Contest Giveaway : The most Joyous part of Parenting--- Your story... Your Confession

Giving birth to a baby is the biggest joy of life. There is nothing more satisfying than holding a baby with tiny hands and fingers. Those little bundles of joy make us forget all the problems in the world.


We are creating an opportunity for mothers who take care of their babies as well as their family to pen down their experiences and share with fellow mommies.


I look forward to listen to your stories and your moments of parenting. We all share a common bond of parenting. I intend to create a platform for mothers to share their joy and sorrow and in addition to that earn Rewards too.



I invite entries to be written on "The most Joyous part of Parenting". You can write about your experiences and any particular moment with the baby which you will cherish forever.

Entry should be of minimum 400 words and  need to be sent to us latest by 15 Aug 2016.


Ofcourse, winners will be receiving gift coupons for their efforts and all the posts will be posted on .our blogger website and Facebook Page.

This is a great opportunity for all wonderful mothers to express their feelings and share their own unique stories.

Dont forget to send your post to confessionsbymommy@gmail.com latest by 15th Aug 2016.

2 winners will be announced on 20 Aug 2016.

Dont  forget to :

1) Write your own unique story

2) Minimum word limit: 400 words

3) Check your story for any grammatical errors

4) If possible add your pictures.

Happy writing !!!

Men vs. Women

Or rather we should say Mars vs. Venus. A lot has been said. A lot of jokes are spreading laughter and lots of rumors are making rounds. One thing is common and that is the sensitive topic and that is on Women.

Recently, Mrs. funny bones lashed out by writing a wonderful blog which targeted the particular category of people in society whose views are quite misogynist. Check out her article here.

Mrs Funny Bones

To face such like minded people, we don’t need to look out there in the world. Mrs. Funny bones, very informatively, pointed out all those people in power and part of the ruling group of our country, whose opinions and actions very much prove their belief of misogyny.

Even though Kalpana Chawla reached Moon, Indira Gandhi took control of the largest democracy in the world, Mary Kom brought bronze to India from Olympics, Sania Nehwal making India proud, Malala Yusufzai from Pakistan being the youngest Nobel prize winner at the age of 17 and many many women out there breaking all the orthodox notions of keeping a women behind a veil.

These women have proved themselves and showed the world what they are capable of. There are the ones who are balancing out what ever life throws at them and proving themselves with their outstanding achievements.  But what they get in return ---- Criticism, preconceived opinion and demotivation and body shaming. Everything worked according to the comfort zone of society. Mrs. Funny bones mentioned Serena Williams who was also a victim of body shaming and that too on tennis ground. I may ask now whether people really came to see her game or to judge her body. She hasn’t proved herself and won accolades because of her fit body but because of her outstanding skills of playing tennis.

I remember an incident while in school; one of the girl quit playing basketball because her father didn’t want her to wear short skirts or shorts and display her legs. Now I wonder how beautiful boy’s legs seem and shorts must be banned for boys keeping in mind the dreadful view of dense hair on their legs. Isn’t that a torture to the audience who are getting a view of sweaty armpits out of their vests when their arms are up scoring a point to make their team win?  Am I body shaming? Oops !!

No, we will never do that. It’s only the women who end up being traumatized by this so called men dominated society. Right from the time we attain puberty, we are being taught not to talk about it loudly in front of father or brother or any male member of the family. It is considered as a taboo and not accepted positively in the society though this biological aspect of women’s body is actually the sole reason of growing population. I wonder if doctors also behaved the same way and we had different hospitals especially with male and female doctors respectively.

How much liberal our society may become, they will keep imposing certain rules on women, no matter how much talented they are.  In the end, I would ask people who are reading this to discuss openly with your kids that there is no difference in being a boy and a girl. If a boy can reach the moon, a girl is also not left behind.

She can achieve anything and everything and will continue to do so.

Reached the big Milestone 30

"What is this fuss all about? Whats so great about being 30? Its not about the numbers but how do you feel inside your heart."

This is something I used to brag about to myself. ofcourse, I was in my early 20's then and was so full of life. yes, I am full of life now too but things were definitely different then. I was a free bird learning to fly, free to fall and rise again. I was free to explore anything anytime of the day. I was a dreamer trying to see my dreams into the reality in coming years. I had just gotten out of the college and was trying to adapt in the world to sustain my life.

 I was as chirpy as I could, I was as carefree which I am not now. I had a bunch of few friends who were centre of my world and we made funny plans to settle down all together in one house and live together forever. Little did we know that reality is too far away and has gone for holiday for some years but will surely come back on our face.

And It hit me rather sweet way. I got married at 25 and had a baby at 26. Pretty fast!!!  And my life took a turn upside down. My energy levels started to come down. I was not as enthusiastic as before. I had no aspirations left for myself. I started living for a tiny life which has come in this world and needed to be nurtured.

Best four !!

But in the process I lost myself and nobody cared to shook me. As the baby grew up, I started to reconnect with myself. I started to explore options which could satisfy my career craves (word invented by me) and yes I was able to explore some opportunities which I could do from my home itself. As time passed by, I realised my true calling. I started to do things to enjoy rather than making an obligation from myself. I rediscovered my interest in reading and writing and wiped the dust off from my books and diaries.

Now when I look into the mirror, I see a confident woman with a charm on her face and she is not scared to take decisions for herself. Yes, her skin is not as clear as it used to be and she has got some dark patches on her rather flawless face but there are face creams available in the market to her rescue.

But  does that really matter now? Reaching this big milestone has taught me an important lesson of my life. And that is not to worry about the appearance too much (Mind me- I didnt say Never ;-) ) It is the heart of the person which makes him worth. Now I spend more time to improve my knowledge by reading and connecting with like minded people rather than spending hours in front of the mirror.
Now I enjoy solitude. I am not scared of going out alone nor do I find it funny spending time all alone.

In short, after reaching this milestone, I see myself as a strong woman who is ready to face any obstacle and is not scared to face the world all alone.

Parenting Mistakes I am Never Going to Repeat

I always believed that a first time mother doesn’t need to be taught on how to raise a new born. Of Course, there are apprehensions at first but I can never doubt a mother's capability of raising a child. 

Only a mother has a sixth sense of knowing when a baby is hungry or when he wants to play or rather go to sleep. My baby is part of me and I felt restless if he was not with me even for 5 minutes.

Now he is 4.5 years old and when I look back at journey of raising him from a baby to a toddler to a preschooler now, I feel overwhelmed. But I also look at those mistakes which I wish I could revert. But it’s better to learn from the mistakes rather than regretting them.

1) One thing which I am definitely going to try with my second (If I change my mind *wink*), I will withdraw the habit of using a bottle to drink milk. One major disadvantage was that he loved to suck milk out of his bottle that he always preferred it instead of fruits and vegetables when he was hungry. Breakfast, lunch, Dinner- whatever it is, he never ate anything to feed his hungry stomach but his last resort was milk bottle- always.

He left using bottle for milk after almost 4 years and I could see his interest in food to satisfy his hunger pangs. How much I regret for not taking the effort earlier!!

2) Another mistake was not just neglecting, but I totally forgot about the oral care aspect of a baby when his first tooth emerged.  And now when he is 4.5years old and has decayed his front teeth, I learnt the importance of oral care in babies and toddlers. I realized this when Dentist explained the effects of prolonged sucking of milk bottle and how it can decay the toddler's teeth if we don’t clean or wipe the teeth after every bottle. 

As per the dentist, we should start wiping and cleaning the first tooth of the baby to avoid any decay due to deposit of milk and sugar.

3) When I started solid with my baby, I was always scared and tried my best to give him smoothest of texture while preparing his food. As per his paed, once a baby is 6 months old and has started to munch on carrot sticks, we should not have a thumbs rule on what to feed him and what not to. I always decided on my own terms small tummy will be able to digest something or not. How I wish, I could have been more experimental and exposed hi to vast variety of food. 

4) Last thing which I am still trying to inculcate in my son is a schedule of sleep and wakeup time. I wish I could realize the importance of setting a schedule as early as possible. However, it’s never too late. I am sure one day I will make him stick to his bed time schedule. 

A trip without Husband and Kiddo

I happened to go on a 2 day trip to Mcleodganj and this trip was without the kiddo accompanying me. He stayed back at his nani's place along with his Mausi and Mama. Initially we (Me and his dad) both were quite apprehensive about the idea but we managed to come over our fear. And here I was in Mcleodganj without my husband and the kiddo.

Trust me, it was one of the best trips I had in recent past only because I could be all myself and did whatever I wanted to. There was no one to take care of and I was as carefree as I could be. Initially I was skeptical about my feelings but gradually took control over my feelings when I went through this unforgettable trip with people I never expected to go along with.

Mausaji, Papa and me (L to R)

Though this was not a planned vacation but it was a trip to a beautiful hill station to visit a Tibetan Ayurvedic doctor. This was a short 2 day trip worth memorable for a life time. My group was the most unusual one - we 4 from the same family and everyone without their partner. And we were amazed and thrilled after realizing that. 

Papa, Sagar and ofcourse Me :)

The best part of the trip was I didn’t have to worry about the comfort of a kid. I didn’t have to worry about a glass of milk every morning and evening. There was no fuss of food in breakfast, lunch or dinner. I didn’t have to take care of kid's demand of their particular food (Yes, they can ask for chapatti and dal in the mountains which they never have at home). I could try every kind of bizarre or rather local food at an absurd corner cafe or street side food without having to worry about the quality of outside food. I could experiment with any kind of food being all alone.

Yummiest breakfast

The major attraction of all the cafe and hotels there was availability of a local mini library. You could just go to the cafe, order a ginger lemon honey tea, and sit back and relax reading your favorite book and a view of deodar covering the mountains. Being along with the kiddo, I could not have enjoyed this luxury and same with hubby who has opposite interests to mine when it comes to reading books. 

Love Books

I could roam around in the market being carefree without having to run after the kiddo who can be extra naughty in the market. I didn’t have to worry about listening to the demands of everything those small eyes see. It hardly matters why they want but main reason they want something is because they like to see it. 

I could just relax my mind without having to worry about my lil kiddo having a good and comfortable time. When I go to for vacations with him, all I have in my mind is whether kiddo is hungry, if he is tired or sleepy, or to make it worse when he wants to roam around when I am too tired.  And the hit point is when kiddo wants to go back home and it is still 2 days to go for vacations to end. 

I could go for a trek or walk over steep hills enjoying the walk. On the other hand, along with the kid, I and dear hubby would have been taking turns while carrying the kiddo on our shoulders to ease stress on their little feet. And who in this world enjoys this kind of trek over the mountains. If you happen to come across someone like this, do let me know. It will make me feel better and I might consider taking the kiddo on my next solo vacation. OOpS !!!

60 --- Really a number of retirement

As I grew, I knew that at the age of 60, people retire from their work or job. During morning assembly in school, we clapped for teachers who were retiring and saw them recieving bouquets of flowers and happily giving a speech. (Though we never cared for a word they said, it was always a pain in ass to stand under the scorching heat of sun).  As time passed by, I learnt that we do some savings to live our post retirement life without any tension.

As people retire, most of them already have their grandchildren and they dream of spending life playing those little kids. they try to match their energy levels but stop running after a shorter while holding their aching knees. This phase of life is truely relaxing in every sense. One gets to see the ripened fruit which they have sown during one's youth.

Influencer

I met a retired English teacher during a 10 day's long workshop.

She is a smart and elegant woman who was attending this workshop. When I talked to her, my outlook of retirement was totally changed. She never had expected the conventional pot retirement life. When I got a chance to chat with her, I got to know that she has enrolled herself for a counselling programme through a long distance course and along with that she was here to teach spoken English to the underpriviledged people. She just could not sit idle at home. Her idea of life was to continously learn and contribute towards the society.

I was forced to contemplate my thoughts after talking to her. After that, everyday when I saw her in the morning during that workshop, I could feel a positive mindset in her spirit. I went through a picture of retired people taking a walk in the park. Till now I had this kind of image of retired people in my mind ---- relaxng, eating and sleeping at home, going for a stroll in the park along with a bunch of retired men and laughing over silly matters or discussing and having heated debates over politics.
But their learning curve has just stopped.

I learnt the true meaning of the phrase- "Learning is a continous process" only ecause of this lady. She taught me that age is never a matter of concern but the main point is how we go on in the life.

As they say - Life goes on, but its upto you where you take it.

First Day of volunteering

As I entered the narrow and busy lanes of Sangam Vihar, I was scared. I was disappointed. Those lanes were very scary. There were shabby people sitting on the pavement, Thela valas standing here and there and staring with their round and brown eyes. They had blank expression and were staring fearlessly straight into our eyes.

It was a dreadful walk towards our NGO and last stretch which we crossed was a small by lane covered with garbage and mosquitoes and flies showing a scene to your vision.

With a heavy breath and hands covering our mouth and nose, we finally reached our destination. it was a worn out building with patches of paint left on the walls describing a modern art. Our NGO was in the basement of this building and we came across a black wrought iron gate and as we tried to push it open, we realized that it was locked. Hands of my watch striked exactly at 9 and we were surprised not to find anyone there. The moment I was dialing supervisor's number, We saw a lady who is the coordinator of this NGO, walking towards us. She opened the lock with a guilty smile as if she has been caught stealing something.

Finally the moment arrived and we entered our classroom and were greeted by two girls in their shy voice. Though they were hesitant while talking to us but their face reflected a determination to learn to speak English and achieve something in life. As we were interacting with them, more students started to come into the classroom and finally we had a group of 8 learners ready to embark their journey of learning to speak English.

Shenaz, who is my buddy for this project, and I started the session with full enthusiasm and were able to break the silence. eventually learners started  to overcome their shyness and started to respond in English and started to interact as well. They were eager to form sentences in English and we helped them to convey their thoughts in English which actually boosted their confidence.

We spent around 2 hours with them and during those 2 hours, we forgot the struggle we faced in the morning to reach this place. At the end of the session, our sweetest reward was smile on th face of our learners and determination in their heart to be self dependent in their lives.

Is the life different or our outlook towards it ??

. Earlier I was the one was available to my kid 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. I use to get a lot of criticism saying that he will not be able to open up. He will remain an introvert throughout his life. He used to be called as mumma's chipku.

It was my fault as well. I raised him keeping him with me always. I never went out with my friends alone. Every time I went to meet my girlfriends, he accompanied me. With time, I started to feel wrapped in rope and not free. That was the first time, I enrolled myself in a 2 hour chocolate making workshop. It was sunday and I had convinced his dad to take care of him. Trust me, convincing dad was the tough thing. He was quite apprehensive staying at home alone with a 6 month old baby.

And then the trend continued. Once, when baby was more than an year old, a rafting trip was organized by hubby's office colleagues. I was super excited for this trip. The extent of my excitement was so much that I agreed to send the baby with his grandparents to their hometown. And off he went. That was the night when my husband returned from office and found me sobbing loudly inside my blanket. And he could not control me. Whole day I had spent on bed doing nothing. The day looked so long and empty to me. I had nothing to do when baby was not around. I felt a part of me missing from myself which actually made me go mad.

Now, the next day instead of going to Rishikesh, I was boarding a flight to my Inlaws hometown to go to my baby. Even today, when I think of that incident, I quietly laugh on my self and feel funny about it.

Now the kiddo is 4 years old and he has spent a part of his summer vacations at grandparent's house all alone. And this time, I was very much at peace and enjoyed the solace. I enjoyed the quiet time available to me and I literally went into dormant state rejuvenating myself.

I even went for a vacation without my kiddo and though I was a little apprehensive about the idea of going without him, I thoroughly enjoyed the time and at the same time, Kiddo was having funtime at Nani's place.

Inshort, I realized, its all about being secure and placing yourself in situations which seem difficult or impossible to you but at the end you will be surprised to see how content everyone and everything is.

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Cheers to Mom's....... ;-)

Journey from Sahm to a working MOM

I was a full time MOM since last 5 years. If I say I loved being at home with my baby, I would be Lying. Though I had no worries and I was concentrating on my baby and home, still there was an empty corner inside my heart. I felt something missing inside me. At times I would vent out my frustration on my husband. Its all because I was not raised to be a housewife.

When I got my first job which included night shifts, my parents never objected to it. They always guided me to be self dependent but always trusted my decisions related to life. They taught me never to depend on anyone and live an independent life.

Though I was happy to be with my baby, but with a void in my heart. And when I got this opportunity to work as a Communication Trainer, I knew inside my heart that this is the one job I have been waiting for ever since.  All the circumstances seemed to fit in with each other. My kid has started to go to school and we were more comfortable leaving him at the day care.

First few days were not so hectic, thanks to my parents in law who offered to stay with us for few days so that I could make this transition smoothly. I did not have to worry about my kid as I started to go to office.

First few days were quite apprehensive. Though, I thoroughly enjoyed the change brought in my life. I felt more confident and a person whose contributions are valued. I was introduced to new people, I felt responsible for tasks assigned to me and was an asset for the company, and for which I feel so proud.

Now, Its been almost a month I am going to office, I see so many changes inside me. I feel proud when I hear my child saying that my Mom goes to office.  The biggest change I have seen in myself is that I am not a lazy person any more. I get up early in the morning and First thing I do after waking up is take a shower and that recharges me immediately. I have become more organized and I manage my time quite efficiently now. I am more patient and feel more responsible.

Personally I feel, Every person should have a contribution to the society. When I stopped working and became a housewife, even then I was responsible for my husband and my child but I didnt enjoy doing household chores. I have seen many mums doing household chores with same enthusiasm as I would work in my office. So its the personal choice but at last I would like to sum up by saying that women's inputs should matter and they should contribute towards society in any form and not just be responsible for their family well being.

Wider perspective in our Life

When we look around ourselves, we see people with happy faces. When we are roaming around in malls and market, we see couples holding hands and walking, a group of friends laughing loudly and having a good time and some families spending time with each other. many a times we think of them as so lucky in life with so much happiness and they enjoying and living their life to the fullest. 
                                                

That was the moment after which I am still getting goosebumps on my skin. We were a group of 6 members and were given a task to counsel each other. We all started by sharing the most emotional moment where we were stucked and were clueless on which direction to choose. Firstly, I was clueless about the incident which I wanted to share and then as one girl started to share her antidotes, she became tooo emotional and tears came in her eyes. And trust me, she was the most fun loving girl of our group. As she went on about her story, I went through first impression I had of her. I was envious of her on how she is living life on her own terms and doing what she loves the most. But as she started to tell us how she struggled in life made me think how everyone has that emotional dent in their heart. 

As my turn came to share my story, I was already in emotional shock after hearing one story, that I started to narrate the most difficult time of my life. As I started, I had no clue what I am going to say, But my heart started to pour out all the emotions all by itself. And I realised that yes, this was the most traumatic moment of my life but I never shared it with anyone or rather categorised it.

And then everyone started pouring out their emotions and shared their most personal story and all of us were just kept our ears on and listened without judging each other.

                                                      

Sometimes when we are stuck in a situation or when we have to take a difficult decision, all friends and relatives volunteer to give advise to us. But nobody just listens to us. The hour of need is to just listen to the the person who is going through a bad phase and just let him or her vent out her emotions. It removes the heavy baggage from the heart and the person is able to take a better decision.

After this activity, I realized one thing that all the happy faces doesnt mean happy hearts for sure. Any person whom we meet with a smile or a person about whom we think that probably he has got the perfect life, is not true at all. Every person on his earth has got his own problems. When we feel that its only me who has got all the problems on the earth, should rather talk to other people and listen to them or rather visit an orphanage or similar kind of place.

Today was quite an emotional day wherin we all bonded more as a group and that was only because we did vent out our most vulnerable feelings and others just listened to us without judging us on anything.

What being alone means to a Mom

When I wanted to take a break, it meant that I want to stay alone. No cries of my baby, No requests to get a glass of water from my hubby... No distractions at all at my home. Earlier, everyone thought that this is a wierd idea and not a feasible one. No body wanted me to live alone. Even my parents suggested to visit them for those days when my husband along with our son was going outstation to visit his parents. But I denied it all and chose to stay at home all alone exploring myself.

Below are some reasons why I chose to stay alone and how staying alone improved my outlook towards life:

1) No Dependency : This was the biggest joy of living alone. First day I was day dreaming of my son's cries asking for something or the other. And then I realised there is no one at home and no one is going to call out mommy to even get a bottle of water. At time, Moms are being taken for granted and everyone at home is so dependent on her that she hardly takes rest and is always on her toes. Being alone made me realize how peaceful life can be.

2) Indulge in my hobbies : I could write without any disturbance and distraction. That was the biggest achievement for me. At the same time, I was amazed to realize that there is no one to disturb me again and again and I can do something of my choice without any interruption in between.

3) Indulge in food : Another remarkable thing which surprised me was that I had forgotten how to enjoy food. I just realised my favourite food and instead of spending time in the kitchen, I ordered food from my favourite restaurant and enjoyed it.

4) Focus on work : I was attending a daily 8 hour training session and when i used to come back home, I was all exhausted but I could rest without any external forces acting upon me and I was again charged up after taking a short nap. I didn't have to prepare dinner for anyone and ate what I liked. Sometimes I even had some sandwich and tea for dinner which was all OK for me.

5) Recharge myself : Yes, This is so true. I invited my best friend and she came over to me place for the weekend and I had most chilled out weekend ever. I relaxed and pampered myself, spent some time just doing nothing and had hearty talk with my friend.

6) Last but not the least, I became more compassionate with my husband and Son. I wanted to have some Me quality time and when I got that, I was equally concerned about the well being of my husband and son. I cherish their presence in my life even more now.

Volunteering - Changed the Outlook towards LIFE

As I entered the training room, I saw people across all age groups. I was little apprehensive but a lot excited to meet new people. I greeted my trainer and she asked me to take a seat. As I sat I looked around. I saw a group of youngsters chatting and laughing with each other. There was a quiet lady sitting on my left who looked like in her mid thirties. There wast another lady with white hair and wearing a crisp starched cotton saaree and later I got to know that she is a retired English teacher and currently pursuing a long distance course on counselling.  There was another girl who was in her mid twenties who had just quit her job as head of marketing and now she started to write a book and was learning spanish..

I just realised that this is not going to be a regular training course. But these 8 days of training are going to change my outlook towards the life. And today when I am writing this, its already been 4 days of training. Now everyone is more comfortable with each other and everyone is so amazed with each other. The best part of this training programme is that nobody is here because of good salary or a good job position. But because every one wants to do this job by  heart and everyone wants to contribute to the society. All the people right here are from different professions and have different outlook towards life maybe, but one thing unites them all and that is - Compassion. And I am proud of myself to be a part of this group.

When I read about Teach India 2 years ago, I immediately knew that I have to do it but could not due to some travel pre plans. Last year I totally forgot about it and this year when I read about the summer cycle, I had already started working full time. But I had to quit the job due to some reasons and I finally got a chance to volunteer to teach the underprivileged youth to get them employed.

As I started with the training and I am already half way through it, I am more determined to commit to 100 days of teaching. I feel responsive to the society and I am proud to be one of very few who are contributing towards the society without expecting anything in return. 

I am not mean and selfish If I want to stay alone for a while - MOM

As I say goodbye to my husband who is travelling to his home town along with our kid, I am left alone in the house. I get some butterflies in my tummy but thats alrite. He didn't want to leave me alone and wanted me to go along with him but that was not possible because of my particular commitments. 

Was I feeling left alone? Sad?   No!!!!

I was really happy and looking forward to those days all alone at home. I will live my life all over again and will explore myself. 

Mums who express their feelings to have their own ME time are often looked down upon. We tend to hear these kind of comments "Doesn't she care about her kid", "Oh!! she is  so selfish. She is only thinking about herself".

But I feel, If a woman thinks about only herself, she would rather never give birth to babies. Now, when a woman has a baby to take care of, she will do it with all selfless love. Being a mum myself, I know how was the first year. There was no schedule for me. I was taking breakfast in afternoon time and lunch at dinner. And of course, there was no time for dinner. After some time, the woman goes insane. So it is very crucial for a mum to take a break, explore herself, indulge in hobbies and have all alone Me Time. Of course, as I am enjoying my Me Time now.

Me time helps a mum to slow down the otherwise active and charged pace of life. It helps her to bring her mind to calmness and serenity. A mum can actually restore her lost energy and is ready to bang on after a short break.

Being on a break for few days doesnt make her less of a mum. It doesnt brings down the love and affection for her babies. Instead she is very secure with her feelings. She will be more responsive to her children if she is content.

Tips to take care once you reach 30

Soon I am going to turn 30 this month. Happily married, a son who has already started school and a loving husband and an awsum life giving me opportunities even then and now in my area of interest. I feel half of my life is lived enough and trust me I dont have any regrets, atleast not any major ones. 

Now when I am busy figuring out how to kickstart my dormant career and try to keep myself busy all the times, I start to feel that my body is not the same as it was before pregnancy. I start to feel tired so easily, have much less stamina and always complaining of aching feet and calves. And then I wonder about my body and ill effects of turning 30 already haunting me even before I have achieved that milestone. And then all those screams of senior advice start to haunt in my ears half of which I politely excused at the time of my delievery. And now I am bearing the consequences.

It is rightly said that before anything else take care of your own body. A woman's body undergoes a lot of changes post giving birth to a baby and a woman needs to understand that post giving birth, dietary requirements of her body changes and of course her stamina decreases. 
Here are some tips to take care of your body after crossing 30 years of age:

Strong up your Bones : Once you hit 30, calcium density starts to decrease in your bones giving you plenty of problems like joint pain and arthritis. You need to eat diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D, Magnesium and folic acid. You can even take dietary supplements after consulting your doctor to meet daily minimum requirements

Exercise it up : Metabolism starts to decrease as we grow in age. We need to keep out body active as our body is growing and best way to do that is exercise and burn calories. This will keep your body and mind in an active state keeping you younger and energetic for many years to come.

Maintain Your Posture : This point reminds me of how my parents always stresses on walking staright, keeping my back straight while sitting. I hardly realised the importance till now and now I realise how important it is to keep my spine straight for a good posture which will keep my back pain free and make me look more smart and confident lady

Cut out on Junk : Cut out on all the junk you eat while on a shopping spree or in office. Start consuming fresh vegetables and fruits and try to make your plate as colourful as you can. Include green leafy vegetable, Yellow squash, Red tomatoes, green bell peppers etc. This will make you body free of radicals leaving you look more young

Indulge in Skin care Regime :With all the stress and pollution outside, your skin is the first victim and starts to age much before. Indulge in daily cleansing and moisturising of you skin before going to bed. Make sure to have at-least 3 bottles of water everyday to make your skin soft, supple and glowing.

A little care of yourself will keep you fit and fine and in a happy state of mind.
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Kind of mums who come to pick up their child at Bus stop

Agree with me or not, But You will find all sorts of women or mums at school bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive and waiting to cuddle with their tired son/daughter. What fascinates me more is the different individuality of all these mums and how different everyone is from one another, although everyone is a SAHM and is raising their kids exceptionally well.

Though I and my husband has shared our duties well I get up in the morning early and get my kid ready and go to drop him at the bus stop to board his school bus. And it’s my husband's duty to go and pick him up in the afternoon (He leaves for office late afternoon). Today when my husband had to leave for office a little early than usual, it was my turn to pick up our son at the bus stop. And I got to meet all the mums and be a part of their gossip talks. And I could easily differentiate between all kinds of mum existing in this world (If not all, at least some of them, No offence to anyone). Here the list goes:

1) My Son knows it all Mum: I can’t stop smiling when I write this and trust me she is the inspiration for this article. She goes like: My son knows all the poems and narrates wonderful stories in both the languages (Hindi and English). We were discussing an upcoming workshop on phonetics and here she added: "My son knows it all. He doesn’t need to go to these kinds of workshops and classes"

I just wonder if she is overconfident Mum or she has an exceptionally well doing son who knows it all.

2) Ever Complaining Mum: You will find her complaining on all topics and is never satisfied by anything and at home she is fed up of maid problems and nagging husband and on the other end she will always be wondering how teachers treat her child at school.

3) Always in Hurry Mum: This kind of mum you will meet often. She is juggling a lot of work single handedly and is always trying to compete with deadlines. She is rarely a part of everyday gossips as she is seen running towards the bus stop and always reaches when bus has already dropped the kids.

4) Extremely sincere and concerned Mum: Whenever you are seeking an advice, go to her and she will be there with a bag of advice for you and by the time school bus arrives, she would have given you a lot of solutions to your problems along with a lot of extra advice which you actually don’t need. :) Read on to how be a happy Mum

5) All messy Mum: This is one of my favorite categories. You will see a lady figure in her regular pajamas and a T-shirt with hair tied up in a bun. That’s the way she is. A relaxed Mom with a lot of self confidence and a way to go. She will be very friendly and you will find her having a hearty laugh with fellow mums.

6) Fashionable Mum: You will find this Mum all opposite of the last category. She is always nicely dressed with all the makeup put up on her face, Hair nicely done and matching jewellery. She is the attraction of the group and other mums envy her on how she manages to find time to stay so dressed up all the time when they are simply running here and there juggling everyday work.

And then I come back home and share all this with my hubby very excitedly and gets a reply: that’s the way it is everyday :)

Tips to be a happy mom

Happy mum equals happy children. Dont you agree ? I swear by it. When I am happy, I see happiness all around and that reflects on my kid too. He behaves less fussy and is an entertainer all time around. My husband also reflects happiness and pampers me even more. Brownie points !! :)

Now 5 years spent raising a kid has changed me a lot and I have matured enough over time to be in charge of my happiness. I can confidently say that at times I can change situations around me and make my surrounding a happy place to live in.

Here are some tips to make you a lot happy

1) To keep myself happy, I will never ignore or let go of things or activities of my interest. I love to read and write, so I make sure that every day I take out at least 30 minutes to 1 hour just to get immersed in reading and writing blogs. I will keep my child busy with a game or coloring activity and sometimes I let him watch some extra TV to keep myself engrossed. Trust me, Doing something which I love, Keeps me rejuvenated and content.

2) Never Ever compromise on your sleep time. This is the worst thing which mothers do and that is not getting enough sleep. This is scientifically proved that how important adequate hours of sleep is for humans. Dont give up on your 8 hours of sleep regime. It actually recharges the brain cells and keeps you ready for never ending daily chores which requires your physical as well as mental endurance (Keeping in mind how much kids extract out of you)

3) Indulge in self Pampering. I glow a lot when I come back from parlor sessions. Pampering myself is the best thing which I do for myself. A simple haircut makes my day, so imagine when you come out of a salon all transformed from head to toe and start getting all the compliments, how would you feel!!! Obviously on a cloud nine. So, fix an appointment at a neighboring salon or a massage parlor and soak yourself in some indulgence.

4) Always have your Me time. Go out with your friends and spend a day just like you used to do during your college days. Spending time with your girlfriends can rejuvenate you the most keeping you away from all the family responsibilities and just be carefree like a little bird.

5) Now some serious Advice (Though earlier ones were also not a joke :)) Keep your home a organised place. When a house is messy, Moms tend to go more fussy trying to manage all at the same time. An organized place attracts positive energy and keeps everyone happy around.

6) Outsource : Dont try to be a super MOM. Dont try to do all by yourself. This will exhaust you and disappoint you in case you are not able to do all the tasks. So, dont worry about finding help to do some or all of household chores. A little help will save you a lot of energy and time which you can consume for yourself.

7) Set up a no cooking day. Once a week or every fortnight, order meal from outside and free yourself from kitchen. This will give you a break and rejuvenate you for the week ahead.

Oh Boy! You Are Grown Up Now

As much as I love to see my son as a preschooler and growing up so fast, I feel like

stopping time and lay mesmerized thinking about how I carried a little bundle of

life in my tummy and bringing him into this world as a tiny baby turning into a 

toddler and now a preschooler.It feels amazing to let my mind go back into a

flashback and all those memories of a tiny baby lying in my lap totally dependent on me.

As if that lil baby staring at me and saying "Who cares!!

I will pee and poop whenever and wherever I want.

My topmost duty is not to let you take a sigh of relief and to

always make you keep running on your toes mom. One day you are going to miss

all this."

Yes My Baby, I miss all those moments when you used to

lay in my lap with so much comfort. I miss that comfort when you use to calm down after crying out so loud just when I held you and hugged you.

Now I miss those nights when we used to play and laugh forgetting

that world is fast asleep as its midnight but who cares!! Our day just started.

And it was a ritual of you to wake up at around 4.00 am when we barely slept

for 2 hours. But ofcourse you needed your feed every couple of hours.

And then one day when I woke up early morning surprised to see you still sleeping.

Oh Boy!! 3 months already passed and you were getting adjusted to sleep for more than couple of hours. I still remember the day when you held your milk bottle all by yourself and didnt need me to lay by your side to hold your bottle. Oh, you stole that time which I got to spend with you. 

Once you started to crawl, you wanted me to run after you and once I caught you,

that used to be the time of endless laughter and hugs and kisses.

Now with your unmatched energy, I long for those endless moments of joy. 

Earlier your only playmate was me, I played with you and helped you know your

surrounding but now you are big enough to play games and make your own friends and explore on your own.

Dear Son, I take pride in watching you become a handsome boy but always remember that I will always miss that baby who became my reason of existence as soon as I was aware about his existence. As told to me by a well wisher, Hug and love your baby as much as you want, Later you will long to take him into your lap when he will grow up.

My Idea of a perfect Day

When I was in college, I hated to wake up early and having a set routine. And now being a mummy of an adorable boy, I love to have a set daily routine so that my day goes smooth and fuss free. After all it’s not easy to handle two boys alone (other one being my dear hubby).  When I follow a routine, I find myself fully productive at the end of the day. My house looks clean and kid happy. My kitchen stays organized and I don’t have to go to sleep.

Earlier when my baby was born 4 years ago, I had a help who used to do all the chores - washing cleaning and cooking. I just had to take care of my new born, though that was a task in itself. Fact is I did not have any time for any other household chore while taking care of my baby all alone. I still remember that lady and wish for her to come back :)

But now I cook on my own for my family, my baby is a preschooler and goes to school, in short, my mornings are more busy than ever before. Only relief is that my husband doesn’t leave for office in morning but afternoon. With time I learnt to manage my time and all the chores to be done in time saving manner. If I am not able to find some time for myself alone, I go crazy. 

So, here it goes how I spend my Ideal Day so that you, your baby and whole family time is organized:

1) Wake up Early. By early, I mean not in wee hours of morning but at least 1 hour before your family      wakes up. Trust me that this is the magic to make your day really fruitful.  I love to wake up at 6 AM and first thing I do is to take a glass of lukewarm water with half a lemon squeezed into it. It does wonders to my mood and makes me happy. Nothing is comparable to standing in my balcony, watching sunrise and changing hues of sky and magical chirping of birds.

2) Prepare your Breakfast and Lunch : After charging myself up, I start to prepare breakfast and lunch and pack my child’s Tiffin and prepare a glass of milk for him. It takes approx 45 mints to 1 hour and my target is to get the meals prepared before I go to wake up the kid.  Trust me, Once you have prepared your breakfast and lunch, you have saved the valuable time of your day. 

3) Once I am done with the kitchen work, I go ahead to wake up my son and I make sure he is awake at least 1 hour before his Bus arrival time. It ensures that he takes his bath properly and eats his breakfast too. Nothing is more worrisome that watching your child go to school empty stomach. 

We also do some light exercise to energize our day.

4) Once I see off my child to school at 8.15 am, I am free for another 2 hours as my hubby works till midnight and wakes up really late at around 10 AM. These 2 hours is the golden time for me who I spend eating breakfast, browsing internet and of course writing. This is the time when I am 100 % productive while writing. I feel just happy and content.

And once my hubby wakes up, usual routine starts of serving him bed tea and chit chatting for hours with each other. Now the point is that during the days when I don’t wake up early and do as above, I just keep rushing to do the chores. 

And moreover, I just get stuck in the kitchen preparing separate meals for breakfast and lunch and by the time my son comes back from school, he finds his mom too tired to listen to his stories and play and study with him.

By following this routine, I ensure that my family is happy along with me as I am able to find my Me time as well which actually keeps me happy.

Do let me know about your ideal Routine too!!!

Till Then Bye and Take Care!!