If you know what I mean…

• When the kids sleep like logs on weekdays, and it takes you more than 10 minutes to move them out of the bed, to get them ready for school!
• When you want to sleep long on weekends, the same kids are up and awake at 6, and as if that’s not enough, demand you to give them milk. NOW!
• When you try cooking a new dish, surprisingly, it comes out tasty, and no one in the house even notices it. Let alone, compliment it!
• Having to go to office, when all the schools are declared ‘holiday due to rains’, and your kids are tempting you to bunk office for the day!
• When you rush to catch the office lift in the evening, and the lift leaves, just when you are about to catch it!
• When you desperately expect a surprise gift for your b’day/anniversary, hubby (surprisingly) gets you a new dress, and the size is XXL (for a medium person L)
• Assuming your writing to be in the likes of all the well-known authors and wondering why your blog is not a hit yet!
• Posting, what you think is a wonderful blog, and getting no comments J

To like or not-to-like

Six months of tight project schedule and hectic time as a family-person, has drained out nearly all the energy from me, that realization has dawned on me that I should spend more and more of 'me' time. So, here I come - back to writing! Since this writing time is supposed to be 'me' time, I start by writing a few of my favorite things and our favorite 'Murphy' in each of those:

- Watching a favorite movie in the TV undisturbed: (ie, without hubby switching channels, or the kids interupting, or no house-hold chores to be done) aaaannnndddd - the power goes off during your favorite scene!

- Shopping like crazy in pondy-bazaar, coming home with handful of carry-bags, and displaying the goodies proudly to hubby, aaannnnnndddd - one of the favorite things which I shopped was left back in the shop itself!

- Reading a physical book after a very very long time, sitting in the balcony swing, with a cup of coffee, and enjoying the book, aaaannnndddd - the book ends all of a sudden with a 'To be continued' note, and the sequel is not available for the next 6 months or so, and suddenly you feel like a kid from whom chocolate was grabbed from her hand!

- Making round, crispy, dosas for the entire family, and hubby praises my talent, aaannnndddd - the final set of dosas which I make for myself gets stuck to the pan!

- In the theatre, the kids behave extremely well without any tantrums, so much that I'm able to watch the movie in peace, aaaannnnnddd the movie sucks!

-After every fight, I turn over to the other side, staying awake and waiting for hubby to come and talk to me first, aaannnndddd I hear snoring after a few minutes!

- As rare as Halley's comet, hubby gets me a surprise dress for anniversary, aaanddddddd the size is XXL!

- Sitting down to blog on the list of my favorites, aaaanndddd suddenly the list of my favorites simply doesn't cross my mind anymore!

Senti mom - Senti daughter!!!

Yesterday, we were watching a movie in one of the TV channels. Actually hubby was watching it and me and the kids were standing before the TV because, the movie was about to end and we didn't have anything else to do. It was a love story, the hero and the heroine finally united after a long drama and cry-baby acting from the heroine. I was finally relieved that the movie ended and we went to the bed-room. I took Swathi for her night-time duties, and I came out of the wash-room, to find Smruthi sobbing uncontrollably in the bed. Assured that it was not the sibling rivalry and Swathi was not the cause this time, I panicked to see her crying like this. It took me almost 5 minutes to soothe her, and make her tell the reason, which was: "The aunty in the TV was so paavam, that she had to cry like this. Seeing her cry like that has upset me very much. I feel so sorry for her".*

So many times, I have cried in the house because of these two girls, and all she did was to find pleasure in seeing me cry, and today she could not control her emotions, because some stupid heroine was struggling to re-unite with her lover. Bah!

All the while, I could not resist thinking how my daughter was growing up to be very much like me. There was not a single love story which I have seen during my college days and not cried in the end. Another emotional, senti-menti in the family? No darling, as your father says, one of me is enough! You needn't inherit me in this trait.

* Her actual words were: Andha aunty eppadi azhudha! Adha paathu enakku manasukke romba kashtama irukku! Romba paavam avanga!"

Why this kolaveri?

Yesterday afternoon, both my daughters were playing and humming something, forming their own words, and singing, which no-one can understand. Since I never learn to keep my mouth shut, this is what happened...

Me: Darlings, instead of these la-la-la songs, why can't you both sing something, which mummy can understand?
Swathi: Why this kolaveri-kolaveri-kolaveri- diiiiiiiiii??? Why this kolaveri-kolaveri-kolaveri- diiiiiiiiii???
Smruthi: pa-pa-pa-poin.....pa-pa-pa-poin....pa-pa-a-paaa-pa-pa-pooiiiinnnnnnnnn
Sri: laughs and gives me a idhu-unakku-thevaya look!!!!

Idhhu-enakku-thevayaa????

This day...That age...

Yeah,he forgot. As usual! He never remembers this day. Or may be he wants to forget this day.... May be! But this time I have learned enough not to ask him about this day. Every year, like a dumb idiot, it is me who goes to him and asks if he remembers this day...but this year, I didn't. I DID NOT ASK HIM. The temptation was high, though!

Even if I had asked, I know the reply. The conversation would have gone somewhere similar to this...

He: *watching cricket / reading paper / sleeping*
Me: Darling...
He: mmm.....
Me: Daaarllingg......
He: mmmmmmmmm.....
Me: I want to ask you something...
He: mm...
Me: *silent, thinking if should really ask him, in this going-nowhere-conversation*
He: what??
Me: *surprised that he responds*
He: What?
Me: Do you know what day today is?
He: Sunday.
Me: *Irritated. What a brilliant answer! My daughter could tell that.*
He: What about it?
Me: Nothing...so shall we go out?
He: Its 6 already...why bother?
Me: Whatever!!!

Darling, if you still don't remember, just to remind you....last sunday was our "Ponnu Paartha day." - the day we first saw each other...I still remember and am very happy about this event. How about you?

Happy Ponnu Paartha day to me.... (Poor me!)

Paartha nyabagam illayo....

The institution called Marriage

Why can't I have my life the way I want it to be? Why do I need to be the one who always has to adjust to everything and everyone - right from nandu-sundu to all the olds and golds? (Even the husband - for that matter) Why can't others compromise for my sake atleast once in a while? Why does getting married means compromises only from the daughter-in-law? Why do we have to give up all our past desires and become a adjust-o-meter for other's sake? Why should I be the one who has to give-up and talk first, for his sake, for her sake, for their sake....whatever.... Who cares about 'my sake'????

Marriage is not always the bed of roses, I agree...and am experiencing this too... (for the first time in 6 years)

Work-life balance

No work-life balance...Its becoming more work and no personal life. Its high time I took a step towards this...

Sigh!!!!!!!!

krikettu....krikettu....krikettu...

How can men blame women for watching mega-serials when they can eat cricket, drink cricket and sleep cricket? No, I am not against cricket. Even I watch cricket – or rather I used to watch cricket (before my marriage that is) and I like the thrill and excitement, but there could be no one who can watch this game like my husband. (Dear, this is NOT a compliment)

He becomes totally deaf and dumb while watching cricket or reading cricket news. Even I become deaf and dumb when it comes to Harry Potter or Sidney Sheldon, but even when I am deaf and dumb, I can realize if my daughter is curling around my legs wanting me to carry her.

My daughter has the habit of watching rhymes cd while she is eating. I find this comfortable since I can feed her in one place. But nowadays, thanks to IPL, he expects my daughter to finish her dinner either before he comes home or have her dinner without the cd. But u know, like father – like daughter. She is competing with him. She refuses to change to the TV mode even after her dinner is over.

The other day I was discussing something very important to him, while he is channel-surfing, and nodding his head…At one point, he gave a huge exclamation – Ooooooohhhhhh!!. I was like…edhukku ippadi oru reaction and I turn towards the TV….the team has missed a catch. Who am I talking to? The walls?

Last weekend, I needed a break. Since my elder daughter was staying a relative’s house with my in-laws, I decided to ask him out for dinner. I didn’t want to cook since it was only the two of us. We went to the restaurant and he lovingly gives me a seat saying that it will be comfortable for me to feed Swathi, and seated himself opposite to me. It took me only 2 minutes to realize that he was not seated opposite to me, but he was seated opposite to the TV set in the restaurant DAMN this cricket.

U can totally trust my husband to take care of the house and go out while he is watching cricket. Even if a thief enters the house through the front door, robs the entire house and leaves the house after saying “Bye” to him, he will not bother to say a return Bye.

I agree….a guy needs some entertainment after his long and tiring office hours…but shouldn’t there be some limit? Sigh!