NO - Possibly the most used word by a parent.

Never say No? - An interesting post by Cee Kay on how to say "No" with a postive attitude to kids and why "No" should nt be over used.

Yes, we'll buy that toy some other time.
No, we can't buy that toy right
now.

Yes, you can have potato chips as soon as you finish this cucumber.
No
you cannot have potato chips. you have to finish this cucumber first.

Yes, we will go to the park as soon as you finish your dinner.
No, we
aren't going to the park until you finish your dinner.

Yes, I'll give you candy after you finish your lunch.
No, you cannot
have candy. Finish your lunch first!

And more recently -
Yes, we will think about getting you a laptop
when you are a little older.
No, you cannot get a laptop until you are a
little older.

And,
Yes, an iPod sounds fun, but we'll think about it.
You can't
have an iPod for Christmas. We'll have to think about it first.

Letter to a darling daughter.

Inbavallis honest and heart warming letter to her daughter.

You,
Kutty, are MY baby. Baby not just in the sense of “infant, offspring” but also
in the sense of “idea, enterprise, project”. I insisted that you be made,
retained and delivered. You are here despite the fact that well-meaning
relatives and an anxious obstetrician recommended against you. You are here
simply because I wanted you.

Shes one lucky girl, Inba! :)

Kudos to Kausalya!

Heres an Indian Mommy all set to launch her first book this month. Kausalya, who briefly blogged about her son Babykins at Ammaforever.blogpsot.com, is out with her debut novel - The TamBrahm Bride. Hearty Congratulations to Kousalya and wishing her loads of luck with the book.

For more information on the book and the author, visit http://thetambrahmbridebook.blogspot.com/

Class 8 student shot dead by a class 10 student in MP.

Too bad we had to start a brand new year with the news about two women molested by a mob in Mumbai. And now this. Another school shoot out. My grandma used to say "What is the World coming to?" quite often when I was a kid. Now its my turn I guess!

In a shocking
incident, an eighth class student of a government school in Satna district
of
Madhya Pradesh was killed on Thursday when his senior schoolmate
allegedly shot
at him in the school premises in the second such crime in the
country in a
month.

News via Rediff.

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year to all the readers!

ps.
No prizes for guessing but the resolution is of course to write more posts. :)

Child Swapping.

When this piece of news came in the Parent Center Newsletter today in my mail box, my stomach just flipped.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Two boys, one Saudi and one Turkish, will swap homes four years after a hospital gave them to the wrong parents, a Saudi newspaper said Wednesday.

"Mistakes are always possible, but we will try to find who was responsible and hold them to account so it doesn't happen again," Prince Mishaal bin Saud, governor of Najran in the far south of the kingdom, said in comments in al-Watan newspaper.

Saudi health authorities had been reluctant to accept the Turkish father's claim that his son Yacoub was not his, but DNA tests carried out this week proved him right.
Published pictures show a distinctly Saudi-looking Yacoub.

The father of the other child, Saudi national Mohammed al-Monjem, had no inkling that pale-skinned Ali was not his. He will press a 50 million riyal ($13 million) compensation claim against the health ministry, al-Watan said.

Courtesy: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071107/od_nm/boys_swap_dc

Of course I had to drag Hd and put him in this situation and ask what he would do. He of course knew he was getting into trouble and said that he saw Ashu coming out of me and hence he ll never be in this situation technically! Men! Anyway, after much prodding he said he ll swap if that's what the other parents want! WHAT? Who cares what anyone wants? What do you want, Dude? You mean you will just give up Ashu just because shes not biologically yours? Now he knew for sure he was in trouble and said he had no choice and turned the table and asked what I would do. Hah, that's easy! I ll take Ashu and disappear from the face of the Earth! Why would I give her up? So he tried to make me feel guilty about abandoning my biological child. But then, its all Math, is nt it? 9 months in my tummy Vs 2 1/2 years of being together every single day and seeing the child blossom. Tough but then that's what came to my mind instantly.

What would you do?

Happy Diwali!

Dhamaaka Diwali Wishes to all the Mommies and their families! Wishing you all a wonderful year ahead!

Click here to see some wonderful Diwali cards done by Children from the UK which they sent to the BBC. The above picture is one of them.