My Lady of the Lantern

....I have faced two distinct moments of Ewwww with both the kids. I will spare you the details.  ....I have just gotten over sore throat/body ache/headache/ nasal congestion, and my periods started the same day that the symptoms emerged. I loved winters, but not this kind, the kind when I am shivering through.  ....M can now climb down, and get up on the sofa we have in our living room. He shows interest in stacking things, pulling down stuff and keeping it back.  ....Figlia was not able to (she just could not figure it out) drink using straws till just before her second birthday. M is already doing it, and doing it well. .... It was the first show of sibling rivalry by Figlia last evening. The tantrum was horrible. Eventually, she did calm down, and in the night, DH and I were able to tell her why her line of thinking was not justified. .... M has a runny nose, and it is just not going away. His colic is better though. 

I am little nervous composing this post. I don't want another mud-slinger out in the world. I don't want a grading of right and wrong. Hubby and I had another blowout yesterday morning. It started at the fact that Figlia would soon have her winter vacations. Gracy is not very good with coming on time. Her time to report home is 10:00 am but she is always a "little late". Hubby blew at the fact that this meant that his gym time would get shortened. He goes to gym a little after 9:30 am and reaches office from there by 11:00 am.  Now that Figlia would be home, he cannot leave till Gracy comes and takes charge - perfect context for a daily war.  And I was not willing to let him go at 6 a.m....leaving me alone with two kids who are half-awake, and chores that need to be done in the morning. Since he can push his sign-in time into the office. I spontaneously suggested that he could reach 15 minutes post the current time, and what difference would it be? Hubb...

M is 13 months today. I was reminiscing that today in 2014, hubby had sent cake to us (at City X) to celebrate him turning a month old. It seems so long ago. Yesterday, hubby and I were talking about how different the personalities of Figlia and M are. Figlia was naughty, and looked so. M is naughty and does not look so.  Figlia is far more open about her emotions than M, or atleast that is how it feels right now. And then M is just a baby, please remind me that. M is taking better interest in food, and the best part is that he goes straight to Figlia in case she is eating, and demands his share. Figlia shares easily with him,  so my referee role does not kick in at mealtimes. I do have to play referee when any one of them is sleepy. By some magical permutation, the other one also has an urgent, screaming request at the same time.  We co-sleep, but the arrangement has changed. It is me with Figlia, and hubby with M.  M had strange boils nea...

I wonder sometimes if my perceptions are more powerful than what the reality is, but I have been numb to lot of stuff recently because I know that over-reaction would be very harmful. In November, when I was at my in-laws, one morning, I was making breakfast, and everyone else was just doing something else. I was busy cooking but my mind was chewing gum of its own. I noticed that M sat on the floor and was holding my gown, just content to not be leaving my side. Thank God. It was needed. I was happy to know that I had company, even if of a baby with newly precipitated stranger anxiety. M has been cracking up his own forts. He latched shut me and Figlia in the bathroom once. Today he latched DH and Figlia. That boy just can't be trusted with latches. He pushed a frame full of washed clothes onto the floor today.  He is standing unsupported but not walking independently. Figlia walked at 13 months, so we are in a similar bracket possibly.  Also, the beginning of...

I was drying washed laundry on our frame, and M was in the same room. He started pulling off clothes from a basket and began heaping them on the frame, a perfect imitation of what he perceived I was doing. :-) - - -  M's interest in solids went up after his teeth emerged. He has four teeth, and drooling and biting, so likely to have more teeth any day now. - - - Figlia has a small table and chair of her own where she eats her meals, does colouring or other stuff. She was eating some snacks yesterday, and M went after her snacks. Eventually, Figlia was calling out for help because M pushed the table away, went up to her, and was holding her asking for the snack, and she stretched her hands high up to keep the tiffin away from his reach. It was so funny. Their interactions gladden my heart, even though I am likely to be wearing a referee suit soon. - - - Gracy met with an accident and was away from work for almost nine days. She has re-joined but is not a...