Sands of time

End of another month. How time flies. For me each busy week at work is the impatient wait for the lean week that follows. Working in a fortnightly has its benefits. We have to work hard for only 2 weeks a month - a production week followed by a lean period of 5 days. Not bad, eh?
Yesterday Ash drained half a bottle of baby shampoo on the bed while I was in the bath. Had it all over himself too. The kid just drives us all crazy. Toddler tantrums, terrible two's... aptly describes his behaviour now. And Mira seems to be taking the cue from him.

Giggles

The other day I visited a bookshop located in the Connemara Hotel premises called Giggles, The biggest little shop. It was the craziest bookshop I had seen in my life. Books stacked precariously upto the ceiling giving you the uneasy feeling that it will topple anytime. FInd your way through the books and you find an old lady seated in a corner of the room. She kept calling out to her assistant to locate this book or that. I came out soon enough, suffocated by the wall of books. For me, even buying a book has to be a pleasurable experience - spacious hall, neatly stacked books, easy browsing etc. Not that I find time to read even the newspaper these days.
Reading a book at home is next to impossible, so I try to make up by reading up a bit in the office between work and between browsing and blogging.

A Maha Librarian

A classmate from my MA class, Maha, has managed to contact me thanks to the college alumni site. She is now working as a librarian in Canada. She seems to be a professional blogger! Here is her blogsite

A Librarian's ramblings: April 2006
Maha means big in my language. Hope she makes it big in her field.

Playing the host

My inlaws have come visiting - V's parents, sis and her 2 sons. They came from Bangalore ysterday morning where they went visiting V's bro and family. They leave for Kerala tomorrow night.
It is dreadfully hot in Chennai now, so much of the day we sat in our bedroom with the ac on. Took the guests shopping to TNagar and then for dinner at Wangs.
Had a bad dream at night - that something terrible happened to Mira. In my dream, I regretted having gone for family planning against the doctor's wishes.

A house for Miriam

Miriam now has the house to herself, with Ash away. Yesterday she stood up holding on to Ash's tricycle for dear life. She can now sit and stand with support. And she claps her hands now.
We bought a Sony W50 digital camera from Burma Bazaar, now hopefully we can track the kids' development milestones easily, provided we find the time to click. Life is getting just too hectic for our liking. I am just waiting for Ash and Miriam to turn five.
A colleague of mine keeps teasing: You bought a new car when your son was born and a new apartment when your daughter was born, what will the next kid bring your way? She doesnt believe me when I say that we dont plan to have another.

Ash goes to pre-school

The big news this week is that Ash started playschool on Monday June 12. V said he was like a bird let out of its cage when he sighted other kids. He is enjoying the company. The first day I brought him back after an hour. Timings are 9-12 noon, but the first week he can leave after an hour. He didn’t seem to miss us at all. However, he is so engrossed in playing that he doesnt eat his breakfast which we pack.
Once he comes home, he walks around the house with his red Spiderman bag over his back.
I am not diapering him for a change – just sending 1-2 extra shorts. I am hoping they will be able to get him toilet trained soon and also that he starts speaking in other kids’ company.
I got him a new baby toilet seat which can be put under the normal toilet seat. Its its centre is smaller and he wont fall through it. He likes sitting on it. So I am getting him to use that on a daily basis. After M was born, he stopped doing things he was learning to do – attention-seeking gestures, I guess.
Ash's vocabulary continues to be limited to Appa, Amma, Vava, Tata and See You; the rest are all 2/3-syllabic sounds like baa-baa (when he sees an insect), eh-hey-hey (when he wants something) and cha-chi-cha (vegetables in general).
Ash calls me Amma and Vin Appa (nowadays he calls me appa too, only when he is hurt and needs me to console him does he call me amma!)We decided to be v. indigenous in that though the latest fad is Papa and Mama amongst the English-speaking parental circles here.
I call my parents Daddy and Mummy, which was considered very forward 30 years ago.

Looking back in exhaustion

Got in a bit early today so that I can take an hour off in the afternoon to visit the ophthalmologist. V dropped me half way on his way to the Maruti service station - time to service the car.
The man at the reception smiled. He looks like a deity with two huge 10-foot silver lamps on his either side (presented by the employees to the management on the occasion of our organisation acheiving some milestone, I forget which). I wonder why they cant post a pretty female at the reception. Anyway this guy is a lot better than the sour-faced man who (dis)graced that chair for ever so long. The receptionist, I feel, represents the face of the organisation.
Just been too tired and busy to blog. Our production week got over on june 3 but I have been a bit lethargic even after. The kids have not been keeping well and the rest of us at home have been ill too. Everyone in Chennai seems to be coughing and suffering from viral fever. IT is the change in the weather. WE have been getting some rains off and on though it hasnt done much to diminish the heat.
Ash started throwing up last Sunday (28th) on our way to Besant Nagar church. Had to rush back. Incidentally, last year too he had started puking when we were on our way to the same church and had to be admitted for gastro-enteritis.
I took leave on MOnday as maid was sick too and somebody had to take care of the kids. By afternoon, ash started throwing up again and so vin came soon to take him to hospital. We were asked to admit him so that they could start the IV fluids. The boy slept a lot as he was tired. I stayed the night - for the first time leaving Mira alone. Seems she was fine and nudged V in the night for her feed. Ash was discharged the next day evening. BUt he refuses food save for milk even now.
Mira's first two teeth (lower)came out on june 3. She now crawls gingerly on her knees but is more comfortable on her belly. The upper ones will be out anytime now.
The maid and her melodrama continues - seriously thinking of a replacement.

Going mobile again

My new mobile Nokia 6020.

I quite like it save for the joystick, which is a pain in the thumb. It has a camera but unfortunately Aircel doesnt offer MMS facility.

On 2nd thoughts, I should have got a model with an FM radio, so that I could listen to Radio Mirchi and Suryan!