Friday, October 30, 2009

My Spooktalur babies :-)

Nothing spooky about their costumes, alright? :) One is ninja, one is a cute puppy..and mommy thinks they both look spooktacularly cute in their costumes :D

September - December, life gets hectic with tooo many things lining up. First Krishna Jayanthi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navarathiri and then comes Diwali, B's birthday and Halloween.Atleast september it is just us at home..so it's kinda okay..But, From october the school starts squeezing in work...First it's the halloween/fall harvest party at both schools and they always pick different dates just to make it more hectic :-) Then, in november it's the the thanksgiving party and the weeks before that they have themes related to thanksgiving and give us projects and then comes the Christmas spirit. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love this season and love the festivity but sometimes it gets too much and office work is coincidentally hectic too..This week i had to run to the stores three times to get halloween costumes. First, i went on monday after picking up Aj. As soon as we entered the store aj saw the candy bags and balloons and the baby who was an angel till that time disappeared and the terrible twos showed up..I came back faster than i went in..I came home, had some tea to clear my mind and then took ashu to the store leaving aj with daddy. So, we went and searched and searched and the costumes sucked pretty much. Ashu wanted Harry Potter. They had the costume but no accessories. It sucked and Ashu said he would be red ninja instead as he didnt want harry potter costume without a wand and i totally agreed with him. Then came the toughest part. No cute costumes for 2 year old boy..i finally found a batman costume that was really cute and i bought it and came home. Aj took one look and said no. How merciless!! At this point i was at the verge of crying. B was sooo casual and said let him go without a costume, if he doesn't want it. I couldn't take it that light. I kept thinking that aj will be the only kid in the class without a costume and maybe he will realize on that day and become sad..so i tried again and went and got a puppy costume the next day. I made sure that it does not touch his neck, cover his eyes etc. Basically, i just made sure that it was a non-irritating costume for a 2 year old and aj took one look at it and said nah. Geez!! there was nothing else available and i decided to send him in Ashu's old costume - a 'not so cute' frog costume that he had picked when he was 2. That's another story that needs a separate post :) But yday, he cooperated and wore that puppy costume and he was really the cutest puppy :-) Every teacher asked me if they could trade him for their real puppy :-)

So, things were surprisingly going well. I got to go to the halloween party since a meeting got cancelled and i was all happy happy and after the party inside the class, it was time to go for 'trick or treat'...actually it was trunk or treat this year, where some volunteer parents decorated their car trunks with halloween decor and were waiting with candies for the kids. Aj didnt realize that it was gonna get this good and was initially troubling to stay in line and walk with his friends. He wanted to walk with me and run around..and once he realized he was getting all the goodies he followed Ms.Cathy and got all the goodies, then we went to the pumpkin patch and he started playing there without picking a pumpkin..then i cheated and picked one and got him out as it was getting late and the other class was ready to come in. We went into the class and the terrible two showed up again. He didnt want to leave the candy basket outside the class. He wanted to attack it then and there..Ms.Cathy made all the children sit in one place and gave a small treat. It was just pretzels, but in a fancy halloween pack.So the kids kinda mellowed down and i just flew out at the first opportunity that i got before the terrible two showed up again :-)

Today was Ashu's party, but i didn't have to go there as i didn't see any invite for the parents..I missed seeing his classmates in costumes though :-( I was good and sent the 2ltr coke already yday. Didnt want any embarassment as i'm capable of forgetting things at the last minute! That was what was assigned to us for the party. Ashu wore the ninja costume and was asking me if Ninja was bad and scary and i said i have no idea and told him that he should know better since he picked it and Ashu said he doesnt have a clue about ninja. I couldn't believe he would pick a costume that was not familiar at all. I know that we dont watch ninja at home and he has not watched at school either, but i thought his friends must've enlightened him since he was very particular about Red ninja and i asked him if he liked red ninja over the others and he said yes. Anyways, he was green ninja last year and they didnt say anything at school and i said so they should be okay with red one this year :-) If you ask me why we picked green ninja last year when we have no clue about it, it was because this green ninja had a turtle shell n he got all fascinated and picked it. I knew the reason better at that time :-) This year i didn't ask too many questions because i was dead tired. I vaguely remember watching the teenage mutant ninja turtle with my cousin, but cant remember any details :-( The mommy brains, u see.. :)
Anyways, back to the halloween story here..Yday, AJ came home with his loot and he was soooo happy thinking that i am going to let him eat all those candies. HAHA..love the innocence of the kids :D I gave them both couple of candies and hid the basket. He was really P'd off with me :-) Whatever!! ...this is just one more feather to my bad mommy cap :D

Ashu went to school in his costume. Was looking very cute and i'm sure he wont be too happy to see the word cute here..so let me rephrase and say was looking very handsome..he doesnt know he will always be cute to me, even at the age of 40, if i live that long :-) He was pretty happy with his costume and when he left aj told him 'Bring lot of candies, Ashu!' Yeah right!! :D Ashu's class also had pizza party today since his class won the cookie dough sale..
He came home with his loot and ...i lost self control and ate more candies than them. Well, atleast i ate when no one was watching, so i didnt set a bad example :-)

We have another halloween party tomorrow!! Sigh!!!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Autumn Acres..

I wanted separate posts for Ashu and Aj as they deserve it and this is a fun update...

Autumn Acres

Oct 24 : We went to Autumn Acres, a place near cookeville. Usually, @ Ashu's school they take the kids there once a year. I thought it was just a pumpkin patch with some swings and slides as that's all Ashu talked about. This time i saw the hoarding and checked their website and it sounded pretty interesting. So, we decided to go there and coincidentally they didnt make that trip this year at Parkview. We invited Atharva and Shiodas to join us. It was sooo cold and we were shivering, but the kids were fine as they were running around. The place had more than what i expected. They had corn maze, which was pretty neat. They gave clues like Scavenger hunt and as you find the things on the list you are on the right direction to come out of the maze. Ashu and Atharva were enjoying it and finding all the clues and AJ acted as if he found everything and was walking around like it was a piece of cake for him. I liked it because this was the first time i was in a corn farm and it was amazing to see it :)
It was the opposite of pattikaatan mittai kadaya paakardhu..I grew up in chennai and this was all new to me..so it was like 'pattanathan vayakaatai paatha maari' :D

After that the kids were playing in the swings and slides for a while. Aj loved it too. After that the kids went to the petting zoo and looked at bunnies, goats, pigs..etc. Aj started talking to the goats and it was really hilarious. He tried to pull their mouths and we had to keep him at a distance :) After that the kids went to the mega bouncing pillow and both ashu and atharva had a blast. first AJ stayed away and after seeing ashu he went in and it was hilarious. All the people who were watching their kids literally rolled on the floor laughing looking at AJ's reactions..First it was difficult for him to climb on it as the kids were jumping and the pillow was bouncy..somehow he managed and climbed and then when he sat down, he started moving down due to the vibration and he was mad and scolding everyone in gibberish. Too funny..i dont think i have explained it well. but, he kept going back and had fun and enteratained the rest of us :D

After that Ashu and Atharva went for the corn canon and AJ being small was not allowed. Corn canon is like a gun where they put corn and you have to shoot the target with the corn. It was fun too..Instead of that AJ got to ride in the barrel train and when he went he was the only kid his age and he went solo..Raja mariyadhai dhaan. After this, we went on the hayride and the kids went into the pumpkin patch and got pumpkins and we were back..Ellam adichu potta maari thoongithu because of all the aatam and cold weather..

I'm impressed

I was playing a game with aj where i'd spell sumthin wrong n he kept correcting me...like...
Me : I can spell Apple B..A..L..L
Aj : Hehe mommy, Apple is A..P..P..L..E
Me : Dog C..A..T
Aj hehe D..O..G
So, i thought let me make it complicated and said
I can spell Elephant E..G..G and he goes Elephant E..L..F..A..NT (nt together) and i was floored.
Don't you think he's good? :-) and i tried Dinosaur and he said D..I...N..I..S..I..R :D
The funniest part was he was standing like those spelling bee champs and writing in the air while spelling ;-)

Proud Parents

Ashu's report card came last friday and he got all E's including Music and one G in Physical Ed. He had scored 92 and was close to E we are extra proud :-)

They also did STAR test and he evaluated at 6th grade level in both reading and comprehension :DDD You can see all 32 in my mouth (according to B!) According to me, this is the best gift B got 4 his bday :) (What a way to cover the fact that i didnt get him a good gift! hehe)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

October update

Oct 20 - Left top molar..Finally!! :)


Oct 14
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Had 32 month evaluation at Aj's school. I had to fill out the form by testing aj with whatever they had mentioned. Dude was 100% on everything except fine motor skills..but, that's my fault because i dont let him dress himself up or i dont give him fork to feed himself. But, he was still on the above average for those and teacher said there are no concerns with his growth. Before and during the evaluation, Ms. Cathy really sodhichufied my porumai. First of all, i went during the lunch break so i dont have to take time off..She made me wait for 15-20 minutes saying that she's going to the restroom and then she was searching for the papers..Finally, she was talking a lot during the evaluation..Romba sodhichuttaa..and she gave me a ottai pen that leaked on my beautiful pink top and sweater..I doubt that the stain can be removed. GRRRRRR! Anyways, after the evaluation i was thinking that i should start working on making the kids a little independent. I should let go of the indian over protective motherly way and start working on few things - first on the list is - to teach Ashu to brush his teeth and take bath under my supervision and to teach aj to eat by himself. And for me...i should learn to ignore unwanted comments about my parenting!!


Oct 17
B returned from SFO only yday and this morning he woke up early (not because it was diwali!!) and went to run in marathon for the race for cure. A charity event for Cancer patients. Since it was 4 a good cause i mannichufied him for committing to it on Diwali..Marathon odittu vandhu aal 2 hours-kku gaali..that's another story :D Idhukku dhaan he should've listened to ashu's advice..Ashu saw the map and saw that the marathon was for 4 miles and he decided that B cannot run 4 miles and told him that he should run 1/4th of the distance and take a turn when no one's watching and run backwards and reach the final line and that way he can win :D B was mad at him...haha.. I got a beautiful scarf from that event. B odinadhukku enakku prize! :D Anyways, he was gone for more than 3 hours..and i had to deal with the boys!! Rendayum ezhuppi nalangu ittu Ganga snanam panna vekkardhukkulla...SSSSABBBBBBBA Kanna kattiduthu!! :-O Adhukkapram..getting ashu ready was easy. i dressed ashu and aj in similar kurtas. Ashu was good an cooperated..Aj was grumpy the whole time he was in kurta. He REFUSED to smile :-( He also told me he does not want Indian Costume!! :-( We had diwali party at Swapnil's house on diwali evening. Kids had a blast with fireworks..I know ashu is not scared and this is the first time for aj and he was too casual about it!! I was watching from upstairs and all the dads were with the kids and enjoying the fireworks..this little dude just went and lit the sparkler himself and nobody was watching..i panicked and yelled and screamed and B and another friend noticed at that time and guess what they did..instead of pulling him away, they went and lit their sparklers from his!! Men!!! They are certainly from MARS!! I recorded Padikadhavan and watched it next day..SO..SO..idhukku ivlo build up! Some of the jokes were really good though :-)

Oct 20

You know how they say you have to watch what you say in front of your kids? I learnt my lesson today..I use the word non-sense quite a bit.. I dont want this nonsense explanation..What nonsense? Why didn't y ou finish the lunch? ..blah blah... Today,i made nan-wich for ashu and packed the rest of the naan in the cover and sealed it with bag clip. Aj was watching the whole scene and asked me 'Have you seen the bag clip?' and I said, Aj i just put it on the naan bag and you saw it..and He said ' What nonsense naan bag is that mommy?' : -O He imitates Ms.Cathy a lot too..He just smacks Ashu for no reason and like a big yogiya sigamani he will tell himself..We do not hit our friends!! If i think of it..maybe he's saying 'we do not hit our friends..but brother is okay?' :-O Ashu's fall break is over..He went to Victory for the break. They were supposed to take to some movie and there was controversial review for it so the cancelled it and had a movie at victory itself..and a pizza party. He said he was hoping for Monsters Vs Aliens but they showed some other movie ( Doghouse...or something like that!)

Oct 23 :

Big B's birthday :-) Kids gave him a card and i gave him two cards. We got him couple of t.shirts :-) Aj kept singing happy birthday daddy all day. For Ashu's birthday, he kept singing happy birthday aj and also made Bro and jan sing for him too..ippo daddy-kku dharalama he sang. Ashu-oda enna potti? :D I made Diamond sweet (kaju burfi) and it vanished in one day...Got a 'Super yum' certificate from both Ashu and B..Aj ate it..so i assume it was yum for him too.


And today (Oct 25) :

Today was Aj's first play date!! I was soooo tensed to send him, but Pushpa kept reassuring me that she will take good care of him and i finally did it. He went there and spent 4 hours at their house without troubling them or crying for me :-) They said he was too good. Ofcourse, Ashu went with him, and they said Ashu took good care of aj too. What a good boy! It was Amit's birthday party and since Ganga's mom passed away this year, they kept it low profile and invited only kids and both kids did fine there. They came back with nalla per that they both were very well behaved and well mannered :-)

Looks like Aj was the center of attention for all the kids. Pushpa said everybody started writing words and asked him to read and he read all of them and kids were all excited and kept doing that!! Thanks to Ritu :)

September Update

Romba surusuruppo? :D

Sep 28
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AJ's Aksharabyasam and Navaratri 09

We did aj's aksharabyasam today since it was Vijayadasami. We got a slot for the ceremony after lot of nagging by me =o) The priest said that there were lot of poojas booked for that day and he said if we were there sharp at 9 he will do it for us. I immediately checked the calendar to make sure it was no ragukalam or emakandam and it was just fine. He gave a huge list of things to bring, as usual. Inspite of being super prepared from saturday night, i forgot the flowers and realized only when we were near the temple and it was 8.52. B said we can still manage and went to the nearest Kroger and we reached temple at 9.15 :-O The priest was quite forgiving and didnt ask us anything. teehee. He asked us set everything up on the trays and plates and started the pooja. In the middle of the pooja, i saw a small hand reaching the fruits tray sneakily. It was aj's. He removed a banana and started eating right there :-) Poor dude can't resist bananas.
After finishing the banana he gave the peels to ashu and wiped his hand in my pattu saree. Grrr.After that the priest asked B to hold his hand and write Om, Sri, Om namashivaya in arisi. He wrote without any fuss. He was later asked to gift a pen, pencil and notebook to 5 kids. only one kid was tehre. He gave it to her and the priest said he will give it to the kids who come in the evening. I remembered that coincidentally i gave all the kids who came for saraswathy pooja, a book or a pencil set. so was happy with that :-)

During Navarathri, B and I had to goto nashville office alternatively..and i could not invite any one for vethala paaku during weekdays and i ended up inviting them on sunday. Sunday being Saraswathy pooja, it turned out to be very hectic...Whole morning went in prepaing for the pooja and cooking the feast. Afternoon was cleaning time + preparing sundal (i made a huuuuuge batch!! ) and palgova for the guests and then wrapping their gifts. This time i bought cute sandwich spreader sets for the ladies and books and mech. pencil sets for the kids. Manisha and Pushpa came together with their kids and they were the last to come and by that time i was pretty relaxed and Ashu was eagerly waiting for atharva too..so they both started playing immediately, ignoring Ritu. I got so mad and asked them to include her and Ritu said..don't worry, i dont want to play with them. I asked her why and she said 'Hmmph Boys' ROFL :D She decided to play with aj and i went back to my chitchat session with Manisha and Pushpa..After few minutes she came running to us screaming in delight that 'Aj can read' :D She told Pushpa..mommy i wrote several words and he read all of them and did not miss a single thing. Then pushpa asked me to record it and i did..I was talking to them and recording and shook the camera so bad that when i played again i decided that i should keep my day job :D


Potty training Saga :

Ashu was soo easy to train and was trained in few days. I can't get away easily second time, can i? :) Aj was doing good but has reverted back. He hates potty chair now :O He cries if i ask him to goto the restroom and he even says 'He is a baby and he needs to go in diapers' :D :-( (Azhudhunde sirikkaren..Shivaji maari ;-))
Anyway, i'm going to give it a break for 2 or 3 weeks and start again. Btw, when he's in a good mood, he says he is a big boy and he will go only in potty chair and Ashu is a baby and needs diaper. Ashu gets MAD at him :D After all this drama, when the time comes he says and does the opposite. One of my colleagues said that some kids (especially the ones that goto day care will take a long time..so i have to mentally prepare me for that !! :)) I dont have the strenght either to deal with tantrums, with all the neck pain and hand pain..

Eye doctor visit : Ssssss habba kanna (no pun intended) kattudhe...

Boy did he trouble us or what? The Lions club did a test in daycare and said he has some issues with his eyes and may need glasses. First of all i was panicking thinking what could be wrong with his eyes? Did i do something wrong when i was pregnant or when he was an infant..etc..This came to my mind because i did not eat good during my pregnancy thanks to nausea and aj was a big picky eater (still is) when he started with solids..The second thought that shot my bp up was the thought of making him wear glasses. There was no way on earth he would keep the glasses on his face. With all these thoughts we took an appointment with Vanderbilt eyecenter and took him there. Anga pona he troubled so much and refused to sit in the chair to read the letters. He kept running towards the monitor. So they said they have to dilate his eyes and test it since he was not cooperating. After all the drama, his eyes were dilated and 4 of us held him and the doctor checked and said he was fine and there probably was an error in reading because he did not cooperate at that time, which was very likely. So, when we left he kept a very samathu face and said Hi doctor Bye doctor. The Hi doctor was because he thought he was Hi doctor and not Eye doctor!!