Happy Times

Happy Father’s day!

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“A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.”
Enid Bagnold

Father’s Day, A day to honour your dad..A person we take for granted so easily. He is so involved in our lives from the beginning of our existence..He is the one who nurtures us, pampers us,spoils us and disciplines us and yet, its so easy to just take these things for granted.
We expect our dad to be there, when we need him..to sit by our bedside when we are not well, to bring home special treats and if god forbid he forgot, to sit and coax us to change our mood. We expect him to foot our bills for expensive shopping trips,even if not even a single thing bought is for him.
We expect him to pick and drop us at ungodly hours, no matter how tired or how sleepy he is.
We expect him to appreciate every single gift or card we give him…even if all we say in return of his gifts is ..”Ohh Wow“!

We drag him to restuarants at times way past his bedtime and expect him to make funny conversation..and then pout..when he yawns. He brings home fresh tender coconut water, because you love it and if he forgets one day.. you make a fuss…”Oh Papa,I was waiting for that”…
He loves you, He pampers you.. He cares and just makes everything right in your
world.. and what does he expect in return…???
Well,Nothing!! Just that his kids are happy and successful..that they remain blessed in
everything that they do,that they enjoy all that they want..that they never have to say” oh well,its OK” for want of something.He just knows how to give..freely- His love, his well wishes, his blessings..His heart just stretches naturally to include every new addition..That’s what a
father is.. Always there for you.. Always loving..
And though we take him for granted in our own daughterly ways..its time to say

Thank you!!!

Thanx Dad, for being a sport about everything-Thanx for loving us the way only you can..Thanx Papa,For being you!!

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Birthday

My Baby Sister

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Its my baby sister’s birthday today. My baby sister-Having a new baby sister who’s constantly taking up mom’s time, hoarding all her attention-that’s a lot to comprehend for an almost 3 year old and the fact that this baby is here to stay doesn’t make it any easier. No amount of explanations and pep-talks by my mom and aunt and grand-parents would have prepared me for this screaming addition to the family,who would summon all my devoted fans to her side with just a whimper.I was just not ready to give up my kingdom!!I am told I made life hell for my aunt or grandparents who came running to pick me up when I woke up in the middle of the night..telling them rudely -“HUH?? What are you doing here..?I want my mommy!!!”I don’t remember much of this-don’t even remember looking at my sister the first time.As we were growing up, that sibling rivalry had its ups and downs-sometimes mild sometimes reaching its peak,driving our parents up the wall. I remember this one time vividly.Sis was sick and I was entertaining her.Mom was in the kitchen and my little sis threw up.I called mom..who came running and slipped off the wet floor. And me,I ran as fast as my little 5- year old legs could run to our neighbour’s house to get medicine to stop her vomiting.When I came back,I got a whack on my butt, for having run away when I could have helped .. And then I gave my mom the medicine and all she could do was hug us both close.She used to say, that when she was about to give up on us ever getting along, this one episode would restore her faith!
I have a faintest memory of my sister just a toddler,stealing fruits from the Pooja ki Thali on Diwali day.One of dad’s friends caught her red-handed on camera.Another memory of hers growing up I have is that before every Birthday ,she would get into some mischief and end up hurting herself- so she would have a broken wrist or a bleeding nose or scrapped knees on the day of her birthday party.Every year on Diwali day,she had to religiously burn some part of her clothing, her hair or worse her body! And No,My parents were not negligent..This was one naughty brat!
Another cute story I remember is when she was younger, she had acute asthma and so my mom wouldn’t let her go out to play in the dust as the rest of us..So, she would prop this 3 year old up on the bed near the window. In no time she would be standing at the window, grabbing the window bars and screaming-Why?? Because she saw some kid rough-housing me during the game! And she would be screaming -“Hey Chhod de meri behen ko,Door reh usse!” (Hey leave my sister,stay away from her )My little bodyguard..She is still my biggest protector.No one dares to mess with me when she is around.
She hated calling me didi..Nope!Never..Even when she was very young, she would call me SO(nickname for my nickname).Even now she calls me Chotu(little one).The day she calls me Di,I know its because she is missing me too much or needs me to butter-up our dad for something.
For as long as I can remember she has been referred to as my sister-Poor baby had to stand up to the image her elder sister created-in school,among relatives-‘Oh Your sister used to do it like this’ and the sweet soul that she is was always proud of Her sister. I feel so guilty when I think back of all the times when I was mean to her..in an older sister way- Don’t follow me around,don’t dress up like me,my friends are my friends!!Of course that was till we entered teenage..Then it was like we were co-conspirators..we both had the same super-powers to fight-OUR PARENTS!!We had the same curfew and figured out that if both of us are late ,the heat is distributed. That was when we had the same set of friends and almost overcame sibling rivalry.The final step away from Sibling rivalry of course came after my mom’s death.Sure we had fights after that too.. but it was like just so much easier to make than to continue a fight. And now we alternate between the role of mom- She is my biggest Baby!! And she mothers me like there’s no tomorrow.When I went to India last year,she took me to all her favorite restaurants, ordering my favorite food! When I told her about my pregnancy,she had a long list of Do’s and Dont’s! I had to stop her and ask her how many kids has she delivered. It seems she had been gathering all this information about pregnancy and pregnant women, to be delivered to me at just the right moment.That day she also started putting aside a chunk of her salary for her “rock star”( Her name for my baby).
Today morning,one of her friends called me to ask me for her number,to wish her.And while we were talking, mentioned how much she admired Sis and so was looking forward to meet HER sister. I felt so proud! All the ego of those younger years has long since gone.The fact that I am her sister .. and she is so loved and admired in her own world… just makes me wanna fluff up and strut like a peacock.My baby sister has grown up.She has made a place for her self.. her own identity..She has come out of “Trish’s Sister” phase.
And this year I found the perfect card for her– Here are the words on the card-

Happy Birthday
to the girl
I knew back when
Happy Birthday
to the women
I’ve come to admire
Happy Birthday
to the friend
who’s always there
Happy Birthday
to the sister
I love
Here’s Wishing a very Happy Birthday to – Aadya’s Maasi,Jeeju’s Saali jaan,Papa’s Babloo and Chotu’s Sweetheart..God Bless you,darling!Love you loads!
Happy Birthday

Happyyyyyyyyy Birthday to…..

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Here’s Wishing a very very happy birthday to-
My darling sister < Aadya’s Masi>! God bless you darling.. We all love you!
My sweet sweet grandma,who is now a Great-Grandma-Happy birthday Aaji!! Wish we were there..
And Last but not the least,
Dear Dear little boy,Winkie-Happy birthday,Darling! You are 4 today,God bless you ! Grow up big and tall and keep entertaining us with your fab sense of humor!
P.S. Winkie’s mommy Was the final push that I need to enter the wonderful world of Blogging..Thanx Tara You are an inspiration to me :)…Enjoy your wonderful boys!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to DH

MysTri Mum2 Comments

Here’s wishing DH a very very happy birthday!
Wish you all the happiness, all the joy, all the luck, all the success,all things happy and bright,
With lots of love, loads of hugs and big boost of sunshine!!!
I know I have given you the best gift( Thanx for saying it to me again and again,every single day) Here’s your Gift-Wishing her dearest Papa a velly happy b’day!!
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! from Aadya!

Love you Darling,We are both blessed to have you in our life

You are the perfect son, the perfect husband and now the perfect dad and ofcourse the best of friends- I was tired of listening to the phone ring!!!

Thanx everyone for all the wishes!

parenting · Tales from Aadyaland

Fighting in front of your kids

MysTri Mum6 Comments

When we first started thinking of having babies, there were so many things that we discussed.. how we would raise them, what we would name them,how we would never fight in their presence..Lots of other stuff changed. Our parenting ideas changed.. we would have never imagined 2 years back that we would take such a laid back-at-times-prompt-at-others approach..The names that we thought of the first time we ever spoke about having kids are lost somewhere in between.. but we were still very sure of one thing ..That we would never fight in front of our kids. And we broke that rule today.
DH and I were talking about a sensitive issue and that led to heated exchanges. Aadya was there on our bed.She kept going back and forth with her eyes from DH to me to DH.She would then look at one of us and smile, we would smile back at her, but still continued arguing. The poor baby,I think she sensed the tension and we saw a pout beginning to form, the lower lip beginning to quiver.DH picked her up,I kissed her, she was still whining.. looking at us- one person at a time and whining.. My poor baby, our sweet little angel..we stopped fighting and began consoling her..played with her, made her smile and coo..Such a little person but she understands everything… she is a part of everything!Frankly, before Aadya came along, a fight about this issue would have gone on endlessly.. but not any more.
We made up immediately and I am sure she forgot about it too.. but I am just feeling so so guilty.We promised never to fight when she is around again.I know there will be many more arguments and fights .. but,I hope we can keep her away from the unpleasantness. I couldn’t sleep and so decided to write , so that the next time I am upset and ready to fly off the handle,I hope I have the sense to stop and read this post.
How do you all manage to keep the fights away from your kids and if by chance, they happen to witness a disagreement, how do you deal with it? I would love to hear from you all on this one.

parenting

DH and Aadya

MysTri Mum3 Comments

As I was re-reading my post about Aadya’s 2 month update..I realised that in all my excitement,it has turned out to be just a mommy-brag ..So, this one’s for you ,darling hubby.
Aadya is one smart cookie,she already knows who’s on her side.She has DH nicely twirled around her little finger. She just has to pout once and she gets lifted out of the crib.She already knows that the tall one , is the one who will do anything to keep her from crying. She spends all day with me.. but come evening and DH comes home and then she changes loyalties..Then,its like the father-daughter team has to make up for all the time lost. She behaves herself and takes all her naps in her crib but at bedtime when DH is home, she just wont sleep there.The moment we put her in her crib, she start whining..I pat her, whining stops, then starts again.DH comes rushing.. and then starts the crying.. she looks at him with those puppy eyes!!! My GOD!! I think..she already knows how to make her papa dance to her tune! He scoops her out of the crib and she sleeps on our bed..She loves cuddling up with her Papa and sleeping in his arms. She literally turns herself towards him like a sunflower towards the sun and snuggles up closer for warmth. One weekend,I was cooking and they were both playing. By the time I finished cooking, they were both fast asleep..Aadya cuddled up next to her dad, one tiny fist and one chubby thigh resting on his chest . Awww they looked adorable.
DH is such an involved dad..right from the moment Aadya was born. He was the one to watch her when she got her first bath, the one who held her when she got her first shot, the one who changed her first diaper and gave her her first bottle. I am sure the first few hours of her life, Aadya was sure he was her MOM!He was on a conference call, this morning when Aadya got her shot. He felt so bad that he wasn’t there to hold her.as soon as he finished, he came and hugged her!Asked me 10,000 questions about how I held her,did i hold her close enough,if she cried too much, how many shots.. etc etc etc..
He still wakes up with me every night.I have to force him to go back to sleep. The poor guy is on medication now and that makes him so drowsy , but still even the slightest whine from Aadya and he is up.For a guy who hates shopping, he spends hours in baby stores, deciding what to buy and ends up buying everything that he was choosing from!
Its just so wonderful watching him with Aadya..I feel truly blessed to have this beautiful family.Aadya is really lucky to have him as her dad.I know she is going to grow up to be daddy’s girl :),

Happy Birthday · Happy Times

The Suitable Boy

MysTri Mum5 Comments

This morning I was talking to my dad.He is so worried about my sister getting married.Typical dads. He kept telling me that I should talk to her, ask her if she likes someone or if he should start looking for a “suitable boy”. He said he also wanted to talk to DH about it and discuss what all needs to be done . I was suddenly reminded of the time when DH met my dad the first time.We had been seeing each other for about 6-7 months then. And DH had been asking me to marry him almost everyday.I dared him.. to ask my dad for my hand if he was really serious. And he did!
After every date,he used to come to drop me .He would drop me a little away from home and leave. But that day,he insisted on dropping me all the way home.I thought he meant – the colony gate. But no,he meant all the way home!!! So, he came to drop me.I said Bye at the door.. he rang the bell!Dad opened the door.I panicked!! He coolly introduced himself and asked my dad if he could come in. Asked dad if he could talk to him…I was staring at him with my mouth wide open. Dad told me to go and “make tea”..I want to talk to him! “But papa”… “Go!!!” Gulp!I left. They spoke..I don’t know what.I guess DH told him about his job, future plans,family and of course asked him if he could marry his daughter!!!
Dad said sure if your parents are OK with it,I will support you both. But,I will not willingly let my daughter marry into a family where she is not welcome! That’s it..Then the talk was over. Tea was ready.. we all sat down and had tea like he was a casual friend of mine. No one looking at the scene from outside would have guessed that this guy had just asked my dad for my hand in marriage!!Two cool guys sitting comfortably, while a girl squirms nervously!
A few months later, DH changed jobs, got a better job. He called up and told my dad that he had spoken to his parents and if my dad wanted he could talk to them. My dad called his father ,who refused to talk-point blank!! in his words-” You take care of your daughter ,I will take care of my son”.And he hung up!!! That’s where DH lost some points. My dad was sure then.. that he is taking me for a ride . He started looking for a suitable boy! He told me-“I met the guy of your choice and see what happened.. Now will you meet someone that I like?I don’t want you wasting your life if S and his family are not ready.” So,I went to meet his “boy”.DH was so tensed..My cell phone was on silent mode. By the time the meeting was over and I checked my cell phone, there were at least 20 missed calls!! The moment I picked up his next call, he barked into my ear-“Did you like him?” hahhaha.. Of course I didn’t. DH met my dad once again in an attempt to pacify him.. but he was still not fully convinced. It took another 6 months and several ultimatums( If I don’t marry her, I wont marry at all) and intervention from so many people to convince DH’s parents. They are still not exactly happy.. but DH has slowly and steadily climbed to the position of “best match for my little girl”.
I may still be just the-girl-who-stole-our- son , the daughter-in-law.. but he has definitely moved on from the son-in-law to the son!He is now the son,my dad never had. Even the smallest of decisions, when my dad used to earlier consult me n sis, now he includes DH too. In fact,I am a wee bit Jealous when I say this that more often than not, his advice is the one most sought.Even when my sister has something important to discuss( new job, new cell phone, new computer), she calls up and says.. Di, give the phone to Jeeju! LOL!
When I call up my aunt or grandmother, they are more concerned about how he is doing and if I am taking care of him( hello… I am the daughter)…Ohh well,he is a sweetie and he deserves it!
And today when my dad spoke about my sister’s marriage and how he wanted to discuss the whole deal with DH,I literally had tears in my eyes. We have come so far, he has made a distinct place in my family.
Whether I gained a new family or not is still debatable..But He has surely got himself a brand new family.. a family that’s absolutely crazy about him.
Here’s what they have to say for you-
“Beta,I am very proud of you! You deserve all the success and all the happiness.God Bless you!”
“Jeeju,You Rock!”
P.S.- Dad is not very net savvy and sis is too busy with her new job.. so I had to call them up and ask them to say something for DH,so that I could put it in this post!

Tales from Aadyaland

2 month update

MysTri Mum1 Comment

Aadya turned 2 months old on April 30th.We celebrated her 2 month b’day with Mexican food and bite-sized cupcakes!My little baby is growing up so fast..faster than I can catch up with.She has changed so much in the last one month. Her face changes almost everyday! And I could have sworn I saw her eye lashes double up as I was holding her!

She loves watching mommy ..The intense stare melts my heart every single time. When she wakes up every morning, she wants mommy to hold her, and she needs that uninterrupted cuddle time. Any attempts from my her grandmother to hold her at that time are met with loud protests.

She loves her butterflies- The butterflies on her crib mobile and has long conversations with them. So, when she wakes up,she first has a chat session with her colorful friends, then gets mad when they don’t talk back.. even after hearing her sweet coos!
She loves to smile. Every time I respond to her diaper call, pick her up, talk to her,I am rewarded with big smiles and if she is in a really good mood, I can even hear a chuckle. But mostly the chuckles are reserved for her butterflies.
This past month she had a lot of tummy trouble and so her doctor put her on formula, Similac Ailmentum.It seems that she is protein intolerant or colicky or both. And Aadya hates her formula!! And she makes sure we know it. She makes all kind of faces, cries, pushes her bottle away,and as a last resort even goes PHHHHHthew! But the formula seems to have soothed her tummy.
She is using her hands more and more.She will just not take a pacifier if she doesn’t want it. Not that I give it to her too often… I give her the pacifier some times at nap times when she has trouble sleeping but dare I try it when she is mad.. she spits it right out. And now that she can use her hands, she slides,1 tiny finger into the paci ring and takes it out of her mouth. And when she wants to suck on it, and mommy tries to remove it, she uses the back of her hand to keep it there!!hehehe
She now doesn’t mind staying in her swing by herself.Otherwise, earlier she would be in her swing and DH or I would be squatting on the floor talking to her, holding her hand!!Yesterday she even dozed off there!So that’s something!
She had her two month check-up today and weighs 10 lbs and 9 Oz ,exactly 4 pounds more than her birth weight. And she is 23 inches tall. On the whole,she is doing well( knock on the wood).

Happy Birthday · Happy Times

Smiles

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DH is very camera-shy..or should I say camera unfriendly..Yes I think that would be the right word.. He didn’t smile in a single picture on our engagement day.Not a single one.There I was grinning ear-to-ear and next to me was this guy straight-faced! I had to grin and bear all the comments about how he was sad about losing his independence..on Independence Day!We got engaged on August 15th!

His excuse- ” Your smile is enough for both of us”.I almost bullied him into smiling for our wedding pictures-“If you don’t smile in the wedding pictures,I will never smile at you!”The sweetie that he is , he indulged me and I got fabulous wedding pictures!

But the threat lasted only for those two days – the Wedding Day and the Reception night.Then again, poker faced pictures!

I had to keep prompting him to smile..everytime we got our snap clicked..and even then he would forget to smile!And then…

Along came Aadya.. and all that changed instantly..He was holding Aadya and the nurse clicked our snap,our first snap as a family… DH smiled without being prompted.Hehehe Its like he has a beautiful reason to smile…And the smiles continue!!I leave you with a precious picture of my precious ones!

Happy Birthday · Happy Times

Passions

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Here’s a list of things DH is passionate about-
DH is the biggest sports buff I know! He is crazy about cricket and formula 1 to extent of being a Fanatic!His madness is annoying sometimes, and cute at other times. He sets the alarm to wake up at ungodly hours to watch the formula1 races being telecast all over the world.Same goes for the cricket matches.Cricinfo.com is one the most hit site on his laptop and our desktop.He logs on there religiously!And then after watching the race or the match, his mood changes depending on the result of the event. He loves having discussions about the particular event. And since I am not much of a contributor to the debate, he excitedly shares his knowledge with me..whether I want to know or not!!Showing disinterest leads to sulking and pouting.. And the man does know how to tug at my heart strings!
Another passion was the X-Box.DH had promised himself that when he lands his dream job,he’ll buy one for himself. And he did..And until 2 days back it was his proud possession.It was the first gift he treated himself to. 2 days back he upgraded it to a new PS3.. but if I know him well, the X-Box is still special.Every time we move(and we move a lot), whether he helped me with packing or not was important.. what was important was that the X-Box be packed with special care.
Work- Need I say more? My post about his hospital trip says it all.
History- He is the biggest,most intense history buff ever!! He could have easily been a historian.He knows all the dates, details of all the wars and battles, profile of each of the Roman and Greek warriors and many more..I don’t always pay attention when he starts telling me these stories..History was never my strong subject. When I was pregnant,he insisted I listen to all this.. so that his baby gets the information.When I didn’t comply,he would just get me my book, prop up my feet comfortably,and go on to whisper long lectures to my belly.
Aadya- This is without a doubt his biggest passion. He will go to any extent to keep her from crying. I remember initially when we had latching issues,Aadya would start crying every time I tried to nurse her.. and DH would get so mad – How dare I make her cry..here his baby was crying her heart out and I was experimenting with latching positions..LOL! Now I can laugh about it,then I was ready to strangle him.. but I am sure had it come to that.. he would have strangled me first! 🙂 He is a sweetie!All it takes is two failed attempts to pacify his Princess for this big confident Man to feel lost and uncomfortable in his skin!
And Last but not the least- Yours Truly… (knock on the wood) He is still the same guy who proposed marriage before seeing me. Sure he’s changed as a person, matured with the years.. but I think his love has grown ten-folds(knock on the wood,again). And if its true that one partner loves the other a tad bit more,I can confidently say, he is the one in our relationship!I still get my countless phone calls & I-Love-Yous every single day..

I Love You,Hubby Dear!

8 more days to go!