Rocking on....!

Last night just before the trillionth time asking them to get into bed, as usual Reh was tinkering with his boom box and decides for the trillionth time (ayiayiayi) that he'd listen to Rock On. Looked like it was fun dancing in their pj's so I decided to capture it forever. I'm waiting for the day they see it and cringe. LOL!

Reh I noticed was not his usual self - a bit too quiet for his usual demeanour. Maybe it was the time, maybe it was bcos he was not alone like he normally is in his room while doing his thing. He's normally more animated!

Nosh will do anything to get out of early turning in. Here she's in her element!

Infinitely exciting

Hey Mom! listen to this!


You tell her . No! You tell her!


So ermm...yada, blabbidy blada...

Errrr....I dont. think. she got it.

I regularly hear nosh n reh giggling or chuckling together or by themselves downstairs. Initially I used to go downstairs to see what they were upto and used to be surprised to see they were laughing at some joke on TV. Must be some silly joke on their kiddie programmes I used to think.

Now though, it's exciting to me to see them laughing at jokes and punchlines. For me its just the same as them learning to walk or talk....their sense of humour is a delight to experience! Funny thing is how different even their sense of humour is from each other. Reh's is very slapstick, funny noises, funny moves kind of stuff that sends him roaring. Nosh - its witty one-liners and irritating one-ups. Having the last say kind of thing.

Whatver it is though, it cracks me up - watching them following a program and laughing where they should and sometimes where I'm surprised they did! They got that? I wonder...they really understood the joke behind that? wow. It's like seeing your kids come of age to a certain extent...holding a conversation, keeping it going, adding jokes and inventing banter on car-rides....it's really delightful to me. Long were those days when you looked in the rearview mirror and made inhuman noises to get a reaction from the kids in the backseat who looked equally surprised at this mime. Now, it's high energy conversations and of course - fighting for who spots the most Mercs (hey!! why are you looking at the ones outside MY window?) who spots Nandeenie's (Nandini) (say nan like a gora would say nan as in tandoori naan) house first even though poor Nandini probably gets a spate of horrible hiccups everyday since we're always passing by her house, who gets to pick which song to play etc and then there are those days when conversation flows smoothly. CONVERSATION! I will never get used to it or become less grateful for it.

I used to Hate those days - the first 15-16 months before the kids start talking. My God were they long. I'm not a talker so its nice when they babble and I can listen or referee. Bliss!

Spring Break - Part 2

Of bicycling and watermelons and swinging and babies in strollers...


pic courtesy - nosh (lol - no really!)


yaay!

swing swinga swing a-long and u gotta swing along, it's spring!

i'm so happy, i could cry - pic courtesy - nosh

enuf of watermelon, gotta get back on my trusty steed

was that a bird? or a plane? no, its...mumma's laundry!

mm mm mmmm

he didnt have his watermelon ma! can i go too?

joosy joosy oh so yummy.

Spring break - part 1

Cool, green, burst of colours and waking up from hibernation. Thats what the past few weeks have been about. Nosh n Reh were home and I just love that. No rushed mornings - except where I had to rush them to the gym - my god that was excruciating) and just enjoying the weather.

The pink cherry blossom tree outside our home...it actually threw pink light on the walls.


brother and sister talk, laugh, argue and complain

daydream, play, imagine and be

freeze framed my hunny

i love the afternoon/asr time light in our home

pink bounty

squirrel pranayamas early morning with this lovely tiny white flowering tree outside which is one of the first ones to bloom every spring.

Trip to the City to see Diego....!

Guess what we did today. Even though I'd been to the city (Manhattan, New York City) with Nosh many times by the time she was two, I'd never actually walked the streets after Reh was born bcos I knew for sure I'd never have managed both between people, cars, buses and more people. And with Reh - My God - darty, fidgety, loud Reh. The perfect opportunity came up though after my friend asked if we wanted to go see the Go Diego Go show Live at Radio City Music Hall. She's been to an Elmo show before and said it was worth it. For us Long Islanders, taking the bus to the train station and then the F train to the city and then walking up the blocks to wherever, with 4 kids better be worth all that trouble! Taking the LIRR didnt make sense bcos since there were six of us, two adults and four kids meant taking both cars and parking them at the station. Driving there and parking there would drain us of our college funds. No point. So anyway, we went today and the kids loved it!

Nosh was like "wow mom - we're actually walking here!" (as opposed to zipping to the other side (New Jersey for a family get together) in a vehicle of some sort) and "have I been here before?" and I said, "yes, I have photos to prove it!". Reh was amazed at the close proximity to cars and doubledecker buses and just loving the noise and hoop-la. Felt bad then that these kids live in NY and I dont do anything to milk the opportunity. Well no more - good times are here again with Reh being more travel-friendly. Am gonna get up and movin again. So anyway - here's our coupla hours in the city in snap-prose.



mom - are we there yet? say that in a weak-battery dragged out tune.


ah - a full seat to myself - wake me up when we get there....

lunch was at TGIF's - can't u just imagine these two 20 years from now - nosh yakkety yakking about her latest indignant encounter and reh going - yea...right..wahtever.

P.S. - the food was SO bad. I know for sure now - all they do is defrost and microwave a ready to eat meal on the menu. ugh. Between TGIF and Applebees, I'm ready to gag at the mention of them.

oh and in between Rockerfeller Center and the NBC studios at the atrium was this glorious display of easter lilies and those wonderfully bright, pretty bouffanty, pink flowers. nosh felt like she was in some wonderful moment.

dats our other half - my friend her son and nephew.

i so badly wanted to get into that crabtree and evelyn store. and the chocolate store. just to check out the city versions.

our stop - Radio City Music Hall.

the stage and the whole show was grrreat. cant put all the snaps up here but gotta reiterate it - it was a great presentation.

after the show. nosh is like - awww - cant believe its over!

reh - I'm gonna find a way to snuck into the innards of this place and stay put. if only I could!

lisa very successfully kept a sleepy reh awake. almost had to lug him up the subway onto the bus and home!

Dora makes a surprise entry

and the boy of the hour...DIEGO!!

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

When I decided to have my second child, I did it mainly for one reason - so Nosh could have a sibling, a team mate, a friend, another person with whom she could sound off thoughts on and make sense of her life experiences with and vice versa for reh now too, so that ultimately, they felt like they had an ally even when we the parents were not in the pic anymore. Of course I know, anything can happen, we as people can only plan and those plans might work out or not depending on what God has already planned for you. I have three siblings myself and there was no way I could have just one kid when I know firsthand the joys of having siblings!

Being in America intensified that feeling bcos I felt the extended community here obviously isnt like we have back home. I cant expect anything from school, neighbours or friends bcos unlike back home, we are not bound here by more or less the same values or vibes! Plus, since our kids are straddling more than one culture, it helps to have someone who knows where you're coming from (figuratively) and is taking the same ride with you and can help you not fall off or get up after you have and just move on.

Though I see now that it's not going to be easy....lol! While Nosh was extremely nurturing and protective of him even at the teeny age of 2, Reh, maybe bcos he's the baby (almost 3 now!) doesnt see Nosh as his number 1 ally so far! He thinks his other boy cousins and people who give him extra attention or play the games he wants to play are his favourite people!

At the back of my mind is the saying that a child's personality is more or less set by the age of 5 and you can be sure that those are going to be his major traits for the rest of his life. ermmm...and so the worrywart that Iam (there are 2 more years left!) I'm wondering whether Reh and Nosh will have that telepathic, womb to tomb relationship that I envisioned for them? Egads - even writing about it makes me want to laugh - I mean what am I going on about? They stick to each other when it's just the two of them at home but the second there's a third person in the pic, Reh thinks Nosh is an inconvenience. LOL.

Otherwise he's very protective of her. Wont let anyone touch her things and cant stand to see her not being attended to if she's in need of anything. He'll stand there looking at me like a cop at the scene of an accident and say "mom - Nosh needs you!" hand outstretched in the general direction of here Nosh is with a "pray how can you not go" kind of expresson in his eyes HAR HAR HAR! I guess Im just nuts to worry about this - relationships take time and experiences to build right.

Right Tani?

Incidentally - R took the snap above and I have no clue what they're knitting brows about. I can just imagine fast forward 30 more years and the same expressions for whatever it is they're handling then. I just hope they'll still be there for each other and things get sorted out and settled lol. Amen to that.