Have a Heat-y New Year

Something's been the matter with the HVAC ie the heater in our home. 

We own a condominium in which the heating unit and controls are in our own home. Which means that when we need to switch from AC to heat sometime in September-October, we do it ourselves, we don't wait for the 'building management' to make the switch on our behalf. Which is what people in many rental apartments have to do. 

The upside to this system is that you are your own boss, A and I decide what temperature we want, when. Be it snow or sunshine. 

The downside to this lovely independence is that when the heater decides to die on you at 9:30pm on New Year's Eve, just after your last party guest leaves (yes with a newborn and a toddler, we were pretty lame and yawning and bleary eyed at 9pm for our impromptu get-together. But hey- the party started at 2pm with our first guest showing up to our very cool 'open house party', in which we asked folks to swing by whenever they wanted to, through the afternoon and evening. We ordered heavy snacks and friends took turns holding the baby and playing with the toddler. It was fantastic!!!)

Back to the heater issue. Everyone left and suddenly the temperature at home dropped from 72F to 64F in a matter of ten minutes. The engineer-educated husband A tinkered around with the heater and gloomily announced that she (should I call a machine a he?) was not working.

We needed a repairman on the night of New Year's Eve, when there was a raging snowstorm and a ridiculous traffic jam outside. Crap. 

The chances of getting one were slim. Which meant that we probably needed to wake the kids, pack up and move to our friends P&D's place for the night. Wake sleeping kids. Shudder. Because our freezing home would only get colder, considering it was 18F or, in sensible language, a crazy MINUS 12C! 

Well the short version of the story is that A did manage to find someone to come... turns out a broken heater is an emergency situation in the developed world and there are heat companies working round the clock for this precise panicky reason. 

Best part of all- my bedroom was always on the colder side.. And right now, as I type this at 3AM on the first of January 2014, I am happy to report that my room is FINALLY toasty as hell. 

Just the way a true blooded Madrasi chick likes it. We are warm blooded mammals, people! Let's strive for heath over coolth, always!

This does not mean I will stop stealing the better half of the quilt from A, mind it. 

In this new year 2014 I resolve to NEVER take the power of the home heater for granted. I promise to NEVER verbally abuse this machine ever. However noisy and loud it is. (Sounds like a friggin truck) Howmuchever space it takes up in my home. (It is the size of a small closet)

This does mean that I am thrilled at this moment and rejoicing the warm start to this fabulous year ahead.

From our family of four to your cosy family, HAPPY NEW YEAR and stay warm, cool, cold, tepid, lukewarm...whatever temperature gives you your kicks!!!

You're Invited to the Naming Ceremony!

No, you gullible reader, this is not my second baby. This image was sourced from the internet

My husband A and I have two kids I've recently started calling S1 and S2 on this blog.

S1 and S2 have names in the real world - thank goodness the hospitals in the U.S. require names before discharging babies...otherwise A and I would probably still have placeholder numbers for these two tots of ours. 

However, calling the kids S1 and S2 make them sound like a whole bunch of things but NOT like baby names. More like

- Secret strategic missiles from Iran

- Two versions of an anti-virus software

- Apple operating system upgrades Oh!S1 and Oh!S2

- Adjacent seats on an airplane owned by Mr.S

- Robotic Mr.S's two platinum baby bots

- The heart sounds lub and dub. Lub is S1 and Dub is S2. No, really. I didn't make this one up. I googled it. It's medical terminology and all

Instead, a name that says SOMETHING about their personalities, hints at their real names, sounds divinely baby-ish are all great themes for new names on the blog.

Therefore, I NEED NEW BLOG-NAMES FOR MY TWO GIRLS. The search is on.

You know, like

Raindrops and Roses

Precious older S is full of spark, spunk and personality like a multidimensional raindrop while little S is still a dainty petite little Rose
However, this sounds a little corny at many levels. Pretty, though. I'm torn.

Seashells and Sunshine

Nice alliterative confusing tongue twisters, eh? Just to mess with your head

Lub and Dub

All in the spirit of sticking with Medicine 

Oompa and Loompa

Cho cute I say...all because I love Willy Wonka and his imagination

Thing 1 and Thing 2

As my aunt said, factual and objective names clearly indicating which baby is being talked about

Naming babies in the real world is seeming easier than naming em in the virtual world, eh?

Any suggestions out there? Don't be shy to speak up. After S1 and S2, ANYTHING will burst of creative thinking.

10 Steps to a Hollywood-Style Birth (not for the faint-hearted)

In Hollywood, from 'Honey i think its time!' to a plump, pink baby takes only 20 minutes

                 The mom smiles cheerily, wears make-up and looks fabulously delicious

Dear daughters big S & little S (I know, I know, I need new names for you two on this blog), 

I'm no octo-mom, I only have you two babies. But I've learnt a thing or two about birthing babies these past two years. As I begin writing this blog post, you, my big bold older one, are 19 months old and you, my teeny tiny vulnerable younger baby, you are just 10 days old. Am not sure how old you both will be when I finish writing this, since managing a newborn is quite the distraction and I keep leaving this post mid-sentence to meekly address either of your demands.

I write this because you are both girls and some day you might want to have your own babies. I'm sure we will create so many memories in the next few years that I will completely forget my birth experiences very quickly. Therefore, here is my story as I remember it vividly.

Contrary to all the horror birth stories you must have heard about, I am very happy with my birth stories. I am thrilled to report that I did have a Hollywood-style birth this time around. Sure, even the 'easiest' birth is ridiculously hard and leaves you feeling like something the cat dragged in but I believe that a good birth story is rare and can be immensely empowering to the mother and the person who listens to the story. 

Thank you, my babies, for being so co-operative through my pregnancies and births. You were both marvelous!

Here are my two cents on how to have that elusive Hollywood-style birth.Everything below assumes a healthy mom and a normal pregnancy with no complications, of course. (insert disclaimers galore)

10 STEPS TO A HOLLYWOOD-STYLE BIRTH 

1. HAVE A BIRTH PLAN 
When you know what you want the world will conspire to get you there. Try to envision the actual birth itself. Do not shut your eyes in fear. Visualization is half the job done. 

What is your ideal scene? A natural drug-free birth? A birth with minimal pain? A combination of both? A c-section? 

I was pretty clear that I did not want any pain medication. I am TERRIFIED of medication, especially the epidural, a cocktail injected into the spine to numb you waist downwards, and was mentally prepared for any amount of pain. 

Of course, the first time around whenever I said I wanted a "natural birth", people looked at me like I was one of those nut jobs who wanted to birth in a fragrant blue pool full of lotus flowers, incense and dancing mermaids. 

Maybe I was truly naive about how much pain labor involved the first time around. But I was fine. I survived. As a result, the second time around, I did have a feeling of 'been there done that' confidence. I am proud that I had two completely natural drug-free births. If I can do it, you both totally can. I have experienced how pig-headed and stubborn both of you are about getting your way so don't kid me about being scared. Na-ah!

If you want a natural birth, read Ina May's books. She is a midwife whose mission is to reduce the fear of birth in the U.S.

2. EXERCISE TILL YOU DROP...ERR...THE BABY DROPS
Exercise in pregnancy is all about focus on gravity, balance and movement. Anything you do should work with these three principles. Don't push it...listen to your body and exercise till you feel great, not till you pass out or something.

First trimester - Goal is to survive morning sickness and the fatigue that comes with being pregnant. Listen to your body, rest and exercise only when you really feel like it

Second trimester - Goal is to feel great and ensure you have increased flexibility and endurance. Think yoga, pilates, swimming

Third trimester - Goal is to have energy and  get your baby in the right position. Think walking and squats. The idea is to 'walk the baby down' so he/she settles head down, ready for 'blast-off'.

Also- sweep and swab floors in the third trimester. Full on desi style. Crawl on all fours. While you're at it, go on and rock your belly to make sure baby is head down and in anterior position. Sure it looks hilarious to anyone watching but it works.

3. EAT A RAINBOW A DAY

Enough people, including your doctor, best friend and mother-in-law will talk about eating healthy. You can google 'pregnancy nutrition' (if google exists when you read this) so am not going to go on. 

It all comes down to colorful vegetables and fruits...what I'm calling 'rainbow food'. Steel cut oatmeal. Dates in the last month. 

4. LINE UP YOUR LADIES

Through both my pregnancies and births, I relied on the power of sisterhood - women telling women what works.

If you have a woman friend who lives nearby and actually even remembers what her birth was like and has sage advice for you, great. I hired a doula (sort of like a midwife who helps you manage pain through water therapy, massage etc.) to help me with the pain.

If you want me, I will most willingly be there for you and help you through your big day. I want to give you the freedom and space to decide whether you want me there or not. 

In all this, am assuming you will have a great husband (partner...whatever) who will be your rock through the pregnancy and beyond. Your appa and the doula helped me through both my labor experiences and were simply superb sources of support for massages, emotions, confidence boosts, forbidden snacks, water and just plain eye contact. 

5. HAVE A PLAN-B
HEY! Reality check, girls. Even the best laid plans go awry when we are talking labor and delivery. Think of a back-up plan and be open to a complete overhaul to Plan A

My Plan A was to 'embrace pain'. Second time around i.e. 10 days ago, I was experiencing 3 days and nights of early labor and my pain was getting so intense at 4AM on Monday morning that all my best laid plans flew out of the window.

My Plan B therefore, as narrated to your appa, was to "have the baby ANYHOW, just take this darn pain away or I'll kill you!"  I remember telling your appa to "take me to the hospital, give me the epidural, cut me up and get this baby outta me". 

Thankfully, I had the baby very quickly and there was no time even for an IV hook-up, let alone an epidural. Some babies will have a complex journey into this world though so DO NOT beat yourself up if your birth does not go according to plan. It's fine. Move on.

5. DON'T BE SELF-CONSCIOUS
HAHAHAHAHHAHAA! This one's a joke because labor is so involving, there will be no time to be self-conscious. 

I have to say this because I know some women who feel that labor is undignified. The same women believe that a c-section is much cleaner and more dignified than a natural birth. Seriously?! We are talking MAJOR surgery here. Embrace the amazing body you have and marvel at how powerful nature is.

Story time: my water broke at the end of labor...in the elevator of my building as we were rushing to get into the car. I was in so much pain, I couldn't even walk. I had to literally crawl to the car...on all fours, from my doorstep to the car...no kidding. My neighbor saw me and must have thought it was some Indian religious ritual I was performing on all fours.

6. OBEY THE BODY'S MIND
I think the body has a mind of its own. Just go with the flow and listen to what the body is telling you. 

I was sure I was going to give birth in the car because I started pushing on the way to the hospital. And when baby decides to get out, there is nothing that will hold that determined baby back. Yep, am referring to you, little S.

7. GET VALET PARKING
This is no time to gingerly parallel park or save 5$ on parking. Yes, this is your ultra-savings-conscious-immigrant-desi-mom actually telling you to go ahead and splurge on valet parking. 

I must also tell you that when your appa pulled up in the hospital driveway and the valet asked "Valet parking, sir?",  he yelled all excitedly, Hollywood-style, "Yeah man, she's pushing!!!"

8. DELIVER BABY IN RECORD TIME
Since I had labored entirely at home and was ready to give birth in the car, it was no time before little S was born. My water broke at 7:18AM at home, we reached Prentice Women's Hospital at 7:30AM and you, little S, were born at 7:54AM with a flurry of activity all around

I was fully conscious, alert and thrilled to be done with the pain. And happy beyond belief to finally meet you!

9. WEAR MAKE-UP AND SMILE
I know this sounds frivolous and petty. Calm down. Hear me out.

Last time around, when I gave birth to big S, I thought packing any sort of make-up was a symbol of vanity. I decided that giving birth was such a huge and momentous event that make-up was a silly thing to even think about. I therefore, did not pack any and looked AWFUL in the pictures. 

This time around, I said vanity-shanity and packed some basic make-up. I actually wore lipstick and kaajal a couple of hours after giving birth and felt amazingly refreshed and energized. And I LOVE the pictures we took as a family.

10. TAKE CHOCOLATES FOR THE NURSES
Oh before I forget...I learnt this the hard way the first time around. Remember to pack some tasty treats for the nurses who take care of you postpartum. You might be just another woman in the postpartum ward to the nurses but once you offer them Hershey's Kisses, they surprisingly show up to your room to check on you more often and are just NICER to you. 

Life's little lessons learnt. Good luck!

Bumbling into Books - 4 - Preparing for New Babies

This is a draft post I wrote a month ago:

Here are the highly contextual books 18 month old S (and I, by default) are reading this month. I'm too superstitious to announce that I'm very VERY big and pregnant as I write this - am 37 weeks along. 

So my brilliant plan is to write all this, save drafts and publish them as a distraction while I'm screaming through labor in the hospital. Eeyahahahhaa! (not)

Of course, am super tense about how Precious S takes the whole thing. It's amazing how this time around my only concern seems to be S and not my own labor or delivery. Motherhood is so weird and all bloody sacrificial, I say!

In my usual "let's prepare till we drop" style, I borrowed a ton of "prepare your baby for the new baby" books from the library and am reading them to S.

Not sure how much she really understands but she sure loves these books. These are rank ordered from her most favorite to least favorite:

S loves all the 'new' animals and their little ones snuggled close to their mamas: 
Armadillo, coyote, raccoon, platypus and puggles, kangaroo and joey

UPDATE: I really do want to thank Mama's Milk. The day baby #2 was born, S came to the hospital and saw me nursing and said "amma feeding baby" and did NOT get jealous or freak out. I think...thanks to this book

Cute illustrations. Simple story. 
S enjoys seeing an image of the mom nursing the new baby while the oblivious dad sleeps soundly beside them. 
(Dislike!)

Once he learns to play with her, the little monster quickly accepts the new baby in the house. 
S was a little disappointed there was no Cookie Monster in the book. 
No thanks to you, Elmo, for setting up these expectations!

Akka book
Personally, I didn't like this one too much. S loved seeing the older sister i.e. the akka carrying a baby, though

...and baby makes four

Hello people - I was out having a baby these past few days. Yeah- I've been sort of hush-hush about the whole pregnancy thing on this blog..didn't want to jinx anything. Me and my superstitions! 

We are now a family of four - I gave birth to our second daughter (let's call her S-2 for now) four days ago. 

Here is the birth announcement proud father A sent to family and friends:

We are ecstatic to announce the arrival of our second daughter, S-2

She set foot in this world on Monday, November 25th at 7:54am - weighing in at a dainty 6 pounds, 3 ounces and ready to rule the world. 

We are glad we made it to the hospital in time - at 7:30am -  with a more than sufficient 24 minutes to spare!

S-2 true to her name, has been gentle and restful - except between the hours of 1am and 8am. Older sister S has been prancing around the house saying 'Kutti Paapa' (small baby) and is waiting to share her Blankie with her. (Or not).

With our best wishes for Thanksgiving and the Holiday season!!

Stay tuned for more on the crazy Hollywood-type birth story later! 

The Teddy Bears' Picnic

Totally corny banner but 
 surprisingly cute and enjoyable show

We went to watch the "Teddy Bears' Picnic" at the Emerald City Theatre in our neighborhood last month. 

When my friend SP sent me an email about this show, I jumped and said yes because I wanted Precious S to have a new experience. Heck, even I was dying to have a new experience for the weekend. 


Toddler theatre seems to be a cool fun thing to do out here. God knows I hadn't even heard of it before S was born. Well, I think I was 16 the first time I went to a watch a play at a theatre outside the confines of my school or college walls (I know, reeking of a third world 'totally deprived' childhood compared to the first world childhood, right?!) so I did wonder how much kids that young would even understand from theatre.

But hey - I figured that anything that involved wholesome fun without a TV screen or an iPad was worth a shot. and come on, teddy bears and picnic seem like a no-brainer sure-shot formula to win a kid's heart. Sure, it sucked that we had to show up by 9AM on a Saturday morning but an early start to the day is the price of parenthood anyway!

I researched the show and the local CBS news website had some good things to say:
Emerald City Theatre’s shows are as pure, ambitious and hopeful as their vision: “To imagine a day when participating in the arts will be considered as critical to a child’s development as reading, writing or math.” (Oh, and they’re a lot of fun, too!)

A simple story line with a 'good for kids' theme. This is a story for kids aged 0-4 and the theme is about sharing with others. Mama Bear and Baby Bear invite you to a picnic, you help set it up and then discover goodies along the way with Baby Bear. 

We all sat desi-style on the floor and kids could freely wander all around. There was no physical demarcation between stage and audience so at some point, there was total chaos and the actors were great sports about integrating the randomness into the show.

Pictures for you:  Proof that A and I did SOMETHING out of the mundane, this is visual ammunition when S grows up and accuses us of being bo-ring parents. HA! Gotcha, kiddo!

Each family got a picnic basket full of  fake goodies like fake honey and fruits 

Hi there mama bear! She was very expressive, animated and totally delightful as an actor.
S couldn't stop looking at her through the show

Yoo hoo Baby Bear - a ventriloquist act. 
He didn't say much but was cute and made all the right kiddie snorts and grunts when he had to speak up

Mama Bear started collecting honey from the audience. 

Best part - S got to converse with a real bear

S had an animated conversation with Baby Bear at the end of the show. 
Because out here, Bears can talk and so can S!

Err...S refused to part with the plastic flower that 'produced honey'

All in all, good fun for A and me. S enjoyed watching and listening to the bears but we thought she was way too young to actually process anything that was going on. We do plan to be back next year, when she will understand way more.

Bumbling into Books - 3

These are the books my 18-month-old-going-on-18-years-old S and I are reading these days:

I picked this up because it's a Neil Gaiman book and I'm a fan of his writing.
S loves the part where Chu is about to sneeze and then she giggles hysterically when Chu sneezes Aaaaaachhhhhhhhhoooooooooo!

S loves the new animals featured in this book: Platypus, Wombat, Dragonfly, Tadpole, Koala
I must say that I feel like the wombat in the story thanks for my lousy swimming skills
Thanks, AJ, for the awesome recommendation!

Thanks, AR and ZV for this cute book!!!
This series is a little advanced for her right now but 
S loves the happy face of Miss Sunshine, the adorable illustrations. I make up a random story that matches the illustrations each time we read the book and she's engaged

The Day Apple Picking became Pumpkin Patch-ing

We almost missed apple picking season this year. Well, that's not a big disappointment, considering I've never ever been apple picking anyway. *snigger*

Somehow this Fall, I felt I really should experience this seasonal adventure along with the family and see what all the fuss was about.

I always had this skeptic inner voice in me saying this whole thing is a smart marketing scheme that a lazy farmer conjured up. My mind shouted aloud:

 "What? We are supposed to pick our own apples and also pay for them? WTF?!" 

Thanks to my friend RMD's excellent advice, we went to County Line Orchard which is a farm and orchard in Northwest Indiana. It was hardly crowded when we got there around 11AM the first Sunday in November, though it was the last day of apple picking and possibly, of decent weather. It was a little chilly but pleasantly sunny, around 49 Fahrenheit or 11 Celcius. 

Brrr! I don't believe I actually used the word 'pleasant' for that temperature...but hey...what can I say - I am a Chicagoan now, once upon a time a Madrasi.

The tractor wagon that carted us to the apple orchard and back. 
What a perfect sky huh?

Turns out, we didn't do much apple picking. We reached the apple trees...

Pink apples against pink Fall trees

...and my parents went absolutely, unbelievably nuts picking fallen apples from the ground. They were SO excited.

Oh how the apples have fallen

"So many many apples. Let's pick them all!"

"No, ma, you don't need to pick them all, it's not a contest. You just pick the ones that look great off the trees"

"But there are so many just waiting to be picked. In Madras someone would have surely stolen them by now"

"But we need to pay for what we pick anyway, ma. They aren't free"

Sigh. 

She wasn't paying attention cos she was picking up apples with this new found inner frenzy. This is what happens to city people who live cooped up in apartments and have never had access to pink Gala apples fresh off the trees. 

Anyway, apple picking abruptly ended when our Precious S ran away from the apples. Err....we sure did some 'Pumpkin Patch-ing' though. She loved carrying pumpkins all over the place.

I pumpkin, therefore I am

Come on, quick! We have pumpkin-work to accomplish today

After her Pumpkin workout, 18 month old S decided she needed some alone quiet time and walked through the pretty woods towards the farm animals. We meekly followed.

Falling into yellow

Falling into red

The farm was the best part. S loved petting the Llamas. If you remember my previous post on her favorite books, you'll know why. She started talking to the Llamas, calling them over, petting them and basically refused to leave them for a whole 45 minutes.

The stars of the show:
Llama, Llama, time to share S

The 'extras': 
My little pony

Picture perfect calves 

The goats couldn't wait to be petted...

...and S couldn't wait to pet them

After all the "one with nature"-ness, I had to spend some hard cash on farm treats. Sure enough, there was a store at the entrance.

Our loot: honey, honey mustard, 4 types of homemade fudge, blackberry syrup, 3 types of salsa and 
a honey lollipop (not for S, for me. I LOVE honey)

Hasta la vista! We will be back next year.

10 Reasons to Celebrate Diwali on Halloween

1. When others zig, you zag. Just feels cool to not do what everyone else is doing

2. You have zero pressure to buy a costume for your 18-month old who doesn't really understand what Halloween is all about anyway

3. You go to the temple to get the Diwali feeling. 
You beat the Hindu temple god-viewing lines and get to the idols 4 times faster than you would on the actual Diwali weekend

4. You beat the crazy Hindu temple yummy food-eating lines and feed the hunger pangs 4 times faster than you would on the actual Diwali weekend

5. Because of the multiplier effect of combining #3 and #4,  you feed your toddler when she is hungry and not when she is beyond hungry and you are beyond hungry and you want to pull your eyelids out. 
Or your spouse's eyelids. 

6. When everyone is out at a Halloween party or trick-a-treating, you hit the kiddie pool at the local gym and get the GLORIOUS BLUE-Y POOL all to yourselves for an hour. You are instantly transported to Hollywood star status.
(psst! and you know no one has peed in the pool that day because no one has really been in it.) 
Yes, this is one of my not-so-fun regular paranoias. Sorry. Had to share.

7. You get to take lots of pictures of kiddo and family in traditional garb in a non-crowded temple without some random old uncle's face somehow always creeping into your photo

8. You get your parents to experience a slice of India in the U.S. so they can talk about it to their friends back home.
The temples in the U.S. are so clean, no?! The priests don't even sweat there. So hygienic.

9. You are done with Diwali celebrations before Diwali. Whew. No pressure.

10. You are therefore, done with key cultural immersion for your kid for the year. KA-CHING!!! No first generation immigration guilt that you, yes, you basically broke the link to your million-year old beautiful Indian heritage and cultural kaleidoscope. 

How a 32-year old is learning swimming, singing and sleeping

Swimming, singing and sleeping. 

These are the 3 words Precious S is saying really often these days. And she is all about delicious action, not mere words. 

SWIMMING

A takes S out swimming over weekends and she simply loves it. In fact she demands it every other day. She loves her special daddy-time, her neon pink polka-dot swimsuit (I swear, it's so bright, it's almost blinding), the feel of splashing water all around and most importantly- the act of kicking, which she does with 100% enthusiasm.

Spot the daddy-daughter duo.
Sigh! Don't you just love the blue-y blue of swimming pools?

I usually tag along, doing my own beach whale act in the corner. Thing is, I don't really know how to swim. I never learnt how to as a kid. I mean, I can survive swimming the breadth of a pool...but ask me to swim the length and my stomach turns into an octopus with knotted feet. 

Imagine these feet knotting up in my belly

Somehow my maternal instinct has kicked in for swimming too - I ask myself what I would do if S needed rescuing in the pool when she is swimming. 

What if she gets a leg cramp?
What if when she is a cute teenager, some shady boy tries to start a slimy conversation with her and I need to quickly rescue her in the deep end?
What if she wants her mom to be cool enough to go swimming with her and not be a random "Oh I'm too old for all this" type of traditional mom?

Anyway, while thinking those random positive thoughts, I realize I can't be left behind and need to catch up with my 18-month old daughter. The good thing is that I tag along and splash about in the pool, regaining confidence to 'swim'. 
Or at least look cool enough to not freak out and need rescuing in 3 feet of water. 

SINGING

S has taken to singing these days and bursts into err...'song?' at every opportunity. Her expressions and intonations while she sings are absolutely priceless. She throws in all energy and effort into the most intense expressions I've ever seen. 

Eyebrows raised, head turned slightly upwards, she makes a perfect O with her mouth and sings 

Aaaaa....aaaaaaaaaaaa...aa....aaaaaaaaaaa...aa..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I appreciate music in a naive, base instinct type of way but have no idea how to 'teach' her any sort of music. Not that an 18-month old needs to be strumming a guitar or listening to Bach all the time...but I would surely love to expose her to different types of musical fun. Bollywood, Carnatic music, Western classical, hip hop, basically anything that isn't just nursery rhyme. 

Thus, am expanding my horizons in search of pure music. 

SLEEPING

I know, I know. I probably shouldn't be pulling S into my bed when she wakes up at 4am. Especially because we end up in this fun 6am position with her bottom smothering my face. 

Inspirational pictures from this blog

I'm learning to sleep in spurts these days, because we are in the start of Fall season = Flu season and S invariably wakes up at random hours of the night demanding mommy. After a few exhausting and unproductive days, I ditched my habit of going to sleep at a consistent time everyday and just started sleeping whenever the urge hits. 

The luxury of working on my own terms. aaahhhh!

Bumbling into Books - 2

Here are the top books 17 month old S (and I, by default) are reading this month:

The "Beep Beep" book

But WHY do I like this book?
1. Simple, fun rhymes

2. S points out all the vehicles along with their colors..."Boo truck, Ait van, Reg bus"

3. A sure fire way to a child's heart...err...anyone with a child's heart...I always love anthropomorphism in books...when buses talk and geese sing and clouds run
4. Fun first experiences with onomatopoeia with Beep, Swish, Swash, Swoosh, Zoom, Woeeee!
5. There is a host of vehicles that she doesn't see everyday on the streets - limousine, double-decker bus

THANK YOU, Sg, At and At Jr. for gifting this book to S...it's her fave this month!

The Yaama Yaama book

Thanks, AJ and 'anonymous' person from this post for the recommendation.
S loves the alliteration in the name of the book. I remember I used pronounce the L in Llama before I visited Peru. Now I only say "Yaama", the Spanish way, but not sure if that's right for an English book. 
The book teaches the reader to share his/her toys...not sure Precious understands that yet! She just loves the funny names for animals : Llama and Gnu

English-Tamil bilingual book from Tulika 

Thanks, AM, for this super cute book. This is one of S's bedtime storybooks. It's simple, easy to memorize, has ample repetition which toddlers love AND is a compact and lightweight paperback, so I've taken this with me for travel too. Looks like we in the U.S can also buy this and similar books online