We Shall Overcome

We wake up to another day. Aah! A nice cup of coffee would be bliss, I walk towards the kitchen. There is a pile of books and/or clothing on the floor, I simply cross over it with a giant stride, nonchalant. In the kitchen, a half open large carton sits below the oven. Some vessels and other stuff have been tossed into it in a packing spree that didn't last very long. I go about making coffee, all the random things strewn across the bench top don't bother me anymore. I stare indifferently at the cabinet where I don't see any coffee mugs. With a silent prayer and a hope that I remembered to load the dishwasher last night, I open it. A relieved smile. There are two coffee mugs, washed. With a cup of steaming hot coffee I walk into the living room that looks like it's a refugee camp. Cartons, sealed cartons, open cartons, flattened cartons. An empty book shelf, a pile of magazines waiting patiently while their fate is being decided, a generous heap of miscellaneous items that are scheduled to go to donations - they all lie there, in a state of inertia, waiting to be dealt with. Then of course, clothes. Washed, unwashed, folded, unfolded, we have every kind! So overwhelming that I actually start considering a genius invention - use 'n' throw clothes. I'm sure I'll be worshipped for such an invention by a like-minded group of individuals, like us :) Little Miss always obliges adorably by being happy and content in her activity centre, oblivious to the mess around her, bless her! So, yeah, mess, messy and more mess. It seems like a daunting task. And I sit on the couch, with my legs stretched out on the coffee table, laptop nestled on my lap, convincing myself that I'm looking for inspiration on the net. You know, tips on organising, packing, planning, etc. Ironically, all the web surfing seems to be doing more harm than good, because two hours down the line, I've neither gained any expert organising skills nor have I moved my butt off the couch to lift a thing that's lying around. And life simply goes on, amid the chaos, amid the confusion, amid the mess. But (we all love buts) you know what? It's alright. It's alright because I know it will all work out and sort itself out soon. We will do it, because our new home that's waiting for us is inspiration enough. We might have kicked off with a rattling, sleepy start, but will gain speed soon. We're sure. We always do this, but we magically pull it off in the end. Yes, we're confident that way :) With that said, I better get going. The coffee is all but gone, Little Miss is stirring out of her (very) short nap and I have clothes to fold.

Skirty Flirty

I want to be able to wear this and NOT look like a stuffed sausage...soon!

Top 5 things that my baby has taught me

Every day is different, every day is a joy and every day is new with a baby. From the time we got Sia home I've slowly begun a self changing phase. A phase where I'm learning, discovering and realising so many new things about myself - like how patient I really am, how selfish I can get, how much nonsense I can tolerate, how flexible I can be, etc. These valuable discoveries help me understand life better as I apply my learning to as many instances as possible, making a correlation to the Top 5 Things that I think my baby has taught me so far. I'd love to share them with you -

Learning # 5 - Express Yourself

Have you ever seen a baby that holds back on crying, laughing, cooing or squealing with joy? I doubt it very much.
Sia cries her heart out when she is upset about something or when something is bothering her, and boy oh boy, she can be loud! And she will continue to cry until whatever it is that is bothering her is put right. She laughs and squeals when she sees or hears something that she likes. She constantly coos and babbles contentedly. Her eyes are always so expressive and I've hardly seen her just sitting there, with a passive expression.

Learning: Although I don't intend to scream my lungs out in public or laugh hysterically at someone's face, a little bit of venting out and pouring my heart out to someone who cares, or laughing out loud at a funny commercial, or voicing my opinion honestly would go a long way.

Learning # 4 - Simplify Life

Sia squeals with joy when I hold up a lion hand puppet and make a silly growling noise. She likes what she sees and hears and that's all that matters really. She doesn't really care where the toy was made, how expensive it was or what someone else would think of it. She simply likes it for what it is, it makes her happy, so she laughs! How simple!
Learning: Take things at their face value. Keep things simple and try not to judge situations or people. Take time to savor and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Learning # 3 - Forgive and Forget

Sia doesn't sulk at me if I lose my cool when she screams at night. She still gives me her most gorgeous smile when she wakes up in the morning. She might cry for what feels like an eternity when I accidentally snip off a teeny bit of her skin while trimming her nails in the morning, but she forgets all about it by evening and smiles ear to ear when I call out her name. A big sloppy kiss and a warm cuddle is all that takes to make her a smiling, happy baby.

Learning: Do not make your own life miserable by holding on to unworthy baggage. Learn to forgive easily and learn to forget all those annoying things that don't matter in the long run. Give people a fair chance.

Learning # 2 - Patience

A screaming baby does things to you that you would never have experienced, seriously! It will, at first, make you want to pull your hair out and scream yourself, but slowly and gradually you will see a change. Sia has taught me the art of staying calm (well, at least I'm learning). So she's crying and I don't for God's sake know WHY! What do I do? Stay as calm as possible, 'shush' incessantly into her ear and wait for the storm to pass. It works! It really does :) If it doesn't then hold her up, hold her sideways, heck! hold her in every which way until she is cooing again.

Learning: Patience is the key. It may take several takes and only patience wins in the end. It does amazing things to your mind, this patience! I have noticed I become calmer, feel more in control and this warm feeling of peace oozes into my inner self :)


Lesson #1 - Unconditional Love

I love Sia, period. No words, no expressions, no poem would ever convey the simple yet profound meaning of that. She is my baby, my precious little bundle. I want to give her so much love, so much! I don't expect anything in return, oh not at all! I just...I LOVE HER :)

Learning: Never underestimate anyone's love. Pure love is strong enough to move mountains. To love someone with all your heart is such a beautiful feeling! And the biggest learning of all: I know how much my mother loves me now :)

Motherhood is absolutely wonderful! So enriching, so fulfilling and so delightful. Thank you my darling little baby for giving me this beautiful gift of being your mother :) Love you, always.

I will be called 'Amma'!

Amma = Mother in Kannada (and possibly a few other Indian languages) and I'm just that for my little girl! At times it's hard to believe that I'm now a mum. Life has changed, and how!

Our once (fairly) neat and organised house is now strewn with various 'baby-soothing' paraphernalia, as if screaming "there's a new baby in this house!" There are little pieces of clothing hanging on the airing rack, a play mat that has so many bright colours all in one place (that would be a fashion designer's worst nightmare!), a contraption that softly bounces and sings melodies (and literally gulps down batteries) and other bits 'n' pieces that suddenly seem almost out of place in a living room filled with seemingly 'all grown up' decor. It's almost like a giant stork did indeed come flying by and drop off a huge bundle!

It's only been about a month and half since Sia came into our lives (into our home, actually. She's been a part of our lives since the day we found out we were having her) and already, life is SO different. Don't get me wrong, we like DIFFERENT :-) Yes, there have been trying times - like when she just cried 'n' cried and we didn't know why. It's heartbreaking, really, when your baby does that. And especially if it's at some ungodly hour at night when all you want is silence and some sleep, I swear, all you want to do is call the hospital and see if they'll take your baby back! I know, I know, I sound like a horrible mother! But heck, that's reality for you! We love Sia to bits and she is our precious little darling, but oh lord the screaming! But then, there are also times when she looks at me with the most, I'm telling you, the most helpless look in her eyes that say 'please don't leave me, ever' that I just want to hold her tight against my chest and never set her down. And when she hungrily and thankfully latches on at feeding times, I just want to say to her over and over again that I will always care for her, forever and ever as long as I'm alive, sob! Am I being hysterical or what? Well, I guess being a mother (and for the first time) pretty much whacks around your hormones all over the place. But it's a beautiful, wonderful, magical feeling! Overwhelming and scary, yes. But also 'oh-so-beautiful'.

Yes, the 'C' word will appear quite often, you know - compromise. But suddenly, it is not a compromise anymore, it's just something I choose to do - like the other day when I was out shopping, I was looking at these chic wedge sandals and automatically picked them off the shelf to try. Boy! did those heels make my legs look good, after almost a year! Well, then my 'motherly-brain' kicked into action and told me off in a stern voice, "Hey! put those back right now! Do you think you want to wear those while you balance a little baby on your shoulder and hold on to the nappy bag in the other hand and try to look graceful at the same time??" So then, with a long sigh I steered the pram (what? of course I was out shopping with my little girl) towards the aisle with the more practical, flat shoes. They're cute too, you know!
Another, comp-err, no thing I choose to do is to eat sensibly. Heck, I love my fries and wedges (the potato ones now, heh) but every time I greedily hover near a Hungry Jacks or McDs, my little girl's pleading face comes flashing into my mind and she seems to say, 'Amma please don't! I'm not familiar yet with how farts work  and I don't like feeling all gassy in my little tummy!'. Now, what do I do? Choose to eat fruit salad instead (not that I don't give in to temptation at times, though). Plus it'll do me good. I do need to lose all that 'happy weight' I gained when I was pregnant and eating for the whole country, not just for two. I mean, secretly, I do want that coffee mug that husby bought for me to make some sense, you know, the pink one that says 'yummy mummy'? *wink*
What can I say, my hostess skills also seem to be in a deep slumber these days. What?? Call someone home when the house looks like a commercial laundromat? No way! Seriously, there's clothes everywhere!! Some washed, some airing, some folded, some to be washed...I'm telling you I almost have nightmares where clothes zombies are chasing me! Okay, so yeah, friends who are genuine friends wouldn't really mind all the mess, they would come to see us and not to judge, but then what would I feed them? My cooking has been reduced to 'one pot wonders' lately. Poor husby eats whatever with admirable empathy, but I wouldn't want to impose on our friends.
And then, ahem, talking about grooming. Forget about long 'cleanse-exfoliate-tone-moisturise' routines or kohl lined eyes or colour tinted lips, I'll be glad if I can walk out of the house wearing something decent (not track pants and a tee) that does not have a giant blob of spit-up on the shoulder! These days I seem to be competing with husby for the 'bush(iest) eyebrows' title and if husby asks me once more if I'm all aboard for Movember I'm going to smack him! Would I like a relaxing (and clean up) session at the beauty salon? Yes, please.
Then there's the crafting I miss. The other day I said to myself that I'm the kind of mum who can make things work. So I decided to work on some Christmas craft projects. I fished out some paper and card stock and just about settled down to cut and glue when Miss Little decided she had napped long enough and cried for me to pick her up and give her some cuddles. [Oooh I love cuddle time, by the way :-)] There went my 'I'll-make-handmade-Christmas-presents' idea! Actually, the paper trimmer, paper, etc are still lying on the floor in the other room, right where I left them. What did I tell you about my house before? Don't judge!

Oh, life has changed, yes, yes! It has! I love it, I really do.  Many things I had taken for granted earlier- I might have to give them a miss. But my darling little baby girl is such a blessing! I'm looking forward to a great life full of learning, realising and discovering with her. So although I can't hold up a real glass of red wine (duh-huh?), here's to beautiful and precious babies and our lives being happier and brighter with them!

Style: Summer Trends

With summer setting in here, dressing up to stay cool 'n' comfy is the key to having a good time - be it a day out at the beach or a relaxing shopping trip inside soothing airconditoned malls. Here's my style idea...hmmm, the bag and sandals may appear on my 'to-buy' list soon...

Here's to excited first starts, actual experiences and valuable lessons and good health!

We often blame ourselves for not trying hard enough, being too lazy or lacking discipline in life. But how is one to keep going strong when so many little challenges are thrown our way, really? Take this incident for example –

Husby darling read about a ‘health drink’ that claims to have cured many serious ailments. An ‘easy’ drink that promises all the good things in life like a detoxed body, glowing skin, weight loss and such.  And all this with just a few very simple ingredients – an apple, a carrot and a beetroot.  I had read it too, but not surprisingly, did not dwell on it too much. But when husby darling shared his enthusiasm about wanting to try it, I did not want to be the wimpy wifey. After all, he is always supportive when I want to indulge in that caramel doughnut or a ‘small’ fries from McDonalds. And so, I played along.

We scoured the fresh food level of Westfield Mall for apples, beets and carrots (oh no wait, we already had a bag of carrots in the fridge) and after some pondering and comparing (we had to source the best you see, it’s health we’re talking about here), we came home with a bag of very red and shiny apples and a couple of juicy beets.  The apples were tossed into the fruit bowl and the beets in the veggie bin in the fridge, where they met the waiting carrots. They all had to get their night’s sleep for their big task the next morning, when they had to form an amalgamation to give us two tall glasses full of ‘good health’.

Morning came and the sun rudely woke me up by poking his bright rays straight into my eyes. I was not smiling, I found it quite intrusive. I did not wake up with my usual ‘oh it’s another day, I’ll smile and go through it happily’, but instead with  ‘aaargh! I did not sleep well last night, I’m hungry but too annoyed to make breakfast from scratch.’ And then I also remembered that we had to make that drink, great!

Anyway, after a quick washing up I donned my ‘in-charge-of-making-breakfast’ face and set about preparing to make saabudana khichdi*, one of our favourites by the way. I was obviously multitasking, so amidst chopping and other things, I shouted out to husby darling asking if he was still intent on making that holy health juice. I was not going to make it myself, no way. I already had breakfast to think about, didn’t I now? He was all for it, he sprinted into the kitchen and looked busy and important as he rummaged the cabinets for that juicer attachment (which we had never once used by the way). I thought I’d help after all, so I washed, peeled and diced the three main ingredients, solemnly preparing them for their noble task. And all the while I still had most of my attention on getting the saabudana khichdi ready.

Then began a series of events such as the juicer not being very cooperative, the veggies and fruit unyielding, not wanting to blend and husby darling obviously looking quite lost (clearly he doesn’t do this often). I tried to move things along by suggesting that he add some water to help the blending process and then maybe strain the resulting mash to arrive at ‘the drink’ he had pictured. And then I decided to get in the action myself. I delegated him to do the cleaning up of all the paraphernalia he had excitedly pulled out for the big event, while I executed my own suggestions. As I grudgingly pushed  the deep red porridge like mixture through the sieve (which was way too big for the quantity we had prepared by the way), my  hands hurt and my stomach rumbled ravenously. I only had thoughts of hogging hot saabudana khichdi with crunchy peanuts and chunks of soft potato. Oh apparently, this drink had to be had first thing in the morning and only after an hour were you supposed to eat anything. Yeah right! I’m sure husby darling had a similar chain of thought as he continued washing the various jars and wiping the counter clean of the splashes of deep pink juice everywhere.

Anyway, the resulting clear deep red juice was poured into glasses, a dash of lemon juice added and first sips taken with intrigued looks on our faces. I quite gulped down mine and channelled my attention towards the finishing touches of my beloved saabudana khichdi.  Husby darling, on the other hand had some insightful remarks. ‘Mmmm, it tastes good. But do we really have to do all this every day?’ Well, I know we always complain that we don’t try hard enough, we are lazy and that we don’t have discipline in life. But then, the whole drama again another morning? I pushed that thought aside and simply scooped big spoonfuls of the saabudana khichdi (which smelt so divine by the way) into two bowls and handed one over to a beaming husby darling.

*an Indian dish made with sago pearls, peanuts, green chillies and boiled potatoes

Style Saturday: A splash of red!

Scarlet, ruby, crimson, cherry, blood - red, red & red! It's a colour I go back to, again & again. Come to think of it, I have so many things in red...earrings & trinkets, nailpolish, shoes, so many little things in my kitchen, even the decor of our home has splashes of red everywhere! It's a colour that will never go out of style I guess...

My outfit idea for Style Saturday this week, the classic combo...what do you think?