A post about me

I promise, this post is all about ME. I'm not going to mention the children, the husband or anyone around me.

I've been blog-walking lately. Well not really, I just have a friend (it's ok to mention a friend who's far away :p) Grace, who blog-walks and occasionally throws blog pages to me. Some I just scroll through and forget about it, some stick. Really stick. Like Kennysia for example, was the most recent one.

In one of his entry, I remember Kenny said it's easier for a girl to blog because a girl can just post a few self-photos of themselves. He called it bimbo poses. Let's see if I can get it right.




The cute pose.... Please excuse me, I had to hold the "not-allowed-to-be-mentioned-in-this-post" because no one else can and will disturb the posing process!



those are my new colourful hair clips, given by Preeti...






So I see the cute one is sucking thumb, so maybe I should try that, see if I look any cuter (not than her, but than the-usual-me-before). Whaddayathink?

Anyways, made a new blog with Grace - bolehjuga, should check it out! My poem-making skill has turned sour, and some people actually appreciate it! Ha!

I so want to watch ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS the movie!!!!! I'm a die-hard fan of Alvin and the chipmunks, I think they're the most talented chipmunks in the whole world. Their recordings are to die for. Have you heard their christmas album? The best Christmas album EVER!!!!!

Locked inside on stormy weather

I was shit scared this afternoon. The rain fell heavily and it just didn't sound like the usual. I looked outside, and wow. The tree was swaying left and right, with the thunder repeatedly threatening me. I just couldn't bear to look and pretend everything was okay. I turned off the television because the lights seemed to be flickering. Thankfully Aga understood when I said "We have to turn TV off now because it's raining outside and it might break the TV."

Preeti called only to add to my fear. They lost the power in their house. My first thought was the fridge. We have so much stuff in the freezer, enough to make me start praying. Where is Nagi when I need him?! Huh. Why something like this must happen when he's far away? >.<

I kept my mobile phone in charge although it was still full from charging all night the night before. Thankfully it didn't last very long. Maybe between half an hour and an hour? I wasn't really paying attention to the clock.

Sure enough, when Aga heard the rain stopped, he wanted the TV on. When I looked outside the kitchen window again, this is what I saw:


Two of the trees in the backyard fell down! OMG. Shocking. I still don't know what to do about it. My plan is to wait for Nagi to sort it out. I checked the front yard, all trees are still stuck to the ground, and the car is still parked and intact. Phew!

Then Visali called, saying she's on her way to our house to see us. I said we're all fine, there's no need for that. She insisted, reporting on how the roads are flooded, I kept saying we're fine we're fine, and while she was chatting with me on the phone, I can hear Preeti's voice "Hey the traffic lights are off!" OMG. Yeah don't come here, please. Very dangerous to drive when traffic lights are off! It was during busy time too, about 5:30pm.

There is another sad story I came up about this too. Around the fallen tree, there was this bird which didn't seem to move away from it. I didn't know what it was trying to do. I'm just hoping the tree didn't have its nest in it, but I just couldn't do anything about it, sorry bird.

Meanwhile, the storm didn't seem to bother little Lila. She's busy trying to stand up. She's trying to stand up against the sofa. Against her rocking chair. Against the TV table. Against my leg. All the time. And chatting with each one too. Chatting with the sofa. Chatting with her rocking chair, Chatting with the TV table. Chatting with my leg... Like this: "Ah-hah-hah. Eh-he. Et ta. Ham ma.." er... don't ask me to decode them.



Here's the video for those who prefer live-action one. :D


PS: Gracie, her bangs are not too long, if anything it's probably too short? Or maybe... uneven? ;) I cut it a week back because it was too long, covering her eyes! Maybe I should have cut the rest also, but just didn't have the confident to do so. You see how the bangs turned out! >.< I'm planning to shave her head in Semarang though!

When your actions are limited...

When you ran out of options, what do you do? We IMPROVISE.

The little princess nowadays are very clingy to me. She wants to be in the same room as I am. I have to be in her line of sight otherwise she'll start screaming. While it's flattering, it's also frustrating at the same time because I get to do NOTHING.

I was going to cook yesterday and she was very very clingy, holding on to my pyjamas, crawling around me and trying to climb my leg all the time. I even asked Agastya to babysit her, and he did his best, but she just wants her mommy.

So this is what I did so I could cook yesterday:


YES. I put her inside the laundry basket and gave her things to make banging noises. She was happy and so was I.

I thought she looked super cute so I delayed my cooking for further 5 minutes for picture time.

Lila - on her knees

This girl is in a hurry. She had just mastered crawling, now every opportunity she gets, she'll start climbing. Most of the times now she's on her knees with her whole body up (kneeling down position). She'll beg you to make her stand on her feet, and when I hold her on her armpits, she'll be at her jolliest mode. She definitely recognise words. Her favourite one is currently "Ollie", the character from Sesame Street. Oh, Elmo's friend, man. He came on Nick Jr. for two-minute sessions, and she LOVES Ollie!

Her knees are so active, I have to put her long-pants whenever I put her on the floor, otherwise her knees will be all scraped. At this rate, I probably need knee pads!

Here's the video, where she's trying to munch the toy box.




Then we went to the park, one of Aga's favourite place. Photos and video:







Aga is a very sociable person. He's at his happiest when he's surrounded by a lot of people. Friends, family, etc. He's not at all shy and he's an attention grabber. Now that Nagi's gone, I know he feels lonely because he keeps asking "Where's Daddy, Mommy?", and the first few times I answered "Daddy's in Japan". Now whenever he asks me, I answer "Where do you think he is, Aga?", and he'll say "Japan.", followed by "Aga wants Semarang. Aga wants Opa Wiwik, Aga wants Oma Lina." First few times I tell him "Yes, Aga. We'll definitely go to Semarang AFTER Daddy comes back from Japan". Now whenever he tells me Aga wants Semarang, I ask him "Yes, Aga. We'll definitely go to Semarang, when?" He'll reply "After Daddy comes back from Japan! Yay!"

I'm glad I decided to go to Semarang. He'll be so lonely here with half the Visali troops in India and Nagi in Japan. I know he'll be very happy.

My son the superstar

The title says it all. :D

We just went to the school concert, and I thought he did very well. I was worried because when I put on the little Indian costume in the morning, he said he didn't want it and kept nagging and complaining, wanting to take it off. I told him he looked handsome and nice. He didn't believe me and only after my Babybel offering then he stopped complaining. Forgot all about it, maybe.

He got excited when he saw 9 other people dressed up just like him so I'm glad and was sure from that moment on that it was going to be swell.

He did reaaaaaaaaalyy well.

Lila was good too. She slept half the show, and quietly sitting on my lap the rest half.

I'm not going to put up all the videos because that would be painful for me :p, but I'll put up some pictures. Okay okay. Two videos, and some pictures.

Here they are.

The 10 Little Indians - full show! Here, he's one of the two little Indians who diligently went horse-riding.


The Nursery Samba - only half the show. Here, he's the Spider, the one who sat next to Little Miss Muffet on The Nursery Samba. Yes, the same spider who's anxiously itching to get to the stage, hence peeking away from inside. I never knew a spider can be so cute. :D



Aga - The Shepherd:




Two Shepherds:




Aga - The Spider:




Thirsty Spider:

My Grandfather's clock

This was part of "Favourite Nursery Rhymes" CD, when I played it, I remembered my grandfather and I thought this is a very sad nursery rhymes. I wouldn't have been able to explain had Agastya asked me what it meant.

My grandfather's clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride;
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

CHORUS:
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

In watching its pendulum
Swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood
The clock seemed to know,
And to share both his grief and his joy.
For it struck twenty-four
When he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

CHORUS

My grandfather said
That of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time,
And had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place,
Not a frown upon its face,
And its hand never hung by its side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

CHORUS


It rang an alarm
In the dead of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit
Was pluming for flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time,
With a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

CHORUS

See... sad isn't it? 19th Dec was my grandpa's birthday. I hope he rest in peace.

Nagi's away in Japan for 2 weeks. Agastya has been a very good boy in his dad's absence.

Usually in the nights, we have to 'force' him to go to sleep.

Me/Nagi: Aga, time to sleep.
Aga: No.
Me/Nagi: Let's go to sleep. Lila's tired, look. Mommy's tired. We're all tired. Let's all sleep, ok?
Aga: But Aga has already sleep. Aga don't want to sleep.

Then in the next 15 minutes until he's lying on his bed he'll keep on saying "Aga don't want to sleep..." He does that while we're changing his clothes, while I brush his teeth, etc.

The first night after Nagi's gone, I asked him.
Me: Aga, let's go to sleep.
Aga: No. (contently watching Bob the Builder).
Me: But look, Lila's sleepy. Can we all go to sleep now?
Aga: Later, okay? After Bob the Builder finish.
I looked at the time, and oh it's only 5 minutes more at the most. I said okay.
Soon after it's finished, I asked him again if we can go to sleep.
Aga: Yes, okay.

I was so shocked I forgot to brush his teeth that night.

Later on, Lila slept immediately after a feed because she was way too sleepy. I want to prepare cooking because if I start in the morning I will have to rush everything. (I was making some sort of meat balls, and it needs a lot of preparation like making the dough then the balls...).

I usually wait until Aga sleeps before I get out of the room. That night, I said, "Aga, mommy has to cook. Can you sleep all by yourself? You have lion, rhino and hippo-goat* with you."
Aga: Okay.
Me: Really? You go to sleep, okay? Don't get out of bed, and don't call for Mommy because you're going to wake up Lila if you do.
Aga: Okay.

(*Hippo-goat is actually a goat. He keeps saying it's a hippo, so I said okay it's a hippo. Then he says it's a hippo-goat.)

I thought I'd cut up some vegetables first and then check if he's still awake. If he does then I'll just wait until he sleeps then continue my cooking. I don't want him to sleep late.

When I finished cutting some vegs, I went back to the room, and voila. The boy was sleeping! He kept his promise. I was so proud and teary at the same time.

This Thursday is his concert, and I'm so excited. I've asked my uncle, he said he'll come. Preeti will come, and Ram might too. Yay!

Lila - 6 months

6 months statistic:

weight: 6.490 kgs.
height: 66 cms.

She has started crawling and venturing out every corner of my living room. She loves crawling outside the living room, either into the kitchen or to the hallway towards the front door which then she'd giggle as if she had achieved something really superb.

Aga is going to have a Christmas party and Santa visit at school this Friday, and then a school concert the Thursday after.

I had a shock when I saw in the notice board that he had not one, not two, but THREE roles in the concert. One of the ten little Indian boys, one of the shepherd, and the itsy bitsy spider. The only problem is I don't have the Indian outfit yet, since apparently it's a new addition (I know at first he was scheduled only to play spider; but then we had two outfits so I guess he was scheduled for spider and shepherd, and this Indian was something more recent than that.) I have the subcontinent Indian clothing, but not the "hoola-hoola" Indian (as Nagi differentiate himself from being Indian, not Native American) outfit.

Unfortunately Nagi won't be here to see him performed :( He'll be away for business trip to Japan, until Christmas break. After that he'll be away again, but me and the kids are going to Indonesia for a month. Me. And the kids. Alone. Brave, aren't I?

OK, here's the video. Please just pay attention to the main artist, not the background. Don't leave a comment to say "your house is messy". I know that. It's usually like that through-out the day, Nagi would put everything back into the box in the night, for the kids to throw all over the place again in the morning.