Nothing

Totally swamped with the last minute things to do before the BIG trip. So there is nothing to write today. Today I heard the kids but didn't listen to them, missed out on the entertainment.

Just wanted to let you know that there will be no posts starting tomorrow through the weekend. I will be back with something hopefully on Monday.

They did pose for me for the only picture of the day in their cute initialled t-shirts. Unfortunately Manav wanted to pose with the broom and Arnav of course had to have a hand on it.

In preparation for the trip I had brought enough books and DVDs from the trip to the library. The books have already been read multiple times but I told them that they can watch the DVD when Mommy is gone. So Manav told me today

"Please go now Mommy. It is already Friday. I want to watch Dora."

Yep, he has his priorities all set. Its that easy.

Mr Beasley

"Mommy he hit me" came a crying Manav to my bedside. I was trying in vain to catch a few more minutes of sleep as Arnav decided to wake up at 5:30 AM. I kept him in bed with me till 6 AM but then they both slipped out. I could hear the "Mercury and Venus, Earth and Mars....." the planet song in the living room. Everything was so peaceful when suddenly Arnav decided to strike hence a screaming Manav at my bedside. I had to get up.

"Arnav did you hit him?" I asked

"Yes" said a defiant Arnav

"Say sorry to dada"

"I want to build (Lego), not say sorry" Arnav pouted. After some pep talk he said

"Sorry Mr. Beasley" Mr. Beasley is a character in 'Bob the builder' and they have been having a good laugh just by saying his name, since the past few days.

"Now hug dada" I said

Arnav hugged Manav, but Manav said

"No, thats not good enough. He called me Mr. Beasley, I am Manav"

"Say Sorry Manav" I was determined to end this

Arnav said sorry and they hugged.

Next moment he was irritating Manav who was trying to build something.

"Arnav you said sorry and hugged me. Now you cannot do random stuff"

"Random stuff" said Arnav and giggled

I saw this wasn't getting anywhere so found a safe haven in the kitchen.

On way back from school Arnav was singing
"Ms Mary Mac Mac Mac dressed in black black black"
and Manav was singing his, what else, but the planet song. I joined in and he said
"Mommy it is not Nepchune (as in fortune) but Neptoon (as in cartoon)"
That is the first time I heard Neptune being called thus. But then whatever Ms Foley says, it stays. No questions asked.

Here Manav is reading the jelly bean flavors. He knows most of the 49 flavors by rote and can identify them by colors but some easy ones he can read. They read by phonics, for example when he reads 'car' he says "Kh- Kh-Kh- eh - eh - eh - rr- rr- rr, CAR" and there is that 'achievement' smile on his face. Arnav points to each flavor and Manav reads. Its a must watch.

"Manav what is this one?"

"It is toasted marshmallow"

"Toasted marshmallow" says Arnav and giggles. He loves rolling these new words in his tongue, feels like jelly beans after all. Did I mention I paid a fortune for these gourmet jelly beans from Costco, organic or something. But yes, they make good compliance treats(the smallest I can lay my hands on) and reading practice is a bonus.  

I had to click this one, they were so similar in their sleeping positions. After yesterday's napping fiasco I just slept with both of them in our bed and sneaked out when they fell asleep. Manav woke up and said

"Hey Mommy they are back"

I was a little surprised, I thought maybe he is still dreaming about the aliens or something.

"Who?" I said

"Michelle and her brother. They are back from China. They had been gone for a long time".

Ok that explains it.

I absolutely hate their playdoh play. This started as I was making rotis and Arnav asked for his share of 'atta' and got his rolling pin and board out. I let them play as that made the rotis possible for dinner. When I asked them to cleanup as dinner would be there in five minutes, Manav said

"Please bring the hourglass. When it is done call us"

During dinner Manav said

"I am holding my bag. I have to go susu"

I googled for the slang "holding my bag" but hit nothing of interest. Not sure then where that came from. But Arnav immediately left the table and brought his pink bag out. He also wanted to 'hold a bag'

Here he is cutting his strawberry with a plastic knife. They were using the knife and scissors with the playdoh so it kind of carried on at the dinner table. Using anything dangerous makes them feel powerful, but isn't that true for us too? Here you can see a little of the pink bag too.

After dinner I sat with them on the couch and told Arnav to scoot a little. He said

"Skit Skat Scoodle Doot"

I told them that Mommy will be gone on Friday and back on Sunday ( I am going to Vegas with two girlfriends, yesssss) and asked Manav if he will miss me. He said

"Yes, I will miss you but I know you will come back." and snuggled close to Papa.

Arnav clearly showed he hasn't followed anything.

They went to bed and Arnav put something in his mouth and said

"Look Manav, look"

"That is gross Arnav"

"Skit Skat Scoodle Doot" said Arnav

"You are irritating me. Mommmmieeeeeee" and this went on till I intervened. I delivered the usual long lecture woven around keywords like 'calm down', 'school tomorrow', 'imagine jelly beans pebble beach', 'hug and kiss' , 'snuggle, cuddle, nuzzle', 'love', 'big boys sleep by themselves', 'blah-blah' and Arnav sat up in the bed. I said

"Down Arnav. Lie down, it is LATE" my patience ran out

"I have to sit. I have to see what's going on. What's going on Manav?"

Nothing is going on. Nothing ever will. Everything stopped since you have been born. The earth has been rotating and revolving (stealing Manav's terms) but my life is a standstill yet moving at unimaginable speed. You have to be in the same shoes to experience this conundrum - a humdrum away from the humdrum, an energizing experience devoid of energy, insane sleep deprivation yet sleeping like a baby, worst wardrobe of the century but feeling glamorous and I could go on and on, just that I need to sleep now. To share early morning hugs with my sunshine and terrors.

Deer Beater

Yesterday I published the post early so have to write about what transpired when I was trying to put the kids to bed. Manav was totally lost without Caunteya at bedtime. He said

"I want Papa"

"Papa's match is going on. He called to say that the first set just got over and it went on long"

"Why is it long?"

"Because Papa has a strong opponent"

"I want Papa to be strong"

"Olivia is a strong player" Arnav chimed in

"No, Olivia doesn't play tennis. Girls don't play tennis, only boys play tennis" Manav said

"Girls and boys both play tennis." I said

"Do you play tennis? " he asked

"No, I used to, long back" I said

"Does Sheetal aunty play tennis?" he continued

"No, I don't think so."

He gave me a "then?" look and suddenly asked

"What does Sheetal aunty have on her nose?"

"A nose ring, Manav. Just like I have ear rings" I said

"Sheetal aunty has ear rings and nose rings" Manav said

"Yes"

"Papa has a finger ring" excellent observation.

"Yes"

"I want Papa" back to square one, the whining continued.

Arnav called from the other bed

"Mommy, come here, sing to me"

Now that is a difficult one. Arnav has an ear for music and wants to hear only specific ones and insists they shouldn't be of the lullaby kind. So his choice is more like "Another day for you and me in Paradise", "Take it easy" and "Hotel California" (you know who did this to him) and I really s-u-c-k (can't say the word, kids are around) at these (well I amn't better at others, but I can still pull off a "Sapno ke ghar ke chat pe ho taarey" with relative ease).

So I just sang "Four Little ducks" a safe middle.

Arnav put his palm out and said "Stop"

I was analyzing my 'sur' and 'taal' ( Arnav knows when you sing wrong) when he said

"Red Light Stop" and then dropped the palm

"Green Light Sing"

and so it went on, a simple short song lasted ages, punctuated by his hand signals. If only it had resulted in him falling asleep it would have been time well spent.

I was getting agitated by the second as I was hungry and these kids were showing no signs of sleeping. So I blew up when Manav said

"Will you please read a book to me Mommy"

A very harsh reply to a simple request in a sweet voice. That is the type of guilt that can keep you feeling rotten for days to come. I want it to go away now.

After a while Manav said

"It is very dark now Mommy. I think Papa cannot see anything so he will come back. He cannot play any more"

So yesterday night I didn't feel that elation customarily associated with them falling asleep.

Over breakfast today Manav saw the Polo Ralph Lauren logo on his T-shirt and said

"Deer beater. Mommy see he has the stick and is beating the deer with it"

On way back from school Arnav was singing

"I don't care where..... " or something that sounded like this. I have no clue which song or rhyme that one is.

Manav informed me

"Mars is the red planet and Jupiter has a red mark"

Lunch was a clean and dry affair. Nothing much to serve but looks like they were fine with it.

Manav licking his finger(the wrong one though, he eats with right hand) so food couldn't be bad

And Arnav had it too with equal relish, though those cutlets were bit by me more than him.

I felt a little bad for Arnav as he is usually a good eater and I said

"Arnav do you want some plain rice?"

"Ummm Hmmm" he said

"What does that mean? Do you want or not? Yes or no?" Sometimes I have this strong urge to make them un-americanised.

"Ummm Hmmm" he repeated

Manav came to rescue after a couple of "Ummm Hmmm"s and said

"He mean yes Mommy. Give him rice"

Then the cleaning lady came in and Arnav refused to nap. Any amount of coaxing, cajoling, threatening and yelling didn't work. He said

"Look at me. Do you see a mad face or good face?"

"A mad face"

"Then?"

He followed it by

"You have to say sorry when you hit me" Yes, I was guilty of having whacked him ( a teeny tiny one, I swear) in my desperation.

"I don't like Mommy. I want Papa. Papaaaaaa"

I gave up, told him to come out and play.



Then Manav did his homework with Arnav hovering.



He colored the sun and said

"I know it should be yellow and orange but I made it red and blue"

He does this. Takes complete liberty with his homeworks and does a very shoddy job. He scribbles and when I ask him he says

" I needed to cancel that one, it wasn't good."

and writes his name and roll number in every free white space.

I took them to the library and spent the rest of the evening there. Manav has mastered the library etiquette and Arnav is not bad either. Just that Arnav was testing my patience with

"Can I laugh in library?"

"Can I lie down in library?"

"Can I do this in library?" showing different kinds of hops, skips and jumps

"Can I do that in library?" aaaaargh

And in the kid's room he yelled feebly and said

"I yelled in the library Mommy" and had that glee on his face.

The library books. They just love to read. I want to invest in audio books.

Manav painstakingly filled up his sippy cup with water from the refrigerator external water dispenser (That is a favorite with the kids), which Arnav immediately snatched away. While Manav whined, Caunteya said

"Arnav please return dada's sippy cup. He filled it"

"No, he will drink from a cup. He is a big boy. I am a baby, I will drink from the sippy cup"

Heightened whining from Manav

"Arnav, please give it back to dada, he will take only one sip"

"No two, only one" confirmed Arnav and was handing over the sippy cup to Manav when he said

"Not one sip, I want all of it" and nearly lost the opportunity.

They waited patiently on the kitchen island while Papa made dinner.

Yes, Caunteya made bread omelette for the kids as I was totally exhausted. And Arnav said

"Lets give(each other) big hugs"

I am still wondering what was the reason to rejoice. But then kids don't need a reason, we do.

Planets and Tennisscope

Today was a rare day, comes maybe once in a lifetime, yeah that rare. The kids' school was open and Caunteya's office was closed. It was a different matter that we whiled away the precious 2.5 hours which I had high expectations of. Caunteya woke up to see Manav having already taken out the waffles from the freezer popping them in the toaster.

"What are you doing Manav?" he asked

"I am hungry. Getting some waffles"

A milestone. Now the older kid can get his own breakfast? How cool is that? 

Arnav spilled his milk and I was just about to yell at him, when Manav said

"He was just trying to make pieces of the waffle and his hand hit the cup and it spilled. It was an accident"

"You should be more careful Arnav" I said and let it go. We learn more from them than we teach.

When I went into Manav's class to pick him up he was bubbling with excitement. They had learnt about the planets. Dinosaur month done, its now planets in school.

"Mommy if you have a big tennisscope you can see Jupiter" Manav said

"It is tele-scope Manav" I corrected.

"Oh telescope. I want a telescope Mommy" he went on

"How many planets are there Manav?" I wanted to change the topic

"8 Mommy"

"Its 9 Manav" I said and went on to name the planets. I felt proud when I reached Pluto.

"There is no Pluto Mommy. Pluto is the dog" Manav said

Just then it struck me. I vaguely remembered Pluto being dropped from the planet list, dwarf planet or something. But I guess I will always remember 9 planets.

Manav started singing the planet song and effortlessly rattled all the 8 names. Just one day into "planet month" and he was so into it.

Manav fished out the only book that has reference to the planets.

"Arnav when you see a ring around a planet you think, I know what that is, that is Saturn" Manav said clicking his fingers.
 "Oh" said Arnav

"And Neptune is the smallest and coldest planet Arnav" I have yet to verify those credentials.

"Yes, I finished mouth, I chewed" said Arnav about the candy he was having, for him 'Neptune' sounded like 'chewed'

"Mommy sun is called the day star" Manav informed me

"And when you cut it you can see how hot it is" he continued

"You can cut the sun?" I over dramatised

"No, it was cut in the book Mommy" Manav confirmed he had seen the cross section.

We had tacos for lunch today. Manav said

"Arnav you are a vegetarian, you will have lettuce, cheese and olive tacos"

I went out in the afternoon and lost out on the evening "conversations" as well. They played a little with the police cars and the fighter planes. (They are not letting me write so I sent them to count till 100 and come back. It is working !)

Yes, I too don't have a clue what the autorickshaw was doing there. Maybe they remembered the Kolkata airport parking lot. Ignore my feet in the pic.

We asked Arnav one day who his best friend was. He said

"Jia Lin. She wears pink t-shirt"

And when I went to pick him up he walked up to Jia Lin and stared at her.

"Mommy see she is wearing pink t-shirt. I told you"

I must say I was extremely happy with my child's choice.

(100 done, now I have asked for 5 minutes, so they have started the hourglass)

Caunteya left for his tennis match and they called out

"Play well Papa"

"Hit all the balls"

Just now Caunteya called to say he'll be late, so off to get the kids to bed ( a long process alone). Manav is already

" I want Papa"

Anyways my hourglass long ran out, literally.

Trains and Summers

Yes, I know there was no post yesterday. Too tired and excused myself for it being a weekend. But then so many things piled up and I have to write today. Today's post will be mostly pictures as we were out most of the time thanks to the gorgeous weather. Boys are enjoying their shorts and t-shirts. Yesterday morning I got some extra time to sleep as Papa took care of the boys when they woke up. When I made it to the living room I had to rub my sleepy eyes twice to make sure that wasn't a long worm. Manav told me

"It is not a centipede Mommy. It is a train with the caboose"

Of course after this Arnav came to me and said

"Can I have just one (candy) please? No two, only one"

Then they got busy with how they will eat these mango candies at the zoo. Yes, dallas zoo was planned for the afternoon but they wanted to go "now". Manav's classmate and his family were coming too so it had a promise of a great outing.

And now I know that the boys are getting their grammer straight, precisely the tense part of it, as Arnav says

"I already doed(did) it" and Manav says

"I brong(brought) it out"

On the way to the zoo they were chatting gleefully in the car. Manav was now in the big brother avatar and said

"Shut up Arnav. That means don't say a word."

Then we took the train to the zoo. It was a great ride and the boys loved every moment of it. Now and again we'd hear

"Hey we are on the street now"

"Look at those buildings and cars and bridges."

"Oh, now we are in a tunnel" Here they yelled their hearts out as the train was so noisy

"There is Rusty" when another train passed us.

I was so nostalgic and dreamt about the umpteen trips from Rourkela to Howrah station and how we'd( me and my brother)  prefer the morning train so that we could look out of the windows and of course we'd kill for a window seat. The boiled eggs,chai, bread omelette, cutlets ( I can go on) and that metallic smell of the train that would linger long after the journey ended.....ok I have to stop here....as Manav would say "Focus and Concentrate".

The zoo outing was great. There were four boys 7, 3.5, 3.5, and 2.5 years old and we had a refresh of our managing expectation course. The oldest was grumpy as he didn't like the zoo, he wanted to go home to his beloved video games ( only allowed in the weekends), the middle ones just wanted to run away hand in hand with no clue where or what for, often bumping into people, strollers and other kids or just falling down and getting up, all the time giggling and laughing and chattering. The youngest wanted to hold hands of the other two and often ended up going in circles and getting tangled up. Yeah three is a crowd.

On our return I was hoping that they'd sleep off as we were all so tired. But Manav and his friend were in full steam. They counted by ones (1,2,3...), by 5's (5,10,15....) and by 10's (10,20,30....) in a rhythm that even the train was finding hard to emulate. They sang all their alphabets, rhymes , songs.... basically about everything that they do in school. Arnav joined them and was having a hard time keeping up.

Today it was a relaxed Sunday. Arnav napped and Manav went tennis with papa. Then it was time to make that guilt trip to Costco where our wallets "let go". And the strategy of offering food samples was proven perfect one more time when  I offered Manav his banana as the evening snack but he said

"I want to have what they(the sample food kiosks) are giving"

Then it was time for gelato and the boys tried to bite the waffle cone with 3 scoops of icecream on it which was a both painful and hilarious watch. Arnav had icecream all over his nose and that brought peals of laughter and further replication of the feat, to our utmost annoyance.

Finally on way back, in the car Caunteya said we should talk about dinner. The intent here is if we market it well enough the boys would look forward to it and most importantly eat.

"Whats for dinner? What is something we haven't had for a long time?" Caunteya asked.

"Clif bar" said Manav ( though he had it just yesterday)

"No, its biriyani" I said

"Biriyani? Just like banyan?" he said

"No biriyani, the rice dish" I tried to explain

"Yes, I know but biriyani and banyan are similar"

So much for the marketing, we just gave up.

They played while I made dinner. Arnav wanted to change and got frustrated as he couldn't get one arm inside the t-shirt and went to Caunteya for help

"Its ulto( wrong side)" said Caunteya

"Noooo," said Arnav and he put on that arm. Then he looked at the front of the t-shirt and said

"There is nothing" he was expecting the front which was of course at the back and he started crying again

Caunteya was laughing and that made him furious

Arnav came to me and once satisfied with the t-shirt went and put Caunteya in timeout

"You are always laughing at me mister. You are a bad boy" and then made an angry face and said

"Look at my face" to intimidate.

Then there was "cat surgery" with doctor papa and nurse Manav ( he created and volunteered for that role) and Arnav was giggling when doctor checked his back

"Do cats laugh?" Manav asked

"Yes" said Arnav

"No, they are big boys. They don't laugh when doctor checks them"

Over dinner they listened to the '3 billy goats gruff' song over and over again. Caunteya was keeping them engaged saying

"Why didn't all the three billy goats cross the bridge together, or at least the biggest should have gone first"

"No, he was a deal" said Arnav

"No, it was the little goats idea to cross the bridge" said Manav

Dinner done, the family lounged in front of the open window and felt the cool breeze. Manav slept off right there stretched across Caunteya on the chair. Again I felt the deja vu. Got reminded of the summer nights when we would camp outside with our father on the folding cot and identify the constellations, count the stars and sleep. Summer of the 80's and 90's. Priceless.

Party Poopers

A very busy day and I have a headache. Had no time to listen to the kids, kept them engaged with TV, candies and toys, I know have been a bad mother today. I had too many things to take care of. No more elaborations.

We woke up pretty early today thanks to the boys. On the breakfast table they were playing with the candy box which had the mango candies from India. Arnav said
"Don't eat them Manav. Germs will have a party on your teeth"
"If we eat them and don't brush THEN the germs will have a party" Manav said
"Panty pooper" said Arnav and giggled
"No, its party pooper Arnav. Can you say par-ty?"
"Par-ty" said Arnav
"Great, now say Party pooper"
"Party pooper" said Arnav and both burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Yesterday when Manav came back from school, I said
"Manav I miss you all day. Don't go to school tomorrow"
"But Mommy I need to steady"
"You mean study Manav?"
"Yes, does this look like a school to you?" encompassing the whole living room with his little palms
"No"
"Then, then how can I study here? I have to go to school"
"Ok" I said
He came over and gave me a big hug
"I will always come back to you. Come back soon Mommy" he said and I choked.

Today he was  playing with a toy bin. He told Arnav to climb in it and he pretended he was bathing Arnav in it

"Arnav soap and shampoo for you. Cry now with a tiny voice"

Arnav cried "eeen eeen eeen"

"Now close your eyes, there will be water in your eyes." More Manav chatter

Then he got inside the bin and then they both got inside it. Arnav went out and Manav's weight now made him step on side of the bin instead of the bottom and he fell with the other side of the bin hitting him on the face. He cut his cheek and was bleeding a little. I said

"Don't worry Manav it will heal. Just close your mouth and don't cry."

Some sugar and water later Manav said

"Mommy let me watch some TV. It will lean by then" he meant 'heal' of course.

And he watched quite some TV saying

"It hasn't yet leaned" and I let him as I had other stuff to attend. Of course I corrected him,

"It is not 'lean' , it is 'heal'".

Some pictures of the "spring in dallas evening"

They love "reading" the pictures of the man/child getting electrocuted in all the streetside electric boxes but that doesn't keep them from climbing/playing on/around them. What might scare them is threats that they will have to go to the doctor if they are hurt and the doctor will run out of lollipops or something silly like that.

Arnav tried in vain...Manav was too heavy for him. Manav in turn had a great time pushing Arnav in this borrowed stroller.

After a movie and some chinese takeout that's all I got for you. More later.

Beetles and Paradise

Again all of us woke up on the same bed. This is becoming a regular now, if only this blog wasn't all about the boys I would have written a whole essay on 'Sleeping with the kids'. Manav immediately assumed the authoritarian role and jumped out of bed

"When will you wake up Papa?."

"In five minutes" the usual reply from Caunteya but

"Go start the hourglass and when it is done call me" this addition jump started the day.

Manav and Arnav brought out the hourglass and stared at it while the sand fell. Manav said

"Arnav I am going to susu. No touching the hourglass. Just look at it. I am watching you"

He came right back from the bathroom.

"Mommy where is the susu stool ( the step stool) ?"

"Why Manav, you don't need that any more" I said

"No I want to keep a watch on Arnav, from the mirror" he has figured out that he can see the living room reflected in the bathroom mirror with the door open and a little height.

He came out and said

"Did you touch the hourglass Arnav?"

"No, I just did this " Arnav said wagging his little finger infront of the hourglass

"Did you do this on the carpet or the hourglass?" Manav asked alternately touching the carpet and the hourglass.

"I did this" Arnav chose the hourglass.

"Arnav, look at me. Are you lying?" Manav asked sternly

Arnav dilly dallied.

"Arnav, answer me" more anger

"Yes" Arnav said

"Then you did this on the carpet. You didn't touch the hourglass" Manav was visibly more relieved than Arnav.

On the way back from school they discussed the beetle that Manav had in his class.

"What is the name of the bug Manav?" I asked

"It is a beetle. It was climbing the stick and not eating the leaf" said Manav

"It's name is grouchy ladybug" said Arnav

"No, it is a beetle, not a ladybug" and thus started the war.

Immediately after reaching home Manav changed into his soccer attire. He said

"I will eat my lunch and drink my lemonade and go for a match. It is in my elementary school"

"Elementary school?" I said

"I am pretending that I am in elementary school. In middle school you play football, in high school you play tennis and in college you play taekwondo" Manav said

"No boxing. Boxing can break your things" he continued, pointing to his nose.

During lunch Manav posed flexing his muscles saying

"So much chana will make me strong"

"Please give me so much chana, Mommy" Arnav said

Then Arnav happily started munching his green beans and cheese. I offered him a napkin to clean his hands and face and he said

"When I eat cheese I don't need tissue. I lick my fingers."

 

Manav said "Sidney's brother Sammy is 7 years old. And he cheats Sidney and Sidney cheats him back"

"Other Sammy is 9" said Arnav

"No Sammy is 7 Arnav"

"Other Sammy is 9" said Arnav again. I intervened saying there must be another Sammy

"Is other Sammy's brother's name Sidney Arnav?" asked Manav

"Yes"

"Then it is the same Sammy and he is 7" concluded Manav

Another gorgeous evening and we went out for some real soccer. They were very happy as they were allowed to wear shorts. I have to now deal with all the scraped knees for the umpteen times they fell down.

Arnav enjoyed some time on his car fetching grapes and oranges from Walmart, till he was asked to share with the owner of the car.

Arnav changed into his guitar night dress and sang 

"Oh think twice its another day for you and me in paradise" and "Take it easy" playing his guitar.

Sasquatch and Secret Agent

This morning (I was about to write 'today morning' when I heard my sis-in-law's voice ringing clear in my head "it is either 'this morning' or 'today'". (a) She is a teacher (b) She is American so I am excused) Caunteya gave the ultimatum

"If you aren't done with your breakfast and not ready for school by the time I am ready for work, I will leave without you" He drops the boys to school.

Manav whined, Arnav ignored.

Manav started finishing his milk and waffle in a big hurry and then heard Caunteya in the bathroom.

"Mommy, Papa will take too much time in the bathroom. I can finish" and yes he did make it to school with time to spare.

Today at school they had two drills, a fire drill and a tornado drill. Arnav said

"I didn't cry Mommy, when there was loud siren"

"We put our hands behind our head and lay low on the floor when there is a tornado as objects are flying and they can hurt you" Manav said complete with actions.

Then they had the usual fight about the car seats. Manav fixed the issue by

"Arnav I cannot see Mommy if I sit here. This is a bad seat. Yours is good, you can see Mommy"

 Arnav, during lunch making sure there is not a single strand of cheese left in both his and Manav's plate.

I bought an hourglass today. That kept them busy for a while. My intention was to buy a minute timer so that they can use it for timing their brushing but this one has five minutes. I tried to explain what an hourglass does but failed. The concept of time is still not very clear. A nightmare for me but a bliss for them.

Manav remarked while doing his homework

"I want to go to Bablu Mama's ( my brother's) house"

"Why?" I asked

"I want to see the sasquatch they killed in their backyard"

"What?"

"Yes, Bablu Mama told me he and Wendy Maami killed a sasquatch in their backyard" Manav seemed very convinced.

In the evening we went to visit a friend of mine. Caunteya joined us after work and on our way back home, the family split. Manav was in Caunteya's car and Arnav in mine. I had to switch off the radio as Arnav was chattering non-stop

"Five little ducks went out one day

Over the hills and far away

Mother duck said quack quack quack

but no one came back"

"What are you saying Arnav?" I asked

"House of the ducks and house of the moon" pat came the reply

"House of the moon?" I was perplexed

"Yes, see can you see the moon?"

I looked out of the window and saw this beautiful full moon ( or maybe almost full moon, I am not sure) flitting between the clouds.

"It is moving, going to its house" Arnav added.

After a nice bath after dinner Manav walked out of the bathroom in a weird gait.

"What happened Manav?" I asked thinking his legs hurt or something

"Nothing, I am a secret agent" he said

"But why are you walking like that?"

"I had water on my feet, I was trying to dry them while walking"

"Secret agents do that?"

"No, I did that because I had water on my feet" came a vehement reply

"Where did you hear about secret agents"? I asked, not able to follow

"On the TV, backyardigans" he said

I simply concluded that secret agents and water-on-feet are unrelated.

Manav was on his bed and I asked

"Do you want me to tuck you in?"

"No"

"Ok, good night then" I was eager to leave as I was hungry.

"You might want to tuck me in as I am wearing shorts and I will be cold" he said

Of course, that's exactly what I said yesterday when he refused the blanket.

Consistency is the key and kids are brutal at remembering every little thing you say or do. Parenthood allows no slacking, even for a moment. Secret Agents are watching you.

Parasaurolophus

Today the morning began with all four of us in one bed. Usually the family is spread over in two rooms and three beds. I always wonder why we have a third bedroom. Coming back to the point, it was a very cuddly happy morning with Manav saying

"Ms Foley said we have to love everyone"

"I love you Mommy, I love you Papa and I love my little brother" he continued

Before we could convince him not to wake up Arnav he went over and kissed him and said

"I love you Arnav" and whole family was now officially awake.

Somehow these "days" - Valentine day, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day etc have seeped into the system and totally floored my 3 year old. I can still save my 2 year old. Maybe we can relocate to

Iran ( I googled for 'no valentines day country').

  

This is before they left for school. Manav was reading 'The Big Red Sled' and Arnav was reading, yes good guess 'Ramayana'. Manav said

"This is Fred" pointing at Kumbhakarna and Arnav said

"This is Kumbhakarna" pointing at Fred

and then they changed the pointers but still continued arguing.

Manav read in his book " Arnav is a bad boy, he is not listening"

Arnav read "Manav is not listening"

and some more tomfoolery.

On popular demand here is the Valentine card that Manav made for Papa

Note the card has 4 hearts, mommy and papa's joined and the kids running free !!



On way back from school Manav wanted cookies. I said

"You can have cookies as dessert, that is you eat them after you finish lunch"

"I want to have cookies with lunch" said Manav

"Ok we can put the cookies in the same plate as lunch and eat after lunch is done" I said

"No, I want to have it with lunch. One bite lunch, one bite cookie"

"We'll have cookies after lunch" I stuck

It went on for a while, cookies were replaced by candies, I tried saying that tummy gets confused with both lunch and cookie/candy so should separate them but nothing seemed to change Manav's mind. Once home he told me

"Remember the car deal? We decided that I will have my skittles with lunch"

I shrugged and let him have the packet of Skittles on his plate (Arnav meanwhile had opened his packet and had the skittles on his plate) but thankfully they didn't eat them till lunch was done. I have realised that Manav is so tired by these arguments and negotiations that when the time comes to finally eat the disputed cookies/candies he is not interested any more.

After lunch Arnav asked me
"Did Manav finish his food?"
"Yes" I said
"Manav now you can eat your Skittles. One at a time. Clear?"
"Lets eat all of them, like this" Manav said and put a handful of skittles in his mouth
'I cannot eat all of it. I have to finish mouth. They don't fit in my mouth." Arnav said

Today I managed to put both of them down for a nap (the secret - they were allowed to hold a lollipop each which they could eat after waking up). I asked Arnav what was the name of the lamb that he was sleeping with and he said "Very Lamb"
They woke up and were happily licking their lollipops when Manav said
"Arnav I am having dark pink and you are having morning blue"
"Morning blue" said Arnav and giggled
"Why morning blue Manav? " I asked
"Because it is not dark in the morning" Manav said
I am a sphagetti head so I am still trying to figure out what he meant.

Then he came up to me and said
"Mommy I gave two fireman stickers to Arnav. He came to the fire station and didn't cry when the siren was very loud. He is a very brave boy"
I saw two Valentine stickers on happy Arnav's t-shirt.

We went out in the evening. It was nice and warm and they had a good time running and walking with the stick, mud, berries and anything that caught their attention. Manav told me

"Mommy look aunt Payal"

I had no clue who she was and looked all around. "Where Manav?"

"There, right near your feet"

And I was staring at an ant pile.

For want of a better play area they climbed up the car. Someone mentioned we should buy a BMW so I let them play on this one to their hearts content. Note the red marks on Manav's arms. He had colored them with marker and told me "Mommy I am hurt. There is blood all over" and was perplexed when I didn't show any concern.

Did I mention Arnav is now potty trained? He does use a diaper when he sleeps at night though. Today I ran to the bathroom as it was so dark and I saw Arnav trying to pee.
" I was very susu Mommy (so I didn't switch on the light)" he said

They were fighting with the Lego blocks yet again and I irritatedly said
"Manav there are 2000 blocks, why can't you have your own blocks?"
Then when I told Manav to bring the blocks out in the box so that they could build while I feed them ( today Caunteya was not around during dinner) he said
"I cannot handle 2000 blocks Mommy, you have to help"

"Mommy Parasaurolophus don't have angry face like the Tyrannosaurus. They have a happy face" Manav informed me.

I had no idea what he was talking about. I know T. Rex but what was Parasaurolophus? I wanted to google but then I didn't know the spelling. I asked him to help me pronounce it. He did so patiently

"Para-sauro-lophus"

I was trying to spell it on the Google search bar and he helped me with the phonics.

"Mommy it is lla- lla 'L' ......pha-pha  'F', when we came to the 'lophus' part"

Anyways finally we found it and Manav was happy seeing the same happy face on Wikipedia.

While brushing Manav said
"I have to hurry as the astronauts will come"
"Astronauts?" I asked
"Yes, they come at night. They are not bats"
"Where did you hear that?"
"In my paper. They wear glasses so I cannot see them." Manav continued
"What paper?" I persisted
"In my 'A' paper"
Then it fell in place, he does handwriting homework everyday and for each alphabet there are pictures of objects that start with the alphabet, so for 'A'  it was an astronaut. I wonder when the apple became obsolete.

Valentine and Love

Happy Valemtimes day
As Arnav would say
From a family of four
We have some more (love for you)

The day began on a morbid note. I was having a tough time getting Manav to have his milk and had to hit ( tap him lightly on the shoulder) him. He said

"Do you want me to die?"

I left it at that

He sulked for a bit and then came upto me and said

"I am done, I finished my milk"

I hugged him

"If you hit me on the neck I will die Mommy. You don't want me to die"

Ok lesson learnt.

Arnav is so much easier with the milk (less passion for the blocks)

After school they came home with bags full of valentine goodies and immediately got down to business.

After several reminders and one threat of trashing the candies they came for lunch. Post lunch they opened the "gum" candies and had one each. Manav said

"We have to spit these out after all the juice is gone. Don't swallow like candy Arnav"

"Ok" Arnav said

"Did you swallow the gum Arnav?"

"Yes"

"Mommmieeeeee"

Then they went to bed and Manav told me

"When I say I don't love you, I still love you and Papa"

Arnav said "Mohor Mohor" (gold coins, they learnt this from a Bengali DVD) and giggled.

I was kissing Arnav and he said

"Are you kissing me mister?"

I kissed some more

"No kissing me mister blister. No kissing me on the nosey. It hurts. Kiss me on the forehead"

I kissed every corner of his face. He is the cutest and cuddliest one around.

Then more silly talk, threats from me to trash candies and that worked with Arnav, he  slept but Manav walked out with me. He finished his homework and worked on a Valentine Day card for Papa.

He said "Papa will be impressed with the card"

I didn't quite follow so said "What?"

"Papa will be proud of this card, that means he will be impressed."

"Sure he will be"

Card done he started putting all the star stickers on himself while I cooked dinner. Then I saw he was putting the stickers on the dining table. He said

"I changed my mind. I was putting the stickers on my face and hands but now I am putting on the table. It is Valentines day so these are the decorations"

Then Arnav woke up and started making his card. (Note the stickers on the table)

Evening was nice and warm (71 F for fish) so we went out for a stroll. Manav loves running away, he doesn't hear a word of caution and it is very very difficult to contain him, more so when I have Arnav to take care of too.

Snip, snap, snout
My tale is told out
Manav and Arnav love "The three billy goats Gruff" both book and song.