Meet My Sister.

Hello World!

I am happy to introduce ANTU, my brand new baby sister, to all of you. She arrived on 27th June 2008 at 11 am weighing 2.950 Kg and measuring 49 Cm tall. How cute is that she was born on 27th too just like me! Or is she already competing? I ll give her some benefit of doubt for now since she did nt give Amma too much trouble while coming out and shes so tiny. I managed just fine for 4 days without Amma at home though it made me realize no one can replace Amma. (I SO did nt feel that way, but you know who is writing this post, don't you? I cant even read yet let alone write blog posts!) Amma was in such a dizzy state and in so much pain while recovering that she did nt have the time to miss me. Grandma and I welcomed Amma and Antu home yesterday and now Antu can see me in my element although all she does is drink milk and sleep. Which is supposed to be good, I am told.

Amma will give you more details later as soon as she can sit it one place long enough without hurting her behind. For now, leaving you with a photo of us two sisters. Yes, yes, you are allowed to take your eyes off me and see Antu and rave how cute she is. I wont mind. We saw my baby pictures yesterday and I can see I was cuter. Now Antu cant compete with my deadly dimples, can she? ;)

And thank you so much for all your wonderful wishes through emails and comments. It put a special smile on Ammas face and so a special thanks from me for the same. And oh, what about Appa, you ask? He survived the labor, cut the cord and is recovering fine too. Do you think he had any other role in this baby making business? Beats me!

Luv,
Ashu.

Update on Ashu at 3 Years and 2 Months.

No, she has still not become an older sister. Yet. But shes as ready as one as young as her can be. She is still sticking to the name she has chosen for the baby and since we don't have anything better, we are keeping it. Shes all "I ll do this for the baby Ma, I ll do that for baby Ma". But I can so picture her as a "Jealous Jalaja"(JJ as the syndrome is called in my family!) If shes anything like me, she ll eat the baby alive. Im counting on the baby to be more accommodating than her.

So my mom arrived on Friday night. And since then Hd and I have seen only little of Ashu. My mom is behaving like a house elf. She gets up early, does her thing, cooks for us and then Grandma and Grandchild disappear to their room. We hardly see them. Then Ashu is fed, entertained, bathed, dressed, dinner appears on the table, tea is made, clothes folded,... So Hd and I decided to make hay while the sun shines and caught two movies on big screen. We watch football matches together on TV, eat dinner together, don't snap at each other, talk without being interrupted,... You know the saying that a candle flame lights up brighter before burning out? I guess this is our chance for that bright period before the baby comes. And I strongly suspect that Ashu is going to have a problem if my mom picks up the baby. Mom and dad are dispensable, but grandma? She rules!

I can see shes upset that theres no school. Today she asked me "Is today school day, Amma?" and when I told her for the umpteenth time that the school is closed for summer, she nodded in a sad way.

She has become noticeably independent since she turned three. She plays on her own for long stretches with her blocks and dolls and toys making up stories. She does puzzles after puzzles with great interest. She keeps looking at pictures in her books taking in everything. Wears her clothes on her own with only little help from me. If only she ate all on her own and night trained herself out of her diapers! Yes, yes, I want it all!

She has become this annoying kid who has to know everything. What did you say to Appa? What did Appa say? Why did you say Stupid, Amma? What did Appa do amma? Why are you scolding the car on the front amma? Is it a bad boy car? Are you angry? Why are you angry? What are you laughing at amma? What are you reading amma? What is this? What is that? The questions are endless.

Shes painfully shy among strangers. She turns her back to people on the elevator, does not accept gifts from friends, does not say thank you or please, does not say anything, period. But house guests are different. She gets attached to people when they come home. I told her a couple of times to be nice to people and tried to talk to her. I can see that she wants to try but does nt know what to do about it. Shes tongue tied. So I have just let it go. She ll learn in her own time. Whats the hurry to socialize? Hd and I were shy kids too so no surprise there. Dot Thoughts sent an article - 8 way to help the shy child- on the same issue via email. Immensely useful if you have a shy kid. Thanks, Dottie.

By the time I write her next update, she ll be an older sis. Forever.

Dasavatharam - My Take.

We watched Dasavatharam on Saturday. I am a HUGE Kamal fan. I loved him in the movie. I was in awe. I was bowled over by his performance. But the movie sucked. BIG time. What WERE you thinking, dude? And all this incredible and brilliant performance for this script? What a waste. But hats off to him. I ll always be a fan.

(Pictures collaged from sulekha.com)
Liked Fletchers make up and performance. Brilliant. And Balram Naidu and Poovaraghan. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Liked the Japanese dude and Nambi too. Bush was nt as bad as I expected him to be. Avtar Singh get up was good but hated that character and the Paati and Kalifulla. Total waste. And these were my honest, first impressions. I dont want to be told how its a movie on chaos theory and how these characters matter. Just because its based on chaos theory does nt mean the story has to be chaotic. I mean some story discussion did happen before making the movie right? Or did they just let 10 characters loose and asked them to be as chaotic as possible and shot them candidly? Give me a break.

And here I went for the movie 38 weeks pregnant for the 11.30 pm show leaving Ashu with my jet lagged mother. It hurt my back to sit there for 3 hours. The ticket cost 50 freaking Francs for both of us. I had read dozens of reviews, discussed the movie with my sis and parents. Did nt expect too much but still I was disappointed. Even though I had made up my mind to like it. I think theres no cheating oneself. What you feel is what you feel. Cant help it. But saying "I hated the movie" in one sentence is such a huge insult to Kamals performance. That I can say for sure. But right now, I am the black sheep in my family. My mom, dad, sis and bil have let me live because I'm carrying another life. Indha oru vaati, mannichudungapa please.
Some of the ridiculous reasons I was given defending this movie:

1. Its better than Kuruvi.

2. It does nt have romantic duet songs.

3. I did nt get the story.

4. Kamals performance is brilliant.

5. That I discussed this movie for 45 minutes on a long distance phone call to my dad.

6. I had too much expectations.

7. I ve watched far more worse movies.

8. Kamals performance is brilliant.

9. I should not compare this to Devar Magan, Anbe Sivam and Virumaandi.

10. And did I mention, Kamals performance is brilliant?

Yes, Kamal is God. Hes already up there for me, even without Dasavatharam I would worship him. So I ve nothing against Kamal but I did NOT like the movie. Came out of the theater with a bitter taste is my mouth, thats all. Im only wondering how far worse the movie could have been if it were nt for Kamal. But then Ajith did prove that in Citizen, did nt he? ;) Hd and I decided to make hay while the sun shines and went for Indiana Jones last night. Now this, me likey! What to do? I can totally imagine Kamal saying something like "Namba vera naatula porandhurukalaam da"! If only...

This week.

On Monday, we had a parents teachers meeting at Ashus school. Our first. Since shes only in play school, nothing serious - Just a "Oh we are happy", "you are happy", "good", "bye then"! The teachers gave a potted plant for Ashu. A sun flower seed she had sown and has been watering every day for the past 2 weeks. A tiny shoot with one leaf. So cute. They also gave Ashus port folio. A folder with lots of pictures taken during class, the crafts she has done, a page on how she behaves in class, about her friends, that shes a little shy, that she likes to listen to the other kids and observe, loves puzzles and books, etc... A geek in the making, alright!

On Tuesday, it was match day in Zurich. (France Vs Italy) So roads were closed, traffic diverted, traffic jams and all the works. Reached the school 10 minutes late by which time Ashu had slept. Also, I had made the mistake of telling her the previous day that she ll go to big class from August with different teachers which she did nt like. So she started crying when I left her in the class. That's a first in months! Anyway, Ms.S carried her off and I decided to do some shopping nearby rather than going home and coming back in the bad traffic. Picked her up at 3. She told me that she wants Miss.M and Miss.S as her teachers and does nt want a new teacher. Oh Boy! I said OK and left it at that!

No school on Wednesday. Cooked, cleaned and prepared Ashu for the teddy bear picnic the next day in school and asked her to choose a bear. She chose her care bear.

On Thursday, Hubby was traveling. I made some cucumber sandwiches for the picnic and left for school in the afternoon. Since it was the last day of school and the kindergarten classes were also having picnic, the car park was over flowing. I parked the car in a nearby paid parking lot and walked to the school. We were 9 kids, 5 moms and 2 teachers. Had fun sitting on the grass and chatting with everyone. It was a perfect sunny day. We moms gave the gifts we had bought for the teachers. Ashu gave them the card she made and I took loads of photos. But then, felt really bad because Ashu would nt sing any rhymes during circle time, would nt answer any of the teachers Qs, would nt play with the kids in the play yard, she was either playing on her own or sitting beside me. Only the last 30 mins, she joined the other kids and played in the slide and the swing. Miss M told me not to worry as she usually joins in all the fun and shes being shy because I was there. Strange kid, this one. I really, really like Miss.M. Shes great with the kids. Too bad she would nt be Ashus teacher in Pre K. One of the moms had brought her youngest baby along. Hes 6 months old. Ashu just fell in love with him, gave him her bear, her hat, her snack and was touching him and kissing him and talking to him. It was so nice to see her with a baby. At 3 pm, said good byes to everyone, collected Ashus things from her class and came home dead beat because of the sun and the heat. Hd came home quite late in the night.

I wanted to do something special with just the 3 of us together yesterday but did nt work out. Because technically, it was the last day with just the 3 of us. My mom arrives tonight(Yippeee!) and in less than two weeks, the baby will be here and we will no longer be a family of 3. Sigh! Planning to go out in the evening. But theres loads of shopping and cleaning to do that I don't know if we ll have the time. Well, the thought counts. Speaking of which, I don't think we are going to be a "perfect" family once the baby is here. Whats with wishing "Oh, your family is perfect now" after the second baby arrives? I think we were a pretty perfect family with just Hd and I, then with Ashu too. It was a perfect family when my sis and I were kids and for that matter, I think it was more perfect before I was born! *evil grin* I don't think this baby has to come into this world with the baggage of making my imperfect family perfect! I don't think theres any agenda attached actually. The first child was well, we wanted to see what a baby is actually like and whether we can produce one. Then I did nt want to have another one. Neither did Hd. Hes an only child and he said he did nt miss any sibling and he did nt think Ashu needed a sibling. I was nt too keen either. I thought I would be a better "mom of one" rather than a "mom of two". But once Ashu was 2 1/2, I started telling Hd, "I don't want one. But if you want one, lets just get it over with. I don't want to wait until Im 35". And he was like "I don't want one. But if you want, I am ready!" (Of course you would be dear!) Then we both said what the heck and decided to get pregnant. Because we can. That's all there is to it. So its "We wanted to see what a baby is like and how good are we as parents" if Ashu asks why she came into existence and "Because we can have unprotected sex and no one can question us" to answer baby no 2. And then, they lived happily ever after. The End.

Four more weeks to go.

The other day I was showing Ashu her baby pictures and preparing her for Baby Pinocchio. And I told her "Look Ashu. you did nt have any teeth when you were born. The baby also wont have any". She was really intrigued and pointed the next photo and said, "Look Ma. Theres no tongue either!" And today after a month or so after that incident, she came to me with a worried look and asked "Amma! Will Pinocchio have hands?" Uh,oh! Then I had to reassure her that Pino will have all the body parts intact. Only the teeth will come later. Its tough being a clueless child, I suppose!

****

Had a Doctor appointment on Friday and alls well." So your due date is July 3rd! Is 10 am OK for you?", asked the Doc. What? That's all? No more check ups? So the next time I go to the hospital, I ll come back with a baby? Arrrrgh!!!

****

As always, last minute panic attacks have struck. I'm so ill prepared. Last pregnancy by this time, the crib was assembled, baby clothes laundered and folded and arranged, diapers bought, hospital bag packed, lists after lists were written and was waiting for my mom. But this time, I'm just waiting for my mom. I'm counting down to my moms arrival on the 20th more than the due date actually! But I'm sure all I ll do after she comes is sit on the couch with my feet up and eat all the goodies she cooks. (If you are reading this post today, "Happy Birthday Mom"!)

****

Talking about the crib, listen to this freaky coincidence. We bought a wooden crib in Basel for Ashu and gave it to a friend before we left for India when Ashu was 5 months old. Fast forward 2 and a half years, this friend moved back to India last month and asked if I wanted the crib!! Its really, really freaky because every one of the ten or so friends we had in Basel have moved from that city and these are the only friends who still lived there and almost 3 years later, we are back in Zurich and they are moving back to India and we got the crib back. The crib we chose and bought 2 months before Ashu was due. The first ever DIY Hd did and I knew he would nt go anywhere without my help. The bed Ashu slept on like a baby! Sigh! Its really huge for me because in the last 8 years, I have lived in so many places that theres nothing sentimental I have hung on to. Buy stuff, throw stuff, move to another city, buy stuff, throw stuff,... has been the story of my life. So I'm really thrilled to have the crib back.

****

We went to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner on our anniversary. Awesome food. I seem to love Mediterranean cuisine a lot in spite of being a vegetarian. I remember having a great time in Greece, especially the food part. Keep the Pita bread coming and with the Mezze (Salads, dips, olives,...), I'm one happy puppy! Not to mention, the assortment of Baklava for dessert! *drool* Ashu had half a falafel ball, 2 bites of pita bread, one small piece of tomato and one scoop of Vanilla ice cream. Yes, the girl exists purely to torture me. Slowly.

****

We ve almost decided on a name for the baby. Actually, Ashu has! We made the mistake of asking if that name was good a couple of months back and she stuck to that name. Now whenever Hd or I come up with a different name, she absolutely refuses to give up that name. "No Amma, I don't like that name. I like ****** only", she says! And this one had the nerve to reveal that name to the house guests who were here last week. Well, at least its not Pinocchio. So I think we ll keep that name. We cant seem to come up with anything else anyway!

****

Waiting for the release of Dasavatharam this weekend. If the only Tamil friend here is not interested, then I'm going to watch it alone. It better be worth it!

****

Ten Reasons Why I Love You.

1. I know that you will be on my side even if the whole world is against me. How you are still on my side even when we are fighting.

2. How you like to learn and grow in this relationship. How you constantly tune into my needs and satisfy them. How you are just so perfect. For me.

3. I will always, always remember the time you got me that beautiful necklace for my birthday 6 years back but without the matching ear rings and then told me, we can go and get the ear rings later in the evening if I like the necklace as the store policy is against returning ear rings. How thoughtful was that! And I loved you more since the necklace was just perfect. I realize now that these little things are which make or break a relationship. And come what may, "We ll always have the Necklace". :) Well, at least I ll have it! (and the matching earrings!)

4. That you have let me believe that your family is more important to you than work and given a chance you would spend your day with us than at work. It might or might not be true and honestly I don't care. I just need that reassurance and I'm glad you know that.

5. I love you the most for letting me win a futile argument because it means so much to me to have the last word. I can get away with stuff like, "Because I say so", "Because I am carrying your child", "Just because",... and you indulge me. Thank you so much for being the bigger person in this relationship. I know its a lot of hard work and it would ve killed me by now if I were at it.

6. That I don't have to think twice before telling you something. The biggest reason why I love you has to be this one. Calling you a moron, myself a fatso, our daughter a genius, my sister bossy, my Bil hen pecked, my mom horrible, my dad a jerk, your parents loony bins, ... and lets not even go near our friends. (yes, bloggers included! ;) OK now the whole world knows but then we have more dirt on them than these, don't we? One person I don't have to pretend with. Ever. Ah, the bliss!

7. Ashus puppy dog devotion to you only makes me love you more, if that's possible.

8. That it took me less than 10 minutes to write this list.

I ll stop this list with eight things. For now.

Happy 8th Anniversary, Darling! :)

Bose, the Boss!

Did I tell you I got an iTouch from the husband for my birthday in March? Since we were in the US then and Hd was leaving back to Zurich a week before my birthday, he took me to the Apple store and let me choose an iPod. Of course I fell in love with the iTouch as soon as I saw it and I wanted that or nothing! Its as cool as it comes, I tell ya. Love it! Yes, this is my first iPod. Hd got an used iPod(bought it from my sis) a couple of years back and somehow I never bonded with it as much as I did with my 1 Gig MP3 player. The trusty player helped me through the boredom of breastfeeding Ashu 24/7, three years back. So I thought that iTouch would be ideal for the coming months. Then Hd with his mastermind kept ordering this and that from Amazon sitting in Zurich and a package a day was arriving at our door steps with my sisters name there! A beautiful leather pouch for the iTouch one day, a language translator the next, then a Digi cam lens protector, some Digital photography books and then came one more package. I knew about it of course but was discouraging Hd but he went ahead and bought it anyway. A Bose Headphone (the one in the picture) is what Im talking about. It looks bulky but light weight and when I opened it from the package and tested it, I knew for sure that I was never going to give it to Hd!! All my favorite songs sound even more fantastic now and the way the music surrounds me and the way I can appreciate every single musical instrument which is a part of the song is truly bliss! Hd is mighty annoyed that I ve stolen it from him even though I was the one who did nt want him to buy it in the first place. Hey, a girl cant change her mind or what!

Currently, Jodha Akbar and Guru are on non stop loop! Oh God, how can I describe the feeling. Its 10 pm. Ashu is in deep sleep in her room, Hd is busy with some office work and Im lying on the bed in the darkened room with just the music surrounding me. Occasionally, the baby kicks and reminds me that Im not entirely alone! And then my mind goes on a tangent and I start to look forward for the months of feeding the baby when the baby will actually be kicking me from the outside. The moment is just precious.

If only I can lose some weight post partum with my innumerable (mentally) choreographed moves for the Mayya Mayya song from Guru, life will be just perfect. I think I can be at the Elpitical for hours if I have this song on repeat. Got to hit the gym as soon as possible. Crossing fingers.

Now for some bashing. Why would Harris Jayaraj make Bombay Jayashree and Madhushree sing the same song and release them both in the album? Pachai Kili Muthu Charam was released sometime last year and I have heard the songs hundreds of times so far. But with Bose now, every little mistake is glaringly obvious. Unakul Naane is truly amazing when Jayashree sings it and annoying as hell when Madhushree sings it. Wont a Music Director realize that? What was the whole point? Did he have something against Madhushree? I definitely think so. Every "vaa" (sollavaa, allavaa, paarthidavaa, ...) sounds like a question when Jayashree sings it which is what it should be and is like "Vaa" (come) when Madhu sings it which is just annoying like hell!!(solla VAA, alla VAA, paarthida VAA,...) I mean theres a huge difference between "Ranamum Then Allavaa" and "Ranamum Then Alla VAA", no? I cant help but remember that old Bhagyaraj movie where the Hindi Teacher is trying to teach Hindi to that friend of Bagyarajs ("Ek Gaaon mein ek Kisaan...") and in frustration bangs the students head and beats the hell out of him because he cant learn one sentence properly after all those classes. I feel the Hindi teachers pain. (Madhushree thalai la naalu kuttu kutti, nangu nangu nu nalla nokkanum pola irukku!) On a good note, how fabulous is that song "Karu karu Vizhigalaal". Why am I not surprised that Karthik is one of the singers! *drool*

And I also realized that my most favorite movie album is "Mudhal Mariyaadhai". I know! I am surprised too! The movie is 25 years old, I guess. But what great songs. What great lyrics! The thing I like most about it is that you cant take these set of songs and use them for any other movie. Unlike movies today where the songs are totally interchangeable with any other movie. Of any other genre even! Every song of Mudhal Mariyaadhai is just so apt for that particular scene and the lyrics are as if they are part of the screenplay. I never thought I would rave about Bharathiraja, Ilayaraja and Vairamuthu so much especially for the same movie! The trio truly rocked. And the singers Malaysia Vasudevan and S Janaki. They just created magic. Of course, the entire credit goes to the cast. If not for Sivaji Ganesan, this movie would have never worked for me! Comparing this to Kizhakku Seemaiyile where the music(AR Rehman) was great, the lyrics too and the same Bharathiraja as the Director. And great acting too. But somehow Vijayakumar did nt do justice.(But Napolean rocked though!) Sivaji would have taken the movie to a different level, no? According to me, Devar Magan would nt have been Devar Megan without Sivaji even though its a Kamal movie. By the way, I either like a movie or dont. I dont care whether I like the actor or not! On that note, I have made up my mind that I like Ilayarajas music better than Rahmans. But I like Rahman better than Ilayaraja.(If that makes sense!) And thats the reason, celebrities should nt give too many interviews. It totally affects a fans impression of them irrespective of how great their work is. In a good way and bad! It should nt be that way but hey, its not a fair world. If it was, would PR be such a thriving business? ;)

Notes for Husband.

Hd,

So I'm 34 weeks pregnant and the d day is arriving fast. You know that far, don't you? This time around I'm more scared about the home front than the hospital front. I'm going to be in the hospital at least for 5 nights. That means, its just going to be Ashu and you at home. I'm sure if Ashu was old enough to understand the enormity of it, she would get herself admitted in the hospital bed next to mine. But the poor child does nt have a clue. Anyway, I dont want to be unfair. I can leave with absolutely no instructions and I know you can manage Ashu and the house just fine. Only not my way! After all, when have you ever "listened" to my instructions? But this time, Im writing them all down. Because, these are the little things which mean a lot to our baby girl. Her world is going to turn upside down in a month or so and for the first time in her life, her mom is going to be away in the night. So lets try to make this easier for her, shall we?

Here it goes...

1. I know that you know the breakfast routine, even a visually challenged person would know that by now, but let me go through it once more. She does nt want her milk as soon as she wakes up. Give her some time. And ever since she started drinking from that silver tumbler, theres this small routine you ve to follow. Pour half of the milk from the big plastic cup to the small tumbler. Only after she finishes every drop, should you pour again. But not all. You should leave a teeny bit of milk in the plastic cup so that she herself can pour that milk to her tumbler. Pour everything and she ll cry foul. Leave a lot and she ll complain that its too heavy for her to pour! And once shes done, she ll drop the plastic cup in the sink and keep the silver tumbler gently on the counter so that not to dent it. Yes, I taught her that. And she actually listens. And theres a lesson for you right there!

2. For your information, she cant drink milk, juice, eat a banana, an egg, toast, cereal,... all in the span of an hour. Unlike some people! *rolling eyes* So give a decent interval before asking her to eat the next thing.

3. Yes she can use the bathroom by herself when she wants to pee and would nt let us help. But sometimes when shes in a hurry, she will ask us to come and help her, afraid that she ll have an accident. That's your cue to throw the laptop and run to her. Unlike me, shes not saying that "just" to get your attention!

4. She loves bath time and has an elaborate routine with her bath toys. Its an honor if she invites you into her imaginary world of ocean animals. Indulge her. And she neatly puts the toys back in their place after her bath. So that's one job less for you. After the bath, she prostrates before Lord Krishna and sings along a short prayer. Then she puts some viboodhi on her forehead and expects you to bend down so that she can put some on your forehead too. Accept it. Even if you have nt had your bath yet.

5. Her school would be closed for summer soon. So no school routine to learn, you lucky sod!

6. Give her a notice period. Don't do anything abruptly. Tell her that that's the last book you are going to read before beginning it. She understands better that way. (Try this with me at your own risk, though!)

7. She will regularly remove the clothes of all her dolls and nag you to no end to dress them up again. Its an easy thing even you can do it! Except for one doll. That doll has to be dressed in an order. Panties first, dress next and then the shoes. But leave the Velcro strap of the dress undone. She ll do it herself. Do it any other way and be ready to face her wrath. Hey don't look at me! Her doll, her rules!

8. When in doubt, ask her. No shame in it! Even if you want to know where the "pottu kadalai" (fried gram dal) is. Yes, she knows.

9. She knows her outdoor clothes from her indoor ones. Don't try to mix and match. She knows I hate that! So should you. And I ll find out too when you guys visit me in the hospital. Duh!

10. And last but not least, don't you dare call me while I'm the hospital and ask where the Mustard seeds are or where Ashus hat is. That's the worst thing you could do.

I ll stop here although the list could go on. I know you would rather be by my side and leave her with a friend knowing how you held my hands while I was delivering the placenta instead of taking pictures of Ashu soon after she was born. But I would be more at peace if you were with her than me. Of course, my mom is coming in a month and all these are just in case I go into labor before she arrives. But if its later, then you better get your behind to the hospital and take care of this baby. Instructions to take care of me will come to you automatically once you go through the familiar pain of me squeezing your fingers to pulp.

Good Luck.

Much Love,
B o o.

I remember writing this post about a fight with Hd and in the comment section I went on to say that our fights are getting shorter and shorter after the baby. Well, its now official that Ashu is no more a baby. And we are back to the usual these days. The one thing I do when we fight is deprive Hd of any information and sooner or later he has to come to me to beg for some info. Alas, I ve lost that privilege now thanks to my talkative daughter. So he comes back from work today and I give him a cold shoulder. Ashu as usual jumps with joy seeing her dad and they both ignore me. Goes on to say, "Amma did nt make mammam. I had pasta for lunch" when Hd asks her what she ate! Then lifts my shirt and feels the baby kicking and asks her dad to come and touch my tummy! Goes on to tell him about "our" day! There goes my strategy of withholding information out of the window. The man who would have apologized by now has nt even turned to my side yet. Instead both had their dinner together(He got us take away dinner as we had planned before the fight. That's another score for him!) and are reading books now. Sucks! Well, at least theres another baby due. But I'm sure Ashu would nt miss a detail even then! Its ONLY trouble when they grow up, I tell you.

Say "Cheese"!

Last minute planning and on Saturday morning we hit the road. Destination - Gruyères (pronounced as groo-yehr), the town famous for its Cheese. We reached the town in the afternoon. As the town center is car free, we parked the car on the foot hills and walked the 10 minutes trek stopping and staring at the cows grazing. When we reached the town, it was as if we traveled back in time and reached a medieval town. I have never seen such a picturesque town anywhere in my life. The pocket size town is so pretty overlooking the castle on one side and snow covered mountains on the other. Cute little souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants line this French speaking town. Our hotel was right in the middle of the main street and after a short rest and lunch, we walked to the 13th century Castle, Chateau de Gruyeres, one of the most prestigious in Switzerland. Ashu was in full form and enjoyed the tour but was a little upset that there were no Kings or Queens! The view from the Castle walls is breath-taking and theres a pretty little garden too. We took our time soaking in the views and walked back to the town center. We sat in a Restaurant Terrace and ate ice cream, the perfect thing to do on such a sunny day. I tried the town speciality, Ice cream with Meringue and Cream. Bliss! Theres a beautiful church behind the Castle and a small play area for kids. While Hd and Ashu were in the play area, I walked to the church clicking away photos. It was so peaceful inside the church and since it was almost 8 pm, there was no one inside. It was a surreal experience. There is a cemetery behind the church and a beautiful view of the castle and a narrow road leading to the woods. To stand there alone was so spooky. In a good way, of course. Father and daughter joined me a bit later and we walked back to our Hotel and called it a night.

Ever since I told her that we would visit a Cheese factory in Gruyeres, Ashu was super excited and was asking every hour if we were going to the Cheese Factory. So as soon as we finished breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed for the Cheese factory. (Oh, I almost forgot. Since Sunday was Mothers day, Ashu wished me Happy Mothers Day as soon as I got up and gave me a Mothers day special goodie bag from The Body Shop. Hd remembered after all! ;) We reached La Maison du Gruyère which is in Pringy, a 10 minute drive from Gruyeres. We took an audio tour where the cow(!), Cherry, explained us everything about Cheese making and what makes the Gruyeres cheese so special. We saw huge amounts of milk being churned and also the cellar where the cheese is stored. We got free samples too. Did you know it takes about 400 litres of milk to make 34 Kg of Cheese? That the Gruyeres cheese is so special because the cows there eat lot of herbs which grow on the hills? It was really cute to listen to Cherry talking! ;) It was lunch time by the end of the tour and we decided to try the restaurant adjoining the factory. We sat outside and ordered, what else, but Fondue of course! We dipped bread and potatoes in the melting cheese and gobbled them up thus justifying our trip to Gruyeres. The strawberry Frappe I had for dessert and the Vanilla ice cream Ashu had were also heavenly. Cherry has every reason to be proud of being a cow in the Gruyeres region! ;)

As if this is nt enough, we visited a Chocolate factory next. The Caillers Chocolate factory in Broc. Unlike the Lindt Factory in Zurich, you can actually see part of the chocolate making process and the tour is really good. Theres a 20 minute movie made in the 60s reliving the factory history, then a tour where you see the raw materials, the machines, the moulds, ... and at last, the sampling of course. Ashu had one piece in her mouth and one in her hand and was quite surprised when I asked her to take one more! I had three in my hands, you see! ;) When I was a kid, all I ever wanted to do was go to a chocolate factory and eat as much chocolate as possible. And here I was and could nt even eat two pieces! And Ashu of course, like kids of these generation, does nt know what a treat it is to eat two candies back to back or finish a whole bar of chocolate on ones own. Sad! I missed the child me.

We had plans to go to Moleson village from here but when we reached the place, it started raining. Ashu was also sleeping so we decided to head back to Zurich. One minute it was bright and sunny and the next, there was a hail storm! We were cruising around 100 kmph in the highway and it felt as if a truck load of pebbles were hitting the car. The noise, the storm, the speed, the zero visibility, cars stopping or slowing down,... it was scary to say the least. Luckily we were able to stop just under a bridge on the shoulder and most of the cars stopped in the shoulder too. I have never witnessed such a hailstorm before and it was hard to believe my own eyes. Some of the hails were as big as an ice cube! With Ashu sleeping through it all, Hd and I holding hands and talking and listening to music, it was surely an experience I ll never forget in my life. The storm lasted for 45 minutes and even then, the rain did nt stop. We headed for the nearest rest area for a break and reached Zurich safely late evening. A perfect weekend trip with just the three of us after a very long time.

Its so refreshing to see places with a kid, I have to admit. If it were just Hd and me, Im sure we would have just rushed through the sights, taken customary photos and would be in a hurry to go to the next place in our check list. But with Ashu, it was wonderful. She pretended she was a mouse and ran through the maze like garden at the Castle. She stopped to watch the cows grazing and worried about them when she saw the flies sitting on them. She actually stopped to smell the flowers. She looked at the old cannon at the castle and asked if it was a telescope! She asked who the bad boys were who had tied Jesus' hands when we went to the Church and wondered if his wounds healed fast! She asked if the cows eat the cheese! She exclaimed loudly, "Amma when I woke up today, we were in a hotel room and not in our Zurich house" in an absolutely cute way. She kept the cocoa bean as a souvenir when the chocolate factory guide gave her one and cherished it more than the free chocolate. ("Amma keep this cocoa bean. Don't eat it OK?", she warned me. Ah, how well my daughter knows her mother!) And she was so happy to be back home too. We were away hardly for 36 hours but I could see how much she missed home. Its good to know shes not ready to fly the nest. Yet.