Adios 2012

And welcome 2013...this post, albeit delayed by 23 days.. U still are being looked forward to with lots of hopes, promises and resolutions. U are the year, when we all will grow stronger as a family working together to achieve our goals, spreading joy as we go along. U are the year, when we are trying to manage our anger bouts with love and calm. U are the year, when we are trying to resolve our conflicts by talking them out rather than pouts. U are the year, when we are learning to take initiative rather than waiting for someone to offer(e.g. playdates). U are the year, when we are working towards speaking upfront rather than talking around in circles. U are the year, when we started with lots of gratitude, most importantly, having each other, together, as a family. U are the year, when we are making positive attempts to say the magic words of 'sorry' and 'please' and 'thank-you' to each other, for we realise that respecting each other feelings and emotions is very much important (After all it's so eay for taking each other for granted, and hurt in the process). Most importantly, U are the year, when we are giving each other loads of hugs and kisses to each other, coz they are, for sure, the most encouraging, loving, and caring gifts we can give to each other! With these and many such positivities, 2013, we are certain, you are going to be awesome!


2012- for most part, you have been great too! You were the year, when we, finally, learned to say NO, instead of giving in or being a pushover (a major achievement for mom herself as now she can set an example of assertiveness and stance to her kids). You were the year when we learnt to stop showing our vulnerability (as a family) to others. You were the year when we struggled and later, succeeded to become independent in many ways. You were the year, when we experimented with lots of new sports and haven't lost hopes, even though many a times, they didn't turn out as we had expected. You were the year, when we successfully cut our screen time to a bare minimum and realized that there's so much else we can do, otherwise. You were the year when we learnt to treasure each other and cherish every little thing we do for each other, as a family. Yes 2012, despite all odds, you were good. And this is how, we had bid farewell to you..


As all the new year eve parties go, we, along with a few friends, had waited for the clock to strike midnight. Looking at the screen, doing the final countdwn, watching the times square ball-drop, cheering and wishing each other a very happy new year, when sugarbun decided, enough is enough, happy or not, new or not, year or whatever, I am out! And there, she plopped on their couch! Her tired z's could be heard distinctly amongst all the chaos. Leaving the company of her friends, chinipie came over, looked at sugarbun with a huge question mark on her face and then looked at the wall clock.
What? It's past twelve o'clock already? Way past my bedtime? Now, I will never get my complete rest and full night sleep! UHAAAANNN!!! I hate new year eve parties!!!

Dad goes to California

on work, for one entire week, much to mom's chagrin. How could he do this to her? He knew that she loves her beauty sleep and craves for it the entire day. Then why did he have to be so cruel?? You see, ever since sugar had turned one, and, the dad, had decided that he is done clinging to the very edge of the mattress, holding on the the last inch of the bed-sheet, for his dear life(and bones), much to mom's protest, had moved the kids' little beds to their rooms. Now, this room, previously, was pretty much used only as a parents' interior decoration skills display room as much as the other 2 bedrooms  in the entire history of a year and a half of buying that 4- bedroom house. The mom, mortified, at the very thought of walking each night to the adjacent room to soothe or nurse or calm her babies on their each cry , which then was every 1 hour or so, had moved their little beds next to her bed. So, all she had to do was reach upto them and pat them back in their cozy little beds. Now, when and how, in the entire course of the night, they would climb up to the huge and high bed of ours, still remains a mystery. The bottom-line is, each morning, on that California-king-sized bed, the dad was inevitably found sleeping, balancing delicately on his left torso, while the kids rotated, turned and well, dozed royally. Amongst all the protests, the hard-hearted, sleep-deprived dad, had then decided to put the other rooms in the house to some huge. Mom, had made a huge deal about this, and had him promise that he would calm them, each night, for every single cry. Whether or not he intended to originally, but the sly mom made sure that the dad sticks to his word. And rest, as they say, is history. Since that fateful morning, dad is, many-a-times, even found sleeping on the floor in the kids' room to make sure that they sleep on their bed, in their room. Well, those days, are long over (hopefully). However, with every cry they utter, with every drop of water they ask for, in those hours of mom geting her zzz's, the dad tends to them.

So, how could she have survived 5 nights with him travelling to the west????
Chinipie had the solution. She came up to the mom and said, remember mom, when he was away for only one night, in the past? How you had slept on the floor in our room? You could do that. I will even clean my toys from there for you.

Nighttime routines- then and now

Starting with changing into the night dress, where each of my fasion divas want to wear a nightgown to brushing the teeth to getting to the bed to actually fall asleep, the night time routine in this household is a mix of fun and struggle each night.

Tonight, I had to brush cindrella's and snowwhite's teeth beore Sugarbun let me brush hers. I, somehow have a feeling that I did something of this sort for chini at around the same time. Whether I did or not, am not sure as it has been two years since and I wasn't blogging as frequently then. What I do remember is that last year, we had tough time stopping sugar from brshing her teeth. Any chance she got, she would climb up on the pedestal and somehow manage to get to the brush... No matter how far from her reach I would have kept it. The paste, then applied, and faucet running, she would brighten her one dozen pearly whites at least 5-6 times a day. Night times would be all the more difficult as she would keep pushing chini off the stool. To top it up, she used to be mad at us coz we didn't let her use her sister's toothpaste. (She uses the toddler's toothpaste as she doesn't know yet how to spit but swallows it all.) With chini, then, it was the struggle of independence. Where last year, she was in a "I will do it myself" phase, ths year it has been replaced by "you do it for me". Every night she has some kind of reason for not doing it herself. I very didtinctly remember how she used to light up when after doing my part, I used to hand her the brush for her turn. And also, how we used to quarrel whose turn would it be first. Well, times change and in this case, the place has changed too.

Getting to bed is another story in itself. Where last year, dad used to check and chase away the monsters from under the bed, behind the curtains and from the toy chest, this year, he soothes chini as every night she declares,"I am scared of the dark". I scared of dark, sugar has started too since past two days. This is very new as we have stopped giving her sippy cup (milk) for bed. Until now, she had been using her sippy cup to self-soothe her through the night. Now, they sing and talk to each other, calling out to mom and dad, in between, too.

However upset or tired we are, the constant evolution of those three words from i yuy u to i vuv u to i love you doesn't fail to work their magic on us each night as we turn off the lights and try to sneak out of their room.

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..