New Post Alert

I know I promised to take a break! And I am really touched by the many of you who have urged me to come back. I will be back soon..I am recuperating from excessive blogging!! Meanwhile yesterday I was surfing through the net and some articles I read affected me and made me write this post on Outsourcing. Its available at my blog Confessions of a closet geek. (I know I am cheating.. I was supposed not to blog.. but this was too hard to resist!!)

Introducing Rambo and Simba...

Sometimes I wish I had a girl.. All through my pregnancy I wished and wished and even lovingly picked out a name for a girl.. But DH insisted that we pick out a boy's name and we argued till the last minute to find that. And lo behold a boy was born! And what a boy.. one who dislikes anything girlish.
I wanted him to enjoy stuffed toys like I did.. but all he did was play basket ball with them using his erstwhile cradle as the basket. I shed tears for my much loved stuffed animals. After a while, even that got boring and all the toys were relegated to the book shelves around the house! We then moved and landed soft toy less in the United States.
But one day as we were walking through Walgreen's he asked me for a brown doggy.. it was so adorable and I was really surprised at this request. So much so, I immediately complied. The doggy was named Fluffy and enjoyed the status of the favorite toy! It even accompanied him to bed for a couple of months. So much so when we moved cities, I brought Fluffy on the plane with us. But that was the end of the Fluffy era.
Meanwhile, a relative had gifted a lion and a tiger to the li'l chatterbox and they were named Simba and Rambo. But had been relegated to the book shelves too during the Fluffy era. After the Fluffy era two small teddy bears were bought and named Cuddles and Mr. Brown and with them started a collection of an assortment of Stuffed Animals - There is Hoppity the Frog, Dino the dinosaur, Squiggly the Panda, Bambi the Deer, Jumbo the Elephant and many such animals...
But none have made it to the toddler bed. Now Mr. Brown and Cuddles do visit occasionally and they are so small they are lost almost soon after they make it to the bedroom. Then there is a huge Power Ranger that keeps Nantu from banging against the wall.. but no more cuddling stuffed animals to bed!

I have all but given up and this Valentine's day I picked up a teddy bear for myself and Nantu showed marginal interest in it for a day.
DH asked "Shall I buy you a big teddy bear?"
Nantu replied "No.. Big teddy bears are for girls"
Aah.. there we go again!!

Oops .. I got carried away again and forgot the purpose of this post... Rayshma adopted a pet tiger - Kyra and Nantu and I enjoyed looking at Kyra on Rayshma's blog..However poor Kyra hasn't made many friends yet.. So we decided to introduce to her Rambo and Simba of the Nantu household. Kyra beware they do argue a lot, but they are the cutest!! And since they arrived have been inseparable.. so its like a befriend one get another free offer.. can you resist that?? Besides the little boss thinks "They will be sad" if separated!
Also.. they love to romp about .. but lately they have been relegated to the window sill to watch the lawn mover (since when did they start moving the snow you ask? I don't know must ask the boss!!). So I am sure they will appreciate having another friend to romp about with!!
Rambo and Simba meet the friendly and cute Kyra and have a fun time all of you!
As for having a boy child.. in retrospect its probably a good thing. This way I have no competition as long as the stuffed animals don't morph into basket balls!!
[Edited to add:
I have started a new blog.. yes another one! This one is called Confessions of a Closet Geek.. Some Geeky confessions by 2 geeks me the Closet Geek and the Reigning Geek my husband! What that means is that I sometimes steal his thoughts too. Today I have written there about a pressing issue.. Global Warming. Do Read!
Meanwhile, I think I am going to quieten down a bit now.. I have been spewing out blogs so fast my mind is reeling.. and frankly I am scaring myself!! So taking a short break from blogging for now!! Will be back to torture you after a breather!!]

Tall tales.. by the Cheeky Monkey

(Pic Courtesy:www.pbs.org)

Jay Jay jet plane landed in the runway, and so did a chopper he named stuffy and two other planes he named Dunstar and Strotus!
Then arrived Lightning McQueen. He said "I am fast"
Then came Mater. He said " I am strong"
Doc Hudson came there too.
Then came Thomas and Percy, Bill and Ben the twin engines. And there came a lone duck too.. I for one have no clue what it was doing there!! Swimming came the reply!!
Gordon came and so did Bulgy the bus.
Gordon said "I am an expert engine"
Bulgy said "I am an expert bus"
Gordon said "No I am an expert engine"
Bulgy said "No I am an expert bus"
And this argument went on for some time complete with voice modulations depitcting the irate Gordon and Bulgy.
Doc Hudson then asked "What is the matter"
Gordon said "You are an expert car"
Doc Hudson said "No I am not"
Gordon said "Yes you are"
Doc Hudson said "I am very sad today"
Gordon asked "Why are you sad?"
Doc Hudson said "I miss Jay Jay " (The jet plane)
Gordon said "Where is Jay Jay"
Doc Hudson said "He is at school now"
Jay Jay then flew and came and landed next to Doc Hudson
Jay Jay asked "Are you better now"
Doc Hudson said "Yes I am happy now"

And that was the story narrated by the Cheeky Monkey last night.. Ever since the birth story he has been narrating story after story and I have no choice but to listen!!
The story has been retold in my words.. all the dialogues are his though! The characters are all from the cartoons Jay Jay Jet plane, the movie cars and the cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine. This is where they all meet..in Nantu's imagination!

I was an avid story teller as a kid. Nantu has been one too.. When he was 1 and a half years old he twisted the crow story from Panchatantra. The original version of the story goes like this.
"An old lady is making vadas. The crow grabs a vada from her and goes to sit on a tree to eat it. The fox comes and tells the crow to sing a song with her beautiful voice. As the crow opens her mouth the vada falls down, and the fox grabs it and runs away. The stupid crow is thus cheated."
In Nantu's story when he was 1.5 yrs old,
The fox says "Vada thaa " (Give me the vada)
The crow says "Mudiyadhu" (I won't)
And the fox goes away to drink water
Later he improvised on the story and when he was 2 the story went like this...
The fox says "Vada thaa"
Crow says "Vada Nantu kku" (Vada is for Nantu)
And the fox goes away to drink water. Nantu eats the vada.
Now he refuses to tell this story.. Its too silly I gather!
He has a better pass time now.. narrating stories of his own.. usually the stories are about animals.. lions and tigers and Clifford and his friends. But lately its been about all the imaginary vehicle characters he knows. And I get to listen to different versions every day!! It is rather exhausting keeping up with it.

Read the following post for the birth story!

Random Nantu-isms

My previous post on Guns and Bloodshed invoked a lot of positive responses. We are all rational mother's after all many moms said.. so our kids will never turn that way! After all we played with guns as kids, and we didn't turn out to be killers. I agree, I probably am over reacting as always but then the gun crimes across the country are so nerve racking!

Birth Story
Moving on to pleasanter topics. I have read many birth stories over time .. I even wrote one myself sometime back - here. But this one definitely takes the cake ....

"When I was a little little baby I was inside your tummy" He said
"I cried and I cried and I cried some more. Then you opened your tummy and I came crawling out"
Tada... And that is his birth story!

Valentine's day bash
Nantu goes to school 3 days a week, On Valentine's day he had no school. So when I saw the notice put up in school on a Valentine day bash, I did not read it closely. So imagine my surprise, when on the next day he returned with a bag of goodies in a red bag complete with hearts. His very first stash of valentine day cards and gifts.. Oh my he has an early start doesn't he?












I challenge you!
As a kid my mom constantly challenged me and my work. She was not one to meet out false praise just because I was her own! This I believe has helped me enhance my skills. So when Nantu drew a huge + the other day and told me that was an airplane I challenged him. Now Nantu is nothing like the submissive me. He challenged me in return to see the wings.. well I am not artistic enough to understand one-dimensional drawings, so I can't see it! He then obliged me with the following drawing of a plane...
His current favorite subject however is the caterpillar...which sometimes morphs into an ant!And that's all from Nantu-dom for today!

Of guns and bloodshed!

"It is dead.. I think the wolf came and killed it" she said.. The little 3 yr old girl stood looking at a dead bird in our apartment's tennis court. She was speaking in a matter-of-fact tone to her 5 year old friend. I don't know what her mother felt, but dread clutched my heart. 2 yr old Nantu stood beside me and I hoped he wouldn't ask me to explain killing or dying...Since then I have tried to subtly introduce the subject to him, so that it doesn't come as a shock to him. He thinks that anyone who is no longer alive is with GOD ("Umachi kitta iruka" he says). However I know he has no full grasp of the concept, well he is 3 after all! However this morning reminded me that he is at an impressionable age after all. Nantu and I were having one of our world famous arguments when he said "I will shoot you.. pss pss pss" (the only gun he knows is a water gun, so apparently he thinks shooting means splaying one with water?). However my heart stopped when I heard the word shoot. Needless to say, I overreacted.. I gave him a time-out and proceeded to lecture him about guns and shooting!
Too Much Information for a 3 year old? I am not so sure anymore... I am very careful with the books Nantu reads or the cartoons he watches. I don't even allow him to watch Spider man or Tom and Jerry .. (another case of my over reacting I suppose), so where does this come from ? School? This doubt began forming in my head when one day he pounced on the black spider man on his comforter and screamt "You evil spider man I will catch you and throw you in jail", but guns?Every time I see the news about shootings in colleges and schools across the country (Now its Illinois...), I dread to send Nantu to school the next day. How am I supposed to deal with his talking about guns? When he was a year old he had a gun toy, that has since been disposed. However he does have water guns , bubble guns and disc shot guns. Guns seem to be everywhere! How am I supposed to deprive him of these toys? I am a mother at total loss how to keep the awareness in and at the same time keep the violence out. What's a mother to do?
[Edited to add: Dame's diary sent this link to a family education website. This was very informative ... thanks DD]

The cat got your tongue?

Have you ever asked this to your 3 yr old. I unfortunately did. We were sitting there on a lazy evening.. I was ironing away and Nantu was doodling on his magic erase board. He made a big + sign and said that was an airplane. "see the wings" he said.. and I in all my foolishness told him that it wasn't one! I can sometimes be so dense, and start ridiculous arguments with the All-Knowing-Nantu. In my defense, this is my way of challenging his mind and creativity! But for once Nantu was quiet..very quiet!! So I posed the dumbest question of all "The cat got your tongue?"... He looked at me thoughtfully, I expected him to say "You are so silly mommy!"

"Is it a bad cat?" he asked
"No of course not " I said
"Why does it want my tongue?" he asked
Now how do I explain that it is just an expression, a figure of speech if you may!! So I rushed to make amends!
"There is no cat" I said "I was just being silly"
"No" he said "adhu silly story illai, adhu scary story!" (that wasn't a silly story, that was a scary story)
"I am very sorry " I said.
When will I ever learn? A few months back I told Nantu "Its raining cats and dogs"
He ran and looked out the window and said
"Amma kadhai viadadhey.. its raining water!" (Amma dont make up tales, its raining water!)

Its so refreshing isn't it? We are always looking for hidden/double meaning in every thing we hear, and children take everything so literally!
A couple of weeks back Nantu's teachers sent him a gift of some books! So I took Nantu to the store to get them a thank you card. He then drew a sun and a smiley face and wrote his name in it... his teachers were so happy to receive the card! And were so proud to see his artwork! For Ms. K he even made a balloon... not for the others.. when asked he simply answered "I think she will like a balloon! "
A month or so ago.. I started worrying about Nantu not learning much in school. He has so much fun there though.. but if I ever relocate to India I can smell Trouble with a capital T. So I started teaching him to write alphabets and Nantu protested. I pushed and prodded, cajoled and bribed... and finally taught him to write A ... I took a print out of dotted A's from a website and sat with him for 2 hours to get him to write just a little bit!! I then felt so guilty for pushing him at the end of it, that I stopped with the A.

But since then, he has developed an interest in writing... and has learnt so many alphabets now.. and no dotted lines mind you.. He makes me tell him a method to write. For example A is Slanting line, from the top (for the second slating line!) and horizontal line, N is straight line, from the top and from the bottom , B is straight line a curve from the top to the center, from the center to the bottom and so on. These instructions seem to work for him and help him!! (Edited to add.. I came online to delete the last bit that sounds like a brag, I meant to pass on some tips to other mom's in the same boat.. but since some of you have already commented :) I will just apply some anti-jinx dotmom style...
Bye..bye from silly mommy for now!
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The sequel to the tale Life is like that is available in Creative Outbursts - Life is like that - part 3
My Valentine day short story is available here

Happy Valentine's day!

(Pict Courtesy: http://www.yokki.de)

The best time of the year was here again, Valentine's day! She remembered all the roses she received in college... but now she was married! So this valentine's day was going to be extra special! She dreamt of all the good stuff her husband would buy her! "I have to drop a hint about the lovely diamond pendant I saw at the store" she thought! Dreamy eyed she waited for the man of her life.
As he walked in she asked "So where do you think we should go for dinner on valentine's day?"
"That hallmark holiday" he asked
Visibly sobered down she said "Yes that!"
"Thats a bunch of commercial nonsense" he said "Whats more ridiculous than setting a day aside to celebrate your love?"
But she thought, isn't it lovely to have one special day to celebrate love? Besides she had been eyeing that diamond pendant for far too long! And her birthday was still month's away.
She searched the internet... and went to him equipped with some research on Valentine's day!
"Do you know that valentine's day is celebrated in honor of St. Valentine. When there was a rule in Europe that young men shouldn't marry because of the ongoing war, he secretly married them off ! How sweet and absolutely romantic" she said
"Ugh" he grunted!
She was awfully quiet that day and he suggested they go out for dinner, "Lets celebrate our love today" he said.
The next day she thought of the perfect plan... she called her brother and enlisted his help.
On Valentine's day he left to office in the morning like every other day! She smiled and helped him through the morning.. without a word about Valentine!
In the evening he rushed in early, looking contrite "Many happy returns of the day honey" he said and produced a bunch of red roses and a blue box. Inside was the lovely diamond pendant.
"How did you know" she asked.
"I noticed how you were looking at it in the store" he said.
"Get dressed, we are going out to dinner " he said
They went to a lovely restaurant and had a candle light dinner complete with music and some dancing..
As they were driving back home he said "Sorry I can be so absent minded sometimes, if your brother hadn't told me..."
"Don't worry about it" she said with a smile.
Back home, he took her in his arms and said "Happy Birthday darling". She gave him an impish grin and said "Happy Valentine's day sweetheart!"

Disclaimer: This is not my story, although it seems like something I would do.. and probably should!! Just wanted to post something in honor of Valentine's day!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Life is like that - part 3 is available in creative outbursts!

Nantu Updates
Nantu has a new refrain "Sometimes I be silly, sometimes I be naughty, sometimes I be good, sometimes I be bad, Always I be smart" (!!). I wonder where he learnt all this? He has taken to giving us attributes too... I was telling him a story yesterday and he says to me "Amma you are so funny". "What about daddy?" I asked "Daddy is so cute" he says!! Ha.. now I get to be funny mommy!
Valentine's day dawned like any other day in the Nantu household. DH like the man in my story, thinks it is ridiculous! I on the other hand, could use some surprise gifts.. but dropping pointed hints doesn't work! Whats a girl to do? The highlight of my day was the little hands around my neck early in the morning and the wet kisses on my cheeks with the words "I love you mommy" That made my day!!

The Continuing Story

I have been having some brain cramps lately and haven't written anything on my blog Creative Outbursts for a while. And then last night I had a visitor, my brain seems to have momentarily returned back from its vacation and I was told how the story goes on. So here, the third part of the continuing story "Life is like that" is now available at Creative Outbursts

Retrospections!

I have been tagged.. not by one but by six people Lavs, 2As Mom, Swati, Rayshma, K-3 and Silent One to do the same thing... retrospect.. Now if you have been reading me for sometime now, you know that I have this tendency to trip down the memory lane all the time... So this is just the tag for me.
The memory lane is something I hold so dear.. be it the baby videos of Nantu or the posts from Blogger. I just hope blogger will still exist when I am old and toothless, I will then read these posts and reminisce.
Okay.. thats enough craziness for one day. Now to the task at hand!

Rules
Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given : family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.
Hmm.. here we go

Family
Nantu had taken to a new passion, RELATIVES. He was obsessed with learning about the family and extended family. I made a short post on this sometime back - Relatively Speaking

Friends
I have some very dear friends from college. We have managed to keep in touch through the years and I feel like I am missing something if we don't connect ever so often. I listed my dear friends here in some College Nostalgia.

Love
Hmm.. I have never made a post on the love of my life .. chocolates (what did you think!!) I have been asked for my engagement story many times but haven't got around to writing it yet! So I will link here to the honeymoon tale that I once wrote about in Take me along! Or better still my love for cooking? In Culinary Chronicles

Yourself
This is a pet topic isn't it? Although the above two should suffice I can't help adding on to it ...
My advent into motherhood
Seven Random things about me
and Quirky Me

Anything I like
That has to be the Object of my affection and Nantu my Li'l scatter brain Thats definitely something I like {wink}

Now its my turn to tag? Yay!!
Sumana
Noon
Gauri
New pals
DD Mom
Nosh N Reh's mom
Would love to know more about you.
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Bear with me as I try out some new fonts. The old one looks very small and hard to read with the new layout and I am at a loss as to what is the perfect font to use. Any suggestions?

Confusions - Unlimited...

Nantu has been awfully quiet this week, minding his own business and not coming up with profound thoughts.. The major subject of my posts gone, I started thinking and came up with this topic to write about. Its a story...

(Pict Courtesy: http://www.cateringdirectuk.co.uk)

Now I am going to tell you a story... this tale is set in Arid Arizona and is part true, part exaggeration. The true part happened a few years ago, the rest happened in my imagination. The hero of this story is a man we will name Mr. Confused. The actors in the tale are his American lady manager - lets call her ALM (yikes?? my creativity is lacking due to some brain cramps) and then there is me.
I am a fan of bath and body works and always had a tube of body cream adorning my desk those days.. what with the dry weather et al, I needed it. ALM was a good friend of mine, and as she passed my desk one day stopped to smell the tube of cream. "What is it?" She asked. "Moonlight path" I answered... and we went on to talk about perfumes for some time till we walked away to the break room to discuss perfumes over a cup of coffee.
Now, Mr. Confused had been trying his best to befriend ALM and the effort had not gone unnoticed by me (well at least I noticed). So the next day, he walked up to ALM's desk picked up her lotion splayed some on his palms and asked her what it was "It smells so good" he said. I unfortunately couldn't catch her expression, but I had to mask my giggle with a cough. Later that day Mr. Confused got a phone call from his wife who pretended to be his 3 month old daughter. He turned to us (another colleague and me) and narrated the conversation ... as ALM walked by he was saying "that was so cute" complete with the fluttering hands. She looked my way with raised brows, but walked away.
Still later ALM was at my desk one day and we were working on something. When Mr. Confused came by to his friend, patted him on the back linked his arm through the other guy's and said "Chal, lets go for a sutta" and dragged him away. (By the way that means lets go for a smoke, but poor ALM probably had no clue).
Later that day at lunch ALM asked me "So whats the deal with Mr. Confused?"
I replied "What do you mean"
She said "You know is he gay or something?"
I said "Noooo.. he is married and has a new born baby, so nooo"
She said "Maybe he just hasn't realized it yet?"

A few weeks after this conversation I stood with my friend T (An American guy) talking to him about his motorbike. T was a biking enthusiast who rode cross country on occasions. Mr.Confused came up to us all curious about our conversation.. when he was clued in he exclaimed "Oh T you should take me for a ride on your bike someday". I really wanted to take him aside at this point and clue him in!! The poor guy probably never realized the impression he was creating?

(Pict Courtesy: http://www.veganmomma.com)

Ahem Ahem.. I so wanted to name this blog "So .. Gay!".. but then I didn't for obvious reasons! If you are Indian, or know how things work in India you have followed the story so far... If not, send me a note and I will clue you in. Anyway, there is more. A few months back another American Lady friend of mine visited India. She got to see a dance program which was probably put up in her honor! A guy did a "routine" (in her words) apparently, and in the middle took off his shirt and flung it!! (yikes!).. Some girls she sat with were cheering him on...She was bewildered as she told me this tale.. "The poor things didn't have a clue, they kept claiming he was cute.. I so wanted to tell them He is not your type.. he was so... gay!!". I looked at DH and started giggling!! I promised my friend I would watch a Bollywood flick with her someday and left it at that!

So what did you think of this story.. come on tell me.. and do you have similar tales to share? I am all ears!!
On an completely unrelated note.. This morning as we walked to the car, Nantu and I spied 2 snowmen complete with hands. Some kids had made these men just outside our home (so mean!).. anyway Nantu of course wouldn't let it go "Look Amma snowman with hands. This is how you should make snowman!". I promised him that we could go and stare at them after school... I hope I don't have to make more snowmen now!! If you find this note bewildering.. you haven't read the one about the handless snowman.
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How is the new layout.. chosen by Nantu himself.. "My blog this is how it will look he says", since when did this become his blog?

Quirky Me

Prats has tagged me to list six of my non-important things/habits/quirks .. I made a post sometime back on seven weird things about me ... that sounds so much like the current one that Prats has tagged me to do.. However, I am gonna oblige and try and come up with six vague things about me! The Junkie - I love the news.. when I go to the gym, all the time the news channel is blaring. I come back home and read the same on the internet. I have stopped buying the newspaper now.. but when I used to, I would then read the same news on the papers. And then see the analysis on television by people like Larry King and Glenn Beck. Lately I have been having less and less time for this though!
Soda and the iron box - Being in the west and not a millionaire we have to iron our own clothes. Being a housewife, I take pity on DH and iron his clothes for him. But I am far from organized, I let the pile grow and grow before I get to the iron board. So a pile on one side, iron box in one hand and a can of soda on the other I attack the clothes. I have to drink soda when I iron... even when I have a bad cold. So rather than ditch the soda when I have a cold, I choose not to iron!
Smelly cat - Every time my clothes are washed and dried.. be it on the clothes line as in India, or in the dryer as here,; I smell them. I love the smell of the crispness in them.. be it that of the sun or that of the bounce dryer sheets!
Rerun theater - I can watch reruns again and again. Of some movies I like and of the comedy series FRIENDS. If I haven't watched the CD for a while, its very likely that I have forgotten most of what happens in it! Thankfully DH shares this habit of watching reruns.. and we love to hoard DVDs for this very purpose.
Stifling Rules - I dislike the rule book and encourage questioning the rules. Hence I will stop with 5 quirks {wink} {wink}.

There you go.. all done!! I am not gonna tag anybody this time (breaking one more rule).. but anyone who wishes to take it up is welcome to do so.

20 Questions.. tag time!

Tag time again.. this time Preethi tagged me (No I didn't tag myself.. this is another Preethi I found in the blogger world.. boy do I have a common name!). I just found out that Prats has also tagged me :) (for once I will be making a quick response to your tag Prats) Anyway, this is a 20 questions tag (reminds me of the guessing game we used to play.. ). Here I even get to replace one of the questions with one of my own! Yay!! So here goes.

(Pict courtesy: http://teaching.cs.uml.edu)

1. Name Three Most Valuable Assets?
Laughter, Family and Friends (Not necessarily in that order though)
2. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one?
I have the chance, and I make sure I say this every day "You are very lucky that I am your wife" :)
3. If you were to be stranded on a desert island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you?
Suma - Her zest for life, will help keep me cheerful
Fuzzy - Her wit will keep me laughing
Gomz - She will befriend every living thing on the island for sure... (I cheated a bit .. she is more of a real life friend)
But then 3 is too less, like Suma said I will take the entire group along and have a blast!
4. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Chennai :) And I am going there soon !! Other than that.. the moon? on our rented Rocketship :)
5.If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
Winning a lottery (easy money;)
6. What are you afraid to lose the most?
My ability to talk.. If I don't talk I don't exist!!! :P
7. What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?
I won't.. I never open unattended baggages... I am from Coimbatore remember
8.If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Now?? Hey I am happily married "Kudumbathula kulapatha undu aakatheenga" (Don't cause confusion in the family)
9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you...
Preethi - She is so grounded, analytical and has the most adorable artist in her home.
Prats - She is so rational, has a very lucid writing style. Also love her Sense and Sensibility.
10. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
He makes me laugh and he is my best friend, what else can I ask for?
11. Which type of person do you hate the most?
Hypocrites
12. What is your ambition?
Live life King Size...{wink}{wink}
13. What is the thing that will make you think someone is a bad person?
13. Your fondest memory?
My mom waiting at the doorstep every day as I came home from college.
14. Christmas is coming, who do you like to celebrate with?
Christmas is still a long way away.. I would love to spend it with Nantu.. he is the only one who is so enthusiastic about christmas!! :)
15.If you could do one thing different in life, what would it be?
nothing at all... my life is perfect the way it is
16. Are you a shopaholic or not?
Oh yes I am.. my favorite is window shopping, that way I get to shop and my pocket is not lighter
17. What is your stress buster?
Nantu-time, books
18. What should be done to people who make such long tags
I am gonna get violent now.. ;) (no offense Preethi and Prats... )
19. What are the 2 skills you wish you had or would like to learn?
Singing... I have always wished I was a top notch singer Acting .. That would have helped me when I had/ have to lie
20. Name one favorite song of yours.
So many.. but lately it is "Last Christmas... "thanks to Orchid. Nantu has fallen in love with this song too and wants it to keep playing as I sit at the comp. I have added the George Michael version though.. he is a favorite..Also the video reminds us of our Christmas trip to Tennessee and the Smokeys. Such fond memories we have of our trip.




(Video Courtesy: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7736092084112844433)

I tag
Orchid - I discovered your love for tags.. yay!!
2b's Mommy - Whenever you are back from vacation and can get to it!!
Lavs - Would love to know more about you.. will take up your tag soon :)

P.S. My Blog linx is acting up and I don't find out when anyone updates.. boohoo!!
P.P.S. Orchid talked about owning an Audi and brought to mind Nantu's obsession with cars. When he grows up he wants to buy a Ferrari. Since only 2 can sit in a Ferari, he says he will take Daddy in it. (Phew, after all that I do for him see what I get in return). But wait he says he will buy me a Maybach!! So I don't really mind!
He has a list that includes thatha, chitti, my cousin, his cousins etc. But the best of them all is what he says he will buy for Athai (My SIL ).
He says he will buy her a remote control car. "Tharakave mudiyadhu" (It can't be opened) he says! I wonder what Athai did to him... He is very fond of his Athai though. He says when he goes to her place, Athai will take care of him. "Amma, nee varalenna parava illai yen athai enna pathupa" (Amma its okay if you don't come, my Athai will take care of me) he says. But she will only get a remote control car in return.. poor Athai.
[P.S. oh yes again.. have you seen my web rank.. it says 9 today.. I don't believe it for a minute.. but still I though a good resounding "yay" was in order!!]

Blessings and The Little Astronaut!

I got a note from Suma asking me to drop by her blog. Imagine my delight when I saw this lovely post . With the incessant cough and cold going on in the Nantu-household, this is just what I need today. Some Positive vibes. It seems like a wonderful idea to spread this among my wonderful blogger friends. This is for each and every one of you out there. Thanks Suma for sending this to me and giving me a chance to be fairy godmother ;)
Now to pass this on..I tag
Vish - My little sister who introduced me to blogging. Who writes such wonderful fantasies but her posts are so far between... hope you do write more and add to your story.
Vidhya and Gomathi - Two of my dearest friends.. who have been blogging less and less, but their excuse ... they are embarking on a larger and more beautiful journey of motherhood. God bless you both! Come back to blogging soon.
Dotmom - Her serene posts inspire me, and she has a lovely sense of humor that drag me to her blog every time she writes. Hoping to hear a lot more of your and Chips adventures
Rayshma - A sunny personality who writes so wonderfully. Her posts are so full of life.
Aryan - Aryan is such a darling .. his cute posts are a reason to smile everyday.. Aryan's mom you are alright too.. but your son rocks ;)
I want to talk about so many more of my blogger friends.. but I think I will make a separate post of it! :) God Bless you all. Please pass this on to all those you want to send positive vibes too. I encourage all of you out there to do this, not just the ones I tagged.
No post of mine feels complete without some Nantu-updates. But first applying the Anti-Jinx Dotmom so thoughtfully created for us. The snowman first melted and then was buried in the snow that fell yesterday. Thank you God for answering my prayers, but then the snowman is long forgotten!
Nantu is now pestering me for some TV-Time (An unimaginative term eh?). Anyway, for the first 2 years of his life, I kept Nantu away from the television fearing the worst. Then for the next year, I taught him to watch some cartoons while I had some peace. Especially when I am in the shower, this way I know he is out of trouble and there will be no constant banging on the door with shouts of "Amma are you done yet?".

Anyway, Nantu is usually allowed half an hour of TV-Time, which usually means one episode of his choice. Lately he wants to watch Little Einsteins all the time. I have not watched this cartoon so have only some vague idea about what goes on there. So when Nantu brought out his toy boat the other day and claimed it was a rocket ship, I sat there looking amused.
Nantu "Amma this is not a boat okay, this is a rocket ship"
Amma: "Wow, so does it fly"
Nantu: "Yes, I am flying a rocket ship in space"
Amma: "Really"
Nantu: "I am going to the moon"
Amma: "Really, so moon is in space?"
Nantu thinks quietly, you can almost hear his brain whirring: "No the moon is in the sky."
Anyway, regardless of where the moon is I am in awe already. First sunning, now this, I do have a budding space scientist on my hands. Uhuh, soon he is going to realise that his mommy is too dull for his wild thoughts! As I sat thinking about the future .. Nantu's brain was working too..
Nantu: "Amma lets rent a rocket and go to India" I grinned.. space scientist or not, an entrepreneur for sure. What a wonderful idea, no more 24 hr journeys to India, we could go in a Rocket!! :)