Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

02 May, 2020

Down the Memory Lane..

The Red roses meant Passionate romance to me. But, not after this...




   PC: Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

It was after my first child's delivery. The joy of giving birth to a beautiful boy couldn't dominate the pain that I had to endure due to postpartum problems
Within 7 days of delivery, Doctor told that I have to undergo minor surgery.

I was already in pain and depression, but there was no other option. The minor surgery that doctor said was not that minor anyways, another wave of pain, and recovery ahead. 

The surgery was done on our 4th anniversary. I had plans to celebrate our anniversary with our baby. But, I was in the hospital and in pain, that can't happen, right?

When my husband got the bunch of red roses to wish for our anniversary, tears rolled down my cheeks and we just hugged and didn't talk anything. May be from that day, red roses remind me of the support and love of my spouse.



PS: Years passed, we celebrated our 11th anniversary in February with 2 kids :-)

Until next time,





Linking to Booksnista for the creative writing prompt Red roses.

01 October, 2018

Go on, Girl by Hilary Grossman - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Title : Go on, Girl
Author : Hilary Grossman
Genre : Contemporary Fiction, Women Fiction, Parenting and Family Humor
Length of the book : 276 pages
Source : A free print copy from the author for review

Go on, Girl by Hilary Grossman

Blurb:

Executive, wife, and mother of an outgoing first-grader, Sydney Clayton crushes her day-to-day obligations at work but flounders in the cutthroat world of parental politics.

She manages to avoid the local drama until she’s faced with an ultimatum: join the Forest River PTA or risk her daughter becoming a social outcast. Sydney reluctantly becomes treasurer, and takes the recently vacated position of the president’s sidekick. If protecting the children’s freedom of speech, one best friend ban at a time, isn’t complicated enough, Sydney and her husband receive an unexpected offer for their house they don’t think they can refuse. 

Embroiled in the deception and manipulation rife among the elementary school moms, Sydney struggles. Should she sell the home she worked so hard to build in a town where betrayal runs rampant? Or should she stay put to avoid the fallout from uprooting her child? As Sydney focuses on what is best for her daughter, and lets go of her judgments, she finds friendship can develop in very unexpected ways.

Warm, witty, and wise, Go On, Girl dramatizes the dilemmas of life in the suburbs and the bonds shared by women. Perfect for fans of Class Mom and Big Little Lies.

"Hilary Grossman knocked it out of the park with her fourth novel. Go On, Girl is filled with humor and heart." - Meredith Schorr - Best Selling Author of The Boyfriend Swap and The Blogger Girl Series ★★★★★

"Liane Moriarty brought it back in Big Little Lies and Laurie Gelman made it laugh-out-loud funny in Class Mom. Hilary Grossman’s new novel brings it center stage as the Forest River PTA dishes out more drama than you’d find in a Meryl Streep movie!" - The Book Whisperer ★★★★★

"If you’re one who enjoys reading about drama mamas and school politics, then I recommend this book. Go On, Girl” was one of my favorite books I’ve read this year, so I’ll be adding it to my top of 2018 list." - Chick Lit Goddess ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"This was such a fun story, you can't help but lose yourself in the drama and politics that Sydney encounters when she joins the Forest River PTA. With a lot of eye-rolling, smirking, and outright snickering, I really enjoyed following Syndey and her co-PTA members as they ruled the roost at Forest River Elementary. " - Jersey Girl Book Reviews ★★★★★

"Hilary Grossman proves that not everyone is as they seem and unfortunately some people are exactly as they seem! This was just what this PTO mom needed before the craziness of school starts up!" - Little Book Page ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


My Review:

This is a perfect family humor that I have read recently. Sydney is a working mom and a parent of little girl Amanda who is a first grader in Forest River Elementary school. While she is busy managing work and office, her life takes a turn when she becomes treasurer in Forest River school PTA. The office work, PTO meetings, work related to PTO, gossips, and warnings of other PTO moms drive Sydney crazy. As luck would have it, she and her husband Craig have to deal with the pressure of selling their home and preparing to move to a new place at the same time. 

Even though Syd joins the PTA committee reluctantly, she makes great friends. She goes beyond the initial judgments and forms a friendship with Jackie. Her straightforward nature and the cool way of handling problems make her a good friend to Jackie. 

The story, dialogues, and narration are all witty. Craig is a sweet as an understanding partner to Syd. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book even though it is not a thriller and has a predictable story. I fell in love with Syd and could relate to her anxiety when it came to taking a decision for her daughter. 

We all go through pressure when things move fast in our life and we have to take some important decisions. But, we never look back and see how these circumstances help us to find real friends and form great bonds in our life. In all this process while Syd forms new friends, especially Jackie, Kara and Rosemary, Craig gels well with Andrew. 

This is a fantastic read for a beach vacation or long drives. If you are a mom of Elementary school child, you would surely love this!

My Rating: 4.5/5

PS: I have received this free book from the author in exchange for a review and this is my honest opinion of the book.

Purchase Link:
Amazon

About the Author:

Hilary Grossman
By day, Hilary Grossman works in the booze biz. By night she hangs out with her "characters." She has an unhealthy addiction to denim and high heel shoes. She's been known to walk into walls and fall up stairs. She only eats spicy foods and is obsessed with her cat, Lucy. She loves to find humor in everyday life. She likens life to a game of dodge ball - she tries to keep many balls in the air before they smack her in the face. She lives on Long Island. 

To find out more of what Hilary is up to check out her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HilaryGrossmanAuthor or 

find her on Twitter https://twitter.com/feelingbeachie

Until next time,




22 November, 2017

Act like a kid and think like a parent - Book Spot Light






Non-Fiction - Self-help/Family
Date Published:  June 29, 2017

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

Just for kicks, have you ever wondered what your parents really want from you in life? Is it you, or do your parents want you to have no real fun? On any given day, do you want to make your parents proud of you and still do what makes you feel really happy within yourself? Of course you do! But the real question has always been, and still is…how? How can we actually get this done?

Well, with A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent, a.k.a "the child-part consoler", you will get past common misunderstandings by learning how to truly talk, hear, and listen to your parents, guardians or caregivers instead of feeling like you have to run to friends to find some sense of acceptance, understanding, and real connection.

In this book, chock-full of questions and answers gotten directly from the source, you’ll learn what your parents, guardians or caregivers really expect of you—and maybe you’ll even find out how to explain to them what you really expect from them! Not that this book could ever replace a parent, because it can not. But when it comes to openly communicating certain key ideas, this book comes really close.

This tell-all guide contains lots of enlightening explanations and helpful answers to many common kid questions like:

·      What do my parents really want from me?
·      Why do my parents do what they do and say what they say?
·      What do I really need to know about my parents' parenting skills?
·      How can I keep my parents happy with me?
·      How can I help my parents to help me?
·      How can I get what I want from my parents every time?

A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent is an intro to the secret knowledge of adults which is a set of informations that is mainly covered in the book entitled Surrogate Re-Parenting: A.K.A. Get Your Mind Right, and even more thoroughly covered in the book The Secret Knowledge Of Adults. While this book, A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent is intended for kids 10 and up, the info in this book is beneficial and useful to the intelligent kid parts in all of us. Yes, this means you too.

The information in this book will help you and yours to start to see your parents, not as the enemy, but as the caring human beings they really are, and take the first step toward family unity, understanding, growth, success, and happiness! Both you and your parents really deserve this, and with this book, A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent, you and your parents can actually achieve this.



 
Excerpt

28) Earning Your Parents' Respect.


As a kid, when it comes to parents, us having, earning and receiving their love, is almost guaranteed. You can be one of the most stubborn, unruly, wayward kids and they would still love their child and that's for life. It's fairly easy to have a parent's love but it is a whole different thing to earn a parent's respect.


This is because love and respect come from two entirely different places. The love comes from what they feel for you, almost through themselves. Respect  comes from what they think about the what, and the “way”, you are doing things, that you are doing in your own life. As a kid, you can disgrace your parents and they will still love you. But even though they do love you, if you disgrace them, they won't respect you. As their child, you can act shamefully and your parents will still love you. But if you act shamefully, they won't respect you. You can steal from them and lie to them and they will still love you. But if you steal from them, and lie to them, they won't respect you. As a kid you can smell bad and look terribly messy and they will still love you. But if you smell bad and look terribly messy, they won't respect you. As a kid it can be very hard to earn the respect of your parents. You can't just smile your way through this one. If you want your parents' respect, you are going to have to earn it, and fight for it. This is because it isn't as easy as being loved by them. Your being respected by them is definitely worth a lot to them. When it comes to your parents, the “way” you do things, the “way” you get things, the “way” you live and the "way" you keep things, does matter to them.

As a kid, watch the “way” that is being promoted in your surroundings. A “way” that you have the power to use, choose or change for yourself, in your own life. They may not say it but they, as parents, look for proof of character in everything that you do as a kid. Proof that you have made a point of displaying character in all that you, as a kid, do or touch. Your parents watch your life for proof of honor and honesty, hoping to find both honor and honesty present, in the “way” you do everything as their child. They especially watch for decency, which is based mainly on how well you treat other living things in your surroundings. It's about how you use the power that you have over others, including smaller kids and pets. Your parents look to see you show mercy on those who have messed up on you, that are also smaller than you, like your brothers or sisters. It makes them, as parents, very proud when they see you, as a child of theirs, showing forgiveness to those who have foolishly wronged you. As you are growing up, it makes your parents really proud of you when they see how powerful you have become. They are especially proud when they see how gracious, kind, merciful and considerate you can be. They marvel at how great you have become, when they watch you being able to share with those who have given you nothing. As a parent, it gives them great joy to see their child, you, stand up against opposition to preserve the rights, safety and freedom of those around you as a kids. And the thought that if you were around a place, even if you were just passing through, that when you left that place, it would be better and cleaner because you were once there.

These are the types of things that can help you as a kid who already has their parent's love, to earn their respect. These are just a few of the actions that can help a kid earn their parents' respect.


About Katherine Shears





Katherine Shears is a mom, graduate of Strayer University, and an executive consultant, who is dedicated to bettering the social function and overall visibility of all she encounters. She is a deep thinker with an open mind who stays on the cutting edge of learning, having read over one hundred self-help titles and counting.








About C.S Whitehurst





C. S. Whitehurst is a psychology-based UX/UI designer/tester, computer programmer, IT Project Manager, and self-help enthusiast, who is a student of science, philosophy, life, and NYU. As a native of New York, having been exposed to social diversity, he has been coached by life to respond to the issues plaguing inner-city youth.











Contact Links



Purchase Links



RABT Book Tours & PR

Until next time,


26 December, 2016

5 ways to engage kids during holidays

It's tough to engage kids during holidays. I am not an expert in this subject but I am trying all different ways until I find out the best possible way to engage kids without us (parents) not getting very tired. I am using the below ways to engage my kids during Christmas holidays. Let me know if you have some other great ideas :-)

Pin it for later!



1. Outdoor play or a walk
This is the best way to engage kids and also get some benefit from walking for ourselves. I prefer taking my kids to a play area or let them ride a bicycle. I also enjoy taking walks even though my 2-year-old is a tough nut to handle as he likes to run :-(
 A simple ball game or a disc throw or a bicycle ride or a play in the park can engage kids at least for one hour.

2. Painting and crafts
I know crafts need a lot of time from us, but this activity keeps the kids engaged for a long time. I even give a crayon and a white paper to my younger one who is 2 years and encourage him to scribble something. It keeps him engaged and he seems to enjoy the time. I love working on simple crafts with my elder one like preparing something from pista shells or egg cases or pencil scrap.

3. Travel
Kids love travel and anyways it is good for them to explore new places and observe different people and cultures. We can play a lot of games during traveling like counting cars with the specific color, writing down the names of the places that we come across, encourage them to briefly write about the travel and stick photos. A travel need not be to an exotic resort or to an amusement park, it can also be to a neighborhood lake or a trail in the park.

4. Teaching the mother tongue
This is of course very important as schools are not giving much importance to our mother tongue when compared to the English language. I try to make my elder one write the Telugu alphabets and tell him words that start with that letter. This is one of the activities I planned for his holidays.

5. Recreation that they like
Let it be watching Tom and Jerry cartoon or playing with cars and building blocks. It's their holidays and they should enjoy in their way too. Instead of making them watch Oggy and cockroaches or Doreman, we introduced our kids to interesting documentaries on youtube about how tunnels are made, how large ships carry cargo or how ships operate or how french fries are made in the factory. These days, we are watching these videos with kids to keep them away from cartoons and games in tablet :-)

So that's how I planned to engage my kids for this holidays.

What activities did you plan for the holidays for your kids? Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,






Image courtesy: www.pixabay.com, google image labeled with non-commercial reuse.
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