My legacy

I often think about what I will leave my kids. Then pause and think about what my parents have given me and of all those things what I couldn't have done without. The basics - food, shelter, clothing not withstanding.
From my father I learnt to always be punctual - be it work, a class. I am always on time and I get very rattled if I am late. When it comes to parties and meeting people - I have un-learnt my Dad's good habbit, since we have bore the brunt of that more times than I can count.

I have also learnt from him, the art of filling forms and writing legibly. He was always very insistent about this and now, even if I am at the Doctor's office, I make sure that I fill out everything properly. As he would've said, if they cannot read what you have read, they will not think you worthy.

My Dad also showed us attention to detail. He is someone who does things meticulously. You should see the suitcases he packs! So well organized and proper. Everything is where it should be. This is also true for important files, always organizes them well. When I go for my visa interview, he always gives more documents than are needed to carry. Once, I have had to use one of his documents and I was very happy that he had given it to me, though I had vehemently refused then.

From my Mother I have learnt to be compassionate, to understand others sufferings. I say learnt - but I am not very good with this 'understanding' business. Hopefully as I mature, it will come?

From her, I have also learnt to be strong. My Mother is one of the strongest woman, one will ever meet. Strongest and most tenacious. I have never heard her complain about her job, home and all the events, organizations and other things she has always been involved in. There was never a day when we didn't have hot, fresh, home cooked food. She worked 14 hours shifts as a Doctor, but still had time for us. Of course all this wouldn't have been possible, without my Dad and Grand Dad being so supportive and adjusting. 
She may have served her plate for dinner, but if a patient came knocking on our door, she would first tend to the patient and then have dinner. The best part - she always did everything with a smile. She never looked tired or worn out.

If I can even show my kids half of the things their grand parents taught me, then I would consider my job well done. I hope I can leave them with good manners, virtues, compassion, strength and most of all love for all and sincerity of purpose. I hope I can show N how to be a good and caring husband, this he will undoubtedly learn from G, because G is one of the most supportive husbands out there. I listen to the woes of my friends and see their relationships and I am thankful. I hope I can show M to stand up for herself, like me and my Mom and Sister.
So will I be able to leave this legacy for my kids? I might not leave them riches or money, but can show them the above through my actions and deeds. Here's hoping that I can.

Thing 1, Thing 2

It is not cool being on Facebook, but cooler still to not be! That's what I read on...guess where..no, not facebook, twitter. Cracked me up!

So here's what's new in the fun household. Fun is a euphemism for crazy.
And before you go about judging my parental skills or the lack off, I am not thinking too highly of myself either, so keep your opinions to yourself!

M is almost potty trained - ALMOST. N on the other hand is fascinated by underpants, but is still learning the ropes. This is one of the most challenging change we have had to do. I feel so bad for them, empathize with them alot even, imagine to have to change completely where you've peed for the last 2.5 years, the only way you know, to have that taken away from you? It's such a huge change for them. So I absolutely understand their reluctance, and I am so proud of how well they're doing. Good job my little fire crackers.

They are learning to express their manners in words, so much that if I hand them their milk, they say 'thank you'. It's such a cute thing and I feel offended that my kid is saying thank you for something so basic, but it feels nice. And when they prompt each other to say 'thank you', 'please', 'sorry', 'you're welcome' - it's more sweet.

Since N is having trouble understanding what we ask him to do - another euphimism - I am often seen shaking my head and saying ' why doesn't he listen'. M is seen doing the same while playing with him and if he doesn't follow the rules of the game, M says 'N no listen, Papa no listen'. I wonder where she picked up 'Papa no listen' . Hmm!

N while playing the 'jump-on-your-blanket' game got really really mad at M because she got bored of the game. So I volunteered and after 20 seconds of jumping, N lost his patience with me and howled again for M, who sat on the sofa reading her book, completely oblivious to the commotion around her.

N behaves like a typical brother with M, when M has her toys laid out in a certain form, N will purposely go and scatter the toys, so M will get mad at him. I think this is just his way of getting her attention.

N gives the best hugs and kisses - I just have to make a puppy face and he'll come hopping to give me a kiss.

Barney is still a favorite, though we are gradually opening up to the idea of Elmo and Caillou.

The kids and I were going through the Pottery barn catalogue and there was a picture of Max from 'Where the wild things are'. They both immediately recognized him. Made me glad.

Now I get some answers to the question of 'what did you do in school today'. The answers are mostly limited to 'sat on the carpet', 'Dhamen, dhamik carpet' , 'miss 'lm tananan'. Sometimes if there is a birthday celebration in school, they will tell me they ate cake. A big progress from when my question was followed by silence!

The kids have new trikes, it's such fun for them, but not so much for me, because they'll ride it downhill on the street next to ours, and then on the way back I am told 'No want it'. So I have to lug both the bikes back while they hop, skip, jump home.

N loves picking his clothes out everyday. I cannot say I liked this new found love for choosing his outfit everyday, but it's gotten better, we've made our peace with it and we can get him to wear the school designated colors on MOST days. It's so unfair that the child cannot pick his clothes out. If he wants to lounge about in jammies, he should be allowed to. So after school and weekends we let him wear what he wants, if its blue shirt and red pants, so be it! He has imagination and he should be allowed to use it. Why does the school have a uniform - that's a rhetorical question, BTW!

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I know I have been lousy at posting, sorry to anybody who still reads this blog. I have no excuse, I will try and be better. Thanks for reading!

Conversations with Mom and Sister

Me: Mom I really like cousin A, if I knew an appropriate girl, I would hook them up.
Mom: O, how about Cousin B for cousin A.
Me: Mom!!! I have to like Cousin B for that to happen.
Mom: $$$$

Mom: Both your Sister and you inherited the not so good qualities from your Dad Me. None of our good qualities.
Sister: What good qualities are you talking off?
Sister and Me : Hysterically laughing.
Mom: $$$$


Mom: Your Dad thinks he's right about everything.
Me: But HE is right.
Mom and Sister: Speaks the one who thinks she is more correct than her father also!
Me: $$$$

COMMAND F this time

...since I use a MAC now ;)

A while back I wrote about trying to find some things/people online. One of those things have been found and it was definitely very unexpected.
Recap on the things I was searching for - my friend Mandavi has not yet been found. I am back in touch with Jagriti, it has been a while since she and I communicated.

Drum roll please >>> The last piece - Oshin - some gentle soul decided to post the videos on you tube and with English subtitles! What could be better?!!!

Here's the link - Oshin

OK! Off now, I have my work cutout for me.

Regress

The kids now watch a lot more TV.
I am feeding them now as opposed to them eating on their own.
They have written on the walls a couple of times.

That was in order of importance.

Till about the time the kids were 19-20 months old, we were very strict about TV watching and wouldn't let them watch TV. We were disciplined ourselves and our TV was limited to news or sports when the kids were around. Then the kids started falling sick and we started showing them barney on TV to be able to get some work done, while we worked from home on sick days. Well, I had hoped to curb this habit, but I am so far unsuccessful. It is so easy to give in to their demands (not requests) for barney. I am still working on this.

Eating on their own - so the problem is that when the kids Indian food, they don't do the 'pluck roti-dip in dal/veggie-add dry veggie'. It's just the roti. So I decided to feed them and push them along to teach them the whole process. So far, it's one big colossal fail! I think I worry less about this than TV.

Wall scribbling - I had been so proud of my kids that they never scribbled on walls and were so good and meticulous about finding paper to write on. They are still very good, but they have scribbled on two walls (very lightly and I have even removed one of the stains). But they scribble on things they consider their own - their table, their books. Being the neat and clean freak-it bothers me when they scribble on anything but scrap paper.

M'ism of yesterday

Yesterday we were all in the car, a van passes us by. M points out 'Truck' so I tell her 'M it's not a truck, it is a van' (stressing on the van)
Later the same van crosses us again, this time N points out 'Truck', M tells him 'N it is not a truck, it's a VAAAN'.

Olympics 2012 and where we are

Like many others we sat glued to the TV watching the in-impressive Dany Boyle directed 30th Olympics opening ceremony. The part till the industrial revolution was good, but then the NHS and dream sequence may have been visually appealing, but it felt short on keeping me entertained. Thanks for making a blink and you may miss appearance JK Rowling, but how could Dany Boyle forget Enid Blyton? They could've had a Nody driving his yellow-red car somewhere. Oh well.

But here's what caught my attention - Saudi Arabia sent female athletes for the first time. Probably I shouldn't be one to talk - my own country disrespects woman and has woman's rights on paper only. To think that this is being celebrated, made me pause and wonder how we can treat our fellow humans so badly. How is it that we are still celebrating this feat - woman participants from all countries. Shouldn't this be a given by now? How it doesn't rake at the minds of men, who claim to be the superior sex, that they are ill treating their fellow human so badly. How that is the future that is being messed with. It is the 21st century and yet here we are talking about the equality of sexes to be able to compete in sports, to represent your nation, to hold the flag. I wonder if there is pride that these women feel when they hold the flag. I often times wonder how/what I would've done.

USA Olympics team on the other hand has more female athletes than male ones. Made me very happy to note that, to note that talent won over sex.

On lighter note, how handsome are David Beckham and Daniel Craig. Left my mouth hanging. The queen was quite the sport, partaking in that video.

NBC's olympics coverage leaves much to be desired, they only cover the US team, when they do cover the last part of another team's performance, they have nothing to say, like literally mouth shut ! They cannot stop gushing over their athletes and god forbid they say anything negative about them. We were watching the woman gymnastics team perform, and the team had a fair amount of deductions, but the commentators didn't tell us where the deductions could've been, nothing. I don't think they are not knowledgeable, they just don't know how to comment.

Here's wishing all the athletes lots of successes. Cannot wait to see how Saina Nehwal does today and Kashyap Parupalli tomorrow. Good luck guys!!!

Container Garden

Last week I went to the nursery and I eyed this amazing container garden, once I had seen it, I vowed to make one of my own. So I set about getting the plants I wanted and the perfect pot and gravel. I didn't experiment too much with the plants I wanted, since I didn't want to spend a bomb on my first container garden.

This is the final result:

The plants I chose:

Sempervivum

echeveria 

cotyledon which should hopefully have little flowers sometime

And a cacti I couldn't identify.
I am not known to have a green thumb, so I am hoping since this variety doesn't need too much water, it should be able to survive my black them. Will keep you posted.