Lifeguard on Duty

OK - August has been very eventful for us. 2 weeks driving down the West Coast from San Francisco to LA (around 1500 miles in all). An earthquake last week and then Irene (a hurricane and then a tropical storm) – all these combined with several migraine attacks! We’ve been busy...

It has been a never ending round of packing and unpacking suitcases this month (latest being the one we packed few days ago in case we had to rush downstairs when Irene struck)...all is getting back to normal now (sort of!)

Kat was actually sad to get out of the rental car (aka our mobile home) because she felt that it had been her home for the last 2 weeks (I don’t blame her – with all the snacking we did on the road, it did seem like ‘Mom’s kitchen’!) READ MORE>>

A major feat...accomplished!

Playing piano with both hands!!

Just 10 days ago, I wrote about Kit’s musical first – her first piano lesson. Since then, every time she passes by the piano, she will practice her ‘Old MacDonald... going up to E-I-E-I-O. I am so proud to hear her and see her little fingers playing on the piano (it’s a nice change from thumb sucking too!

Of course, the minute Kat touches the piano for her practice, Kit will magically appear from somewhere and this will be the beginning of a heated argument dominated with “I want to practice my piano” from both sides. In the end (always), Kit can be seen sitting (with a victorious grin) on the piano stool playing some music and singing something totally impromptu...(after all, how much MacDonald can one practice?)

So, this is what happened last week…

After much fighting when Kat had resigned to the rocking chair with her Taylor Swift Speak Now lyrics and piano music, Kit first walks up to her “I want that book” – even before she finishes the sentence, she tries to snatch it from Kat, who has now become an expert at dodging Kit (it’s a survival trick!) quickly hides it behind her.  READ MORE>>

Magical Powers

Getting Kit and Kat to agree on the same thing at the same time is not a minor feat.

Kat (who has over the years silently and uncomplainingly become the more mature one or maybe it has to do with the lets give up to this overdramatic sibling of mine syndrome) is usually the one who will quietly agree to give in to Kit’s strange (sometimes atrocious) demands and at times, I must admit I am amazed that Kat actually has the patience to listen to Kit and her nonsensical (at times comical wishes)!

Just today Kit started a whole drama because she wanted me to give Time Out to Kat as she believed Kat had hurt her on purpose (this whole “on purpose” thing has great consequences in our household for Kit Kat!!) – What a drama ensued – it got blown out of proportion (everything is super blown when there is a SNOW DAY and no babysitter...I lost patience, Kit got crazy...I got crazier but then finally...Kat came to the rescue:-)  Read More>>

God made us Sisters, Hearts made us friends

After many tears and emotional blackmail, Kat managed to move out into her own room (well, it’s actually our guest room converted into her room) a couple of months ago. There were a lot of “this is mine”, “that is mine” type of arguments and with Kit it was simple – everything Kat touched belonged to Kit that very instant! In the end, it was a peaceful separation with Kit Kat now having their own space (and surprisingly less arguments over lost belongings). Both of them, however, continue to make rounds in each other’s room to scavenge whatever they can!

Since the move, the one thing that Kit loves to do in the morning is that if she sees Kat’s door is closed, she will quietly sneak into her room and face the big question – should she nick some dolly clothes at this ripe moment when all is clear and confess to me in the other room with that innocent face? Or should she simply lie down with Kat and bug her?

Some days it’s the dolly clothes for which Kat’s anger surfaces as and when the discoveries are eventually made…Other days she will make her comfy position alongside unsuspecting Kat, put her thumb in her mouth and start feeling Kat’s ear! This will get an INSTANT reaction.

Kat will jump up on the bed with “Eeww! Disgusting! Mummy take her away from here. She hasn’t even brushed her teeth and she’s breathing on me! She even smells of pee” (She still uses this on Kit from her nappy days when she did smell in the morning – not fair!)  READ MORE...

Who is Baby #1?

All of you reading this and have one child, this is one time where you can surely be happy about it (apart from the obvious cost benefits!). At some point (or many points) in their juvenile years, these siblings (primarily the older one) will question your love over and over and over again to the point where you start questioning it yourself… grrrh!

For some reason, all these debates start in our house around homework or some other important task (do I see a diversion here?) so last evening Kat announced while doing her work that she thinks of Kit as competition (!) and without even knowing what the conversation was about Kit said “Me too!” (as anything Kat does, she has to Me as well)
Sensing a migraine coming on, I try to push the conversation forward –

Kat: “Since Kit has been born, all the attention has been going to her. Everyone says she is the cute one. No one bothers about me”.

I see big tears rolling down and the clock ticking away towards 8pm and I know we are here for long…. READ MORE...