the dressing down and dosti made!

I have finally mailed meself a lot of pictures that have apparently been holding up my new posts from even being thought about propahly. So, last night, the technologically challenged Mme.A, decided to see how she can the mail the pictures from Picasa, which is where the currently travelling pati stores them all.

It was actually fairly simple. I just had to select a picture and there was a BIG button that clearly said email. Just put my personal id there and whoosh it lands in my inbox! Now now! Don't deny me my small victories by laughing! :p

This is going back to Goa post! I warned you in the first post itself that I have no idea how many posts it would be.

We had got out yet again, with generous G's car to just look around the city. WE went to the gorgeously magnificent Bom Jesus Church. When we reached there Cubby was sleeping. So by the time we finished praying, lighting a candle and admiring the place, he decided to wake up.

Now one thing Cubby cannot take, just like his papa, is heat. He gets really grumpy and upset if the weather is too warm and sweaty and needs to be in least amount of clothes! So when we came out on the lawns is when the dressing down happened. The pictures below say it all!

Mumma! Mujhe garmi lag rahi hai! Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

Arre! Did I say I needed a topi? Did I?

Ab main iss shirt ka kya karoon? Mumma bhi naah!

Is it looking cool on my shoulder?!

Or just walk around it with it?!

Maybe I will throw it here and leave!

Dekha! Idea kaam kar gaya! Mumma has taken the shirt back! :p

Ok! Now I am ready to roll! :p (mommy thot she is smart! hyuk!)

Meanwhile, I must tell you things went between 14month Cubby and G's son, 2 year old Pannu bhaiyya. They had a total love hate relationship.

Pannu being almost 9months older ofcos understands a lot more than Cubby, but cannot fathom the babyness of his actions. Plus pannu bhaiyya is extremely particular about everything. If shoes need to be kept on the shoe-rack, thats where everyone's shoes have to go. But who would explain it to Cubby, that Pannu is taking his shoes to keep them in place and not steal them. A battle of shoes and socks ensued as soon as they met and continued over next 5 days! :p

Plus Pannu would want exactly the same toy Cubby had and vice versa. Poor guy gave in to his mom's "You are the bigger one naah?" dialogue and gave the said toy to Cubby, which would have lost its charm by then. I mean whats the point of getting it if I cannot fight! :p

I was really hoping Cubby would pick up some of his good things like stuff in place, eating everything without creating any fuss, drinking water with glass and all that jazz. Pannu bhaiyaa is even fully potty trained at 2yrs. I am in awe of you my darling buddy G! You super-mom, you!

Cubby got scolded quite a few time by the strict Pannu and it was just so much fun to watch them, They would play peek-a-boo behind the cupboards and then come running out with smiles. Both of them stayed up as late as we did on all days. Every morning, the one who would wake up first, would go to other guy's room to see if he was up and about! :)

Again, heres some pictures that should explain their relationship! :) Thanks Pannu, for sharing your stuff with my thankless brat who kept troubling you the entire time.

If you can do it, so can I! ;)

he is SUCH a baby says Pannu!

Smiles too much, this dude!

Oye! Itna mat smile kar! Bhaav nahi milega phir!

Bola naah! Thoda smile control kar yaar!

Oh yaar! yeh nahi samjhega!

Chal main bhi smile kar hi deta hoon!

Paparazzi se bhag bhag ke thak gaye bechaare!

Friends forever, eh dudes?! :)

Till next time Adios Amigos!

a Tag and another day in Goa!! :D

I promised to do part two pretty quickly after doing part uno of the Goa trip. But I need lot more pictures and all of them are in M's laptop and he is travelling. So I thought while I am sitting vella let me do a tag the incredibly smart and sassy Kiran has set me to do.

(I changed my mind and added some Goa tidbits at the end!)

All I apparently need to do is list out 5 of my addictions. I think if someone reads my blog which sometimes mentions my quirks, other times my fears and now my addiction, that person can easily foool me into believing I have known him/her forever! :p

Taste ki testing

I love trying new tastes at new restaurants and I hate going to same places over and over again when they are so many out there waiting to serve me some good, bad and ugly food! This tasting and testing thing is not restricted to restaurants, but is done at home too. NO! I don't take out Sanjeev Kapoor and Tarla Dalal books since I ain't no kitchen goddess! :( I prowl the supermarket aisles waiting to lay my hands on some new biscuit, a flavour of soup, some ready to cook khaana... anything! At times it's a complete waste of money and another times we eat it till we get sick of it and need a break. I remember buying a Chinese Barbecue Sauce called Woh-Hup Hoisin sauce. We added it to some noodles or something as per recipe on the bottle and it was just horrible. 300bucks flushed down the drain (in every sense of the term!).

SMSing and blogging

I dunno why I prefer smsing than calling. I sms for numbers, address, just to say hey and even make up after a fight. I have no idea why I don't just pick up the phone and call instead. But that's just me. I keep tapping away at my phone and much to everyone's horrors I cannot use T9! so I type every letter and don't let phone do the guessing! :p

Blogging is new, yet an addiction that runs deepest at this time. I just have to get a daily dose of blogs I love to read and rarely can I ever leave without leaving a comment! :) Yeah I am a comments junkie. I love getting them and leaving them on other blogs!

Coffee kick

I LOVE coffee. I don't drink endless cups of it. Sometimes it's just the morning cuppa. But i so need it. A bad cup of coffee gets me upset to no end. That's the reason I rarely make my own. Earlier it was mom who used to make a perfect one and now it's M who gives me my daily dose of caffeine.

Cubby and talking about him

I cannot have a conversation without bringing up what's latest with Cubby. I just love to sit and watch him grow up a l'il bit every single day. I love his non-smile and how he has learnt to shake his head vigorously to say no. Sometimes it could be just something regular he has done. But to his mother's eyes, he is the first one to do it! :p

Reading... in the loo!

Yeah yeah! Go and say ewwww! Till i got married, I never did it more because I guess, Indian loos don't allow you that luxury. But M got me hooked to this habit and now there is no kicking it. Our loo looks like a mini library at times and I wonder how soon Cubby will pick up this silly habit (see! Told you I keep talking about him!)

I tag Suma, BB's mom, Cuckoo, Swati and Dee. (am not linking you women! too tired to do it! Pls to bear with me!)

And here's a l'il update from Goa in any case! One day we got out without a plan and M said lets go and indulge a bit. So off we went to Park Hyatt for a leisurely lunch and chilling at their private beach which came as an unexpected surprise! I kicked myself for not carrying extra set of clothes or just a pair of shorts or something. This was the only time we were there on a pristine beach with cloudy sky and no way to dunk ourselves! :( Tragic, to say the least! But then we enjoyed just lying down on the comfy beach chairs and attempting to take Cubby in water yet again. This time he bawled a little less! But he isn't a water baby as of now at least. He was happiest between changes of clothes, just being naked! :p

Ofcos in his characteristic manner, he kept walking all over the restaurant and hotel and by end of it garnered a couple of fans, what with snooty, rich people who think kids are a nuisance! We had a yummylicious Pizza at their Italian resto and yours truly, otherwise a teetotaler indulged in a Cosmopolitan for the very first time only after M promised that he would share / finish the drink if i didn't like / enjoy it. Well, I quite enjoyed it and might just have it another time! :p

It's a beautiful property and I hope we can go and stay there sometime in future. I collected some sea shells just for nostalgia sake and have no idea what I would do with them.

Also was impressed with the staff uniform at this place! Crisp linen clothes with chinese collars and really cool ivory cut-offs with blue chinese collar kurtas for some of the staff. I felt terribly under-dressed! :p

Here's some pictures of that day.

I fell in love with how fresh and yummy the veggies looked!

Begging Cubby to just sit with us for sometime!!

Cubby would rather run around... barefoot!!

walking to the beach!!

It was a long walk!! See the position change in carrying Cubby!

See the happiness when naked?!

Trying to dress him up!

when will baby-bag days get over?! :p


a family picture to end it with!

Part One of god knows how many! :p

So, we are back and all that jazz!! :D I really needn't tell you from where, since I have been talking about my Goa vacation forever! There i go again!

But it has to be forgiven this time 'coz the post is indeed about the much talked about and looked forward to trip! We plotted and planned for days together! Plotted to get the leave and planned to get tickets in place. We changed them so many times to best economise our time AND money. After lotsa haggling / discussion back and forth we decided to fly one way and take the train on return. Packing happened previous night 11pm onwards!

Last time we went to Kolhapur, Cubby jumping in and out of our suitcases was FUN! But this time it was sheer nuisance having him pull down all the clothes ironed and ready to be packed and then horror of horrors mop floor with them! Wonder where he got his cleanliness gene from! Plus he would keep trying to pull out already packed stuff and keep coming between our legs. So finally I took him on his favourite GaddaGadda to just play while M packed peacefully.

We had requested Amma to come early because it's impossible to get ready and do frantic last minute packing when Cubby gets into his clingy modes. For once she DID arrive on time albiet after a pleading phone call. She got Cubby ready and fed while we finished our work.

We decided to take the A/C Volvo to the airport since it's the most comfy and cheapest mode of transport to the new airport at just 150 bucks a person. Cubby also has never ridden on a bus, so it made most sense.

Amma with her precious package on her shoulders

Amma came to drop us to the bus-stop and I got stern warning saying "Amma, Kabir accha" at least 10 times in that short distance. Other warnings like "Amma, Kabir Bisleri paani, Goa paani beda!" (Give Kabir only Bisleri water, no Goa water for him) also followed. If you guys thought I didn't have to bear with MILs instructions, here she is! She does love him to bits and was actually sad at not seeing him for so many days rather than enjoying the unexpected chhutti she got! :)

Cubby made friends with the driver and conductor and the uncle sitting at the information booth! I loved the huge bus with its ample space to keep luggage, comfortable seats and sufficient A/C. It's a pity it still has not taken off in a really big way, though lot of regular travelers are now warming up to this mode rather than taking a private taxi every time. The staff is extremely courteous and helpful and the journey (i call it that because it takes over an hour and a half to get there from our place) totally satisfactory.

Cubby slept most of the way with a half eaten bourbon biscuit in his hand and looking utterly peaceful and cute sleeping with his torso on my lap and legs on his daddy's. I remembered how we used to sleep like this on our parents when we were kids and marveled at the fact that some things, thankfully, never change! :)

Mommy trying to hold on to Cub who wants to break free

Ofcourse all that sleep had Cubby totally recharged and he was raring to go like an energizer bunny. With walking efforts getting better by the day, the new found mobility was completely put to use by walking all over the huge airport. He would fall and get up again to some stranger's helping hands and give them his million dollar smile in return. Often, the smile led to being picked up by half the people at the airport! There were people who didn't smile back leading to much confusion, but he will have to learn that it takes all kinds to make this world.

Saala main toh Sahab ban gaya! Or maybe just Whheeeee!!

So while we enjoyed our coffee and sandwich Cubby realised he could go under the rope barricades. He actually bent down a bit as if he was tall enough to hit it if, he didn't. I was totally amused by this gesture because I have no idea where did he pick it up from or is it a natural instinct?! Cubby also found that revolving chairs are fun when a pretty girl ghumaoes it for you while you sit majestically in her chair, in her office! No wonder he cried while saying bye bye to the aunty...errr... didi perhaps! :)

Naughty? Et moi?! Just waiting for my coffee!

Everything done and good byes said to many people, we went on to board the flight. Cubby insisted on holding on to the supports in the bus while in Papa's godi as if he didn't trust him enough. WE got the seats right in the front and were quite thankful for that bit of extra space! Our neighbours were also people with kids (a girl and a boy) and both of them indulged Cubby totally making him listen to music by sharing their headphones and talking to him like a little adult. He kept walking from our end to theirs giving goofy smiles all along. He was even carried away by airhostesses for some time and his father wished he could swap places with the son! :D

He had juice nibbled a bit of yummy food Jet served and had a ball of time. I had a tough time getting him to sit quietly during take-off and landing though. Of course he is still thankfully small enough to be physically restrained, but he didn't create too much of a ruckus either.

When we were getting off a lady sitting behind us, blessed him and said "What a sweet child. He has been smiling throughout the flight!" My son ROCKS people! :D

Thus we reached Goa. Got our star sighting with Suniel Shetty waiting outside the tiny Dabolim airport as we headed to the taxi stand to reach my buddy Gauri's place! :)

Phew! I am tired with this much! So the actual Goa trip and return journey to be continued in next post! Please to bear with me. I actually didn't mean to bore you guys with every detail, but it's more for my memories sake that I am noting it all down out here! I wish I could capture the actual joie de vivre and excitement on Cubby's face in my words, but I had to try nonetheless! :)

P.s. Next post I will let just the photos do the talking! :P