Rough Day!

Whew ! What a day?? I've had it. Three kids is not a joke. Mom's not here and is in Vegas taking a well deserved vacation with her sister and nephew. Lucky mom! I've had it with these 3 kids. Not that they are naughty or overly troublesome but just the tedium of handling 3 kids can even get to a saint I imagine.

My day began at 7am. I hopped out of bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed (Okay! So, a little bit of writer's bravado is acceptable. Not exactly bushy tailed but somewhat limp tailed... Big deal!) and tackled the day. Got the boys ready by feeding them milk, got Kahini ready by changing her outfit, brushing her hair and getting her shoes laced up. Got Giri's lunch of chapathi and dhal ready and packed it in his lunch bag. Giri and Kahini left at 8:30am for a doctor's appointment. Made a hasty breakfast of oatmeal for myself and then got the boys ready for breakfast. Chapathi for Rohan and yogurt and idli for Pravan. Pravan is refusing to eat cereal as he used to a few weeks ago. Finished the boys' breakfast and cleaned the kitchen and got them in the bathtub for a soak and got them both ready for bed by 10am. Ms. Tigist my nanny arrived at 10 AM sharp and so I got a break to take a quick shower and then fed Rohan his bottle. 10:30AM, both were ready for a nap, and so I took care of Rohan and nursed him for a little bit and then put him down at 10:45AM. I did some bills and left the house to go work out at 11:45AM. Worked out with Jessica for an hour from 12:30 to 1:30 and then did some cardio for another 10 mts and then hit the road and went to Safeway for some quick groceries.

Came back home by 2pm. grabbed a quick bite to eat and then made cabbage curry and cut the plantains and microwaved them and then took a quick shower. Rohan was ready for his bottle by then, and so after feeding him, ended up nursing him for a bit and by 4pm, I was ready for the rest of the evening. Ran to the post office to do some chores, went to the video store to drop off and pick up some videos, picked up Kahini and came home by 5:45PM. The boys were ready to play by then and after making pasta for Kahini, and finishing the plantain curry, took care of all 3 for 30 minutes. Mayhem.. Mayhem. Pravan bit me and Rohan, Kahini hit Pallu and Rohan screamed at the top of his lungs for 15 mts. God, I wish I could run away to Tahiti for a few days with a blond Norse god.

Giri arrived at 6:45pm and after a few minutes of mayhem again , got Kahini ready for dinner, fed her dinner, ate my dinner and bathed Kahini and then fed Rohan and Pravan their dinner. By then it was 8:30 at night. Got Rohan and Pravan ready for the night by changing them into PJs and brushing their teeth and changing their diapers and feeding them Complan. By 9PM, took Kahini in and brushed her teeth and got her ready for bed, read Elmo Goes For A Checkup for the zillionth time and sang "Alai Payuthey" for her and got her napping by 9:50PM.

Got out and put Rohan to bed and then finally got to blogging. My sanity...

Just another day in the Gopalan household..

You know what they say! "Insanity is hereditary! You get it from your children!!!" So true!

Kay..

Jodha Akbar Review!!

Jodha Akbar - A movie par excellance. I loved it guys. I saw it on the silver screen at AMC Mercado 20 in Santa Clara , USA. What a movie, what a movie. Ashutosh Gowariker has excelled himself I must say. The only negative thing I have to say about the movie is its length. It is almsot 4 hours long. A tad too long in my opinion.

Coming to the movie itself. It is a movie shot in splendour and is going to be known for perfect casting, breathtaking cinematography and poignant love story. Breaking it down into smaller parts :

Casting:

• Hrithik is Akbar in all his glory. He fits the part to a T. I have read several comments where he is too young to portray Akbar but not true. The story is of a young Akbar. He fits it beautifully. I dont know of any other actor who could have portrayed Akbar in all his "humanness" so well. We all know about Akbar the emperor and the statesman. But this movie is of Akbar the man who falls in love with a beautiful woman who happens to be his wife.


• Aishwarya Rai as Jodha is breathtakingly beautiful and is haunting in most scenes. The only other person who could have played this role to perfection is probably Madhuri Dixit in her heydays. Aishwarya does the role with poise, grace and perfection. She is superb to say the least.


• Ila Aruni as Badi Ammi is most perfectly cast and is a pleasure to watch. She portrays her rage and angst very vividly and with aplomb. Her eyes speak more than her mouth.


• Sonu Sood as Sujamal is very aptly cast. He is easy on the eyes and very believeable in the war scene and during his discussion with Safiruddin.

Cinematography:

Kiran Deohans has excelled himself. The war scenes and the song sequences are very nicely picturised and very grand and opulent. The use of camels, elephants and infantry is very apt and adds a nice touch of authenticy and adds the "periodness" to the film. The song sequences for Khwaja mere khwaja song and for the Azeem-o-shaan-shahenshah is very nicely done.

Direction:

Ashutosh did a great job with Lagaan and he has maintained the same name for Jodha Akbar also. He has done a lot of research for this movie and is shows in his locale choices, costume choices and casting choices. The romance between Akbar and Jodha is understated and gradual. No overt shows of passion or loveplay is exhibited and it is very fitting for a romance between an emperor and his wife. The war sequence and the sword play and the fight sequnece at the end is very well done. Here are some of his best directional sequences:

• The taming of the elephant by Akbar and especially the final jump he takes to sit on the elephant's back.


• The song Khwaja mere khwaja where Akbar himself joins in with the singers. Very well shot.


• Akbar's concentration falters when he is listening to Badi Ammi's lecture when he sees Jodha in the pavilion.


• Jodha's fascination with Akbar while Akbar is practising sword play without his top. That's where Jodha first falls for Akbar I think. What a physique Hrithik has! Total eye candy!! One of the best scenes in the whole film.


• Jodha and Akbar's sword play in Ajmer and their fascination with each other during the entire sequence.


• The picturisation of Azeem-o-shaan-shahenshah song.


• The final one on one fight with Sharifuddin.

Music:

Music by A. R. Rahman is very melodious but not his best. The songs are lilting and catchy but none stand out exceptionally. Defininely good but not outstanding.

All in all, this movie is woth watching on the big screen. Once the DVD comes out, it is definitley worth purchasing and keeping it in one's personal collection. If you get a chance to see it on the big screen, please go and watch it on the silver screen.

Kay gives it an 8 out of 10.

Kay...

Giri tuns 42!!

I cant believe it but Giri is 42. He turned 42 on March 21st. I am officially married to a mama now. When I was a kid growing up, I always thought of 40s being way up in the coot area. I thought 20s was cool, 30s was old and anything above the 40s were ancient. Imagine my consternation that my darling hubby is 42 !!!! The funny thing is he does not feel old and I dont feel old either. I am 38 myself. Actually I feel that I am in my prime now. Better than I ever felt in my 20s.

Growing up during my teens, I was always a tad chubby so I never felt totally comfortable in cool clothes and savvy outfits. Growing up in suburban Madurai which is a big village did not help! When I reached my 20s life was a little better. I had a couple of degrees under my belt and had the vast! experience of a college grad and thought myself invincible. But the pressures of getting married and moving to a new country took its toll on me. I had to change careers , ended up going to grad school in the US and spent most of my 20s in school and trying to manage on a single income. Life was not bad but not great either. Next came my 30s - the so called Wonder Years in my life. I graduated from grad school and got a great job in Compaq. I had lots of money and ended up spending as I liked on manicures, pedicures and designer DKNY jeans..


Then came motherhood and all the associated issues with it. Life is busy but not too bad. I have kind of found my niche so to speak. I am more outspoken about the issues that I am passionate about, have more patience than before and best of all I dont give a hoot what others think. I have come to the conclusion, that people always have a say in everything we do. Be it a mom, mother in law, fried, husband or neighbor. I haven't reached the stage where my kids will start giving me input but I am sure it is not too far away.. My daughter is 3 going on 13 already and I am sure we are going to butt heads in the future. I digress, but coming back to the subject, people like to comment on everything we do. I have reached a stage, where I can brush it off and do exactly what I want to do. I dont care anymore. I think I have the age, mental maturity, confidence and right to do what I want without someone's opinion affect me. And that my friends is the key thing I have learnt in my 30s. Not to give a damn about people's opinions and just do whatever it takes to get the job done to my satisfaction.


That is the most important lesson I have learnt in my 30s and that is to be comfortable in my own skin and I think it is the most valuable lesson of all. Coming back to Giri's birthday, he has always been very sure of himself and has never let anybody's else's ideas, opinions affect him one way or the other. I don't know if he was born that way or is it just the way he learnt to deal with people on his own. Whatever it is, he is a great guy and I am very fortunate to have him as a life partner. He is my partner in the true sense of the word and I wish him many many more happy birthdays and a long and illustrious life...

Kay..

Allergy, Allergy!!

Poor Pravan has been diagnosed with severe allergies. He has demonstrated allergy affinities for cat hair, peanuts and eggs. His peanut allergy is pretty severe with a 9 out of 10. Poor Pallu!

I am going to have my hands full taking care of his lifestyle change. It's going to be a lifestyle change for all of us in the family I think. He cant have any baked goods like muffins, cakes, pastriess, bread, pasta which are store bought or particiapate in any birthday parties where these are served. Our doctor has told us that he will probably outgrow the eggs allergy before he is 10 but probably not the nut allergy. He'll probably have that for life. That's the scary part. I cant imagine an active young man (and believe me he is hyperactive!!) being curtailed for life by a nut allergy. Once he turns 3 or 4, his day care teachers and primary school teachers will have to be taught to adminster epinephrine in case of an accidental dose of peanuts. Once he is 5 or 6 he will have to taught to refuse food offered by anyone just in case it has trace amounts of peanuts. It is going to be a lifestyle change for him and us. Once he is 10 and above, he will have to learn to administer epinephrine just in case he does not have anybody near him who can adminster epinephrine.. Poor Pallu!

Giri is of the opinion that they tend to overdianose in this country. I disagree. I think doctors tell the patients everything that can possibly go wrong and it is up to the patient to do the needful. In case, this allergy had gone undiagnosed and we had learnt about it the hard way by a trip to the ER, I would have been livid and probably decided to sue the hospital and the doctor for not letting me know earlier. What's the right thing to do here? I guess it is all for the good. Platitudes - I agree but they are so apt for life..

Nothing more to add. I am 38 yrs old and I received a jolt in my life today because of my son. I guess children really make your hair turn gray. I remember a notice board that used to hang in my sociology teacher's office - It said "Insanity is hereditary! You get it from your kids!!". So true..

More later...

Kay

The Power of Exercising...

I've been recently exercising really hard. Really, really hard. Once upon a time about 4 yrs ago, my weight was 164 lbs and since I stand at 5 feet 6 inches, it was a reasonable weight and I fit into a nice snug pair of 12 jeans. I loved it and everything was well in Krithika's land. I was 34 years old, had a great job, had a good husband and loved to eat out and I exercised too. So all was hunky dory or so I thought..

Fall of 2003 , I became pregnant with my first daughter.. It was a miracle conception in that , hubby and I were married for 9 years before I got viably pregnant.. The history behind the pregnancy and all the ensuing complications are for a different blog. Not today... Anyway suffice to say, I stopped my intense boot camp sessions. I was a lover of boot camp. I loved the adrenanline, the early morning smells of fresh bagesl and starbucks coffee and the assorted joggers I met on a regular basis... It was my early morning fix..

After I became pregnant, I stopped bootcamp. I could not keep up with the intense workouts and also could not wake up early enough every morning.. That was when it all began. Falling off the wagon or is it on the wagon. I never am quite sure. Flash front to 4 years later and 3 kids after (Yes, you heard me right!!! 3 kids. After a daughter in 2004 , we were blessed!!! with twin boys in 2006) exercising was not a priority. I had a zillion things to do. I had quit my job, stayed at home to be a full time SAHM and just had no time to exercise.

The wake up call was given by my general physicaian who took one look at me and said, "You've got to reduce that weight"! The way he said it and the inflection of his tone along with my cholesterol results of 225 was enough to jolt me into activity. I signed up at 24 hour fitness with a personal trainer 3 times a week in Oct of last year. 3 days a week of intense physical training and strength training with weights and 5 days a week of 1 hr cardio has paid off. I have lost almost 22 lbs and still have about 14 more to go.

Today I signed up for The Great Race which is a race between Saratoga downtown and Los Gatos downtown in the Bay Area. It feels great. I feel light. I still eat well and I indulge in my favourite fries from The Red Robin once a month. But I work it off the next day. I gave up white rice and now it is brown rice. It is more chewy and has more texture and it is great...

It's hard but definitely doable..

Kay...

Maniac Monday

Tomorrow is Maniac Monday. The whole rigamarole starts again. Waking, feeding, laundry, school and bills. Wonder if it ever will end???

Probably not. I might just get used to it. As they say in my native language - tamil, "chithiramum kai pazhakkam, senthamizhum naa pazhakkam". So, maybe I'll get used to it.. I hope to.

Nothing more to add today. Just starting a new blog..

Catching up on my writing skills.

Kay