A message from Ina's Burrow

I know how you all might be wondering where my mom Fuzzy has been absconding these days ditching you blogger pals. While she is not collapsing onto the sofa exhausted in her search for a perfect sitter for me and chasing me around the house she is usually lost in that world of Potter guy. What's up with that?isn't it supposed to be for kids?She even yaps with that other aunty on the phone about this strange kid,sometimes I wonder whether both of them are undergoing some age regression of sorts. They were discussing some things so strange and about people whom I'm not sure I ever met . There was mention of some Snape guy and whether he is actually a baddie or whether some blokes named Ron and Hermione were going to die (probably these blokes are pretty ill with some terminal illness) or whether even the Potter guy is going to die with Voldermort (I will surely be pleased to see that shh..don't tell my mom). This Potter guy seems like some Mafia lord of sorts what being surrounded by villains all the time. She has even begun to speak a different language. The other day she told me "Accio" to come, opened the door saying "Alohomara" to dad and when me and dad were chasing each other running around and accidently knocked her favorite vase she wanted to use something sounding like "Petrificus totalus and Expelliarmos"glaring at us both not looking too happy. She told dad the other day that he has a few owls and somehow Dad seemed to understand that language and went to check his emails! He says she is going to be this way for a few more days but I'm seriously worried about her. Dad also happened to mention casually yesterday how much money the Rowling lady made with writing this Potter guy's story. I was aghast!this lady must be a pretty good story teller,there's no way my mom's stories could fetch such huge amounts of money. Poor lady has quite an imagination but stories are pretty insipid and lack the punch. Anyway I really don't get the hype and right now am mighty upset with this Potter kid who seems to have mesmerized her so much that she forgets about me also at times. Can you believe that?

Me and my dad have been relegated to the status of living decorative pieces of art at home. My dad however thankfully is not into the clutches of this Potter guy. He is much more saner and he is more a television guy and not that much into books (Thank god for that,imagine if I were to have both my parents in the spell of this Potter guy. I might have had to kill him) He even got me to watch the "Mythbusters" and "American choppers" with him the other day trying to explain to me all the cool things people do with bikes and stuff. With a bowl of chips and some hearty conversations we had a great bonding time. My drool covering his shirt, him with his remote in his hand flipping numerous channels, with the pieces of chips being crushed and thrown onto the sofa and the floor, clinking of glass of beer and sippy cups of juice yes we had a major father daughter moment much to the chagrin of my Potter possessed mama. We also decided to do this more often as it looks like it might take a few days more for mom to get back to her normal saner self. I hope we don't have to exorcise her in order to get rid of the Potter possession.

TGIF!!!

There are times when I wish I could clone myself and get all the things done on time.This week has been insanely busy. Everything in the universe seems to be conspiring to make me a slacking blogger. Hopefully I ought to get back to my regular blogging self sometime next week. I won't be making you take a dip in my current cup of woes.Oh well,you guys are here anyway ,might as well take a sneak peak into the cup while you are here :)

It's been crazy at work as well as home added to which the lady M ,the lovely caring caregiver of Ina decided to get remarried and move to States (Why,oh why?) Part of me was happy for her but the other part (probably 70% and the self centered selfish side) was aghast at her decision of leaving me with no caregiver for Ina all of a sudden. It's so hard to find someone whom you can trust and leave your child with and this lady M was the best I had found. She was god sent as Ina took to her very well and M was a natural with kids. Now I hate to begin the whole painful process again. Though this time around we are considering daycare rather than homecare the search has not yet yielded any results. So pray for me that we do find a good one which we can be happy about or for lady M to drop the idea of States and convince her new husband-to-be to move back here( which sounded much less meaner than wishing she would drop her new HTB itself). *the angel floats over Fuzzy's head screaming "Bad,Bad Fuzzy" *

Anyway on a more cheerful front it's the Harry Potter month!! And I can't wait for the 21th for the last book to come out(ofcourse I have pre ordered it).Yes,I'm one of "Those" who religiously await and go into hibernation of sorts when the books comes out,severing all contact with outer world until I finish the book. Though the last book left me heartbroken with the death of a beloved character I'm now ready to read the final chapter of the finest series of fantasy written in the recent times and say goodbye. I'm off this weekend to catch on the movie even though I feel no movie can do justice to the original books.

Here's to a great weekend!have a good one!

What's under your bed?

Yin- " Did you see my charms gold bracelet anywhere?" (Searching hurriedly inside the jewelbox)

Yang- "Nopes,I didn't. Did you check in the drawers?" (Never peeling his eyes off the computer)

Yin- "It's not even there. Now I'm not finding even that cute little chain which your sister gave Ina last year" (rummaging through the drawers)

Yang- " You ought to be more careful with these things you know. Did you check near the bedside table and under the cot?" (Hoping he doesn't have to get off his chair)

Yin-(Squeezing herself under the cot with a torch) Nopes ,nothing here. But I did find something......

Yang- What's that?some monster under the bed?Bwahaha!!scared huh?

Yin- Nopes,seeing this I'm pretty sure even the monsters will run away and even spread word among the whole monster community never to step inside this home again

(Holds out an old boxer shorts in her hand all covered with dust) Eww...How did it find its way here?

Yang-(Springs from his chair to hold the boxer shorts) Wow,my favorite shorts. I almost thought I had lost it. Thank god you found it .Keep looking. Maybe you might find some other useful things too.

Yin-Gee,that's so helpful of you. What's this?another shorts?here,some socks...each one of a different color.Wait a minute...is this what I think it is?It's that library book you said you lost. And here's that old letter opener you were thinking I misplaced. Some ziploc bags, nail clipper and baby's nasal aspirator. WTH?Since when did my bed get converted into this dirty junk dungeon of sorts?

Yang- Oh my orphaned socks!If I had found them last week I wouldn't had to buy those new ones this weekend. (Now squatting near his wife and cheering for her to hunt for lost treasures)Wow,we found the library book. But no use,we already paid for it along with the fine. I missed this fine letter opener too. Maybe we have some ghost in this house which keeps making things disappear and this is his secret stash we stumbled on.

Yin- Yes a ghost which also loves boxer shorts and borrows books from the library and forgets to return them. Let's see what else is there here (wiggling herself a little more) A discarded baby mitten,pieces of lego and some cheerios. So there is also a mini ghost along with the bigger one too. Both seem to have made this a personal safety vault of sorts!

Yang- I used to hide all my secret stash under my bed too so my parents would never find it out. Now it looks like my daughter has taken after me ,she too prefers the same places. By the way honey,please look if you can find that old favorite watch of mine too there.

Yin- I might have to start demanding commission for the finds. But nopes,no watch.Maybe the ghost doesn't prefer watches which are not Rolex. But we need to clean this place before it gets more cluttered.

Yang- I think we ought not to clean it often so we might find missing things this way when we do it once in a while!

Yin- What a brilliant idea!Next what?I will be finding some mouldy pizza and some soiled diapers?No thanks!

(Draws herself up from having ventured into the dark underworld of cot)I still didn't find my bracelet or that chain. Where could it be?

Yang- Hmm..there's only one place we haven't looked yet. The trash bin.

Yin- The trash bin?Hmm..now why would you think it might be in the trash bin?

Yang- I did see Ina happily pulling things out of the drawer once and putting it inside the bin (admitting sheepishly) I didn't want to be disturbed and hence I also let her enjoy doing what she was doing. It was kind of a mutual beneficiary agreement you see.

Yin- And you made me get under the bed before suggesting to look in the trash can,eh?(Frantically searching the trash bin) OMG! yes here it is. My charms bracelet as well as my gold chain. Holly Molly!there's even that missing ruby ring which we thought we lost in India and my Diore Lipstick. That's decided then. Now we also scan the trash bins thoroughly before we take the trash out.

Yang- Eww.. What about the kitchen and the bathroom bins?

Yin- Everything. And people whose things I find under the cot will be the ones doing it.

Yang- Oh comeon....

Yin- Unless you want to wake up one day and find your brand new Blackberry missing and finding out that it's gone with the trash. Make your choice! Now let me go find the little casper of the house who keeps poking her little finger everywhere these days.

Experienced eh?

You never realize how far along you have come until you encounter the haggard, sleep deprived ,bleary eyed brand new parents. My close friend V and A became proud parents of a healthy baby boy few days back. And what a handsome little boy he is . As the new parents proudly smiled when he sprayed them with his pee the first time I almost laughed . We know soon it would be replaced by "WTH,now I have to change his as well as my clothes the 5th time" (Evil grin)

I think new born babies are made so incredibly cute and cast a spell making people go ahead and get themselves also some of those cuddly ones!It's almost like your memory fails you that the toddler running around the room creating a rukus was the exact same little sweet bundle of joy not so long ago(which also used to transform itself into a wailing screaming little monster periodically as gently reminded by hubby dearest to break that spell he sensed I was under)

The initial few weeks as a new parent I think is pretty charming. The first real poop of the baby gets greeted with "Hey honey,look we have a Real poop,no longer the black sticky thingy" with enthusiasm that can put a cheer leader to shame.Trust me as all parents know this is the only moment where you can perhaps see a grown man and woman being this enthusiastic about the bowel function of another human being. The baby cries and you fumble,get distressed and first question always is "oh god!did I do something wrong?" not the logical " Ok,let's try to figure it out without waking up whole neighborhood"which comes much later. And if the baby gets colic the piercing screams can reverberate through the sleep deprived brain and logical thinking can vanish into thin air. As the reconditioning period begins and mind gets into the suspended parenting mode time swings by and one fine day you become one of those " Experienced" parent who gets approached by another brand new parent for advice and you start laughing "Who, me?Cool,you really consider me as someone who can help you?are you kidding?(expectant faces look at you)Oh!you are not kidding!!Gosh,has it really been that long already" Yep then you realize your baby now is a toddler and yes time did pass so quickly!

Dispensing advice is something people love to do and I think I'm no exception and especially when people are looking up to you to utter some profound expert comments(Ahem,I had to contribute something,comeon I'm now an "Experienced" parent who has been there and done that kind . Some sort of a "Guru"(And please ignore the snickering hubby of mine who laughed his head off when I suggested the substitution).Helping people is what we experienced parents do!look at all those people who come visiting you at home and hospitals after delivery and you will know I'm right. And the ones who don't have kids yet,wait till you have one (evil laughter )

New parents also get subjected to a lot of frantic moments. Midnight SOS calls are a must. "Sorry to disturb you Fuzzy, but he just seems to be crying and crying. I think we did something horribly wrong" bringing back nostalgic flashbacks of the time when I almost thought a call to the ER was in order when all she needed was a good burp or the " Fuzzy,there's no way I can give him a bath myself. I will drop him down and then OMG !!I can see him blaming his mom for all the miseries of his life on Dr. Phil some years down the lane" (Yes,I have pretty melodramatic friends!but give the sleep deprived lady a break,wilya). It reminded me of the time when I sat crying thinking I had broken Ina's little neck while giving her a bath when it slipped a little and bobbed for few seconds . Ah,sweet times!!

I had to stop myself from chuckling and assure the new frantic parents that yes their kid was perfectly normal and that they did nothing to hurt him and yes, the little adorable creatures do cry for no reason at all at times and yes their poops come in all sorts of colors, and there are going to be lots of sneezes,hiccups and spit ups and yes they will not screw up and will make really good parents.

Inspite of having a mom who almost ended up giving her a head injury by dropping her (It was an accident people!Don't call the CAS on me) while lowering her to the carseat, to being a sorry ass mom crying and embarassing her when she got her first shot even more than her,having a a dad who never could distinguish one side of a diaper from another,who grunted disapprovingly at any sight of baby spit or spill to the new dad who now loves sporting his little girl onto his shoulder all the time,becomes a clown just to make her giggle and changes diaper like a pro, from being almost forgotten by her both parents at a mall on a busy shopping day to having to put up with totally amateur feeding and bathing techniques of two people who most of the times had no idea what they were doing,Ina would agree we didn't really mess it up that bad. When we could do it so shall you V & A.

All three of us survived the ride so far!!

Now dear Ina stop using up your charm to get things done and kindly get off the carpet and give me back my lipstick and testing your artistic talents on the walls and start cooperating in using the toilet for its intended purpose and not as a mini swimming pool for your toys. Can we work on that?

An absorbing argument

Conversation during the Paris transit :

Mom- What?just 2 diapers? are you kidding me?

Dad- (Rummaging through the diaper bag) Hmm.. Hmm.. Yes that's right,just 2 of them left

Mom- (Fuming) I should never have allowed you to pack the diaper bag

Dad- (now getting a little annoyed )Well, I would have given it a second look if we didn't have to pack soo many of those "Essential" stuff you gave me at the last minute to pack in our already oversized baggage. Maybe you could have taken over the part of packing the diaper bag atleast.

Mom- (defending herself) I could have if your kid had not been screaming down for milk at the last minute and you breathing down my neck about why there was this much luggage and whether I needed this much clothes or shoes for one month.

Dad- Look,maybe we will find some shop here which has diapers

Mom- I already went around and there is no shop here inside the airport which has diapers . People have clearly overlooked the need for a baby supply store inside the airport. They did have a mighty fine perfume store and a lovely boutique down there though (reminiscing)I even thought of buying some perfume just incase we need to keep away unpleasant odors. Maybe something like Chanel Mademoiselle.

Dad- Oh !so you thought Chanel Mademoiselle would be the one for keeping away unpleasant odors for such emergency situations did you?That was a pretty costly solution you seem to have hit upon for the problem (Stiffling a laughter ) Maybe we should look at some other cheaper solutions right now. We might find some other couples with kids on board,maybe we can borrow from them

Mom- WHAT? that would be so embarassing "Gee,we seem to have ran out of diapers for our kid and in order to prevent any assault on the olfactory senses of the rest of the co passengers on board would you mind sparing some of your kid's diapers?"perfect!we did overlook one thing though what if we end up being the only ones with kid on board ?

Dad-See if only you had looked into this a little earlier we could have asked the other friendly couple with that screaming kid for some diapers before they caught their connecting flight.

Mom- Maybe if I had an inkling we would be facing literally a voluminious crisis ahead I would have!I need to change her diaper now so that leaves only 1 more diaper for entire 10 hour flight,what if she soils one which is pretty likely she will and then what do we do? (Panic quickly settling in)

Dad- Don't they have emergency diapers in hand inside the aircraft?

Mom- Gee,I have so much experience travelling with babies lately that too without spare diapers in hand. How am I supposed to know?I doubt though that they would have diapers of all sizes and shapes just to hand out to foolish parents who forget to pack enough diapers forehand!

Dad- You know parents did take care of infants without using diapers before they even invented them. Maybe when she makes those funny faces we can just take her and perch her onto the aircraft toilet .You know like following parental instincts aka maternal instincts.

Mom-Aha!First of all it won't be WE it will probably be YOUR paternal instincts guiding you since this brilliant idea is your brain child and yes why don't we transfer her to your lap during the entire travel so you can have plenty of time to reflect on this diaperless natural rearing thing you seem to be so confident about.

Dad- (sensing his crisis interventions boomeranging towards him and reacting in alarm before it's too late) I was just trying to find a solution honey. There's always those extra tissues we have in hand to make use of in dire circumstances can't we? I think they can last for some time if we can layer them all together. And also look at the bright side now,what's travel without some adventure?Now we know that we have to double check on diapers when we travel isn't it?

Mom- I still insist you father daughter should travel together and smell the sweet sense of adventures instead of saddling me alone with it.

Dad- We are so going to start toilet training her soon the minute we are back from this trip. By the way here's the deal keep the kid on your lap and I get your perfume" Chanel coco mademoiselle" when we reach Toronto.

Mom- No thanks! I will leave it all to your honed natural paternal instincts as you so suggested. By the way I think we are the only people travelling with a kid so there goes the idea of asking other travelling co parents for any kind of diaper help. Wee wee..this is going to be so much fun that I can cry!

Needless to say the little one perhaps decided to go easy on both the parents by postponing her solid discharges until we reached home and managing with just 2 diapers much to the relief of her clumsy parents. As for the parents as of now they are just happy to have made it without accidents. And Chanel Mademoiselle did make a mysterious appearance this weekend,maybe it was the natural husband instincts which were at work!

For all you blogger pals from US -Happy Fourth of July!!

Here we are back again!

Saying goodbyes to loved ones are never easy. And no matter how many times you do that it still never seems that way each time ,infact I think it gets all the more harder. Anyway we did finally say goodbye to India and packed our bags and caught the flight back home with misty eyes never really wanting to leave just yet. Vacations with loved ones always never seem enough. They also have a way of notoriously making us feel lazy. Re entry into the normal routine life where you are forced to get off your butt and fend for yourself does give anyone a serious dose of post vacation blues. Your early mornings now are a complete chaos. Vacation has implanted the lazy bone into my body which just refuses to function back into the speed zone as before.You no longer wake up lazily to the smell of hot delicious breakfast and tender voice of mom but to a screaming toddler who now demands her share of hot breakfast from her mom aka me. You sit bleary eyed and stare at the clock which now represents everything evil in the ordinary world and force your butt to get off the bed. The phone calls that used to be from all friends and relatives enquiring you and always inviting you over now consists of calls from your boss and collegues who want to know whether we are over the jetlag and ready to get back to the grind. The laundry is all piled up and the house needs a facelift and you find yourself wistfully wishing for that sweet kind maid who took things off your hands back home. It's not going to be easy easing in back to the routine when I'm having this serious case of post vacation blues:( But hey,it still feels good to be back here.

I have all your blogs to catch up on too I know. Maybe they will help me pull myself out of this vacation blues. We are finally back:)

Postcards from India- Part 2

Hey everyone!I know me and mom have not been updating eversince we took off on this India trip. When you are constantly surrounded by a audience which absolutely adores your every single move , it's hard to ignore such admiration and disappoint the fans by giving them a dull moment by sitting in front of the comp.I know and you know how my mom was spending sleepless nights before the trip expecting me to make life hell for her during the flight and all. She cribbed far too much than needed don't you think?because I surprised them out of their wits by being such a good and wonderful baby all through the flight. Pst pst..the secret was that we were seated with another set of parents who had a bawling- tantrum throwing-threatening-biting-screaming monster of a toddler in hand. Frankly speaking I was a bit tad frightened of that bigger kid and kept watching his antics keenly,I tell you it was like a freaking funny cartoon show albeit his parents did not seem to think that way and looked hassled and haggard trying hard to keep their tempers down and resisting an overwhelming urge to whack that little terror on the butt in public. My dad kept whispering to mom how we had a little angel aka ME when compared to that bully of a kid. I utilized this oppurtunity to build up some great PR by snuggling up a little closer to mom and put up my most angel face and melted their hearts and almost made that mom of the bully toddler cry. The fact that I refused to sleep in the bassinet and sprawled myself in mom's arms all through the trip making it sore, spilling all the water on that air hostess, the fact that I did turn the flight magazine into a confetti, refused to eat my bland baby food and feasted on dad's meal creating a mess all was not questioned as you see I was the angel kid when compared to the other one and I got away with it. I tell you it's much easier getting your work done by flashing dimpled innocent smiles and throwing in a kiss or two than bawling around loudly and making a spectacle of yourself. So I flashed my cute smile at every stranger and cast such a magic spell on those hoards of relatives who went nuts over my every move and every meaningless word I managed to utter. They aahed and cooed and carried me around like some lost and found princess. I was fed on demand,travelled on warm laps instead of being bound by belts in a carseat, got to touch and ride a cow and a buffalo and an elephant, watched the cow being milked in wonder,freerides on the two wheelers as and when I desired,played with kids on the street, visited all the neighbors in the whole neighborhood chatting excitedly, flew a kite, played cricket,climbed tree ,got piggy rides,discovered the nuisance of mosquitoes,the joys of watching the ants make their way and disperse when I wave my hand, run behind a cockroach excitedly trying to catch its whiskers, watch granny do that colorful pattern rangoli in front of the house everyday and trying my hand at it ah what a life! a life full of freedom to be and do what you wish, where every single demand is met with approval and every single wish carried out without questions or restrictions, where the word "don't" and "no" were no longer found in the vocabulary,where mom got the rap for mouthing them anytime. It won't be easy saying goodbye although pretty soon I know we will have to.....
Got to go now..can't keep my audiences waiting you know,let me bask in some more moments of undivided attention and love before the sad phase of packing and travelling begins once again.

Postcards from India-1

Why can't life be one long vacation?:)why can't everyday be this relaxing and lazy? Long sunny days, mom's home made yummies, chattering relatives, doting uncles and aunts, amusing entertaining cousins doing my bid anytime I call , Ina being carried around and leaving me free to put my feet up and dream away, Granny's pampering, mouth watering chaats, colorful musical ads on tv (I was starved to see the desi commercials that I surprised everyone by being so enthusiastic even during the breaks and jumping to see the ads) sleeping at will, shopping and travelling around...I better stop before I jinx myself,it's been absolutely fantastic. Apart from the funny incident of being a security threat with a baby at Paris and the sweltering heat I think I pretty much outdid myself so far:) Did you know that placing the baby on the reception counter at the airport after carrying her around for hours during the transit and to relieve weary arms and checking her bottom just to make sure there are no accidents could perhaps qualify you as a wannabe terror suspect? In walked a lady airport officer who I'm pretty sure has not had any remote contact with either moms or children in general looking concerned as to what was making me grope around a baby's bottom . I bet she had alarm bells ringing in her mind "Suspicious looking gestures being made by a south asian lady with a baby,checking baby's bottom probably checking for some wiring of electronic gadgets and ill intended" Next came "Can I have your boarding passes please" I was half amused and half flabbergasted that she even thought of such a possibility. Anyway out came the boarding passes along with hubby just out of the bathroom who ran and came wondering what the confusion was all about . "Where are you going" - Check, "From where are you coming" - Check, Passports-Check, slowly the demeanour of the lady who fancied she had stumbled on a potential threat softened and became apologetic along with an expression "Damn you lady, this is all clear,I just lost a promotion". I almost thought of extending an invitation to inspect the contents of the baby diaper if she was interested just to see her squirm. She however was already feeling sorry enough that she doubly offered to call those cute little cars to take us from one gate to another. So I did come close to having mine and Ina's pics splashed on to the front pages:)

I'm right now in God's own country Kerala for a few days. The sweltering heat however is threatening to cut the holiday short yet I'm determined to make that houseboat trip for once atleast. Wish me luck!I 'm having loads of fun,hope all of you folks are keeping good and having a good time too.

Blog break

Taking a vacation break folks. Off to lush green fields,congested traffic,wonderful home food,TLC, warm sunny climate, obnoxious yet amazing cousins, smothering aunts and uncles, to be spoilt rotten by my grandma, show off Ina, be with family,friends , walk down the memory lane, ride my bike around the old familiar blocks and gather some wonderful moments ,recharge my brain cells, relax and for once stretch my legs and get some royal treatment:) Will be back in a month. Take care my friends and have fun. I promise to be back with loads of pics and stories.

A party and a milestone

Ina on the prowl

Dad's brand new sleek mobile phone- 400$

One cup of Starbuck's coffee- 2.5$

A baby Gap Toddler shirt- 15$

Takeout from Greek palace- 20$

Hunting for your cell phone all around the house only to find it dunked into the cup of starbuck's and a toddler trying to wear a Gap shirt sitting on your Greek takeout- Priceless!

You know there's a toddler on prowl when :

- Finding your lost earring inside the DVD player solving the mystery why the DVD player conked out during the movie night

- A shrivelled doll inside the oven

- Pieces of cheese inside your purse

- Shredded pieces of kleenex inside your shoes

- Missing pair of socks found floating inside the toilet bowl

- Plastic baby spoons inside the pot of indoor plant

- Stale cookie bits wrapped in small piece of paper towl under the carpet

- Building block pieces found stuck inside the ac vents

Recently been gifted a pair of crayons (Gasp) So no prizes for guessing how colorful and artistic the walls are going to be soon!

From Fuzzyland and Ina's world have a wonderful weekend folks!Laugh a lot,share a hug,relax and rejuvenate,it's a beautiful weekend.

Hair today,gone tomorrow

After much postponement and contemplation it was time to admit that Ina needed something drastic done about her coiffure. Our amateur wielding of the scissors was not yielding the desired results and after having subjected her to variety of rat-gnawed-at-my-hair looks we kept giving her month after month we felt the poor kid needed a break. It was time for some professional touch to put her birds-attacked-my-hair look to an end. Much to the disagreement of the enthusiastic dad who thought he was being a pro at this art I was concerned if I left it in his hands I could see Ina 10 years down the lane disowning us after seeing her toddler pics and the horrors we inflicted on her hair. So I booked an appointment for her in one of those posh kiddie salons ,even though technically it wasn't her first haircut we were inspired to make this something memorable.

I took the effervescent smiling Ina to that jazzy place yesterday evening. True to its name it reminded me less of a salon and more like a playplace. It did make me wish why aren't even the normal adult hair salons made this colorful. As soon as we reached Ina was given a choice to choose her seat. She had an array of colorful cars,planes,bears and elephants to choose from. She was utterly confused and I really don't blame her,they all were so cool:) Then she chose the Mercedes car for her first rendezuous with professional scissors,I must say I was secretly impressed,my kid does have some impeccable taste! While the other kids were howering over the airplanes and race cars here she was choosing the higher brand. She happily perched herself over the car which even had a snazzy wheel and a cute horn. She flashed that happy smile but frowned as the cheerful lady approached her brandishing her scissors. The lady cooed a big hi to Ina and without warning she started spraying over her hair. Ina looked so surprised at this development and glowered her as if to say don't-mess-with-me-or-my-hair look . I got ready with the camera to capture the moment as all crazy parents tend to do but before I could,Ina gave out a cry of indignation and shook her little head refusing to give in. The more the hair dresser tried the more Ina fought. Soon the fight gave way to screaming and crying. She wailed looking at the cruel mommy to come rescue her from the horrible lady with scissors . I felt for a moment had I scarred her little soul and anymore all her nightmares would be filled with lady wielding scissors . But being the brave kid she is seeing the cruel mommy not responding and being an accomplice to the scissor lady she decided to take the matters in her own hands literally and raised the pitch of her cry to another decibel scaring the hair dresser to drop off her scissors to the ground(Atta girl!). Tears flowed down her cheeks wetting her colorful gown. So now it was time for the hair dressers to show their metal and soon a lady arrived with a colorful toy making squeaky noises and holding out a lollypop. Ina's eyes lit up and for a few moments she forgot what was happening with her hair and sucking that lollypop she concentrated on her new toy. But the novelty soon wore off and she threw the toy down and stuck the lollypop back into the ladies face with a thank-you-very-much but I-had-enough look and resumed crying. Thankfully by then the haircut was done but they wanted to blowdry her hair.

So I took her out of her mercedes and made her sit on my lap as told. As soon as the buzzing dryer came near her Ina angrily fought it back with all her might . It was a fight which took to the centrestage with all other kids and their moms concentrating on Ina with many of the moms giving me that sympathetic we-all-have-been-there look. Meanwhile the army of this kid salon had some more arsenal and out came a big bubble maker. Soon enough Ina was clapping and enjoying trying to pop out the bubbles. It was brilliant. She just sat through the whole thing the blowdry,the styling and finally the sparkling spray just mesmerized and completly lost in her world of "mammma..Baabbles" Finally she was ready looking all sparkly and shiny. Now was the time to get a snap but she vehemently refused her Mercedes hence I had to hold her(in the red shirt with her new bangs and sparkly hair).Oh yes ,along with the pic we got a certificate and a keepsake lock of hair and a big balloon for Ina to hold. Apart from the moment when I got pissed off with the hair dresser who kept calling Ina as "Dina" it was pretty nice experience. Even though we perhaps would still continue to trim her locks for sometime (atleast until she sees through our ploy and puts her foot down )except for special occasions or when we have to undo our pathetic exploits of her hair this actually is a fun thing to do. It was well worth 15$ I must say. Did I mention that to commemorate the event I had to buy a fine pair of shoes too?Who says mother daughter moments are no fun:)