What she has been upto and Why i dont get the time to blog!

Hi Friends !

Its been a long time isn't it ? Hope all of you are doing great !!!

Life has been too hectic chasing this toddler !  

1. She powders her face with so much of talcum powder (behind my back , of course) that she can easily win a place as a clown in any touring circus unit

2. And with that makeup, she liberally pours water in the middle of the hall and is found actively swimming (yes, right there in the hall) ! All this when I am busy just for 2 mins!

3. I find my pair of house slippers down in the car park one day ! Apparently she had thrown it out of the corridor grill!

4. I never knew my soap (bathing soap) could be put to use in so many ways. I found her cleaning the bathroom tiles with my soap one day ! And at other times, she uses the same to wash her panties ! 

( She just cannot be dragged away from the bathroom, water, soap etc etc)

5. Yet another day, in 30 secs flat , when I was not wise enuf of her whereabouts, she had emptied half of some anti allergic cream all over the bed (mind you, just when I had removed the bed spread for a change and was about to put on the fresh one!)

The list is definitely not exhaustive, but indicative for sure :)

Needless to say, most of my time is spent in picking up, err, cleaning up all the mess that she manage to create :) and trying to invent ways to engage her time usefully and productively !

She is a little bundle of energy to be watched all the time :) As there are not many (actually, not even one kid) in the apartments that we stay in, its real boring for her and all that pent up energy does not find a release ! To keep her occupied and to get her in touch with kids of her age, I have enrolled her in a music class ! It is more of a sloka class rather than music ! Its twice a week and thankfully, she loves it !

Next week is a busy week for all of us :). With the weekend and the new year and more importantly for us, Jillu's birthday is around the corner as well :)

She is going to be 3 years and time really flies !

Advance wishes to all for the upcoming festive season and the holidays :)

Enjoy !!!

Jillu Talkies - 9

I Bedtime talk
Jillu : yennoda friend a irukkiyaa?? (Will u be my friend?)
Me : (silent)
Jillu : Ammaa
Me : hmmm?
Jillu : nee yennoda friend a irukkiyaa?? (Will u be my friend?)
Me : sure.. irukken da kannnaa. (After a pause..) Friend na, yeppidi da irukkanum ? yenna pannanum? (sure. What do friends do? what should i do to be your friend?)

Jillu Talkies - 8

Jillu (out of the blue) : I want to...(a pause) cricket
Me : huh? what?
Jillu : I want to.. cricket
Me : yenna venum ?
Jillu: cricket paakanum (want to see cricket)
Butler English has started :)


                   ******************

The downpour

of the Whys, the Whats, and the Where's have started. And the "How" is yet to commence.. siggggghhhh.. and I am already feeling drained (??)
Why is it so bright?
Why does the sun rise ?
Why does the sun set ?
Why are the lights switched on/off?
What does the Dosa batter do inside the vessel?
Why are you making food ?
Why is the baby sleeping?
Why is she (her friend from school) going home ?
Where has the puddle of water from the rain gone?
When will rain come next?

The cute little helper

courtesy schooling !

Beans cut into little pieces

The above is a result of Jillu's hard work while I was busy on the same job as well. She cut around 7-8 individual beans and that with a broken cake knife !

The break

was unexpected, unplanned and proved to be very slow, frustrating and endless. Life was in a limbo for close to 6 weeks. And it was a time for many firsts as well.

For, as a starter, my husband was diagnosed with chicken pox. Life came to a standstill, with Jillu being sent to my mom's place, me taking care of him, shuttling between the houses and balancing Jillu's demands for me being with her. And he got it bad and it took nearly 3 weeks for him to get cured. And Jillu was missing school as well. I couldn't send her as the commute logistics became complex.

Thank you, everyone !!!

for all those who called, mailed and left messages in the blog asking for more JilluYennaPan. It gives a very warm and nice feeling when people check up on you, na ? Thank you, again.

The break was unexpected and unplanned.

I will be back soon. My net connection will go down any time now and will be down for the next couple of days, just when I wanted to write a post :( . So just thought will say a quick hi to all :)

Take care and stay tuned in. Will  be back once the broad band connection is all set properly

And Jillu is doing absolutely fine... leaving you with one of her songs...

Krishna madi methaiyadi (Krishna's lap is like a bed)
Aadi vilaiyaadammaa (play along nicely in the lap)
Aadum vari aadi vittu (Play as long as you want)
Alli vizhi moodammmaa (and then drift off to a peaceful sleep in his lap)
Krishna madi Methaiyadi

Adaptation from an old Tamil song where the original version calls for the child to sleep in her Athai 's (Aunt, Bhuva) lap.

And Jillu does not stop there, she goes on with

"I" madi methaiyadi (remember I ? Her buddy friend?)
"Yasodha" madi methaiyadi (Krishna's mom)
"Arrakan" madi methaiyadi (All the raakshash'a in Krishna)
"Amma" madi methaiyadi (thats me of course)
"Appa" madi methaiyadi

and so on and so forth :)

Wah Re Wah !

"Wooowwwwwwww ! Beeauuuuuuutiful "
was the exclamation on sighting our little beauty dressed up so prettily (even if I say so myself :) )


Occasion : An important Family function
Attire :
Paatu Paavaadai, with pretty blouse
Pearl necklace adorning the small neck
Matching bangles jingling all the way
Matching Matching Pottu on the forehead
And Matching Matching slide to hold the hair back 

Her Gyaan (II)

Remember her earlier Gyaan  to all and sundry?

The phase is back now with me as the primary target!

I)

Jillu to me : "Summaa thannila vilaiyaadaadhe. uvaaa varum" 

Translation : Don't play in the water always. You will be sick 

Of sweet and precious vocab !!!

She drinks "Clompan", not "Complan" :)

When we go to Pizza hut, we eat Chizza !

When we finish a meal or a drink, we say "Chinish pannitten"

The first in the list for bribe is always "Binky Bar" (Milky Bar)

She does everything so geautifully :)

The next in the line is a visit to "Engine" (its the "MGM" in the MGM Dizzie world amusement park)

The "Germs" box (The Gems box) is her current most treasured asset

She always asks me "Have you taken the "kas-vees"?" when we venture out.

Any guesses as to what is Kas-vees?

Jillu Talkies - 7

It was dinner time and as is the norm these days, she had a couple of mouthful herself and started being playful which is a sign for me to pick up where she left and start feeding her!

mmm...Sigh....Romba polambareno? but then where is the girl who ate 75% of the food herself? Choligache.. poyindhe.. gone...gone..gone...

My knight (?) in shining Armour

What was a regular interaction turned into a beautiful moment :)

Hubby was slightly annoyed for a very silly happening and he was chiding me (in a slightly raised voice?)

Before I could respond or react, our girl steps in and says in a tone matching his

"Hey, appidilaam solla koodaadhu. Bad Manners ! " (Hey, you should n't say like that. Bad Manners!"

and both of us burst out laughing !

Surprise, Surprise !

A very light smile playing on the lips,
The tone being contrite,
The look being apologetic,
The gesture being spontaneous,
The word uttered instinctively,
She said softly "Sorry."

Dola, Dora and what not?

"Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

"Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

Our home has been resonating with this so called song these past 2 days. It starts slowly and reaches the crescendo with the last "Dola". I am still doubtful as to whether she says "Dola"or "Dora".  When I heard her sing this the first time, I asked her who had taught her and she told me her Aunty at school had taught her!

I was naturally curious and wanted to know which Dora song they had taught her !  She was singing with so much gusto and enthusiasm. I was also surprised because I thought the school wouldn't be teaching Dora songs and also, I didn't think there were any songs of Dora.

"Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

Nee Paadu (this is Jillu asking me to sing)

"Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

(this is me singing (trying) to sing just like her)

"Hey, appidi illa. Appidi paada koodaadhu. Ippidi Paadanum - Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

(this is Jillu lecturing me that my lyrics were wrong)

Me : "Adhe dhaana naanum paadinen"

(frustrated. Iva paadardhe, for sure thappu. Idhula yennna vera correction.- There is absolutely no doubt that she is completely incorrect in her lyrics, on top of that she is correcting me)

To add to the frustration, the Dad gains the upper hand

He sings "Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola : Adhu dhaane? correct dhaane? "

Jillu : Nodding heavily, Amaam, Yes.

So, naan "correct dhaane?" kaekaadhadhu thappaa?

So we all sang along with her "Dola Dola...Dora Dora"

And yesterday, when I picked her up from school, I asked her Aunty

Me : Did you teach her some Dora song?

Aunty : looks perplexed and looks weirdly at me.

Me : (brain working actively to avoid that one thing) Something that goes Dola, Dora.

Aunty : (Still thinking me crazy ) we sing so many songs....

Me : (Ahh.. there you go, you are making me to do it. Please dont make me). No. She says you taught her. Dola, Dora

Aunty : No. I didnt teach any Dora songs.

Me : (Grrr.. there's no other way now. A big Sigh....So, here, I go, making a fool of myself)

"Dola Dola Dola Dola - Dondi buckie Dola"

Aunty : zapped for a second. She stares at me, I stare right back at her unabashed and then I see something click in her. She laughs and sings....

Any guesses?

Come on...

5

..

4

...

3

...

2

...

1

...

Her logic....

Reverse logic :) Did I say that? sssshhhh.... Never mind, but still her logic :)
Jillu wanted to go to temple all of a sudden and I said, why not ? lets go!
So, out came my bike and we were on our way ! Out of the blue, madam says "Stop" and "I want to walk" in Tamil.
Me : illa da. Konjam dhooram. Jillu ku kaal valikkum (Its a bit far and your legs will pain)
Jillu : Ammaam. Unakkum kaal valikkum. (yes, Your legs will pain as well)
Me : Yenakku vallikaadhu (My legs wont be in pain)
Jillu : hey, chummaa sollaadhe. valikkum (hey, dont say just like that. It will pain for you as well)
Me: Unaaku dhaan daa valikkum. nee chinnavo illa. unakku dhaan valikum. (No da. Only you will be in pain as you are still a little girl)
Jillu : Ammaam, nee chinnaa aaana udane, unakkum valikkum (Yes, it will pain for you also when you become little!)
Me : ??? LOL :)

It has been a long while

since I posted here. Jillu's school timing and schedule is keeping me on my toes :) leaving me no free time for extra activities. Her nap time is taken up for my other house hold activities. So have not been able to login at all. She has started enjoying school, so that is one hurdle off the way, now :)

A welcome sign !

At the end of the first uninterrupted (100% attendance), 3 1/2 hours (full time) session a day, 5 day week, 

Jillu exclaims suddenly today (Saturday)

"I want to go to school "

There were hiccups and starting trouble on the first 2 days of the week, but her Aunty vouches for her settling in well once she's in. 

And today's sudden proclamation is certainly a bonus. 

I am keeping my fingers crossed, Jillu. 

Hope you settle in well and may all the coming years of growth / learning be full of fun and joy.

Of Mushy Talkies

Jillu is such a joy to be with, always. Sometimes she robs me of my speech with utter delight and makes me float on cloud 9.  These are moments to be cherished always and to be looked upon with fond memories down the years; that makes me appreciate life all the more, motivates me to enjoy to the max (while she is still young) and make each moment matter.

Jillu's script for Milk advertisement...

 

I love this ad :). Loved it the first time I saw it :)

Smiley Chat :)

Appa has been abroad for the past 10 days :( she misses him most in the mornings. More often than not, she would ask "Where is Appa?" immediately after getting out of bed !

And how does she communicate with her Appa? Her PC skills have vastly improved from this to traversing between applications, opening up pics and chatting with her dad. Want to know how and what she chats with her Appa? 

3rd week of school - contd

Monday : As I said in the previous post, she was howling when she went in, in spite of the park offer right after school. After a tense 2 hours, I was waiting anxiously at the gates and saw no other parent. So, I gathered she was the only one being let off at that time. And as the clock ticked away past the hour, I slightly relaxed. And then, a couple of minutes later, the Aunty came, followed by Jillu and she was looking normal. Apparently she had stopped crying once she went into her class room and was alright post that :)

2nd week of school - 2 hr sessions

2nd week : 2 hour session daily.

For the first week, read this

Tuesday :  I had prepared her saying that she will have to remain in school after snacks time as well as Amma was taking grandma to the Dr and hence Amma would be late in picking her up ! She seemed OK to the idea and accepted it well. She was perfectly fine.

JilluYennaPan completes 1 year..

Happy First Birthday :) .. to this blog :)

When I started this blog a year ago, I did not anticipate that I would be so regular in blogging and in fact would say, did not know what I was getting into :) This blog was born impromptu purely for recording all of Jillu's activities and talkies that I might forget later.

Of Bonding talkies and B meets

I was about to write about this in my other blog but,

 Me proposes,

Jillu disposes

and how did that happen ? When I went shopping today and called my mom to check on something from the shop, this transpired

Netrum, Indrum, Yendrum

Then, Now and Ever...

One of her Passions...

- Doesn't get bored of it all !

- "Naan thodiakanum ga" (I want to scrub) is the daily standard dialogue to the maid

- And the maid and I oblige daily

The next inevitable milestone

has commenced.

Jillu has become a preschooler. We have enrolled in her a Montessori school. We have spent the past 3 to 4 months preparing her (brain washing, drilling, ore ore build up) for the school. The build up could be any of the below or all

- you will have lots of annaas & akkaas (brothers and sisters) to play with

- lots of play time and activities - Jhoola, slide etc

- Daily taaataa

- Make lots of friends and bring them home

- Draw, Color, Paint, et all

- Learn ABCD, etc

Just what would you do

when your almost 2 1/2 years toddler does this (almost as a full time job) in a  men's show room when you are out there to buy shirts and trousers for the dad ??? 
I mean, apart from thanking the stars for the shiny and tiled, clean flooring ?

Jillu Talkies - 6

Sunday, Hair bath time !
The house literally reels with her refusals to even enter the bathroom ! (She normally does not mind taking her usual daily bath! But  hair bath is special ! ) And then somehow, I make her go inside and she starts crying soon after. I tell her
"Why do you cry now ? Do not.  I am not washing your hair right now. Thats later. I am only bathing your body presently."

Of Cheeky Talkies

Amma checks with Appa before starting for monthly groceries shopping "Cash yeduthundaachaa?" (Have you taken the cash ?)

Immediately Jillu parrots "cash yeduthundaachaa?" several times :)

Her Priorities

One morning last week, I was preparing lunch while planning to toast bread for breakfast for Jillu.

I checked with her first and she said okay for the bread.

I was doing multitasking and preparing food for lunch as well ! She was at the back of me totally, running with me from kitchen to the fridge and viceversa, demanding to show her what I was doing (which is the norm). And just when I took out a half-coconut from the fridge, she said

Roles Reversed - 3

Last evening, Jillu was at her most co-operative best ! She let me prepare dinner with literally no intervention at all ! Both of us co-existed peacefully, so to speak :)

At the start, both of us came to a mutual agreement - that she would do her puzzles and I would cut the veggies, but I would sit along with and beside her ! She even chose the place where we would go about her business. And so it was that mother and daughter were sitting on the pathway to the bedroom (Thank god, there was no else at home then) and each of us were doing our stuff with amicable chatter. 

Her (non-) Preference !

I didn't  realize how many times I had to get hold of my kid's chin in a day!  and I never would have but for Jillu !

I hold her chin  while

1) helping her brush her teeth

2) washing/cleaning her face during bath time

3) combing her hair

4) dressing her up (keeping bindhi and stuff along those lines)

"SO, What is your name ?"

We have been playing the name game now for some time and its great fun :) Each time, the routine takes a different route and is too difficult to explain ! At least for me. But I am going to try here :)

It all started with me asking her  "What is your name ? " and thinking to train her in English :)

There are too many permutations and combination thats confusing even to me (hilarious nevertheless). The new ones are always good, but there are also certain routine interactions that are funny and that never fails to bring a smile to my face :). Here are some first timers and some routine ones!

Thermocol Crafts

Here's our entry for the May Artsy Crafty challenge !

I had some thermocol packing material that came along with TV or Music system. Don't remember which one ! I thought I will use that to come up with some thing !

After great scrutiny (yes, it was too haphazard and could not be used as such!), I spotted a mini staircase form at one end and my mom spotted a sloping area at the other end.

Of Rainy Dailogues !!!

Its raining in Chennai ! Can you believe ? A wonderful atmosphere (after the unbearable sultry heat) :) We need the lights on even during day time today :) And our girl is on a spree with rainy dialogues in spite of feeling under the weather for the past 2 days! Yep! again down with cold and wheezing  :(

She sees the rain and starts singing contextually "Mazhaiye Mazhaiye,  Po  , Po, Po"  (the tamil rhyme equivalent to "Rain Rain go away " )  and then goes on to sing the original version as well !

And then, when her dad says he is going to take bath, she says

"Appa, nee mazhai la JO kuli " ! (Appa, you take bath in the rain!)

and we are all zapped ! As far as I know, she didn't see anyone getting drenched and I tried to find out the same from her. But no amount of asking and nagging  helped ! (normally i get an answer of some sort or the other)

So am bound to think she thought of that on her own !

Her Gyaan these days !!!

" Nikkadhe. Ukkaru. Nindhaa kaal valikkum. Ukkaandhaadhaan kaal valikaadhu"

to  whomsoever is standing near her! And she does not rest until we sit ! How is that ? :)

Translation : Do not stand. Sit. Your legs will pain if you stand. Only if you sit, they shall not pain

Jillu Talkies - Humor 4

Its become a daily habit to Dhrishti suthify Jillu at night before bed! 

Last night :

My mom was doing the rituals with Karpooram (camphor) and I was carrying her ! She was as usual reaching out to the flame and I was dissuading her ! 
And then, I told her "Jillu, Say Goodnight " ( I meant Say to Patti, of course!)
But, Jillu says with her customary salute "Good night, kalpooram !" in a sing song voice !

Jillu talkies - rhymy vocab !

Several Months back :

Me : Jillu, plug yedu. Apram chocie, bikkie yellam saapida mudiyaadhu (Jillu, remove yr plug. Otherwise you wont be able to eat chocies or bikkies)

(If you are interested to know more about Jillu's plug, this would tell you more )

Random titbits

**       A real self  Dabbaa (boasting), if you can ever see one :).
 
"naan yevalo azhaama chamathaa udambukku kulikaren theriyummaa ?" Yen kitteye indha dialogue when I am giving her the bath ( Am taking bath without crying. See, how good I am )
"Ava yevalo azhaagaa vechirukkaa paaru " (See, she has kept it beautifully)
"Ava yevalo chamthaa chaapadraa paaru " (See, she is eating like a good girl)
ad so on and on and on,

Color, Color, Which color do you choose?

Jillu's art using the Microsoft Paint Application 

Her latest craze : "Naan color pannanum Amma." (I want to color, Amma)

The fight for the PC has started before the fight for the remote :)

Movie - Debut

What did Jillu do on her first visit to the theater to watch a movie ? (well, it was not that she asked to go..)

- Sleep, Sleep and Sleep. From the movie start, right through the interval, till the end. Woke up on her own when the credits rolled.

And the end result : She still is oblivious about movies, theaters and the likes, thankfully :)

And why did her family subject her to this last week suddenly when they have avoided this for this long?

You can't cheat me !

Jillu's family buys drinking water - the famous water cans! Well intended, yes! But, God knows how pure it is and one can never be sure ! The family's vote is yet to be cast on Aquaguards and RO's and others available in the market. But I shall reserve this analysis for another post.Coming to the topic,

It has become a normal practice for Jillu to hand over the cash for all transactions that happen in her presence.
Usually, the delivery boy comes home and delivers the water can once we order on the phone. Yesterday, as a deviation from the usual, a different boy, not the regular one(I have not seen him before, may be he's a new guy, or may be he's not) came along with another guy who seemed to be either a supervisor or owner ! Lets call him the supervisor for now!

The boy kept the can inside and left after taking the previously emptied can! I gave Jillu the money and she hurried after the boy outside, only to note that the boy was nowhere be found !

The waiting supervisor, naturally , extends his hands towards Jillu to receive the cash! Jillu, instinctively, withdraws her extended hand, takes a step back and looks towards the stair case, obviously still searching for the boy who actually delivered the can ! And she refuses to pay the waiting guy!

The supervisor was highly amused and the money was parted after I explained the scenario in simple terms to her !

She's on the right path

for now ...

She made my day last Saturday :)

TV channels on Holidays and Special occasions air nothing but film after film through out the day !!! Saturday, being May day, was one such occasion.

My husband was as usual watching some film in the TV and needless to say, a fight scene happened ! These days, you need to search for the story in between the fight sequences and it goes to a point when one forgets why certain fight happens and between who. Yes ! this happened recently to my mom and I had to explain to clear her confusion ! sigh! Why can't people think above violence and make better movies? sigh again !

But getting back to the topic,

when Jillu saw the fight, she immediately told her dad

"Avulukku idhu pidikalai. bayamaa irukku. maathidu" (She doesn't like it. its scary. change the channel) . Yeah ! she still doesn't know to say "I" and "Me" :)

and then the dad could do nothing but change the channel. When Jillu saw a song in the other channel, she immediately said

"idhu nalllaa irukku" (This is nice)

I was so elated when this happened ! I always ask my husband to change channels and not to show her violence ! It does not always happen for some reason or the other and I am so glad that Jillu knows now to voice her thoughts and fear aloud and get what she wants !

Since Saturday, she has been re-iterating it and even last night she said
"Sandai venaam. Vera paakalaam" (No fight. we will see something else) for a mini fight in a tele-serial!

Jillu, I hope you remain this way and always support Ahimsa ! God Bless you!

And the most talkative award goes to...

None other than Jillu !

yep ! she talks, talks and talks ! Non stop from morn till night ! Everything that she talks makes sense if you get down to her level. Mostly, we understand all and try to reciprocate. But some, we just don't get it !

She was talking all through the trip (we had been to a week's vacation) non stop! So many questions ! Her curiosity and inquisitiveness was literally transparent ! Only, after a certain stage it gets very difficult to answer the same kind of question for every situation!

Apart from the non stop chatter, She has also got the habit of asking "What" for everything these days ! I donno from where she got this idea ! Imagine being asked "what" for every single thing !

You give her cheese, she asks "What cheese?". You respond "Amul cheese", she still asks you "What Amul?" in Tamil

You show her the beach, she asks "Yenna Thanni ?" (What water?), you tell her "Beach water", she asks you "Yenna Beach?"

You give her milk, she asks "Yenna milk?", you tell her "Aavin milk", she comes back with "Yenna Aavin ?"

get the drift ? Imagine this for every single thing that happens to her through out the day!

I thought only we were the lucky ones to be exposed to this somewhat sweet torture, but no! she has gone a step ahead and started doing this to strangers as well !
The carpenter who had come to our home to do some quick fixing during the weekend has run helter-skelter and he's yet to return to complete the pending work !

Jillu : Nee yenna panre? (What are you doing?)
Carpenter (busy with his stuff) : Naan yen velai panren (I am doing my work)
Jillu : yenna velai? (what work?)
Carpenter : Naan ottaren (I am patching up)
Jillu : yenna ottare? (what are you patching up?)
Carpenter : paste ottaren (I am applying the paste)
Jillu : yenna paste? (what paste?)
Carpenter : Yemmaa, idhukku mela yennaala badhil solla mudiyaadhu ! inime pesineenaa naan yen veetukku unna thookittu poyiduven ! (I can't answer you beyond this ! if you keep talking, i shall take you to my place !)

P.S : No, that dire warning did nothing to stop the little devil ! The same trend continued and sometimes, even the same set of questions were repeated again :)

A mad rush again!

This time again, its the last minute rush! 

I am reminded of many sayings in Tamil 
- yevalo kuppara vizhundhaalum meesaila man ottradhu dhaan ottum
-chattiyil irundhaa dhaan aapail avarum 
and so many others. (non-Tamizhians, please excuse me. All these roughly means that  basically that you need to have inherent talent in you in the first place to do well and that I am trying out stuff (art) that does not come easily to me and it shows :) ! )

However, not stopping with the March entry, I have gone ahead with April and here's our entry to April month's Artsy crafty challenge! And today is the last day !

There will be some words which you will be familiar with, but will not know great details about it. Do you know of any such words? "Papier mache" was one such word for me. Knew it, but didn't know much about it as well ! As usual, google became the "Aabath baandavan!"

So, this is my first attempt at papier mache and did the basic stuff for the first time!

So, here's the papier mache chair!

I prepared the form for the chair using just card board strips. Cut out appropriate lengths of cardboard and stuck them together to form the chair.
This was followed by 2 layering of papers. I wanted to do 4, but due to lack of time, stopped with 2. 
After allowing to dry, I used acrylic paint to color the chair!

Recipe for papier mache paste : Mix 1 cup flour with 1 cup (may be even less) water to glue consistency without forming any lumps.

There are still lots of rough edges in the corners and they need to be smoothened out! But one has only so much patience at midnight :) That was the only time I could manage and the result shows :)  It took me 1 hr for preparing the chair and 1 hr each for the 2 layers of paper mache and 1 more hr for painting. The rest of the time was basically for drying

Now that I have completed one, hoping to try out more and come up with better ones than these hopefully!

I actually wanted to make beads and a necklace/bracelet out of them as a second attempt and then present that to the challenge, but didn't find enough time for that ! But anyways planning to try it out in leisure.

Dear Jillu,

You are 2 yrs and 3 months old and you are growing up too fast for me! Crossing each milestone too fast as well ! While I enjoy each and every thing that you do, I find that I need to grow up as well along with you and these are my thoughts at this point in time 

http://a-peep-into-my-world.blogspot.com/2010/04/dear-jillu.html

Jillu Talkies - Humor 3

Paati is watching her one of those serials and Jillu is happily lying on her lap.


The Scene in TV :
The camera first focuses on Lord Venkateshwara. Its a big picture of him and then goes to reveal that its a pic hanging on the wall of a house. Jillu is avidly watching this. Next, in comes a mid-aged man (a parental character in the serial, obviously), positions himself partially in front of the picture and then starts talking on his mobile


And my dear lovely Jillu says :


"hey nagaru. naan ummachi paakanum " (Hey, move. I need to see the God!)

Celebrations time !!!

Wonder what all the noise is about ?? Can you guess ? Its actually double celebration time!


First, Jillu has been awarded :) Yes !
AJCL has awarded the beautiful blogger award to this blog :). and I am thrilled for Jillu. Chotu's mom is known for her beautiful writing and her words always has a beautiful and soothing effect on me. So, I am even more thrilled to get such an award from her and all credit goes to Jillu as this blog is totally driven by her alone:)
Thank you, Chotu's Mom :)

I pass on the award to
Satish : His poems in Tamil are so very beautiful and I love reading them.
AJCL : I wish to award you too, as I already said, I love your writing. (Is there any rule saying you cant pass on the award to the one who passed it to you ? If so, please ignore it :) )
Swaram : Her blog always cheers me up :). She has a way of writing that makes me feel as though she is standing in front of me and talking to me in person. Each one of her posts has something good and something to make me smile :)


Second, I have been awarded too. Want to know what it is ?

I would display this in my other space as well :)
Thank you, again AJCL.  I am so glad to have known you and am just waiting to meet you guys :).


And I pass on the award to
CG, ssstoryteller, Varun's Mom, L_R, Pattu's Mom, Swetha

Last night

@Dinner...

My dad was having his dinner and she was as usual all over him and troubling him. At the same time, she's her most hospitable self when he is having dinner, encouraging him to have more, urging me to serve him more, instructing him how to eat and so on and so forth. 

Last night saw a lot of stuff in addition to the above :)

At first, she offered to feed him :). We somehow managed to convince her otherwise :) 

Then, she was standing on the chair (my dad was sitting ) behind him and generally making a nuisance. We told her to get down and let him be in peace.

She got down, stood near the chair, held one of the chair legs and told my dad

" Naan unna pidichikaren. Nee labakku nu saapiduviyaan. yenna ? " (I will hold you and you will gobble up the food. Ok ?) as though he was throwing tantrums for eating :)

"Yeh thaathaa, nee yen mammu ondi saapidra ? kaai thottundu saapidu" (Why are you having only rice ? eat along with veggies)

After he finished eating,

"Nee yenna paduthaama saaptiyaa?" (Did you eat without troubling me ?") My highly amused Dad said "Ofcourse"

"Nee good girl la saaptiyaa ? " (Did you eat like a good girl?) to which the rejoinder was "Naa good boy yaa saapten " (I ate like good boy)

Cricket fever

If you hear Jillu saying "Wooooowwwwwwwwwwww" (Yep, thats how elongated it is :) ) when she is watching TV, 

• There are sure shot chances that she is indeed watching cricket in the TV (Yes, the IPL season has got to her as well !). 
• However, there are no sure shot chances that it is a 4 or a 6. The "Wooow" could be for anything, even for a dot ball :). But if you ask her how the umpire will signal a 4 or a 6 or an out, you will be surprised, for she will show you those correctly :). She learnt these many months back.

When I was about to flip the channel for a moment last night , she (loudly) tells me

"Naan cricket paakanum. Maathaadhe" (I want to watch cricket. Don't change!). Sounds as though she is very knowledgeable right ? Appidiye yennamo cricket laiye oorinaa maadhiri oru pechu :)

and then when the game is on, she asks me,

"Naama anga polaamaa? "(This question is being asked for everything she sees in the TV these days. Temple, cricket, boating etc.) So cricket cannot claim exclusive rights for this :)

No title is going to do justice...

Jillu, lately, has been up to crazy things. Regular readers of Jillu will know that she is getting to be really independent and wants to do everything herself. But no one (including me) could believe that she could go to such extent.

The other day, I was sitting in front of my PC and doing my usual stuff that I do. You have the right to ask:  "what  stuff?" as I have not even updated her blog for so many days! But if you do ask, I may not know the answer :) 

Jillu, these days, can be left alone for a couple of minutes away from my prying eyes and as I said, I had just sat down at the PC. I was doing my stuff and I could hear her doing her stuff in the hall with her play things. And in the background, I heard the cooker blow the first whistle. Me thinks, OK 3 more to go. 

Half a minute goes by. 

Jillu comes running to me and says

"Cooker whistle vandhudhu. Adhaan" (The cooker whistle came. Thats why)

Me : (distracted) hmmmm

Jillu : (looking seriously at me) cooker whistle vandhudhu. Adhaan (The cooker whistle came. Thats why)

Something in her tone made me look at her this time and what i read in her face raised alarm bells all over my head (and body) 

Me : "Adhaan ? yena panne ? (Thats why ? so what did you do ?)

I didn't wait for her reply but rushed to the kitchen to see that the gas stove has been switched off after the first whistle !!!

Edited to add : Now, she has taught me that I cannot leave her alone even for half a minute. A bitter lesson to learn, I tell you. And it is so scary !!! My mind conjures up thousand and one images and scenarios that could go wrong when she is near the gas ! My whole body just shudders thinking about it ! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

Appreciations Galore !!!

No one appreciates me (us) better than Jillu.


I sing in my most baritone voice and Jillu says


"Nanaaa paadaraiyee" (You sing soooo well !) and my dear husband laughs out loud. Really, I sing so badly and she is the only one (currently ) to appreciate me :). She is the only person who has ever appreciated me for singing. All I have to do is sincerely attempt to sing a song. She realizes that and immediately says " Naanaaa Paadaraiyeee"


And then when i eat, "Nannaa saapidaraiyee" (You eat soo well!)


And when I blow her whistle,"Naanaaa oodharaiye" (You blow the whistle sooo well!)


and so on and so forth :)


you get the drift ??

Innocence at its best :).No one has appreciated me more and especially for singing :) and I relish as long as it lasts for surely, she is bound to stop doing that one day :(

Jillu talkies - 5

Jillu these days is becoming fiercely independent, adamant, stubborn etc etc etc..Wants to have her own way and wants to do everything ( i mean everything- even the stuff I do) on her own. This leads to some tug of war between the two of us and some strict talking from me. On one such occasion, when I was on my tirade (includes advise, preaching, teaching, scolding et all),  she told me very cutely

"Amma vum Jillu vum sanda podaraaa" (Amma and Jillu are having a fight!)

Me : #$%^&?????????

                          *************************

When we were going out for our evening outing the other day, she suddenly told me, 

"Naan ammanamma irukken" ( I am naked!)

Me : (quite taken aback ! She was properly and very cutely dressed up and all that ! ) Illa da. Nee dress laam pottundu irukke! Dress laam illa na dhaan ammanam. Ippo kidaiyaadhu! (Basically explained to her that she will be naked only if she does not wear any clothes!)

Jillu : Avuthaa dhaan.

Me : yes!

And then we were on our way on my bike. And then Jillu suddenly exclaims

"Amma anga paaru, Jhoo ! Jhoo* ammanamaa irukku paaru ! (Ma, see there, the dog ! The dog is naked !)

Me : LOL!

*Jhoo means dog in Jillu's language

                          *************************

The next generation takes a further step in luxury...

A lot of talking, thinking and singing goes on while she is sitting on her potty. Yesterday, when she saw me put on the bedroom fan for self, she looked up at the bathroom ceiling and told me

 "San illa". ( Meaning no fan. yeah, she has not yet got the pronunciation for the letter  "f" )

Me : Yenga illa? (where?, knowing very well where)

Jillu : (pointing to the ceiling) Bathroom la illa  (its not there in the bathroom)

Me : Ammmam. yenna pannanum? (Yes, what to do ?)

Jillu : Podanum (need to put on one!)

Me : Yedukku podanum ? (why?)

Jillu : Jillu ku.. pogardhukku...(For Jillu..)

Adhisayam , Annaaal Unmai (A wonder , but true!)

I never thought I would do this ! Get crafty and do art ! Participate/ contribute to a puppet contest ! For more details please visit the lovely blog with the Artsy -Crafty contest for March

Inspired by clowns and aliens, (Thank you, Uma) I rummaged among all the clutter that we had to see if I could make up anything for Jillu. And, not to my surprise, lot of unused things were scattered around the place. However, I was inspired by a chewed (by Jillu obviously) rubber ball to make a girl out of it.

Since the rubber ball came handy with a smiley, I had a ready made face. I just used my used rubber band for the hair and cut strips of another rubber band to make the wisps of hair on the forehead. Jillu's baby bangles made gorgeous hooks for the girl's ear. As soon as I was just fitting around loosely to see how it looks, Jillu loved it and immediately named her Dolly. So here, I (We) present  Dolly to you :)

So how does it become a puppet ? I used the cap of a specs holder as a base for Dolly. So now, Jillu can put her finger inside the cap and do puppet shows.

Now Dolly is lonely and has no one to play with ! And she wanted to go on a ride too ! (Just like Jillu does always)! When Dolly was scouting for a play mate, there came along this cutie elephant.

The elephant was absolutely simple to make and I followed instructions from here. 

As I already had a gray paper plate, I skipped the painting part and just reversed the paper plate. I used black bindhi for eyes.

And then we use our hands to make the trunk and it becomes puppet as well. I just loved this ! 

You will have to bear with the poor pic above as I was using my one hand for the puppet and the other for clicking shots.

So to get back to our story, Dolly was real excited to see the Jumbo (elephant) and was jumping up and down ! And the jumbo delighted her by giving a ride.. How ? Look here..

A really simple story right ? I am a very bad story teller and couldn't make up beyond this :( But I loved doing it. 

Jillu has seen the dolly. But she is yet to see the elephant. I made both, though Jillu helped me with the glue-ing part (rather she applied glue all over my dress :) ) for making the Dolly. 

Both can be easily made by 3 yr old kids, I guess