Snow

Driving to work on Friday morning i heard the weather forecast for the day- chance of snowfall in the afternoon. My eyes lit up for a second: snow! But then, the day continued and i forgot.

Come afternoon, i saw several people leaving for the day. It was 130pm. I didn't think much of it. Then i saw a group of people huddled next to the window. I peered though, it was snowing!!! The parking lot was already transformed into Christmasy white. My reaction was- let's go home, bring little Miss Haana from school and let's play in the snow!!

Unfortunately when i returned to my office, there were a couple things that were already waiting for my attention. I thought,  i can wrap these up in a jiffy, and then leave for that day. I proceeded with my meeting. As soon as i wrapped that up,  there were couple other folks waiting on me. Wrapped that up,  and at 3pm i was headed out the door.

I was barely half a mile out,  that 2 realizations hit me. Both with a sinking heart.

First- almost everybody in the metroplex had decided to be on the road at that exact time.  And they were being over-abundantly cautious ( yes there is such a thing as over-abundant, also called slow-pokes). The traffic was backed up and inching along.

But then,  there was the second thing that really started driving me crazy- the snow flurries had all but stopped. There was still snow on the grass and on the roadsides everywhere,  but it wasn't snowing much anymore. I remembered the weather report said it will snow till 430p. It was 330p now.

I felt like such a fool. Why did i not leave right away. It doesn't snow that often here. It is snowing after 2 years. Today most probably will be the only snowy day this year. Oh,  why did i waste it away. How will little Haana and i catch snowflakes on our tongue now? Oh how!! Why did i waste it away. Why did i not leave when it was snowing.  Could i have not followed up the next day! Oh why did i waste it all away.... It was killing me!! The regret of lost time,  for a parent is unparalleled and the misery, insurmountable. To add to my misery a commute that takes me 15-20 minutes,  was now almost an hour long,  and I was still not quite at the montessori yet.

That 1 hour was amongst the most miserable hours for me ever.
Finally,  i reached the school and saw the little girl,  and told her let's go outside and play in the snow. And suddenly, with the glitter in her eye when she heard snow and play in the same sentence, all my sadness disappeared. We got out of the school and there were just a last few flurries fluttering by. Immediately Miss Haana and i, both,  had our mouths open trying to catch the snowflakes. She even picked up some snow and threw at me. I quickly packed her in the car,  took her home and packed her up with woolens. And then, we headed out to play in snow!

It wasn't enough for building a snowman. It was hardly enough for snowball fights,  but we played snowballs anyway. We made snow angels. We played snow kicks and snow drops (that's when you make a ball of snow and drop it in the lake, preferably on top of an unsuspecting duck). We made a few extra snow balls to take home and save.

Finally, when my fingers had frozen and were about to fall off, we headed back home. I quickly saved our snow ball collection in the freezer. We changed and got all warm. That's when i remembered i hadn't taken any pictures of our escapade.

So, in spite of much bickering,  i bundled up the little girl again,  and out we went,  this time only till the front yard,  took a few token pictures before rushing back inside to cozy up next to the fireplace.

Our snowy day ended up well. Even though it was quite a roller coaster ride.

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!