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A note on my baby turning one!

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My babyZee is one.

I blinked and the year went by. It was yesterday we brought our little bundle of joy home. It was yesterday, I got this unsurmountable feeling of handing a sibling to my older one. It was yesterday, we became proud parents one more time.

You are a blissful baby for us and a wonder for your brother who was, and still is more than amazed at all the baby things you do—your squirms and stares, and smiles and giggles and gurgles and babbles. Watching you, holding you, conversing and playing with you has been such a delightful journey. You in no time changed our home from a cool quiet place to a noisy household filled with a new flow of energy.

I could never had enough despite being a mom second time. You gave me some of the most precious feelings in the world.

You revived the joy of holding my heart out of my body. You revived that sweet smell of a newborn. You revived how the grab of those teeny weeny fingers felt like. You revived the echo of gurgles and coos and infectious smiles. You revived what it felt like watching your own made human incessantly. You gave the feeling of being the most desired person on earth for this new human. Thanks my darling for letting me live those moments one more time.

You gave me the joy of handing you to your brother. All the worries of changing family dynamics had all disappeared in no time when we met you. You both doting over each other are some of the most precious moments for me.

As a woman you made me stronger than ever before—surviving the incredibly difficult times of coronial era, coming out of the health issues that came along and letting go the people and energy that serve no purpose. Your birth told me the things I didn’t know I was capable of.

I must say, being a second time mom was quite different. I was now aware of how fleeting the times are. I was now aware how soon it will be when you outgrow my arms. I was now aware how soon it will be when you start to roll, sit, walk or sleep through the night.

So, the least I wish is to rush to the milestones. So, the least I feel is to be overwhelmed— by a long day, a clingy baby or sleepless nights. So, the least I wish is to crave for silence or a mess-free home.

Because I know, with every milestone, you are gonna leave behind a little of the little you. And I am so very much going to miss it. And here I am, already missing that squirmy, squiggly infant we brought home😌😌, since you are my big little boy today. I wish I could soak in those baby moments forever. But nevertheless, that little more will always be a little less I guess!

This year was such a blessing from God for all of us specially when the times were a little tougher for everyone around. You gave our little family of three precious moments to celebrate, to laugh, to be silly, and our biggest share of joy. I can’t be thankful enough for every bit of it.

A note to my son on being a big brother

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Dear son, I write to you on your eight birthday. After being the only child for good long time, now you share your status of a son with someone else. Somebody like you, who too calls me “mama”.

Imagining another addition to the family filled with excitement as much as it filled me with anxiety.Where on one hand, I dreamt of twinkling eyes and teeny weeny finger and coos and giggles, I was clearly unclear of all that was going to change; your bedtime, our constant hugs and cuddles, the love attention and care and all of what was exclusively yours. I dreaded how you would handle all of that, your attitude, you behavior and your acceptance to the upcoming norm.

And how incredible you have been in doing away with all the doubts that ever did rounds in my mind! You are such a lovely little boy, who is happiest at the mention of his brother. A little boy who loves to share his brother stories in school. A little boy, who happily transfers the spotlight of the family, visitors and friend to his younger brother. I am happy to see this beautiful side of yours and can’t wait to soak in the magical moments when the two of you bond more and more.

Although, it hit me hard initially, very hard indeed. When I saw you after three days at the time of birth of your brother, the longest we had been away from each other. When I saw you silently bundling up in bed without mama’s good night hugs and kisses. When I saw you sitting with your dad over the dinner, without last few spoons to be fed by mama. When I saw you finishing up your bath yourself without distant calls for a towel.

I sometimes feel apologetic about how quick you grew up into a big and responsible boy. When you no more need me on your head to finish off schoolwork. When you understand why mama couldn’t go out for bicycling with you. When you find ways to entertain yourself while mama rests with the baby.

But believe me it’s you who made my journey with having a baby easier. When I see you join me in lavishing our love to the baby. The way you pacify him when I am in the midst of finishing up something. The way you make my trips to the bathroom a little less panicky. The way you run for errands when I am stuck up with something of anything.

All your little acts of kindness motivate me to be a better mom and do all those big small things for you. More than anything, you make me feel proud of myself of having done things right to see you the way you are!

You are my therapy. Mama might be physically more invested in the baby, but you are always in my mind. My cuddles for him might be a little more, but my warmth for your adorable being remains the same. My words for him may be a little sweeter, but my heart never ceases to take pride for the child that you are and the child you have been. My role of mom may be divided between the two of you, but the child who gave birth to a mom will forever be you. My arms may be full of this new tiny being, but the smell of your newborn self still sits with me and the pleasures you brought to my life continue to give me those stings of excitement. I still wish to keep you in my wraps ever and forever.

Soon our house will be noisier. There will be rivalry, and fights and some bigger fights. There will be moments when you will feel like losing it. But I am sure your love and warmth will be your guide. The beauty with which you handle this role is going to set a benchmark.

I don’t say that you are the best son or the best brother just as these words are meant to say. But these words are the ones which I mean —straight from my heart.

Energy Bars

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If you are looking forward to some make ahead quick breakfast ideas, then these energy bars are something not to be missed upon. These are super easy to make and in only 3 steps.

These energy bars are our family’s favorite. I prefer making it in advance and storing it in an airtight container. They are a savior as quick to-go breakfast on busy mornings or a filling snack in the evenings. They remain nice and crisp for a good amount of time as well.

These bars are not only wholesome, but also highly adaptive and can be varied with a number of ingredients. I find that peanut butter gives a good binding to the ingredients as compared to almond butter. You can also add whipped frosting of any flavors, just to give an additional twist of taste.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cups peanut butter (or any other nut butter)
I cup nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, dry dates etc.
2tbs flax seed
¼ cup honey
Chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Take rolled oats, dried fruits, flax seed powder, peanut butter, almond butter and honey in a dish.


2. In a chopper, coarsely grind all the ingredients.


3. Now add choco chips to the mixture.

4. Next, take a raised baking dish, firmly press the mixture into it. Cover it for 2hrs or until firm.

4. Now using a knife slice it into bars. Store it into an airtight container.

My Hot Chocolate Bar DIY

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Who doesn’t love hot chocolates, specially in winter. So this winter we thought to do our own hot chocolate bar. The idea was that my little one (who is all love with chocolate) can relish his own cup of hot chocolate specially on weekends or after a cold day or a snow day.

This hot chocolate bar is made with minimal items available at home and is quite budget friendly. Just select a corner in your home, get some decor and cutlery and you are set to go.

By the way this hot chocolate bar was an ultimate hit at my home. So do your own cocoa bar and sip a mug of hot chocolate with your favorite book. Nothing beats this combination on the planet, I am sure you will agree to it! Lets get into making!

You need to do the following to set up your own hot chocolate bar.

1. Designate an area in your home. It can be simply a side table, a cart or simply a tray in your room. Put a table cover if you want to.

2. Pick up a theme. Your theme will help you select decor like banner or other accents that you will use for the bar. I chose a theme in red, white and black generally to give a wintery feel. This theme will also go well around Christmas.

3. Your favorite packet of cocoa for quick cups or your own homemade recipe of cocoa. I used Swiss miss hot cocoa.

4. Some cute mugs which fit into your theme. I used mugs with snowman and other winter things print.

5. Jars to keep cocoa and other toppings.

6. Banners for display and labels for the items. You can easily print them and hang it or display on a board. I used a little display board saying “Baby it’s cold outside, warm up here”. I also used a li’l flag of “Hot Chocolate Bar” and some hangings saying “ Let it snow”.

7. A raised tray or a stand to add an element of height to your set up.

8. Toppings of your choice. I used marshmallows (which is generally a must), whipping cream, chocolate chips, candy melts, candy canes and sprinkles.

Some options for hot cocoa toppings are:

• Whipped cream

• Marshmallows of different sizes and flavors

• Chocolate Bits

• Coconut shavings

• Chopped nuts

• Mini chocolate cookies

• Toffee bits

• Sprinkles

• Crushed Candy Canes

• Pirouettes

• Butterscotch chips

• M&Ms

• Chopped mints

• Pretzel rods

• Ice cream

• Cinnamon

• Caramel drizzle

• Chocolate syrup

Some of the printables I used for my DIY are given below:

DIY Solar Oven

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This DIY Solar Oven is an interesting project to study how sun’s energy can be used as a clean source of power. It not involves a interesting steps of crafting but also each step demonstrates important concepts of science involved.

Well, we had made a solar oven for our experiment long back but couldn’t test it since the weather was not hot enough or the day was just not right. We had thought of baking s’mores in this oven. Luckily, we could get all the things right to test this very dear project of ours. After all it involved a tasty treat at the end!

What you need

Cardboard box with attached lid
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Black construction paper
Tape
Glue stick
Skewer or a stick
Xacto knife (or scissors)
S’mores supplies: grahams, chocolate, marshmallows

How to make a solar oven?

1. Using an xacto knife, cut a three-sided flap out of the top of the box, leaving at least a 1-inch border around the three sides.

2. Glue aluminum foil to the inside of the top flap, keeping the foil as smooth as possible. The foil reflects the sun into the oven.

3. Line the inside base of the oven with aluminum foil, again keeping it as smooth as possible.

4. Glue a black construction paper to the bottom of the box. The black color absorbs the heat.

5. Tape the plastic over the opening of the door. This will allow the air inside the box to heat up but keep the heat trapped inside the box.

6. Place a graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate inside the oven.

7. Place your oven outside in the sun (so that the top lid faces the sun). Use a skewer or a stick to prop the lid open at an ideal angle.

The chocolate will start transforming into soft squishy state and the marshmallows will look more puffed up from the heat. It took us about 90 minutes to bake our s’mores. The temperature outdoors was around 100 degree Fahrenheit. You can just wait until the chocolate melts and can be called good enough, and your tasty treat is done. Place another graham over the baked graham or just sandwich the two of the baked grahams. Time to feast on your solar oven s’mores!

Functions of the components of the Solar Oven

Aluminum foil: The sunlight is reflected when it strikes its surface.

Black construction paper:  Since black absorbs maximum light, it absorbs the light reflected from the aluminum foil. In the oven, the light energy is transformed into heat energy which demonstrates the law of thermodynamics which states that energy can’t be destroyed but can be only transformed from one state to the other.

Plastic wrap: It traps the heat radiated from the black construction paper causing the temperature inside the oven to rise.

Cardboard box: It serves as a physical oven and acts as an insulator of heat.

Science behind the working of the Solar Oven

A solar oven works by energy from the sun that penetrates into the surrounding environment thus demonstrating the process of radiation.

The shiny surface catches the sunlight and acts as a reflector reflecting it onto the base surface of the oven. The base surface gets heated. This heat is transfered to another object through direct contact thus demonstrating the process of conduction.

Further the air that is trapped inside gets heated by the process of convection which occurs when warm air which is less dense rises up and the colder air which is more dense sinks.

We are using a black sheet of paper for the base surface since black color absorbs maximum light and is transformed into heat energy. Plastic wrap prevents the hot air inside the oven from escaping thus creating a Greenhouse effect.

Notes:

1. Solar ovens slow-cook food on a low heat over a longer period of time than conventional ovens, but they do work.
2. The box should be tightly sealed or insulated to prevent the heat from escaping.