Owner: Karma Calling URL:http://thekarmcallingblog.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:05:16 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Witty, funny, sometimes thoughtful take on life as a working mom, toddlerhood and parenting. Site statistics:Click here
Parting Shot 2007-10-31 12:28:00 It was the second time this week Chip pulled this maneuver successfully. It's a simple tactic on the face of it. But it takes a man of undaunting sprit with a fearless desire to take on extreme challenges despite prior knowledge of dreadful consequences in its wake. Or, a two year old. The first time Chip pulled his toddler version of the shock and awe, his poor, unsuspecting grandmother was yes, shocked and indeed awed and she gave Chip a sound earful, which given her rather gentle and soft voice, did not do much do discourage Chip. So, he tried it again on his very suspecting mother last night.The notoriously difficult to potty train Chip has been doing pretty good the past few days, and that meant mostly whispering his intent to answer the nature's call, grown-up in earshot or not. Yesterday I was within the hearing range of the said murmur. Elated, we proceeded upstairs to "his" bathroom amidst joyous chorus of "Chip is a big boy", "Wow. Chip just told me had to go do
Pumpkinville 2007 2007-10-30 18:07:00 The local petting zoo hosts a pumpkinville every year. Free Apples, free cider, free popcorn. And as you can tell, I am out of ideas to post.
UnBooked 2007-11-06 12:04:00 I have nothing to read. I have opened my book shelves and peered into their musty darkness, opened the bedside tables and rummaged around to see if a book was hiding itself. I have logged on to the Public Library Catalog and found nothing. Nothing at all. The minute BigGeek reads this, two words in font size 36 and font-weight bold are going to come to his mind. Liar’s Poker. He has been badgering me to read it - he finished it while convalescing – and I haven’t – haven’t convalesced and haven’t read it. Do ask me why. Because the reasons are quite complex and well, somewhat weird.I crave books the way someone craves food. Remember that Tuesday when you wanted to eat the spicy Green Curry at that little hole in wall Thai restaurant? No other Green Curry quite does it then. Or the time when you simply had to have those itsy bitsy truffles at the fancy grocery store? Or the time, when you taste buds craved *something* but none of the familiar foods even came close to describ
Not Sew Easy 2007-11-05 13:04:00 For all the other wonderful things I am, I am not a seamstress. I have a hard time fixing a loose button, or sewing over lose seams or hemming pretty dinner napkins. Just can’t do it. This may not seem much of deal really, but it is a huge irony. My grandmother, had she been born some sixty years after she did would have been a fashion designer. Her cutting and swing skills are hard to match. Not to mention the embroidery. She has painstakingly made tapestry like “paintings” - embroidering with single stands of silk floss to that reflect detailed scenes of a family of tigers in the jungle and another idyllic scene with peacocks. She went on to opening a small boutique with her daughter in law. Then comes the mother who, if they had college degrees for tatting and crocheting would have earned multiple Phd.s. She is constantly giving me elaborate table runners and coasters made in such detail, it would require an electron microscope to truly appreciate all the intricacy. I obviousl
Happy Diwali 2007-11-08 12:23:00 I am in the weeds. Diwali is knocking loudly on the door and I am so behind everything. Last night BigGeek went down to our crawl space after dinner and got out the holiday lights. I strung lights on our hedge while BigGeek strung icicle lights on our eaves and then he connected all the wires and the timer and everything else. Chip kept saying he wanted to stay out for the night and not come home and to prove he meant it, got his truck and tried to ride it on the very, very dark and cold street. Do this boy know no fear? He got a time out for that and while being timed out, he found a few gold fish crackers in our camp chairs and ate them. So he got a time out within a timeout for doing that and he was not pleased. So he grabbed the bottle of concentrated car wash and poured it into the candle that had lit my Halloween pumpkin a few days ago. After sniffing his breath to make sure he hadn’t had a swig of the blue soap, he got a swat on the bottom and was taken inside to be put to bed Read more:Happy
Sixty and Counting 2007-11-16 10:18:00 My Dad turns 60 today. Which means he has seen 720 moons. Full moons that is. And Roughly. This figure has not been corrected for leap years, cloudy nights or the evenings when my Dad simply did not want to go see the moon. But you get my idea. Anyhoo. In my family, we always say that my Dad arrived from another planet. There is no doubt about that. Some, actually many, say he came from the Planet of Saints or the Planet of Highly Ethical and Moral Beings (this planet is very sparsely populated) or the Federation of the Extremely Patient Souls (I think he was the sole occupant of that one). Are you shaking your heads and are saying, Naah? These planets don’t really exist? Well, they must. Which other person, in his boyhood would brink back veggies for dinner on the way home from school with the few paisa his mother gave him for a treat in the school canteen? Or never break a teacup or volunteer to put his baby brother down for a nap or pacify the said younger brother when he demanded Read more:Sixty
, Counting
Man on the Moon 2007-11-15 13:17:00 “Aie, I want to bas (sit) on moon.” Chip declares in his Minglish from his vantage point. The mother, Chip and I are returning home after getting Chip’s mop trimmed to civilized standards. It is only six in the evening, but it is already quite dark and Chip, has been following the glowing crescent in the sky as we head home. Every time Chip sees the moon, he wants to sit on it. This has been happening for a few months now. The first time he said it, I was overcome with joy. My son, the astronaut. Going to the moon and mars and beyond. Thrilling.But then, when this started to happen several times every evening, the novelty soon faded and I tried to make deals with him for a trip to the moon. “You want to go on the moon, Chip?” I would ask. “Yes.” He would reply. “Then, you have to stop crying when you go to school. They don’t allow crying kids on the moon.” He would cry, in the morning anyway, telling me he did not want the school and he did not want to sit on the m
Ties that Bind 2007-11-13 13:39:00 Sujatha of Blogpourri sent this article (Return to India: One family’s journey to America and back) by Shobha Narayan my way a few days ago. She has, since then also put it on her website. The article is a little long, but makes for an interesting read. I have caught Shoba’s columns over at Livemint now and then, so this article was read with much interest. After all, decisions like the one she made cannot be easy and I was curious to the thought process behind it. She traced her past in the article–her days as a student, a young wife and a mother and the transformation each stage of life brought in her perspective. It’s an interesting read even if I fail to understand or rather fail to empathize many of her arguments of wanting to return to India. Like- Americans eat sweet foods for breakfast and Desis eat savory. But I should not judge personal statements like these. Each one of us has our own perspective that feels just right. Our little rights and wrongs. We all have our pr
On the Couch 2007-11-21 09:36:00 It’s all done and over with. The old couch has been freecycled. The new one delivered, and set up. The family room furniture has been shuffled. The room looks nice and big. I was so caught in the logistics of it all, that I simply did not realize that the couch put on freecycle was the first thing EVER BigGeek and I bought together. More than five years ago. Five and a half to be precise. We had moved into our own apartment in a fancy neighborhood. The apartment was quite bare. BigGeek’s old stuff had been all trashed. I didn’t have much, I was still a student. We had to fill a whole apartment. Where do you start? The Couch
. Young and just starting out, we headed out to IKEA. The heaven of cheap furniture. I love IKEA. No, make that WE love IKEA and will continue to do so until we can afford $8000 couches from fancy Scandinavian or Italian furniture stores.Trying to pick a piece of furniture (or China) together can be an eye opener, compared to say, a date. So, on that first trip
Tagged - What Women Want 2007-11-19 12:52:00 The inimitable Parul has dared me. So here it is.1.How do you feel after a one night stand?Quite Yogic.2. Do you ever get used to wearing a thong?What’s a thong?3. Does it hurt?Then I am glad I don’t know what it is :-)4. Do you know when you are acting crazy?No. But helpful people often point that out.5. Does size really matter?Bank Account, Portfolio, yes.6. When the bill comes are you still a feminist?Absolutely not. What century are you living in?7. Why do you take so long to get ready?Huh? Time is relative. Go read your Einstein while I do my hair.8. Do you watch porn, too?Is it rated PG-13 now? I thought that wouldn’t happen for another 20 years at least.9. Will something from Tiffany's solve everything?Hmmm. Yes. Coupled with something from Burberry’s. Throw in a Chanel while you are at it. Let those be your magic words.10. Are guys as big of a mystery to you as you are to us?Yes, you are actually. For instance we can never figure out why you need the new XBOX 360 or th Read more:Tagged
, Women
Wine, Woman and Song - Part Un 2007-11-28 10:55:00 If you are looking at the title and are not quite sure what to expect, read on. This is about Chip and his passions. In order. Not a day passes without Chip alluding to all three of the above mentioned..umm..things.Wine is an absolute favorite. Although tempted, I haven’t given him a six ounce in his plastic yellow lion cup yet, but that does not deter my budding oenophile from asking for some vino. First thing in the morning. In his pajamas, rubbing his bleary, crusty eyes he announces in his Minglish. “Aie, I want wine pahijey (want).” And the games start.DotMom: “Does Chip drink wine?”.Chip: “Yes?.”DotMom: “No! He doesn’t. Do you have dadhi-misha (beard and a moustache)?”Chip: “No.”DotMom:“Let’s drink your milk instead.”Chip:“Wine glass madhye (in wine glass)?”.Two hours later. Bubble Bath Time.Chip: “Aie, Aie look” Points to his upper lip.DotMom: “What’s that?”Chip:”It’s dadhi-misha (beard and moustache).”Chip has smeared the bubble
Good Nope Hunting 2007-11-27 14:04:00 Gene Weingarten started this with his column. GoogleNopes. That is what you get or rather don’t get when you type a phrase enclosed in quotes in the Google search bar. You should simply get a “No matching documents found” message. And paradoxically, once you write about it, it stops being a GoogleNope. GoogleYups are the exact opposites. Phrases, however improbable, that do get a hit.Never mind you Kant- GoogleNopeRolled on oats laughing- GoogleNopeGym in North Korea- GoogleNopeGym in India – GoogleyupSierra Leone luxury resort- GoogleNopeIceland luxury resort – GoogleYupBill Gates uses iPhone- GoogleNopeJobs is a Microsoft user- GoogleNopeMicrosoft sucks – GoogleYupApple sucks – GoogleYupGoogle is not Your Big Brother- GoogleNopeGoogle is Your Big Brother – GoogleYupNorth Korean Spa Vacation- GoogleNopeAmerican Spa Vacation - GoogleyupChicken face cream- GoogleNopePeacock fillet sandwich- GoogleNopeEggplant mascara – GoogleyupTelegraph technology breakthrough- Goog
Thanks for all the fish! 2007-11-26 11:12:00 Thanksgiving is about two things. Food and Shopping. (Apart from actually giving thanks and it is pretty obvious what I was thankful for this year, so let’s just skip that bit.) And we did both of that in plenty this weekend. Since we were hosting Thanksgiving this year, I planned a Thanksgiving with a French twist. Everything was made from scratch (except stuffing), everything was heart healthy. I wish I had taken pictures, but we were all so hungry, we just devoured.The MenuTurkey Breast with Garlic and Sage StuffingCranberry SauceRoasted Vegetable Terrine with Lite Goat Cheese and hand shelled pumpkin seedsSesame BroccoliRoasted Sweet PotatoesCreamed SpinachPilaf with Golden Raisins.HummusRoasted Red Pepper SpreadBaguetteRavenswood Zinfandel 2005Apple Galette for Dessert.So here are snippets of our Thanksgiving day and Black Friday.EatChat, exchange gifts. I get an awesome culinary book of appetizers from Williams and Sonoma. Chip gets an awesome arcade basketball hoop. Mom gets b Read more:Thanks
Flicker 2007-12-04 15:21:00 There are some decisions that don’t quite qualify as decisions at all. Not conscious ones at any rate. It’s only when something you do or believe in is has a doubt cast on-- perhaps this is not even the right word-- day after day, that you do take a step back to think. And if you are wondering what the topic of this intense consternation is, it is the meek television set. I never had any strong opinion either way about it where Chip was concerned. I once met someone who was so afraid her son would be addicted to television that she would hold her infant away from it even if it were for a few minutes; to avoid the odd glance the said infant might throw the television’s way. I am no where that extreme. But I am also a little ykcul (spelled backwards to ward off the J-monster!!).Chip never showed much of an interest in the television. Some well meaning friends gave him Baby Einstein DVDs which truth be told freaked me out with their linguistically indescribable images – how the h
Purrrfect, no? 2007-12-03 09:31:00 Preethi tagged me while ago to do the seven quirky things about myself. Then Sahiti's Mom did. And then it was mnamma But I try to be so purrrfect. I don't have seven quirks. I have only three. And they are here.The Perfect DotMom
Wine, Woman and Song - Part Troix 2007-11-30 13:03:00 And now for the finale. Classical-Hindustani-Vocalist meets Head-banging-metal-head. The result? Why, its Chip, ofcourse. Chip’s musical tastes are complex and ummm... developing. Being two crazy music buffs, there was no question we would inculcate our progeny with love for music, if he was not already born with the said love or more correctly the music gene. The question was which music. No Baby Mozart and Baby Bach and Baby Handel and Baby whatever-other-composer you can think of for him, declared BigGeek. I concurred. After all, no Bach, Mozart or Pachelbel was ever written solely for babies’ ears. Regular CDs of Bach and Mozart and Pachelbel from our collection would do just fine. As would Kishori Amonkar and Mallikarjun Mansur. I said. As would Dreamtheater and Symphony X, he continued. Wait. What? Nononononononono. I shook my head vigorously from side to side. Embryonic ears are way too immature to fully comprehend the complex intricacies of the prog-metal genre, I said in m
Wine, Woman and Song - Part Deux 2007-11-29 11:12:00 I don’t know where and how to begin part deux. Partly because, the realization that Chip likes pretty girls came slowly and shockingly. I have been racking my brain to get the earliest memory of Chip’s inclinations and this one comes up again and again.It happened about a year ago. At the mall (yes, we are mall rats). BigGeek was away at school, it was cold to do anything outside, so Chip and I headed to the mall on a sunny, icy cold Saturday morning to ride the escalators and eat ice cream. After shrillion rides in the elevator and escalators, after eating a pizza and licking an ice cream cone, we were ready to go home. By we, I meant it was me. Chip wanted to stay back. He tugged at my coat and whined and ran away when I tried to stuff him in his bulky winter jacket. Finally I tackled him and pinned him down on a chair by the food court while I struggled to bend his unbending arms into the jacket, when, suddenly all resistance dissolved. Surprised, I looked up.Chip was beaming at
Go Retro 2007-12-13 15:17:00 There is an article in science daily about toys. And just in time for the holiday season."Old-fashioned retro toys, such as red rubber balls,simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that don't cost so much and areusually hidden in the back shelves are usually much healthier for children thanthe electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes and cost $89.99," saysTemple University developmental psychologist KathyHirsh-Pasek"The basic purpose of toys is to fuel imagination. They are accessories to a child's play, not an end in themselves. I cannot understand the fascination with the fancy electronic toys. I have seen a few and they seem to be so limited in what they can do. Press this button and a light will glow, pull this lever and a song will play. What then? The child will inevitably get bored.Chip has a lot more toys than what I grew up with. Most of them are gifts. He has a ball that plays songs or speaks the phonetic equivalent of an alphabet. It lies in our crawl
The Escape Artist 2007-12-12 13:22:00 Were you by the odd chance at some nice designer outlets near a small town in Virginia last week? No? Good. Now I am relieved. Because if you had been, you would either have-1.Thought madness had struck me and oh so swiftly.2. Looked at Chip weirdly and then looked at me weirdly.It was an eventful day to say the least. The mother, the Chip and me had been out shopping for what many women shop this time of the year - Holiday Party wear. Now, I don't do dresses. I might just do skirts, but there has got to be a better reason than a company holiday party to do "em. And I am thinking Halloween before your wanton imaginations run a six minute mile. So there I was looking for some dress pants and a nice silk jacket. Now, when it comes to shopping, I am unlike most of my gender. Following Caesar's footsteps, I usually go the Veni, Vedi, Vici way. And I go armed. I know my size, I know what colors I want and I have a general idea what clothes I am looking for. And Oh. I know which stor Read more:Escape
, Artist
Let it snow, let it snow 2007-12-06 15:18:00 "Just come back". My mother was telling me gently over the phone. I had called her once again to yell and rant. It had been an hour and I was stuck in a mother-of-all traffic jams on my way to work. It had taken me one whole hour to go a mile and half. At that rate it would take me 17.333 hours to get to work. I kept hoping the jam would clear. I had just too much stuff to get done and I really did not want to use a vacation day for such a frivolous reason. Skipping work because of a traffic jam? Bah!It had all started in the morning. Chip banged on the bathroom door excitedly shouting, "Aie, look, burfa (snow)" I hurriedly came out. Chip was standing by the bedroom window in his pajamas, his nose pressed against the cold pane, a small cloud of condensed breath surrounded it. Tiny snowflakes leisurely floated in the air outside. Falling unhurriedly to the ground. The grass was already covered in a thin layer of silvery powder. I looked at the pretty scene. "Aie, aaj shala su
Through the Lens 2007-12-21 09:40:00 I am not the one to typically harbor regrets, but I do have one lament. And a huge one at that. We have no, really nice pictures of Chip and us, that are, well, superficial as it may sound, display worthy. While I hear the collective gasp of utter horror, let me enlighten you on the picture (pun is very much intended). When I was pregnant, we were inundated with coupons and offers to take those timeless pictures of our baby. They offered us an assortment of predictable backgrounds ranging from autumn leaves and baskets of spring flowers to clear blue skies. Complete with hackneyed props from two huge acrylic hands, a la Geddes, holding your tiny newborn to soft fleecy blankets and teddies. From $4.99 to $250. BigGeek and I scoffed. Go to a studio to take a posed picture? That would be like those godawful pictures of our parents and grandparents. We all have seen those, right? The must-have post-wedding one. Against a backdrop of lotus-filled ponds and little bridges. She is sitting on
100 2007-12-18 11:43:00 Five months and 99 posts later, here I am. Keeping with the tradition of marking post milestones, I am going to print something written by someone I admire tremendously. But before I do that, a mighty toast to all my readers who have endured my daily butchering of the English language and to those really brave ones who leave warm, encouraging comments day after day. Your tireless encouragement drives me to write. I don't think I would have done the hundred without you. And to the strangers who lost their way and found me in the hollows of the W3, do delurk today and allow me to say hello to you.Coming back to the point. I am going to print a transcript of a speech made by one of my favorite writers - Douglas Adams. The speech was made in 1998 at the Digital Biota 2, held at Magdelene College, Cambridge. To those who are not familiar with his works, this is how I would describe it- geaming wisdom enveloped in brilliant wit. Throw in some frank wonderment in the mix, a bit of sci-fi an
The Foolish and the Wicked 2007-12-17 13:55:00 Fuzzy tagged me to be wicked. Somerset Maugham once said - A woman may be as wicked as she likes, but if she isn't pretty, it won't do her much good. To give a brief history of my wickedness - I never did wicked things. N-e-v-e-r. (Go on. Infer what you may about my prettiness from that). There were a few incidents when as a kid, I would scream bloody murder BEFORE my kid brother pushed/hit/pulled my hair, but that was done in anticipatory self-defense. No wickedness there. In school, I was the model student everybody loves to hate. Sat on the first bench, was always in the top three of my class, well-behaved, polite. Did I say I have never done anything wicked? Ok. I am going to let you in on a little, little secret. Now turn around and make sure nobody is reading over your shoulder.It all started when I was in the tenth standard. Our class of 22 had discipline issues and the faculty, to disrupt the unruliness, decided to assign seats to us. In boy-girl pairs. In tenth standa Read more:Wicked
, Foolish
Cookies Unmade 2007-12-14 14:33:00 This year, in a very long time, the Holiday season is different. I am not baking any cookies. No Raspberry Linzers or Danish Butter, or the humble jam thumbprints. No chocolate dipped shortcake and peanut butter cookies. Zip. Zilch. Nada.My baking journey started a very long time ago in a small, sleepy town in the dusty Maharashtrian hinterlands. The town had nothing much to offer, really, in terms of entertainment, but it had an excellent library. And a book fair would be held in the large hall at the library every year, an event my brother and my parents and me looked forward to. Though I didn't realize then, the book selection was quite predictable. Dickens and Austen and other classics in hardbacks mixed with a generous dose of Ludlum and Forsyth and other popular authors in paperbacks. And (not really) surprising number of books from the Soviet. Printed on glossy paper with beautiful illustrations. Always hardbound. Complete collections of Chekov's short stories and Dostoevsky Read more:Cookies
Top Ten Countdown 2008-02-29 15:36:00 Courtsey Juxtaposition.10 things you wish you could say to people right now (don't list names)1. Stop being so shifty when you talk to me.2. Do you know my brain is turning into a sponge here?3. Please don’t ask me why I am not having another kid.4. Will you call me when you say you will?5. I can’t believe I am not going to see you for three weeks.6. Thank god I don’t have to see you for three weeks.7. It just is going to be you and me for three weeks.8. Does it actually hurt to be nice to other people?9. I need a raise.10. Never mind, I’ll do it myself9 Things About Yourself1. I have a fondness for blue cheese.2. I plan to pull out the junipers in our front yard this summer.3. I like 80’s pop. Culture Club, Duran Duran. But I am usually embarrassed to admit that.4. I cannot step Read more:Countdown
, Top Ten
What's in a name? 2008-02-28 13:20:00 A very long time ago, inside a parked car in a dark parking lot, listening to Jethro Tull’s Dot Com, I asked BigGeek if he would like me to change my last name after we were married. It was not a trick question. And no matter what the answer, I wasn’t planning on “reconsidering” my engagement to him. I just wanted to know. That’s all.In my teens, I had an opinion about the issue. A rather strong opinion. I would absolutely not want to change my last name after I got married. I would say categorically. It was a question of my identity. A part of who I am and all that humbug. Someone pointed out helpfully, that I would be keeping my father’s name anyways. So it was just as patriarchal. I would have to switch to my mother’s maiden name and she to her mother’s maiden name and
No title 2008-02-25 14:46:00 I think I was fleeced this weekend. Royally, royally fleeced. My car needed an oil change. So Chip and I hopped over to the local Express Lube. I go there quite often, if I have to get an oil change done by myself. It’s really close, wait times are not bad at all and unlike the reputation these places have, they seldom recommend crazy things to be done to the car. Since BigGeek is not in town, Chip and I traipsed down to the oil change store. It was of course a visual treat for Chip who was enthralled by the pneumatic drills and screwdrivers. People working under the car, hoods popped open and general gadgetry and grime. He ate lunch in the waiting area and then we went outside as my car was pulled into the bay. It had been about 20 minutes since we got there. “Not bad.” I thought. A
Everything But Water 2008-02-20 13:34:00 “Let’s go for a bath Chip.” I am trying to hurry Chip. It’s already past 7:00 in the evening and Chip hasn’t even had his bath. “No, I don’t want a bath Aie.” “Oh, come on. Let’s put some pink bubble bath in it today. Yes?” “No.” This has been happening for a couple of months now. Chip simply does not want baths or showers. “Don’t you want to wear your clown pajamas?” His eyes light up. “Yes. Blue clown shirt, Green clown pant.” He stretches his arms and lets me take off his stinky clothes. “Alright, Aie. I am done. Bath is over. All done.” “WHAT? You haven’t even got your foot inside the tub.” Chip crosses his arms and doesn’t budge.I can’t believe this is happening. Chip was born with a distaste for baths. Thank god I didn’t spend a di Read more:Everything
Girl's Best Friends 2008-02-15 11:38:00 That’s how the Marilyn Monroe cliché goes anyway. About diamonds. To me, they may not be the best friends, but they do make for some good friends. Some really, really good friends. That being said, let me confess. I am crazy about diamonds. I remember the exact day when these shimmering stones cast their spell over me. It was many, many years ago. In my small, dusty hometown. In the corner of a dark, narrow cobbled lane. In a little jeweler’s shop. Grimy. With mattresses strewn on the concrete floor in front of locked glass cases and hidden safes. The jeweler sitting cross legged behind his worn out, vintage desk. Propped up by rolled cushions. Pictures of gods and goddesses, bathed in cheap agarbatti smoke, on the lime washed wall, looking down on each and every transaction in what c Read more:Friends
, Best Friends
Saturday's Child 2008-02-13 13:20:00 The kind amongst us call them spirited children. The pitiless call them overactive. But whatever nomenclature one might use, it doesn’t really change the truth about kids like Chip. They are full of energy. They are high need, high maintenance children. Mentally, physically, emotionally. Triple whammy. It is enough to make you loose your mind on most days.I suppose I knew Chip wasn’t like other babies the minute he was born. No exaggeration. The minute he was extracted from my womb he let out a cry so loud that my ears blacked out for a second. I had never thought a newborn could cry out with such intensity. But he did. And that would be the definition of Chip in one word. Intense.He cried intensely. Hated to be constrained. When he was a few days old, he managed to wriggle his arm out Read more:Saturday