Outings - Millenium Centre and Hmuifang Tlang

Two holidays in a week! What more could anyone ask for?

I always have this compulsion to do 'something' on holidays. So on Monday, which was 'Id', I took Ruatfeli and her cousins to Millennium center. Some enterprising people have set up shop right on the front, with inflatable pools and beanbags and the likes. Feli went bonkers, giggling and laughing and falling all over herself; 'A nuam lutuk! A nuihzathlak e!!' etc.

We bought one, officially for Ruatsanga, his birthday is on the 13th, but unofficially, it's Ruatfeli's. Sanga is lucky if he doesn't get his eyes gouged out.

And today, we went on an impromptu visit to Hmuifang tlang. We asked some other people to come along, but they all declined, so it was just us, with my niece and nephew and Mami.

The road to Hmuifang was pretty decent, but full of turns. Feli puked all over me in the car, white pieces of rice on my clothes and the car seat. We all got out and Rina did his number too, in yellow. We cleaned up as best as we could and finally reached the place, everyone tired and some in a sour mood.Things improved after lunch, and we explored the more accessible areas. Hruaii got a leech on her foot, I was more freaked out than her.

The Restaurant

With Hruaii

With Rina

Wild berries?

Mushrooms, poisonous??

It was a great outing, wide open spaces, grass, trees, tipsy taxi-drivers on a day off (!). And on the way back, Feli bestowed a little more puking on me, this time Kurkure flavoured with a lot of tomato sauce.

It was fun, but no more road trips in the near future, the end does not quite justify the means.

Excerpt from the life of...

On the way to the toilet, I noticed Ruatfeli has scrawnier verions of my terrible legs.

'Do you want legs like Mummy or beautiful legs?'
'Beautiful legs!'
'Really? Don't you want legs just like mummy's?'
'No, I want beautiful legs, like Barbie's.'

Unsubdued laughter from dad in the bedroom.

The big 'L' and other things.

I've gone back to learning how to drive again. 'Again' being the operative word. So the silver A-star with a big, red 'L' on it is mine. I'm wondering if I should buy red electrical tapes in dozens, or buy a small can of red paint, either one could be a good investment.

I've improved quite a bit since my last learning episode. But taxis are the bane of my existence. They stop wherever they like, be it at the curve of a steep incline or just before a blind turn, you name it, they do it. And their crazy passengers open car doors whenever it suits them too. Some incessantly honk when I stop, making me even more nervous. Pedestrians make life hard for me too - chatting while walking slowly side by side, while I am haplessly trying to go as slowly as possible without the engine dying on me.  A seasoned driver would handle everything with ease, but me, I am definitely a slow learner, and sometimes I wonder why I try at all.

Onto brighter things. Feli can say most anything now. Yesterday she looked me square in the eye, pointed her forefinger at me, and asked me in all seriousness, 'I zun a chhuak em?'. I said 'No'. Then, in the same manner - 'I ek a chhuak em?'. I could hardly control my laugh, I guess she learned it from me. I have to constantly tell her, 'Lem tawh rawh' when she's having her meal. Somedays, I'd take her to the toilet, and she'd take her own sweet time, and I'd keep urging her to go, and I'd catch myself saying 'Lem rawh, lem rawh' at the loo. She'd tell her U Thlatei, 'Thlate, i cho rual ka ni hleinem', from the song 'Ka pi zunah maw..'. She's definitely loveable, but she could be turning out to be a little of a brat.

Malsawmtluanga birthday lawmna

A ngaihsan em em, 'milem' te nen

Ruatsanga, on the other hand, bears the brunt of his sister's ire. She was getting adjusted to him, but now that he can laugh, wave bye bye etc, her jealousy to him has resurfaced, with a vengeance! She swipes at him in passing, and sometimes in a more calculated way. If he is engrossed with a toy, it has to be instantly removed. I lectured her for half an hour one night, and after listening intently about how small and fragile her brother is, she goes, 'Kei chu bauh bauh te, miau miau te ka duat'. He was crawling on the floor one day, and she stepped carefully on his hand. In a hurry, I shouted 'A ke i rap a nia!'. She looked at me, and in all righteousness said, ' A ni lo, a ni lo, a KUT alawm'. Huiham. One day, he too shall have his revenge!

Nui mawi! :)

Joy is Like the Rain

You probably know this song. I think I learned it in Mary Mount School and sang it  in morning assemblies, its meaning unfathomed. Then I forgot all about it, till recently when, out of nowhere, I hummed it to my daughter. I looked up the lyrics on the internet, and found this video which I really like.

The words are simple, but I think I can understand what it says only now.

"I can see clearly now' performed later is also a wonderful song. If you haven't watched it yet, please do! You'll like it, promise.

 

I saw rain drops on my window, Joy is like the rain.
Laughter runs across my pane, Slips away and comes again.
Joy is like the rain.

I saw clouds upon a mountain, Joy is like a cloud.
Sometimes silver, sometimes gray, Always sun not far away.
Joy is like a cloud.

I saw Christ in wind and thunder, Joy is tried by storm.
Christ asleep within my boat, Whipped by wind, yet still afloat,
Joy is tried by storm.

I saw rain drops on a river, Joy is like the rain,
Bit by bit the river grows, 'til all at once it overflows.
Joy is like the rain.

 

Science Center, Berawtlang

We visited the Science center at Berawtlang last Wedenesday. It was thankfully open, unlike the other times when we travel for quite a bit only to realize the place is closed.

It's turning out to be quite a popular place to take kids on holidays. It would be great if they had a contact number where we can ask if they would be open on particular holidays, and also confirm timings of their 3D and planetarium shows.

There are wide open spaces and nicely designed buildings with different exhibits like Mizo utensils, handloom and beautifully constructed model villages. There was a Wildlife section, aptly dimly lit.

Feli deserves an Oscar for this one :)

Feli and Sanga,  mnwith his bib and bottle

The actual scientific area had fun stuff, like the different coloured liquids which simply won't mix, fun mirrors, lights and sounds.

The 3D theater was undoubtedly the biggest attraction. Kids were screaming, recoiling from snakes and reaching out for apples and other objects.  I spared my kids the excitement of the show, they don't take loud noises and enclosed spaces well. It was a day well spent. Although once we reached home, Sanga was a tired, hungry little boy and Feli passed out in the car :)

It's been ages since my last post, probably reflects the excitement level of my life:P. It's an endless sequel of kids and work, and kids and work. My social life is zilch, not that I miss it much. I had quite a lot of friends pre-motherhood. I'm still in touch with those friends, but home keeps me well-occupied I suppose. Except for the occasional dinner, mostly with other friends who are also married with kids, it's home,  home, home.

Ruatfeli's been sick since the last two days. She has tonsillitis and she won't swallow solids, and can only be persuaded to take in a little juice. Ruatsanga recently recovered from measles too. So we're up to our ears in drops and medicines, and interrupted sleep. These little upsets make us realize again how precious health is. I took the day off today because Feli is a little irritable, hence the time to post :)

Here are some new pictures. Ruatsanga was baptized on 29th May. The pictures in church were taken by a professional photographer, so I don't have a soft copy to upload here. He was a real sport during the ceremony and didn't make a fuss at all.

 

Here he is with his cousin Ryan, my brother's youngest. He's younger than Sanga by 12 days, but he seems to be slightly bigger. Grrrr.

Feli and Sanga

Sanga adores his sister, he laughs and gurgles whenever she's around. Sadly, the sentiment is not returned by Feli. She snatches toys, dolls, anything that Sanga is playing with. She gives him little slaps and scratches, and poor Sanga, quite oblivious to his punishments, merely stares and bears the blows. One day he too shall have his revenge, vows I, the Omnimother.

Here's the little monster :)

And here she is acting all angelic.

Losing it

I hate losing anything. I suppose I share that trait with most other people, but I find it hard to accept loss, even of insignificant little things.

I recently misplaced/lost our pendrive, and it's driving me nuts. I remember seeing it in the cupboard as I was leaving. The thing is I can't remember if I took it out of the house or not. So I keep looking through the same cupboard, for several 'last times'. 

I looked to Ruatfeli for help. I had 'lost' the same pendrive a few months ago, and she had tucked it neatly under the CPU. And since she can talk a little now, I asked her hopefully, 'Where is the pen drive, the one which we insert in the computer?' (Not in those words, ofcourse, she hardly speaks Mizo itself). She helpfully nods, says, 'E!' and starts patting the mattress, 'Hetah hian, hetah hian.'. So I lift the mattress of our 9 foot bed and start looking, and it's not there. I ask her again and she goes 'E!', and points at the drawer where I keep Ruatsanga's diapers, 'Hetah hian, hetah hian.'. After going through several drawers, and cupboards and no pendrive in sight, I realise my little daughter has no idea where it is. I briefly thought of putting a notice in the local newsletter, but since I had written my name and phone number on the pendrive and no one has called, I figured the finder follows the 'finders, keepers' theology. 

So now I've conceded defeat and will have to shell out a few hundreds for a new pen drive. Although the missing pen drive has nothing to do with her, the fact that someone warned me my daily help has a history of lifting things does not ease my mind at all :P

Che chhia

Hmanni chu ka che chhe ve khawp mai. Pavalai Conference kan veng in kan thleng dawn a. Mikhual kan  thlen theih dawn leh dawn loh mi pakhat hian min rawn zawt a.  Keini chhangchhia, nula pakhat zawk haw tum bawk, ka huphurh angreng khawp mai a. Rawn riak tur emaw ka ti bawk si, chutia min han zawh takah chuan, 'Aih' tih a rem aniang chu ka tia. Tawngkam thiam vak lo nen, 'Kan chhangchhe em mai, kan thleng ve lo mai dawn em ni?' ka tia. Min zawt tupa lah chuan, 'E, awle', a ti sam ve mai a, a kal leh ta mai a.

A hnuah ka chhungte hnenah ka sawi a, mawl min ti hlawm khawp mai a. An nuih te chu a za phian bawk a. Riak tur chu mi nazawng chuan an lo thleng lo va, chaw ei tur chuan an thleng nual a ni awm e. Engpawhnise, engvakah ka ngai lova, ka theihnghilh zui ve leh mai a. Pathianni chuan H-a hmelhriatte pahnih chuan chaw chu an rawn ei tho ta thova. 10 chaw ei tur a inring kan chhungte ho lah chu an mikhual tur te chuan ngawi rengin an rilru thlak leh a, 3 chiah ten chaw an ei ang lawi a. Rawng an bawl thlawn hlawm nual ni awm tak a ni.

A hnu daihah H-an min hau leh a, Hospitalah veng dang daih a doctor dangten kan mikhual thlen ve loh chu an lo kap a ni awm e. Hrehawm ka ti leh hnuhnawh leh khawp mai a. Pavalai tih vel lo ngaih pawimawh loh mahnak a laiin, thu lah chu darh chak phian a. Hetia kan post phei chuan a darh belh leh nel nual dawn a nih hi :) Keini mi mawl tan chuan Mizo society ah chuan chetchhiat a awl in hmingchhiat a va awl hma dawn ve aw! 

Photos

A pi pangpar bulah

I am lost for words. Whenever I try to post a non-baby related post, nothing comes to mind. So here are some more photographs.

Ke tin mawi mawi.

Ruatsanga on becoming 4 months old

With little red riding hood.

Baby bottle feeding her baby

A u te tih ang zelin.

Update

It's barely two months since my last post and what a lot of things happened in between!

First off, our maid went home and we went through a stream of maids in a span of a month. We encountered characters you would find in novels. It was mind boggling and distressing and exasperating and it really really made me feel crazy on the bad days. We had 14 year olds happily tossing used diapers out the window and talking with mouth full of 'tuibur'. They would nonchalantly throw their used 'sahdah' under their bed, between almirahs and everywhere else. I would spend most of my free time cleaning after them. They did help, but it was also a huge relief when they left.

Our house was a one and half bedroomed, single bathroomed home. It was fine when we were only three adults and Ruatfeli. With the arrival of Ruatsanga, my aunt came to help us in our maid-less state. Then God gave us two nice and normal new maids, and sleeping and using the toilet became something of a problem. So shifted to a bigger house. And I would be kind and spare you the details of how hectic it was shifting with two babies to take care of.

In the meantime our phone had to be reconnected and since we use BSNL, we did not have internet. The linesmen came a few weeks back but the phone did not work. We kept calling a relative who worked at BSNL and she sent the linesmen again today. The problem was that the wire was not inserted into the phone correctly. I felt like a moron. The internet is working again and I feel like a kid with a new toy.


Ruatfeli turned 2 on Saturday (19th feb) and we celebrated her birthday on Sunday with tea and cakes. She's learning a little Mizo and knows words like 'khawihsuh', 'chhangthawp', tibua', 'sava' etc. But most of the time she reverts to 'e,e,e' and 'aw, aw,aw' and hand gestures. She picks on her brother and marks her jealousy on his face with scratches and once, a bite mark. Then she discovered there are a whole lot of other places she can scratch and now goes around scratching anyone within striking distance. She also growls. She's quite the little fighter, and is an embarrassment a lot of times, totally deviant from her previously sweet nature. People in the know say it's just a phase. I hope she grows out of it soon. Here are some pictures.

Ruatfeli was 1 year and 9 months old when her brother was born. We have people joking with us all the time about the lack of spacing between them. Then there are people who say it's better to be 'chhangchhia'. I don't even know if there is an equivalent word in other languages. Anyhow, I say the people who think it's a joy to be chhangchia are bonkers!, or they have a problem with longterm memory. Because people who recently have come out of chhangchhiatna don't ever recommend it.

Sometimes I feel like I am  two-timing the kids, secretly giving one attention while worrying about the other. When you cannot give both babies your whole attention, neither kid is happy and you end up with two kids in the throes of tantrum....if there is such a thing as throes of tantrums. So my advice, if anyone is listening is SPACING :). Even with two maids, 'chhangchhiat' is hardly ever a joy.