Taking care of mommy being upset....

I keep telling Milosh - I will be very upset if .... (you threw the clothes that I just folded, cried for more gummy bear etc etc.) Milosh took care of that logic once and for all. Here's how. 

I recently went to his school for curriculum night and the teacher was saying how she puts up her daughter's favorite works of the week on the fridge. I thought it was a good idea - and let Milosh pick some too and asked him to put it on the fridge (which he has only recently learnt when I asked him to put a postcard of a play on the fridge so we don't forget) I might have been over-enthusiastic in appreciating his art work- because he somehow established the idea - that if mommy gets upset, she can go look at the art work on the fridge and she will feel better. He then found this little toy - when you pull the little thread all its limbs kind of jiggle up. He said when you are very upset, I will do this. and that will make you feel better. 

So today there was a lot of noise downstairs - like some serious hammering was in process; it couldn't be good, I asked whats going on and saw how Milosh and Rhea were trying to open gummy bear bottles. Now he knew that they had already had their quota of the day (which is why they had taken the matter in their own hands I suppose) and hence Mommy was going to be upset. Worry not! he immediately went next to the fridge and pulled the red string. 

And of course I laughed! Now I am not sure if I laughed because the child lock worked (thank God for that); or because of Milosh covering his antics with this cute little toy - but hey - it worked! Mommy being upset was well handled!

It tastes like yucky juice, but I like it....

A few months ago I tried a drink called Kombucha (literally because it was the only cold drink available which was not too sugary) - and found it to be magical. We kept buying a lot of GT's gingerade kombucha. I let Milosh drink a few sips and he loved it too. In fact he would ask for it without a context. For the longest time I was not sure if its actually okay for kids. Then I came across blogs which suggested recipes to make kombucha tasty for kids. Then I did some more research and borrowed a book from the library: Cultured food for life. I was amazed at how powerfully healthy some of the cultured foods are. The author specifically recommends - kefir, kombucha, sprouted grains and sourdough bread. Being Indian, we already have some of the fermented foods like idli and dosa in our diet (also Milosh's favorite - including our new family favorite - home made ragi dosa) I got some of these things from the store (like kefir cheese and sourdough bread)- and he immediately loved each one of them. Lo and behold I started making my own kombucha. Milosh now loves it so much, he would fight to get a full bottle. This time he did not even wait for me to second ferment it, flavor it or even refrigerate - and he wanted to taste it - after I gave him a small sip - he said - "It tastes like yucky juice, but I like it... "

I am really glad that Milosh naturally likes some of these things which I consider are really good for gut health. Very proud of him (and myself ;))!  

Coconut milk ice-cream - family style

We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner tonight. The dinner was just okay. But we spotted a coconut milk ice cream - being vegan I was excited about it. We ordered a bowl. It was a good size for us to share. We all tasted a bite - and Milosh decided it was too tasty to be shared. He scooted to one end of the table so we could not share the ice cream. Much of the pleading and begging got us few melted drops. We briefly considered getting another bowl - but decided that was too much sugar for all of us. These are the times when I use my brains :) - ha ha ha - I told Milosh - oh look at that painting - can you count the hats. While Milosh counted, Anuj passed the ice-cream to me! And with some more things on the wall, Anuj got to eat it too. It was so thrilling to steal and eat - ice cream tasted even better. When Milosh turned back we would tell him - this is the same ice cream which he had given us originally. He was suspicious a few times - but mainly because we were laughing. I hope we can continue to use this method again to share ice-cream (at least till Milosh reads this blog he would hopefully not know ;))- totally made my day! 

First sleep over

It was my birthday yesterday. When we told Milosh about it, he said - "I want to go there" :) Vibha, Amit and Rhea had called us over for dinner and we cut the cake etc. After that we left Milosh with them and went out to meet some other friends. Turned out to be Milosh's first official sleep over at a friend's place!

I knew he had been ready for it for a long time, and still last week it hadn't quite worked - and he did still miss his mommy. But not yesterday. He had a great time. Rhea and Milosh form a union when they are together. When offered meals, Rhea announces "We are not hungry, right Mayo?" "We don't want any vegetables or fruits, right Mayo?" I don't remember Milosh having a different opinion on things like these. They do end up having small fights over toys etc. But often they are so fond of being with each other that we can threaten them - no playdates, if you both don't listen to us ;)

Vibha told me one cute conversation they had - they were talking about cars; and Rhea told which car she wants; and then Milosh said he wants a half-car. He probably meant a convertible. He told Rhea when he becomes big, he is going to have his own. He also asked her "Will you sit in my half-car when I grow up?" 

Sept 5th - Janmashtami celebrations

On the eve of my birthday, we got a text from our good friend, who also does a lot of service in the Bellevue Hindu temple - saying all the kids are getting dressed up as Krishna - for a fancy dress competition at the temple. We told Milosh and he was excited about the idea - and wanted to dress up. We found what we could from home and got him dressed up. We tried to tell him a few Krishna stories and turned out he already knew most of them (thanks to dada dadi)! He even sings Hare Krishna really well.

We were so excited as we headed to the temple. The story of all of us living away from India - festivals is when we miss India the most. When we lived in India there is a number of festivals we did not care about much - but here in US we NRIs dress up in our beautiful Indian clothes (thankful for the occasions to put on our ethnic clothes) and huddle together in hundreds in temples designed for 40-50 people. Expecting any sense of order or organization in such functions is like trying to find logic in Hindi movies ;) - but just like Bollywood, they really fill our hearts! For some people its the religious significance, and for others its a sense of community - but always joyful events we all love.

We had told Milosh that he will get laddoos in the temple and patiently waited for it. Across the oceans, his only first cousin Jaadu was also dressed as Krishna.

Bet together they would have won the contest :) 

Show me the dream again ...

Second day at school - very understandable he did not want to wake up in the morning. He had too much fun yesterday and really needs more sleep. When I woke up he said, I was watching pictures you turned it off. I tried to probe what pictures he was watching but he was not very happy. He asked me to turn on the pictures again - which pictures - any pictures. If left to himself, he would have slept a solid 2 more hours. Wish I could show him his dream again!! 

Boys don't wear jackets

Fall season is knocking on the door - as is my little boy's manhood. While the rest of us can stay snug and warm in our jackets and other warm clothes; my son is too cool for jackets - quite literally! I know what other kids do plays an important role for him - so I pointed to another kid (happened to be a little girl) - saying - look she's wearing a jacket. Then he educated me - "boys don't wear jackets." He paused for a bit and told me the names of two other boys in his class who do wear jacket (thank God for that). May be when it gets colder, he will warm up to jackets again! 

Quiet bedtime routine

Parenting can be so hard! Today we had a pretty rough evening. I literally had a wrestling match with Milosh. I was looking at my phone, he tried to snatch it, I took it away, he threw a pillow on me and I tied his hands together, re-using my karate move I had learnt when I was 10. If only I knew I would be using this self defense against a 4 yr old!
Anyway, two nights in a row we have decided to have quiet bedtime, right from the time we take the stairs for the bedroom. It is such a life savior!! Huge rest to my throat! When what we need to communicate has not changed in forever - brush ur teeth, wash ur face. Go to bed. Silence has made this amazing, no more screaming over and over again. It has worked 2 days in a row, and I am very pleased with myself.
today, he wanted to put baby powder all over his body, and I decided to remain quiet. With the forced quiet time, it was obvious that peace of mind is more important than the talcum powder. It's not always obvious.
while Milosh can forcibly open my eyes, he can't force me to talk. Or he hasn't figured it yet ;)