With Love and Without Prejudice Towards All

 We just finished Halloween, Thanksgiving, Diwali and now Eid is on in this part of the world. I think it is very 'neatly convenient' that so many important festivals fall right around the year ending and everybody can look forward to much  joy and celebrations. Forget about the not so nice parts of the year and just focus on having a big partayyyy! No? Been hopping around tons of blogs and am amazed at the sheer number of posts on the festivals gone by...although, I dont do Halloween, Thanksgiving (hubster's side of the family have their own Indian version of Thanksgiving, which we dont celebrate as a couple owing to it's Hindu roots) or Diwali. I think my sister in Canada does some stuff for Halloween etc but more for the kids rather than anything else. Our family focus has always been Easter and Christmas. Good Friday even more so, knowing and believing that our Lord lives!

Most families nowadays are open minded and percieve themelves as modern, secular and peace loving. 
I dont know about other 'Indian-Christian' families, but me and hubster do not feel the need to project that to anybody or indeed give much thought to it . So, no I dont really feel the need to light a few candles on Diwali no matter how pretty it looks or wish a friend who may be celebrating it. No, it does not even strike me to call up my Hindu friends and wish them. Will it bother me if they do not call me back for Christmas? No, not at all. I dont expect them to understand the significance of Christmas just as I dont consider their festival significant! Does that make me intolerant and unsecular? I dont think so, it is just not important, that is all. Had I been married to a non-Christian, maybe I would have been chilled out in my philisophy. It would have been like 'everything goes'. But since I am not, I need to be very clear and focussed on what I believe in and would like to pass on to my child.   Although in our constitution, India is deemed a secular country with all religions being accorded equal respect and tolerance, in reality it really isn't true. It is overwhelmingly a Hindu state followed closely by a sizeable population which professes faith in Islam. Christians, Buddhists, Jains , Sikhs etc are all a small minority. To their credit, I personally find most of my Hindu friends and acquiantances quite liberal and easy going. A large majority is non confrontational and go about doing their own thing. As are other folks too. But even so, India can get troubled at the slightest religious differences. In such circumstances it gets difficult to cling on to your personal faith and be counter-cultural. So again a large majority of families end up doing a little bit of everything. When I was blog hopping I was amazed to see so many non-hindu families actively celebrating Diwali !  Agreed, for some it was just the lights, for some a chance to indluge in good food, for some it was all about dressing up and partying and for some it was just bursting crackers! Nothing wrong with any of these activities per se but for me it gets worrying when a friends or family begins to have expectations from me. 

How so you ask? Let me explain. Come festival(s) season and some of my non-christian friends refuse to see why I do not join in the celebrations! For eg, we  have this particular couple here in Dubai who are our friends. Or rather used to be. This couple has over the years expressed open displeasure and shock that we do not wish to celebrate their festivals in any form whatsoever. They claim to be modern, educated and cosmopolitan. Unfortunately however, when it comes to practise, they are really short on tolerance themselves! They have been unable to understand or appreciate our refusal to join a 'Puja'- a Hindu religious ceremony/actof worshiping. They have got upset if we have refused 'prasad' i.e food offered to idols during religious ceremonies. These things are a pretty big deal to them and to us too! Why cant it be understood that just as offering and consuming 'prasad' is important to them, it is just as serious and important for me to refuse it. By doing so, I do not conspire to insult or hurt them. It happens to be a major part of my religious convictions and I dont see why should I be made to feel like a 'fundamentalist' in wanting to hold on to it! If you do not understand  why judge in the first place? I especially find my hindu friends struggling to accept this. The simple reason I feel is that Hinduism is esentially a pluralistic religion and hence it has place for every 'supernatural' power or phenomenon. Christianity, on the other hand is pretty clear that there is 'only one God' and that God actually tells us to worship no one but Him. Talk about precise instructions!


Which brings me to my next bit of the rant. So, if I tell my child not to bow in front of man-made idols and to believe in one true and living God, I am a mad parent teaching my child to be intolerant? A friend wanted to gift me something which had a picture of one of her God's on it (do you realise dear reader how sad this sounds?? My god, her god?). So anyway, I politely refused to accept it. And told her in great detail as to why I was unable to accept her gift. She was close enough so I did not think I would hurt her but I did not expect the anger either. She was really, really, really angry and hasn't spoken to me since then. I do grieve the loss of our friendship but not at the cost of what 'I' believe will bring grief to my God. WHich is why, I find it totally bewildering when the very same people who claim to be peace loving, non-interfering, secular etc turn around and condemn me for being religious. I dont claim to be open-minded or liberal or even secular. I am infact none of these things. I dont intend to be either. So what I practise and preach is in line with what I profess to be. Not so when it comes to some folks I would say. I dont do labels. I go about practising my faith knowing very clearly in my mind where I am headed. Living out my faith in everyday situations is vital to my testimony as a woman living for Christ. In doing so, I may end up ruffling feathers, so be it. I can be different and infact chose to be different but if I am doing it with love, I know I am doin fine. 

I do not plan to upset folks, but they chose to be upset anyway. Just because I wont light a few candles on Diwali or eat 'prasad' or wont allow my child to attend a 'puja' or wish to eat a burger while a neighbour is fasting for Ramdaan? Heck, I dont get all worked up when you make a public announcement that 'hey, it's Christmas, let's get drunk' or say something as flippant as,  '' it's that dude,  Christ's b'day apparently-lets party!" Or when you walk up to your manager and demand a day off for 25th Dec just to sleep in and not because you really care that it is Christmas! You know, it always surprises me when somebody acts surprised that I not only like to talk about my religion but also talk to everybody (who will listen) about it. I mean, just because you are not Christian does not mean I should shut up when you are around right? You dont like to talk about it?  That's okay, I wont label you .  I on the other hand, like to talk about it-which should be also fine, please dont label me either.  Get it?? It was especially awkward when I lived in Europe. Boy, was it tough being religious! Naughty,dirty word! You are either supposed to kick out God or do yoga or reiki or other such nonny. It is no better in India. You should be okay about a loudspeaker blaring away middle of the night for some 'puja'  or your religious practises and convictions being dismissed as totally insignificant. Or be like a  modern- cosmopolitan -urban- city dweller. Everything goes. Else be labelled narrow minded, mean and confrontional. But then I should probably not get too worked up because currently in India, with the emergence of new money and increased purchasing power , religion and festivals are just another excuse to buy more! It has nothing to do with spirituality. At all.

You know, I really dont think religion is personal, at least for me . If  I am acting in a certain manner and do not wish to hurt others by my acts then I should be willing to come up with an explaination. Which is what I tried doing this Diwali. Ended up annoying some folks but then I have never claimed to be politically correct. It is really not my headache if my reasons are not good enough for you. It is also fine if you think I am mad and narrow minded and dont wanna be friends with me anymore. I love you anyway. :)

A Happy Happy Post

Some time ago I had posted about my birthday this year and the beautiful plants I got as gifts. Gardening makes me happy but since I now live in an appartment I have just a small container garden in a corner of my balcony. I wish I could have painted the walls of the concrete railing around , but am not allowed to. I have some nice murals in my head. I know many people dont think it is wise to invest too much in doing up a rented space. Not me! While the landlord may not even permit radical changes like structures or some weird painting of the walls, we (i.e. hubz and me) still like to put in roots wherever we chose to make our home. I like to live in pretty surroundings and try my best to make my house look nice. I take care of not going over board with my budget and have over a period of time collected stuff which gets packed up for the next move whenever required. That includes my babies-plants.

Anyway, I thought I will share some pics of my balcony garden. The weather now is awesome in Dubai and sometimes we can sit out for a cup of 'chai' after a long day. Yohaan too loves to potter around here while I tend to my plants. I do encourage him to get wet and dirty. It is the closest he can get to nature while living in a tiny appartment building.

All plants new! Except that Jade plant in the white fat tea-pot planter on the left.

This is just a begining of filling up my balcony with greenery.

Predator man on the prowl. My garden lit up for my b'day eve.

Look at the Giraffe!

Tell me , tell me whadya think of the pretty lights??

 A close up. That little brass matka is from Benaras!

I love the play of shadows on the walls...I so want to paint this wall!

These pictures were taken by me on my birthday eve after a whole day spent repotting my new plants and cleaning up the balcony for a dinner Al-Fresco. The picture quality is sad because I am still learning people. They shall get better with time I suppose! Hope you enjoyed looking at them.

Cheers!

Help Needed Pliss

It has been a long time of blogging for me but I am ashamed to admit I still haven't figured out how to insert linkies in my posts....you know when you are writing about something from somewhere on the web and you want the readers to click on it and reach that page? Like how all the talented bloggers insert here and here , which are links? Oh boy, am I making sense? Anyway, if anyone has understood my misery, pliss put me out of it asap. I have tried and tried and not succeeded so far. Pliss to comment or email and do your kind deed of the day. Thanks muchos.

Happy To Be Back

Oh Yayyyyy! Am back to my new and pretty looking blog. What was intended to be  a one month break stretched in to a longer one- much longer one. But then I had nothing to share and was running low on inspiration. In such circumstances I did not think my readers would take kindly to my mindless and uninspired rambling. So anyway, here I am hoping to resume my regular programming. Not much has happened in the last two and half months that I was away. Have a couple of posts drafted and I will be back with some recent pictures and view points. I truly believe 'everybody is entitled to my opinion' - in my humble opinion!! So there!

Ciao
H

Bloggy Break

Hello my lovlies! I am so spent and drained in the last two months that I have decided to take a break- propah one from the www. It was taking too much from me. It is now that time in life wherein I need to sit back, evaluate, re-evaluate and say NO. To everything pretty much. And so I will be on a one month break. I am in India for a quick holiday. Basically for my parents and Yohaan to be together but more for me. I am so tired and non-happening. With stuff. Life in general. Just doing life, you know!

Thanks to my regulars. Please dont leave me and go away for good. I shall be back-soon enough. :)

Muchos muchos muah muah.

Signing out for now,
H

I am around, almost!

I wish I had more time to write and blog. But the fact of the matter is that I dont. I am really busy with two more houseguests and the  never ending cooking for everyone. The guests are almost bachelor like in their attitudes, so that means, no help comes forth from them in any shape or form. I am not complaining. Hosting people/hospitality is our ministry, so I better not complain. However, I am tired and not getting any break at all is driving me up the wall. Hubster is too busy -always- to do anything around the house. Yohaan is too little, ha ha, ha. So that pretty much leaves just me to get things done.

These two men are on a job hunt so all their time is spent on the two computers we have at home. That also means, I dont get to use the computer much during day time or even evening. That pretty much leaves late nights only. But with my new commitment to a healtheir lifestyle, I have tried to cut down on late nights and try to have early mornings. Writing does not come easily to me. So every time I have an idea for a post, I have to take my time framing it in my mind first. And since it doesnt come to me effortlessly, how do I post regularly here without re-writing it like thousand times before I publish?  With the guys staying home mostly, unless they are out attending interviews, I have to supply them with tea/coffee/snacks and timely meals. To their credit, they are not at all demanding or even fussy. There are some mornings when I dont have the time/energy/inclination to cook breakfast and they manage with just a cup of tea! I am not going to let that make me feel bad simply because, I am not their mamma! They both cook really well, so my husband has asked them to help themselves in the kitchen if they dont see me pottering around! :)

Finally, I have been on a huge mission to clean and organise my kitchen/bedroom/living room. It has been almost four months we shifted here and I was not too happy with the layout of many things . I have completely re-organised my kitchen and now there is so much space. I love my newly organised cupboards etc. Will try and post pics. There are some more touches I want to add but that will have to wait for later. Next on my list is our bedroom and the teeny-tiny wardrobe. I am overwhelmed trying to organise our clothes etc. Hubster has discovered a place here where we can actually sell our clothes for a nominal amount. However, if anybody knows of a charity kind of store/place, please leave a comment. I will be happy to donate all our unused clothes which are in very good condition. I would also like to donate baby stuff of Yohaan's. And the best thing of all, I got lots of plants as a birthday gift. I have started my little balcony garden and that particular nook looks lovely. Will post pics. Dont ask when though.

There isnt much happening. I am just so busy. I am desperate for a small/mini break. This break MUST be spent alone. I dont want anybody around. Including Yohaan. I need stillness, silence and zero expectations from me for a few hours. Is that a lot to ask for?

A Day In Life-1

This is part-1 of the posts wherein I talk about a day in my life. Hopefuly it will be an encouragement to all the mommies at home. Personally, I do not endorse a working mom/home maker, however, each to her own I guess. I do not by any means want to sound judgemental and my views are borne out of my own personal experience and my beliefs as a Christian woman.

There is something deeply soothing and reassuring about running a house well. The daily dynamics, the routine, the predictability of it all is a welcome relief while the world outside is fighting it's battles. For me it is a safe haven. A day in my life is pretty full. With my chores, cooking and parenting, I hardly have time to even stop and think of anything else, leave alone worry about. Needless to add, it is a full life and one that I chose more than gladly. I have always been convinced that being a home maker was/is my calling and I take immense pride in it. Becoming a mother is just an awesome bonus of course.

Sure, there are times, often when I am tired and angry and resentful or just fed up of life at home but thankfully those are really quite few. I am so deeply grateful to my Lord that he has enabled me to stay home and be a wife and a mother. What an unprecedented privilege. I say this because as Christians we live in counter cultural times. The premise is that if an educated, modern, broad minded young woman chooses to live at home (and enjoy it !) out of her own free will, she better be assigned to the fringes of society. She is not contributing in a tangible ways and fighting to battles. Many of my secular girlfriends balk at my life at home. They presume, I must be so bored of the drudgery of home keeping. That my parents wasted all their money on educating me. But I vehemently disagree. I know my Lord requires me to be excellent in everything I pursue and has given me abundant opportunities to prove myself. On a daily basis. And impact lives through my home ministry.

Above all, the work I do at home challenges me to my core. It takes every ounce of strength, ingenuity, hard work, diligence and intelligence to be good at home making. It makes for a stable happy family life, a happy husband and hopefuly one day, happy, well adjusted children who will grow up to live and serve Jesus!

I am a feminist’s nightmare! I enjoy doing all those things which they have fought for decades to get rid of from the society. My day starts at a comfortable hour of eightish (because we all sleep very late). Hubster enjoys very flexi timings now that he is self employed and it is a blessing because then I don’t have a morning manic rush to get things done. Yohaan is a late riser so I have a good 2-3 hours to myself in the mornings to jump start my day. I am mostly always excited about waking up to a new day. How cool is that no? Imagine waking up dreading the day or without a purpose! After a quick freshening up, I load the laundry for the day having collected it from the bathroom hamper. The best part is even if I forget to hang it out once it is all done, the heat in Dubai lasts 24/7, so whatever time I put the clothes out, they will be bone dry. I am just saying because I have a huge problem, I keep forgetting to put the clothes out for drying. :(

After this is I make myself a huge mug of tea (Indian Chai actually). And I sit along with it on the net for a while checking my mails, favourite blogs etc. Then back to the kitchen to assemble and cook breakfast for hubster. It is mostly the same stuff with a few changes once in a while. He likes his south Indian spread. So it is mostly dosas, idlis with eggs or some curry from the night before. Once in a while he will eat a western breakfast of toast, eggs, bacon etc, basically the works. I always ask him what does he want for breakfast and rustle it up while he gets ready for work. This is also the time , while breakfast is cooking, I mostly call my mother back in India for a quick hello. Multitasking is the name of the game people!

Once hubster leaves for work, I just sit for 15 minutes because that one hour of getting it all ready for his departure is pretty intense. We talk while he eats, plan for the day, do our budget for the day, plan our menu together and he assigns me some task if there is a need like maybe pay the bills on the net or call security/plumber/electrician for some work around the house or just to call the laundry guys. He also tries and gives me a basic lowdown on how his day is going to be and if he will be home for lunch. That is enough notice for me to cook something he will like for lunch. He has prison visits sometimes. The central jail is close to our house, so if he has to call there, he will come by for lunch. It is always a nice, welcome change to have him for that.

Right then, once my sit-out break is over. I head back to the kitchen to do my general clean up and organize Yohaan's breakfast. Mostly fruit puree and oatmeal. Quick and simple. Once that is done, I clean the living hall and the guest bathroom. Everyday. Sometimes twice a day because Yohaan makes a bomb go off every day and by the time it is night, my house looks terribly rubbish! His toys, food, half eaten and drying-everything gets piled on everywhere. Anyway, this task always gets done very fast because essentially, we have a small house after all. Hereafter, I wait for Yohaan to wake up. Once he is up, he has to be changed and fed. Thankfully he enjoys his food so it is not a big chore to be completed. Once he is settled, I hit the bedrooms and the master bath. Clean, dust, change, throw out whatever needs to be out and pull it all together for the day. This also doesn’t take a lot of time but then if I have been slack the previous day, the mess just builds up and I have to put in extra time. I have figured if I make the bed at least, the bed room looks fairly clean. That’s cheating I know, but with a toddler underfoot, I have had to let go of a lot pre-held standards of keeping house. Now post baby, I just about manage.

While I clean around the house I also get Yohaan's lunch going. Mostly rice, lentils and 2-3 veggies thrown in. I don’t cook for myself and make do with previous night's left overs. I try and eat healthy because I am trying to lose weight big time. Most days I manage to be on track. If daddy will be home for lunch I simple recycle the left over dinner. Say make a stir fry from the previous night's fish fry. Or add meat to previous night's vegetable curry and serve it up with some rice and salad. No brainer!

By this time it is mostly late afternoon which is when I give Yohaan his daily massage and a nice hot bath followed by lunch. If he is sleepy, I put him down for his nap else, we both play or sing quietly and I also add in a quick shower for myself. Some days a neighbour will visit with her child. It is a loosely programmed afternoon. No hard and fast schedules. The sun and the heat is relentless and we cannot venture out. Yohaan assists me in my daily afternoon ritual of drawing the curtains and making the house a little darker and cooler. In any case, the ac's are always on. He seems to enjoy this basic simple task immensely, I think he clearly knows the change in the rhythm of the day as it slows down to early evening. If he naps, I get some precious me time during which I surf the net, read a book, tackle some pending task of the week or just sit and watch space! I like to switch off. This is how the morning-afternoons are for me most days except maybe weekends. In my next post I will continue with the latter half of the day.

Give Me Some Air

...to breathe. I really do need some space and me time. June was one crazy month. You guys must be so tired reading about my never ending 'crazy' days, weeks, months now. What can I say. I am one of those people who attract crazy-ness. The whole world knows that I live in a house as big as a chicken pen. One movement and you are liable to bump in to something- mostly injury inducing. It is a different matter that I still have trouble keeping it clean and organised. Let me not even go there. With the brat becoming more and more naughtier by the day, I have almost given up any semblance of order in my life, and the house is just a small part of my many hassles !

June was a time of unprecedented flow of house guests. Six adults to be precise. All staying with us at the same time. Eldest being somewhere in her 60's and the youngest ofcourse being Yohaan. Hubster's childhood friend calls us one morning from UK, informing us that his dad who works here in the UAE has suffered a stroke and can we please check on him before he flies in himself. So off we go to the hospital and find the old man almost dead due to a massive stroke. Frantic phone calls back and forth, much running around for visit visas and the friend's family arrives en masse. Mom, elder brother and lil sister. And as it happens with us Indians, they ofcourse stayed with us. We wouldn't dream of saying no because it was after all a medical emergency. Again, it is a different matter that Yohaan thought it was all one big partayyyyy! He was so excited and obviously happy with the sudden deluge of guests and the extra attention he garnered.  They were with us for approx 8-9 days.

Mommy, ofcourse died. Cooking, cleaning and responding to needs. I dont want to crib about it because I always like guests. However, hosting folks in a really small house did me in. There were people all over!! Added to that, hubster's another friend from childhood is staying with us for 2 months looking for a job. I kept telling myself it would be okay. Okay. It will pass. The reason why I got so overwhelmed was that I was ill prepared to host anybody at such short or practically no notice. My cartons from the big move 3 months ago are still in  a state of mess. I have only our master bedroom functional because I haven't summoned the energy to fix the guset bed room -yet. The living room/ dining hall has furniture designed for a large house, so there isnt much space. Thankfuly, we do have two bathrooms.  The logistics of 7 adults and one toddler under one tiny roof is pretty nightmarish. I did a good job of being calm but I must confess I lost the battle to chaos, much mess and dirt and a perpetual  state of fatigue. In my mind, this is not the way to live or even host friends. There should be for example clean linen, clean toilets, simple but good food and and an over all sense of control. I had nothing going for me. To their credit, our friends were very accomodating and undemanding. But I still felt inadequate. Nothing I did looked or felt good. Except maybe for the clean/fresh linen I managed to provide everybody.

Miraculously their father did a u-turn and survived the stroke! The family were naturally more relaxed at this news. So were we. Because everybody loosened up. Enough to enjoy some good meals. Some general mall hopping and many laughs reminiscing over childhood stories. I got to know hubster's friend and his family. Got some interesting insights in to family dynamics and most importantly some of the early childhood influences on my husband. I kind of understand better as to why/how he has chosen to be the kind of husband/father /son/friend/brother that he is today. As I closed the door on the last of my guest departing for India, I heaved a sigh of relief and a sent up a grateful thanks to the Lord for my family. It was a mad, hectic week. But not without lessons learnt in gratitude and God's provision for us. He somehow kept me going without falling apart even though I was so not equipped to handle myself leave alone so many guests!

Cherry on the cake you would like to know? In considerable pain Yohaan, who had to go and sprout 6 teeth together in June alone! While the guests were here. Not much I could do. When will it end, Lord?

Logging My Loss

I have battled my wieght for all of my adult life. It has been a constantly losing war. Me being the loser ofcourse. And by 'loser' I dont mean the pounds! For the longest time I gave up thinking it is hopeless to even try. Clothes dont fit? No problem, we have 'darzis' in India who will stitch me bigger-larger clothes. Shoes? Well, feet dont become fat :), so there. Got diagnosed with Diabetes-2, well, blame it on the DNA/genes. So on and so forth.


Then I became a mommy. And to my utter despair I could not keep up with my son's energy levels. And we are talking of a toddler here! Its hard - I am a stay at home mom, and I am lonely. I don't have much "real life" support, and my boy is at a trying age, so I spent a lot of time feeilng trapped and frustrated. And, I would eat those feelings away a lot. The fleeting pleasure eating gave me seemed to soothe me. Nothing else mattered. But the knowledge that if I continued the same way, I wouldn't be around for long to see my son grow up, is scary, very scary. I felt 62 instead of 32!


So sometime last month, I got my Aha! moment. This was while playing with Yohaan and not being able to run down the corridoors for more than 5 minutes. That was it. I resolved to change my lifestyle. A friend made it easier by cheering me to at least make a start. Armed with diet plans and workout videos, I slowly but steadily incorporated mini changes in to my lifestyle. And the pounds started dropping. In total, I have lost 10 kilos with 6 out of this in an incredible 3 weeks only!! Is that awsome or what!


I have some friends who need encouragement today. Please know that if I can do it, so can you. We have a long way to go, but we will get there. Who said it will be super-fun? It wont be and I will be honest, but you know what? Being thin is tastier than food!

PS- To the One from The Cherry Hill, I am sorry, I owe you a mail. But I will be following this post with another one detailing my fitness plans, so you can go through it and hopefuly be encouraged.

Go Away!

I know, bit of a vague title for the post but then given my unfortunate tendency of suddenly going missing for long-longer-longest period from around here, it is the best I could come up with to tell you all thats been happening . (This is a long sentence and even I dont know what I mean..anyways.) I drafted some really cute Yohaan-centric posts to regale you my dear readers but all sorts of things happened and I could not get any time to visit my own blog, leave alone post new stuff.

I was in the throes of excercising and dieting and losing weight. Then one day, I tripped on the doormat (how do such things happen to me, please dont ask or even wonder). I (think) injured the muscles of my inner-right-thigh. By late evening I had developed the mother- of- all Sciatica kind of pain. It orginated somewhere in my bum and went right down my legs. For the next two days, I promise you, the pain was so bad that I almost started wishing back for my c-sec pain guys! I was just lying flat on the bed, in sheer agony, crying tears of panic and anxiety because it seemed so unreal! I could not sneeze,cough,laugh (although why would I want to laugh in such a situation is beyond me), turn to my sides. Hubster decided at that very moment to give me the inquisition. How? Why? How long? As if I fell on purpose! Was it a sneaky way of keeping him home all day? As if! It is eight years of you now being glued to me, get over yourself, is what I wanted to scream at him but let it pass because it involved too much effort.

Again at the same very precise moment my son decided that he had had enough of mamma lying around uselessly and his little brain-in-a-big-head came up with this unfortunate idea of 1. Jumping on my tummy 2. head banging on the said tummy, to get my attention. Oh the hell...I screamed my head off at the hubster to get this guy off me. Muchos chaos, screaming, shouting, tears, confusion later peace prevailed for like two minutes. Brat that my son is, resumed his head banging again no doubt thinking to himself that 'it hasn't gotten me any spanking,so must be ok to resume'. A very frustrated me begged hubster and son to 'just go awayyyyy, leave me alone'. He asks me 'where?' I say ' just anywhere, go to Al Ain' ( Al Ain- is a neighbouring emirate). I dont know why I said it. Anyhow, this offended hubster because err, Al Ain is famous for it's zoo! He informed brat ,'Yohaan, mama thinks we are fit for the zoo'. Hey, I didnt say that now! Proceeded to drag Yohaan off me which caused more misery ofcourse and I yelled 'oh maaaa'. Apparently, this upset him even more, here's how:

Hubster in a very pensive, hurt mode: 'Am I not a good husband?' Tell me reader, who needs such a question when he/she is sure they are gonna die-soon-of-the-pain? Anyways, I gave him a counter-questioning look. He explains how his mind works. "Well, you are in so much discomfort, why are you calling out to your mom and not to me?'' ''Am I not a comfort to you in times of trouble, we are husband-wife after all?'' I refuse to be drawn in to any kind potentially dangerous topics of inlaws vs inlaws. So I said to him, calmly and with irrefutable logic, ''I am calling out to my mother because you and your son are going to check- in to the Al Ain zoo and a caged husband  wont be of much help in the given circumstances.''

PS- It has taken almost ten days or more to get better. I still limp and have a lingering pain but am atleast mobile now. The wise ole www informs me that such injuries can take upto four-six weeks to be fully gone. I am banned from too much activity and high heels. Needless to add, my excercising is severly limited now a days and high heels? Outta question.

On Being Lonely- part II

In response to my previous post in which I moaned about being lonely, my sis in Canada i.e. MSIC, sent me a mail...it is so encouraging that I am posting an excerpt from it...have left out the private bits ofcourse to protect her privacy...for all the new moms, tired moms, lonely moms, helpless moms and all kinds of moms, this one's for you! Read and be encouraged.

On a seperate note: I think sisters really rock! Everybody must have one! :) Love you sistah...you are my sunshine girl!

Hi babes,

Read your recent post..I guess you are going through one of those days...I know you will get over it. It would be nice if you could connect with one of the moms and yak till eternity. That's what we moms do here. I know how the demands of our kids can be so draining..I remember feeling that they were like leaches sucking my blood out of me. You have to take some time out for yourself. Trust me no one will do it for you. No one will say.."Oh! you've been with a little guy for the whole day, why don't you go out and have some adult time". You have to go and get it for yourself. No matter how generous you are, but if you are running on "empty", there is no way you can give anything, let alone giving with love. You have to fill yourself up and only then can you give....Writing blogs is fun and cathartic, but you need human interaction, someone your own age, other than your husband. We women need that sisterhood. When you talk about the drudgery of being a mom, only a mom will understand. A dad may say " Oh! you are being so ungrateful, is this how you talk about God's precious gift, blah blah blah". They don't understand that its not that we are ungrateful, we still love and adore those little ones, but we are humans and we get tired.

I also have to tell you as Yohaan gets bigger things will change, ones they start playing on their own, watching a bit of TV etc., will give you some "me time". Every moment of being a mom has been a lavish blessing for me, but when I am tired boy it feels like __________ ( you can fill in the blank)

On being Lonely

Have you ever experienced lonliness? Ofcourse we all would have, right? At different points  in our lives. For the longest time I have been struggling with loneliness. Even as a little girl, I remember being lonely. Then it got worse during the teens. I am a people's person. I like being out and about , making friends, having someone over for a meal or just visiting a friend. But through my twenties and untill now, lonliness has seeped in to my very being. It sits there, just like that, in my heart. And now it feels quite physical too. Dont mistake it for discontentment though. I am happy with life. I am happy with the choices I have made so far and have no regrets. But this lonliness doesn't leave me alone! I do have some really good friends in different parts of the world. In Dubai, I have a girl friend too. She is close to me, a believer and a lovely human being. But she doesn't touch my soul as a soul mate-girlfriend sorta way...you get me? I adore her. We spend a lot of time together and dont keep secrets. But I am lonely with her too.

Then there is hubster. I am a truly besotted wife/lover. He is my soul mate in the true romantic/mushy kinda way. For quite a while I have been co-dependant. It feels as if I wont be able to even breathe without him. There is this constant longing and that achy-with-love feeling. It makes me feel suffocated actually. So I have prayed about it because to be honest, I dont think he feels it so bad!  I dont know if  my prayer for relief has been answered yet. It is a strange prayer after all. I need to get relief from feeling so intensly about him because it eats me up inside out. I dont want to idolise him. He cannot/must not become my idol. And loving him this way has made me more lonely. Hubster is not a man given to much display of emotions. He does not demand, he just takes his space and blocks out stuff as and when he wants to. Including me. And that hurts, big time. This is when loneliness strikes even in my relationship with him, the love of my life. I cannot reach his depths because he wont let me. That makes me feel oh so lonely.

I thought becoming a mother will change things. It did not! It has gotten worse infact! I find mothering and being a full time mamma a very isolating experience. I must confess, even though I love my baby desperatly, there are times I resent the whole deal. And sadly enough, I dont even know why the resentment. The boredom. The sheer drudgery. The feeling that it is only me he can turn to for his needs is suffocating . I know mommies love being needed. I do too 99% of the times. But the rest of it- exhausts me. Ironically enough, I truly feel and am convinced God enabled my marriage and motherhood to fulfill my need to give love. To live and breathe it over someone. But I hadn't expected it to lead me to even more loneliness. I assumed I would be happy to be generous.

All this leads me to ask, what about me then? What will fulfill me? Who will take away my lonliness? Or what will? I know a decade back before I became a christian, I had a God shaped void in my heart. Then He filled it with himself. WHich has led to a deeply soul satisfying contentment. So then, am I wrong in saying I am lonely? Is loneliness and dis-contentment (with life) the same thing? I am happy but I am lonely...is it possible? I dont know it yet, but that's exactly how I feel. Have felt it for so long now.

My Readers

After a lot of angst ridden, careful scrutiny I have come to the conclusion that I have only 3 regular readers and one of them is family! So probably does not even count because sometimes she knows me better than anybody! Yes, that MSIC! :(

*puts her head down and gloomily stares in to space*

These are a few of my UN-favourite things.

Dont we all girls have our pet peeves around the house? I mean chores which you really, really hate doing but know must tackle so that we maintain our sanity? I am so, so, so (see I used 'so' thrice to drive it home) annoyed by the following tasks which recur in my life endlessly:

1. Dusting. Yep. HATE it! To the last dust particle around. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Each day-every day.

2. Scrubbing the cooking range/stove top. Arrrrgh. HATE it. Indian cooking means lot of oil spills. Lots of spice powders flying around everywhere including right in to my nose.

3. Putting the wet clothes out for drying. Despise it. And a new word for hate!!

4. Searching endlessly for hubster's underwear and socks which are like, forever missing. He has so many and I dont understand why...does he need to add to my stress levels. Abominable.

5. Washing dishes which have not been soaked properly by - me-who-else. Then trying to wash off diamond hard food crusts off eg corn flakes, cereals eaten for breakfast and left in the kitchen sink etc.

6. Changing water in the mopping bucket each time, for every room seperately.

There must be a lot more for me but right now I am annoyed just writing about it, so will let it pass. And yes, you can see that I do have an exciting life considering that I am posting stuff about dusting and cleaning , undies and socks for goodness sakes!

Health Update

Well, as resolved by moi a few days ago on this very blog dear readers, I have managed to make some positive changes in my lifestyle. Remember, how I was whining about not wanting to do anything around the house, how lack of motivation was draining me of all enthusiasm to get my house/life in order. Turns out it was all directly related to my food habits in a BIG way! Honestly guys, we really must know how poor eating choices can wreck us! Like totally! (Hubster would cringe at my usage of ''like totally'' here, he thinks it is only used by tacky-teens) Anyhow, it is such a huge relief to diagnose my problems. Simple- it was only because of bad food habits. And lack of water! Imagine!

I started about a week ago and cannot tell you how happy I am with the changes I see in me. My weight, hair,nails, skin, mood-swings....all seem to have improved so much! And I do seem to have a lot more energy for my chores too. But the best thing is ofcourse the weight loss and the improvement in skin tone and texture . I have adult acne sometimes but with the new changes it is gone! Maybe I can be the next Bollywood queen....but wait, how will I have time for that, I am so busy guzzling down water by the litres!! And then peeing! It's like being pregnant again! But I love what it does to my body-all tha water. So folks, you too get going on that! I try and get in at least 4 ltrs every day.

From today I am going to start my excercise regimen. It is not something I am looking forward to, but needs must.

The Food Tag

I got a food tag from a fellow blogger friend. It was lying around since ages in my mail box waiting to be picked up. The rules are simple. Just talk about your favourite food memories...this should be easy I think because I love to cook and eat and by the way folks, it shows. Oh, how it shows!! Without further ado then...

1. Undoubtedly, Mutton Pulao- or Yakhni Gosht Pulao, as the correct name goes. If I was anorexic, believe you me, I would be gorging on this day and night -as a stand alone cure for it! A one pot rice casserole made of the finest Basmati rice, marinated chunks of Lamb and aromatic spices. The recipe for this has been passed down from my maternal grandmother and now our cook at home does an equally good job. Ever since I was a little girl, it has been an absolute favourite. And the one fond memory I have of it being cooked at our house? Well, from childhood till now, whenever it's being made, I hover impatiently around the cook and the kitchen, waiting for it to be ready to eat. I have also been known to taste it while still uncooked...I have been known to have left overs for up to 3 days later- and yes for all meals!

2.Haldiram's Bhujiya: Despite the recent conviction of the owner of Haldiram's in a murder case, he still has a loyal customer in me. That's how loyal I am! Fried, spicy savoury snack from North India (actually Rajasthan I think), this has so many memories attached to it. My sister in Canada, N, loves it too and I think it was she who got me involved in this love affair! I remember many evenings of gorging on Bhujiya with tea. Everyone in my family knows about it and when I visit India, dad makes sure the stock never finishes!

3. Cheese Bread Roll: When we were very young, maybe 9-10 years old, my sister, who is four years older then me, started developing a great interest in cooking. Oh, I remember, many many evenings, she would fry these rolls for all of us younger couisns etc. She was herself quite young, but the earliest memory of her becoming a fine cook that she is today, starts from these evenings. At 77 Number (our add back home), the steps of the mini terrace, hot bread rolls with gooey cheese filling and tomato ketchup which we called sauce for some reason!

4. Jhaal Moori of St John's: This was another favouriteeeeeee. Again introduced to it by my sister. Oh dear, I do see a patter here. Anyhow, I remember, during lunch break I would go to my sister and ask her for some money. Then promptly go and spend it on Gupta Ji's Jhaal Moori. He was an external vendor, selling this snack within our school compound. A mix of puffed rice, green peas, fresh lime and chaat masala (or God only knows what), he had us eating out if his hands! He did brisk business and hope has pots of money today.

5. Maggi Noodles curry flavour: Oh boy!!! Oh Boy! I need not say much because then I will be tempted to go and make some for myself, like right now! When we were in London struggling to make some money so we could get married, I lived off Maggi Noodles often. Hubster, who was my fiance then, would cook it for me all the time and serve it with so much love and enthusiasm, it made me fall for him a little more everyday! And I decided at those precise moments, I am not letting go of this man!

Hmmph, these are some of my best food related memories. By the way, since I write so much about my -sister-in-canada, might as well name her MSIC for blogging purposes! That's settled then.

My Experiments in the Kitchen

Following my poor lifestyle choices and ill health, I got a wake up call on Monday. I suffered from Vertigo the whole day. It was truly terrible and hubster took me to a GP in the evening. The good doc quickly diagnosed my problem. It seems I was spending too much time hunched over my laptop in a totally incorrect posture. Long hours of this and I am on my way to cervical problems if I dont stop now. It was such an awakening. I dont want to be sick with anymore chronic diseases because I already do have diabetes. Thank you very much.

Ever since then, I have made drastic changes in my lifestyle most especially with regards to the food we eat as a family. I started following Rujuta Diwekar, a celebrity nutritionist and trainer from India. I have her book Dont loose your mind, Loose your weight. It is such a life saver. Full of practical and do-able stuff. I am sowly but surely incorporating her advise in to my eating habits and can already see/feel tremendous change. Now, I would have signed up for a nutrition session with her but she caters to the major celebrities in Bollywood. So imagine her fees! Best left unsaid. *heavy sighing*

Anyhow, inspired by this new regimen I am posting a recipe here. My first ever, although I dont want to blog too much about recipes because I feel it is tiring. I luurvvvve to cook but writing about what I cook would be a bit too much, me thinks. It is a major stress buster for me. For our dinner tonight, I invented a new combo of Dal (Lentils) with pumkin and green Moong sprouts. I dont cook seperately for Yohaan. He eats whatever we do. If it gets too spicy I just add fresh Yoghurt to his bowl. And he loves it all. I made this Dal in order to disguise some vegetables in it, mainly for hubster. Can you imagine, a grown man, has to be fed veggies like a spoilt teen!

Here's the recipe:

• Toor/Arahar dal- 2 small handfuls, washed and soaked for a coupls of hours.
• Moong dal- a handful . Washed and soaked overnight . I happened to have some already soaked.
• Pumpkin- 1 cup, washed , roughly chopped, de-seeded- any sweet variety.
• Green chillies- Whlole 1 or 2 , any variety, depending upon your taste
• Raw green mango- 1 small, peeled and chopped in to thin strips
• Turmeric- 1 small tsp
• Salt to taste
• Clarified butter (desi ghee) or any vegetable oil- 2 tsp

Boil all the ingredients together in 2.5 glasses of water. Add one tsp of oil in it so that the curry does not boil over. Boil for roughly 20 minutes or so. The longer your dal has been soaked, the faster it will cook. After the first five minutes of a rolling boil, cover the pot and simmer for the rest 15 minutes. Keep checking once in a while if the water is reducing, else you may need to add more water . The consistency should be that of a thick soup. Once you have checked for the done-ness, stir it around vigrously so it becomes soft and mashed up nicely.

And finally, We got to do the tempering!

In a small wok, heat the remaining 1 tsp ghee/oil. When hot, throw in a pich of asafoetida, 1 small tsp of cumin seeds, 1 small tsp of mustard seeds, 1 small dry red chilly. When all of this starts to plutter put in 1 small tsp of finely chopped garlic, 1 small finely chopped onion and 1 small tomato. Let sizzle and become soft. Pour over your dal. Serve hot with plain steamed rice.

I am serving this with rice, salad and some fried fish masala tonight. It cannot get simpler!

On not being so good over here!

I was all fired up to put up los of new posts this whole month (and the coming months too!) but my best laid plans went kaput! I have been sick. Yohaan was sick. Hubster was sick looking after the sick! With a hyper active baby who likes to do everyting himself, life is never easy. So I rapidly slid in to a pattern of letting my health suffer. Being a insulin dependant diabetic, I cannot, must not skip meals. Which is what I started doing. Not a good thing at all. Too many skipped meals. Eating on the go, making do with whatever is available, read- visible in the fridge and I landed in a mess. My sugar levels are all over the place . Sometimes it spikes sharply, sometimes it dips alarmingly low! Making me feel perpetually lethargic,dizzy, insomniac and irratable, trembly, sweaty and what not, I can assure you, you dont wanna be me right now.

Ps- Sister in Canada, if you are reading this, please dont inform mother. She will nag me to an early death. Already!

Which is why, I could not write new stuff you know. Stuff which I am sure, totally makes your day, dear reader! Stuff which you must absolutely must, read before you begin your day. Stuff which makes you sigh in wonderment and awe as to how amazingly well this blogger writes! Stuff which make you feel like throwing away your own stable life and get in to my shoes. What can I say. I live to make your days and reading quota ultra fulfilling.

Yesterday, I and Yohaan went out for an evening walk after what seemed like ages. Met a nice lady who has a son just a month older than Yohaan. So we got talking. We discovered a lot of things in common. The biggest one ofcourse being our boys. Then she asked me how many teeth has Yohaan sprouted so far? Very proudly I informed her ''eight''. Well, her boy has ten! Oh , ok then. Wow. Good job. Me wondering ofcourse when is Yohaan going to catch up....envying her little boy's all round chubbyness and ofcourse his ''ten'' teeth! Guess what? I should not have bothered. She is a full time working mamma. In great concern I asked her if the molars had caused him a lot of pain and discomfort, poor thing. Molars are a very painful phenomenon people. Anyhow, the answer she gave me left me speechless . She said ''I dont know, I didnt even notice, I saw them this morning, I hardly have time to feed him, we are all on a strict schedule, I really dont have time to notice his teeth of all the things''. !!!!!. No No No, I will not judge working mothers but really, I am absolutely, heart warmingly happy that I notice all this and everything else that happens to my boy. And I came away from our walk wondering why did she have a baby when she has no time notice. And something as earth shattering as new molars of her own toddler!

Missing love

So hubster has gone away this evening to see his mother in India. It will be a short trip(thankfuly) and I am missing him dreadfuly. *heavy sighing*- wont help much though.

This evening me and Yohaan went to see him off at the airport. And miraculously, hubster kissed me in public...not once but twice! I had to shoo him off because there is this British couple who are going to be jailed for getting amorous in public here in Dubai. Being a lawyer and all that jazzzzzz, he should know better I would imagine. Thankfuly nobody spotted us and we are safe. Oh the relief. But guys, I do have a tendency to exaggerate a bit. Post Yohaan, hubster and me are more like brother-sister duo combatting the exhausting effects of procreating. Never knew he would wreck so much havoc on our love life! Anyhow, off he went my older man and the little man almost had a mini meltdown. But I quickly distracted him and we were out of the departure lounge safely and without any embarrasement (primarily to me ofcourse).

Our driver cum man- friday is going to India for a couple of months untill hubster sorts out his visa and stuff. Will miss him. He is an extremely polite and a charming young man. Very sincere and good to us. Drives a bit crazily but better than many citizens of Dubai. He took us to a mall afterwards where yours truly tried to 'shop away' the hubster blues. I have a deep connection with retail therapy. It works best for me. Picked up lots of chinese blue pottery in miniature sizes and it is soooo cute. Will post pics. Just dont ask me when though. And oh, I also bought a really cute little dress and wooden hair clips for our driver's baby daughter. She will be one in June. I haven't yet gotten a chance to send anything for her. And I went bersek in the baby-girls clothes section. And I am determined to have a baby girl now....

That thought should firmly chase away any sisterly feelings I have developed for hubster post Yohaan. I cannot elaborate because this blog is PG rated after all. That way, I also MIGHT get more readers...how utterly strategic!

*walks away with naughty thoughts*

Bummed Mamma Makeover

I am addicted to net surfing. It has reached such heights that I get withdrawal symptoms if I cannot read my favourite blogs everyday. The other day our internet connection went kaput for a while and I hounded hubster till he got it fixed! Baddddd, I knowwww.

Anyways, the point of this post today is to announce to the www in black and white that today being Easter (for want of a better day), I am adopting some resolutions in my life. Before I became a mother, I was a lot in to home decor, cooking, fashion and generally living life to the fullest. With a baby now, I realised that I have let myself go in so many ways. And it plays and plays and plays on my mind all the time. I keep thinking and hearing from my best friend R, ''you were not like this''. I cannot go on like this. Sure, it will take a huge effort on my part but then the alternative is driving me insane. Instead of just venting out here why dont I do something about it. I mean how much can my readers empathise/sympathise with my constant drama-queen moaning?? So, here goes.

• 1. I will (try) loose weight. Look after my hands, hair and skin. We will see.
• 2. I will keep my house in the best shape possible. Even if Yohaan is hell bent on destroying my efforts.
• 3. I will get up every morning and simply dress up! That's it. I live in t-shirts and shorts. If I have to step out I just change in to jeans. Not acceptable from now on. And if I am going out in jeans, then I am doing my makeup and accesories too. The whole works. It better work for me! This will also be my bit for hubster. He has already threatened me for lounging around practically naked in the house. (lots of threats lately)
• I will be thankful- NO MATTER WHAT!

That's it folks. I will be putting up pictures, largely to inspire myself. Anyone else wants to join in the ride, just gimme a shout.

Over to you now Jesus. Cannot do it without Your help!!!

Easter Sunday!

A Happy Easter to all my readers.... may the salvation and peace of the risen Lord Jesus give us all of our joy. It is a working day here, hubster has to be at work, so nothing planned on this side of the world....but I hope everyone else will have a wonderful time with loved ones.

To: the one from the Cherry Hill..

I keep getting a visitor from Cherry Hill(NY)...I am mighty pleased by this reader's patience and loyalty towards my blog. Wont you please delurk and leave a comment...ah, afterthought: maybe its just my sister N, in Canada frantically visitng my blog to see the latest post...since I do a lousy job of keeping her updated via mail or phone!! Sorry sistah! Please get updates from mom untill I push my lazy butt to do the needful.

Your baby sister,
h

The post with no title

And it is going to be quite obvious why! I have no inspiration today to give this post a title...it is going to be a blah post then. *sigh*

Off late I am troubed by the fact that I am inherently lazy. I am a lazy human being and nothing seems to help. I mean look at the way I am unable to hold my house together. I dont think having a toddler (a hyper one at that!) in the house is an excuse to let everything else go. I know mothers who have like three,four even six kids and seem to manage fine. So, no that cannot be an excuse. Although Yohaan does his best in undoing everything I accomplish around the house. I enjoy folding laundry. What can I say...my life is exciting huh? Anyways, I will bring in all the clothes and pile them on the couch. Lovingly fold away every crease and make neat piles. My little man will come around and systematically pull everything to the ground. Pick up one underwear and proceed to dust everything in sight. He copies me you see! I will be in the kitchen or on the phone, come back and try not to scream at him!

And this goes on in every corner of the house. He gets in to the kitchen shelves and cupboards to pull out all the pots and pans. When I ask him what exactly does he think he is doing, he will give me a goofy grin and say ''khana''- meaning I am cooking mama! This cooking business keeps him busy for hours but in the process I loose a lot of hair. I was such a control/neat freak before. With Yohaan, it has been a huge struggle giving up this trait of mine...Anyways, I am now compiling a daily to-do list which will be non negotiable. I need to do this else I might slip in to depression. I have chosen the role of a home maker willingly for myself and if this is one thing I cannot get right, what's the whole damn point, see?

Last night I spotted thousands of misc stuff under/behind our bed and exclaimed loudly to the hubster... "OMG! Yohaan has thrown everything under/behind our bed, eeeksss, how will I ever get it all out?" Hubster replies very sweetly, ''that is your problem babe''. Needless to add I am mighty annoyed with him for not adding a helpful/encouraging bit to my already frazzled state. But then, he is right,as usual which annoys me even more.

So from this week, I am going to assign fixed hours for my housework. Which involves getting up early morning and finishing the chores before the little tyke gets up. Which means I am not going to be very happy but it also means some order and peace in my head. I am not a morning person at all. Yohaan's school will not start before 3 years at least. I dont see why should I be torturing myself waking up at some unearthly hour. But I did know this was coming. I have run out of options now. Hubster has enrolled (again) in an intensive Arabic class which starts at 8am. He wakes up really early to finish his homework and get ready before he leaves. I sometimes get up to give him his morning coffee and breakfast but not always. To his credit, he doesnt expect me to. But every house hold has a certain rhythm to it. Families have dynamics. Members have roles to play and tasks to carry out. Hubster performs his wonderfuly. Yohaan, the toddler does it even better, performing everything that a toddler is supposed to (read: creating havoc ) *more sighing*, except for me-the mamma. :( If one member is not contributing towards keeping the rhythm going smoothly, it can all come tumbling down. Dont you agree. My sister always says, moms cannot take an off! How right she is. Mom is ofcourse a generic term also for wife, cook, cleaner, baker, mender, fixer, shopper, comforter etc. At the moment I am none of those.

Send me good thoughts people. I am so tired of not achieving even a quarter of my daily goals. They are mundane, but keep the wheels running you know!

Conversations with my 16 month old

Yohaan is only sixteen months old. Still a baby one would say! But he says the the cutest stuff when it comes to applying his baby vocabulary to situations. Here's how.

Using his current favourite word: Yeah.
Me: Yohaan, do you want juice?
Y: Yeah.
Me: Do you want to sleep now?
Y: Yeah
Me: Yohaan, do you want to go out and play?
Y: Yeah.
Me: Yohaan, are you hungry?
Y: Yeah
Me: Yohaan, do you want mummy to whack your butt?
Y: errr, yeah!!
LOLLLLL, he does have a mean mamma doesnt he!

Another favourite word: No
Me: Give mamma a kissy Yohaan..
Apparently it is ok to ask for one because he plants a big fat kissy on my head.
Me: OK, now give kissy to your bunny. (His fav toy)
Obliges.
Me: Yohaan, give daddy a kissy?
Considers the request. Says 'NO' and walks away with a major attittude. Watch it sonny boy, daddy will cancel your visa and make you an illegal in Dubai if you dont curb your no's!!

And the last one: There!
So we are walking around the building complex one evening. We spot a little kitten.
Me: Yohaan, where's the kitty?
Y: Points out to her and says ''there''.
Me: Yohaan, where's the car?
Y: Points to a car parked nearby and says 'there'.
SO far so good but then,
Me: Yohaan, where's daddy? (hoping he will think and say something cutesy-original from his vocab baby bank)
Y: Points out to the building secutiry guard and says 'there'...!!
Oh Dear....look what my son believes in!

A New Year and New Beginings...

So I have been absent too long from this blog. Missed it but had no time for it. Still dont, as a matter of fact. But just wanted to touch base with my two and a half readers. And to send out prayers and wishes that this year treats all of us well. I have had to handle a lot of changes in the first quarter already. For example, moving from 2500sq/ft to a 1000sq/ft living area with barely any storage. But ah, a nice kitchen! So all's good. It is by far the most challenging circumstance for a busy housewife like me who is very house proud and who loves to cook! But never mind, we will bounce back.

Through all this recession induced downsizing, moving and changes etc, Yohaan has grown leaps and bounds. I sometimes try and think back even six months and recall him as a baby! I draw a blank! He is so big and naughty and cheerful and full of beans...he walks and talks and is ever so curious. I am losing all my pregnancy weight just trying to keep him out of mischief! It is totally exhausting. I preferred him as a little baby, not a toddler. He is way too quick and agile for my tired bones...lol.

Another adjustment which I think is basically good for an impulsive person like me is that I have to watch out for our finances. No more walking in to just about any store and picking up whatever took my fancy. My pottery-barn like shopping trips and existance has come to a grinding halt much to hubster's glee! Sigh... he is immensly enjoying seeing me trying to control my spending sprees and visits to the malls. I am managing quite fine, thank you very much. I am also actually okay with the idea of not having any money (yet,for now) given generously by hubster every week to spend whichever way I thought best. I dont have a car, so dont go out. Really, it is as simple as that! Dont know why did I not try it earlier. Hmmm.

Our new flat is quite nice. Brand new and supremely child friendly. Lots of greenery, play area, clean, safe and majority of the residents are young families. I think Yohaan will make lots of friends here. I see so many toddlers playing around our complex. Good good.

Setting up this new place is a horror story now. Of all the times, I have been hit by acute lazy-bones attack and one month on, we are still living like pigs! Chaos reigns supreme and I dont know when will it all get okay. Hubster has begged, pleaded, cajoled, threatened me to get the house in shape but it seems I am quite happy to be living out of half opened cartons and crates.

There is lots to tell but now is not the time. Please tell me, I will one day get some sense in to my dumb head and do all that is needed to be done! I am running out of options now!

Am back!!

Wooohoooo! Am back to civilization, my dear two and a half readers. Much to say and share but going to be frightfuly busy for atleast two weeks so am not sure when can I blog....thanks for checking me out while I was gone!! Muah muah...

H