Swati tagged to do the alphabet tag and she wants me to do with the first alphabet of my child’s name..So here you go-
My tag of “A”

1. What is your(child’s) name: Aadya

2. A four Letter Word: Also

3. A boy’s Name: Ayaan

4. A girl’s Name:Aadya/Ananya/Ashka

5. An occupation: Accountant

6. A color: Aquamarine

7. Something you wear: Angora Shawl

8. A food: Appam(and Chicken Stew..yumm yumm)

9. Something found in the bathroom: Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

10. A place:Arizona(Aadya was born in Arizona state)/ Adelaide(My brother is going there to study next year!!yoo hoo!)

11. A reason for being late: Aadya LOL!

12. Something you shout: Arreeeeee

13. A movie title: Anamika/Are we there yet??

14. Something you drink: Apple Juice

15. A musical group:I am just going to cheat and say “Atif Aslam”..Love his songs.

16. An animal: Alligator

17. A Street name: Acacia Street(melbourne/glenroy/carnegie)

18. A type of car: Accord

19. A song title: Aa chal ke tujhe,main leke chalu

20. A verb: Act

And I tag-
Shobana
Rayshma
SS

And the winner is-Little Diva,Aadya!
The girl is obsessed with Baths and showers. If she is having a dull day..meaning,mommy refusing to play her favorite animated movies on TV,or mommy not letting her bring all her toys to the living room..(I mean,why did I turn one whole room into toy room,if she had to still play in(read mess up) the living room.So,I was saying,if she is having a dull day,she makes a puppy dog face,gives those extra loving cuddles and asks in a melt-your-heart sweet voice,”tub Naaiina?” The twinkle in her eyes,that mischievous smile..ohh the girl,sure knows how to tug at my heart-strings..Sometimes,its these things that work for her..on others,its a quick flying kiss,hug and a cock of her head towards the tub..no words said.I ask her,”hmm,so what do you want now?”And she just says,”mamma”,a naughty smile playing on her lips,just that nod again..eyes dancing from my face to the tub…Ohh I wish I were better with words,to describe the scene to you..
And then there are other days,when,its just a full blown tantrum..that starts for something else,and midway changes tracks to beg and scream to be put into the tub.
Anyway,its all about tub Naiina..(naiina is short for naii-naii,which is baby talk to bathtime!).And everything has to be done in the right order.Mamma has to fill the tub,the water temperature adjusted.Not one to waste time,by then,Aadi has already taken off her clothes.Next she hands me the bottle of bubble bath and starts throwing her bath toys into the tub..Then,she is lost in her bath,for the next 15-20 minutes,blowing bubbles,playing with her toys.When she has had spent enough time playing,she is ready for the next step..that is stepping into the shower..but there are clear instructions,”No putting Shampoo in my hair”..as if that will stop me.The bath ritual done with,then,comes the warm milk and then nap time.
But this bath greedy child is not satisfied with her long bath..Everytime,I duck into the bathroom for a quick shower,she creeps into the bathroom,undressed and ready to enter the shower stall.I used to let her come in..But,sometime last week,when I wasn’t getting any alone time and bathroom was my only recluse,I told her No,as she tried to enter the shower.The child must be a cat in previous life..thats how quietly she sneaks in…So,I didnt let her enter..and she started crying..”Mamma no fair,I want Naiina”..I ignored…as she got louder and louder and then,I turned off the shower and stepped out.She then sulked and later told me how Angry she was…
Baba hasn’t been spared either..She has tried everything from fake tears to scolding…he is ready to give in every single time..”Kya karu,should I let her come in?” If it weren’t for my “No”s …she would be having 3-4 baths per day!

Last thursday,Sanj had a stressful work day,which left him,irritated and ready to bite heads off,if you so much as looked at him.Aadi looks forward to her Baba coming home,and follows him around like a puppy,from the moment he steps in.She was obviously hurt,by Baba’s disinterest and longer than usual shower.
Somehow,we got through dinner and then,we all settled down,with our own activities-Aadi with her blocks,Sanj with the remote and me,I grabbed the laptop.
5 mins later the blocks were abandoned..I mentally got ready,to climbed over..but,I was in for a surprise..I heard her,ask Sanj,rather softly,”Baba,mujhe Godi lena hai?”[do you want to pick me up?]Sanj picked her up.
I fervently kept blogging,sure that my me-time was going to end soon.But,the dad-daughter corner was eerily quiet..I mean,when they are together..the house fills up with mock roars and delighted squeals..Or a chaos of scolding/screaming..but that day was very quiet.
Curious,I looked up,and the sight that met my eyes was so beautiful..
A beautiful little girl,sitting in her daddy’s lap,gently touching his face,patting his head,stroking his back.
A very surprised and visibly relaxed father,looking at his daughter with a look filled with love and awe.
Aadi was whispering something and Sanj was nodding,a faint smile on his lips…
They were holding each other,sharing a tight hug,now and then…I felt a little cheated at not being included in the circle of their love…but at the same time,I was comfortable,being the priviliged witness to this special moment.I didn’t want to intrude,for the fear of breaking the spell.I left them to themselves..
Later,that night,I asked Sanj,what they were talking about..and he told me that she kept whispering-”
That’s Ok Baba,don’t worry,Sab kuch theek ho jayega..” [everything will be alright]
Over and over,again and again…
I don’t know if it was her healing touch,or if it was her reassurance,whatever it was,it worked..
Things did work out the next day..But,I am still filled with a sense of being witness to something so surreal,something absolutely out of this world..

My friend Devi asked me to make a hat and matching scarf for her.Her only specifications were-
1) The color should be neutral for her to wear to work.
2) The yarn should be very soft.

3)The hat should be round and cover her ears.

I liked the Durango hat pattern on Ravelry.So,that’s the hat that I made for her.And for the scarf,I just made a regular stockinet stitch scarf.Only,I forgot to make the 3 stitch border on both sides.So,naturally the scarf was curling up on the sides.So,I ironed it,lightly and then,made a single crochet border,all around.On hind sight,that was a good idea,because it tied up nicely with the hat.
I present my Durango & Scarf,happily modelled by Devi.

Side view of the hat-

And here’s the scarf

Material used-
Bernat Silky soft- in Taupe and Coffee colors.
Size 4.0mm hook(for hat)
size 4 knitting needles(for scarf)

This morning ,as I washed my face,I felt the soft smooth skin and smiled.I have been told over and over about what nice skin I have.But off late,whenever someone compliments me on my skin/complexion..I just brush it off saying,”Ohh this is nothing,it was much better.” or “look at the pigmentation” And then,one thought led to another..and I realised that I am very bad at accepting compliments..
When someone praises my cooking,I tell them,”ohh my mom was better..” or ” ohh this one(dish) is a no brainer”..
When someone compliments me on my outfit,I just say..”Ohh this one..oh yeah..” or”ohh its my sister’s” If someone tells me i have lost weight,I say..”ohh I really need to lose some more..this is nothing”..you know what I mean..
And then,there’s Aadya,when she does something…she demands,we say,”Good job”..and when we do,she smiles sweetly and says,”thank you”…So,today when,a friend complimented me on my blog..I resisted the urge to brush her off and direct her to my favorite blogs..instead,just smiled and said,”thank you”..And its not so bad..you know:)basking in the appreciation.
And on that note,I thought I will share an outfit,that fetched me some compliments..After spending over 2 years in Kurtis and the likes,this well-fitting shirt,is my “baby-steps” from hassled mom to a cool mom.

About the outfit-
Shirt- $15 from Best&Less
Jeans-$20 from Target
necklace-2 year old from Claire’s..dont remember how much.
And now I am going to post this,before I lose the nerve to do it.