An update

I am here.. Very much here.. Lots of friends called up to ask me why the frequent postings on the blogs stopped abruptly.. It's just that the kids and the things associated with them kept my hands full.. Literally!! I have so many unfinished posts saved as drafts and many more unwritten ones in my memory cells.. If only there was a way that they could be transcribed and published on my blog!?! May be a decade later.. Meanwhile i even tried the voice recognition software for taking the dictation for me but apparently they do not work for my wrong pronunciations/accent!

So here I am with updates on the last two weeks..
Sugar started with her 'mommy and me' program on Monday's. She thoroughly seems to enjoy them, except for the fact that it means even more grill for the mom! As by the time, we return home, it's time to pick chini up and the. Both of them are very hungry and the lunch is not ready. Even , if it is, they just get a little difficult to be calmed down as they are over tired and much too hungry. Then 2 hrs of absence frm home means a long list of to be finished chores for momma..

And then these never-ending chores take an infinite loop when the sudden and frequent weather changes make both the kids sick enough to be cranky, either demanding to be lifted up or quarreling with each other so much that the mommy has to meddle leaving everything else, for later! and then some divine providence should have forewarned mommy that they are going to fall sick and this is, definitely, not the best of times to try weaning sugar off the sippy cup! Yeah! My sugar has been on the soft spout sippy cups for a long time.. And would demand it whenever she would be tired/ sleepy/hungry/cranky.. And I didn't really try hard to take her off it as it meant that she would sleep by herself.. Giving me the much needed time to finish the rest of the stuff. And of all times, we decided that this was the high time she should be taken off the sippy cup.. And though all the crankiness and her illness, made me deliberate at times, I am proud to say that I did not!

The cold and cough worsened for them, and I spent one whole evening at a drugstores walk-in clinic.. Only to return with no medicine cuz of the nurse's goofiness, despite sugar being diagnosed with an ear infection. Why i went to the drug store instead of a doctor, is a whole other story in itself and I will cover it in a later post.. But, that evening, had taken lots of time and energy.. The kids who were singing and. Dancing at ten drug store, suddenly realized they were very hungry as soon as they entered the house.. And just rolling out one chapati each turned out to be a humungous task!

Then last night, when every thing could have gone well.. The kids had gone to bed.. Without any fuss.. And there was enough time to finish our dinner and then return to blogging, I broke a glass bowl. It just slipped through my hands and smashed.. A thousand minute pieces scattered all over the kitchen.. On the counter, on the stove, on the floor.. And few of them stuck to me... Luckily I didn't get hurt And with the help of the dad cleaned up the entire area, making double sure that there was nothing left behind.. But the microscopic glass pieces on my neck were so many, that only a thorough shower could have cleaned them up... And a long shower at the end of a long tiring day... Obviously meant, me snoozing off instead of blogging !

We did have our share of fun too.. There was this picnic at a local park organized by chini's class teachers. The theme was "getting to know you" and each parent had to pick something to get from the list of snacks. The weather was great, the gals had fun, chini made new friends and I got o interact with the other parents and the teachers. I really liked the concept, in general. A great team effort!

Owing to the rains, we got to spend a lot of quality family time together.. We accessorized chini's school bag together(photographs to be followed later) chino's school provides each child with a bag, which they are required to bring to school everyday for any project/note from the teacher to be carried home. It turned put that the bag is blue and of course, my very pinkalicious daughter wanted a pink one.. We couldn't change the bag, so we just beautified it with some pink lace and flower(from a broken hairband) and a few stickers. The girls just loved the job and chini now proudly flaunts her bag!

We read lots of books together, played fun indoor games, spent some time doing yoga and exercises, took nature walks whenever the weather permitted and even watched a movie at home..

Reason enough for me eluding the Internet?

Sugar and school... Why they don't match up in my dictionary!

I was delaying this post for a while though I had it in my mind that I would write about it. This posts comes as an answer to the question, almost everybody a( which includes old and new friends, acquaintances and complete strangers too!) ask me, " u do not send sugar to school?" then they don't stop at that. all my well-Wishers then invariably ask, "why?" some go beyond and give me A counter," but u started chinipie by this time!" few go further and say," see! That how a second child is always biased!" and a couple of them crossed all boundaries and added," is it because u feel something might happen to her again coz she was so critically ill and had to be hospitalized?"

I am not being a critic here and do appreciate all the well-meaning concerns. But, now that chinipie has restarted her school, I had to speak my mind. So, before you ask me again, "No. Sugar doesn't go to school." "I love both my galz. Both of them are such sweet hearts!" "She is far beyond her critically ill phase and is a perfectly healthy baby now and I do not worry about that a bit!" and "Yes! I did start chinipie when she was two!"

Why the discrimination? Read on...

First of all, I feel two is a very early age to start school. Two and a half would be the most apt, as per me. That too, probably just 2-3 hours at the max. Not a full day( unless, of course, you are working. So, all my working mom and dad friends, chill before you start getting worked up. Please recall that I am currently a stay@home mom, who left work for the sole reason of giving her 100% to the little ones). Chinipie did start her school @2 yr n 2 mths for two half mornings per week, which after a month, we increased to 3 as we realized that she had started enjoying and was looking forward to them. Chini had just turned 2 when we welcomed sugar in our lives( will cover the why to this in some other post). I had no help here with a toddler and a baby in my lap. Had to manage the home, the cooking, the feeding, the little ones and me all at the same time. For some reasons, we didn't keep any hired helps, too. In the process, I felt I couldn't give much time to chinipie as much as I wanted to. She was an active toddler and wanted constant activity and all I could manage was sit with her with a baby nursing on me. Plus, much before she turned 2, I had started sensing her need to play with kids in her age group. She had, many a times, given vey clear indications of the same. Unfortunately, most of our friends were still enjoying their happy honeymooning phase. Though chinipie had made really good friends with all of them and used to enjoy their company, they couldn't make do for the friends her age. The other few friends were either working full time or didn't stay close enough to be able to meet regularly. We did go to the library programs but they were not sufficient. So, it made more sense for her to get an exposure to the other kids at the school and I enrolled her in one of the best in the area(which I instantly liked on the very first day!) and I have no qualms about it as we saw an immense progress in her! Sugar, on the other hand, has her own big sis as her constant playmate. In her didi's wings, Her communication,motor and analytical skills are already at par with any pre-schooler. She is completely potty-trained, speaks well formed sentences, expresses her needs and emotions, and can crack a joke too! Also, after chinipie started school, we had made a lots of friends with kids her age, with whom we had many a get-togethers. this gave sugar ample opportunities to grow around/with kids.

What about now, when we have again moved in a no-kid neighbourhood, you ask? Well, sugar is enrolled in a mommy and baby program in the same school as chiniiz, starting next week.

Who am I kidding? With all the practicalities in my reasonings above, yes you are partly right when you think I have a separation issue, more than her! Those who knew me two years before, probably, would know that I cried more than chinipie every time I dropped her to school and kept weeping long time after she had happily adjusted! We always wanted to have two angels in our life, which implies sugar is the last baby of the family. I know My self imposed exile from the corporate world might soon be over and how much I am delaying, I will be joining the work force some time in near future. The emotional mommy in me wants to cling to it for a little while more.. Trying to savor each moment.. Hanging on to every bit of it... Until she can...

Day 2

OK.. let me try to recreate what I just lost.. not to keep you in doubts.. i just lost my one hour of write-up! apparently the new interface of blogger doesn't have the auto-save feature. Foolishly after my post was done I clicked on preview... only to find a blank page for preview and a blank page on my typed post.. boohoo!!!




anyways in continuation to yesterday's post... It seems chinipie was more worried than us about getting to school in time. She woke at least 4 to 5 times last night, only to be put back to the bed being told that it was still night. Every time, she had only one thing to say, "please do wake me up early in the morning. I do not want to be late for my school!" My darling got up with the sound of my footsteps outside her bedroom, even though I hadn't intended to wake her up for next 15 minutes, at least. Anyhow, she was such an angel this morning, and was ready to go with the dad (who had promised to drop her to school today) by 8:30 a.m. Sugarz mood had started to change as she realized that she might have to  miss the much-savoured car trip. Lucky for her, I remembered, just in time, that the teachers might not open the door to the class room before 8:45 and the dad might get late to work. Within next couple of minutes, mommy, with her outfit changed, was headed to the school with the girls and next couple of minutes saw us outside of the classroom where students could get in only at 9:00 a.m.(?!!?). An eye-opener- School timings are strictly from 9:00 to 12:00. If we want to drop the kids early, we can sign her up for the breakfast program(at an extra cost, of course!).
Anyhow, we waited in the lobby trying to read all the posters on the school wall with sugarbun, jumping around excitedly. When other people started pouring in, we lined up at the classroom door, where we said good morning to the teacher (finally!), chinipie waved bye and immediately got lost in some other corner of the room. That's when sugar realized what had happened and started saying, "Hey! where is didi? We got to find her! We cannot go without her!" I just lifted her up and walked out as I didn't want to hold the other parents. She was still mad at me when a volunteer saw her in the parking lot and gave her a smiley sticker. Soon she forgot all about didi


.... until it was time to go pick her up! Sugar excitedly got her slippers and a frooti box(she remembered from yesterday), saying, "She wants frooti! She voves it!" and ordered me,"momma! open the car!" We queued in front of the class again, and as soon as the teacher opened the door, sugar royally walked in the class, defying all authorities of the teacher, looking for her didi. As soon as she saw her didi, she stopped herself short of giving her a hug... as she recalled that she had a special treat for her! Chini grew super excited on seeing both her baby sis and the frooti box and as busy as I was adoring the two sisters, the teacher, with a concern in her voice, told me that chinipie had fallen from the swing at the playground today. Though they had checked for bumps and applied ice-pack, they wanted to inform. I thanked her and asked Chini how it happened. She said,
"I was not being careful, momma but I am ok now". Luckily, the swings are too low in their playground and Chini really seemed to be fine, I didn't worry much.


On our way to the car, Chini told me that a boy threw some sand in her eyes at the playground. Now this is something that worries momma!! I, immediately, stopped and looked into her eyes for some sort of redness..
"Don't worry momma! I blew on my skirt with my mouth and pressed on my eyes. " (When did my little sweetie grow up??)
"Did you tell this to your teacher?"
"I am a big girl and big girls dont keep complaining" (Yeah right! I made a mental note to myself not to repeat this next time she brings sugarz actions to my notice)
"But, sweetie, you need to look out for yourself. Next time, something like this happens, say 'Hey watchout! you are hurting me!' "
"OK" with a shrug of shoulders and going back to enjoying her frooti!!!


At home, we had a picnic outside at the deck, a little play time and a bath time (where I checked for any bumps on the head, just in case!); after which sugar got cranky and chinipie said that she was tired.. whoa! that was a big surprise for mommy. I told her she could lie down for a while. Within next 5 minutes, she was dozing, with sugar on her side! I woke her up after 40 minutes or so and managed my little whiny girl for a while but after a while she was okay. After sugar woke up and we had our evening cup of milk, we went for an evening walk(something we have started to cherish this summer) and a game of tag and another game of freeze (in the parking lot) later, we were ready to go back to home willingly. A hassle-free dinner and no-cry-go-to bed (with dad) marked the end of the day. What else could a mommy wish for!!


Not to miss: As a special project at her school today, chini made a picture of mommy with her magic wand!! Isn't that such a heart-melting thought? She even finished it up with 'To mommy From... '


From yesterday: On her way back to home, chini says, "I was really nervous, at first, as everything and everyone was going to be new. But then Papa came to drop me and I felt better!!"

Chini's first day at her new school

Chinipie just loves school! No doubts that she couldnt wait for her school to begin. In fact, as soon as we had moved here, the very first morning, she had asked me, "momma, which is going to be my new school now?" As our moving truck had not arrived, and we didn't have much to do at the house, I put the girls in the car and set out in the search of a new school for her and sugar, if I would allow myself to part with her, so, in eśsence, it was mostly for chinipie. As we had known for quite some time about our move, I Had already researched on a few schools in the area and proved to be useful as I dint have any internet connection and the cell phone signal was worse than anyone can imagine(it still is!) relying on my memory and completely on the gps in the car,me and the girls toured 4 schools in all, including a branch of her old school (apparently they originated and expanded from here). We had loved her progress at her old school, so naturally this branch should have been our first choice. The only drawback there was that it was a bit of a drive and the route had a heavy traffic during the morning n lunch hours.. And with two kids, most of the times, I get to leave the house at the last minute... Especially, during winters, when the struggle includes putting on the jackets, shoes, mittens n hats! Which meant that the only drawback became a major negative for that school, though chinipie did emphasize that she liked that school more than the ones we saw earlier. The other school that we saw was a Montessori but very much unlike the one we had seen(and were impressed with) earlier (in the previous city). This one was more like a home daycare with the high fees of a montessori! What they were guaranteeing to teach there, most definitely, I could have taught if I chose to home-school my kids!! And, hence, we settled on the first school we had toured and liked instantly. Being a church school(vs a daycare), they followed the annual calendar which meant chinipie was to start there only in September. We utilized the summers playing outdoors, swimming camp, visiting libraries, having backyard picnics and more! But, for past few weeks she was getting a little restless and waited eagerly for her school to begin!!






And finally the night before, she had slept early as she didn't want to be late on the very first day and me being me, had already started missing her.. Thinking about the next day! I went to the extent of conveying it to her when she woke up after an hour or so for a trip to the restroom. I said, "chinipie, I will miss you being around me. What will I do when u r not at home?" with her eyes still closed she said, "I know. You can exercise!" yeah baby! Point taken!!




The morning was hassle-free. She brushed her teeth and came downstairs with a promise to finish her morning chores fast and get ready on time. She tried her best but she is just a four year old after all... We were still in race with the clock. Sugar was happy that her important task of dropping her didi to school has finally restarted and chinipie got a nice surprise that even dad was accompanying her on her very first day. At the door of the classroom, she greeted her teacher, gave her dad a hug, sugar a kiss, waved bye and went inside. She didn't even look back! And I just kept standing there..


Asked the dad .. "so this is it?!?" "yep!" "she didn't even give me a hug!" "that's ok.. I give u a hug on behalf of her!"


He did.. But it was not the same as hers...


Sugar and I took a special treat for her(frooti juice box) when we went to pick her up. Sugar didn't open her own until she gave didi hers!! And together they jumped and hopped all the way to the car. But after a next couple of hours, they were drained and desperately needed a nap.. Results?? They didn't sleep until 10:30 in the night(though went to bed by 9:00p.m.)!!


Let's see how it goes tomorrow...

In pursuit of friends- a birthday party

We are just returning from our first ever birthday party in Philly. The kids were super excited since yesterday as it has been a while that we have been to one.. The last one being their very own which was an evening before everything had to go in the moving truck. It was just a last minute thing as the galz wanted to celebrate it with their frens, specifically chinipie. Coming back to tonight's party, sugar had skipped her afternoon nap, inspire of all our efforts. undoubtedly, she was super cranky by the time we started to get ready. Then chini got herself hurt on her toe..so it was a challenge with one following the suit of other in crying.


The party was good, the hosts were a sweet couple and the birthday girl who turned one last week was a very happy child... Touchwood! As for my kids, chini engaged sugar in a balloon game as soon as we reached there n after the cake was cut sugar fell asleep in dad's lap. Chinipie missed playing with her little sis for a while but then got busy with a coloring game on my phone(thank goodness for the smartphones). She finished the cake by herself and was rather proud of it!!






Highlights of the day - when I was trying to push lunch inside her, i tried to bribe her saying if you finish it, we will go somewhere in the evening. Pat came here reply, "I know. We are going to a baby's birthday party. She is turning one!"


Sugar will you sing a birthday song for the baby. " um ummm.." meaning a big NO... Don't even expect such things from me!!






Had forgotten to add another pinkalicious episode of the evening... Even though chinipie had calmed down after hurting her toe, the poor girl was still in pain... And started jumping up and down crying "aaauuiii aaauuuiii aaauuuiii" . Sugar looked at her sister and thinking this as a new fun game, joined her... Jumping up and down and laughing... " aaauuuuiii aaauuuiii aaauuuuiii". Soon we all joined in amidst roar of laughter! Isn't it amazing how easily the can turn pain to laughter!

Of naps and sleep times and more..

What is it with kids and nap times??? They just refuse to go to the bed even if they have difficulty opening their eyes and then they get overtired and reach an over-anxious stage where they are not able to rest their bodies, even if they want to. And then they give a hard time for almost everything starting from brushing teeth, changing to PJs, listening to story, lying on the bed, covering with blanket and more that one cannot even think of.. I would have loved to say that it stops as soon as they hit the bed but, alas!, it doesn't. especially with chinipie who keeps coming out of her covers on one pretext or the other.. even if she would have been dozing for a while, she would get up in the middle of the night and order her dad to go lie down with her.. poor dad has no choice but to go sleep on the floor next to her bed. Usually he gets back to his bed around 4 or 5 in the morning, only if, she doesn't come back and reprimands him for leaving her alone! Sometimes, she would just sneak up on our bed and sleep next to us. As for sugar, she keeps asking for 'dudu' any time she wakes up or she has tough time sleeping . Mostly, she would keep crying (in her machine gun-like fashion) in her crib and say, "I want dudu.. I want dudu..."

When we discussed this sleeping habit with their pediatrician, they said that it is a normal behavior for most kids this age. It's up to the parents to tell the kids to try and go back to sleep all by themselves and they shouldn't be given milk or any food at the weird hours just like an adult. Nor should they be encouraged to sleep with their parents be it in the kids room or the parents' room. Clearly, their kids are way past this age and that's why they don't seem to remember their own night-time stories..

Well, I wouldn't say this happens every evening or my kids are tough to handle. In fact, they are perfect little angels and there are some nights when they come and say, "I'm tired. I want to sleep." and then, we have those sparse nights when they sleep throughout! Mostly, I have observed that they
1. tend to behave better when they have a set routine almost every day
2. don't watch too much television (more than 45 min) close to nap time
3. had participated in exhaustive exercises
4. either one of them is not too weary (that's when the other one picks up the tantrum, just to join the chorus!)

Let's talk about routine. I feel it's very important for the kids (for that matter, everyone) to have a set routine (occasional deviance are always acceptable). This gives them a feeling of stability and brings a sense of decorum and discipline in them, which would prove to be very fruitful in their later life. I am not saying that we should stereo-typically stick to it to the point of becoming mechanical and lose our flexibility completely. But, their should be a regularity and a proper balance for all their activities( including the indoor and outdoor) during the day, be it at home or anywhere else, leaving some room for fluctuation as well. I have always seen that whenever there's a constant disruption in their routine or they do not know what and when the next activity is going to be, they get a little unruly. For some reason or other, am not able to follow this always.. sometimes, there are extra chores.. or i am not feeling too well.. or some other vague reason.. to which I tell myself, "c'mon you'r just one person! how can you always do everything?" but then is that enough?

The other three reasons viz. the idiot box, exercises, and picking up frm sibling are pretty much self-explanatory. But then here is my questions to all of you moms/dads out there.. are any of your experiences similar? what do you have to suggest for battling these night-fall dooms? do you believe in regularity in child's routine too? how do you/kids manage the deviance?

Please do pour in your views..

Of Fairy Tales and Cindrellas..

After the daily humdrum of the mornings.. the kids morning chores done with, their breakfast over... I asked them to play or do whatever they want to in their play area, while I took a moment to myself while having my breakfast (and reading a book) at the dining table just across a viewshot from them. Chinipie wanted to color but wanted me to look up a different coloring book for her which, I said, I could help her with only after my breakfast.. till then she will have to use her current one. All said and done, and she returned to her coloring with a satisfied look, when sugarbun decided that she wanted to do her coloring sitting next to me and implanted herself on the chair next to mine. She kept showing me her coloring (scribbling, according to Chini) and I kept either grunting or adding a few words of appreciation while continuing with my reading/munching. That's when Chini came to me and said, "You know what mommy, you and sugar treat me like Cindrella's stepmothers and stepsisters!" I just dropped everything and looked at her.. the mommy heart in me almost broke on hearing those words. I asked, "why do you say so?" and she could see the mixture of hurt and amazed look on my face and started blushing as she thought she said something wrong. I asked her if she felt so coz she is not sitting next to me and she wasn't sure. I gave her one big hug and asked her,

"Do I make u scrub floor like Cindrella's stepmother?" " Do I make you cook food for all of us?" "Do I dress you up in rags?" 

"What's rags mommy?"

"Torn Clothes"

"No. You buy me and sugar new dresses every time we go to target and mall"

"Then why do you say so?"

"But you make me clean my room and the play room!"

"Honey, that's the mess you make.. and besides you need to take care of your toys and books. Do I make you clean up the mess that I make?"

"No"

"Then why do you say such hurting words to me?"

"I am sorry mumma" and she rushes to give me a hug this time!

When I told dad about this, he just couldn't help laughing. He says there's nothing hurting over here.. it's just a child's innocence.. I wish I could see it that way. Since morning, I have been thinking which action of mine touched the sensitive heart of my little big girl?!?

to which I have not gotten any answers yet... I hadn't even screamed at her.. everything was at a very normal tone at a very normal pace as it could be.. Did her little mind not like the idea of me trying to get a little time for myself? or Does she gets touched every time sugar gets away with her pranks/gets some favors coz shez still the little one? hmmmm.. very perplexing but surely the child's mind acts in a strange way...........

Did I tell you about her 'Rapunzel' incident which happened a few months back? It was the Valentine's day and we had a little get together at our place. We (our friends and us) used to find reasons just to be together and enjoy some time. So, we had planned an evening filled with games, fun and good food at our place. The kids games were done with and they were playing in the basement while we were having the couples games in the first floor family room. Suddenly, I heard Chini crying (she actually howls out very loud), by the time I reached the door leading to the basement, the dad and the crying Chini were coming upstairs. The dad had the kitchen scissors in his hand and said she has cut all her hair!!! Apparently, she had found the kitchen scissors lying in the basement, and had started cutting her hair. My immediate concern was if she hadn't cut herself anywhere else (neck/ears) in the process. Thankfully, she hadn't.. I took her to another room and tried to calm her down. After she was a little calmer, I asked,

"why did you do that, honey?" 

"I was trying to be Rapunzel." followed by another spurt of wailing....

"But honey, Rapunzel is not real."

"She is. We saw her in the movie theater in the 'tangled' movie"

"Honey, she is just an imagination of somebody else.. like in your imagination you can have a blue or a purple banana.. somebody else imagined her and made a movie/book out of it"

"oh! (with another burst of bawling) But I only wanted to be Rapunzel!!!!!"

meeting 'hershey'-cane Irene!!

What do you do when everybody in town is talking about nothing else but the oncoming hurricane? - Laugh it off!
Still if the warning bells ring in your mind? - Be prepared - flashlights : check, loaded refrigerator: check, extra food cooked: check
What next?
What do you do in the midst of the storm? - go shopping with the whole family
When the storm rages? put the excited kids to bed and do the dishes.. u don't want the stinking dishes in the middle of the storm.
And then,
the power goes off!!
U sleep in the midst of the sounds of thundering rains  and wake up the sounds of howling winds..
Asking yourself whether it is a bliss or not.. to live a digitox-free life? No internet, no phone, no television!! My cell-phone was almost about to get discharged too! Go back to basics.. play dress-up with kids, read books to them, play with the flashlights.. in short just cherish each and every moment of the short void-of-electronics life.
What do you do when kids are hungry? - get the food/milk out of the refrigerator and dip it in a cup filled with hot water or make a cold sandwich.
What if they refuse to eat the cold food? - use the little battery left in your smartphone and find a restaurant  still open around the area and hit it out on the road!!
Come back, find out there's no power yet and sleep peacefully listening to the sounds of crickets in the night. The morning sounds of chirping birds tells you that there's no power in the area yet!  You want to enjoy it as much but then the kids wake up hungry and refuse to take the cold food anymore.
What do you do then? - Pack up your kids, get in the car and thrust yourself on your friends(thank God to have sent such wonderful people around us)!!
When finally the night falls and the updates on the power company website tell you that the next morning will return back normalcy to your life, you return back home to find it all lit up!! felt like diwali in the house!!

Finally, the 'hershey'-cane, as chinipie called it was over!

This is the tree in our backyard braving the strong winds