Last Post....2018

Hola...

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. The day was filled with lots of love, good food and company. In my last post I discussed about gifts so I hope you all received whatever you secretly wished for.

The holiday season continues and so the euphoria will continue till the New Year. There is some exultation in the air or in our hearts and we all want to enjoy around this time of the year. When we were young our schools used to closed around this time with our annual exams being over. The new academic year would start in mid January  and we would love this time. This time was popular for picnic and family functions. The winters in my native is still sweet. There was some joy basking in the winter sun and peeling the oranges and sharing amongst all. As much as we dread winters here, people in my native wait for winters. The soft sun rays is something people wait patiently. The day breaks with fog and the sun slowly shows up. As a kid we used to dread taking bath and our mothers of course never gave up. Sweet memories.

The schools are closed now and hence there isn't any routine that's followed presently. The cupcakes are eaten at breakfast while lunch could be just a spoon of rice with some sautéed vegetables or a slice of chicken. The situation is relatable to many homes I know hence its 'normal'.

I do not think I will be able to jot any more blogs in this year but then I would take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy New and a prosperous New Year. May the new year bring lots of goodness and happiness in your lives. Stay blessed and stay happy

Santa is coming

Hola...

How are you all doing? We are just sailing through the tides today. It isn't a pleasant day at our house today. The morning started with dark clouds and rain. The kids slept longer and I had to almost drag my S out of bed. It seemed the holiday season kicked in him earlier than it should.

He did wake and started to cry for some insane things. But the biggest storm was the question 'What is Santa getting me for Christmas?' I calmly tried to explain him that presents can be anything and need not be exactly what we want. But I found it hard to explain that gifts are just and should not be compared to someone else's.

I exactly know how it feels to see kids who are blessed with gifts and presents on their birthdays and other events.  Children of low income families realize it pretty early that life isn't fair to them. Some kids get almost half of the toy store if not the entire store whereas the others smile with some coloring books and a candy stick. There have been years after years when we never got any presents but that didn't stop us from loving our friends and neighbors. The concept of sharing was more alleviated i guess. My son constantly says that a child in his class has a nice apple watch and he keeps looking at that, to which my husband says keep looking till you earn it in the next few years. Of course he bursts into tears.

Children these days are quite sensitive and can gauge the emotions very easily. The sense of being less privileged dawns in them very early in life. I knew a kid who used to pester his mom with questions. Does Santa visit only the rich families? Does Santa have any monetary problems? Why isn't he fair to all the children? The questions used to haunt his mom and at times the mom used to burst out failing to answer those.

We as parents know where the nicely wrapped presents come from. We all love our children and want the best for them but in that process lets teach them the quality of compassion and contentment. Contentment is very, very important in life. It teaches us to balance between expectations and desire.

Well, concentrating on Santa, I would like to request Santa to instill the sense of love and sharing amongst the people. Children of low income groups always have to feel the pinch every year while their peers are blessed with a nice ipad or any gadgets that others can just dream of. Parents of that group work tirelessly to set up a decent Christmas meal and bring some joy at their children's face. They struggle all year to pay bills and other necessities but on this day let there be joy and smiles in all the homes. Let the smell of cakes and cookies be stronger and hugs be more tighter.

If you agree with me 'high five'...

Tiffin Tales 74

Hola...

Friends this year the winters aren't treating me well. They are pretty unfair to me. Every other day a winter bug visits me making me sick and dull. Hence I am unable to enjoy the season as much I could or should have. Well we have somewhat prolonged winters so I am hopeful that I will get time to enjoy winters and some snow too. But I feel there is some kind of conjuration between winters and Christmas. The alchemy between them makes everything look dazzling even the white snow.

There isn't much to do outdoors in winters. I remember in my childhood the winter special vegetables used to look different. To me they were fresh and so very colorful and we weren't familiar with the word 'organic'. The fruits and vegetables were seasonal and my grandmother used to remind my father not to get anything unseasonal. Now with yearly produce we never seem to miss any fruits and vegetables. But i miss the color of the seasonal produces. Mangoes are best in summers but whenever I see them in winters I feel they look upset too. As a result we keep making the same curry with the same set of vegetables almost all year round. These day I rely on some food groups for creative ideas.  I am not very creative but love to explore and in terms of posting pictures of my dishes I am almost in a different planet. On seeing the same set of vegetablesI scratch my head thinking of a new dish every alternate day. Health is also a priority hence I am not very liberal with oil and spices. My thoughts though!


This morning was a rushed one since I woke up late owing to my poor health. I made some 'puri' with some vegetable curry for lunch box. You must be wondering why i indulge in 'puris'. My S likes them and i don't mind him in indulging in his growing up years of his life. Mother's love you see. His snack had a few pieces of apples and some blueberries and yoghurt.

I hope to get better even though i am still not fully recovered. You guys enjoy your day and moments because misfortunes and sickness never inform anyone about their arrival.

Tiffin Tales 73

Hola...

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle all the way...Yes, we are just one week away from Christmas. The air smells cakes and everything around us looks so festive.

This morning my S woke up singing these lines, perhaps Santa visited him in his dreams last night. He smilingly asked me if today was Christmas or not but I lovingly replied that its next week. The schools will remain closed for ten days for the Christmas and New Years and the children get a break to soak in the festive season.

Growing up our way of celebrating Christmas was different from the way my children are celebrating now. We knew Santa but he never brought any gifts to us. Now that I buy small little presents for my children I wish to revisit my childhood, not for any gifts but to experience that level of innocence. There were limited number of bakeries in my place but they used to work over time to meet up with the demands. Now i wish Santa answers my prayers. If i dream through my children's eyes, i wish to get a pair of wings. I want to fly and meet my parents. Days, months and years pass I wait to catch a glimpse of them perhaps a pair of wings will help to cover the distance shorter.

Magical dreams and wishes are a part of this festival. I pray that who ever is reading these lines, all their wishes are fulfilled. Please pray for me too. On this good note today i made sandwiches for his lunch box. I also added some chips too. His snack box had a fruit bar a few crackers and yoghurt.

Enjoy this festive season to the core. I pray may peace reign all over...

Tiffin Tales 72

Hola...

We all have managed to come this far of the week. I mean it's Friday and how many of us excited to let our hair down and just relax. I think relaxing is reserved for some affluent section of people and rest of us are or will be trudging along.

I was so excited yesterday about the weather and boy it started to rain after a couple of hours. It somewhat washed my excitement away. The rain poured all night and this morning its dark and cloudy.

Fridays are usually longer for us and we try prepare ourselves for the weekends. The children with their activity classes occupy lions share of our times over the weekends. We try to take turns so that all of us not exhausted together but for that we prepare our weekly plan of Fridays. Now that sounds like some serious plan but trust me a little bit of planning saves quite some time and extra energy. This weekend i have to organize my mad closet which is chock a block with mittens and scarves and socks which is missing its partner. Its one pile of a mayhem that needs my immediate attention and today i have to put in extra effort to keep me stable for the coming week.


This morning I made vegetable fried rice with a small gravy curry for lunch and dinner. My S was good enough to carry in his box. His snack box was different today with a small pack of chips and a small muffin. He was so excited today.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and have ample time to take rest and energize yourselves. I will bug you all on Monday...Til then enjoy every moment of your lives...

Tiffin Tales 71

Hola..

How is your Thursday moving? It's a nice sunny day here and the temperatures are sweethearts today. It's a splendid day to go out for a quick walk or perhaps a little running. Well, if not all then why not some shopping though? I know, great minds think alike you see.

My shopping list as of today is nothing fancy. My list is kinda boring at least to me. I have to get from snacks to tissue rolls to floor cleaner and what not. Ironically all these cannot be grabbed at one store. So i will have to hop from one store to another. I might change my plan though. The weather looks so enticing that i might forget my list and settle down with a nice warm sundae or a tantalizing moist piece of cake though. Guilty right?

So many plans, you see. For starters i think i will have to clean this hugely messed up play area of my house. The play area looks no better than a junkyard. The wheels of the cars and trains are missing. The aircraft is missing its wings while the fire truck doesn't know its ladders. The alphabet board is missing all its alphabets while the numbers are all unsettled. I cannot give a better picture than this.

Okay, I think i should start with my cleaning then. If I am left with some energy then i will cook some nice risotto or some cauliflower rice or i will have to settle with some some leftovers. This morning I made 'roti' with vegetable curry for lunch box and his snack box was fruits and yoghurt.

Friends, catch you later and hope you all enjoy a nice warm day...

Tiffin Tales 70

Hola...

Happy Wednesday.. Hope the midweek is going smooth as honey for you all and if not, hang in there good days are coming soon.

We are slowly but swiftly marching towards Christmas. The season of joy, love, merriment, sharing and caring. The Christmas carols are playing all across the stores and public places. The bakeries are overworking to bake those scrumptious cookies and cakes and the sounds of jingles just adds the sweetest music to the ears. On a cold winter day the sounds of the carols and jingles peps up any gloomy day. It seems cheerfulness is all around.

These days I have been teaching my kids especially my elder one the art of compassion. We should be compassionate not only towards our fellow beings but also towards any living beings. Like animals. These wonderful creatures add so much to our existence and in turn we can always offer them love and compassion. They cannot speak but can express. They truly understand the language of love and especially when it comes from children.

The season of Christmas also teaches us to share and be compassionate. We are not blessed with everything in this universe but we all can give back a little back to the universe. I feel sharing and caring are very influential in human lives. We need to be more responsive towards our surroundings and people. Let us spread a little bit of cheer in someone else's lives. I hope i can impart a small amount in my children too.

This morning my S wanted some 'puri' with some potato curry for lunch. Well, i was not in a mood but did not want to dishearten it. His snack box had pears, a few grapes and yoghurt.

Take care and more for tomorrow. Enjoy!

Tiffin Tales 69

Hola...

How are you all doing? The last few days have been a bit tough for me, health wise. But the best part was my daughter's birthday. It helped me in way to feel more energized and bounce back.

We always complain about our lives and our surroundings. But when the granted for things in life are challenged we realize their weight and importance. When our bodies are up and running we tend to somewhat ignore it or assume it to be a punch bag. These days our life styles are frenetic too which sometimes takes a huge toll.

The last few days when every muscle in my body was wriggling in pain, I started to count my blessings for each healthy day. I was on soups because my body could not keep the solids. This winter is proving to be a bit harsh for all of us.

Birthdays are always special especially when it your chid's birthday. Even though I wasn't in best of my health, yet I tried in my best possible way to make her day special. The little one cannot say thank you but her smile was enough to make me feel better. Cake, balloons, some frills and decorations, my daughter cut her cake. I couldn't sing but clapped for her though.

I am still a bit weak but my S cannot go without lunch box. Slowly i woke up in the morning to make him some warm pasta in tomato sauce and some grated cheese. His snack box had grapes, some berries and a small piece of sweet.

Friends take care of your health and savor every moment of life. It never comes back. Enjoy your day!

Tiffin Tales 68

Hola...

Thursday is here are we are on a new day with a new vision to look around us. The winds are less severe today but its pretty cold.

Last night we had a long chat with our S and we gave some life's lessons on discipline and mannerisms. We tried to explain him how important it is to behave and learn to listen. Listening is very important but with the kids being restless these days listening is not a very cool thing. If i specifically talk about my children they are simply wonderful but a tad slow in listening. They are obedient but somehow listening is slow.

We took some good time to explain things and we tried to keep things really simple. It's the age when their tender minds wants to process a lot of things but cannot do that. At the end of our deep conversation my S played with his dad and we ended the day with an ice cream. I do not know how much he will remember but as parents we want to leave no stone unturned in giving them a good upbringing. Time almost flies if not runs and kids grow faster i guess hence we have to keep up with the pace.

This morning looked a bit smoother but i do not have too high expectations though. This morning we saw some sunshine which in itself helps to heal and rejuvenate. I had some boiled chickpeas so for lunch box I made chick pea rice with small salad. For snack box it was apples, a few grapes and yoghurt.

Enjoy your Thursday guys. Catch you all on Friday. Till then enjoy and rock on.

Tiffin Tales 67

Hola...

It's windy Wednesday here and the winds are really strong here. There were slight snow flakes as well and in all its a cold day.

The kids have been sneezing since morning and i am anticipating more sneezing and tissues all over the house in the weekends. How predictable. The winters always challenge children's immunities and each year they grow stronger. The route to strong immunity is pretty rough though. Endless nights of blocked nose, congestion and further down to ear infections as well.

Okay, I am not scaring people who haven't been through but talking from my experiences it takes a while before the kids develop their immunities to combat these. Wonderful life cycle I guess.

As i said the children are sneezing I needed to be around them more. I had some writing work which had to be put on hold and such other works which are paused at this moment. I made a big bowl of tomato carrot soup even though husband would have wanted clear chicken soup. But i couldn't manage to go to get some chicken hence made the tomato carrot. It was equally comforting though.

Let's hope the sneezing doesn't get stretched too far or for too many days. I am so looking forward to this coming weekend. I also hope for all my friends who are reading these have a nice and comforting times. Todays lunch was 'Puri' with vegetable curry.

Hope to catch you all tomorrow.

Tiffin Tales 66

Hola..

Happy Tuesday. I hope you all are enjoying the second day of the week. The sun is almost hidden and its a cold day. I have a couple of fresh tomatoes and carrots  and i am hoping to making a nice warm soup.

Last night as we were doing homework, my S showed signs of opinions. He wanted exactly his way of doing his work. Even though we always encourage independent thinking but these days he is opinionated. Children these days prefer to do things the way they want. They put their thoughts very clearly and emphatically.

With times behavioral approach is also changing. Children these days are blessed technologically and most of the children look for help online. From solving a simple mathematical problem to seeking advice from anonymous for any life changing events children seek refuge in the world of web. As a result go through lots of words, pages and hours together. Their thoughts are more far more wide and spread out.

Cut to my S, he also clear opinion on whatever he deals with in his day to day life. Along with opinions we as parents are also trying our best to guide him patiently. While we have experience these kids of today have more updated information which we tend to miss at times. We do not want to force our experience on him rather we want to be his guide and let him know that we always have his back...

So on that note today's lunch box was vegetable sandwich and a small packet of chips. I tried to layer the sandwich with mashed potato and some vegetables. The bag of chips was an incentive though. For snack box he took some grapes and pears and a pack of yoghurt.

Hope to chat with you all tomorrow. Stay happy...

Tiffin Tales 65

Hola....

Friends, I hope you all had a rocking start to the new week. This month of December brings lots of winter happiness and layers to woolens to wrap up. All about cozy moments and some cup of cheer.

The last week was a bit turbulent for me. I missed writing my post on Friday. Both my kids fell sick and were throwing up crazy. I had a tough time when both of them fell sick at the same time because both of them wanted mother's special attention and care. While the father did the other chores, I was almost glued to them all the time. But thankfully things got better towards Sunday evening and Monday started positively again. This weekend was all about cleaning, comforting and lots of hugs.

Sunday evening we had guests too, hence had to do a bit of cooking. It feels great when someone comes over and spends some time. It certainly has a rejuvenating effect on the mind and within hours the kids forgot about their health and enjoyed for some time. The weather was certainly damp but could not dampen our moods.

I am still feeling a bit tired after this weekend but this morning my S insisted the Christmas tree be taken out. So somehow my energy level has spiked up again and will open the box to set it. I am hopeful of completing the task by today, if not then certainly by tomorrow. Monday snack box had was egg fried rice with some beans and carrots. The snack box had some raspberries, slices of apples and yoghurt. Okay, so now i am off to my next assignment. I hope you all enjoy your day and more for tomorrow.