SOLO DATE IDEAS FOR MOMS

Things I Want to Do with Myself—Solo Date

I am a mom, and after reaching 40, I recognize the true meaning of "LOVE." Acceptance and compromise is the new love language we moms learned very well. Education, career, marriage, and then kids...our life is a roller coaster, and how often do we love ourselves?

Very little time! I think we realize the value of self-love at this age only. Where we assume we are settled 🤞 in technical words, but actually still struggling, and we convince our mind that it is okay!

It happened to me too. After struggling, crying, and laughing with kids, I realized there are many things that I always wanted to do, and I always tell myself... Ohh...it's okay...will do it next time. And next time never came. So this year I decided to create a bucket list and stick it to my wardrobe. My goal is to tick out as much as possible.

SOLO DATE IDEAS FOR MOMS

We all have many things in our minds that we didn't achieve due to the "mommy" circumstances. So if you are a mom or woman, please do consider this FEBRUARY month as a SELF LOVE month and date with yourself.

1) GO TO THE BEACH:

Yes. I always find calmness at the beach. But now I wanted to go alone all by myself. To walk on the sand barefoot. Play with waves. Sit at bay and watch the sunrise and observe what the sea, sand, and sun are trying to tell.

2) LIBRARY VISIT:

If you are a book nerd, then I am sure you must have your favorite library. I want to spend a whole day reading and learning in a pin-drop silence atmosphere.

Book Review  of SILK ROUTE SPY 

Favourite books - 7 to 10 years old

3) SPA

Yeah...you might have been at SPA, but I am not yet. I want to give this spa a treat for myself. I want to feel that "SPA SESSION."

4) SIP and PAINT PARTY:

I saw these sip and paint parties many times. People are sitting with canvas, color, and drink, and the coach is there to guide them. I want to attend this paint party.

Moms, do you love paintings or you wanted to do it since your childhood and couldn't get the chance. Then book your session with this kind of sip and paint party and enjoy this solo date.

5) SOLO TRAVELING IN HIMALAYA:

I love Himachal, especially for the mountains and cool breeze, rivers, and, of course, pahadi food. I want to explore this place all by myself. I have been here with family, but all I want to do is travel all by myself and have a thrilling experience.

Check out this Beauty of Kashmir 

6) SOLO SHOPPING AT MALLS:

We moms always shop for our kids and often visit malls with our kids. But I really want to go alone and shop peacefully. No cranky kiddo, no picking up, nothing. Just me and my shopping.

7) MEDITATION AT GARDEN:

Moms, you can do this meditation at your society garden early in the morning or else join yourself with a meditation group.

We mom always wanted to do meditation, but with kids, it is almost impossible until your kids become 10 years old. I wanted to attend that meditation class, which is conducted in the garden. With greenery and peace, I want to connect myself with my soul.

8) WANT TO DECORATE A PINTEREST FRIENDLY HOME OFFICE:

Moms, you can decorate your home office the way you want. Any pending wishlist with this office—it is time to complete this.

Yes! This is my long-pending list, which I want to do solely. My desk sometimes looks like a dumping station of our house. I want to have dedicated office space, which I decorate with all Pinterest-friendly aesthetic decor items.

9) SELF - CARE ROUTINE: 

As a mom or wife, I literally forgot to take care of myself. My hair, my face, and my skin were constantly staring at me, and I ignored them like a pro. 😐

If you are in the same boat, then please take out time at least once a week and take care of your hair, skin, and nails.

10) VISIT A CAFE WITH SUNFLOWER BOUQUET :

I love flowers. But since I became a mom, I forgot these things. I tend to avoid bring anything like this, which will be broken in a few hours 😞 by kids.

But if your kids are grown up, you can visit a beautiful flower shop and buy a customized flower bouquet for yourself. Don't wait for your husband to bring it for you. Do it by yourself and see the magic.

18 fun love date ideas to keep your marriage fresh 

There are many things that are practically possible to do as a mom for our solo date.

• Take yourself to the movies.
• Visit the park and observe the people.
• Visit your favorite bookstore.
• Paint your nails the way you want.
• Take away your favorite food and watch Netflix for hours on the couch.
• Go for an evening walk.
• Do some painting/crocheting/threading work that you learned at school.
• Treat yourself at an ice cream shop.
• Take yourself to watch plays.
• Enjoy rides at Essel World or Imagica.
• Create a vision board.
• Learn sketching or calligraphy.
• Do yoga.

I hope you like all the solo date ideas. Mark it on the calendar.  Start picking at least one for a month and have a lovely date with yourself. Love yourself, then only you can love your family.

Question of the day

Have you been on a solo date? Share the experience?

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This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

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सिया टेल - तू घाबरु नको

 सिया टेल - तू घाबरु नको 

PS : Google 

आम्ही तिघी means मी, सिया आणि इरा बसून dough सोबत खेळत होतो. मी घरचे पीठ खेळायला देते. खाले तरी काही tension नाही. एक तास आम्ही खूप छान खेळत होतो आणि अचानक फायर ची bell वाजली. मी दरवाजा उघडून बघीतला तर काहीच नव्हते. परत आम्ही आमच्या ॲक्टिव्हिटी मधे busy झालो.

आमच्या कडे गेले दोन महिने काम चालू आहे. सतत आपला आवाज आणि धूळ. कंटाळा आला पण काम काही संपत नाही. आम्ही घरात खेळत होतो आणि फायर ची bell वाजली. माझी सिया मला बोलते,

तू घाबरु नको मम्मी, काम चालू आहे.

I said, okay madam.

परत पुन्हा पुन्हा bell ring होत होती. 

आणि finally माझी सिया बोलते, मी आहे ना mumy, तू घाबरु नको. खाली काम चालू आहे.

मुली कधी mature होतात कळतच नाही. 

तुमच्या सोबत असे काही झाले का? कमेंट बॉक्स मधे

 सांगा. 

A peaceful morning with toddlers

A peaceful morning start is a great way to have a good day. Everyone wants to start a day peacefully. As a mom I am trying to have a calm morning. But it is possible only when I have my morning cup of tea -- To recharge myself and to recharge the whole house. 

Hope you relate with it mommy?

Until my twins were small babies our routine was set but as soon as they grew up and started walking my morning routine was falling down. It becomes clumsy and often I lose my temper. It was very difficult to get myself recharged for the day. 

I cried, I shouted, I screamed and finally I turned to them in front of the screen. I know none of this was going to work in the long run. I was struggling. 

When you become a mom everything depends on having a solid routine. Routine which helps toddlers to understand what they have to do and what mummy is going to do after every 10 to 15 minutes. Like, They have to brush  teeth, ( of course mummy is going to do it for them) , they have to let mumma cook breakfast for them, they have to let mumma have tea, and blaa blaa blaa....

Finally I decided to make some changes to have less tantrums in the morning. After many trials it worked. 

PATIENCE 

Every morning is different and one thing I realised is to adapt to the present time. Whatever happens I have my morning tea with light breakfast is my first priority. Then only I can start my day.

Sharing some tips how I am having peaceful morning. This helps me a lot in handling twins toddlers. It may help you to have some peace in the morning as a toddler mom. 

Morning Walk : 

Some mornings we have  a morning walk. Yes, right after waking and cuddling. Fresh morning air and sunlight freshen up three of us.  They run, walk, collect leaves, sticks and enjoy the birds tweets. We tend to go for morning walks twice a week. Yes it is twice only for less tantrums.😑 ( You know, right)

 

Dance Party 

Some mornings start on cry mode. It is very difficult to soothe both of them at the same time. So I decided to have some dance movements. Black Pink is currently our favourite and whenever I turned it on the screen both my twins began to dance. I also joined them to cheer up. We have lots of fun.

Books 

Books are the most therapeutic for everyone. I usually put two favourite books near our bed. So if they wake up in the morning and I was not nearby then they can simply get up from the bed and start flipping their book. It is the best part where I don't have to pay attentions.

Toy Box

I have this small box which I used to fill up at night. I put only two three favourite toys and kept them on our centre table in the living room. Once they get up from the bed even if they are crying they can easily get  involved with this toy Box. 

Poem Recitation:

I recited poems when they were two months old. Now one of my toddlers is very well versed with the poem. She sang by herself and that is the most adorable part for me. The way she sang in her vocabulary melts my heart. She almost sang 4 to 5 poems in her  language. Both of them enjoyed this poem recitation process with the act. Apart from morning routine It mostly happened on my twins demand too in a whole day.😇

Reading and Learning

Reading a book again and again helps them to understand the words. We all know to instill a reading habit you have to start early. 

Study shows early years ( 1 to 5 years) is very important for our kids. They learnt quickly whatever you are going to teach them. I have my own experience with my older daughter.

Books are always good over screen, right? I started to read this book when she was 5 months old. Now she knows 90% of it. She pronounced every word very well. Check it out here.

My method worked well with my older one. With the same experience I tried to repeat the pattern with twins. It was difficult but yes with patience and practice it worked.

These are some tips which worked for me to have a peaceful morning. It help my twins to calm down and help me 😁 to calm down. Being in a nuclear family and when you are the sole person to take care of everything then you must thrive on peaceful morning. Once you have set the routine everything goes smoothly. Just you need to learn to stay calm😐

Helpful key points : 

1. Always  use your experience and set things which is really helpful to you and your toddlers. Morning tantrums are irritating.

2. Do not get trapped in social media and try your own. 

3. Have patience. Yes to set a routine you have to have patience. It requires lots of time to set the routine. 

4.  Stay calm. Irritation only disturbs our mind and mood. Stay calm and connect your babies. 

5. Connect your toddlers with patience and love. 

Conclusion: 

Having a peaceful morning for a mom with toddler is very important to have a good start of the day. Chances are more to have independent play. Babies and toddlers always want to be with mommy and so be with them at least for the starting period. Once they get busy slowly get away. Observe them and let them play.

Kids learn fast when you have repeated courses of action. Be creative and keep your house filled with toys, books, music and most importantly your unconditional love.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Bohemian Bibliophile.

Questions for the Day 

Do you have any specific morning routine? Are you a toddler mom and follow any special morning routine? 

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©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT EVERY MOM NEEDS

SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT EVERY MOM NEEDS 

We moms are always in a roller coaster. Whether it is every day school, Every day tiffin for Mr. Hubby, bath and feed to your little one, feeding the elder one in a family and...list will go on and on ......

Roller coaster ride. 

We all need our support system. Every mom should have at least one support system to PAUSE, REFRESH and to RESTART.

But the question is how ?

A support system is actually a person with whom you can relax, cry, laugh, travel, have fun and recharge yourself. 

We have to find one person who brings joy to our face. 🥰

Why is this Support System required?

In simple terms to maintain our mental health. 

Yes.

It is very important to take care of our mental health as we are catering to many services of mom, wife, daughter in law, chef, laundry woman, decorator, party organisers, nutritionist and many more.

The more responsibility the more mental load. 

And so we need our support system.

To,

1) Reduce stress :

Our support system helps in reducing anxiety and stress. Just spending time with your loved one increases your happy hormones and so is the mood.

2) Build Self Esteem:

While juggling with an all-to-do list our self esteem goes down. Sometimes we didn't recognise ourselves and so we are on the verge of losing ourselves.

Our support system, the one with whom we can talk, share our stress and take help as much as possible to rebuild our self esteem.

3) Emotional Support

We go through many emotional turmoil and all we need is one friend who understands our emotions and feelings. To vent it out we need that support. This supports not only lift you up in your difficult time but also being your guide and showing us the correct way.

4) Motivator 

Our support system is the one where we can find our motivation. The one person who motivates us thoroughly without any selfishness. Our support will aways tried hard to reach us at our destination. No matter how difficult the journey this motivator always Patt you and makes you ready for the ride.With this support we can reach out to our potential.

5. Improve health

With the right kind of support system our physical as well as emotional health also start healing and so improve our well-being.

We feel we are healthy and Happy.

I personally found the support system always boosted.  I have support system - Mr.Hubby, my friend and my daughter. With these people I overcome my depression. Found my way of living life and let out my stress in proper way. 

You are not alone. We all moms once goes through the depression, anxiety and our harmonal started to imbalance and that turned badly on our health. 

 

So find your support system which is always around you. Feel free to share your load with them and take care of yourself.

Question of the day.

We have different support system at different phase of life. Which one is the best support system you have in your life?

This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (Monthly) Challenge.

This blog post is a part of the blog challenge ‘BlogaberryDazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mads’ Cookhouse.

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©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

6 Things I Learnt As Twin Mom

6 Things I learned newly as twin mom compared to single kid mom

Motherhood is the blessing and NOT everyone can have this privilege. Whether you are new mom or second time mom or third time mom, everytime you get to learn something new because every pregnancy is different and so baby too. This time with twin babies I learned  lots of things newly. Twin baby is very difficult motherhood era for me due to nuclear family set up. 

When you become second time mother you are more confident, right? You are NOT easily get panic when baby is crying. You know exactly what does your baby want ? Something like that happened to me too. I am pretty sure to handle everything by single handle - no - no - I am not alone, this time I have my 9 year old daughter and with her this twin motherhood journey was exciting and terrific. I am always grateful to the God for giving me my darling. 

When my elder ONE born I was emotional for  everything like cleanliness, baby food, baby bath, baby emotions etc. As compared to that,  this time I am barely care. I keep them crying because I know the reason and if I can't get back in that time . So let it be for some time. 😑😊 

Yes! Sometimes you have to be practical.

Things I learnt as a twin mom, that every mom should learn if possible. I can say this is the way you can enjoy your motherhood journey calmly. Yes. Calmly! 

It is quite difficult to be calm but with practice you can be a calm mom. Anger and irritation is the part of motherhood. I can't say we should avoid this. It is not at all possible. But we can minimise it. Because if we are happy then family is happy. 

Sharing what I learnt and survive 😜

Swaddling /Comfort: 

Your baby sleep well when you swaddle her or him properly. I had the experience, but this time I am so confident about it like the length of swaddling clothes, how to swaddle and how tight or loose you can swaddle and the most important how quickly you can swaddle the crying baby in a minute. My twins had 2 to 3 hour undisturbed sleep.  

I swaddled them after bath,  in the afternoon and mostly at night. I used to give swaddle less time when they felt uncomfortable. Baby's comfort is the most important thing which helps them in sleeping. 

Sleep schedule : 

This is totally new to me. With my older one I never took any efforts to have strict sleep schedule because I didn't need that. You can say as a new mom I  never keep HER away from me. So I never understand the importance of sleep schedule. 

I have been told from first day of my baby to have strict sleep schedule then only you can have REST! 

And I mean it. So I literally wrote sleep time of my babies in my diary. Due to Instagram I am able to know the sleep pattern of babies. I STUDY that and it is helpful.  I try to follow the strict schedule and so my babies were no more cranky. They had full sleep. I had quite manageable time. 

Now they are 15 months old and still we follow sleep schedule strictly. Current sleep schedule is after every 4 HR gap . Sleep May remain upto 2 HR and some time it stretches to 4 HR too with feeding.

Happy Me !

Connect to babies

This is new because I am able to connect with both of them. They are good observer and quick learner. I didn't teach them. They observe and follow. Talk, activity, songs, play are the part of connection. Babies love to connect with you. They eager to talk with you. They listen and understand. Yes, it is true. It is very important to take out time to set the connection. Because with twins daily schedule is quite hectic. 

Tandem Breastfeeding  twin 

When I was pregnant I was worried about feeding. How can I feed my both twins? I saw tons of video and try to educated myself. 

I learned Tandem feeding where you can feed your twins at the same time. The day I reached home after my hospital session, very first time I tried Tandem Feeding and voila. I succed!  Only difficulty was to burp them . But slowly I learnt that.

When my friend saw this they feel surprised and sometimes pitty. But I am happy that I can breastfeed them and both are healthy fulfilled. (Touch wood)😊

Your gut than everyone's advise

During this period I always trust my gutt. Yes! Mumma. Your gut feeling is always accurate 90% rather than any parenting books. Do not act even according to advice given by the visitors. They always told you their experience. Everyone motherhood journey is different. So listen, learn but don't apply blindly. Trust your instincts and your knowledge.

Let them free from you 

The more baby free from you more they learn to play independently. Try to give them floor time as much as possible. Being a twin mom it is very important to cuddle both of them. Cuddling, hugging and playing always together. They able to play more with each other.

Okay, let me confess, 

Twin motherhood is the most difficult journey for me. I cried a lot. Feel guilty and most of the times feel depressed too. 

But.

I reminded myself it was our decision. I was mentally prepared for this journey. And I was the most happiest person in my family when we came to know that we had twins.

Instead of that stress I concentrate - 

💜 To flow with current direction.

💜 Time is temporary.

💜 Every day is new challenge and it will end soon. 

💜 Tried to fill up every day with loads of love.

💜 Filled the home with lots of laughter, being connected with each other and every one work as a family. 

💜 Last but not the least less bothered about how my house look like? 

I kept my house baby friendly so my baby can move around the whole house and I don't need to check them on again and again. We put out all furniture in our balcony and make the room spacious.

Yes, it was difficult, for me and our family too. But the way these tiny human being watching me, depending on me, hug me and love me,  I forgot everything and charged automatically to be with them. 

I believe I am the lucky ones and so always grateful to the Universe for giving me the opportunity of twin motherhood. 

Comparatively I enjoyed this twin motherhood journey mindfully and this is the best phase of my life where I learnt lots of things which helps me to develop in a better human being. 

Question for the day?

Do you take life challenge positively? Do you cry more or challenge your self?

This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (Monthly) Challenge.

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

9 to 12 Months Baby Food Chart

Having a baby in 9 to 12 Months is exciting. The way he holds tiny things in his hand and puts them in his mouth melts mom's  heart. Then our food journey starts. We wanted to give variety of foods. After scrolling reels on baby food I am also tempted to make the same food and feed my babies. But you all know what works for others does not necessarily work with us. Especially our Indian baby takes a long time to eat the food compared to the screen baby 😉 Right?

I have an older daughter who is 10 years old. I have gone through the solid phase, picky eating phase and all. I have gone through the mommy- guilt too. So this time I am not getting any stress. 

Sometimes we flow with the social media unknowingly and sometimes withdraw, did this happen with you?

I took some ideas but not implemented yet 😂 rather than sticking with mom instinct and our traditional food. Yes! I didn't start any liquid food rather than Ragi Malt. Apart from that I stick with the mushy structure of food like dal, apple, pear, rice, and all. Not given anything in puree form except soup that too mostly chicken soup, mutton soup, tomato soup and carrot soup. 

PS : Pixabay 

I am sharing a real food chart .... Ha ha you can say chart because I am into a habit of feeding them every 2, 3 hours instead of giving everything at the same time. Because they tend to throw more and eat less. Pheww you know mom, this phase is quite exciting and cleaning is more irritating. 

These can be start 7 months onwards too. 

Breakfast : 

Mostly, Ragi Malt with variations like 

To shop click on image

Banana Ragi Malt

Apple Ragi Malt

Pear Ragi Malt

Plain Ragi Malt

Semolina halwa,

Oats

Variations of Oats

Oats upma

Oats khichdi

Oats pancake

Oats idli

Pancake ( no ) it's chilla with variations

Carrot - besan chilla

Palak puree - besan chilla

Beetroot - carrot chilla

Tomato Cheese Omlette 

Milk and chapati. ( grind chapati/roti and soak in milk ) (traditional food)

Snacks : 

Whether they have breakfast or not I try to give one seasonal fruit after 1 hr. Sometimes our day start with banana. If they are more cranky I choose to give banana. They love it.

Banana

Stem apple

Pear

Chikoo

Papaya

Sometimes juice:

Mausambi Juice

Pomegranate Juice

Mango Juice

I prefer to give whole fruit instead of juice but these are my go to list. Sometimes they love it. Sometimes don't ,😆 you know babies mood 😁

PS : Pixabay 

Lunch : 

Mostly khichadi : 

With variations

Masoor dal khichdi

Vegetable khichdi

Palak Khichdi

Carrot khichdi

Daliya Khichdi 

Mix Vegetable Khichdi

Mix Dal Khichdi

Basically whatever vegetable I have on that day I added in the khichdi. 

Dal and plain Rice 

My toddlers eat  these kind of dals

Masoor dal with onion and tomato tadka.

Plain moong dal with ghee

Mix dal with tadka

Whole masoor dal with garlic tadka.

Mix vegetable Dal. ( everything mushy or mashed form)

Sambar

Tomato Saar

PS : Pixabay 

Evening Snacks : 

Murmura

Paneer sticks

Chapati sticks

Corn chivda

Roasted Makhanna

Homemade potato chips

Homemade french fries

Homemade cookies 

Dinner : 

Mostly simple. ( Trying to give the same food which we eat)

Rava upma

Daliya upma

Oats khichdi 

Paratha

Omlette

Depends on the appetite of the babies.

Sometimes they love to have paratha. 

Potato paratha

Paneer paratha

Mix vegetable paratha

Carrot paratha

Methi thepla

Palak Paratha.

Okay.

What do you need to have daily food eating habit?

Now you will have to have plates, spoons and high chair, right. 

I have plates. Silicon one so that my twin not able to throw it 😭. You can find it here very reasonable and pocket friendly.

And if your budget is more 😜 then you can have a high chair too. 

I like this spoon set specially designed for babies. Don't forget to check this here. I am very happy with this set because my twins are more interested to eat fruits with this fork. 

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist nor pediatrician. Sharing my experience as a mom so that if you are a new mom, you should not stress too much about feeding your baby. 

All these food items consume by us too. So trying to make variation and without stress. Make only one meal which goes well with all 

Points to remember:

👶Baby sometimes eat very well. Somedays only eat lunch / dinner. And that is okay. They eat as per their body requirements. As a mom accept it and do not force them to do anything. 

👶 Try to minimise your breastfeeding as much as possible. Instead give them snacks, water, juice or their favourite snacks.

👶 Try to keep a long gap say at least 3 to 4 hour between each meal. Then only they can have good intake of food.

👶 Give them floor time, play time. The more they will play the more they will be hungry.

👶 Play with them, run with them and keep them on the floor always. 12 to 15 months babies are in the walking phase so do allow them to explore. Let them be their own. And so they will get tired and will eat food. 

👶 Do not give water during the meal time because they will drink more water and hence will eat less. (My experience: my babies will play more with water and less eating)

👶Do not offer biscuits. I can say do not eat biscuit or any junk food in front of them. They will be eating healthy food if you eat healthy food. 

👶 Do not get tempted through social media. You can have ideas, knowledge but do not compare your baby with screen baby. 

Reminder to Mom's 

Do not compare your baby with other babies If your baby is gaining moderate amounts of weight and not frequently sick that means your baby is healthy. No matter how thin or how chubby he/she.

Do not take a stress of anyone's comments. People are there to comment unnecessary things always. So do not take stress.

PS : Pixabay 

Hope this will help you. If not then please consider sharing it with newly moms. This is realistic baby food chart and basic food items which are healthy and fulfilling too. It provides necessary nutrition as everything is homemade. Try to include most of vegetables as you can. 

Questions for the day 

What is your go to food as a start of your kids BLW journey? 

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This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (Monthly) Challenge

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.