Smitten By The Bug

One afternoon,my five year old came running to me, shrieking with excitement , “Mom!!, I caught the bug.!”. With mixed feelings and uncertainty, I exclaimed ‘What?’ What do you mean? . He then paused for a while and stuttered, ‘But I hit it before it bit me’. Before I could act in response, he opened his miniature palm and showed me a harmless dead Beetle. It took me a while to realize why my son was so hysterical, he was in fact telling me that he had just killed the carrier of the Swine Flu. Yes! The swine flu has punched everyone at home - Oh no- God forbid -we have not been bitten by the bug but more or less smitten by it. Hence the trail of destruction: the chaos and the confusion that it has brought alongside..

A few days back, the children’s school had organized a field trip to the Dolphin show. My son was so thrilled that he was talking nineteen to the dozen about the forthcoming trip. Alas! His dreams were shattered when the school cancelled the program, because many parents didn’t like the idea of their ward mingling with a large crowd in close quarters, due to Swine Flu. Outdoor games and sports activities have been postponed due to this latest bug fear! The school also sent out circulars, to keep the children at home, if they had a minor cold or a cough. Although this sounded absurd! I silently agreed…

Whenever my youngsters wanted to venture out for the weekend, I would just get alarmed and would coerce them into agreeing to go to a less crowded place, so that they wouldn’t have to inhale any contaminated air. The girls have stopped coming with us to the market place because they fear the perpetrators could be mingling in the already congested area .And then, one weekend, when we eventually decided it was no point being wedged at home and set out as one big enthusiastic family, when out of the blue, a thunderous sneeze from a passerby, made all of us jump up in panic, apprehensively wondering if with that kind of sternutation (which I assumed was a replica of ‘Achoo Syndrome’ ) , all the air around got multiplied with the transmittable germs .With visions of the flu - bugs clouding up the air ,we quickly left the vicinity.

Even with all the extra guidelines especially to the children, on how to prevent themselves, from being hit by this particular virus, they tend to forget about it once they get out to play their usual rough and tumble games. As we never know if the playground is already tainted with this airborne bug, I often wonder how they would get the opportunity to clean themselves in case of a fall and when they get all messed up during playtime at school. In all probability, they’ll come home in that state carrying all the contagious droplets with them, which I think would be too late to purge those microbes out of their system.

I am, like everyone, deeply concerned about this flu which has already affected many people globally .This air-borne virus haphazardly harms both adults and children. Isn’t its time we educate ourselves in all aspects of this subject . It’s never too late to cautiously learn more about this bug that keeps bugging us, so as to be in a better position to deal with this latest flu-influenza, which is better known as Swine Flu, when in actuality ,drifts toward us.

A Decade In The Y2K

We are approaching another year.A brand New Year. When we first came within reach of the New Millennium, there was this media hype,a hullabaloo about the Y2K bug that was going to disrupt and wipe out all stored information off our computers. This revelation created a chaos among many..But Thank God it never happened and todate no one really knows why the bug forgot to bite. Nevertheless aren't we all glad that everyone superseded the fear of the ‘Year 2000 ‘ or the ‘Y2K’ and probably look forward to victoriously celebrate a decade in the 'Y2K' epoch.

With the new year comes new beginnings, new challenges. Most of us, I guess plan to bring about changes in our lives ..This is the time when everyone starts making New Year resolutions. It's easy to make resolutions but I wonder how many actually keep it.Over the years, I too had many resolutions that I wished to keep , but alas! couldn’t see it all getting materialized. Before the New year turns up we would be planning and making endless and countless lists on what to do and what not to do .Come New year ,we tend to forget all we have planned and thus our goals that we try to achieve in the new year gets blown away with the wind….

I ask myself again and again ..Why wait for the New Year to make promises. All that we have got to do is take one day at a time .Make the best of that day.Step on the positive side and toss away the negativity. With a little bit of patience and appreciation , we ought to countenance the complications and the challenges that come to pass on us through this cycle of life, Being bold enough to defy the hurdles , we would possibly find the rest of our days rewarding.

A Happy New Year To You !

The Circle Of Friends Award

I am delighted to get the Circle of Friends award, which I have proudly displayed in the sidebar, from my blogger friend Mothers Always (Being Me), whose writings I admire. Receiving these awards from other bloggers help strengthen our confidence and credence in ourselves, and a motivation to blog better in blogosphere! I do not find enough time to blog on a daily basis, but whenever I find the time. I really enjoy it. I also love browsing the pages of my blogger friends, to read their posts and leave them a comment.

Receiving, giving and passing on awards to others is no doubt, an encouraging approach to develop a friendly bond among bloggers. Leaving a friend something exceptional like this virtual award, makes the recipient contented, knowing his/her posts have been appreciated. There are so many things we learn from each other here at blogosphere. We get to know the likes, the dislikes, favorites and of course the humorous side of our blogger friends. We learn about the different cultures, customs and the scrumptious recipes and cuisines from varied countries. I take this opportunity to thank my friends here at blogosphere and others, who browse through my posts.

Now I have to follow the rules and write a few facts about me
1. I have learned that to pursue an inner feeling of happiness, I got to approach toward the positive.
2. I turn to the internet to satiate my thirst for some reading.
3. My family comes first. They are my priority.
4. Oprah Winfrey’s Talk Show has been a source of inspiration to me and to a score of others .I would like her to reassess her retirement because we need people like her, who has the skill , to help motivate the youth of today to be a better society tomorrow.
5. I have cried the most in the year 2004, first in October when I lost my precious mother, who had always been my pillar of strength and then again in December, when a massive Tsunami hit South East Asia. My country Sri Lanka which was already ravaged by an internal war: a war between man, got wrecked a second time: a war with Nature (God forbid, let me cry no more!)


The new recipients of this award go to
1. The desperate cook
2. A Mommy's Day: by I am Me
3. Middle age ramblings
4. AISHALIFE-LINE
5. Nophie's Corner

The rules - Remember to acknowledge the bloggers (do a link) where they came from, nominate 5 recipients (Let them know about it) and tell us any 5 things about yourself. And don't forget to copy and paste the award badge!

Children And Boredom

The chilly weather makes all of us longing, to get cozy and huddle up in the house and when we have children around, we often wonder how we are going to keep them occupied for a specific period of time. And during winter break ,the kids get holed up in the house. It is then, that they complain of nothing to do and getting bored. Getting them to help us in the household chores is a good idea but for how long will they like this kind of activity we cannot predict.

As a stay at home mom, I have often spent a few times, stooping to their level ,taking instructions and abiding by their rules and regulations, in order to help their play time happy and fun .All in all, the end results are that we all are contended by the fact that we have had enough of quantity and quality time together as a family...

There are many ways and means to regenerate our kids from boredom. Its time we become a little creative in order to stop our brood from complaining. One does not need to be an expert in bringing out ideas to help children find some ways to spend their time during holidays.

Make opportunities for children to get active in different ways... By sharing our ideas with the kids on what to do and how to do, helps the children to play an active role in being creative... Generate a lot of opportunities for the children to experience with..Let them experiment with different ideas. Children would like anything to do with games. There are many ways to be creative and make holiday time a fun time. Some children are good with words. Indoor games like word –building could be really interesting, when you make it a fun game. For instance, take the word ‘Ordinary ‘. Let them make new words from this one long word. The new words from ‘ordinary’ would be (ray, roar, yard, nod, ran etc). By introducing this word game, we are actually helping them improve their vocabulary.

Another fun game, I observed my kids loved were the repeatedly practicing of tongue twisters!.'Twisters' is a sure way to revitalize kids from boredom. Here is a tongue twister which my children and I enjoy to date...This could also be played as a game, to test their spelling skills (in this case ,whether/weather)

Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not.”

Happy Holidays! Have Fun...

My First Award

I am honored to get this award and I thank Always A Mom for it.



Seven Things That You Don't Know About Me

1. I used to be an elementary teacher - but gave up to take care of my home.
2. I love to try different recipes. If it does not turn out right, I give it a new name and still enjoy
3. I read Richard Carlson's book, "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff With Your Family" in the year 2004 which made a lot of changes in me. I learnt to look at the positive side of life.
4. My childhood favourite was Enid Blyton. I still enjoy her books when I read it to my children.
5. I get motivated by everyday people doing everyday things.
6. I would love to visit France someday to see the Eiffel Tower, and maybe make use of my French which I have learnt during my school days.
7. I am a person full of compassion and love, when tragedy strikes children in any part of the world, it affects me very badly because I cannot reach out to them.

I have nominated the following bloggers as recipients of this award for their hardwork:

1. Very Becoming
2. How I Cope With Acid Reflux and Ulcers
3. Swathi Pradeep's Kitchen
4. Always A Mom
5. Real Life In A Minute
6. Being a mom, wife, grandma and student!
7. Because Nice Matters

As with any award it has a few steps or rules the recipient must follow after receiving the award. And they are:

1. Thank the person who gave the award to you.
2. Copy award.
3. Post it in your blog.
4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don't know.
5. Link 7 new bloggers as recipients.
6. Notify winners of award with comment on their blog .
7. Keep being awesome!

Congratulations and Happy Blogging!!!

Oh ! This Funny Language

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger,
neither apple nor pine in pineapple
English muffins were not invented in England
or French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat
Quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
A guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig
Why is that writers write, but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce, hammers don't ham
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, 2 geese, so one moose, 2 meese?
One index, two indices?
Is cheese the plural of choose?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegatarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Ship by truck, and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell
Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy be opposites?
When a house burns up, it burns down
You fill a form by filling it out
An alarm clock goes off by going on
When the stars are out, they are visible
but when the lights are out, they are invisible
When I wind up my watch, I start it
But when I wind up this essay, I end it

Courtesy : InBox Collection -

The Magic Of Disney

Very Recently the Disney demo 09 concluded in the country of the birth place of Walt Disney and here I am half way across the other side of the world and motivated to write something about the Disney influence we all have had. My whole family is attracted to Walt Disney creations...I loved Disney classics as a child, and still enjoy them with my children. Walt Disney has inspired my kids in so many ways ...They were drawn to his world of sketching from an early age.
And as parents, we were fully aware of their interest in everything ‘Disney’. We introduced to the kids some Disney classics for reading. Initially we read to them during bedtime and subsequently it became habitual and only when the end of the story was read and when they had heard their favourite characters from the book lived happily ever after, that they used to fall asleep without any hassles whatsoever... Having introduced them to Disney classics, from a young age, enhanced their reading and listening skills too. By the time they entered kindergarten, they had mastered several skills like listening, picture identification and word building.
The earliest memories I have were the sketching on our home walls, depicting some of Walt Disney‘s animated characters. An attempt at Disney creations, by my children! Later I discovered these drawings on their pillow covers as well. During their school break, they loved to watch Disney movies on DVD, which kept them spell bound .and whenever their class had some story time program, my two daughters did not fail to act as a Disney character, to bring the story to life.
The world of Disney also shaped my young children’s’ minds. They learnt to recognise and identify the good, the wicked and the evil, thanks to the characters in Snow white, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc. They were inculcated with values like kindness, love and generosity.
Now whenever I log on to my computer I am ushered in by Disney characters painted by my children. Am I not glad we have the world of Disney playing a significant role in developing the language skills that leads to stimulating reading in children .Thus laying a solid foundation for a more complex learning in later years.
And even today, my daughters, who, in their adolescence and pre-adolescence years are motivated and enthralled by his wonderful cartoons! And lately my two young sons are following suit...
Here are some cyber paintings, done by my twelve year daughter Mona.


The Lion King





Tarzan II