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