A Cup of Ni

That saying — “ daughters look like dad, sons look like mom ” — is a mix of folk observation and a little bit of science , but it’s not a strict biological rule. Here’s the truth behind it:   Chromosome Basics Mothers: Always pass one X chromosome to each child. Fathers: Pass X chromosome to daughters, Y chromosome to sons. Traits Passed to a Daughter Since a daughter gets: X from Mom + X from Dad She inherits: From Mother Physical Traits Mitochondrial DNA — always inherited from the mother, influencing cell energy production. Skin type & tone tendencies. Hair texture and density patterns. Eye shape and facial features. Body shape tendencies (hip-to-waist ratio, bone structure).  Health & Genetic Traits Risk factors for autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus , thyroid issues ). Certain metabolic traits (e.g., lactose tolerance ). Menstrual cycle patterns and menopause timing. Specific X-linked genetic traits (e.g., some color vision variations i...

  Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Pardon me for spilling the beans and letting the secret of your conversations out in the open...but I cannot hold this research analysis anymore. We have this perception that when talking to our friends, we are talking about anything and everything...but 90 % of the time we only talk about the following categories. For example, women tend to talk about their kids, maids, and house, whereas, on the other hand, men have interests in completely opposite topics like sports (usually cricket in India), gym, and politics. I have done a fair study of the things that people generally talk about. Surprisingly it is always the same for men and women separately. So here is a chart based on my survey....... For Men, Politics Rocks all the time !!. And they have strong opinions about their favorite political team as well ( Secret here: Even though I pretend to listen to my husband talking fondly about political issues but I just cannot stand talking about them. ... s...

Whether you have 1 child or 2, whether you are working or nonworking, whether you live in a nuclear family or a joint family, Me-time seems non existing for mothers. But after experiencing the joy of motherhood for 10 years I have figured out ways to oxygenate myself in between. Here are a few tips to take out self-time, no matter how tight the schedule is.  If you have 1-5 min at your disposal Drink a relaxing drink- Lemonade being my fav. Practice breathing: Anulom-Vilom ( Smell the flowers - Blow the candles, Smell the flowers-Blow the candles) Take your Vitamins Give yourself a refreshing Face wash Hug your child-Trust me, this is the most refreshing thing of them all. If you have 5-10 min at your disposal Call your Friends - I do this most of the time Add those extra mins to your shower time Listen to your fav songs. Change the wallpaper/ringtone of your phone Read an informative blog If you have 10-30 min at your disposal Trim/Water your plants Clean something or rearrange y...

I am sure all of us entertain some or the other guests very often. Some guests are there to stay and some just visit and leave. This blog post is dedicated to those guests who are visiting you overnight. Every time i am planning a stay over for my friends or relatives i want to play the perfect host aka Monica   ( for those who are F.R.I.E.N.D.S   follower , they would know ). Therefore i try to provide all little things of need in the guest's room .  Here are  a few handy things i have learnt over the years ... 1. Always ..always and always have an extra  comforter ready. 2. Put 1-2 water bottles at the guest's bedside. Trust me,they would feel really awkward getting up and wandering in house at midnight  for water.  3. Put extra rolls of toilet papers in washrooms ( especially if your guests are visiting from outside India). 4.Make sure to throw in an extra laundry basket for guests room. Well these are few things that i follow.  I would like...

  F or a very long time my heroes were Superman, Iron Man, Wonder Woman and all people having superpowers. But that was then. Today I am all grown up to understand the world better First question that pops up in my mind is: Why do we need a Hero ? We need them as they save us in difficult situations like war, alien attacks, nuclear explosions etc. They also inspire us to be hardworking, strong, creative and sharp minded. Now in this pandemic when we need these heroes the most, we don’t see Superman or Iron man flying in the sky and protecting all of us. But somebody is taking our care. Guess who? Yes, you are right, it’s our Doctors, Nurses, P harmacist, Soldiers and Teachers. They are the real Heroes in disguise today. Let me tell you why- Doctors : As they risk their lives still coming to hospitals to cure us. Nurses : As they are giving vaccines even if they are at open risk of getting that disease. Pharmacist : As they are always there to provide you the best a...

Amazon India has planned to launch Amazon Academy for JEE ( Joint entrance exam for engineering colleges) aspirants.It provides curated learning material, live lectures and comprehensive study materials for Mathematics, chemistry and Physics. The beta version of Amazon Academy will be free of cost and will be available at  Google Play Stores .The Academy will also hold scheduled mock tests - AIMT (All India Mock Tests) at regular intervals. They will help the aspirants know where they stand with an All India Rank of these mock tests and analyse their subject wise preparations. AIMT is conducted for both Class 11th and Class 12 th. All learning material has been designed by expert faculty from across the country.Students will have a real time doubt clearing sessions as well. The subscribers will get daily tips, shortcuts and mnemonics for better question solving  Hurry up !! this Content is currently available for free and will continue to be for next few months.

This is a totally chaotic and crazy time. No one knows how long this is going to last.And No one knows what to do in the extra time which has been suddenly given to them. Especially   kids. There are so many little-little things which we would have  never focused upon , had there been no Corona situation . Cooking and baking was never so much fun, playing Scrabble and Ludo and was never on our daily charters,reading books was a long forgiven passion for few people....and so on. But thanks to ..*, all these joys are back in our lives. Today i would like to contribute ,by sharing what i keep my kids and family busy in. Dance your heart out- There is no better way to exercise. It is fun cum fitness in the same platter. Whether or not you are a fan of dancing, give it a try.  Give a spiritual lessons to kids - With so much time at disposal, i planned to teach few religious stories and narrations to my kids this year. In fact i made them learn few Shloks, which definitely...

Picture Credits to my sweetheart daughter who drew this for me :) On this cloudy Wednesday, when i have nothing special to do, lets talk bout "What are we secretly good at ?"...AND yes, we are not talking bout the regular stuff like cooking , sports or arts...THAT everyone would know, the fun here is to talk bout the things which are weirdos in their own sense. "I am quick at finding tiny things" , announced my daughter proudly when she found my lost earring .She is actually good at movies too, she can guess out the name of the song and movie by just listening to a song for a second, which i strangely suck at. I would listen to a complete song, then also if the movie name strikes , it would be a big deal 😃 "Secretly,I can impersonate people's walk", says my dear friend. Well, that never came up before i heard it. And now it is a valid talent too " I am awesome in biting my toe nails and no one can guess was it a nail cutter o...

This winter, we started watching our much awaited ,T.v show - " Grey's Anatomy ". By the end of 5th season we have already seen a lot of people dying and a lot being born and moving ahead in their lives as it comes. Knowingly or Unknowingly these things linger around on the top level of your brain the whole day. and one fine day the strangest thing happened..... while walking the road to pick my kid up from her bus stop...i let my thoughts wander ; and out of the blue, this voice loudly shouted in my ears" Cross the road carefully, You have to take care of your family...be careful" But , that was a scary part. Where are u, just nowhere, what have u achieved yet...just nothing...And if not taken care ..it would be over? On a regular day, for no particular reason , my mind has wrapped around death for the first time and i momentarily panicked. I would be turning 35 this year, and this is not one of the midlife crisis moment. Have you felt like this ...

Here we are on the verge of end of 2018 and ready to face 2019 with a big smile, what better time would it be to write this post. There were times in our life when we wanted to just undo few moments ...few embarrassing ones.....few done with more finesse....or may be few regretful ones. Lets be honest about those today...lets face them and get them out of our systems before its the new dawn  ☺ ( easier said then done though ). Let me go first as as a starter: Once , when i was participating with my daughter in her sports day, she was suppose to run till the finish line with the gifts packed by mothers in few seconds . She could have won the contest had the gift not opened up in the mid way  coz the ribbon tied to it was to loose to hold it, but she was disqualified rather. :( I wish i could have tied another knot to it . Another time : When i went to a parlour to get my shoulder length hair trimmed, i got them cut wayyyy  shorter  and i ended up my husb...

Or rather start with " How hard is it to make New Friends ". I had few really good friends when i was in school .Then i got another set of friends when i went to college without knowing that the ones i had in school would move out ..not just from town but also from my friend's zone slowly and steadily. Then came the phase when i was baby stepping into the corporate world......new people, new location, new freedom....but what about my old friends, old life, old chemistry between friends ? Now i am mother of 2 , trying to make new friends again.... Someone told me some really nice tips for that : 1. Join kitties around you ( note : kittieS ) ( but somehow this is not my cup of tea) 2. Join whatsapp groups of your kid's class's mothers. 3. Try joining activity classes . 4. Go to pick and drop your child to school (this is a proven sure shot way to meet all the mothers who do the same ) 5. Enroll your kid to 101 after school activities (offcourse it...

The other day , over a cup of coffee Anshul and I had a really good laugh about how differently we have raised our two daughters, and how we were so much relaxed during our second one... All this is Amazingly true.... Food  First Baby     : All home made  food, full of nutrients- apple sauce, dal, vegy soup specially prepared Second Baby : Anything and everything that kept her full for a longer time. Sleeping Routine First Baby     : Should sleep at proper intervals. Nap-Play-Eat- Poop;Nap-Play-Eat Poop.... Second Baby : Put her to sleep everytime I wanted a timeout.  But thank god , my second one was not fussy bout  not-sleeping at nights like my elder one. My elder one use to keep us awake the whole night , we use to literally wait till her grandma would wake up in morning and take her over for us to sleep. Toy First Baby     : I bought(or atleast tried to buy) every possi...

Halloween  -   However strange this day may sound and seem, but i simply love the spirit and so does my daughters. I love them dressing up for the day.   Cutest Cat ever   Elsa - My Princess Another good thing about the day is that if you are really in the spirit...then what you are baking or cooking can come out something like these.... My Spooky Innovative Cookies- Cookies with Eyes Staring at you. M & M at its best. M & M at its best again Disney Cookies Waffers - My kids love these. Pin Wheel Cookies Cute Capsicums They call it Witch Fingers ...but i prefer calling them Red Bread sticks. Do you have some spooky ideas too.....lets share them :) P.S - Do not forget to paste pictures of your kids dressed up on Halloween. Happy Halloween till the next time again :)

By Nidhi Jain Few years back i read this article : " New Milestone Emerges : Baby's First iPhone App", and it still lingers in my mind. This article was about a study concerning the use of electronics by small children.  As adults(we) turn increasingly occupied with their "Gadgets" (tablets, ipads, iphones, kindles..etc), our children - even the smallest ones are doing equally well . The apps have been developed for all age groups  - Zero to Eight all have their own games and apps.  Ipads and Tablets are the Game changers because of their easy to use property.  Though many parents express pride and amazement that their young children are so tech-savvy, she said, what has really happened is that technology has gotten much easier to use. " My daughter (five months) knows which finger to use while handling a phone",  says one of my friends  Sometimes we as parents willingly give our kids these opportunities to use the tabs and ipads, coz we n...

By Nidhi Jain For the past six years, every time we’ve gone to a kid’s birthday party, I’ve run around that morning getting the girls ready and then raced to the toy store in a panic to grab a gift on our way. But! I suddenly realized with a forehead slap: We could just buy  the same little treat  in advance for every kid. We got a few copies of  this lovely book  or   this  and wrapped them all. Now we grab one as we head out the door. It has made a big difference — the kids are still psyched and there’s no last-minute scrambling. I would make a special mention to this game - Pictureka , my daughter's cousins gifted this to her--what an engaging game it was. I would strongly recommend it for age 4-6.Even her Dadima and Dadu enjoyed playing it with her. Another game gift i gave to my niece was - Boggle and i still remember me playing it with her everynight till we got "Saya- go to sleep,its school tomorrow" scolding.[wink] O...

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