In parenting in the pandemic I have discovered that my kids take it harder when I don’t deliver on a promise than when something doesn’t happen. Take no school for example, they are like ‘ Oh cool! we’ll figure this out!’ what chilled out kids eh.

Then I said ‘Hey I’m making an orange cake today’ but ran out of oranges so the cake didn’t materialize. So now its all ‘You broke your promise!’ ‘ You! who didn’t deliver on that cake!’ ‘But but but, where is our orange cake?!’

So now I choose not to tell them and only to make. Then again what is parenting if not a bunch of slip ups and corrections that make for wonderful stories to be told to grand children over cups of steaming hot cocoa, now the good amongst us will tell you that it is not for me to speak of grandchildren. What if my children do not want to have children of their own? How can I scar them with my seemingly overwhelming expectations. Feel free to insert ‘Partner’ ‘colleague’ ‘acquaintance’ or just me recounting my embarrassing parenting fails back to my kids when they are older and have no recollection of them.

The little has been asking for a lava lamp for months, I have successfully thwarted all attempts in the past but on a Holiday with nothing much to do I had to give in. Out came an old glass jar, oil, baking soda and some vinegar, never forget the colour ‘Amma, the colour must be red, Lava is Red’.

And so he watched in wonder as the soda fizzed and popped through the oil as soon as vinegar touched it. What is joy if not shared with your chief mischief officer? The brother had to be called, in went all the vinegar, by the time they left the table half hour my table looked like a real tornado had struck.

How to make a lava lamp

• take a small glass jar (unless you want to pour out lots of oil)
• Baking soda
• Any oil
• Vinegar
• Food Colour

Pour in a couple spoonfuls of baking soda into the glass jar, our the oil over it. Now mix the colour into the vinegar and drop into the oil filled bottle, wait for a moment with wonder in your eyes until the vinegar drops touch the baking soda at the bottom. The magic unfolds.

Well so far we had a ‘Win’ on our hands but then I decided to ride the wave and make ‘Orange cake’. Turns out I’d completely forgotten all purpose flour. I used this fool proof recipe from Shivesh only to replace the flour with wheat flour. Now we have a nutty flavored healthy orange cake that is devoured with a little cold milk drizzled on top.

The kids are raving about how yum it is. Sometimes you gotta improvise but deliver, it makes all the difference between being a parent and a super parent.