Why I love December ....

December makes me a kid again .... it's my most favorite time of the year!  There is nothing I don't love about the Christmas  season! From the wonderful old classic music, pajama time watching Christmas movies on Netflix, tree lighting at your county and  yes we put up our tree on 12/1 every year pretty much after Thanksgiving but oh boy this year there was a mad rush of events Halloween and Diwali zoom passed with a blink of my eyelid... it was funny to change your avatar from being a witch for Halloween to the magical festival of Diwali lights,  Diyas and Lakshmi pooja it all just spilled over in one weekend but the celebrations were to the brim!!

As a kid we never put up a tree or celebrated Christmas as such because back in good old India it was seen more like a festival for Catholic or Christian religion only however my Dad would deligently take us to visit Santa at Akbarallys a big outlet store those days and buy my sister and me a present. My Catholic friend Natasha would go for a midnight mass to the church and we'd have a Christmas get together at her house next day .. pretty much seen a tree in her house, nice lights, plum cakes and one lovely evening my sister and friends decorated a huge tree outside her house that was the first time I heard the word 'reindeer' it was a ornament that we hung on the tree along with candles and it looked so so pretty I wish we had a camera then to have captured those moments. We received a lot of compliments from  passer bys.

.... as time flew by Christmas was so much in the air even my  most crowded Mumbai city back in India looked magical with restaurants lit up, Santa everywhere, Malls with huge trees and themes and Red sweaters everywhere, Mumbai can be cooler in December ...  it really began to feel like a Magical month. Yes I love December bcos there is something magical,the love in the air, toys, gift wrapping, Santa and the tree itself I love it, so merry!! The very first year itself we had a tree for sunshine in good old Bangalore and then when we moved here to the west we continued the practice of course.



Here in the west it's beyond magic, as a kid I was a voracious reader I used to finish books on Christmas during the Christmas break from school which then turned to movies as I grew up and  my favorite was 'Home Alone Christmas movie', literally everything I've seen in the movies is a reality during this magical month here in the west right from the mistle toe, the reindeer,  the aroma of cinnamon and cookies, the sounds of sleigh bells, sleigh rides, Mrs Claus and Santa Claus, Elf helpers, shopping, the holiday lights everywhere, its all real and so magical, accompanied by  the cool temperature of winters you surely need a hot chocolate if you are out in this frosty weather but who  does not want to right!



So for Xmas 2016 what did we do? It's only December 1st and we put up our tree today did lots of DIY to decorate it, used last year s wreath which was a DIY too, and my boy is in full spirits and his full Master Chef avatar this year so  he is a Baker... yes he baked a chocolate cake just as delicious as he is, aaha yes he did, patiently and persistently followed the instructions in  a YouTube video, Mommy helped of course he also made mac and cheese during Thanksgiving! I boxed some to work and my colleagues love it!! Here is a video of Xmas day 1 and sssshhhh he wrote a letter to Santa and we are counting days to receive his gift from Santa. USPS has a wonderful service for delivering Santa letters and hopefully a reply too :).




 Above all I love spending time with those I love and shop a small gift to express my gratitude and gesture to my friends and family and giving back to kids who need toys. Last year I did 'Toys for Tots' at a local store and at my workplace yet to decide this year s give back but I do want to do a tad different. So that's my doodle do for Christmas! It surely brings out  a good attitude in you and cheers you up after all it's the last month so be merry and be cheerful and be good. Spread love spread joy to the world!



Love.... always! More to come...
Sunshine and his Mommy

The CEO of my family

Last week, during a session, a client thanked me for being a good listener. A GOOD LISTENER! Wow. I closed the door and kept thinking and thinking and then I went into a mini vacation rewind mode. There is nothing more important to me than being a good listener. NOTHING. I get it. Listening is hard. Listening well is a skill, one that takes practice to improve. A 
person can only listen if they are focused, open minded, patient, interested, and humble. Five years ago my Husband and me signed a business deal and brought this CEO to our family. Our son Mr. V as they call him. This CEO with no business suit literally took over my position. Most often its the women in the family trying to run a house the chores especially. Imagine a CEO who just comes and changes the policies left right and center :) Oh Boy! This CEO put us on a schedule a schedule that ran 24/7 literally. From making meals for him every 3 hours and setting it to the right temperature, to the not so long - short naps where even the sound of a burp would disturb the CEO s most important task 'Naptime' my husband and I only had the time to look into each other 's faces with a punch me attitude if anyone of us tried to wake him up.


Not to forget the busy CEO had so many employees working for him (The maids, Cook, Driver,etc etc ) and  other business partners (grandparents) that our door bells would constantly be ringing which may disturb the nap time for Mr CEO and our angry faces would turn like Planet Mars literally ready to punch each other and the employees at the door. Picture us as working on our laptops, scratching our heads and trying to grapple some work done and the door bell rings.... The CEO would wake up with loud screeches and scream his lungs out and the we'd sprint from the living room into his bedroom ready to grab him and ask him what he'd like for the next meal. The maid tries to calm him down with the rattle that makes it even worse sometimes.

Days pass and years pass and we move to the west to the US and Mr CEO moves to a higher designation 'Super CEO' I'd like to say  .... And he gets a new car, a car with no wheels essentially a car seat and his schaufers us of course drive him around wherever he'd like to go. Occasionally he'd like to scream sitting there when there is too much traffic sometimes tossing the bottle of milk that has hit the drivers head accidentally ahem so I'd like to say. Then comes a new office for the CEO when he graduates to age 3 preschool and daycare and come daycare  comes sickness and infections.

 'Leaves' or 'Day off 'which he is allowed at Day cares leisurely but our Bosses here in the West do not believe in sick leaves which we have to manage to work out from our PTO days so to say.... Alrite and then Mr CEO in his toddlerhood had a executive gym called the playground or park where a bunch of other 2 - 3 year old CEO s gather together and scream without any agenda and jump and cry and do everything they want to they are CEO s afterall. They know to let it loose pretty much and say at the end of the meeting 'All work and no play makes a not so good CEO'.

Graduating from Toddler to Preschool to Pre- Kindergarten ,today this CEO is a tough Boss. He has taught me  to be focused, open minded, patient, interested, and humble and above all he has taught me good listening skills. Although he is a tough Boss with a lot of opinion we love him dearly.Now comes the challenge to instill listening skills in the CEO himself  and that is not a brand new chapter of my life I've been altering this goal every now and then but remember I'm focused, open minded, patient, interested, and humble ;) 

Thanks for reading... :):)

The world is changing ...

Back home !

So People a big Hello from 'Back to the West'  here i'm blogging back on the 'Baby s day out' blog bcos for those of you who know I did blog under another title for a while titles that were more associated to the bumble bee boy and his and our busy life and so on. But but some of my friends lost track they were just following this blog so they gave me this sweet reminder that Hey why aren't you blogging often. And I had to tell them about the other title but I know I know its taking a while sometimes I just think of a topic but I leave it in the draft for a while but this blog was long calling bcos its about the beautiful staycation back in my very own India and about the baby turned  bumble bee turned big boy now  - big big milestone!!

I can't stop talking about this trip and so does bumble bee boy  he is still giving his brain a quick kick on a few nautanki acts he did there. I don't know what is it is it grandparents s house or just being amongst a crowd that's giving you so much attention right from day zero he had some crazy i like to call it 'sugar high hyperactive' moments and acts. After a 20 hour flight we land in aamchi Mumbai sometime around 5 am Mumbai my beautiful city looks calm and composed at 5 am I was still and silent observing every bit of the curves and streets and the way leading home. 'Home'  Yeah I was heading home after 2 good years isn't it too long? My co workers were like you don't get to see your mom in two years they were shocked at the same time happy for me that im making this month long trip. Well luckily both sides of the family did make trips in 2015 here so what did I miss ? I did not miss my family too much bcos I got to see them in 2015 and they stayed for a good 3 months. Also thanks to social media and apps etc watsapp calling is free video calling is free so all that makes up 
for the time not physically spent but at least virtually  were able to keep up..to keep up with the fast 
changing world... to keep up with the pace of life to keep up with Bollywood... everything is running at this super sonic speed but the good news (sometimes) is the world has shrunk completely thanks to social media and  technology that has got human beings connected in every way. For example I could meet friends from my school whom I haven't seen for over 15 years I meet them at this school reunion that was organized partly by me and another school mate who created this whatsapp group and it started raining names and names from school. Nothing can beat the feeling of meeting your school friends so to say.

Also I have very few friends that I can count on my fingers only one from school who is my best friend from age 8 and 3 maybe from college and 1 from MBA college that's it  these are people I meet even now and few I just met here and there who stayed my friends for life !! Besides when you move 
out of the city and then the country its hard to keep in touch on a daily basis despite the socialmedia
connect. I blame it on myself I'm a social butterfly in my own space and I lack massive social skills I mentioned this in my previous 'Power of being introvert' blog if you read that.

So the highlight of this trip was for a change i was not hitting the parks and play areas with bumble bee boy bcos hes changed  remember the world is changing and he is growing up too of course his friends were me and my sister most often and he would hang out with our friends or his cousins but 
pretty much busy with family no setting up play dates whatsoever that's the advantage when you have a family around.

That brings to the point I made absolute 'Me time' bcos my boy was busy getting pampered by his grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins so much so that he did not want mommy during bedtime either this was a big big change he is such a clingy kid both me and my better half were shocked that he can sleep without us. The kind of attention he was getting was keeping him totally busy totally filled with pampering and love and new toy everyday by my Dad, feeding all meals, 
getting everything in hand getting spoilt I'd say to myself but its ok he was enjoying it and the grandparents deserve this.





He is enjoying my sister s birthday!!



A favorite hangout with my sister and V - Leaping window café and library !!

Amidst all this my  'Me time' centered around 
Everything I like to do or haven't done for ages. I went and bought a pair of roller skates for myself bcos I knew I was heading to Bangalore and could skate with my neices last time I got them a pair of skates for their birthday and was going to teach them I couldn't do it for long bcos I 

discovered bumble bee inside me :) . Well so I got on to a pair of roller skates after 15 years exactly in my 10th std vacation we were a group of 5 - 6 girls we'd skate day in and day out it was this newness and in thing besides just learnt it so that excitement I loved it that I could get back to it but wasn't too confident initially given i've doubled up in size :)  but to tell you the truth what you learn in your childhood stays in you and I had a blast skating with my 12 year old twin nieces. I also rented out a bike or bicycle with my childhood best friend just like we used to in our days from Raju or Bablu the cyclewala in lallubhai park road  it used cost 5 rupees for 1 hour and 2 rupees for half hour I remember that very well bcos I used to carefully carry the money with me trying not to get late and pay late charges. So the bike ride in short was just like good old days. The world has changed and for the good. I see acts of kindness. 
I see karma realization . I see massive work for giving back to the society. I was fortunate I could do some of these thanks to my friend Manisha who introduced me to this NGO where I volunteered  I woke up at 6.30 am to visit these kids in Bandra and teach them their academic subjects like Economics, English and Science. I loved it!





with the kids !!

Lets talk about Food  my better half and I were just excited about this part the most the foodie that we are and tits and bits we miss staying here in the west. My day zero attack with my sister and our childhgood friend was 'Desi Chinese' I had paneer chilly, hakka noodles and Manchurian at a local adda it was mouth watering and satisfied the taste buds craving for it for 2 years. I ticked off other Mumbai favorite street food to name a few:

• Vada Pav  (its like the burger of US :))
• Naturals - mango and malai ice cream
• All sorts of Bombay chat - bhel puri, paani poori,  my favorite - sev poori which I feel I did not eat much
• Bombay sandwich  (This is special bcos it aint like a sandwich in the west - this is a combination of 5 - 6 spices grounded into something called chutney added to it veggies and cheese and tomato ketchup piled up to 3 levels grilled and served hot :))
• Mysore masala dosa (A creppe filled with lots of spices and veggies and cheese is a option too:))
• lots and pots of Manogoeesssss - aamras (so they say in Mumbai)
• the 5 course Thali

the 5 course indian meal!!!

The Bombay sandwich

All of this inside the tummy not at one go of course thankfully. It would be like a tummy tantrum at one go. :))



The party people !!

Oh Boy ! I  was so so insomnic and felt like a zombie sometimes my head would hurt during the day for the lack of sleep but the excitement of what to do tomorrow or non stop chat with friends would keep my brains thinking all night there was a energy inside me to party every Thursday or Friday and of course Saturday night, doing this after ages i'd say but I have the party spirit inside me im so glad about it and it just woke up I felt like a teenager again and this gave us a great time with the better half especially and our  totally enthu friends who partied with us all night and yet made it to work the next day. They made it a  fun night for us. The trip was made for us just us learnt to juggle around everything and everyone friends, family, favorite places to visit, things to do etc etc. Im not a mall shopping person I hate wasting time roaming in malls so that adds to more time on you to do stuff you like I;m totally impressed with my city s infrastructure the airport is a beauty in itself, the metro train ride, worli sealink, to top it all I don't know if a regular mumbaikar would notice this but the pollution levels are zero the PUC has paid up very well. Commuting with apps on the phone makes life so simple. Drive back home in a Uber or Ola cabs at 3 am that simple!! Mumbai touchwood is the safest city at night !! Made good use of free time at home browsing the laptop and making use of online shopping thanks to E- commerce its super simple to order a book or clothes or just anything under the sun. Returns are easy too if you dislike it. ... Well people this is what happens when I blog after a while I can go on writing I think I need to pause. 

That's the change - Mumbai s very own metro train ride !!

All in all all of this is a big big change so when the world is changing i'm so glad my country and city is changing for the better Amen !! How are you preparing yourself in a rapidly changing environment? our kids are the best example they are growing so so fast. So Pause breathe think. watch this video and tell me what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwWhvm5RHZE

Our Diwali story in the days of windy Autumn

As a kid i grew up carrying over loads of diwali homework and one of it but of course would be an essay or compostion on Diwali - not just in English but Hindi & Marathi too and all i remember writing 'The festival of lights' ...and how i'd spend my diwali in Chennai with my grandparents..the sweets ....savories... new clothes ... the chennai tam brahm

tradition of waking up at 5am having a oil bath and wearing your new clothes and go overboard on the 'Pataas' at dawn. Pataas in tamil means the crackers. The Ladies would be busy in the kitchen preparing murukku, mixture, ribbon pakoda, oma puddi ec -cetara ec -cetera these are the tamil savories. Again my roots are from Chennai but im a total Bombay wali i grew up in Bombay so we have always been following the bombay way of celebrating Diwali shopping before diwali i really miss shopping for those new clothes, Lakshmi Pooja, phatakada, diyas,bed sheets, curtains, cushion covers colorful lightings, rickshaw rides back home with heavy shopping bags omg a total shopping spree i say!! And Mumbai wht do i say  i simply love the spirits of Mumbai Im what Im today bcos of Mumbai i love the energy levels whatever it be especially when it comes to festivals and celebrations there is no leaf thats unturned its so so festive and full of spirits.And the shokeepers of Mumbai as they call Dukanwala they are simply awesome they will remind you of your diwali list :) 

My city -  Mumbai the city of lights, city of spirits

So ...as i grew up celebrating diwali in full spirits now that im in the west diwali falls in autumn with the cold breeze and rain on diwali day and happily falling on a weekday i was wondering how do i keep my spirits up i definitely needed to feel my Desi - ness. The day was long i picked sunshine from school and we went into our local indian store  and Oh Boy - it was filled to the brim with diwali decoration, diyas, sweets, savories you name it and you have it there that  definitely lit up my diwali spirits and having spent 8 hours at work listening to back to back web cast and other training stuff this definitely was like a wooo- hoo moment. We went back home heavy with shopping bags and luckily Daddy had put up the lights over the weekend well luckily also holiday lights as they call it here are easily available bcos we are only a month away from christmas you see, so my spirited 3 year old - kept calling those holiday lights 'Diwali' 'Diwali' as i read out to him a wonderful book on Diwali - The festival of lights, the festival of lights over darkness, the festival of victory of Lord Rama - the victory of the good over the evil!!

truimph diwali lighting  over darkness - i captured the moon on my camera

Add caption

We did our lakshmi pooja, enjoyed decorating the patio with diyas and sunshine savored over the besan laddoos. It was a happy Diwali  at the end of the day and also prosperous i ended up  impressing goddess Lakshmi by performing pooja the next day too bcos of some confusion of the exact day for lakshmi pooja back in India :) To top it all my cute neighbour Shilpa & her daughter Aditi brought over some 'phool Jadi s ' and that definitely added to the spark of our diwali!! 

Happy Diwali to my family & friends back in India and all over the world. Feel Festive feel Desi always!!

The Celebration aftermath!!

My Patio balcony all lit up - felt festive!!!!

He looks like a Pro ;)

'Toddler - ese' - Toddler activities

The everlasting  infinite endless eternal 'toddler -ese' courtesy sunshine. So he turned 3 but its not that its a dot in time or a new bubble in space to notice a huge change in them. whoever said at 3 they become boys from the little babies that they were. He is still this huggable, kissable & tantrum outburst at its best - little guy. He s' very much a Mamma s boy all ready to take a plunge into something new at the same time gets engrossed happily in all play activities i probably think its the lack of Television thats keeping him connected to other natural interests and to Mommy of course ;) Yes he does not have any frenzy for TV characters like the Starwars Hulk, or Batman or Superman :) (he does know Spiderman bcos spider is a bug and hes in the buga - boo mood these days ul know it soon, down in my blog). I know i know he might be missing those muscled mighty men characters and in fact one Mom (as usual the pressure from an  Indian Mom) who has a 4 year old told me switch on the TV and show this this n that that  their communication skills will improve they will pretend play etc etc well this was a tip for sunshine s' 3 year old birthday from her i agree with her but  i kind of paid a deaf ear to it later on  b'cos honestly we have no time for TV its summers and i can't hold on to my horses from stepping out and hitting the parks. Pennsylvania  is so so so beautiful ...the parks have a different energy altogether its not just about swings or slides but you have story time sessions at the park, some parks have a barn with farm animals, some have the relaxing sound of water fall or fountain and my boy has an amazing fancy for waterfall or fountain he loves the sound of the calm waterfall trust me i google on parks that have a pond or fountain or waterfall bcos it keeps my toddler way too busy. I love getting out as much as possible i dont care if its too sunny or raining a bit frequent chances to burn up energy and play in the fresh air keep your spirited toddlers in balance.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up,
snow oh wow its exhilarating, there is no such thing as bad weather 
just different types of good weather!! - John Ruskin

I live by this quote it defines me totally and i want my boy to be acclimatized to all sorts of weather.

........So TV has some more time for us maybe in the winter evenings. We prefer staying outdoors watching the bugs crawl, watching the aeroplanes fly, playing in the sand, identifying the changing leaves color,splashing water in the pool etc etc

Glaring at the calm sound of the fountain

eternal love for fountains

So what exactly is Toddler-ese ? There are many meanings to it : 

1)Three years old and a toddler - ese character - They are now old enough to have their attention span extended way beyond the 10 - 15 minutes span that they used to religiously follow at the age of 1 but now   they can stare at a waterfall or fountain for a bit pull out one of their toy and raise it up so that the toy feels the splashing water from the fountain or simply make their animal toy drink some water so a decent half an hour easily in one activity.

2)Toddler - ese oops they aren't distracted that easily if you thought so  - Now that they are 3 they are opinionated, verbal,  independant, agreeable (to some extent) engrossed and a lot more active as compared to early 2s. As early as 1 we could easily distract them with a toy or rattle when they are crying to change diapers or just crying you know but now you cant really distract them and disturb their attention  from the activity that they are engrossed in. Distraction can backfire it needs to be used thoughtfully if you distract them saying 'hey look outside there is a bird there'  when they are upset about a block building he built which just collapsed he might think you are not paying attention to their need. So here s a tip ~~
 Great communication really works. your 3 year old can easily understand you and can deftly use words to express her ideas to you hence its very important we communicate back in a manner without letting their feelings down and empathising towards them always.They do get upset if we want them to leave from the park especially when they are engrossed in a activity they know the rules but a tantrum can explode again they know they are not a baby but they also know they are not a big kid so good communication with a lot of gesturing, emphasis, phrases and repitition helps!! 
'
I know you love parks(empathy) and fountain oh the waterfall is indeed beautiful (empathy exagration) but we can come back tomorrow bcos its evening and Daddy gets back home to see you and its dinnner time  we are hungry too' (emphasis on the need of the hour)

3)Respect their choice do not underestimate them  - So three year old do have a emotional quotient so if they love doing certain activity do not get pressurised that the 'other 3 year old in the park is riding a bike so why cant you or see your friends are running up and down the slide why cant you'. Respect your toddler s choice if its playtime he will do whats best for his time he has a choice and we need to respect that choice, show you care about his activity with words, with actions if they need your attention for example - We know so many bugs by now ladybug, bumble bee, dragon fly, spider, butterfly etc etc and the excitement my toddler gets in spotting these bugs and watching them carefully my little einstein scientist that he is i encourage him guess what i got some bugs books for him, we got bugs stickers and made a bug - boo project sticking cutting etc and he loves the fact that Mommy is involved!! Respecting their choice and encouraging them boosts up their self esteem.

Bug - Boo project :)

this is our buga boo reading list for the next one year :)

And this is how my girafffe friend and I  get busy like the 'Bugs'

4)Don't mock or benate  - Especially after a tantrum outburst the little guy is upset all you can do is hug and repeat i know why you are upset, use positive words like you are strong and a big boy but mind you never mock or tease or make fun of them. It will either shrive her self confidence or make her dig in her heels and become even more defiant. I know many of us grew up with a phrase called ' Shame Shame puppy shame tell your blah blah okay i dont remeber it ... .so anyway if a kid is upset  either give him space or make him understand after hes calmed down but never 'Mock'

5)Toddler -ese  can also mean the best age for introducing montessori activities - What exactly are montessori activities? Its pure practicality they  love projects, feeling practical  life tools,natural learning, advanced pretend play all of this with freedom as long as your child is safe and using the freedom in a positive manner.No kid for that matter likes to be supervised when it comes to toys and tools. If they want to play with trains so be it dont tell them to use the truck instead bcos the truck is gifted by your Mom :) let them have the space and freedom to choose what they want to play with afterall their tiny brains are directing them what exactly they have to do for the moment. Independance and self directed learning are important goals of Montessori whether you are home schooling or they attend a school outside.


My Tip ~~I simply love the concept of hands on learning that montessori concept emphasises on - like preparing dinner,making flour dough he loves doing it  yes its official my boy loves kitchen set and cooking so be it its not compulsory that boys need to ride trucks and girls need to use a kitchen set. its an activity afterall!!

Dough making at its best!

And heres the master chef!!

another uniqueTool - we use it at our work station - its called 'The Number table mat'

Montessori tool - Large alphabet puzzle mat

balcony bloom - nurturing his little garden

natural learning  - Plants, trees, leaves, colors of the leaves, how do plants grow, how do we nurture them etc etc all of this can be taught to a curious three year old. Pick up a themes and just make it as natural as possible like shape of the earth, the World, The 4 seasons, planets, rains &clouds, shapes of the moon etc etc 

6)Time distribution for montessori activities  - I know we are all blessed with good resources and hence spend on our kids but its not about owning the toys and dumping it in a toy basket, organising and rotating and planning your day or week is a wonderful montessori concept.(pssst Im yet to master this art, i will do the planning part moreso in winters right now outdoor is our priority :)) but when we are home i do try to rearrange his toys or open a new toy or introduce him to some new concept from the toy etc etc  im currently setting up my toddlers room and my idea is to make a lot of DIY stuff from home waste and now is the time to label stuff and make them understand their toy station. We have a tray for blocks, animals, cooking toys, outdoor toys label them works wonders. easier to clean up too and encourage your child to clean up now this is the age!!Although my son has a beautiful school and they follow themes in their teaching methodology but what you can do at home is an added advantage and a lot of fun.

A friend gifted him a awesome pack of books - we made it into a 'The 4 seasons theme'  its not just about reading them but showing the practicality of each season!!

                                                                                                                And this is how we learnt 'summers' our fav season 

learning the world around us - tools used a mini globe, table mat size world map & some colorful numbers to number the continents & ocean !!

So wishing you all a  Happy Toddlerhood & its worth being noteworthy and be appreciable of the  'Toddler - ese' characteristics  in your house its all about bringing out the 'happy kid' quotient in your child... intelligence, smartness & other milestones will naturally follow. Happy Parenting and enjoy the journey of the gifted Toddlerland. Mind you toddlerhood may pass in the blink of an eye and very soon youl be packing some laughs and tustles as they set foot on the shores of childhood. I hope to pen down a lot so that i can recall all of this as my sunshine grows up....

Lots of Love,
Sunshine s Mommy
P.S Watch out for this space for more pictures & printables on montessori tools. 

its good to arrange a space for toys and tools in the living room too  we have a vehicles & books theme for this week

another book corner in the living room made from waste boxes

We are 3 ! A quick catch up on my party .....

Yes you' re invited :)) so you might know we celebrated sunshine s birthday recently with a full on buddy budday boo style. As a Mom i'm so excited when sunshine s birthday is nearing b'cos i get busy planning his birthday i have planned all his birthdays so far and its been unique in its own way. But this time I just decided a last minute party trust me :-!

So what did we do this time ? Last 2 years we celebrated it in the fulltoo family way throwing a huge party in a party hall, buffet dinner, ballons, kiddy activities, some fun return gifts etc etc  I'm not normally one to go all out on kids parties neither Am I as creative as these professional party planners especially the DIY pinterest ones are inspirational oh back in India I did not really get a good planner unfortunately in fact for sunshine s first birthday I hired a planner but did all the creativity by myself  I always did a inspirational theme. my sunny boy loves animals so first year it was a animal theme with a cute elephant cake and animals wearing party hats the planner conveniently got the jungle book mowgli animals but i changed it all and gave him a picture of how i want the animal cut outs to be,second year was Thomas the train so it was a train invite, train cake, lots of train goodies for kids, I printed some sheets with a Thomas the tank engine drawing and kept crayons on the party table so kids got busy colouring. We had some interesting goody bags  for the returns. Kids loved the bag and opened it all in the party itself :) so i do think out of the box and end up doing some creative stuff ;) This year we went a tad different. Daddy and I decided not to spend too much on the party and also not to overwhelm the little thing with too many kids and adults so we wanted it low key in short and just a family outing maybe a dinner or some favorite play place.

Just about 2 days before his birthday a lovely idea struck my mind, i thought of things he likes to do and what is his fun quotient  etc etc not to forget he still does not know that a birthday is a birthday you know what i mean... a birthday for sunshine is a song, it means clapping hands, it simply means a nursery rhyme from his zillion rhymes playlist, it also means Mommy should sing the next song 'Hey Diddle Diddle' bcos after' happy birthday' its' hey diddle diddle' in his nursery rhyme playlist :-!!

So at 3  my boy surely did not care much about a birthday or a birthday party as such but you know  Mommy s enthu cutlets as usual started popping up and  after much deliberation Mommy decided why not do a party in a small and intimate way but keeping the party quotient alive and the' party'  part is always there afterall we celebrated in a grand scale last 2 years and like most indian families go overboard :- D  with the guest list - so did we uncles s uncles, that far relative,oh this friend has a similar age kid who is his nephew so call them too,  the entire neighbourhood etc etc its almost like a mini indian wedding reception with a photographer running behind almost anyone, capturing some funny moments like maybe your neighbour s mom relishing the cake :D

Okay Okay Coming back to the party this year, so i wanted to keep up the trend but celebrate it just amongst few buddies - cake-lollipops- ballons- all these were in my mind ....so i thought why not a outdoor park, sunny summer days are here and kids love being outside the house playing all day, i picked up a beautiful river front park with picnic benches  one of my favorite and sunshine loves it too bcos the added advantage to this park is a live farm with geese walking freely in the park or some trying to get into the river, some ducks, some roosters and Hens in a barn, 2 baby wolves oh my gosh who look like huge dogs (caged but of course)for  sunshine  they are doggy, also there is just one donkey, some goats and some turkeys the gobble-  gobble . For my animal lover this was of course nothing but a feast. So a farm animal ranch  was the theme this time.

So i quickly made an invite and decided to call only a few close  friends, we went shopping the day before and i ran over my birthday to do list and shopped merrily!!The party was in the morning at 11.30am bcos earlier in the week the weather report showed signs of rains although it was a very sunny day but i did not want to take a  chance afterall the party was outdoor in a open space. I barely slept for 3 hours out of excitement and was up at 7am started preparing  stuff for the party. The menu was all home made snacks - cocktail idlis, margarita cheese pizza, and some sumptous creamy mayonnise sandwiches. Friends back in India exchanged some recipes with me on watsapp some were youtube found and some my own , My Dad helped me with idlis and also packing all the stuff and everything turned out to be fingerlicious !! Sunshine s Daddy checked-in everything into the car trunk.We stopped by to buy balloons and what a awesome party it was... Sunshine strolled with theflock of geese initally, as the party buddies started arriving one by one we all sat by the beautiful schuylkill river bank and the kids were busy throwing stones into the water whilst Mommies posed for some clicks. All the Kids had the party hat on except sunshine who conveniently threw it away in exactly 60 seconds luckily i managed a click though.We blew the number 3 candle as sunshine eagerly waited to have his cupcake, all sang the happy birthday song and sunshine interrupted 'Hey diddle diddle' for those who can understand what i mean. we had to sing quickly and then all kids had a feast having their own cup cakes and snacks. its so much easier with cup cakes you know. After snacking we all strolled around to see the farm animals and the kids refused to go back home they had a blast!! It was party time at its best!! kids doing their own stuff, Moms &  Dads chatting, sipping, eating and also having their 3rd eye on the kids :) it was a happy ' Happy birthday party'.

The biggest milestone at 3 is kids start talking they graduate from a toddler to a preschooler (somewhat) well  sunshine s talking is yet very cute he joins words most often,  sometimes its a sentence like' keep ittta their'  meaning' keep it there' so the last one year the journey between 2 to 3 his dictionery goes like this :

Libeary (Library)

Eagu park (Eagleville Park)

Audom park (Audobon court Park)

Illdiii (Idli)

Uppaa (Upma)

chapiiti (chapati)

Sanfich (Sandwich)

bed (Bread)

Bikkki  (biscuit)

Lappo (Laptop)

Eiphant (Elephant)

Hippotopotopomus (Hippopotamus)

Zoo

Scoo (School)

lo mowa (Lawn Mower)

Cycle

Caaaaa (Car)

Get Done (Get Down)

Enughhhhh (A big No - Enough)

Daddnnnn (Daddy)

Mamma (Mommy)

Tathaa (Thatha - Grandfather)

Paatti sometimes it goes patty  (Paatti Grandmother)

Saindaa Maasi (Sandhya Maasi - earlier it used to be Maaiiii)

Sonyyyy (Sony Maasi)

Achchcha (Achacha - Grandfather)

Annnty (Achamma Grandmother)

Taishaaa (Tanisha & Tanishka - cousins both were referred to as Taishaaa)

Nambundaaa (Nandu Mama)

Peeetiii aunty (Preethi Aunty)

Pemaaaa (Prema Aunty)

Kol Patty (Kollu Patty - Great Grandmother)

Doyyyyiiii (Dolly)

This is somewhat a list i compiled so that i remember all of this when he grows up once again Happy birthday to my dear sunshine stay happy forever and thanks for making Mommy happier by the day !!!


Lots of Love

Sunshine s Mommy

Quick bits toddler tips - Its not that complicated !!

Toddlerhood the highpoints of parenthood. the beautiful stage between one to three (maybe a lil beyond that too) where the world is so beautiful and they make you see the world in wonderful new ways..from the bugs in the grass.. to the shapes in the clouds,colors of the rainbow...some fireflies sparkling in the evening hours...to the sound of a waterfall or fountain.. Toddlers brim with curiosity,excitement and an irresistible charm.

As you all know i have a toddler named Sunshine and now that its summers there is so much of outside play and bucket list that runs over and keeps us so so busy. one tick on our busy bucket list is visiting the childrens museum  i often take sunshine to the 'Please touch museum' a wonderful exhibit and touch and play museum filled with imaginative play toys and tools for kids i simply love going there we try and go in the summers on the first Wednesday of every month. so last year we must have gone there like ...4 consecutive months  but did not attempt to go in the winters. So this summers  i took him almost after 6 or 7 months and i could notice he really recognised the place so well that he first wanted to do a survey round of the entire museum  he played  a bit in the water play area (he loves to move small boats and ducks here it his favorite place) but quickly walked downstairs towards 'goosey' and 'Moo' i was disappointed bcos i thought why is he not staying back here at the water play area the last time we came he loved it . but i slowly began to realise he took a round of the whole museum played a bit with all the play tools he could recollect and then came back to the water thing again and spent a good half an hour there :) Toddlers do have a strong opinion now - Welcome to toddlerhood!!

I also love visiting different libraries and my local library has a reading  program named 'Terrific Toddlers' and i thought it was so cool because it exactly defines the way they are..yes they are upright, opinionated, headstrong and travelling so fast like the 'Light in action' and that they are just so terrific little stars!! They are like this pre-historic human tribes - strong willed, tenacious,distracted and impatient. So ive been reading, hearing, smelling, seeing a toddler and hence got a tad more curious and decided to borrow more books on  toddlers to understand them and know more about their little world and heres what i came up with....

 Quick bits toddler tips:

The different  phases of tantrums - I'm sure like 'Terrific Toddlers' there are a few other Ts that define toddlers and the biggest one being 'Tantrum' What exactly is a tantrum - its this long shrill screammmmmmmm that could shatter glass! And bcos they are toddlers and do have a opinion but cant speak up always or express it clearly they do throw tantrums and get agitated if things don't go their way here s the crux - do you just give them what they want bcos they'l stop screeching and screaming or let the tantrum continue for a bit let them calm by themselves? If you are at home walk into another room and ignore them they'l come walking up to you for attention after the tantrum bells stop ringing they know you are ignoring them this is the best time to calm them and explain to them what is right or wrong but don't stretch it beyond a point their brains are little yet and they will gather how much they are supposed to but trust me this works!!

If you experience a tantrum at the supermarket or at a children s story time (this has happened with me) best is to walk out get into your car and have some quiet time. I tell sunshine lets make some giraffe sounds  after a outdoor tantrum, just so you know giraffes don't have vocal chords so giraffe sound is equal to a quiet time. They get the message that when you are outdoor a tantrum might not be a good thing and hence Mommy expects some silence.

 Do not Punish but praise using 'time outs' - Start practising time outs after the age of 2.5 thats when they will understand at least a bit of it. If you think something is not right and he repeatedly does the same give him a  'Time out 'and  tell him to sit quiet in his time out chair in a corner for 2 minutes and talk to them cheerfully whilst they are seated there that  as you grow the time out times would increase so at the age of 3 it would be 3 minutes at 4 it would be 4 minutes and so on they get the hint! Always praise that they did a good job sitting quiet and listening to Mommy during a time out.So it ain't a punishment but the praise that can get you a win - win!!

Good Manners - Manners can be taught to toddlers as early as 2 or 2.5 years. I know a lot of parents who complain they won't bring their toddlers to a restaurant bcos they fear glasses breaking, table tops being pulled out etc etc. Good manners like table manners, saying please, thank you, sorry, excuse me can be  taught very much to a toddler. A 2.5 year old must sit thru in a restaurant for dinner in his baby chair yes with a few crayon sticks and a paper is okay till the food arrives. Some kids i see are enthralled with their ipads and gadgets in a restaurant we used to do that too but now i carry it with me just in case its needed else i don't remove it from my bag and instead engage him in talks or simply give him a puzzle to do where he can use his motor skills but surely avoid the ipad.  i guess as parents we are so nervous and predictable about a tantrum outburst that we apply the shortcut but kids can adapt very easily if no ipad is available then no ipad time its simple!!

 Trade Trick - Toddlers do have a tendancy to not share their toys, books, play tools etc with friends. its very very normal bcos they fear that the friend will take it away and they love and are super possesive about their things it 'belongs to me' is their expression with frown eyebrows always afterall we pamper them with so many toys and mountains of play tools at home so all of a sudden a friend who is not a friend in the real sense wants to borrow they don't understand the concept. Try the trade trick if they show a hesitance to share  - announce a trade idea ' lets trade the train for the Dino instead' how about that ? they get into thinking and slowly do understand this concept they might not share immediately but a few try s do work wonders but do not stress it too much just whenever they are ready!!

Side door messages work - Here s' a curious fact of human nature. we believe things we accidentally overhear than something that is told to us directly so if someone says i look beautiful i feel shes just being polite whereas if i hear her telling another friend about me (the same message) i would think its a honest opnion. Toddlers too tend to pay more attention to overhear us  than pay attention to what we tell them directly. So here  it is - Try to create a lot of gossiping and fairy tales pick up his toy phone and call up Daddy and appreciate what a good job he did building blocks or call his grand mom and say he is doing a great job eating his vegetables. All of that side door gossiping works!!!

Reverse psychology yes its superb - Making tendency to work in your favor is what s commonly called 'Reverse psychology' . I got this awesome book for potty training called 'its potty time'so a teddy bear refuses to use the seat although mommy says you are now a big boy. Mommy does not push. One day she brings another potty seat for teddy s doll and says the doll is big now and wears an underwear hence will not wet his pants and wants to use the potty seat so excuse me im going to put dolly in the seat give me a minute curious teddy walks behind and sees what mommy does to the doll  teddy realises and says im a big boy too and i will use my potty seat from now on. I was shocked to know a parent started potty training her little one from the age of 9 months i really wonder if anyone can do that ever goshhh!! Every kid  will do it when they are ready a toddler age typically post 2  is the best to introduce to a seat till then diapers are absolutely ok!!
Use reverse psychology at its best!!!


It aint time outs always there should be plenty of room for time ins too - Time - ins are little tidbits of attention and routine that help your toddler feel valued. Have you noticed when the phone rings your toddler rings his bells of screeches and screaming too thats bcos he knows you are going to ignore him for a bit they feel they have lost you in that period of time. After you finish the phone call (hopefully you've completed the phone conversation) try time - ins - hug them and tell them im here, few other time -ins that you can use more often during the day - give them a cozy massage and engage into a talk, share positive words and hopes, read a book at bedtime and cuddle them tight, make book sharing time a special time for closeness with your child, sing to your toddler, kiss them and say i love you. It works this is the age they wait to hear all this from you so go overboard!!!

one of my favorite Time - in 

So these are my quick bits toddler tips  hope all of it works well with sunshine and with your toddlers too till then .....

Happy Toddlerhood and happy Parenthood !!!

Love,
Sunshine s Mamma