Peace on Earth

Dove – Celebrating Real Beauty !!!

Whenever I go out with my daughters, at least there are two strangers to greet them as "Cute doll" or "Beautiful Princess". Of course, kids are cute. But these compliments are mostly based on their looks. I agree that they cannot be praised for their intelligence or creativity in a 10-second interaction by a total stranger.
But still, why do people make empty praises with mere attention drawn to looks, hair or clothes? How do our kids realize that these are not Real Beauty?

Do we want the silly "Princess Syndrome" to operate unchecked on our young girls? On very basic level, princess stories are transformation tales. Many of them are about the turning of one kind of girl into something very different, which is still a common storyline in our fiction, whether in books, film or television.

Onslaught

A one minute video that details all the beauty and media imaging that young girls are inundated with within a 24-hour period.

Furthermore there is an aggressive marketing and merchandising campaigns of a huge array of beauty products which are creating and feeding an enormous appetite for transformation. Media also breeds cross-merchandising and that's earning a bundle for entertainment companies.


From a historical perspective, the transformation parallel has been there for centuries - but the merchandising associated with conglomeration has amplified its effect; now almost all of our little girls think that they are ugly. They worry too much about their looks maybe be their skin tone, freckles, hair or stature. They yearn for a transformation. They are unable to accept themselves as they are.

It is difficult for young girls to enter a toy store, fashion store or even a bookshop without being assaulted by beauty-related merchandise. Marketing industry canvases them to look slimmer, softer, tighter, younger and what not. As a result their self esteem decreases too much.

So it is now high time for us moms to talk to our dear daughters before the beauty industry does. We need to teach them true beauty lies within and not on the surface.

One of our culture's immediate visual signifiers is :

Beauty equals worthiness, success and popularity.

Ugliness equals worthlessness, failure and wickedness.

So make them understand what true beauty is. Now girls are questioning the world of beauty around them. Mom, now your daughters need you more than ever. Rise to the challenge!

Enter into girl world to learn what your daughter really faces. Things are more intense for a girl today than when you were her age. Your daughter is bombarded with media images that suggest how she should look and feel.

As a responsible mother, I have taken the first step by supporting the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF) was established to raise the self-esteem of girls and young women to make them feel more beautiful and confident every day. The DSEF is part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a global effort designed to widen today's stereotypical view of beauty.

I was honored with the T-shirt and Dove products for taking up the challenge. Now I wear it proudly, as I celebrate my real beauty and help build the self-esteem in the next generation. You should do your part too……Get involved at www.campaignforrealbeauty.com

Play your role good as a concerned mom!!!

Diaper

Diaper backward spells repaid. Think about it.

Yes, I am being repaid now……Repaid now for all those countless diapers I changed ……

Mothering is demanding…… Initially I had no idea that a mom’s world would revolve around what comes out of her new baby's cute, little bottom. Suddenly poop becomes a priority... and a purpose. Moms embark on a stinky journey into the world of baby poop!

I had the privilege to try my kid with new featured LUVs Diaper. The big Jumbo pack of LUVs Diaper was sent to me straight from Los Angeles, US. Just for one wonderful reason that they LUVed my site. They loved the “Mummy of Gals” community. It was a great honor to Motherhood.

“Repaid as Diaper“

I have elaborately reviewed the LUVs Ultra Leak Guard Diapers here. I swear this review is unbiased and is not a mere advertorial. I am full of praise for this product and I have shared it with you fellow moms.

Luvs, a trusted name in baby care provides parents and caregivers with a diaper that offers premium leakage protection far less than the pricey brands

. The most notable point about this Diaper is the Bear Hug Stretch at no extra cost.

I tried it on my younger daughter. She was excited to see the Blues Clues doggy in it. She loved its smell at first shot. It had such a soothing and pleasant scent. What grabbed my attention first was its thinness. Unimaginably thin for a diaper. I am a brand-hopper and I have used literally all brands of diaper for my kids. But I have never ever seen such ultra thin diapers.

My toddler happily ran around in it. The reinforced leg cuffs gave a comfortable fit. The stretchy elastic side fit made the back fit perfect.

A Diaper needs to pass through 3 basic tests:

• Good Comfort
• Wetness Protection
• Proper Fasteners

So LUVs passed the first test of Comfort with distinction. Next we are moving to Wetness Protection.

I used it overnight for my kid. Diaper didn’t seem thick enough to soak up all the wetness that would soon be coming its way. I waited for the results.

Voila!! When my little girl woke up from bed in the morning Luvs Diaper absorbed all the mess. There was not a bit of leakage in the bed sheets. Usually her diaper weighs a ton in the morning with all the night wettings. So I was prepared for the worst but nothing disastrous happened. Diaper has a blue leak guard core inside. Believe it or not, Luvs is presently offering a “Ultra Leak guard Guarantee”, with a promise to refund consumers the cost of one bag of diapers if the leak protection is less than satisfactory

So LUVs passed through the second test with 100 % satisfaction. Next we are moving to the Fasteners.

Two large fasteners kept Luvs diaper sealed to my kid. These tabs are dual in nature, with half of the tab using a sticky adhesive and the other half using Velcro. The Velcro attaches itself to the front side of the diaper and it can be removed and reattached several times without wearing out. It is tight enough so that she cannot open it on her own.

So the Fasteners were also to my appeal very much. The look and the feel of the diaper were itself worth mentioning. It has an overall cloth like softness. The blue quilted back- sheet is full of cuteness. Varied themes of Blues Clues with blue, orange, red and yellow color are kiddies’ heart stealers!!!

I just love this product !!

Try it and you’ll love it too !!!!www.luvs.com

When God created daughters

Big 'n Small Dolls

Girls love dolls. Many girls are Barbie fanatic. Angels, Cinderella, Snow White, Dora are all their Sweet Darlings. They love these dolls. They like to talk and play with these dolls endlessly.

Recently I came across a very innovative idea in doll making - One’s own miniature, a look alike. Isn’t it a brilliant idea?

How I wish I had one too…..

Just have a look at these cuties…

myTwinn has introduced this concept and they provide clothing, apparel, accessories for the doll too…. They even provide doll care and doll Hospital Service, in case your playmate is damaged. Isn’t it amazing?

Mummy’s envy, Daughter’s Pride !!!

God cannot be everywhere so....

.....he created MOTHERS.

Yippee ! My Interview is up in Moms Blog Community

Hap, Hap, Happy !!! My Blog is featured in the Best Mothering Blog Community and my interview is up there !

Do click here -> Exclusive Interview to check it out.

Get ready ! Am going to break the spell and more good news coming up !!

I’m a Darn Good Mommy Blogger

Believe it or not….I’m a Darn Good Mommy Blogger….I may not be a Super mom but am a Super BlogMom and indeed very happy about it. I have very strong, true and interesting reasons to justify this fact…Here they go…….

I am a Super BlogMom becoz..

I am addicted to Blogging.

I am what I really am when I blog.

I have a sense of relief and guilt-free after each posting

I blog when I multitask.

For every hit I feel very happy and for every comment received I fly in air.

I up-bring my blog like my own child. I nurture it, make it trendy and attractive with good content and feel honored when somebody praises it.

I have a rough copy, fair copy, draft copy….before I could publish every post finally.

I have referred countless Parenting Books to update myself for the blog.

In my earlier days, I checked my “Sitemeter” and “Extreme tracker” several times a day just to know that I had ‘0’ visitors…

But today, the “Mummy of Gals” community has several loving mummy fans GLOBALLY, who associate themselves with the blog.

I think my blog will be a wonderful gift for my gals when they grow up.

They would feel what all mom experienced when bringing them up.

Being Super Mom is really demanding….But being Super BlogMom is possible and makes my life very colorful. It adds beauty to my parenting journey which is full of unexpected twists.

p/s : I write this entry to link to Crazy Hip Blog Mamas....Do check it out to meet more Mummy Bloggers.

Father's Day

This year kids celebrated Father’s Day without their daddy near them…He was offshore. So it was like a day to recollect their wonderful activities with dad…

Fathers do active things with children –playing, building things and going to events. In general, mothers do passive things like talking to or reading to their children.

The connection between daddy and mummy can be easily eroded in the course of raising a family. Staying connected to each other as a couple is important not only for marital relationship but also that for children. Parents who are happily married are more likely to have children who are emotionally healthier.

The best thing that a Father can do for his children is to love his own Wife unconditionally.

This would make the wheels of Parenting life run smoothly. Fathers need reassurance that they are still the same charming man with whom you were madly in love with….

Moms, Feed these spoonful of Chicken Soup for Fathers’ Soul

Say “I Love You” regularly.

Drop the word “Divorce” from your vocabulary.

Remember your Love Story and tell it to each other.

Demonstrate small acts of kindness.

Avoid put-downs.

Set aside uninterrupted time.

Talk about things other than the kids.

Email or SMS notes to let him know that you are thinking of him.

Be committed.

Stick by each other through thick and thin and make the relationship work-no matter what. Such strong commitment would bring out more miraculous things from a Father.

He would become more loving and worthy enough to be the Man of the Day in your Father’s Day Celebrations.

My Love

“If only I know the true meaning of Love, it is because of My Man”

Now I am in India and he is offshore…Was recollecting our Love Life for the past few days…Thought I can share it and moreover give him a Sweet Shock when he opens my site to know ‘whatz the buzz’ back home……

Our Love Life was like a perfect Romance story that you might have read in any M&B series.

• Those were the days, when I didn’t walk but just floated in air.
• Every phone call would accelerate heart beat rate exponentially.
• Any accidental touch would pass on an electrifying impulse instantly.
• My face was radiating and I saw my future in his eyes.
• Hardly was I hungry but learnt all cooking techniques just to woo him.
• I was warm hearted and laughed out loud.
• We had lots of shared laughter, common tears and sweet nothings.
• His hands had a fine, firm and warm feeling, their slight pressure always reassuring.
• Felt stealthy at times when I edited and shared part of our telephonic conversations with others.

We have been married for 6 years now….Today, although the way of expressing love has changed but the spark of Love is still very vibrant.

I love him for all the best reasons that a woman loves a man. He makes more of my world and my life than I can make of them by myself…

Married life is one glorious rush after another – when the phone would ring, or I’d hear him at the door, clear the mess of dishes, diapers, picking toys, yelling at top of my voice and the very next moment tears of repentance, long waiting hours and much more…..

It is only the separation that gives us time to think and thank for those past wonderful joys. I consider these sorts of separation as a Pause button in the Action + Sentiment packed movie – “The MARRIGE”.

I miss him. But never miss to send him a Missed Call (Though Cell Phone was invented by some XYZ foreigner, all the credit of inventing this Missed Call, goes to we Indians).

How do I miss him? Let me explain it in my next Post which is also “Father’s Day” Special dedicated to him….

Why not you write about how you missed your Dear Departed….It may be a separation for any reason like for delivery or to pursue studies or for career or for medical reasons…Share it with us and strengthen your bond of Love…

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Grand Parents are God Sent Parents, Why?

Kids love their Parents more….

Kids love their Grand Parents more and more and more …

This is a Universal Truth. Why is it so? Let us ponder the reasons behind this widely accepted fact.

It’s the Parents who toil day in and day out for the child. But a lion’s share of Kids love goes to the Grand Parents…Why? Just for the following simple reasons……

	PArents	Grand PArents
At the thought of child’s future	Worry	Cheer up
When kids ask to carry them for a long while	Feel very tired	Feel very privileged for it
During story time	Tell fairy tales	Tell family tales
When kids make fun of them for being bald or fat	Show sharp temper just not being able to accept their own flaws	Enjoy the kids Sense of Humor but corrects them
When kids imitate their Parents’ misbehaviors	Advice – “Do as I say, not as I do”	Relishes how their Grandchild is their own child’s replica
When kids behave too childishly they say …	Kid is not acting big enough	Kid will no longer be a child, so let it be ….
Think miracles happen when …	Knowledge is dumped	Bonding takes shape
Life	Worry a lifetime for simple moments	Make simple moments last a lifetime
Time	“Sorry dear, no time now” – always in a rush	“Come lets do it together” – have enough time on hand
While playing	Judge kids	Appreciate kids
Talk time	Listen to kids with half shut ears during multitasking	Patient and active Listeners

There are much more reasons too…Grand Parents are indeed God Sent Parents to kids.

The only thing we Parent can do is to make sure that our kids get a chance to spend enough time with their dear most Grand Parents.

Balelakka Balelakka …….Back to India

For those of you who hopped on my blog again and again to check for any updates ...
For those of you who thought I was becoming too lazy to update my blog ...
For those of you who mailed me about my whereabouts ...
For those of you who thought I must have fallen on the other side of the world...

this is to let u all know that we have vacated our house in Singapore.

Now for time being we are in India…..Balelakka Balelakka Back to India …Sing it in the tune of Shivaji – the boss song.

My gals are having a fabulous time her in India. After being in a Foreign soil for 4 full years, I could feel them enjoying in their homeland…..

My kids love India because .........

Their grand parents are here.

They love watching cows, goats, hens strolling leisurely in our streets.

They go on never-ending bike rounds with all uncles.

They bang bells in all street side temples.

They ride small rental bicycles and come back running with knee full of bloody wounds.

Summer Exhibition Crowd kindles their excitement.

Rickshaw and Auto rides are possible only in India for them.

Drinking fresh tender coconut from street shops on a hot sunny day.

Local delights like theen mittaai(honey candy), chow mittaai(sticky candy), panju mittaai(cotton candy) have heavenly tastes.

Big White Jasmine Flowers are heart stealers.

Pampering of all relatives.

They watched circus show from the wooden plank gallery.

Kiddy play with innocent local children.

Kids are having endless hours of fun. Its really nice to see their happiness brimmed faces.

A Simple Evaluation

You can just get to know that your way of parenting is working out well and you are making a difference in your kids’ life ….

When:

Your kids run to give you a hug after being gone for long hours.

When:

Her Teacher tells you that she is much focused.

When:

Your kid asks why one shouldn’t waste food and always thank God for the food we eat – and then she starts praying herself few days later.

When:

She says, “Mom, it’s OK” over your petty mistakes.

When:

She brings some small roadside flowers for you back from playground.

When:

She tells a friend not to lie by saying, “God will punish you, like you may be running and you might trip and hurt yourself really bad. That would be God teaching you a lesson.”

When:

After taking out one of the kids for a fun-filled day, she wishes buying gifts for the other sibling back home.

When:

She places a small bit of cookies for the ants and birds that come to the house balcony.

When:

She could feel the pain in her friend’s broken arm and empathizes.

When:

She waters any wilting plant.

When:

She asks how we call a Zebra crossing, if it is painted in Yellow & Black color instead. Later she winks and answers “A Tiger Crossing”.

When:

Asked to say her 3 wishes…She replies with at least 1 wish for the well being of whole humanity and not just as “I want this”,”I want that”,”I want…”.

Now pat your back or give yourself a huge applause. You could even do a Dora dance with your kid. Dora has become every l'il gal's sweet heart. Sing "We did it","We did it" as in her popular TV show. Twist your waist and move your arms to dance just as Dora and cheer up....Just go on, no more guilty feelings.

Yippee its Our Day !

Wishing a Haaapppyyy Mothers Day to all moms out there .... Lets enjoy each and every moment of our Mothering Life. Relish and Celebrate Motherhood !

A Real Greeting Card to Feel …….

For all those lazy bags or for those who have least clue what the Buzz is all about…This is to remind you all that “Mothers’ Day” is on coming Sunday (May 13).

You need not bang your head searching for a lovely present…Moms as usual don’t expect costly pendants, massage chair, walking stick, holy trip tickets or what lot on earth. They just need simple reassurance that you love and care for her.

Just hop onto www.freepostit.com and send her a Greeting Card. Unlike all other virtual e-cards, this is a real one. Just send email with your message or photos and your mom’s postal address to postme@freepostit.com. The Greeting Card will be literally posted to her with a crystal clear print of your photos too. This is a real card which she can touch and feel. Try to express all your affection for her in words. Then she would really feel its warmth.

I know, its long time since we all exchanged real letters.

World is shrinking with emails, fax and SMS. But none of these are treasured as much as a real letter delivered by a Postman.

So do send a real letter to your mom or if you are so busy to deal with paper, pen, stamp, envelope etc. at least be kind enough to send this real card through www.freepostit.com. It’s totally free.

Am not marketing it out of any business intention just with the only intention of making your noble mom shed 2 drops of tears in joy….

Mother's Day Gift

Mother’s Day is round the corner…All must be wondering what to present Mother with? Internet has an amazing race of merchandise, commercializing mother’s day in its own way.

My mom - She's Love Personified ...

What a lot of gifts would portray our love than our true feel? The best way to celebrate Mother’s Day is to oath take that –

“I would love every living being on this earth with motherly love”

This simple oath would uproot all forms of hatred from us. Our life is tarnished with layers and layers of assumptions. We think if a person is so and so and so then he is good otherwise bad. If anybody fits in this frame of ours we start adoring them else just ignore……

Just shed off the assumptions and love every being as a Mother loves her child.

She has no false assumptions for her child.
She expects nothing in return for her immense love.
She forgives and forgets every time.
She loves without any conditions.
She admires her child though how often she has done it before.
She searches for best superlatives to praise her child.
She is The Best Mother always.

Why not imbibe her model and love everyone with motherly love. This is the best gift we can give her. She will rejoice to know that the “Seeds of Value” that she sowed in us is thriving well and giving its yield to countless people around us.

Story time ...

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing in algebra, her best friend is moving away and she has many freckles. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake.

Mother : Would you like a snack?

Daughter: Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.

Mother : Here, have some cooking oil

Daughter: Yuck

Mother : How about a couple raw eggs?

Daughter: Gross, Mom!

Mother : Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?

Daughter: Mom, those are all yucky!

Mother : Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!

We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

A Picture speaks a thousand words

Mothers treasure their babies' kodak moments....They enjoy watching it again and again. Every photo makes her re-live those past wonderful moments. Here are some of mine with a touch of my photo play skills...

Login to access my Photo Album

10 Mantras for Successful Mothering

Ten Keys to Successful Parenting 1 - Use Genuine Encounter Moments (GEMS) With our busy lives, we are often thinking about the next thing that we have to do, instead of putting 100% focused attention on what our child is saying to us. We often pretend to listen or ignore our child's attempts to communicate with us. Listen to her self knit story even if she says it for the n-th time 2 - Use Action, Not Words Statistics say that we give our children over 2000 compliance requests a day! No wonder our children become "parent deaf!" Instead of nagging or yelling. Action speaks louder than words. Brush your teeth twice if u want her to do so 3 - Give Children Appropriate Ways to Feel Powerful If you don't, they will find inappropriate ways to feel their power. Often we do the job for them because we can do it with less hassle, but the result is they feel unimportant. A 2 yr old can wash veggies, plastic plates etc.. 4 - Use Natural Consequences Ask yourself what would happen if I didn't interfere in this situation? If we interfere when we don't need to, we rob children of the chance to learn from the consequences of their actions. Never mind if she tries hard to set her puzzle only in a wrong way 5 - Use Logical Consequences Often the consequences are too far in the future to practically use a natural consequence. When that is the case, logical consequences are effective. A consequence for the child must be logically related to the behavior in order for it to work. If she forgets to return library book even after reminders....U may do it but deduct fines from her allowances 6 - Withdraw from Conflict If your child is testing you through a temper tantrum, or being angry or speaking disrespectfully to you, it is best if you leave the room or tell the child you will be in the next room if he wants to "Try again." Do not leave in anger or defeat 7 - Seperate the Deed from the Doer Never tell a child that she is bad. That tears at her self-esteem. Help your child recognize that it isn't that you don't like her, but it is her behavior that you are unwilling to tolerate. She must know she is loved unconditionally no matter what she does 8 - Be Kind and Firm at the Same Time Balance between your kindness and firm attitude. '5 more minutes' is never going to end...So just pick her up firmly from playground, no nagging. 9 - Parent with the End in Mind Most of us parent with the mindset to get the situation under control as soon as possible. If we parent in a way that keeps in mind how we want our child to be as an adult, we will be more thoughtful in the way we parent. If we spank, she will use acts of aggression to get what she wants in adulthood 10 - Be Consistent, Follow Through Your child will learn to respect you more if you mean what you say. No means 'no'. Do not give up to her pleas, tears or demands

An Appeal to Mummy from her Loving Baby

• Don’t be afraid to be firm with me. I need it to make me feel secure.
• Don’t let me form ‘bad habits’. I rely on you to detect them in the early stages.
• Don’t correct me in front of others. I shall notice if you talk quietly with me in private.
• Don’t spoil me. I know well that I shouldn’t demand everything. I am only testing you.
• Don’t brush off the questions I ask as unimportant. If you do so, I shall stop asking.
• Don’t nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
• Don’t make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly ‘Big’.
• Don’t make me feel my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.
• Don’t tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real to me, try to reassure me.
• Don’t protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way sometimes.
• Don’t take too much notice of my small ailments. I use them to grab your attention.
• Don’t be inconsistent. It makes me lose faith in your words and actions.
• Don’t forget that I love experimenting. How would I learn without it?
• Don’t make me believe that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me a huge shock when I find that you are neither

Wanna Gain without any Pain ?

We all love to get benefited……What if we benefit just for doing nothing than browsing?

Agloco is a company that paid you to surf the internet. Its former company, AllAdvantage has raised nearly US$200 million in venture capital and paid over US$120 million to its members. If you are interested to get paid for surfing web, you can join Agloco Singapore for free.

Some Techno Stuff - Second Life

To all Techno Geeks out there, here are stuffs for u ….

Apart from the real world, there is another world – Second Life. A computer simulated environment in cyberspace. As a virtual world, it resides on thousands of servers and is accessed thru internet.

It has some 5.3 million residents. Unlike online games, it has no winners or losers, levels or killing strategy. Residents can change avatars and explore, interact, befriend, indulge in activities, create and trade virtual property.

Residents can do anything under the cyber sun!!

Some find friends out there, some sell their virtual artwork, some build bungalow to live, some learn in virtual classrooms. It is not geographically bounded so u can create a lot of things…..

You can even earn while having fun out there. In Second Life, goods can be bought and sold with Linden Dollars. Everyday, Lindens worth about US$ 1.5 million change hands.

US$ 1 = L$ 265

Many residents even earn as much as US $ 5000 per month.

Sounds exciting, isn’t it!! Why not give it a try?

Click here to experience your Second Life