Milestones and new beginnings

How soon three months have sped past - officially the first quarter of 2015 is over. These first three months of the year have been so very busy in our household. Our older son had his upanayanam (janeu) ceremony in February this year - a Big cultural and religious milestone for him :) He already looks older and follows all his daily rituals diligently and it is so awesome to watch him do it :)

And as far as milestones go, the little one is not too far behind. Junior is starting nursery this upcoming month and Mommy is a mess of emotions! Oh why, oh dear God why?

The day I had waited for is nearing closer but I am all nervous and anxious. I desperately craved my freedom and thought I would do anything, just anything to get a few hours away from him but now that I am just so close to it, all I can think of is cuddling him closer to me and imprinting those moments in my mind.

Those days of him just hanging around at home, taking naps whenever, cozying up to mommy - are officially about to be over because now he will be introduced to structure. I am sure he is EXTRA ready for it because he has proven that to me. His face lights up at the thought of going to a nursery (because he obviously thinks I will be sitting there with him). I just pray that he does not cry too much and hope he settles in soonest!

In fact I think mommies have a tougher time settling than the little ones in question. Especially us SAHMs because we are just so used to a little one following us around, tugging at our clothes, asking a hundred questions and a combo of giggling and chattering endlessly. The silence is going to be unnerving at first and hopefully I will get used to it soon.

Do share with me tips on how you got your little one adjusted to the new environs! I am waiting to hear your story

 

It's been a long time..

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month! Well, that's testimony enough for how busy my life has been since we got back from our super extended India trip!!

Sumedh, who was an innocent little 10 month old before I took him to India, crawling around here and there - is now...a 13 month old curious cruiser of a toddler who will stop at nothing. His only agenda is pulling stuff out, yanking wires, opening cabinets, banging stuff on the floor etc. Well, good exercise for me I guess!

I have a big list of pending to-do tasks. To begin with I haven't updated Sumedh's baby book in a long time!! I have just printed the photos today and hope to write down some text and add some important dates to catch up on the lost months - pls forgive me Sumedh!We also don't have the cook who was with us in June - so it's me back  in the kitchen and whipping out basic meals for the fam. All in all, it's been exhausting but worth it even on the worst days when both kids are screaming together and I feel like I'll just disappear into the ground ;-)

What's mommyhood without its challenges? Moms are supposed to be able to do everything. We are expected to solve the mysteries of missing clothes, missing books and bring back some missing smiles too even on the days we don't feel like smiling ourselves. Life is tough for a mom :)

Somewhere in the midst of all this, I find some time to do some craft or just draw. I think it keeps me sane! I also read when I can to keep me connected :)

Being proud of who we are

In the end of September, we got back from a lovely week spent in Spain. I loved everything about that country; especially the greenery, the architecture and the best of all - the carefree, bindaas attitude that floats around in the air. It is that feeling of freedom, of being uninhibited without any stressful thoughts meandering about in the mind.

Yet, there was something else that struck me, it was in conformance to most of the other stories that I had heard from friends and family about the natives in European countries. About how they would not speak to a visitor in English even if they did know the language in bits and pieces. It's just that we experienced it first hand! All around us, we saw that roadside signs, boards, notices, warnings, directions in metro stations etc were all in Spanish. There was no way that a person who did not know the language would ever feel comfortable exploring by themselves.

We managed very well because we did have a broken knowledge of Spanish and we were able to throw in phrases combined with hand gestures that managed to communicate what we wanted.

Cut to India. It is so obvious that English has permeated in every single city, trickling into small towns and villages too. It is very easy for the non-Indian visitors to our country to navigate around without any help [at the risk of getting fleeced by touts though] but still, it is not that they will not understand where they are going.

I am yet to understand why we need to give English so much importance in our country?

Imagine what would happen if we were to politely greet a non-Indian tourist by saying 'Maaf kijiye behenji/bhaisaab; par hum Angrezi nahi bolte'.

They would be surprised for sure, but then they'd make sure they walk around with a Hindi phrase book so as to get around without hassles. By the way it is the same case in the Middle East where I live. Everyone here speaks lots of English/Hindi/Urdu so we don't ever feel that we need to learn Arabic to survive.

Just my thoughts today. But definitely fodder for the mind. Think about it :)

Hello Half-year 2011 ?

Naawwwwww I can't believe the half of 2011 has disappeared already so soon?? :)

I've been up to a lot ! Finished my Semester 3 of the PGDBA, and also started to work full-time :) In between all that it's been a whirling typhoon with managing the house, husband and the kid. And I've also been supporting and contributing to a lot of other blogs too :)

I am so totally looking forward to the rest of 2011... want to travel, see one new destination at least and I want to just relax. I also want to meet my personal goal of staying in touch with friends and speaking to them on the phone [at least what I can manage].

And I also want to write more... :) and I promise to pay more attention to Raagfusion and update more often ! :)