Amma…

Is already taken for granted…

By the 14 month old.He now has taken to learning a few words – Appa/Auto/Thatha/Tata/Haaiii and Eeeuuu (See You).

He can show most of his body parts when asked – eyes/ears/nose/mouth/head/stomach/hands and legs.

He can fix the lego blocks one on top of the other

He can climb himself onto his Dad’s lap to make him show his book or climb on to the sofa to pick up mom’s mobile

He can do every action that his Granny asks him to do
He runs behind Mamma all over the house tripping over her while she frantically gets her work done in the morning/evening
He picks up everything she has put down – folded clothes/cosmetics/comb/specs/mobile and lugs it around waiting to give it to her
He runs away from her and wants her to chase him as soon as she puts him his bib or he picks up something to put in his mouth – YES! He knows he shouldnt put it in his mouth, so the running away!

He stands outside the bathroom door and howls for her if she closes the door even when he can see his Dad sitting right there calling out to him

He has figured out how to get down from the bed/cross the threshold – nothing can stop him from being a Denise the Menace now.

He wants Mamma every evening even if Dad is sitting right there waiting to play with him.

He hugs and does “muddi” in the car, wants to be on her lap through out and loves to be petted by her…

He has a special smile reserved only for her when he sees her after a long time or when she visits the day care.

Despite all these – Ask him to say Amma and the reply is “aaa eee thaththa llalaaa aatttoooo”

*sigh* Im still waiting for THAT one word…

In-Law questions…

Should the DIL wake up early even on weekends when the son can sleep all he wants

Should DIL turn to a home-maker over the weekends while the son watches world cup and munches on the couch
Shouldnt DIL’s parents come to help while you can go to your daughter’s house any number of times
Do you have to compare how you used to run the house with how DIL runs it now?
Do you have to say that the daughter doesnt spend at all and the DIL is a shop-o-holic?
Do you impose dress restrictions on DIL while daughter can wear what she wants?
Do you have to buy for everyone in the daughter’s family when you go shopping for DIL’s Bday?
Do you expect the DIL to put you and your family before her parents and her family
Do you expect DIL to sympathise/empathise and do all your work if you are unwell where as when you are only bothered about your son being fed if the DIL is sick.
Cant your son pitch in and help if his wife is unwell?
Do you symapthise and sing son’s praises if he does help his unwell wife?
Dont you understand that he isnt doing anything great – just what is required…

Why Oh Why Oh Why?….

I dream of a garden…

Where colourful flowers sway in the wind

The scent of the roses and the jasmine waft inside the house early in the morning

The green of the chillies and the red of the tomatoes are a sight to the eyes

The bunch of coriander and the pudina call out for fresh chutney

where I show my son what colour is

where I teach him what nurturing is

where I let him play and grow

Alas! After an year of dreaming – It still remains a dream…

My home – Mom’s home had a big garden. Granny had a green thumb and she grew lots of veggies and flowers – even Papaya tree/ curry leaves tree – everything. And every summer holidays she made me plant some flower in the newly laid bed. It all started with Ragi – She would make me write my name in the sand with a thick stick and then put Ragi in the hollow. In about a couple weeks time I could see my name in green. I was fascinated. I remember every morning when she used to pluck the jasmines and the hibiscus, the shaavantige and the jaaji, the kanakaambara and spatica for Puja. And mom had planted the betel leaves creeper too. Once in a while the button roses would bloom in huge numbers which looked beautiful. We even had a orange,yellow rose that would always bloom only 1 flower at a time :-). Up until last year most of these plants were still alive and blooming. Then finally mom unable to manage got them all cut and cemented the place 😦 . 

Ever since we finalised on shifting to our own home last year I have been wanting to have a terrace garden where I could plant all of these for myself. I dreamed of using the flowers for puja (when I do it) the fresh veggies for curries – I remember mom making beans curry from the fresh tender beans grown at home. So,I’ve not been very fond of the ‘decorative’ plants. I even made sure the builder placed all the slabs so I could keep lots of pots.  When we first shifted, though I was still at home and not working, Chutku was just 4 months old and everyone asked me to hold-off on doing something that required dedicated amount of time from me. And now this year – when its the right time for me to start sowing the seeds – again – Parents and In-laws want me to hold-off! 😦 They think that I have no time (which is true to an extent). And sadly hubby doesn’t share this passion with me….But I feel sad that I am not able to do anything about it. I even suggested to everyone that I will get a Gardener to do most work – I will only supervise and water them. And to add to these, I’m cursed with over sensitive skin which ends up in rashes due to the pollen in the wind and the flowering season – This adds to parents refusing to let me indulge. Im not sure if I can even water the plants.

BUT I WANT MY  OWN GARDEN. I want, I want – I want to make tomato juice from the tomatoes I grow and serve to everyone who visit and proudly say that its from my own garden! I want to make bouquets from the flowers in my garden. String the Jasmine and put it on the front threshold…Cook pasta from the fresh basil and garnish my rasam with the fresh,green coriander…*sigh* A girl can at least dream…

(photo courtesy:Google)

what do I do

When:
The maid is on leave
The milk man doesnt turn up
Personal health is not all that great
Have to attend wedding receptions midweek
Come home alone with the child
Have to cook dinner and get ready for the next work day
The child decides to bite his finger and throw a rip-roaring, roof-bringing down tantrum
Have a major sleep deprivation and Zero personal time…

Come to office post an impromptu post steepled in self-pity!

Ah! This is such a mood uplifter! *Sigh* The small pleasures…

Mall Experience and More

Yup Im back after quite a break. Looks like I somehow manage to squeeze in atleast 1 post every month! Need to really improve on that 😦 And mostly it looks like im here only posting all chutku related stuff – that shows how narrow my observation has become these days!

And this does happen to be a chutku update. His first mall experience.. We took him to do some shopping on the way back from work and he refused to be carried! He threw such a tantrum that we had to put him down and what did he do? Begin to run around! he had already wet his 1 pair of socks and was wearing something close to a night dress which had already ridden up his stomach when he slid down me – so you can well imagine how he looked.(Yeah! It so happend that I had decided he would wear his oldest clothes back home that day and forgotten to keep another pair of socks in his day care bag! Sigh!) And the barefeet little fellow decided to play hide and seek with me! So I had to abandon hubby dearest to choose his own clothes – which hasnt happened in the last 10 years *rolling my eyes* . I began running behind chutku going round and round the tables and hangers playing ‘Caught you’ with him while he was busy laughing away to glory 😀 It was such a joy to do just that. And then the reared the little monster head. He decided he wanted to sit under the table of folded shirts and then in an attempt to hold on to something to avoid falling – he pulled a whole column of Tshirts down. Horror! For 1 minute there I told hubby that ‘Its so embarassing! That’s not my son!’ and made hubby pull him out! And then I deligently folded all those clothes and put them back. All the while the young couples without kids were looking at me in horror – how can she allow the child to fall down like that! how can she allow the child to run around bare foot like that! How can she dress her child like that! How can she run around making a fool of herself like that! How can she allow the child tscream like that!… And gues what – For maybe one minute I was aware of them and then I didnt care. Just the happinness and laughter of the little fellow made me run around him more, catch him more and let him run some more 🙂
And then yesterday we took him out to a mall again – this time nicely dressed and in shoes too and he refused to get down – he wanted to be carried all the time! 😦 babies – You just cant predict their mood swings *sigh*

On the More front – He has begun to walk quite well these days and even carries small things in his hands while walking – so his balance has really improved. He has finally discovered the mirror – He looks at it and grins with all his 8 front teeth and tries to lick it! And he’s begun to immitate too! He took the comb right after I had combed and began combing in just the way I do it and that too walking! It was so hillarious to see that…

And finally his new words – thatha, Auto, Eeeoooo (see you) and when he’s in mood Appa. Amma seems to be still far far away… Patience….

As I write this, he’s raiding his Dad’s wallet that was lying beside and taking out the crisp 100rs note that he had just drawn from the ATM – this at 1 year! I dread the think what at 16!!!! :-O