I give up!

Too many complaints about my chosen blog moniker - some subtle, some insistent, some polite, some downright rude (those last mostly being insults from the husband).

I'm pig-headed enough to ignore this, except that I've lived with the name for a few weeks now and I have to admit, when I happen upon my own comments on other blogs, it takes a second or so for it to register that that's me!

So I give up - now YOU can decide what to call me (and live with the consequences! :-) But don't start rubbing your hands together and coming up with the world's most outrageous names just yet, I've got 3 choices for you to pick from.

(Ha! I may be a cotton candy head, but I'm not that stupid!)

So here are your options, in no particular order of (my) preference:

1. Maggie / Mags:
This is an old real life nickname I've had on account of my Maggi noodle like hair. Plus, on occasions when I'm being really insane, you can call me Mad Mags - a sort of Mallu Mad Max, get it?! :-D



2. CurlyQ / Curly:
Another take on the curly hair, a curlicue is a pattern of concentric circles, and can also refer to a twist or a curl.



3. Peppermint Penny / Penny:
You know, like Peppermint Patty of Peanuts. But Penny because that's short for another of my real-life nicks that people still call me by occasionally. Plus there's the obvious fact of my being 'peppy' and cool (and genetically incapable of letting a PJ go, apparently :-)


Those of you who feel that this is all a bit of hoo-ha about nothing, and I should just stick with what I've got, please do pipe up.

All 4 options are up on the poll I've got going on the sidebar, so get over there and vote!

Lurkers, you too, please!

The Blogger Formerly Known as Moppet's Mom

Can I just be TBFKAMM or some unpronounceable symbol too? I tell you, this (nick)naming business is frying my brain.

And I still haven't got a viable real life name for poor Munch yet.

Anyway, I've decided there's no point in spending time I really can't spare over a nickname. So I just closed my eyes and jabbed my finger at the shortlist and picked the one my finger landed on. (Ok, I cheated, I picked the one my finger landed on on the third try.)

Since a major part of my blog identity is being mom to M&M, it seemed to me that I should stick to a candy theme. So what sort of candy would be me? As the owner of a rather distinctive head of curly hair, the choice was clear: Candyfloss!

That's it peeps. The Blogger Formerly Known as Moppet's Mom is now Candyfloss.

All that remains is to find a suitably sweet name for the husband. Any ideas for Chocolate ka Baap?


(Oh and the picture is courtesy Google, and nothing like me in case you were wondering :-) My own hair is much curlier, and right now it is not pink. It was once though - remind me to tell you about that sometime.)

Back and Blue

I'm always a bit blue when I get back from home, although I must admit there is something to be said for coming back to your own place, your own bathroom, and your own bed...

I feel like I need to sulk for a couple of days, be rude to everyone for no reason, and like Moppet did on our return flight over when I went to the loo, yowl piteously at the top of my voice - "I WAN SOME MAMA!!"

Have a ton of tags to catch up on and lots of other stuff to share with you - all coming up in short order. But right now, I WAN SOME MAMA!!!!! WAAAAH!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Here's Moppet stealing bells from the christmas tree. Again!


She then runs around the house shaking them vigorously and singing 'Jiyal bell, jiyal bell, hey!' at the top of her voice.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Win some, lose some

The results of my first ever baking experiment are in! Determined that this would be different from my usual culinary misadventures, I prepared myself meticulously. I made a list of all the doubts I might have and found answers online before I actually got started rather than my usual strategy of making an instinctive (and usually wrong) choice while upto my elbows in eggs and flour.

So I found out what one 'cup' translates to in metric terms - for liquids and dry stuff separately - and wrote down all the conversions on a postit stuck to my kitchen work area. I figured out the difference between vanilla essence and extract. I doubled checked all mentioned oven temperatures and wrote them down in both Farenheit and Celsius.

I laid out all my equipment and supplies and ticked each item off against the recipe. I tested that the bowls I had were big enough for me to 'whisk gently' without spilling half the batter on the kitchen floor. The recipe (sent to me by a reader - thanks again, QA!), was copied out neatly onto another large postit also stuck to the work area. Moppet was sent down to play in the park with Nanny. I didn't want any distractions (or witnesses, in case of spectacular failure). I was ready to begin!

One. Two. Three. A deep breath, and I was off! Measuring, sifting, mixing, whisking, melting, and folding like a pro. In half an hour, the kitchen was smelling all warm and chocolatey, and I had a big bowl of brownie batter that looked just perfect.

I transferred it into my brand new baking tray, and encountered my first hitch. The tray was too small. I hadn't quite anticipated how much batter the recipe would produce. No matter, I'd just bake 2 batches. I poured in half the batter, and saved the rest for round 2.

Then the second hitch. For all my checks and online research, the one thing I had forgotten to check? The oven. It's an old oven that came pre-installed in the kitchen so there's no manual that explains the settings. I was able to figure out the timer and the temperature without a problem, but the mode setting had me stumped. They were just a series of icons, and I had no clue what they meant.

So I followed my instincts and picked one, and naturally it was the absolutely wrong choice. 10 minutes into baking, I realised by the thick burnt crust that had formed on top that it probably wasn't the right setting, so I foolishly followed my instincts and picked another setting.

Of course, that was even worse than the first setting, which I realised another 10 minutes into the game. By this time, my warm chocolatey kitchen was smelling like burnt coffee, and my eyes were beginning to smart. I tried a third setting - which may or may not have been the right one - it was too late to tell.

Finally, I turned everything off, burnt myself getting the tray out of oven (my equipment list hadn't mentioned oven mitts so of course I didn't buy any), dumped the half burned, half jellied batter straight into the dustbin, and informed Moppet's Papa (with great composure, given the circumstances) that my world had officially ended, that I was retiring from life, and that if he needed me he would find me in bed where I intended to stay for next week or so.

Ok, he said kindly, but since there was some batter left, why not give it another shot? He came along to help figure out the icons and after some debate we finally settled on one which turned out to be almost right. It wasn't perfect - the top still got a bit burned and I found another icon later that I realised wouldn't have had extra heat coming from the top - but it was much, much better than the previous 3 settings I had used. The burned portion was easily scraped off, and when the whole thing had cooled off, they actually turned out to be yummy. Not particularly good-looking, but really yummy.

Moppet's Papa casually asked me which brand of mix it was, and when I stopped stuffing my face long enough to inform him that it was no mix, that I had made it from scratch, he looked suitably impressed.

It seems there's hope for me after all!

Tagged: 22 things Every Guy Wants to know about Women

Dotmom handed me this tag, which is fast doing the rounds of all the mom blogs, with lots of great posts. I had better do this one pronto or all my answers are going to sound like they came from one of the other blogs.

1.How do you feel after a one night stand?
My feet ache.

2. Do you ever get used to wearing a thong?
Do you?

3. Does it hurt?
Oh no. You should try it sometime.

4. Do you know when you are acting crazy?
Me? Crazy? What? Who told you that? Tell me their name! Now!

5. Does size really matter?
Of course not! (wink, wink)

6. When the bill comes are you still a feminist?
When the bill comes, I'm an opportunist. I never let the opportunity to have someone else pay up pass.

7. Why do you take so long to get ready?
Why don't you take a little longer to get ready? You sure could use it!

8. Do you watch porn, too?
Don't need to, thank you very much!

9. Will something from Tiffany's solve everything?
No. A sincere apology would probably cost you more, but it works much better.

10. Are guys as big of a mystery to you as you are to us?
No. We're not the smarter sex for nothing, you know.

11. Why do you sometimes think you look fat?
Having to hold my breath before I can button my jeans might be a clue.

12. Why are you always late?
I'm not. Why do you assume that a woman will be late?

13. Does it bother you when we scratch?
No, it's natural. Men are just closer to apes on the evolutionary ladder than women are.

14. Do you wish you could pee standing up?
No. But I realise this is a big achievement for your kind, so well done!

15. Why do so many women cut their hair short as soon as they get married?
To relieve boredom.

16. How often do you think about sex?
Nowhere near as often as you do, I'll bet.

17. What do you think of women who sleep with guys on the first date?
Decisive.

18. Would you?
Yes. No. Maybe. Not.

19. Do you realize every guy wants a girl just like his mom?
Really? I'm glad I didn't marry Every Guy then.

20. Why does every woman think she can change him?
Because Every Guy's mom obviously didn't do such a great job.

21. Does it matter what car I drive?
No. It matters how you drive it.

22. Do you ever fart?
Yes. But only YOU can do it on demand.

Gotta say though, if this is really all Every Guy wants to know about women, then no wonder women are still a mystery to him!

Tagging Squiggles Mom (Ha! That'll teach you to be mean to me :-), Kiran (you can do this on your other blog if you don't want it on your mom blog), and Y.

Too much to say, too little time

Much has been happening:

Friends visited over the weekend with their 5 year old daughter, and we saw a side of Moppet we had never seen before.

Our first Halloween had over 60 assorted bumble bees, fairies, witches, sprites, superheroes and other nameless ghouls visit our house trick-or-treating. I had more fun than Moppet did though. I think some of the cackling witches were a bit too much for her.

Moppet's Papa claims he has irrefutable proof that our daughter is actually a Klingon.

My father-in-law is here for a visit - last minute plans that suddenly came through. As a result, I have had to transform into dutiful DIL at a moment's notice, and I'm sorry to say I'm badly out of practice! ;-)

At some point, I will post pictures and news, but with Moppet and her Grandpa and an infuriatingly always-on-the-blink internet connection, I'm not quite sure when. (So no third degree on why my next post isn't up yet, ok Dadda?)

See you when I do, folks. Be good!

And another one!

Behold, I am a Schmoozing Super Power! (Except with a much nicer arm) Fuzzy and Timepass have both given me this award because they think I'm a schmoozemeister. Thank you!

The creator of this award refers to schmoozing as the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.”

But in my mind, this is an award for community involvement, and the people I'm passing on the award to are all wonderful folks who take time out of their lives to support and brighten the days of so many bloggers they've never even met.

So anyway, without any further ado, here are my favourite schmoozers:

Tharini: She has such a welcoming way about her. She was one of the first people to find my blog and leave kind, encouraging comments - which when you're just starting off as a blogger, just gives you such a delirious high. In many ways, she's the glue that holds this mommy blogging community together.

JLT: Sometimes I read a post and end up not leaving a comment because I don't know what to say, but JLT will always find something nice and genuine to say. She's on a blogging break at the moment, being snowed under with life and work, and I miss her warm friendly presence in the blogosphere. Come back soon, JLT!

Poppins: Because she twisted my arm and said give me an award or else! :-D No, seriously, Poppins is one of those bloggers who notices little things in your posts that most people miss. She will take the time out to leave long comments or if it's more private, send an email, passing on information, advice and support. That's really something special.

All the folks at Saffron Tree: I don't know many of them, and the site is not about networking or 'schmoozing' at all. It is about sharing information and opinions on children's books, and I think it is such a wonderful contribution to the community. Thank you all so much for taking the time to share.

Where have you been?

No less than 3 loyal readers have asked me some variation of this question this weekend. Of course, 2 of them also followed it up with complaints about my last post - 'serious doesn't suit you', 'don't think too much, you'll hurt your little brain' - but I'm an expert selective listener, so that's just background noise to me.

What's important to remember is that they were clamouring - literally begging - for my next post. I have them enthralled! Ooh, the power! I hope it doesn't go to my head! :-D

Sorry, I'm being ridiculous, but last week has been one of those tiring weeks that you can't legitimately complain about because it's no big deal, and you know it, but you still want sympathy and no one will give it to you. Because it really is no big deal. But still...

For most of the last week, Moppet has had a cough and a stuffy nose that's been keeping her up at night. But does the silly creature sleep during the day to make up for the sleepless nights - hers and mine? Of course not, that would make my life too easy, and we most certainly can't have that. Oh no! She insists on gluing her little butt to my lap and whining and cranking and generally using me as a giant snot-wipe.

She is much better now, as she should be, seeing as she has been determinedly transferring her germs to me all week. And with Aunt Flo making a particularly ill-timed visit, let's just say that I'm not going to win any congeniality contests even if the only other participant is a female grizzly bear.

So anyway, this post is just to tell you that yes, all is quite ok, and no, the last post where I actually had to think did not overload my brain, and yes, there will be more posts, and no, they are not likely to be very serious ones. Happy?

Remember...

...the frisson of new love, when it's a secret that belongs only to you and him?

...those stolen kisses in an empty classroom, or on a dark night outside rented rooms hoping your nosy landlady won't catch you?

...the thrill of cuddling behind the flimsy curtains of the lower side berth in a 2-tier AC compartment?

Do you miss that? The danger of getting caught?

Try it with a toddler sleeping just a few feet away from you. Even better if the toddler is a light sleeper :-)

Btw, this was a tag.

Awards and things...

In what must have been a moment of temporary insanity, the otherwise very smart and super fabulous Kiran of Karmickids has nominated Moppet Tales for a Blogger's Choice Award under 2 categories:

Best Parenting Blog

and

Hottest Mommy Blogger

Are you done laughing? No? Another 5 minutes? Take your time.

Waiting...

Patiently...

Ok, that's enough. Now get up off that floor, wipe away those tears and listen.

Back in B-School, we were taught to set S.M.A.R.T. goals - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. So under the realistic assumption that I have a snowball's chance in hell of winning this thing, this is my goal: to achieve double digit votes in each category.

So will you vote for me? Because you know, I really am very hot and have great parenting skills.

Update: Target achieved peeps! I have double digit scores in both categories! Thank you all so much for taking the time and trouble to vote. It feels wonderful!

PS. This doesn't mean those of you have not yet voted shouldn't! Please! :-)

The truth is stranger than fiction!

I just discovered that a google search for 'baby Voldemort' throws up this post - as the first, most relevant result!

Surely in a www stuffed to overflowing with Harry Potter sites and references, this cannot be the most relevant result for baby Voldemort?!

Then again...just look at this face!

Checklist

One enormous suitcase, 10 times the size of toddler, packed with everything necessary and unecessary for royal upkeep of said toddler. Check.

One stuffed diaper bag, bursting with snacks, toys, books...what am I missing here? Oh yes, diapers and a change of clothes. Check.

One stroller, which most likely toddler will refuse to sit in, and which will form one extraneous piece of hand baggage, taken in hope nonetheless. Check.

One hyperactive toddler, sensing the excitement in the air and buzzing in anticipation. Check.

One hovering Papa, who will miss toddler and her mom like crazy, but is pretending to be happy to 'finally have some peace and quiet.' Check.

One harried, nervous Mama, wondering if she's taken enough headache pills to last her through the journey. Check.

Steeling of nerves. Check.

Taking of deep breaths. Check.

...And we're good to go! See ya on the other side!

Pinch me, I'm dreaming!

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this - Moppet Tales is on the India Blogs 1.0 list! In the mommy blogger section, in the august company of all my absolutely favourite mommy bloggers!

Excuse me for a moment while I do my victory dance.

(Thump, thump, thumpity, thump, thump, YAAAHOOOOO!)

Ok, am back :-)

On a less hysterical note, congratulations to everyone else on the list, and I know it's not really such a big deal, and I'm still not entirely sure it's not a mistake, and I had better tell Moppet's Papa before they find out it's a mistake and take down the link, and umm.....

...guess I'm still hysterical!