Lessons Learnt On This One Trip

1. If you do not tell the company driver that you want to go to the airport, he will take you to the office while you are busy mugging up your presentation
2. If you forgot to take the return boarding pass on landing and then get back to the airport via departure terminal and slip out of the departure unnoticed, then you are a woman
3. If you do 2 above and do not slip out of the departure but get with held inside by the security, then you are a man
4. The Security in that case will ask you to stay back and not get into town, for that important meeting because you have taken your boarding card.
5. If the staff of the airline gets called to sign the register as a special case the Security will let you out after dire warnings
6. Incase the taxi driver taking you to the client place switches the A/C off after a few minutes of driving, and rolls the window down, do not assume he is doing it to ventilate the hot air out. It means he has suddenly remembered it is a non A/C booking.
7. Even if the car is booked in your name and you assure him you will sign it as A/C car and there is no problem in the spot change (you are a senior official after all), he will cross check with his company and the admin pointedly in front of you
8. Some people will always give priority to lunch ***censored***
9. In the client team of 25 people, 50% will not open their mouth because they are technical, the balance 50% are marketing and they will talk everything else except the marketing concept and positioning.
10. So the lesson is never make a combined presentation to technical and marketing
11. The person(s) who according to you score the maximum marks for class participation are most insignificant from a strategic point of view.
12. If you book the later flight, your meeting gets over very fast and vice versa. And if you have less waiting time at the airport, you have an interesting book with you. And if you have more waiting time, you either do not have a book, or an internet connection that acts up every few seconds.
13. Lounge cards prevent you from going overboard in eating from every available counter.
14. Your cab driver will not know Hindi but the moment you ask him to go for the day (unexpectedly) he will understand perfectly wel
15. You will NEVER get a car with FM / radio fitted into it. It is always someone else who gets it.
16. Banjara is a nice place despite the space shortage- The buffet here is at Rs 250 and the tandoori chicken with an external masala coating is toppers I am told (yet to try)
17. And finally, Bangalore Airport Rocks!

Biology Lessons

Sister- Try to teach Human Body using the Biology text book- this is Vas Deferens
Also called- looking at the pencilled text above the printed label "Vas" and at the same time trying to juggle her memory on Biology basics- Chaminda (imagining that the teacher would have told in class the alternate terminology for Vas Deferens)
Brother- giggling - Didi, Teacher did not tell us the alternate term, I meant the cricketer Chaminda Vas

Another Set of Whys

I am doing this soul cleansing tag... Yay! Thanks MM for the brilliant tag

1. Why is it ok for you to buy watches, laptops, cars, mobiles any number of times but not ok for me to desire a beautiful house?
2. Why is it ok for you to want to honour a promise to a third person at the cost of your family's liking but not ok for me to demand that my husband honours his promise to me?
3. Why is it ok for you to like your mother's food but not ok for my sons to prefer their mother's food?
4. Why is it ok for you to relax on your weekend but not ok for me to want some space during my weekend?
5. Why is it ok for you to waste food by making excess and serving to the neighbours and not ok for me to make just right quantities?
6. Why is it ok for you to reach office after 10 but not ok for me to reach just 5 minutes after you?
7. Why is it ok for you to get a car as your bonus but not ok for me to demand a better cash bonus?
8. Why is it ok for you to do numerous foreign tours but not ok for me to do a local trip to Delhi (my shopping paradise! ha) ?
9. Why is it ok for you to diss North Indians and not ok for me to call South Indians as Madrasi?
10. Why is it ok for you to park your car in the wrong place, blocking the play area but not ok for me to park the car in the wrong place not disturbing anybody?
11. Why is it ok for you to convert your balcony into an additional room causing a violation but not ok for me to make a grill blocking a small area not used by anyone but me?
12. Why is it ok for you to grow a tree in your garden space causing disturbance to the upper floors, but not ok for me to let a few weeds grow in my garden?
13. Why is it ok for you to browse and chat on the net but not ok for me to blog?
14. Why is it ok for you to maintain a messy home but not ok for me to not want to sweep if the maid does not turn up for a day or even otherwise?
15. Why is it ok for you to dye your hair an ugly shade of black but not ok for me to get my hair cut in a different style?
16. Why is it ok for you to dash the car but not ok for me to be a lousy driver?
17. Why is it ok for you to not call my parents anytime but not ok for me to not call your parents when I am travelling? (person- some)
18. Why is it ok for you to never call my parents but not ok for me to not call your parents when I am travelling to your city? (persons- rest)
19. Why is it ok for you to skip quite a few rituals from your side but not ok for me to skip the few rituals that involves "giving money or taking money from all and sundry" in my wedding?
20. Why is it ok for you to not want to spend money because you are the boy's side but not ok for me to control the expenses because I am on the girl's side?
21. Why is it ok for you to crib about the fact that photographs of a few rituals were not taken but not ok for me to crib that calling the photographer again would have meant that I incur the extra charges?
22. Why is it ok for you to not celebrate some festivals celebrated all over the country but not ok for me to say that I don't believe in some of your rituals?
23. Why is it ok for you to not cut hair on Fridays but not ok for me to not cut hair on Saturdays?
24. Why is it ok for you to comment on my not wearing the signs of marriage but not ok for me to comment on the dynamics of your marriage?
25. Why is it ok for you to follow the customs prevailing in your maternal home in your husband's house but not ok for me to not want to give up my customs after marriage?
26. Why is it ok for you to comment on how I do not live with my ILs living in the same city but not ok for me to comment on how you live in a different country altogether and make a flying visit only once a year?
27. Why is it ok for you to comment on everyone's weight but not ok for me to point fingers at the eating habits of the members of your family?
28. Why is it crystal clear to you why other DILs are having problems with her ILs but completely hazy when it comes to your own family (this is for all men!!)?
29. Why are you so understanding about other's problems but clueless when it comes to your own?
30. Why are you so good in HR & PR in your workplace and mess up horribly in your personal life?
31. Why is it ok for you to comment on my over usage of diapers and harming the environment but not ok for me to comment on the water wastage and detergent pollution that your dirty nappies cause? To each their own right! Even though I have been a cloth diapering Mamma!
32. Why is it ok for you to comment on my naughty children in the train/ aircraft but not ok for me to object if you mess up the compartment with your snacks?
33. Why is it ok for you to joke on the number of times my kids cry but not ok for me to object when your grown up kids damage a parked car?

"Household" Hints...

...For Smart Moms
1. Very often one will find their plastic mop handle broken (by the earnest kids) while the mop itself will be in good condition. Do not throw away the mop. Reserve it for the times when the kids want to play "mopping the house" and give it to them instead of the adult size new one.
Same goes with old brooms. They are shorter and more handy for kids to "clean" the floor.
2. If your kid wants to make rotis- do not give them the flour just in case you don't want your home to be messed up. Give them tiny cooked rotis and if possible their own mini chakla-belan and ask them to (re)make the rotis. This method is less messy and the kids could eat their rotis also. Or else try the play-doh.
3. Ensure that you use specific vessels for specific cooking - like a particular pan for eggs or a particular spoon for dosa or parathas or bowls for kids. That way you can just tell your kid you are making egg and (s)he will pick out the right vessel correctly (unlike your husband or anyone else) and hand it over to you in a jiffy.
4. Do not buy duster for your kid's slate. Use their old-T-shirts.
5. No need to buy books for teaching them various transport vehicles- any old magazine will do. You could teach them the various models too which is not possible if you buy a simple kiddie book.
6. Try to buy as many products that give a free plastic box. They are great for storing puzzle pieces. I favour Baggry's oats, Parle cheeselings. You could also visit all (South) Indians homes who invite you for Golu etc- many of them give plastic boxes as takeaways and they could be put to good use as discussed.

7. Reserve your plastic cake knife that comes complementary with some "birthday" cakes- they come handy when your kid insists that (s)he needs a knife to play with.
8. Odd jobs like putting the fresh milk packets in the fridge, opening the main door when someone rings the bell, watering the plants, keeping plates in the basin or clothes in the washing machine can be easily delegated to the kids.
9. Especially for twins or siblings of similar age, bath times can be made faster if you have additional mugs. Just soap one kid and while you are soaping the other kid, make the first one to wash off by him/herself. Or sometimes they could wash off each other while you get other stuff like towels, clothes etc ready.
10. And the most profitable one- incase you need a massage, do not spend money- ask your kids to jump on your back. And incase you need to work out your abs- just lie on the bed/ mattress, fold your knees and prop the kid on your feet. Do the ab crunches with them on your feet- a multipurpose exercise cum play routine that benefits you and your kid. If you want to increase the weights- just have both of them on your feet together.

Forgotten Pleasures

Bubble Making
In our days it was a glass of detergent (Rin) and water lathered up with a (paper) straw/cone to make the bubbles.
I always turned a scornful eye towards the readymade bubble kit. Who buys that rubbish if you can just make at home.
Until yesterday when a neighbour presented a bubble kit to me for the kids. Oh, the fun we had. The advantage of this bubble maker being the soapy water doesn't enter the mouth by mistake if one sips in rather than blow out if using a straw.
At first it was just me/ hubby doing and the kids catching the bubbles. Slowly Ojas & Tejas wormed their hands into the bubble tube and started merrily blowing away and chasing the bubbles, catching them in their hands and giggling away.
But then I was too bored just holding the soap kit and decided that it was my turn now. So I stood up and blew bubbles of various dimensions and in various numbers and asked them to keep them afloat.
And Ojas discovered that he likes to gobble up the bubble so he was following them with open mouth! Uggh
Tejas discovered that he could blow the bubble and then catch it back on the bubble maker and blow it out again!
And did you know, some bubbles bounce also? Mine did, on the granite top.

Sigh! May the bubble never burst!
Few Links on Bubble Making
Bubble Town
Big Bubble
Bubble Activities

The Why Approach

1. Why does it sound crystal clear to me when Ojas & Tejas speak whereas everybody else fail to understand their language?
2. Why do the kids start their tantrum the moment I get back from work and waste precious moments which could have been spent working on something fun?
3. Why are my kids silent when the resident bully hits them whereas they are quick to take revenge which each other? And how come the non-violent me gets back home to scold them- next time hit him back rather than crying?
4. Why do they think playing "catch" with my book is a good idea?
5. Why do they find something to throw a tantrum for each morning- alternate days though- if one day Ojas throws a tantrum, then next day Tejas does it.
6. Why can they eat everything else properly but not their normal meal?
7. Why do they only like Milk Bikis or Hide n Seek and not the delicious Multigrain biscuit?
8. Why do they come back home with their tiffin boxes hardly eaten but gulp down the contents the moment they get back home?
9. Why do they always say that "A" in their class fights & why do they always bring back hankies and tiffin boxes that belong to "S' (so they say)?
10. Why do they have to take such a long time to sleep in the night while my next door neighbour has to just lock the kids in their room and they sleep within 5 minutes? Why is life not fair?

Embarassing them for Life

There is a lot more you can do with (new) Lingerie...
Substitute them for a tie
Wear them on the head

Wear them.

Put them on the parents heads

Allocate fairly to each other by colour and pattern and play with them

Make Mamma wear them when she is blissfully asleep.

Evoking Creativity

The school scene has improved now- in terms of Ojas & Tejas actually missing school when they have to give it a miss due to illness. They are reciting poems that have been taught, the prayer that is done every morning and discussing shapes like circle & triangle - one thing that I never taught them.
They bring home library books every weekend and while some of them are new ones many of them are copies of what they already have at home. Now what do I tell my Hubby who suspects that the teacher sends books home so that our kids may spoil them and then we have to cough up a fine for them!
The swimming classes have started - once a week and there have been a few outbound trips like beach house, farm house etc.
They have started Hindi lessons from this month (yay) and to encourage practise at home, I am going to pick up the Hindi puzzle boards.
Each month beginning the parents are given a sheet of paper outlining the lesson plan for the month.
There are a lot of paper craft/ painting activities done- I am glad because this is one thing I am unable to do due to lack of my own creativity and patience, much as I plan to try my best.
They have had special days like-
Beach Day- they had to go to school in beach wear- Dalmatian Day- They had to dress up as a dalmatian- I assumed it was more of concept rather than looks so I bought a cheap t- shirt which coincidentally had a pattern of rows of dogs and patiently pasted 12 packs of black bindis on them- Well, my only regret is that I should have asked them to paste the bindis but I lacked the patience and time to involve them. But I made it up by allowing them to detach the bindis from the T-shirt and stick it on a paper and earned a look of - "very smart, give us the dirty work."

And just as I finished gloating over my success at managing the dalmatian job easily and cheaply I get another note- this time to dress them as a dog and a cow for an animal farm song. Now this had to be as realistic as possible. So first I downloaded pictures of animal masks from child craft. Then I thought of painting a t shirt like a cow & a dog in patches of black or brown. But then gave up the idea and settled for a painting of the mask on a cloth and attaching on the front of the T-shirt. Thankfully Grandma volunteered to do the art work and the job was taken away from my klutzy hands.

And they also go dressed up in 2 of the colours of the flag

Pearls of Wisdom

The opposite of fat is not handsome or beautiful

Birthdays

Yesterdays...
-At School
Wear Coloured Dress, Distribute candies, Get royal treatment- suddenly everybody in your class seems to become your friend, Even the teachers do not scold you
-At Home
gifts, cake, treat to friends

Today...
People gather to wish you in your home, you cook, you slog in the kitchen, you serve, you clean-up and in return just get to cut the birthday cake (sometimes you might end up baking a cake for yourself too) and get some gifts.
Sigh...It's not an easy joke being a woman.

Until I decided that I deserved more on my birthday.
I deserve to not cook, be treated for a fun day and for once not act dutiful and feel obliged to engage the entire shebang for my birthday dinner.
Life is so uncomplicated after that!

Tiny Thoughts- Revolt of the Doormat

Those who have never bothered to respond after receipt will henceforth not be sent the rakhis. I have decided to do so because now it is not about them, it is about me:
1. I do not deserve to be treated like that
2. I am better off without them
3. They are not worth my time (or money)
4. A Rakhi means something to me. It also means that the recipient has to respect the sentiments attached to it. If that doesn't happen, I am being unfair to the concept of Rakhi by sending it out to those recipients.

Here Are the Pics

...Of the New Puzzles ...

wooden board and puzzles with a sheet of paper carrying the complete design.
And these picked up at Pudhumai Fair in Pondicherry- all wood- Rs 40 each

Now do you think that just because I did a lot of puzzles during pregnancy, there is a rub-off on them in terms of their interest in puzzles?

And this is another of "my kinda T shirt" picked up at Cents & Pence, Gandhi Nagar.

I am Brilliant!

Thanks Sree for awarding me the Brilliant Weblog award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere. Here are the rules to follow:

1. When you recieve the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
5. I pass the sunshine on to:

• MadMomma
• Calcutta Chromosome
• Kiran
• Dot mom
• Usha
• PhoenixRitu
• Chandni
• Ceekay

Books Galore

Joined a local lending library recently to expand the horizons of my reading that has become very limited these days to just the authors whom I am used to reading or the classics where one cannot go wrong. So this whole collection of a variety of books is at my disposal physically and online at the easwari library.

Altoid recommended in another forum that the Shopoholic Series is a must try. I admit I had seen these books in the stores and had been attracted to them because it is so much like me in terms of the willingness and need to shop. But I never picked it up because it looked so frivolous and not something one should invest in. So I did the shubh arrambh (auspicious beginning) with Shopoholic ties the knot and spend a starry-eyed, fun filled 3 days glued to it.

What I liked-

1. The proposal- oooh so romantic - how I wish...

2. What goes on in her mind all the while is so realistic- it could be any one of us thinking that

3. The fairy tale fake wedding- yes, I am shallow and love such imaginitive stuff

4. The humour

5. Her shopping trips- How I wish I could be in her shoes...

And more than anything else, it is an escape - an escape into an imaginitive close to real world!

Also picked up Katha Prize Stories- a collection of Indian language tales translated to English and judged by eminent film industry personnel. The stories progressed in an engaging manner but the endings left so much to the imagination that it leaves one with a dissatisfied feeling. Not my cup of tea at all. Very rambling and not something that I would like to re-read

Talking to My Teenage Self

If I had a chance to meet my teenage self Since I cannot really meet my teenage self (as in Harry Potter) and give her a lecture talk to her, I am blogging about it here.

- Don't struggle so hard on Biology or Geography. It really doesn't matter if you are not good at it. Don't sweat on the drawings- ICSE board will not make your draw diagrams or maps- they only make you label them. You have all the time to learn biology yet be clueless about the most basic stuff and bodily functions! You will realize in due course of time that your geographical knowledge is better than many people out there.
- Studying MSc Maths will not make you an Engineer.
-You will realize that you really don't want to be an engineer after all.
-You needn't worry whether you would be able to cook and run a house in future- you will.
-You cannot measure your worth in terms of the number of friends you have or whether you have a best friend. It is alright or rather the best to have many good friends with whom you can pick up from where you left anyday anytime many years into the future. And you will realize that these friends will not be current set of friends with whom you love to spend all your free time but you will find them towards the end of your teen years and into your twenties. More importantly you will have a group of like-minded friends bucking you up, cheering you and knocking sense in your head as you reach my age.
-Just because you don't top your class, doesn't mean you will not do well in your career. So stop feeling that you are unworthy and stop comparing yourself with the toppers (we hate them).
-Sometimes, just sometimes, stand up for yourself. Assert yourself. It is not necessary to please everybody
-Don't think you are fat now. There is much more to come. So cut that fatty snacks out of your life right now.
-Join a music class. You will forever regret not doing it.
-And you are definitely missing out a lot of fun not reading M&B's.
-So you judge people who have lover boyfriend, or laugh at couples necking in the parks in Mumbai or cringe at the thought of wearing sleeveless - as you cross your teens, you will do boyfriend, will feel sorry for those couples who cannot find a place to cozy up and strongly feel that there should be a proper lover's park and buy only sleeveless to save nearly 100 bucks on the cost of a sleeveless vs sleeved kurta! *Smirk*
Tag courtsey

And on that note- Happy Birthday Hubby

Trying to Stop the Clock

I turn 33 today. 3 and thirty years have crept up to me one year at a time and I hardly noticed them coming. I always thought age is just a number. It is a mindset. And you can beat (old) age with your attitude. Whatever.
I think I can sense the panic now. Just thinking in perspective.
-While I was buying my black Swift in 2007, I was actually rooting for an orange one- flashy, young and bindaas. But the sales guy had vested interests. The black one was on its way as per my prior booking and he did not want to change it. So he showered praises on the black one that me the executive kinds should go for and for good measure he added- Madam, may be the next car could be orange. Now I think in 5 year blocks as far as cars are concerned. And that would mean by the time I buy my next car, I would be "gasp" 37! nearly 40? Not a good idea to remind me that and now I really don't see myself buying orange at 37. Well, the rate at which my mindset is maturing, I probably would go for orange but still, lets not talk about it now. I don't want to think 37. I am thinking 33 only. I am taking it 1 day at time.
-So I want to gift this blog to Ojas & Tejas when they are older- let's say atleast 8 or 10 (they say in movies that at the age of 8 a child can really understand this latent love and get her Dad and long lost love together. By that logic, 8 or 10 is a fair age at which my kids can be made aware of the blog. So that means I would be 40 by the time I gift this blog. Now that sounds heavy! While I am eager to share the blog with my kids, 40! I mean how cool (kewl) will I be at 40! I don't want to think about it. But then life does begin at 40- wow, I can't wait to get at it! "gulp".
-On our first night (cut that, there is no mature content here), instead of some romantic comment, or oohing aahing on the well, flower decoration, the first thing the hubby said was a wistful, world-wisdom remark- just imagine 25 years from now, we will be as old as our parents (give or take a few years), retired, laid back... panic... that is 50, 50 plus atleast. Quiet, Shush, we don't want to talk about it.
The worst thing about marrying a man who is a few minutes younger equal to your age is that if he remarks I am getting old, you cannot even say "you must be getting old, not me".
Speaking of parents, at my age, my Mom was a mother of a 9 year old. And my kids are still in nursery. No no no, I am not competing, I am not thinking that when I will start dreaming of grandkids, I would be, "counting on my fingers", atleast, no no let me count again, it can't be 60 or 60 plus right?
Drifts away counting on fingers and making vile plans of influencing sons to get married really early so that she can look like a "hip hot mamma" when the sons are getting married.

Those Were the Days

1. When I would spend an afternoon playing Kaleidoscope and leave the board lying on the glass centre table without worrying about pieces going missing/ misplaced...
2. When I had the glass centre table placed in the designated place
3. When I had my prized perfumes displayed on my vanity shelf without any worry
4. When I could leave my bag lying around without worrying about the contents getting scattered all over the place
5. When we could just walk out of the house at whim
6. When we could stay out all day and eat all rubbish and not worry about reaching home on time 7. When I could read in bed all day without disturbance
8. When if I don't want, I could manage without cooking
9. When I didn't have loads and loads of clothes to forever fold and stack
10. When I did not have to worry about the little fingers trying to put dosa batter on the hot tawa just when I walk out of the kitchen for something.
11. When going to bed meant simply plonking on bed and going to dreamland.
I miss those days and wish I had made the most of them while they lasted.
But then, those were the days when-
1. There were no warm, cuddly, tiny bodies to cuddle up to.
2. There were no ready, sweet smiles and faces lighting up on seeing me
3. And I did not have the Super star status in 2 pairs of eyes.
While those days were good when they lasted, I wouldn't want to trade them with the present for anything!

Lateral Thinking Quiz

You have a glass.

Someone is drinking water straight from the jug.
You are thirsty and the water drinker is not giving up the water jug. And he is pouring water holding the jug far above his mouth to annoy you.
What will you do?
Ojas has the perfect strategy.
Just hold the glass in the path of the water cutting off his water supply but filling your glass effectively while the hapless fellow (Dad) is doing the pouring and wondering where the water is going!

Memories of Childhood

Nita did a nostalgic tag which I self assign to myself.
"What are the 7 favourite things you enjoyed doing as a child?" is the question.
1. Going to friends' house and playing in a group.
We were doing it everyday without fail right on time. We would gang up at one of the friends' house and play till the street lights would come on.
We would play 5-stones during the season- summer I think and kit-kit - hopskotch?!! With what expertise!!
2. Cycling.
I still get nostalgic everytime I see a cycle. We had a huge playground right opposite the house where I learnt to cycle. Our entire gang would cycle on the field and the roads of the colony. I remember riding right into a group of ladies walking in the middle of the road just out of spite because they used to never budge when we would ring the bell. My regret in a big city is that my kids will never get that same pleasure of long distance cycle rides, pedaling furiously uphill or relaxing and feeling the wind into the face downhill.
3. Walking
Once we got too old to play we used to walk the entire stretch of road in our colony with our gang. I still love to walk. You can really see and take in every little thing going around if you are walking. The remnant of my walking days is the long walks in a mall. I love walking at a slow pace and staring at each and every shop - what's thye deal, what's teh item on sale, evaluating whether I can live without it... Walking really enables a lot of thinking and imagining and talking. I do miss the late night walks in our complex with hubby which we were doing pre-babies days
4. Summer Holidays
At Patna- my grandparents' place. Strange we never did take holidays as per the modern definition- going to a resort or a new place. It was always to Patna and sometimes to Delhi. I do miss teh stability and predictibility of such holidays. You go for a month and a half to your native place and the holiday job is done- cheap and best and engaging with all the cousins gathered there at the same time. An advantage of having large families. So much of bonding!
5. Eating without worrying about weight gain
Not that the eating has stopped but it is accompanied by an ever nagging sense of guilt. Every summer holiday around 11 am I would fry a plateful of home made potato chips and potato papad and hog. Then there was this bread and malai with lots of sugar or just malai and sugar. Or fist-full of mixture...Gosh I feel fat just thinking of it now.
6. Studying/ Going to School
No I am not a snob. But I did like the reading out loud while studying for exams especially english or hindi or practicing sums. Imagining I am the teacher and teaching a class of idiots while studying for exam made it so much fun. I miss reciting poems and feeling like a much learned person. I just loved going to school. I am vicariously enjoying via the sons. I would feel guilty if I missed school and would be mentally picturing what would be happening at school at each hour and only around 4 pm I would relax. Somehow this habit continues and I do the same thing when I miss office. The only change is that I relax around 5.30 pm now
7. Family Outings/ Festivals
Going to relatives or friends houses in the evening and looking forward to the snacks that get served there. Festival days which meant Mom cooks an array of delicacies and you get to enjoy them unlike now that it becomes such a chore- you have to cook, you have to follow the traditions, you have to clean up and you have to store the left overs and the office gives you a holiday to slog at home.
I tag all the emotional ones out there who are sent on a nostalgia trip reading this.

Ojas Tejas Speak

Lame Excuses
After a mosquito bit Tejas in the calf he says- Mosquito kaata. Ab school kaise jaenge? (Now, how will I go to school?)

Chor Chor Bhai Bhai
The kids bring a classmate's tiffin box full of biscuits in one of their school bags.
Next day I ask Ojas (thinking he will reply truthfully) - who gave you this box?
Ojas- Silence/ ignores/ looks away
Tejas mutters under his breath walking out of the house- Shivani (she is a classmate)
By the way- they know the names of all the girls in their class- I am not sure the same can be said of all the boys' names.

Help
Help is a big word I use with them everytime I want them to do something.
They find me in the kitchen cooking with the half door latched. They want to come inside & cannot, so they shout out to me- Mamma, Help!

Self Brushing - with a little help
Mamma is not allowed to brush their teeth now. Forget brush, not even taking their toothbrush & applying paste. Since Ojas was unable to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste, he tells me, very specifically - tum paste pakdo (you hold the toothpaste). And as I squeeze the paste out, he dislodges it onto the brush!

Cheeni Kam Hai...
Tejas wanted sugar.
He asks- Mamma, Cheeni...Cheeni... Cheeni kam hai! (song)

Complainer
I drop Hubby's car keys and the remote opens up. Now Tejas does this regularly and asks us to snap it back into position.
But this time he calls- Dadda, see, Mamma tooti kiya, car key. (Mamma broke the car key)- All that while careful enough not to touch it and leave behind his finger-prints

Self Service- Benefit of Twins
-I sit on the floor with a pillow and the kids jump on my lap one by one from the bed. After a while, I say I am tired and go to sleep.
Undeterred Ojas takes a pillow and sits down asking Tejas to jump on his lap. Then asks Tejas to do the same service for him.
-Similarly I rock them on my knees lying down on the bed (in the process doing ab crunches). After I tire out, they do it for each other.
-When one gets stuck on a puzzle, the other helps out tactfully- just nudges him in the right direction without actually doing it-unlike Mamma who impatiently pushes the piece in the right position.
-Dadda gave them a ride on his back and then lay on his tummy and said now give me massage, I am tired.
So Tejas gave Ojas & Dadda a "ride on his back" and in identical fashion lay on his tummy and said "Tejas tired give massage"
Translation
Tejas- mudee engai
Me- pretending I did not understand else I would have to look for it
Tejas- helpfully translating-Mudee?? cap ? where?

Rolling the Rrrs Away
And they still cannot say R- so it is yaining, yoti, yabbit, Yong-Coyyect (wrong-correct), Zahul...

Songs
Added to the Able-to-sing list- O, O sanam (Dashavataram), Cheeni Kam hai, Gapu ji Gapu ji gam gam(Ojas-Tejas version).

Photo

After parking all their cars they call to each other and take "photo" with the car key remote- just as Mamma does for every little puzzle they do.

Chupa Rustam

I picked up a pouch lying around. Found it slightly heavy. Unzipped one of the pockets and found a sliver spoon tucked inside. Removed it heaving a sigh of relief at finding it and not going mad searching for it.

2 days later Tejas picks up the pouch and unzips the pocket muttering- isme spoon hai- there is a spoon inside!

And Reverse Psychology does work here- I just have to tell Tejas not to do something and he does it promptly- like no sleeping, no keeping foot on mamma while sleeping, mamma will not make you wear pajamas...

Lulla Lulla Lullaby

Munchkin's mom has recorded the lullabies she has been singing and I am prompted to do my list-
The Standard Old Favourites which my Mom used to sing
1. Nani teri Morni
2. Re mama Re mama
3. O Chandaa Mama
4. Chanda Mama Door Ke
5. Aa re ninda
6. Lalla Lalla lori

Favourites from Our Time which we loved
1. Lakdi Ki Kathi- esp the Tabbak Tabbak is the most appreciated part
2. Gapu ji gapu ji gam gam (changed to Baku ji baku ji & Chutu ji chutu ji - their nick names)

The New Age "Lullabies" which another mother of my time sings
1. Jhalak Dhikla Jaa
2. Aashiq Banaya (changed to Bubble banaya because Ojas used to blow spit bubbles a lot when he was a new-born)
3. Dhoom Macha le- hot favourite even now
4. Cheeni Kam hai cheeni kam hai...

Rhymes- though many of them do not qualify as lullabies
1. Old Mac donald- with plenty of other animals added
2. Ringa-a-ring-a-roses
3. Baba Black sheep
4. 1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish
5. How much is that doggie in the window
6. Here we go round the mulberry bush
7. Twinkle twinkle
8. Ding dong bell
9. Johnny Johnny
10. Chubby Cheeks

Rules of the Game

When the husband shows even a slight sign of going back to the bad old non-veg ways...
Close on him immediately and make his favourite egg cake and egg scramble if there is no meat handy at that moment!

Whoever Said Pink is For Girls Only...

...May Not Have Seen Ojas & Tejas.My Metrosexual Males wear Pink
-Pink Shirts, Pink Pajamas, Pink Bottles, Pink toothbrushes, Pink Books, Pink Blanket- you name them and they want to have it in Pink...

-They often get gifted in matching pink & blue

-Initially Ojas used to select blue and Tejas pink but slowly their tastes have started changing- now Ojas takes pink & Tejas takes blue.