So Thankful

We can say "We were here first!" We were the happy testers of the St. Regis Ice Rink this week. What a gorgeous spot to enjoy a little bit of the winter chill in Hotlanta. It was Devon's first time in skates and he was a natural. I have no idea why Firoze is reluctant to let him become a figure skater???




After a few times around, Devon was ready to let go of the side railing and probably even my hand, if I would let him!





I was so proud of Devon - he was so sure of himself on skates. Maybe it's in the genes!





Firoze did his part by ordering a gourmet hot chocolate and giving it a taste test. We wouldn't want the rest of Atlanta to suffer by having to taste it first without a professional hot chocolate drinker giving it the stamp of approval.



Next our "testing" continued with the s'mores roasted in the St. Regis outdoor fireplace.





And if you're wondering... do s'mores taste better when you eat them at a 5-star hotel, rather than a campsite in the middle of the woods? The answer is YES!



Thank you Robert (at St. Regis) for treating us like VIP's for the afternoon - for the skating session, for the hot chocolate and s'mores, and for taking two great family pictures of us!





Devon got to see the amazing St. Regis gingerbread house - look at the size of this! It was still a work in progress, since the actual grand opening won't be for a few more days. The smell was heavenly. No need for a spa visit, just stand there and smell the air around the gingerbread house for about 5 minutes!





We were so thankful to have a few days off, to have this amazing family day together and then to lead right into the Thankgiving eat-a-thon!

My Mom and Dad came up to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and we were truly thankful that they could make it. All Devon asked me (at least a hundred times) over the past two weeks was "Can I watch my 'Dinosaurs' movie with Grandpa and Mimi?" On Thanksgiving morning, he got his wish and you can see how cozy he was snuggled next to his "Grandpa."



The best thing we did this year was to prepare all our dishes the day before, so on Thankgiving day, all we had to do was to kick back, relax and watch the Macy's Day Parade and a dinosaur movie, while our turkey cooked for a few hours. Then we popped all those great side dishes in the oven and enjoyed some of this...



Seriously, look at that - are you drooling yet? It's baked brie topped with a sprinkling of brown sugar and pecans. When it's warm from the oven, you top the entire thing with good cherry preserves that have been warmed and then you shove your face in it... I mean, you politely spread a reasonable amount on a cracker and you eat it (and repeat this for the next hour!). What a great way to pass the time while casseroles bake!

So, we did Thanksgiving right... After all, it's my all time favorite eating day of the year. Yes, there are fancy nights out at restaurants, but what can top Thanksgiving dinner? Yep, that's right... NOTHING! So, here's the rundown... we had our Turkey, brined all night and glistening from the oven, we had our gravy - which was perfection, by the way! We had mashed potatoes with more butter and cream cheese than should be legal. We had macaroni and cheese, which bubbled away with cheesy goodness. And of course we had the homemade cranberry sauce, spiked up with extra orange zest and citrus juice. Those are all the regulars at our table, but here were some of the all stars.

Sweet Potato casserole is only "right" if you have at least a 1 inch thick layer of brown sugar, butter, and pecans on top!



Oh the stuffing goodness, to stuff our bellies, to stuff our mouths... this was some seriously good stuffing - made with carmelized onions and apples.



You've got to have a Thanksgiving "wildcard." You can't do the same thing every year, or people would just eat it and complain non-stop. Actually, they probably would happily eat the same thing, but it's just me that always wants to try one new thing. So, this year, it was sweet corn casserole and it was like a moist, fluffy, sweet cornbread and it was AMAZING!



Our Thanksgiving table was just beautiful, thanks to the gorgeous new glasses that arrived just in time from Bethany and to the perfect fall leaves, gathered by my Mom and Devon on their walk around our neighborhood.



What a perfect Thanksgiving, filled with a bountiful table and a wonderful family to enjoy it with!



After eating for about 7 straight hours, we decided to get moving down to Atlantic station. What a perfect night to be out and about in Atlanta. It was warm and the lights were so cheery and bright!





The size of this Christmas tree makes it absolutely stunning!



We were so happy we could spend Thanksgiving with "Mimi and Grandpa" (formerly known as "Mom and Dad") and that it was such a perfect day!



The best way to end it was with a little night soccer, first with Firoze and Devon and then with a new little friend we met at the Atlantic Station Park.







Good thing Devon got enough exercise for all of us because it was time to go home and eat some pie! And so we did!

Brotherly Love

So many things to love about fall...

Kids in hats! Really cute kids in hats! And sweaters too... and layers... just like those Gap ads. What could be more fun than wrangling my boys into "photo worthy" outfits and begging them to frolic and roll in leaves for fall photos? Hmmm... that meant taking off last nights pjs (myself included) at 3pm in the afternoon and hoping that two grumpy kids would turn those frowns upside down!



At first Dean just wasn't having it. He didn't want to laugh and giggle as I gently let leaves float down around him. At least that was my idea. Instead, he was unhappy laying in those weird dirty crunchy things and wondering why the sun was bothering him.



My sweet Devon - no matter if he's "feeling it" or not, he can radiate joy! He's way too cute for words and that's why he can always make me laugh, even when he's getting in trouble.



Devon has always been the big brother - from the minute he saw Dean at the hospital on the day after he was born. He wants to do everything for him and can't wait until he can be the little professor and teach him everything he knows.



It was all worth it - that's the photo I was looking for, waiting for... My two sweet boys, looking like angels for one brief second, so cute in their hats, surrounded by the beautiful fall leaves.

The week of tough LOVE

What a month it's been...

I feel like I have done a lot of soul searching, thinking and growing in the past two weeks. And I've figured some things out...

First, I can take A LOT. Sometimes you stress out over little things and you think "I can't take one more thing going wrong because I'm going to have a nervous breakdown." But, then ten more things go wrong and I'm still standing. These weeks have shown me - there can be lots of stresses and lots of things that go wrong, but there are still so many things to be happy about and to be thankful for.

So, here are some of those things...

I'm glad I got to know Firoze's cousin Azmath, his wife Julie and their cute little boy Rami. They came to visit and to stay with someone they've never met and we all got to know each other. Sometimes family means you stand at the airport looking for someone who looks Sri-Lankan in a sea of 200 people all waiting at the same baggage carousel. :)



I got to see that Sri-Lankans and Americans create the most beautiful babies!



I found out that when it's 1 adult vs. 3 babies, the babies win! Good job Azmath, for trying to wrangle them all into one photo!



Another major thing I have learned is LOVE. I have felt very overwhelmed and grateful for the friends and family I have in my life. When things are rough, sometimes you can't do it all. You can't make it through rough times alone. God gives us so many blessings, but one of the most precious gifts is family and friends.

LOVE is...
My Mom's constant prayers,
Court's calls and emails to make sure I haven't lost my mind,
Debbie's never ending supply of homecooked dinners and care for Devon & Dean,
Annie's willingness to stay overnight with Devon & Dean and to make sure they were taken care of in every possible way,
and Bethany, who let me escape to Memphis for some fabulous food and hours of girl talk.

LOVE is...
the best lobster sandwich ever!
Ok, maybe that's just love in the mind of a foodie!



If taking a bite of this doesn't make you forget your problems, then I don't know what will!

Oh, and then there was the kobe beef short ribs... heavenly!



True friends think "this is what my friend would have ordered if he were here." So, Aaron ordered the duck entree in tribute to Firoze. Perfectly cooked duck in a ginger and lemongrass broth - Firoze, are you hungry yet?



But, true friends know that Firoze would have loved the duck, but he would have LOVED this more... and so Aaron drank it all...



Restaurant Iris in Memphis... go there for a dinner with friends. Say "Cheers" and eat amazing food - you'll be so happy you did. Bethany and Aaron, that food was LOVE.

And LOVE is expensive! :)



Last but not least, this week has shown me that love is also celebrating the miracle of a baby. I've gotten to experience the overwhelming love of my two babies, Devon and Dean. They were worth the 10 months (not 9!) of pure torture for the two best gifts in my whole life. And now I get to see Bethany getting ready for her best gift ever and I know she's gonna know what LOVE is too.








For all the pregnant ladies, if only for one moment, you should feel that you're the star in the most glamorous Italian film. You should flaunt your baby bump and get ready to experience LOVE in all it's sweeping, cinematic glory.





LOVE is the voice of your husband on the phone from all the way across the world, the hug from a friend, the encouragement of a sister, a homecooked meal, the grasp of your child so tightly around your neck, the happy smile of your baby and a little one, still with God, waiting to make his debut into this crazy, colorful, hectic, delicious world!

Trick-or-Treatosaurus

It was a lazy morning and it felt so good to sleep in under the warm sheets in a nice cool room...

Who am I kidding?

This Halloween was full of lots of things to do, from the moment the sun came up, until it disappeared behind the trees. There were the normal life moments, like doing the things I never have to do... things like emptying the diaper bin... installing car seats... and doing laundry. Firoze, I truly miss you and all these things you do for me. :) Then there were the things I always have to do... things like letting Devon climb in my bed and ask lots of questions about dinosaurs at 7:45am, while I kept hoping a miracle would happen and he would snuggle next to me and fall back asleep. Yeah, right...

In between all those everyday things, we spent some quality time making a birthday "cake" for Bob. If this was Project Runway and "you're either in or out," cake would be out. Cake isn't special when you can buy a better tasting cake at Publix for $10. So, we made butter toffee bars instead and added chocolate chips just for Bob.

As usual, Devon was my Sous Chef...



No candle can match the scent of butter and chocolate in the air...



And just like that, we have one perfect birthday "cake."



Does this make you hungry, or what? Happy Birthday Bob! They're all for you!



On Halloween evening, I got my little dinosaurs all suited up. Devon could not be more in love with, obsessed, and excited about all things dinosaur. Of course, when I asked him "what do you want to be for Halloween?" the only possible answer was "a dinosaur!"



Our sweet litte Deansie was transformed into the cutest, chubby dinosaur that ever lived! I'm sure this is a scene straight from Devon's imagination... where everyone he knows and loves is transformed into a dinosaur.





You know I love to dress up and I was this close to putting on a dinosaur costume myself, but instead I decided to be a Paleontologist (those nerdy people that study dinosaurs). Maybe Paleontologists are really cool and wear couture, but in my mind, they'll always wear khaki.



Debbie and Bob, you truly go above and beyond as friends. You know how much I was looking forward to this night and you helped make it as wonderful and stress-free as I had imagined. Thank you for being my "family" in Atlanta and for loving my boys so much!





Dean was our traveling dinosaur exhibit and happily rode in his "cage" (don't you dare call it a stroller, use your imagination!).



Me and my little snuggle-saurus!



We went trick-or-treating in the most awesome Atlanta neighborhood. It's a perfect little street full of families that were trick-or-treating to the fullest... with big, big glasses of red wine or beer in their hands. Yes, I'm talking about the parents... it was a great big ol' party in the street. We suffered without a single beverage... who knew that's how Halloween works these days???



Meanwhile, Devon had the time of his life and looked soooo cute doing it!

I love the tail here...







This is the face of happiness... the happiness a full bag of candy can bring!



We saw too many cute kids to take pictures of, but who wouldn't love a cuddly little Elmo?



This might be my favorite picture of Dean. He's in full teething mode and will pretty much chew on anything he can get his little chompers on. Here's my little cutie chomping on his stroller, just like a real dinosaur would do it - with his spikes in the air!



Even Dean had to take a break from eating his stroller to say "What on earth???" and crane his neck to see a Storm Tropper walk by.



Finally, it was time to end our perfect night of Trick-or-Treating...



Just like any holiday, it was about family... the evening spent together on a crisp cool fall day, watching the sun get orange and dip below the trees, watching Devon's face light up and being so proud to be a dinosaur that he really, really wanted to sleep in the pants all night, watching Debbie sneak a piece of Devon's candy (hey, there has to be some benefit to pushing a stroller all night!), seeing Bob happily wear the other Paleontologist hat the entire night, watching Dean chilling in his stroller, and most of all, making memories that will make me smile, even during sad times.



(Yeah, this is how I "carve" a pumpkin... you got anything to say about it? There's only two people I know who can talk... that's my Dad and Bethany... the two people that can carve a weeping willow, the words "Happy Halloween," Jesus's face, and whatever else floats their boat on a pumpkin. So there.)