On the evening of Day 3 of the March holidays, Ashwini & Mira were supposed to start swimming lessons at the pool below our unit. But lo and behold, there was rain, thunder and lightning. We postponed the swimming appointment.
Hey, that's OK. Instead, Ashwini & I decided that we'll just spend the evening making pizza.
As this was our first attempt at pizza-making in our brand new oven, great care needed to be exercised. First, it was mummy's job to prepare all the ingredients and of course, Ashwini's to watch over Mira, and occasionally feed herself and Mira with some of the de-boned honey glazed chicken that I was filling up on the plate at the kitchen counter. (Meanwhile, my maid, Priya was helping with opening the can of pineapple chunks, washing of the mushrooms, etc.) When the ready-made pizza dough base was finally spread with pasta sauce, Ashwini and Mira joined me for the fun part: the art of filling the pizza base with an assortment of ingredients - from chicken to onions, to mushrooms to ham to pineapple chunks. Then, there was the last-minute checking of instructions on the temperature setting and tining for pizza-making. All the experience of novice!
The result? Well, we baked TWO yummy pizzas! How's that for a first attempt in rainy weather? Heavenly... (especially when Sreeni helped himself to at least three large slices! He even gave me tips on how to do better. By the way, Sreeni is a cooking genius who doesn't cook unless he must. I was really flattered.)
(Note: On Day 2 of Vacation, Mira's fever hit 40.2 degrees Celsius. I was not amused but she was OK after sometime. Ashwini stayed home too - so that we could all take a break from school! )
It's funny how when the long-awaited holidays arrive, one starts to feel completely washed out! To make matters worse (well, not so bad, really), Mira woke up with a bad chesty cough. She seemed feverish too but the doc confirmed her OK at 37.2C. And kids are fabulous. Despite everything, they remain energetic and cheerful - at least at three years old, they do.
Guess what? I decided to spend the day with my dear Mira . After the visit to the doctor and after dropping off Sreeni's thumb drive at his office (I thought I'll offer to help out with some wifely affection. Such opportunities decrease when the vacation's up!), as well as a few hours of doing nothing in particular, Mira and I napped together (I daresay she found my usually-engaged motherly presence next to her very comforting and vice-versa). Those two hours of slumber were really therapeutic. I'm feeling a whole lot better.
Half an hour to myself is indeed a luxury. I think I hear Mira and she's sounds like she is back with a vengeance. Time to stop the posting and get Mira ready - to drive over and pick up sweet Ashwini from school. And that's most of the day blissfully over ;)
This is more exciting than I thought. With endless possibilities, I now have another outlet for that which I keep within and that which I forget. This must be a wonderful way to archive my thoughts as they begin to challenge my memory (I am hitting the big FOUR-O this year).
About My Little Family
I have three beautiful children who mean the world to me - Ashwini (13), Mira (11) and Dev (5).
Ashwini is an amazing gal. She is a 'thinker' - through and through. She started talking and walking early - before she turned one. She has an impressive vocabulary and is very observant, has a great sense of spatial awareness (she's a walking compass and rarely gets lost) and has a rational way of looking at things (even what she watches on the TV). She showers me with so much love that it makes me feel guilty for not being with her enough. (I wish she could shower her sister with half of that affection she bestows on me. But with sibling rivalry as an unavoidable reality at five years of age, that's asking for the world.)
Ashwini is a busy child with an assortment of learning to juggle - swimming, gym, speech & drama and Tamil language. She has just given up piano and is considering Bharatanatyam (I'm not sure if she's going to take to that but if she does, we'll need to make let something else go 'cos it's the parents who cannot cope!) Of these, she loves speech & drama the most, followed by gym and swimming. Like all other children, she prefers less structure and would rather play at the pool than learn from an instructor! No guesses for what she rather not do:)
Mira is another bundle of joy who arrived in 2005 and I really wanted my second one to bring that extra to the family - the sense of completion - and companionship for Ashwini. And we could never have been more prepared. Armed with an independent spirit, charm and intelligence (as well as a slippery presence) as her arsenal, she has gotten into and out of trouble with sweet innocence. Our and Ashwini's life is indeed more complete - with all her little contributions to life - from stokng the fire to playing with fire and extinguishing the fire. Mira is one highly provocative, communicative and relational child. Mira's first learning will involve swimming, i.e., starting with getting to know water. The rest will be underway.
Dev, (Hari Dev as he is officially named), is the latest addition to the family. A milk guzzler, he's adorable and fun to get to know :) He loves singing and it does not matter what language it is - English, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Chinese. He will pronounce sounds the way he 'hears' them but the tunes will be discernible. It's time he gets some vocal training, and yes, some swimming too cos he believes he can swim!
About My Extended Family
Extended Family:
Most of my first extended family are in India.
My mother, Jija Bhai, is one of two daughters and one of eight children (yes, she has six brothers!) born to the late Madhavan and Lecthimy in Varkala, Kerala (S.India). The names of their children are in this order: (1)Balaji (passed on), (2)Rajaji, (3)Lalaji, (4)Rajan Babu (passed on), (5)Jija Bhai, (6)Anandha Bhai, (7)Sasi (works in Abu Dhabi) and (8)Chandran. All of my mother's siblings are married with families who in a general way of speaking, are still living in India. And I have many, many cousins whose names I hope to spell out in a family tree one day. I heard from Mummy that it was my second uncle, known as Manian Maaman who gave me my name.
My late father, Sathiya Sidhan (or Sathyaseelan as he was named; one of those things about inaccurate records), was the eldest of TEN children of Damodharan and Bhageerathy. Two of his brothers are in Singapore - Sambhasivan and Susheelan - married with two children each. The rest of his family are in India with the exception of my grandparents who have passed on.
My current extended family are all n Singapore.
My sister, Shanthi, is married to Murali who is an editor. Tara and Raul are their children and share a special bond with Ashwini and Mira. Tara and Ashwini are almost like sisters, having spent their early childhood in my mother's home when my sister and I were working in the day. Leena married Rajendran. They are the favourite Kukumma (oops! Elaiamma as Leena insists that she be termed) and Uncle of the all our children. There's some magic in the air each time they come by, and we are just happy to receive them.
