The Home Makeover Series- Cutting Down to Size

Things had been dull on the blog for a while. Meaning I had no pictures to post. I was afraid the blog wouldn't survive until the camera started talking to my laptop.

Finally I managed to get the pictures loaded and here is the home makeover series.

We did the first round way back in dec 2008 where in we experimented with bold colors like red- the experimenting made easy because the free ka mazdoor husband was doing all the painting.

Last Diwali we changed sofa and dining chair upholstery as a consolation prize for the year - we were fed up of our grossly misused furniture and had no money to buy new ones.

When we had bought this place, we had done a lot of wood work especially the show case/ rack variety which would hold all our mementoes and show pieces collected over the years. We had a huge crockery rack to house the numerous crockery I had.

Over time we started feeling claustrophobic- there was lack of space, the living room looked heavy and we felt we had no further scope to enhance seating.

And the last straw- we got a Sony Bravia from Club Mahindra. We desperately needed a free wall to mount the TV.

The husband and I cribbed, fought and raged for days to come to an amicable solution which would call for minimum investment and yet give me enough storage and display.

Take a look at what we did.

This was the original showcase in the living room

The crockery rack and the dining table- I must say I had no complains with the dining table except the chairs were a little too low for the kids to sit comfortably/ rather the dining table was high- otherwise I was extremely comfortable with it.
The storage and showcase with a granite top for display in the centre of the houseThe sofa that served us well and took a lot of ill treatment

The Makeover Process

We began with cutting / removing stuff and creating more space.

The central storage and granite top was removed and the top portion of the showcase was cut down in terms of width and mounted back on the wall. It could still accomodate most of my stuff except the loads of plants I had kept on the graniteWe divided the showcase into 2 parts- one part became the showcase and bar counter - and got moved to the corner thereby leaving the wall free for the TV. We brought back our old TV stand to the centre.

The crockery rack was totally removed much to my annoyance and the other half of the showcase became the crockery rack and was moved to the dining area. I had to put some of my "never" used crockery into storage and make the crockery rack contents lean and mean. Note the new chrome green paint that replaced the older light green wall and the gold on the originally yellow wall. These new colours have a gold sheen and they age gracefully on the wall. A new 4 seater dining table was duly purchased - the square one with high chairs - the husband had been lusting after it for quite sometime. It is a little too small for my liking but the husband likes it. The table mats are from Lifestyle- in plastic- exactly what is needed for my household-(pssst- Rs 29 each)

We purchased a new sofa set- 6 seater one and accomodated the invertor inside a newly made cupboard. The wall is adorned by a silk table runner (Chinese)- the husband's idea- Though it looks nice, I have my reservations. My biggest worry was to accomodate my glass flowers and the heavy glass vase- It found a place on this cupboard along with my Kalamkari lamp

The chrome green wall again- this wall looks better because the white tubelight illuminates it from the adjacent wall and the yellow light on the wall itself enhances the gold-green. The left wall is in gold- this is my favourite and expresses well in both tubelight that falls from the opposite wall and yellow picture light.

Both 2 seater sofa handrests have 2 drawers each- a convenient idea- they house our remotes, napkins, extra table mats. We treated the sofa with stainguard- a professional guy comes and sprays the sofa with chemical that repels dirt - you can spot clean any stain that comes and you need to vacuum monthly to prevent dust accumulation. This comes with 2 years warranty and these guys come over and remove any stains that occur during this period. So far we have managed to remove ketchup and mango stains easily. Costed us Rs 3200 for sofas and cushions The floors were bare and we needed to add warmth to it - apart from the need to make the living room extendable. We debated for days on the carpets. Both of us wanted something modern and geometric - no floral carpets. We liked a few in Lifestyle but either they were too small or too expensive. We then went to Wellhome on an impulse and found two carpets- together they cost Rs 3000. Not a big investment. It is not the best quality but ok for a home with children.

The second carpet is place opposite the door in the place of the unit with the granite top- This serves as another extension for seating if needed and also a spot for kids to play. I love this spot because it is central and gives me a view of the TV and the garden on the right - overlooking the dining area. I would love to put a diwan there but right now we are enjoying this spacious look.

Only later, we discovered Fab India durries- bright, rich, ethnic and at around the same price range- Marked for future purchase

The final effect- Living Room- more spacious and "extendable" than the earlier setting.
The wooden centre table is a prized "inheritance"- We do not have a centre table but this is multipurpose- serves as centre table, sitting option when one wants to sit directly under the fan or dining table for kids when guests come- they can sit on the carpet duly covered with bedsheet and eat in style.

Mommy Guilt

Women's Web invites us to participate in their Mommy Guilt Blogging Contest.
Truly said that guilt begins the moment you conceive. Any random reason can make you feel guilty.
Guilt could be induced by others-
The Haemoglobin count is low- Do you want ordinary kids or intelligent ones- eat fish, mutton....
What? you are eating mangoes? Not good for the babies

Guilt could be self induced-
I am unable to solve this puzzle/ crossword- I will have dumb kids

As Mamma of Twins, my biggest guilt was the nagging feeling that I am being unfair to one of them at any given point of time.
From small things like-
Do I feed Ojas the first spoon or Tejas when both are looking at me and the bowl
Or bigger things like-
Whom do I breast feed first when both are screaming their lungs off at the same time.

And even bigger was the guilt when I had to supplement with cow milk only because I was unable to cope with the marathon feeding - I felt I am being a bad mother by taking the easier way out by giving them top feed in 15 days time itself. My heart did not want to succumb but my mind was screaming- let go- they will be happier to get fed on time without screaming and waiting for the brother to finish the feed in peace. The best part of starting top feed was that I did not have to count the minutes and guiltily disengage after 8-10 minutes of feed would be up to feed the second one.

There are moments when a small action or a gesture or an expression triggers a surge of love for one of them - at that moment alongwith love emerges guilt- how could I be so unfair as to feel the love for only of them?

And then there are such moments when both are being naughty. I smack one and the other falls in line automatically so there is no real need to smack the other one, make him also cry and have double duty of making it up to both of them. The easier way is to take a mini guilt trip for smacking only one of them.

Trying to be impartial is also a difficult task especially when personal preferences come in between. For example- I personally like red or black color and let's say there is a red T shirt and a yellow t shirt- I find it hard to decide whom to give the red T-shirt just because it is my personal favourite.

How do we try to tackle this parental guilt thing?

Through repeat performance- like cuddle one and cuddle the other too in exact manner

Dadda takes nearly identical snaps with the kids

Through equal treatment atleast in their eyes- Colour of toy/ T shirt, quantity of food, leg piece of KFC chicken or larger piece of KFC chicken, Shall I hold Ojas' hand & should Dadda hold Tejas' hand or the other way round when we are outside- these important, earth moving decisions are left to the kids. More often than not it is easier that way because they have clear and distinct preferences. We resort to identical stuff only if they decide so.

Bob the Builder or Tigger T-shirt- they decide!

And by closing our ears- if any external advice does not match with our philosophy of child rearing- we just ignore it and say- we parents know best!

My Name is Ms Red Marker Blogathon-3

And that gets my goat- big time.
Hello, I am Mr XYZ speaking, how are you ABC?
Wrong wrong, take that red marker out.
It is extremely inappropriate and arrogant to prefix a Mr or Ms or Dr when you introduce yourself or your spouse. You need to just use the first name while introducing the spouse unless you want to emphasise the different surnames incase the lady has not changed her surname after marriage.
But while introducing others, one must always prefix the title- Mr/ Ms/ Dr/ Other Titles.

While we are at it, I need to know how one indicates one's gender in emails. Especially in cross country official emails, I often wonder- is this person a male or a female? In most cases I use gender neutral sentences in the email then!
A colleague used to indicate (Ms) after her name in her email signature-
Efg Hij (Ms)
Perhaps this is a good way of indicating gender without sounding arrogant by signing oneself as Ms Efg Hij?

What Exactly...

...makes one's heart filled with pride when somebody one knows does well in exams or sports or any other activity?

You realize what a chronic liar you are when...

You tell your child that the chips packet is over and he peers into the dustbin and says- I need to see the (empty) packet

And you realize what a grabber you are when your child "hides" the TV remote in the drawer before going to the dining table

A 5 Minute Date

Is sometimes enough to rejuvenate. Even if it happens for the wrong reasons.
The husband calls me up as I am sitting in office- is my wallet in your bag?
Without even checking I know it is there. And of course he behaves that it is all my fault that his wallet is in my handbag.
He drives to my office to pick his wallet up and I try hard to coax him - since he is here already and it is nearly lunch time, he might as well take me for a date.
But no. Mr Conscientious Worker has to get back to work.
However we sit for 5 minutes in his car, 5 whole minutes of solitude, no disturbances, bitching about common foes like autowallahs, motorcyclists who scratched my car (yes, yet again, just a week after body work and servicing) and of course the kids...how can we not!
It was perfect. Just perfect.
And a colleague spotted us and asked- was it like old days, sitting in the car together.
I said - no, the car was smaller.
But the affection was bigger and today, as the car gets bigger....
I laugh it away, filling in- the affection is still as big, but probably towards the car!!

When Shue Came

Sue was here in the weekend and we decided to meet at my place.
I spend a day preparing the kids, telling them about the new friend who was going to come.
Me- His name is R
(Incidentally the other set of twins in my building are called R & S)
Ojas- what about S?
Me- no only R is coming
Ojas-Lekin uska S kahan hai? (But where is his (sister) S?)
Me- About time Sue About time!

I did a cheat menu- meaning either assemble stuff or have stuff which are easy to cook. And did lots of preparatory work- made lists - to buy, to make tomorrow, to make today type of lists. And I must say the lists helped (and off course I forgot to carry the list with me when I went out to shop)
So the menu was balti chicken, chicken roast, chole (which according to me is a wonderful cheat dish- easy and quick to make), raita- which according to me is even easier than cutting loads of salad, parathas (and very cleverly I let Sue make the parathas which I rolled out) and brownies and the famous assembled fruit salad with brownies and icecream.

As V, R & S trio walked in, and before I forget, I must add that the short crop really suits her, r gathered all the 4 new dinosaur toys and Ojas began to sulk as a result.
So this is what R explained- I have taken all the dinosaurs as these dinosaurs may bite Ojas Tejas!

Naturally we expected that V & K will bond instantly and so will R, O & T. It took a while before conversation began to flow and the kids began to laugh and chase and share toys and at one point, I said to Sue- psst psst.. we two are unable to get a word in now....
So much so, it became tough to get one picture of her and me together!

Lunch was easy peasy because the kids were given their own low table with a bed sheet to cover the carpet.
R held the paratha against his face much to our amusement - we assumed he was copying O & T as they often bite bits of paratha from the centre and pretend that the paratha is a camera. But V & S were not so amused.
Turned out that R said to O & T- I just wiped my face with the paratha- now you also do that.
There was also a general community chewing of the chicken bones with the bone moving back and forth from one plate to the other.
The kids finished their lunch in record time and so Sue said- Tejas first, Ojas second and R third.
Tejas - no, Ojas also first
Sue- ok, Tejas 1st, Ojas 1st & R 2nd
O & T- he he, R is second R is second.

And so it was time to leave and we dropped the trio back and went up to say hello to Sue's parents. Turns out that the Sue's Dad was the husband's client in his previous company! Small world eh!! And off course the kids had a good time getting the grandtour of the place by R and appropriating his toys this time!
Somehow, it already makes me sad that after her parents move from here, she wouldn't be having a valid excuse to come down to Chennai!

Pants Off

Ojas- comes running crying showing his elbow- Dadda, I got hurt - blood
Dad-go wash it
Ojas washes, wets his shorts in the process, changes and starts to go out
Comes running back- Dadda, again blood is coming.
Rushes inside the bathroom, then comes rushing out, removes his shorts, washes his elbow and wears his shorts again.
Practical eh!

Overheard the word Kill in the kids' conversation
So I asked- what is the meaning of kill
Tejas- you shoot with arrow / gun and then sauce blood comes on the shirt- that is kill
movies aaargh.......

Tulika Blogathon- Lalla Lalla Lori

Tulika's latest Lori -thon is on.

And here's my list that I made earlier ...
But specific to the post is

Aa re ninda
Ninda banase
Baba aaya Mamu ghar se
Mamu ghas baba kya kya khaye
Aath pithar nau ghaaghar khaye

What I understand is that the kid is supposed to have gone to his mama's place and eaten a lot of goodies!

On Mallis and Jasmines

This old post of mine which people had anyway debated a lot on for various reasons, was linked by Sue on my request in her Red Marker Blogathon post. A reader pointed out yesterday that all flowers are not Malli- only Jasmines are called Malli!

I get her point. As I was composing arguments in my head on what exactly is my grouse with labelling "all" flowers as Malli I found they were too many, so I decided to write a post. Infact, not only with Tamil but my grouse is with English also- Read on why.

Now to me, each flower is different. Each has a unique look, feel, scent, beauty, size of plant, colour of leaves.

Take the chandni flower-Moonbeam?? - (nandiavattai- I so love this name- moves around so deftly in the mouth) - it comes in different varieties- same size and "design" of flowers on both a plant that can go upto 6 feet tall with dark leaves and a shrub with light colored leaves. On the other hand, the tiny flowers form on a tiny plant with tiny leaves-that are ideally grown in pots. Apart from this variationin size and type of plant, it comes in other "designs" also- looks like a rose, or single layered, but with twisted petals. Now I take serious offence because they are called Crepe Jasmine in english. Seriously.... why call it jasmine again- get creative now. It doesn't even oxidise like a true blue jasmine after plucking.

Similarly I take serious objection that all "jasmines" end with Malli (Ok, I am not talking about Kotta malli- that's definitely not a jasmine). In all fairness, as long as the person with whom you are communicating understands what you are saying, it is fine. So when I am asked give me "malli" I will hand over coriander rather than jasmine in 9 out of 10 instances. Still, why Malli again?

Beli, Juhi, Chameli, Parijaat (Night jasmine, Pavala-malli).... all of them are either jasmines or malli. WHY?

What about the Rangoon Creeper (Madhumalti Lata)- Irangoon /illankara Malli? SERIOUSLY WHY?

pic courtsey- Travelpod

Ok this is yet again a jasmine- Tree jasmine- Millingtonia- arrrrg jasmine again and guess what it is called in Tamil- yes.. kattu malli. And how uncreative to call it Neem Chameli in Hindi? What the Hey

Ipomoea- Cardinal Vine/ Kamlata- is called kembumalligai.. yup, malli surfaces again

Arvensis is nakamalli (pic courtsey- Wiki)

Gardenia is Tikkamalli and the joke is -it is called Dikamali in Hindi (malli minus l)

And here's a malli that has nothing to do with Malli at all- infact it is as far removed from a malli as possible- A delightful Tulika book- Mallipoo where are you- on a piglet called Mallipoo. Payto the mother piglet goes for a sugarcane walk with Amma the elephant and Hutoxi ( I so love that name) the horse, leaving Bahadur the baby elephant and his brother & sister to look after her lovely babies- all 7 of them. As luck would have it, the piglets go missing and the three of them manage to find them one by one, Mallipoo being the most elusive yet most perfect of them all- read the book to find out why I say that. Ojas and Tejas loved the book - calling out Mallipoo where are you with great gusto as we read this book. The illustrations are delightful as usual, colourful and err... illustrative in a perfect manner.

pic courtsey- Tulika books

Tamil & Botanical Names courtsey- http://siddhadreams.blogspot.com/2008/09/tamil-name-to-botanical-name.html