The Adult Play-Doh

From my experiments over the last few weeks, I am convinced I have seen the adult form of Play-Doh - something they like to call the "remote".
My parents love playing with this thing in their hand and every time they press something on it, something changes on the lighted screen in front.

It is amazing how frantic my parents can become if they cannot find one of these. I like to take one and place it at some odd place. And then, sit back and watch the drama.

First, both parents will go to every corner of the house looking for it. After a few minutes of hunting in vain, one will start trying to muck with the controls close to the TV and open up some booklets. Sometimes, each would be blaming the other. If it starts getting ugly, I try to calm things down, by asking for some milk or some such thing. One of them will even try to quiz me about it (as if I am going to reveal anything!!). They usually end up finding it, and I have been trying to move places a few times now. Maybe I should try the bathroom next time.

Note to other Twoers:

• There are usually 2-3 of these remotes, so you can pick any of them and make them go crazy.
• Best time to try this out is in the evening around 5 pm, and expect the action to start around 7:30 pm.
• When they ask you about it, pretend you have no idea what they are talking about.
• If you are under pressure for doing something bad, start saying "TV" again and again, until they start hunting for the remote. This works as excellent distraction.

Happy to you..

Best Wishes for the new decade
May all good come in a cascade
With peace and health as company
and friends and relatives in harmony
More charming memories to be made!

Paakabaa Letter Santa Thaathaa

Paaduka-speak	English
Helo Santa Thaathaa,	Hello Santa Claus Thaathaa,
you waan?	I want the following things this year:
phone batty No appa	a good phone and some batteries that when I take and play with, my appa will not say "No".
aaloo, beebaa, ausher, arnee, cookaa, colo	Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover
sapatam, paper pichee	a pustakam (book) that I can happily tear (pikkaradhu) the papers from.
isheem, oshenj joosamma, paalu, nummy paal, shaapaa	Ice cream, Orange Juice, Water melon (pazham), yummy chocolate milk, Pasta
diapu shop	a diaper that can absorb everything away so it does not need to be changed everytime
sheenam, aanai, thoo jeejaa, py zeebaa, nama joojoo	Lion (singam), Elephant (yaanai), 2 Giraffes, Five Zebras, Nine (nava) Dogs (that you can say "joo joo" to call them)
pore canee, ten bikki	Four candies, Ten biscuits/cookies
(ammaulae paTToo, bumpee, come back)	(My amma is calling me "paTTu", "bumby"; I will check and come back)
Barney TV no shop	Play Barney non-stop on the TV
baloo poTTu no aaa ooo	a good balloon that I can throw around (poTTu) without breaking it, when I will say "Uh Oh"
peekayoo howayou?	Play Peekaboo with me and I will tell you "How are you?"
thaa, pees ok? ok? ok?	Will you please give (thaa) me these? Is it OK?
thaantoo, paakabaa	thank you, paaduka

(Pictures) December 2009

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We watched a documentary together

appA, ammA and I started watching "Life of birds" documentary. I love to watch duckies, crows and swan in our apartment complex. I was excited to see so many different birds on T.V. that I could not help myself. Imagine this scene for yourself

pAdukA - wow wow wow! duckie duckie appA
appA - correct pAdukA, duckie
pAdukA - duckie ammA
ammA - duckie, very good pAdukA

15 seconds later
pAdukA - wow wow (standing right in front of appA) simmy simmy simmy (swimming in adult language)
appA - yes... duckie swim pannaradhu (duckie is swimming)
appA and ammA concentrating hard on the narration in the documentary inspite of funny noises pAdukA is making.
pAdukA - jalam jalam ammA, jalam (water)
ammA - yes pAdukA jalam dhaan
pAdukA - duckie duckie (looking at some other bird)
ammA - duckie illa
pAdukA - duckie simmy simmy
ammA - illa....
appA - you both won't let us watch.

19 seconds later
pAdukA - wow wow wowow (dancing in front of the T.V.) kAkA kAkA... whoosh whoosh (showing flying action)
appA - very good pAdukA
pAdukA - ber ber ber (pronounced as "bir" in bird)
ammA and appA doing their best to ignore pAdukA's constant commentary and to concentrate on the documentary
pAdukA - duckie duckie duckie aaah? no no no no?
pAdukA - ber ber ber
appA - shhhh..... be quiet
pAdukA - simmy simmy... no no uh?
pAdukA's constant onslaught continues....
ammA has already given up trying to see the documentary
ammA - can we watch later?
pAdukA - shhhhh.. (with finger on her lips) duckie duckie appa appA .... huh?
appA - ok let's watch this some other time..
switches off
pAdukA - aachi... (meaning over)

..... and so we watched a documentary together :)

(Pictures) November 2009

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chooooooll

I am becoming a big girl now.... so big that ammA and I are going to the same school together! Here is a peep into my activities at school....

I enter the class and I have to find my spot in front of an easel and hold on to it inspite of other kids. I spend about 20 minutes creating my art.

Then it is time to play in and with sand. I am getting introduced to grabbing and running away with shovels and a dumptruck while playing. It's getting hard for me to play with the things I have after knowing that the kid near me has the same toy in a different color. Oh! little does ammA know how hard it is to cope with this !

I have to tell you about this funny pracitice during circle time - we are given bells and flags that we have to return. I am pretty much the only kid who protests on behalf of everyone. Surprisingly no one has joined me and the other kids give back these things voluntarily. If you have to get it from me, you are not getting it without a fight!

I love snack time. We are given crackers, fruit and water in a small cup. I enjoy drinking water from the cup and eating crackers of the kid who sits next to me. ammA keeps saying that I have the same on my plate. If that is so, why can't I have the crackers from the other kid's plate? I don't understand the logic!

Overall I enjoy my time at school. It's a lot of fun interacting with kids and doing so many activities. What is my ammA doing at school apart from following me everywhere I go? I have to attend child-teacher-association meeting to know if she is doing OK at school :)