The first thing Ms.Aadya said to me today was..”Yayy! Its 1st of March!My birthday month is here!!”
She is so excited..we are planning a spa party for her..and she is going in over-drive mode already.. assigning me tasks and setting deadlines*rolling eyes* Well I have told her that this year,she picks the theme for cake and decorations etc and the rest I will do,as and when I can..she needs to leave me alone! But do you think that works? Nuh-uh!
Anyway,she is super excited about turning 7.There is a boy in her class who thinks that she is 7,because she is so tall..so she’s excited that finally she’ll be the same age as her height(!!!) and besides,she says 6 is a lonely age(translation :She is one of the youngest kids in her class and can’t wait to be the same age as the others)
Here’s my almost 7 yo,trying out the lei that Ms.Ananya brought home from her bestie’s birthday party.

She is such a little person now.She had to submit an assignment at school this term.The topic was “My family”.She had a clear precise idea about what she wanted to do.She wanted to do a power-point presentation and she wanted to print it out and make it into a booklet. She decided what pictures to chose,what the words would be.Everyday after school,she sat on the couch and painstakingly typed out each slide,asked me to show how to make picture collages on the laptop and finally it was all done.We checked it before printing it out,helped her with spellings and SD offered to reformatt the slides so they looked neater and the poor girl burst into tears..Her reasoning..”But I worked so hard on it and I want it to be just the way it is” It is a hard one..wanting your child’s work to be the best OR letting them decide what is the best..In the end,we suggested some changes,but let her choose-she picked one and rejected other.After all it is a grade 2 presentation and not a corporate presentation. And she was happy with the final presentation,that’s what matters..As for SD,that is a whole different story..But I get where he is coming from..School was so competitive when we were growing up and so it is a little hard for him to wrap his head around this relaxed laidback approach..but when he sees her smile and talk confidently,I can see him,accepting it..slowly and steadily 🙂
I leave you with a pic of Ms.A working on her presentation 

I was trying to drink my tea and Ananya was trying to climb all over me and I was getting annoyed..I yelled..”Can I please drink my tea in peace?”
Aadya came and patted my hand and said,”I’ll deal with her mum” and then to Ananya,”Now,Anan,you need to be responsible and respect people’s wishes.Mumma wants to drink her tea quietly..So you need to leave her alone..” I almost choked on my tea..And as for Ananya..well,she didn’t care..she climbed right back into my lap!
Ananya walked into the toilet, after me, turned around and told Aadi..”No coming in,Aadu,Mumma go Potty..” I told her,you need to go out too,Anan..She shook her head,” Unh huh,Me Nanya help you,here you go toilet paper” Yup!being a mum means you get no privacy at all!!! And as for toilet paper..I was so impressed..I don’t think at that age, Aadya knew that that roll of paper in the toilet was called Toilet-Paper!!
We were walking home from school and Nanya found a stick.She picked it up and said…I name is Jack Frost! I Gaurdian! She loves the movie,The Rise of the Gaurdians and can watch it all day long.But Aadya is over it and as soon as Nanya says ‘Tanta-Jack-Barbie-movie'(Santa,Jack,Barbie(the tooth fairy!) movie),Aadya rolls her eyes and we remind her of how she loved watching ‘Hey baby’ and we had to watch ‘Baby movie’ over and over again..and she gives me a shy smile and says..”oh yeah..that was when I was a silly toddler”
I was painting Aadya’s toe-nails and she wanted me to do them half pink and half purple so that she had “Twilight” nails.Ananya wanted nails too,but I knew she won’t have the patience to let me do half pink-half purple on each nail..So, I painted all the left toe nails pink and the right,purple.Little Missy walked up to her dad as soon as I finished and said,”Look Papa,This Pinkie Pie and This Twilight-parkle !”

Almost time for school pick-up,must go wake up my Pinkie Pie! 😛

 

Yes!That was the first thought that came to my mind this morning 😀
So,Ms.Nanya is taking a nap..Good time to start writing 🙂
We are getting used to our new routines.. I know I know you must be thinking,if I am ever going to stop talking about the new routine..but please bear with me..work,daycare etc is still new and so on my mind..Nanya still cries a lot at both pick up and drop off and she still refuses to eat. Atleast I have made my peace with the no eating bit. I give her some breakfast and big cup of milk,before leaving.And they give her a bottle before nap time,and then she eats a snack or two or three(!!) and dinner when she gets back home.
I don’t know how some of you work all 5 days.The last time I worked 5 days a week was before kids..many many years ago..and I didn’t have kids or didn’t have to worry about cooking and cleaning.So yeah..I am exhausted!
Nanya wants her family close to her,since starting daycare..no-one is allowed to leave her/home.This morning,we had a big meltdown at school drop-off.She didn’t want Didi to go-(s)chool and cried her little eyes out. Didi on the other hand is completely clueless and doesn’t know how to react to this.
Almost time for school pick up..I leave you with a pic on Nanya and her bestie- girl band!

This year,our household is going through many changes. I am starting work 3 times a work. It was totally unexpected and so most of the days between Christmas and New Year and the two weeks after that,I looking for a daycare center for my precious. After many disappointments, I finally found a daycare, close to home and they had the days I wanted as well. So, we put Nanya’s name down there and scheduled  orientations etc. First Orientation was last Tuesday,when I had to stay with her.She was so overwhelmed looking at all the kids and clung to me for dear life.
Two days later,they told me to drop her off at lunch time for an hour or so..That was also the day Aadi was starting school..my baby starting Grade 2! Needless to say,I was an emotional wreck the previous day and could barely sleep the whole night.So,we dropped Aadya at school and then dropped Ananya at the daycare and SD and I went out for a coffee.Our first kid-free date in a long long time..We went and picked up Ananya after an hour and she was a little upset.She hadn’t eaten anything,not had anything to drink..Gosh it broke my heart.
The next day was the real deal,but I think I had managed to rub off my anxiety to the girls.They both kept waking up in the middle of the night..Anyway,Friday morning was here,SD went to drop off Aadi while I got Nanya ready and then SD dropped us both,first Anan at the daycare,then me at work.I had a very busy morning and didn’t get around to calling the daycare to check on Nanya..in a way it was good,because they told us later,she cried a little after I left. When I went to pick her up,she saw me and burst into tears,cuddling me and crying in the crook of my neck,telling me,”Mumma Nanya crying,where Nanya mummy”…It broke my heart into a thousand pieces..We clung to each other for the rest of the day.She slept with me and cried for mummy through out the night.
Now, we have rinse and repeat the whole thing again on Tuesday …I know she’ll settle there, the center is really good, the educators(as they are called now) are really nice..just a matter of time for her to settle down:)
As for me,I am still coming to terms with leaving my baby with someone other than her parents ..And I am trying to be better organized with our meals..eating out once a week is fine,but eating out three times a week is a bit too much. So,I will be posting some new recipes,some gyaan on frugal living,in the days to come..as I get more organized.

That’s Ananya. She told me off for yelling at her sister and I blogged about it,here
The next day,I had a particularly difficult day with Aadya,talking back to me,just being rude and I lost it,completely.I went ballistic,yelling at her..telling her how she was hurting me with her behavior and how upset I was. She ran into her room angry and crying. Anan was playing with something,as soon as she saw Aadya running and crying,she dropped her toys and started crying too.SD and I tried to calm her,but she refused to let us console her.She just kept pushing us away and kept screaming.
By now,Aadi had come out of her room,to argue again.So,here we are arguing-Aadi&I,when I heard a growl and saw something blue from the corner of my eye.It was Ananya,she came charging at me,with her ball,tears streaming down her face,grunting with anger,”No Aadu shouting,you naughty mumma”..And then to Aadi,”Come on,Aadu” and they walked away hand-in-hand,to their room and sat there comforting each other.
I wasn’t wrong in telling-off Aadya,but in that moment,by her little gesture,Ananya made me feel like the worst mum on the face of this earth,but I also realised that I must be doing something right,for them to reach out for each other,for them to stand up for each other.
The number of times that Aadi says,”ugghhh I hate it when Nanya touches my things””or”Why does she copy me?” or “I wish I didn’t have a little sister”…B.U.T. she is the first one to rush to Nanya’s side,when she is crying or upset.Time-outs are pointless in our house,because the other sister always follows the naughty one,to the naughty corner!
That day SD and I looked at each other,the way only parents can,in awe of and proud of their kids.
We eavesdropped on them,while the girls were in their room and Nanya was rubbing Aadi’s back. saying,”No crying Aadu,all fine all fine” and Aadi was wiping Nanya’s tears,saying”Its Ok Nanya,I am not mad at you..didi is here with you” and there were some unprompted I-love-yous too..:)
As I sit here typing this,they are rough-housing on our makeshift bed in the lounge-room..fighting over the same toys and then giggling at something only they know.
And this is why,I wanted a SISTER for Aadya..:)

So much for wanting to write everyday ..:)
SD is at home and hogs my laptop..when he isn’t Aadi wants to draw pictures on paintbrush! She is really good at drawing those Powerpuff Girls and I don’t have the heart to say no!

See?I told you! How can I say no to such talent??
Anyway,with all this,I have very little screen time.
This week is a scorcher,here in Melbourne. We are used to an odd hot day or two,but almost always by night it rains and all is well again.But this week,the temperatures are in late 30s and 40s for all the 5 days and there will be some respite on Saturday,with a low 33deg..Fun!NOT!
Ideally,I shouldn’t be complaining,because I am not stepping out of the house. We stayed in all of Monday and Tuesday.Today,only SD has gone out to get some fruit and ice-cream,we are still at home,cooling off in the airconditioned lounge room,which is currently also our bedroom.We have only one aircon and its in the living room,so,bringing the mattresses was the only way to cope with the heat.
This Meme is doing the rounds on facebook and I can’t help but share it here..

I’ll stop here now and schedule some posts,now that I have the laptop in my control 😀

Yesterday,we went to the park with Aadi’s friend Anie and her mum K and little brother A.Anie & her mum were one of the first few friends little Aadi and I made in Melbourne. Then both K and I fell pregnant with our second babies at the same time and we had two more monkeys join the group 🙂
Anie asked if she could go in our car and it was so cute to hear the girls talk in the backseat. They shared secrets,talked about what they did in the holidays,compared notes on their siblings ..awww.. perfect recipe to turn mum into mush 😀
And then they started reminiscing about how they have know each other for the longest time..One said,”You are my first friend” and the other said,”And you are mine,we were so so so little when we met” 

After a play-and-picnic at the park,the girls asked if they could have a play-date at home and Anie came home with us.The girls kept talking non-stop-it helps that they like the same things and have same aged siblings..K sent me a collage of pics from yesterday and I thought I’d share it here…

And some of Ms.Nanya 

 

This was Nanya’s favorite place..She climbed up the lookout,looked through the binoculars and then went down the slide,every single time 😀

 

 

And all the playing made her so tired,she decided to lie down on the coffee table,after waking up from her nap 😛
I just missed out on some pics of K’s little boy,but with two toddlers,we split up watching them…
We are meeting them again tomorrow and Aadi has already laid out her clothes everything for tomorrow 🙂

Nanya has been making us smile and look at her with awe,with all the new things she has been saying lately. Aadi is home,so it means more tv time for Nan too and she now sings all the jingles of the cartoon shows- the one for My little Pony and Power Puff girls.She knows all the characters on both the shows and LOVES Baby Looney tunes and The Garfield Show and rattles off the names of the characters as they flash on the screen.

She has to know everything that’s going on in the house..if someone opens the main door(the safety door is noisy),she drops whatever she is doing and runs to the door,screaming,”Hey Wait-a-me!” She sees me cooking/eating/reading and she asks,”Mummmm,whatare you making/eating/weeding?” I love her baby talks.specially the words that are still not clear. I do worry sometimes,about the unclear words.But when I think about it,I realize its because she is a hurry to talk..she has to be,if she has to get in any words,with her chatter-box sister.When she takes the time to slow down,most words come out perfectly..except,R is still W and S is silent 😀

I love it how she understands now,when I try to explain something to her.Like the night we went to the drive-in movies,as soon as I put her in the car-seat,she started crying,then continued screaming loudly,for the next 5 minutes,till SD didn’t pullover to a side. I got down and tried to calm her down..I explained to her calmly that the movie was over and we had to go home,and so she had to stay in her car-seat and she stopped crying.She wasn’t happy about it,but she hugged me tight and sniffled,”OK Mum” I gave her bottle and blanket and she sat quietly for the rest of the trip.

She is starting to understand when she does something wrong and that mumma is cross.When I put her on the naughty chair,she actually sits there,looking sad.But,she will not say sorry to the wronged party(SD or Aadi) till I don’t give her a hug.Once I have given her a hug,she will happily say sowwie to whoever. She says sorry so happily..seriously,even if she ends up bumping into a chair or toy,she says sowwie hi-chair!LOL

Today,we were watching TV and Aadya said something rude and I was telling her off and she got upset and started crying..Nanya took one look at her sister and she got so mad at me and then she told me off!!! It was so funny and cute.I told her to stop getting mad at me and to say something to her sister and she put her hand up and said..”No mumma..No telling Aadu.. go mumma..” and to Aadya,”come on Aadu..naughty mumma”. No I didn’t get mad.. I just started laughing and so did Aadya,our fight forgotten.

Oh and when I write about Nanya,how can I not write about how she wakes me up. Did I tell you,the girls have been sleeping in their room in their own bed.Ok technically its the double bed in the guest room,but they have been sleeping there,for the last week or 10 days.There are still occasions when SD or I have to sleep with them,because one of them is unsettled or comes to our bed,but otherwise,we are all better rested,these days 🙂 So,when Aadya wakes up and I am still sleeping,she sneaks out to watch TV.When Ananya wakes up and I am still sleeping,she sneaks into my room and pulls the covers,pokes my eyes,with her little fingers and says,”I WANT CHAI-COCO(choclate milk!)” yup! So there is no sleep-ins,for me.But,as bizzare as it sounds,I love it when she wakes me up like that..Perfect start to the day,because serious,that is just an indication of how the rest of the day will be like..crazy,loud,chaotic and fun!

Speaking of crazy,loud,chaotic and fun,you know what else is all that? Everybody Loves Raymond.SD and I love the show and he bought the whole series ( a gift from me to him!!) and we’ve been watching it every night when the kids are in bed.. and we’ve been splitting our sides laughing … Next on our list after this is the Friends series..:D

More later..

Aadya loves sketching and if she can’t get a character right,it frustrates her. A few days back,she was in her room.She really enjoys quiet time in her room and I heard frustrated grunts. My first reaction was to ignore her and I did ..but 10 minutes later,I heard crying.I walked into her room and she told me,what was bothering her. If it was something silly as the iPad running out of charge or not being able to find a toy,I would’ve ignored it,but this was a real disaster in my 6 year old’s life.She was struggling to sketch her favorite pony,Rainbow Dash

.I offered to teach her and she was so excited.She found a picture she liked on google images

And we got to work:

And then she practiced some more till she got it 🙂

I am so proud of her for not giving up 🙂 Notice the details in Rainbow’s eyes 😀

Wow! Can you believe it,we are already in the second week of the new year ?? This year sure is going fast 🙂
Hope you had a good weekend 🙂

a tea-party with dry cornflakes,milk and pretend tea 🙂

 

Cross-posted on my new blog-Smiles,Happiness,Love