Thinking out loud!

Eggless Chocolate Cake

2012-02-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

Remember, in this post I had mentioned about the Chocolate cake that I had baked for the kids at the party? This is what it looked like.

It was an eggless cake, the recipe of which was loosely adapted from here. I baked two 8"inch cakes and sliced each horizontally into two layers and filled freshly whipped cream, chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries (cubed) between the layers.

Even this cake was extremely moist and delicious like the Eggless Pineapple Cake. It was devoured by one and all at the party. Both Viren and I did not get a chance to taste it, but the expressions on the kids' faces said it all. Everyone was enjoying it so much and I was receiving so many compliments from my lovely friends that it did not occur to me that I should taste it too. I was so much in the moment. It was unbelievable to me that it was my first attempt and it had turned out so well. My boys were very proud that their Mom had made something that was liked so much by their friends.

The party was on Saturday and the Friday before that all I did was baked all evening. I first baked the sponge for the pineapple cake. Then came the chocolate cake. It was beautifully iced, except I made one mistake. I did not slice each cake. I just put the filling on one cake and topped it with the other and iced it.

I was a little skeptical about it and then when Viren came home he confirmed it. We both thought that the cake will over power the filling. So, I baked one more cake and made it a four layer cake instead of two. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the four layers. You can see what two layers looked like.

This was the first Chocolate cake that I had iced so I was in love with it.

Eggless Pineapple Cake

2012-02-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

My friend, Anchal, had hosted a potluck dinner to celebrate our friends Priyanka and Pradeep's wedding anniversary. I chose to bake my Eggless Pineapple Cake that Priyanka loves. The first time she tasted the cake, she said that she is not a cake person, but devoured this one. So, I thought why not bake it for her on her special day? Then it struck to me that a Pineapple cake might not go too well with kids so I decided to make a Chocolate Cake which I will write about in another post.

Meanwhile, enjoy some clicks of the first cake I baked for a gathering. I was extremely proud of myself, so were my kids and hubby. The cake was amazingly moist and tasted delicious!

It reminded me of Biba Aunty, our bestest neighbor in India and my Mom's very good friend. My Mom did bake cakes, but never frosted them. So, at that time Biba Aunty was a Master Chef to me. She was the first one to introduce me to homemade whipped cream frosting. At that point in time I was not at all tempted to give it a shot because all I remember from Mom and her discussions was that it was a tedious process. She manually whisked the cream over a bowl of ice. I whisked it with my electric beaters and was exhausted.... I can imagine her pain. Thank you Biba Aunty for always fulfilling our requests with a smile! This one is for you!

The cake was my basic Eggless Sponge Cake. It was a two layered cake filled with freshly whipped cream and pineapple tit bits. I then iced the cake with whipped cream and decorated it with pineapple rings and raspberries. I love the contrast of the yellow pineapple rings and red raspberries on the white icing.

Linking to Healthy Diet Event.

Oranges!

2012-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

I have an over load of oranges at home because Shiv wanted the 'cuties' and Ishaan wanted the navel oranges. My fruit basket was over flowing with other fruits so I had to come up with a better way of storing all the oranges. I kept them in my candle holders which makes such a lovely center piece for my dining table. I wish I had some greenery to add to the hurricanes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ishaan is a big cookie monster! If there is a box of chocolate chip cookies from Costco, he can polish it off in a matter of two days. His love for chocolate chip cookies made me look high and low for a recipe that is easy enough for a novice baker like me and requires minimum ingredients. The main reason being I did not like the long list of nasty ingredients in store bought cookies. My stomach hurt when I saw him gobbling down the so called cookie that contained few ingredients that I could recognize or carry in my pantry, and more chemicals.

Finally, after an extended search I found one recipe that I really liked. It appealed to me right away.

Recipe adapted from: Annies-eats

Ingredients:
1. APF: 2 cups plus 2 Tbsps
2.Baking soda: 1/2 Tsp.
3. Salt: 1/2 Tsp (less if you use salted butter)
4. Unsalted butter: 12 Tbsps (melted and cooled down until warm. Do not rush this step. Make sure that the butter has cooled down or else your cookies will spread and be more pancake like.)
5. Brown Sugar: 1 cup packed
6. Sugar: 1/2 cup
7. Egg: 1 large plus 1 yolk
8. Vanilla extract: 2 Tsps
9. Chocolate Chip cookies: 1 cup (The original recipe calls for 1& 1/2 cups)

All you do is:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. I was out of parchment paper so I greased the cookie sheets with oil.

2. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

3. Mix the sugars and set aside.

4. Add the melted butter and beat with hand or electric mixer until combined. Add vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Add the chocolate chips to this and mix.

5. Roll a small ball and place on a cookie sheet leaving some space between the cookie balls. Bake reversing the cookie sheets half way through baking for 16 -18 mins until the cookies are light brown in color and the edges have hardened. The original recipe calls for 11-14 mins, but mine took longer.

6. Cool cookies on the sheet until able to lift and then let it cool on a cooling rack. We did not have to wait for that. The boys attacked them as soon as they were cool enough to hold.

The best quality of the recipe is that it is very forgiving.
1.The first time I made these, I mixed the sugars with the dry ingredients instead of butter. I also forgot to add the extra 2 tbsps. of flour.
2.The second time I made these, I added the chocolate chips in the dry ingredients before getting the dough together.
3.I never stock unsalted butter in my home except when I have to make ghee. So, though the recipe calls for unsalted butter, I have used salted butter and reduced the quantity of salt.

Both times the cookies came out excellent. In fact, when I asked Shiv how it was, he said, "AMAZING in upper case." I thought that was very cute. My cookie monster of course devours these!! Hubby thinks they are a little buttery, but hey its butter that holds the dough together... if I decrease it, the cookies will be dry and crumbly.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and enjoy these warm cookies fresh out of the oven with a glass of milk. mm mm mmmmm!

This dough freezes very well also. I rolled small balls and froze them in a muffin pan. Once they were frozen, I stored them in a freezer safe container. I have noticed that the baking time increases to 22-23 minutes for frozen dough.

Linking to Vegetarian Tastebuds.

Vegetarian Stuffed Tomatoes

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a healthy, vegetarian appetizer/starter that looked tempting and colorful. I found a lot of recipes of vegetarian stuffed tomatoes, but most had some or the other cheese.

So, I thought and I thought (scary) and it finally occured to me... why don't I deconstruct a veggie chutney sandwich and stuff it in the tomatoes. So, fully excited I got to work. I was sure the tomatoes will taste good!

All I did was
1. Sliced off the stem. Scooped the center and invert them on a cooling rack allowing the liquid to drain out. Like so

2. In a food processor, I pulsed the ingredients of a basic green chutney minus water. I added a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, a clove of garlic, 2-3 green chillies, salt, lemon juice, chat masala and cumin powder. Once everything was finely chopped, I added two slices of whole wheat bread and pulsed it again. I took this out in a bowl and added chopped onions and cucumber to this. Other vegetables that can be added to this are boiled potatoes, shredded carrots, beets, corn, etc.

3. That's it. My stuffing was ready. All I did then was stuffed this in the tomatoes and enjoyed the healthy pre lunch snack.

Marshmallow and Toothpick Creations

2012-01-16T19:28:00.000-08:00

It was one of those snow days when school was not really off, but it was right before the long weekend so there was not much going on in school. Keeping this in mind, I started prepping for this activity for my boys to do. I left a bag of marshmallows open on the counter for about a week. I tossed it once everyday so that the hardened ones go on the bottom and the softer ones come up to breath some air. The marshmallows did harden, but not as much as I had expected. I think a better option would be to spread them on a platter and let them air dry for a couple of days.

Well, coming back to the activity.... armed with toothpicks and semi hardened marshmallows, my boys set out to make their creations. It kept them busy for quite sometime. Having Dad's company made the project all the more fun!

There was a lot of building and rebuilding and of course, how can we forget the temptation to pop the marshmallows in the mouth. Luckily, the boys opted not to because the bag was left open on the counter so they were afraid of germs. Here are a few pictures of their creations.

We learned that triangles are stronger than squares and cubes. They provide a better support. Overall, it was a fun activity that kept them occupied for some time.

Pin It

"Straw"berry

2012-01-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick and easy way to hull strawberries.

Insert a straw from the narrow end of the strawberry and push it upwards. This takes out the center and the leaves at once.

I used the reusable straw which is very sturdy. So, the straw became a skewer for the strawberry kabobs.

Shiv thought this was very cool because he was now truly having a "straw"berry (berry on a straw).

Pin It

Eggless Banana Crumb Muffins

2011-12-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

I had a bunch of overly ripe bananas and did not know what to do with them. My boys are tired of banana bread and don't enjoy more than a slice. So, this I decided to make Banana Muffins. I did not find much of difference in the taste between the bread and the muffins because both have a strong banana flavor. The name says it... Duh!!!

Well, coming back to the recipe. It has been adapted from here.

You will need:
1. APF: 1 1/2 cups
2. Baking powder: 1 tsp.
3. Baking soda: 1 tsp.
4. Salt: 1/2 tsp.
5. Ripe bananas: 4 (mashed)
6. White Sugar: 1/2 cup
7. Butter:1/3 cup melted
8. APF: 2 tbsps
9. Butter : 1 tbsp
10. Brown sugar: 1/3 cup packed

Once you have all the ingredients ready,
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease the muffin pan or line them with muffin liners.
In a large bowl, mix APF, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, beat together bananas, white sugar and melted butter.
Spoon the banana mixture in the flour mixture and mix gently until everything comes together.
Spoon the batter in muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, APF and 1 tbsp butter. Mix till crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the muffins and bake them for 18 to 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
(I forgot this step before putting the muffin tray in the oven. I sprinkled the topping during the last five minutes of baking.)

Pin It

Black Bean Burgers (Vegetarian)

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

I am always on a look out for healthy veggie burgers because I am sort of tired of the potato burgers. There are tonnes of recipes of black bean burgers floating in blogland.. Here's mine:

You will need:
1. 1 cup black beans (boiled) or 1 can of black beans
2. 1/2 carrot (shredded)
3. 1 stalk of celery (finely chopped)
4. 1/2 onion (finely chopped)
5. 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
6. 1 potato (boiled)
7. Salt as per taste
8. Black pepper powder as per your taste
9. 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
10. 1 tsp. oil
11. Bread crumbs/ bread slices

Start by mashing half the beans and leaving the remaining half intact.
Add mashed potato, carrots and spices.
In a pan add 1 tsp. oil. When the oil heats up, add celery, onion and garlic. Cook for five minutes

and mix this with the vegetable and beans mixture.

If the mixture is soft, add bread crumbs so that you can form proper patties.

Form the patties and roll in bread crumbs.

Shallow fry on a heated pan with a little oil.

Grill some onions and bell peppers as toppings.

Enjoy the burgers with your choice of toppings. We used cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and tomato ketchup. Next time I might not grill the veggies. Instead I will add the bell peppers in the patties and use raw onions as toppings.

Pin It

I am ready for Christmas!

2011-12-18T21:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am .... just in the nick of time! My wreaths are hung, my clock is adorned with ornaments and so are my wall scones.

Every year we buy special ornaments for Ishaan and Shivansh. This year I thought of displaying them differently. I spread them out in a bowl on the coffee table. Shiv loves to go through them everyday after school. At least I am not worried about the tree falling down because he could not find his third ornament.

I made this paper Christmas tree. I really like how it looks. It was a little time consuming, but the result is well worth it!

Next year, I might do more of these in different sizes. Doesn't it look cute?

Even added a little bit of red and green in the bedroom.

Every year when the tree is ready to be decorated, the boys start out and then I do some rearranging and add the finishing touches!

This year we decided to do a blue, gold and silver tree instead of the red and gold that I did last year.

I must have clicked at least 25 shots, but I could not get one decent night shot of my tree. Well, we all like how it turned out, but Shiv doesn't like the tree topper. He tells me at least twice a day if not more that a lighted tree topper will look better. I agree with him, but its too late for me to go shopping now. I will have to come up with something better next year. My little boy does have an eye for design!
Now all that's remaining is putting the gifts under the tree!

Pin It

Chocolate Pretzels

2011-12-16T20:11:00.003-08:00

Inspired by pinterest, we finally decided to make these yummy chocolate pretzels. It was so much fun to make! All you need is pretzels and Hershey's kisses.

This is how you roll:

Line a baking tray with wax paper and arrange the pretzels in a single layer.

Place an unwrapped 'Kiss' on each pretzel. Preheat the oven at 300 degrees F and place the baking tray in the oven for 2 minutes only.

After 2 mins pull the tray out of the oven and put another pretzel on each while applying slight pressure. Refrigerate the baking tray for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets. These were the longest 10 mins we have spent. We were getting impatient, so I decided to freeze the tray for a little less than five minutes. Once out, it was difficult to resist popping these in the mouth.

These were fun and quick to make, and much less messy than chocolate coated pretzel rods.

I will definitely be making these again. It was a fun, edible craft to do with kids!

Pin It

Eggless Vanilla Cake with Condensed Milk

2011-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

This recipe is very simple! I baked the cake for a friend's daughter's birthday.

You will need:

1. APF: 1 3/4 cup + 2 tbsps.

2. Cornstarch: 2 tbsps.

3. Baking powder: 2 tsps.

4. Baking soda: 1 tsp.

5. Salt: 1/4 tsp.

6. Unsalted butter: 8 tbsps. (1 stick) at room temperature

7. Sugar: 2 tbsps.

8. Sweetened condensed milk: 1 14 oz. can

9. Vanilla extract: 2 tsps.

10. Cold milk: 3/4 cup

Now, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease a baking tray with butter or oil.

In a small bowl sift the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whip butter and sugar till it resembles whipped butter. Do not over whip or else the cake will be a little hard and crumbly.

Add condensed milk and vanilla to this and whip till everything comes together.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and gently mix. You can also add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in stages alternating between milk and dry ingredients i.e. add the 2-3 parts of dry ingredients. Mix. Add milk. Mix. Repeat. Make sure you start and end with the dry ingredients. Do NOT over mix.

Pour the batter in the greased baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Since the initial of my friend's daughter's first name is 'A', I cut a stencil on paper and dusted some powdered sugar to decorate the cake. I have never iced a cake. I really want to try my hands on that.

The cake was delicious! Shiv loved it a lot and has been begging me to make it again. Soon...

The gift was also fun to decorate!

I wrapped the gift with this fun polka dot wrapping paper and used a different wrapping paper to cut out leaves and fanned them out on one corner. Then added some candies for some fun!

Linking to Jingle all the way @ edible entertainment

Pin It Pin It

Quick Eggless Chocolate Pudding

2011-12-04T14:36:00.001-08:00

Now this is what has more pudding like consistency than this!

But the previously prepared chocolate pudding has become a favorite in my home. I have prepared it three days in a row. My boys have had it as an after dinner dessert and breakfast.

Even though Shiv does not like chocolate, he devours this one! He wrote about it here. I would appreciate it if you could read his blog and provide some encouragement to this budding, 7 year old blogger!

Well, coming back to the pudding. This is so simple and quick. The only waiting time is allowing it to set in the refrigerator for an hour.
Recipe source: Veggie Belly
Please visit Veggie Belly for additional tips.

You will need:

Milk: 2 1/4 cups at room temperature
Corn Starch: 2 tbsps
Cocoa powder: 2 tbsps
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp

This is what you do:

1. Make sure the milk is at room temperature.
2. Take approximately half of the milk in a pan and add the corn starch and cocoa powder.
3. Whisk very well. Make sure there are no lumps.
4. Add sugar and vanilla to the remaining milk and heat it.
5. Before it starts boiling, strain the milk containing cocoa powder and corn starch in this pan. Break any lumps in the strainer with a wooden spoon.
6. Continue whisking the milk and bring to a boil.
7. Pour it into individual cups. Cover with foil and let it set in the refrigerator for an hour.

My corn starch was not that strong. The pudding was still semi liquid after an hour and a half. So I reheated the pudding with an additional 1/2 tbsp of corn starch.

It turned out very smooth and delicious! My son asked me to make it again so I am sure it was good!

Linking it to Jingle all the way @ Edible Entertainment

Pin It

Eggless Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

2011-12-02T19:08:00.001-08:00

Everyone in my home enjoys warm desserts fresh out of the oven. When I was a non baker, Friday nights meant watching a movie and enjoying fresh cookies (frozen cookie dough) out of the oven.

Now that we are leaning towards a "natural" diet, I try to prepare most of the foods at home.... specially the junk foods. At least I know that we are not eating any preservatives and unwanted chemicals the names of whose I had studied years ago in organic chemistry. Like Michael Pollan says, "Eat all the junk foods you want as far as you prepare it at home."

So, today I prepared this gooey dessert which I don't know should be called pudding or not because it has more of a cake texture than pudding. Well, what's in a name as far as my boys devour it!

Ingredients:
For the batter:
All purpose flour: 1cup
Baking powder: 2 tsps
Cocoa powder: 3 tsps
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Butter: 2 tbsps, melted
Milk: 1/2 cup
Yogurt: 1 1/2 tsps.
Vanilla: 1 1/2 tsps

For the sauce:
Sugar: 1/2 cup (It was a little too sweet for me, but everyone else thought it was perfect)
Cocoa powder: 3 tbsps
Coffee powder: 1tsp (optional) I made them with and without coffee powder. My boys preferred the ones without.
Water: 1 cup

How to proceed:

1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
2. Sift the dry ingredients.
3. Add the butter, milk, vanilla and yogurt until well combined.
4. Grease your ramekins and spoon the batter in them. Fill a little less than half way.

For the sauce:
Mix all the ingredients.

Pour the sauce over the batter. Do not mix it. Do not fill more than 3/4 of the ramekin.

Place the ramekins on a baking tray to catch spills like pictured below or else you will have an oven clean up job ready for you.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes.

Let it cool for 10 minutes and then dig into this yummy dessert.

Linking it at krithiskitchen's Serve It Series and here
Jingle all the way @ edible entertainment

Pin It

Diaper Cake

2011-12-01T21:25:00.001-08:00

I prepared this lovely diaper cake for my sister-in-law's baby shower. It was so much fun making this cake. My Mom and I rolled the diapers and fastened them with thin, clear rubber bands.

I started out with a baby powder bottle in the center and topped it with a baby bottle. This formed the center around which I arranged the diapers. I found these cute baby themed cake pics at the dollar store. I used them for decoration. The decoration possibilities are endless.

Since this baby shower was out of town and I reached the night before the event, I did not have time to go wild with the decorations. I took the folded diapers with me and assembled the cake at my SIL's place.
The baby shower was last year and I am writing about it this year... and my SIL still has 2008 calendar in the back ground. This is how current we are!
So not good... but I always thought I have lost the pics so never really prepared a post. Oh well.... better late than never!

I was having so much fun during the baby shower that I completely forgot to take better pics.These are from the night before with my phone.

Pin It

Multi Bean Crepes/ Dosa/ Adai - Revisited

2011-11-24T09:20:00.001-08:00

I have heard that people eat with their eyes first. I love making these crepes as it makes my kids think I am a cool cook because I can make a food tepee. Moreover, these are packed with proteins because of all the beans.

The best part is that it needs no fermentation time and soaking time is only four hours. The beans and rice can be soaked longer, but the minimum time required is four hours. So, if you want to have them for breakfast, you could either prepare the batter the day before or soak the beans and rice at night and grind them in the morning for a healthy breakfast.

All you need to make these yummy crepes is:

1. 1 cup rice. (I use half brown and half white rice)

2. 1 cup bean mix. You could use the 16 bean soup mix. Since my son is allergic to a lot of beans, I make the bean mix with urad dal, toor dal, whole moong, yellow moong dal, pinto beans, rajma (kidney beans) and black eyed beans.

3. 2-3 green chillies (you could increase or decrease the quantity as per your taste)
4. 7-8 curry leaves
5. Ginger
6. Salt
7. A pinch of asafoetida (to prevent the tooting after eating so many beans)
8. 1 - 2 whole dried red chillies

What you need to do is :

1. Wash and soak the beans and rice in separate containers for four hours.
2. Add whole red chillies to this and let them soak also.
3. After four hours, add all the other ingredients except salt and asafoetida and grind the beans.
4. Then, grind the rice and mix in the bean batter.
5. Add salt and asafoetida and there you go.... your batter is ready!

Here is a pictorial for making the tepees. I am sure there are a million videos on you tube for the same.

Heat a griddle and spread the batter in a circular manner. If you prefer it less crispy, you can make a thick crepe. Drizzle some oil or ghee.

Make a slit with a spatula like shown below.

Cook it on medium heat. Once it is cooked, lift a corner near the slit and roll forming a cone.

This is what you end up with.

If you want to make adai, take more batter on the pan and make a thicker crepe.

Cinnamon Chips

2011-11-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

I love the aroma of anything cinnamon baking in my oven. My boys love these. This is my go to snack when I don't have any healthy snacks/ snack ideas. Moreover, it takes minutes to make these.

Spread some butter on wheat or flour tortilla.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar generously on the chips.

The most important step is to slice the tortillas before baking. I generally use a pizza cutter to make the desired shape.

Bake these in a preheated over at 350 degree F for 10-12 minutes. Keep a close watch on these goodies as they tend to burn very quickly. The tortillas might still be slightly soft when you pull these out of the oven. Once cooled, they will crisp up.

Enjoy.... my boys can polish these of in a matter of minutes.

These chips can also be used in ice-creams or cold coffee as garnish!

Pin It

Happy 10th Birthday, Son!

2011-11-18T07:43:00.001-08:00

Itis hard for us to believe that you are 10 years old. It feels like it was justyesterday that we saw your precious face in the wee hours of 11/18/2001 and wereoverjoyed. We truly experienced the feeling of being happy on that day. Youreyes were open and your hair was dark and curly. You had a twinkle in your eyewhich you have even today. You have filled our lives with love forever.

Itreally amazes us how one minute you behave like an immature ten year old boywanting to have fun and all the candies and chocolate chip cookies in the world,and the next you are discussing important matters with us.

Ishu,you have taught us the meaning of ‘unconditional love’. You always show so muchlove, respect and concern for everyone around you no matter how they treat you.You are so loving and forgiving. That is definitely a quality you haveinherited from your Dad. Even though your brother gets mad at you for noreason, copies you, talks rudely with you, deep down you love him a lot. Youalways get concerned when he gets in trouble. We hope that you both always getalong very well with each other because he will be the only person in the worldwho will care for you as much as you do for him. And when we get old and grouchy,you will need each other to vent out. Always be there for each other, guys.

Ishman(as your kaka calls you), we often see you being hard on yourself andstriving for everything you do to be perfect. But you are OK for who you areeven when things are not perfect and you make mistakes. People will like youwhether you are funny or not. So please be yourself and don’t ‘try’ to be sillyor funny. We know that you are a kid that can weather tough storms and come outOK. You show us time and time again that you are brave, strong, and wise. Weare proud of all your achievements!

Youare an awesome sportsman! You excel at whichever sport you pick up. Be itswimming, soccer, or even ice hockey. We were amazed when you taught yourselfpogo sticking in a matter of a few hours! Remember beta, it is better to besmart than cool or silly. As you grow up, you will meet lots of differentpeople – some good, some not so good. Please choose your friends wisely. Pleasebe influenced by the good people in your life.

Asalways, a family discussion cannot end without talking about education. Can it?So, please remember that education will always help you out in life. Alwaysstay focused on your goal of academic excellence.

Weknow that sometimes we scold you for whatever the reason may be - sometimes itis your fault, many a times not. But please remember that Dad and I love you a lotand wish the best for you.

Dhinglu,as you embark on the second decade of your life we hope that you alwaysremember that you are indeed loved for exactly who you are right now and forthe young man you are growing into. As we say often, we are your familyand you will always be loved no matter what. This is the soft place youcan land where you will always be OK and you willalways be loved — no matter what.

Happy 10^th Birthday, Betu!

I am featured

2011-11-15T10:17:00.001-08:00

I am so happy!!! I am featured on Cheri's blog. Please go ahead and check her amazing blog. She also has great parties.

It did come as a surprise to me because I had not submitted to be featured. It started out as a normal day at work. I thought of checking my emails and I see this email from Cheri saying she has featured me. I was happy.

It has arrived right on time because over the past few days I had been thinking about how slow and inconsistent I have been on posting. I even thought of deleting this blog.

Just then I get this.... a nice boost to get me going. Thanks Cheri!

Decorating with candles for Diwali

2011-10-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Chalk rangoli on my front porch. I filled tall glasses with colored water and used them as candle holders.

My boys' tic tac toe board used as a candle holder. The little animals that you see around the candles are pieces from their mancala game.

My dining table all dolled up for the festive season... during the day.

at night!

My cute yarn wreath peeping in the background.

Do you see my WS knock off hurricanes?

Marigolds+ roses+ floating candles = Festive!

Pin It

Bring on the Festivities V ~ Window Treatments

2011-10-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

My dining room window looked something like this:

But not anymore... with the sheer panels from Ishta Home Furnishings and the red panels from Home Goods they are now

Ta daa....

(During the day)

(At night)

This is one of the many times I wish I were a better photographer. These pictures don't do justice to the sheer panels from Ishta Home Furnishings at all. The color is much more brighter and the embroidery has nice subtle shades of brown, cream and gold.

I absolutely love my window treatment except the height at which my hubby installed the curtain rod!

Don't you think the curtains are a tad bit higher? I would love them more if they would be hugging the floor. I told him, but he didn't listen and he still thinks they look good the way they are.

Hey I shouldn't be complaining. He was kind enough to install them for me the first thing on a weekday morning without me asking him to.

Bring on the festivities IV

2011-10-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

Once Navratri was over, I was thinking Diwali is far away.

Between Navratri and Diwali were too many fun things going on. Viren's cousin came over from the Bay area, fall was in the air so we had to do our round of fall pictures, and the most fun was my trip to Las Vegas with my bestest friend, Nimisha. We went there to celebrate our 35th birthdays and 25 years of being friends....cool na!

my camera is acting up again... so not cool

We had sooooo much fun is Vegas we chatted and chatted and chatted. We spent almost four hours in Bellagio chatting away to glory. There was a small couch on which we spread apart when there was no one else and chatted; and scooted (like my son says) real close to let older folks rest for a while and continued chatting. Gosh... girls have so much to talk... it was TALK and not GOSSIP at all. We don't do that kind of stuff. Bad girls gossip. We are good girls! On the first evening, we watched Zumanity. It is a Cirque Du Soleil (CDS) show so obviously there were a lot acrobatic acts. I do not want to comment on the show. If you would like to know why.... check out the clippings on CDS' website and decide for yourself.

Well, after coming back from Vegas... it was time to get ready for Diwali. Moreover, I am hosting the Diwali party at my place this year so had to prepare for that also. A few things checked off my to do list:

Clean Silver {check}

Clean Copper {check}
I use Bar Keeper's Friend to clean my silver and copper artifacts. That thing is GOOD for the tarnish... but very bad for my hands. I gave up after cleaning the ones pictured above and below. Let's see if I would like to attempt some more tomorrow.

Wash Crystal Stemware for the party {check}

No party is complete without fresh flowers. Buy red roses {check}

To be continued......

Jalebi disaster

2011-10-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have been on a mission to cook as many Indian sweets at home as possible. I had started way before Navratri so that I could be well versed with most of them, but wasn't that successful with a few. The most disastrous was Jalebi.

Instead of taking the shorter route and using the instant jalebi recipe, I went for the longer route thinking 'more work will give better result'.

O God! I soaked the batter and let it ferment for 12+ hours and what not. I was in fact very happy when I was pouring the batter in oil in a spiral form. It seemed pretty easy and I was good at it! Check out the huge Jalebi!

I was extremely happy thinking I have nailed down one more Indian sweet. Boy was I wrong or what... I fried them all and dipped them in the sugar syrup. That's when disaster struck! The Jalebis became very chewy and more of a pancake like instead of retaining its cripness.

I don't think I am ever going to try making Jalebis again.

Sunken Apple Muffins

2011-10-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Now that Navratri is over, my fruit basket is full of apples that we got as prasad (holy offering to God) from friends' places. So I decided to make Apple Muffins for a change. I have never made or even tasted Apple Muffins. I don't like apple pie so I am never motivated to try anything Apple. Moreover, I like to bake at home in order to avoid the extra 'goodies' (read: chemicals and preservatives) from store bought items. That way I know what we are eating is healthier and I don't have to worry about those nasty allergens.

I have a basic muffin recipe to which I thought of adding apples. It was purely an experiment.

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour: 1 1/4 cup
2. Baking powder: 2 tsp
3. Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
4. Salt: 1/8 tsp
5. Yogurt: 2 tbsp (well beaten)
6. Sugar: 1/2 cup
7. Cold milk: 1 cup
8. Vanilla extract: 11/2 tsp
9. Oil: 1/2 cup
10. Apples: 2

Method:

To prepare the apples:

1. Wash, core and slice the apples thinly. Do not peel the apples.

2. In a pan, add 1and 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar.

3. To this add 2 cinnamon sticks and the sliced apples. Let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

4. Drain the apples.

For the muffins:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients except sugar.

3. Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl. Add sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

4. Add the wet mix to the dry mix. Beat till well combined (1 min). Make sure there are no lumps.

5. Pour the batter in a muffin tray with liners up to 3/4 way.

Now comes the fun part. You know how I have been rolling here and here, I thought of doing that to the apples also.

Roll one slice of apple tightly. This forms the bud. Make sure the skin side is on the top. Keep adding more slices to form the rose. Now place the rose gently in the batter like this

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Let the muffins cool down and enjoy!

The overall result was not what I had expected.

1. The flavors of the muffins and the apples did not gel together. They both tasted great individually but together it was a little too sweet.
2. I should have used apple sauce as an egg substitute in the muffins to have more apple flavor.
3. Some spices like cinnamon and nutmeg in the muffin batter would have enhanced the flavors.
4. I should have poured less batter in the cups so that the roses would not sink so much.

My poor guinea pigs (read: hubby, kids and my friend, Anchal's family)!

Oh well, you never know till you try, right?

Linking to Beauty and Bedlam

Waste out of best - best out of waste

2011-10-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, if you have been reading this blog for a month now, you probably know that I am a newbie crafter! I mean knowing how something is done and actually doing something are two different things.
I have had this vase for quite some time now. I liked the shape so I didn't want to throw it away. I used it as vase, as a change keeper, as an empty show piece and what not.

I think the time had arrived for me to give it a fresh new look. So, got to work with my dear old friend Ms. Red Sharpie. I freehanded some paisleys, leaves, flowers and vines. Now this vase still looked pretty boring so I thought of adding some color. Since I had already scribbled on the outside, it was too late to paint the background. So, my genius mind gave me an idea! I poured some (read: a lot) yellow color in the vase and let it rest in an inverted position so the excess paint could drip off.

I was very excited and started thinking about all the bright shades of tangerine, turquoise and green that I could use to fill in the details.

All my excitement went down the drain when I realized after half an hour that Ms. Sharpie could not show off her quality to be a permanent marker. The design started rubbing off! So not good. Not only was Ms. Sharpie at fault... even the paint was. It was not drying and was just sliding off. Out of sheer frustration, I washed the vase with soap and water.... got rid of all the design and paint. There it was - a waste out of best moment!

Well, I did not give up. Like I said, I liked the vase so I was not going to throw it away.

Armed with some hot glue and jute, I decided to give it a fresh new look all over again. I hot glued one end of jute on the bottom of the vase and started winding around the vase. I also had a couple bottles of snapple on hand. So, I covered those with jute also while I was at it.

What do you think about my best out of waste?

The gaps on the bottle on the left is glue. Because of the curve, it was a little tricky to wrap the bottle without glue. I clicked this pic before the glue dried.

Linking to

Bring on the festivities III ~ Ishta

2011-10-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

My Sister -In - Law, Kajal, is the sweetest SIL ever! Ever since I told her about my plan to change the home decor, she has been actively participating in the process via phone because she resides in sunny CA where my heart resides. She just came up with a gazillion ideas and bombarded them at me! I could not keep up with her pace and had to slow down. She is extremely talented, creative and artistic!

Kajal runs her business at Ishta Home Furnishings. She has a huge selection of luxurious silk duvet covers, zari cushion covers, pure silk scarves that are almost weightless (I think they weigh 13 grams), stoles for the upcoming weather, elegant table runners and table mats that as my friend Anchal says, "Give your table a royal look" .... the list is endless!

You have to check it out to believe it! Her prices are very reasonable and the best part is she ships all over the US.

So what are you waiting for? Your traditional home for the festivals is just a click away.

Visit Ishta Home Furnishings and get the ball rolling!

My camera is acting up again so ignore the dates PLEASE!

Check out the bright, colorful, silk cushion covers that she sent for me ~ at night

During the day

The gold table runner on my coffee table is also a product from Ishta

My new train station clock. I had always wanted one, but never found the right size or right price. This one fit the bill so I grabbed it right away.

The nimbu mirchi in the back ground is a gift from my best friend, Nimisha's, Mom.

Kajal also sent this beautiful mail holder which I hung on the mirror. I have changed the location now.

The long, vertical ethnic piece that you see behind the TV is also from Ishta. The opposite wall is a bright red color so I like how it pulls the red on this wall also.

I am getting the home ready for the festivals. I have a lot more goodies from Kajal that scream FESTIVITIES that I need to put to use before the festivals are here. Stay tuned..... more from Ishta next time!

Linking to

20 cent Wall Art

2011-10-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I had bought this sign as a reminder to enjoy life and use my time wisely. To enjoy every moment and spend as much time as I can with my family. Just a reminder that the time I have been given will not come back again.... be it with my kids or hubby.

my camera switched to 2004 again! :(

I decided to change it so..... I got to work!

I purchased a scrap book paper from Michael's for $0.20, cut it to fit the board and modge podged it on the sign.

yay my camera is back to 2011.

Then, I free handed the following on the sign:

'The Best Things in Life aren't things' with a sharpie. (I messed up on the apostrophe in spite of going over contractions with Ishaan recently.)

Here it is on my gallery wall

Cushion Cover to Table Runner

2011-10-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for the stuffing for these cushion covers for the longest time. I loved the color of the covers. I did not like them sitting in my closet so I decided to use them as a table runner instead.

I used a square white platter and three cushion covers

and arranged them as a table runner.

(I know I need to iron my table cloth)

Bring on the festivities III ~Happy Ashtami!

2011-10-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

Navratri has always been a very special festival in my home! I cleaned the temple and prepared the

offering. All the delicacies are nuts and besan free.

This is the first time I cooked a whole meal without tasting anything. I was surprised at how delicious and perfect everything was! I prepared puri, cauliflower and potato sabzi, potato and tomato sabzi, lapsi (a traditional Gujarati sweet dish made with broken wheat), cucumber raita, moong dal pakoda, rice and dal.

Bring on the festivities II ~ Floating Candle Holders

2011-10-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I love candles! In my home we don't need a reason to have candles all over. A simple dinner party, special days, festivals, anything calls for candles! My boys love lighting them and of course blowing them off also!

With Navratri going on and Diwali just around the corner, I was exploring my options to add more candles. During a recent trip to Hobby Lobby, I found these Floating Glass Tea Light Holders!

They are the best things for someone like me who does not like to buy floating candles because the floating candles are normally expensive than their non swimmer peers. I don't need floating candles anymore! Just put any tea light in the holder and I am all set. These can be used year round. Just change the tea lights!
They are normally $6.99 for four at Hob Lob, but they had 50% sale going on so I got eight for $6.99 which I thought was a deal because I did not have to pay shipping and I did not have to wait for their arrival.

All I did was purchase the vases and stones from Dollar Tree and get the candles floating!!

Doesn't this look pretty?

Floating candle holders can also be purchased from here and here.

Bring on the festivities I ~ Happy Navratri

2011-10-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

I love fall!!! It is the best time of the year for me when I am ready for some lower temperatures after the scorching heat of the summer. The slight chill in the air, the leaves changing color, football season , Navratri and Diwali are the few things that make me look forward to fall.

With Navratri going on right now and Diwali coming up, I wanted to change the decor of my home. I changed the front door wreath.

To start from the door, I made one more wreath! I told you here that I am on a roll! This time I wrapped the wreath form with a ribbon. It was so much faster and easier!

Then came the flowers. I spent two evenings making these pretty flowers.

It would be more fun if someone would cut the circles and spirals for me. I made yellow, orange and red flowers and hot glued them on the wreath randomly. I wanted to use bright, traditional colors that scream festivals to me!!

I love it! My friend suggests adding golden leaves in the back. Any suggestions for what materials should I use for the leaves?

Linking it to G and H's link party for October as the theme is WREATHS.

Pin It

Non Traditional Window Treatments

2011-10-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

One of my most popular posts is Achievement Wall. I loved it how all the achievements of my boys were on one wall. They were very proud of it also!

I think the wall called for a change now. So I took all of their Tae Kwon Do Belts and swimming ribbons and used them as window treatments. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Linking to Funky Junk Interiors

Eggless Double Chocolate Cappuccino Muffins

2011-09-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ishaan had been asking me to buy nutella for a few weeks now. I have been avoiding it because it is delicious (so not good for me) and Shiv cannot have it due to his food allergies. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I decided to buy nutella for Ishaan. He was very happy when he returned from school and saw it. Shiv was a little sad. In order to cheer him up, I told him we would bake muffins. He loves baking with me in the kitchen. He was very excited and seized the opportunity right away. We got to work and he made sure that Ishaan did not help because even he loves to bake with me.... so Shiv's rule was - just like Shiv cannot eat nutella, Ishaan cannot bake with us. Shiv did not let him enter the kitchen at all. Poor Ishaan!

Even I love to bake! I just feel so happy when I see the baking tray out of the oven... be it a savory or a sweet dish... it just makes me extremely happy. I am on cloud nine and if the dish comes out as good as these muffins, mm mmm mmmm .. I start behaving like "Master Chef" for a few hours.

I digress. Shiv did all the measuring and pouring under my supervision. We also used this as a good math learning experience. We got a chance to go over fractions. He practically saw that two 1/4 tsps make 1/2 tsp, a 1/3 is a little less than 1/2, 1/2 cup+1/4 cup made the 3/4 cups of the flour. I just threw the question at him and let him do the thinking. For example: I said, "Shiv we don't have a measuring cup for 3/4 cup measurement all we have is 1 cup, 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup. What shall we do now? That's when he answered, "Let's use 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup."

It was fun!

Well, coming back to the recipe, I like this recipe because one it is eggless and two it is made with oil not butter.
Recipe source: US Masala

Ingredients: Makes about 12 muffins

1. All Purpose flour/ Whole wheat pastry flour/ whole wheat flour - 1 3/4 cups
2. Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Cocoa powder - 3 tbsps
4. Semi sweet chocolate chips - 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup
5. Salt - 1/4 tsp
6. Baking Powder - 2 tsp
7. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
8. Milk - 1 cup + 3 tbsp
9. Oil - 1/3 cup
10.Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp
11. Instant coffee powder - 2 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips with 3 tbsp milk in the microwave.
3. In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients.

4. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients and beat for a minute. Add the melted chocolate chips and instant coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water.

5. Add the above mix to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the 1/4 cup chocolate chips to the batter. Do not over mix. Make sure there are no lumps of dry flour.

6. Spoon this mixture into muffin cups till 3/4 way filled.

Shiv loves licking whatever little is left in the bowl. You won't believe it... he did not even let Ishaan lick the bowl. He is the nicest little brother I have ever seen, but at times even he acts up.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Let the muffins cool down to room temperature.

9. Enjoy with warm or cold milk!

Linking to Beauty and Bedlam
Jingle all the way @ Edible Arrangements

My First Yarn Wreath!!

2011-09-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Supplies needed:

A wreath form

Yarn

Felt

Glue

I purchased the squares from the kids craft area in Michael's. I am such a newbie to crafting that I learned after making the wreath that the felt from the kids area is not the right kind or I should say preferred kind.

Expert crafters believe that the precut squares are more stiff. The best felt would be from the bolts in the sewing area. Too late for me though.... I learned it the harder way.

The first and the most time consuming step is to wrap wreath with the yarn.It took me good hour and half to finish it.

Now comes the fun part... making the embellishments. I had so much fun making the flowers that I went overboard. My wreath will show an overload of embellishments. I folded a piece of felt in half and then half again and then cut the squares.

Next, I free handed spirals with scissors on the felt square.

Then, start rolling from either the inner corner or outer corner and glue the end.

I know, I know I need a better camera! I have been giving hubs some hints .... let's see if Santa surprises me with one.

Coming back to the wreath.....the best part was hot gluing the flowers to the wreath. I was not too happy with the yellow. I think it is a little too strong for the yarn and God alone knows what was I thinking while making green flowers... but hey I am a newbie crafter and the excitement took over.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

On my bedroom door:

On my dining room mirror:

I personally think I should have picked better colors and gone easy on the embellishments. But because I was in the kids area for the felt, I think all they had were strong primary colors. Next time I will check out the sewing area and come up with better embellishments. I loved making the flowers so much.... I am definitely going to try it one more time.

Linking it to Patty's weekly party , Tina's Highlight Sunday, Motivate Me Monday, The More the Merrier, Craft Catwalk

Drab to Fab Lamp Shade

2011-09-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have had this boring, old plain white lamp shade for about 5 years now. I have always wanted to change it, but never got about doing so. So, armed with a few acrylic paints and sharpies, I changed my boring old plain white lampshade from this

to this

Linking it to Patty's Colours Dekor: The Weekly Story,
The Creative Blog

Tea Party with friends!

2011-09-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

We have bi weekly tea parties with friends from our apartment complex. It was my turn to host the party so I decided to make Braided Bread with Paneer stuffing.. There are numerous recipes in blogland so I just mixed and matched recipes and come up with something delicious!

First, some ice cold water

Now a few steps of the Braided Bread.

Roll out an oval from the dough (approximately 15 inches long). Place the stuffing in center.

Cut equal amount of slits diagonally on both sides of the stuffing

Then, start braiding.

Once the loaf is braided, let it rest for half an hour covered with a damp cloth. Then bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-23 minutes.

That's it!

Linking to Patty's Colours Dekor: The Weekly Story ~ wk 48

My New Vase

2011-09-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I love it! I was tired of glass and ceramic vases so I thought of using this copper vessel that had been sitting in the storage forever.

Linking to Patty's Colours Dekor: The Weekly Story ~ wk 48

Leftover Party!

2011-09-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

My camera somehow switches to 2004..... I have tried everything, but it doesn't work. So, please ignore the date on the pictures. These pictures were taken on 09/04/11.

My friends had come over for a leftover party i e food left over from the night before. I had cooked the meal for a different set of guests, but when my friend, AM, came to know that I had a ton of left overs, she volunteered to come over for lunch because both her and I don't like food to be wasted.

Now because of her kind act, I wanted to serve the food in style!! Not make her feel like she is really eating leftovers so this is what I did.................Glass for water, ice cream cup for kheer, one bowl for gulab jamun, one bowl for raita, dinner plate for the main course and the salad plate for papad and salad.

Thank God for such lovely friends!

Lessons from Mommyhood

2011-07-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have always thought about this topic consciously and unconsciously and ever since I have been tagged by Divs, it has set me thinking all the more.

Though it sounds very cliche, Mommyhood has completely changed me! I can say this proudly because the change has been very positive.

The biggest thing I have learned is to accept that I as a Mommy can make mistakes also.Up until I did not have kids, I always thought that I will be a very strict parent and raise my kids in a very strict environment. I did so until IP was 5 I think. But then, all the light bulbs started going on one after another. I started looking at my kids as individuals who have their own personality and preferences. I realized that the generalized parenting style of strict rules, no sass, less expression of affection to prepare them to face the real world is not appropriate for my kids. I obviously want them to grow up to be well behaved, polite and manner full, but along with that I want them to be self confident individuals who have been loved and respected in their family to demand that from the world. I use the word 'demand' because no one respects you if you are too good. You don't want to become the doormat that people wipe their feet on and move on. You want to become the painting on the wall that draws (demands) attention and praise. In my naive days, I remember, I was steering IP towards becoming the doormat - teaching him to be extremely nice and to always give up just to make others happy. I made him a people pleaser. I am so thankful to God for enlightening me early on before much damage was done. At first, I did not know what to do. My heart ached every time I saw him feeling happy giving up a toy because he thought that was 'sharing', or giving up his spot in the queue so that the kid behind him could go on the swing first because he thought he had to be nice. I taught him to think about other kids' feelings, but did not teach him that his feeling are important also. No one should hurt his feelings! Because I thought everyone is teaching what I am teaching so IP's feeling will be taken care of automatically. Stupid me!

At all the get togethers with friends and family, I saw how everyone around me was so over protective and possessive about their child and his/her feelings while I was teaching my kids to do the opposite. From this experience I learned that it is important to raise self confident, caring and responsible individuals with high self esteem instead of nice, emotional fools. I learned to set my priorities straight, my kids are my first and foremost priority and I have to quit being a people pleaser so that I can be a good role model for my kids. I learned that it is very important for the kids to have my support to feel secure. I had to show my kids that I care about them - not just in words but in action also. They knew that I love them, but they had to see me standing up for them, speaking up for them and favoring them. I realized that I am their rock, their protector and the world will treat them the way I will treat them.

My kids have always taught me that there is something called unconditional love. Regardless of how upset I am with them, all they want to hear from me is 'I Love You.' Until and unless I say that and give them a hug, they will not consider the matter resolved. A gazillion 'its ok' will not work. Just like they mean the world to me, I am their World! I say that because of age, experience, maturity, maternal feelings, etc. But for them I am truly what it means!

IP was doing a unit of friendly letters in school. They had to write a friendly letter to someone special. He wrote a letter to me because he wrote 'I am the specialest person for him.' This was after I had gotten mad at him in the morning for not picking up after himself. SP has also written many meaningful notes/one-liners here and there. Last night I was feeling slightly under the weather. As soon as he heard that, he held my hand, took me to my bedroom and signaled IP to follow. Then, they both massaged my shoulders and legs. SP made a crown for me and said, "You are the Queen. Please rest. Let me know if you need anything." He then read a book to me and tucked me in bed.

He has written in his journal that he hopes his Parents could spend more time with him, but he also knows that they are very busy. I have learned that when it comes to spending time with kids, quantity and quality are equally important. IP and SP love doing craft projects with me or cook with me or have me read to them even though they are both independent readers. I always thought that they will not need me as far as TV is concerned, but I recently learned that their dream TV time is all four of us watching their movie together.
I have learned that my kids will appreciate and remember the time I spend with them more than a clean house. It sounds common sensical, but I had to take baby steps to implement it in my life. Being a clean freak, I had a hard time ignoring the mess or a sink full of dirty dishes, but now I have loosened up.

Mommyhood has taught me that kids love conversations with their Parents! Sometimes, both IP and SP say, "Okay Mom, let's talk." or if the conversation ends abruptly because I am distracted by some other stream of thoughts, they both say, "Mom, talk." They both participate actively in any conversation with me or VP.
Mommyhood has taught me something that I am very proud of - I can multitask and I am a supermom! In fact, I have even bought myself a christmas ornament that says SUPERMOM on it. I have also been called a supermom by my friends. I am proud of my ability to multitask and be a supermom, but I think the time has come to slow down - one more lesson learned from Mommyhood. My boys have taught me to slow down and enjoy the day.

I have learned that I am like a truffle... hard on the outside, soft in the inside! I can drive to the ER in a snow storm without my glasses, listen to IP read the street signs and try to keep SP awake to ensure he is okay simultaneously. I can be a rock till SP receives his treatment and breakdown in tears as soon as VP walks in the hospital room.

Though I am the disciplinarian in my family, I have learned to allow them to break rules at home. I don't want to receive an award for raising well disciplined kids at the cost of losing their childhood. During my new Mommy days, I always thought the way my kids behave will prove what kind of a Mommy I am.... which is very true. But just to prove that, I don't want to spend the time disciplining, yelling and giving instructions only. Everything is good in moderation. What others think about my parenting style is not my lookout. Everyone has an opinion and they can keep it to them self. All I care about is to provide a loving, nurturing and a happy environment for my boys to grow in and to build a strong bond with them. They will flourish and so will I as a proud Mommy.

Mommyhood has taught me a lot and I have a lot more to learn, but at present I know bringing our boys in this World was our choice and we are responsible for their lives and upbringing. A big responsibility that VP and I will fulfill extremely well with each others' love, support and co-operation.

Embellished Envelopes

2011-07-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

I found some plain envelopes made of fancy pearlized paper at JoAnn’s. They were on sale at 50 cents a pack so I thought of grabbing a few and embellishing them so that I have a more personalized and customized envelope next time I have to give money as a gift. I don’t like to use the decorative alternatives from India with the traditional designs and best/good wishes printed on them. I find the nicer ones expensive and the cheaper ones are way too cheap for my taste. So… off I go! I purchased some ribbon that was on sale and some ‘gems’ and other embellishments from JoAnn’s that were 50% off. Here are some of my creations...

Flip flop embellishments

became

These gems

were placed horizontally and vertically to make

We were recently invited to a wedding in Canada. I came to know that the bride's favorite color is purple. So I used the purple paper cut outs to design what follows

Piano Teacher - Birthday gift

2011-06-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

The message read:
Dear Mr. Mike:
Happy Birthday!
Thank you for helping us grow in music!
You ROCK!!
I glued the message on a popsicle stick and inserted the stick in a potted plant from my porch. It turned out very cute! Mr. Mike loved it.

Candygrams-- End of the year gifts for Teachers!

2011-06-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

Every year we give thank you gifts to teachers on the last day of school! This year we decided that the theme was CANDIES. We made candygrams for the class room teachers and candy cards for the support staff! My boys had a ball making these! They were very tempted to eat the candies while gluing them to the poster board. SP and I came up with the message after we had our stash. Finding the candies in Walgreens, Walmart, Target, etc was a little difficult. So I went to a gas station and I found everything there. I just picked ones that I could use in a sentence and then came home and thought it over. I really wanted SMARTIES instead of NERDS, but I couldn't find it at the four stores that I went to. So, my SMARTIES, IP and SP, decided to cover up the word NERDS with SMARTIES. I forgot to take a picture after the cover up.

Our message was:

Dear Mrs. W / Mrs B:

I SKORed big when I got you for my teacher.Being in your class was MOUNDS of fun! I ORBITed through out the MILKYWAY, but you are the best of all! Because of you I am a SMARTIE and not an AIRHEAD.You deserve 100 GRAND on PAYDAY for all the EXTRA fun and learning! You are a SWEETART (sweet heart). Please TAKE 5 minute break and relax your knee.
Thank you for the wonderful year.
I wrote the message lightly in pencil and the boys traced over it.

Here's our cute Candygram:

For the support staff, we wrote thank you cards and stuck a KITKAT on it.

The classroom teachers were very happy and surprised! IP and SP said that all the kids in their class were drooling over the candies. IP and SP were the happiest because they made a cool thank you gift for their teachers.

Our Precious Home -- The Earth!

2011-05-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.

The above is a Native American prayer which is more than 100% applicable to my generation.

We have become such a convenience oriented society that we are generating mounds and mounds of trash that fills the landfills and oceans. We have started behaving as if we were raised using convenience products like paper towels, ziploc bags, plastic bags, aluminum foil, individual snack packs, etc. We have just stopped thinking of alternatives! We have forgotten that there are cloth napkins, glass or stainless steel containers. I agree that there is something called hygiene, but reusable napkins and containers are hygienic enough. The only thing that does not disturb me much is "Kleenex" because it is a paper product which will easily disintegrate and not land in the land fill for 100 years. I advocate the use of Kleenex only if you are suffering from cold and runny nose. Not to wipe your wet hands.

It sometimes gets me worried because the corporations are making us a convenience oriented society. They want us to get hooked on to their products. But they don't think and we don't think if it is good for the planet or not in the longer run. Even when I go to Costco it disturbs me to see the trash cans full of small, plastic cups and spoons that they use for food trial. They should come up with another option.

Something that recently caught my attention was individually wrapped prunes! Common people.... can't we just pick one prune from a jar full? What is wrong is the prune is individually wrapped in plastic and all the plastic wrapped prunes are then bagged in plastic. That is a double whammy!!! The worst thing about this packaging is that the nutrition snap shot suggests a serving size of four prunes. Then why not pack them in fours? Gosh.. this is not rocket science!

Staff Appreciation Lunch

2011-05-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was Staff Appreciation week and I realized that on Friday, 05/20/11.... It completely slipped out of my mind that we do Staff Appreciation lunch during Staff Appreciation week even though I had signed up to send two lunch boxes for two staff members. Normally, in my right mind, I send a small gift every day. Something simple like a flower or a candy with a thank you note and we do a nice gift on Friday. Last year we had prepared a movie package. I hate myself for not taking pictures! I bought plastic popcorn containers and filled it with a microwaveable popcorn bag, some theater candies and two movie tickets for the teacher and their significant other. The year before last, I has sent a plant with a hand written note by IP that said, "Thank you for helping me grow."

But this year.... I don't know what was I thinking? :((

Well, coming back to the lunches.... The PTA needed 55 lunch boxes on 05/20/11. So, I had volunteered to send 2. Being a vegetarian, I thought a lunch from Panera Bread would be my best bet. I ordered the Bacon Turkey bravo on a tomato basil bread sandwich with apple, grape juice and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. The folks at Panera were very helpful. They designed the box beautifully with the lace doily.

My boys wrote a general thank you note to the teachers because we did not know which staff member would pick our box. I did not change the note at all. I wanted it to be an original, hand written note without Mommy edits. We also taped the menu on each box for obvious reasons.

Before delivering the lunches, VP and I were feeling very happy and proud about my Panera bread idea. But when I went to school.... boy oh boy!!!! some Parents had done awweessome jobs!! There were decorated baskets with food, reusable lunch bags from Whole Foods filled with freshly prepared items from Whole Foods. There were a couple lunches in sand buckets with a beach theme going on... the Mom had placed flip flops and a beach towel in the sand bucket along with the food. There were some homemade meals and some Starbucks packages. There were a few like me also.... Panera and Subway lunches. But hey... its the thought that counts and now I know better!

Goodwill Finds!!

2011-05-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

I walked into my closet today and was shocked at the overwhelming amount of clothes that I don't wear. They are either too big (not that I have lost any weight, I guess I just bought them larger)or faded. I thought I had gotten rid of all the unwanted clothes during spring cleaning, but I guess not!Oh now I remember... I had saved the larger clothes because I wanted to trying refashioning them into something smaller and more stylish. I have never attempted something so huge like refashioning because of a few unsuccessful attempts that were supposedly simple with a sewing machine.

I must be in a weird mood because now that I think about it, I just donated an Aeropostale sweatshirt and my SJSU's sweatshirt!! Why did I do that? I don't care about the Aeropostale sweatshirt, but the SJSU sweatshirt.... :(( I felt good every time I wore it. It would take me back to those days in sunny CA!!I had once worn it on the plane to India and a fellow passenger (an older American gentleman) stopped me and said,"Do you know where is SJSU? I live in Sunnyvale which is very close to SJSU." I remember I had proudly replied, "I am a student at SJSU Sir."

Well, coming back to the topic! When I went to donate my goods at Goodwill (GW), I thought of browsing the store, though it has a drive through drop off facility. The one fact I hate about walking into a GW store is the smell of freshly laundered clothes. I don't know if the donated clothes are washed prior to being brought on the floor, or they spray an air freshener with fresh laundry fragrance, but I can smell the detergent and fabric softener.

I love their book section though! I have been able to get some good reference books in the past for just $1.79 fixed rate for hard cover books.
I particularly thought today's trip was extremely successful because I managed to bag 9 out of 13 books of the Series of Unfortunate Events (SoUE) at $0.59. Of course, it is GW after all..... so the books are not grouped together or neatly stacked... you have to finger through each book individually. At first I just glimpsed through the book section and thought it wasn't a good day when I saw book #2 of SoUE. I was actually looking for The Magic Tree House books that SP loves to read and thought of holding on to book #2 of SoUE while I look for more Magic Tree House books.

I found only two Magic Tree House books, but I found 9 SoUE books. I was so happy!!!
When I got home, IP and SP were overjoyed on seeing the loot! We attacked the SoUE that same night and I found it extremely interesting. I finished the first book that night....I am on book 4 but now I am getting a little annoyed with Violet and Klaus Baudelaire for blurting out things in front of Count Olaf when they are supposedly extremely smart and well read kids; and Sunny on the other hand is extremely understanding for her age. I hope all toddlers were like that!

Overall, it was a good day at GW.... got rid of unnecessary things and got some necessary things!

Virgin Sangria

2011-05-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

The second drink in the above picture is featured in this post.

I love the name Sangria for a drink! It is a wine punch typical of Spain and Portugal. It normally consists of red wine, sliced fruit, some spices like cinnamon, small amount of brandy, triple sec or other spirits, orange juice and some sort of sweetener like agave nectar, honey or simple syrup. There are a lot of variations. One can vary the fruits, wines, etc. If white wine is used in place of red, it is called Sangria blanca (makes sense).

Ever since I started planning a surprise party for a dear friend, I was on a hunt for non alcoholic drinks for adults and children. I was tired of boring drinks like coke and his cousins, pepsi and her cousins and their extended families. I came across Mock Champagne which is amazingly refreshing! I wanted one more drink and I found this at a sweet pea chef! Lacey has awesome pictures on her website. Just looking at the pictures I was drooling all over. My picture above does not do any justice to the drink and is nothing compared to those of Lacey's. Please do visit Lacey for some great recipes.

There are certain things in a recipe that make you want to try it. One of them is the ingredients and their chemistry. Since I ~~hate~~ do not like grape juice, apple juice or orange juice, I don't think I would have given this recipe a shot had it not been for the pictures. I was visually talked into trying this recipe.

Well, enough said. If the links above do not work (I am a newbie blogger and I am still learning), here is the recipe:
(Once again, the credit goes completely to Lacey for this refreshing drink). I followed it to the T.

Virgin Sangria

3 cups grape juice
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 lemon, thinly sliced, with peel
1/2 lime, thinly sliced, with peel
1 medium orange, thinly sliced, with peel
1 small apple, cored, sliced into 8ths, with peel
1 small black plum, thinly sliced, with peel
2-3 cups sparkling mineral water or club soda, to taste

Directions

Combine the fruits and juices in a large pitcher. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, overnight preferably, to allow for flavors to combine. Prior to serving, add mineral water and stir together.

I had used 3 cups of club soda.

Like the Mock Champagne, this recipe was a huge hit with adults and children! The moment I utter the word Sangria, my kids get excited. They love to help me prepare it. Their favorite part is the measuring and tossing all the fruits that I cut. My favorite part is slicing the citrus fruits and just looking at my drink server filled with a dark red colored drink with fruits floating in it.

Mock Champagne

2011-05-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

The yellow drink in the above picture is the drink featured in this post. The red one is Sangria which will follow shortly and the clear one is the biggest thirst quencher - our dear old H2O.

I came across this recipe by accident. I was looking for a virgin mocktail with minimum ingredients. Since I am not a fan of drinks or juices, I wasn't too sure about the taste, but I had a feeling it wouldn't taste that bad. The gingerale was making me a little skeptical but the other ingredients sounded yummy! So, without giving it a second thought, I gave it a try and boy was it a hit or what?

The recipe is pretty simple! All you need is ~

1 (2 liter) bottles ginger ale, chilled
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice, chilled
1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle white grape juice, chilled

and all you have to do is mix all the ingredients right before serving. I combined the pineapple juice and white grape juice about two hours before serving and then added the ginger ale right before serving.

All the guests loved it. I had a lot of requests for the recipe. It was a big hit with the kids at the party also. My kids loooovvvee it!
Personally, I am not a fan of carbonated drinks. I enjoyed it after an hour when the carbonation in the ginger ale got to do it's thing and settle down.

It is great the way it is, however, some adults did add vodka to make it a grown up drink. One thing I would recommend is that give it a stir every now and then because the pineapple juice tends to settle down like you see in the picture. The lighter yellow on the bottom is pineapple juice.

Other than that, it is pretty simple and delectable!!

Serve it chilled and enjoy!

Recipe courtsey : www.allrecipes.com

Tangled!

2011-04-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

It was such a relaxing day today! The weather could make anyone depressed instantly, but not at the Patel household. It was a wild morning with laughing, games and fun! There was a lot of teasing going on and the poor victim was none other than IP!

He was so convinced by his friends to watch the movie "TANGLED" that he wanted to watch it on the family movie night which was last night. After dinner and clean up we all cuddled up in our blankets and ordered the movie from 'on-demand'. The whole thing started on a wrong note because the movie was $4.99 on 'on-demand'. Had we borrowed it from the red box, it would have cost us a buck! The thrifty me was unhappy already. But we can't let the excitement die... so I continued with a happy face. The movie is made for younger girls. There is a little bit of romance, little bit of action, a little of comedy, and a lot of singing. At one point I thought we were watching a musical.

It was a lot of fun watching SP. That little dude was rolling his eyes every 15 minutes or so!! Even IP was sort of bored, but didn't want to confess.

Well, we took the whole experience very lightly, but we utilized it as a teaching moment. VP and I talked to both our boys and explained how important it is to not fall for peer pressure and to make an educated decision on anything in life. SP lectured IP on how his choice was a waste of time, money and movie night. He still rolls his eyes at the thought of "Tangled".

It is true that as concerned parents, how much ever we try to teach our kids... sometimes experience IS the best teacher. IP learned has learned his lesson.... I hope he remembers it!

Shrinky Dinks!!

2011-03-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know why my camera says 01/01/04 when I have changed the date to 03/30/11. Oh well!...who cares!

We have had this packet of Shrinky Dinks forever!!

Now that the boys are off from school due to spring break, we decided to give this thing a try. It was a fun little project and even the boys were excited! I didn't even know something like this exists so I had to do a little bit of reading on blogland! It did not help a lot so I called customer service and the lady on the other end spoke to me like I was a moron. I guess she must have figured out that I am craft challenged. :)) All I wanted to know was should I color on the rough side or the smooth side and instead of providing some sort of guidance, she said,'its your choice.'

Well, the first thing I could figure out from the instructions was that the image can be printed, drawn or traced on the plastic sheet. Since we decided to make a name tag/ luggage tag for IP's ice hockey bag I drew the following on a piece of paper.

IP placed a shrinky dink sheet on the paper (smooth side up) and traced over it. It is a good idea to tape the sheet to the paper. He used a black sharpie to trace and colored on the rough side using pencil colors.

Now SP cannot be left out so he decided to do all the steps on his own. He decided to make a monster so he drew, traced and colored it.

We had small piece leftover... so the frugal side of mine used it to make an initial charm.

We placed all our creations on a brown bag lined cookie sheet. As per the instructions, they were placed colored side up.

The most important step is to round the corners and punch a hole BEFORE baking. They do really harden and thicken so it is impossible to do anything to it once baked.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F and place the tray in the oven for 1 to 3 minutes. I opened the oven door less than a minute into the process and this is what I saw. I panicked and pulled the tray out immediately!!!

I should not have done that! Though my piece had shrunk, the boys' had just started shrinking. I tried to uncurl them with two forks, and in doing so, I cracked IP's ice hockey bag tag. :(( But the ever forgiving IP did not mind it.

I did not know what to do next so I just threw them back in the oven thinking they will be more pliable if they heat up a little.

Much to my relief, they did flatten out after a minute and once they cooled down, we were all happy with our pieces!!

Now that I know more, I will definitely do it again! Shrinky Dinks rock!!

Overflowing Productivity!

2011-02-19T01:43:00.000-08:00

Oh how happy I am to finally be motivated to go to the gym! It was such a productive day today... I was in the gym for 1.5 hours ... working out obviously!

I hit the treadmill, the stairmaster, the elliptical and did some leg extensions. I actually wanted to go to the gym. I like this transformation in me... where I was always looking for one excuse or another to not work out, now I am looking for every chance to sneak some in. Not that I get too many chances, but hey something is better than nothing!

I somehow don't learn from my mistakes! Though I had a BAD experience on the first day at the gym, I still had breakfast before working out. I was fine on the treadmill, but the stairmaster made me nauseous. I took it easy for sometime and then resumed my session.

Even IP and SP had a very productive day! They got to watch TV which is a treat that they look forward to as they are not allowed any electronics during the week. They helped me clean around a little. SP got promoted to the next level of ice skating. He got his badge and certificate. IP's coach was very happy with his ice hockey skills.

They returned from ice skating and hockey at around 10:45 am and by 12:00 pm they were showered and ready to kick off the long weekend. This is considered increased productivity because they both think that you don't shower on weekends. They even practiced their piano with outstanding improvement. BTW, SP is going to play "All Star" and IP is going to play "Hakuna Matata" for their recital. Their piano teacher thinks that they have taken a bigger bite than they can chew, but is confident that they will be able to do it.

IP was having a hard time with fractions. A brief math session with him cleared all his doubts and SP got an intro to fractions. He was so happy when he out that two 1/8s make one quarter. After math they both did 30 minutes of reading. IP seems to enjoy Series of Unfortunate Events. He is on book 3 and so far he likes it. SP on the other hand loves Magic Tree House series. After reading they did something that they haven't done in the last 3 months - they played outside and rode their bikes. The temperature was 35 degrees Fahrenheit but with proper gear it was warm enough to play outside.

Right before bedtime, VP said it was a great day at the store. The sales were higher than usual for this time of the year!!

Wouldn't you call this a productive day? I surely would!! It started on a good note and ended on a good note too.

Good night!

Snow day activity

2011-02-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

I gave these to IP and SP and told them to draw whatever they could think of.

This is what they came up with.... impressive!!

If you can't go outside, bring the snow inside!!

2011-02-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

That's exactly what we did! Check it out!!

It was a lot of fun! It did create a mess that I had to clean, but the clean up was quick! I was glad the kids did something fun than being glued in front of the TV.

Unproductive but fun!!

2011-01-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

I bought some new toys. I hope I play with them enough to make it worth!

Check out my new toy:

But wait....Oh no.... I have started slacking off! I can't do this.... I can't afford to do this. I did not work out AT ALL today!

My day started very late.... I woke up at 9:45 am. I don't remember when was the last time I slept past 8:00 am and 9:45 am is a treat. Both VP and I needed the rest.

After breakfast, we headed off to get some groceries. It was a wrong choice. All the stores were packed, parking lots were packed. People on the road were very frustrated and driving rough.
Each store we went to, we ended up spending more than 30 minutes. It was a time consuming trip, but so worth it! VP and I spent an afternoon by ourselves after aaaaaaaaaaaages!

Unbelievable

2011-01-29T17:55:00.001-08:00

I am glad I have stuck to my workout plan so far. I am definitely seeing an improvement in my stamina. I was able to jog 1.302 miles today..... this is unbelievable!!! I am so happy! Even after 25 jumping jacks I am not running out of breath. My thigh muscles do get tired, but I am not tempted to give up. I want to continue.
I have not been able to hit the gym since Tuesday, but I try to squeeze some work out in my day with Wii Fit Plus. I had my reservations, but I am liking it now. I wouldn't say it is the best, but something is better than nothing. Out of all the activities, I like strength training, aerobics and yoga the best. I am going to start Wii Fitness Coach tomorrow and see which one is better.

Day 3

2011-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Still sore..... Ouch!!

In the AM while the tea was brewing, I did 20 jumping jacks and 25 side kicks... I don't know what is it called, but I am going to call it that from now on. You kick in the air and try to touch your foot with the opposite hand.

Well, I thought I will be able to squeeze in more work out, but wasn't able to. After work, I had to go to the airport to drop off a visitor. Her flight was at 7:11 pm so we had to leave home by 4:00pm. The drive to the airport was not that bad, but the trip back home was slooooowwwww. The traffic was bumper to bumper half the way. I shouldn't complain..... this gave me a chance to catch up on the phone with NG... o I miss her sooooo much! She has moved to Seattle from the midwest. I want her back. Though we stayed 4 hours away from each other we only met twice. But I felt secure knowing that she is just 4 hours away... in other words a phone call away :))))

Back to my training..... after I got home, we got ready and went to school for the open house. It was nice to see the classrooms, the gym, the art room, the music room (fourth time with IP being in 3rd grade) SP was super excited to show off his classroom. I was amused seeing his animated expressions. IP did a cute job also. They were both very happy and this open house was special because it was the first time that we all went together as a family. Now that we have help at the store VP was able to make it.

By the time we got home, it was bedtime for the kids. Tucked them in and kissed them good night.
My Parents were waiting for us for a delicious dinner of Indian chaat..... khasta kachori, Pani puri, sev puri. It was delicious.... the advantage of having Mom at home!!! If I were by myself I am sure dinner would have been something quick and instant :(

Dinner and clean up got done by 9:30 pm and I was too tired (read lazy) to work out.

So, all in all not a productive day at all as far as training is concerned!

Day 2

2011-01-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

I am sore as can be... I can't walk, squat or even use the washroom! But I am not going to give up!

Even with my sore thighs I managed to squeeze in:
50 partial squats,
~945 steps on Wii Fit plus
and a little bit of yoga.

I know I can, I know I can, I know I can......

Day 1 of Training

2011-01-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

Week of 01/24/11 - 01/29/11

140 lbs :((

Today's workout:
1.66 miles on the treadmill at 3.4 mph.
50 partial squats
80 jumping jacks
10 walking lunges
10 something ..... I don't know what is it called.... the trainer in the cardio boot camp made us get on all four like the mountain pose of yoga and walk.

VP is confident that he has lost the registration fee and has no hopes that I will workout. As of now even I cannot say it confidently that I will prove him wrong! I am just taking each day as it comes. The boot camp was brutal. I quit at break time because the mountain pose walk made me nauseous. I walked across the hallway to the gym and sat on the lateral press to relax. I felt very weak and dizzy. I sat on the floor of the gym, but it didn't help. I lied down on the floor which was very dirty and rough. I was thinking "Darn it.. I'll have to go home and shampoo." I thought I will pass out and tried to call VP. But then I realized that I had key card so he won't be able to enter the gym. That would give him a panic attack.

I called the three ladies that were working out for help. They sat next to me and gave me water. They were God sent. I was praying to God to make me better soon.... I felt very helpless. The ladies sat with me for sometime till I felt better. God bless them!!

I know I am going to be sore tomorrow.... we'll see if I am motivated or discouraged!

In It To End It

2011-01-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

Okay I think I am on a roll here! I have taken charge and I guess in one of those hyper moments I did the unimaginable.

I registered for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago on 06/04/11 and 06/05/11.

I wanted to start training for a marathon but I have zero faith in myself when it comes to running so I didn't even look into it. I heard about the Walk on the radio yesterday. Then when I went for IP's Ice Hockey lessons, my friend, SN, asked if I wanted to sign up for it. Today at work, LS tells me she saw a flier in the mail for the walk and asked me if I wanted to sign up for it. Now, during the 12+ years in the US, why did this have to happen only now? Why wasn't I approached before? I guess this must be a sign that the time is right.

I clearly told the host at the introductory meeting that neither do I know any breast cancer patients/survivors nor am I one. Touch wood!! So I don't have a personal motivation or passion for the walk. I am just doing it so that I have a goal to reach and I have a training plan in place. The benefit is that they assign you a walk coordinator who works with you throughout. If I want to back off I can do so as late as 2 weeks before the walk. So the most I will loose is the registration fee.

Now comes the problem! I have to raise $1,800.00. How in the World can I do that? I don't even have the courage to ask people who owe me money..... how will I ask for charity? God please help me.

I will give it a shot... I am not going to back off. I remember the story of The Engine that could. I should chant i think i can, i think i can, i think i can.... I will be able to do it!

I will do it for myself and all the ladies fighting breast cancer and/or domestic violence!

Where am I on the priority list?

2011-01-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Nowhere is the answer!!!

Work, cook, clean, take care of kids, take them to activities, make sure they eat healthy nutritious meals, ensure that they know their multiplication and addition facts, their homework is done, piano practice is done, make sure VP has bhakhri for breakfast and much more..... in an attempt to accomplish all of this and much more in a day I am lost not even pushed to the back burner! I don't think I even have a chance to grab a bite leave aside a healthy one! On my calendars from 2006 - 2010, there is not a single appointment for myself.... not even for a manicure or facial! Thanks VP for putting up with my face and nails!

So this year... 2011, I have decided to make it my year! I have noticed that I am gaining weight day in and day out. Two hours into the day and I don't have any energy or stamina. I run out of breath when I brisk walk from the parking lot to my office which is a short less than a minute walk. I have never experienced this before. I am not doing anything different, in fact my work load at home has increased, I am spending more time on my feet than before, but the rate at which I am putting on the pounds is not even funny anymore! I didn't gain this fast even during my pregnancies.

I guess I need to stop whining and take control now! Not doing anything different is the point here. I know 35 is young, but it's not 25 (dang it!) So I have decided I AM GOING TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! Enough procrastination!!!!!!!!!

I have finally scheduled a long time overdue doc's appointment for a physical check up. I haven't had one in approximately 5 years. Shame on me! Just keeping my fingers crossed that all my reports are normal so that I don't have to listen to any doc lectures or don't have to see the astonished face or rolling eyes of the nurse.

I have always wanted to start the 30 min shred program, but again PROCRASTINATOR #1 that I am.... never really started it. Can't say confidently when, but soon I will start it.

I hate exercising!!!!!! One more reason and the REAL reason why I haven't started the shred program yet. But I have to start somewhere. I was going to start with Wii fit plus, made a promise to IP about 2 weeks ago that we will when he gets back from school, but didn't keep it. The amount of promises that I am breaking with that little kid I think he is not going to trust me anymore.

On NG's recommendation, I have even purchased My Fitness Coach for the Wii since summer of 2010. How many times have I used it? I have to shamefully say once! :(( So I think until I start the Shred I should start Wii Fit Plus / My Fitness Coach. Then I won't crib about the weather or find a lame excuse for not exercising.

Don't know my exercise plan yet, but will put one in place ASAP.

I have started drinking 2 glasses of warm water soon after I brush in the morning. The only drawback is I have to use the washroom every 20 minutes. I will make a conscious effort to drink 8 glasses everyday.

I hope I am able to stick to all this and add to it instead of ..... :(

New Year's wish!!

2011-01-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Received this in the mail from two of my best well wishers--

Is Naye Varsh ke avasar par aapko mile Krishna Ki Ukti, Hanuman Ki Shakti, Meerabai Ki Bhakti

RamchandraJI Ka Gyan, Karan Ka Daan

Einstein Ki Buddhi, Nobel Prize Ki Siddhi

GandhiJI Ki Ahimsa, Bharat Ki Parampara, Devi Ki Maryada

Nizaam Ki Sampada Michael Jordan Ki Salary, Abdul Kalam Ki Vocabulary

Bhagat Singh Ka Desh-prem, Laila-Majnu Ka Amar-prem,

Apple Ke Share, Rupiyo Ke Dher

Tata Ke Senses, Ambani Ke Licenses

Birla Ka Bangla, Daler Ka Bhangra

Amitabh Ki Style, Madhuri Ki Smile

Shahrukh Ki Personality, Aishwarya Ki Popularity

Worldtour Ka Ticket, Tendulkar Ka Wicket

Administrator Ke Passwords, Jokes Ke Forwards

Mercedez Ki Car, Diamond Ka Haar aur Dher Sara Pyar

Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year

2011 is here!

2011-01-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, but 2011 is here!! It feels like 2010 just flew by as quick as a blink. 2010 in our household was a huge roller coaster ride. It was fun, adventurous, rough, exciting, emotional.... a well balanced good and bad! I was definitely looking forward to 2011.

2010 was definitely good for my blog. I was a teeny weeny bit more active than 2009.

Here's wishing all my visitors a very safe, healthy, prosperous, happy and above all a green 2011!

Remember to always Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Recycled Magazine Wreath

2010-10-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

There are several versions of these also, so I had to try my hand on making a book wreath!! It sounded very easy and I was interested in making it because it is a green and upcycled project. I used a foam wreath form from the dollar store, hot glue gun, modgepodge and pages from Real Simple magazine.

I first modge podged long strips of paper on the wreath form. Then, I rolled and folded the paper in half and stuck it on the wreath form with hot glue gun. That's it. It sounds simple, but it was a little time consuming. I don't know if I will be making it again, but my kids enjoyed helping me. I was not all that impressed by the final product.... but you never know until you try.

William Sonoma Knock off Hurricanes

2010-10-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know... I know these are all over blogland, but I had to try my hand on them. They sounded very easy to make and they really are!

All that is required is:
1. Vases from the dollar store.
2. Taper candle holders from the dollar store.
3. E6000 glue.

Here's how you proceed:
Remove the label from the vases and candle holders.
Apply glue around the edge of the candle holder and gently invert it in the center of the bottom of the vases.
Put some weight on the candle holders and allow them to dry for a few hours.
That's it! They are ready to be filled with candles, rocks, beads, decorative balls, christmas ornaments.... let your imagination run wild!!

Total cost is $2.00 per hurricane.

Achievement Wall

2010-07-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Look at what I came up with to store and display my kids' achievements. Now everything is on one wall. While I was working on the wall, my kids were at the pool beating the scorching heat. When they came back, they were so happy to see this. It makes me proud of my kids. It also encourages my kids a lot!!
Now I don't feel bad because all the ribbons earned from swim meets are not boxed up or all the Tae Kwon Do belts are not lying on the floor or hanging in the closet.
They all have a home now!

Blessings in disguise!

2010-07-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ever since we have moved to the Chicagoland area from California, I have been missing the folks in California a lot. I feel that I am all alone over here since VP (my hubby) is at the store all day. I have even felt like I am living the life of a single Mom juggling work, school, home work, activities, etc. I have always grumbled about how I am all alone, people don't care about me or are not concerned.... poor VP he has quietly listened to everything that I have thrown at him.

But now that I look back and think about the people I have met in the last four long years, I feel so happy knowing that I was and am surrounded by people who really care for me and are my true well wishers!

I have made amazing friends over here! We have been friends for a short amount of time but it feels like we have been friends forever. Anchal, Pallavi and Daniela are the three amazing ladies whom I have trusted with my kids. They have always been there for me no matter what. Their spouses have been equally helpful. Even VP feels a sense of security knowing that my friends and their families are around while he is at the store working late.

Not only friends, even my customers who were complete strangers to us are the nicest people on Earth. We have one customer who is a farmer and grows tomatoes and cabbage. In the summer we get to enjoy a lot of his harvest completely free of charge!! We reach a point where I have to tell him that we do not need anymore tomatoes, green cabbage or red cabbage. Another gentleman has filled two shelves of our storage room with cleaning supplies! All completely free of charge again! He said, "I know the economy is bad and you guys have two kids...business must have slowed down. This is how I can help you guys. At least you don't have to buy cleaning supplies for a year!" I am talking about Oxiclean products which easily retail for $3.50 - $5.00 each.

Yesterday, I was talking to Don, another customer, about lunch options available in Yorkville. He said, "You know there are not too many choices in Yorkville and the ones available are all unhealthy. I am heading home and making some steak, broccoli and salad. If you want I can drop some off for you." Too bad that I am vegetarian!!!!

A few days ago I met a nice, sweet Polish lady named Jennifer who came to the store with her 14 month old son, Nikhil. I was surprised to hear that she had given her son an Indian name! Over the next few days, she came in everyday and we would have a little chit chat. Today, she came in as soon as I opened the store. Again, we had our little chit chat... I played a little with Nikhil and I came to know that Jennifer's husband hails from the same region that I come from in India. She asked me my name and immediately told her son, "Nikhil, this is Hetal aunty." I felt really nice hearing that because non Indians usually don't have their kids call you aunty right a way. We exchanged phone numbers and I gave her some of the cleaning supplies. I continued with my daily routine at the store and at about 1:00 PM I receive a bouquet from Jennifer! I was shocked, emotional, happy, surprised, overwhelmed... you name it and I felt all the emotions simultaneously. I cried reading her card.... it said 'You deserve it.. enjoy! From your Gujarati sister Jennifer.' I called to thank her and again she said, "There are nice people in the World, but not as nice as you." Can you believe it? When I am surrounded by such nice people, why should I worry about the few who don't care?
Most importantly, I am also thankful for Nimisha... not that she is a stranger or a 'new' friend... in fact she is my best friend from elementary school. She managed to take one weekend out of her hectic schedule to come see me when SP was undergoing all the medical issues. She understood without me saying it that I needed her. We had tried to meet a lot of times, but were never able to accommodate it in our schedules, but in my time of need she was there for me MBBS (Mia Biwi Baccho Samet)!

There are a lot of people in my family and VP's family who truly care for us and I am grateful for them!! But this is just a recap of the last four years where I have met strangers who have touched our lives for ever... who have brought us joy and have come in our lives like a ray of hope. They are truly blessings in disguise... now it is up to me... whether I want to feel blessed by being surrounded by such lovely people or whether I want to keep sulking about the few that are too busy to care!

Teacher Appreciation Gift

2010-07-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

This year my kids made cute cork boards for their teachers as an appreciation gift.
I found these cork boards at Michael's Craft Store for $2.49 on clearance. IP and SP glued crayons on the border to give it a framed look. (see the third and fourth picture). They both poked their teacher's initials with the jeweled push pins and wrote a thank you note. IP wanted to use a big word instead of 'from' so he tried sincerely.... misspelled it! Good try though. Btw, SP does not like to copy IP. Since IP had both initials of his teacher, SP decided to drop the last name of his teacher and use the rest of the pins to make a line. Because IP made a frame with two crayons, he made it with one. He likes to be different!
Their teacher's were very happy because it was not another mug or lotion or candle. It was something that they could actually use in the classroom.

Silly Bands are not so silly any more!!

2010-07-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Those things called silly bands or zany bands that are a wild craze among kids are driving me crazy. It is a rubber band shaped like an animal, dress, dessert, bugs, cars, shoes,dragon, dinosaurs and now USA... that packet includes the map of USA, a dollar sign, the liberty bell, the eagle... Pretty soon I think they will come up with President Obama's face. IP is pictured with his initial collection of 70 rubberbands. Now he has way more than that because they trade them with friends. Some of them are highly rare and precious. I even see a lot of adults wearing those.

Be the change that you wish to see in the World!!

2010-07-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

I truly believe in, 'be the change that you wish to see in the World'. In fact we even had a saying in India that 'social work begins at home.' After I became the chair person of the Environmental Committee at my kids' school, we introduced Waste Free Wednesday in school which means kids are supposed to bring a waste free lunch to school on Wednesdays. A lunch room audit left me completely shocked!!!!!!!! There was enormous amount of food being wasted. Other than food, the biggest waste I thought was ziploc bags. My Gosh... have we become one disposable society or what?? Now that I think about it we are so dependent on convenience that ziploc bags have become a part of our grocery budget. Luckily for me I have stuck to lowering my ziploc bag usage and I am still on the box of sandwich size ziploc bags that my friend PM gave me in March 2009 because she was moving to India. I barely have any use for it. To add to this I came across snacktaxis. They are the best things that could happen to someone trying to go 'green'. They are so convenient to carry sandwiches or snacks. The best part is they are washable. The owner, Erin is also a very nice person. She gladly sent me samples of the snack taxis to display at the funfair in school. A lot of parents liked those.
Secondly, I also found the Go Green Lunch Box. I love these, but they are slightly pricey. The coolest thing about these is that the raised lips on the lid become the lid for each compartment. This prevents food mix up during transportation. The lid of the carry bag has a dry erase board so parents can write little notes to kids. The owner, Kim was also kind enough to send me a sample.
Thirdly, I found these glass straws online. I know there are many bamboo, stainless steel and glass options available, but this website is the cheapest. At first it did feel like I am in a chemistry lab sipping my drink from a pipette, but then I got used to it. Moreover, I don't use straws that much. It was mainly for my kids and they love it! Every time they use it, I remind them that each of them saved one plastic straw from reaching the landfill.
We also encouraged kids to bring a reusable napkins. Here's a sample of what I did with my kids. They turned out really cute!
It is a nice rainy day activity and the napkin becomes special. I displayed these at the fun fair to give some ideas to parents. A lot of parents inquired whether they were for sale.
Yes, it is a little effort on the Parents' part to pack a waste free lunch, but we have to leave a better world for our kids!

Father's Day Gift

2010-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

A little late again, but better late than never!!

I did this cute little project with my kids for Father's Day!
I got a blank canvas from Walmart and the kids colored it with green paint with their fingers. After it dried, we did their hand prints in red. IP8 wrote, "No matter how old we get, we will always reach out for you." I think it turned out very cute and regret for not doing it every year. It would look nice on the wall and I would also be able to see my kids' growth by year. It is a good idea for all those Parents whose kiddos are still small.

Love you Costco!

2010-07-22T12:13:00.001-07:00

Dear Costco,

This is to inform you that I love you for coming up with the best deals!!

The bestest thing I have ever bought at Costco is the Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream Maker in red. It looks super cute on my counter top and the ice cream quality is out of this world. It felt like we ate real ice cream after ages. I have so far made Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Apricot and Mango ice cream and they all turned out great!!! We were not huge on ice cream before,but now we are addicted. Why is your deal the best? Well, it is available for approximately $50.00 online and retail stores like Macy's. At Costco, I paid $39.99. Apart from the price, your package comes with two freezer bowls unlike others that come with one. That is a savings of $28.00 - $30.00 right there. I have even got my friends hooked up to this. Up until they bought their own ice cream makers, I had become the Ice Cream Lady. We all live in the same complex and every time their kids see me, they ask, "what ice cream are we eating today?"

The reusable aluminum bottles that usually retail for $20.00+ each everywhere are 3 for $15.00 at Costco. They are so cool (according to an 8 year old)and they come with a neoprene sleeve. They are great for taking to work, school, soccer games, pool, anywhere and everywhere. Thanks for this fab deal? Why fab? Because I have seen the exact same set retailing from $27.00 - $89.00 on ebay. These bottles have helped me eliminate disposable bottles from my home. Good for the earth and good for my pocket!

You have these cool reusable, cold drink cups. I had searched high and low for these and was ecstatic when I saw them at Costco. Ever since I bought these, they have been used every single day. A pack of three BPA free cups with 6 reusable BPA free straws cost $18.99 at Costco. It is an absolutely great deal! You ask why? Well, here I go....a Mom at my kids' swim lessons told me that she bought one individual cup for $15.00 at Starbucks. I loved the look on her face when I told her what you offered us. Hubby takes a smoothie to work every day. IP loves his fresh watermelon juice in the cup.

Thank you for offering such great products at such reasonable rates! You are the best! I look forward to more deals like these.

Sincerely,
Me

My Latest Creation

2010-03-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

My latest creation... I know its not extraordinary for a lot of people, but for me.... I am super PROUD of it! My kids were super excited about it!! IP had it for breakfast and lunch. This made me very happy because he is a very, very picky eater. They called it little tepees!

The picture above is that of rice, toor dal, urad dal, moong dal, moong (whole), kidney beans, black eyed beans and northern beans crepes. I used half white rice and half brown rice. I also added ginger, curry leaves, green chillies, salt, asafoetida (to prevent tooting) during the grinding process. Simple and delicious with coconut and cilantro chutney.

The process is very simple also. No overnight soaking, no fermenting.
All you do is soak the dals and beans together for 2 hours and then add rice and soak it for another 2 hours. Then grind and use it or store it in the refrigerator.

I used 1:1 proportion of rice to dal bean mixture. I know not many people visit my blog for recipes, but if in case the picture tempts you to try it, I hope you understand my recipe. If not leave a comment and I can post a proper recipe.

Where is my baby?

2009-11-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

This morning was so wonderful!! IP woke up at 6:15 am when my alarm went off. I was still in bed when he decided to get ready for school. He was ready by 7:45 am and accompanied me to Sam's Club to buy some miscellaneous items for the store. It was a crisp November morning so he just put on a light jacket. As soon as I parked the car he opened the door and got down. While I was grabbing my keys and purse, he opened my door. What a gentleman he is!!!! (His Dad needs to learn something from him.)
As soon as we entered Sam's Club, they had free breakfast pastry and coffee for patrons. I picked one up for him and we started walking towards the pop aisle. He held on to the pastry, as he thought it was wrong to start eating without paying for it. He still did not want to eat it, in spite of being told that it is free -'because it is not good to eat in the store.'
After I was done, we started heading out and he walked right next to me.. straight and tall!!!
Since his jacket had the logo on the inner side of the collar at the back, he had the collar up and the front ears slightly folded! Gosh... where is my little baby? When did he grow up so much? I never knew IP, who until yesterday wore whatever I picked for him, was so fashion conscious.... Today I felt like I was walking with a big boy... not my baby anymore. There was no 'I want to sit in the cart', 'I want to walk', 'Can I push the cart?'..... I did not have to remind him to hurry up or walk faster.
The entire trip was so calm and peaceful except for the toy aisle. The big boy who accompanied me to Sam's Club became my baby again!! If it wasn't for the Bakugans.....as much as I hate them, I love them for showing me that my baby is still there within the big boy who will soon be eight next week!!!
I LOVE YOU IP!!! You totally rock!!!

Great thinking!!

2009-11-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Upon given a choice whether SP5 should buy a $25.00 tub of legos or $29.00 one, he picked the former. His logic was very simple, " I picked the cheaper one so that we can save the money and buy a house in California."

I really have a lot to learn from my kids!

2009-08-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

All summer long IP7 and his two other friends must have prayed at least once a day that they are in Mr. B's second grade class coz he is very funny and COOL. All of us moms were also a bit nervous because each of us wished that their wish came true. I even secretly prayed before heading to school on the day the class lists were posted. At school, the first thing IP7 did was to scroll down Mr. B's class list. His name was in Mr. B's class. Unfortuantely, his friends got a different teacher.I was super excited whenI found out that he made it to Mr. B's class. For a moment IP7 was excited, but soon the excitement started fading away. I kept bugging him, but he wouldn't tell me the real reason. Then, after about half an hour of my cajoling and nagging, he said," Mom, I am happy that my dream came true, but I am also sad because my friends' didn't."
I was speechless for a few seconds!
My gosh..... my seven year old had said such a big thing that I as his parent had easily overlooked. I was so self centered! All I thought about was my son's dream and it coming true. I was a little upset that his friends couldn't make it, but I got over it quicker than a blink. I guess it was a minor thing for me as an adult, but it was such a huge thing for those 3 seven year olds. I guess its these little things that matter to them the most.
On the other hand, IP7's other friend who went to check the list after we did, was super excited for IP7 for making it in Mr. B's class though he did not! He borrowed his mom's cell phone and called us from school and said, "Guess what IP7, your dream has come true!"
These boys care for each other so much that they are happy in the other's achievements and sad in the other's loss w/o worrying about themselves.
This is truly 'The Art of Living'!
I love you IP7!!

Time to get organized!

2009-08-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Warning: A very old post from last year that I completely forgot about.:(

It is back to school time. This year I have pledged to be on top of things 'coz I will have a kindergartener and a 2nd grader! The amount of loose papers coming home is unimaginable. The first thing I needed to do was to organize their work zone. I had this huge empty wall in the boys' room that I planned to utilize. I found these magnetic strips at Ikea for $0.79 a piece including the magnets. That was a bargain!I got three of them so that I could have a strip for each kid and one for the magnetic containers that hold pushpins and paperclips. I found the magnetic containers at Target. I also braided a long piece of yarn that became the rope to hang their art work. I found these pails at Target also. I filled them up with all their writing and coloring supplies so that everything has a home.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

How I love all my special days....... because for my kids a special day starts with breakfast in bed! So, here we go.... my mother's day (05/10/09) was supposed to start with breakfast in bed, but because of an early morning phone call from my cousin, I woke up before the bunch! Well, there I sat on the sofa waiting for my tea, watching Good Morning America!!! 30 minutes later the heads started peeping one by one. There was a lot of running back and forth between my bedroom and the kids' bedroom. I could hear a few whispers and even snarls. After a lot a of commotion, hubby walks out with the gift while my kids hand me the cards and hugs. The gift holder hands the gift over to the kids and they do the honors. It was beautiful....... they got me a digital photo frame and for once hubby had preplanned something. He had loaded all the pictures on the frame so as soon as he plugged it in, I could see my beautiful kids on there!!! I felt like there was a tsunami of maternal juices in my body. Everything maternal... feelings, instincts, emotions, etc was oozing out. As my kids are growing up I am gradually experiencing some of the feelings that the Indian television moms experience like tears rolling down when a child says or does something.

I experienced it recently at SP5's Mother's day event at school on last Wednesday. All the kids were lined up in his classroom and all the moms were at at the most 2 feet distance from them. The teachers had taught them beautiful songs that SP5 sang looking at me straight into my eyes. I could not control my emotions... I had a wide smile on my face and my eyes welled up for the first time at something so simple. It was not the words of the song or the event.. I think it was just how SP5 was looking straight into my eyes and singing as if he truly means each and every word that he sang. ( I think he did!)

The songs were something like this:

I love you MOMMY, my dearest MOMMY

You make me happy when I am sad

I want to tell you

I really love you

When I am with you I am so glad!

The second song was:

Thank you MOM for all your hugs, all your hugs, all your hugs

It feels good to me!

Thank you MOM for all your kisses, all your kisses, all your kisses

It feels good to me!

Thank you MOM for all you love, all your love, all your love

It feels good to me!

IP7 on the other hand is a whole different game. He wants to please me all the time! The first time he did something that made my eyes well up was when was 2.5 years old. He brought a leaf from his morning walk with my MIL for me. The first song he sang for me was:

My MOM is special, my MOM is special

Do you see, do you see?

I love when she loves me

Lucky me, lucky me!

(Where is thumbkin tune)

I really like his idea of Mother's day. All he wants me to do on that day is RELAX!! He actually let me do it. Hubby took care of the kids all day and I went shopping! Unfortunately, I did not find any good deals so I returned empty handed :((

After a long time I truly felt like it was a special day that I did not want to end! At night after tucking my kids in bed, I thought, ' Thank you Lord for my beautiful kids who shower their unconditional love on me!'

Thank you, IP7 and SP5!

2009-04-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the compliments I have received from my kids that make me wanna live life all over again:
1. Mom, you look beautiful today.
2. Mom, you look like a flower today.
3. Mom, you look like a princess today.
4. Mom, I like your T-shirt. (This is when SP5 was 3 years old and was seeing me in an Indian outfit after a year or so.)
5. Mom, you are the best (est) mom in the world.
6. Mom, I brought this flower for you from the park. It reminded me of you.
7. Mom, this color looks very nice on you.
8. Mom, you read that story so nicely to me.
9. Mom, thank you for feeding me. The food was really tasty. (though IP7 almost gagged on it)
10. Mom, I love you and I never want to live away from you.

Here are some compliments that they have received from me:
1. Good job, I am proud of you!
2. Very good, I am really proud of you!
3. Good job!
4. Good job!
5. Very good job!
6. Okay, okay, good job!
7. Excellent job!
8. Good job!
9. Good job!
10. Good job!

I have a lot to learn from my kids, 7 and 5 years old!

Boundless Emotions

2009-04-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

On April 8th 2009, my sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in India. That's when I was in tears -tears of joy and regret! Joy because he was MY nephew. I felt an instant bond with him right away. Regret because of being so far away from my family, not being able to be with them in the moments of joy. I could not even make it to my SIL's baby shower.

Well, but what is done is done. I do not want to hang on to the past. I want to look forward to the future and the future is Puneet (PM0)! That's what we have named my little nephew. When he was born I felt the joy in my heart that cannot be expressed. I just felt as if I got a new baby (w/o the pregnancy and labor). I wanted to hold him, squeeze him tightly and love him endlessly! As a matter of fact even my kids showed an instant connection with him. It's really amazing!! I think he revived my maternal instincts. In fact, if I look back, at least in the past 3 years, I have always loved my kids but my parenting style was turning into following instructions of the parenting manual (the invisible one that exists) and checking off on the tasks accomplished like read to kids, brush before bed, feed healthy foods, etc. I had lost the idea of enjoying my kids and the time I get with them.

Coming back to PM0,every time I hear him cry on the phone, I get the same feelings I did when my kids cried. I gave massages to my kids, but when it comes to PM0, I don't like the massage lady. Neither do I agree with my mom's beliefs of massaging and that too with besan! Why do you have to do that to the poor infant who is at your mercy? I do not believe something is good for my nephew if it causes him discomfort.

On an ending note, one more reason I love him is because PM0 resembles me. :)))

2009

2009-02-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

On New Year's day there are tons of resolutions made and by Valentine's day they are broken!! I have been a victim of RMB syndrome for so long that I have stopped making any resolutions. O btw, RMB syndrome is not a disease... it is Resolution Make and Break Syndrome... that I just discovered while I was typing this.

During 2009 I intend to:

be more active on my blog
be more involved with my kids (why do I always feel that I don't do enough? Am I a normal Mom?)
follow the 3 R's religiously
set realistic expectations from my kids
eat healthy and lose weight (its my intention not my resolution)
find cheap activities for my kids
be more creative at home and implement 'Count your blessings not your sorrows and Think positive and move on' in my life.

I want to teach the last one to my kids also without making it sound like a lecture and boring. Gosh..... the joys of mommyhood are endless!!

That reminds me of a cute incident that SP4 told me happened at school...

SP4: Mom, you know President Lincoln was a very nice President.
Me: O yeah! What did he do?
SP4: He said slavery is not good. Do you know what are slaves?
Me: No, can you tell me please?
SP4: Slaves are when people sell people for things. President Lincoln ran in the elections, but he lost.
Me: Then, what happened?
SP4: Then, he ran and ran and ran and then he won!!!

More next time... I hope by the next post I have increased my creativity. I want to take scrap booking lessons... but don't know when..

My Culinary Adventure!

2008-12-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

To a certain extent, I do have an adventurous palate. Due to scarcity of interesting recipes, boredom of eating everyday food and diminishing drive for adventure, I have decided that this winter break, I will try different foods everyday. No more Dal, rice, roti, subzi, chole, rajma, etc.

Recycle

2008-11-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.ourearth.org/items.htm This website has information on recycling a lot of stuff from computers to cellphones to clothes to crayons .... even plastic bags!!
There is even a link to stop receiving the phone book -(http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/stop-yellow-pages/) I signed up for it!! The phone books that I received for the last two years are still wrapped in the plastic bag, sitting somewhere in my storage closet outside my home - that's how important it is to me right now. Every time I need to find a phone number for a local business, I just go online. Then, where's the need for the hard copy when a soft copy of everything is so easily available and accessible. I think we should all sign up for this.

IP7's green birthday!!

2008-10-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

To begin with, I am so proud of my soon to be seven year old!! He has decided to have a green birthday and not only that, he has also announced that he will pass on the gifts from his friends this year. Instead, he will tell them to bring in a donation for local charities.(aaawwww :))) He does not want decorations either because according to him, after the party it will be thrown away and this will just create unneccessary garbage!

We have contacted Little Friends- an organization that runs 14 different programs including a preschool for kids with special needs. We have gotten their wishlist which we are going to attach to the invitations. We have also contacted a national charity called Loaves and Fishes and gotten their wish list also. We are doing this just so that his friends and their parents have a choice!

My friend, NG33, from Troy, Michigan was the first to know about IP7's plan. She gave a very positive response and told him, "I am so proud of you!" This really gave him a lot of encouragement. However, not everyone has been so supportive:((((
IP7 was at the dentist's and the dental hygienist was the first person to bring his spirits down. When she came to know about my son's plan for his birthday, she said, "Oh! I am so sorry... you will not have toys to play now. You will have to give it away to charity." I don't know if she even understood what my son's plans were! I managed to keep a smile on my face without letting my anger show up, but if I had it my way, I would have slapped straight in the face followed by a tight blow in the gut. That's how furious I was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tried to calm myself down thinking that the dentist will have more brains than her and will know what to say to a 7 year old kid for such good thoughts. But I was wrong again! The dentist said, "Well, what can I say... it's your decision." Now, I was ready to blow up. I thought the whole place was crazy... money minded and insensitive. I pitied them for pitying my son's noble cause. I hope they learn a good lesson from a 7 year old kid who has a bigger heart and giving spirit than them!

My son's mind was slightly shaken up. I tried my best to make him see the brighter side, but he was not able to. I think he thought it's going to be a lose lose situation for him. Frustrated, confused and sad, we come home to a good dinner of homemade tacos and burritobowl. Our spirits were still low when my all time saviour PM30 came to the rescue!!! I told her about what had happened at the dentist's. So, she talked with my son and gave him and me a super boost! Now we are back on track. Phew!!!

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce!

2008-10-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

It is very well said by Gandhiji that "You must be the change that you wish to see in the world."

I think I have become more serious about going green after reading this. I just can't sit on my sofa cribbing about global warming and do nothing! I have to get up and take the necessary steps. So what if I take baby steps. At least I am starting somewhere!!!

Have you ever looked at the packaging materials in a toy? It took us good 25 minutes and 3 tools- a pair of scissors, pliers and a screw driver- to open a toy that I bought for my kids. Is all this packaging material really needed? I have started looking at the packaging material in any item that I purchase. I go for the one with the least amount of it.

This takes me back to buying in bulk! Can't we just buy snacks in bulk and then come home and create individual servings? Do we really need 100 calorie snack packs? Why create extra litter when we can do it on our own in yes, you guessed in right.... reusable containers!! This even makes it easier to just grab a container and walk out of the door in the morning. Not only snacks, we can do so for vegetables and fruits also.

My efforts towards the 3 Rs:
1. Bought pretzels in bulk and made individual servings in reusable containers for my kids to snack on later on.

2. Bought strawberries in bulk. Washed and stored some in the fridge and froze the rest. Now I won't have to buy frozen strawberries when they are not in season.

3. For at least 5 minutes in a day I talk to my kids about the 3 Rs. I guess my younger one went overboard with it. I offer jaggery to Lord Ganesha everyday and my son loves it. He saw it lying on the counter and ate it. According to him, it was his contribution towards going green- he ate it (reused according to him) otherwise it would be wasted!

4. On an unplanned trip to the grocery store, I was caught without my reusable bags. I had no option, but to use a plastic bag because I had to buy mint leaves and cilantro. So, I put both in one bag and told the cashier. Then, I did not get it rebagged. This way I used just one bag and saved one bag from coming in my home.

5. I bought a used office desk from someone who did not need it any more. It is a very sturdy desk and I just paid $50.00 for it.

Going Green!

2008-09-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

No seriously... I am trying to go green!!

Global warming is really worrying me. What kind of an earth are we going to leave for our children and the generations to follow?

I have started carrying my own shopping bags to the grocery store. As much as possible I try to avoid the use of plastic bags. If I forget to take my reusable bag, I walk out of Walmart with things overflowing .... but I still try to make it to the van without a plastic bag. This also helps me buy less (read: spend less money) because I stick to the necessities only (on my shopping list) that I will be able to carry to the van in my hands.

I have reduced my Ziploc bag usage by 95%. Whenever the need arises, I just think of what would I have done if I were in India(I am talking about the India in which I grew up, not the present India)? Believe it or not... you find a solution.... containers! That reminds me I try to stick to glass containers only because of the harmful side effects of plastic!
The keyword over here is TRY! Life does not come to a standstill if you don't use Ziploc bags.

I even pack my kids' lunch in reusable containers. This includes the juice also. Yeah..... the food manufacturers are coming up with convenient, individual packets for juice but what happens at the cafeteria at school? Does a child finish it all? Chances are he or she finishes it half and then is out of time or wants to go and play. So, what happens to the juice box?
You guessed it right - in the trash it goes! Now, though the juice carton has a 'recycle' (Triangle) sign on it, did it get recycled? Probably not because the child did not toss it in the recycling bin. Moreover, it had some juice left in it and anything with food in/on it cannot be recycled!! There is one more contribution to the landfill!! Instead, if the juice was packed in a reusable juice cup, all that the child would have to do was screw on the cap, return it to the lunch bag and take it home and finish it while having snack or dinner! This saves a juice carton from going to the landfill and also waste of food (juice) is reduced! Thereby, enabling us to save more money. It is retail industry's rule of thumb... anything in bulk or bigger sizes is cheaper than individually wrapped/boxed items. Then, why not save money by buying a bigger juice carton and filling the juice cup from home? Why pay someone for the convenience when you can create the convenience on your own?

In my quest to do so, I even thought of buying the 'Laptop Lunch Box'..... but it is way too pricey for a first grader! If he loses a container... there goes my $10.00 bill to buy replacements. Instead I designed my own Laptop Lunchbox at home! Luckily, I found a lunch bag with a removable tray at Meijer's. This became the body of the laptop that I had to fill in with individual containers! Now if my son forgets or loses a container it doesn't bother me at all.
I gave myself a pat on the back for this!

Something that does not exist

2008-09-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

'Something that does not exist' in the previous post will give my biotechnologist friend something to think about. Wait till an Agricultural Genetic Engineer (does something like this exist?) reads this.... we will have an option at Michael'ss or Jewel or Dominicks - Green Cilantro 5 for $1... Red Cilantro 2 for $1!!
I say why not? If they can come up with Plouts, brown apple (cross of apples and pears) then why not red cilantro?

Why 'red cilantro'?

2008-09-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Well... no particular reason!! I came up with lots of names, but they were all taken. Sitting at DH's business I even used names of wines... but believe it or not they were all taken! Guess too many wine lovers. So I thought of coming up with something crazy.... something that did not exist. Hence, Red Cilantro!!!