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Monday 22 February 2016

My Idea of a perfect Day

When I was in college, I hated to wake up early and having a set routine. And now being a mummy of an adorable boy, I love to have a set daily routine so that my day goes smooth and fuss free. After all it’s not easy to handle two boys alone (other one being my dear hubby).  When I follow a routine, I find myself fully productive at the end of the day. My house looks clean and kid happy. My kitchen stays organized and I don’t have to go to sleep.

Earlier when my baby was born 4 years ago, I had a help who used to do all the chores - washing cleaning and cooking. I just had to take care of my new born, though that was a task in itself. Fact is I did not have any time for any other household chore while taking care of my baby all alone. I still remember that lady and wish for her to come back :)

But now I cook on my own for my family, my baby is a preschooler and goes to school, in short, my mornings are more busy than ever before. Only relief is that my husband doesn’t leave for office in morning but afternoon. With time I learnt to manage my time and all the chores to be done in time saving manner. If I am not able to find some time for myself alone, I go crazy. 

So, here it goes how I spend my Ideal Day so that you, your baby and whole family time is organized:

1) Wake up Early. By early, I mean not in wee hours of morning but at least 1 hour before your family      wakes up. Trust me that this is the magic to make your day really fruitful.  I love to wake up at 6 AM and first thing I do is to take a glass of lukewarm water with half a lemon squeezed into it. It does wonders to my mood and makes me happy. Nothing is comparable to standing in my balcony, watching sunrise and changing hues of sky and magical chirping of birds.

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2) Prepare your Breakfast and Lunch : After charging myself up, I start to prepare breakfast and lunch and pack my child’s Tiffin and prepare a glass of milk for him. It takes approx 45 mints to 1 hour and my target is to get the meals prepared before I go to wake up the kid.  Trust me, Once you have prepared your breakfast and lunch, you have saved the valuable time of your day. 

3) Once I am done with the kitchen work, I go ahead to wake up my son and I make sure he is awake at least 1 hour before his Bus arrival time. It ensures that he takes his bath properly and eats his breakfast too. Nothing is more worrisome that watching your child go to school empty stomach. 
We also do some light exercise to energize our day.

4) Once I see off my child to school at 8.15 am, I am free for another 2 hours as my hubby works till midnight and wakes up really late at around 10 AM. These 2 hours is the golden time for me who I spend eating breakfast, browsing internet and of course writing. This is the time when I am 100 % productive while writing. I feel just happy and content.

And once my hubby wakes up, usual routine starts of serving him bed tea and chit chatting for hours with each other. Now the point is that during the days when I don’t wake up early and do as above, I just keep rushing to do the chores. 

And moreover, I just get stuck in the kitchen preparing separate meals for breakfast and lunch and by the time my son comes back from school, he finds his mom too tired to listen to his stories and play and study with him.

By following this routine, I ensure that my family is happy along with me as I am able to find my Me time as well which actually keeps me happy.

Do let me know about your ideal Routine too!!!
Till Then Bye and Take Care!!


Sunday 21 February 2016

Ways to entertain your preschooler at home

This is so difficult to keep my son busy throughout when he comes back home from school. Earlier his routine was like below:

> Come back home and give mummy a big hug
> Throw the bag away and look out for mom's or dad's phone
> Open YouTube and start to watch cartoons
> Continue till the time mom offers to go out in the park (even if it means 6 PM)

Somewhere inside my conscience was hitting me that whatever is happening is not right. Throughout the day he was busy watching Doraemon and he was so much influenced by him that sometimes in his dreams he was talking to Bonita and Doraemon.

And then one day Mommy waved her magical wand and I literally listed out all the activities that could keep him occupied and his screen time could be reduced. Below are some of them which you can actually try according to your own convenience:

1) Get a bunch of Coloring books and show them tour kid. You can even get your kid to choose the set of Coloring books while buying. It will give them a sense of ownership and they will be happy to play with crayons and sketch pens. It also improves their creativity and let them explore on their own.

2) A set of Blocks is simply great to keep kids busy. Lately my kid has been using his blocks to make different alphabets and he feels proud to show his creativity. Blocks are actually a great tool for kids to use their imagination and make innovative things out of them. Trust me, you will be surprised.

3) Let them explore Scrapping. Give your kids some colorful pages out of old magazines or newspapers and let them create some beautiful scrapbooks. You may find this little messy keeping in mind the glue which is involved in this activity but in the last you will find this activity really fun for them and alone time for you.

4) Puzzles and Scrabble also helps to keep a child busy along with helping them improve their analytical skills.

5) Let them help you with Cooking, Gardening or any other household chore in which they have interest. In this way they will be involved with you in addition to evolving their choice of hobbies.

I hope these ideas help you to keep your child busy at home and not let them get bore. In case you have some more interesting ideas, let me know in comments. Looking forward to read how you keep your active preschooler busy at home.


Thursday 18 February 2016

Fussy Day

Today morning I woke up to the aroma of fresh and cool air and sound of light shower outside. Yes, It was raining and rain drops made the surroundings as fresh and beautiful as it could. Along with that melodious chirping of birds fell into my ears and I stretched with a smile on my face.

And then I called up Aariv to wake up and told him its raining. And trust me, he jumped out of the bed and rushed to the balcony to witness rain. Yes he loves to drench in rain.

Then usual routine started and I got him ready to go to school. And we came out of our building to go to the bus stop with an Umbrella in my hand along with his school bag and water bottle.  Yes,, I admit, I do pamper him a lot :)

Overall it was a beautiful start to a wonderful day and while walking towards his bus stop, I realized that this is the first chance when he is going to school while its raining heavily. He was equally excited taking care of his steps so that he doesnt step on potholes filled with water and make his uniform dirty. 

kids love rain

Wednesday 17 February 2016

How to avoid parental conflict in front of kids

 A child learns from what they see and hear in their surroundings. Arguing and yelling in front of our kid is the worst experience we can give to our kid as parents. It may have a lasting impact on little minds and may hamper their emotional growth. These kinds of experiences affect the child's sleep, concentration on school and increases their fear and anxiety. 
As parents, it’s our prime responsibility to provide a soothing and loving atmosphere which is required for their holistic growth. A couple who respects each other and care for each other is a perfect example a child can look up to. It improves their social behavior and makes them sensitive to other people's needs.

Below are some steps which we as parents can implement in our lives to set an example in front of our kids:

1) Don’t Yell: First thing to take care is not to increase our volume when having a disagreement with our spouse. It’s absolutely okay to not to agree together on lot of things but you don’t have to prove your opinion by yelling and shouting. Just by stating your point of view in calm tone of voice reflects what you actually mean and the other person listens to you.

2) Avoid Shameful Comments: Always mind your language if kids are around and you are having a conflict with your husband. Always remember that kids catch new vocabulary very quickly and your kids calling you by same names will be the last thing you want with your kids.

3) Respect each other's Opinion: Always acknowledge your partner's point of view and then tell them what you think about that particular topic. This way you will be teaching them the art of listening and how to respect every person's opinion. 

4) Don’t be Afraid of Apologizing: This is the best example you can set up in front of kids. Show them that it’s not bad to acknowledge if you are wrong and apologize. This way you will be teaching them to come up to you in case they have done something wrong and they will not be afraid to tell you about it.

5) Don’t continue to fight: In case you don’t come to the conclusion and you still disagree on a point, then postpone the discussion (read fight) at a later convenient time when your kid is not around. 

In the end, make sure you resolve the conflict in an amicable way in front of your kid. It will create the positive atmosphere around your kid and he will learn to not leave the ends loose and how to come to a conclusion. It’s good for kids to see that their parents don’t go to sleep without solving a problem between them and it actually prepares kids to handle conflicts later in their lives.

When we yelled at each other in front of our kid!!!

How hard it is to know that we as parents are setting wrong examples in front of our kids. Sometimes it happens that we don’t even realize ourselves doing it and give a free piece of advice to someone who commits the same crime. Aaarrgghh... Pity on me!!

Parenting


Today as soon as my son came back from school, I and hubby started to argue on layers of clothing which Aariv was wearing. Of course mothers will be mothers. It reminds me of a funny phrase "Amount of cold a child is feeling is directly proportional to how much cold mother is feeling".
Coming back to my point, hubby started to freak out that weather is changing and and it’s not that cold now and here I was giving my own justifications. In the process we didn’t realize what a bad example we are setting in front of our child. A married couple who doesn’t respect each other's opinion and who continue to nag with each other.

All of a sudden, we heard Aariv shouting upon us to keep quiet and trust me it was way too embarrassing. I was totally aghast when I realized what we as parents were doing and its impact on the little mind. Quickly both of us regained our composure and made the situation as normal as it was before. And we promised each other that we are never going to discuss our differences in front of our child. 

After a while when hubby was off to office and I was relaxing and about to take a nap, this thought started to haunt my mind. I was continuously thinking about it as if I committed a crime. And then my inner self called out, though it’s not a crime but neither it’s less than that. Kids have such fragile minds and whatever we portray in front of him as his parents, he is going to implement same in his life. If we don’t respect each other, how can we expect him to do the same with people in his life?
I just wondered if kids might feel insecure when parents yell at each other in front of them. After all, kids feel most secure around their parents. And imagine when we as parents break that comfort zone for our kids. comforting atmosphere at home.
In the last and that too for the best parenting experience we as parents promised each other not to yell in front of our kid and respect each other. 





Monday 15 February 2016

Things I regret not doing when I was pregnant

When I got to know that I am carrying another life inside me, I was really shocked. I didn’t expect it at all. After all I never wished to be pregnant immediately after my marriage. Even my husband was not prepared for it. But somehow we consoled (Yes we did!!) each other and decided mutually to carry on with this pregnancy. You can say we were really immature for not seeking out advice from experienced people or may be a doctor. 

Now when my son is 4 year old and I am a bit mature after these 4 hears and look around, I do miss lot of things which I didn’t do at the time of my pregnancy to make it more enjoyable (After all those spurs of vomiting and backache and mood swings of course).  

Below is a list of things which I wish I had done during my first pregnancy:

1) No Dresses:The first thing which I miss is wearing oh those beautiful Maxi dresses. These dresses are so comfortable on a preggy woman and they make your bump look even cuter. I was always at my home wearing my PJ's and t-shirt and when with my in-laws, I was wearing those boring loose kurtis.


2) No Photo-shoots:  I wish I had got a photo-shoot dome of my cute baby bump along with my husband. Now when I look around, I see enthusiastic TO BE Mothers getting there photo-shoot done to seal these memories in the form of prints forever.

3) No Baby moon: Oh, this is just a fancy name given to a specific vacation before your baby arrives in this world.  It is a perfect vacation telling you to relax and unwind before a lil one arrives who will literally keep you on your toes day and night.

4) Diet check: Diet is the most important thing you have to take care when you are expecting. You are supposed to take a highly nutritious and balanced diet to nurture the life which is growing inside you. I didn’t keep a check on what I am eating and at last I ended up consuming more carbohydrates than anything else. And it reflected on my Post Delivery weight. I agree that you should eat whatever your heart desires at the time you are expecting but take care to take all the nutrients in a balanced form. We tend to neglect Vitamins and Proteins which are actually equally needed at the time of pregnancy. If required, consult a Dietician who can actually tell you daily nutritional requirements.

5) Not Joining Prenatal yoga classes:  These classes are organized by specialized coaches who are expert in yoga for expecting ladies. It not only relaxes you and keep you active but also help you to ease your labor.

mother

How I became a Mommy Blogger

I got married at the perfect age of 25 (at least my parents think so) to the love of my life. It was a perfect Indian wedding with lots of dance and excitement and of course lots of shopping. To tell you about myself, I was (oops I am) a career driven woman and was an IT professional working for over 6 years with various multinational companies.  I had an interest in writing since school days. Since the time my English teacher In Class 7th introduced us to the concept of diary entry, it was a daily affair to me then. I used to write every night before going to sleep.

Confessions


However, post marriage, I conceived real early and we had our bundle of joy in our arms exactly after 9 months of our marriage (wink!!). I was quite clear that working 24 by 7, I will not be able to take care of my baby. We were living in a nuclear family, so there was no one back home to take care of this little baby. And then both I and my husband were against the idea of leaving the baby at some daycare. We were really not convinced with the kind of setups and caretakers at day care centers around our place. Ultimately, I left my job to raise my son. 

Being a Mum is such a hectic job, Trust me it is!! During first 6 months, I didn’t realize how time went by. By the time I realized, I had already become a regular mom who hardly took care of herself or who had little or no interest in herself. The center of her world was her 6 month old baby. That’s it!! But as time passed by, I started to feel bad about myself and started to crave to work outside or at home. I started to crave for my identity. And yes, side by side, without even realizing, I was penning down all my thoughts and one day I came across a website mycity4kids.com which is actually an open platform especially for mommy bloggers like me. I started to contribute my articles there. Appreciation from other mommy bloggers inspired me more and I started to write more.

And hence another blogger was born. Though I admit I still need to learn a lot but whatever I write, I write with my heart and get a lot of contentment when I read my own articles as they truly reflect on my heart and soul.

I would love to hear to your stories too. Do comment :)


Opportunity for SAHM who wants more !!!

I will be honest and would reply in negative if asked I am content being a stay at home mom. Of course I am not. I am not happy being at home all day long just taking care of my home and family. I want to do things which make me feel happy and where I feel at ease. I want to be a contributor. But because I have some aspirations outside my home doesn’t make me a bad mommy. I love my family and baby equally. I just want to retain my identity which was before marriage and kids. 

There are a lot of woman out there who are happily taking care of their kids and family and have given up on their career. Only because there was no option left behind. Either they could take care of their new born bundle of joy or be outside home at work. Of course, most of the women opt to give up their career. And they just forget who they are actually.

Thanks to technology nowadays, things have changed dramatically. We have lot of options coming up which we can do right from the comfort of our own house. It has made our lives so much easier. We can manage our family and work simultaneously. Even big companies are offering new mums to work from home in their own comfort zone. There is a big transition for mums for actually being an all-rounder.

When my some was born, I happily gave up my career to stay at home full time and raise him. But within one year I started to feel something missing inside me. I could not be just a housewife for my whole life. (Though being a housewife in itself is a big thing which not all can be... A big Toast to all housewives around the world !!!) I started to explore internet to find a job. For 1 long year, I just browsed internet looking for opportunities which could be suitable to me and timings which I wanted.  
And one day, I clicked this Online Tutoring website and gave the interview and got employed as an Online English Tutor. I was working from home according to my own comfortable timings and my kid was being taken care of by his father. Of course I chose the timings when my husband was at home and could take care of baby. Husband's support was a boon for me that time. 

In the last I would say, if we keep looking for options, we will certainly not be confined to the boundaries of our house and will be able to make our own identity. I will come up with some exciting opportunities for stay at home mums in my next blog. 
Till then take care and do share your experiences in the comments. Looking forward to read what you have to say.
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Saturday 13 February 2016

Selfish Mum... Really ???

Lately I have been extremely restless and wondering what to do with my life. Even though I am a mother to a 4 year old boy who is an actual source of happiness in my life, still I always keep looking for my identity. Is being a mother no my identity ??  No, It is not !!!... Sad But True !!!Read More