Of blue hair and princesses

"Why is your hair grey?, Oli asked her Grandpa today.
"Because I'm old.", he replied.
"But how did your hair turn grey? I don't like grey. I like only black and blue!"

If you were Grandpa, would you have colored your hair blue to please your granddaughter? :D

============

In one of the online sessions, Oli's teacher asked her the typical question - what do you want to be when you grow up? Well, I feel it's a silly question. Oli answered, "Princess!". Let me rewind to last year when they had a fancy dress competition in school and the theme was the same as this typical question. We, the typical parents, thought she'd be a good doctor and dressed her up in a doctor's coat. But she hated it, sheesh! She, just like now, wanted to be a princess! So we dressed her up in the funkiest of clothes and let her do a little ramp walk on the "Taki Taki Rumba" song. :D

Did you ever want to be any such character when you were a kid? A princess, a king, a fairy, a witch, a superhero! They can wish to be whatever they want to be, and keep working towards it, isn't it? :D

Of the blue mango seed and pink sun

Does it bother you if your kid wants to color the mango seed blue in her school book? :) No, right? Because that's what kids are supposed to do. Experiment. Nah, if you're the typical parent, it will bother you. :D

Oli, while doing her homework, insisted on coloring the mango seed blue. After trying to convince her that it should be a mix of yellow and white, not blue, I gave up. I remembered the time when San was four and she wanted to color the sun pink. "Why can't I color the sun pink, Mommy, why?", she'd asked!

I did tell Oli that mango with a blue seed is mango gone bad. LOL. She was fine with that. :D So big sis San came to the rescue and tried to fix the color of the mango seed for her. You see, she isn't like the 4- year old San who was good with the pink sun. So they worked on the seed and got it to a decent brown color. :D

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.

=========================================


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!

Changes, fears, and a lot more

School's going good, so far. San loves getting homework and becomes sad on the days when she gets none. I asked her what she likes about the new school. "Two recesses!", she replied. :)

San is a little shy around people now. She always was, but her shy nature has gone one step ahead. I've been trying to get her to socialize with the kids she meets at her bus stop and the play park. If she doesn't get a response the first time, she quits trying. Maybe, it's the new environment. Maybe, she really is getting shier.

Or maybe, her brain is two years ahead of her actual age and everything that the kids of her age do is silly stuff for her. And what makes me say that? The way she looks at other kids at times!

==============================

I, as a kid, used to be very shy. In school, I always chose corners or the back benches, away from the limelight and most of the people. Kids could bully me easily. I could never fight back. I used to feel bad and go back to the one friend I used to be around most of the time. Never spoke up. I still wonder how I survived school with that nature.

I want San to be the opposite of who I was as a kid. (That sounds terrible!) I need her to be able to stand up for herself, speak up for any wrong that happens around her, and take no nonsense from anyone. It's a big, bad world out there. Bigger and worse than what it was when we were kids. We're doing our best to guide her and bring her out of the shell she's sliding into.

==============================

Oli is a happy child (minus the times when she is super-irritated because of teething). And let me gladly tell you all that she's been chanting 'Mummammamma" since a few days! Because San's first word was Papa, I was kind of jealous. :p Now I'm a happy yappy Mumma! Oli balanced it out. :D

The Big Move

I have been wanting to write about the big move since the time we realized that we need to move. From the good old Texas to the very new Iowa. From a big city to a little town. From Houston that has been our home for six years to Bettendorf that feels like moon! Okay, that went overboard! It isn't bad. A nice, green town with a world of its own. Still, I miss Houston terribly!

The process of moving has been a roller coaster! Especially, with Oli needing all our attention. It was cumbersome. From packing stuff to answering San's questions on why we need to move and why we cannot stay in Houston and send Papa dear alone to this new place!

The saddest part was saying goodbye to friends. Friends who we have known since the time we have known Houston. Friends who we have celebrated all happiness, festivals, birthdays, and births with. Friends who can never be replaced.

True for San too! She is the kind of a person who doesn't get attached to people and places much, and even if she does, she doesn't express it. But this was the first time she expressed how badly she misses her school in Houston and her friends there. She was almost in tears when she spoke to me about it and I felt terrible for having moved her away from Houston. Houston, her birthplace. The place where her heart is and will be.

She started going to her new school this week. Happy, and desperately trying to make new friends.

=========================================

Life goes on. We keep missing people in the little breaks we get from our new routine. New school for San, new office for Papa dear, and a new apartment to set for me. It's exciting, and it's boring. I'm anxious about meeting new people and making friends. I don't feel like but I need to. Maybe, with time, I'll learn to adapt well to new places, like San and Papa dear do.

School, yeah!

Another summer vacation came to an end. Another session in schools has begun. Another new school. Another first day, first week. It passed happily. San is more than excited after having had a big dose of the vacation this year!

She's going to Kindergarten (yeah, she already did that while she was in India) She's a September-born and doesn't qualify for the first grade. We did get a handful of advice on ways to skip a grade, now or in future, and get her back on track. A lot of parents do that. But, why? I feel after having finished junior and senior kindergarten in India and battled the monster called homework (yeah, I've written so much about it!), she's fine with experiencing Kindergarten all over again here, and it's so much different. Homework will always be there, at times more, at times less. As she goes up the grade ladder, it's gonna get busier and harder anyway. I'm glad she's getting to have some more fun in Kindergarten before she gets into the serious school mode.

=============================

The other day, I asked San (yet again) what she wants to be when she grows up. She said that she's gonna be a doctor and treat me. After having said that, she went silent for a while. I asked her what happened. She said, "Mommy, when I grow up, you are gonna be at God's home. How will I treat you then?" I told her that I'll ask God to wait some more so that I can spend more time with her. She was okay with it and again went silent. Then she asked me, "When people go to God's home, don't they return?" I said yes and no. With tears welled up in her eyes, she said, "Mommy, I always want you to be with me, and not go anywhere. Always and always, no matter what happens."

Sigh!

Terrible Twos make a comeback

And I"m finally writing the new year's first post after a long, long gap of a quarter! *hides faces* And I have the same old excuse for not having written here... I was being lazy! *hides face again* Bad, very bad.

Do I have a lot to tell? Not really. But I must tell you that San's Terrible Twos are back with her five. Yeah, I was told that they keep coming back, and here they are. Same old phase of screaming, whining, howling, stomping, and a lot of crazy girly things. I did write a lot about the Terrible Twos here, here, and here.

So tell me what's with the fives. Does it happen with all kids? The arguments, the Nos, the stubbornness, the grumpiness, the meany ME... sigh! I, as usual, run out of patience. And Papa dear, cool as a cucumber, handles it all like a pro. :-)

=============================

It's that time of the year again when San has to dress up as a freedom fighter for the Republic Day celebration in school. Last year's Mangal Pandey act was a hit. This year's Bhagat Singh act is due in two days. Hopefully, San will recover from the little viral infection that she is down with, and rock it again. ;-)

And lastly, let me tell you what keeps her (and us) busy these days. A little game of Snakes and Ladders that she received as a return gift at a Christmas party.

Someday, we'll learn

The festive season, the festivities, the celebrations, the excitement... it's over now. I hope you all had a good time! :-)

Here's a little something that San and Papa dear got busy with this Diwali:

Painting the diyas! Serves as a great activity to keep the kids busy. :-)

======

What's still on is San's Diwali break, or maybe should I say, Autumn break! Because it's still there, going on, happily with a wonderful load of homework (sigh!). And do you know what else can go on forever? My rant on my dislike for homework!

======

Recently, San played musical chairs for the very first time at one of our outings. I'd explained her how to play and how not to react if she misses a chair and has to quit. She went on fine, down to three kids. And then it happened. She missed the chair and had to quit. And then what I feared, happened. She burst into tears and wept for quite some time while hugging me tightly. It wasn't the right time to explain her that games are supposed to be played for fun, not to win. We tried to explain her this later, but I'm not sure if she understood. She will learn with time, I believe.

The fear is, will she?

As a parent, I am supposed to support her, help her, inspire her. But then, as a parent, I also wonder if I'm doing my job right. These are common situations and fears that parents face, and still, we always get that "why-my-kid" feeling. Maybe, not every parent does. Maybe, I'm overreacting. Maybe, I too will learn to handle such situations better... someday!

Homework, the monster

Till the last year, San used to like doing her homework. New school, new notebooks, and a chance to write a lot. That is what San loved. Even though, I always wondered why these little kids are made to do so much homework, which is mostly repetitive writing, I never had to run after San to get it done.

Since the last few weeks, I see her fussing over the amount of homework she's getting. The number of pages is increasing, and so is her frustration. It's a repeat of the classwork and a couple of pages from the workbooks, and that is how it is, I believe, in most of the schools, unless they follow a different style. It pains me to see the little one spend her very precious time doing this homework. This means that she has to sacrifice her daytime nap and some of her playtime, at times. And the dreamy child that San is, she takes her own sweet time, along with all the whining, to write. She actually spends the whole day doing her homework with little breaks in between. Sigh!

She's sitting in front of me right now, writing a bit, chewing on her pencil, looking around, as if looking for an escape from the punishment that homework is.

Sad.

Not fair.

What is the use of making the kids practice writing so much that they start to lose interest in it? Why can't they just increase the school timings for preschools by an hour and make them write some more?

Looking at San, what I really want right now is a monster to appear and eat up all of San's homework! :D

I wonder what other parents feel about this.

P.S. Homework lovers, please don't get offended, and please please please don't tell me how useful it is! ;-)

The Food Express

San is growing naughtier and more vocal with each passing day! Questions and stories and anecdotes and fairy tales and friends! She's got so much to talk about and ask. :-D And with her grandparents around these days, she's got more freedom of speech and expression! ;-)

San's newest interest is FOOD. She watches all food channels with me and always wants to help me out in the kitchen, although, most of the time, I shoo her out of the kitchen telling her that kitchen is not her workplace (I know I know, I shouldn't be doing that!) So one sunny day, she tells me that she wants to cook and she'll do it without using the gas stove and the knife. Sandwich is what she wanted to make for Mommy. I let her do it this time. And what I got is this lovely little surprise!

She didn't like the fact that I took the picture by uncovering the contents of the sandwich but that's what I wanted you all to see - the very cutely chopped tomato. <3 <3 She used one of those plastic knives that accompany the birthday cakes. I guess I should let her in the kitchen more often now! :-)

====

Her school starts on Monday next week. Same school, same classmates, same van and a new class, a new teacher, a new bag, new books, notebooks, lunchbox, water bottle, uniform etc. New sessions are fun, aren't they? :-)

Dress-up dilemma

Almost a month again, sigh! Why can't I update regularly? Why?

Anyway, whys aside, San took her first off from school today, owing to a sore throat and loss of sleep. She's very happy about this off and proudly told me that she'd be declared absent in her class today! Yup, that's as good as winning a medal for her. ;-)

She has grown up, she talks grown up, and she expects us to behave like grown ups. What does that mean? It means that we need to talk sense and kiddish stuff doesn't work much now. That aside, she's enjoying school a lot. They need to go dressed up as a freedom fighter and recite a few lines (dialog) as a part of the Republic Day celebration next week. I'm still thinking who to dress her up as. Any ideas (apart from the very commonly done Rani Laxmi Bai)? :-) 

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

====

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. 

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!

=========

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!

=========================

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!

=========================

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

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!

===

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!

===

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!

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.

===

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! :-)

===

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

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'.

Another first day at the school, Another favorite

New session began this week at San's preschool. Today is her first day in the new session. After a week's break, she wasn't so keen on going back to school, but we'd convinced her well! She was all happy in the morning until she reached her class. New teacher, new kids, some crying, and some screaming... she couldn't take it and started crying. I kept telling myself and Papa dear and the teacher that she'll be fine. Yes, she definitely was fine later, but for a moment, I was reminded of her very first day in school, and everything felt new and alien! Phew! What a feeling!

---

Oh and this is her birthday month, yippee! God knows what has made her Minnie-Mouse-Crazy, suddenly, and we obviously didn't have to go through the trouble of choosing a theme for her b'day party. :) She's even bought herself a new Minnie Mouse night suit!

---

Here's some more of 'San says':

San (on the way to home, in the car): Papa, go faster!
Papa: Okay! (pretends to go fast)
San: Wow! Papa, you're fastering!

San (in the restroom): The flush is gonna go by itself, Mommy?
Me: Yes, San. It's automatic.
San (after the flush thing happened): Wow Mommy, it's aumotatic!

San (today morning while brushing her teeth): I'm really tired, Mommy!
Me: Take a shower and you'll be fine.
San: But I'm feeling tired in my bum!