Final leg at Binsar - Holiday Part IV

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 5/10/2013 4:11:00 AM

'After our 3 days at Corbett, it was time to head higher up the mountain ranges to the hill station of Binsar. We realized how many resorts Club M has all over the place, when we actually passed another of them at Naukuchiatal on the way to Binsar :).D used to be the badly car sick one in the family, but on this trip I started off the trend! The roads took some getting used to, but the view all along was lovely. It took us about 6 hours for a distance of about 240 kms.And then we rea(...)'

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Still at Corbett - Holiday Part III

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 5/6/2013 12:34:00 PM

'And now it was time for that Canter Safari that was in a large 16-18 seater open vehicle.. we started off with a bit of hesitation as we were in the last row, and the seats and the state of the vehicle in general did not inspire confidence. Unfortunately our fears were confirmed and the next 6 hours were the most uncomfortable I have spent in recent times. I don't have any diagnosed back problems but have neck issues due to spondylitis, and I can't imagine what someone with an acute(...)'

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At Corbett National Park - Summer Holiday Part II

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 5/5/2013 12:39:00 PM

'So it was time for Leg 2 and we were going to spend that at Corbett National Park, at the Club Mahindra Resort located close to it at a place called Garjia. I had booked a cab from a company called Incredible Routes, whom I got to know of through (where else?) Facebook :). Kripi, who runs the company, was very polite and responsive to all my queries, and we struck a deal completely online, again a first for me. The very courteous driver along with his Toyota Innova were at our doors(...)'

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At the Nation's Capital

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 5/1/2013 7:01:00 AM

'As announced on the blog a few months back, our much awaited summer vacation has come and gone.. We had a whale of a time.. divided between Delhi and the beautiful state of Uttarakhand. First some reminiscing about part I at our nation's capital..This year, we decided it was about time we ventured to the north of our country. In previous years, we have confined holidays to the south and nearby "drivable" places as the kids were too young. But with S turning 5 in March, seemed like a(...)'

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Going Solo...

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 4/10/2013 3:52:00 PM

'; ;; ; ; Warning: Random reminiscing ahead ;)…Until the time I when I was in college, and probably even the days after I joined work and the early days of my marriage, I would call myself as on the diffident and even naïve side.  A hesitation to ask questions even to get information, an inability to say no to anything… and so many other such things were a part of my personality. So much so, that I never wanted to go shopping on my own or anywhere on my own I guess. I’m (...)'

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What's up with my garden?

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 4/7/2013 5:36:00 PM

'Well.. I haven't written about it much, and the reason is the pests have been driving me crazy! I was tempted to write a post about the varieties of mealy bugs my plants seem to have at the moment. I don't know if it's because they are low on nutrients, or the tree overlooking my terrace is somehow contributing to the infestation.. whatever the reason, the end result was disheartening to see every time I went to the terrace :(.The evening was spent in trying to save my guava plants (...)'

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Anger and Parenting...

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 4/3/2013 2:00:00 PM

'A short temper is something I've struggled with a lot, especially after becoming a parent. It happens so often that just when I feel like I'm getting better and have a handle on things, I start flying off so often on the kids, and then regretting it in 2 minutes :(. Yes, it might be the summer holiday effect I guess.But I saw something today, that brought my own shortcomings to the fore but also weirdly made me feel just a bit better about myself. It was at the class that my kids go(...)'

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Kids online..

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 3/24/2013 2:35:00 PM

'And the theme continues to be the kids, this time about D :).I have been so concerned about time spent on gadgetry (kids used to spend a lot of time on iPad type games in between) that I may have gone to the other extreme where exposure to a laptop/computer was concerned. Combined with the fact that I didn't see a real need for it, as is common with many mommyhood items I now wonder if I may have left it a bit late. D is now nearly 8 years old, and not very computer exposed at all..(...)'

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How time flies!

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 3/13/2013 9:56:00 AM

'From time to time I feel guilty about not writing about the kids enough, on what started out as a mommy blog after all :). So here goes:Conversation with S this morning:S: Amma, this t-shirt is only a few weeks new no?Me: Hmm.. yes that's right.S: I'll tell Aunty (his teacher) that it's new and she'll say "Very nice!"Me: Why S, you should have told her that when it was really new, why did you wait for so long? You've already worn it 5-6 times now!S: No no, not 5-6 times, only 4-5 ti(...)'

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Gearing up for CSAAM 2013

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 3/7/2013 7:06:00 AM

'Dear Friends,April 2013 is a month away, and we are gearing up for the 3rd year of CSAAM. As you are all aware, through the month of April we talk about the menace of CSA across social media, via Facebook, twitter and blogs. We count on your support and participation as always.Partnering us in our efforts this year will be organisations working in this field like Arpan, Tulir, Human Rights Watch as well as online initiatives like Blogadda and Womens Web.You will see personal testimo(...)'

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Ponderings on my favourite Children's author - Enid Blyton

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 3/6/2013 4:10:00 PM

'I have been re-reading a lot more EB every since D started reading them, and I was thinking today as to why it was/is such a fascination for me and other random take-offs from it. So here are all the grand facts I arrived at:I'm a big fan of the Fantasy Genre - Wheel of Time became my all-time favourite series when I discovered it rather late a couple of years back, and the person who finished the series - Brandon Sanderson is definitely my favourite current author and I will pick u(...)'

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That elusive Green Thumb?

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 3/1/2013 2:50:00 PM

'Have sown a couple of radish varieties, they are always the first to sprout :)People tell me sometimes "Oh you have such a green thumb!" and I always absolutely deny it. Only I know how many plants I have killed along the way, from reasons like bad watering, to not knowing how to take care of it in extreme seasons like a very hot summer. Of course, those failures do not make it to social media ;).Rows of beetroot and carrot, the carrot is always a slow starter but I'm hoping it will(...)'

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Enid Blyton's Universe?

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 2/25/2013 6:28:00 AM

'Hmm.. just as I thought I was not going to find anything to write about, a visit to the library reminded me of this.. Phew!!I might have mentioned earlier that my knowledge of young children's fiction pretty much stops at Enid Blyton, as I have read those by the dozen. Which means most of the newer stuff was unknown to me until many of you kindly gave me some ideas in a recent blog post :). But we recently came across this series:Wondering why the EB fans among you haven't heard of (...)'

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Day of love? or Baking maybe ;) ?

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 2/17/2013 8:10:00 AM

'So it was another Valentine's Day that went by quietly, the brightest aspect being that I decided to be in a baking frenzy :). Well food is a way of showing love isn't it ;)?(1) Making that perfect whole wheat bread has always been such a dream, and I came a whole lot closer with this recipe from Chinmayie on Love Food Eat.Changes:- Did not have flaxseed powder so left it out- Added some wheat gluten- Found I was at the end of my atta, so mixed a wee bit of maida at the end, probabl(...)'

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Rolls and no knead too!

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 2/4/2013 10:14:00 AM

'When I see the words "no knead" I start smiling even before trying the recipe :). I came across this recipe by Suma Rowjee a few months ago, and tried it as-is the first time with brilliant results! I realized a few days back that I hadn't posted on the blog about it, and wanted to try it again with a few substitutions, so here goes:- Instead of 260 gm Maida, I used 180 gms Maida and 60 gms Whole wheat flour, and the additional 30 gms too was Whole Wheat Flour- Left out the Baking S(...)'

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And miles to go...

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 1/30/2013 10:21:00 AM

'Many people find it amazing (in a good way and otherwise) that I became a SAHM, "for" my kids, but I find sometimes find that even if I am technically "at home", I still have so much more I want to do where the kids (and me in a connected way) are concerned! Here are just some of them:1. Teach D (and eventually S) to cycle - this one has been on my mind a lot lately. To me, cycling is a "must have" skill and though we bought a cycle for D when she was less than 5, somehow her attitu(...)'

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Fastest Holiday Plan Ever!

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 1/27/2013 1:43:00 PM

'So this is how it usually works.. I decide(ok with "some" consultation) where we should go a few months in advance of the holidays, research research research... and make the bookings whether on Club Mahindra and driving down as we usually do, or else go to a place like SOTC and make bookings through them with a clear idea of what we want to see and do. That is what we opted for, when it was our first overseas trip with the kids and I didn't want to take chances with making too many(...)'

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ME time!

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 1/22/2013 6:52:00 AM

'Whatever your style of parenting, all of us need a recharge now and again. Popularly known nowadays as ME time :). Here's how I go about it:Set expectations early: From the time they were very young, my kids know that Amma sometimes needs her own time either with a book, or her laptop :P, and it's better to not disturb her at those times as you won't get a straight answer anyway. I think it helps to establish boundaries and not be at the beck and call of your darlings or they might (...)'

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Want Vs. Need?

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 1/21/2013 8:24:00 AM

'Ever since the hope to get de-cluttered and organized wormed its way into my head (sigh I was happier when this stuff didn't bother me at all!), the feeling of owning too much "stuff" makes me feel guilty quite often. So last year started with a resolution of not buying any new clothes (lasted until September and Dastkar!) and didn't end on quite that note. So this year I wanted to be a bit more realistic and approach each day as it comes.So the last couple of times we have been sho(...)'

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Garden news - Seed planning

Author : Aparna      Blog : Life as a Mom      Date : 1/17/2013 4:08:00 PM

'For week 3, a friend reminded me of the fact that I haven't done a garden update for a while. It gets a bit excessive if I post photos on FB as well as write about it on the blog, which is why I try to strike a balance (or I hope so at least :P)But on thinking about it, I also realized that it would be useful for me to keep a track on the blog on my new year resolution of sprouting at least one batch of seeds every month. I am on the verge of doing it for this month, and here's the (...)'

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