Back to School!

School has reopened after a fun summer break and my son is more than excited to meet his teachers & friends!! He woke up early, wore his favourite T-Shirt, packed his bag & lunch (Pizza, his favourite!) and climbed into the car with a big smile! As I clicked a few pictures of my son with his new school gear (It's Disney Planes ~ Dusty this year :-) ) I paused for a moment realizing my little boy has grown up now & he knows that he is going to school! He was ready & looking forward to going back to school.

I will never forget the day when my little Mathew went to school for the very first time (September 10, 2013) It was the hardest thing I have done! I am the happiest when both my boys are with me & this was the very first time I have been away from him for 4 hours! As a mother I know that it is important to start school at the right age & schooling plays a very crucial role in my son's education. Back home you start kindergarten only after completing 4years.

In Qatar the 'right age' to start Preschool is clearly defined & I pondered over this for a long time before taking the 'big decision' to enroll my son in  Preschool at 3.5yrs (KG1). After a full academic year I am more than delighted with all that my little boy has learned in a positive fun environment. He has grown from being a toddler to an independent little boy. The Montessori environment is positive, holistic & helps in developing a strong foundation.

 I miss my boy when he is at school & my little fellow waits impatiently to pick up his big brother after school. Motherhood has many stages & sending your oldest child to school for the very first time has definitely been a big step for me as a mother. All said & done enrolling my little boy in school at the 'right age' has been the first big step to his education & an absolute must to create a strong foundation.
Looking forward to a fantastic school year!!

5 Things We Love About FIFA 2014!!

The Finals of the FIFA 2014 World Cup is just an hour away & the countdown for the most awaited match between Germany & Argentina has begun!! The World Cup Fever in Doha was fantastic & we can't wait till Qatar 2022 when the real deal is going to be happening here!! We as a family really enjoyed this football season & here is our top 5 favourite things about Brazil 2014!


# 1 Shakira's La La La Brazil 2014 Video!!

We love Shakira's La La La!! It's the coolest video that will take you straight to Brazil!! We love the song & the video and my boys enjoy dancing to this fantastic music!!
What makes this video even better is that it supports the World Food Programme that gives more children access to nutritious food & education!!


# 2 The Semi-Finals Between Germany & Brazil

The Semi-finals between Germany & Brazil was a one-of-a-kind match in the history of the World Cup!! Germany won with 7-1 goals that shocked the whole world watching the World Cup Semi-finals. I am a fan of both teams but Germany took this match to an extraordinary level of professionalism & team work!
A Big Thumbs Up for a match that World Cup History will never forget!


# 3 Football Fun at Souq Waqif

We had the wonderful experience of watching football on the big screen at Souq Waqif!! It was a fantastic experience watching the match open air at the Souq with hundreds of football fans! The huge HD2 screens, the people cheering & a huge World Cup Trophy all in the middle of a traditional Souq is absolutely the best way to watch the World Cup!!


# 4 The McDonald's Football Burger!

McDonald's launched the Brazil 2014 World Cup Burgers in the shape of a football!!!! How cool is that!! We love the way it looks & love the way it tastes too!! The football burger is definitely one of the most fun things to enjoy around town this season!


# 5 Doha loves Football!!

Everyone in Doha loves football!! People are dressed in Football T-Shirts, there are beautiful World Cup Trophies displayed around town & a big Fan Zone has been set up at Katara for Brazil 2014!!
Every mall has a football kiosk set up with photo-op boards & face painting! My boys are walking around in the Brazil 2014 T-Shirt & everyone is talking about football & nothing else!!
Brazil 2014 has been grrrrrrrrreat! Looking forward to the Big Finals tonight!!!

Bloomsbury's Cochin!

As expats the one thing we miss the most about Cochin is the food!! Every trip down we visit all our favourite restaurants & cafes without fail! Half our luggage back to Doha is food & we must be the only family that brings back a full cake with the works as hand luggage!! :-) :-)

 
During our recent visit to the fabulous Lulu Mall in Cochin we discovered one of the best pastries in town at Bloomsbury's Boutique Cafe & Artisan Bakery! Absolutely stylish & chic Bloomsbury's Cochin looks inviting the moment you see it!

 Our first visit to Bloomsbury's we ordered the best chocolate cake we have ever had till date & a perfect cup of cappuccino! They say the first impression is the best & we as a family found a new winner to our top favourite cafes in town!

Our second visit to Lulu was a short one so we decided to order a take away box from Bloomsbury's. The next time it was lunch & dessert. The time after some coffee & cake. Finally our last visit to Lulu at the end of our holiday was only to visit Bloomsbury's one more time!! :-)

 
The sophisticated & stylish interiors, the delicious menu & the fantastic pastries makes your dining experience delightful & something to look forward to! If you love pastries as much as we do head down to Bloomsbury's cause this is one of those chocolate cakes that you don't wanna miss!!   
    

SmallPrints!

 
I love Impressions of  Hand prints & Footprints, especially of my children!! I am sure all the mothers out there know exactly what I am talking about! :-)
We have done some beautiful hand & foot impressions of our boys on canvas, that we have put up on our wall at home! We call them little 'masterpieces' that we absolutely love looking at!
For Mother's Day this year my older son made me the most beautiful gift of his hand prints at school that I will always cherish & love!!

A few weeks ago I took my love of 'impressions' to the next level. Smallprints Keepsake Silver Jewellery was something that I always wanted! A Smallprints gift voucher was the perfect excuse to get my Smallprints Keepsakes done! I got both my boys hand impressions done on the most gorgeous charms that I can wear all the time!! :-) I would highly recommend Smallprints if you love impressions like I do cause I am thrilled & absolutely delighted with my Smallprint Keepsakes!

Summer Holiday Fun!!

My Preschooler's 1st ever Summer break starts today & I am so very excited!! I am one of those mums that miss my kids when they are at school & wait eagerly for them to get home! The Doha summer has started & the temperature did rise to 55 degrees the other day but I promised my boys we are going to have tons of fun & have a great summer!

I made a list of all the fun stuff we could do indoors to keep my boys active & enjoy their summer holidays!
 
1. Swimming!! There is no better way to beat the heat than to splash some water around in an indoor swimming pool! If you don't have access to an indoor pool get yourself an inflatable pool & have fun at home!

2. All kids loves to play with their friends so organize a play-date & invite your kids friends over!

3. Have an indoor picnic at home with games, activities & a picnic basket!

4. Do lots of fun Puzzles! My preschooler loves doing puzzles of different kinds!

5. Colour! Colour! Colour! You can introduce crayons/ water paints/ colour pencils/colour pens on different days & alternate between colouring book / canvas / large sheets of plain paper for your little ones to explore!

6. Bubbles! My boys love to play with Bubbles!!

7. Story Time is a wonderful way to spend some quality time indoor at any time of the day! During the holidays have more story time together!

8.  Pretend Play is one of the most fun ways to spark your child's imagination! My boys love to pretend to be in the Dinosaur Era, pretend to fly a rocket to space, ride horses & what not!!

 
9. Bake some cookies/ cake with your kids! You could get them to help you make a summer smoothie or fruit juice as well!

10. Activity Books & simple crafts are also constructive indoor activities that are a fun way to keep your children busy during summer!

We are all set to kick start our summer holiday!! The best way to plan some summer time fun is to think of stuff that you would have loved to do as a child!! Have a Grrrrrrreat Summer Everyone!!!

My Bamboo Puttu Kutti

My all time favourite Kerala Breakfast is Puttu!! Puttu is a dish of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut. It is usually served with Banana, Kadala ( Chickpea ) curry, Meen ( Fish ) curry, Chicken curry or Egg curry. Some enjoy puttu accompanied by sweet black coffee! My favourite side dish with puttu is a good scrambled egg with onions, tomatoes & green chilli made Kerala style!

I was gifted this really exotic Bamboo Puttu Kutti during my visit to Kerala & I have been totally fascinated by it! If you love puttu, you will understand my excitement! Puttu prepared in a Bamboo Puttu Kutti is complemented by the natural flavour of bamboo & coconut shell making it simply perfect!!
Bon Appétit
 

The Best Malayalam Movies of Recent Times!

A few years ago a post like this would have never existed in my blog! Don't get me wrong, but Malayalam movies were never my cup of tea & I would never recommend a Malayalam movie to any of my non Malayali friends! In the last 2-3 years there has been a total make over of the entire Malayalam film industry! When I first saw one of the 'new generation' Malayalam movies I walked out the theater in disbelief! I enjoyed the movie so much that I wanted to see it again! I told myself there could always be one exceptional movie in Malayalam! With high expectations I watched the next 'new generation' Malayalam movie & I was more than delighted! After watching much more than a few Fantastic Malayalam Movies recently I decided to give a standing ovation to the entire Malayalam Film Industry by recommending the best 5 Malayalam movies of recent times to everyone!! I have seen each of these movies several times & I would give them all a 5 star rating without a doubt!

Roma's Top 5 Best Malayalam Movies of Recent Times!

#1 Ustad Hotel (2012)

My favourite Malayalam movie of all times!! Everything about the movie is fantastic! My kids love this movie & I have lost count of the number of times we have seen it!!


#2 Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014)

Adorably cute movie! I particularly enjoyed the flash back as it was around the same time that I was completing my studies! The songs are absolutely fantastic!


#3 Thattathin Marayathu (2012)

Thattathin Marayathu holds the record for the most fantastic dialogs, music & songs!! I would call this movie the turning point in Malayalam cinema!


#4 Drishyam (2013)

The best plot EVER in a movie!!! Drishyam was the one movie that we all gave a standing ovation in the theater!
 

#5 Diamond Necklace (2012)

 An absolutely enjoyable movie that is taken very very well! Diamond Necklace is one of those evergreen family movies that you can see over & over again!


 

My Dentist!!

 My first post this year is dedicated to my husband a Periodontist (A Dental Specialist!)
I have always been afraid of dentists & the thought of a dental appointment gave me shivers up my spine!!
A dental clinic, the scary dental chair & the horrifying instruments would give me sleepless nights & a tummy ache! The very thought of a tooth extraction or fixing a cavity was worse than facing the toughest Math exam to me!
Then came the day when I announced that I am marrying a dentist! "A Dentist? A real Dentist?!" Everyone at home laughed for months together at the thought of me marrying "my biggest fear" as my dad puts it!! Our family dentist had a good laugh too!
We had a long engagement, got married, have two boys & all this while not a single dental problem....!
So all these years I never had to sit on the dental chair as a "patient" & have my dentist husband examine my teeth!

A few months ago I realized that I could feel my Wisdom Tooth at the back of my mouth. I was excited & asked my husband to take a look at my tooth at home. The moment he saw it he told me that it had to be extracted & it was only a matter of time before it gave me trouble! I suddenly got butterflies in my stomach. It was the same nervous feeling that I experienced when I was younger & had a dental visit. I tried to push my tooth extraction as much as I could.
Finally D day arrived & for the first time in all these years I sat on my husband's dental chair. The clinic atmosphere, the light on the chair, the instruments were all making me nervous but I decided for the very first time in my life to close my eyes & trust the man with the syringe & forceps in his hand. He promised me that he would never hurt me & I believed that.
"We're done!" he said smiling at me! I was shocked, excited & speechless! I didn't feel a thing! I didn't cry!
He made my biggest fear seem so silly & insignificant. I knew I wasn't afraid anymore.

People say its because I love him that I was not afraid anymore. His other patients would give testimony that he is the finest dentist they know. For me it was the day that I realized the perfection of his hands & work. This is my testimonial for the finest dentist that I have ever known, my husband.
I Love You with all my heart! May Jesus Bless Your Hands!