Some PEP talk...

Today as I was catering to my 2 1/2 year old toddler's lunch request there was an AHA moment... He wanted me to cook him some pasta for lunch and he loves his veggies in it too..so was'nt that hard to make him happy. He sat on the kitchen counter watching me make his favorite food. Of late I'm getting really exhausted and my son is very energetic and loves to play all the time and lets face it ...he's quite a handful. My older son is 6 1/2 was just the opposite at this age..He kinda sploilt us (me and my hubby)...He was always well behaved and had proper nap times and a good eater and played well with his toys and took such good care of them. In fact I still have his toys when he was a 1 yr old and they have been kept so well.. By 2 1/2 as I mentioned is just the opposite...I really don't know what to expect next from him...Each day is a new adventure for him as well as me..

Ok let me get back to the 'AHA moment' I mentioned earlier..As my pasta is boiling I figured out how to deal with kids who are high energy and maybe unpredictable..I know there are good moments too..and those I really cherish..Like some days are so much peaceful..and some not so much...

Are you guys ready for my formula...Here it goes :
Loads of (PATIENCE + Energy + PERSEVERANCE ) = Happy Family
So in short PEP (abbreviated form) will make happy mothers and happy kids and when the dads come back from work they are happy as well.

I'm sure many of you would agree with me that to deal with kids and raise them in a positive way we all need tons of Patience. Its easy to lose it and raise our voice but then kids learn from us..and we don't want them to learn wrong...do we..But I do agree its easier said then done..Patience is indeed a virtue..and I'm still developing my patience and trying not to get stressed over trivial things...

Next is tons of Energy- Most of our kids I know which includes exchanging notes with my friends..are really high energy kids..with them you need to somehow match their energy levels and get them involved in sports or physical activity of some kind..Like for my younger one..he loves going to the park and loves the outdoors..He loves going for walks so thats what makes him happy and he's exhausted ..he eats well and naps well. But I know sometimes we get so tired to take them out and there's when they start exploring the house and maybe mess it all up...

Last is tons of PERSEVERANCE - Now some kids are really strong headed. For them you will have to keep trying again and again.. Like about their food habits or some thing which you are trying to work with...Or Maybe some parents are trying to make them stop drinking from their bottles. Some are trying to take away the blinkie. For some it maybe toilet training... It takes a lot of will power on ur part to keep on working with ur kids again and again and again..and it WORKS...

I hope this is helpful to you. Atleast this has been helpful to me. Only today I found the right way to present it hopefully...so this was my PEP Talk to Me...and if you have something which works..feel free to share it with me..

Who am I ....

I'm a homemaker... I have loads of laundry staring right in my face...they are waiting to be folded and sorted out. Alright just loaded the dishwasher..Check. One task off my list. My older one in school - Check. My younger one had his shower and his breakfast. Check. Great so far so good. Yet so many jobs I still have on my list of things to be done.... You would be wondering whats up with me..with so many things still pending how come I get the time to write this post.. Well I don't - I'm just sipping my 2nd cup of tea..and I'm looking for motivation to start the mundane household chores again.

Alright I should'nt be complaining when so many do not have the luxury to be a homemaker aka house wife.. See I have the flexibility to choose my own hours, I can drink tea whenever I feel like..or shower whenever I feel like..in short no schedules to follow, no pressure of driving to work and facing those awful traffic filled days and struggling to be on time.. No leaving work making sure I'm on time to pick up kids from school and also planning the dinner menu driving back home..Yeah I get all that , But hey I'm only human and its our birthright to complain which could be called Venting Out..

Here in the US we are not so fortunate to have help as back home(India)..There its readily available and cheap too. Here it gets a bit expensive and then too its like cleaning services for 1 hr couple times a week... So here we are the maids, the cleaners, the chauffeurs, chef , teacher, companion... Also when you start doing all the above mentioned chores it does'nt seem that bad and its manageable..but there are days when you JUST HAD IT !!!!. Yes, it makes us feel so good that we don't have to depend on anyone else except ofcourse our DH and kids who share the household chores too...

SO C'est la Vie !!!! .But it all works out in the end.. Its all well that ends well. All of you have a Happy Mothers Day.

A Time for Everything...

I'm reading a book, "Simple Abundance- A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. As I was reading this page, I found it so interesting and optimistic I had to share it with you. Its a passage from this book...Enjoy.

There is a time for everything,
And a season for every activity under heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Yes,but they are not the same.
You cannot raise happy, secure ,emotionally well adjusted children, revel in a fabulous marraige, and work a sixty-hour week.
You want to, I know. So do I. But we can't. It is physically , emotionally. psychologically, and spiritually impossible. We have tried. We have failed.
We cannot circumvent the laws of Heaven and Earth just because it would be convenient. Just because it would fit nicely into our plans. We have tried. We have failed.
When we cannot do it all at the same time, we are meant to do only some of it. In order to find out what that "some" is to be, we need to ask : What is it I truly want right now ? What is it I truly need ? How do I get it ? How much does it cost in life's currency ?
This might be the season for you to wipe a runny nose. That does'nt mean the season of running your own business won't occur. This might be the season of living out of a suitcase. That doesn't mean the season of restoring a colonial farmhouse will never come. Making deals doesn't mean that someday you won't be making school lunches. The seasons of life are not meant to be frenetic, just full.
"You probably can have it all," Anna Quindlen muses. " Just not all at the same time. And ...you might have to make certain compromises when your children are small. But your children are going to be small for a very short period of time... it will go by in a blink of an eye, and you will only be 40, 50, or 60 with another 15 or 25 years ahead of you." A quarter of a century to do what you want to do, the way you want to do it.
Blessed is the woman who knows her own limits.

So signing off for the night with this thought provoking excerpt from this book...

A Happy Heart Makes a Cheerful Face....

A Happy Heart for you all to bring a smile to your face...

A simple decorated heart cake. My Wilton's cake decoration Course 1, week #2 lesson. We learnt how to decorate a cake with a star #16 tip.
Cake : Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Jam Filling

Frosting :Buttercream

Decoration: Used Tip #16 (star)

Colors : Blue, yellow
I Still have to practice some more to get more satisfactory results... This is a beginning....



A Beautiful quote to ponder upon till we meet again.....
I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. - Eartha Kitt.

Wilton's Cake decorating program.

I have finally enrolled myself in the Wilton's Cake decorating program. I had googled this online and one of my blogger friend also recommended this. So it was on my mind for almost 3-4 months when finally I decided to just go to the nearest location and get myself enrolled. I'm in Course 1 which lasts for 4 weeks - 1 lesson/week. They have 4 levels. I know they do it here in the United states at Michael's. Just go to your nearest location and enquire about it if you are interested or check them out online.

Today is my second lesson and I'm super excited. We have to take a baked cake complete with Icing and our instructor is going to show us how to decorate..I just can't wait. I'm more or less an amateur baker. Though I've picked up quite a few things and techniques from the net and Youtube. So will keep you guys posted as to what happens with my cake decoration lessons..Is it going to be a hit or a miss...Whatever the results it makes me happy to do something for myself.

This is exactly what I wanted to say in today's post...Many a times we get so wrapped up in everything around us and doing so many things for everybody else we many a times forget to just take care of ourselves. So if you just do a little just FOR YOURSELF.. See how it feels..I'm saying this from experience. It could be as simple as just taking a walk or getting a new haircut you wanted or just going to the library and picking up books you always wanted to read. So How about TODAY...So tomorrow you can have happy memories of Today.

Leaving you all with a beautiful quote :
You only live once - but if you work it right, once is enough. - Joe E. Lewis

Dear Mr. Dryer...

Its been couple days that our dryer decided that enough is enough and it was time to say good bye to us...He left us there stranded...My new load of freshly washed laundry..thanks to Mr. Washer was left to dry by itself or find a replacement.

No, No before you all run to conclusions and think I'm losing my mind- Let me explain the situation. We in this technology advanced era have gotten so used to the household appliances that many a times we just take them for granted. Maybe if we show a little gratitude to the services provided by them and being there for us when we need them..it would be fair on them.. Of course they are machines..they have no feelings..You are absolutely right...But a thought just crossed my mind and for a moment just lets pretend they have feelings. So I decided to show my gratitude to the unsung heroes(appliances) in our household and thought it would be appropriate to address them as Mr. Washer, Mr. Dryer etc.. Why not right...after all they are with us day in day out... So Mr. Dryer maybe you just need a day to rest or maybe you are in a coma--please come back , we all need you..the clothes love you..and need your warmth. We homemakers and busy moms can't work without you. You have been an integral part of our lives. Mr. Appliance Doctor is on its way and I hope can see whats wrong and can fix you.. Everything is going to be fine.

Leisure by W.H. Davies

What is this life , if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare ?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
and stare as long as sheep and cows :

No time to see, when woods we pass,
where squirrels hide their nuts in grass-

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile that her eyes began ?

A poor life this if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

I love this poem even till this day. I remember learning this as a child and I revert back to the wisdom in this poem from time to time.

Sometimes when life goes about at such crazy and hectic schedule this poem always reminds me to take a moment and relax. Enjoy the bounties of nature. There will always be some task to be completed some place to reach.

I'm sure many would agree with me that time to time many of us over commit ourselves. We think if we squeeze in our time we could even do a particular thing for someone. In all this grand plan of making time for everybody we many a times fail to make time for ourselves. I'm guilty of this. So I know and now it soon catches up with you and then you end up emotionally , physically and mentally drained.

So as we all our in our spring cleaning mode I just took a moment to declutter my mind as well. I'm making a list of things I can do and things I could not really do. If I over stretch myself I end up over exerting myself and that leaves me feeling so tired and not happy either . So I narrowed on 2 important things which will really make my life very easy and make me happy-

• I figured its alright to allow ourselves to say , 'No' once in a while to commitments which we really do not have time for. Its impossible to please everyone everytime.
• Make time for 'ME' time where I can do things I love to do- this could be as little as 10-15 minutes to an hour- things like writing, blogging, reading to name a few.

See, I feel better already by pouring my heart out in this post. See you soon with more of whats happening in my life. In the meanwhile, feel free to give me your suggestions and feeback on this post.