Letting go...

The past 20 days have been very busy...My almost 13 yr old nephew, came a-visiting from Bangalore. All alone. He was treated like a prince (his words) by the Singapore Airlines staff who also upgraded him to a first class - you can imagine what his face book messages would have been like the next day!

So the boys had fun with their cousin, I've lost some hair and the neighbours are confused as to how many children I actually have!

We must have overdosed on the fun bit, because my 11 yr old caught a nasty throat infection and fever a day before the week-end began.

He got well soon and was understandably irritated at the enforced rest. I wondered aloud whether to give him an extra day of rest on Monday!

Me: "You need not go to school if you are feeling weak"

Him: "Okay' and a shrug

two seconds later,

Him: 'but I'm going to miss a lot, you know, I already missed school on Friday!"

Me: "It's just two days, I'll help you make up"

Him: "Okay!" and a shrug. (psst...can you tell that he LOVES talking?!!!!)

a minute later,

Him: "the teachers don't give us notes you know, you are supposed to listen to them in class"

I looked at him and smiled

Me: " And of course your friends would miss you too"

He smiled back, knowing that i had caught him out.

This morning he was fast asleep, and i thought I'll let him sleep in...I woke up the 6 yr old and pottered (love the mental image conjured here) around the kitchen...I turned to see my 11 yr old standing near me waiting for breakfast and i rushed to see which side the sun is rising from, because this boy never gets up on his own unless there is a cricket match/soccer match that day!

A sad Me: 'You want to go'

An emphatic Him: "Yes!" (absolutely takes after his father in the monosyllabic department)

And so I let him go, even though I wanted him to stay!

The 6 yr old gets his temperature taken, just as a precaution...(since the swine flu scare, the government had made it compulsory for every kid to carry a digital thermometer everyday)

Him: ' how much, amma?'

Me: '98'

Him: 'Celsius or fah..fabr...?

Me; '98 Fahrenheit'

Him: 'That means I need 2 more for hundred?!"

Me (deep sigh): "Yes! But since you are well enough, can you look after Anna and make sure that he does not go for his PE class?"

He happily confirms: 'Only PE?' and bounds off!

And I let him go too, even though he wanted to stay!

Can you tell, that I'm not ready for this letting go business?

cutting the rat's tail...

Got you with that title... didn't I?

You know it's time to take some serious action when you find yourself unconsciously plaiting your hair because it's getting too long...bringing to mind a gawky school goer with two plaits in an identity crisis - aiming to be rat tails or pig tails?


So the impulsive me, entered a salon and surrendered my hair to the whims of a scissor happy, non English speaking stylist, who has now successfully converted the pig tail into a mop head.

To add fuel to my ire, the hubby looks at me, after a whole day, and says "Yikes what have you done to your hair?"

I still haven't decided what has upset me more - his noticing after a day, or his comment...!

Mega sized BAWL!!!!

Now please be nice and make me feel better?

Terimah kasi! (that's thank you in malay!)

added as an afterthought: the rat's tail is now in its new avatar - the mini pony tail...

The urban giraffe

Heard in the playarea, an exclamation ; "Look, giraffes!!!!"

The kids present there, came rushing to see...Giraffes in the condo?

Soon came the loud protests from the kid brigade : "Those are not giraffes, those are cranes!"

She insisted, "But they look like giraffes, see that's the long neck and that's the face...."

Five minutes later she continued her walk, leaving a few excited kids admiring the 'giraffes' with the colored faces!

Whatever happened to imagination?

click, click! The mother in me !

Wonderful mom! that's what someone called me recently...and i thought to myself "not really, G is frankly a better parent than me!" Though it helps that he doesn't have to multitask and think about nutrition and silly stuff like hygiene and discipline and laundry and too much computer time and ...(i'm running out of speed here)! Always nice to give credit where its due..that's how nice i am!



Having got the guilt out of the way, lets focus on the tag by Monika and Gauri on the 5 joys of being a mother...

here go my spontaneous five,

• Nothing is as beautiful as the moment when you realize you’ve given birth to a pulsating life. I'm incredibly proud of that...and the fact that noone can ever change it! I loved my babies when they were tiny...I loved the way they looked, their smell, and the fact that i was their whole world, even if it was in the role of a milk vendor...and I learnt from them, from the way they learnt to roll over, to crawl, to sit, to walk, and to talk, always picking up something new.

• I love how my 6 yrold still needs me ...his hugs and his snuggles, his innocent questions and his nature. I love the way my 11 yrold laughs and his witty remarks. His writing and his gruff way of showing affection...i love this stage because its fleeting by and i treasure these moments...

• I've been seeing the world through their eyes for a long time now and i love what i see. I'm constantly evolving as a person around them...

• I love the evenings when they return from school...they both have SO MUCH to tell me ...and life is so full of bounce when they are at home.

• I love the fact that i know how to bring a smile to their faces even if i was the one who made them cry/angry and I love that their hugs can make my bad day seem perfect!

I could go on and on, but then the tag must go on :)

tagging other lovely moms : madhumita (UAE) , prats (India), ps (Norwich), Joy (USA) and Sumana (India)

Rules:

Just write a post of your own (5 things that you love about being a mom/dad) and find someone to link to and tag - someone from your own country, if you like, but definitely someone from another country (Google is a good resource if you don't know any; google any country name and 'mom/dad' in their blog search function) (be sure to let them know that you've tagged them!) - and link back here and HBM and leave a comment.

First impressions

You know what they say about first impressions? They say that's what imprints you in someone's mind, the first time you meet them?

The first impression is almost like your entire personality compressed into a five minute shot and you risk being stamped with a wrong label. I find that so unfair, because you find yourself carrying that weight for a long time.

And then i came across this at Antique mommy's.

It is a long video but do watch a brave 47 yr old contestent changing that first impression, unfazed by the laughter which greeted her. (click on the blue words to watch the video)

Sometimes, it pays to give someone a chance.

For those who missed the previous post, do watch this too...and keep those tissues handy...

A few side-effects...

Of Blogging!

Walking by the park and seeing an utterly delicious looking dad with a camera and clicking away pictures of his cute lil toddler from every corner of the playground, and the first thought which comes to mind is "Must be a daddy blogger!!!!"


Wanting to be caustic to the boys, but garnering admirable patience and coaxing the mouth to utter a friendly warning...'cos that's what responsible mothers do, even though my teeth have whittled away with all that gritting.


Realising that since blogging, spoken english has risen several notches on the "sound good ' scale and dipped alarmingly on the "understandability' scale, especially when spoken to the boys. From now, a simple "get your behind on the chair and finish your work" hollered in just the right tone will suffice instead of "you must try ..yadayadayada..." The first sign came many months back when the then 10 yrold and his father just gaped at me, after listening to a long passioned speech on self motivation!


Listening for the nth time, a neighbor's advice on how to feed my boys, and thinking, she must be a troll in her virtual avatar!


Looking at my blog and thinking it needs a makeover...again and scouting for new pictures even if the readers don't notice. (*this is the point where you are allowed to roll your eyes!)

Trying hard to ignore Google Reader which indicates that you have x no of blogs to be read, losing the battle and then subscribing to more blogs...


Being able to connect with others on the same virtual wavelength and actually have a wonderful time...


Being able to instantly share a touching video...(it's been making waves here in Singapore). Do watch it, and keep a tissue or handkerchief nearby


Find the beauty in your moments, even the imperfect ones and enjoy yourself, you never know how long it will last!

On that profound note, i do wish you a great weekend!

HOWZAT!!!!

The first day of school went off smoothly...new textbooks, new notebooks, new timetables...everything seems exciting and interesting, and its worth waiting till evening just to hear about who sat with whom and how many new children were there this time...

So the evening saw each child sharing some tidbit, the 11 yrold has a cricket tournament coming up where he is playing in 6 matches and of course very thrilled about it...while i see myself the only candidate for grabbing the hat of the cricket mum, soccer mum and keeping 6 yrold occupied well enough mum during the next 10 days. I'm also currently feeling very pleased with myself for having got through 2 weeks of holidays in one piece and more importantly having had fun all the way.

and then the 11 yrold says: 'amma, the princi is our english teacher'

me(pleasantly surprised) : 'Really? that's good news, she's an excellent english teacher"

11 yrold(contemplative): 'you know, she reminds me of you'

me(considerably elated and resembling a balloon, so puffed up with pride was I) trying to be nonchalant: "Why?"

11yrold : 'I can't read her handwriting on the board'

Tooooosh, that was the fastest a balloon ever deflated into oblivion!

And as you can see, the 11 yrold is good in delivering a yorker! (or whatever you call it)