Lotus flowers with Pistachio shells

Easy steps to make use of all the pistachio shells you have collected all these days
1. Clean pistachio shells and color them with bright colors. Let them dry. Color one shell at a time for a neat work.
2. Take an old CD/DVD and stick some play dough on it with fevicol.
3. Start placing colored pistachio shells on playdough in concentric circles. Start from the center of the CD. Apply fevicol in every shell and give the shape of a flower.
4. Once the whole CD is covered by petals made by shells, let the fevicol dry for 10 minutes
5. Take golden color or any lighter color to shade the petals. Take dry brush, dip in gold color and stroke it on the top edges for shading effect.
6. Lotus flowers are ready. You can float it in water or use it as decorative pieces in any fancy packing.

My little first gift

When you come across somethings in life,it brings back a huge tsunami of old memories. Its been more than 5 years that I have shopped for these booties, but even today when I see them I relive that moment. This was my first purchase for my unborn baby. My first motherhood experience.
I had stopped myself of buying anything from the wonderful world of baby items for three long months. Its considered to be a taboo to buy anything for the baby before you complete three months of pregnancy. So everytime I went shopping I would just want to buy everything and not buy anything for those three months.
And the day I completed 3 months, we went shopping. The moment I enterer MOTHERCARE, I realised why it is called so. But since I had to refrain to only one baby item, I wanted something special.
The moment I saw these booties, I thought of the little feet, pink and soft which are going to be stepping in my life soon. I felt the little hands which are going to be holding my hands forever. I couldn't have got a better thing as my FIRST gift to the would be mother.
And in all these beautiful memories, I suddenly remembered that it has been more than 5 years that I have bought these. I plan to frame them and keep the moment alive forever! I know when my kids grow up, they will find this insane. A scrapbook full of their FIRSTS,their favorite toys, their hand prints and footprints, their ANNAPRASHAN dresses, their videos and so many other things which would have been easily demarcated as junk if it wasn't for my memories.
Loving the free time I am getting to stop and recollect the old memories and build a few more!!

Khushi's dose of the day!! Entrepreneurial instincts!

It’s very interesting to be part of the process of growing up of your children. It amuses me to see how their perception, their understanding, their ability to think and analyze, changes from age to age. I am not too much in favor of introducing money and economics to the kids at an early age; So against pocket money for children before the age of 10 years. But things have changed; Kids have become too demanding and greedy for their age. The more they are exposed to new things, the lesser they have started appreciating things they get. So in the process of learning the art of parenthood, I started introducing Khushi with the concept of paying money to buy anything from the shop. It’s an experiment to introduce her to the fact that THERE ARE NO FREE LUNCHES. 

One fine evening, sitting on her Papa's lap, she conversed

Khushi        : Papa, when we go to Disneyland, I want to buy Cinderella bottle, Mickey mouse       

                      compass box, Mermaid hat and Dumbo T-shirt.

Papa           : You cannot get so many gifts, you need to choose any one thing and I will buy that 

                       for you

Khushi        : Why Papa? I want them all

Papa           : No, don’t be greedy. We will buy one gift for everyone in the family

Khushi         : Papa, you do one thing.

Papa           : What?

Khushi        : You open one shop. Then we will get a lot of money. We will sell things and 

                      become RICH!

Papa, Mummy shocked!! RICH? SHOP? I am not sure if the BANIYA BLOOD in her has to do anything with her concepts about shop and money. But I am sure that she thinks that we don’t buy her everything she demands, because we cannot afford it.

I would have laughed out the conversation and explained her that everything we can afford need not be bought for her. But I wanted to encourage her ENTREPRENEURIAL instincts and make her think more on her novel project of becoming rich, so I interrupted...

Mummy      : Wow, Khushi. That's a great idea!

Khushi        : (Shy and embarrased) YES!

Mummy       : But what will you sell?

Khushi        : We can sell all those things. Things we get in market!

Mummy      : Ok. And how do you think you will get those things? Don’t you think you need to buy 

                      them from someone else?

Khushi        : Ohh, is it? Then plan cancelled! All our money will be lost in buying it, so let’s not 

                      open a shop! We will think of some other idea. I am too small for opening a shop 

                     anyways.

We couldn’t stop laughing at the small but brilliant theory of our 5 year old girl. I wish I had used so much brain in understanding the entrepreneurial blood in me. Then I would have not been confined to my 9-5 job.

Look at the current generation; They don’t need to be doctors and engineers to earn their livelihood. Exciting professions like Radio jockeys, Scuba divers, Activists, Volunteering teachers, Stylists, Image consultants, Freelancers, Bloggers, Writers and so many others were not even known to us. They live their lives on their own terms; They live a FREE LIFE in true sense!

Avani's dose of the day!! Complex yet simple!

Me and Avani were travelling in the car to Khushi's school for paying her fees. I thought of taking along Avani, to spend some time with her in the car. On our way to the school, Avani pointed out
Avani      : Mumma, A B C D!
Mummy  : Where is it?
Avani      : Peeche chala gaya!!
I thought she might have read it on some pre-school boards, so ignored it. Again she pointed
Avani      : Mummy, why is A B C D written everywhere? Saab jagaha A B C D kyun likha hai un logo ne?
Mummy  : Kaha hai?
Avani      : Woh dekho, waha board par

Then I realized, she is pointing to the usual name boards of buildings and shops where the shop names and other details were written. As adults, we forget that the names and words are made of basic blocks of A B C D. And what according to us are meaningful names, are from a 2 year olds perspective, mere A B C D. Simple things in life are always overseen by our adult/complex minds.
Life is so simple and beautiful from a child's perspective indeed!