The first one I’m going to talk about is also the more recent one- a science and spiritual experiment Ish and I undertook these past ten days.

Before I get into the details, let me tell you how it started. Ish’s teacher at school was inspired by Daniel’s story from the Bible in which Daniel and his three friends were taken as slaves by the king of Babylon. When they saw that the king’s food (mostly meat) and wine had been offered to idols, they decided to eat lentils and vegetables instead. Despite that, they turned out to be much stronger and wiser than the other youth who ate meat and did not pray.

So this was an experiment for us to test if we feel the same. These were the rules:

Health:
1. No meat, fish or eggs
2. No dairy or dairy products including butter, cream etc
3. No juices or aerated drinks
4. No alcohol
5. No tea or coffee (exception: I did not quit my morning tea, but added soy milk instead of regular)
6. No Snacking. 
7. DAILY EXERCISE (40-60 minutes)

Spiritual/Bible
1. Very reduced amount of, or no TV. No movies or video games 
2. Praying at the beginning and end of the day. Praying before meals.
3. Reading spiritual literature, including the Holy Bible, and Bible stories for kids.
4. Sleeping not later than 11.00 for me and 9.00 for the kids.
5. Keeping Saturday reserved for rest, praying and family.

Well, we tried to follow the above rules as much as we could. I can’t say we were perfect, or even close to it, but the point is that we tried sincerely. The hardest thing was eliminating dairy products from our diets. No milk. No yogurt, cream sauce for pastas, or cheese.

The tv part was quite ok with me, but Ish needed constant reminders as he would sometimes join his brother while he watched their favorite show or when Ish would start watching a favorite movie. The good thing was that Ish would quietly move away or turn off the tv and start reading a book when reminded.

I tried a couple of new recipes-homemade granola bars and vegan carrot muffins- to accommodate our new diet plan.

What I liked was praying through the day. Being an agnostic, I did not know who or what I was praying to, but it was just nice to be thankful for the day, or for the food in front of me. Ish, on the other hand, had no reservations kneeling down and praying to Jesus

Oh, and one of the nicest thing was trying to fit in exercise in the day. I had a bout of vertigo followed by a bad cold, but I definitely exercised more than I would have if I was not following the experiment! Another great thing was not snacking. Occasionally, we had fruit if we were out (like when we went to the zoo) or when Ish was very hungry after returning from school, but mostly we had an early dinner.

Ish was happy today was the last day, but I am sure he will be proud of himself for finishing this experiment. I am so happy with the results, I think I will continue til the end of this year…

I hated her until an year ago… I couldn’t get how she manages to get everybody’s undivided attention, especially G’s. And then, I made peace with her during my stay in India. I realized she isn’t that bad after all. It’s fun to spend time with her, if you don’t get addicted.

Recently, I’ve started developing a dislike for her again, when I see how she devours G’s time on weeknights and weekends! I wish we didn’t have to compete with this fifth member for his attention. I wish we could play board games, have real conversations, get more rest, go play badminton in the park, bike around the town and do other outdoorsy stuff more often. It could all have been possible but for this ravenous time-eating…… thing!

I am talking about the Television.

Look, I have nothing against TV. I like watching it every once in a while. Ish and Emm watch get to watch their favorite cartoons for a little while almost everyday. On weekends, they turn on Bollywood movies or their favorite videos. Though, like most other Moms, I don’t have high regards for TV’s educational value, I would never ban it completely from my kids’ lives.  Like most other things in life and in parenting, moderation is the key here too.

If I can teach my kids self-control when it comes to watching TV and playing video games, I will consider myself a somewhat successful parent. Oh, and I’m pretty confident their life partner will thank me for eternity…

Anyway, so here is what I did…

I got these:

A round piece of paper [cover of a take-home container; you can use a paper plate]

A plastic lid with the flat part cut out

Scissors

Printed paper

Glue and

A brad

[The small yellow piece you see is a double-sided tape which I ended up not using]

I did this:

Cut printed paper to size and glued it to the round piece of paper. Layer the paper and plastic and insert the brad in the center. Tighten the brad as needed so the cards don’t fall out.

Here’s  what we made:

It is such an irony that cheesecakes look like such complicated things to make, but happen to be so simple to create. You can make one in a jiffy with your kids provided you have the right ingredients. The one we made this week is the no-bake, no-gelatin kind, and needs to stay refrigerated right until it is eaten, which shouldn’t be a problem - you’re going to finish it really quickly!

SO here goes:

Easy Peasy Cheesecake

[Adapted from Mom and Me Cookbook by Annabel Carmel]

You’ll need:

1 stick [8tbsp] butter

8 oz [250 g] graham crackers

16 oz [450 g] cream cheese

1 cup superfine sugar

1 2/3 cups whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make it:

1. Put the Digestive biscuits in a Ziplock bag. Make sure the bag is shut tight. Use a rolling-pin to roll and crush them into crumbs.

2. Melt the butter in a pan. Pour the crushed biscuits into the butter and stir thoroughly.

3. Line an 8-inch [20cm] cake pan [one with a removable base] with plastic wrap. {We used cupcake molds lined with cupcake liners.} Spoon in the biscuit mixture, press flat with a masher or your fingertips, and refrigerate.

4. Mix together the cream cheese, superfine sugar and vanilla extract. Whip the cream separately until stiff, then fold it into the cheese mixture.

5. Spread topping on the cracker base.

Leave the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

The original recipe is a raspberry ripple cheesecake, but Ish being a fan of all-things-vanilla, wanted only plain cheesecake. Ish still doesn’t try any other ice cream except vanilla, which is the exact opposite of Emm’s tastes who goes for the MOST colorful and bright flavor in the display section of an ice cream parlor.

Ish was not happy with the change in presentation either. He took a long time before finally agreeing to the cupcake style setting of the cheesecake. The next time I’ll make the cheesecake in a regular cake pan lined with cellophane.

Hope you enjoy the cheesecake with your kids…

Monday- English, Badminton @ the Park

Tuesday-  Art, Konwen Math class [Ish], Gymnastics Class[Emm]

Wednesday- Learning Project, Playground

Thursday-  Hindi, Konwen Math Class [Ish], Chinese class [Ish and Emm]

Friday- Outing

Saturday- Swimming

If you’ve read my blog before and have not stumbled upon it searching for posts about Pinewood Derby Cars or Rangoli [which is how most readers get here anyway], and if I gave you the impression that I’m a really nice, efficient, on-top-of-things kind of Mom, I’m sorry to tell you that I definitely don’t feel like that at the moment.

And all this while I thought I’ve been more like this Mom, which, by the way, makes me a “natural” parent.

Labels or not, I let the kids play the way they liked even if it meant an extremely messy house, because they will pass this age only once.

Because tomorrow, they might not think about creating a tent with a million pillows, bed sheets or stuffed toys; or about cooking up a dream lunch with play dough; or help in the kitchen; or experiment with bubbles in the bathtub; or make that perfect Lego army tank for which they of course need *every* Lego piece in front of them.

I always have one-on-one talks with them, because for me each of my boys is a person – smaller in size but equal in potential and wisdom to all of us.

My home has a democratic framework, and that’s the way I always wanted it!

But today, I feel exhausted. I’m tired of picking up after the boys. I don’t like arguing and explaining so many thing. I’m finding the kids scream at me a lot [my parents shudder at the way Ish talks to me sometimes].

Just the other day, I sent Ish out of the house for a time-out when he called me an “a*s” in Hindi. The exact translation would be a “donkey”, but in Indian culture, donkeys are stupid, not cute. Of course a lot of people including G would say, “I told you so”, because if you treat kids like adults, they are going to talk to you like they are adults, right?

So I’m going to end this post on a low note. Today, I am a confused Mom. I admit, this is not the first time I’ve questioned my parenting abilities, and I know  it won’t be the last. But, I know from experience that I will bounce back. It might need a few phone calls to my dearest friend and fellow-Mom in Taipei, or to my Sister or my Mom.  I might need to read a book or two [I'm thinking about How to Talk so your Kids will Listen, and Listen so your Kids will Talk - I always feel better after a few pages].  I know the storm will pass and I will be back to being me, albeit a bit stronger and more confident as a mother.

But at the moment, I am a confused Mom, and I will leave it at that…

Ish and Emm had a good time painting with acrylic colors on their shirts. The markers were not so easy to use on the t-shirt cloth, but I think they did a decent job:

Happy Mother’s Day to You!

Hike to Tianmu trail:

Fine Arts  Museum:

Springtime in Taipei

Entrance to the Fine Arts Museum is free. There are gift stores and restaurants inside. Photography is not allowed in most parts, but it’s always better to ask the staff as you might miss good picture-taking opportunities in areas where it is allowed.

This was part of an exhibition for children, i think. The structures around Ish are made of recycled paper. There were hands-on interactive displays about….

                                            …feeling different parts of a mountain

                        …. connection between paintings, colors and feelings

                               …and the technique of layering in oil paintings.

Another exhibition that Ish really appreciated was the one in which the painter used hand-made paper, chalk and charcoal to create an interesting effect of sillouhettes. There was a huge photo exhibition of the ROC’s 100 years. It was basically  a chronological display of Taiwan’s recent history through pictures. It was interesting to see various art forms at the museum.

Next time we hope to cover the Monet exhibition.

We had to get on a bus to get to our car as parking is hard to find due to the Flora Expo. I like the way various parts of the city have gotten a face-lift due to the Flora Expo.

Ish was not so keen on going as he knew there would be crowds. Crowds and noise is something he cannot take, but due to lack of babysitting options and in the hope that he will like it once he’s there, I took him along with me. A look at the entrance and all my hopes were doomed. It seemed like a million people had chosen that very moment to enter the premises from the Yuanshan MRT station!

Ish refused to pose for any pictures

Emm and I started joking about how Ish will hit the roof now that the crowds were way more than what we expected. We happily discussed how we’re all going to be miserable because of Ish’s forthcoming tantrum. Well, the humor did work. At least for a while…

The sheer number of people at the venue reminded of a Chinese phrase describing crowds which translates as “People Mountain People Sea”.

Ish took pictures of flowers:

Emm played happily all along with his friend. They especially enjoyed playing with water in the Taiwan area.

The Thai Pavilion was really pretty:

Luckily, we had gotten our own lunch and escaped the crowds at the eating joints in and around the Expo. We took a small break on the ground to finish our ham and egg sandwiches. Some smart and experienced people carried stools and picnic blankets with them. Those who didn’t managed with the large maps given out at the venue.

As the sun shone higher and brighter, Ish lost patience. He got angry, abusive and cranky. Some drink machines were empty and there were long lines for getting drinks from others. A refreshing ice lemon tea could not do the trick either and we decided to call it a day. Our friends stayed on while we quickly made our way to the exit to hail a cab back home.

I’ll remember to arrange a child minder for Ish the next time we plan an outing to a crowded venue.