The Pizza Party!

This is an old post thats been catching dust in my drafts folder....

Tonight we had a pizza party!

And who's idea was this? 

My two and a half year olds!! 

What did I know at two and a half? Certainly not that I could ask for and get a pizza party.. Heck.. I doubt I knew anything about the existence of pizzas!!! 

Randomly once or twice in the week he has mentioned wanting a pizza.. Like one day the grocer rang the bell and he went " pizza is here pizza is here" Another time he just straight up asked for it... 

So come Saturday night we decide to call for some...

He was so excited when we told him we were having pizza for dinner... 

When it came I cut a slice into little pieces and gave him a glass of juice to go with it... It was over in minutes! 

No fuss... No pushing shoving bribing... The plate was spotless... !!! He even asked for more! 

Why can't all meals be like this?

Story telling

The boy got into the dinki car and he went in the forest. He asked the lion to come for a drive with him. 

They drove... Vroom .. To the market... They bought the apples. And the little boy opened the dicky and put the apples in it. Then he shut the dicky... And he opened the car and the lion and he went for a drive to the forest.

Confidence!

Confidence is not something you can teach... Especially not to a three year old... So it's kinda awesome when you're three year old displays some kick ass confidence... 

At a building Christmas party there was a guy wearing a Santa cap... Siddy saw siddy wants! He asked me first.. And because I didn't know the guy I told him I can't ask for it.. Then I said " but if you want it you ask him for it" he thinks for a second walks up to Santa guy and straight up asks him for his cap... 

Out of sheer shock at having a random three year old kid asking him and the fact that random three year old is super adorable and the fact that the super cute girl he was with was watching, he handed over his Santa cap to siddy with a big smile!

Another time, we were visiting a new doctor.. While waiting out he was looking at the three nurses sitting and making cotton balls out of a big cotton roll... 

Again siddy see siddy wants to do! Again he asked me to ask them first.. I told him the same thing.. " you want to do you go ask them" 

Thinks for a second (he always does) jumps off the bench and goes and says "can I help you?!" 

Those poor Kerala nurses didn't know how to react!!! They looked at me unsure., and I said in Hindi " he wants to make the cotton balls with you" 

They laughed all thru at this tiny kid rolling up the cotton balls!!! 

Then we go in and meet the doctor... The  check up is done and we are sitting listening to the doctor give us instructions... When siddy goes 

"what's your name?" He has a fascination for names.. 

The doctor equally surprised as the nurses.. Says "my name is Deepak"!!! 

And siddy smiled! And the doctor smiled and the mommy beamed with pride! 

I love that he can go upto anyone and talk to them.. Kids have no fear.. No thought of " what will they think?" No sense of rejection... Just bam... Out there.. 

I wonder what it would be like for us all to have that kind of no fear confidence...?!!! 

Little Stories-2

Little story 1:

He over heard his teacher talking to her fiancé and while hanging up she says " bye baby" 

So he goes to her and says " teacher you have a baby? Is it a small baby or a big baby?!!!!!!" 

Little story 2: 

Incredible memory! 

Over the year we have tried so many Peds for him.. There was this one we went to maybe twice... Long back that too... 

The other day we drove by the clinic, and this little thing points to the building and says

" Mumma when you were little I used to get you here to see the doctor na?" 

He's 2 and a half! (Correction he's almost three !) but where does he get this memory from? 

Little story 3:

So we were heading out one of these nights, and I told Aadi to book us a cab..

Till now siddy was following us around while we changed and I did my hair and make up and he wasn't saying anything... 

But as soon as he heard the words book and cab he went,

" Why are you booking a cab? Where are you going? " 

I love how he has started putting things together... Understanding them... It's amazing!! 

School admissions..

School admissions are like the most stressful time in a parents life... 

Or so it's supposed to be. 

As soon as siddy turned 2 and a few months everyone we met only asked us what schools we were looking at... In the June of the year before he would join and I'm thinking... It's still a while... Forms don't even come out till dec. 

But you have to go visit all the schools before that and you have to sit in the lobby of and meet the office people of the school you are most keen to join at least 16 times before the forms come out and 25 times once the forms do come out..

Then it's a question of pulling out your contacts, your fathers contacts , your mothers contacts, your neighbours contacts, your neighbour's mothers contacts... Basically any kind of 'pull ' must be used..

Then you must have kept away a decent amount of dosh just to pay off all the above mentioned contacts.. Barring your own parents of course! And some dosh for the school people... Yes a bribe better known as admission fees... Which can range anywhere from 50000 to a few lakhs. 

So we started at step one.. I made a list of all the school in the vicinity.. Because no way on earth I'm making my kid travel at 3 more than he absolutely has to... 

A friend of mine and I went around checking out the schools.. We did three I think and then we sat down at a coffee shop and asked each other what we really wanted for our kids...

A good education system that focuses on the kids and let's them learn thru zero pressure, has good teachers and really cares for the kids... 

Currently he's doing his nursery at kangaroo kids and he's loving it.. The school environment is fantastic and he has learnt so much here I can't begin to tell you... So I wanted something similar...

I also feel, and I may be wrong, but I feel like all these big schools focus a lot more on the kids post the 5th grade... Because that's when they can train them for the 10th grade, the results of which determine  school standing. 

And because of this, I feel the younger batches get left behind with average attention. Decent, I'm not saying they don't care at all, but i feel the degree of attention is just much lesser than I would like. 

So we settled on Besant Montessori. 

We read a lot about the Montessori form of education, really liked it... Visited the school.. It's so old school and simple, the teachers remind me of my teachers, the infra structure is very basic but I think, also after speaking to a few people who's kids are there, their teaching systems are great and very up to date. 

They have big gardens for the kids to run around in, they go to the beach get sand in their feet... What more can a mum ask for really! 

So for all you wonderful people following up on siddy... Besant it is... From next June! 

He's a big boy now! 

Talking about adult stuff!

I recently met an acquaintance, let's caller her M, who is also a mum at a Christmas party... It's been a while since we've met.. She has a toddler boy and a 5 year old daughter... 

I was there, with my pudding of course and there was another couple from my side with a kid and from her side with multiple kids... 

All was good and we all got talking while the kids were playing.. 

We caught up on the whole introductions bit .. How we all know each other and common friends and stuff.. And casually the conversation drifted to kids schools.. 

Now most of us had atleast one kid that was roughly the same age and the rest were a few years up and down.. 

School and admissions as most parents are aware is a major topic of discussion... 

We spoke about it for about ten minutes when M suddenly goes... 

" hey can we not talk about schools and admission processes.. Can we talk about something other than the kids?" 

Hmmmm.. Ok.. A little awkward but everyone agrees and we start talking about movies and film gossip... But at some point the conversation goes to the best kids films that have come out recently and what age is a good age to take the kids to a Theater.. 

So miss M once again cuts everyone short and says " can't we just have an adult conversation or does it always have to veer back to something kid oriented?" 

Now everyone was clearly awkward, because yes, sure we would all like to talk about things apart from our kids, have 'adult' conversations.. But has that ever really happened? 

I mean once you're a mum.. Or a parent .. It's just inevitable.. Natural.. A no brainer really... 

You could be taking about quantum physics and a mum can bring her kid into that conversation... 

It's not like we mean to or want to.. It's not like the baby is really the only thing on our mind.. Ok yes in a way they are.. But to be honest for me atleast.. Anytime I find an opportunity to learn something about something that will help me better, or make easier, my parenting life.. I'll take it.. 

What was really odd was that that's the kind of reaction I expect from a non parent.... I also understand that reaction at a bar or dinner place where the kids aren't there.... But at a kids party.. Very tough! 

Once you're a pattern somewhere you got to admit to yourself that almost 90% of your time and conversations and reading and googling will revolve around something to do with your kids... And that that's ok...! 

Some fun calculations!!

It's been 1011 days today since I had siddy ...  And I just thought about this: 

I must have kissed him around 50550 since he was born keeping 50 kisses a day as an average! 

And 45495 hugs at 45 hugs a day as an average!!  

Been upset with him atleast for 1/4 the time so that's around 252 days... 

Smiled in the day because of him at least 15165 times with around 15 times a day average! 

Laughed with him around the same.... If not more.... 

That's also like 24264 hours with him!! 8088 he's asleep, 3033 he's eating ( an hour a meal 3 meals!!) 

200 days a year in school...  500 days in 2 and a half years that's 1500 hours gone there... 

That leave us with 12000 hours together since he was born!!!! 

Point is I've had this pudding driving me nuts in my life for so long now that I've started doing fun crazy math!!!