What is the most dreaded thing for anyone ?
A phone call in the middle of the night ...
And thats what I have received several times ..... and I got one yet again.
The news was the same ... death of a loved one ... this time the person was my cousin.... my doddappa's son.
This is so much unexpected .... I had met him just about 10 days back during my India trip. We had had a good time ... as always he had recollected my toddler days and couldn't believe I was already a mother of two. Oh ... he had so loved the salted cashews I had taken from US.
And now ... he is gone ... just like that ... no sufferings ... no words ... just as he was getting ready to cheer his 9 yr old daughter in her TT match ... gone ! Shocking to say the least.
May his soul rest in peace.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
US - India - US - Vacation updates and more ...
India trip was great ... it wasn't the like any of my earlier visits. This was the first time I was travelling with 2 kids by myself. I dreaded the flight journey ... I had expected the worst... turned out so much better than I had imagined. Infact the journey from here to India was almost uneventful and quite comfortable. It helped that our flight got delayed here in SF. That meant hardly any transit time in Hong Kong. We reached Bengaluru on time. Since I was travelling with my MIL, we had requested wheelchair assistance. So the porters in the Airport took care of our luggage as well. We were also given priority in the "Flu Screening" and Immigration / Customs queue. All our luggage arrived in less than 10 mins ... considering we had checked in 7 suitcases, it was no short of a miracle. In all we were out of the airport in less than 20mins of our flight landing at the airport. Pretty Awesome I thought !
I was visiting India after 4 long years and it felt very surreal to drive from the International Airport to BIL's place. There was hardly any traffic ... the highway was in excellent condition ... the airport itself was amazing ... the gentle breeze at 2:30 am felt very relaxing after our long flight journey.
I chose to spend most of my time in my hometown since my MIL had stayed with us for the past 4 months ... my parents especially my dad who was seeing Junior for the first time since her birth were anxiously waiting for our arrival.
The highlights of my trip were:
* My parents meeting both my kids
* The girls bonding beautifully with grandparents. (Cantaloupe instantly bonded ... junior took some time). I let them have their time and was only too happy to stay in the background and observe their bonding.
* Meeting my grandma for the first time since my grandpa's death last september. I had tossed and turned about my how frail my grandma would be (both mentally and physically). I didn't know how I'd begin to console her of her loss ... in short I didn't know how I would face her ... but she made it very easy on me. Indeed she had become very weak ... she had gained atleast 5 years of age in the last 5 months ... but then her warm presence was still there. Her love and warmth could never be missed. Junior, who had so much stranger anxiety jumped and clapped when we visited my grandma's house. It was as well Junior knew the place all along ... I was almost shocked.
* Seeing all my relatives after a very long time ... most of them had changed / renovated their houses. The family dynamics has changed so much since my last visit ... sigh ! (I am so glad I don't have to deal with trivial family politics on a daily basis )
* Shopping spree took a new meaning in my world ... never in my life have I made so many shopping trips. (note: I made several trips ... not that I shopped a lot ... small things required multiple visits... like the visit to the tailor or the visit to the embroidery lady or the visit to the electrician ... )
* I hogged ... hogged and hogged some more as if I was food deprived. Amma's Thair Vada / Bisi Bele Bhath / Tengolu / Obbattu / Plum Cake GTR Masala Dosa, Raghavendra Bakery Plain Cake , Veggie Puffs and Ajji's Kobbari Mittai still rock ! The new delicacy I tried "Jolada Rotti" is plain yummy !
* We hosted the first ever kids party in India. (Cantaloupes 5th year birthday party was super hit with her ... she met all her cousins and hosted the games) It was a very nice way to meet up a lot of folks whom I would otherwise have never got to visit. (due to lack to time)
* Showed most tourist attractions to Cantaloupe ... only to be disappointed with her constant interest in the snack bag :(
* "Nutty Delight" and "Mango Delight" still are the best "Joy" flavours.
Some of things I never considered before my travel:
* Jet Lag
* Jet Lag
* Jet Lag
Man ... they hit the kids ... and hit me hard. The kids woke up at 2:00am every morning for more than a week of our landing in India and I had to entertain them. Just when they were almost used to IST timings we flew back and had to deal with the same again !!
New challenges await us from next week ... Cantaloupes' school and Junior's day care are the most important ones in the list.
I was visiting India after 4 long years and it felt very surreal to drive from the International Airport to BIL's place. There was hardly any traffic ... the highway was in excellent condition ... the airport itself was amazing ... the gentle breeze at 2:30 am felt very relaxing after our long flight journey.
I chose to spend most of my time in my hometown since my MIL had stayed with us for the past 4 months ... my parents especially my dad who was seeing Junior for the first time since her birth were anxiously waiting for our arrival.
The highlights of my trip were:
* My parents meeting both my kids
* The girls bonding beautifully with grandparents. (Cantaloupe instantly bonded ... junior took some time). I let them have their time and was only too happy to stay in the background and observe their bonding.
* Meeting my grandma for the first time since my grandpa's death last september. I had tossed and turned about my how frail my grandma would be (both mentally and physically). I didn't know how I'd begin to console her of her loss ... in short I didn't know how I would face her ... but she made it very easy on me. Indeed she had become very weak ... she had gained atleast 5 years of age in the last 5 months ... but then her warm presence was still there. Her love and warmth could never be missed. Junior, who had so much stranger anxiety jumped and clapped when we visited my grandma's house. It was as well Junior knew the place all along ... I was almost shocked.
* Seeing all my relatives after a very long time ... most of them had changed / renovated their houses. The family dynamics has changed so much since my last visit ... sigh ! (I am so glad I don't have to deal with trivial family politics on a daily basis )
* Shopping spree took a new meaning in my world ... never in my life have I made so many shopping trips. (note: I made several trips ... not that I shopped a lot ... small things required multiple visits... like the visit to the tailor or the visit to the embroidery lady or the visit to the electrician ... )
* I hogged ... hogged and hogged some more as if I was food deprived. Amma's Thair Vada / Bisi Bele Bhath / Tengolu / Obbattu / Plum Cake GTR Masala Dosa, Raghavendra Bakery Plain Cake , Veggie Puffs and Ajji's Kobbari Mittai still rock ! The new delicacy I tried "Jolada Rotti" is plain yummy !
* We hosted the first ever kids party in India. (Cantaloupes 5th year birthday party was super hit with her ... she met all her cousins and hosted the games) It was a very nice way to meet up a lot of folks whom I would otherwise have never got to visit. (due to lack to time)
* Showed most tourist attractions to Cantaloupe ... only to be disappointed with her constant interest in the snack bag :(
* "Nutty Delight" and "Mango Delight" still are the best "Joy" flavours.
Some of things I never considered before my travel:
* Jet Lag
* Jet Lag
* Jet Lag
Man ... they hit the kids ... and hit me hard. The kids woke up at 2:00am every morning for more than a week of our landing in India and I had to entertain them. Just when they were almost used to IST timings we flew back and had to deal with the same again !!
New challenges await us from next week ... Cantaloupes' school and Junior's day care are the most important ones in the list.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Heights of enthusiasm
So Cantaloupe gets a new activity book to work on before going to bed. Its a sticker book, where she needs to find various stickers and paste them on the right shadow ... making sure of the context on the page. (transportation, pre-historic, birds etc etc)
As always with new items bought, she was all excited to work on the same with me. Within 10 mins of us starting the activity she says "Amma, I asked you to look over my job ... not take over !!" (she said "nodu antha helde Madu antha hela lilla")
What can I say .... I still get excited working on a new project ... perhaps a little too much at times :))
As always with new items bought, she was all excited to work on the same with me. Within 10 mins of us starting the activity she says "Amma, I asked you to look over my job ... not take over !!" (she said "nodu antha helde Madu antha hela lilla")
What can I say .... I still get excited working on a new project ... perhaps a little too much at times :))
Friday, June 19, 2009
What kind of mother
1. Doesn't let her 5 year old learn to turn on the TV by herself ? *
2. Doesn't let her 5 year old fiddle with the laptop for more than 10 mins? **
3. Hasn't introduced her daughter to the world of video games ??***
Hmm ... well ... that would be my kind of mother :)))
ps:
* She can very well turn on the TV, but its configured for DVD / VCR/ Cam Coder and other modes and doesn't know the concept of these modes
** Strictly Starfalls
*** Has never played with any thus far !
2. Doesn't let her 5 year old fiddle with the laptop for more than 10 mins? **
3. Hasn't introduced her daughter to the world of video games ??***
Hmm ... well ... that would be my kind of mother :)))
ps:
* She can very well turn on the TV, but its configured for DVD / VCR/ Cam Coder and other modes and doesn't know the concept of these modes
** Strictly Starfalls
*** Has never played with any thus far !
Monday, June 8, 2009
You know you have become a good story teller when ...
Your 5 year old daughter cheers for you loudly in bed when your name is announced as a winner in a story told to her about your school days :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Report card
Date: May 18, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Neighborhood Grocery Store
Mission Accomplished: Junior drinks Fruity with a straw
Note: Cantaloupe gracefully shared the juice first and quickly realised that Junior was a pro with the straw and demanded the pack from her quickly
Date: May 25, 2009
Time: 4:15 pm
Place: Junior land
Mission Accomplished: Junior successfully climbs up the "Spiral Stairs"
Note: Has climbed the same as a pro there after.
Date: May 27, 2009
Time: 7:20am
Plane: Junior Land, Bedroom
Mission Accomplished: Junior successfully descends from the bed taller than her
Note: Has realised that descending face down is dangerous and slides on her tummy before jumping and landing on her legs with hands outstretched (resembling the landing of gymnast)
Mystery Unresolved: Why didn't the parents realise that she might have acquired the skill set much earlier? And more importantly how did she learn them and execute it like a pro???
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Neighborhood Grocery Store
Mission Accomplished: Junior drinks Fruity with a straw
Note: Cantaloupe gracefully shared the juice first and quickly realised that Junior was a pro with the straw and demanded the pack from her quickly
Date: May 25, 2009
Time: 4:15 pm
Place: Junior land
Mission Accomplished: Junior successfully climbs up the "Spiral Stairs"
Note: Has climbed the same as a pro there after.
Date: May 27, 2009
Time: 7:20am
Plane: Junior Land, Bedroom
Mission Accomplished: Junior successfully descends from the bed taller than her
Note: Has realised that descending face down is dangerous and slides on her tummy before jumping and landing on her legs with hands outstretched (resembling the landing of gymnast)
Mystery Unresolved: Why didn't the parents realise that she might have acquired the skill set much earlier? And more importantly how did she learn them and execute it like a pro???
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)