Roseola ......... scaryyyyyyy

Roseola, also called Sixth disease or Roseola infantum is a viral disease, generally mild and extremely common that affects children between 3 months and 2 yrs, caused by Human Herpes Virus 6. 

It is contagious and spreads when the child gets in contact with nasal secretions and saliva of infected children  when they laugh,talk, sneeze, or cough. 

It typically starts with a high fever (102-104) and ends with running nose and a  pink rash all over the body. The rash first appears on the trunk and then spreads to face, neck, back, arms and legs. The rash is pink and may have small flat spots or raised bumps. These spots may have a lighter halo around them and turn white if you press on them. The rash is not itchy or uncomfortableand contact with the rash itself doesn't spread the illness.  

The lymph nodes in the neck and at the base of the skull may also be a bit enlarged Other symptoms include  sore throat, stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhea.  A child with roseola may appear fussy or irritable and may have a decreased appetite. 

Repeat cases of roseola may occur, but they are not common. Tanvi got it twice in a month.There is no specific treatment for roseola. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and cool sponge baths can help reduce the fever. The disease usually gets better on its own without complications.

Oh my god..... the rash looks really scary. I donno where Tanvi got it from  (My gym or  Monkey Joes or the pool)?  :(

Ways to keep your little ones occupied....

I am constantly in search for ways to keep my little darling Tanvi, occupied and away from trouble so that I can do my work.

The ways that best worked for me are


1. Stacking cups  -  I bought her a  set of  stacking and nesting cups in Ikea and showed  her  how to stack and nest the cups. The stacking cups are a big hit with her, so I bought one more set of the Bruin cups at Toys R Us.












2. Finger puppets - I got a set of finger puppets  for Tanvi  to play in the flight  when we were travelling to India. She loves to play with them.









3. Animal figurines -  Tanvi  got a set of small animals figurines  as a gift from her grandma. They are great as we can teach the names of those animals. They don't have small parts that come loose and pose a choking hazard to the toddlers.








                                                                                                                                                                                                               4. Lollipops - Although an unhealthy treat, the sugary suckers sometimes come to the rescue when the child is fussy.

5. Balls and Balloons - Balls of different sizes and balloons of different sizes and shapes keep the child busy for a while.

6. Board books -  Tanvi loves to read  board books, so we go the local library to get some books and dvds.









                                                                                                 7. Ipad - I loaded my ipad with many apps for toddlers. She can unlock the ipad, play games, watch her photos and videos.

8. TV cartoons -  She loves to watch  cartoons on the TV. Lately i'm introducing her to Dora and Sponge bob cartoons. She loves the videos by Baby Einstein and Brainy baby.

 9. Doodle pad - She loves to scribble on the doodle pad and have fun.













10. Wooden peg puzzles - She got a wooden puzzle set as a return gift. She loves it and does it perfectly all the times. I bought a  set of 3 in Walmart.

Senagapappu payasam( split chick pea pudding).......yummy..........

It's Sharath's B'day on May 30th and mom made this yummy Payasam,

Here is the recipe.

Split chick peas   200gms 

grated fresh coconut 50gms

sugar  100gms ( or as desired)

milk      500ml           

elaichi powder 1/4 teaspoon

Boil the split chick peas and grind 3/4th of it into paste. Combine with grated coconut, milk and elaichi powder and let the mixture cook for 10- 15 min and then add the desired amount of sugar and let it boil for a few more minutes. 

Senagapappu payasam (split chick pea kheer) is ready.....

Its very easy to make and yummy to taste.

Farmville, an addictive game on Facebook

When I was very new to Facebook, I started exploring the features on the webpage. I noticed a post from  one of my friends requesting for a gift in Farmville. Out of curiosity clicked on the post and  played the game. It was  boring for the first time. So left the game and forgot  about it. One fine morning when I was checking the Facebook, I again found a post from the same friend. Remembering the first time I played, unwillingly clicked on the game's link. After a few minutes, I realized that it was very interesting, liked the concept and then on started playing the game very often.

Farmville, by Zynga games is an addictive game on facebook, where one has to plant the crops, raise the animals, grow the trees  and harvest them for coins and cash, build the storage  buildings and then level up. Many items can be bought with the coins which we earn by planting the crops and harvesting the animals and trees. A few rare items can be bought with farm cash which we rarely obtain while leveling up and so need to buy the farm cash with real money... yes, real money. Zynga makes millions of money on Farmville, believe me.
I started playing the game and wasted many hours of useful time. I want to  sell my farm to someone for  real cash :) , so that  I can get rid of the addiction for ever and now the auction for 106th level farm in Farmville starts now..............

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Starting Bid  USD 500 ..............
Come on............. friends its your turn in the auction............

My trip to the beautiful Alleppy in Kerala

                                                                                                                                                                                                             

While recalling my sweet  memories, I remember our trip to Alleppey by house boat. Alleppey  is a world famous tourist destination in India, known for its house boat cruises.



There are many beautiful houseboats, big and small in the Alleppey port.

 As soon as we reached the port, we were greeted by the captain of   the Angel Queen and offered a welcome drink and then the beautiful and memorable journey began.  We were amazed by the serene and  stand still water lagoons, flocks of Ducks, Coconut palms, little thatched houses  and people doing chores on the shore, boats carrying children to their school   as we cruised through the backwaters. We singed, danced  for sometime and enjoyed the nature while the  boat sailed slowly in the water and after  2 hrs in the backwaters, lunch with traditional Kerala dishes was served. After lunch, the captain stopped the boat near a small village. We walked through the paddy fields  enjoying  the fresh cool breeze and  chit chatted with  the local farmers about their life in Kerala. We returned to our boat, had dinner and spent the rest of the night in the boat. In the morning, we returned back to Alleppey port.



I highly recommend house boat cruise for a romantic vacation, especially for honeymooning..