Thoughts of a gifterrific mind

May is a season which finds me all broke and penniless. It's so uncanny but everyone I know atleast majority of the ones close enough to make me shell out some dough to get them gifts seem to have chosen this auspicious month to be born. So usually I begin to start hunting for gifts one month in advance. I hate hunting for gifts. It's hard to choose gifts for people really. Though I do hate the deed as much as I hate waking up early in the morning (It used to take mom 1-2 hrs of coaxing,threatening and cajoling to get me out of bed and now all it takes is one piercing shrill cry which threatens to wake up the whole neighborhood and burn through my eardrum coming from the thing which is both a boon and a bane for a parent aka baby monitor,ah those golden days of sleeping in are such a thing of the past now *big sigh* ) Anyway inspite of such a bad attitude at choosing gifts when I do make up my mind I truly put it in my heart and sole into the matter. Needless to say I do end up buying myself a new pair of shoe everytime at the end of the month (pst..pst..not that I need any excuse to buy another lovely pair to my collection but it does serve as a logical explanation to some disapproving *read male* voices at home. Orchi,I know you will definitely understand:) ) But then again May is also a month which makes me laud the goodness and generosity of my friends and family as yours truly was also a product packaged and delivered during this month itself to this planet. So you see all good karma of gift giving does come right back to me. But this year however I chose to do the deed online. Much easier,and all it takes is click of a button ,I can do it even as I shine up my OLD shoe (*hint*time for a new one almost. It's already 2 months and does that make it ancient?you bet it does in Fuzzyland) or sipping my coffee even braiding my hair or pretending I'm just drafting an important document at work, chatting with my pregnant friend listening to her third trimester woes and thinking how I managed to get through it myself or even watching my little one do another somersault on the carpet like a little adorable baboon.

But then even internet doesn't make this task any easier. Infact now I'm more confused about choosing the gift than I was before I started it. I have to pick up atleast 6 -7 birthday gifts (I know,we taureans are overpopulated in my side of the world) along with a anniversary present for my parents and a wedding present for a close friend. I usually try to choose the best gift possible keeping their tastes in mind but sometimes somehow what I find as "wonderful and thoughtful" gift usually is met with a raised eyebrow or a slightly tightened smile or a disappointment masked with a stiffled laughter. I do get anxiety attacks during this month due to the same reasons. The pressure of selecting the right gift is too much. Especially so when it is birthdays,somehow its a special day for everyone be it a 5 year old or a 70 year old (I do have a granny who still looks forward to her birthday and makes it a point to dress up her best on that day and keeps dropping hints about it so we lazy grandkids make some effort to celebrate her day) Last time I got her a dvd collection set of most popular movies of her favorite actor ( This actor in question was a South Indian actor named Rajkumar who died last year and boy oh boy did my granny fill up all the water tanks in the street watching his funeral) but I know she appreciated the gift! See I do manage to spend time and get good gifts,I'm not a total basket case. But then again I bungled and ended up getting a house hold item as a gift for one of my newly married friend's birthday and she was so angry with me that she refused to talk to me for a week.We did make up later over a nice italian dinner when she told me sobbing how her newly married husband had gotten her a blender as a gift for her first birthday after their wedding and this was the reason she snapped at me when I ended up gifting her on similar lines. Her husband moved around with a dejected I'm-not-getting-any look on his face complaining that she has unnecessarily banished him out of her bedroom for 2 weeks and made him return that gift calling him a male chauvinist. Guys do take this advice to heart ,don't give any kitchen or house hold items as gifts to your wives or girlfriends especially so on their birthdays. You might appreciate receiving that brand new fully loaded tool box or power tools and machines from the home depot for your birthday but the female brain at least the majority of it does not function along similar lines. You will thank me someday for this tip!whoever told gifting was easy surely has no idea what it's all about.

Talking of presents the worst present I have received so far I think is a map!yes you heard me right,someone did gift me a map. I admit I'm directionally challenged but I hate maps!who would think of gifting anyone map?well apparently as it was proven in my case they do. It was a Map of Europe,I couldn't really ask that person what possessed them or gave them even an idea that I would need a map of Europe beats me. Unfortunately though this person was neither a close friend nor a family member but an aquaintance so I couldn't get to the bottom of the map mystery. You tell me who would have thought " Oh Map,that's it,this is such an ideal gift to give. That too of Europe where perhaps she is not likely to go for next 2 yrs atleast . She will surely be thrilled to get this one" . Anyway FYI no,I did not return or exchange the gift though I almost thought I would. But hey I do believe it's the thought that counts so I kept it . Maybe his giving me a map was a sign people,I ought to be careful whenever I do make that destined Europe trip. Even at the risk of you guys blaming me for my materialistic attitude I do admit inspite of good thoughts I do hate certain gifts at times which were given. There !that was much better getting it off my chest. So I hated that map!The truth is even though we do say its the thought that counts at times we all have felt either a pleasure or disappointment with our gifts sometime or the other isn't it? So which would you say the worst gift you ever received? Let's put the usual "it's-the-thought-that-counts" thingy aside for a minute,be honest guys and tell me! See this might even help me to avoid such gross errors as I choose the gifts now:)

Letter to my neglected blog

My dear blog,

Hi!it's me Fuzzy. I know I've been meting out some stepmotherly treatment towards you and neglecting you almost to the point that someone ought to have called blog protective services on me. Sorry about the time lapse old buddy. Life has been getting to me. I have been lost amongst the multitude of tasks in planning a vacation, handling a toddler who has recently delightfully been exploring her new found way of locomotion and zest for continued inquisitiveness, trying to tie up loose ends at work, managing a unkept home and a kitchen which is in a delirious messy state. If I were to describe my present mood to you perhaps it would be anything but pleasant. So we plan a vacation and get everything ready for the same and one fine morning my PC man's Boss decides to pull the rug under our feet at the last minute. He makes a frantic call and then declares that perhaps it would be better to post pone the trip by a couple of weeks so they can get some innane project problem fixed. Well,I'm generally all for peace and non violence but I had to suppress a sudden urge to strangle Boss man's big fat neck. Anyway all said and done there you have it,the much anticipated trip is now put on hold for what looks like a couple of weeks. I need to go put my head into a freezer to cool it down. I also need my chocolate and a strawberry short cake ice cream fix to make me feel saner again.

We have some stuff to catch up I know. Let's talk our fuzzy logics over a shot of my caffeine shall we? Life is still good. The weather is perfect, lots of toothy smiles and tiny hugs come my way everyday and a bouquet of red roses arrived few minutes back from a sorry feeling PC guy aka hubby. What's more I still have my wonderful blog buddies here who so willingly listen and comment to all my rantings. Let's start catching up:)

Big hugs ,

Fuzzylogic

Life in the toddler lane

Hey folks,long time I got my hands on the comp. Lately Mom has been fuming a lot and talking to herself about not having enough time to blog. I thought I will take some initiative and put up a post to ease her out of her crabby mood. I don't understand my mom and dad at times. Instead of appreciating that I learnt how to press the redial button and ended up calling dad's boss and having a babbling conversation more intelligent than them mom simply took it from my hand and apologized for the guy for making the call..Hmph! Or like the other day when I just thought of giving the flower plant a good dose of toddler love by squeezing it and trying to get her into shape all I got was a yell and march to the other end of the room. I was just trying to help the old fella by excavating that dirt around her and getting to see if I can fill it up with some more water. I even created a water bed on the floor for the pot to rest so she wouldn't have to worry about getting watered everyday. I also tried to taste the food they have been providing her and see if its upto mark and contains all the essential nutrients. I even tried to provide more assistance to dad's lucky bamboo plant in the room too but then who listens to sane advices that too from a toddler right?I tell you life is hard in toddlerville.

Now the travel plans,so my folks are trying to get me to co operate with them as they fly overseas to India. A place where I have been told I will be gathered and assaulted with cuddles and smooches much against my will by perfectly unknown bunch of crazy people supposedly called relatives. Tell me wouldn't you be concerned by such a information. I plan to protest as much as I can but do pray for me that I will be back in one piece. Mom is more worried how I will behave in the flight. She is scared I will probably exercise my vocal skills to its fullest and scare the pants off people on the plane. She is praying fervently that I will follow these instructions she has given me which I have tried in the previous short flights.

1. Not to throw the famous Ina tantrums on the plane ( I threw one recently just to keep up with my reputation of being a toddler and mom said she wanted to become invisible and disappear from the mall)

2. Not to kick the people in the front seat (What if I want to stretch my legs,car seats can be crampy)

3. Not to play with the attendant call button( I so totally am going to do that pst pst)

4. Not to smear my goldfish on the seats and clap my hands for some audience (Hey,I love audiences on my shows)

5. Insist on not taking a nap (Naps on a plane with so many people around waiting to be entertained?No way)

6. Shred the in flight magazine and use them as confetti (Trust me,you adults should try it sometime,its rather cathartic)

7. Remove my shoes off and throw it all around expecting to play catch catch

8. Dunk my hand into anyone's coke or coffee or try to share any half eaten mushy cookies (I 'm all for sharing )

9. Decide to take a stroll under the seat and get stuck

10. Try to take the comb and lipstick out from mom's handbag and give dad a makeover. (You ought to see this sometime,I think I have a talent)

In general she wants me to restrain from doing anything fun. Now you tell me how am I to keep myself entertained for 10 straight hours? Poor dad and mom they sure will try their best but a toddler's got to do what a toddler's ought to do. But then mom's warned me she is armed with some nasty medicine to get me to go down and she told me if I push her too far she won't be afraid to use it on me. So perhaps it's good if I don't push her that far isn't it?

Ok folks,I got to go now. They are planning for a short trip to the mall to get some things on their packing list. I heard dad grumble that if it was possible mom would just pack this whole house and take it with her. I also have some stuff to add on the list. I was thinking of getting my own remote control for the tv , I have been kept off them as I accidently ended up breaking one of them trying to test its centre of gravity. Let me try my luck. You just had a glimpse of what it's like living life in the toddler lane. Will be back sometime soon with more updates. Take care and all you folks have a wonderful weekend!

Mindless violence

I felt a cold chill run down my spine as I read and saw the Virginia tech shooting. Another story of a classroom turned into a minefield by a deranged gunman. 31 innocent lives lost in seconds. An unprecedented carnage conducted in cold blood. It's scary to imagine how someone can do that. Scary how a human mind can get so dark and twisted that taking lives without remorse becomes so easy. Makes me wonder if there's an unknown lurking devil inside all humans. It's disturbing and distressing to hear such news. My heart goes out to the parents who have lost their children to such tragedies. It's sheer mindless violence. I feel world has suddenly become such a scary place to live. You have paedophiles who prey on the kids on streets,gun violence in the middle of downtown shopping complexes,people blowing themselves to kill unarmed civililans,deranged gunmen opening fires in schools and colleges and what makes it all the more real is all this is not happening somewhere very far from where you live that you can perhaps ignore thinking that it doesn't affect us. How safe can you make it really for our kids? How safe is it out there for any kid or even an adult in that sense? This is happening all around us and in places not so far from our own homes. Perhaps no amount of any disaster simulations can prepare anyone for such a event. And for those who were actually involved and present at the scene of such violence and lost someone to it perhaps it'll be much more harder to put this behind and move on. The students were sent there to plan a beginning of a bright future and not to have their lives cut short this way.Prayers and thoughts to the lost lives and their families.

The day I dared

It was compelling,the sight it offered caused my cowardly heart to leap out of my body.

"Come on ,don't be such a chicken" called my friend D

"It'll be fun,I promise I won't let go" called hubby

"You guys are crazy,this looks dangerous" *cowering and trying to find a way to sneak and run from there* I stuttered

"What if something went wrong,what if the rope breaks,what if I die of shock" *like a lamb on its sacrificial alter I was desperate to escape*

They dragged me and somehow even though my heart was in my mouth there was a strange excitement that egged me on. When they tied three of us up and lifted us up,up and up till the top I was ready to smack myself hard for even thinking of this,I looked at D incredulously and cast one puppy look at hubby who looked like he would burst out laughing seeing my state.I whispered desperately to D who held the end of the rope and was instructed to let it go when told " D,I beg you ,just don't let go when they say"

D looked at me with an amused look and said "Are you kidding?there's no way they can get us down now unless I let go,even if I don't wish to I have to"

Then the moment arrived and there in a matter of seconds we went diving down and I screamed and screamed and suddenly as we reached midair I experienced such a rush of exhilaration and excitement that the fear just seemed to vanish. It was truly incredible,remarkable and absolutely great feeling. It was like suddenly we had developed wings and we were flying out in the sky.For once I was glad they had pushed me to try this...for once I was glad I never let my fear over take me. Now if only I could gather courage enough to try the bungie jumping or the sky diving,perhaps someday I will!

Toddler Files-Operation Foiled baking

One day on a crisp spring morning a mom woke up to the heavenly aroma of some freshly baked cookies wafting through the door of her apartment. As if in a trance she got up following the smell and she immediately knew that Mrs.Scott next door was up and early doing what she does the best,baking her cookies and fresh bread for the weekend anticipating the arrival of her grandkids. Ah,she thought,how nice it would be if there would be some nice home made fresh baked bread and cookies on the table for breakfast. But following the thought she also sighed as till date she was a self proclaimed baking disaster queen. Somehow even the ready made rolls of dough got from the store which even a child could turn into absolutely delightful bunch of cookies ended up looking like shrivelled pieces of doughy flattened things which did taste like cookies but somehow lack the visual appeal. But the heavenly smell form the neighbor's home was acting like a stimulant and she decided to give her baking skills a try one more time. She armed herself with some enthusiasm and positive attitude which sometimes falsely gives some glint of hope to any person who is on the verge of washing their hands off something which their saner self had warned never to undertake.

Off she went the next day morning to the store,with a whining toddler in tow and marched through the aisles of the baking department of the store with a new found confidence. There she stood and stared at the things at her disposal. There just were too many choices,its criminal to give so many choices to a total amateur at baking. There were a mind boggling array of mixtures,powders,pans,sheets,nuts,coloring agents,spices,condiments,frostings,choices of flour etc etc. Clearly this was not her area of expertise,so she wondered where exactly to begin. She looked cautiously at the ready to make mixes available and was tempted to just take them home with her and experiement with them. But the new found confidence rejected such sane decisions and urged her to do things from the scratch,the positives quotes churned out thoughts that said "you can do it girl" it's just baking afterall not some rocket science. So she went ahead and got out her list for her cookies and gathered out the flour,chocolate chips and the essentials that the recipe dictated and proudly smiling to herself for not yeilding to the ready made mixes got them home and came. It was time to begin............

1.After feeding the hungry little busybody she set out to tackle the indomitable baking. She took out the hand mixer and spooned in said amounts of butter and sugar and started to beat the mixture. Just then the little busybody wandering around came to the kitchen and took one look at the running mixer in her hand and squealed in delight. She clapped her hands and settled down eyeing every detail. The mom let her little audience enjoy the show and kept the mixer down and went to get the eggs with a spring in her step. This is going so good,she thought.

2.She got the eggs out and about to clean them out and beat them into the mixture when she heard some slurping noise. There stood little curious george slurping the mixture which she had managed to reach it by standing on her toes! Mom marched the toddler out of the kitchen and that's when she heard a soft crash,her well intentioned eggs were now on the floor staring at her through a amusing yellowish mess. In her hurry to save her mixture mom had incidently left those eggs on the precipitous side of the sink which happened to gravitate towards to floor. "Oh,S#$%" she exclaimed under her breath and immediately realized she had the toddler still in her arms,she hoped the toddler would not pick the swear up. After cleaning it up she still was going on strong. Little drawbacks like these should never deter one when one is set on a mission afterall. So she got some more eggs out into the mixture and started to beat them up with her mixer.

3.Next it was time to add in the flour. So she opened the pantry to get the flour and added the said amount into the mixture.She turned around to get those chocolate chips into the mixture only to see little junior already spreading it around the floor and shoving handful of it into her mouth. No,No mom said,snatching away the chocolate chip bag from her and planting it on the table.

4. Phew,she thought as she added the chocolate chips and stirred the mixture. She then enthusiastically greased her cookie sheet,placed the cookie dough and lowered it into the preheated oven when she heard a squeal. Which toddler can resist the invitation of an open pantry afterall?there she sat in amidst of a sea of flour all spread around on the floor,over her hands and face and squealed. Mom almost fainted seeing the mess but then again who can resist the small toothy grin of delight and the mischievous glint in her big brown eyes. Mom went to hunt for her camera and started taking pics of this delightful performance (Yep,moms can be crazy this way,we do things which are not considered sane by some normal people) Meanwhile they both forgot about the cookie in the oven until ofcourse the mom noticed some nasty burnt smell. That was when the realization dawned !

Needless to say how Mrs.Scott's inspiration had disastrous results. Betrayed by her own olfactory senses mom now wishes she can seal off her windows and doors so no more heavenly smells escape into her home and mess with her brain this way. But then there are those captured moments of the fun she had with her toddler which perhaps made it all worth it!as for the cookies next time store bought Peek Freans serve just fine!

Need some luck?

I just got off the phone after speaking to my cousin back in India. She is having her exams tomorrow and was feeling rather jittery and anxious. She was giving me the details of how she has prepared for the tough paper ahead tomorrow and how this time around she is making sure she is putting on her "lucky" dress and carrying her "lucky" pen for this tough paper. This got me wondering how many of us have such lucky charms?I remember how many of my friends in university relied on such lucky charms to help them sail through the exam. Though I never understood how a pebble or a string or a talisman helped them ace the paper but each of them had something or the other. Some people came all annointed with some holy red vermillion on their forehead, some came in with their lucky shirts,lucky pencils and one of them always wore one worn out on its deathbed disgusting looking pair of shoes ,he always claimed this was his magic shoes which he kept for special occasions (Ofcourse we did warn him when he went on his first date to leave this pair at home,he would not have been married today if he had decided to take that lucky pair with him). Some had lucky socks and even lucky knickers,I kid you not I don't think during a marathon exam sessions they were ever washed!Staying in a hostel is advantageous as it provides free access to everyone's dirty secrets in this case perhaps we can rephrase it as dirty laundries! I was perhaps no exception,I always carried with me a sappire ring given to me by my late grandfather always. Rationally speaking I know it perhaps really never brought me any luck as such but it was comforting to have something about which I felt attached to.

My dad always carries a pebble with him as a form of goodluck,my grandmother strongly believes one should always step out of the house or begin a venture only after the inauspicious time of the day namely the "Raahukaalam" according to Hindu calendar is over. She claims that is a reason how me and my brother successfully cleared all our exams in flying colors..hmm..so burning of the midnight oil probably didn't do the trick according to her. But then again during the exam day I would never question anything offered to me as a form of goodluck and pray harder that day and promise to God that the next exam you won't slack it off and will definitly study even harder and perhaps begin studying a few more days earlier. Hoping to learn by Osmosis we would end up sleeping over our books but curiously enough that never seemed to happen but then why fear when we have so many lucky charms at our disposal,rite?Come exam time everyone's spirituality would be strongest than ever,everyone needed some security blanket of sorts and many a times these charms offered just that. On that day you bet there were people who even though never actually believed in such stuff still getting a bit antsy if a black cat crossed their paths,avoiding walking under the ladder "just to be safe" and "not take a chance"!My brother always bribed the god in the form of number of coconuts he would offer to break in the temple if he would clear his semester exams during his engineering. He would be toiling away the previous night immersed in study and would snap at all of us who would dare disturb his great quest for knowledge at the last minute the previous day of the exam. He single handedly claims divine intervention is what actually helped him have a smooth sailing throughout his education period. He is now a MBA grad working in a big company earning big bucks and he is always armed with his set of lucky charms and talismans. Yes I come from a quirky family! we always crossed our fingers and wished hard for something that we wanted or be quick to say touch wood to ward off any bad luck. Now if only I had found one such lucky charm that would have helped me guess the next Lotto number! A horseshoe,spider,ladybug,celtic knot,egyptian scarab,chinese bamboo and all and any of the traditional charms:) Oh,well.....perhaps no amount of luck can actually compensate for hard work. Oprah was right when she said “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity" But while we prepare for that opportunity and work towards it maybe we should keep the fingers crossed,stand under a horseshoe holding a four leaf clover,knock on the wood in a room which has a chinese feng shui bamboo and a spider on the wall and say bless you as you sneeze and bribe the god some more coconuts at the temple. Hmm..sounds like we got pretty much of the charms covered,now if only someone would go out and buy a Lotto. And if you happen to win I hope you remember to share it with me:)

Farewell sweet friend

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. -Dale Carnegie

Today I'm sad and overcome by a sense of loss. When I first started blogging I never realized how even in a virtual world you can meet such wonderful people who can reach across and touch your life and heart with their words and thoughts. How human connections get formed which sometimes never needs a face or a name,how strangers can become good friends and friendship can be found at all unlikely places. Today I came to know one such person who had touched my life is no more. It's true I never met the person,it's also true that I never spoke to the person anytime but he was a friend who reached out through his words ,his blog and his thoughts. He was perhaps one of the most loving,caring ,thoughtful and wonderful person I had met even if it was just virtually. Sometimes it is not how long we live on this earth that matters, but how we lived it is perhaps what sets certain people apart from the crowd.He certainly had a way about him,a compassionate,trusting and a friend who always made me smile with his wonderful sense of humor. Even through his struggles he was exceptional and inspirational. At a young age of 44 yrs he passed away last week due to rupture of a brain aneurysm. Baron Ectar,my friend,even though you called yourself as the Professor of all that is unnecessary your life and blog was anything but that. Tearful Farewell sweet friend. I wish I had known you in person but atleast I was fortunate to have known you at all even if it was through this virtual world. My heart goes out to your wonderful friends and family,can't imagine the loss they might be feeling,they are certainly in my thoughts and prayers.

I was reading his last comment on my blog -" am moving to Canada - do you all like farmers?! LOL - I love it up there!"-

We certainly would have loved to have you here too Baron. The world certainly needed such unique,kind hearted people like you. Rest in peace Baron,you shall always be missed.

Sick note

Sick and tired down with a flu

How the virus found me I haven't a clue

Chasing a toddler and nursing a cold

With runny nose I'm a sight to behold

Will blog back when I'm feeling good

Just a couple of days I'm sure I should

My blog friends you all take care

Will catch up on all your posts soon I swear

A case of parents behaving badly

Bragging about their kids seems to come with the territory of being a parent. I have nothing against it as long as it doesn't really hurt some one else or put some one else's kid down. It's a well known fact perhaps that when a set number of parents assemble at one given area at a given time the kids usually end up featuring in majority of the conversations.Take for example this following conversation.

Mrs.Roy- "Gee,just look at my little pintoo,he just started going potty all by himself last week" (pausing expectedly as if to wait for a shower of confetti)

Mrs.Spencer- " That's great Mrs.Roy,I am still struggling to get my little girl Pinky to go potty,she ends up screaming like a banshee everytime I try to seat her on the toilet seat" (with a solemn look that seemed to harden the moment it settled on little Pintoo,then followed with a big sigh)

Mrs. Roy- "Some kids are just a little ahead of their age Mrs. Spencer,my Pintoo is very smart ,he is already able to talk to us. He has always been fast. He even walked at 8 months you see,I remember however your Pinky didn't walk till she was atleast 16 months didn't she?(with a sympathetic look which almost appeared to be suppressed by an exceedingly overwhelming Cheshire cat grin)

Mrs. Spencer-(with a sad tone) "I guess it was that 2 glasses of wine I had during the last month of my pregnancy,I knew I shouldn't have yielded to the temptation"

Mrs. Roy- Oh,don't feel bad,afterall it's not every kid who is a fast learner and smarter like Pintoo,and I'm sure your Pinkoo will go potty soon" (Classic rubbing the salt in the wound move)

Mrs.Spencer then decided to walk off from this conversation and settled herself near the window sipping her wine and comforting a stressed out mom to be. Surely this would be more pleasant,the little guy in the womb surely cannot match her Pinky!

Meanwhile little Pintoo and Pinky got into a fight and started throwing their edible "goldfish" at each other. They were soon joined by another set of kids who simply joined in the fight for fun,resulted in more goldfish on the floor and sofa( I almost choked on my juice as I watched those goldfish pieces crumble and fly on to the sofa I had cleaned with such diligence,I had to turn my face away from the crime scene)

Then came Mrs. Nasty- Oh,this has been fun. Good party eh?!and how are you Mrs.no nonsense

Mrs. No nonsense-Doing good Mrs.Nasty

(She tries to sit down and have a conversation but courtesy little Bella,who seems to be her clingy self refusing to settle down on the floor even for a minute)

Mrs.Nasty- "Bella seems to be clingy. I think you should have taken her out and get her to mingle with people more. See my little angel there. She is so easy going,she is never this clingy. Look at her now,she is going to almost everyone here. We always took her out from day one"(casting the incredulous look at Bella,and a pathetic look at the mom for being such a bad parent who she thinks holds Bella in captivity and raising her to be such an anti-social creature)

Mrs.No nonsense-"I knew I had to remove her chains every other day and let her free to roam atleast an hour from her cage. I just forgot to do that yesterday what with this shower and all. perhaps its time to teach those leap into arms of strangers trick to her. How did you teach that to little angel?banana no longer does the trick does it?" (This friend makes me proud doesn't she)

Mrs.Nasty- HA HA HA!You are so funny!Good joke

Mrs. No nonsense-Glad you think so Mrs. Nasty!

(I gave her a thumbs up and had to rush to the mom-to-be who was casting looks of SOS from the ladies group which seemed to be bombarding her with suggestions and advices)

Sometimes I wonder why is that people lose their sensitivity when it comes to bragging about their kids. I don't think being proud about your kid's achievements is something bad,every parent has a right to be proud of their offspring and show them off. But when it gets competitive and when bragging about the kids takes on a form of one-upmanship it loses its charm and becomes a pain. Some of the parents can brag enough to put the candidates on the Donald Trump reality show to shame.It's like a fierce competition which starts from the time the kid is born. "Your kid weighed how much?Oh...seems he was so underweight eh?" "Your little one hasn't rolled over yet?mine did already 3months back,why is he slow?"

"My little one has already started reading Shakespear and build a model of the white house in another hand along with being a mathwhiz and his teacher told him he is "gifted' with the best brains god could give (exaggeration is always the key),we are so happy. Too bad though that your girl didn't make it even to the literary club" Urgh!Then there are those who put on slogans about their kids on their bumper stickers of the car highlighting the achievements to the world to see. I so wish they would all just zip it and let the kids be kids and not let this adult sense of competiton and senseless rat race consume them. I wish we could give the parents some time outs too!

Anyway the shower however in general was fun albeit these observations:) the mom to be immensely enjoyed the gifts we picked for her(Raysh,we got her This) and the menu was amazing. Ina however went a step ahead and picked up a few words from the party to include in her expanding baby-o-cabulary ,sadly one of those words was "S@#$",I know I can now brag perhaps that my not so smart kid can atleast cuss like a pro!I however pray she would get over it soon. I can't imagine the look the baby sitter is going to have on her face when I drop her off tomorrow!Call it anything you want but life with a toddler can never be called dull!