Joy to the World!

I hope everybody had a lovely Christmas. We sure did!! Bobby and Thath came down and just being together was more than we could ask for.

Junjun ofcourse had to do something for me to blog about.

It was with great pride that i arranged our little crib on a side table we have. Christmas Morn dawned and i showed junjun what i had done. I should have known better than to leave him alone near it. I had barely turned when suddenly, he grabbed the new born baby right out of the manger and said 'amma, look!! kutty papa missing. That aunty and uncle are looking for it!!' I gave him a stern warning not to touch the kutty papa again.

A little while later, i heard maddy calling me quite anxiously. I went and saw what the matter was. There on the little table, all the characters from donkey to wise man were lined up in one straight line, all looking over the edge of the table like they were going to walk the plank. I couldn't help but smile because there, seemingly stranded in the manger, was the kutty papa, untouched.

My little man of honour :) Merry Christmas everybody!!

Health is Wealth Day!!

Junjun's sports day was called that. And it has taken me quite some time to recover enough to write about it.

His grandfather was an athlete and so was his mother and his dad was a hockey player - so how bad could it get?

Real bad.

There they were. Seven little ones ready to start off on their running race. Arjun's name was called but i couldnt see him there! And then at the end of the track, there is this tiny boy with his back to the starting line. It cant be, i thought to myself. But it was. Our very own flesh and blood, obviously minus the athletic genes.

The whistle blew and our man calmly turned around and strolled across the first few steps .... and .... stopped! By now all the other children were running and all their parents were screaming with joy and pride. And then there were Maddy and me...watching in stunned silence as arjun became one of the only two children to be escorted till the finish line by an ayah.

But never mind. we thought. There was still the parent-child race and i had geared up for it by ensuring i wore my sneakers. I had decided i would let arjun run on his own and would only do the puzzle placed half way across the track and then let arjun run again. But that apparently was not the idea everybody else had. Barely had the whistle blown when the children were swung around hips and parents both big and small dashed off to do the jigsaw puzzle. My little man bawled his lungs out when i held his hand and started running. So i had to stop and pick him up to prevent the impression of torture. I had barely bent to put the 6 piece jigsaw together when i realized i was the only one still sitting! So my butterfly jigsaw had a distinct picasso effect as parts flew all over the place and i trudged off with arjun.

We came last. Not just last but so very last that no one realized we didnt actually complete the race. I looked at Maddy sitting under the shamiana and he shrugged and shook his head in disbelief. I was totally torn between wanting to laugh and hide at the same time. And all this while arjun was shrieking his head off.

Since this was a pre-schooler event, it was clearly mentioned in the invite that all events were participatory and NOT competitive. So the end of the day saw arjun get a medal and a certificate just like all the other kids. (applause!! both for the school and junjun pl)

I suspect Maddy was relieved he came for the event in a different car so no one would know that he was connected to us in ANY way. :)

I would write more but i've got to go pay for my membership in the new gym thats opened up. They asked me if i wanted to lose weight and after i narrowed my eyes, they quickly added 'or gain weight?' i told them i wanted to be fit. After all i have just 12 months left for the next sports day!!!

A little Big Thing

Its official. Arjun's application submitted and registration fee has been paid. He is not going to lose a year. LKG, 2008 - here we come!! Three cheers to the CBSE Board which did not think he was too young..hip hip hooray!!

:)

Arjun's remix of cock-a-doodle-doo

'...and the master lost his piddle stick and doesnt know what to do!

ouch! ;)

Change

It is mind boggling how a seemingly angelic child can change a previously composed and balanced woman into a screaming banshee who can sometimes double up as a raving lunatic.

Ball Blooper

"Ammaaaaaa i am going to hit you in the balls."

Whoa!???!!!

First there was the palmist in dakshinchithra who told me i should have been born a boy according to my palm...and i always thought some other part of one's anatomy determined one's sex.

Then there are my most frequent mailers who tell me i can 'make it longer and more powerful' with their pills...

and now my own flesh and blood is casting aspersions on my ...well..whatever!!!?

THUNK! Two smiley balls landed on my back, rousing me from my disturbing reverie. Never been happier...he meant with the balls.

But that was fun ;)

Wren & Martin, move over!

Arjun : Amma, we brung the Dhoom Machade CD from ammamma's house no?

Me : we brung???

Arjun :No, no, we branged the CD no?

Wren & Martin, RIP :)

The convert

Anyone who knows me knows how much i have wanted a daughter.

And then came junjun.

I still remember frowning and saying 'hunh?' when the doc said 'its a boy!'.

I decided the doc might not really appreciate it if i asked if she was really really really really sure, so i decided to shut up and just scowl at her. But there it was. And i knew Maddy would be happy. So i was too. Sort of like getting second prize when the first has gone to your best friend. It doesnt really matter.

I was sure mine was probably the worst response a new mother could ever give till i met a friend of mine who, in the same situation, apparently told the doctor to 'take it away'!! Of course, she had the additional burden of knowing that a room at home was already fully done up in pink for her new born son! Justified :)

Now, two and three fourth years down the line, i am a convert. Actually, the whole family is. Ofcourse it has everything to do with junjun. And I now look forward to some of the perks one gets out of having a son. For instance, i just cant wait.... to be an official 'Mother in Law'.
Wily and evil, manipulative and cruel....carefully condescending, perfectly patronising ..... totally give ekta kapoor a run for her money. yup. something to look forward to.

Then ofcourse there is freud and his greek mythology hang up....but whatever the reasons, one cant deny that there really is something special between a mother and a son.
Atleast for now.
I was told that by the time he comes to the tenth standard, he will pretend i dont exist.
I think i just might be relieved.

So to all ye 'i-wanted-a daughter-but-sheesh-i-got-a-son' people out there....all is not lost. When God closes a door, he opens a window...and hanging on to those window bars for dear life is a screaming banshee you will grow to love. scraped knees, dirty hands, snotty nose and all!

Not again.

The whine, the sneeze

the cough, the wheeze

nebulization, frustration



and the million medicines.



where is arjun?

He is under the chair

He is speaking in falsetto,

saying 'arjun NOT there'



Say a prayer folks

To save you from more corny rhyme

My li'l one needs to be up and about

Preferably in NO time.

So near, yet so far

Arjun in the train, totally anguished :

"Why amma sleeping here and acha sleeping THERE? "

:)

Nov 3rd

Maddy and i complete four years of married life today and Arjun has given us the best gift he could give us...ever. He has begun sleeping through the night.

For those of you who dont have kids yet, u may not understand the significance of this right now...but you just wait :) For those of you who do, i know you are rejoicing with us :)

Cheers to love and a good night's sleep!

Arjun says :

Aishwarya Right - Aishwarya Rai(Abhishek might agree)
gep up - get up
mosteequo - mosquito
Kisna - Krishna

Some memorable lines :

"Acha, is this the way to behave?" (on seeing maddy going back to sleep inspite of our man's attempts to wake him up)

"Acha, say sorry, i will never do it again" (when maddy wanted to change channels!)

"Amma, u r a very bad boy" (it was so funny i forgot why he said it)

"Cockroach Man?" (On asking him which character he wants put up on his wall other than spider man... :)

Sharing is caring ?

A tetra pack of apple juice. For myself.


Arjun sees it and says 'oh thank you so much amma!'


Uh Oh i think to myself. I tell him this is for amma.


He doesn't seem to have heard and puts the straw in. Then he notices me glaring at him. But doesnt seem to get my drift.


Since i dont want him to know all the selfish thoughts running thru my head, i say, "arjun, will you share it with me? "(ofcourse i didnt want the juice...i just wanted to teach him a lesson in sharing :)


Arjun says " sure amma" and gives me the packet. I cannot believe it!!! My son has been abducted by space monsters and a lovely- polite- very nice- look- alike boy has been put in his place! I tentatively take the pack and as i take a sip, i hear a worried 'amma, drink little bit only ok?'


OK. This one is mine :)

Bond

Father and Son bonding exercise - watching James Bond Movies together.

I know for a fact that arjun loves the car chases. I prefer not to think of what maddy likes but its hilarious to see him frantically trying to distract arjun during certain parts of the movie.

This is going to be fun :)

Apt

I am totally wonderstruck that the term 'nonstop nonsense' came into existence before arjun did.
Its scary to think there are more like him out there
:)

Forever Friends :)

It is not every day that i have one of my friends coming over with family just to spend time with us.

Its also not every day that junjun decides to go at his nose in public.

It is very rare that two such events coincide leaving an extremely embarassed me.

This is the first time i feel i am living up to the title of this blog.

That apart, the visit was a love story. For the first time, maddy and i fell in love with a boy who was not our own. (technically) and i know that R and K totally adore junjun.

Hrsh is going to be part of our conversations for a very long time to come.

R&K, if you are reading this, we love you too :)

Flavours ;)

Our first long drive in our brand new car and.....arjun puked all over the seat.

Now when someone asks about our car, we say the colour is 'panther black' and the interiors are 'arjun puke'

c'est la vie!

hmmph

Junjun came and said he wanted to watch Mary Popcorn!!

Definitely a guy thing.

BB Vs MP

Junjun prefers watching Brother Bear to Mary Poppins. It must be a guy thing.

A prayer

I pray :

• that junjun is always proud to be a product of two religions
• that he will never need to choose one over the other
• that he is able to get the best of both our beautiful worlds
• that he has the humility to believe in a supreme being above us
• that he realizes that he does not need to belong to one religion because All religions can belong to him
• that his identity is created by the way he treats people and not by his religion or any other demographic factor
• That he is always proud to be an Indian
• That if at some point, he does feel the need to belong, he knows that it is important to both his parents that he chooses what he wants to. Because irrespective of his choice, we can only love him more.
• That he knows, that we know, that all this will be easier to read than to actually practice out there in the real world.

But these lines have always guided me and i hope he finds them meaningful too.

" In my search for Almighty God , i climbed the topmost steeple

But God said " Go down again, i dwell among the people "

One month Vs One year

We are going to the mattresses!

Arjun is going to lose out on one year because of one month. I thought it was a bigger difference but this is what it is and it is just not worth making him sit out one more year in play school. He is too smart for that and will probably start regressing.

All the schools have put their foot down and are adamant about the age cut off. So we are most probably going to lose the battle. But two more schools are still in the running and one will call us for an interview because they call everybody who applies.

Maddy and me will have to be at our persuasive best...and arjun on his best behaviour.

We might still lose. But will then have to take comfort in the fact that there are many parents out there going through the same thing. Misery does love company.

BUT we ARE going to the mattresses :)

Remixed Version

I cant believe i forgot to put this one down.

Arjun's version of Georgie Porgie

Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie
Kissed the girls and made them boys!

:)

Yay!

Arjun singing before he started school :

a b c d.....h i j k l m n o p


Arjun singing after he started school

yay b c d e yeff g yech ........yell em .....


With due respect to all the wonderful teachers i have had, this post is dedicated to Mark Twain who is reported to have said 'Let not school intefere with your education' !

Cheers! :)

A Dedication ;)

"Loving you is mentally exhausting... "

This is a relevant bit from a song i would have dedicated to junjun had it not been called 'lapdance junkie!'

To send or not to send

Junjun is going to be 3yrs and 4 months old when the next academic year starts. Two months short of three and a half which would make him eligible to start LKG.

Do i put him in some other school where the rules arent so stringent or do i let him go to play school for another year?

Mom says let him enjoy another year...once he starts, there is just so much for him to handle. Maddy is worried it would be like losing a year. He would be around 6 months older than the common age.

If he goes to proper school next year, i could start working again and get back to a life i badly miss. But as smart as he is, if he is the youngest in class, school might just wear him out.

I've got to decide. Fast.

I digress

Today is a special day for me and for this one post, junjun gets left out. Instead, i shall take the liberty to put in something i wrote which i really like :)


My rules for a happy life

Always have a book unfinished
Have a movie u want to see

Have some lime juice in the fridge
or atleast some lemon tea

Find someone to cook for
Find something new to cook

Marry a good friend
Buy that great book.

Find something funny
In all things happy and sad

Try to make people happy
Especially mom and dad!

I love living life
Singing my own song

The way i am living it,
I pray its nice and long!

Cheers! ;)

Erring Earring

Arjun notices everything people wear.
Yesterday, he told his ammamma 'bootiful earrings'. She was obviously floored!
His thatha, not to be left out, said 'i only bought ammamma those earrings'
Arjun promptly asked 'For Amma ?'
Trying to help my dad out of this sticky situation, i quickly told junjun that thatha bought me a beautiful table cloth that i wanted so much! ' Then arjun says 'no, no EARRINGS where for AMMA?'

Thatha has decided to be more discrete about his gifts the next time :)

Grand Day!

It was 'Grand Parent's Day' at junjun's school today.

With thatha being out of town, ammamma took time off from work to take junjun to school for an hour.

Apparently he showed her the toys he plays with and they did a puzzle and some coloring together. There was also some singing happening and the grand finale was a round of Musical Chairs which made everything worthwhile for amma. The reason being...in the course of playing musical chairs, when his ammamma didnt get a chair to sit on, jun jun bawled and brought the house down.

A very thrilled ammamma came back smiling :)

Only Words

Arjun's Lexicon (this is a dynamic post and will get bigger as i remember more) Strictly for the record so his kids can have a ball at his expense!)

Becof - because
mosko - mosquito
moskopellant - mosquito repellant
uncle sleeping car - toy ambulance
big tv - movie theatre
lolly - lorry
tuck - truck

First line of the prayer he learnt at school - Tank u god for the world four feet (Thank you God for the world so sweet) (my personal fav :)

YUCK???

Junjun suddenly came up to me, gave me a hug and said 'i love you amma'. He had never done this before so i was quite thrilled. I hugged him right back and gave him a kiss to go with it.

He stepped back, said 'YUCK!' , wiped the kiss off his cheek and ran away.

I still dont get it.....

....and they say women are complicated!?!?!

Edit : I forgot to add that he was chuckling when he said YUCK. The only reason he got away in one piece! :)

Sexual Abuse of Children

I have been reading a book called Bitter Chocolate. It is a book with an awful subject which just Must be read.

I know that most of you reading this blog either have young children of your own or are getting there. i believe this is something that affects us all.

This book is not new and has received the publicity that is due to it when it was released. But at that time, it was an issue that did not, unfortunately, interest me as it does now and also something i was lucky enough not to be able to relate to.

Sexual Abuse is not the worst thing that can happen to a child. Parents not acknowledging the problem exists and sometimes even when the child tries to communicate it - that is the worst thing. Parents first of all need to know that their child is as vulnerable as any other. They need to be aware and be fierce watch dogs to protect their children, many times from their own family and friends. That is the scary part. And it doesnt matter if it is a boy or a girl. Both are equally vulnerable.

I must warn you that this book is depressing, distressing and many times downright nauseating. But i do believe we are better off reading it. We might save a child and it just might be our own.

Times-they-are-a-changin...

"12 discipline tricks that work"

..and i am actually reading this. sheesh.

Moments of Truth!

Got this forward from Dad. Just could not NOT put it in here. ENJOY!

WHY GOD CREATED CHILDREN(AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives,whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews,or students...here is something to make you chuckle.Whenever your children are out of control,you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extendto His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.And the first thing he said was"DON'T!"
"Don't what? "Adam replied."Don't eat the forbidden fruit."God said."
Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit ?Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit! ""No Way! ""Yes way! "
"Do NOT eat the fruit! "said God.
"Why? "
"Because I am your Father and I said so! " God replied,wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? "God asked.
"Uh huh,"Adam replied.
"Then why did you? "said the Father.
"I don't know,"said Eve.
"She started it! "Adam said."Did not! ""Did too! ""DID NOT! "

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it,don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children,what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
!1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spendthe next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact,they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids.They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY:IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN"AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

Grrrr

All the love went flying out of the window.

15 minutes to get him into the car. Another 15 to cajole/coax/threaten him into putting the seatbelt on. I am late all the time, everywhere. Yesterday, he went around acting cute when i wanted him to drink up his syrup and i totally lost it.

I really dont get how people survive having more than one child!

The Mask

Junjun's wheeze is acting up again. Off to the nebulization counter. But this time, no kicking and screaming. My little one has grown up a lot more than i thought. He let me put on the inhalation mask on his face and very maturely sat through till all the medicine had been inhaled. His only question 'amma, arjun looking handsome?'

I never thought it possible but at that moment, i am quite sure i felt a physical something happen in my heart, and i am quite sure its called love. We are just praying he gets better quickly. He seems strong enough to take it... have my doubts about maddy and me though!

Wha??

Today's portions

1. Revision of Legs


...written on the white board at arjun's school.

:)

Much ado about shorts.

Children usually graduate from shorts to pants. Our little boy is finally graduating from pants to shorts. I had given up on ever seeing him in a pair of shorts. Because of his skin problem, he would always be clad in a pair of full length tracks/pants. But thanks to the removal of milk from his diet, there is a huge improvement in his skin and he now looks like any other little boy - in a pair of shorts! We have crossed a huge milestone.....but i have to stop buying just about all the pairs of shorts i set my eyes on! :)

Destination Unknown!

I told arjun i wud take him to the zoo tomorrow. He immediately runs to Maddy and says 'Amma taking me to the LOO, yippee' :)

Gem of a monster

Arjun had two 'gems' in his hand. I asked him for one. He told me to go to the shop and buy some more. I pointed out that since he had two, he could give me one and he could have one and both of us would be happy. He immediately popped both into his mouth and said, 'amma, pl go to the shop and buy some more.'

Maddy and i are bringing up a monster.

The pain.

arjun almost smashed his finger in the car door.

Almost. It did get caught in the space between the door and the dashboard though. And it hurt. But no damage done. Here is the ensuing conversation

Me : .....next time u get in the car quickly and let me close the door!! Now see whats happened to your finger(...rant...rave......rant some more) and ...so you BETTER listen to amma next time, ok?

Arjun : NO.

...and he isnt even anywhere NEAR being a teenager yet.

Record

There are a few very important things i have forgotten to record.

1. One week short of turning two and a half, arjun finally started to pedal. It was such a huge relief! I am sure the cycle is feeling better too.

2. As on the first of July, we said a final goodbye to the automan coz acha bought ammamma's car for arjun. Ammamma now drives around in a sporty new santro. I am now arjun's official chauffer.

3. Arjun got his first pets - 6 goldfish (care of ammamma and thatha) As of now, 4 remain.

Chennai Chapter

Chennai was a flurry of poojas and vadhiyaars, homams and ellai saapaadu. Being the first death anniversary of our dear achan.....arjun's grandfather from maddy's side, rajesh and shanti (arjun's periyappa and preiyamma) ensured they left no stone unturned in ensuring all the rites and rituals were performed. Am sure achan is smiling in heaven. May his soul rest in peace.

Occupied as we were with all this, we didnt have much time to visit anybody. Thath (and bobby who celebrated their first wedding anniversary on the fifteenth) came and chauffered us around for a couple of days and it was pure fun.

Coming back to coimbatore, we all felt the sadness one always feels when a holiday is over.... but as they say, there is no place like home.

Arjun, after his chennai visit, talks nineteen to the dozen. Hates going to school all over again and tried to convince me that 'school is closed. amma'.

Must mention here that all the vadhiyars fell in love with him, tx to the promptness with which he collapsed face down on the floor each time he had to do a namaskaram!! actually, even we all loved him a little more :)

Expecting the chennai side of the family to visit us next month. Just cant wait to see arjun and suraj together again. Brothers in arms. Absolutely!

Chennai Chit

Logging in from 'abhase's' sexy laptop in chennai. Having a lovely time watching suraj and arjun bond....not that they needed to...they just seemed to pick up where they left off. Blood is thicker than water? so true!

Chennai has changed so much. Am not sure i can live here again. The reason - the terrible traffic. As our very own kochamma put it, 'some traffic police person from bangalore has been transferred here and is messing up chennai too!'

Loved this line thath! ;)

Detailed chennai chit when i am back home.

Today is 'Bring your favourite toy to school' day.

With arjun, as with any other child, the latest toy is always the favourite. My boy went to school with a musical gun (it plays a tune when you keep pressing the trigger and also has a ball on top which kind of opens up and reveals a little man inside). It has the add-on feature of being a whistle if you place the barrel in your mouth - like one would if one is planning to shoot himself.

Since we didnt know about the built in whistle, you can imagine how shocked we were when we saw arjun putting the gun into his mouth barrel first. A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind in a second. Did this act have some dark psychological basis? Have we failed as parents? Is he watching something he shouldnt be on television? (he can switch it on by himself now). Luckily these pleasant thoughts were stopped in their tracks by the piercing, mind shattering sound of a whistle being blown.

Boy, what a relief!! Toy makers though, are having some kind of sick fun.

I just hope the teacher doesnt reprimand me for sending that gun to school. He does love it so....

Dhoom II

Want to make him eat properly, play Dhoom II

Want him to do something, promise to play Dhoom II

Want him to stop doing something, threaten NOT to play Dhoom II.

Want to make him happy, say he looks just like 'rithi roshan' in Dhoom II

Want to make him dance, play the title track of Dhoom II



Maddy and I are planning to present the idea of playing it in a loop to the army. It works very effectively as a form of torture and leaves no physical scars.

Mr Student

They were right.

Today, arjun went to school like a true professional. (If you dont take into account saying bye about 10 times to the automan!)

Did i mention that junjun's name in school reads 'arjun - PG II'?
Post Graduate? Naah.... PlayGroup!!! :)

Uh Oh!

The only objective of sending junjun to play school was so he could have lots of fun with other kids. Period. We really dont want him to learn anything. Just want him to have a ball before the responsibilities of real school begin.

Unfortunately, the novelty of school seems to have worn off. Protests to go to school - 'amma, pl tell auto man we go shopping, no want school' have become a daily affair. His 'bye amma' in a choked voice at the school gate makes me wonder whether we are doing the right thing.

The only reason i still take him there is because by the time i go to pick him up, he is his usual bright, cheerful self and has obviously had a fun time. People tell me its only natural and that he will settle down soon.

But the mornings are terrible.

The right baby

Maddy and i have watched with raised eyebrows as junjun Happily tripped along to school every day. Knowing the history of our attitudes to school we wondered whether they gave us the wrong baby at the hospital. Yesterday though, arjun screamed...'school VENDAAAA' ...

....and all is well with the world again :)

The seat ;)

Arjun : Amma, come and sit on the cycle.
Me : I wont fit in da
Arjun : Why?
Me : The seat is too small
Arjun : Oh amma has beeeeg bum?

Me : (censored)

:)

The first full day

I was tempted to make arjun bunk his first 'full-day' at pre school. He had slept for a mere 6 hours the night before. But then not wanting to feel like an indisciplined mother, i took him to school anyway. He went happily. He was not cranky. He apparently fell asleep WHILE having lunch :)

Fourth day of school and he gets kicked out for falling asleep. I dread to think what the future holds for us!

Note : Its funny how seperation anxiety is hitting me harder than him.... if it is hitting him at all.

Holiday

Thanks to Deepak deciding to get married in far away kannur, we got a holiday we all desperately needed. The scenery, the climate, the people, the resort with the lovely swimming pool and the pleasant landscaping......but NO. Junjun's highlight of the journey was the bumpy BUS RIDE from the railway station to the resort ....with a close second being the train journey from home to kannur.

A universal bond between boys and wheels or the effect of having a tyre man for a grandfather? we will never know.

As we were leaving the resort, the manager, at his courteous best asked us when we are coming back for another visit. Maddy smiled and replied 'when he gets married' pointing to arjun. Arjun turned around and immediately asked maddy 'arjun getting married?'

It was great fun to see the smart-aleckish husband become totally dumbstruck for a change :) although, i must confess, he was not alone!

Day I

Not one child cried.

It was such an anticlimax, it wasnt funny. I was all ready to preen over arjun as he remained his cool self while all the other kids bawled ... but they all settled down quite amicably with their little hammers and went about banging coloured balls through the holes in a box. I did catch myself telling junjun to play with his own balls and leave the other kid's balls alone. Took all my self control not to clutch my stomach and giggle away when i realized what i had just said :P

Five kids is a small class. But it has four boys and one girl. Maddy thinks for the 15 k we are paying, junjun getting just one girlfriend is a raw deal :)

We had barely come back home when junjun was out for the count. I'm loving it!

Starting Pre-School

June 13th is going to be D Day. Arjun's first day in pre-school. I hope they are ready for him!

A synopsis

......what i missed writing about till now....FACT SHEET

Name : Jun Jun (yes, he will kill us when he is older ;)

Birthdate : 18th January, 2005

Physical characteristics :


1. Has gone through stages of looking like me then like his dad, then a mixture but right now : Looks more like his dad ...but has all my charm :)

2. Prefers to run rather than walk. But must mention that he looked like a little simba when he was crawling...with total attitude...toss of the head and always to a beat!

3. A mouth that is overworked already. He just doesnt stop talking!
(ex : yesterday morning he suddenly turned around while watching Dhoom 2 for the nth time and said 'amma, can i shoot you?' i just stared wondering if i had heard right when he realized he had said something wrong. so he quickly corrected his sentence to 'amma, PLEASE can i shoot you?)

4. Skin that is unfortunately like mine but that is getting better every day.

5. Has the cutest little dimple on his chin. (awwwww i know :)