Anika's Ini-mini-miny-mo game

Anika keeps surprising us from time to time.
At the age 5 yr and 7 months she invented a game of her own.
She drew a wheel of fortune sort of diagram and put different animal names on each of the hand. She then drew those animals and cut out the different pieces.
What one has to do is to do an iny-mini-miny-mo and whichever animal name the "mo" ends on you have to pick up the corresponding animal picture from the pile. For ease of use the animals and arranged in a clock-wise way as their names appear.
If some of think that is a dumb game - think again this game or conceived and executed by a five year old.

Holidays

It is that time of the year and we all get into a festive mood. 

Fall fest

How important is a fall fest to our lives?

Often I think, the importance of festivals or an occasion in our life. It lets us connect to changing seasons. It kind of says it loud that your favorite season is gone and accept that the temp will drop and you will need a sweater, etc.

Fall - is one of my favorite seasons - not because of its color changing leaves but more so, because it lets me connect more to nature. In the scorching sun or white snow the chances of you roaming around in a park or a forest are much less (though I know in summer we all love to visit parks but accept that we do get exhausted end of the day). In Fall you get all the good of nature but without the sweat. Fall also lets you gradually get acclimatized to the nail biting, shivering winter which is to follow.

Every year - we go to Fall Fest at Cantagny park. They have nice pumpkin curving, face painting, juggling show. My little princess loves it and we did it this year as well. The weather was slightly better as it was warm but the occasional chilly wind was not letting us take of the coats. It was a busy Saturday for us - starting the day at 8:30 and finally coming back home at 11 at night. Thanks to our social life. I dont mind being a social animal - it is way better than those jobless, lonely nights of chilly January.

  

The story of a cup that cheers

Have you ever thought of a day in office without a cup of tea/coffee?
Sometimes habits (or call it addiction) become so much part of our lives that we don't realize that it is there. I can not imagine to start my day with out a doze of caffeine.
When I go to my desk that is the third thing I do after checking my emails and exchanging pleasantries (read simple Hi) with my colleagues.

I think I have a taste bud for coffee and tea. I just can not drink anything. The other day I stopped at Cosi - one of the chains here in downtown for coffee+snacks. They have a Free Coffee Wednesday program where you get a free coffee for just showing up - any time in the day. I took a cup of coffee but frankly after a few sips I had to throw it as it was not to my taste. So it is not just any tea or coffee which becomes part of your life - it the teas and the coffees which you can stand that you get used to and can not be part with.

It is like part of your routine - and it is also cool to have a kitchen in your office - because there - with coffee you also get to talk - to people - not to whatsapp and free texts. Coffee shops are still places that not only serves you food or drink but also let you remain human - and let you talk to other living creatures and bring you back from your virtual world. 

Anika and her movie theatre

Sep 6, 2015
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Anika sometimes blows our mind by her innovation and creative thinking.
This time was setting up the movie theatre for Pratima and me.

Bear in mind that she had been to cinemas only once back in Dec, 2013 to watch Frozen. But the memory is so fresh in her mind and how acutely she watches things.

It was a Sunday morning and we were invited with a formal letter to come to see the movie.
What she is holding in hand is the note thats says: "I love this day, hope you do too"

I can not think of having written such a note at my age of 4 years and 10 months.
In the set up you will see the two chairs and two table which ideally should have been the cupholder and popcorn keepers. We were served pop corns in the yellow bowls and fruits and snacks on the plates.
When the movie started it was an one-act play - where actor-director-script writer was princess Anika. I blame it to my memory to not have remembered the content of the movie. May be next time I will be quicker to write it down..

Anika's stories ..

Again there was a gap but I have come back - this time I will draft a few stories together - as they cocured in the past -


 October 12, 2015, 9 PM
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Me taking out some 1 dollar bills for parking payments - Anika watching me standing in front of the dresser.
Anika: Dada, you have so much money.
Me (holding 8 1 dollar bills and thinking I wish I did): yeah - isn't that too much?
Anika: Yeah
Me: I need these money to pay parking tickets when I park my car at the station before catching train.
Anika: But why do you need so much money?
Me: I need 2 bills every day - and I am taking out so much so that I am covered for the rest of the week.
Anika: But we did not pay anything when we went to chicago.
Me: (appreciating her memory): Yes - but that was a weekend when we went. For work days you need to pay.

                                      ****   ****

Some day in the First week of October:
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Me asking Pratima to remind me to get some money for parking fees.
Anika comes up with her pencil box and says I have money that I can give you - takes out some quarters and gives to me. These are not play coins these are real money Dada.
Me: Thank you mumma - I really needed it.

                                      ****   ****

Aug 23, 2015
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My Princess started to wear her glasses outside and today is the first time we came out - only her and

me - we went to costco at St Charles and on our way back we stopped at the Wind Mill Park in Batavia on Fabyan - we stopped by the wind mill and walked all the way and down. The wind mill was closed so we settled for posing in front of it instead.

On the wall the description of the wind mill was written and there was a word 'location' on it and Anika did not know what it meant. So I had to explain it to her and then on a later visit with Pratima she explained what it meant to her mom.
Isn't that cute?

                                      ****   ****

Aug 22, 2015
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Anika starts her ballet after a gap of 1.5 years - visibly excited in her new ballet dress.
She started going to Moves Dance school in North Aurora.

                                      ****   ****

Aug 1, 2015
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Today was yet another Saturday of grocery. But where it differed was on our way back we stopped at St Charles park and Anika got her park time. Pratima and Anika did swing for the first time together after Anika started doing swing all by herself. It was a fin evening.
We even went out to eat dinner after a long time. Though food was crappy - at Olive Garden. Anika had a fun unplanned evening.
There was option to do mini-golf there as well but we had to wait in the queue and we decided not to go for it.

Anika loved the St Charles River walk and the gazebo but we were appalled by its deterioration over these years - it was very dirty. But had fun going up and down the stairs.

                                      ****   ****

First pancake 

Today Mumma and Anika made their first successful pancake. It was part of their summer vacation celebration at home. And they were very happy to have made it. 

Anika's story

I decided that I will come back to blogging again .. this time I will share some of mind-boggling question / innovative ideas that Anika surprised me with. 

Lets start from today and then I will go back to some glimpses from the past month. 


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mar 25, 2015
Today she asked me:
"Dada, if we take out a tiny part of the floor can you see the Earth?"
Me: "If we dig very deep then we will be able to .. but then the house might fall down if we dig that much deep."
Anika: But then we can dig in the black road?
Me: Yes, like if we go to the park, or a forest - then you see the soil there- that is Earth - if you take out a part of it then you have seen the Earth.
Anika: Or if we go to Smokey mountain and when we walk on the road then we can dig there and then nothing will fall.
Me: And we can go to beach and then start digging the sand and then we can see earth. Have you seen the earthworms, the worms that you saw in your book. They live inside the Earth.
Anika: yeah ..
Me: How did you come up with this question?
Anika: I read in the book - about Earth. (Dont remember what she said)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March, 2015: (some Sunday)
Anika made a movie theater all by herself.

Getting the idea from Curious George - she pile up some books and make box - then she stiched the hand colored picture pages with tape and put them from inside the book-box and carried the pages by hand in a circle and keep telling me the story - that was a superb idea from a 4 year old.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Back to the 'Virtual Home'

Yes, I would call it the virtual home. It's home, because you feel free to empty yourself here .. in front of the world. It is virtual as it is not written by hand. I still prefer writing my diary which I have lost habit of.

Nonetheless, today, on a sunny winter morning I am feeling an impulse to write to this old space of mine.

I was reading an article by my friend about the differences in lifestyles in the US and in Europe. I could not agree more to him on the views.

I have been to both lands for substantial time of my life and I guess am eligible to make a comparison...