Tootsie’s gospels!

 Did you know you can find out a teacher’s nature from the light she uses in her classroom? White light and she is going to be strict and a stickler for rules, straight to the point and no nonsense. Yellow light and she is going to be flexible, fun and cool!

Tootsie is all of 10 and a talker! She sits down to profound conversations and stumps us with her logic. I recently switched jobs. After having worked for a small bank for years I have now moved to a company that specializes in small business loans. Tootsie sat down today and asked me “Mom, do you still work for a bank?”

“No Tootsie, I don't”

Tootsie “ So what do you do now?” This has been a fascination for both my kids. They are intrigued by mom’s job that has her talking all day and at home (I have been remote for the past 3 yrs) all day! So they constantly pick up words and jargons from my conversations and tease me about it!

I explained to her what my company does with small businesses. She seemed fascinated until I realized why

“So”, she asked “Can I get a loan?”

“Are you a small business?” I asked

“Yes” she says “you ask me to mind my business all the time”

The minx at her best!!

5 yr old truant!

Cheeky is growing.. He is now 11 years old! 11 years old and head spinning busy. The kid loves every sport there is, is good at academics but treats that as his last priority. So ofcourse he is the tiger mom's nightmare. He wants to become a UFC fighter and trains for it like he means business! Not for the faint hearted let me tell you that!

So for this birthday I decided my busy kid needs a little break. So we were going to play truant and take a mom and son day. Cheeky loved the idea convinced dad it would be a mom, dad and son day just no sister! Well it is his birthday, so we agreed and all was set. Till the bday dawned. The little monster caught a whiff of the plan.

Day of, she woke up and could barely speak. Looked tired and with a nasal tone said "Mom I am so sick". We knew what was going on here, but she is 5 yrs old. So we gave her some credit, gave her a doze of cold medication (she did have a cold) and tucked her back into bed. After I was overheard calling the school to tell them she was out sick we heard the little rascal bounding down the corridor. "So guys lets go get the cake" she squealed!

The day was a whirlwind of fun.. now armed with both kids we went to the park, ate out, hit the bounce house, had an icecream cake and finished the day off with a movie! Never again is Tootsie going to let us plan a Mom and Son day! I did get a confession from her "I did not want to miss out on the fun activities" she says swinging upside down from the play structure!

What are we going to do when this kid turns 15.. she claims she doesnt understand what the word "fib" means but we dont believe a word of what comes out of that innocent face!

College? But Why? I am ready now!

Tootsie the Pixie has a personality that keeps life interesting for all of us. She is 5 now, ready to start kindergarten. Her spark of personality is so unique true to her name. We are often stumped by her brand of reasoning.

Many years ago a wise lady advised me on dreaming big. She said its important for us to encourage our kids to dream big and set them on the right path. She had convinced her kids they should be doctors and if you asked them thats what they would say. But not mine. I have tried this many times with Cheeky. He went from wanting to be a fire fighter to a truck driver to a wrestler and UFC Fighter. Yes my son wants to be a fighter in cage fighting!!!!! No amount of encouragement to pursue a less bloody career works! If you ask him what you want to be when you grow up.. there are only 2 answers you would get. "A billionaire" is usually the first one! How will you get there? "UFC Champion" is the next. I have never failed to remind him ... UFC Champions are not billionaire's. Warren Buffet is a billionaire!

Now Tootsie is a different story all together. She is this complacent little munchkin! She still cant read, doesnt care enough to try. She can be found often times in her own world humming a tune, dancing a step or better still talking to herself! She is my little dreamer! So I thought maybe this time I will be lucky! So I started on a mission... after being lectured multiple times "You can be whatever you want to be, mom" it looked like my luck would turn!

And I had Doc Mc. Stuffins to thank! So Tootsie decided she wanted to be a doctor! I was so thrilled that finally here was a kid who would do me proud when asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" After years of answering "A princess" she had taken to saying a "Doctor Princess". But Tootsie is a deep thinker. She came to me one day and said, "But mom.. I dont know what Doctors do".

Me distractedly "They take care of people"
Tootsie still the little troubled frown on her face "But I dont know how to"
Me "Thats what college's are for. They will teach you there"
After lengthy discussions about colleges and learning to be a professional, you would have thought I put her mind to ease? Oh no... I changed her mind!! Now ask her what she wants to be "A teacher" she says

"Why Tootsie?"
"Because I already know how to be one!"

Talk about Ms. Lazy Bones! We tried our hand at convincing her otherwise, and asked her "What do teachers do?"

Tootsie "They ask kids to line up, go to the playground, wash up, line up again go eat"

So Cheeky says "What if the kids dont listen to you?"

That apparently got the little Missy thinking. Recently she was heard telling someone "I am going to be a teacher of older kids. Because they listen"

We are not going to read in Kindergarten and we definitely are not planning on college! I will just not tell her that teachers need to go to college too. If not we will be back to "Princess"! I must be a great mom at inspiring my kids! I better shut up and let nature take it course!!!

How will you be named?

Apparently my kids think its normal to name themselves. For those of you who have heard my tales you are probably familiar with the tale of Cheeky naming himself Ronak. If you aren't and wish to get acquainted, do read the link at the bottom. It seems to be a never ending battle with not 1 but both my kids. They think its quite normal to rename themselves. And I have to run nick names by them too.

The Cheeky Tale:
We are a Tamil family with too many last names. Traditionally we take the first name of our dad as the last name. As you can imagine that can get quite confusing. After marriage, the girl takes the husband's first name as the last name. I ofcourse chose not to. So now we are stuck with 3 last names. In a stroke of genius we decided it would make our lives so much easier and conversations with doctor offices so much shorter if we all had the same last name. So we picked a family name and decided to retain our current last name as a middle name. So no one loses right? Except my kids wanted to have a say in it. After arguing with us for hours, Cheeky came up to us and said. Hey I know.. when you change my name can I be Peter James? That ended the name change discussion in our house, forever!

The Tootsie Tale:
Tootsie is 4 now and we have run through all possible nick names I can give her. But she just hates them all. I love to call my kids by nick names, pet names that only mommy uses and a pen name that I use on my blog. So even before Tootsie was born we had a name picked for her and a pen name as well. But no nick name. Since their names are very close, I wanted to come up with something Unique that's only Tootsie. But my 1 and 2 yr old gave me opinions about Nick name. She is 4 now and I have settled on a cute little nick name for her Nu-nu... and she corrects me "Thats a baby name, not my name". So this summer for a dress up day I got her a pink dress, fairy wings and a beautiful tiara and wand. Told her she was Princess Nu-Nu. Since then she is a little bit more accepting of the name, but only occasionally. Well she will be till she knows the real story. I forgot about dress up day at school and walked in to a room full of princesses and super heroes! True "One Fine Day" moment... but I apologized to her and walked out. As I sat at a meeting that morning, the scene from One fine day flashed in my head. So I canceled my next meeting, rushed to Target and picked whatever I could find! They don't sell costumes in July, so I had to get creative. And it kind of helped! But not quite. My 4 yr old insists I use her full name to call her every time! Who does that? Do you?

[The Cheeky Tale: http://incessantmusings.blogspot.com/2007/12/naughty-gene-payback_20.html]

My Real Family!!

Whats with my kids and cheeky talk? Tootsie is turning out to be a talker. And the things that leave her mouth. We have had numerous conversations about fictitious lunches, her teachers talking Tamil after I leave and more recently Santa's discussions with her.

However the conversation we had this week took the cake! I was driving home with the kids a couple nights ago. Cheeky and I were talking about hair styles and bangs. Cheeky was telling me why bangs were not a good idea and how he was glad Tootsie grew hers out. While confused little Tootsie kept chiming in from the back "And you know I looked like Dracula with my bangs"... 4 yrs old and we get f and b confused! But we are not fazed by the fact that we had fangs!!

Finally we revealed to her that bangs had to do with hair and not teeth. So then she says "Yeah my real family really liked bangs so they gave me some". That stopped our conversation in its tracks.
"Real Family?" I asked
"Yes my real family who had me till I was 2 years old" Tootsie says with a straight face
We were still very confused, so Cheeky asks her "Who is your real family?"
"You know my English Mom, English Dad and English Brother".
Cheeky and I were speechless, we exchanged puzzled looks. Tootsie took this opportunity to educate us
"And now because I live with my Indian family I am learning Tamil" and she went on to say "Amma thanni kudu" (Mom give me some water) very calmly like this was all very normal.

So then we asked her "If your English family gave you to us, do we need to give you back to them?". She says "yeah, I will need to go back."

By then I had figured out why we were having this conversation, so I asked "Are you saying this because we talk Tamil and you don't?"

"Yes my English family only knew English, but my Indian family knows Tamil so I am learning" She says with an exaggerated sigh!

Will teach M to try teach her Tamil.. M is guilty of trying to get her to talk with her grand mom in Tamil this past weekend.

So this went on for 2 days when she described her family. Asked for names she said "I was too little, I didn't know the name of my mom, I just called her "Mom"". We of course narrated this preposterous story to my sister and she quizzed her about the English family as well.

Last night my sister in law sent us pictures of Kanu Pidi, a south Indian tradition that we do for Pongal (Harvest Festival). I was carrying Tootise and Cheeky stood next to me as I showed them the video and pictures. So the kids asked what that was about. So I said "They are praying to God that like a flock of crows, the family should stay together forever". Cheeky then told Tootsie "Oh but we dont need to pray for you, your English family will do that"

Tootsie hugged me and said "But mommy I want to stay with you forever. I am not going to go back to my English family"
Finally last night I guess Cheeky wore her down, she came to me and said
"You know I was with my English family before I came to your tummy" and later "Mommy I was just pretending about the English family"

What clued me in. Earlier that day I was working from home and on a conference call. Tootsie came up to me making gestures and mouthing something to me. M watching this asked her what she wanted and what she was trying to do. So Tootsie clarifies "When Mommy is talking to English people, she doesn't like them to hear me. So I was whispering!". And of course the fact that she frets over not being able to talk in Tamil. She keeps repeating the 4 words she knows in Tamil telling us "I am talking in Tamil now"

But well in all these that's the first time she has accepted her pretense. I am amazed at how well this kid can fabricate tales and stick with it all keeping a straight face. Like Cheeky says "Maybe we have a future writer?" Or I think Conman?

Starving for lunch

I have a big problem! The day care Tootsie goes to refuses to feed her lunch. They just starve my poor baby every day! Poor girl just cant catch a break here!

So every evening I pick Tootsie up from school and start on my hour long drive back home in traffic. This is usually our time to chat about our day! Or so I think. The first thing I do is hand her a snack and when she is done judging and going through all the different options for the day. Apparently I am a restaurant on Wheels! Anyway when she is done we can finally begin to share our day!

Usually one of the first questions I ask her is about her lunch. So here are a few examples of our conversations

Mom: Tootsie what did you eat for lunch today
(No Answer)
Mom: Tootsie what did you have for lunch today?
(No Answer)
Mom: Tootsie did you eat lunch today?
Tootsie: No
Mom: How come?
Mom: Tootsie did they give you any lunch today?
Tootsie: No
Mom: What about the other kids?
Tootsie: They ate lunch
Mom: What were you doing?
Tootsie: There was no place for me at the table, so I did not eat

Another day
Mom: Tootsie did your teacher give you any lunch today?
Tootsie: No
Mom: SO you did not get to sit a the table today?
Tootsie: Today I sat at the table, they did not give me lunch
Mom: What about the other kids?
Tootsie: No one got lunch today
Mom: So you did not eat anything today?
Tootsie: No I ate dessert
Mom: What did you eat for dessert?
Tootsie: Yoghurt

Yet Another Day
Mom: Tootsie did you eat lunch today?
Tootsie: No
Mom: But I saw them making lunch this morning
Tootsie: You did (I can hear the wheels turning at this point) 
Mom: I did, so don't tell me they did not give you lunch
Tootsie: They did give us lunch, but Mason was very hungry. And he ate it all up
Mom: What? Did your teacher not tell him anything?
Tootsie: She said "Mason don't eat from other's plates"
Mom: And...
Tootsie: He still ate it

And the next day
Mom: Tootsie did the give you lunch today?
Tootsie: Yes
Mom : Did you eat it?
Tootsie: Yes, Mason did not eat it today
Mom: What did you eat for lunch?
Tootsie: Rice and Bean ...
Mom thinking "Finally"
Tootsie: And Nuggets and hot dog and dal and rice and rice cakes and strawberry and broccoli and banana. I ate it all up.

Oh Boy! I give up officially... I would take back Cheeky's "I don't know" or "I don't remember" any day!!!

Driving Confessions

My car pool buddy and I have very intense conversations every night. There is something about sitting in the traffic for hours at end that will do it to you. It makes us philosophical. Besides that sometimes there are geography lessons to be had. And who is this driving buddy you ask? Why it is the little pixie called Tootsie. Tootsie has been a late bloomer when it comes to conversations. She is a talker alright, but she is a dreamy talker none of the cheekiness of the big brother. Here are some excerpts from our conversations

"Mommy, S is going to come to my home, take the princess clothes and give them away to Santa". S is the best friend and they so lovvveee each other. If you have a girl you know how that works. With Cheeky, the other kid was either a friend or not. And if he was a best friend they played together, if the kid was not a best friend they still played together every other day!! Life was simple. Now its all stories about "How will you feel if I do that to you" or "I am going to send a note home to your mommy. Then how will you feel" or "I am never going to be your friend again". There is so much drama involved.

Anyway so today's story was about the princess clothes. After trying unsuccessfully to tell her that S did not have the authority to do that, I decided to try another route.
"How does she know where Santa lives"
Tootsie - "Everyone knows where Santa lives"
How come I am not in on the secret then?
"Really? Where does he live?"
Tootsie - "He lives in a hotel"
"Which one?"
"The Hotel Santa"
"Where is that"
"It is where Santa lives on his sled and his reindeers live with him"
"Ok, do you know how to get there?"
"Of Course!"
"How?"
"You get there by car mommy"
"But how. What way do you take?"
"The road way mommy"
 "But do you know how to get there"
"I told you .. you drive in the car mommy" Exasperated voice
But I know to push it "How Tootsie?"
"Like this" says she turning the imaginary wheel round and round!!
"Oh that way. Now I get it"

Albeit slow, I am finally all caught up on Santa's co-ordinates. If you need help just ask Tootsie and her friend S.

How old is old?? 3??

As I carried my daughter and walked towards Costco, Tootsie spent her time canvassing a movie she wanted to watch later. And then she let me in on a little secret. "Mommy I am old" says she, still stitting on my hip. "Really" I asked her "how old?"
"Old!!" came the reply... making her case to swipe my credit card at the store. And she is old.. 3 going on 13! I wonder what the future will bring!

And she has a plan! "When I turn 4  I will need to learn Dance, Jijitsu, Football and Swimming" says the diva. " At 3 I will just learn dance". Cheeky is all into MMA and UFC. So Tootsie wants to learn Jijitsu as long as it doesn't give her a "boo-boo". She might just whip out a contract here before we sign her up!

At school the little missy is learning to write her name. She misspells her name all the time, she repeats the same syllable over and over again. After weeks of correcting her and getting into trouble for it, we have given up. Every time we correct her she gets so mad at us! Whatever happened to parents admonishing children.. its the reverse in our household.

So the other day I went to pick her up at school and Tootsie showed me a picture she had drawn. Then she pointed to the rowdy syllable in her name. "See mommy I only wrote it twice" she said. Me being annoying me said "But princess you wrote it 3 times, see". The princess was mad! She walked out of school with a long drawn face with the dark storm clouds following us. To her credit she held herself till we got to the car and then let it loose at me "Mommy that's not fair! You and Daddy keep changing my name" she said! The troubles of my little princess are multifold indeed!

Christmas brought an interesting turn of events in Cheeky-ville. With a 9 yr old cynic and a 3 yr old believer, things sure got interesting here. Santa survived the trials and brought us the gifts. But not before we were no longer sure who was the believer and who the cynic. Just in case a trip to the mall was made, minus Cheeky who did not want "any part of the drama". [9 is officially a teen year now I think!] Tootsie all business like walked up to Santa and said "I want the Sophia toy. It is available at Costco".  She would have given him directions too if Santa hadn't distracted her asking her age. And then she launched into this long tale about how she was 3 but had to have a bday cake and a party when she turned 4. Only instead of the candles, she is just going to have 4 parties and 4 cakes! How convenient!!

Anyway, if you thought that Tootsie would not be satisfied, you are sooo wrong! Because then the mom had to be informed about the doll in Costco. And how it could be purchased day after Christmas. "And you have to pay before you can open it ok?" Yes Maam... we get the drift!

So as you can see between changing names and buying gifts, toosie-town is a happening place! Until next time.. Chao!!

Little Miss Attitude

It's been long since I stopped to write!! I have been lazy I admit!! In my defense my life has been turned tipsy turvy by a certain little missy. For the past year and it looks like for the rest of our lives, we have turned on the dramatics.

Talk about the other side of the grass. I always thought when Cheeky was younger that I missed having a girl. I thought girls were easier and mellow. Boy did I have my head turned around!! 

Today every small task involves dramatics and hours of negotiation. You skip a step or raise the voice a tiny notch... The drama begins!!! You will then find yourself dealing with hours of trauma and regret!!! So we have learnt the hard way!! 

A few weeks back I took Tootsie to an eye exam. They showed her slides with pictures. 3rd slide down she refused to tell us anything. After a lot of probing and cajoling we were informed "but I already said all that"

Her teacher had the kids gluing skin colored faces and features to teach them body parts in Spanish. They missed arranging a Indian colored face... So Tootsie told her teacher "I can't do this, it's not my skin color". She has duly informed me that she is browned!!

It's been eventful needless to say.. The little miss stamps her unique personality on everything including art. Here is a self portrait of her highness!!

Meanwhile in the elementary world Cheeky is fast growing and never fails to remind me he is almost a preteen!! The cheekiness stays on much to my relief!! This week he has been tasked with writing a scary story for a creative writing contest. His story has werewolves and graffiti. But was scared me most was the werewolf crawling through air ducts letting off carbon monoxide bombs in the cafeteria. And there was green fumes filling the place. Now should I rejoice the creativity or worry about the devious plot?? I wonder!!

ToodleDoo from Tootsie Town!

Its never quiet at Tootsie town. Be it preschool or the Christmas wishlist, the Tootsie style gives us some laughs and the much needed relief in our otherwise mundane life. Oh well, there are days when the relief is all the yelling, screaming and drama. But other days like these, is what makes life as a parent worth its while. For kids do say and do the funniest things!

The latest preschool tale we are being told is still about Nafan (oh yeah thats what the little boy is called, and you dare not correct her!! I do hope the boy's parents dont read this blog though, after lovingly naming their boy they now stand corrected?)

So Nafan was asked by Tootsie
"Whats your name Nafan?"
"Nafan! Whats your name Tootsie" he asks
"Cutie Pie" says the little minx. And you dare not try calling her anything else "Me Cutie Pie" she corrects her mom. Hey little pixie I named you remember?

And then there is the Christmas tale. Cheeky has been getting early Christmas gifts by the hour. Because he claims he doesn't believe in Santa. So now all of a sudden he doesn't need to wait till Christmas to open his gifts? Boy this is getting exhausting! Meanwhile a guilt ridden mom tried to do right by Tootsie who seemed innocently unaware. So mommy asked "Tootsie do you know who Santa is"
"Yes" said Tootsie excitedly.
"Do you know he brings gifts to good kids?" asked Mama
"No Mama, Toys!" says Tootsie emphatically
"Yes toys" says the foolish Mom "What do you want for Christmas Honey?"
"Barney" says Tootsie and immediately bursts into tears "Where is Barney??" she cries.
Boy did I not tell you.. I am slipping in my parenting skills. So mom and Cheeky went online and ordered a Barney Plush toy. Cheeky in a moment of magnanimity (is that even a word?)  offered to buy it for his sister as a Christmas gift. Days later the Barney arrived. Cheeky and Dad could not hold the surprise, so here we were in the 2nd week of December and Tootsie had her first Christmas gift. A Barney singing "I Love you". The smile on her face stopped the protest on my lips. Till she declared in about an hour's time. An hour for which Barney sang I love you, non stop and she danced to his tune. An hour later she held him up and said firmly "That's enough! Go Inside the TV". And she insists that Barney go back inside the TV where she can watch him!
Sigh! We had to sell the plush toy up! Marketing and Advertising has things to learn from our family. So now she hugs the plush and watches Barney on TV!

What about Christmas you ask? Well I have my next gift planned and ordered. And hopefully I will be smart enough to hide it this time! The other day when I arrived with Tootsie at school she took me over to the toy kitchen in her classroom and I was thrilled. I lucked out, Tootsie is going to get her heart's desire. I had to share my joy and told her teacher. She assured me that Tootsie would love it for she spent her days at school at the toy kitchen. And whats more she spent her time multi-tasking while her left shoulder held the phone to her ear! I shared this tale with Cheeky and he said "So does she have a Tootsie clinging to her feet too?". Cheeky has not lost his touch!

He is blogging now.. my little baby is all grown up! http://coolcheekytimes.blogspot.com

Fautly Engineering? Where is the Flip Switch?

I was talking with a friend today and sharing the woes of being the mom to a 2 yr old. And I got thinking. I have been a mom to another 2 yr old, but things were never this intense then! Everything seemed much easier and more relaxed. Is my memory failing me, am I growing senile or is it just different this time around? As I was thinking I figured what was missing. The man up there has played yet another joke on me. There is no flip switch on this model!

My son knew when to tone down and turn off his tantrums. Every thing that seems a struggle now was just the flip of a switch then. When he peed his pants as I struggled with potty training ... all I had to do was switch to pants and warn him repurcussions. Lo Behold potty training sturggles were behind us. Cheeky just does and did things that way, he has a flip switch hidden somewhere. One day he wasnt walking, and the next day he suddenly was. One day he decided to throw away the bottles and switch to sippy cups. And one sweet day he just decided enough was enough and walked away to sleep in his own room. I do not have any claim to fame parenting that kid. He has made parenting a breeze.

Now my little rascal. I have been struggling with bottle weaning for months and months now. I have tried everything, from refusing to give in to throwing the bottle in the trash (only to retrieve it again after all hell broke loose and 3 hrs later we were still standing next to the trash can screaming!). I have tried scary stories of teeth falling off, I have tried compromise (lets switch to water, mickey mouse bottle), bribery, threats and power struggles. Nothing has worked because this model has no flip switch. Instead this model comes equipped with a strong willed mind that locks horns with me just because!!
And dont even get me started about sharing the parental bed. A purple room, wall decals with mickey and tinkerbell,  a crib, a full bed with colorful covers. And just for kicks a spare bed in the parental bedroom. Ask them they will tell you a woeful tale of a toddler who refuses to move!

This toddler has proven time and again she is a little independent Diva. This weekend we took her shopping. Her dad picked out this pretty blue dress for her and she picked out a pink one. When Daddy tried to tell her he really liked the blue dress she told him what he could do with it. "Daddy want it? Here! " (you can have it). "Tootsie want this pink dress, no blue" she says very firmly.

She forgets nothing. A little boy in her school had the misfortune of pushing her one day. And he will never live it down. Every single day she tells me "Nathan pushed me". She has this serious look on her face knotting her eyebrows into a frown. Apparently she uses the same mad face when she tells her teacher too.

Drama queen lives on. She has always been the little drama queen. Nothing in our house takes any thing less than a drama these days. Be it a party, visitors, a trip outside to the park or the backyard, a drive or a stroll. Everything invloves drama, before , after and during the event! When it rains kisses it pours, but catch her in one of her moods and she will scream bloody murder if you as much utter a murmur. And so when we asked her last night, how did Nathan push you? She demonstrated by pushing herself across the room and flipping over and falling! That is the amount of drama we have to deal with.

And there is no flip switch! A 2 year old teenager is what I have folks (Pause for sympathy) . Wish me luck!!

Sleep is my arch enemy!

It is 1 AM and the house is still alive and alight. Even if the lights have officially been turned down some hours ago, the three ring circus won't shut down! We have retreated to the parental bedroom, numerous out of tune songs have been sung and rejected. The little pixie has been coaxed, cajoled and finally left to her own devices. Tired parental eyes watch, limbs outstretched, bodies are used as an obstacle course!
Years ago when my favorite movie was Sound of Music, I loved the song "The sun has gone to bed and so must I". Years later when I decided to have kids, I hoped these lines would ring true. Even after being a night owl myself I was delusional enough to believe that kids sleep through the night! Well 7 yrs and about 2500 days later I must tell you mine don't! When God was sending out the memo's about bed time, my kids weren't anywhere close!
My daughter thinks bedtime is the time to
Have crying jags and pretend sleepiness (you want to keep mommy hoping)
This phase is the first and starts early enough for mommy to get excited! And late enough for her to hope this is the actual bedtime. Usually culminates in a 15 minute nap after which we are re-energized and ready to face the night time fun activities with vigor and high spirits!
The slightest sound can be a source of excitement!
Last night Dada and the audacity to sneeze while she rocked on mommy's lap! The sleepy eyes turned bright and alight and awake now with renewed vigor, it was declared that fun awaits!
Songs that have been used before can not be re-used!
Every once in a while the pixie climbs onto Mommy's lap and asks her to sing in her out of tune voice! However the rule is no song can be re-used, now we'll see how she gets past this one!
Bedtime is for language practice and serious conversation!
My daughter thinks bedtime is to narrate to mommy our thoughts about life in general. Only mommy does not follow the pixie speak, so she is in training every night! And the pixie says seriously over and over again "aai hula, sshiish theethhee thhekkum ....voishetheeee"
And when all else fails, it's time to decide your life's direction
Night time is when the pixie trains to be a singer (Barney's "I love you" is sung over and over again), a belly dancer (bring on the butt shake baby), chicken dancer (this involves walking around in circles with hands shaking and folded into their armpits), voice trainer (we practice voice modulation, even if sometimes it looks like Pixie is training to be a loudspeaker!), tight rope walker (this is practiced on the bodies of parents who pretend to sleep), mountain climber (again parents who are available make good mountains) and last but not the least training parents in survival skills (staying awake and alert in times of extreme sleep)
I am hoping to clear training in about 18 years, I will then update you on how we faired...till then from zombie world it's a zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Show me the inventor of Cribs!

And he will rue the day! Recently I posted a picture on my facebook account of the crib that is apparently not to be slept in! Many laughed at my plight! I have read all the children books, and listened very closely to the pediatricians.. who tell you to put the baby in the crib and walk away! My baby thinks that is a cue to

1. Start screaming the house down

2. Join me in a game of throwing her teddy bear out and me pick it up

3. Bounce in the crib in sheer glee, till she goes back to step 1

As a result the crib is never slept in! And the devilish Dad does not fail to remind me how I ordered the crib and assembled it all in 1 hour because my daughter absolutely needed it.

To tell this story right I must start at the very beginning. Lets go back a couple of years.. to a time when we had one kid who had ordered a bed of his own in his own room and promised to spend his night sleeping (or as he most likely was.. bouncing) in his own bed! The parents decided it was time to buy a new bed for themselves! And why stop short.. so they went to the store got greedy and bought a giant king sized mattress! After all we were promised sleep after 5 years of kicks and prods! Well 2 hrs of it anyway, after that the brand new bunk bed in Cheeky's room got too lumpy and the room was just too cold to be slept in! Who could blame him eh?

Anyway, we were so pleased with ourselves! What with our king bed and all! And then we moved to California! And rented a match box to live in! And decided to have baby 2. Now where would baby sleep in? Hey we could not be expected to share right? So we bought her a little travel crib with a cute bassinet, and settled for sliding in sideways in and out of the room! But the bassinet was just not right.... so right from the start Tootsie knew just what to do when she was asked to sleep.. climb into mommy's bed!

Months later, we moved into a bigger house with more room, and decided (OK I Decided, it was time for a crib). So I made this big story about my daughter waking up and rolling off the 4 ft tall bed (really what were we thinking huh?).. and bought and assembled the crib! Since then it stands there in our bedroom a silent reminder of my folly! The hubs just bursts into hysterical mirth.. especially in the wee hours of the morning when Cheeky finds his lumps and climbs in next to mommy!

So I decided on a quiet night when the hubs was out of town I will work a miracle.. I lulled the little minx to sleep and quietly put her in her crib and tip toed all the way to the family room, and curled up in front of the television! Lo behold the screams arrived (in about 30 seconds!).. feeling sorry for the little one, and silently admonishing my maternal instincts I put her next to me and started to curl up next to her!  Only to be kicked away! That is the rule of climbing into mommy's bed.. if you did not know that.. kick her out! I must admit though, after 7 years of this, without that kick to my spine.. I would hardly wake up rejuvinated from my sleep!

Now I ask you.. what are those good books and pediatricians talking about? And the inventor of cribs .. well he (for only a guy could have done this) for sure did not have any children!

Job Profile: Model/Actress (in training!)

It dawned upon me a couple of days back! My daughter is growing to be an actress.. for sure! All the sign were there... but my dim witted self needed some prodding before enlightenment dawned for sure!

At 3 months her doctor told me "She is a strong personality" .. while I knew that meant in mommy-ese, she is a stubborn, hard headed little girl, it did not occur to me that this was a sign, a signal .... telling me her life direction!

But lately, the cloud is clearing up, and I can see the future! You think I am kidding?

Carbs are the enemy - Tootsie hates carbs, and make sure she does not have too much of them! On any given day, she nibbles on her food. She hates carbs of any kind, I have tried rice, pasta, wheat, quinoa, you name it! She prefers to nibble on little bites, and stay focussed on her diet! Her doctor told me that she was "really skinny" for a baby! And she wasnt even walking yet!

A strict regime is essential - She is always on the move, getting her tummy crunches, cardio and other exercises in! If it means, mommy has to be kept in shape too.. so be it (My body however cares less, after all the running behind the little pixie, my BMI stays put!)

Less is More - She believes in a co-ordinated wardrobe, but less is the operative word! Earlier this week, I had dressed her in stockings and skirt. While I was otherwise occupied doing diaper changes, she lost the stockings and insisted it was to be just the short skirt.. Showing legs are a good thing apparently!! That night we were at a block party on our street, she proved her point by taking of her socks and slamming it to the ground!

Show me the Money - She loves her Dad's wallet, and does not give it up! EVER!

Walk the talk - She also loves the phone and continues to hoard that too!

Center of Attention - Always the show girl, she socialises wherever we set foot! She proved this at the same block party,as we laughed to some joke, we heard a pronounced "hahaha".. all eyes turned to our very own Show girl! Guess who the Center of Attention is now? (Fist in air)

Prettiest of All - We cant talk much, but can definitely stroke our own cheeks and say "Pyaara Pyaara" (Lovely). And ask her who the pretty princess is? Guess who that would be?

The actress - And she can act.. not that that is essential.. but she walked around the room this afternoon (strutted should I say?) .. as much as she could.. we are now mastering the penguin walk, but it is the cat walk next for sure! Every once in a while she would stop and put her head down on the ground and say "Thaachi" (Lie down.. short hand for sleep), and close her eyes! Apparently she knows the importance of beauty nap.. even if she is only acting!

Charming is the magic word - Tootsie knows that the way to get her way is being charming! She woos us with her kisses and sweet talks! And if nothing else works, turn on the magic tantrums... just cry like a baby!!

And I rest my case (as always)! I guess now dad needs to start worrying! Martial arts and Gun shopping?

Trading on cute?

I am dropping off the radar everywhere.... Blogging and Social networking included. And not many have noticed! I am surprised some handful noticed at all... What with friend lists running in multiples of 100, it's a miracle people notice my quiet existence! Why am I quiet? What with a pixie and a monkey at home all the time... One getting in trouble from being her pixie self, and the other from boredom... As you can imagine I have my hands pretty full!
The pixie is giving a new meaning to the word parenthood...this 1 yr old minx pretends to sleep..she will tightly scrunch her eyes closed...but forgets to stop grinning, so we figure her out anyway...and then she is bounding again! A couple of days ago..she was found giving her dad heart flutters as she repeatedly pretended to fall! Since when did 1 year olds learn to mock and tease?
She is in her terrible 2's already..she throws open every cupboard and drawer and raids them...repeatedly..multiple times a day. Why I bother cleaning up is a mystery I am yet to answer! A few months back we moved to a bigger place, so the kids will have more room to roam and grow! Big mistake...now they have more room to mess up! A friend who lives in a similar home gave me some money saving tips..she fashioned a gate for the stairway out of a folded cardboard box! Her 1.5 yr old stays out of it. My pixie figured out in 2 days how to slide at out and get in!! Now I ask you where is the time to blog?

And she is a true pixie..she gets away with a cute smile and grin..laughing silently at my frustration! Her brother summed it up for me this morning! She tried to con him out of his toy car ..she gave him a big smacky kiss and a cute smile. He is Cheeky..wiser than me... So he responded "Tootsie you can't always trade on cute you know" and walked away with his car!

Deja vu.. I am talking too!

Tootsie the little pixie learnt to do the princess wave! Yay!! Right? Think again... learning to talk and express only means one thing, soon the world will begin to understand her motives! The princess would wave every time we put her in her car seat and we were delighted! Yes.. now the little girl can say bye bye! So we showed off.. every time we met up with friends we would ask for a demonstration! And then I noticed something.. the hand wave was brought on the minute we met them... without prompting! I had a feeling of Deja vu.. and the sinking fear that my suspicions might be right! I will tell you why!

A few years back when Cheeky was a little baby he had no stranger anxiety. He loved to meet people and regale them with long winding tales, even before he could talk! My aunt sighed in relief and went on to tell me about the shy sister and cousin I have! When she was talking about our childhood stories, she told me this particular one about my sister. Apparently her stranger anxiety continued well into her toddler hood and this meant she could voice opinion. So the minute someone walked in the door, she would walk up to my aunt and ask "Iva eppo kalambuva" - "When will they leave?" and embarrass her!

So sure enough when my daughter started waving the minute she saw someone.. I knew it cannot be a coincidence. But I am a clever mom, so I started telling people "She waves for both Hi and Bye... confused girl!!", bear that smile and tell the pixie "Hi chollu" - "Say Hi". Now Tootsie is not called the pixie without reason! She figured she had to make her intentions clear! So now she accompanies her wave with a resound "Ba Ba" (Bye Bye)! Sigh.. history has a way of repeating itself! My only thanks to her is for sporting a smile while doing it.. maybe people can still be tricked!! And now I rush off to knock on wood!

First Words and Temper Flares

Cheeky has always been true to his name.. Cheeky the monkey.. He claims he was even born in the year of the Monkey. However with Tootsie we miscalculated... when we named her Tootsie the Chipmunk, I am not sure what we were hoping for. A meek little follower of the monkey? But no, Tootsie has a personality and likes to assert that time and again. She is Tootsie the Pixie princess! Cheeky checked and has made a discovery... Tootsie was born in the year of the Tiger and a little tigeress she is.

Last night we waited outside the Pharmacy in the dark.. mom and son sniffling with a bad cold while Dad went in to get some re-inforcements. While I tried to scare Cheeky with tales of the bandits after dark and he fretted about guns and bullets and formed strategies to tacklen the bad guys with locks and phones. Tootsie yelled and screamed and growled like a little tiger decidedly scaring the bandits away!

Meanwhile it is a month of firsts in Tootsieville... first the rolling, then the creeping, the sitting and now the talking ! While we waited for the first word in eager anticipation.. and tried to prompt amma and dada out of her mouth in competition. Cheeky had made me proud and uttered Amma first.. what would Tootsie's first word be? Turns out it was neither.. her first word is mammam (as in food)! M thinks it is a testimony to my parenting skills that a 7 month old has to ask for her food. Well the tigeress that she is it comes intersperced with shouts of "AAAAA".... "AAAAAAA...mammam-mammam .... AAAAAAAA ...mammam-mammam" it goes! Well in any case, I am proud of the Pixie who is the only infant I know that hates milk. But alteast she knows her hunger!! ?? Even if she eats about 2 spoons full after all the frantic screaming and proceeds to observe the world and ignore mom and the spoon!

As for the temper.. we recently went for a vaccination. Well both my kids are talkers and love an audience. Tootsie hates for us to close the stroller canopy... she will punch it and yell tarzan noises till we open it out.. Then she will coo and smile for perfect strangers.. but if anyone tries to pick her up, beware, the pixie can pucker up and cry like she is badly hurt in the matter of milli seconds!!

Anyway about the vaccination.. the pixie befriended the nurse with her smiles and was all geared up to play! But in went the shots.. Bham and Bham! The pixie cried for like a second, but was so mad.. I handed her the rattler she loves and the furious princess flung it right out while yelling at the nurse "nainainainainai".. oh well that was probably her first word.. whatever it will turn into, it is a perfect expression of our anger!! :P

Between the Cheeky Monkey who wont stop talking and Tootsie the Tigeress Pixie who wont stop moving, tumbling, yelling and getting under all impossible places.. I have my hands full.. So I will sign off for now from Mayhem-ville...till later!

I tell you being a baby is hard work!!

While friends and other 6 month olds are trying hard to crawl.. we decided to try a different tact. Lets try talking and co-ercing the object to us.. Maybe that orange balloon wants to come to me as badly as I want to get to it.
So while others will crawl the unique pixie princess, true to her name beckons to the orange balloon. After about 5 minutes of negotiation she decided to take matters to higher authorities.. She complained to mamma. But this mamma was of no help.. so she went back to pleading with the balloon. Finally she gave up and moved the 2 inches to get to the balloon. And after all the hard work, she touched the balloon and it dared to roll away! How maddenning.. so she yelled at the balloon ..."Memememememe" and rolled over to the next available object! The laptop.. now that looks like fun!!

I tell you being a baby is hard work!!

The little pixie called Tootsie

"Don't pick her up so much you will regret it" I told my friends. "Don't give in, be strong" I advised them. "Stick to the rules" I gloated. Little did I know that I had gotten lucky. The little guy did not want to be picked up, he could stay entertained looking at little hands and feet. The light, the fan, the curtains and even the toys were his friends. Rules were not questioned.. And then he turned 6 and all hell broke loose. Because along came a little itty bitty girl named Tootsie and Mommy had to eat her words!
At 4 months the little chipmunk has a mind of her own. She has decided she loves to sit up and hates lying down. She wants to watch mommy work from the royal seat.. mommy's lap! She wants Mommy and Daddy to talk to her not into the phone! She voices her opinion to the doctor and the nurse. SO much the doctor turned to Mommy and said "She is a strong personality already".. A nice way of saying "Boy is she stubborn?" The little one who is lying next to mommy as she types this and stirring in her sleep! She is the little one we call Tootsie!
Now I will no longer hand out free advise to friends will I? Reality bites!! Tootsie is not a cry baby though.. she is a talker. So when she doesn't get her way she whines, coos, calls and finally shifts to a loud baritone so no one else can be heard! Aaaha now I got your attention pick me up smiles the little pixie. And everyone (Cheeky not excluding) dance to her tunes!

In other news..
Halloween was a hit. Like all 6 year olds, Cheeky had a full social calendar and celebrated Halloween for the entire weekend, starting that Friday. As we hopped from Parades to Carnivals to Haunted Houses, Dad spent some quality time with the lady bug. Mom watched as the Transformer along with a few other super heroes were turned loose on the streets on Halloween night. Among Pirates, Skeletons and Dracula's (Apparently the Princesses and Fairies and even the Witches did not want to have anything to do with this assortment of characters and took another route). No house was left unknocked. No alleyway was left unexplored. At the end of the night the little imps were already discussing their costumes for the next year and planning their next Halloween. The tired parent chaperons were just glad to drag our feet home behind the super heroes high with just the sight of all that Candy. And we planned how to hide the stash away from prying eyes and hands.
Cheeky is becoming a gangsta. While they don't call themselves a "gang", they call themselves "group". "They" are a group of 4 friends. They were 5 and one kid moved away... so now they are trying out different kids to initiate them into the gang! These kids plot and plan how to trick parents. Every afternoon they would sit and talk, and throw out their lunch so the unsuspecting parents would think they had actually eaten it! But we are not parents if we don't know that history repeats itself!! Every afternoon when I saw the clean box I kept getting flashes of the sand I threw in my box every afternoon to fool my mom and the milk that was drained into the sink every morning. But Geeky Dad was the one who wormed the truth out of the clever Cheeky's mouth.. So now he just brings the box home with all the food intact! Seriously where do these kids get their energy?
Meanwhile, I have been invited to lunch by "the gang" next week. Only if I bring cup cakes.. so I will take me and the cup cakes and meet the privileged 5! I heard from a reliable source (another unsuspecting parent of the gangsta's) that I would be ignored, but would get to listen in on some very interesting conversation. I must say I am looking forward to meet the gang in their setting!

This bedraggled mom has a messy house to turn her attention to.. but wait hear that? The silence.. the little pixie is asleep, maybe I will rest my head for a few before we have to do the pixie dance again!!!

The talker and the manipulator

All is well in the Cheeky-Tootsie household. Cheeky and Tootsie are managing to keep Mommy on her toes. Tootsie is proving to be quite a talker and keeps cooing to anyone that will listen. And God forbid she is left alone for a minute.. she protests and screams like she is hurt.. and the minute she is picked up her real intent is made clear!! The picker upper gets a toothless grin and that I guess is supposed to make the heart pounding worth it!!
Its when Cheeky gets back from school that the fun starts.. while he narrates his day's stories.. tootsie talks non-stop. Cheeky is heard complaining "Amma ask her to stop interrupting me"
"Cheeky she is telling you what she did all day.. "
Cheeky: "But Tootsie you just ate and slept all day... how long will you tell me that? You have nothing interesting to say, let me talk"
He does have a point there..
Every afternoon we have a ritual. Cheeky gets home, takes his piggy bank (The fantasy aunt is responsible for this contraption) and counts his life's savings. He reminds me of my grand-dad who would count his money every day! Anyway Cheeky gets all left over dimes and cents lying around the house! So when he counted out the big pile of coins in his piggy bank he found he has the fortune of one dollar and 21 cents. And he went around proclaiming this to everyone that will listen. Then he came to me one afternoon and said, "Amma I want to buy myself a toy with my money".
Amma: "Yeah sure you can buy whatever 1$ will buy you"
Cheeky: "Ok I want a nintendo Ds"
Amma:" But that costs 200$"
Cheeky: " So what you give me the rest of the money for it"
Amma: "Do you even know how much the rest of the money is?"
Cheeky: " Yes 199 dollars"
Amma: "But Cheeky you need to earn your money"
Cheeky rolling his eyes: "Amma adults earn money, kids get it from their parents"
At this point I decided to withdraw from my losing argument and maintain status quo.. So I did the wisest thing and walked away. However the conversation was far from over. The next day Cheeky began negotiating when he would get Nintendo DS.. Next week moved on to this summer to when he turns 7. Meanwhile Geeky Dad was blissfully unaware of this whole ruckus. He arrived from an out of town trip a few days later and was waylaid.
Cheeky: "Daddy what did you get me from your trip?"
Dad: "Nothing"
Cheeky: "Daddy are you kidding me"
Dad: "No Cheeky I was on a business trip I did not buy you anything"
Cheeky: "Maybe I should check your bag"
Meanwhile mom thought she was being clever and told dad "Give him a coin for his piggy bank". Dad handed Cheeky a dime. Cheeky perked up "Daddy I need some money for a toy... I am short of a few dollars".
Daddy rummaging through his wallet looks up: "How much?"
Cheeky: "199 dollars"
Sigh!! When fantasy aunt gifted him a piggy bank, Cheeky told her he wanted an ATM instead. Why couldnt she listen??