Greetings from Atlanta!

Honey, we’re hoooooooommmmmmmmmmeeeeee! 🙂Kaiden, my dad, and I flew to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.  Thankfully, Kaiden did great on the flight – he slept for the first hour (give or take) and played/creeped on our seat neighbors iPad for the last 50 minutes or so.  Also thankful we flew in Saturday and not Sunday.  The Atlanta airport experienced a major power outage from about 1 pm onward on Sunday leaving passengers trapped and in the dark…literally.  My poor BIL was stuck on the tarmac for over seven hours (he flew home from Mexico).  Can you even imagine?  I can’t help but think about what that would’ve been like with a baby.  Not fun…that’s what!  Anyways, Niel is home now, and that’s what matters!

In true weekend recap style, let me share a bit more about what we’ve been up to the past few days…

FRIDAY

First and foremost, Friday included a visit from my friend Vijal.  She was in town for work and decided to stop by to see me and meet K.

The day also included MAJOR meal prep for Vishnu.  While I know he’s a big boy and can fend for himself, I wanted to ensure our fridge was fully stocked with dinner options for him.  His rotation is so unpredictable right now, and the last thing he wants to do when he gets home is prepare a meal (for one at that!).  So in true Parita style, I went to town and made three meals – butter chicken, turkey chili, and masala pasta with veggies.  Phew!

And finally, I did three loads of laundry and packed my little heart out.  Packing for me + K for two whole weeks was quite the feat.  Between me and my dad, we ended up with two large suitcases maxed out at 50 pounds each and three carryons.  Oy vey!

SATURDAY

Saturday morning included last minute packing and repacking, pumping, giving K a bath, etc.  Boy, how things have changed since our pre-baby days!

Vishnu dropped us off at the airport around 1:30, and we were somehow through security and at our gate a little before 2.  K and I went through security on our own since I have pre-check and my dad doesn’t.  And guess what…we survived!  It probably helped that I formed a game plan in my head ahead of time for how to get everything on the belt, including a car seat, caddy, two bags, and breast milk.  Kaiden’s cuteness also probably helped distract fellow passengers and make them less annoyed at us!

By the time we got home, it was almost 8 pm.  My mom prepared a feast, so as soon as K ate and I pumped, we sat down to eat.  So much yum on one plate…what I look forward to (almost) the most when coming home!

Because of the craziness from the day, Kaiden stayed up waaaay past his bedtime, which made for a very eventful night for his mama and grandma.  I lost count after a while, but I’m pretty sure he woke up no less than eight times in a seven hour period.  I don’t blame him though.  It’s hard adjusting to a whole new environment after a long travel day!

SUNDAY

Because of the aforementioned long night, my parents told me to go back to sleep after my morning pump session.  And sleep I did…until 11 am!!!  MUCH NEEDED!

A couple of hours later, Vishnu’s parents arrived at our house to see their grand baby!  The day included lots of playing, pizza, and catching up.  At one point, I looked over at Kaiden playing with all four of his grandparents and thought, “How blessed are we?”  It really is the most magical time of the year!

Thankfully, we experienced far fewer wake up calls (~4) and a more restful night of sleep.

And that brings us to Monday and the beginning of a fun week – visitors, lots of nani/nana time, my sister and Adarsh arriving on Thursday, Christmas Eve fun, yummy food, etc.

Happy Monday!

P.S. One of my goals is to be better about taking pictures for the blog!  And I’m not waiting until the new year to start. 🙂