First fancy dress parade

Hello dearies,
Have been busy for a while with family occasions, a coughing kid and a not so
in the pink' me. I remember writing about posting the fancy dress my daughter wore for her first
School day. Though I was amused with the feathery idea of a peacock dress, it. couldn't bematerialized bcoz of its complexity. So I made her an Upsy daisy outfit, same as the one on freebies, along with the head band.
How I proceeded:
First I bought all the colourful fabric needed, some needles n thread,
Fabric glue,paint.
I cut the fabric for 2 circle skirts- one red n one white. Then I cut the
White skirt into petal design. Glued the white skirt onto the red one.
I also bought a white t-shirt onto which I glued orange,yellow and lavender fabrics
to resemble Upsydaisy outfit to the t. Finally I painted the flowers
On the top with orange fabric paint.
I made a belt Which I sewed onto the shirt along with the skirt
part and it was good to wear.
For the headband, I sewed lavender fabric in a pjipe shape and put a plastic band inside it. I made 9 samesize pipes with fabric, inserted rolled cardboard into them and seed them
Equally spaced on the lavender band. You'll know when u take a look at the photos..

Lazy Sunday

What's a weekend when you have got nothing on your to-do list? And not a soul for company?Nor even a good book? Hmm..that's what this weekend is for me. With hubby busy with work overload, I'm holed at home with baby. So I am reminiscing about last Sunday. We visited the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, with our toddler in tow. The park seriously needs revamping, since the infrastructure is almost outdated. Many animals dont show up, so one gets to doubt if there are any.

We took the mini train ride around the forest, during which we spotted deer and thats about it.  Then there are duck shaped boats available for rent, for people to cycle over the lake. We didnt take the boat since that would expose baby to the hot afternoon sun. Then we headed to the tiger/lion sanctuary in a bus. We could see the wildies roaring and roaming around the bus.

The trek up to the Kanheri caves is worth trying. The best way to spend the day here is to come with a gang of friends on bicycles. Cycle through the park to various locations and finally end it by climbing up to the caves. College-goers might love this outing, I guess, if one is an outdoors kinda person.

May be thats where they went before malls and coffee shops cropped up everywhere.

First school experiences

I'm sending my little one to a play group, since three days. She cries when I leave her in the play room, where some kids are howling. The teacher tells me she calms down quickly and does the activity scheduled for the day. I wait on the school's terrace, thinking if I'm rushing her. Am I doing the right thing in sending her to the play group? She learnt many rhymes, can recognise colours and shapes, sings bed time songs etc at home. The idea is not for her to learn at school but to play with kids her age and the teachers.
Its really heartbreaking to leave her when she's crying. And I even dont know if she's happy. The teachers say she is ok. Its an experience i despise to go through.
May be these playgroups should employ one teacher for every 4 or 5 kids. That way, there can be more attention on the child. And as the saying goes,'the crying baby gets all the attention' , one crying child triggers off a room full of them. Did I choose the right school? If she stops crying in a week or 10 days, well and good. If not, should I discontinue sending her? I just cannot force her as I'm afraid that will make her insecure amd lose her trust in me.
One more thing : there's going to be a toy themed fancy dress competition in 3 weeks. The child should be dressed to look like a toy. I zeroed in on 2 ideas : A robot dress, a peacock dress. Making the former would be easier. All I need are cardboard boxes, aluminium foil, colour paper. The latter option is what I would really like to make, but its a tough one. I'll post the pictures and how I made it when I'm done. Wish me luck!
Ciao!!

More Kid friendly recipes

My daughter got her first tooth at 8 months of age. She liked to munch on boiled peas, so I gave them after her rejected meals. Our family doctor advised me to give her a boiled egg every day. She had it with Gerber's Graduates Li'l Crunchies. I bought these exclusively to feed her the egg. The Graduates Crunchies and Puffs were handy for travel munching, especially during flights. Somehow, they are out of stock now. Fortunately my kid has grown up and accepts a whole variety of foods. That 9months - 20 months phase is when most moms face trouble from picky eaters. It usually subsides when the tots reach their second birthdays. As I promised here are some of the recipes that clicked for us. I wish I have photos of these. I was too busy taking care of baby, I didnt bother to take pics. Anyway, hope these help.


3.Ragi porridge : 1 tbsp ragi/nachni atta, a pinch of cardamom powder, 1 cup milk is all you need to make this comforting recipe.

I initially used to make it with part water, part milk and then switched to milk only. This porridge is palpable when it has a thick soup like consistency and pours off a spoon. Avoid lumps. Put a tsp of ghee while serving.



4. Mini Veg cutlets: In a bowl, mix 1 big boiled mashed potato, 1 medium grated carrot, a handful of boiled, coarsely mashed sweet corn, a handful of fresh diced spinach leaves, 1/2 tsp garam masala, salt to taste, 1 or 2 tbsp quick cooking oats(1 crumbled bread slice, instead of oats). Make small balls. Flatten each on the palm of your hand. These are ideal for non-stick pan frying. You'll notice that you need very little oil to fry them. I'm pretty sure any kid would like these mini cutlets.


5. Palak-potato chapathi: The name itself suggests the recipe. Boil 1 big bunch of palak (leaves and stems all) along with 1 small diced potato, with as little water as possible. Puree it in a blender with 1 tsp jeera, 1 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste. Transfer the puree into a big bowl. Now mix whole wheat flour with the puree to make chapati dough. Dont add any water. Roll out the dough and make chapathis. This is a simple recipe to make your little one eat palak. To make them more attractive, cut out shapes from the rolled dough--stars, crescents, triangles,squares etc.Just giving you an idea.


PS: I tried making Granola bars yesterday and ended up with muesli. Yes, the caramel failed me..Anyone suggest tips for making caramel just right?

Kid friendly recipes

I have a  22 month old  pesky eater, for whom I am constantly in search of kid friendly recipes and stories to keep her attention off the food. In this post I'll share some recipes that worked for us,which may help some worried mom out there. I introduced her to solids at 7 months age. She seemed to like the banana, cerelac and ragi porridge. Trouble started when she turned 10 months old. totally rejected most of the food, drank no milk other than mom's, by which time I wasnt making much milk. Infact I couldnt wean her completely until she was 18 months old and she wasnt taking any other milk.

1. Lapsi Porridge : Boil and mash half a potato and some carrot pieces. keep aside. Cook 2 tbsp lapsi rava with 1 tsp moong dal in enough water.Add a small piece of ginger for flavour. When the lapsi is cooked, add the mashed vegetables ,mix well. Put in a pinch of salt. Add more water if necessary.  to adjust the consistency. When it is done heat some ghee in a tadka bowl, add mustard seeds and curryleaves. pour the tadka on the porridge. For more flavour I sprinkle this spice mix , which i keep ready. Powder 2 tbsp jeera, 1 tbsp dhania seeds and 3 pepper corns. Dont use it all at once. Use only a small amount. You can sprinkle it on regular khichdi also for enhanced flavour. You can vary the recipe by adding palak or peas too. Make sure it does not get lumpy. My little one didnt give much trouble while feeding this porridge.

2.Date-Oats Porridge : Choose dates which are not stored in sugar syrup and look whole, like kimia dates. De-seed and soak 2 dates in 3 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes. the skin comes off and you can mash the dates with a fork or spoon. Add 2 tbsp oats, 1/2tbsp sugar, 3/4 cup milk and cook till done. Add more milk to adjust consistency.

Some more to share, but my little dictator just woke up from her nap and demands my full attention. Will post as soon as possible.


PS: Keeping junk foods out of kids' reach would atleast give them a healthy start,as we cannot decide their diets when they have grown up.