Time to Celebrate !!!

Jus as I was submerged in some guilty pangs, these laurels put things back in track...
Im Happy...Proud....Elated...

Well, the week before was hectic with preliminary rounds at Art Robe- the place where Shreya goes for drawing class.They were hosting an event called Clusters which was open to all with various interestg contests.
I had given Shreya's name for all the four contests..I jus wanted her to participate...thot she wil get an exposure.
The coloring contest started at 8.00 am on a cool Sunday morning.Picked her back at 9.15 am.At MIL's house the breakfast was ready.Fed Shreya too and dressed herup for the Story Telling Contest...Yeah, its our fav Jala Kula Duppatta Story...see, I don have to force her saying this story..and put in any extra efforts to train her..:-)

It was change of costume again for Dance...I peeped thru the glass door to see how she did...and whoa..she definitely was amazing...Both Shreya n myself were indeed a little disappointed when she wasnt selected for the finale...Clearly, she was the only one with better costumes...but since I din see other kids dancing, din wanna comment on that...

The singing contest was judged by Airtel Super Singer particpant-Srinivas...heard that Shreya got lovely comments and was well appreciated...Now, thats real surprise!!

That isnt the end of it...Cookery contest for women..and yes ,I was part of it.Since the topic was healthy n tasty, Vaidehi helped me with a yummy Salad recipe...Should have done the chopping better.Presentation was good.We tried making a watermelon basket.Tks to Vj.And MIL and Ambika had helped me a great deal in chopping the veges n fruits...Time was my major constaint..Since I was with Shreya the whole of forenoon, cudnt concentrate on this...
Well, no hard feelings, I tried my best..and learnt somethg nice..that was it...


Diwali celebrations at Fitness One had dance contest for kids with prop..since Shreya had already practiced, jus made her do the same but with Damakku Dappa as the prop..:-) Oh she picked it up so well...and I was sooper happy when she was announced the winner!!
There was fashion show for women..and my Rapunzel's costume helped me win it :-))

This Sun, it was Clusters Finale- As expected, Shreya won the story telling contest( only one prize per age group).When she was announced winner for Singing, we all felt like a storm in the tea cup !!
I was overwhelmed when Monisha called me on the stage to giv me a momento..I was totally at loss of words..Wish she goes a long way in her career..and have healthy happy life !!

Nothing is complete without ups n downs...while there were happy winnings..shdnt there be a disappointment too??
The Fashion Show for kids was the last on the agenda.She did do well in the first round.The final round had a Q n A session with simple qns posed..don knw why, she din go on to win...But its jus fine..she did well..she looked amazingly gorgeous,sooper cool...in others' words...And somebody approached me and gave her card and said, "Do u want to put ur kid in ads??"
Now, thats jus enough...its worth more than the contest n the prize !!
I should say that overall I cudnt bottleup my excitement for all the wins !!

Imperfect Mom

The harshness of being called an Imperfect Mom is still lingering in my mind..Though I introspect time n again..I curse myself whenvr I m rude to Shreya, certain things continue the same way.I know I can be a better mom in so many ways...

Yes as somebody said, wat other job I have other than taking care of her....But it comes to me as a shock when I hear it from somebody else...
In this search, I found a beautiful article which I atleast gives me some solace...

http://www.earthyfamily.com/A-goodMom.htm

I wish...I truly wish...someday my little angel will tell me Amma u r the best !!And that will help me get outta my guilty pangs...

My First Karva Chauth

Now, don go by the title...Im not recently married...But the Karva Chauth Vrath has fascinated me for long...the movies must be the culprit...
DDLJ,Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,Judaai,Kabhie Kushi Kabhie Gam...the list is endless...

Even if I observe,I knew I wud be like a square peg in a hole...still something was pushing me to observe the Vrath this year.Shreya's classmate Erina's mom helped me with the basic details and guided me in to the simplest way of observing the Vrath.

I went without anything except for a few sips of water occasionaly( heard there r people who go without water too !!!).But the day was unfortunately tiresome with too many activities linedup.
First it was Mathru Pooja at Shreya's school.Though I was not too keen this time, Shreya put her foot down and wanted to go.GAVE IN....From there I pickedup our Interior Designer .Was supposed to drop Shreya at home on the way..SURPRISE !!!Vj was here...Whilst I was only going to see his pic in the eve, I was thrilled that I cud actually have him beside while breaking my fast...The way I had visualised..;-)) Rather the way the movies had over exaggerated...

Ok...cut..the next scene at our new flat with the Designer...after discussions n deliberations..we went to school for Shreya's open day...Again I was quite surprised at the good comments from her teacher...Not that she is bad at studies...she has always been one among the top performers..The complaints earlier have only been about her talkative nature n naughtiness...and this time, even that wasnt there...( may be the teacher herself has got used to her or must be bored talking abt the same thing over n over !!!)And her report card was decorated with A s and A * s !!!

Went straight to Nirmala Dresses to pick her costumes for the next day's competitions( now, that wil be a separate blog:-))
While back home, I remembered one of my another NorthIndian frnds tellg me that mehandi is very important on Karva Chauth!! Convinced Vj to take me to the mehandiwala who sits on the platform near blue star..jus had some simple design adorning my hands...
Back home, I was exhausted ...as if to tempt me, my MIL had made quite a lotta varieties of yummy food...not knwg that I was fasting !!!but I was determined to continue..and I did...took rest for smetime and started off with Ambika to the super market to pick the fruits n veges for the next day-cookery contest !!

Back home, had a quick bath,lighted the lamp,read the Karva Chauth story frm the net.
At 6.30 I went upstairs with water to feed the moon...with some sweets and ofcourse Vj beside...oooopppss...no sight of THE MOON...Yes, I was warned that it wud be difficult to sight the moon !!!

Looked thru the dark clouds...ransacked the entire evening sky...wish I had a telescope..;-(( The Moon, that we wudnt even bother to look at on normal days was playing hide n seek indeed !!

Well, I jus used the 1 hr to feed Shreya...and setoff to the temple.Shreya's dance class kids were performing at a temple closeby...The performances, made me forget my hunger for sometime...Back home, straight hit the terrace...AND, WOWWW !! There is the big wide huge bright MOON !!I literally screamed outta joy like a small kid...Things jus ended the way I wanted it to...:-))
But that I hogged food as if I had not eaten for days is another story...

Rapunzel Rapunzel let your hair down !!!

Its been jus like yday, when I penned about Shreya’s 4 th bday…Has it been really one year since then??? Jus cant believe…

The Making ...
When it was a month to her bday, I casually asked Shreya-Wat theme party wud u like to have??Pat came the reply-Rapunzel.. and there was no second thot abt it…And for me, there was no looking back after that.Discussed with Sudha and she assured that we can definitely do it !! My mind was totally engrossed with Rapunzel and everything looked Tangled since then !!

Made a list of to dos…shared the work load between Sudha n myself.What Sudha has contributed to this bday, is boundaryless.As Vj rightly said,”We r obligated !!”
We decided to make a Tower,a Long braid,Purple Buntings with the theme yellow sun ,and a theme based-handmade thank you card.And who else,other than Sudha can bring it out with her magical hands??
The Invite also went along with the theme.And our house warming party was also clubbed .We ordered a flex banner depicting a scene frm Tangled and a Rapunzel sticker as one of the return gifts for the kids.
Googling all possible sites which had the word Rapunzel ,gave loads of ideas and options.But I had to seriously break my head for wat was possible with the resources available.

Bought a few lanterns in different sizes to suit the theme.Serial lights…with designs…If choosing the right pictures from the web took me a lotta of time, I spent 2 full hrs at the printer to jus get the posters printed.Had a birthday wish card printed too.Got a few coloring sheets with Rapunzel theme printed.Sign boards for Puzzle Corner,Coloring Corner n Tattoo Corner which we had planned to have.Since I was inviting a few from the apartment, had printed a few invites too!!Tks a ton guys- at the printer !!
Ordered for Balloon decoration.Specified the colors.Organised Tattoo artist.Bought a Rapunzel which Shreya was asking for sometime.It did come in handy for designing her dress and also for the cake.Abirami frm chillies zone helped me with her model.Shreya made a Rapunzel Tower with her building blocks)
Vj was doing his best frm his end, getting the party hall n the flat ready.Organising the chairs,tables,fans etc..
Outta the 3 pics I sent to the baker, he said, only one could be replicated.I said yes to it, but made a few changes.Ordered “our” costumes at a boutique in Egmore.I wd have spent more on the transport than the dress !! But yes, it came out well.Tks to Martina…Now, that "came out well" is for Shreya;-)

Pickedup a few other decorative items- whenever I went out.Bought a Tangled CD to be played at the end( which I forgot).Pulled out all the lovely pics of Shreya from her birth and asked Jai to make a CD.And it was simply sooper !!Chocolates…Return Gifts( after ransacking a lotta stores !!!!)…Fixing the caterer…finalising the menu…the guest list…IT IS ENDLESS !!!
23 RD Sept 2011- The D Day !!!
Shreya wokeup earlier than usual.All ready to be at school to share her happiness and chocolates with her friends.Vj n myself straight hit the party hall to get a few things organised.Rushed back home to pickup Shreya from school.Quick Lunch and a small nap for Shreya.Sudha was here early to help us and we were back at the hall putting everything together.By 5.00pm we came back home.Got ourselves ready ,picked the cake on the way ... at the venue by 6.45 pm !!
Shreya was pretty excited and was having loads of fun with her closest buddies.The kids were kept busy with the Puzzle Corner(Rapunzel puzzles),Coloring Corner(Rapunzel pics) n Tattoo Corner!!
We started our games around 7.30 pm.It was a Hunt for Rapunzel’s treasures- her tiara,comb,treasure chest and purple flowery clip for her braid !! Kids had great fun looking around…Rapunzel sticker as gift was sooper cool for the kids !!
The next one was a game for all- Rapunzel,Pascal,Maximus and Flynn Rider stuck in 4 corners ,it was the Airport game with the twist.We had 2 winners at the end who got Rapunzel’s jewel box as the gift.
Pinning the Rapunzel’s braid went well with the kids and the adults..But we were already running short of time so we had to jus give away the chocolates to all kids as gifts and move on to the highlight of the eve- A journey in to the world of Rapunzel by Sandy- my friend.She has an amazing art of story telling ..It was not jus the kids, but the moms n the guests were also spell bound !!!…and the best part was a take home handmade lantern as gift !!!
We ended, with the much awaited cake cutting..and yummy tummy filling dinner!!
I shd be really greatful n thankful to all those who made it on that day and made it a special day for not jus Shreya but to us as well !!!! Its gonna be etched in our memories for Looonnnggg !!!
it was fun to make Shreya's choice of theme come alive!! We thoroughly enjoyed putting together things...trying to incorporate the theme as much as possible taking care of the tiniest details...

Happy Birthday My Dear Rapunzel !!!