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I’ve been awarded

MysTri Mum7 Comments

I am in a very happy place right now. I feel so much love,its going to spill,if I don’t share soon.

Awards have been sent my way,by loving friends and its time,I accept graciously and thank them.

Rayshma gave me this:

Thanx gal!I am honored and boy, am I glad to have met you. You are totally a pleasure to be with.And now, I pass this award to-

Swati- who keeps coming back to my blog,even when I don’t update it,regularly.

Shobana- for being the friend thats always there to listen

Upsi- for being you.

And Swati gave me this :



She says,” I love her blog for the honesty with which she writes and for the antics of Aadya 🙂“

Thank You, Swati..I am honoured 🙂

Here’s what the Brilliante is all about-

“The Brilliant Weblog Award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is topromote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere. Here are the rules to follow:When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, togetherwith the name of who has given it to you, and link back to them.Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing them that they have been awarded with the ‘Brilliant Weblog’ award.Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional) to.”

I would like to pass on this award to-

Kiran – I love her humor injected posts.I can keep reading her posts,over and over again and still laugh.

Suki– This one claims to be a teenager, but her posts are really thought provoking.Rock on girl!

invictuspeak– he doesn’t quiet update as often as I like…but the posts are always, interesting.

Dottie– for her lucid posts.Each post is so well written..the words are like beads in a necklace.

Emaan– This cutie-pie speaks his mind…keeping you hooked!!!

Mona – Love reading about Noo..Mona’s post so often reflect the conflict in my mind..

Mummyjaan – For reasons unknown to me,I keep wanting to go back to her posts,again and again. She’s very positive and full of sunshine 🙂

And with this dear ones,I end this post. This may be my last post,for the next few weeks.We are in transit…regular posting will resume, as soon as we are all settled.Take care,be good,See you on the other side!




health · Munchkin Mania · Tales from Aadyaland

Of Little girls who make your Boos better

MysTri Mum4 Comments

These last few days all I have done is packing,sorting, packing and more sorting. And all the while there are a thousand thoughts in my mind. I have a couple posts in draft and countless others in my mind,but this one needs to be written.
I had a followup appointment at my doctor’s office today and we all were happy to get away from this mad place we call home. I tell you, there is so much mess- well, actually not mess.its our things- clothes,books, etc..but in general moves are messy and to add to it, we are trying to pack a week long vacation in SFO, before we leave the U S of A. So, anyway, we were at the doctor’s office.
The doctor’s assitant came in to take all the details,Aadya was happily chattering ,saying hi giving hi-fives..till, she started checking my temperature and blood pressure and then,all the love evaporated .Sanj tried to distract her, but all she wanted to do was pry the pressure cuff off my arm. That got done and then we had to wait for the doctor. This is the only bad part about my doctor visit. She is great doctor, patiently answers all our queries but,the wait time is too long.So,thats a challenge,keeping a super-active toddler out of trouble. Sanj took her out for a walk and still no sign of the doctor.. after a long wait I think about 25 minutes or so..she came to see me.
“You are glowing,you seem to have lost weight”…these were her first words,on entering the room.Grinning ear-to-ear,I forgot about the long wait. When your doctor tells you, you are looking good,its a cause to celebrate. The next she asked Sanj ,if he had had his flu shots.When he told her that his sugar levels were back to normal,she reached out and hugged him. This is the reason, why I still keep going back to this place.. they make us feel like we belong. Anyway
then came the tricky part- the blood draw.
Its so difficult a good vein in my arms,and so as soon as the nurse came in to take the blood, sanj took aadya out .They came back,and we were still trying to find a vein after one missed attempt.Aadya saw the band-aid and started pointing at it saying “Boo Boo” with a sad face.I said, “Mumma has got a boo” she looked even sadder.I said, can you make it better?
And she did..She climbed up on the chair and kissed the band-aid and then asked me..”boo?”I said,with a sad face,Boo hurts.She climbed up on the chair and kissed it again and kissed my hand and face too.How could the Boo not get better then?
I hugged her and said,its Ok now,baby..then she smiled. The nurse hugged her too..and said..”see that’s why I wanted atleast one little girl”..What can I say,I got lucky!
So, if you want to make your boo better,you know where to go 🙂

Uncategorized

Chiti Chiti Bang Bang

MysTri Mum5 Comments
This post has nothing to do with the movie. I was feeling rather uninspired and couldn’t come up with an interesting Title.So poked and prodded the sleeping husband,he woke up irritated and groggy and was ready to bite off my head..when I asked him for an interesting title. “For my blog post”.. The poor guy rubbed his eyes…”tell me na,fast.” I urged and he came up with this!!So,I will be damned if I use some other title..after all this.

Anyway,blogging has been slow. First because Aadya wasn’t well..she got a little better and off we flew to Seattle,to see my friend and her cuddly 16 month old. We got back,and the weekend was here..So,we spent it painting the town most of the day and following Hurricane Ike the rest of the time.

When you have so many things to take care of, time just flies.Lot of things have been happening-some I can write about,some I have to restrain myself from.For one, like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts..we are busy packing.We are moving out of the US of A. Where? Some details need to be fine tuned..till then,I have been advised to keep my mouth SHUT! hehe..the things you do for love.

Which brings me to my one true LOVE, My angel..She has been chattering nineteen to a dozen. The newest additions to the vocabulary are – “esstrollarrrr( the stroller), Jaii jaii ( for praying),Chikin( the obvious,chicken)..And now,I can safely call this kid,bilingual. She commands us in both Hindi and english,depending on her mood. Sometimes, its “waann thiss” some times it is..Ye do na.( give this) ..sometimes it is “aao” ,at others its commee. And so on.This calls for a seaparate post.

And so does the Seattle Visit..I will be writing about both shortly.

I will be back with more masala..till then,be good,be safe..Mucho love,my lovelies.

I leave you with a pic of the two stars of my next post…

general · health · Mommy time · Monthly updates · parenting · Tales from Aadyaland

17 months and counting….

MysTri Mum10 Comments

Can you believe it?? In another month,my baby girl would be one and a half years old.Aadya turned 17 months young,over the weekend I completely forgot about the 16 month post..and so,this one has to be written.Co-incidentally,Aadya was sick on both her 16 month and 17th month birthday.My poor baby has fever since yesterday and her cold and cough doesn’t seem to be going away.

She has evolved so much in these last two months.She is getting more and more communicative.She knows how to effectively use pointing and words. If she wants something,she drags us by the hand, and points at the thing that she wants. If she wants to watch TV, she points at it.That’s another story,that she turns it off,when we are watching it and not paying attention to her. She knows that her favorite song,Lakdi ki kathi can be watched on the computer,so she points at the computer,when she wants to listen to that. She points at the fridge when she wants milk or fruit. If she wants milk,she brings her sippy cup to us!

And she is trying to say so many words.Whatever you say,she has to repeat it or try to repeat it. She is a big copy-cat. She is seen walking around,with the phone propped between her shoulder and neck.Obviously,why not? That is how mamma holds the phone! The keys on the keyboard have to be typed at furiously..not slowly,not one by one.Her fingers even imitate mine. The food is to be eaten with a spoon or fork. She waits patiently for the spoon if I forget to give it to her.

And the funniest is when she tries to laugh. Its so cute.When we are laughing,she crinkles up her nose and pretends to laugh.And she always has to have the last laugh!!She won’t quit till the last person has stopped laughing!

She likes to choose her own clothes.So,I lay out two outfits for her and let her pick one. She things she has done something great and happily lets me dress her.If she doesn’t like what she is wearing,she just takes it off. No one told me how your work increases ten fold,when your child learns to undress herself.And God!how she hates her diapers. She just doesn’t want to keep it on.The moment she pees,she takes it off and gives it to me. In a way its good.I know she is ready to be Potty trained..but, with this move and everything else that goes with it,I don’t want to start potty training her. Anyway,she now,points at the bathroom and wants me to take off her diaper,when she wants to pee,which is another sign that she is ready!

This last month,has been great for the father-daughter duo. Aadi is getting more and more attached to her dad. Earlier,she would play with him,but when it was time to sleep or if she was hungry,she needed only mumma. But now, sometimes,she goes to her Papa. And falls asleep as soon as he picks her up. And on some days,I spend so much time, putting her down for a nap,all he has to do is pick her up!and she puts her head on his shoulder and dozes off in 5 minutes.Bedtimes are also incomplete without Papa.She keeps looking out for him,till he doesn’t come and join us .

She loves to gently touch our faces with her hands.Its so amazing,feeling that soft little hand on our faces. At other times,the meltdowns continue.We are kind of able to recognise the signs now, and many meltdowns have been successfully averted. Though there are some that still can’t be helped. Like today, she didn’t want to put on her diaper and her Papa just put it on her,forcefully. And she got upset and she cried and cried..flinging her body..not listening..just crying. I think she was tired and not well. He took her out,I walked with her,then showed her the magic of flicking switches and making everything bright.That cheered her up.

In these 17 months, she has grown so much(knock on the wood),changed so much,from the little baby,we brought home.This change is amazing. I don’t know what else to say..But leave you with this

17 day old wonder


17 month old monkey

general · reality shows · Television

Reality shows,really?

MysTri Mum4 Comments

So, most evenings after Sanj comes home,dinner etc done with,we cuddle up on the couch..me with a book in my hand,he with the remote in his..and Aadya just playing around..sometimes,pottering in the kitchen,bringing out pots and pans and pretending to cook..Anyway,not to digress..So Sanj channel surfing and almost every other channel has some reality show on.

I remember when so many years ago..I think 11-12 years ago,when Javed Jaffery started “Boogie-Woogie” it was a novel concept and we used to wait to watch it. That and there was “Saanp-Seedi ” with Mohan Kapoor as the host.These were the first of this new genre of TV shows..The ones with real people participating,acting spontaneously in front of the camera.Then,there was Antakshari..which was a popular show..but it deteriorated over the years.These were shows that people used to look forward to,because there was no continuity-you could start watching from any episode and enjoy it.

After Boogie-woogie,the next talent hunt show I remember watching is “Zee Cine stars ki Khoj”.My neighbour’s best friend was a contestant,and she asked us to watch it and root for him..So, we watched a couple episodes and started following it..staying up till late to watch the Grand Finale! Then SaReGaMa followed,Indian Idol,Voice of India..blah blah blah..I am not saying that these people who participate are not talented..Sure they are.. but the publicity stunts and the sob stories in each show.. that is getting too familiar.

These shows were a welcome change from the Saas-Bahu Sagas,which run interminably,but really,how much of drama and emotions can you take. Its so funny..I am sitting and typing this here,when about an hour back, I was sniffing away tears for a contestant on Zara Nachke Dikha, who was abandoned on the penalty bench by his team mates.We regular viewers get so involved in these reality shows,that we don’t know where reality ends and drama begins.No really I am not kidding..after the show ended, we ended up having a long discussion about how it was not right, who could be responsible for this decision..blah blah.. yeah we are that jobless.. And we are just two people..imagine the number of people back home,in India watching this.And surely there are millions of people..because how else can you explain the number of votes,pouring in ALL these reality shows.

Each talent search show, be it SaReGaMa or Voice of India or any others..( there are so many,I don’t remember all the names) claims to have received so many million votes. So, who is doing this? Who are these people who are voting,regular people like you and me,right? But,these people have the interest and dedication to take it one step forward and actually send in that SMS. We all have our favorites after watching a couple episodes,but do you really take the time to send out your vote,by SMS or make that call?

And speaking of talent shows, how can I not speak of the talent search for kids and the amount of pressure on the little participants. The pressure from parents, judges, viewers..the pressure to excel..is it really necessary? I remember watching one of the episodes of the children’s special SaReGaMa,where one girl,refused to perform.Her reasons being,she didn’t want her dad to fall sick,if she got eliminated. Why?Because,another girl got eliminated the previous day and her father suffered a heart attack! Its sad,but is a competition,any competition so important?? On the same show, in one of the other episodes,another participant’s father got up and challenged the verdict. He refused to believe it that his princess had not made it in the next round, based on audience voting..Why? because he claimed to have spent thousands of rupees to have people vote for her!! What kind of morals are such parents giving their kids?Aren’t they teaching them,to just win..even if by cheating?

And what about a code of conduct? Recently watched on Headlines today, how the contestants, of yet another such show,took pot shots at each other, cussed and even got into fights, pushing and shoving each other..on national television. That is surely uncalled for.So where do they draw the line? Where? Sadly, the more controversies a show has, the more popular it is..

What do you think about this new genre of reality shows and game shows thats come in? How real are they?

Happy Times · play-time · Tag · Tales from Aadyaland

Of Boo,Baby and Black Cheep.

MysTri Mum7 Comments

Do you know what is common between these three,other than the obvious B? Well, these are some of the words that Aadya says..most commonly.

Baby is anything or anyone who can be her friend.For example her toys- her teddy,her dolly and her Angie, another toddler,another child.Anyone. Anything or anyone,which is in the same height range as her!well,her dolly is small,but it is called Baby too. She picks up the dolly,pats her,puts her on her shoulder and calls her Babee..We see some little girl in the grocery store,she points at her and says,Babee.. A little boy,seen running around in the park,is pointed at and called Babeee..It really doesn’t matter,if the Babee is a good two years older than her. When we put her to bed,she puts the teddy next to her,pats it and says Babee Aaa aaa. Angie,is another story though..She is like her friend. My friend,Vidya gifted it to her.Its a pink and white poodle from Build-A-Bear Workshop and she loved it from the moment she saw it,even when it was not stuffed. So,she has fights with Angie,wags her finger at her and scolds her. There was a time,when she was almost inseparable from Angie.. That phase is over,for now.

Boo is when she gets hurt. Whenever she fell down,I used to say..”Ohh Boo ho gaya..” Now she comes to me and says Boo Hua and I have to kiss it to make it better. The first time,I kissed her Boo,she was surprised and stopped crying. I kissed her finger and asked her is it OK? and she just said No..I kissed again and again..till she smiled. Now,I need to kiss her Boo twice only then she says YAS iss OK,with a shy smile.Oh and when kissing the Boo,utmost precision is required.If she presents her hand,to show the boo,you cannot just kiss the hand.If you do so,she will go on to put her finger at the exact stop where the BOO Hua,getting frustrated if your big lips,cannot kiss the tiny spot her little finger points at!

And lastly,Black Cheep- This little girl loves her nursery rhymes and sometimes sings them for us..Well not the whole thing,but she knows how to prompt mumma to sing…So,she toddles up to me and sings in the sweetest voice..”Baba Baba Back Cheep”…Excited mumma,tells her go on..sing more baby..sing like this..So, mumma sings the whole rhyme and then,baby applaudes and kisses!!Oh and kissing,has to be loud and clear..UUUUUUUUUUUUUMAAAAAAAAAAH! like that! She starts saying the UUU from a distance,comes towards you with puckered lips,gently touches the face and says..Uuumaaaaaaaaah!Oh and now, she showers me with kisses..ummm..I make her,every day at nap time, we lie in bed,I point at my cheek,saying,”ek kissie,aadi..” and she does..then the other cheek and the eyes, and so on. Its fun 🙂 these toddler years.
Oh..I digress..not that it matters,its all about Aadya..So,another song that she likes listening to is..ABC..So,she starts it..” A B cee dee…” and points at me..Yeah Yeah I oblige..always!

The funniest thing happened today..we were putting her to sleep- These days, thankfully,she always wants the Papa to be around too.I am happy,I am not the only one,getting frustrated when she is not sleeping.So, first she just didnt want to settle down,she just kept pointing at the bedroom door.Wondering,if she may be hungry,I went out with her and it turns out,Madam wanted a bath.So,I gave her a quick bath,while Papa got her bottle ready. That done,we were back in bed.The dudu was drunk and the sippy put away..and she refused to sleep! I got really angry and told her,”Aadya I am going to count till 5 ,if you dont sleep,That’s it!” So,I started, “One”….”Two”… she puts up two fingers and grins “Thee”… We both burst out laughing..And she jumped right in..And no she didn’t sleep right away,we played some more,we let her stay up past the bed-time,because we were hungry.We finished dinner,by then she was ready to sleep..Happily came to bed with me. Its so funny,I always have to sleep with the bedroom door closed.Now,when Aadya is sleepy and wants to sleep,she pulls me by the hand and makes sure,the door is SHUT behind us!
Isn’t it funny,how certain things you have been doing almost unconsciously,but the little one picks it up ?

On a totally different note,I am going to enable comment Moderation..Only because,that way,I am regular in replying to your comments 🙂

Uncategorized

Mother’s instinct

MysTri Mum7 Comments

In case you are wondering,where we were last few days,let me tell you we were right here..cooped up at home.The Viral monster was visiting and had all of us in his grip. What started as a normal cough-sneeze routine,turned into a full blown viral infection,even before we could say,”Bless you”..We had a bit of a scare,when Aadya’s fever refused to go down,even with regular doses of tylenol and the cough kept getting worse. Two trips to the ped’s office, countless doses of tylenol administered and she is still recuperating..the fever is on and off and the coughing still the same..hoarse,deep throated. Anyway,when she feels fresh,after her nap, she just plays and plays and then,she gets tired and wants mumma to carry her around.Which is fine on normal days..but when Mumma herself was fighting off fever and infection and dealing with so many health problems, carrying her around can be difficult.
So,we were generally in an irritable mood,both of us snapping at the father..well me snapping,she scratching..So,I decided to just watch some movies to cheer myself up. And I have seen,that Aadya wants me to carry her,only when I am on the phone,or trying to cook or clean.So,I decided to just take a break.Be a couch potato and stare at the idiot box. I am not a big TV fan,so there are not too many things that I like watching.But sometime back,while channel surfing,I saw the trailer of a movie on Lifetime and that seemed interesting. The name of the movie was Little Girl Lost. I was intrigued,and had saved it on DVR. This was one of the movies that I watched,in the last two days.
Little Girl Lost is based on a real life story. Its the story of a mother,who has been told that her newborn daughter didn’t survive the fire that burnt down her house. But she is not convinced.Infact,she is sure that her baby was still out there somewhere.Its the story of a mother’s conviction and her strength,her willpower and determination to fight anything and anyone and to just find her daughter.Its a beautifully made movie. It moved me to tears.The mother finally reunited with her daughter after 6 years. But not before fighting with the person who had kidnapped her,as a baby. Even after it was proved that this little girl was indeed her baby,the mother had to wait till the child was emotionally ready for the change.
The most touching part of the movie was..when the mother is told by a social worker,how upset the little girl is..the mother says,”Its so ironical,the happiest day of my life,is the saddest day of her life,” Oh..its a beautifully made story..I had my heart in my mouth till the little girl didnt get home and I wanted to reach out and hug the mother.
This movie is based on a real life story-The details are here
While I was watching the movie,I dont know when,Aadya came and cuddled up next to me..And then ,as I held, her,she fell asleep. As I breathed in her sweet baby smell,I realised how lucky I am to be able to hold her,watch her grow…Delimar’s mother, missed all that.She couldn’t rock her baby to sleep,she couldn’t watch her sleep..She had to find out her daughter’s likes and dislikes,by asking her questions,not know it instinctively..So many things we take for granted,so many things need to be treasured.
I think at the moment I forgot about my aching arms..putting her down,just didnt seem like an option..I just held her closer and stayed that way,for the longest time.

Uncategorized

Waterbabies

MysTri Mum7 Comments

WaterBabies-Day one
Once upon a time,there was a little girl.She loved the water but she was prone to ear-infections.A day at the beach and she would catch an infection.So,her mommy and daddy decided to keep her away from water. No swimming for her.She grew up to be a rebellious teen and took some lessons,from her friend. Now,the little girl is grown up,and has a little girl of her own.Yes you guessed,it,Me..who else!
I still love the water.One hot day,I decided to see if Aadya liked the water too.We went to the pool in the community and tested hands first and then feet,in the small warm pool. Aadya was so excited,seeing that,I rolled up my Capri and and sat on the steps in the shallow pool,she was so excited,squealing and kicking.I was enjoying it too,but I was nervous.You see,I had never taken formal lessons and the few lessons that my friend gave me would be enough to save myself,but I wasn’t confident getting into the water with Aadya.But she loves the water,more than I do.
So,I started looking for swimming classes..and found this one for babies. It said age 6 months to 2 years and there were going to 6-8 babies in each group. That was perfect and one of the parents had to get in the water with them. DH agreed to drive us there,but getting in the water was my job. I hadn’t been in the pool for about 6-7 years and was nervous.But I figured,there would be other people and so we’d be OK.That and I really wanted to encourage Aadya and let her love for water grow.So,I sucked up..and signed up for these lessons.
Today was the first day. As always,we got there,just in time.And so there was no time to change Aadya’s diaper from regular to swimming diaper. The thing with the swimming diaper is,that if she pees in it,it leaks.Its just made to hold the poop in!*sorry TMI..so, i couldn’t take her in it,from home itself.
Anyway,when we reached the assigned spot,the instructor was doing head count and briefing the parents about the class. I half-listened,half- looked for a place to change her diaper.There were no benches or chairs.So,I had to do it standing.Luckily the swimming diaper is pull-up,and another mom standing by,looked at me.I asked her to help me. Then,I quickly took off my clothes ( see,here I did the smart thing..I was wearing,my swim-suit inside the clothes). and got in the pool.Well,almost.
I was fine,till I was holding the railing and getting down the step.And then,suddenly the water seemed so deep.I felt myself panic,just a little..But,Aadya was ready to go join the group and I forgot about my panic. And I still had my two feet on the floor.So,we walked up to the wall and joined the group.And then the fun started.
First,we learned to kick.The instructor told us,how to hold the babies afloat,facing us,so they could kick. Aadya was excited,kicking her feet,splashing water.Slowly,I was getting more and more comfortable and soon,we were in the centre of the pool,away from the wall.And she was using her hands too.
The next step was,reach and pull.Here,we each had to throw a toy,a little away from the baby and encourage her to go and get it,while holding her side ways.I did as instructed and Aadya,pushed with her hands to grab the toy.She was so excited,when she got it and didn’t want to leave it.After the first two attempts,she realised that retrieving the toy was more fun than holding on to it..and stopped resisting. We walked from one end of the pool to the other,reaching for the toy.
Next was bubble time. We had to blow bubbles at the surface of the water and teach the babies to do it.Aadya tried that and gulped a little water..but the instructor,taught her how to spit it right out. And then she had fun trying to spit out.. rather than blowing.Poor child,didn’t realise that she had already gulped the chlorinated water and that there was no spitting it out.
Soon,it was time for a wrap up.And we wrapped up with some singing and dancing.The instructor told us,to go around in a circle,while singing,” The wheels on the bus go”.We did,imitating the instructor,and the babies squealed. Then we said,good-byes.I let Aadya,splash her way to the steps, and she didn’t want to leave.She was so mad at me,for making her leave.
As I came out the water,I realised,how heavy we were- the whole idea of being weightless in water,completely forgotten!!Wish I could just stay in the water,all the time!
It was fun fun experience.I think sometime in those 30 minutes,that little girl in me,got her shot in the water too…looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.

Mumma's Kitchen · Paneer · peas · Quick Recipes

Matar Paneer Dry

MysTri Mum2 Comments
You know how some days,you are just pressed for time but feel like eating something fancy.Or how you are hungry and craving something yummy…or more elaborate but don’t have the patience to make it.That’s exactly what happened to me,yesterday.
I had some left over daal-fry dhaba style,from the previous nights dinner.So, I decided to make some jeera rice to go with it.But, as the smells of the delicious basmati infused with cumin filled up my kitchen,my mind started craving for a nice curry to go with it.I quickly raided the refrigerator only to find that not a single thing appealed to me.Well Except…the paneer. But there was not enough time.With less than half an hour left for DH to arrive,I had to act quickly.I got the paneer out,cut it into cubes.While I was still thinking of what to do with it..the little one woke up.Nothing much gets done in the kitchen,when she is awake.
So,I quickly tossed a few things into the pan..and came up with this 🙂

Like what you see? Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/ 2 cup paneer cubes

1 cup peas

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste.

1/4 cup milk+1/8 cup water

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp coriander-cumin powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

salt to taste

oil

Preparation:

Heat about 2-3 tsps of oil in a pan.

Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Next add the peas and stir fry,on a low flame.

When the peas are half cooked,add the paneer cubes.By then the pan should be well greased,if not,dribble a tiny amount of oil on the sides. lightly toss the paneer cubes in the pan,so as to keep them from sticking to the pan.

Add the spices and mix well,gently.

Add the milk-water mixture and let it simmer,till all the liquid dries. If you want to make the dish richer,just add all milk,no water.

Garnish with fresh coriander or mint leaves and serve hot,with roti .

Art · Happy Times · play-time · Tales from Aadyaland

Artsy Shartsy

MysTri Mum9 Comments
Today Ms. Aadya was very restless and was getting upset,when I tried to make her nap with me,at my naptime. She kept pointing at the door and wanted to go to the living room. Not one to give up easily,I dragged my pillow and balnket to the couch..but she got even more upset. After trying to sleep for a good 30-30 minutes,I gave up.

I tried reading to her-she didnt want to read.Then,singing..she put her hand on my mouth..in an attempt to shush me. Then I remembered some colors I had picked up a few days back,for finger painting.We tried it sometime last week and she wanted to taste the color-one lick with a finger, the rigourous mouth wshing and stern No,was all it took to discourage her from eating the whole tube. She made a general mess of herself,her clothes,her hair and the newspaper that I gave her to splash color on.

Today,however,I thought of trying something else.We had a hanger,from a 6-pack of onsies.I thought of doing something fun with it. It had a general appearance of a tree..so,we started out with a big blot of red color. I showed her how to spread it all over the hanger. She did..Then we let it dry and started coloring in the color book with crayons. When the finger-paint dried up,I took a tube of brown oil paint and a brush and evenly spread the brown all over that. and hung it to dry.

Then,we played with the blocks and colored some more. And as I watched the drying hanger..a thought struck me..it didnt look like a tree..but looked like a lobster or something. So,I quickly got it down and dotted some yellow color on the ends and helped Aadya,blend it. And then,to add a final touch, made the eyes..

I present to you,our first attempt at art work –


Welllllllll, what do you think??