Wishing you all Very Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New year 2010

(photo by CS  - Portland Japanese Garden - Oregon ,circa 2006)

Christmas has arrived

Christmas has arrived in SeeSeeBee household . We finished putting up /decorating the Christmas tree last sunday. CB hung the  outdoor lights during the thanksgiving weekend.

We decided to have the christmas tree alone this year instead of decorating the entire house keeping NR in mind. Due to my concerns with safety, I was planning to buy a table top christmas tree this year instead of our usual 12 ft tree .  But papa went ahead and assembled the tree on sat while mama and the baby slept . I stayed late on sunday to finish the decorating . oh boy! I wish  I had help with putting up hundreds of decorations on the tree.  I am waiting for NR to grow up and be my assistant during holiday decoration time.

I had the same tree ,the same old decorations for past ten years. New exciting addition is our in-house christmas tree fan - NR loves watching the christmas tree especially when it is lit. We watch the tree sitting our stairs for ten minutes after his nap for last two days. He  runs often to our den to check on the christmas tree/ lights .  We have put up a gate in the den to block NR reaching for his fav " baol  aka ball " - red and golden ornaments hanging in the tree.

Presenting SeeSeebee Christmas tree

United colors of Benetton Ad

I was thinking about Benetton ads for kids wear this week.  I loved those Benetton ads from 1896-87 specially ones for babies wear. Benetton ads set a standard for creating ads for a social cause. Benetton ads gave glimpse of fashionable western outfits during my teen years.

We got  Srilankan TV "Rupavahini " broadcast at our home if we changed antenna's position/direction.   I immensely enjoyed the entire Tamil program in Rupavahini TV as well the Sinhalese programs. They had such superior/classy ads including lot of ads for foreign products from western/gulf countries.  The news anchors wore fashionable clothing compared to dab /dull news anchors of Doordharshan TV.  I was an official Rupavahini TV fan.

I had couple of Srilankan tamil friends join my class in mid 1980's during the big influx of refugees from Srilanka. Some of them decided to pursue studies in TamilNadu due to the unrest.

I remember one of my friends Satyavani who looked sad all the time.  She and her younger sister had an individual hostel room unlike other students who lived in general dormitory. Her father was well known jeweler in Colombo and the store  ads aired very often in Srilankan tamil radio. He was killed and the family sent their kids to India for safety.  Both Satyavani and her sister Kalaivani always looked sad atleast for the first couple years after joining my school. Post traumatic stress was unknown word to me at that time and I never understood reason behind their sadness.  Slowly they got used to their new place and they settled in my hometown after their college years.

I got my first taste of  ”Wrigleys” chewing gum thanks to Satyavani. Foreign choclates or products were not so easily available in those days in my hometown. After couple of years Burma bazaar was established in the downtown and my hometown got flooded with foreign goods.

England /America were a distant land during my teen years. Only my Anglo Indian friends talked about them a lot and gave glimpse of western wear/lifestyles. Not even in my wildest dreams I thought about living and working in one of those foreign land Destiny drives our life and it can takes us to places and situation we never imagined.

 

Found

Found I found my dearest friend from college after 18 yrs. She is tamilian born and brought up in Bihar. Her grandparents were from small town near my native place. Her extended family lived in city where I grew up. She came to my city to pursue her bachelors. We became very good friends. She is a warm, kindly and friendly gal. We never ever knew or imagined that we will be out of each other’s life for this many years but it happened.

We were two good friends like good old times.  She was also my NCC batch mate. I could relate to her completely except one thing.  She is a good-looking girl who never cared about how she looked or what she dressed. Though I never cared about how I looked, but paid much attention to my dressing. I had lot of fan following in the college but I never gave any importance to my appearance then or now.

After our finals she came and stayed in my house for couple of days before leaving for Ranchi. I vividly remember those days. I felt sad to see her go and not be part of my daily life.   When I see the photos we took on the day she left for Ranchi, I could sense my empty feeling. I cried so much because I somehow knew then (I suppose) that we will out of each other's life for many years to come. We both exchanged a couple of post mails (pre cell phone – email era). The last time I heard from her was when her sister got married. Due to personal circumstance I was not able to travel at that time . I continued my graduate course in my native and met my husband. He became my best friend – I should say replaced my best friend’s absence and the rest became history.

 I went to Chennai the following year to continue graduate course and got settled down with a job right after college. My marriage happened and destiny brought me to this distant land of US of A. I searched for her frantically in every possible social networking sites and college social networking sites. I would Google her maiden name religiously every single week but with vain. Her parent’s sibling(s) lived in my native city but I only remember their first names. They both worked as lecturer(s) in the physics department in a local college. In the month of September I found  that college website. The physics dept listed  the resume of the professors with address/phone numbers.  I found this around 12.30pm one night and began making cold calls to couple of professors. Luck would have it, I found a professor who knew her uncle. I came know that both her uncles have retired. He promised to find her uncle’s phone number. We exchanged our emails addresses.

He struck to his promise. Three days after the first contact he forwarded one of her uncle’s phone number. I read this email around 1.00pm after a long day of chores. I made marathon phone calls to couple of her relatives finally got her phone number. I called her around 3.30 pm (India time). Her husband answered the phone. When I said my name I could hear/feel  his enthusiasm.  I knew instantly my friend was also thinking about me all these years. Her husband told me that she talked a lot about me the previous week. When I heard her soft voice I was in heaven. At last, I heard my friend’s voice after almost two decades. That was one of the best moments of my life. This really strengthened my faith in god.

We talked for a long time. It so happened that her big birthday was due few days after my first phone call.  I was happy to take  part in her birthday celebration. She is still the simple person both within and out.  She is very smart and intelligent person. She comes from a family which has two of the noble laureate in physics. I thought that she would be working in US or abroad. Surprisingly she has chosen a life I wanted to live. She has married a high-ranking army official and became SAHM taking care of her two lovely kids. She was pleasantly surprised to know that a simple religious Hindu girl had so much of courage to marry a Christian guy. Oh well!  She was not alone. All my college friends were pleasantly surprised after seeing my marriage invitation: ). She often said that the person going to marry me is a lucky guy. I never bothered to ask her why. May be now is the time ; ).

September 2009 is a memorable month for me.  I am fortunate to meet my long-lost  friend after 18 years. I am eagerly waiting for my next India trip to meet her /family in person.

Lost

I lost a good friend of 9 yrs and her son to a murder suicide last month. Both mama and son were inseparable duo and her husband was a quiet soft spoken person. I got introduced to her by a mutual friend. She ran a home based beauty salon and she lived in my neighborhood. I watched the local evening news and couldn’t believe seeing yellow tape around her car at her house on TV. I ran to her house immediately and got the worst news. I was in disbelief  and sat down on the cold road in front of her house crying.  The whole indian community is in shock hearing this news since most of them were her customers. She was so good in her job and had a loyal following. She was a warm person and made every body feel happy when we went to her home and kept such clean house.

I went thru the first stages of mourning with anger and tears. It’s been almost three weeks and not a day /hour goes by without thinking about her and her dear son. We three had such good time at her house when I visited them two weeks before this ghastly incident. Never ever saw any signs of domestic abuse or violence not once. She always said to me she was lucky to have such husband. Don’t know what drove him to take such violence on the people he loved and cared the most. Even if come to know why it happened it doesn't matter since I am not going to get my dear friend back.

Last winter we had worst snow storm for two weeks with  3- 4 ft of snow on the roads.  I wanted to get my face and hair done at least a week before our travel but we stayed indoors due to worst snow storm .When I got 2 hr break the night before my trip, I called her and got an last minute appt . It usually takes 5 minutes to drive up to her house; instead it took more than 30 minutes due to the heavy accumulation of snow on the roads. When I tried to stop the car lost control and slid like a toy car. While trying to control the car, I thought of 8.5 months old NR and I cursed myself for taking a stupid decision of driving out that night. I was able to park the car 4 houses down the road . I almost fell down thrice walking on the icy pavements. After my appt, my sweet, sweet friend V sensed my nervousness and decided (forced me) to go with me to my car stating she had winter boots which has good traction than my shoes. We walked like little girls holding hands, giggling, joking and managing take one step at a time. When we reached my car, we both realized that I’d left her New Year’s gift for NR back at her home. I was in a hurry to return home to feed NR but she pleaded me to wait. She walked back to her house and brought back the diaper bag she wanted me to carry during my India trip. And I did .I am going to treasure thatbag since it has my friend’s touch and love. I am praying to god to give me strength to bear her absence.

Everyday when I look at myself in the mirror, I think to myself I need to call V to get appt for eyebrows. Then the news of her death sinks in and cry to my heart’s content. NR senses my grief and sadness. When he spots tears rolling down my eyes, he reaches for me. His little hands wrapping my shoulders warms me. I am happy and thankful that we had such good time when I met her for the last time with her dear son R. I still feel their warm hugs and happy good byes.

I went to their funeral and was not able to say good bye . Not sure when I will. How do say goodbye to a good friend? Dear R betah, C mausi misses you and your mom so much. Hope you are both in a warm ,secure and happy place.

The one , in which I understood my husband completely

I am blessed with a good man in my life. But there are times when I feel so unloved .  Those are not the moments created by CB but by his family . I used to wonder if he really loved me since he is not standing up for me .  Till today I don't feel respected or loved by his family though his interpretation is different.  It is not the usual in-laws and daughter in laws  stuff in my case but something very stealthy which people will never understand except me and my close family members. They see what I see ,they feel what I feel.

We rarely fight but when we argue( I should say "I" because he never argues with me) it is always about how sad /angry or offended I am with his family behaviours towards me.  Though he clearly and completely understands and sees the issue he would never ever mount into angry words against his family or agrees with me. He would always gives very peaceful point of view and tries to soothe me. At this point I get so angry and get so emotional and utter all filmi dialogues like a six-year-old kid :) .

But watching this short film today I felt so emotional I understood why CB behaves that way . He is a good son and good human being blessed with loving soul.  I understood the reason behind his calm and collected mood  in all the emotional situation involving his family. He sees them for  who they are  and not  for what they do . The apologetic look on his face during emotional situation makes me forgive the people he loves who cause so much grief at times.  

He is a typical son who would have patiently answered his dad all the time with love and hugged his parents just like the father in this film. On the other hand I am the typical son in the film getting angry , annoyed or arguing with my parents because I expect them to take care of me or treat me like a kid and fail to understood they have done enough of that already.   I wish I can grow up and be mature like my husband.

Oxford English Dictionary

I treasure my first OED . We used to carry our own copy of  OED to  english classes in middle school.  OED opened a new world for me. 

I started playing this made up game during my sixth grade. I would open my dictionary and find a random word and try to use it in a sentence. This entertained me a lot specially during my bed time.

Even today when I open the Reader's Digest magazine, I'll check the word power section first then move on to other topics.

I need to start my sixth grade word game to enhance my english since bulleted emails and cryptic technical writing  took over my art of good writing.  The Engrish in GUI, nightmare help guide(s) and " God save me from this alien " kind of emails from colleagues have had big impact on me. For example, waiter/waitress in US restaurants never understood my request of  " I want water without ice".  I no longer use sentence , just words to get my request "Water - No ice".  I am afraid I've become one of them. I have no patience to edit what I write these days.

If you are wondering Why is she writing /thinking about Oxford English Dictionary ? Here is why ? Somebody has listed this collectors edition of Oxford English Dictionary as item to buy when they win lottery. Hee hee I have the same wish too ; ).

Thankgiving 2009

We spent our thanksgiving enjoying each other's company at home. Papa spent his four-day weekend by playing with his son throughout the day. And mama loved the big break from routine work since papa completely took over duty of taking care of NR right from morning till night. I went for shopping around late afternoon on black Friday (not for the deals though) and ended up buying loads of fabric. Not sure when I will get time to finish all the projects : ).  

The Christmas gift for NR and CB arrived last week. I am sticking to a strict budget this year since I am living off on limited income from investments. We live below our means and never get carried away with desires of occurring or buying more stuff. This spending habit of us helped us to make SAHM possible and doable and our life style hasn't changed a bit.  Our dreams, plans , wants and needs in life have taken a back seat with NR's physical and emotional development taking the highest priority.

I want NR to feel safe , secure and free spending time in the familiar place aka his home. He is just a baby and I don't want to leave him with stranger who can never understand his needs like us.  The more books I read on parenting I feel assured that this is the best thing to do and the benefits are rewarding. NR spends time at home doing whatever he wants at his own schedule. I like NR to have this freedom and not restricted by adult like schedules /disciplines at this tender age.

NR co sleeps with me and he almost pushes me to edge rolling in all directions specially in the morning when he is hungry. Even a queen bed is not able to accomodate this little guy.    When he gets up he is happy to see me. He spends next half hour either sleeping lazily in the bed next to me or on my shoulders. When I visited day cares this summer to check out the facility it broke my heart to see little babies sleeping in a tiny cot. I mean really tiny space meant for little puppies (in my opinion : )).

As a mother, I feel I need to give this simple pleasure in life for him, a privilege I had growing up. I would rather take a late retirement but leave my baby with a stranger and go for work. I am comfortable leaving him with a  nanny at home if one of us can work from home .Taking a late retirement will help me stay younger and free me from a boring empty nester syndrome.  I would feel comfortable leaving him with strangers when he will be able to communicate his needs and wants clearly. Until then, I will be his primary care taker. 

On this thanksgiving day, I am very thankful for able to stay at home taking care of my son  and praying for such simple blessings for all the people in our family and for mothers around the world.

A simple dream

I have a simple dream of  taking an early morning bath , getting dressed in my fav attire what else ? saree and going for the temple at the dawn for the morning  prayer. Even the thought of this,  makes me feel good. This is something I did often during my school and college years. I have not been able to do this for last 13 yrs living in USA.

I was looking into the saree collections from pothys which made me feel bad for not able to wear all the beautiful sarees I have here thanks to damp and cold winters : ( .

Mamanesia

I have selective memory these days. I can remember everything related to NR and nothing relating to me. I am losing track of my appointments or getting behind my credit cards payments by a day or two which never happenned before NR.  I am having hard time concentrating on one stuff even reading a book. I wander away doing so many other stuff. May be due to MAMANESIA** ?

I have this recurring night mare of walking out of my house without wearing my pants or losing my car keys with NR inside the car. Any ideas to bring me out of MAMANESIA?.

I took this quiz from this blog and answered all the questions correctly . I am relieved and happy to note that part of  my brain is still sharp being new /SAHM for last two years :).

**mamanesia- having selective or seldom memory being a new mom. New term coined be me : ).

And thus NR became a Bobos brother for 2009 Halloween

Go Diego Go , The animal rescuer has an ardent, hard-core 18 month old fan in our house. NR obsess about Diego all the time. It's fun to watch NR having a hero worship for this  fictional character.

First week he watched the episodes without blinking his eyes. Over the weeks, I noticed  that he was able to follow the story line .  He giggles loudly when bobos brothers makes an appearance.  Bobos brothers are one of his favourite characters .Prior to Diego era, CB used to get a Hero welcome when he returned home everyday from office. Now NR doesn't even care about him  since he watches the Diego show in the evenings.Now CB has to dance like Bobos brothers to get his son's attention .

So keeping up with the Diego spirit  , I purchased monkey costume for NR two months back for Halloween . NR makes a fuss for everything when he is not in a mood specially during the dress change. But when I showed him the monkey costume, he smiled and became a samanthu paiyan (good boy). He loved  seeing himself  in the mirror with monkey costume and giggled so loudly when I said "Bobos, Bobos".

And thus NR became a Bobos Brother for this Halloween.

Diego - My new found god

NR received  Diego story book pillow as gift from his dad when we returned home after our India trip. NR at that stage was very much fascinated with little boys (thanks to the little boy illustrations from his fav book - It's a good thing you are not an octopus ). So papa bought Diego story book pillow from our local costco warehouse  as a surprise homecoming gift for NR among other gifts. It was an instant hit with NR. It has become his fav bed time story book . Thus I was introduced to the existence of this great phenomenon called "Diego , the animal Rescuer".

A month after our return, purely by coincidence I bumped into "Go Diego  Go animated show on cable.  NR did not take his eyes off the TV not even for a second while watching this show.  NR was almost 13.5 months old and I have never allowed NR to watch TV till that point. He is hooked onto this show ever since that fateful day. 

Cooking dinner everyday was a tedious task since NR never wanted to be alone . He would constantly cry or laugh or do something to get my attention.  Diego entry into NR's world made my dinner preparation a breeze. I DVR'd the episodes and allowed NR to watch the half an hour episodes while cooking dinner everyday before his dad's arrival. 

When his paternal grandma returned from her daughter's place on July she forced me to put Diego for NR every day.  Feeding solid food(s)  to NR required me to give out my best performance of story telling, puppet acting, mimicking animal sounds etc etc. But  my new found God Diego have made solid feeding an easy ritual . Diego has become the secret password for making NR to open his mouth . All I have to do is to switch on Diego show and his mouth opens automatically as if  I had said "open sesame". 

This is first time after NR was born that I am able to leave him alone to do chores in the absence of CB. NR is a clingy child and he never allows me to even to dress for 10 minutes before going for a walk. Now Diego has made my world little easy .

Both mama and son are getting educated on various animals and its habitat. I even learned what tapir eats : ) .  Look, I am overly obsessed about food & eating habits being a new mom. We are also becoming proficient in spanish language. When I say "Subir" NR runs to climb up the stairs and we are even counting in spanish :).  NR observes keenly and smiles when kids speak in spanish during our play time in munchkins.  I never imagined my introduction to spanish language would happen this way . Thanks to NR , I had kick-start in achieving my goal of learning spanish . More than ever, I am determined to take the spanish immersion program .

I know in my heart that this  phase will not continue for ever but I am going to worry about that later. Till that time, I am going to use my new found God's help to run my household with little ease.  Go Diego Go !

That special friend

I have this one special friends whom I treasure much. She has been my friends since 4th grade . She knows me well .  I have been going thru this stressful phase for last couple months thanks to the elderly relative staying with us. 

Today I was venting out somethings going on in my life with her and we shared notes on how things are going on in our life. I feel very light and clear after talking to her because she made sense. Good friends always brings out that goodness in you and constantly reminds you to use it more . 

Thanks SP . I treasure your friendship. I truly do.

Long waited event happenned :)

I have been waiting for NR to take few steps on his own. Kids of his age are walking,running and hopping  around and my little fellow is still crawling. He has been cruising around the house holding sofas, coffee table, wall, tables or anything that he can get hold of  for last six month. But never took a step on his own without support.

He started taking few baby steps on his own to the delight of his mom and paternal grandma. He wanted to show his grandma his "Independent walk" ten days before her journey back to India and before his 18 month dr visit.

I never forced myself in believing milestones as per baby books. Every kid is different and they are sent to this earth with all necessary set of traits to lead their life. As child I never allowed myself to be compared with others because I am who I am and not them.  Tiny part of me was worried about him not reaching this milestones like other kids though he was standing and cruising  for hours at time playing with his car on the TV cabinet since he was 12 months old . When I shared this worry with  CB  his reply was "whatever is going to happen" he is going to be our son right  ?" which  made me to smile.  That words of  pride as a father and supportive husband and friend reassured me that I have a strong hands to hold me and guide me in this life path no matter what life brings to us.  We have always walked together thru all the testing times in our life and every unexpected incidents in our life has made us stronger as a couple. 

I am happy to see NR doing the duck/drunken walk around the house . I am very thankful for that.

Food Battles lost and won by a New mom

The topic of this  post by UTBT  comes close to my heart. As a new mom I am struggling to teach the basic skills to my 16 month old son. I have a picky eater and a stubborn child. I try everything by trial and error. And by experience (at least for last  4 months) learnt that being cool and not setting any expectation during breakfast/dinner/lunch makes things more easy and relaxing.

 I have being doing what I feel is right for my son and have never compared my kid with any other child when it comes to milestone or eating habits or for that matter for anything. He is his own individual self. Every kid is born and blessed with all the skills necessary. It is matter of time that differs for each individual kid to develop that skill into trait needed for everyday sustenance.

 When I started solid food at 5 months he refused to eat. I tried different combination but nothing worked. I used to feel incompetent knowing that I am not doing enough to make him eat solids. When we went to India my son was almost 9 months I started giving cerelac and he loved it instantly.   He finished the whole bowl of cerelac quickly and I was pleasantly surprised since he ate a little or no solids till that time.  That was the eye opener for me. I knew he will eat if he likes the food and I need to be a food detective. Strictly following diet recommended by dr /books was not helping me (what’s up with baby book discouraging giving sugars to babies).

 He doesn’t like to drink water and eating cerelac constipated him. When I consulted the dr in India he asked me to stop cerelac and feed him adult food. Little did he know that cerelac was the only solid food he ate at that time.  NR never liked idlis or dal rice. So, stopping cerelac meant not giving him solid food. We started feeding wheat cerelac with pear puree. That helped a bit but it didn’t solve the problem. Necessity is the mother of invention right?. I researched and made magic potion rich in fiber and started using it in his breakfast and dinner cereal.

 I slowly started introducing different foods. He rejected every new food outright, threw up what ever he eat but I promised myself that I am not going to get anxious or discouraged. He hated solid foods and did everything in his power to get his bottle of milk.  I was pressured by one adult person aka “The Bayathankuli dad” to give what ever he wanted. I also noticed when I am anxious or angry NR senses that energy from me and imitates the same during those feeding.

 Feeding time became a learning experience for both of us. I just went by my gut instinct. I also realized what he disliked at one point he loved them after few months but whenever I switched or changed the food he always made a scene trying to throw up. I learnt consistency is the key both food wise and by mood wise. I gave/give him all the freedom to select his food. I don’t force the food he dislikes. But when he rejects the food he loves, I keep my coolness and continue feeding him no matter what he does. He realized that he has no other way except to eat his food.  I also found the art of engaging him in an interesting conversation like talking about his favorite things or showing his favorite stuff.  I noticed when his mind is distracted by other things he ate his food quietly. To my surprise he loved all the healthy food specially spinach dal rice. 

 He started eating solids meals three times a day from 13 months including mashed boiled egg with cheese and pepper, mashed fish, mashed chicken rice, mixed veggie +dal rice, chicken soup rice, pumpkin rice and pal satham (milk rice with sugar). He prefers mashed rice instead of chunky ones. As long he eats healthy food I am fine with it. NR  is vocal about his taste and  would exclaim with sounds like "emmmm"  just after taking first bite of his fav food. Spinach dal rice and mashed boiled eggs received this instant approval and has become his fav food.

 Around 12th month I switched his cerelac for adult instant oats and he loves it. NR eats his breakfast oats with one banana and dinner oats with one variety of fruit everyday. Replacing fiber rich oats for cerelac and switching to cow’s milk after 12 month stopped his constipation completely .

 Even successfully and patiently trained to like water and drink from sipper cup .  This was such a huge accomplishment for me :)  since even the seasoned veteran moms  in the family were never able to make this little guy drink water. Patience, patience and only patience helped me during those long six months of training though at times I really wanted to exchange NR for an easy going kid. 

 My next challenge is to train NR  to eat chunky and adult food. Any advice, suggestion or ideas welcomed from seasoned mothers : ).

Happy Diwali 2009

Wishing my readers a Happy Diwali 2009

Ups and Downs of this week (13th-19th sep )

Visit to Portland's Grotto

This week started with pleasant journey to grotto. We along with MIL visited Portland’s grotto. It was serene and pleasant place to visit though it was a cold day.  I had taken winter jacket for NR but the hood of the jacket didn’t fit well and his ears were exposed to the cold air.

The elevator to reach top of hill was broken so we were asked to take shuttle.  We anticipated the regular shuttle like mini van or bus and to our surprise we found out that shuttle was old 1980's car driven by aging monk in his late 80's.  We asked him if we needed the car seat and he so casually said no it’s just nearby. Since this was our first visit we thought we are going to take some internal road within the sanctuary. No we were wrong.  He drove us thru the regular Portland road to reach the top of the hill. Though the drive took just 10 minutes, I was completely uneasy knowing that NR is travelling on my lap than on his car seat.  I am sure the old priest belongs to an era where babies travelled without car seat but as a parent I should have taken shrewd decision. Faith  in god took over my rational thinking .

The upper level of the grotto had old building which housed all the 17 monks. It had beautiful and serene garden.  They had a lovely viewing area. All of us enjoyed the quiet time over there including NR.  Another old priest dropped us down in his new Honda minivan. We had our coffee and snacks in the gift shop and headed home.

 

Visit to ER

Monday NR slept little more than he used to it and the same trend followed on Tuesday. He had a runny nose which was normal since the climate changed so drastically that weekend from hot weather to cold weather. He puked a bit and thought it was due the cold and phlegm.

Tuesday evening CB and MIL took NR to the nearby play place while I took much needed break to my fave jaunt our library. When I came back, CB reported that NR threw up bit more than usual. I could just sense that NR was not feeling well though the temp was normal. That night NR slept with me in the bed so I can watch him carefully. Around 2.00am his temps shoot up and I gave Tylenol immediately. Temperature went down bit for couple of hours. When he woke up he had temp and I gave Tylenol as per the instruction given in the package. We called his pediatrician and got an earliest appt around 10.45 am. When the doc examined him he had temp around 102 but he was quite alert and normal. The doc suggested it might be viral infection and sent us home. I came home and gave Tylenol once but his temp came down and shot up again. He was also not taking his regular quota of food or milk. I researched the web and found combination of ibuprofen and Tylenol might bring the fever down.  CB took off that day and stayed with us. Thank god for that.

NR usually likes to drink bottle lying on my lap. I gave recommended dosage of Ibuprofen after his 4.00pm feed. Right when I finished giving dosage and bit of water he had seizure. Since this was my first time, for a sec I never realized what was happening with him but MIL knew it instantly.  NR had convulsion for less than two minutes but at one point his eyes fixated, he stopped breathing, turned blue and lay still. That was the horrible moment in my life. No mother should go thru this. MIL started screaming and praying so loudly to save him and CB broke down immediately. I don’t know what came on to me. My fears were overtaken by caution and begged CB to call 911 right away when it was happening. CB was lost fro words and could not correctly explain to the 911 operator what was happening. I was hinting the words seizure convulsion to him but my eyes and hands were doing everything necessary at that point. I put my fingers in his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and took the bite. I know now, that it was not the right way to handle but I was thankful I took all that pain. I sprayed some water on his feet and he came back within few minutes but he was in shock and started crying profusely.

The ER and the Medics from fire dept arrived within 5 minutes .By this time he was alright. They stripped him completely except diapers and took some relevant test(s). NR is so soft natured so even little loud sound will scare the hell out of him and now he was inconsolable.  When I started to speak to the medics and I broke down completely.  Looking back, I was thanking my guardian angel for keeping me so calm and collected which made me to focus on right things to do. They advised us to take him to ER since this was his first seizure to take some necessary test.  ER insisted that NR ride in his car seat, so they fixed the car seat on the stretcher. This panicked NR more but I could not help him. I travelled with him in the ER van and NR never stopped crying. I sang him his favorite lullaby "Omanathingal kidavoo" during that time he stopped crying.

We reached the hospital and ER took freeway instead of local road(s). Since it was non emergency they did not have the siren on so we had to wait in the long queue in ramp leading to the freeway. When we reached the hospital, I requested the ER to take NR out of the car seat so I can hold him. The new place, new people scared him more and he kept crying non stop for next two hours.  CB joined us shortly. The ER doc examined his eyes, tongue and ears. He questioned me like a FBI agent and I answered all his questions. He came to a conclusion that this was fiberile seizure and does not require any further tests. He asked us to go home and continue the Tylenol dosage. 

We came home and even after two such dosages his fever was coming down and shooting up. I called his pediatrician around 3.00am on Wednesday and expressed my concern. He asked me to give ibuprofen 2.5 mg (dosage as per package is 1.875). I was reluctant to give him that medication and narrated the whole incident which happened after ibuprofen dosage. I asked why Ibuprofen dosage was higher than Tylenol. Tylenol dosage as per instruction in the box is .4 mg for kids under 2 yrs whereas Ibuprofen is 1.875. That’s when he told me that I need to give 1.6mg of Tylenol and 0.4 mg was not adequate to bring his fever down. I really wished he should have asked me about the dosage when we visited him 20 hrs before coz this heart breaking incident very well could have been avoided. I could have saved my baby from the entire trauma he underwent.

After the required dosage NR's fever came down. He started taking solid food and milk. As of Saturday I had taken him off of Tylenol dosage as per his doc’s instruction. The H1N1 swine test results came in Saturday as negative which was a big relief.  I am so thankful to god for watching over us.  

I learnt how to handle this situation correctly from doctors. I need to start on the higher dosage of medication as soon his fever starts and never to cover him from head to toe when he has high fever which I usually did.

Thanks to all the prayers NR is doing well and back to his own naughty world. He is still weak and lost weight due to this ordeal and I have decided to watch him carefully for next week. 

Think of us in your prayers. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of - is my favorite quote from the poem I learnt in high school years.

Dog is boy's best friend

Dog is man's  boy's best friend

Ok Ok.Go ahead and judge me for giving this toy to my son. Well , it was never meant for him. CS won this toy (for the first time ever since I knew him) playing some silly games in the Portland Rose festival fair  circa 2005.

All these years this doggy majestically sat at the back seat of my car (never took it out of my car). At times it scared the hell out of me, when I opened the back door to keep my laptop on those late night working days.

Somebody (read sleep deprived appa) brought this toy indoors when we brought NR home from hospital.  Then that somebody entertained the son with the ugly dog all the time.  Now that some body's son is head over heels in love with this dog.  The ugly dog gets umpteen kisses (I mean real french kisses) and hugs from the little guy every single day. It's  funny to watch my son  admiring and adoring this ugly dog.  When ever anybody says the word dog in the house or in TV,  he runs crawls to get his dog.

It's not a secret from where he  inherited this love for puppies. Mom had puppies from 4th grade (Kaisy then Dipsy then Neema). I was heart broken when my last dog died and never  wanted to get another pup again. But I have been warming up to the idea of getting a dog for quiet some time (quiet some time is last 4-5 yrs and CB puts his foot down and says no . He knew he will ultimately end up being the dogs official care taker)

Pappa had a wonderful time with his dog Micky for 13 yrs in life.  The two people who visits papa regularly in his dreams are -  his Ammuma and his dog Micky. There was a time when pappa had 5 dogs at a time under one roof ( I have no idea how my MIL managed to feed 4 humans and 4 dogs three hot meals daily). As per MIL,  Micky is CB's first girl friend . And yes it was coz  that overly possesive female dog  never allowed me to talk to CB peacefully even for minute when I used to visit him in his house.

Now mamma is happy (letting out a wicked smile) that this little boy will melt his pappa's heart to get him a dog for his 5th birthday. That somebody's wife is determined to train her son to melt his dad's heart to get her wish fulfilled .

NR's first India day

NR attended his first India day celebrations at the pioneer square at Portland downtown on Sunday . He had fun riding in Max train (his fav choo choo train) an was very friendly with every body and got quite few new fans with his dimpled smile.  This was his first major outing .    I was not sure how he is going to  react to the big crowd but behaved quite well. He was a happy kid the whole time .

During our return journey in max he just shouted when the train stopped at the station and got the attention of every passenger. Little did people know that 3 month old  NR used to do the same stuff when our car stopped at the signals .

Of late he shouts when he needs to get attention thanks to his grandma. He will stand and roll the car, blocks, bottles on the coffee tables and drops everything down. When he can't retrieve the stuff from nooks and corners he will let a wild mogli shout out and his grandma runs to him to like a slave to make him happy. He started this wild behavior to get his granny's (who has 90% hearing loss) attention sitting  just  few cms from him . I have no clue how I am going to change this behavior which is becoming a nuisance these days.

He went into deep slumber in his car seat during our return journy .Mom and Dad had a undisturbed decent night sleep .

What do Cave women and present day Modern women have in common

They love to get answers to these questions  : )

1. Why mothers are not made to be super women with 8 senses?

2. Why can't the new born/babies  have the brain of 5 year old at least?

If we get answers or get these wishes granted lot of mothers will have simple easy going life  and we won't be blogging about our daily pursuit with the baby : ) I suppose ?

Though I am blessed with the baby who is not tantrum prone yet :(  ) but raising him is a real challenge. Even making him learn new simple skills like making him eat little coarse food or make him drink water has become a demanding and draining task .

NR  is 16 months old and still refusing to drink water and thinks water is for fun . He just drink one small tiny itty bitty sip and blows raspberries with the water . I sit with him patiently for at least 10 -15 minutes wit his straw cup but he always checks the boundary of my patience. I sit there thinking this is something he needs to learn and I need to exercise predominantly higher degree of patience. But I am getting tired. Not drinking water or juice and wheat cerelac caused bad constipation and thanks to my - I need to find solution mode , I tried lot of fiber based foods which helped him.

He wants to eat only pureed food . He just adamantly rejects the chunky food by simply throwing up every thing he eats.  I thought it was  just a phase and it will go away. But this phase has not ended even after 4 months. He chokes on tiny pieces of solid food and we had to call 911 two weeks back  because of one such choking incident. I gave a tubular cracker which are meant for 9 month old and when I turned for few sec he stuffed the entire piece in his mouth and choked. I did the stupid mistake of putting my fingers to take the food out ,which scared the hell out of him . He turned completely red and did the usual - I don't want to breath - Cry .  I was petrified and still I am . But after this incident I learnt the correct way of helping kids when they choke- thanks to this youtube video .

Parenting is supposed to be easy right? Not when you living alone with no family or neighbourly support. (My MIL was the one who caused this panic seeing him shovel the whole cracker otherwise he would have just spit it out). I am learning the traits of the trade every day being a mom. 

Hoping this post will bring tear in my eyes when I read it after twenty years. Tears not because it was emotional but for being so so so stupid and ill equipped to raise a baby on my own.

I am sure million of years ago there was cave women/mother just like me asking these questions to god .

I am learning the art of parenting but at times it scares the hell out of me. Am I alone in feeling so?

My Fave Song

My favorite tamil song about mothers from Tamil movie Pavithra
Singer: Unni Krishnan
Music: AR Rahman

 

Lyrics and Translation:(Thanks to http://movinghandtypes.blogspot.com/ )
Uyirum neeye udalum neeye uravum neeye thaaye (2)
The very life,the very form,the very relationship is you Mom

 

 Un udalil sumandhu uyirai pagirndhu uruvam tharuvaai neeye (2)
You took care of me in your womb sharing your life and soul with me to make me get this form.

Un kaNNil vazhiyum oru thuLi podhum Kadalum urugum thaaye
A drop of tear from yr eyes is enough to make the ocean overflow

Un kaaladi mattum tharuvai thaaye Sorgam enbadhum poyye
Your lotus feet are enough to make me believe heaven is a myth.

PeNNai padaithaan maNNai padaitthaan katrum oliyum mazhaiyum padaitthaan (2)
He created a woman,the five elements

Boomikku adhanaal nimmadhi illai (2) Sami thavitthan thaayai padaitthan
Because of which there was no peace and then he decided to create a Mom

I never get tired of watching these movies

Tamil - Poovey poochoodava , Michael madana kamarajan, Avvai shanmugi

Malayalam : Nokkathaa Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu, His highness Abdullah, Swathi thirunal

Hindi : 1942 love story, QSQT, Hum aapke hain kaun, DDLJ

Whenever I talk about QSQT I think about friend SRGC . He is a srilankan graduate student we befriended when we lived in Kansas state. In a typical srilankan tamil accent he says "QSQT - oh antha "Kaiya mathu kala mathu " padama ?. Sorry you can enjoy this joke only if you understand tamil : ).

English : Benhur, Gods must be crazy,  Abyss , Willow , Pretty woman, Brave heart, Notting Hill,  Micky Blue Eyes, Fools rush in

13th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated a our 13th wedding anniversary on July 7th. It was a low key affair as usual .  CB prepares the tea and toast for me everyday and keeps it in our office room before leaving for office. On our anniversary I  got a  surprise card and a gift voucher along with breakfast.

Anniversary Card :

Our Love has been a Journey

I couldn't have known when we first met that everything in my life before then

had been leading me to you

But looking back I realize that every decision led me to just the right turn

and that every road taken or not

brought me one step closer to you and the love we share

Today, I know for sure that when our paths came together

and we found one another, it was really only the beginning

of  the most beautiful journey of all

the journey of two hearts that beats as one

Happy Anniversary with all my Love

- Hubby

I made a simple meal Fried rice, vegetable korma, Methu vadai (urad dal vada) and delicious pal paysam.

These days, I prefer gift vouchers than a gift . I can use it anywhere at anytime no pressures. I have started giving visa gift card to everybody . I always like giving personalized gift but realised the usefulness of gift cards when I had NR. We received gift vouchers  from friends and colleagues and I used it throughout the year to get all necessary stuff for NR.  I have always seen new parents receiving insane amount of dresses, toys and others stuff which can be used only for first three months. As new mother though I purchased tonnes of dress for NR, I never used all the dresses. I dressed  him in cute night gowns which made diaper changing a breeze specially in the first two months.

Though spending time outside the house is a premium for me thesedays, I want friends to use the gift cards to buy stuff otherwise they don't  buy for themselves  : ).If you a friend you know the reason for receiving gift cards this year  as opposed to carefully selected /hand picked gifts : ).

First Birthday

Personally I wanted to keep NR birthday as family affair but CB wanted to invite couple of  close friends. He booked a recreation center near our previous work place  few hours before boarding flight to India in April.

CB made another trip to India to bring us back  to USA. NR's birthday was due six days after our arrival . NR's birthday fell on Easter day  so CB was keen on celebrating his birthday Apr 12th though I wanted to have the party at least two weeks after our arrival.  I had the worst jet-lag this time since NR was having his  own nap/bed time schedule. And I had to cook warm meals at least couple of times of day to accommodate my mil's need(s). I was able to gather myself to a "Wake-up State"  for few hrs during the day just two days before his birthday.

Quick calls were made to invite friends, order cake and to order food. CB and a close friend got  supplies needed for catering .I shopped for all the party essentials the night before the birthday party and managed to drive home without falling asleep on wheels : ).

We attended the 9.30am Easter mass at the church and rushed back home  to get ready for the party. One of my good friend arrived with her two energetic boys from seattle.  Friend came home and helped to pack stuff needed for the party. CB and a friend went ahead of us to decorate the venue.

Friends  graciously attended NR's birthday party inspite of getting the last minute invite . I love evite for making this possible.

The venue  had this huge indoor play area for kids .  But the no. of adults permitted for this venue was just 18 as per the fire marshall  though we could have accomdated atleast 30 people. So we were forced to have short guest list and ended up inviting very few close friends whom we know for last 10 yrs exception being my blogger friend sheela.

I ordered light and tender chiffon cake with fruit basket fillings and Ivory butter cream icing with "pooh bear theme" . We were not able to order a custom cake with "Polar bear Polar bear what do you hear" book theme due to copy right restriction.  For his second birthday NR will get his custom cake made and decorated by his special baker aka "Amma".

The birthday boy behaved well though he was in jet lag phase. He was excited to cut the cake and loved his first piece of cake. We had slight technical problem with his music candle . The candle sang the birthday song five  minute after we blew out the candle :).

 

The guests had delicious Indian food .The restaurant required us to order  atleast  25 plates  but we had just 15  adults in the  party. So, we ended up with more food and our guests happily carried the delicious food/cake back home.

We booked the venue for 4 hrs which gave us time to chat with friends for quite some time. Friends and grown up kids pitched in to clean the venue along with CB . 

Though this party was a simple affair compared to the parties we have at home , I was really happy and satisfied that we managed to put together this party in less time with a bouncing baby , jet lag and a demanding MIL .

I thanked god for giving me this opportunity to be a mom after all these years. I request my readers to take minute to wish NR a  long , peaceful and happy life.  I would be grateful if you could do the same in your prayers.

Do you believe in signs ?

My mom was so sick and hospitalized for almost two years . I was  5 or 6 years old then. Few months before her major surgery (32 years back it was a big surgery and it was first of its kind done in that hospital) we were praying in our paternal grandpa's house (My father lost his dad at a very early age and his family was brought up by his maternal uncle. so we call him our grandpa). 

A flower fell off from one of the deities during  our prayer. One of my father's elderly cousin sister remarked that the flower fell off at the exact moment when she was praying for my mother's health . She said it's a good sign and our mother will  live longer after the surgery. Yeah she was right.

My mother is leading a good and healthy life for last 32 years thanks to all the prayers from family, friends and relatives. This incident made me a believer.

We went on a vacation to India around Dec '06 - Jan '07. I had planned for the usual christmas party at our house and bought a dozen of  kidsy flashlight as gift for kids attending the party. We cancelled the party due to my project deadline at work  and upcoming India trip . I bought lot of fancy cars and trucks for baby boys in family/friends circle but we were able to pack only 25% of what we bought due to new US airline baggage policy (Singapore Airlines was allowing 32 lb at that time while the local flight allowed ony 22 lbs). All flash lights and toys stayed with us.

Next couple of months after our India trip, every kid walking into my house received a gift and I managed to give away almost everything. But Cow, zebra and tiger flash lights , a car and a truck  stayed.  Somehow they never went out of house inspite of my best efforts to dispose them. Now I believe  it was a sign indicating NR's arrival.

The flashlights became NR's first official toy. He loved watching beam of light falling on the walls , roof and on headboard . That became  my  favourite mom - baby time when he was a baby.

The car and the truck are NR's fav toys right now.  He lives, dreams and long for this Bu car (Blue car) and Kakar (red car). Looking back, I realise these toys were meant for NR.

Yes, I do believe in signs :) like this girl in this movie. BTW, " Fools rush in " is one of my 'all time favourite'  movie.

Kar Krazy Kid

NR is mesmerized by anything that rolls . Books, water bottles, ball, toy car, spoons, water bottle cap everything get rolled in our floor .

NR loves to touch everything and tries to create sound with his fingers. This habit of him started very early on around 5 or 6 month of age. He loves to see the texture change when he draws line in our sofa . He loves the sound he can make when he scratches our sofa.  He draws with his index finger. Even to open a page he uses a single finger . And he loves to roll everything with just index finger. I have never seen him push things with his whole hand.

His craziness for wheels started with a spherical block from a Block set .My brother  bought this toy during  his honeymoon trip to Singapore/Malaysia. NR instantly loved the blocks and he loved unstacking them . I chose to bring only few special gifts back to US from India  . The block set topped the list , since it was from his fav uncle and aunt.

Few days after returning to US, I saw him rolling a spherical block from the block set with full vigor on our wooden floors. He figured the art of dynamics.  Thus the craziness for wheels was born.

He entertained himself with this game for hours in a day. He is mesmerized by motion of wheels.Then he graduated to rolling the ball , toy cars, bottles etc . Anything and everything is rolled around including plates. I am constantly ducking myself from flying objects.

I smile constantly seeing a 12 month old demonstrating this typical boyish traits/likings. He mutters the word "car" in typical American accent when he goes to sleep, during his sleep(yes along with giggling, crying during his sleep  he also talks )and when he gets up in the morning (read earrrrrrrrrrrrly morning) the first word he utters is "Carrr". 

Q/A Session with NR.

Amma/appa/othera : NR enna venum unakku (NR what do you want?)

NR : CARRRRRRRRRR

NR crying profusely and the mother who has no clue as to what caused this melt down asks

Amma:  Ennada venum unnaku?(what do you want?)  in a frusturated voice

NR :  CARRRRR (rolls his eyes sorrowfully) in spite of  seeing the car nearby or holding one . No matter what the situation might be he always answers "Car".

NR became hopeless fan of cars thanks to my younger sister SPD. He loved watching her drive off to office . She got royal welcome when she returned from office. Inspite of staying in India for three months , I could not recognize my sister's car horn but this little fellow would jump out of bed while sleeping when he hears my sister's car horn in a distance. He would urge us to take him to the front gate to give his chitha a royal welcome.  It was so sweet to watch a 10 month old baby shouting with joy seeing her drive in. And chitha was all too proud to have a little puppy waiting for her arrival with such joy. In an instant the whole family would sink into this elated state seeing him welcome his chitha. Chitha loved to take her son for a ride every evening .  NR had a blast going around the city in his chitha and mamma's car . He loved the crowded roads in India  filled with lights beaming from every single vehicle on the road.

Nowadays his toy cars are climbing the walls, fridge doors, dishwasher doors, bathtub walls, coffee table, dining table and any flat surface. Till now he has not started walking on his own but he walks with support. Even with his minimal skill/balance he rolls his car on the crib ledge/bathtub wall ledge from one end to another.

I am hoping this phase will pass thru soon and next one begin when he starts to walk and run.  If it continues,  I'll have to get back my athletic body(which I had almost two decades back) and energy to run behind him and say more prayers to calm me down during my panic attacks.

Learning to speak one word at a time

NR's first word was "amma". His second was "that-ta(tata as in bye)" .  During our stay in India he started calling my younger sister "ith-tha" (chitha), my brother "mama " (uncle) and his wife "Pappa".  We were quite surprised why he kept calling her pappa though we taught him the right word "Athai". After couple of months we solved the mystery.

My chithappa (father's younger brother) has been referring a  baby doll (girl) in the showcase  as "pappa" to him.  My SIL looks like a school girl . I think to a 11 month old brain she resembled the doll hence pappa. she brings such a vibrant and happy energy where ever she is  . She was entertaining NR  like a eight year old girl.  Our guy treated his athai like a playmate . It's a daily routine for my SIL to take out the doll and teach him "Ethu pappa, nan athai" ("That's doll , I am your aunty") in a typical malayali accent ,but he always calls her pappa ; ).

He was calling CB as "Afffaa" (Appa -dad) and some how it got changed to "Papa".  

 I sing old mc donald to him everyday (read every single hour of the day) . I pause for few sec when I sing "And on the farm he had some"? then say the animal name. One day he cooly replied "kowve". That started "Iwant to repeat what you say " phase.  If he can't repeat the words , he makes perfect noise which mimics the word like for butterfly he would repeat "bubba iiiiiiii".

Seeing the tulips on our yard in full bloom last month , he said "Poo, Poo" (Poo means flower in my native language) . He picked up this word from kachuri ammuma who used to show and teach him flowers in different color every single day while weaving garlands for deities before pooja.  She has a garden with wide arrays of colorful flowers meant for deities.  He never said that word during our stay in India but decided to say it , while sitting happily in his cozy living room in america.

I started playing throw-catch ball game with him ever since received his first ball last Dec. It's fun to watch him throw the ball saying "thow"  and then running behind it  to retrieve it like little puppy. Everything is thrown around  the house his car, book, block, bottles which many times lands on his  head .  When I hear the word "thow " and if he is not in my vicinity, I dash to him like mad woman wanting to avoid major mishaps. Whoever said "Having a baby is a bliss" forgot to add the phrase "provided you have 10 people to help you around"

These days, going for walks with him is fun . He would keep saying words cars , thee, pooveh , bow bow all of which we see in plenty during our walks.

NR's dictionary of words

Kow-ve = Cow

Baaa-oll       = Ball

Baa-awk =  Block

Baow = Bird

aaaoy = Boy (seeing little boy in his fav book "It's good thing you are not an Octopus")

booooooook = Book

Bow bow = Dog

Bu car       = Blue Car

Carrrrrr  = Car

Cock = Clock

Poo or Poovay = Flower

ith-theee = Tree

mum mum = Any eatables or anything remotely resembling food.

TATT-TA  = tata/bye

orrrrrrs    =  horse

iththow =  Throw

Nr's fav words are car, cock and thow . He uses these words hundred times day when he spot car/toys or clock .  

NR is 14 month 16 days old

Polar Bear Polar Bear what do you hear

"Polar Bear Polar Bear what do you hear ?" is NR's favorite book.

In my desperate efforts to entertain him while trying to make him sit, I started reading him books since he was 5 months old . This book was one of the books first set of books I brought from library. Out of those 12 books, two books became his favorite books. 

How do I know? He  was never interested in looking into other books. He will turn his face right or left continuously while reading other books. When did I notice this ? The very first time. 

 He received his own copy of these two book as Christmas gifts last year.  The books travels with him everywhere .

Till this date he treasure this book. He gave his first clap when I took out this book to read when he was 10 months old. His face oozes with happiness (also with tonnes of  jollu ) when he sees this book.  Whenever he cries or has separation anxiety or temper tantrums all I have to do is to take out this book.  Unfortunately I packed these two books in checked luggage and had a tough time during our travel to India. I made sure to have them handy during our return trip. He never liked sitting in the "facing out" position during take off and landing.  so these two books came handy during landing and take off during our return journey. 

He is so familiar with all the animals in the books, he was psyched to see them in person during his first zoo trip last month.  

Another fav book is "It's good thing you are not an Octopus".

My new clutch

I have been sporting a new clutch from last year

I along with a trusted partner created this clutch

I am crazy about this clutch 

I have been eyeing, admiring  and speaking to my cute clutch even during the making process.

I have been expressing my love, admiration and even my frustration . 

My clutch was just showing the feelings  and now clutch is talking to me

I am the  in house specialist  who can decipher clutch's dialogue and requirements

 I even change my clutch's liners many times a day just to have fresh scent

The best part of having this clutch  is

- I can dress my clutch to my desired color and fashion 

- I love it more when my clutch is naked

My clutch grows along with me so is the weight of the clutch

The best part is "My Clutch" never likes to part from me.

I should have renamed the title to "My Fore ever Clingy Clutch"

However, I want this to clutch to grow up to be luggage so I can drag it along ; ) to give much needed break to my hips

Return of Seamstress - Part 1

 emm cinematic headlines right ? I am hibernating due to snow storms and it makes me more creative word wise ; ).

For starters my mother doesn't sew. She doesn't even know how to sew a button or she never bothered to learn how to sew a button. How she got that done - By her daughters. We were handy daughter (as in handyman) who did everything for our mom which includes sewing buttons .   She is not a domestic diva. She devoted herself to two C's - Career and cooking. I have never seen her feel lazy to cook even when friends or relatives come in the wee hours. She can cook for whole clan . But she was/is not interested in housekeeping, sewing , drawing . She is voracious reader . She used to read fictions as if the world is going to end tomorrow.  Give her a JHC novel (James Hardley Chase) she will forget the whole world.

As kids we picked all the good traits that my mother never possessed. Me and my elder sister were good at home decorating, painting /drawing . Then my elder sister learnt to sew using the antique sewing machine we had in our house when she was in middle school.  I have a vague memory of seeing my father use that machine when I was a kid .  My sister use to sew  my mother's saree(her fav ones)  into long flowy skirts. Long skirts were in fashion those days . We got the cool fashion tips/trends thanks to our anglo Indian neighbour(s). My sister strictly made dresses only for her though I longed for those cute skirts. Still I never wanted to learn sewing.

During my high school/college years I learnt little bit of crochet , made an afghan and stopped there.  For the second year valentines day I made handmade woollen scarf for CB. We ordered custome made wood frame with nails for making that scarf. Hope it is still there in my parents house.  Even at that point, I never developed interest in sewing .

Coming to US and seeing beautiful fabrics in the stores kindled my interest in sewing. Circa 1998 when we lived in Kansas I became friends with tamil friend - Aunty M.  We both enrolled in a sewing class offered at the county extension center.The class required us to bring a sewing machine, desired pattern and required materials.    I really liked the concept of trying to sew a dress in the first class as opposed to "learning to sew petticoats" as the first step. If you enroll for sewing class in India, you have to start from  sewing petticoats . Just this reason kept me away from the sewing classes in India.

I bought the machine , a blouse pattern ,fabric and notions.I was the only student in the class who had no prior knowledge about sewing or sewing machine . I never even know how to thread a machine. During first session, the instructor taught me the basics of sewing machine and asked me to practise "straight stitch" before the next class .  I practised the straight stitch for few times and wanted to check out the pattern. I opened the pattern envelope only to find a "Industrial engineering blue print " kind of drawings. I realised my sewing hobby is going to end pretty soon because the pattern was quite complex to understand at a first glance just like my "Wave Mechanics" class during my UG and my debugger projects at work.

In the second class she taught us to cut the pattern according to our size. It wasn't difficult at all and it was easy to decrypt the pattern.  We learnt to cut fabric using the pattern .  She gave me an idea about joining the pattern to get the final product.  She said we will be finishing the pattern in the next class.  Aunty M knew sewing and she has been sewing stuff for her kids but she never used pattern till that point.

I came home and jumped into project with full vigor. Finished the entire blouse within an hour. Finishing touches like sewing button, hand hemming took another 30 -60 minutes. Guess who was the only person who had finished product on hand for the third class?  - "moi" . Novice students got lot of help from the instructor to finish the product. I sat there helping M aunty to finish the project since we both bought the same pattern. That's the beginning of  my sewing hobby. Thus the seamstress was born.

The best thing about sewing in US is that , you get all sorts of pattern for all sorts of things . The patterns comes with full instruction and it is relatively easy to sew.  My strongest skill is reverse engineering. You give me dress, I can completely take dress out  and make pattern out of it and sew a new dress . At the same time, I am not good at free hand stitching (Indian way of cutting fabrics using free hand method) and I don't miss it.

Few months after attending the sewing class, we moved to Idaho .  I decided not to pursue work in US during our initial years in US due to visa reasons. We might have to live separately for the sake of  job and I was against it then and now. We keep "Money" away in our family decisions. I had quite a lot of time at hand. I sew around 8 -10 dresses for my 4 year old niece as gifts during my trip back home. Hand made gifts gives  extra "I care about you" effect  over store bought gifts .  My sister and my dad were quite surprised to see a sewing machine challenged girl turn into a good dress maker.

Stalker watch- 2ft Grape eyed stalker

Being watched and followed by 2 feet ,grape eyed, cute stalker throughout the day. My unemployment status during this recession never worries me - thanks to this grape eyed stalker who hugs and gives wet kisses  (read drool filled) throughout the day.

 

Current mood: I just wanted to eat him.

Gift from Geeks

I was clearing out NR's baby clothes to accomdate the new batch. We received this tshirt along with other gifts from CB's team last year. Geeks : ).

Now you all know what my husband does for living !

Geek's gift

Tulips are in full bloom

Yes, my hard work paid off. The tulip bulbs I planted in Sept are in full bloom for last two weeks. The purple ones were in bloom when we arrived and I didn't take any picture(s). May be next year.

I wanted to have a raised veggie garden. Not sure If I will be able to have one this year .

We are in the middle of rearranging our home to accommodate new sleeping arrangement for NR . Yes, NR is finally getting a crib. Not sure how this is going  to work out.

NR gets up and crawls away merrily to check out things in the room while tired parents sleep in the early hours of  the morning. So, we've sacrificed our beautiful comfortable bed and have been sleeping on the floor with made-up bed for last one month. I am having terrible back aches when I get up in the morning

(Promise to myself - For next baby, I am not getting that evil epidural which is causing me bad back aches every single day). Stiff  back + managing a crawling toddler throughout the day = tired mom at the end of the day

Home Sweet Home

There is no place on earth which makes me feel happy  like my home. All these  years, my heart felt my home was in India. This is the first time since we came to US , I felt that my home is where my family is - my own family. Being mom definitely brought this change of mind.

I missed my home so much that I wanted come back to Portland as early as possible. But due to some religious commitments I had to stay back till April.

We are back in Portland and I am back to blogging after long self imposed hiatus. When it comes to priorities, blogging  takes the last place.