Sleepless

It is one minute past ten at night and I am sitting in front my laptop. With only the light from my screen to light up the room it gives the impression of that desperate teenager waiting for the parents to sleep so as to browse the net undetected. But the truth is far from that.

Yes, I am desperate. But not for the filthy reasons creeping up your mind. After the entire day spent on the daily chores and back to back kids 'intervention', I finally get some peace at night. So, I wait. Like the crouching tiger slowly closing in on its prey, I slowly get up from my bed towards my laptop and switch it on. Ah! This silence, this truce. It is precious! And then, as my husband snores away in his sleep and my kids dream away to wonderland (or some cartoon land for all I care!), I sit and check my emails, browse through Facebook, write blog posts( such as this) and update myself with the virtual world.

I like this. Spending my quiet time either browsing or listening to my playlist. It is my 'me' time. Of course, I compromise on my sleep which sometimes makes me drowsy and even giddy at times but I would never trade this reserved time for anything else. I can always catch up on sleep later, is what I tell myself.

Here's to all the night prowlers like me who enjoy doing whatever it is that they do!

Andha Kanoon

The verdict that all Indians have been waiting for is out. All the four accused in the Delhi gang rape case have been sentenced to death by a fast track court. The only good part about the entire episode is that all this was done within nine months of the horrendous crime. But is this good enough? Is it good enough for the victim's soul? Or for her parents? Will any punishment be painful enough for those animals-in-a-human-skin?

There was also a 17 year old among those men who ,allegedly, was the most violent of the lot. Due to his age, he gets to walk away from all this after spending three years in a correction home in the name of punishment. I'm sure he will have no regrets about his acts when he has finished his sentence.

And then what? Should we, the parents, the citizens of this vast and secular nation, wait? Wait for the day when such 'juveniles' commit more crimes and tortures so that the Indian law allows them to be tried in the court as a proper assaulter? Or wait till such people are convicted and meanwhile continue to snatch away our daughters/children?

India is rejoicing today. They say justice has prevailed. I'm sorry but I fail to see the 'justice' in all of this.

Being Round

I'm back! To being a mother again, to being a sulking wife, to being the regular PMS-ing girl and (most irritating of all) being a roly poly overweight version of myself! Although I have been overweight since ages, for the past couple of years I was so engrossed with my pregnancy and baby care that I casually left those thoughts out. After all, I couldn't do much about my weight during the time. And now that I am at leisure to properly gauge myself in the mirror, it isn't a pretty sight, to say the least!

So here I am, thinking about diets and exercises and best ways to lose weight. We will be celebrating my younger son's first birthday in Trivandrum with my in-laws and I don't want to go back as the same old, bigger than ever, me! I could very well do without the mocking glances and sarcastic comments.

Therefore, I have decided to try my best ( and by best I don't mean jumping on the crash diet wagon because I know from experience how harrowing they can be!) by combining exercise and healthy eating and wait to see what follows. Fingers crossed!

"If thoughts had weight, I would be the slimmest person ever!"

Mom Vs Media

A couple of days back I saw an advertisement for Horlicks on TV. It seems that nowadays, these companies can go any length to sell their products. Of course, that's what business is all about but I believed there was a slim chance of setting a limit here. Sadly, I was mistaken.

Here's what the ad was about. When milk is boiled it loses some of its essential nutrients. So you add Horlicks to improve the nutritional quality of milk. I get it, when milk (or any food for that matter) is boiled/cooked, the nutritional value decreases. But to say that by adding Horlicks or any other malt you can make up for the lost goodness of milk, is taking it a bit too far. Another one of Horlicks ad shows the likes of Einstein, Akbar and other prominent people in history not being able to drink plain milk. They couldn't do it so how could you, right?

In today's world of junk and unhealthiness, we parents take sincere efforts and convince our kids to cultivate good eating habits. And then, after all that hard work, along comes a commercial saying that there is absolutely no need to! Come on! Even if there was a slim chance of getting our kids on track, these ads sure know how to topple that all up!

Of course, we adults understand that advertisements are all about exaggeration. But how our little ones react to their selfish act is none of their concerns, apparently. I have to repeatedly remind my son that advertisements are false, they are a lie to make money. I may seem a little out of context here but I'd rather do this than be left speechless when my confused son argues with me over drinking milk just because an advertisement told him so!

Whatever the case, there's no way an advertisement can get away messing up my children's healthy habits because I will make sure it doesn't. But then, there is a thin line between brainwashing and educating as far as the media is concerned. To identify that is where the true challenge lies.

God couldn't be everywhere and that's why he created mothers. (Neat escape, God!)

My new endeavor

My new blog 'Mom Actually' is finally up and I must say I'm pretty excited! A new blog means new brainstorming sessions, new discoveries and new experiences. As the name suggests, it is a 'mom' blog. I plan to pen down my observations as a mother. Whether they are nagging issues or feats achieved, they will all be posted on my new blog.

Since the baby, I have been having so many new experiences and doubts even though it is my second innings as a mom (believe me it is different this time), that I thought I might as well write and  brag about it!

I just hope to keep it interesting with useful information and posts. To my new project!
Here's the link. Check it out!
Mom Actually

Match Point!

Being a parent to one kid is tiring and painful enough, let alone two. The father is like a tennis match audience. Left, right, left, right. By the time the match is over, he is already in great pain. The mother is like the tennis ball. Whether she hits the racket or out of the court, she gets whacked anyway!

Meanwhile..

So, I'm having this calendar stare back at me and I'm surprised how I missed the fact that one month has already zipped by in this new ( and fast!) year. There have been so many tasks and events on my hands and when I finally take a breather....one month gone!

My elder son's school reopened and we are busy with his many tests. Not to mention his karate classes and his oh-so-frequent birthday parties for which I have to practically beg my friends or my husband to do the gift shopping. I have never been so intimidated by birthdays before! And if all this wasn't enough, an impromptu travel with a wailing four month old just about pushed the limits.

So now that I'm back home and settled into that on-my-toes routine, I somehow manage to distract myself with the help of the idiot box. And I find that I'm hooked on to some of the shows on Star World like 'Packed to the Rafters', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Melissa and Joey' and my ever favorite 'How I Met Your Mother'. Though I have to tear myself away from time to time for the baby, I make sure to keep myself updated (Thank God for repeats!!).

I guess that's the reason I'm fairly sane, managing the household and the kids. Kudos to all the mothers out there doing all this and much more!