Saturday 31 May 2014

Working with a bumling by your side!!

A friend of mine recently messaged me one night to ask me how I do it...

How I manage the little bumling and work and this blog.... 

And I thought about it .... And I manage because I love each one so much.. 

I mean yes.. You can never compare your love toward your baby to your work or some space on the internet but I am so happy when I work and I'm so happy when I blog and that makes me make time. 

Like right now it's one thirty and I've just put away my wool pom poms for a cupcake banner order after finishing one hoop art order and instead of sleeping I'm taking fifteen minutes to write this blog!!!! 

And this is after playing with the bumling, giving him his milk and chatting with his daddy!!! 

I enjoy it all that much!!

Recently I did a birthday party... If you guys follow my Happy People page on facebook you must have seen my Spa-arty!! 

I got the order just two weeks before the actual birthday.... The madness that happened for those two weeks is almost impossible to sum up in one blog post.!!!

I designed and handmade 60 invites, made 50 paper flowers, re labels 250 water bottles, stuck 300 cupcake toppers to toothpicks (I had help!!!) and packed 240 bottles with shampoo sunscreen bubble bath and moisturiser for 60 return gift baskets for which my entire family helped like crazy!!! 

Three trips to the printer ... Which is about 40 mins aways from home... Three to four hours there... And back... Four trips to bandra where the venue was...visiting eight grocery stores hunting for the right sized candy to fit into the invites..

Add to that minor panic attacks every time some vendor said something was not available or their stock had run out but they would try to arrange for it... 

I don't think I slept for about three nights prior to the party... Literally the entire night i would be up finishing...packaging...

Because all day it was playing with siddy feeding him.. Running around with him.... Of course my mum and Aadi were crazy help... But the more he is growing up the more he senses I'm busy or just not giving him my full attention.. And so he demands it... 

More than anything... I pulled off this party because of him... He never once stressed me out the little angel... Literally I would be working and I'd give him my rough paper to play with and he'd sit below my table playing with it.. As soon as he got bored I would give him something else real quick... And distract him!! So many rolls of wool have been destroyed by him in those ten twelve days!!! 


(This is what working with a baby looks like!!) 

It was the most exhausting and the most exhilarating few days of my life.... I felt so happy that day I set up the party and looked around and so all my decor hanging from the trees and stall fronts.. The food toppers and popcorn boxes made me smile!!! 

I came home that day, after standing in the mad afternoon sun for four hours... Simply wanting to hug my little baby boy....

But it wasn't over.... The next day was my workshop... Vi and I were taking our first workshop together .... We packed 15 packets of stationary and papers....and had the most amazing experience ever!!! 

I went in so unsure about everything... I mean.. I was teaching them things I did at home for fun... Would they really find it that interesting? 

Well, they did!!!! They loved making the paper flowers... And seeing everyone excitedly making so many variations of them... It was amazing!!! 

Working is amazing.,, it makes me feel complete... 

It made my think... Shouldn't my baby make me feel complete ... Do I need something else? And I realized that sidy doesn't complete me.,. He is me...

He is a part of me that is merged into me.. Not an external piece of a puzzle I have to add to me... But working blogging, these are things I need to keep adding to my life to give me external happiness.. 

Siddy is my inner glow... My inner happiness!!! 



Thursday 29 May 2014

Don't read my blog.

When I came to Jaipur I was so happy because I could blog peacefully and make up for all the drafts lying in my folder....

But once here, I got to know that someone who reads my blog regularly actually had a problem about me mentioning that I travel to the park with bumling in an auto.... And passed the word to my family who were also strangely unhappy about it. 

For days I've been in this dilemma.... What was wrong in what I said? Yes I take him by auto... It's a choice I make... It's a convenient option since he won't sit in a car seat and often I take him on my own. 

Not that that is the point... That isn't even something I need to explain...

This blog isn't to put myself or my life up for judgement.... My blog is for me... And someday for my son Siddhant to read... To know how happy his parents were to have this angel in their lives.... To understand how things were in the world when he was born..

I'm a good mom. Aadi and I work hard to lead good lives. We make siddy very happy almost as much as he makes us. We lead comfortable and more importantly happy lives. 

So why judge us? And for something so silly. 

Yes I put my life out there... I tell people things about me and my baby and my hubby.... 

But do you know how many people I have met in the last year... Some old old friends some very random people whom I don't even know very well and they have all read the blog... In fact most of them say such wonderful things like how they always share the link with their newly preggie or new mommy friends... And how I should actually write more often.....

And it's such a great warm feeling...

But things like these.. They hurt... And they stay longer.... Because they hit deeper I guess.... 

And so for days I was not in any mood to write.... I wanted to confront this person... And clear things up... I wanted to never write again.... At one point I also wanted to unfriend this person on facebook... 

Because you know what... If you are going to use what i write negatively then don't read my blog. 

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Going Back Home!

In all honesty I was worried. I mean he's just a baby... How strong can his memory be? And the amount he has grown in the last two months... He's walking and talking (pretty much) he's reacting to things asking for things... He knows what he wants and doesn't want... I just wasn't very sure how he would react going back .. Well, going back home...

So mom dad did visit for a few hours when they had a connecting flight to South Africa about two weeks ago... He was very happy to see them then... I wasn't sure if it was because he remembered them as such or if he was just being his usual friendly self... Either way I was just happy that night because he was in a great mood and played so much with them. 

But wait... Now that I think about it.. Of course he remembered them... They had two of their close friends with them and siddy didn't spend as much time with them as he did with mom and dad...!!

So ya... When I was coming to Jaipur (since this previous thought just came to me) I was a bit worried. But as soon as we landed and we met granny and Nitinbh, he was in love!!! He laughed and laughed at Nitinbh's Chinese and sat in granny's lap all the way home! 

And the day mom dad came back from their trip.. He was all over them!!! 

I mean, it took him some time.. Like about half an hour... He walked around them... Smiled from a distance but as soon as he realised that this was family... He was all in! 

It's amazing how a little baby, all of fifteen months can tell family from outsiders... He plays with them and hugs and kisses them.. And nothing is more amazing for me than that... 

His relationship with them is an individual relationship... It's a minus Aadi and me kinda relationship.. And I would always want it to become stronger and deeper as he grows up. 

Seeing him with them now, I have no worries no doubts that he could possibly forget them.... 

His fun loving Dadu and his even more fun phone and his beautiful Dadi who teaches him to sing and pray. 

They spoil him and love him all in one go.. And he knows it... That little kid knows how much love he's going to get from them.. And how many toys he's going to get from them too!!!


I'm just glad to see them together!!!








Play school drama

About a month ago my masi came a visiting.... And freaked the living crap out of me....!!

Haven't figured out his play school? Haven't even looked at any? He's already  fifteen months old... School starts in June... What are you doing?!!!!!

And to add to it... I had a meeting with a client who has a baby as young as siddy and her baby's play school admission was done months ago....

So ok.... put the pressure people!!

Quickly I called a bunch of mommies I know to get their opinion. This is a good thing because you get to really see a lot of perspectives and then get to decide what you want.

Like one friend said pick any as long as it's close by because playschool is for fun more than anything..

....another said she didn't believe in it and was happy home schooling her kids till proper school starts...also being a stay at home mum she would rather have the little monkies with her all day!!! 

....another recommended joining a play school with great school associations as that would help with his admissions later.....

So I started by making my list of things I knew I wanted as far as the play school went:

1.Location Location Location:

My first and main priority about the play school was the location, it just had to be five to ten minutes from home, I really didn't think it made sense to drive a distance with him at such a young age everyday just for play school. And considering the class would be for just one and half to two hours, it seemed impractical to drive half an hour hang there for two hours and get him back. I couldn't possibly drive back and go back... I'll be in the car the whole morning!!!! And with my work kickstarting, seems really silly.

2. Good Background.

This was mainly Aadi's priority, and I agree. He wanted a school that had some standing amongst the top play schools of the city, since we have heard that it helps with the school admissions. He spent a few days researching the top schools... And we narrowed it down together. 

3. Bright and Colorful.

The classrooms and overall ambience of the school should be cheerful and colourful. A space that kids feel happy in.

4. Should be decently priced.

I mean come on, its just play school. It doesn't have to be some crazy expensive space... after all, all they are going to do is play with play dough and crayons!!!

5. Safety.

This I've added later after reading a post on FMC about a little boy who's fingers came between the door and got do badly crushed he had to get surgery done. The school had no safety precautions even basic ones like door closers also they didn't take on any responsibility for the accident. So now I will double check.

6. No cheap Hindi songs. 

I was very clear that even if they play Hindi songs for school plays or music and dance days, I didn't want siddy coming home singing some cheap item number song. Nothing is more icky ( in my opinion) than a little kid dancing to some sick chikni chameli type song.  

7. Kids from the same economic and social background.

Don't judge me... But I felt it was import at that the kids that come there are from the same social and economical background as us as we would be interacting with their parents. I was also not comfortable having them from a higher economic background because I personally feel it messes with your discipline structure... They see more they want more... You know? So it was important that it be a group that is similar in their lifestyle. 

Well, so after asking around I shortlisted OPT 1 and Kangaroo Kids. OPT 1 was top at first, because I had heard about it being really fancy shmancy! And I went to see it first. 

It was really cute.... The girl who showed us around was very well spoken and convincing... The fee was reasonable so I got excited.... I was pretty sure I didn't want to see kangaroo kids. 

So the next morning I took Aadi to see it before I paid up... And strangely the next day it seemed dull. I don't know why... But the entire space seemed very dark and dingy. The girl whom we had to make the payment to was running late... So Aadi suggested we spend that time looking at kangaroo kids since the bandra branch was the top play school on most lists. 

Bright clean cheery and airy. 

Wow!!! What a contrast. 

It was the strangest thing, in that moment we both knew we weren't going back to poor OPT 1:(

I took siddy and mum there later to meet the teachers and speak to them since no one was around earlier. Siddy loved it there.... Then again he had loved cambridge shire as well!!! 

I also met a fellow mommy from my craft mornings who said she was shifting her son from OPT 1 to here because they had a crazy mosquito problem.... 

So well.... All in all kangaroo kids was winning!!! 

It's a bit more expensive than the other  but it just scored more points overall!!!

So people... This little bumling of mine... This small little baby... Is off to school this month!!! 


Friday 23 May 2014

Great grandparents

If you thought grandparents were the baby spoilers... Please enter 'great grandparents'!!!!

They are allowed:

1. To manhandle the baby... After all they raised not just their kids but their kids kids and they all turned out ok....

2. To feed the baby practically anything... Again same as above, their kids and kids kids are ok... But ya... After the second chocolate I butt in!! 

3. To put all the ghee made at home on the newborns head.... Because we've done it for generations...

This was a funny story actually because the day she did it I called siddy "ghasitaram gheewala" all day long!!! And jokingly we told his pead that granny does this awful thing of putting as much ghee on his head as she does on his paranthas...!! And she says " that's good... Ghee in all forms is very good for the baby's brain development!!!!" okay then!!!!!

Granny knows best!

4. To press his legs while he eats or tickle his tummy while he's having his milk... Anyone else touches my kid while he's having his milk is in trouble... But granny is allowed anything!! 

5. Screaming around him...bumling is a very sensitive kid... He hates loud voices but I think even he has gotten used to granny's and Puran chacha's loud voices!!! 

So ya all in all great grandparents are seriously allowed anything!!! Because they also get this crazy gleeful laughter out of the kids that is hilarious!! Siddy sees granny or puran chacha and he goes kinda nuts!!! He actually loves all the man handling....!!

Its so funny though.... siddy has all his great grand mums around... but no great granddad.... strange no?

He gets the most time with dadima and not so much with all the others.... I hope I can make enough trips to each of them so they can actually spend some time with him.....

I just feel as long as the little one is safe and happy let the great grandparents , even the grandparents, have as much fun as they want with their kid.... because well life is seriously short.... we may never even have the happiness of seeing a great grand kid seeing as how late our generation is getting married and having kids.....

So since they are lucky enough... let them enjoy enough!!!






Mommy should work...


Mommy really needs to work... Or else I'm in trouble.....!

Thursday 22 May 2014

slEeP TiMe

So in Jaipur right now it's just me and bumling in bed at night... And I tell you there is no better or worse experience!!! 

Better I'm sure you understand but worse you ask ? How can it be worse?

Well let's see... Our bed is big here... A good 5.5' wide and 6.5' long.... I stack a bunch of pillows on the left, keep him in the middle and sleep on the right... Slowly and steadily he comes snuggling up to me... That should be good you say.. But what happens when by 5:00 in the morning he has snuggled so much you have only about 12" of space to sleep in while the rest of the bed is totally and completely EMPTY!!!

seriously it's maddening!!! 

And all night I'm twisting and turning to make sure I don't sleep on his little hand or squash his little legs! But does he care? No no not one bit ....

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But ahhhh... Those snuggles and that cute little podgy hand on my face ... That amazing little cuddly puddly thing rolled up next to me... Sleeping sometimes literally on my stomach... Somedays if I'm lucky then on my face... Usually cheek to cheek but other times I get slammed on my cheek with his big head!!! 

Just right now I was switching off the tv and some stupid girl screeched and he woke up.. Cried for a second and then put his head on my lap and knocked right off!!

And that's what sparked this post... But I have to tell you what he did in the afternoon... So he was asleep but woke up because he did potty poor thing and then he found it real tough to go back to sleep.. And I was super sleepy by then (blame it on the bowls full of rajma rice I ate!!) 

It was so tough, because he was really sleepy and so clingy but just refused to sleep... And so he rolled all over me.. And  every time I turned around to sleep he would whack me on my back or arm and wake me up!! Then he would slather me with his super sloppy kisses and smile his super cute smile and just like that all my sleep disappeared!!! 

I love nothing more than sleeping with this monkey.. Point is he needs to let me sleep also!! 



Wednesday 21 May 2014

A dAy At VardEnchi !!


The first day bumling saw a Vardenchi up close, was at the villa69 exhibition. 

The bike roared into our joint stall and from that moment on it was true love. He just couldn’t get enough of the bike. He walked all around it and touched the tyres the pedals, he insisted on sitting on it at least five times. Each time he was amazed with the tank and its size, he loved looking at his little face in the mirrors and God save him if someone put on the lights of the bike…. he'd go nuts!!!

From then on every bike he sees or every bike he hears he keeps saying 

Bai…. bai…. bai!!! 

Till we say “ ahhh… A bike!!”

So we just took him to his bike heaven…. we went to the Vardenchi factory. For those who don’t know… Mr Vardenchi is also Siddy’s mamu!! Yup he’s my brother and he was having the new factory puja and we all went for it.

We got there and got a private tour around the factory... which is huge!!

I've seen the Vardenchi workshops grow over the years and this was a super proud moment.

It's a stand alone factory with a huge space for the making and servicing of the bikes, a separate design space, paint and chrome booths, conference room, accounts room and my brothers very own office!! And all the boys wear these super cool overalls and caps....!! 

Akshai says he can roll out 600 bikes a year from this space!!! 

woohoo!!

So anyway, this monkey at first was a bit taken back... seeing so many bikes up close... it must have been over whelming for him i suppose!!

But slowly and steadily he got into his I'm - a - spoilt - kid - i - own - this  - workshop groove.... which by the way was something my husband always said I had when I'd visit my brother's workshop!!!


Well by now he had started running around the service floor... insisting on sitting on every bike. Literally, i put him on one bike, he'd bang his little baby hands on the tank in approval, look at the bike next to it, point and say "there" So i'd pick him and put him on the next bike only for him to do the same.... there were nine bikes that day at the workshop... and mr has sat on all!!!



At one point my brother even started a bike and put him on it... he looked a bit spooked with that loud roaring sound!! but he loved the lights!



The puja went off really good... the boys at the factory fell in love with this kiddo... I bet I can leave him here for a day or two... In fact Ive already planned to send him here to work in his summer holidays!!! ha ha ha!!


It was a great day!! Siddy couldn't have asked for more... so many bikes so many tyres... and such massive ones within reach!! but it was also a tiring one... And a really dirty one!! He looked like a baby mechanic by the time we left from there!! 





Travelling with a fifteen month old!


To be honest I was really really worried when I realised that its just going to be bumling and me on flight to Jaipur.

Yes I have travelled with him before, but he was a baby! He didn’t walk, talk, want to explore each and everything he saw. 

These days just keeping up with him at home is a task. He is now Mr Nonstop…. if we are all in one room, he must go visiting the other room…. if we reach the other room he must go back to the first room!!

And he doesn’t just walk does he… no no he runs! flies more like!!

And he must touch everything point at every person we meet on the road, he even has a temper.. Try taking away his toy or moving him away from the tv… and the biggest pout and frown will come out…!!

So now you see why i was worried!!!

Well, so here is how it went:

To begin with I packed light. Since i was going home, I didn’t need to carry to much in terms of clothes or diapers or toys. One suitcase (ok a big one…. I carried all my hoop art materials just in case!!) and one small handbag for him and my purse. I had his stroller…. so I could easily wheel him around. 

The airport staff is always amazing. They saw the bumling and immediately came for my suitcase. The guy at the counter was great because he kept the seat next to me blocked since it wasn’t a full flight…. this was I could happily make Siddy sleep while I wrote this post!! 

While we waited, we chilled at the cafe coffee day. We shared a banana walnut cake, the best part of him being old enough to eat what I’m eating, and I sipped on a nice cold miranda! Then we walked around the book store, I checked out the books and he found some noisy fisher price toys to play with!!

I kept his stroller on the side, took both the bags and let him walk  around… for two reasons 1. He was getting angsty and  2. I wanted to tire him out so he would sleep on flight and be fresh when we reached Jaipur. 

of course as soon as we were in the bus he went nuts!! 

bah… bah…. bah….. 

Thats his way of saying bus!! He pointed at all the other buses waiting outside… and boy when he saw the plane i think he went so nuts he didn't know what to say!! He just kept starting at all of them… I guess since he has always seen them up in the sky, he probably couldn’t relate to them on ground!!! 

In flight, before we took off, he kept staring out at all the buses and cars that were driving around… and was super excited! 

Finally just before take off, I made his milk and fed him…

And Voila! here we are with a sleeping baby… while I happily type away!!

I’ve been away from my adorable blog for too long… suddenly a lot of work took up my time… But now its two week of chilling in Jaipur which equals to lots and lots of blogging….

Hey if anyone has any particular thing they would like me to blog about do let me know!


And watch out for part two of travelling with a fifteen month old post his sleep!!


Running up and down the steps... a great way to get exhausted!!


Chilling in the aircraft!

(ps: uploaded this post the next day!!)

Sunday 11 May 2014

Mommy's day!

There was this moment today... at the club where we just sat... three girls... three mommies, while our little monkeys ran around, nearly threatening to jump into the swimming pool... and none of us budged.... we didn't jump off our chair to pull them back, we didn't panic, we just sat sipping our beer, mojito and fresh lime soda.... because today was Mother's day.... and the daddies did all the running around!!



What a fantastic feeling!!

being a mom is great.... its amazing...but getting that bit of peace is way more amazing!!

my darling hubby took full charge today, not like he doesn't help other wise... he is a total hands on dad.... but today especially being mommy's day and the fact that I had a lot of work to finish up... he took on looking after the munchkin all day...

we met two of our closest couple friends... they are our mommy daddy baby gang.... aadi's college friends, their (life saving wives- my handbooks in the mommy world) and their too-cute -to -be -true adorable baby girls....

We end up meeting very rarely, as one is in poona working, and me and the other one live very apart... and the boys usually end up choosing to have mad bachelor nights rather than getting us all to meet!!

So to meet on mothers day was very apt.

And what a perfect day... A lazy brunch at candies with the most delicious mushroom cheese omelettes... Double coffee shot cappuccino.... Way too many cupcakes for our own good.... !!! Even here the daddies were in full baby charge mode... 





Siddy had a blast with the two girls... It took all of them some time to get used to each other... But once they did they couldn't get over each other... The amount of kisses and hugs he got!!! And the two little girls kept twirling and being all pretty!!! (Ahhhh to have a daughter that twirls!!!) 

But for some reason the lamp room at candies is really dingy... Their idea of romantic I guess!!  So we were all craving some sun... My suggestion of Almeida park was a flop since it was closed... So we went to the club...

A few cold beers ... Adorable babies running around amazing husbands looking after them... While we spoke about everything under the sun!!! 

The babies our work... Our husbands and more about the babies!!!  Ha ha ha!!! 

Finally at about three we parted ways and headed home to celebrate with my mommy!!! 

My brother can over and mum made the most awesome meat ever!!!! 

Yes yes my mom cooked on Mother's Day... We tried taking her out.. But no... It's all so crowded it's a sundy I don't want to go... So we did what we were supposed I do on Mother's Day and listened to our mum... We ate at home!!!

I really wish mommy's day came once a month... Felt so good!!! 

But the best part was this: 


When Aadi started work I put one up like this on our main door... On his first day from work... So today he made one for me!!

Since I've started work... My free time with siddy is less... So today I packed up my work and just chilled with him!! 

I can't wait for him to grow up and see what he does for me on this special day!!! (Ha ha I know I know it's a stupid commercialised Archie's cards day... But hey... This one I'm ok with!!!) 


Well a mommy's day can only be as good as the babies are... And these babies are the best!!! 

Sunday 4 May 2014

A date... Long over due!

After a very very .... Very very very long time Aadi and I went on a date. 

Just the two of us, all dressed up... Dinner and dessert... 

Ahhhhh... We felt human again!!! 

Thanks to my doll of a mom... She was going to a friends house for dinner.. And decided to take the little bumling along so that Aadi and I could spend some time together...

At first I was a little worried.. But like she said, the sooner he gets used to going out without us the better... 

So I happily packed a bag for him and kissed him goodbye as my mom took him out! 

At first aadi and I were just so shocked that we had the evening to ourselves.. We didn't know what to do.. So we just lay our backs down and rested.. It's the most amazing feeling in the world!!! To just relax... Not worry about having to go anywhere.. Change any diapers, make any meals, nothing! We could just be...

Then Aadi had his coffee and we chatted... Mostly about siddy's play school and siddy.. But hey... We were just talking!!! 

We had reservations for dinner at china gate for the three of us, since mom was going out for dinner... When we realised now it's just the two of us... We were super thrilled!! 

No baby bag to pack and carry, no having to ask for a baby chair, or worry about bumling making a noise and a mess at the restaurant ....

But more than that... I was able to dress up... Wear my heels, I hate heels but not being able to wear them,since I'm usually in comfy mommy flats, makes me love them!! I wore my hair down without fearing my monkey would pull it... You will always find me in a bun!! I wore a necklace... Ha ha! Sounds like nothing till you have a bumling in your arms practically strangling you with that necklace!! 

Aadi dressed up all handsome ..!! We were now date ready!!!

It was such a great dinner...ok so we still mainly spoke about siddy... But we had other conversations... Aadi told me about his work I told him about mine... We joked about things.. Talked about our meal... It was so relaxed and fun!!!! 

And then we went to San churros for dessert! So yum!!! 

I felt like we hadn't done this for years... Just talked and been together minus the monkey... And it felt great! 

I can't thank my mommy enough!!! 

While every memory that has siddy in it will be special.... I love making new memories with just Aadi... After all because we are, he is!!

Me calling mum mid meal to check on the bumling, who by the way has had a blast with all the attention he got!!!!