alphabet test!

That's the most creative title I could come up with for the Alphabet tag that I am gonna do. I was tagged by Swati, Naren's Mum and Monika for this. The first two asked me to do it with the first letter from Cubby's name and Monika asked me to do it with A for Abha. Since majority is for Cubby, i am gonna do the tag with the child's name! I am sure Mon wont mind! :D


Btw, this also reminded me of our train trip back from Goa last year. I played name, place, animal, thing with a girl of 10 sitting next to us. Remember that game where we say A - z under our breath and other person says stop. You pick the alphabet where you had stopped and write name, place, animal, thing that begins with that letter. I remember as kids we used to add more elements like actor, actress, movies, colour and god knows what else. Then one who finishes first says stop and we compare answers and calculate the points. You get 10 points for every unique answer and 5 for common answer. Man! We spent so many vacation afternoons playing this! :)


As for the game with girl on the train, I LOST! I couldn't get animal / bird starting N and she had written Nightingale! I have still saved that days paper! :)

1. What is your name: CubbyR (starts with K!)

2. A four Letter Word: Kiss

3. A boy’s Name: Kunal

4. A girl’s Name: Ketaki

5. An occupation: King (what? it IS a full time occupation to rule a country!)

6. A color: K...(help me! girl from the train? you reading this?)

7. Something you wear: Knit wear

8. A food: Khaman (dhokla! yumm!)

9. Something found in the bathroom: Kadhai

10. A place: Kathmandu (i wanna visit Nepal)

11. A reason for being late: kitchen work?! :p

12. Something you shout: Kyaaaa???

13. A movie title: Khuda ke liye (loved the movie and was shocked that lot of it is true!)

14. Something you drink: Kitkat shake at Mocha! :D

15. A musical group: No music group ..Kishore Kumar!

16. An animal: Kangaroo (i think its darn cute!)

17. A Street name: kamanahalli

18. A type of car: Kia

19. A song title: Kaali teri chhoti hai paranda tera laal ni

20. A verb: Kiss! (yes! i am all for kissing!)

Now here's the pictures of Cubby's latest love. And no, it doesn't start with the letter K.

What is my Mom forcing Me to drink?

Oh! THIS is Lassi?!

I LOVE Lassi!! Gimme More!!!! :)

I think he looks very very grown up in the last pic! You guys think so too? :)

chokkit bikkit and BIDWF moment!

Chokkit bikkit is the demand we hear very often in our household as the youngest member has started getting more and more vocal in his demands. He now also follows it up with OUR set of dialogues saying "Mummy office se aayegi naah, toh bikkit le aayegi aur Cubby ko degi!'


Ofcourse, he is equally or even more vocal about things he DOESN'T want to do/eat. As the terrible two's show up in all their glory the instantaneous response to anything suggested is "Naee kanoonga" or "Naee Chaaiye"! And if it's not that it has to be "Main Kanoonga!". Even a sock taken off without letting him do it is reason enough to throw himself bodily on the floor and kick up a storm. We can do something for him if he graciously allows us to by telling us in so many words "Tum kano!"


But the terrible 2's are terribly cute too. With his increased understanding and vocab he makes us smile even more often. He talks his head off all the time and sometimes we just tell him to shut up and breathe! Can't blame the poor kid, it's in his genes! :p


Now that Cubby is going to school he learning his ABCs an he loves singing it all the time and we LOVE seeing him sprinkle sugar saying"Shugga on your bedd" and then do the sleeping action and say "Betta go to bed!"


This BIDWF moment came thanks to this new knowledge.


We were sitting in a restaurant and Cubby was getting fidgety and bored towards the end of the lunch. So we got some tissue papers and he started scribbling. Then he said "Tum likho naa!" So I held his hand with the pen and we were writing my name. So I went "A B H A".


What does Cubby say very indignantly?


"Nahi!! A B C D!"


WE could not stop laughing!


He similarly stunned us by spouting days of the week and months of the year! I mean we keep forgetting that he goes to school and already has a life that we have no clue about.


The kid is growing up way too fast, I tell ya! :)


Apart from that his eating habits MIGHT just be improving. He suddenly got completely turned off by the tasteless goop he had been having for past over an year, namely khichdi and raagi. He made it very clear that he will not be eating it anymore by refusing to let even a morsel go in his mouth without having to go through a battle.00


Now he likes stuffed parathas (esp aanoo and paneen), sambhar chawal and dahi chawal. He also likes to eat just sukhi chapati. So the attempt to make him normal dal-roti-subzi etc has not yet been made. Add to that Amma makes sure that he inherits the local taste buds and often does not even TRY and give the stuff that I make and keep. That bit is getting a little annoying, but then I end up not making a big deal because at least he is eating without too much fuss. (Touchwood and Anti jinx!)


He loves colouring and now recognizes (that means past few months) all the common colours. His latest favourite is Geen cunon (colour) and he insists on having all liquids in his Geen Gaas wonly! :D


He also comes up with some funny n funky dance steps every now and then and I am guessing that is the "Schoon effect" too! :)


All in all, if you discount the omnipresent whining, life is good! :D


Considering I have done like a mini Cubby update, leme just do one tag as well!


This was passed on to me eons ago by Starryeyes - an awesome awesome blogger whose posts I just love to read for their honesty and beauty!

1. What's for dinner? M will make the subzi, me the dal. Which one, I dunno!
   


2. What's the last thing you bought? Milk and curd
   


3. What are you listening to right now? Some kannada song playing at work.


4. What do you think about the person who tagged you? Read the lines before the tag!
   


5. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? By the beach!
   


6. What's the principle you live life by? Life is too short to sweat over small things and that ONE person can make a difference.
   


7. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Rajasthan. I desperately wanna see go there!
   


8. Which language do you want to learn? Kannada I guess and teach Cubby Marathi. My family is hounding me for neglecting his mother tongue! :p


9. What's your favourite quote? Shit happens! :)
   


10. Who do you want to meet right now? Friends!


11. What is your favourite colour? Black and Red


12. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet? A nice black top gifted to me by a close friend and white denim capris my folks got me from US and erstwhile yellow capris that are now greenish yellow thanks to a washing machine disaster!


13. What is your dream job? I wish I knew!


14. What's your favourite magazine? RD and Cosmo though I haven't read either in ages. And recently Cubby's Toot! :)
    


15. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Books and movies
    


16. What do you consider a fashion faux pas? Wearing clothes in which one is visibly uncomfortable and yeah panty lines!


17. Describe your personal style? Anything that fits! I like capris and jeans!
    


18. What are you going to do after this? Take a nap on my desk.


19. What are your favourite movies? Thodaasa Roomani Ho jaaye (M finally managed to get me a VCD! yyayy! thanks!), Lock, stock and two smoking barrels, kill bill, Children of Heaven, Chicago, Clerks, Golmaal (old and new), Munnabhai and just too many more!


20. Which is your favourite poem? I have never been a poems person. I like Cubby's latest nursery rhyme G G G og the Giraffe. Like it even more 'coz he loves it so.
    


21. What inspires you? Any and every good deed... big or small.
    


22. What do you carry in your bag? Wallet, comb, ALL my lipsticks (don't ask me why!) and keys.


23. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Never been a tea person unless its that milky n sweet n kadak tapri ki chai!
    


24. What do you do when you're feeling low or terribly depressed? Shop and eat!
    


25. What is the meaning of your name? Halo (I always have a tough time telling people who go Huh when i say halo! So then i just say light! :)
    


26. Which other blogs do you love visiting? just too many to mention here!
    


27. Favourite dessert/sweet? dark Chocolate and things made with the said item! :D
    


28. Favourite season? rainy season!
    


29. If I come to your house now what will you cook for me? Maggi? No? Ok! Omelet then! a Niice cheese omelet!
    


30. What's your current mood? I need sleep! I need a new job!
    


31. Which feature of yours do you like the most? My smile!
    

And here's some random photos from the last month!

At Lalbagh flower show this Independence day!



Cheeeeees'y' Smines at Nandi Hills!

Cubby's fake smine! :D

Cubby staring at his first "real" frog sighting! :)

The time he thought his father was a trampoline!

Till he decided to give him a short 2mins break! :p

Cubby at UB City! :) The amphitheatre is awesome and we just ignored the security guy trying to shoo us away!

The Blue Umbrella! :)

That's that folks! Have a super weekend! :)

i dunno what this one is about!

This is going to be one of them random posts where I write for the heck of writing types.


I am really terrible at this whole story telling business and even when I read out of a book Cubby usually runs away within 3 pages odd. I mean I start yawning myself, so can't blame the poor kid. This being the case my preferred mode of putting Cubby to sleep (apart from just letting him drift off) is to sing to him and give in to his "Haath Pheno" demands. That day he was especially jumpy and I volunteered to tell him a story so that he would lie down just for the novelty factor. He did too and I was officially lost and stuck.


Anyhoo, the best I could come up with was the thirsty crow story and I got it over with in my usual unimpressive fashion to be bombarded by "Phinse sunao, Cnow ki stony!" (Cubby replaces L and R with the N sound!). I finally managed to get him to sleep and now he comes up with random" Stony sunenge" requests leaving M and me very flummoxed.


Yesterday was the weirdest. So M yet again told him the crow story and I offered to sing instead. What does our little guy come up with?


"Cnow ka gaana sungenge!"


?????


Considering he was in a realllly foul mood and verry sleepy, nothing else would do. We were racking our brains for an appropriate child friendly rhyme with crows and could come up with nothing.


Mean mommy then created the base by asking Cubby "Crow ko Hindi mein kya kehte hai?" to which the child replied "Kauaa" and what followed was an enthusiastic rendition of "Jhooth Bole kauaa kaate" by the mother and beanbag music by the father and lot of crazy laughter interspersed in between.


True to his current mood, the same was done about 3 times for His Highness and then a scolding later we were on the bed ready to go off to la la land! This was just so that this memory doesn't get lost! :)


Meanwhile Cubby got gifted subscription to this monthly magazine called Toot. Thanks Mehek! :) It is a delightful little magazine with a whole lot of art, craft, puzzles, jokes, general knowledge and stories thrown in. It is ideal for kids aged 3yrs to 6yrs and I am saving em for later while Cubby enjoys just the pictures right now. If you are in Bangalore you can call 080 - 32947354 / 22483701 and ask for Mr. Benher Alexis who can come to your address and fill out your subscription which costs around Rs.600 (which is what? a pair of jeans these days?). You can also check out the website and find a contact in your cities! :)


And here is another funny "we are like this only" post by M about another God being offended in another part of the country thanks to another unacceptable mention in yet another Bollywood movie. You have to read it thrice to get all the puns the man has managed starting from the title to the next 10lines of the post! :)


Oh! Before I say ta on this post, here's what Cubby has been upto these days. Everyday, all the contents of the toy box are removed and put in an order only Cubby understands. The result is something like this;

The creation! :)

The Creator with his creation!

Am sure there is some order to what seems like chaos! :)

How has this week treated you till now. Me, I can't wait for the weekend!


Ciao! :)

of terrible and terrific Twos!

Last month, on 20th July 2009, my darling son, you turned 2! It is quite unbelievable! You know how we always say that time flies, did you feel it too? Did you notice how you changed from a wee l'il cell to a fetus to a wrinkly raisin looking creature who then turned into a kid with charming smile and expressive eyes to this naughty boy who speaks endlessly and keep jumping off walls all the time?


I cannot claim to remember every l'il thing you have said and done, but I can definitely say that having you around has been a life altering experience in every sense of the term. Sometimes I feel it has been too easy and at others it seems like a miracle that we have come this far without disowning each other.

Warning - a looong and nostalgic post ahead!


Year 1

I mean for most mommies going back to work is a huge challenge, but you made it a breeze for me. You almost never cried and your cheerful bye (with see you soon now added) when we leave for work makes it very easy to not worry and feel guilty. These days you might also wanna give an Uggie before you push me saying "Jao! Hemmet Pehno!"


You achieved your physical milestones slightly slower because of hypotonia (loose muscle tone). When the doc said that and i googled it was distraught. But the Doc assured us that all was okie and that for you it was a mild form of it. Do you remember your first fall l'il guy? It happened when Papa wasn't in town and Amma made sure she complained about that to him when he got back. She thought i would not have told him! ;) The first fall was just the beginning and for the longest time your forehead had bumps all the time. We had become masters of not making deal of your falls and you seemed to not react to it most of the times after a point. Cut to present and you come to saying "Chottu laga. Theek kan do" and then go back to whatever you were doing pretty quick. If its a nasty fall then carrying you for a while and distracting you helps.


And remember the first time you stood up? You were l'il more than nine months. I can still remember the look of sheer pride in your eyes because you knew you had achieved something special and then the bawling following it because you couldn't figure out how to sit once you stood up. Now you can stand in the balcony for hours looking at life go by. You have all your meals that way. You can now stand on your toes and see things on the kitchen platform and ask for things! :)


You did your first long train trip to Kolhapur around the same time and by the 10th month you were slowly but steadily developing a personality of your own!


I used the time flies phrase the first time in 11th month. By then you were fairly mobile even walking with the support of a walker and ofcos trying to put everything you see in your mouth. You were so much more responsive and it was just fun to see you in action! This was also the time your Daadu and you started your mutual admiration club! :)


Then just like that one day, rather on 20th July, you turned ONE! I mean we stopped counting your age in months after that. We celebrated your birthday with just your grandparents at Yelagiri and it was a lot of fun. This was also the time we gave you a hair cut and man it was painless and fun! Now we have started taking you to a salon and you scream and cry as if you are going through Chinese torture. But you look darn cute post the haircut! :D


Year Two


13 months was when you took your first steps! :D a HUGE milestone achieved much earlier than 18 months the doc pegged it at. This was the month when you started showing us your stubborn streak and eating troubles had started. You also discovered the joys of your l'il tub and the clingy phase had officially begun! You had started appreciating applause and would expect it for every achievement. That has not changed till date. The only difference being that now you applaud others too. Good thing to do that kid! :) This was the month we went to Lalbagh and Cubbon park and noticed just how much you enjoyed going out and wide open spaces! :)


Month fourteen had you practicing your walking skills and improved mobility was making life a wee bit difficult! You had also discovered your love for socks and yes you finally said Mamma. Cut to today when you can walk long distances quite easily! As for calling me Mamma, it can range from anything from that to Mummy to mamyao! :D


The hemmet obsession started in month 15! You also took your first sips of water from glass during this time. Your vocabulary was increasing and so was your understanding about the stuff and you could now figure out your toys by their names. Your smile also seemed to have gotten cuter this month! :) You also went to Goa in this month and had a rollicking time with Pannu bhaiyya!


16 months was when we started indulging in child labour in all our earnestness! You had started putting bartans in the sink and clothes in the wash basket and your toys in the box. It was in this month that we saw beginnings of tantrums too and new words being said every single day. All very exciting! :)


You had started climbing up steps in month 17 and now can confidently go up and down the three floors to our ghar. This was also the time you kept surprising us with your observation and association of sounds with objects. You developed a stranger anxiety after being a kid who went to everyone with open arms! We also got your mundan done and i still hate it because your lovely curly locks are gone foreva!


Two major happenings in 18th month - restarting of potty traing and your love for dark chocolates! :D Plus the talking had become l'il more constant and your five senses were falling into place. Garam or Teekha was heard often. We also went to Pune and Mumbai and you had so much fun with your grand parents and Mama who had come all the way from US! :)


The month of "what this is?" was the 19th month. The question was asked endlessly. We realized how much you love routines and how much you love playing with bartans rather than toys! :p You were also running all over the place and enjoying Jumping! First trip to zoo happened and man you LOVED it.


20th month meant some more talking and more walking and more of everything including tantrums and feeding troubles! You had also started becoming the walking instruction manual and the BIG thing was you were potty trained for the day! Yayy!!


21st month was the month you tried to be independent - be it trying to take off you clothes and footwear or wanting your own seat in theatres and aeopanes! You love airports and physical masti in all forms. The rougher it is, more fun it is for you. You also became a painfully whiny kid around this time, but mostly you were fun! :D


I did a combined post for 22nd and 23rd month with BIDWF moments thrown in between every now and then. These months you proved yourself to be a a good citizen by insisting on throwing all the kachra in the dustbins wherever we went! :D How can i forget, you started school and seem to be totally loving it! You also zapped is by walking 3kms at mysore zoo without a whimper or demand for Godi! You now love colouring and keep bringing noosepepa and cayons to do your artwork! :D


And now when I look at you, you are all these things and then some more. You are cute and cuddly, stubborn and annoying, charming and fun, whiny and clingy, funny and smart, loving and caring, sweet and spicy. You have quite a temper but then you temper (notice the smart pun please!) with enough love and understanding for us to not notice it too much! You are helpful and sensitive. Your hugs are so warm and genuine that it melts our hearts. Your smile is sometimes fake and some times real and at all times very very adorable! :) You are quiet at school and get bullied easily but there are also times when you show that you already have the thing to be the bigger person, to give even when the other person does not respond. You chatter incessantly and to watch you play by yourself while making up your own stories makes us realize you are not the l'il baby anymore.


May your imagination let you soar to wherever your mind wants to go...
May your smiles and laughter light up our lives every single day...
May your naughty eyes keep shining forever...
May the music of your soul let you dance with or without two left feet...
May each day bring new joys and discoveries...
May each friend make you feel special...
May you become a kind soul who enriches the lives of others...
May you learn to take care of your and other peoples aggression...


And Papa's and your prayer should be your mantra in life. Just in case you forget here's how it goes "Bhagwaanji, mujhe buddhi do, samajh do taaki main accha insaan ban sakoon. Taaki main sab ki madat kar sakoon aur mere saath bhi sab accha ho. I love you bhagwaanji!"


We love you lots sweetheart! You are the sunshine of our lives! Hugs and kisses!


Ps: If there is anyone who has been enjoying Cubby's antics and not said hey, pls to delurk and give your blessings to the l'il guy! :)

just because i loved these photos!

I know I am yet to do Cubby's 2nd birthday post and some other stuff as well, but then we went to Yercaud one weekend and apart from having lotsa fun i quite loved the photos too! Cubby's S bua, R Bua and M bua made it special for him by pampering him silly. Ofcos the child didn't give as much attention as he got and kept acting pricey every now and then! Bah!


Here are some pictures in random order or maybe not so random. We shall see how it goes!

Midnight masti with M bua - eve of the trip.

M bua, S bua, and another set of daadi and Daadu came from lucknow the previous night and Cubby was maha thrilled to see so many people in the house giving him so much bhaav! :p

All set to leave by 730am on D-day. Not bad for 9 adults and 1 kid to keep to the schedule! :D

Yummy south indian breakfast @ Hosur

Dozing off post breakfast...

So that he can be all fresh when we reach the resort finally!

All freshened up in new clothes after 6hrs of bus journey! Outside our cottage @ the resort!

There are times when I am not showing my teeth! But then the child makes up for it! ;)

Girl Power! Paddle boat at the yercaud lake. Lot of fun! :D

This was the first time M bua and me were doing the hard work and man! we had a ball! WE almost kept bumping into other boats while trying to navigate the damn thing in completely placid waters. Now I am sure I wasn't meant meant to be a sailor for sure! :p Ofcos it was a great exercise after overeating the spicy biryani at a local mess in the city where we went thanks to resort guy not being able to serve us any lunch! Gah! But no loss, the food at this place was fab! Ofcos the hygiene levels are NOT for the fainthearted! ;)

Cubby having a blast with his Papa while S bua tries to hide behind the bag so that she doesnt get splashed with the lake water!


Cubby on the other hand was very tickled when R Bua and hubby S started splashing water on him and exclaimed gleefully "Baarish aaya"! :D

Generally fooling around and givin fake smiles! :D

Enjoying the ride on duckie duck! :) The simple pleasures of life!

Oye bubbly! :D



S bua finally gave in to the temptation and bought a bottle of bubbles. Next one hour was spent in everyone trying to make the biggest bubble, various acrobatics with it and then taking pictures with the bubbles being blown around each and every person! Even the old uncle selling the bubbles joined in to give us the desired effect! This is one of those pictures. :)

Posing for him Mom! with a fake smile thrown in ofcos! ;)

If Hemmet is an obsession, can Bikes be far behind! :p

The resort had a dirt track and these huge vehicles that are rode like bikes, but have four wheels and weigh just too much. All the young peoples (below 60!;) tried their hand it. We ofcos picked up the easiest track and it took us half the route to figure the bleddy thing out and rest half would be actual riding. Cubby is just posing lest you start calling child welfare people! ;)

With Papa after the father completed his round successfully and quite comfortably!

With the mother who had to really struggle, but she did complete the round and was quite kicked about it! ;) (btw, the father has named this picture Fake Smiles Inc.)

behind every successful woman is an awesome man! :)

The whole gang of us for a mandatory group snap! :)

Us! :) Love the picture because Cubby hides my flab so perfectly! :p

Posing for the heck of it!


We had lunch at The Grand Palace, one of the fancier places in Yercaud. It on the hill and offers a fantabulous view of the mountains and the valley. They have a gorgeous lawn and the food was quite nice too. So we spent the first hour taking pictures and looking around the property and working our appetite and then had a satisfying lunch! :)

The view from the hotel. Cubby is just waking up!

The child is up and about within no time. Running up and down the ramp that leads you to the hotel spa!

On top of the world! I am having so much fun! :)


We left yercaud by around 430pm and were home by 10, all tired but happy thinking it was a weekend well spent! :)


Ps: for all those people who left comments on previous post saying I have lost weight and am looking fab, sorry to burst your bubble! The girl in the red top is NOT ME, but my 15yo cousin! I have hardly been able to maintain any regularity and am same size if not bigger! bah!

you know you are on a vacation when...

Your day starts with a big piece of dark chocolate which is more than what you normally eat over a week! :)




When you have unending supply of Ajobas and aajis who will do anything to see you smile and chuckle. Even if it hurts their legs and backs!






Someone or the other ready to give up their rest time to swing along with you either just for fun or





or to make you sleep when you are all tired and sleepy

Bath times are even more fun when daadi specially get the tub down from the loft and then bathes you too! And when you are having so much fun, how can Daadu stay away?! :)

:) :) :) :) :)

You can monkey around as you like! Climb on the step ladder or

Or get thrown around by Ujoba during bedtime making full use of rows and rows of gaddas!

It took us a good 20mins to wind you down post this session with favourite Ujoba! :)

When you could semand 5 people to go out and jump with you! All the time!

and when you could eat alu bhajiya with sauce while on a picnic! :)

and then you got to cozy up and sleep with your panjoba (great grand father) making him and us very happy! :)

Seeing you with all these people who love you to bit made us count our blessing yet again. Be it Vandana aaji who made besan laddus for you or you Aaji who worked endlessly for your birthday and kept curing you with excellent home remedies or Ujoba who could make you laugh in a jiffy to Vijoba who planned your party so perfectly or Ajoba who put you to sleep every single day with his gentle patting. Dada - Dadi who planned the 2 dats we spend with them so beautifully and Panjoba who was so proud to see his great grand child bonding with him! :)

May this love keep getting showered on you, protect you and may you return it in equal measure and more.

Love ya!

kya bahu kabhi saas banegi?!

Now now! Lest you are wondering if I am already looking for a suitable bride for my 2yo very cute Cubby, you are totally wrong! (I mean i don't want you to start sending me pictures of your susheel and lovely daughters already!;)

I am talking about my Ma-in-law aka Mummy who is a bleddy brilliant cook! I mean you can say Annapurna resides in her hands. She can make anything taste perfectly awesome. In her heydays, she would cook for 100 people with little or no help. She baked these huge cakes for M's birthday - cats and aeroplanes! She keeps claiming that her cooking is very simple, but as hard as we try we can never even come close to that taste! And its not just the cooking, it's even her presentation that is flawless to say the least.

I mean how many people you know can turn this (the picture below) in to the final product you will see and that too at HOME!

I have not seen more yummy looking raw material!

That's how everything put together looks like!

A dash of sauce... the beginning of the completion!



The master-chef with her completed creation!

Papa obviously happy with the food in front of him!






Yayyy! I am eating a HOME-MADE sizzler! :D






Don't miss the happy faces behind the smoke that say "Bliss!"






After, NOT before! That's how clean the sizzler plates got licked! :)




So, the answer to the question asked in the title is a resounding NO!




But then, I am more than happy to be fed this food and man, it tastes even better than it looks, if that is possible! :)



Thanks Mummy for the gastronomic pleasure trip you always take us on - be it a simple dal or the finger lickin good Karela or this fancy sizzler! You rock! :)


The begging for invites is now open! ;)