Help! I need another pair of hands.

Aji & the Little People

Today I have new found respect for all Ayahs, Jhappas, Nannies and nursemaids.  Till May 2015 I was the happy grandmother of Wow Dinga, a cheery 2 year old boy. He and I spent hours in each other’s company till his mother came home every evening and picked him up from work. 

Two months later my hands were full! With two nursing mothers and their babies “recuperating” at home, life was literally going down the boob. Wow Dinga was confused with the changes in his life ( he had also just begun school in June), Little Miss Papaya and Baby Roo were just beginning to open their eyes and see the world. They were also confused with what was happening. 

Every now and then, I’d hear the words “why is the baby crying? ” ( I wish I knew or why don’t you ask baby? were the answers waiting to…

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Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Teaching My Kids to Survive in ‘Merica

Isn’t it a pity that some children have to grow up differently? Unfortunately the truth is that prejudice, bias and bigotry are in bred and we have to learn to live safely as there is no one out there looking out for us.

Pregnancy is no joke

I’m reproducing here a blog post that shows pregnancy is no laughing matter. 
At the end of the day though, children are adorable and even though these jokes are replete with sarcasm, we’d rather laugh with kids than live without them.

Keep smiling! 

Bring Happiness Into Kids World

Keep your child grounded in reality and not lost in the virtual world

Fruit pebbles

 
This morning when I went to the Baniya I found this packet screaming out ” Buy me ! Buy me!” Being a sucker for new products  I succumbed to it’s calls and I must say I’m not disappointed. 
With summer holidays around the corner, this is just the right munchie to have close at hand. The pebble size delivers just the right amount of sugar that can keep a little mouth busy for a while. The neat packing makes it easy to carry around while traveling and the package size ( only 50g ) makes it good enough for a single journey to somewhere. 

Made by Mapro, this attractive resealable pouch is good value for money at Rs.45 a pouch. So if you want a little something to keep a little someone quiet – this is worth trying. 

Caveat : I wouldn’t give it to any child below three years though as there is a risk of choking. 

5 crazy ways of raising a little reader

Reading is a dying skill and interest especially in printed form. But readings essential to learning and no amount of on line reading can replace the thrill of opening a new book, savouring the smell of paper and ink before settling down to taking each word one page at a time. However, with most babies now being brought up on iPads , iPhones and lap tops , we caregivers must make special effort to make our little ones read a real book.
Anamika Agnihotri shows us how she reared areader

The Bespectacled Mother

I have a young reader at home who has started reading short and simple stories independently. He never wants to miss his reading time which is twice a day, once at bedtime at night and another after waking up in the morning, barring one exception and that is when he is spending time with his grandparents.

There has been quite a many times when he is tired at night with drooping eyes and I ask him to stop reading after a page or

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Today I’m 9 months old

 And with three grandchildren I should know!  

Today Ms Papaya turns 9 months old which means that she’s spent as much time outside the womb as she was inside. And what a journey it has been! 

In the first month she learnt how to suckle and how to burp and how to make her presence known. And we learnt how to hold her, how to bathe her and how to care for someone so small.

In the second month she got more used to us and we got more used to her. She also got her first round of immunisations and learnt what it was to feel the first prick of pain. 

In the third month her neck became stronger and she could hold her head firmly while we carried her around with more confidence. She also had her ears pierced and her first party where she was introduced to the world. 

In the fourth month she started babbling and the world began taking notice of what she had to say. 

I have been privileged to see Ms Papaya change from helpless infant to exploring baby. Today she is sitting quite confidently, eating solid food and throwing things around. 

She is trying to find her feet and desperately wants to crawl. She knows what she likes and screams her dislike. She purses her lips when she’s full and actually frowns when she is upset . 

I’m glad I’m around to share her first year. 

A rhyme a day to keep my blues at bay: 9 ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your little angels and teach them the essence of true love

A wonderful post on how to teach your little ones the value of sharing love.

 

via A rhyme a day to keep my blues at bay: 9 ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your little angels and teach them the essence of true love.

When do children learn to compete?

  
I spent a lovely morning today attending the Sports Day of Wow Dinga’s school.

The tiny quadrangle had buntings fluttering and all the little ones were cheerfully waving to their parents and grandparents who were trooping in to watch their stars perform.  

 It was an interesting sports day starting with a parade of little tots marching past the chief guest . Then each class had drill displays with Pom Poms and hoops and ribbons. The older kids dazzled with somersaults and cart wheels  with the confidence and aplomb of circus performers. 

  
The races were most ingenious – a duck walk with a balloon clutched between the legs, a bunny race , a lemon and spoon race and some races that involved an activity like sorting out vegetables, stacking a toy , threading beads and drawing a self portrait before running to the finish line. 

   
What amazed me was the complete lack of competition . Each child was more interested in doing the activity right rather than winning the race. They string the beads carefully, stacked the toy correctly and drew pictures till they were truly satisfied with the result. 

    
All the children were below 4 and some of them were frankly quite dazed by the whole experience. But those who were performers at heart enjoyed themselves and had a great time playing to the gallery of enthusiastic fans. They were totally unmindful of winning and losing – all that they wanted was to have a good time. 

This made me wonder how and when they  become competitive?