Happy 4th Birthday Babies

Dear Manya and Neev.

I wanted to write a letter to  you so that when  you are older and wiser and can read more, you can read this and know how much I love you both. How much I think about you and cannot live without you.
I just dropped you off at school and I love that 99% of the times you guys love to go to school, it makes me feel good that you are happy even when you are away from home and 100% happy when we pick you up from school, happy to be back with Mummy Papa. You are generally happy kids, you like each other's company more than anything in this world. You love to play together, eat together, sing together and fight with each other the most.
Manya you are right now totally amazing me with your reading skills. You can read very well, you are really impressive. You are very curious about words and want to try and spell alot. We were out shopping the other day and you wanted a barbie doll and I didn't want to get it because well we have 4 already, and I told you this much and you said 'Yes, I don't think we want more'. Same day, you wanted another toy which was a kiddie toy and you agreed with me, I was happy that you could understand reasoning. You are not afraid of roller coasters or trying new things, you may get stuck later, but it doesn't deter you and this I love about you, because I am not like that. Now in life atleast.

Neevie, where do I start with you. Sometimes I want to have another one of you, because I can't get enough of your naughtiness and sometimes I want you to be with Daddy so I can get some time away from your naughtiness. You are super sensitive to smells. You wake up and know what you are getting for lunch and you come and tell me what you think about that particular lunch. Cannot say I like this all the time. Your puzzle skills are very impressive and I love it when both you and Manya do puzzles together, helping each other. I often hear: 'Let me show it to you'. You are becoming a fast runner and also love any ball game.

You are both into construction trucks right now and we have to slow down on roads where there are trucks so you can pin point trucks and get excited. Your enthusiasm for trucks is infectious. When I drive alone, I spot them and think how you guys would exclaim on seeing them.

You are now finding friends of your own. I notice you don't necessarily play with the same kids in school. I like this. Both of you like kids who are more playful like yourselves.

You are both slowly coming out of your shells, but Neevie you are very shy these days. I am sure in time, this will change.

You guys had a blast at your party today, we surprised you with "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" theme. That is the show you are currently obsessed with. Obsessed is not being used lightly ;)

I love you both so much. Your Papa and I are always talking about you two once you are in bed. Wish you both so much love and happiness for ever and ever. Be good always.

Lots of love
Mummy.

From the kids' mouth

We were all sitting in the car, on our way somewhere, G was driving, I was with him in the front and the kids in the back. We were in the left most lane and we wanted to move over to the right lane, so G slowed down to let the truck in the right lane pass. M says with wonder 'We're going backwards!' Because you know in comparison to the truck, it would seem like we were going backwards.


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 We were staying in a hotel in San Antonio this past weekend. Supposedly M liked the suite too much. On our way back from San Antonio, she asked me ...
M: Where are we going?
Me: Home.
M: New home or old Home?
Me: Which is which?
M: New home is where we slept today.
Me: Oh ok, we're going back to old home.
M: I like new home more.
Me and G : :( :(

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N likes new things, well who doesn't! But between him and M, N is definitely the more 'asking for things' kid. He likes mostly cars and trains and trucks and lately really badly wants a 'big kids chashma' (he means swimming goggles). So every few days without fail : 'Mummy, you go to store and buy me a big kids chashma'. If I am not wearing shoes or not dressed to go out 'Mummy you wear shoes and kapde (clothes) and go to store and get me big kids chashma'. When in a particularly benevolent mood he'll add 'for me and M'.

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 So now that we know N likes new things, we were getting pretty tired of his 'requests' for these new and shiny things, G one day sat him down and had this conversation:
G: Do you know that we need money to buy new things from the store?
N: Yes
G: Where do  you think money comes from?
N: From papa's pocket.
G: N, money comes when papa-mummy work really hard.
N: ok.
G: Papa , Mummy go to office and make money.
N: ok.

This was on a sunday, G had to go to work and left a little later. N comes up to me and says:
'Papa has gone to office to make money?'

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So the kids now understand that money is needed to get things from the store.
We recently cancelled our cable subscription because we don't watch as much TV. We couldn't explain this well enough to the kids, because they started thinking the TV is broken. So when G was going out one day to run some errands, N went up to him and gave him a quarter and said 'Take this and buy a new TV'.

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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.

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'.

Road Tripping

After a really long time, the family took a vacation. We did a road trip to see my sister's family.

The plan was set into motion by the great master who wants to drive all the time - The GG. I shivered as I looked up the distance - 900 miles each way. Google said 14 hours! I almost fainted, had a huge argument and then went to sleep. A few days later, G broached the subject again and this time, since I had done some thinking, I told him 'Let's do this'. G had the biggest silly boy grin on his face.

So we started thinking how we were going to keep 2.5 yo twins entertained for 14 hours and not let them get stir crazy. We equipped ourselves with lots of food, fruits and snacks, nursery rhymes and barney videos. We bought extra long cables for the ipad and kindle and we were set. We also decided to take frequent stops and let the kids decide on how long we could drive.

The trip has been done and I am super excited to tell you that the road trip was a resounding success!! We divided the trip into two parts each way, 7 hours of drive time in each. The kids didn't complain more than once each, they ate random stuff, nothing nutritious, but I wasn't trying to each Mom of the year trophy either, so I was okay with it. We played 'spot the truck' games, sang songs and played peek-a-boo. When we ran out of things, they watched videos. All in all everyone was happy and we made it back in one piece.

The kids had a blast with their cousins, and they were showered with so much love from their Aunt and Uncle. It was a very relaxing trip for us too, since the kids were pretty much on their own, they would play with their cousins, wake up and go to them and didn't even bother to wake us up. Aaah, fun times.

Here are some pics from the road trip.

We did a lot of kids things - lots of swimming and splashing in splash parks, went to a country fair where they rode lots of rides (the train was their favorite), children's museum which was a blast and even got our teeth cleaned by our personal dentist ;), saw July 4th fire works and they even held sparklers and were not scared at all.

All in all a very successful road trip and I am so thankful to G for making me do it. Now I probably won't have such a negative reaction when he broaches up the trip to New Mexico that we are thinking about :D

2.5 years

Puchhi and Gunnu are now 2.5 year old. Who are they you ask? Puchhi is M and Gunnu is N. Those are the names we gave them when they were still inside my belly. Gunnu is the cute version of Gundu because well that's what he is. Puchhi because I had imagined my sweet little M to be an angel. Of course God didn't listen to me there.

So..they're talking more now, demanding more. M loves to say 'yes' now. A VERY big milestone. N is still getting there. The most emphatic yes I get from M is when she has pooped and if I ask her she'll say the biggest brightest 'YES'. Or if she spots ice cream. N will just grin knowingly when he sees ice cream..he knows it's coming.

M has somehow caught onto saying 'No mommy no, stop it.' It was cute and funny at first..but now it just sounds rude. So at first I tried asking her to say 'Please stop it', like that was not so rude. So now she's finally stopping her self when she wants to say 'Stop it' and instead says 'Please don't'.

N on the other hand is using his hands now for expressing displeasure. He will pull M's hair or push her. But the good thing is he knows he has done something bad and will say sorry or hug her.

We went to the Nasher Sculpture Garden this weekend with bestie A. The kids had a blast and they didn't throw any fits or get bored, they just did what we asked them to do mostly and actually ate lunch also somewhat peacefully.
Nasher had a sculpture of a woman who was embarrassed and she is shown covering her face with her arms. N and M took this interpretation "Aunty ear hurt".

Apparently I talk to my mom the most on the phone, everytime the phone rings, they're saying 'Nani phone?'

Barney is still the favorite most show, followed by the gummy bear song.

N is getting better at throwing the ball and can catch a ball that has bounced once, meaning the force has been halved and he can gauge the speed and direction better.

M doesn't like playing catch as much as she likes kicking it. Definitely got more leg eye co-ordination than her mom.

N has gotten out of his phase of calling me by my name. It was cute and I miss it. But I don't encourage him.

They're getting more confident in the play ground and are not averse to trying new things, but they are always very careful and I am thankful for that. I see other kids running around without a fear and then I see mine, gingerly climbing and I think would I prefer that, then I think not. I like that they are careful and like to test the waters before they jump in.

So far the 2s haven't been terrible at all. They're been terrific if anything. Keeping fingers crossed.

Tornadoes and an almost twister

I NEVER want a repeat performance of what we witnessed yesterday. But we live in the glorious state of Texas and such and more is bound to happen, if not again this tornado season, then the next one.

So this was the first time that a tornado was rummaging through my neighborhood and the kids and I weren't together. I was in such a panic mode. For 2 hours I was stuck to the news channel on my computer at work. My heart telling me to run to the kids in the Montessori and my brain telling me to stay put. Neither was it safe to drive in that condition, nor would I have helped the chaos.
The challenges at the school were pretty big, they had to wake up napping kids, carry some, make some run to the the bathrooms and closets and contain them there. I spoke to Ms E and Ms J at the school and they were so good spirited about it, I know it must've been a HUGE challenge, not to talk of the responsibility that was on their shoulders. So proud of them and so happy.
I asked the kids later if they were in the bathroom at school, and their reaction was 'bathoon?' and they walked up the bathroom at home. Oh well!

The images from Forney, Tx are heart wrenching, one of the house only has the bathtub and the wall adjacent to it remaining, thankfully the family is safe because they were in the bath tub taking shelter. The entire house was gutted. There are other house, which though partially standing will have to be built from scratch. One of the schools is closed and there are about 10,000 or so houses without electricity still.

Nature yet again brought me to my knees yesterday. Not something I want to live through again.G and I sat last night and made sure our papers were all still in the bag which is the bag we pick, get the kids and run to safety. This tornado made everything so surreal.

God bless all those families who were not as lucky as us.

My Mom moment

I have read about other Moms facing this and it was time I faced it too.

This past weekend, we were at a get together which had a good outdoor space, where the kids could run around. So M and N were having a lot of fun running around, chasing imaginary things and each other and playing tag. A little while later, N got interested in a group of boys playing - they were probably 4-5 years old. N and M go upto them and statrt talking in their language which I don't think kids of that age get - they've probably forgotten it. So all of them ignore these two and run off, except this one boy who stands there listening to N jabber. Out of the blue, he pushes N and N gets angry and says to him 'No push', so the boy this time pushes both M and N. I was a little distance away, so I walked upto this boy, and I repeated what N had said except I added some vowels and prepositions ' Please don't push'. The little boy moved away and I looked around for any parents, but no one seemed to claim to know the boy.

Later G and I were discussing this and G told me I was being over protective. But I wasn't, I told him, I would've reprimanded N too if he pushed anyone, I make him apologize immediately to M when he pushes her or pulls her hair. It's just the right thing to do. Am I wrong? Should I not have said anything to the little boy, should I have let N handle the situation?

Spring has sprung!

Yipee!! Although we had mild winters, but it's good to not have to lug our jackets and sweaters and caps and leg warmers with us. (Yes leg warmers are pretty cool and I like them )
So to commemorate the onset of milder and prettier weather outside, we have been going to the park almost everyday and if we haven't been able to then we have been playing in the backyard, enjoying the sounds of birds and dogs, watching cars and waving at them. And doing somethings Mom is not proud of. Like playing with the sprinkler heads.

We did a little gulal holi at home, I wasn't sure at all how the kids would like it, but they were pretty sporting about it and even put it on themselves, each other and us. Below are proofs.

Spring has also brought a lot of weeds with it, I really need a better solution for it. Kids like to be outside, so it's a good thing that we all get the exercise.

Ok, now that I have said a few lines, I will go get some work done.

Happy Spring everyone :)

Things

My 2 year old asked me for a napkin, when I set her down for dinner last night.
We cannot leave house without our jackets anymore - jacket police aka kids are onto us if we do.
We cannot skip parts of a song, we are caught.
We cannot sing along songs, we are told to stop sternly.
We cannot eat desert without sharing.
We cannot go to the park and not feed the ducks.

They can say a lot of words now.
They can skip and hop.
They can fake cry!!! (This is big)
They can tell us when they have pooped (Time for potty training)
They think of themselves as the boss of our phones (Like a friend said, we have to take it from them on loan)
They want to dress and undress themselves. (You would think, we like that, think again)


Last week when G was traveling, I was getting the kids ready, giving them a bath etc. While I dressed N and M was already done, she started cleaning up, putting the dirty clothes into the hamper, keeping the lotion away and even throwing away the soiled diapers. My girl is one big helper and I am amazed at how much she resembles me in wanting things to be in their place the whole time.

G now knows that it is useless to fight M, if she first wants to wear her jacket and then shoes, then that is the order, else there will be unnecessary delay. Me being the brains of the marriage, knew that well before ;)

N knows how to manipulate his Mommy (the smart brains comment above, can be pretty much scrapped). He has me wrapped around his little finger. He will just give the signal that he wants to be held and I will oblige. G and M have the same relationship.
But, really there is a reason for it, N has been sick a lot lately, cough, cold, ear infection have not left his side for over a month. All this leads to his losing weight and being unhappy.

This has been a grueling month for me at work, in a good way, but too much pressure to release untested things into production. It's been taking toll on my general happiness. HEHE.

On the boot camp front, the camp went through major changes and our work outs now are killer! It's really awesome and I can see a lot of changes in myself. I had better lose more weight in this camp, because in the second camp, I didn't lose any. Yeh - sob a tear for me will ya?

I can't believe this is only my second post this year, I am slacking!

Ohhh..before I forget, we took the kids to Chucke Cheese a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! We had never been, and is this place the bomb for kids or what? It's a pretty cool place, with a lot of fun activities for kids. M couldn't get enough of the slide and N of the rocking animals there.  We had fun watching the kids and our friends kids, who introduced us to the place. We might be going back there today!

Have a good week end folks, until next time.

Happy 2nd B'day my Babies

They've entered Toddlerhood! Let's see how this phase goes.

Here's wishing you dream big and aim high, be nice to each other and others and obey.
Be healthy and eat well and be wise.

Water fun

First day of Montessori

Being friends

Manya tantrum

Neev tantrum

Rakhi

Sticker fun

Opening presents

These pictures pretty much summarize their year. It's been a fun year and I wish for us to have many many more. Can't wait to celebrate with all our loved ones on Saturday!
Happy Birthday my babies. We love you soo much!

Tomorrow won't be like today

And I mean that quite literally.

So if you know me at all, like the guy who meets me when I go to get water at the water cooler in the office or the eyebrow lady, who I visit once in 6 weeks, you will know that my kids are about to go to Montessori. Or to put it simply, will not be at home 24 X 7. I let everyone and anyone in on this fear of mine, this one thing I don't want to do.
 
So why are we doing it then? Well, lots of reasons.
- One would think that being twins, M n N would be born socialites - well, not much at all. They aren't good around other kids when not at home. Bring a party over to the house and they're great, but go to the park and they don't want to interact with other kids.
- The Nanny . She's been one helluva nanny for the past 21 months. Don't get me wrong, but she is not growing with the kids. She doesn't do the things one would expect to do with a toddler. Read to them, sing and play with them or teach them colors and shapes. She is just good for feeding.
- Because I don't want to find another Nanny.

So school it is.
I had written the above the day before kids started school. So much has happened since. They have been in school for almost 4 weeks now. The last day - 13th Oct - before they started school, I was an emotional wreck. I didn't want to send my babies to school, it felt like I was coming back to work after the kids birth for the first time, all over again.

So now that we are in school, uniform and all, we are better with putting things back in place, so much so that when we see Mommy/Daddy sitting without their shoes on, we get the shoes to them and force them to wear them, after all the rightful place for shoes are on the feet! We have also become very aware of what is ours and what is not. We are territorial about our sweaters, shoes and cups. (Since M n N have these clearly marked out, we have to follow the rules, cannot falter). The teacher Ms J has also noticed about this and commented on it. I don't know if this is going to cause them to be un-sharing, but right now it is good, they like to drink from their own sippy cups and it gives me hope that they will not drink random things. Yeah..didn't you know already I like in a country called Utopia?

We are becoming more talkative! We saw a lot more words now, try our best communicate and are constantly talking. Esp. M. She has things to say all the time. We also ask after each other. Like the other day when N had a gag reflex, M looked at him, pointed to her mouth and said something in abracadabra , N in turn - pointed to his mouth and replied in abracadabra and then both resumed their earlier activity of fiddling with their seat belts.
We also don't like to eat dinner anymore! Mom loves to force us to eat, but she forgets in this house, We rule.

So after that little interlude by twins I am back to regular programming. I am glad the kids are doing well in the Montessori and becoming more aware of people, things and actions. I used to hate the fact that they wouldn't be home, till I realised, what is the point, when we are not home! And this single realisation has made me sleep better and be more relaxed. It may seem little to you, but it's been my all consuming thought. I am just glad that they like school, like to explore and learn and are generally well behaved kids. I use the word generally very liberally ;)

Phew! took a month to finish this post! I will try and be more regular.

18 MOs in the house!

...and we're bringing down the house in every which way!!!!

The little pranksters are now upto absolutely no good. Getting into trouble because they can reach all kinds of places. Be it the furthest point from the corner where they are standing near a table or the absolute end of a couch.

This post my little ones is dedicated to what you guys have taught me:
1. You guys have taught me patience, like I never knew.
2. You have taught me to be a light sleeper
3. To manage time better.
4. To love your Daddy more and appreciate him more.
5. To love and appreciate my parents more.
6. To eat so many leftovers from your meal, that it would make a meal of my own.
7. To start laughing in the middle of being absolutely fed up.
8. To make the stupidest faces.

There is obviously more..but I guess the feelings are obvious. Bottom line is I respect my parents and their parenting much more now.

So my little munchkins, you guys are now a riot! You love wipes these days, love to just pull them out of the box and then drop them all over the place, we have to now hide the box from you.
You have developed a love for strings and things with strings, including belts, wires, pull toys and random strings you can get hold of.
You guys love cold fruits. Water melons, apples, straw berries, bananas, cherries, blue berries and black berries are your favorite.
You guys fight a lot now!!!
M you've learnt there is no point in fighting for some toys, because N always  gets his way. N you know you are super powerful and you have also learnt manipulation. Sometimes, very rarely, when  you want something M has, you will take another toy to her and entice her with that! This you have learnt from M, who though placates you with toys when you throw a fit.
M if I give you 2 pieces of snack or fruit and ask you to give one to N, you will do so. N, if asked to do the same thing...well, we know how that ends.
N you love to explore new things, things you obviously shouldn't be touching! Like the camera, laptop, your Dad and my laptop bags.
M you will notice immediately if I change my ear rings or wear an bangle.
Both of you love bangles, and hair bands.
2 things you both hate:
1. kisses!
2. Getting out of the bath.


Thank you for making your Dad's and my life so eventful, for showing us unconditional love and teaching us patience. Love you both so much, I miss you so much right now.

Tidbits

There is so much excitement in the air! The world cup is one helluva tournament so far. The biggies have been upset - Australia, South Africa. South Africa has lived up to it's 'choker's tag, England is not to be seen beyond quarter finals (I strongly believe Bangladesh should have made it through instead). And now the mother of all matches - India Vs. Pakistan. There is so much excitement on my FB page and on the news channels. Although I have to say, the news channels are going a bit too far. India vs Pakistan is the match to see, but to invite the PM over? Come on! Why do we always do this? And sending buses to invite Pakis over to watch the match. India is such an emotionally charged country. The game should be treated as a game, for nothing more, this whole diplomacy angle is just stupid. Would Pak stop infiltrating Kashmir if they won this match? It's such a stupid idea to have the man over.

Other than that, the kids are growing by leaps and bounds. In a little over a month they have become very fast on their feet. N can climb stairs very fast, M giggles her way to the top. It's super cute to watch them in a race that they don't know they are in. N is getting better at eating. He's always been one to despise anything that is not smooth. He's getting the hang of chewing things and biting into foods. He often chokes on food still but it's better. So yesterday he was munching on something and he started gagging on it. So G and I rushed to thump his back. M sat and looked on. A little while later, we were all playing on the floor and N did a pretend gag. M came to him and touched his back. I didn't pay much attention because I was busy 'scolding' N about the pretending part. A few minutes later it happened again and M for sure patted his back. G and I started at her and this time we kept hoping N would do it again. Sure enough N did it again and M patted his back. We couldn't stop laughing.

There is proof that M listens to us when we tell her to not play with laundry clothes. Here's the proof. Yesterday I had a sweater in my laundry basket and one sleeve was dangling outside the basket. M walks over and puts the sleeve back into the basket and then doesn't proceed to throw the clothes out as she would've done last week!! Is she growing up too fast? She also stopped N from sweeping the floor with my sweater, which was lying on the couch and he was pulling at. She took it away from him and neatly pushed it back on the couch! *To say we were shocked is an understatement*.

One more 'MnNism'. They have a little elephant which is a shape sorter, the tummy has holes of different shapes and once the shape is put in, it comes out of the trunk. So the kids had a circle in their hand but were trying to put it through a hexagon. After a few tries they got tired, so M took the shape and put it inside the elephant through the trunk.

N knows he is stronger than M, so if can't get his way with her, he will grab her sweater or shirt or whatever and pull hard, till she falls and takes the toy away.

Ok, So I stopped writing this post mid-way the other day...we won against Pakistan!!! Thumping win too! Bowling them all out! Yayyy..what is with the political correctness all around? When we beat Australia, no one bothered to be PC, but we must be with Pak? Err..why? It's a game, the rivals are always treated with no respect..let's just keep it at that! So now the finals!! Woot woot!!! BIG ROAR!!!

So here's why I was happy with India in the semis . Bhajji finally got some wickets. He has been bowling excellently this tournament, but wickets eluded him..finally he got some! Yuvi was out for a duck, but true to form, he came back to get two wickets. He conceded lots of runs, but it is ok. Sachin, Sachin. What can I say about this man! Although his 100th century is not under his belt...he's been in exceptional form and I can't wait to see him win the cup. The one trophy that has not been his! I hate to hear anyone say these matches are fixed. There is so much effort being put into each match, the matches are so close, and it is such a big tournament, I don't think the matches are fixed. So please stop telling me that.

Ok Dhoni's men! GO GET THE CUP!!! WE ARE WITH YOU!!!! How sweet of Yuvi to say that he's playing this cup for Sachin! Isn't that what team spirit is about?!

It's a boy thing

I had heard from quite a few people that there is a huge difference between boys and girls and these differences become apparent at a very young age.
I find it very interesting. And we have noticed the differences between M n N through the year. And least someone out there starts thinking that I am partial to either one, kick yourself first before you even entertain the thoughts.

M started out being the bigger baby by 2 oz i.e., but in baby terms those are a lot. Fairly soon, I think within the first month, N over took her.
M has always been more demure and gentle. She touches things with her fingers as opposed to N to uses his entire palm and it is not a touch but a bang.
M reached most milestones before N, except of turning over. N did that first.
N likes to copy his sister. He will do a trick only if M does it, and more likely than not do what she is doing rather than what we are doing.
If N is sleepy, he'll just fall asleep where ever he is, but Madam M, needs to be in her crib, her blanket etc etc.
N is easier to feed than M most times.
N is more curious about things that are not toys.

A lot of times I get the feeling that N is not listening to me. He is just looking at me, but not listening to what I am saying. Just like his Dad or my Dad or your Husband right? I guess it starts out from a really early age ;)

I have been thinking that I am not blogging or recording the things that M n N do often enough. Like the other day, G said to me that N is becoming the light sleeper and I was like, he's always been and brushed him off. G was surprised how I had forgotten the most important criteria that had prompted us to move the kids into their own room. It was because M was a light sleeper and she would wake up all the time. I was aghast. I am beginning to forget things which are not even a month old? So I am trying to make a conscious effort to write about them more.

And so we went to India

(Looong post alert!!)
High time I recapped my trip. For M's sake atleast.

So M and I went to India around the thanksgiving weekend last year. It was going to be a short two week visit. So this was the first time M was going to fly and I was, to put it gently, petrified. I didn't know how M would be, how I would be and how the follow passengers would tolerate us. I had been reading as many online resources as possible, talking to all and sundry. Finally it was decided that I definitely needed a bassinet seat, new toys, pacifier (for when the plane took off and landed) and all the other essentials. I had even armed myself with infant benadryl with the recommended dosage in hand.
So the day come, after tearful good byes to Daddy G and Baby N, we got checked in and had some time to kill before boarding. So M and I started roaming around the really pretty terminal D on DFW airport. Close to boarding time, I gave M the benadryl to help her sleep in the plane. (Yes come on judge me, hurl your stones and call me names, see if I care) Just then my sister called and she just said in passing sometimes benadryl backfires and kids get hyper and I said yeah I guess it could happen. So happily and with some difficulty M n I sat down on my seat.
As the plane started taxing, I gave M a bottle to prevent her ears from popping. Once the plane was in the air, M decided this was the best time to show all she had learned in the past 11 months. So we started to play and we played some more. I started getting sleepy..coz you know that's what we do on a plane. But M had decided that wasn't going to nap. So the whole Benadryl thing..completely true. It does backfire *sometimes*!!!! The plane ride was pretty good, the bassinet was pretty useless, M wasn't comfy in it at all. But we didn't mind it, M or I.
On our AMS to DEL flight, we met the best fellow traveler ever. I have forgotten her name and that really sucks and have misplaced the phone number :( She was very helpful and although none of my fellow passengers, in the same row, had kids, they were all very helpful with M and M wasn't howling or screaming either. In the entire flight, M cried once and this was when I was catching my 2nd flight, she was super duper hungry by then and I had to do the security check and the water was thrown away, so I couldn't make formula till we boarded. Poor girl was just not happy and rightly so. But those 15 minutes were all my champion cried.
My friend commented later that we tend to underestimate our kids..they are pretty happy in most situations.

Delhi was as usual wonderful. Just being with my parents and M getting so much love and being pampered by her G Parents. Of course we shopped and again M was a trooper, she would hang out in her baby bjorn sling. BTW, strollers are not useful in Indian markets like Lajpat in Delhi or Crawford and Santa Cruz in Bombay.
I ate a lot!!! All kinds of chaat, Chinese, S. Indian, Pizza, not so much Mughlai (I wasn't keen on it), sizzlers, Rajasthani food, gujju food. I can't remember if there was anything else that we ate. Kanpur was a thrill, although I was there just for a day to visit my Grand Father and Dad's family there. It was a blast. We were treated with a lot of love and care. My nieces took an instinct liking to M and she loved them too. It all worked out well. G Dad was happy to see us too! Of course ;)
We took a flight from Lucknow to Bombay which was routed through Delhi. I have to add here, Indians are not helpful passengers at all. With an infant, stroller and backup, I had my hands full and I needed time to do things. But the person behind me in the line at the security check, was way too impatient. While I struggled to get my luggage on the conveyor, he huffed and puffed twice behind me. I turned around and gave him the apologetic smile, that I have begun to use when I start feeling guilty about inconveniencing people. But he just ignored it and went ahead of me. HOW RUDE! This happened a couple of times, at least. And the worst thing, no one offers to help! But there was something really nice about traveling in Kingfisher airlines. The air hostesses are super sweet and my baby won them over. The food is super excellent, something the US internal flights could learn from. And I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for the tickets, plus they didn't charge me for baggage! Beat that over priced, charging for baggage US Airlines.
Bombay is a joy always, we are treated like royalty and we gorged on some of the most delicious street food and home food and not-street food. Great fun! M won the hearts of her Uncle and Auntie and she got to play with all kinds of incredible musical toys. What a joy!
Then we traveled to Jabalpur for my cousin's wedding. This time, I wasn't worried about the train journey, though it was long. 18 hours. The one challenge is using the restroom, where do you park your kid?? But M and I mastered that too! We had a side birth and that is not fun. It's very narrow and M was not happy and neither was I. So she just slept on me. It seemed most convenient. It wasn't the most comfortable journey, but we had fun. M on her second train ride (first was from DEL to KNP). The best part was drinking 'station wali chai'. The best chai there is right!
The wedding was a blast! Met every single member of my family, but 3. How amazing is that? So many new faces, so many old, some new wrinkles, some grey hair, a few extra pounds, a few less pounds. But hearts? Still the same! Big and full of love! M and I were loved and showered like nobody's business. And the best part about traveling with your parents? They will happily look after your kid, even willing take her from you, while you go socialising with the family. My cousin M who was getting married, looked super dashing and a beautiful, smiling bride he had. Again we had amazing food on both the days and then we bid adieu to the family. A very sad good bye.
This train journey was pretty much the same, except, Mom and I gossiped and we had puri and aloo sabzee with chai. Got me super duper nostalgic and happy. But I have to say, these Air-conditioned coaches take the fun out of traveling in a train. To me a train ride is always associated with looking outside the window, and having the air on your face. Calling out to vendors when the train stops and eating all kinds of delicious goodies and buying novels. O well, being climatically conditioned with the heater or cooler isn't that bad either I guess :D
I was very sad to part from my parents, they were even more sad to see M go. She on the other hand was just hanging out in her stroller. My flight to AMS was delayed by 3 hours, which we got to know on reaching the airport. I nonetheless checked in and strolled around the spanking new international terminal in DEL airport. Is it good or is it beautiful. I hadn't had a chance to have McVeggie burger, I greedily had one. M just dozed in the stroller, it was all b/w 12 - 4 am after all. Of course when we boarded the flight, the entire flight was sleepy and M and I were in dream world within a matter of seconds. This time too I made a mad dash to get to mu second flight, since the first flight had been late, we made it just as the security check was happening. KLM flight attendants suck BTW. And EU has very strict policies about carrying liquids on board. Unlike US and India, I couldn't take even water for formula. But they are happy about letting you wear shoes! Haha. O well.
This flight was mostly empty, so M and I stretched out in 5 seats...well we needed only 2, but we had 5 at our disposal!! M played around some, ate some and then fell asleep. When she did, for the first time in 3 flights, I found myself wide awake and nothing to do, so I switched on the in flight entertainment. On the previous 3 flights, I just didn't know where the time went and with M being on my lap, it was hard to eat let alone watch something. So I saw bits and pieces of "Despicable Me". Really cool movie.
We landed in Dallas, in the afternoon on a Sunday. I couldn't wait to unite with the other half of my family. Our very good friend S also came to the airport to receive us. N played it cool, he didn't laugh, grin or cry when he saw me. I on the other hand was a crying mess. They played more cool with each other, M didn't go about hugging N or vice versa. They just got back to playing and within a few minutes fighting. Such an anti climax :D
Our friend A came over with a cake and food. That was super thoughtful.
After everyone had left, I went to take a shower and give M a bath. Because no matter where you go, the best shower head is always at home :)

PS: M didn't have any trouble sleeping with me when in India, or sleeping without me when we got back.
We were completely healthy in India. Yes we did take precautions, but I ate at roadside thelas and such with not a care.
KLM's food while coming back is better than while going.
Some people need to learn manners.
I have super co-operative kids.
G is the best Dad and an even better husband.

Walmart

Everybody knows the convenience of Walmart. If you cannot find it anywhere, you are sure to find it in Walmart, and there is a good chance it will be pretty inexpensive too.

Some history about me and walmart :
I have always disliked shopping there. For numerous reasons, I am not snooty nosed, I just dislike dirty stores and most of the walmarts i have been to are dirty. Then, there is never anyone you can ask questions to. Not a person in sight and if there is someone, chances are they are on a break and will tell you as much and not tell you where the commodity you are looking for is. On multiple occasions I have bought produce from Walmart and upon arrival home discovered that there is rotten onion or strawberry lurking on the inside of the bag or box. The last thing is they never have enough check out lines open. It will take me 15 minutes to shop but about 30 minutes to check out, does that seem fair?

So despite all this, we do go to walmart, but now it is limited to getting frozen or canned foods that we might be looking for and baby supplies. So this past weekend we went to walmart, looking for some baby items and then some. Now first of all, our Walmart has gone through re shelving, things are not in their usual place. So it takes us a little time to get the things we need. Of course there is no one to ask any questions so G n I just have to figure it out on our own. So after 45 minutes or so of looking for the items on our list, we were ready to check out. As always there were exactly 5 counters open and out of the 8 self check out kiosk 3 were working. So G looked for the shortest line and stood waiting for our turn with the cashier.
O by the way, Murphy's law always applies to us. Just as we were getting our shopping done, M started crying intermittently, we rushed through the rest and I started to stroll around with the kids while G waited in the check out line. M's cries were growing louder by the minute. So G and I swapped places and he decided to take the kids to the car and feed them.
Now, I swapped places with G at 7:42, G had already stood in the line a good 10 minutes by then. While I was waiting my turn I started looking around at the other cashiers. All of them seemed to be working at breakneck speeds and the lines seemed to be moving fast. So I looked over to our cashier. And that's when I lost my cool. She must have been checking out 1 item a minute. She was gesturing with both her hands in between scans and giving her gyaan on every item she was scanning. I started getting super annoyed. I think there were 4 carts ahead of me and about 4 behind. The line kept getting longer. The lady behind me saw me fidgeting and said she felt the same way. The cashier was indeed taking forever. So finally my turn came at 8:17. Yes I remember the time, because I wanted to make a point to the woman. She started checking out my stuff and started discussing the item. She made the very intelligent observation that I had babies who were still on formula.
I decided I needed to vent my feelings and I started with how long the lines were. So she stops scanning and starts looking around. At this, I tell her, you probably shouldn't stop, that is what is causing our line to be so long. She didn't get the hint. So I told her that my turn came in over 40 minutes. She completely stopped scanning and looked at me with horror and said what are you trying to say. So I told her what I thought. How if people worked faster, it would be better for everyone. She threw her hands up in the air and goes, I am just doing you a favor here! And I was totally dumb founded. Thankfully all my items had been scanned, I just needed to pay. Which I did. The cashier meanwhile had turned around to talk to another cashier and says to her "these customers are very rude'. The other cashier, looked at her and gave her an understanding nod and continued to scan. My cashier printed my receipt, threw it in my hands and didn't look me in the eye.
I was pretty irritated and tired and not to say late, so I just took my squeaking cart with me and walked away.
Not that such incidents only happen in walmart, they happen in a lot of places. But if you point out, the store people are more polite and don't throw a tantrum that you called them out! My problem is the nonchalance and the fit throwing. Was I wrong to say something to her? Should my expectations be low because it is a low end store? But it's the biggest chain in the world!!

Will I go back to walmart, yes I will. Where else will I go? (Target as good as it, doesn't have a lot of brand options, but I love you target). But their reputation of bad CS continues and I am beginning to wonder, do they not care because it's one of those rare chains that made a profit even in the rescission?

Happy Birthday My Babies!!!

Happy Birthday my monkeys!!! We love you both so much! And your Dad and I are just overwhelmed at how fast this year has gone by and you guys are 1 year old today!
I wish you could see my inbox or my phone or my facebook page. We have been showered with wishes from EVERYONE!!!
I feel like it is my Birthday :)

Your party is on Saturday, I am overwhelmed by it, but your Mausi is coming and I know I will be calm then. I hope the two of you grow up to be more crazy about each other than how your Mausi and I are. More love, more warmth.

Love you, Love you, Love you!!!!

Can't wait to hug you guys again (i.e. when I go home :D)

Love
Ma

Guess who..

has 3 teeth and loves Aloo patha???

has 2 teeth and likes jeera aloo???

Answer Index:
1. N
2. M

Working Mom guilt strikes

My kids have a really nice Nanny. She is tolerant and patient. The kids esp. M love her! And that must mean that I am very happy with the situation right? WRONG!
So here's what happened. A few days back, I worked my butt off drove an hour each way (just trying to emphasize how hard I have to work to get the ketchup on the table ), I reach home and the kids are happy and lolling around. They see me and give me a big smile, when I go to grab M so I can kiss that face, she turns away. She goes to the Nanny and refuses to come to me. She's just happy there. My feelings really hurt, I turn to N and pick him up. He's a good boy though and does the dutiful laughing and gurgling. But my heart is aching and so I go again to M, but she is happy in her Auntie's lap. I put on a brave face and don't let my feelings show. A few minutes after, the Nanny leaves and now I am M's center of the world. Smart child this?!

Everyday, I get to spend at the most 4 hours with the kids. I reach home at 6 and the kids get sleepy by 8-8:30. I get a little bit over an hour in the morning with them. That's it!
But this past week, has been worst! I have been leaving home at 7 and reaching home around 7, so I get not even 2 hours with them. And those 2 hours include getting dinner on the table and having my laptop on and trying to write a few lines of code in between feeding the kids, playing with them, changing them etc etc. I feel terrible. I miss them so much!
So this weekend, I made the most of it. I spent as much time with them as possible, did the whole Ashtmi pooja with them, made them some halwa and then we all loaded up in the car and we spent half the day shopping for the twinardoes. And might I just add that shopping for boys sucks, whereas it is a paradise for girls! Got the cutest outfits for M. Poor N though is stuck with blue and brown. Sorry N, I will look elsewhere for your clothes.
But back to my guilt, Monday mornings are the worst! The weekends seem to rush by and then Monday morning comes. Although the kids don't cry when we leave, but it's the most frustrating thing to do.
What doesn't help is Mom friends who stay at home. One such friend when holding M says to her, 'You are with Mom every day....i mean the whole weekend...' I was dumb founded. Was there the need of the correction and stress the point?
A neighbor was very frank when she told me the other day, that she sends her kid to a certain day care because it is worry free, they even don't ask you to give diaper or formula. And you can drop the kid off as early as 6:30. She said candidly, I know I don't have to worry and I can go to work as early as possible come back by 4:30. She didn't feel bad at all saying this and when I told her I respected her attitude, she told me she doesn't care for others, what works for her she does, the others be damned. Her kids were happy too and didn't mind it. They have a routine too and they love sleeping in on weekends, much to the Mom's happiness. Now isn't that nice?
But I am sure people will find fault with this and will tell her how she is a horrible Mom for waking her kids up that early etc etc. There is no winning situation.
I don't know If I would rather stay home and be with the kids. I guess in a idle world yes, but the way things are right now, I have to go to work everyday. Every day when I close the door behind me, as I leave for work, I wish for a few more minutes with the kids. I have no idea where the time went and they got so big. They are 10 months now.