Happy Deepavali

This time Deepavali was special as I was on holiday and could enjoy the festival in its true spirit. It also coincided with bonfire night, so we witnessed some truly spectacular fireworks that night. We had prepared Aditi enough the previous days and told her of the special early morning oil head bath ritual, so she was actually looking forward to it. We had shopped for Diwali the previous weekend, but Aditi always wants to wear new clothes the following monday to school. But we managed to stretch that to friday and wanted to go to school to shoe off her new dress! Typical girl she is. Prashanth was doing nights, so Aditi & I decorated the pooja room and placed our new clothes and fruits. My plan was to make microwave badam halwa, which turned out to be really nice and thengoyal - which never came out of the presser. So a disaster was reverted by making the same mix into thathais and seedais instead of the planned thengoyal. MIL says that the mix must have been too tight and hence never came out of the presser. Next time I'll probably try much in advance and have plan B & C in place rather than decide something at 11PM all alone. The next morning we were ready and waiting for daddy, called family and friends and generally had fun. Dropped Aditi at arnd 11 AM and picked some fireworks on the way back. Aditi was super excited, and finished her tea in less than 10 minutes. Fireworks and much squeaking in delite followed, and then we went over to a stadium where a huge display of fireworks was arranged. There were plenty of rides, which Aditi enjoyed, as she always does and returned home by 10PM. The next morning Aditi was up early to attend a dear friend's birthday party. A lovely long weekend indeed. So how was your Diwali weekend?

Post Golu 2010

We had plenty of visitors this year at the Golu and we prepared snacks of different varieties everyday. We are probably the only household in Sheffield that hosts a Golu, so we've not visited Golu and collected Sundal as we do back home. I got a 6year old and an aunty to sing Carnatic songs. The young girl is learning music and was very shy, so her mom and I gave her company. She sang so sweetly that I was touched.

Aditi enjoyed wearing all her pattu pavadais and salwar suits and playing a happy host to the kids who came home. This year's Ayudha pooja had a new addition and we visited the local temple on vijayadasami day. As the Golu drew to a close, I was worried about dismantling and repacking the dolls. But Aditi actually helped me bubble wrap and cover them with newspaper and Prashanth helped us load it all up into the attic.

We got Aditi a little kitchen set and she seems attached to it so much. She can be found preparing soup and teas and coffees all the time in her kitchen. She also claims that hers is a 'lovely pink and purple' kitchen while mine is 'gray(silver) and black'!

Looking forward to Halloween and Diwali.

Golu in Sheffield - 2010

Over the last 4 years, the only thing I have been regular at is updating with Golu pcitures.This year I had plenty of new toys thanks to my parents who filled their bags with golu bommias and arrived earlier this year. I think I was laid back this year, brought the toys down on thursday night and by friday morning 2 am the dolls were up. The most idfficult part was the steps, which would get done in less than 20 minutes back home, with all the steel steps and nuts and bolts, while my dolls rest on cardboard boxes and books and journals and what not. This year, Aditi is trying to mimic me as I recite aigiri nandhini. Leaving you with some pcitures from this years' Golu.

Happy Navrathri folks.

Golu starts today

And I can hardly call myself ready. For a start, I have no handmade toys to decorate this time. this time last year, I was ready with the guest list, gift bags, sundal choices, and even what dolls would sit on which steps. I think I'll go with the flow this year. I'll keep you posted on how the Golu was set up and this time I have an eager pair of hands waiting to help me with the golu.

Life is a...

drama. Enact it!

We had a routine that I looked forward to every night. After putting Aditi to sleep, I'd go downstairs and prepare half cups of Horlicks or Ovaltine. Depositing one of the cups with Prashanth who'd either be browsing the Net or watching TV, I'd climb upstairs to what we called tata-pati's bedroom. The night lamp would have already come on and my parents will be under the duvets, but waiting for their cup of hot drink. Handing a cup each to my parents I'd settle myself by the window at the feet of my parents and discuss random stuff for a while - well actually until we all finished our drink. Dad would be the most enthusiastic and talk about everything he saw on his daily walks and the subject would invariably be turned towards Aditi. It was a special time and my exclusive time meant for them. That 20 minutes or so would pass by quickly and mom in her half-asleep state would tell me to go and get some rest. And relcutantly we'd say good nights and I'll collect the cups and take them to be cleaned downstairs. It was a ritual I followed for the four weeks they stayed here.

On the night before they left, I climbed up the stairs with a heavy heart. I felt like the end of an era approaching(Actually the end of their 4 week stay). They spent a good amount of time playing and chatting with Aditi. She had lots of attention thrown her way and was extremely happy to be in their company.She enjoyed the evening walks with them to the sweet shop as she was sure her tata would buy her whatever she asked for. Even now, her tata tells me to buy her everything under the sun. Their earlier visit was one filled with duties to take care of me and baby Aditi. This time we all enjoyed. And we look forward to more such visits and pampering from the grandparents.

When someone comes knocking......

If there's anything that can break the mundane life in most nuclear families today, that would be a visit from either set of parents. My in laws left last month and parents will be here in a week. And the fact that the No Objection certificate for my mom took for ever to arrive makes the trip even more worthwhile. I plan to hand over the kitchen completely to mom and enjoy mom's food for the next month or so. Aditi is super excited too. She's already discussing with her tata-pati what they should bring for her. And I think my excitement has rubbed off on her - if i tell her my amma-appa are coming, she points out that its her tata-pati who are coming and i should refer to them as her tata-pati and not my parents!

Its been a really long wait and we are totally glad to be able to meet each other. My parents have been listening to Adi chat and have been wanting to see her in person for the longest time. Hoping that they don't go overboard with all the things they are bringing for their daughter and grand daughter.

UK Citizenship

Its no secret that one of the reasons to move out of one's own country is to get the coveted citizenship in the Western World- to be accepted as one among them and most importantly to get the 'red' passport. Well, six years, 2 months and 10 days after we entered this country, we now are official citizens of this country. Aditi did not have to wait that long, she had her permanent residency(equivalent to the US Green Card) by birth and citizenship was more or less given to her. There was hardly any fuss in the whole process, however I have learnt that the OCI process is a the complete opposite. Wish us luck with the OCI....

HikeCream

Our social club in the company that I work for, organizes trips around Sheffield and the Peak District regularly. I have never been to any of these, but a few weeks back, an email drew my attention. It was lunch in a pub, followed by walking along the lake and ended at a very popular ice-cream farm.So my typical mommy instinct read it as walk in a lake along the farms - where we could see plenty of farm animals. I almost completely missed the hike part and the fact that my level of fitness isn't really suitable for hiking. On the map, it lasted 40 minutes and I thought I could carry Aditi on my back as she would not be able to walk the entire distance. And Prashanth dropped us at 1:30, the group had just finished lunch and were getting ready for the hike. I got Aditi new walking shoes and they were really useful. We walked along the lake for 5 minutes, and while the directions to the ice-cream farm pointed left, we took a right and climbed 2 hilly mountains waded through fields and foresty regions with tall trees and over grown shrubs. By then I was holding the group up, as I was carrying Aditi on my back and trying to climb hilly fields with a backpack filled with water/juice bottles. And tired is a very small term to describe how I felt. At some point half way thru the hiking, we lost our way and spent a while map-reading and picking the shortest way to get to the farm. By then the juice and water that Aditi had consumed turned into calls of nature and she wanted to wee. I requested her to use the foresty shrubs, but the girl refused. She wanted to go home and use the toilet! We then approached some byroads and a narrow walking path, where after repeated requests, she obliged. I had to hold her up and teach her how to wee on the roadside! We walked for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes and finally reached our destination. Everyone was exhausted especially the last 30 minutes and we all ordered a double scoop of icecream. Aditi noticed a bouncy castle nearby and spent an hour or so, jumping up and down. To her credit, she walked the last 30 minutes all by herself as there was not an ounce of energy left in me to carry her. Prashanth picked us up from the farm, and I went home and slept until the next morning. My legs were as hard as rock and all I did was rest that evening. I was unprepared for the hike to say the least, but it opened my eyes to the very poor level of fitness in me! Time to get fit....

Then and Now

Then:
When Aditi was about to be 2 years old, my neighbour had a baby and when we went to visit them, I picked up the baby. Aditi screamed so loudly that I had to return it in less than 10 seconds.

Now:
Almost a year and ahalf later, we visited a 9 month old baby and took plenty of snaps with me carrying the baby or the baby on my lap, Aditi comes home, looks at those pics repeatedly and demands why she wasn't sitting on my knee! Atleast thats better than screaming in front of the hosts.....

Feminine Me?

Almost everyone in the blogosphere has done it and I thought it'd be a good way to start my July posts rolling. One common link that I noticed in many blogs is managing finance - be it banks, investments, shares or day-to-day running of the house. And to be honest, I was actually surprised to note so many women manage money. I've seen my mom do it and I do it because I'm interested in it, I like to be in charge. Here goes my list:
- Am not fond of nail varnish. I don't apply it on my fingers or toes. I dont have any either.
- Like DIY and have helped put together many items in the house including our bed frame. We've assembled and disassembled Aditi's cot about a dozen times so far, sometimes I have done it all alone with a toddler by my side.
- Have gone to many strange and new places all alone in a new country. Sometimes with the kiddo too. And never was scared to ask help if I lost my way. Have done in countries where I do not know the local language.
- Admire beauty - look at what clothes other girls wear, their shoes, bags, scarf etc. Sort of the sight adikara types.
- Not a fan of cleaning/washing. I'd love it if the man helped, but have given up on even asking for help.
- Fix bulbs, change fuses, clean the car reguarly, fix the printer, in general I dont wait for him to help me out. Actually I think it's always been the other way around.
- Don't like pointed heels, can't balance myself on them either. Not too fond of fancy clothing too.
- Am the one doing a Master's degree after marriage and child, juggling home, work, family and studies all together.
- Manage the money and keep track of incoming and outgoing funds. The man is content earning it. He thinks its my responsibility to manage it.
- Love all kinds of sports - cricket, tennis, football, Formula 1 and follow them all.

I do love jewellery though, my own special taste, simple yet charming and have trained the husband on what to choose for me too:)

The Weekend

Prashanth's cousin and his family visited us over the weekend. Their little girl was about 5 months younger to Aditi and they both had so much fun together. It was the first time Aditi had someone her age stay with us overnight, so she was hugely thrilled. Her friends usually come over play for a few hours or stay from morning till evening, but never has anyone stayed and slept with us. Saturday was bright and sunny, so they spent playing in the garden and eating on the slide. Prashanth was working nights, so I was in charge of showing them around. We went for a trip on the Wheel of Sheffield, returned home to have lunch and had a long nap. Aditi enjoyed the big wheel and had fun taking pictures from the top of the city. The only thing different in this wheel was photos were taken before we got on the wheel and then printed before we could complete the trip on the wheel. And as with any touristy place, we paid through our nose to get the photo pack which had a few postcards, fridge magnet, bottle opener and some matt-finish photos of us just outside the big wheel.
In the evening, Prashanth left for work, so I was the only driver. In-laws stayed at home while I drove Aditi, P's cousin & his family over to the park. Like typical girls, they giggeled and broke into peals of laughter for nothing. After an energetic 2 hours at the park and drenching themselves with the water works there, we dragged the girls home. They were pretty exhausted, asked for dinner and went straight to bed. The next morning, the first thing Aditi asked when she woke up was - "Where's Pavi?" I confirmed that Pavi was asleep and would wake up shortly. It was pouring outside that day, so we decided to stay at home. After breakfast and lunch, we headed out to Jungle Mania - an indoor soft play area for kids. The girls enjoyed themselves in the ball pit, climbing up and down the slide and jumping on the bouncy castle. After a lovely hour, we headed home and dropped the visitors at the train station. I wasn't planning to go, but just at the last minute we all decided to see them off at the rail station. The girls had so much fun together that Pavi cried loudly when she was carried into the train. Her parents pacified her by saying that we were coming on a different train.
We missed Peppa Pig's stage party in Sheffield, but I think we'll catch it at Wakefield later this month.

Honda and all that jazz

I have been driving this car for about 5 months now. And it took over 2 months for us to zero in on this one. It was a chance conversation on an otherwise normal evening, that led to the decision to own a second car. We began the very long search for that perfect car in early December last year. We decided on an automatic as it was going to be used only for city commuting and we had never owned one before - we had learnt from others how easy it was to drive and found it perfect for Sheffield's numerous hills and valleys. AutoTrader.com was the favorite website of the month and we religiously scanned the website for suitable cars in our area. We shortlisted a few and Prashanth visited the garages, but was not impressed by the ones he saw. We saw various cars ranging from Suzuki Alto to Mitsubishi Colt to Fiat Punto to even the Merc A series. Given our history of car purchases, we thought we'd be done in a few days. But how wrong we were! Our first car was bought after a single trip to a single dealer, our second one was bought after 2 trips, but this one was so different from our earlier experiences. We made a trip to Leeds, but were not happy with the test drives. We made 3 trips to Wakefield and almost finalized a Suzuki Liana, but found it was a Category D - had been involved in an accident. Various cars that we shortlisted were gone even before we could get to the garage. After about a month of not finding that perfect car, I drew up a list of cars that I thought would work for me. Toyota Yaris was my all time favorite, followed by VW Polo and Ford Focus. The jazz was added after checking out the car in London. The only problem with the jazz was the price. It was the most expensive of all as it had the 'Honda' tagged to it. The budget had more than doubled during this time and we were still on the hunt. Sometime in the last week of January, I noticed an ad for the Jazz at a garage near my house. We went to check it out the following saturday and bought it almost instantly. No second thoughts, just a nod from both of us and we signed on the dotted line. We secured it for £300 less than the advertised price and were happy with the bargain. The car was picked up in two days and is now almost always used for city driving. Prashanth loves this one for the auto gear and I like it for its made my life a whole lot convenient. Incidentally I haven't got on a bus in months and it feels wierd to not use public transport!

Adi speak

On our way back from Wales, my phone gave up its life. I have had it for over 4 years - a flip hpone from LG, which has been my good companion for a very long time. And I would have continued to live with it, until the husband got me a HTC. Back to the phone story, we had just left the cottage and I was texting a thank you message to the owner. A sudden brake, a crack on the phone and seconds later I realized the phone was broken. I still managed to use the phone successfully until we got home and my little girl tried to fix it. After about 5 minutes of fiddling with the phone, she declared -"Appa, I cant believe that Mummy broke the phone..." And before we could realize what she said, she came back with "I dont know HOW Mummy managed to break this phone...", stressing just right on where it mattered.
Aditi has been speaking full sentences for a while now, but never did we expect her to give us such blows - one after the other. She's been chatting a lot to almost everybody, but is most comfortable with people her own age. Yesterday she enjoyed with one of Prashant's friend's daughter, who had come a very long way, just to meet her. They played in the garden, on the slide, football, tennis and finally settled for painting. The girls were so absorbed in their activities that they did not want to part company. They've promised to meet each other soon.
One of Prashanth's cousin and his family are visting us this weekend and Aditi is looking forward to playing with her little cousin.

Convocation, grandparents visit etc...

The grandparents are here. They arrived over a week ago to attend Prashanth's convocation and will be here for the next 2 months. The convocation was a grand event and we made a short day trip to London. Aditi enjoyed the trip as usual and had good fun. While the grandparents and ad were off to attend the ceremony, Aditi and I went over to Kensington gardens and played in the park, fed the birds and saw the Kensington Palace from outside. To be honest, it was not inviting at all, with too much rubble all around, otherwise I would have paid the exhorbitant entry fees and gone in. We went back to the town hall where the function was taking place, and joined dad for tea. We took lots of pictures as it was the first convocation I attended and Aditi's first too.

Aditi is warming up to her grandparents. She was shy initially, but has been extremely friendly with her thatha. She's a bit J of her pati, especially because Pati showers too much attention on her dad, but I'm sure she'll be fine in a bit. She does not run to me all the time, but is happy to be chatting and playing with her grandparents and dad and loves to show them around. She's doing a lot more pooja and pretends to imitate her Pati all the time. I wish she learns more slokas as the only one she knows is Mooshika Vahana. She's talking a lot more and clearly and g'parents can now understand her - almost. The peppa pig addiction had decreased a bit, but is showing no signs of going away.

The nursery is teaching them culture and identity and she's absorbing bits and pieces of it and relaying them back to me at home. Her friends circle has grown by leaps and bounds. She's been out playing in the sun and enjoying the summer. We are expected to have a very good summer this year. Lets hope that the prediction comes true.

Latest addiction

Aditi's latest addiction is Peppa Pig.or people who dont know Peepa, she's a loveable little piggy and her everyday incidents are aired as 5 minute episodes on Channel5. My job every morning is to record them and play them for her when she's having breakfast. She's so attached to it that anything Peppa on the shelves of stores should be bought. And shops add to my trauma as they place character toys and accessories at eye level of the child and it leads to long arguments in the shop. She whines, grumbles and begs me with such pleading eyes that its so difficult to say 'No'. I admit I have given in sometimes and bought a few items Peppa, but largely managed to stay away. We also bought a few DVDs that keep her occupied when I'm away on weekends. I understand that the Peppa phase will go away on its own to be replaced by some other character, but its so terrible sometimes that I no longer fell comfortable to take her shopping to any supermarkets. Or I try to stay away from those shelves.
On another note, I have a new car all to myself and an automatic one too. For a second car, we decided to go for an automatic and its been a good decision. One of the main reasons to buy a car was to minimize the travel effort and make our journeys comfortable and it serves that purpose to a T.There is only one disadvantage from my view point - its not as economical as the manual one, but its perfect for me as we only do city trips on this one. Its a smaller car than the BMW, but boasts of a much larger boot space. Overall a great buy which has prompted others in our friends circle to consider buying a second car.

Back to blogging

I have had a big break, and am back after a very long time. Most of it I'll blame on new responsibilities and the additional work involved. But I'm enjoying being busy and loving this phase of Aditi where she makes proper adult like conversations. And her actions are only too good to be described. She's in this phase where she's addicted to everything Peppa Pig, so shopping with her over the last few months have been very difficult. Any tips from experienced parents are most welcome. How do you say no to a child without worrying about her repeated requests?

Summer has started early in this part of the world and the longer days and sunshine means we go out often and Aditi is back cycling inside our estate. She's got older girls as friends and absolutely adores their company. She can talk to them unlike last year where it was mostly through me. She's also being a perfect older sister to other little children from our estate. Incidentally there are four other kids who go to the same nursery as her and she loves to visit them in the baby room from time-to-time.

I'll hope to be more regular in my posting. More news including my new car in the next post.

And here's a picture of Aditi' with her ears pierced - a few weeks before her third birthday.