Look who.....

One sunny morning, I was hanging out my laundry and there was this lovely little yellow colored birdie who came flying down to sit on the hanging rod. By the time, I returned back with a camera to capture her, she was long gone. But, there was somebody else waiting for my return and who like a well-mannered professional, graced a few poses for my blog. A red and black insect on my bamboo hanging stick. If you have been to Singapore, you would be acquainted with the rather unusual laundry drying rod. A few bamboo sticks are used to hang out the clothes to dry in the sun. Quite ingenious, and I love the idea. However, I have had a few not-so-good incidents in the past, of dropping my clothes and I do go knocking on the folks who live in the floor below us asking  favours. There had been times, when I had dropped a bamboo stick with Nephy's bed clipped on to it. It has already been a week since this happened, but I could still see the bed up on the tree...drying!! Hope, they don't take me in for killer litter. Considering the fact, that I live on the 15th floor, the bamboo rod with the bed would perfectly fit into the definition of a killer litter. 

All said and done, its absolutely lovely to look down on the top of the trees from up high, and to see clothes hanging out floor after floor after floor. God save me, if am falling in love with Singapore and I have feeling that I slowly am.....

This is what we did today!!

I have been working from home this week. I am eternally thankful to the great God above to have allowed such things to happen, and of course, the team. I have been trying to put in my best through this week. but, its a friday, and I decided to chill out a bit with my little girlie.

Nephy and I put up some cartoons on the bedroom wall and had a fun time playing. Here are some pics

Be responsible & Be informed!!

I came across this link on abused children.http://www.myspace.com/abused_children.

I had always refrained from reading disturbing topics, but this one tugged at my heart. As like the average human, I did and still do think of child abuse as something that happens in a world away. However, I have decided to educate myself and the others about the reality and how it could really happen in the safe haven called, home.

Listen to this....."The Biggest Myth about Child abuse:-
 .... is that the dangers to children come from strangers. In most cases. the perpetrator is someone the parent or the child knows and is often trusted by the child and family." That should be revelation to some.

There is no point in closing our eyes and assuring ourselves that this is not something that would happen to any of our kids. The threat is real and unfortunately, many us live far away from reality. The least that can be done is to make sure that our children are aware of what is a good touch and a bad touch, and nothing wrong in teaching them as early as possible. The child has got to know to say No or at least be able to know that its wrong and mom or dad need to know about it. When the child reports or even hints at it, as responsible parents, we should ACT and lest us not brush it under the carpet. Worst of all is reprimanding a child for it. "BELIEVE her when she tells you....YOU might be the ONLY ONE she tells!!!". It might not be our own kid, it might even be the neighbor's kid confiding in us. I wouldn't fool myself I would live peacefully ever, if I were to shrug it off and allow it to go on.

There is the most important CYBERSAFETY to be taught t children, "Anything you post online, anyone can see. Think before you post."

~~CYBERSAFETY FACT SHEET~~


There are an estimated 77 million kids online today.

There are more than 40,000 chat rooms where children can meet child predators.

Pedophiles lure kids in with games, establish relationships with them on-line, then arrange to meet face-to-face.

75 percent of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and/or services. (gifts, free samples, free online games, etc.)

Chat rooms and instant/private messages are two main tools pedophiles use to contact children on-line.

Online child pornography/child sex exploitation is the most significant crime problem confronting the FBI that involves crimes against children.

There is a 100% chance of a child meeting a predator in a chat room.



Be aware of what the child does on his computer. Its better to watch and curtail cyber liberties and actively monitor the child's internet activities. (Yes, he is bound to get angry and he would probably lock himself in his room. Well, its much better than he being in a wretched place with a sex predator or other filthy beings.)

For starters on cyber safety, my parents made it a rule that the computer stays in the living room until we grew up and became adults. Thats a good start!!

Thanks Mom and Thanks Dad and Thanks Prav!!(You guys sure did your best to watch out for me.)

From the mouth of a baby

Oh God! She is talking!!

I should have written this about a month back , but the delay is because I still haven't recovered from being amazed. It was like one fine morning, the little missy decided that she would talk and tats exactly what she did. No wonder am amazed.

Until she turned 2, I was quite worried because the number of words that she spoke was on the worrisome side. I was foolish enough to ask my doc if she needs speech therapy , which thankfully, she didn't recommend, the doc  instead asked me to just give her some more time. Me being me, read and read and read and read about speech therapies and early intervention and what not, and worried myself sick. All said and done, for the official record, Nephy was 2 years and 1 month old, when she started talking.

After all these months of teaching her my name, she finally said Bessie-amma. Oh, its nice to hear from you baby. For that matter all of us are addressed by our names. Anto-daddy or Anto-appa, Def Aasa, Raj Thatha and such.

Some snippets of her talk :-

Just a minute back, I took her for a night-time bath and her dad switched off the TV which was playing her all time favourite , Barney. She went to her dad and said 'Why Off TV'. What... what was that? Well, time she learnt the answer to such questions 'Because, I said so!!'

Another one, she said right now. 'Amma wait, papa go $$$$', looks like she has an urgent business to attend to.

Some not so desirable sentences of hers:-
'Appa Vaa moodu' (Appa, shut up) : This one has a history, and the world should know about it. One day, Anto and I were arguing about something and exasperated(as usual), he turned to Nephy and said 'Baby say, amma vaay moodu'(Amma, Shut-up). The plan back-fired. Incensed, she fired back saying 'Appa Vaay moodu'. Oh Boy, looks like its girl power.

'Chumma eru'(Oh, keep quiet) : The other day, my mom was saying something to me. In jest, I said 'Amma, chumma eru' and she picked that up.
Otherwise, we haven't accidentally taught her anything offending (I hope).

However, some words that she started speaking while young still remain the same.
Ammachi(Grandma) is still Aasa.
Teletubbies are Po, Lala, kaba-kaba(Dicksy) and Jakkamma(Tinky-winky), don't ask me why.
Barney is still Ba.
Water is stil tha-tha.

Although, I primarily use Tamil, she seems to be picking up the english words faster. Maybe because, she learns them from her friends in the playground, which is quite a number I should say. Her social life seems to be blooming too.

The little one is bossing us around with her new found tongue saying  'Go there', 'Open that', 'Close that'(However, we still only know 'that' and 'there', whoever has heard of 'this' and 'here'). My little baby bully!!

Ah Loy Thai

I am not a foodie, so if I am writing a blog on a it, then its absolutely safe to try even if you are the finiky-est eater in the world. To add credit, it was Anto who wanted to go there. So, thats double guarantee, I tell you.

Its a simple and a humble eatery, hidden inside Shaw Towers. A thai restaurant, Ah Loy Thai. The place was quite full and there was a queue too. We managed to get a table and it was Anto's boss' name that did the magic. I had no idea about Thai food except for Mango Salad and Tom Yum Soup. However, the latter wasn't my favourite because I always found it too hot and too spicy, almost a torture. I was wary, and Anto went ahead and ordered the following.

Tom Yum Soup
Kailan
Mango Crispy Chicken
Pandan Chicken
Mangp Salad
Kumquat Juice

The Juice came first, a tall glass of  yellow liquid, had a slight lemon tinge, but very refreshing and very different. 

The Tom Yum Soup, good enough for 3-4 people. We ordered Tom yum with prawns and mushrooms, and what a surprise it was. Simply just great. Wasn't too hot and too spicy, just perfect. I would strongly recommend it. 

The Mango Salad, with chillies and a watery sauce on it.

Mango Crispy Chicken, as the name says, its crispy chicken and again it was the sauce that was totally 'grrrrrrrrreat'

Pandan Chicken , rolled in palm leaves. Well, the tomato chilli sauce did it again

Verdict : I think this place is a definite go-go. The food is absolutely fabulous and sure is interesting.

Pictures : Flicked from other sites on Ah Loy Thai. Oops...Sorry

Location : Shaw Towers, Singapore.

Thanks To : Anto!!