Some new beginnings taking shape… looking forward to see where the path takes me… both inwardly and outwardly… Hoping the journey will be a good one!!

Wish you all a fabulous 2012!!

The weekend’s here. Its ‘Show n Tell’ time at the school tomorrow. The school atmosphere will be vibrant, with enthusiastic teachers, kids showcasing their projects and excited parents milling around!! Hope to have a good time and get some good clicks

Have a great weekend folks !!

When I had chosen Hindi as the second language for Ammu, I did not know what it entailed. As in, I was not aware that the course content would be nothing like what we had, that so much more would be packed for learning within an year and the teacher would be rushing through it.. simply because she has to complete the syllabus. For me, learning Hindi had been a breeze and I assumed it would be the same for her! Duh? I know!!

In fact, I was blissfully unaware of all this, until almost the end of the first year. I hadnt been checking with Ammu’s lessons on a daily basis. I knew that she was finding it difficult to cope with the Hindi barakhadi. I reasoned that since we dont communicate with her in Hindi, its a bit tough.. but that she’ll catch up in a while. It was one of Ammu’s classmate’s mom who, while waiting for our turn to talk to the teacher during one PTM, voiced her concern to me regarding the syllabus and the manner in which things are being rushed.  Only then it dawned on me that there really was an issue and that I needed to do something about it.

I don’t remember my parents ever helping with homework and stuff. And had thought that it would be the same with Ammu n Adi… She did well in her Kindergarten without my help or intervention. And I had believed that it will continue in the same way!!

I began helping Ammu with her Hindi. She resented it.. did not like the fact that she needed to practice. Nothing I said could convince her that she could learn Hindi! She even started saying that it would have been better if I had chosen Kannada for her instead of Hindi. Somehow, she felt convinced that Kannada is easier. I realized that it would be quite an uphill task for me to reverse this!

Whenever possible, I helped her with understanding and practicing of the barakhadis and matras. This year, I started reading the lessons with her.. sometimes at bedtime. She would look to me for prompts for words that she could’nt say immediately… but I would ask her to think through… to add the consonant and the matra to form the word.. which she would do after a few wrong attempts. She would be thrilled whenever she read a whole sentence or paragraph on her own. I asked dad to help her with lessons sometimes. BIL and sisters too chipped in whenever they were with us and Ammu needed to do her Hindi lesson All through, I had been telling her that it would be difficult as long as she didnt practice. But with practice, it would definitely be easy!

For the test, in the previous quarter, she was determined to score full marks in Hindi. And she practiced writing to some extent. The result has been good, much better than the previous ones..though she didnt score the full marks. And she’s much more confident now. And I felt glad that I had egged her on when she had all but given up on learning Hindi.

The above conversation happened last night when I came back from work. I was especially thrilled to hear the last sentence. It was an affirmation to me that what I/we convey to her does get ingrained and am delighted that she’s conciously aware of it!!

Muahs to you baby! I feel so inspired

P.S: US is her close friend since LKG

Made the tree based on the one found here . I had seen this one many years ago but had’nt made a tree till now. It immediately came to mind when I saw Shruti’s Dec theme for Artsy Craftsy Glad that I could find the link to share with you all!

I used the already used up handmade paper for making the tree. I’ve made some modifications to the shape… just drew it free hand… also i did not have exact rectangular ones as I cut it out from an earlier school project. Cut out the 2 pieces and put them together to get the 3 D tree.

Then, I and Ammu, made the ornaments using play dough and painted them with glitter glue. And stuck them up randomly. Ammu was excited and generous enough to lend her play dough for this project! While Adi looked on patiently he was waiting for a chance to lay his hands on the tree

Tied some golden balls that had fallen off from a Santa cap, onto a golden thread.. this one from an old wedding card and stuck that to the tree as well.

Eventually, sis2 who had been watching all this, was inspired. She joined in to make the gifts and the snowman that are kept under the tree!! These too made using play dough and glitter glue for the decoration.

Everyone was super excited on seeing the final outcome, done fittingly on Christmas day!! All in all, it was an exciting and enjoyable time with the kids who loved the Christmas tree!!

P.S: This is a post from the drafts. Missed linking it due to delay in uploading the pic …

P.P.S: Its been 3 awesome years of blogging!! YAY!!!

And now, the fun has begun .. the vacation started yesterday and the school will reopen on the 2nd of Jan 2012. So also the fights… the sis bro duo are giving us some tough times these days She gives him a good spanking whenever he does something that annoys her, much to our chagrin!! Thankfully, most of the times I am at work and don’t have to witness these scenes. Even hearing of them, makes me get so worked up. Sometimes I feel, maybe, my presence could help restrain herself. I’m not so sure though…

Many times, she feels bad about her behaviour. And,she says she does not understand why she does it, when she loves him and does not want to hurt him. Her temper is a cause of concern these days. She talks rashly to everyone, at times. Though, she quickly realizes that it is not desirable. I have tried reasoning with her.. patiently as well as threateningly at times. But it has not had much of an effect. She has her temper tantrums and then, is also quick to apologize. I don’t know if I should stay upset with her even after she promises not to misbehave, or I should just accept her apology and give her another chance. Its so very confusing Makes me feel I’m doing something awfully wrong! Sometimes, I dread the thought of teens!! Time seems to pass so quickly… not helpful at all

The only solace is that they make up quickly. Especially, Adi… he does not give up easily. He has to follow his didi around, no matter what!! And , at the end of the day, showers her with kisses before leaving for home One lucky didi she is!! And, she knows it So, the only wish is .. fights or no fights they should stay the best of pals!! Always

And… its been a challenging time with Adi too. Esp recording this so that I’ll not be accused of being partial to Adi. His mamma and baba think that I’m too lenient with him   He does his share of mischief, at home and in school as well. It has been especially annoying when his teacher calls up and tells what he’s been up-to! Though she maintains that there’s one other guy who’s the most naughtiest as well as violent in the class. We can be thankful, that Adi is not pushy and violent with other kids.. but still there are reasons for concern.

Earlier, while coming back, he would not sit in one place and would give a tough time to the van driver and helper. They would resort to various means to make him sit in his seat. But, sometime back, he did the unthinkable.. along with the friend of his, who he says goaded him to do it. They threw his school bag out of the moving vehicle!! Luckily, the driver/helper noticed it. Stopped the vehicle and brought it back for him. He got a proper dressing down esp from his mamma, who is by nature an anxiety freak… nicknamed Tension Rani

Its tough dealing with him also. We need to constantly keep an eye on him. Even when we get angry with him and scold or yell at him, we’re so besotted with his cheeky grin, puppy looks and pleading wails that we give in very easily. We, as in, me, thata and our cook His mamma and baba also give in.. but they are more worried and keep the strict stance for a while longer!

He’s been having cycles of illnesses for more than a month now. Throat infection, tonsillitis… he has been coming down with fever every Sunday. Its a routine of medications including antibiotics, salt water gargling and steam inhalation. But no matter what we do or say, he cant seem to stop his habit touching dusty surfaces and of going and washing his hands in the chilled water.. ever so often. Doesn’t help one bit, with his cold and the stuffy nose, that look like they’re here to stay!!

All in all, its a roller coaster of sorts Trying to stay buoyant and sail along with the flow…

Hoping fervently that they will turn out alright!! Health-wise and otherwise

The all enveloping mist is enchanting as ever. And, to see the suns rays slowly piercing through and clearing it up..makes for a lovely sight…

The tingle of the skin, at the touch of the cool breeze, while waiting in the balcony to wave bye to Ammu, feels so good and refreshing. With a cup of tea and lovely songs playing on the radio, it surely makes for a great beginning to the day!!

Hope you all are enjoying the winter and the festivities of the season!! Have a fun filled weekend And a Happy Feast!!!

At 7 and a half years of age! This is somewhat late, considering the normal timeline. She had been eagerly waiting for it to happen, since most of her friends and class mates had started losing theirs from quite sometime. Also, due to this delay, the permanent teeth, the 2 lower middle ones have already erupted behind the milk teeth.

It was her first visit to the dentist too. Couple of days back, she had started to complain of some pain in the upper middle incisor. That was also shaking now… though no where near falling stage. The doctor suggested doing an X ray to ascertain the cause…Turns out, one side of the permanent tooth is very close to the milk tooth and gets pressed while chewing… causing the pain Again, thankfully, not too much…

And.. she had her first dental procedure done! There was a slight decay in one of her lower molar. Got it filled up. After much prodding and then an ultimatum, she had started brushing her teeth before going to bed. But the problem was that she would finish the chore as quickly as possible.. in under 2 minutes!

The doctor gave a demo of the right way to brush, and told her that it will take at least 4 minutes. That she shouldn’t hurry to finish, if she’s to have a good set. At the time, I didn’t think it would have much impact… the doctors words, that is. But that night when she finished brushing, she came and asked me how much time she’d taken!! Frankly, I hadn’t kept count. And this happened for the next two nights as well!! On the third night, she told me to keep count when she went to brush. I told her that she took 4 min Though, I need to actually keep an eye out to check her technique, which I haven’t been doing… lazy me

I am hoping that she’ll take good care of her teeth and spare me the trouble and expense!! Mean I sound… but I really wish she won’t have to go through the pain and discomfort that comes on account of not caring for her precious teeth! And the same goes for her health too!! Its unto us to instill this value in her… I hope I will be able to do it…

Anxious .. yet, Hopeful

There were a bunch of videos waiting to be converted to CDs. Some were 3 yrs old. Thats how much we’d been procrastinating on that ‘to do’, for any number of reasons… obviously. However, this is not about the reasons but about the CDs Finally got them done…

Past week saw me watching these videos first thing when I got back home. Bliss!! watching the two kids while they were still little and more so coz they themselves were watching!! and going awww over each other

One scene, during Diwali 2008, where Adi’s walking to and fro with encouragement from all of us… he’d just started walking then. One particular time he’s just walking to the one whoever-was-doing-the-recording. Watching it, he asks, Bomma why i’m not going to didi? I was soooo awed by this sweet lil innocent question of his. In his tiny lil mind he’s so sure that the only direction he would go towards is to his didi .. why then he’s not headed there!!

I explained to him that it was the handy cam that he wanted to get and so he had walked in that direction and not towards his didi. He seemed to understand… but wasn’t quite satisfied with my answer though! It looked like he was thinking ‘how ridiculous !!’

At one point, he said ‘ I always want to go to didi only. I always like didi only’. Saying this, he hugged her and showered her with kisses

I had expected to relive cute moments watching the videos… but to recreate magic moments like this… totally unexpected, totally charming, totally awwwww!!! Felt truly blessed and full of love and gratitude… a feeling that no words can completely express!!!

Another memorable scene.. he’s got presents on his b’day 2010. He’s curious to know whats in a particular pack. But the focus shifts to the cake and the scene changes. Now, he’s fidgeting and wants to know what was in that pack. He goes ‘i want to see my giftttt’ thinking that we have changed something or done something so that he’s not able to see what was in there

Moral: Cute scenes are almost always followed with ‘tantrumy’ scenes… bringing us back to earth… with a bang! Package it is… sigh!!

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Last night, Ammu said ‘Mamma, at first there was only one mamma and one daddy. Then their babies had babies.. and so on.. isnt it?  So all of us in this world are friends na… all those whom we know and even those whom we dont know. All are friends only na mamma?’

I don’t recollect how the topic came about…I have never spoken to her about this. And, she tells  no one told her this! Lil mind… big thoughts. I’m totally amazed at how simple this seems to her and how accepting she is!!

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It was their school’s  Annual day on the 6th of Nov. Adi’s first stage performance! Danced enthusiastically to the song ‘bum bum bole’ from ‘Taare Zameen par’. It was a totally cute and energetic performance by the tiny tots!! Adi was so very excited when they were done. But his excitement seemed to be so much more more when he saw his didi dancing on stage!! When we all gathered outside the auditorium later on.. he ran towards her and hugged and kissed her excitedly!!! Didi’s fan he is … totally!!

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For Diwali, we managed to make Besan laddoos that was planned and a few savouries just on the fly!! A hectic day 1 that was. Pooja in the evening and diyas all lit… we got ready for the crackers bursting session that was awaited eagerly by the kids. This time both of them willingly went and lit the ‘Flower pots’ and the ‘chakras’. Adi, in fact, was raring to go… he wanted to burst crackers that go dhaam dhoom!!

Day 2 : I made a DIY curtain with beads and sea shells. Actually, a facelift to an old one, by reusing the shells. Then we all … me, dad, sis1, Bil1, Ammu, Adi and our house help D went to sis2′s place in the evening. Her in-laws were visiting… father, mother, granpa, brother, his wife n daughter. It was a huge family get-to-gether of sorts!! And bursting of a lotttt of crackers… the kids were over the moon!

Day 3: I alone had to go to work; attendance at office was hardly 10%!! Again, crackers bursting session at Sis1′s place Also, a day to be marked… coz it was the first time that Ammu stayed at their place after a lottt of coaxing, without me that is… Went back to a lovely glowing home with diyas lit all around, courtesy D! couldnt have been possible with Adi n Ammu around…

This Diwali was otherwise low on decor and also I have not been able to click any pics to share…

How was the festive time for all you people? Hope you all had fun n merriment with your loved dear ones!!

Leaving you with some pics of the illuminated main streets of Mysore and of flowers in the Flower show during Dasara.

For pics of the Mysore palace, from last year..

There was a phase just a couple of months ago when Ammu would wait for Adi to go back to his house… she wanted the peace and the people around just for herself. And Adi would just as eagerly want to go to his house. He didnt want to eat, sleep or stay anywhere else! He would just cry out loud if he had to… even eating outside was a no-no for him. His home it should be!

Now, they want to play all the time. Though they both choose different games, they somehow convince each other and manage to play together. Peace for us… as long as all is well. Of course there are the fighting bouts every once in a while. Especially when we think that they’re doing fine and just step outside their view. In that split second, we hear shouts n wails and have to rush back!!

The cute thing is that they both like to derive fun by sometimes annoying the other. Adi goes tickling her when she still wants to cozy a bit more in the bed, or by touching her stuff. He’s quite brave, in that, he will take her stuff even though he knows he’ll get bashed up if his didi notices him meddling with her stuff. Sometimes he does that just to annoy her. Ammu is no less.. she has her own ways of annoying him and enjoying every bit of it.

Just a couple of days ago, he wanted to play ‘Pataki’. I dunno what it is.. maybe just pretend play with crackers . Its Diwali round the corner right So whenever he said sur-sur-batti she promptly said kar-kar-batti which annoyed him no end. He also began wailing. But she was having her fun and wouldnt give up. For us spectators, it was quite an amusement.

The flip side of them being together is that they are not interested in studies most of the time. They promptly finish their homework, if any, and get down to play. That is the only thing they so eagerly look forward to. But then, its a package!! So we just grin and bear and try to think of ways to motivate them to study. Only time will tell how things turn out. Till then, enjoying the amusing brother-sister episodes

P.S: Sur-sur-batti is a crackler/type of firework.

One other thing I was intent on finding was a way in which i could do my bit. I tried talking to a few people… wondering what i could do within my limitations. The answer was within me all the time… this I realized when I finally awoke to the fact. Immediately, I took my first step of getting the required information to proceed in that direction. Hoping to start out with the initial steps in November.

The first time I signed up for something… it didn’t work out coz i could not attend the induction because of some work related constraint. Later I had felt and accepted that the time had not yet arrived. Ammu needed my time… I could not deny her that at that time. Even now she needs me all the same… but she’s a bit more grown up and has the company of people who care for her. Hoping to work it out in the best possible way.

When I look at these things in totality… I have the feeling that the reading will be of much use to me when I actually do the thing I’m hoping to sign up for. The realization is just amazing… its like the pieces of a jigsaw finally falling in place!!

There is so much that I feel like sharing, writing… but not sure if it will be coherent at all. Just as i feel about this post too. But I had to write it down. And here it is.. I’m just filled with a feeling of gratefulness for all of this, for the way I’m able to hold my own in spite of some developments that threaten to disrupt the inner peace and calm from time to time.

And yes.. the festival season is here and we are off to Mysore. Nothing planned… just to soak in the Dasara ambiance that is so very special in Mysore.

Happy weekend Happy Dasara to all you guys. Have lots of fun and merriment!!