I had forgotten what it feels like to live in India during the festivities. There is no other place quite like it. I left India a few months shy of turning 21 and have been back only 4 times in 14 years, so truly I'd forgotten the festive moods and more importantly the festive foods. Our celebrations started in mid-Oct with Dussehra then Ayudha Puja then Nisha's birthday then Diwali and finally my Mom's birthday. Eating oscillated between traditional Indian sweets to cakes to Indian sweets. All along I battled fervently to stay after from one more Burfi and eventually ate it.The girls really had a blast. We got them lovely India outfits to wear and they looked adorable for the little time they were in it. Tara kept tripping over the long pavada and kept asking us to take it off, Nisha was unable to crawl with it so wanted it off too. We didn't manage to get a single picture with both of them dressed up, maybe next year. I enjoyed wearing Indian sarees, the perfect attire to expand as the munching continued.
The best evening was on Diwali, we had a blast setting off fire crackers. Everyone in our apartment complex bought down their share and the boom-boom-bang went on for hours. Tara was not scared one wee bit, she wanted to light the crackers herself and enjoyed holding the sparklers. Nisha was frightened every time a 100series fut-futti went off but never to the point where she'd cry. The cracker firing went on for 4 straight evenings and every evening felt like the first time for Tara. She was screaming and yelling and running and sparkling and having the time of her life. 
In the midst of the celebrations, Nisha turned one. We invited all the kids and their Moms from the apartment complex and had a get-together. Mom as usual cooked up a feast for both the adults and the kids, it was a big hit and everyone is already looking forward to Tara's b'day party. We got a fresh cream fruit cake which was really yummy, although the kids wanted a chocolate cake. Tara thought it was her party and took center stage while Nisha enjoyed from a distance. She didn't cry once throughout the evening and let Tara rip open all the gifts. Nisha is such a gentle soul.
Finally came Mom's birthday. I wanted to surprise her with a party but think we were all partied out by this point. So I sent her and Buddu for a 3 hour Bollywood flick while S and I watched the girls (for a change, I know). We decked the house with balloons and got a black-forrest cake. S's parents joined us for a quiet celebration and we got dinner from a North-Indian restaurant. I can't imagine, X'mas and New Year's is around the corner, I'm exhausted and need to spend eleventy jillion hours on a treadmill.