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

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

A letter to my baby boy – 4

My dear Lime, 

You are FIVE. 

As I write this post, I will try hard not to cry. You sweet boy, my firstborn child, made me a mommy!  

From the moment I saw you, I knew I’ll never love someone else the way I love you.  You changed my life forever. 

FIVE is such a big boy age. I’m struggling to understand how time went by so quickly. It just seems like yesterday I was in hospital giving birth to you. 

I still remember that first year when I quit my job to take care of you. I spent days exploring the world with you when some people criticized me for being a stay-at-home mom. You were content being with me and that mattered to me more than anything else. 

That second year when I put you in day care and resumed work is unforgettable. We both cried on your first day at day care. Ah! Those painful days!

That third year when you went so crazy about mickey mouse. 

Your sister came along before you were four. I was so worried i couldn’t love you as well anymore. I was wrong. 1

When it comes to taking care of baby Lily, you are so good. You learned to take care of her quickly. You make sure she doesn’t fall down from the bed by arranging pillows in the open corner. You hold her hand when she tries to walk. You sing so she can sleep. If I take away your toys, you get angry; But if Lily grabs your toys, you are so good with her. You give her something in exchange and then take your toy back. 

I love that you remember every single thing about anything I say. You are so fun. Everyone loves talking with you. Your laugh is so infectious. You love to figure things out yourself – Be it opening a snack box or inserting straw in a juice pouch; You want to do it all.

You are so smart and make Lemon and I so proud. 

You like to run around a lot. I still remember the day when I almost lost you at the shopping mall. You ran away and scared the hell out of me. I did end up finding you in couple minutes. But what a day it was. Phew!

You are good at soccer and swimming. We can’t wait to try karate and dance next. 

This year you fell so much in love with Power Rangers. And, you are still crazy about ‘Talking Tom‘. 

Can’t believe you are graduating this Friday from Pre-School. You love math and like talking about all you learnt in school. You have memorized our phone number and house address for emergency. 

Being a super hero is your dream. You love avengers, ninjas, spider-man and Batman and what not. You can name every character in all of the movies which I have no clue about. 

You have a big year ahead, my baby! You are going to go to a new school. Meet new friends and teachers. The path forward is new with lots of changes in schedule. Come what may, I know you will prosper in all your endeavors. God bless you my child! I love you so much! 

That’s you with your birthday gift! Power Ranger Megazord 🙂

 

Love,
Mummy

Throwback Thursday 3

In honor of Throwback Thursday, Here’s a post that had been sitting in my drafts for a very long time now…

—

Me: Dog says

Lime: bow-bow

Me: Cat Says

Lime: Meeaow

Me: Pig says:

Oink Oink

Me: Cow says:

Lime: Moo Moo

Me: Horse says?

Lime: Neigh Neigh

Mummy says:

Lime: Tut-too

Daddy says:

Lime: Nothing

————-

When Lime is trying to have a conversation in Tamil…. he would go on and on. When Lemon and I give a blank look, he gets mad. Probably thinking why can’t these two understand what i’m saying. Below are some of his tamil convo words.

1. Na poneen (I am going)
2. Yepieekke (how are you?)
3. Aama(yes)
4. Na Pal Venu (I want milk)
5. Na Kuiicheen (I took bath)
6. Taaptiya (Did you eat?)
7. *shakes head* for everything else.

He understands Tamil very well. But will reply back to us in English.

——–To be continued——-

#Blogathon2018

#ThrowbackThursday

#TBT

Lavender News – Top 16 Headlines

Good Morning and welcome to Lavender’s news. In today’s headlines –  

~ The weather has been so cold around the Lavender household. It is either snowing or too cold & rainy. 

~ Selfies that Lavender took in her new iPhone has actually helped her find one of Lime’s missing socks.

~ A special report from WordPress that just came in confirmed that Lavender has got 4 new blog followers this week. 

~ Lemon has drastically declined Lavender’s request to go on a vacation. Or even watch a movie. This is based on the data we have collected since the past few months. Lemon prefers to watch movies at home rather at a theater. Sources say this has irritated Lavender.

~ There has been some sort of interest shown in some new Television series in the household. While Lavender sees most of this On-Demand, Lemon watches the original airing.  

~ On New years day, Lemon, Lavender and Lime were seen fighting in the house. Sources say they ended the fight by having dinner at a local restaurant later in the evening. 

~ Regarding the power ball controversy, Lemon has purchased tickets with some of his friends only to Lose. Lavender has shown no interest in this lottery so far. 

~ Lime has rated “The Sports Authority” store in Woburn Mall as his favorite store, since that’s where Lemon and Lavender bought him his new Soccer Shoes.  

~ Also, this month Lemon, Lavender and Lime have consumed more Tacos than ever. Sources say Lavender’s recent favorite has been the Chalupa’s while Lime loves the Nachos.

~ Lavender just discovered that she is addicted to Multi-grain Tortillas. Lemon on the other hand loves dark chocolates. And Lime loves Grapes. 

~ In Business news, Lavender has taken the Blogathon 2016 Challenge. Most of her posts are about Lemon and she is doing good so far with the challenge. On being asked for a comment, Lavender stated that Lemon has been reading all her posts but never cared even once to comment. 

~ In the entertainment News, Lavender has got two new favorite songs now. She plays them on loop in her office Laptop at work. She is yet to load songs to her new iPhone 6S. Sources think that could probably be a task for Lemon this weekend. 

~ In sports, Lime started his first Soccer class on Wednesday. 

~ Swimming classes for Lime are on Sundays. He seems to be enjoying it so far. On an unrelated note, Lemon worries he has to wake up early on Sundays just to take Lime for his swimming lessons. 

~ In other news, Lemon has got a vacation day next Monday but both Lavender and Lime do not have that privilege. Going by historical evidence, lets just say Lavender is going to hate this. 

~ As per the latest update we just got, Lavender was found so happy at work yesterday. Though everyone at work wondered what could be the reason, our sources have confirmed that she was just happy because it was Friday and that she had lots of energy for the weekend.

That’s all for now. Have a good weekend!