Parita - My Inner Shakti

Anguilla – Stayed, Ate, Did

I honestly can’t believe our trip to Anguilla is behind us! As all good things do, it went so fast.

Before I get into where we stayed, what we ate, and what we did, I have to say that the island of Anguilla is absolutely gorgeous. The people are also incredible friendly. On the flip side, everything is so darn expensive! I totally get why (tourism is the #1 industry and they import almost everything), but it didn’t make the sting burn any less!

Also, in terms of how we got to Anguilla, we started with a flight from Chicago to Charlotte. Then we went from Charlotte to Sin. Maarten. And then from there, we took a ferry (through Funtime Charters) to Anguilla, where we took a cab to our resort. Phew! A lot of travel but totally worth it.

WHERE WE STAYED

This was a total splurge vacation for us, so in the name of go big or go home, we opted to stay at the Four Seasons Anguilla.

First of all, holy moly! What a gorgeous property. Everything from our room to the landscaping to the pools to the restaurants to the BEACH (in all transparency, we only spent time on Meads Bay Beach – less rocks and more space)…it was perfect! We loved everything about our stay.

Our room in particular was a one-bedroom studio with a sitting area, beautiful ocean facing deck and plunge pool. I liked having the extra space since we were there for 5 nights. One other thing of note was the bed. SO COMFORTABLE! I slept like a freaking baby!

WHERE WE ATE

Sunset Lounge at the Four Seasons – We ate here twice – sushi the first day for me and a noodle bowl the second time. The food was great, but what I really enjoyed was the live music and ambiance. You could hear the water crashing on the rocks. Loved that we had this option right on property!

Coba at the Four Seasons – A fine dining restaurant where we ate breakfast every morning (DELICIOUS!) and had dinner one night. The veggie options weren’t all that plentiful, but the pasta I got was quite delicious. Vishnu enjoyed his fish entree as well – said it was very fresh. The best part of this meal had to be the chocolate lava cake. We literally licked the plate clean.

Bamboo Bar & Grill at the Four Seasons – This on the water restaurant was the perfect lunch spot after a day in the hot sun. We got the guac and chips with a Margarita pizza to share. And again, loved the water views!

Blanchard’s Beach Shack – I LOVED this place and highly recommend it if you’re staying on the western part of Anguilla. It totally has a shack like vibe (pretty affordable) but the food is delicious with more veggie options that I could ask for. I loved the on the sand seating, and the brownie sundae was to die for!

This one wasn’t on property, but it was a beautiful and quick 12 minute or so walk from the Four Seasons. We ended up going two different days for lunch.

Picante – Again, if you’re staying on the western end of Anguilla, I highly recommend this Mexican restaurant. The food was tasty – umm…corn on the cob with queso fresco! – and the environment was casual and fun. I got the veggie enchiladas and pretty much cleaned my plate, and Vishnu highly recommends the seafood enchiladas he had. A must try place!

Sharky’s – According to the staff at the Four Season’s this is THE up and coming restaurant in Anguilla. So many create seafood dishes on the menu! I didn’t feel too great the night we went here, so I opted for some hot tea and soup – pumpkin coconut! Vishnu had the lobster stir-fry and declared it the best thing he ate! Not the cheapest place, but if you’re a seafood lover, probably one worth splurging on!

WHAT WE DID

Our big plan was to go to the beach everyday and take it from there. We were successful because instead of packing any part of our days with activities, we waited until we arrived at the resort to think about this. In fact, the two things we did end up doing, we booked the day of!

The first thing we did was a sunset painting class on the Four Seasons property. Honestly, it was fun because it was Vishnu’s first time, and we did it together. Would I do it again? Probably not.

The second thing we did was an hour long sailing excursion. This was amazing! All we had to do was let the guys on the beach know that we wanted to do this and when. They gave us a time and a guide and off we went. The water was a bit choppy the day we went out, so it was extra fun! Poor Vishnu sat on the ‘crazy’ side every time because I didn’t want to get too wet. I love my guy!

Reliving our trip through this post is bittersweet – I’m so glad to be back home in our routine with my sweet Kaiden, but I can’t help but miss the beach, the relaxation, and the unlimited time with Vishnu!

Until next time!

Q&A with Mama and Food Blogger Meeta Arora

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In my opinion, today’s mama Q&A requires no introduction! If you own an Instant Pot, I’m 99.9% sure you’ve come across Meeta’s blog – Piping Pot Curry If you haven’t tried her recipes, what are you waiting for…? Seriously though, her blog is a go-to for simple, easy, and delicious recipes and meal ideas.

I love Meeta’s story because she truly went from pursuing her passion on the side to turning it into a venture – a true momprenuer. I think you guys will be super inspired by her journey, the hacks she shares and more.

Over to you, Meeta! 🙂

1. Tell me a little more about your family – number of kids, names, ages.
Hi, I am Meeta, and my husband is Mahendra. We have an adorable daughter Riya who is almost 6 years old, and we are expecting our second in July this year. My daughter is super excited and looking forward to meeting the baby.

2. Tell me more about your line of work.
I am a former Product Manager by profession, where I worked at an insurance software company building and improving software products. What that really means is I was responsible for defining the direction and for improving the product I managed. Before that, I worked as a software engineer. I made the switch to product management after doing graduate studies in management.

Currently, I manage my food blog called Piping Pot Curry, where I enjoy combining my culinary skills with sharing my love for delicious and healthy food with others. Having been a working mom, I understand the challenges faced by mom’s where they want to feed their family healthy food, while not spending a ton of time in the kitchen. It is all about efficiency. So I share recipes and tips to make cooking easier, and lots of my recipes can be made under 30-minute.

3. Tell me more about how you got to where you are now with Piping Pot Curry.
As I was working in my previous job, I wanted to do something on the side, a passion project. All that came to mind was food. I am a complete foodie. I love to cook, I love to go out to eat. Cooking is like unwinding time for me. At the same time, I met some friends who were into blogging. So after learning about their passion and success with blogging, I decided to start a food blog.

In February 2017, I launched Piping Pot Curry. It has been a wonderful journey. Initially, I was doing it as a side project on the weekends while working. But then for completely different reasons, I decided to leave my job in August 2017 and had more time to work on the blog. I spent some time learning photography, all the social media, creating videos. It has been super fun learning about this whole new world of blogging. I also saw good traction on the blog. So here I am almost two years later and still enjoying doing this full-time.

4. What does a typical day in the life look like for you?
Our day typically starts around 6am, when my husband and I wake up. We go downstairs, I make tea, and we both get some work done while sipping tea until 7 am. Then we start getting ready and making breakfast/lunches.

My husband and daughter leave home at 8:20 am and he takes care of the drop-off. This is when I finish cleaning up/getting ready and start my work at home around 8:45-9 am. My work involves cooking 1-2 days in the week, and most of the other time is spent on the laptop writing posts, social media, etc. (yes, this might seem counterintuitive, and I don’t always have to be cooking even though I have a food blog).

Depending on the day, my daughters school ends at 3:15 pm or if she has an extra-curricular class at school around 4:30-5 pm. So I wrap up work and pick her up. We come home and finish homework, which is luckily just 15-20 minutes currently. Then my daughter gets some relaxing time to play with her toys or watch a little episode of TV while I prepare dinner.

We then play some games or practice music or just do some artwork. Riya loves to play some board or card games every day. We have dinner around 7 pm. Most days my husband gets home around the same time, so we can have dinner together. Dinner is a struggle with our very very picky kid who can live on snacks but no real food. I have to give in extra time to get some nutritious food in her belly.

Then my husband or I go through our bedtime routine with Riya – shower, reading, sleep (by 9 pm). This gives the other person time to finish up the dishes, clean, etc. If given a chance, my daughter would love to stay awake and keep playing, reading, etc. So we have to make a real effort to get her in bed by 9 pm. She does make sure to get enough sleep by only waking up after 7 am. And then we go to sleep around 10 pm. Some days it is later depending on any chores we have to complete. Some days I wake up earlier at 5 am to finish up work or my husband is working late to finish his office work.

Weekends are for chores around the house, meeting up with friends, going to the park, grocery shopping and just having some family time. We try to also watch a movie or show after putting Riya to bed.

Now, this typical schedule is completely going to change once the new baby is here. I plan to take a couple of months off and then ease myself back into work by getting a part-time nanny.

But overall, I love the flexibility my work allows. It is satisfying as I get to do what I like and do not have the pressure of reporting to someone. At the same time, I do have my goals for the blog and am committed to making it a success.

5. What are your best hacks, tips, and tricks for getting the most out of your day?
The main mantra to follow here is to be present in what you are doing. In the evening, I completely block out work and only focus on home and my daughter. And during the day, I focus on working on the blog.

Planning the week helps a lot too. I use Asana to help me plan out my work week. I can add tasks and assign them to specific days of the week to make sure I accomplish my goals.

We also try to divide up chores between me and my husband which makes it easier to manage the day…using the calendar is our friend. Any task that needs to get done by a specific time goes on the calendar. My husband and I add each other to the tasks or events which need both our attention. This also helps to not double book ourselves or over-commit.

6. What are some of the big challenges you face and how do you overcome them?
Even though I get a good amount of time in the day, it feels like I am never able to get done all the work I planned out. I guess we all have a long to-do list of things to do both for home and work. And it is best to accept that the list is never coming down to zero.

That said, how I tackle my list is by “prioritizing.” Whether it is work or home, we sit down and think about the most important tasks to finish on a day or on a specific weekend and try to get them done. For example, on the blog, I am deciding between creating a new recipe versus creating a video for an existing popular recipe. Or when I have less time in the day when my husband is traveling for work (typically 1 week in a month), I plan accordingly.

On the side of spending time with Riya, there are always so many things we want to do along with her such as taking her to the park, zoo, museums or just spending the evening coloring and reading books. We are not able to do it all, but the idea is to have small wins and feel like we are making some progress.

7. How do you deal with mom guilt?
I am the person who does not feel as much mom guilt. I feel like I’m now able to give my daughter a good amount of time when I can pick her up before 5 pm (some days at 3:15) and spend 3-4 hours with her in the evening. This was different in my previous job when I could only pick my daughter at 5:45 pm every day. So the time I get to spend with her is much more now and we definitely cherish it. This will change as the new baby comes and the time will get divided between the two.

Oh…a couple of areas I feel where we can do much more is in taking her out to various weekend learning activities such as the museum, exploratorium, etc. We also want to get the kids (and us) to spend more time with nature and get some exercise, but we have not been able to incorporate much hiking in our routine in the last 1-2 years. We used to be able to do much more of that.

8. How do you carve out ‘me’ time? What does ‘me’ time look like for you?
As I work from home, it is much easier to carve out me time. It is mostly a massage or catching up with friends over lunch/coffee for me.

9. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
The simple things! Enjoying a good cup of coffee with a croissant while I work being one of them. Or there are days when I am not in a mood to work (especially if it is a day when I am at the laptop writing rather than cooking) or I’m too tired from other chores. Having my own work, also means I can decide on a whim to take time off and go for a massage!

I need to work on my health goals, but I also enjoy desserts, so there is no way I am dieting or leaving desserts out of my life!

Also, we don’t leave a chance when we can have a date night, by dropping Riya off for a play date with friends.

9. What’s your mama mantra?
Prioritize the most important things to be done and be okay with things not being perfect. Every child (and life) goes through phases. Some will be wonderful and some not so much. Remember that if you are in a phase where you are stressed or are not enjoying as much, it too shall pass.

Thanks for making time for this Q&A, Meeta! I love that you followed your dreams and made PPC a reality! I can’t wait to see what’s next…including your beautiful baby of course!

Weekend Rehash – When the Grandparents Come to Visit

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This was a good weekend! My parents were in town and that made everyone happy. Especially Mr. Kaiden!

FRIDAY

Friday started off on the usual note, except for one thing. It was K’s first full day in the young 2 classroom. He was super quiet at drop off, but he didn’t cry, so I’ll take that as a win. Our guess is that he warms up throughout the day because the pictures we received in the afternoon showed a very smiley, happy boy!

I then spent the rest of my morning/early afternoon running errands, prepping some food, going to the gym, and then heading to my sister’s place. My parents stayed with her and Adarsh (my BIL) this weekend because they came to celebrate her residency graduation. My sissy’s going to be an attending…yahoo!

I decided to make a haircut appointment while I was there since the hair salon I go to is right across the street from my sister’s place. Well…if you guys follow me on Instagram, you know that it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. She cut it a lot shorter than we discussed, AND on top of that, she took off way too much volume all around (I told her to stick to the back). Ay, ay, ay! At least hair grows back!

We hung out for a bit before heading back to pick up Kaiden from school. You guys! You should’ve seen him when he saw my parents. He ran straight to my mom. CUTEST THING EVER!

After some park time, we came home, ate dinner (a Gujarati feast by my mama), and hung out for a bit before calling it a night.

SATURDAY

Kaiden and I headed to my sister’s place around 9 am. GOOD MORNING, FAM!

After a walk to and around the Green City Farmer’s Market, where we enjoyed a blueberry smoothie and some delicious grilled cheeses, we headed to the zoo where we saw zebras and gorillas before calling it a day (it was getting close to nap time!).

We all napped for about 2 hours while K napped. Best decision ever! I can’t wait to live closer to my parents!

In the late afternoon, we hung out at home and made falafels for dinner. Well, my sister made falafels and I assisted! They were so good!

Vishnu actually finished at a decent time so he was able to join us for dinner! Also, you guys, we had Trader Joe’s Bon Bons for dessert, and they are AMAZING (#2 on the list)!

SUNDAY

Sunday looked a lot like Saturday in that we spent it at my sister’s place again. Except this time, I napped…A LOT! I don’t know why, but I woke up super tired and just needed a little (lot) rest.

We decided to stay in, enjoy each other’s company and eate more of my mom’s delicious food!

After saying bye to everyone at 4:30 ish, Kaiden and I headed home. We played and ate and played some more before I put him to bed.

Once Vishnu got home, he ate and suggested we watch a movie. He wanted to unwind! At first, I was hesitant and then said ‘what the heck!’ We watched Always Be My Maybe. It was super cute and funny, but not something I’d watch over and over again. I did, however, really appreciate the diverse cast. More of that please!

And that was our weekend in a really long nutshell! Thanks for indulging me with these posts! The future me will love reading about this weekend, so it’s important to present me to document even the mundane details. Kaiden will only be so little for so long!

Have a great week!

Saving and Organizing Recipes

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The idea presented in this post is not groundbreaking. Nor is it anything new. In fact, I’m probably taking us back like 20 years, especially given how technologically savvy tools rule the world now.

With that, I present to you my recipe binder!

I decided that enough was enough when it came to saving and sorting through recipes. In the past, I would find a recipe and either save it in IG, email it to myself, or Pin it (although it’s been years since I’ve pinned recipes). Then when it came time to meal plan, I would be all over the place because I couldn’t remember where I saved what.

But now when I come across a recipe I want to make, I print it out and file it away in my organized binder! Then when it’s time to meal plan and make food, all I have to do is pull out the recipes from my binder and voila it’s all there for me to see!

Another reason I was desperate for an old-school binder is because going back to look at the recipes on my phone while cooking created a hot mess. Literally my phone was disgusting. Also, picking up my phone would lead to checking apps and email. Which when you only have a set amount of time to cook is a WASTE OF TIME!

In terms of how it’s organized, I have sections for appetizers, sides, soups, Indian meals, entrees, dessert, healthy stuff (i.e. my treats made from beans), and miscellaneous. This works for me, but you can obviously organize your recipes in a way that makes most sense for you.

Like I said, this is a simple idea that started in our mom’s kitchen, but I’m all about bringing it back because I need my recipes in one place. Also, the idea of having all of our household favs in one spot makes meal planning a lot easier and less stressful.

The few things I bought to create this nifty binder can be found anywhere, but in case you want to order from Amazon right now, here you go!

1.5″ binder | Dividers | Sheet protectors

Let me know if you give this a go and how it works out for you!

No portion of this post is sponsored. However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links. Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Weekend Rehash – A Whole New World

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The title of this post has nothing to do with our entire weekend…just a small part of it. But given that Aladdin is one of my favorite movies of all time, it felt right!

FRIDAY

Friday was my most productive day. I think it had something to do with getting my grocery shopping and the majority of my food making out of the way first thing in the morning versus walking over a mile to go to Soul Cycle and then doing everything else.

Anyways, I went to TJs and Target first thing, which was nice because both stores were practically empty. I then came home and cooked for two hours. I made The Chutney Life’s Instant Pot Lasagna Soup and her Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers. Both recipes are really good and a huge hit in our family!

I headed to the gym for a Barre class around 11:30, which was a nice change of pace. The class was hard but I loved it. So many shakes and quakes!

After coming home and showering, I ran to Costco to get some essential items like toilet paper!

I wrapped up my Kaiden-free time by making my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these are so good. As evident by the fact that the 24 muffins I made are gone!

After picking Kaiden up from school, we headed to the park since it was such a beautiful day.

SATURDAY

Saturday started off strong. I went to a cycling class at my gym…it’s no Soul Cycle but it’ll do!

Kaiden and I then headed to a fun brunch with a few girlfriends (all boy moms!), including my good friend Ruchi who is in town as part of her annual US trip. So fun to see her and catch up with everyone. I wish I could say Kaiden was a perfect angel for this meal. He ended up falling asleep in my lap at some point, which means the rest of the day was kind of hit or miss. I didn’t want to miss out on seeing Ruchi and knew that would mean messing up K’s nap. I was hopeful it wouldn’t but it did. I didn’t want to keep him at home because Vishnu was studying. Ah well…you live and you learn…that it’s one day of many!

The weather was a little iffy in the early afternoon, so I took Kaiden to Target just so we could get out of the house. The park was an option…just one I didn’t want to entertain because I was tired!

Vishnu stopped studying when we got home (!!). We played and sang and danced.

My sister and BIL stopped by for an hour or so right before K’s bedtime, which made him so happy. Aekta and Adarsh are two of his favorite people. To illustrate, imagine this – we were walking to Target and he started chanting their names! And this happens regularly!

Anyways, my coworker and good friend Lamia and her husband Dusty came over after K went down for the night. They kindly agreed to stay at our place so Vishnu and I could go see ALADDIN!

You guys! Go watch this movie, especially if you grew up loving it as a kid. The only thing I would say is expect it to be a little different. For example, Will Smith brought his own flavor to the role of the genie. A lot of people feel like Robin Williams can’t be replaced, but I think of all people, Will Smith did an amazing job. Think of this version of the movie as a modern one!

SUNDAY

This brings us to Sunday. The hardest day!

I don’t know what it was. Maybe the lack of a good nap on Saturday. The 5:15 am wake up. But Kaiden was in a mood.

We headed to the Children’s Museum for what I thought would be a fun morning in a different environment. All was well until about 9:40 when more kids showed up and also wanted to bowl. This meant Kaiden has to share the space and the balls. He didn’t want to. I took him to another area of the museum that he usually loves. Didn’t love that. I took him to an entire floor altogether and offered him some snacks. Didn’t want any part of that. So when the screaming wouldn’t stop, I decided to take him home. I find that sometimes just getting him of the environment is best for everyone.

So then we came home, ate a little snack, put on our sunscreen and headed to the park. This worked out a lot better for the most part. He didn’t want to wait for people to finish with his favorite swing so when they saw Kaiden making a fuss they kindly got off and offered it to us. To be honest, I was thankful and a little embarrassed. But it is what it is. Another boy mom at the park told me her newly minted two year old refuses to share and is lacking major patience…which wasn’t a thing before. Good to know we’re not alone! With that being said, Vishnu and I are brainstorming ideas for how to help Kaiden when he’s feeling these big emotions. Will keep y’all posted on that!

Kaiden ended up taking a 1.25 hour nap after lunch, so I decided to take advantage and nap too. It wasn’t the most restful sleep but I’ll take what I can!

Later in the afternoon my friend Pankti and her little guy Arjun came over for an impromptu play date. We headed back to the park so the boys could run around and expend some energy. All was fine until Kaiden decided the water fountain was his new BFF. I was fine with him splashing himself and playing with it, but then he started reaching for it when other people were actually trying to use it. To make a long story short, our park visit ended with me carrying a kicking and screaming kid home. Ay, ay, ay!

The rest of the evening was spent playing and home and chatting with Pankti. Kaiden continued to have his moments but again…it is what it is! He’s almost two!

After I put K down for the nap, Vishnu and I talked for a bit about what we can do to help him and where a lot of this is stemming from. And the only conclusion we came to is that we have to be more strict about his naps on the weekends. No exceptions! When he doesn’t nap, he’s a different person. And not a pleasant one!

Anyways, I’m going to stop right here with this lengthy post and wish you all a happy week! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. 🙂

Diary of a Working Mom – Q&A with Aartee Badiani

written by Parita 1 Comment

It’s FriYAY, and I’m back with another Diary of a Working Mom Q&A!

Today, Aartee Badiani is sharing a bit more about her life and how she juggles being a working mama to not one, not two, but THREE boys!

Aartee and I ‘met’ on Instagram a while back (story of my life it seems!), and we instantly hit it off. Her page is full of the awesome books she reads to her boys every night, and I get so much inspiration from it all. Makes me want to buy all of B&N for K! 🙂

More than anything, I love how Aartee keeps it real and doesn’t sugarcoat motherhood. She’s my kind of people!

1. Tell me a little more about your family – number of kids, names, ages.
We have 3 boys! Neel is almost 7, Nish is 5, and Nirav will be 2 in July. Funnily I always wanted 3 kids even when I was little!

2. Tell me more about your line of work, role, responsibilities, etc.
I work in customer information. I essentially review account data, set up new accounts, make changes to existing accounts, etc.

3. Walk me through a day in your life.
My alarm goes off at 5:10 am, and I generally snooze it at least once! I take a quick shower and then get ready for work. If needed, I finish up anything I didn’t get to the night before – so lunch boxes, the kids clothes, setting out backpacks, etc. Then I head to work where my day runs from 7:00 to 3:45.

After work it’s off to the races! I pick up Nish and then Neel. Sometimes I’ll do a quick grocery run with them, but I try to get that done on the weekends. We get home, and I give the boys about 15-20 minutes time to unwind while I empty lunch boxes, go through backpacks, and give Nirav some attention.

My in laws live with us and my MIL will cook a few nights of the week. If I am making dinner, I get that started while the boys are doing homework. If I am not making dinner, I stick Nirav in his high chair with some crayons and paper while I help the other two with their homework. I probably also throw in a load of laundry at this point as well. After homework, I just keep them at the table and serve dinner. Post dinner is bath time and then they are allowed to watch TV or play if they have any time left. They usually don’t to be honest, so it’s story time (our favorite), prayers, and bed! I try to tie up all the stuff for the morning the night before, but if I’m being honest, there are days I fall asleep with the kids!

4. How has becoming a mom influenced your role at work?
It’s made me value my time more! You don’t realize how much you can actually get done in a short amount of time until it becomes a lifestyle! 🤣

5. What is your favorite tip on how to integrate work and life?
Cut yourself some slack! Laundry is never ending in my house, and I struggle to find a way to manage it. That being said, I do the best I can and I have to be ok with not getting to everything!

6. How do you handle mom guilt?
I struggle with this daily! Lol. If you have tips I need them!

7. What is the most surprising part of being a working mom? And the most rewarding?
The most surprising is know your kids are ok without you! Which sucks to know, but they benefit from everyone in their lives in some way! The most rewarding has been knowing that I will figure it out and balancing the two worlds!

8. How do you carve out ‘me’ time? What does ‘me’ time look like for you? On that same note, what’s your guilty pleasure?
Right now I’m bad about me time because at the end of the day I just fall asleep…. My guilty pleasure is definitely bad reality TV though…when I get the opportunity!

9. What’s your mama mantra?
Prioritize what’s the most important and focus on that! You’ll figure the rest out.

10. What’s the best piece of advice you received when returning back to work after having your baby?
Funnily your mantra! Take things one day at a time!

11. What advice would you give to mamas-to-be about returning back to work?
Don’t worry about everyone else! Figure out what works best for your family and stick with that.

Thanks for stopping by, Aartee! Your boys are so lucky to have a mama like you!

Weekend Rehash – Memorial Day 2019

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I went into this long weekend with 0 expectations. I didn’t set the bar high or low…I just told myself to go with the flow and see where our days took us.

And guess what…it ended up being really fun!

You see, our four day weekend started on Friday because both Kaiden and I were off from school and work. Vishnu was around but sporadically since he’s in full time study mode (but definitely home more than I expected him to be). With it being just me and K, I figured things would get tiring fast, but to be honest, my almost 2 year-old surprised me with his attitude and energy. Don’t get me wrong, our four days were peppered with tantrums and tears, but nothing that I couldn’t handle with the help of a few deep breaths.

I should also mention that the weather was incredible this weekend (for the most part). Mother Nature decided to give us a pass with some hot temps/sunny skies! And when it did rain, it was usually in the middle of the night or in the early morning.

Ok so let’s take a deeper dive into Memorial Day weekend 2019…

FRIDAY

Vishnu had an early morning board review to attend, so Kaiden and I started our day by playing in the living room. But by 7:30 am we downstairs hanging out with our favorite doorman because K wanted to go ‘outside.’ I’m sure we were a sight to see!

We then eventually made our way to Target so I could return something. Since it’s less than 0.6 miles away, we walked, which worked in our favor because Kaiden found a huge pink ball that he obviously wanted to take home. I couldn’t even entertain the thought since there was no where to put it! So when he dropped it, I made eye contact with a sales associate and asked him to take it away as fast as he could. He laughed and did exactly that!

The threat of rain kept us inside the rest of the day, but I did manage to squeeze in a Barre3 online workout (with lots of breaks to accommodate Kaiden!). We also FaceTimed with my grandma, my parents, and my in-laws.

SATURDAY

Kaiden woke up happy, which helped set the tone for the rest of the day. Funny how the moods of a two year old dictate everything!

I signed up for an early morning Soul Cycle class, the last in my package. That meant a nice long walk into the Loop and back, which I truly enjoyed. The class was awesome too – old school hip hop! A great way to end my 20 classes!

Once home and showered, I decided to make a Trader Joe’s run with Kaiden…his first! We had a great time…in fact, Kaiden became very fond of the bread I asked him to hold for me and wouldn’t let go. Silly boy!

We made our way to the park after lunch. Of course!

And then we had a super fun play date with our new friend Rohan and his mama. Mownika and I “met” via Instagram, and when we realized our boys are around the same age, we tried to meet up multiple times. It finally worked out! Check out my Instagram post to see what Kaiden thought of the few hours we spent together! Hint hint – he was obsessed with Rohan!

SUNDAY

Sunday morning started out on a cranky note. Not sure why, but we rolled with it.

After lots of playing and some eating, Kaiden and I headed out to get his hair cut. It had been more than 3 months since his last one, and I know he didn’t care, but it was getting so insanely long! Talk about ‘big hair don’t care!’

We ate and played some more after we got home. Thankfully, Vishnu came home for lunch, changed Kaiden’s diaper, and put him to sleep. I told him that I was going to nap while K napped…and that ended up being almost 2 hours!!

So we think (and we haven’t tested this enough yet) that Kaiden’s home naps ended up being disasters because 1. we didn’t put him down at one set time (like at school) and 2. we didn’t have a routine around them (we now very quietly read a book to him in his room…in the dark). I’m going to test this for a few more weekends and will report back. If this works, let me tell you, GAME CHANGER!

I wanted to take Kaiden to the park in the early evening but didn’t feel like running around after him (#realtalk), so instead we walked almost 2 miles (roundtrip) for some ice cream! We went to Jeni’s in the West Loop and shared the salted peanut butter and the dairy-free Texas sheet cake flavors. Both were delicious!

I’m pretty sure K had a sugar rush afterward because as soon as we got home he was running around all over the place! I was surprised he ate as much as he did for dinner.

Our day ended with some silly dancing and singing along with the Elmo channel courtesy of Alexa!

MONDAY

This was our chillest day of all! And I’m sure it’s because mama and dada needed it. Ha!

We basically hung out inside, did a Barre3 online workout (a 30 minute workout that took me almost 50 minutes), FaceTimed with family, and an had an afternoon playdate with a friend from school.

NOTE: K took a 2 hour nap!!! That NEVER happens. I put him down at 1 (read a story and rocked him for a few minutes) and he slept until 3. MIND BLOWN!

So I must admit that I was a little nervous about having Kaiden at home for four days mostly on my own. But it really was a lot of fun, and I didn’t feel alone because Vishnu made sure I got to do my own thing here and there. He also studied at home and took breaks, so that helped me out a ton.

Anyways, here’s to our last (in a while at least) long weekend without Vishnu around full-time! He takes his boards in a few weeks!!!