Leeeetzzz Zuuuummbaaa

I have made many new year resolutions in my lifetime and one of the standard ones was losing weight. I tried many times especially after having my first kid. But honestly, losing the baby fat is not easy. I used to exercise, go for walks, and after joining Google, I worked out in their gym everyday for an hour. I also went on a strict no sweets or junk food diet...and ANYONE working at Google would know how treacherous that is. Still, there wasn't much of a difference.

I also realized that I hate dieting and exercising. I found it boring and irritating and time seemed to stand still during my walks or workouts. By the time I had my second kid, my weight was something that disgusted me. I know I have to do something about my weight at least for my kids sake...so that I have energy to play with them...so they wont be embarrassed to be seen with me.

That's when I saw on TV the ad for Zumba fitness. It looked fun and had the dance factor which I love. The plus point was that it was Latino dance and had some of my favorite dance steps like salsa. So I decided to try it out. So far so good. I love the steps and how easily its broken down. I love the music which automatically makes you wanna shake your body and I love that I'm having fun while doing it and not noticing the time flying by. At last something has finally clicked. I just hope it helps me lose my weight.

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Shopaholic

I've realised that recently I have become addicted to shopping. This was not something I used to always do. In fact, I used to hate shopping. I was the type who would just go into the shop, pick my stuff and leave...a process that took a few minutes. I didn't like going with friends who would spend hours and hours browsing and trying on stuff etc.

But lately I've found my self enjoying the process, especially window shopping. I find it very relaxing and I don't know why. What I do know is that most of the time when I go window shopping, i end up buying and most of the time its something I really don't need. Also, I would rather shop for stuff for my kids than for myself. Normally I would buy an outfit or some toy which I know is not really necessary and when I reach home I feel kinda guilty. But at the shop I feel that if I don't buy something, I'll be incomplete. I wonder if they have a rehab for this addiction :P

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Good Times

My son Adarsh is 8 months old and I just love this phase of his life where he finds everything funny, exciting or joyful (provided his tummy is full and he has had a nice sleep). He usually gets up before me in the mornings, so I am greeted by a chubby drooling face with a 90mm toothless grin every morning. (well almost every morning) Believe me, its a great way to start any day. He loves to play with switches and likes to turn the fan regulator. He also tries to harass his sister every morning if he gets a chance.

Now that he is crawling, we have to really keep an eye on him. He puts just about anything into his mouth that he can get his hands on....including the occasional insect. He is also a total "mamma's boy" and I melt every time I see the adoration in his eyes for me.

Adarsh is a total contrast to my daughter Tanu when she was his age. First of all she never put anything into her mouth except her bottle and a spoon if it had food. Even while she was teething, she was quite neat. She also didn't giggle as much as he does and we had to do a lot of entertaining to get a smile out of her. (She eventually grew out of this and now her non stop laughter can be heard from near and far:P) And Tanu was totally daddy's little girl. I used to feel jealous when my husband entered the room, coz her face would just light up and she was oozing love and I would see the look on my husband's face and wonder why I didn't have that. But now I do and I love every minute of it.

Thank you God for blessing me with such precious kids.

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Home Sweet Home

Yesterday I went to my parents place with my kids to have lunch with them. Their anniversary was on Friday and since I couldn't make it then, we decided to go yesterday. I was quite nice sitting and chatting with my parents non stop. The funny thing is, I had just spent three entire months staying with them ( ya, I know...crazy). It was all because we were expecting a transfer, which we never got. Anyways, those three months were were at times nerve wrecking for me. Though I was staying in the house I grew up in, I felt kinda like a guest. I missed the freedom I had in my own home and the fact that I was the decision make in the household aspect. Don't get me wrong, I love my house and spending time with my parents, but I was longing to get out.

Now that we moved into a flat and I got my freedom and decision making skills back, I thought things would be great. But yesterday when I went home, I realized how lonely I was. At my paternal house, there was always someone to chat with whether it be my parents, or their maids. At my flat, I have just my kids and my maid, but she is usually busy with work or something. My hubby is usually too tired for any form of verbal communication unless its a kinda grunt which resembles a "yes". So that basically leaves my 4 year old and my 8th month old. The latter can't really respond with words yet and the former...well...talking to her is risky, coz sometimes she actually listens and at other times, she asks a gazillion questions not at all related to what your saying. I really miss adult interaction which I took for granted at my parents place. My dad was always ready to listen to my opinions or what cute things my kids said or did. And my mom, well she is a chatterbox waiting to devour someone into a conversation.
I guess the grass always seems greener on the other side. ga('send', 'event', 'button', 'click', 'nav buttons', 4);

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Discipline

"Raising children is an incredibly hard and risky business in which no cumulative wisdom is gained: each generation repeats the mistakes the previous one made." Bill Cosby

Amen! In my opinion, disciplining children is the most difficult thing a parent can do. I used to always say that my parents were strict and I wont be like that with my kids. But lo and behold....I have unknowingly become their carbon copy. What actually is the correct way to discipline kids, especially those that are young....like my 4 year old.

The traditional methods like hitting with your hand, or a stick seem barbaric, I know. But there are some moments wherein you lose all sense of judgment and your hand takes a life of its own and BAM, you smack your little ones bottom and all hell breaks loose. Between her wailing and your shouting, people will obviously think its a madhouse. After all the chaos, the end result is you feel guilty and like a terrible mother.

Method Two: Time Out...This method has also been tried and tested by me. My timeout involves putting my kid in a room and closing the door and keeping her there for a few minutes. I really don't' like this method, because many times, I literally have to drag my screaming kid to the room and once she is kept there, her bawling becomes so intense that I feel my ears going numb.

Shouting, scolding, threatening to throw her toys/book/ favorite dress, etc out the window....they all work only once in a while. After applying all these methods, the ultimate outcome, in my opinion, is increased blood pressure, throat infection, headache and stress.
Oh the joys of motherhood. If only fatherhood was this fun.

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Starting From Scratch

I have 3 blogs, including this one. The first one was official and was part of my work profile. The second one I started to vent my feelings...kinda like a diary. But when I went back to read what I had written, I found myself feeling frustrated and depressed. I didn't like that. I wanted to write and read stuff that would make me happy and cheerful and optimistic...hence my third blog.

I hope I can stick to blogging without too many breaks. So here I am again starting from scratch :)

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