Moppet's first vacation

Me: Moppet, we're going to Bali! For 4 days! Yay!
Moppet: (scrabbling about on the floor, dissecting a book called Purple Spotted Oranges) Deh duh!*
*Whatever!

Ok, so Moppet's a well-travelled baby, and is apparently not so excited about this trip. And let's be fair, purple spotted oranges are way cooler than Bali! But this is my first holiday in 3 years, and I'm SO ready for it.

The only thing is, it's also my first holiday with Moppet, and I don't know how ready I am for that! Sure, I've travelled with her before - in India and out, on trains and planes, with and without help - but this is the first time that the end of the journey is a hotel room and not a home.

Would love to hear from moms and dads who've holidayed with their toddlers and lived to tell the tale! :-)

My life in six words.

No condom? Let's risk it!

Unexpectedly unemployed, dependant;
surprisingly not unhappy.

Ruled by a 70-inch human.

Her smile makes it all worthwhile.

One life. Six words. Sore brain.

See how it's really done.

PS. Thanks, Tharini! This was fun!

Happy day report

Moppet's first birthday also marked another first: our first mother-daughter dispute regarding her wardrobe.

I thought - being her birthday and all - that she should wear a nice dress. In my defense, there were no frills, lace, satin, or bows. It was a cute red cotton dress, but she was just not having it. She kept pulling at the skirt in disgust and giving me evil looks. She moped and made sad eyes and overall looked so miserable that I finally gave in and put her in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. It was her birthday after all, and I had to keep my happy day promise. She perked up considerably after that, the little drama queen.

(My mom tells me that this is my punishment for all the embarrassment I put her through by insisting on wearing my kurta tucked into my salwar as a 3-year old. It was my favourite outfit, I wore it all the time and I wouldn't wear it any other way. She'd pull it out, and I'd poke it right back in. Karma, she said happily, on hearing my tale of woe.)

Anyway, I got some small satisfaction by adding a little floral shirt to the outfit that she didn't seem to mind. So there, Ma!

The first item on the agenda was a trip to the Children's Museum. I had heard good things about it, and was told they had hands-on section for children between the ages of 6-18 months. Moppet loves exploring, so I thought it would be nice for her. Turns out the toddler section was really small and quite sad. There was however, a nice little baby town, with a kid-sized grocer's, fire station, doctor's office, etc. Moppet had a good time exploring the town although she would probably have had just as much fun at home with an old cardboard box.

The rest of the day went considerably better. Tired out from our morning exertions, all three of us took a nice long siesta, and then fully recharged, indulged in a boisterous game of football. (I'm trying to figure out how to upload a video clip of Moppet playing football - the blood curdling yells and victory dance are better seen than described.)

In the evening, we had dinner at a friend's place. Moppet enjoyed herself enormously, making friendly conversation with assorted adults, doing her little dance on demand, and going round the table begging for beer, until finally one of the guests took pity on her and she repaired triumphantly to a corner with an empty can of Heineken.

Yup, it was a happy day!