And it comes to an END

Victory!!! 31 posts in 31 days!! I am impressed at myself! 😉 Can’t believe the Blogathon is over ~ 31 days of continuousness. 31 days of dedication! 31 days of writers block! 31 days of fun! 31 days of staying in touch with fellow bloggers! 31 days of loving this space of mine!

Last year, I was too busy living my life, to actually write about it. Whenever I came here, I felt like I had little too much to write about and just gave up. This year, I want to take the time to write. So, I have started with this Blogathon. What I love the MOST about the Blogathon is the discipline that comes with this commitment and of course reading all my favorite blogs.

Thanks to her for initiating this and thank you to her, her and her for a whole month of entertainment!! I may not have commented in each and every one of your posts but I plan on reading them all again and commenting very soon.

My blog is deeply personal and everything I write here is very important to me. Although not very detailed, I promise to update this space as much as I can. I may not come back tomorrow but will definitely be back here very soon.

#Blogathon2023

H for happy

Today, I had to work from home since I had a doctor appointment in the afternoon. I woke up late. But just on time to pack lunch for the kids.

Lime got ready, and was waiting for his school bus with Lemon in our driveway. As I opened my window to wave goodbye to Lime, I realized the morning air was refreshingly cool.

I wanted to just stand there and enjoy the overcast sky but it was time to log into work. I brought out my laptop, and made myself comfortable in my living room. Once in a while I kept looking at the empty wall in front of me and wondered if I must fill that space with some wall decor. I logged into amazon and browsed through many options but I did not like any. Mainly because I didn’t know what I wanted for that space.

In the afternoon, I cooked myself this yummy Thai peanut noodles. It was sooooooooo yummy! I then went to the doctors’ and on my way back, I had to make a quick stop to get something. Even though I didn’t find what I wanted to get, I came across this –

Isn’t it beautiful? I don’t know why but I liked it the moment I saw it. Maybe this will fill that empty spot in the living room or maybe it will go somewhere else. I’m going to have to figure it out.

The evening was magical too. When I was searching for something, I found this in my closet.

What a surprise from the kids! I have no ideas what’s inside but it made me so happy.

Such a happy-no-tension-day!

#Blogathon2020, #A-Zwriting, #Happiness

Another year older, another year wiser!

Happy Birthday to ME!

On this birthday, there are lots of thoughts running through my brain, lots of things I am looking forward to, and lots of wishes.

First off, I am getting old! Or at least feel a little old today!

I was born a little over 3 decades ago. Feels like a long time.. Sigh!

Looking back, I was a very very shy teenager. My 20’s were times of learning, fighting and really figuring out who I was. 30’s have been my favorite yet! I love myself, own my worth, comfortable and feel on top of the world. Ok! ok! I am at least on the 12th floor as I write this post. So that counts! Right? Right!

I have no regrets today. I know everything that happened, both good and bad, were all meant to be. I am grateful for all of them.

Remember Lemon took me on a birthday vacation couple years back? Since then I have loved the idea of travelling on birthdays. To beaches in particular.

This year, Lemon suggested he’d take me somewhere again! So following the same-beach-travel-tradition, we are now on our way to Anguilla!

Ice cream is all I think about (besides cake) tonight! Lemon might take me to some favorite spot on the island to have some. I might even try some Caribbean drinks! Or may be not.

Really, what matters to me so much today is my family. I am excited to spend the day travelling with the kids. Baby Lily is now a troublesome toddler and Lime is a superhero. So, what can go wrong? The trip is going to be super awesome!

So yeah! Happyyyyy birthdayyyyyy to me! 🙂 Can’t tell you my wishes, then they won’t come true!

So, off I go to celebrate!

Lemon has promised to surprise me this afternoon! Can’t wait to see what it is!

Thank you all for the love on this day and always!

Your favorite,

Lavender

My Disney Days – Disney Pin Trading [Part 3]

Let me admit it – Disney Pin Trading was more fun to me than Lime! While Lime wanted all fancy good looking Mickey and Donald pins, I wanted all Princesses and Minnie pins. Lemon as usual was not bothered at all. He would wait outside the shops or take Lily for a walk when Lime and I had a fun interactive experience with the cast members. The great thing about this experience was that there was no age limit for this activity.   

For this fun experience, you just need to locate a cast member wearing a lanyard with pins. And all you have to do is find a pin that they have and that you like, and exchange it for one of your pins. Good part for Lime was that the cast members were all so friendly and cheerful. He loved them all. Sometimes we exchanged two with one cast member. Lime would go first and then me. It was super fun!

The pins are all small and they easily fit in the carry on luggage. So these were perfect for us and so easy and affordable souvenirs!

Tip: Pins in the parks are super expensive. So I would suggest getting this or something else you like from Amazon/eBay. Ours had 25 pins for about $17. That makes it less than $1 per pin. It may not be one of the best options but that was just enough for us to trade for all our favorite pins in Disney.

My Favorites ~ I love them all!

Whether it is the little mermaid or the giant genie you seek, pin trading is guaranteed to add more fun to your Disney adventure! Share the magic and bring home some wonderful memories, will you?

#Blogathon2018 #DisneyVacation #ChristmasVacation #DisneyTradingPins #ILoveDisney #Disney

Read the series here:

• My Disney Days – Part 1
• My Disney Days – DIY Disney Shirt [Part 2]

Stay tuned for more Disney experience!

My Disney days – Part 1

I love fairy tales.

I dream bigger dreams.

I believe in magic.

I love once upon a time and happily ever after’s

And so we decided to spend the most wonderful time of the year in the most magical place on earth – where dreams come true.

DISNEY!

To start with, Disney trips are costly. May be not for everyone but it was for us. Why you ask? We decided to go there during the peak season. Christmas and New Years is when the parks are so full. Many bloggers had warned people of long queues for everything. I was a bit scared after reading such posts. Well, What did we know. We went ahead with our plan anyways.

While Lemon wanted to take Lime on all park rides, I had my own list of things I wanted to do in the parks.

To start with, I wanted nice Disney family shirts! Especially for our day in Magic Kingdom. I searched online in Etsy and the Disney shirts were all pricey. So I ended up making one myself for the four of us for about $10. Here’s a pic.

Next on my list was Disney trading pins. I knew Lime would enjoy trading this with cast members. Many good bloggers had already given the idea of getting them in advance from Amazon than buying them in the parks. So, what did I do? Did I make them myself? Hell no! Stay tuned to know more.

Christmas necklace: Well, I never had one of these before. But I liked the idea. It would be super fun to wear them in the parks. I was so happy to find one family pack in Amazon. I ordered them too.. But… it’s a long story. I’ll tell you what exactly happened in my next post.

Disney Autograph book: First I thought it’s a weird idea. But as I read more blogs from moms around the world, I wanted to give this a try.

Disney Hat: I knew Lime would ask for one seeing other kids wearing it. I also knew he would prefer a Spiderman hat than a Mickey Mouse one. Spiderman is more cooler for him. On the other hand, my little munchkin Lily, loves Mickey and Minnie. So what I did for this will come up in the next few posts.

So stay tuned you guys!

And btw, Happy New Year! 🙂

A letter to my baby boy – 4

My dear Lime, 

You are FIVE. 

As I write this post, I will try hard not to cry. You sweet boy, my firstborn child, made me a mommy!  

From the moment I saw you, I knew I’ll never love someone else the way I love you.  You changed my life forever. 

FIVE is such a big boy age. I’m struggling to understand how time went by so quickly. It just seems like yesterday I was in hospital giving birth to you. 

I still remember that first year when I quit my job to take care of you. I spent days exploring the world with you when some people criticized me for being a stay-at-home mom. You were content being with me and that mattered to me more than anything else. 

That second year when I put you in day care and resumed work is unforgettable. We both cried on your first day at day care. Ah! Those painful days!

That third year when you went so crazy about mickey mouse. 

Your sister came along before you were four. I was so worried i couldn’t love you as well anymore. I was wrong. 1

When it comes to taking care of baby Lily, you are so good. You learned to take care of her quickly. You make sure she doesn’t fall down from the bed by arranging pillows in the open corner. You hold her hand when she tries to walk. You sing so she can sleep. If I take away your toys, you get angry; But if Lily grabs your toys, you are so good with her. You give her something in exchange and then take your toy back. 

I love that you remember every single thing about anything I say. You are so fun. Everyone loves talking with you. Your laugh is so infectious. You love to figure things out yourself – Be it opening a snack box or inserting straw in a juice pouch; You want to do it all.

You are so smart and make Lemon and I so proud. 

You like to run around a lot. I still remember the day when I almost lost you at the shopping mall. You ran away and scared the hell out of me. I did end up finding you in couple minutes. But what a day it was. Phew!

You are good at soccer and swimming. We can’t wait to try karate and dance next. 

This year you fell so much in love with Power Rangers. And, you are still crazy about ‘Talking Tom‘. 

Can’t believe you are graduating this Friday from Pre-School. You love math and like talking about all you learnt in school. You have memorized our phone number and house address for emergency. 

Being a super hero is your dream. You love avengers, ninjas, spider-man and Batman and what not. You can name every character in all of the movies which I have no clue about. 

You have a big year ahead, my baby! You are going to go to a new school. Meet new friends and teachers. The path forward is new with lots of changes in schedule. Come what may, I know you will prosper in all your endeavors. God bless you my child! I love you so much! 

That’s you with your birthday gift! Power Ranger Megazord 🙂

 

Love,
Mummy

Introducing baby ‘Lily’

It’s late post. But better late than never, right?

This year has been so much fun. Most of my dreams have come true, especially the baby news! There has been 3 babies, all about a month apart, in the family this year. The 4th one is expected sometime next week. Can’t wait for the good news from the cousin! 🙂

‘Lily‘ is my baby girl’s blog name. She graced this beautiful world  on May 3rd 2016!!! The birth story is posted here.

It’s been 7 months now. Lime is still surprised by the fact that the baby is out of mommy’s tummy. He is a proud big bother and loves his little sister.

There are so many things about the baby that I want to record over here..Will do it as and when I find time..

We love our little one. She is our adorable doll. Her toothless smile makes us melt every time. She loves lying on her tummy and raising her head high. She is starting to sit up by herself and she always does it quickly when mommy is not looking at her. She is always curious about what is happening around her. She turns her tiny head all around to look at things. She even stretches her arms to reach for the cup when mommy is drinking her morning coffee. She also loves playing with mommy’s hair.

She looks up to her brother all the time. She admires him for everything he does. She laughs happily around him and plays with him. He sings and dances for her which is so adorable. She bears with whatever he does, even it is pinching her nose or hugging her tight. No complaints – She loves it all!

Keep growing our dear baby. Be happy and healthy! We love you and Lime the most!

All you readers, send in all your love to the little ones, will ya?

Ah! The small joys of life

When your office friends plan a surprise party for you –

They would convince your boss to make you come to office even though your boss had agreed and given you permission, a few weeks back, to work from home on that particular day for whatsoever reason. You wonder why the boss changed his mind suddenly and wants you in office that day. You would be mad at him. He would apologize and blame your close friend for convincing him to make you be present for the party. How can you be mad at your close friend? So in the end you would appreciate the friend’s effort and be pleased with your colleagues. 

When your  husband plans a surprise party for you – 

He would convince you to take Lime to a birthday party even though you are not well that morning. When you come back home and open the door, you would hear many of your friends shout ‘Surprise!‘. The house would be decorated. Your favorite food would have been ordered. The cake would look delicious and there would be smiles everywhere. 

When there’s a celebration in office but you are too lazy that you do not want to move out of your desk – 

Your friend would bring you a piece of cake from the celebration. You would eat. You would enjoy. 

When your parents are at home – 

Every day, for lunch, you would eat fresh food cooked by your mom. And, when all the chores are taken care by your parents you would just spend most of your time relaxing at home. And when your mom and your son massage your legs you would take a pic and post it in your blog!

oh boy, the big 3-O!

She is now 10 times older than her son.

She is still collecting her thoughts on how she feels on this day.

She is spending her special day with her parents after 9 long years.

She got 2 surprise parties this year and NO gifts from Lemon. She will NEVER forget this in her life.

She is at home watching the snow fall and sipping hot coffee while typing this post.

She is not ready to leave the childhood behind but she knows she has to after this day. Many people cross the bridge from childhood to adulthood at 21. For her it has been different.

She has never considered herself a part of the category called ‘grown-ups’. She has so far enjoyed being the child. Being the youngest in the household. Being pampered for everything at home. Today, she feels she cannot escape the grown-up category anymore. The 3-O feels like a very big number. She doesn’t know why. But it bothers her.

She was worried when Lemon turned 30 a couple of years back. He convinced her saying its just a number and that he will always remain young at heart.

She is not sure what changes this new year and number will bring into her life. For now, she just wants to stop worrying and hope for the best.

She wants to, going forward,  dedicate little time each day to do something that she really loves.

She had a goal that she wanted to achieve on this day and it has come true. She is happy for that.

She has learned not to make any decisions when she is upset.

She has come to realize that almost half of her life is over. 

She is different now and feels wiser, happier, confident and determined. 

She is Lavender and yesterday was her birthday!

To read more about her, click here.

A letter to my husband on his birthday

Dear Lemon,

You are probably a little nervous about this letter now since I always like to be cheesy and as embarrassing as possible about you in my blog.  But do not worry. Today is your birthday so I will be a good wife and write only about what I like about you. I might have said the same things before but I think we all know by now that that’s kind of how I roll this blog. So, Ready? And go.

You are the heart of this blog. If it weren’t about you, I wouldn’t be here writing this post now.

You do things in a way that only you can do in the way you do them.

You are the reason we laugh so hard

You do crazy things with me

You are the awesome dad who likes to play with his son. And, I can’t wait to see how good you are going to be with our next baby!

You look incredibly good when holding hands and walking together with Lime

You take us on a vacation every year so we can relax and enjoy

You love us

Happy Birthday dear husband! You are the best! I hope you have a fantastic birthday today and you owe me a BIG treat this evening.

Loooooooooove,
Your wife!