My Inner Shakti

finding strength in everyday things

BIG News + Weekend Stuff

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Y’all! It. Has. Been. A. Week. Parenting front. Marriage front. Self front. All of it. But Friday-Sunday were great. Thankful for a few good days after a crazy week.

Unfortunately, it’s not going to get any less crazy because…

…BIG NEWS…

…we bought a house and are moving next week!

After 10+ years of renting, we are finally homeowners! More than anything, I’m excited to give the kids a little more space and a backyard. Woo!

Will share more as things unfold.

On to weekend stuff…

FRIDAY

Kaiden had his very first field trip to the Museum of Puppetry, and he LOVED it! His first school bus ride as well. I loved seeing all the update pics throughout the morning. Kindergartners are so dang cute!

While Kaiden was watching a puppet show, I recorded the final two episodes (of season one) of Momsanity with Amy. So so good…we were on fire if I do say so myself! And for those of you who are wondering, there will be a season two early in 2023!

Later in the day, after picking K up from school, I took both kiddos to a nearby park. Unfortunately, there were hundreds (or what felt like hundreds) of kids running around. Kaiden didn’t get to have quite the kind of fun he was hoping for, but he made do.

Side note – big kids who have zero playground etiquette get on my nerves and make me so mad! Just saying!

After the park, we walked to a new hoagie place to pick up dinner. It was good but not great, so we probably won’t be trying it again. I got a cheese sandwich for K, and it was literally a mini sub roll and cheese. No mayo/mustard, lettuce or tomatoes. I added some from my own sandwich.

Also of note…I successfully put two kids to bed all on my own…and on time! Even after 11 months, this still feels like a win. Vishnu was working a 4-10pm shift from home, so he took Mila while I gave K a bath, but after that, I was on my own.

I had big plans for my solo evening. A mask, a book, and an early bedtime. None of that happened. I fell asleep on the couch, woke up to clean the kitchen, and then went back to sleep on the couch. HOT MESS! Oh well, I was pretty exhausted…!

SATURDAY

Can someone tell my why a child who has to be pulled from his bed at 6:30am Monday-Friday wakes up at 6:15 on his own on the weekends? I’ve got nothing!

But said child came and got in bed with us for about 30 seconds before shaking me to tell me he’s hungry. Downstairs we went!

After breakfast, our family of four head to the doctor’s office so the kids could get their flu shots. Shots are never fun, but this was quick and easy.

And then I got to go to Trader Joe’s…ALONE! It was magical. Ha!

The highlight of Saturday was a little day date with Vishnu. Believe it or not, but we haven’t been on a true date since before Mila was born. As in, he and I hadn’t been to a restaurant just the two of us in over a year! CRAZY!

Thankful that my parents could come over to watch the kids on short notice so the two of us could get some time alone.

We went to North Italia, and the food was delicious. For my entree, I ordered the burrata stuffed pasta, and it was worth every bite. In fact, Vishnu said that’s what he would order if we ever went there again.

Side note – I love that restaurants are sharing calorie counts on menus, but I also hate it. Like do I really want to know that my entree has over 1000 calories. Nope.

The rest of the day included at home fun, and a movie night with my boo! We watched ‘Wedding Season‘ on Netflix and really enjoyed it. A fun watch for sure.

SUNDAY

Said child woke up at 6:15 again! He played in his room until the chair he was rocking in toppled over. Then he screamed, so mommy had to run in to 1. make sure he’s ok and 2. make sure he didn’t wake his sister up.

At that point, I realized there was no getting back in bed for me, so we headed downstairs to make breakfast – croissants, cheesy eggs, and fruit. YUM!

The rest of the morning included a very vibrant conversation with Vishnu about mom guilt and everything that comes with.

Vishnu took Kaiden to the park a little later and met up with a med school friend of his who recently moved to Atlanta.

The rest of my day was spent making snacks and meals and hanging out in the living room.

We ended family time with dinner and the Falcons game. Then it was bath, bed, and some alone time for mommy.

And that, my friends, was our weekend. The next one is a little crazy in terms of events/commitments – Disney on Ice, possible garba, two birthday parties, and getting the kiddos over to my parents house because the packers come on Monday. AHHH!!!

Weekend Roundup – Paw Patrol, Celebrations, Football

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Ok guys, I know I’ve said this before and then left things hanging, but I’m really trying to get better about blogging here. This space used to be my everything, and understandably in the past few years, it’s fallen off my priority list. However, as I was running errands this morning, I was thinking about the things that bring me true joy, and MIS is definitely one of them. And with IG feeling like an abyss right now, good old fashioned blogging sounds so fun and refreshing. Finally, I still LOVE to go back and read old posts. In a way, this space is really my portal into the past, and I want to say that years from now as well.

Anyways, to make an already long idea short…I’m going to try my hardest to be a semi-regular blogger again!

With here’s a roundup of weekend, which ended up feeling both packed and spacious at the same time somehow!

FRIDAY

Friday was a typical weekday, however, I did make some delicious black bean burgers by Vegan Richa that the whole family enjoyed. I ended up making bowls for me and Vishnu with some quinoa, salsa, sour cream and cheese, and for the kids, we did quesadillas (always a fav).

I honestly can’t remember what we did after putting the kids to bed. Vishnu was on call on Saturday, so I’m pretty sure he got in bed a little after me.

SATURDAY

Like I said, Vishnu was on call on Saturday (in his case this means he goes into the hospital for a 7a-4p shift (but usually it’s more like 7a to 5:30/6p)).

Kaiden, Mila and I enjoyed a slow morning. And then around noon, my BIL and SIL came to pick up K and take him on an adventure of a lifetime! My BIL got tickets to the Paw Patrol Live show. You guys have no idea how much fun Kaiden had. He was living out his wildest dreams – Marshall, Chase, Ryder and the gang along with a side of cotton candy!

Later, my dad came over, we ate dinner (one of my favorite chole recipes!), and then after putting the kids to bed, Vishnu and I headed to a close friend’s 40th birthday party.

The party was so fun. We really did luck out with our group of friends. There’s never a shortage of laughter and fun conversation. And the taco bar was on point too – #chipsandquesoforlife!

We didn’t go to bed until about 1:15 so there’s that…and of course, K was up at 6:20 am. I got him to lay in bed with us until about 6:50 but even that was pushing it!

SUNDAY

So yeah…Sunday started early and with very little sleep!

Regardless, it ended up being a fun (and full) day.

I signed our family up for a local organization that plans cultural events and classes throughout the year, and the first class after signing us up was one about the flavors of India. So Kaiden and I headed there around 10 am. I wish I could tell you he had a blast and warmed up to the experience quickly. Neither of those things happened, but I’m glad we joined because it’s so well run and everyone was so kind. AND, as we’ve learned over the past year, our kid takes time to get used to new things. There’s nothing wrong with that…we just have to help him through it. I’m happy we have ample opportunities to do just that.

After we got home, Kaiden ate a snack and then we headed to our friends Jay and Chitra’s house or lunch and football. It was the Falcons opening game, which they lost…boo! But it was fun and entertaining watching the kids run around and be crazy!

Once we got home, I quickly pulled dinner together, and we got the kids ready for bed. Vishnu and I stayed up a little bit to talk, but I was definitely passed out by 9:30.

Like I said, we had moments of free time and space to just hang out, but the days felt very full in mostly good ways!

Weekend Things – Catnaps, Friends, (No) Santa and More

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Ahhh another weekend came and went. I know I’ve always been like ‘guys, time is flying by,’ but with two kiddos, time is REALLY flying. Vishnu and I joke (kind of) that we look at the clock and it’s 7 am and when we look again in five minutes it’s 12 pm and then 7 pm. And then boom it’s the next day – rinse and repeat!

This weekend was no different. It was a little more packed than usual but still fun.

On Friday morning, my best friend texted and asked if we wanted to get together for dinner that night. Her, her husband and her daughter came over, and we had so much fun talking, playing, and eating. For years, we’ve talked about how great it will be when we live closer to each other, and I’m so thankful that time is now. There’s nothing better than having a core group of friends that are more like family. It’s also so crazy to see some of my best friends become parents. Weren’t we just in college the other day with no responsibilities, no real insight into what was to come…?

On Saturday morning, Vishnu and Kaiden headed out pretty early for a breakfast with Santa with another friend, her husband, and their son. Kaiden was really looking forward to seeing his friend and Santa (or so I thought), but Vishnu called and told me that Kaiden refused to step near Santa and didn’t want a picture with him. Given our past positive experiences with Santa, I was a little surprised by this, but oh well…there’s always next year! They headed to a nearby park afterwards and had so much fun. K was exhausted by the time his head hit his pillow – a sign of a good time!

While Vishnu attempted to get K to go near Santa, I tried to conquer Ms. Mila and her catnaps. Not sure what’s going on, but our great little sleeper is not such a great daytime napper anymore. I’ve been reading more about wake windows and planning to be stricter about those this week. Fingers crossed that we hit a better groove with her, but we’ll see! I didn’t know about wake windows with K (or many other things), and while I’m thankful to have more knowledge this time around, it almost feels worse having a name for it. Ha…you can’t win!

A resource I found online that I’m following. Wish us luck!

On Sunday, my in laws came over in the morning and hung out with us for a few hours. Again, it’s so nice to have all our loved ones so so close. Makes everything so much easier!

And one again, Vishnu and K headed to piano and I tried my best to get Mila to nap (no dice!). Piano went well at least! K learned how to play Jingle Bells, but of course, he wouldn’t play for me when he got home.

And that was our weekend in a nutshell. Nothing crazy and totally normal and just the way I like it (except the naps…I want her to sleep more!).

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Weekend Recap – Diwali, Netflix, and Family Pics

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First and foremost, I’m really really hoping to bring back old school blogging on this space. I used to share here so frequently with updates, life happenings, more topical posts, etc. But with how much blogging has changed over the years, I didn’t think that was really what people wanted to read. Welllll…I’ve decided that if people don’t want to read those kinds of posts, they won’t click over. If I want to keep MIS the blog alive, I need to write about the things that interest me.

With that, here’s a little rundown of our weekend…

Friday

Friday was Vishnu’s last day of paternity leave. Oh man! I have so many emotions about this. I told him I wish he got 16 weeks like me and made him laugh. As much as he’s enjoyed being home for the past few weeks, I think he’s really looking forward to going back and using his brain in a different way.

I wish I could say we did something special to celebrate his time at home and return to work, but we didn’t. With Mila on an every 2.5-3 hour feeding schedule, time just flies by. It’s like we go from 7 am to 12 pm in a matter of minutes.

While we didn’t celebrate during the day, we did go to my parents’ house for a family Diwali dinner on Friday night. It was so much fun hanging out with everyone, catching up, and eating some delicious food. My mom was the hostess with the mostess – her decor was beautiful and so welcoming. We ended our time there by reading some of Kaiden’s favorite Diwali books (the adults loved this too!).

When we got home, Vishnu put Mila down and then we watched Sex Education on Netflix (such a great show by the way) while I pumped.

Saturday

Saturday was a slow day overall. We ‘slept in’ until about 8/9 am because Kaiden spent the night at my parents’ house, so we could go back to sleep after Mila’s morning feed. Felt so good! But I missed my older guy a lot.

Again, the day passed by in 3 hour increments with some Sex Ed. mixed in here and there along with a few pumping sessions. Before we knew it, my parents were dropping K back off because we had a family photo session in the morning.

Vishnu and I finished Sex Ed. that night. Good news…season 4 is coming soon…yay!

Sunday

Sunday morning was probably the most hectic of all. Convincing Kaiden to put his sweater on took 30 minutes! Then I had to get ready – iron my dress, straighten my hair, and put on my makeup. Thankfully, we were all ready by 10 am which is when our photographer arrived.

Don’t let this picture fool you! Was literally sweating during our photo session…and was just a little frazzled!

The session itself was so much fun! Kaiden kept everyone on their toes with his silly expressions and movements, but I’m positive we got a few frame worthy shots!

The rest of the day involved coloring and some time outside (66 degrees!).

A few notes

Taking care of one kid versus two is much much easier (duh!), but you don’t realize how much easier until your parents take one off your hands for a night. I missed Kaiden so much…he keeps things interesting around here and can be a bundle of fun (90% of the time). But he had a really fun time with my parents. In fact, he didn’t want to come home at all. If we didn’t have pictures, I would’ve let him stay another night.

Sleep is critical. Always. But especially when you have young kids. The irony here is that when you have young kids, sleep is hard to come by. I definitely need to find a way to squeeze in a couple of more hours because 4-5 hours of broken sleep a night isn’t cutting it.

Most people may already know this, but it took me by surprise so I’m sharing – if you’re seeing a therapist and you end up rehashing a lot of what’s been going on for you lately, those emotions will all be front and center all day. I had a session last Thursday and felt off the rest of the day emotionally. I think it’s because we talked at length about my second hospital stay, overall emotional state, etc. Also, while I believe in the power of acknowledging and validating, I don’t always hear those things from many people in my life. So to hear my therapist A/V me a ton, it just meant so much.

Well, that’s all I have for today! Hope y’all had a great weekend.

Weekend Recap – The One Before Baby Girl

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This was our last weekend as a family of three! It’s hard to believe she’ll be here so so soon (starting this post on Saturday night). I wanted to document this time because I’m sure I’ll look back in the near future and want to recall some memories.

In some ways, this was the exact weekend we wanted/needed. And in other ways, it wasn’t what I imagined it would be.

FRIDAY

Friday was mine and Vishnu’s last day of vacay. We dropped Kaiden off to school in the morning and headed to the hospital for my Covid test…a pretty simple process. Vishnu dropped me off at home afterwards and headed out for more errands (Costco run, gas, car wash). And I sat my butt on the couch and watched Baby Sitter’s Club on Netflix (season 2 was just released!).

Once VIshnu was home, we ate lunch and headed to our final doctor’s appointment. The appointment went well overall. We had an ultrasound done (love this part!) and a stress-test, which took forever. Apparently, baby girl was moving a ton so that kept messing up a part of the results. We were there for 2 hours!

Once home, I reparked my butt on the couch and watched another BSC episode. Before I knew it, it was time to go get Kaiden (which Vishnu did because at this point, I’m not driving or going anywhere I don’t absolutely have to).

Then…it was play (mostly draw and color/run around), dinner (I made a pineapple, tofu, coconut rice dish. Kaiden ate rice and small bites of everything else), bath, PT exercises, and bed.

Vishnu and I settled in on the couch (yet again) and watched two episodes of Sex Education (on Netflix). Loving this show so far!

SATURDAY

Saturday morning started off fun, with Kaiden letting me lay in his bed for about an hour while he played. This was much needed because mama has not been sleeping that well at night.

We then hit a rough patch or two with Kaiden and some frustrations over what seemed like small things to me at least. But I kept my cool and we rode that wave relatively quickly.

We then ate breakfast and let Kaiden watch a bit of TV which Vishnu and I adulted over some health insurance stuff! Ha!

The next couple of hours were spent running around (Kaiden…not me!), making some snacks for K for next week, and setting up a few more things around the house before baby girl arrives!

Our after lunch plans were to get some custard at a local place, but I was so tired and pretty much couldn’t get off the couch. Kaiden and Vishnu both told me it’s ok and that we could get custard tomorrow (Sunday). Love my boys.

Kaiden then watched Moana while I napped on the couch next to him. This is where things didn’t go the way we planned. This was supposed to be a family movie we watched together. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Exhausted doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt! Luckily my little guy was very forgiving and didn’t mind watching on his own.

To make it up to him, we spent the next hour or so learning how to draw Moana from a YouTube video. I have to say, I’m not a super artistic person, but I really enjoy drawing and coloring, especially with Kaiden. It’s kind of our thing now!

I quickly pulled together a lunchbox dinner for K while Vishnu went to grab some food for the two of us. And of course, we listened to Moana songs while we ate!

Then came bath and PT exercise time. Not my finest moment to be honest. Kaiden is great at paying attention when he wants, but then when it comes to something he needs to do, he definitely zones out and goofs off (re: during his PT exercises). He knows that if he doesn’t do these every day he’ll have to wear special boots, which none of us want for him. We try to make it fun with songs and timers and whatever else we can, but sometimes it’s just so painful (for him and us). So yesterday, I just kind of lost it. I did some repair before bed, but this kid really knows how to push my obviously big buttons. We’re working on it!

After putting Kaiden to bed, I took a quick shower, Vishnu finished up Squid Games, and then the two of us settled in to finish off season one of Sex Education. It’s so good, y’all!

SUNDAY

Our last day before baby girl arrives! Sunday started a little later than normal for me because Vishnu and K let me sleep in a little. Then Kaiden got in bed with me to snuggle (never happens!) and was just so sweet. Brought tears to my eyes (and made me feel better about the night before).

We then came downstairs, ate breakfast, and got some things done around the house while Kaiden played and ran around. Tried my best to appreciate this because I know things are about to be verrrrry different for a while. Reminding myself that nothing lasts forever…enjoy it while it lasts.

The rest of the day included pumpkin carving (styrafoam from Target!), piano lessons (Kaiden loved his first lesson and his teacher), custard (finally!), and more cuddles with our soon to be big bro!

My parents are staying with Kaiden this week, since we’ll probably be at the hospital until Wednesday or Thursday. So thankful for them!

Also, I may have teared up quite a bit saying goodnight to Kaiden. So much so that even he teared up a little (not knowing why). So many emotions! So excited for him to meet his baby!

Last Full Weekend in Chicago

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I took a big exhale as I typed out the title of this post! I can’t believe the less than one week countdown is on. So bittersweet in so many ways, but also just so very sweet.

I wanted this weekend to be full of family time. While Kaiden and I leave next weekend, Vishnu doesn’t come until 12 days later when his fellowship ends.

Friday

Friday was a good day overall. I worked, ran some errands, and baked mini cheesecakes (because I wanted to!). We had a simple dinner, not so simple bedtime routine (because Mr. K didn’t want to go to bed!), and a night of television hopping. We started with an HBO show called Starstruck, moved on to the a docuseries called The Windsors, and ended the night with some Jason Statham movie. Well, Vishnu did anyways. I fell asleep about 25 minutes into The Windsors!

Saturday

Saturday ended up starting later than I expected. Closer to 7:30! Kaiden decided to sleep in a little!

As soon as he woke up, he reminded me that we forgot to wrap daddy’s presents, so that’s what we did first thing. Then we delivered the presents to daddy in bed, ate breakfast, got ready, and went to brunch.

Y’all! M Henry is a must try little place in Andersonville. The food was fantastic! Vishnu and I couldn’t get enough of the Blackberry Bliss Pancakes we ordered for our table.

We then headed to my sister’s place for the next few hours where we sat and talked and caved to Kaiden’s demands! Her SIL graduated from undergrad, so her in-laws were in town. We hadn’t seen them in a long time, and it was fun to catch-up…and I think they enjoyed Kaiden’s shenanigans!

We now had a tired boy on our hands who skipped his nap, which meant a quick dinner, no bath, and an intended early bedtime. Bedtime didn’t happen any earlier than normal, but he fell asleep right away, so there’s that!

I spent the next few hours reading on the couch and starting this blog post while Vishnu watched some Angelina Jolie movie.

Sunday

Sunday started off with pancakes and fruit. We then got ready and headed to the park to launch rockets and swing. I’m pretty sure Kaiden was a little disappointed because none of his friends could make it. He kept asking me who he should play with, and when I would say, me or daddy, he would reply with, “But I want to play with my friends!”

We eventually convinced him to come home, and then it was lunch, nap, workout for mama, wake up, and more park time. We launched rockets with K’s friend Roger, and they also chased each other around with Roger’s bubble guns.

We ended the day/weekend with dinner, bath time (much much needed), and little bedtime drama per the usual!

Overall, our last full weekend in Chicago was a great one! Lots of time outside and with family.

Hope y’all had a good one too!

Edwards Apple Orchard

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It’s been a minute since I’ve checked in on here. Honestly, this space is taking the back seat right now, but I’m staying true to my word and checking in when I can.

I wanted to share about our day trip to Edwards Apple Orchard because it exceeded all of our expectations. And most importantly, Mr. Kaiden had an amazing time!

Vishnu and I decided that we wanted to visit an orchard, but we were a little (lot!) late to the game. A lot of the nearby orchards are closed for the season. Vishnu did a bit more research and came across Edwards Apple Orchard. The website looked great and there were three varieties of apples still available for picking.

The only con was that Edwards is 86 miles from where we live in the city. But we decided to go for it. We brought our own lunch since the restaurants are closed, and headed out fairly early.

We got there around 10:45 and headed straight to the area where the tractors meet you to go picking. The first thing I noticed was how everyone was wearing a mask. Phew! One worry off the list. The second thing I noticed was just how beautiful this orchard was, and how well organized the place seemed. The process to get our tickets, get on a tractor, and go to the orchard was super quick and easy. Everyone was social distancing, and it just seemed so seamless.

The orchards themselves still had plenty of delicious apples to pick from, and we definitely went to all three. We got a basket for $48 (up to 6 people) and filled it 3/4 of the way. Kaiden had the best time being on Vishnu’s shoulders to pick the highest apples!

After were were done picking apples, we headed back to the main area where the big store/barn is. Again, there was a line to get in with markers on the ground, and everyone was still wearing their masks. The barn itself was spacious and smelled like heaven (fresh donuts!). We got a few goodies – spicy strawberry jam, salad dressings, popcorn, etc. And of course, we couldn’t leave without getting a few donuts, which in my opinion were the highlight of the trip. So warm with a crispy sugar +cinnamon exterior and a soft pillowy interior. YUMMMMMMM!

We debated going to the huge pumpkin patch on site but decided to eat lunch and head home. We were hoping Kaiden would nap a bit on our way back, but he didn’t! Of course!

I can only imagine how magical this place is during non-Covid times, but because we had such a great experience, I wanted to share in case any of you are local readers and are looking for a new orchard to visit!

Thanks for a great experience, Edwards Apple Orchard!

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