Well you are a stay-at-home mom now and you realize that this easy sounding word is not so easy to live!

You have a hundred chores to do; still you are asked what do you do?

Dressing up for the day has taken a backseat.

There is not a day with sick leave or a vacation.

You are in constant company of your kids, yet there are times when you feel lonely.

You have left your six figure job and your career is the haziest of the things you can see.

Your bank balance which used to flourish once is an unvisited territory.

There are moments of extreme lows when you feel being worthless and find loosing on yourself.

Agreed!

Yet, there is no denial to the fact that there is certainly an edge you have as a mother. The control over routines is of course better. The attention you lend to your family is undivided. There is no additional stress (other than kids). Then there are moments which are so beautiful– moments which only a stay-at-home mom will understand. The moments of sheer bliss and joy– those are inexplicable and make a SAHM’s life worth living.

• The moments of your child’s first; first laugh, first crawl, first step, first word. Imagine having missed any of these which would mean missing a really big milestone of their and also your life.

• The moments of fun, play, tickle and laughter without worries of work or deadlines or people at work.

• The moments when you are there to cuddle, hug and give your warmth in times of their sickness; and not depend on a paid help or be with them with a divided attention.

• The privilege of having a baby group at the park or in the community to share your struggles, blessings, lessons and offer positive support to one another.

• The joy of being your child’s mom first and be remembered by everyone in your baby group by your child’s name.

• The fun of doing silliest of the things with your little human; dressing up your boy like a girl or vice versa, becoming a clown for those heart-warming super infectious giggles or snapping yourselves in the weirdest of weird ways.

• Those moments watching your little one asleep during his naps in his cosy bed basking in your warmth by his side.

• That feeling of desperately needing a break from being surrounded by your little someone 24/7; yet feeling something greatly amiss when not being so.

• The moments of catching on afternoon naps and never feeling if you have had a good one.

• The joy of teaching love and language to your kids from their own flesh and blood.

• The fun (though it doesn’t seem fun when it actually happens) when none of your bathroom visits are without an audience or you are being banged at the door by a gumball or answering their zillion questions on the commode!

• The leisure hour of daytime TV watching with your kids in sofa.

• That constant struggle to finish off your chores amidst the help by your little ones in unfolding the laundry, rearranging the dishes, dismantling the pantry and of course undecking the house.

• Those endless efforts to create gadget free time or zones by being a charcter of the pretend plays, or an opponent in the board games or a partner in the Pinterest activities.

• That super awesome feeling of being your kid’s last good bye to school and first hello from school.

• The joy of pouring all your creativity in your kids’ at home activities, school projects, lunch boxes; you are a stay-at-home mommy after all!

• The joy of planning play dates on early releases since they don’t come as a nightmare to you.

• When home is the first and the only shelter your kids think of, as there is no going to the day cares or the aunts or the neighbours.

• That feeling of complacence for patiently investing in your children– those hours of struggle feeding or putting to bed or mentoring or answering their questions.

• Above all, just being there; because you know that this is precious and this all is going to go fast.

The leaves are changing color. The breeze has gone pleasant. The wardrobes are getting a revamp to boots and flannels and trousers. The themes in schools have got a fall based changeover. The stores are freshly stacked with tempting collection of festival goods. Nonetheless to mention, fall is here.

Fall brings with it the vibes of celebrations. Halloween being the first and kids’ most favourite.

My son too just loves Halloween. And why not! There is so much to do and there are corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hay farms and haunted houses. And, that cute short fall; giving a much needed breather from the jam-packed school schedules. To make it a little more exciting, we added Halloween advent Calendar to our list this year.

So what is this Halloween Advent Calendar?

The Halloween Advent Calendar or the Halloween Countdown Calendar is a Halloween theme based calendar consisting of compartments which contain little treats or fun activities for each day. This calendar intends to treat kiddos for the entire month and not just one day. After all, there can be nothing better than getting a pre-Halloween surprise each and every day.

You can buy these calendars from stores or also do it by yourself. Not much hype needed, the idea is to keep it enjoyable for the little ones. There is a range of treating ideas that can be included in this Advent Calendar.

Gift ideas:

Halloween candies treat cups
Pirate patch
Halloween books
Witch socks
Halloween donuts bouquet
Monster pencils
Chocolate skull lollipops

Vampire soaps
Halloween jewelry or makeup
Skeleton bookmark

Fun activity ideas:

Do a Halloween craft: It’s time to give a monsterly or a witchish or a ghostly touch to your craft. Some ideas include:
Make a witch slime
Make Halloween paper lanterns
Carve or paint a pumpkin
Make spider craft
Make paper plate mummy
Make toilet paper roll monster
Paste straw skeletons on paper

Make apple cider vinegar: Since apples are back in season and it’s time guests coming over, make a batch yourself. A freshly made apple cider is like a divine treat you give to yourself as well as your guest.

Bake pumpkin pie: Halloween means pumpkins in abundance. So why not use those pumpkins in making pies. What an interesting way to get some fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and potassium! (Use uncarved or undecorated ones though!)

Make your own Halloween Costume: Store bought costumes are common and expensive as well. You can design your own costume. They are super fun and cheaper as well. It can be anything from doing a simple no-sew cape to a costume of your favorite story book character.

Do a Halloween theme based raised salt painting: It’s one simple and enjoyable thing that kids love to do. Simply ask them to do their drawing and squeeze glue over the drawing. Next, sprinkle with salt until glue is covered. Now dip the paint brush into water color and gently touch the salt lines. Let it dry!

Halloween do-a-dot printable: Super easy and fun!

Bake a batch of monster cookies: Easy to bake and super fun to eat!

Do wicked Halloween decorations: Have a happy Halloween decoration shopping or a fun making experience!

Do a ghoulish stick puppet shows: Add an interesting touch to story reading by just doing a puppet show using ice cream sticks.

Visit a pumpkin patch or a local farm: Join Halloween themed festivities near you and make memories of lifetime.

Play Halloween charades or Halloween scavenger hunt: Play the Halloween charade game as Pictionary or let kiddos compete for scavenger hunt of hidden Halloween theme icons.

How to keep the calendar interesting?

Keep your calendar ready and get your kids doing all their chores and tasks before opening the calendar for each day. You can always plan the gift or activity idea according to the time you have for a particular day. If gifts don’t fit in the calendar pocket, put a clue therein and do a little treasure hunt. Have your own versions of calendar, in form of a tree or a pinata or anything that clicks.

Have a frighteningly fun Halloween!

I am haunted with the thought of the germiest potential illness causing thing that my child got in contact with; at the water fountain, the gym, the cafeteria or just shared something with somebody who is already carrying germs.

I am haunted with the thought of lingering symptoms and troubles that bother the child over days.

I am haunted with the complete overhaul in schedules that goes because of the sick kid being home.

This is no end. What follows is even more stressful!

Yes, you are right! That uncanny feeling of guilt that sets in.

What wrong did I do?

Did I not stop him from having that glass of cold drink that caused the bad throat?

; or just that I have not done my enough to strengthen the immune system of my child!

As parents, we live in this constant fear of our kids contracting illness specially from school. After all, there is no place more contagious than school in spreading illness of all kinds.

It’s not possible to completely eliminate kids from getting sick. Even if we take a reasonable number of steps, it’s quite normal for kids to get sick a couple of times. However, there are some of the preventive measures that could be taken to avoid sickness.

Ensuring that the entire family gets their annual flu shot. The recommended season for getting the flu vaccine is early in fall i.e. by October so that the protection continues throughout the flu season.

Teaching proper hand washing technique to kids which includes scrubbing for 20 seconds and rinsing and drying with a dry paper towel. Also, ensuring that kids wash hands specially before and after meals, after using washroom and coming back from outdoors.

Including healthy fruits and vegetables that boost immune including vitamin C (oranges, blueberries, papaya) probiotics (greek yogurt), glutamine (tuna, spinach, tofu) and above all making them stay properly hydrated.

Communicating preventive etiquette involving proper covering while coughing, sneezing and nose blowing. Also, avoiding sharing supplies, food and anything that might spread germs.

Taking care when using water fountain that includes avoiding contact with the spout and running water for few seconds before drinking.

Getting plenty of rest and sleep (around nine to twelve hours for kids). Sleep deprivation can make kids three times more prone to getting cold, according to research.

Avoiding sending to school if the child just doesn’t seem normal and checking with the school regarding the return policies if in doubt.

Consulting paediatrician if any of the symptoms are followed by a lack of appetite, lethargy or a distinct change in mood, which could signal something more serious is developing.

Finally, staying calm and thanking goodness after every recovery.

It doesn’t matter if you are a people’s person or a bit less of it.

It doesn’t matter if you have a huge count of friends or a few of it.

It doesn’t matter if you are too conscious, fearful, or cautious of being judged, accepted or deceived in relationships or just don’t give it much of a damn.

It doesn’t matter if you come with a natural sense of creating bonds or it’s just not your thing.

What matters is real happiness.

Happiness lies in real relationships, expression of real emotions and making heartfelt bonding. It needs to be got ridden of insecurities of losing on something or fear of being judged.

By the way, happiness does by no means is momentary fun. It’s a state of being which is persistent and which reflects in everything else around that being.

Happiness can only be derived with people who we are real friends with; who we depend on or enjoy with.

And if you have a such circle of people (even a very few) who you are real friends with, you surely have learnt the following lessons in life.

People who value you will by anyhow show how much you matter to them in some or the other ways. You understand and appreciate people for doing their bit, even if it’s by a little.

However, not everyone one will respect your effort. For them, you come at terms with the fact that those are the values you have grown with and the values that represent you. You train yourself to look beyond. And above all, you are proud of the values that make you.

You don’t compare apple to oranges

You cheer for their accomplishments, possessions and life stories, but not let their adequacies feel inadequate about yourself.

Well spending time with somebody whom you are just not happy with is a waste. You surround yourself with somebody who uplifts and is your well wisher. Not just for whom you are just an option.

You take time to invest

People don’t belong to us and they need to be reminded that they are special. You never underestimate people who care, who drops down to check your well being and ensure you are doing well. You value them and hence take time to tell them that how much you value them.

You chose to be real

You know how to be happy from inside and not just to show it to the world. Your mind is healthy and your heart is hail. You don’t carry the burden of things and bear no grudges.

Continuously blaming people for not doing their part makes you drained and unhappy in relationships. You try not to attach negative interpretations of what others do or not do in most of the situations. You believe in clearing your doubts if any so that you live without any burdens.

You understand the difference between a bond and a phase

Friendships exists because there is just something that clicks. It’s free of ulterior motives and notions. It develops over a period of time and gets deeper, silent and bigger as time passses by.

You and your set of people do understand that there are times when you can’t be available for each other since there are chores to be performed or obligations to be fulfilled. There is something over and above the superficial, the internal bond of understanding and just being there.

There are situations that are disturbing you or people who are just ruining the peace of your mind. Even the most perfect set of things are bound to face some ups and downs at certain points of time.

You tell yourself what is important to you and train yourself to get rid of all such thoughts. You are your own friend and by no means let the outer turbulence distract your presence for the people who matter to you the most.