Is it Me?

Beautiful painting by little miss Haana.

Is it a painting of her mumma?

The 2025 Goodbye

December 2025 holiday season was great! We spent it chilling at our around the house. 

For the end of the year, Bobby had a Christmas musical at school. All the kindergarteners were reindeers!!

Bobby went on mid morning or late afternoon walks with Dulce prancing in tall grass with his antler headband, looking like a legit reindeer! 

Before Christmas little miss Haana had planned a secret santa with her friends. So we planned a holiday party with most of her friends and their parents. Menu was created, and this time, little miss Haana set up a restaurant store front online, so people could scam qr code on their phone and also place their food order. The order would arrive at the tablet set up in the kitchen, with the item reqested, special instructions and who it was for! Staff (me) could then hand deliver the food once prepared! It was super fun!! With endless chai and mimosas!! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Little miss Haana and Bobby boy put together the ginger bread truck with santa in it! It was so reminiscent of the little blue truck series they both love!

All of us played varying degrees of part in building a batch of lego Christmas ornaments for the christmas tree. 

Like every year, Elfie continued to hide in pain sight around the house, but he was discovered way too easily most days!!

Little miss Haana and I started a new tradition of mother daughter (or is it sisters?!) coffee-and-a-book date with each other. We go to a coffee place!

For Christmas, little miss Haana and Raj had a bake off where they each made a puff pastry and I was the judge to decide which one is the best! I was so enjoying my drink!

Little miss Haana and I cooked together from scratch (with no scrimages or full blown fights) for Raj's birthday dinner. It was an east Asian cuisine - Japanese miso soup, vietnamese fresh spring rolls and Cantonese crispy fried rice. 

We had our annual goat biryani and curry also all from scratch courtesy Raj for the new years' lunch! This was a long lunch because everyone wanted to take just one more tiny serving. 

But somewhere during the holidays I decided to renew my friendship with art. I've been wanting to make a new piece for awhile. We visited a nearby park one afternoon and the slanted rays of the sun against the majestic trees is just what i needed! Asked little miss Haana to take some pictures. This is what I'm going to make, i decided. With heavy artistic liberties, of course! When I finally got around to it, Bobby boy decided he wants to paint too. 5 year old Bobbys are not easily dealt with when they want to do something. So i had to relent and hand him the loaded brush. And again and again! Bobby did quite a bit and little miss Haana came and added some of her magic on the top right portion. 

In the end, it was a fun fun thing to do, and it turned out beautiful courtesy of both little miss Haana and Bobby boy, it was a joint effort!

The holidays were a fun fun affair!!

Cowgirl and other Mumma Stories

Some six months ago I bought a 2014 calendar that featured beautiful paintings (some looked like pictures) of horses. 

October featured a beautiful painting of a cowgirl next to her horse (just gotten off or about to ride the horse).

When Miss Haana saw that picture she declared "Mummaa".

I have to admit - I was super pleased.

Just sifting through the calendar today I  was reminded of it. 

On another note, yesterday for dinner we were at the dinner table. The little girl was in her high chair. On the other side of the room we have some open shelves and on the top one I had kept the canvas that was recently painted - fall trees in the sunshine. Miss Haana looked at it in the middle of dinner and said "Oh very nice painting Mumma!" Pleasantly surprised!

Yesterday when I reached the school to pick up my baby, the class room was brimming with noise. All the kids were shouting and running around as the teacher was trying to calm them down. My little girl was sitting in the center and quietly sifting through a book. After we had our warm reunion( deep hugs and loads of kisses - that's the one time when the little girl doesn't resist my flood of kisses; I make the most of my window of opportunity!) she took me to her book. It was Dora and the Crystal Kingdom. I asked her if she had read it. 

Then, I sat down and started reading it to her- Miss Haana on my lap. Soon all the other kids in the class came up to us to hear the story. And in no time it was story time! We were a small tight circle of kids, helping Dora find the missing crystals! And no one was running or shouting anymore. I had fun and so did everyone else. As soon as the story finished some of the kids quickly became cats or puppies (that's their regular game as well, they come over to me to be petted!) The little girl and I headed home.

Someone Loves Painting

Miss Haana made these creations and loved each minute of it! So did I!

And then, when we were done, hands washed, all done, we covered them with stickers!

Oh how I love the stickers :)

I hear "Butterflies", "flower", "Owl" over and over again!