Happy Birthday to me

Yes, that time of the year when I get to hear from all and sundry, often dormant folks from various walks of life brought to life by my brushes with social media, internet, surveys, actuals meetings immortalized by internet and the likes. Even Google had this as google doodle on my birthday:

 

Not to mention the tons of emails I received from websites and stores, most offering me discounts to shop. But this takes the crown:

 

 



Of course I got a ticket and I remember the date coz it was January 2nd 2014 and I was returning early from work driving at 85 mph on George Bush Turnpike listening to....ok don't hold your breath, just NPR. That has been my all time drive favorite. Anyways back to the ticket. Looks like the cop was following me for quite sometime and I was speeding even more. It is imperative I mention that I don't use the rearview mirrors if I don't have to change lanes or take turns so good luck if you're blinking your heads off (literally) behind me to catch my attention. I stopped dead in my tracks after I heard the siren and saw the cop car behind me. Since it was a highway I just pulled on the shoulder. I was amused by 2 things - 1. cop was a lady 2. she was in all cowboy ensemble complete with the hat. Oh and the third thing - this was the first ticket for me in my entire driving history. I will leave you to speculate how many years that might be. Anyways after that there is no meat to the story so will let it be. Defensive Driving was because my husband convinced me that it will keep me away from added insurance cost and also reduce the ticket price. Neither proposition appealed but then he offered taking the test/course as me so I agreed.

Back to Birthday. Yes, I easily get deviated and jump to side stories. And why not, other than random messages it was pretty drab - I mean the birthday. We (me and hubby) did go out to lunch but that is it. Kids made cards and sang songs but that is it. If you're already moving on to reading something else hold on. There is a...yes you guessed it - surprise.

We went on a weeklong spring break vacation to California - Bay Area and SFO on 7th - the day after my birthday. That was way beyond any birthday gift I could have asked for. It was an awesome family time, relaxed, frustrating at times but most of it simply great time. Celebrated with my friends with a girls night out in the city in a pier side restaurant with candy floss and cake and gift too. How girly, more so since I am not mentioning the real stuff here. How do I forget this blog is for the kiddos.

And again in a party with old friends some of whom I was meeting after 22 years. Pretty neat eh. Manav calls them 'your kindergarten friends' and he liked the party since I didn't force him to wear 'puja clothes' which we make them wear in Indian gatherings. He was referring to kurta pajama in case you didn't get it. And then we allowed 'devices' to play with so something tells me he would have gladly traded wearing puja clothes for iPhone. Well at least he was playing, I know of kids in that party who were talking to girl friends at the unearthly midnight hours. iPhone and its various uses - I already have the title for my next post.

 

So in all it was a super duper 2015 birthday. Certainly better than 2014 one where I was working on a school marketing presentation - turning around JCP. Till 2016, I rest my birthday post here,





Franklin

Arnav brought home a stuffed fox and the instructions were he would have to chronicle all activities done with Fraklin the fox. Here is the end product:

We were wondering if Franklin ever took a bath and where all he has been with all these kids :-) Whatever happened to the school's sense of hygiene?

Star of the Weak

Recently Manav was star of the week in school - last week 2/9. And what better way to start re-blogging than this. Perfect trigger right?
 
"Sorry mommy"
"What happened?"
"You'll be very sad"
 
and thus began that back home from school Friday conversation with Manav. So a bit of background before I let you in  the rest of the conversation. During star of the week at school you have a poster on the hallway which details interesting things about the student. For Arnav we knew which week it was going to be and also the teacher sent home a template which required a single picture and Arnav wrote the rest of it himself and they colored together. Easy.

( note how didn't even have a proper picture)

 
For Manav (2nd grade) there is an elaborate process. Star Student of the week is chosen on a Friday based on the entire week's behavior. And there is no template. AND its just not the poster there is a week long list of activities - poster + poem/letter + eating lunch with the star student.....and since I was forced to do all this ( with Caunteya traveling) I took it upon myself to relay to the world.....so here it is....want to mention, though I wasn't the wee bit happy with these activities thrust upon me I thoroughly enjoyed and Manav enjoyed even more....how do I know? well trust a mother when she says anything about her child. Its usually true.

"Oh did you get your folder signed?" Bad behavior entails folder signing.

"No Mommy. All these weeks I have been trying (to be bad) and succeeded in Ms. Clemmer not picking me up as star, since I know how busy you are and just cannot do all the activities for star of the week. But this time I just couldn't. I am the star of the week"

"What????" I was still reeling with the realization that he gathered I wouldn't be happy with the idea and that alone made me feel so guilty.

"Yes, mommy. I am so sorry"

"Oh Manav. That's fine. We will do it together. It will be fun am sure" I have never been so unsure. And again I could feel he knew it. Guilt squared.

We made the poster. Created 4 themed collages and they decorated the white spaces.

 

 

 

And I wrote the poem....

Dear Manav.  

Where do I begin, what do I say?

Into our lives you’ve charmed your way;

21^st of April, Two thousand and seven

You came in my arms, a piece of heaven;

Didn’t seem so happy, you were screaming

But it’s so usual that we were beaming; 

Then I blinked my eye and you grew so fast

I kept begging that “this moment” would last;

Rolling, sitting, solids, first word and crawling

Walking, talking, laughing and bawling;

Now old enough to do geometry

And spell tough words like symmetry;

Here are some secrets I would like to share

These make you the Manav you are;

You like conversations at dinner table more than eating

You like winning sports and games more than playing;

You cry like a baby when Arnav bugs you

You laugh like a hyena when Arnav hugs you;

Keep being the Manav you are

Reach your goals and raise the bar;

Continue having fun on the way

Sharing and caring whether night or day;

Dance and prance like you always do

Sing and bring joy to all around you; 

I love the way you wiggle when I hug you

I love when you gross out when I kiss you;

I love that look on your face when I yell at you

I love that look on your face when I compliment you;

I love your sneaking in our bed at daylight
I love you and will always do with all my might.

Love Mommy.

It was sent in a sealed envelope and read by the teacher to Manav in his classroom. I imagined he would be so very touched and maybe even break into tears...nothing of that sort happened....he "liked" it and "corrected" me that he doesn't cry like a baby.  

And I made alu paratha for his lunch at school. Very rare in case you are wondering why do I even think this is worth mentioning.

So overall a very fruitful endeavor. Would surely mind doing it again, but was fun while it lasted. The glow on his face and the running into my arms seeing me in school was all it took to wipe off the frustrations of having to handle so many extra activities on my own. Yep, you are the star of the weak....you make me strong.

Just checked, it has been officially over a year since I last posted on this blog. 2nd May 2012 to be exact. Then I completely fell out of the face of the earth, yes I have been MIA. Lots have happened since then. Last year this time, Manav was gearing up for his pre-school graduation, Arnav is doing the same now. Its officially Mother's day and Arnav got me the same handprinted card that Manav had last year. We are ordering two pairs of school supply this year. Yes, baby Arnav is all set for kindergarten this fall. As for me I am all set for my 2nd and last year of MBA.

What a year it has been. Scanning through the last couple of posts I read how interwined I was with the boys' life, how I wrote "Everything is all about these boys", well things  have changed. I cannot say that for the past year, it hasn' been all about the boys. It has been about my school and the job and the struggles and the celebrations of making through 2 semesters with flying colors and the boys. Yes, my world has changed and the boys have grown up. All three of them.

A mother's day message to them when they read -

"All I wish for you is to be happy. This said, be sad when you have to, as life is not a bed of roses and I dont want you to grow up believing it is. And as I say every night when kissing you goodnight,

"Be nice to others. Do to them what you want them to do to you. You can never go wrong. Doesnt matter how intelligent or smart you are, if you cannot be nice and kind to fellow creatures, you are not using your intelligence. Period."

I still marvel at how I can understand your feelings just by looking at your face, I knew about motherly intuitions but have seen them actually happening to me. I have those eyes behind the back of my head giving me that 360 degree visison, allowing me to make sure you are safe. Every moment I see you I silently thank my stars for wonderful kids like you and how well you are growing up. Silent thanks to your father for taking over when I am totally consumed by school and work. Rarely do such synergies( thats evidence I am working my way towards an MBA:-) work and we are making them work every day. "

Had a wonderful trip to Turkey. Havent been anywhere so steeped in history and natural beauty. Lucky to have been at Istanbul with school and then with family exploring the rest of Turkey. Hopefully will come back to write sometime, for now all I crave for is to rest my tired body. It was a class weekend with non stop 2 days of Strategy and Disruptive Innovation lectures.

I did warn you its not all about the kids anymore.

Cappadoccia - Turkey

All about us ...

Summer Holidays are upon us and we have decided to just do "nothing". The boys are not going to summer school and I have grandiose plans of going to bed late, sleep till late in the morning, play all day, frequent library and swimming pool and eat out a lot - just get out of schedule without the guilt. And I also know how I will crave for schedule and some sanity just in a week into summer. These holidays last almost two and a half months. Survival is the key.

"We are going to have so much fun in the library with legos, bugs, books, snakes and movies" I said
"Angry snakes or happy snakes?" Arnav asked
"Happy if the snake got to capture its prey or else it will be angry" Manav confirmed.

These are Manav's last days in pre-school. So in are school parties, graduation parties and the likes. They are having dress rehearsals for the graduation. I cannot wait for the actual day so have been gleaning information from Manav as much as he would budge.
"We are singing 'When I grow up....I have a secret'....but its not actually a secret because we whisper but you can listen"
"We had skittles for dessert today during lunch as we did very good in our rehearsals" Manav said
"Iiiiiieeee didn't get any" Arnav whined
"You will also get next year when you graduate Arnav" I tried to contain the situation
"I will neyyyyver graduate. I want my skittles now." Arnav is such a baby at times but his words did scare me. I mean these kids have a choice when it comes to studies. They can actually drop out of high school, college and the likes? When did we as a students have that option? Anyways I am not sure whether to be glad or unhappy about this liberty.

Beta hamara aisa kaam karega

And liberty reminds me Arnav always keeps saying his 'Pledge of allegiance' at the drop of a hat.
"I pledge allegiance to the food I eat"
"I pledge allegiance to Ninjagos and Angry Bird" and so on.

The latest Ninjago Lego

The other day Caunteya mentioned we will watch the match between Nadal and Djokovic and said
"I will support Nadal"
"I will support Nadal too as Djokovic has 'witch' in his name and that is not good" Arnav said
"No, no, it is not the same witch" Manav said
"It is 'vic' not 'witch'" Caunteya offered.
"Well, Arnav sandwich has 'witch' but you still eat it" I started
"But sandwich is food. Humans cannot have witch in their name. That is not good" Arnav maintained his stand.

And today the name contention was repeated in the car.
"Listen Arnav there is a bird called Parakeet. Now do not cry or whine, just listen. When I showed the picture of a parakeet that day and asked you what bird is it, you said it is parrot but actually it is a parakeet"
"Noooo. It is a parrot. Keet is its last name. So thats why it is parrot keet - parakeet" Arnav reasoned.
"Now this may seem funny but it is very true. Birds dont have last names, only humans do" Manav was treading thin line here as we all are very wary of Arnav's wrath.
"No I think some birds have last names. Just like the parrot" Arnav insisted and we let it go for obvious reasons.

Arnav has become very vocal these days. He uses his words like pro.
"Hey Mommy can you ever guess what happened?"
"What" I was sleepily brushing my teeth this morning
"Three tomatoes turned red. Can you even imagine?" I wish I could record his voice for the effect. This guy needs to be in movies or in the circus at least.
"No way, Arnav" I played along
"Yes way, Mommy. You have to come look" Of course.

Last night Arnav was very cranky and I was even crankier. So I yelled at him.
"Mommy my lungs are hurting as you yelled at me" Arnav cried even louder pointing to his throat.
"I yelled, my lungs should hurt, not yours" I have no clue why I was reasoning with him at 8:30 PM at night with a splitting backache.
"Yes, you yelled at me so my lungs are hurting" Arnav sobbed.

And this morning he was very sure
"My teeth have rashes Mommy, look"

And the other day in the car when they were snacking on cantaloupe pieces.
"Hey how do you like your panta poop?" Arnav asked Manav
"Mommy, Arnav said a bad word" Manav immediately had to catch him
"But I was just rhyming" Arnav clarified, just the way he does for
"Hey I am saying the nice 'but' word not the one which is a part of the body and has two t's. That's a bad word" Yeah, right.

Dining table still remains the favorite spot to hang out and eat-less-talk-more and answer trivia. The other day I was doing the rapid-fire rounds
"What does caravan start with Arnav?"
"C"
"What does pencil start with Manav?"
"P"
and after a couple such
"What does knife start with Arnav?"
"N"
"No, K. Just like knee starts with K and phone starts with P" Manav was confusing Arnav, one could see that in Arnav's expression.

Just now Manav barged in and read everything on this screen and announced
"Hey this is all about us" I agreed.

This sure is all about the boys. I just cannot remember when everything else ceased and it became all about them. Each moment, awake or asleep; each heartbeat, relaxed or hammering; each breath, calm or strained; each gesture, loving or threatening; each meal, healthy or junk; each plan, well researched or just in time; each post, hurried or written at leisure is all about them. These two boys who started as single cells in my body have consumed me and my life to all possible extents. And wise as I am, I know, they will just like that leave me and my life all to myself and leave. And will I cherish that liberty? Well as I said earlier, am not sure whether I will be glad or unhappy about this liberty.
"This may sound funny, but is true" As Manav would say.

Space Station

"Manav Mommy wants to go back to work like Papa. How do you feel about that?"
"Great. I like that." Manav answered to my total disbelief. I sort of realized how much we expect a certain answer from a certain person and when we don't get that reply we are crestfallen. Beats the purpose of asking the question in the first place though.
"Mommy will be gone all day and evening, Manav" I tried again
"Yes, I know that. And I will have Papa" He explained.
"Oh, no no. Papa will also work. We both will be out" I heaved a sigh of relief and he, his sigh of disbelief.
"Weird. We all will be out of the house all day? We will be in school all day?" Manav was more curious than concerned.
"Yes, I guess so."
"And what if they close the school and you still don't come and pick us up? You know how Papa gets late some days? Then I will be trapped there all night" Speak of wild imaginations.
"No, that will not happen. They will make sure all kids are gone before they close the school"
"Ok. Arnav you will get to eat your evening snacks and play outside and color as much as you like." he started selling the idea to Arnav
"I eat my snack and play outside and color a lot already" Arnav was clear.
"Ok lets see, how much is thirteen plus six?" I changed the topic not knowing where this was going and how to handle it further. We will cross the bridge when we reach it. At least I broached the subject so it wont be a surprise. In a nutshell this is how a mother's mind works.

We got Arnav's head shaved (rather size 0 cut) as we had missed this when he was a baby. For Manav we had religiously gone to Pittsburgh Balaji temple and did all the puja etc for the head shaving when he was 9 months. Arnav is actually happy and loves the fact that he doesnt need to comb. He has been harping on that luxury so often that Manav wants his head shaved as well.

Here's how Manav looked

Before

After

And here is Arnav

Before

After



It has been nice weather all through and we have been having outdoor fun. The boys spend quite some time outdoors on their scooter and bikes. Last Saturday they were all excited that a tomato had turned red. We looked and looked and decided to pluck it later as I said it will get redder. Unfortunately, the rabbit ate away the tomato and next morning we only had the stalk to look at.

Check that out !!

Then they were playing in their tent outside. They have this weird game in which Arnav pretends to be the baby and Manav - the dad. They go on and on for hours, Arnav waking up and crying, Manav taking 'care of him', 'going for walks', checking on the 'house; and all that.

Daddy putting baby to bed

They love to play other pretend plays as well. The other day they were playing with the laundry baskets. The baskets were 'space helmets' as you can see



In this one, Manav proclaimed

"I am in my space station (the rectangular basket) and reading a sky-book on this (the round basket)"

Of course, am sure there is technology out there to project a book for an astronaut to read before going to bed, of course he cannot hold the book in his hand and all the while keep it from flying away in zero gravity.

We went out for a walk one evening and in front of each house Manav would say something

"I wish we had a driveway like this without the stairs. I could ride my bike from the front door into the street, without getting down"

"I wish we had this swing in our front yard"

"I wish we had this tree in our front yard"

Today we were discussing shapes on our way to school. I made the mistake of asking

"So how many sides does a hexagon have? Hint - think about a stop sign"

"A stop sign is a octagon Mommy" Arnav yelled

"Oh, and what is a hexagon?"

"Six sides Mommy. Octagon has eight" All this from Arnav surprised me a lot. I assumed it would be Manav with the answer.

While Manav effortlessly answered the 'next even number' , Arnav could answer the 'next number if you count by 10's' with as much ease. I have seen that Arnav is better and faster with numbers than Manav. Every other activity he lags behind and we have to be fair with the 15 months age gap. Two kids with the exact same parents (:-) are so different.

A picture filled write-up for a change. I know I am missing out so many interesting "conversations" but just dont have the time. Till the next one, here's something to ponder

"How does your space station look like?" and

"Don't you wish you had a sky-book to read too?"

Bad Words ...

Envision this - I am cooking (or laundering or dish washing or dropping/picking up kids - my usual daily chores) and I get that moment and conversation which I absolutely must blog. I just let Siri (on my iPhone 4s) know and take a dictation and directly send it to this blog and when I actually sit to write the collective rough draft is all ready. Need/Have an app for this - this same sentence must be being said right at this moment all over the world for different reasons. I don't know something, I just google and make sure all my grammar and spelling is good.

And now envision this - Manav wants to write, needs a notepad/diary, I couldn't fine any, gave him a longer version of a post-it pad and he sat down with his pencil. Got stuck on a spelling - 'Birthday', went to the drawer, fished out a birthday card, copied the spelling. Next one was 'Cheetos' , he went to the pantry, got the Cheetos bag and copied the spelling. And just like that he was done.

So while I am thinking of making my writing easier his is already easy, his 'google' is around him, in the pantry and drawers. Worst case even Arnav chips in
"You want to spell Birthday? Start with a 'B'"

We both did the same thing - write - but I call mine sophisticated and more complex while his is grassroots, just the beginning. And I would like to believe that both our writings provide the same level of reading satisfaction to our readers.
 
Samples of mine can be found in my blog while his is right below:

The boys are grappling with chigger bites, more so Arnav. So Arnav was crying a lot this morning after an absolute hell of a night tossing and turning and itching, hence Caunteya said

"Manav distract Arnav, keep him busy so that he doesn't cry"

"Arnav do you want to hear a joke?" Manav said in his sweet morning voice

"Yes" Arnav wiped his eyes and went and sat next to him

"What did the bug bite say to the medicine?"

"I don't know" Arnav's voice was still teary

" ' Hey you can't kill me' . He didnt hear a word as he was already dead" Manav got me in a circular reference issue in my brain. As it was early morning after a horrendous night as I explained. But the best part is Arnav laughed.

"What did the medicine say to the bug bite?" Manav asked again

" ' Hey you can't kill me' . He didnt hear a word as he was already dead" Arnav repeated verbatim

"No, he said " Hey I am going to kill you" but didnt hear a word as he was already dead" Manav sure got me thinking.

Arnav laughed again and I couldn't sleep on anymore. Had to get up and hug the angels, though one was a monster right before that second. Thus began this morning.

If I am lucky, sometimes these days I get to hear some real great backseat conversations especially when there is another kid in there.( As sometimes I pick up friend's kids).

"Do you know my mommy is taking my brother to the doctor so he can talk?" the kid mentions

"Oh, how will the doctor make him talk?" Manav asked

"He will put something in my brother's mouth and he will start talking" kid explains

"Babies don't talk when they are zero years" Manav tries

"No one is zero years" kid is perplexed

"Yes, you are zero years when you are in your Mommy's tummy or if you haven't had your first birthday" Manav is persistent

"Really?" kid has some food for thought

"Yes, I saw my Mommy's pictures when she had me in her tummy and she was very fat. But now she is not fat anymore as I am not zero years. I am five"

"My mommy's birthday is on Monday" kid switches the topic.

"Too bad, too sad you cannot go to her birthday party as it is a school day" Manav pointed out

"Nooo, I will go to her party " kid starts whining

"No, you can't" Manav goes on

and thats when everything goes haywire and I barely navigate a changing-lanes car. Swearing under my breath is not an option as Manav has ears for those words and those alone sometimes.

This eating, sleeping, talking like a perfect role-model is killing. You have to make sure your speech is perfect and not littered(or rather peppered) with 'bad words". That reminds me, a couple of weeks back a friend of mine was visiting and she has a 8 year old. Here's his conversation with Manav

"Weird is not a bad word" 8 year old corrects Manav

"Yes, it is, you cannot say - 'you're weird' to anyone" Manav says

"No, bad words are stupid, idiot and this" 8 year old shows the middle finger.

"That is not a word at all. How do you say it?" Manav is now curious

"Here, fold all your fingers, leave the middle one out. Yes, like this. This is a bad word, you know that?" 8 year old says

"This is not a word" Manav is still perplexed

"Yes, it is. Ask your mom" 8 year old has everything figured out

"Mommy, how can this be a bad word?" Manav has his middle finger up

"Manav, it is a bad gesture. As bad as a bad word" I had nothing else to say.

"Hey do you have a father?" Manav asks 8 year old

"Yes, why won't I have a father? Everyone has a father" 8 year old has his facts straight

"Then why didnt he come?" Manav pointed out

"Because he is at work. He travels a lot. That is why he couldn't come." that satisfies Manav.

"Mommy when Arnav is 4 years old he can come sleep on the top of the bunk bed and I will go sleep somewhere higher, near the ceiling and little baby can sleep in the bottom" Manav told me when I was kissing him goodnight the other day.

"Which little baby?" I asked

"The new baby, which we all will have" Manav says

"Manav, Papa and I decided there will be no more babies."

"Why?" Manav is crestfallen

"As we are happy with you boys" I explain

"So then who will sleep in the bottom bunk?"

"I and Papa will sleep there" I try to joke.

"And we will have 2 guest bedrooms, as your bedroom will become a guest bedroom" and with that note we were all ready to part when

"But your heads will hurt on this back of the bed" Arnav made a valid observation so for now, we have kept our sleeping arrangements unchanged.

My chatter boxes keep me entertained and if there is a third kid in the mix it becomes even more hilarious. I have secret wishes of eavesdropping on my kids' sleepover conversations and am sure there already is or there will be an app for that when this happens. Till then keep your eyes open, coz sometimes bad words are not heard they are seen.

They force me to be nice always ...