Visit to the Natural Bridges state park

We discovered a true novelty of a place over the weekend : Natural Bridges state park near Santa Cruz. Pristine beach, clear water and beautiful warm weather. The kids had a great time playing in the soft sand making sand castles and tunnels. It was warm enough that we could take their clothes off and let them feel the ocean water, something that they don't get to do often.

We had to later make our mandatory stop over at the santa cruz boardwalk on our way back. The kids just can't get enough of the rides there. Ofcourse the cheese and garlic fries are an incentive enough for us adults to keep visiting the place again and again.

Drums, Maraccas, Triangles and more..

I didn't think kids this age were attuned to music but here they are playing musical instruments to the melodious beat of 'Twinkle twinkle little star' , 'Wheels on the bus..' etc

An interesting article by Khuswant Singh

An interesting article on prejudices, Islam and the Prophet by Khuswant Singh.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080216/jsp/opinion/story_8909500.jsp

a Mom's story...

Many years back this email (attached below) was forwarded to me and I remember feeling overwhelmed with nostalgia at how closely this related to my mom's life back home when we were growing up.

Yesterday when I read this email again I could appreciate it from a completely new perspective, from that of being a mom, and I have to say not much has changed since the last generation.

--
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, 'I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed'

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.
She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button.
She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, 'I thought you were going to bed.'

'I'm on my way,' she said.

She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.
In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. 'I'm going to bed.' And he did...without another thought.

First Art Class

Kiddos in their first art class. I have to admit I had as much fun with colors and confetti as the kids.

Being a mom today

Like a babycenter mom put it, "What does it mean being a mom of this generation? We have vaccines for our kids, disposable diapers, dozens of jogging strollers to choose from, option of working from home, shelves full of parenting books, partners who cook, clean and watch the kids and mom friends who are only a phone call or an email away.
But flip that coin and life doesn't look that rosy. There's controversy about the vaccines, guilt over sending those disposable diapers to landfill, way too many choices over what you want to buy as a parent, the need to work more hours than we like, the media messages are getting louder, the world in general is moving faster and the pressure is increasing. So whether this is the best times for the moms or worst is one of the hotly debated topics.

To get a better sense of what modern motherhood is like, we have a discussion at our mothers club in the next upcoming meeting.

I personally think this is a better time. The best part of being a mom today is access to information. Even though it may get overwhelming at times, I would much rather have access to it than none at all. I love choices and the fact that I know what effect each choice has. I am sure there are moms who can argue for the cons and it will be interesting to hear the other perspective.

who's being silly and who's being cute

Look who's being silly..





and who's cutely posing for pictures



Boys are boys and girls are girls.

This amazing thing called the 'play-doh'

Ever since I became a mom and have been exposed to all the wonderful toys developed for the kids of this generation, I strongly feel that we had a deprived childhood. Just walk into a toy-store and they practically have a miniature toy for everything an adult uses at home. The other day I saw a toy shaving kit and I couldn't stop laughing
Just recently I discovered this amazing thing called 'play-doh'. Why didn't someone think of this 30 years back? Not only are the kids having fun playing with it, but I have taken a liking to it myself. I have to admit, I have been stealing chances of playing with it whenever the kids are busy with other things. How this little soft dough of clay renders beautifully between the moulds of your 2 hands.

We started out with some standard shape moulds and then gradually moved on to creating more interesting objects like the bouquet of flowers as shown below.

Our little 'Zoo' project

When you are a full time mom, your brains are operating on full steam looking for projects to keep the kids busy. Here's an idea I picked from a book. I got some animal stickers and cut out a big sheet from one of the cardboard packages we received in mail recently. I drew a basic landscape of a zoo - some grass, a few trees and a pond and had the kids stick the pictures of the animals all over it. Apart from some 'minor' discrepancy of crocodiles floating on trees and horses in the pond, the kids seemed to have a gala time working on this.

A nice 'Spring'y weekend

The weather has been phenomenal lately. The sun has been particularly kind with the early onslaught of spring this year. We had to exploit the weekend by doing stuff outdoors. We were at the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk on Saturday with couple of friends. The kids had a gala time on the Dolphin, water boat and train rides. The highlight of the trip were the signature garlic fries and caramelized kettle corn, a speciality of the place.
On sunday, we visited the Lemos Farm up near Half Moon Bay. The close proximity to the ocean always renders the place cold with some severe winds. Nevertheless, we were bundled up in 3 layers all determined to make most out of the sunny day. The kids had a fantastic time on the pony rides and the choo-choo train.