Toy Animals

It was supposed to be a Science exhibiton for L on Friday. The topic was Animals and their homes. It was on short notice and so we were not able to prepare anything as a model. Instead L told that we could take toy animals (as suggested by her teacher) and put it on any of the exhibits. So finally the toy animals (bought some 6 years back) which were lying in the depths of the toy bucket, would see light after being invisible to my kids for months together. Few of them were missing as we were searching for the whole set of toy animals. Few of them were missing but Hey!, something is better than nothing ! And so she had packed whatever was there on wednesday itself and took it to school on thurday. Thursday evening my kids come back from school saying that they have a holiday on Friday on account of the Solar Eclipse. Holiday for a Solar Eclipse?? haven't heard of holiday like that for a long time. My Friday free time's gone for a toss due to this Eclipse.

And so what happened to the Science Exhibiton? It is posptoned to Saturday ,I guess. Also it is L's Open House on Saturday and so we parents get to see the exhibiton too.

The Tagger

Passed from my sis is this tagger

Last movie seen in a theatre?
I saw "Innathe Chintha Vishayam" 2 months back...not bad but loved to watch Meera JAsmine

What book are you reading?
I read the "Diary of a Young Girl" courtesy my sister...beautiful book.

Favorite board game
Scrabble,Monopoly

Favorite magazine
Don't have any tho i have a suscribed to Week, Outlook and Outlook Money

Favorite smells
I love the smell of Aroma candles.The smell of a deliciuos food specially Biriyani makes me go crazy.

Favorite sound
Sound of my children singing, or when they call "mama"when they come home

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
what is the time??

Favorite fast food place
Calcutta Chaat

Future child’s name
Have 2 kids already

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…
I'd buy lots and lots of clothes specially for my girls.

Do you drive fast?
No,coz i don't

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Never...L sleeps with a green Beanie bear close to her.

Favourite drink
Any kind of fruit Juice

Do you eat the stem of broccoli?
Depends

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Cool and Scary

If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Me a little more older and it'll be brown black

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in
Heistrestrasse,Eulengasse,Concorde street...and the list goes on

Favourite sports
I Love Sports ...waiting for Olympics. to be specific i like athletics swimming, tennis, iceskating, gymnastics.

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you
Nice and Kindhearted

What’s under your bed?
Nothing

Morning person or night owl?
Night Owl

Over easy or sunny side up?
Over Easy ...sometimes the other way round also.

Favorite place to relax
MY bed or infront of my PC

Favorite pie
Mariebiscuit Pie

Favorite ice cream flavor
Vanilla

You pass this tag to
Somebody please take this tag from me... ;)

Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
Somebody Will

Fancy Dress

G had fancy dress on Monday . They have this every month to make the child familiar with the themes they r trying to teach in school . The theme this time was Fruits and Vegetables. It isn't compulsory . Since she is too small to understand what' s going on, I thot of making it very simple for her. She loves mangoes. So I Poster Painted a big yellow mango with a green leaf, made her wear a yellow dress and pinned the picture on to her. I even made her rehearse a line saying that she was a mango....hehe. She had to a wear a jacket that day since it was raining. She was also having small cold. So I had pinned a Hanky too.

So there she was with the mango pinned on one side and the hanky on the other side. Even before she got into the bus , the picture came off ...then we somehow pinned it up once again. When she came home from school I asked her about the picture. She told she gave it to the teacher. I had told her earlier that if it came off that she should hand it over to the teacher. She also told me that she told the teacher that she was a mango. That was enuff to make me feel happy.

Gloomy days

After swimming i have started playing basketball from just yesterday. Today i really feel worn out and my mind feels numb. I guess there r days like these in ebody's lives. Probably I overexerted while playing the game. On top of it there was also a BD party which ended by 9:00PM. The climate here in Bangalore these days is cloudy and windy(don't like it this way) plus the bomb scares everywhere these days, makes me feel down. I am also having a slight cold and body ache...WHERE R THE SUNNY DAYS?? I am just longing to see a little sun? I decided not to go to the pool td and instead did some Cuboard cleaning which i always put off for the following week and it gets postponed for days(me really a lazee mom sometimes).

Ah! So there...finally I did some cleaning! Even the sun has come out now....Good!!..am feeling a little better.

Moral of the Story....If u feel down ,do a little cleaning! ;)

Tip of the Day

Cut short your eating outs. Eating at home is more healthy and economical.

Tiring!

G usually sleeps in the afternoon everyday after school. On the day she doesn't sleep in the afternoon she goes off to sleep at 7 in the evening and gets up at 8 the next day. One morning ,with her eyes hardly opened she called out"Mamma" like she does every morning.

Me: G, sleep for some more time till i keep ur milk ready,ok?

G: I slept,slept and am feeling tired,mamma.

Tip of the Day

Club your grocery lists and buy in bulk from market. It'll help you get more for less price. Also you can take advantage of the offers new generation retailers provide.

Ladies Day Out

We have been having a common ladies getogether every month. This has been going on for about a year. Yesterday it was at my place. It takes place during the afternoon time when all kids r at school and a lunch is what we all gather to have together plus some Gossip and Chit chat. It is not a kitty since there is no money involved. I was pretty occupied with making the house clean and preparing the menu for the gathering ,for the whole of last week.

I was little tensed since I was having it in my place for the first time. But then yesterday, ething turned out fine by God's grace. There was no powercut like everyday in the mornings and so me and my friends could prepare lunch wihout any inconvenience. Everybody liked the food which me and my other 2 friends had prepared for the whole gang. The cheese pudding which i made( my friend M's recipe) was a hit thanks to my friend M. We had even arranged a game of Dumb Charades. It was lots of fun. The whole event got over within 3 hours from 12-3(after noon). It was only when all of us returned home that we came to know that Bangalore city witnessed a few bomb blasts in 8 places totally and it was shocking to hear that. Throughout the fun time we all were having, we didn't have a hint of what was going on. We are thankful to God that nothing happened closeby but sad for the people who died and got injured. May God be with all of them and be their source of comfort.

Tip of the Day

Don't hook on to new expensive lifestyles as they become habits from which you cannot come out easily.

PHEW!!Exam time Over!

Ah! finally L's unit tests r over. I can get some rest atleast till the next unit tests start. She's only in Std 2 but has loads to study. They follow the ICSE board like i told earlier. They had 8 test papers to attend.

ENglish, Hindi, Science, Social Studies, Environmental Science, General Knowledge, Computers and Mathematics which got over in 8 working days.

This is a Question which she had to study in computers

WHat is a program?

A program is a sequence of instructions or commands. I had a hard time teaching her the spellings first but she managed to learn it somehow.

Well! this is just one ...there are plenty of questions and answers in the rest of the subjects too.

For example in a chapter in Social Studies they had to answer questions like

What is a family?

What is a large family?

Name the types of families

What is a single parent family?

What is a joint family?

This is just from one chapter of Social Studies, so u all can imagine the rest. The marks r coming in one by one. Even tho she hasn't scored well after all my hardwork(and a some work from her too) ,I am not going to let her spirits down. I hope that I will keep encouraging her to do well the next time.

Tip of the Day

Buy a combination of blue chips and mid caps which offers value.
Gold has had a great run from 2001 to the current year 2008 where the prices have gone from around 250$/ounce to break its previous high of 850$/ounce and peak at 1030$/ounce before correcting to the 900 levels.
The reason for gold prices to increase so much is the new demand for Gold Investment in this volatile market. Gold as a form of investment used:
As a hedge against inflation
As a hedge against a declining dollar
As a safe haven in times of geopolitical and financial market instability
As a commodity, based on gold supply and demand fundamentals
As a store of value
As a portfolio diversifier; gold can act as portfolio insurance
Different ways of investing in this precious metal in the order of preference is given below.
1) Investing in GOLD ETFs like Benchmark Bees or UTI Gold
2) Buying bars
3) Buying coins
4) Buying ornaments.

Neighbours

Being in an apartment means u r going to have plenty of neighbours. Some may have good neighbours and some may not. IF u have energetic kids at home and don't stay on the ground floor, it means u r not going to be a good neighbour to the one who stays below u. Kids could be a nuisiance to the neighbours below. Earlier when we moved in to this apmt,we didn't know the rules to being a friendly neighbour. WIthout my knowledge L threw banana peels out of the balcony which happend to fall on the extended balcony of my neighbour downstairs. She called us up and we had to make a friendly visit . She advised my girl who was almost 4 then about not throwing waste out of the balcony. L happily nodded. She just had to hear that to feel tempted to throw things out of the balcony all the time. I had to keep her away from the balcony initially. L did repeat it again once(again I was called up) but after she grew, it got solved. But then G grew up to take her place. She throws a few things even now ,however strict I am. But now I guess she's got used to it..We even have to keep the 9:30 PM deadline(as told to us by our neighbour, as her kids go to bed by then) after which we aren't supposed to let our kids jumping around in the house (which my kids r fond of till 11 at night). G specially, loves to jump (after 9:30) the moment I tell her that our neighbours kids are asleep. What to do ? My threats have deafened their ears.

Tip of the Day

Invest for long term and never trade unless you are an expert.

Small Surprises

Even the most itbsy bitsy, teeny weeny, smallest gesture of love can make a child happy. Talk of gifts and a child's face lightens up. Give ur child lots of small thoughtful gifts. Mention that u have a small gift for them and see the excitement. U can even use the old leftover giftwrappers to cover up small small things. Be Creative. It can be a chocolate,something special u have made out of paper or even a handmade card. Give it as a gift when they come from school to surprise them or give it as a reward for being good. They will cherish it and make surprises for u too.

Tip of the Day

Investing systematically is a good option but blindly putting in a SIP may not be a good idea. Invest on the days when the market falls heavily.

Play Time

My girls fight all the time never agreeing on the same thing while playing with each other, but there are few games that they play together...one is the house game...they build a house with all the available Pillows in the house making them as walls so that each one gets a room.

Another thing that fascinates them is dressing up. All my Duppattas have been used by them as i have a big collection of them. When i give away my old salwars, i don't give the Duppattas and so i have a large stock of it. My girls have fun using them as sarees or dressing up in any other fashion. 'G'(yunger one) always want to dress up just like 'L' and so i have to make sure that they both get the same colour dupatta most of the time. Sometimes I don't check on what they play as i think that they should have their own space and solve their own arguments. While playing ,there r umpteen number of times when 'L' bosses up 'G'.

The other day, after my elder girl(L) came from school, she saw a duppatta lying on the sofa.
Immediatly she told told 'G' to kneel down and pray as how they do in the church. L went into the bedroom with the Duppatta. I was continuing with my work as I really didn't understand , what my girls were playing. I even asked 'L' why she was giving punishment to 'G'. 'G' kneels down on the carpet happily and starts singing aloud in some unknown language as she ususally does when she pretends, as if she's singing in church. Around 3-4 minutes later(probably fedup of singing alone), 'G' calls out " WHere is the bride aunty"? L comes running out from the bedroom in her halfdress and Duppatta on her head as the veil of the bride....It was only then that I understood that they were enacting a marriage ceremony in church. I was amused watching my girls play the rest of the scenes.

Tip of the Day

Do investment in MFs by directly approaching AMCs, thereby saving on the entry load.

Keep Learning

Dear Friends,

thank u all for ur overwhelming response....i never thot that I would get such tremendous support from the time i started my blog.....thanx once again.

I will be putting in posts only on alternate days from now on....if i do have anything interesting ,i would break that rule too. ....:)

If any of u desire to learn something but feel thats its impossible......think of it once again!.....If God is with u, Anything is Possible !

I never thot that I would learn swimming fast, as I thot it was nearly Impossible!...in the same way, back in college..i had the desire to learn to play the guitar and i did that too...I had to put in hardwork too to learn playing (tho i do not know the basics even now). I managed to learn playing the chords with the help of a few friends( a big thanx to K and R) .

Life is so full of stuff to learn and I don't hope to sit idle. I do hope that all of u too, would learn something new or atleast try to.

I used to have a skipping rope with me for many years which i never used. Surprisingly,now my elder daughter uses it. One day she took it out with her to play and now she's learned to use it without any help.

So to all of u out there....Keep Trying and Keep Smiling!

Tip of the Day

Mutual fund is a not a place where returns are guaranteed. Their NAVs also fall with a falling market. Many times 70% of funds falls faster than the market.

Would You ?

If there's darkness

In the world,

All round you,

Would you be that Little light,

In everybody's view?

If there's a child,

In some sort of danger,

Would you run along,

Just to save her?

If there's a Poor Lady,

who lived across the street,

Would u help her

to meet atleast one need?

If there's an old man,

Who's just fallen down,

Would you go over ,

To help him up?

If there's a tree,

Thats just been cut off,

Would you plant another,

to save mother nature?

If there's a friend,

Who's done some wrong,

Would you point fingers,

Or forgive and resolve?

If you have loved someone,

And have been deceived,

Would you just sit and cry,

Or carry on with ur life ?

If you r in despair,

And left with no care,

Would you take time to think,

Of Someone up there?

Someone who has watched you,

All these years,

And taken you thru.

Shudn't u take ,

A little of ur time,

Just to thank Him?

Exploits in Water

Its been a day of triumph for me as I finally learnt to swim today. Its been years that i've desired to learn swimming. I had made an attempt a few months back to learn swimming with a few friends(with the help of their tips) in our apmt pool and no Coach. Initially I found it hard to stay afloat by just kicking. I thought it was impossible. I used to return after great exploits in water with body aches. So much aches that i had to take a crocin an hour before i got into the pool. Then there used to be blunders as we(me and another friend of mine who too was learning) used to close our eyes and struggle to swim across. On opening our eyes we would find that we had swam diagonally and not straight. I had to travel to my native in betwn and these water exploits got abandoned.
I got a chance again, a week back, to learn, coz a friend was going to the Pool daily for a swim. I took this opportunity to learn swimming again. I get some free time now since my yunger child has started school this year.Though the past few days i've only been splashing water in our apmt pool, I never thought that I would be successful since there's only been some directions from a few good friends on how to learn and some tips on breathing ,floating and basics. Not being trained by a professional didn't stand as a barrier to me as learning to swim was what I wanted to do somehow. My hardwork and Perseverance paid . And Of course, Somebody up there helped me too!
Now I need not feel J(jealous), when I watch the swimmers in the coming OLympics!

Tribute to a Virtuous Woman

Few Beautiful verses from the Bible that I like .....

Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 -31

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a

vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and

let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

A Typical Study Time

The coming 2 weeks are exam time for my elder girl and I am having a hard time breaking my jaw. The excuses to sit in one place and study are numerous. It takes time for her to take the right book to write. When I give a pencil ,it has to be sharpened. When i give it sharpened ,she wants an eraser. By the time we find an eraser(there are around 20 erasers scattered all over the house), her book falls down. She picks it up slowly and then starts to write. Suddenly she feels thirsty and asks me if she can have some water. I try to advice her to write some more and then take a break, but she's adamant. I don't want to spend time arguing with her( as we do it all the time),so I tell her to go have it.

In between she goes to chk on her yunger sister if she got anything special from dad while she was sitting to study. If she has got something new then its time to fight for her rights. SHe comes back and writes again, then we find the eraser has gone missing again. It would have fallen down. Again all of us have to search for it. Dad would be watching TV. She would want to hear that song which is being played and so she needs to go to the toilet so that she can have a peep at the TV . Again I have to excuse her. She comes back again and to her annoyance, she sees her yunger sister sitting on her study table. Thats it! A fight happens..then its all weeping, screaming or shouting from ebody and then it takes time to settle and some soaping to make them stop crying. If there is a gap in between all these, another one of her excuses would be that she is hungry.
By then the day would almost be over. All these, requires me to use my mouth and voice and most of the time it aches. My nap in the afternoon and the Energy drink I have everyday to teach her is all used to its optimum.

Investment in Equity

If you believe in the growth story of India, you should seriously look at stocks. It’s a business with least bureaucracy. No red tape, babus and tax treatment is absolutely simple (at least for now). Through equities you can do any business. IF you believe in the future of airlines, invest in the Vijay Mallya’s company UB Holdings which owns King Fisher. And later if you think high inflations will hurt the industry and oil might be a good idea, join business with Mukesh Ambani. All you have to do is sell your UB and buy Reliance. You’ve changed your entire business with a few mouse clicks. Its so simple !!!! Is’nt it? ;-). Next I’ll tell you why tax treatment in equities is an icing in the cake.

Probably My Imagination!

It was a year after the 9/11 Blasts in the US and that was the main coz of my worry throut this following situation . WE would hear of terrorists here,terrorists there etc and then this event happened once.
We were returning from the US and on the way to BOmbay,our transit was in Paris Airport. We had to spend a few hours in Paris. When we reached there, the time was after Midnight. There were only a few people waiting for the nxt flight, otherwise the place was almost deserted. My hubby had gone to the restroom to freshen up and I was waiting there with my elder girl (who was One year old then).
One fellow who was sitting nearby was getting friendly with my elder girl. He was in his early thirties not knowing fluent English. My girl and that stranger were having fun making faces at each other. After some time ,this fellow asks me if I know Arabic...I said that I didn't. We then shifted to another place as I felt something fishy bout him .Also I had a feeling that he was following us. I was still waiting for My husband who was taking longer than Usual. Again this fellow comes and tries to be friendly. He had a shoulder bag in his hand. He suddenly says something and then leaves his bag right next to me and hurries off. I was dumbstruck.
I didn't know what to do...there were a zillion things running thru my MInd but the greatest worry was "WAS IT A BOMB?" the next thing on my mind was to flee the place....the problem was that I had to gather 3 carry bags and a child ....i somehow grabbed all the bags and my girl and rushed towards the my Husbands restroom...i thot my heart which was beating hard would come out of my mouth and burst ....luckily my husband had just came out and I explained ething to him . He told me to calm down as he thought I was imagining stuff.
We went walking back eying the bag at the same time. A few seconds later that fellow came running, took his bag and left. O MY! what a releif. I can't think of going thru a similiar situation again.

Cartoons

Kids love watching Cartoons. They have even more fun when their loved ones watch it with them. 2 weeks back we watched Mr. Bean's Holiday on HBO with our kids. It was a goofy movie, with all his well known routine comedy scenes . They had extra fun watching it together with their mom and dad. This movie didn't have much dialogues,it was more of comedy(sometimes Dull) action. Kids have some attraction towards MR.Bean I guess, even thot he's not all that goodlooking( a big pointed nose ,big eyes,flaring nostrils and not to forget,his characteristic mole). I make sure to know all cartoons they watch and ask them about the characters just to let them know that I am interested in their interests. They get excited just explaining about the characters and what they did etc .

So next time take time and watch a cartoon with ur kid and show them that u too r interested.

Tip for the Day

Start your investments early in life.
As a youngster, you have more cash at your disposal. Start your investments early. Planning a house as soon as you are settled in your first job is a good idea. Anytime is good for investing in a house to live in. Think twice in these days of inflation/high interest rates etc when you look for a second house. Investing in a plot in the city where you plan to retire might be a good idea. Invest in other asset classes like stocks/gold/silver even if it is in a small way. Avoid Fixed deposit as far as possible, as it gives pathetic returns and also the returns are taxed heavily. If you haven’t done so start looking at stocks where the tax treatment is very amicable. Even if you make loads of profit from stocks you can get exemption from paying tax , through legal means. We’ll discuss this in coming days.

Tip for the Day

First and foremost, live within ones means.
Ask the question like “Do I really need it ?”, “Is there an alternate option ?”, “Can I afford it ?”, before every purchase, especially for big ticket purchases like a home or a car. Banks might be lining up for providing loans. But should you really go for that huge three bed room apartment or that luxury sedan? Ask questions to yourself on affordability, maintenance etc. For eg: one may have to shell out more on property tax, registration, wood work (and higher charge even for the maid who cleans the house !) when it comes to a bigger residential unit. And in the case of a Sedan think of the insurance , fuel efficiency etc. Don’t just go for such purchases just to show off. Do your math!!

-

Monster Mom

Being a full time or working mom isn't easy. People may say that Mothers are born to be mothers. But kids who grow up seeing their mothers work, would want to follow the same example. I feel a mother becomes a mother by trial and Error method. Atleast thats the way for me. Every new day keeps me on my toes. WE have to learn from our mistakes on child rearing and managing a household.

A mom has to keep juggling plenty of things at a time. A typical day for a Mom starts with preparing food for the whole family early mornings, waking up her kids,packing their food and bags. If the kids are small she need to follow their timetable, sending them to school. Doing laundery. Ironing clothes,making the bed,keeping the house spic and span (altho maids do it these days)...whatever happens in her house has to be under her supervision. She has to do the provision shopping for her home and the lists she has to make for everybody is endless. Ensuring that the kids teeth r brushed, potty traning,teaching and inculcating in them good habits all come under a mothers resposibility.

Whats moms miss themselves most is their personal space. For me, after the the birth of my 1st kid, what i missed the most, was my sleep. I used to sleep a lot and would feel disppointed that my sleep cycle was not regular after my delivery. After they grew a little, the next thing i missed was, some time for myself. I would finish all my work, with the thought that being in the restroom atleast would give me some time for myself. But the moment i entered it , my girl would come asking: "Mama where r u? what r u doing inside ?" That really used to spoil my mood. Initially I would keep quiet(to control myself), but then they would keep repeating so much to my annoyance, that I would end up shouting at them.

Again I used to think that once they grow, that I would be more free. But then its back to square one, our studies begin with them entering school. We have to learn first to teach them. Teaching them to write and ensuring that they keep their books clean. FEw kids are born with such good habits but for kids like mine i have to keep repeating stuff. Sometimes my mouth aches with repeating things( I basically was a quiet person). Bringing discipline to my kids would take a lifetime I feel. By then I think i would become a Monster Mom. And then I wonder what I would do once my kids leave me. Its a saddening thought.

Finding time for onself is a skill that we moms have to develop over time. To sum it all up "Having kids and raising them up is the most challenging work on this earth". :)

Stress Free?

Many of us have forgotten to Smile !
Stress and worries in life have made us look rude. Life is too precious to be spent worrying. If one has a will, living a stress -free life is not that difficult. Have we ever asked ourselves what we are looking for in life ? What could be the answer? All Questions lead to this answer, 'Peace of Mind'. Where can you find it ? Look within yourself !! I agree, its a broader subject altogether.

One of the many reasons for stress is worrying about things like “How will I repay my housing loan ?” , “ What if there is a lay off ?”, “ How will I find money for my next months vacation ?”. Isn’t it True ? Financial Worries lead to greater stress. Money isn’t everything, but not having enough of it for the basic necessities, causes so much stress one can't just imagine. Here are a few tips to attain ones Financial Nirvana. It might be useful in these days of higher inflation and living costs.

Most of the points won’t apply equally for all. However I’ve kept it generic and it’ll be a good beginning. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. So from tomorrow, there will be a simple tips under this link, for keeping your Home Finance straight and bringing a smile back to your face.
Welcome to a Stress Free Life !!

Shanghamugham Beach Episode

It was the final year of college. Me and a few friends(7 of us) ,were doing a project in Trivandrum for our final Engineering exams. We were planning a trip to Shanghamugham beach before we left TVM. It was getting postponed as we wanted all of us to go to the beach together. Finally ,one fine day we did all become free to go..we took 2 autos and finally reached the beach by almost evening.

We all were excited to play in the water. Few people were warning us as the waves were rising higher and higher. We had to move so much backwards each time the waves came back rising higher. One of my close freinds and me were holding hands with our back turned towards the sea and talking about something. Suddenly one big wave came and swept us off our feet before we could get back. Both of us got separated and were gushed away into the sea.

A lot of things were passing thru my mind as my nose and ears were getting filled with water. I thot that was the last of me. The thots of my parents and how they would react, thots about where I'll be going next etc etc. For some time I felt as if I were a baby being rocked in the cradle of the sea(hahahahaha....it became a trademark joke about me , when i spoke of this dialogue to my friends). Deep Inside of me I knew I had to come out of this situation. I struggled hard to get a grip of the sand below but that too was being washed away by the sea. My other friends were shouting out for help while all this was happening. Even the (so called )rescue guards declined to help.

I hadn't gone as far as I had anticiptated(which was later confirmed by my friends). A few seconds later, I was pulled out of the sea by a local hefty man. My other friend managed to return as she knew a little swimming even tho it was tuff for her to swim against the powerful tide. After I was pulled out,I cud stand on my own 2 feet. It was too embarassing coz a crowd had already gathered around us. People who weren't ready to help us out were there to point fingers at our carelessness. Water came out from my nose and ears. Once I was found to be OK, we decided to go thank the hefty man. He was standing a little faroff with another man. We all gathered and went to thank him.( all of us thanked him one by one and showed our gratitude). But The men were inviting us to go to their "Thattu Kada"(tea Shop which was a little far off) to have tea and change if we wanted. We said we were fine even tho Me and friend were drenched from top to bottom. The hefty man and his friend were drunk coz we were all getting the "drunk stink" and they kept repeating whatever they said.

After we realised this we ran for our lives as we didn't want people gathering around us there too. We took 2 autos back to our hostel and on the way we had some food at the Kalavara restaurant in TVM(donno if its still there). BY then our clothes were almost dry.
That day really shook all of us and we kept thanking GOd that he saved us. It didn't matter whether that hefty man was drunk or not, we were thankful to him too . I wudn't be sitting here and writing this if I weren't saved that day.

That God works in mysterious ways to save his children is what we learnt that day thought it was the hard way.

Attitude

Its been a month now that my yunger girl's going to school. She has not been feeling well for the past 2 days. Yd night she went to bed with cough and a blocked nose . Today morning she was not getting up. I thot let her sleep and take rest today, i was feeling paavam for her. Today she gets up saying she wants to go to school. I really felt happy to hear that. I wanted to give her medicine before she left. Other than Honey and turmeric( home remedy) ,i thot of giving her Chericof(cough syrup), so that she will get temporary releif from cough atleast during school hours. She didn't want it coz of its bitter taste. I tried telling her that she'll be better if she takes it, even tho its bitter. She said: "Its ok Mama, let there be cough". I just love that Attitude.

Curious

After explaining to both my girls from where they were born they r always curious about Mummies with a big tummy. Whenever they see a lady with a big Tummy(mostly when I am in conversation with them), my yunger girl asks me : "Mama, why is that Aunty's Tummy big? Is there a baby in there?"

I always end up telling this, that the aunty's tummy didn't get small after the baby came out. I feel releived when she askes me secretly instead of blurting it out loud.

Innocent Blood

The past few years saw the unfolding of a lot of high Profile (which were being hushed up by influential People)murder cases. From the Jesicca Lal case to the decade old(even more than that) Sr. Abhaya murder case. Perhaps the most shocking of them all, is the 'The Nithari(Noida) killings', where many Innocent children(mostly girls) were killed. Around 40 bags of bones were found.How can the guilty remain unpunished after these brutal crimes?

There is no escape for people who murder. They may think nobody watches them do it but eventually they will be caught. The Bible itself speaks of the story on Cain and Abel. When Cain was Jealous of his brother, (as his brother was more acceptable in the sight of GOd), he kills his brother, thinking no one noticed him do it. But the Lord confronts him and asks him. Quoted from Genesis Chapter 4:verses 9 and 10" Then the Lord said to Cain,"where is Abel your brother?" He said,"I know not. Am I my brothers keeper?" And He said,"What have u done?The voice of Your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Thus saying the Lord places a curse on Cain.
Every Innocent blood shed will be avenged, if not by Men, BY God Himself! Every crime will come into light because there is a God who watches over us all.

Sleep and Smile

Sleeping and Smiling,

Is an art of Living.

Sleep and Smile,

Work a long Mile.

Sleep for your Body,

A time to rest.

A Smile for your Buddy,

Is what they need Best.

Sleep to forget,

Your Worries and Duties.

A Smile to Brighten ,

A World in Darkness.

Sleep to renew,

And Restore your Energy.

A Smile really Spreads,

And makes everyone Happy.

It's my hobby,

I should say.

To Sleep and Smile,

Makes my day.

Anger

People who get angry over silly matters make life more complicated.

Kaleidoscope

This is a game which we bought a few months back. We were all fascinated to see how this game works. Its a small grid which need to be filled in completely, with blocks of uneven shape(different colours on the top side and bottom side) with no gaps howsoever .

We tried doing it first..there r many challenges in the game. My elder girl had a try and she came back and showed me a tough challenge that she did by herself. We just cudn't believe that she had done it as we ourselves were new to the game. There was a book which came along with this game. We just took that book and turned to the back of that book and discovered that there were clues to how to do a few challenges. She had looked up that and did one, which she claimed she did by herself. Clever girl. They do anything to get praise from their parents.

All of us had our turns in playing that game for days but finally there was one person who wudn't let any of us to play it. It none other, than my yunger girl. She just wudn't allow anyone of us to play the game...she keeps on playing it whenever she finds it.
Try it ..its a Super game!!..u can call it a Puzzle too. Its a Strategy game that can shape up a child's imagination . They have a website..www.funkc.com.

Single Parent Family

My elder girls is in Std 2. Her school follows the ICSE Board. They have got loads to study and most of the time ,we moms have to study first and then teach them. They have a chapter in Social Studies on family. I don't know how it was a few years ago, but now they have introduced a new kind of Family in the book due to the changing trend in the world. They need to learn about small family,large family, Joint family and "Single Parent family". When we sat down to study the chapter she asks me what is single parent family tho its clearly mentioned that its a family which has only one parent.

She tells :" Our family become Single parent family when DAd goes to Kerala with G(my yunger girl) for a few days, right?" We all smiled listening to her idea. She thinks the Single parent family is just a temporary situation in Life. At this age Kids r really curious about anything and everything. They won't be able to understand certain things inspite of explaining. But in order to satisfy her curiousity, gave her many examples. One example we gave is, when a parent passes away and so on. She felt sad when i mentioned it. She asks me"Will u die?". Then I had to explain that . She's got an idea by now,i guess. Sometimes it just so exhausting answering so many questions. I really Thank the Lord that there r 2 parents here.

Reality Show "Bites"

Switch on the TV these days and the channels r flooded with Reality Shows.The path to fame doesn't seem much hard as there r plenty of Reality Shows. Last week witnessed a 16 year old Kolkata child named Shinjini Sengupta being criticised for her performance on stage in a Reality Show named "Dhoom Mache Le". The end result of which the child became paralysed(lost her movement and Voice). I don't understand what the girls fault was! Her performance being a child was commendable, instead she was being judged as if it was a do or die situation. My heart really goes out for that pretty girl.

She would have worked really hard to reach that stage of the show. Its unbeleivable that kids these days go through lot of stress. The price of fame and money can be really stressful on a child. As parents, we should prepare our child mentally as well. Its not an easy world out there. People all around r ready to judge and snap at silly excuses. The mindset of 16 year old is much more different from that of a 25 or 30 year old. A child needs to treated as a child. People judging such shows or conducting such shows should make a child feel as a child. I feel there shudn't be Reality Shows for children. Kids need to make bigger decisions and compromises than an adult. Lets pray that 16 year old Shinjini recovers soon.