15 Marbles

Moments.Musings.Memories. ❤️Gathering little marbles from ordinary days and keeping them for our memory jar. ❤️

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  • What’s on My Mind?

    Here’s a list of things on my mind today-
    1.TGIF-Thank God its Friday.I thought this week would never end!Really it has been a long week.

    2. Its going to be longggggggg day.I had planned on taking Aadya to the library for story-time.But,DH forgot to leave her stroller.We normally keep it in the car,because,madam wants to keep playing with it..pushing it all around the house.
    3.How can I get Aadi to take a small nap- She took a long nap yesterday..nearly 3 and a half hours and then couldn’t sleep at night,despite 2 hours at the play-area.And she woke up at 8.00 today..she has been crying/irritable since morning.
    4. If I hear her cry/whine,one more time,I will go MAD!!
    5.How can I get her to take a nap..or is it even worth it?
    6. Ways of making money..while,I stay at home with Aadi…There has to be a way.
    7.I want to sew/crochet something.Its been so long.
    8.What can I do to make some Money..ANY money..YEs..its been on my mind for sometime now.
    9. Puppets for this month’s Artsy-craftsy.
    10.Long Weekend Menu..We have a 3-day weekend this week..and I still want to avoid eating out.Thelast time we ate out was on my birthday.
    11.Weight and weighing scale-I managed to lose some more weight..another 1/2 kg but,I had gained that much and more on my birthday weekend and the following week..so the lost pound doesnt count.And I am obsessed with my weighing scale..I check my weight atleast 4 times each day and I know I need help.
    12.Aadya’s birthday party..I know its only at the end of the month and the party will be in April..but I am a planner..or atleast I like to think I am.I make big lists and stuff..That’s another story that all my plans don’t always work out.This calls for a separate post.
    On that note,I will stop here.. have a nice weekend..
    Ciao,my lovelies..more later!

  • Happiness Ka Ek Rule-Guest Post

    Drumrolls Pleaseeeeeee…I present to you the first guest post…by Aneela

    But before that,the reason why I asked Aneela..
    When I first arrived in Melbourne,I was so lonely.I didn’t know anybody,except a couple from our initial married life..but they were busy with their life.I commented on Aneela’s blog and she got in touch with me,right away..and after a few failed attempts to meet,we ended up meeting in the city.You remember that Aneela?we had a nice time.But thats not the reason why she is so special to me.Aneela and G-man generously included us in their holiday plans with friends,making us feel more comfortable in a new place.If it wasn’t her calls and pep talk,I would have gone mad because this move was stressful in more ways than one. If I like/love Melbourne today,this woman has a major role to play!

    Now,without further ado,here’s what Aneela has to say-

    When Trishna requested me to come up with a guest post on How to Stay Happy, it was very difficult to reply to her email what with all the laughter in the background. The sound of laughter was from close family and friends who know all too well about my Naina Barse Rhim Jhim Rhim Jhim avatar and who over the years have marvelled over my Fine Art of Getting Into a Funk. The Pursuit of Happiness and to get out of this funk has been a non-stop battle for me over the years with the emphasis on as Will Smith’s character reminds us on the very act of pursuit.

    So what have I learnt over the years? I have been told that Happiness is an Aberration, as in sorry for the brief lull in transmission, normal programming will resume soon. I was also exposed to the phir hum khush hoaayengey (And then We will be Happy and How can We be Happy? ) school of thought which is basically the anti-thesis of We Will Overcome declaring as it does that Life is an Endless game of snake and ladders and one can only be Happy in Heaven. There is also some stuff about endless rivers of wine and a full on“ may tully hogayee” program but that will come later

    What have I done in the pursuit of happiness? This has ranged from the very Organized (As a teenager I would collect clippings of “happy things” –shades of Amelie. Knowing as you all do about how obsessive compulsive I am and the disease to “control” things, you will not be surprised to discover that I filed this shoe box collection in categories of “newspaper clippings about political boo boos”, “cartoons”, and “random funny stuff” . These were later graded leaving the really funny A Grade stuff for really depressing days and the relatively mediocre for an ordinary day …Im pretty sure my mother threw all that out when I moved on to uni and the world will never know my own version of chicken soup for the soul),

    to the Imaginative (for a whole month I watched a Govinda starrer every evening, I was inspired by a woman who laughed her way through cartoons and cured her cancer. Don’t know about my chronic cold and air of gloom and doom but it sure cured my video rental guy’s blues who skipped happily all the way to the bank)

    and the down right Silly (when disappointed by a particular election result I swore off reading op/eds and watching news programmes for a while).

    My mother by the way has always been a firm believer of walking away your woes. I will tell her about a colleague who is bi-polar and struggling with meeting work deadlines and she will say nonsense, she needs loads of fresh air, get her out and about. I will tell her about a mysterious mole and she will query me about the last time I was out of the house in recent days. If it was not a question of her being a twinkle in her dad’s eye during the particular period I would have questioned her regarding advising Gandhi and his Salt Walk to Freedom.

    And one fine day I discovered what our grand mothers were trying to tell us all along as they recited tales about the parrot which held the life of the djinn. Such a biiiggg giant and the puny prince could slay him by twisting the neck of the parrot (yikes!!). Quick phone call- to- our- local- RSPCA moment aside what our grand mothers were telling us were to search within us for our strength, our happiness rather than depending on The Relationship, That Handbag or This Job to do the task for us. Guys and girls will come and go, the child prodigy you hoped to raise will continue to stick his finger up his nose and ask Whattdatt? and our political leaders will continue to mess things up royally. But you dear reader can continue to be Defiantly Happy if you have learnt to be comfortable in your own company (a trait my dear partner-in-crime has taught me…to be an Indian with a Pakistani wife and an Australian son, a lesser soul would have renewed his life insurance policy twice over)

    Next step deconstructing the cautionary note in the fairy tale of not looking back lest you turn to stone (and whats the happiness in that?). Seriously these old dames knew a thing or two.

    Thanks Aneela,for making Melbourne feel like home & Thanks for writing this post 🙂

  • Life’s Simple Pleasures-2

    Today at snack time,I was all out of fruit..well I had Kiwi and orange,but Aadi had already eaten orange in the morning and wasn’t in a mood for Kiwi.I asked her if she wanted a paratha..She said,if I wrap it,which is Aadya-speak for roll it.I said yes,and sprinkled some sugar on it and rolled it up.
    I remembered a childhood treat of tup-saakhar -poli.Tup means Ghee in marathi,saakhar-Sugar and poli is chapati.
    For a quick snack,mom would smear some home-made ghee on a chapati,sprinkle some sugar and make a roll and hand it to us on a plate.As we got older,the roll would be filled with some vegetable or omlette.I am sure,most of you,who grew up in India,must have had this snack with a similar filling.My dad still saves his last half chapati,to eat it this way..thats his simple dessert!
    Coming back to the present..My American born,Australian raised daughter,loved it and even asked for seconds…I almost laughed thinking of all the people,who commented,about how she looks Indian..despite being born in Amrika!LOL!!DUH..she has Indian Genes na?If it wasn’t so irritating I would have laughed on their face.
    Oh..and the roll was too tempting,I had one with my chai as well..without the sugar..Dunked it in my chai,the old-fahioned way..chewing in the salty paratha,with the sweetness of chai..aah bliss..
    Oh and I just recieved my first guest post..will post it in the morning.
    Ciao my lovelies..more later..

  • Is it my Good day?

    That’s what Aadi asks us,every evening.I don’t know,why…she started asking this to us,a couple of months back.I think we noticed the consistency,after I came back from India.
    When we come home,after a day outside,she asks me/DH,”Is it my good day?”we thought/think she wants to know if she has been good…
    Then yesterday,after we came back from the park,she asked again,”Is it my good day?”We said,”yes” and she replied,”Oh but I don’t like night-y.It is not my good night-y”I think she doesnt like night,because it means she has to sleep.
    But,we have come to realise that,the Good day,means a lot to her.So,the day she sleeps without kicking a fuss,we tell her in the morning,”Its your good day.. you slept early”..She wakes up fresh and feels happy.I can tell from the first cuddle,that it going to be a good day.
    We are trying to follow a routine,working out timings and sticking to it,on most days.I know that to establish a routine,consistency and patience are required but,at the end of a long day,they are the last things on your mind.
    Here’s what I am trying to follow-
    9.00-9.30 am- wake her up and cuddle time.
    9.30 am- brush her teeth,followed by milk.
    11.00 am-breakfast
    1.30- lunch
    3.00- nap time or rest time.She has to stay in the bedroom..rest..no talking,I let her look at her books..but I dont read to her that time.If she is tired,she dozes off.
    4.30 – snack
    after snack-we have a craft session or gardening or she plays outside in the backyard,all this while I finish cooking.
    6.30- Park or walk,depending on how busy the park is.
    7.30-8.00- bath,followed by dinner.
    between 8.30 and 9.00-We start bed time.
    Somedays,are good days and some days are bad days..On good days,she is fast asleep in less than an hour..on bad days, she doesn’t sleep for hours..But,she is beginning to understand the routine and asks in advance,if after the walk,she is going to do Nai-Nai..or if after nai-nai and dinner,can she not sleep?LOL!
    The cutest is..when I serve her dinner,after her bath,she asks,”can I please watch TV for sometime..and then,I will sleep.”
    And today,she actually,told me,”Look Mom,its night-y..the moon is here,he is saying goodnight na”.
    So,far I am happy..I still get frustrated..but I know we’ll get there.We cut down on our weekend outings..we let her stay up longer on saturday night,but made sure,we followed the same routine on Sunday evening.Yesterday she was up till 12.00.She was in bed,but just kept fussing.Today,after the first 45 minute,I told her,I dont want to talk..she chooses to either sleep or stay in the dark room.She kept whining..I sat with her,she still kept asking for light.I turned on the closet light and told her the next time,she whines,i’ll have to send her outside.Then,both DH and I kissed her g’nite and we went to the living room.We told her,we’d check on her if she kept quite.DH checked first time,she was still awake..I checked again,after 10 minutes,she was facing the wall. 20 minutes later,she was fast asleep. I feel bad for being strict ..and rude,with her..she is but a little girl..but I know,in the long run,it will do her and all of us,good.
    Oh God,give me strength to stay firm,in front of her tearful face.
    Oh God,Please let her go to sleep,without fuss,each night.And please fill her dreams with happy things and the moon and the stars.

    Oh and speaking of stars,we tried to reward her with stars..on the calendar-for each tear-free day and for each tantrum-filled day,we’d mark a cross.Now,the little missy,marks a cross for her father,when he scolds her..or a star for him,when he comes home and takes her to the park.
    Me?I get a star when she likes what I cook for her..somehow,my scoldings dont fetch me crosses..may be they dont bother her as much as her dad’s.Oh well..its alright I guess..

    I am still trying to post,each day,even if NaBloPoMo is over..lets see..how long it lasts.