DIY Lego Room...sort of

     My son loves Legos. I like legos, but his need to purchase one every time we are out is close to insane. Anywho, being the thoughtful mom I am, I decided to make his new bedroom into a Lego room.

Here are the steps I took:

1.  Paint the room lego colors. I also put lego decals I bought from www.etsy.com.  I love that site!

Of course, you can always make a 3d version and put actual legos on the walls with command strips perhaps. You know, in case you have some extra legos lying around on the floor...

2.  I made a lego switch plate cover.  I put the legos on paper to stabilize them once I started stacking them according to the size and space needed for the switches.   I almost got frustrated with how fragile it could be.  I also used craft glue to get them to stay on the paper.  Don't worry, it is NOT THE KRAGLE! (Lego movie term) It can easily be taken off.  Then, I used Command strips to hold this on the switch plate.

 3.  Something else that would enhance the feel of a lego room is a life-size version, so I turned his drawers into a large double sided lego.  I used round styrofoam, painted it the same color, and used (aha, once again) Command strips to attach them.  (Who knows? He may just want to use the drawers even after his lego phase.)

I did end up changing the setup a few times. I eventually had them 3 in a row vertically.

4.  I had a window seat cushion that I thought I was going to buy. I never found a lego window seat.  So I did the next logical thing and decided to make one myself.  I went to a fabric store and decided to buy fabric with legos on it.  Unfortunately, they did not have it. So the next logical step for me was to buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (my son's second favorite theme) fabric. I also bought flat mattress topper foam.  I also discovered Stitch Witchery.   Maybe I am late with finding out, but I love this stuff!

So basically you place the Stitch Witchery in between your fabric and a damp cloth on top and then iron it a few times until it seals.  No need to sew! I ironed it a few times to make sure all the crazy jumping and dancing my son may do on this cushion wouldn't open it.

I also added circles of the fabric on top to make it scream LEGOS.

5.  Finally, I placed things around the room with a lego theme.  I used an actual box of legos as an end table.  I bought a bean beg with Lego Tetris.  I used lego bed sheets.  I got a lego table with a cover for those days he may want to draw instead.

This may not be the best lego room ever, but it worked for my son.  Hopefully, this can give other lego lovers some ideas.
Interestingly, I started feeling sad when I was done.  Who knows? Maybe I will put up framed lego posters. As for now, 7,000 laundry loads are calling me. Ta-ta!

10 Ways Parents Are Superstars

Some PM (Positive Motivation):

Parents=Superstars

1. We can go into stealth mode at any given time during the night and tiptoeing around the noisiest floors, like superspies.

2. Our primary job is multitasking.

3. Without being trained like doctors or hospice workers, we can break bad news to kids with great carefullness.

4. Without law school, we can negotiate anything after being taught about it from our kids.

5. We can go much longer than other human beings without whole meals as long as our kids eat (or so we think).

6. We can pretty much make, do, shift, and cook all with one-hand.

7.  We have supersonic hearing (especially when things get ridiculously quiet and the kids are awake).

8.  We can clean the stinkiest diapers, beds, trays, and clothes all without expecting a reward for it.

9.  Entertaining our kids with OUR moves obviously makes us STARS.

10.  We live, learn and make our family our STARS.

Enjoy Your Week, Everybody!!!!!

Breakfast Food makeshift recipes

Looking for changing boxed recipes with everyday pantry items?

Here are some ideas that worked for me!

Semi-homemade strawberry banana muffins topped with blueberry glaze

- Mix 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract,  2 bananas, and strawberry muffin mix. Bake in muffin cups at 350 degrees for 17 minutes.

- Heat 1 cup of rinsed blueberries and 2 spoons sugar and a dash of honey until mixed well and pat down berries with a spoon until popped and boiling. (Taste the fruit! If it is too tart, you may need to add more sugar.)  Take off of stove and set aside to cool and thicken.  Pour glaze lightly on top of baked muffins. Yum!

Semi-homemade nutella banana berry muffins

-Mix 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 bananas, 1 heaping spoon of nutella (or other nut-free chocolate spread of choice),  and wildberry muffin mix and bake in muffin cups at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy! I know my kids did.

Mommy is fed up with the bruises

     As another Mommyism, I have come to realize I must look a wreck to other people. Maybe it is just me or just my body reacting, but does anyone else bruise so easily from everyday care of their kids? 

Sounds ridiculous, I know.

Over the past couple of months, I would get a random bruise and not know how it got there. No I am not a domestic violence victim. Unless you consider me married to my children. I almost started to wonder if it was an illness.  I finally figured out why I was getting these bruises.

My kids.

I would take my younger one who is in the phase of not liking diaper changes and she punches, kicks and rolls so I can't change her. Then there are other times I carry her down the stairs and she drops her book on my leg. You know, the hardcover heavy one. Or the time my older one "accidentally " got me while swishing his Star Wars light saber. And then,  there are the legos.

Yes THOSE. I am going to patent soft top ones one day.

Aaah, just another day of being a parent.

I think it is time for us parents to patent a bruise proof cover on ourselves, maybe with those pvc-free, rubber-soled, non-skid, fireproof foam padding. Then we can all walk around like sumo wrestler  wannabe millionaires!

Till then, good luck!

Hello, Life.

Hello there, philosophy.
Set some goals for myself.
Identity. The meaning of life. Friends. Peace. Better at being a mom and a wife.

What about you? Has there been a time when you have felt like this? Your plate is bountiful with blessings, but something is missing. No one else can find it for you. Everyone is pretty much doing all they can for you and your life. So what is this internal nag?

Working vs. stay-at-home mom.
Quality vs. quantity of time spent with your kids.
Exercise and die-hard health plans to elongate life vs. enjoying life to the fullest today; screw health because you might not be here tomorrow anyway.
Career vs job.
Money whore vs philanthropic work.
Long-term goals vs today's plan.

As humans, we certainly have enough push and pull fights in our brains before other personal issues arise.

It is like you are damned either way. Maybe it is my cynicism (go figure, the word I got wrong in my regional spelling bee), but I think our world has set us up wrongly.

Or ...you can choose to just be a good person and be unselfish as your day goes on. I guess that is it:  Live one day at a time and hope it goes well. 

Move the Coconut!

Yup, that's what my husband said. Smack in the middle of the night, talking in his sleep, while I nuzzled up to him under his arm. Do you know what he was talking about? I didn't, at first, either. Then, he started pushing against my head and saying it again, "Move the coconut." My jaw dropped to the floor and I was trying to figure out if I should be mad or start laughing horrified. I know I have long hair, but it is definitely not that coarse! I even asked him in the morning about it, and he doesn't even remember having said it. So it has been several years since that happened and I can manage to forgive him.

What does this have to do with me starting a blog?? Well, I was trying to think of how to start this. I mean, my ever-thoughtful brain, needed an outlet. Before this coconut falls off, I wanted to share my thoughts about life and grow these well-rounded coconut offspring right.

Life as a stay-at-home mom of 2 young kids/models.
Life as a wife of a second generation Indian American couple.
Life as a therapist and dance choreographer.
Life as a wellness researcher.
Life as a DIY-er.


Hopefully, I can connect with some of you on a higher level and I welcome any and all feedback!