Summer is here

Its true we were hibernating in the winter (which was until just a month ago) and now have suddenly turned extremely active. Our day begins and end with checking weather.com and that should say enough about the importance of weather. Weather is such a centric thing out here in US. Major conversations center around it ("gorgeous out there") , simple courtesy exchanges involve it ("Howz the weather?"), mood swings are associated with it ("It is depressing"), picnics planned, birthdays dropped, break-ups happen, you name it, weather is everywhere. 

Spring is the best time in Texas( alas best times don't last, soon it will be too hot) and we have been loitering in the parks most of the waking moments. The kids have been biking and using the play areas. They have been playing soccer in the now lush green fields. They have been chasing the birds which are omnipresent. They have been having intellectual conversation about the roots, stems, leaves and fruits of plants and very excited about having planted Lima beans in school in their individually marked pots. Water is now an integral part of their play and there are swimming pool promises in the air mingling with the sweet scent of oak buds.They have been wearing shorts and running barefoot. Oh, for all the photo opportunities I have missed. I can see all the 'kodak moments' in my mind right now as I type but cannot share as I never clicked them. I was too busy just being with them and enjoying this bliss. Sometimes camera free is carefree. Still let me list two of them.

1. Manav and Arnav sitting on the green grass with flushed cheeks (they have been running and it is warm) and inspecting the grass and their roots and the yellow/black ladybug scampering in it.

2. Manav and Arnav on the lakeside, throwing rock bits in the water and watching the 'circles grow'. A neat backdrop of the fountain and ducks swimming.

Manav sings and sums it up

"Summer is here, Summer is here, Summer is here at last"

To restrain them at home at this time of the year is a crime.

Today I went to the doctors office (nothing serious) and told the boys the same when I picked them up from school. Manav said

"What did you get Mommy"

"Nothing"

"Why do only kids get toys to take home from the doctor's office?"

"Because adults don't like toys" I couldn't think of an appropriate answer and the right answer couldn't be shared.

"You don't like toys? " the disbelief showed in his eyes

On way back the conversation again got back to which planet we should live in. Manav said

"I am tired of living on Earth, I want to live in Neptune as it is nice and windy there"

"I want to live in Earth" replied Arnav prudently

"I don't want to live in any planet" said Manav

"Then where do you want to live?"

"In a rocket ship"

"But a rocket ship doesn't have a play area, no toys, why would you live there?"

"There I can wear white clothes just like the astronauts, that is why" . Fair reason

I exclaimed minutes later "Boys, today is Friday and why is Friday so special?"

"Because it is treasure day" said Arnav. Ms Foley lets the kids take a little toy from a treasure chest every friday and Arnav also gets to pick.

"Because it is somebody's turn on Friday" said Manav. Every week day they( Manav, Arnav and Caunteya) take turns to decide which way to turn for school (they can either go straight or left) and that makes them very happy.

Yesterday they got hold of the plastic shovels and rakes and 'cleaned' the living room and kitchen. They raked the dirt ( bits of paper, cheerios, cloth etc), put them in the shovel, dumped the shovel contents in the dump truck and emptied the truck in the trash can. Actually, I had been butter fingers and spilled quite a few cheerios on the kitchen floor and they did a good job of cleaning it up. Today they continued but asked for a good dirty area and we decided it would be under the sofa. So we moved it and they got their prize catches - an unreturned library book ( not sure how much fine we have incurred), a miniature lego block, special rocks from the playground (turtle eggs ahem !!), a teeny tiny blue underwear and lots of socks and cheerios. 

There has been interesting bits and pieces of conversations but I forget. Lots of things happening. Like Manav telling me today while biking

"You should keep an eye on Arnav. There is a pipe ahead (on the sidewalk)"

"Oh yes, thank you Manav" I made a great deal of it

"Thank God I saw it. What could have happened Mommy." Manav exclaimed.

And the other day he was playing with his toy laptop. He had to fill in the numbers in a sequence, like what comes after 3 and before 5. He has played this many times and always scored a 100 and that used  to amuse him a lot. But now he wanted other ways of getting his bit out of the laptop. He purposefully answered the questions wrong and giggled profusely when the laptop would say "Uh-oh that's not right. The answer is 4. Try again". After finishing all questions he turned to me triumphantly and said
"Look Mommy I scored 0" and proceeded to score yet another 0.

What matters to him, I realized, is not the score or the right answers ( those he has conquered), it is the various responses the laptop comes up with and his control over the score. First step in 'if-then-else' loops? I am ashamed I still think code.

Straw cigarette

Daylight saving or not if the driver decides to go early everyone must follow suit. Caunteya had a meeting at 8:30 AM so all of them were out by 8:05 AM. Reminds me of our rickshawala who used to take us to school. Our school bus had its own route and we didn't figure in it. Everything depended on the rickshawala, if he was late we'd be late, if he was early we'd scamper to make it in his rickshaw and if he didn't turn up we'd have an unexpected holiday unless any parent was around and would consent to drop us to school.

On ride back from school, Arnav said he painted in purple and Manav said he made snakes. I had seen the thin cut out paper plates with which they were supposed to make snakes. I pretended to be aghast and said

"Snakes are dangerous and will bite you"

"No Mommy these are pretend snakes. Don't be afraid of them. They don't know how to open their mouth" Manav assured.

Then he turned very teary and cried for his papa and pasta. Not sure what he wanted more. Finding idli sambar instead of pasta made him madder. He decided to toast his own chocolate waffle. Arnav on the other hand happily slurped the idli sambar. So much for being siblings. But now I am an experienced Mommy and I just let them eat, not eat, sleep, not sleep, pee, not pee, in short am super cool ( the fine print says - at the end of the day as now I still have that nagging guilt - the kids didn't have milk in the evening).

Food done they were happy once more. Started playing with the flash cards. Manav collected his planets, stars and sun and gave a couple of vague ones to Arnav. Then he started quizzing Arnav

"Arnav what is this?"

"Chocolate Brownie" pat came the reply

"No Arnav, it is soil. This is where plants grow. The seeds become stems and leaves and roots. Roots suck up water. But before putting the seeds in the soil don't forget to remove the seed coat"

By this time he had lost his sole audience.

"Mommy Arnav doesn't know all this. He is a baby" Manav told me with a sideways glance.

"Yes, Manav, you need to teach him. You are the big brother" I said

"I am teaching him Mommy. I told him all about comments."

"Comments?"

"This one, right here" showing the 'Comet' flash card.

Then they started riding their bikes. Yes, they do that often on the devoid of furniture living room

Arnav said

"This is MY bicycle"

"No yours is a tricycle. Babies ride that. Mine is a bicycle" Manav rubbed it in

"This is my BICYCLE" Arnav said with a louder voice

"No bicycles have two wheels. Tricycle has three. Yours is a tricycle"

"Mommieeeeee" Arnav's wail, a harbinger of trouble yanked me of my comfortable position infront of the laptop

Late afternoon we went to the library. Arnav wanted to go to the park and Manav said

"We will go to the library. Come back home, drop the books and then go to the park. How about that Arnav?"

Arnav nodded meekly.

We got books and read in the library. Then they presented a puppet show about a polar bear and shark and dinosaur. It was pretty imaginative, most of the talking done by Manav. I would have loved to present it here just that the post would be too long.

Then on a whim we went to the indian cafe next doors. The boys had half a mango pastry while I enjoyed samosa and milky sweet elaichi tea. On way back from the cafe Manav picked up a straw. He started smoking it like a cigarette and I was very surprised

"What is that Manav? What are you doing?"

"Just like the neighbor does Mommy"

"What neighbor? " Now it was making sense

"The one we have downstairs. He puts in mouth and then snatches it away like this and there is so much smoke." complete with actions.

I decided not to discuss it further and he had a great time "smoking" till we reached the car. On way there he stepped on a metal wire and I instinctively said it was dangerous and he shouldn't meddle with it. When I was putting his belts on in the car seat Manav said straw in hand

"I want to be that metal wire Mommy"

"Why?" I was intrigued

"Because I want to be dangerous"

Next I did something mindless. I kissed and hugged him and said my boy is such a sweet thing, he can never be dangerous. Manav just smiled.

This reminds me of the incident that happened in Austin. The elder cousin ( 7 year old) was resting on a one of those big armchairs which you can spin. And Manav was spinning the same so he said

"Don't spin. I don't like it"

"My ears are not working" Manav said and continued spinning

"Hey, I told you not to spin." he said irritatedly.

"My ears are still not working." Manav continued with a smug smile.

From the cafe we went to the Preston Meadow Park and Manav chanced upon his classmate and they had a great time. Arnav was doing extra stunts today, jumping from quite some heights, rope climbing and other new things that are there in that park. Somehow he is ahead of Manav in these things.

Manav hadn't napped in the afternoon and we were looking forward to him falling asleep sooner. Caunteya said

"Manav, let's go sleep. I have to work after that"

"No papa, you finish work and then I will sleep"

"Work will go on for a while. If you don't sleep now you will have to sleep on your own" Caunteya threatened

"Its fine Papa. You take your time, go on."

And it took some candied bait to get him to bed. Gosh where do they get all this energy from? If only we could live like kids. Simple and happy always.

Race Track and Snowman 8

Let me start with the "after" pic of the cleaned patio which I promised. May it remain like this forever. Actually it will look better when I start the potted plants.

Now with the weather at its best there is very less time spent indoors. That means two things 1. I get tired sooner 2. There is less stolen moments to write this blog. Now what I need is a digital notepad to type and transfer even when I am outdoors. Does that sound like one of the "i" stuff....I mean iPad, IPhone or whatever. I have been meaning to look them up but can never catch up and the thought of learning yet another device is not at all inviting.

Friday afternoon we went to a friend's place where the boys indulged in everything ranging from Wii to Soccer. But as I am biased towards outdoor activity I will highlight the soccer. Manav soon realised that it was futile trying to run in the wet grass with crocs without getting his feet exposed to nature and grabbed the role of a referee. That left Arnav with a splendid opportunity to play with the other boy who at 7 years is way older than him. Arnav unlike his big brother readily kicked off his crocs and ran merrily on the wet grass and mud and played like a madman. He kicked, dribbled and got the ball from his opponent with his little mud stained feet with Manav's whistle ( finger in his mouth and making the arrrnh arrrnhh sound) ringing in the background.

Back from there we went to our neighbor's house where more action awaited us. She got a bucket of water and rags for the kids and asked them to wash/clean her car and they had a blast.

They each received a quarter for their hard work which was evident in the now shining red mini cooper.

Over the weekend we drove to Austin and visited friends and family. It was a good outing and the kids had lots of fun. On our drive I looked back and said

"I love you Arnav"

"You love me? Then will you give me a jelly bean?" Arnav smiled back

Arnav now has a market for jelly beans, offering one for each job well done whether it is stopping at red light or writing a flawless 'A'. He also makes sure you are denied the pleasure of one (jelly bean) if you are not doing what he wants you to and then you become a "bad boy" as you are "not listening".

Boys enjoying the Austin outdoors

Today while doing his homework Manav gave me a mini tutorial on "how to write the number 8".

"You can write a race-track 8 or a snowman 8. For a race track 8 you write a 'S' and pullback." And he would show this with a rapid stroke of the pullback.

"For a snowman 8 you draw two circles, one on the top of other. The lower one is fatter as in a snowman."

"Today we will write a race track 8" and he writes that on his homework sheet and fills up all the white spaces with V+ ( that is what his teacher does to grade) saying he knows he did a good job. Also, embellishes another area with a sun, mountains and thunder, now I think I did a mistake missing out on asking him what that meant.

The race track 8

Arnav, meanwhile was coloring his dinosaur. He came to me and was asking me something while I was trying to work on the computer (read hooked onto facebook) and said

"Mommy, look at me. When somebody is talking to you, you listen and look at me"

Of course that got him my complete attention and he said

"Are you happy or sad?" he keeps asking this question at odd intervals

"Happy Arnav" I said

"Then you like my colors" showing the dinosaur in weird blue.

When Arnav was coloring I tried moving his chair forward and his foot got scraped. He as usual dismissed me as a 'bad boy'. I was applying some Aveeno on the wound when he said

"Mommy it is like joining the dots." he was right as little beads of blood was showing now and it did look like dots. Pardon my gory details but I had to underscore his imagination. And then he kept going everywhere saying

"My boo boo is like joining the dots"

In the evening we went out and played in a nearby community park. They played tag or that is what I told them and soon found Manav pushing Arnav to the ground and shouting

"Attack"

"No Manav, it is tag, you don't push, you just touch" I said showing him

"Oh, you mean tag(with the accented T), but you said tag. You have to say tag" and went on to teach me how to say tag. Wish I could put some sounds here.

Back home and after a bath Manav was looking at the Kohl's catalogue and trying to find a nice handbag for me. He showed me some claiming each one to be better than the other and then found the perfect one. He said

"Mommy I have found one which is just for you ( emphasizing just). No one else can have it. The page has a nice butterfly too. You have to come see it. You need one money for it ( as I said these cost money) It is not at all girly (as I has said I am an old woman and don't like girly stuff)."

"See I told you, you will like it. " when I ooh'ed and aah'ed over it.

Manav went to bed with his flashlight making "Jupiter" on the ceiling and Arnav clinging onto me and claiming "I love you Mommy" with gritted teeth. Arnav has so much emotions he has to clench his fist and grit his teeth to let them all out, not to mention he sometimes bites and hits to show how much he loves you. Yet to decide which is worse, this or Manav's pinching the upper arm for the same purpose - to show his love. But I am sure years later the decision point will fulcrum only around the love and there will be no memories whatsoever with the pain associated with it.

Pollen and Bees

Yet to get back to schedule but warming up, now we are 15 minutes closer. And when we talk of time we cannot do without the hourglass. Or can we? The hourglass in all its ruby red finery, awe inspiring time keeping, stolen 5 minutes "me" time, countless screaming and yelling over who will "turn" it has ceased to exist since yesterday morning when Manav

"It was a mistake. I was trying to turn in and it slipped from my hands and fell down"

But Arnav maintains

"There is no hourglass any more. Manav put it on the edge (with a capital E) and it fell and broke"

In its short lifetime (and making us $9 poorer) the hourglass has given us endless moments of happiness. We miss you and are looking for your plastic unbreakable counterpart.

The bloodbath(room)

As much as I try I cannot remember any details of yesterday except for the fact that I was sewing like mad and Caunteya had a (yet another) late match. Also the tussle of putting Arnav to bed. I finally yelled at him and he said

"Don't shout at me. That's not good" being the pouty puffer that he is

"I am sorry Arnav" I wanted to diffuse this situation. Once Arnav gets into confrontation mode nothing productive can be accomplished.

"Papa doesn't shout at me. Manav doesn't shout at me. You shout at me." He ranted

"I am sorry Arnav. I shouldn't have shouted. I love you" desperate attempt at a make up.

"No you shouted and I love you" he almost yelled.

This morning in a desperate attempt to make Manav realise that we are late ( did I mention hourglass we miss you?) I said pointing out of the view from the dining table window.

"Look Manav, can you see the parking lot?"

"Yes"

"It is all empty and soon it will start filling with the cars that means we are getting late. The people have started to come to work and school but we are still at home"

"Yes, it is empty means all the people are having breakfast. Olivia, Daniel, Sidney everyone is having breakfast and then they will come to school."

"Yes, you got it. Now you must also finish breakfast before the cars come in" I gushed

"Hey look Mommy cars are coming, lets eat. You feed me and read a book, then we can finish"

Breakfast stretched and it was 8:45 AM when they left, so that's 15 minutes sooner than 9 AM, which we are used to since the time changed. We have to reach the 8 - 8:15 AM zone, miles to go before I sleep.

Today it was St Patrick's day celebration at school. They had green snacks, parade and treasure hunt. The boys were happy showing off their treasures. I asked Manav if I can have his sparkling green necklace. He said

" Yes, Mommy you can have it. "

"Thanks Manav. I will return it once we are back home" I said putting on the necklace

"No, you don't have to return it. You can wear it till your birthday ends. It is my present for you"

Actually a friend of mine had stopped by at the school to give me my belated birthday gift and had asked Manav what he had gifted his mommy.

The Green boys

During lunch again I had to remind Manav in stern words that he needs to sit at the table and eat. He was offended and said

"Mommy I will put you in Mercury and Venus in a rocket ship so that you cannot come back. They are very hot planets. Or you can go to Neptune which is very windy. "

In this tirade of deciding which planet I will be banished to he lost the real reason and said

"Hey Mommy remember the planets Jupiter and others in the Mc Donald's we went to?"

"Oh the one we went while Arnav's doctor appointment?"

"Yes, we went after the appointment"

"Yes and Arnav threw a fit when we said it is time to go home" I was remembering that tragedy

"When I throw a fit it hurts your heart Mommy" he said wisely

"Who said that?"

"Ms Foley. We should never throw a fit at anyone. Today Alex threw a fit at Ms Foley and said he will not eat any green snack. Thats not good"

"Did you eat your green snack Manav?" I asked hoping I can stop feeding him

"I ate some stem (celery) and tasted the leaves (spinach) did not like it. I ate the green cookie and some green grapes"

So more feeding ensued.

Post nap Manav did some project work. We had forgotten his folder at school so I had to supplement his homework. He was trying to make a cheerios shamrock. He said

"Mommy I am making a pattern. I am eating one and putting one (cheerio)"

Then we replayed the treasure hunt that he had in school

"What is it called where you slide?"

"Play area" I answered enthusiastically

"What is it called where you sit and slide?" He asked again

"Park?" now I was flummoxed

"What is the thing called?"

"Slide?"

"Ok, I cannot remember the clue but the answer was park, so we went to the park and then they asked where can we get ice when someone is hurt and the answer is office, so we went to office and then the leprechaun came to the library and we went back to class and he gave us treasures. We were running and should have used our walking feet"

I just nodded my spaghetti head at this long description.

Then they went to Manav's soccer practice and I cleaned up the patio ( or what once was a patio). They had a dirt fight there yesterday.

This is the "Before". I will post the "After" photo tomorrow.

After dinner we went out with the kids on their bikes to the park. Caunteya aptly mentioned that two years before this would have been unthinkable. They in their bikes and we walking and talking. It was gorgeous weather today and they played and biked back without any incidents.

When I was putting Manav to bed he said

"I will let the deer (he was holding the reindeer made out of icecream sticks) clean the pollen from my feet with its soft nose"

"What is pollen Manav?" I usually don't ask leading questions at bed time but this is the first time I was hearing this word from him and wanted to double check. I should have known better.

"It is what the bees have"

"Bees have pollen?"

"Yes, and then it becomes fruit. If it is cherry pollen it becomes cherry and if it is pear pollen it becomes pear"

"But I thought seeds become trees" I have no clue why I said this

"Seeds are inside these fruits" Manav said a little sternly and kept rubbing the soft reindeer nose on the soles of his feet.

Time to go to bed with clean feet.

Yellow Jello

Daylight Saving has taken its toll. We sleep late, wake up late and everything gets skewed. It will take couple more days to get back on track. Also, the weather has been acting up, after a few days of 70+ temperatures it has gone back to 50s and 60s making it a hard choice to stay indoors v/s venturing outdoors. Wind and Clouds have been having a field day. Needless to mention the kids are sick, the usual runny nose and cough kind which is fine otherwise but messes with their nighttime sleep. Net result, four of us are in the same bed more often than not.

Yesterday when I was picking up Manav, his teacher showed me the experiment that they were performing. She had cut stems of celery and immersed them separately in food colored water ( green, blue, purple and various other colors) and asked Manav to explain it to me. Manav said

"The stems will suck up the water and become that color"

So on our way back I asked Manav what it was all about. He said

"We were doing a science experience with observations"

"Experiment you mean?"

"Yes, I always keep forgetting that" Manav said

Today we did see the blue celery stems and leaves. We then decided to buy white carnations and color them pink. Manav said

"We need food color too. We have to buy pink color"

"I like purple. Jia Lin wears purple t-shirt" said Arnav

Then Manav began singing

"Wee Willie Winkie......" and Arnav said

"No it is ........

Three little mon-keys swinging on a tree,

Teasing Mr croco- dile Can't catch me"

Then he mumbles something, more of a whisper and completes by saying

"Snap and then zero, no more" complete with actions.

Arnav also sings the color song like
"Red, green, jello, blue....." and when I correct him he says
"No, it is not ye-llow it is je-llo"

Manav and I became a team today to do our sewing project. It was more of a tactic to make him feel elevated hence more amenable to my ways and as he refused to nap I had no other choice. We finished the onesies and took pictures. He insisted on taking one of mine and I broke our rule of "No touching camera" in a desperate bid to contain an imminent tantrum and risking Arnav waking up . He took this picture of me, his first with a camera.

When I asked him why he cut me off the picture ( of course he was not aware of zoom etc) he said

"Mommy I like your smile. That is what I clicked" Of course.

In the evening we went for a walk and met some friends at the grocery store. Manav becomes a different person if a girl is around and particularly if this girl is around. He keeps an animated conversation going and becomes a knight in shining armor for her. When other kids were disturbing her he went with a stern

"Don't so that" and when that didnt work

"Let us move your seat so that he cannot pull your t-shirt" (we were in the store's restaurant )

and both Manav and Arnav started playing their waiter game and running with all urgency to get her lemonade and bananas or whatever she was ordering. As expected parting was a big deal with lots of whining.

On way back Arnav said

"Please take me koley (pick me up) as my back is hurting. I cannot walk any more"

They came back to some computer work

Over dinner Manav started

" I don't want paratha, I want honey bunch of oats"

"I don't want paratha, I want honey bunch of holes" Arnav chimed in.

Thankfully Caunteya spun a tale and was able to feed them the paratha and dal I had so painstakingly prepared ( once in a while I do cook). Manav somehow ended up putting on his number 10 t-shirt, shorts, shin guards and cleats and insisted on going to bed thus with his "soccer sippy-cup" in tow. I think the fact that we were using the soccer water bottle at dinner gave him this idea. He said

"Mommy guess what? "

"What Manav?"

"I got hurt on this (showing the corner of the wooden shoe rack) but luckily I was wearing the shin guards and was saved"

Bunny Spotters

I did mention there will be no weekend posts but little did I realise that weekdays will be a toughie as well. Just got a whole lot in my plate right now. We are house hunting, I have been busy sewing, reading some awesome books, having great time outdoors with the boys now that spring (break)  is official in Dallas, to mention a few. A zero dollar Kohls bill this month is proof enough. Many other things have been going on as well. Manav has this hectic soccer schedule with practice on Thursdays and Saturday morning matches. Caunteya is doing his year end madness at work ( read as working long hours) and I am really looking forward to becoming a regular in writing this blog. If wishes were horses.

Arnav has been talking a lot lately. He asks what seems like million of questions.

"Who is this?" pointing to a car in the picture

"A car Arnav"

"I know it is a car, but who is this?" he repeats patiently pointing to the same car. That is when it dawns to me he is actually asking "Whose car is this?"

and when I appropriately answer that question he gives me a satisfied

"Oh"

And this "I know it is X, but my real question is Y" has been going on for a while. We are finally beginning to understand the 'Y', still a long way off though.

One afternoon we ( me and the kids) decided to clean up the house. I have been very negligent in this aspect, sewing whenever I get a chance. Manav volunteered to clean the toy/guest room (I have a strong hunch this was so that he could play there) and Arnav and I took the boy's bedroom. We decided to hang the piles of clothes in hangers. Arnav got into one of those zones where he wants to do an activity, lacks the skills to do it and would not accept any external help to get it done.  

"There is some problem with this t-shirt" said Arnav amidst inconsolable sobs

"Oh, yes you are right. This t-shirt has collar, maybe you should try the Thomas one" I offered

"Yes, lets try again. Thomas is fine. He can hang on the hanger...chug chug chugga chugga" with teary laughter.

The incessant frustrated crying dominated most of the t-shirts. Some which he managed to hang precariously on the hangers came loose when finally hung in the closet starting a fresh round of crying and "There is some problem with this t-shirt" but finally we had all of them in the closet ( I should have got a picture of the awkwardly hung t-shirts)

One evening I was very cold and sat curled on the couch.

"Why are you like this Mommy?"Manav asked me

"Mommy is cold. We should light a fire beside her to keep her warm" said Caunteya

"No papa, fire is dangerous, she will burn" Manav shuddered

"We will put water in the fire" Arnav offered a solution

"Why Arnav, what would water do?" I was happy that Arnav was becoming worldly wise

"Water will clean the fire. And we will all say good job and have jelly beans" beamed Arnav.

I treasure the white curtains that are the only items I have splurged in the otherwise sparsely furnished living room. But Manav makes it a point to gather them in his hands and walk with them when he passes that area of the room or just cover himself up with them and feel the soft silk texture. This in spite of my long lectures to make him understand the danger that looms if the rods fell down due to his tugging at the curtains. On one such occasion I chided him

"Manav not the curtains. You will hurt yourself"

"Mommy these are not curtains. They are fluffy clouds from Mount Fuji" Manav walked away with this profound statement ( of course lifted from one of the library books where they were selling mashed potatoes for the Mt Fuji clouds so that kids would eat it).

Yesterday Manav scored a goal for his team 'Little Shooters'. This was an achievement as he has his own ideas about soccer. First of all he doesn't remember which side he should score and second he generally like running in the fringes around the mass of players and doesn't really do anything. When Caunteya demonstrated with a ball

"You need to take the ball from the other team and continue to the other side like this"

"Hey, Papa, if I took the ball from you, how would you feel"? Manav's question was genuine.

"This is a game Manav, you have to score to win" and some other long winded explanations which didn't seem to make sense to him. He is still in that stage where he is awed by the game, more by the soccer gear and behaves as if to be a part of the game itself is a big thing, playing it better will come later.

Getting ready to start the game

" Papa how can I kick the ball? "

So here was this game where "snatching" and "kicking" were legitimate and didn't warrant a timeout. I can see it has been very confusing. Still waiting for that "click" to happen in that little brain.

Watching the game

Yesterday Papa and the kids went out bunny hunting post dinner. The rabbits get out in bunches and munch on grass and the kids have a blast looking at these fearless creatures up close. They came back bubbling with news for me

"There was a baby bunny. Choto (small) bunny eating grass. Papa bunny and Mommy bunny were there but far away, baby bunny didn't run away" Arnav gushed

"There was a dog barking, I said shhh but still the bunny did not run away" he continues

"I said to the dog, stop barking or you will be in trouble, lot of trouble" Arnav declared

and then the climax

"But there is pink bunny on Lord Ganesh" and began giggling uncontrollably.

Actually on one of their while going to school trips Arnav insisted on taking this pink bunny (which grows when put in water) to school and Caunteya in desperation hung that bunny on the Ganesh picture on way out saying

"Lord Ganesh will take care of the bunny when you are at school"

and I showed Manav the mouse that always accompanied Lord Ganesh

"That is a honey badger Mommy, not a mouse" declared Manav

Today during our house hunting trip Manav was particularly whiny and just would not listen to us. He cried the whole way back in the car yelling

"I don't want to go home. Take me on a drive"

We got home and had him work on some joining-the-dots to distract him but in vain. Then suddenly he said

"Hey Mommy, guess what?"

"What? " I asked

"I have calmed down. I am not crying anymore." and sure thing he had

and one evening when he was crying a lot as I didn't allow him to wear his shin guards during a walk to the mailbox he said

"Can I stop crying now? Have I calmed down?"

The joining dots with an onlooker

Today during lunch he just wouldn't finish his last bit of rice and dal. He said

"Hey Papa, I will eat this much and you eat the rest" separating the rice into two parts

"No, I have finished my food, you have to finish yours" Caunteya replied

"Let us share Papa, you eat some and I will eat some" he made another effort.

Daylight savings has robbed us of an hour today and it is now tomorrow already. The boys will wake up fresh as a daisy while I will be a wilted dandelion to say the least.

Lil Helper

"I am tired" is an understatement. Am not sure if it is my waning energy or the boys' waxing enthusiasm for everything in sight (and not in sight). Today's post will be without any photos if I manage to publish the post that is.

Manav woke up at 6:30 AM and excitedly came up to me and said

"Mommy the duck has grown. Come see"

and I had to wake up too. Last evening, he had gotten this duck toy (from my neighbor) which if you put in water it keeps growing.

"Sharoon aunty promised it will grow. She was right. Look how big it has grown"

and the excitement continued with Arnav coming over and answering in the negative to Manav's question

"Look hasn't the duck grown up?"

"No"

"Come stand here. From here you can see. Can you see now?"

"Yes" still sleepy Arnav got it.

The duck made it to the school and back today. In the car Manav informed

"The duck is growing without eating anything"

"It must be eating Manav. You cannot see" I didn't want to reinforce the growing without eating theory. Eating linked to growing and becoming strong and being able to play sports is a central theme in this house. Important and most activities revolve around it.

"Its mouth is always closed. It is not eating Mommy"

I let it go, too  much discussion here will just end up reinforcing.

Today I picked them up early as Arnav had a dental appointment. I must elaborate the luxury of this kids' dental place. They have a high rise play structure similar to most of the Mc Donald's only bigger. Not to mention that Arnav insisted on completing the whole loop though his doctor was ready for him. Then you walk in to pick up a DVD, which you'd like to watch and the nurse puts it in the central DVD system and takes you to your room where the TV screen is right above the dentist's chair. So while you lie down and get your teeth examined/fixed you get to watch Diego saving his beloved animals. And if the doctor is using water and too much is squirting up for a clear vision of the rain forest above, you are passed on a pair of sunglasses. So Manav is quite right in asking

"Why didn't Arnav's doctor appointment last longer for me to watch a little more Diego?"

And I cannot help but contrast it to my earliest memory of dentist appointment in IGH, Rourkela where I ran away from the dentist chair even after he had administered the tall syringe full of anesthesia. The doctor did give an earful to my father about raising better kids.

The trip to Mc Donalds' after the doctor's appointment didnt go that well. Arnav refused to leave the play area and we had to force him out. And trust me forcing Arnav is neither pretty nor easy. He yells for all people to notice you forcing him and gets this immense strength somehow which makes it hard for even two people to strap him down to the car seat. This traumatic experience interfered with his afternoon nap but between me and Manav we managed pretty well. Yes, of course Manav didn't nap. Did I mention I am tired?

Few minutes into his nap time Arnav woke up again

"I want to go. I want to go" referring to the play area I believe

I told Manav not to make any noise and went to put Arnav back to bed.

It took a while as Arnav just wasn't going to fall asleep easily. When he was finally asleep I heard a distant "Done". It could mean only one thing - post potty cleanup request.

I went out of the boys' bedroom looking for Manav in their bathroom but was surprised to find him in ours instead.

"Hey what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to potty and you were putting Arnav to bed and the exhaust was too noisy so I came here"

If only he wasn't on the potty seat I would have hugged him tight.

"Oh Manav, that is so nice of you. Very good thinking. You are so intelligent"

"Yes, I didn't want to wake Arnav. He is cranky and you were putting him to bed. I am intelligent so I came here" reiterated Manav.

He patiently finished his homework while I spoke to the realtor, played with the computer Caillou alphabet game while I folded the laundered clothes ( less of folding and more of reading a book) and continued to be this sweet grown up son even after Arnav woke up.

"I will not throw those" declared Arnav sleepily pointing to the folded clothes on the couch.

"Arnav come I will show you how Gilbert is finding his bone ( or something like that)" Manav called out and Arnav bounded along.

Manav came to me and whispered

"I am just asking him to help me find the 'M's so that he doesn't disturb you. You can read your book"
And I could hear Arnav saying
"Good job Manav. I will give you one candy"

This arrangement worked pretty well till Arnav displayed his real elements and dethroned Manav from the chair and started operating the mouse. Before the yelling and screaming could go out of hand I whisked them off to the park. But not before Manav showed another of his "over-helpful" side for the umpteenth time today.

" I need to go to the bathroom" I said

"You go ahead Mommy. I will keep an eye on him" Manav said pointing to Arnav.

When I finally emerged from my interrupted stint in the bathroom I was aghast to find them "cleaning" the TV screen with a soaked towel. All my tender love for Manav vanished and I yelled. I then calmed down and explained how the TV and laptop just cannot have water anywhere near them etc etc when I saw the once folded clothes now all strewn on the floor. Then I lost it again. I took Arnav by his shoulders and reminded him in his words, that he wasn't going to touch the folded clothes. He continued to stare with big eyes, which made me madder then but now I feel that he didn't get any of what I was saying. Because they just don't understand words above a certain decibel level. Other than scaring ( possibly scarring) them it does nothing. Sometimes they are not even scared, they laugh, for them its funny to see a grown up doing weird things with their hands, hair and feet accompanied by yelling/shouting/screaming.

Park was not bad at all despite the fact that Manav took possession of a big stick and wouldn't part with it, decided to be a crocodile waiting at the mouth of the tunnel slide and mouthing a little dirt in the process and was swinging on the net of the goalpost.

Back home I reminded him that it was one Mommy and two boys ( Caunteya had his tennis match today) so he needs to help me as he had been doing during the day. He said

"Yes Mommy, what can I do for you?"

Then they got busy playing with the pots and pans and ladles in the kitchen. Manav was making dal and put lots of pots and pans inside each other and said

"The dal has to grow inside this. When it is soft then it is done. Till then you have to wait Arnav"

He opened his shoes and said

"Mommy can you please put them in the closet for me? I am cooking so you need to help me. Tomorrow when we go out and we come back then when I open my shoes and I am not cooking I will put them in the closet." All the while shaking his head for maximum dramatisation.

He was coughing and said

"Mommy may I get a cough drop please?"

I assumed it was cough syrup and said maybe later.

He clarified

"Ms Foley coughs like me. We are sick you see. She has something with two lines on it like a candy and when I asked she said it is cough drop. Maybe I should have some"

I just gave him some cough syrup and Arnav got none though he made an earnest effort in faking cough.

Manav slept off early as he didn't nap and I got to have a pep talk with Arnav alone. I said he did good at the doctor's office ( Did I mention that he opened his mouth wide just as the doctor entered the room) but was a very bad boy at Mc Donald's. Why did he behave like that, I asked

He said

"I wanted to go up one more time" referring to the play structure.

"Why did you want to go up again, when we talked about "last time" and Papa had to go back to office. Right?"

"I wanted to go up again because that would make me happy" said Arnav. A very valid reason with pretty invalid set of parents though.

Little things make me happy. I didn't have to brush Arnav today as he had the fluoride treatment and

"Mommy called the doctor and doctor cried

No brushing at night tonight.

That is today's highlight but in a positive light

Brushing Arnav has been a highlight of every night

Since his first tooth at fourth month, right?"

Good Night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.

Lego Cake and Skittles Mat

Not at all the post I want. But things have piled up and I must offload. If I wait another day there will be chronological issues. One thing is for sure, there will be no weekend post henceforth. Just not possible, too many things to take care of (read Manav's soccer match and our house hunt). This weekend it was my birthday. Woke up to the kids singing 'Happy Birthday' for me in bed. The entire song with sound effects. Then they went to 'build' my present. Came up with a Lego block cake

"Mommy your cake is getting differenter and differenter"

"Why Manav?"

"Because we are still building"

So every 5 minutes or so I would have to go check what my dynamic cake looks like.

The I helped myself to a slice of cake ( a block) and had to remark how mouth watering tasty it was.

"What is the baby jaguar doing on my cake Manav?" I enquired

"Just like Saachi's cake had the princess in it, your cake has jaguar" Manav clarified

Of course, I had forgotten how much I like animal themed cakes.

Arnav announced

"I have skittles for you on the cake" and pointed to imaginary skittles on it.

They got me so hooked I had to bake my own cranberry walnut bread for the birthday. Thankfully a couple of my girlfriends got me cupcakes in the evening and officially I could boast of a cake. I had to satisfy myself with wikipedia 'Birthday cake' search and as expected it turned up western culture links.

Saturday morning it was me and Arnav in the living room while Manav and Caunteya stole those special early morning minutes of sleep. We heard the unmistakable beep of a phone. I playfully asked Arnav

"Is that Mommy's or Papa's phone?"

"Papa's phone. Mommy's phone it is calls and Papa's phone it is email. " I now have this craving  for a smartphone. The birthdays and simple cellphones make me feel so old and bygone.

 

That is Manav's penchant for order and color coordination in anything and everything. "Group by" is another name for Manav. So he gets these Skittles on one condition that he will share with his brother 'after' breakfast. I divided the 15 skittles of course unequally - 7 for Arnav and 8 for Manav hoping they will never find out. But I needn't have worried as somehow Manav managed to take 12 of them as he insisted he needed all the colors to co-ordinate with the new mat that Mommy has on the dining table. The extra 3 reds colored ones were doled out to Arnav. That is when I learned Arnav has no concept of numbers and quantity. He happily had three while Manav devoured the 12 after breakfast. No questions asked.

Manav was still behaving so I asked

"Manav you are good sometimes but most of the times you are bad, why is that?"

"Because I like to be like that"

Then he comes running to us crying

"He almost broke my bone here, when he hit me" pointing alternately to Arnav and his bone on the forehead.

Even in extreme pain Manav never ceases to be dramatic. Drama is in his genes. Just like today when we were at the library checking out books and puppets, Kylie stepped in.

" I love cars, can I have one please?"

"Hey, I play soccer. You have to hit the ball into other team's goals. See." Chipped Manav, showing off his soccer book

"Yes, I play soccer too. It is so much fun" Kylie continued

After that they were inseparable. He followed her everywhere to the extent of both sitting with her grandpa and reading books for a while. Her grandpa remarked

"Are you aware that your son is very sharp? "

I was at a loss to appropriately answer this, so just smiled.

I have yet to figure out what attracts Manav - a new friend, the girl factor or that fact that she is white or all of the above or none of the above?  This has happened  quite often, hence my curiosity - in playgrounds, stores, school and now library too.

They have so much energy and in contrast I am going southwards. We are both growing up but are in the opposite sides of the sine curve of energy. I try wearing them out with long walks, long talks, runs in the fields, endless up and downs in the play area but while I am done, they've just begun. Now I see sense in my mother's wisdom in having babies when you are young. Though I still maintain that I had a helluva 7 years of non-baby marriage. Would not change that.

Over and out.

X and V are numbers?

One of the many pitfalls of being hasty is losing out on the real thing. One of the many good things about being a mother is you cannot afford being hasty, there is not enough time. I have this beautiful big clock in my living room which I, in one of my rare non-clearance shopping sessions had picked up for our then new home. Didn't realise that it would be an impediment to my 3 year old's learning to tell the time. It has all the kid friendly characteristics - it is big, the numbers are visible from anywhere and most important - its hung way above their reach ( or so I thought till I found them putting pillows on the backrest of the couch and trying to touch it, thankfully I foiled that attempt before completion and have threatened them enough to try again, or so I think). So what was wrong? Why was Manav having such a hard time telling the time seeing this clock, while he could actually tell time from a drawing clock in his classwork sheet. Of course the omnipresent digital clocks do not count. Manav doesn't even call them clocks, they are "bad clocks" not the way "real clocks" should be. I agree.

Ok, coming back to the point, the problem with this clock is it has roman numbers. So I was planning to get a new one with normal numbers and save time by not repeating "Please check the microwave or oven clock" (They are digital). As with other projects this has always been pushed below the milk-egg-bread shopping list, in short has never been fulfilled. So I was very very surprised when one day

"Manav we have your match coming up at 5 PM today"

"Mommy is '5' 'V'?" he asked

"What?" I didn't get that, yet again dismissing it as his silly talk making the rounds these days

" V, V for violin" he asserted.

Then I got it, he was referring to the clock.

"Yes, it is. How did you know that Manav?" I was thinking this guy is a genius, has mastered the roman numerals? Really?

" I counted it" pat came the simple reply.

"And VI is 6 and VII is 7 and so on. I know that Mommy"

The learning? Never ever think anything in the house is an impediment to learning, just that it might not aid learning as you define it. He/She will learn something else in the process. And of course never overestimate your child, he is not a genius, he is just a child and can figure things out better than you. Period.

Is my blog becoming too philosophical? Am I preaching? Am I deviating from the mission to make eager persons a part of my kids' life? Its just that I am the author, so some of me will show in the posts. And needless to say these days some philosophical version of me has surfaced. Lets proceed.

This afternoon ( or is it 'today' afternoon?, just don't feel like 'google') they came home to spaghetti and meatballs (read broccoli for Arnav). Since Manav has been insisting on pasta ( in any form Mommy, Mac and Cheese will also do) I thought this will be apt lunch. Arnav went and sat on the table waiting for his lunch while Manav changed into his soccer gear. Arnav then decided that he didnt want the table mat and created a big deal of noise about it. Manav was frustrated that he couldnt get his jeans out without getting his shoes off so whined and cried incessantly. This is the same after school scene everyday, only the reasons for crying/whining/noise vary. The main reason though is their hunger. So once the spaghetti was out on the table( I insist on warm food, so that takes a few minutes) there was this eerie silence, punctuated by their slurps to suck up the long noodle. Of course this serene silence remains for only a couple of minutes, once their initial hunger is satiated, the cacophony begins, this time laughter more than cries.

After lunch Manav chose to be Sammy and appointed Arnav as Sidney and I was Selfia. His best friend's (Sidney's) family in short. I dismissed it as another pretend game but couldnt have been more mistaken. Arnav had finished his potty and I was going to clean him when he ran away from the bathroom. I promised everything, jelly beans, TV whatever  but he told me

"Nothing Mommy, I don't want anything" with tears in his eyes. I was so at a loss to account for this behaviour and all this time Manav was trying to tell me something. I finally lost it and said

"Manav, please stop, I absolutely need Arnav to come back to the bathroom"

"Arnav come to the bathroom or I will have to force you now" I told Arnav

"I am NOT Arnav, I am Sidney" said Arnav tearfully from the living room.

Then everything made sense. I said

"Sidney, please come to the bathroom" and he promptly was back on the potty seat.

"That is what I was trying to tell you Mommy. You wouldn't listen. How would you feel if someone called you the wrong name? Mad or happy?"

"Mad Manav er Sammy" I said

"So? "

"I am sorry Sammy"

"Its ok Selfia"

And this continued till they napped. It was stressful to say the least and resulted in more tears and heated discussions till they finally slept.

Didn't have the strength to take them out so they practiced soccer in the living room. God save the neighbors downstairs.

Some serious play

And more tomfoolery

Then it was time to end the game when they were hitting each other more than the ball. TV is what I resorted to next but that too came to an end due to my feeling of guilt and I let them play in the dirt on the patio. Shovels and buckets and lots of dirt - a great formula for keeping them busy. The downside - you're busy for rest of the day/night trying to get the dirt out of their body from inconceivable places. A bath after dirt play is a marathon affair but a must.

I can hear them as I type

"Hello, Hi" calling out to passer byes

No response from some

"He's not saying Hi, he's shy. Hi Shy" Manav says giggling

"Bye Bye Miss American Pie" says Arnav and more giggles.

Thankfully a little later Caunteya came in. Manav in his all mud clad splendor greeted him

"Hey Papi" his endearment or that's what Dora calls her Papa, I have to yet find out

"Hello Manav"

"What do you do in office?"

"Work"

"How was work?"

"Good" I guess Caunteya was concerned that the dirt was now falling downstairs, hence the monosyllables

"My school was good too" went on Manav in his usual chirpy self, oblivious of all concerns and troubles.

Then we headed out to Romano's for dinner and it wasn't bad at all. Caunteya said

"You are behaving very well Manav. You are the best"

"You got it Papa" said Manav with a wide grin

On way back we picked up the mail and Manav asked

"Are they telling us to go to church?"

"No Manav" I said laughing. He was referring to the fliers that come in from the local church bearing sufficiently bright animations to catch his attention. So I had explained that they were just asking us to go to church.

It is just 9:50 PM on the big clock on Friday night and I am already all ready to crash. Yes, 'X' is 10.' And tomorrow at 10 AM Manav has his soccer match.