Snowman Puzzle | Build Your Snowman | Activity Ideas for Kids

Since last week we'd been seeing a lot of Christmas trees, Santa Claus, snowflakes, reindeers, snowman, and with that you know it's the month of December.  Keshav has been fascinated by snowman and he loves enacting how snowman feels cold.  I even came up with a "snowman song" to sing to them when they eat their food.  And so I thought - may be an activity with snowman will be exciting for them.  And I came up with this Snowman Puzzle - Build Your Own Snowman!

Flying with Toddler | International Flight with Kids

I was so apprehensive flying to India with my twins when they were 20 months old despite having flown with them so frequently before.  It was definitely different from before.  At 20 months, they were loud, they were so mobile, they wanted so much space to move, and they had such short attention span.  We flew Emirates from San Francisco to Hyderabad, with a 3-hour layover in Dubai, and altogether a 22-hour journey.

Toys for Kids 9 Months to 1 Year Old and Up

In this post on Toys for Kids 9 Months to 12 Months and Up I'm sharing what toys I gave to my kids, when, and why.  I will also include some toys that my kids enjoyed at other people’s homes, and some that I wish I’d got for them at the right time had I known earlier.

Best Baby Toys for 6 Months and Up | Toys for Kids

In this post on Best Baby Toys for 6 Months and Up I'm sharing what toys I gave to my kids, when, and why.  I will also include some toys that my kids enjoyed at other people’s homes, and some that I wish I’d got for them at the right time had I known earlier.

Top Toys for Babies | Toys for Newborn to 5 month olds

In this post on Top Toys for Newborn to 5 month olds I am sharing what toys I gave to my kids, when, and why.  I will also include some toys that my kids enjoyed at other people’s homes, and some that I wish I’d got for them at the right time had I known earlier.

15 Dollar Store Activity Ideas for Toddlers | $1 Dollar Finds for Kids

Toddlers demand a lot of attention and I'm always on the lookout for ways to keep my toddler twins busy.  At the same time, it's not affordable to spend $20-30 on new toys each time I want to keep my little kids entertained!  That's why I love collecting small but useful toys, books, and activity ideas from Dollar Tree or from the dollar bins in Target.  Whenever I find something new, it goes into my secret stash in a carton.  And then anytime the kids are bored of their toys, need attention but I don't have the time, need something to keep themselves busy in the car or at a restaurant - I bring one new toy or activity out.

In this post I'm sharing 15 ideas for activities for toddlers costing a dollar from the Dollar Tree and dollar bins in Target.  For $1 and for my peace of mind – this is absolutely worth it.

Simple DIY Play Tent for Kids | Make Indoor Play Tent Using a Table

I had been noticing decor in several kids' rooms having teepee or tent and looked up for an easy DIY play tent for children in which 2 kids could comfortably sit in. Most of the results that showed up had a lot of wood and cutting and drilling or PVC pipes and what nots. Ahhh. I ain't got no time for that kind of stuff!

Janmashtami Celebrations | DIY Krishna Crown | Radha and Krishna

My mom is a great devotee of Lord Krishna and has always celebrated Janmashtami with a lot of enthusiasm.  From preparing various food and prasad to offer to God, to staying up until midnight to celebrate Krishna bhagwan's janam and swinging the statue of Krishna on his little swing, and what nots.  I have not been very religious since the beginning, so all I used to love during my high school years on these festivals was decorating.  We, as parents, like to pass on to our children a part of what we grow up with.  While I leave the religious importance and lessons on spirituality for my parents to teach to Keshav and Alisha, I want to pass on my excitement for everything else for a festival to my little kids.

100+ children quotes | motherhood parenting childhood quotes and sayings

Over the time I have collected my favorite quotes about baby, inspirational quotes for children, quotes related to children, poems on babies, and thought of sharing the collection here – all at one place.  All these can be used as captions for photos on facebook or as instagram caption for your pictures.

Sunday ToyDay | New Toys for my Toddlers

I like to give a new toy every Sunday to my twins.  There is a box in which I collect toys and games for them; some chosen from Amazon, some bought from the Dollar Tree or from Target, some that friends gifted, and some for ages 4+ that I bought from Bangkok when they were not even 1 year old.  Whether it's a puzzle, a soft toy, or anything that kids haven't seen or played with before -- I (usually, if I remember and don't get too busy!) give it to them on Sundays.

100 vlog episodes | Life with twins | Video blogging journey

What started out as casual vlogging of my "life with twins" became something really exciting for me as I went back to watch my previous vlogs.  I realized that time flies so fast, kids grow up so fast, and our life becomes so busy revolving around them that we forget things so fast.  My vlogging gave me golden memories for a lifetime.

So here are the 100 vlog episodes, ranging between 16th March 2016 to 1st August 2016.  I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I still do!

A better mother than the other

I received a message from someone who said I'm a supermom, that she liked how I provide nutritious home-cooked food to my kids, and she liked how I take care of my kids all day instead of sending them to daycare centers like some mothers do, where they may not even feed the kids properly.  While I appreciated her underlying message that I'm doing a fine job as a mother, I was unhappy about the comparison.  I am a stay-at-home mom.  But that does not make me a better mom.  If I had a professional career today--for monetary reasons and/or for personal growth––and if I had to leave my kids in a daycare––I would have.  Most certainly.  Without a second thought.  Not sending kids to daycare does not make a mother a better mother.  Not giving ready-made food does not make a mother a better mother.  Please, everyone––a stay-at-home mom is in no way superior to any, any other mom in this world.

A letter to my twins

Dear Alisha and Keshav,

I don't know how much I will be able to teach you throughout our life together.  I want to share with you everything that I have learned.  Everything I can.  You will grow up with your own experiences, make your own mistakes.  But in this letter, I want to give some simple (valuable?) advice from my experiences that I hope will make a difference.

-- time for me --

Time For Me

I want to paint, I want to craft,

I have so many blog posts in draft.

I want to go for yoga, I want to cook something fun,

I want to drink wine while reading a book under the sun.

I want to sit quiet and sip on my tea,

But I'm a mom of twins; where's the time for me?

10+ Toddler Meals | Lunch Dinner Meal Ideas | Feeding my 15 month old toddlers

These are some of the lunches and dinners that I have served Keshav and Alisha in the past 2 months.  No, they have not eaten everything off the plate.  On some days they reject pretty much everything offered to them.  That's why I keep various foods, vegetables, and fruits on hand - never know which food they may give the privilege to enter their mouth.  Fortunate are the moms whose kids love to eat food without being fussy and messy!

We are a family of vegetarians and I try to incorporate the 1 vegetable, 1 fruit, 1 dairy, and 1 protein intake for their meals (whenever I can).  Here are pictures of some of their lunch and dinner plates* ---

I don't want to be a mother today

I am a mom of twins.  And I am tired.

I want to drink wine. Bottle after bottle.  May be that will keep me sane.  It has been about 2 months of handling my 1-year old twins all on my own and I'm losing it.  My twins turned 15 months old last week.  I never knew motherhood was so demanding, exhausting, and challenging.  I never knew raising a child -- especially twins -- was so difficult.  I keep telling myself "that person with twins AND a toddler does it, the person I met at the park has triplets, that person I watched on video has quadruplets, imagine how much more difficult it might be for them...if they can do it, I can do it!"  But just telling myself that isn't working.  I don't understand if it keeps getting better or worse.  Each month, each week, each day is a new test of my patience, my tolerance, my mothering, and a test of my love.  And I feel like I fail every day.  I'm not trying to be a perfect mother.  There is no perfect mother.  But I feel like I was not even cutout to become a mother.  I am tired of being a mother.  I am really tired.

Food Ideas for Toddlers | Breakfast to Dinner Vegetarian Toddler Meal Ideas

When I have ideas listed out in front of me instead of in my head, it's easy to scan through and decide what to give the kids each day.  If one combination doesn't work, I try the other.  My one year old twins are very, very, super, extreme, unbelievably annoying picky eaters.  So I have to try really hard to make them eat and like something.

Click here for the complete PDF file

I will add more toddler meal ideas to this list as I come across more options.  If you are looking for vegetarian food ideas for your toddler, I hope you will find my list* useful.  I write some remarks in brackets for example what to serve it with, or a short quick recipe.

-- for all these --

For all the nights you woke up crying
Sometimes spoiling my sleep every two hours

For all the early mornings you woke up before me
And pulled my hair to wake me up

For all the fuss during bottlefeeding
And for biting me so bad when nursing

mystery kids

I am very active on social media and I post frequently about myself and my life.  But since the birth of my babies, there's one thing I did differently -- I posted photos of them only where their face was not clearly visible.  Just this "mystery" factor I wanted to keep (like some celebrities hide their kids to avoid the paparazzi...haha).  While many of our Facebook friends were eager and hopeful to see faces of our "mystery kids", many seem annoyed with me blurring the face or not wanting to post their clear photos.  And I did go on like this for ONE WHOLE YEAR!  Since their birth, these are the kind of pictures I posted on Facebook, keeping the suspense alive for the entire year (finally unveiled on 1st March 2016) -----

photography at the park

After a long time we went to the park today in the hopes of getting some good clicks with the twins.  Having taken pictures of them since one whole year, I was not new to twins photography, yet I ambitiously packed in my carry-on bag some 4 pairs of clothes for them, accessories for Alisha, some of their toys and eating bowls as props, balloons, a bedsheet, our playmat, and what nots for the 2 hours (4pm-6pm) of photography session.