Answer these..

Just like many parents of curious 4-yr olds, I have no answers to some questions. ..
Sample this-
"Jivanta" mhanje kay? (Whats the meaning of "Alive"?)

Really, what does it mean?
I can handle the "Why was I not invited to your wedding?" types. Not these.

Moving

Haven't been writing for some time, we still are with the homeschool regimen. Most days its about cleaning, sorting and more importantly, giving away. We will be moving soon, where and when yet to be decided.
Our little girl had to part with many toys. With the restrictions on luggage on all US airlines, we have to downsize. I was not sure how she would take it. Was worrying for no reason. She seemed to have caught up with our moving-spirit. I did explain to her that we cannot take all your stuff with us, we have to give away most. Some other kid will get to play with your toys.
She was absolutely fine with it. Except for her bright red toy kitchen platform. It was beautiful, with the range, oven, sink, faucet and a clock. She loved it. Hubby said to her, "Its too big for our suitcase, right? Let's give it away, some little girl might want it. She'll be so happy."
She did accept the idea. The trip to Goodwill store with the toys was smooth. She did not even look back. And now, never even mentions any of her toys. Wow, I was dreading all of this for no reason.
We still have her tricycle, few small toys, books and crayons. And now that its not very cold, we go out in the afternoon, me for a walk and she, on her tricycle. Wonderful with the spring landscape, the white/ pink all over.
See snaps ....fall, winter and spring :)

Height of laziness

I have called myself lazy in a few of my posts.
No More!!! Today, i give the honor to someone.
My own daughter.
Now i know why people call her a replica of me.

Today, she woke up and went straight to the TV, as usual.
She was hungry. I said, Brush first and I'll get your breakfast.
No Mom! I'll eat first and then brush...
Abslutely not, you can eat ONLY after you brush...

(We have this argument almost everyday
Keeps going back and forth until she gives up.)

After some time, when she got REALLY hungry, she said,
OK I'll brush, but I'll brush only the front teeth, not the ones at the back.....

True hallmark of a Genius!!! How did she come up with that??

Now you know why I am giving her the honor .. :)

homeschool update

We got around to it today.
The weather chart was updated, check pic :)




Did some assignments from the pre-school workbook. Sorting, counting, concepts:more/less, same different...etc. A counting assignment where there is a number on the left, color as many fishes as the number suggests. For reasons unknown, the kid colored all the fishes black. Controlled the urge to intercept. Was a COUNTING assignment anyway.

Did something unique. Asked her to be MY teacher. Need to practice writing with left hand anyway, wrote my alphabet with the left hand. She gave instructions on how to write each letter. Gave me a "Great Work" sticker when i was done :)

25 random things about myself

Not sure if i can manage 25, lets see

1. I loved Mumbai, hated Pune. Fell in love with Pune when we moved there and now very happy in California, don't want to leave.

2. I always hated saas-bahu serials. Never followed a single serial after dekh bhai dekh i guess.

3. I grew up thinking i was UGLY

4. I rebelled just for the sake of it during my teens. Many a times aware that parents/ teacher were right.

5 I once went to NBSA (New Bombay Sports association), to enquire about Tennis classes. 1992. Was inspired watching Steffi Graf. They charged 500Rs a month which i thought was insanely high. For the racquet, i told them I have the badminton one. I was dismissed and told that Tennis Racquet is different and expensive. Never went there again. Have been playing Tennis regularly after coming to US. Bhagwan ke ghar mein der hai andher nahin :)

6. I can never catch a lie/ fraud/ cheater. I believe everything everyone says. Very easy to cheat me.

7. I cannot make friends easily anymore. I'd rather hang out alone at the library or at home with the laptop.

8. I need 10 hours of sleep every night. I admire people who wake up early.

9. I wanted to be an astronaut when i was a kid. Was fascinated by astronomy.

10. I get a headache after watching a movie, in a theater. Esp if it has songs/ violence etc. The decibel level too high, cannot tolerate. Very often, while in the movie hall, i am looking for the remote control to reduce the volume, only to realise there's none.

11. During my college i always worried that my parents will marry me off to someone i did not like/ approve of. My kundali said, marriage age 19-21. Was really scared. Nothing of that sort happened of course :)

12. I hate Sarees. I am extremely uncomfortable in them. I have a snap of 6 yr old me. Made to wear a saree, clearly not happy at all.

13. I dreamt of inventing a machine where i write name of a movie on a piece of paper, insert it in a slit, and the machine plays the movie on a screen. Doesn't that sound like youtube? I did not invent youtube, of course... Just proves that crazy impossible thoughts of today can be realities in a few years.

14. I was a huge fan of Rahul Dravid. Wrote many letters to him (pre e-mail days). Have 2 thick scrapbooks filled with all about Dravid. I wish i can show him my collection some day.

15. I believe in god. But i don't fast, follow any rituals, perform pooja etc. And i feel guilty about it.

16. I have read Linda Goodman's sunsigns a thousand times probably.

17. I stay away from old marathi movies. Hech majha maher, Dhakti soon, chaukat raja type haunting movies. Would deeply affect me as a kid. Deliberately stayed away for years until the era of bindhaast, kaydyacha bola, Golmaal etc. Am back into the fold now :)

18. When i was 18, people used to ask me, aapke husband kya karte hain? Kitne bachhe hai? etc. When i am 80 they'll say, How come u r still alive???

19. I hated the rainy season, getting wet on the way to college, forgetting the Umbrella, salwar splashed with mud...Yuck. Summer i tolerated thanks to the mango season and maternal grandparents in Ratnagiri. Winter was my favourite season. Still is.

20. Cannot imagine living in Mumbai anymore.. the heat, pollution, traffic. I wonder how i spent 24 years of life in Mumbai

21. I am lazy. My house is never neat. But if someone is coming over, i can give the house a makeover in 15 min. In short, if someone's planning to drop by, i need a 15 min notice.

22. I did a correspondence course in journalism. Worked as a journalist in Twin City Times during a vacation. Salary 1500/ month. Was a lot of money for a first salary. Before finishing college.

23. We once travelled in a 33 seater plane from Nairobi to Kisumu, saw Lake Victoria from the sky. The origin of river Nile. Bugged hubby about how i helped a friend's sis with "Give reasons: Egypt is called a gift of river Nile", her teacher was very happy with her answer....that river Nile, originates from here... crazy!! Also visited Tsavo from "Ghost and the darkness". Unforgetable.

24. I have a wierd problem, have to visit the toilet before leaving home. Very often, after i am ready, have put on shoes, suddenly i realise ... gotta go...
Hubby gets really angry, psychological problem...

25. I cannot draw. I always got 36/100 in drawing beacause they could not give anyone less than passing marks. Inspite of it, i can make excellent mehendi.

I did come up with 25 random things...Wow. Nice little memories. wierd, crazy. Good for myself to read again.

Whats up with homeschool?

Have been planning a fresh start for the whole last week.
Does not look like its happening soon.
She starts her daycare next week. 3 days/ week. Will chalk up a plan for 2 days/ week. Thats all i can handle for the time being.

The kid made me proud today though.
While in the shower, heard her announce that she dropped a whole jug of water. Jeez. I calmly asked her to just put a towel on it and leave it for me to handle. Was really happy that i could stay calm, calming effect of the shower i guess. Its just water, won't stain (ouch!!) the carpet...Relax...self talk.
Decided to stay put and see what she comes up with.
5 min later, Knock knock...MOM!! I used some kleenex, soaked up as much water as i could, trashed it and then put the towel on it.

Bravo!!! Good job!! I had to say :) It was indeed a good job.
She got praised for the good recovery plan, and was not reprimanded for dropping water in the first place.

Btw, I later realised, she dropped a "cup" of water on the "table", not a jug of it on the carpet....how we imagine, hear and believe the worst. Thank God, i did not make a hue and cry about it, just let her handle the situation. huh!

Lesson for me:
1 Brush up the listening skills and tone down "Assuming" skills?
2 She is smart enough to find her way out, MOM doesn't need to step in. TRUST THE KID

At times I wonder who's homeschooling whom!!!!!!!!!!

My dear 16-year-old-me

Things i'd like to say to my 16 yr old self...........

-You are beautiful.....VERY BEAUTIFUL
-Miss talented/ beautiful/ popular is not going to have a better life than you
-Not having a boyfriend is OK, that doesn't make u any less beautiful
-Being fat is not a sin, its OK
-All the girls that wear trendier, smarter clothes are NOT smarter than you.
-You can wear what you like, people won't laugh. You can wear a jeans even if u don't have waist 28"
-Don't get so embarassed of the pimples, even they make u look beautiful
-Hanging out with smart-ass people is not necessary to get noticed around the campus.
-People are liars, don't believe everything everyone says
-you will have a nice husband and No! ur parents won't marry you off to a jerk at 18
-Wait for 10 years and then name your best friend from college life

I cracked up

The previous posts are almost too good to be real. Only for so long, the picture has changed lately.
Yesterday was the tantrum day - not her's ....Mine.
Lot of things went wrong.
1. She wanted to play color cards game, we had already done it once. No use telling her we'll return to it tomorrow. She kept shoving the cards to my face. And my patience vanished, i shouted at her, pushed her away, threatened to tear the cards off. I know, i feel like crap. Was almost cruel.
To top it off, i did tear those cards and trash them. The motive was to let her know, i do what i say. I am not a pushover....big ego at play?
(Why make threats at all? Empty or otherwise.)
2. This whole card issue ended on a wrong foot and paved way for another tantrum.
She wanted to go to Baby's house NOW....I kept telling her, i have to cook, daddy will be home soon, baby might be sleeping....to no avail. And then i finally gave in, and dropped her off at the baby's. I told her to stay there, not to come back home, for dinner or for the night.
Later, when hubby came home, he called her up and asked if he can pick her. She said, mommy told me not to come home. How can i come?
He convinced her, got her back. I was in tears, hated myself for everything. She came back, we had a tearful reunion. All was forgotten.

I lay in my bed awake and thought about the day.
reached following conclusions- Am repeating these to myself often

1. Absolutely no raised voice....A BIG NO
2. No threats.
3. She comes first, and then TV/ internet/ books. If she wants my attention, she gets it.
4. If she wants to visit the baby, let her. Don't manipulate.

As i am writing this, she is already there. Same thing today morning, i was cooking, told her would drop her after i am done cooking and she has had lunch. No, the cooking can wait, Drop me there NOW.
Took a deep breath, put off the gas, dressed her up, put on the jacket and dropped her there.
Am worried that she has not eaten. But, will let her feel that she is hungry. Why shove food in their mouths even before they feel the hunger, the growling stomach...the food will get tastier when that happens.

Homeschool day 2-3-4

I know....3 days in one post.
So far so good. That activity book was real fun. She would actually look forward to the "teaching time".
We are done with the first book. Other activities it had were
1. telling the time. For now, i just introduced her to the short-hand and long-hand. The short-hand points towards a number, read that number and tell the time. The minute hand is really complicated. I have put it aside for now. The problem with our clock is, it has only 12, 3, 6 and 9 as numbers. Rest are just dashes. We need to get a new clock, or exchange it with the neighbour. :)
2. Sorting - pictures of clothes, sort them - socks, shirts, pants etc.
3. Match the columns, numbers on one side and objects on the other. Match 1 with one object, 2 with two and so on.
4. writing numbers...tracing them along the dotted line. Man, she can write, I never taught her to....i never taught even her lowercase/uppercase. She can write both, most letters. She has a good grip of the pencil. I think its safe to move to writing. On day 1, i was trying not to include "writing", but after gauging her level, i think its safe.
5. Her favourite one was. there were cards - different colors. I asked her to pick a card, see what a color it is, and try and find all objects of that color around the house. She simply loved this one. We are doing this again tomorrow.

we did the much promised clean-up on day 2. My kitchen pantry looks sparkling clean. I had her help me sort- trash, recycle, keep. We put all plastic bags together and took them to safeway in the eveing for recycling. We threw all the empty coffee bottles/ ghee dabbas and so on. No, i won't need them to store anything. :)

Day 3 we cleaned up the patio, thats an ongoing weekly activity for at least a month more. We talked about Fall while we cleaned. She made an observation- all the fallen leaves are brown, red, yellow or black. None are green. bravo...I showed her the leaves ON the trees were still green, many were turning red, and they would come down soon. the green ones will all turn red and fall off, until the tree is bare.
We plan a weekly observation of the leaves.

Have tried to give a good enough account of 4 days.
Will keep posting.

homeschool- day 1

Went well.
We made some stuff with clay in the morning. I made an awful butterfly. She made a bird. I tried to see the bird in what she made, and did. Congratulated her for the effort.
Post lunch, we took a nap.
Then we looked for some information about "lake tahoe" on the net. Have plans of driving there this thanksgiving. Its a difficult terrain, snow can make it more so. We saw videos about snow chains, how to fix them on your car tires. She wanted to see video of how to make a snowman :) Saw those too. Quite educational- for both of us.

I have a chart for her, where we change the date/ weather/ season etc. We went out and checked the weather. Came back and finished the chart. Weather- Sunny, Season- Fall. month- Nov and so on.

Later, i had her do some stuff from a Pre-k workbook. Some of it was-
1. Find triangles in the picture and mark them
2. What comes first - eg. 3 pictures - a child opening an icecream, eating it, and dropping it.
3. connect the dots
4. 4 pictures in a row- find 2 objects that rhyme
5. Cut out shapes from the book and trace them on a paper. Color them.
6. Coloring page - i let her color out of the borders :)

Boy! Did she breeze through the assignments. I gave her a star sticker for each assignment when we were done. Stickers saying- Well done, great job, etc

And then she says, You are a good teacher...i guess kids think their moms know nothing. :) She was surprised that i can connect the dots/ know rhyming words.

We had planned on cleaning-up session as i wrote in the previous post. never got around to it. After our "assignments", we took out the trash, and visited the neighbour who has a baby. An hour flew by. Cleaning up is postponed.
Things i learnt:
1. Little patience goes a long way
2. She is too fast, i am soon going to run out of things to do.
3. You can see a bird in a mass of dough if you WANT to see it :)