Ice cream For Mumma

Little Miss Haana and I were talking to Softy Mausi ( Aunt Softy) this morning and i remembered an incident from earlier in the summer.

In the summer,  little Miss Haana's montessori used to have an ice cream truck visit once a week,  and the kids could get a treat from the truck. The first time she had an ice cream at school, i asked her which ice cream she got, and where mine was?

The next time the ice cream truck came to school,  little miss Haana got herself an ice cream of choice. And then when to ask for one for her mumma!! She was told it's only for kids.

But i just remembered this today and felt what a sweet, sweet thing my little baby Haana is,  asking for an ice cream for mumma at her school😊.

Banter Unlimited

A typical banter between Miss Haana and me:

Haana: There's a new boy in my class today. His name is Rex.
Mumma: Really? They have a baby dino in you're class? Did he eat a few kids today?
H: No! He's not a dino. He's human.
M: Oh!
M: Gugu,  do they only have humans in your class?
H: (rolling eyes) Yes, only human kids.
M: Then how come they let you in the class? Did they not notice you yet?
M: (chuckling)
H: Not funny!!!

H: How was your day today?
M: Good
H: What did you do today?
M: i told other people what to do.
H: But what did you do?
M: I told other people what to do.
H: But what did YOU do?
M: i told other people what to do. (Realization dawns) That's what i do everyday.
H: You're a manager? Ohh! I can't belive you earned that job.  (Hugs)
M: (A little bewildered, but soaking in the hug).
H: Who gave you the job?
M: My manager
H: Is he a boy or a girl?
M: Boy
H: Does he wear a white shirt with black things on it. And black bottoms with white things on it. And a red in the middle.
M: No. He's not a snowman.
H: Not a snowman!
H: You're the best mom! You're my mom forever!
M: I'm so glad I'm your forever mom Gugu. Otherwise i would've had to find you another mom.
M: And really,  where would i find you another mom.  I would've just had to return you at Kroger.
M: And even that's dicey.  You don't fit in the original packaging box anymore.  They wouldn't take you back anymore (chuckling inside).
H: (Zoned off)

Election

I've been waiting for the Presidential Election fever to pass before bragging about an Election of my own. But who am I kidding, this Election fever is going to stay a while.

Earlier this month little Miss Haana's montessori teachers- Miss Ashwani and Miss Zeena talked to the class about the elections. The children learnt who the major parties were,  who their nominees were. When the election day was. And then later,  they learnt who the new president will be.

But to drive home the concept,  they had a class election to choose the class president. There were 6-7 candidates. They have campaign speeches describing why their classmates should vote for them. And then after a toughly contested campaign,  it was time for class elections.  Little miss Haana was one of the candidates. She gave her campaign speech describing she would work to keep the class in order. Keep the classroom clean and tidy and orderly. She would be good for them. Ballots were cast and counted. And then it was time to announce the winners.

My little girl Haana was elected the president of her class!!! And I'm the president's mom! Priceless.

Roadside Puddles

This one comes with a gross alert. It can be somewhat gross.

A few weekends back we were on our way coming back from a weekend trip. It was a road trip with a 4 hour drive back home. There were about an hour and a half remaining to get home. Miss Haana had to go potty. Now, little miss Haana is no stranger to going to pee in the woods. (I may have something to do with that"education", but let's not digress). But, we were not exactly in woods anymore. We were in the suburbs with no substantial tree cover.

We found a somewhat lonely patch of open fields flanked by an equally lonesome road. Dad parked the car at an angle to prevent passers-by from becoming onlookers. And the little girl and I got out of the car. In no time, she was "at work". The little girl lately has this fashion concept of wearing tights and a skirt over them. And by the time I figured I should probably mention something about grabbing the skirt,  it was too late.

When i turned around this little cute thing was hunched over. Her small skirt skirting the floor. A small puddle forming around her and collecting on her skirt. My first thought was,  aww, look at this cute little thing by the side of the road.
And then,  when I saw the puddle I could not resist myself. I started laughing. The little girl thought I was laughing at her by the side of the road, under broad daylight between the clear blue sky and this small patch of green grass. She started laughing at the comedy of the situation too.

And then when I noticed where the poodle was forming-on the skirt,  I couldn't control myself!! I laughed and laughed. I looked up at the clear blue sky and doubled over holding the side of the car to steady myself at the hilarity of the puddly little skirt. Actually,  just a second back I had had this thought of telling her to grab hold of her skirt so it doesn't get "rained on", but by the time I would've executed on that thought, it was too late already. And now, look at what happened to it.

The little girl still didn't know,  and I was already doubled up and teary eyed with all that laughter that I didn't know how to contain. Dad opened the window on our sideof the car to ask what was going on. I could hardly take my breath, let alone tell him which puddles we were playing with here. Finally he got our of the car and came around to assess the situation. I was still laughing. By this  time, little miss Haana stood up and said her slippers are wet too. More uncontrolled laughter ensued. I gave her a long creepy "Ewwww" comment. But we were both still laughing at the mishap yet.

No more skirts of long drive adventures,  I declared. For once little miss Haana agreed with me. I took out some water and fresh clothes for some clean up.

Mummy

Just heard:
What's Mummy?
(No answer)
Papa! Whats mummy?
(No answer)
Is it wrapped in toilet paper?
(I burst out laughing)
Gugu, do i look like I'm wrapped in toilet paper?
No, in this book, this doll is wrapped in toilet paper.
(I cant hear, I'm still laughing)

Timing is Everything

I have my timing all messed up.

Miss Haana had not been spending  as much time at her montessori school during the summer. Both sets of grand parents had been visiting. So when they left, she was to go back to school. Back to her usual routine of 8-9 hours at school. And of course, as with all transitions, this one was not going easy.

Day one after the grand parents left, daddy dropped miss Haana to school as usual. I came back from work to pick her up between 530-545pm. When I opened the door to the classroom to pick her up, I could tell she was really unhappy. Almost teary eyed, she said, "Why are you so late mumma!". Her teacher told me she's been waiting for me since a long time.  I felt like I was dying inside. I hugged her and kissed her all over as I always do when I pick her up.

The next day, I came around 515-530. Still the same reaction. It really bothered me. And again I felt so guilty inside.

I decided to make some schedule changes.  I figured i could go to work early and then pick her up much earlier, and that should be better.  I would still not be picking her up at  3 like she was used to. But it's going to be way better than 530.

The next morning i woke up early and was going to leave for work in the morning (1.5 hours earlier than my usual time), and little miss Haana said something to the effect that she wants me to pick her up during playground time. I dismissed it as a nice-to-have. And soon forgot my instructions.

But i shouldn't have. 

When i reached school to pick her up (I'd been rushing to make it sooner to pick her up. Imagining in my mind the picture of a teary eyed little baby waiting on me..). When i entered the classroom, she looked at me and was instantly extremely disappointed.  She said, "nooo mumma!", and slouched. What was going on i wondered.
"You had to come during the playground time. We have not even formed the line (to go to playground yet)". And with that, she started crying.

I couldn't believe it. She's crying cause I came too early. I knew better than to disturb this delicate balance of picking up schedules. So I said I'll wait on her till she gets to the playground. She went out to the playground with her class. I stuck around in the classroom. I watched her from the windows, wondering what games they play. I stalked her for a bit, till I figured its safe to venture out again.

Finally, I picked her up from the playground, just as decided, and we came  back home happily ever after!

Negotiation Skills

Hey Gugu are you ready to go home? - I asked after spending quite some time on the playground this evening.
No mumma.
5 more minutes?
10! (Both hands and and fingers spaced out for effect).
5, I insisted.
10, she dug in.
6.
10.
Fine, 7, I said closing the deal.
Ok fine.

I'm proud of my negotiation skills!

Remorse

Remorse knows no friends.

A couple weeks back little Miss Haana had a birthday party to attend. She and I were to go. We were especially looking forward to it since it was at an aquatic center. It was the end of September and likely the last visit to an aquatic center this year.

Little Miss Haana's friend had her cake cutting in the party room adjacent to the water area. We sang happy-birthday song  and ate cake.  After that, the fun was to move to the water slides! I had already changed the little girl into her swimming costume even before her party. So she was ready to go. I hadn't changed till then, but i made a mistake of opening the door of the party room, that lead to the water slides. As soon as the little girl saw the water slides, there was no pulling her back. I tried to reason with her to hold on for a minute till i can change, but that was not to be.

There was a kids area with just a few inches of water, and a fun slide with small fountains and loads of fun. Little miss Haana and her friends were busy having a blast in the area. There was also a big kid's area right beside and behind.

I was standing on the side watching the little girl and all the fun she was having. Usually i would want to jump right in with her, and have fun too, but this day i was content just watching her have fun with friends her own size.
After a while, i was catching up with some of my friends (also mom's of the kids in the party), and we all decided we must join the kids too.
And then we all went in to change.

When i came out in a couple minutes, it turns out the little girl had followed the other kid she had been playing with to a deeper section. The other kid had her dad with her. Miss Haana followed her friend, didn't realize the water was deeper, and was not wearing a life jacket. The other parents got her out of the deeper section, and that was right when i walked out of the changing area. She was out of the water, shaken up, a bit scared that she's done something wrong. Other parents came over to me to tell me what had happened. I only heard a few words in excerpts.

I immediately felt like i had made a huge blunder, letting her out of my sight. Everything except for her was a blur to me at that point as i hugged her tight for a long time. She cried. And i felt like crying too. I held her for a long time. But then, not wanting to leave the place on that low note, i asked her if she'll sit with me in the shallow water where she was having so much fun just a couple minutes back. She didn't want to, but i persisted.  She and i sat in the shallow water, she wasn't crying anymore. But as someone would come to check on her or ask if she's ok, she would be reminded of her ordeal and go back to the crying frenzy. I felt really bad, but was trying to put up a brave front. Finally she and i sat on the chairs next to the water for a minute. At that point, I knew, both of us had had enough for the day. We headed to the locker rooms to shower and change.

Thankfully, by the time we were in the shower and changed, little miss Haana was feeling much like herself again. But not me.

As we headed out of there to the parking lot  she asked me, "..why did you leave me mumma...". I felt like digging a grave for myself and jumping in. I was so remorseful and shaken up.  I was angry too. I was angry that she didn't listen to me to wait for a minute before going into the water so i could change first. I was angry at the other parents who did not watch her following the other kid into deeper waters. I was much more angry at myself, for allowing this to happen, letting her out of my sight at all. And finally also for feeling angry at her for being essentially a child. So much was going through my mind at that time- anger, remorse, fear, love.

When i started the car i just sat at the wheel for a couple minutes just to settle myself. Then i headed for the one place of comfort and eternal joy.

I drove straight to the ice cream shop. Little miss Haana and i picked out our favorite flavors, sat on the bench and finished our treats in silence. Healing at its silent best. That's when i told the little girl- I'm so sorry. I should never have left you even for a moment. I'm so so sorry. She kissed me and said she's sorry too. All is forgiven.  All is right with my world again.

Grand Parents

For the last 3 months almost, we had grandparents visiting us from India.

In June and July, my parents were visiting.  Little Miss Haana was eager to know what gifts they had for her snuck away in their suitcases. She was not disappointed. There were dresses and delicious indian sweets and even board games like Snakes-and-Ladder.

A friendship was forged between the grand parents and the little girl. And they were in for a constant non-stop entertainment package from 8am till 8 pm. She told them stories, colored cards, educated them on what is right and wrong with the world.

Little Miss Haana also embarked on a mission to educate the grand parents with the latest kids' videos she's currently into: magic school bus! Our usual pact for videos is restricted to up to 2-3 hour per week ( usually over weekend) not counting the 10-15 minutes of video Daddy sneaks in to her in the mornings.  Generally, weekdays mean no video watching.
But, now it was summer! And Magic School Bus episodes are not going to watch themselves. We had gotten television package for the parents for their convenience just before they arrived. But little did we know, the little girl will have a supreme command on the remote and the contents of what comes on the the TV. Poor Nana Nani would turn on the TV to watch their shows but the little girl would take over the controls and in a moments notice, everyone would be watching the magic school bus. Most of this notoriety was of course happening when we were away at work. When the cats are away, the mice will play.  And was the mouse playing it up! If it's making hay while the sun shines, the little girl was filling up the barns!

Soon my parents left and the same week my in laws came to visit.

The magic school bus episodes were now being repeated, since she'd watched through them all once. In fact just before the in laws left, she was watching the episodes in spanish for novelty! And the tv was usually switched off just a few minutes before I would come back from work.

Little miss Haana was the centre of attraction for every minute of every day while the grandparents are visiting. And we all loved it!

Do What Mumma Says

This actually happened this evening:

Little Miss Haana was telling me this evening how at school her toenail broke and hurt. But she was able to peel it out, and that it doesn't hurt anymore.

I told her I need to cut her other toenails.
To this she said grown-ups actually grow their nails. I said I don't. But she said Miss Simone does grow her nails. So, grown-ups grow their nails.

I thought about it for a second and then said- some grown-ups do somethings, some another. But she needs to do things that work for her, and what she likes instead of what works for other people; or what other people think she ought to do. I gave her an example how some people may say what girls can or cannot do. But she needs to do what she feels is right by her.

After a pause and added- "Do what feels right to you, and also what mumma tells you to do", ( i had to add that part).
But, I guess it was already too late when she replied: "But I have to do what is right for me. Not what anyone else says".

This Is No Small Fight

Miss Haana and I have fights fairly frequently. One every few hours wouldn't be an over estimate. Mostly they are short fights, where I am firm on my stance but not too mad (in my mind anyway). The tiff  ends quickly enough with warm hugs and sweet kisses.

And then once in a while there are those bad fights where I end up really angry and it sends me flying downhill at break neck speeds. I loose all my cool, get really mad, I scold her and say all kinds of mean things to her. She mostly grows silent. She feels bad and whimpers softly. Sometimes she cries out for Papa. It fills me, at that moment, with more irritation and sometimes, with a brief spark of satisfaction at seeing my anger have some effect on her. When she feels bad for a bit longer, and i finally look at her, all my anger leaves me instantly. And I feel so bad, so guilty, so repentant for being so mean.

Today when we just had such a fight and I felt bad after, I cuddled up with her later. She asked me for her book reading. It was bedtime story time. I started reading the book, but then stopped mid way to tell her I love her. And that I'm so sorry for saying mean things. I didn't mean then afterall. That I'm proud of her. And did I mention, I love her? Little miss Haana smiled and said I love you too mumma.  You should not get so angry (i agreed). Now read! Read mumma! You're wasting time😊

Once Bitten Twice Shy

This happened some time back.

I have a dress that I like that has a tie-in belt at the waist. The dress has to have the tie-in belt. One day I realized the dress was back from laundry but the tie-in belt  was missing. I looked for it briefly. Then concluded it must be little Miss Hannah's fault. She had been playing with the tie-in belt of the dress some time back. Tying different things together in the closet with it. And soon after, I couldn't find the belt anywhere! Coincidence? I thought not.

So I asked the little girl, where did the belt go? That turned out to be a futile exercise, since she just replied matter-of-factly "I don't know"!

I resigned to myself to the fate that I might not wear that dress again afterall. I also bickered at the little girl, that she doesnt keep the things at their right places.

A week or so after that incident, I was looking for something in the closet and was rearranging some of that stuff, and guess what I found? The tie-in belt of my dress. The one that I thought little miss Haana had misplaced! And turns out she's hadn't misplaced it afterall. It was me! I felt so bad. I told her I was sorry and was releaved that she didn't actually remember about my bickering earlier.

Fast forward to yesterday.

We came back from the zoo with a custom penny- one that's engraved with a crocodile and is rolled thinner. I offered my little girl to keep it away safely. But my offer was declined. She preferred to hold on to it in her hand. Do kids not know that's the sure shot, tried and tested, guaranteed way to loose something is to just hold it in your hand? Anyhow. Putting her to bed at night, suddenly miss Haana remembered and asked, 'Where's my penny, mumma? Can you put it for me on the bed side table?'. I reassured her I would and that she can rest assured the penny would sleep close to her.  Inside I was panicking! Where is this penny? I hadn't the foggiest idea. I don't think I even saw it at home. Last I saw it, it was in the zoo. So no telling which side of the multiplex it is at this time. Then I wondered, if miss Haana dropped it somewhere, she should've listened to mumma and kept it safely away when I offered. But she did give it to me to hold in my hand at one point at the zoo. So may be I messed up and lost the beloved penny!!!
Since there's no way to be sure which of the two possibilities actually occured, maybe it was me messing up afterall!!!

At this point my only hope was that miss Haana doesn't remember about the little penny the next morning.  If she did, I would be looking for some forgiveness!

Right Thing

Little Miss Haana and I have tiffs about every hour or so.

Last weekend we were returning from somewhere, and were getting into the car. The little girl had been collecting rocks ("rock collection") and when we got in the car, the collection was transferred from Papa's pocket to a plastic bowl. We all sat in the car and were on the road. Probably some bump on the road sent all the rocks from the "collection" down on the car floor. The little girl asked dad to pick up the fallen rocks. But he said he's driving so he can't pick them up now. She got mad and (I think) threw the bowl away on the other side of the back seat. 

I was not happy. But I hadn't actually seen her throw the bowl. I turned around and asked her - Did you throw the bowl down?

The little girl knew she was in trouble. Throwing things like that is unacceptable. She just stared back. I repeated my question. "Did you throw the bowl away?". I was irritated and mad. I tried not to sound threatening as well.

I was pretty sure she had thrown the bowl. But it was possible, though unlikely, that it may have just slipped away. 

But also, I wondered if she will tell me the truth.

After a long pause, she nodded she had thrown the bowl.

At that time, I just turned away, saying- "I don't want to talk to you right now. That is not right". I was not happy but I was also glad she chose to say the truth. 

She started explaining, but I said she must my throw things like that, especially not in the car. 

Later on when I thought about it, and when I had cooled off, I told her I'm glad she decided to say the truth. That is what a brave girl would have done. I'm glad when faced with a choice, did the right thing.

Perfect Answer

This morning while waking up my little baby I asked- how are you, Gugu girl?

She replied in one word:

"Happy!"

Perfect answer!

Gerald and Piggie

Mo Williams , I just learnt, is a basketball player. Mo Williams (a different person) is also a great children's story book writer. His books are a series of events/ stories enacted by two friends - Piggie, a wittie, determined, impulsive, bubbly little pink pig; and Gerald, the cautious, calculated, calm, quiet, well-meaning, big elephant. It's an unexpected friendship and the book series covers different events that happen between these friends; mostly as dialogues between them. 

Little Miss Haana was first introduced to the Piggie and Gerald books when she was maybe 2 years old. Daddy got some books then.

Lately we found a huge stash of them at the library last weekend, and little Gugu and I started a new game:

Now we are into role playing. Little Miss Haana is the Piggie and I am Gerald. The only catch is: she has to read her part by herself when we role play!

But, expectedly, the roles we play extend even though we run out of pages to read. While Miss Haana reminds me how Gerald is always the good guy, and I shouldn't hug her too tightly or tickle her (not something Gerald would do); I also replay (several times over) how Piggie and Gerald hug in the book! Best book ever!

:)

Fish and Rice

II don't mean to brag, but this just happened:

This Friday evening, I had just turned on the gas stove and was starting to cook. Little girl Haana came to me with a pout: "I want fish and rice!". She knew I'm not cooking fish or rice.

I looked at her and said- Gugu, I am making something even more delicious! You don't even know!

Hearing that she turned around, immediately convinced, and left!! I take it as a huge compliment that she agreed that whatever it was that I was cooking is going to be lip-smackingly delicious! The biggest compliment ever!

Dinner plans? Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce with basil.

Mumma Are You Mad At Me?

It's no fun when kids fall sick. It's even less fun when that makes them throw up a whole lot. 

Such is the case with little Miss Haana over the last 3 days. Poor little baby has gotten a stomach bug and hasn't been able to keep anything down.

It all started on Saturday evening. We decided to check out an art show of local artists in the neighborhood. The weather was perfect. I was looking forward to it with much anticipation. This art festival had some of the very good artists from the area, some coming in from neighboring states with beautiful art pieces. Soon after reaching there, little girl complained she wasn't feeling so good. Initially I thought maybe it's breathing trouble- asthma. She was very uncomfortable, so we headed back to the car. On the way back home, the poor little thing threw up copious amounts. I was driving at eyebrow raising speeds to get us back to relative comfort. 

At home, I got the little baby changed and washed up while Dad washed up the car seat. I thought the worst was behind us. I got some fresh white rice and yogurt for her to eat before she dozes off for the night. We cuddled for our weekend ritual of Magic School Bus while I tried to have some solid food into the little baby.

And then it happened again. She threw up again. I was frustrated to say the least. More washing, laundry, bathing, vacuuming, bed-making... I was not happy, but I didn't vocally say anything. I gave the little girl a quick bath again, and was washing the clothes in the bath tub. The little girl was watching me. 

Then, after what must have been a long labored silence, she meekly asked me- Mumma, are you mad at me?

I instantly melted! What? Does she think

I'm mad at her? Why would I be mad at her? I said -'No bachha! Why would I be mad at you?!!' I felt bad for being frustrated, making her feel sorry. More hugs to follow. I feel so sorry and loving everytime I think back to her question. Love can be so very tender and sweet...

Nap Time

Guess how did little Miss Haana put her mumma to sleep for nap time yesterday afternoon? She covered me with blanket, put a pillow on my face so it's dark enough, (I said that's not necessary) and gave me sweet sweet kisses on my forehead!

She's trying to be mumma (except the pillow on face part!)! Does that mean she knows about all those pecks I sneak to her when she's sleeping so she can't retaliate??!!! And she still doesn't mind them! Wow!

Pink Sky

This morning when I woke up, the sky- all of it- was bright fuschia pink! It was beautiful. I tried to wake up little Miss Haana to watch the sky with me, but in vain. It lasted for only a few minutes; and by the time the little girl woke up, everything was back to usual blue.

I told the little girl - my voice laced with excitement- Gugu do you know what happened this morning? Do you know?

Eyes that were open only a slit, instantly opened wide. She shook her head and said "Noo".

"This morning, the sky was bright bright pink!", I exclaimed. "Just like your favorite color, pink is sky's favorite color too! It was just like a princess castle all over, did you know!"

But my excitement was going to go bust.

She said "No, my favorite color is rainbow sparkles, and blue sparkles and pink sparkles, golden sparkles and also silver sparkles". I tried valiantly again, "But Gugu, the whole sky was all bright pink just like a princess castle!".

"Oh, that's just like twilight sparkles! Do you know twilight sparkles is all bright pink too, but it also have a white cutie spot. Did the sky have a white cutie spot too?"

I didn't remember there being any.

Sadly twilight sparkles won out in comparison! Then little Miss Haana told me the sky turns pink and purple at night, and at that time, it's called twilight.

Oh well, I'm not a sore loser, so I proceeded to my next game plan- the Tickle Test. Figuring out which points on little Miss Haana's little body are ticklish. Turns out - she's ticklish just about everywhere!

Which Toothbrush

Conversation between Daddy and the little girl this morning-

Gugu it's not rainy, it's not sunny, it's not cloudy or windy today. So, which toothbrush did you want today?

Riddles

Yesterday I got caught in a rapid fire riddles' contest. Little Miss Haana told me that to make my brain sharp I must solve some riddles. I thought I was doing pretty well on the easy and medium ones (What grows to be a plant? What's big and has 4 legs and eats grass and says moo? What's blue and has clouds? What's red or pink and smells good? What's big and green and brown and doesn't move? What's big and has 4 wheels and does move? What goes from flower to flower and make honey?). I felt pretty good about myself till the little girl threw at me this "hard" one:

What's big and brown, and doesn't eat, and doesn't have a face and doesn't have a tummy and doesn't talk and doesn't eat and doesn't drink and is very big, and doesn't grow and doesn't change colors and doesn't talk and doesn't have hands and doesn't have legs, and is verryyy dangerous?

I made a few lame attempts but was baffled! 

Answers to the previous easy/moderate ones: seed, cow, sky, flower, tree.

Answer to the hard one: a stick!

Birthdays in Soil

Little Miss Haana's class was going to plant some plants. The montessori had asked parents to send a plant or seeds. I was gently reminded of this when I was picking up the little girl from school the other day. 

Leaving school, I asked the little girl- 

Me: Gugu, why is it that the plants need soil but you don't?

Little Miss Haana: Because plants grow in the soil.

Me: But why don't you need soil to grow?

Little Miss Haana: A pause, and then- plants need soil because they have birthdays in the soil. And I have a birthday, but once it's over, you have to wait for a long time for the next one. And plants have their birthdays all the time in the soil. 

Me: So maybe I can put you in the soil and you can have more birthdays too! We could have more birthday parties!!

Little Miss Haana: But then I wouldn't be able to go anywhere!

Me: But there would be more birthdays!

Little Miss Haana: (Still not convinced) But the bugs would eat me if I am in the soil. The earthworm would eat all my blood.

Me: (I'm trying to imagine a vampire earthworm but can't keep a straight face anymore!) 

Tough Cookie

It was a beautiful Easter sunday and little Miss Haana and I went for a post-lunch walk. We ran around in circles in the park, then jumped skipped hopped to the lake. Then strolled to the playground.

There was an older girl and her brother already there, sitting below the playground stairs, digging. Little Miss Haana went up to them to talk and play with them. But the kids didn't want to play with her. The little girl felt bad that she wasn't included in their games, but then began playing at the slides by herself. 

Soon 2 more kids came, an older boy with his younger sister. Both older than little Miss Haana. Their Dad, following behind, caught up with them, saw the kids already there, and asked his son- "Hey, you know them, right?", without actually taking any names or referring to anyone but his son. The son nodded. Dad wandered off.

Since the kids all knew each other previously, they all started playing together. Little girl Haana thought maybe they'll all play with her too now. But, the oldest boy (who came later) turned to her and said "I hate her". 

I heard him clearly, I was right there. Gugu was on the slide right between him and me. His sister repeated the words, adding "me too". They all turned around and proceeded in their games. 

I was just stunned at the words. And at what had just happened. I wanted to somehow protect my little baby from the hurt that callous people and their wanton words can cause. But I also want to teach her emotional endurance and for her to stand up for herself. For that reason, in general, I don't like to intervene, I want her to handle situations. I do watch and listen, so I can tell her what's right and what's wrong. 

The next minute, Gugu turned to me and said "Everybody hates me Mumma."

I couldn't believe my ears! I said, "What?" She said " Everybody hates me except Rushil". I was even more taken aback. I said "Don't say that bachha. Don't use such words. Those kids are just being silly.". She said yes they are bad kids. I agreed with her.

Many more kids and their parents had come now to the playground. The parents were busy setting up an Easter egg hunt in the playground. 

She proceeded to play at the slide next to this one instead. There, she started on this project of digging a burrow for a bunny! I goaded her a few times to leave the playground and head home. But she wanted to complete her project.

I sat on a bench nearby and wondered how these kids learnt such a word. And how they didn't learn the meaning of the word kindness. To be honest, I didn't have a high opinion of the parents at that point either, who, I thought, haven't taught anything half decent to the kids. And, I thought such kids are not fit for social company. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to take my little girl and go back home. But I waited on her at the bench by myself. Watching these parents set up their Easter egg hunt with distaste.

Meanwhile, little Miss Haana was still working under the other slide, and we left only when she was satisfied with her burrow for a bunny rabbit. She came up and took me by the hand to show me.

On the way back, I asked her about the kids, and she said they were bad kids. I agreed. They were bad indeed. 

But some thing I realized later; in spite of the older kids ostracizing her, her sticking it out; not getting intimidated, not wanting to run away, holding her ground, playing her games, doing her thing- is brave. And for that- I'm proud of her. She proved to be the strong one. 

She may be smaller in size physically than some other kids, but mentally, I was proud to witness, she can be one tough cookie! 

Perfect Pet

Yesterday, as soon as little Miss Haana woke up, she came running up to me and said- Mumma, I had a great idea!!! When I'm 5 years old, I'll get a real pet! 

"Hmm", I said, "You already have a pet. The doggy dog and red riding hood...", referring to her stuffed toys. 

She said no, a real one! That's alive!!

"You mean a perfect pet?", this time referring to a recent book we had read where a little girl in the book wanted a pet, but every time she had a suggestion for the pet, the parents thought that was not a perfect pet (it sheds, scratches, too scary, too big etc). Then the girl settles for a bug. 

Gugu said, "Yess! A perfect pet!". 

"You mean like a bug?"

"No, bugs are scary. We will get a cat. And papa said yes."

"But Papa is not Mumma. And mumma has not said yes."

"But it will be the perfect cat!!"

"Hmm.. What kind of cat is it gonna be? A real one? What color is it gonna be?"

"Yes, a reaaal cat! It will have rainbow colors!!! You know some cats have black and white like a zebra? But they're not zebras. They are mostly black with a little bit of white!"

By this time I thought I need a visual.

I said Gugu, you need to draw what your cat will look like. Why don't you draw me one. 

So, out came paper, pencils, color pencils and later, sparkles!! Little girl made what her perfect rainbow sparkles cat would look like.

See pictures below:

Notice it has 5 legs and initially had no tail. Then, when asked about the whereabouts of the tail, a tail appeared. First it had a tail like a horse. Then I showed her pictures of real cats and the tail was touched up a bit.

:-)

We are still on the look out for 5 legged cats for Miss Haana's pet. If you know of any, call us. On second thoughts, don't call. I'll call you!!!

 😀😀😀

Pictures:

Easter Egg Hunt -take 1

It's that time of the year again! A very special time. One of my favorites! Easter egg hunt is here.

Last weekend was an Easter egg hunt in the neighborhood and things were brimming with excitement! I had been telling little Miss Haana how much fun the hunt was going to be. She was looking forward to it, mostly because several of her friends were going to be there as well. I was looking forward to a big basket full of loot, er, eggs!

As it turned out, I had some other plans that day, and little Miss Haana was to go to the hunt with her daddy only. Somehow we all got dressed, fed and out of the door in time for the hunt. 

I bid her a bye with happy dreams of a big basket full of colorful, candy-full eggs waiting for me upon my return. I had planned to actually prep her for the hunt, but somehow didn't find time for that. Last year I had prepped her before the hunt, told her how to dart out as soon as the hunt starts and race down the field towards the eggs and grab as many as she could and land them in her basket! She had not disappointed. Last year our big basket was full of proud, bragging-rights eggs! 

Surely she remembers last year, I thought. She was looking forward to meet her buddies..

When I came back home, I peeked into the basket, down at the bottom of the big pit were a few eggs! 'What? Just a few?! Maybe she has been playing with the eggs elsewhere', I thought. She was sleeping, so I let the matters lie.

Later that evening, I enquired, what happened to the eggs? Daddy told me, Gugu and her girl friend were strolling down the park in cool composure, while the other kids were busy grabbing eggs from all directions! She found 4. Of course there were logistics to blame too. It was too cold, too crowded, too few eggs, too small.

I was still horrified! 4 eggs? 4? 4??? Just. 4?

Luckily, there's another egg hunt this coming week. We have some fixing to do! ;-)

Shredder Fright

My little girl is a cautious one. She's very careful and precise in the things she does. She's particular in her likes. She's deliberate in her actions and tasks. She's not usually the kind who'll say lets do this and see if it hurts. 

Last Sunday Daddy had some plans, so Miss Haana and I were going to have a mom-n-daughter dinner night. The evening was to end with Puss in Boots videos (weekend allowance).

I was sorting mail just before we had to leave for dinner, and had a stack of papers to shred. Miss Haana came by asking to help out. She's ever the handy little helper! She went to the shredder and instead of turning it on "Auto", accidentally turned it to "Rev". I have no idea why small shredders like ours' have such a useless function. The shredder started spitting out shredded paper. The little girl frantically moved to turn that thing off. But the few seconds that it took for it to stop, and the unexpectedness of the shredder, left her all shaken up. 

I sympathized with her. I know it can be scary when it does that, I told her. The shredder is not such a friendly thing sometimes. She felt somewhat better in a little bit, but then decided she will not be helping me with the shredding afterall.

This is when I think I changed into this bad, evil, pushy mom. I told her she can't give up because of the fear, she has to shred the papers now. No surprises, it didn't work. She wanted nothing to do with the shredding.

I said we can't go out till she completes what she started. She sulked and resorted to crying instead. I wasn't getting anywhere.

Then, I said we are not watching Puss in Boots unless you finish what you started. Now she was really unhappy! Puss in Boots is something she really looks forward to! I felt really bad inside too. I look forward to cuddling up together and watching those short videos too..

Then, I said- look at Puss in Boots. He's a small cat, and still fights much bigger monsters and theives. Sometimes he's even scared but he never gives up. He stands up and faces his monsters. That's what a brave little girl like Gugu needs to do. Somehow, this suddenly struck a chord. She and I went back to the shredder, and she finished her shredding!!!

Moral of the story? I love Puss in Boots! 

Five Year Old

Last week when I was picking little Miss Haana from her montessori school, she and her buddy Navya could hardly bear to part for the evening. They were hugging each other, making plans for a sleepover that night.

Both Navya's mother and I intervened citing that it was a weeknight, and hardly an appropriate evening for a sleepover. Now of course I think the little girl is way too little for sleepovers anyway - but I rely on other arguments instead. Also, I should confess, I have these sweet visions of me being part of her sleepovers anyway!. My friends do not fail to tell me they find me crazy.

Nevertheless, little Miss Haana and her friend grudgingly parted for the evening and we headed home.

The following weekend, suddenly the little girl asked- "Where's Navya? Is she not coming to my house?". I remembered the painful separation a few evenings back. I said, I don't have her phone number, does she know where we live?

Miss Haana replied with resounding confidence, "Yes!"

And then added, "She knows because she's five year old. You know? She has a five year old brain. So she knows what my address is".

Now it's entirely possible that there are times when laughter is not the best medicine; and maybe I should not laugh at my little girl, but I laughed and laughed!!

 

Scissors Enthusiast

My little girl Haana can be a scissors enthusiast. At school on some days they practice cutting paper in straight lines to develop fine motor skills. Some days she comes home and does the same too. 

Yesterday she came to her Daddy with a small clear plastic tube about an inch in length in her hand. She looked part sorry and part pleased with herself. I saw what she had in her hand and immediately knew... I said "You cut the sippy cup straw!!". The pleased-with-herself part immediately left and she now was both sorry and embarrassed. She started to cry.

I felt bad and felt like laughing all at once! I picked up the little baby; and used the excuse for hugs and kisses :)

Mini Mart

Little Miss Haana in the poster for her school's Mini Mart event coming up on March 4, 2016.

Tricksy

When little Miss Haana was still a baby, I had decided to myself I will not lie to her. Not say or have her believe something that was not true. 

That memory is now a distant past! Lately I have claimed that chocolate spread turns mustard yellow (like peanut butter, but not peanut butter!) so I can add peanut butter on chocolate spread sandwitches. I have cloaked vegetables in unsuspecting places and claimed they never existed. 

Recently in the morning I was prepping  a dress for the little girl to wear that day. It was a special day at school and she could wear a spring dress instead of the uniform that day. Initially the little girl asked me to pick out 3 dresses for her, lay them out next to each other and then, she'll choose one of them to wear that day. Incidentally, a week or so back, on valentines' day Friday, I had picked out 4 clothing options for her to wear for their valentines' day party at school. And she had gone with a fifth option- a dress of her own choosing. This time, I was wiser. I told her I'm going to choose just 1 dress and that's the one she must wear. She gave me a non commital look.

Later, when she saw the one I had picked, it met with instant approval. The dress was mostly red with little white flowers all over. It also had blue flower, blue ribbons on the waist, and a blue piping on the knees. I picked out blue tights which exactly matched the color of the blue in the dress. In my silliness, I took out another option for tights, also blue, but a shade lighter- not the exact shade as the dress.

Guess which tights the little girl wanted to wear? The other blue - the one that does not match the dress! It baffled me, but I realized arguing is useless.

Instead, I resorted to trickery! I hid the other lighter blue tights and claimed the one that matches is in fact, the one she liked and wanted. Everyone was happy!

Isn't all's well that ends well?

Best Animal at the Zoo

Fort Worth zoo had eluded us for a long time. For some reason we had never actually made it there with little Miss Haana. So the week before last, with the blessings of the weather gods, I decided we must pay our visit to the animals.

We had just bought the tickets at the front gate when little Miss Haana sighted a balloon. She informed us that a balloon had been sighted and so, she'll be needing one. "On our way back home", promises were made.

We were delighted looking at the colorful flamingoes, most of them taller than the little girl. Some standing on one leg, some on two. A couple were sleeping with their long necks all wrapped around their feathers! Bright pink and orange colored, they were a sight to enjoy. We had peanut butter chocolate sandwiches and enjoyed the sights. 

We saw a huge crocodile basking in the sunshine, sleeping lazily. It was so still in its slumber, initially I thought it's not even real. But then the eyes moved. But that was the extent of the movement. A few steps away was another aquarium, this one with several long snouted alligators. This one also had turtles of varying sizes and fishes. 

We moved on to find gazelles and deers next. And soon came upon a small pond with several furry little white goslings. They were so cute and cuddly, fuzz-balls. The little girl went "oh so cute! How cuddly!!!" over them. I told her: "See, that's exactly what mumma feels about you every time I see you!!". 

The most anticipated place in the zoo was the aviary where you can feed the birds and they'll sit on your hand; it was unfortunately closed! I was bummed for a bit, but there was still much to see.

We saw penguins, owls; eagles wih wingspan more than 6 feet wide. Kangaroos up next but none of them were mommy kangaroos so none of them had a pocket. I told the little girl if we can find the mumma kangaroo, then we can fit little Gugu in her pocket and come back tomorrow to get her. She faked upset, but mostly we giggled!

We came upon this Wild West section, which amongst other things had a carriage (without the horse). We spent the next (seemingly) several hours (minutes) going in and out and in again and out again, then in from this door, then look out from the other window of the carriage. Then we went through a bridge held together by ropes so it moved and shaked. We giggled as we went back and forth on the bridge over and over again. On the other side of the bridge we briefly saw a black bear, but then got sucked into a small sand table. Little miss Haana made sand castles with  intent and determination. Birds chirped, winds changed, tides turned, stars moved but we were still at the sand castle table. Finally when we left the sand, it was only to go back and play at the funny bridge again. And of course, it was the carriage again. 

We went and stood in the line for the train to take us back to near the entrance so we can see the other animals we hadn't covered. As we stood in line, little Miss Haana made friends with the girl next to her. Soon they were talking, laughing, holding hands, wanting to sit next to each other in the train. 

Once out of the train we watched the rhinoceros but little Miss Haana was more interested in climbing the fence. As all of our energy was ebbing, little Haana and I had a falling off. Sulking ensued but not for long, we made up with "Sorry mumma", kisses and hugs. 

Soon it was time to head back home. We were not able to see all animals. I think we spent the most time at the zoo with this 2 legged, 2 armed animal that kept going in and out of a carriage! This one also chose a toy for herself (an elephant, for all the elephants we didn't actually see!) and headed back home with us! So long zoo.

 

Real and Pretend

The house is divided into 2 sections.

One section- is the neat and clean, tidy section. This is the section that no one visits usually. And then, there's that other section.

There are varying degrees of persistent clutter. My personal tolerance of mess has hit record levels. Still, it grates me. Till I can take it no more, and an operation de-clutter has to be undertaken. I start with finding trash bags to fill with old forgotten toys, clothes or unbelievable quantities of odds and ends. Sometimes I get into trouble. 

As I clear through the clutter and find things to banish, the little girl occasionally with sift through the rubble of the bags I fill; and finds her prized possessions. She comes back and gives me the you-bad-girl look and demands an explanation of why her precious princess crowns and bottle caps and old sea shells and single, lonely socks and paper fans were all in a suspicious "bag" together.

The clutter seems to have reproduction  properties. It multiplies in no time. I have my suspicions on a little girl but she insists otherwise:

It's all because of those gpretend things, she says. 

Apparently there's a pretend dog, cat, a mouse and possible other pretentions that live together with us. This morning when I demanded why small bits of paper were left behind next to the glider (these were remnants of stickers), little Miss Haana told me those are for her pretend doggy. He likes to eat them! "There's a pretend dog?", I asked. "Mm hmm", I was told, "Of course there is".

The argument was air-tight. 

I asked her to remind me to give her a real tickle for all her pretend pets!

The Entire Book

Day before yesterday was a day to go down in history as the day little Miss Haana read her very first book completely by herself. All by herself. A 16 paged book titled Al!

I'm extremely proud!! 

The book is about Al- a crocodile who likes making friends and eating icecreams. Two completely relatable things! 

A huge credit of course goes to the new teacher at school for their class who is focused on teaching these little things how to read and write- Miss Scott! Her drive and dedication is evident in work done at school and home work to take home. Her commitment to ensure she teaches her students the essential life skills of reading and writing is appreciated very much! As a 4 year old parent, I have developed this enormous sense of gratefulness and appreciation for good, devoted teachers. Kudos to them!

Border-less

Even though my little girl is perfect, I am most certainly not. Many a times I have had self doubts if in some ways, knowingly or unknowingly, my upbringing is somehow messing her up. I've had inner fears; fears that I usually don't voice. Wondering if something I am doing, or not doing, is spoiling this perfect little thing I am blessed to have.

I grew up in India. There's a slang term in India- ABCD- American Born Confused Desis. It's a term used for Indians who're born in the US. They're labeled as confused because they seem Indian but they're not- they're niether Indian nor American. When my little girl was born, I knew then, she will not be confused. She's born in the US, and due to that, she is an American. 

But, this has a lot to do with personal choices of parents as well. I do not see people as Indians and Americans any more. I see people (and strive to see people) as people and not boxed-in replicas of their communities. For good or for worse my own ties with India have weakened as I rarely eat, dress or talk Indian. 

Some may argue this to be the case of lost identity, but I feel the significance of personal choices means more to me than membership in communities of shared glorified pasts. To me, being me does not mean I have to cook Indian food, eat Indian food, listen to Indian music, watch Indian movies, talk in Indian language or revel in perceived Indian family values. I was not doing several of those things even when I was in India. 

But even so, I wonder if not indoctrinating the little girl in Indian culture is somehow depleting her of her rightful 'roots'. 

I wondered this week when the little girl wanted to go to Indian restaurant to have her favorite meal. She loves Indian food( the one that does not involve vegetables). Since she was born I rarely cook Indian food. Am I depriving her then, I wondered. But on the other hand, I mused, she does like some of my music- which is not Indian. She loves several rock songs that I like. We've heard her sing Clapton's "I shot the sheriff" by herself several times. But what I think is really funny is another favorite of hers'. 

One of her favorites songs, which is also one of my favorites- is La Grange by ZZ Top. The song is about a house of 'ill repute' near a town called La Grange in Texas. I think it's funny in a good humored sort of way that she should like such a song- for the same reason that I like the song- great music, of course. And I just hope if she remembers this song when she's 25 and she finds out what the song is really about; she chuckles thinking about her mom's choice in songs as well! 

There are some things that are without borders- good music, good food and good people. Let's keep it that way.

Commanded

While I did not command little Miss Haana to do so, today was the day when she read the word "commanded" (9 letter word) all by herself! Along with Saturday, zoo, pink, zebras and sunny!

Very proud!

Afternoon Well Spent

It was MLK day today. Martin Luther King day. It's a momentous day in the history of the United States. These days, it's a day where all schools, government offices and banks remain closed but my work is not! Miss Haana's school was off so I had scheduled to take the afternoon off from work.

The plan was for Dad to hang out at home till noon. Little Miss Haana and I had discussed the plan the previous day- I will come home from work and we'll go for lunch. After lunch, we were to go on a  very important mission- we had to get chocolate ice cream with sprinkles! We had giggled when we conspired about it the previous day and vowed not to tell Papa (he had already heard!).

So here I was; back at home a little after noon. We headed out for lunch shortly after. The little girl whispered urgently what she wanted to eat -porotta ( a wheat bread made into layers; available exclusively at South Indian restaurants). She also reminded me of which restaurant to go to, since the one I thought of was closed on Mondays. Both of us reached our choicest restaurant, eagerly ordered our entrees (some of us needed no Menus). After finishing but before leaving the restaurant, I took a fist full of their candy- the colorful sugar coated fennel! We split it between us and ate it in mouthfuls of "so tasty" comments! 

My next stop was the library. I had been threatened into returning all the books we had issued last time (the library sends multiple reminder emails if the books are due) and I wanted to get us a new stock. We quickly moved through our kids' area and selected choicest 20-25 books. Both of us held a big pile of books and headed back for the car. 

Our next stop was this place we had just discovered last week. Last weekend on Ayaana's birthday party, we had discovered this new trampoline place closeby. With several trampolines, dogdgeball areas, a rock climbing wall, a foam pit! There was tons of stuff. Both of us jumped and tumbled. I tried the rock climbing wall. We tumbled in the foam pit! The little girl tried several of her gymnastics moves. We were having a blast till I realized we had been there for over an hour and both of us were thirsty. We got some water and headed out. I may have used the word "ice" and "cream" in the same sentence in order to lure the little girl out of the trampoline place!

But I got what I deserved, because the entire way back, all I heard from the back seat was varying specifics of the kind, type, color and temperature of the ice cream  Also, that it needs to be in a cone.

While driving back towards home, we came up to a Sonic. I offered to stop there. The little girl refused. While Sonic ice cream were good, today was not their day. (She said we'll come back there on Sunday and have a Sonic ice cream.  I said we'll see about that!). No, today was not a day for McDonalds' ice cream either. We had to get ours' today from the store with the pink ice cream cone! Unfortunately, I knew exactly what that meant! Marble Slab Cremery.

I dutifully drove to our already chosen destination. We both got our selections and ate with mouthfuls of delight. And as the evening set it, we headed back home with the glow of warm contentment only chocolate ice cream with sprinkles can afford!!

A Real Princess Castle