And this happens everyday

She surprises me all the time with a letter or a drawing!

When I’m busy attending meetings, she takes a post-it note and writes “Amma I love you”.

When I’m cooking, she takes a marker and starts writing a letter to me. The letter will always say “Amma I love you”.

When I’m taking bath, she sits near the bathroom door and sings. When I come out, I’ll see a new post-it note that says “You are the best mom in the world!”.

When I’m in the family room watching a movie, she takes a paper and starts drawing a picture of me.

When I scold her, she smiles or cries and still says Amma I love you.

She is my darling Lily!! I love her to the moon and back.

The school was closed today because of a snow storm and this is what she drew while I was in a meeting ❤️

#Blogathon2023

Date Night

I value the importance of making time to be with my kids. Growing up I have fond memories of my Amma spending quality time with me and I want to leave my children with similar memories. So date night with my kids has been put into practice.

Often times when I think of dates, I often picture something fancy. Something expensive. However, dates with Lime & Lily can be as fancy, real and casual as I would like! For example: Lime and Lily place a huge value on some of the simple things I always take for granted.

Grocery Shopping: Lime loves this for some reason. He would come pick fruits and vegetables with me. He loves finding items for me and also makes me do lot of impromptu purchases. Lily on the other hand, loves sitting in the shopping cart and pretend she is flying. These dates are only fun when the grocery store is not crowded!

Dollar Store: There’s definitely some magic in knowing you can get all you want in this shop.

Car Wash: Lily loves this soapy journey. She has been asking me to go for a car wash for the past few weeks now.

Restaurant: Going out and eating is a lot of fun. Be it a fancy restaurant, fast food or dessert only place.

Lime was at the ski club today. As soon as Lily came home, I got her dressed and we both went to see Lime at the mountain. While I enjoyed seeing him come down the huge hill, Lily enjoyed playing in the snow. After the class, I signed Lime out, picked up his school bag and we headed to our favorite Panera bread. We found a nice corner table and spent hours chatting . Just the 3 of us! It was a much needed break for me!

#Blogathon2023

X for Xerox

People often told me how much I look like my mom. I always thought they meant in my nature and not personality. Nowadays every time I’m in front of a mirror, I see mom in myself a lot of ways. I definitely got my hair color, texture and thickness from my mom.

And Lily? She is definitely a mini-me. The way she talks, the way she smiles, the way she dances when no one is looking, and most people think she will look like my mom when gets older. It’s a beautiful thing to see my mom live on in her.

Lime has my twinkling eyes. He gets angry just like me. He loves shopping just like me. However, he looks up to Lemon as a role model to follow.

I’m going to leave you all with some pictures….

Like daddy like daughter! Both browsing through the phone

Like daddy like son! Same sleeping pose

P.S.: Notice there is no photo of me even though I said the kids resemble me a lot? Because my dear Lemon never cares to click pictures. I’m the photographer in the family.

#Blogathon2020, #A-ZWriting

R for Relax

My to-do list is long and my bullet list is bursting. And it seems like I always have something to do or should be doing. I end up feeling guilty if I’m not being productive. So this weekend, I decided to take off from my scheduled tasks. I decided to give my brain some rest.. some time to relax. Solely so I can recharge and have a day free from stress, pressure and always-stay-busy mindset.

1. I went alarm free this weekend. And guess what happened? The kids woke up early!!!! They can wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 AM on a weekend but can never wake up even by 7:00 AM on a school day. Sigh!! And then they don’t just wake up. They do this to you…..

That’s Lily pulling my hair infinite number of times with one hand and thumb-sucking her other hand. And Lime taking pictures!!!!

2. After waking up early (read after awakened early by the kids this morning) I gifted myself a long hot bath with my favorite bath bomb. If you are looking for some nice new soaps, try this and this. I love them!

3. And then I decided to treat myself. Found this shoe in Nordstrom Rack and I’m soooooo much in love. I saw someone wearing something similar long long ago and since then I’ve been searching for one.

3. I let the kids have lots of fun at home so I can relax. And Lily was so excited to play with Lime. Happy kids = Happy evening!!!!

4. I then watched a movie. A full movie peacefully at home. Randomly picked something on Netflix and watched it till the end! Bliss it is to get that kind of time at home!!!!

Anyways, the week ahead is going to be crazy and this was a much needed relaxation.

Happy Sunday, all!

#Blogathon2020, #A-ZWriting, #Weekends

L for Lost

She lost it again! This is the fourth time this is happening. She lost her first when she was 1.5 years old. Then another one around 2. Next at 2.4 and now again at 3.

Every single time it’s the right side earring that goes missing. I’ve tried different kinds of earrings. Gold. Silver. Gold plated. You name it!! And even all different kinds of screws for the back of the earring. None of them stay more than 6 months though.

I saw this note in her day care cubby today.

And this was her reaction when I asked her what happened.

What do I do with her? 🙈🙃😬😂🙈

P.S.: I was going to continue my “Love list” from here for writing about something that starts with ‘L’. But this incident happened today and was definitely more apt for today’s blog posting!

#Blogathon2020, #A-ZWriting, #Lost, #Toddlerdrama

F for Fairy Tales

Image Courtesy: Google

If I had a magical mirror, a fairy godmother, a golden egg laying goose or a wicked witch in my life, I will not ask for anything else but a wish to slow the time. Or even just a pause would help. Only to take a deep breath and freeze the way my babies are right now.

Before pregnancy people warned me that time would just fly away and that in a blink of an eye they would become adults. Lime is just 7 and Lily is just a toddler and it feels like time has already flown away in an accelerated pace.

Since I do not have a magical mirror or a fairy godmother or even a wicked witch in my life, I’m going to jot down some of the ways I can press the pause button myself.

#1: A magical wish to freeze time

I enjoyed being pregnant. Every morning I loved dressing up and showing my belly to Lemon. I even started a fashion blog on maternity! I did not mind the morning sickness nor the weight I gained. I just loved it all and created two babies.

So to freeze the moments and to enjoy every thing my kids do, I’m going to create journals. 2 journals, one for Lime and the other for Lily to record their crafts, drafts, achievements and of course pictures. Many many pictures.

#2: A magical wish to have more 1:1 times

Oh! There were those days when the little ones were just sticking to my skin. Wouldn’t go to anyone else. No daddy, no paati, no thattha. Only me. Me and them only. I miss those days now. Lily is so naughty and can never sit in one place. And Lime? OMG! What can I say! He can never spend a minute without troubling Lily.

So, Lemon and I are each going to take our own 1:1 times with them to love them, to make our own promises & keep them before they grow. (Of course I will get the maximum 1:1 time. But we will figure it out together!)

#3: A magical wish to be the best friend

Every evening as soon as I start cooking dinner, they both run to their play-kitchen. They bring me cheese, strawberries, French fries, corn, and cup cakes to eat with them. They also bring me toys, dolls, and a variety of other objects to engage me in play. Their face light up when I respond. But sometimes I get irritated and ask them to stop playing with me. Would they listen and stop? NO! One important factor about toddlers is that there is no such thing as too much scolding or too much repetition.

Before long they both will grow up and would not be interested in playing with me. They will have many friends of the same age with whom they will want to have fun. So I’m going to try as often as I can now to play with them.

#Blogathon2020, #A-Zwriting #fairytale

Bedtime stories

Lime and Lily have very short attention spans. They get bored and become restless if the action is diminished. Be it with anything – toys, books, tv, and even games!!

One thing they are not restless about is our bedtime routine. Reading books.

There are stories they love. There are stories they hate. And then there are stories they don’t like at all. Whatever it may be, they prefer to read at least one book before bedtime.

And some days they even fight. Fight about which book to read. Lily likes princess stories. Lime likes superhero stories. So you see satisfying both of them is a big challenge.

There are nights when Lime reads aloud for Lily. There are nights when Lemon reads. But when it’s my turn to read, I cry. Mainly because I don’t have the strength. I would be a listless reader, void of any possible expression or sound effects. Yet, both of them will be glued to listening. When the book is finished, Lily would run to get another book. 30 minutes past bedtime, we would still be reading. So much for short attention spans! Sigh!

Tonight was Marvel story night! They say it’s cool 😎

A tale of smiles

I smile every morning as I walk into the kitchen and see the dish washer flashing green light called ‘Clean’. It makes me smile big. It tells me that Lemon did not forget to turn it on!

I smile every evening when Lime remembers to remove his shoes before walking into the home and when he hangs his jacket in the closet. It tells me he is growing up to do such stuff.

I smile each time I see a WhatsApp message from my mom. It tells me she has learnt to use the phone keyboard. What she types is not always right, but I can figure out what she is trying to say to me.

I smile each time Lily comes running to me pointing her finger at Lime. It tells me she is complaining about her brother. It tells me they are having fun.

We take billion pictures in each of our trip. Here’s one that makes me smile every time I see it

#Blogathon2018

The many things on my mind

I sit in my favorite room in the house with a pillow behind my back and your tiny fingers wrapped around mine tightly. You kick me with your right leg. I look at you and you smile at me showing all your teeth like moonshine. I gently grab you, give you a tight hug and kiss you. One on each cheek, the forehead and then the tummy. You giggle. I enjoy.

My phone beeps. Before I reach for it, you take it and use it as a chance to play. You press the center button and then swipe left and then swipe right. The keypad pops up asking for the passcode. You press all the numbers. Finally after few moments, the phone gets disabled. You lose your interest in playing and give the phone back to me. I smile.

Your daddy and brother come back home from the karate class. As soon your brother removes his shoes, he comes running to you. You both stare at each other for few seconds and off he goes to grab your water bottle from the table. I tell him you don’t need it. He disagrees and gives the bottle to you. You drink lots of water. He smiles, you smile and I blink. How did he know? I wonder.

You and your brother always play rough. My head spins watching you two chase, bounce, roll and what not. I play the strict referee all the time while your dad often lets you two go for it!

And oh! The list goes on…

#Blogathon2018

Introducing baby ‘Lily’

It’s late post. But better late than never, right?

This year has been so much fun. Most of my dreams have come true, especially the baby news! There has been 3 babies, all about a month apart, in the family this year. The 4th one is expected sometime next week. Can’t wait for the good news from the cousin! 🙂

‘Lily‘ is my baby girl’s blog name. She graced this beautiful world  on May 3rd 2016!!! The birth story is posted here.

It’s been 7 months now. Lime is still surprised by the fact that the baby is out of mommy’s tummy. He is a proud big bother and loves his little sister.

There are so many things about the baby that I want to record over here..Will do it as and when I find time..

We love our little one. She is our adorable doll. Her toothless smile makes us melt every time. She loves lying on her tummy and raising her head high. She is starting to sit up by herself and she always does it quickly when mommy is not looking at her. She is always curious about what is happening around her. She turns her tiny head all around to look at things. She even stretches her arms to reach for the cup when mommy is drinking her morning coffee. She also loves playing with mommy’s hair.

She looks up to her brother all the time. She admires him for everything he does. She laughs happily around him and plays with him. He sings and dances for her which is so adorable. She bears with whatever he does, even it is pinching her nose or hugging her tight. No complaints – She loves it all!

Keep growing our dear baby. Be happy and healthy! We love you and Lime the most!

All you readers, send in all your love to the little ones, will ya?