Naan romba busy....

Life in the past few months....has been very busy. So busy, that I didn't even find time to blog about some incidents, which I wanted to. Well, I know some eyebrows will be raised, when I said I was busy. Well, my friend, 'busy' doesn't ONLY mean, that I am busy in office. I have a husband, in-laws and two kids, who are more than enough to keep me busy even when I am in home. And obviously enough, whatever I wanted to blog about was about them, and it was them who was keeping me busy enough not to let me write a blog when I wanted to....

So, here, I am penning down those thoughts, which I wanted to blog about, once upon a time...

In a nutshell.....

- Smruthi gave the opening speech for her sports day in Nehru Stadium, for which, I had to prepare for her speech, more than her. On the D day, she absolutely refused to give the speech, and that is when me and Sri had to bribe her with white boards and markers, to make her speak successfully. And yes, she did talk very nicely. After all, kaakaikum....

- Immediately, the week after that, Swathi's school was celebrating Independence Day, and her madam kept changing her proposed costumes every day. After changing from Radha, to Barbie girl and finally deciding on a Rajasthani costume...she was supposed to appear like a rajasthani girl... The way her maa'm explained to me was "You need to dress her up like how Tabu looks in the "Sandhana thendralai..." song... and somehow, I managed to make her look like that, not exactly, but the best I can.

These school programs are more work for the parents, and if there was one thing, which I was not able to afford to my school-going kids, it is TIME. Very difficult. Inspite of that, I managed to give them my best and I was there with them when they performed. I am proud of myself for that. Hats off to me.

- Coming next, the frequent fights, between me and Sri, and the expected-but-never-came-romances. DOT.

- I finally, FINALLY managed to watch a Harry Potter movie in the theatres. History should not say that a die-hard HP fan, has not seen even a single HP movie in the theater. So, in order to make history, after desperate attempts, watched HP and the Deathly Hallows in PVR cinemas. And the most important point is, I was able to watch without hubby and kids' interruption. But, somehow, the movie did not impress me as much as the book did. I loved the books more!!! Anyways, history has been made.

- I was invited for a birthday party of a kid, by a mom, who was totally unknown to me. On attending her call, I was greeted as "Am I talking to Smruthi's mother?" That was the first time, I was addressed like that, and I liked it. She was the mother of Smruthi's classmate, another S. Seems like she always used to talk about Smruthi and few other girls, whenever she returned from school, and so this mother thought that her daughter would like it, if she invited my daughter for the party. And so, we attended her party, I had no clue of the people there, simply went for the cake-cutting , gifted the child and returned back home. When I asked Smruthi, if she enjoyed the party, weirdly enough, she replied that 'S' was not her friend, just a classmate. So, not a big deal!. This girl knows to differentiate between friends and classmates??? I was dumb-struck, as always!!!!

- Smruthi, of late has been asking me questions like, "When will I get married?", "When will you get me married?", "Who will act as the boy, when I get married?" "Only you have to dress me and comb my hair for my marriage as well" and stuff like that, to which I am totally clueless, as to what to answer and how to handle them. May be its the effect of seeing our marriage CD, during our anniversary week. What is the urgency dear! You don't know what you are asking for!

- Smruthi-Swathi fights are reaching an all time high...and there's no stopping either of them, once they get into the conflict mode. Such incidents always drain me of all the energy, and all I can think of at such times is, "when will these girls, grow up, get married and leave the house, so that I can be in peace?"

- Back to the romantic times between me and him, post the accident incident. DOT.

Signing off for now.....

Successful sixth

Dear Mr.kg3,

Another successful year. This year also, like always, we've had our own share of fights and romances, but of late, I can remember more of the fights than the romances. We have been fighting, okay...okay... I have been fighting more with you recently, but that will never stop me loving you. Kovam irukara idathula than gunam irukum (thank god, someone invented this dialogue.) But, today, I love you more than I loved you last year this day, and this will grow every year. Given another chance, I would prefer to sit next to you and keep arguing rather than go to some foreign country and hear romantic songs alone and miss you. Once, when I called you from onsite at 3 in the morning, and asked you if you really miss me or not, you replied that I will know once I come back and see you. And I knew that, once I saw you! I realised that you may not be good in expressing your feelings, but you still love me, as much as I love you. Thanks for making me realise that.



- ur wife.

White-boards and sharing....

Argument between father and daughter, for want of white-boards and markers...

She: Daddy, please get us TWO white-boards, TWO markers and TWO dusters...one for me and one for Swathi..
.
Him: No, I will get ONE white-board, TWO markers and ONE duster, and both of you need to share among yourselves...

She: Please daddy, get us one for each...I will not share with her...

Him: No, ur maa'm has taught you sh-aa-rr-ii-nng....right?

She: Please pa...

Him: See, me and your mom always share our things....we have only bike right, and both of us share among ourselves...whenever we need it...

She: Please....

Him: paaru, naanum un ammavum oru bike-thana vechirukom)

She (instantly): aana, car mattum rendu vechirukeenga la?
(But you both have TWO CARS right???)

Him: uhhhh....mmmmm......uhhhh....

Me: giggling and proud of my daughter!!!! Bad example dude!

Finally, compromising from both sides, we got ONE white-board, TWO MARKERS and TWO dusters, and there is a strong middle line in the white board - one side for smruthi and one side for swathi, and both maintain their boundaries....

Indha kotta thaandi neeyum vara koodadhu...naanum vara maaten!!!!

Chetan Bhagat's article - For Indian women

Got this article as a forward mail...worth sharing....

Specially for Indian Women. Do Read it and share it with all the women in your life
Alright, this is not cool at all. A recent survey by Nielsen has revealed that Indian women are the most stressed out in the world: 87% of our women feel stressed out most of the time. This statistic alone has caused me to stress out. Even in workaholic America, only 53% women feel stressed.

What are we doing to our women? I'm biased, but Indian women are the most beautiful in the world. As mothers, sisters, daughters, colleagues, wives and girlfriends - we love them. Can you imagine life without the ladies?

For now, i want to give Indian women five suggestions to reduce their stress levels.

One, don't ever think you are without power. Give it back to that mother-in-law. Be who you are, not someone she wished you would be. She doesn't like you? That's her problem.

Two, if you are doing a good job at work and your boss doesn't value you - tell him that, or quit. Talented, hard-working people are much in demand.

Three, educate yourself, learn skills, network - figure out ways to be economically independent. So next time your husband tells you that you are not a good enough wife, mother or daughter-in-law, you can tell him to take a hike.

Four, do not ever feel stressed about having a dual responsibility of family and work. It is difficult, but not impossible. The trick is not to expect an A+ in every aspect of your life. You are not taking an exam, and you frankly can't score cent per cent (unless you are in SRCC, of course). It is okay if you don't make four dishes for lunch, one can fill their stomach with one. It is okay if you don't work until midnight and don't get a promotion. Nobody remembers their job designation on their dying day.

Five, most important, don't get competitive with other women. Someone will make a better scrapbook for her school project than you. Another will lose more weight with a better diet. Your neighbour may make a six-dabba tiffin for her husband, you don't - big deal. Do your best, but don't keep looking out for the report card, and definitely don't expect to top the class. There is no ideal woman in this world, and if you strive to become one, there will be only one thing you will achieve for certain - stress.

So breathe, chill, relax. Tell yourself you are beautiful, do your best and deserve a peaceful life. Anybody trying to take that away from you is making a mistake, not you. Your purpose of coming to this earth is not to please everyone. Your purpose is to offer what you have to the world, and have a good life in return. The next time this survey comes, i don't want to see Indian women on top of the list. I want them to be the happiest women in the world. Now smile, before your mother-in-law shouts at you for wasting your time reading the newspaper.

Cherish Womanhood.

Well...I am becoming a fan of this guy....

Baby Quotes

Some of my favourite baby quotes which I came across today... Dedicated to my kids..



A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

Having a baby changes the way you view your in-laws. I love it when they come to visit. They hold the baby and I go out.

A father is someone who carries pictures where his money used to be.

The best thing a Father can do for his baby, is to Love his mother.

You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up.

The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child.

There is only one most beautiful child in the world and every mother has it.

- And I have two.... :)

My first car..

As I have complained many times here, it takes almost four hours a day for me to travel from and to office. One fine day, since I had no other reason to argue with hubby, I raised this topic. “Dude…don’t you feel bad, since your wife is spending so much time for travel everyday? Why don’t you get me a car?” – “And who will drive it?” – pat came the reply! Now, this was a challenge to my potentially unknown driving skills. I had to prove myself, atleast for the sake of winning the argument. So, I started the operation – “How to learn to drive a car in 1 week?”

Driving a car is not easy. Especially, if you have a male tutor who is an expert in driving sitting next to you, and issuing instructions, all the time. And it becomes even more difficult, if the said tutor is the darling husband! You can’t even shout back at him and quit the course in the middle, because, your prestige is at stake. It’s a pain in the neck, I tell you! “Don’t do this! Fuel consumption will be more!” “Don’t do that! Fuel consumption will be more!” The even best way to save fuel would be to switch off the engine and walk back home. I many times doubted my own ability and even thought of quitting, even though I would have obviously blamed him for his inefficiency in teaching me! But, lucky for me, the said tutor and husband motivated me enough to drive successfully, without the engine getting turned off. Self-confidence pays!

And successfully enough, I learnt to drive, and even better, I also succeeded in making him get me a new car. Yep! I am now, the proud owner of a brand new Wagon R, although by now, it is a week old. Two days into getting the car, I started to drive to office, mainly to show off to everybody, that I can drive, more than to show off that my husband bought me a new car!

First day, driving in the bypass – God knows, how nervous I was, clutching the steering so tight, that I did not release it, even to reduce the AC which was in a freezing third level. Second day, my confidence increased to the level that I was able to drive back in the highway at 9 in the night. Just for your information, in case you don’t know, lorry traffic in the highway is high at that time. Third day, since I was an expert in driving by then, I decided to take over the responsibility from husband and leave the car in the shed – all by myself, after getting proper instructions – “Do not leave the accelerator, once you have reached the elevation. ” As instructed, I raised the accelerator, to leave the car inside the shed. After a second or so, the car did not move, no matter how much I raised it, only to realize that my husband was screaming like hell, outside the car. No, I didn’t drive over him. He was safe – but the car was not. I had crashed the side door of the car in our shed gate. It got stuck with the gate. Neither could I take it front, nor could I reverse it. After hearing some extraordinarily nice words from him, I got down of the car, and retreated to my room silently, like a kid, who breaks a toy, and silently vacates the place. As I was wondering in my room, as how to make a drama and back-blame him, he luckily came and pacified me, saying that insurance claim is still possible! Good for him, he escaped from my drama. Finally, his friends came to the rescue, and with the help of all mechanical instruments possible, they released the car from the gate. Not much damage – just a big dent and all scratches in the back door. Over-confidence also pays!

I know, I am eligible for all the appreciations, from near and dear for this, but where’s the thrill, if my car doesn’t have even a single scratch?? As our tamil poet has rightly said,

“Dent-odu ottuvaaare, nalla driver aavar,
matravar ellam otta theriyaadhavar!”

05:05:2011

Dear Swathi,
You are turning two today. Though I am getting tired of saying the same thing again and again, it still remains the fact that you two are growing really fast. Until you came, your sister was supposed to be the naughty brat, but you have proven her wrong. You are the naughtiest kid; I have ever seen or heard, next to your dad of course. To have your fore-head stitched twice, in a span of three months, is something, which even your dad could not achieve. So, you are the topper in the family, darling.

About this year, where do I begin? The moment you became a year old, you got used to staying away from me. Almost immediately after your previous birthday, you went for a vacation to your grandma’s place, for about 10 days, and you didn’t even remember that you had parents. You were having such a nice time there. And the moment, I came to see you after those 10 days, imagine what you did!!! You ran AWAY from me, to my mom. And the moment your dad came, you immediately ran to him. Dad’s girl you are…huh!This is something, which I will never forget. I shall get you at the right time for this, girl!!!

Even as I am writing this, you are pillow-fighting with your father, and it is your sister, who is defending you from your dad, in the fight. It is such a pleasant scene to watch you sisters being paasa-malargal. How I wish, you two be the same all the time! But, most often than not, you both become rival enemies, literally breaking my head. You keep fighting with your sister, for almost each and every thing she has or does. Only, when you require her assistance, and if your sister is in a good mood, can I witness the paasa-malar scene. You want to do whatever your sister does, be it studying, cycling, playing, dancing, whatever…irrespective of whether you are familiar with the act or not. But the moment, your sister gets hurt, or she starts crying, for no reason of yours, you are the first one to go and wipe her tears. You immediately become upset. You are such a affectionate little sis to have.

Your biggest achievement this year, apart from breaking your head twice, has been your understanding, when I had to stay away from you for one and half months. I could not handle the separation as good as you two girls. I kept on brooding all through the separation time. Honestly speaking, more than the fact that I missed you, I always had the fear that you would forget me, in my absence, given your level of affection to your father. But, thank god, you atleast remembered me, when I came back.

You are the perfect little sport, when it comes to outing. You enjoy the maximum extent, you can, whenever we go for dinners, or any outings. Even when we recently went to Coorg last month, you and your sister were the center of attraction. Am glad to see you enjoy, and that in itself, wants us to take you out always. You easily socialize with everyone. All it takes for anybody to get friendly with you is just a chocolate, and you easily go to them. But still, why you never allow me to take your photo is something, I cannot understand.

I am simply awed to realize that my naughty little kid is going to become a pre-schooler from next month. You are so much excited about going to school, and comfortable with your school ambience, that until now, for you, going to school is like going to a play-park, because that is what you have been doing every time, we go to visit your school. I only hope that you don’t keep pinching and biting all the other kids in your school, like you do to your sister.

You are going through so many phase transitions, all so very gradually, that I am not able to realize when my child is slowly becoming a girl… There is so much to say, that a single blog is not enough, for it go for pages together.

As always, we love you more than we loved you last year, and this will be the same every year…..

Loads of love and kisses,
Your mom & dad.

PS: Your dad would have definitely written more than this, if he had the patience to sit in one place and write a blog, and this applies not only for you, but for your sister as well. So, consider these letters as coming from both your parents. Love you darlings.