Thanks uncle elephant

Today, Nachikaet gifted me one of the  most wonderful gifts he could ever give me. He started to read for pleasure!!!!  Although he has always enjoyed being read to ever since he was very little, he rarely read by himself untill forced, cajoled, bribed etc depending on my mood. 
Uncle elephant changed all that. Its a book he has always enjoyed reading.  I asked him to read the first page for me; after promises for an action packed "kannan 10" story at bed time and a chocolate, he reluctantly started to read,  but when he did not stop even after the second page I kept quiet. I watched with sheer delight as my son laughed at uncle elephants's antics, was on the verge of tears asking me never to go on a voyage on a ship without him (the little elephant's parents get lost in the sea) and wanted to know if he had "uncles" whom he could go and live with just in case his parents were lost!!!
I loved the fact that that he was seeing the book( which I had read to him a dozen times before) in a whole new light; when he was reading it himself..that is the power of imagination.
 Welcome to the wonderful world of books my love.

' 

"Dolce far niente"--The sweetness of doing nothing

In the movie Eat Pray Love, when the protagonist  goes on a trip to Italy to rediscover herself, something that she learnt there struck a chord with me. The Italians take the art of doing nothing very seriously.They call it Dolce far niente- the sweetness of doing nothing
In our fast paced life where there is "no time' for savouring the "sweetness of doing nothing" an ode to one of life's most precious commodities...a little "me" time

Seize the moment, savour its sweetness..revel in its purity
It lets you be; like a mother rocking a child
..the demanding mistress .. turned into a docile dame.

Lose yourself in her gentle whisper
Leisure time is a fickle lover-
she slips away before you know.
Enjoy her for what she is..she never was and never will be fully yours.

The only thing you can hold on to are beautiful memories..
..to keep you company till she floats in again.

So be sure to treat yourself to a little "me time" every now and then and watch your spirit soar!!!

Random thoughts...

Tapestry of life

Colours of a myriad colours...which one will fill the tapestry of life?

Threads of different hues....forming neat stiches of events,some even some undone;

    -all form part of the tapestry of life.

The needle of life passes through ...forming the image bit by bit.

Light and shade interwine..much like our mood on a given day;

... the shade brings out the light, as grief sometimes makes us count our blessings.

The tapestry of life hangs on the wall of the mind;

 With each passing day we see it in a new light .

Baking up a storm!!!

I have always been nervous about baking. Although my mother has been baking lovely goodies ever since I was a kid, I have never really tried to bake anything. I was always under the impression that it was something of a rocket science...the measuring, the sifting , getting the batter to be "just so",  ....until  last week . I had the good fortune of attending a baking workshop which changed my perceptions about baking forever.

It  was a one day workshop..called "sugar rush saturdays"  conducted by the very talented Madhuri Kumar of http://www.bakenomics.wordpress.com/. It was a day filled with girlie chatter, delicious aromas, sticky fingers, boosted confidence and of course, lovely baked goodies. Madhuri taught me that baking, like everything else in life is  an art which requires equal amount of  dedication and passion....but most importantly the willingness to take the plunge. I was amazed to discover that I actually enjoyed the whole process of baking. Another highlight of the day was a very sweet friend that I made -Rashmi who was just as nervous as me about baking!!!!  

So here is hoping that this would be the beginning of a very long and hopefully illustrious  relationship with my brand new Morphy Richards OTG

Here is a picture of  the 'first time bakers' proudly displaying their baked goodies!!!

  

The sisterhood of waiting mothers (Friendship day special)

"If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile... But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me."- unknown

Sometimes we find friends in the most unlikely places. We met quite by chance , five bewildered women all sending out their kids into "the big world" of kindergarten. After the teachers had dragged in our howling kids, we were among the few parents who chose to stay behind till our wards came out. On that day..3 years ago, unknown to us, started the sisterhood of waiting mothers!!! Those '15 minutes before the school bell rang 'chat sessions soon became 'chicken soup for our mommy souls'. We were becoming an integral part of each others lives. There was never a dearth  of topics to discuss. We traded everything from class notes to moral support in times of need. Every birthday was celebrated and gifts given with child like glee. We have become more than "just friends" in these 3 years ...we are as they say "soul sisters"

Each of us bring to the relationship our own unique charms.. Roopa, super efficient and organised is

 the one to go to in case of a problem...(the lady has a solution for all of life's problems!!!!) next is the ever smiling Munmum who can cheer us up at any time . Brimming with positivity this lady teaches us how to smile our way through life.. Shyla, soft spoken and patient ..never too busy to listen to our woes and always ready to help... I hope I contribute too in some small way, to make a difference in their lives.

Happy friendship day girls...heres to many more years of companionship!!!1

It all ends here!!!!

Yesterday, Nachikaet saw his first 3D movie ..ironically the last of the Harry Potter series!!! Alas all good things must come to an end, and so Harry Potter bids us adieu. Nachikaet was enthralled with the special effects  and though my husband and I had to explain Harry's each and every move in detailed whispers , his pure unadulterated excitement made it worth while. .and when he asked in his loudest voice "who is that uncle/aunt?,for the fifth time in 2 minutes ,all I wanted to do was slink into one of the dungeons in Hogwarts with the suppressed giggles of  people resonating in my ears!!!! "Amma, Harry Potter doesn't fight at all.(all he does his point his wand).he has no powers ..how come he is a super hero?"..my son wanted to know, after Voldermort was killed..

 Harry potter..the boy whose only claim to fame was that "he lived". Harry Potter who shows us that the  magic is really within us...he has no extraordinary powers except for the fact that he never gives up no matter how hopeless the situation may be!!! So here is hoping that Nachikaet will meet the 'Harry Potter' in him in the not- so- distant future(one can always hope right??)

The F word

Finance and budgeting -for most of us, these words manage to produce  a few butterflies in the stomach . Give your child a head start in managing money with these simple tips.

• Introduce her to the concept of taking responsibility for money. Give her a piggy bank to 'save up' the money that you give her, and allow her  to buy something with it when it when it fills up.
• Along with responsibility comes freedom. Let her decide how she wants to use the money(as long as it is not something which she cannot afford)
• Introduce her  to the various ways of managing money. for instance you could give her two piggy banks -one for "immediate" or "current" needs and another for long term needs ..that could be like a fixed deposit. She can decide how to allocate the money that you give her between her two "accounts" So the "current account" takes care of those chocolates and small trinkets, while the "fixed deposit" can be used for bigger buys like that expensive doll or dress.
• Have realistic expectations when you hand out the money. For example, you cannot expect the child to buy the daily lunch from the canteen with her pocket money but if she feels like having something "special" then she has to dip into his pocket money.
• If she regularly demands more pocket money don't give into to her demand(unless its reasonable). this will teach her to operate within a 'budget' and make good choices.