I used to wonder how many mothers kept the child in them alive. Now I know it! Having an infant is holding a bundle of joy, but having a toddler is having a fun package at home. That’s exactly how my days are going now. Finally, this year I have found the true reason and meaning for my stay at home.

I am not just happy, but overall satisfied with my current experiences with my daughter. I want to cherish these memories in words as well. Hence this post.

Though my days are filled with Ilakkiya from morning to night, realization has finally hit me that it’s not going to be the same in a few years. My daughter needs my attention now. As a mother, I am happy and excited about it. Though I complaint once in a while of not having my me-time, I must say she is thoroughly keeping me happily engaged. She has not just taught me to let go of many things, she has also taught me not to overreact for everything. ?

Since we spend our time together mostly, we have come up with 7 games. It helps my toddler and me spend our time better when we get utterly bored being together!

7. Sa Re Ga Ma

Now that we have learnt a few Thamizh and English rhymes, we are bored of singing them on a regular basis. I hum the song and she tries to find the song and it gets interesting when songs get mixed up. I realized some rhymes follow the same music and it’s fun to find similar songs. The good thing about this game is when baby girl tries to hum and asks me to find it. Imagine my surprise!

6. Draw The Rhyme

Find the rhyme!

This is similar to storytelling, but we use this technique for rhymes. For example, I draw a mouse, a clock, a cuckoo and a bed for the mouse to fall down on, along with an elephant to help the mouse at the end(updated version, courtesy – Coco melon). So could you figure out the rhyme? Yes, Hickory Dickory Dock. Drawing is not my thing, but I am delighted to learn how to draw a few animals. Earlier, the most difficult part was to make her believe it’s a mouse. Now, she finds it, so I guess I am better or she finally has figured this is the mouse mom can draw. Anyway, the game is interesting.

Find the animal! She said it was a cat, close!

5. Arrange the Veggies

This is what most parents play. I find it interesting that my little one enjoys playing this. The actual fun for her is not in arranging the veggies, it is in opening the refrigerator and keeping things in. If she has to arrange peas, lady’s finger and tomato, only half of it goes in, yes she loves to eat them raw. When I give her beans she breaks the beans and stores it, only because she loves to break them. If it’s broad beans (Avarakkai) then she treats it like another version of peas.

4. The Rain Game

This is something she found herself. She collects things, for example blocks and pours it down my head like the rain. This doesn’t stop with just the blocks, it’s applicable for erasers, pens and all stationary that belongs to me. So after all is done and we are flooded enough, we clean up the contents with the clean up song (Coco melon again).

3. Paint it Pink

We learn our colours everyday and the little one is supposed to dip in the colour I choose. Of course, we take turns. We start with a paint brush and a lovely book, then the book becomes messy, so we use our hand to make a bingo mark(just like another rhyme, where the fur friend paints with her human friend) in the notebook, then we want to know how messy can we get. So, recently she figured how to wash her hands as well as the paint brush on her own. We head to the bathroom to get a wash and a mini-bath after EVERY painting session.

2. Hello Doctor!

Yes, this is a new find. My father underwent laser treatment for Cataract before 10 days. From then, it’s all about what the doctor advised her Grandpa. However, we have given our doctor an extra duty, he handles the phones at our home. ? When the little one asks for the phone, my father says his doctor said he is not supposed to use it for viewing videos until his eyes get better. So when the father takes the phone to attend calls, his granddaughter becomes the strict doctor who denies him access to his phone. Other important element of our doctor game is testing head to toe for pains and troubles and treating them with a hug and a kiss as a medicine.

Another new version of the doctor game is addressing each other as doctors. Tell me doctor what do you think about this! (This can refer to pomegranate too!) And if we are not doctors, we become monkeys. Yes, we address each other as monkeys and continue our conversations. If not monkeys, we address each other as mom and baby. Sometimes I am the mom and sometimes I’m the baby. ?

1. Role Reversal

Though I enjoy all the above games, I enjoy this one a little bit more. She becomes the mother and I become the baby. So I’m supposed to give her all cuddles and requests and she is suppose to hear me and respond. How cool is this game! We have a glitch here. I’ll tell you that too, when I’m not able to handle her tantrums, this game comes handy. I get to repeat all she does and she just looks at me like, damn you are the baby now? The best part in this is she calls me endearingly and cuddles as often as I ask. How cute is that? Also, let me tell you she warns me just the way I warn her. That’s another best point, I’ll tell you that.

I am glad I wrote this post. I’d been delaying this for a while now. Today while we were playing the role reversal something happened. I asked her to come and hug me, but she had to go and meet her grandfather and greet him good night. I insisted she stay with me and hug me. She just turned to me and told me to wait, because she had to go and say good night. I was happy. As a mother, she clearly laid her priorities in front of her child. I’m a happy mom. I see myself in a better phase now. As a mother and as an individual. Thanks to my daughter. God bless.

What games do you love to play with your little one? I’d love to know so I could add them to my list.

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Much Love Monday is a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted on the 3rd and 4th Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.

The post Much Love Monday: 7 Games my Toddler and I Love to Play appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

How was your Diwali? Mine was good. We enjoyed it. I hope you and your family had a great time too. Since I hardly used WhatsApp this month, I couldn’t send messages to many friends this Diwali. Still remember, you all were in my thoughts and prayers this Diwali. I’m happy to find such lovely people online.

Yes, It’s that time of the month where we sit down and cherish all the moments that just travelled by. October has by far been the best month this whole year, not because it’s the husband’s birthday. The second best month was June, also not because it was my birthday month. We spent the four months together, what can be more special?

Finally something good this year so I’m wrapping 2019 with a cheerful smile.

My attempts at gratitude posts failed miserably this year. I wanted to try writing Weekly Gratitude posts, but hardly crossed 2 months. I’m not sure if I might write another gratitude post to officially wrap 2019. Or maybe I might. Still, I really wanted to share this here. So here’s pretty much my year in short along with October.

Wrapping 2019 with a Smile

We (Lakki and I) reached Chennai on the 1st of October followed by the husband the next day. This was an unexpected trip for him, but still delighted he came over. Distance definitely changes a few things. Married for 3 years, as a team we focussed on taking care of those around us. It backfired terribly. We are still a team, but just got better because of what we discovered this year. These 130 days has done a lot of good than I thought possible.

I’m happy for the love of my life, the 1000+ conflicts we’ve had this year, has made us talk so much better to each other. This year has reminded us so many lessons about life. Yes, a reminder since we had left “US” behind due to daily life. The most important of all is being there for each other at all times. Since we were away for most of this year, it was really tough to smoothen things our way. My most favourite quote came to my aid this year,

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

When we got our chance to stay together we did not just grab it with both hands, but embraced it fully and lived it like there is no tomorrow. Last October, we spent it at Bangalore and this one at Chennai after our travel. Isn’t that a treat to me? So I’m thankful.

I feel blessed to have my daughter next to me all the time. This year was tough on her too, staying away from her dad wasn’t easy for her. Misery loves company and we were each other’s ally. She enjoyed every second with her dad these 4 months. They went on rides almost everyday and she just didn’t let him be. More than me she is awaiting her next trip.

She has started to weave her stories already. We are impressed and are happy, won’t ask for more. Her new versions of rhymes are totally cracking us up. Here is a sample:

You must have heard of the Baby Shark rhyme. If not check out Cocomelon Baby Shark. She saw the aquarium at my mom’s and started singing the rhyme. I told her that this aquarium is too small for sharks. This one could hold Gold Fish, Black Molly and Angel Fish for now.

She was all ears, she nodded her head and repeated the same to me in her own words. Then changed it to baby gold fish do do do.. How quick these little ones grow..

I am happy for my Family & Friends. I roasted them with many dry and dull stories for a while now. Yet have been very supportive this year. I was emotionally drained with lots of things this year. Staying away from hubby was draining me a lot. Mom, dad, sister along with my grandmother, uncle and aunty helped me in their own way.

I’ve had many meltdowns this year than ever and my girls(including my granny) listened and comforted me many times. I got to meet some of them this year, though we’re already planning to meet soon. I’m happy to have these people in my life.

I’m grateful for the time I’ve got to stay at my parents this year. I still do and I am thankful for the love my parents share on the little one. I’m happy for my sister-in-law and her family for being supportive and helping us despite their very own problems this year.

This month we took a road trip to Tirupati, a long pending one to meet Mr. Venky. This was an interesting trip because the driver shared so much history about this particular Temple along with other temples. He drives almost everyday to Tirupati and he’s doing this for 14 years now.

His stories were aplenty and we were all ears. We also visited a much lesser known temple on the way back. It’s Mahishasuramardini’s temple near Tirutani. The usually bitter neem tastes like a normal leaf here. I don’t know the science behind this. I’m yet to find it out.

Bullet Journal, Social Media

I’ve been away from Social Media this month. Surprisingly, I find little interest or almost no interest to open most of the platforms. The only platform I use right now is Facebook, to share my blogposts in BAR group. Otherwise, you’d not find me much in WhatsApp, Instagram or others too.

I’m perfectly alright, I just wanted to invest more of my time with my family and myself. I’ll tell you I’m bad at multi-tasking. I cannot read a book and listen to music at the same time. So when the little one approaches me and I’m busy typing, I cannot focus on what she talks. So I took a break from phone overall. Now, I use it for typing posts(at times) and calls.

No, these social media platforms don’t hinder me, it’s just me who consumes it more than necessary. I want to use it minimally because I don’t want my daughter to be too fond of my phone either. We play games and watch a few pre-downloaded videos on the phone, both are offline work with the phone.

My bullet journal was my everything this year. I am learning to draw and my journal is helping me there too. The one good thing about it, is the creativity. Either I copy designs or scribble something on my own. My weekly logs make it interesting to see what I did to what I ate. I’m planning to do a Roundup post about my bujo. Let’s see.

Also, thankful for the good rains in Chennai this monsoon. Even though it’s not full-fledged yet, I’m happy to see rains in Chennai after 3 years. I feel like our prayers are always heard.

I’ve made some major decisions this year for the coming year. More on that soon in the coming posts.

That’s about my October. My husband is starting back tomorrow. Right now we don’t have a rented house there at the moment. A new project and a fresh start has come again. Wishing things settle down sooner, so we could too.

How was your October? I’d love to know. With so many things to be thankful for, I am wrapping 2019 and hoping for a better life in 2020 for all of us.

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Much Love Monday is a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted on the 3rd and 4th Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.

Joining Vidya Sury’s Gratitude circle first Time this year and I’m happy to be part of it at least once this year.

The post Much Love Monday: Thank you October, Wrapping 2019 appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

I wanted to write about
A thousand different things the week
I actually started with prose
Instead I am now writing poetry.

I wanted to write about
How I struggle and drain myself fully
So I could sleep exhausted every night
But I’m left with emptiness instead.

I wanted to write about
How playing a game(even) in my mobile
Recharges my mind, releases tension,
And makes me productive than routine days.

I wanted to write about
How writing at random in a notebook
Makes me feel so much better
Than explaining myself to everyone.

I wanted to write about
What my daughter learns everyday
And what she makes me learn from her
As I see the world through her eyes.

I wanted to write about
What is it like to have a daughter
And why I feel blessed to have
someone so little yet so strong in my life.

I wanted to write about
How much I miss the three of us being together
Even though I am waiting to travel again
Sooner than later.

I wanted to write about
How some friends share posts right from their heart
But think those are silly on their blog
I tell you here, I love most of those posts.

I wanted to write about
Tips and tricks I’m learning about parenting
About why it will take me a lifetime to master it
Still, carry on being a work in progress parent.

I wanted to write about
How mad I was after reading Eleanor Oliphant
How silent I had become
And wanted to read no other book for sometime.

I wanted to write about
Taking a social media break
To spend some personal time on my blog
And write random stuff I’ve always wanted to.

I wanted to write about
How happy I am since it’s finally raining in Chennai
After being roasted for three long years
Since the 2015 floods.

I wanted to write about
A thousand different things this week
While I keep writing more about it
I would love to know what you wrote this week.

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Much Love Monday is a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted on the 3rd and 4th Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.

The post Much Love Monday: I wanted to write about.. appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

When I decided to ask this question to some of the women I know, I started with my grandma’s Monday, Their answers brought in so many stories. Stories I did not hear before. Stories that made me laugh and a couple did bring tears too. I never expected Mondays to bring out so many stories. Mondays across generations weren’t unusual, but the stories were. Hence, I decided to share some stories with all here.

My grandmother and I talk on a daily basis. We spend a few minutes everyday sharing about our day with each other for two years now. Yes, after my wedding we miss each other and also fight with each other more. She is my best friend , offers me sane advice, and puts it in a funny way too. She married at 25, great standards for the yester generation. When I asked her about this she laughed and finished her story like a rollercoaster ride.

Grandma’s Monday, In Her Own Words

Right now, my Mondays are determined by my son leaving to his office. I spend more time reading books and singing bhajans. Once in a while I help my daughter (my mother) and my daughter in-law. Otherwise, I have enough daily activities (washing her own clothes, drying and folding it, cooks her own pot of rice) to keep me busy. I prefer to do my work and not be dependent. I know people will work for me, but I prefer it this way. When Lakki comes over, all my day is spent with her. That’s how I love it now.

My earlier days were not as relaxed as now. We were in a joint-family as you know it. The women of the family used to cook together. We assigned tasks and did it consistently irrespective of our mood. Monday never really made the difference. I always put the food on the table on time and that is all that mattered.

I always ensured we don’t spend too much time in the kitchen. At those times, we mostly made one-pot food. Just like sewing, cooking is also a skill, I acquired it and found it best to finish things early. An hour is the time I could spend in the kitchen. I also learned best never to talk too much.

I loved the laid back weekends, I think even your mother would have said that. We spend time with family, but more than that we get to start the day late and relaxed. Though there wasn’t much of a change until we moved to a new place. We had arguments as a family, but that never affected the work we did.

We took our home jobs like women these days take their work. I appreciate how efficient women have become. Cooking wasn’t really my feat, but I took it up because I was the eldest daughter-in-law in their family and they all needed someone to help them with that, to bring a routine and responsibility. More than a mother, I was like a chef who had to plan and prepare food for almost 10 members and then the little ones.

The one good thing about Monday was that we get the house to ourselves even after all that morning rush. I have a routine until now. So nothing much has changed. However, I always enjoyed watching movies, visiting the Bazaar and playing cards with family (all the sisters(4), her nieces with mom and my uncle),that would look like a Mini-IPL.

I always had guests at home and I wasn’t disappointed at the fun time we had together. Life was happier and is still happier. Even today when I sit alone at home, I am at peace. I have enough hobbies to keep me going and my love for K.Balachandar movies has grown more now. I watch when there is one on TV, otherwise my TV time is limited to morning news and evening news and Vinayaka (Lord Ganesh Serial).

My grandmother is 83. She is one of the most organized person and the best planner I know. She has her days and the month planned, all set with lists to remember her tasks. Though arthritis has affected both her knee joints she does her best to take care and walk minimally. She is an ardent fan of K.B and she used to watch some immediately after release. While adores her great granddaughter, I must admit she is a sweet great-grandmother to her. She loves traveling and has travelled places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. She is a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and actively volunteers till date.

Much Love Mondayis a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted on the 3rd and 4th Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.

The post Much Love Monday: My Grandma’s Monday appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

I had a very interesting conversation with my Mom. It was our during one of our daily talks this topic came out of nowhere. We laughed and laughed at the conversation we had. I must say this is one of the most cherished conversation we had. I imagined my mother and how she spent her days when we were kids. To my surprise, I hardly noticed her then, it was very much about me. All I knew was Mom makes food and hears all I talk.

This conversation made me realize that Mom really listened to all my after-school talks and knew me much better than I thought. Anyway, coming back to the Monday Musings, I asked her just out of the blue, What was her Monday like when we were kids and what she honestly thought about it. She laughed and then she spoke to me with so much memories. She shared her experience happily with me.

All in her words:

“Most Mondays were scary. You know, at times I even used to get a head ache. I must pack you guys before 8AM and prepare breakfast for the family(joint- too big family) on time. Lunch followed immediately. I also had to take care of the household chores back to back.

Eating also became a chore most times. I used to like the laid back weekends better then. Though you guys were at home, you only troubled me being a slow-eater. Otherwise, there wasn’t much trouble. And yes, you used to blow my ears with your entire school story. Though I liked it, at times it used to be so long that it never ended.

Even though I listened to you all the time, you complained that I never listened to you. And your sister complained that I always listened to you. Hardly neither of you were interested in what I wanted to tell, but I never complained.

Mondays became a bit challenging once I started working. I wasn’t initially able to cope up with work and home. I concentrated more on home initially. I felt I wasn’t ready to go to work. It took me a lot of courage to finally decide to take work seriously. I assigned tasks to both of you who I considered my only support then.

However, you guys were not supportive for a while. You guys didn’t oblige immediately, but started helping until it became a routine for you. As grown ups you have understood me a lot better. Also, you obliged because I bought you tasty snacks in the evening.

Now, after almost 20 years of working, I feel Mondays are a great day to start the week fresh. I plan ahead and have learned to sort out work at home and not worry about it. Well, I also learned to let things be and gave the freedom of take it or leave it. I love Mondays because now I know I need that fresh air to start all over again without losing hope.”

My mother is an Insurance Consultant with LIC and Star Health. She is an amazing person who has helped many people get insured. Right from the aunty who sells flowers, to house maids to the person who sells bananas, tender coconuts she has helped them get insured and followed through till the amount matures. I never understood her job earlier. Today I am grateful for her job and how she considers this as her service to community.

Much Love Monday is a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted every Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.



The post Much Love Monday: Starting Monday as a Mother appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.