Joy enjoying his evening snack on the balcony..enjoying the good weather and the rain!!!

Joy woke up after his afternoon nap yesterday, to a cool breeze and lovely rain.... he yelped in excitement and danced around trying to catch the rain drops... and let the raindrops fall on his face... but soon... realisation sunk in and he turned around and looked at me and sais, " Joy sad..." with his lips all curled up in disappointment....he realised that he wouldn't be able to go down and play now....Poor chap....!!!




So he sat on the balcony with his little bowl of Muri and cheeselings... and watched the rain..... all was quiet ...for a while.. when his mommy who isn't used to the peace and quiet.. went to investigate ....found him standing and feeding all the crows and pigeons his snack,.....ocassionally spraying a few cheeselings on the people moving around downstairs.....






Joy then had to be entertained as he couldn't go out.....so his Baba kept him busy with some puzzles... but our friend prefered to do a few front rolls instead....

It's Raining....... finally

The smell of wet earth is one of my all time favourite smells..... there is something about wet earth, rain, trees all squeaky clean , puddles on the street, people running helter skelter, hot samosas and pakoras and steaming hot cups of chai.....that is so romantic...


Today , we came home after a long and harrowing day at the hospital......we came back with good and positive news so were very relieved..... It seems the weather gods were also celebrating with us.....it started raining......


Everyone..went into their respective rooms and fell asleep......but I just couldn't. How could one sleep when the weather is finally gorgeous.....


So I sat on my balcony and watched the raindrops splash off the railing....drip onto my parched potted plants.....watched the brown park in front of my apartment slowly turn a bright shade of green.....watched the skies....turn from bright yellow to shades of grey ( this is the first time that grey has looked so uplifting)..... I love rain......

First hair cut.... with out making a scene...

We have had our share of scenes created when people passing by have glared at me for torturing my child....passed snide comments about how they would do it themselves'at home'.....etc...etc...

But I was insistent.. Joy had to get a proper haircut... and I was not going to do it... coz i couldn't cut hair....there were hairdressers for this or barbers.... and I wasn't one....

I had also seen some of the kids in the locality after their mums and dads had had a go at their hair..... they looked hilarious , ridiculous and traumatised..

So I found a Loreal Kids Salon near where we lived which had these little toy cars and motor cycles and put on cartoons on the TV... gace kids toys to distract them etc.... The first time was great ..Joy didn't even realise that he was getting a haircut..... but the times after that.... life wasn't so easy for us... so much so .. that I refused to go with him for his haircut.. his Baba was delegated the task... the same way I have now refused to accompany him for his vaccinations... these too are his Baba's responsibility......

But this time... Joy is almost 3..... and his haircut was like it would be for any adults!!!He sat and looked at himself in the mirror...raised and lowered his head when asked.... My lil baby was growing up..... <after he finished .. he went and checked on his Baba who was getting his haircut done at the other end of the salon....

Look at Joy getting his haircut...... like a Big Boy!!!

This is the Life......

Joy:"It's Oot out theyerrr.. mama!!"

Mama: "So what should we do Joy?"

Joy shows his Mama the way life should be led.... on such hot days...





Option 1: Lounge in the Lazyboy and eat chocolates




Option 2: Lounge in the lazyboy, eat chocolates and watch cartoons in an AC room



Option 3: Go for a swim





Option 4: Go for a swim...




Option 5: Call friends over, sit in an AC room and persuade an auntie to read a story to you..... "Yay!! Story Time"

Making Paddle Pops

Joy is lucky to have some cousins who live in the same complex as us.... and he idolizes them.. as they are a few years older than him.... natural thingy....

Since everyone is on vacation... I decided to make ice lollies... or as i was informed by the brood... they are called "Paddle Pops".... actually it was Joy who told me they were called that.. he it seems has seen it on Mickey Mouse Play house...

So this is what we did....

1) We mixed water with orange squash....

2) Then we stirred it and poured it into the moulds that I had picked up on a trip to London....

3) Then each of them got a chance to pick their favourite colour and and we sealed the moulds and put them into the freezer..

4)The brood collected again the next afternoon... to see if their experiment was successful.

5) And what a rollickin time they had..... a finger lickin... messy.... paddle pop time....

Balls....Balls

With the weather being what it has been in Delhi and Gurgaon over the past few weeks.... it is criminal to send kids down to play in the park.... so what do harrassed mums like me do....????

We seek refuge in the play areas in air conditioned malls..... the kids love it.. and so do the moms... specially .. if there is a Baristaa... and a book store near by...






In The ball area..



In a little toy car....navigating his way aorund the play area

Some of Joy's Art and Craft work....




Insects in the garden.....catterfinnner and wadybug...



Catterfinner hiding in the grass....with Mr. Sun and Mr. Twee and caaowds in the back ground





Mr. Giraffe eating gween gween gwass...and oh... Mr. Giraffe's skin colour is Onjus....it seems... LOL>..

Joy- ful Summer of 2009

This summer has been a hot one....not just weatherwise... but also activity wise...
Joy and I have had a great time.... this year... also because he is now at an age when he is talking and talking and wanting to do things all the time...
It does get a little tiring,,, but has been fun....
A lot of our friends have sent their kids off to summer camp, due to work constraints or other reason... and let me tell you I have thought about doing so myself a few times.. when Joy is driving me a little around the bend.... but am glad I haven't.
Joy and I went to Kolkata for a short trip and got thoroughly pampered....we would have ideally liked his baba to have been with us as well.... but since...Baba is very busy and we hardly get to see him on normal days we decided it was better to take ourselves off to another city and see other people instead.



Joy at the station

Even before going on the , since April, Joy and I have been going swimming everyday at this delightful club we are members of. It is just across the road from our condo... and we enjoy ourselves a lot here... it has a little old world charm to it...and great food and good entertainment...

Joy has started swimming- well almost- he refuses to swim in the toddler pool anymore and jumps into the bigger pool after he sees me get in.
We have spent a lot of time in the water and its been great fun...Joy's baba gets to hear all about our exploits every evening and we can see that look in his eyes.. of " aaw!! I wish I was there too...." ( we wish the same too baba!!)
But he makes up for it by joining us on weekends and then treating us to a good breakfast after the swim...


My lil waterbaby!!



Joy has been enrolled in a play school... a school I wish I could go to....called "Anand"...close to home... a fabulous place with lots of area and an energetic bunch of teachers.... and small numbers....a place we picked after a lot of deliberation and thought....
The school asked us to try and maintain a scrapbook about Joy and his summer holidays, which we have been doing..
Joy and I have had the most amazing time sprawled on the floor with craayons and colours, drawing.....scribbling and doodling......we have done some interesting art and craft work, creating things to illustrate stories that Joy likes....specially about his " caterfinner" and how it's hiding in the grass and about a "giraffe who ate green leaves" and about " Catterfinnners and Radybugs who live on twees and reaves".....( yes Joy can't say 'l' and replaces it with 'r' and 'w' on and off)....watching back to back videos of Barney, dancing to "partridge in a pear tree", mimicking each other....ODing on "sausages and woodles...".....playing tag in the park( when the weather permits).... listenning to my little 2 something year old pleading me not to send him to the park....as " eets hot theewrw..mama!" and telling me innocently " mama..let's go Swoimming"...even if we already went in the morning....



Play dough fun!!




Craft Work





Shredding paper



My little boy is growing up... though he is still driving us bonkers with his terrible twos..... he is growing up....
if he sees me hurt (specially after he has jumped on me)... or if I look upset about something....he rushes upto me and holds my face in his grubby little hands and looks into my eyes and asks " you ok mama????" " Arni ( arnica) chayi???" and gives me a kiss on the lips and again asks... " you ok????"
Awwww.... I would melt.....initially.....feeling instantly better.... but off late.. he has started roll playing a little,...
so after " you ok?".... he goes on to " Joy Doctor hobe??? and acts as though he is putting on his stethoscope... and starts jabbing me with his little fingers,...in the eye, in the nose .. in the stomach..... and if his baba is around... he gets jabbed in unmentionable places as well....

We have been entertaining quite a bit as well.... have had friends and relatives over for dinner, to stay and have been eating out a lot....
I have read five books since the start of my vacation and not even one of them has anything remotely to do with work.....
I suddenly realised that I had read any of the John Grisham.... so have burried myself in my brother's collection.....The Husband has been more than happy to get me a few more and someothers...we have spent a number of hours quietly snuggled in bed , with the AC on full blast, Joy asleep.....reading and soaking in the peace.... a blissful way to spend a hot and horrible summer day.....

I have been experimenting with interesting food... so have been trying to make some different food for the husband for dinner...poor guy is such a foodie and used to love it when I cooked..... but now I have become too lazy to cook and the maid is a fabulous one...so have let her take charge....

Joy and I still have a month of vacation left before both of us go back to school.....and are looking forward to the next few days as we have Joy's Dadu and Dadi visiting us for a week.......

What fun!!!

A trip to Cal...and Aila....yeh kya hua??

This summer I was determined to visit Cal and take Joy to meet his aunts and uncles and granduncles and grandaunts and great grand moms from his Baba's side...
This was our first trip to Cal after two years and Joy had grown and his grandparents who had visited regularly over the past couple of years were dying to show him off and I had a long list of shopping to do......so.... not much persuasion was required.... LOL!
We decided to take the train so that Joy could experience something different.... so off we went ... Joy, My mom ( who was going shopping for my brother's wedding), the maid and I.



Joy watching the luggage at the station


The train journey was t-r-a-u-m-a-t-i-c!!!!! Joy did not sit down for even a minute....he was either hanging upside down, or dangling from the railing or switching the lights on and off....or doing his favourite... JUMP JUMP!!!!...
I understand ... he was enjoying himself.. and curious that he is .... was eager to discover all he could....BUT..... there is a limit to all of that as well!!!

I had gone all prepared with things to keep him occupied..... it was great to see him wanting to play a little memory card game and playing it the proper way and not just... his own way....
We had taken a number of his books for him to read and also some new ones...so we also did a lot of story time...but soon my mom and I had parched throats reading and re reading his books....

We took his food along but ...ahem... all he wanted was chips and milk.... so naturally...just when we had all settled down to sleep... he sat up...as he was sharing my berth ...and announced... "Mama... Bomi...!!!" ( Mama... puke!!)
So there I was cleaning him and everything around us... the railway staff by this time were drunk and incoherent.... and this was the Rajdhani,.... ( remind me never to have these bright ideas of travelling by train again with a toddler)

Anyway, after 17 hours of my wanting to throw Joy out at each of the stations and also contemplating jumping out at Dhanbad,.. we finally reached Cal..and were greeted by Joy excited Dadu....
It was great to see Joy recognise him and hug him and then hold his hand and walk towards the car.... ( without even once looking back at his hassled and traumatised entourage)

Joy had a blast in Kolkata... he did what ever he wished and my mother- in-law and Joy's Abudi ensured that his routine , which I am very particular about was also followed.



Joy relaxing and watching TV at 'Dadi House'

He met all his Dadus and Dadis and Kakus and Pishis in Kolkata and also his favourite 'Shomaana' ( The husband's grandmother- she is my favourite too)
Joy was kept occupied with visits to relatives houses, playing in the park, being taken to all the parks near by and also some TV . In the evenings his Dadu and Dadi would take him to the club where he would freak out in the play area....



Joy at Saturday Club



What was I doing ....while he did all this ??...LOL...
I was out shopping ...
And did I shop!!!! From going sari shopping and picking up some fabulous ad unique saris to wear for my brother's wedding, to going jewellery shopping, to scouting Gariahat market for reasonable and everyday wear saris and stuff.... to taking the maid out shopping ..I did everything.....!!
I also sampled rolls , biryani to my hearts content.....
Then something happened.....
Aila.... yes the cyclone that hit Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal happened.... and We were right there....



Monkey Joy...watching the rain.... and the Aila


I was flooded by smses and phone calls from friends and family to ask if we were ok.... well we were ..just about I should say.... but the poor city wasn't..
Over 600 trees were uprooted....and these trees were old trees with neverending roots....trees so old that I am sure each of them had a story to tell...
All the billboards and hoardings on top of buildings came crashing down..... there was chaos on the streets and traffic jams.....windows crashing.....oh god!! it was bad....
what was I doing during the cyclone....???
This is an sms I got from my brother at 12pm on the day of the cyclone:
"Aila... sis!!! the news says the govt. has everyone to stay indoors... let me guess... you are out shopping!!!!????"

ahem...!!! He knows me too well.. I was out alone collecting all my saris from the different shops......The poor driver who had been bullied into taking me was the one who suffered the most... the car was rattling due to the wind.... he had to weave his way around the narrow and some unknown streets of Kolkata.... in my father-in-law's expensive car....to make me get to my aunts house where I had been invited for lunch.....avoiding hundreds of fallen trees and also some that missed us very narrowly.....

Anyways I finally reached my aunt's house and spent a few hours eating fingerlicking good Bong food... with the windows rattling and wind gushing in the back ground.....then again at around 3pm, when there was a lull in the cyclone, my aunts, my mum and I went out shopping again... ( yes... we are crazy)....out to the jewellers and to a bag shop... where we went berserk.....!!!!



Joy at his Paka didu's ( my aunt's place..) having a swingin time

On the whole.. we had a great trip and the return journey on the Rajdhani wasn't so bad... Joy was a little mellow since he had satiated his curiosity on the way to Kolkata....but that didn't stop him from running up and down the compartment with the maid...at his heels....

When we reached New Delhi station we were quite happy to be back again..... specially since we were all happy...after a good trip, good food, lots of pampering, truck loads of shopping ......oh! and a rockin.. cyclone...