Dora and my Daughters

Dora the Explorer was first aired by Nickelodeon TV as an animated series for the preschool kids. The Latina girl, or Hispanic girl as described by some of the websites that I explored, speaks English as well as Spanish. Each episode consists of Dora, and her monkey friend Boots, going on a journey with some purpose. On the way, they come across different things to note, adventures to see and riddles to solve. The best of all is that it is a kind of interactive. Dora asks the audience to say or repeat something or even answer a question. Pictures are provided to pick up the correct answer, and after waiting for sometime, an arrow (like that of a cursor) moves towards the correct answer and clicks on it.

The other characters in Dora are:
Benny the Bull
Isa the Iguana
Tico the Squirrel
Big Red Chicken
Baby Blue Bird
And the cute Villain, Swiper the Fox
The Fieasto Trio consist of the Snail, Grasshopper and the Frog, who play music for the Queen Bee. This trio keep appearing whenever Dora and Boots finish a milestone in their journey.

The Map and the Bagpack are Dora's friends. The Map tells the way and the Bagpack appears with a cute song,"...filled with things and nicnacs, too...", and whenever Dora needs anything, the Bagpack has it, be it a pail or an Icecream cake!!!

There are more characters like the Postman, the Pelican, Senior Toucan, Baby Petunia and so on who appear in some stories but not in all.

All this was wonderful on the Nickelodeon. But what with all the paid channels cut off, my younger daughter could not be introduced to this, and the elder one was in the verge of forgetting "her friend". But, the channel Chutti TV of the Sun Network made Dora so popular in Tamilnadu that it has become a craze like the Barbie doll. The dolls of Dora now appear for sale in the deparmental stores. I even found a soft toy of Dora.

To impress my kids and to make them realize the importance of not disturbing the Dolls festival of Navratri, I thought of using Dora and her friends. I searched many places for the other characters, but could not find even Dora's best friend Boots' doll. I then searched the net for ideas to make them. But finally, I got it inside my head. I bought stickers of Dora and all her friends, including Swiper the Fox. I bought white Mseal, the one that is used for crafts. I mixed the Mseal mixture, fixed the sticker and flattened the Mseal, preserving a reasonable thickness. I also shaped it up to fit the outline of the sticker. I arranged my doll houses with Dora and her friends and here is what I got. Watch out for Map and Bagpack in the balcony of the smaller house.


I even found Diego, Dora's cousin, who is fond of animals and goes on adventures to rescue them from dangers.

After Navratri Golu, what? Nishkala, my younger kid, started to ask for Dora's show whenever she was reminded of her. Whenever she or someone else has a problem, she would ask Dora to solve it. The other day, she was feeling sad about the absense of the usual star (which is actually planet venus) near the moon. She said the star got away from its mother and said that Dora would help it go to her mom.

This prompted me to search for full episodes of Dora on the net. My quest went on for about 4 hours on the net.

I found that the net is like the Room of Requirement of the Harry Potter series. You have to get the right words to find what you want and you will get exactly what you want, sometimes even in a better way. I tried all word combinations with it - "dora the explorer online", "dora the explorer downloads", "dora the explorer watch online", "dora the explorer online full episodes", "full episodes of dora the explorer", "download dora the explorer", "dora the explorer episodes" and so on.

I finally hit upon the website when I typed "watch dora the explorer". The name of the website is the same. It is www.watchdoratheexplorer.com. So simple, yet, it did not appear till I got the right words!!!

And so, here I am presenting to all those who might have even given up this quest. It has some of the episodes that have been uploaded by members. Sign up in this website, and you can even contribute to it by uploading any episodes that you have.

DORA THE EXPLORER


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My own experiences

Videos and photos capture moments only. But feelings can be captured only with words, and sometimes words too, are useless. But words can keep the description alive so that one can tour the nostalgic memories again and again and yet again....

Me and my weight
Burger at Marrybrown
Dora and My daughters

Me and my weight

Fitness seems to be a part of every conversation nowadays. Each of us find ourselves talking about what kind of exercise we are doing apart from the medical conditions like problems with sugar or thyroid control. In any case, some form of exercise is a must. Even for those who are fit enough, the medical professionals prescribe walking or so to prevent problems in future.

And so, I too decided to start with my workout to manage my weight. It reached a peak of 77 kilograms after my second daughter, Nishkala. So, what with a baby and a cessarian section done, I could not workout in a gym. But then, I patiently kept waiting for time to tell. Then when my kid reached her first birthday, I went around to hunt for a crèche and a gym simultaneously. Both were necessary. Once I found it, I had to shift my residence to a new place and all my dreams of fitting into that favourite dress of mine had shattered.

Of course, I did not give up. I started a new search in this new area. I found three weight management centers within half a kilometer radius and four play schools too!! But my kid was “too young” for a play school. They would take only kids above 2 years. So again, my balloon inflated (alas, not my weight). All these set backs did not move my will power to bend. In one of my hunting trips I finally landed into a gym with a very understanding instructor. She told me that she would take care of my baby while I do the exercise. That was the key. I grabbed the offer and signed up immediately.

The first day I took Nishkala, the instructor explained me about warming up and using the machines like treadmill. She took charge of my baby too. The kid fell asleep. So, the next day, I got a small swing for her. I would take the swing everyday to the gym, put it up in one of the bars and the instructor would put her to sleep while I did my workout. This routine did a lot of good to me. I reduced about 8 kgs in 4 months. My doctor was very pleased to see about half of me, during the next visit. I could wear my old clothes and new jeans too. I was proud to buy the 3^rd largest size, when I went to buy the tops for my jeans. All this due to the helpful instructor in the gym.

Sometimes, we do not know who would help us in life. It may not necessarily be friends and relatives. A person who offers to help may be a stranger at that time. But they become friends for life.

As months flew Nishkala grew up, and I was able to put her in a good school nearby. But even now I continue to go to the same gym and I am able to keep my weight and health in a good condition.

In the meanwhile, I discovered a lot of workout videos on the net. Now I am able to do the workout at home. Now the reason to go to the gym is different. Apart from following a regular fitness routine, I am able to have a lot more contacts and friends there.

So next time you think of weight reduction, join a gym. There is more to your looking good. You feel good too!!

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Burger at Marrybrown

My daughter was invited to a birthday party of her friend to one of the Marrybrown restaurants. When I went to drop her there, I too was asked to stay back. So, I stayed and had a good look around.

Prior to this, I often passed the place wondering how it will be. After tasting the food of Pizza Hut and McDonalds, I did not fancy eating burger in this place. This was different thing to try on.

So, I soon found that it had a play area. It would be free for all kids if there was no party going on. Now, that would be a treat for my kids. What’s more, I could also enjoy hands free burgers now and then.

I also found that the burgers were quiet tasty and good. I enjoyed the party. I thanked the hostess not only for inviting me for the party but also for showing me a new place to freak out, that too, with my kids.

So when my daughter asked for another trip to Marrybrown, I did not think twice. But I made a promise to her that if she spends 2 hours studying on Wednesday, I would take her there on Thursday. And I did. I took both my daughters to Marrybrown restaurant on Thursday. They had a very good time at the tiny play area there and I enjoyed a solitary treat with a burger and iced lemon tea(though the latter was not as good).

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