Coffee mornings; Still more technological advances that continue to amaze

So I volunteered to be a class mom in S school , and one of the responsibilities is to organise coffee mornings/ evenings or lunches with parents so that (a) they get to know each other, and (b) discuss common ideas/concerns .

There are two class moms per section and there are two sections in the preschool year. We decided to host a common introductory coffee morning for both sections as the children in both sections know each other (they have snacks together daily, and celebrate birthdays etc together) and we felt it would be nice for the parents also to know each other. And it turned out to be a good idea. Firstly the budget was bigger as we could combine two sections (yes we have a budget for organising coffees!) and also since all parents would not turn up we would at least have a decent turnout for the coffee morning so it wouldn't be only us four coffee moms chatting with each other.

We divided the work amongst us and my responsibility, other than sending out reminders to parents and catching them when they come to pick up their kids and reminding them about the coffee morning (I've never followed up more!!) was to get the croissants and bread. I arrived with it, late as usual (in my defence I was waiting to give a lift to another class mom in S school, and the venue was in the main school (where S will go next year, the preschool is in a smaller campus about 15 mins away from the main school) and when I reached was really surprised to see a table laid out with a lace table cover, beautiful decorations, nice plates with slices of ham, cheese spread out and chocolate cake, jam cake etc in beautiful dishes. I never felt more shoddy with my stainless steel plate for the breads and microwave glass vessel for the croissants!

One of the co organisers was carrying a pink and white polka dot stroller suitcase in which she had brought all the stuff and was telling us how her Grade 6 daughter refused to walk with her when she was coming inside the school because of the bright suitcase. I had to laugh. And here i was worried about S wanting to be a pink pig for the Halloween party coming up.

Coming back to the coffee morning, there were about 14 of us, and one of the class moms is also a part time teacher for the other class and was telling us (after we bombarded her with questions) about how the children go for their Waldkinder (walk in the woods) walk each Monday morning for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I was amazed, S walking for 2 and 1/2 hours. It seems they walk for about 1/2 hour, then they reach a place where they do some activities in the woods such as scratchings on leafs , collecting sticks for making stick men, collecting acorns and walnuts etc and then walk back for about 45 mins. The teachers are still exploring new areas and trying to figure out whether they can go to a place in the woods used by a local school for their Waldkinder which has a place for bonfire, toys etc or whether to make their own place. Wow these kids really have a good time. No wonder S wants to go to school everyday (touchwood!).

We also spoke about the cooking lessons, and what was nice was that some parents were combining this with their festivals to cook something typical of their culture. For eg today is Jewish New year and yesterday two of the moms got together and made a Jewish dish (i forget the name) in the class, and spoke to the children about the significance of honey (to have something sweet so that the coming year is sweet) to them, made a honey cake as well, and also got the children to make bee cut outs from paper. And this is the parent's initiative itself. Am thinking I should do something for Diwali. And its not only with the cooking. One of the fathers mentioned that he had gone to the school to read books to the children and he read the stories in French , and the children loved it.

The class is really international and I think kids at this age can adjust so well. S came to me the other day and said that a boy in her class spoke only German and I asked how she spoke to him and she only smiled and gave me a funny look as to why it should be an issue? And the father said the same thing, they have just moved from France and the children know only French but instead of putting them in the French school they've put them in this school so they pick up English. His daughter who is in the preschool has adjusted very well and is having no problems in the class. His son who is older is finding it difficult. I think its really awesome for S to have such exposure at such a young age.

The coffee morning ended with discussions on outings to be organised with the kids during the October holidays and various suggestions- some homework for me and the other class moms!

And I continue to be amazed with how technology has changed our lives. Today I got an email from the school to go online and book an appointment with the teacher for the coming parent-teacher meeting, using some Doodle application. With that I could see what time slots are free and book in advance. Far cry from the days my mom used to be first in the parent teacher conference on the second Saturday of every month as the rush used to be the least then! Ok I know you're wondering what is the big thing here and I agree. In office I always used to hear from the old timers how different it was when there were no laptops, when there was no intranet to circulate credit notes and credit notes were approved physically by circulation, and there was no mobile so people would not be available 24X7. But I never gave it a second thought as I had no reference point. I had not worked in such circumstances and had nothing to compare the situation with. Similarly in B school I could not imagine not having a computer center or any such thing. It is hitting home only now as I find S doing things which I had done 30 odd years ago and suddenly it feels so strange how much things have changed. And how old I've become! Sigh, soon A will know how to the use the I phone better than I do. S already does.

Technological advances

When I was in school, communication between teachers and parents was mostly through letters/notes/reports put in the child's bag or given to the children to give to their parents. Details of forthcoming parent teachers meeting would be passed on through the children. I being the earnest, hardworking student that I was would immediately pass on all such school notes to my mom, while my ingenious brothers would hide all that they could. They even convinced my mom that there was no PTA meetings in their new school during their 11th/10th standard, and imagine my mom's surprise when she met a teacher while she was shopping alongwith my brother and the teacher accused her of being a lazy parent and not coming for any PTA meetings.

Anyway cutting to the chase, communication between school teachers and parents was not very regular and usually through the children.

And then S tells me today that a boy T in her class did not wear his jacket when they went walking to the woods (its actually quite a big deal as its very cold here now and inside the school its heated so kids don't easily agree to wear jackets in anticipation of the cold outside) and the teacher told T that she would send an email to his mom that he was not wearing his jacket!!!!

I couldn't help smiling. Agree that everything is online now, all school events are put up on the site, the weekly bulletin is online, but a pre school teacher sending an email to a parent about a child, and the child understanding what an email is. I found it quite funny. And imagine, now kids will have to be doubly ingenious to breakthrough this cosy nexus of teacher-parents. How will they now hide information from their parents? Hack their parents email accounts and delete all teacher's mails? Break their mom's iphones and put viruses in the home computer? The mind boggles...

Dear Ajja and Ajji

Dear Ajja and Ajji

You left just yesterday but we already miss you terribly.

Ajja, you came daily to drop me at my school and pick me from my school, never mind that you you had to rush through your morning coffee, or skip it completely sometimes and catch a hurried breakfast afterwards, or rush through a morning activity between the dropping and the picking up. You spoke to my teacher, asked me daily how my day was , what I did, whom I played with and even remembered the names of my class mates. A adds, Ajja you felt so sad when you came to drop me and heard me crying as soon as mummy parked the car and tried to cheer me up. When you came to pick me up, you always said cheerful things and tickled me from the front of the car to improve my mood.

Ajja, you let us destroy your playing cards set. S says, you taught me the four suits in cards (something even Daddy does not know yet) and am waiting for you to teach me bridge when I grow up. A says, you patiently watch as I throw the cards all around the room, or start bending them, happily babysit us and play silly games like wearing rubber bands/bindis etc to keep us amused. You never get angry with us even when we shout loudly during your afternoon nap, or barge into your room looking for a change of clothes (S specialty).

Ajji dear, you love and pamper us unconditionally. S says, you tie my hair up every morning (and make sure its well brushed and oiled, not hurriedly put into a ponytail like mom does) and never lose your patience however much I scream. You read so many stories to me, in the afternoon at night during the day whenever I ask for one. You give up your afternoon nap to do activity with me and still have the energy and enthusiasm to take me to the park while mummy has her German class. You whip up new delights for me to eat and patiently watch as I dilly dally over my milk and food.

And A says, I am nannoo and you are ammamma. . You are my big mommy. Always finding time to sit in the toyroom and play with me, teach me drawing, entertaining me while mummy tried to feed me, and consoling me when I fight with my big sister. You involve me in all activities you do with akka, be it drawing, reading, puzzles. You don't mind when i open all your creams and liberally apply them over myself and you, attack and destroy all your bindis and general make a complete mess on your bed. You patiently play with me in the afternoon, while mummy is either napping (lazy mom) or out somewhere and put me gently to sleep when I'm tired, not when you are feeling tired. You always find time to pick me up and hug me even when you're in the middle of cooking. At the park you watch as I run after S trying to do whatever she does, and keep all the pebbles I keep coming and giving you.

We miss sitting on your bed, putting the fan on and playing with you and Ajja. Come back soon.

We can't wait to see you in December. Do remember to put in the second swing!

Love S and A

The concern is overwhelming

So today was one of those exhausting days with school drops and pick ups, exercise, grocery, doctor's visit, park etc all squeezed in and literally no time to sit down and catch my breath and I was quite exhausted by the end of it.

When i was giving S her bath at night she looks at me and says "Mamma you are looking tired". I say, "Yes dear, today was very tiring" Then she again looks at me and says "You are looking sad". I say "No dear, I'm just very tired, I did blah blah blah blah today".

She looks at me for some time and looks worried, and I think she's going to tell me to relax or offer to clean up her toys at night or something to that effect, when she looks at me and says in a worried tone "So who will read books to me at night?"

Clearly she has her priorities right...

Pizza time

S had her first cooking session today in school. Once a week the teacher takes small batches of children in the class and cooks alongwith them. Today was S turn and she helped the teacher make salami and corn pizza. She proudly showed it to me when i picked her up from school, and ate half of it in the car (she is such a fuss pot when it comes to pizza otherwise and wants absolutely no toppings on them!). Her daddy got the other half at dinner time at home (i couldn't have it due to the salami :( and proudly pronounced that it was the best pizza he's had in Zurich!

S has been offering to help me with the cooking when she sees me struggle in the kitchen and keeps saying that when she grows up she will buy the vegetables and cook in the kitchen. No dear, its your time to play and have fun. And make fun things in class. Which reminds me, moms also get to volunteer to cook in the school, have been too lazy to put down my name..should get around to doing it soon. Any suggestions what to make?

Just an update

The update for this month

1. S has started sleeping on her own! We got her a Car Bed (Shaped liked Lightning Mc Queen from Cars) and kept it in our bedroom itself, and she's taken very well to it. Sometimes she asks me whether any crocodiles will come, but usually she falls asleep pretty fast after being tucked in and is finally getting a good night's sleep without being kicked and poked by A. In the mornings she climbs onto our bed for huggy time before the morning routine starts.

2. I got my car. Yippee. I got a Blue Renault Clio and am highly thrilled with it. Its a manual car and its quite strange to have the gear on the right hand side, but its a small car and easy to drive and park. I'm still getting used to driving on the right hand side of the road and the other day on the way back from the park , I took a turn onto the main road and was about to drive on the left hand side when I saw some cars coming towards me and quickly shifted to the right. The left hand drive is also difficult to get used to, and I find myself leaving too much place on the left hand side of the car and too less on the right (sometimes end up scraping the kerb). Am highly scared of the trams here and the 10 000 road rules so I'm only driving the kids to school and back and slowly venturing to other closeby places like the park, the doctor's clinic etc. My main three handicaps are parallel parking (can;t do!), starting on an incline (big issue here as we live on a hill, I use the handbreak everytime I start on an incline otherwise the car starts sliding backwards) and being a big scaredy cat (and driving very slowly)- I've got many honks and frustrated looks from the people in the cars behind as most of the roads in the city are narrow and you can't overtake easily. Maybe I should get an L board and people will be more patient!

3. My parents are here and the girls are loving it. S was anyway very close to my parents and A is also now becoming very attached to them. In the mornings my mom gets S ready for school, S dresses herself but insists that her Ajji brush her hair and put two rubber bands and four clips for her! My dad comes with me to drop and pick S at/ from school and listens intently to what she did that day at school. Then S afternoon nap time has been replaced with activity time with her Ajji and bedtime has my mom reading her favourite books to her. A plays with her Ajji while I drop S at school (after they leave she will have to come with me to drop and pick up S) and is totally thrilled with the small things my mom has - a clip box for S, alarm clock, powder box etc . Today after I got A back from the daycare, my mom opened the door and A ran into her arms. Sometimes I really wish we were back in India so the kids could spend more time with their grandparents. They will never get such unconditional love and affection here.

4. A's break in period at the daycare ended today. It spanned a week. The first day I sat with A inside the whole time . The teacher sat with us and tried to engage A in some play activity. The second I sat with her for half an hour, then said bye to her, waited outside for 45 minute and came back. The third day I sat with her for twenty minutes, then said bye to her, walked around outside for 1 hour and came back. The fourth day i just dropped her off and said bye at the door and picked her up after 1 1/2 hours. And today, I just dropped her off and picked her up after 2 hours. Touchwood, its steadily improving. She still howls when I leave, but I believe from the teachers that she settles down pretty soon. Today I left my key behind when I dropped her off and had to go back inside after 2 mins, and while she was howling when I left, 2 mins later she was silent. And asleep when I went to pick her up after 2 hours! Dear A, I hope you are happy and safe in the daycare and have fun playing with other children and teachers there. Also I hope your behaviour doesn't change as soon as I blog about how you are improving!

5. And finally the weather has been burning hot here. 31 degreees everday and it feels much hotter as the sun rays are more direct here and the places are not equipped for such hot weather, most of them don;t have AC/fan. I'm actually looking forward to the autumn setting in!

Growing up

S recently turned three and a half, and A one and a half. For me, this is a big milestone because when A was an infant then through the sleepless nights (for the first month and a half she slept only around 4 am, and from the eighth month onwards she suddenly started waking every hour) and the difficulty in feeding (from the time she was 3 months to 7 months A would refuse milk every other feed and feeding her was an exercise in frustration), and through the difficult periods with S (she would scream when I started feeding A and have sudden mood swings related to me spending time with A) at the back of my mind I kept thinking let S turn 3 and 1/2 and A turn 1 and a 1/2 and things will improve.

And touchwood they have. So mothers with young kids, have hope.

Physically, the work required is much lesser. Their meal times and sleep schedules coincide. I continue to make life difficult for myself by feeding them different food from each other, but I A already asks for whatever S is having, and feeds herself the same from a bowl while I try to feed her her normal diet. So I guess very soon their diets will also coincide.

Emotionally, the two are great company for each other. In an earlier post I had mentioned how great a baby sitter S is. And its true, I'm able to get a lot of the housework done with S entertaining A. Half the time in the kitchen I can hear S inventing some game for the two of them to play together, or giving A a lecture on how she was not supposed to do something. The other day I found them both lying on the bean bag together and reading books!! S was looking through the pictures in her favourite book, and A ever ready to copy her sister was also lying down and reading a book (which was upside down).

If S was not around I would find it a lot tougher to look after A. When we go on holidays, many a time the kids would be playing quietly (or not) together while the hubby and I can chat- whether it be at the beach when they play in the sand together, or in the hotel room where they'll be jumping on the sofa together. They have a ready playmate in each other, and also get confidence in being together- S used to refuse to sit alone in a playroom in a restaurant while the hubby and I ate, but now with A in tow, the two of them can keep each other busy for a while in a separate play room while we have a meal without constant interruption. The park is also much easier as A insists on doing whatever S does and is now physically capable of doing many of the things- swings, slides ( not climbing up though), sandpits, paddle pool etc. And S does look out for A quite a bit. Sometimes I can just sit on the bench and surf the net while the two of them play in the sandpit secure in the knowledge that if A does something very naughty I will hear a sharp note of admonishment from S.

Yes there are challenges and difficulties. I find it difficult to do activities with S because A wants to do everything, so if S is writing something in a book A will also want a pen (and the next thing I know the sofa is full of scribbles!) and I'm able to spend less time with S and A individually than I would have liked to. Sometimes I feel S is getting slowed down because of A, because A wants to do everything S does and I end up telling S to stop doing something, or do it later (which never finally happens). Hopefully this will get solved once their school routine is set in because twice a week S will be in school on days when A is not at daycare and I'll get to spend time with A, and once a week A will be in the daycare for a couple of hours after S school gets over, and right now I've promised myself to do something fun with S for those couple of hours every week.

So my darling S and A, you've both grown so much and adjusted to having each other around. I hope you always remain the best of friends (and make life easy for me :))