Summer Hols- What fun!!

I was a little concerned that our insensitive building committee had planned to hack the playground and the swimming pool at the same time all in the name of renovation!! How awful for the kids... bang in the middle of their holidays?

It turned out to be anything but awful! The kids are having a blast!! And looking at the way their holidays were taking shape the first thing I did was put up a planner for the kids!There was way too much happening! I realized that it wasn't going to be seamless days of idling, eating and reading (my idea of a summer break)! The holidays began with a massive dinosaur themed break-up party at school which set the ball rolling! After that there were pizza parties, brunch playdates, movie-dates, cupcake decorating-date, picnics and the all -important birthday parties!!

On the days they were not too busy having fun with friends, they entertained themselves at home- decorating pumpkins ( forced to buy them these days!!), helping the helper with the housework, doing 'experiments'

( read BIGTIME vishamam), inventing new games with empty boxes and making birthday cards ( "so what if thatha's birthday is just over, we could make one for next year") !

Most times, I enjoy being a part of their action but sometimes I like to simply watch- their heads bent over the

paints, their tongues sticking out just a wee bit, their constant light-hearted banter ( a lot of it has started), their undisguised glee over small thrills!

I realize that their summer holidays will be very different from next year. For starters, Shriya who will still be in kindergarten will have a different month off as compared to her Primary school going brother. The brother would want to do 'big boy'stuff  and the sister might have her own wishlist. Different summer breaks, different friends, different fun!

It's definitely the end of a Phase! So, playground or not, we are all out to make this summer as memorable as we can!

Who are you Amma?

The other day Vaibhav asked me something that surprised me. But before that let me give you a bit of background. I work from home. And I work the three hours the kids are at school and another 2-3 hours after they are in bed. My meetings are always after the kids are dropped off at school. In a nutshell, the kids never see me WORK ( e-mail/FBing not counted) on the comp or do work-related stuff when they are around. They get my 100% and more and we were all enjoying the status quo... until.....Vaibhav one day thought for a while and then said "Amma, I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. And Shriya says she wants to be a doctor and help all the thathas and paatis". I said that they were both great choices and threw in a pinch of salt to the sambhar I was cooking. And then he said very worriedly "Amma,you have already grown up, what have you become?"

Hmm....so that's what they think of me. Just AMom!

The other day, somebody requested for a meeting at 11am, a time when I'm usually presiding over the lunch table and narrating stories. I almost said Sorry, we'll have to change the time and then decided not to. I dressed up in work clothes took my laptop and set off kissing goodbye to two very surprised children.

The kids took it all very well. It was I who was paranoid leaving them in the care of my housekeeper. I made umpteen calls to check if they ate alright, if they were dressed right for school, if they remembered to put on their caps......

The last call I made, my son took the phone from my housekeeper and said "Ma, we have been very good. You do well in your meeting, ok?"

Nighty Night Sweethearts!

Tired after school, exhausted after play, my little ones rush for their warm bath before dinner and bed. I love giving them a wash especially after evening play. The cleansing ritual is very satisfying- scrubbing all the day's grime off, soaping till their skin is squeaky clean once again and finally rubbing their little bodies dry while inhaling the sweet fragrance of their skin mingled with baby soap...AaahI just love it!

And after that bath, I just have to comb their still damp hair. Vaibhav hates it and once even told me "I like my hair to look messed, ma and I'm going to bed, why does my hair have to be neat"!! My little son does not quite know that it has to be neat for me. Neatly combed hair + fresh from a bath makes every child (even the absolutely naughty ones) look endearing and utterly delicious!!

I kiss them, kiss them again, sometimes even nibble on them. Drowsy eyes stare back at me . My mind is usually swimming with thoughts from the day as I look into those innocent pools- Was it a fun day? Did we enjoy moments together or did we just rush through our routines? Was I hard on him/her? Could I have said it another way? Oh, they are still so innocent and so small!! I love them so much, I think I could burst!