That makes way more sense

 My office has a big presence in Cluj-Napoca in Romania. And my manager is someone very keen on building relationships and hence one who encouraged us to travel and build a face to face rapport. I was not very keen on the travel, but then gave in thinking that it would be a good experience. K was happy with managing the kids for 4 days and said also asked me to go on the trip. It would be my first time away for 4 days from the kids. I had stayed a few nights away from them, but never 4 nights. It would need some getting used to on both sides. As soon as my tickets and accommodation were confirmed, I told the kids. I: “I am going to Romania”

Chiyaa: “What? With Sorina aunty? “ (Sorina is my friend and hails from Romania) 

I: No not with her, by myself.

Chiyaa: So nice.

There were some more questions as to when, for how long, who would put them to sleep, who would do the school runs etc etc. There were a few tears from Pumpki. I was very sad because she was sad, but then it was something that had to be done. The next evening Chiyaa mentioned , “You will be rid of us annoying kids for a few days and must be so looking forward to the trip”. K corrected her that that would be probably something he would do, not mummy. I was thankful for the reply and the girls were maybe convinced. 

That night while putting them to sleep I mentioned, 

‘If it was school holidays I could have taken you and daddy to Cluj. He could have taken you around when I went to office”

Chiyaa : “What do you mean he would have taken us around?”

I: “I would be at office so only daddy would have to take you for site seeing and all.”

Chiyaa : “Why would you be in office? And what office? “

I: “Oh didn’t I mention? I am being sent through work, so I would need to goto office every day.”

Chiyaa:”Oh so you are not going on a holiday?”

I:”Of course not, why would I go on holiday without you all? “

Chiyaa: “ Ohhhh I thought you wanted a holiday without us and would be having a fun trip by yourself.”

I : (hugging them) “How can I have a fun trip without you.”

Pumpki: “Now I feel sorry for you that you will have to goto office everyday.”

I: “Aww.”

Pumpki: “ Who asked you to goto Cluj.”

I: “My manager.”

Pumpki: “ I hate your manager.”

It was so weird and funny that missing 2 words for work made all the difference. All the anxiety of not having me around got transformed into anger for my boss real quick ;)

My lil grown up gal

 Anyone who has more than one kid will vouch how one kid's favourite food is another ones worst. Same is the case in my household. Whatever Chiyaa likes Pumpki hates it and what Pumpki likes Chiyaa finds disgusting. Chiyaa loves roti while Pumpki likes rice. Chiyaa loves chickpeas and Pumpki finds them horrendous. Pumpki loves peas and sweetcorn and Chiyaa hates them but likes beans which Pumpki hates. I could go on but you get the drift 😂

So the other day I asked the girls what sort of chicken should I make. Chiyaa likes something dry out of it like a grilled chicken or patty. Pumpki likes it juicy in a curry of stew. One shouted grilled the other curry. But I can sometimes bring them to a compromise cos it's chicken after all. They can tolerate a form which is not their favourite as well. 

Chiyaa said, ' We had curry last time so we should have grilled this time.' 

Then Pumpki who is the more difficult eater at the moment said, ' But I want a curry'. 

Chiyaa being the sweetheart that she is said ' That's fine I can have curry '. 

I said,' I can make both, not a problem '. 

Chiyaa being the ever thoughtful sweetheart said, ' No that will be a lot of work, I can have the curry.' 

I said,'No it's not a problem for me, grilling is just keeping in the oven. I can do both.'

But I was so immensely touched by the empathy she had for me. She really is a mature sweetheart with her head in the right place. I so grateful to God for the thoughtful daughter of mine ❤️

The changes

 The summer holidays have drawn to a close. I had my last week off to spend with the girls, and it was the best week I had :) We managed to do a bit of trekking one day. It was part of the 3 peaks which make the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge. The climb was quite hard and strenuous. Especially for the kids. But it was an immensely exhilarating experience. We loved every bit of it and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery from the top. The downhill journey was ironically as hard as the uphill 😂 After what seemed like forever we did manage to come down and treated ourselves to some gorgeous ice cream! With the high of having done a bit of trekking, we were eyeing the next peak. We planned it for the coming weekend when were to have wonderful weather. 

The week was a very sunny one and we had local trips and walks to keep us going. We did spend quite some time recovering from the long hill walking. We were definitely waiting for and raring to go for the next peak. Now this was way more challenging and steep than the first one! We had a bit of scrambling to do on our hands and legs. I was stuck at a certain point. Then thankfully I was advised by another hiker coming behind me to take an alternative route. It was quite sheer and steep and very very windy. I was scared out of my brains. But then there is no backsies 😖 I was amazed at my daughters for climbing up with all the confidence. After that exhilarating climb, it was time for downhill again. This time it seemed more painful because it was just plain old walking. The girls in fact found it boring.

This peak brought a close to the official holiday week for me. The climbing of two hills was exhilarating, but what lay ahead of us was the new hill of 2 different school drops, 2 kids going and coming back at different times and a whole lot of logistics with it. I was very very anxious about it and am really thankful that I managed a remote job where I could work from home. The girls had one more day to go for school and they used the time finishing some painting they had taken up during the holidays. Tuesday Pumpki started school. It was her very first day without elder sis. Chiyaa and K made a dry run to her secondary school. Chiyaa will be walking to secondary school which is 3 kms away. We are seasoned walkers and we did not think it would be a big deal. K and she managed a dry run with no hiccups at all. It would be a 07:40 ish start for her to make reach school at time around 0815. Dry run done, we missed little Pumpki all day and waited for her to return from her first day at school by herself without didi. She had had a wonderful time and was quite fine by herself. 

The next day was the main deal with Chiyaa starting her first day at high school!! Pumpki hates waking in the morning. She was the most difficult person to rouse out of bed. But she was ironically up with her elder sister. I managed to get her sorted ahead of time. We had set a routine for K to do the pick ups for Chiyaa and me for Pumpki. But since it was the first day for her, I wanted to drop Chiyaa. So K and I swapped places 😁 It was amazing walking with Chiyaa. She seemed so grown up doing so much all by herself. She was very excited for the walks. She was looking forward to her alone time with an audio book while returning. But I was concerned about her walking alone. She did not have many friends in primary school. We have seen most of the children walk back with some sort of company or friends. I was very reluctant to let her be alone. I did nt think in a span of the summer holidays she would be mature enough to walk all alone. But seeing her being so confident about managing, I did not want to dampen her spirits. It was more of a letting go for me. Only if I let her be, I would be ok with her taking ownership of stuff. So quite reluctantly I agreed to her walking back alone. 

As soon as her school was done, she messaged us and K and I got busy tracking her location. She is a fast walker! I was tempted to meet her half way. But given it was a very bright sunny day where there was amazing visibility, I did not want to ruin her maiden walk home. Eventually she came 35 minutes later and boy we greeted her with a big welcome! I asked her if she wanted to Mummy or Daddy at any point? And she said " No offence but I was fine by myself". My precious lil girl who used to cry to high heavens to be dropped off at day care and who had such a tough time at primary school in forming friendships was confident of taking on stuff!  Whole evening we kept pestering her with questions. It was a very new experience for us as well. 

The first day went well enough Touchwood. Here's fingers crossed for the whole year to be relatively smooth. 

Fingers crossed dear Chiyaa

 Chiyaa has been the most emotional component of our lives. When she was born, K and I could not have our parents near us to support us. We had to go through the entire ride of being new parents in a country which was not our native. It was a big learning experience but also a very handson and emotional one. We have many emotions and gone through many experiences for the very first time with her. 

Sending her to daycare was another monumental time for us. She took ages to settle down and it ripped out hearts dropping her every day. She used to cry and squirm in the pram even when we neared her day care. I had to literally tear myself from her and goto work. But then eventually after what seemed like eternity, she settled down and started loving her nursery. 

For most kids, nursery naturally leads to a local school. But we had to leave Leeds. She had to say her goodbyes to her nursery before the designated time. It felt like a relationship cut short, abruptly, untimely and painfully. She was given such glorious praise and good wishes by her nursery mates and her carers and even mummy and I who went to pick her up on her last day had tears in our eyes. 

But life is moving on. In a new town she started a new life in a new school. She didn't have the usual settling in sessions that the local kids might have had. She was thrust into the school. She took a few weeks to settle down and a new friend was instrumental in that. Her friend, her friend's brother and Chiyaa used to greet each other with the loudest hugs and shouts when they greeted each other. It was finally falling into place.

But then, life hit her and us again. K got a job in Leeds and we had to move back. We got her placed in a local school. She had a very very tough time forging new friendships all over again. Her teacher was phenomenal in settling her. She formed some friendships with some older kids, but they left school, she formed some friendships with her after school clubs but they came and went. She never had a good solid friend. There was shuffling in her class in the middle of school which landed her in  a group very unlike herself. She struggled through the next 4 years. K and I kept ruing, that a good level headed kid like her just needed one friend to make school life just a bit easier. But for some reason that was being denied to her.

She starts high school in September. On 6th July they had a trial day at her new school. She was in a group where she knew no one. She said she was fine with it. ' It will be a fresh start' is what the mature lil girl said. I dropped her at school hoping and praying she found a bunch of people to hang out with. We saw the some  known faces and I asked her why didnt she just say hi. She went ahead and one of the people hugged her and they all started talking. I had tears in my eyes. As she went into the big school building, I stood hoping she  would cope and survive.

When I went to pick her up, she came with a smile and my eyes watered again. She had some one from her school in her group. She chatted with a group of known people during lunch. She did not feel alone or left out during the day. My hope and prayer, May this be true for the next 5 years. All she needs is one friend. 

Its the most wonderful time of the year

 Or so the song goes. Its not the most wonderful, but it is relaxed for sure. The girls are on their Christmas break and the house is filled with their howls and giggles :) There is enough fighting and just enough peace making. Since the weather is quite bleak and murky they do not get enough outdoor activity. To remediate this, in steps Cruel Mom Mwahahaha! 

I mandate a walk in the evening. So yesterday we went on a walk around 1630 in the evening. It was pitch black by then, but thank God for street lighting and the jolly Christmas lights that people tend to put up around this time :) To incentivise the walk, I give one ear pod each to a child and act as the DJ dishing out songs. Now poor Pumpki has much smaller ears. The ear pods keep popping out. We had walked only a few metres and they had come off twice *facepalm* Then there was a brilliant idea by yours truly! Hat! We ran home and got a hat to secure the ear pod! Wow! The joys of cold, murky weather :P

We walked a decent stretch and were a few paces from home when the girls kept fiddling with their ear pods. I asked them to hand it over to me. They did. In my enthusiasm to secure them , my cold, numb fingers dropped one of them! On the road! With traffic buzzing past! Good Gawd!!!! The ear pods are a blessing for me. They keep me company with audio books when I do the most soul zapping tasks like folding clothes or cleaning the house. Even for interesting tasks like cooking, they are good company ;) And now I would have one :( The tragedy! And the over thinker me, already charted how one ear would be more impacted than the other and then it would lead to all sorts of issues.  When the traffic was clear, I kept crossing the road to look. Thankfully being a residential area, the cars were not zipping past to kill me. The kids were equally distraught. Then suddenly Pumpki shouted, I found it. It was just a few paces from here. Being closer to the ground due to her shorter height she could see it. (This totally reminded me of a physics problem we used to do in school, about what would be the height of a person if he can see the sun across a sand dune, or something like that. Also not sure if it was Physics or Mathematics. ) This was the reversal of that situation of what distance a person can look down :D 

With Pumpki having saved day, a lot of praise was bestowed on her. Even by Chiyaa who is not so generous with praise for her younger sister. She was patting Pumpki's back and thumping her shoulders as if Pumpki has scored the winning World Cup penalty shot! All is well that ends well and to end it even better, the trio marched to the nearest store to get some chocolates to celebrate!

PS. I think it was a Mathematics problem in trigonometry :D

The cleanse post

 The spring half term gets over today. And I can look back at a wonderful 2 weeks of  this year. The first week was occupied by a trip to Jersey. It was a fabulous time away. Though we would have liked the weather to be a bit warmer, it was still a very lovely time. A trip we would definitely want to make again. 

Once we were back from Jersey, K felt a bit poorly. We blamed it on the travel stress. But something struck him as odd and he decided to take a Covid test. It came out positive and he happily retired to the bedroom with his stack of anime to watch :) I took a test too though I felt absolutely fine. It was just so that I did not come in too close a contact with the kids. I came out positive too :( I did not feel unwell at all. But to avoid the sickness from spreading to the kids, I decided to curtail hugging or kissing them, atleast for the first 5 days of recommended isolation. 

It was hard to stay away from the kids. But they managed themselves fabulously. As soon as they had 2 positive cases in the house, they started performing tests on their toys. Some toys tested positive while the others negative. The ones which tested positive were immediately sent for bed rest while the healthy ones started making cards and reading books (from a distance) to the ill ones. It was amazing to see the girls play into the late afternoon with this unique scenario. 

Since we could'nt step out, the girls were pretty much home bound too. But it was amazing to see them play and engage with each other. With some guidance, they had their food, took their shower and generally minded themselves. I could not hug them or kiss them till the 5 days of recommended quarantine and they kept asking every day, if it was 5 days yet :) 

At the end of 5 days, boy did we give them a squeeze!! It is amazing to see how self reliant my little girls are. They manage a ton of stuff by themselves. As the Easter long weekend kicked in, we were thankfully out to roam the world. There were a lot of walks with the kids, tasks in the garden and general enjoyment of sunshine. As the kids go back to school today I yearn for the lovely time with them again.

A gift from God?

 Everyone faces the January blues. The end of the relaxed Christmas days are awful. And what stretches in front is a whole new year, with all plans up in the air, holidays still nebulous and the weather still not the one to warm the hearts. Luckily this year, since 1st January was on a Saturday, we got a day's leave on the following Monday. This made the first work week back, a 4 day one! Woo hoo! A single non-working day kinda made all the difference. 

The next week, there was all kinds of jokes in my team where we all made fun of finally having a much cherished 5 day working week back. That evening when I went to pick up Chiyaa, I could see from the class window that her face looked glum. I was a bit worried that she had a fight with someone or some incident that made her upset. As soon as she was out, she complained of a headache. We were sure its nothing and back home gave her the recommended dose of paracetamol. She felt much better, but that night had a raging fever. Which called in for a PCR test for Covid the next day and a day off school. She spent the day playing with  Lego, re-reading Harry Potter and watching some television. The next day her PCR test came back positive which meant she would need to isolate for a minimum of 5 days or a maximum of 10 days. If she got a negative home test for 2 successive days within day 5 and day 10 she could go back to school. Not ideal, given the fact that she loves school, but then there was no way out. Strangely, with one kid not going to school, the workload seemed lesser. There was one less uniform to take care of, one less bag and bottle to check, one less head of messy hair to comb on time and one less kid to pick up (which surprisingly saves time!) Also since she had to isolate, I didnt feel the extra pressure of taking her on walks and keeping her active. She could literally be at home. I ensured she had a bit more fruits at home and a daily dose of vitamin C in the form on 2 mandatory oranges. Luckily Chiyaa is quite self reliant as well, and manages herself with books and toys. So that she does not become totally lackadaisical, we put some educational sites up for her. She took to them quite well and completed all the required courses. It is quite cute to have a kid at home too. She roams around from room to room and I could go for occasional cuddles to her. She would come up with sudden Harry Potter trivia and bore us to death. It was awesome to snuggle with her at night, since we kept the kids separate while sleeping. Sleeping between both of them is spine crushing, but just one is swell :) 

 We started taking daily tests, but even on day 6 and 7 we were not getting the negative results. It was a very very faint line, but not  a sure shot negative. This was bringing us close to 20th which would be her day 9. 20th is K and my anniversary and we had planned the day off. We both are into running. K much more than me now! He will be running a ton of races this year. I do not believe in driving to a place, paying money and running a race to come 1021 in it. Like a few for fun is ok, but not on a regular basis. But for the first time ever we are having a local town run, being organised by the local run club of which K is a part. Since he is running all over the world, I told I would be keen to run 10 kms in that race. But I havent run that length in the recent past. So 20th was the day decided by us to run and check how I was faring. Now 20th happened to be day 9 for Chiyaa. We needed a negative result on day 8 and day 9 to send her to school. Day 7 the line on the test was super duper faint, in fact you would blink and miss it. We were confident that we would get a negative on next day. And we did!! Phew! On 20th morning, we got her ready on time. It was quite a change after the past 10 days when she was getting up whenever she wanted and spending some time reading in bed :) But being the enthusiastic school goer, she got ready and took her test. It  was a sure shot negative!! Yay!! The girls dropped at school off went the old couple on their run ;)

The run was fabulous. It was horribly cold, but it was amazingly sunny. What else do we need? Run done, we came home to some fabulous tea and rice kheer made by my sis. After a quick shower, we popped up to a local middle eastern restaurant. The owner happens to run with K in the run club. He also happened to be lunching then. And he happened to take an item off our bill! What a sweet though inadvertent anniversary gift! Once out, we spotted a plant shop nearby and of course I had to make K spend on a couple :)  We had absolutely no engagements for the evening. Which meant K could play video games and I could play Lego with the kids! A God gifted day indeed :) 

A smile a day - 6

Sunday was Karate tournament day. Its a competitive event for all the clubs under the umbrella association under which our club belongs. K, the kids and I were all participating. K and I were in fact participating in the same event, which made us competitors. The category was also for all levels of belts, higher than mine. I was certain, that my participation would be a no winner. I was sure that no matter how much lady luck smiled, there was no way I could beat the 2 black and one brown belt in my category. Being the lowest belt holder, I was called on first too. I gave a good performance, well as good as I could. But not enough to win a prize. But there were 3 people who came up and commended me! So audience votes there :) K had a tie with 2 other people and won the tie breaker to come second in the overall event!! 

Chiyaa has been training for quite some time and we were sure that she would bag some prize or other in the three events she was participating in. We were sure she would do well in the kata events which are more choreography based. And she did! In both the events, even coming first in one! But we had our eyes on the fight event. Shes a bit docile and does not want to hurt people. But she did put up some fight. So much so, she made a competitor cry! That was an immensely gratifying moment for me! She had 3 back to back fights and came on second in the overall event. I could not have been prouder of her.

But the most crucial event was Pumpki's. This was her first public event. Being a tiny 5 year old I was all nerves for her. She too like her sister has a natural knack for some aspects of Karate. She did her kata event and boy did she do well! She was on point, with the correct stances and went on to bag the second prize! Again all eyes were peeled on her fight. In her first round itself she fought a much bigger boy. But she did not go down. She fought! It was a no win from a points perspective. But the three judges had to give points based on technique. Two voted for the opponent and the third voted for Pumpki. So though she lost by a single vote, she was a champion. It was an immensely amazing day and I was a super proud mom :)

Happiness is..

 When your 9 year old comes and hugs you. You ask "What happened" And she says "Nothing just wanted to hug you :) "

Sisterly love

I recently finished a book called “Before we were yours” which is about sisterly love along with other things. The book is supremely rubbish and very juvenile. But I know a thing or two about it. Mummy has 2 sisters and I have one. I am mom to 2 sisters J I get loads of display of the love between my kids which also includes a healthy dose of pinching, scratching and shouting (most of which is done by Pumpki) . But one incident stands out. I had taken the girls to an indoor play area. They were happily running around. There was a covered slide in the course. It was a bit long. It must have been a bit dark inside. Chiyaa went through it easily. Done with that, she ran over to the next part of the course. 2 seconds later, she realized her sister was not with her. She turned back and waited for Pumpki to come through. Pumpki was not visible at the beginning of the slide, which means she had started her downward journey. But it should not take her that long to get to the bottom. Chiyaa stood all worried and concerned about her little sis. Pumpki is a bit scared of heights, of fast moving slides or rides and darkness too. Since nearly a minute was done, I started to get worried too. I was about to take my shoes off and make way to the play area. That’s when I saw Pumpki emerge from the other end. As soon as she came, she hugged her sister in the warmest embrace. That moment, when they both hugged each other and look of love in their eyes - stole my heart. Then they went on to play again. When they came back to that bit of the course again, Chiyaa made Pumpki sit down with proper cross legs at the beginning of the slide. She slid through and she emerged, she screamed to Pumpki “don’t come. I am coming to you”.

I felt supremely proud. I hope no force on earth corrodes this bond. J

Borrowed time

Sunday night I was sleeping next to Chiyaa (yeah we still co-sleep, generally its K with Chiyaa and I with Pumpki). Around 2330 ish she woke me up and said she was not able to go back to sleep. I turned the night light on and gave her a book (yeah I did that :D) and drifted off to sleep myself. I thought she would sleep off, but 30 mins later she was still reading. I asked her to hit the bed, since she had school the next day. She asked me for something to eat (obviously one would be hungry if one wakes up in the middle of the night). I warmed a cup of milk and gave her. Minutes of having it, she needed the toilet! Obviously again. After that she and I snuggled and slept. 2 hours later, she said she wasn’t getting sleep again. I asked her to read again. After sometime, (I am not sure whether she slept in the interim or not, cos I was sleeping J ) she said she felt sick. Hmm… now that was troubling. We went to the toilet and poor child had a big puke. Cleaned up, we tried to sleep. She was definitely feeling better now. (Must have been the restaurant food we had on Saturday, plus my chicken biriyani on Sunday would have added fuel to fire). She slept for a bit, but then complained about not being able to get back to sleep! I asked her what she wanted to do and she said play J Good for her, she has toys handy everywhere. She started playing. It was close to 0400.

By now I had decided that she would not be going to school on Monday.

I told her “You are not going to school tomorrow”

She blinked and said “Will I be all alone?”

I said “Yes, of course”

“But who will take care of me?”

I said “What take care?

Chiyaa replied “I cant cook”

I said “I will leave some cooked food, you just have to eat it”

Chiyaa took a few moments to digest this. I asked “ You will be ok?” She nodded.

She was so cute! (And yes I was mean by messing with her head) I gave her the tightest hug and let her play)

I rang in school on Monday morning. When asked what was wrong with her, I was unprepared for a lie. I replied, she was sick. “Oh that means she has to kept at home for 48 hours to rule out any infection” Darn it!! Now I had to take 2 days leave. Thankfully my company had a policy that allows upto 5 days leave in a year for family emergencies.

And was I glad! I caught up on some books. I played with Chiyaa. We took a 90 minute long walk. We practiced some karate since she has a tournament in 4 weeks’ time. I got to prepare food and be around the house pottering around. I realised just how much time we spend at work! When I came back on Wednesday I also realised how little we add to day to day. When I was at home, I felt a lot would be happening. But then everything seemed the same. It was very kind of everyone to ask about Chiyaa.

It wasn’t for the best of causes but the effect of the two days was very good - some more time with my little one J

Every holiday is different

I am back. From a holiday. When the alarm went off this morning, my first thought was “Is it Monday already!?”. And Monday it was. Luckily Chiyaa’s school starts tomorrow, which gives us a day to gently “transition” into full on working days.

When the holiday started, I had no plans. We had a few days away in a nearby sea side town. The week leading to the break had the coldest, murkiest weather. Felt like October rather than August. Sea-sides can be notoriously cold. And cold climates do not agree with the kids. I did not want weeks with kids suffering from cough and cold. We were supposed to travel on the Friday. Thursday it was raining cats and dogs all day long. I packed tights, sweaters, boots and light shoes (in case the weather was warm). I was fully prepared for the worst holiday weather. Friday morn as if by magic it was a hot hot hot 24 degrees. The coast was warmer in fact at a tempting 28 degrees!! The sun was shining and though google maps predicted lot of holiday traffic in the motorway, the roads were not a nightmare! I had a wonderful drive for the first half. As we started making progress to the the rural roads, we missed an important turning. But as if God was watching over us, there was a road blockage a few minutes on. Since the traffic was stalled, we were able to quickly turn around and take the right route. We felt blessed, as if the holiday was destined to go well.

It started well. We had a lovely meal once we reached, and watched a few shows that were being performed in the venue. When we got around to wrapping the kids for the night, I realized that in my enthusiasm to pack warm clothes, I had over looked inner wear for Chiyaa. I had not packed a single piece for her!! Disaster! Anyways we planned to go out to a nearby store the next morning (which was not so nearby since we were put up in quite a remote resort). It would take some meaningful time away, but then what needs to be done needs to be done. Pumpki was "the have" with a surplus supply of knickers and the moment she knew of her "have-not" sister, she did not leave a chance to rub it on :D . She pretended to choose which one she was going to wear, and even had a day, evening and night one segregated. The audacity! While she went on with this exercise, much to the chagrin of Chiyaa, I noticed that one of the knickers looked big enough to fit Chiyaa. (Yes! I buy bigger size for the kids, so that I don’t need to run to the stores every 3 months) I asked Chiyaa to try it and it fit! This was Pumpki’s chance to get harassed :D since her stuff was being worn by didi. Karma ;)

We ended up washing and using the 2 and Chiyaa survived! (Thank the shining sun and tower driers again.) Knicker-gate resolved without a longggg trip to the markets. Boo-yah. The good weather held up too. Saturday was warmer than Friday and we spent hours on the private beach. It was idyllic. Sunday was slated to be even higher in temp. We looked forward to a day in the pool, followed by a stroll around the amusement rides and then back to the beach. Till another disaster struck at 0930. The electricity went off. And took water with it. K went to inquire and was informed that it was a town wide issue! Well….this was an issue of massive proportions. Everyone but me needed their bathroom business done ;) and we Indians need water. So with 5 people with pending bathroom business, we were in critical need for water. We started opening taps full throttle like crazy. Every drop was precious. Yes the speed was slow, but then there is always water lurking in the pipes isnt it? We could manage to get 2 bottles filled. K as usual had a light bulb idea. The beach was nearby. (Not really, but for argument’s sake) He recommended we take all available bottles and go to the beach, fill water and come back! You can NEVER take India out of an INDIAN! Spoke like a true bred Hindustani. People across the resort were contemplating their next move. We were smug with a back up plan. Apart from the fetching-water-from-the-beach idea,  K recommended that we make a trip back home sooner if the water/electricity situation did not improve. It was a Sunday and the next day was a holiday, chances that anyone would be around the fix and issue in a remote touristy place was bleak. Well, that was a valid point, though it would be an unceremonious end to the holiday :( 

But then!! Bijli aa gai! And we shouted hurrrraaayyy!! We clapped, we cheered. I was totally reminded of the days of past when the current would go in crucial junctures of cricket matches. In the sweltering heat, tempers would flare. Papa would barely contain expletives. We would pace up and down, and keep a look out for any signs of electricity. The sound of television or the sight of light if it was after evening. If we saw some lucky goon with it, we would fish out if was the generator or the power supply. God forbid if it was power supply - Papa would make frantic calls to electricity department or drive off to the local one - depending on his state of mind. And when the power was restored, the rotating fan, the tube light, the flicker of the television – heaven was right there in the living room. That day in the resort, I felt the same. Wow! Vacations follow a trend but these nuances – they make it.

With electricity back, we were able to get on our “business”. Colon cleansed, the family marched to enjoy a glorious day in the sunshine.

Once back in Leeds, the days with the kids were pure bliss. We went around the city, visited some local farms, played, watched a load of television, coloured a lot of pictures, nursed sore throats and cold congested chests (there is no avoiding them :( ) and essentially had summer vacation.

Tuesday as Chiyaa goes back to school, I hope for the summers again soon J

I will let someone else talk

And that someone else is little Chiyaa. Who is technically not so little any more.

So we went on a holiday and once we were back, she wrote post cards for her class teacher ( I know postcards don't work like that, but I did not want to correct her yet. I was  keen to see what she was upto. Yes I felt a bit like Kristoff who does not tell Olaf what summer could do to him in the movie Frozen.)

She writes ' On Wednesday I went to Portugal. First, when we left the airport, we got a taxi. Me and my family went to 'Pizzi Hut' for dinner. I still had ear ache from the landing of the plane. Next, we went to our room where we were staying. After that my sister and I started playing with our toys. My dad did things on his phone and my mum started doing chores. The next day we went to a majestic tower that has lost its importance. It was called Belem Tower. We went to the prison. One night later, we went on a 'tram. It was bumpy and I was tired from the walking. Yesterday we went to Sintra to see the amazing palace and Castle. There were bee s but they didn't sting me.'

She wrote about her next two days as follows: ' On Saturday  we went to Rue de Augusta Arch. One of the people on arch was Vasco da Gama. On top of the arch I could see the core. There was also a gigantic castle. It was the highest thing I could see. Underneath there was a lady pretending to be a statue wearing a wedding dress. There were also two people doing the same thing. '

She also wrote up the words she had learnt.

I was very impressed with the way she had absorbed various facts. We had a very enjoyable time. It was our first vacation outside UK as a full family ( except our trips to India) The kids enjoyed every bit to the hilt. They used to walk close to 3 hours every day. They never moaned about the type of food. Rather they throve in the difference. We try to live like locals when we go on trips , shop like locals in supermarkets and use public transport as far as possible. We live far from the touristy places to just see normal life from close quarters. Part of the reason is that the non- touristy places are a bit less expensive. Also there are less chances to getting conned. Over zealous tour operators and tour agents are also conspicuous by their absence. Everyday after breakfast at the hotel, we used to take the local train to city centre from where we used to venture for the day. After the tour of the day we would make a trip to the nearby supermarket to get milk and some snacks for the kids. The kids thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. 

Back in the UK Chiyaa and I were reminiscing about the wonderful holiday, talking about the wide roads, the food, the majestic castle, the beautiful beach and everything in general. I cannot wait for another trip with the kids who are fast developing a personality of their own to appreciate and admire cities and cultures. 

The other two

As a follow up to the last post, the nursery manager came back with a reply for Button Bear. Her email said

“Thank you for telling us about Button Bear, we will replace it here so please do not worry about it.

would you like to take Button Bear again?

I hope you have a lovely Evening”

My first reaction was “pagal hai kya fir se lungi wo bhalu?” (Am I crazy to take that bear again?)

But I professionally responded

“That is just so kind of you! We really appreciate it!

I think Shambhavi had her share of fun with Button Bear when he was with us. It would be fair to let the other children have a turn. :) 

Again we are very touched by your gesture. “

Phew! That was on bullet dodged.

Also now you see why I blog? If I kept saying what was on my mind, I would make the world an unhappier place ;)

No I have not forgotten about things 2 and 3. Lets get on with them. Monday morning Chiyaa woke up with a smile. Chiyaa can wake up in multifarious ways

1. Howling Mummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyy
2. Groggy
3. Reluctant – Can I have a few more minutes of sleep
4. Worried – Is it going to rain today? Is it PE (Physical Education) today?  Have you signed my book log? And so on..
5. Hyper
6. Mature – just gets on with what shes meant to do without any of us even telling.
7. Happy

But last Monday was yet another way – with a smile. As I went to wake her up, she opened her eyes before I said anything and smiled. Then I asked her to come and brush her teeth. She said she wanted to come down first. I comb her hair downstairs.  I reached downstairs but she was nowhere to be seen. It is a small house, but then I went looking for her (On hindsight I shouldn’t have bothered. Not that she ran away to the streets). I felt she was in the bathroom and I opened the door. She was trying to brush her teeth. Her intention had been to surprise me. But when I opened the door, I ruined her surprise and (hehe she got a nasty surprise) . She was majorly upset and started crying. I am generally bit hurried in the morning. I started shouting back that she was being ridiculous. K came running and shouting at me. All the shouting woke Pumpki up.

Pumpki has 2 ways of getting up

1. Happy – wassup guys types
2. Grumpy – Go away I want to sleep.

Thank God she chose option 1 that day. All the shoutings later, we had a big group hug, lots of kisses and sorries and then I dashed out.

I felt bad about losing my cool so easily. It was all sorted eventually, but I ruined the smile Chiyaa had the first thing she woke up. Anyways that was one bad thing for the day.

I got my bus and was 2 stops away from my destination when K called. This did not augur well. I picked the phone and he asked in a very calm expectant way “Hey Mu, have you seen my car keys?” (He drops the kids and I pick them up and we need the car for that )

I was filled with a gazillion OMG, Oh no, and other unparliamentary words.

I knew the answer. Cos the answer came to me Bang! Like a thunderbolt. And I replied

“Its with me”. (Well before the said outing where we lost Button Bear, K had moved out with my car keys to open the car. Since Chiyaa was hovering around doing something which she felt was ultra important to do before stepping out (I don’t know what) I came with her a few minutes later. I picked up K’s keys to lock and put it in my pocket. I stayed there warm and cosy the entire weekend. Monday morn, when I saw my keys hanging on the key holder, I picked it without thinking much)

“What both the keys are with you? Yours and mine?”

“Yes”

“How, What, £$*”£$*  OK BYE”

I was shoot shoot shoot, too bad. It was 0818 and the Chiyaa needed to be in school at 0855. Taxis are highly unreliable in the mornings thanks to school and office runs. I was worried. I wanted to go back just for moral support. I called again. K picked “WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME ??? I CANT TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW”.

I reached my bus stop and called him again

“ Did you get cab” I asked before he could say anything.

“I have booked Uber, but please don’t call. I cant talk to you”.

“Shall I come back?”

“Why? It will be of zero use”

I messaged him to send me a message once the drops were over.

0853 I got the message “Dropped in school, going to daycare now”

Phewwwwww!!! Chiyaa wasn’t late. The school is quite stern about being on time. Its not that an off incident is not pardoned. But if shes delayed Chiyaa gets very nervous. I have been with her once and she was literally having a panic attack when she thought she might be late. Anyways that was another horrible thing within a span of 1.5 hours!

I crossed my fingers through the rest of the day which was rather uneventful (Touchwood!) So that’s my happening weekend + 1 folks!

3 bad things

I am generally a very positive person. Touchwood. My manager does a spot quiz where she makes us tell 3 good things that happened over the last 24 hours. Like she literally jumps that question on you. So you need to be thinking all the time. It is not so hard for me, cos I can come up with 9 good things that happened over the last 24 hours.

But this time, the bad is a bit easier to say. Technically its not over the last 24 hours, more like its over the weekend covering Monday morning too. But some real bad, horrible things have happened.

Friday, Pumpki got Button Bear. Now for the back story. Her day care is called Little Buttons (Aww cute! I know :D ) They have a teddy bear called Button Bear, who is given home over a weekend and the child can take Button Bear for adventures (aka everywhere the child goes, the bear goes and this is the big adventure the bear has! ) I know I sound so cynical don't I. The child just chugs along, while the parent notes (or fabricates) experiences of the child and the bear. There is the option of supporting the adventure with pictures too. Very drawn out assignment. But I have no comments. Its how this country works! Chiyaa had some Twinkle Teddy I think! *rolls eyes* When K sees any of these creatures coming home, his language becomes very colourful. Anyways, so for Pumpki's "good behaviour" on Friday, she got the bear. She did not care so much, while we nudged her to play with it, and slowly she got the drift that she has to play with her. We took some customary pics too.

Saturday we went for lunch. Pupmki was happy posing with the bear for lunch. Then we made a trip to a supermarket. (By this time you might be aware of where this story is going ) The kids were going berserk. But then they were being kids. So we did some shopping. Chiyaa managed to break an entire pack of eggs! Boom! 12 eggs gone! Not one egg tried to put a brave shell and not shatter. Huh. The shop assistant came and calmly said "It's fine it was just an accident." And promptly asked for someone to clean it. Since no one saw, everyone assumed Pumpki was to be blamed for it "Was it you little one? Did you want to bake a cake you cheeky". We did not bother to correct. :| For shes still at an age "where she does not understand" many things. But Pumpki if you are 18 and want to sue us, here is some written proof.

Ok, so we went to the billing counter. Billed. Kids had some cookies to make them feel better, because they were a bit ill at ease after the egg-breaking episode. I asked, "Where is Button Bear". Chiyaa - the ever clever, observant one said "Oh we left it in the car". For a change K was correct when he said " No you girls were going crazy running around chasing each other. The bear was with Pumpki then". That's when the penny dropped.We searched. We spoke to customer services. No result. The store asked us to call in 3-4 hours in case it got handed over by some one. ( But we knew, we had lost it for good) Pumpki was crying her lungs out by this time. And got a good shouting (which ironically made her stop crying, so maybe it was a good thing)

Back home Chiyaa was the most impacted by the incident. She went on telling alternatives. She said one time, she thought she had lost something, but when she came back, it was back in her room. (Not the case this time) Then she said, what if someone from Little Buttons saw it and kept and returned it to the nursery on Monday. (Very optimistic, kudos to that, but again, a far stretch) Another alternative - what if we buy a new bear and give it back (I had already worked to that end and emailed the daycare. I even tried searching for an identical bear, but nothing matched the definition. I hope its not some custom made fancy bear which will take half of my March salary). We were happy that Pumpki was ok, since the teddy was meant for her. It was only next morning, when she woke up that she said, "Where is Button Bear", that we felt that she was not that unscathed either.

In one of the episodes of South Park called Follow That Egg, the kids in the class are paired and given an egg to take care of as if they were parents. I felt like we had broken our egg. I felt very incompetent that we had managed to lose something which maybe held sentimental value to many kids! K commented " Big adventure huh! There you just got lost!" Well, maybe I was jittery about being judged too. All the nursery staff know we are the parents who lost the bear!! 

Well, the only way to cope is to think that it was not a matter of life and death. 

That has been a long summation of bad thing number 1 ( I am not counting egg-breaking because technically I did not do it. Well I am responsible for actions of a minor child, but then, lets leave it at that). 2 and 3 in the next post maybe. :(

She's Funny

Who you ask? Chiyaa.

So today I get ready for work wearing this 

And Chiyaa asks ' Is it Christmas today?'.

I, all aghast say 'No, why?'

She says 'Then why are you wearing a Christmas jumper?'

I said' This is not a Christmas jumper. What makes you think this is a Christmas jumper?'

Chiyaa all matter of factly responds ' But it looks so warm and cosy, it must be a Christmas jumper '. 

Well I know, Christmas is near but it does not boost ones ego to be referred to as ' warm and cosy '. I spent the day feeling like a teddy bear.:|

Summer Sun

I love the summers. The sun shining down. The kids at home. The lack of routine. It all spells awesome.

Last summer I was freaking out before the vacations began. How to keep two kids entertained at home. I am one season older. So of course more accustomed. I took the first week off for being with the kids. And it was amazing. Waking up at 0730! Relaxing coffee followed by play time with the girls. Then a trip to the park, lunch, siesta for the little one and screen time for the elder one. Evening another trip to the park( yeah we have a lot of parks around), then dinner followed by books or TV or games. No routine, no sleep time - Chiyaa would keep playing and suddenly say 'I am tired' - her cue for bed. So would Pumpki. She would mention 'I want to lie on the bed' and off we would go. 

We made a trip to an amusement park too. We stayed in an on premise hotel. It was two days of purest fun! There were rides( we elders are chickens so we all went for the kiddie ones), walks, dancing ( mostly by the kids) and fun and games in the water park. What endeared me most was the bonding between my daughters. I am so so so happy with the way they bond that I just hope it stays like that forever. It's not hunky dory all the time. Pumpki tends to go for the toys Chiyaa is playing with which results in us telling her to relinquish it. Which in turn leads to her getting upset since its always she who is asked to give up a toy. Then a whole lot of screaming and shouting ensues. 

On the way to the resort, Pumpki was getting a bit fidgety in the car.  Chiyaa made all the effort to keep her happy. She kept offering toys, sweets, singing rhymes and the whole lot. It was really sweet to see the effort she was putting her baby sister engaged. The night Chiyaa drifted off to sleep first and Pumpki roamed around aimlessly asking for didi. They are lost without each other. They seek each other as if  pulled by some gravitational force. On the return journey Pumpki fell car sick. Chiyaa got the wet wipes and spare clothes ready even before we stopped the car. When we moved on, again she was the responsible elder sis taking care of Pumpki . They are two amazing creatures who drive us crazy and make our hearts overflow with joy. May the love always shine as the summer sun.

Again let time sort it out

It's been over a month we came back from India. It takes a while to settle down. It takes a while to come to grips with reality. It takes a while for routine to kick in. The kids help. They take our mind off the bad or rather sad bits and help us concentrate on the good. They help us look at the joyful vibrant bits. Be it the dash of school and nursery drops, swimming classes, reading, playing, settling disputes between them - we are able to get on with the nicer things. Eventually the wave of time fills the crevices of nostalgia with fond memories. 

Coming back to kids :) well... as I was saying they are the raison d'etre for most parents. As a mother who also goes to work, I have quite a lot to juggle. One of the important ones was school pick ups and drops. K and I have an understanding. But breaking from work and picking Chiyaa up at 1530 was becoming a bit of a challenge. We have the facility of 'after school care'. But Chiyaa was not used to it. She was adapted to having mummy pick her at 'home time'. Being a bit resilient to change she was very averse to go to after school care. Being at an age where she understands more and is more vocal, she would negotiate every day if she is going to go to after school or not. Every day we would  have a convincing routine. To gently transition her into the change we have put her for three days at the moment. Some days she cries, some days she comes back and says ' it was better than school!', some days she's anxious  that mummy will forget to pick me - no two days are the same. It breaks our  heart to make a little one go through all this. She has had it tougher always. Changing nursery, school, now this. But all the while the thing that keeps us going is - she has to goto school for a very long time. And we both have to work. We need an arrangement for picking her up and that sadly is after school care. Routine will kick in for her eventually. Till then may she have the strength to face strange scenarios, unknown people and unfamiliar emotions. 

Pumpki has been on her own settling in journey. It's been a month for her in the daycare too. She goes alternate days, so she too is in the easing in phase. She is a different person all together. When she leaves us to goto daycare she cries everyday. But she tries to cope. While Chiyaa would get all emotional and be hurt about it, Pumpki takes it as a sad event which she has to go through. It is heart rending to see her walk off, clutching her bunny toy, but not looking back knowing that mummy has to go. She does not run back to us, she does not  try to come to us. She cries and goes on. As has been fedback by her carers, she is sad during the day. She misses the familiar faces at home. But after the nap, she fares better. Think the shut eye helps her in acclimatising with her changed environment. She plays better, though she cries when I pick her up - I think out of anger for having left her for so long. We are awaiting the stage when she will form friendships and relationships. When she will be ecstatic about playing in her daycare. When she will be truly settled in. Because of the experience with Chiyaa we know that day is somewhere in the future, near or not, we are not sure. 

We make our kids go through so much. I am sure some are necessary to 'toughen' them. About some others, I am not very sure. I keep hoping they grow up into well adjusted, empathetic and conscientious human beings who will contribute positively to the world. Time will pan it out.