Squiggles Mom

It's all about creating memories

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 14:05:00 +0000

It's been a while since I posted. Whilst I enjoyed writing this blog, the intention was always for this to serve as a place that would help me capture some of the memories of these precious years. Social media took over and so I stopped feeling the need to blog. But I found social media to be too intrusive and I couldn't really write about what was on my mind so I stopped posting. And thus came about this chasm in memory land.

I wasn't really going to do anything about it until one day recently squiggles discovered my blog and started reading it. There was some stuff she liked and others she was embarrassed by. It served as a good reminder about why one should not blog. But a few days later my brother called me and said my niece was inconsolable after having read one of my blog posts. I couldn't imagine what could have led to it.

But when I read the post I got it. Whilst it wasn't a very well written post, the raw emotion there was startling. I think at the time he didn't know I was blogging and so I had written it never fully expecting him go ever come across it. It took me back to that time so clearly. I had forgotten how emotional it had been and how much it has affected me. And it made me start thinking that I was glad I had captured the emotion of that day so I could revisit it. And it left me with a feeling of regret that many other experiences, emotions and thoughts remain lost in time.

I don't know how much I am really going to blog but it feels good to write this one.

Hello to myself.

Giggles - happy 6 months

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 04:28:00 +0000

Happy birthday giggles!! Can't believe you're 6 months old today.
I've resumed work today and you gave me such a beautiful smile as I was leaving. I've been dreading coming back to work but it's been ok so far. I'm pumping as I type.

Love you loads baby. Be good. Muah!

Squiggles learns to ride a bike

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:24:00 +0000

Congratulations Squiggles on learning how to ride a bicycle! This amazing feat was achieved on Saturday 29th Mar'14!!

It took an amazing amount of cajoling, blackmailing and scolding to get you to start learning though. You were scared of falling and didn't want to try. DD and I lost our patience and almost wanted to give up. But we persevered and so did you.

So, whenever you're reading this remember what I always tell you - things remain difficult if you don't try them but always get easier if you do. Hopefully, by now you don't need this reminder!

Well done - muah!!

PS - This is the first thing that you know that I don't *wink*. I'm planning to rectify this once Giggles grows up.

The small things that are actually big things

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:32:00 +0000

As I was putting Squiggles to bed last night, she was cranky and acting up. I asked her if something was bothering her or if anything had happened at school to upset her. She nodded tearfully and said that her friend had told everyone that she had said something that was not right. Apparently the teacher said recess was for 10mins and her friends thought S said it was for 10 hours and started telling everyone. So, S wasn't happy that she was saying this when she had not said that recess was for 10 hours.

This had been playing on her mind all evening and she was upset about it. DD and I tried explaining to her that sometimes people say silly things and she should ignore it. Or, alternatively she should fight back and tell them they were being silly. But none of the numerous approaches we outlines were making sense to her.

Ultimately, I think DD lost patience and told her to get over it and go to bed.

Something that innocuous could cause so much distress... who knew?

Wiggles starts school

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:27:00 +0000

Wiggles has been dying to go to school for the last few months and the day finally arrived on 24th Mar. In preparation she had already got a new school bag and water bottle. Thankfully, neither was pink. She chose a blue elephant design bag and a green water bottle. After the incredibly painful "pink"phase with Squiggles I don't think I could have taken more of that!

The 1st day was just a half an hour orientation with me present. She was quiet and didn't really interact much with the teacher. But she was excited by the playground. There is an elephant slide there which thrilled her little heart with delight. The next day was another half an hour session with me present but she was comfortable with me sitting outside the classroom. At the end of the half hour she didn't want to leave so that was good!

The next day was the big day where I had to leave her for 2 hours. Whilst the night before she claimed she didn't want to go to school, she was more than happy to get up and get ready in the morning. I went to drop her off. As she was entering her class I told her to say hello to everyone and she said in the cutest way possible "Hello Everybody"! Of course the other little kids didn't even respond!

When I went to pick her up she didn't really want to come home (she had a short day whilst the rest of the kids continued with their day). On day 4, she went for the full 3 hours and when I picked her up she was very happy but could have stayed longer. She rushed to the playground and made friends with another little girl who she had never met before. That's Wiggles for you - ever smiling and super friendly.

On day 5, we put her on the school bus. Later her teacher told me she cried when she reached the classroom as her teacher wasn't there. Once she met her teacher she was fine for the rest of the day.

Giggles is 1 month old today

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:37:00 +0000

Time flies when you're having fun... or when you have 3 kids! It took a reminder from my sis for me to realise today Giggles was a month old. I'd been waiting so long for her that it still hasn't registered that she's well and truly here.

Giggles is growing well so far. Her features are becoming more distinct and it seems like unlike her sisters she might resemble me a tad bit more than DD. Finally! I'd given up since DD's genes seem to be the dominant one. As they say, third time lucky.

She's started responding to our wild gesticulations and every now and then bestows the sweetest smile on us. DD is particularly happy today because he was at the receiving end of a few smiles this morning in bed. Of course, it probably had to do with the fact that she had just been fed and was "milk drunk" but I'm not going to get any credit, am I?

The poor thing has reflux so that's challenging for both of us to handle. After every feed, we need to hold her up for a while till she feels comfortable and even then she spits up milks ever so often. Not to mention, the bothersome gas is making her uncomfortable too. Some nights are good when she sleeps at right for 4-5 hours and others like last night are tough when she's cluster feeding and can't settle down for a nap.

Squiggles and Wiggles are all over her and I'm sure she's wondering whether she's at home or in a madhouse! The constant chaotic sounds tend to disturb her and she's now able to express her displeasure with a grumpy cry when she can't take it any more.

We celebrated her bangle ceremony on her 28th day - check out the pics.

Wiggle-ism

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 13:21:00 +0000

Every time wiggles gets a bruise, scrape or cut she promptly goes and applies toothpaste on it. This home remedy has been taught to her by my helper.

Last night I was complaining to her that I had a headache. Her prompt suggestion to me was - "you want to put toothpaste on your head?" Ummmm no!

One afternoon before giggles was born, wiggles and I were just lazing around in bed about to doze off for our afternoon nap. Wiggles wasn't in the mood for a nap but I was and I kept trying to pat her. Bored with my attempts she said to me with a twinkle in her eye - "I feel like doing something naughty mama!" Oh dear!

Introducing Giggles

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 13:12:00 +0000

Happy 5th Birthday Squiggles

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Dear Squiggles,

I realized a little while ago that I hadn't got you a card for your birthday. Given the amount of fuss I make when you don't have one for me, I am shocked at myself! So, I guess after I finish writing this I will be devoting my energies to figuring out how to rectify this problem.

It's been a tough little year for you. You've done a lot of growing up and the world as you have known it changed forever when Wiggles arrived. Suddenly you're having to share the centre stage. In the first few days after Wiggles's arrival you were very proud but it soon changed to an underlying sense of sadness. I think somewhere in your heart you were struggling with the change and that's how you were expressing yourself. That sadness gave way to a weird phase where you were making joking comments threatening to break Wiggles' fingers. You did outgrow that and I thought you had adjusted when you suddenly developed a very babyish way of speaking a few weeks ago. So, I guess I became complacent when I thought I didn't have to pay special attention. That;s something that's going to occupy a lot of my thoughts over the next few days.

Anyways, coming back to your big milestone today. Happy 5th birthday darling! You're quite a little girl now with a mind of your own. You have distinct tastes and preferences and have become very discerning in your choice. It's difficult to force our choices on you now and sometimes I wonder why do we bother!

You're one girly little girl. Extremely interested in make up, clothes, jewellery, dressing up, nail polish, barbie, princesses. Your favourite colour is no longer pink. You now claim it to be purple though I think the old pink habits die hard. You've sadly outgrown puzzles and the like but remain interested in books, which warms my heart. I feel good that I was able to pass on my passion and love for books to you. I hope this stays with you throughout your life. I hope that whenever you pick up a book to read you'll remember me :).

This has also been the age when you've started becoming curious about why boys are different and this curiosity has extended into trying to sneak a peek, though there have been vehement denials!

You remain a moody and temperamental child and my latest theory is that it is more prominent when you're hungry. So, I've asked Aunty Marita to give you more smaller meals. Let's see if that shows any improvements. The one worrying thing has been this tendency towards being rude towards the aunties in the house, some screaming and kicking. This is worrying me a lot at the moment. I hope I'm able to figure this out soon before you become a spoilt brat!

Your numeracy skills are coming along well. We spent a lot of time working on that. Reading and writing could be better. I haven't really put together a structured plan for you to focus on that at home so that's my bad. I'll be fixing that soon. Your love of painting and arts and crafts continues.

I do love your sense of humour. There's a naughty streak in you which is more impish rather than destructive. You love making jokes, playing practical jokes and fooling around. You're also questioning things,trying to understand what makes things tick. You're also a bit more spontaneous with expressing your love though as you're growing up I have to keep chasing you for hugs and kisses. You keep wriggling away from me. I miss those days when I could hold you close and you wouldn't protest.

With Wiggles' arrival, it seems like you grew up over night. I have to keep reminding myself that you're still just a tiny little girl.

And some of your behaviors are starting to mirror what I used to do at your age. E.g. you're always bored, in fact the minute you wake up in the morning you proclaim that you're getting bored. That is so me! The other thing which is just like me is your habit of opening the fridge a hundred times a day to see whats inside but never quite finding anything to your liking! I used to drive Mummy Daddy mad with that.

We've started this story telling at bed time where instead of me making up some random stories I'm sharing my childhood stories with you. You really seem to be into it and keep begging me to tell you more. You love these stories and I really enjoy snuggling up with you and sharing them.

You're a smart girl and when you focus you can pick things up really fast. The consistent feedback from all your teachers is that it's difficult to get you to focus. Sigh...we'll work on that this year my angel :).

Love you loads. May Gurubaba keep you safe, happy and healthy. I love you to bits. What.. I said that already? So what, I can say it however many times I want. I love you.......... Happy birthday!

We have a foodie!

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Little wiggles started experimenting with solids when she was 4.5 months old. The first few days of banana were approached with caution. But after that the idea of solids really got through and we haven't looked back.

A month later we tried giving her rice and dal water which she really enjoyed. And we're also varying the fruits that we offer. She loves her apple and mango. And the khichdi has progressed to a little bit of aloo mixed in as well.

She's enjoying her meal times and we are using more of the high chair than we ever did with wiggles. So, the high chair is finally paying for itself!

Turning 6 months old

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:39:00 +0000

Just as wiggles turned 6 months, she started to support herself in a sitting position. And started grabbing everything that she can grab her hands on, especially food!

But she also welcomed this phase with a bout of fever, vomiting and crankiness. The doc said it was viral but I suspect we have some serious teething going on too!

My best friend

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:42:00 +0000

Wiggles' first essay

I love my thumb. I can suck it all day long. My mom tries to take it out of my mouth but I am a stubborn little thing. I put it right back where it belongs. What my mom needs to understand is that I love my thumb SO much. I mean it's the only thing right now that I have access to all the time and I can play with it the whole day. It tastes pretty yummy too...mmmm.

I love my thumb. It's my best friend :).

The end.

Four square

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:37:00 +0000

No, nothing to do with the geo-social site. Rather everything to do with the 2 stars of this blog. Squiggles is 4 years old for a few months longer and Wiggles just turned 4 months old a couple of days ago.
We were always very diligent about celebrating squiggles monthly birthdays. But with wiggles somehow things got in the way. When she completed 1 month I had a bad gastro infection and was violently sick. We managed to celebrate her 2nd month due to the generosity of a dear friend who brought over a cake she had baked for own son's birthday! When she turned 3 months, some friends from Dubai were in town and we had to take them out. Lousy excuses I know. So, I thought this unfairness couldn't go on longer. So I planned her 4th month birthday well in advance. We baked her a beautiful cake with pink icing and her name written in beautiful cursive writing.
We got some lovely pics of the two girls which DD and I will always cherish :).
Happy 4th month Wiggles!

Didi helps out with the yucky stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:01:00 +0000

S has always been insistent that she wouldn't change wiggles diaper. But this evening she surprised me by wanting to help even though it was a poo diaper! Good job S!

Welcome Wiggles!

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:23:00 +0000

After waiting for what seemed like forever, little Wiggles arrived 2 weeks ago. Welcome!!! So Squiggles now has a baby sister :)).

Here are the important facts -
DOB - 24th Nov'11
Time - 6.15am
Height - 55cm
Weight - 3.76kg

Yes, Wiggles is a big baby but oh so cute! Check her out for yourself :). More updates later.

A sweet gesture

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Squiggles did something really sweet this morning which made my heart go all mush. We have a rocking chair but no foot stool and she often sees me pulling up the chair closer to the bed so I can rest my feet.

Yesterday DD bought a small footstool for the study and as with everything new, S got a new toy to play with. This morning I saw her dragging it out of the study. I was about to admonish her for moving it when I thought of asking her what her plan is.

To which she replied that she was placing it in front of the rocking chair so that I could rest my feet comfortably :). That was the sweetest thought ever and she got a star for that!

Message to baby

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:22:00 +0000

It's 2 days after my due date and you are still not here. In fact, there are few signs that you are going to come out voluntarily! And this leaves me feeling angry. Yes, I am angry and frustrated and tired of waiting and a whole lot more :(.

Everything is ready and waiting for you. And I don't just mean your clothes and diapers and stuff. Even I am ready. Waxing - check; threading - check; Mani-pedi - check. I had my hair cut a month ago in anticipation of not having time for it when you're here. That was a month ago. In fact, this is my 2nd round of waxing, threading, nails etc. I sorted out stuff at work and went on leave. All for you! But instead I'm waiting.

I've also eaten all the things I wanted to eat before you were born. Can't really afford to do round 2 of that, given how much weight I have put on already! Actually, I'm on round 3 of the butter cake and round 2 of the tiramisu! Come fast otherwise the 10% of people that can still recognize me will also lose the plot.

This waiting has also made me irritable. I'm snapping at Squiggles and DD and Grandma and Aunty Marita. No one is spared. Sigh. No one likes me very much right now.

Puneet Mamu came up with some ridiculous trip plan which means he is in Singapore only for 1 day. That's in exactly 3 days. If you're not here by then, you won't get to see him! Or rather, more importantly he won't get to see you. What a shame that would be :(.

So you see how important it is to turn up on time??? I know it's cosy in there but really!!

Well if you're going to be stubborn I shall have to employ harsher tactics and threaten you!

Do you know what happens to babies who trouble their mommies even before they are born. You might just find out!

1. I will ask squiggles to change your diapers and given that she finds the thought abhorrent, it means that you will be stuck in soiled diapers all day!

2. I won't buy you any new toys. You will have to settle for only hand me downs. Huh!

3. I will love Squiggles more. Aha! That hurt, didn't it? Well are you going to move your tush now???

Ok, if you want more.

4. I will keep kissing your kissable cheeks till you cry. Hah.

Oh forget about all of this. Come out now, will you?

How will we know if it's a boy or a girl?

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:22:00 +0000

That's the question S asked me first thing this morning. A very valid question given we have decided not to find out the gender of our baby.

But what do I tell her???

Are you sure you want to leave me at grandma's?

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Usually when I want S to listen to me or to follow an instruction, invariably I find myself telling her that I will take some privilege away or threaten her with dire consequences.

I was surprised by how smartly she turned the tables on me this morning. S has been running a light temperature since the last few days, so when we decided to head out to do some Diwali shopping, we decided to leave her at her grandma's place since we also wanted to take our helper along to help out. S wasn't too happy with this situation. She started insisting that she wanted to come along too. I tried explaining to her many times that we weren't taking her because she wasn't well and didn't want her to get more sick. But none of this seemed to register. The pleading continued for a while.

Suddenly she changed tack and told me that if I left her at grandma's she would watch a lot of TV, implying that it wasn't something I would like and hence I should reconsider my decision. Tv watching at grandma's is usually uncontrolled and it's a bone of contention between my mom and me, which she is well aware of. I replied that I didn't care and she was definitely going to grandma's.

But it didn't end there. Her next words were - "I will watch so much tv and eat candy"! When I replied that I didn't care, she retorted, "I will eat 2 candies, and 3 and 4! How about that"? All this with a wicked twinkle in her eye. She knew all the things I didn't like that happened at grandma's and was throwing them in my face!

I was pretty impressed that she knew which things would bother me the most and was using them effectively. Very smart, don't you think?

Mama is laughing at me

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:14:00 +0000

It was a deja-vu moment. S was playacting and I found the incident vastly amusing and couldn't stop myself from laughing. She got upset and started howling seriously.
Apparently I had hurt her feelings by laughing at her.

Rewind 28 years. Similar set up. My mom and brother were playing some game and ignoring me. My protests and attempts to capture their attention all met with amusement and laughter. The laughter further angered me and in true Hindi film style I decided I would commit suicide and that would get their attention.

I marched smartly in to the kitchen and picked up a long sharp knife and dramatically stretched out my small arm and aimed the knife at my tummy. My mom who had decided to take me seriously after all, followed and calmed me down. She got me to give up the knife. I felt I had achieved success, I had her full attention. Before I knew it I received the loudest, tightest slap from her and in a really scary voice she warned me never to try anything stupid like that again. I was shattered, even my little drama hadn't managed to get me some affection. I went to my dad and sobbed my heart out.

I was thoroughly ashamed of myself and lived in constant dread that mom would share this incident with everyone. I took to eavesdropping whenever she was on the phone or she was meeting someone. This, of course, she found even more amusing.

It was only when I was in my late teens that I was able to see the funny side of things and it remains a vastly entertaining story!

Hearing S lament that "Mama is laughing at me", took me back to my own childhood and that day more than 28 years ago :). She is my daughter after all!

Of dinosaurs and princesses

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:21:00 +0000

S is going through her girliest phase ever and this is driving DD nuts, to put it politely. He wants her to think about counting, spelling and stamp collections and all she enjoys is makeup, princess games and nail art!

Take for example this lunchtime conversation. S was busy playing with these cut outs from her dinosaur book as she ate her lunch and decided that naming the dinosaurs would be fun. So, one was christened Sophie and the other was named Rose.

But this was too much for DD to swallow and in exasperation he said, "S, that is a T-Rex and the other one is a brontosaurus!"

To which Squiggles' look of exasperation was worth capturing, "Papa, they need to have a name". And she continued with this irritating naming convention :) which bugged DD no end.

He tried again for a few more times before admitting defeat!

'Win win' strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:22:00 +0000

Every time we go on holiday DD and I take turns going to the spa. When it's my turn to stay back with Squiggles I usually take her to the pool or play some games. Unsurprisingly, when it's DD's turn, he let's her watch tv, in particular Hi-5, which is her favorite tv show.

This time when we returned home, one weekend, Squiggles had this suggestion for what we should do over the weekend.

"Mama, if you go to the spa, I can watch Hi-5. Right."

And let it be stated that that was a statement and not a question!

And a bloody good one!

The story of Ganesha

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Well, the latest episode from Ms. Drama Queen was on Ganesh Chaturthi. For a change I decided that we would try to celebrate the festival at home so that S would know what the meaning of this festival was.

Invariably, we all woke up late and were too lazy too shower. I decided to tell S the story of how Ganeshji came about having an elephant head. Suffice to say, that my story telling was so good, that she thought that the elephant had cut off the baby's head and she insisted that we take her to the temple to see the headless baby!

She fell asleep in the afternoon and so we couldn't take her to the temple but the next day she just wouldn't leave the topic. I even managed to get her into a pretty lehenga for the occasion. Her cousin's influence is obvious though. She came to our room to show herself off and she had one hand on one side of her hip and she was shaking her hips on the other side :). It was so cute. She even agreed to wear bangles and payal and a dupatta. Before you ask, I'm not sure if we took a pic or not.

We landed in the mandir and were there for barely a minute when they started some loud singing which got her upset :(. It stopped just as were about to leave. And the first question was 'where is the baby elephant'.
I'm still struggling to get the story right in her head but I think I may have to give up.

Moral of the story - The elephant cut the baby's head but S's head is safe because she is no longer a baby!

It's all about pink

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:18:00 +0000

I didn't realize when pink became an obsession with S. I've always tried to get her neutral colours when I buy her clothes or pick up toys. And I am hideously bored with the colour pink. So I've tried to influence her away from pink subtly through my choice of colours. It's but obvious that someone decided to teach me a lesson about not being able to control everything!

Her love of pink can only be termed an obsession! When we ask her what she wants for her birthday (which is coming up soon), she says 'pink'. Not pink toys, not pink clothes but just 'pink'.

She wants a pink party for her 3rd birthday. So the mother in me has overcome my dislike of this ubiquitous colour and decided to grant her her wish. Though I have to admit I'm hoping that an overdose of pink will cure her of it. But I'm sure my hopes will be dashed!

Coming to her wish for a pink party, I'm getting her a princess bouncy castle which is not all pink but lilac and pink. It's the most girly bouncy castle they have. There will be pink and purple balloons. The table cloths, cutlery and crockery will all be pink. DD has made a pink donkey for the pin the tail game. We've painted alphabets which spell out her name and we are going to put them outdoors and it's pink and purple. The cake is a bright candy pink, an eyesore but pink :). I just realized she doesn't really have pink party dress or shoes so we're going to have to rectify that on Friday before the party. And we have to buy her a pink birthday present which I'm thinking of taking her to the toy store and letting her choose.

I have to admit one thing before I end *sheepish*. Whenever everyone asks me what she's into and what she would like for her birthday I don't tell them the truth. If I tell everyone that she has a pink obsession then all her presents will be pink. In any case it's hard to find things for girls which are not pink. And one last thing, I tell them she's into books and puzzles and don't mention she likes princess. She will get enough pink girly presents as it is so don't make me feel guilty ok?

Morning pearls of wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Squiggles Mom) — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:46:00 +0000

What possibly could little Squiggles ask for first thing in the morning?

Maybe she's hungry and milk is the first priority? Or, visiting the toilet to pee may be something she really HAS to do?

Maybe she wants to go to school, because she hasn't been in 10 days and is missing her friends? Or, she's ready to go out and about to visit?

Maybe she wouldn't mind watching cartoons first? Or, movies? Or, Tv?

Maybe she wants to ask Mummy to stay at home with her? If not, maybe Mummy can buy her 'something'?

Maybe she really NEEDS some new toys? Or, atleast one?

All these thoughts crossed my mind when Squiggles woke up this morning, stretched luxuriously like a little cat and piped up with 'Mama?'. You would forgive me for thinking any of the above because I can bet no one could have guessed what she actually asked for.

"Mama, I want to wear my apple panty".

WHAT???? Is this what little kids dream about, that it's the first thing they think of when they wake up.

APPLE PANTY!