An evening of drama..... touchwood

Let me set the stage:
I get a call from school saying that Miss V is not well, Sumit rushes to pick her up and is home with her all evening. I had a work thing that evening, so Sumit assures me "I got this"

I pick up Little Lady and get home by 7 pm to find out the following: Miss V has thrown up 3 times and Sumit has everything under control, clothes in laundry, dinner is ready, floors have been mopped up.
I am in awe of him and I sit with Miss V and we chat about how she is feeling etc. etc. I am also feeling guilty of not being home, but at the same time, thanking my partner in crime for having my back!

Around 9 pm Sumit goes to put Little Lady to sleep in her room.
Sumit is in the guest room
Miss V and I are in my bed.

At 3 am, Little Lady walks in my room, I spring up, knowing something is not right and she throws up, right there. I rush her to the rest room, calm her, change her, hug her. Sumit rushes in with Miss V asking: Papa come here, papa come here!
This was Throw Up 1:

Throw up 2: 15 minutes later, Little Lady throws up again. Yep, rinse repeat! Miss V is lying on my bed, concerned and groggy from her own sickness!

Miss V is tired and recovering from her sickness. I ask Miss V to go in the guest room, she also needs some rest. And Sumit and I hug little lady and calm her down.

Throw Up 3: 15 minutes later, little lady throws up again and you get the idea, Sumit and I have this routine of cleaning up under way. Poor little lady is in a lot of pain.

Throw up 4: 15 minutes later, yep, she throws up again. Oh man!!!

Amongst all the tears, the panic, the clean up and the hurling, here is the chronological conversation with Little Lady

Before Throw up 2:
Sumit: Honey, if you feel like throwing up, just tell me, or dont worry, throw up on me!
Little Lady: No papa, if I throw up on you, you will fall sick also. We will run to bathroom

Before Throw up 3:
Little Lady: Papa, you should go sleep with didi (Miss V) in the guest room
Sumit: No honey, you are not well, i will stay here
Little Lady: Papa, didi is not well also and she is alone, you go there. Mummy is here with me.

After Throw up 4:
Little Lady: I think I am feeling better now, I will sleep mummy, you hug me and sleep right here. You must be tired.

I sit there in the middle of the night, massaging the little lady's tummy and my eyes are brimming with tears. My almost 5 year old, Little Lady was not well, she was in tears, shaken up and really tired, but all her conversations were to make sure the rest of the family was ok.

Little Lady has a heart of gold and has kindness oozing out of her. Amongst all her antics, drama and theatrics, her sweet and kind voice makes me count my blessings, hug her tight and really be thankful for what we have (yes, even the middle of the night throw up).

Update: Whatever it was, passed, the girls are back to being their fiesty selves. Touch wood.

I have a bead up my nose: She did what!!!

Another one of the "Kids say the darnest things' edition with our usual suspect: Little Lady!

Scene: 5:45 am, weekday morning, our 11th Wedding Anniversary!

Mommy hears Little Lady walk slowly in her room

Mommy lovingly says: Come on in my bed and snuggle in!! 💗

Little Lady whispers: Mommy I can't, I had a Mishap (Implying pee'd in her bed) 😓

Mommy consoled groggily: It's okay honey, head to the rest room, I will help you 😒

(She has been potty trained fro a long time, so mishap is not usual, no
big deal, it happens)

Little Lady whispers: Mommy, I also have a bead in my nose 😔

Mommy sprints up from bed and says'calmly': what? 😡

Little Lady whispers: Mommy, I have a bead in my nose  😔
(She keeps a brave face and looking pitiful)

Mommy has a mini freak out and says'calmly': How? 😡

Little Lady whispers: I put it there 😔

Mommy quickly wakes up husband snoring peacefully: YOUR little angel has put a bead in her nose. WAKE UP  😠

Mommy looks up Little Lady's nose with a phone torch: "Hell, it is a BEAD' 😠

Daddy wakes up, calls the doctors office and finds out process of 'almost 4 year old with a bead up her nose'
Mommy picks up the soiled Little Lady and rushes to bathroom and makes her sit down 'withoug getting angry, since last thing momy wanted is to upset Little Lady'
Big Sister aka Chatterbox wakes up with the commotion and comes to the bathroom 'What's going on'

Mommy still speaking calmly: Little Lady has a bead up her nose. 😠

Big Sister bursts out laughing is asuper confused but laughs a lot! 😈
Little Lady is now parked on the bathroom sink and smiling and 'checking herself' out in mirror😇

Mommy 'googles' and finds out that before ER, try the following
1. Have the child blow her nose: Okay that I can do
2. Use a 'nose bulb' and 'vacuum it out': Hmm, how hard can that be
3. Use tweezers to pull it out: Hell no, I am NOT doing that!

So mommy barks these instructions at Daddy and starts looking for the 'nose bulb' which is used for kids under 1 year!!
Mommy is getting angrier and angrier, seriously: bead up her nose! what the hell was she thinking!

In ONE minute, there is a loud burst of laughter from the bathroom and mommy rushes in 😠

Daddy while demonstrating 'how to blow the nose' has 'nosy' all over him and kids are laughing a lot!!!!
Mommy is really  ANGRY now and she stomps off to look for the 'bloody nose bulb' 😠

In ONE minute again, there is loud cheering from the bathroom and mommy rushes in

Little Lady did manage to blow the bead out of her nose!
Daddy and big sister are searching for bead on floor to double check
Little Lady is laughing and smiling since 'she did it'

Mommy is calm outside: "Phew" 😶
and ANGRY WITHIN 😠
In all these past '8+3' years of parenting, I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY CHILD WITH A BEAD UP HER NOSE, WHAT THE HELL! 😠


Morning continued as 'normal', kids were bathed, fed and ready for school by 8! 🙆
Mommy was left bewildered 🙍
Daddy was left feeling like a champion 'Since he helped the bead out her nose' 🙋

Well Happy 11th Anniversary to US! 😂

Life is full of surprises, some good, some bad! You  see the Silver Line and Smile. 

We are blessed to have these kids who can keep calm even when they messed up, a support system which can find things funny even when an almost 4 year announces at 5:45 am

 'I have a Bead Up my nose'

We did manage a Date Night for our Anniversary!

She has the music in her... Little Lady is 5

She loves rainbows and unicorns and Sparkles is still her favorite color!

She is spirited beautifully, is such a happy go lucky kid, smiles, laughs, lights up a room and above all gives you tonnes of hugs and kisses and peeks in your room to just say "I love you"

Yep, that's my Little Lady turning 5!

Her charms..At a soccer game, her team mates run behind the soccer ball, and My Little Lady, skips and then kicks the Soccer ball and twirls in delight!

On a coloring sheet, my little Lady hums a song (making it up along the way)and colors the hair of the princess pink!

On a phone call with India, we chat, we share stories and pictures with grand parents and the little lady takes the phone and starts singing a song, why? Just because!

I think its fair to say that this little lady is keeping us on our toes and off our chairs! Why you ask, we are giggling all the time with her and at her!!

Little Lady: You are 5 now.

My baby,

Year after year, I try to capture your 'updates' amongst all the fun that ensues as a family.

You are 5

Food: Oh man, your one BIG issue. Yes, you will try 'almost everything provided is not green' but you are VERY slow eater. I have asked you to go to bed without dinner since no timers seem to work on you. One thing that definitely gets you excited for food is presentation. If it looks 'awesome' you gobble it down right away

School: You are blossoming in your new school and I love that you just go in school skipping and are always complaining at pick up time that I picked you up too early! You have become an avid reader and in your break, you amazed us at sitting in your bed and just reading all the books, chapter books.

Dance: My gosh, the music in you. You loved your Indian Dance class and I cannot tell you how proud I am of you for dancing in front of a hundred people at your dad's birthday! Ballet, I love your passe and you love your ballet outfit more than the dance for for sure

Sports: Remember the skipping at soccer, well that's you. Ice Skating, you have been at it for about a year, but I think you like chatting with your friends more than the ice skating for sure. Let's try gymnastics next year, what do you think?

Love: You are affectionate, kind and above all very observant. You complain if we dont hug you before school or at bed time. You are happy soul and a very content sole (No contentment when it comes to candy/ sweet stuff though). I think of you and it makes me smile, since your kind heart makes me want to be a better person also

Reading: My gosh, what a difference 4 months in this new school has made! You are reading voraciously, you are writing pretty well and you can spend hours on your laptop and play games, play puzzles and above all sing yourself merry!

Yes 5 is a milestone and we are celebrating in 5 ways
(Especially since you have been bugging asking what we are doing for your birthday for about a year now)
1. Your surprise trip to Disney before your birthday... gotcha!!!
2. An upcoming surprise trip to a Waterpark (Shh!!!)
3. On the day of, dinner to your favorite restaurant with your favorite people and painting your toes
4. A daddy-daughter day on your birthday!
5. And your party with your friends, i am thinking Unicorn & Rainbow themed!



Phew, yes turning 5 means 5 special celebrations! But more importantly turning 5 means:
1.  Be yourself, always
2. Be kind as you already are

3. Be the goofball you already are
4. Please eat and not just candies!
5. Be 5, be a kid, scale the mountains, swim deep waters and twirl just because!

My Little Lady: We love you!

Kids say the darnest things...

If there was a race between my two girls of who spoke the 'most outrageous' things... well in my opinion, the Little Lady will be first followed by a close finish by the Miss Chatterbox.

Yes you read that right: the 4 year old will win for the most ridiculous things said instead of the 9 year old! Uff!

Case in Point

Story 1:  'Cow Dog'

Scene: While driving to school

Little Lady: Mummy look there is a cow dog

Mummy looking around on the streets of downtown Chicago.... and a Cow, hell no, Dog yes

Mummy: I cant see it baby.. oh wait a minute, the black and white spotted dog: that's a Dalmatian

Little Lady: Yes I know its a Dalmatian, but from today it will be a 'Cow Dog'

Mummy: Why?

Little Lady: Well only cows have black and white spots but this is a dog, hence 'Cow Dog'

No reasoning can trump this 4 year old

Story 2: 'I know how this will end'

Scene: In a afternoon 'scolding' the Miss Chatterbox for something

Mummy: I am shocked and disappointed in you

Miss Chatterbox: I know this will end, you will now yell at me, I will cry, you will take something away, I will cry, We will hug and make up

Mummy: Ouch....

In my mind: I better change my 'scolding play book' and get something more effective

Story 3: 'Dress and leggings'

Scene: The older one is home due to an injury and has some friends visiting to check in on her, I take a quick trip out of the house to pick up the little one from school and tell her on way back: We have a surprise at home for you. On entering the house peeps in the living room and sees the friends and squeals with happiness

Little Lady: oooh, yay. Let me run inside and change into my dress and leggings

Mummy: Really laughing loudly: They want to just see you.

Little Lady: noooo, i want them to see me in my dress and leggings!

10 minutes later, the little lady enter with aplomb in her dress and leggings: My friend said correctly: This one is going to be an interesting one to raise.

I agree and run for the hills....

Wait, what: 6. No Way

Yes, Little Lady is now 6.
You need fingers on both hands to count how old she is... wait what, 6 No Way!!!

Little Lady: Who knew this nick name...Little Lady will be so apt. She is the Little Lady of the house or the Little Sassy Lady of the house!!!

A letter for your 6th Birthday for 6 Life's Lessons honey"

1. Be Yourself
I wish I had learnt it way earlier. Be yourself. More than that: Be comfortable with who you are. You will evolve with age, but be comfortable with that.

2. Be Kind
This is you, you are kind, empathetic and you figure out how to make it nicer for someone else. This kindness is what makes you unique and loved and pampered. Your little acts of kindness make me want to do better as well

3. Trust
Trust people and as you get older have the ability to let people trust you. Of course, don't go trusting blindly. Yes, Unicorns are mythical. But have trust in its mythical powers if that's what makes you smile.

4. Enjoy food
As a foodie myself, your relationship with food worries me. You try it, but you are not driven by it. Food brings everyone together, makes travel fun and above all is the easiest thing. You said it this thanksgiving: "We always have food and always have people over" Remember this!

5. Speak Up
And you do, you speak your mind, your heart all the time. As you will get older you may get inclined not to. But remember Lesson 1 "Be yourself" and speak up. It can be contradicting. Always Speak Up.

6. It's okay for pants to be loose!
Now this.... you my little sassy lady: My fashionista! If you had it your way, you would wear dresses and tutu's 100% of the time! And for you, pants always have to be fitting. But remember: "It's okay for pants to be loose" So if its in your closet you wear them, you wear them like the coolest thing on the planet and be your own trendsetter!

My Little Lady, Happy 6th Birthday!

Little Lady is 4!

Little Lady,

You are Four now... yes, its your birthday, Finally!

I asked you what you wanted to do for your birthday and here is your complete list
1. Go to Skinner park and have a picnic
2. Get 4 cards: Flamingo, Cat, Princess and Queen drawings on them.
3. You want Paav-Bhaaji for lunch
4. Lots of candies and chocolates
5. A cake with more M&M's and choolates
6. Meet the friends and family




That's it.
AND I love your list and I promise we will do EVERY single one of them and then just a little bit more!
Well except the going to the park, being outside in negative 15 F. is no fun for anyone!


The best word to describe you is 'Firecracker'
Reason: You enter the room and it is filled with your firecracker jokes, your vivacious personality and the 'batting of eyelashes'

You leave us in Awe Little Lady
1. Awe of your charms
2. Awe of the crocodile tears that come and go really quickly
3. Awe of your non-stop chatter about 'Let me tell you something'
4. Awe of your tantrums for a chocolate
5. Awe of 'Lets do Writing Practice'
6. Awe of you trying to converse with us in Hindi, Spanish and 'Hinglish' as you call it.
7. Awe of your devotion to your older sister
and above all..
8. Awe of just you!


Little Lady, you are four today I write you this letter of four things that I want you to know my lovely little angel.

Little Lady,

1. Be strong and be kind.
2. Have an opinion but be open to learning and listening to the other's point of view.
3. See the world through the Rose Tinted Glasses, there will always be ups and down's but seeing the silver line makes it always worth it!
4, Know yourself and if you do, then others opinion of you really does not matter.

Lots of Love'
Mummy

Kids say the darnest things... or the cutest things!

Its been a while since I have posted, been busy and a little pre-occupied!
But the best way to get back into the writing mode is to just do it and humor makes it easier!
So Kids Say the darnest things edition

Story number 1:
Little Lady and Miss Chatterbox are currently learning Hindi and with my mom in town, the immersion with the language has been easier for sure.
A lazy Sunday Morning, Little Lady is chatting with her cousin in India and conversion in Hindi.
---Conversation in Hindi---
Cousin from India: Appka Favorite color kya hain?
Little Lady: Mera sabse acha rang 'Sunehra' hain!
-----End of Conversation----

We all here and in India burst out laughing, no one uses the word 'Sunehra' any more. And my mom was super proud: 'My work here of making them puritan's of the language is done!

Story number 2:
Now, Chicago is a windy city, and yes the winters get really cold. But we have been in this city for about a decade and kind of have gotten used to it.

A morning drive:
Little Lady: Mummy, its only 35 F today, its so warm today!
Me: Yes, but slightly chilly still, so you need your jackets/
Little Lady: It's Chicago, so 35F is warm!

I guess she has learned to find the silver lining already!

As I navigate the waters of being a mother of a 10 year old and 5 year old, life is always fun, sometimes funny and a lot of times I do have a Deer in Headlight moment!
The one thing that helps me keep sane (sort of) is finding this silver lining in life!

Find your world through the rose tinted glasses, it makes you smile.

SSSSSSEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN

That's how old the Little Lady is now.
Over a long pre-birthday celebration lunch, the Little Lady told me: " Mummy I fell Odd" and of course I asked her why?. She responded "Since I am turning Odd years old"

Aaah!

I was reading her birthday posts at 3.5, 5, 6 and oh my gosh, hasn't the theme of Musical, Rainbow- Unicorn loving and slow eating continues on!
My Little Lady, you continue to mesmerize me, keep me on my toes in a good way and you amaze me with your darling charms!

My Annual Letter to Her
Dear Sassy Seven year old.

We ALL love you. You are amazing, very generous, empathetic and above all very affectionate. You talk with a smile, you dance with a smile, you sleep with a smile and you even cry with the lips turned upwards!
I love you through your "crying at a drop of a hat", "endless chatter", "slow eating","super long chats" and above all Endless Hugs.

You do LIGHT up a Room.
You do annoy your sister and also you miss her the most when she is away
You pick up an extra lollipop for your didi ALWAYS
You sung, hum, chant, play the piano and every thing musical
You skip more than you walk.
You ask "I dont understand that?" And continue to ask questions until you get it
You leave little post-it's around the house: "Teach me chess", "Can i see TV"
You have read "Harry Potter Book 1 & 2" before your 7th birthday!
You can spend hours watching TV without blinking
You need to know everyone in the room or the party
You can hug, my gosh you can hug!
You have your favorites and then you add more to your favorite list of people
You can debate with a smile and generally get your way

And above all: You teach us to Smile More and above all you show sympathy and empathy way above your age. It makes our heart melt.

Dear Little Lady, continue being who you are. You  make my heart go mush and you make me teary eyed without your kind heart and empathy!

We love you my 7 year old,  Sassy,  Eye Rolling, Expressive, Loveable and chanting Little Lady

3.5 years of complete and utter joy

Ok, may be some tantrums, some stubbornness, some food pickiness, but with Little Lady, now a

little over 3.5 years of age is complete and utter joy!!

Her name means the 'Peaceful One'!

0-1: That's what she was. Feed her and change her on time, and she is a happy girl.

1-2: The pattern pretty much continued, of course moving from Nanny to Day Care was a bit tough on her, but besides that she pretty much was angelic.

2-3: Shy and reserved outside, but a riot in the house. This totally describer her toddler year.

3- Till Date: Complete and Utter Joy.

A quick update:

Head Strong and her go hand in hand. Once she makes up her mind, there is very slim chance of you changing it. Good Luck is all I can say.

She is now in the 'Why/Who/Where phase' Case in point: If she looks at my what's app contact-

she will ask who is this, why do they live there and ask a gazillion simple questions to keep you on toes.

Daring: There is no slide she won’t conquer, there are no steps that she won’t jump off, there is no adventure she will shy away from. She thoroughly enjoys swimming, but definitely not the class

Musical: Oh my, a lot of our family calls her 'Gud Ki Dali' implying A sugar Cube. And that is true, she is singy songy, melodious and definitely has an adorable sweet voice. Yeah, I should look at some singing lessons for her.

The one thing she is not excited about is challenges when it comes to reading/ writing.

Example: She knows to write 'A' really well so will stick to that and take a while before venturing to a new alphabet. Numbers, haha, good luck having her 'try to write' any other number except '1'. She is definitely not showing any signs of interest in reading as well. Oh well, she will be ready when she is!

Puzzles, Structures: Now this she can sit for a while and do it. She will keep attempting, ask for her but keep at it for a while. She is pretty good at entertaining herself while say: I am cooking/ working etc.

Language: I can go on and on writing about this, she is now fluent in Hindi and English and is ONLY conversing in Hindi with us and reminds us 'Hindi mein bolo' of course her 2 month trip to India with grandparents had a lot to do with that. She has a flair for languages, loves Spanish in school and is amazingly sweet about teaching me songs in it!

Phone & TV. My gosh, this is her true passion, remember point 1: Headstrong. She will argue and make any case possible as long as you cave in for TV/Ipad/Phone. Uff.

Sisterly Connection- They fight, there is no subtle way to put it. Yes my girls are 5 years apart and they fight! Not all the time, they will over  sharing a cookie, a pencil, an Ipad. Little Lady will go and pull Miss V’s hair just because. She follows her ‘didi’ like a shadow but will annoy her a lot as well

No write up about Little Lady is complete without describing her ‘Girly Choices’ She picks out my mom’s nail paints and had her ‘Naani’ change the nail paint color every single day for 2 months. She is all about dresses and couldn’t care less about pants. She will twirl with utter joy and loves to dress up in anything Indian.

Here is where V and Little Lady differ the most!!!

Coming back to 'Peaceful One' I am blessed with two young vivacious girls!

Both of them bring utter peace to my being. And Yes, Little Lady is hilarious, girly, witty,

shy outside the house and a riot inside.

I see her I smile, she has a tantrum, I find it cute, she has a meltdown I laugh!!  I know, bad parenting.. But she is a true utter joy!

I want to make sure I capture this sweet innocence and the person she is now!

Tradition.. just because

At the doctor's for the kids annual exams, I have a tradition, the girls dress up in the 'Paper Dresses' and I snap pictures of them.
Since 2014, so I can call it an annual tradition right?

Look at those faces, aren't they adorable. The nurse walks in just as I was coercing them to 'smile naturally' for this amazing tradition and the nurse chuckles and asks- Why?
I respond, I love the story of 'The Paper Bag Princess' and ever since I read that story, I do this... It's like an ode to the book written in 1981. They did know the reality even then!!
If you have not read it, please do.

What is a silly tradition that you have in your family? just because!

On a side note, Here is my Little Lady's new installment on 'Kids Say the Darnest Things'
Evening time, while the kids sip on their milk and argue about the silliest thing, this conversation ensues

Little Lady: " Did didi (Miss Chatterbox) grow up in your tummy?"
Me, the smart mom: "Yes honey, she did"
Little Lady: " Did I grow up in your tummy?"
Me, the smart mom: "Yes honey, you did too"
Little Lady: "Oh that means we both met each other in your tummy and have been friends since
Me, the smart mom: "Uh well, not exactly since you both were in my tummy 5 years apart"
Little Lady: "But we both were in your tummy and I know her since then! I remember!!. We used to fight even then"
Me, the confused mom: "uh- okay"

And then as always, laughter ensues!! "She remembers the fighting!! Is this her justification, man... I am creeped out. I think.

We are fishes in disguise!

I really don't remember when I learned swimming; it was just something I did with my dad. Every morning, he would wake my brother and me up early, really really early. We would go for a swim, race with each other, learn new strokes, play, and shower, come home for breakfast and off to school. This was our routine for most of my formative years.

I love water, water based activities and so much so that, when Miss V was 5 months old, she was in the swimming pool. That was the one thing, I knew I wanted to do with my kid(s), swim, enjoy in the water and laze by pool side.

Sumit and I make sure there is at least one beach bumming vacation a year.

 Over the years, V has continued with swimming lessons, playing with us and just 'chillaxing' in the water. Her first 'Big Girl' water slide was in the cruise ship when she was just over 4 years old. She was scared the first time, and then was on -repeat rinse- mode. There is no stopping her.

For Little Lady, S, the water story is similar. We introduced her to the pool early on and she has her moments, but all in all, once in the pool, is hard to get her out. She has the biggest grin when in water and the 'splash' game never ceases to amaze her.

This weekend was perfect for us: A water park.

 Not far from city, five families meeting there was fun in the indoor water park/ resort. 6 kids and the water, oh my gosh.

Little Lady was on the slide. I am not exaggerating when I say that she went up and down the water slide for more than hundred times! And Miss V, she scaled the largest slide, the slides in which even I held my breath for the first few seconds. She was scared, but she kept on going and going.

Miss V and Little Lady ruled the water, we were with them. Sumit making sure Little Lady came down the slides as many times as she wanted and I ensuring Miss V went on the craziest water rides/slides as many time as pleased her. It was fun to be in the lazy river with Little Lady napping on me and Miss V and I holding hands and relaxing. We are fishes in disguise!

 Needless to say, Sumit and I laughed, did the slides to our hearts contents, enjoyed with our friends and really loved to see all the kiddos bond so well. After the water, kids slept, dads hung out together and the moms had a PJ gossip session. Was perfect.

I can't wait to do this in peak of winter when in Chicago it will be just snow outside and heated indoor water park and us. Along with laughter, water slides, amazing company and laughter, lots of it!

Half Yearly Report

School’s have ended, summer has almost started and kids have hit their ½ year mark, the grand parents pampering has begun… so as always… here you go.

Miss V, the decade old lady with the wisdom of a century old person and the sassisness of a 16 year old!!!

This past school year she switched schools. So though she is adjusting well academically, musically and sportingly.. it has taken time to adjust socially. She has a lot of friends around her new school, she laughs, she cannot get through the corridor without the hellos and good byes, but she misses the deep friendships. And that's where her wisdom kicks in, she knows it takes time. So the wise lady says... lets be patient!

She calls herself a "Ten-Ager" now and that's actually true. Times she is a baby and will snuggle and cozy up and deep meaningful conversations and then there are times she gets all sassy and unreasonable and says "shut up" and gets mean. The dichotomy!

At times she will sit with her little sister and help her with math and challenge her to speak backwards and contrastingly, they will fight over "which lollipop is more pink!"

Miss V a list maker, a planner and her toughest critique. Being your own critique makes very driven- she will keep at it until it’s done! She will also get equally frustrated at times in the process. She is now realizing that the world is not black and white and hates that!

With the world cup now on, there is only ONE discussion for my budding Soccer Superstar!

The Conquerer

Little Lady:

I wonder how I put this nick name for her, she is true for it- Little Lady. She is a charmer, a pleaser, head strong and amazingly caring personality. Her empathy often leaves me dumbfounded and awe stricken.

Her latest obsession is with hair- my hair specifically. She will patiently braid my hair, play with them, and comb them. On a school day, she demands different hair styles for school and has gotten "better" at eating vegetables since I told her- it’s good for the hair. But to be clear, she still is a VERY slow eater.

Can I brag a little? She has started reading Harry Potter- I am not sure she comprehends it all, but has started reading it with ease now! She was Dorothy in her school production of "Wizard of Oz". From the shy kid to her commanding the stage is so amazing.

Oh man, remember head strong, oh well, she is a cute head strong. She knows exactly what she wants and will bat her eyelids, throw in an extra hug and get her way and you won't know what hit you! Ohh- and she can bike now WITHOUT Training wheels

Little Lady

Summer is here now in Chicago and we have sort of compressed them- We have hit the beach, plucked strawberries, drenched in crown fountain, biked Lake Shore, shared picnic in the park and even BBQ'd!

Half year mark has been wonderful and I am excited for the next 6 months of these little wonders until I start the Birthday Planning Cycles.

I heard at a comedy show recently: "The only person who you can love unconditionally is your children" and that is so true.... no matter how annoying, messy, clumsy these girls get. To me, they are MY perfect little ladies!

Chicago Summer

I ate at the BEST Chicago Restaurant EVER!

Name: Wall Ball 

Location: Very convenient. Lots of parking and best of all, its easily accessible.

Ambience: Kid Friendly yet nice. There were candles on  our table with mood lighting. But at the same time, there was enough light for the kids to play with the table toys handed out at entrance. 

Food: There was lots of variety, ample vegetarian friendly food and spice level completely customized to our taste buds. As Sumit said, in one word: 'Delicious'. The menu was simple to read and the server was lovely in explaining all our options, how its made and above all the healthy part of the meal. Apparantly the menu is hand written by the server every Friday. How intresting, talk about keeping it fun and fresh.

The best of all, the drinks. Sumit ordered a Mango Lemonade. It was a lovely fizzy lemonade with fresh basil and a raspberry in the middle. The server explained, its freshly plucked Basil leaves. Yumm!

Service: Top of the line. No other way to describe it. The server/ waitress was super friendly. She was knowledgeable and happily helped Sumit make the right selection. The food was brought out promptly and in very creative service style.

The server was interested in playing with the 8 month old Little Lady. The server got kid friendly fruits and cheerios for the Little Lady to play with and eat.

At one point, Little Lady was super tired and Sumit wanted to leave, but the server volunteered to hang around the high chair and entertain the baby.

 What can I say, it was the best Friday Night restaurant experience for us a family. We are contemplating making it a weekly tradition. It is the perfect way to unwind from the week, have delicious and well served food and above all, its a restaurant experience which is very relaxing!

 Here is a picture of the lemonade with our server:

Haha! Yes, the server was Vedika and the Chef: A La Moi.

The not so little Miss V, prepared the menu with the price, took the order, commanded the chef to make it look pretty and above all- it was her wonderful idea.
We had a memorable time at : Restaurant Wall Ball (The server: V gets to choose the name!)

 

So to more Friday evenings in the BEST Chicago restaurant EVER.

Plan for next installment:

Chef: Sumit

Server: V

Customers: Little Lady and Me

Ooooh the Jalebi story!

We were in Ahmedabad at Vishala: A theme restaurant with delicious Gujarati food. At dinner, our Little Lady (3 year old) is dancing around and eventually offers Sumit a Jalebi.

Now, if you have been following my Little Lady Chronicles, this one stands out: She loves her mithai and chocolates.

So her sharing 'Jalebi' her favorite Indian dish is a surprise. Sumit, the doting dad that he is, very happily eats it immediately followed by a long 'eeeeeeeeeeew' by my Older chatterbox Miss V.

She says: 'You know what Little Lady did, she licked it, sucked all the sweet stuff out and then offered the half eaten jalebi to you'

Both Sumit and I went 'eeeeeeeeeeew' as the Little Lady chuckled and continued dancing

This my friends is 'the Jalebi story'

I am feeling all better!

That's the mantra of my Little Lady, my almost 3 year old bundle of utter joy.

Chronicling a little of this little cute cheeks and her stories that enthrall her, make us laugh and forget of the world around us even for that little minute.

Story 1:
Any time her older sister, Miss Chatterbox V, has an ouchie or gets a band-aid. She needs one. Surprisingly Little Lady 'Pretends' to get hurt at the exact same place. She will do all the drama and ensure we give her bad-aid and it's quickly followed by 'I am feeling all better!'

It is adorable.

Story 2:
Halloween came and went and she was old enough to truly enjoy the same this year. Considering she is in a Montessori school, the whole make believe is not their philosophy aka, no Halloween in School.

So we made sure she enjoyed. My shy in public child went to every house, said 'Trick or Treat, her Thank You's and growled like a Tigger' I was so proud of her. Of course my sweet tooth would do anything for candy! I kid you not!

Story 3:
Little Lady goes back and forth for her favoritism with me and Sumit. Sometimes she is all about papa, and then for a small phase she will be 'Mummy do this and that'.
Current flavor of the season: Papa.
At pick up time she ran to Sumit instead of me and it broke my heart in a million pieces

Story 4:
Cake & Sweet Tooth.
I cant stress enough at how much my little one likes her sweets, it can be anything, candy, chocolates even sugar.
It was Sumit's birthday recently, and we pampered him. Sang Happy Birthday at every possible place, hugged him a lot and generally made him smile.
So every time we sang the 'Birthday Song' she asked us: Where is the cake?

It was adorable to see how association works for little minds. Birthday Song= Cake and yeah may be a hug!

My almost 3 year old bundle of joy, stay as sweet, melodious and unique as you are!
You make us smile and want to hug you all the time. You and your older sister make any worries go away with the adorable Good Morning's and I miss you Mummy :-)

The half year mark...

We are roughly in the middle of the year and with both my girls being winter babies, its only apt that I write a simple homage of the half year it has been with these little angels or devils... or creatures who keep our lives filled with laughter, fun and definitely some angry tears!

Little Lady:

She is working hard to overtake her sister's title of 'Chatter box' and we love it.... she definitely has the most singy songy voice and the batting of her eyelids with that voice... she does get away with a lot more... a lot more!

She is chatty, definitely has made strides of progress in being 'less shy'. From the girl who played on her own for hours is now her gathering up her friends in the park and chasing butterflies. It's wonderful to see her blossom. 

She is being assertive and negotiating way more for every single thing. But the batting of eyelids has my heart in a mush consistently. 

She is gotten progressively annoying when it comes to food. She will still eat everything we give her, however sloth can eat faster than her. She is chatting more and eating less at meal time. 

The coolest part of her newest passion is reading, she will sit with her early reader books and make attempts. She will sit with her writing books and has moved on from scribbles to coherent writing. 

She is my musical kid, will skip instead of walking and can sing and sing and sing some more... simply to annoy her room mate, her love of her life, Didi aka Miss V aka Miss Chatterbox

Miss Chatterbox: 

This year was quiet a formative year for her, there was a lot of tween drama in her class, some crushes, some teasing, some girl gossips and definitely a lot of 'Mom, I am not a baby anymore' 

One word that best describes Miss Chatterbox, she is Strong. She is in very good control of her emotions and mature way beyond her years. She does not like to being vulnerable or cry and will really put on a brave face. 

And I really have to look in her eyes truly understand how she feels, she is sensitive and the strong face does not fool me. 

I love my long conversations with her about anything and everything. I love her complimenting/ dissecting my wardrobe. I thoroughly enjoy watching her with the soccer ball. 

Admist all this, She is definitely working on my patience by being more defiant and  more 'annoying' in the tween kind of way: Rolling of the eyes, some back answering and definitely being a little disrespectful. 

How am I dealing with this? You ask, I am not. It currently reverberates between yelling at her, to giving her silent treatment to more often than not 'What is going on man'

I guess deep down I do know the answer, nothing. So I need to figure out a way to learn with her and be the mature one in the relationship. 

But both these girls have one thing in common, their total dedication to each other. Where Little Lady will save an extra candy for her sister, the older one Miss V will hug her and calm her when Little Lady is sad. They fight, they annoy each other but they are each other's  biggest confidante right now. 

I will say this for the record: Currently, the older one is the tattle tale right now and the little one defensive of the other. I honestly thought at ages 9 and 4, it would be the other way around. 

Oh well, there is no 'guidebook to bringing up siblings 5 years apart' So, I will learn on the job!

My babies...or not such little babies anymore!

Story of the The Spoon & The Child

In a house filled with kids laughter, some of my yelling and a little of the delicious smells of MIL cooking, funny stories ensues!!!

It was one long Sunday,we all had back to back events and obligations and errands and it had been a long (and cranky) day and last stop was Costco for essential shopping.

To lighten up the mood and just have the kids be 'less' cranky a costco size ice cream was bought to share.

Sumit asked almost 5 year old Little Lady: " Can you please give me a spoon?"

Little Lady takes the spoon, fill it with ice cream proceeds to put the ice cream filled spoon in her mouth and then licks up the spoon and hands it over you Sumit

Sumit asks: "What is this?"

Little Lady responds: "A spoon "

Laughter ensues!

So how is it with with TWO kids?

I get asked this question a LOT. As I was telling someone recently, if I had a penny for each time I got asked this quesiton, I would be on track to be a millionaire.

 So seriously, how is it with TWO kids?

Hmm, Like having one kid and one shadow.

My kids are five years apart. So that does help. The older one 'helps' out. No seriously she does. She will entertain the Little Lady whilst I cook dinner or go to the loo or just read a book. Ok, the last one is a stretch, but yes, it is a big help.

 But at the same time, it is a pain, since now whist I sing the ABC's or teach the colors to the little one, I am like: Crap, not again! I am not even thinking about the Potty training time to come soon.

 So how is it with TWO kids?

In all due honesty, I have seen a side of my older one that I could not fathom. The way she looks and cares for her little sister is amazing. She takes out toys, reads books to her and above all is super protective of her. The first thing she does after coming home is kiss the little one. It is the selflessness in her which no book, no social setting would have taught her. Its only since she is an older sister. At the same time she is coping with 'Its not all about her anymore'

For the little one, it is MUCH easier this time around for us at least. I am not freaking out at every missed meal, a single cough. Knowing, 'It all works out soon enough' helps me cope with it. If she is not crawling by 9 months, I look at my older one run around the house. They all get there. Knowing that is so calming.

Plus the shadow I mentioned above is so true. The little one crawls around the house looking for her sister or the dad. She is picking a few things without us teaching her. Whether its sharing toys, waiting while we get to her or even simple thing like: Chilling. Since there are two kids in the house, we cant get to both of them at the same time. So both the kids are learning to be more self-sufficient.

There was no specific reason why we decided to have another kid. Our family felt very complete with just one kid. But now with Little Lady, It feels complete. Again.

There is a special bond. When I see my girls playing with each other now, or just sitting at dinner table or the older one making silly faces at the little one. It all makes me mush and more often than not, I get misty eyed. I know they will have each other. No Matter What.

Yes they will fight, they will have tantrums but at the end of the day, they will have a friend for life.

Having said all that, IT IS BLODDY HARD WORK with two kids schedules, activities, our social life and work. But I llow my Mantra: 'Count to ten and breathe. Life is Good'

With kids, funny things happen, ALL THE TIME.

You just have to stop and smell the flowers as they say.

But sometimes things happen that you just laugh your socks off... and this was one of those:
Now I qualify this as 'Kids say the darnest things' though not word was said.

A few weekends ago, one afternoon we were chilling with very dear friends of ours. And they have the most friendly and cute dog.... lets call him 'Roomba'. Why? Since if there is a piece of food on floor he eats it away! I always say, they never need a vacuum.

So, my friend was teaching Miss Chatterbox a few tricks for Roomba, the dog, like Sit, Sleep and then offer a treat.
The story goes like this.

My friend holds out the treat and says.
' Roomba, Sleep, Roomba, put your head down, Roomba stop wagging the tail'
The adorable dog, Roomba is, he does all three and then happily gets his treat.

My chatterbox (7 years old)follows the cue and repeats the same :
' Roomba, Sleep, Roomba, put your head down, Roomba stop wagging the tail'
The adorable dog, Roomba is, he does all three and then happily gets his treat.

Everyone is happy and cheering the dog, Roomba and the girls.

My friend then asks Little Lady (who just turned two), Do you want to try?
And the little lady does the following:
'She Sleeps,She puts her head down, and she stops moving'

So now, the two year old is cutely lying on the floor and we are in splits and laughing hysterically.
Miss Chatterbox goes and says, 'Little Lady deserved a treat!' and feeds her a cheerio

I assure you, this will be a memory etched in all our minds for a long time to come. I swear, I wish we were making a video, it completely would have made it to AFV!

Why do people have kids?

Recently I was chatting with a friend about this and that and kids and this and that and kids.

She then point blank asked me: 'Honestly, tell me why people have kids, it sounds like a lot of work!'

I paused, thought and responded: 'They want to, that’s why'

I loved the point blank honesty of the question. I don’t think my answer got any points with her!

And then as we spoke a bit more, I heard myself talk. I did have my kids because I wanted to. Sumit and I knew we wanted to be parents.  For us, it may be because Sumit and I decided to start early on the 'parenting' band wagon. We really didn’t analyze too much. We both wanted kids at some point and in all honesty, earlier felt better. We grew up with V and enjoyed  her childhood innocence immensely. With Little Lady again, we really didn’t want to over-analyze, is now a good time? Is next year? It felt right and we went for it.

We are blessed with V and Little Lady who are AWESOME kids! Yes they are a LOT of work, but they are a LOT of fun. An evening gets colorful with the un-ending chatter box V. A trip to the park becomes a bit more exciting as I swing along my preschooler. A trip to the mall becomes oh so cute, as I browse the infant section with the cutest onesies possible.

But behind all the smiles and giggles, there is a LOT of work, pain, tears (generally mine!), scheduling nightmare, expenses etc etc. But I had my kids for us and its an added advantage that  they are a lot of fun.

She asked me again: 'Do you find them fulfilling?'

Hmm, no, I think my life is pretty fulfilling as it was prior to having V and Little Lady. I was very content with my life even prior to marriage. But with the three important part of my life now, they all make it 'fun'. There is no better way to describe it than that: Fun. Plain and Simple.

I say again, it’s a lot of work, sacrifices, adjustment. But it’s a lot about your own perspective.

Things are no longer, pack your bags and let's make a trip. It's make a list, pack your stuff, re pack, carry all types of first aid things, then pack some more. And then may be make a trip.

Things are no longer, lets catch a movie tonight. They are more like: Schedule a sitter, bribe a friend to baby sit, then find the right movie time after the kids sleep time, run for the movie, come home and sleep if you didnt manage to sleep in the movie since it was too loud.

Work is no longer the continuous hours until it’s done. Its work, come home, do evening chores, and then may be with a big cup of joe, work some more to finish off the work.

EVERYTHING takes twice as long as before!

BUT and a VERY IMPORTANT BUT

I love being a mom, I love the fun and smiles it adds to my life. For me, its de-stressing. You really cannot be angry/tired all the time with kids around. They observe. I really have learned to compartmentalize work and home much better.

Plus when it gets really tiring, there are date nights, movie nights, girls nights, holidays and vacations. And when it gets really long hours, there are extended visits to grandparents!

Sorry babes, I could not answer your question: I don’t know why people have kids! I know why we had ours- They are FUN! What about you, why would you/ did you have kids?

But in spirit of full disclosure. I love the post 7:30 pm bliss, when the kids are sleeping and I am relaxing- just my kind of fun!