2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?Yes…and for two years and 8 months too

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I giggled and said to the doctor,”You are kidding..you are!”And walked over clumsily to hug the husband in a hospital gown.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Na-uh..This was a much wanted,much awaited pregnancy.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 26

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Through a pregnancy test at the doctor’s office.The nurse asked me,if I thought I was pregnant and I said confidently..No way. She asked me to pee in a cup..and I couldn’t,was made to gulp 2 glasses of water and asked to provide atleast 5 drops..LOL!! finally gave them a sample and got the GOOD NEWS.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?The Doctor told us together..so,after S and I,the first person to know was my dad.It was 3 AM in India,and he thought that the whole good news conversation was a dream.

8. DUE DATE?April 14-16

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?Yes and food aversions too-to milk and non-veg and rajma…and all things nice.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Cream rolls,from a local bakery in Thane, Imli ki chutney(we visited almost every desi restaurant in Chicago searching for the perfect chutney in 2 months.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? “They-who-must-not-be-named”

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?A beautiful girl

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?I wanted a girl,for as long as I can remember..for a brief period,a week or so,I felt that it may be a boy…but other than that I always knew and wanted a girl.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? around 13-14 pounds

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes a traditional one.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew..I helped the Husband plan it :)It was a happy day.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? yes- Low progesterone levels to start with..Gestational Diabetes,Low amniotic fluid,leading to bed-rest.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Phoenix

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?Less than an hour.The Baby’s heart-rate dropped during a routine non-stress test.I was admitted and taken to the OT for a C-section.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?Husband.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?the husband and the hospital staff

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?C Section and I LOVED it.We talked through the whole surgery.It was so casual…I would gladly have another C-sec..if its going to be as happy as the first.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?Epidural,sweet Epidural..But later refused pain-killers,only to wake up with stabbing pains..that’s when,I popped in the offered pills,without a fuss

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?6 pounds 9 ounces

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?At 8:33 PM

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?We came to know the Baby’s sex in my sixth month of pregnancy..just after those 2 weeks of “maybe-its-a boy’..so,I was just quiet.Didn’t say anything for full 2 mins..then,said,a belated,WOWWW..

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY? I remember saying Awww..when I first heard her cry.And I started crying..when I first saw her,it was through a haze of tears and I remember thinking that she was TINY(this was a baby,who was thought to be around 10 pounds..) she was really tiny.I blinked..and then,all I saw was the husband’s arm.

28. DID YOU CRY? Ohhh Yes!!! I cry very easily..

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Aadya

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?23 months,2weeks and 2 days young.

And here’s one of my favorite pics of my baby girl-

Kiran had tagged me once upon a time to do this tag..And today,I want to blog but can’t think of anything interesting,I decided to try and complete this .

8 Things I am passionate about
My family-My precious Baby,Aadya,my darling Husband,my parents and my sister!

Reading.I love reading and that is something I can always find time for.At any given time,I am reading at least 1 book,mostly fiction.

Clothes-I never get tired of shopping and I find it so hard to get rid of my old clothes.Clothes and Accessories.

Honesty- If there is something that irks me,its dishonest people.And there is just no way,I can stop myself from not liking them.

Lying-I do not lie..the rare times when I may have lied is to help someone.. and I have felt so guilty about the lying.I still feel guilty about it sometimes..No regrets about helping..but just a great discomfort about lying. And so,obviously,I cannot tolerate lies,coming from someone else.

Friends-I will do anything for a friend,I am even ready to ignore their faults and short-comings..Once a friend,always a friend.

Kids- Kids of all shapes and sizes have a way of reaching inside and grabbing my heart!I am just crazy about kids,I laugh with them,I cry with them,cry for them..seeing them hurt or abused makes my blood boil.May be that’s why,I was the happiest when I was teaching elementary school!Heck,I was passionate about kids,even when I was a little girl myself..watching over the younger ones,carrying them around,spoon-feeding them..:)

God-Need I say more?

8 Things I want to do before I die

Write a book..I have always wanted to write one..just some light reading.
Spend a month in Mauritius ,just relaxing,enjoying the water.. not worrying about anything else.
Learn to dance-I have two left feet..and always feel conscious when dancing in a group..But I enjoy dancing and would love to be able to stun everyone,with my performance on the dance floor!
Lose all this extra weight and have a great to-die for figure!
Umm this is all I can think of now!

8 Things I say often
Heyyy!Hii! hows you?
Yeah Right!
What the hell!
Uh-huh..ohh ho
Aadya!stop it right NOWWWWWWWWWWW!
Alle mera bachcha( Oh my baby)
Exactly
What did you just say???
Ohh Plllllllllleaseeeeeeee! or ohh Puh-lease!
Ohh I gotta go..Aadya is crying/awake..

8 Books I’ve read recently

The Kite Runner- Khaled Hossaini
False Impressions-Jeffery Archer
Say When-Elizabeth Berg
Homecoming-Belva Plain
Sisters-Daniell Steel
Not without my daughter-Betty MAhmoody..

And I can’t remember any more..A couple of romance novels!

8 songs I could listen to over and over

Itni shakti hamein dena daata-Ankush
Naam Adaa likhna-In fact,I loved the song so much,that Aadya was almost named Adaa.. we still call her Adaa,sometimes.
Words-BoyZone
Last christmas-George Michael
Khwaja mere Khwaja-Jodha Akbar
O mere dil ke chaiin
Naam Gum jayega
Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam

8 Things that attract me to my best friends

1.I can be myself with them,I can just relax and not worry about anyone judging me,while I am with them.
2.They have been with at all times in life..especially more during tough times.I know I can pick up the phone,no matter what the time and tell them,I am happy or sad or need them.
3.Each one has something special to teach me..be it confidence,calmness,putting across your point without yelling,determination.Love you guys for enriching my life and making me a better person.
4.I have met all of them at different phases of life and they have been just “what-I-need(ed) at the time. They have laughed with me,wiped my tears,held my hand..given me the much needed push,when I felt I cannot go any further.And they continue to do so ,even now!
5.They totally understand me..sometimes,even before I say what’s on my mind and make me feel just perfect.
6.When I want to do something crazy,I know who to turn to..And at the same time,I also know,who will help me sober up,if need be.
7.I know,I can share a secret and it will be safe forever..
8.And last but not the least,honesty-they are brutally honest with me..as I am with them.But I still have a bit of tact..I try to make them feel nice.. but no luck here.. a certain someone,just asks me grow up and stop crying 🙂 but love her anyways!

And now to tag-
I think almost everyone has already completed this tag..the only people I don’t remember reading are-Shakti,Shobana

Swati tagged me..she wants to know,what makes me happy?So many things..Here’s a short list…
A Goodmorning hug and DH’s smiling face.
Early morning cuddles with Aadya and DH.
“Papa Calling” on my cell phone display.My daily call with my dad.
When my sis finally messages me-“Please call me”
A nice long chat with a friend.
A tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
A big mug of garam garam masala-chai (hot masala-tea)
A great book
A day out at the Nail salon-good old fashioned mani-pedi TLC combo.
A fruitful shopping trip,where I find not one but many good deals..a complete dose of retail therapy.
Romance movies,christmas themed movies
A kind word
A recipe that turns out right
A new haircut.
A real vacation..And the list goes on and on..But I think I should stop here !
I tag-The Dot Mom, Kiran,Noon ,Mona and Shakti .

I think I am officially the rudest person on Blogosphere!I have so many tags pending..and I am perpetually late in taking them up! But please dont stop tagging me! I love taking up these tags.
~nm and Timepass tagged me take up this tag.
Here’s what the tag is all about-
“Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given : family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.”

And here’s my take on it-
Family-That would be Papa , Mamma ,Sis and Bhai

Friends- Come to think,I haven’t really done any posts on friends,except this one. [Note to self-Write more about friends]

Yourself-I think only one post qualifies for this- Quirks and me??

Your love-ohh this one’s easy- how I met DH,4 years together and my loves and ofcourse pretty much every thing on this blog is about my biggest love,Aadya!

Anything you like-it has to be this one.This was one of the first few posts I wrote after delivering Aadya.

Now to tag-I think almost everyone has already done this tag..but i think a few of you havent..so I tag-
Kodi’s mom,Mystic Margarita ,Poppins and ddmom
My new friends,Shobana and Upsi.

Now,all I need to do is dig out all the other pending tags and take them up..:)

The mad Momma tagged me for this..and here’s my take on it..
And I find it so hard to just sum it up in a one-liner..:) Those who know me.. will tell you how frank I am.. but somewhere deep down is a shy gal! But when the Mad Momma tags you.. how can you not take it up!!LOL
A sleeping baby,not-so-sleepy US,cuddling up,whispering sweet-somethings about the baby which turn into sweet-nothings *Blush*,and the still sleeping baby…is all it takes :)*Blush BLush Blush*
And did I mention,this baby just never wants to sleep!!!
There ..MM, now you are not the only one 🙂
I was going to do this post after the move.. but today I got a chance to blog-surf after a long long time..and couldnt resist doing it..afterall, picking up a tag is fun only when its RED-HOT!

I remember reading on another blog-“You have arrived,when you get Tagged” and every time a tag did the rounds,I secretly wished to be tagged!And its just such a happy a coincidence that my first tag is from one of my favorite bloggers and about one of my favorite things-Books!
I was always fascinated by books and its all thanks to my mom.She introduced me to book really early and I am told that by age 5,I had read and reread,kids books and magazines like Champak and Chanda-Mama and was trying to read the comic section in grown-up magazines.Mom was more than happy and her only rule was that I shouldn’t read the stories as they are for grown ups. Well,I listened for a few years and then curiosity took over! Like Boo,before the school year even started I would have finished reading the english and hindi text books and so needed some more stuff to read up. Here’s my list-
Some of the finest stories I read were in Marathi magazines,Diwali edition.Unfortunately,I dont remember the authors or the stories,because most of these stories were read in a hurry, rushed through with trepidition of getting caught.But two books I remember reading leisurely were-
Ramayana and Mahabharata in marathi.Again I dont remember who the translators were,because this is a long long time ago,when I was 10! But,I remember thoroughly enjoying these two novels and I took my own sweet time to finsh them.
The next one that comes to my mind is Swami and friends.We had just moved to Saudi Arabia and I was curious what happens to Swami.Mom searched high and low and found the book for me!And it is one of my most treasured reads.
Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh.
Short stories by Ruskin Bond-I used to love reading those.
And then there was this beautiful story about a cow..it was so well written and was so full of emotions..I just cant seem to remember the author or the name of the book..It was a hindi read..if anyone else has read it and know the name..please please tell me!
Of the new ones-
An Equal Music by Vikram Seth
The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi-Its a very well written story of an indian girl,coming from a strict andhra brahmin family,who falls in love with an American!Makes for good light reading!
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Divakaruni Bannerjee-I had so much fun reading this book..it was just so mysterious and magical,the movie was a disappointment!
And this one I have to mention-
Shantaram by Gregory DAvid Roberts-I started to read this when I was pregnant-Its based on the life of the author,who was an australian robber,he escapes from a prison in New Zealand and comes to Bombay..I couldnt complete this book as I had borrowed it from the library, but it just made me so nostalgic and at the same time pointed out facts which we just ignore..like drug pedalling in Leopold restaurant etc..I still need to finish this one.
Other books on my list are-
Gods of Small Things by Arundhati Roy- Reading it now!
Ravan and Eddie-I want to know what you guys are raving about!
Midnight’s children by Salman Rushdie..Has been on my list for a long time,just never got the nerve to read it.
The house of BLue MAngoes(Now that i know its written by MM’s uncle-I gotta read it)
Mistress and Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair-They are lying on my bookshelf
These are all I can think of right now..I havent really read too many Indian writers,but I am always on the look out for new India writers.
Thanx to this tag,I have added a lot of titles to my list of must-reads!
I tag-
Mona,Asha,rdbans,Kodi’s mom and Rayshma!