Home

When I walked in the door, it all came rushing at me in one big huge wave...

It's my safe place, my happy place, the center of my memories, the place where I can wear pajamas 24-7, the place where my favorite music is played, the kitchen where I know exactly where every utensil is in the drawers, the place with the bedroom that smells familiar and has the best bed in the universe, the place where my kids have grown up, the place where family is everything...

Home.

I was only gone a few days and yet it felt so good to walk in the door.


September 2010 - My Living Room

Sometimes I think about a day, 50 years from now... maybe I will be thinking about the best days of my life, the favorite days in my 84 years... and right now, I think... I am here.

I am young. I am loved by my family. I am loving Firoze, Devon and Dean more than I can say. I have a house that is well loved, full of life, full of baby bottles, strollers, train tracks, lego houses, dinosaurs, and exersaucers. One day life will change and my living room might look like a magazine, but for right now, it doesn't... and that's just perfect. One day, I'll pack up all this kid stuff and sell it all at a garage sale and I'm already getting nostalgic because I'm trying to put the brakes on right now. I'm trying to slow down time and be here, in this moment, when I'm young and have two babies to love and to cuddle, before they grow into men.

This past week, I spent in Memphis, helping Bethany take care of Grayson. Month 1 - it's already over and he's ready to grow out of those newborn clothes. It's so fast and fragile and I see it already... next thing we know, he'll be crawling and saying his first words and she'll be secretly wishing that she could come back to this spot where she can just hold him in the crook of her arm and nuzzle his sweet face.



It goes by so fast B... so fast. Grayson is an angel and you and Aaron are truly blessed, so enjoy every moment... even the sleepless ones. You both are already amazing parents, even after Month 1, so it will only keep getting better.

It was great to snuggle a newborn, to cook and laugh with friends, and to fly home business class (first time ever... thank you Debbie!), but it was even better...
even sweeter to come home.

"Ba Ba" - Better than a PhD from Harvard

As a mother, there are few things in life that can compare to seeing your child grow and develop and reach a new milestone. I swear, even if Devon or Dean gets a PhD from Harvard one day, my heart cannot be prouder than the day I heard their first word or saw them take their first steps. This week, I have heard my precious Dean's first word... not a one time, "was that what I thought he said?" type word, but a real word, repeated over and over, with more and more emphasis until he got what he wanted. He said "ba ba" (which means "bottle" to anyone who hasn't been around a baby lately) and continued to repeat it over and over with more and more force until he was literally yelling and waving his hands wildly in the direction of the cabinet where the bottles were kept. And my heart was full of pride - my baby's first words! I could not be happier.







Now I keep waiting and holding my breath everytime he is standing and holding on to a piece of furniture... will today be the day he takes his first steps??? I'll keep you posted on that one. :)

Yes, I'm feeling just fine.

After three days of being snowed in... three days of eating all the warm, cozy, comforting winter food... it happened. I just wanted a great salad. Firoze was just getting off work, so I called him and asked if he would swing by Whole Foods. By this time, they were finally open again. I told him "Can you just get me some stuff to make a great salad?" And he asked "are you feeling ok?" Ha! I'm feeling just fine, thank you for asking.

The thing is, I crave everything. At one point or another, I'll want elephant ears from the carnival, Russian pelmeni (dumplings), dinner at The French Laundry, cheese biscuits from Red Lobster... and this list could continue into a novel... and yes, it will include fresh vegetables and salads too. Maybe most days I want something "bad," but I think I truly crave fresh food - whether it be a perfectly cooked lobster dunked in melted butter or a salad with the perfect fresh ingredients.

So, this was my "I must have it" salad:



Ingredients: Spring Mix, Finely chopped red onion, Baby Heirloom Tomatoes, Watermelon, Dried Cranberry, Sweet Orange Peppers, Freshly Grated Parmesan, and Champagne Vinagrette.

It's that sweet, salty and fresh combination that was just amazing. Even Devon ate all his salad and said he didn't want anything else for dinner. Now how often do kids say THAT?

And then this morning, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction and we went for the perfect Danish breakfast. What is that, you ask? It's called Aebleskiver. I saw it in the Williams Sonoma catalog and thought, wow, I need to try that. And then I saw them at Trader Joes. Perfect! You bake them in the oven and they are crisp on the outside, like a perfectly fried donut and then they are soft and tender inside, like the perfect pancake. You liberally powder them with sugar when they are hot out of the oven and put a dab of butter, jam, or syrup on them. Ahhh yes, life is truly delicious!

Snow Days: The Best Days!

Here we are in Atlanta and we're lucky if we get snow once a year. But today, we were really lucky! We got snowed in completely and got to enjoy a full day of fun at home. I'm not one of those people that have a sad, barren fridge with one lonely bottle of ketchup. I always have a fridge and freezer that is stuffed to capacity with the makings of at least 20 great meals (if my mind can put all those pieces together to form the puzzle). Today was one of those days it came in handy because even Whole Foods was closed! So, it was a wonderful day of cooking, relaxing and playing in the snow.



The snow started falling last night and I let Devon stay up way past his bedtime to watch the snow and then to go outside and stand in it - that's the excitement of a true Southern boy!

When we woke up this morning, this was the view of our street...



Firoze had to work almost 24 hours, from 2pm on Sunday afternoon until 1pm today. Finally, he made it back home (very carefully).



For lunch, we had a nice Asian buffet, with some basmati rice, orange sesame chicken, and stir fried broccoli with garlic and ginger. Then we got suited up like we were heading for the Alps and went outside to enjoy some winter fun. By the way, Devon's snowsuit is just a tad too short - don'tcha think? :) That's what happens when the last planned snow day was two years ago! Hey, we MADE it fit!







The Firoze and Devon got creative with the other half to Dean's exersaucer and decided to "sled" down our neighbors hill.











Devon loved it, even though it was a pretty pathetic attempt at sledding. I can't wait for him to see the real deal one day! We went in and did what every good Northern girl does after playing in the snow... had homemade cookies and hot chocolate! All we were missing were the antique metal radiators that we had growing up, to lay our wet mittens on to dry.

Meanwhile, it took Dean about 2.5 seconds to realize... hey, there's something wrong with my exersaucer!



"I think there's something missing and I'm sure if I stick my head in here, I'll find it!"



We ended our night with another winter walk and a great meal, taken straight from the Pioneer Woman. She knows what she's blogging about and that's great food! We enjoyed her shrimp quesadillas and they were delish!

Is it too much to hope for a few more snow days this week???

Nigella made me do it.

I love food.

There, that was easy. Other people love shoes, but I love food. I usually am watching Food Network at all hours of the night because that's my form of relaxation. And then it happened...

Nigella had a show on cravings.

(That's Nigella Lawson for those of you who don't watch TV about food all day!)

She proceeded to lovingly and indulgently (is that a word?) make 2 whole baked potatoes into the most gorgeous stuffed potato skins you ever did see. And then she plopped down in front of the fireplace and proceeded to enjoy those 4 large, overstuffed potato skins... all by herself.

All I could think was... I want THAT!

And so I did.



If indulgent photos of potato skins bother you, then just stop right here.



And it was SO worth it!

On the subject of cravings, if I eat something once and love it, chances are that I'll be eating it again very soon. I just can't get it out of my mind. That's what happened with my Mom's breakfast pizza. It's usually only for breakfast on Christmas morning, but why? I decided today would be Brunch at the Family Diner (aka, my kitchen) and we would be serving up "Mom's Breakfast Pizza." And this is how I made mine...

-1 Roll Pillsbury Pizza Dough
-Scrambled Eggs (made with 4 eggs, touch of half & half, few dabs of chive cream cheese and liberal sprinkling of salt)
-Sauteed chopped onion (about a quarter of a large Vidalia onion), chopped red pepper, and sliced turkey breakfast sausage links). Saute together in a skillet until onions and peppers are soft and the sausage is cooked through.
-Fresh grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (no pre-packaged grated cheese, please.)
-Freshly ground pepper & a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and parsley.
{Pre-bake pizza crust for 6 minutes at 400 degrees, then top with scrambled eggs and onion, pepper and sausage mixture. Cover pizza with grated cheddar and sprinkle liberally with freshly ground pepper. Bake for additional 12 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh herbs.}





How good does THAT look?

It was the perfect start to my "weekend" (any two random days of the week that happen to fall together and be my two days off) and I enjoyed my breakfast pizza with a nice big steaming mug of coffee. All I can say is... yum.

A Clean Start to the New Year

What to do on a day off? Hmmm...

Try out my lovely new camera lens, let Devon make the biggest bubble bath EVER, and let him play in the bubbles for a whole hour while Dean took his morning nap. Yep, and that's exactly what we did!











And we made the biggest bubble hats in the history of bubble hats!



Later that day, we got dressed to go out and get our Mexican fix...







I'm telling you... this boy knows how to cheese for the camera!



Here's my two little wild things... Let the wild rumpus start!



This is Devon, last few minutes before bedtime, determined and focused on putting a hundred dinosaur stickers "where they right belong Mama."

I love starting this New Year with my fabulous Christmas present of this new camera lens that will make everything seem shiny and new. Love it!

2010 - The Year in Review

What a year it's been! When I was looking back at all these pictures, I realize how BUSY we were this year!!! My New Year's resolution is to try to make the most of all these moments I have with my family to enjoy every second and to try not to plan too much that it becomes stressful. Here is our year in review - one thing I can say... we had a wild and crazy ride of a year! These are my favorite pictures - I hope you enjoy them too.



We went to the mountains of North Carolina for our family trip in January. We bundled up against the cold and enjoyed a beautiful mountain retreat. I was finally able to relax after the Christmas sales rush and put my 8 months pregnant feet up!



Whoa Nelly... that's a big baby bump!!! Last month ever being pregnant! I was soooooo ready to have that baby, but Dean just didn't want to show up on his due date in February.



March 2, 2010 - Dean Sherman Nizam made his debut into the world. What a life changing moment to see your son being born! Dean has been our sweet baby, full of smiles and giggles (and a little mischief too).



Dean grew so quickly out of that newborn stage, right into being a bouncing baby boy. He was already trying to turn over and hold his head up after a month. We had to keep our eye on him at all times!



May was Firoze's birthday month and we celebrated in a BIG way this year. He got the Sri-Lankan party he had hoped for. He got lots of presents, but his big gift was getting to go see his favorite sport - cricket - played by his favorite team - Sri-Lanka! We met my parents in Florida for an amazing family vacation. Dean got to sleep on the beach with the sound of the waves (no sound machine needed)! Devon got to build a sandcastle with Grandpa and Mimi and he still asks us when we are going back to Flor-ee-dah, because "I really loved Flor-ee-dah, Mama."



In June the weather started heating up and we enjoyed a picnic by the lake. We took the boys outside almost every day and made lots of trips to the duck park and playground. Our favorite thing we did this summer was to go to the pool - we went almost every day off in June and Devon absolutely loved to swim!



July was hot, hot, hot in Hotlanta! We had a great 4th of July party at Debbie and Bob's house. We cranked up the AC to cool off. We made a visit to Charleston and Devon enjoyed a little skinny dippin' at Grandpa and Mimi's house! :)



Devon has been the "big brother" since day one - always checking on Dean and keeping an extra eye on him for me. I know to come running when I hear him yell "Dean's doing something DANGEROUS!" And I usually hear that about 10 times a day! I love, love, love that we gave Devon a brother - someone that he can share life with and teach all he knows to (and probably boss around a little too!). Dean was sooo quick to grow up - he just started sitting up by himself and crawling at 6 months old. So sad that my baby is growing up so fast!



September is celebration month at our house - Devon's birthday, Courtney's birthday, our wedding anniversary, my birthday... and many other friends and family's birthdays too! This year, we added an extra special celebration - Firoze became an American citizen!!! We had a dress-up throwdown to celebrate our newest citizen and it was one of the most fun nights we had all year. Everyone that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE was there to show their love and support and we were overjoyed. Then, we rolled right into a big birthday weekend with Grandpa and Mimi to have a Thomas the Train day for Devon's birthday.



October was for fall fun - pumpkins and Halloween. We did it up right this year and enjoyed fall in all it's goodness! For Halloween, I had the two cutest dinosaurs that you ever did see! Debbie and I also threw Bethany's baby shower - it turned out just perfect! We also had our own private celebration with the treat of a St. Regis tea one afternoon - divine!



November was a hard month - Firoze was in Sri-Lanka for the first few weeks. I had a visit from his cousins. Then headed right to Memphis to help Bethany get ready for baby and to take some special pregnancy photos. Then we cooked for two days to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving... whew, I'm just tired thinking about November!



December was a blur. We worked so hard and spent every spare minute filling the month with all the traditions and memories of Christmas for the boys. We took Christmas card photos, we sent cards, we made a gingerbread train, we watched Polar Express, we baked Christmas cookies, we made enough pots of soup to start a restaurant, we worked and worked and worked and worked some more! And it was all worth it - Devon and Dean are our biggest gift and we want to give them the world!

Goodbye 2010... Hello 2011. Can't wait to see what this year will bring!