15 Marbles

Dearest An,
You turned 3, nearly 3 weeks back.I didn’t plan to write this today,but you went to bed,on your own today,I think for the very first time.There was no dilly-dallying,no fighting(ok there was a little playful fighting-more about that in a minute)no call-outs for milky/water,no jumping on the bed-Just kisses and long cuddles,I Wuv you Mumma and lights off. I left you in your room and you went to sleep in less than 10 minutes.Thank you,Princess,Mumma is relaxed today and so I can write this letter to you and when you are old enough to read it then we can read this and laugh together.
Ms.An,you are my firecracker- you are so full of spunk,you just DONOT stop.I think the only time that you are quiet or still is when you are asleep.A couple of months back, I  We  your papa  we,both your papa and I were worried about your speech.Papa said he didn’t understand what you spoke. I had to constantly translate,what you were saying.We were also trying to constantly see if you were measuring up to the benchmark that your sister set up..and finally came to the conclusion,that you are both different-very different. She had more words and a clearer speech,but you had more understanding,were/are smarter and better at your gross motor skills. You were grasping the pencil so well,even before your 1st birthday and had the most perfect defined strokes :)Sorry baby – you are perfect the way you are 🙂
We were worried that you didn’t follow our instructions..I spent many nights worrying about it,before finally concluding that you didn’t follow instructions,not because you didn’t understand them,but because you didn’t care about them OR because you didn’t think it was worth stopping your FUN to follow our instructions.Yelling doesn’t work on you,but if I just say the same thing in a different tone,you happily oblige :)You are a free spirit,not scared of anything or anyone..my crazy girl 🙂

My beautiful,head-strong girl,you have taught your mummy and daddy that parenting is not a piece of cake.. Its a bit of give and take..its a big learning and for that I am grateful. You taught me that I don’t know everything and that I need to find newer ways to get through to you. 
You are the most adorable,most loving little girl,Anan.. you smother me with kisses and tell me that you ‘wuv’ me a hundred times in a day and I love it.And then I ask you,do you love me or do you love Papa and you think. and then say..umm Papa! And I pout and you pat my head and say..’all fine..all fine..don’t cwy’ 
You have settled well in your daycare(touchwood) and are so independent.You like to eat your meals yourself,take off your clothes yourself.As soon as we come home from outside(school,park,anywhere else),you sit down,just outside the laundry door and take off your socks and shoes.Makes my heart melt every single time! Feeding you your lunch or snack is a luxury for me,because you don’t let me baby you..But when I ask you,”Are you my baby or my big girl?”You always say,Baby. yes,you are my baby.. my last one:) 
Your love for your sister continues to grow,but sibling rivalry has kicked in.You have to do everything she does.I was kissing her good night one night,when you decided to sleep with her and you observed us quietly and then covered your face and started crying,saying your new favorite phrase-“I can’t take it anymore”O.M.G. I had a hard time keeping a straight face while trying to calm you down.
Your other favorite phrases are:
I hate it!(not sure where/who you picked it from)
Whatever you do,DONOT break/drop it.
Gimme one more chance..the cutest!
Godu Me!(Meaning -Pick me up)
And – Ohh Mannnnnnnn..said with the most frustrated expression ever!

At 3,your favorite foods are-cocktail sausages,daal,chicken nuggets,any other chicken dish,chickpeas,kidney beans,maggi noodles,strawberries and yogurt. You happily taste and eat other things too but these are a definite hit.

You keep me on my toes,you tire me,you challenge me and you make me earn my mummy stars..but you love me unconditionally and completely.You make me smile and make me complete in a way no-one else can. You will give me my grey..you are the noise of my life,but I won’t have it any other way..for it will be dull life,without the sparkle you add to it..
Love you forever my little baby…
Hugs n kisses from
Your little Mumma 

This year Rakhi was quite low key.We were all sick last week and Ms.An is still sick. So, there were no fancy meals,no handmade rakhis..but once we got showered and ‘dolled up’ the mood changed..well not Anan’s but that’s OK.
But here’s  this year’s Rakhi in pictures 🙂

Again!! Despite my best intentions,another month has rolled by and I haven’t had chance to keep up with blogging.
I have minimised my facebook time,but I still end up blogging in my head most of the times.On other times,I am just too tired. Seriously,I doff my hat to the mums who work full-time 5 days a week.I work part-time,3 days a week and still fall behind in housework,in just about everything. Some days I am so tired that even keeping up with the kids chatter is a big deal.Cooking seems like a chore..Now,I L.O.V.E. cooking and when it seems like a chore,its not a good feeling.
So,I have come up with a strategy(LOL!! I think I have!)The plan is to stick to quick healthy/wholesome meals on the days that I work.Quick and wholesome being the keywords.And on my days-off,I can plan something more elaborate.So far we have done pizzas,sandwiches,pulav on work-nights and dal-rice-sabji/chicken n fried rice,dosa-chutney,paratha or something of that sort on the days that I don’t work. But those days,just fly by,so quickly thanks to my firecracker,Ms.An!!! So my trusty slowcooker has been dusted and is being put to good use now 🙂
This is what I cooked last night 🙂

Slow Cooked Cashew Chicken with Vegetable fried rice 🙂

I followed this recipe with a few tweaks. I didn’t have any Vinegar at hand and so omitted it. And I added chopped up celery,red& green Capsicum and onions. I forgot to add the red chili flakes and it was still perfect! 

The chicken was so soft and flavorful.This will be a regular in our house 🙂

Hopefully,I will be back again..n soon 

xox

Trish

Only the third day of blogging streak,and too tired to think/write. Its the school holidays here.Normally,I plan one big day out and one day in..but this time,co-incidentally,we’ve had to long days out-we all had fun,catching up with friends,but the kids are tired and I am tired.All I want to do is sleep and sleep more.Ms.An is the only one,who is catching up on all the sleep,but Ms.A refuses to nap.But she is at an age where she entertains herself,sits and sketches and otherwise,enjoys some quiet telly time,leaving me free to read or lay down or even just sit quietly,browsing the internet.
Ms.A is a chatterbox-she just DOESN’T stop talking.If a question can be answered in Yes or No,she replies with the whole analysis,why a choice is better and why the other would be wrong..its cute sometimes,but on other times,does my head in.And if you ask her,why does she talk so much,her answer is simple- “Because I am one of those people who like to talk”
Her teacher reckons,Ms.A can talk underwater,with a mouth full of marbles and to be frank,I have started believing her!
On that note,I will stop talking/writing and go to bed.
xox
Trish