The Special June Bug

Four years ago, I was mom for the first time ever, roughly around the same time frame in June. June always does special things for me. Both my children were born in June. Four years later after my first child and two years after my second child, I feel like a first time mother again. Four years later, after an intense labor of soul searching and introspection, my first tryst with entrepreneurship has begun. PicUrTale has seen the light of the day on June 20th 2010.

It all started with innocent, imagination stemming from the curious mind of a little 3 year old boy who has always loved to have his very own personalized stories. On several occasions, he has brought to me toys from his toy box and asked me to tell him a story about the characters he chose. I have had to rack my brains to think up of stories that would fit his chosen theme. Eventually, I started making up my own stories and personalizing them for him. When he was the central character of the story, somehow the efficacy of all the knowledge and information, I chose to pack into the story, was colossal.

A little while later, the little one also followed suit. All stories that were tailored to their tastes, with each of them starring as the protagonists, were always effective beyond any other form of educative text I have used. That is when I realized the power of mixing imagination with a wee bit of reality -- a reality where they are the stars of their wonderful, whimsical world. I experimented on a lot of other children, just to prove my theory and to get motivated to start this endeavor. Tons of discussions with friends and family followed. After several sessions with my husband who has a tremendous potential of giving the right advice, I took the plunge.

In all earnestness, I began writing my stories. Some of them were good, some even my own children didn't want to partake of. With a lot of help and suggestions from friends and family, I was finally able to get a head-start on the story writing. But honestly, I was overwhelmed with doing everything on my own.

However, this time, the urge and grit to make this happen was stronger than anything I have embarked on before. Praying fervently and working doggedly, I continued with only a hope in my heart that I will make it somehow. Then one fine day, it was as if my prayers got answered in the form of Angad and Uday who came out of nowhere and helped me structure my thoughts and dreams into a more viable business idea. Once the duo came on board, there was no more looking back and most importantly the chaos had quelled. Things have suddenly fallen into place, and suddenly there is a process and a place and a time for everything. Technology, Logistics, Financials, Content Management and a zillion other real life business terms have finally found their place in my little unstructured project.

Now PicUrTale is not just a figment of my imagination, it has become a reality with three strong pillars, Salman, Angad and Uday, to reinforce it. PicUrTale has now found its little corner on the World Wide Web. And strangely it all came together in my special month of June.

Please visit us at http://www.picurtale.com to browse through our stories and to learn more about our books and products. This is the alpha release of our website and hence we only have one story that is available to buy. But very soon there will be a good selection to choose from. So Follow Us!!

Where Oh Where Did My Baby Go

When did this happen? You are not a baby anymore ... Where's my little infant? Who's this little toddler running around and telling me stories? Are you TWO already?

Happy Birthday Rayaan!! Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!!

Just like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", which happens to be your favorite book, you've metamorphosed too. Just a year ago, everyone would come up to me and tell me how quiet you were. During this last year you've just become your own person. You have your own opinions and your own space. You are no more just a shadow of your mamma. Sometimes I feel I could hold you in my arms forever and never let you grow out of that space. But then, when I watch you explore and perform in your space, I wonder how I could be so selfish to think that. A mom's mind is so paradoxical, or maybe it's just me.

The magic of seeing you grow into your own person, especially in retrospect warms the cockles of my heart. To watch you succeed taking your first steps to running a race with your big brother who almost never lets you win, but sometimes might just accede, is very heartwarming. To hear you talk and talk and talk makes my heart explode with love and emotions and victory. To see you impersonate all your favorite animals and make everyone around you laugh fills me with a pride that doesn't even try to hide. To feel you hug me with your tightest hold with your tiny little hands envelopes my senses with a security that I cannot fathom and To taste your little kisses satisfies all my hunger for any love that I might lack.

Rayaan you are my devotion, I have said this before. You've taught me patience and love.. You've taught me to relax and unwind ... You've taught me to believe again that I can be succesful, and how do I ever thank you for that my little, precious, adorable, darling, baby boy.

You love us all with a love so true .. so pure and so divine. You completed our family in a way that only you could with your magic.

Happy Birthday My Little Star!

Here's Mamma's Second Book .. dedicated to you ... because you love playing in the sand and on the beach ...!!!

Butterfly Effect

Being the first child of a very capable English teacher had its positive effects on me. My dad told me a lot of stories. In-fact, for every situation he had a story to tell. I often would get upset that he is trying to convey something in a roundabout way and this I have inherited too, fortunately or unfortunately?? I am not sure which, only time will tell.

Like all "good" parents, we've been doing our good share of reading to the children. In my case I often make up my own stories too. But most of the time if I spot a good story I use it as a weapon to teach my little boys, something that I have been trying hard to explain to them in plain words. I am not sure if we humans are just wired to read between the lines more than what is expressed clearly. However, when I put something into perspective via a metaphor or a story they get it. Perhaps, that explains why stories are so powerful or why the bible is full of parables.

Recently I have been using a story I read somewhere online about a little butterfly who would drink only one type of flower nectar and thus didn't have colorful wings. His mother explains that he must drink from more flowers to get prettier wings. Then one day he sees the most beautiful butterfly and then realizes why he must try different flowers too.

This is a spot-on story for my situation with an ultra picky eater. I have been using this story successfully to explain why he should try different foods. I also have been reading "the very hungry caterpillar" to his brother (a caterpillar who transforms into a butterfly). So, the current favorites in our household of two boys, are butterfly stories. :)

At dinner time last night, after getting a mouthful of assorted vegetables, Ishaan squirmed. I immediately reminded him why he should eat different types of food. He articulated that he got the point by saying, "oh yes! If I eat different types of food, I will become like a beautiful butterfly".

Then .. a long pause....

"But," he continued,

Another deliberate pause ...

"I cannot become a butterfly mamma, Because I am not a caterpillar!"

Oh, the joys of motherhood, especially when you get a taste of your own medicine back!!!!!

Because You Love Me!!

I just finished decorating the house with blue and orange streamers and balloons. There are a few Disney cars floating around too. Your little brother stayed up late and helped a little too. "Wow" "Wow" "Wow", he was really overwhelmed. You picked out all your decorations. This afternoon, I felt like buying the whole party store for you. You were running helter-skelter, unable to decide, what it was that you wanted your birthday decorations to look like. When did you grow up so much my baby.

You are all of FOUR today!!!

Happy Birthday my dearest dearest ISHAAN!

I cannot tell you how much you have grown in this last one year. It's like you've suddenly become a big boy. Right from wearing your own clothes to helping your baby brother dress up, from learning to eat yourself to almost cooking a meal with little help, from learning to talk more clearly to saying all the right things... You've just pushed your way out of your little cocoon.

Your power to gauge a situation and react appropriately often leaves me astounded. There are still a lot of times you want to be a naughty little boy, that's what boys are supposed to do. You are a goofy little boy but yet sensitive and caring.

You've always worked wonders on me Ishaan.You say the most magical things to me. You make all my blues hide by your tender, sweet, sensitive hugs. You just know what to say to calm me down and what to do to cheer me up. I could never thank you enough for the way you bring love, sunshine and a fresh breath of life into our family.

I quote Celine Dion to express how you make me feel

You are my strength when I am weak
You are my voice when I can't speak
You are my eyes when I can't see
You see the best there is in me
Lift me up when I can't reach
You give me faith 'coz you believe
I'm everything I am
Because you love me

Mamma has worked very hard these last few days to get her first children's book completed in time for your FOURTH Birthday (A lot of people helped too!!). This book is dedicated to you my baby boy. Happy FOURTH Birthday!

For the first time for the world's eyes.

Ishaan and Tricy's Zoo Trip ==> http://bit.ly/cVSVsE

Mamma and Papa!

It's one of those days when I am really missing ma and papa. A year ago around this time .. they were here visiting us. I stumbled upon this picture today and was overcome with emotions. A nice coincidence for a day that I was already missing them so much.

I have always taken them for granted. Sometimes when the phone rings and its ma or papa and I am busy doing some trivial thing like loading the dishwasher, I talk to ma and I am so distracted with my current activity. There are other times I tell papa .. I will call you right back. I usually do , but sometimes I get so wrapped up in my chores that I completely forget to do so. Even though I honestly meant to call him right back. Then its already time for him to go somewhere or too late for them to talk, thanks to the 12 hour time difference.

Two weeks ago ... a very dear and loving family friend and our family doctor passed away. He was so young and the shock has still not left my system. I think I spent a couple of days feeling miserable. It didn't help that we took his medicines everyday so even thoughts about him were not so far away. I have had a lot of aquaintances who have left us in the past few years. But honestly nothing has hit me as hard as this one. Dr. Martins was a brilliant homeopath with diagnostic skills that I am yet to see in any one else except the omniscient Dr. House on TV. Besides his medical prowess, this man was also such a generous social worker, giving free treatments to hundreds.I still have not reconciled to the fact that I will never see him again. It just breaks my heart. I hope he is happy wherever he is and I really hope his family can somehow reconcile to his loss better than I have. May his soul rest in everlasting peace!!

Anyway the reason, I mentioned the above incident was to mention what the shock has done to me. It has really dawned upon me that life is so fragile. To have the opportunity to say goodbye to your closed one, knowing that his days are numbered is one thing but to suddenly have to deal with it is so difficult. I always thought I was very strong and could deal with anything. But this incident has left me doubting myself.

Now when the phone rings and even if I am busy I just have decided that almost everything else can wait. I am eternally grateful to the lord for having such wonderful parents. I donot stop to thank them often for everything that they do for me. I thankyou papa and mamma for all that you both do , silently and happily. The conversation that I dread having with my dad everytime is "Have you been exercising?". He knows that I hate to hear it .. but he really hopes that I would get fedup one day and just do it. I hope I can make him happy about that very soon. Mama , she misses me all of sudden and calls. I am not around physically for her ... all I can do is atleast talk to her till she is satisfied and at peace. But instead I talk to her and continue working on the zillion little stuff that I am working on.

Well, hopefully this is going to change from now on!

Show And Tell , Letter T

It was show and tell day at school, they have one every month which usually coincides with their snack day. I am really huge on having him think about his show and tell day. I make it a point that he takes more than a toy to school. Unless the toy has something really relevant and meaningful to offer.

As a kid and a young adult, I was pretty creative with my school projects and projects that I helped younger kids do. I always enjoyed going that extra mile and doing something special for my projects. It didn't have to be super creative or a thesis worthy project, but it always involved spending some good amount of time on research and learning a lot on the way. I owe it to my parents, who are both teachers and they always made me go that extra mile. I enjoyed the process and was usually gratified with really good grades. So it was never disappointing.

As a parent, I like to do little projects with my kids too. Even though Ish is really young and Ray is just about starting, it is really never too early to start. I let them help me guide them ( complicated sentence, hope I made my point). Usually, I begin with asking them for some ideas. I usually build on an idea that they came up with. I usually have a decent talent for coming up with something on the spur based on things I see and hear - borrowed creativity bonanza!! :)

This week when he had to show and tell something with the letter T. He instantly wanted to take Thomas the tank Engine to school. I said it was a great idea maybe we could draw Thomas instead. He was excited. I then asked him if he wanted to also write the word "train" because he now knew how to write. He agreed!! We explored more ideas and finally we reached the conclusion that we would write and draw some of his favorite "T" words. So we chose Tree, Truck,Train ,Tiger and Toys.

Then we made a tiny book of the Letter T , written and illustrated by little author Ishaan Taj.

Presenting his first book to you !!! Tada!!!

Now I Know My ABC's !!!

Ohhhhh....!!!! He will do it when he is ready for it ...!!! , My mamma and Papa tell me that everytime I complain that the kids have not done something they are supposed to do.

It's been a while that I have been trying to get Ish to sit and write his ABCs... But he had refused to even hold the pen so far ...If I used some severe coercing techniques the most I would get was an "O". His argument was I only like "O". "O" is my favorite mamma was an indication to me to leave him alone ...I have heard my mum say that "you can take a donkey to the river, but you cannot force him to drink the water". I guess that's always been my experience with Ishaan...!!! Like I've said it before ..."I can't hold him in my hands.. the more I do he slips out like sand".

On the other hand ..Mr. Ray is a peculiar little toddler. I sometimes thnk he is a little man trapped in a baby's body ... He loves scribbling and doing stuff his brother is supposed to do. So last week when we went shopping I bought him a little doodle board... and he doodles like his life depends on it or something. The doodle board was not Mr. Ish's favorite toy so far but ofcourse when his little brother got his own doodleboard our man needed to emphasize his authority and superiority... All of a sudden he wanted to write. I thought I would capitalise on this competitive spirit that got kindled out of the blue. So I decided to challenge him to write an A ... and Lo .. behold an "A" sprang out of nowhere. Then I tried to push my luck a bit and he was able to imitate almost every letter I wrote. It was a pleasant surprise ...and a long awaited one..!!! So we spent the day yesterday just trying to spell random words and I bribed him with blue Icecream if he learnt to spell and write his name. To say the least .. I went to bed last night extremely pleased and satisfied.

Today he was playing a game on the computer and normally he calls me to help him spell out his name while he types it. But today was different.... he typed his own name... the letters were all jumbled up and looked somethng like this "IHAASN" ... I was thrilled .. because that meant he atleast remembered all the alphabets in his name. This evening when he came back from school .. we were playing some random train game with an old cardboard box. Both the brotheres decided to decorate it with some colored paper ... and I was just playing along. Suddenly I asked him if he would like to autograph the back of the box by writing his name... And hallelujah ...!!! he spelt and wrote his name all by himself :) ...Time for "Blue Cotton Candy Icecream from Coldstone"...Yippee!!!

Waiting for Tomorrow!!

Leftover Chicken Korma tastes great with spaghetti...!!! So ... I was squealing that I didn't have to cook much because hubby was out of town. Fed some pasta with garlic and olive oil and eggs for the kids and didn't bother about my dinner ... Come Dinner time and I was in no mood for some bland spaghetti … I dug in the refrigerator and there was a bowl of some chicken korma with like three teeny weenie pieces of chicken in it… I warmed it up and thought I would eat it with some bread … but that didn’t appeal to my taste buds at all. I craved some meatballs to go with the spaghetti… but this was my day off … I didn’t want to cook … I groaned in my thoughts… Finally Eureka happened and I decided that I’d just dump the chicken korma over the spaghetti, the result was yummilicious.

When hubby left for his business trip I thought it was perfect time to take a good break from the umpteen household chores that adorn my day. I am sure his work agenda was not as well planned out as mine. My plan was simple… Be a sluggish slob!!

The first day was just fine … I did nothing … cooked simple (read EASY) stuff for the kids … let them enjoy their mess making process and just let lethargy rule my life. I ignored my hunger pangs and made do with milk and bread while the boys gorged down some mac n cheese. By evening I was already bored of my lackluster plan. However, I tried to motivate myself to get over it and do some girl stuff even though I had only two little boys to share my girl stuff with … After watching a series of Oprah and Project Runway with me, the result it had on my boys was just disastrous… This morning I heard him announcing “I love my body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, obviously he had paid close attention to the Victoria’s Secret AD that made its rounds. Ughhhh!!!!!!!

The second day I decided that I would make the day more interesting by doing some fun stuff with the boys. I think we did more activities that one day than we normally would do an entire week. We went to the park , ate “BLUE” icecream at Coldstone, went shopping for toys, came home and ripped open all the toys, blew bubbles till our mouths hurt and till Rayaan had ingested enough soap to have potty outbursts, played chutes and ladders. We did all this and more and still there were 4 more hours to kill before sleep time. So they watched TV and I spent my time on Facebook. Dinner time finally made me yell in pain because I really wanted to eat some adult food. Thankfully the chicken korma spaghetti saved the day and I didn’t have to starve.

The third day I got the food part covered by carrying out some scrumptious food for the next 2 days. (No, I was not bored enough to toil it out in the kitchen – spaghetti, mac n cheese and pizzas were all I was ready to sign up to make). Nonetheless the day seemed long and endless and the nights were just as terrifying, my over-stimulated, over-worked senses could detect the slightest sounds.

The truth is I really missed my hubby dear. It’s funny how dependent you get on each other without even realizing it. After several years of being married you don’t even appreciate all the little things you do together. It’s not like we sit and talk or spend any obvious quality time together anymore. Infact most of our together times are spent just squabbling over division of labour or playing with the kids or just watching something on TV. Nevertheless, those times of companionship constitute the bulk of any relationship. It is those everyday matters that matter... and go to form the substance that binds you together. I have learnt that the fact that you can tolerate each other inspite of the differences and still want to lie down on the same side of the bed after the day is done with, just with some comfort in your heart from an unseen envelope of love and support, is itself something to be grateful about.

I know I have just become ungrateful and I fail to appreciate the little joys that make my life infact pretty darned blissful. However times like this most indubitably reinforce that belief back in my mind and make me less of an ingrate.

Happy Birthday Mami

Happy Birthday Samta ...

I asked Ish.. what would he like to paint for Mami... He asked me.. Maami is a girl? So I would like to paint a castle. When I asked Rayaan what he wanted me to draw... He said dog at first .. I figured it would be extremely difficult for me to draw a little puppy on my primitive MsPaint tool :) So I renegotiated ...he said boat this time... I think the reason might have been that he was holding a little toy boat in his hand. I jumped at it .. I can do that!!!!

So this is what we came up with after some real tussle over color choices.

Ishaan did most of the painting ... even though I had to fight about some of his gaudy color choices ... Rayaan added the snow on the snow capped mountains ... (ofcourse it was not easy ... if he had his way ..it would have been a snow filled painting...lol!!)

A little Photocollage of your memories with Ish and Ray... Sorry I don't have all the pictures .. but this is whatever I had ...:)

And a few words from me....

You've always been a wonderful support to me darling and I am just so glad to have you in my life as my sister. You don't have loud ways of proclaiming your love but all your quiet ways never go unnoticed...Thanks for always motivating and encouraging me to do stuff and Thanks for listening to me even when I don't say the pleasantest things !! :)

Love ya babes!!!

Happy Birthday Sufyan ....!!!

Here's is a card that Ishaan made for you on Nick Jr. The little grey spots and blue splash is Rayaan's contribution

Anecdote of the Week: "Two "wuvving" boys"

The boys were playing team games, ofcourse they are part of this fraternity that I am not invited to. It was just before noon on sunday and it was time to go out to eat. We had planned to go out to a restaurant. The boys went for their community shower and came out all happy and gleeful. Ish, saw me sprawled out on the floor looking a bit tired and sad (or so he thought)

He came up to me:

"Mamma why are you sad?"

I said nothing yet.

He orders me ..

" Come on now, take a shower, wear your clothes and lets go to Reesraunt"

I looked up with a sad face

" Mamma why are you sad mamma?" , this time leaning down and touching my hair like his grandpa...

I replied,

"No body is playing with me"

Soon with a cheerful smile and an encouraging look, he gives me a hug .. and says

"Mamma .. don't worry .. everybody loves you!!"

and he left ..!!! :)

the little one who was watching all this action .. makes his entry now .. and hugs me and says

" I wuuvvv ooo mamma"

and leaves just like his leader brother :)

Cute, huh?

Mommy Tip of the Week: Ball point PEN marks on my Leather Couch ...Ohhhh nooo.. UhhhOOOHH

We didn't think much when we bought two exquisite,elegant , EXPENSIVE and light colored couches from Natuzzi. I remember walking into the store and thinking I might have to pay the salesperson to talk to us poor-looking tramps!!

We found our first dream home and the next logical step was to decorate the home. Hubby and I would venture out every single evening after work to find the perfect piece of furniture for every room. We had made a pact that nothing would enter our home until it had consensus from both of us. It was easy making the pact but difficult honoring it. BUT, we did not violate it!! That ofcourse meant sleeping facing opposite walls several times a week ( just like in the cute, romantic movies ...:). It was cute but not funny!!! We bickered and argued at every evening shopping trip but honestly neither of us were far sighted enough to realise that we might have two terribly troublesome toddlers who would raise havoc and upheave our "thoughtfully???!!!???" designed home. But Ofcourse we thought our kids would be PERFECT!! Why should they have been anything else right?? But then we had them and they discovered every loophole in our childproofing methods. That meant that "carefully??!!??" stashed away crayons or "BALLPOINT" pens found their way into their devious hands...

Who thought about the "Pen is mightier than a Sword" idiom in this context while shopping for light colored couches?... Oh no!! Not even in the horizon of my thoughts!!

My friend was mentioning about how she would feel like someone was treading on her heart when a kid was jumping on her expensive couch during the initial few times. I replied .."How about the pain from someone scribbling mercilessly on your heart?" It's true!!! the first time it happened, I was almost heartbroken!! I know its so materialistic but ..believe me when it happens the for the first time you forget all about being above material joys even if it's your own child.

However, I now have the bandage for my broken heart...!!! It does not mend completely but leaves very few traces of breakage.

So here is my Tip of the Week for ball point PEN marks on my Leather Couch

If your leather couch has been ruthlessly written on, don't let your heart shatter itself to pieces, the remedy is simple but a bit time consuming ...

All you need is

• PERFUME - so don't throw away those gifted perfumes that you absolutely detest

The oil + alcohol in the perfume offers the right combination for cleaning leather ... the harshness of alcohol combined with the softness of oil

• A soft yet rough cloth (lol!!.. a bounty sheet will do or the mother of all baby poos - baby wipes:)

Spray perfume on the ball point stain and leave it for a few seconds ... you will see the stain dissolving ... slowly, but firmly using your "soft yet rough" cloth to wipe away the stain. you might have to do two iterations for stubborn stains ... BUT VOILA!!!

your stain

will be washed away ...

so will your pain!!!

One whole year later ...!!!

Feb 28^th 2009, I had been dreading this day for months and finally it was time to bid adieu to Dallas and move to Seattle. The only things I associated Seattle with till then was … Microsoft and Sleepless in Seattle. The place my husband had spent a whole year travelling back and forth every week, a place where one of my best friends had moved to a few years ago. We moved and finally arrived in Seattle with our hearts still hooked on Dallas. It was a sunny day and the ride from the airport to our temporary corporate housing was long. Everybody had said that I would love Seattle at first sight but that really didn’t happen. I was just anxious to see a familiar face and I was happy when our cousins received us.

I had heard about the cloudy skies of Seattle but it didn’t strike me that it would be cloudy all the time and it was not until I saw a really nice and sunny day that I realized how much I missed my sunny, bright Dallas sky that I took for granted and even cribbed about. But when the sun shines … I have to agree that there is no place like Seattle (read my earlier post). So we learnt to enjoy the weather and make hay while the sun shines. However, the sun spells didn’t last too long and I was stuck in my world in Dallas. I missed our friends and our gorgeous home in Dallas. Finding friends was beyond a herculean effort. The only support was family from my husband’s side, Thank God for small graces. They had become our lifelines here without whom I would have pretty much ended up just running back all the way to Texas.

Living at the temporary furnished housing was tricky. I learnt to make do with very basic stuff and it made me realize that I didn’t need the umpteen pots and pans that hid inside my huge kitchen cabinets in Dallas. The other good consequence was I started baking / grilling a lot since I didn’t want our 2 month furnished house to smell like a curry pot when we move out. So healthy food habits also meant some weight loss and healthy living. We spent all our free times searching for a place to live and finally after a huge combing operation we found a tiny little townhome that satisfied most of our criteria … except one major one … SPACE!!!

This whole last year was brimming with events inspite of the almost complete lack of social life. The kids kept me busy. Ishaan started school and that brought a tremendous change in him. He finally has learnt to sit quietly in one place and make a conversation. Rayaan had to learn to cope with his brother being away for half the day and the coping technique he adopted was to sleep it off J. We celebrated the kids birthdays. Ishaan turned THREE …which was awesome because it signaled the end of the terrible twos. And our dear Rayaan celebrated his FIRST ever birthday. We postponed his birthday celebration hoping someone who fly in to attend it … but being almost at the opposite end of the world, it was not easy convincing anyone to fly half way across the country. So we celebrated it in a quiet and special way with just close family. Rayaan went from crawling to walking to running around. He metamorphosed into quite a cute li’l devil after being tired of being labeled an angel who did nothing but stare and smile at people. He has had several vocabulary explosions and its heartwarming to hear him talk.

Summer in Seattle was exciting and definitely worth waiting for, even though it felt like it came and just passed before you could climax. But while it lasted, it was the most beautiful summer of my life. I have never been at such an exciting place during the summer. There were tons of activities to do and countless events to go to. Ishaan started soccer classes and swimming classes and enjoyed hopping to the numerous parks all around town. Rayaan on the other hand watched his brother participate in all the activities and vicariously enjoyed it through his brother’s thrills. Meanwhile he figured out how to start running around and after that there was no stopping or turning back.

The end of summer also sorted of ended all the good stuff. Ishaan changed schools and had to learn to adapt to new friends and teachers. I went through a tumultuous time personally. With not many friends to turn to or nowhere to go I was left holding all my heavy emotional baggage all by myself. I slipped off the weight loss wagon when I most needed to be on it. I owe it to a few friends who kept me afloat just through phone conversations. I also have to thank Salman’s cousins who have become my best friends here. I learnt one important lesson to never take your friends and social life for granted. We were so accustomed to having more friends than we ever needed all our lives and for the first time in our lives I was confined to just the four walls of our home. It’s funny how I have all the time in the world to socialize (now that I didn’t have a day job) but I didn’t know enough people and I didn’t have the freedom to go anywhere because I didn’t have a car anymore and I had two kids to lug around if I had to take public transportation. For the first time in my life … I was desperate to find a friend.

Such was this long year, a mixed one filled with pleasant sights but very few people to share your joys with. Eventually the kids now have a few play mates and their mothers and I try to socialize a bit. We love hanging out with our cousins and enjoying awesome food. I also finally have two girls I can call to hang out with if I ever need to. We also ended up having a few visitors who flew up here half way across the country to meet us and it was so nice to see familiar faces again. I thank everyone who came here this last year from the bottom of our hearts – My parents, My Sister and her friends,My brothers in law Shahan and Sufyan, Kunal, Gaya, Dhiraj and Madhavi and Ashu,Tvesha and Mohan ... (sorry I missed them earlier on)...

That which does not kill you makes you stronger!! It’s true, we all have finally learnt to weather this storm and reconcile to living in a new place. We still don’t have too many acquaintances but we have learnt to live and appreciate each other a lot more.

From Ba ba ba to Blah blah blah... !!!

"Mammmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaa" he reprimands !!! "TIME OUT!!" with his voice escalating!!
"No shouting"!!! ... All because I yelled at his bhaiya for something trivial!!

That didn't take very long I must say ...to go from bababa to blah blah blah!!!

I recollect it was just a few months ago I heard him saying .. ba ba .. ( I think he meant bhaiya ..!!) He would call me mamma but not consistently. I remember complaining to the doctor at his 12 month checkup that he does not call me mamma relevantly.. He said quite a few words by then "gog <=> dog" ,"baba <=> bhaiya", "daydantay <=> dragon tales" etc.. Three days after his 12 month checkup .. he had a vocabulary explosion ... he started addressing me as mamma fittingly and a plethora of other words and even tough ones like "strawberry" "balcony" and such.
I was obviously thrilled to bits... !!

Last week .. he started making full sentences. He even wished the bank clerk "Happy Birthday" when he saw a huge balloon bouquet on her desk. The first complete sentence I heard him make was
"bubu, mamma gave me ducky" , he was telling his dad that I bought him a ducky... I was plainly put super ecstatic ...

He had been stringing words together for a while now...and it is such a joy hearing him say things with such funny pronunciations ... some listed below:

"Branini" for Biryani
"Yayyaan" for Rayaan
"I No talking me" for "not talking to you"
"I wuvvv oooo" for "I love you"
"top it" for "stop it "
"luckkyy kakka" for "yucky kaka" ( when he has had a dirty diaper)
"brokyn" for "broken" anything that does not work according to expectations

The other day I was nursing him in the wee hours of the morning just because I was plain lazy to get out of bed and bring him a bottle of milk. He nursed for a few seconds and then announced "mamma ..its brokyn" :) I was stumped and burst out laughing, chasing away all my sleep...!!

Some words he utters almost border in the zip code of expletives(if you mentally change the language ;) )
"Kaandi" for candy
"Maaki" for Monkey

It's a great relief and a soothing balm for a mother's heart.
Ask a mother who has a late talker how stressful it is. I know how it feels because my older son was not even stringing words together by 2 years. I was at my wit's end. I researched all over the world wide web for information about speech delays. The results would scare me beyond hope. "Autism", "SBS","Hearing loss" ... the causes were endless. I would go to the doctor and express my concerns and he/she would tell me there was nothing to worry about. He had met or exceeded every single milestone except this "speech milestone". It brings tears to my eyes even today when I think about all my fears and the sense of a impending doom that accompanied my thoughts.
Eventually by about 2 and 1/2 years .. he started making sentences. It was such a relief. It took me a speech evaluation from a speech pathologist to finally quell my fears. Now big brother corrects his little brother and says " not like that Rayaan .. say like this .. like bhaiya" :)

So in contrast when Rayaan started talking and expressing himself at such an early age I feel so assuaged. It's like as if god knows how heavy your burden can be and gives you just a tad bit more than you can actually carry. I celebrate every word he utters and every thing he says. Sometimes people find it ridiculous how I go all gaga over a silly new word he uttered. But that really does not stop me from even exaggerating the moment and bringing it to everyone's attention. Well, somehow this is something that I cannot give enough kudos for :)

Check this video out

From Movies

Here's another video of the two brothers dancing and prancing about. (Don't ask me why Ishaan is wearing Rayaan's clothes ... :) it was entirely his choice).

From Exported Videos

An older video .. in Goa with his dear dear masi

From GoaTrip2010

When the cat is away the Picassos go to play

Stunned, Shocked and Infuriated I glared at the walls!!! I didn’t know where to start or how two little boys could lash out their tiny crayons all over the walls. When did this happen and How did this escape my hawk-like eyes? The bedroom wall was covered with orange paint from end to end. The paint abruptly stopped right at their height. Maybe that was just one instance that I was thankful that I didn’t have tall kids. Maybe that was one day my kids saw what a terrible monster their mother could be.

Frankly, I didn’t have the energy or the enthusiasm to wipe out all the crayon marks from the wall. To top it all, we had a home inspection and our rental management agent highlighted that in the ten years of their experience she had never seen the walls that bad … And that literally drove me up the WALL.

This morning I was generally browsing and came across a “howcast” on “How To Clean Crayon Marks Off Of Painted Walls”.

How To Clean Crayon Marks Off Of Painted Walls on Howcast

I didn’t have all the ingredients for success but today I had the main one … the resolve to exonerate my bedroom walls of all the dishonor. And besides there couldn’t be a better time to do this, the perpetrator is on a mid-winter break from school (even though the weather does not spell winter in any direction). So off we went, with 2 sponges and a big bowl of hot water and soap and a few baby-wipes.

Mission “Erase Picasso’s traces” began.

The two brats were excited out of their wits about playing with soap and water. There was bubbles galore and giggling and squealing all along. I let them enjoy their activity. We started off with the smaller wall stains and once we perfected the stain removal process. We went over to the ginormaous wall painting that adorned our bedroom wall.

This was one painting that took more time to destroy than to create. I thought I must let the culprits feel the pain and understand the consequence of their actions. So we scrubbed away till the walls were weeping orange tears ..!!

Finally we have brand new looking wall!!! What peace!!

Happy Birthday Bubu

Bubu is a word that Ishaan coined when he was just little baby. His dad wanted to be called "Abbu". But now he's just stuck with "bubu" because now little Rayaan the little copycat has followed suit too. I think "bubu" has come to love his name too.

The three men have formed their own team now. I have completely been singled out. It neither fair nor funny ... yet it's cute in it's own sort of way. I love the way their eyes twinkle and their little bodies runneth over with joy when they hear the door open in the evening. They love their bubu with all their hearts, after all, it's bubu who rescues them from the wrath of their mother. Bubu never yells at the boys without reason and Bubu always has a calm way when he takes care of them. Bubu almost always gives them anything they ask for even though it mostly ends up with me expressing severe displeasure over candy handed out right before sleep time or cookies or milk given right before mealtimes. If bubu wants to refuse something he always can say "ask mamma" and ofcourse Ishaan has learnt to say "bubu I want you to do it for me". They catch up fast.

Bubu truly has a very unique way of dealing with the boys. He doesn't lose his temper around the kids and he believes in teaching by example. He is kind and gentle and at the same time strong and assuring. Bubu has earned his special place in their lives slowly , quietly but surely.

Today is Bubu's birthday. The boys have made him cards

Ishaan has painted a little froggie ... why a frog?? well because that was the only thing his mother could do a decent job at. But he has painted it quite well.

Rayaan has scribbled out quite a good looking modern art. He quite enjoyed unleashing the inner painter in him.

Both are cards cum wall art.

We also made him a digital card ... I drew the silly looking train and Ishaan painted it. The steam coming out of it is Rayaan's contribution. I had him paint it in a separate page.. then i cut and pasted it on Ishaan's train.

We also made him a little video.

Happy Birthday Salman ...

I don't say it enough ... but you know that you mean the world to me and the kids!!