First of September is first day of Spring in Australia. I L.O.V.E spring..She makes me happy..despite the hayfever!There is nothing I love more than to see new leaves appear on the bare branches. 
Its a new beginning..so many things to look forward to..I find my blues are at bay,when we move into the new season.

Today was far from perfect in terms of weather..it was dark and gloomy and rained all day..but it didn’t dampen my spirits..I know its more pschycological than real but still 😀
This month I am starting the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation again and I am excited. I had signed up for it 2 years back,when Ms.An was 6 mo and had managed to lose a fair bit of weight and also gained strength..that is my aim again this time. Every time I start a new plan/diet I vow to stick to it..but I let go again. Here’s hoping this time will be different. If I feel brave enough,I will share photos.. Let’s see 🙂
Gosh!! Can you believe it ..we are in the 9th month of the year?? This year sure has gone fast.I can’t wait to get to the end of the year..exciting changes await,more about those later. Here’s one of my favorite photos of spring,from a couple of years back 🙂

Dearest An,
You turned 3, nearly 3 weeks back.I didn’t plan to write this today,but you went to bed,on your own today,I think for the very first time.There was no dilly-dallying,no fighting(ok there was a little playful fighting-more about that in a minute)no call-outs for milky/water,no jumping on the bed-Just kisses and long cuddles,I Wuv you Mumma and lights off. I left you in your room and you went to sleep in less than 10 minutes.Thank you,Princess,Mumma is relaxed today and so I can write this letter to you and when you are old enough to read it then we can read this and laugh together.
Ms.An,you are my firecracker- you are so full of spunk,you just DONOT stop.I think the only time that you are quiet or still is when you are asleep.A couple of months back, I  We  your papa  we,both your papa and I were worried about your speech.Papa said he didn’t understand what you spoke. I had to constantly translate,what you were saying.We were also trying to constantly see if you were measuring up to the benchmark that your sister set up..and finally came to the conclusion,that you are both different-very different. She had more words and a clearer speech,but you had more understanding,were/are smarter and better at your gross motor skills. You were grasping the pencil so well,even before your 1st birthday and had the most perfect defined strokes :)Sorry baby – you are perfect the way you are 🙂
We were worried that you didn’t follow our instructions..I spent many nights worrying about it,before finally concluding that you didn’t follow instructions,not because you didn’t understand them,but because you didn’t care about them OR because you didn’t think it was worth stopping your FUN to follow our instructions.Yelling doesn’t work on you,but if I just say the same thing in a different tone,you happily oblige :)You are a free spirit,not scared of anything or anyone..my crazy girl 🙂

My beautiful,head-strong girl,you have taught your mummy and daddy that parenting is not a piece of cake.. Its a bit of give and take..its a big learning and for that I am grateful. You taught me that I don’t know everything and that I need to find newer ways to get through to you. 
You are the most adorable,most loving little girl,Anan.. you smother me with kisses and tell me that you ‘wuv’ me a hundred times in a day and I love it.And then I ask you,do you love me or do you love Papa and you think. and then say..umm Papa! And I pout and you pat my head and say..’all fine..all fine..don’t cwy’ 
You have settled well in your daycare(touchwood) and are so independent.You like to eat your meals yourself,take off your clothes yourself.As soon as we come home from outside(school,park,anywhere else),you sit down,just outside the laundry door and take off your socks and shoes.Makes my heart melt every single time! Feeding you your lunch or snack is a luxury for me,because you don’t let me baby you..But when I ask you,”Are you my baby or my big girl?”You always say,Baby. yes,you are my baby.. my last one:) 
Your love for your sister continues to grow,but sibling rivalry has kicked in.You have to do everything she does.I was kissing her good night one night,when you decided to sleep with her and you observed us quietly and then covered your face and started crying,saying your new favorite phrase-“I can’t take it anymore”O.M.G. I had a hard time keeping a straight face while trying to calm you down.
Your other favorite phrases are:
I hate it!(not sure where/who you picked it from)
Whatever you do,DONOT break/drop it.
Gimme one more chance..the cutest!
Godu Me!(Meaning -Pick me up)
And – Ohh Mannnnnnnn..said with the most frustrated expression ever!

At 3,your favorite foods are-cocktail sausages,daal,chicken nuggets,any other chicken dish,chickpeas,kidney beans,maggi noodles,strawberries and yogurt. You happily taste and eat other things too but these are a definite hit.

You keep me on my toes,you tire me,you challenge me and you make me earn my mummy stars..but you love me unconditionally and completely.You make me smile and make me complete in a way no-one else can. You will give me my grey..you are the noise of my life,but I won’t have it any other way..for it will be dull life,without the sparkle you add to it..
Love you forever my little baby…
Hugs n kisses from
Your little Mumma 

This year Rakhi was quite low key.We were all sick last week and Ms.An is still sick. So, there were no fancy meals,no handmade rakhis..but once we got showered and ‘dolled up’ the mood changed..well not Anan’s but that’s OK.
But here’s  this year’s Rakhi in pictures 🙂

Again!! Despite my best intentions,another month has rolled by and I haven’t had chance to keep up with blogging.
I have minimised my facebook time,but I still end up blogging in my head most of the times.On other times,I am just too tired. Seriously,I doff my hat to the mums who work full-time 5 days a week.I work part-time,3 days a week and still fall behind in housework,in just about everything. Some days I am so tired that even keeping up with the kids chatter is a big deal.Cooking seems like a chore..Now,I L.O.V.E. cooking and when it seems like a chore,its not a good feeling.
So,I have come up with a strategy(LOL!! I think I have!)The plan is to stick to quick healthy/wholesome meals on the days that I work.Quick and wholesome being the keywords.And on my days-off,I can plan something more elaborate.So far we have done pizzas,sandwiches,pulav on work-nights and dal-rice-sabji/chicken n fried rice,dosa-chutney,paratha or something of that sort on the days that I don’t work. But those days,just fly by,so quickly thanks to my firecracker,Ms.An!!! So my trusty slowcooker has been dusted and is being put to good use now 🙂
This is what I cooked last night 🙂

 

Slow Cooked Cashew Chicken with Vegetable fried rice 🙂

I followed this recipe with a few tweaks. I didn’t have any Vinegar at hand and so omitted it. And I added chopped up celery,red& green Capsicum and onions. I forgot to add the red chili flakes and it was still perfect! 

The chicken was so soft and flavorful.This will be a regular in our house 🙂

Hopefully,I will be back again..n soon 

xox

Trish

 

Only the third day of blogging streak,and too tired to think/write. Its the school holidays here.Normally,I plan one big day out and one day in..but this time,co-incidentally,we’ve had to long days out-we all had fun,catching up with friends,but the kids are tired and I am tired.All I want to do is sleep and sleep more.Ms.An is the only one,who is catching up on all the sleep,but Ms.A refuses to nap.But she is at an age where she entertains herself,sits and sketches and otherwise,enjoys some quiet telly time,leaving me free to read or lay down or even just sit quietly,browsing the internet.
Ms.A is a chatterbox-she just DOESN’T stop talking.If a question can be answered in Yes or No,she replies with the whole analysis,why a choice is better and why the other would be wrong..its cute sometimes,but on other times,does my head in.And if you ask her,why does she talk so much,her answer is simple- “Because I am one of those people who like to talk”
Her teacher reckons,Ms.A can talk underwater,with a mouth full of marbles and to be frank,I have started believing her!
On that note,I will stop talking/writing and go to bed.
xox
Trish

Today Ms.An went on public transport for the very first time. I had planned to meet some local mums in the city and decided to take the train to the city. On paper,the plan looked perfect..it will be the easier option,compared to driving into the city- the kids will get to experience something different-The last time Ms.A went on the train was before Ms.An was born. So,it has been atleast 3 years since then.But as the day drew near,I started to get cold feet.I asked a friend,who travels by train,2-3 times a week,if she wanted to take her kids along as well and she said yes. So,we parked near her house and boarded the bus,from a stop,nearby.Ms.A has been on the bus,for school trips and loves bus-rides.But,I was worried about Ms.An-In case you haven’t guessed.. I am scared of and in awe of Ms.An.But she is a star :)She picked her seat quite seriously-tried a few spots before settling on one.Same for the train ride too.

On the way back,she was tired,from all the walking and playing and I bribed her with some jelly sweets. We got a window seat and she sat facing the window with her back resting against me and my hand across her chest.I could see her reflection in the window and it  was the most beautiful sight.Her eyes wide with wonder,taking in all the sights,her little body resting against mine- I wanted to stay like that forever,capture that moment,but I didn’t dare move,lest I ruin our peaceful cuddle. If  you have a child that’s full of beans,you relish and appreciate the quiet cuddles even more.
 waving to the Railway workers on the platform 🙂
When I tucked her in,I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she said,”Pressing buttons”(at the traffic light and lifts)
Oh! the joys of being a kid and finding happiness in little things!

Last day of June,2014 and I am filled with new excitement..An excitement that I haven’t felt for over a year. Blogging does that to me..makes me happy inside and out 🙂
Its winter holidays here and winter bugs are everywhere..Our own household has been fighting cold& flu for the last 2 weeks,if not longer.DH fell sick last week and is just getting better and now my own throat has started stinging.
But mums don’t get a sick day 🙂 Isn’t it funny how when men get sick,they turn into little kids? DH got mad,threw a tantrum(YES!) and then when he started to feel better,his crankiness started to go away and he turned into a happy kid  person again.
And sometimes kids turn into your teachers..like Ms.A this morning.She likes to eat only in a particular bowl.I was feeling lazy to wash it and told her,that the bowl is not washed and is in the dishwasher. She said to me,”You know what I do,when the bowls are not washed? I just pull them out of the dishwasher,use some soap and rinse them out..”  umm.. Ok honey..I handwashed it for her. If it was an adult,they would have thought I was lazy or even got upset..but my 7 yo,just told me what to do in a matter-of-fact way..no judging..If only life was so simple 🙂
While I am writing this post,how can I not write anything about Ms.An. She surprises me every day..I know,I say this everytime I talk about her,but really she does.Our vaccum broke down last week.So,I was managing with a broom..yes,good old fashioned sweeping after every meal and then,Ms.A decided to help me and the broom broke! So,today we went to the shops-S stayed in the car with the girls,and I ducked in to get the Vaccum cleaner. When I came back,Ms.An said to me,”Wow! Mumma,you got a new Vaccum” I was amazed that –

1)She strung the whole sentence,correctly.
2) She noticed that the big box that I was carrying had a Vaccum cleaner in it.
3) And that she said it all by herself 😛
Yes!I am in awe of her..This is a child,who spoke only what was required..if her work was done with just pointing at things,she preferred to use just her finger. I love hearing her speak.
When I get back from work on a Saturday,she is the most excited.She runs around me,asks me to pick her up and when I do,she just wants long cuddles and that’s mum& An time..no-one else is allowed to talk to me. Last Saturday,as we were sitting on the couch cuddling,she touched my face,with both her hands,pinched my cheeks and then looked into my eyes and said…”Mumma,I wuv your face”…and just like that I turned into a puddle of mush.
On that happy note,I’ll end this post and go snuggle up with my munchkin..Its a working day tomorrow..
Xoxo
Trish

Its a big step..for the girls and for us. I had moved the girls into one room.They slept there for a while and then my cousin and her family visited and stayed with us for a couple of weeks.We moved in with the girls,to accomodate the visitors.But,after they left,we were too lazy to move back into our own room. 

This long weekend,along with all other exciting things,we set up the girls’ rooms. Yes,separate rooms for them both. Just very functional at the moment..but atleast,its doing the job

That’s Aadya’s room :

And that’s Ananya’s :

The toys have been moved here,because according to Aadya,she is not a baby and doesn’t want any Ananya’s barging into her room to play with the toys!

I still need to add rugs and night lamps etc..but like I said,its functional.
Oh and Nanya still slept with me last night.. she I we are not ready to let go of each other..just yet 😀

Nanya got to have a real Babycino today..actually no two Babycinos.I have mentioned before how she is lactose-intolerant.When we first moved to Australia,I used to take Aadya to little cafes and we’d spend a nice hour or so there,drinking coffees and babycinos,coloring pictures,talking.When Ananya turned one,I wanted to the same things with her.But,cow’s milk and soy milk made her sick.So that didn’t work.Today,I went to a cafe,and I had her milk in the car.I asked them if they’d make a babycino for us,with her milk and they said, they served lactose-free milk. OMG!I was so excited.I ordered one for Ananya!The joy on her face,when she got her own drink in a paper cup-Oh!!Priceless!I had to order her another one,because I was as excited as she was 🙂

There’s my precious girl with her two babycinos and the headless boy cookie 🙂