Halloween Lady Bug

Gotta Love The Childhood

Yesterday we were watching a beautiful program on public television Parrots in the land of Oz and enjoyed every bit of it. I never knew about so many varieties of parrots and that too just in Australia! There was a part where they showed fire spreading across the forest and our four year old cried "oh no, do something, the sun is breaking apart" well, daddy just ate his laughter and shoved it back in his belly and mamma, while trying to contain herself, plainly stated the fact that its fire and not the sun.
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Duck the baby sitter was the name of the story we were about to read and Saumya asked "what is a baby sitter?" It was a legitimate question because we haven't used the services of any up until now. I asked her to think who would be called a baby sitter. She said "A person who helps the babies learn how to sit because babies do not know how to sit" Can you argue with that? And I can already foresee a problem if we try to hire one for her. The name is Baby sitter and she gets so offended if someone calls her a baby, hmmm, what else would you call a baby sitter? A person sitter?

A Wednesday

If you have not watched this movie, I would urge you to run and get the DVD. I would not post a review, go watch it and then let's share opinions. And yes the name is A Wednesday

I miss home

Diwali is one week away and instead of jumping with joy, my heart is getting sunk under the weight of another Diwali that will be spent with no festivities on the street, explaining people why we have "Christmas Lights" up in October, no guests dropping in with mithais, no clay diyas and many more no no no.
Are you lucky enough to be home this Diwali?

New England Fall

It's on fire!

Tippi Tippi Tap....which color do you like?

Jungle Beauty

This is one of my favorites.

in Saumya's words, since its in our yard, Our orange tree!!
Close up time

Street View

Near the library

Introducing Diana Designs

The environment is very hostile for established businesses with even the once considered hallmark companies falling every day but a 4 year old lives in a world where everything is possible, anytime. If you have been following my blog, you would know our 4 year old is exploring many professions and does not want to be bound with only one. On being presented with the question What do you want to be when you grow up, she has a lot to say. It is not a one word answer as the questioner might expect. I would like to be Engineer in the day time, a Train Driver in the evening and an Astronaut at night. With three jobs, I thought she is all set but now the girl in her is starting to show her head. Mamma, can an astronaut do other things? While I was trying to figure out the meaning of the question, she chirped again "I am asking this because I want to design clothes and then give them to a team of tailors to stitch them" Hmmmm, that's interesting! What will you do with all those designed clothes? "I will give them to store so people can come there and buy them" What name would be on the labels of those clothes?
Why do they need a name?
i showed her few clothes with names on the labels and talked about the name so people know who made them.
"Oh my company's name would be DIANA DESIGNS!!!"
That's a pretty name for a clothes designing company!!
"and my clothes will be sold at Target and Macys. I want everyone to buy them"

I am so looking forward to the future where I will have a personal fashion designer.
Where will you be buying clothes, let's say in about 15 years? hint hint

You say this , I say that

I love this age, no, no I am not referring to the economically devastating phase of our generation where it's literally fall season and every big economic giant is turning from green to red and then falling like a crumpled leaf but I am sure, like every winter is followed by spring, this too shall pass.
The age that I was pointing to was being a 4 year old. This morning in the school's parking lot, I was fixing my daughter's hair clip and she asked me to show her which clip is that.
"Oh, its the white bow clip, I also have a hair clip with kitty on it, remember?"

I do remember.

"Mamma, if you show me the kitty clip first, I say I want to wear the bow clip and if you show me the bow clip first, I say I want to wear the kitty clip"

Oh, so you know that you do that, hunh? I am curious why!

Sheepishly smiling she said "Because, you know I am just like that, I like to do this"

So you are saying that you don't care about which clip you wear but you just want to pick the one I didn't?

Smile still plastered "Yes"

What do you do when I ask you to pick any clip you like? I guess you like those days.

"Then I say no no you pick a clip for me and then again if you pick a kitty, I say a bow and if you pick a bow I say a kitty. Just like that!"

Thursday Triumph

Looking at the Dal Parantha (Indian lentil bread) in her dinner plate, Saumya made a gloomy face and said
"Mamma I wanted to eat a Cheese Sandwich"
Mamma: I didn't know that so I made a healthy parantha for you.
Saumya: Okay then I will eat an apple.
Mamma: That's a healthy choice and you can eat it after this dinner.
She rushed to the table and ate the whole parantha and yogurt and there was no mention of apple or sandwich. This went unexpectedly easy. So why did she ask for cheese sandwich, does she not like dal parantha? A 4 year old changes her likes and dislikes on the go, one moment they love a thing and the next it's the most disgusting food. But dal parantha has never failed to appease, it always does the job. So today when I heard those dreaded words I thought there goes another option, now what will be the "go to" choice to serve that can loyally and infallibly perform for this tough audience. Fortunately, my fear didn't come alive, at least not tonight! The performance was five star, you know of the kinds when you don't even need to say once "please finish your food" and still get to see an empty plate within minutes? That is what dal parantha did, yet again!
After the meal we were just chit chatting, me and the 4 year old. "Saumya, imagine there are two plates in front of you, one with dal parantha and one with cheese sandwich but you can only pick one of those, which one will you pick?"
"Ummmm, Dal Parantha" Now, this was hardly a battle but I still felt victorious, my inside voice was jumping and I almost did the arm pull saying "yesss" under my breath maybe I cannot relate to cheese sandwich the way I can to dal parantha and of course it's a healthier option of the two. Given all this, I was a wee bit surprised by her answer. "Oh how come the dal parantha? I thought you were in a mood for cheese sandwich?" and then came the reply, ahem, the drum roll please ........"because you make yummy dal pranthas Mamma"
That's my victorious Thursday. Give me a high five!!

Cookie Session

Last night along with milk Saumya was munching on Nilla Wafers, in case you are unfamiliar, here's the picture.

They are small perfect circle cookies a bit sugary with a hint of vanilla and hence the name Nilla. So while eating she usually examines the food for it's characteristics.

With two cookies in each hand ....

Saumya: Mamma what do these cookies look like?
Mamma: Ummm
Saumya: They look like Mickey Mouse Ears!
Mamma: Oh yeah, they do!
Saumya: And they look like wheels!
Mamma: They sure do.
Saumya: And they look like sun and moon!
Mamma: Unhun....
Saumya: And they look like a coin.
Mamma: ...well...
Saumya: And they look like Pancakes!
Mamma: hmmm....what else?
Saumya: Nothing I ate them!

And we rolled on the floor in a fit of laughter

Backyard Treasures

I was in the backyard Sunday afternoon trying to be with just myself and I got completely lost in nature.










Image copyrights belong to me. Be nice, No copying please

Stuck!

On my way to pick up my daughter from school yesterday I got stuck in traffic. There was road construction crew scraping the road to make a new one. A 10 minute ride took me 35 minutes.So while coming back I decided to take a detour and I was expecting to have a smooth ride through that alternate route and I couldn't have been more wrong. I told my daughter about the road repair on our usual road and to her as well it appeared only logical to go another way. Once we were on the different road here's what followed

Saumya: Why are you going this way?!!

Mamma: I just told you about the construction on our everyday route.

Saumya: Does this road go our home?

Mamma: Yes it does.

Saumya: Do you know the way from here?

Mamma: Yes honey I do.

Saumya: How do you know?

Mamma: I have used this way before coming from somewhere else.

Saumya: Why did you use this way coming from somewhere else?

Oh my, this is what is called being stuck! I got irked by this time.

Mamma: Because that was the only way at that time!

Saumya: Why are they repairing the road there?

Mamma: Because it's broken and needs to be fixed.

Saumya: Why is it broken? 

Mamma: With a lot of use things break and need to be fixed.

Saumya: Will this road also break?

Mamma: Yes.

Saumya: Then what will we do?

Mamma: Then we will use the one that is fixed.

Saumya: How will we know?

Mamma: I know the area so we will find another way.

Saumya: Why do so many roads go towards our home?

Mamma: So we can reach home no matter where we are coming from.

Saumya: Why do we go different places?

Mamma: ummm....?

Saumya: Do you think they are done repairing now?

As I drove into the driveway, a sigh of relief came out, thank god it's over! Was it really?

Saumya: Why did you make that sound?

Oh please, I know you are a curious little individual and I love you  but please do not question my sighs!!!!!