Dinosaurs, Dragons and Sharks

An orange colored dragon or a dinosaur. That's what she wants for Christmas. Step aside Barbies and Princesses, there's no demand for you here. 

Do I have a hand in this? Hell yes I do. I've never encouraged D to play with dolls or the epitome of girl-toys - Barbie. So much so that when Barbie was deliberately put into her choice of toys recently, she asked - 'what is that'? But has that been so always? It's not like she's never had a doll. She's had her fair share of gifts and there's been a couple of times that I've magnanimously bought them for her. But did she play with them? Only if she saw someone else take it and play. Other times, it lay in a corner or at the bottom of her toy box. And does she want it now? Her answer - 'Mama dolls are boring. Can I have an orange dragon? Or an orange dinosaur?'

Yesterday we had a trip to the aquarium. And pleasantly surprised that we were on time for a Beluga show. Her choice of toys from the souvenir a.k.a. fake toy shop - rubber snake. Ended up buying a set of ocean figurines. 

This noon as we got down for our nap, she wanted the shark to sleep with her. Making shark sounds and sound-effects. Drawing it close to my face. And she surprised me with a kiss from the shark. Boom boom boom boom mmuah. 

I'm loving it :)

Couldn't take any pics inside the aquarium, what with D n S running in different directions. But when we got to this spot, D n her BFF F asked to take their pics. 

Wise Words

By a three-year old. 

Anemone is just like string cheese. And spaghetti. 

P.S -

Thank you Pixar :)

P.P.S - for the Dad

Finding Nemo - the first Pixar film where blood was shown ;)

How to Get Someone to Read a Book For You

For D

This ones about unity in family. More precisely, unity in parents' opinion/instruction. You can try negotiating but no playing one parent over the other. 

She's not 4 yet, but she sure is fierce and opinionated. And learning quickly how to play her cards right. 

D - Ma, can you please read this book for me?

Ma - Yes, but first you have to finish your milk. 

D, turning to Dad - Acha can you please read this book for me?

Dad, laughing cos he's sitting just next to Ma - Yes, but finish your milk first. 

D, turns to S, now 18 months old - S, can you please read this book for me?

S laughs. ( I don't even know if he's understood the scene, but his laugh was evil. )

Spooky Boos

Happy Halloween for those who celebrate it. 

D - the 'girlieness' is taking over. It's all pink dresses and tees and everything else inside and out. It's fun to see pink butterflies coexisting with dragons. Thankfully Barbie Craze hasn't taken over yet. And no unicorns pooping rainbows either. Although, her BFF is Dora. No, literally. Her best buddy (let's call her F) is super cute and super adorable. And crazy about Dora. So much so that she's got the same hair cut and dressed as Dora for the school Halloween celebrations.

D .... Mmmm not so much. She was in the 'Kung-fu Panda' phase and wanted to dress up as a Panda. That was all the excuse I needed to search for more interesting locations in this continually amazing city. Just so happens, there is a childrens market nearby where we live (Not Pu'an, the Neon market at Hongqiao, if you are interested). Off we went, expectations high, but crushed as quickly as we approached the place. It had a ton of children's stuff, all right. But Halloween gear? Heck, the folks there hadn't even heard the word. We did find something, butterfly wings in a stationery shop. And the girl in her brightens up. So, butterfly she is. 

Knowing her, I went ahead and bought the Panda outfit too, off Taobao. Oh how I'm gonna miss that when we leave from here! D was super thrilled when it came in, tried it on and decided she's a Panda. But come morning, and butterfly takes over. 

Yes, he's got a pumpkin for a hat :) Super cute, that handsome charmer.

I'm still dreading the day Barbie arrives on scene.

A Few Good Things

Happy Diwali. Our first here in Shanghai. Wasn't a celebration tho, but we did have some goodies prior and after. 

Just to clarify, that cake is not burnt. It's chocolate. Decadent. And was utterly butterly delicious. And I took the snap on the iPad. 

P.s.

Yes, I made those. From scratch. Even the condensed milk for the pedas. Yes they are pedas. Not cookies. The Dad calls them diabetic pedas, cos it's not upto his sugar levels. D n S can't stop eating them tho. 

P.p.s.

We are a greedy bunch and we aren't sharing. You can ogle at the pictures ;p

Vacation Memories

This one is a quickie. 

D n I were reading her new book of Animals, the Nat Geo edition for children. Pointing at a picture of dolphins, I ask her what this animal is. Dolphins. And where do they live?

In Hong Kong. And in Nemo DVD.

I wish I could live in a DVD. Or in Hong Kong.

Sigh. Good ol memories. 

Curiosities

Ever since I've become a mother, there is one scenario that I have prepared for. That of the human anatomy. I've visualised numerous ways it may play out, and my possible responses. But nothing comes lose to the ingenuity of a child's imagination. Or limited vocabulary with which they question.

I met my match today, with D. During our usual Q-A session while eating lunch, I asked her how many hands we have. 

Two. 

How many legs?

Two. 

How many legs does a dog have?

She gets on all fours, and counts. One, two, three, four. And asks, Ma how does a dog sit then?

I bring her into position, to show her. She assesses this new information, and is happy with it. 

Suddenly, pointing to her privates, she asks in all seriousness - Ma, if a dog sits like this, then what is this for a dog?

This round is D's. I changed the topic, not prepared for this right away and bracing myself for some role-play sessions. Involving animal anatomies this time.

If You Share the First Bite of Your Ice Cream

It means you love the other person. A lot. 

Gorging on Yummy-ness

Need I say anything more?

Summer o'13

This is a series of a new episode - What we've been upto. And to kick start, here's our summer fun at an indoor children's park nearby, with quite an enticing name, Lollipop. No yum stuff, just some ragged ol' kiddie park with a h.u.g.e. ball pit among other games. This one is definitely a favourite for both D n S. Hell, you give me a ball pit for adults, and I can live in it forever. So no surprises there :)

Story Time

It's a very sultry summer here. And with D's school in vacation, I'm running out of ideas to keep this hyperactive three-year old busy. She's playing around with stickers. And her brother. Inevitably it ends up like this. 

As an attempt at keeping her imagination occupied, I ask her to tell me a story. About stars, considering they were the highlight of the moment. 

It definitely did not go as I thought it might. 

End of story. 

Extinction

And that's how the dinosaurs were wiped out. 

The Imaginarium of Dew

For D

My feeble attempt at recreating a picture of your imagination from this morning. 

Marty the zebra. With a horn. And peacock feathers. 

I can only hope that in your dreams, he poops glitters :p

I'm going into my dreams now. Gnite sweetipie. 

Ma

What's The Time?

For D

Girl I just love our conversations. More so 'cos I know they will disappear faster than I'd wish for. This happened 2 days past. 

D - "Mama I want milk."

Me - "But it's just 2'o clock. You finished lunch just an hour ago, are you hungry already?"

D - "Yes. It's good morning now. I want milk."

Me - "Sweetie it's not morning. It's afternoon. And it's 2'o clock."

Runs to the kitchen, looks at the clock display and returns triumphant. "Mama it's not 2o' clock. The time is 33. I checked."

Yes you had your milk then and there. How could I refuse to this?

A Perfect Cure

For my lil Dewdrop

Mamas been under the weather the past couple of days. And discovered that a half hour with a three-year old does wonders. In a span of minutes you change from romping around being Marty ( courtesy Madagascar ) to a fluttering flying butterfly ( courtesy Eric Carle ). 

The perfect antidote, just what the doctor ordered. 

Morning Grumpies

For D n S

This is from a few weeks back.

10 June 2013

Today is S's naal ( asper the Indian/Hindu calendar ). Dew been through a bout of nausea and diarrhoea over the past opulence of days. The Dad is on holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival. D's quite grumpy after having a rough night prior. Her early morning routine starts as usual, Dad tells her to come and brush her teeth. 

D - 'Dad! Don't make me angry!'

Anger management. It's all in the genes honey. 

Grrr

Ma

A Breath of Fresh Air

For my sanity :)

We got the VPN.. At long last. It's been like a breath of fresh air, getting back in touch in the virtual world. Though I am a stalker mostly, it still gives me a relief that I 'can' be in touch with my friends and acquaintances if I ever need to.

And yes I missed writing. For two reasons. My sanity obviously. And for the very reason I started this blog -to capture these precious tiny memories that appear for a minute instant and vanish into some forgotten corners in our memory. And mine is fading faster than I'd like. 

I'll do a quick round up of the major events to bring you to date. 

The biggest change -our shifting to Shanghai. A city so complicated yet so simple. So strange yet so intimately familiar. 

D started school. And saved my sanity again !!  Rainbow bridge. The one I fell in love with instantly. The  fact that it was inside the zoo, sold me out before I even saw it. And when I did, boy I wish I went to school there. 

S turned one. My lil sunshine. He's growing leaps and bounds now. If I thought D was independent, he's even more so.

More posts will follow soon, some that were written and not published,and others that were written in the hopes of getting published some fine day. That's today ;)

So my darlings here's to new beginnings. 

Lv

Mama

A Tale of a Bedtime Story

For D

Our last day in Kochi today. Tomorrow will see us at Bangalore. And on the 25th, it's Ni Hao Shanghai.

So G-ma's telling D a bedtime story, this time it's Kaliya Mardanam. ( you should know this story if you are reading this blog yourself. If you don't, then come ask me now. Don't escape, I'll know. ) she reaches the part of lil Krishna dancing on Kaliya's head, and an innocent 3-year old asks, which song is he dancing to?

Pat comes the answer from her Appapa, Chin ta ta chika chika chin ta ta ta.

God save bedtime stories. and the freaking tune is stuck in my head now.



Chin ta ta chika chika Ma

Midnight Sojourns

For D and S


Shall I let you in on a secret? I experience moments of pure soulful bliss every night. When I wake up in the middle of the night. And I kiss those tiny lil foreheads and inhale in your intoxicating scents. Pure. Soulful. Bliss.

Sleep my lovely babies. Sleep. For when you wake up, you'll move mountains.

PS - I love Seuss. Ain't he the bestest?


Kisses
Ma

Shedding Inhibitions

I've always wondered about fashion, make up and the glammed up dolls. They weren't exactly up my alley, and has permanently been one of the things I've never identified with. I had long left that arena to my lil sis. And secretly admired her glam factor.

And. I've had long hair. All my life.

Chopping it off never crossed my mind. Even when styling got to be the norm, I was remotely interested in shortening my locks.

So when the dad said he wanted me to cut my hair, I was at a crossroads. Literally. Indian women, and men, have a thing with hair. The men need their women to be with long flowing black manes and the idea has been so driven into the womens mind that they can think nothing but. Especially the mallu clan. Coconut oil jokes, anyone?

And that's how I found myself in the stylists chair. Trust me, I had to hunt this guy down. He's good. Real good. And the only one I would trust. The dad had already specified the length specification. Alongside was D. Hers was a major challenge, sitting still while some stranger snips the scissors around your face and ears can be traumatic for a three-year onl. And so came the bribe, good ol' chocolate. And statue she went.

Scissors around your head where once you had lots of hair can be equally traumatic for a thirty year old too. The past year had a lot of soul searching and rediscovering the person I am. But this strange facet .. well it was unforeseen. And it shook me to the core. I couldn't fathom how deep this went. Me, a person who is always enthused by change, went jelly legged sitting in that chair. 

I went about unabashed and without batting an eyelash during my career days unmindful of who was with or against me. And trust me, thats saying a lot. 

Why the jitters for this, of all things. And why are we so fixated by beautifying dead cells anyways?

Lost in thought

Me