Two in one - Sensitivity and Planning Ahead!

Another year has come to an end.. and we look forward to new beginnings tomorrow. Its been a lovely year full of wonderful memories and exciting milestones. We do look forward to the next year with eager anticipation on what it will have in store for us. As the year ends I wanted to make two posts.. here they are!

Sensitivity!
I have never allowed Nantu to watch too much TV. Most Indian movies we watch are probably okay for a kid to watch.. being musicals and family entertainers... but we don't like Nantu watching them. Most parents I know allow their kids to watch, and kids enjoy watching the bright colors and lovely songs.. Nantu watches song sequences too.. but nothing else. So much so, when we were in Tennessee Nantu declared that if he watched Adult TV (Daddy's TV Time its called!) he would get pulled up by mom for it! Oh well!!

Pic Courtesy: www.nikithaonline.com

I also don't let him watch cartoons which have anything remotely related to violence.. and unfortunately this includes spider man and tom and jerry.. My reasoning is that a 3 year old has still not grasped the comedy in hitting and shoving! (Oh yes I am crazy that way). Anyway, I realized yesterday that in my attempt to shield him from such violence... I am probably bringing him up to be too sensitive. We were listening to rhymes and for the first time Nantu heard the rhyme "Three Blind Mice".. He was very upset that the Farmer's wife cut off their tails... "But the mice need their tails mommy" he said... "This is a naughty song, I don't want to listen to this.. Please don't download this! Delete it!! ".. He even made sure before going to bed that I had deleted the song! I am of course a little taken aback that he reacted so strongly! I open this out to all you bloggers out there.. what do you think of this??

Planning Ahead!
The second part of my blog is about the tag Suma sent my way.. Oh yeah I finally got around to doing it!
I have always been bad at planning ahead.. but I do dream... Suma (Thinking Aloud) put me up to coming up with a list of things I wanted to do by the next decade... I have been thinking long enough.. but haven't been able to come up with anything profound!! So here is my wish list!!

(Pic Courtesy: http://www.anewday-anewway.com)

1. Growing Up .. we have a lot of growing up to do.. between Nantu and me (notice I have tactfully not included DH here). Nantu will be a teenager in 10 years.. and I want to be able to sit back and relax without the constant nagging worry most parents of teenagers have. I want to be able to know that my son is smart enough to keep himself safe out there!
2. Lose that tummy... Oh well, I hope it doesn't take 10 years to do that!!
3. Work - I need to figure out what I need to do in terms of working... I need to go back to work, but when and what I am still figuring out!
4. Where I belong ... I want to be back in India in 10 years.. or if I am here, let that be with a full heart with no wish to go back. I just want to belong where I live and vice versa
5. Travel - DH and I have loads of travel dreams... cruises, RV trips, Europe, Australia, backpacking and so on.. hope we do it all or at least most of it in the next 10 years!
6. Giving Back - I want to help the society in every way I can... not just monetarily but physically.. by being there.... maybe teach the less privileged or some such thing. I also want to have Nantu spend at least a day of every year with children of his age who are less privileged...
7. Living with Dad - 10 years is a long time.. as soon as is possible I want to have my dad stay with me... I cant stand the fact that he is miles away from us!!
8. Yoga and Temper control - I need to learn and start actively practicing yoga in my daily life. Also work on my temper... hopefully the yoga will help me tone down my short temper!!
9. Farming Dreams - Oh yes I am crazy.. I want to own a farm house and live in quasi wilderness.. if I will farm or grow livestock is very questionable.. but I want a house on a property which has a grove and a creek in it.. Oh well I do dare to dream!
10. A good friend - I want to be a good friend to Nantu and DH... The first step Patience... I am so short on this... I am going to work at acquiring some!
Alright!! That wasn't too hard!! Thanks Suma for making me do this... and what better time to plan than the New Year!
Tagging in turn -
Gomathi
Vidhya
Priya
Uthra
2 B's Mommy

Wish You all a Happy and Prosperous 2008! Have a Blast!

Back to Pavillion!

As most of you know we were off on a short vacation this past weekend. I am usually very finicky about staying at Friend's homes. We have loads of friends and enjoy spending time with them. But usually we like to respect their privacy and stay in a hotel if possible when we visit. But then usually we combine these visits with a sightseeing vacation.

(Picture: Smokey Mountains-Tennessee)

This past weekend for the first time we went on a vacation not to see any sights but to visit friends! We were off to warmer frontiers - Tennesse! Our Friends R and L live there with their daughters Big A (5) and Lil A (1). R is DH's friend from college and had visited us in June for 10 days. However this was the first time we were going to meet his family. I was unsure how Nantu would adjust to new faces. He was looking forward to meeting Uncle R and even more excited about riding in Uncle R's Honda Odyssey Van! He was also looking forward to a play date with Big A!
We took a cab to the airport. All through the ride, Nantu held on to my hand and wouldn't let go! At the airport Nantu was very upset with the security scan. All the officials there were trying to cheer Nantu up as he took of his jacket, shoes and sent his backpack through the scanner!
At the airport, I bought him a happy meal and as luck would have it they gave us the hamburger. Now we are vegetarians, and Nantu had a fit when he realized what had happened. I was too tired to do anything about it.. I just threw away the patty and made him eat the burger with a little cheese after a lot of fuss!
On the plane we waited for an hour and a half before take off...and had to listen to the refrain "are we flying yet" and "are we there yet" till our ears were sore! Also we both had to give one hand each for the li'l master to hold on to...finally the plane did take off and our li'l monkey fell asleep.. and we breathed a joint sigh of relief.
Once there Nantu was all excited to see Uncle R and his car! And we started the long journey home with little Mr. Whiny who was again holding my arm and refusing to let go!! Also he was upset that there were no Hummers in TN, and that it was dark already and he needed to return to Denver to his bed!
Finally we did get him home and got him to realize that Big A was asleep, so he had to spend the night and wait for her to get up before he could play! Uncle R also showed him the empty fish tank and told him they could go buy fish the next day!! So eventually we got Nantu into bed!
The next morning, bright and early we were woken up by knocking at our door... and there stood Big A all eager to meet us! She is such a cute little chatterbox we fell for her charms right there... Nantu did too once he woke up.. and for the next 3 days Big A and Nantu were inseparable. I did not have to worry about Nantu at all.. he even ate all by himself chatting with Big A all the while. When we went out and got them popcorn, they sat apart from us and had a nice chat over the popcorn.

(Picture Courtesy: www.kidprintables.com)

Lil A is this cutie who is all smiles and oh so cuddly.. We had a great time with her.. Nantu could not relate to her though and tried scaring her away.. but since he is smart enough to know that he would be in trouble if he touched her, he would just put his face next to her and growl (!!) to see her scamper off!!
There was another friend there, Uncle A who Nantu looped in to play with him .. driving his toy cars and playing ball!! Poor Uncle A couldn't watch the movie the rest of us were watching... because Nantu declared "This is not my TV time, If I watch I will get scolded" As If!!
The 3 days just flew by ... and we were having too much fun we didn't even realize that it was time to leave already... R and L were so lovely and made us feel so much at home that it was hard to say good bye! Once we got on the plane back.. Nantu realized what was going on.. and wanted to get off and go back to TN. Lets move to Tennessee he says, I miss Big A. He also wanted to go back and buy the fish we forgot all about!!
We sure are waiting for Big A's next vacation time from school and more fun time!
Back Home...
Nantu got a visit from Santa and is very excited about all the gifts that Santa brought him. However Santa read his mind wrong and brought him the wrong version of Lightning Mc Queen (He wanted one that makes sounds and moves, but got a small mini version of it). However he was excited enough to stop fretting about that!
Also it snowed all night Christmas eve and all day y day.. so we had a white white Christmas.. Nantu is trying to extract promises from me to make the snowman!! We haven't made any this year yet!
Today it is back to school for Nantu. He rushed there to tell his friends B and C all about Tennessee and Santa. Unfortunately they aren't back from vacation yet. So Nantu for the first time in a long while had a long face when I dropped him off this morning. Am waiting for him to come back and tell me how it went!
Now I am off to plan something fun for New Year! Happy New Year folks... Have a wonderful year ahead!

Naughty Gene - The Payback

Two posts in a day you ask.. oh well I had to...

Many of you that read the naughty gene post said you have no sympathy for me .. I challenge you to think again!

Age 4 months -

Nantu: goo goo gaa gaa

Person passing by - Mom/Dad usually... : Oh my dear baby, are you bored

picks him up and has a wet shirt!! Oh yes we were still stupid enough to use cloth diapers

Age 6-8 Months -

Mom trying to feed Nantu : Nantu aaaaaaaaaa

Nantu - tightly closed mouth.

Mom - Anga paaru kaka (Look at the crow there)

Nantu - looks up with a smile, mouth not open even one inch

Age 1 year -

Patti (Grandmom) has had a long day and is waiting for mom and dad to come home

Nantu: ammaaa..... (wailing)

Patti takes him to the patio to wait.. Nantu slyly waits for patti to look elsewhere and proceeds to empty all the clothes pins out the railing...

Patti frustrated takes him out the door

Nantu: Ift Ift ... (lift - as in elevator).. Daddy?? (he looks oh so innocently at patti)

So Patti takes him close to the elevator to peer in... He presses the switch.. every time the lift moves it has to halt at our floor.

Age 1 yr 2 months -

Mommy getting lunch ready for Nantu...

Nantu to maid :san san (shanthi)... bye!! (frantically)

Maid knowing him refuses to budge

So Nantu leaves the house and runs across the hallway to bang at the neighbours door

Nantu: Idha Idha... vaaa (Vidhya Vidhya, come!!)

Nantu climbs on patti's bed to look out the window.. and spies his girl friend

Nantu: Thathana!!!!! (Keerthana).. jojo?? (have you had your bath I think it meant)

Thathana: Nantu (She was older by a year I think) ... nee kulichacha??? (have you had your bath)

Nantu: Naanaa (I dont want to ) ... Mammam? (have you eaten)

Thathana: Naa chaptachu .. nee chaptacha (I have eaten have you?)

Nantu: Dhudhu (I am going to have milk)!

1 yr 5 months

Nantu would go to "Eduratha Thatha " (Opposite house granddad - what a name!!) -'s house every evening

Nantu: Ananth Thanni (I will water)..

If Edurathu thatha touches the water hose - Nantu will scream "nanna!!" And then proceed to water himself.. and the plants if they got lucky... I would always send a change of clothes to edurathu thatha.

Then Nantu would walk into the house...

Open the fridge and take his daily quota of cadbury and say - "Thatha One! "(I am only taking one?)

Go on to the kitchen (On the way open the tap of the water dispenser.. thatha sensing this rushes behind him!)

Nantu: Patti coffee tha!! (Give me coffee)

Patti makes him a cup of watered down coffee.. if she has the audacity to give him milk he would say : "Dhudhu nana .. coffee tha!!"

Finally at the sound of dad's car, peace would reign again in Edurathu thatha's house...

At home - eating troubles again...

Nantu and Mom in the patio... mom is feeding him, after much difficulty she gets the spoon into the mouth...

Meanwhile a truck on the road

Mom: Nantu .. truck!!

Nantu- slyly when mom is not looking has spit the food right back into the bowl.. mom knows nothing!!

1 yr 7 months:

Onroute to US with mom .. At london mom is struggling with the check in.. (oh yes the flight was cancelled and we spent a day in london .. more on that later)

Nantu has been handed some small cars to play with...

A lady is oohing at him... Nantu sends some cars whizzing by and trips the lady over!!!

2 Yrs:

Mom broke her thumb and routinely had to go to therapy... She had to drag Nantu with her everytime!

One day at the therapists...

Lady: Ronak, bye.. Ronak, hello

Mom bewildered .. Are you calling him Ronak? He is Nantu

Lady: But he told me he is Ronak!

Mom: Nantu .. whats your name?

Nantu: Ronak

Mom: No your name is Nantu

Nantu: Nantu nalla illai (Nantu is no good).. oh my I should know better.. why dint I ask him before naming him

Another day..

Man walks in and looks around..

Nantu: Hello.. sit!!

Man: Oh hi Buddy

Nantu walks up to him and shakes his hand.. and proceeds to call Aunty Linda in the therapy room inside!!

I should have charged the therapist for his services !!

Another day..

Lady walks out of the indoor therpay room.. I have never seen her before..

Lady to me: Hi you have a smart son!!

Me (beaming): Thank you!!

Lady: No wonder considering that both you and your husband are computer engineers!!

I can only gasp!! And Nantu dint know a word of English!!! He spoke in Tamil!! Oh God!!

Age 2 Yr 7Months

Nantu starts school

At school on the first day

Teacher: Nantu dont cry your mom will be here soon

Nantu: I wanna go on the bus

Teacher: Nantu your mom will come soon I promise

Nantu: I will go home on the bus.. MYSELF!!!

Next day.. circle carpet time

Teacher is talking

Nantu: Dont talk, I want to go on the bus

Teacher: Later, now sit down

Nantu Wailing loudly.. another teacher takes him to the director's room

Director: Take him on the school bus let him play there for a while

They go to the bus

Nantu: Switch it on

Teacher: No I cant do that but you can play here for a while

Nantu: When will you switch it on

Teacher: When you are 5 you get to ride the bus!

Nantu: Lets go back!

Age 3

Oh well this could take a while.. and I really havent got all day you know... so will end this here and make a post on my current trials later.

After all this I ask you dont you feel some pity for me?? I have to live with this cheeky monkey every day!! And like some say this is just the tip of the iceberg!!

And now I am truly gone for the weekend!! I promise!

On this and that ...

I am done reading all other blogs, now its time to make a post and I wonder what about.. so here are a few random thoughts

Happy Go Lucky!!
Do I have it in me to have deep thoughts? I have been reading a lot of blogs and it occurs to me that many of the folks I read have such profound thoughts! While I have none? I do love reading all the posts and most times give me two cents on the topic of discussion, but I can never make such heartfelt posts of my own.. I wonder why.. I am reminded of my mom .. she used to say "I do hope you get serious once in a while.. life is not a big joke you know?" Oh well..

Staying at Home!

I am a stay at home mom.. by choice!
I often get this question "How can you stay at home, arent you bored". I used to think so too when I worked. Then a couple of years back I quit, my life was getting too meaningless for me!! I needed to step back and give myself some space, and enjoy Nantu's company. A lot of my relatives and friends never could understand. I quit a job in a renowned company, a well paying job where I had good growth prospects. And the fact is I loved my work, maybe too much!
When I quit many bet that I will be running back in 6 months. Its been 2 years, I do want to go back to the action. Now that Nantu is in school et al and I will (Oh IRS give me the work permit please!!). But strangely its not at all like I thought. Staying at home is so much fun.. I get to see all the daily antics of my son.. I get time for myself and my hobbies (writing, reading). My life is more relaxed! And I get to travel!
Just yesterday I was wondering why we think that when you dont work (put your education to use!!) you waste your life? I know I used to think that way, but this 2 year stint has changed me so much, I have so much more respect for all those women who have decided to stay at home. Having said that I also have a lot of awe and respect for the women who do it all - work and raise kids.. but thats a whole new post!! (Picture Courtesy: http://www.thestayathomemother.com/sites/default/files/u3/Balance.jpg)

Addicted to Blogging?
This is a question we bloggers ask ourselves time and again.. or dont we?? is it only me?? uhuh!!! Anyway, here is a list of questions that I think are a definite mark of addiction (Oh yes I have so much time I came up with a full fedged list!!!!)

1. Do you have to blog every day or every other day??
2. Do you blog in your head all day - in the shower, as you fall asleep... ?
3. Do you log in and check your blog - just to admire how it looks - 4 times a day if not more?
4. Everytime someone comments do you send a word of thanks to heaven?
5. If you see your kid do something smart, watch some event do you immediately compose a blog in your mind?
6. On vacations do you take special pictures with your blog in mind?
7. When you have a conversation with friends, do you find yourself quoting from blogs??
8. When there are chores to be done are you still at the computer?
9. Do your blog friends know you better than your real life friends?
10. Do you threaten everyone with the refrain "You stop that or I will blog about you"
11. Do your conversations with friends start or end with "In my blog I wrote ..."
12. Do you have your blog page on your email signature?
13. Are you always listing the reasons why you arent a blog addict?
14. Have you ever considered methods of advertising your blog.. maybe put some hoardings up in the middle of the highway?
15. Are you reading this and nodding along/ smiling to yourself.. uhoh.. you cant be saved I dont think the blog-o-holics anaonymous will take you in.
I am guilty as charged!! I think I am doomed... are you?? (Picture Courtesy: http://www.center-escape.org/images/comp_add_clip_image008.jpg)

54%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Note to Suma

I will do the tag you sent my way... just need more time and a lot more thought!!

(Note to Self: Focus is what you need in life.. think think think!!)

Holiday Wishes

Wish you all a merry christmas! I am off on a short vacation this weekend, and so looking forward to it.. Will be back refreshed and stuffed!!

The Naughty Gene

A lot of my blog friends have been taking up the wickedness tag!!! No one has tagged me :( But then I thought, oh well I am not wicked at all... So its a good thing I dont have to rack my brain for wicked tales.
And then Dotmom wrote her take on the tag.. This has inspired me to share some naughty tales (not wicked and I challenge you to disagree)!!

Age 6: Mom would tell me dont go to the road when you play.. so I scaled walls to go to a friends house which was about 3 houses away.. Imagine what mom went through when she looked and found me gone.. I was ofcourse grounded for a week.. like that would work

Age 7: A friend and I would climb a gooseberry tree (yes gooseberry tree) and pluck all the berries. On the other side of the compound wall was a workshop and we routinely picked up long rods from there to hit at the gooseberrys.. We were once shooed away by the men working there. The next weekend, a lot of their material left outside went missing.. I only hope they had the good sense to look in the house behind the workshop!!

Age 15: In 11th grade we had a math teacher who would drone on and on...she would start at the strike of the hour and let us go at the finish of the hour.. and for some reason she never wore a watch. The rest of the school had 45 minute sessions while the higher secondary had 1 hr sessions, so we werent guided by the bell. One day as she was 15 minutes into the session, she was called outside.. and lo behold guess how the class clock lost 20 full minutes..

Age 16: Physics Lab. It was a class test that day and I had finished my experiment successfully. There I spied a boy with whom I was always at loggerheads. He was in the middle of some electrical experiment, in between everything stopped working.. I hope he thought to check the fuse which had mysteriously gone missing!

Age 18: College - Second Year. Computer Lab - Day 1. We were asked to login to DOS Screens. and then no instructions for a while. I slyly sent a "Hi" broadcast to every PC. No one knew how to make this message go away (you had to use Ctrl and some key, no esc!! :( The lecturer was at a loss too, and I feeling sorry for her owned up and helped the girls get back to the main screen. Another lecturer walked in and asked me to leave the lab... I argued "But I was trying out commands in DOS. Surely thats not wrong", but she would listen to no reason. So I asked her "If I leave now, will you give me attendance?"She was shocked enough to answer "Yes" So I left without as much as an apology.

Age 19: College - Third Year. Auditoriom. We were sitting in the University Auditorium for briefing on the elections. They forgot to mention the engg faculty at all. Meanwhile, we were the first batch of engg and were having troubles with fee increase, lack of proper library facilities (we had to share university library :P), our lab was still under construction and so we had to use the university lab. So somebody had a brainwave.. they dont care about us, why shud we vote? So 600 odd engg students voted for "Engg? Lab?? Fees? Library?" And for the next 2 months everyone from our class was called in turns to the staff room, vice chancellor's room, dean's room to be interogated. How they narrowed it down to our class is a mystery.. but the beauty is no one babbled!!

Age 19: In continuation of the above protest... yet another brilliant plan.. in the "C" class the entire class put their pens down and refused to take notes.. Instead they glared at the lecturer who proceeded to rush to the dean in tears. Ouch!

Age 21: At work... the incessant flirt got mysterious anonymous phone calls... and got stood up at diff rendevous. Word has it that in his quest to solve the mystery he forgot to flirt!!

Age 25: At work.. For 5 months no one knew the fact that I knew Hindi. And gossiped freely near me.. 5 months later when someone asked for the name of a vegetable in english.. I said it in Hindi.. Oh so foolish!! Imagine the looks on the faces when they found out that I had known hindi all along.

And now I am going to send an email out to my college friends... and see what they have to say on my college tales... The list does go on... but in the interest of time and space I end here...
(Picture Courtesy:http://www.louielouie.net/pix-2007/dennis-menace.jpg)

Whats in a name!

For the past couple of days I have been lurking around and reading a lot of blogs... There were 2 of my pet peeves being written about a lot... Mommy Bloggers and the Husband-Wive divide. I wanted so much to write about each of these topics and sat down to do just that. Now all of you who know me, know how my mind works.... and there it went on a spin again.. remnicing a conversation that took place recently in our household..

An email had arrived from my aunt .. and she had asked how "Nantu" was.

DH: Why is she calling him Nantu?

Me: Oh well maybe she has read my blogs you know

a barb intended here... i have asked and asked and though he reads my poetry blog.. he stays away from the rants on this one .. boohoo!!

DH: Do you remember how much time and energy we spent in naming him...

Me: Do I remember? We only spent all of 9 months arguing over it

really.. we are so finicky arent we?

DH: His name means "Endless" and now with this nick name its just the opposite

Me:(thinking uhoh I never did think of that did I?... loudly) But Nantu is such a cute name.

Meanwhile enter Nantu (He has to take part in every conversation..)

Nantu: Mommy you call me Nantu and I will call you Preetu

DH - Exasperated looks at both of us...

Me: Oh I know .. I have a better name for him to use on my blogs.

DH: (Excited) Now you are talking.. whats that?

Me: Cheeky Monkey!

Nantu starts the refrain... I am a cheeky monkey.. I am a cheeky Monkey.. and I join in .. You are a cheeky monkey..

Mom and Son doing a little dance here... DH walks out of there shaking his head...

So now you know who the cheeky monkey is .. and who the bossy monkey is....

Cant Wait for Santa

Oh am I impatient.

Most of you know how I have decided to celebrate all the american traditions this year so that Nantu has the best of both worlds.

Halloween and Thanksgiving went by without much fuss. And now its time for christmas! DH and I have been buying gifts for Nantu that Santa will bring him.. The highlight for this year was a lovely tunnel and tent play zone... I was so sure that Nantu would just love it...

(picture courtesy : http://www.dfwfunnybusiness.com/holidaypage_xmas.html)

Then DH went on a business trip last week. Nantu missed his dad so much, So I had DH give him one of the gifts pretending he had got that from the trip. Nantu was excited and played with the Word Whammer (find it at Amazon) for all of one day after which he found something else that interests him...

Anwyay, last evening I was sitting and talking to DH as he typed away at his comp. Nantu was playing on his own and he would go under the comforter and pretend thats his tent. I was sooo tempted to give him the playzone (Amazon link) and convinced DH that we had to give it to him right away..So I dragged it from hiding and set it up ( and broke my back in the process!). Nantu is so happy... but DH always practical has now asked the big question - so what do you plan to do for christmas.. I still have 2 more gifts that pale in comparison to this and a few books to give him... And I am hoping I can convince DH to shop some more!! (Now I know why my mom never bought me new clothes till the day before my bday). Forgive me Santa...

Talking of Santa, we went to the mall this weekend and Nantu thought sitting on Santa's lap was "Silly"!! So we never stood in queue to meet Santa like I wanted :(

Now for the rest of my post...

SNOW!!!! It snowed all weekend and we went zig zagging to our anniversary lunch treat and then to the mall through the snow filled roads. It was fun to watch all the cars do a drunken dance on the road while the pick ups whizzed past like nothing was wrong. It was more fun because DH was the one driving.

This morning we woke up to more snow... Oh it looks so beautiful, and I love it!!

Considering that I grew up in south India where the weather is sweltering hot all through the year, and that I first experienced snow only a year back (actually less by a month - You know this if you read Restless Feet) when I moved to Colorado from the Bay Area... I see so many of my friends cribbing about not having much to do in winter.. but who needs to do anything when you can watch the while snow sipping a cup of hot hot tea. I am off to do just that.
Thats a big post .. should keep me quiet for a day or two (or so I hope!)

Sunday Scribblings - The Competition

I started to write about a little game called One Upmanship.. this is a pet peeve about which I have been longing to write for a long time. The way parents of all ages constantly pitch their kids against each other in this game they play...

I do it too, albeit in my mind. Every time I see a kid acting up or throwing a tantrum I think of how well behaved Nantu is at that instant. (Every time Nantu throws a tantrum, I think of running away!! )

A few weeks back, Nantu put me in my place when I started at this game. A fellow parent had come home and was raving about how her kid could write her name. A day or so before that another parent had told me about her daughter writing A - E or whatever.

So I in my effort to play the game of One-Upmanship (Where my son has to be better than the other kids his age) ...

Me: Nantu N writes, S writes wont you try to write the letter A

Nantu: Amma ippo enna kiruka udu, naan big boy aanodane ezhudhalam

(Mom let me scribble now, when I am a big boy we can write!)

Nantu's work of art.. a car is what that is supposed to be!!

How true, yeah whats the hurry anyway? And to think a 3 year old had to awaken me to the fact.. what does that say about me?I had a whole list of occassions where I have played/watched this game at play. But in the interest of the blogging populace that reads my blogs, I will end with a few questions .. feel free to answer them!
Why do we have this urge to compete?? Why do we have this need to excel in everything we do? Why cant we live life at our own pace? Who is the judge of what is true success?

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Read other Sunday Scribblers

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Nantu Bytes

(Edited to add: No Nantu doesnt bite his mom is a geek ...)
The topic of discussion in Nantu's school was occupations
Teacher: A what does your mommy do?
A: She works in the doctor's office
B: Mine does too.
Teacher: Really what does she do?
B: She gets the shots
**We do need someone to get the shots right?**
Teacher: Nantu what does your daddy do?
Nantu: My daddy hugs!
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What do you do about imaginary friends? I am always stepping on one of the other of them.. my house is so full of them, does anyone want any, I sure have a lot to spare .....
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Nantu: I want a bouncing ball for christmas
Mom: Pray to Lord Krishna for it
Nantu: Oh no I will ask Santa
Mom: How do you think Santa gets the gifts, Krishna gives it to him
**Boy am I confused?! **
Nantu: Nooooooo, Santa buys them at toysaurus!
Mom: But you have to be good for Santa to bring you gifts, pray to Krishna to be good.
Nantu: Krishna, please make me a good boy I need a bouncing ball.
Mom: Nantu shlokam sollu (tell a shloka)
Nantu : muttering gibberish...
Mom: Whats that?
Nantu: Thats a shlokam you dont know!
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The note from school said "We discussed what we want to be when we grow up"
Mom: Nantu did your teacher ask you what you wanted to be when you grow up?
Nantu: Yes I said I want to be a firefighter.
Dad: Do you know you have to go into a fire and rescue people?
Nantu: Yes. But I wont go.
Dad: But thats what a firefighter does.
Mom: So what will you do when there is a fire?
Nantu: I will be a NASCAR Driver.
** We are so naive, when in trouble just change your occupation**
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This post has been inspired from a similar post by Kodi's mom

Restless Feet...

When I was young I would dream of exploring every part of the world. Before our wedding I made DH promise that we would travel and see places. My aunt and uncle are the Nomadic Couple who have seen most of the world including Siberia and China, and I wished to emulate them.

Little did I know that fate would take it so literally?! We have been cursed ... every few months we move to a new place! DH and I are die hard optimists who take this in our stride and can actually work up the enthusiasm to move to a new place and set up our home all over again... I had no idea how much till recently. We had thought we were going to move again... after weeks of being offered various assignments in one location after another, DH found one to his liking here in CO itself. So it turns out we dont have to move after all, I felt strangely deflated!

Nantu has been a real trooper all this while ... In the 3 years of his life he has (officially) moved atleast 4 times and has taken to it as happily as his crazy parents. So I thought nothing of it as I sat to chat with him about the impending move.

Mom: Nantu what do you say we move to a new city, that will be good fun!!

Nantu: I wont go!

Mom: But Mommy and Daddy need to go, what will you do without us.

Nantu: I like Colorado, I am not going.

Mom: (on her knees now) Nantu you are mommy's pet arent you, please go with me!

Nantu (clever boy that he is): Ok I will go, but will my school be there?

Mom: (Uhoh!) There will be other schools there, just as good as yours

Nantu( thinking deeply): .... Alright will B go with us then?

Mom (Fat chance B's parents will consider making the move with us) ... Lets see ok..

On this aspect its perhaps good that we dint move after all, but eventually it will happen.. we will move and when we do will the moving no longer be a fun project - I dread to think!!
Meanwhile we celebrate a new record this coming weekend - The first time we have stayed in a house for over 11 months - we complete 11 months and a day this saturday (we also celebrate our wedding anniversary this weekend - but thats not so important it does come every year).

Having said all that.. there is still the whole world to see.. I have still lived only in 2 countries.. so Nantu better get used to it!!

Sunday Scribblings - The Walk

Hi...

I have a new illness! Everytime I take up the virtual pen to write a blog, I seem to develop this profound seriousness and come up with sad stories to write about..

I saw the prompt from Sunday Scribblings - Walk, and came up with a blog on a lady's walk of life.. her struggles, woes and fight for success against fate. It is a touching tale, and maybe I will post it later but today sagas like this are not my cuppa tea!

So thinking of pleasanter things...

I think of Nantu's first steps. Nantu took his time to walk. My MIL lamented everyday since he turned 11 months "Oh when will this boy walk!" We forbade her to try and make him walk with luring him or holding hands...
So he took his own sweet time. He wouldn't even walk holding furniture. Only in his crib wud he walk.. He ofcourse was a master at crawling, and even climbed full flights of stairs on hands and knees.. so I think in his mind there was no necessity to walk.
Then it happened.. when Nantu was 1 Year and a month old. Sadly MIL had gone to her hometown and was not around to watch that. On that day he held onto the bed and walked around it. Then the same day, he let go and walked upto me... I was so shocked! Here I had never seen my son attempt to walk at all, and all in one day he walks like he had been doing that for long!!
His first walk was a penguin style walking... with hands held apart.. to balance. I would thrust something in his held out hand and immediately he wud sit down... haha!! Needless to say I had so much fun with this (Mean Mommy!! Yeah)
Then slowly he got more confident.. and soon started running.. it seemed the running would never stop.. I lost weight running behind him.. I would grow dog tired.. but he would still be running!!

Now its at his worst.. he neither walks nor runs.. he jumps, climbs and tumbles...
As I watch him engage in rough play with dad... tumbling about.. I think of the day not so long ago (was it really only 2 years ago?) when he took his first step!

<12/2/2007>I wrote a poem on this at Baby Steps. It has been ages since I wrote poetry.. used this oppurtunity to give it a revival. Hope you like it, please give me your honest feedback.