Proud moments

School is a happy place now, and even the school van, for San. What more can we ask for? :-) She goes happy, returns happy, and loves her homework!

Two proud moments:

In a theme-based fancy dress competition at her school, San dressed up as a tailor and, very confidently, recited her lines on the stage. We were very impressed, because we'd only half expected her to speak up on stage. Prizes obviously don't matter. What matters is the confidence that kids show and how they overcome their stage fear. Definitely a proud moment for us to see her like that on the stage, and also the participation certificate that she received. :)

Yesterday, she sung the complete National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana), on phone for her grandparents. I cannot express how proud I felt!! *happy tears*

School's on

San has had a happy time in school for three days now. It doesn't feel new at all at this point of time. Feels like she's been going since a long time.

The only new things for her are the classwork and the homework. The first day she wondered why she needs to write 1-50 all over again when she's already done it in school. She anyway does the homework for two reasons: to make the teacher happy and to get a star on her homework.

The only thing she misses in school is the playtime. There's none of it. I wonder why!

It's the same old story with her lunch. It comes back half-eaten. Sigh!

Now that she's out in this big, big world, and given her very friendly nature, I feel the need to give her a dose of stranger-danger. How frequently do you tell your children about stranger danger?

New school, another first day

Today's another first day at school for San! After almost a 4-month long break, she's finally back to school...her new school! :) She is obviously very excited about it, and not all anxious. She did have a question, though. "What time is the play time at school?"

There's a huge difference between how the preschools work, look, and feel in US and in India. We get concerned about how our kids will adapt to the new environment, but they're smart. With little, and at times, no help, they find their way into the new world. But Moms will be Moms. Always concerned. Forever concerned.

I'm not even the pickup and drop person now. It's her school van. More concern for the Mom! San waved to me happily from her new ride to school. I expected her to get a little anxious at this point of time. I thought that I'd give her a big, comforting hug then. She didn't even wait for the goodbye hug. I shouldn't expect anything now. Mommyness!

And here are the "Then" and "Now" pictures that I was eager to post :)

First day at school - Nov 2011 - Houston

First day at school - Nov 2013 - Pune

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San has undergone some new, not-so-great behavioral changes, thanks to the loads of pamper and attention that she was subjected to on her recent trip to her grandparents'. Hopefully, hew new routine will mend a few things. Nothing and no one else can. 

Gearing up for a trip to home

And I'm writing again after almost a month... sigh! Now that we've finally moved in to an apartment, I can easily devote some of my precious time to my very precious blog. But no. It's time to pack the bags again and go for yet another trip, home this time. Am I excited? Don't even ask!

I'm sick of travelling. The thought of getting on another flight makes me nauseous. But this is that one trip that people are looking forward to. San's grandparents are eager to meet her and we're ready to celebrate yet another Diwali with family, and that's the good part.

The best part about being in India at this time of the year is that we're getting to enjoy the fun celebrations, especially the Garba/Dandiya nights. San got to dance her heart out on the Garba night. Watching her that night was a treat!

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San has become fiercely independent these days. She wants to do everything herself, and also forces us to take her help in whatever we do. That is obvious given that she's a four-year old now. I miss helping her!

We haven't put her in a school yet and plan to do so after we come back from the home-trip. Seeing other kids go to school in their nice uniforms, San is more than eager to go. She's been doing a lot of writing (mostly A-Z and numbers) and gives herself stars for doing a good job. Her writing table is her little home school, which she proudly calls "Zero School". There's an imaginary teacher who gives her stars all the time. Cute, isn't it? :-D

A little big FOUR

She's four now. A big girl of four. A big girl who wants to do everything herself expect have food. She tells me that she's not four yet because she didn't cut a mermaid cake, and because we hadn't blown any balloons and put up any decorations. She did choose a little strawberry-vanilla fruit cake for the 12 am cake cutting ritual. We bought her things that she wanted on her birthday- a green t-shirt, a toy guitar, and a doggie soft toy. Went out for a nice, quiet dinner and that was it. This doggie, who she has named Muffin, has taken over Dolly in San's favorites list. Woohoo!

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We're almost settled in Pune now. A week more to go and then we should be good. We've been living out of the suitcase since two months now, and San is eager to empty all of them and put things where they belong, especially her pictures and toys.

On a different note, I'm both excited and anxious about how she'd do in school. We haven't even put her in a school yet, but I'm anxious, very anxious. Last but not the least, San can write her complete name now. :D

Settling down, gradually

When you've lived in the west for almost five years and suddenly shift back to India, you can't ignore the many differences between the lifestyle and the people. And even though you were born and brought up here, spent a major part of life with these people, and lived the life like every common man does, you can't ignore and stop complaining about various things and people here. Phew!

Everything apart, what irritates me the most is when any Tom, Dick or Harry walks over to San and pinches her cheeks. It happens so quickly that you can't even react. And why or how will you react? It's a common thing. The way people are these days and the kind of news you get to hear everyday play a major role in making your mind work like that. It's always doubtful about everyone. Can't help!

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San's routine has gone for a toss. She misses her friends, her school, her room, her toys, and everything. When she sees kids dressed up in their uniforms go to school, she too wants to go. But then we'll be moving again next month. (not again!) So it'd be a long time until she starts school. Sigh!

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Hopefully, things (and my mind) will settle down soon, and I'll be back to writing happy yappy dappy posts. :)

Migrated

And we've finally migrated back to India... phew! The last two months have been no less than a roller-coaster ride, complete with uncertainties and anxiety. We might move back to US in half a year, or maybe not... you never know! I hate uncertainties.

So we've actually move to a city that is completely new to us and has us confused right now - the great Bangalore or Bengaluru. Everything seems so alien here. San's missing her friends, school, and home back in Houston and thinks that she's on a month-long vacation. We're letting her think that. :)

I might not post here for another month or so. A lot of travel is coming up!

To my blog friends - I'm sorry I haven't been able to read and comment on your posts lately. I've to catch up on a lot at other places right now. See you all soon! 

Take a deep breath and count till four

Kids, in one little second, can turn a frown into a smile, a smile into a laughter. Here's how San did it to us:

At the dinner table, when I was about to take a second serving:

"Mommy, don't eat more!"
"Why, San?"
"You'll become fat!"
"Oh, and why don't you say that to your Daddy (who was already helping himself with the second one) too?"
"Because he is already fat."

San didn't like it when I broke into a laughter after hearing this. She thinks that we were making fun of her... oh boy!
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After dinner, during a light chit-chat with San:

"So what do you want to be when you grow up?", I asked San.
"Ummm, a doctor!"
"Great! And what would you do when you become a doctor?"
"Give medicines, give shots.... and bring babies!"
"Babies?"
"Yes, they'll be born in my hospital. Daddies and kids will come to visit Mommies. Mommies will stay for four days, and I'll take care of them."
"Wow!"

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When I was in a grumpy mood, and not talking to San:

"Umm... Mommy?"
"San, I don't wanna talk to you. Go to your room!"
"Mommy....."
"No, San."
"But Mommy, listen!
When you're really mad
And you wanna roar
Take a deep breath
And count till four"

Mommy forgot everything else and was all smiles!

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Slow and steady what?

Remember the story of a tortoise and a rabbit with the moral "Slow and steady wins the race"? I told San this story a couple of times during her mealtime, and she seemed to understand it well. Yesterday, I showed it to her in one of the Disney episodes. Her expressions changed every time the tortoise led the race, and the rabbit indulged in some time-pass stuff because he thought he'd win anyway. The tortoise won (he had to) and left San disappointed.

"Why did the tortoise win, Mommy?"
"Because he was steady and kept running!"
"What is steady? Tortoise is slow. Rabbit is fast!"
"Steady means that he kept walking and did not stop. The rabbit slept, thinking that he'll win because he's fast."
"But the rabbit was faster!! He should have won. Why did he not win? I don't like the tortoise!" Hmph.

I gave up. I couldn't explain her the meaning of being slow and steady. Maybe, some other time!

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People always told me (and I always told myself) that the Terrible Twos are here to stay, always waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. And here they are, in the form of my whiny little three and a half year old! She loves to whine, and I'm almost tearing my hair and losing the last few drops of my patience over it.

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And in these whiny times, we do have some light moments with San's wonderful vocabulary. :)

"Mommy, stop feeting my foot!" (while San was enjoying a siesta with me by her side, my feet happened to touch hers and I couldn't help tickling her)

"I'm gonna grow up, become a doctor, and check everyone with my telescope." (you would know what she actually meant!)

A getaway, some tan, and an ambition

The summer heat has made me lazier. How difficult it is to type a few words and write a new post? Very.

We spent the last weekend in and around Las Vegas. San was super-excited, in spite of the dry, hot weather that couldn't take a toll on us. The only things she wanted to avoid was the sun and food. Tough, isn't it? :-)

Yes, LV isn't the place to be with kids. A walk through the casinos can result in you explaining them why the place isn't meant for them and why they can't play the 'video games'. If you are with kids, you need to devote some time to the kid-friendly places. For us, it was the hotels with wonderful fountains, gardens, restaurants, and of course, the kids's favorite, M&M World. San could have spent her life there, among the loads of M&Ms and goodies.

We also spent a day at the Grand Canyon, which she called the Big Mountain. That's because we didn't explain her what a canyon is! Do not miss her green binoculars in the picture below. She picked them up (literally) from a souvenir shop, and almost walked away with it, until we told her that we need to 'buy' them first. Phew!

And the next favorite place she wanted to be, after she was done with her other favorites, was our hotel room. She loved her cozy bed there, and we had a hard time pulling her away from it the morning we had to leave!

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San and sun don't go well together. Her face gets redder and the skin darker. She already got a bad bad tan from our beach trip two weeks back. The LV trip enhanced it further. I showed her her shades in the mirror. She was amused!

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San has started her summer session in school after a week's break. She's moved on to the 4-year old's class and adores her new teacher. Also, she has developed a strange interest in the tools, the ones that Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and Daddy use. So her favorite place in her class is where the toolbox is.

And what does she want to be when she grows up? A Firefighter, like Fireman Sam, to rescue people, and an Animal Rescuer, just like Diego! And when she is not rescuing people and animals, she'd fix stuff for them!

The Key to Happiness

Kids are funny. They are happy, content. Content with what they have at that very moment. Content with the little train of blocks they built, with the pancakes they ate for breakfast, with a trip to the park, with a candy, with popcorn, with any little happy thing that means a world to them. They don't pretend. They can't. And that is because they are full of innocence, of truth. They have no fear (apart from the fear of getting a timeout). They don't understand the social issues and concerns. They just be what they are and do what they want to do, happily. They don't whine about the past and worry about the future. They live in the present, in the moment.

They have THE key to happiness.

How easy or difficult it is to be a kid, be content, and be happy? Easy for them, difficult for us. I wish I could be like San, not all the time, but at times, when I need to.

I came, I heard, I ignored

I scold her. She ignores. I make noises. She ignores. I call out. She ignores. I tell her to eat. She ignores. I tell her to eat fast. She ignores. When confronted with a WHY, she gives a silly reason, a perfect one that puts a full-stop on any further argument. Okay, we can't argue with her. We can only TELL her, firm and straight. She understands, yes. But she happily repeats it whenever she feels like. Is there an end to it? Dunno. Maybe, no.

Then I wonder, why? Because they're growing up? Getting more independent? Maybe, they think they're big enough to take a few decisions themselves, like when not to listen to Mommy, when not to eat, when to embarrass Mommy with a surprise tantrum, etc.

How to you deal with it? With patience, of course! Patience, which I'm always short of.

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They have the Teachers' Appreciation Week at school next week, and San (Mommy) needs to write why Miss L is a star. I asked San, why. This is what she told me:

Because Miss L is a girl, and I'm a girl too.
Because Miss L lets me sleep.
Because Miss L helps me make crafts.
Because Miss L is my friend.

Miss L is gonna be very happy! :-)

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A little update on her gymnastics class: San's picking up fast and getting over her shyness, gradually, although  she still goes into little bouts of distractions and dreaminess!

I'd never imagined myself doing a handstand, until San motivated me, and even taught me how. It felt like an achievement! :-D

The Liebster Award, yet again

It's the Liebster award again, yay! Not a very big yay though cuz' I've done it once already, and I've acted very lazy already to do this one. I'm doing it for you, Zini's Mommy! :-) Thank you for presenting this award to me! :-D

I've already told Zini's Mommy that I'm gonna cheat a bit!


Here are the rules of the Liebster Award:

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself.
2. Choose 11 deserving bloggers and tag them in your post.
3. Tell them you've tagged them.
4. Answer 11 questions the tagger has asked you and give 11 questions to the people you've tagged.
5. No tag backs.

For random facts about me, refer my previous post on The Liebster Blog Award.

Amby, Partha, and Zainab, lemme present this award to you all for being so regular with your blogs!
Recheck the rules that I mentioned above, and, here are your questions:


1. What's your favorite way to kill time?
2. Roses or Gerberas?
3. What would you do if you become invisible for a day?
4. What super-human ability would you like to possess?
5. Tea or Coffee?
6. What's your favorite season, and why?
7. Curly hair or Straight hair?
8. If you could go back and change one incident from your past, would you?
9. If you get a chance to change one thing about your country, what would it be?
10. Mountains or Beaches?
11. Your idea of a perfect birthday celebration?


And now, the answers to the questions that I've been asked!

1) What do you cook when suddenly some guests appear at your doorstep?! Pasta
2) How do you like to celebrate your b'day? With some flowers and a surprise!
3) Your favorite book? Can't specify one, but I really loved The Kite Runner.
4) What are the qualities that you admire the most in people? Honesty, Candidness
5) How did you meet your spouse? We started as chat friends, thanks to a common friend!
6) Do you plan for future? if yes, then what do you see yourself doing in after 20 years? Running a restaurant with my husband, writing a book, and doing some social service... (wow! I do have plans!)
7) What do you like the most about yourself? Umm...
8) What do you like the most about your spouse? His cool, his patience, his candidness.
9) Would you like to change something about your life? If yes, then what's it? Nope, can't disturb the chain of events that led me to where I am. I love it!
10) Do you easily get angry or are you one of those saints? What's your trick to keeping calm mind? I'm short-tempered! And I seriously need some anger management! Yet to learn the tricks to keep my cool.
11) What is your favorite comfort food? Poha!

I'm done! :-D

The big question

Image courtesy: www.someecards.com

I fear questions. All kinds of questions. All whys and hows. San asked me the big one recently. How did the baby get in Aunt S's tummy? I obviously gave a silly answer (I don't even remember what I told her... sheesh!). But then the bottom line is that I hate questions. :-( Questions like why can't I make a square bubble, why does soapy water make bubbles, why doesn't a rainbow have brown color. It's good to ask questions, I'm glad that San asks great questions, but I can't answer all of them. I feel bad when I give silly answers to her questions, but I can't be logical all the time. I seriously need more patience (and better answers)! 

Oh, and then she tells me that Aunt S is gonna have a baby girl. I asked her how she knew that. "Because Aunt S is a girl!", she told me with a don't-you-know-that-silly look. Well, I need to learn a lot from San.

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San has finally mastered the art of ignoring us. And what show she puts on! I'm impressed with her patience. If only I had that amount of patience, I'd have sailed through this ignoring business happily. And to top that, she even gives a reason for why she ignored me, a very silly reason. So much for my hatred for the lack of acknowledgement... argh! Kids can really make you tear your hair, I mean literally! 

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Anyway, lemme talk about good things. She'd almost perfected the somersault under Papa dear's training, so we've put her in a gymnastics class. I was very nervous about her first gym class, and about how she'd behave, what she'd wear, how she'd cope, and other blah. She did great! (what??) BTW, we bought her leotards for the gymnastics class. You'd know what a leotard is if you or your kid has been to a gym class. Maybe you know what it is irrespective of whether or not your kid went to a gym class. I had no clue until now. Thanks to Google!

Happy tears?

"Why is that boy crying, Mommy?" San asked me as she watched a street dancer shedding tears of joy when he got selected after auditioning for a reality show.

"He's crying because he's happy.", I said.

"Why is he crying if he's happy?" San asked with a question mark on her face. Now that is a very obvious question that you can expect from a three-year old in this situation.

It was difficult to explain her the concept of happy tears. I only told her that some people tend to cry when they are very happy. I was tempted to quote some great examples of happy tears from my life, but they wouldn't have helped. I guess she'd understand when she experiences it herself!

Maybe, something like this!

Did you ever need to explain happy tears to your kids?

I can tease, I can write

It starts out as a 'New' thing. Mommy tells that it's a 'No' thing. They understand that it's a 'No' thing. They are still tempted to do it. It gradually becomes a 'Tease' thing. 

Kids love to tease their parents, especially Mommies, don't they? Seeing the Mommy go nuts, scream, and tear her hair gives them immense pleasure that shows up as a wonderful laughter, something that you cannot enjoy at that moment. O Patience, why do you always leave me stranded in such moments of tease?

Well, well, well... what am I talking about? Maybe it's the sedatives that I took before my dental surgery last week. Yes, you heard it right! I'm good now. The phobia is lesser and my teeth feel better! I still hate the whole thing though.

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So what did I want to talk about today? Yes, San. It's been a month since I wrote, the lazy-bum I am! Yesterday, San told me that she has knuckles, proudly showing them to me. She also told me that she has big knuckles on her legs. She calls them knees now.

Oh, oh, and let me tell you that San can write! She can write her name now, knows the spelling! Makes me so proud! Thanks to Papa dear for his patience and the writing classes. :-) It's all about papers, pencils, erasers, markers, and crayons now. She loves to write and draw. I love to watch her do that.

Here's our latest family portrait on her doodle!

San draws Mommy

Mommy, I wanna make you.
Okay.
Stand here. Keep looking at me. *San adjusts her doodle and herself*
Okay.
Hmm, a big circle... *San draws a circle for my face*
San, this is a very big circle for my face. Make it smaller, please!
No, Mommy. You have a big face.
Oh, okay. *Mommy is embarrassed*
Big eyes... big eyebrows... and a smiley face!
*Mommy smiles at the first good thing about her face.*
And big sharp teeth! *San draws big hanging triangular teeth*
What? Do I have big sharp teeth, San? *Mommy pretends to cry* I look scary!
It's okay, Mommy. It's just a drawing. I can erase it. Don't cry! *San erases the drawing*
Why don't you draw something else?
A Giraffe?
Yes, just like the one in that picture. *Mommy points to a giraffe's picture on the wall*
Okay, Mommy!
He's so cute, San.
Yes! And it has a big neck, just like you!
*Mommy vanishes*

I wish I had the great Mommy picture to show you, but San erased it for my sake. :D

I, Me, Mine

San licked off the last hint of food from her plate and then looked at her tummy. Then looked at herself, top to bottom. "I'm not growing, Mommy!", she said.

I wanted to tell her how much she has grown. From that cute little shy one to another cute little occasionally-shy one, who is also a meanie at times. Here I go again! So what do kids understand about being mean?

"You're my mean little girl who doesn't share, right?"
"NO!"
"Are you my good little girl?"
*Nods a Big Yes*
"Will you share your toys with Sam, then?"
"NO!"
*Sigh*

And when Sam doesn't share her toys with her, San complains to her Mommy.
"Look Auntie, Sam is not sharing her book with me!"
Yes, baby! You're the one who has perfected the art of sharing in this big, mean world.
Oh BTW, Sam and San are best friends! We call them 'The Inseparables'. :o)

Why, anyway, am I being so sarcastic? San knows nothing about being mean.

I call it the 'I, Me, Mine' phase. And that is all I can do; wait and let the phase pass, like the other phases did. Will it? I'm not sure. Aren't we all a bit of the 'I, Me, Mine' type?

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We recently shifted to a new apartment, and now, San has a brand new little room, all for herself. Papa dear and I are keenly looking for a simple, sweet theme to use in her room. Exciting days ahead! :D And San proudly sleeps in her room, all by herself, waking up only to address the nature's call at night. Yay!

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I proudly present San's first 'a-typical-scenery' drawing, complete with sky, sun, birds, trees, pond, and Papa dear walking on grass... tada!

Moody blues

What is it with the unpredictable nature of kids, I wonder.

San, who seemed 'over friendly' at one point, abruptly went into her shell at a recent birthday party. Kids were posing for the camera with their best toothy grins and San just didn't want to show hers. She just stood there with a constipated pose. And I stood there, staring at her, wondering what happened to my butterfly. Even as the kids were running around a table, San looked different from all - she looked conscious. It seemed that she doesn't like it when people look at her while she's having fun. So what we end up seeing is not the real San.

Additionally, since a couple of days, she's very reluctant to enter her classroom in school. She actually cries and hugs me tight, not wanting to let me go. All's well in the morning, when she wakes up chanting 'I wanna go to school', and talking about what she's gonna make for me today. She's fine when she enters school. But she switches off when she's about to enter her classroom. And let me tell you that she adores everything and everyone there. I've tried to talk to her about it, given her surprises when she promised that she'd not cry, but nothing seemed to work much. The best part is that it's only a five-minute tantrum/behavior and she goes back to her happy self later. But those five minutes happily ruin my good morning mood. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better morning!

These little things happen all the time. Change in moods, behavior, etc. But, do the mood swings happen for a reason, always? I have no clue. Because each time I try to find a reason behind San's abruptly-changed behavior, I fail. I'm not over her 'scared avatar' yet, and I've also started thinking about her ever-changing behavior. Is this normal? Of course, it is!

All I need right now is a refill of patience and some advice on 'how to get your child to tell you the real thing, not stories'.

Scary something, Scared San

Nights aren't so happy for us since two days cuz' San keeps waking up every now and then, crying and scared. Yesterday night, she woke up with a start, came to me, hugged me tight, and slept with me that way. I wonder if it is her dreams. Or maybe she saw something scary on TV. I don't think so, cuz' we don't let her watch any such stuff. So, no clue! Today morning, I asked her about it.

San, what scares you at night?
It's the scary thing.
What thing?
That thing! (pointing towards the blinds on the patio door)
What? Where?
See, the scary thing is going out, and it'll come back again!
I don't see anything, San. What is it??
Scary, Mommy.
San, Mom and Dad are there to protect you.
But where are the angels? You said that they'll come to protect me!
They come at night when you're asleep.
But I didn't see them, Mommy!
Cuz' you were sleeping, San.
Okay.

I wonder what/who is bothering her at night! I wish I could find out.