No to Diapers.

I stopped using diapers for Aisha. Now that she started communicating her needs for nature's call, I decided to stop using diapers. We went for shopping, and I kept asking Aisha every half-an-hour if she needed to pee. She informed when when she had to pee. I never thought it would be this easy for a girl who never mentioned her peeing or pooing until two months back. She started to tell me her need for peeing/pooing as soon as we reached Dubai. I don't know why the change happened - may be because she sees her elder cousin doing it from here, while in India her younger cousin never mentions his pee/poo. anyways, Alhamdulilla, everything is fine now and we have said goodbye to diapers forever, insha Allah. But I have got a new packet of diapers with me, so now what do I do with it?

Learning self-sufficiency.

For the first time, Aisha ate her lunch all by herself. Until today, it was Mom or Dad feeding her. But today, with her cousin Z, she declared she too will take lunch herself. So I put some rice and her favorite yogurt curry, which she finished all by herself.
My little girl is growing 'big', masha Allah!

One of the reasons I don't allow her eating alone is the mess she makes out of it. But today she made it almost clean and complete. May be it is all my mistake of not giving her the opportunity to prove she can do it herself. Our kids grow up before we know it.

It has been months since I started teaching Aisha how to ride a tri-cycle, but she never listens to me. Last week, she managed to do it all by herself. I don't know how she suddenly started riding it. Kids are always full of surprises. 

Back to Dubai

Again back to heat. Time for morning rushes, boring days and indoor games. Well, I think Aisha is good at adopting to  her situations. When in India, she never asks for anything that is in Dubai, including her Dad, and now once in Dubai she never asked me to take her to her grandpa (my worst fears). Alhamdulillah for this sweet little girl.

We returned to Dubai on 19th, flying with Emirates. Aisha spent half of the journey browsing the TV, and the rest half she slept. I ordered her meal, but she did not eat it. Thank God, this time her usual ear problem did not effect her. She woke up from her sleep when we reached the luggage counter, and was happy to see her dad once again.

Monsoons

This was Aisha’s first monsoon. Aisha always left India during the peak summer, and in Dubai it will be the start of another summer. We left Dubai, to India, after the autumn, before the rains in Dubai. So, it is for the first time Aisha enjoying rain, rain and more rain. Well, who doesn't love the rains?

Trekking

We went for a small trekking last week. The place was my maternal Grandpa’s, but now it belongs to my Grandma, my mom and her siblings, inherited by them after his death. My Grandpa was a great man, who walked ahead of time. He was an orphan and so it was with his hard work that he made all the wealth (land, as in olden days) that he owned. Even though he went to school only up to the second or third grade, he read a lot. He educated my mother and her sisters (educating girls was forbidden among Muslims during that period). One of the several reasons for my present day situation is my Grandpa. May Allah, the Almighty, forgive him his mistakes and gift him with Jannah. Ameen.

Coming back to trekking story, no one lives at the place now. The place is filled with undergrowth and fallen leaves. Aisha found it a bit difficult to walk, as she has got no experience in walking through rocky and thorny places, where we have to make new paths. But I think she enjoyed the place. It was a trip to the heart of wild nature.

The home my Grandpa built.

Now decayed and crumbled, housing squirrels and crows, this was the place where my Mom was born, and we were born. The remaining part is the kitchen of the house. This place is an important part of my childhood.  There was a time when this home was filled with so many people - my grandparents, mom, uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews and a lot of servants. The day started even before the sun rose, for there were cows, buffaloes, hens, chicks, rabbits and dogs to tend to - besides humans. Servants went to the paddy fields and orchards, Grandpa went to his small tea shop and Grandma had to manage her sons, daughters, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, servants and the pets. That was a time of glory. Sometimes I wonder, will Aisha ever understand a life like this? Even I have started to feel it like another world. With all the academic knowledge I have obtained, I still believe my second grade drop out Grandma had more managerial skills than myself - and yes, more knowledge too.
Well, I explained to Aisha this is were we lived when we were kids and she had a thousand questions. Were is the a/c, fridge, TV, laptop, oven etc here, didn't you have a bathroom with showers and taps, were did you bath etc etc. I tried to explain some, saying we didn't had these gadgets in the olden days. Actually we did not need any of these items. The air was always cool. We plucked the fresh fruits and veggies from the plants and so we never needed refrigerators. No one had time for TVs and laptops. When there were acres of land to explore, who would want to be a couch potato? For bathing, we went to a pool near by and she was fascinated at the idea of bathing in a pool everyday. Modern life has got its disadvantages too.

Time for a break.

We left the place early, as it started getting dark even before the sun descended. Hungry and tired after the jaunting, the kids were happy to get some food and go to bed.

Down the river

There is a new bridge under construction near our home. One day we decided to go near it. It was around 1 km walk down the river. The monsoons are yet to arrive, and so the river was dry except for a stream of water flowing along the side. It was a rejuvenating evening walk enjoying the breeze and setting sun.

Weddings

We had two wedding on 25^th and 26^th, my cousin brother M’s and my brother’s brother-in-law S’s. The second groom, S, was marrying my teacher’s daughter. For Aisha and me, the weddings started on Friday. We went to the bride’s home on the wedding eve of M. The next day was their wedding. The same day, it was the wedding eve of the S, and so we went to the bride’s home. The next day, it was S’s wedding.

By the time we reached home after S’s wedding, Aisha was having severe nappy rashes. Continues use of diapers for almost three days made her skin red and swollen. She started screaming every time I took her to bathroom. Peeing and pooing became nightmares. I stopped using panties and pants for her. It took almost a week to get rid of the rashes.

Tour with Aisha V

We decided to leave Munnar on 6th. Everyone has got cough and cold, especially the kids. We left after breakfast. On our way to Munnar town, we stopped at the Echo Point. It was fun to shout from one side of the river and listen to the echo coming from the hills at the other side of the river. Even Aisha started shouting. 

Our next stop was at Munnar town to buy some chocolates and tea powder. Since it was a long journey back, we decided to give our legs some exercises by strolling in the park. Aisha wanted to slide, and I promised to take her to the slide. But there were no slides in the park. Luckily, we found a swing and Aisha had to get contented with it.

It was again long hours of drive through the dense forests, stopping only for lunch. We reached home at around 9 pm. Both the kids were fretful, and all of us tired and hungry. But our home was not at all welcoming! We forgot to close the water tap in our kitchen when we set out to Munnar. There was no water in the tap when we left, but later when water was supplied, it gushed down the floor . Now, our beds (I did not fold it up on the day we set out, because I thought it would be best to come back to a laid bed and fall on it) were wet, our bags spoiled. We together with the whole house were in a mess. Cleaning and unpacking again.

We had a little surprise waiting for us when we returned home. A bird's nest inside our lamp shade!

New residents.

Tour with Aisha IV

We went out for a morning walk around our home. Our home was situated in the middle of a tea plantation. There was a small garden and some woods separating our home from the plantation.

 After breakfast, we went to Top Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Station), a tourist spot where you can get the panoramic view of the lush Western Ghats and the valleys below it. The fog, the mist-clad hills and the greens will surely make us realize how great Allah’s creativity is!

We came back home for lunch and after that, we drove to a nearby village, Vattavada. Aisha slept throughout the journey. At the top of the hill was a small town and beneath it were fields of strawberries, carrots and other fruits and vegetables. It was the planting season. We descended down the road and stopped beneath the hills. We were watching the beautiful scenery when we saw an old lady coming towards us. She was carrying Acacia tree trunks on her head. When she reached near our vehicle, she said something to us – don’t know if it was their tribal language or Tamil. She repeated, but we were not getting her. Then she spoke using the global language, actions. She patted her stomach and acted like eating. She meant she was hungry. We gave her a packet of biscuit we had. She said something, may be she was thanking us, and walked away. A few minutes later, on our way back, we saw her ascending the hill with the load on her head. I was surprised. Walking up the steep hill empty handed would have made us very tired, but this old lady, in her eighties or nineties, was climbing with a load of wood on her head! It was really a lesson learned.

The crops.

 On our way back, we stooped at another tea plantation area to watch the sun set. Aisha woke up, walked around the area and posed for some snaps.

Tour with Aisha III

Finally the day came for our Munnar trip. Munnar is a beautiful hillstation situauted on the western ghats of Kerala.

At Cochin, ready for the trip.

We started at 9 am in the morning on 4th May. It was a beautiful drive through the lush green forests of the ghats. We had a pit stop at my brothers' friend's home, where she served lunch for us. It was a very tasty meal, and we were very hungry. Our breakfast has been not so great since we were busy with getting ready for the trip. Coincidently, it was her birthday. Her parents and sister treated us wonderfully and it was really sad to say goodbye to them. We decided to present her with some gift on our way back.
Soon after leaving her home, we started ascending the hills of the ghats. I don't think I'll ever forget the drive. Through the dense forests with the music made by a thousand birds and crickets and cascades, where our eyes could only see trees, trees and more trees. It was like a mystery - you anticipate something at every turn of the road, you watch cautiously for a deer or an elephant in every dense growth of trees. But all you see is a squirrel crossing the road in a flash or a couple of birds fighting for the leftover foods from the tourists. As we reached the top of our ascend, my nephew became more and more peevish, and we had to stop. He vomited a little and then he got fine. Within a few minutes, we reached Munnar.

Our destination was Yellappatty around 27 km away from Munnar town. We reached there at around 4 pm.  Aisha and Ml was glad to get out of the car. They started running through the lawns. The air was filled with their squeaks and cries of laughter. The slightly cold breeze and the rays of the setting sun added more glory to the happiness of the evening.

As we were all tired after the long drive, we didn't go for any sightseeing that day.  We just walked around our tourist home, a beautiful bungalow built during the British rule. We haven't lived in a home with such an ancient architecture and so it felt like living in history!

The difficult part was too keep away Aisha and Ml from the china ware displayed along the corridors of the bungalow.