Today is Maurice Sendak’s birthday. I have five wild things. I live where the wild things are. Wild Cauliflower has some Palestinian friends, they’ve been enlightening her on some of their customs. They ululate when they are really happy. I had no idea what that was, so Cauliflower demonstrated in the car while we were parked outside FoodBasics surrounded by other people sitting in their cars listening. Wild things can often be very embarrassing, but I like being where the wild things are.
Category Archives: parenting
Mother’s Day Weekend
On the first night of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
The chance to go out and watch Iron Man three!
On the second morning of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
Two twins fighting and the chance to go out and watch Iron Man 3.
On the second afternoon of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
Three older children screaming, two twins fighting and the chance to go out and watch Iron Man 3.
On the second evening of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
One gone out with friends husband, three older children screaming, two twins fighting and a chance to go out and watch Iron Man 3.
On the Sunday of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
Pancakes doused in syrup, one gone out with friends husband, three older children screaming, two twins fighting and a chance to go out and watch Iron Man 3.
On the Sunday evening of Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
A fridge depleted of groceries, a poop filled litter box, fifty loads of laundry, innumerable dirty dishes, crayon decorated walls, Cheerios covered carpets, one seriously in trouble husband, five brawling children and I don’t even remember seeing the damned movie.
On the Monday after Mother’s day weekend my family gave to me,
An empty house full of serenity.
This is what I got Sunday morning.
And two hand-made one of a kind bracelets made from fuzzy pipe cleaners and beads obtained from Dollarama.
This is some of what I dealt with when everyone was finally out of the house.
There were twice as many dishes in the sink and on the counter, and some were extracted from underneath beds and desks.
What were you treated to on Mother’s day?
All pics courtesy of moi.
The Perks of Being a Cauliflower
Little girls are like flowers. Colorful, delicate and looking at them just makes you feel good. Until they turn into teenagers. Then they become cauliflowers. And if you still have flowers in the house, you stop bothering with the cauliflower, because let’s face it…cauliflower?! That is just fine with the cauliflower as they prefer to be left alone and not nagged or babied or lectured or what-everrrr! Just leave them alone and let them vegetate.
My cauliflower is a gifted artist and an incredibly lazy teenager who would rather flop in a remote corner of our abode and watch other people’s cats on YouTube. I’ve been bugging her to make a blog showcasing her work and get to know others who have the same interests, make new friends etc etc ie quit wasting her time laughing at the antics of unfamiliar felines because she is giving our cat an inferiority complex. Also I am tired of scanning, snapping, saving, collecting, preserving her work that often lies around until it decomposes unless I rescue it.
The purpose of this post is to recruit your help. Like, share, comment, lecture, nag, yell etc to show her that she really should do something more useful and stop torturing our cat with her hurtful preference of other cats. All the pics here are of her work, except the cheerful cauliflower which I got from Google Images. Enjoy.
Photography
Painting
Sketches
Stuff you do with clay
I have a ton of other stuff, but I am hoping she will stop being such a cauliflower and DO IT HERSELF!!
Look at our poor complexed cat. She needs to be videoed and uploaded to YouTube.
Spring Cleaning
I need to stay away from the internet if I want to finish writing my book. I’m on chapter 8, and I also wrote the last chapter and some stuff in the middle. That is also how I read novels. I often read the middle and end first just because.
So I am trying hard to resist the temptation of Facebook and reading blogs. It’s very difficult. I tried to read some stuff on writing and I wanted to bang my head against the wall when I read this: Revision and self-editing. I hope it helps any of you who are in editing stages. I clicked on the links which although maybe very useful I found to be well, very difficult to follow. Since I am not at the editing stage I hope to forget all about it for now.
Unfortunately I can’t sit and write all day because apparently family members need to be fed and the house can’t clean itself. There are lots of things for kids to throw garbage in when they are tidying up. Don’t forget to check all your vases when doing the spring cleaning.
I like vases. All shapes. All sizes. All colors.
I do not like what I find in them.
The start of a Guinness record holding rubber band ball. I am not adding the picture of some ‘organic’ material I found. It was either a dead animal or the remains of a school lunch sandwich from before last year’s summer vacation.
This is how I know one of my twins got hold of my camera.
There are other things besides spring cleaning that keep me from writing that NYT best-seller.
This is one of them.
What distracts you from doing that great thing you were born to do?
(All pics courtesy of my camera and my willing feline model)
March break is over. Yay.
March break is finally over. As soon as all the kids went to school yesterday I did the happy dance with my cat.
During March break, the kids were everywhere.
They were coming out of my ears.
They were messing up their bedroom.
They were messing up the kitchen.
They messed around at Bradley House Museum. And learned how to make maple syrup.
They messed around at the zoo.
They messed around at the museum.
They even messed around with the cat.
This is what I felt like while they were in the house:
And this is what I feel like now:
So I can go back to this:
What did you do in March break?
(All pics by me. Except the lady dancing with her cat. That is Google.)
Funny People
I am grateful for funny people. And I especially love Bill Cosby.
Reading to Children
I love reading to my children. Uhh..I loved it with kid 1 and 2. By kid 3 it was more the guilt and with 4 and 5 my life depends on it. They tie my hands and threaten to ingest large amounts of sugar and coffee if I don’t tell them a bedtime story.
We have a great collection of books and the kids love trips to the library for new ones. We got a new book in December. I sort of won a contest on a blog, not really won sort of won. So Mike Allegra, heylookawriterfellow, sent me this beautiful book he wrote. Sarah Gives Thanks is a great book. The story is touching, informative and it teaches kids to never give up. It is inspiring and it is true. My kids loved it and I think every parent should add it to their kids’ collection.
Another tear jerker book I love is Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. If you don’t have it or haven’t read it, get it and read it to your kids immediately. Besides these I adore the wacky ones, anything by Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss are must haves for your children’s book shelves. They are just so much fun to read.
Reading to young children helps turn them into readers for life and you can find many studies that link reading to success, so get bedtime stories into your schedule!
What do you enjoy reading to your kids? Which book do they love to hear over and over?
Lost in Translation: Part One
Did you ever play that game Chinese whispers? I don’t ever remember playing it. To compensate this childhood deprivation God has blessed me with a husband and kids who live Chinese Whispers. You don’t get it? Let me demonstrate. Introducing the cast:
Slovenly Teen: 15
Only Son: 13
Middle Child: 8 (I also refer to her as ‘sweet child o mine’- she is the only one I want to admit is my actual offspring)
Twin 1: 5
Twin 2: coincidentally also 5
Husband: Peter Pan
Me: 18 till I Die (Bryan Adams rocks..eh)
Random Situation 1:
Slovenly Teen, the reigning champion of sleeping in, is still in bed on Saturday evening..no night..of course I am not exaggerating! Whatever gave you the idea I exaggerate?
Me: “Wake up goddammit! It’s almost Sunday, look at the filthy mess in this room, I am not cleaning up after you, you over grown gargantuan sloth. You get up right now and wash those dishes, I wash them all week. The least you can do is help out on the weekend, you good for nothing massive waste of carbohydrates. What kind of example are you setting for your younger sisters? All right that is it, I am throwing our all your junk….here it goes…did you hear me?”
What Slovenly Teen actually hears:
“My poor exhausted precious pearl! You have worked hard looking swag all week. Baby you need a rest! Now don’t you dare try to get up and put things away, no no no! Mama will do that for you, my darling angel! Just right after I get your good for nothing sisters to wash the dishes and clean up your room I am going to cook your favorite …now what do you feel like? Lasagna or chicken cacciatore? You are so beautiful it is unbelievable and just for being that good-looking I think I’m gonna bake my baby a cake! Here honey let me put your beats on your ears for you…you just relax and continue snoozing the day away sugar-plum.”
Random Situation 2:
Xbox addicted Only Son had been playing since 4 pm and it is now 7 pm The twins are fainting from severe lack of Tree House. Yes I insist on keeping one and only one TV!
Me: “You need to turn that game off now! You have been playing for five hours now. Other people in this house need the TV you know! If you don’t turn that goddamn thing off right now, you won’t play for a week. I don’t care if you have ten friends online, if their mothers are ok with their sons turning into a bunch of zombie gamers, fine with me. Are you listening to me? ”
What Only Son hears: “Most precious only male child and carrier of the family name. Continue on your quest of becoming the greatest gamer in the history of mankind and bring me pride. You have only been playing for half an hour and I know it will take hours of hard work to perfect your great skill at killing underage players online violently and mercilessly. I take great delight in every kill you make. It makes my heart sing while you comment loudly, with strange verbal embellishments, into that expensive mouth piece earphone thing set that I most happily agreed upon buying. Play on noble son, play on.”
Random Situation 3:
Twin 2 greatly frustrated while I am busy in the kitchen, comes to me with the complaint that her Xbox addicted brother has still not turned off the game.
Me: “Okay, just let me finish up what I am doing and I’ll come and have a talk with your brother.”
Twin 2 to Only Son: “Mom said you better get off that goddammit game right now or she is going to break it into gazillions of pieces and throw them off the roof. And then you are going to get a spanking. DO IT NOW!”
Random Situation 4:
Peter Pan husband is on the internet. I have issues that I need to discuss.
Me: “The groceries are almost finished you need to go shopping, and I was wondering what to cook for dinner. Do you want to have traditional stuff tonight or something non-desi? Did you know Only Son’s dentist appointment is next week? There is a sale on at the mall, I think we should go. You have got to talk to that daughter of yours! Her room is a mess, you need to get more involved with the kids, I can’t do everything you know! There is something wrong with the vacuum cleaner and the cat, they are both throwing up hairballs. Do you think I have started looking..old? You need to get some exercise, you sit too long at that damn computer, the twins have vaccinations due. Middle child brought home an open house circular from school and…”
What husband actually hears: “Blah blah blah blabbidy bloo blah blah blabber blabber blabber blah blah blabbidy bleep blah blah blah…”
Husband: “Okay”
So what does your family hear when you are trying to communicate?
(All pics from Google Images)
It’s Always a Good Time
I yelled at the kids to go to sleep early one Saturday night in the summer vacation so we could get up early and be out of the house by eleven at the most. I woke up at 11:21. Everyone was up before me. No one realized that they could not actually leave the house if I was still snoring away. So I had to start yelling again as soon as I woke up. They just wanted to let me sleep in, isn’t that sweet? The day I need to wake up early, they finally let me sleep in. My kids make sure my vocal cords get plenty of exercise every day. The thing is I don’t really dream of being an opera singer.
After ranting about the height of negligence that my kids and their father have been endowed with, I started making brunch and packing picnic food. I had marinated the chicken the night before. Good thing I have an obsessive compulsive disorder with organization. Unfortunately this does not go good with my absent-mindedness. But that is life. Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think?
Picnics are loads of fun with five kids. I pack enough stuff to make you believe I was going away for a month. 5-year-old twins mean you need lots of extra clothes and towels. You never know who is going to decide to get carsick. They’ve been trained to give a 5 second warning so I can catch it in a plastic bag.
So I make an Olympic record for the best time in the ‘make breakfast, feed kids, pack picnic, yell at kids to get ready, close all lids on toilet seats, feed cat, and push everyone out the door’ event. We get in the car and as soon as we are in the kids start fighting over seats. No one wants to sit at the back with the twins. I can’t blame them. Who the hell enjoys catching vomit in a plastic bag?
We had to stop to buy buns and drinks. And coal. And lighter fluid. Because husband does not have any sort of obsessive compulsive disorder and efficiently tunes out when I start listing off ‘things to do’. So I sit in the car while he buys stuff, and try to ignore the kids who are arguing about who will sit where on the way back. I receive a phone call from husband, “I can’t find the buns”.
By 1:45 we were sitting outside the second grocery store because husband could not find coal at the first. After 25 minutes he comes out smiling. Success. It took two people 25 minutes to find lighter fluid. We finally move on. On the road husband realizes someone’s door is not closed right. At the first red light we all open and slam the doors really fast, green light we drive on but one door is still not closed right. Change radio station because no one likes the song. Yell at kids to stop yelling at each other. Next stop light, door open, door slam, door still not closed thank you ma’am. Kids still yelling at each other about whose door is not shut properly. Teenage daughter only has enough strength to hit her brother in the back of the head and that is all. For anything else her hands seem to have no life. Have to change radio station every two minutes. Husband wants to know why all the songs sound exactly the same. We pull into someone’s driveway and husband gets out to close the door shut.
Teenagers are now commenting on all the ‘swoggy’ people they see on the way. As if they are full of swag themselves. Change radio station.
At the lake finally, more bickering among offspring. Who will pick up what and why they get to pick up that particular object. Deciding on the perfect spot takes about 20 minutes, but by now I have started to tune everyone out. It is such a beautiful day. Warm and sunny. We are finally settled, I just want to get in that water. I walk in and my longed for peace is replaced with horror. The water is freezing. God dammit!
“We don’t even have to try it’s always a good time..O o o ..”
(All images are from Google Images)
Aachoo Season
I started a blog on blogger called Desi Mom Eh? But I am so used to word press that I didn’t have much fun, so I am moving all my stuff here. This was the first post I did:
Gross eh?
I got this from Google Images and I really hope no one sues me for using it. I didn’t have any pics of my kids’ runny noses or I would have used them. Honestly. Even if it meant them growing up with psychological problems because their mom posted a picture of their snotty noses on a blog. Anyways it is that season again when kids sneeze and manage to get slimy green mucous on everything. I have a ‘desi totka’ for you. A ‘totka’ is something old village women used. I think. That is what I always thought anyways. But I am not an old village woman. I am a stunningly beautiful, super skinny woman with five kids who doesn’t look a day over 32. Seriously. I hope my teen doesn’t read this.
My kids get really bad colds every time the season decides to change. So I take some ginger crush it and then squeeze the juice into some honey and convince my kids to get it down their throats. It actually tastes good and it is quite effective.
Take about a one inch piece and crush it in a handy-dandy mortar with a pestle which everyone usually has lying around the kitchen. Well at least desis do. If you are not a desi you can make do with a rolling-pin. No rolling-pin? You seriously need to stop buying all those microwavable dinners and actually cook once in a while then eh? Once the ginger is all crushed up it will start dripping out ginger juice. Squeeze this into a clean little jar and pour a few tablespoons of honey in. If it tastes too sharp and gingery add some more honey and you can store this. Get your kid to have a teaspoon three or four times a day. I convinced my twin girls that honey made your skin glow and your hair grow long. Yes I lie to my kids. I do it often and very convincingly.
If you, or your loved ones have been affected by the changing weather then we can help. Sorry I had once written some pages for a law firm’s website. So this is a recipe for this really awesome herbal/green/cinnamon whatever kind of tea. I am dedicating this to my friend Monica who had a really
sh—y cold today. Poor baby I hope you feel better.
Do you have?
1. Cinnamon. The one from Sri Lanka is called Ceylon cinnamon and is the best. You can get it at your nearby Indian store. This is the one you should use. Here is some good info if you are interested: http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html
2.Ginger. You can get this everywhere. Stop using those ready to eat things and do some cooking damn it! Ginger is good for lots of stuff like colds and even migraines : 10 Health Benefits of Ginger. I realize I messed up the name of the first link. Sue me.
3. Cloves. You can get this wherever you buy spices and it is easily available at all Indian stores. And you should have it in your kitchen. Really you should: Cloves Nutrition Facts.
4. Turmeric. Indian store! 20 Health Benefits of Turmeric.
In a sauce pan put three cups of water, two-inch piece of a cinnamon stick, a few thin slices of ginger ( 2 to 4 depending on how you like the taste), two to four cloves and 1/5 tsp powdered turmeric or a small piece of the solid stuff. You can use less if it bugs you too much. Boil it on low until about 2 1/2 cups remain or even just two if you like it stronger, add a little honey to sweeten it. Drink it two times a day. Or whenever you want to. This is also good after a heavy meal. Oh and it is good for weight loss too, first thing in the morning.
I hope these were helpful. What do you use in Aachoo season? aaaaachooo…..ewwww.
(All Images from Google Images)
