Monday 16 March 2009

Feat of Clay

The tooth fairy visited Nikita 2 weeks back & left 10dhs under her pillow[the tooth fairy got fed up of leaving gifts coz teeth kept falling with unfailing regularity].

Contrary to our expectations, Nikita was thrilled to receive money instead of a gift & we were hitting ourselves for spending so much money on gifts the last 2 yrs when we could have gotten away with keeping dhs.10 under the pillow.

Now Nikita walked around with that amount the whole of the next week wondering what to buy. Finally she decided on a packet of coloured clay. Much against my better judgment I let her pick it up. A year back the sisters made so much mess with some clay they had that I decided never to get it for them again until they were old enough to clean up after themselves.

There was a lot of improvement this year…they actually made models of things & I was quite impressed with their creative outbursts.

I’m going to relate to you something which took place & do want to know what you think.


A week back Nikita[7½ yrs] & Naina[5yrs] came to me with their hands behind their back…

Nikita: Mama we’ll show you something & you have to tell us which one you like best.

Mama[without agreeing to their conditions]: Show me the things first.

Naina: Taaaantaaaadan……

Naina[excitedly]: Ok which one do u like best?????

Nikita[confidently]: You’ve got to choose whichever model is the best.

I’m in a quandary here. I know which one looks better[both are supposed to be birds by the way]…..but how can I rate one above the other & disappoint the owner of the not-so best one??? Once in a while they put me in a situation like this & usually I wriggle out with a standard answer.

Mama: Ohhhhh they are sooooo beautiful, I like both of them.

Nikita[disappointed]: Noooooo….you’ve got to choose one.

Mama: Well I can’t help it if I like both, can I????

Both of them murmuring disappointedly went away after I clicked pictures of their exhibits.

Half an hour later….

They come back with their hands behind their backs again.

Nikita: Mama, we’ve made new things & this time please don’t say you like both.

Nikita & Naina[together]: Okkkkkkkk please, please, please????

Mama[sighes in exasperation]: Alright show it to me.

Taaaantadaaaaan…..

Since I have no creative abilities to speak of I'm always impressed when I see the kids doing even the simplest of things. Now Nikita’s Crab looks good to my eyes but when I look up I see Naina’s face which has a defeated look…like she knows her sister’s model looks better & her distress was clear at her inability to make a nice exhibit[her’s was supposed to be a dragon, by the way].

Nikita: You HAVE to tell us which is the best, please, please, please you have to.

Naina: Yes Mama you have to.

Mama who had no idea how to tackle the situation took the easy way out


“I don’t like both”!!!!!

“MAMA” wail both in unison.

Nikita: Naina I know why mama is doing this. Mama doesn’t want to choose one & make the loser feel bad, so she is simply saying that she doesn’t like both.

I shake my head in amused irritation that she read me so well.

Nikita: Mama we are going to make something else & this time please don’t say you like both or that you don’t like both. You have to choose one as the best.

Naina[in renewed enthusiasm]: Yes you have to choose.

They go away & Nikita comes back after 2 minutes without Naina’s knowledge & advises me.
“Mama, I know why you can doing this, you don’t want to hurt one of us right by choosing the better thing. Why don’t you do 1 thing…….just judge the clay models by giving a 1st prize & a 2nd prize, that way we both win prizes & won’t feel bad at all”.

She then rushess away to make her model & I stare after her in wonder. Now why didn’t I think of that????

In the end that’s what I did…..declared 1st & 2nd prizes.

And the below were made a few days back….just couldn’t help putting them up.....you know, to show it off. In case you are wondering if Naina’s exhibit is a bomb, yes it is………you know the one’s which Tom & Jerry use to blow eachother up, yeah its modeled on that.

Now I’m curious…..how do all of You deal with this kind of situation??? And those who don’t have kids, do you remember how your parents dealt with this kind of situation??? And those who don’t have kids or dont remember how your parents dealed with this, how do You think this kind of situation should be dealt with?????


And finally for those who are not interested in answering the above question, let me ask you another question.....can you take a guess what Naina had made in the 3rd picture[next to Nikita's sofa & flower]?????
I ask coz I couldn't figure it out when she first showed them to me but had a hearty laugh when I found out.


Edited to add: Its drumsticks People............. she made Chicken legs. Naina is fond of fried chicken legs..........so I guess it was instinctive of her to have made it so close to dinnertime. Rows of the same thing confused me too at first.........anyways I had so much fun reading all the imaginative comments.............heeeeee:-D. A big hand to umas, everybody!!!!!! She added the word Chicken to everybody else's lollipop:-D!!!!!!

80 comments:

  1. with my poor sight and imagination, my guess for the 3rd model made by Naina might be either balloons or spoons.. weird guess i know but it was u who asked :)

    creative girls i must say!

    regarding judging, i will go all philosophical n tell them since naina is younger, its not fair to judge. & if they still insist, i would ask both of them to make the same thing and suggest that naina, niki n mom goes to dad and put the talk of judging to him :P lol... n see the daddy the great's face :)

    hehe.. i know i m such a bore! but it was again u who asked.. rite? lol..

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  2. Wow, your girls know how to put pocket money to good use :)

    My mom always used to tell me, how can I judge my two eyes... But I guess, kids are insistent these days, they won't take this for an answer.

    That pic... hmmm, is it spoons? or tadpoles? or dunno, don't really know but would be definitely something crazily funny - she's your daughter afterall :)

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  3. Nancy, your dolls' creations are amazing!!

    When it comes to judging,their tender age should be respected,if possible kuch na kuch bahana banao:P:D

    Or take turns and declare different winners each time. Now this works if they come to you even number of times. Otherwise use the toss approach,then nobody is loosing..If this's too mechanical ask Papa to judge;):)

    The 3'rd pic was too hard to guess.. So thought I'll copy it to the desktop and zoom in the pic and try to figure out. But voila the clue is in the name;) Really that model's very creative of Naina!! :D:D Am still laughing.

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  4. those girls are really good with clay. Simply wonderful.

    Yeah it is a tough call. The first time round, I would ask them to make another set of models. Once they have made a second one, I would select each kids models in turn. So both of them would feel happy. It is difficult to break hearts.

    I was thinking that Naina made a set of spoons/ladles. Am i right??

    But they are really good with clay.

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  5. I'm guessing Naina made spoons in the 3rd pic. Both girls are very talented but I am surprised that Nikita is so artistic and understanding at her age. Naina is very lucky to have her as a role model.

    I thought the bomb was actually a vase with a bud popping out of it! I think Nikita's solution was best, neither me nor my parents could have beat that suggestion!

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  6. Great work of art by the girls. Congrats to them both.. Would the third picture be spoons or lollipops (:)) ???? By the way do we get rewarded for guessing correctly???

    Just so u asked, since they are 2 1/2 years apart, you can tell them that you will judge them in 2 different categories (junior, sub junior kinda thing)and and declare them both winners in their categories.

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  7. Well if I HAD to choose...I will choose the one made by Naina (hoping that Nikita will understand :D)...and if I have multiple models to rate..I will choose them alternately

    luvlu luvly kids i must say :)

    Are those lollipops??

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  8. Awww..that was sooooo cute :) Since I dont have kids :P, and as I tried to remember how my parents dealt with such a situation, I realise I was never close to my sis as kids...living in a joint family, I sort of got lost in the crowd of 20 odd kids, always in my grandma's room, eating her head off...coz the boys wont let me play cricket with them!!! My sister stayed with an aunt all the time and she was the youngest of the lot, all the attention went to her. My grandma kept me busy with her tales, so didnt really have a chance to disturb my parent's peace!! ;P

    Now coming to the picture, I was going to ask you what it was...but at the top of my head, she's probably made a cutlery set...is it?? Would love to know what it is!! :)

    Hugs to the girls :)

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  9. First thing first…….A big Hug to your angels. I wish you dragged them further ( I know fellow blogdosts are murmuring….how can you be so mean)…..to get even more fantastic work of them. I simply loved them. Nikita’s works seems to be so neat and she tried circles and squares in two and three dimensions whereas Naina ventured different ideas and everything looks unique. Those spoons………lovely. I just felt like watching the handwork of great artist in your home.

    Coming to your question…I know it is tough……Probably I would have told the kids…..Okay, I will write and keep my judgement. But before that, will you tell me, what is so good in others clay model, so that kids say positive things about other’s work and indirectly get appreciated, without the feeling of losing.( oh!! After so much of thinking I could say this………oh! No! I don’t want to imagine a situation like this with my kid(s)

    Was it a computer mouse!!!?? After teasing my civil engineer’s brain cells…it looks like a Watercloset with tank behind??...............Naina,Save me girl!!

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  10. No offense to Naina, but damn, Nikita is really quite talented!!! I remember my clay-play & I just usually made a mess that's all.....but Nikita's stuff is really pretty!!! And that was pretty smart of her to suggest 1st & 2nd prizes (I'm making notes of all these things for future reference :D)

    And as for Naina's 3rd pic - well, I think either balloons, or flower buds or perhaps lollipops or some type of candy maybe.....

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  11. nice post.

    I dont have kids myself but i would have given both the 1st prize ;)

    The 3rd pic...i'm guessing its jelly fish.

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  12. lovely names ur daughters have :)
    my guess - spoons and knife??

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  13. Cutlery? (Naina's)

    I LOVE every single one of these and I am smiling ear to ear looking at them :-)

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  14. Ice cream cones? Cloves???

    And I have no answer for your terrible quandary because I am an only child and I have only one child... :)

    I wonder how I'd have managed...dare say I'd have because I'm quite the diplomat..maybe I'd give some good points about both...like admire the imagination of one...and the color combination or the perfection of the other!!! :)

    Great models anyway..makes me want to play with clay now!

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  15. LOl@''the tooth fairy got fed up of leaving gifts coz teeth kept falling with unfailing regularity''

    this was such a cute post!such a!:)
    and god bless them both:)
    they are really creative arent they?I am so darn impressed..and at this age?awesome!

    I haveno clue what that is...but you know Nikita is quite gifted as an artist she can make things exactly as they are while Naina seems to be really imaginative she has made something that you would never expect the dragon for example...
    ofcourse these are just thoughts of mine..

    I am waiting to see what IS the third pic?:D

    about saying who is better or worse..well...golden rule never evr say one is better..but I dont know it was something I saw ma doing but now like Rakesh says kids dont take no for an answer..:)
    no clue on this as well..

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  16. wow !!!!! awesome !!!!!! I sooo love the green set of flowers !!!ok, I am not mom so I can say I love one of them :)
    Are Naina's ones spoons or her own fallen teeth ???? Crazy guess :)

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  17. Very very creative kids u've there...Touchwood! I can't choose...every one of those pics...lot of thought behind it and those tiny fingers, wow!


    Clay is prohibited at our place (thx to clean- up) but seeing these pics, I might go back on the resolution. Nice:)

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  18. :) LOL...
    creative.... :)
    while I cannot give you parenting tips.... :) LOL...
    I can make a guess on that third picture...

    My guess is that :
    1. spoon set
    2. group of eels
    3. Ancient stone age human tools... :) LOL

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  19. Oh and one more thing.


    I would probably have established 4 categories (or 6 or 8 or 10 -- an even number) such as "the best sea creature" "the most imaginative" or whatever. then have them nominate 4 little sculptures each (or 6,8,10..) and make one of the girls win half the categories and the other one the rest. sounds complicated but basically they both win and no one loses.

    although your kids are so clever they would figure this out in a heartbeat and demand a fifth category.

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  20. sperms! but i am sure that naina didn't have that in mind ;p hehe but u never kno with kids these days ... i kno cuz im one hehe.

    an awesome post as usual.

    totally adore ur girls. :) may god bless 'em.

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  21. ohhh Nancy...your kids are so creative. brings back so many wonderful memories for me. My mom did not have to do the choosing because me and my sis have quite an age gap. so by the time she was playing with clay I was into boys :).

    I think Naina made tadpoles in the 3rd picture :), although my naughty mind is also buzzing other stuff..but this being a kid's handy work i'll stick to tadpoles ;)

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  22. Nancy, You have got one smart girl there and both are talented. Both of them give each other company.

    Peanut used to love Playdoh (colored clay) at one time. Now she is into painting:))

    I don't have to deal with it because I have only 1 :)

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  23. :):) what a beautiful post! I love All the models. Especially the dragon! :):) Really do! HUgs for the lil ones,Nancy.

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  24. that pic looks like the small stick people you have in some board games...or tadpoles...but im sure its something much more kooler since kids have way more imaginative brains that we do!

    about judging - i cant remember if my mom ever did that...but what nikita says sounds like a good idea...or u could always have one of them win for the first peice and then ask them to make another one and then get the second one to win for that...and give them both ice-cream as prizes! :P

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  25. I think it is teaspoons? but really nancy ur daughters are really cute little darlings and very creative also.

    I nevr faced that situation as my son was a typical boy fond of sports and daughter a homebody.

    But i think you may judge them impartially and telling what is better and why? A mother can only teach the children the value of truth and then sooth them by advising, how to make it better.
    it instills in them a sportsman spirit.You are not judging them but their work.

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  26. i think there are 2 houses, 2 trees...looks like a small village to me :) -

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  27. Mindspace: Heeee...nope not balloons or spoons.
    Usually when the going gets tough I happily put it on their father & he always comes up with the right answer. But ofcourse its from a man's perspective & the 3 of us are not too pleased with it;-P

    Rakesh: Nope not spoons or tadpoles:-D.
    Aaaah I like ur moms dialogue, I'm going try this senti act on them;-D

    Shayari: Oh bahana's dont work anymore...the elder one see's thru them straight away;-S
    And u r laughing but u havent told me wht it is;-D

    Bindu: Nope not spoons or ladles:-D.
    Yeah I select them in turns but they see thru it. And when Nikita's is noticeably better than Naina's they themselves know it & so they know I'm not telling the truth.

    The Idle Devil: Hmmm they do look like spoons from far away dont they??? But no they r not spoons.
    I too was impressed with Nikita's solution but ofcourse didnt show it at all;-P

    Anusha: Hehe everybody's betting on spoons...nope they r not spoons or lollipops but lollipops do come closer than spoons;-D.

    Prakhar Nope, Naina will not understand;-P.
    But alternative nominations, I do:-D.
    Like I told Anusha lollipops are a lot closer than spoons;-D

    Smrithi: Grandma's & their stories are a lot of fun aren't they??? I used to love listening to them.
    heeee not a cutlery set:-D.

    Maddy: "what is so good in others clay model, so that kids say positive things about other’s work and indirectly get appreciated"
    Thts a great idea Maddy!!!!!
    And umm I think u r talking about the wrong picture...I'm talking abt the 3rd picture where Naina has made 3 rows of duplicates;-D

    Shalom:Oh yes...Nikita is smart but like most smart people[ummmm like me] doesnt like to exert herself;-P.
    And nope, none of those:-D

    Anon: Thank U!!!!!
    heeee no its not jellyfish:-D

    Iya: Thank U!!!!
    No, no, all r the same thing...just that patience or clay must have fallen short hence the different sizes:-D

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  28. Since u said lollipops are lot closer , i am betting on cotton candies. he he :)

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  29. Oh my! They are soo lovely. I think the dragon was quite good. I do not remember what my parents would have done - perhaps because my sister and I had very different hobbies.

    I probably would have said "One will go into my modern art gallery" and the other one into my "clay modelling gallery" or something but like you I would be extremely at loss for an answer.

    and I think those small things are dinosaur teeth?

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  30. i just thought of something else it could be - ice cream cones! :D

    ok as u must have noticed - im severely craving ice cream today!!

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  31. Agnes: Nope not cutlery:-D
    Yeah I loved them too:-)).
    The categories sound good & more importantly novel....will definitely try it out.

    Wannabe: Nope...tho u r close as in it is a food item. There!!!! I gave u a clue:-D!!!!
    Diplomacy works but not all the time;-P

    Indyeah: So am I...impressed I mean;-D. I remember playing with clay when I was younger & all I made was long strings & called it noodles:-D.
    "golden rule never evr say one is better"
    Ur ma's advice does make good sense!!!

    Prashathi: I too loved tht green set. I took the picture, switched off the camera & turned to look at it once more & Nikita had already smashed it up....to make something else:-(...

    Naperville mom: Believe me, clay is banned at our place too. the last they had it, I had a terrible time scraping it off from every available space:-S. But since Nikita was buying something on her own for the 1st time I didnt have the heart to say no. Anyways they r much better with it this time. Get some for ur kids...it'll be fun:-D

    Ordinary Guy: Gosh!!! U've gotten closer than most people;-o.
    Heeeee!!!!

    A & Roop: ROFL....after seeing ur comments I went again to chk whether it really looked like tht.
    Heeeee.....u knw wht they say, when u r obsessed with particular thing the mind tends to.....u knw.
    Have u seen tht ad for Mazaaa where the old man's love for mangoes makes him see & hear Mangoes everywhere:-D.

    Solilo: Yeah they give good company to eachother. That way I'm spared from giving them all my time:-)).

    Piper: U r really sweet the way u've particularly picked the dragon as ur favourite:-)). U knw the dragon looked more like an anteater & cdn't stand on it own, hence the hand support in the picture;-P

    Sunshine: Nope:-D!!!!!
    And u knw I did just that..alternated the 1st & 2nd prize btn them so tht both get their share of glory;-P

    Renu: As usual u've given me sensible advice esp "You are not judging them but their work."
    And no...teaspoon is not the answer:-D.

    Anonymous: The one u've described is accurate but U r looking at the wrong picture:-D.

    Anusha: LOL...no, no lolipop meaning...related to food kind of closer. There!!! I've almost given it away;-o.

    colours: Heeee....dinosaur teeth, thts original:-D. But nope they r not!!!!
    And since I have no kala-botham to spk of, saying "One will go into my modern art gallery" and the other one into my "clay modelling gallery" is not a possibility at all. They'll probably laugh me out of the house;-P.

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  32. Sunshine: Feeling the heat huh!!! LOL...go satisfy ur craving.
    even WannabeWriter mentioned cones...nope its not;-D

    Roop & ALOL I'm finding it funnier now...I'm going to commenting "Aaam"[Mangoes, if it didnt click;-D] into ur comment boxes every now & then:-D

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  33. They both are sooo creative!! *hugs*

    Am back :D

    the 3rd picture is of.. umm pans and spoons?

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  34. Winnie: Hey....good to see u back:-D!!!!
    Nope....u r wrong:-D!!!!!!!

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  35. Fish displayed in the fish market or the hyper market???? ;)

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  36. WannabeWriter: Heeeee U r getting warmer but its not fish:-D

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  37. May be they are mushrooms..

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  38. My God! Amazing work of art by your girls. I am very impressed.

    And yes, it's very difficult to judge when it comes to your own girls. Even I am in this sticky situation a lot of times. And each time I try out different methods to escape this slippery situation. The idea is not to offend the girls, at the same time they should be appreciated for their effort.

    And coming to the picture, my guess is (as per the clue of food item)
    cone ice cream
    chicken lollipop

    Nice post, good fun to read.

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  39. Well what is that picture??? Reveal the secret!!!! I am getting impatient .. :P :P LOL

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  40. well I've come in late- so I won't attempt to guess- as all my guesses were used and some of them were warm but not hot enough :)

    I have to say the girls are talented with their clay!!! And this whole post brought back such memories of my kids- the idea your daughter gave you of the prizes was actually an excellent idea- that is something I often did with my kids. Sometimes they all got the same prize :)...other times there was a first second and third- the problem with us is we had a trillion other kids living with us- so my kids have since told me they were upset coz invariably I would give prizes to all the other kids and my kids would have to go 'without'- Its something I wish I could go back and redo!

    Okay now tell us about the picture what is it??

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  41. I was thinking Spoons too but Roop's reply sounds accurate now. Ha..ha..ha..a

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  42. Lol i was gonna ask u the same question when i saw that 3rd pic lol good one, u actually making ur readers think eh! clay play for us used to be a total mess, i don't remember making anything! lol

    so ummm # 3, like Shayari said, is the clue in the name of the pic? if it's not that, then my first thought was bowling pins, microphones, flower buds, icecream cones, cloves or even people! lol how many guesses do we get :D

    kids r soooooooo creative!!! lol @ bomb rofl

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  43. I think they are flowers! I`m sure they are flowers :):)

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  44. lol thanks for the support, Solil ;p

    see, Nance, I am not just over-obsessed. they do look like ... ah eff, u're right. i am obsessed. what can i say? i like mangoes. hahahaa

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  45. they are friends of your goldfish pet? babies that ur goldfish/ pet fish is going to have?

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  46. ok now u hvto tell us!! im sooo curious!!!

    since its food related - is it one of those snack items...cheezles or something??

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  47. Actually, I thought sperms as well but c'mmon she's just 5. Or are you watching lot of discovery tv at home? he he.

    Reveal the answer...

    And what's the lesser devil that you talked about?

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  48. Anon: Who r U anon????
    Nope, not mushrooms:-D.

    Umas"The idea is not to offend the girls, at the same time they should be appreciated for their effort."
    Exactly!!!!!! It really has to be done tactfully....and diplomacy is not my strong point;-P.
    And thank u!!!!
    U notice I have very carefully ommitted to comment on ur guesses;-D

    Smrithi: Yes Maaam, will do it right away:-D!!!!

    Anjuli: U knw I do exactly what u did....give away prizes to the neighbour kids. My elder child understands but the younger one is not too pleased;-P.

    Solilo: Aaaaammmmmm!!!!!!
    Another comment box which is going to get flooded with mangoes msgs;-D

    snow: U knw I too loved tht bomb...seriously I thot it was one of her best works;-D
    Nope, none of them!!!!!!!

    Piper: Heeeee, they r not!!! Ok I'll tell u, its food!!!!!

    Roop: Aaaaaammmmm!!!!!
    Have u seen tht ad btw?????
    And no Roop they r not babies of anything:-D.

    Sunshine: Its a snack alright...or dinner, whichever way u look at it:-D.

    Rakesh: Aaaaaammmmmm!!!!!
    :-D

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  49. ooh..such a heart warming one!! :) dear little kids with nimble little fingers and ticking away minds!
    hmm will place a bet on pasta/macaroni pieces or mebe pieces of chivda??!

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  50. onlooker: Thank U!!!! While u were writing this comment I was posting the answer:-D

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  51. lol! see how brilliant kids are - i would have never thot of chicken drumsticks! especially with her putting soo many down in a row!!!

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  52. Of course, they are babies of someone! They are the legs of babies of hens and cocks! :d

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  53. hahahaha....chicken lollipops...correct hai !! :D

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  54. He he he he he.. I never would have guessed it right since I do not know a chicken drumstick by any means :)... Am a vegetarian.. Hm mm an eggitarian at that :)).. But got to laud her for being so clever so close to dinner.. :)) Great kids...

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  55. Hey its so Beautiful... Both the art forms and the explanations !! The way your children speak and judge, Man, whoever their teacher is, she gonna have some tough time indeed !!

    Please convey my 'Hi' to 2 kids. Bring them well... :)

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  56. i havnt read the post but the pics look so very cute, by the captions i understand naina and nikita have done them.. awesome.. its damn cute!! ur daughters so rock!!

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  57. Hurray! I got it right.
    It really looked like a national level contest, with people guessing all that they can with such sincerity.
    I logged on about 10 to 15 times yday, to know the result.
    And, I am really glad that I got it right.

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  58. What creativity, I should say! I am very late in coming here so please forgive me, have had very little time to even sign in to blogger. Even I do face such situations, and my elder one is very creative compared to the younger. Nayna always says,"I can't do like chechi."Then I encourage her and say, "chechi is so big, you can after some more years..."
    But you can say, this is more crestive while this has better colour usage and things like that, I always escape with that!

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  59. And I read it after the guessing competition...so sorry...

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  60. hey the kids sure are very creative and ur first born seems to be very good with details for her age.....I was very impressed seeing the clay models..
    the talents of children should always be boosted and encouraged...

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  61. Sunshine: Yeah she was going about it with a vengeance & wd have made more if she had more clay:-D.

    Roop: Again...again with 'tht' single word in ur comment u have revealed the aaaammmm mania is still predominantly occupying ur mind;-D
    [2 mins later..]
    Or am I the one who is needlessly getting all excited over a word delibrately & stragetically placed to incite me;-o.

    Prakhar: U got 1 part of the word right.....right;-D

    Anusha: Vegetarian Huh!!! Vegeratian by birth or by choice????

    Prashanth Sree: I'm disappointed. I was hoping u'll answer tht question I asked. U always give good suggestions especially abt raising children.
    And yes, I will try my best:-)).

    Ish: Thank U Ish!!!! U tek care & get back sooon. Am waiting for tht post on Egypt.

    Umas: U r really sweet:-D. I never forget that it is all of U who make it so much fun.

    Sindhu: Yes its the same here too. I too do what u say but finally they want to knw which is better...:-S.
    And hey its ok.....no issues. Ultimately our priorities in Life comes first!!!
    But blogging comes a close second ofcourse;-D.

    Enigma: Thank U:-))!!!! Yes the possibilities with kids are endless:-)

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  62. Hi Nancy, i am in transit. will be getting back to regular blogging after few days.

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  63. Hehehe Drumsticks now i would never have guessed it.

    Nancy if i tell u who i m then wats the point of being anonymous?

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  64. Well by birth, and I dint have a choice then :). Now that I can choose, I choose to be a vegetarian :)

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  65. LOL! now it does look like chicken ki tangdi!

    :D

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  66. As a grandmother it's easy to come up with the way to deal with competing siblings the next time:

    "You come first in the 7 year old category and you come first in the 5 year old one.
    I love them both the best."

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  67. nancy i loved both birds. each had its own charm you know. other creations are also splendid esp the sofa and the flower and the bomb?
    you've got a talented family here.

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  68. Having not a creative bone in my body... well my jaw just touched the floor here. Do kids that small do stuff like that?

    I am kinda getting an inferiority complex here....:(

    And if it makes you feel any better, I was racking my brains thinking how I would handle the situ and Nikita's answer just blew me away, I was kicking myself for not thinking that.

    To be very frank, I wouldn't have a clue in such a situation.

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  69. Hi Nancy,

    You are tagged here!

    http://bukkichowta.blogspot.com/2009/03/reply-to-tag-d.html

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  70. Hey, that looks really cool! They do look like fried drumsticks!

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  71. ok I am a bit late here and saw the answer already....before reading it i thought they were neatly laid out spoons! but all the clay work looks great...if they are making this at 5 and 7, they will be fantastic when they grow up!
    I was confused what you could answer when they brought their ork for the firts time. But when they came the 2nd time, you could've declared one winner from each round ;)...doing a third tie breaker round caught me...my suggestion? next time decide in 2 rounds and give a prize to each one of them for one of those rounds...both win and lose at the same time!
    or maybe you can conspire with nikita one time to give away the prize to her younger sister...and sometimes conspire with Naina to please her elder sis...? i dont have children, and my mom was never put in such a situation (my siblings are much older than me)...so just being imaginative here!

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  72. "Feat of Clay"....enjoyed reading it for the fourth time with the answer already there. I had guessed tooth picks, lollipops, mushrooms, etc. but nowhere close to the actual thing...maybe because I am a vegetarian (face saving).

    Loved the adivice given by Geeta.."first in 7 year category and first in 5 year category". Practical advice that I am going to use with my grand children. Enjoyed it.

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  73. Balvinder Singh: So nice of u to let us know:-)). Have a good trip!!!

    Anon: Do I know U...like personally or are u just lazy to get urself a gmail account???

    Anusha: Hey no offense...was just curious:-D.

    Winnie: :-D....but imagination is a funny thing huh!!!

    Geeta: Thank U!!!! Ur voice of experience makes a lot of sense & I along with JP Joshi[6th comment below urs] laud ur idea:-)).

    lan: Thank U!!!!!
    I loved the birds too. And tht bomb was a cracker:-D.


    Abraham Menacherry: Dont get too worried....I'm still feeling my way around:-P. Experience is the only way!!!!

    Shayari: Thank U for tagging me. I'm working on it right now:-).

    The Idle Devil: Doesn't it:-D???

    Deeplydip: U r right ofcourse but tht particular time the brains didn't work. Conspiring doesnt work long term....they just cant keep secrets from eachother:-/

    JP Joshi: Oh yes Geeta is a voice of experience here:-D.....I seriously got to hear a lot of views of people in this post. Seriously, blogging is fun isn't it?????
    p.s: And meet another vegetarian Anusha[8th comment above urs]:-))!!!

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  74. Hi,

    Well, I dont know how I landed in your world, but somehow I just did and its been six months and love every moment I spend here. :-)
    Honestly, u're an inspiration and fun to read.
    U've probably realised from where ur girls have dervidded their creative instincts from.

    Cheers
    Sriparna

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  75. your girls are soooooooooo smart! i wish i had been that smart at their age. im in awe of their art btw. seriously.

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  76. Sri: That was really touching. Really...U r much too kind to me...but I thank U:-)).

    Anusha: :-D

    N: Hehe I too feel like a amateur when I see them at work sometimes....not just for the art but their tenacity & determination.
    And thank U, will pass it on:-)).

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  77. This is a lovely post! Such innovative kids.

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  78. oh my God... is that lovely or what? i just absolutely adore what they've done, that's extremely creative nancy. For some reason love the bomb idea ;) he heeee and nikita is fantastic in her work, i think she really has something going there.... as for your question.... i always knew my elder bro was better than me 'cos he is 3 yrs older to me, i never did compete 'cos i had always been ok about it but naina is, i personally think is brave to ask knowing that her clay dolls are not as perfect as her sisters eventhough her ideas are...... and you did the right thing, couldn't have done it better... my guess was spoons and i thought you must have an array of spoons at home for her to replicate he heeee

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  79. Swaram: Thank U:-))!!!!!

    Preethi: Thank U:-)....even I think that they are creative but they dont have the patience to see it thru....everything they do, they have to finish it fast. Taking time to do it cleanly or completely is not a concept they understand;-P
    Oh btw...the clay is all mixed up together & lying in some dark corner now. Nowadays they r cutting paper all over the place & making some crazy stick figures glued together with toothpicks:-S

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