Packing up for the summers

You know how parents, once upon a time, used to prepare for their daughter’s wedding, collecting her trousseau over years? Well that’s how I prepare for my visit to Lucknow. I collect clothes over the year for this month-long trip.

Not that I don’t have clothes. The thing is my mum like us to dress according to the weather, which basically implies pastels through the Lucknow summer. My wardrobe, on the other hand, is ALL BLACK for obvious reasons. If you’re one of the lucky ones who needs to wonder why.. well then because it makes me look the thinnest. Fortunately Pune weather allows me to wear black for almost 10 months of the year.

When I do need a break it’s all about bright colours – saffron, yellow, turquoise, scarlet, fuchsia, maroon. Oh I love pastels, but only when other people wear them. I seriously do not notice them at all. Sometimes I go out with a serious intention of buying them.. but come away with more blacks. Sometimes I’ve bought them too but they remain languishing in a forgotten corner of my cupboard while the blacks and the brights are worn thin and replaced over.

My compromise then is … white.. I like white and mum should be okay with it too. So I build a ‘Ma collection’ around that colour as my Lucknow tryst nears.

Come to think of it clothes are 90 percent of my packing. Check out how…
1. Summer homewear.
2. Nightsuits.
3. Semiformals for outings.
4. Formal party clothes since Lucknow is teeming with relatives.
5. Warm clothes for our two scheduled trips to the mountains
6. Swim suits since we might go to a waterpark.
7. Gym clothes for me … Yup I hope I can make it there a day or two each week.
8.. and finally socks, belts, towels….

Finally, sat on the bag to zip it up and I’m done. Meanwhile, others are packing as well. I was searching frantically for my lip-balm today and Naisha retrieved it from her bag where she had ‘packed’ it away.

So people we’re off for the summer vacations. Postings will be a bit erratic. Bear with me.

Ten things you can do with empty bottles

The other day while cleaning up I found these bottles and was about to throw them off when they were retrieved by the kids. They then proceeded to…

1. Count them, then count the blue ones, white ones, green ones separately
2. Make formations.. circles, triangles, squares, rows.
3. Make a circle of the bottles, put toys inside and then try to retrieve the toys without knocking off the bottles.
4. Try to stack them one on top of the other (and give after some hundred tries)
5. Balance balls on them and make them into softys
6. Sell them.. the green one was a premium buy because there was just one
7. Buy them and polish bargaining skills too
8. Roll them to see whose goes farthest
9. Fill them up with ‘juice’ and set up a juice shop
10. Create a bowling alley (Biggest hit with Hrit since he loves some action)

Did someone say waste?

Serious stacking in progress

One man’s waste is another man’s toy

Just an update

Seems like ages since I was here.

First the important news.. we’re not moving. Yay yay and yay again. The Husband decided to give his job-hunting feet a rest and so we stay on here two years in a row. He has been much more available of late, to our collective delight. However I must admit it’s taking a little getting used to… this having him home early evening. We don’t quite know what to do with him (and neither does he). His arrival coincides with the kids’ play time. He’s of course too tired to go play with them. While he and I want to share a cup of tea the kids are restless to get on with their play schedules and want me down with them. Sigh! Quite a balancing act.

Holidays underway…
…and I have to admit I was really apprehensive about having the kids on my hands all day. After two troublesome days they settled down and so did I after I gave up my gym aspirations. Seriously.. why must they start fighting just when I’m rushing off to the gym? However, since the gym has been out of the way we’ve been getting along fairly well. We’re working on a rather interesting project. But more of that later.

What games do boys play?
That’s one thing I need to figure out. What do you do with your son to keep him busy at home? Mine is not really interested in crafts or art or board games. Since the TV and computer are not allowed till afternoon I’m at a bit of a loss. He roams around troubling Naisha, begging her to play bat-ball. She obliges only occasionally leading to many a fight.

And that’s why I’ve not been around my laptop. Entertaining the kids is serious business.

Next weekend I’m off to Lucknow. Fingers crossed since our train tickets are still RACed.