Stuffed Chicken

I have this second cousin, Indu who was also my classmate who runs a food blog. Hmmmm. Well not a blog in my league ,definitely. She has classic recipes, well written and humourous contents and pictures that makes your mouth water for days and crave for the dish. So last week when she posted one about a stuffed chicken, i almost jumped at the idea of making one myself. But most of the evenings i am too tired to venture into anything too elaborate and hence kept it off for the weekend... And as friday came i became really brave and decided to kick start the weekend by baking a cake. So in the evening i baked a banana cake which is best not to be discussed. I blame it on the voltage and the husband on the fluffiness of the whisked eggs. Either way it was a near flop and that i went to bed feeling so terrible.. COme on, i am almost 30 and cant even bake a decent cake. My kids would be the ones who will look open-mouthedly at their classmates who bring out yum home cooked delicasies and would be shocked to find that they are made at homes by their mammas and not bought from bakeries :(

Well saturday morning saw me in a better mood. Or rather Indu's pictures on her blog did set me into a better mood and i went about marinating the chicken etc. And it was then i got a brain wave. She did fry the chicken in oil and i decided to bake it in the oven after half cooking it on the stove... I followed her recipes with slight changes, such as adding some more masalas and finally baked the half-cooked bird in the microwave for 40 minutes at 180C.. The result......

I managed to gather back my lost ego and face in front of the husband... And did have dreams of my kids superiorly opening thier snack boxes laden with goodies baked by their Nigella Lawson-like mom.....

To say the least,we had a very early dinner and a very very heavy dinner tooo.. Phew..........

My Caramel Custard

I like to cook something out of the ordinary for Gin when he is on his evening shift. His shift goes on till 11:00 pm and he is back home a little before midnight on these shifts. They come only once in a blue moon and so it is exciting to plan the mid night meal and cook it. Though he discourages me heavily, I understand that he enjoys these meals immensely as it is something light and something that he definitely enjoys (read as in the sweet variety ) ..

I have been wanting to make this caramel custard for sometime. With the different lents that covered most of August and the first week of September, I couldn’t make it because it involved eggs. So when he went for his evening shift yesterday,I got all excited and decided to make it. Caramelising the sugar was new to me and as any sensible person does when doubt arises, I too researched high and low on faithful google. What I found out was quiet scary. Most sites equated caramelizing sugar to bursting a bomb keeping it in your hands. THe warnings went on like this "Make sure it doesn’t come in contact with water or it can spurt and splash on you and burn you with its very high temperatures ". One site even asked people to wear goggles during the process etc.

Anyway, I took it under my sleeves and went through the process. I was cautious and it was a relatively simple process. The challenge being to know when exactly to switch the stove off so that the caramel attains the right color and taste. I was on the phone with Amma during the process and I guess I caramelized it a bit too much. So much for multi-tasking!!!!!! Anyway, Gin was pretty kicked to see the whole thing when he got back. And can you imagine, between the two of us, we completely polished it off .. hehhehehehJ So now I know what exactly to make when we have guests over.. * When ever that will be…….*

I had actually followed 2 different recipes, because I didn’t want to bake the stuff. And here we go with the recipe which is quiet simple and with a yummy result

For the custard:

Eggs- 3 nos.

Milk -1.5 cups.

Sugar - 1 cup ( i used only .75 cup)

For the caramel:

Sugar - 4 tbsp

A dash of water.

How to make the custard:

Boil the milk.Whisk the eggs and sugar together. (I dont have a hand mixer orblender.So used good old mixie so that i can get a nice fluffy texture)Now add the milk to the blended mixture.Blend well.Keep aside

How to Caramialise :

Take the sugar in a pan and add a dash of water to it.Turn on the heat and swirl the pan inorder to dissolve the sugar.Let the mixture boil. Keep swirling in between.Slowly the mixture will turn it's colour. Once it is a golden browntake it off the stove and immedieately pour it into the dish kept forsetting the pudding in.Make sure the dish is dry, or there is a chanceof the caramel splashing once in contact with water.(I used a cake tinto set the pudding in)Now pour the blended mixture into the same dish.

How to steam:

Cover the top of this dish with a Al. foil.Immerse the dish into a vessel with some water in its bottom.Steam the dish for about 20 minutes or till a knife comes out clean.Now you can refrigerate the pudding . Once it is chilled, invert thepudding onto a serving plate, so that the caramel side comes on top :)

Now sit back and enjoy......

Naming

One of the bloggers i follow, The Blue Bride did write a very nice blog about what her kids addresses their immediate family. I got enthu about it and decided to note down Dan's list over here.

Since Gin and me belong to the same community and to the same state, we call both our parents Appa and Amma. Though it creates confusions at times, we survive by addressing them as Thrissur Appa-Amma and Kottayam Appa-Amma, without much of a disaster.

But when the kid was about to be born i didnt want the baby to distinguish the grandparents with a prefix. I think everyone in my family did call the grandparents on both sides Appacha Ammachi and just differentiated them with the prefix. I used to call my maternal grandparents Vakathanam Appacha-Ammachi and the paternal ones were just Appacha-Ammachi. I wonder how my Amma felt about it. I should remember to ask her the next time :) I clearly didnt want it with our kid. And Gin's niece did rescue me from this situation by starting a tradation of calling the grandparents by Maama-Ajjajja :) Who am i to change this wonderful tradition and hence Daniel's paternal grandparents are Maama-Ajjajja and his maternal grandies are addressed as Appacha-Ammachi :-) Win-win isnt it.....

Daniel is very blessed to have one of his great grandparents around. And all the more now, because he is spending time with her in Kottayam. He and her other great grand kids (6 in all) refer to our Ammachi as Valiyammachi....

Our eldest niece did name her mothers younger sisters as "ko"". It was the short form for Kochamma, which is what mothers younger sisters are addressed as. So Daniel also follows the same and that leaves CHech and her husband. They are refered to as Valiyammi and valiyappa. I find that very cute. The brother is addressed as Ammacha and the big cousin brothers caption is still remaining blank ,but his wife will be called P ammayi....

We havent yet decided what Dan will call GIn's brother and wife... I guess we will go with G chachen and R kochamma, the same way as Gin refers to his Appa's brothers and wives.

I think the important people or the people with whom Daniel will interact frequently are named and to his credit he recognises most of them. It was simply amazing when he recongnised whom we were talking about when the subject of Bek-Nan-Tama came up and he promptly pointed to their snaps on the refrigerator. And i dont think he remembers seeing them around 4 months back in May.

Another name worth mentioning is one of my cousins on my Amma's side. She insisted on making Daniel address her as Mema :) I guess that is how northern kerala folks address mothers younger sister. :)

So that is how the nomenclature goes on in the Punnoose family.....

Happy Onam

Today is Onam. And as a shame to the Malayali community all
over the world, I am not at all enthu about this festival. I guess the hype and
the glam even in God’s own country has ebbed off, with people buying instant
lunches etc. But with the newly acquired neighborhood friends here at Madras,we have decided to have a combined Onam celebration at their place. Pot luck style. Anyway, they
have a television at their place and I will get to watch nice old Mal movie and
the husband will get to eat enjoy the spread. Don’t get me wrong. I am not
planning to skip dinner or anything. Just mentioned how the situation is
win-win for both of us.

Talking about husband, yesterday evening he was nostalgically
mentioning about how his Onam of yester years were.. He was describing about the
puli-inji curry and the payasam his mom used to make and how he is
craving for the same. To my MIL’s defense, she makes such yum puli-inji
curry. It was at this precise moment I handed him a cheese sandwich; on the day of Onnaam Onam. God bless Gin, he devoured the cheese sandwich with the same gusto that he would have emptied a bowl of paalada paayasam … ;-)Sigh, thank God for small mercies in
life.

The son did celebrate the Onam in style though. Like father,
like son. He was hooked onto the payasam that was made at home in Kottayam yesterday.
He wanted more and more and finally my Amma had to hide it from the little one.
Also he wore his Onam outfit and went for an Onam celebration… For good measure
my Amma did tie a naada around his mundu so that it wont slip off
and show the diaper beneath it and humiliate the boy :P.. They have taken
photographs and I am waiting for them to arrive.. So as an answer to people who
ask me what I am craving for, it is for that snap of our little bubblegum in his Onam
mundu :) :)

So Happy Onam Folks. Have a great one

Today we were on the phone with Amma and got to hear Dan in his element. Hooting and screaming and generally making merry. And for our listening pleasure Amma tickled him and made him laugh out loud. THe laughter that comes out of sheer pleasure and right from his tummy :D. In a way i was happy that he is happy where he is and with whom he is. But then there was also this urge to hold him close and squish and feel his tiny wriggly body against mine.. And Ï"wanted to be the person tickling him and making him laugh. Sigh... I can see a visit to Ktym in the nearest future but that is not good enough..... God give me the serenity to pass through this trial....

Well and while i was mopping around with this thought i came upon this blog and stumbled into this post. I wish i could impart this kind of wisdom to the kids... Maybe i can just divert him to the World Wide Web, instead!!!!!! Anyway, cross posting it here

Simple kind of man.....

Mama told me when I was young

Come sit beside me, my only son

And listen closely to what I say.

And if you do thisIt will help you some sunny day.

Take your time… dont live too fast,

Troubles will come and they will pass.

Go find a woman and youll find love,

And dont forget son,

There is someone up above.

And be a simple kind of man.

Be something you love and understand.

Be a simple kind of man.

Wont you do this for me son,

If you can?

Forget your lust for the rich mans gol

dAll that you need is in your soul,

And you can do this if you try.

All that I want for you my son,

Is to be satisfied.

Boy, dont you worry…

youll find yourself.

Follow you heart and nothing else.

And you can do this if you try.

All I want for you my son,

Is to be satisfied.

Lovely,isnt it???????? And leaving with a snap of Daniel... Just woken up from deep sleep and looking all paavam :)

Guilt trip

Daniel is away at his Appacha-Ammachi's place for the past 2 months. TO tell that we have been missing him is an understatement. There is a Daniel shapped hole in our home and even in our hearts. THe waste basket seems to be just a waste basket now; but when he was here it was the subject of endless possibilites. He used to explore the contents of it, as if they were some precious matter :P Sigh... Life was so interesting with him around...

Did i say so when he was here??? I dont think i did. I kept whining about how he wont even leave the waste basket alone :( I wish i did see things through his eyes and let him be .... And i was watching the videos we so often take and i so clearly uderstood the reason for his reverence towards his appa. In all the videos i am either telling him not to do something or talking to him in a stern voice. Whereas Gin, is always laughing or goofing around with him.. In every single one .... Sigh i wish i was the fun parent too. Well, i can give excuses that i was more at home with him and i did so for his personal safety or that i was physically drained.. But in his little brain, Mamma is the whine-parent and Appa the fun-parent!!!!!!!!!

Little Daniel, Mamma's Dangupie,.... I promise to be more patient and let you enjoy your toddlerhood with more enthusiasm and not with irritation, that i will have to again clean the floor after you upturn the wastebasket... Sorry to be the reprimanding Mamma that i am.. I hope you understand that it was for your own saftey or discipline.. Well, let us forget what is past... I will try not to yell or whine and go chase the world with your wild goofy smile and whooping enthusiasam... :)

Long forgotten post

Daniel... He is 9 months tomorrow. TO think that 9 months back I was in a hospital room frantically praying that the "Baby Doll" would arrive the next day... And now here he is.. In and out of sickness and growing up by God's grace..... In case I forget what an amusing personality that little bundle who refused to sleep and only wanted to stare at the streamers his dotting aunt put up for him in my room he has grown upto J

*After his bout of a very bad case of viral diarrhea two weeks back, he is slowly gaining his strength back. He was never a chubby baby and since he has lost a precious kilo since the sickness people cant stop telling me how lean and sad he looks (???) and I have to make him put some flesh on his bones. I have had enough of other people telling me this. You see, I wont wantedly starve the boy. Oh, even if I will, he is capable enough to bring the house down by yelling and screaming and get his point done...He sprouted another teeth on his lower gum amidst this viral infection. I don't know what he did stuff into his mouth to infect himself with such a nasty infection.. L poor thing did suffer badly and to see a 8 month old puck his innards out is something hearth wrenching. We can very well do without having to see it again in his time as a baby or as a toddler or even as an adult...

*Still continues to stand up with support and for the past two days he has been very innovative. He will stand up holding onto a chair and slowly push the chair forward and as the chair moves he takes baby steps forwards.. Really cute to see ,that is if I don't count my heart sitting inside my mouth all the while. Just yesterday he was tyring to cruise holding onto a counter and his appa had an eureka moment. Asked me to stand at the other end so that he would cruise towards me.. Waddya know?? He sat down and crawled towards me!!!!!! Faster ,you see..

*Just last night he started to give you umma if you ask for it. He kind of comes forward towards the side of your lips and touchs his lips there....That is his way of delivering ummas!!!! And if he is in the mood, he will lick your face while he is at it too!!! So very tickly bickly..

*His sound!!! OMG definitely he has got his voice from my side of the family. His appa's side is the most soft spoken bunch of people .. He screams at the top of his lungs all the time. Once he is gone to sleep we sit and mop at the house which is so quiet.Gin and me are so so bone tired EVERY SINGLE minute. And we have a part-time help who comes to cook and clean for us. I have developed a healthy respect for those parents in the west who raise their kids with no help at all.. Phew!!

*Daniel has an internal antenna connected somewhere which keeps track of our conversations with others and then starting from the next occasion will do right the opposite. Take these for samples..

->He has a big problem drinking water. He just refuses it.Period.I had such a difficult time getting some fluid into his system while he had his tummy upset. One day I was cribbing to Chech about this. What do you think would have happened? The next day onwards he started to drink water from both his sipper and his water bottle .... Well, I am not complaining at all.

->The other incident didn't end well. Daniel was so very accommodating to cut his nails from the time he was just a few weeks old. Never ever has shown a fuss. Being used to his niece who throws a fuss for everything starting from eating to bathing, Gin told his mother about Daniel's habit of being so patient with so much enthusiasm... Yeah, as luck would have it, he just refused to cooperate at all from the next session onwards. Not mildly, Loudly with all the might a 8 month old can muster.he squiggled and wriggled and kicked and thrashed Well, since I am the mother in the equation and since I immensely enjoy the pleasure of having the last word in our conversation/dealings I didn't give in .

*You should see Daniel's face when his Appa returns from work to understand the phrase " the face brightening" . It just lights up and he gives this 2 toothed grin and just jumps off from my hand to his. Then it is appa time all the time. You think this will continue 24/7??? Never.. Once the clock tick 12 midnight, then mamma is his favourite person. He wont pacify if his father soothes him in the night, he will let the whole neighbourhood know if I leave him with his Appa and go to the loo etc etc. I am too sleep deprived to even remember them all... Anyway I am honored . Phew..

How the mighty have fallen?? I have seen the morning hours of 5am only a very few times in my life pre Dan. So my son decided to make me enjoy the morning glory and is up bright and bushy tailed at 5 am.....

I found this saved in the draft. I think too much happened since then and I just forgot to complete this. Our choco pot is 13 months now. My God, we are parents to a toddler now. And to think, that how the Lord Almighty has kept Dan in the middle of his palms and has guarded and guided him since the day he was born/formed... All praise and honor to Him.. Our only prayer for the little fellow is that he will grow as a God loving child....

Our dearest one year old

The world may think you've got a long way to go but I think you've come a really long way in just one year of existence on planet. From the time you kicked your way out to the outside world, while you struggled to keep your tiny eyes open, kicking with all your might, smiling away seeing angels in your sleep and trying to figure out who's who among the new faces you were seeing. You were a miracle or more a wonder to our eyes, only displaying God's geniusness! In your helpless tinyness, it still seemed like you were saying "I'm out to change your world people"! The happiness and pride you brought us from that very moment! You'v discovered, you'v learnt, you've grown and you've even taught! And from discovering your ways of getting things done, climbing stairs, pulling peoples' hair, opening boxes, destroying things, creating things, building things, making noises, watching and learning and just melting away the hearts of the people around you ! You're an individual, you'r an amazing lil personality, you're unique, you're a charm, you're God's masterpiece! Praying you continue to be a great joy to everyone as you grow into a big boy! Sho! The calm assurance that you can face uncertain days because HE lives!

Daniel! You're much loved!!!

Happy birthday!



Truck loads of love,
your lil'est Aunt :)

Out of the mouth of Dan

Dan wakes up real early in the morning. In order to escape from my continuous cribbing about having to wake up early in spite of being awake half the night, Gin will take him and go out of the room so that I can catch some more shut eye time.

So Day before yesterday these two were generally bonding while I was babo and once I was awake Gin told me that Dan had said a word that resembles APPA. I didn’t want to rain on his parade. So I went all oooh-aaah about it. Come-on, kids are supposed to say Amma/Mamma or its dialects first. Not Appa, for God’s sake… Yesterday morning I too heard him saying something that resembles APPA… Aaa-bba or so.. I dismissed it again. In the evening when I went to pick up Dan from the crèche his caretaker said the whole of yesterday he was chanting “Aa-bbaaa, Aaaa-bbba”.. I don’t believe things unless I hear with my own ears. Anyway, I kept prompting Daniel to say Appa, and he just gave me this look which seemed to say- Mamma, you think I will say Appa before Mamma… NEVER”. It was such a blank look as if he has even never heard the word.. I was one happy female :P

Later in the night Gin and me were talking and Dan was playing with the box in which his stacking rings came. Please tell me why we buy him toys that are supposed to bring hand eye coordination or what ever.. He is NEVER interested in the toy buy ALWAYS goes for the box/wrap/cover that it came in as if it is his precious heirloom.. Shoooo..

Well, we were deeply discussing some earth shattering event and we realized that Dan has been chanting in the back ground Aaaaa-pppah Aaaaaaaa-pppah.. Oh My God… The little brat!!!! The second he realized that we were listening he went into his Brrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooo brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooo mode… Again we fake-talked and acted as if we are not giving him any attention and he again said it.. Aaaaaaa-pppahhhhhhh….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We did hug him and went all teary eyed and excited about his first word.. Ok, not WE, mostly Gin (hallo, he didn’t say Mamma first and I am offended, I clean his bum not his Aaaaaaa-pppah). Gin has been seen floating an inch above the ground since then.. That man!!!!!

So our baby officially said his first word…..And that word is Aaaaaa-ppaah *Runs away to wipe off tears*

What is in a name

Some names are so ironic. Like the girl who was named Angel and the devil himself was mighty terrified of her???
Lately I had 2 instances with Overnite couriers.. What does the name suggest to you? That they will deliver over night. Ok, over night will be a little too much to ask. In my experience their name should really be changed to over month or over fortnight..
Let me tell you why……………
*Daniel uses this particular brand of diapers and I buy them online. Usually they courier it by Bluedart or Firstflight. Their services are excellent and I get the consignment within 2-3 days of ordering. And so I plan accordingly. I make an order when the packet is three fourth empty and I definitely receive the stuff well before the packet empties.- Please don’t comment that I should have better managing skills and not to wait till it is three fourths empty.. Such rude comments are not going to be entertained.
So where was i??yeah, this one time I placed my order as usual and it was not delivered for 4-5 days. I went online and checked the whereabouts and saw that it was couriered with overnite people. Well, I sat back and started to wait. As luck would have it Daniel got a stomach bug at pretty much the same time and the diapers where quickly diminishing LI know somepeople will now suggest that I should be more environment friendly and start using cloth diapers etc.SWome-people Will you come back and give me a back massage daily???
I waited for 7 days and still the diapers were on the way. Called the customer care people of the online shop and they promised that they will try to deliver it the next day. Next day went past with no news of the diapers. I was getting real panicky and went and got a set of diapers from the local shop. And promptly Daniel developed a rash. Well, now I had every right to call and scream at the customer care. They promised to deliver it on the same day before 7.00 pm. This was a Saturday. Sunday and Monday went past with no news of my order. And then I called the courier people and they say that the consignment is delivered to Rajalekshmy, Now who in the world is she?? May name doesn’t remotely resemble that. Screamed at them and one hour later they sheepishly tell me that they have wrongly updated the info. Phew. All this while I had nightmares of some Rajalekshmy using the diapers meant for Dan and Dan suffering from nasty diaper rash… Well, after threatening that I will cancel their order and want a cash-back and that I will write nasty remarks about them,they managed to deliver it on tueday morning.Which is a whole 10 days after the initial order…..

*For Valentines I decided to surprise the husband with chocolates. Ordered some yum stuffs and their website promised that they deliver the very next day of the order being placed or at the latest within 2 days. Good enough. I placed the order on the 13th (again, comments on poor managing/planning skills can be kept to self) They updated me with the invoice and Oh-Oh.. it is courierd with the same overnite people…To cut a long story short, the Valentines day chocolates was delivered on the 20th of Feb. Might as well have delivered it the next year… I could have saved some money….

That is the affair with the courier people whose name suggests that they will deliver overnite!!!!!!

I was a huge fan of Adyar Ananda Bhavan….Loved their food and sweets. TO be honest they are neat and their food is good. Well… We went their for brunch on a Sunday. Agreed, it is a busy day for them..When we went it was not crowded, but it was full. We sat down and asked for puri. The sorry excuse for a waiter replied “it is over” while he was walking off to the next table. I mean, he didn’t even look us in our face nor did he give us some other option. We waited for his highness to make appearance and he blessed us with his esteemed presence about 10 minutes later. We were hungry and his manner had made us irritated. I am a person not to be messed with when I am hungry. My husband would vouch that I am a bhadrakaali even otherwise. Imagine me in the above situation…He stands there shifting from leg to leg (he has got ants in his pants or what??) and was acting as if taking our order is way beyond his dignity. He is a senior staff there and when you are doing a job might as well follow you job profile… Show some grace you old-snobbish-man…ANYWAY, we ordered Dosa and he said it will take time.We said that is fine with us and with his nose up in the air he left for the kitchen, came back in the same speed and announced that Dosa is over.. What happened to the dosa that would take time to come to us???????? I lost it and announced that we are leaving. That waiter walked off just like that. Not even an apology, not even bothered to tell us about the other options.. Well…. I walked out loudly announcing about the bad service and the lack of hospitality. Other customers heard and my point was made. Seriously, you are paying good money not to be treated like you are taking alms … It makes me so steamingly mad… Grrrrr
Pray tell me where is the Aanandham in dining at Adyar Ananda Bhavan???????

Daniel.....

Haven’t you seen these woman who can’t stop talking about their husbands or married life when they are newlywed? OR even newly engaged?? Guess i skipped that gloating period since the husband was away during our initial days of married life . But i guess i am making up for it post Dan. The girls i go for lunch with should be cringing away from me, because i mostly speak about Dan and Dan and then some more Dan. I spam their inbox with his snaps or talks about what he does or how he does stuffs... I decided to mend my way and start describing him on the net :) Exactly ONE person reads my blog, and since she doesn’t mind reading about Dan i feel that it is a safe option. It is better for that one person to stop reading my blog than to go for breakfast, lunch and tea all alone....

*Daniel was born on 15th June and he weighed 3.2kgs on birth. Whoever said that normal delivery is a cake walk, please come and meet me.

*He rolled over at exact 48 days. My thought process went off as follows *Wow, he is an early developer. This makes him an advanced kid and so he is definitely going to Harvard and then off to the wall street for his multibillion dollar earning job. And there we are, Gin and me cruising through the Bahamas!!!!!!* Daniel sensed my thoughts and the next time he rolled over was at exact 4 months. There goes my dream of cruising through the Bahamas,

*He used to roll over consistently since October 15th. His moving around in his sleep and otherwise, got quiet scary and Gin and me moved quarters to the floor from the bed for general safety. On December 5th morning, Dan was sleeping on his mattress. I go into the room after sometime and he is missing . My heart took a flip and then i hear a cooing sound from behind the cupboard and VOILA there he is, pulling out the contents of a box. So he began to move on his own, to destinations of his choice henceforth.

*On christams day he stood up with support. Merry Christmas Appa and Mamma , he seems to say. Well, as the good parents we are, we forgot to get him a gift :(

*Sometime in the first week of January, Daniel's Nanny decided to quit. Great... By god's grace he began to go to a crèche nearby and slowly got accustomed to the new place and people.

*He got his first fever and his first loosies almost at the same time :(

*He sat up on his own when he became 7 months old.

*His passion is to climb airs. He will pull himself up on the first step, Will lift up his knees and put it on the next one. And the same process goes on. He climbs about 3 steps in less than a minute. No, it is not funny. It is damn scary because a couple of time he has come down rolling from the steps, thankfully into one of our hands.

*He sprouted his first teeth at exact 8 months, or so i noticed. Now with a teeny weeny teeth and all, i feel that he is a BIG BOY :) Big enough to do errands for me and to take his dad along for company :P

*Now his favorite sport is to stand near the counter where the water filter is kept. The tap is at exact his height and he has managed to open it by himself. This time i didn’t have time to think about his mechanical skills and he designing the future rockets, because i was busy running around swabbing the floor ...

*I feel that he knows how to clap his hands. Once i saw him doing that. At 5 am when he got up and was generally making noise to wake me up. I cant be too sure, because at 5 am i am as good as dead and i could be hallucinating :D

*When we were first married, Gin could go on for days without sleep. And he hated to sleep too. I was the exact opposite. i lived to sleep. Luckily, Gin got on the sleep bug and became a sleepy head soon and our son HATES sleeping. He feels sleeping is for losers. How can 2 sleep lovers end up with a baby who has great aversion to sleep????????

*If you notice, Dan tends to cross most of his milestones on the 15th of each month. I think he realized pretty early in life, that he has got 2 scatter brains for his parents and decided to make life easy for us. If only you decided to sleep a little bit more, my son :)

*And i found out that there are people who live to compare. Yes, compare a child as young as 8 months old. And that too without any compassion. I too decided to grow up and the next time someone compares Dan with XYZ, i too am gonna give them back in the same line. Tit for Tat. Some people just won’t learn unless it hits where it hurts

And thanks Chech, for being the light at the end of the dark tunnel. Right through the pregnancy and during 8 months of parenting Dan.

To be humble is the way to be

Last week we managed to go to the office/day care on all 5 days and I managed to cook too. So that means things were getting under control,right?????. By Saturday I was feeling all kush about my managing skills and was all ready to anoint myself as superwoman. And then..... Dan woke up from his nap crying and was running a fever of 102F- just like that… Definitely to put me back in place, I am sure. We rushed him to the doctor and on that day the doctor had his clinic closed. For the first time in his 10 years of professional life, I bet. So we called him up and he prescribed medicine. Fed Dan the medicine, which of course he managed to puke all over me and the bed and all over him too.. And then he began to feel slightly better. Phew.. we managed to breathe again.. No, no.. Life cant get *that* easy for me, can it?? After about an hour the temperature shot back to 102.. He was moaning in his sleep. We sponged him and tried everything in our means to bring the temperature back to normal. And like all loyal couples we managed to play the blame game too. Well, what took the prize was Gin’s reason for him catching fever- it was because I am not taking enough fruits!!!!!!! Well, it is a fact that Dan is still breast fed. But then how can he catch a fever if my fruit intake is low. Beats me!!! Well, I managed to laugh even in this stressed out state.* Alish, please wipe off that knowing grin off your face…No, I don’t want you to affirm his logic.You both seriously need professional help in your loyal patronage for fruits and fruit juice.* And finally, we decided to take him to the hospital. Bundled him in layers of warm clothes and off we went in our night clothes.. When?? At 12:30 am. Thank God, the good doctor and the angel of a nurse, did manage to bring his fever down and stable in about 2 hours and we left for home. Did I mention that there was no current during all this time.. Yeah, sometimes my lucky stars manage to shine all together…

And while we were walking back, there was this woman walking in front of us, wildly thrashing and waving her hands in the air... She was mentally disturbed. It was no time suitable for a woman her age to be walking around all alone. Yet she was alone and the boldness in her steps and actions proved that she was really not here.. Unnerved by the surrounding, oblivious to what is happening around her. She was in her own world. A world full of violence that she has built for herself. A world of, stabbing and thrashing is where she dwells, I understood from her comments. Or someone/something has forced her to dwell in???? She was loudly commanding someone to be hit and someone else to stabbed. She was asking someone else to stop.It was all too scary. Her voice was loud and clear, piercing in the otherwise quiet night. And it had a dangerous edge to it. Does she see only violence when she is awake?? Doesn’t she notice the misty mornings and sun warmed noon and lovely evenings????

Don’t you think a middle-aged woman of her age should be lying down cozily on her bed, dreaming about her daughter’s wedding or worrying why her son spends too much time with his friends, annoyed at the husbands loud snores.. Not wandering cold and aimlessly on a dust strewn street.
Don’t you think a woman of her age, should have compassion and light in her eyes, a warm twinkle for a baby cooing at her. Not the stony stare or the cold lifeless blood shot eyes..
Don’t you think a woman her age should be have clean starched saris, vermillion smeared forehead and turmeric hued skin… Not the dirt crusted face or the torn and filthy sari….

That is the normal course of life. But she was pushed harshly off the normal road maybe by a cruel twist of fate. She is left out open and cold. with no emotions, no feelings. She is oblivious to all.. A sad sad state…

These two incidents made me eat humble pie. No matter how much of planning you do, no matter how careful you are, it takes only one second to shatter it all and life severs off the normal course… Then you are left scared and worrying or sometimes lonely and cold...What is there to be proud of?? Money, education, position, kids, spouse, parents?? Bah… Nothing..