Mommy, Daddy - The Guru Cool

I strongly believe that every mother... sorry rather every parent should be an imparter of knowledge. It need not always be syllabus based like ABC or 123.. It could be anything.
- Songs sung in your language
- stories which you grew up on told by your grandparents and parents... since most of us grew up in joint families then and that may not be the case now for your lil tot.
- games you played as kids... etc etc

Most of the time even though its the mom who does all of the teaching and lessons, its the fathers who swim in the ocean of praise with broad chests.. with everyone especially on his side saying ` kitna hushar hai... bilkul papa pe gaya hai / gayi hai...'
Lol... much to the irritation of the mothers. Having said that, there are also plenty of cool daddys out there who take equal interest if not more in their child's learning and development.

But coming back, what I feel is that even though your child goes to school or tuitions, we as parents should take out some time on an everyday basis and sit with our kiddos and do some activities, craft , or just about anything you fancy.

You';; not realise it now but as the child grows up and starts understanding, you will become their centre of knowledge. What better reward than that!!

Recipe: Atta halwa...

An all time favourite of the house... this is made anyday, anytime it suits us. However its an amazing monsoon snacks / meal for the lil tots. Served hot it serves an-all-round purpose... healthy and tasty...

Pic: http://totalveg.com/aate-ka-halwa/7729

What you need:

• Wheat - 1 cup
• water - 3 cups 
• Ghee - about 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Cashews, raisins and cardamom -  chopped as required
• a pinch of kesar- dissolved in a little milk for colouring and taste.

Procedure:

Roast the atta it in a pan till it turns light brown in colour on a medium flame. On another flame put water to boil.

Once the water comes to boil add atta along with sugar and stir slowly and continuously with the spoon. Here you add the kesar mixture. Keep on stirring the halwa so that it do not stick at the bottom of the pan.

Once the halwa mixture thickens pour the remaining ghee into it and cook the halwa while stirring continuously. Take off the flame once it's mixed evenly.

Ta-da.. your halwa is ready... Now time to serve up and relish you yum tum..

Mummy khush... baby bhi khush.. 

Being Human...

I saw a poster the other day with a beautiful thought.

Images taken from http://www.pinterest.com/blueamous/aunty-acid-humor/ 

So apt.. It got me thinking, we always talk about how we need to be conscious of our surrounding to pass it on to the generations to come. But have we ever thought about how are we making the genext conscious of their surrounding?

A lot of parents nowadays in their own small ways give plant saplings as return gifts on their little ones birthday. How inspiring!

We should as individuals and parents make the child aware
1. Do not leave the tap on while brushing ur teeth. All that good usable water is just getting drained and landing up in the gutter.
2. Turn off lights and fans when you leave the room. If you can get up to get ur piece of chocolate bar from the fridge you can easily walk a few steps to turn off the switches.

And many more. I don't want to ramble on and sound like a righteous priest but guess its crucial to teach our children the value of things like
- praying everyday before you sleep and once you get up in the morning. How many of us actually make them do that.
- valuing your books - ensuring they don't have dog earmarks,
- toys - not tearing the cardboard box edges... I remember my father used to freak if any of the toy boxes got damaged.. it just went on to show how we didn't value what we have, etc etc

Let's consciously decide to make our young buds understand the value of their world and the little little things that we were made to realize as we were growing up.

Our Culture - Why are kids need to know about it!

You say Santa Claus and our tot will start singing `Jingle Bells’.

Ask them the months of the year and they can rattle off –January, Feb….

Ask them any contemporary western existence and I’m sure they know it.

So then where does that leave our culture! As we so proudly call ourselves Indian and Indian culture, which the West seem so crazy about? With yoga centres popping up in every corner of the world. We’ve taken fancy to it only once it became a rage overseas.

I’m not some social preacher here, but this thought came to my mind today… today being Aashadi Ekadashi.

As an adult I still fail to understand the importance of these days, though my parents and in-laws being God-Fearing and followers of the Hindu Calendar truly believe and religiously follow these days.

So the question arises why has this not been passed onto me.  - I grew up in a house where this was all followed and now that I’m married, its followed here too.   And if I don’t know anything about this… how will my children ever know the importance of these days and our Hindu Culture.. Forget only Hindu culture… holistic Indian culture.

Some thoughts’ are on my mind. Stay tuned in… working on some vishesh tipnis…

In the meanwhile a here’s a little note on Aashadi Ekadashi.. FYI

Celebrated at Pandharpur, Ashadhi Ekadashi is more of a religious procession festival and is also known as MahaEkadashi. This Mahaekadashi is also known as Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day Vishnu falls asleep to wake up four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in the Kartik month. This period is known as Chaturmas and coincides with the rainy season.

Ashadhi Ekadashi is the day of fast and on this day people go walking in huge processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see their God Vitthal. The yatra starts in Allandi and ends on Guru Poornima day at Pandharpur.

Huggys-Cuddlys-Kissys

When you have a baby, all you feel like doing is hugging and cuddling and kissing the lil bundle with juicy red lips and button nose. It's but natural when you have such a stunner in your arms. Even someone who isn't all that much into physical touch, etc or have a maternal bone in her body will eventually do so. So why does it stop?

Does the baby become less cuter and adorable as he/ she grows up?? Like grow seven horns and have vampire-like teeth?? No... Never....

It just that we get so tied up in vague things like discipline and behavioural milestones that we forget the most important and primal thing required for a healthy upbringing and relationship with our super bunny!!... Showering our lil prince/ princess with abundant hugs kisses and cuddles is, was and should always be your number 1 priority.. Forget about what `bajuwali Pinky aunty' will say? Maybe she didn't get her dose growing up and turned out soo cranky!! See live proof!1 do you want your tot to be like her!!! NEVER EVER EVER!!

Even studies and research have suggested that unconditional love and physical display of love makes ur child a more secure and grounded person who'll be able to form firm strong relationships as an adult.

But honestly do we really need research to tell us this... Just go ahead give ur lil cupcake tons of hugs, kisses and cuddles and enjoy their childhood and become a child yourself!!!  And enjoy the hugs and kisses and cuddles you'll get back in return.

XOXO.. Tuning out as lil K is all over me doing what I do best to her... Hugs, Cuddles and Kisses

Clean home = good mom

I was driving back home the other day from school and had another mommy for company. As always our conversation started about our kids being how they are and what all they are up to all the time. Somewhere in the middle of it all, she tells me how she cleans and mops all day long and is a cleanliness freak. The first thing that pops out of my mouth is `like wow! Your son lets you do all the cleaning without going on his own little cleaning expedition.’   Too that she coolly replied `No No I tie him up to his chair so he doesn’t come in the way.’ I almost rammed into the car in front of me. She continues, `what will people think of me as a mother when they come home, that I can’t keep the house clean how can I look after a child.’

I was totally shocked hearing this, to the extent I fell short of words and didn’t know what to say. (and that’s quite a rarity). I kept thinking to myself that if she were ever to come visiting me at my place, she’ll probably think I’m some horrible creature who lives in a pigsty. I have a simple rule, no matter how much you clean and mop it’s going to go back to square one in an hours’ time. So keep organizing the mess in bits and pieces at the end of every day, cos in the morning its gonna be the same story all over again. And who judges a two year olds’ mothers’ house anyways??? Some frustrated high- nosed aunty!!!

But anyways going back to the 2 most dramatic statements – how does a clean house = a good mother. And if you say you want to be portrayed as a good mother by keeping your houseclean you tie your child to a chair??

Coughy coughy…. Mumma dava

I consult with a very good pediatrician for K. I’ve been taking her to him since she was born.  The medicines he prescribes suit her well and work wonders in recovery. But at times I feel does she really need so many medicines? Why can’t you just try the regular home remedies. FYI… I’m a big fan of home remedies… and wherever meds can be avoided I DO!!!

When K was younger I obviously followed the docs advise and gave her the meds he prescribed but since she turned 1 I have been introducing her to subtle hom-meds.

The simple concoction  `kaadha’ of honey, haldi, tulsi leaves and a bit of lemongrass in water and let it boil away it you feel all the curing properties in all the elements have been sucked out of them. Cool it and give 3 – 4 spoons as many times through the day. You can also add lavang, dalchini, but I think it’ll make it quite spicy and hurt the lil ones throat.

 Just giving them spoon full of honey every morning, cures a cough but obviously slowly.

A wonder powder I stumbled upon `Jestha Madh’. Add a lil bit of it in a spoon full of honey. Just a pinch will do infact since its quite spicy. Its worked wonderfully on K. Her cough reduced considerably.

It depends person to person, I prefer building on K’s immunity and strengthening her system from now itself. Whenever she does fall sick, I prefer to wait 3 days giving her hom-meds and then adding the `Sinarest’, `wickoryls’ to the list!    

Achooo… Sniff sniff…. Mumma noseyy

Probably a mothers’ worst nightmare, when her child gets a cold. It’s the same for me. But over time I’ve realized no matter what, you just can’t avoid it. You can’t protect your child from these worldly nightmares even though you are the sole protector of your lil one!

So rather than fretting, take a deep breathe and think what are the things that irritate us when we have a cold

• A running nose
• Headache
• And ofcourse sleep deprived (unless your heavily sedated)

Ok point number 1 – a running nose. Keep a hanky pinned to your child’s tee at all times and keep checking . Turn it into a game of checking and wiping nosey every once in a while. After a while your tiny tot will come up and tell you themselves. I did this with K and now I truly don’t need to worry cos she’ll come tell me anyways.

When you’re putting them down for a nap, ALWAYS ALWAYS put a pillow under their heads for elevation. The elevation helps and prevents a runny nose and keeps the baby asleep for longer. The rest is much required for them to recover with the medicine you’ve given and for you to regain your peace of mind.