Sameer's first few days at school

Yesterday was Sameer's first day at playschool -- Gunjan. He was supposed to get there by 9:30 am. So I tried to get him to atleast finish his breakfast and brush his teeth. I was planning on walking him to the school initially. However, by the time we got out of the house, I realized that it was already 9:25. So we took a cycle rickshaw. We were there well in time as the school is a 10 minute walk from our house. Frankly, I was happy that we made it in time. I expected to be really late.

When I picked him up an hour and a half later, he was a little upset, which I expected. What was funny was the way he expressed his resentment at being left at school, without mom or dad.

The daily session at the school lasts for three hours from 9:30 to 12:30. I kept him there for only an hour and a half. At Gunjan, they do not let the parents stay in the classroom. They have close circuit cameras in most of the rooms. I watched Sameer on it, when he was in the classroom. Most of the time one of the teachers was holding him in her lap, trying to calm him. It would work for a short while, when they would play a VCD of children's songs on their computer, after which he would again start asking for me. When it was close to an hour, I told them I want to take him back now. They fed him an early snack that they usually serve at 11:30. Once he came to me, he was taking small sobs. He told me, "Mumma nahin thi to Sameer ro raha tha." He was a bit upset at me as well for having left him like that. Part of the reason could have been that I never really got to say a proper bye to him. When we entered the school premises, he wanted to go into the playground. So I told him I need to put his bag away and I'll be back. Later the teachers asked me not to see him right now, as he is not crying .

On the way back home, at first he repeated what he had told me earlier, "Mumma nahin thi to Sameer ro raha tha." Then he just stopped walking and wouldn't move. As I bent down to talk to him, I could see he was trying to control his sobs. So I picked him up and carried him in my arms and tried to distract him a little. Later, I started asking him a little bit about school as well. He did not want to talk about it. And then when we were just about to reach home, he says, "Sameer mumma se naaraaz hai." I felt like laughing. On the other hand, I was happy that atleast he was letting me know how he felt.

Today was his second day. And it was worse than yesterday. Initially he did not want to go to school at all. So I told him, today mumma will accompany you to the class. I did not try to hurry him too much. So we finally got there 15 minutes late. Today again I took the cycle rickshaw. Sameer wanted to know which color rickshaw we will take and was busy telling me how the rickshaw owner was pedalling etc. Once we got to the gate, however, he started crying. I had to carry him into the school. He calmed for a few seconds when I told him I'll take him into the class. We went inside the class with the teacher. But as soon as he saw the room, he was bawling again. The teacher had to wrest him from my arms. I tried consoling him by telling him that I am right outside and so many other kids come here without their moms and they have so much fun. But nothing was helping at that point. So I finally left him in the teacher's arms. I could hear him asking for Rahul, "Papa chahiyen," as he could see mumma wasn't being much of a help.

They again fed him a snack before we left today. This time they asked me to wait outside the gate and they'll bring him. However, when he saw me he just turned his back on me and walked away. He added for further clarity, "Mumma nahin chahiye." Again he got a ride in my arms, all the way home. However, once we got home, I was able to chirp him up to his usual self a little bit earlier than yesterday. Although, he did not want to talk about school today as well. Just hoping Monday will be better for him.

Homemade Frozen Yogurt (Curd)

Sameer really enjoys ice cream. In the past few months his dairy intake had dropped quite a bit. So I tried making some frozen yogurt at home for him. I looked up a recipe online, reduced the amount of sugar and tried other flavorings and it came out really well each time, with hardly any crystals. I made it without an ice cream maker. The first time I tried it, I made it with mango pulp as Sameer loves mangoes. Second time was with vanilla extract. Another flavoring I tried was freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and some honey. I finally took a picture this time. I added some green food coloring on Sameer's request. Since my sister had asked me for the recipe a few times in the past, I thought I should finally try to write it now.

The recipe that I looked up online is from a book that another blogger modified a bit. The book is called: The Perfect Scoop - by David Lebovitz. The blog is 101 cookbooks.

The recipe that I currently use is:

1 liter full cream (full fat) milk
1 tablespoon yogurt culture -- I usually use a bit of previous day's yogurt or if that has gone sour, I buy a small cup of probiotic yogurt

1/4 cup sugar (you might want to use 1/2 cup if you like it sweet. I used granulated sugar, it works great too)

Flavorings I have tried so far:

1 tsp pure vanilla extract or

1 tsp lemon juice

all the lemon zest you can obtain from one lemon

2 tablespoons honey or

mango pulp from 3 mangoes (you can add more if you have more mangoes)

When warming the milk for yogurt, I warm the milk to the temperature at which I'll set the yogurt. No more than that. I definitely do not boil the milk, as that will separate the cream. In a jar or pot that you'll use for setting the yogurt first mix just one cup of milk with the starter. Then add the rest of the milk. Mix it properly. A traditional method that I use is to keep pouring the milk from one container into the other a couple times. It helps in mixing the culture thoroughly. Put it inside a cabinet for 2-3 hours and usually the yogurt is ready. Do make sure that it does not go sour. If it does, you need to start again.

To strain the yogurt, line a colander with a cheesecloth or a kitchen towel. Strain the excess water into the kitchen sink and then put a bowl underneath the colander to catch any drippings. Put the whole thing, with the cheesecloth loosely covered over the yogurt into the fridge. While not necessary, it helps to keep it in for atleast 12 hours. It drastically reduces the amount of crystals you'll end up with and reduces your work if you don't have an ice cream maker.

Take the yogurt out of the cheesecloth and add it to the bowl you'll freeze it in. Add the sugar and the flavoring you want to add. Mix it well and put it in the freezer. Take out the frozen yogurt an hour and a half after putting it in the freezer. Churn it well. The sugar granules have usually dissolved by this stage. Put it back. Take it out once it's set and enjoy.