Handprint Dinos

Inspiration

Da-da goes to office and sleep (ahem! I corrected her here – the things a mom has to do) works. Cat comes and says “meow”. Cat says to da-da “Can I use your computer?”. Da-da says “No. I need to work – go away”. Cat goes away. End of story.

There we go – documented and treasured

I was looking for another Cathy Lamb book recommended by a friend – I could not find it in the library – so I picked up this one. It is not the greatest book – it is an ok weekend read kind of book.

The book as you can guess revolves around Henry – a specially abled adult and his 3 sisters. No family is perfect but Henry’s household takes the cake for being dysfunctional. Everyone has  over-exaggerated issues and most of book goes on about the sisters dealing with their issues and their mother. All is well and the family has got together and you are ready to say good bye to the book and heave a sigh of relief – the author decides to drag on.

Blah!

Spraybottle, water and the balcony – the little cleaner

Her: Look mommy, this bull is kissing  matador

She can make a violent sport a kissing game

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On Skype with uncle, he had to leave and was saying his good byes

Him: Bye kuttyma

She ignores

Me: Say bye to mama kuttyma

Her: (makes sure to keep her face away from the screen) I am so busy wait

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She was eating her yogurt and did not want to finish it up

Her: Please share with me da-da

R: No thanks kanna. I do not want it

Her: I said share with me – open your mouth now

She proceeds to push down a spoon of yogurt into R’s mouth

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She has a new crush! R’s good friend whom she has never met!! I was on facebook checking out stalking super cute A – daughter of R’s friend.

Her: Who is this girl?

Me: That is A akka. She lives in Norway

Her: Who is this?

Me: That is Uncle – A akka’s da-da

Her: I like akka’s da-da mommy. He smiling at me. He looking at me.

Uncle’s fan club just recruited their youngest member

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Me: Did you have a fun day?

Her: Yes

Me: We went to XYZ place right?

Her: You made a mistake mommy. We first eat “mammu” and then go to XYZ

I stand corrected

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R: I will fill the tub with hot water and then you can take a bath

Her: No hot water

R: Ok I will fill it with warm water

Her: No “worm” water (making a crawling action with her finger). I do not want worms in water

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We were outside and there were 4-5 little girls running around.

Me: Look at the little girls! I like little girls. Do you like little girls?

Her: No

Me: Do you like big girls?

Her: No

Me: Do you like little boys? (I ignore the evil look R is throwing my way)

Her: No

Me: Do you like big boys?

Her: No!

Me: What do you like?

Her: I like chairs mommy. I like chairs!

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Other gems dispered at appropriate moments

- You made a mistake mommy

- It is not good manners (when I interuppted her story time)

- I am the teacher and I read a story for you

- At the end of the story – say “thank you kuttyma”

Two women – Sayoko – a mother shy and struggling to fit in with a rather disinterested husband and a mother-in-law who is finding fault forever gets back into the workforce. She cleans homes and forges an unlikely friendship with the owner of the firm – Aoi she works in.

The books talks about Aoi’s past – her childhood, bullying and struggling to fit in school, her friendship with Nanako, her brush with death and how these incidences play a part in who she is today. Sayako’s present and Aoi’s past meet and they forge a friendship. 

It is a story about accepting who you are and who your friends are – simply said and well written.

Stop by and enjoy Destination Singapore

With contributions from R, here is the list

Pros:

• Closer home – frequent trips to India
• Culturally at home
• Familiarity – from the plants to the people
• The diversity
• New culture – as much as I say Singapore reminds me of home, it has its own distinct culture which is very refreshing
• No butchered pronunciation of our very Indian names
• Food – from vending machine murukkus to Saravana Bhavan just across from work
• Weather – am loving the warmer weather
• Cost of eating in hawker centers
• Easy to survive without a car
• Tropical Fruits
• Maids – full-time/part-time the options are wonderful
• Tamizh all around
• Overall cost of living is cheaper compared to the US
• Home delivery of groceries – most stores delivery groceries at your door step

Cons:

• Weather – I am extremely allergic to Singapore weather and am on constant medication
• Public Transport – makes the city bigger than it actually is. I miss the comforts of owning a car
• Commute time – a direct relationship to the previous point
• No good Tex-Mex – this is more a whine than a con
• Super expensive housing – my dream home will continue to be a dream
• Crowds – from the malls to the markets it is a human sandwich everywhere
• Maids – full time maid culture makes me nauseous at time. I hear/read so many horror stories of abuse and exploitation from both sides
• Cost of fine dining
• Friends and relationships – we are to blame – we just have not taken the time to expand our friends circle and it is bothering me. And in the same vein, I miss my friends in the US.
• Grocery shopping is tougher – narrow aisles, carrying groceries home is a hassle.
• Library system – I compare with the Houston library system and Singapore lags behind
• Malls, malls and malls – shopping culture (and you thought the US was bad)
• The work-life balance – you have heard about it and 6 months in we are finding it true. It is hard to find the balance here. It is difficult to shut down work after 6pm on 99.9% of the days
• Excessive electronics gadgetry – most kids and adults are glued to their cell phones, tablets et al. during their commute. There is something to learn from looking outside the window.
• No dishwashers – personal gripe. It takes a while to hand wash all the dishes
• Public Restrooms – at malls or parks are not as clean/stink free as I would like them to be
• Cramped spaces everywhere – from schools to garages there is a space crunch
• Singapore makes me a tomboy and I NEVER was one. I am more the frills and ruffles kind of girl but the Singapore woman makes me feel like a tomboy. She is always in cute dresses or skirts, hair straightened, blush in place, manicured nails and high heels clicking while I dress for comfort. Pants and some shirt thrown on, hair in a huge pony tail and sticky, zero makeup, walking shoes and sweaty. Oh well it is just one of those annoying things in the morning. I end up looking like something the cat dragged in while the women around me look like they stepped out of a magazine cover.

We are into our 7th month in Singapore – here is to more adventures and fun and settling in.

Some of the questions thrown at me recently by random strangers

- Are you a rich Indian? According to the interoggator there are two types of Indians – one loaded and another with nothing

- Do you plan to go back to India? (Honestly I have no answers for this one. I wish I knew what I wanted)

- Do you plan to have more kids? When? (this is getting stale – too many people asking me the same question over and over)

- Why do you wear Indian outfits and not a tee shirt like most people? (duh!)

- You lived in America – why did you not marry a white skinned guy? R was not around when I had this talk with a cab driver

- How much do you pay for rent? (Again a very common question – cab drivers, co-workers and everyone else in between have asked us this question)

- Are you young enough to wait to have more kids? (they have a nice way of asking your age)

Photo Credits – R

Got to love the Eastern culture

or scary cute like this one

Paper, paint and a piece of yarn - simple toddler fun

Me: “There was once a farmer…”

Her: No. Say “Once upon a time there was a farmer”

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Dinner time and I made a new recipe – thai chicken noodle soup

Her: What is in there? (pointing to the big pot simmering in the stove)

Me: Soup with noodles and chicken

Her: I can try that

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During bath time, she did not want to wash her face

Her: No da-da. I have dry skin. No washing face

R: Yes I know it

Her: Stop! I have a question

We were ROFL! Where does she learn this stuff?

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R just had a haircut

R: Where did da-da’s hair go?

Her: Go out to eat “mum-mum”

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Her: (Pointing to R’s shirt collar) What is this da-da?

R: This is the shirt collar

Her: Like doggie collar and leash?

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She made these at her school – another paper plate rabbit and a finger painted egg

1/2 cup channa (cooked garbanzo beans)

1/4 cup pineapple (cut into chunks – fresh works well but I used the canned kind with syrup)

Around 1/3 cup water (or pineapple juice or syrup if using the canned kind)

pinch of salt

pinch of sambar podi (this gives it a nice flavor and kick)

pinch of turmeric powder (for the bright yellow color)

Throw everything together in the blender and give it a spin. I usually make this as a very smooth hummus as kuttyma is not big into texture and chunks when dipping.

Goes well as a dip for chips, crackers, biscuits and as a spread on bread and chapatis.

If you are making it for adults consider lowering the liquid content and a rough blend for a chunkier feel.

Inspired by 28 cooks

Her: “Thopa Ganesha” and “Sivan sami” coming home to see kuttyma?

I bet she was quite disappointed her mamas did not look like her storybook illustrations of Lord Ganesha and Lord Siva

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Seeing an pamplet ad for a pizza place

Her: I want a slice of this and this.

Me: What? Why? (I seriously could not believe that my daughter can associate the words pizza and slice together. She must be learning something in school)

Her: So that we can all eat Mommy!

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During dinner one night,

Her: I want jelly

Me: Finish off your dinner and then you can have jelly for dessert

She prompty forgot about it and it was sleep time. She did not want to sleep (nothing new here) and I was trying to be the patient mom. She suddenly gets up from bed and starts crying (the oppari style)

Her: Where is my jelly? I eat all my “mammu” and no jelly. (She is super dramatic – her hands are shaking and she is pointing to herself and crying and talking in English)

Me: Ok you want jelly right? I will get some for you

Her: No. I eat all mammu – you said jelly. Oh my God! (shakes her head in disgust)

Ultimately she did not want to eat her jelly either. She just did not want to sleep

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Me: Baby, can you throw this into the trash please?

Her: Trash in kitchen?

Me: or in the bathroom.

She gets the piece of paper from my hand and starts to walk away

Her: Say “Thanks Kuttyma” Mommy.

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On Skype with grandmother,

Grandmother: So where does XYZ live?

Her: Some place (followed by giggles)

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She was monkeying around jumping from sofas and such

Me: Careful doll

Her: Me doll?

Me: Yes you are my doll – my kutty doll

Her: Nice

She jumps around a few times and I carry on with my work

Her: Say “Careful doll” mommy

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Following the pattern

Her: Achoo Achoo! Say “bless you kuttyma” Mommy

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At times, we dress-up to enjoy the rains

Just one of those phases – will be back soon. A few random posts about kuttyma will keep this blog alive till I am ready for it

Stamping Fun

Got this idea off pinterest. Quick to no prep required. Ideal for 2.5-3 year olds

A soda bottle and some paint! This would make a great gift too. See the 100 Plus soda bottle - it is a lime/lemon gatorade meets soda drink I have discovered in Singapore. Never seen it anywhere

Muffin Tin:

Has become a favorite – cheerios filled in them is a great snack/toy. I have been encouraging kuttyma to use a spoon and transfer cheerios between different cups as a Montessori-inspired activity.

Park and Cookie Friday

To wrap up the work week we went to the park. We collected leaves and sticks and feathers, enjoyed touching touch-me-nots, laughed, played and then enjoyed some cookies and soup before heading home.

It is not bad – it is infact great but I have not picked the books I love at my neighborhood library or at the national library. It is also got to do with my evolving tastes in books and my lack of time but still I felt let down. I have not picked up a great fiction at the Singapore library yet. The non-fiction has a great selection. The preschooler section is not bad either. I especially love the toddler tamil section.

I will have great memories of the Singapore Library without doubt. We spent 2-4 hours every week there and end up picking the alloted 8 books. But then I miss the 50 book limit and the easy internet hold system the Houston Library offered.

And like everything in Singapore the library is cozy – too cozy for my comfort that I tend to call it crowded. Sigh

Will I ever stop comparing the two places?

And on the note of books – I am loving “Good Reads ” app. Anyone on it? Please get on if you are serious about reading – I am looking for motivation to get back to reading