vishu aashamsakal

ee vishuvinu share cheyyan photos illa

ayavirakkan orma kurippukalum illa

mashi thandu kondu maaychu thelinja slate pole

puthu varsham enne vilikkunnu

athil ennikku ezhuthicherkkuvaanullathu

jalarekhakal aakathirikkatte enna prarthana maathram

njaan snehikkunna ellavarkkum

enne snehikkunna ellavarkkum

ente hridayam niranja vishu aashamsakal

Back to blogging : Our kraft works

Some where  last year I lost touch with my subtitle ‘parenting and child driven learning ‘ . Kids were busy exploring themselves . I was busy trying to keep up with them and helping them that I did not get a chance to record or blog any of it . It took us some time to get accustomed with the new curriculum and fish out some ‘our time ‘ .

I plan to return to our simple projects and see where it takes us . I have always been a person who likes simplicity and most of all being myself . Striving to take my blog to the next level , whatever it is , sort of killed my blog . But in the past months I realised I do not blog for anyone . Now , you please do not take me badly . But the truth is I blog for myself . Selfish it may be . Or may be I don’t want to take the responsibility of trying to keep up with the expectations of my readers. I am a perfectionist by nature . Responsibility is a huge burden to me that I withdraw completely when things doesn’t go the way I want them to be .

I excel when I do some thing to please myself. In short all this means I am back to pester you all

So , here we are ! Setting out again for a blogging journey with Ruby and Pearl .

Time table chart with ” Wonders of the world “

Fish made from pistachio shells

Also , tagging my blog friends here : Pallavi ( Crocodile Tears ) , Urmila ( Urmi’s little space ) , Shail ( Shail’s nest ) , Swaram ( Song of life ) , Uma ( Uma’s reflections ) , Shirley ( enriching your kid ) , Bikram ( Man bikram ) , Shilpa Garg (A rose is a rose ) , Sweety (swees ) , Reshmi ( ente kavithakal )

Without you all this place wouldn’t have been the same . Thank you for reading my silly posts and commenting . Thank you for being my friend .

Ya , I know . No tag is complete without a set of questions . As it seems most of my blogging friends are in some stage of hibernation I pose only one question. The same one I was thinking today . As a student I have always liked choices in question papers . So I give you two options . Take any one of them

1.  Why do you blog ?

OR

2. How and when did you start blogging ?

1.  Why do you blog ?

As I said earlier in this post I figured out I blog for myself. Not to help the mankind or any of those excuses that I usually make whenever somebody talks about blog or blogging . I blog because I like it . I like the anonymity & accessibility  . I like to see my thoughts put down in words .

2. How and when did you start blogging ?

When I started pestering my family with posts on orkut community my sister came up with this idea . ” Why don’t you start writing all this rubbish in a separate BLOG ?  ” That was 2 years ago . Anyway , that is it . I did not even know what a blog means . But quickly found out I love this set up . There have been up and downs . Weeks together when I wouldn’t post anything but simply stare into my old posts . Arrange and rearrange the widgets and themes. Eventually I always come back to this beautiful place of mine .

Friends , take it from here . I am a hoarder when it comes to pictures ( or more precisely when it comes to anything other than storing important data in my brain )

Take whichever one you like the most or simply take all of them . Tag 5 of your friends or as many as you want

Pallavi ( Crocodile Tears ) , Urmila ( Urmi’s little space ) , Shail ( Shail’s nest ) , Swaram ( Song of life ) , Uma ( Uma’s reflections ) , Shirley ( enriching your kid ) , Bikram ( Man bikram ) , Shilpa Garg (A rose is a rose ) , Sweety (swees ) , Reshmi ( ente kavithakal )

Wagamon , You are Beautiful

Wagamon is a very beautiful place with rows of meadows and small hills arranged one after other in perfect shapes and sizes that we may think they have been painted into the nature .

As a child paintings on sceneries with small hills , meadows , flowing stream  and rising sun were my typical creations . What came to my mind first on seeing the meadows and hills of Wagamon were the book binds I used to collect as a student.  After all people did not make them out of the blue . Nature is beautiful beyond our wildest imaginations .

When my cousin hurried to Wagamon to take photo stills for their wedding album I thought they are just blowing it out of proportion . Never thought there would be such a serene and relaxing place with in the arm reach of bustling Kochi . That explains in itself how little we all know about Kerala even as Keralaites and how much we take this beautiful place for granted . Or may be that is just me

On our way back kids were counting the Kerala districts we have visited and those we haven’t. It seems we haven’t been to Wayanadu . Have drove down the legendary ‘Thamarasserry Chorum ‘ on our way back from Ooty . But kids were then too tired to notice anything.

The meadows of Wagamon are vast and only poetic words can bring out their true beauty . A velvety carpet of emerald green stretching as far as your eyes can see . I felt they resemble the meadows of Ooty.

The hills are exactly what we call ‘motta kunnu’ in Malayalam . They are so inviting that we cannot but climb every one of them .Safe for kids to play . No shops in eyesight to nag their parents

The pine forests . I was reminded of our college trip to Kodai .

In short Wagamon seemed to me a perfect combination of an unexploited Ooty and non- misty Kodaikkanal. I did miss shopping though

No tears to well up in my eyes

It has been a while since I have cried contentedly . My eyes always get in between . All the time they are swollen like two onion bulbs that I cannot even whimper to my heart’s fill  .

I have been keeping myself away from the Kajol and eye liner that even I can’t recognise me on the mirror and I have been visiting the ophthalmologist on and off . Any way , now they say I have Blepharitis ( which simply means there is inflammation on my eye lids   ) and Dry eye syndrome.

So I am weaning myself away from the computer for a while except for the NaBoPloMo. Meanwhile here are two articles which explain about Blepharitis and Dry eye Syndrome .

I want my eye liner back if not my tears !

Vacation is here .

Warning : This is an update post . A long post ahead :p It has been a while since I posted any thing based entirely on kids. The month of March was really hectic and I didn’t really have time to sit back and reflect .

Now when I look back I find Facebook statuses snatched away most of my would-have-been posts . So I thought I will try a sum-up of my face book statuses to see how I fared .Here it goes .

March 1- Do self-help books really help you all ? I usually discard them in mid way I feel so bored and restless reading them . I really want to try some meditation . But somebody will have to tie me on a chair first :0

( I was really really upset and thought only self help books could save me . But couldn’t find the real one for me . )

March 3 – Thumbs up to Tiffani Sant Bearup for her 11 days ‘silent retreat’ ! And silently joining her from India !!

( When I decided to join Tiffany silently from India . Even though I could not hold on to silence I learned to process my thoughts before blurting them out . )

March 4 – Dear friends, let your child crawl around . It helps in development of proper neural pathways .

(I was frantically searching google for some exercises that would help out -of -the- box – thinkers. I stumbled upon a thread some where which discussed on the benefits of concentrating on normal human development and how it helps in neural pathways and all . )

March 21-After two days into exams ‘Exhausted ‘ is the only word I can think of ! I think this is the ideal time for me to try my luck in ‘Paanchvi paas ‘. I will be the winner for sure !!!

( Exams really caught us this time . But I figured out Ruby is finally growing up. And that I can relax. This year I had loosened my ties with studies a bit and he was left to himself with only guidance given when needed . Maths was very   tough . We had to learn it together . Hubby would explain it to both of us . Then I would help Ruby if he has any more doubts . We stuck to our time table and was terribly exhausted by the end of every day . Hubby took us for small drives in the night and  treated us with ice-creams . This helped Ruby a lot to unwind . Daddy-cool knows the Obsessive -insane -moma could really be dangerous when exams are around. )

March 23 – Dear friends , I am sharing this post with tears welling up in my eyes and voice choked . Because this is something every mother with a dyslexic child faces . Over the years you learn to figure out your own ways to face these commentators . Some think you are a nut and some think you are a super great Mom . But in truth you are only trying to make yourself and your child learn to accept and respect the differences.

2e Tuesday::How To Handle The Critics. | freeplaylife.com

March 25 ( INd v/s Aus) – Didn’t watch the match yesterday was not ready to see another depressing match what a loss

March 27 -  It’s Pearl’s KG convocation function tomorrow. It seems only yesterday she started going to school !! This year also she was selected as the Best -All -Rounder ! Four years before at Ruby’s convocation Function she was very excited to visit the school she would be joining , the place she would go together with her brother and wanted to stand on the stage along with him

March 28 - Pearl wants me to crawl under her umbrella house Ruby is making a sub land/marine which can carry army and Navy forces at the same time And we are eating ice creams almost every day, which is my most favourite part Vacation is here at my door steps, friends !! Two more days to go ! Yayyy!!!

March 30 – Kick starting one of the biggest purging process I have ever done ! Let there be more space ; both in mind and around . Let the sunshine seep through the windows and brighten even the most darkest corners . Let happiness and joy follow sunshine to fill all the spaces !

March 30 – ( India v/s Pak ) Missing you both Sis and Bro !!! Miss the shouts , the flags and the beats and every thing ! Ruby and Pearl are looking at me like strangers . They haven’t seen their Mom as a cricket maniac until today !!!

March 30-What a match yaar !! Kids beg me to let them watch ‘back yard science’ now that cricket is finally over ))))

April 2 – On the D – day ie. World cup Final I went along with Hubby to visit my sister and was in transit . Kids had gone earlier . Anyway I opt long drives, music and good company to any cricket match . Enjoyed the last few overs with family . It is a joy to travel around Kerala with all the Konna flowers in bloom .

Vacation is here The time of the year I await with enthusiasm. I am knee deep in some serious purging . Gave away almost half of the toys and all . Discarded every other paper I came across. And kept aside the out grown clothes for orphanages. ( My informal rule is to give away some some of old clothes to needy when we buy a new set )

Today I completed sorting out the toys and arranging them for the vacation . My babies are finally growing up . They have out grown the acrobats and the wooden blocks . And all those kinder blocks , wooden puzzles , rhymes , alphabets , shapes . When I see them stacked aside , ready to be given away I see the twinkling eyes of my kids . How they would look up from behind those toys to see why Mom is disturbing us. That beautiful time when a hug or a kiss and a cup of milk would solve every thing has passed by .

CSA Awareness : My two cents .

I have been reading the posts on CSA awareness month . Almost all of them have the same voice . The parents were either ignorant or they didn’t think it is important to talk to the child or confront the culprit.

I wonder what makes parents react in that way .

Is it the guilty feeling to accept that something bad has happened to their child due to their ignorance .

Or is it shame .

Or do they believe the child should look after himself /herself and is responsible for what happened .

Or is it the reluctance to acknowledge that their loved ones can have another face .

Or is it the inability to accept that there could be dangers they are unaware of.

I think it is a mixture of every thing . And I feel strangely ashamed .

It would be a lie if I say I haven’t come across any molesters . It is impossible to grow up in this world with out confronting any . It is flooded with them and you cannot eradicate it . Not in the near future . It is all about bringing up kids with the courage to stand up to it .

My Grand mother was a real smart lady who knew how to train young girls with out making a fuss about it . She taught us to be wary of Uncles who may jump at the chance to put us on their laps , or who may hug and pinch us to show their love . She taught us to stay away from them  . And to cry loudly if some thing is not right . She talked about sleazy shop keepers eager to push bangles into our hands . Through her jokes and talks she taught us in spite of being wonderful this world is not a safe place . And the simple truth that you have to learn to take care of yourself.

And I believe sexual innocence is not some thing good to brag about or a solid excuse to make when it comes to molesting and groping . Neither for parents or young girls. Awareness is awareness even when we cannot stop some thing from happening .

But with real young kids , parents/ guardians/care takers are the only ones who can take care of them. Let us Accept the responsibility . Let us not run away from it . Let us do our part and let our kids flourish in a safe environment.

I also want to bring forth the fact that it is not only the men , but women could also be child molesters . And boys and girls , both can be victims.

If not anything teach your child to use the most powerful and useful word . Teach them to say a loud ” NO” when they mean it and teach them to use it fearlessly .

I dream of a day when there would be no victims to write about their horrible experiences . A day when no child’s feelings will be left unattended by his/her parent.

This month has been selected as the ” Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month ” . Don’t be ostriches, please !

Musical Monday !

Got this idea from Bikram and wanted to do it last week . But missed it . Today unknowingly shared some songs on FB and then suddenly remembered it is Monday .

My life is so much intertwined with all the beautiful songs I have heard ; sometimes I think I can make a graph out of them. I like melodies more than anything. Good lyrics can keep me engaged even for hours! Can’t tolerate the sound and beats like my brother, but I do like fast numbers with good tunes.
I like to listen to Malayalam, Hindi and some Tamil songs. Like to do drawings based on songs or to give captions. Dancing with Live concerts were our favourite as students and I had some rocking friends too! But now as a mother of two kids the chances are slim

Once at college our Hindi Sir asked the class if they would like to be left alone in a room forever . He wanted to explain to every one the importance of socialization . Then I told him I would happily do so if I am left with a collection of my favourite melody cassettes. He was not convinced though

Today I have been humming songs from ‘Guide ‘ . The hit movie of 1965 with an evergreen hero and many evergreen songs .

One of my all time favourite songs . So romantic that you would dissolve in it . One of those first few songs that gave the young girl in me an idea about the beauty and sweetness in loving some one for a life time .

This song along with all the other songs from ‘Guide’ bring beautiful memories of those clear summer nights , Anthakshari , singing along with my Sis , our room , Wilkinson sword Chaaya geet which I used to listen till 11 pm and all those fights Nostalgic