Summer chores and more

Been four big months since Oli came! She is growing well, and so is San, the wonderful big sister.

Although San always finds time to do 'nothing' and get bored in the summer vacation, she has successfully added another set of Oli-related chores to her biodata. :D Like bottle-feeding Oli when Mommy is busy, using the bottle warmer to warm her milk, patting her to sleep, installing the pacifier in her mouth (that's the tricky one cuz Oli hates pacifiers :p). She did earn a few dollars by changing Oli's wet diapers a few times, but now she has quit bcuz' this chore doesn't smell so good now! :))

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Because I hardly get much time to play with San these days, she gets upset over it at times.

"Mommy, why do always have so much work ?"

"Because everyone needs to eat, the house and the dishes needs to be cleaned, Oli needs to be fed and bathed and put to sleep, and..."

"But we can do all of this! You take rest and play with me!"

"So who is gonna do all the household work?"

"Papa."

"Who is gonna take care of Oli?"

"Me. You can just feed her when you want to."

"And who will do Papa's office work then?"

"Of course, Papa!"

"Then Papa will get tired!"

"No, he's super Papa!"

And Papa dear happily agrees to all of this. :))

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"Are you still writing about me in the chronicles, Mommy?", San asked me the other day.

"Yes, I am."

"Okay, you need to start writing about Oli now!"

So, here you go!

Oli, my little darling, is a happy, excited, fidgety, drooling-forever, raspberry-blowing baby! And because she chews and licks anything that she can catch hold of, San calls her 'the hungry caterpillar'! :D

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I might need to change my blog's name to something else. Something that makes both San and Oli happy. Any suggestions? :)

And the Learning Continues

With two kids, it's a different world at home. There have been times when both the girls were super-hungry at the same time, or wanted all attention at the same time. San, obviously, is expected to behave like the elder sister and wait until the little one has been taken care of. And that's the case only when Papa dear isn't around. Otherwise he, as a SuperDad, handles all three of us like a charm. I wish I had his skills!

San is a wonderful big sister. She tries her best to handle most of her things herself so that I can concentrate on taking care of Oli while I am at it. When she sees that Oli is finally asleep and Mommy has a little time on her hands, all she needs from me is watch TV with her, play games with her, or just do some fun, silly stuff. And at those times, "sleep when your baby sleeps" doesn't apply. 

San's maturity amazes me. She is always ready to help me with little things around the house and bears my mood swings without complaining. I, as a Mommy, try my best to give her as much care and attention as I can. Feels less, somehow. There's a guilt about not being able to divide my time perfectly between the girls. At the end of each day, I think about things that I could have done differently, or better. Things I shouldn't have said or done. Things I could have done.

Some situations overwhelm me. I panic easily. I'm glad that I have Daddy cool around to sail me through them. And San, who always assures me that I'm the best Mom. I need to learn a lot from them. Such wonderful teachers I have at home.

Big Sister San!

Yup, San is a big sister now! Oli, as San lovingly calls her, arrived in our lives on March 12 this year.

The very happy big sister is on cloud nine!

"I knew I was gonna get a little sister because I'd been praying to God to send me one! You know where all I prayed? In my room, in the bathroom, at night, in school... God heard me!"

From happily helping me with changing Oli's diaper and bathing her to rocking, talking and singing to her at every little coo sound she utters, San does it like a pro! She is one lovely big sister and I'm one happy, proud Mommy!
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Life is different, yes. It feels like we've become Mommy and Daddy all over again. And jugglers! :D

It's been over a month. We are handling it all quite okay. <Pat on our backs>.  Yup, there are moments/days when we are overwhelmed, frustrated, anxious... and going nuts! Like all other bad moments and days, they pass, and we emerge a bit better!

Still learning. Have a lot to learn. Enjoying every bit of it!

More Friend, Less Mom

My six year old teenager and her tantrums... that's all I can think of writing about these days. And I tend to leave it at the 'thinking' mode. The writing part rarely happens. Okay, I'm super lazy! Why? Maybe it's the weather. Or the holiday season. Or just me!

Kids these days jump five years every year. The way San talks, advises, comments, and behaves makes me wonder how quickly she's growing. And then in one fine moment, she goes back to her tantrums, questions, and grumpiness over silly things, and becomes my big little San...

a six year old who is learning by observing us, and not by listening to us...

a girl who has secrets to share and keep, stories to make up and tell, and an endless list of questions that cover almost all categories...

a girl who argues for what she feels is right and doesn't accept any silly answers, but the ones with an understandable logic.

That's how we all were as kids, weren't we?

All those times when kids are moody, do not listen and acknowledge, argue or go into that dreadful silent mode, do not feel or say sorry for what we feel they did wrong, yell and throw tantrums, and many such other times... we cannot afford to lose our cool or patience because that is what makes things worse.

And I'm saying this to remind myself of what NOT to do in those situations. I've made things worse at times. I regret it later, but I need to work on not doing it again. She's the kid, not me. She can afford to repeat her mistakes, I can't.

I need to be her friend, and not the bossy Mom who controls her. I need to pause, think, feel, understand, and slow down.

Papa dear is quite good at it. He gives me tips. I'm trying.