to be.

We can't control these kiddies for an hour of church. What business did we have bringing them to the other side of the planet for a month-long stay?!

Tomorrow we have a 6 hour drive to take them on. We leave at 7 am. And by "we" I mean "they" because I intend to find a very good hiding spot between now and then.