Confessions of a father!:-))

Father's Day post by Rajaram (Abhay's dad)

 

Kids find it easier to deal with dads of today as compared to moms and I will tell you why! No offence moms! While both go through stress in bringing up their kids, the stress that each parent goes through is different in nature and intensity! While moms do all the hardwork of planning the activities including logistics for their kids, working through the schedule of the husband's and others around, dads carry the stress of complying with the same! More often than not, the onus of chalking out a workable plan lies on the moms and their anxiety over its execution reflecting on their behaviour make the dads appear cooler!:-)) Okay.... Getting carried away here! :-)) One thing's certain, what starts off as a chore for dads ends up being one of the most enjoyable parts of their routine! For instance, when my son Abhay was born, my wife literally forced "my time-Abhay time" into my daily schedule as a way of getting me to spend some quality time with our little one! Along time, not only did I look forward to it, but found my son eagerly pulling me into what became our numerous joint ventures together! Today on Father's Day, I had a moment reflection on seeing a card handcrafted by  Abhay, where he has thanked me for some of his recent expeditions! It's great to be a dad ... a smile on your child's face or a hug seeking reassurance makes all your running around a meaningful and a worthwhile experience! 

 

 

 

Divya had picked a special book for today to read to Abhay.  It's titled 'FArTHER', brilliantly written and magnificently illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith. This is a story narrated by a son about his memories of his childhood spent with his father in their house made of stone atop a cliff near the ocean.  Father is set out to build his dream which is a flying machine. He worked on it days and nights and the small son would watch the father with keen eyes. Father would be so immersed in his dream/work, that the boy would wait for his dad to remember of his existence.  Then suddenly the father would scoop up the son like a wind and play with him cricket, fly kites together and swim. Then they would be together until the dream of flying returned to them. But before the dad could realise the dream of flying,  the story takes a twist of fate. The father is called to join the army and the khaki clad dad's wave of hand is the last the son sees of him. However one day, father's dream speaks to the now grown up son and he takes up the old wings from his father's workshop and completes the flying machine and flies!! The story ends with the son having his own son and with him wondering what will he do in the future and whether his father's dream would visit his son too...

The illustrations literally take you to a different world of father, son and the dreams!  The book is said to be inspired by the author's experience of being a son and a father.  Abhay was in rapt attention throughout and was trying to take in the essence of the story though being tough for a 7 year old to follow and understand the deep emotions in this book. He did not like the father going away and not coming back but liked the overall father son bonding so nicely depicted throughout.

 

Abhay for tennis!!

Staying on the subject of physical activity for growing kids, I read that it is important for kids to take up at least one sport seriously during their growing years, not just for fitness sake but to imbibe essential  life skills that come with playing a sport, be it individual or a team sport. While there is some team sport like basket ball or cricket organised at school, Abhay being kinesthetically slow (Sorry about the labeling Abhay!) I doubt if he'll ever get chosen to play in his school team!:(  Similarly, while it will always be incumbent on us parents to involve him in extra-curricular activities, I do wish his school lets their students choose a certain sport as a regular physical activity as opposed to general games during their weekly PT session.  Anyway, we did rounds of some of the sports coaching camps in our area and were to zero in on the perfect sports camp for our boy - one that is physically engaging and yet not too strenuous, professionally organized yet has a flexible schedule, housed in a great location yet easy on the logistics, a weekday schedule with options for the weekend too …..Phew!  Getting your kid play a sport is a big time commitment ……and you got to be a sport to let him play a sport!!!!! J

So what was our final pick?? “Anyone for tennis?” by Shane McG is the book I picked on the occasion of enrolling our seven year old into Bangalore Tennis Academy!  A nice little picture book that highlights the excited amusement of a kid when introduced to a new sport only to enjoy it so much as to later drag his father into  play! (Abhay loves the last page!) Tom Foley just celebrated his seventh birthday and amongst other birthday gifts, there was one gift that didn’t beep, crash or whirr and that is a tennis racket. Tom then wonders who plays Tennis? Well, neither his older sister who according to Tom leads a boring life sitting in her bedroom all day and talking to her friend on the phone; Nor his mom who looks dumb standing on one leg doing her yogurt (err…yoga!); Nor his best friend Kevin who rides his lovely new green bike that he never shares thereby likely to be demoted to being Tom’s sixth best friend; Nor his cat Smudgy or dog Spike; Finally Tom is shown following his dad onto the tennis court as he repeatedly asks him the same question again and again, to which dad appears to have turned a deaf ear (Just like Abhay’s dad sometimes….as Abhay points out !). We soon know the answer as dad serves and hits the ball across the court. Tom ducks for cover and falls over. Dad then asks him not worry as playing tennis requires a lot of practice and practice is what Tom does. As they drive back home after his first practice…it’s dad’s turn to ask “Who plays tennis?” Well, that’s easy-peasy …isn’t it Abhay? Abhay Karanth plays tennis….for now! J

 

Scarier than the ghost!

Dear Divya,

Hearty congratulations on completing 3 years of One story a day. Thought, I will write about a story which I have told Abhay few times now and he still demands for it :-) I think I have read this long back in Dinakkondu Kathe series from Dr. Anupama Niranjana or some place else and keep spicing it up for Abhay.

 There was a village adjacent to a forest. There was a city on the other side of the forest. The main source of livelihood for the villagers was to take what they grew to the city and sell it. However there were two problems. One, they had to cross the forest and it was believed that there were scary ghosts in the forest. Second, they had to pass through a check post at the city entrance where a notorious tax collector would torment them with harsh questions and demand for heavy taxes for their goods. He would pierce their sack with a sharp big needle, called "Dabbana" in Kannada. So villagers have named him "Dabbanadindorda"! (I somehow remember to have read it sounding like this). In this village there was a chap called Ranga who was poor and had nothing but a tamarind tree in front of his house. He thought he will pluck all the Tamarind from the tree and sell it in the city. Now he also has to face the two problems.

As Ranga walked through the forest and was passing through a big banyan tree, he starts hearing a whistling sound and someone tickling him. Ranga got scared and started asking "Who is it" and yes, you guessed it right. It was a scary Ghost. Now this is where the story stretches a bit  with me enacting a bit of this encounter and Abhay keeps laughing and asking it to be continued for more :-). Now Ranga knew one thing. The Ghosts scare you more if you show that you are scared. So he started laughing to the annoyance of the Ghost! The Ghost wanted to know why he was laughing to which Ranga said there is a bigger and scarier ghost in the city and he is more fearsome. The ghost wanted to meet this bigger and scarier ghost to find out. Ranga asks the ghost to get inside his sack for he doesn't want the bigger ghost to seem him with another ghost and get angry. The ghost agreed and they proceeded.

As Ranga entered the city check post, the "Dabbanadindorda" commanded Ranga in a booming voice to tell him what he was carrying. Ranga in a trembling voice said, it was Tamarind. As was his routine, the tax collector pierced the sack with his needle and the ghost inside was in great pain but could not scream out. This is the second stretch of the story where I find Abhay to be enjoying with me having to enact the pain of the ghost. Finally the ordeal is over with the tax collector demanding ten rupees as tax and Ranga requests that he will pay it on the way back after selling the tamarind. Once they pass the check post Ranga opens the sack near a tree and out jumps the ghost with a great relief. Smart Ranga extracts a promise from the ghost that it will never trouble him again.

So who is the scarier ghost? Of course we all are scared of the Income Tax department :-)

Happy Birthday One story a day!

How many sleeps till my Birthday ? - By Mark Sperring and Sebastian Braun

Guest Post by Vani

Somewhere around September, I had registered for real aloud kits from Little readers nook, a theme based read aloud program based out of Mumbai . Here I was , a picture book enthusiast and was curious to know what other parents were choosing and reading for their 4 year olds. The first kit was based on birthdays. 3 wonderful books arrived early October. I could not have asked for a better theme because my little munchkin had just completed his 4th year

The highlight of this kit was a book named How many sleeps till my Birthday. A little bear  named Pip wakes up every morning wondering if it was his birthday. He wakes up daddy Grizzle who is still in snooze land  A little annoyed and a lot patient is how you describe daddy Grizzle. Little does Pip know that daddy is infact secretly planning a fabulous party - what with him baking a cake at night when Pip is sleeping, to cutting logs from the forest  and secretly sending out invites to friends and blowing balloons.

On the day of the birthday, little Pip realizes that daddy has left many clues , all that lead to his party. Pip is immensely delighted seeing his friends and lots of cake and gifts

At the end of the party, daddy wonders  out aloud if he would get to sleep a little longer the next day

But what do you think happened the next morning .

Pip sneaks out of bed, lands of daddy's bed and asks : Daddy Grizzle Daddy Grizzle. How many sleeps till Christmas ???

What I loved about the book. For once here was a daddy doing the preparations and not a mommy. But the sentimental me also wondered why the mommy was missing in the story.

Repetitive words such as Daddy Grizzle Daddy Grizzle , wake up  in every 3rd page - would make a great  accomplishment for read alouds and enacting

..and the illustrations - from the annoyed daddy to the enthu cutlet little Pip early in the morning. the illustrations are so so endearing

It is December. We have put up a Xmas tree, the chill is in the air and last evening we had a shining red star put up at the balcony.

At home, our 4 year old believes Santa would fly from the sky and drop a present at our door

Just like Little Pip who is now waiting for Christmas, my little one is looking forward to presents from Santa

Families are about bonding, caring and celebrating. This book has it all.

So you know what to read for your child's  next birthday , don't you ???

**** Oh my ! in being a enthu cutlet myself in doing my first ever blog post on children's books, I have forgotten to add a line or two ****

Divya ! Its a honour to be asked to write on your blog. Many congratulations on being featured in the Hindu.

While we usually exchange gifts, here is something unique . Here's wishing you many more happy reading hours for you and your family and many hours of bonding over books.

Thank you for being an inspiration for other parents.

Thanks to Devaki  from Little Readers Nook for sending us such a wonderful read.

Beastly boys!

With both mom and dad working in most households, routine-parenting tasks are no longer the woman’s forte – be it getting the kids ready to school, drop off and pick-up from school, following up on their homework, putting them to bed and so on and so forth. Like most couples, we too follow certain ground rules of routine jobs –  the “Good cop- Bad cop” rule  while disciplining Abhay; or the “Early Bird in the evening gets to check on Abhay’s homework” rule or the “Homework helper  is exempted from the bedtime routine” rule that is most often overruled by “Winding up of kitchen entails an exemption from the bedtime routine”….so no prizes for guessing that it is my husband who most often ends up with Abhay’s bedtime business, with an exception made for a special bedtime book that I may want to read to him! The only problem being that both my boys (yes….you read it right!) do everything there is to do under the moon but go to bed! So as the daddy finishes reading the bedtime book, I expect the voices to die down into a total silence from the room upstairs, but instead I hear them giggle and guffaw at their own private joke or pretend play that I am not and cannot be a part of! It is only after repeated reminders of how it is way past time Abhay’s bedtime and warnings of the consequences of a late night for Abhay  that the boys do  finally go to bed! Hmph! …..boys will always be boys!

So imagine my surprise when we found the above situation mirrored in a book titled “Mr. Beast” by James Sage and illustrated by Russel Ayto that the boys ( it was a working Saturday for me!) found at Hippocampus. A hilarious account of nighttime banter between a father-son duo, this one is definitely worth a read by the daddy himself! Charlie loved monsters as much his mother’s sugared doughnuts and so his mother asks him to fetch the larger frying pan lying in their garage, supposedly belonging to Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast lets him have the frying pan with a condition that the same must returned with a brimful of sugared doughnuts. Just as Charlie lugs back the pan to its designated place, carrying a batch of doughnuts meant for Mr. Beast, Charlie gets greedy and finishes off even the last one left! So naturally Mr. Beast is angry and threatens to eat him up at night! At bedtime, Charlie is all ready and waiting for Mr. Beast who Charlie believes is clambering up the creeper, clattering about the roof, sliding down the chimney and stomping down the hall to thrust open the door as Charlie is shown to be eagerly waiting for him! As the suspense continues, you cant help but notice that Charlie is all smiles and goes along in the pretend play with Mr. Beast who is none other than his very own daddy! The father-son pretend play wakes up Charlie’s mommy who in turn hauls up the daddy for all the silliness that has gone way beyond Charlie’s bedtime with strict instructions to go to sleep without any delay! So the boys promise to be as good as gold and are shown heading to bed…..but only for a moment until they get back to their beastly ways! So if your boys give you trouble during bedtime….bring home Mr. Beast!

Super Dad!

 Like most boys, Abhay too hero-worships his dad and no prizes for guessing that Abhay is out and out a daddy’s boy! Appa is his “go-to” person when he wants to get done something or get away with something or get himself something! If he wants to be entertained or humored …. then Appa is his man! Abhay’s is his Appa’s loyal audience ….guaranteed to laugh at all his PJs! Even some of Appa’s amateur artistic endeavours has Abhay referring to him as “A Great Artist” to his drawing teacher!  When Appa and Amma have an argument, Amma is always asked why and not Appa! Well, I have no problem as …..Appa is the parent Abhay turns to if he wants to cuddle sleep! Appa is the parent he wakes up if he has had a bad dream in the middle of the night! Appa is the one he approaches when he wants to use the restaurant restroom just when the food is served piping hot…. and.believe me I could not be anymore thankful for the same! :-)
 

 

Anyway, Abhay loves to slip into the Super-man costume that was handed down to him by his older cousins. Just the other day as I was returning from work, I saw a little Super man running up the street with a boy who looked like one of Abhay’s friends….it took me a couple of seconds to realize that he was none other than my little one! J So imagine my delight as I came across an Oxford University Press Early reader titled “Super-Dad” by Roderick Hunt and Alex Brychta that has dad donning a Superman costume on its cover! J  I had meant to post this on Abhay’s dad’s birthday, which was exactly a week ago, but unfortunately, Abhay’s mom is not the supermom she wishes she be!:-) Anyway, a Level 2a Early Reader, Wilma and Wiff’s dad dons a Super-Man’s costume for the school charity. Wilma is embarrassed as she thinks dad looks silly but Wilf thinks he looks good (Of course…..a son!) But Wilma soon eats her words as her dad chases the thief who steals the donation money and nabs him in true "Super hero" style! So its not only Wilma, but the entire school cheers her Super –dad! Abhay loved this book …and as it was only level 2a, he managed to speed read this to his “Super-dad”! Hmm....all I can say is …..enjoy this phase until it lasts! J

 

 

Piggybook!

I haven’t waited for any weekend as eagerly as I have for the coming long weekend!  Well, it is an understatement to say “hectic’, but this week has been crazy both at work and on the personal front. Now before I can heave a sigh of relief as the week draws to a close two days early, thanks to Id-ul-Fitr and a second Saturday, it turns out that it may be a working looooong weekend, after all as I have to trudge  through a few legal documents while vacationing in my father’s farm house!:-(  Anyway, another reason I felt over-worked this week is because of my mother-in-laws’ absence at home, making me in charge of the household (read kitchen) responsibilities! This got me thinking about the importance of an all-encompassing domestic support for a working woman today in order to maintain sanity, and this is apart from the housemaid or the help who comes in for a couple of hours for household cleaning and allied chores.  With today’s working woman out of the house for most part of the day, either because of extended working hours or long commute, it’s no secret that we need help for not only child-care, but also cooking and cleaning up thereafter because if I have to fix “Abhay’s favorite panner subzi” for dinner after a long grueling day at court followed by client meetings, it will be like jumping from frying pan to fire! J So we look to support or rather outsource the domestic responsibilities to our parents, in-laws or a full-time hired help. Well, I am grateful to my mother-in-law without whose support my life would have been a mad rush like it has been the whole of this week! Of course, with husbands helping around, it is no longer the “woman’s” sole responsibility, but it is still not the woman who asks “what’s for dinner”, right?:-)

In my hubby’s defense, however, I must say that as I write this post just before leaving to “Shristi”, my father’s farmhouse at Dharmasthala for the long weekend….it is my husband who is winding up the kitchen! J Anyway, I guess as mothers of little boys, it is for us to see to it that gender stereotypes are not perpetuated on the domestic front. Though Abhay has noticed his father help out at the kitchen, its time he starts helping out too. I found a nice little book titled “Piggybook” by Anthony Browne that probably will help me on that count. This one just like other books by Anthony Browne, challenges commonly held beliefs with though-provoking yet comic illustrations. The Piggot family comprising of the mother, father and two boys are a nice little family who live in a nice house, with nice garden and a nice garage. Mrs Piggot does all the household chores from cooking, cleaning, serving, laundry to ironing while having a full-time job on hand. Mr Piggot and the Piggot boys simply order her around and take her for granted. One fine day Mrs. Piggot who has had enough, leaves a note that to her husband and sons that says saying “you are pigs” and walks out. Mr Piggot and the Piggot boys return to an empty house and are annoyed that they have cook and clean themselves. They find it hard to get by without Mrs. Piggot and are seen turning as dirty as pigs for real! Mrs. Piggot then returns, much to relief of the “pigs” but her return is subject to certain conditions - that the boys make their own bed, dad learns to wash the dishes and all of them helped with the cooking and all of them realized that they enjoyed it, after all! So the other day, I asked Abhay to lay the table for dinner, which he no doubt, set out to do willingly but sought to overdo it so much that I regretted asking him!!:-) So if you think you are little ones may be growing into little “pigs” at home……bring home the “Piggybook”!

Dad's the word!

With father’s day today, it’s time to show our gratitude to the daddies in our lives!  Of course, we all have our dads to thank, but what about the father of our little ones? So until our little ones are old enough to churn out something on their own, it’s upon us mommies to ensure that the daddies get their due on Father’s day just as we bask in our status as a mother on Mother’s day! I am not a great fan this hallmark sponsored day, but I see no harm in taking some time off to acknowledge the role our partners play in parenting…… if not at least for a day!  Fathers are now more actively involved in their children’s lives than their predecessors….and why not? Daddies are always the favorite, no matter what you do and so it’s time they get their hands dirty too! J I am greatly dependent on my husband without whom I’d find it hard to handle even some of daily routine activities revolving around Abhay!  So whether it’s getting my tardy six year old ready for school in the morning (while sharing a man-to-man time with him!) or initiating the bed-time protocol at night (and dozing off  in the meantime!) or waking up the middle of the night when Abhay ambles over to our room (a regular phenomenon!) or  taking him to an event or an activity on a Saturday morning (as Saturdays are working for me!) or  playing the “Good cop” when as always I am the “Bad cop” while disciplining my errant little one or when I am need of some kind of reassurance that we are doing the right thing as parents….dad’s the word!

So today I had Abhay and his dad read together “Interrupting Chicken” by David Ezra Stein, a book that won the famed Caldecott Honor for the year 2011. I had this one shipped from the US through a friend sometime ago, but never had the opportunity to feature the same on Onestoryaday. The reason I chose to do so on father’s day is because I found there was a striking resemblance between how the papa-chicken and baby-chicken cuddle up in bed and how Abhay holds on to his dad  at bedtime! This is a father-child story that definitely makes a wonderful read on father’s day! It was bed time for the little red chicken and her papa is all set to read her a story but with a condition that the little one should not interrupt the story in between as she usually does to which little chicken promises to be good and not interrupt the story. And so starts papa chicken with the story of “Hansel and Gretel” who both being extremely hungry are thrilled to find a house made of candy and begin to eat up the goodies when the witch pretending to be an old woman invites them in. Just as they are about to enter the danger zone, the little red chicken jumps in interrupting the story telling Hansel and Gratel not to go in as the woman was a witch. So Hansel and Gratel did not go in and the story ended quickly. Papa chicken reminded the little red chicken of her promise not to interrupt and started to read “Little Red Riding Hood”. But the story of Red Riding Hood too met a similar end with the warning Little Red Riding Hood about not talking to strangers just as she was about to talk to the wolf! Thus the incorrigible red can’t control herself and jumps in every time the story reaches a turning point! Finally Papa chicken has had it and closes the book when little pleads with him for another story without which she cannot fall asleep. Papa then asks her to tell him a story instead. As the little chicken starts off with her story “Once upon a time…there was a little red chicken who put her papa to bed…”, her papa is fast asleep and it doesn’t take long for the little chicken to jump right in next to her dearest papa! Abhay of course enjoyed the rendition of this story by his own papa! Happy father’s day to all the dads!

The "Daddy" factor!

 Robert Frost once said that a father is always a republican towards his son and his mother is always a democrat! I’m not sure of the context in which these words were spoken but it sure seems relevant, considering the recent presidential debate between President Obama and the republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (which has us nostalgic of Obama’s win back in 2008 when we were in the US). Anyway, my point being that fathers tend to be more laissez faire than mothers making them the favorite with kids…..my household being no exception. Between the two of us, I find myself being the over-enthusiastic (occasionally breathing-down-the-neck types) over-protective and over-reactive parent! (I seriously can’t help it!) My husband gets away with being his usual nonchalant self and ends up doing a better job than me, at the least in the eyes of our son! It feels like we moms do all the research and ground work whereas dads just present the thesis! They can’t deny that it is we moms who make the dads look good! For instance, it was I who had noticed that Abhay needed a new pencil box and asked his dad to drive him to a nearby toy store on the pretext of getting the training wheels of his cycle fixed and surprise him with the new buy! Well…. He did as he was told and became the “best dad in the whole world”! Hello!…. who’s idea was it? So from next time on….I’m implementing my ideas myself!

In fact, I even pick the appropriate books for the father-son duo and one such book Abhay loved is “My Dad” by Anthony Browne, awarded the Children’s Laureate for the year 2009. In fact, this one is normally read by Abhay’s dad but last night I decided to step into the daddy’s shoes for one last time before I return it back to the library. All about hero-worship of the daddy, this book starts with a  little boy introducing his dad as he says “He’s all right, my dad”! Then he starts off describing how his dad isn’t afraid of anything, even the big bad wolf and that he can jump right over the moon, and walk on a tightrope! (Now this is a little over the top…don’t you thinkJ ) He likens his dad’s appetite to a horse (I agree with this one!), his strength to a gorilla, his state of mind to a happy hippo and then comes the daddy’s physical attributes and extraordinary talents with his dad being a wise as an owl (the illustration showing the  daddy literally transforming into an owl) and of course like most dads, his dad too makes him laugh a lot( making funny faces) Finally, he concludes that he loves his dad and he is thrilled to know that his daddy loves him too and will always do! Well, Abhay’s daddy always gets a big hug at the end of the book...…so can I get one too??:-)

Bigger than daddy thinks!

Just as the second Sunday of every May is reserved for moms, the third Sunday of June is dedicated to the paternal bond, a time to celebrate fatherhood with the father! Well, as a little girl, daddy was the always the lenient parent, someone who would rush to my rescue when mommy was upset, someone who was a little more lax with the house rules ….well someone who would understand no matter who’s wrong …someone who could be more easily prevailed upon! J My husband on the other hand, grew up in an environment where his father was less sparing then his mother and threatening to complain to the father was sure way to get the kids to behave. Even today I feel his mother (my mother-in-law) is more approachable than his father (with due apologies to my father in law)! Anyway, once I became a mom, I discovered that our little family has turned out to be a replica of the family I grew up in where it is still the daddy who is the indulgent parent, who is a little easy going with the rules, who always sides with Abhay when his mommy tries to ‘discipline’ him and who is hopelessly easy to be prevailed upon!! So you never know, one day Abhay might blog about how his mom being stricter than his dad, just like I am doing it right now! J

On the occasion of the Father’s day weekend, we went to dinner with all the daddies in my life – two senior Daddies, one junior daddy and a future daddy! So last night Abhay had his daddy read “Someone Bigger” book by Jonathan Emmett and Adrian Reynolds.  Although I would have wanted them to read a father’s day special book on the occasion of father’s day, this is all I could lay my hands on. A father-son book nevertheless, Sam and his dad make large kite and set out to fly it in the park on a windy day. Sam asks his dad if he can hold it first as he feels he is old enough to handle a kite. His father is not sure and replies that the big kite needs someone bigger! As dad lets go of the kite and unwinds the string, Sam watches it fly wishing he was someone bigger…like his dad to fly the kite. But the wind blows hard and Sam’s dad gets pulled into the sky along with the kite. As Sam runs behind seeking to hold the string and pull his dad back, his dad still feels he is too small and that the kite needs someone bigger! As the kite flies above the town, everyone tries to get hold of it …from a mailman with a sack of mail to a bank robber who flees from jail, from a police man on a horse to a bridegroom and his bride of course…but all of them are swept of their feet. Even then as Sam tries to hold on to the string, everyone cries out that the kite needs someone bigger still! As the kite flies above the zoo, now it has even animals like Rhino, tiger and a Kangaroo! Now finally, Sam catches hold of the kite and grabs the string and holds it fast and winds back the string while his feet stay firmly on the ground. No bigger than he actually is, Sam manages to bring, one by one, everyone from the zoo and the town back to ground! Sam finally has his father acknowledge that he always knew he was old enough as the kite needs someone just like him!:-) So while you may feel that your little one is too little for some things, he or she may actually be bigger than you think! Happy father’s day…guys!

An evening well spent!

Over the weekend, I met up with some of my school friends, whom I happen to see after almost 17 years….and as I write this I still can’t believe it’s been that long since I passed out of school! It was a nostalgic evening indeed – a time to recollect and relive those bittersweet moments of the good old school days. As we tried to remember how we were back then, in our green and cream uniforms, wondering who was in which section, recalling the names of our favorite and not-so-favorite teachers, revisiting those moments of mischief and banter inside and outside class, and while harking back to the age of adolescence and innocence, we were also excited to reconnect with each other, all over again.....like we never left! Though it was a reunion of just over 11 of us from the batch, it felt like we had the entire class of ’95 with us…..we remembered each and every one of you who couldn’t make it this time! For the ones, who made it happen, Three Cheers to the first Reunion of MIHS-95 and here’s wishing many more to come!!!!!

I took the liberty to post a couple of pictures on my blog considering we are all over Facebook!

 While I was catching up with my old friends, I had my husband take care of my son, and so had many of my friends. The father-son duo had the whole evening to themselves and I must say, they didn’t miss the mommy at all!!! So…is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hmmm….you can’t have the cake and eat it too! Right? Anyway, just like Abhay, today we read about a girl who likes to shop with her daddy! “I Shop with my Daddy” a level 1 Scholastic Reader, by Grace Maccarone and Denise Brunkus. A little girl is excited to drive to the store with her daddy, where they pull a cart and shop for groceries and vegetables when she eyes a packet of cookies.  (we’ve all been there, dealt and still dealing with that…right?) Her father asks her to put it away when they head to the bakery section and she picks a chocolate treat to which her dad refuses to  give in ( Not bad!) As they complete their shopping and it’s time to go home, the little girl makes a last ditch effort to extract some goodies from her dad and both of them make one more stop before they return home -  the ice cream counter! No wonder the kids love to go shopping with daddy! Similarly, when Abhay and daddy came to pick me up after their jaunt, he had a new toy to flaunt! So Abhay for one…is all for reunions….and so am I!!!:-)

Kitchen helpers!

 A couple of days ago, my son asked me if boys could play with kitchen sets. Not sure of where this was going, I didn’t respond immediately. When he persisted, I replied yes but at the same time asked him if playing with pots and pans excited him just as much as playing with trains or race cars. Being my son after all, he answered my question with another question – this time wondering whether his father enjoys “playing” with my kitchen utensils! Well, I don’t think he has a choice …I thought but told Abhay that it was a question best saved for his dad! Whatever his response may be, I’m sure “playing” is not quite the choice of words he would like to use!!  :-) What do you say …Abhay’s dad? :-)

 

So I couldn’t resist picking up a library book titled “Kitchen Dance” written and illustrated by Maurie J Manning.  A little girl who is supposed to be fast asleep at night creeps out of her bed on hearing clinking and clanking sounds emanating from the kitchen. She wakes up her baby brother and together they tip toe down the stairs and peep through the kitchen door. What do they see – their papa holding a wooden spoon pretending to use it as a mike and singing a Spanish song joined by their Mama as they both wash the dishes! Once the dishes are done, both of them tango across the room, all along wiping the pots dry, sweeping the kitchen floor and disposing off the leftovers when they suddenly spot two pairs of eyes spying on them. Papa swings the door wide to find the spy kids trying to escape when he pulls them near and the four of them twirl around to an unexpected family musical night. Finally, the lively kitchen dance mellows into a slow waltz with the kids falling asleep to their parents’ hum in their arms! I loved the illustrations of a Hispanic family singing and dancing  around their kitchen! So if you desire company in the kitchen either to help you with the dishes or for an occasional tango, have the daddy read “Kitchen Dance” to your little spy!

Cars and Cars!

You can take a boy out of cars but you can’t take cars out of a boy.  Well, for the moms of little race car fans; today is a big day – the release of the Disney movie “Cars 2”.  For any loyal fan of Lightening McQueen, it’s time to cruise into the theater; for his loyal parents, this is not the time to apply breaks! So we caught the first day, third show of the movie in its 3D version today and I must admit that I wasn’t bored. Though the plot seemed a little too complex for kids like Abhay, he seemed to enjoy watching the 3D racing adventure. Of course, not to forget racing against his parents to empty the humungous bucket of popcorn that he managed to polish off even before the movie began!!! 

In honor of the most famous race car in the world of our budding NASCAR fans, today I read “Roadwork” a story revolving around Lightening McQueen and his best friend Mater, the tow truck. Based on the movie Cars, this is a level 2 book in the Step into reading early reader series. ‘Radiator Springs’ is getting ready for visitors who come knocking on its doors, thanks to Lightening McQueen and his huge fan following. New roads have been paved, all resident cars have been given a fresh coat of paint, Luigi’s tire shop has new tires to sell, Sally fixes up her motel for a perfect place for guests to rest, new road signs have been put up by the sheriff and the whole town is all spruced up and Lightening McQueen is all set to welcome everyone to Radiator Springs! A must read for any Lightening McQueen fan!

I love daddy!

Riding high on father’s day spirit, my husband offered to read another book at bedtime tonight….and hey…who was I to complain? I realized that blogging has its own advantages on the home front …especially when you want to get things done! :-) As long as Abhay gets to listen to one story a day, both Abhay and his mommy are happy! 

Allowing my husband to bask in the glory of paternal love and appreciation, I chose the book titled “I love my daddy” by Sebastien Braun. This book celebrates a father-son relationship between a bear and his cub and this bond is beautifully brought out in their everyday lives. Narrated in first person by the little bear, this is a son’s acknowledgment of how many different ways his dad’s loving actions touch his day. Right from waking him up in the morning, to feeding him, to washing and splashing with him, to playing with him, to yawning with him, gazing at the sky with him, to cuddling and tickling him, his daddy looks after him for which little bear declares that he loves his daddy!! Of course, on reading this book, Abhay too had the same thing to say to his daddy and I can’t help feeling like there's a ‘halo’ over my head now for making this poignant moment happen!:-)

Driving Daddy!

Most parents would agree that it is not right to compare your child with another’s. Well, most parents would also agree, that this is easier said than done.It’s hard not to notice the difference between your child and another. I’m not sure of the others, but I’m definitely guilty of occasionally comparing my son to his best friend as far as his eating habits go. As if to pay for our sins, off late we’ve found that the tables have turned and Abhay compares us to his friend’s parents. He always complains that his father does not drive as fast as his friend’s dad. As the boys are picked up from school by their respective dads, they race against each other as to whose dad is first to leave the parking lot and hit the road. In fact, he was even voicing his disappointment to his teacher about the tardiness of his parents vis-a vis his friend’s dad!! Of course, the fact that Abhay’s friend takes half as long as he does to gather his belongings, put on his jacket and buckle up his seat belt, has absolutely nothing to do with why we can’t get out the parking lot first!:-)  

Today I had Abhay read a book from his favorite early reader series – ‘Drive Along’ by Melinda Melton Crow. As usual, this a story of two trucks – a green truck and a two truck. Both the green truck and tow truck try to put on a show as to who is the best. Green truck declares that it can go fast and slow, in and out, up and down and so does the Tow Truck. But the green truck, being a dump truck can lift cans whereas the tow truck being a truck that tows vehicles goes on to show that it can lift the green truck itself!! Finally, both the trucks realize that they both are different and meant for varied tasks and no matter what,  still are pals! So trying to draw a parallel, I explained that his father does not always go fast as he is a safe driver, to which my logically thinking son asked “So my friend’s dad is not a safe driver?”

Pretend Play!

Children love pretend play of all kinds. Pretend play or Role play is also a good source of entertainment and learning for your little one to indulge in. Role play not only stimulates their intellectual development but helps them think in abstract and understand another’s perspective. Boys love playing superheroes rescuing the fallen and girls enjoy pretending to be pretty princesses with their fancy tea parties. Pretend play also exposes how  your kids think of you and the results can be an eye-opener! One of Abhay’s favorite games is to pretend to be either one of his parents. Abhay loves mimicking my characteristic style of giving him time-outs and tries the same on his soft-toys; or getting into daddy’s shoes (even literally) pretending to be him with a classic imitation of daddy’s annoyed expression on his face! I guess, the day is not far when he’ll do a stand-up act on us that we’ll get to see on Youtube!:-)

Today I read a book titled “Can you make a scary face?” by Jan Thomas that encourages children to do just that. It’s a wonderful book to read to a group of young kids and have them play out all the funny faces and simply watch the fun! A pretend play of wiggling a bug off your nose, blowing it out of the mouth (something all kids would love to do), doing the chicken dance to get the bug off your shirt and  imagining the appearance of a giant hungry frog to gobble up the bug and finally making a scary face to frighten the giant hungry frog. It’s a perfect plot for our little performers to put on a show. All world’s a stage isn’t it?

Daddy not left behind!

Taking a cue from my ode to my mom and mothers in general yesterday, my husband found a book dedicated to the fathers of the world! As if to say ‘hey….dads are important too’, he read “Daddy is a Cosy Hug’ by Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Maggie Smith. So this morning, after giving him a cozy hug, Abhay saw his daddy off as he set out to fly out of town on work. Tonight, probably missing his daddy, Abhay wanted me to read the same book to him at bedtime. In the book, a little boy recounts the best days of the year – the days spent with his dad, a man of all seasons! Be it pairing up for a splash in the beach, or acting as a pillow when out camping, or snorting like a horse for the little cowboy to ride on, or chugging along with his miniature engine, serving as a blanket when cold winds blow, spreading out like an umbrella when it rains, cuddling him to bed – his daddy does it all!

As I finished reading this book, I could see Abhay make a mental note of all the things he would want to do when his daddy gets back. So…..here’s warning Abhay’s daddy, even before the work week has begun, …..your weekend is booked!! :-)