Oli starts school

Yeah, it's Oli's second day in school today. Actually, preschool. Papa dear and I looked at her all dressed up and ready to go in her little red uniform and said, "Aww! Look at her! Is she really going to school?"

The proud big sister San couldn't help awwing at her uniform, bag, ID card and stuff. "Did she really get all of that? Is it really all hers?" Oli started pulling at San's ID card today morning thinking that it is hers. She'd been running around the house holding her red tee shirt, chanting that she is gonna go to school. She even held on to her little green school bag until we reached her school. And then, it hit her. She is in school. A step in, a step back out, another step in, and then she spotted the wonderful red slide. She did not turn back after that and I could happily come back home.

My maid just said that it is really quiet in here without Oli. Yeah, it is. It feels weird. I am trying to remember San's first day in school and how it felt at home that day.

Oh btw, I just picked Oli up from school. I was told that she cried on seeing two other kids cry (Aww!) and threw up the banana and milk that she had for breakfast. Sigh! I hope it will get better.

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Day 3: She was all ready to go, with her bag packed, bottled filled, and a new tee shirt on. She also walked down happily, carrying her bag on her little shoulders, saying that I'm going to school in a bus (I had to explain her that bus is what San Didi takes. We only walk. Sad.)

So, anyway, she wasn't in a mood to go, clung to me like a baby monkey, not wanting to let go, not wanting to play on the wonderful red slide, not wanting to play with the ball pit too, and crying her puppy eyes out. And this is called the Preschool Drop Off Separation Anxiety. Just found out! My Mommy heart almost broke but I had to leave her there in that mode. Hope it gets better soon! More sigh!

Back to India and so on

I'm writing after a break of almost six months! A lot happened in these months. A lot has changed. We moved back to India. It was tough. It was stressful. It happened anyway. We are here now, adjusting to the new life in our good old city.

It was the hardest for San; the whole idea of moving back to India, leaving her life in US behind her. We tried to give her reasons and make her understand why we are moving. We tried our best. It's tough. She still wants to go back, and that is completely fine. The school life is obviously new. A totally different environment, routine, teachers, friends, studies; everything is different. She is coping with the changes at her own pace.

Changes happen. Life lets us cope with them our own way. Kids adapt faster but then you never know what's on their mind while they are busy adjusting to the changes. Maybe, there's nothing. Maybe, there's a lot going on. Things that they won't tell us. Things that they are afraid to say.

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Oli is her happy self, be it India or US. She is quite young to understand these changes. Changes don't bother her. New environment and people don't scare her. She goes with the flow. I wish I was like her! Although, she has been struggling with some skin issues since the time we landed in India. Still on but that doesn't make her any less mischievous. She is still our little hurricane, throwing things around and keeping everyone on their toes! 

Happy Crazy Terrible Twos

Oli is two now. A year older. More mischief. More tantrums, More funny talk. More giggles. And I can safely blame the not-so-pleasant behavior on the Terrible Twos! :-) Takes me back to the time I used to write post about San's terrible twos moments, Time really flies!

I have so much to talk about Oli. So many things. So many anecdotes to share. So many emotional and funny moments. So many frustrating moments. Can't find enough words. And also, I've been lazy about writing, as you can see from the frequency of my posts.

Life's really a roller coaster with the girls! They grow and move on to a whole different phase overnight, and surprise (read 'shock') you the next morning. And then you sit there, with either a super messy or a blank mind, trying to decipher what just happened. And then there are days when you can't stop beaming about their adorable gestures.

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Lemme tell you some little things. Oli is big on hugs and kisses and cuddles. She likes to comb my hair, wipe my face with the towel when we are done brushing, has learned to say thank you and please (which is an achievement), can wear shoes without help (of course the left one on the right and vice versa), and has memorized all her friend's names.

She makes me laugh all the time! Well, most of the time, when she is not making me cry with her hurricane like behavior, and when she does not want me to have even a single moment of peace, and when she does not eat well, and throws super tantrums when we are shopping or eating at a restaurant. She has successfully broken dishes and spilled food in restaurants. Also thrown around, licked, torn, and mishandled stuff in the stores. This must be the story with so many kids but it is so new for us! All of this. It's funny and embarrassing! Are we having fun? Umm, maybe!

And yes, she also delivers the groceries from the front door to the kitchen with her big sister's little help. So proud of my girls! :D

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Leaving it at this without saying much about San in this post, but just this...

Roller Coasters and all

We've recently been on two little vacations, and I got to see another side of San - the one who loves roller coasters! She loved all the big, giant, scary roller coasters/rides!

I, ahem, avoid the ones that turn you upside down, especially in air, when you have nowhere to go. Or the ones that drop you straight down, gulp! And the ones that spin you around in air, phew! Anyway, I was so proud to see San go on all these extreme rides without batting an eyelid, literally! And, at the same time, I felt bad cuz' I couldn't accompany her on all of them *face-palm*! All those times when I did accompany her and screamed my lungs out, she had this cold look on her face when she asked, "Why do you scream like that, Mommy?" I tell her, "Screaming is good, and fun! It takes away the fear." Nah, not always! :D

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Our little Oli is growing up fast (yeah, they always do). She's in the parrot mode these days, repeating our every little word, sentence, or action. Time to be careful! But then, it's funny when they copy you like that. You feel like saying some things over and over again just so you can hear them say it in their cute, funny voice.

I must admit that I'm being a bit lazy with Oli. Letting her learn on her own by observing us (and her toys), giving her a pencil and paper and letting her figure out the lines and shapes and scribbles, or just delegating some learning tasks to San cuz' she's the big sister and she is supposed to teach her stuff. How smart! :D There are kids her age who can say A-Z, recite complete rhymes in their cute voice, and say complete sentences. Then I look back at San's videos when she was around this age, and I see that she was good at all of this. But then, we can't compare, right? All kids are different, like they say. They learn things, eventually. Why worry? (Oh yeah, I'm worried about her toilet training. I have no clue how to go about it. Nah, I don't need advice. I know what to do. But, I don't know how! I'll figure out.)

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Happy New Year, you all!

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On a different note...

Wouldn't it be better to give yourself a time out at times?
Imagine all the peace!! :D I hope so!