May is a month that always brings back memories of summer holidays, and the general slowing down of life as the real hot weather kicks in. For us at Better Homes and Gardens, it’s a month when we flood you with lots of summer ideas from decor to beauty, and gardening to food. It’s that time of the year when day lilies are in bloom, and trendy sunglasses are making a style statement. As the temperatures soar, you look for ways to keep the kids (and yourself!) entertained indoors, and refreshing new takes on summer coolers. Your skin and hair takes a beating, and the terrace garden looks a little forelorn and sad. We have solutions for all these summer woes within these pages, so get started. With our crazy multitasking lives and the lifestyle ailments that seem to be plaguing more and more urban Indians, we cannot afford to be ignorant about anything out of the ordinary. Two features this month feature relevant expert speak on modern-day diseases that can be life-threatening. We tell you how a timely smear can save your life on page 106, and we bust some myths surrounding diabetes on page 102. I’m in the midst of reading Lean In by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, a book that has been hyped and courted a lot of controversy in the last few months. I would advise every working mom to grab a copy, (P.S.: It will also make a great Mother’s Day gift for your working mom!) as it has the most amazing resonance for working women, specially moms. For our special Mother’s Day feature this month, we talked to moms who have more than two kids so that they can share their experiences of raising a brood. We also showcase an enterprising mom who developed an app to get her kids to learn Hindi, on page 60. As for me, I do have my hands full with my 10-month-old daughter, who as a special Mother’s Day gift for me seems to be checking out what I do for a living (see pic). She specially enjoyed our April issue! Enjoy the summer, and this issue!