Ways to handle boredom at home

Come weekend, we usually try and do something for the boys...those who know me well, know that every Monday I answer the question "So, what did you do over the weekend?" with "We took the boys to the park!"....

We like taking them to the park or to playgrounds because they can play as much as they want to, they use their imagination while playing the sand and it gives them (and not to mention us) the necessary exercise.

This weekend, we did briefly consider taking them out to Lal Bhag, but for once, I felt lazy. Too lazy to move my butt out into the car.....to add to my laziness was the fact that it was going to rain for sure.....so we told the boys that we'd go some other weekend.

Sure enough, it DID rain but not very heavily and next, I find Lindo telling me that its a beautiful weather for going out. And we did something....I shooed the men upstairs to the terrace and went ahead and prepared a small picnic....nothing much, a few cheese sandwiches, crackers, milk and Nesquik, a mat and a blanket...put it all into a picnic basket (which I had been dying to use) and went to the terrace.....

We had a nice little "Picnic" in the shade....after filling our tummies, we lay down on the blanket, till new rain clouds rolled in and droplets started falling again.

It wasn't much, but the boys were happy (they actually drank half a litre milk between the two of them) and we all had, however short, a nice time....

On the first day of Christmas my true love said to me....

As most of those who know me came to know, Nathan was not eactly very happy about the idea or being dropped off at school. He tried various locations for crying to get to stay home, but no....his parents were relentless and decided to carry on with this practice.

On the first day, he cried when I left school.....probably because he didn't expect me to be leaving him somewhere.
On the second day, he still had faith in me and cried when I left him at school.
The third day, his Grandfather went to drop him. He started crying when they reached tha gate of the school. See, he's a smart child...he understood the pattern.
The fourth day, Lindo went to drop him and he started crying when they turned from the main road towards the cross where the school is located.
The fifth day, he started off the moment I took a left turn from home, i.e. towards school.
The sixth day he wasn't well....and since we didn't want to try our luck, we let him stay back.
The seventh day, he woke up and coughed a few fake coughs and tried to stay back :)

This went on and on and on.....his grandfather realised that the best way to make him obey was to ask "Do you want to go to school?"

BUT.....suddenly on last Wednesday, he woke up and said "School!". When I asked if he wanted to go, he said YES!

Today morning he was singing "Pinkle pinkle little star"!!!!

Change is good....and I hope he continues to love it there.

Necessity - The mother of all invention

My boys aren't fussy eaters. Tim used to be, but Nathan is not. The only fuss he makes is when he doesn't get food. That's another story...

Being a mother, I am constantly thinking of ways to make regular things...interesting for them.
Today morning, i decided to make them a bulls-eye in a different way.
I took out one of my cookie cutters (the duck-shaped one this time), placed it on the tava and poured the egg inside. I closed it with a lid because it needed more time for cooking as this bulls-eye was going to be a thick one....

We turned the cookie cutter around so that the other side got cooked and voila! We had a nicely different shaped bulls-eye.

Needless to say, they loved it! Next time i can let them choose the shape they want :)

Our boys have grown

Today was a special day for us.
Nathaniel started attending an educational institute....No, no....not as serious as it sounds...he had his first day at play school today.

We decided to start sending him at the "tender" age of 2 because he easily gets bored in his brother's absence, when Tim is at school....so what better to do than get some education? The school in question is a two-minutes walk from home, located in the Sunday School Building of our parish church.

I had taken the day off because Lindo's parents are not in town....so, I accompanied my little son to face this new world, armed with tiffin box, water bottle, spare clothes in a Winnie the Pooh bag on his shoulders. And yes, a heavy breakfast in his tummy too. We left home after a short prayer, blessing both of them (Tim's school was also opening today) for a bright future.

When we reached school, we were welcomed by a tear- and snot-covered face belonging to one of the first timers who was already waiting for someone to come back and pick him, while he was vowing (between cries) that he's never ever coming back to school again (Sorry to break your heart honey, but fat chance!!!!). Nathan was a bit clingy....didn't want to go into class, but was more interested in playing on the slide. One of the nuns working there, took him by his hand, led him there and asked him to wave me bye-bye.....which he did gladly.

I was asked to pick him up at 10. Sure enough, I reached school at 10 to see two tear- and snot covered faces at the gate. One was crying "Mamaaaaaaa"...that was mine! It seems he had been playing fine but kept an eye on the guy at the gate....I think finally he decided that he's not doing something right and joined the fellow at the gate and started crying for me!

Once he saw me, he was fine....we played on the ground for some time....We even tried making conversation with a child...
"What's your name?"...."Kevin!".....hearing this one of the teachers tells me "His name is not Kevin, that's his elder brother's name" !!!! At least we taught Nathan to say his name (Ney-Tan) instead of his usual introduction (Baby).

Tim also came back after half an hour of Montessori.....full day tomorrow. Well yes, as of today, we officially have two children in school!

Blame it on the genes

Putting my sons to sleep, Nathan said a word that always brings a smile to my face....and I think "What all gets passed down through the genes!". This word gets pronounced in many ways by my two boys....and surprisingly enough, it is one of the first English words they learned.
This word is "Scratch". Nathan is currently at a stage where he says "Katche". Tim used to say "Catch...." and then "Ullile" to indicate he wanted me to scratch underneath his T-shirt.

Now you might wonder "what's so special about scratch?".

For me, it all started with my Dad. Most of the days (even now) we sit down to watch TV or even if he's just sitting and reading, he'll suddenly lean forward and call one of us and asks us to scratch his back. The longer the nails the better......we slowly learned that we could scratch in certain patterns so we cover the complete back very fast and be let off this particular duty.

But, certainly enough....the scratching bug got to me too....Lindo still doesn't understand why I enjoy having my back scratched once in a while....

When the boys a year old or so, I introduced them to the joy of having their backs scratched. I realised that they sleep faster, if you lie down next to them, hum a song and give them a nice scratching on their back....they love it.

Lindo accuses me of getting them into bad habits, but hey! It is really nice....and I have to say that it IS really cute to have Nathan say "Katche...." and turn his back when he's about to sleep.....

Apologies...

I do want to sit down and write something, I am not able to. When I sit in front of the PC...I just can't write. I think they call this a Writer's Block.

So, don't think that I have given up....I'll be posting my updates soon.