Lake Como.

This was one of our lousiest vacations ever! It rained when we reached Bellagio, it rained for the next 2 days and it was bright and sunny on the day we left. If I could go back in time, I would ve broken a sadhir thengai at the nearby Pillayaar temple before we left. (Yes, Amma. I should nt have left at raahu kaalam, I know!)

Let me start at the beginning. Como is around 3 1/2 drive from Zurich. We reached in EIGHT hours. First, we missed a road because there was some road work going on and it was confusing. Had to go 15 kms to just take an U turn. Then just before the Gothard Tunnel(the 17 km, 3rd longest tunnel in the world), the traffic built up and we like smart cookies took an exit to go via another town. But due to snow, every pass was closed. Add another 2 hours for this. We had lunch at a cosy joint and joined the Gothard traffic again. Miraculously, there was no jam and we just zoomed past. I was driving by this time and once we entered Italy and people started changing lanes without indicators, I said no way and asked Hd to drive. If we are going to die, let it be in his hands. Then we drove in those winding narrow roads, reached Cadennabia and took the car ferry (12 euros! akramam!) to reach Bellagio. We drove in the cobble stoned narrow roads and reached our apartment hotel. Hd dropped us and found a parking spot nearby to park the car. We saw the car again only when we left Bellagio on the 4th day.

Bellagio is the prettiest place ever. It is situated at the tip separating the Y shaped Lake Como. Looks like we are entering the middle ages when we enter Bellagio. Steps and slopes everywhere. Not exactly stroller friendly. But one can manage. There was a Gelateria right opposite our hotel where I had the most amazing french vanilla and pistachio Gelato for dinner! The next day, it was cloudy and gloomy and so cold! Good we all had taken our jackets and woollens. Actually, the kids had them. Hd and I were shivering in our spring jackets. We left for Villa Menzi. A leisurely walk in the gardens. It was nice. We got back to the center again, had a late lunch in a lovely restaurant, ran back to the hotel in the rain. Passed the day by eating more gelato, watching Chicken Little movie in Italian.

On Sunday it rained non stop. But we said enough is enough, covered antus stroller with the rain cover, ashu was all hooded up, Hd too. I held an umbrella and we walked to the ferry point, bought tickets for Lenno to visit Villa Balbianello. We got down in Lenno and was told that it was a 5 mins walk to the villa. Happily, we walked in the rain in the direction of the villa only to be told that its only the entry point and we ve to walk 20 mins uphill from there to reach the entrance. There was a water taxi stand but there was nobody there and we were nt sure what to do. So we walked uphill. Antu slept off in her stroller and poor Hd pushed the stroller and walked. Ashu was all wet and tired and hungry and cranky but poor thing did nt complain much. We reached the entrance after 30 mins. I knew there was a compulsory guided tour for the villa but only if there were enough people. But thankfully, there were other idiots like us waiting in the villa. We bought the tickets. We were told that there was a tour at 12.25 and we can see the gardens until then. While Hd and Antu stood under a shade, Ashu and I went to explore. The views are just breathtaking. The garden is beautiful. The villas location is just out of the world. But the rain ruined everything for us! Hd remarked as soon as we entered the gardens that he thought the last scene in Casino Royale was shot here. I had no idea. But the guided tour later confirmed that fact! whaddayaknow? I should ask James Bond to tell my husband to buy milk the next time! May be he ll remember then! After a wonderful tour of the villa, we wisely took a water taxi right from the garden(10 euros but we did nt care this time!) to Lenno(5 mins boat ride) and then from there a ferry back to Bellagio. Hd bought some pizza and we ate in our room because Ashu said she did nt want to go anywhere anymore! We ate more Gelato and watched Toy Story 2 , Stuart Little 1 and Stuart Little 2. All in Italian.

The next day was bright and sunny. But we had to leave. We took the car ferry back to Cadennabia and since Villa Carlotta was just few minutes away, we drove there. But there was not one parking spot for miles. We should ve come by the ferry to visit the villa, gone back and then should have drove our car. But we made a mistake. So waved to the villa from the outside, ate lunch in a very lousy restaurant in the middle of nowhere and drove back to Zurich. We reached in four hours. Hd is confident that we ll go back to visit Como in Summer. But I think Ashu is scarred for life. I asked her what was her favorite thing about the trip and she said, "nothing, amma"! And this is the girl who loves going on trips. Antu clearly is happy to be home too because yesterday I was taking the girls to the park in the evening and was getting ready and Antu said, "bye amma" and closed the door on me. She was still inside! As for me, I ll go back for sure. Its worth it just for the cassata flavored Gelato! :)

Ashu has 2 weeks spring break and even though spring came and disappeared again, we are making the most of the break. Did I tell you we got her a bicycle? Yes we did. An early birthday gift and shes having a blast. She riding it with the trainer wheels, of course. We bought it on Saturday and since it rained that day and the next, we did nt go out much. Then on Monday I took her down after breakfast, after lunch and before dinner. And she was so excited. Reminded me of the days when sis and I used to rent a rickety old cycle from the cycle kadai and used to take turns with another friend riding the cycle. Sometimes, we were at it the whole day! Ah! Nothing like the beginning days of cycling, I tell you! I relived it again through Ashu.

Since we wanted to be fair, we bought a cycle bell for Antu! It has even mickey mouse on it! Its a different story that as soon as we came home, we fixed the bell to Ashus cycle! Poor Antu is going to spend a fortune on therapy.

We are off to Lake Como for the Easter weekend! See you all on the other side. Have a great weekend everyone. Leaving you with a special photo. Courtesy - Lindt. Only in Swiss! :)

Snippets from a play date.

Ashus best friend G came home last week for a play date.

(G trips and falls on top of Antu.)

G - Oops! Sorry Antu.
Ashu - Its OK, G. I fall on her and squish her ALL the time!!

----

(They are playing Candy Land.)

G - I don't want to play this anymore.
Ashu - Why? You said this is your favorite game.
G - Yes but I don't want to play now. I want to play with your laptop.
Ashu - OK. Clean this up first.

-----

(They are eating a snack.)

G - Yay! I finished first.
Ashu - (sticks out her tongue at G)
G - If I did that, my mom would tell me that I cant have a play date in a long, long time.
Ashu - I DON'T want a play date in a long, long time. OK?

----

G - Ashu said that Antu wont play with me. But I want to play with Antu.
Me - Antu will like to play with you, G. Don't worry. *glares at Ashu*
Ashu - I just thought that Antu is still sleepy and tired after her nap, Amma.
Me - Yeah right!

-----

G - Ashu is screaming in my ears.
Ashu - No I did nt do it, Amma.
G - She did.
Ashu - No, I did nt.
G - You did.
Ashu - No.
G - Yes.
Ashu - No.
G - Yes.
.
.
.
(Boo leaves the room)

----

(3 hours later)

G - Bye Ashu. *hugs and kisses*
Ashu - Bye.
G - I love you.
Ashu - See you tomorrow.

----

The Rabbit and the Chipmunk.

It has been a long time since Ashu told a story for me. Remember the one with the wolf? That was two years ago and the Ashu-almost 5.0-version is a lean, mean story machine. Heres the one she told me last night before her bed time. This time entirely in English.

There were two chipmunks living in a tree house. They both went to visit another city. Then a rabbit started living in the house. The chipmunks came back and saw the rabbit and said, "Its our house". But the rabbit said, "its my house"! They both kept on saying the same thing. Then a girl came there with a knife and killed one of the chipmunks!! (No. there was no warning for me either!!) She did nt do anything to the rabbit because he was her friend. One day, the rabbit and the girl were sleeping. The chipmunk planned something and went to their house. He saw two small bunnies. He killed one. So the girl started sleeping in the dead bunnies cot after that! (don't ask!) One day the rabbit wanted to go to the market. But the girl said no. So he went when she was sleeping. She got up and saw there was no rabbit. So she left the house and went to another country. The rabbit came home and saw that the girl was not there. So he went to a shop and snatched all the food and stored it in the house. There was no food for anyone else in that city. Then he caught a plane and went to another country. Now the girl came back to the house and saw the rabbit was not there. So she went on a plane to London. But the rabbit was not in London. He was in South Africa! So she went there and killed the rabbit. Now she had two houses. (huh?) She came back to rabbits house and gave all the food back to the shop. Took all the nuts from the shop and went to see the chipmunk and gave him all the nuts. She saw the bunny there. But he was not a clever bunny. So she taught him this and taught him that. Then she took him to her house and they lived happily ever after.

The End.

If I add some choice swear words here and there, you think may be I can send this story to Tarantino?

Getting Crafty.

Its only fair to contribute to Shrutis Artsy Craftsy March challenge after all the inspiration (read as stealing!) I got from the Artsy Craftsy finger painting challenge. I googled and found this simple craft from YouTube. So easy that Ashu saw it once and made it all by herself. With absolutely no help from me. The house of Boo is proud to present,

The Paper plate Puppet.

All you need is a paper plate, scissors and scotch tape. Thanks Shruti for inspiring me to try the land of puppets. :)

ps.

Meanwhile, the resident toddler can run away with the scotch tape and use the almost entire tape trying to stick the pillow to the bed. Beware!

Birthday Musings.

Its nice when the birthday falls on a weekend. Especially if its your 32nd!! :) Decided to forget the fact that I'm getting old(er) and went to Flums to do some sledging. Poor man's Skiing, I call it. :) Theres a 3 km sledge run there which I ve been wanting to go for a long time. So after an hour drive, a 20 min cable car ride, a 10 mins bus ride and another 5 mins cable car ride, Ashu and I reached the top. Rented a huge wooden sledge and weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! We tumbled, we fell, we rolled, we were scared but we survived. Ashu swore she ll never ever sledge ever again! We both took charge of Antu while Hd went to sledge. He came back in 10 mins saying he had a blast! I was tempted to go solo. So after a hearty lunch, I went again. This time it was much more fun because I was nt worried that I ll kill my own child! But in my defense, I saw 5 year olds sledding in their own sledges unaccompanied. And overtaking me! I also saw a guy who went past me, hit the barrier on the right, flew up and fell on the other side. Thankfully, he was OK. But I had my heart in my mouth the rest of the way. Towards the end, the slopes merge and the skiers and the snowboarders and us were all using the same run and it was scary, to say the least. But then whats the fun if its not? :)

I also baked myself a yummy zucchini cake this year. Ashu slipped a birthday card she made under the bathroom door. Antu was clueless. Hd did nt disappoint. I went Wiiiiiiiiiii when I opened his gift. ;) Friends of mine took me to dinner the previous night while Hd was home with the girls. I had a blast. Went to this restaurant called Movie. Stepped into a child unfriendly place after ages. Once in a while, its nice to dine somewhere where they don't have high chairs, you know what I mean? The food was awesome. The ambience was great with studio lights, film roll menu cards, red carpet,.. the whole nine Hollywood yards.

As always, birthday reflections happened. I could nt think of anything I could do to improve my life, so stopped trying! ;) Being content is so under rated these days. So I want to admit that I am content. And I am exactly where I want to be in my life. I think that's the advantage when one is not ambitious. I'm happy being an average Jane. Here's to everyone like me! *clink*

Gym diary.

Today at the gym, I left Antu in the kids care and was filling the form there. The one which asks for our names, check in time, phone number, etc... Theres a column where one has to write the date of birth of the child. While I was writing Antus, my eyes went to the last entry and saw that there was a March 2010. I was shocked. I ve seen infants at the kids care there and the moms taking a break from the work out and breast feeding them in the changing room. Yes, its true. And these are non celebrity women, for your kind information! But I was still shocked and saw the date again and tried to calculate how many weeks old the baby was when it struck me. The mom had, by mistake, written today's date in that column! phew! But you never know. Some mom might hit the gym right after the birth straight from the labor ward! These women just exist to make me feel bad about myself, I tell you.

I am the most over weight person in my gym. Except when this other woman comes to the gym. But I don't see her most days. Guess she waiting for a member fatter than her!

Its like a fashion show out there in my gym. I gotta admire these women. If I look anything like them, I ll sitting at home ODing on chocolate instead of sweating in the gym. And I still do it some days - the ODing on chocolate skipping gym, I mean! ;)

The gyms lake facing and its lovely to look at the water and the ducks and the boats while running in the treadmill. I feel so alive. Cant say the same about the ducks though! Poor things have to watch me run and sweat!

Antu is loving the kids care. Runs inside without even a backward glance at me. I cannot believe shes Ashus sister. Ashu who cried, screamed and yelled for WEEKS before settling down in her play school.

I'm on Week 7 of my C25K programme and jogged for 25 mins for the first time yesterday. Almost collapsed at the end. Oh Eesa kept me going the last few mins. Today it was Dhan te nan.

Ashu asks me everyday, "Did you go to the gym today, Amma?" If I say no, she gives a very disapproving look. So I ve appointed her as my personal trainer.

I have nt lost any considerable weight in these 7 weeks. (Do you even have to wonder why after that chocolate confession I just made?) But my clothes are looser and I feel good about myself. Thats a start, I guess.

Even though the programme says 5 kms, I am able to jog only 3 kms in 30 minutes. So I'm planning to repeat the programme by increasing the speed slowly and trying to achieve the 5 km mark.

My Gym playlist:

Aahun Aahun - Love Aaj Kal
Adiye Kolluthe - Vaaranam Aayiram
Boom boom - Boys
Chiggy wiggy - Blue
Title Song - Delhi 6

Dhan te nan - Kaminey
Dol dol dol - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Excuse me - Kandasamy
Fatak - Kaminey
Honey honey - Ayan

Ibn e Batuta - Ishqiya
Jana Gana mana - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Kodaana Kodi - Saroja
Masakali - Delhi 6
Oh Eesa - Aayirathil Oruvan

Vennilaavin theril Eri - Duet
Yakkai Thiri - Ayutha Ezhuthu

Can you please suggest some songs that really keep you going? I would love to add more to my list.

ps.
Im embarrassed by most of the videos. So dont judge me! Think of the greater good - me getting fit! ;)

Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya.

I am really silly when it comes to certain things. Especially about movies. For no good reason, I would decide not to watch a certain actors movies in the cinemas. Simbu aka Silambarasan is one of them. Or should I say was? Sigh! I gave in and watched his movie last night. Yes, its his movie all the way! I made all kinds of dramatic dialogues like "Let History not say that Boo watched a Simbu movie in the theatre" and "I'm a card carrying member of the I hate Simbu club", etc.. much to Hds asmusement the last couple of days. "You want to watch the movie, don't you?", asked Hd. "Go and watch. I promise I wont tell anyone", he goaded! We could nt watch the movie together anyway and I did nt want to go alone so I decided to let it pass. Then the Universe conspired and a friend called me yesterday and asked if I'm game to watch the movie. The Universe is really jobless, I think. If it had to conspire, cant it do something about my weight loss or that lottery I'm hoping to win? Anyway, so I went with the friend, the friends friend and the friends friends husband(who does nt speak a word of Tamil) for a 11 pm show last night.

To say I LOVED the movie would be an understatement. Now I get what people saw in Vaaranam Aayiram. May be that movie resonated with them in some level and I just was nt able to relate to it. I'm sure there are loads of people who might hate VTV too. Its mushy, its long, its intense, its love love love, its confusing,... But I got zapped into the movie completely. I had a lump in my throat as soon as the movie began. And had it hours after it ended. I came home at 2.15 am after dropping the friends home and could nt sleep for an hour after that. I said all sort of mushy nonsense to a sleeping Hd. Yes, I had gone that crazy! And no, I don't drink.

I think Jessie is one of Goutham Menons fantastic female leads. Never in my life have I ever seen a film where I could totally be in the head of the female character and feel the same way as her. And Simbu as Karthik is such a revelation. I whispered, "Simbu is good" to Hd today morning and added "Oh who am i kidding? He was great okay. He was awesome!" and thankfully Hd was sitting down when I said that! He has played Karthik just perfect. Trisha was good too but its his movie all the way. The ending is what clinched the movie for me. Kudos to Goutham for that ending. You ARE good, dude! I sort of underestimated you after Vaaranam Aayiram and I'm sorry, OK?

AR Rahman - where do I begin? What can I say that has not been said already? Aaromale is so good that I want to drown in that song. Especially after watching the song on screen, I get the now familiar lump in my throat every time I hear it. Sigh! What a hopelessly romantic, mushy person I actually am! I'm embarrassed to admit that. The picturization of the other songs did nt work for me though. Except Mannippaya.

Now lets talk about Jessie - for some who call her immature, confused, b****, etc... etc... and say most modern women are like her - always leading the men on and then breaking their hearts and moving on - Yes, its true. Been there, done that. And whats wrong in that, may I ask? I ve never understood this blanket statement that women are so selfish and they are not in "real love" if they ve any desire of their own. Have nt we seen it in tonnes of Tamil movies where the hero berates the girl for dumping him? "Did nt you know I was poor when you roamed the streets with me? Did nt you know I was a lowly mechanic when you came to repair your scooty? You women are so selfish. You don't ve the guts to leave your family while we leave everything for you"! Yawn! Give me a break! He falling in love at the first sight is nt immature but she trying to see what kind of a person he is by going out with him is? He deciding that she is the woman of his dreams just by seeing her behind is nt stupid but she deciding that he ll be a mechanic all his freaking life and does nt want to be a part of his life is? He, leaving everything behind, is getting a woman of his dreams at the end of the deal. What is she getting out of it? Pregnant and alone when he is off to see some location and being a edupudi to a film director? Why should she settle down? Yes, he makes her head giddy and heart go boom boom, but how long is that going to last? When did being smart and logical become a crime? The only dialogue I did nt agree with Karthik in the movie was when he says that Jessies sister would nt be happy. That shes just acting. I disagree. Women are made of stronger stuff. When we can move on after burying our children, whats something as hormonal as first love? I can hear you ask, "So why get into the relationship in the first place?, Why lead the men on?" Because we want it all. We want our heads to go giddy. Our hearts to go boom boom. We want that first kiss. We want that excitement. We want to see if the guy is worth fighting the world for. Worth leaving the family for. And we can't decide all that based on his posterior. Even if it looks like Brad Pitt's. And as cliched as it might sound, we do believe its better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. And be loved.

ps.
Thanks Gowtham for the fantastic Jessie. And let me tell you one more important thing. Since we ve established the fact that the Universe is pretty jobless, it might conspire again and try to make you think of casting SJ Suryah in your next movie. But I beg you. Don't. Just don't. OK? Promise? Its the least you can do for a woman who left her husband and two little girls at home to watch your movie at the middle of the night. :)

Ashu and Antu - The almost five year old girl and the 20 months old baby.

It has been 3 months since the last update on the girls and Im shocked at how much they ve grown up in such a short period. I also went through my archives to read about Ashu when she was 20 months and got all teary. We came to Zurich when Ashu was 21 months old. So in another month, Antu will be that old and I feel a lump in my throat. Until now I ve always been picturing Ashu in our Bangalore house whenever comparing Antu to Ashus toddler days. I cant believe Antu is a big girl now. Just like the big girl who I brought with me to Zurich from Bangalore. And that in turn is making me realize how even more bigger Ashu is. Sigh! But the good news is that I ve every piece of Ashus clothes from that age in my basement. So you can kiss goodbye to new clothes, Antu! Nothing new for you anymore! :)
(Thats Ashu on the left aged 20 months.)

Ashu has gone through a remarkable change in a short time. I'm proud to say shes not a time bomb anymore. (hurray!) Shes very independent, matured and more responsible now. If anyone had told me that I ll live to see this day 3 months back, I would ve punched their face for kidding me!

Antu is already following her big sister. She wears her jacket, shoes, cap,... all on her own and waits near the door for me when we are going out. So what if the jacket buttons are not done and shes wearing the shoes in the wrong feet? Shes trying, is nt she?

Ashu is also slowly exploring the world of vegetables. I don't want to make a big deal about it because I don't want to jinx it. But I ll let you know that I'm wriggling my behind and doing a war dance and typing these lines with my toes! Right now its only raw carrots, corn and boiled and salted beans, cauli flower, broccoli, peas, etc... but Im not a fool to complain!

Antu is in the middle stage where she eats mashed food for meals and anything and everything during the snack time. I ve to slowly phase the mashed food out. But the good news is that at last, shes willingly drinking 2 glasses of a milk everyday. Im doing the war dance again here.

Ashu is having a busy life with school, skiing, skating, birthday parties, play dates,... She loves her school to bits. And that's the only reason she agreed to come back from our US trip. She also finally wished "good morning" to the teacher who receives her from the car every morning. Yes, after seeing the same teacher every day for the past 2 years - she finally said a word to her! She also has nt spoken a word to the skating teacher after seeing her every day for a week and to the skiing instructor after 6 weekends! I ll update again after 2 years on that front!

Antu is the total opposite here. Wishes everyone and happily goes to anyone. Loves outdoor. I take her to Kids Care in my gym at least twice a week and to a Mommy & Me music class once a week. She loves both. Theres this absolute joy in her face during the music class that I'm feeling bad for not taking her early on. Looks like music or dance will be her calling. And I'm not saying this only because she shakes her tiny butt to "Excuse me Mister Kandasami!" :)

Ashu went through this phase for a week where she ll come back from school, see what Antu is wearing and then go to her wardrobe and select clothes in the same colour. Drove me crazy when she could nt find the exact match and one time, I had to dress Antu in the same orange pjs for three days straight! Its never a dull day, I tell you. These kids come up with weird stuff just to keep us in our toes.

Whenever I yell at Antu, she screams "Akkaaaaaaa" and Ashu comes running to her. Once I had to hear a long lecture from Ashu on how Antu is just a baby and I should just give her what she wants and should nt be yelling at her. She even issued a stern warning - "Don't do this ever again, Amma. OK?" Of course, all this lecture is conveniently forgotten when Antu is grabbing something from her.

Though Ashu is protective and possessive about her sister, its Antu who has this unwavering adoration for her Akka and I can say with absolute certainity that Amma and Appa rank very lowly in her list. Especially Amma!! *rolls eyes* One can clearly see the divide that Ashu is a mommy's girl and Antu is a daddy's girl.

Ashu is very into reading and writing these days and even practises on her own a lot. So I ve to sit with her to help her out. Wonder why I'm paying so much for the school if I ve to do all the work! She also draws like theres no tomorrow. Her life ambition is to make a drawing for everyone she knows in this world. The other day she wrapped birthday gifts for her classmates using scissors and cellotape. Also wrote a happy birthday note and stuck it on the present. Without zero supervision from me. Though my hands were itching to rewrap the gifts, I resisted because Im a good girl. (OK. I was afraid to face the consequences if Ashu found out. Happy?)

Antu can sing loads of rhymes. Can point things and say what they are in her books. Can even recognize a few alphabets. She has none of the mazhalai(babbling) like Ashu had when she was this age. She speaks clearly. The only babble she says is busserbee which is butterfly. That's only because all of us at home keep referring it as busserbee and not butterfly because we are afraid she ll stop saying busserbee! I mean, wheres the fun then?

Antu is into Noddy, Dora, Diego, Mickey Mouse and Barney. She loves Good night Moon, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Polar bear Polar bear and the first words books. Oh and the nursery rhymes books. She can say what nursery rhyme it is in every page. And to think that we don't even read to her that much.

Ashu is still going strong with Dora, Diego,etc... and in books, she loves Curious George, Charlie and Lola, DW(from the Arthur books) and generally anything and everything if someone is ready to read it to her. I ve got her lots of Usborne early reading books and they are super.

The almost five and almost two age group is good. Its like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Only time will tell if its the light from an oncoming train. Till then, the going is good.

At the breakfast table today - 2.

So there I was making tea and singing loudly "Govinda, Govinda Feel The Fire Govinda" while Ashu was drinking her milk.

Ashu - Amma? Did you say feel the fire? But fire is dangerous amma. You said I should nt play with fire!

Me - !!!!

What now? A woman cant sing(in my case yell!) peacefully in her own house?!! The little brat sings about cows jumping over the moon, black birds baked in a pie, boughs breaking and cradles falling without batting an eyelid but has problems with "feel the fire"? Is she kidding me? What kodumai, I say!

ps.
No Appa & Amma. I usually don't go about singing random Kollywood songs first thing in the morning. You both did nt bring me up that way. But today was an exception and its sort of a Saami Paattu anyway, no? :) And dont worry. I ll never ever sing "Kalyanam dhaan kattikittu odi polaamaa" in front of your beloved grand daughters ever. At least not this early in the morning! ;)

Ashus Time Pass Idea - 309.

Things needed:
. A baby bath tub that the baby has outgrown and which is used as a laundry basket now.
. A very, very unwilling toddler who can be bribed with a biscuit to participate in the project.
. A pair of wooden salad spoons .
. An Ashu, of course.

Procedure:
Merrily sing "Row row row your boat" and then seeing Amma clicking with a camera, SCREAM LOUDLY and scare the bejeezus out of your baby sister because duh! Amma is the alligator!

Approximate Time passed - 20 minutes.

ps.
Seriously. Ashu said "biscuit venumaa? indha" to Antu and dropped the biscuit in the tub and when Antu went to pick it, she pushed her into the "boat" and took off!! It was like seeing the kidnapping scene in "Babys day out"! ;) I think its time to lecture Antu about strangers and biscuits. Or in her case, her very own sister!

Whats the opposite of writers block?

Loads of things I wanted to write about and forgot promptly. So be warned! Here comes the bullet points post.

. Firstly, thanks to the kind soul who sat next to my mom in the flight to Dubai from Zurich 2 weeks back. As if sitting quietly next to my mom was nt a punishment by itself, you confessed to her that you read my blog as well. I understand how much my mom would ve talked if you asked her if she was "boosbabytalks mother" in less than two minutes! My sympathies. And thank you for letting her use your phone to call me from Dubai. Now I can tell Hd confidently that my bog is at least worth an international phone call! :) And please email me when you can. I don't think I can trust my moms memory and write to the email id she gave me because the last time I did something like that, some stranger got to read about my churidar kurta measurements!!!

. Ashu is leading a busy life with weekend ski lessons, play dates, parties, etc... and school of course! ;) Its her ski break this week and her father promptly signed her up for ice skating classes almost every day of this week. At this rate, he might also put her in a bicycle class to learn cycling! (No! That was nt a suggestion, Hd!) She is in the one hour group ski classes for kids on weekends. Go 15 minutes before the ski class, pay and learn! (kootathoda govinda dhaan!) Shes having fun and after 4 weekends, shes able to walk with her skis on! We sledge for a while after her ski class is over and thats my kinda fun. Though Antu is her grumpiest best in snow! (Thats Ashu with her friend in the picture.)

. Antu did nt look for my mom after she left like I thought she would. When asked where paati is, she answered that shes gone. ("paati oorukku!") Who asked her to grow up? We went to a friends place for dinner a few days back. Their 5 year old son, as a rule, does nt like babies. Though he played well with Ashu, he was nt nice at all to Antu. Within an hour of being in their house, Antu came and told me, "anna naanaa. vaasalla ponum" (the boy no-no. wanna go out) and was all set to go wear her shoes and leave! Hd and I could nt believe our ears! That a nineteen month old could understand that she was nt wanted and could vocalize her feelings so well. Sigh! Wish I could too.

. Out of the blue, I decided to do the C25K thingummy inspired by a friend. Did nt want to announce here and jinx it. But now that I am in my 5th week of the programme, I can safely say that I ll stick to it. Though my fitness level has been average, my running has always been pathetic. I could nt run for 2 mins straight. C25K seemed to be the right beginning to rectify that and I'm also enjoying it. Now I ve a plan when I hit the gym. Hope it improves my fitness because running down a slope trying to catch a wayward sledge in the snow is no joke, I tell ya. Especially when the resident 4 year old is sitting on the said sledge!

. I cant get over the song "Dil to bacha hai ji". I just cant. This song has been in repeat for the past one week in this household and its driving Hd crazy. I go to sleep listening to this song, I run on the treadmill to this song on repeat, I cook, play with the kids, read,... with this song in the background. Its playing right now too. Is nt it a fantastic song?

. Ashu and I have been doing lots of finger painting stuff thanks to Shruti of mindfull meanderings and her artsy craftsy contest. Since I dont ve a creative bone in my body, I show that page to Ashu and we do whatever work she chooses! So far, the caterpillar, the hand tree, the flowers and the thumb print cards are the most repeated projects.

. Watched Three Idiots. It was on okay movie. Did nt understand all the hype though. Aamir Khan annoyed me for the first time.

. Read The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Was a good read. I dont know why but when a best seller(especially Indian writing in English) is about the poor people, it bothers me in so many levels. I ll leave it at that.

. Reading Thillana Mohanambal. Finished the thalahaani size part 1 and onto attack part 2 now. Amazing read. Too bad that I cant wipe out Sivaji and Padminis faces while reading though. Though no movie ever justifies the book and this one especially is such a long novel that no way they could squeeze everything in the movie, the book is a must read even if you ve watched the movie. Just for the Vaithi character. Its hilariously written and Nageshs Vaithi character in the movie is not even 10% of the book character.

Love is...

It was Dec 2001. Hd and I were married for 18 months then and we were in Amsterdam during the Xmas holidays. Hds college friend who lived there was taking us around the city and we were walking through a flower market. Bunches and bunches of colorful tulips were peeping out of the shelves everywhere and I was blown away by the beauties. I think it was the first time I set my eyes on tulips. Had never seen them before. We walked and walked and I waited and waited and I oohed and aahed but saw no sign of Hd even going near the tulips let alone buying them for me. Since the friend was also walking with us, I could nt even say some choice words to the man. But after spending a good half hour in the market and were about to leave, I took Hd aside and asked him, "does nt it occur to you to buy a big bunch when im not looking and surprise me with them? I would ve totally done something like that if your friend was nt here, you know?" And then just shook my head, rolled my eyes and walked away to another shop to look at some souvenirs. Two minutes passed and whaddayaknow! A dozen blood red Tulips were blocking my vision and the hand holding them was Hds. I let out a shriek and hugged him. The friend went, "awww. how romantic" and I did nt care to correct him! To this day, whenever I see Tulips, it brings a smile to my lips. I'm so glad I asked. And I'm very, very glad that he listened.

So Love is... telling your partner what you want even though you will sound pathetic. And the partner doing it for you even though it will be even more pathetic! And then they live pathetically ever after. The End.

Happy Valentines Day! Spread the Love.

Ashus Art Gallery - The Doodles.

Ashu is becoming such a young lady now that I thought I ll display all her doodles before shes embarrassed by them. ( Remember her art gallery? )

Yesterday she was doing some finger painting. Basically she was using her index finger as a brush and painted a flower. So I asked her, "why don't you use a brush, ashu?" Pat came the reply, "Because i want to feel the paint, Amma!" I rest my case.

I don't have her doodles pre 2007. Below is circa July 2007 when the artist was just over two years old and was still pronouncing boat as boot. One of the artists first doodle after the artist moved to live in Switzerland. Those were the periods where the artist doodled first and then based on the outcome, named the art.

Without further ado, presenting the first exhibit.

1. Das Boot.

The below two are early 2008. 2. Octopus and 3. Snake respectively as is obvious.

The next ones are late 2008. A very struggling period for the artist since she became a big sister and was forced to draw stick figures in pairs.


4. The Unhappy Stick Figures.



5. My Sister's Balloon Keeper.

Now we move onto 2009. Where the artist accepted the fact that the sister is here to stay.

6. Resigned To Her Fate.

In mid 2009, at the age of 4, the artist was becoming very fond of writing and started labelling her own doodles.

7. The Bunk Bed.

8. The Astro Nut.

"Thats the moon and thats the flag on the moon. Its the US flag. And thats the astronaut." - the artist was overhead describing thus to her mother.


9. The Queen.

10. The Flower.

11. Now I know my ABCs.


In a daring attempt, the artist tries her hand in self portrait and labels herself.

12. The Brat.

Later part of 2009 brought a sudden difference in the artists strokes and she comfortably settled in these patterns. So much so that the artists mother can now recognize her daughters crap doodle from the 20 other pieces of crap doodles the school insists on displaying!

13. We are a Happy Family.


Currently the artist has almost abandonded her doodle board medium and moved on to paper. Her mother is running out of storage space. So please contact her by email for trade enquiries and save the rain forest!

At the breakfast table today.

Ashu - Amma! How did peoples come to the Earth?

Me - Well, there are two theories. One is the theory of evolution. That the humans came from monkeys.

Ashu - From monkeys? ha ha ha! That's silly!

Me - Another theory is that God made us all at the same time. What do you think?

Ashu - I also think God made us, Amma. Swami drew people on a paper and by magic, all the people became real.

Me - Oh, that's nice. But I believe in the evolution though. I think we came from monkeys.

Ashu - Me too, amma!

Me - Huh? So what happened to the whole "Swami drew pictures"?

Ashu - Actually, Swami drew only babies not peoples.

Me - So who take care of the babies?

Ashu - The monkeys! (duh!)

Me - OK. (silently wondering how to tackle this)

Ashu - Amma! If we came from monkeys, then does that mean Dora came from Boots?

Me - (ROTFLOL)

Kids!

You are it!

I did this tag for Ashu when she was 18 months. Am doing the same for Antu too as an update. Shes 19 months old.

3 Things That Scare Me

Nothing.
I said NOTHING.
I live with my mom, ok? Nothing can be more scarier than that.

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Me.
Myself.
Akka.

3 Things I Love
Dora title song.
Dora book.
Dora stuffed toy.

3 Things I Hate

Only 3? Ok I ll try to keep it short.
When I dont get my way while snatching stuff from Akka.
When Amma does nt fall for my fake puppy eyes and yells at me.
When Akka sits on Amma or Appas lap.

3 Things I Don't Understand

Im not as clueless as my akka was when she was my age. Ask me anything and I ll answer. Nothing is beyond my understanding. Although I dont understand why I cant play with the toilet roll and strew the paper all over the bathroom. And why cant I break every crayon Akka has safely kept for the past 5 years? Why cant I tear Akkas favorite paper books which she has nt even creased?

3 Things On My Floor.

The entire contents of the house. About 1008 things.
My mom coz shes always trying to clean up after me.
Akka coz shes worried what I have broken/tore/damaged this time.

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now

Playing Piano with my toes.
Nodding my head, shaking my butt and clapping along for the song "excuse me mr kandasamy"! Wondering what damage I can do next.

3 Things I Can Do

I can sing "W X Y And Z. Now I know my abc, next time wont you z z z" loudly.
I can say "amma look at me" out of the blue and make Amma jump.
I can sing "kaa kaa mai kondaa, kuvvi kuvvi pookondaa, pasoo pasoo paal kudu" thanks to Paati.

3 Ways to Describe My Personality

Rowdy Raakaayee.
Jealous Jalaja.

Appa Gondu.

3 Things I Cant do

muahaha! Theres nothing I cant cant do. I can list 3 things I wont do though, will do?
I wont let Akka be in peace even for a minute.
I wont do anything easily. Its exciting to make everything a battle.
I wont let Amma win over Karma.

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To

My Akka. She says some really silly stuff and makes me laugh.
My fav song of course. Kangal irandaal...
My grandpa, Pema and Pepa on the phone. I love to hear them talk.

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To

My mom. Shes evil.
The research that says kids below 2 should nt watch TV. bah!

That the youngest kids are trouble. You ll get lucky only once, capice?

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
Cheese
Flavored Yogurt
Junk

3 Things I'd Like to Learn

How to reach the higher shelves.
How to hoodwink Amma when Im doing something naughty.
How to speed dial Thatha when Im in trouble.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
Milk because I have to.
Water because I like the water bottle.
You mean theres something called juice in this world? *glares at amma*

3 Shows I Watched as a Kid

I dont have the attention span to watch dumb shows. So I watch
Dora title song.
Diego title song.
Gilmore girls title song.

Fellow Babies That I am Tagging
Munch

Plane Paapa

Sweetpea

Come on fellas, lets show them what we second borns are made of. Long time no see. Keeping your mommies busy, I hope! :)

Sis and Bil. The awesome twosome.

Life's never the usual at Boo's. Within ten days of us landing in Zurich, Sis followed us back here. She claims that the trip is official and she had a days work in Milan. Hd and I have been telling everyone that she has come for "collection" because we owe her money and would nt take our word that we ll do an online bank transfer! ;) Poor Bil who is in the US does nt like all this one bit. Especially since Antu has been asking for Pepa all the damn time! Well, Im just crossing my fingers and staying clear from all sorts of places where my sis can jump and break her ankle!! Its just a one week trip and shes going back in two days. Right now, Ashu is sitting on her head and Antu is on her lap and shes trying to work!!

This time in the US, Bil took lots of portraits. He has bought all the studio stuff - the screen, the umbrella, lights, etc... and the poor man set it all up and patiently clicked pics after pics of the kids and us. Ashu with her fake smile after the 12th photo and Antu more keen on running away to the "umbella", it was a tough task! Thanks Bil.

Here are some of the pics.

Avatar.

So we watched Avatar while we were in the US since I wanted to watch it in 3D Imax. Like the majority vote, it was an experience in itself to watch the movie. But I just could nt help comparing the story to the dozens of village subject Tamil movies and snigger. Replace Pandora with a village in interior Madurai area. Replace the dragon with a murattu kaalai, Panchayathu thalaivar, his daughter, bad rich people who want to construct a hmm... factory? in the agricultural fields, the hero falling in love with the village belle, good over evil climax scene, praying to Mariamman and dancing with Veppilai to save a life, the murai maapillai,.... No? You dont think so? Im not able to stop once I start. Even Neytris father, the leader of the clan has a distinct nose like Nasser. (and coincidentally he has acted in the tamil movie named Avataram!!! LOL! )

Seriously! The hero falling in love with the first alien he sets his eyes on! Typical or what! Why cant he be involved with the Pandora people just like Sigourney Weaver was? The boy meets girl angle is so unnecessary for this kind of a movie, I thought. That said, I loved the movie. If in spite of the story line I loved the movie so, its only because of the stunning visuals, the attention to details, the amazing way a brand new planet with aliens have been created,.. Pure genius. And watching it in 3D was mind blowing.

Also watched Kurbaan. There was this movie theatre which was showing this movie FOR FREE and Hd and I went to watch it. We even got soda and popcorn free! Only in the US, I tell you! It was an ok movie. It was good the first 30 mins or so. Then *yawn*! I told Hd later,

"if I were her, I would nt care about my dads life. I ll do everything to get away from you".

Hd - If I were him, I would know in an instant that you were seducing me to get the map!

Me - *rolling eyes* And you would ve stopped anything happening I suppose?

Hd - Well,.. I did nt say that!

Men, I tell you! May be they WILL fall in love with the first alien woman they set their eyes on, after all! With or without a tail.

Travelogue: Hawaii.

We are back in Zurich and badly hit by jet lag that the entire household got up at three in the AFTERNOON yesterday! All thanks to Antu who was awake from 2 am to 5 am. I think we ll get back to normal once school reopens tomorrow for Ashu. While shes so looking forward to school, I'm not. Since one of my new year resolutions is to stop whining about the weather, I wont.

Three weeks in the US just flew by. Like always, social life there is more hectic than here thanks to my sisters huge circle of friends who are almost like family to us now. Not to mention the huge range of restaurants, much to Hds delight. Since it was Antus first trip to the US, for the first time Utbts duo and my duo had a blast. Luckily, we were also able to attend Chulas birthday party and it was so much fun. Met Sundar, San and the girls too. (where are all the boys?) Asaaan was kind enough to drive all the way with her four kids to meet me and my sis. I was thrilled to meet her. Though I had followed her blog earlier, I had stopped reading after she moved to a new domain. So once she mailed that she wants to come and meet us, I hurriedly read her blog and updated myself with her life! Thanks S for being so sweet in spite of that! :)

Now about Hawaii. Where do I begin? It was the best vacation ever. Just perfect in every way. Since Sis and Bil planned the whole thing, I did nt know anything except that "we are going to Hawaii" until I landed there. Add to that that only Sis and Bil were registered drivers for the rental car, so we were literally chauffeur driven everywhere! :D Now tell me, who gets this lucky? Only me, for sure! :) I also did nt hesitate to pull the SAHM card every time I could and left both the kids either with HD or my mom! So who got to do the Diamond Head Crater hike in Oahu and go on a submarine in Kona and go snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay? Me. Me. Me.

We landed in Honolulu with the usual Lei welcome. Stayed in the 25th floor of Aston with a fantastic view from our room. Checked out the Waikiki beach and the girls had a blast. Then lazed at the hotel pool some more. The next day, we went to the beach again and in the afternoon, leaving the girls with Hd, we 4 did the Diamond Head Crater hike. Though its supposed to be a moderate hike and takes 30 mins to reach the top, it was like climbing Mt Everest for me. My moms fitness level was better than mine and only the thought of my girls made me not fall from the cliff and kill myself! That night we caught a Hula dance performance at the beach. It was really beautiful though the men sure wished for some coconut shells instead of a top on the hula dancer! ;) The next day we took a plane to Big Island.

We landed in Kona mid morning. Picked up our rental car and drove to our condo. It was fantastic. The vast ocean was just out there from our balcony and we could nt wait to get out. Seeing Big Island, we sure felt we wasted our time in Honolulu. While Big Island still looks pure and untouched, Oahu is slowly becoming a concrete jungle. We got some lunch, looked at the gorgeous sunset from our balcony and called it a night. The next day after breakfast, mom, sis, Ashu and I went on the Atlantis submarine. While the whole experience of going in a submarine is very thrilling, we did nt see that many fish nor was the reef that beautiful. I got sea sick to boot. Ashu (and my mom!) enjoyed the whole thing though. We all went to Hapuna beach later. It was the most awesome beach ever. I ve not seen such soft sand before anywhere. Antu was covered from head to toe with sand. Ashu was like a little monkey hanging from her Perippa or Appa in the ocean. Sis and I nicely sunned at the beach.

The next day, it was moms turn to baby sit while we four went for snorkeling. The whole experience was so thrilling. We drove to the harbor and from there, in a small raft which can hold around 20 people, the captain took us to Kealakekua Bay. It takes around an hour and a half to reach the bay. And the ride was just mind blowing. You just grab a rope, literally hold your life in your hands while the raft goes super fast, spot spinner dolphins, Manta rays, even whales, and stop and pee in the ocean if anyone wants to go! ;) Its as close to nature once can get, Im sure. The captain stopped and showed us the lava tubes, sea caves, entertained us with the Hawaiian folklore and history. It was amazing. Once we reached the bay, we were given snorkeling gear and ordered to go, jump! Literally. Thank God for my sis and Bil who have already snorkeled a few times. Otherwise I was sure I was drowning even though I was wearing a life jacket and was very much on the surface! Once I firmly told my brain to breathe through the mouth and not the nose, I was fine. It was a surreal experience to swim with the fish. The reef was beautiful and even a reef shark was kind enough to make a blink and miss appearance! After an hour, we got back to the raft, ate lunch which was included with the package and got back to the harbor with a heavy heart. It was pool and jacuzzi time once we got back to our condo!

The next day we left early in the morning for Hilo to visit the Volcanoes National Park. On the way, we checked out the Place of Refuge temple at Honaunau. It is the most complete restoration of an ancient Hawaiian religious sanctuary in Hawaii. The location was out of the world. We also went to the Black Sand beach and saw two huge turtles which were sunning at the beach. They were so carefree and did nt care a bit that we were there and photographing them like crazy! I almost felt like one of them is going to look at us and go "duuuuude" like the turtle in Finding Nemo! We reached the Volcano park in the afternoon. Hd immediately started wheezing coz of his breathing problems! One can actually feel the difference in the air and the strong smell of sulphur. Thankfully, he had the inhaler handy. We went for a drive and checked out the steam vents, the view of the Kilauea Iki crater, the lava tubes,... We went only on the short hikes. Walking inside the lava tubes was scary to the say the least. Hd stayed back with Antu while we all checked out the sulphur bank trail. Later, we checked out the Kahuna and Rainbow waterfalls before leaving back for Kona.

The last day in Hawaii(boo hoo hoo!), we went to the Waikoloa beach after breakfast. We swam in the ocean to our hearts fill even though there was a shark alert! We caught a late night flight back to SFO. And the next four days went in a buzz because I shopped like crazy so that I don't have to buy a thing in this expensive Swiss for the rest of the year. If you saw a woman shrieking, "its so cheap" at Target,, "is this also one dollar" at the dollar store and "is this denim skirt really for 3 bucks" at Kohls, theres a good chance that it was me! Dragging Ashu who wanted to live in the US forever and Antu who was stuck to my Bil like a leech and me who hated to come back to the freezer(there goes my new year resolution!) was an uphill task for Hd even though he caught a cold as soon as he landed here. hmph! It was a beautiful vacation thanks mostly to my sis and bil. Mahalo guys! Hang loose! :)

Aloha!

The vacation from vacation was Hawa Hawaii! We just got back after a fantastic week in Oahu and Big Island. It was fantastic to say the least. We had the time of our lives. The kids and my mom had the most fun and we literally had to drag them out of the water every time we we were in a beach. Us sisters and the husbands were able to go snorkeling together leaving the kids with my mom. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. More on that and the Volcano experience and watching the ocean animals and the Hula dance and the gorgeous sunsets and the delicious pineapples,... later. Now we are busy packing. Yet again. Off to Zurich in a couple of days, boo hoo hoo. Hope 2010 began with a bang for all of you just like it did for us. See you on the other side.