Tulika, Author at Obsessivemom

29/03/201323/03/2020

Dinosaurs, Dragons and suchlike

This is definitely not the first from-the-sick-bed craft post. I find making something is a great way to take Hrit’s mind off his troubles. To cheer him up what else would we try but dinosaurs. .. something basic and easy.We got an Amul Cool can and cut out the top. This was a bit tough the first time round, then I got the hang of it. With a knife and hammer I managed to get the top off. If any of you knows a simpler way please do share it.

We covered it with green glaze paper.

Since it was to be a Stegosaurus we cut out the spines from card paper…

.. Hrit stuck them on.

Then the tail.. a curved one with zig zag edges.

Stuck that on too.

Then came the face,.. a simple oval, with googly eyes and a big smile.

We gave it a pair of feet, then stuck on some rounds of golden paper (which Hrit insists on calling ‘yellow ochre’ for some reason) and finally smaller drops with paint and it was done. As a bonus it holds pens and pencils too.

Hrit wasn’t entirely satisfied because the Stego didn’t look scary at all so next we did a dragon, a scary one. The face, the wings and legs came out of red card paper. We cut out a zigzag from white paper and stuck it on for ‘teeth’.

We even did a tail with a pompom at the end ‘with which it could hit out at its ‘enemies’.

After everything was stuck on it looked quite nice.

There they are.. the two of them.

Linking to Artsy Craftsy Mom

21/03/201315/04/2017

Jurassic Park

Dinosaurs are Hrit’s pet passion and last summer we made this Jurassic Park model. He sat at it for hours fixing the dinosaurs and when he realised it was taking too much time he distributed them to each member of the family. He come by every few minutes asking.. is it done?.. till everyone had to drop whatever they were doing and finish his task. Talk about persistence!

Finally it was done.

He loved it so much that later we made a ‘Jungle’ that had penguins rubbing shoulders with giraffes and deer cohabitating with lions. This time he managed to complete it almost by himself. Some animals lost their tails or a limb or two during the process but no one was complaining.

That’s my ‘J’ for the week at ABC Wednesday
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20/03/201315/04/2017

Report from the sick bed

After six days of illness.. Hrit is off to school today. Cough, cold then high fever, then ear infection and finally an upset stomach courtesy the antibiotics … that’s the way things go with Hrit each time. What’s worse between bouts of fever he is completely well. The challenge is to occupy him without tiring him out and that is a true challenge for an up and about child like him. The options are limited…..Reading, playing board games, crafting or watching television. Over the last few days we exhausted pretty much each of them.

He read and I read. From Dora to Dinosaurs.. we did them all. He watched hours of Doremon and Ninja Hatori till my ears protested. And we did craft. But that’s another post. So bored was Hrit that the other day I found him at our ninth floor balcony addressing an imaginary gathering in chaste Hindi. He said in a booming voice, “Aap sab log dhyan se suniye. Kal raat ek bahut bara bhoot aane wala hai. Main use maroonga. Aur koi ghar se bahar nahin aayega. Jo ayega mara jayega.”

Friends, Romans, Countrymen….

Yes well kids are allowed to do strange things when they’re unwell.

With all our attention focused on Hrit, Naisha’s been feeling left out. She fussed around Hrit alright.. getting him water, fetching his medicine, putting his dinner plate in the sink. She’s been a good good girl. However she made sure I ran all her errands for her. I had put away her dinner plate, help her get dressed and when she went down to play I had to follow with her bottle of water — a kind of ‘I”m not relinquishing claim to mum just because you’re ill’ thing.

I did the best I could … relaxing the rules for her each morning.. the toughest time of the day for her, going to school alone. So the glass of milk was smaller, the daily egg relegated to alternate days and she was given a ride to the washroom each morning… sigh! I wish I had some way of reassuring her that I loved her just as much as Hrit. And I’m so very glad she’s spared the frequent viruses that seem to stalk him all the while.

19/03/201315/04/2017

Krishna.. the best friend

I’ve often mentioned how Naisha loves Krishna.. Lord Krishna. She’s been enamoured of him for ages now. She loves all things ‘Krishna’. She draws Him all the time. She loves butter ‘just like Him’. She loves peacock feathers. He topped her list of five favourite things at school. Thanks to her we celebrate Janamashtami with great fervour.

Her favourite game involves hanging up dupattas to make a ‘temple’ and then lining up her barbies like devotees. I wonder whether Krishna would like his modern-day gopis.

That’s under our clothes’ stand

She shares her glares with Him.

He reciprocates by holding her bag when she needs Him to.

It’s quite a bond they have.

I’m not complaining. I’d much rather she be God-loving than God-fearing. Besides, her Krishna love’s stood her in good stead. He’s the one I remind her to call on to fight the imaginary demons under her bed at night or to ease her stage fright or when she’s unwell and hurting. He helps.

The other day she heard about Mira and wanted me to tell her the story. As I ended she asked, “Did Mira get to see Him.. really see him?” “Yes,” said an unsuspecting me and she burst into tears. Says she, “I also love him but I never get to see Him and Mira could. That’s not fair.” That was a tough one to handle.

The other day I found an old T shirt of hers ….

…. and gave it a face lift with her favourite motif.

Was she thrilled!

15/03/201315/04/2017

Moving On – 2

“Hrit switch off the gas stove,” “Answer the doorbell Naisha, if it’s the dhobi give him the clothes from the cupboard,” “Naisha, did you check the mailbox?” “Lay the table, Hrit, will you?” “Naisha hand me the towel,” “Make the bed, please”

From tiny helpless beings to contributing family members.. when did they grow up?