No power.

Mommy had way too much time in her hands today. And way too much hair clips. And Ashu had a little patience! The result, these mug shots:


There was a power cut the whole day today. So no internet for Mommy and no cartoon for Ashu. I mean, what can one do when theres no power the whole day? My mom is sick and Ashu is sick too. So no cooking either. They both had curd rice and I had toast! So it was a 2 mins affair. Ashu of course has dysentry, her best friend who never fails to visit her when shes sick! So my mom and I were running to the bathroom every 30 mins with Ashu. In spite of this busy schedule I got bored by the evening. I started asking aloud "Ashu, when will the power come back" a dozen times just like I used to ask HD and annoy him. Ashu started playing with the remote and pointed the TV and asked me "Noddy?" Yes I know, me bad mother! Too much of Noddy is good for nobody! (Hey, I just made that up and it rhymes!) The house got darker and darker towards evening and we could nt even read a book. So out came the hair clips to keep my baby busy for a while. My mom thought the same about her baby too, I guess! So we both played around for sometime. But of course I had to take pictures. And blog about it now that the power has come back. :)

I am a celebrity!

How did I forget to write about this? Anyway, better gloat late then never! So I told you guys I was in Chennai 2 weeks back for a wedding and my US Visa appointment right? One afternoon, my FIL, Ashu and I were going home after a bit of shopping. Stopped at this shop called Surya Greens (Is that in Adyar? I am not Madras Savvy so forgive me!) for eating some chat and to buy some veggies and fruits. I finished my Sev Puri in 2 seconds and took Ashu and went out so that my FIL and the rest of the customers can eat in peace! Next door was Surya Sweets and Ashu and I were doing some window shopping there. There was this family with an elderly lady, a young woman and 3 cute kids. Ashu immediately said "Paappa" (Baby!) and went near the youngest child. And then it happened. The young woman asks me "Are you Boo from Boosbabytalk?" I have to check with her later but I think my jaw dropped and I went blank for 2 whole minutes! She continues, "I recognized your daughter from the photos you have posted". That brought me back to Earth. Ok, I am not the real celebrity after all! Then we chitchatted for a few mins and said bye. I liked the way her son came to her and asked in a whisper who I was and she was like "I ll explain to you later!" Ha ha ha! It might take quiet some explanation, Im sure. I think I said something like "Keep reading" when I left! How silly is that! I am sorry P, but this was the first time it happened to me and I was nt prepared!

And P it was so nice of you to say Hi to me unlike some people I know who lurk and read this blog but never acknowledge it when we meet. They get to know all the dirt about me but never bother to even mail me or wish me on my birthday. Ya, I am talking about you Honey. Now you know I know! ;)

Remember that evil boy in the Toy Story movie? He is real!

Dear Opposite Door Neighbor,

I don't know how else to say this but don't come home anymore with your 3 1/2 years old son. Don't make him knock on my door and watch it from the peep hole of your door. He is YOUR son. Your responsibility. If you are at your wits end and ready to crack because of the brat, get a baby sitter. I am not one. I have my own baby to take care of. I know it was only 2 hours but it was too much. All my sympathies are with you, but thats all I can offer. Even if you had sent him alone, I would have taken care of him in my own "special" way. But you followed him too and sat on my sofa asking me hundreds of questions while your son was literally making my living room as if a hurricane had passed through. I can forgive him for scattering all the 120 pieces of blocks all over the floor. I can forgive him for not putting them back while leaving. I can forgive him for snatching a book from Ashu. I can forgive him for going to the bedroom and searching for Ashus bus which he saw a couple of months back while Ashu was riding it. I can forgive him for throwing a tantrum when I would nt allow him to open the showcase and take out my precious souvenirs. I can forgive him for sitting on the big stuffed toy and dragging it all over the floor. I can even forgive him(if i try really hard) for taking a real pencil and scratching all over the doodle board and trying* to rip the board apart. But I can never forgive him or any one else in this world for laying a hand on my daughter. I mean she was only coming near him to ask what was wrong when he was crying at the top of his voice when you two were leaving. And your son had the guts to push her. (again with the psycho look!) And I can never ever forgive you for not stopping him. Your lame attempt does nt count, ok? You are a bad parent, thats what you are. There I said it! I know I can never say this to your face and I am writing this in my blog only because you will never read it. And tomorrow if you come again with your son, I ll give my fake smile and let you in. But I just hope you don't!

Yours,
Boo. (The Opp door neighbor in constant terror whenever the door bell rings.)

* I mean you guys should have seen his face. He had a psycho look and was repeatedly stabbing the doodle board as if the pencil was a knife and the board was his victim! It scared the hell out of me!

Another movie quote. I am watching too much TV!

We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I
mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to
care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the
mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your
life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go
un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

Susan Sarandon in Shall We Dance.

And I rest my case.

I watched Mona Lisa Smile a few weeks ago on TV. I liked it. Below is the conversation between Julia Roberts and Julia Stiles(I really like her.) Anyway, for a long time now I was wondering how to convince people that being a house wife is MY choice and I AM happy with MY choice. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided I dont have to convince anyone about anything in my life. I dont care. But now and then when one gets certain looks from Working Wives/Mothers and as well as from fellow House Wives/Stay at home mothers and not to mention from the Toms, Dicks and Harrys, one cant help but steal quotes from movies and throw them at their faces. Here you go...

Joan Brandwyn: It was my choice... not to go. He
would have supported it.
Katherine Watson: But you don't have to choose.
Joan Brandwyn: No, I have to. I want a home; I
want a family, that's not something I'll sacrifice.
Katherine Watson: No-one's asking you to
sacrifice that, Joan, I just want you to understand you can do both.
Joan Brandwyn: Do you think I'll wake up one
morning and regret not being a lawyer? Katherine Watson: Yes, I'm afraid that
you will.
Joan Brandwyn: Not as much as I regret not having
a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I'm doing and it
doesn't make me any less smart. [Katherine looks down] Joan Brandwyn: This must
seem terrible to you.
Katherine Watson: I didn't say that.
Joan Brandwyn: Sure you did. You always do. You
stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a
housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no
depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I
wanted. This is what I want.

I am back...

... in Bangalore.

One long month resting my behind in my parents place - Check
Ashu having the time of her life - Check
Ashu catching a severe cold and suffereing from wheezing and generally having a tough week - Check
Traveling to Chennai to stay with my in-laws - Check
Mosquito bites - Check.
Meeting up with my BIL, my sis's husband - Check
Attend wedding and hog food - Check
Bye bye to BIL and Welcome to HD - Check
Grand re-union of daughter and daddy after a month - Check
US visa appointment in Chennai on Monday - Check
Jumping queues thank to Ashu and visa approved - Check
Shopping and dining out - Check
Back to Bangalore, home sweet home - Check
Passports to arrive from the US embassy - Check

So many things accomplished, wont you say? HD is only here until the weekend and he will leave for Zurich again. My Swiss visa is still a mystery. Loads of my favorite blogs to read but no time. HD has made me promise that I wont sit before the computer until he goes back to Zurich. Hoping he wont notice this post!! So catch you all soon and The Mad Momma, slow down a little for my sake girl! I cant catch up with your posts fast enough! ;)

I am an actual person! Hurray!

I tried to publish a new post in my Tamil blog and I had to go through word verification before publishing. But even after the word verification, the publishing failed. I tried a couple of more times and it was really annoying. There was word verification even to save it as a draft. I tried a few hours later and I got a message from blogger. My blog has characteristics of a spam blog it seems!

Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

Before we can turn off mandatory word verification on your posts we'll need to have a human review your blog and verify that it is not a spam blog. Please fill out the form below to get a review.

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

Remove word verification from posts Word Verification: Type the characters you see in the picture below.
Email Address:
We'll contact you after we review your blog.

How insulting! :(

ps. Prabhu, the post was about Tamil Rhymes for your kind info! I know I would have someone to blame this on! (Prabhu asked me for a post on Tamil Rhymes.)
ps1. By some hair pulling and searching for my lost post, I found it here. But it cannot be viewed in my home page or in its permalink. Go figure!

update: The posts are appearing now but I am not able to publish a new post in my Tamil blog. Even this post appeared only after 12 hours. Whatever!

1.5 & a tag.

I found this cute little meme at flipflopmamma and tagged Ashu. Could nt resist! ;) By the way, Ashu is 18 months today and call this my gift to her.





3 Things That Scare Me
Pressure cooker whistle
Beach
Walking on the wet bathroom floor

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Grandma
Grandpa
Amma

3 Things I Love
Noddy show on TV
Noddy book
Noddy stuffed toy

3 Things I Hate
Sweets including chocolates. Mom says I ll change and start hogging them soon. But I dont think so. Bring on the pickles!
Washing my hair. How am I supposed to breathe when water is running down my face? And Im not supposed to swallow the water too. When will mom get it?
When grandma tries to put flowers on my head with a hairpin. It can wait, woman! I have hardly any hair and you are doing seriuos damage to the scalp.

3 Things I Don't Understand
Why do I have to begin counting with one? Why cant I start from two? And finish with three?
Why do I have to go in the potty? What are diapers for then?
Why cant I drink Milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner? And for snack time?

3 Things On My Floor.
The entire contents of the toy basket. About 108 things.
Me.
Winnie the pooh rocker.

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now
Playing hide and seek with the two boys from next door.
When they call out my name, I come out of my hiding place!
When the boys go and hide, I run to mommy!

3 Things I Can Do
I can give a dimpled smile and make grandpa eat out of my hand!
I can understand most of the stuff Mom asks me to do. But I do only a few stuff. Why give her the satisfaction?
I can open the main door, climb the stairs and go to the terrace on my own and give mom a heart attack.

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
Happy
Needy
Lovable

3 Things I Cant do
I cant be alone in a room even for one waking minute.
I cant pronounce Water. I say Taater. But you know what I mean, so why bother?
I cant go to sleep on my own.

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
Grandpa. He is always right. He is my man!
The song "Suttum vizhi sudare". Rocking!
Kids below five talking. Sounds like heaven to me. I am not far behind myself!

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
My mom singing me lullabies. Although it makes me go to sleep, it ll be very embarassing if theres an audience.
Ferber.
Some of the things my mom writes in her blog about me.

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
Bananas
Yogurt
Toast

3 Things I'd Like to Learn
Operate the TV remote and switch channels between Pogo and Cartoon network.
Take the milk from the fridge and pour it in my bottle. I dont have to depend on my prison warden then!
Climb down the stairs without my butt on the air.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
Milk
Apple juice
Water

3 Shows I Watched as a Kid
Make way for Noddy
Oswald
Sesame street

3 Fellow Babies That I am Tagging
All the babies whose parents read my mommy's blog.

Except for "dressing up Ashu" part, this Diwali was a bummer!

The Old.

Right now my grand mother (Dads mother) lives with my parents. She’s 90 years old. Next door lives my Uncle (Dads younger brother) with my 96 year old Grand uncle and 94 years old Grand aunt. This is a story about the old.

My father has 6 sisters and 3 brothers. My grand father had two sisters. Both of them did nt have any children of their own. One of the sisters was widowed when she was in her thirties and demanded her brother to give one of her sons in adoption and succeeded. She adopted my dad. Though not legally but with all the required religious poojas. Soon after the adoption, my dads Upanayanam (where he wears the sacred thread) happened. After that, he started doing the required customs to be performed after the death of a parent. For his adopted father. Once a month on the Amaavasai(Tharpanam) and once every year (Srardham). We called his adopted mother Athai Paati. She died when she was 75. She lived alone almost all her life and only the last year of her life, she lived with us. She suffered almost for 5 months before she died. The last 2 months, she lost her memory. It was really bad. My mom bathed her, dressed her, fed her, cleaned her and did everything for her. Soon after her death, we moved to another town.

Six years later, Dad’s parents came and lived with us on and off for around 3 years. My grandpa fell in the bathroom, broke his leg and was bed ridden for 2 months before he passed away. He was 90. Then my Grandma lived with my Uncles and Aunts for a while before coming back to my parents. Whenever my parents were traveling abroad or moving to another town, she ll live with the other sons and daughters. After my parents came back to our home town, she started living here. Now even when my parents travel, she continues to live alone in her down stairs room. A cook brings her food and since my uncle lives close by, he takes care of her. She’s 90 years old now.

My grand father's other sister who did nt have children either asked her brother for a child to adopt. So my dad’s younger brother was given in adoption to her. She died within a year of adopting my Uncle. Her husband, my grand uncle, is the one who is 96 now and living with my Uncle. The grand aunt I told about earlier is his sister. Her story is a tragedy. She got married in her teens. Her husband did nt want to live with her as she was dark and ugly. She came back to her village and lived with her family. After a decade or probably less, her husband died. She shaved her head, adorned the widow's attire and lived alone all her life. Last year, she joined an old age home. But she got too sick and wanted to live with my Uncle along with her brother. So she’s currently with my Uncle now. She is 94 and very sick.

My great grand mother had a sister. Her story is the most tragic. She got married when she was around 10 years old. As was custom then, girls got married young, stayed with their parents until puberty and left for the husband’s house afterwards. But after a year or two, her husband died. She became a widow when she was 12. After her puberty, they shaved her head and made her wear the widow’s attire. (My grandma has told me that she had really long and beautiful hair.) So she did nt even see the inside of her in-laws house, I guess. She lived alone almost all her life. I used to be very scared of her as she was a bitter old woman. (I can imagine why!) She died when she was 95.

I wish I had a magic wand with which I can wave and wash away all the worries and troubles of the old. Life is nt worth living long.

ps. If you have a story to tell about the old, please make an effort to write. Don't forget to send me the link. Or you can email me(boobabytalk at gmail dot com) the story and I can put it in this blog. It can be about anything:
The problems the old face.
The dilemmas our parents face caught between the old and the young. (I am currently writing a post on this topic.)
The customs and beliefs which make life more difficult.
Or anything which comes to your mind when you think about the old.

I would love to know more about this topic from you.

My gullible baby!

I am sitting on the bed and watching "America's next top model"(Some old season!) on TV. I have closed the door since the AC is on. Ashu, as she does every 10 or 15 minutes, calls out "Amma! Amma!" and prompted by my dad comes and knocks the door. She is too short to open the door by herself and I am too lazy to get up from the bed and open the door. Also, Tyra is about to criticize the contestants photos. So I shout "Amma is not in here" and Ashu believes me and runs away. My poor darling! Either she thought Amma is always right and if she says so, then she might not be in there(!) or she was just reassured with my voice and went back to play with Grandpa. I could nt help laughing. I heard my dad telling Ashu "Amma is lying, She is in there" and she came back and knocked again. And I shouted again that I was nt in there and she ran away again. But this time I opened the door and said "Gotcha!" She came running to me and gave a hug. One of those sweet nothings! :)

Baby's day out!

Sitting on this swing was a little scary but fun!










And it was fun to feed the cow too... until she licked my hand! Yuck!








And this was a big deer. I saw several and a small one too. Amma sang "Maan kuttiye, pulli maan kuttiye"! I dont think she meant me this time!



Being chased by the Geese was no fun, I tell you. And with Amma and Grandpa screaming at Paati to run, I thought I will have to face the geese alone! But the good Paati picked me up and ran. Now THAT was fun! :)

Heights tag.

Height of Embarrassment - Ashu refusing to say a word when guests come home. And they ask me, "Does she talk?"

Height of Perfection - Ashu trying to keep her bottle straight on the table after she finishes her milk. She will stand on her toes and keep it straight but not sideways.

Height of Cruelty - She will dangle a piece of biscuit near my mouth and I would say no thanks. But she will persist. When I open my mouth, she will promptly put it in her mouth and run away.

Height of Anger - Ashu screwing up her face and pushing me away if I so much as touch my father. If I hug him, she gets mad and starts screaming.

Height of Comparison - Whenever she pulls my long ear rings, she will touch her ears to see if by magic she has long ear rings too!

Height of Choosiness - Picking out one book from the book shelf and holding it for months as her favorite. She won’t make another one her favorite until I hide the book or she does permanent damage to it!

Height of Vigilance - As soon as the mobile phone rings, she ll figure out where the phone is, run to it and bring it back to my dad to answer.

Height of Promptness - She always closes anything she opens. Firmly. The cupboards, bottles, boxes, doors, ...

Height of Desperation - Ashu closing the bedroom door and going and lying on the bed waiting for me when I delay to put her to sleep.

Height of Brilliance - As soon as we gave her the numbers book, she started associating. Now she says too, thee, fo, chix, nain,... looking at the phones, calendar or wherever she sees numbers.

Height of Frustration - Ashu trying to turn the back cover of a book thinking that there is another page sticking to it and crying in frustration when she cant!

Height of Manners - She says "Thanks" only to me and only when I give her appalam. (papad)

Height of Sharing - Ashu giving a toy to the kid who comes home so that she can snatch the toy that the kid is holding.

Height of Caring - Whenever I hurt myself and scream with pain, Ashu will come running to me with a concerned look on her face. I ll smile and tell her Im alright and she will smile back sheepishly.

Thanks ArtNavy for tagging me. Thanks Itching to Write for starting this tag. This one made me think a lot. And thanks all of you who took this tag because it helped me copy!! ;)

HD,

I miss you. Can you like come back?

Luv,
Boo.

ps. I am sure Ashu will say the same too if she can talk. Dont let her attachment (read as glued to) towards her Thatha fool you. Hes just a rebound.

Bits and pieces.

So many things are happening in my side and each deserves a post of its own. But I will spare you all and just give a glimpse!

On Saturday I am going to my parents place. Will be there for a month and then come back to Bangalore and leave for Zurich by mid Nov, if everything goes as per plan that is!

My moms cleaning the house right now. Which means, we are fighting from morning to night. Dont ask!

Ashu is being extra clingy to my mom and extra stubborn and extra adamant and extra everything. Is this a phase or is it my mom?

HD is in Zurich hunting for a house. It is tougher in Zurich than Basel to get a house I guess. Hope the difference between the two cities ends there. (If by some remote chance, you are reading this from Zurich, can we be friends? If you have a child too, can we be best friends?)

My dads car which we had borrowed all these months went back today loaded with all our luggages. I have no idea why we have so much stuff to take while we travel.

For dinner today I made Kadai paneer WITHOUT turmeric, tomatoes, corn flour(for thickening as it went too watery!) and garam masala because my mom sent all these things in the car. I had to make Kadai Paneer since the paneer I bought a month back was expiring tomorrow!

Just today I remembered that I need to buy at least 2 big packs of diaper as we dont get it in my home town. When I went to the corner pharmacy to buy them, they were out of stock. Another shop where we used to buy also did nt have them. May be Ashu is ready to be potty trained!

When the driver was taking the stuff to the car, Ashu saw him taking the Pooh rocker and leaving the house. She ran behind him shouting "Pooh, Pooh" and started crying. And she has never bothered to sit on it or play with it even for a minute.

I am shocked to see the amount of stuff I have to take for one month. How am I ever going to manage with the measly 20 kgs to Zurich? Daddy, can you send a car there too?

I am hooked on to Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, the celebrity dance show on Sony and Nach Baliye 2 on Star one. But they are so dragging. Especially the one whole hour for eliminating a couple on JDJ. I can as well watch the next day and find out whos missing. Farah Khan on JDJ and Saroj Khan in NB rock as judges. But Shilpa Shetty and Kunal Kohli are total waste. And can Malika Arora Khan please refrain from saying "Yo all were great", "Yo all are cute", "Yo all were brilliant", "Yo all sucked" like a million times. It is so annoying. There are only two shes talking to, right? So why "yo all"?

On the blog front, I have three or more tags on my head. It would be fun to do them. One by one. I also wanted to write a post on a certain issue triggered by another post but dont know where to start. But I will.

Moving.

It's that time of my life again. The one word I have started to hate. Relocation! We are going to Switzerland (again!), to the country Ashu was born. Excited, yes! If I blink and will be in Zurich, that will be great. But no such luck. HD left Bangalore last night and is in Zurich already. It will take a month for our visas to come. So mostly by November, we should be there too. My parents and FIL were here to see him off so it did nt hit me hard, his absence. But when I came back home from the airport to find his black flip-flops lying on the floor and his tooth brush along side mine, I felt very sad. Ashu asked "Appa illaiyaa?" (No Appa?) in the middle of the night and that made me miserable. :(

A depressing week.

17th Sept, Sunday - My Dad arrives after his 3 months trip to the US. Loaded with goodies for Ashu. Happy reunion of Thatha and Pethi.

18th Sept, Monday - My dad and I with Ashu go visit my Aunts house and along with Aunt and Uncle, we go to visit my maternal grandparents. My grandpa seeing my dad after months, chats with him for a long time. Then collapses and falls on the floor unconscious. The doctor who arrives after an hour says he has passed away. He was 82. We had to break the news to my mom who is in the US with my sister.

19th Sept, Tuesday - Funeral.

20th Sept, Wednesday - We are trying tickets for my mom so that she can at least be here before the 10th day ceremony.

21st Sept, Thursday - My moms ticket to Chennai is confirmed. She ll be landing on Saturday. Since my dads stuck with some work, I decide to go to Madras.

22nd Sept, Friday - HD, Ashu and I leave for Chennai.

23rd Sept , Saturday - We all go to the airport to receive mom. She does nt know that I am in Chennai. She comes out late as one of her baggages has nt arrived. Shes in tears when she comes out but when she sees me, her mood changes.

24th Sept, Sunday - All of us back to Bangalore and we drop Mom at my Aunts place. Sad reunion of family.

When my grandpa was lying on the floor, Ashu was pointing at him and saying Thoola, thoola (Sleeping) with her palm on her ears.
It was pathetic when the doctors would nt come home to confirm he was dead. One homeopathy doctor nearby said "I don't know to do that."
Death is scary.
One minute he was talking fine and the next, he was dead.
I am glad I was there near him. Especially since my mom was nt.
My grand mother was so calm and collected. It scared all of us.
On Tuesday, Ashu would nt go near my grandpa. She circled and walked as far away as possible from him. Do young children sense something?
I have no one I can call Thatha now and Ashu has lost her only great grand father.
RIP.

Update on Ashu at 16 months and 3 weeks.

~> She had her first major injury on August 3rd when she fell from the chair and got hurt in her mouth. As she was screaming, I picked her up thinking it was just another bumpy fall when I saw blood. Lots. From her mouth. On the floor. All over her shirt. I called HD and he took her and there was blood dripping on the floor and his T shirt as well. I took a wash cloth and started wiping her mouth. The tissues were turning red by the second. I made her lie down and checked her mouth. It was horrible. I checked the teeth, they were intact. But the upper gum on the right was gory. She had fallen from the chair and got hit at the lower base of the computer table in between her upper lip and the nose. The gum had borne the brunt of the fall. I called the Doctor and she said if the bleeding stops and the teeth are intact, I don't have to worry and gave the name of an ointment. We were deliberating whether to go to the hospital(it was 10 pm by now!) when Ashu went to sleep. The drool from her mouth was staining the pillow red.
The next day, we took her to the doctor. She checked and said it was just a scrape on the gum and as the blood vessel had been cut, there was so much blood. But she could see that it was a pretty bad injury. She said the ointment will heal it fast. Ashu had a swollen lip for a day and could nt open her mouth wide for a couple of days. I did nt give her anything hot to eat for 3 days. She was alright in 5 days. I cried loads after she went to sleep. The incident shook me up.

~> She goes crazy and dances around when Noddy comes on Pogo. Just for the title song and the end credits song. And when Noddy breaks into a song in the episode. Otherwise she has not much interest watching it. She touches the TV and says "NODDY" when he comes on the screen. Sometimes when she gets up from her afternoon nap, she asks "Noddy illaiyaa?" (No Noddy?)

~> She can count. When I say One, she says Too, Thee, Toothee, Theetoo, Toothee, Toothee,...

~> She readily says "Tata" to anyone and everyone. Sometimes she says Tata to me and runs away from the room. When my sister says Tata to her over the phone, she says Tata and runs away from the room too!

~> She still has nt said Appa. When asked where is Appa she points to her father. But she calls him as Amma only. She can say Amma, she can say Paapaa but not Appa. Kids!

~> She likes to fetch things for me. She brings the remote, switches on the fan, picks up things I have dropped, brings the phone, ... Its fun for me! :)

~> Milk, Banana and Yogurt are still her favorite food. She does nt want to try anything new.

~> I took this quiz from the Toddler care book I have and it says Ashu is a Textbook Baby. The other types of babies are Angel, Touchy, Spirited and Grumpy.
*Note to self: Take the quiz again next month.*

~> She has become shy. She does nt say her name or say Hi or answer anything when guests are home. If she likes them, she will give them a smile. Nothing more, nothing less! The minute they leave, she becomes a chatter box.

~> She runs to me calling "Amma, amma amma" as if theres a fire somewhere. But thats all she wants to say. Amma, amma, amma. End of sentence.

~> Other than the eight teeth she has already cut, shes cutting four more, all premolars, at the same time. Ouch!

~> She has got this interest to point at things and say what they are if she knows them. Before I had to ask her a dozen times, now she says them on her own. Car, Kaakaa (crow), Maadu(cow), Noddy, Doggy, Taato(auto), Taater(Water), Book, Aadu(goat), Shoe, Ball,...

~> She still needs two naps in a day. She gets cranky otherwise. I tried to cut the morning nap and planned to make her sleep after lunch. So around 12, I was feeding her rice and half way through she did nt open her mouth and I find her eyes closed and sleeping! That was a first, sleeping while sitting! She looked so cute!

~> She looks like a ballerina wearing just the pink training pants and nothing else! :)

~> She clings to her dad as soon as he come homes from office and would nt come to me. It bothers me. A little bit.

~> Books still rule over toys.

~> She likes to observe the kids more than playing with them when we go to the park. She will stand in a corner and keep on looking at them and will look at me every few minutes and give this absolutely adorable smile as if sharing that special moment with me. She does that even while watching Noddy or some of her favorite songs on TV. I do exactly that with HD when we are watching something nice on TV. But he would never look at me when I'm looking at him and that will piss me off. So when Ashu is watching something, I only watch her. I would nt want to miss that special look and that knowing smile for anything in this world.

Cold feet!

Babies should nt get sick. And can anyone tell me why we don't have a vaccination for common cold or at least some cure? Here we are in this century, in this time with prevention and cure for deadly diseases but we cant protect the kids from a common cold? Is this supposed to be a joke? If you have nt already guessed, Ashu is down with a cold. Running nose, severe cough, vomiting, nose block,... the works! I waited for 2 days but the cough got worse. She does nt know to spit so the phlegm was accumulating. And as soon as I gave the cold medicine she vomited. Which was actually good as the phlegm was out. She was looking miserable. So we went to the Doctor today. We went a little late and there were 5 patients before us. All under five and all of them coughing. Felt a little better! More parents with kids in tow arrived. We heard the Doctor mention the word Chikungunya in the examining room to somebody and all of us went silent and on high alert. I started praying. When our turn came, Ashu took one look at the Doctor and remembered the vaccination she had just 2 weeks back. Stopped crying only when we came out and the doctor did nt even touch her. Anyway, she is okay. Nothing to worry. Just cold. Give this syrup 3 times a day. Admit her in the hospital for some nasal spray if the cough gets worse. Blah blah blah!

Sunday was the worst day in my life. There are different types of worst days and I write this one down so that I can compare notes later when I have another one.

I am tired even when I get up. FIL was here on Friday and Saturday so major cooking, cleaning etc. Then HD had to work this weekend. That is both Saturday and Sunday. Ashu is sick. I am just plain pissed at everything. The day only worsens. Ashu drags a chair near the shelf in her room, stands on it, takes the glass tea light candle stand and drops it on the floor. I am in the hall and hear a shattering noise. I think she has dropped a spoon or something and go to the room. There are a million pieces of glass all over the room. I carry her out and ask her to stay put in the hall when I sweep the whole room and then mop. In the mean time, I have forgotten the milk I had kept on the stove. I don't know how but it explodes and there is milk everywhere in the kitchen. I clean. In the mean time, Ashu has opened a cup board and takes out all the 101 things from there and spreads them across the hall. She tears the Tinkle book and is on her way to my precious Calvin & Hobbes book when I save it from her. I clean. Fast forwarding the soosoo cleaning and poopoo cleaning and we get to night time. After finishing her milk, she goes to sleep around 8.30 pm. I go to eat my dinner. (HD is nt home yet, by the way!) As soon as I begin to eat, she gets up and cries. Her nose is blocked and shes struggling to breathe. But the cold medicine has made her drowsy and her eyes are closed. I put the nose drops and put her in the crib. She stands on the crib and cries even while her eyes are closed. I bring her to our bed. She lies tummy down and vomits. All over her, me , the bed, the pillow and the blanket. I remover her clothes and change her while shes crying her lungs out. Her eyes are still closed. I wash up and change. But she would nt let me change the sheets. I just wipe it clean as much as I can. Then she goes to sleep but opens her eyes as soon as I put her in the crib. So I put her in our bed in one corner as the middle of the bed is still wet. I lie down with her for a while. I just want to die. I am exhausted. But I still have some cleaning up to do. I come out of the room and eat my dinner. I wash the stinky blanket and the clothes and hang them for drying. I clean the bathroom as it is stinking too. I rant about my worst day to my sister on Skype and go to sleep around 12. HD is still not home.

No means No!

Ashu has got this annoying habit of saying Nanah(NO!) to anything and everything these days. She first said Nanah a couple of months back when I asked her if she wanted some water. Then Nanah to juice, biscuits, cheerios,... Food types, basically. But never Nanah to milk though! Whenever we ask her "what do you want", she promptly says "Paal" (Milk). Even when she has just finished a bottle of milk, she ll answer that question with "Paal". The other day she got up in the middle of the night and cried and I consoled her and asked her why she was crying. She said "Paal" and went back to sleep the next second. I laughed so much. Anyway, she has realized the potential of saying Nanah and has started applying it for stuff other than food too.

"Ashu, say hallo to grandma on the phone". Nahnah.
"Ashu say Hi to the baby". Nahnah.
"Ashu blow me a kiss". Nahnah.
"Ashu come here". Nahnah.

She says Nanah when some stranger tries to carry her. When I take her from HD. When HD takes her from me. When we leave the park. When we enter the house. When I want to try a dress on her in a shop. Not even try on her. I just wanted to keep the pants on her waist and check the length, thats all. As soon as I went to her with the pants, she said Nahnah and moved away. The attendant there was really amazed. She thought Ashu did nt like those pants and asked me to try another one! It has nt come to that yet lady! Don't put ideas on my child's mind! Its really embarrassing sometimes. We went to a temple on Ganesh Chaturthi and the priest there gave the Prashad(Sweet poha!) to Ashu. Nanah indeed! So HD got it from the priest and put one morsel in her mouth and she promptly spat it out. It was not "I don't like it so I'm spitting it". It was definitely "I said Nanah and you still force me to eat it? I am spitting it". Generally she does nt like sweets. More spicy type like me! So only to Perumal Kovil hereafter for some Puliyodharai, methinks! And here I am thanking her a hundred times a day for stuff I don't even have to say thank you for and she still has nt mastered that word. Kids these days I tell you...