Just Add Colors

We did whatever was absolutely neccessary- the food
chana daal stuffed paratha (it ought to be pooris but we are dieting naa)
mutton curry
maalpua- complete hit with the kids- none of us got round to eating them
dahi vada- vadas purchased locally and converted to dahi vada (idea patented by my mom)
prawn curry (farm fresh prawns)

and we wore our whites- all of us and went out to the beach and look at the "yellow moon" as per Tejas.
Tejas- We want to go to beach
Mamma- we are on the beach
Tejas- no that side- meant the sandy part til the water
So we did just that- whites and new sandals and all. Ojas & Tejas wan on puppy legs holding Dadda's hands.
Mamma crying out from behind battling the sand with her heels.
Ojas runs back to Mamma and holds her hand saying -we go slowly Mamma, Ojas tired.
Walked up to the water and watched the moon rays on the dark sea.
Now's the moment to get poetic- talk of how the waters, waves, sea look in the reflected moon light etc....but I will let it pass.
We walk/ run back Ojas still bravely holding Mamma's hands while wanting to sprint across. So Mamma removes her sandals- much to the concern of Ojas who threatened that I will also remove sandals Mamma, you wear your sandals.
So Mamma leaves him that you also run with Dadda & Tejas baby and my baby does that and comes back to hold Mamma's hands to ferry her across the sandy path!
Oh yes! not to forget the bike & car ride at teh kiddie go carting

What's Happening in Ojas-Tejas Land

A long pending longish update of what's going on in the household.
Some good friends pointed out that it's great to have family time together at meal times, on the dining table. And also good practice for the kids to eat what we are eating. So weekends and weeknights we are moving towards a multistage meal which includes a beverage, a portion of fruits and a proper adult meal like french toast, sandwiches, rotis/ curry, upma etc...The kids are allowed to make their choice more often than not on what they wish to eat as long as they finish what is given - well, more or less.
The positives I see are-
- disciplined eating, no eating in front of TV
-developing table manners- rudimentary stage though, they do insist on having a mat under their plate
-less of work- as they eat what we eat on weekends
-variety for all of us
-they have learnt to set the table for 4
-and the most heartening- those evenings when I would have had a quick sandwich after coming home, the kids will ask me, Mamma where is your plate when I sit with them at the table while they are having their dinner.

We have developed a game to be played in the mornings- I ask them to guess what could be in their tiffin boxes for the day. At first they guess the likely stuff available at home- like cake or grapes or papaya.
If they happen to be wrong I say- p for or d for etc... Sometimes they guess some times they don't.
I go on describing the colour of the item...
If they still cannot, I say out the first few letters like -
pop.... they end with corn
cucu...they end with mber
souf...they end it with fle (actually they mean chocolate cake)
The game is played in several rounds and each question has to be followed by intake of a spoonful of food to get an answer or follow up question from Mamma.

The kids are being treated for chronic cold/ snoring etc.
So they are to be administered some nasal drops. Now they thought this is their vitamin and they were very excited to get the drops. I askd them to lie on the bed with their mouth open and eyes shut. The trusting cute fellas did exactly that... then Tejas the forever suspecting fella said- first Ojas...
Well anyway, I dropped a drop into the nostril and Tejas got the shock of his life. I said sorry sorry open the mouth again. Repeat into the next nostril and he turned his head and a few drops fell into his ears.
Now Ojas the brave one faced similar treatment - the drops went by mistake into the nostril.
They spent a good few minutes howling and insisting they wanted to put the medicine in teh mouth.
Next morning I ask Tejas- did Mamma put the drops into the nose.
Tejas- yes, you must not put in nose. there is nosy inside.
Mamma- so shall I put it in the ears
Tejas- No we put hands inside the ears (meaning finger)

Silly Mamma

Mamma gives Tejas a wash and proceeds to wipe him.
Ojas- Ojas ko kyon wipie kar rahi ho (Why are you wiping me?)
Oops!
What can I do, when both of you are standing full monty next to each other?

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Now Tejas is a big boy, Teja scan go to the toilet on his own.
No, Tejas small ho gaya..
See..
reaches to the TV- tries to touch it and pretends to fail.

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Tejas- points at Microwave- Aisa wallah kahan hai- where is (object) like this?
Mamma- It (microwave) is here only.
Tejas- no aisa wallah, turns the knob.
Light dawns
Mamma- Oh, the mixie has gone for repair(white color with knob)
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While dropping them to school-
Mamma- if you touch anything I will put nosie medicine for you (nose drops that they dread much to my advantage)
Tejas- Mamma where is the nosie medicine (knows fully well it is at home)
Mamma- in my purse.
On the way back from school
Tejas- MAmma where is the nosie medicine
Mamma- distractedly- at home
Tejas- gleefully- then why did you say purse? jhooth bola ? (you lied?)
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Mamma tries to draw a peacock. Draws an oval then the magnificient tail.
Tejas- crying- this is not peacock this is chocolate.
(as it resembled a huge candy with one side of the wrapper drawn)
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Seeing a box of Ferrero rocher chocolates...
Ojas/ Tejas- Mamma, what is this?
Mamma- lies effortlessly- That's for decoration
After a while...
Ojas/ Tejas- Mamma, I want this..points at the chocolate
Mamma- what is that?
Ojas/ Tejas- Chocolate laddoo
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Dadda is drinking Sprite
Ojas- Mamma I want that juice
Mamma- that's water
Ojas- I want to drink that water.

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Tejas is locking the fridge again and again

So Mamma screams- Tejas, unlock the fridge, I want to take eggs out.

Tejas- To lo na eggoo, sout kyon kar raha hai (So take eggs naa, why are you shouting)

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Ojas & Tejas are running out of the garden gate at lunch time.

So Mamma shuts the garden door.

The duo enter the house and Mamma hops out of the door to lock the gate.

She turns around to find herself locked out of the house and a giggling pair threatening her- tum Ojas Tejas ko Lock kiya naa.

Mamma had to beg the and cry to make them open the door for Mamma

Victory is Sweet - Rather Not Spicy

So they say that when someone especially a guy has eaten a type of food for nearly 3 decades, they pretty much treat that as a benchmark and more often than not cannot adjust to a new style of food.
That said, for the last half decade, the spice levels have been at level 1 on the scale of 1 to 10.
Where 10 stands for what was normal, eaten with relish and with repeat servings for the last 3 decades.
5 stands for what is not at all tolerable by the one who sticks to level 1 but found too bland by anyone who is used to level 10.
1 stands for tasteless as if chilly powder has not at all been used. (FYI it means quarter teaspoon of chilly powder on a portion that serves 4)

So when the said person is unable to take a repeat serving of spice level 5 is it considered a minor victory for the one who is cooking at spice level 1?
Did they say habits die hard? Talk to me

Proud Mamma Preens Again

3rd term results are out and Tejas has overtaken Ojas by 1 point- which means he has one less "developing" than Ojas!
Apparently they are not so great in reciting the phonetics in the 2nd set of alphabets or placing picture card stories in order or relating what happened during the day- probably they are growing up- getting more diplomatic and not telling what happens at home nowadays.
Need to focus on the pencil grip still.
And they have become extra naughty and distracted during classes.
They have started coloring within the ines and it is evident to the teachers (somehow) that Mamma is reading a lot to them at home.
They are teaching them sight words and they are able to recognize a word without really reading the letters. Now an astonished Mamma is testing them at home taking them through a word in the title of the book and asking the to spot the same word inside the pages.

Your Little Brother Has Grown Up

When you email this out to him unabashedly...
And he responds a little too sportingly to that...

Colours of Food

So it happens that you fall asleep before the kids do and you end up eating their food when they don't.
So Mamma designed this new game guaranteed to make them enjoy their food.
Firstly all 3 of us sit together at the table.
Then Mamma says- Now Ojas will eat anything that's white on his plate.
Ojas nibbles a piece of roti.
Then Mamma says- now Tejas will eat anything that's green on his plate.
Tejas picks up a lady's finger.
Then Ojas says- now Mamma will eat white.
Mamma picks up a roti.
Then Tejas says- now Mamma will eat green.
Mamma picks up lady's finger.
Tejas- Full finish karo
Ojas- Some more lo- gives some lady's finger from his plate.
Mamma to ensure that the spirit is not killed, continues eating and clapping.
And then she realizes that this is totally a What the F moment.
The game was designed to make the kids eat not Mamma!

Isn't It Odd?

That I would remember a route taken not because I drove that way myself quite a few times, but because I have seen a cluster of white & purple periwinkles outside a house on that lane?

Or that I have created my own "plant" landmarks ...like go down and take a turn at the corner you see the red crotons or the house where the huge cacti grows outside at the gate?

And Mamma is So Proud

So it was the Rasputin dance for Ojas- and I realize belatedly that this is why he has been humming rasputin all along and not because we have been playing this CD in the car.
Well, it is a coincidence that this and a few other Boney Ms have been special to us sometime ago and ironical that the son dances to that on his first performance on stage!
Well, in a song that lasted for a minute or so.. Mamma spent palpitating for what seemed like atleast 1 whole minute when Ojas was just staring at the audience doing nothing. To Mamma's relief he soon caught on and raised his hand and moved them to tune and towards the end of the minute or so he was jumping up and down as taught to do.

And Tejas dance to a Goan song- Maria Pitache. The stage shy baby of mine stared at the audience and looked on for what seemed until the end of the song and then slowly, to Mamma's delight, turned around and did a few 360 degrees without deigning to move his hands. A, a fun & frolicky Goan dance it was!

Chatpat Machli Ki Kahani

An easy reader Hindi book by Kiddz Books Publisher - tells the story of Chatpat the Archer fish who overuses her skills and suffers from great exhaustion.
A nice colorful A4 size book with large fonts and pictures that prompt a great deal of description gathering and background building.

This for instance is page 1 of the book

Now the kids had a good time adding on to the story saying that there is a jungle and there lives Mowgli.

Also there seems to be some gaps in teh story which can be filled in by the narrator very easily using the images as guides.
But a few spelling & grammatical mistakes that brings out the mental red pen within me.
Infact it was via this book and then reinforced by animal planet that I came to know of the archer fish.