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 :)