Tag: family

Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving

nainadg

 

I am grateful for my son- every minute, everyday, always.

This year I am grateful for my community-

playgroup moms who talk potty training, playdates, timeouts, with me 5 days a week,

girlfriends who are happy to spend a night in drinking Sangrias and to take impromptu trips to Forever21.

mashi and didi’s (aunties and sisters) from my bengali community, who give me traditional recipes and invite me for delicious dinners.

Student’s from J’s lab who invite us to keggers that still keep me feeling like I’m still 25.

Guys who watch football with me and are willing to share their infinite knowledge and trivia of the game. Extra shout out to the ones who make bad jokes and strong cocktails

My cousin who is no farther than a text away and is equally happy to discuss Real Housewives of Miami and Bun’s cold with equal enthusiasm

My friends who are far away physically but share their lives with me via text, facebook and instagram

My parents, my family, my husband who are always there to pick up any of the balls that I may drop.

Today I’m cooking a meal in all their honor, for all the grace they bring to my life

 

Bun365, Family, Food and Drinks, Holidays, Mommyhood, Week in My Life

Dinner With the Family- A Week in My Life Friday&Saturday

nainadg

So my original plan of doing Friday and Saturday separately for Adventuroo’s Week in My Life project is not going to happen. None of my pictures from Saturday is worth posting,  So I’m just going to jot down what we did on saturday at the bottom of this post. Sunday’s post is going to be skimpy too, but you’ll have to read it to know why.

Friday and Saturday were both busy days for me, it as mostly running errands, dealing with a tantrum-ing toddler and getting craft supplies busy

Friday night my parents invited us for a family dinner to celebrate Bijoya- the last day of Durga Puja. My mum cooked an elaborate dinner and we ate and ate and ate some more after we were already full

My parents have a toddler size camping chair on their deck for Bun and he loves to sit in that and look at my mum’s plants.

Bun and his Dee

 For Dinner, we had Stuffed Puris- fried bread with spices and peas stuffed inside, goat meat curry, Baked Fish in a cilantro and Coconut sauce, chickpeas chilli and rice and dal

My dad found this chocolate wine and decided to open this as a dessert wine and it was interesting. I like wine and I like chocolate, but I don’t think I like them together in a bottle.

But despite the negative review all around, we still finished the bottle. Now wine is ever wasted if my family around

After dinner, Bun read some books with my dad to get the bedtime routine started. And then since it was getting late, we said goodnight to Dee and Babu and headed home.

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Saturday Highlights

* I bought supplies for Bun’s Halloween costume

*Went to look at houses with my parents

*J, Bun and I took a family trip to the Verizon store at the mall to see if the Iphone 4S was in stock- it wasn’t

*We ate some Chick Fil A at the food court and then wandered around and saw some diggers and bulldozers.

*After Bun went to bed, J and I hung out and got caught up with our DVR and then I went to bed.

Bun365, Family, Life, Mommyhood, Toddler

{Discovering Durham} Fox50 Family Fun Fest

nainadg

October 1st and on cue the weather turned crisp and cool.  Saturday was sunny and clear, with highs in the low 60s. J and I headed out to the Fox50  Family Fest for the annual duckie races down old bull river. Old Bull river is the canal flowing through American Tobacco Campus, one of our absolue favorite spots in Downtown Durham.

At the Family Fest Rubber Duckies are raced down our little canal to raise money for local non profits. This annual race has been going on for years but this was the first I’d heard about it so it was a brand new experience for us. really is a community affair- high school marching bands, wildlife rescue centers, alternative arts and craft supplies- these were the exhibitors and entertainment. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate- just regular Durham families spending a day out in the autumn sunshine.

One the big attractions were the animals from Noah’s Landing Mobile Nature center. Bun adored the animals on display. He touched a baby alligator, petted a exotic wild cat from Africa, spent 20 minutes just staring at the owls. We also ran around on the grass, played with bouncy toys, drank beer, ate super garlicky fries. Cheered the bright yellow ducks as they made their way down the river.

We brought home a tired baby who went to sleep immediately. J and I had a mellow night where we sat out on our deck (mosquito free, since it was so cold) and spent all night talking. A date night and a family day all in one. A much needed break from our daily grind.

Fashion, Mommyhood, Toddler, Wedding

The Wedding Guest

nainadg

This wedding guest aged 19 months arrived at the wedding right after naptime and a sippy cup full of milk. He would not let go of the sippy cup, so his poor mama could take some pictures of his cute outfit.

He tried to sing Happy Birthday during the processional. (Bun thinks all parties are birthdays).

He missed the entire ceremony because his mama had to take him out to the lobby so other people could hear the bride and groom and not his singing.

He ran around the entire reception so his mama did not have a chance to really have meaningful conversation with the bride, the groom, her cousins or any other guest.

He ate his Chobani yogurt and refused to touch the kids meal (which I’m sure was not cheap). This was even more mortifying because we were sitting at the host’s table.

He clapped at inappropriate times during the toasts and kept asking about the flower girl (the cutest 2 yr old ever and Bun’s first crush)

He pooped the biggest poop of his life right when the dancing started and his mama wanted to shake her booty, but instead had to change a gross diaper that left her smelling like poo. {And not even your blood relatives will come near you on the dance floor after that}

But he looked so damn adorable and cute and goofy that his mama was super happy that he was her date after all.

*** I wasn’t able to get very many good pictures of him at all since he just wouldn’t hold still and I couldn’t manage my indian outfit and chase after him very well. I’m going to see if my mom got some good ones (maybe even one of me) and post them.****

Bun365, Life, Mommyhood, Toddler

Its Finally Springtime!

nainadg

It feels so wonderful now that the weather outside has finally warmed up a bit! Its been a crazy busy week with work and also loads of fun. One of my clients had a house go under contract and we also had a bunch of family activities that kept us busy and of course this blog fell off the priority list.

Anyway, speaking of the priority list, I have added this yellow potted primrose to my list of things to do. I have never been any good around plants and have never had potted plants around, but this spring, its all going to change. I will keep some plants alive, I’m even going to have them thrive.  J is seriously doubtful about this venture and has bet me $50 that this poor little primrose is going to be dead in under two weeks. But I have my secret weapon- Bun who is ready to point to it and remind me that it needs some watering!

Here are some pics of my boy enjoying the spring sunshine in his new toddler sandals.

Bun365, Food and Drinks, Love, Mommyhood, Toddler

Parks and Recreation

nainadg

Is one of my favorite comedy Sitcoms on TV right now.

And also the only title I could come up with for this entry. I ‘m terrible at titles. We have had fabulous weather in these parts (Up until today of course, its now cold and cloudy as I write this) and we had the added bonus of J not having to put in any work hours this weekend. Family time ensued. We grilled, went to the park twice, checked out Kidzu on Franklin Street. It was mellow, relaxing and lovely.

We kicked off the weekend on Friday afternoon with a play date at one of my favorite parks in Durham. Morreene Road park is a small park and most of the park is taken up by the large sprawling play structure and there are foam mats underneath. There are also large ramps that are wide and low to the ground- perfect for toddlers to run on. Also there is one big slide and 3 or 4 small ones, again perfect for toddlers. The swing set too is very baby friendly. As an added bonus, there is a tennis court right next door and Bun just loves to run over and watch the balls flying the air. The fence is pretty high so I don’t really worry about the balls hitting him.

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This is pretty much what we played with the entire time on Friday afternoon. The boy loves wheels.

He was finally persuaded to swing a little bit right before we left the park.

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Friday for dinner we had awesome grilled chicken kebabs in a greek marinade thanks to my very talented grill master – J and his trusty assistant. Bun even agreed to eat two whole chunks. I’m amazed every time he eats chicken.

Saturday was a little bit colder but we decided to head back out to Morreene Road park again because J wanted to check it out for himself. This time there were lots of kids running around and Bun just wanted to watch them. When he finally felt like he was ready to play, he went on the big slide with Dada

He also went down the slide on his own for the first time- We taught him to lie down on his back and slide down and of course we were right there to catch him. And of course we had him go down the littlest one.

Hair Static!

Bun wasn’t really as impressed with this concave window thingie as I thought he would be.

And finally, it was time to head home and J was very upset about having to leave the playground.

Finally, On Sunday we went to check out Kidzu the children’s museum in Chapel Hill but I committed a double sin and left my camera and phone at home so we have no pictures. I’ll just have to take Bun back there again and do a blog post then.

 

Baby, Baby Boy, Bun365, Life, Love, Mommyhood

Us!

nainadg

This week I’ve had the blues about how I don’t have a perfect, fairy tale life where everything goes smoothly all the time. But then I come across this and knowing that I had this moment, I’m willing to deal with any number of imperfections for a few moments of perfect joy.

*Us, Circa 2010*

P.S He now has two new teef!!!