Monthly Archives: April 2011
Drawinger tales :)
As I’ve mentioned a number of times, Ammu loves to draw. Except the time when she is writing her lessons, she can be seen with a pen/pencil and a paper in hand, drawing or at least scribbling something.. even while eating or watching TV… And most of her drawings will have people…at least one or two… invariably herself and Adi 
Ocassionally she draws pics that have one of her friends.
Books, pencils, stationery in general are very dear to her. Give her a pencil and win her over. Its that simple and easy 
Not even chocolates can do that at times
This year, she was introduced to computers at school. She had been excited to go to the computer lab and actually do something on it! But, she had never used the laptop at home, other than for looking at pics or videos. So, last month, during her worksheets/tests, she was delighted that I told her to use Paint and Wordpad on the laptop. She had to demonstrate the use as part of her test and so I thought a little practice is necessary even though, theoretically,she knew exactly how to open these programs.
And.. the first drawings that she made in Paint were these
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One smiley – Ammu
Two smileys – Ammu n Adi
Three smileys – Ammu, Me and Thata
Lots of smileys – Ammu, Me and Thata| Sis2 n Bil2 | Sis1, Bil1 n Adi
New and Fresh!!
Life... springing anew!!
Lovely flowers... signalling spring is here
New leaves sprouting on the bare twigs!!
For this week’s theme at Thursday Challenge Pics taken on our recent trip!
Spring time is full of enthusiasm… with renewed energy and life all around The sights to behold and cherish are so many!! Freshly sprouting leaves, flowers of all hues… bird songs, butterflies… Hope you all relished your share of all these.. and more
Trip to Nagarhole!
The trip to Nagarhole was much awaited as it was to be the first family trip!
We started by 6.45 AM from Sis2′s home. Sis1 and family were to meet us on the way near the NICE corridor connecting Electronic city to the Mysore road. However, they couldnt start coz of Adi… he was adamant that he would go only in the red car Somehow, we spoke to him and convinced him to come upto that point in their car [just 5 min from their home] and then he could hop into the red one
Thus began our journey!! The drive on the NICE road was good. Once on the highway, traffic increased a bit as was expected. We stopped for breakfast at Kamat on the B’lore-Mysore highway, some distance from Ramanagaram. Food quality was just so so… 
On reaching Mysore, we took the ring road connecting to Hunsur road, thereby avoiding the city traffic. Drive upto Hunsur was good. However, from Hunsur, it was a little tedious on a single lane road that stretched through the forest. There wasnt any traffic and we ambled on speed limit being 30kmph … looking out for animals on the way. We hoped to reach the destination, a homestay in Kutta, by lunch time.
It was quite hot and the trees were still bare post winter. And, the dryness all around proved to be a disappointment for sis who was expecting to see a green cover. Few trees were green though, and few more were sprouting new leaves, putting on a pale green appearance. But the thing that caught my eye was the burst of vibrant yellow flowers here n there. The pale green of the leaves and the bright yellow of the flowers made for a beautiful combo. Pity that we could not take a nice pic of that tree On closer look, I figured that it was Cassia fistula!! The joy was kind of doubled on being able to identify the plant!! kind of a high for a former student of Botany We spotted a few deers and langoors on the way . Also, there were a few tiny settlements within the forest area. We wondered how the people lived here with very few or no amenities at all! The slow drive made Adi very restless and he was on the cranky mode, almost getting on our nerves, when we reached Kutta, much to everyone’s relief.
We reached the homestay at 2.30, in time for lunch. The homestay that we had booked was an old traditional type of house. The hosts were in the newer house which was a little distance away. The whole place seemed very peaceful and the kids were overjoyed at the freedom it offered. They ran all around, went from room to room inspecting the house and then roamed about freely. The joy was so evident on their faces. As for me, it was the variety of flowers that were inviting. I started clicking pics enthusiastically, but was reminded that we were to have our food. So i had to stop after clicking few of them.
After lunch, we generally loitered around in the compound. Large area was covered with pepper that was put out for drying. We clicked a lot many pics of the flowers that had been grown all around. We sent the kids in for their afternoon siesta, and would have ouselves gone and happily plonked over the bed. But the hosts informed us that the last safari at the forest would start at 5 PM and that we had to register at least by 4.30PM. So we hurriedly readied and got into the cars. We reached the regsitration office in time and got our tickets.
It was very hot …we got into the vehicle and eagerly waited for the driver, to start the journey into the forest. Once on the trail… we looked out expectantly, cameras ready in hand! We saw a number of deers which roamed freely and did’nt seemed bothered by the intrusion into their territory. Probably they have gotten used to seeing some species that comes by and admires them and does something while looking intently at them. Then we saw a bird and some more deer…. A peacock was spotted by a few in the front, but the collective excited noises made it take flight and hide among some bushes Not to be visible again. Dejected, we just kept looking around hoping to spot some interesting animal…hearts of hearts, most hoped and wished to spot the Tiger!
We then saw an elephant in the distance, near a water body in the jungle … the whole place was full of bamboos.It was a lovely sight. And a bird sitting on a twig… not much idea about birds. Though we did not spot any exotic animal, we were just taking in the sights of the jungle. Noticed the yellow flowers every where we went. Also, it seemed to be only plant in flowering at that time. I wasnt complaining It made me happy to see the lovely brightness amidst green and brown all around. But there were a few who were whining and complaining about the lack of any other animal … so much so that they were ‘bored’ of the deers! I wonder how can one get bored in the lap of nature. Do they see deer in their backyard every single day?
We were almost nearing the end of the safari, when we spotted a peacock again. Its beautiful feathers… a burst of colour in the dry brown of the surroundings. I woke Ammu, she had fallen asleep, to see the lovely creature. Though, I wondered if it would actually register in her sleepy mind. More deer and a troop of langoors were spotted before we came back to the starting point. Adi was excited to see the animals but was clumsy all along…maybe due to the lack of sleep. We sat on the benches along the road, to have some snacks. But were asked to leave,as it was past 6.00 in the evening. The forest is a protected one and the path through it is out of bounds from 6 PM to 6 AM. Tired but happy, we headed back to Kutta, to the homestay.
It was the day of the finals of the world cup cricket. By the time we reached, the Indian team were out on the field, while the Lankans batted. Everone sat down to watch… all excited and anxious about the outcome. We had our dinner while watching the match. Our host had promised a complimentary night safari for us… we were to go into the jungle at night!! Dad and sis1′s in laws wanted to watch the game. Adi’s dad too. But we somehow convinced him to accompany us. So, after dinner, we all (me, sis1, sis2, bil1, bil2, ammu n adi) got into the jeep … the elders wouldnt have been able to fit in anyway. Equipped with a search light, we set out into the Wayanad forest [Kutta borders karnataka and kerala].En route, we even got welcome to Kerala messages from the respective mobile phone operators!
The adventure seemed thrilling. Esp, when we turned back to see the pitch dark spread behind us. The driver spotted an elepant and we all turned around to look at it. He mentioned that there was a calf too but I couldnt see it. We just slowed for a few moments and proceeded lest it angered the mom who was having a quite time with her lil one. Many sets of beady twinklings eyes were spotted by the others. These too I couldnt see… maybe it had to do with the angle of the search light beam from the drivers position and my position at the rear end of the jeep 
The kids fell asleep from the exhaustion of the days happeneings. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the drive through the forest in the cool night. An unforgettable experience it was!!
We returned to the homestay… to the tensed spectators, who found our chirrupy selves a distraction. They did’nt seem even a bit bothered about the fact that all their kids were in the jungle at that hour of the night. Winning the world cup was all that seemed to matter to them at that time We put the kids to sleep and settled down to watch the remainder of the match that seemed favourable to the Boys in Blue! After the magnificient six was hit by Dhoni, we all had rosogullas to celebrate the win. Sounds of crackers bursting were heard in the distance. We wondered about the scene on the streets of Bangalore. Must have been like Diwali!! After the awards presentation ceremony, the speeches and the victory lap, we went to bed… happy, excited and energised!!
Messy,tangled,complicated… naturally!!
For this weeks theme at Thursday Challenge.
This pic was taken in the Nagarhole forest, on our recent trip. The water body was surrounded by bamboo growing naturally… haphazardly… looking very tangled and messy !!
Tiny Tidbits!
On a lazy sunday morning, Ammu goes to Adi’s bed for some konjifying session Conversation turns to Chota Bheem. both are huge fans of this cartoon character on pogo. Adi insists that he is Chota Bheem and says Ammu is Chutki, Chota Bheem’s friend . Ammu asks who is Raju? n Adi points out to his Ram uncle. What about Jaggu? Ammu asks.. and goes on to explain that he is the blue monkey. To which Adi responds spontaneously, looking at himself.. ‘ I’m not the blue monkey!!’ he was wearing blue shirt and blue pants 
******
Before going to bed, sis was cleaning up Adi. She told him to look up so that she could clean his nose. Looking into the mirror, he says ‘It is night in the nose’ ’In the morning also, it is night in the nose!!’
******
Adi’s current phase – Loves cricket and Chota Bheem as already mentioned He gives a punch to anyone who opposes him! I tried to explain to him that Chota Bheem punches only those who are bad and are causing harm to others. He seemed to understand but it remains to be seen if he’ll stop punching all n sundry!
In addition to the witty, lovalble, adorable little bundle of energy that he is he seems to be in the terrible three’s mode stubborn, unwilling to be guided or disciplined, crankiness, easily given to crying and wailing when demand is not met for any reason!! It is exasperating, especially for Sis and BIL and also a matter of concern for us. We just hope this is a phase and he will soon come out of it! This also, we’ll have to just wait and watch!!
Happy!! this summer :)
The past week, Ammu has been attending the Drawing and ArtnCraft classes as part of the Summer camp at her school. Initially, I enrolled her for Music classes ..to learn to play the keyboard/casio. Her music teacher told me that he would teach for a week and will continue only if at least 10 kids enroll for the class. I went ahead and enrolled her even though the count was only 2 at that time, including Siri. You can say I was too hopeful But sadly, only the 2 continued for a whole week and now.. no more music classes. She was very excited about the music class though she seems relieved now! She told me that though she liked to learn music,her fingers hurt during the practise sessions.
So..now, ArtnCraft has replaced Music session. And she’s pretty excited about it. Coz its conducted by one of her favourite teachers [Adi's prenursey teacher.. a very sweet lady..always smiling ..unlimited patience with the kids ] In fact, when i first asked Ammu, if she would like to enroll for summer camp, she went through the handout and said she’ll go for art n craft coz Jalaja ma’am is conducting it Later going through the list, she decided she would like to go for drawing [remember she wants to be a drawinger] and added to it was the mention of water colours
In the past week, she said that she has made some drawings of fruits, vegetables, flowers and has coloured them using the oil pastels.. the water colours session is yet to begin, I believe. I forget what it was she drew but she was very happy that she was the only one who was able to draw it nicely
And today she was super excited about the craft session. She had packed an old dress to take to the class. They were to do some stuff with colours and glitter it seems. I hope she has enjoyed it
As for me I’m relieved that she happily agreed to go for the summer classes. At home, she spent way too much time watching TV, or fighting for the remote with dad Though of course most of her time was spent drawing/doodling n colouring! She would even bug me at times for ideas to draw when she would be done with her own
She’s very happy to do the things that she loves to do!! And the excitement is evident Yesterday, the first thing she said on waking up ‘ Mamma, I want to go to school. After Friday, it should be Monday! I dont want Saturday and Sunday mamma..’ wonder how moms like me can do without the weekend 
P.S: Adi came over on Saturday evening and stayed with us. Both of them had a gala time kicking and stomping on balloons. On Sunday, we took Adi n Ammu to watch Rio. Had fun .. the kids were laughing loudly looking at the colourful birds dancing to the energising beats!
When you’re happy and you know :)
… grinnnnn and let the world know!!!
For today’s theme ‘Happy’ at Thursday Challenge
The pics were taken at the tea gardens on our trip to Ghatikallu last year. The kids seemed so very happy to be clicked
