Sunny Summer Holidays… Part I

Adapting from the legend, Cliff Richards::

“We're all going on a summer holiday
No more working for a week month or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
No more worries for me or you,
For a week month or two.”

The first summer holidays of the daughter... Yayyyy !!! 💃

And the first-time dilemma:

Enticing Summer Camps vs. Camping At Home

We grew up surrounded by family and cousins – never short of company or engrossing activities during the holidays.

In a nuclear set up, with the daddy at 48x7 work (+traveling) and the mommy on 24x7 child surveillance, it does become a little tough.

Especially because the mighty pre-schoolers have been bestowed with certain super powers –

Super activeness, Question bank-ness, Supernatural ability to discover hidden “treasures”, just to list a few.

And the summer camps nowadays promise:

To keep the child engaged with exciting activities = A few hours’ breather for the carer at home.

Nevertheless, Hubby and I decided to simply “Let Her Be”::

1) After all that’s what we did in our childhood, right?

2) Mommy is at home – so why not let the daughter enjoy at home too?

3) The motherly (and over-the-phone concurring grandmotherly) over-protectiveness kicked in – Let her sleep as much as she wants.

School days meant waking her up earlier (and she has surely done the parental genes proud – definitely not an early riser).

4) Add to that, “She gets to eat her favourite complete meals at proper times”. And, of course, our hearts did the melting number.

5) Plus, when would she use all the resources that she has at home?  Toys, books, puzzles, the works….

6) And our consciences chimed in - she’s only 3 after all. Shouldn’t she be allowed to do just “nothing”, too, if she so chooses?

Q.E.D. She’s going to camp at home.

Shhh…. trivia:

Mommy also wanted a break from the daily groove of dropping her to a camp, waiting around there for the couple of hours before bringing her back.

And what an awesome summer holiday this has turned out to be. The delight on kiddo’s face each time she could engage in a different / new activity, reassured me that I was faring pretty well on the summer holiday engagement meter.

A fond look at just some of our regular activities :-

(Note: when she chose to do so)

Rollerball Paints – Mommy (nearly) Faints

She found herself her first activity - Rollerball Paints gifted to her.

Seemed pretty trouble-free to me.

Needless to say, she had a thrilling squealing colourful fun-time.

But, mommy was definitely not prepared to handle the eventual disaster.

Not only the papers and the ground around, but also her little self and her clothes were now a riot of colours.

So mommy promptly decided to do an “Abracadabra…. Vanish….” act and vowed to tread with caution on forthcoming projects.

Luck By Chance

Let’s just calls this “Lucky To Have A Birthday Right Before Summer Holidays” phenomenon.

She got ample chance to explore her varied gifts.

As she lounged on her new inflatable Hippo, she leafed through her new (picture/ rhymes/ story) books, narrating her interpretation of stories to herself or to her entourage of “children”.

For the uninitiated, she considers herself a mother to all soft toys and dolls that she possesses!!

Crayons, colour pencils, colouring books, empty papers – all were fully utilised as the lips were pursed up and the colours thrown in.

Sound of Silence

I heard my pots and pans and dishes clanking around.

I realized it had been 20 minutes since no other sound had been heard – no non-stop chattering, no giggles, no sudden wails, no singing, no…. !!!!

What could she be up to?

Aaaah, I had valiantly handed over water-colours to her.  And she was colourfully engrossed.

Now before you wonder, “Whaaaaat??? Didn’t you learn from the first Rollerball mistake??”

Well, I did. And I did not repeat the oversight.

My summer holiday mommy brain had been coming up with innovative hacks.

We didn’t have an apron to save the clothes…

Eureka !! Out came the outgrown bathrobe à Made her wear it back to front à And we got ourselves a handy apron without spending extra bucks.

So, while the little painter would keep busy, I would finish my chores. This daily routine had a serene calm at our residence.

Homework Quirk

I don’t recall ever being so thrilled about “holiday homework”.

She knew her teachers had given her few homework sheets.

And she wanted to finish all the pairing, colouring and other activities at one shot.

Took a lot of gentle coaxing to make her understand that we could do this over the holiday period.

But then who wouldn’t want to do such fun stuff?

Rub-a-dub-dub, Kiddo In Her Tub

She loves water.  And her school had been engaging them in Water Play just before they closed for the holidays.

What a perfect idea to keep her cool in these hot months.

Now, getting an inflatable pool = Space occupied, unnecessarily.

So what to do? Thought of another clever little hack.

Got out her outgrown bathtub à Pretended it’s a mini swimming pool.

Made her wear her favourite swimming costume.

Got her little squirting animal friends to join her.

Voila! We had a shrieking splashing fun pool.

Kept an ear on the happy squeals, an intermittent watch on the kid (and animals), and there, I could finish some more errands while she cooled in her “pool”.

This Is The Way I Help My Mom

The best thing was to involve her in the regular house activities – and she revels in doing things “on my own”.

💝 So I got a mini helper assisting me with::

💝 Setting the bed

💝 Putting out clothes to dry à Taking them in again in the evening à Folding little items neatly

💝 Keeping washed dishes back in their designated places

💝 Shelling the last remaining fresh peas from the market

And the list is absolutely inexhaustible…

And that kept both of us really content and happy.

Pat A Cake, Pat A Cake, Baker Mom

Holiday time – a perfect time to bake that whole wheat banana cake or experiment with a super soft honey-soaked cake.

And obviously she wanted to be involved

Proudly wore her little apron, mixed the batter, helped me pour, stuffed some raisins in her mouth, licked some honey…

And then patiently kept watch in front of the oven, lest the cake runs away like the Gingerbread Man.

Love Thy Neighbour

And then we adopted the daily summer holiday custom –

She would waltz into the neighbour’s apartment to play with her bosom buddy.

And then the little girls would come over to enliven our place. (This deserves a dedicated post)

There would be a mess once play ceased for the day – but it is the happiest mess that I cherished.

Evening meant park time where she giggled as she ran through the sand, climbed up the slides (much preferred over sliding down!!), bonded with other kids and basically, had FUN.

A few “Play Dates”, loads of birthday parties … hence, more happiness and fun.

Sing, Dance, Make Merry

The perfect opportunity to take out that musical instrument lying unattended at home.

And to re-introduce the little one to the beautiful sounds.

The perfect chance to play the favourite songs and dance along with the mini trainer – she alone knows how she conjured up those funny dance moves and comical facial expressions.

But these would probably be the most enjoyable work out sessions I have had in a long long time.

What Next… Puzzled??

Not at all!!

She took out the multiple puzzles that she loves working on.

Cute fruits, animals, vehicles lined up the floor.

And she graduated to solving ones with more pieces.

Maximum Utilization of Resources

Never before have all her toys/ activities been so fully utilized.

💝 All story books were read.

💝 The colourful wooden blocks were used to build many a houses.

💝 The cooking sets were utilised to whip up interesting fare like apple soup, strawberry chicken and whatever she deemed exotic.

💝 The Play dough was rolled out into various forms.

💝 The toy train set chugged along.

💝 Meows, Bow wows, Moos, Howls and Growls filled the house as Toy animals stepped out of the cupboard.

💝 Mommy totally enjoyed doing finger puppet stories for her.

Cherry on the Cake

Could a perfect summer holiday be complete without flying off to the granny’s place?

And that shall be the next blog post.

Till then… let me reflect on all the fun that the daughter lavished upon me this summer.😃

Ooooh girls, they wanna have fun !!!

 

The little lady has just turned three.

Never ever has she experienced being home alone with daddy while mommy has stepped out.

So when a group of enthusiastic “school mommies” planned a dinner date, Cyndi Lauper swiftly moved in to take hold of my mind.

Happily I hummed:

“When the working day is done
Oh girls, they wanna have fun” 💃💃💃

Me – All peppy.

Husband – Glad & super-supportive.

Daughter – Clueless (but surely prefers this non-cranky mother figure).

The Emotions, the build-up, oh… !!!

Excitement – But OF COURSE !!!

An evening out.

That too only with the girls (toddler not demanding attention = chatting freely).

That too after ages.

Phew… 😀

Planning – But OF COURSE, OF COURSE !!!

Advance notice given to hubby, so that he is in town.

And also in town means getting home early (I know certain things are unheard off… guffaws 😁) to take care of the little one.

Exact time of pick-up meticulously decided with mommy friends living close by.

Reminding hubby every day, about his upcoming mini evening project (lest he forget “THE DATE”).

Anxiety – But OF COURSE, OF COURSE, OF COURSE !!!

Oh no, not what you are thinking, not about leaving her at home (daddy would surely do a great job).

Aaah wait, let’s just sneak in some credit here - had set everything that she might need for the evening 😉

You wonder, “Then, what was the Anxiety about?”

Come on!! Haven’t you heard of the very first evening date?

And here I wasn’t dating one, but an entire bunch of awesome ladies.

So shouldn’t I be anxious about what to wear??

Aaah well, the wicked heat made it very easy to decide – comfy cotton.

The Challenges

Can such an “adventurous” outing really be without challenges?

The Plot.

Clock – it’s ticking, unmoving, moving towards the designated time when my friends will pick me up. ⏰

Hubby -Nowhere on the horizon.

Hubby’s partner in crime (read his beloved mobile phone) - Unreachable.

Wow… what am I to do??!!

If I start dressing up in front of the little one, a meltdown cannot be discounted.

Last thing I would want to handle now.

Neighbour helps by sending her daughter over to play with ours (they are best friends anyways).

Aaah, that gives me some ironing time.

The plot thickens.

The intermittent sound of thunder.

Now, is it also going to pour??!!

Precaution desired - shove an umbrella into the purse.

Umpteenth phone call to an “unavailable” husband phone number.

Do I really need to express my mental state at that moment??

And then, the unapologetic no-explanation-felt-necessary call of the cook “I am not coming in today”.

Wow… what a day to take a sudden leave!!

Do I still need to express my mental state??

Quick rummaging through the refrigerator – and I knew hubby & daughter are taken care of.

Thunder Roll (more like a Drum Roll).

Doorbell rings.

Finally, the hubby has made his appearance.

Crucial 10

And this is how to sum up the next 10 minutes:

1) Dole out instructions to hubby who is wandering from one room to the other.

Oh God, can’t he just stand still for 2 minutes!!

And then he wonders why our daughter can’t sit still for a moment!!

Genes, I say.

Ok no time to analyse genetics now.

Take a deep breath – as if that’s possible at this minute - be patient and somehow drill in the information into his subconscious.

2) Attend to the phone calls from the mommy friends – who patiently agree to wait while I get ready.

3) Getting set for the evening in record time!!

“X” Book of Records, are you listening?

4) Finally piling into the car.

Finally deep breaths to replenish the breathless lungs.

Wow, did I actually make it to the date??!!

An Evening to Remember

And then starts the animated conversations.

Sound control authorities may kindly take a break.

Oh what an evening – let me do a short & sweet summary:

Loads of laughter,

Lot of good food,

Loads of laughter,

Yummmmmm desserts (drooling in my dreams still),

Loads of laughter,

Mini conversations,

Loads of laughter,

Photo sessions,

Loads of laughter.

Consequences & conclusions

Have always heard it is the most difficult when you separate from your child the first time.

But it really wasn’t. I just didn’t feel any guilt or anxiety.

✓ Because I knew she was in safe hands, in entertaining company.

✓ Because I have had shopping escapades whenever we have been at my parents’ place, with the grandparents playing doting play mates.

✓ Because I am leaving her now when she’s got used to being away from the mommy in school.

✓ Because it was hardly for a few hours.

Smiling to myself, as I think about the evening with my lovable nutty mommy friends, I walk into the house.

And what do I see?

A supremely satisfied daddy who has had more kiddo time than gadget time that night.

An over-excited daughter - thrilled at getting exclusive precious rare time with daddy.

So much so that we had to listen to imaginary stories, interjected with “Do you know the muffin man?” on repeat mode, till 1 am!!!

Me – Totally looking forward to the next mommies-only outing.

Daddy – Wishing that would not be when he has to catch a flight in a few hours.

Daughter – Super happy to see my dinner date photos over & over again. And am sure, looking forward to more exclusive daddy time soon.

Cheers to us Mommy Friends!!!

Happy Annuversary

Each wedding anniversary is a special milestone in the couple’s lives.

And then there are those extra special milestones – because they denote completion of “x” special years.

Husband & I were all set to celebrate a landmark anniversary this month.

A Special Anniversary!! So let’s plan something nice…

Our Anniversary falls two days after a national holiday.

Perfectly planned the date those “x” years back.

It falls on a Saturday this year.

Just Perfect.  

So the dear husband has to only take the Friday off (read: “the dilemma of a workaholic”… giggle giggle) from work.

Totally Perfect.

And off we can go for a short & sweet “celebration” trip, of course with the little daughter joining in.

Couldn’t be more Perfect J

Quick Check-list:

a)     Destination –

• Let’s choose a special place close to our house
• Hubby loves driving, so we can drive down
• Lot of greenery would be good for the fatigued city lungs

b)     Attractions –

• It should be a place to simply relax
• So that the “people/places of interest” seeking, camera-toting wife doesn’t do a disappearing act
• The food should be good – special occasion = yummy grub & cake of course !!

c)      Budget –

Aahh… a teeny weeny bit splurging is fine – after all a “landmark” anniversary

So, we thought of the perfect place to go to.

d)     Packing –

Not much of a bother, since it would be only a 3 days’ outing.

e)     And the dreaming began…

• Our FIRST special milestone anniversary
• Will request the resort staff for a candlelit table – ooohhh… a romantic candlelight dinner with the child ;)
• Maybe all 3 of us could wear new outfits for the occasion
• There would be music and hopefully a dance floor – maybe I can request the DJ/ singer to play/perform some of our favourite romantic numbers

Aaahh… Excitement builds up in anticipation of this short relaxing trip.

And the D-day is finally here… Yippppeeeeeeee !!!

Wow!! We are going to celebrate our special Anniversary and how!!

a)     Destination –

• Special place, close to our house – ✓
• Drive down – ✓
• Lot of greenery – ✓

This place is called “The School Garden” 

b)     Attractions –

• Total relaxation - ✓
  After the morning frenzy of getting the daughter & ourselves ready.
• Persons of interest - ✓
  Many precious little people actually – it is the School Annual Day.
• Camera toting wife’s disappearing act - ✘
  Note: Photography & videography restricted, so as not to distract the little performers and to prevent various arms & mobile devices from blocking the line of vision of fellow audience members.
• Food - ✘
  But the kid did manage to get a cake from the cake stall. 

c)      Budget –

Splurging – ✓

But what we splurged on was a lot of happiness & joy at this colourful event.

d)     Packing – ✓ 

Truly not much of a bother, since only a 3 days hours outing. So, an extra set of clothes for the performer and the snack box with fruits.

e)     And the reality begins…

• Daughter’s FIRST annual day – a landmark in itself – and waiting for many more to come.
• Forego the candlelight, we were in full sunlight – lot of Vitamin D produced today.
• Dress up we did – in traditional wear, to keep in sync with the theme of celebrating the country’s cultures.
• Daughter’s delight at dressing up & performing – beyond any delight we could have got at any resort.
• The cute innocence-laden performances – could any entertainment be more pure? And yes, we grooved too, standing side by side, happiness in our hearts.
• And through their adorable actions, we re-learnt the various traditions in India.

 Now that’s what we call a unique anniversary celebration J

Happy Milestone Anniversary

Each anniversary is denoted by Traditional & Modern symbols.

Our traditional symbol this year signifies flexibility, a prime requirement as we embrace parenthood.

The modern symbol signifies beauty and strength – the day was beautiful indeed and a powerful reminder of the responsibilities we need to undertake as parents.

So Cheers… And Happy Anniversary (or rather Annu-versary) to Us J

Food for Tot

That dreaded day has arrived.

I have to cook “home food” for the school mates of the daughter.

Am no expert chef & never have I ever cooked for 30 people at a time.

Oh, and here we are talking about 30 very special little ones.

Step 1: Exam Jitters

A deluge of questions hit me.

-          What will the precious little ones prefer eating?

-          Will they like the taste of the food I serve them?

-          Will I be able to cook adequate quantity? Oh, I cannot fall short!!

-          Will I be able to finish cooking on time? I needed to reach by 11:30 in the morning.

Step 2: The Syllabus

The syllabus entailed - Starter/ Salad, Main Course, Dessert/ Fruit to be served.

Ok, that took care of the categorization process.

Now, with so many options running riot in the mind, I needed to shortlist a menu.

After much deliberation, I decided to go by what our daughter likes to have. And that meant sticking to absolutely simple stuff.

The exam guides (read: her teachers) readily agreed to the menu & it was finalized

(And that brought with it, the first sigh of relief)

·         Corn-cucumber-pomegranate salad  – colourful salty sweet blend that our child loves (and even I am very fond of, although that’s irrelevant here)

·         Paddu (the benefits of moving to a different city & learning new dishes from friends) - cute little steamed balls of dal & rice – a wholesome meal for a child along with coconut chutney

·         Baby bananas – to complete the lunch

Hmmm, it really wasn’t too difficult!!

Step 3: Preparing for the Exams

·         Consulted the maestro (read: grandmother) on phone – to reaffirm the menu and to get an idea about the quantity of raw materials to be purchased.

·         Acquired the raw materials – with meticulous detailing & planning (or so I thought).

·         Mommy confidantes approved the menu & even shared their paddu pans (to speed up the cooking process, of course).

·         Daughter got very excited when she realized I would be getting food for her friends the next day. Proudly proclaimed “When I go to school today, I shall tell my friends, Ms R & Ms V, that my mumma will bring food for us tomorrow.”

Oh no, darling daughter, do you realize you just jacked up my jitters?? You are setting certain expectations here.

Step 4: Exam Day & the last minute Revisions

·         D-day is here – had kept the corn washed the night before. But just before putting them to boil, the jitterbugs hit me, and I add another 250 gms to the pot. Oh, I cannot fall short!!

·         Pomegranates deseeded, I am busy chopping up the cucumbers. The excited little lady jumps onto a chair to get a better view (of her momma’s quivering hands).

·         Then she picks up a cucumber dice, pops it in the mouth, crunches it with her tiny teeth & with a very serious face declares, “This is fine for my friends.”

Yeah, thank you for ratifying it & thank you Mother Nature for making such an awesome fruit/ vegetable (the debate continues but let’s leave it to the botanists).

·         I pack her off to school with her daddy.

·         Have requested the cook to come over & help in making the zillion paddus. And as I turn to prepare the chutney, “Oh no, I have forgotten the coriander leaves!!”

Last minute dash to the veggie guy.

·         And finally, the exam paraphernalia is packed::-

a)      Salad is mixed, tasted (Umm… its tasting fine).

b)      The paddus are packed in a humongous container (Had forgotten I have one such at home!! This exam has led to such awesome discovery).

c)      The chutney is filled into 2 boxes.

d)      The bananas sit bright and pretty in a huge packet.

e)      Have packed in serving spoons too.

·         And off I go... On time !!

(Second huge huge sigh of relief)

Step 5: The Exams

Am standing outside the examination centre - the butterflies are doing their merry flutter in the tummy. Gingerly I tug at the school bell.

The invigilators (her teachers) let me in with a warm welcoming smile.

And as I wait for the kids to get set for lunch, my daughter rushes out and spots me in the waiting area. She would not leave her nervous mother’s side. Or is it the other way round? She’s my little mommy at the moment.

And then when I am summoned inside, she holds my hand & guides me in.

The adorable expectant faces greet me with a loud “Namaste” & suddenly all nervousness disappears.

I start serving and the teachers help me out.

Two little girls discuss gravely, “She had said her mumma will come on Sunday. But Aunty has come today with the food.”

I smiled.

For my daughter, any out of the ordinary day is Sunday.

Step 6: Exam Results

The older kids are very encouraging - They ask for more servings.

Some even say, “Thank you aunty, you home food is superb/ very tasty”

As I wonder are they just being polite, I hear two little shy voices discreetly call out to my daughter and say, “Your mumma’s home food is very good”

My heart does a happy flip.

A certain little boy is, apparently, for the first time agreeing to have food at school, made by a friend’s mommy.

As he shyly asks me for one more paddu & chutney – it feels so heartening & special.

And all I can do is serve & grin.

The exam results have definitely been favourable (out comes a third huge huge huge sigh of relief).

Added experience: I observe how the kids conduct themselves in the school eating environment – they sit on their mats, in a circle, neatly put their plates aside once done, wash their hands & mouth, stack their bags back on the shelves, and then run out to play in the garden.

So, ??

Did I start the post by saying “dreaded”?

So, let me alter it to “That much awaited day has arrived”.

Looking forward to the next turn and hoping to serve up yummier home food.

P.S. Now I understand the joy & immense satisfaction my mother derives from cooking for everyone.