Welcome to My World

Random Updates

telugumom — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:44:48 +0000

It has been so long since I wrote a post here. I feel lost. So, I thought I will ease myself into writing again with some random updates.

1. Sarath is growing up so fast. He is now in the Jr. Kindergarden room in his daycare. He is the only kid that was moved up from his 3yr old room and he is loving it. They have more activities and games now. The kids are learning about calendars, weather, sharing and a whole lot more. He is now starting to read books all by himself (level 1 reading books). Any word he sees, he has to read it. He hates writing though. If you ask him to spell words or do additions with out writing, he is all for it! Cannot believe he is going to be a 4 year old this month. WOW time flies!

2. Speaking of growing up, Sanjay is almost 6 months old already! He is eating baby cereal, fruits and veggies twice a day. He loves it. He recognizes me, his dad and Sarath. When Sarath is home, Sanjay is all smiles. He loves to look at his big brother jump and play with cars. He is slowly learning that there is more to life than eat, poop and sleep and shouts oh so loudly when he needs to be picked up. He now laughs, giggles and loves to play. Oh, I love this age so much

3. I have been really busy trying to get some freelance projects, setting up the bommala koluvu for Dasera, setting up Halloween decorations and the never ending process of keeping the house clean! Taking care of two kids and trying to work from home is not easy. I can never understand how people have the energy to take care of three or four kids.

4. As if we do not have enough on our To-Do list, our dishwasher stopped working suddenly last month. We called the technician and he said it would be a $130.00 charge to just come and check the problem. Our dishwasher is an old one and we already had to get it fixed once in the past. So, after a lot of contemplation, we got a new dishwasher.

5. Oh and I started learning Bharatanatyam again. I actually started it last year and had to stop because I was expecting. I am so happy that I decided to do this. Our dance school had an annual day last week, and I did a small dance on stage! I was very nervous but did a good job.

I have to go now and I hope I will get enough time to write regularly here. Until then, bye…..

Filed under: General

Did Shiva say “sorry”??????

telugumom — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:58:35 +0000

Today being Ganesh Chathurthi, I was narrating the story of how Parvathi makes a small boy and how Shiva gets angry at the boy and slains the boy’s head etc etc… instead of telling him that Shiva killed the small boy, I told him that Shiva hurt the boy and the small boy was in pain. Then immediately Sarath asked me “amma, did Shiva tell sorry to the small boy? because it is not nice to hurt others”. I couldn’t help laughing. Then I told him that Shiva was very sorry about what he did and that he apologized to the small boy and fit him with an elephant head. That made Sarath happy.

BTW, we had a great puja this morning. Even Sarath was up early and wore traditional clothes and was very happy that I gave him his favorite pulihara (tamarind rice) for lunch

Filed under: General

The First Sleepover

telugumom — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:51:32 +0000

Last week my parents were going to my brother’s place for just a day and they wanted to take Sarath along with them. I was not sure if he would stay overnight without me and his dad but, wanted to try it out. It is only an hour and a half drive to my brother’s place. Sarath was also very excited to go. He finished his dinner real quick and packed his bags. He also asked for one of his favorite soft toy to take with him. He packed his books and was all ready to go.

I explained to him that myself, his dad and brother would be here at home and only he is going. He wanted to go but kept saying that we should follow them in our minivan. Every time he said that, I told him we were staying here and he is going with them. Finally he was okay with it. When they left, he was very tired and sleepy. My mom told me that he actually slept on the drive and did not wake up until morning. Even after he woke up, he did not ask for us. He was very happy to be at his uncle’s place and had fun.

It did feel a little weird for me at home. I have never been away from him at night except for the couple of days in the hospital when Sanjay was born. Even then, DH was home with Sarath. I was also happy that he did not cry or ask for us. On their drive back, he wanted to talk to me. When they finally came back home, the first thing he told me was “I stayed overnight without crying amma…” That was the sweetest thing.

I really cannot believe that Sarath has grown so much that he can actually spend a night away from home. That’s a big step indeed!

Filed under: Toddler

Telugu Magnets

telugumom — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:32:57 +0000

In an attempt to teach Telugu to Sarath, we only spoke to him in Telugu all the time. When he started talking, I taught him the names of everything in Telugu and English. So, as he grew up, he quickly learned that there are two languages. So, it was easy for him to go back and forth between the two. We even bought Telugu books to read during nap time. He was talking pretty good Telugu. I wanted to take it to the next level and teach him to read and eventually write Telugu. So, I made small Telugu board books for him when he was around 18 months. He loved to read those books along with his alphabet and number books. That helped him to identify all the Vowels in Telugu. Later, I introduced consonants as well. So, as he was learning his ABC’s, he also learned his Telugu letters. But, remembering ABC’s was easy for him as he had his alphabet magnets and puzzles that helped him a lot.

I then realized that if I wanted him to remember and learn Telugu letters, I need to make it more interesting and fun for him. I wanted to buy some Telugu alphabet magnets. I couldn’t find them. So, I decided to make them myself. After a careful study of the alphabet magnets that he already had, I came up with this idea to make these fridge magnets. It was really easy to make and Sarath loves to makes words with them everyday.

Here is a look at the finished magnets

So, this is how I made these magnets.

1. I made a sheet with all the letters with different background colors in photoshop. I took a color printout of the sheet and laminated it. I got letter size lamination sheets which are very easy to use. I just had to peel the back and put it on the sheet while making sure that there were no creases on either the printout or the lamination.

2. Then I cut out the letters using a circle cutter. I bought business card size magnets which had adhesive on one side. I peeled off the adhesive and stuck the cut out letters on to the magnet.
Then with the circle cutter, I cut out the magnet along with the letters.

It was very simple and easy. Sarath now knows all the letters in Telugu. Thanks to all our efforts, he still talks very good accent free Telugu at home even after going to the day care for an year and speaks good English as well. He is now starting to read small words both in English and Telugu. I am so proud of my little guy

Filed under: Language, telugu, Toddler

Life with two kids

telugumom — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:50:39 +0000

It has been a while since I wrote anything here. Life has changed a lot in the past few months. I was really busy with work before the delivery. In fact, I had a project due on the day I delivered Sanjay. Luckily I had the finished the project a couple of days earlier and so everything went smoothly. Sanjay was born two weeks early. We weren’t expecting that. Sarath was born a week after my due date. So, this time around, I was sure that the baby will not come before my due date. Anyways he was early and was born on Mother’s day weekend. What a nice surprise for Mother’s day I was glad that he was born and I am not pregnant anymore.

Sanjay is an easy baby just like Sarath. The first couple of weeks at home were a little stressful as everybody was adjusting. I had a C-Section and was recovering and added to that I had a really bad cough. Sanjay would be up at night and had to be fed every hour some days. But, after those couple of weeks, it started getting better. He is a happy baby now. As long as he is fed on time and rocked to sleep, he is a happy baby. Does not fuss at all. He sleeps really well at nights. He does wake up to feed but falls asleep right away. On the few days that he wants to stay up at night, I hand him over to my mom and I sleep peacefully. It is nice to have parents around to help. My parents are here for 3 more weeks. After that it is going to be a little difficult.

Sanjay has grown a lot in the past two months. He can now recognizes faces and smiles. He coos a lot and when he wakes up in the middle of the night to feed, he wants to talk to me. It is so cute

Sarath has adjusted really well to his baby brother. He hasn’t shown much jealousy at all. He loves his little brother and wants to kiss him all the time. He helps me with diaper changes and also tells me that he can take care of his little brother. Every morning he has to kiss Sanjay first. Gone are the days when I used to get a nice tight hug and kiss in the mornings. As soon as he comes home from Day Care, he goes to wash his hands and legs and then comes running to kiss Sanjay. It is really cute to see him interact.

He has been throwing some temper tantrums and has trouble eating food on most days now. Hopefully it is a phase and he will be out of it soon. We have attributed all this behavior to the arrival of his little brother. Hopefully in a month or so, he will adjust and will be back to normal. Sarath has actually crossed a few milestones in the past few months. He is able to read Engligh and Telugu words.He can write all the letters and numbers. He surprises us by reading really big words. Any word he sees, he has to read it. His reading level has amazed us many times. We keep challenging him to try to read new words everyday.

He is writing a lot too. But, the only problem with him is that he does not have the patience to sit down and write words. If I tell him to read, he is all for it. He is now also doing single digit additions really quick. He loves doing them too.

I have recovered completely now and am back to my normal self. I even started exercising but, I need to be more serious in this aspect. The only problem now is the sleeplessness. I just have to get used to it. Since I work as a freelancer from home, I kind of took a break from my work right now. I am planning to get back to it sometime next month. So, life is about to get super busy.

Wow this is a long post. Hopefully I will get more time in the coming days to write regularly. Until then, bye…..

Filed under: Baby, General, Toddler

It’s a Baby Boy!!!

telugumom — Sat, 14 May 2011 22:46:00 +0000

Sanjay

We had a baby boy last week. We named him Sanjay. Myself and the baby are doing good. We are home now. Life is a little hectic right now even though I am not doing anything else but take care of the baby. My mom and dad are here helping us.

Sarath is very excited about his little brother. He talks about him all the time. DH took Sarath to Toy’s R Us and Sarath picked out 3 rattles for his brother. He shows those to him all the time. He wants to hold the little one, kiss him and also helps me with diaper changes. He hasn’t shown any signs of jealousy yet but, I am sure it will come out soon. We are trying to spend some lone time with him. DH is on vacation right now so, it is much better. Once DH goes back to work, then it will be a little challenge. My parents being around is a big help. I am just hoping I will start feeling better soon enough so that I can manage both the kids.

Filed under: General

Toddler Talk

telugumom — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:24:06 +0000

Kids really say the funniest things. Today, I made chole which is sarath’s favourite. After it was done, I was adding some whipped cream to it. I usually use a can with a sprayer kind of nozzle. So, when I was adding it, Sarath walked into the kitchen and asked:

“Why are you adding shaving cream to chole????”

We all had a good laugh and then I had to explain it to him I am sure now we will be referring whipped cream as shaving cream for a long time…….

Filed under: Toddler

Corn Muffins

telugumom — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:23:02 +0000

Over the weekend, I wanted to make some muffins. These are for the times when I am very hungry (mostly in the evening) and tend to go for all the unhealthy food. Though I am allowed to indulge in food right now, I do not want to put on too much weight. So, I thought muffins would be a nice option. Also, Sarath loves muffins. So, I looked for a recipe online. I had to search a few websites until I found a basic muffin recipe. Then, I modified it a little bit.

I had fresh blueberries at home and so was debating between sweet blueberry muffins or savory corn muffins. The decision maker was Sarath and he choose these. Many recipes for corn muffins called for corn meal which I did not have. So, I chose this recipe and the muffins turned out much better than I had expected. They are fluffy, soft and moist.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 1 3/4 cups
granulated sugar – 1/4 cup (I used brown sugar)
baking powder – 2tbsp
salt – 1/2 tsp
Large Egg – 1
Milk – 3/4th cup
Vegetable Oil – 1/3 cup (I used olive oil)
Corn: 1/2 cup
Coriander – a little – chopped
Crushed red pepper – 2 tbsp

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add corn, coriander and the crushed red pepper to the dry ingredients. Mix the egg, milk and oil together. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Fill the paper muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 F for 20 – 25 min.

Filed under: Kid Friendly, Recipes, Vegetarian Food

Toys in the tummy :)

telugumom — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:46:03 +0000

A few weeks back, Sarath was lying on the bed in the morning. He did not want to get up and I was just talking to him. I love those little talks in the morning. He was talking about what a big boy he is now and all the things that big boys can do etc etc…

Then he said “amma, babies inside the tummy are really small and they cry all the time. I am a big boy so, I do not cry”

Me: “No, the babies do not cry when they are inside the tummy. They play happily”

Sarath: “Are there toys in your tummy????”

I just could not control my laughter. I told him there are no toys but the babies just play by wiggling their hands and feet. Then he said “is that it? They just wiggle their hands and feet?” Not sure what he was thinking…. but, I still cannot stop admiring his imagination

Filed under: General, Toddler

What’s in a name???

telugumom — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:24:46 +0000

Well, for Sarath everything especially when it comes to food! Sarath is very good with food (touchwood). He does not fuss a lot and usually accepts whatever is made at home. He has a general problem with Indian sweets. He used to love them when he was a baby but, not anymore. He also has a problem trying out new foods sometimes. When I tell him a new name, he decides that he does not want to eat it. If I give the same food with a different but familiar name, he is all okay with it.

So, yesterday, I wanted to give him Nutella – hazelnut spread with chocolate. It looks similar to peanut butter which Sarath loves. He wanted to know what was for breakfast and I told him bread with Nutella. He did not want it. Immediately, I asked him if he wanted a special peanut butter with jam in it. He was excited about it. Then at breakfast, he decided he wants to have a bagel with the special peanut butter. I put Nutella on the bagel and he just loved it. He liked it so much that he wanted to have the same for breakfast today

Let’s see how many innovative names I would have to come up with in the future

Filed under: General, Toddler