Bits and pieces

We all speak Sonny-boy-speak these days. See if you can speak it too.

One lawn sets off another. So please cover your mouth while lawning.

How yootiful! The showers....(he's still not managed flowers)

One rumber, two rumber, three rumber...and so it goes...

Sumburry's at the door, who could it be?

These days, he's taken to setting down the rules for me.
"When sumburry's playing train, not to disturb!"
This, when I'm calling him to eat dinner. Can you beat that? And this is said in a perfectly serious tone, complete with finger held up admonishingly.
He never says 'When I'm playing..' or whatever, because we try to train him saying- when somebody's reading the newspaper, you should not disturb. so he too brings sumburry in.
Small wonder, Mr. Sumburry's very much part of the family now.

*****************

And yip yip yipppeeee!
The Ammamma's coming over again. Sonny boy and I are going to pick her up this weekend and we'll be back on Mon morn.
As of now, I still haven't found a maid, so am still doing the housework and officework and nanny work and its all getting to be too much. And Sonny boy still has his Puja hols, (school re-opens Mon, hallelujah!) so he keeps being shunted around between the two of us as we try to accomodate each other's work schedules and his needs as well.
And this is what the mother had to say when she told me she was coming.
"You and Hubby can do whatever and manage, but I'm coming for poor Sonny boy. Why should that poor darling suffer?"
This is what I call rank ingratitude. She forgets she was a Mom first and only then an Ammamma. After all, if not for me and the Hubby, she wouldn't have a Sonny boy, would she?

I shall leave you to ponder on the injustice of that, peoples. Happy weekend!

Pssstt! YAYYYYY!! She's coming!

The middle name tag.

HGMom tagged me for this ages back.

First you're supposed to mention the rules, so here goes. There are 3 rules.
Rule 1. The rules must be mentioned in the beginning of the tag.

Rule 2 You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

Rule 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Hmmm... I don't have a middle name. When I first read this tag, I thought I'd use my blog name, but its too long. Today when I sat down to do this tag, it just came to me. For half my life, I went around with another name that I don't use now, for its changed on all my records. But I loved it and lots of people used to call me just by that name, and sometimes I miss it a lot, as I do the owner of that name too.
I'm talking of my surname before marriage- Krishnan. ( As a teenager, I had quite militant ideas about why a girl had to tag on the name of her husband after marriage, but here now, I'm tamely doing the same. Sacrilegious)

So here goes.. and this one's for you, Daddy!

K- Kitchen. This room plays quite an important role in my life. My Mom used to make the easily-distracted-me (now you know where Sonny boy gets it from) study from the kitchen, where she could keep an eye on me while I was a kid. Some years down the line, after we moved into our new house, we Mom and kids had our breakfast there when Daddy was away, and it became a bonding place. It remains that. To this day, whenever I go home, we 3 girls just gang up there. Me, my Mom and my sis. My sis and me are ostensibly there to help Mom, but we just go yakkitty yakkitty yak, while poor Mom does everything and at times asks us to shut up too, because she gets distracted by our talk! The sons-in-law of course are banished to the front of the TV (need you even wonder?)

R- Respect. I see this as an integral part of my relationships with people all around. Its such a simple thing, but so hard to gain and keep. Once respect is established, everything else comes so much faster and easier- be it in school/college, be it at work, be it with in-laws, be it with your family. And it has very little to do with designations. I might not respect the Vice President, but I might have respect for the simple lift boy, for the way in which he gets his work done.

I- Inquisitiveness. Now this is one thing I wish I had in plenty. I'm curious enough about lots of things, but some things leave me totally unmoved. Which never ceases to amaze my husband. Like politics. Like the latest gizmos. Like what makes things run. Naah. Like I said, I'm quite happy to be left by the wayside.

S- Sentiment. I'm a very sentimental person. I think with my heart, not my brain, which frequently leads to several mishaps.

H- Humility. I admire this quality in anybody. I think it makes you a much nicer human being no matter how big you become, if you can remain rooted to the ground. And I've always found that the truly 'big' people remain humble and approachable.

N- Naughty. I've been labelled this nearly all my life, till I got married. (And now, the poor husband certainly can't run to anybody with this complaint, for he got into this himself.) Apparently, I was nothing but a bundle of trouble all through school and college. It didn't help matters one bit, that my sister was the paavamest, nicest, sweetest girl before me. She always came back from school on time, while there were plenty of times when my auto driver went off without me and sent my Mom into distress mode till I was found safe, which was when it was time for me to go into distresss mode. In college, she like a good girl, always stayed home for all the rowdy celebrations, while I was thick in the middle of it. ( Did I tell you I was once hauled off by the lady cops at university? *wink* And I gave my name to them as Veronica at the police station. Ah, those days!)

A- Attachment. I find it very easy to get attached to places, persons. This makes it easy for me to adjust to new situations, but difficult to let go of the old. When I do get attached, I give my all, but the person on the other end doesn't necessarily have to be of the same mind. This has frequently led to disillusionments, minor and major. My Dad once advised me not to be so passionate about things, to always maintain a level of detachment, but I still haven't managed that. I'm very attached to my family. They're my biggest source of strength.

N- Nice. This is such a nice adjective. And there have been so many nice persons that have crossed my life. People who have made such a difference by virtue of their niceness. Who have made an otherwise intolerant situation tolerable. And while I don't want to be remembered as great, or lovely or important or useful, nice is something that would be nice to be remembered as. For you can continue to be nice all your life. In one way or another.

I think everybody else has already done this, so I tag anyone who comes across this tag and feels like taking it up.

Mars and Venus

Little boys are indeed from Mars and little girls are from Venus.

In the mornings after he wakes up, sometimes Sonny boy's eyes just refuse to stay open till he receives the first splash of water on his face when we get set to brush, which is after he makes susu, which sometimes he does with his eyes closed. When all things are pointing right, it makes less of a mess for me to clean up later, so I generally position him in the right stance. Today morning, after I had gathered Sonny boy up from bed, and stood him on the toilet seat, and stood there waiting, came a sleepy, dreamy, loving observation.
"Look Amma, my susu's so beeg..."
I looked down at him- the eyes were open and looking fondly upon that erect organ.

What is it with men and the size of their penises?
But then, I guess, if we had something between our legs that would grow big and small as it liked, and seemed to have a will of its own, maybe we too might have been fascinated?

Sometime back, he used to want to pee whenever his friends who came visiting wanted to pee. Like an innocent Venusian, I let him. Until I found out that peeing was a lesser incident and comparing sizes was what they were into. After that I ensured that the peeing took place in different bathrooms. Miraculously, the visiting boys stopped wanting to pee, and my boy stopped wanting to pee too. Martians!!

Now my fervent hope is that he doesn't get the opportunity to tell this to some little Venusian right now- Look, Venus, my susu's so beeg.
I know this will definitely be uttered, but I hope I will be much older and not as responsible for him as I am now, when it does!

How about all you other mamas out there? Any similar tales?

The second one..

I was overwhelmed when I received my first blog award- the thinking blogger one, which came my way from Hipgrandmom. I had only just started off on the journey through blogdom and to be gifted that then was a real real delight. All the more so because it was TOTALLY unexpected. Awards were just something happening to the rest of all those interesting people out there, something to read about, and I never expected to figure at all.

Then, I started making more friends, and being part of many other lives and now, when Moppet's mom tells me my blog has The Power of Schmooze, I find myself AS delighted as then. Because, now, I feel like I'm part of the family and it is absloutely wonderful to be thought a nice family member. Thankee kindly, Moppet's mom.

The creator of this award refers to schmoozing as "the ability to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection"
Now I'm all for the casual conversation. But gain advantage? make social connection?

The last two sound very materialistic, kind of like a networking tool that is essential in my business, but not in my blog. My blog is 100% true to my self. I may have to be nice to people I don't like in my profession, for that's how the business works. But in my blog, in my posts and in my comments too, every word is sincere and heartfelt and responsive. But then , comments are a way of keeping in touch in blogdom, so I try and comment to as many posts as strike a chord somewhere.

98% of my blogging family remains unseen and even unknown, most of them writing under their blog personas. So I have nothing to gain anyway from them, except

1. Empathy (working mother guilt, harried mothering)
2. Encouragement (from those who've been there/done that and are wiser for it)
3. Words of praise/support ( which help you toodle along the way)
4. Sharing interests- (be it likes, be it dislikes)
5. Venting, ranting ( and being understood every step of the way)
6. And yeah, learning ( all of us are so similar and yet so different, there are so many different learnings, of different customs, different countries....)
7. Laughter ( its so amazingly wonderful to laugh and be laughed at)

and with all this, that bond just gets forged, and gets stronger with every passing post and comment.
Thank you, Moppet's Mom for finding me nice and genuine, warm and friendly.*warm hug*

And now, its my turn to take advantage of the mommas/grannies and to make a social connection here. *wink, wink* I've only just come back and I haven't had the time to go through all the blogs yet and find out who's been awarded this, so you gals will just have to forgive me if there's an overlap

Gauri She lets you be part of her world so effortlessly, its as if she's relating your world. And she puts down so many nice things you can do for your kids, its awesome. A warm, creative mother, I wish I were like her.

WIN and Sunita Their posts are a few and far in between, but when they do post, the connection is instantly made. And their words paint a delightful picture of themselves and their lives and kids, and make you chuckle.

~Nm A very easygoing , likeable person. Absolutely without any airs, and very down-to-earth, her writings are warm and effervescent. She can paint very well and man! can she take a picture! Her comments are always friendly and tongue-in-cheek and I like her all the more for it.

Hiphopgrandmom She's quite exactly what her blog's called, a hip hop g'mom. With many hats on her head, she juggles them all with seeming ease. The age barrier just doesn't exist here, the fact that she's a grandmother only adds to the charm. I only hope that when I'm a G'mom, I'm as engaged and engaging as her.

There are so many others out there, who are worthy of this award, but then, I mustn't be greedy and hog, must I? I shall leave some for you others too.

Am back, am back, am back!

Hey girls, am back!

Joined my new place today, and was ITCHING to reply to all you gals (thank you so much for all the good wishes) when I checked my blog finally, but thought it prudent to wait for a few more hours.

Thank you, thank you, thank you ALL for all the love ( am I starting to sound like a vote-hungry politician here?) and I'm glad I was missed at least somewhat! I missed all you gals SORELY too!

Mom is fine. She had her moments of glory for a week after the operation, masquerading as MGR's /Karunanidhi's sister with those dark glasses of hers, but then, the good times never do last , do they? *wink* Her eyes are pronounced fine and she is back to her old self again.

And after a week of lazing around, I am back to - a new job, and no maid and only one car and no driver either. Not a very merry state of affairs. And the icing on the cake is that Sonny boy has Dussehra holidays! What more could I have asked for in my first week of work at a new place?

But then, you know, nothing seems to matter too much! Right now the honeymoon is on in full swing. (Lets hope the spectacles never lose their rosy tint). The poor husband is house-holding for a week, and Sonny boy has firmly usurped the husband's lap and the poor laptop forlornly lies in a corner.. luckily, since its Dussehra, things are kind of relaxed for him too...so its not too bad.

Well, in my new place, am not going to be blogging (from work) rightaway, and I don't know WHEN I'm going to catch up with all you gals. (Poppins tells me that some of you were also MIA) I have lesser time at home than ever, and have loads to catch up on reading and writing wise. Guess my brain will just have to itch for some time more, for I'm just going to read all you gals, in what little time I can snatch from work, without commenting, till I've caught up somewhat.

In the middle of all this, did I forget to say- I'm GLAD to be back? Muuuaaaahhhh!

new shoots... new leaves

Girls, girls, girls!

There has been quite a lot happening in the last one week.

The good news first. For no matter what the uncertainties, change is always good. Especially when you have been longing, yearning, praying for it with all your heart for the last one year almost.

I have landed a new job.

But the going's not all good. For every pro, there seem to be a con.

Pro -Its in the same function- sales.
Con- But its in a whole new, emerging field. Now- when it emerges fully it could either be for better or for worse. Being eternally optimistic, I choose to believe the former.

Pro- Its dealing with the same people I have been interacting with,
Con- But from a different address. A whole world away from the current one. We were almost thinking of shifting houses, to be honest. But we've decided to wait and watch...

Pro- There's only going to be a skeletal sales force in my company. Just one other person.
Con- There's only going to be a skeletal sales force. Just me and this significant other, in an office peopled with a large team of another business within the same organisation. Now this other person HAS to be someone I get along with. HAS to, HAS to, HAS to!
I am not normally skeptical about my abilities to gel with others, but my experience in my last (current for this one week more) organisation has left me respecting the ability of colleagues to make your life miserable.

Pro- There's obviously more money.
Con- With more responsibilities too, which will gradually come my way, never mind that I have requested to handle just B'lore for the time being. While I am kind of looking forward to that too, I sincerely hope that by then, my home will be in a better state of management that it currently is. By that I mean the good old maid, nanny, playmate for Sonny boy of course.

I thought Saturdays were a working day and was hugely depressed even in the middle of the euphoria at landing a good job, finally.
BUT- yesterday, when negotiating with my boss-to-be on my joining date, I found out that Sat's are off here too. I could have hugged him at that moment. But since I couldn't, I hugged the good Lord tight, tight,TIGHT in my mind. Like my husband says, now that she knows she has the weekends off, she's willing even to commute to the moon and back on the week days.

Now all that remains is to get started and keep going. Forward, enthusiastically, happily.
Please, send Up a good word for me, all of you girls out there. I know you all will, thank you for the same, but still....

Now some other news- my Mom's got her cataract operation fixed for next week. So I'm off for the weekend. I may be off the whole of next week too. Please send up a prayer for her too. I don't expect anything to go wrong, especially as she's had her other eye done, and there were absolutely no problems then. But still.... Thank you for that too, girls.

So, for now, its happy holidays for me, for a week.
Meanie hubby persists in needling me- no internet for a week, what will you DOOO???
I know what I'll DOOOO.... I'll miss all of YOUUUU!