The Shamrock NotionsUpdate Your Mommy Checklist
Posted on November 7, 2017
Hey Mums! How are you all doing? In the middle of all the work, parenting and your regular chores..take a moment and pat yourself on the back. Just know that what you are doing for your kids, no one else can and that makes you the best Mom in the world!
This post is for new moms and moms who have been moms for quiet a while now 🙂
If you get lost somewhere in the middle of your daily routine and feel like whenever you step out with family, you either forget the wipes or extra clothes at home for the little one or maybe you forgot to carry extra water..I know this can be overwhelming and its perfectly okay to forget at times (though it seems like the end of the world most of the times).
A well-stocked diaper bag can save the day. But what do you really need in there? It depends on how old your child is, how long you’ll be out, where you’re going, and how prepared you want to be or like to be.
Let’s look at the basics. You can print this out and put it somewhere on the fridge or on your baby’s cupboard so that you don’t forget anything.
The essentials
Diapers
One for each hour you’ll be out, plus a few extra – just in case.
Wipes
You can stick ten or so in a plastic bag if you’re not going out for long. Wipes are perfect not just for diaper changes, but also for sticky hands and dirty surfaces.
Hand sanitizer
For cleaning your hands after diaper changes when there’s no time or place to wash them.
Changing pad
Many diaper bags come with a reusable changing pad, or you can buy one separately. Some parents like the disposable ones for traveling. A hand towel from home will also do.
Plastic or biodegradable bags
For storing soiled diapers, clothes, and baby blankets. Just make sure your child can’t get to them, since plastic bags (including the biodegradable versions) pose a suffocation risk.
Snacks for old babies and toddlers.
Very useful when you can’t stop in the middle of nowhere to feed your little one. Could also prove beneficial to soothe a tantrum or unnecessary crying while you are driving.
Sippy cup of milk, water, or juice (for toddlers)
Extra clothes for your child
You never know when spit-up, drool, spills, or poop explosions will necessitate a change of clothing.
Blanket
You can use it to cover your baby or as a changing pad, nursing cover, bib, shade, or burp cloth. Always comes in handy.
Moving on from Bag Essentials to Mommy and Me Essentials.
Most of the time we forget the little things that are actually the most important things on a parents checklist. I say this for Moms and Dads, both. These are more for older kids. I have three of my own, two girls (7 and 2.5) and one boy (1 year old).
- Your kids need tons of hugs and kisses.
- Say I love you to your kids at least 3 times a day.
- Ask them how their day was?
- Use polite words and set an example for your child to follow.
- Let your child choose what he wants to eat when you dine out.
- Ask about your child’s friends.
- Tell them you are proud of them.
- Encourage them to help with chores around the house starting with cleaning up their own toys and colours.
- Do one activity together each day, be it coloring, painting, cycling, skating, reading or anything at all.
Your kids are watching you two more than they watch anyone else. Make sure you leave a good example for them to follow. Say I love you to your partner in front of your children, they need to see and feel that. Hug each other. Smile at each other. Respect each other. Make time for each other.
If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.
Much love!
Being a parent
Posted on September 5, 2017
Parenting isn’t easy..it is the hardest but the most rewarding, the most beautiful experience of our lives. It comes with the most insane unexpected challenges as well as moments that literally fill our hearts with so much emotion and happiness that it seems unreal.
I’m Sonya and I’m a Mom of three wonderful children. I had my first kid when I was 25..My eldest is 6, younger than her is 2 and a half and the youngest just turned 1 yesterday. That makes it two girls and one boy. If I could sum up my life in a few words. I would say my life is beautiful! and it’s beautiful because of these three amazing little humans in my life.
I’m literally on a roller coaster every single day of my life and I’m sure many of you can relate to it. In the middle of waking them up, preparing breakfast, packing lunch boxes, sending one to school, keeping the other two entertained at home, getting the house cleaned up, making lunch, getting the laundry out of the way, ironing, putting the little one to sleep like almost 5 times a day, changing pampers, washing bottles, dealing with tantrums, sibling fights, guests, evening activities, story times, homework, cartoon time, showers, fixing cupboards, doing the dishes, making dinner, wiping tears, healing the bruises, giving lots of hugs throughout the day, making beds, keeping things around the house organized at all times, grocery, let’s not forget the criticism we get from everywhere and countless other things that I can’t even think of right now because by the time I’m done I feel like my brain has stopped working. This is the life of a Mom..that’s just how it is. No I’m not a perfect pinterest Mom, I’m a regular Mom who is on the verge of tears at least once a day but still puts a huge smile on her face and moves on embracing the beauty of it because hey! that’s what real parenting feels like. Would I change anything about it? No! I love my kids sooooo much that its impossible to explain.
It’s A LOT of hard work..it is also A LOT of fun!! I mean would you want to miss even a single smile or giggle or mischief or anything at all that comes with the whole parenting package. My 2nd born asks 1 question like 50 times a day but what can I say..its clearly too important for that little human in my life 🙂
Once you reach that point where you feel like you totally messed up something..try talking to people who really can have a heart to heart. You need people in your lives who can listen, understand and then give you just the right boost to move on feeling better than ever. There is too much negativity in the world and parenting needs to be left out of it. You haven’t failed as a parent, it can be overwhelming at times..failure, success and the art of not failing are three separate things and we have the right to acknowledge them as separate entities. Failure is if my kids are in bed wondering if I love them.
You’re not failing if you’re 15 minutes late to school.
You’re not failing if you had cereal for dinner Or if you felt like you needed to run away..there will be days when you will wonder if you’re even cut out for parenting. It’s not success, but, it sure isn’t failure. It’s human and it’s ok. There is no such thing as perfect parents, so just be a real one. There are all kinds of parents in the world but there is no such thing as a bad parent. Let’s stop being so judgmental. Let parents be!
At least 10 times a day, I wonder what I’m doing wrong and completely disregard everything I’ve done right but then again that one thing that I did right overshadows everything else and helps me sleep peacefully…by the way isn’t it beautiful just watching the little ones sleep 🙂
Parenting truly brings out the best in us. As they say until you’ve wiped a tiny butt clean, you wouldn’t know what love is. So if any of you is feeling a little low today, fess up. Take a 15 minute break and then carry on being a parent. If you need to talk I’m here 🙂
HUGS
Weekend Chit Chat
Posted on June 17, 2017
Hey everyone! Hope Ramadan is going well for you all. I have not really been MIA just crazy busy with my little ones and home. Gosh we don’t realize how much of an effort goes into our days and nights. It’s only when you get time to be by yourself and really breath, is when you get to ponder over the fact that it’s a lot of work. So all the people out there, men or women, who take out so much of their time to be with their families and do anything and everything to make them happy, Hats off to US! 🙂 I do however try to stay active on Instagram so that I stay connected with you all. For those of you who are not on my Instagram can follow me, my ID is sonyalee1. Let’s connect! 🙂
For those of you who don’t know yet, the official page for Wings & Strokes is www.facebook.com/wingsandstrokes. You can find Wings and Strokes on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and YouTube.
Moving on let’s talk about the weekend. Ramadan has us all busy here, but I do have to point out that it relieves us of the daily task of preparing lunch for the family. I still have to prepare something for the kids of course.
This weekend has been extremely lazy, I fell very sick and that drained me of the much needed energy. Still managed to take the kids out for a bit, they deserve a break as much as we adults do. Found some really neat things for the house (i’m obsessed with my home and home decor) you can easily call me The Desperate Housewife, most of my friends call me that. Watched a great movie with my kiddies, it’s not something new but definitely worth it. It’s called Game Plan. It’s super cute and my older one loved it. The Rock really does justice to his character and I adorrrrrrred him in this one. Parenting is indeed the most beautiful thing on earth. I feel fortunate to have been blessed with wonderful children who make my world beautiful and my life worth living. I hope and pray that I can help them become worthy people as they grow up.
Also I wanted to tell you that I am starting a new section in the blog talking about everything related to ‘Home‘. Really excited about that. I spend most of my time at home with my children. I have been working from home as well. As this is the place where I spend most of my time, I find myself doing something or the other throughout the day. This is something I’m very passionate about so expect a lot of home related posts. (Like seriously)
Big question for you all. I know most of you open W&S on your phones but I wonder if you have had the chance to open it on your desktops or laptops? Do try it once, and let me know what you think of the layout of the blog. I think you might just like it more, I prefer to open it on laptop (self obsession, yesss). So the weekend ends here in UAE tomorrow and begins in most parts of the world. What are your plans? I plan to lose weight lol but then again that’s what I plan everyday 😉
Some of my friends want me to put my name on the posts which I never do as I didn’t really want this to be about me but I feel that it’s good to connect, it’s “time” to connect! I have been blogging for two years now, Wings & Strokes is two years old, I have neatly kept my name out of it for this long and spoken about people and things that inspire me. Even though I don’t post regularly these days but I promise to fix that so we get to know each other more. Thank you for visiting, reading and staying for a bit. Means the world to me!
Enjoy the weekend!
Love,
Sonya
Back to school checklist!
Posted on August 24, 2016
Summer comes to an end! For parents its the beginning of their child’s academic year. As exciting as it is, it can be stressful. Of course we don’t want everything to be done at the very last minute so we made a checklist to help us accomplish it all before the first day!
- Make sure your child is properly registered for school, particularly if he or she is going to a new school.
- Ensure that your child is finishing (and finishing well) any summer homework that has been assigned.
- Schedule doctor and dental appointments before the school starts. Many kids need certain immunizations before school starts. For little ones it could be problems like cavities, new tooth etc. that needs attention as you most certainly don’t want them missing out on anything because of a toothache.
- Get any school supply checklists from your child’s school. (Many schools post them on their school websites.)
- Confirm any before and after school care that your child needs during the school year so that you don’t have any surprises on the first day of school.
- Plan some play dates for your child before school starts. Often kids get disconnected from their school friends during the summer because they don’t see them every day. Help them reconnect by inviting old school friends over to play.
- Schedule a haircut for your child if you haven’t already done so. Trust me your little ones will definitely feel more excited about going to school if they know their hair looks new too
- Visit your child’s school; find your child’s classroom. Look for the cafeteria, the bathroom, the gym, the outdoor playground, and the front office. Anxiety goes down when kids get the chance to walk around a school before it starts.
- Help kids clean up their rooms. Many become disasters over the summer. Now is the time to get them organized so that your child can easily find his or her clean clothes. My 5 year old actively helps me clean up her room, we change the layout of the room sometimes to keep things interesting.
- Store school supplies in an easy-to-locate place.
- Start changing your child’s sleep and eating schedules to match the school’s schedule. Most kids have gotten into a summer schedule where they sleep in late and eat breakfast and lunch at odd hours.
- Fill out all school paperwork. Parents often get flooded with forms from the school, either before school starts or right after it does.
- Create a route for getting to school. Even if your child rides a bus, get a copy of the bus schedule and follow it with your car. That way your child can see where the bus goes and where it stops. (Some kids get very anxious about their bus routes, particularly if they have to change buses or the bus stops at multiple schools.)
- Take your child grocery shopping. Together, find healthy foods for snacks and school lunches.
- Create a homework space. Find a place for your kids to do homework. If it’s a designated space for homework (such as a desk in their room), help them set it up with supplies. If it’s a shared space, create a folder, backpack, or box where they can keep track of their homework supplies.
- Set up a homework time now. Get kids in the habit of reading books during the homework time so that when school starts, they’re ready to start doing homework again.
- Get excited about school starting. When kids see that you value education, they’ll be more apt to value it as well.
Post your checklist on the fridge. That way its always infront of you and you won’t miss anything important. Make good use of sales (if any) and get everything ready!
Our little ones won’t be so little after a few years so let’s cherish the time when we can still get excited about their new class and first days! and yesss!!! Take lots of photos!!
Much love!
W & S!
Celebrating Fathers!
Posted on June 19, 2016
They say, A father’s love is just as important to a child’s development as a mother’s, and sometimes more so. Father’s are unsung heroes! They work really hard to give us the life that we live and the person we become. Through all the joy, the love, the care…we want to take this day and cherish our fathers by telling them that they matter more than they know, that we love them more than we show. That their presence alone makes all the difference in our lives. The comfort, love, strength we get from our heroes is much more than we ever imagined and we are immensely proud to have each one of you in our lives. To all fathers out there! 🙂
As they say :
Today, we bring you the most heartfelt wishes to celebrate this day and to tell our fathers how much they mean to us.
Mayah Essam Khattak: (Daughter of Mr & Mrs. Essam Khattak)
Baba, You are my first best friend, my biggest advocate, my pillar of strengths, my partner in crime, my secret-keeper (specially from Ma) my hero, my king… What more could any girl want? Happy Father’s Day. Love, Mayah
Farwa Hussain Khan:
Today when we can see and hear that everyone is taking out time to wish all the amazing fathers in the world, I want to give a massive shoutout to my wonderful Father who has been my King since day one. Thank you Father for all the times you did not reach like a father but as my best friend. Thank you for always giving me shoulder to cry on. Thank you for letting me know my worth. And most of all thank you for raising me like a princess. Today, I want to tell you that I adore you and I love you but other than that I respect you so much because you’ve raised me in such a way which I’m sure that no other could, no other man can, no other man will. I will always be your little princess and you’ll always be my King.
Talha Zahid:
My dad is a friend of mine, he is what any boy can ask for. He never lets me down and he does more then in his power to make me happy. I am the luckiest guy ever to have a father this amazing. Love him to bits
Sabrina Shigri:
There have been ample times I doubted myself and was scared of failure but my dad has been a constant support through countless mood swings to just be okay with well i guess life in general.
Raza Ahmed Sukhera:
If I count the most impacting feelings of my life, my father holding my hand, garbing me upwards while climbing to the train when we were leaving from Lahore I was hardly 5 or 6 years old I guess. Then one day we both were sitting at tube well in-front of our home and I can still feel the sound of water pumping out along-with his voice inquiring how much semesters are left of my graduation. I felt like he was tired. There have been lot of ups and downs since he left, and now I feel that these ups and downs would have been less fatigued, less horrifying if he would have been with us. Always miss him, specially on little achievements, little appreciations I receive.
Aly Sher Khan:
“Thank you baba! For being a mountain in our lives. without you nothing would have been possible!”
Asher Dewan:
Happy father’s day . God bless you with good health and long life .
Usman Mukhtar:
Thank you for the comfort of knowing that whatever goes wrong, I have a dad who can fix it. Happy Father’s Day!!
Ali Mahboob:
I am what I am today because of you and I can’t thank you enough. You will always be my hero, my strength! Happy Father’s day!
Saleha Raza:
My first love and my ideal and how I imagine all the men in the world to be as dedicated about their relationship as he has always been ! He always supported us in every walk of life, whether it was decisions concerning education or lifelong decision like getting married.
I love my Dad to the moon and back !!! 
What Is A Dad?
A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.
A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.
A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail…
Happy Father’s Day everyone!!
Regards,
Wings & Strokes
Recent Comments