In the mood for food with mood!

Kids’ moods are as unpredictable as the weather! Some days they pleasantly surprise you and some days they seem determined to act difficult. Sometimes, they owe their mood swings to lack of sleep and sometimes it’s too much sleep! Sometimes it’s just before school in the morning and sometimes its right after school in the afternoon or evening! Sometimes, it’s the end of a playdate and sometimes it’s the beginning of one! Sometimes they are simply bored and sometimes they are simply tired! But most of the time, your little one will always be in a mood for a book! :-)

Today I read the book titled “How are you peeling- Foods with Moods” by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers. A brilliantly illustrated book, this one is sure to cheer any grumpy face, be it of a child or of an adult. Believe me, your little one will love to see the carved fruits and veggies mimic facial expressions that we commonly see in them which they in turn probably see in us! You’ll never find a green bell pepper looking so sad, a turnip feeling bad, a smiling tomato cheering up a dull looking jalapeno, jumpy orange looking relieved to see his friend lemon arrive, an amused looking red bell pepper, a surprised apple, a confused tomato, an angry pear, an embarrassed peach, disappointed onion, sweet lemon looking all apologetic, tired looking turnip and a sleepy kiwi letting out a yawn! So next time either you or your little one feeling broody, then peel off your foul mood by reading about the foods with moods!!! :-)

Mommy's magical purse!

Having kids changes everything – perspectives, priorities, tastes and interests, sometimes even appearances and the accessories that you may carry! One of your accessories that is most likely to become a victim of circumstances would be your handbag! Gone are the days of carrying a clutch purse, now you need to make provision for every possible need, craving, eventuality or mishap. Once you have a baby, not only do you stop being brand-crazy as far as hand bags are concerned, but also stop caring if your diaper bag goes well with your outfit! As your baby grows older, you may not need to carry diapers or wipes anymore, but you still need to fit in food, snacks, water, first-aid, sanitizing tissues, umbrella, caps, toys, books so on and so forth. In other words a mom’s hand bag is truly a bag of wonders – you never know what you’ll get!:-)

Staying on the mother’s day theme, I read “Momma’s Magical purse” by Paulette Bogan. David is skeptical when he hears Rachel say that her mother’s purse is magical and has everything anyone could possibly want. But when he sees mommy pull out a bandage to nurse Rachel’s injured knee, sweaters for both of them when the wind gets cold, a perfect picnic lunch when they ‘re hungry, raincoats and umbrellas when it starts to rain unexpectedly, even a bucket to collect raindrops and finally a rescue kit to save David from drowning in the pond, he is finally convinced that momma’s big purse indeed possesses magical properties! Good to know that I’m not the only one slinging a huge ugly looking handbag wherever I go. At least Im well prepared when Abhay asks for a ‘cookie’, the moment we get into the car, even if he’s just had lunch!:-)

Mother's day!

Today is Mother's day and it was time for a mommies day out! So I went out with a group of  my mommy friends, all of us taking some time off from our kids - the very reason we are called 'mommy'! Just like any other demanding job, a mom's job too is not without its pressures - pressure to be a perfect mom, pressure to be a mom who does it all, peer pressure (X's mom takes her to music class, should I enroll my son too?!!),  or simply pressure to live up to a maternal Goddess status! Of course, there are days when you look at your wailing baby and wonder "What was I thinking?", or days when you want to disown your little one who's throwing a fit in a public place, or days when you wish you could just quit doing what you're doing and feeling this way is but natural as ...we are only human! At the same time, it is also true that any mom would trade the world to see the smile on her little one's face! After all, God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers!!! To my mom and moms all over the world - three cheers to motherhood!!

Today, on the occasion of mother's day, I read "The Mommy Book" by Todd Parr. In this colorful book, the author brings out all kinds of mommies one sees - the mommy who drives a pick-up van, the mommy who drives  a motor cycle, the mommy who loves to dress up, the mommy who plays in the rain, the mommy who likes to dance, the mommy who teaches you to paint, the mommy who teaches you to swim, the mommy with short hair, the mommy with long hair, the mommy who cooks, the mommy who orders pizza, the mommy who flies kites, the mommy who sing songs or reads stories and so on. But all mommies like to hang out with their kids, or watch them sleep or hug them or blow them kisses and finally all mommies want their kids to be who they are!! Happy Mother's day!!!

Just like you!

We all love it when our kids turn out like us, don’t we? But along with everything else, what if they imbibe even those attributes of us that we aren’t proud of? Would it worry you or amuse you that your child is a lot more like you than you had ever imagined!! What if your child inherited all your quirks, phobias and insecurities or in other words turned out to be a mirror image of your own personality – how would you handle it? For instance, what if you found out that as a kid, you were petrified of water just like your child or was a picky eater, just like your little one?  Would you turn to your parents and ask them how they dealt with it, or if it was ever an issue back then, especially since most ‘early childhood troubles’ that we confront as parents today didn’t seem to bother our parents at all, when we were children!:-)

 I’m not sure if I’m making any sense, but today I read two books in which a grandma regales her grandchild of her own experiences of being a parent to her mommy/daddy. The grandchild is of course all ears to the stories of her mommy/daddy growing up. “Your Mommy was just like You” by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by David Walker is a book meant for girls who’d love to hear about their moms from their grandmom! Abhay liked the book meant for grandsons, “Your Daddy was just like you” by the same author and illustrator. Grandma recalls how her own son was born puny and red faced just like her grandson who in turn finds it hard to believe that his daddy was a baby and was also scared of the doctor! The little boy feels consoled when he learns from his grandma that his father too had found school tough and boring at the beginning, that he too loved to play but had not won every single time, and that daddy was subject to time-outs, just like him!  ( This was Abhay’s favorite part…I could see him smile at the thought of his own daddy being punished!) Grandma shows him pictures of his daddy speeding like a race car or playing a cowboy or rolling in the mud or splashing in the tub….just like him! Abhay felt relieved as the young boy in the book gets to know that his daddy was afraid of the dark and too scared to sleep with his door shut….. just like him ( and Abhay!) Finally, grandma plants a huge kiss on her baby’s cheeks …..Her baby who now has his own baby! So….when in doubt, just remember Abhay, nobody can understand you better than us because we are….after all…. just like you!:-)

My Red Bike!

A home with kids is a houseful of toys and our home is no exception, it is in fact overflowing with toys! Abhay’s toys are more than just toys in his room; they are a part of our home decor! On any given day, our house resembles Toys R’Us more than any ordinary apartment! If you want to relax on our couch, you’re most welcome but you’ll also be cruising alongside race cars like McQueen and Mater who have their race tracks set up on the sofa’s arm rest. You sit to eat at our dining table; you’ll find Thomas and his Friends also resting on the table, tooting their whistles.  The center table at the living room has more children’s books that regular books or magazines! (Frankly, Im the one to blame for this!) Anyway, one ubiquitous toy that can be found wherever Abhay goes is his big red tricycle! So if Abhay has to use the bathroom, he doesn’t walk, instead he rides on his tricycle that also pulls his Pluto along. If he is called for dinner, though his room is right across the dining area, he has to arrive on his red bike in all pomp and splendor. Not to mention, we’ve even decided to put up “No parking” signs to avoid tripping over his three-wheeler parked at all the wrong places!! :-)

Today I read a book that most kids who play with their ride-on or pull along toys will enjoy and Abhay too was not disappointed – ‘Red Wagon” by Renata Liwska. Lucy got a brand new red wagon and had a whole list of games to play with it  and grocery shopping was certainly not on that list. But as her mother insists, she decides to go shopping pulling her wagon along. The book follows Lucy in her adventure as she pulls the wagon up the hill, down the hill, through rain-storms and sunshine and finally reaches the market where hoards all the vegetables in her wagon and tugs her useful pull-along toy all the way back home. On reaching home, Lucy can’t wait to play with her wagon and when she finally does get a chance, she is seen all curled up and fast sleep in her favorite red wagon! Now we all know who’s to pull the wagon….Lucy’s daddy!!:-)