I have been getting a lot of DMs asking the details about how I DIYed this theme for Shaarav's 3rd birthday. And I know I'm super late in creating this post but what can I say this is how busy this #workingmom 's life is these days.

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To start with I looked into pinterest for some theme ideas for our "Jungle Safari" theme and got a few which I improvised a little with my own ideas to create this theme. So, when I had a picture in mind of what I wanted the decor to look like and the elements I wanted in it next I did was to decide on the colour combinations and accordingly I jotted down the things that I needed to make them.

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I live in a small town with limited resources so I decided to keep it to things which could be easily available in the market. So I went for coloured chartpapers.

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For the leaves, I had downloaded the leaf pattern from the internet and printed them on coloured sheets. To avoid monotony I opted for two types of green and to give the leaves some dimension I curled their ends with pencil (some outwards and some inwards).

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The tree bark I did in black because I couldn't get my hands on a brown coloured chart paper. It has been assembled in parts and has been drawn freestyle to make it look as natural as possible.

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Similarly, the animal cutouts have been drawn in parts on chartpapers and assembled together.

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For the banner I've used the one I received as a part of a personalized book order we did for Shaarav from @mynamequest . For sticking all the elements I've used cellotape because double sided tapes tend to spoil the wall and so does fevicol.

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The theme coordinating party props are courtesy from my brother who drew, coloured and cut them out of cardboard.

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I hope I haven't left out the details. If more queries or questions please do let me know.

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I had been meaning to share with you all my last big project which was Shaarav's birthday but couldn't find the time. But better to be late than never, so starting with this I'll be sharing some of Shaarav's birthday pics in the next few posts and I'm hoping to get you likes and comments on the same.

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THEME FOR SHAARAV'S 3RD BIRTHDAY!

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Choosing the theme for Shaarav's birthday was not an ordeal for us this time too. The 'THEME' had to be 'JUNGLE SAFARI' looking at his undying love for wild animals this year, be it lion, zebra, hippopotamus, monkey or giraffe.

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He named it and we tried to incorporate it in the frame.

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But choosing the colours for the theme definitely was an uphill task because his favourite colours change everyday. So we mostly stuck to 2 colours - Yellow and Green.

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This time I went a little overboard with the decor, though not spending much since everything is DIY, the grasses as well.

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Shaarav's 'jumping with joy' reaction was the best reward for my hardwork.

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Special mention to Mr. Husband Kartik Kujur, my sisters Swati Kachhap Surabhi Kachhap Swasti Kachhap and brother Naman Kachhap for lending a helping hand for the decorations.

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Do mention in the comments if you liked our decor idea for our kiddo's birthday.

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P. S. Don't forget to spot the special entry in the frame on request - the famous "Ladybird" from Julia Donaldson's "What the Ladybird Heard" series of books which Shaarav's loves to listen to again and again.

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For this week's read, we picked this wonderfully illustrated picture book by Katie Stileman (which is said to be rivalling that of the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle) called "Peely Wally".

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This super adorable book is a cute little story of a little bird called Peely Wally whose egg rolls away from high up in a tree after she jumped with joy for laying a perfect egg. This superbly engaging book is about the adventurous journey of her egg through a loopy dotted path which the kids can trace passing from one animal to another until finally it reaches back to Peely Wally. Shaarav had fun tracing the dotted line to see where the egg finally landed and wanted to do it again and again.

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With lots of animals to spot and talk about and a butterfly to find on each page this book has a cute little special surprise at the end which is the star attraction of the book. Shaarav just loved discovering the surprise and was super thrilled to know about it. This book is suitable for toddlers aged 2-6 years who love animals and birds.

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❤❤❤ BLOGGED ❤❤❤

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The Dilemmas of Being a Working Mom

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Parenting is full of personal choices and a recent life-changing choice that I have made is joining work. I am now a full-time working mom.

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Why life-changing you may ask?

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I have said this time and again, yet I reiterate that nothing can fully prepare us for becoming a mother despite our best efforts and regardless of the tireless pursuit of preparing for being one. When being a mom itself is difficult considering the constant, demanding and exhausting nature of the job, let alone being a stay-at-home mom or a working mom. It’s no easy feat keeping another human being happy and healthy reckoning how uniquely complicated raising these little humans is no matter how well we contemplate the minutiae of motherhood. And as much as it may sound exaggerated I have found being a working mom much of a heroic feat.

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When I joined work I was quite sure I could handle both career and motherhood without breaking a sweat given the fact how resourceful I considered myself. But each day as I navigate through the myriad of daily struggles, juggling work and family responsibilities, I find myself overwhelmed. Life feels like a race and every day is a battle against the clock. Trying to complete household chores sticking to a schedule with a toddler and finding the strength to entertain a toddler after a long tiring day at work seems a formidable task.

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But the one thing that stood out from all this mental churning was that if I am happy on the inside, I am emphatically going to be happy on the outside.

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So, now the question arises, am I happy?

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Yes, indeed. I am thankful for the opportunity regardless of the frequent bouts of guilt. But, financial independence having a job entails is what I am really happy about. I am happy that I can now contribute to the household income. I am happier with the feeling of accomplishment being a working woman brings. And I am happiest with the opportunity that being a working mom presents for making my son understand the importance and virtue of hard work and why it’s important to chase your dreams and make them true.
Read the complete post on my blog cloudandsunshine.com.

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https://cloudandsunshine.com/2019/09/26/the-dilemmas-of-being-a-working-mom/

IT'S JUST A PHASE

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Early motherhood years are tough and trying. And as much as young kids act as stress busters, in an inexplicable way,; they are also a kind of stress givers too.

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Of late he has become an obstinate child with a violent temper. He refuses to budge if he isn’t given what he wants.

I have been that mom who has tried to handle the situation by love, persuasion, diversion, or even resorting to more uncalled for means like shouting and screaming. I’m not particularly proud of them, but sometimes things do tend to go a little out of hand calling for more serious action when nothing else works.

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And believe me, no amount of reasoning works with a headstrong almost three-year-old. And of late I have been talking and shouting and screaming so much that I have begun to get irritated at the sound of my own voice. Why does motherhood have to involve so much talking? Not that I’m complaining or I don’t love talking but it is insane how much talking motherhood involves every day.

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Motherhood is unlike any other job in the whole world –;you never get off the clock.;But then, there’s no better job than motherhood. After having legitimately worn out at work and having a frustrating episode of mothering with my unreasonable toddler in addition to having a hotchpotch of other confusing mothering feelings, when my little one snuggles into me finding comfort in my arms I feel perplexed from a feeling of contrastingly mixed emotions.

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There’s no denying that parenting is tough and motherhood is indeed confusing but what’s also true is the love. So even when I’m stressed with responsibilities that come with helping this tiny human grow up the way I’d like him to, I constantly need to remind myself to enjoy this phase because I won’t be having these same worries once he grows up a little.

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I want my motherhood to be coloured and shaped with the right kind of choices that I make and the right kind of attitude that I bring in with me.;And for that, I need to keep reminding myself that in the grand scheme of things it’s really just a phase.

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Read the complete post on my blog https://cloudandsunshine.com. 

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