The clichéd quote says a rose is a rose by any other name. How do we wonders whether streams, trees and rivers really care about being named so. That triggered a thought in my mind on how we humans live with our given names for the rest of our life (unless we are one among those who decide to rename themselves for various reasons, numerology being one cited reason apart from marriage wherein the surname is changed).
I have heard of a girl changing her name from Sushmita to Sumi because she believed it to be short and sweet but I strongly suspect that the Mom wanted to change it because her MIL had named the daughter Sushmita- she used to lament that fact very often that she inherited such a weird name- and this was before a Sushmita Sen went on to become Ms Universe.
Has to be me talked of a strange name she heard of.
I have heard of weird names like Nirasha meaning disappointment. She was the 4th baby girl and hence so named.
For naming my kids, I referred to the numerous websites on Indian names, Indian mythological names, Names of Lord Siva/ Vishnu/ Parvati/ Ganesh/ Laxmi/Saraswati / Durga etc. Since we did not know the sex of the babies we had to select a minimum of 2 girl names and 2 boy names. Also we looked at combinations of boy & girl. I was not very particular about having rhyming names but wanted to have names which would complement each other by some logic- either names of same God or both names culminating into a single meaning. Example Rudra & Akshat culminates into a Rudraksha by my logic. Or if I were to name the boy after the Sun, I would name the girl after the rays of the Sun. My line of thought went like this.
For every name I came across I evaluated it on the following lines-
1. Does it mean something good
2. Do I know someone by that name already and if it is some old classmate of mine or my siblings', how that person has fared in life- Believe me I checked with my brother whether the girl Arushi from his class was good in studies! It should not evoke memories of how she used to always fail subjects!
3. Is it too done-to-death sort of name
4. Is it negative in terms of personality depicted- I love the name Rudra- it evokes a lot of Power but since it connotes the “anger” in Lord Siva, I was hesitant in naming my son so
5. Can it be shortened to something unpleasant which the peers could use to make fun of them- children can be extremely cruel at times
6. Neither typically south Indian nor typically Bollywood names like Vijay, Ravi, Puja, Nisha etc nor too Ekta Kapoor-ised or TV-ised like a Mihir or a Vedika- both names which I love but have become household names. Example Vanshika is nice sounding name and only a side character in a serial so not so famous. I didn’t want someone to point out that the name was picked up from a serial. Really, TV has made Common Nouns of Proper Nouns like Names
7. Most important- my children have to live with that name for the rest of their life, I have to evaluate whether it is likeable, modern enough, pleasant and call-able and sort of think-in-their shoes.
8. My husband added a numerology dimension to it before the final selection
The choices become very limited when you have so many clauses.
Out of at least 5000 names, I picked up about 10 names (with definition) of boys and girls which were acceptable to me, hubby, parents, grand parents (checking the religious aspects). I also made a contingency list. Meanwhile hubby managed to download the entire website of names too.
Post birth the task was easier. Now we had only the set of boy names to consider and pair. I lamented for a while on the good baby girl names that I could not use and then filed them away for passing on to siblings and cousins if and when the time came.
The numerology clause that hubby added forced us to shortlist 2 names out of the entire not-so-big list. He first created the program that calculated automatically the numeric result for a name. That itself took at least a week though why he took the trouble I do not know as there were only about 5-6 names to choose from and another short-list of not-so-favoured back ups. There came some really weird suggestions from a few quarters which I summarily discarded as they did not fit clause no 7 above. Only the name Eshan (starting with E & not I) fitted the numerology dimension. We force-fitted Aryamman by adding another m and made it numerologically cool. And since I was very hot on Tejas & Ojas, we decided to use that as nick names.
Aryamman means Sun. Eshan means Lord Siva and some websites say it also means Sun. I cling on to that fact and tell people that both names mean the same thing- Sun and Ojas & Tejas mean brilliance which is logical from the point of view of their official names and also since they were born on Diwali morning. And now we can actually boast that we did a lot of logical thinking before naming the double trouble.
Is there a story behind your name? Would you prefer or like to be called by any other name? How did you go about naming your kids?
Waiting to hear from all you bloggers.
Meanwhile have a look at the legalities across continents in changing names.
The Scorpios
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Ojas & Tejas Update
1. It was Tat you first and now Ojas says Thaks (thanks) every time he gets what he has asked for.
2. Bathing- Both were playing in their bath tub with their individual mugs. Ojas used to pull Tejas’ mug and fill it with water from his mug. Tejas will subsequently pour it on himself. The cycle continues
3. Teasing-I was trying to put them to bed. Ojas wanted to play with his toy and I snatched it away. To annoy me, he pulled my folded trousers and dragged it along the floor humming to himself
4. Telephone Manners- Ojas chats on the phone. If he is talking in Tamil he says aamma in between and if he is talking to Bihar he says haan haan
5. We went to Bata. I asked the sales guy if he had a particular pair of shoes for my son. The sales guy answered- no this is for ladies, I will show you shoes for gents… ahem.. they are still boys I thought
6. Playing- Both are playing with their badminton racket. Ojas explained the game to him elaborately. Tejas said no no and turned away. The next day Ojas took revenge. Both were playing with their cricket bat. Tejas wanted to play in some format and he explained Ojas the plan. Ojas disregarded and went to the other room.
7. Language- Both discuss issues a lot. We feel that there are 2 people talking in Chinese or some other unknown language. and they actuallyu undertsand each other. Begining of a secret language among twins?
8. Acting- We caught Ojas entertaining Tejas by acting as if he is crying
9. Quiz Time- I asked Tejas if he wants to go to the loo in the middle of the night. He said no no. After sometime predictably he wet the bed. I asked – what did you do? He answered “kakka” and went off to sleep.
10. Spencer’s mall- we took them to the play area and put them on the jeep. They were thrilled. Then we said “ta ta”. And they panicked and started crying.
11. Mamma’s helper-Ojas comes to the kitchen and promptly puts to plates on the counter for us
12. Self Reliance- Tejas tried to put the buttons for his shirt- failed miserably though
13. First Restaurant Accident- the date 17th June 2007 will go down in history as the first day Mamma got embarrassed courtesy the kids. Venue- Fruit Shop at Greames Road- Besant Nagar branch- Tejas broke the juice goblet. Mamma offered to pay but the good guys refused. After all, we are regular customers. And my sons are clients even before birth.
14. Ojas was on the potty chair. He wanted to come out of it and nobody was entertaining his request. He called the maid- Ammanaa ..When she came there he pointed at the belt muttering something.
15. Paradox- they can climb the iron grill, they can climb the upturned chair back or the step ladder, but THEY REFUSE TO CLIMB THE LADDER OF THE SLIDE. They will go up the slide or beg me to place them on top of the slide so that they can slide down on their own.
2. Bathing- Both were playing in their bath tub with their individual mugs. Ojas used to pull Tejas’ mug and fill it with water from his mug. Tejas will subsequently pour it on himself. The cycle continues
3. Teasing-I was trying to put them to bed. Ojas wanted to play with his toy and I snatched it away. To annoy me, he pulled my folded trousers and dragged it along the floor humming to himself
4. Telephone Manners- Ojas chats on the phone. If he is talking in Tamil he says aamma in between and if he is talking to Bihar he says haan haan
5. We went to Bata. I asked the sales guy if he had a particular pair of shoes for my son. The sales guy answered- no this is for ladies, I will show you shoes for gents… ahem.. they are still boys I thought
6. Playing- Both are playing with their badminton racket. Ojas explained the game to him elaborately. Tejas said no no and turned away. The next day Ojas took revenge. Both were playing with their cricket bat. Tejas wanted to play in some format and he explained Ojas the plan. Ojas disregarded and went to the other room.
7. Language- Both discuss issues a lot. We feel that there are 2 people talking in Chinese or some other unknown language. and they actuallyu undertsand each other. Begining of a secret language among twins?
8. Acting- We caught Ojas entertaining Tejas by acting as if he is crying
9. Quiz Time- I asked Tejas if he wants to go to the loo in the middle of the night. He said no no. After sometime predictably he wet the bed. I asked – what did you do? He answered “kakka” and went off to sleep.
10. Spencer’s mall- we took them to the play area and put them on the jeep. They were thrilled. Then we said “ta ta”. And they panicked and started crying.
11. Mamma’s helper-Ojas comes to the kitchen and promptly puts to plates on the counter for us
12. Self Reliance- Tejas tried to put the buttons for his shirt- failed miserably though
13. First Restaurant Accident- the date 17th June 2007 will go down in history as the first day Mamma got embarrassed courtesy the kids. Venue- Fruit Shop at Greames Road- Besant Nagar branch- Tejas broke the juice goblet. Mamma offered to pay but the good guys refused. After all, we are regular customers. And my sons are clients even before birth.
14. Ojas was on the potty chair. He wanted to come out of it and nobody was entertaining his request. He called the maid- Ammanaa ..When she came there he pointed at the belt muttering something.
15. Paradox- they can climb the iron grill, they can climb the upturned chair back or the step ladder, but THEY REFUSE TO CLIMB THE LADDER OF THE SLIDE. They will go up the slide or beg me to place them on top of the slide so that they can slide down on their own.
16. They have started repeating whatever we say- A to Z or anything else.
17. Tejas does not say Mausi- He mouths a kiss instead- may be he gets confused with Kissie. Ojas says Maapi
18. Tejas has been sporting his pre molars for sometime now
By the way, Tejas has reserved one corner of the living room as his कोप भवन. He stands there whenever he is upset with us.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Holistic Weight Management- The Diet Chart
Weight Management Paradox
The day your scales are kind to you, you bravely tell the dietician- how come I lost weight, I had chicken and mango both.
The day you gain, you hide that you had non veg all the 3 meals and 2 samosas.
‘what is this, I am gaining instead of losing, after all the hard work.” You hope she sympathises and does not question you too deeply on your day’s diet. You don’t want to be scolded again for the lapse
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The attempt should be to bring about a change in lifestyle rather than a short term change to last during the weight loss period only. If the aim is to restrict only during the weight loss phase, the tendency is to put back as much and more than what was lost. The overall idea is not to stop one from eating but educate and train the body to eat what is right and the right quantity.
1. Instead of 3 large meals, one should take 6 small meals.
-The body handles smaller amounts of food better than big meals at one go. If the quantity is limited, it is more likely to use the energy contained in the food, rather than store it as fat.
-Taking small meals provide fuel to keep the digestive system working and metabolism fired up throughout the day and prevents the body from slipping into fat storing mode
2. The objective is to get a good mix of carbs, protein, vitamins, fibre. A sample diet schedule -(for me- you need to check with your dietician)
Breakfast- cornflakes/ oats/ upma/ dosa without oil/ idly
Midmorning- tender coconut/ fruit/ vegetable juice
Lunch- 1-2 glasses of cold water, Cup of salad, 2 roti, vegetables, daal, buttermilk. The water, buttermilk and salad will help you control the food quantity to near ideal
Afternoon- milk/ coffee with 2 biscuits/ wheat rusk
Evening- fruit
Dinner- before 7.00- 7.30 pm- soup, salad, wheat bread- 2-3 slices/ roti & salad/ veggies/ oats
Ensure you take 12-15 glasses of water. Can also include the tender coconut, juice in the tally.
Non veg is restricted to twice a week and not in the night. Ayurveda mentions that non-veg takes 48 hours to digest. Also it has no fibre and high amount of fat. Proteins require much more energy than carbs to digest but since one sleeps after dinner the whole thing gets absorbed into the system as fat if eaten at night.
Fruits, salads, oats give fibre.
Sugar free/ cholesterol free does not necessarily mean fat free so be careful of such products.
Tetrapack juices are not always good- remember the sugar added
Everything counts- yes that small piece of chocolate too.
Attain your target and then allow yourself one treat day in the week- not before that.
Cut the vicious cycle – the more you weigh, the more you feel like eating junk food/ high fat food. The more you avoid fatty food, the faster you attain your target and the lesser you feel like eating junk food.
The day your scales are kind to you, you bravely tell the dietician- how come I lost weight, I had chicken and mango both.
The day you gain, you hide that you had non veg all the 3 meals and 2 samosas.
‘what is this, I am gaining instead of losing, after all the hard work.” You hope she sympathises and does not question you too deeply on your day’s diet. You don’t want to be scolded again for the lapse
===================================================================
The attempt should be to bring about a change in lifestyle rather than a short term change to last during the weight loss period only. If the aim is to restrict only during the weight loss phase, the tendency is to put back as much and more than what was lost. The overall idea is not to stop one from eating but educate and train the body to eat what is right and the right quantity.
1. Instead of 3 large meals, one should take 6 small meals.
-The body handles smaller amounts of food better than big meals at one go. If the quantity is limited, it is more likely to use the energy contained in the food, rather than store it as fat.
-Taking small meals provide fuel to keep the digestive system working and metabolism fired up throughout the day and prevents the body from slipping into fat storing mode
2. The objective is to get a good mix of carbs, protein, vitamins, fibre. A sample diet schedule -(for me- you need to check with your dietician)
Breakfast- cornflakes/ oats/ upma/ dosa without oil/ idly
Midmorning- tender coconut/ fruit/ vegetable juice
Lunch- 1-2 glasses of cold water, Cup of salad, 2 roti, vegetables, daal, buttermilk. The water, buttermilk and salad will help you control the food quantity to near ideal
Afternoon- milk/ coffee with 2 biscuits/ wheat rusk
Evening- fruit
Dinner- before 7.00- 7.30 pm- soup, salad, wheat bread- 2-3 slices/ roti & salad/ veggies/ oats
Ensure you take 12-15 glasses of water. Can also include the tender coconut, juice in the tally.
Non veg is restricted to twice a week and not in the night. Ayurveda mentions that non-veg takes 48 hours to digest. Also it has no fibre and high amount of fat. Proteins require much more energy than carbs to digest but since one sleeps after dinner the whole thing gets absorbed into the system as fat if eaten at night.
Fruits, salads, oats give fibre.
Sugar free/ cholesterol free does not necessarily mean fat free so be careful of such products.
Tetrapack juices are not always good- remember the sugar added
Everything counts- yes that small piece of chocolate too.
Attain your target and then allow yourself one treat day in the week- not before that.
Cut the vicious cycle – the more you weigh, the more you feel like eating junk food/ high fat food. The more you avoid fatty food, the faster you attain your target and the lesser you feel like eating junk food.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Childproofing -but not beyond a point
I wrote about child proofing.
Lumi mentioned in the comments section that she had taught her Mini Me not to touch stuff rather than total child proofing. Come to think of it, ditto with my baby brother. Except for items on the dressing table and a table placed in front of the TV to prevent him from hitting the screen with his hand in which he used to wear a silver bracelet, we did not do too much of child proofing. He was pretty low maintenance as a child. On the contrary, a few relatives (D& B) who were a good 3- 5 years older than him were terrors- we had to hide my brother’s tricycle, stroller, toys etc to prevent them from breaking stuff. For the record, neither we sisters nor my brother broke toys. Barring a few accidental breakages, whatever toys had been broken or even the favourite doll which has pen marks on her head- was done by others- read the terror relatives D&B. In fact her mother and she were ultra careful about her Barbie that was kept out of reach in her own home.
While Tejas & Ojas are natural destroyers. So were my close cousins A & S. While my cousins’ avenue were toys and may be an occasional electronic item but my kids arena is limitless. It can be doors, toys, phone, DVD to TV wires, knife, vessels, lemon strainer, clothes clip, puja cupboard, remote, A/C, keys, gas, lighter, the list is endless. My soft toys have been well played but look new like because they were played with care and washed and cleaned regularly by Mom. Whereas my kids’ soft toys have a worn out look due to the rough handling and lack of control and care by yours truly.
That sets me thinking. Probably there is a Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in all kids.
Some like Brahma are naturally creative & inquisitive- those whiz kids who can crack puzzles, use Bob the Builder type of Make & know toys and learn the alphabets and colours and birds & animals fast.
Some like Vishnu are preservers- those dream kids who never break their toys or mess around with things that don’t concern them. Mind you, they are not dull or boring or lack in intelligence. They are just careful.
Some like Shiva are destructors. They will not sit still and do their lessons. You will never find them attempting to solve the puzzle rather they will play with the pieces. You build the model aeroplane with the building blocks, they will pull it apart. They will open the parts of the torch, mobile, remote and curiously explore what’s in. They will bang & hurl objects for no rhyme or reason. Even the bed spread, folded clothes & stuff inside cupboard will not be spared. But take heart. It is often said that those who destroy more get to learn the insides of how things work naturally provided they channel it right.
So there are kids and then there are kids. To each his own. One must try to identify the type of kid one has been blessed with and decide the level of child proofing.
For a very long time I did not do the child proofing. All this was done at a much later stage when the MIL & the maids began to have a tough time handling the challenge. The number of times they approached the gas stove was growing in numbers. The vessel drawers were getting emptied on many occasions and the re-washing was harrowing the maids. I feared I would lose all my CD collection & important papers and I was ending up with having no storage space as all the lower levels were getting emptied one by one. My entire living room had barricades against the drawers and show case- barricades like heavy sofa, their stroller stuffed with pillows and toys to prevent access, upturned chairs tied over side tables to prevent them from climbing over and reaching the plug points. And now I do not have any place to charge my mobile except the office or the kitchen plug point. My bangles and clothes were repeatedly being pulled out of the cupboards. In total, life was getting tiring for the care givers.
For my part, I honestly tried exercising discipline, saying this belongs to Mummy or Daddy or making the sound of a strict “ay ee” or giving a smack on the butt or the hands. None worked. In fact they challenge us by doing exactly what we asked them not to do.
Hence the childproofing of the home. To prevent things from getting destroyed. To prevent them from getting hurt. And so that we can relax a little bit.
Lumi mentioned in the comments section that she had taught her Mini Me not to touch stuff rather than total child proofing. Come to think of it, ditto with my baby brother. Except for items on the dressing table and a table placed in front of the TV to prevent him from hitting the screen with his hand in which he used to wear a silver bracelet, we did not do too much of child proofing. He was pretty low maintenance as a child. On the contrary, a few relatives (D& B) who were a good 3- 5 years older than him were terrors- we had to hide my brother’s tricycle, stroller, toys etc to prevent them from breaking stuff. For the record, neither we sisters nor my brother broke toys. Barring a few accidental breakages, whatever toys had been broken or even the favourite doll which has pen marks on her head- was done by others- read the terror relatives D&B. In fact her mother and she were ultra careful about her Barbie that was kept out of reach in her own home.
While Tejas & Ojas are natural destroyers. So were my close cousins A & S. While my cousins’ avenue were toys and may be an occasional electronic item but my kids arena is limitless. It can be doors, toys, phone, DVD to TV wires, knife, vessels, lemon strainer, clothes clip, puja cupboard, remote, A/C, keys, gas, lighter, the list is endless. My soft toys have been well played but look new like because they were played with care and washed and cleaned regularly by Mom. Whereas my kids’ soft toys have a worn out look due to the rough handling and lack of control and care by yours truly.
That sets me thinking. Probably there is a Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in all kids.
Some like Brahma are naturally creative & inquisitive- those whiz kids who can crack puzzles, use Bob the Builder type of Make & know toys and learn the alphabets and colours and birds & animals fast.
Some like Vishnu are preservers- those dream kids who never break their toys or mess around with things that don’t concern them. Mind you, they are not dull or boring or lack in intelligence. They are just careful.
Some like Shiva are destructors. They will not sit still and do their lessons. You will never find them attempting to solve the puzzle rather they will play with the pieces. You build the model aeroplane with the building blocks, they will pull it apart. They will open the parts of the torch, mobile, remote and curiously explore what’s in. They will bang & hurl objects for no rhyme or reason. Even the bed spread, folded clothes & stuff inside cupboard will not be spared. But take heart. It is often said that those who destroy more get to learn the insides of how things work naturally provided they channel it right.
So there are kids and then there are kids. To each his own. One must try to identify the type of kid one has been blessed with and decide the level of child proofing.
For a very long time I did not do the child proofing. All this was done at a much later stage when the MIL & the maids began to have a tough time handling the challenge. The number of times they approached the gas stove was growing in numbers. The vessel drawers were getting emptied on many occasions and the re-washing was harrowing the maids. I feared I would lose all my CD collection & important papers and I was ending up with having no storage space as all the lower levels were getting emptied one by one. My entire living room had barricades against the drawers and show case- barricades like heavy sofa, their stroller stuffed with pillows and toys to prevent access, upturned chairs tied over side tables to prevent them from climbing over and reaching the plug points. And now I do not have any place to charge my mobile except the office or the kitchen plug point. My bangles and clothes were repeatedly being pulled out of the cupboards. In total, life was getting tiring for the care givers.
For my part, I honestly tried exercising discipline, saying this belongs to Mummy or Daddy or making the sound of a strict “ay ee” or giving a smack on the butt or the hands. None worked. In fact they challenge us by doing exactly what we asked them not to do.
Hence the childproofing of the home. To prevent things from getting destroyed. To prevent them from getting hurt. And so that we can relax a little bit.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Factual Fiction- Protecting the Baby
Visitors have come in to bless your newborn. You are happy yet apprehensive.
They coo at the baby and try to touch and tickle the chin. The bashful child who has come pinches the cheeks a little too roughly for your taste.
You wince inwardly and try to distract the child and prevent him from jumping on the bed with the dirty shoes.
You quickly take the baby in your arms for fear of the ladies doing the same.
They may not have washed their hands and you fear that the baby may get dirty.
You even contemplate waking the baby up accidentally and excuse yourself and take the baby for a solitary feed.
The pesky relative who has come to stay with you on the pretext of seeing the new baby takes the baby from your arms and hands her over to the fattest lady among the visitors.
You smile contentedly, inwardly seething.
They coo at the baby and try to touch and tickle the chin. The bashful child who has come pinches the cheeks a little too roughly for your taste.
You wince inwardly and try to distract the child and prevent him from jumping on the bed with the dirty shoes.
You quickly take the baby in your arms for fear of the ladies doing the same.
They may not have washed their hands and you fear that the baby may get dirty.
You even contemplate waking the baby up accidentally and excuse yourself and take the baby for a solitary feed.
The pesky relative who has come to stay with you on the pretext of seeing the new baby takes the baby from your arms and hands her over to the fattest lady among the visitors.
You smile contentedly, inwardly seething.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Childproofed
1. Child gates installed for the open kitchen- so that they don’t operate the gas (believe me they do attempt), or empty the kitchen drawers or arrange the plates for us
2. Knifes, gas lighter and glass items out of reach
3. No placemats or tablecloth or newspapers hanging from the table with vessels or food placed on them- they are eager to pull them down
4. In fact 1 foot space of any table or kitchen counter is unoccupied – the space will widen I am sure
5. Dining chairs upturned just and placed between the wall & the table or under the dining table. They stand on them without support and climb on the table from there
6. All cupboards installed with locks so that they don’t open them and remove all contents
7. All side tables removed – glass tops and glass showcase doors unhinged and kept out of reach
8. Garbage bin secluded, floor cleaners are never taken out when they are watching
9. Clothes clip, bottle caps, glass bangles, medicines out of sight
10. Low plug points sealed with masking tapes- some of the switches also pressed down with tapes
11. Telephone cables taped to the walls
12. Instant water heater switched off before they get into the bath
13. Toilets always closed, their potty chair out of reach- ensure always cleaned (I have caught them pretending to drink from it), buckets always empty
14. That attractive drool-worthy standing lamp – never purchased
15. Glass flowers from Takashimaya, Singapore- out of sight, out of reach
16. photo frames- no doubt their endearing love for our photos is flattering- yet placed out of reach
17. If the door is opened, the grill has to be locked- they love to take a stroll in the garden
18. That bold & stubborn black & white cat out of touching distance
19. fridge- locked
20. cell phone charger- ensure not left hanging from the plug and not left on and within reach- they love to poke the end into their ear, nose or mouth
21. cupboards- locked- they have not yet tried hide n seek in the cupboards
22. A/C- could not save the louvers from getting mangled
23. Master bedroom- locked until I come home- lesser the number of rooms they can access, the easier for the caretakers to take care
24. Car- Automatic windows not operated until their hands are held by an adult. The adult gets down first and then removes the child, else he may run into the path of another vehicle (even while parking at home). If the child is inside, the door is not closed until an adult gets inside and holds the hands. Also don't want any accidental locking to happen while the keys may be inside the car.
25. Self- ensure bangles/ chains do not hurt the baby, no sharp embroidery/ pins in the clothes, nails cut short and clean
26. Child itself- nappy pins not sticking out, nails cut, chains not used - they may try to pull it and choke on it
27. Not to forget the mountain of pillows used to block their route while sleeping- if necessary sleep on the floor
2. Knifes, gas lighter and glass items out of reach
3. No placemats or tablecloth or newspapers hanging from the table with vessels or food placed on them- they are eager to pull them down
4. In fact 1 foot space of any table or kitchen counter is unoccupied – the space will widen I am sure
5. Dining chairs upturned just and placed between the wall & the table or under the dining table. They stand on them without support and climb on the table from there
6. All cupboards installed with locks so that they don’t open them and remove all contents
7. All side tables removed – glass tops and glass showcase doors unhinged and kept out of reach
8. Garbage bin secluded, floor cleaners are never taken out when they are watching
9. Clothes clip, bottle caps, glass bangles, medicines out of sight
10. Low plug points sealed with masking tapes- some of the switches also pressed down with tapes
11. Telephone cables taped to the walls
12. Instant water heater switched off before they get into the bath
13. Toilets always closed, their potty chair out of reach- ensure always cleaned (I have caught them pretending to drink from it), buckets always empty
14. That attractive drool-worthy standing lamp – never purchased
15. Glass flowers from Takashimaya, Singapore- out of sight, out of reach
16. photo frames- no doubt their endearing love for our photos is flattering- yet placed out of reach
17. If the door is opened, the grill has to be locked- they love to take a stroll in the garden
18. That bold & stubborn black & white cat out of touching distance
19. fridge- locked
20. cell phone charger- ensure not left hanging from the plug and not left on and within reach- they love to poke the end into their ear, nose or mouth
21. cupboards- locked- they have not yet tried hide n seek in the cupboards
22. A/C- could not save the louvers from getting mangled
23. Master bedroom- locked until I come home- lesser the number of rooms they can access, the easier for the caretakers to take care
24. Car- Automatic windows not operated until their hands are held by an adult. The adult gets down first and then removes the child, else he may run into the path of another vehicle (even while parking at home). If the child is inside, the door is not closed until an adult gets inside and holds the hands. Also don't want any accidental locking to happen while the keys may be inside the car.
25. Self- ensure bangles/ chains do not hurt the baby, no sharp embroidery/ pins in the clothes, nails cut short and clean
26. Child itself- nappy pins not sticking out, nails cut, chains not used - they may try to pull it and choke on it
27. Not to forget the mountain of pillows used to block their route while sleeping- if necessary sleep on the floor
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Holistic Weight Management- Metabolism is King
Weight Management Mantra
Mom is no help either
Mom- Look at you, how much weight you are putting on. You should try to reduce.
A month later,
Daughter- no I will not eat dessert or parathas or poori. I am trying to lose weight
Mom- What kind of weight loss program this is. It does not let you eat what you like?
===================================================================
Metabolism- Defined as the chemical reaction that occurs in living cells- the basis of life. An example is breaking down of food and making it absorbable for the living cells.
In weight management terms, the faster your body metabolises the food, the lesser the food gets absorbed into the system as fat.
Obese people have a tendency to have sluggish metabolism. You might even observe that there are a set of (thin) people who eat much more than you in quantity but do not put on weight. A reason could be high metabolism of the body.
The tendency is to skip a meal mostly breakfast or starve the body. When one does that, the body thinks- ‘oh my God, she is trying to starve me. Let me shut shop, slow down and store food. And thus the little food we have taken gets absorbed into the system.
Instead trick the body in the following ways-
The ways to speed up the metabolism-
eat breakfast early so that the body gets the fuel to metabolise. If you stay hungry till brunch the digestive system wastes half the day in idling away and therefore your calorie deficit is not created.
eat 6 small meals- keep the body fuelled for metabolism to continue
Exercise- cross train – cardio, weights etc so that the body changes gear as per the intensity and type- keep it guessing basically.
Massage
Steam/ sauna
Ways to trick the body to keep the metabolism going the entire day
1. stand instead of sit while talking on the phone
2. stairs instead of elevator
3. Go to the colleague’s desk instead of talking over phone or e-mailing.
4. vary the quantity and type of food each day- eat more one day and less the next day. The body will maintain the inertia and burn as much as it burnt the previous day, not realizing that you have slowed down on the fuel.
5. Guzzle water- lack of water slows the system
Basically look for ways to keep moving and fidgeting instead of sitting still.
Mom is no help either
Mom- Look at you, how much weight you are putting on. You should try to reduce.
A month later,
Daughter- no I will not eat dessert or parathas or poori. I am trying to lose weight
Mom- What kind of weight loss program this is. It does not let you eat what you like?
===================================================================
Metabolism- Defined as the chemical reaction that occurs in living cells- the basis of life. An example is breaking down of food and making it absorbable for the living cells.
In weight management terms, the faster your body metabolises the food, the lesser the food gets absorbed into the system as fat.
Obese people have a tendency to have sluggish metabolism. You might even observe that there are a set of (thin) people who eat much more than you in quantity but do not put on weight. A reason could be high metabolism of the body.
The tendency is to skip a meal mostly breakfast or starve the body. When one does that, the body thinks- ‘oh my God, she is trying to starve me. Let me shut shop, slow down and store food. And thus the little food we have taken gets absorbed into the system.
Instead trick the body in the following ways-
The ways to speed up the metabolism-
eat breakfast early so that the body gets the fuel to metabolise. If you stay hungry till brunch the digestive system wastes half the day in idling away and therefore your calorie deficit is not created.
eat 6 small meals- keep the body fuelled for metabolism to continue
Exercise- cross train – cardio, weights etc so that the body changes gear as per the intensity and type- keep it guessing basically.
Massage
Steam/ sauna
Ways to trick the body to keep the metabolism going the entire day
1. stand instead of sit while talking on the phone
2. stairs instead of elevator
3. Go to the colleague’s desk instead of talking over phone or e-mailing.
4. vary the quantity and type of food each day- eat more one day and less the next day. The body will maintain the inertia and burn as much as it burnt the previous day, not realizing that you have slowed down on the fuel.
5. Guzzle water- lack of water slows the system
Basically look for ways to keep moving and fidgeting instead of sitting still.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Factual Fiction- Prince Charles
The inheritance was given in his son’s name. He was the caretaker till he came of age.
For the first time, he could empathise with Prince Charles.
Prince for ever. Never the King.
For the first time, he could empathise with Prince Charles.
Prince for ever. Never the King.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
To all those who question the crying
THE CRY BABIES
I often face statements like – 3.00 am I heard your kids cry, or patronizing ones like I haven’t heard your kids cry so much since last one week.
I am not exactly proud that the kids cry if they wake up late in the night or scream during the day when they do not get the attention or object they seek. But if I were in the neighbours’ place, I perhaps would not bother young parents with questions like these. To me a crying child is far or no better in terms of disturbance/ annoyance index than the man who stands on the verandah outside his house and just above my bedroom window and sneezes continuously until the dusting and sweeping is over in his home, or the dog who barks and growls right above my balcony from early morning to late night or the troll who bursts the entire left over diwali crackers one sleepy afternoon or the kids who ruin my garden during any random playtime or those kids who do not budge from near the rear wheels of the car that is screaming to reverse or the mother’s who gossip nearby and are too engrossed to keep an eye on the kids who nearly kill themselves every evening or the old man who plucks every single flower in the campus each morning or the uncouth who serves dinner on the expensive TT table in the association hall. No sir & no Mam, my kids are not a bother if they cry for a total of a few hours spread across the 24 hours. I would be seriously concerned if somebody attributed even one of the above behaviours upon me or my family.
I am glad that my kids are assertive and get their way around us. They need the training to survive in this world where the meek are subdued and ignored and the ones who demand are noticed.
Given a choice, I would rather have a child who brawls rather than one who sits quietly. Yes, my kids are very high maintenance and they do drive me mad, but I don’t seem to mind it then why are you concerned?
I get comments that they are so naughty.
I am secretly pleased that they are naughty. According to my theory, naughty kids are brainier. They have the crookedness inside their mind to think tangentially and innovate. When I see my kids trying to open the cupboard door (to reduce the distance between the bed and the cupboard) and then do a spiderman jump from the bed in their attempt to catch the keys hanging from the cupboard, I freak out yet I am amazed. When I see them dragging a carton or the laptop bag to the fridge so that they can reach the handle, I am angry yet glad that they thought about it.
They cry for everything. I am glad they communicate that way. I am not ashamed. If my kids are crying, it does not necessarily mean that we have failed as parents or caregivers.
It is no rocket science- if they cry I don’t aimlessly rock them or try to distract them. Neither do I ignore them if that is what people think. I patiently try to deduce why they are crying. They are at a stage when they are able to express without speaking. It takes time for me to do an elimination round to uncover the root cause of crying. I may have to point out at several objects like water, mobile phone, keys, book, remote, clothes clip, vicks bottle until I can zero upon the object in demand. Until then the crying will continue and the neighbours can reach hell if they want to but for heaven’s sake (pun very much intended) don’t patronize me by giving me clues in handling the crying.
Often people do not realize that the equations of having 2 kids of the same age in the house are different. More often than not they will have similar requirements around similar times. There may be times when one of the kids gets ignored by luck not necessarily by design. Imagine a situation when hubby or I am alone in the house and both need a (potty) wash. Can it be done at the same time? One has to cry till the other gets attended to. Some times one snatches the toy from the other and the poor fellow is left to cry and complain.
Not to forget the riot that happens when we go to office or mausi (aunt)/ grandma leave for their respective homes. They don’t understand the concept of temporary separation.
Inspite of myself, I was glad when a couple or more pregnancies within the apartment complex were declared. I was glad that the buck will no longer stop at my doors. The crying blame could be fairly or unfairly passed on to other homes with newborns. But no, it seems I am the only one blessed with cry-babies! I marvel at those low maintenance newborns in my building that are seen and not heard.
I know that babies don’t do movies, restaurants, travel, shopping. But you were a parent so many years ago and you know very well the dynamics of getting someone to care for your child the many times you want to go out. Therefore I am allowed an occasional restaurant or shopping scene with my kids. After all, for every vegetable purchase I need to do, I can’t be calling a caretaker to look after the kids. And since I am out the entire week working, I don’t allow the caretaker (read MIL) to do weekends. She deserves to recuperate every weekend. So people, I will shop with the kids every weekend. And if my children cry, bear it; I did it a few years ago before I became a mother and children (may be yours) were bawling in the shopping malls/ cinema theatres and airline. Don’t forget you were the culprit a few years ago. If you have forgotten already, then may be your grandchildren will refresh your memories.
Meanwhile it seems baby boys cry more than girls and we all know that crying is good.
I am not exactly proud that the kids cry if they wake up late in the night or scream during the day when they do not get the attention or object they seek. But if I were in the neighbours’ place, I perhaps would not bother young parents with questions like these. To me a crying child is far or no better in terms of disturbance/ annoyance index than the man who stands on the verandah outside his house and just above my bedroom window and sneezes continuously until the dusting and sweeping is over in his home, or the dog who barks and growls right above my balcony from early morning to late night or the troll who bursts the entire left over diwali crackers one sleepy afternoon or the kids who ruin my garden during any random playtime or those kids who do not budge from near the rear wheels of the car that is screaming to reverse or the mother’s who gossip nearby and are too engrossed to keep an eye on the kids who nearly kill themselves every evening or the old man who plucks every single flower in the campus each morning or the uncouth who serves dinner on the expensive TT table in the association hall. No sir & no Mam, my kids are not a bother if they cry for a total of a few hours spread across the 24 hours. I would be seriously concerned if somebody attributed even one of the above behaviours upon me or my family.
I am glad that my kids are assertive and get their way around us. They need the training to survive in this world where the meek are subdued and ignored and the ones who demand are noticed.
Given a choice, I would rather have a child who brawls rather than one who sits quietly. Yes, my kids are very high maintenance and they do drive me mad, but I don’t seem to mind it then why are you concerned?
I get comments that they are so naughty.
I am secretly pleased that they are naughty. According to my theory, naughty kids are brainier. They have the crookedness inside their mind to think tangentially and innovate. When I see my kids trying to open the cupboard door (to reduce the distance between the bed and the cupboard) and then do a spiderman jump from the bed in their attempt to catch the keys hanging from the cupboard, I freak out yet I am amazed. When I see them dragging a carton or the laptop bag to the fridge so that they can reach the handle, I am angry yet glad that they thought about it.
They cry for everything. I am glad they communicate that way. I am not ashamed. If my kids are crying, it does not necessarily mean that we have failed as parents or caregivers.
It is no rocket science- if they cry I don’t aimlessly rock them or try to distract them. Neither do I ignore them if that is what people think. I patiently try to deduce why they are crying. They are at a stage when they are able to express without speaking. It takes time for me to do an elimination round to uncover the root cause of crying. I may have to point out at several objects like water, mobile phone, keys, book, remote, clothes clip, vicks bottle until I can zero upon the object in demand. Until then the crying will continue and the neighbours can reach hell if they want to but for heaven’s sake (pun very much intended) don’t patronize me by giving me clues in handling the crying.
Often people do not realize that the equations of having 2 kids of the same age in the house are different. More often than not they will have similar requirements around similar times. There may be times when one of the kids gets ignored by luck not necessarily by design. Imagine a situation when hubby or I am alone in the house and both need a (potty) wash. Can it be done at the same time? One has to cry till the other gets attended to. Some times one snatches the toy from the other and the poor fellow is left to cry and complain.
Not to forget the riot that happens when we go to office or mausi (aunt)/ grandma leave for their respective homes. They don’t understand the concept of temporary separation.
Inspite of myself, I was glad when a couple or more pregnancies within the apartment complex were declared. I was glad that the buck will no longer stop at my doors. The crying blame could be fairly or unfairly passed on to other homes with newborns. But no, it seems I am the only one blessed with cry-babies! I marvel at those low maintenance newborns in my building that are seen and not heard.
I know that babies don’t do movies, restaurants, travel, shopping. But you were a parent so many years ago and you know very well the dynamics of getting someone to care for your child the many times you want to go out. Therefore I am allowed an occasional restaurant or shopping scene with my kids. After all, for every vegetable purchase I need to do, I can’t be calling a caretaker to look after the kids. And since I am out the entire week working, I don’t allow the caretaker (read MIL) to do weekends. She deserves to recuperate every weekend. So people, I will shop with the kids every weekend. And if my children cry, bear it; I did it a few years ago before I became a mother and children (may be yours) were bawling in the shopping malls/ cinema theatres and airline. Don’t forget you were the culprit a few years ago. If you have forgotten already, then may be your grandchildren will refresh your memories.
Meanwhile it seems baby boys cry more than girls and we all know that crying is good.
Monday, June 18, 2007
"Grand" Weekend
Celebrated hubby’s increment and brother’s job with the buffet lunch at GRT Grand Days. Reached late and the “buffet closed” sign was up. But the banquet manager suggested that we take a look at the buffet and see if we are okay with it and he could try to persuade the cook to do a few naans for us. Rs 450 plus taxes seemed to be too decent to ignore for the 4 of us. Even if a few dishes are in short supply, the choice is much grander than what we could do ala carte. (Nice guy).
The buffet spread … well, to put it correctly – will turn one on
We did the paani puri.
We did the Mexican wraps- the semi-circular flour mould with Mexican style chicken salad filling- must do- I could do an entire meal of it alone.
We did the entire spread of the non-veg section.
We don’t do the veg section.
Between us we sampled all the desserts- European, Continental, Indian- The chocolate fountain was drool worthy. I could have taken it home. Even the ice cream tasted exotic. The maal pua was bad.
The cold chocolate fooled us- we thought it was cold coffee.
Not to forget the good time my kids had doing the glass elevator- going from lobby to 9th floor & down- twice. .
Next stop was Spencer’s mall. The new extended Westside for those who haven’t been there yet is a must go. For those who have, forgive the late news- I am a little slow on the shopping bit now.
And yes the guilt-demon that was nagging me became a full blown guilt trip- when size M did not fit, L was unavailable (rule of shopping- what you need will be unavailable) & size XL was too shapeless in some parts. Anyway for those who are in good shape they have a lovely collection of whites and kurtas with a riot of colours. There is a buy 2 get 1 free happening for kids. I would have preferred by 2 get 2 or I need to buy at least 4 to get an even number for my kids.
The buffet spread … well, to put it correctly – will turn one on
We did the paani puri.
We did the Mexican wraps- the semi-circular flour mould with Mexican style chicken salad filling- must do- I could do an entire meal of it alone.
We did the entire spread of the non-veg section.
We don’t do the veg section.
Between us we sampled all the desserts- European, Continental, Indian- The chocolate fountain was drool worthy. I could have taken it home. Even the ice cream tasted exotic. The maal pua was bad.
The cold chocolate fooled us- we thought it was cold coffee.
Not to forget the good time my kids had doing the glass elevator- going from lobby to 9th floor & down- twice. .
Next stop was Spencer’s mall. The new extended Westside for those who haven’t been there yet is a must go. For those who have, forgive the late news- I am a little slow on the shopping bit now.
And yes the guilt-demon that was nagging me became a full blown guilt trip- when size M did not fit, L was unavailable (rule of shopping- what you need will be unavailable) & size XL was too shapeless in some parts. Anyway for those who are in good shape they have a lovely collection of whites and kurtas with a riot of colours. There is a buy 2 get 1 free happening for kids. I would have preferred by 2 get 2 or I need to buy at least 4 to get an even number for my kids.
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