15 Marbles

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

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  • Why don’t you…..?

    Why don’t you use cloth diapers? Why don’t you handwash the baby’s clothes? Why don’t you take up a job?Why don’t you stay over at your dad’s for a few months? Why don’t you celebrate the baby’s birthday at your dad’s?

    What is it with people these days? Just about everyone has some pearls of wisdom that they want to share with me.Is it well-meant advice or just a judgement of my choices? Well,whatever its irritating me like hell!

    An old friend recently moved back to USA.And I was really happy talking to her,catching up on the last 2-3 years.We talked about this and that and then,like all mommies,got to talking about our babies,deliveries,etc.What seemed like an innocent exchange soon turned into a Question and Answer round or should I say the game of one upmanship!

    A- Did you have a normal delivery or a c-sec? C-sec.

    A-Ohh if you had tried harder,you could have had a normal delivery. Well, No..the baby was in distress,so C-sec it was.Did you have a normal delivery?

    A-No..But I was in labour for almost 10 hours.hmm..it doesn’t matter,as long as the baby is fine.

    A- So, who came for your delivery?No-one.

    A- Your sis doesn’t know what its like..she hasn’t seen anything, you should have called MIL!She could have helped.Umm..Helped? How?Surely I wasn’t going to ask her to help me change or anything.And what’s there to know..wasnt there a doctor just for that!

    A- Ohh with your shower n stuff..I think we managed pretty well.(I was active till the last day of my pregnancy,took a shower the day after my C-sec and helped DH warm food the day I came back from Hospital.And even took care of sick DH and Sick MIL at one month post-partum! So,I think we were fine.and no,I did not tell her all this.)

    A-(Changing topic)-So,do you use cloth diaper or nappies for the baby? No,just good ole’ Huggies.No time or energy to wash after every poopy or wet diaper!

    A- Why don’t you use cloth diapers.You have washing machine at home na?! Yes! (but just two hands and only 24 hours!)

    The rest of the conversation is a blur in my mind. All the excitement I had of catching up,kinda fizzled off! May be there is nothing wrong with this conversation.But,when I think about it..A spent 2/3rd of her pregnancy and 9 months post-partum at her parents place,because she was too tired.Her only job was to feed the baby(self-confessed)..Someone who doesn’t even know how many times her baby needed a diaper change, certainly doesn’t have any business asking me why I don’t use cloth diapers for my baby.

    Another friend who spent more than 6 months post-partum at her parents place and always jokes about how her baby knows her grandparents better than her father..started explaining me how its no big deal whether DH is present with us on Aadya’s first birthday or not.Apparently,it is a big deal to me and to DH.It was my choice to stay with DH through out my pregnancy and I stood by it.Sure,I have my downers and crib about how I never got pampered or how tired I am..but,I would never trade those precious moments we spent dreaming of our baby,together.

    Breast-feeding or formula? Are you breast feeding?Yes! Then why are you giving her a bottle now?because! When do you plan to wean her off?umm haven’t thought about it! OH you should have weaned her off by now!( Umm don’t I get to decide that?)

    Are you working?No,I am a SAHM. Were you working before you had the baby?No,I didn’t have a work permit and besides,I was happy moving around places with DH!Oh..you should have worked!(Can I decide that,Please? Please?)This is a question so many of us are asked. Somehow,a lot of people find it hard to understand that may be this is what I want to do,right now! I have these moments when I think that may be I should take up a course or a job.. and then I bug my good friends AP and V, about what I should do! AP is the sweetest person I know.She always has something nice to say..she has her calm way of explaining,all the while trying to understand where I am coming from. V on the other hand, has a lot of experience and knows exactly what she thinks about ABC.. and she doesn’t hesitate to give me a piece of her mind. But,I love them both and don’t mind what they say. And besides,they tell me when I ask or share my confusions with them.I always come away with a probable solution or some idea worth saving .We are a mixed lot truly-AP- quiet and serene.ME-excited and confused.VD-A lot more assertive and just Precise.Anyway,I digress..

    So..back to pesky Questions- This lady,DH’s ex-classmate met me on chat( what are all these people doing on my list-Don’t ask!) and asked me –

    So, how’s life?Good!

    Did you guys apply for GC?No, we are not going to.We want to go back!

    So, are you working now?No,I am a full-time mom.

    Ohh,not working ,May be if you were working you would feel differently about GC!No,I dont think so! are you working?

    No! But I keep busy taking courses at the community college. Oh so don’t you have classes today?

    No! I am on a break!

    See what I mean! I don’t even know this person well enough for her to ask me all these questions.We were at a party last year and this woman tells the group in general,”Oh I hate these housewives”..She paused then, turned to me and said.”Oh no offense haan”I said “why would I take offense, when 2/3rds of the women were housewives in that particular group.I asked her later, she was a housewife too, then… and has been ever since…And she was meeting me for the first time!I don’t know.. when I meet people like this,I wonder if they ever think before talking.I mean how can you judge another person’s choices?

    You make a choice-because you think it is right for you.If anyone has a right to question your decision,its you!I wish people would just mind their own business and not tell me what to do? And,then sometimes I wonder if I have “Punch Me” written in big red letters on my face!

    I just had to get it off my chest and so just typed without editing..so,if you are still reading,sorry its a jumbled up mess !

  • Quirks and me?

    I have so many pending tags..if they were pearls I would have myself a brand new necklace!OH OK ..that’s not funny.. but come on..its 1.30 am..I can hardly see straight..leave alone being funny..So, what am i doing here.. well..just have the urge to blog..yeah.. that’s me..quirky,eh?
    Anyway,Mona asked me to write about my quirks!
    So here it is…
    The rules are:
    1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
    2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
    3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
    4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
    So here goes-
    1) I hate folding laundry but when I do,I like my laundry to be folded in a particular way only.And if its not folded that way,I sit and redo it..explaining and re-explaining it to the offending party again and again.So much for helping me.Same is my dedication towards loading the dishwasher.It has to be loaded in a particular fashion only..cups and glasses arranged height wise and bowls in the middle..Yeah..laugh all you like..there is a way to madness.
    2) I have to have a head bath every single day- no matter how cold it is. But I don’t feel like I have had a shower till I don’t emerge from the steamy bathroom with wet hair.And here’s the thing,just wetting the hair doesn’t cut it for me-nope!it has to be shampooed and air dried.
    3) I have to use a moisturiser every morning after I brush my teeth and wash my face -even before taking a shower! And I have to slather moisturiser every night before bed too. And I wash my hands every time I chop something,stir something( my palms start sweating),touch something cold-They are wet anyway,might as well wash ’em! In short, whenever I am in the kitchen,I wash my hands every few minutes and then I think they are dry and so have to use some lotion every few hours!Speaking of hands,I always trim my hand nails left first and then right and then move on to toes-every single time!
    4) I just cannot leave a book unfinished-no matter how cheesy it is.If I start it,I have to finish it. And with time flying away at jet speed these days,I am stuck with some dull reads for a long long time.I am always reading at least 2 books at the same time- one for the day and one for night-time.Same is the case with projects-craft projects-If I have just one project at hand,it just keeps lying around till I eventually forget about it.But,if I have two simultaneous projects,they are inspiration enough.
    5)I have to have to change Aadya’s diaper every time.Though I sulk about being the one changing more diapers than DH, but I have to know about her diaper count and poop quality and quantity!(I know its gross! but hey! you asked!) My logic behind it- well,I just feel…OH I don’t know what I feel!
    6)I like the cushions on my couch to be kept in a particular manner and I don’t like the order to be disturbed. Now, with Aadya’s love for pulling the cushions down,I am constantly putting them back,and she keeps pulling them down..good fun!May be its one of her quirks!
    7)Last,but not the least,I don’t like it if anyone interferes in my cooking.A little help here and there is fine.. but my kitchen is my territory and I don’t like anyone else getting too comfortable there! And I crib about not getting a break!
    Quirky or not, you tell me!
    Now I am sure,most of you must have already done this tag.. but if not please take it up!

  • She did it!

    Aadya finally managed to take wobbly 2- steps! and Again..I,a mom who wants to stay-at -home so that she doesnt miss all this,missed it!
    But I am just so happy,she did it!
    Will write more when I see it !
    For now,Aadya took her first two steps.
    You go,baby!

  • 8 months and counting

    Aadya turned 8 months old on November 30th. Boy,the last month has been busy busy..Busy for me ,because the In laws were here for Diwali-busy for Aadya because she has too keep thinking of new mischiefs to get into!Its like her mind is constantly thinking- hmm OK so I finished tearing up this paper,may be I should pull myself up to a standing position … hmm and while I am at it,why not pull the cushion down..OK the cushion is down on the floor now to throw it..OK OK I know you got what I am trying to say!
    I knew you wouldn’t believe me,so i video-taped it, but got carried away in my motherly love and forgot to stop recording,the video is now more than 5 minutes long and I cant upload it anywhere.Any ideas where I can upload it?

    So, this little baby is a full fledged cruiser now.She happily cruises around the place,following me from room to room. Well,she is not very happy about me leaving the room.Yes,separation anxiety has kicked in and so,as long as I am sitting around,being a couch potato,she is happy playing, by herself. She does sneak glances at me,but she is pretty much playing alone.But the movement I get up, she starts following me at full speed and then demands to be picked up.And if I don’t pick her up,then the crying starts. But one good thing is she understands “Come”.So,if I don’t pick her up and tell her,”Come,come to Mamma,baby” ,she happily comes..crawling on all fours!
    She has been trying to stand up,without support and now manages to balance herself for a good minute or so. And all she wants to do is stand.She never stops practicing,she tries,she falls,she tries again and again and then succeeds and smiles..if we are not looking even calls out to us..screams to attract attention,is more like it.We have so much to learn from these babies,na?She loves holding the furniture and moving sideways or holding her crib and moving forward.

    And every now and then she goes on a scavenger hunt..finding the tiniest piece of biscuit or paper and pops it in her mouth.How does she find’em when my glasses adorned eyes and heavy duty vacuum cleaner miss’em?Beats me!Speaking of popping in her mouth,I wonder why only trash finds its way to her mouth, and why not the baby biscuits.Give her a baby rusk or some baby munchies and they are either crushed to a fine powder with fingers or thrown around like that’s what they are for! Give her a piece of chapati instead and at least she tries to bite it,holding it with both the hands like a squirrel..cute!

    Since we are talking about food ,let me tell you about meal times. Meal times are just getting messier each day. Aadya wants to help herself now,the big independent girl that she is.She wants to dip her hand in the food,hold her spoon herself.She is now slurping solids and 3-4 times a day with fruits and vegetables(mashed or pureed).But,its not as happily eaten as before.Some well-meaning friend asked me if Aadya was eating well..and I opened my big mouth and told her how well she was eating.”Aha!”,thought the J monster,”Time for me to appear,in Aadyaland“. And appear he did! Since that day, every meal time is a disaster! 3 spoonfuls are taken in happily,then Aadya gets busy looking down,I think scanning her tray for any dust,”Shoni,baby please,1 more..1 more baby” manages to get in another 3-4 spoons And then starts the crying,which just wont stop till she is not out of her booster seat on to my lap. The next few spoonfuls are partaken seating on mamma’s lap, trying to fling royal self backwards,banging her head, more crying,trying to grab the bowl,getting mad about not being able to touch it.. Ohh J-monster, go away! Give me my baby back!

    Same is the case at Dudu-time. Slightest of sound and it has to be inspected by Inspector Aadya,satisfied she turns back to take a sip but not before cocking her head to make sure the sound has stopped really! And dare mamma get tired of all this and close shop, another crying is in order!So, in short major part of our day is spent in extended meal-times! Not a bad deal,any pending chore is easily accounted for-Oh I was taking care of the baby! 😀

    And last but not the least,sleep! I reading somewhere that as you baby is growing, she will want to sleep less and I thought,oh no! she is my daughter,she will love sleep as much as I do.Well, she loves her sleep but sleeps only when she wants to! So,I put her to bed at around 8.30 and she is up at 9.30,10,10.30,11.00 ..and so on till we don’t go to bed.And she claims her rightful place between us. So, the crib we loving chose, spent so many hours browsing the Internet,looking for reviews,and checked out so many stores,is lying unused for most part of the day!Yes, Co-sleeping is in!And some days she decides that the only place to sleep in is mommy’s arms.I know partly teething is to blame.All you mommies with babies-Tharini,AP,MM,Shobana,and everyone else, who I am not writing because I really want to finish this post tonite, help me out!All ideas are welcome.

    Well there’s more-(This post is not all complains).Now some fun bits-

    Aadya loves sitting under the dining table and playing and that’s her favorite place so far.Every time I see her sitting there,playing with her plastic spoons n bulb syringe ( LOL) yes the bulb syringe is the most favorite toy these days,I fall in love with her all over again.

    As soon as she wakes up,she starts crawling. it is such a cute sight- my cutie pie, eyes still closed crawling calling out mimi..awww that’s it,I just have to pick her up n hug her.. how can I not?wouldn’t you?

    Aadya knows what BYE means. So,she goes and hides somewhere,I call out to her,she doesn’t come.Tell her bye Aadya, mamma is going and she comes ambling out! All smiles that she didn’t let mamma go. And also,now she knows that when Papa leaves in the morning,when she is still sleepy,its ok.But when he is going somewhere after he comes back,then OK. She has to go with him.

    Cuddling after dudu-no more.Now, as soon as she finishes her job,she wants to be put down,so she can crawl and stand and practice standing alone. Ohh ,my baby is growing up!

    We are already in the last month of 2007 and to think, first 3 months of 2007,before Aadya’s birth seemed indefinitely long.
    8 months and counting…..