Silly Saturdays: Daddy's beautician at work.

We always talk about the busy and industrious moms, who work day in and out. 365 days a year. However the daddies of the world are equally incredible! No one talks of their hard work. Call them breadwinners, head of the family or finance minister (as I do) they too are equally integral part of the family.

I have been instilling the virtue of hard work on to my little one, by holding up her daddy as an example. Thus this weekend when we were all home, Smera decided to take matters in her hands, I mean on daddy’s foot. Drawing inspiration from mummy’s visit to the beautician’s her artistic skills were woken up. Without wasting anytime out came the nail polish in ElePhantastic Pink. With an amazing dexterity to match an accomplished painter, she covered both the toes in no time.

CorbisImages

But there was a catch, the daddy was asleep when all this was happening, so he was in for a real shock when got up see the color pop pink on his toes. And to his bad luck there was no nail polish remover at home. I somehow managed to convince him forget it and anyway no one was going to know as he always wear shoes and socks.

Life wouldn't have been so interesting if all his problems were to end there. Shortly after this incident was forgotten about, few friends dropped for tea. After a few minutes in the discussing the day’s match suddenly everyone’s gaze shifted on to hubby’s shiny toes. The rest of the evening was spent laughing at daddy’s new pedicured toe nails and Smera accepting accepting booking from her aunts for their next pedicure appointments. 

Italian Summer or Idly Sambar

Peppa Pig is a wonderful series of cartoon that my daughter loves. Secretly even I love watching it. But in the last few weeks it has inflicted upon us a serious headache. Before I start explaining about the quandary in our household, have a look at this 5 minute video.  

Okay if you can’t spare 5 minutes, then I would highly recommend you to watch the first 28 seconds of the video.

So if you have watched the obligatory 28 seconds you would have realised that Peppa Pig is on a holiday in Italy. And of course she eats pizza and pasta and now that Smera’s vacation is about to start, she has made it very clear her choice of holiday destination. While we were happier with a stayaction as we have just settled down in a new country and life’s getting back into track.

Every day the little child would convince us on how much fun it would be to go Italy.

Then on last Thursday we suddenly decided to travel to Delhi and the very excited Smera couldn’t contain her curiosity and wanted to know more about the trip.

Smera: Are we going holidays?

Me: Yes darling! We are going to Delhi to meet you grandparents!

Smera: Oh but I thought we were going to Italy.

Me: Darling we’ll go to Italy but for now let’s go to Delhi, your granny is waiting to see you!

Smera: But we can go to Italy and eat pizza and pasta just like Peppa!

Me: Or how about we go to Delhi and eat Idly!         

Smera was instant sold by the idea, as Idly with sambar happens to be her favourite food! Thankfully for now we are got away with a supremely inexpensive deal but going to Muscat I am sure her Italian raga would restart!!


Video: Youtube.com

Sweet summerish cure !!

I finished up my last post discussing about a Desert, Dessert and Dubai, and so I have decided to continue further on the topic. On our expeditious trip back to Dubai and back we picked up an instant ice-lolly make, just perfect for this summer. Before I tell you anymore about Zoku ice-lolly make, let me enlighten you about another favourite store of ours – Tchibo.

Tchibo is German, value for money store and of course, we particularly love the place for the value it offers and fine products it houses. At 29 Dirhams I thought it was a great deal for an ice-cream maker. However, I was a little disappointed to open the pack and realise it was just a mould to make instant ice-lolly in 7-10 minutes.

As a matter of fact, it was it still a good deal. How can one freeze the lolly mixture in a jiffy at home unless we got ourselves chillers used at ice-cream factories? 7-10 minutes for two of lip-smacking lollies. The only catch is you have to keep the Zoku moulds in the freezer 24 hours prior to making the lollies.

What you really need to do it is blend a smoothie with milk or yogurt or even fresh juice would do the trick and then tick-tock tick-tock. Viola in 7 minutes this is what I made.

The pack comes with ultra easy and interesting recipes and best part you don’t need to go to a Tchibo store if you don’t have one in your city. Just get it from Amazon! 

A fine line!

Getting a driver’s license in the UAE is not an easy task. But I managed it with ease and so I declared myself from that day onwards – a good driver. Actually to be honest I have been driving for more than half a decade in Dubai. To date I have never received any major fines. However I did receive two small ones. One, for not paying the parking ticket and second for obstruction of traffic.

I have very good explanation to justify myself on these two counts too. In the first case, it was just a technical glitch. You see here we can pay tickets via sms, but I happened to send to the wrong number, realised it when I found a ticket on the car. For the second one, I would like to blame the hubby darling. Dropping him off one day, in front of the office I happened to have stopped the car on the narrow road for not more than 20 seconds but that still did amount to obstruction of traffic. And it would not have happened if the hubby had not asked me to drop him. Right ?

Now coming back to square one. I am good driver! I can give good lectures too on the subject, I can also give you few of feelers from some my previous posts.

1. Driving me crazy

2. My massive problem of passive road rage

3. Take care, not chances

But this New Years I got my first speeding ticket. Sob, sob! Yet again I would like to state that it was not my fault. This time too I have a perfect explanation to the slip-up or should I say speed-up and the photo shot that ensued.

1.      The weather was lovely, with slight drizzle and moonlit sky

2.      The mood was happy, as we were driving to Muscat to meet the extended family

3.      My daughter’s favourite song Jiya Jiya Re from Jab tak hain jaan was playing

4.      On one my favourite radio channels, City 101.6 fm

gettyimage.ae

So singing along with Smera, I accidently happened to step on to the gas a little more than I should have. Should I be blamed for it? No, City 101.6 should be for held responsible for constantly playing lovely music that instantly perk me up and put me in such a jolly good mood that I forget the road speeding limits too.

It was just a mistake but that still cannot take away the fact that all of us had a wonderful time listening to the radio during the long drive.

Glue that keeps us together

I am the google mom, I confess, or atleast I used to turn to google for everything. The first time I was travelling with my 40 day old Smera to Delhi, I googled up the check on the rules to travelling with an infant. But now I have sort grown out of that stage, I am a bit more confident, moreover she enjoys travelling with me. It’s one of the most hassle-free tasks for me.

The very thought of itself make Smera extremely happy. So I decided to get her to help me pack this time, she has been extremely efficient in unpacking from the time she was 6 months old. So I neatly laid out things we would need for a weekend getaway to my mum’s place and this is all what she had to pack for the trip.

Having put her toy in the bag she was satisfied, the fun bit started at the airport, asking (almost begging) me to get her some surprise. Surprise typically in Smera’s dictionary means a treat that she is not allowed to eat everyday.

On reaching home, she thrilled to see her granny and grandpa she forgot about the jetlag bit. I even managed a day trip leaving her with my parents to go off to Mumbai for a day. But what was most surprising, the amount of conversation she can make in a day with everyone at home.

Telling my parents how I keep fighting with her, to the reason why she is not allowed to jump on the bed as its expensical (read expensive). She also refused to marry my brother, Sanju Mama as he is naughty. While his wife my sister-in-law (SIL) is her friend as Veda ammai loves to play with her. She would order her around, “Veda come on let’s play”. Sometimes Smera talks to my SIL as if she brought up Veda, gave her education, and helped become the scientist she is today. 

Among other things as a mother I do prefer Smera eating healthy food choices, good amount veggies and carbs and proteins.  One afternoon during the break I was extremely pleased when she finished her lunch without a fuss. For that reason I asked my mum for a treat, “do you have B-I-S-C-U-I-T?? and mum replied “no there is only M-U-F-F-I-N”, to this the little smarty pants quickly adds, “I want E-E-I-O-U”. That was her first and the best shot at attempting to spell anything, was really meant to be a sweet treat!

It was so funny that we decided to take her to KFC for a real treat that evening. Before heading out I asked if she would take my aunt, her little granny to KFC, instantly she replied “No”! Upon asking her reason she said, “you are not funny and you are naughty”!

The day I was coming back she tells my father “Grandpa you be nice to my granny!”. Then tells her granny “you too be nice to him” as consolation prize so that the grandpa too is taken care of.

This age is so wonderful, I wish could just record every bit of her conversation. Kids at this stage are a perfect balance of sheer naughtiness and innocence all at the same time. Of course it also takes great specimens to produce one of a kind notorious one.

You will always hear me complaining about Smera but reality is, even though she might be naughty and talk like a grandmother, but still in some weird way I am kind of proud of it too.

Staying in a nuclear family makes us respect and appreciate our family so much more and to see that joy on her face to meeting grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, makes me want to travel again and again back home.

Thank you Smera for bringing us closer as a family! 

Eid holidays with Green Turtles

We are back home from our little Eid holidays trip and all settled back into our routine. It was a refreshing little break to my bro-in-laws place in Muscat.  The best part was the little family reunion - Smera with catching up her cousins sisters and brothers and the night long gossip sessions with the sister-in-law.  However the highlight of the trip was our visit to Ras-al-Hadd, very famous for its green turtle nesting conservatory. 

After couple of hours drive from the Muscat and overtaking countless rocky mountains on either side, we pulled up to this place on a secluded beach. The beach house belonged to one of our family friends and was all ours for the duration of our stay. We settled in at once after a bit of cleaning up. It was around 8 at night when we tucked in the noodles and chicken and waited eagerly for the turtle trail.

It was a moonlit night and there is nothing like walking on the beach with cool breeze hitting your face and sand in your shoes. We were a gang of 11, silently waiting to see the Green Turtles to come towards the land to lay eggs. In the mean time, we made sure we kept the kids occupied by making sand castles and interconnecting network of underground tunnels – it was so much fun that even the adults enjoyed it.

From a distance we could see a few of the turtles slowly walking towards the land, the waves helping them come ashore. The slowly walk towards the land and find a good spot lay eggs. It takes them about 10-15 minutes to dig a safe for them to lay eggs and once done they would cover it up, for them hatch. 

The entire experience was breathtaking, every element of the nature helps nest here. The moon gives them enough light, the waves help the come on to the shore, take them back once they are ready to go back and lastly the sand provides a safe nest for eggs to hatch safely. Once the eggs hatch the tiny new-baby turtle would quickly rush off to the sea. It’s magical to see them swiftly walking towards the waves, the noise from the waves guides them home.

However there is a catch to it, you cannot make noise, use big torch and click picture as it would disturb and the local guide makes all this rule perfectly clear before the start of the tour. They would end tour right then if we break even once single rule.

Oman takes pride in the fact that the Green turtles have chosen their land to nest. With great care they make sure no harm is done to them. During the conversation, the guide mentioned that some the tagged turtles have been tracked as far as Africa. If you are anytime around visiting Oman then I would highly recommend you to visit this incredible place, almost close to heaven on Earth. To add cherry on the top the drive from Muscat to Ras al Hadd is picturesque, definitely one not to be missed. 

The morning after the viewing the turtles, catching the glimpse of the Sun rising!! 

Heading to the waves 

Lost the path a bit but the sunshine helped him get back!

Breakfast time

Looking out for some more

Sunshine and morning walk is good everybody's health, including this one's 

There's Smileage in it

Travelling back to Doha filled me up with nostalgia. The trip must have been five years back now or then about a year and a bit since I quit my job at the Qatar Airways to move to Dubai. Getting myself comfortable in-flight I was super excited at the prospects of being back to the city which was home for over 2 years. I was also looking forward to meeting my cousins and their lovely daughter. So you can understand my disappointment when I was told at the immigration that I cannot enter the country as they had just implemented a rule which prohibits re-entry for 2 years for anyone who had cancelled their visas.

To this date I cannot figure out why anyone would have such a rule, but that is not the story. Walking into the immigration with my husband who did not have any problem getting in, I was devastated to hear that I need to fly back to Dubai and was an absolute bummer for both of us. We asked if we could meet someone more senior to reason it out. After a short wait when the manager arrived, I was fuming with anger and did not even bother to extend slightest of courtesy or to listen to what he had to say. I just lost my cool as any normal person would (?).

The answer was NO. As I was on the verge of tears, the ever so polite hubby pitched in and requested them to try one last time if possible by speaking to their supervisor. One of the biggest gift that god has bestowed him with is a calm head. And the rest was magic

Voila! All it took was his gentle words and a sweet smile, my passport was stamped. That very instant I realised my mistake and I felt so ashamed of myself, plus got an earful I got from the hubby. I could have put down plenty of reasons for my arrogant behaviour, but I didn’t once think that how difficult a job is especially when you are meeting people like me almost every day or once every hour.

 That was a big lesson for me and from then on, I have practised the art of smiling and being polite with people I meet, be it a cashier, the cleaning boy, my neighbours, taxi drivers and the list will go on. I am sure many people would even thought of me as a mad lady just randomly smiling at them.

Don’t get me wrong I haven’t turned to a saint by any stretch of imagination and still lose my cool occasionally but have reformed myself a great deal along with the improved odds of getting things done. This helps me get freshest of veggies, even if they are not on the shelf, free coffee, free clean-up of stained car seats, discounts and extra special pedicure.

 Thinking about it, I have always seen my mum practice it and my mum-in-law who retired as head of nurse, talking of empathy, putting ourselves in other’s situation but that night I forgot all that since I was upset. It took me a proverbial slap on the face to recognise that.

I am sure we all have learnt a very popular phrase – Smile and the world smiles with you, weep and you weep alone! Remember it’s not that the people are bad, sometimes the situations are. A smile can even sometimes make the impossible, possible!

Out of focus

On a bright sunny morning, we decide to head out for breakfast under the shadows of world's tallest building. With warm sunny rays falling on my face, my heart yearned to get a click under the picturesque Burj Khalifa. I asked my hubby who was armed with his camera to click a nice picture, for my facebook profile and so he took a trial shot before getting me into the frame. This it looked!

Looking at the brilliant trial shot I swiftly went and stood right in front of it to get that all important perfect profile picture. This is what eventually came out courtesy my hubby’s creative and inquisitive eye for details.

Going wild in Al-Ain!

After spending a wonderful day at the zoo, the little one refused to leave! 

Watching Dolphins Bathe!

It’s been one of my childhood dreams to go dolphin watching. Here in Dubai I live very close to a Dolphin park at the Atlantis hotel. For a princely sum, you could watch them up-close, swim with them and even get them to kiss you for a photo opportunity! Notwithstanding my inability to swim and unwillingness to pay, I somehow find the whole thing artificial. At least that was the excuse I gave myself for not venturing out to fulfill my childhood dream, all these years.

So I was overjoyed when we decided to go dolphin watching during our recent trip to Muscat. I would rather let you enjoy this 30 sec video than bore you with the details. Shot from the deck of the boat with a camera with no zoom – yeah it was that close, truly out of this world!

Oh before I forget, more than seeing the dolphins, Smera was fascinated at the white foam that formed around the boat as the powerful Honda engine ripped through the calm ocean. She kept leaping forward to touch the whitewater shouting ‘Mamma – Shampoo!’ Yeah it’s the dolphins bathing – said Mamma.

Video by Smera’s daddy and pictures by his brother. 

Two much

This month started with a quick trip back home, just what I needed to get into the year-end festive mode. November is really special for me with most of my loved ones celebrating their birthdays and also not to forget the festivities of the Hindu calendar that gives us copious reasons to eat sumptuous sinful food.

Oh actually festivities really start end of October for me with my little sister Kukku who her celebrates her birthday on the 27^th October.

Here’s wishing a very warm happy birthday to Vishakha (kukku), Nivia, Mum, Hubby, Smera, Kristina, Veda and Simi. Let the god lord fill your lives with happiness, good health and peace. Each and every one of you make my life really extra special.

The month has now become all the more special with the arrival of my two lovely nephews born to my sister-in-law Simi. The boys have turned up unusually 9 weeks early and I am yet to meet them, but I am sure they will definitely out do the notorious feats their sisters have achieved so far.

With the change in the weather my little one had taken ill for most part of this month. That hasn’t dampened her festive spirit at all. Actually I think the 5% alcohol in her medicine must have played a big role in making her so cheerful. Turning 2 this year Smera has mastered the Happy Birthday song and so when on Diwali, the day after her birthday as we lit candles and did a little pooja she started singing happy birthday ammboti (that is what she fondly calls God).

Before I sign out I want to leave a little message for you Smera to read when you grow up.

Happy birthday my little angel, may god bless and grant all your wishes. Even though I never get tired of complaining about you to everyone I meet. You make us so proud and give us numerous reasons to smile each day. I am sure this third year is going to be even more exciting, challenging and thrilling as the past two years have been. Keep living upto your name which of course means smile. Keep smiling!

Love,

Mamma

Image courtesy: google.com 

As a tourist in my home-town

The little one was chuffed right from the time she saw the bags out. She knew in her heart we were going to do something really exciting. We were going back to Vadakencherry (hubby’s home) and she was going to meet her paternal grandparents after a 6 months long interval. 

Smera had been undergoing a week-long rigorous training to learn saying Ammachi (Grand Mother) and Appachha (Grand Dad). But that ended up as Ammeis and Appais. While saying Ammu and Chinnu (Smera’s cousins) was a piece of cake for her.

Smera loves going back to India. Vadakencherry or Delhi she just loves to be with her grandparents. She has met Ammeis Appais only a couple of times this year but when they re-unite it just feels like yesterday. This vacation was even more special with Ammu and Chinnu at home.

Day 1 was overwhelming for Smera feeling wary of her elder sisters’ affection towards us. Observant child turns then herself into a human magnet in my arms. Bursting with emotions of jealousy, anger and insecurity little Smera also wanted to play with her sisters. Things got better between as days passed and Smera felt more comfortable. For the first time she spent some quality time sisters and sometimes it became really difficult for her to keep enthusiasm within limits.

After a lot of wheedling and buttering-up I managed to get Appais to take time off to come down to Trivandrum. The grandparents, parents and the three kids then catch a midnight train that was part of my pre-planned break. Travelling in a train was a first time for all the three kids. The euphoric Smera had to be eventually reprimanded to lower her decibel levels.

We arranged for my mum too joined us at Trivandrum. This time we wanted to do what tourists would do in Kerala, headed straight to Kovalam and unloaded ourselves at the Taj Vivanta. Spent the next few days gorging on gourmet food, splashing into the pool, early jogs on the beach, boat rides on the backwaters, watching kalaripayattu, to making chocolates at hotel– we had an exceptional time.

Boat ride on the backwaters

To be honest we have never ever done the touristy things back home in Kerala and this was a first time for all us including our parents.

Jogging track next to the Kovalam beach

I never knew of this beautiful place called Pomudi which is about 60 kms from Trivandrum city. If you were off to Ponmudi you would typically take your first stop at the Meenmutty falls. The forest department would assist you with a guide, to take you on a 2 km trek through the dense forests to reach the falls. I reached the falls with great difficulty, I have to admit trekking is not something I really enjoy but the falls were spectacular. While my father-in-law aged 68 and my mum carrying Smera managed to trek with great ease than me and my athletic husband.

Meenmutty Falls

After the falls we drove though the narrow winding road on the way to Ponmudi, a scenic green hill-station with pleasant weather year-round. If you have motion sickness then you might want to skip this part by taking a nap, as there are 22 hairpin curves on the way.

Ponmudi

And to finish off our stay at Taj we decided to get our parents a little surprise - the must-try ayurvedic spa treatment at the Jiva Spa. My mother-in-law though got a little shock as she signed of the bill but it was definitely all worth it, while my father-in-law slept off half-way through the massage.

Few days break came to end with grand-parents and nieces taking the train back to Vadakencherry, while I and my husband quietly escaped to Sri-Lanka depositing our angel with my mum.

More on that in my next post.

Cheers!

Currently on Vacation

This is the reason why I have been away from the blogsphere for a while. I am currently on my three-city vacation to get together with friends and family back in India. It all started with Bangalore, just the perfect start to our vacation. However, by the fourth day my little one got dreadfully frustrated as her responsible parents kept saying NO to whatever she touched or wherever she went. I am not sure of the impression we might have left on our lovely hosts - soon to be parents this December.

On the fifth day we landed in Palakkad (my hubby’s home) and Baby Smera finally felt at home. The guilty parents now have stopped saying NO and the affectionate grandpa and grandmom just can’t stop smiling.

This is the first time Smera is visiting her paternal grandparent’s house. The house is in the middle of a coconut grove, with a pretty garden, a small pond on the front and a vegetable garden in the backyard. An army of farm animals dot the place - five dogs, four cows, one calf, ten chicken, twenty little domesticated birds and an innumerable other living beings straight from the NatGeo. 

Little Smera is lapping it all up.