If Halloween Costume Could Talk...

Happy Halloween Everyone!

About a month back....actually couple of months back, I asked Aanya, so what do you want to be on Halloween this year...Batman, Superman, Princess, Bumble bee, Witch or anythings else? 3 years is I guess too young an age, to be consistent on ones choice, esp when there are hundred's of costumes to pick from.

So one day, it was Superheros, because she saw boys in her school wearing superheros T shirt everyday and she found it really cool and empowering.
Later, it was Curious George, because she was following the monkey's episodes and found it quite funny.
After few days, it was Snow White, because I was reading the story of Snow white to her day in and day out, until she memorized it ;-)
and then it was Bumble bee, as her teacher taught her the bumble bee nursery rhyme and she liked it.

As the days were nearing, I asked her again, to decide on ONE costume. She can't be all of them. And finally after much serious thinking, she said "BUDDY". She wanted to be Buddy, the Dinosaur. 
So, it was final. I needed to organize that costume for her.

The costume was purchased and she even had dress rehearsal a few times before Halloween, smilingly, happily, excitedly. And now we waited for Halloween eagerly.

Today....The Halloween Day! Aanya turned into a Dinosaur, ready to scare and eat everyone who comes her way ;-)
When she reached her school, as I opened the door, her friends came running towards her and said 
"Wow! It’s Buddy from Dinosaur Train." And underneath the head where no one could see, Aanya smiled. She was happy.

And that's when I realized, Costumes are about more than the fabric they’re made of. Don't you think so?

The Short Hair Experiment...

Like a snake, my medium-length hair slid from my body as the hairstylist chopped it off. My reflection was no longer recognizable. 

I was elated. I was reborn.

I decided to cut my hair because I thought it would lift up my spirits and fulfill my need for change.
In order for a woman to truly find her voice and understand who she is, she must do something extreme. Something beyond her comfort zone, something that allows her to adapt into what once seemed impossible. I think as curious adults we should push our boundaries, explore things that feel uncomfortable, in order to see progress.
Now I can say I did something beyond the ordinary. Something that caused such chaos, creativity and courage for me...

So, the question now arises, Whether the experiment worked or failed? And the answer is, It failed for me. Yes, very soon I realized, short hair is not my thing. Not because, it made me question my femininity or people judged me. None of those. 

The reasons I don't like the short hair are:

1. You must wash and style it every single day, or it looks greasy. If you have longer hair, though, washing three times a week is good enough, and in fact, is good for preserving the condition and color of your hair.
2. I miss the pretty braids! I want to wear a braid.
3. After a few months you're stumped on what to do with your hair because it's not long enough to put up, yet an awkward length to wear down.
4. On a bad hair day, braid, ponytail or updo just isn’t an option when you have short hair. My hair is naughty, straight and unruly, so I have more bad-hair days than I care to count.

In all, I miss my long hair. But the great thing about hair is that it grows. Nothing is permanent. It’s parallel to life. Everything we encounter and experience is temporary. The lessons they teach us are permanent, though -- forever implanted in our memories for future reference.

About Me..

Hi! Its Me, Richa Agarwal.

Dreamer till I die, romantic at heart, sensitive and thoughtful, outgoing and independent, lively and inquisitive, wife to the bestest hubby in the world, daughter to the most wonderful parents, sister to one lovely brother and mother to a beautiful daughter

Welcome to my personal blog. Three months have passed by...since I started blogging. I know its little late for this page, which should ideally be the first post:)), but when I started to write, I wasn't sure if I will continue writing or will give up in a month's time ( 'the writer's block' as they say). Glad, I am still going strong. Thanks to you all, who have been reading and are such an encouragement. 

So, Why I started to blog? The first question.

I have a journal, in which I loved to write in a traditional way(pen and papers). In this book, I wrote important events of my life or things that I needed to remember, all related to my experience as a parent, from the time my daughter, Aanya was born. I would write, print pictures and glue them against the event. I enjoyed maintaining that journal. But that is exclusive to Me and Aanya. And then one day, someone suggested I should blog. To which I replied, I have 'nothing to say', other than me and Aanya. And to that line of thinking I was told that, maybe I haven't discovered yet what I have to say. Made sense. Writing encourages one to stop and think deeper. And I decided to give it a try.

Why I blog? Next question.

Now that I have dived into the pool of blogging, I am learning to swim with words fast. I have began thinking more intentionally about who I am, who I am becoming, and whether I like what I see or not. Blogging is like a platform where I can write something informal; a place of joy and freedom where I can express my sincere thoughts and what I am passionate about. 

Aside from that I blog because its like documenting my life journey and improving my writing skills.

What I don't blog for?  

Money – Some friends were telling me to make money out of my blog, however that’s not my main intention. I don’t sell stuff here, and I don’t like having product advertisements in my personal space, at least not for now. Maybe forever. 

Attention – I don’t write or blog as an attention seeker. It doesn’t raise much concern to me of having thousands of subscribers or becoming most-famous blogger of the year. For most part, I don’t hunt for the fame. Preferably, I’d rather have a close pool of readers and loyal friends who would love to exchange their experiences. That’s all that matters to me. 

And finally, What I blog?

My blog consists of post related to everyday Lifestyle, Fashion and Style, Artwork and Design, my Do-It-Yourself project, and more importantly Parenting, everyday parenting. About my daughter and how I am growing as a parent with her.

So, Once again, Welcome to my World of Thoughts!! :)

PS: To reach me, my email address is ra1980@gmail.com

Meals Tied to me Forever: My Breakfast Favorites...

Today, I had boiled sprouted moong dal for breakfast and it made me so happy. As in, real happy. I enjoy having sprouts for breakfast. Don't you feel, there are certain meals that are tied to you forever? Meals that are healthy, fills up your tummy, satisfy your taste buds and more importantly are Enjoyable?

There are lots of people who start their day with juices or smoothies. I am not one of them. Honestly, I would rather chew my breakfast than drink it. Sometimes, it feels like there is pressure to do what everyone else is doing or talking about but that wouldn’t make breakfast enjoyable. In order to look forward to breakfast, it needs to consist of something you really want to have.

Here, are my current five favorites:

• Boiled Sprouted Beans ( Moong dal or Kala Chana)

Soak it overnight. Boil it in the morning. Dress them up with diced tomatoes, chopped onion, cilantro and a teaspoon of lemon juice. I can’t imagine my breakfast life without it. It’s so easy and makes so much sense. These are the platonic ideal of any morning meal.

• Poha (with peas and potatoes)

 I always have boiled potatoes in my fridge. That ways, making poha becomes so easy and fast. Adding peas and peanuts makes it a powerhouse of nutrients. And we look forward to having it on all weekends. Its like a ritual here :)

• Avocado Sandwich

 My favorite sandwich. I can eat it with bread or buns. A layer of omelet (or fried egg), sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado and sliced cheese. Yumm!! Ready in just 5 min. The yellow, green and red color of the sandwich leaves me drooling and raises my appetite.

• Chilla or Pancakes ( Moong dal or besan or mixed dal)

Besan with grated tomato and onion, green chilli and cilantro. This crunchy chilla is one of the most filling meal you can have. Again it can be made in jiffy and is super easy. To make moong dal or mixed dal chilla, I soak dal at night and grind it to paste in the morning or sometimes at night itself. Hence cooking becomes simple in the morning.

• Bread Toast with Jam

Simplest breakfast ever. When I don't feel like cooking or I am in a real hurry, this is what I have. Whole wheat bread toast with Jam. Simple and delicious.


So that is my way of staying healthy, filling up with good warming filling breakfast.
I am curious to find what you deem to be a good way to start the day, or are you a Cappuccino, Bagel or Donut person?

A Challenge I Happily Undertook: My First Mosaic Artwork..

Do you like challenges? I do. One day, while shopping at Pier 1 Imports, I came across, these beautiful mosaic artworks and I instantly fell in love with them. They were spectacular! The color, the craftsmanship, the design, all so good. The only thing that I did not like was, The Price. They were around $200 each.

At home, thinking about these artworks, it suddenly occurred to me, What if I make it myself? I had never done mosaics and the thought itself excited me. And then again one day, while internet browsing, I came across this below painting.

And that was it. I had found my inspiration of mosaic artwork. Without wasting time, bought all the materials and got on to the task within a week.
And here's how the first mosaic experience looked like :)

From painting the canvas to fixing the mirrored glass pieces

And for the second canvas, my little daughter provided me some help...

 And again for the third one...

 All three canvases took me about three weeks. Not so much in execution, more in procuring the raw materials. If you are wondering, why such a simple design? Then, I would say, one, because it was my first and two ( which is the main reason)...wait until my next blog post..:)

And now, the final outcome,

 This was such a satisfying experience and it leaves me with a want of doing more. I love challenges and this Mosaic certainly was one !!

Giraffe Growth Chart...DIY

I have been wanting a Growth Chart for Aanya from a long time, I guess from over an year. I looked at few good ones at amazon.com and many times zeroed one too, except, not ordering it :). Not sure why.
And then one day, this creative mind of mine, decided to make it, instead of buying it. Ofcourse, its such a simple work, why spend money on it. Right? Right.
So, today was Aanya's holiday ( Columbus day) and we got on to the task of making this beautiful Giraffe Growth Chart.

Aanya did all the cutting and coloring part, I drew and glued the pieces together. So it was a Team Work :)

And finally...

 

Do-it-yourself is fantastically empowering thing. Not only do you save a lot of money by making your own stuff, but also, its a fun way to spend time with your kids...

Zero to Four: How Aanya's Art Changed Over Time...

Creativity is the bridge to learning. We all know that. And one of the most important ways a child tunes into creativity is by experimenting with Art materials. Today I was looking at some of Aanya's writing and artwork, I saw how it gradually changed and is becoming more controlled and complex as she is growing...I find it quite exciting.

How at very early age, both Art and Writing skills are one and the same. At first, it’s all about just figuring out what these cool things called crayons can do. At 15 months(1.5 years), Aanya held crayons first time and just the movement of her hand resulted in lines and scribbles. And it made her so happy.

 

And then, a year later, at 2.5 years, she developed a better control over the muscles in her hands and fingers, and her scribbles began to change and became more controlled.  She made repeated marks on the page—open circles, diagonal, curved, horizontal or vertical lines...

 

At 3 years, she started to Write. And that started with the letter 'A'. Probably because its the first letter of her name or may be because its the first letter of the alphabets. But it really was exciting. She was moving towards developing her writing skills.

 

And other than drawing something from crayons and pencil, I found she actually started to fill in colors. Filling colors is something that needs lot of concentration and at that age, patience and concentration skills is not much.

 

At age, 3.5 years, that is, during this summer vacation, Aanya started practicing her art and writing skills both. I gave her a notebook and made her practice. Her drawing changed from lines and circles to picture of something. Picture of unplanned something. And she would give it a name like a cat, dog, house, sun. 

 

And writing...she could write all alphabets :) So yes, this summer vacation was quite productive in terms of developing her creativity.

And finally, when she is almost 4 ( a month short), she can create stories by her drawing. She plans prior to her drawing as to what she will create. There are more details in the pictures. She has begun to purposefully draw images, trying to master symbolic thinking. She understands the difference between pictures and writing and hence I see her draw picture and write her name underneath it. She tries to share her story with me :)

Its a cat standing on grass. The sun is out to give her warmth :)

And talking about her coloring skills, it is lot better and she actually takes time in filling up an object.

Isn't that exciting? From scribbling to meaningful drawing. It amazes me when I sit down and think about the development process of a child. I am looking forward to how Aanya progresses in her Creativity via Art and Writing in coming years.

In order to encourage her skills, I do the following:

1. Make art a regular part of playtime: She has an Art room, full of crayons, pencils, markers, water colors, papers, scissors, glue and easel. I just let her do whatever she wants with those.

2. No instructions: I don't instruct her. I just let her experiment and explore and let her express herself in her own way. At times, I just sit down and observe her creation and guide wherever she needs it.

3. Notice the process, not the product: Its really important. Earlier I would comment on the color she filled. Why is tree red? It should be green. Why is house circle? It should be square. Later I realised, what she drew is not important. What she is thinking about her drawing is important. And now, I just appreciate her effort and ask more about what she drew. Ofcourse, tree can be red! :)

4. And finally, Display her work: That's how it makes her feel, her work is valued and is important.

Creative Expression lets children tap into the magic of their own imaginations—which is what being a child is all about. Right?