Ashu & Antu get a summer make over!

Remember this old post when Ashu had her first hair cut? Well, after three and a half years, history repeats itself!

Here is Antu! We did nt have the heart to chop it all off like we did for Ashu when she was 4 though!

 This truly broke my heart. But what to do?

27.06.2012

Dear Antu,

I seem to go through completely opposite emotions when it comes to you and your sister's birthdays. In your case, ever since your 3rd birthday you have been asking when will your 4th birthday come and if you can have your party at "Planeta Magic!" So by the time you got your wish, it feels like a long time has passed and Im left wondering why you are still tiny and why you have nt left for college yet! :) And Im sure when that day comes, you will walk away without a backward glance leaving a sobbing mess of a mom! You are truly a heart breaker! With your lovely curls and your naughty smile, you can get away with anything. Your only problem is me! A mom who is always one step ahead of you, a mom who knows your next move before you can make it, a mom who was exactly like you when she was a kid and remembers everything - there lies your problem. I will try to ignore my instincts as much as possible and turn a blind eye whenever I can ok? I promise.

We call you a little Diva at home and you do act like one. Either its changing clothes a dozen times a day or playing dress up or color coordinating your outfit with your shoes and hair bands, they way you eat wiping your mouth with a napkin after every bite, demanding attention wherever you go,... uff! You are high maintenance! The whole family got a hair cut this week and it was your first. You sat on the high chair and acted as if you are used to it. The hair dresser was all ooh and aah about your hair and refused to cut it really short like I asked her to because "lovely curls! no cut!" When she finished and put a small clip on your hair, the entire salon went awwwww..... at you! God! I never thought I ll ever get all teary eyed in a hair cutting salon of all places!! 

You went to two schools this year, an English pre school for two days and a German play group for two days and followed me everywhere on Fridays! While you talk non stop in English, I have nt heard anything other than "Nein" from you in German. Although you seem to understand everything your German teacher says, I have nt seen you talk to her either. Hope you pick up the language more this year since you will be going to a new bilingual school soon. The lesser we talk about your Tamil, the better. While Ashu got into English after quite a strong Tamil foundation, you did nt. You and Ashu talk to each other in English all the time much to my irritation and I am determined to change it this year, so help me God! You have lots of friends and very clear in who is your friend and who is not. You are nt diplomatic at all and if you dont like something or someone, you say it as it is. Making you do something is quite impossible if you are not in the mood for it. But you are all charm when you want to be. 

You have been saying "Only when Im four!" for many things like skiing classes, Ballet classes, cycling, big school, swimming, writing, etc... etc... Now that the day is here, you go girl! Go do everything you want to do and enjoy this year! I will be right beside you driving you everywhere! :) I love you my little princess and cant imagine my life without all the drama you add to it. It would be utterly boring without you twirling in your pink tutu, without you calling me "Ammi" in your own special, sweet way and without an out and out daddys girl. May you live long and keep spreading the sunshine like you always do. Happy Birthday darling!

Love,

அம்மா. 

The Last Day of Many Things.

This week has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me. Farewells and goodbyes are tough for me and when I have to do that for myself and my two girls, its so overwhelming! Today was Ashu's last day in First grade. Even on a good day that would bring tears to my eyes and now that she is not going to return to the same school, it makes it a million times worse! It was Antu's class performance yesterday in her school and she got a trophy and a certificate for finishing pre school and since shes not going to return to this school as well, it made me an emotional wreck! I cried all the way home today after dropping Ashu. Antu was also unusually quiet in the car! Wonder why we realize how much we love something only when we let it go! 

Antus German playgroup will go on for a few more weeks but for Ashu, its going to be a looooong holiday of NINE weeks! I dont know what I was thinking when I decided to stay put here for the holidays! This is going to be our first summer here not counting 2008 when Antu was born. (I did nt even see any sunlight that summer since I was stuck at home!)  Wish me luck!

Will leave you guys with a little anecdote. I finished vacuuming the house and asked Ashu to put the vacuum away. Next thing you know, I hear Antu crying! When asked why, she says, "I wanted to pull your plug Amma! But Ashu pulled your plug instead!" Sigh! My future looks so bright!

A conversation with Ashu at the Basel Zoo.

Look at those gorillas. They look so sad.

They always look sad, Amma!

But poor animals! They can never get out of that cage!

Its big, Amma. There are three or four rooms for them to walk around.

But still, they have to live there all the time!

Its just like us living in a house, Amma! 

!!!

*a while later after picking up my jaw from the floor*

But you go to school Ashu. Go to a park. They cant do that, can they? They can have so much fun in the forest, right?

Amma, do you know what a wingspan is?

Yes. Do you?

No, not wingspan. I mean life span. Do you know?

Yes.

So the life span of the animals is more in the zoo. More than in the forest. So thats a good thing.

*bangs head*

There goes my chance at making Ashu an animal activist. Shes too pragmatic for me!

On the zoo note, she also educated us on lady birds. And while telling us about eggs and larvae and aphids and lifespan she asked us, "Do you know what mating is?" and went on to explain how the male sits on the females back and the female lays eggs! Who is this young lady and what did she do with my little girl?

Please Vote for a Worthy Cause.

Our society believes that girl children are a liability. They have always been targeted. New born girl children have been killed and abandoned for decades. Ultrasound technology has only made this worse. Girls children are being aborted as early as 20 weeks, while still in the mother’s womb. Which is less humane, no body can tell.

Many of us feel strongly for this and due to many reasons, we have been arm chair activists. Now is a chance to be an arm chair activist AND make a difference.

Arti Home For Girls is an orphanage for abandoned girls children based out of Kadappa, Andhra Pradesh. Its founder Sandhya, has been working with abandoned girl children and women forced to abort their unborn girl children for the past 20 years. She has contributed in many levels and has made a difference in the lives of more than 1000 girl children.

Arti Home is participating in the IMPACT CONTEST. Winning this contest will give many unborn children a chance of survival, women a possibility to stand up for their girl children, educational and vocational training for the abandoned girls.

Please vote and show your support.

What to do:

- Click on the link  http://www.gwln-contest.strutta.com/entry/265634

- Right top corner will have a link to log in to FB. Give appropriate permissions for FB, if asked.

- Click on VOTE FOR THIS ENTRY.

Thanks a bunch, you have made a difference in a child’s life.

Where did May go?

I cant believe Ashu has less than three weeks of school left. May-June is such a crazy period in school what with concerts, sports day, farewells, lunches, coffees, partys,... There was nt a minute to sit down and take a note of anything. This month began with Ashu's birthday party at the Kindercity. I had completely outsourced the party this time partly due to my leg and partly because I was afraid Hd would walk out on me! So around 15 girls had fun making chocolate covered fruit sticks, knowing all about chocolate and having fun at the terrace riding trains and battery operated cars in miniature roads and taking home their fruit sticks, an apron and loads of fun memories! Ashu had a blast, so thats that.

Mid May was a 4 day long weekend and we planned at the last minute and went to Cinque Terre in Italy. Cinque Terre is 5 Villages along the rugged coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was so beautiful and so picturesque. We stayed 5 minutes away in Levanto and took the train to visit the villages. We walked only between two villages in the Via Dell'Amore. It was fantastic. We also took a boat ride one of the days to get the view of the villages form the sea. Its hard to describe the beauty of it. Half a day we just spent at the beach in Monterosso and it was pure bliss. Not to mention the Gelatto! Yum!

On May 22nd, Ashu had her Violin recital. She played a solo song called "Saraswati" which was in her book! And three more songs along with the group. The recital was very beautiful just like last time though Ashu made a teeny mistake in the note towards the end and I was all chuffed because I could recognize it! No one can call me tone deaf now! :) Since she is changing schools this year, we dont know whether she will continuing her classes with the same teacher. I hope she does but that would mean classes during weekends and I dont know if we are ready for it. Sigh! Decisions, decisions!

It is Cousin S's birthday today and I threw a dinner party for her and a few of her friends last evening. It feels so good to feed the young! :) My cake turned out fantastic much to my surprise. I made butter cream frosting for the first time and it came out yummy! And Rainbow cake on Ashu's request. Antu who never eats cake unless and until its plain licked the frosting clean this time. Happy Birthday, S! :)

And some friends are coming over in a while to watch the IPL finals together. Go CSK! :)

A Big Fat Indian Wedding.

Our India trip in April was such a hit! To begin with, this was the first time we were going to India for two weeks. Usually its at least 4 weeks! But I found out that one can accomplish a lot in 2 weeks in spite of a broken knee! :) Restaurant hopping like crazy - check. Shopping like crazy - check. Attend at least two weddings - check. The only thing I missed this trip was going to Kumbakonam where my parents live. But since they were to be in Madras the whole time, I thought it would nt matter. But what do you think happened? My parents along with my sister and Bil took both Ashu and Antu and went to Kmu for three whole days leaving me all alone with my ILs. All because Ashu said that an India trip is not complete if she does nt get to see her Thatha-Paati's house and her Kmu friends! Some people have it all, I tell you! Hd joined us only the second week and even then he had to work from there. 

My cousin R's wedding was on 12th and we were leaving on 13th, so the last 3 days were quite a blur. It was a beautiful wedding. And for the first time, Sis and I experienced the royal treatment one gets when ones part of the Groom's party! R and P made a cute couple and I really had to choke back tears when I was tying the third knot in the Thaali. I totally get now why certain women get crazily possessive when their sons/brothers get married! R's whole life flashed in front of my eyes in a second. How I baby sat him for an entire summer when he was teeny weeny baby, stealing his cerelac and eating it, how on the day of his ayush homam my ears were pierced, helping him with home work when he was a little boy, playing badminton, chess, carom and cards with him, how I named his first dog which was a gift from my dad, watching Baasha with him in Devi theatre, what fun we had in his poonal and what a brave boy he was when his head was shaved, how he spent lots of his holidays with us doing nothing remotely interesting except playing cards, how I confessed to him all my supposedly "boy friend problems" even though he was a lot younger than me, his "machinan" role in my wedding and his "maama" role in Ashu's birthday, ... and now here he was, my little baby brother, all grown up and married to a beautiful woman! Whoa! How time flies! Congrats again, Bro!

Ashu and Antu loved all the attention and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding. For Antu - it was like dream come true what with change of costume 5 times a day! My mom got the girls beautiful accessories, stitched paavadais from her old silk sarees, plaited their hair with sowri, (long fake hair) decorated with hair ornaments,... the works! Tough competition for the bride, I should say! :) Sis and I decided to dress up to the nines as well and were all matching-matching competing with Ashu and Antu! And the food! Oh God! The food! As if the wedding feast was nt enough, the day before the wedding we went to The Great Kabab Factory for dinner and loved it! Lovely experience! The flight to and fro was nt as bad as I thought it would be what with my knee! The wheel chair assistance was awesome. Ashu was thrilled to ride the golf carts inside the airports, her long time dream!

Its back to the grind now after all the fun. But there are always the photos to remind us of the fun times. :)

27.04.2012

Dear Ashu,

Seven has been my favorite number ever since I can remember. I don't know why. I have no special sentiment about it but whenever the topic of favorite number comes up, I realize I have a special place for that number. When you were a baby, seven year olds looked like giants to me. But how can YOU be seven today? You are still so little and so cute! Well, I am a "little" biased, I guess! :) Like every year, you have been so excited about your birthday. Its heart warming to see that for you, its not about the party or the gifts. Just the fact that you are turning one year older! What I would nt give to become zen like you! I would never ever forget the way you stood next to me for more than 15 minutes waiting to see if I can put the skis on by myself after I had the fall. You could have just zoomed past. But no, that's not you. And when I told you to ski ahead and call Appa for help and to stay with Antu until we reached that place, you were gone in a blink. That meant a lot to me, kiddo! More because visualizing Antu in your place, I'm sure I would have had to drag my butt in the snow to catch her from running away in the opposite direction! I owe you big.

Talking about your sister, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for having unleashed her on you.You deserved better. Like your own twin or something! Not this pint sized super brat who's current mission in life is to make your life hell. I can only promise you that it will get better and you ll learn to ignore her!  But you have to agree that she is very cute when she wants to be. Like when she needs your help or when she wants something that you have or when she comes crying to you after getting yelled at by me! As always, you are being a fabulous older sister and looking out for her always. Hope you never stop doing that. Yesterday you lost your third tooth and when I suggested we pretend that tooth fairies are real for Antus sake, you got all excited and winked at me and whispered to me to leave a gift that you both can share! And in the morning when you saw an Amar Chitra Katha book under your pillow, you kept it back there and waited for Antu to wake up and made her open the gift. That was really sweet of you.

Usually one US trip and one India trip happen between your birthdays but this year, there has been an additional India trip as well. Talk about getting pampered. I am sure R's wedding will be fondly remembered by you for many years to come. Just like sis and I still talk about our uncle's (R's dad) wedding. While I was thinking that being in India would make you more outgoing, you completely clammed up and refused to even say hello to all the relatives. Theres no figuring you out. The more I nagged you to talk, the more you went into your shell. I hope someday you will explain all this to me. All said and done, I want you to be yourself. If you want to be that "mysterious woman" when you grow up, so be it. I ll learn to make peace with that. I just hope Antu invites me to the parties she throws! :) You have blossomed in school though. Unfortunately, you will not be continuing in this school for 2nd grade. It breaks my heart to leave this school after five long years but you are every excited about the upcoming change. God knows how you can have no fear for the unknown. But then as a kid, almost everything is new so that's alright, I guess.

You enjoy playing the violin and try to write your own music. You write and illustrate books. You sing and dance. You can almost read Tamil and with a little more practice, can write too. All thanks to your grand mother! You have lots of special friends but not one who is a little extra special to you. You love to draw, paint, cut, color and make things. Once you begged me to let you use the ipad on a non-screen time day so that you can search for "simple crafts" in youtube and make a penguin out of a toilet paper roll! Thank God you don't know to clear history yet! You read a lot. Until recently there was not one book in this house which I had nt read to you. We used to read, listen, laugh, think and discuss together. Now you are reading sitting in one corner and giggling to yourself and I feel so neglected and useless. And I don't know whats happening in that part of your world. From this cool mom who was reading to you hundreds of books, I have become the annoying mom who is asking you not to read while in the car, while eating and sometimes while waiting for the elevator. Seriously? 

I do think I have become more patient with you this year but I also make the mistake of expecting a lot from you. Sometimes, I forget you are a little girl and expect you to act responsibly all the time. Who asked you to be so smart and mature? The other day we were talking about extreme sports and you asked me why people risk lives like that. I told you that its their choice and that anything can happen to anyone at anytime and who is to say driving the car or going by a plane is any less risky? And pat came your reply, "But I NEED to go to school by car, Amma. I NEED to go by plane to US to see Perimma and Perippa. But people don't need to bungee jump or sky dive, right?" *gulp* And I thought I was the lawyer in the family! I wish you were nt so logical all the time and do some silly stuff now and then. I said silly not stupid, OK? :) Love you million, billion, zillion darling! Happy Birthday!


Love,
அம்மா.

Summer Reading Program in Hyderabad.

Utbtkids has designed a summer reading program for Treasure House in Hyderabad. The description makes me wish I were a kid and that I lived in Hyderabad! :) 

The below is from her post.

The program is called Reading Bugs.

It is for children age infant – 15.

For parents of children age 0 – 5, I am offering a parent information work shop that talks about why reading is important, what are the early literacy skills that are targeted by reading to young children, what to read, when to read, how to read, why we are reading what we are reading.

For children age 6 – 9, THE BUTTERFLIES BOOK CLUB. The underlying goal of this book club is to make children aware of other genres. The world of books is not just magic, fantasy and what-ever-my-older-sibling/friend-is-reading. There is fiction, non-fiction, drama, picture books, chapter books, environmental issues, humor, classics, mythology, history, exploration/discovery/voyages…. and many more. Catch them young, when they have started reading independently and introduce them to the different choices so that they pause at their age level and explore choices at level instead of jumping to what is popular and run out of choices soon. I call this, my ‘prevent children from getting lost in the adventure/magic/mystery Bermuda triangle’ mission. Children will interact with Sridala Swami, author of Cheenu’s Gift and Sandhya Rao, editor of Tulika Publishers.

For children age 6 – 9, I am offering a workshop. MAKE YOUR READING BLOOM. The idea is to work with beginner and reluctant readers on certain skills that will improve comprehension and fluency. This will be a 5 session workshop.

For 10+ children, in keeping with my Bermuda triangle theory, I am doing THE MYTHOLOGY BOOK CLUB. This club will analyze mythology as a genre, compare elements from various mythologies, talk about mythological characters and beasts and has two author interaction sessions. Devdutt Pattanaik and Anu Kumar.

If you are in Hyderabad the place to be is

Treasurehouse
plot#1254/A Rd#63,
Adjacent to ICICI Bank rd#36,
Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 5000033
Phone#: (040)23550118
Email: info@treasurehouse.in

Breaking the Block.

I think its time I retire as a Blogger Mom. Ashu is in that age where she either does smart stuff or stupid stuff never anything cute!! For example,

Stupid: Stuffing ten gummy vites in her mouth at the same time because she does nt want to eat one a day which is so boring!!

Smart: Well, she was quick enough to apologize when I caught her red-handed!!!

As for Antu, Im suffering from the second child syndrome where whatever cute thing she does, I have the "been there, seen it in Ashu" attitude! Poor Antu!

And with my broken knee and home bound for the past one month, I should have i fact written more here but I had no fodder. I had a follow up doc visit last week and he said I dont need surgery (phew!) and to continue with the physiotherapy. Since Im progressing quite well, I decided to go to India for two weeks along with my mom this Sunday. My dearest cousin is getting married and if I dont attend this wedding, I have to forfeit my only chance to tie one knot in the thaali with my important role as a Naathanaar! (the Groom's sister ties one knot while he ties the Thaali on the bride!) Its also two week vacation for Ashu for Easter so how can I not go? Hd does nt quite approve but then what does he know about weddings and the powerful role of a Naathanaar (Sis-in-law!) even if shes going to look like a bionic woman in a Kancheepuram silk saree with her knee brace and a crutch!

See you on the other side, folks! Happy Easter!

Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month - April 2012.

Remember April 2011 on Twitter, Facebook and blogs? We talked about Child Sexual Abuse – the hows, the wheres and the whens. We were overwhelmed by the response it generated, humbled by the weight of the personal stories of despair and courage.

It’s that time of the year again and we’re going ahead with Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month – April 2012.

Do you have a story to tell? Tips to share? A video, a link, an ebook? As a parent, as an adult, as a child? As before, we honour all requests for anonymity.

Bring your experience and your expertise to this awareness initiative via

Blog posts with the logo (you can copy the image above), linkback to our blog, with the words “CSAAM April 2012” in the title
Twitter posts or links to @CSAawareness, tagged “#CSAAM”
FB notes linking to our Facebook page
Emails to csa.awareness.april@gmail.com
Or just simply show support by displaying the Picsquare badge on your site/page/profile

This year, we hope to increase our focus and reach with our new CSAAM App and our sensitisation workshops. You’ll find both in our blog come April 2012.

Stay tuned at http://csaawarenessmonth.com/

The Princess and the Bee.

Thank you folks for all the get-well-soon wishes! You guys are really nice unlike the Sis-Hd duo at home who plotting many schemes to make me walk. One of them is to take my crutches away and beat a loved one before my eyes so that I "pongi ezhundhufy" and run to save them and voila! my knees get better miraculously!!! The only reason they have nt pulled it off yet is because Sis wants to hit Hd while Hd says that he hitting my sis would work better!!!!! *bangs head* nalla family!

In other stories, I was telling Ashu a bed time story when Antu was behaving like a Diva as usual complaining about her pillow, socks, etc.. and I compared her to the princess from the Princess and the pea fairytale. It has been a long time since Ashu heard that story so she asked me to tell her and I gave her an one liner. "Really, Amma? A pea? Are you sure it was a pea?", she asked. When I confirmed it was a pea, she found it very funny and said, "May be it was a bee, Amma! Not a pea!" and laughed aloud! And started making her own story. How there was a bee hiding under her bed and kept buzzing near her ears all night and how she could nt sleep! The Princess and the Bee, folks! You heard it first here!

Ski Break!

Just when I was thinking I should write a post about how much I am enjoying skiing this year, I went ahead and broke my leg! Never a dull moment in my life, I tell you. Long story short - multiple ligament tear and meniscus tear in my right knee! *bangs head* This happened last Saturday when Ashu and I were skiing at Hoch Ybrig in a glorious weather! Two more families were with us and it was all fun in the morning until I fell down. The damage to the knee was not due to the fall but the way I rotated my knee. Hoped it was a bad sprain and tried to be in denial. But on Sunday morning, I could nt put my leg down.

Sunday - Hospital, X ray, kids at a friends house, dinner sent by the friend. A huge cast. (removable, thankfully) No fracture. Crutches!

Monday - MRI in the evening.

Tuesday - MRI reports. Ligament tear in two places and a meniscus tear. Physiotherapy suggested for now. Friend sends lunch. Cousin (college going girl!) comes home to help.

Wednesday - Hd drops the kids, drops me for physio, picks me up later and then goes to office. Cousin picks up Antu, makes lunch. Hd picks up Ashu and comes home. Cousin leaves after dinner.

Thursday - Hd holds fort. A friend picks up Ashu in the evening and drops her home. Friends visit. No horlicks bottle or mosambis!

Friday - Physiotherapy again. Hd holds fort. Cousin comes in the evening. I get a new Knee brace to wear during the day.

Saturday - Hd takes Ashu to a birthday party. Cousin and he make lunch. A friend sends dinner. Cousin leaves.

Sunday - Hd makes lunch/dinner. Takes Ashu skiing.

Monday - Hd drops the kids, makes lunch, picks up Antu at noon, works from home a bit and now off to pick up Ashu and then directly to the airport to pick up my SISTER!

Oh God! This was one of the toughest weeks in my life. Seeing Hd running around like a headless chicken and not able to help hurt more than my torn knee! God knows what I would have done if he had nt pulled through! And some dear friends and not to mention my little cousin! Sigh! I owe them big! Ashu too. She is an awesome helper. Fetching me stuff a million times and taking care of me. At one point, she hung a bag around my neck and put the phones, remotes, book, ipad, etc... and asked me to carry it everywhere! Guess she got tired picking up the phone! Antu is more keen on stealing my crutch though!

My mom will come as soon as she gets her visa. Sis decided to come and help until mom arrives. Family is a family for a reason, I guess. Me - I am just hoping that physiotherapy works and I would nt need surgery! And why oh why the right knee? Does nt the Universe know that we are screwed if I don't drive?

Out of the mouth of Ashu.

Ashu: Amma! What are these?

Me: Storage boxes, Ashu.

Ashu: For our room?

Me: Yes. More boxes that you girls can take stuff out of and make the room even more messy! *rolls eyes*

Ashu: You know, Amma? You can just ask me to clean the room and I will. You dont have to say mean things to make me clean. You can be nice.

Me: *runs to update her blog*

****

One Saturday, we went to the nearby Ice Rink so that Ashu can ice skate. It was terribly, terribly cold and I asked Hd to go home with Antu and come back later to pick us up. After an hour and half, Ashu and I decided to walk home instead of troubling the duo. It was a 15 minutes walk and even though it was freezing, (-10* C) we enjoyed the walk home visualizing hot cocoa! Just when I was about to enter our apartment, Hd calls me and asks where I am and if he can come to pick me up. When I told him that Im almost home, he says that he is out shopping and was thinking that he ll pick me up on his way home! I did the only thing that I do well under these circumstances, I hung up! Looking at my face Ashu asked me what was wrong.

Me: Im upset, Ashu.

Ashu: Why? Is it because I kicked that ball of snow? *panics*

Me: No. Im upset at Appa.

Ashu: What did he do?

Me: I asked him to go home. But hes not home.

Ashu: So what, Amma?

Me: Why cant he ever listen to me?

Ashu: May be he thought he is helping us.

Me: What help? We both walked in this freezing cold. I had the good intention of not disturbing him and Antu. Thats why I decided to walk. What was his good intention?

Ashu: Its ok, Amma.

Me: Its not ok. Why cant people follow instructions? Why? It was a simple instruction. Go. Home.

Ashu: You know, Amma? May be people dont want to listen to your instructions all the time. May be sometimes, they want to listen to their own instructions! OK?

Me: *runs to update her blog*

****

Ashu's Entry for Shruti's Artsy-Craftsy Jan 2012.

Ever since Shruti announced the "Paint your Van Gogh" theme for Artsy-craftsy challenge in her blog, I have been asking (OK, nagging!) Ashu to come up with something. I knew this was something she would enjoy. Ashu was thrilled with the idea of drawing something famous. We have a few books bought in museums which has loads of prints by famous painters and Ashu went through it and selected two.

No 1. was Paul Gauguin's "Still life with three puppies". Picture below.

No 2. was Henri Matisse's "Goldfish".

But the artist was nt very happy with her (copied) works and told me not to take photos of it! (So I took the photos after she left for school!! What? She ll thank me one day!)

And then we totally forgot about them. Until today. I reminded Ashu that tomorrow was the last day for submission and if she wanted to try a new one or can I send the other two to the competition anyway. She thought for a while and said "I like Van Gogh, Amma! I ll try something by him!" The trip to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam paid off or what?!!! While I was asking if she wanted to draw Sunflowers, she reminded me that theres a Van Gogh print hanging in the kids bedroom wall! The Almond Blossoms! We saw the original in Amsterdam and she selected that particular print in the souvenir shop even though I wanted the Sunflowers. I think the fact that Van Gogh painted it for a baby (his nephew) stayed with her. To cut the long story short, the painting was brought down from the wall and Ashu spent all afternoon trying to recreate it on a paper with a pencil, brown and blue crayons and a pink pen. Ta-da!

Shruti - So heres the final entry and thanks for giving us a lovely afternoon together. Heres to many more Artsy-Craftsies! :)

The One with the New Ipad.

I am alive! I am alive! Acute bloggers block and a busy,busy January made me neglect this blog for quite a long time. It has not even been three weeks since we came back from the US but feels like a year already. Numerous school events, dinner parties and potlucks and organizing a surprise baby shower made my life super busy. Not to mention the new dining table, coffee table and side board we bought which we had to assemble all by ourselves. The side board is still lying on the floor in various pieces. Wonder when its time will come!

The kids? Oh, they are enjoying the winter. Its snowing outside right now and Antu is doodling in her doodle board while Hd and Ashu have gone skiing. Life is good especially from the indoors! :)

Ipad has made an entry in our lives as well. A very indulgent Bil (and Sis, I should add!) gifted one to our family. I say family but he gave it to Ashu!! Now you know why we visit US very frequently! ;) Anyway, what with Bils Ipad and the new Ipad, both kids were sitting with one ipad each all the time while we were in the US. If not that, there was the TV of course! What it being vacation and all, I tried to let it go. And since I was coming back alone with the girls, (Hd left a few days earlier) I gave in and loaded all kinds of apps in the ipad for the kids to play in the flight. (Because stupid American Airlines does nt even have a TV and its a loooooooong flight!) While going from here, Ashu drew and colored page after page in her drawing book. Antu read her books again and again or heard music. But of course everything changed while coming back because we have the ipad now!! And to top it off, both of them refused to take turns and were fighting for the ipad! Hello? I was bored too! I needed the ipad to play Temple Run as well!! And once when Antu howled and refused to take turns, I completely lost it! Shoved the ipad in my bag and told the girls that they are being total brats and they are grounded forever! The rest of the flight was quite peaceful, I should say. Once we reached home, I sat them down and told them that they are nt getting any screen time the rest of January and they agreed. And from February 1st, we ll go back to our usual routine. Which is 30 mins TV on Wednesdays and one movie on Fridays. Weekends are flexible. They can watch a bit if we are home.(and depending on how crazy they drive me!) And they can choose if they want to play something on the laptop or watch TV. This was how it has been for the past one year.

It was quite a shock to Hd more than the kids when the new rule of total ban was imposed! Especially in this cold weather when we cant even go to the park after school! He was sure I ll become even more badhrakaali than usual and started coming back late from work! But problem came from a new angle. Antu got up the next day after the ban and asked first thing in the morning, "Is today February the first?" "No, Antu. Its 11th January." She came back from school at 11.30 and asked "Is it February the first now?" "No, Antu. There are 20 days more to February." 3 pm - same question. 4 pm - ditto. By 5 pm - I was ready to switch on the TV!!!! But resisted and let Ashu handle the questions! Ashu dragged her to a calendar and showed her that February is long time away and not to make it any longer by asking this question every hour!!! Ashu had technical doubts though. "Does it mean no TV, no ipad, no laptop?" "Can I still check the weather in the itouch like I do everyday?" "What if I need to used the laptop for my homework?" "Can I see photos in the ipad please?". When the answer was NO to every question, she knew I meant business. Once we went to a friends house for dinner, she refused to watch TV there with the other kids saying that its not Feb 1st yet! Antu has no such qualms, of course!

Honestly I thought that the ban would last a week and I would be at wits end by then and give them a talk and lift the ban! But by one week, they did nt even ask for TV or Ipad anymore and started inventing so many cools ways to play that I was so thrilled! They made a TV out of the packing materials of the dining table one day. And once the dining table was assembled, they pretended that the narrow glass top of the table is TV and camped under the table and watched "Tangled"! (Hd tried to over rule the ban right about now!) The long white thermocol piece was painted and used as a road and they played with cars! Books were read by dozens. Shelves were organized and Antu were perpetually dress-upping all the time! Like today, they spent an hour playing "One hundred adventurers". Which is to run around the house with a measuring tape and hunt for things which are exactly 100 cm long!! Innovative or what! It has been so much fun that Im looking for a loop hole to continue the ban all of February! But Hd being the softie he is has told me sternly that I can not do that! All because he forgot about the ban and showed something to Antu on the ipad one day and she came screaming to me saying, "Its not february 1st yet, its not february 1st yet!" What can I do? I cant help being a terror to my kids!

Anyway, I totally get how some people dont have TV in their house. Its so liberating. Even though TV was always rationed in our house, it always bugged me that they watched TV when they could be doing so much fun stuff! Especially with Antu. At least Ashu would always prefer a book or a story or painting over TV. Antu was/is a total addict! She would even sell her parents to watch Dora! But then, the apple does nt fall from the tree. At the ripe old age of 16, I skipped +2 physics tution class because the timing clashed with Doogie Howser MD! One cant fight Karma, thats for sure!

Congrats, Kiran!

If you have nt heard already, the fantastic blogger and a good friend (ahem!), Kiran Manral is out with her first book, The Reluctant Detective! Im sure whoever reads her blog knew it was coming since she is a wonderful, wonderful writer.

To learn more about the book, visit Kiran's brand new website http://www.thereluctantdetectivebook.blogspot.com/

You can buy the book from Flipkart here.

I love the cover and I cant wait to get my hands on it. Wishing you all things wonderful, Kiran!

Crossposted at http://indianmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/congrats-kiran.html

Bye bye, 2011.

Last day of the year already! 2011 was sure in a hurry. We seem to spend December either in India or in the US these last few years and I can get used to this tradition. Much fun is being had here. We came back from Tahoe and whaddayaknow, I enjoyed skiing and even got decently better at it. On the last day, sis, Ashu, Hd, Bil and I skied together and I loved it. Bil and Ashu were zooming past us every time. I can't believe she's the same timid girl I see in Zurich. Thanks to Bil, her confidence really soared.

Got back and soon bils bro, sil and their daughter, S left. Ashu was much saddened. They both had a blast together for 10 days. Made it up for not having the Utbt family here. Though I prepared the girls and told them not to ask for Chula and Meija, I had a lump in my throat when I came here and realized that they are nt going to be here this time. Sigh.

Met blog friend, Reva for the first time yesterday and was blown away. Was telling Hd that he can never ever ask me what use my blog is anymore after that scrumptious meal at her place. She's a master baker and that's an understatement. Lovely house, lovely family, awesome dinner and amazing dessert. Such cute gifts for the girls too. How can some people do it all? Thanks much, Reva. You are a sweet heart.

Non stop shopping and restaurant hopping happening here and at this rate, I'm going to look like a beached whale very soon. Hope 2012 knocks some sense into me. Happy new year, folks. Hope 2012 begins with a bang for everyone!

Location: Lake Tahoe.

Me: How could you do this to me? To your own little sister, that too! That Ski lesson was the one of the toughest thing I ve ever done!
Sis: How could you do this to me? You left Antu with me!
Me: Ok. We are even!

Yes, folks! Arrived to the US of A last week to spend the Christmas Holidays with Sis and Bil. And where do they take us? To Lake Tahoe for skiing! And Bil's brother's family have joined us too and they live in Colorado! I guess we were all destined to learn skiing in California, of all places! Im writing from a cozy cottage surrounded by mountains with a killer lake view. Its bliss. I only wish I dont have to go to the stupid Ski lesson tomorrow! Especially falling on my back and struggling like a cockroach in the beginner level while Ashu and kids even younger than her are zooming past in the intermediate level! Not fair!

More later, folks! Happy Holidays!

"What makes us so bitter against people who outwit us is that they think themselves cleverer than we are."

Ashu and her best friend G were asking each other some riddles and playing in the car. After a few rounds of this, G asks Ashu.

G: Im going to ask you a tricky riddle now, Ashu. Are you smart?

Ashu: Yes.

G: Ok. Are you very, very smart?

Ashu: hmm.... not really.

I dont know whether to be happy or sad! But I can say one thing. She is EXACTLY like her dad! These are the kinds of people who will not give us even an ounce of happiness when we win against them in any game/sport/debate/argument! Do you come across these annoying kinds? Theres no satisfaction in beating them in any game. Whats the whole point of playing, I ask? Take me, for example. Sis and I have never EVER finished a game of chess in all our life because every time she even came close to taking my queen, let alone the king, the board with all the pieces will magically fling themselves to the floor! There have been innumerable card games which have ended with me or my mom in tears. My sis or my dad swearing that they will never ever play with us ever again. And none of us are graceful winners either! Its a miracle how we did nt end up killing each other! But Ashu and Hd are the type of paavam characters with whom you dont mind losing. You even let them win sometimes because they are so paavam! Not that they are nt competitive but theres something in their demeanour. So graceful and sportive and I guess one has to be born with it and can never be learnt. I ve perfected the art of faking though. After 33 years and 2 kids, Im in a stage where I dont throw public tantrums! I said public!

Something tells me Antu is all me! And the thought terrifies me! *gulp*