Joining the dots..

The next few lines quoted from Meera..
In one of his speeches, Steve Jobs insisted that you can always connect the dots in your life that leads you to where you are now.

From me..

Yes..I can see the dots connecting, but can't yet make out what picture its going to make!! And I'd belived that my picture was made and all I needed to do was color in for the rest of my life, and boy..wasn't I wrong? New dots were being drawn all the while..would they erase the picture as it stands now, or complement it? Lets see a year from now..

Poxy holiday..

And thats what happens when life moves on too fast..you end up catching yourself at a few moments recaping all thats been happening and wondering where you are..

Relocating from Cambridge to Bristol would have been even more fun if not for the Chicken Pox..considering that I seemd to have everything mentioned in the websites as 'In rare cases', I haven't done too badly, if I am sitting down now and typing this away! But ofcourse, this is after 5 grilling days of blisters, itching, headache, sorethroat and sheer pain! Its also a great deal of fun to pop in paracetamols every 4 hours in the vain hope that I can sleep off the days till it starts getting better..not very feasible with three very boisterous kids at home on holiday! If it is an Octonaut waking me up now, its a Banana in Pyjamas the next..so, sleep was more or less restricted to the nights, which too was eventually sucessful once I pushed Karthik off to the other room..

Santa did visit us, though mummy was sick..and suprisingly, he seemed to have given a cart load of craft! A few cheap guns, bubbles and some chocolates, but mainly, a lot of art and craft..
How does santa know we like craft?
How does he know our names?
Did you and dad buy these or Santa?
How did he know that Kautu likes 3 Cars?
Why didnt his Reindeer eat the Carrot we put for him outside? (*Ahem* Yes, we forgot to remove it in the morning!)
Why did he buy it from Sainsbury?

Mummy and daddy almost told you guys the truth this year..but surely, you boys will be told it all by next..but take care, Krithika's isn't to know for another few, ok?

And thats all from us for now...wish you all a very happy year ahead!!

Life as I knew it

Changes so often. I wonder at times if it is something to do with me. I worked for a year, then married and took off for another year while pregnant with the twins, then worked from home another year after they were born, worked full time whole carrying my daughter, quit after another year, relocated to uk a year later, and now going back to college and working in a totally different field all together! Ahhhh.... To tell the truth, life has been full and varied, but now I long for some consistency and my old work back! Teaching seemed very fascinating while in IT and IT looks exciting when in teaching! Its not that I don't enjoy what I have, my commitment to work has always been 100 per cent, yet, there is always the thought that I will only be happy with something that pushes me well beyond my comfort zone and I am not too sure that this job is doing that. Anyway, this post is just to clear my head..and I will greatly appreciate input for your end...have you had issues like these before? If so, how did you sort it out? If not, what would you do if you were me?

Goblie (Final and last part)

Story for a picture book..a favourite with my kids!
..............................................

GOBLIE

There is a monster called Goblie,
Who lives in the Caribbean sea.

She is blue, big and good,
And no, children are not her favorite food.

She has eyes the colour of the sun
And hair on her head looks like a bun!

One day when she came up for air,
There was a fishing boat stuck in her hair!

She shook her head, for it was tickling her so
And the boat fell, far far below.

'A monster! Blue, big and bad!'
The fishermen's words made Goblie sad.

She swam away with her head bent low
And the fishermen swam to the shore.

'Do you know what we spied?
A monster in the lake!!' They cried.

With sticks, bricks, shears and bows,
They set out to give Goblie some blows.

But Goblie heard them and stayed far away
And they went back, the very same way.

Goblie stayed in her tiny cave,
Lonely, sad and very grave.

It was a hot summers day.
Children dived into the sea to play.

The water was pleasantly cool,
BUT, what they didn't see … was a WHIRLPOOL!

Two of them were sucked into.
Their cries of help echoed through.

'Horror of horrors! Who could that be?
Surely, its the monster and it's coming to eat me!!!!'

Their daddies and mummies on the shore
Began crying even more.

But what they saw happening out there,
Made them stand still and stare.

Goblie was emerging from the whirlpool,
With a smile on her face, ever so cool.

And seated on Goblie's back,
Were two tiny backpacks!

Beaming from ear to ear,
They gave everyone a loud cheer.

Goblie is a monster, blue, big and good.
She wouldn't eat children, even if she could.

She used to stay in her tiny cave,
But now has a house her tiny friends gave!!!

Goblie (Story for ages 2-5)

There is a monster called Goblie,
who lives in the Caribbean sea.

She is blue, big and good,
and no, children are not her favorite food.

She has eyes the colour of the sun
and hair on her head looks like a bun!

One day when she came up for air,
there was a fishing boat stuck in her hair!

To be Contd...

The diamond trip of United Kingdom ... Part 1

Thats what we like calling it! Our trip started out with six energetic adults and three enthusiastic children and finished after seven days with five tired adults and three enthusiastic children (no..we didn't loose anyone.. One adult flew back home!).

My brother H and wife N and my parents settled in their car and we stuffed ourselves and the tents and the groceries and the sleeping bags and the duvets and the clothes and the picnic table and chairs and the folding chairs and the stove and the gas and the vessels into ours!! After a lot of breaks we finally reached Wasdale...a lovely place in lake district..where we had been before. Karthik and I love the place. It holds something for us, I don't know what. But I would return there again next year and forever till we are in UK. A few snaps of the place before I continue the tour diary.v I can't seem to put in words the feeling we had when we set out after having had hot idlis( my doad was the kitchen..rather, stove in charge during the trip and he managed to get us delicious south indian food all through scotland!) to walk around the lake. A few pictures might speak a thousand words, or it might not convey anything at all. Tell me.

Parents at home

After months of waiting, dad and mom are here! The kids had been getting frantic a week before they were due to arrive. Kachi and Kautu would start the day enquiring if they have come and krithika starts putting on her shoes to go and pick them up! Then finally, the D day arrived and we all set off, my brother and wife, karthik, me and the kids to pick them up. Oh..so joyful to see the reunion of the oldest and the youngest in our family!
The time spent with us seems all too little now. Barely two weeks after he arrived, my dad went back. We managed a cross England camping trip that lasted a week, a single day exploring London, punting on river Cam and loads and loads of shopping the while he was here. Mom is here another month, and I have put on an additional few Kgs with all the good food, morning, noon and night!
Ah...I really was missing my almost every month trips to Chennai to see them, and the frequent visits of Mom to Bangalore, when Karthik and I would take off from our duties and relax in her cooking and pampering! Isn't it so wonderful that you have someone who loves the kids as much as you and you can unburden yourself totally to them and relax without a thought in your head? I often think of children who don't have grandparents...how much they are missing, all the old stories, the feeling of listening to and loving someone other than your parents and ofcourse, the yum food. Anyway, let me enjoy myself a bit more and get back to the sorry posts after they have gone!!