Everything nice and not so mice

It's been ages since I wrote about the kids. On the surface there is nothing much to write about them…nothing worth noting down anyway. Yeah they are growing ….too fast in my opinion and behaving like teenagers even though they have more than a couple of years to reach there.

If you ask me ‘what are they doing right now????’ I don’t have to look to see what they are upto…..I can tell you just like that. They are arguing.....most of the time they are at it……

You did.

I did not.

I saw you.

You did not.

Mamaaaaaa…….

Tell-tale.

I am notttttt.

Cry baby.

Stopppp ittttt!!!!!!!

STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!!!!!!!!

Similar phrases in varying tones can be heard throughout the day. And it continues into the night. They are at it even in their sleep. Honest I heard them.

I’m so grateful to the Great Sages who invented schools.

But most schools here wind up before 1pm.

I threaten them with boarding schools.

They suggest Malory Towers and St. Clares and look at me very hopefully. 

I know I’m rambling but thats because I desperately trying to recall some worthwhile things to write about them. 

Meanwhile posting some pictures about ‘things’ they do in the little time they are not sparring with eachother.....

Background for a science project

Nikita's class were divided in groups to make models for a science project. Her group was given the subject 'Sustainable energy' and it was Nikita's job to provide the background. We were not pleased that she had to do this when her unit tests were going on and so she did it all very quietly so as to not aggravate us further. Secretly her father & I were impressed, we hung around waiting for her to ask for help & very 'reluctantly' helped her stick it all on the board with super glue. I deliberately flattened those windmills down so that you could take a good look at it;-P.

They draw very rarely nowadays;-(

The kids got diaries with locks from their aunt. They were very thrilled and spent a lot of time decorating the first page with their names and such. I could see Nikita writing in it and keeping it away carefully. Then one day she asks.....

Nikita: What exactly is one supposed to write in a diary???

Mama: Anything you want.

Nikita: Should I write everyday??

Mama: If you want.

Nikita: Can I write about something what happened 2 years back???

Mama: What happened two yrs back????

No, nothing I’m just asking.

Yes you can write about anything……time doesn’t matter.

Can I write about sad things????

What sad things???

Nothing happened*exasperated* I’m just asking whether I should write only about the happy things which happen to me or also the sad stuff.

I told you, you can write about anything…….happy, sad, ordinary, special, feelings, anything…

Okayyyyy.

Mama[cannot help herself]: What sad things?????

Nikita: Nothing Mama, I was just asking*walking away*.

Mama[calling out anxiously]: Or you can also tell Mama about it.

Nikita*wearily*: That’s what I do…..I tell you first and then write in the Diary.

Then why do you need to lock the diary*finally voicing what was troubling me*

“To keep Naina out” says Nikita grimly.

Naina[8yrs] who was following the conversation avidly grins unrepentantly.

Mama[irritated]: Naina, its bad, BAAD manners, why don’t you write in your own diary instead of reading other peoples’???

Naina[mournfully]: I lost the lock.

Periwinkle Plant

Naina plants a plum seed in an empty pot and waters it diligently everyday.

After a few days Mama brings a small sapling of a flowering plant from the park, plants it in the same pot.

“Oh shoot, Naina planted a seed in that, she's going to make my life miserable" thinks Mama tiredly.

Naina comes back from school and “Mama, Chechi LOOOOOK………my plum seed has sprouted….YAAAAAYAYAAY”.

Mama gets a few months reprieve.

Fridge magnets made by them & an old poloroid picture

[Last night at the dining table]

Naina: what is the meaning of ‘seer’????

Mama: Sear means like burn or scorch.

Naina: No not tht sear, s-e-e-r seer???

Mama: Ah ok, that seer is a person who can prophecy, who can tell what's going to happen in the future.

After a minute….

Naina:  I think I have got all the makings of a true seer.*

Nikita[under her breath]: Ohhhh puh-leeese.

Mama[looking impressed]: Really!!!!

"Yes, I can tell the future" Naina waves her fork grandly.

Father: Can you forsee the punishment you’ll get if you don’t finish what’s on your plate in 5 minutes????

Nikita guffaws.

Mama looks reproachfully at Papa.

Naina who took a few seconds to understand the nuances of that statement, prudently decides to use the fork to finish her spaghetti.

Click & enlarge to read a newspaper report

Please ignore all grammatical & spelling mistakes.....Nikita is not usually so careless, the only explanation I can offer here is that I think she wrote it very fast. Now one word…..one particular word on the board, referred to Naina in a manner she found offending. She pleaded with her sister to remove it but Nikita didnt budge. Finally Naina resorted to sneaking into the room when Nikita wasn’t there, rubbed out the offending word and substituted it with princess/ beautiful girl/ intelligent human being and such-like, then tiptoed away. When she went back into the room later, it would have magically reverted back to the original word. Then she would repeat the process all over again. This went on till the father came back from his trip & put Naina out of her misery;-D. 

Book-mice:-)

Book-mouse. Ever heard of this word??? I heard it for the first time last week. Nikita showed me a "How to make a Book-Mouse" article in a Tom & Jerry comic book and talked excitedly about making them. She launched into a loooong explanation which I listened with half a ear smiling at her enthusiasm. Book-mouse is a mouse made of clay with a long tail which served as a book-mark and....*didnt hear*.....and.you have to give me a string.....and...*didnt hear*...I'm going to make them. Is that alright with you Mama????

Sure, I'm okay.

Yippeeeee......you are the best Mama in the whole world!!!!

Children, I shake my head. It takes so little to make them happy. I hunt for a string for the tail. 

She comes back in no time with a book-mouse in hand.

"It's nice" I make all the right noises, very carefully not touching the mouse.

"Isn't it??? Now let's bake it." says Nikita.

"Whaat" I look up confused.

"Haven't you been listening to anything I said????" demands Nikita.

I fidget guiltily.

"We have to bake this mouse to harden it. I told you."

Realisation dawns. 

"No baking mice in my oven." I say firmly.

"Mammaaa" wails Nikita.

"I'm not going to waste energy for a little thing like that. Why don't you dry it in the sun. It may take longer but it will have the same effect."

"Okay then I'll make some more of them, I have to make some for my friends anyway. If I make say, 10 of them will you bake it then"

I stare in horror. I couldn't get myself to imagine baking 1 mouse let alone a dozen of them.

I know they are fake. But Urrrrgghhhh.......No Way.

After 1/2 an hour of pleading Nikita goes away in a huff & places them on the balcony. After she leaves, I go there and quickly click a picture. 

I may shrink at the idea of baking mice in my oven but have no qualms about serving it on the blog;-D

p.s: Some of the pictures and the incidents written below it have no connection with eachother. 


* I knew there was something fishy about that sentence. It came to me after a couple of hours.....it is lifted out of a Harry Potter book;-/.