This is the thought that has been on my mind for the last few days..Disappearing into anonymity,now after I have been blogging with real names seems stupid..Going private..well may be…
Why I am thinking all this?Yes you guessed it..With emotions rocking the blogging world,first the Mad Momma,then crazy mumma and then Poppins..I wonder who’s next… is it me? Not that I have much to hide.. but,you never know who reacts in what way.
I googled my name and found that it does show this blog on the first page….so what?? All three of us have uncommon names and so it wont be difficult to put two and two together and figure out who it is about..
One thing about blogging anonymously is the freedom to write whatever you want.. without worrying about anyone..Ohh but I am the kind of person,who will tell chosen friends n family about the blog..But atleast,then someone wont stumble upon it accidently..
When I first started blogging,it was just going to be a journal of my pregnancy and my baby’s life.. but slowly this blog has become an important part of my life..And though we NEVER put down everything in writing..sometimes,its nice to be able to vent,without worrying about who is reading.. or who might read..I dont know.. what to think or I dont even know if I am able to express my confusion clearly..So,Help me out here..What do I do..Go Private or close this blog? Or is there some other way?
Picture Time
Here are Aadya’s pics.. as I have promising you all for such a long time..
Enjoy!!
Here’s Aadya playing with her Teddy
Here’s Madame enjoying a leisurely bath
Taking in all the beautiful sights
One does need a comfortable position to watch TV
And finally unwinding before bed-time –
Edited to Add- Yes… She is talking to the butterflies in the last picture!
My 4 month old!
Aadya turned 4 months old on 30th July and mommy still hasnt been able to update the blog about it and to think,Aadya is the star of the blog!So, today as Aadya is busy screaming with joy as Papa,plays with her, Mumma sits down to write about her 4-month old.
Screaming? you ask..Yes screaming.She is a screamer.She has learnt to squeal and scream.She squeals with joy,when her dad comes home. She squeals with joy when I go to pick her up after her alone time on the playmat .She squeals when talking to her butterflies.Its as if she is practicing the squeals..all the time.Sometimes she even tries to add a squeal or two when she is crying.That is so funny.She is quick to show her discomfort too.When she is mad,she turns red in her face and screams!
She has learned to sit up with support and if we give her our thumbs or fingers to hold, when she is lying down..she has to sit up on her own and not satisfied with that,she has learned to stand up! This is one determined little child.2 days after she turned 4 months old, she decided that she doesnt need our support to get up, and since then she has been trying to sit up on her own, supporting her upper body with her elbow and with sheer willpower,she raises her self to an almost sitting position,kinda like a scoop!
Aadya has 2 new friends now.The fan and the iron board. She favors the iron board over the fan and the butterflies over the iron board.
This little girl is a social bee..She loves to have people around her. We take her to the mall and she is so excited, refusing to sleep.. as if to take in all the pretty sights.
She is constantly babbling..constantly!And when she gets sleepy,she wants to sing herself to sleep too. Her nap routine is like this- Two yawns and rubbing eyes and mumma knows its nap time.and touch wood, its more or else the same time everyday.. just 10-15 minutes here and there. So, mumma wipes her face,puts her in the sleeper sack and takes her to the bedroom.We sit in the rocking chair and mumma rocks her to sleep,while humming to her. And then Aadya starts humming too.If mumma stops she stops..mumma starts n she starts too :)After around 15 mins, Mumma transfers her to the crib and baby opens her eyes, checks if everything is the same in her crib,cuddles up with Poochie and sleeps.( for an hour atleast.) Then mumma has to pat her to sleep again!
When she wakes up,she plays in her crib,waiting for us to get up..and then when she has waited long enough,she calls out to us in clear distinct,AYE..So sweetly called out, who can not answer her 🙂
Other sweet, happy times are bath times-Aadya loves to sit in her bath-tub and offlate has started to thrash her feet in the water and loves the resulting splash.A big grin lights up her face,when the water splashes!
Not one to stay in one spot,she has learned to kick the floor with her heels and move her body. So,there is no way, mumma can leave her on the bed or the couch. The only place for her is on the blanket spread out on the living room rug. I leave her at point A..and in no time she lands up at point B, defintely not on the blanket and at an angle of 90degrees from point A.The scene that typically greets me is my baby girl gazing up at the ceiling,with her hands clasped together,in a thinker pose!
After our early morning nursing sesssions,I bring Aadya to our bed and her favorite passtime is playing with mumma’s hair,touching mumma’s face,Papa’s face and finally falling asleep with one hand holding papa’s night shirt and other holding Mumma’s hair!
When Mumma wakes up and sees this beautiful sight,what more could she ask for 🙂
Happy 4 months,my love!
Aadya’s First Social Event!
Last Sunday Aadya attended her first Social event.Nothing fancy,It was a 4 year old’s birthday party.
I was really excited to take Aadya to a social gathering for the first time.I was curious to watch her expressions and her interaction with people and kids.I already know she loves watching kids playing.When we take her to the mall, she goes crazy looking at all the kids playing in kids area or walking with the parents or sitting in their strollers!
The party was on Sunday,and we had already had a tiring day the previous day with our Grand Canyon Trip and so I didn’t know if she would be tired or fussy.Anyway,I gave her a bath and just put her down for her morning nap a little early .It was a lunch party. We got dressed and reached there.Aadya was wearing a red shirt,knotted at the waist and a denim skirt with red frills,matching her shirt
A group of 3 girls(H,A,J),(DH’s colleagues) started to fight for Aadya’s attention.They had seen her as a newborn and we had been planning to meet up for a long time after that,it just didn’t work out. And Aadya,the epitome of grace, smiled at all of them coyly;she didn’t even mind being traded from one person to another and if I can say so, basked in their combined appreciation.After that it was just one fan after other and Princess Aadya,graced them all with coy smiles, even showering a choice fan with her toothless grin. She didn’t even mind wearing the party hat!I was feeling a tad guilty about her stealing the thunder from the the birthday boy.Not that he seemed to mind it,he was too happy playing with his cute friend.
For cake cutting,J offered to hold her and she didn’t fuss.She was so fascinated with the balloons and candles and kids! When it was time to sit down for lunch, DH strapped her in to her stroller and she sat there happily looking around,till she got sleepy.One of DH’s colleague’s wife offered to hold her,while i finished eating.And Aadya went to sleep , no fuss, no crying, just slept without any trouble.
She slept for 20-25 mins-Her Power nap!! and woke up fresh,to charm the crowd again. This time it was time for a photo session. H,A&J brought their cameras out and this time they were joined by another girl,K.They all took turns holding her and clicking snaps with her.Everyone promised to send me snaps,which I am still waiting for,by the way.So, you girls,if you are reading this,you know what to do.
At the end of the party,DH went to drop these girls home,while Aadya n mumma stayed back at the party. Aadya saw the birthday boy playing with his friends, and was suddenly attracted to him.Why you ask? Beacuse he had changed clothes and was wearing a nice red Kurta-suit.Did I mention,red is her favorite color 🙂
Then her eyes followed him wherever he went,occasionally even screaming,as if to call him.Unfortunately her advances were not answered.A four year old has more important things to do..like run around and jump on the couch,than look at a little baby. So, mumma just stood there with her, and let her watch their game to her heart.
It was a great party,we all enjoyed a lot, meeting new people and just relaxing.This was the first party,we attended in a long long time. But all the fun was possible only because of one little charmer,Aadya.She was such an angel(knock on the wood) We couldnt stop smiling when everyone came and told us how adorable she is..
Here’s my little party gal in her Party hat!
UnWinding
So, we came back from Grand Canyon! Reached home around 12.30am! All of us were dog-tired.You would think we would have crashed in immediately..Did we?? This is what the scene was..DH freshened up while I fed Aadya. Then DH rocked her to sleep while I freshened up.Then I took over and sang her to sleep.When she was peacefully sleeping,I went and put her in her crib.The moment her head hit the bed, she opened her eyes and saw her favorite friend-her butterfly. The excitement on her face was unbelieveable!She was so happy to see her friend and started talking to her excitedly. Yes,we think her butterfly is a SHE. Anyway,She was so excited and it seemed to us that she was gushing to her friend about her days adventure. We tried to pat her to sleep,but she still wanted to talk.I lay down on the bed with my book and DH sneaked off to the living room.I got up to get myself a drink and saw DH sitting on the couch with the remote in his hand.I was about to call him to bed,but then realised that we are all UNWINDING after the tiring day.. each doing his/her favorite thing!
I went back to my book..Aadya was still squealing with joy,rubbing her eyes, yawning, but still talking..it was like she had so much to catch up on. My eyes were burning but I was still reading.. and DH’s head was spinning from driving so much but he was still watching TV!!LOL!
Aadya dozed off in sometime,when I dont know..because she didnt cry to be picked up.When I woke up in the middle of the night..or do i say day?well whatever,my head was in my book and DH was not in bed.I found him fast asleep with the TV ON,remote in hand..
Unwinding….:)
Grand Canyon Trip
We went to Grand Canyon on Saturday.It was a great trip.One of those last minute trips. DH called up on Friday around lunch time,asking me if I want to go that night or the next morning. We decided on next morning because on the weather. We woke up,got dressed ,just in time for Aadya to wake up for her morning feed. After her breakfast and shower,we were ready to hit the road.We grabbed some food from the nearest Burger King drive thru to save time..They made us wait 15 minutes at the window! some DRIVE-THRU!And the food was horrible.
Note to self-Never go to through the drive-thru during busy hours!
Anyway,we were on our way and had a tiff..both of us sulked for more than half an hour. Well,I sulked-he drove in silence. What was the tiff about?I cant remember it,no matter how hard I try! Then Aadya woke up and needed a diaper change.One major change in our life since Aadya came along is the end of never-ending sulking sessions.We cant be mad at each other for too long-either we start talking because she needs something or because she gets upset looking at our contorted angry faces and so we have to stop arguing!
Anyway,not to digress..we reached Flagstaff around lunch time and still had about 70 miles to go.Flagstaff is a cute,cozy historic town and there was just this warm welcome feeling in the air there.We stopped and had lunch at this little cafe called “Late for the train” They serve the most amazing hot chocolate and beautiful Caesar wraps.I say beautiful,because they looked as good as they tasted.
After lunch we continued towards Grand Canyon National Park.Reached around 3-3.30 and then parked the car and walked along the south RIM of the Grand canyon for around 3 hours.The view was magnificent.
When we got that tired but happy feeling,we stopped,got into the car and drove around in the park for some more time,stopping in between to look at different stops.Finally we drove off to the east rim and I liked the view there even better than the much talked about south rim. We couldn’t linger around much because we wanted to get back the same day.
So, just before sunset,we started on our way back.And LO! It started thundering and there was lightning.Arizona is notoriously famous for lightning,and now we know why. This was scary. For 3 straight hours,we saw flashes of lightning in the desert.There was no street light and so the lightning had an even spookier effect.We stopped at a gas station,to fill up the tank..S didn’t want to stop in between,unless we had for Aadya.Just as we were pulling out of the gas station,the sign for low tyre pressure started flashing.After a frantic search for the air pump,we finally remembered seeing a Garage at one of the pumps a little distance away.We went back there.And the guy there was nice enough to check all our tyres after DH filled air,said he couldn’t let us go out in that weather,without double-checking.I thought that was very sweet.We were on our way again..Well almost..Aadya started crying..diaper change.I was changing her diaper and she peed all over herself.LOL! change of clothes was in order,followed by another nursing session.By then it was almost 3 hours since we started.It was already 9.30 and we had a 3 and a half hour drive ahead of us. Finally, we were on our way. We would have probably driven less than 10 minutes and Aadya started crying again.May be she was scared of the constant light flashes or she was just tired.By then it had started to rain along with thunder and lightning and it was a single lane drive,no place to pull over! I tried to calm her..but to no avail.I gave up,and pulled her out of the car seat.She clung to me as if her life depended on it. OH my God! There was no way I could put this child back in that car seat! she cried,complained,talked,cooed,cried some more and finally drifted off to sleep. but since I was holding her DH had to drive real slow.So,I tried to put her back in the car seat..and succeeded after 3 attempts.Rest of the journey was uneventful and Aadya slept peacefully through out the drive.We managed to reach back in a record time of 3 and a half hours .And here’s some Sunshine for you from Grand Canyon
Judge-Mental???
I have been tagged by Ceekay,Mad Momma and Swati to do this tag.. and me the tag-sucker has to take it up!
So, here’s my list of things that I am judgemental about-
1. I judge people with double standards.They irk me to no end with their attitude-those who lead their life the way they want to.. but criticize others for doing the same..
Those with double standards for boys and girls!
Those with double standards for their kids and others kids.
2. I judge those women/men,who are great and experienced cooks but fish for compliments by asking innocently-“Ohh,I dunno how it turned out..Hope its edible!”
3.I judge those people who start talking in their language the moment they meet someone who speaks it,ignoring the big multilingual group they are part of.I find it very annoying and not because I dont like talking to others in Marathi..but because I find it rude to carry on conversation in a language which everyone in the group doesnt understand.
4. I judge people who are too sugar-coated-the syrup dripping variety.I am so wary of them.Its like they spell trouble.
5.I judge people who donot take the trouble to look up the correct pronounciation of words.I judge those who confuse their “there and their”,”live and leave” and the likes.
6.I judge people who fake a foreign accent in an attempt to look cool.
7.I judge those Indians who go back to India for a vacation,and crib about every single thing starting from the traffic to water to heat to pollution. They who would drink water straight from the tap ,while in US but will not drink anything which is not bottled when back home.(heat and pollution bother me too.. but its not as if the heat here doesnt bother me..and as for pollution,heck its a part of bombay and I love it!)
8. I judge those women who seem to talk ONLY about how great their husband or kids are! how everything and everyone in their famly is perfect.Come on! everyone has flaws..No offense to anyone,here we are all blogging mostly about our families.. but I mean the real extreme cases we all come across some time or the other,who seem to think that their husbands are GODs and their babies Super-babies!(though I do think my baby is a superbaby so I judge myself too!:)9.I judge those who claim to have no time to read anything other than Parenting MAgazines.
10.I judge those skinny girls,who are forever on a diet and fretting about how much weight they have to lose. I mean be realistic.I am by no means a skinny girl..if anything,I am a fat cow!! But I dont about it all the time! I am watch my diet,excercise to my best ability and am slowly losing the weight.But that doesnt mean that when I occasionally go out for a party,I just graze at the salad bar!
11.I judge those people who cannot mind their kids in a public place.Its not always possible to make kids sit quietly or behave like angels( trust me I know-My little brat throws a tantrum everytime i am in the middle of an interesting/important conversation)But atleast make an effort to mind them!
And lastly.. CLOTHES-
I judge those who turn up at Indian weddings wearing jeans!I mean come on! I was so mad when a family friend from DH’s side, turned up for my wedding wearing a white cotton salwar kameez,though neatly ironed.. but come on!! and had the nerve to sit on the stage,talking to DH!!!!!GRRR!
I also judge those who wear clothes that are not befitting to their body type.I mean its one thing not caring about your clothes and being casual but atleast look into the mirror,before you terrorise others with your freakshow!
And what do you say to those who go around announcing how they detest indian clothes be it a saree or a kurta..I am comfortable in a jeans but I am also equally comfortable in a saree.You dont wear it ok.but dont look down upon it.Its a part of our heritage!
I think I should stop here,even if my list doesnt end.. I am suddenly feeling so evil..after reading this post. But I am not going to delete anything..HEck thats what this tag is.. being honestly judgemental!
This tag is open to anyone and everyone who would like to take it up!
A brilliant piece of Art!
I finished reading the latest and the final book in the Harry Potter Series 2 days back.And I am still in the world of Wizards and magic.
The book is absolutely “unputdownable”.It is so fast paced,sometimes I felt that if i dont hurry I will never catch up! And the times that I did have to put the book down to look after Aadya or take care of other stuff..My mind was forever filled with thoughts of what was going on with Harry! At one time I even wished for a wand to take care of the rest of the chores!
After Dumbledore died in “half Blood Prince” I was sad..so sad But I kept hoping He would talk to Harry..just like I kept Hoping his Parents would or Sirius would.That was another thing that kept me turning pages..(like you need anything else to keep turning the pages.)
All I can say is “Its a brilliant Piece of Art” and I wish it didnt have to end here.Its like watching your dear friend move away.
Here’s To Ms.Rowling for giving us Harry,Ron and Hermione and Professor Dumbledore,everyone’s favorite headmaster and the Weasleys,the family next door and Sirius ,Mad-eye,Lupin and Tonks and last but not the least,Voldemort(yes, we all hate him but Harry Potter wouldnt have been the same without him)
Its like being transported to the world of Wizards!And I just dont want to leave.
Looking forward to more such great books…
And I would love to discuss more about the book and the end of the series..anyone game? mail me at menmysunshine@gmail.com
Hope to hear from you
Harry Potter
I just bought my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
But I haven’t started reading it yet…Mainly because I wanted to write this post.
I saw a friend obsess over Harry in my final year of college..I borrowed the book and started to read. To be honest,I didn’t even finish it.I thought – Oh just another book. and left it at that.
About 2-3 years later,I was browsing a bookstore in Toronto and found it again.And Remembered how I had left it unfinished.And I have this rule about never leaving a book unfinished..And so I started reading it..I finished that and promptly went and bought the next one in the series. And since then I am hooked..Then I rented the movie and watched it again!
I remember fervently finishing all the previous 5 books in a quick succession,just so I can read the 6th one thus completing the whole series.And now finally the wait for the 7th one is over.
I am waiting to see if Dumbledore is really dead and if Snape killed him out of spite or mercy.
Is Harry going to be as angry as the last time? Well he is a teenager!
Does Ron Finally get the nerve to ask Hermione out? With Sirius and dumbledore gone,who does Harry turn to for comfort?
And lastly ,what happens to Harry? Why is this the last book?
I certainly didn’t want any spoilers and so haven’t clicked on any links about Harry Potter..DH did spoil a little something..but i am just going to ignore that..(Yes, I yelled at him for telling me! and refused to listen to anything else-With a stern..Stop it..Mujhe mat batao!)hahha
So,now if I can get the baby to sleep… Harry Potter..here I come!
Ohhh That reminds me..the books stores are flooded with Harry Potter stuff.Barnes and Nobles has the entire 6 book series for $50,which is a good price considering individual books are being sold for $10-12 each.
More later!
YAYYYYY My first Tag!
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!
15 Marbles 
