The Monsters

The Hindi monster attacks :

• as Amma had her exams she couldn't (didn't bother to- In M's lingo) get lil Achu to sit with his hindi books for long

• and acha was busy (had better things to do like play with his phone and tab - In Amma's lingo )

Lil Achu and the whole family were terrified at the extent the monster had gained in size and strength.

• Advised Achu in the morning to just write what he knew ( Nothing!!! except for a few guesses and blank stares) and not to engage in any other methods to score a 10/10

• Got reminded of my oath and had a guilt attack

To top it all M complained he wasn't 'informed' of the amount of portions he had for the test before

• Grrrrrrr...Like who am I ? The Messenger of  Homework or what?...When I tell M to take up the responsibility of dressing him up for school or to get him to study he acts mum...So what do I do? I continue to do it all myself

• Lately I have been a bit preoccupied with varied stuff and let Achu's schedule suffer abit. And so ...I don't want to listen to "You should have told me" ....Why couldn't he just do stuff for Achu...Why should I TELL him to?????????

Counter Attacks on their way......;b

The Logical Origin

.....of  Life
Achu: Amma I came from Acha's tummy?
Amma: No you didn't ...you came from mine. All babies come from the mother's tummy
Achu: Oh! I thought boys come from boy's tummy and girls come from girl's tummy :)

 ....of  Names
Achu: Amma babies come from the mother's tummy right?
Amma: Yes baby
Achu: Then why do we have to put the father's name after our name instead of the mother's name???
Amma: Ask your dad :)...and let's change your name with my name at the end ok :):):)

To Market , to Market...

....to buy a new car

One sunny Sunday M and Achu went window shopping at their favorite shop. Oh yeah! The new swift had come to town and they had to have a look at it, feel it and have a ride.

The two of them were rather impressed with the new arrival.

M drooling : It had new headlights
Achu crooning : It had bigggg tyres and had sesth drive written on it ( That's how he pronounces test drive)

Oh Well ok so I ain't a car person so I wasn't very keen anyways when the two of them got back and narrated the whole scene

Then M told me Achu was talking in UK English ( courtesy: Mr.Bean series). He was requesting M to BUY the car. You heard it right ...he actually wanted to buy the car.

Achu: Acha please let's buy it. It's Lovely
M: No not now we don't have the money ( Giving out sheepish grins to the people around)
Achu: Let's go home and get the money
M: We have to convince Amma also Achu
Achu: Got all silent for sometime......then came close to M and asked loudly  "Acha convince yenocha yendhonu?" (what does convince mean?)
M:........Let's go........

:):):):)

Please Speak Up

Problem ...Problem.... Problem
Usual comments from teacher when I go to pick up Achu :

• He's ok
• He's smart
• No problem
• Good boy

So today was an unusual day.
Achu had his recitations today....Hindi and English
Hindi : He had to just read a few letters the teacher pointed at from the book.
Teacher : "He refused to open his mouth. I told the hindi miss that he is a smart boy and to give him more time so she let him go for awhile and called him back. But again he was silent. not a word. why?"
English: He had to recite a poem "Ferry me across the water"
Teacher: "He didn't do the english recitation also.Why what's wrong with him. talk to him please.I was shocked because he is so smart in his written work"
Ok so I get the picture. Reasons for the poor show...Achu's points and mine

• Achu is a showman ONLY at home
• I was lazy to revise the hindi alphabets with him. Honestly thought I'd do it this weekend. 
• I did get him to recite the poem. He does it so well at home. Expressive, but does forget here and there.
• The teacher had mentioned his english recitation would be due only next week...so why the hurry?...I thought I'd do it a couple of times during the weekend

Asked the teacher if she would re-assess.....

She said " Noway. I think he has to improve on those lines. There's noway we can do it again."

Why do I have this guilt feel in me?

Isn't he just in the first term of first grade?

Oh! Achu I hope to get you to do your work on a daily basis rather than waiting for the last day...

• Without you losing your patience
• and me mine...sighhhh!

  We'll do much better next term kiddo :)

Ouch! That hurt

We were looking forward to enjoying a long weekend of freedom. But Life had other things in fold.

Achu slept early that friday. I went into the room wondering how the fella could afford missing his daily dose of  "The Penguins of Madagascar" and found him all wrapped up in bed.When I went close to him to give him a peck I felt warm...or was it hot...he was boiling hot. The thermo gave us a 99. Gave him a bit of Crocin and prayed he gets better.

At around 2.30 am M told me Achu was very hot. We checked his temp and were shocked to find 103. That's scary. He was crying and mumbling stuff. We gave him more crocin and started wiping him. The stubborn fever didn't give in neither did we.....At around 6.30 am he was 101

We tried calling all our docs.

• Doc-1: Out on tour 
• Doc-2 : no appointments until 31.08 plus a suggestion to take the kid into emergency 
• Doc-3: our family doc gave us instruction through the phone  

Then we finally thought we'd take him to emergency since the temperature wasn't coming below 100 even after giving him high doses of crocin.

Before we entered the ward we thought we'd check if any pediatrician was available.Praise the Lord! There was a Dr.S.

She told us Achu had a major throat infection and he will find it tuff to eat for awhile. Gave us meds for 6 days and told us to come in 4 days.

The next four days were terrible.Achu cried, I cried, my mom cried!!! Getting a hungry lil boy have his meal with a bad throat is an awful experience next to being the lil boy.

Achu's line

When hunger strikes
Yeppo Amma yenniku istam(yeah! no h in there) olladhu thinan pattum? ( when can I eat what i like?)

When we wipe him or take the temp

Yenne onnu samadhamayitu kidhakan vidhuvo ( will you please let me lie in peace?)

Most scary moment: When achu woke up crying after an afternoon nap and said" Yenniku karachil niruthan patinila amma" ( I can't stop crying ). I hugged him , Appuppa carried him, Ammumma carried him out to the terrace. He cried continuously for 15-20 minutes. Then slowly he fell asleep again.

His diet:
Pediasure 6-8 times a day
chicken/tomato Soup
noodles
2 lil spoons of rice,dal and bland boiled fish
chicken poppers ( well don't ask me how he could swallow that!)

He
wouldn't gargle
screamed and cried each time he woke up
any oscar winner would lick his feet when it comes to acting out pain (maybe half of it was true but the other half got to my nerves I tell you)
skipped school for the whole week( courtesy: sympathetic grandparents ,a lazy parent and a missing parent )

matters did become worse when Amma fell ill too. But then

He is still recovering......
He did go through a bad painful phase
but the boy is enjoying his little vacation at the moment....so am I ;)

Boyz to Men

Watching the tamil movie Goa with appupa


One of the guys flexes his muscles in front of a gal.
Achu: Appupa adhu a penne kanikanannu ketta (He is doing that to show the girl his muscles...ok)

Another of the guys is swimming alone in the pool
Achu: (Turns around and asks sympathetically) Evende penn yevadhey? (Where is this one's gal?)

I went out with friends and was back. I had a little kajal on.The bare minimum.

Achu: Make up ellam ittitu evadhey poitu varinu? (Where have you been with all that make up on??)

When I started yoga classes

Achu: Yendhinamma meliyinedhu. Ippothane kolamello?( why do you want to slim down you are fine the way you are?)

Every morning and when back from school

Achu: Why do I have to tell you every day to keep my milk ready ? (Amplified voice and frowny face)

Crazy about Carz 2

We finally took Achu to the movies
His favorite movie.....Cars 2

Back from school Achu had a bath and was having his lunch. He has this habit of running away from food when he is partially full. So I told him " Achu I have a surprise for you after your meal. So go and finish up your meal boy" . The boy rushed, gobbled up his lunch and rushed towards me. He thought it was for a sweet treat.

I whispered into his ears " We got tickets for Cars". He gave out a slight smile and then flared up. Oh! That's his way of emoting happiness. He didn't want to show he was excited and glad. Men start so young at this don't they???;b

The show was at 4.45pm. It was 3.30pm when I broke the news. He started whining that he had to get to the theater immediately....which translates to.... .NOW....the whine went on until I told him to get dressed. Beaming he went and changed and rushed back to us.

We were smothered with wet kisses all over. Appuppa took advantages of the situation and requested for a dozen of kisses and hugs which were planted with professional expertise.

We reached the theater got to our seats and then Achu's gaze was fixed to the screen. The oversized 3D glasses didn't bother him. He was one of them...The CARS....While we joked and ate our hearts out Achu's attention span reached amazing heights..He was quiet annoyed at how distracted we all were!!!!! Excuse me mister what about the role change that happens when you do HW huh?!

I fed him a wee bitta black forest cake and some coffee after the break. Halfway through he did get angry when it was interval time. He kept asking me why they HAVE to have a break....hah!

The movie was top class. I loved it too. Tow Mater stole the show. A lovable character. The story revolves around the fight between sports cars and ordinary cars with a couple of races thrown in at Japan,Paris and London. Excellent animation.

Achu was sad when the movie was over. I have promised to take him once M gets back. Wouldn't mind seeing it once more with some chicken sandwiches, iced tea,popcorn and black forest to go with it ;b

Achu is thrilled to have Cars on his bag ,lunch bag, snack and lunch box and pencil sharpener.The list is bound to increase on our next sessions of shopping.

Planning to get him the first part of Cars on CD.  

All Day I dream about Sports

Adolf  Dassler wouldn't have had the slightest hint that his creation would reach this little place in the world.:)

Achu's school has decided to have all their kids wear ADIDAS shoes!!!!
The black shoes costs Rs.1090.
Looks Kewl.
No more polishing :):):)
Achu is learning the art of tying the lace.
What happens when his feet grow ?????
A new shoe for every term????
That would pinch some pockets.....

Father-Son Fun

Its been a long time since Achu and Acha bonded. But lately they have been spending sometime together...

• visiting car shops to do a few test drives I guess ( No I am not a part of the gang when it comes to car shops )
• buying sports gear....a bat too heavy for Achu , some tennis balls and weights for Acha...Acha and achu have fun playing inhouse cricket at night just before dinner.
• trying to find a telescope!!!!!!!...they search for the weirdest of things...something that interests me as well but if you ask me but "Is it the need of the hour?" I would say no
• toppling over Acha , pillow fights and more...watching the process makes me tired

All this happens

• without me nudging Acha to do something with the lil chap....
• while I am away for yoga ( It's been 5 days since I started it and I have been bragging like its been 5 yrs :)...)

Missing

Amma is so sorry she has here time all messed up. This blog has seen me taking the pledge every time am guilty of not doing things with you.I am trying darling Achu. And am sure the day isn't far when Amma has sorted out what she does with her day to spend lots of mummy time with you.

What do I do when u whine when I go for my yoga lessons....I am trying hard to convince you to join me...We could have loads of fun doing all those asanas together :)
What do I do when you cry when I don't play with you with your cars...I hate to play with cars...I try to distract you with other games...but then maybe I should try to get the taste of it...
What do I do when you scream Itchi chi Amma.....I scream back or cry or try and pacify you.....I am trying hard to control myself but I guess its my age that's getting me all red
What do I do when you fuss.....I do try and make you understand and sometimes you listen to me like a very good boy....You are a gem Achu darling...but sometimes...well I guess that's ok :)

Soon there will be a time when you wouldn't want me around....and that will be when I have the time for you...strange.....

No am not gonna let go of the time you want me....here I come babe ...let's do things together and make it fun.

Ho Hum! Struck by Boredom

Achu's favorite phrase for the season "Amma Bore Adhikunnu" (Amma am feeling bored)

• He goes to drawing class twice a week
• He has already attended 2 workshops and performed on stage once
• He has his street friends coming in on holidays 
• He cycles

but I guess he wants to do more
What to do? Four more days and he'll be having holidays....
We don't have a planned holiday coming up
I'm thinking......Let's see lil fella
We'll fill up your holidays with things you will cherish
God Bless

Cycling is Fun

We got Achu a new cycle yesterday.The one similar to what his friend Adi has.He tried a bigger cycle first and then settled for this one after a little test drive in the shop.

He didn't want the air horn and wanted it changed to the normal bell."Amma, shop uncle said he would change it for free" he said.

We put the new asset in the Dickey and reached home at 8.30pm. Achu wanted to cycle immediately so he put the cycle in the house and drove around the dining table for awhile.

Today the first thing he did when he got up was to rush downstairs to check his new possession. The summer sun is not gonna keep him away from cycling down the lane. 

Ufh! These Terrible Tantrums

Wonder when Achu will stop shouting at people. I have no idea where he learnt it from. Everybody around him never raise their voices except for M. Maybe he got it from him. M has a loud voice and general y screams out his orders.:) 

When you ask me?

• Don't get him his toy
• Don't listen to him
• Laugh at him
• Wake him up for school
• Ask him to eat
• Ask him to have a bathe/use the toilet 
• Ask him to do anything he is not interested to do 

What you get.....

• high decibel shreiks
• crocodile tears
• UFOs all around

It does get to be very embarrassing at times. Poor J who looks after him gets shouted at so often. In the house it is bearable since we have got used to it. But outside? When he goes out to play with the other kids who come with their toys he is fine until they play with him then when its time for them to go Achu starts creating a big scream session.Its J who bears the grunt.

Go to the supermarket or mall with Achu. He is a good child until he lays his eyes on something he wants. We get him things to eat and play very often. M and I have stopped getting him cars since he has so many. So usually when he creates a scene to get a car we protest or ignore and then the fireworks happen. He emotionally blackmails Appupa to get him cars from time to time.( Now that's another story)

When Appupa is around this fella has a total act in place. First he screams , shouts, walks around the room banging doors , dropping unbreakable things (He doesn't have the courage to break anything), huffs and puffs. Then when we ignore he starts to cry, runs and lies down like the heroine in the movie does on the floor or plops on the bed. And then dear Appupa screams at us !!!!!!! Achu gets his way.End of story.

M's technique is simple. He just screams back and Achu calms down! When we reason out ,try to distract,cuddle him or give him options he shouts back!!!! Why?!

Graduation and more

Achu had his Graduation day on 17/03/2011.
He was very excited.
Because he would have a whole 2 weeks of holidays after the day!!!!

The Principal gave a little speech about the new curriculum. 
The children sang "All things bright and beautiful"
Achu and his friend S had different things to do while the whole group joyfully sang.
Then they called out each kid and gave them the certificate.
Achu will be in grade 1 when he's back to school on 01/04/2011!
The Chief Guest was Jyothi from the CBSE educational wing.
And she gave a brilliant speech.
She wanted each child to be exposed to 9 skills/areas during their educational years.

1. Verbal
2. Musical
3. Mathamatical
4. Visual
5. Intrapersonal
6. Interpersonal
7. Kinetic
8. Environmental
9. Spiritual

She made alot of sense. She advised  the parents and teachers to get the children used to all these activities during their years of study and identify what they are good at. Then nurturing the areas that they excel in will make them successful in what they do and most importantly they will love what they do.

So true.Gone are the times when we thought that blessed are those who find their dream jobs. We have the key in our hands today.It is the educational system and parents who have to guide each child into his/her line of excellence and love.....

I promise to take my step....will you?

Ach-u-pdate

@School:

• Writing: Slow but neat.Ask him why he is slow..."Pinne fastayitu neat-a ezhudhan pativo?!!!" (How can you write neatly when you are fast???!!!...)
• Music: Nope. He's not Super Singer material....He might end up being a good lyricist :)
• Vocab: Gift of the gab intact! Shy when we are around!

@Home:

• is where is heart is
• he prefers to stay at home and play with his cars and in his car...and the cycle for a change.
• getting all sun burnt from cycling mid day  
• 17 kgs... not more not less
• Food and loo breaks still remain avoided until its impossible to stay away
• asks for a kid brother!
• mushroom soup, noodles and fish remain his favorites  
• loves to draw,write and do anything with his colors
• hates homework
• lost 2 milk teeth 
• in the process of gaining 2 teeth
• made a few new friends while cycling down the street
• loves to be cuddled 

My little boy is growing up...:)

Watch your word

Me: What did you do in school today ?
Achu continues to do and say which doesn't have the slightest relevance to my question....
Me: ACHU WHAT DID YOU DO IN SCHOOL TODAY....?????
Achu: huh! what........
Me: ( let me give it a different approach) Achu what snack did they give you today?
Achu: hmmmmmmmmm! samosa and biscuit
Me: ( Ok we have a related answer...here goes) Ok good so what did the teacher write on the board?...First tell me about maths....
Achu: Come I'll show you on my board.....
Me: YES :):):):)
Achu picks up a chalk and says "Amma, Before and After"
I wonder if my son is reminding me about the weight loss regime I registered for months ago ...with a slim chance of me attending it ( the only thing that's slim in the deal )
Then I figure out that it is just the "What's missing in the sequence" question
We do a couple of rounds of it and then I ask " Achu what did you do in English baby?"
"go,so, to, no" he wrote on the board
 Sheri (ok).. let's make sentences

We took turns in writing them
And Achu boy was good at it :)
We finished all the four words... two each
Now Achu said he wanted to do the words he didn't get to do
And I gladly agreed
And then.....
" Achu now your turn ...'No' "
Achu wrote " No. Not go in"
"No, No, No Achu that is wrong... correct it or find another sentence"
Achu: Ok Amma I will....
He rushes to the board and writes "No.No.No."
Me: !!!!!!!
Achu: You just said that Amma (very pleased)
Me: Smarty pants ....Huggy-buggy :)

Achu Da Chennai

Achu will be starting art classes this Thursday
2 times a week
for one hour

Wanted to blog only after Achu started drawing class but couldn't wait for 2 whole days.....

He is five and a half but still refuses to go for any workshop or class (except school) alone. With so many options available in the city I am so sad he doesn't want to make use of it.

In play school I had to stay in class for 1 month and then his nanny continued for another month until Achu got used to his teacher.

This is my first try. If this clicks I'll have my personal Lenardo da Vinci.

Update: YIPEEEEEEE ! HE DID IT :)

Just got a call from home. Achu boy is back after his class.
"Amma they drew the lines and we had to color the inside"
"I drew a Big Baloon"
His voice overflowed with joy and pride
and so did his amma's heart........

Peachy Presence

Eavesdropping one side of the conversation between Achu boy and his dad.....

( hyper excited ) Acha what are you going to get me from Jaipur?
Get me that car with many wheels to change..
The one you got me last time
Oh that's from Delhi ..then go to Delhi...( with the you-should-know-what-to-do tone )
Sheri Acha then get me those bags they give on the flight
Adhu Madhi ( that's enough)...very generous and pleased
They don't give it to big people?
Fine then make a paper boy and place it on the seat next to you
Yeah! Colour it Acha (For Godsake! Acha doesn't know anything does he!)
Appo avaru nokambol parayum ( so when they look the will say) " Oh there's a baby let me give the bag"...grins at me
Njan peach colour ayikam Acha ( I will send you the peach colour - to colour the face and body)
Then you fix a speaker and let the doll call you "Acha"
Then they will be sure there is a baby with you
Ok Acha?
Bye
:):):)

Win - Win

Itchy's post on the different boardgames she is getting her children to play made me realise that my boy isn't very different either....


Any game - Achu has to win.


Games played:

Cards : Just to drive in 'the bigger' number concept we had a pack of cards and Achu was delighted with this new game. Until one fine day we wanted to drive the 'its ok to lose' concept......that marked the end of card games.

Knots and Crosses : He picked knots then crosses...that's ok...but he picked winning always and never losing...how boring is that!

Snakes and ladders: You guessed right....We get swallowed by snakes and he climbs every ladder.

Joining the dots: Same story ...He does not flare up until the end when all the boxes are counted and we get more boxes than he marked.


Scrabble: He will start where he wants to....he places single letter words!!...replaces letters when he does not 'like' them!!!!! and takes our letters when he needs them....oh please!

Chess: Thought I will just let him know what chess is all about. Drew all the 'charecters' and named them. Achu was very very interested. Then I mentioned about how each one of them move across the board. He was totally into it...until....

Me: This is the Queen. She can move in any direction and take any number of steps. and this is the King he can move only one step at a time in any direction.
Achu : WHAT??????....This is not fair ....itchichi Amma ....yendho amma idhu? ( what is this?)
Me: Huh! what happened?* highly confused*
Achu : King is the most powerful and HE is the one who can move all over...NOT the queen
Me: shock gives way to reasoning...No Achu All the others safe guard the King so that's why they all move around while the King remains safe
Achu: Noway! am not going to agree..poooo ammaaaa
Me: sighhhhhhh!

Remind me to find out how Vishy picked up the game.........
And help me find games that don't require one player to win and another to not win!

When duty calls....

Things you will need :
A4 size papers- 7-10 ( depending upon the reach and grip )
Pens - 3-5 ( as many found around with or without owners/cap/ink )
Punching machine - 1 or 2 (depending upon availability and tact )
Stapler - 1 or none ( to avoid any mom-osurus groans )
Scissors - don't even think about it ( to avoid mom-osurus Growls!)
Covers - 2 or more ( depending upon the purpose of venture )
Miscellaneous tits and bits - why do you need a number always?!

What happens next :
Fast actions.Reactions.Action replays.

Running about eastwards,northwards,southwards and westwards...backwards and forwards..upwards and downwards....in all directions and intersections possible
A background score that would make ARR spend on music research..lyrics best left untold.
Fidgeting with other 'things' in random...in no particular order....the phone, the blinds, the cupboards, the keyboards, the files, the mug in the bathroom, the staff, the doors,the mother, the father , the grandfather...
- Punching holes on paper,
- emptying all the punching machines available for white dots
- Stapling pages (frowns and grrrs in the background),
- labeling covers
- tagging the stapler,punched paper,door handle that came off when trying to swing on it and a paper clip together
- walking on all fours around office with each of his hands in white covers ( you must have heard of a wild imagination but this is wild reality!)
- the heard, seen ,unheard and unseen.....

Required Interval :
One cup of tea with an extra cup to cool it and a table to spill 1/4th of the content...accompanied by cake or biscuits ( or whatever crap momosarus has in store)

Forced Interval :
Urination is the irritable process that interrupts every inventor/genius from conducting the most important experiments of his life and this interruption is facilitated by certain biological bonds (mostly the momosurus)   

What remains!
A few unidentifiable covers with identifiable dots
punctured papers
inventions that may remain unnamed forever

And then an announcement to sum up the day.....
"Amma let's go home am tired after a long day at office!"
You should be Achu....
Sighhhhh
You should be ( full stop)