Date with the Peanut

A much deserved break for me and the Peanut was long due. When the sun finally decided to show up at 3 pm, we set off to the Mill Creek Town Center yesterday. The first stop was at ABS Coffee Company where I sipped on a Latte and Peanut happily fluffed down her milk. We then waked across to the University Bookstore. I let Peanut off of the stroller to let her walk around a bit when she started pulling out books from the shelves and scattering them on the floor. The staffs looked at her and she looked back at them with big brown eyes and they mumbled something about how beautiful she was and walked away with a smile as if she just made their day. And here I thought they would wag their finger at her and say "tut tut tut". I picked up a book for her and we scurried out to walk up and down the street. After after spending a good two hours we got back home. I took her to the usual play area in our community where she played on and I lost the mailbox key. Resultantly, A was grumpy the rest of the day.

Summer means

1. Spending a lot of time outdoors. Especially since it is so so short in Seattle.
2. Going for walks with Peanut. Of course she sits on her buggy, pom-pinning while I push her around.
3. I took her to the North Creek park yesterday. She sat on the swing for a while. I saw her eyelids drooping and I thought uh-oh, no sleepy now. I took her out and put her on the grass and she was happily toddling about like a little Penguin.
4. Today, I brought the pool out again and boy, she was so excited! The water was a tad too cold so I pulled her out for a second and she had a huge meltdown along the lines of why-did-you-take-me-out! She could have woken the dead.
5. The moment the front door is open, she will whiz past it and out like a breeze in nano seconds. If I bring her back in and shut the door - waterworks!!

Oh, she'll be up anytime now and we have to head out!

How's summer for you?

Bitter sweet weekend

We took Peanut to Gymboree for the play n learn class on Saturday where she had fun running after balls, climbing the slide, snatching ball from other kids' hands, getting shoved by some random boy and trying to catch the bubbles her teacher blew for them. She even stunned me by climbing a somewhat tallish table and sitting on it. After Gymboree we went to the Anandamela - festival of joy, the main attraction being the Indian street food. Mirchi Bajji, pani puri, vada Pao, chole bature, mango Lassi , kamala bhog and chum chum were consumed. All for a good cause, you see? It was all going to the ISKON temple. Then we hopped into the Redmond library to get some books for us, but there was not even one worth reading! Peanut got a few as usual. Coffee was at SoulFoodBooks after which heart in mouth incident happened. Peanut was fast asleep in the car. We didn't want to wake her and since it was quite hot we turned the AC on and scooted into TJ's for a quick 5 min grocery shopping. A was in the check out line and I told him I'll go check on Peanut. When I got to the car the cop was waiting for me. Apparently leaving your child in the car unattended is a criminal offense. I could have been arrested! After some sound blasting she took my license, waited for A to come out, took his license, lectured him and said we'll have to go to the court! Horror of horrors! The rest of the day is just a blur. On Sunday we had to attend the Wyndham time share presentation in Seattle. Though we didn't round up on any property, we did get an android tablet and a carnival cruise for attending!! We picked up two lattes at Urban City Coffee, a bundle of books for P at 50% off at Half Price Books, a mondo burrito all for me at taco del mar ( A has tummy troubles and is on a liquid diet), a brief stop at Costco and got back home at 6 pm. I relished the whole burrito, sitting on the Porch while A minded Peanut. Still can't get over the criminal offence thing :( Hope it all ends well!

What do you do

......when your friend's child constantly hits yours? If you have been reading my posts you would know Nikhil, my friend's son who is now Peanut's pal. He is two years older than Peanut and twice the poundage. We usually get together for play dates either at his place or ours. Every time we meet N has the habit of pushing P, knocking her down and giving her a whack. Peanut would look at me sadly and I will scoop her for a hug and kiss, saying "it's okay...." and divert her attention to something else. N's mom(my friend) would in turn react with " N, not nice, tappu nanna (whatever that means in Telugu) you shouldn't hit". Clearly, that doesn't seem to be working because N continues to shove and whack P every time we meet. He is the kind of a brat that snatches P's toys from her even if it is her toy. He will sit on P's ride-on and refuse to get up and when P goes to sit on his instead, he'll go push that away knocking P down. I have been tolerating this behavior thus far but today I lost my cool. We were invited to P's house for a Pooja and there were few more ladies gathered. I sat down on the floor and made P sit next to me. Immediately N came and beat her a few times on the back. I was so angry that I retorted with "N, no hitting! That's not nice." He then pushed her and beat her on the head. P was in tears and she usually doesn't cry. I saw that he hit her quite hard. I was this close to hitting him back. Instead I sternly said "NO hitting!" but he never seemed to care. P did her "Tappu nanna..." again and I realized this wasn't going to work. Heck, who can tolerate their child being hit again and again? I said I'd rather leave and headed back home. I sometimes feel that child is a little mentally challenged. Something about the way he behaves and talks unclearly. Oh, whatever. I don't want my child to be the brunt of his actions. I came home fuming with a very upset Peanut and told the story to A who was fuming more than me. I don't think I want them to get together for play dates again unless he swears not to touch P. I wasn't sure how to convey this to P and that's when google came to my rescue. Found this interesting article that addresses the same issue. Very insightful -
http://www.inspiringmoms.com/“what-do-you-do-when-your-best-friend’s-kid-is-a-bully-and-hits-your-kid-all-the-time-i-really-need-help”/
*rolls up her sleeves*

My dunking' donut

The last weekend we went to Target to get Peanut a kiddie pool. I found a Giraffe pool and instantly knew she would love it. It was on sale for twenty odd bucks and will easily accommodate two tiny tots. A loved it too and wished he could get one in his size. We wanted to use it over the weekend but the darn weather was not pool friendly, plus Peanut developed some rash on her cheek in reaction to the MMR shots she received few days back. So the pool was kept away. Since the weather is co-operating (a lil too much though....it is effing hot these days) I asked A to inflate the pool. After a little ho-humming he pumped air and it turned out to be a very pretty pool. If pools can be pretty, that is. The Giraffe shade on top has a sprinkler in it. So so cool, what?
The pool was inaugurated today. Peanut in her pink swimsuit looked adorable in the Giraffe pool. The moment I put her in, she went splash splash splash. Squeal. Waddle few steps. Topple. Gasp for breath. Giggle. Splash again. And it continued for a good 45 minutes. Her friend Nikhil joined her a little late but she was exhausted by then and wanted to get out. I rushed her up to pat her dry and change her clothes. She was hungry. She toddled into the kitchen saying "theeeeeee". Sure baby, I said and took out a wedge of Swiss Cheese that she nibbled on. Gobbled up, actually. That and some yogurt. The next hour was spent at Praveena's. On the way back home, a neighbor's kids (she has 4 kids, yo!), somewhere between 4 to 8 years, had put up a small lemonade stand, with a sign upfront that said "$0.50". Just a sight of that and the little girl asking "would you like some lemonade?" melted me enough and I wanted to buy the whole jar. Sure, I said and took one glass. Oh, so cool and refreshing in the heat. I split the other half with my better half who loved it too and thought it was a great idea to get some pocket money. After a while I was standing on the porch with Peanut when one of the girls (4 yr old) came cycling to me.
Girl : Did you like the lemonade?
Me : Of course, very yummy!
Girl : (makes a proud face)
Me : Who made it?
Girl : My mom. She is a hairdresser too!

Only in the US do you find such smart little girls who are never shy, who know what to say, when to say and how to say. I hope Peanut will also be very outgoing and spontaneous. And I will put up a strawberry lemonade stand for her. And when someone asks her who made it, she'll say "My mom. She is a writer too. And a singer. And a foodie. And a fashionista........".

Our days these days

Today was one of the good days in Seattle. It was in the high 70s, which in reality is a little too hot. After shoving some prune with oatmeal and a few spoons of peach yogurt down Peanut's throat, she was made to wear a nice summery frock and was deposited in her car seat for the ride to the Gym. These days she sits holding her favorite Greeny ( a teddy from daddy's office) and listens to the nursery rhymes all the way! What is she doing at the gym, you ask? Well, she has a ball in the Kidz Club, fiddling with toys and exploring every nook and corner while mama sweats it out on the treadmill, desperately trying to get rid of the love handles on her hips that refuse to budge. So, after the workout mama and Peanut get back home. Peanut gets some alone time with her toys while mama quickly showers. Sometimes though Peanut will decide to cry and mama will come clambering from the shower, wrapped in a towel, just to assure her that all's well. Then Peanut is whisked off to her bath tub where she happily goes splash! splash! splash! There's water on mama, the counter top, the huge mirror and the floor. But I just let her have fun. I am the cool mom, you see. We make bubbles and play with squirt toys for a while. She is then patted dry, powdered and her tiny curls combed. With her fresh spaghetti top and a diaper she's all set for the next round of mischief. I quickly make her lunch and keep the Tv on to distract her. Ads are such a life saver. As soon as the Ad gets over, she's back in the kitchen holding my leg and burying her face in my thighs wanting me to move out and play with her. Who will make your lunch, Sweety? Amidst protests and screams I quickly whip up her vegetable khichdi and walk to the dining saying "mum-mum" and she toddles behind hurriedly as if she's been starving for days. Baby goes to the farm, Spot loves his daddy and Baby's first words are brought out to help shovel the food. Mama then cleans up and has her lunch. Potty time. Diaper change. Giada at home comes and Peanut loves to watch the title music where Giada's daughter Jade runs on the beach! Mama watches the show while P builds a tower with the blocks or holds the elephant in her hand and keeps saying "pawooo" a hundred times. At about 12:45pm Peanut decides enough is enough. Yaaaaaaaaaaawn! Tugs her ears and whines. Phew! Nap time. Yay! I put her in the swing, turn the music on and give her a pacifier. Yes, am a bad, lazy mom who does not rock her baby to sleep. In under five minutes she is fast asleep! I then catch up with food blog, Facebook, deal websites, yelp, mails for the next 1.5 to 2 hours. In between when Peanut wakes up I pat her back to sleep. At 3 pm she wakes up with a smile ( the paci has long fallen off) and her "nananananan......"

Coffee time for me and milk time for her. While the milk boils and cools I give her some cheese and rice puffs to nibble on. She says "theeee" and comes running when she sees the cheese in my hand. While she nibbles I sip my coffee and simultaneously run the kneader for roti. I also chop veggies and cook dinner. Oh, to make her drink all the milk I play videos of nursery rhymes on my mobile. Not easy, huh? It is then time for her evening walk. Mommy and baby put on shorts and tee and head out. She totally loves her ride on buggy. After a couple of rounds in the community we hit the play area where she just rolls on the grass. I pretend to chase her and she squeals and goes scampering for dear life. Today though we spent the evening at Praveena's. Nikhil sat on Peanut's buggy and refused to get up. He even hit her a few times. Poor baby went running to mama. Praveena brought out Nikhil's toys for Peanut. She even read a story for them. She made poha for a snack and Pea loved it. It was then time to head back home. A had called to say he's running late by 30 mins. So once again I had to make Peanut's dinner with her hovering around my legs. A finally entered the house at 6:20 pm, mumbling "hon, am soooooooooooo tired........ aaaaaaah!"

A fed Peanut dinner while I made rotis and heated the food. Post dinner A inflated Peanut's pool while I scrubbed the vessels and cleaned up the kitchen. A quick webcam chat with the Grandparents (my parents) followed after which Peanut was changed into her night dress, given Tylenol ( teething troubles) and patted to sleep drinking milk.

Every day is the same. More or less. This stay-at-home-mom business can be a little tiring but is very rewarding. Yes, you should try it sometime!

Spot haunts me!

Peanut crawls up to her book shelf, picks her favorite Spot book, crawls back to me, plonks herself on my lap and gives me the book "Spot loves his Grandma". How cute, I mumble to myself, and start reading to her. She smiles and squeals at Spot gathering eggs from Grandma's chickens. I love you too Spot, I read and shut the book when Peanut slams her tiny hands on the floor and has a meltdown of epic proportions. Ok, ok, I will read it again, I say and open the book and her face lights up in delight. And I go again ,"Spot loves to visit his Grandma".