Monkey Business

Once a kid turns ten, you would think that the monkey business would come to a stop. But no! Forget stopping, there seems to be no sign of slowing down ...infact the antics seem to be getting only crazier!

We are on the train from Bangalore traveling to Kakinada. Turns out that the we had the whole bogie just for ourselves and guess what that does to monkeys! Gives them all the freedom they (don't) need and gives no control to the helpless parents. Both the monkeys, the 10yr old and the 7yr old, both of them are all over the place. Jumping up and down the berths ....crossing over the seats from one end to another ...going in infinite circles that go from the lower berth to the top in quick succession....they go as far as calling their game 'The Monkey Jungle' ....atleast they label themselves correctly - monkeys!! 

I watch on ....going through an emotional roller coaster ....one moment amazed at their antics n energy.....another moment clutching my heart in fear as I see them recklessly jump down n I wonder if they are going to break their teeth, their newly acquired permanent teeth which once broken, cannot be replaced nor regrown. Hmmmm .....so far, all teeth intact!!

Not exactly sure when the transition happened, but the game changed from Monkey Jungle to Kissing Frenzy! Normally, I do enjoy a few kisses from my kiddos but this is a storm we are talking about - a sudden gush of kisses coming from both sides and I'm smothered n have to come out every now n then gasping for air!!! When they decide they had enough with kissing me, they want me to kiss them. After giving them 3 kisses each, I am not ready to give anymore. They won't have it that way. Ishaan moved my face to his side n stuck his cheeks on my mouth, effectively simulating a kiss 😊...when this went on for a little while, I warned them that I'm going to bite their cheeks. They have a solution for that too - turn my face around, seal my lips with their fingers n then stick their cheeks on my mouth ...ha ha ...

Finally, respite arrives in the form of the train stopping at the next station ...where more passengers started to fill up our bogie forcing the kids to automatically slow down n settle for a sit-n-play game of Battleship!!! 

Only 50min of our 19hr train journey is over so far. Wonder what more monkey business is in store for us in the coming hours!!!! 

Can't guess how the antics are going to turn out but I know for sure that somewhere down the line, the monkey to man transition will occur ....and they will snuggle in with books followed by iPhones resulting in complete silence that is commonplace in this digital era! 

"Respect for Hardwork"

"All I can say today is I have respect for Hardwork" 

"10,000" points in one evening!

"2 dollars"

"100% Accuracy"

These are the highlights from today's evening...a time that Shreyu and I are working hard to make up for the time lost and prepare for the upcoming placement tests!! Technically the first step towards Ivy League!!

It's mid-Feb, and March will see Performance tests and April will see the NWEA tests. So, less than a month!! Chop Chop lady!! Let's get those Math Skills roaring!!!

So, off we go starting with Khan Academy - and here comes the Tigress!! The Bengal Tigress! That's Shreya we are talking about. Or rather her Khan Academy, username "bengaltiger145" with the password being "ilovetigers". 

So, the Tigress had a great start and kept roaring until she earned 10,000 points in a matter of 2 hours with very minimal breaks n 100% accuracy! I'm ...umm...proud of the accuracy but I'm not sure if the speed is adequate or not. But still glad to see her focus for this long. 

So, she gets 10,000 points and was awarded cool Avatars on Khan Academy and I surprised her with 8quarters aka 2dollars! She made me happy n I made her happy 😊

She went back to drop the money in her piggy bank and comes back n announces this with a dramatic sigh 

"Hmm, now I have new respect for Hardwork"

This girl never ceases to amaze me n amuse me with her never ending drama n dialogues 😊😊

We smiled, laughed n hugged to end the eventful evening!

And if you are wondering why the new found respect for Hardwork, here's the backstory:

Today is the day that I stayed home to stay with her during the Presidents week break, and gave her some heavy lectures on why education is important and more importantly why hard work is important. Lectures that included flowcharts, real life examples 😊...and some some stern messaging interspersed throughout 😉...

So, not only did she learn the theory but followed it up with practicals too!!

Now, praying to dear God to be with her n guide her throughout all the exams n bless her with a seat in the Advanced Math!!!