The Mommy at Home

  So I wake up early and happy everyday...well almost everyday. There I was sitting amidst my plants sipping my lemon tea when that difficult person came and commented on something that wasn't done the right way, when it wasn't my job to do that in the first place. My perfect morning moments were gone and the lemon tea indeed left a sour taste in my mouth. You know what I mean, right! You've been through it too at some point.  I sat down that day with my journal and thought hard about how I can avoid feeling low when something or someone around me is being negative. I have come with these 5 tried and tested mind tricks (if we can call them that). Think about it and implement it. I guarantee, you'll have more happier days than usual.  Stop being a friend to Misery That's right. Misery loves company. The more you think about it/him/her/them, the more misery is going to hang around you. The initial venting out if fine and even necessary sometimes, but get rid of it as ...

  Welcome back to The Mommy at Home! Stemming from the blog on age-appropriate chores, comes this edition of learning valuable life-skills early in life. Children need to learn certain valuable life-skills, which will help them later in life, when they become teenagers, and when they step into the real world.  Get a jumpstart on teaching practical lessons to your children right now, starting with decision making and then building on each life skill as your children grow.  This is one of the most important life-skills that a child could ever learn. It helps them throughout their life to make better choices. Start small by asking them to choose between their two favourite ice-cream flavours, two favourite t-shits, two favourite toys, so on and so forth. As your children will grow, they'll understand the rewards of good decisions and consequences of bad ones. Your role will be to talk them through the process of decision making, helping them understand the pros and cons of m...

  Hola amigos! The lockdown forced almost everyone right into the kitchen, and zero access to home delivery of gourmet food, forced us to become innovative in the kitchen.  In the age of YouTube, we can get any recipe we want for free. But I have come to realize, how will I come to know about what's new in the food world, or how to bring about some newness to an ordinary recipe. Cookbooks do serve a purpose, they tell us what's new, and they are for us to refer to, whenever we want. I for one, cannot keep track of bookmarks on my browser. I may come across something interesting, but mostly, I'm unable to find it again.  I have discovered many cookbooks in past few years, some were okay, some were not so okay; but some were great buys. Most of these have been shortlisted keeping in mind the Indian palate. I'm sharing my list with you. Let me know what you think.  I'm dividing my list into 2 parts. The first part contains recipe books for everyday cooking. The second ...

 Missing date nights with your beau? Try out these at-home date ideas. Yes, I've tried to keep the kids in mind too!! 1.        Play a game together. Board games, PSP…anything!  2.        Cuddle up outside. It’s monsoon after all!  3.        Schedule a binge watch night. Latest season of Money Heist, anyone!! 4.        Set up your own paint and sip experience. Just play with colours and keep your favourite beverage handy.  5.        Reminisce with music. Play the tunes you fell in love with together.  6.        Sweet tooth? Enjoy a desert meal together. 7.        Play hide and seek. Yes, it silly, but it’s the silliness that is needed sometimes to rejuvenate the relationship. 8.        Do a super hard jigsaw. You’ll be surpris...

  The rains are upon us and there's no better time to curl up with a book. Let the pitter patter sooth your senses. Pick up a hot cuppa of your favourite beverage and curl up with your favourite pick.  Here are my top monsoon-worthy book recommendations that you'll find hard to put down. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood One major theme in Atwood's books is the theme of identity. The main characters in The Handmaid's Tale, The Blind Assassin and Cat's Eye each travel on a journey to search for their identities. Atwood uses multiple motifs such as flashbacks, old newspaper and memoirs to exemplify this theme.   The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh   When you heave your final sigh and turn the last page of Amitav Ghosh's novel, The Glass Palace, you feel as if you've travelled for 100 years on foot, through the most distant and lush lands on the globe. The Glass Palace is as close as a person tucked cozily into an armchair on a rainy day can get to the rubber ...