Head over heels

Well, if it is not your heels then it is your head they play with!

After a gruelling work day where 14 hours out of 24 were spent staring at a monitor came home to find the kids in a playful mood.

Had to oblige them with anything they asked for as it was just day 2 of school.

They wanted me to play outside and we tried that for a few minutes and they realized how tired daddy was. So we moved indoors and the little one said "daddy, I know just what you need. We are going to dress you up and pamper you!"

Well a six year olds idea of pampering daddy involves

1- combing your hair

2- adding rubberbands to your hair that will ensure you have a reduction in hair count that is way more than what you can tolerate

3- decorations with accessories

The only difference this time was that all these things were being photographed in the iPhone. It was nice to see the pictures and be surprised at the things that make my day!

So without much further ado..

We present..

Princess Daddy!

Did not quite understand why the glasses. The little one had an explanation for that. Apparently that was the Grandma daddy with "neththi chutti" photo! (Neththi chutti is a decoration used by indian brides on their forehead). Mommy's dolphin necklace had become a Chutti.

If she finds out....

Well.. she will when reading this post!

Why can't they comb mommy's hair, I ask and the answer?

"We don't want mommy's hair to fall out. You don't have a lot of hair anyways!"

Honesty is sometimes overrated and cruel.

and yes, usually she does things to my feet. Nailpolish, pedicure etc. Sometimes I prefer the heel treatment to the head treatment, but all said and done, head over heels in love with my little angels.

They can do whatever they want in the makeup sessions.

Kids, in case you read this blog years from now.. please know that you put me through this and I did it with a smile!

I am daddy

The little one has a new fad now. Walking around wearing daddy T-shirts and claiming "I am daddy!" It is hilarious. Caught her on video when she was least suspecting it.
We had fun yesterday at Big Trees state park which was a 3 hour drive away. We also visited a mining town that has been preserved to look like the early 1900's called Columbia on the way back that reminded us of our trip to Ballarat in Australia many years ago! It was one tiring trip for the kids who did 2 mile walks and some steep climbs to get to the Stalinslaus river. Now the little one has a cold and both kids are going through Daddy withdrawal symptoms as I make my way to spend this work week in Austin. Time for her to grow up and be daddy! .

Neeyum Naanum (you and me)

Watched Abhiyum Naanum on DVD. It was a great movie. Came out teary eyed in a lot of places. First real sappy daddy movie to hit the screens in a long time.

Even the big girls were all wiping their tears, possibly thinking about their dads?!

Most of the things in that movie have happened for real in this house. The girls as much as utter a sound, daddy will be right next to them. The alert level in the house for the girls getting hurt is always at Orange, much like the San Jose Airport since a few weeks after 9/11. Daddy is still designing airbags in his sleep that will make sure that there are no scratches on the kids if they get in an accident.

If this movie captured our past and present very accurately, then it is offering a very scary glimpse of the future for daddy.

There is a lot of growing up to do, for sure.

Just remembered this post and the comments that followed! It is not going to be easy for me to see my girls say bye to me.

Funny thing is they already know that they can live without me but it is me who cannot live without them and this theme came as a self realization way before this movie was made!

Hell, I should have scripted this movie. Okay, just kidding..

Those occasional flashes of truth fade into the background in an instant and we are back to the "my child" obsession.

One thing is for sure. I treat my FIL with a lot of respect. He is the only person who could put things in perspective for me when my kids decide to get married. Not my wife, not my parents, not my kids. Only the FIL can give me advice on what it means to become a FIL myself someday.

Maybe he has no profound wisdom to offer me and will brush it aside with stuff like "achcha baba" or "chalta hai" or some such thing which leaves you staring into space going "what was that?" , or maybe he will take me aside and bare his soul on what he was thinking at my wedding....or maybe he will start a school for prospective FIL's and offer coaching classes?

Only time will tell.

Hopefully by that time, this dad will be wiser. One can always hope, no?

.