First day of school! (Friday,1st June, 2012, 9:30-10:15am)

So, I'm back at work after going through 45 minutes of my baby's (no longer a baby!) first day of nursery! It wasn't too bad, come to think of it.

So, I've been prepping him all week, saying today is Thursday, tomorrow is Friday, your first day of school...etc etc and then yesterday night, put him to sleep with the promise that tomorrow morning, we'd all go to his school...Canterberry school...together! Appacha..ammachi, dadda and mumma! He was all excited, and kept remembering the last time he went there, and how a mausi there gave him a telephone car to play with. Resigning to the fact that that's what he thinks school is all about, we said our prayers and slept.

Morning....was all about, hurry hurry, we need to go to school! Do potty, brush your teeth, drink your milk (still soooo hard, its Donald Duck and his aeroplane that gets him to drink his milk now, sigh!), eat your dosa..(mumma, I want Chutttt...ney...!) run run...all a blur now! Josh was all excited, jumping all over the bed, not putting his clothes, till I threatened that we would not go to canterberry school if Josh doesn't put on his clothes.

A brief camera session with the paternal grandparents, blessings over the phone from Kerala grandparents, and then ammachi saying a short prayer for their 3rd grandchild who's all set for his education!

Appacha kept saying, you both (meaning, dadda and mumma) go to office, we'll take care of him, afterall, this isn't our first time, while I kept saying, he's not going to leave school after seeing the toys. But, there's always.....Gems!! His new fascination...for the coloured chocolate drops, he'd stop crying, and do anything for Gems! So, very confident with a Gems box in the bag, appacha and ammachi took Josh to school, with his dadda-mumma (us) behind.

School was a noisy playground! Teachers in their green kurtas, ayahs in their red sarees and the enthusiastic principal Susan all saying Good morning, while Josh was in a daze! He made a beeline to a table covered with.......you guessed right, buses, bikes and cars! And...just sat there playing...in all that noise, unaffected. Kids all around were jumping, playing with blocks, going down the slides, swings, but our little master was busy playing with his bus.

I'd got the camera and videocam along, with two motives in mind. One, to take pics of Josh (of course) and second, for an assignment for all moms that we paste pics of our little one and submit a colourful book with his experiences at our first PTA meeting!! Aaaargggghhh....and so it begins. :)

Susan then announces a musical chair program and all mothers had to run around chairs holding their kids to some music. Josh did not want to run and just wanted to get back to his car/bus/bike.Sigh...:) And so I get him one of the buses, and clutching that, he runs with me! :) We lost, of course...and had to announce/introduce ourselves as punishment.

When time was up, and the next batch of kids had to come in, the school bell was rung. But, of course, our lil' Josh didn't want to go home. No sireeee, he wanted to play with his bus. Out comes the magic Gems, and wooop, down goes the bus. Yippeee...all of us trudge out, saying thank you, teacher...we'll come back on Monday! Thus ended Josh's first day at school! Not bad, don't you think? Atleast he didn't cry...but wait, we still have more days of this, hope he adjusts well and learns to enjoy himself out there. More updates sooon! :)

School time is here!

Its almost the end of another day...I've just tucked my boy to sleep and am whiling away time browsing Facebook and other sites. Just recently, one of my friends on FB started a new blog and began documenting anything and everything that happened to her. I was like, hey I have...had...a blog too! Sheesh....guilty as charged! I really need to blog more often and not when I see others blog!

My little boy is all of 2 years and {mumbling...Nov..Dec...yep!) 5 months old! I love coming home to him in the evenings and seeing his enthusiastic "Mumma...Dadda!! I want to go driving in Dadda's car...Dadda's motorbike!" Boy, it sure beats the boring day I've had at work :)

Josh is a big boy now...time flies by soo quickly! He should be beginning nursery this year, haven't sent him to any playgroup as yet (unlike other Pune parents...kids here begin the so-called playgroup at 1.6 years!). Josh will be, God willing, going to the nursery that his cousins DJ and Divya went to- Canterberry. A huge huge step for my boy...one that I'm looking forward to..but I also know that its going to be another world for him from now on....friends, fights, exams, peer pressure, gum, class assembly, etc etc. Its going to be a learning experience for us as parents and for him, as he steps into the most glorious time of his life - SCHOOL!

Well, it all begins this June, 2012...I pray that God blesses him with a willing spirit, an open mind and intelligence so that he enjoys his school years and does his best at everything he puts his mind to!

So much that we take for granted...

I always look towards my blog as a way to vent out my feelings, frustrations, happiness, tears, anger...and today its all about sadness.
My colleague's only sister died this weekend; she was pregnant and due this week. Imagine coming to office on Monday and hearing this news as soon as you step in. When I got to know the details that she had labour pains in the night and didn't tell anyone, I was shocked, angry and sad. Should I direct my blame at her ( a girl who thought she could bear the pain) and ended up loosing her life and her unborn child's? No, I just cannot. How was she supposed to know? It must have been her first and unless you've gone though childbirth before, you'd never know when it is time to stop waiting and rush to the hospital. In this time and era when women make a fuss for a little bit of pain, its unbelieveable that something like this can happen. Maybe she felt it wasn't time to go to the hospital just yet. :(
I don't want to go into the intricacies, but I want to focus on how much we take for granted. A birth is such a happy occasion, you do not expect to be mourning at the end of it all, do you? But the sad fact is, when things go without a hitch, we often tend to forget to raise our eyes and thank our heavenly Father for His grace and His blessings and for always looking over us. I've always wondered that wouldnt it be nice if only good things happened to us? We wouldn't have to be sad or angry or frustrated. But a rose is never without thorns, you'll have to deal with the pain as well as with the happiness. Only God can give us the courage, strength and peace to do so. My prayers for the grieving family...

It's time for my yearly blog!!

Tee heee...(ref:subject line!) I know a school friend who makes fun of me because I've maintained a consistent 1 or 2 blogs per year!!But the chances are, since I'm writing in this early this year, that I may blog in once more this year!! :) Hugely defeats the purpose of maintaining a blog, eh?

Anyway, I'm bloggin in to announce that I'm a mommy now to a baby boy! We've named him Joshua and the journey, so far, has not been thaaaaaat taxing as I thought it would be. Its mainly because of my family support and my darlin' husband who acts like a baby too with Josh! :) [What would I do without my Aji].

So, a boy!! I hear from my comrades(pre-natal class) who've had baby girls on how easy it is...but with boys? Its demanding, they're ever so naughty and ever so hungry!! And, I'm lovin' it! :) Wouldn't think of my life in any other way...have to thank God for being with me every millisecond of the way, for blessing us even in the most simplest of things that we take for granted.

Looking forward to bruised knees, cycle races, dirty clothes and seeing my lil' boy grow up! :)

Yayyy...the third trimester is here!

Just 12 more weeks..well, that's what Pregnancy Weekly tells me! To be frank, all these dates are confusing. The sonography reports give different dates each time, books tell me its 9 months + 1 week from the first month, etc etc...so what month am I in now? :) I'd like to go by Pregnancy Weekly and confuse my doctor the next time I go to see her...maybe argue a bit with her (actually I can't, the lady does not communicate!!)

Now, isn't that a point of concern? Shouldn't gynaecologists be a bit more talkative? Granted that they see preggie women everyday..and each one's feelings/questions/doubts are more or less the same...but gimme a break! I'm going through this for the first time!! Sheeesh...sometimes I wish she'd show some enthusiasm. The husband and I ask point-to-point questions and hope she doesn't blow her top with some of the stupid qs we come up with...if we manage to get her to smile at our foolishness, we actually think we've had a narrow escape!! haha...boy, have I made my doc sound like the doc who created Frankenstein!! (come to think of it, I believe that doc was quite excited when Frankenstein started moving)...

So, yeah...2 trimesters down..1 more to go...its week 28 now; which would mean, that the 7th month is over with this week. Now begins the breathlessness, the swelling of the legs, etc etc. I already feel like a potato sack waddling around. It sure doesn't help that I go hunting for Mathew's tshirts to wear at home..(which, btw, I'm gonna overgrow in the next few months..hehe)...

But I gotta tell you, its miraculous how a baby can be growing inside another human being..here, me!! When baby kicks or rolls around, I'm sometimes taken by surprise (yep, even now...the denial continues..what's that alien thing inside me, I sometimes wonder)..sometimes, its like as if someone has just given me a POW! or a SOCK! (like in the comics) right in the lower stomach...hehe...and I've never been beaten up even once in my entire life, that my baby does from inside these days!! :)

Any minute thing can get me all anxious these days..the reigning one these days is my high cholesterol level. I've always been plump, but reading about its consequences during pregnancy can get anyone all jittery- hence I gotta exercise and watch my diet like crazy now. The doc says that I can't put on any more weight (like that's possible!!)...but I wouldn't mind if baby started using up my existing fat..I'd be the first mommy to loose weight by being pregnant..hehe...yeah right!

All in all, I really need your (anyone who's reading this blog) prayers for a safe delivery...lemme put up a really cute pic of how a normal baby at 28 weeks is supposed to look like now! Can you imagine? wow...God is indeed great!

5th month and counting....

Yep...after all the mallu complaints, and aunties at church asking "visheshams onnumille", people (who I barely know) stopping me on my morning walks saying, you should see doctor so and so....(boy, couples, lemme correct myself, INDIAN couples who're trying to enjoy their first few years of bliss, I know what you guys go through!! maaaaaaan...) yeah, after going through 3 years of all that, yep, we're expecting!!!

Does the lil' tiny 6-inch, 240 gm (according to babycenter.in) 19th week baby inside my tummy realise that mommy-daddy are as excited as kids in Disneyland knowing that we're blessed with a miracle? Of course not...but we can't wait to feel the first kick and see how he/she looks!!! Oh, what a blessing technology is...the first time I saw and heard my baby was a reminder of how great God is...and how amazing His works are, truly truly beyond any human's understanding.

Only time will tell how our baby would be like, and how we'd fare as parents...have to tell you, its going to be hair-raising experience! (not to mention the birthing!! OMG..hope science progresses at light-year speed and helps me out with that!) but for now, its patience...waits....ultra-sounds....doctor visits...guessing games...apprehension...and prayers. :)

I hope I'll be able to post a pic of preggie me...but until then, I kinda liked the animated pic above...
God bless you all....

Language Sheriffs!

I know some people who are obsessed with cleanliness. Obsessive compulsive disorder, you say? Yes!! While I shake my head and say "tut, tut" at such people, lemme tell you, I'm not free from its variant. Its a strange one, but I gotta say, "Hi, my name is Merley and I'm obsessed with correcting people's (even strangers') pronunciation and grammar in mid-sentence." There, I said it! Whewww...

Yeowww, you say? You know the types? aaaahhh...for me, its an occupational hazard, if its nothing else. hehehe...How can I explain the gnawing feeling within me when I hear a wrongly pronounced word? It makes me want to reach out, grab the person by his neck (haven't spared my husband, mind you! ;) and scream out.."Its not hoastel, its hostel!!! "....A bit dramatic, but you get my drift, don't ya?

But wait, seems like I'm not alone in my quest for a perfect English-speaking world. (in my case,speaking). Meet my buddies-in-arms- Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, who've taken it upon themselves to travel the length and breadth of the US of A and correct signboards and shop names. Way to go!! I truly know the satisfaction that one gets in correcting such insignificant-to-others mistakes. Aaaaaah, the pleasure in seeing the apostrophe in its rightful place...you go, buddies!!May the force be with you! :)

To read more about Jeff's and Benjamin's experiences, visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-typo-guys-0521may21,0,701362.story?page=1

Of fire hydrants and regality..

I was doing my usual browsing of websites (lemme see...mails, news and the views, my daily dosage of Garfield :)) and I found this really funny pic of the Westminister Dog Show (which is a famous dog show in the United States).

The organizers actually had a room in the hotel filled with wood chips and fire hydrants (Maaan!!) for the show dogs to relieve themselves! :)))

Notice the very "regal" owner trying to maintain a "mighty and high" look while his doggie is going about his business! :)

Somewhere I belong...

....i wanna heal.. i wanna feel like i'm close to something real.

i wanna find something ive wanted all along

somewhere i belong ..!!

-Linkin' Park



Linkin Park and rock music..nothing else can give you the feeling that you can kick some ass! Somehow, all that screamin' and their music hits you right there..the very inner being..These guys know EXACTLY what you go through when you have a bad day.


Oh, hello there! Been a long time, I know. I keep opening up my very "dormant" blog and say to myself, c'mon, type something. Well, if your job requires you to keep typing and framing sentences the entire day, opening up a blog and baring your heart out does seem like work! But, today, yeah, you guessed right..was a bad day, yet again, at work!


Well, what's new, you might say. Yeah, its SSDD all over again. That's old school..I know. But, people, tell me..I keep seeing lots of people in the IT field leaving everything and taking up something so different like, opening up a restaurant, an adventure company etc. What does this field do to you? How many people are ACTUALLY happy dealing with all this pressure and corporate bullshit?


Don't we all want to "belong somewhere"?Yeah, I know, I gotta be optimistic..better things will come by...yada yada yada. That's so lame..hoping and waiting....


And so...
...I will never know myself until i do this on my own

cuz i will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed

i will never be anything til i break away from me

i will break away.

i'll find myself today...

-Linkin Park (Somewhere I belong)

Dor - Simply Dor-able!!

I had the opportunity to watch the movie "Dor" last Friday. Yet another feather to Nagesh Kukunoor's cap, I must say. The movie was simple, with no glamour whatsoever. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the usual jazzy, over hyped, glamorous movies we see these days. The actresses (Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag) were without makeup and that only brought force and intensity into their characters. Yes, their roles didn't warrant the makeup but how many directors do go down these paths which require so much of guts and passion? In addition, the scenery of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan (though completely different and beautiful in their own ways) opens our eyes as to how beautiful India really is! If you remember Shreyas Talpade,the actor in Iqbal, you can see him once again as Beroopiya in Dor. He has once again proven how versatile an actor he really is. I guarantee that his timely comical enactions will bring you to splits!!

All in all, this movie is a must-see…and it would be a shame to miss it!

For more reviews on the movie:
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/sep/22dor.htm