..that I am so lacking in. I am often amazed when I find people who seem to be everywhere, partying, socializing, updating facebook status, tweeting often, travelling, watching movies, working, reading, gyming, cooking and have a perfectly run home with happy kids and support causes close to their hearts and go that extra mile for it.
I think I have abundant help but I still just can't get above the basics. The morning chores are perfectly divided between the hubby and me and we take over from each other as necessary. I get the breakfast and the dabba moving and he is responsible for everything else, getting the peapod up from bed(which takes him half a minute and me 30 minutes of endearments and screaming and threatening thereafter) to feeding her breakfast while ironing her clothes to getting her ready. I have the final responsibility of combing her rogue hair and getting them in control and walking her to the bus stop. After the peapod leaves I have an hour almost till the hubby & chattambi are up again. I use that time some days to read - that is if I am reading something, else to catch up with some blogs or bake (that is a recent activity since we just bought an OTG). That is also the time to water my plants, fold some clothes and get some order back into the rooms. God forbid if I have started a book, then its just reading and everything else gets into the back burner. After both the boys are up, we get through breakfast, bathe and change while the maid sweeps and scrubs the floor and cleans the utensils. So we try to leave the house in pristine condition to return to in the evening. These days I am not as busy at work as I did like and so do browse at work but then half the world is blocked there so there is only so much one can do.
Most days I reach home by 6:45 - 7. The kids play with their friends at my mom's place untill 7-7:30pm and then I pack them back home and when we are back I have the cooking lady come in and prepare dinner in 30-40 mins while I change and freshen up. Normally the kids are doing their stuff, sometimes playing, sometime fighting and we adults talk. If I am reading something, then I just pick up the book and try to disappear into a corner and leave P and the kids to themselves. Once the maid leaves, feeding the kids start. Depending upon the mood of the day, mine and the kids, the dinner could stretch from 1 minute (which means, if the kids don't want - I just say OK) to 45 mins which includes lot of screaming and crying and threatening (which means, the kids dont want and I and the hubby have got into an argument about what and how they should eat). P is very strict about the kids being in bed by 9:30-10pm during the week. So that deadline applies to me too bcoz untill I am not in bed with them and switch off the lights they dont as much as lie down. The days I am reading, I lie down and keep reading and the kids are jumping over me or having a pillow fight and P keeps getting angrier by the minute.
Where is the time to go on facebook or twitter or socialize?, I ask.
Every time I start reading, specially the ones that can't be put down I am in deep trouble with the daily chores. Once I am done with a book I tell P, I am not starting an another one and then he plays the devil's advocate and encourages me to read because he doesn't get to read as much. That is all I need to start again and then starts the next volley ball match. Once I get into a book, I can not get out untill the last page. And if its a romantic flick then God save me, I can not put it down untill the last passionate kiss...sigh.
How do some do so much more than I manage to squeeze into a day. If you look at my schedule, I am pretty packed but the pace is relaxed but still the regret I have is I do not keep in touch with my friends as much as I would like to. I do not socialize as much as I would like to. I do not blog as much as I would like to. This year, I atleast managed to meet quite a few friends and I hope I can keep meeting more friends than solely parents of peapod's friends. Want to do many more lunches and dinners with people who knew me as a fun person before the kids. Want to watch more than 1 movie a year and want to get back in shape. But when and how? I do not know. I worry if I do anything more, I might never see my kids awake.
Any tips from anyone ?
So what am I reading next. I am yet to begin, these are waiting by my bedside to be picked up any day now.
1. Never look Away by Linwood Baclay
2. The hand that first held mine by Maggie O'Farrel
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Friday, September 02, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
I am reading
What a read it is. I am loving it. I am reading into the night, stealing 10 - 15 mins here and there in between the 10 chores in the morning before I get myself and the kid out of the door. The hubby is irritated but understands that this is how it is gonna be untill I finish the book so takes over feeding the kids, putting them to sleep, sending the peapod to school and anything that is left off. I am grateful, how can I not be ..This is a trilogy.
I just finished Jodi Picoult's Perfect Match and it wasn't all that great. It kept me interested untill I reached about half the book and then I was skipping pages to just get to the end.
I have Montana Sky - Nora Roberts to go after this. And I am still not done with Shantaram that I started I think a year back. Its just not the kind that can be read in one go. But I enjoy it whenever I read it.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Books for 2-4 year olds
As a mom who loves to read and would love to inculcate her love for books and reading in her daughter I am always on the look out. Sites like the Saffron tree and Amazon provide much help and specially Saffron tree because the recommendations come from parents who have similar aged kids. Books recommended by other mommy-bloggers rate very high on my radar when I am looking out. Also the other problem is, many of these books I might not find in stores like crossword, landmark or Odyssey anytime I choose to walk-in. Once in these stores I just need to pick random books that look interesting but they are never half as interesting as the ones recommended by other bloggers. So this post is just for moms like me out there, who are looking for what to buy for their 2-4 year olds.
1. Barnyard Dance - Sandra Boynton
This is the first book that I bought after seeing it on ST. It was an instant hit with the both the kids, my daughter and my niece. They loved the rhyme and the different animals sketched.
2. JamBerry - Bruce Degen
Its a sweet story about a little boy and big bear out to collect all kinds of berries. The peapod wouldn't even let me bypass the first page, I have to begin with "JamBerry by Bruce Degen". The illustrations are so beautiful that even after reading it out to the peapod for almost 1-1.5 years she still finds interesting stuff in there. Yeah she knows the book front to back and can now sit on her own and recite the whole book..
3. The very Hungry Catterpillar - Eric Carle
Its a small book that we have. I am not sure if there are different sizes available but it is totally worth it. The book illustrates the transformation of a beautiful butterfly from an egg. I am still reading this one out almost every night.>
4. The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown
This one is about how a little bunny tries to keep running away from its mom only to be found by his mom in various scenarios. This one is a cute book but not quite as hit as the others we have. Since this one doesn't have rhymes and a little too many lines to be read, the peapod looses patience while we read them. I hope she will begin to like it in the coming years.
5. Is your Mama a Llama - Deborah Guarino
This one is about a little llama trying to find his mom. The rhymes are easy, the pictures very cute and the illustrations are so well done there is always something new the peapod finds in there.
6. Who are you baby kangaroo? - Stella Blackstone
This book was an instant hit with peapod and she knew it by heart in 2 days time. She totally loved the repetitions and she already knew what the young ones were called and so it was familiar and new all at the same time.
7. My Granny went to Market - Stella Blackstone
When the book first arrived I was a little apprehensive. It talks about various places like Istanbul, Russia, Switzerland and so on and the pages illustrate various specialities about these places and I kept thinking this is too much for my 3 yr old. But once I started reading it, I realised I underestimate her pronunciation skills. She says Istanbul, Australia, Switzerland and now also identifies the things that come in from each of these places. And it helps me build a bit more about each place each night we read it. Initially she was pretty amused that the granny had short hair and was wearing frocks :), she has got used to it now. I think its a lovely lovely book.
8. My little picture dictionary - Rogger Priddy
This was a gift from her cousin and it is a beautiful book. She has had it now for more than a year and she can identify almost 60% of it all. A lot of verbs and adjectives that she can identify ONLY if we ask her the right questions but then its all malayalam and hardly any english verbs or adjectives. Its good for an another year or two.
A couple of books that we haven't opened yet are
1. Bringing The Rain To Kapiti Plain: A Nandi Tale by Verna Aardema
2. The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
3. If I were a Lion by Sarah Weeks
4. All the way to Lhasa - A tale from Tibet
Will tell you how they all turn out in a couple of months.
Most of these books can be bought in India at flipkart or landmark online. None of the other umpteen books around she has holds as much charm and wit as these. Feel free to drop in a few names of your favourites for your kids or your favourites as kids.
1. Barnyard Dance - Sandra Boynton
This is the first book that I bought after seeing it on ST. It was an instant hit with the both the kids, my daughter and my niece. They loved the rhyme and the different animals sketched.
2. JamBerry - Bruce Degen
Its a sweet story about a little boy and big bear out to collect all kinds of berries. The peapod wouldn't even let me bypass the first page, I have to begin with "JamBerry by Bruce Degen". The illustrations are so beautiful that even after reading it out to the peapod for almost 1-1.5 years she still finds interesting stuff in there. Yeah she knows the book front to back and can now sit on her own and recite the whole book..
3. The very Hungry Catterpillar - Eric Carle
Its a small book that we have. I am not sure if there are different sizes available but it is totally worth it. The book illustrates the transformation of a beautiful butterfly from an egg. I am still reading this one out almost every night.>
4. The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown
This one is about how a little bunny tries to keep running away from its mom only to be found by his mom in various scenarios. This one is a cute book but not quite as hit as the others we have. Since this one doesn't have rhymes and a little too many lines to be read, the peapod looses patience while we read them. I hope she will begin to like it in the coming years.
5. Is your Mama a Llama - Deborah Guarino
This one is about a little llama trying to find his mom. The rhymes are easy, the pictures very cute and the illustrations are so well done there is always something new the peapod finds in there.
6. Who are you baby kangaroo? - Stella Blackstone
This book was an instant hit with peapod and she knew it by heart in 2 days time. She totally loved the repetitions and she already knew what the young ones were called and so it was familiar and new all at the same time.
7. My Granny went to Market - Stella Blackstone
When the book first arrived I was a little apprehensive. It talks about various places like Istanbul, Russia, Switzerland and so on and the pages illustrate various specialities about these places and I kept thinking this is too much for my 3 yr old. But once I started reading it, I realised I underestimate her pronunciation skills. She says Istanbul, Australia, Switzerland and now also identifies the things that come in from each of these places. And it helps me build a bit more about each place each night we read it. Initially she was pretty amused that the granny had short hair and was wearing frocks :), she has got used to it now. I think its a lovely lovely book.
8. My little picture dictionary - Rogger Priddy
This was a gift from her cousin and it is a beautiful book. She has had it now for more than a year and she can identify almost 60% of it all. A lot of verbs and adjectives that she can identify ONLY if we ask her the right questions but then its all malayalam and hardly any english verbs or adjectives. Its good for an another year or two.
A couple of books that we haven't opened yet are
1. Bringing The Rain To Kapiti Plain: A Nandi Tale by Verna Aardema
2. The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
3. If I were a Lion by Sarah Weeks
4. All the way to Lhasa - A tale from Tibet
Will tell you how they all turn out in a couple of months.
Most of these books can be bought in India at flipkart or landmark online. None of the other umpteen books around she has holds as much charm and wit as these. Feel free to drop in a few names of your favourites for your kids or your favourites as kids.
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