15 Marbles

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

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  • Chiti Chiti Bang Bang

    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…

  • 17 months and counting….

    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

  • Reality shows,really?

    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?

  • Of Boo,Baby and Black Cheep.

    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 🙂