That...
... It's Time to hit the gym, when one of your kids asks, "why is momma's tummy so big?"
... U r goin crazy, when u frantically start looking for one of ur kids, only to realize later that she actually is in your arms!
... Ur kids are watching too much TV when u try to punish them by taking their toys away and they react with "swiper no swiping"!
... U r raising a proud-to-be-a-girl, when on hearing Mulan's story, she immediately coins a story in which the boy dresses up as a girl!
... They got ur genes, when you catch them reading books in the dim night light!
... U r extremely lucky, when seeing you dressed up, your little darlings shower you with praises like "i love your hair", " i really like your dress" "ur ear rings are beautiful", "u look pretty"!
Go on add more..
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Another feather In the cap!
Another milestone achieved! It's official!
CHINIPIE READS!!!
And the momma is doing a little jig! Chini reads everything from books to magazines to to newsletters to titles to banners to traffic signs!!
Summers saw her reading short sentences with 3 to 4 words and now she can do the whole book, sometimes without any help! Of course, it shouldn't have too many multi-syllable words coz then she loses interest. Nevertheless, she surprises me! She can read those'step 2' learning to read books without any help! Now many a times, sugarbun goes to her, "didi, will you read the book to me?" And, sure enough, she does!
I still very vividly remember my 18 months old chini, sitting on the couch and turning the pages of a book with a "phii ka hua.. Then what happened". Must like her momma would do while reading her the stories and yes, I was trying to raise a bi-lingual chini. By two, she was looking at the pictures and recognized the albhabet. At three, she was doing the sight words, even spotting them hidden in the big words. Before her fourth birthday, she could read many other small words and most definitely could give you an impression that she read the whole book when in truth, she was reproducing it on memorization.
And now, She reads independently even before I get to read to her first! Woo hoo!
We are working on the writing too! She can write small notes like thankyou, happy birthday and even attempts to write a story once in a while but we don'tget beyond one sentence as she has to ask for each spelling and then she loses her patience. But we are getting there. Her handwriting is getting beautiful each day, most definitely! Even her drawing Is now so illustrative and clear and pretty.
Oh! I think I am just a doting mom and should stop here.
And yes, I have to share this morning's story:
As it's almost time for school and chini is still in the bathroom. I call out and ask her if her potty is done.
3 is done. 1 is left
What??
I finished reading 3 books and am about to finish the last one.
!?!! ;-)
CHINIPIE READS!!!
And the momma is doing a little jig! Chini reads everything from books to magazines to to newsletters to titles to banners to traffic signs!!
Summers saw her reading short sentences with 3 to 4 words and now she can do the whole book, sometimes without any help! Of course, it shouldn't have too many multi-syllable words coz then she loses interest. Nevertheless, she surprises me! She can read those'step 2' learning to read books without any help! Now many a times, sugarbun goes to her, "didi, will you read the book to me?" And, sure enough, she does!
I still very vividly remember my 18 months old chini, sitting on the couch and turning the pages of a book with a "phii ka hua.. Then what happened". Must like her momma would do while reading her the stories and yes, I was trying to raise a bi-lingual chini. By two, she was looking at the pictures and recognized the albhabet. At three, she was doing the sight words, even spotting them hidden in the big words. Before her fourth birthday, she could read many other small words and most definitely could give you an impression that she read the whole book when in truth, she was reproducing it on memorization.
And now, She reads independently even before I get to read to her first! Woo hoo!
We are working on the writing too! She can write small notes like thankyou, happy birthday and even attempts to write a story once in a while but we don'tget beyond one sentence as she has to ask for each spelling and then she loses her patience. But we are getting there. Her handwriting is getting beautiful each day, most definitely! Even her drawing Is now so illustrative and clear and pretty.
Oh! I think I am just a doting mom and should stop here.
And yes, I have to share this morning's story:
As it's almost time for school and chini is still in the bathroom. I call out and ask her if her potty is done.
3 is done. 1 is left
What??
I finished reading 3 books and am about to finish the last one.
!?!! ;-)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Celebrating A Birthday
Becomes merrier with both of my oh so pinkalicious daughters!
It all started a week before when I told them that dad's birthday is coming up.
Where shll we have his birthday party?
What will we gift him?
Quick, we have to think and do so much!
And no, this wasn't me, but chinipie thinking out aloud. When I told her that we will celebrate together, as a family, at home, just as papa would love it, she didn' like the idea. Home is boring, she said. Home is boring, sugarbun echoed.
Her moods lifted when we shopped for all the necessary supplies: cake, pumpkin bread, dahi vada, chole-bhature was the menu. I told her that this is to Be a surprise for him, so we have to keep a hush-hush about it. And she did! As soon as dad came back that evening,
"Papa, we are planning a surprise for your birthday but I won't tell you because it is a surprise. "
It's a prize for ur birthday, papa, sugar Dutifully joined in the excitement.
And this took me tWo years back, when on dad's birthday chini had excitedly gone to the just-entered-in-the-home dad and had chirped, Surprise! It's a birthday cake!
An evening before, the dad had his wisdom tooth removed and declared that he would be working from home the next day. A frantic mom very rudely told him to leave for work the first thing in the morning, for it disrupts the kids' routine?!? To which, he meekly replied tht he had to go for two hours for a meeting anyways. Trying to patch up, (though hoping he doesn't give in) I suggested that he could do a telecon, which (thankfully) he couldn't. For a while I thought that he was just playing his part in the whole surprise act, to which he later clarified that he indeed had a very genuine meeting.
Anyways, as soon as the dad left the house, out came all the ingredients for the cake and girls had the whisks ready as we cracked, read hatched, the eggs. While chinipie very Honestly helped me, sugar had fun dipping her hands in the batter and licking it off. Temptation caught on and soon both my girls were anointed from head to toe.
Ummmm yummy, sugar exclaimed every time she put those tiny sticky mix-coated fingers in her mouth.
The pumpkin batter turned out to be a little spicy for them and their little tummies were full too, so this time we sticked to just hatching the eggs together. The cake was done and as I had to hide the cake when the dad arrived, Chinipie rushed to delay him at the door.
"You don't smell the cake, do you?" :-)
To my rescue, the pumpkin bread was still in the oven and worked as a cover. Sneaking again, chini and momma finished decorating the cake. Chini added the sprinkles as momma caligraphed on it.
In the morning, as soon as she opened her eyes, chini rushed to wish her dad a very happy birthday, and my manager added
I have to go downstairs and check if momma is finished decorating the house. You come with sugar a little later, okay?
Not only was the decoration approved but gained a very high remarks! The cake was cut and my head chef, sugar, taking a bite affirmed,
Ummmmmm, it tastes like cake!
Two birthdays in the family being over and done with, no points in guessing whose is coming next.
"I will celebrate my birthday in disney world. And will invite all my friends there." A few days later, she added,
"Me and sugar both will have our birthday celebations at disneyworld with all the princesses.... For one hundred and twenty five days. You and papa are invited, too."
Need Invitations, anyone?
Edited to add: The post is published ten days later than it was originally intended to.. And I forgot to add that poor dad couldn't relish his own birthday cake as his mouth was still sore.
Also, chini's current favourite number is 125 .. A progress after my birthday.
Monday, November 14, 2011
A peep into our daily lives
Of listening/not listening
Momma: Why dont u listen to me? I keep calling you but you don't come.
Chinipie: U hav to say " PLEASE come "
*************
Of blackmailing
Chinipie on her way to the bathroom, one morning,
"Give me coloring Dora(a mobile app) or else I won't do potty!"
*************
Of graphical details
Chinipie coming out of bathroom, with an amused face,
"Pee pee went like pooooooooooo phissssss peeeeeeee"
*************
Of falling and hurting
Chini after falling and hurting herself on her chest, with all solemness,
"I broke my heart..."
*************
Of kisses
Chinipie,"Some people kiss on the lips. We don't. as we do not want to share our germs. We kiss on the cheeks, nose, eyes, hands, BRAIN(for forehead)!" ;-)
Sugar, whenever she gets hurt,
"Momma can u kiss me? " Needless to say, momma obliges.
One day, after momma cuts her finger accidently,
Momma: Sugar see my boo boo?
Sugar: "I will kiss you." Gives momma's finger a kiss and says, "there, aall better!"
Momma: Why dont u listen to me? I keep calling you but you don't come.
Chinipie: U hav to say " PLEASE come "
*************
Of blackmailing
Chinipie on her way to the bathroom, one morning,
"Give me coloring Dora(a mobile app) or else I won't do potty!"
*************
Of graphical details
Chinipie coming out of bathroom, with an amused face,
"Pee pee went like pooooooooooo phissssss peeeeeeee"
*************
Of falling and hurting
Chini after falling and hurting herself on her chest, with all solemness,
"I broke my heart..."
*************
Of kisses
Chinipie,"Some people kiss on the lips. We don't. as we do not want to share our germs. We kiss on the cheeks, nose, eyes, hands, BRAIN(for forehead)!" ;-)
Sugar, whenever she gets hurt,
"Momma can u kiss me? " Needless to say, momma obliges.
One day, after momma cuts her finger accidently,
Momma: Sugar see my boo boo?
Sugar: "I will kiss you." Gives momma's finger a kiss and says, "there, aall better!"
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Your words..
These are your words left on my facebook wall. Ever so lovely. They keep motivating me, every day when i get too tired and just want to crash to sleep. Though i have always so much to say here, i usually have no energy left. That's when your comments on my blog, on my wall, in my inbox, over the phone encourage me to write.
Keep pouring yor love..
I had started to insert links on each post name, it turned out to be tedious. So stopped.
On Pets in our house
On feasts and festivities
On The first snow
On Craziness and innocence
On A birthday
On sugar n school
On Day 2
On chini' first day
Of fairy tales n cindrellas
On meeting hershey-cane
On 'All in a day'
On a snapshot
On pinkalicious
Thanks everybody. Your words drive me.
Keep pouring yor love..
I had started to insert links on each post name, it turned out to be tedious. So stopped.
On Pets in our house
# Ha ha ha!
# ha ha..bird is hatching..she is so cute..
On feasts and festivities
# Lovely write-up!
# I really enjoy your writing Swati
# hey lovely write-up,great i have a bedtime story tonite..most awaited,good job swati
# i was amazed my girl discussing chini n sugarbun with friends...keep on
# Wow Swati...You write so good... I never knew about your this HIDDEN TALENT... Amazing....
# i agree I really enjoyed when reading your blogs... keep writing.. Ritu surely hidden talent hai!!!!
On The first snow
# hope u al r doing good ...
# very cute..how was the bday party :)
On Craziness and innocence
# Read All of them !! Awesome ..... Tons of Love to Chinipie N Sugarbun
# hey good one swati..make a point to go thr' chini n sugarbun,n my kid too loves to listen to it...till date it was cindrella n all fairies bt nw she wana more of sugarbun n chinipie...
# hey really i read for her and have to answer bundle of ques....abt sugarbun...
..Keep going
On A birthday
#How sweet!!.girls r really getting big! :) Btw...Uttam ka comment mast tha!! Lol!! ;)
# I love your blogs :) How are you and the kids?
# enjoy reading your posts swati...keep them coming...u're the only rover who has kept the tradition alive, so am proud of u..!!!and what better subject to write about than the joys and woes of motherhood... i always think of putting pen to paper, or rather, fingers to the keyboard, but always end up putting it off...maybe one of these days, i'll borrow some inspiration from u :)
On sugar n school
# hey di..howz u...& loved ur blog...
# Lovely post Swati. On the previous one, you mentioned losing your post due to changes in blogger options ... have you tried e-mailing your post to blogger (you can save it as a draft, or post it directly).
# Hi Swati , I really love your blogs. very touching ..filled with lot of emotions...keep on writing .
On Day 2
# i look forward to your posts..they are awesome
# Lovely kids
# keep writing and sharing...
On chini' first day
#how was her day1 at school ? n ur day at home .....sugarz nahi jati school?
Of fairy tales n cindrellas
# its pleasure to read swati...kip going
# maza agaya subah subah padke :)
# Very nice...as usual
# Good going swati. Keep it up!
# wow....wonderful:)
On meeting hershey-cane
# Good read !! Didn't know about this side of yours. Keep it going
On 'All in a day'
# Very delicious treat for the readers also...
# indeed an amazing sweetener...isnt it a wonderful thing to have daughters
# good treat
On a snapshot
# very nice! good way to keep memories...I have always liked to writing. keep it up :)
# read a few..it was awesome..a true treasure trove for your kids!!
# a nice read...enjoyed all of them, including the ones from 08...keep writing :)
# Swati Goel: Read a couple of your posts today..loved it..I am also your follower now on your blogpost
# Loved it Swati!Very nice....keep'em coming. I guess you are making the most of your time without Uttam.
# Very very cute... God bless chinipie n sugarbun....
On pinkalicious
# love it...........keep it up Swathi.
# Great!! So you are back to blogging!!
# luveddd it...:)
# Great read...after a long time :) Daughters sure make our lives fun!
Thanks everybody. Your words drive me.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The pets in our house
The pets in our house
Momma jumps in fright as she sees a black creepy thing husking away hastily inside the house as soon as the front door was opened to bid adieu to the dad. The kids amused, look at her and her trampoline jumping act and the dad, clueless, tries to figure out why is she behaving as if she spotted an U.fO! The mom points out at the spider almost the size of the fist, the dad looks for something to kill it, chini bends to take a closer look, and sugar instantaneously chimes in, "the inchy binchy pido went up the water pout!" and amidst all this chaos, the arachnid finds a crack safe enough to hide from the crazy family. The dad and chini are packed off to their respective school and office, while the mom is still alert at her post with a shoe in her hand, ready to smack that creature who dared to enter her house. She shuddered at the thought of that Thing sneaking into the beds of her sleeping princesses.. And then sugar comes to her side, "momma, are you looking for pido?" "yes sugar" "the inchy binchy pido climbed up the water pout...."
And the spider stays on...
Momma jumps in fright as she sees a black creepy thing husking away hastily inside the house as soon as the front door was opened to bid adieu to the dad. The kids amused, look at her and her trampoline jumping act and the dad, clueless, tries to figure out why is she behaving as if she spotted an U.fO! The mom points out at the spider almost the size of the fist, the dad looks for something to kill it, chini bends to take a closer look, and sugar instantaneously chimes in, "the inchy binchy pido went up the water pout!" and amidst all this chaos, the arachnid finds a crack safe enough to hide from the crazy family. The dad and chini are packed off to their respective school and office, while the mom is still alert at her post with a shoe in her hand, ready to smack that creature who dared to enter her house. She shuddered at the thought of that Thing sneaking into the beds of her sleeping princesses.. And then sugar comes to her side, "momma, are you looking for pido?" "yes sugar" "the inchy binchy pido climbed up the water pout...."
And the spider stays on...
Since past couple of months, momma is harassed with the co-existence of the ants in the house. "they are my friends", chini says. "be nice to them." A speck of food grain on the floor is enough to have a cluster of ants in my kitchen. The momma has to sweep the floor after each snack and meal just to avoid inviting chini's friends which means atleast 4 times a day. Even as she rushes out to her school, she gives clear instruction to her mom, "don't kill them. I will play with them after I come back." and this makes me a murderer - a heartless one, on top of it too.. After all, how can a mom even think of getting rid of her angel's playmates. These pals have helped keep sugar busy many-a-times while momma cooked and cleaned furtively. Chini twitches one of them up to place on her palm while sugar cheers her up. While chini gets tickled by the said beings crawling on her, sugar gets all tickled up watching her big 'tister'. They have also helped distracting momma's darlings when they refuse to open their mouth for food. Just show them the ants busy carrying the food or just taking a stroll on the floor and the girls will automatically open their mouths for each bite.
So yes, much that momma detests them, the ants stay on...
"The chipmunks are digging up my bulbs. I don't like them", complains our neighbour(there are at least dozen each of squirrels and chipmunks in our yard). Instantly chini's face drops. She doesn't say anything but the momma can tell that her li'l one didn't like hearing 'bad words' about her friends whom she loves to chase, watch, give acorns, fruits, share left over from her own meals. "squirrels can either be gray or brown", she tells momma. She even names them. For sugar, there are only two kinds -squirrels and baby squirrels. "They are so cute," She says. "I wish I could take them home with me", Chini adds. She gets disappointed that all her attempts to show her good will doesn't convince them to let her come close.
And momma, quietly, thanks the stars...
"the baby chick is calling her mommy!" sugar exclaims as she hears the birds chirping. Chini hops like a bird that she saw on the deck and wonders if the birds ate all of the baby worms in the yard. They mimic their sounds, fly like the birdies, and love spotting different species. They look up to their momma for the names of each kinds, to which she timidly assures them that a book from the library would be the most accurate. " where are their eggs?" chini asks," i never saw a real bird's nest." The mom tries to reason that they are high up on the trees and that's why she doesn't see them. "but what if a storm comes. The eggs will fall down and break. " The mom tries to think of the best answer when luck strikes her and they get distracted.
Another egg- cident:
As momma peels the hard- boiled egg one morning, an observant sugar says," the egg is hatching. I see a baby chick coming out!"
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Feasts and festivities..
So october is over... And what a dynamic month it was! With almost all the holidays an Indian can wish for.. Except for the fact that none of them were holidays as such, if you get the pun, that is. Okay, so for all my readers, the festibols(as chini calls them) are called holidays here in the States; whereas for us Indians, who grew up in India, holiday would mean any declared/official off-day from work/school etc. Excluding karwachauth none of our major days coincided with a weekend this month.
The best thing i love about all these festivities is the kids excitement about it. Chini loves to 'tilak' everybody and anybody(including her dollies), sugar loves to ring the bell, and both of them love to look into the 'arti' (prayer) books trying to identify as many idols they can. And of course, they absolutely absolutely love dressing up as indian princesses! Which as you might have guessed means the traditional attire. Chini is so much into it that, just to appease her, I had to put one on her the day I had done the Diwali story at her school. She was so cross with me that I, along with sugar, had come in our traditional dresses, whereas she was not!
The month of all holiness had started With the Nine days of navratras. For me, it was very special coz for the first time ever, I could keep my resolution of not yelling at my little 'Devi avatars'.. For whole of nine days.. And if i forget about one or two meltdowns, I succeeded doing so for entire auspicious month! Kudos to me! It was very important to me b'coz lately I had started getting irritated by a single act of disobedience from them; which at times resulted in such a bad temper that the poor girls used to wonder,"momma, why are you so mad?" That was unhealthy.. Very unhealthy .. For the entire family.. S
Karwachauth and Hoi were very special, this year, as the dad fasted along with me. He had always wanted to but somehow or other he couldn't. The essence behind these fasts, for us, is the love and to cherish the bond of this small unit of 'family' that we have started together. Also, it is our way of thanking God for the wonderful partner and kids He gave us. Both days, the kids fell asleep before the actual puja, so they missed listening to the story. Hopefully, in the coming years, they will.
Dussehra was spent listening to the story and attempting to, at least, make them taste the 'dahi laddu'. Diwali saw the ladies of the house sick with cold and cough, still trying to light the diyas! And dressing up for the occassion. Laxmi pujan was fun(minus the grand dinner that we used to host every year) and for the goverdhan puja, we went to ISKCON temple(it took 2x time to reach owing to heavy traffic). The ambience in the prayer hall was just amazing! One, cannot escape albeit, get bathed in that devotion-filled air!!
And the month ended with the 'not so holy' Halloween. The gals had been witing for it for an entire year, so it had to get mentioned here. The school didn't allow the dress up, just a head-gear and we weren't going trick-or-treating owing to the snowfall a day before; so, we took the opportunity at the local library. The girls dressed up as fairy Rapunzels had fun at the story time, parading to the bank(the library and the bank share the building) and enjoying delicious treats. The highlight of the day was giving away candies to everybody they saw on the way and at the bank! Surprisingly, sugar( who has difficulty parting/sharing usually) gave away candies without a single moment of hesitation!! Chini did remember going trick- or-treating with her friends at the old house(her exact words) and said she missed them. We used to go trick-or-treating with our neighbors there. In fact, two haloweens back, we had made very good friends with one of our neighbours while trick-or-treating! This year, one of our new neighbours(an old lady and a grandma herself) came with two goody bags for the gals at our door! I think, we should have a special day to celebrate neighbours, too!
I leave you with a picture of chini and sugar performing puja.. This was clicked today. I guess the girls want to continue the rituals.. Oh! This reminds me, this morning sugar sneaked the sindur and 'tilak'ed the ganesha idol we have at our entrance. On seeing me, she proudly said,'mumma, i did binddi to bagvaanji!'
The best thing i love about all these festivities is the kids excitement about it. Chini loves to 'tilak' everybody and anybody(including her dollies), sugar loves to ring the bell, and both of them love to look into the 'arti' (prayer) books trying to identify as many idols they can. And of course, they absolutely absolutely love dressing up as indian princesses! Which as you might have guessed means the traditional attire. Chini is so much into it that, just to appease her, I had to put one on her the day I had done the Diwali story at her school. She was so cross with me that I, along with sugar, had come in our traditional dresses, whereas she was not!
The month of all holiness had started With the Nine days of navratras. For me, it was very special coz for the first time ever, I could keep my resolution of not yelling at my little 'Devi avatars'.. For whole of nine days.. And if i forget about one or two meltdowns, I succeeded doing so for entire auspicious month! Kudos to me! It was very important to me b'coz lately I had started getting irritated by a single act of disobedience from them; which at times resulted in such a bad temper that the poor girls used to wonder,"momma, why are you so mad?" That was unhealthy.. Very unhealthy .. For the entire family.. S
Karwachauth and Hoi were very special, this year, as the dad fasted along with me. He had always wanted to but somehow or other he couldn't. The essence behind these fasts, for us, is the love and to cherish the bond of this small unit of 'family' that we have started together. Also, it is our way of thanking God for the wonderful partner and kids He gave us. Both days, the kids fell asleep before the actual puja, so they missed listening to the story. Hopefully, in the coming years, they will.
Dussehra was spent listening to the story and attempting to, at least, make them taste the 'dahi laddu'. Diwali saw the ladies of the house sick with cold and cough, still trying to light the diyas! And dressing up for the occassion. Laxmi pujan was fun(minus the grand dinner that we used to host every year) and for the goverdhan puja, we went to ISKCON temple(it took 2x time to reach owing to heavy traffic). The ambience in the prayer hall was just amazing! One, cannot escape albeit, get bathed in that devotion-filled air!!
And the month ended with the 'not so holy' Halloween. The gals had been witing for it for an entire year, so it had to get mentioned here. The school didn't allow the dress up, just a head-gear and we weren't going trick-or-treating owing to the snowfall a day before; so, we took the opportunity at the local library. The girls dressed up as fairy Rapunzels had fun at the story time, parading to the bank(the library and the bank share the building) and enjoying delicious treats. The highlight of the day was giving away candies to everybody they saw on the way and at the bank! Surprisingly, sugar( who has difficulty parting/sharing usually) gave away candies without a single moment of hesitation!! Chini did remember going trick- or-treating with her friends at the old house(her exact words) and said she missed them. We used to go trick-or-treating with our neighbors there. In fact, two haloweens back, we had made very good friends with one of our neighbours while trick-or-treating! This year, one of our new neighbours(an old lady and a grandma herself) came with two goody bags for the gals at our door! I think, we should have a special day to celebrate neighbours, too!
I leave you with a picture of chini and sugar performing puja.. This was clicked today. I guess the girls want to continue the rituals.. Oh! This reminds me, this morning sugar sneaked the sindur and 'tilak'ed the ganesha idol we have at our entrance. On seeing me, she proudly said,'mumma, i did binddi to bagvaanji!'
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