No Me Time

As I concluded my yoga session today, I felt pretty darn swell, I felt relaxed and eeerrr sweaty! As we said our namaste and om shanti's my neighbour turned around and said hi and launched into a conversation about our children, I really didn't know her that well, but I do know that our girls are of the same age, and Niki once attended ballet with her daughter once. So Mrs X (she is talker that one, and I seriously didn't even had the time to ask her name, so we'll have to call her Mrs X!) asked me where I was planning to send Niki to school once she's in Primary 1, I told her the options I have available and she informed that one of the schools I've shortlisted will be doing the registration next week.

And then she launched into her kid's day to day extra curricular activities; per below;

Sun : Violin and Choir class

Mon : Piano class

Tuesday : Drama Class

Wesnesday : Abacus

Thurs : Ballet

Friday : Mandarin class

Sat : Swimming

and I was like overwhelmed, and I asked her can the child cope, I mean with the daily school and all and Mrs X says that her daughter loves having a jam packed schedule. And that now's the right time before she enters Primary 1, I think I may have looked gob-smacked! I mean look at the kid's schedule, to put it mildly, she's really busy.

By all means I'm all for child enrichment but I think the above is a wee bit too much, mums out there what do you think?

For now, I just want Niki to play and have a good time, and I think the music lessons, mandarin classes and computer classes that is within her school curriculum is more than adequate at this point because I want her to enjoy her childhood and basically be a kid! I think I may get a very disdainful look from Mrs X but to me right now at this point of Niki's age .. this feels right!

And yup, I recently enrolled Niki for Kid's Yoga, I wanted to have something that both of us can do and relate too, so Saturday has become more like mummy and me time,

10.30 - 11.30 : mummy's yoga class

11.30 - 12.30 : niki's yoga class; she loves the physical activities as do I, and her guru dishes out stickers and reasonable amount of candies to the kids, so the whole session is usually very energetic workout for the kids.

12.40 - 1.00 : is spent in the shower room, Niki's finds this one the highlight of her Saturday!

and then we have a leisurely lunch at the cafe downstairs

before we head home for our afternoon siesta!

and where is Daddy? Daddy uses Saturday to sleep in of course!

The Mercedes Benz NY Fashion Week

This week's eye candy :
As I ooohhh'ed and and aaaahhh'ed at this years collection I must say Badgley Mischka's line really caught my eye, it's so beautiful it hurts! The fabric, the cut, the designs, it's timeless, one word says it all "gorgeous" .. ok let me continue sallivating!

The underdog

Hurrah, my fave underdog movie slumdog won for best picture at the oscars!

Slumdog was not as gritty as I'd liked it to be, I found the movie to be unrealistically sweet and it tries, it tries to tell a story, not many movies of today try to tell a story anymore, they just rip off the life of someone usually an unspoken politician ie. Milk, Frost/Nixon, put a little twist into it and make it into a movie, whatever happened to movies? What point is there when we already know what happened? Whatever happened to story telling, classics like Casablanca, It Happened One Night, Arabian Nights, Gone with The Wind, whatever happened to the Garbos, the Gables, the Poitiers? Talking about whatever happened, you should catch a movie by Robert DeNiro called "What Just Happened" it was quirky and funny and relatable!

So I was pleasantly surprised when I watched Slumdog about a month back, of course some parts were really very unsettling, but overall it tries to tell a story, a story of a boy, a story about kids living in the slums who doesn't know about what's on the outside of their world, a story of true love that conquers all even in the face constant adversity.

It was refreshing! It got abit of trashing though, even from Big B (Amitabh Bachan) who felt that it took slum life and turned it into a joke, a circus; that it should not be that way, that it was wrong singling India out as a centre of slum life, when they're slums everywhere. Yup no doubt there's slums everywhere, and children are preyed on and mistreated almost anywhere in the world, but I reckon Big B was more worried about how India will look in the face of the world or was trying to "save face" for India, since Bollywood is churning out dream like movies most of the times where everything appears nice, rosy and dandy. We too, have been lulled into a false believe in Bollywood, frankly what goes through your mind when you think about Bollywood movies? To me, it's singing heroes and damsels in distress, nifty choreographed dance and singing sequence interspeed with love triangles, conniving villains and comedians. They have forgotten to portray the real India, about the racial disharmony that exists, the poverty level, the slums, the lives of real Indians who live in reality.

So let's not close our eyes any longer, sometimes our eyes are open, but do they really see? So, let's open our eyes and look around us to finally "see"

And hopefully this will open up a new genre for Hollywood, Bollywood and Kollywood to go against the grain, to be courageous and start telling compelling stories, to go forward and not look for the easy way out!

Hard knocked life

With the impending economy gloom looming, a lot of people has been saying that we should wind down a bit. I being a conservative democrat wholly agree. Of late we have been cutting down where we can, and eating out is becoming more of a weekend thing rather than an every day thing. I've been trying my darnest to conserve energy as well, but well that depends on our weather, but if its breezy I now think nothing of using the fan instead of the AC, which is a good thing for keeping young as I've heard from my skin expert, Melissa.

And no more plastic bags where we can help it, we've stocked all our cars with environmentally friendly bags in case we need to go grocery shopping. Which I think is something everyone should do, every tiny bit helps y'know no matter how small!

Along with this my resolution if I've not mentioned earlier is to live better and take better care of my own health ditto for that of Vicky's & Niki's too!

Alrighty that's all for now dear diary :)

Niki's Joke of the day

This scene took place during Niki's home tutorial, 2 evenings ago

Ammu: Apa itu nama?

Niki : Nama is namaste

Hehehehehehe!

It's all about your first born

Since this blog is about Niki, I think this post is just what the blog needs; that's the whole reason for this blog to start with ;-) .. my leet mo-mo's amazing journey

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?

Yes, we decided on parenthood 2 years after we got hitched

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?

Yup

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?

I remembered being all panicked, happy, uncertain and afraid all at once. Was a bundle of nerves

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?

Nope

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?

Old .. I was 29+ and 30+ when I delivered.

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?

Home pregnancy test .. and then we confirmed it with Dr Gendeh our family GP the following evening

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?

No one for the first one month, and then my parents and in laws, once I started showing everyone caught on ;-)

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?

Since it was our first, of course, we were bouncing off the walls and couldn't wait till I was 5 months in and then .. ta da! we found out .. and then .. it was the naming process, which we found to be so much fun .. there was a lot of laughs .. and of course Quinjoh

9. DUE DATE?

18 October 2004

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?

Yeah the whole first trimester I was a mess .. lost about 4kgs and was at an all time low of 48kgs which should be my ideal weight now!

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?

In terms of food it was : mutton, beef, spinach and japanese green tea

Then I craved endless attention from my hubby .. and got away with a lot of mischief

Then I started my Harry Potter craze

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?

Nothing important

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?

A baby girl

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?

Never, we felt so blessed and I remember feeling really, really happy throughout the pregnancy .. and I glowed like a glo-worm .. according to hubby dearest

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?

About 6 kgs .. I had a neat little package, and since I was quite fit throughout it was a smooth pregnancy .. and I wear my stretch marks with much pride :-), so even if there's no more bikini for me .. like ever! there's still the unikini

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?

Yup, it was lots of fun

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?

I hinted and it was executed

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?

Yup. My due date was the 18th and by the end of the first week, we were already pretty anxious .. my baby didn't want to check out from her cozy womb I was guessing .. Our Ob-gyn asked us to hold on another week before we decided to induce the pregnancy. I went through 2 induction and was in labour for almost 24 hrs before we delivered via emergency C-section. It was quite an adventure filled delivery, I must say. I remembered being wheeled into the OR and thinking that if this was the last thing I did here on earth, delivering my baby safe and sound would be my greatest achievement. I didn't feel afraid but I think my dearest hubby was worried sick. I found out only later that it was the first time he cried as a man according to his mum

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?

Selangor Medical Centre in Shah Alam

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?

Longer than anyone I knew

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?My husband in our maroon Putra 171. The baby seat was already fixed on the back seat and mine & my hubby's overnight bags were in the trunk.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?

My ob-gyn and about 6 other people in the OR. Thank goodness I waxed!

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? A c-section

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?

Whilst being induced the second time, I got to enjoy the oxygen which was really nice ;-)

During the C-section I opted for general anaesthesia from the bottom half down. It took more than 10 hours to wear off afterwards. I thank God everyday that I'm pretty tough and I tried walking around the ward the day after my delivery. And nursing my baby was the most amazing experience ever.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?

3.2kg

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?

November 1, 2004 at 1.12pm.

We stayed at the hospital for the next 5 days and likened it to a short break. We took the single suite and Vicky bunked in on a rollaway bed. It was fullboard all the way and when Niki comes in for her feed she always smelt so good. I remember all these very fondly indeed

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?

We named her Nikita Leeann Kumar

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?

4 years and 3 months and counting

So I would love to know about your first born as well, send me a comment as what bittergourd did :)

Hatha is a start

Dear diary:

It's been about 2 months now since I started doing yoga, I've since been to the hatha (lots of stretches this one), gentle flow (not too gentle this one, name was really deceiving .. I was conned!) and yogalates (a combination of yoga & pilates and is defo for ppl with midriff prob ie. me!) .. yet to try Iyengar because this class is in the evening.

I actually feel great which is against the rules of the universe when it comes to exercising for me. And I do feel pretty indestructible after a good work out .. and am throughly drenched when I'm done ..so I'm gonna stick to this and hopefully in a couple of months time I'm able to shrink ...errrr .. well my whole body ;-) .. we try ok!

Alrighty then off to the office with me ..

Grammys, anyone

I for once was at home at 9am yesterday and caught the Grammys live .. errr.. anyone care to comment on what the heck happened? I was totally out of the loop and was asking myself who's Robert Plant and Allison Krauss? Please fill it in for me .. All I know is Robert Plant used to be part of Led Zeppelin, right? wrong?

And woot woot to Adele .. for her win, actually I was rooting for both Duffy & Adele ..

On another positive note, JT was looking mighty fine donchathink;-)

Photos of Thaipusam

Thaipusam

It was Thaipusam last Sunday and us trio joined my parents in law, Ammu, Siva, Joey & the kids at Batu Caves. Being fully aware of the blazing Malaysian sun that day we decided to head to Batu Caves in the evening instead, which was definitely the right thing to do.

There were tonnes and tonnes of devotees there that day and needless to say we didn't really have to walk we just drifted with the crowd. It was both very colourful and sweaty.

The kavadi's were AMAZING! Just check out the photos above!

I thought it'll be nice to include a bit about Thaipusam here for the uninitiated..now I know why they chant "vel, vel"

Thaipusam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம்) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). It is also referred to as Thaipooyam or Thaippooyam in the Malayalam language. Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

Origin
Skanda (or Murugan) was created during one of the battles between the Asuras and the Devas. At one point, the latter were defeated several times by the former. The Devas were unable to resist the onslaught of the Asura forces. In despair, they approached Siva and entreated to give them an able leader under whose heroic leadership they might obtain victory over the Asuras. They surrendered themselves completely and prayed to Siva. Siva granted their request by creating the mighty warrior, Skanda, out of his own power or Achintya Shakti. He at once assumed leadership of the celestial forces, inspired them and defeated the Asura forces.

Kavadi

Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War.[1] It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan.[2]

Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to idol the for purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to Shanmuga to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him.

Preparations
Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting. Kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy and take only pure, Satvik food, once a day, while continuously thinking of God.

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common.

The simplest kavadi is a semi circular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a little spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or being hung from a decorated bullock cart or more recently a tractor, with the point of incisions of the hooks varying the level of pain. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit.

Pushpa's bridal shower

Pushpa's Aunt, Vicky's Dad, Mohan and Vicky doing their share of blessings
me, joey, barbara and vicky

Ammu and the blushing bride to be and the "hantarans" we decorated together :)

Yesterday was Pushpa's bridal shower or "Nallenger" in Tamil.

The ceremony is a rite of passage itself—where women gather to sing, dance, eat, and tease the bride. Ok, we didn't exactly sing & dance but we sure did some heavy teasing and made the bride to be blush. Yeah, we married women can be shameless ya know.

The shower is also an informal chance to acknowledge the powerful commitment between the newlyweds. Blessing is given symbolically, ie. kunyit and gungumum for a radiant complexion and love life :) rice, so that she'll be a Curtis Stone in the kitchen, rose water is sprinkled so that her garden should she want to plant her own veggies, will always be green & plentiful .. ok I made them up but I'm sure the representation is more or less like I've described ..

Afterwards, we had a feast accompanied by a mean teh tarik, in my case I had teh tariks :)

Let me take this opportunity to wish Pushpa from all of us, a very blissful & always joyful married life with your man *hugs & kisses out to ya!*