tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349136142024-03-05T10:05:10.413-05:00Live.. Learn.. Laugh“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?”- RumiSaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-28305974401668543242018-11-30T12:54:00.000-05:002018-11-30T12:54:07.801-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Super Easy Cheesy Homemade Mac & Cheese..from scratch!<br />
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1 box pasta (you can use any, here I used whatever I had leftover: half elbow + half rotini)<br />
2 tbsp butter (salted is what I use)<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
1/2 tsp black pepper<br />
1/2 tsp garlic powder<br />
1/2 tsp paprika<br />
1/2 tsp dry parsley<br />
3 tsp all purpose flour<br />
1 cup whole milk<br />
2 cups cheese (any kind, I like cheddar/parmesan/mozzarella/whatever's on sale at Publix that week)<br />
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Boil pasta as per box instructions<br />
in a separate saucepan on medium heat melt butter until completely dissolved. Add in flour one tsp at a time and continue to whisk. Once you see the flour has completely blended into the butter and has small bubbles coming up lower the heat and add in milk. Continue to stir slowly. Once the mixture thickens into a sauce consistency turn off the heat and add in cheese. Keep stirring. Sauce will thicken further as cheese melts into it. Add in all the spices to the sauce until they're completely dissolved. Put boiled pasta into a baking dish and pour cheese sauce over it, mix together well.<br />
Optional: Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 10 mins on 400F.<br />
More options: add in items like chopped onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, grilled chicken or cooked ground beef to make this a more hearty meal.<br />
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-74173956934431616182018-11-28T13:47:00.002-05:002018-11-28T13:47:32.407-05:00The Golden Years<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's kind of crazy that I've now been a stay at home mom (again) for a year now and I've literally never had a moment to blog. How does that even happen? "What do moms do all day at home?" (eyes rollin so hard)<br />
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Truthfully, I'm sure I did have moments where I could have found the time. I probably used that time to be lazy and catch up on Netflix binging or wasted time on my phone. AH WELLZ to that, but here I am now. And while I may not have been writing about it, my headspace for the past few months has been all about this topic; The Golden Years.<br />
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We (as in me and family) are in this amazing spot right now. We are finally past that stage of raising babies, although we still call them babies, our kids are now grown actual people who are (nearly) out of diapers walking and talking being their own selves demanding less of our time/energy. Yet at the same time, they aren't fully grown either. They haven't (totally) begun that stage of being sassy, smart mouthed know it all adolescents yet either. They still need us to prepare their meals, drive them to activities and actively want to spend time with us. I like to see it as though we have this small window where life is still busy as it always is, but it's easy too. Everyone is still eager and excited for family road trips, the kids are old enough to have their own sibling jokes, but not too old yet where they prefer their own time over family time. It's probably a tiny window of 5-7 years while we have this to make all the memories we can. So, how can I not call this the golden years?<br />
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For everyone who's still a step behind me rest assured this day will come for you too. I know you're living in survival mode right now, I was there for a (VERY) long time too. I too felt like it was never going to end and my sleep hating children had doomed my life forever. That look I see now on the faces of moms who have infants and toddlers is still too fresh from my own experience. (And we still get the occasional tantrum/meltdown to keep our feet on the ground too, don't wanna get too carried away there.) But I'm now in that stage where I can also recognize the glimmer in the eyes of moms who wish their kids in college would check in more often. I'm beginning to understand what it could feel like to no longer be needed as much as I have been for so long. And it's crazy, because all while you're in it you want it to pass quickly but once it's gone you wish it back. That's just how life works.<br />
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I see it now in my 4 and 7 year old's words. 'When I'm 10 then I'll be tall enough so I can...." or "When I'm a teenager (its ALL about the teens right now apparently) I'm not going to have to do..." A lot of us grow up waiting anxiously to experience all that there is to see and do in life. I spoke about this to my husband and at first he didn't get it. He thought I was being depressive, but what I'm getting at is being mindfully in this moment.<br />
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All my life from childhood til marriage, then having children there was always something to look forward to. I've always been someone slightly dealing with anxiety because I couldn't stop focusing on the future. How would it all pan out, what could go wrong what could go right. But for the first time I'm at a plateau, I guess you can call it. I've done and seen everything on my life list. (MAJOR alhumdulillah to that.) The career, marriage, kids, vacations it's all ticked off (of course iA we will have more vacations because who ever says we're done to that?! But my bucket list ones are done.). All moments leading up to this was what made today possible. Maybe all my perfectionism helped make me check off everything sooner than others have. Who knows? What I do realize is that now I need to sit and bask in its glory, because it really truly is glorious this life. This life we've been given its here and happening now. For the first time I am actually NOT looking forward to the future. I know there's lots of exciting things still on that horizon too, like the milestones and achievements of my children; their colleges/marriages/careers. I'm not discounting any of that, but it's as though age has made me wiser.<br />
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I know now that the upcoming turn of life for me will also mean seeing my parents age and one day leave us too. That's not a stage I look forward to, at all. I do wish I had learned sooner to live in the present, to be content with whatever stage I'm at now. I don't regret how I lived, but I do think I would've been happier living in the present rather than the future. Even without things checked off on my list, life was still always amazing. We forget that when we're so forward focused. I would've held those tiny babies longer, I would've been more carefree in college. I could have been more present in the conversations and relationships I had rather than unfocused and detached. Still, I do remind myself not to get depressive reflecting on the past, but I say all this to hopefully spark something in you my reader. This past year has been so great, and only so because I changed my focus. I prioritized the now. I made that shift that said I will be mindfully present here right now and nowhere else. It changes everything. Your relationships, your experiences. I hope reading this makes you reflect on whatever stage of life you're in right now and reminds you to be as present as you possibly can be.<br />
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Don't let your mind fly off into what else you should be doing or where else you need to be going. Life may be crazy, but life will always be crazy. It will always be awesome too. The chaos of today will be tomorrow's memories. The things you're so hopelessly praying for today WILL be a reality and you won't even realize how easily that happen. Be as you are and be it confidently, happily and gratefully. Now you might ask HOW to do this shift? That'll have to wait for another post. Because I have to go live the NOW. </div>
Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-83691228736620051332017-06-28T10:58:00.000-04:002017-06-29T13:12:18.616-04:00Sahar's Flower Garden First Birthday Party<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Can't believe my little sugarplum turned 1! </div>
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The party was in March and I'm JUST getting a chance to post about it. Better late than never right? Since she's a spring baby I wanted to incorporate that into the theme, in addition to finally being able to throw a girly party after having two boys! I felt what better way to be feminine while celebrating spring than a beautiful flower garden theme! </div>
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I started the preps for this in January, because I knew my elaborate ideas would take a lot of time. As usual, I tried to incorporate as much DIY as I could; with a homemade banner, cupcake toppers and multiple trips to Michael's. I also made all the backdrop paper flowers myself and if anyone is interested in tutorials, Youtube is the place to go! Send me a message and I can recommend the ones I found most useful.</div>
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I used my best planner friend, Pinterest, for cake table inspiration and I'm very happy with the result. I kept going back and forth if I should do all the work myself or hire a party planner. In the end I did use <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BellaEventsFL/?ref=sgm" target="_blank">Bella Events</a> who is located here in Tampa, Fl to set up all the decor for me. With a full time job and three kids I knew that I just wanted to hand that responsibility off to someone else. It was really wonderful having a Day of Coordinator to help everything run smoothly and I would definitely recommend it. Nearly all the decor and desserts on the table were my own and the ideas for favor bags with a religious scripture for the magnet was mine as well. But having her execute it for me made a huge difference for my own peace of mind at the day of the party, when I had so much else to do. An added bonus is that she was wonderful to work with, which made it such an easy decision! The cake was done by a local baker Sonia from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sonias_sweets/" target="_blank">Sweeties Delights</a> at a very reasonable price, it was true to the design I gave her and tasted delicious as well. </div>
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We had a super cute flower fairy making station for the kids, but sadly I got no pictures of it! If you search Pinterest for fairy making you can find tons of great free printables. As you look through the pictures below I tried to include as many links as possible to where I got all the party decor. Hope this helps with your own party planning, for anything I missed feel free to reach out! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapchat Filter via <a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1259504007" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Etsy</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FREE <a href="http://www.swoonedmagazine.com/blog/post/free_printable__29__floral_alphabet_bunting" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">FLORAL ALPHABET BUNTING</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodie bags and tablecover via Dollar Tree, Islamic Sign from <a href="https://salamshop.ca/" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Salaam Shop</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">First Birthday Poster ordered via </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/AurumPrincipium?ref=profile_shopicon" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Etsy</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">, Flower photobooth frame made by me</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">macarons from Costco!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcake toppers found <a href="http://www.grafficalmuse.com/?p=2100" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ikea lanterns and DIY vases</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Customizable Snapchat filter, Free printable sign </span><a href="http://lollyjane.com/free-printable-spring-art/" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">snapchat filter via <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/JessicaMichaelPrints?ref=profile_shopicon" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Etsy</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tip: Have your balloon artist premake a bunch of balloons for kids to choose from to save time during the party, mine had to run to another event and was kind enough to bring about 20-25 along with her. I told her to choose the most popular shapes kids love and it worked!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam looking as legit as Mario can get</td></tr>
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The following images were found from Google search and are not my own. I used them as part of table decor, favor tags and for sending out our Save the Date message. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mNhRTTMPDM4xza8kue7TitC3rMu8mOw51tRJnx29nXbO1nrC15_TMmiaziRtNHo7e2akC5sHyFZ9weU-GBsOxAdttJvSNayePp6gNzuI8ufkJ6oacyLXQUdpNH-bBganAwyv/s1600/Free-mason-flower-tags-FPTFY-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mNhRTTMPDM4xza8kue7TitC3rMu8mOw51tRJnx29nXbO1nrC15_TMmiaziRtNHo7e2akC5sHyFZ9weU-GBsOxAdttJvSNayePp6gNzuI8ufkJ6oacyLXQUdpNH-bBganAwyv/s320/Free-mason-flower-tags-FPTFY-3.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full image <a href="http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/2016/08/free-mason-jar-floral-tags-pretty/" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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The below coloring pages were found via Google Search and are not my own property.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpT_eTwjPdFxsfryxlTEKJ_bfCvcdHWLNVBui5D_8aAAM_wjRtj56N4-O33gvlLZ88nATsVBVguj_1PnMoKgQlLgmnQhAhsO7n-CM2Kq8N91AJMChF9nA6ygkdQ8HTbP9ULGIb/s1600/Life-is-Beautifulcoloringpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="575" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpT_eTwjPdFxsfryxlTEKJ_bfCvcdHWLNVBui5D_8aAAM_wjRtj56N4-O33gvlLZ88nATsVBVguj_1PnMoKgQlLgmnQhAhsO7n-CM2Kq8N91AJMChF9nA6ygkdQ8HTbP9ULGIb/s320/Life-is-Beautifulcoloringpage.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full image <a href="http://www.herecomesthesunblog.net/adult-coloring-page-free-printable/" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-36677920377747273522016-12-20T15:34:00.003-05:002017-06-28T11:02:46.623-04:00Ramadan and Eid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Growing up I definitely wished I could celebrate Christmas like the rest of my school friends. Eid was fun, but it didn't seem nearly as exciting as Christmas did. So I decided to change that for my kids. My goal with doing all these holiday activities was to encourage my children to love their own culture and religion, without feeling left out during the holidays that others around them may celebrate. We have now been doing a Ramadan Advent Calendar for two year and my son absolutely loves it! Holidays should not be only about decorating and getting gifts they should also be about the importance of our values and belief in God. With each holiday I do emphasize why we celebrate what we do. During Ramadan we explain the importance of fasting, how it benefits our body and also gives us appreciation for those who may have less than we do on a normal basis. We talk about how fasting is not just for food but for keeping away from activities we should always avoid and to redirect our focus on prayer and love for God. On Eid we talk about traditions of prophet Muhammad pbuh: going for morning Eid salaat, wearing new clothes, handing out treats and spending time with our loved ones. For Eid ul Adha we discussed the story of prophet Ibrahim pbuh, how he trusted and was so devoted to Allah swt <br />
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<b>Crafts and Activities:</b> masjid coloring pages, crescent/star hanging ornaments, make your own tasbeeh (prayer beads), sheep cupcake decorating party<br />
<b>For Others:</b> collecting toys for new refugee children in the community, writing Eid cards to our cousins far away and baking cookies to give on Eid namaaz to our friends nearby. My kids are still very young (5, 2 and under 1), but as they grow older I do hope to continue with more altruistic activities.<br />
<b>Family Traditions:</b> Praying maghrib namaaz as a family and reading our favorite Islamic books before bed. Listening to nasheeds on Spotify by Dawud Wharnsby and Yusuf Islam during car rides to school. Watching Baba Ali and Zaki videos on youtube to learn manners and stories from the Quran.<br />
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Making holidays fun for the kids really doesn't have to be expensive or a lot of hard work. I found some affordable vendors who I purchased adorable decorations from, but I also made a few trips to Michaels/dollar stores to make our own as well. I probably spent the most amount on Islamic books, but to me that was worth the cost. A great way to save on that is to do a book exchange with friends every Friday. This way your children can get exposure to new reading material without having to spend a lot.<br />
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I hope you enjoy a glimpse below into our holiday traditions. I will do a new post soon to tell you our reviews of the reading material!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Ramadan Advent Calendar Goodie Bags. Kids can open one bag each evening counting down to Eid, filled with treats inside.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdd-SS54HzAIgwzRA801lZV4G__08Ik1BAeyss68vAD3uESMrxS4irImEPKJA82Edawlgg5zPCcUrSb1n7EWpPaByU_OBQUUBQB9afqVkHNKG4IenGTAB_UsfzmrN1O-r1u0y0/s1600/IMG_9609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdd-SS54HzAIgwzRA801lZV4G__08Ik1BAeyss68vAD3uESMrxS4irImEPKJA82Edawlgg5zPCcUrSb1n7EWpPaByU_OBQUUBQB9afqVkHNKG4IenGTAB_UsfzmrN1O-r1u0y0/s400/IMG_9609.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our nightly reading selection in honor of Ramadan/Eid. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k2aMVZqNzoD_aPGakb77wPNIbG5OHczhc3Y03yW-U68kqVZWkSsN_gZ8B3eMC3gRns-VzffglYx-2xCdDiRmSM4_OC-EUVBK9M3N9P-LKgVr6nnWXRG1BpZokKNSOQjtM1EE/s1600/IMG_9900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k2aMVZqNzoD_aPGakb77wPNIbG5OHczhc3Y03yW-U68kqVZWkSsN_gZ8B3eMC3gRns-VzffglYx-2xCdDiRmSM4_OC-EUVBK9M3N9P-LKgVr6nnWXRG1BpZokKNSOQjtM1EE/s400/IMG_9900.JPG" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">using the Snapchat Filter to wish all her friends!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzRnQQrcqK-A1ar6fz9pcr7OyXHYwiPI3G_neNfNGQPeOP-S46zGz-ZB1FRn-l-wHbGBIsrUCwwG4MTGASDxPXMt8EIl82h9V_NR4ozCWkYvUfG-Xq4uYRB2bb1sHmupkSE4i/s1600/IMG_9897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzRnQQrcqK-A1ar6fz9pcr7OyXHYwiPI3G_neNfNGQPeOP-S46zGz-ZB1FRn-l-wHbGBIsrUCwwG4MTGASDxPXMt8EIl82h9V_NR4ozCWkYvUfG-Xq4uYRB2bb1sHmupkSE4i/s640/IMG_9897.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">We are big on banners in our house. This was recycled from last year, it came in a DIY banner kit from Target</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY4UA1kNMSZg4hNRsggrbi59hBFNQd7gurEf8UlFWK1GrnlRloum9Iwlj-TC9IfFbcPGapbGbLQzU8jYPkNSYZPtRsEp9LEHlV-gh-gKWl1r99N1rogoS7PnUXyK61n-ybegG/s1600/IMG_9597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY4UA1kNMSZg4hNRsggrbi59hBFNQd7gurEf8UlFWK1GrnlRloum9Iwlj-TC9IfFbcPGapbGbLQzU8jYPkNSYZPtRsEp9LEHlV-gh-gKWl1r99N1rogoS7PnUXyK61n-ybegG/s640/IMG_9597.JPG" width="356" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping busy during the day doing activities per our Rafiq and Friends guide. Rafiq was our version of Elf on a Shelf this year. Loved the book and activity cards he came with. Super cute illustrations and engaging stories.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpy7o0moO5IefDboZVowD3FJvp6Gjb_boTWkND6ywTEQK8k-q8DEDifH38TlOKvxMVCXsRm-D3gDHNiVe9etzo8iUG1EbjTpB8wwJSWQjTam9Sf_E8VXwUp491qEECXdPAuJP/s1600/IMG_9596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpy7o0moO5IefDboZVowD3FJvp6Gjb_boTWkND6ywTEQK8k-q8DEDifH38TlOKvxMVCXsRm-D3gDHNiVe9etzo8iUG1EbjTpB8wwJSWQjTam9Sf_E8VXwUp491qEECXdPAuJP/s640/IMG_9596.JPG" width="356" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LIINBGQryAnBFEuYmQPQB-A3mYFQ2VAttc0r_z9lKIsdKNBKeOb7E_c4-EM3Axuc-emWxMzP7bbGnYneknicoQYkJZP4gvo2UsCl-QUz5FHi-o4olNLcwFSVwstk1b9V3xaW/s1600/IMG_9615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LIINBGQryAnBFEuYmQPQB-A3mYFQ2VAttc0r_z9lKIsdKNBKeOb7E_c4-EM3Axuc-emWxMzP7bbGnYneknicoQYkJZP4gvo2UsCl-QUz5FHi-o4olNLcwFSVwstk1b9V3xaW/s640/IMG_9615.JPG" width="356" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Praying with Baba before we break our fast for the day.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDSeAsZi2bL3Z_qTjNpenEGmaJb_PeGvY_oYcRlgBYiqv16-wS069XlF5xBNSqn_3riVUk-mI67-lK7uUz-ImMVZlcYwqreait_yti_LJgGqbdhLxsr_wSe5cBiy0WOevR1EC/s1600/IMG_9954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDSeAsZi2bL3Z_qTjNpenEGmaJb_PeGvY_oYcRlgBYiqv16-wS069XlF5xBNSqn_3riVUk-mI67-lK7uUz-ImMVZlcYwqreait_yti_LJgGqbdhLxsr_wSe5cBiy0WOevR1EC/s400/IMG_9954.JPG" width="375" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kept the Pom Poms, swapped out the banner. Using <a href="http://www.sweetfajr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Ramadan-Lanterns-template-Sweet-Fajr.pdf" target="_blank">Sweet fajr lantern template</a> and <a href="http://www.imaginairyart.com/downloads" target="_blank">Imaginaryart Masjid Template</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7bWc2SrdQbuW72Bw_0YBRVftbcdn23x6JH9crz3M-9b0hQSporIm6-U_tZHRAF6g-tlEOwpXCgEqfgFI6bNXDrvOThjvm-QV2pFmske7xe2PbMCvoCVYhSKP8AGhgiGnf4Zi/s1600/IMG_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7bWc2SrdQbuW72Bw_0YBRVftbcdn23x6JH9crz3M-9b0hQSporIm6-U_tZHRAF6g-tlEOwpXCgEqfgFI6bNXDrvOThjvm-QV2pFmske7xe2PbMCvoCVYhSKP8AGhgiGnf4Zi/s320/IMG_0039.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Onesie by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/JasmineandMarigold" target="_blank">JasmineandMarigold</a> Skirt from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A31I3GDFN4VEWN&merchant=A31I3GDFN4VEWN&redirect=true" target="_blank">Amazon</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREONog8qSeCjm7-7C_ZNHuGmeDWfutCILNTCy1YHtK150Vu7GMItVqpMrtUUFtJBPOXwLc3nV0UUnxn8c6bPU9P3O7h4HT2Om64I72kB3WNYh3k2T9_yrcoWnaqJU-aTAvQqo/s1600/IMG_9732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREONog8qSeCjm7-7C_ZNHuGmeDWfutCILNTCy1YHtK150Vu7GMItVqpMrtUUFtJBPOXwLc3nV0UUnxn8c6bPU9P3O7h4HT2Om64I72kB3WNYh3k2T9_yrcoWnaqJU-aTAvQqo/s320/IMG_9732.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">coloring Eid Cards to mail to our friends. Cards from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gupshupgreetings" target="_blank">GupshupGreetings</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq9e_nKB89XOhe6adZwQJfrPH0BrL5KO5oHXgcgycUPIq-riS7JaQY3QFBbT3jSb0omZjIt40ZI-0ZLQ2Zb783xvKrsFCXFe6GISBNT_21pkS2uFaW1MBEb-UEsv3_G2Ulf6a/s1600/IMG_9960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq9e_nKB89XOhe6adZwQJfrPH0BrL5KO5oHXgcgycUPIq-riS7JaQY3QFBbT3jSb0omZjIt40ZI-0ZLQ2Zb783xvKrsFCXFe6GISBNT_21pkS2uFaW1MBEb-UEsv3_G2Ulf6a/s400/IMG_9960.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gifts wrapped and ready to be opened after Eid prayer</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAo_29UTesxLFSvw4vDUGBNZLJWYj32zfoTTBCxHAN2LHJDAygErarktFFTJmaGQwnxmpHl6eivXXGrqCHawBHMM37h8ExqC3EkBrRX9vsito1Tr60zL4iCqsu1Y2Qn92sK8q/s1600/IMG_9959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAo_29UTesxLFSvw4vDUGBNZLJWYj32zfoTTBCxHAN2LHJDAygErarktFFTJmaGQwnxmpHl6eivXXGrqCHawBHMM37h8ExqC3EkBrRX9vsito1Tr60zL4iCqsu1Y2Qn92sK8q/s640/IMG_9959.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Eid favors for our friends, labels courtesy of my good friend over at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gupshupgreetings/" target="_blank">Gupshup Greetings</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NgE61eBaapLTxB6Ec9h5CXf6ddBT6uRbD23xN5lLlamYnDmrpTLDE7f9CVUvS-IdJ4REgvo4-LVMHyBV4TkfJy2HEQom5BVlIfnD5YTNlLgqzKiq_yaIgeZ8i30LIkB8VvSX/s1600/IMG_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NgE61eBaapLTxB6Ec9h5CXf6ddBT6uRbD23xN5lLlamYnDmrpTLDE7f9CVUvS-IdJ4REgvo4-LVMHyBV4TkfJy2HEQom5BVlIfnD5YTNlLgqzKiq_yaIgeZ8i30LIkB8VvSX/s320/IMG_0892.JPG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep shaped cookie cutter purchased via Etsy to bring these adorable Eid ul Adha cookies to life!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItbUJqbJp4MdMeD9EjqcnrAgcVy9dxdjhC774MBZSlE070sGuIa4x1J1PYQwgEcrmCzUODnsjCQgP9OJYAPdU1iKGY0ND47yQe5N7Klmqb3wzDT9ECcpv6xyeOE1wmObRXge9/s1600/IMG_0891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItbUJqbJp4MdMeD9EjqcnrAgcVy9dxdjhC774MBZSlE070sGuIa4x1J1PYQwgEcrmCzUODnsjCQgP9OJYAPdU1iKGY0ND47yQe5N7Klmqb3wzDT9ECcpv6xyeOE1wmObRXge9/s320/IMG_0891.JPG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eid Trifle for our Chand Raat party, yes I know the D is off centered. Its bothering me too! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS_zWeJFT6VkfbwqQ_zgfk17dNxXJj3iJGeAlB4GMh3x93DZzvIEi7doKzq0gtAoejWBkSZnEa5YRLEbaVCbbmYZeGETlonY-mlhh0ZpGbl-hZbh5jOjrQ_HnhVbeFHgaVGGG/s1600/IMG_0879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS_zWeJFT6VkfbwqQ_zgfk17dNxXJj3iJGeAlB4GMh3x93DZzvIEi7doKzq0gtAoejWBkSZnEa5YRLEbaVCbbmYZeGETlonY-mlhh0ZpGbl-hZbh5jOjrQ_HnhVbeFHgaVGGG/s400/IMG_0879.JPG" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We attended a Make your Own Sheep cupcake party!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY4UA1kNMSZg4hNRsggrbi59hBFNQd7gurEf8UlFWK1GrnlRloum9Iwlj-TC9IfFbcPGapbGbLQzU8jYPkNSYZPtRsEp9LEHlV-gh-gKWl1r99N1rogoS7PnUXyK61n-ybegG/s1600/IMG_9597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTV29hyrFUq8eUWCFUgq8YIb3wtklOLzxzL3pynfGehW6UrxmVLzn2IwDXVEcgvuRXPwOOc-5mlkQacHz9uQSdxQzdbirvYrw8HCQ1S_O3vyhg-JeUrrEFYobGYVwza3dwz5r/s1600/Masjid+Ramadan+coloring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTV29hyrFUq8eUWCFUgq8YIb3wtklOLzxzL3pynfGehW6UrxmVLzn2IwDXVEcgvuRXPwOOc-5mlkQacHz9uQSdxQzdbirvYrw8HCQ1S_O3vyhg-JeUrrEFYobGYVwza3dwz5r/s640/Masjid+Ramadan+coloring.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masjid Ramadan coloring page via <a href="http://www.imaginairyart.com/downloads" target="_blank">Imaginairyart </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-7210515243605915182016-06-19T00:41:00.001-04:002016-06-23T10:52:48.218-04:00Adam's 2nd birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xEALeo2YWpPQPbProUCiYtzYhxVxh1jzvLCqxRa2G7tSrV5dWAv_GXoZz04-WR0gLadQ01bfUwhgOF7mf-B9eCD36S44SdtmEARuP_mjhEMLWrZPEe_A9c7FjP85eTA_oQkI/s640/blogger-image-1558064415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xEALeo2YWpPQPbProUCiYtzYhxVxh1jzvLCqxRa2G7tSrV5dWAv_GXoZz04-WR0gLadQ01bfUwhgOF7mf-B9eCD36S44SdtmEARuP_mjhEMLWrZPEe_A9c7FjP85eTA_oQkI/s640/blogger-image-1558064415.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNxTMiV67IzVY72Qhpi9xLChXmzIGLOy5yRvDtif2pb3g918UGhFqoniI_cUeZvY8JISFakI37HoqSQyo65LgGHaVtn6mPb0MUA8RDMKvzRrRa6FAKvfLwectzREVEqDrgqtj/s640/blogger-image--1152855412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How adorable does my little guy look!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Print POP/BAM signs </span><a href="http://meaningfulmama.com/2014/01/free-superhero-word-bubble-printable.html" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> and Super Hero banner letters </span><a href="http://www.mypapercraze.com/?p=2422&" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> all for freeee!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pU6SQAB8Q9Y/VqEWlhn_k0I/AAAAAAAAWec/c3QKCrLak0E/s1600/IMG_7692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1ypA5tBiQI/VqEWlsrIOPI/AAAAAAAAWec/WzFG3XZYN8o/s1600/IMG_7696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYWaSLzrPymCPhM94AaaQJ9TF1cU_At-ohRkKxLsysiESrukPrtAEGmYoDuXhzBrx9tHjsgAzAno6E5QZzcKpjUTSPLs4bN6X48QvSlX2WuxGCvtyZabl2zZRtQqW47tVX8UN/s1600/IMG_7561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYWaSLzrPymCPhM94AaaQJ9TF1cU_At-ohRkKxLsysiESrukPrtAEGmYoDuXhzBrx9tHjsgAzAno6E5QZzcKpjUTSPLs4bN6X48QvSlX2WuxGCvtyZabl2zZRtQqW47tVX8UN/s400/IMG_7561.JPG" width="223" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1ypA5tBiQI/VqEWlsrIOPI/AAAAAAAAWec/WzFG3XZYN8o/s320/IMG_7696.JPG" width="320" /><br />
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Here's the kid's tablescape, a shot of our photo booth backdrop (bought from Target) and a view of the dessert/party favor table. I got mostly all my decor items from the Dollar store, Walmart, and Target. </div>
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Table sign and Super hero cupcake toppers found <a href="http://kikicomin.com/today-i-will-be-my-own-superhero-free-printables/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://kikicomin.com/freebie/superhero-fathers-day/" target="_blank">here</a> for free!<br />
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Just an AWESOME day at the park, light breeze no humidity. Tampa winter weather FTW!</div>
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What more can a kid want than a party in the park with his buddies, some facepainting and balloons?<br />
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Photo Booth Fun: All the masks were printed from <a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/15056439/Superheroes-masks" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://ambersimmons.com/2014/10/hero-mask-printables/" target="_blank">here</a>, just need a colored printer! To make them fancier/sturdy I glued them onto poster paper and taped them to wooden dowels found at Michael's/Walmart. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVlTuvgdg3RuFQo-QP7T9opH0p8XOG6o3hkh4MIEC-As6uUfHJBAe384ImXTvCoqdPWT-AnED-AH3ufX1HiRIytcupD8JJYcGl2OHGCllNDx_ZdkEAu2Q0rRWgGPNwE6j8OFM/s1600/IMG_7688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVlTuvgdg3RuFQo-QP7T9opH0p8XOG6o3hkh4MIEC-As6uUfHJBAe384ImXTvCoqdPWT-AnED-AH3ufX1HiRIytcupD8JJYcGl2OHGCllNDx_ZdkEAu2Q0rRWgGPNwE6j8OFM/s640/IMG_7688.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdInhZNnbmz_y8wf1ojonBaFPSe6wr_5SnELasOcS5KcBWOeSmPId94eHwd9_U1mKxxQLvBBEgsrs48zJuR6H0YXZlggBx3BnRUqUB0KJWbGPtPjyWzE8Mgx4fOT_0BWN_5Zn/s1600/IMG_7565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjP3bLmmZ2SSUA_kCE59npzMpHrJX9HAn22bM8k02W1yDCPOeaZ09Hfwj4CEnb1bUjURI-qFxngF558nmjzjRSwBzIMejKUc2UMB15I1uTbbg2SOQfnrzZ0b-vnddq72j7ymR/s1600/IMG_7679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjP3bLmmZ2SSUA_kCE59npzMpHrJX9HAn22bM8k02W1yDCPOeaZ09Hfwj4CEnb1bUjURI-qFxngF558nmjzjRSwBzIMejKUc2UMB15I1uTbbg2SOQfnrzZ0b-vnddq72j7ymR/s400/IMG_7679.JPG" width="400" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdInhZNnbmz_y8wf1ojonBaFPSe6wr_5SnELasOcS5KcBWOeSmPId94eHwd9_U1mKxxQLvBBEgsrs48zJuR6H0YXZlggBx3BnRUqUB0KJWbGPtPjyWzE8Mgx4fOT_0BWN_5Zn/s320/IMG_7565.JPG" width="240" /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2ztBkxRp6w/VqEWloDJJsI/AAAAAAAAWeY/zor3EpxCxIc/s1600/IMG_7641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjP3bLmmZ2SSUA_kCE59npzMpHrJX9HAn22bM8k02W1yDCPOeaZ09Hfwj4CEnb1bUjURI-qFxngF558nmjzjRSwBzIMejKUc2UMB15I1uTbbg2SOQfnrzZ0b-vnddq72j7ymR/s1600/IMG_7679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-MRkNocRxjZirpG_5tTcDay91GE2AnsYA1ZSYr1gyEqvapL1QWKL0Yp70Ib0uIJiHzxy8rh1kIcTQJU4nKMd7to-wWVUi3iTYzW4u06lYFbH98zA7CTiVQBxP9dLA8uT5i-9/s1600/IMG_7680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-MRkNocRxjZirpG_5tTcDay91GE2AnsYA1ZSYr1gyEqvapL1QWKL0Yp70Ib0uIJiHzxy8rh1kIcTQJU4nKMd7to-wWVUi3iTYzW4u06lYFbH98zA7CTiVQBxP9dLA8uT5i-9/s320/IMG_7680.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjP3bLmmZ2SSUA_kCE59npzMpHrJX9HAn22bM8k02W1yDCPOeaZ09Hfwj4CEnb1bUjURI-qFxngF558nmjzjRSwBzIMejKUc2UMB15I1uTbbg2SOQfnrzZ0b-vnddq72j7ymR/s1600/IMG_7679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
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And then...THE BEST THING EVER happened!! SPIDER-MAN HIMSELF SHOWED UP!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VMPEHSb2-YwqVn1s6pzu65JJ6kHulgLFqhG7B0BBacGCJqDWPxZkRLNJ7jhDxvPpMczChyphenhyphen0yPJf1FhPucBDRH1n1FfNOBFAETwpyHXCEppDS29aI8zHfj9laMLNy1LOwNnU-/s1600/IMG_7583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VMPEHSb2-YwqVn1s6pzu65JJ6kHulgLFqhG7B0BBacGCJqDWPxZkRLNJ7jhDxvPpMczChyphenhyphen0yPJf1FhPucBDRH1n1FfNOBFAETwpyHXCEppDS29aI8zHfj9laMLNy1LOwNnU-/s640/IMG_7583.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spiderman (and a few imposters) with his posse!</td></tr>
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The boys loveddd this. Spiderman did 30 minutes of stunts/backflips and posing with everyone. The kids got to ask him all sorts of crazy questions like how do you eat if you have no mouth lol it was great.</div>
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Now a closer look at the food/dessert table:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnL4vsGQdxjtcHaePZplVLAaKIYjJ7LRnoTYK0Tfij5ghmxoyzNXPaeF-LQ_QUQaC7-ZHJ2QPSvFVM9NflZM0sJDRhODptHsr732n-hqIvNYtPeK3xZnZUY88YflZCYJYj25vB/s1600/IMG_7570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnL4vsGQdxjtcHaePZplVLAaKIYjJ7LRnoTYK0Tfij5ghmxoyzNXPaeF-LQ_QUQaC7-ZHJ2QPSvFVM9NflZM0sJDRhODptHsr732n-hqIvNYtPeK3xZnZUY88YflZCYJYj25vB/s400/IMG_7570.JPG" width="300" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfIjbH5tw58/VqEXQ2qDZ1I/AAAAAAAAWfA/7SlZCqCu0hA/s1600/IMG_7563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfIjbH5tw58/VqEXQ2qDZ1I/AAAAAAAAWfA/7SlZCqCu0hA/s400/IMG_7563.JPG" width="223" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V07gP2oQXvn1YEC_OlpF9XMq1ynLgHQDIDvQOWxzPtKp-e0Kk4LwPDGedpRqOLX-_fngU8Vn1un94Y4imROvrGMNCwOAYyQsj0EPdeTnXpdH9AqOYCkWxNld9wtz7VVYWjqR/s1600/IMG_7571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V07gP2oQXvn1YEC_OlpF9XMq1ynLgHQDIDvQOWxzPtKp-e0Kk4LwPDGedpRqOLX-_fngU8Vn1un94Y4imROvrGMNCwOAYyQsj0EPdeTnXpdH9AqOYCkWxNld9wtz7VVYWjqR/s640/IMG_7571.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHMqBqEVoMk/VqEXQ2e30DI/AAAAAAAAWfA/qvWn3qrYDhM/s1600/IMG_7556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHMqBqEVoMk/VqEXQ2e30DI/AAAAAAAAWfA/qvWn3qrYDhM/s400/IMG_7556.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u>Menu</u></div>
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Snacks: Thors Hammers with cheese, Spidey Dip with chips, Avengers Cheez Its, PopBAMcorn, Entrees: Chicken/Egg Salad Sandwiches, Pizza, Baked Ziti</div>
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Dessert: Cupcakes, Brownies and Cake. </div>
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Simple yet perfect for a fun birthday party. </div>
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I really loved how the cake turned out. The girl who did the cake was amazing, it tasted so good the fondant wasn't super hard and the cookies and cream filling was delicious. Success. </div>
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Food labels from <a href="http://kikicomin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/superhero-food-labels1.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> and water bottle labels from <a href="http://www.mypapercraze.com/?p=2436&" target="_blank">here</a> again all for free!!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x2t7ELhB5GU/VqEXQ6CQ1tI/AAAAAAAAWfA/tIFCWlbJbpc/s1600/IMG_7567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x2t7ELhB5GU/VqEXQ6CQ1tI/AAAAAAAAWfA/tIFCWlbJbpc/s640/IMG_7567.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2yIwX7P-GNL0RngJ3c0VFaRXTRDlQ16M1d5ZcT7QnfhH-i2sls9shahFtbIP5nLZmbdPvRD06hgSeu0c3cdK7_DUoSXtm9qkJFi7HfbLrmwVCsPw0hfRed5e0WRIJzqJWW52/s1600/IMG_7698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2yIwX7P-GNL0RngJ3c0VFaRXTRDlQ16M1d5ZcT7QnfhH-i2sls9shahFtbIP5nLZmbdPvRD06hgSeu0c3cdK7_DUoSXtm9qkJFi7HfbLrmwVCsPw0hfRed5e0WRIJzqJWW52/s640/IMG_7698.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dn2lWt-s5fE/VqEXQ_GfENI/AAAAAAAAWe8/Wz6N-bot9Rs/s1600/IMG_7613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dn2lWt-s5fE/VqEXQ_GfENI/AAAAAAAAWe8/Wz6N-bot9Rs/s400/IMG_7613.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">check out that glowing smile, my little guy soaking in all the singing just for him!</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Because I didn't have the heart to throw out the banner/signage I worked so hard to print/cut/paste, I decided to reuse it as... Door Decor!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3yqwbjix3m2UHNpHMWqNGa9Vg_LV6k95CYUKiFCRcAQolQuziscWYVsOEfkSLuBihg9h2xFRX5fV9NoSKiGpbJXWB7uLd70NS4DtsZV6j7OiUag_D2a0sh-Eo0oxtvLlBI94/s1600/IMG_7723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3yqwbjix3m2UHNpHMWqNGa9Vg_LV6k95CYUKiFCRcAQolQuziscWYVsOEfkSLuBihg9h2xFRX5fV9NoSKiGpbJXWB7uLd70NS4DtsZV6j7OiUag_D2a0sh-Eo0oxtvLlBI94/s640/IMG_7723.JPG" width="404" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Behind the scenes: </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ajFsYAK8qAE/VqEXQxWEvKI/AAAAAAAAWe8/0kBgahuPm-U/s1600/IMG_7540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ajFsYAK8qAE/VqEXQxWEvKI/AAAAAAAAWe8/0kBgahuPm-U/s640/IMG_7540.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Favor bag designs printed from <a href="http://paixaodesigns.blogspot.com/2013/10/free-printables-from-superhero-party.html" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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Also, inside each favor bag I had Ali draw a picture (of course he draws Sully and Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc instead of superheros!) and write thank you to all his friends using <a href="http://kikicomin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SUPERHERO-CARD-FRONT1.pdf" target="_blank">this template </a> then we filled it with the usual superhero party favor items you can find at Walmart/Target.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNO4FrF68JVY4-c4bXJA4YEhXOHgjEqVeY9CpcpTZ5NpNpVaAoGBlIX7NjGFQBBtdHR-TO0S9i7LdMzhMU3tHs2fZ5w6snymU2hp-g_K8fWoNrYsn49ndQ_U61m-G9GpZFB-96/s1600/IMG_7536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNO4FrF68JVY4-c4bXJA4YEhXOHgjEqVeY9CpcpTZ5NpNpVaAoGBlIX7NjGFQBBtdHR-TO0S9i7LdMzhMU3tHs2fZ5w6snymU2hp-g_K8fWoNrYsn49ndQ_U61m-G9GpZFB-96/s320/IMG_7536.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV81-sDdPPTzh1Rgh6oLLc4EEp3eb37yPNIc4dfUc54TQUrfJJTM6bBmsZSERiXavemByeEsv1r2P1nsEUDPZ44I7_5G-EPjx-zmjNSGK_OveuHlBPBk6DA3FF5tvAtia23cSS/s1600/IMG_7538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV81-sDdPPTzh1Rgh6oLLc4EEp3eb37yPNIc4dfUc54TQUrfJJTM6bBmsZSERiXavemByeEsv1r2P1nsEUDPZ44I7_5G-EPjx-zmjNSGK_OveuHlBPBk6DA3FF5tvAtia23cSS/s320/IMG_7538.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Another Win: Post Halloween, these Avengers/Spiderman kits were on sale at Target for 75% off, I knew they'd come in handy. Kids thoroughly loved the glow sticks! </div>
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Since Ali is blessed with an accountant mama I had a budget for everything before I started working on it. I knew we didn't want to spend a ton, but I did want to make it super fun. Here's how the finances all panned out:</div>
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<td colspan="3" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 182pt;" width="242">Facepaint/Balloon/Spiderman </td>
<td align="right" class="xl65" style="width: 48pt;" width="64">$275 </td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Superhero Cake</td>
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<td align="right">50</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Park Shelter Fees</td>
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<td align="right">50</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Party Favors</td>
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<td align="right">50</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Food</td>
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<td align="right">150</td>
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<td colspan="3" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">Paper
Products/Table covers</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67">50</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Total Cost</td>
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<td align="right" class="xl65">$625 </td>
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The main things were the entertainment, cake, and venue. To me it was worth seeing Ali's excitement to pay for Spider-man and the cake was something he was really looking forward to so I got very lucky to find a girl who made the fondant cake for so cheap! The park location (Ballast Point Park in South Tampa) was also important to us, this park had a kids splash area (ended up being a little to chilly for water play but on a sunny day this is ideal in Florida), a really big non messy playground (no mulch!), big covered shelters (it randomly rains in Tampa a lot) and this beautiful pier/dock area where lots of families went post party to take pictures. It can get very crowded on a nice day, so I'm glad we booked the shelter ahead of time. </div>
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I purposely kept the menu very simple/affordable, because being so pregnant I didn't have a ton of energy to cook up a storm plus I knew with being outdoors it had to be easy finger foods that didn't require a lot of effort to prep or eat. I think overall everyone enjoyed the food. I did bake the cupcakes and brownies myself along with the sandwiches and pasta. Ali's talented dad made the Spidey dip. We had plenty of food to feed 40 adults and 35 kids. I also used a lot of paper products leftover from previous parties. I'm probably over estimating in my cost of that. I only did the themed matching items for the kids table.</div>
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Printing out the decorations really saved us a TON of money and made everything look way fancier; it was a relief not to pay the prices some people were charging on Etsy for these same items! The boys superhero costumes were old Halloween costumes, I got the Superman bow tie from H&M on sale a long time ago and held onto it for this event. The reversible Batman/Superman cape I wore was a gift my mom gave Ali years ago. I also decorated the cake table with Super hero figures Ali had been gifted in the past (you can find them all at Target/Walmart though). I got mine and hubby's shirts from Walmart, $7.99 each I think? So yeah it was very easy to stay within budget for me and thankfully everything turned out great. Kids had a blast, what more can you ask? </div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-31164037780869458092015-12-23T15:15:00.000-05:002015-12-23T15:25:27.233-05:00To my sweet baby girl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't it funny that this quote I love is said by a woman who I held my own preconceived notions against? You go Dita, you do your thang.</td></tr>
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We are a few short weeks from your anticipated arrival day, 12 to be exact, and the excitement is building! While I have proudly (and sometimes not so proudly when your brothers were wreaking havoc on everything in sight) waved my Boy Mom flag for the past 5 years; I admit I am quite thrilled to finally add the description of Girl Mom to my resume. </div>
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Even before we were aware of your presence I had been dreaming of a little doll to dress up in bows and frill. There's something so warm and cozy about baby girls that as much as I love my boys (I swear I really do a lot!), I have always wanted a girl. When I say always I mean like even before I was married and had kids! I had given up this hope when I thought our family was complete with two boys and was actually pleasantly surprised to see that your brothers had many of the qualities my silly inexperienced 'pre Mom' brain imagined only being in girls. Ali is the most gentle and cuddly boy I know! There are so many random moments when he comes over to kiss my belly or whisper sweet messages to his baby sister just because, I love every bit of it. Adam has a very calm and shy nature, he takes his time to open up to strangers much like his mama! So the news of your arrival sparked that excitement for a baby girl in me all over again and while I could spend all day just to daydream about all the girly girl traits and features you will have, deep inside I know we will love you beyond belief regardless of how 'ungirly' you may turn out to be. Being a mom for so many years now that much I am absolutely sure of. Your family will <i>always</i> love you; mom and dad will never stop loving you. Even on the days when you do things unlovable. Always remember this, just don't abuse it!</div>
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So now that we've covered that part, there's so much else I can't wait to share with you! The more years I walk on this Earth the more I realize the world we live in can be a place I want to shield my kids from. The naivety of childhood leaves us a little more as we grow and see the grim reality around us. There are days, and lately there seems like a lot of them, where I wish I could take you all to a little bubble of safety away from the threats of everything evil. There can be a lot of negativity and unkindness. While my first instinct is to protect you all from it, a bigger part of me knows its better if I give you the right tools to face it. Everyone tells boys to toughen up, to 'be a man' and 'face the world'. Its rare to say those words to a girl, everyone wants to help save you or thinks of you too innocent/naive/helpless to do any of that on your own. Even other women! The more I think about raising a girl vs raising boys the more I wonder what sort of mom will I be? I always made sweeping proclamations that my boys would have the same rules any girl would have, how I found it ridiculous that in the same house brothers would have different standards/chores than their female siblings. I would do internal eye rolls at friends who said they didn't want their girls to join sports or be 'too manly' but secretly now I can't wait to put you in ballet class and snap a picture of your little tush in a tutu! All these thoughts create serious moments of internal conflict within your mama's heart! I want to raise that girly girl I always dreamed of, but I want her to be the fiercest strongest bad ass to put her brothers to shame at the same time. And you know what baby girl? YOU CAN BE. </div>
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That's right. That's the conclusion I arrive at the more I think about it. We as a society have created many social norms and prejudgment about gender roles, so the world you walk into will have already start shaping its views of how you should be behaving and what you should be doing way before you can do or say any of those things. And that's okay, don't hold your breath on the world changing anytime soon. But, remember one thing your Ammi told you. If the world and its struggles start hurting you, BE that change you want to see. The only way to 'challenge' social pressures is to BE the challenge. One of the hardest realities I've had to swallow about gender roles is that truly many times the world we live in can be a 'Man's world'. Your brothers will find certain advantages and face less hurdles than you will simply because of the physical differences God gave them. You may need to work harder at a job to prove you can do it as a woman, My advice is if the job matters to you DO it. Meet the challenge. More importantly, find other women with you and HELP each other. Another sad reality is that people <i>will</i> judge you based on your looks and superficial qualities. Girl, you are going to be born into an <i>American Pakistani Muslim</i> household, brace yourself for the social issues you're about to face (even if your mom doesn't intend to, I know socially induced biases will come out of me too, I apologize already!). I can tell you some people you meet (especially if they're Desi) will say you are not gori enough (white skinned) or thin or you should wear a hijab/not wear a hijab, you should be more/less traditional and ironically many of these pressures will be coming from other women who claim to hate them! Even more sadly, very few of these pressures will be on your brothers (they will have their own, but not as many as you. sorry). I worry about this a lot sometimes. There was a day I silently prayed that you be light skinned and beautifully featured so the world would be easier for you. But you know what? I apologize for that day. Thoughts like that one is what is wrong with our world already. I know your first and most impactful interaction with social pressures will be at home. And I will try my damned best to not let you or your brothers be affected by the things that have marred Desi or even American society. I will raise you to be kind to yourself or to others. To know a persons worth is not based on something so superficial. Reality is you will go through awkward phases, moments of self doubt and question yourself about many things, I will be there to support you always. Always.</div>
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BOTH men and women play a critical role in balancing our world. The problem I see many times is that women with all our chattiness can many times hurt more than help. As woman we need to strengthen our bond. If saying that that makes me a feminist then that's great sign me up. I am all for us women <i>not</i> pushing social pressures on each other and not raising boys who do that either. </div>
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Want to be a stay at home mom? great! want to be a working mom? great! No one makes a big to do out of those two choices for the men in our society. Because you know who's talking the most about it. WOMEN. We just keep talking and knocking each other down somehow. Let's stop talking and just start being. </div>
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Not only do we have social pressures on us we have our own internal pressures. Lord knows if you're anything like your mummy you will put A TON of pressure on yourself to please others, to exceed expectations, you will drive yourself and those of us around you cuckoo for everything be simply amazing. I personally think that's great. BE AMAZING. But be FORGIVING too. A lot of times as women we put these insane pressures on ourselves to be: (insert everything but mostly thin, pretty, smart, Susie Homemaker, Betty Breadwinner, etc etc). Pressure is great, it turns rock to diamond but it also can <i>drive you insane</i>. <b>Stop the car before you arrive there</b>. Do things the best you can, but accept that they will have flaws. Be the best damn peach in the pile, but accept that someone may still not want to pick you. <i>That is okay.</i> For some reason, and I find it a great quality to learn from, men don't struggle with this as much as we women do. It's just how we are. We nurture, we organize, we nitpick and worry, we <b><i>care</i></b>. Men care too, but <i>most</i> of the men I've met can be way more forgiving on themselves and others than we women tend to be. Men have their own struggles, I see that too. But right now I'm talking about the struggles of women and the kind of woman I hope to raise to you be one day. A woman who does her best at everything she lays her hand on, but is aware and able to handle opposition too. </div>
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There is a lot of crazy stuff happening in our world right now <i>(random pause: seriously you never see giraffes or koalas being as mean as we humans are to each other, why? I should've been one of those.)</i> People forcing a certain religious group to be blacklisted and spreading hate against them for the actions of a small deranged population of that religion. What is the problem you ask? What is religion you ask? Your mama thinks religion is fantastic, it is absolutely uplifting and great when used for love. When used for hate it is what we have created as society to divide humanity. People killing other people because those people killed their people so now more people must be killed. Madness, yes baby girl madness is the world at times. This crazy stuff has been happening since the beginning of mankind apparently, so don't be surprised by it but don't let it reel you in either. <b>Choose the path of love always. </b></div>
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Society is made up of the thoughts <i>and</i> actions of its participants. One is not valuable without the other. The kind of girl I wish to raise in this society? Or the kind of girl I hope my boys marry? The kind who is UPLIFTING, CARING, FAIR (<i>in nature not complexion thank you very much</i>), HONEST, STRONG WILLED, GENTLE, SMART, MORALISTIC, FORGIVING, CHEERFUL. Insert ALL positive words from the dictionary. Its obvious these traits are not just meant for girls, they're universal to all of humankind. Perhaps if we start creating a world where we can ACCEPT our differences, but still SEEK our similarities and then REJOICE in our presence on earth we can make a beautiful world where all the ugly evilness just disappears. </div>
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I want you kids to be the kind of person (not just boy or girl or American or Muslim or any other social definition of you) who can return back to God and to me one day and say you did good. You dealt with this world with love, even when it pushed you to hate, you chose love. That is all I know God and myself will ever ask of you. </div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-33823584970567844602015-09-16T15:37:00.001-04:002015-09-16T15:37:54.344-04:00This.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I actually attack the concept of happiness. The idea that—I don’t mind people being happy—but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It’s a really odd thing that we’re now seeing people saying “write down three things that made you happy today before you go to sleep” and “cheer up” and “happiness is our birthright” and so on. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position. It’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don’t teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say, “Quick! Move on! Cheer up!” I’d like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word “happiness” and to replace it with the word “wholeness.” Ask yourself, “Is this contributing to my wholeness?” and if you’re having a bad day, it is.</div>
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—Hugh MacKay, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AW57LGY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AW57LGY&linkCode=as2&tag=acoj-20&linkId=WP275BZCA7X2U4N5" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e13d3d; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Good Life</a></div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-11241944273570759162014-12-15T23:41:00.001-05:002015-01-08T13:19:13.610-05:00Thanksgiving - decorations and more!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This was my first year hosting a Thanksgiving dinner all by myself! Normally every year we do thanksgiving dinner at my parents place in New Jersey, but this year we couldn't make it up there; so I decided if we can't go to thanksgiving we'll bring it to us! There isn't much of Fall in Florida, but this year we actually did get a few chilly nights, just enough for a few beautiful orange and red leaves to grace our yard. I took the boys for a walk and decided to incorporate fall into our Thanksgiving dinner. Can you tell how badly I miss autumn down here?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSWVoiiPu8iaqNiMmGUA7i5Hltf0neZimOPdw4uMqWQIkTLu2IESpKB11RR8xIhXKiNqcuSmsf7eYc8dLzMq6CQ6xy7-BeZe0ojr1jgwnt5G5JH2KPk1gxsyQZOgDAW0goegMJ/s640/blogger-image-1838453863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSWVoiiPu8iaqNiMmGUA7i5Hltf0neZimOPdw4uMqWQIkTLu2IESpKB11RR8xIhXKiNqcuSmsf7eYc8dLzMq6CQ6xy7-BeZe0ojr1jgwnt5G5JH2KPk1gxsyQZOgDAW0goegMJ/s400/blogger-image-1838453863.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our <a href="http://party.catchmyparty.com/files/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-give-thanks-banner-by-threelittlemonkeysstudio.pdf" target="_blank">Thanksgiving Banner</a>, flower arrangement, and leaves we found outside!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5omB2A7Ia7n_7kho4yyMKYxgf8MRolpvT0ijCz0dBgnQD-zQnVlfgYPxsg-3cJuWkezU5S6JUVrXHS4Lwd8jszjxzbBYtX6unpzqtO9VVGeshaJKHHHCL6Pr7MkpiI1BNaYv/s400/blogger-image--1216302624.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Using a dollar store bucket and tea light I added in some acorns we found outside to create a fall festive candle!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5omB2A7Ia7n_7kho4yyMKYxgf8MRolpvT0ijCz0dBgnQD-zQnVlfgYPxsg-3cJuWkezU5S6JUVrXHS4Lwd8jszjxzbBYtX6unpzqtO9VVGeshaJKHHHCL6Pr7MkpiI1BNaYv/s640/blogger-image--1216302624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a><span style="color: black;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCn-DI4jU80XUJ1pbf_DyGpv0TiZManetxofmySv0x21LPfkZRrHaPVU7y3R-SW-zL2Ls9elfB62aT8u2jFTcz70jBDiLVQVFanT8vFvdfVeMZNhMavnESOjyxFtu2SzczEcI/s640/blogger-image-752793843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCn-DI4jU80XUJ1pbf_DyGpv0TiZManetxofmySv0x21LPfkZRrHaPVU7y3R-SW-zL2Ls9elfB62aT8u2jFTcz70jBDiLVQVFanT8vFvdfVeMZNhMavnESOjyxFtu2SzczEcI/s400/blogger-image-752793843.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spruced up our drinks bar with a few mini pumpkins from Walmart and festive pine cone decor from Michael's</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5omB2A7Ia7n_7kho4yyMKYxgf8MRolpvT0ijCz0dBgnQD-zQnVlfgYPxsg-3cJuWkezU5S6JUVrXHS4Lwd8jszjxzbBYtX6unpzqtO9VVGeshaJKHHHCL6Pr7MkpiI1BNaYv/s640/blogger-image--1216302624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMAV2Yns6BPgVmGc2SbC4auLMct3YVnwcbNVpsTvD6oxd7DFxk1eNuCKBqpu80_OfCkIcUO-wQi97fUAlQVfJbdMfeLfN3ZB5xGQf0x2i8zJ8ThD4Zy_2M3qWj-xq_6Z-nd5o/s640/blogger-image-838049872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMAV2Yns6BPgVmGc2SbC4auLMct3YVnwcbNVpsTvD6oxd7DFxk1eNuCKBqpu80_OfCkIcUO-wQi97fUAlQVfJbdMfeLfN3ZB5xGQf0x2i8zJ8ThD4Zy_2M3qWj-xq_6Z-nd5o/s640/blogger-image-838049872.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my centerpiece! created from All Nature's Products found..outside our home! (candle,tray and pumpkin not included)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3e4xflknr2PntS-CETfkjWKIRhWxXIIg_OMcQszpHa3eO3y7lVfzrKwEKCYJWJTz5Z616qG-ZLaFw62lMxsqmhBKNkkUvW6EFy1SYNUmWUChJTds8rMnVE2Qmpbf2vKOb4QK/s640/blogger-image--1509883403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3e4xflknr2PntS-CETfkjWKIRhWxXIIg_OMcQszpHa3eO3y7lVfzrKwEKCYJWJTz5Z616qG-ZLaFw62lMxsqmhBKNkkUvW6EFy1SYNUmWUChJTds8rMnVE2Qmpbf2vKOb4QK/s640/blogger-image--1509883403.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took Ali for a walk and came back with a few cute items!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55p2pD0TLxARyNhZCTGrXvIU3rfmDnm-KZDZTzjdxtRQy0e6_11RuSWuxxZOzHoxjha8aNjtpqC-wnED5rnRg-AnnOW7c8O9o-1qSR9exrTF8vkw2o9EPsfPnGh8iu3LHGnZs/s640/blogger-image--1573084797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55p2pD0TLxARyNhZCTGrXvIU3rfmDnm-KZDZTzjdxtRQy0e6_11RuSWuxxZOzHoxjha8aNjtpqC-wnED5rnRg-AnnOW7c8O9o-1qSR9exrTF8vkw2o9EPsfPnGh8iu3LHGnZs/s400/blogger-image--1573084797.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my little bubbas all ready and waiting for their guests to arrive!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKfkn8gKP13hOP0mFYNm05dc6VYoaMwPxiq9MUTUtmGoLP7jkHAl4R92lhmPVaiLD1j4dc5RNxvAS-gHk9RIYxYgPA5Daps_4Rrz_FORiryU13fSeVNF4SZA6L9s9-jwmnzpX/s640/blogger-image-1970024967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKfkn8gKP13hOP0mFYNm05dc6VYoaMwPxiq9MUTUtmGoLP7jkHAl4R92lhmPVaiLD1j4dc5RNxvAS-gHk9RIYxYgPA5Daps_4Rrz_FORiryU13fSeVNF4SZA6L9s9-jwmnzpX/s640/blogger-image-1970024967.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Our Thanksgiving Menu: Turkey, roast lamb, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, green bean casserole, Waldorf salad, pasta and dinner rolls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwFYEUJXBOijpDyNAuxA497wdrNK3MwfDg7aECjY0ofp_iip2uaUuLuTpk9Sj0PXjLZXXKj7exKRcFv-LqOHhL1w3UlUkc3QYyVwrQ4BD43rZYQPfq2Kaw0hSS2kxvqT-RHM5/s640/blogger-image--1886409482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwFYEUJXBOijpDyNAuxA497wdrNK3MwfDg7aECjY0ofp_iip2uaUuLuTpk9Sj0PXjLZXXKj7exKRcFv-LqOHhL1w3UlUkc3QYyVwrQ4BD43rZYQPfq2Kaw0hSS2kxvqT-RHM5/s320/blogger-image--1886409482.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my little poser</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimC4wX4yjI9UFHebSzPQky3JyRm-TPUDlpSEE1pF_XSDLzLXJcCc6QJpmZpxoi473-9lmNxKW5RwpXhmGhXa-Us_EyuPnW7BUhgVj5rm-yDi_0Dx2MZElaoqEox5Ikg9yuYvw6/s640/blogger-image-1944487984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimC4wX4yjI9UFHebSzPQky3JyRm-TPUDlpSEE1pF_XSDLzLXJcCc6QJpmZpxoi473-9lmNxKW5RwpXhmGhXa-Us_EyuPnW7BUhgVj5rm-yDi_0Dx2MZElaoqEox5Ikg9yuYvw6/s640/blogger-image-1944487984.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.diyswank.com/free-printable-letters-entire-alphabet/" target="_blank">Alhumdulillah Banner</a> - Arabic saying "All Thanks be to Allah"</td></tr>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-16811265404395330582014-12-15T23:38:00.001-05:002015-01-08T13:23:34.487-05:00Quick and Super easy Chicken Pad Thai recipe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywmhaLrAnrNYnjot__eIe4I8AafZ7Mkf0dj99M4bDRLq-zExjHpJr4ZcQ-pQVC0b1ctn-zCdN8kRpk8ahX7rv9xebWhb8zZSQok-kO_sQkf-b_vsMm1c2JbXjW4xE5KWfkCeL/s640/blogger-image-213672115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NuCPlIgIrTGlOGdKlnpAhzrEzefXFcKUbYZO9iIyodRwl2OJq85dDUqkCIzjk9eLurauJUIfs3i7OQYit3QK7F29u9SsyLKW709yvd4gTN28PQn42LgvldV5Apq-NzRsD-p6/s640/blogger-image--2123848563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NuCPlIgIrTGlOGdKlnpAhzrEzefXFcKUbYZO9iIyodRwl2OJq85dDUqkCIzjk9eLurauJUIfs3i7OQYit3QK7F29u9SsyLKW709yvd4gTN28PQn42LgvldV5Apq-NzRsD-p6/s640/blogger-image--2123848563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKXa8n-VaIF329eRYpJfr9EsVTbnBmXmbpmoN3mNivrzCmdc5cKlghjm5FtZZEdDzB3Qdd0Uvevyi2y0WmX12i1NNdvU-XV5R-FvIitriZMYSFn7LxLBN1WQ53ONqLCzgbPTm/s640/blogger-image--193543293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKXa8n-VaIF329eRYpJfr9EsVTbnBmXmbpmoN3mNivrzCmdc5cKlghjm5FtZZEdDzB3Qdd0Uvevyi2y0WmX12i1NNdvU-XV5R-FvIitriZMYSFn7LxLBN1WQ53ONqLCzgbPTm/s640/blogger-image--193543293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie95fJuAlLcXDqi2fqArTO7HEFL1v-aOG4FVXdxQjx7A_MoS4pw615E6Vj7aWqPSta-r3abZoVphluOTgUOOvQ4RDAGUq1iwLOiDd9ZQMR9qpBovFoDtdjjBkAh-tdRTTQJyDj/s640/blogger-image--2017777894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie95fJuAlLcXDqi2fqArTO7HEFL1v-aOG4FVXdxQjx7A_MoS4pw615E6Vj7aWqPSta-r3abZoVphluOTgUOOvQ4RDAGUq1iwLOiDd9ZQMR9qpBovFoDtdjjBkAh-tdRTTQJyDj/s640/blogger-image--2017777894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74JTRKnqdLAEPTBADYVx72Xd5vhARq4jx1BrkxQeHSruhFqngUBES04efCn88_JnOvENm-9rYjs19CXG295rBudbhFiqYvEbrBxk7gUxh7NHKM1H8ez_3flDo-mdnlVOpsyZ4/s640/blogger-image-1730263270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74JTRKnqdLAEPTBADYVx72Xd5vhARq4jx1BrkxQeHSruhFqngUBES04efCn88_JnOvENm-9rYjs19CXG295rBudbhFiqYvEbrBxk7gUxh7NHKM1H8ez_3flDo-mdnlVOpsyZ4/s640/blogger-image-1730263270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I probably spent 15 minutes on <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Easy-Pad-Thai-51222610" target="_blank">this recipe</a> from start to finish and it came out tasting great!! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1J22xZOQQ2j6Da4QX3E86JEfCn-PE2lUj08Il04QV9xwLoFjzzF6jQkm_qpzP7iCO7kkGVSuTR_8ba6y0P-p7Bn3lfwPPAwRWxDYGC2nVPbdPUXsIX2UcLi4VLWChR-wZEQ9/s640/blogger-image--1767930957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1J22xZOQQ2j6Da4QX3E86JEfCn-PE2lUj08Il04QV9xwLoFjzzF6jQkm_qpzP7iCO7kkGVSuTR_8ba6y0P-p7Bn3lfwPPAwRWxDYGC2nVPbdPUXsIX2UcLi4VLWChR-wZEQ9/s640/blogger-image--1767930957.jpg" /></a></div>
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Everything you should need is pictured above, except veggies can't forget those!!</div>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74JTRKnqdLAEPTBADYVx72Xd5vhARq4jx1BrkxQeHSruhFqngUBES04efCn88_JnOvENm-9rYjs19CXG295rBudbhFiqYvEbrBxk7gUxh7NHKM1H8ez_3flDo-mdnlVOpsyZ4/s640/blogger-image-1730263270.jpg" /><br />
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Brown your ground meat. I used ground chicken you can substitute with ground turkey or beef.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie95fJuAlLcXDqi2fqArTO7HEFL1v-aOG4FVXdxQjx7A_MoS4pw615E6Vj7aWqPSta-r3abZoVphluOTgUOOvQ4RDAGUq1iwLOiDd9ZQMR9qpBovFoDtdjjBkAh-tdRTTQJyDj/s640/blogger-image--2017777894.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chop an onion and two cloves garlic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKXa8n-VaIF329eRYpJfr9EsVTbnBmXmbpmoN3mNivrzCmdc5cKlghjm5FtZZEdDzB3Qdd0Uvevyi2y0WmX12i1NNdvU-XV5R-FvIitriZMYSFn7LxLBN1WQ53ONqLCzgbPTm/s640/blogger-image--193543293.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">whisk an egg, fry and set aside. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NuCPlIgIrTGlOGdKlnpAhzrEzefXFcKUbYZO9iIyodRwl2OJq85dDUqkCIzjk9eLurauJUIfs3i7OQYit3QK7F29u9SsyLKW709yvd4gTN28PQn42LgvldV5Apq-NzRsD-p6/s640/blogger-image--2123848563.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">create your sauce</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywmhaLrAnrNYnjot__eIe4I8AafZ7Mkf0dj99M4bDRLq-zExjHpJr4ZcQ-pQVC0b1ctn-zCdN8kRpk8ahX7rv9xebWhb8zZSQok-kO_sQkf-b_vsMm1c2JbXjW4xE5KWfkCeL/s640/blogger-image-213672115.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Done! Tip: cook the pad thai noodles at the very end and add in before serving. These cook extremely fast and start to break if left with sauce too long.</td></tr>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-36877925404339387382014-11-21T12:00:00.000-05:002014-11-21T12:00:13.139-05:00Baby Boy Shower decor!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Last weekend I helped plan a baby shower for a good friend who is expecting a boy. You would think we're starting our own boys club here since we now have about 10 boys and growing among our play group and just 4 girls!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was in charge of decorations, games, and party favors. And if it isn't already evident <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/01/sesame-street-birthday-party-part-2.html" target="_blank">here</a> <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-35th-anniversary-mom-and-dad.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2014/02/pinterest-inspired-party.html" target="_blank">here</a> that I love party planning, you can check out below some small simple ideas I used to make the shower fun! I absolutely love Pinterest, because I can always find some sort of free printable page if not great inspirational ideas to work off.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdqrVon4dlQuXvio3ZChfxrJsBYctOF6yuD4Y3WSHfRTieBRXZs6F3VYN44rqtU5D5r26LzCS5NDWGu3eihi7AbBNQmp1lSNkDkZ4GXQ1lzXX2Iqg-ll9DnkCxjpV5l0i1One/s640/blogger-image--78174426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdqrVon4dlQuXvio3ZChfxrJsBYctOF6yuD4Y3WSHfRTieBRXZs6F3VYN44rqtU5D5r26LzCS5NDWGu3eihi7AbBNQmp1lSNkDkZ4GXQ1lzXX2Iqg-ll9DnkCxjpV5l0i1One/s320/blogger-image--78174426.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Firstly, for decorations I had the photobooth props leftover from my Valentine's party last February and figured the mustaches and bow ties worked for a baby boy shower. I also found some adorable chalk print signs we used for the photo booth courtesy of <a href="http://phillipspost.blogspot.com/p/freebies-by-daze.html" target="_blank">The Phillips Family blog</a>. Then I found a <a href="http://d339kh5sh8jlxw.cloudfront.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Baby-Onesie-Banner-Pattern.pdf" target="_blank">template</a> for making a onesie banner, it was perfect for the simple yet adorable look I was going for. Michael's was having a sale on their craft paper 6/$1 so I grabbed a bunch that went with our theme and put my scissors to work. I liked how on the original design they had used clothes pins to hang the onesies like hanging baby's clothes to dry. But, upon finding that clothes pins are ridiculously over priced and won't ever be used again I went with a simpler option: Punch holes through the onesies and thread the ribbon through. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEn-nIymp8_ljdrstzlczQp_q_JV3OQ2TM8ZUnn7g05AbSjnGU_mnfC9V3gCIwxVO7mCkiHqhttS4Mbowqd4Geal0GT5JCRqAHn1BTA8nK-OVsOPUog3oVbDd30OgFsW4mPQU/s1600/onesie+template.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEn-nIymp8_ljdrstzlczQp_q_JV3OQ2TM8ZUnn7g05AbSjnGU_mnfC9V3gCIwxVO7mCkiHqhttS4Mbowqd4Geal0GT5JCRqAHn1BTA8nK-OVsOPUog3oVbDd30OgFsW4mPQU/s1600/onesie+template.png" height="400" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: left;">courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.bottleyourbrand.com/blog/eight-examples-of-baby-shower-themes/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: left;" target="_blank">BottleYourBrand Blog</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFFzPu3AiLoNejNdAw7kqdkNkDuG6W6YNxCkkNqmyqN-KlJ9Yozc9xegtdne3LtMb6Jg8mGys-kFW4z8OPycn1JIr0ShCJJ42Ir7tpQw-gcgRpc48zm4kji4yvghbDn7jMFRq/s1600/blogger-image-1993084290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUklHw8vecqL6JYtOQe_5QHlxx-wAEzor8An7LTQzVRgPE5wJgphlXJ0VqWe-JZ-4PqHfA8EtMcz5NqQXeP5mxIl_35S9j_3id1tB2X53N5LT5xYcRGegEOv4YzpnUR64F3B3k/s640/blogger-image--1094680076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFFzPu3AiLoNejNdAw7kqdkNkDuG6W6YNxCkkNqmyqN-KlJ9Yozc9xegtdne3LtMb6Jg8mGys-kFW4z8OPycn1JIr0ShCJJ42Ir7tpQw-gcgRpc48zm4kji4yvghbDn7jMFRq/s640/blogger-image-1993084290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1_jE-QevIyygF03vgesEOrBjuZJPSvQCExh9FoLQq8vnTa5LVhhKCVpa79ivpKAFTBUqATTeodR77qqGwUKMr-MEzekkPj1j8WLD2mMBkgU7Fy6upX3r8AhzBC5DHSbzezeQ/s1600/blogger-image--1254574666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFFzPu3AiLoNejNdAw7kqdkNkDuG6W6YNxCkkNqmyqN-KlJ9Yozc9xegtdne3LtMb6Jg8mGys-kFW4z8OPycn1JIr0ShCJJ42Ir7tpQw-gcgRpc48zm4kji4yvghbDn7jMFRq/s1600/blogger-image-1993084290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFFzPu3AiLoNejNdAw7kqdkNkDuG6W6YNxCkkNqmyqN-KlJ9Yozc9xegtdne3LtMb6Jg8mGys-kFW4z8OPycn1JIr0ShCJJ42Ir7tpQw-gcgRpc48zm4kji4yvghbDn7jMFRq/s200/blogger-image-1993084290.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1_jE-QevIyygF03vgesEOrBjuZJPSvQCExh9FoLQq8vnTa5LVhhKCVpa79ivpKAFTBUqATTeodR77qqGwUKMr-MEzekkPj1j8WLD2mMBkgU7Fy6upX3r8AhzBC5DHSbzezeQ/s1600/blogger-image--1254574666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1_jE-QevIyygF03vgesEOrBjuZJPSvQCExh9FoLQq8vnTa5LVhhKCVpa79ivpKAFTBUqATTeodR77qqGwUKMr-MEzekkPj1j8WLD2mMBkgU7Fy6upX3r8AhzBC5DHSbzezeQ/s400/blogger-image--1254574666.jpg" width="225" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next were the party favors. I just could <i>not</i> decide what I wanted to do! In the end since I'm a huge chocolate fan and so are most of the girls who attended the shower; I indulged in our sweet tooth. I filled the favor bags with chocolate truffles and also made some baby shower themed chocolate candy using a Wilton melts template I had at home. Michael's also has a baby shower section where they had a bag of 'It's a boy' themed Hershey's kisses. I tried finding some cute baby themed favor tags for a reasonable price but the ones at the dollar store were cheap looking and Michael's was too over priced. So I made my own using extra paper I had got for the onesie banner. I love when I can recycle ideas! I found at Michael's the chalk print stickers on sale for just $.89, originally like $3! Then I added a few more cute baby boy themed bottle and rattle stickers to tie it all in to the theme. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUklHw8vecqL6JYtOQe_5QHlxx-wAEzor8An7LTQzVRgPE5wJgphlXJ0VqWe-JZ-4PqHfA8EtMcz5NqQXeP5mxIl_35S9j_3id1tB2X53N5LT5xYcRGegEOv4YzpnUR64F3B3k/s1600/blogger-image--1094680076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUklHw8vecqL6JYtOQe_5QHlxx-wAEzor8An7LTQzVRgPE5wJgphlXJ0VqWe-JZ-4PqHfA8EtMcz5NqQXeP5mxIl_35S9j_3id1tB2X53N5LT5xYcRGegEOv4YzpnUR64F3B3k/s400/blogger-image--1094680076.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfy6gG9gLKkkoi-3QW2ELlnTKY5B4sFFbc_VJY_PyV7i_CT7MM1qeOm481Ij_46zgTIUfiNLnK3GDx2-p_HHacnGrB2JDGrmWnb86DIYKzw9ILdxImz9K7Aghu9rEzIJ3DivLl/s640/blogger-image--1587703959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfy6gG9gLKkkoi-3QW2ELlnTKY5B4sFFbc_VJY_PyV7i_CT7MM1qeOm481Ij_46zgTIUfiNLnK3GDx2-p_HHacnGrB2JDGrmWnb86DIYKzw9ILdxImz9K7Aghu9rEzIJ3DivLl/s400/blogger-image--1587703959.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;"></span></div>
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A pretty important part of baby showers are the games! To keep it fun without going too crazy we decided to play three games. 1) Design a Onesie 2) Guess Mommy's Answers 3) A-Z baby words. We had a lot of kids at the party and it just wasn't practical to play any relay race baby food feeding games and frankly none of us wanted to do that anyway! The first game was a fun arts and crafts activity that the kids helped with too. I had the girls decorate onesie templates I printed out using stickers, crayons, colored pencils and the extra patterned sheets I had gotten from Michael's. They wrote a small message to mommy and baby on the back so she could later add these to the baby's book and I had mommy be the judge for the Best Onesie Design which won a prize. While everyone was working on the first game I had mommy fill out her own answers for the second game. Even though the first game took more time, the other two were quick and fun to see what wacky words everyone came up with! For the Baby ABC's instead of matching mommy's words again, I gave everyone 1 minute 30 seconds and whoever had the most correct baby related words won. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3PHfMN9yd38eT7ehyI3G_sMUz5KcfPQ7Z5CdaTa6VS_YbRAD_V2mnftkqaAAy8ivfhmUxT0PCZQLsj-t9MtHP1iGFxY1UfsDAXAonKZ1-9ti7lUcvnl9tflGm3WZPEnDqKRC/s1600/baby+abc+game.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3PHfMN9yd38eT7ehyI3G_sMUz5KcfPQ7Z5CdaTa6VS_YbRAD_V2mnftkqaAAy8ivfhmUxT0PCZQLsj-t9MtHP1iGFxY1UfsDAXAonKZ1-9ti7lUcvnl9tflGm3WZPEnDqKRC/s1600/baby+abc+game.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://poshtartparties.com/a-boy-sprinkle-free-baby-shower-printables/" target="_blank">Poshtart Parties</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://games-for-baby-shower.com/games/finish-mommys-phrase-baby-shower-game-blue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://games-for-baby-shower.com/games/finish-mommys-phrase-baby-shower-game-blue.png" height="400" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via Google Search 'Baby Shower games'</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggKzGZnKscY-WaLmdywMms0VfkvsMRpW00HMfYkFq74pkLbrtardGWP96KoQYREvqqAwqG0NaC7Lb08AVoW8RPO8JPYagR5wnEPHxf2FR_VQBs8NBX_QGqcEi5Muo7C17nvKs/s1600/blogger-image-376251968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggKzGZnKscY-WaLmdywMms0VfkvsMRpW00HMfYkFq74pkLbrtardGWP96KoQYREvqqAwqG0NaC7Lb08AVoW8RPO8JPYagR5wnEPHxf2FR_VQBs8NBX_QGqcEi5Muo7C17nvKs/s400/blogger-image-376251968.jpg" width="223" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lastly, I decided no shower is complete without a diaper cake! Using unused diapers from my own shower cake earlier this year, some baby themed ribbon from the dollar store (way cheaper than Michael's and they even had 'it's a boy' ribbon) and a bag of rubber bands to roll up the diapers, it took me just one of Adam's naps to complete this cake! To decorate it I got a classic rattle and found some cutie booties and a teddy bear around the house. Diaper cakes are fairly simple to make, but just to be prepared I watched this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bKwE9POjnE" target="_blank">video</a> before I started.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voila! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our photo booth station</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You know I love me some chalkboard!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T-RcUV6-r-MHUbkTiYOlnGupcdfyxqbeSbvGqFHI1Y5mlq2u2TdhxhR9TReo7gPLF9QatKDUn6iUVstnvLt2EoKsLnViVaBN34I3j1p5ehlcGqaxUhFjeWcivKh29Z9UVXDC/s640/blogger-image--1818651646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T-RcUV6-r-MHUbkTiYOlnGupcdfyxqbeSbvGqFHI1Y5mlq2u2TdhxhR9TReo7gPLF9QatKDUn6iUVstnvLt2EoKsLnViVaBN34I3j1p5ehlcGqaxUhFjeWcivKh29Z9UVXDC/s640/blogger-image--1818651646.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a potluck so we ended up having a huge variety of some pretty delicious dishes!!</td></tr>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-35413062914518712782014-11-05T15:28:00.001-05:002014-11-14T09:02:06.173-05:00I've got my hands full.I've been absent for the last few months and I promise I have good reason for it. First of all I can't believe Adam is already 5 months old! When Ali was a baby, it felt like time was flying and this time around it literally feels like we're zooming. The summer was very busy to say the least. First, it was Ramadan where eating and sleeping schedules are all off (also, Adam was a newborn and we were literally not sleeping at all). Soon after that ended we went <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">a 20 Hour Road trip to Chicago </span>to attend my cousin's wedding, which was a ton of fun and really great as the whole family got to meet Adam, but it was also extremely exhausting! Imagine a week full of wedding events with a cranky colicky newborn and Ali who would not stop partying like a 20-year-old, running on a week of no naps. Then not even a week after our return <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Wajih's family arrived for a family reunion. Since everyone was gathering after many years we had tons of things we wanted to do. Including roadtrips to Miami, New Jersey, and multiple ones to Orlando; all with a baby who can't stand the sight of his car seat. Learning the ropes with two children takes some time but I didn't anticipate how chaotic it could actually get. Most of the madness was because we tried to keep going with our own plans and expected the kids to adjust accordingly. If there's anything to know about children it's that they hate change more than grown-ups do and they sure let you know it! </span><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So basically our life has been off routine, hectic and tiring for the past 4 1/2 months and just finally starting to settle down. The best part of all the chaos was how quickly time passed! We were sleep deprived, exhausted and constantly on the go but it was over before we could even realize it. Also, I had a ton of help with everyone around. Man I miss the help! Now that it's just me and the boys, many of my days are spent where my hands are literally so full. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It's funny how having two hands was never something I thought I took for granted until now. Many moments are spent with one hand feeding Adam a bottle while the other helps Ali get dressed. I can now proudly write on my resume that I am an expert at preparing bottles, pushing strollers, driving, texting and changing diapers all with one hand.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Adam, you pretty much take up most of my days activities. If I'm not holding you or having you use me as a trampoline, together we have staring contests to see who will cave first into a fit of giggles. </span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll admit before you were born I was a little afraid whether it was possible to love anyone as much as I love Ali because my heart was so full of love for your older brother. Everyone who had more children reassured me it was totally possible yet I wasn't convinced. Then you entered the scene and my love has not just grown but multiplied times a million!<br></span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It's like I can't keep track of my heart anymore. Sometimes you can find it in the tiny fists that you try fitting in your mouth. Other days it's in the strings of drool that slip out of your shy smile. I think I've seen it hiding between the rolls of your thighs or possibly those of your neck, I can never be sure. And the way you grab onto your feet, your mom couldn't love anything more than a baby who has just discovered how to play with his toes! Your endless babbling and loud giggles possess magic to melt my heart right on the spot. If I had to pick just one, it would be the way your smile lights up and your eyes sparkle with delight when your brother plays with you, that causes my little heart to swell right up. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You know I had a feeling my heart was in for it when Ali was born, but now with you here too I know for sure the poor thing doesn't stand a chance. He's a goner. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As full as my hands and days are right now, I make it a point to relish in moments more than I ever did before. IE: Two days ago after we dropped Ali to preschool, I put you in the stroller and went shopping. It was a blissful 30 minutes where you slept and I had both hands free to shop and both eyes to take in my surroundings. Not occupied by keeping track of a restless 3 yr old or cries of a baby, my eyes caught sight a beautiful monarch butterfly dancing from flower to flower. I thought for a moment to pull out my phone and capture this occurrence. Then I told myself no, some moments are best captured in our memories not our camera rolls. Same goes for my memories with you both, I'm trying hard to capture them in my heart before they fly off. Hopefully one day when you look back upon them you will treasure them just the same. </span></div><div><div><br></div></div></div></div>Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-51892895693541138272014-07-17T23:14:00.005-04:002014-07-17T23:14:58.586-04:00Meet Adam!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This post has taken me awhile to get done, because as some of you may know, newborns are quite demanding! I've been working on it for quite some time and came to the conclusion that the best thing was to let pictures do the talking. Adam is 1 month old today alhumdulillah and, despite all the lack of sleep and nonstop feed/poop/sleep schedule I really am shocked at how fast this month went by. My mom was around for 2.5 weeks to help out which was SUCH a huge help that I've just been struggling to manage ever since she left back home. <div>
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Someone wise once said about child rearing that the days are long but the years are short and I couldn't agree more. Almost daily I am beyond exhausted by the time 6:30 pm rolls around and often you can find me texting Wajih with a desperate 'please tell me you will be home soon' message. But every time I look at Ali and how overnight he has transformed into this big grown up person of his own, I am reminded to cherish every bit of each stage that Adam goes through. </div>
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Happy one month my dear sweet Adam. We are over the moon to have you as a part of our family and cannot wait to celebrate many more of these milestones with you. May each of them be blessed with laughter, health and love always.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboSVw75stB_GfIoxqp_42TEFOJxqcnpdL0VS6qAVgydBTvJwZpBLk3_TqUj_gKoHk_d6xZeXb7iVCDx19T-DCKkNfwFLG6RdalVOMSKg_855uvYMdOWU6_OOpBCRdmNlk1g9L/s640/blogger-image-889040839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboSVw75stB_GfIoxqp_42TEFOJxqcnpdL0VS6qAVgydBTvJwZpBLk3_TqUj_gKoHk_d6xZeXb7iVCDx19T-DCKkNfwFLG6RdalVOMSKg_855uvYMdOWU6_OOpBCRdmNlk1g9L/s640/blogger-image-889040839.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam Mustafa Wajih born Tuesday June 17, 2014 at 12:45pm 6lb 12 oz 19 in at Tampa General Hospital<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qTAumoouIH1LJgZytfsqZ7Pki2E1aWAEwA3dMEI0l3GImroWgONKjlFJ0o-JCbJu-WLdFdu9dcUl5h7fYG-kOO7E7-IusMFO5yxsbmtlkG53mvS2aVVESfchyphenhyphenCUbcacu39rG/s640/blogger-image-1647993554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qTAumoouIH1LJgZytfsqZ7Pki2E1aWAEwA3dMEI0l3GImroWgONKjlFJ0o-JCbJu-WLdFdu9dcUl5h7fYG-kOO7E7-IusMFO5yxsbmtlkG53mvS2aVVESfchyphenhyphenCUbcacu39rG/s400/blogger-image-1647993554.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first of many kisses from big brother!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt2AjBjyD-Pt3Pmh7o1z09zf8QFNcPcfZ0GBwAkXtREOCG-GLGHwiOXqKkvYjBcCxaRsFzfAnkXpyMEHnZ0wnttxDzxprUfYsfVIRTp2UJPBEG2cTq-JZSYT6lMvxSwhsoH2O/s640/blogger-image-542268249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt2AjBjyD-Pt3Pmh7o1z09zf8QFNcPcfZ0GBwAkXtREOCG-GLGHwiOXqKkvYjBcCxaRsFzfAnkXpyMEHnZ0wnttxDzxprUfYsfVIRTp2UJPBEG2cTq-JZSYT6lMvxSwhsoH2O/s400/blogger-image-542268249.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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I have not met a big brother more loving than Ali, mashAllah. He is so gentle and so affectionate towards Adam that it breaks my heart sometimes when I have to ask him to please stop kissing his brother already! He's always ready to help put the binky back in baby's mouth or throw out diapers, and sometimes even hold the bottle! First night he jumped into bed with Adam ready for a sleepover!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmP8-HwrkDR9uTBTBJ0LFYOncsy1DeDv20cdiEMuW54pDjaIksjKcOS9dsFGX35XWH_Mn9O2kdJNHY83nQ1TxfxndYWTSNDqbFEJii2pD_igUlxcg5flB4wr29P6wGQiMrZ-af/s640/blogger-image--1418642502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmP8-HwrkDR9uTBTBJ0LFYOncsy1DeDv20cdiEMuW54pDjaIksjKcOS9dsFGX35XWH_Mn9O2kdJNHY83nQ1TxfxndYWTSNDqbFEJii2pD_igUlxcg5flB4wr29P6wGQiMrZ-af/s400/blogger-image--1418642502.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First bath given by Nani!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIoD0UuLUd9UevquV5RM0Cp8Sp6zdt7-R3AhQFHUxknn5VPlZ_Ygx6XZU6OeyczQjiWGBLO40EOb2A-fSCwr3UfAx_WlTKjWSlb4Xa_ze-09tGnJW0oCrBqz84MuoSe7rUxKw/s1600/blogger-image--1173808702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIoD0UuLUd9UevquV5RM0Cp8Sp6zdt7-R3AhQFHUxknn5VPlZ_Ygx6XZU6OeyczQjiWGBLO40EOb2A-fSCwr3UfAx_WlTKjWSlb4Xa_ze-09tGnJW0oCrBqz84MuoSe7rUxKw/s400/blogger-image--1173808702.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post bathtime photo session for Adam turned into fun for all</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEM7j1CQQnkWXbPnq9KyYuailOMtbdFSescykJbC1m-57tHNdwaLD6nwPXCp_4Z8eOk9mJbQMXhsIpGcwvnV_ol1W93nV09KEY3xEHkEU2vLnAeUp72LSm9OkLVxt1vipw4PB/s640/blogger-image--732095714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEM7j1CQQnkWXbPnq9KyYuailOMtbdFSescykJbC1m-57tHNdwaLD6nwPXCp_4Z8eOk9mJbQMXhsIpGcwvnV_ol1W93nV09KEY3xEHkEU2vLnAeUp72LSm9OkLVxt1vipw4PB/s400/blogger-image--732095714.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big brother Ali reading to Adam<br /></td></tr>
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Pictures above are of a few of Adam's many loving visitors!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XfbRF6DSSo8z2x8sLiTSMeZk1-Fp3ehLqjym7c40bCeaSWcHLGOU5Uk98g-WoFXchmj7EUgS_CWhiGnDhgfwx0fm_tY1WNw10JeF9kbM_nwz47gK43fQamqDmtO36OFNOAr4/s640/blogger-image--253061055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XfbRF6DSSo8z2x8sLiTSMeZk1-Fp3ehLqjym7c40bCeaSWcHLGOU5Uk98g-WoFXchmj7EUgS_CWhiGnDhgfwx0fm_tY1WNw10JeF9kbM_nwz47gK43fQamqDmtO36OFNOAr4/s640/blogger-image--253061055.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam and Ammi's first photo together 6/27/14</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznVsXCn3KXzr0aE9LLmqVBAJwbt9wm-W4XwIlCYtKH4nhz-5chjwPdj5f7F8W0GHA5ufnKLhUXUGsvpcylOL6TMcyHo_zDJIg78zf2iATNcL7GQ81c5kEqwZTVgXtcSEmLU09/s640/blogger-image--1521343926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznVsXCn3KXzr0aE9LLmqVBAJwbt9wm-W4XwIlCYtKH4nhz-5chjwPdj5f7F8W0GHA5ufnKLhUXUGsvpcylOL6TMcyHo_zDJIg78zf2iATNcL7GQ81c5kEqwZTVgXtcSEmLU09/s640/blogger-image--1521343926.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before Nani returned back to New Jersey (we all miss her so much!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznVsXCn3KXzr0aE9LLmqVBAJwbt9wm-W4XwIlCYtKH4nhz-5chjwPdj5f7F8W0GHA5ufnKLhUXUGsvpcylOL6TMcyHo_zDJIg78zf2iATNcL7GQ81c5kEqwZTVgXtcSEmLU09/s640/blogger-image--1521343926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT43eZ0DAtmyoD8BY5QcTUQO_I_i9kC7Qw5nBqckQ4THGF9YeL7KlYEeKvBTFfFNgDk6jMF4ktMGNiYVKRtPLsomO7rZYP44nIsTzcoT0wzOzzewiYP2AuXb9Kl2wu8ibd37_/s400/blogger-image-764352709.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating Ammi's birthday with a shopping trip to Orlando outlets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSEQG1b4rBkcx-nhMUwqNdcdiV7a_JtTp_Djw-LoIU2E7-7-yX8GRUcW9Jm_tTAmiBLa2jcng98zsm6s94hwIkLRAxf__5uBip_OTrgdNidDnO5n7xUjaQzbC0rzY-5TKV4T1/s640/blogger-image--1499042044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSEQG1b4rBkcx-nhMUwqNdcdiV7a_JtTp_Djw-LoIU2E7-7-yX8GRUcW9Jm_tTAmiBLa2jcng98zsm6s94hwIkLRAxf__5uBip_OTrgdNidDnO5n7xUjaQzbC0rzY-5TKV4T1/s640/blogger-image--1499042044.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">brothers bonding session, also called Mom's heart melting momentt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyw9AREw1QmuXo6blNNeFpvRxpd_d47JNTcKMrXFsGq8eFvB0X7Kl7ESz3bLg_suDpDvDMDzMufDUEOH1KUpRlikCaX3WnC2ShHI2Qd3ZWSv3nAucH3HQzc1pWakLi_3NgrwJ/s640/blogger-image--1055579546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyw9AREw1QmuXo6blNNeFpvRxpd_d47JNTcKMrXFsGq8eFvB0X7Kl7ESz3bLg_suDpDvDMDzMufDUEOH1KUpRlikCaX3WnC2ShHI2Qd3ZWSv3nAucH3HQzc1pWakLi_3NgrwJ/s640/blogger-image--1055579546.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy 1 monthday, Adam! (yes you scratched your forehead)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXwdwJZnMN7D7N6GA9b-UI2Xgy1uNFTStJY_WfkyvmC7lZyGYHND1o-mhaHN1Rxji_Ul1wIL8N5q4O8GhAAzPd59wn6vPC4ACLi-R_FpvhIcwzwbaf22BJR3pqFEOdNchllln/s640/blogger-image-1521798694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXwdwJZnMN7D7N6GA9b-UI2Xgy1uNFTStJY_WfkyvmC7lZyGYHND1o-mhaHN1Rxji_Ul1wIL8N5q4O8GhAAzPd59wn6vPC4ACLi-R_FpvhIcwzwbaf22BJR3pqFEOdNchllln/s640/blogger-image-1521798694.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These boys with all the chaos, laughter and love they bring make my life complete. </td></tr>
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</div>
</div>
Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-58716978815545978832014-06-16T09:00:00.000-04:002014-06-16T09:00:10.368-04:00A week in NYC!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Back in the middle of April we took a very spontaneous and amazing trip to NYC all thanks to a work project suddenly assigned to my husband. Everything really worked out great! I was in my 2nd trimester so my energy level hadn't quite taken a nose dive yet, so Ali and I took advantage of this opportunity and joined him. We spent an entire week like tourists discovering the city I had lived near for SO many years but never took the chance to explore. Wajih left after his work ended, but Ali and I hung around at my mom's place for an extra week and got some much needed time with Nana, Nani and Unga (what Ali calls my little sister, a word he created all his own).<br />
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Weather wise mid April was nice to be out and about in the city. We wore jackets or layered on light sweaters and even had two days of beautiful 75 degrees and sunshine; perfect for a day at Central Park!<br />
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I had created a basic list of things I wanted to do with Ali so I had sort of a game plan for our trip while keeping in mind alternate options in case it rained. I also Googled reviews for some of the best parks and playgrounds for kids. <br />
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<u><b>Places we went or hoped to go</b></u><br />
Dylan's Candy Bar<br />
FAO Schwarz<br />
Times Square: Toys R Us, M&M's and Hershey's store<br />
Central park: sailboats, Umpire rocks, playgrounds, hike in North Woods (12pm free tour Tuesday), zoo ($19 for both)<br />
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Alice's Teacup nearby for lunch)<br />
Thursday- pay as you wish at Children's Museum of Art 4-6pm<br />
Washington Square Park - Greenwich (PB&J company nearby for lunch)<br />
Pier 25 playground - Tribeca (whole foods nearby for lunch)<br />
Brooklyn waterfront park pier 6 (dumbo park)<br />
Hippo park - upper west side<br />
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Now I'll let the pictures do the talking about how great our trip was:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6TP9cSHMneJUrS2lCfPxpeo9bd2ROZEXzAJrfqC1GEmaeSF3QvHwVEOT5i8ZjiHes2X8KFq3LP_Pq6SNTuS45pM1hTvgBx0YTv_XbDMrn0OvuC_mmm9661Iv2KsQ4QeGdybK/s1600/2014-04-11+11.08.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6TP9cSHMneJUrS2lCfPxpeo9bd2ROZEXzAJrfqC1GEmaeSF3QvHwVEOT5i8ZjiHes2X8KFq3LP_Pq6SNTuS45pM1hTvgBx0YTv_XbDMrn0OvuC_mmm9661Iv2KsQ4QeGdybK/s1600/2014-04-11+11.08.49.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful shot of Tampa Bay as we took off, surprising my parents when we showed up at their door!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrcqWVOIkaRLdBbKtzreiEBM3-5ZzonxAQpu5XkLry6DoHEBvghep96WsizWYnYozh0qWtUOFQSor9kgPTMopYrZex_nnfzdP1AWcJ5_8q9sVyISQBY8X7Apry5IFeJ704YyO/s1600/2014-04-11+14.09.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrcqWVOIkaRLdBbKtzreiEBM3-5ZzonxAQpu5XkLry6DoHEBvghep96WsizWYnYozh0qWtUOFQSor9kgPTMopYrZex_nnfzdP1AWcJ5_8q9sVyISQBY8X7Apry5IFeJ704YyO/s1600/2014-04-11+14.09.11.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Wawa how I miss thee!<br />
Closest one to us in FL is 20 mins away :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLawHIIobt9BkI0cNZ_cfX4I74gLF2UtI7CYSK47MO8lQhNOKWBFQ7tBjC4sJbjEGGaC76MIBMso1PQ9hWlqIO87-fMdXKRftMots-pwa8Y1oPygW0l5ZDCMLdGK88RKGao3E6/s1600/2014-04-12+14.39.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLawHIIobt9BkI0cNZ_cfX4I74gLF2UtI7CYSK47MO8lQhNOKWBFQ7tBjC4sJbjEGGaC76MIBMso1PQ9hWlqIO87-fMdXKRftMots-pwa8Y1oPygW0l5ZDCMLdGK88RKGao3E6/s1600/2014-04-12+14.39.17.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So happy to be back home with my Jersey Girls, little impromptu family BBQ to enjoy the sunshine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y4YEp89ZsxsqeOFecluXA4TE-rBbyGeZUIxv5jyP0V7cbLBqPfEy_aGsCnn7GfMECY8-LOE63RFsZMfY6kvemRq4P-_S_pv_S-4ltMr5Al5-23ZWIyo5c14jpUNnXrOKAuqe/s1600/2014-04-13+21.35.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y4YEp89ZsxsqeOFecluXA4TE-rBbyGeZUIxv5jyP0V7cbLBqPfEy_aGsCnn7GfMECY8-LOE63RFsZMfY6kvemRq4P-_S_pv_S-4ltMr5Al5-23ZWIyo5c14jpUNnXrOKAuqe/s1600/2014-04-13+21.35.55.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First night my parents joined us and we did the Times Sqr thing</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0HdeLaPqVBR6iplohxt95fD-d6Iqvs-RD6XlzqpDi3rjTwKG6vOfFRQSs3lyCDTnCxYh7E5kVDMyz_MMk688mzm_iO1hsWXyuWxnCzZus_gj-f8M2uyRrekyswlU4dM_HTXc/s1600/2014-04-13+21.38.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0HdeLaPqVBR6iplohxt95fD-d6Iqvs-RD6XlzqpDi3rjTwKG6vOfFRQSs3lyCDTnCxYh7E5kVDMyz_MMk688mzm_iO1hsWXyuWxnCzZus_gj-f8M2uyRrekyswlU4dM_HTXc/s1600/2014-04-13+21.38.42.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obligatory Time Sqr picture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUp5uymgMUr4dCR0KYGdogdlKGPE9yOF5BgraM2ey307mBPxA-24IniH6kIWMf22Z1w4hL301YJWL2HRvjetEH5GcElzTfFezyP_CCprS1aATOsK9L-DgsbBYJhakrAVE2QXEE/s1600/2014-04-14+11.25.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUp5uymgMUr4dCR0KYGdogdlKGPE9yOF5BgraM2ey307mBPxA-24IniH6kIWMf22Z1w4hL301YJWL2HRvjetEH5GcElzTfFezyP_CCprS1aATOsK9L-DgsbBYJhakrAVE2QXEE/s1600/2014-04-14+11.25.48.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next morning outside Rockefeller Center</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2cSu7pkQDWxYGIoUjOOCwvmxHcFDpAhz9m6DDLTT98EPaqptx9qa_TaTp5vIm4fgpYgSheoXHOf2AIAOZ2ORvJrQqeUvcvace4bJVBKH49RE_TpDuJyDCkywVJORB2amwhn2/s1600/2014-04-14+11.17.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2cSu7pkQDWxYGIoUjOOCwvmxHcFDpAhz9m6DDLTT98EPaqptx9qa_TaTp5vIm4fgpYgSheoXHOf2AIAOZ2ORvJrQqeUvcvace4bJVBKH49RE_TpDuJyDCkywVJORB2amwhn2/s1600/2014-04-14+11.17.15.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yoc6uEey2k6daUl_S-rmmD5zPkBRdI18vXJFJuAyL7mxkBioO-dX-7V9h-vP-HcFIPyo3GAFsJrxv2WA18ptESUvCcY6TlZWZT4tNoUus5nqRzsh1FxxcwA0FT5yQfo6w_a6/s1600/2014-04-14+11.41.34-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yoc6uEey2k6daUl_S-rmmD5zPkBRdI18vXJFJuAyL7mxkBioO-dX-7V9h-vP-HcFIPyo3GAFsJrxv2WA18ptESUvCcY6TlZWZT4tNoUus5nqRzsh1FxxcwA0FT5yQfo6w_a6/s1600/2014-04-14+11.41.34-2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Patrick's Cathedral</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAw5bBWM741bYH5N2UtE-yKhz5cN5crt_Qejt2tTvdLSQF9Vne1iiWnyGyiG44TaCvU1tLXPsw37eHFMntCikCXHo1TyYvus83wwhDbocN5jKp8yiOGpLvoPYTfevkMyy6rGm/s1600/2014-04-14+11.34.35-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAw5bBWM741bYH5N2UtE-yKhz5cN5crt_Qejt2tTvdLSQF9Vne1iiWnyGyiG44TaCvU1tLXPsw37eHFMntCikCXHo1TyYvus83wwhDbocN5jKp8yiOGpLvoPYTfevkMyy6rGm/s1600/2014-04-14+11.34.35-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter display outside Rockefeller Center</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3KYze4odHBxV1Lofs2cJeYhB8bRjARBzOu_pluSYKS8hvvSPwc2FpkUChDl41AFYE77REIIZ-xZrhMHlZj3YCvLFuM-LLG3nfj8jMIyo_ZtfyC-9Z_kYx1vqnCJ9qn6qSFMg/s1600/2014-04-14+12.59.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3KYze4odHBxV1Lofs2cJeYhB8bRjARBzOu_pluSYKS8hvvSPwc2FpkUChDl41AFYE77REIIZ-xZrhMHlZj3YCvLFuM-LLG3nfj8jMIyo_ZtfyC-9Z_kYx1vqnCJ9qn6qSFMg/s1600/2014-04-14+12.59.32.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing with sailboats in Central Park</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdf76z66sjbk68-8GF_rUtd-pJxd0zsbwxtL4gd5TYDddGzX1-8yUGmFyFJx3syup95in5-3zcl4i1wsHq9RwlxLBS1iMDQzG5GPo6jX1gRY7MFuXqRFsU5bQXdviaH9fUNfC/s1600/2014-04-14+14.23.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdf76z66sjbk68-8GF_rUtd-pJxd0zsbwxtL4gd5TYDddGzX1-8yUGmFyFJx3syup95in5-3zcl4i1wsHq9RwlxLBS1iMDQzG5GPo6jX1gRY7MFuXqRFsU5bQXdviaH9fUNfC/s1600/2014-04-14+14.23.56.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my favorite painting at the Met</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJ2AURn5cTYK2paS5fpDAEPwN5olh8pNZUZjccHJeo_JpzqmJCp2kVjgzfeQ-ItlwKNhCVUjpbQuFetGcJp8fRbEKX1viecAEag3tnt_0ztMTwIffjOpj24wINwGJBocntcqf/s1600/2014-04-14+15.16.11.jpg" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I'm officially obsessed with tea and scones.<br />
A trip to NYC is no longer complete without Alice's Teacup!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJ2AURn5cTYK2paS5fpDAEPwN5olh8pNZUZjccHJeo_JpzqmJCp2kVjgzfeQ-ItlwKNhCVUjpbQuFetGcJp8fRbEKX1viecAEag3tnt_0ztMTwIffjOpj24wINwGJBocntcqf/s1600/2014-04-14+15.16.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fYuMQLNWsGUhGR5V9QmlBXRcVlKSTCp9qtiCRI0yqGMvSSzr0ViK1MaVaJlIu28sVy_viB4Wb45b_M0h34u9kyvGETg2ZUW9BDsFfTWdDluzWN8PUtmHFfil0FYCUU9JGiiZ/s1600/2014-04-14+15.15.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fYuMQLNWsGUhGR5V9QmlBXRcVlKSTCp9qtiCRI0yqGMvSSzr0ViK1MaVaJlIu28sVy_viB4Wb45b_M0h34u9kyvGETg2ZUW9BDsFfTWdDluzWN8PUtmHFfil0FYCUU9JGiiZ/s1600/2014-04-14+15.15.40.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_ZlhMP6MZ99gJpA0_GxjMfY-LFNWKIH45PywzgtahnN0rOx0Co1kBGJG2_hRpqoXvwUTilqIjTj63DOzsKYFc5Puqr1vhqzBvH7wJmiN078SShqywIMgukLJFqb9DhNZIaD6/s1600/2014-04-14+15.35.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_ZlhMP6MZ99gJpA0_GxjMfY-LFNWKIH45PywzgtahnN0rOx0Co1kBGJG2_hRpqoXvwUTilqIjTj63DOzsKYFc5Puqr1vhqzBvH7wJmiN078SShqywIMgukLJFqb9DhNZIaD6/s1600/2014-04-14+15.35.18.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali learned how to take pictures that day.<br />
this one actually came out artsy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP2w52xNsjrwKncOOYDyMayPINj0wwQjAw5O-oF20ehJpHWn9Cle__WX1sULB1vDee1PMQ4mIDKZK5SS0sNvtKzZVjRUKxLTO3C3voC0rpsAHYdsIRBhrm3MFnkFntuUXQykx/s1600/2014-04-14+15.34.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP2w52xNsjrwKncOOYDyMayPINj0wwQjAw5O-oF20ehJpHWn9Cle__WX1sULB1vDee1PMQ4mIDKZK5SS0sNvtKzZVjRUKxLTO3C3voC0rpsAHYdsIRBhrm3MFnkFntuUXQykx/s1600/2014-04-14+15.34.41.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have never before had scones that tasted this good.<br />
Every single one was just divine!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEeq4KaKExtMaUh8TEbaiGJrTwbR-5p59ohGhb6v-7tFvIuvzH2KAmkIS91QjSu8HEqzQDjL4sTT7iDdYFh31aCgnDiVneQa_A2UTalB3LNB4PrgwOKVuntpld4YuqFn3DsNK/s1600/2014-04-14+18.05.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEeq4KaKExtMaUh8TEbaiGJrTwbR-5p59ohGhb6v-7tFvIuvzH2KAmkIS91QjSu8HEqzQDjL4sTT7iDdYFh31aCgnDiVneQa_A2UTalB3LNB4PrgwOKVuntpld4YuqFn3DsNK/s1600/2014-04-14+18.05.54.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our room at the Hilton on 52nd St</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiVhR7ebIrRv6MTcAGLm-42ehrMpr3WltSjk2WpwanWf_3sRpcdaMXGxngJ5umVMvERljkJ8OzjsNEQ64xMB-YsYmQxYexsoY2fgDMQkzupGzhQsqaj1bIl5k-rOAYaILLhWa/s1600/2014-04-14+19.10.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiVhR7ebIrRv6MTcAGLm-42ehrMpr3WltSjk2WpwanWf_3sRpcdaMXGxngJ5umVMvERljkJ8OzjsNEQ64xMB-YsYmQxYexsoY2fgDMQkzupGzhQsqaj1bIl5k-rOAYaILLhWa/s1600/2014-04-14+19.10.01.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEoPKhZPDJaxbxUWvkL5paWspDnTIw94Jhr5ZUPmoOB2U83R7ihwmOJhVOlgzQu1UR7uajAspt5P6ehhIZmaPAh7jnuqO13j8HYgo3b8onLhGFFztWnq2CXqdD_0kq2AqFoeZ/s1600/2014-04-15+13.41.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEoPKhZPDJaxbxUWvkL5paWspDnTIw94Jhr5ZUPmoOB2U83R7ihwmOJhVOlgzQu1UR7uajAspt5P6ehhIZmaPAh7jnuqO13j8HYgo3b8onLhGFFztWnq2CXqdD_0kq2AqFoeZ/s1600/2014-04-15+13.41.18.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">This kid was in Toy Store heaven.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2Z1WepNYg7wJDzcnGLjkkJxezp_j6YhyOb3nbKYp-ka75M6fs05EWJ-jz8ODZ6RGnH-4cD7fobMu4zJPWRnFzbQ8oJembnN5ehk9yF79TVZdT5q4jO49Ky81OeI-A5pTr3mM/s1600/2014-04-14+20.07.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2Z1WepNYg7wJDzcnGLjkkJxezp_j6YhyOb3nbKYp-ka75M6fs05EWJ-jz8ODZ6RGnH-4cD7fobMu4zJPWRnFzbQ8oJembnN5ehk9yF79TVZdT5q4jO49Ky81OeI-A5pTr3mM/s1600/2014-04-14+20.07.09.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1D6aDTujkxZZN6ernh0kAHJJEpddu1NgQUYa-M1GoIYFLQExJaQYvyTqrCvCC_-NG46oCjRPdujTqYK2cr00EN9a8_2P2QI_fHw0kGbdijheXRIl3sVyb8pbS1r4qjF-S2xKM/s1600/2014-04-14+20.02.48.jpg" height="320" style="text-align: center;" width="180" /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUaWq3fmu84msLAqLaYiXa_zS7LCTcKCBQrxebDlJlobx6-fqEZpFzlNpLiUuUE1dnx3ovaueHhf0BepzavIed9jg8-2Hhroc6Wj4xFNy4ENLqV6TCsyaHTzuHuhhf_Q8Ds98/s1600/2014-04-15+13.08.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUaWq3fmu84msLAqLaYiXa_zS7LCTcKCBQrxebDlJlobx6-fqEZpFzlNpLiUuUE1dnx3ovaueHhf0BepzavIed9jg8-2Hhroc6Wj4xFNy4ENLqV6TCsyaHTzuHuhhf_Q8Ds98/s1600/2014-04-15+13.08.06.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next day was rainy so we did another toy store<br />
We both loooved FAO Schwarz, you can easily spend hours here!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVymss2z8gIf3-IaPFR9ZWtUuNSJMTghSCm4XLZam3oWUMPtuw9mwB7I4scuTkdNkcwb4ts3Bk7_sOBNdy4WmWaHR3DiLvKINXgZsd3Dlk6dFayicCDot_l3Pi5XgL9qOK_6g9/s1600/2014-04-15+13.49.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIheNf1BjReHd59-IP7-1j7vx8EcNRKE1rwFcgTd0NHJtjtNOh1H-og0_GuEGG1NgMypHyRSCi_0lYZhXsEfJtwPPkbm5GKKPskORmgDx-7OGQR9VpinmbUMuP7Wjk32HdoVD7/s1600/2014-04-15+13.17.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIheNf1BjReHd59-IP7-1j7vx8EcNRKE1rwFcgTd0NHJtjtNOh1H-og0_GuEGG1NgMypHyRSCi_0lYZhXsEfJtwPPkbm5GKKPskORmgDx-7OGQR9VpinmbUMuP7Wjk32HdoVD7/s1600/2014-04-15+13.17.26.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVymss2z8gIf3-IaPFR9ZWtUuNSJMTghSCm4XLZam3oWUMPtuw9mwB7I4scuTkdNkcwb4ts3Bk7_sOBNdy4WmWaHR3DiLvKINXgZsd3Dlk6dFayicCDot_l3Pi5XgL9qOK_6g9/s1600/2014-04-15+13.49.05.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVyqFlQAjSji0Skcx8zwC2YZbPiDsUhO0zTHquOoO6DSQjKqiEspkeSgQtGxgqZfD9UulbdDfErnKogLU-C0OcEZcBj_A-K6zeuR6Q7GFpg343fJNrPSYBJACab0BTHmRjDZd/s1600/2014-04-15+20.53.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVyqFlQAjSji0Skcx8zwC2YZbPiDsUhO0zTHquOoO6DSQjKqiEspkeSgQtGxgqZfD9UulbdDfErnKogLU-C0OcEZcBj_A-K6zeuR6Q7GFpg343fJNrPSYBJACab0BTHmRjDZd/s1600/2014-04-15+20.53.47.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at an Italian restaurant near the theater district. <br />
Really wasn't as good as it looked.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XE_sLoUf8F8SsvjrKGLr7yAD04It-ADtxPc1xYn9YP70k-XjnlA3fq496KrWHdOwdH4zxJc_-fGNK5gJYl0o5N4T_yWXoCfKLqMm7LAvqbzTIIX7IC8fR0FrmOB3LPHeMEoK/s1600/2014-04-16+14.01.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XE_sLoUf8F8SsvjrKGLr7yAD04It-ADtxPc1xYn9YP70k-XjnlA3fq496KrWHdOwdH4zxJc_-fGNK5gJYl0o5N4T_yWXoCfKLqMm7LAvqbzTIIX7IC8fR0FrmOB3LPHeMEoK/s1600/2014-04-16+14.01.49.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molcajete Taqueria in Greenwich. Delishh!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94y0MXei0Png0exh2nd89DYDFc5dyzIoZDRpWJdL6mp8bwZQmB4g4vGmJoiWgahcHcOusZTF_7n8OCmnvvZJSvcKJytiJxWbJp5w9FikgE98_RL3Kpdg2Z935yV3ooowbOme2/s1600/2014-04-16+13.01.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94y0MXei0Png0exh2nd89DYDFc5dyzIoZDRpWJdL6mp8bwZQmB4g4vGmJoiWgahcHcOusZTF_7n8OCmnvvZJSvcKJytiJxWbJp5w9FikgE98_RL3Kpdg2Z935yV3ooowbOme2/s1600/2014-04-16+13.01.34.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did <i>not </i>find riding the subway to be kid or stroller friendly! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNinwsCGx62uUuuZci0XKYdYGrArsRDY4iatBzEj_yM1LLsUCks5paOFXF9DZwJw95X9_oIqLlgtfKHJ8JwdKSK_NhJ_SwOk_zH_tmTChOnA_k3v-tTbFQJtFSZ_ZUUt1u3-r/s1600/2014-04-16+20.51.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNinwsCGx62uUuuZci0XKYdYGrArsRDY4iatBzEj_yM1LLsUCks5paOFXF9DZwJw95X9_oIqLlgtfKHJ8JwdKSK_NhJ_SwOk_zH_tmTChOnA_k3v-tTbFQJtFSZ_ZUUt1u3-r/s1600/2014-04-16+20.51.10.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta love NYC street art!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pLP1MddKzpkpZsHZHZOF3cPoalQJdwruYqFnATwJeVKaJdd7ASPrG-z2rmANyC9PBW6Afpl6b_R951IUtc9osSmEGIMQbtSRRAEj6nUSsOgC9Q3po5jBWwx5skWxi9JAJ9IS/s1600/2014-04-16+21.29.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pLP1MddKzpkpZsHZHZOF3cPoalQJdwruYqFnATwJeVKaJdd7ASPrG-z2rmANyC9PBW6Afpl6b_R951IUtc9osSmEGIMQbtSRRAEj6nUSsOgC9Q3po5jBWwx5skWxi9JAJ9IS/s1600/2014-04-16+21.29.03.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the most heavenly creme brulee I ever did eat!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9pieyvbyy27k9pbTX9s8tXBujnBvpdrgh2M3WNl-Q8OKzgIldKHazmrwtS3rjgS5Dsg8k9eI_BjjhkOBOeejv3-B5Zc3Qz8wswWLKyffLA9g-DCplqlVppwLlDdqFgzTXEWY/s1600/2014-04-16+21.28.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9pieyvbyy27k9pbTX9s8tXBujnBvpdrgh2M3WNl-Q8OKzgIldKHazmrwtS3rjgS5Dsg8k9eI_BjjhkOBOeejv3-B5Zc3Qz8wswWLKyffLA9g-DCplqlVppwLlDdqFgzTXEWY/s1600/2014-04-16+21.28.43.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hubs took me out to a fancy dinner at Aquagrill in SoHo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8_Fbb-3PaH7qoivrlw73jwhzTjo_cxvrV3Mj_hXBq6SoBaLFYG_Y7-7856uXp3BqdNcSms3N53aEG5FyREeLhsCPhFsCBsDAkqjPWVLYmHksku03SNkKBu67XhBAACPN1bKA/s1600/2014-04-16+21.30.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8_Fbb-3PaH7qoivrlw73jwhzTjo_cxvrV3Mj_hXBq6SoBaLFYG_Y7-7856uXp3BqdNcSms3N53aEG5FyREeLhsCPhFsCBsDAkqjPWVLYmHksku03SNkKBu67XhBAACPN1bKA/s1600/2014-04-16+21.30.18.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mango Mousse!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqWHiJYAcdIHHocl9OW19vW_YrTn_QoRc2tU4r6LjgxSuQgktf2qyAioEnHNCETUMpR2hVrkgwz_8EbQn24KRB7sVmZtkjrIAE0eOzJuhsUhZPfi5dyrEAiHq8-zHtOJ7dTGy/s1600/2014-04-16+22.10.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqWHiJYAcdIHHocl9OW19vW_YrTn_QoRc2tU4r6LjgxSuQgktf2qyAioEnHNCETUMpR2hVrkgwz_8EbQn24KRB7sVmZtkjrIAE0eOzJuhsUhZPfi5dyrEAiHq8-zHtOJ7dTGy/s1600/2014-04-16+22.10.43.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie with subway! #totallydangerous</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoapPSbalmt0auPO_fuix4lHOoX2S9MdqNPDOEoPYZOnF4ZIswaJtsEkYc8hnxgGHF9qZgVhHBkZtNhzAEH9u-osTKSHL5lHFVHPraqC868PiL11z0UmMw2Icbaj9wC4AnjFW9/s1600/2014-04-16+22.48.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoapPSbalmt0auPO_fuix4lHOoX2S9MdqNPDOEoPYZOnF4ZIswaJtsEkYc8hnxgGHF9qZgVhHBkZtNhzAEH9u-osTKSHL5lHFVHPraqC868PiL11z0UmMw2Icbaj9wC4AnjFW9/s1600/2014-04-16+22.48.10.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View outside the Waldorf </td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8SGZlG28gHPEgpeHcvc8uBXQBQEycgo3zgQDCHeyuMKzcLPELTQh9-xjtcUAZ4jQ7u3P5W13gWyFbun-Rh7dT-9I1PkTWua5KCldiUFnDwJ9fF0TmaL2WqP081hXCShCY6m5/s1600/2014-04-16+22.53.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8SGZlG28gHPEgpeHcvc8uBXQBQEycgo3zgQDCHeyuMKzcLPELTQh9-xjtcUAZ4jQ7u3P5W13gWyFbun-Rh7dT-9I1PkTWua5KCldiUFnDwJ9fF0TmaL2WqP081hXCShCY6m5/s1600/2014-04-16+22.53.10.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This chandelier was in the women's bathroom!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpQLvE2TFoeRUK93DVwxAwgdybHgVQp6pvNprzd7kU22tYZ02NI_GSOhCQHsBPpFBWsPbZELAvYc3sUZdlTz6dVoLkIviYQqmAS7PcA1H2ueaGI6WnlNc0CYh0s6y6vHD2t8l/s1600/2014-04-16+23.03.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpQLvE2TFoeRUK93DVwxAwgdybHgVQp6pvNprzd7kU22tYZ02NI_GSOhCQHsBPpFBWsPbZELAvYc3sUZdlTz6dVoLkIviYQqmAS7PcA1H2ueaGI6WnlNc0CYh0s6y6vHD2t8l/s1600/2014-04-16+23.03.52.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm realizing I have a selfie problem</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlw6EY1LHAU2CoVlVUWa3yeaihq0cuwpG9hLzzCNTJRaB_rnXzXXtaRXgA7mmOiLJT91UpdeyHJPFQA9HlI3_b28NyONdlZVrch1ixazfsM5cNhJ8t-JKs-V9y9lIhXXombbmV/s1600/2014-04-16+23.07.26-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlw6EY1LHAU2CoVlVUWa3yeaihq0cuwpG9hLzzCNTJRaB_rnXzXXtaRXgA7mmOiLJT91UpdeyHJPFQA9HlI3_b28NyONdlZVrch1ixazfsM5cNhJ8t-JKs-V9y9lIhXXombbmV/s1600/2014-04-16+23.07.26-2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We totally sneaked around the hotel to check out the snazzy ballrooms</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0UaZMj80VVmS_mijQ107_Rrana_kNm37g5inuVesLsM60t1VHLssIup5mHiO1Eebng8cqJOqmRhUwQNFHujbf6Bcj1IVyKuNp8LiL1kYbtIzPT0Jvdmx4ZjGAJSvQbdrYyjV/s1600/2014-04-17+11.08.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0UaZMj80VVmS_mijQ107_Rrana_kNm37g5inuVesLsM60t1VHLssIup5mHiO1Eebng8cqJOqmRhUwQNFHujbf6Bcj1IVyKuNp8LiL1kYbtIzPT0Jvdmx4ZjGAJSvQbdrYyjV/s1600/2014-04-17+11.08.58.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">while my poor husband worked late, I sent him pictures like this</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEP-wWhkiREHQWaUZu6KIjoAGfLXC2n599MliOh-xP_lye2FKpgT0EAY1XEXQOZOfvkAvuZsCV-QKykvb-PIaiVB-Iok1YBJwy2tRj39trlooXVsyx6pFjw_Ry8aHaSNOOJXl/s1600/2014-04-17+12.41.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEP-wWhkiREHQWaUZu6KIjoAGfLXC2n599MliOh-xP_lye2FKpgT0EAY1XEXQOZOfvkAvuZsCV-QKykvb-PIaiVB-Iok1YBJwy2tRj39trlooXVsyx6pFjw_Ry8aHaSNOOJXl/s1600/2014-04-17+12.41.41.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE133gSoFVC2yQZ5zivAxsFSKXWmFo9qdogJJKbxszUvXRCLzlvdc6Ov03yqH8EeIqENgwTTa3_aqxUo2_IMSzioJH_uxDrvddeaahetcxsUENhFzCyOx53h0jpQGQyKct_Y9/s1600/2014-04-17+15.02.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE133gSoFVC2yQZ5zivAxsFSKXWmFo9qdogJJKbxszUvXRCLzlvdc6Ov03yqH8EeIqENgwTTa3_aqxUo2_IMSzioJH_uxDrvddeaahetcxsUENhFzCyOx53h0jpQGQyKct_Y9/s1600/2014-04-17+15.02.34.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8RyfWT8Q2NNbEZIwZCB390pxRvV4vxJ4gyM7WaGa1JspSVLdCnfOKMH-eWL1tM3ERWVlNNYLwzXrGhuO2HAQe6ZeFCmjqPg0RdrXIFjM81tG1-KTmywgWmuCuH0MKtSpb97f/s1600/2014-04-17+15.58.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8RyfWT8Q2NNbEZIwZCB390pxRvV4vxJ4gyM7WaGa1JspSVLdCnfOKMH-eWL1tM3ERWVlNNYLwzXrGhuO2HAQe6ZeFCmjqPg0RdrXIFjM81tG1-KTmywgWmuCuH0MKtSpb97f/s1600/2014-04-17+15.58.54.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second trip to Alice's, this time with my bestie Aisha!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6yQm3XsRPN6zqZri6ZB-9-FNUexDPT62lBg8y84rcA6FXoe-WXxPc3lpyKBARh7ZrRuPLXgWVe_ydcMsIH45FrNbUkQN6RiTpewX-yuNGi7jeX4yE7gTaiJZhC_AhyphenhyphenL8_F1Y/s1600/2014-04-17+16.37.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6yQm3XsRPN6zqZri6ZB-9-FNUexDPT62lBg8y84rcA6FXoe-WXxPc3lpyKBARh7ZrRuPLXgWVe_ydcMsIH45FrNbUkQN6RiTpewX-yuNGi7jeX4yE7gTaiJZhC_AhyphenhyphenL8_F1Y/s1600/2014-04-17+16.37.45.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We get off the subway and before I know it<br />
Ali runs into Mickey's arms like he's a long lost relative! #Disneykid</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBZboKzIZ7OWNeA48Crkl_bF42a2yhs91mf5VaAwLPwfOKq2Ahn53zNjO8b7qCa-MQ1-pGNB4rJRxHorAinEunedzkZuLz04gOr5PpX0d7ZQtiPorYJwHtjGp2DyoUqw5cuul/s1600/2014-04-18+12.36.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBZboKzIZ7OWNeA48Crkl_bF42a2yhs91mf5VaAwLPwfOKq2Ahn53zNjO8b7qCa-MQ1-pGNB4rJRxHorAinEunedzkZuLz04gOr5PpX0d7ZQtiPorYJwHtjGp2DyoUqw5cuul/s1600/2014-04-18+12.36.28.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful displays all over Dylan's Candy Bar</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7iuoTgGfIi_McAS-71sWUCwG4Hq7hZvApMNLFPydw_i_th5K-lz2ReyJvCz_AvTt80zLcqXyIwcw5Sjq6cu4UlD-Ka0cLE0LXj4mxxlthqm1hZUqdZYRCbNdp3UBCkJEyn0G/s1600/2014-04-18+12.42.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7iuoTgGfIi_McAS-71sWUCwG4Hq7hZvApMNLFPydw_i_th5K-lz2ReyJvCz_AvTt80zLcqXyIwcw5Sjq6cu4UlD-Ka0cLE0LXj4mxxlthqm1hZUqdZYRCbNdp3UBCkJEyn0G/s1600/2014-04-18+12.42.36.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwAynHKSthkV-pjcXl8g6161yXQ892R-yrMw82tFvVhCR72lkdVkJ7J9qSRcqSqHAB2r0HZFsDXkwU1xJ1gtI7HD0xmfEPVbJRIXrHe-YjgcJlZ493alBBWrZTyx-Uuol-noe/s1600/2014-04-18+12.53.06-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwAynHKSthkV-pjcXl8g6161yXQ892R-yrMw82tFvVhCR72lkdVkJ7J9qSRcqSqHAB2r0HZFsDXkwU1xJ1gtI7HD0xmfEPVbJRIXrHe-YjgcJlZ493alBBWrZTyx-Uuol-noe/s1600/2014-04-18+12.53.06-2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cookie Monstah milkshake!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rD1YATkm-ZBF_MCFRuyNI6e655yLGxzKZsUk08_puWGjtc1i2UnLJ1l8Auvcde_aygs6_xINru9XzpEeQ_cT-JIZs1IABIi4E5uKi_t34I1kifXOA9fO2faK1gIn6KDyoTO-/s1600/2014-04-18+14.00.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rD1YATkm-ZBF_MCFRuyNI6e655yLGxzKZsUk08_puWGjtc1i2UnLJ1l8Auvcde_aygs6_xINru9XzpEeQ_cT-JIZs1IABIi4E5uKi_t34I1kifXOA9fO2faK1gIn6KDyoTO-/s1600/2014-04-18+14.00.15.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh how I wish those giant swedish fish were real</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicE-qZz5AiMsb8U2jOHONgyAa05_GIS3_c0W63kjvg3vBwcXa4fyheZ86Yp44dAqc3nMzBaOxtKtSjchRoo_buo5yU1j-KwD1Yw3Xq775DpX2k3u9SGiPQDV_umRDPxzTeQq7/s1600/2014-04-18+14.01.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicE-qZz5AiMsb8U2jOHONgyAa05_GIS3_c0W63kjvg3vBwcXa4fyheZ86Yp44dAqc3nMzBaOxtKtSjchRoo_buo5yU1j-KwD1Yw3Xq775DpX2k3u9SGiPQDV_umRDPxzTeQq7/s1600/2014-04-18+14.01.21.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDw6KIEUkwa04Os4B6pdVagtVBVePb4ZPy3xy0RdK7gSVNi2CG-404O9sKSgHeT18bBdWaIfW9vdD9VU2onpX7xwT3NPpg2TboDMCO01j4Y74H5WnCD94-t7rpskU4d603ZYu/s1600/2014-04-18+14.59.51-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDw6KIEUkwa04Os4B6pdVagtVBVePb4ZPy3xy0RdK7gSVNi2CG-404O9sKSgHeT18bBdWaIfW9vdD9VU2onpX7xwT3NPpg2TboDMCO01j4Y74H5WnCD94-t7rpskU4d603ZYu/s1600/2014-04-18+14.59.51-2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Central Park playground fun</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCN4FY8yANj_hNM0ra0dxrOZ8DXrGf1oT4sxq5MnXzZH0ndPoWLHhoqta6jFhFscFG8J_gcuH4rG6k2_9v72eIB06aYhB1Eq2MfIBFnOdjadr8tpJg0qnESEA59jMaOaEWtGih/s1600/2014-04-18+15.18.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCN4FY8yANj_hNM0ra0dxrOZ8DXrGf1oT4sxq5MnXzZH0ndPoWLHhoqta6jFhFscFG8J_gcuH4rG6k2_9v72eIB06aYhB1Eq2MfIBFnOdjadr8tpJg0qnESEA59jMaOaEWtGih/s1600/2014-04-18+15.18.00.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali makes a friend!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJV-XPxJAE3EGpVLOJwfIs7FvyQTcaOQ2mY-UxPVKogpgAgh3LBexGZUTtzFaHOgIGyDSO90qgHEajGyhNJmWSnSWVQQZY8fRIjggV4n5bw_pwxEcy48zmDvpg8kq5Sq226_N/s1600/2014-04-18+17.11.48-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJV-XPxJAE3EGpVLOJwfIs7FvyQTcaOQ2mY-UxPVKogpgAgh3LBexGZUTtzFaHOgIGyDSO90qgHEajGyhNJmWSnSWVQQZY8fRIjggV4n5bw_pwxEcy48zmDvpg8kq5Sq226_N/s1600/2014-04-18+17.11.48-1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last day there I finally dragged the hubby to Alice's for yet another lunch of tea and scones!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Even though I've been to NYC <i>many</i> times in the past, I had never spent an entire week there walking around the towering buildings or navigating my way through the subway. Honestly, I loved every bit of it, there's just something so magnetic about this city it fills you with hope and potential just being around all that energy. My husband is not a city guy, he loves the country life but there's a part of me that has always wanted to experience city life. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to do that now. I was happy to find that there is so much you can do with young children too! Can't wait for Hubs to have another work assignment so we can do it all over again ;)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The below definition is taken from Wikipedia (which I know is not always accurate, but in this case I can say I read through it and can agree it is).</span></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Ihsan</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">: </span><span lang="ar" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;" xml:lang="ar">إحسان</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">), also spelled </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">ehsan</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">, is an Arabic term meaning "perfection" or "excellence" (Ara. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">husn</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">). It is a matter of taking one's inner </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Faith">faith</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> (</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(concept)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Iman (concept)">iman</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihsan#cite_note-1" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a></sup><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> In </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Islam">Islam</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">, ihsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain perfection, or </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellence" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Excellence">excellence</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">, in worship, such that </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslims" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Muslims">Muslims</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> try to worship God (Arabic </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Allah">Allah</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">) as if they see Him, and although they cannot see Him (due to the belief that Allah is not made of matter), they undoubtedly believe that He is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_Gabriel" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Hadith of Gabriel">Hadith of Gabriel</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> in which </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> states, "[Ihsan is] to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you". (</span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Ismail_al-Bukhari" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari">Al-Bukhari</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> and </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Muslim" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none;" title="Al-Muslim">Al-Muslim</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">).</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihsan#cite_note-2" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a></sup><br />
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At a recent gathering I attended this word was mentioned and it really stuck with me. Something along the lines of 'God wants us to constantly strive to be perfect. All of his creation is perfect. Man he created perfect also, but we err and make mistakes so we must continuously work to return back to perfection. That's what He wants from us.' I really love this ideology. Probably because I'm a major perfectionist myself. But it just makes sense! As parents, don't we want our kids to be perfect? We know and accept that they won't always be. In fact we are well aware they will make mistakes and we will love them regardless. Their mistakes will never change the immensity of our love, no matter how badly your child wrongs you if he sincerely turns to you and asks for forgiveness you know you will grant it. So while we know they will inevitably do wrong, don't we strongly believe they're capable of doing better and wish to see them doing that? No parent thinks their child is just mediocre or tells them to be average. Yes, we do say its okay if you don't always succeed, but try try again right? We push them to work past tasks that they struggle with because more than themselves <i><b>we</b></i> have faith that they can do it.<br />
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Now, anything can be taken in a negative light, even perfection. If you become too harsh with enforcing perfection it can be overbearing. But I find that encouragement is key. This week I enrolled Ali into a summer camp program which has a heavy focus on literacy. He's only 3.5 and the rest of the children in his class are already 4 or older plus many have been attending the school all year long while Ali was home so I knew they had an edge over him. It's cute seeing my shorty among all the other kids, he may be small but he's got <i>a ton</i> of personality. I was aware he might struggle in some areas but in others he would be fine (verbal skills, this kid can talk your ear off!) but if I didn't push him towards excelling higher then we would never know what he's capable of. Week One was a great success. Not only did he cry because he didn't want to leave school (please let this continue forever), he's already recognizing sight words 'see' and 'the' and letter tracing has also been less of a struggle. I'm so proud of you Ali, I know you aren't perfect. Some people may tell me I'm biased as your mama but to me you always will be. This week, like always, to see that when I push you to achieve higher you always surpass my expectations fills my heart with so much joy that words cannot describe!<br />
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Ali, as you grow older you will realize quickly that your Ammi will <i>constantly</i> push you to be better, to be excellent. I will not stop telling you to think about your actions and words before you execute them. I will repetitively remind you to think of others, to share your things (toys and time being just a few of them) selflessly and to reflect on where you did something wrong and how it can be done better. I will appreciate you and cheer you on when you do succeed. I will also hug and console you when you don't. But I will not stop encouraging you to do everything you do with <i>Ehsan</i>. Be it reading and writing today, but over time you'll see you will want to do it in every aspect of your life.<br />
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We speak a lot about good vs bad in our house, you are well aware of Prophet Muhammad and often ask about how he dealt with people who were not nice. How he used prayers, 'talking to Allah' to be a good boy and to win over the bad guys. In life, there are lots of 'bad guys', I hope I can arm you with the right tools to overcome them. One aspect I want you to focus on is prayer. Perform your prayer with <i>Ehsan</i>. This is something that perpetually throughout life you will have to work towards, everyone struggles with it. Everyone has some basic staple prayers we say as we rush to complete our daily 5 prayers among the other million tasks we have to do in the day. 'Please keep my family safe and healthy. Forgive us for our mistakes and help guide us on the right path away from harm and evil." Sometimes we say them so mechanically we lose the essence of what we're saying. <i>Try, try and try again</i> to not let your prayers become mechanical, focus on each word you are saying and truly mean it. I realize now as an adult, God is well aware that we will lose the essence when we're doing this 5 times a day, we may even stop doing the obligatory five times because we let life's demands (or laziness) get in the way. He will love us and be merciful regardless of it. But it's our job to keep striving for <i>Ehsan, </i>nothing will bring Him more joy than to see that.<br />
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**Alert: this may get long**<br />
Before I end, I want to take something off my chest that really irks me. I hope one day Ali, that it irks you too. Because if it does that means I did <i>something</i> right in my life. There is this word '<i>bidah</i>' I kind of like <i>hate</i> it and I know I encourage you not to hate anything but in this case it gets really hard. <i>Bidah </i>means innovation/change, and there's this whole group who says you shouldn't do <i>anything </i>that may be a change from what the Prophet did himself. (there's good change and bad change, but for fear of deviating from the right path people want to avoid <i>bidah</i> overall. Yeah its complicated and there's a lot more to it, but that's it in a nutshell) While I understand their fear of our posterity veering off away from the fundamentals of our religion if we add in all these supplementals I feel they're driving a lot of us crazy with all their '<i>bidah</i> police-ing'. And in fact, this '<i>bidah</i>' calling has stopped a lot of people from going further in their devotion, it's like no one wants to get extra credit anymore.<br />
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For instance, today is the 15th of Shaban (Islamic month, also called 'Shab e Baraat') and my family for as long as I can remember has a tradition where we stay up late and do supplementary prayers on this night. We ask for forgiveness for our year of sins and for guidance for the year to come. My mom would make special food and after dinner we performed our individual prayers or read Quran but we sat together as a family in one room. It's a wonderful experience and there are only a handful of nights in the entire year where we did this. Our parents let us know that this was a supplemental special night and while it was not a requirement if we did this it would make Allah happy to see us doing more than what is required of us. Now I just can't for the life of me see why this 'innovation' is wrong! Why would God ever <i>not</i> want us to go above and beyond the basic requirements? What is so wrong with supplemental; in school doing extra credit assignments was always a good thing! I'm not going to argue whether the Prophet did or didn't do it or if there is evidence in the Quran regarding it. I'm just asking you to use logic to think about it deeper, instead of letting fear misconstrue your thoughts on it.<br />
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Ali, I will not be around forever and I know after I'm gone you will forget many things I've taught you or stop doing them the way I did. I will always tell you to look in your heart and ask yourself if what you are doing is something that would please Allah. Whether it's honoring Prophet Muhammad's birthday or certain days of the year like 15th Shaban and 10th of Ashura by staying up all night to do extra prayers or cooking up a special meal that day or holding a Quran khani (event where sections of Quran are read in a group setting often done at funerals or auspicious occasions). Yes, this is all supplemental, not required and I will always encourage you to perfect obligatory practices before you focus on the extra credit, but my point is that I don't want you to discount the extra as not being worth attempting at all. I hope I have taught you well enough so you are capable to know better. In fact, if I had to choose I would rather you do this than anything else this world is full of that keeps you away from praying. Prayer is just a form to remember Allah, to truly love Him as He should be. So perfect your prayers, do them with <i>ehsan</i> and soon you will find that your heart will seek all ways to stay in constant remembrance of Him.<br />
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(Yes, that last bit is the Rumi loving, Sufi soul side of your mama!)</div>
Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-65429000651851362802014-06-09T09:00:00.000-04:002014-06-09T09:00:10.218-04:00Recipe: Herb crusted chicken with sautéed veggies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>A quick and easy 20 minute dinner!</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
2 chicken breasts, sliced in half to create 4 pieces<br />
1/4 bag of frozen broccoli<br />
1 tub of fresh baby portabella mushrooms<br />
thin slices of vermont sharp cheddar cheese<br />
1/2 tsp dried parsley<br />
1/2 tsp garlic powder<br />
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers<br />
1/2 tsp black pepper<br />
1/4 tsp paprika<br />
1/4 tsp cumin<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
1 tbsp Italian seasoned bread crumbs<br />
2 tbsp whole milk<br />
4 tbsp butter<br />
2 cloves finely chopped garlic<br />
2 tbsp olive oil<br />
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<b>Directions:</b><br />
In a bowl mix sliced chicken breast with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, dried parsley, bread crumbs and milk. Make sure the herbs and spices are well rubbed down on the breasts and they are fully soaked in the milk. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes so the ingredients can absorb well. Preheat oven to 400F, in a lightly oiled pan place the chicken pieces, top with cheese and sprinkle more bread crumb on top to choice. Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile prep your vegetables. In a saucepan melt butter on medium heat, add in the chopped garlic and defrosted broccoli. Saute broccoli until its a bright green color and not too limp in texture, leaving butter in the pan remove the broccoli and add in mushrooms. Add more butter/garlic if you feel necessary and saute mushrooms until they began to form a sauce. Once you're chicken is ready, plate with veggies and serve. This recipe makes enough for 2 (or 1 hungry person!).<br />
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As a bonus I thought I'd include below my absolute <i>favorite </i>go to breakfast meal. I love this recipe and haven't gotten store bought pancake batter in almost a year! My son requests pancakes at least once a week and loves to help me make them. I love how fluffy these turn out and its the best way to add in fruits like blueberries, strawberries or craisins without my picky eater creating a fuss.<br />
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<a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-pancakes-2/">Super Fluffy Pancakes</a><br />
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-83963743158841382672014-06-07T01:44:00.000-04:002014-06-07T01:44:54.407-04:00DIY baby blankets and mustache T-shirt design<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Remember that week I mentioned earlier where <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2014/05/thirty-six.html">pregnancy hit me hard</a>? Yeah well that week I also decided to attempt another DIY project. Don't ask why, I blame pregnancy nesting needs.<br />
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Fortunately, this was a fairly easy project and after my first experience with <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2014/03/diy-disney-t-shirt.html">DIY T-shirt</a> making I felt more confident about my abilities.<br />
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<b><u>Receiving Blankets</u></b><br />
I saw some adorable receiving blankets on baby boutiques online. I just didn't want to pay upwards of $10 for one. Also, the problem I have with store bought packs of blankets is that they always have one or two adorable prints that suck you in, but the other three in the pack are boring monochromatic colors. </div>
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So I went into Jo-Ann Fabric armed with digital coupons on my phone determined to find some cute prints. Thank you for not failing me! Just my luck, they were having a 50% sale on flannel infant print fabrics, so I couldn't use my coups on them but the price was too good to pass up. I was a happy camper. Pictured below are fabrics I found all originally priced at $6.99/yard. I brought with me a blanket I had at home (those free ones we all snag from the hospital) to use for measuring, but ended up just getting a yard of each because at $3.50 a pop it was a great deal. Most 4-5 packs of blankets are around $20 so I was still spending less money AND getting all 5 prints I loved.<br />
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The process is pretty straight forward and the result comes out looking professional! Like I mentioned in my last DIY post, I'm a big fan of no sew iron on bonding. If you have a sewing machine or are craftier with a needle and thread than me then I'm sure you could achieve the same look that way, but I personally love the ease of using an iron and not pricking myself silly trying to navigate a needle. I was happy to have a memento for my baby that I can say I had <i>some</i> hand in creating. I wish I knew how to crochet or do anything else fancy, but I don't so for now this was a nice little project.<br />
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<b>Materials:</b><br />
1 yard of flannel blanket fabric (this makes a BIG blanket like he could use it til he's 3-4 years old, if you want a smaller one you can have them cut it to match the size of a regular hospital blanket)<br />
1 spool of ribbon (choose a color that compliments your fabric, I chose white as it went with all my fabrics)<br />
<a href="http://www.joann.com/white-meduium-fusible-bonding-web-5-8in-x-20yds/12140141.html">1 pack of fusible bonding web</a><br />
(both ribbon and bonding web can be found at Michael's or Jo-Ann and remember to use their 40% off reg price item coupon!)<br />
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<b>Instructions:</b><br />
Iron your blanket to get out any wrinkles and smooth out the edges.<br />
Line up the bonding strip along the edge of your blanket then place the ribbon on top<br />
On medium heat, iron slowly moving down to ensure the glue has sealed between the fabric and ribbon.<br />
Tadaa, you're done!<br />
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Essentially, all this is doing is adding a border to your blanket so it has a clean finish instead of frayed ends. To make it look more spiffy you can personalize the blanket with iron on letters also available at all crafts stores. I didn't add one yet since we haven't finalized a name! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YRtaTg77myZgqi0RrM14adTi9b1reRuaUs_4lnoeMENot6eaqjCmtb2SmGTjjKUdb2iclcPiZ5waDSNPJ43uw5GNHWL0EKTcFxgWd2SohzdfAphmmwIMYIQziO7G0XboKY8F/s640/blogger-image-1902654494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YRtaTg77myZgqi0RrM14adTi9b1reRuaUs_4lnoeMENot6eaqjCmtb2SmGTjjKUdb2iclcPiZ5waDSNPJ43uw5GNHWL0EKTcFxgWd2SohzdfAphmmwIMYIQziO7G0XboKY8F/s640/blogger-image-1902654494.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDNQMVkKTQ47ZizDEnd1H9vOI6y7KYIOjPUKwYTv8TVsfc0ZwJMNLLcwvo57Pd7UEiyA5_mT56aYLBA0pNgUxfX7ilq9p4DMV4Z_NHCD67fTSZzdHr-SWnPo4rkgQAIYDNccb/s640/blogger-image--999780604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDNQMVkKTQ47ZizDEnd1H9vOI6y7KYIOjPUKwYTv8TVsfc0ZwJMNLLcwvo57Pd7UEiyA5_mT56aYLBA0pNgUxfX7ilq9p4DMV4Z_NHCD67fTSZzdHr-SWnPo4rkgQAIYDNccb/s400/blogger-image--999780604.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxVAmuDIbKRS5FgcXnnjHBj1H4lbeh2NWTPaxWmAUcSXjCEmWCrTMr9FGs3Jb4HYZRCgJjWB46VtvGGYl_kU8RrecP3afwYv5W7ckN-mE7MKbuH9Ho10-l_XO4yu7AWQNfWaK/s640/blogger-image--1328256941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxVAmuDIbKRS5FgcXnnjHBj1H4lbeh2NWTPaxWmAUcSXjCEmWCrTMr9FGs3Jb4HYZRCgJjWB46VtvGGYl_kU8RrecP3afwYv5W7ckN-mE7MKbuH9Ho10-l_XO4yu7AWQNfWaK/s640/blogger-image--1328256941.jpg" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d_c2TISGOYqa_C7vSlfT4VnKl37srii7RDBoXNmMpq6xHLrnbGIqRlxAQNzWJoyOTibY7waQFGwom1vW26llCNO_P7fAcMdGwV0KVXuCMqFnu3vMNxBoCxmfzYBN4cQI3dsv/s640/blogger-image--1240939034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d_c2TISGOYqa_C7vSlfT4VnKl37srii7RDBoXNmMpq6xHLrnbGIqRlxAQNzWJoyOTibY7waQFGwom1vW26llCNO_P7fAcMdGwV0KVXuCMqFnu3vMNxBoCxmfzYBN4cQI3dsv/s640/blogger-image--1240939034.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Look</td></tr>
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<b><u>Mustache T Shirt Design</u></b></div>
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I was perusing around Etsy when I saw this adorable shirt and decided to attempt it myself using the iron on method again. Since I'm still learning my results may not be as clean as the Etsy original design, but fortunately I have boys who could careless about perfection. <i>And</i> the best part is I didn't spend $14+shipping per shirt either. ;)</div>
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<b>Materials</b></div>
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Black fabric for the mustache (check the scrap fabric section of Jo-Ann/Walmart which usually has them discounted)</div>
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Chevron fabric for the sunglasses (got mine on sale at Walmart, you only need 1/4 of a yard maybe)</div>
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<a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/FAST-TRACK-Hanes-Baby-Boys-5-Pack-Crew-Tee/22610850">Plain White T shirt</a> (I bought a 5 pack of undershirts, any plain cotton T shirt works)</div>
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White Chalk (I used crayola, from Target. I'm sure dollar stores have this too)</div>
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Scissors - make sure they're super sharp fabric cutting scissors. This prevents frayed ends on the fabric</div>
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Paper - to draw out your mustache and sunglasses template</div>
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<a href="http://www.joann.com/heat-n-bond-ultra-hold-iron-on-adhesive-17inx12in/1069806.html">Heat n Bond</a> - Got mine at Jo-Ann but Walmart sells it too (always make sure to use coupons!)</div>
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Black Fabric paint - $1 Michaels/Walmart, to outline the edge of the mustache, gives it a clean finished look. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFvnIr-btspm59JgnU6gYcziVYcesarhVSNmK97iBDfiAjDpxA2oi_tgV0mKIZ6CE25L1voypSf8plL6h6K8fGwIEhuddPK2E7lrBXXIYK2F2RTSYxIeZe_-p6R8HwL6FvrFG/s640/blogger-image--672926134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFvnIr-btspm59JgnU6gYcziVYcesarhVSNmK97iBDfiAjDpxA2oi_tgV0mKIZ6CE25L1voypSf8plL6h6K8fGwIEhuddPK2E7lrBXXIYK2F2RTSYxIeZe_-p6R8HwL6FvrFG/s640/blogger-image--672926134.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what I used as inspiration</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWqhunwKga988sjiPoD0XdF8AWNoMKFq5xqPLfEr4T4iss_E570m6BAW7vuLpNUFVJMsmFpf_T4lw-8S1NE8JrHSwkQp5c3Ji-yWPALB4fG7m4_DlAM44npT7Cep8uU-cDuZ7/s640/blogger-image-24702713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWqhunwKga988sjiPoD0XdF8AWNoMKFq5xqPLfEr4T4iss_E570m6BAW7vuLpNUFVJMsmFpf_T4lw-8S1NE8JrHSwkQp5c3Ji-yWPALB4fG7m4_DlAM44npT7Cep8uU-cDuZ7/s640/blogger-image-24702713.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I freehand drew the mustache on template paper and using chalk outlined it onto my black fabric. <br />Then hold the fabric taut as you cut out the design. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9ZonvMY36204pji53nAKD_RfVESWyr5-4hoo6RmCv3BcwXLmWn-HXvugK5639fK9akVMndHTrRsB6j4VPNi6IZaTkyQFJDnEgSIx3rbuJCOjCSp3Oc2qDCoMsyz9aeRGgwUS/s640/blogger-image-1211229902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9ZonvMY36204pji53nAKD_RfVESWyr5-4hoo6RmCv3BcwXLmWn-HXvugK5639fK9akVMndHTrRsB6j4VPNi6IZaTkyQFJDnEgSIx3rbuJCOjCSp3Oc2qDCoMsyz9aeRGgwUS/s640/blogger-image-1211229902.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Repeat the same process with your sunglasses as you did with the mustache, except now using chevron print fabric.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPY3t9xfhK6xkAmIS02G1sfM3JoZsRlxLj6xNR4FOmM92TVg6wtaZsu2Rq1wEvuxlT-koMh9N6yd0xj68Pb84pC8sefh-Ux-hYvmd1qgGtn74Ih_6JbDh7tWCNwjsn4zXRz8N/s640/blogger-image-1366149778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPY3t9xfhK6xkAmIS02G1sfM3JoZsRlxLj6xNR4FOmM92TVg6wtaZsu2Rq1wEvuxlT-koMh9N6yd0xj68Pb84pC8sefh-Ux-hYvmd1qgGtn74Ih_6JbDh7tWCNwjsn4zXRz8N/s640/blogger-image-1366149778.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Following the Heat and Bond directions carefully, iron the mustache and glasses onto your white tee and you're done! Do a test run on a scrap fabric piece first. Let it cool down then outline the mustache carefully with black fabric paint. Set to dry overnight. </td></tr>
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I also began <i>another</i> project for my little man, but haven't finished it all yet. Below is a look so far.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDbEsiN5galrRe_CR149_RH8Uw13T4RKzWp8lZrtO3AaJlA_3hlb2xzXREDFLz7tFJvDXdGF8aPqK2g4de4_0wWKDx8WfS_sR2p_kf22vctB2N69XSRspLcyO4d9igNeDFntO/s640/blogger-image-718987897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDbEsiN5galrRe_CR149_RH8Uw13T4RKzWp8lZrtO3AaJlA_3hlb2xzXREDFLz7tFJvDXdGF8aPqK2g4de4_0wWKDx8WfS_sR2p_kf22vctB2N69XSRspLcyO4d9igNeDFntO/s640/blogger-image-718987897.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had red polka dot fabric left over from my <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2014/03/diy-disney-t-shirt.html">Disney shirts</a> so I used it to create suspenders. Fold over the fabric and use fusible bonding web on the edges to create a clean lined ribbon. Make sure both suspenders are the same length/width before you heat bond them onto the onsie.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACDsOJZz5RC7HTiTJ0GsuHwsbVLnWNys1NK_ht4FRU2J0ZsfDPDQ3nwMCZ9PGAtAi7VA-soBXrlmLlmrh8mB7xzOfDnjSoiOS5PFzPByCT3dnlE4faycseUCPAEOTToZPMJH9/s640/blogger-image--410584986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACDsOJZz5RC7HTiTJ0GsuHwsbVLnWNys1NK_ht4FRU2J0ZsfDPDQ3nwMCZ9PGAtAi7VA-soBXrlmLlmrh8mB7xzOfDnjSoiOS5PFzPByCT3dnlE4faycseUCPAEOTToZPMJH9/s640/blogger-image--410584986.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">draw a bow template then outline onto black fabric and cut out. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQv_j1HUHSJFQLB_lPMg1t8QW3AzF1TNX_H2fPG30gbeXWbF36mOJ6kNY4Y9HM_MDAR1g2-NGaobJ1L0hJZoL6c8uKCB-UI9kZIr2ezsbwyS-gk7LwW40hUFV9OmlN-jgLNbI/s640/blogger-image-1896247766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQv_j1HUHSJFQLB_lPMg1t8QW3AzF1TNX_H2fPG30gbeXWbF36mOJ6kNY4Y9HM_MDAR1g2-NGaobJ1L0hJZoL6c8uKCB-UI9kZIr2ezsbwyS-gk7LwW40hUFV9OmlN-jgLNbI/s640/blogger-image-1896247766.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glue or sew on 3 buttons below the ironed on bow to finish out the look. (I've changed my mind since and plan to use a glue gun to create a bow tie similar to my Disney shirts. It's a nice 3D effect rather than a flat fabric on fabric look. I'll post updated pictures once I'm done)</td></tr>
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I did all 3 of these projects in ONE day. It didn't take more than a few hours, start during your child's nap time and then finish it once they're in bed. That's the best way to get some real concentration. Hope my directions aren't too complicated, they're all very basic concepts and with a little trial and error I know anyone can do it! Good luck and do comment to let me know if you attempt your own DIY shirts :)</div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-69243601299047403582014-05-23T13:09:00.001-04:002014-05-23T19:55:57.932-04:00Thirty six<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Jummah Mubarak! (Happy Friday!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Yesterday marked the start of my 9th month of being a preggo eggo. Making it to the 36 weeks mark is a moment of mixed emotions. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUY88JSi8OhTuPjtD1fYM5xzEPD1On4HD3pu8bqGzRZz8UcYYpqQSCe8FZ7WIiAPg3sAxXGzGvS_XMT2lDuaMMI3cjqFVzpW2BMNsqaOFsZeyjQQ5Udi7bB5nDYAZW_-1NS8MS/s640/blogger-image-1030083945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUY88JSi8OhTuPjtD1fYM5xzEPD1On4HD3pu8bqGzRZz8UcYYpqQSCe8FZ7WIiAPg3sAxXGzGvS_XMT2lDuaMMI3cjqFVzpW2BMNsqaOFsZeyjQQ5Udi7bB5nDYAZW_-1NS8MS/s640/blogger-image-1030083945.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Being in the final stretch of this journey is exciting. You are SO close to holding your little chubster cheeked cutie pie you've waited forever to see! But, at the same time you are so exhausted from just being huge that (as</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> you face palm yourself) all you can think is </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"man, seriously another 4 weeks of this to go?!?" Being 36 wks/full term means your baby could come any time now, and for those few lucky women who do delivery early this is great. You're truly at the finish line. For the rest of us (majority women deliver right around their due date if not passed), it is just false hope that the Braxton hicks we've been feeling for awhile maybe the real deal. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I usually try <i>real</i> hard to see the positive side of things and through out this pregnancy the hubs even noted I was much less 'complainy', more energetic and on my feet than the first time around. I admit I'm of the fortunate bunch who doesn't have a terrible pregnancy, plus second time around you're just better prepared for what's to come. I'm lucky to have no major nausea or fatigue passed the first trimester and mostly all other symptoms are mild so I can ignore them or remind myself of the blessings they bring with them. I was actually proud of myself, I was rolling with the punches pretty well this time! I hadn't gained nearly as much weight as I did with my first pregnancy, reminding myself that indulging in cravings will only bite my flabby behind later helped. Even the terrible leg cramps at 4 am didn't bother me as much as my first pregnancy; just jump out of bed walk on it then go pee for the 40th time and roll back to sleep. It was a routine I accepted as motherhood's many 'perks'. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Yet, last week when I hit 35 weeks it was like suddenly pregnancy reality came flying at me in full force. Maybe not having husband around (out of town for work) all week made it worst, or maybe my extremely energetic 3 year old and his hoards of toys contributed to it. Suddenly, the heart burn came on strong no matter what I ate just as the Braxton hicks intensified, making every possible position an uncomfortable one. I hadn't been able to breath out my nose all pregnancy, but now with a cantelope sitting on my lungs jabbing at my ribs, breathing truly was a difficult task. Meanwhile my back was totally screaming in pain to the point that I cursed the floor for being so damn far every time I had to bend and pick up yet another Lego/superman/McQueen off the ground. Even my ankles had swollen up a great deal, which isn't painful as much as it is annoying due to a constant pins and needles feeling. By the end of the week I was </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">literally D.O.N.E.! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Then I opened up a pack of girls scout cookies, laughed at my misery (yes motherhood is amazing, life changing and it's the best thing I ever did blah blah. All of that is very true, but right now I am just beyond tired). I reminded myself that once this ball which is currently crushing all of my insides does come outside everything will be better (better is a word I use loosely, newborns are NO joke). I then snooped around in the Mommy to Be forums on my What to Expect app which helped me feel better as I found the humor in the misery we are all sharing. So, I though I would share some of the memes the ladies posted for those of you who may not be in this boat with us. A taste of what it feels like to be a 'nothing-in-my-goddamn-closet-fits-over-this-beach-ball-except-a-tent-hormonal-preggo-eggo': </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9BCCVg6MqvdVLR6g5HrdDv8w2V2_jo3h4jc9d14Uyvnaj0zafFz0emGpqAnyFLqoDwOvPdt-t-4xl8NgGugc8iv39uh4Ckhb8E-WLhbc-rsqK78fVMrOvV9ZCZ1MM4b2xPCa/s640/blogger-image-1801913801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9BCCVg6MqvdVLR6g5HrdDv8w2V2_jo3h4jc9d14Uyvnaj0zafFz0emGpqAnyFLqoDwOvPdt-t-4xl8NgGugc8iv39uh4Ckhb8E-WLhbc-rsqK78fVMrOvV9ZCZ1MM4b2xPCa/s640/blogger-image-1801913801.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Your baby might be the size of a cantelope, but YOU feel more like a beluga whale! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERi7QTaQFN_yFhFqslQApeV7KT9uU7pCNBGqm0na04ZxSlDv2_A0IFB0HAD4JEKgDZNjUxyBhdfAd1afW__CSgnUUXP6eA9zg5gDezZezFduBhxB36loQNs9ctcKu96sCltRr/s640/blogger-image--1839247823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERi7QTaQFN_yFhFqslQApeV7KT9uU7pCNBGqm0na04ZxSlDv2_A0IFB0HAD4JEKgDZNjUxyBhdfAd1afW__CSgnUUXP6eA9zg5gDezZezFduBhxB36loQNs9ctcKu96sCltRr/s640/blogger-image--1839247823.jpg"></a></div><br></div>That list... It's like whyyy are they purposely forcing us to see the wonderful things we're trying so hard to ignore all day errday? I'm not a frequent user of the phrase 'FML', but looking at it that's all I can think. (Except that extra energy part. Really who has it? Can you please share? Pretty please??)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOa6F6YRf3WFkwjgXhej94_RPcciXN-gdDvaHA4ImON4IN9ZLftqtU0foA8rVDDym5PqEOJa8s_hq8RL2xN7cUo42W26NSTKadWXlgpuwIMZ0K0q9aQGcGdEhysoJhRBc6IX7L/s640/blogger-image-1466171808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOa6F6YRf3WFkwjgXhej94_RPcciXN-gdDvaHA4ImON4IN9ZLftqtU0foA8rVDDym5PqEOJa8s_hq8RL2xN7cUo42W26NSTKadWXlgpuwIMZ0K0q9aQGcGdEhysoJhRBc6IX7L/s640/blogger-image-1466171808.jpg"></a></div></div>When everyone keeps asking you the annoying question of 'how are you feeling?' And you so badly want to respond with the above answer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0dyQX2_CirAu1I0hv3Y8S3HwdrcbuHMgDywfVhikCxKCTjuokHYIBSkCvj1rUBGyFpLxegatiV5KY8KvtR65JZqMHSFCee3p_HMdyaG_013f92XxhSdkkHKbu6hLukPOWmhh/s640/blogger-image--521647909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0dyQX2_CirAu1I0hv3Y8S3HwdrcbuHMgDywfVhikCxKCTjuokHYIBSkCvj1rUBGyFpLxegatiV5KY8KvtR65JZqMHSFCee3p_HMdyaG_013f92XxhSdkkHKbu6hLukPOWmhh/s640/blogger-image--521647909.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">True story. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0dyQX2_CirAu1I0hv3Y8S3HwdrcbuHMgDywfVhikCxKCTjuokHYIBSkCvj1rUBGyFpLxegatiV5KY8KvtR65JZqMHSFCee3p_HMdyaG_013f92XxhSdkkHKbu6hLukPOWmhh/s640/blogger-image--521647909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvtVC-caSUvlcnLlSOvzgmqQGbQkLncefh9kkRzm867HQJc9ehpK_AcwWctA5-ccnFVPmV-JPLhD1NqgtYtO40BkyZF5qPmlQZ1iuQKN7qiSabMztI-E_miKZGzqSY-k-eIeg/s640/blogger-image-860859626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvtVC-caSUvlcnLlSOvzgmqQGbQkLncefh9kkRzm867HQJc9ehpK_AcwWctA5-ccnFVPmV-JPLhD1NqgtYtO40BkyZF5qPmlQZ1iuQKN7qiSabMztI-E_miKZGzqSY-k-eIeg/s640/blogger-image-860859626.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I literally laughed out loud when I saw this, laughed then cried because this is my reality. All I want to do is veg out on the sofa to rest my achy back, but then I remember the struggle called 'getting up'. And get up I will have to because like clockwork every 30 mins is a pee break! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXFE_bxhT6NJPrJsHeX7MyVtt8gPQE8m1iLNqEQqXrNh1swHc9O2RSSOYO78S8jDQnTReItmvZ0_qxz0AMP0Hww-16q-DjkpeFBAmbmUidE6J-mKw0ROqIjbSVdGlyr20lnna/s640/blogger-image--1228180221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXFE_bxhT6NJPrJsHeX7MyVtt8gPQE8m1iLNqEQqXrNh1swHc9O2RSSOYO78S8jDQnTReItmvZ0_qxz0AMP0Hww-16q-DjkpeFBAmbmUidE6J-mKw0ROqIjbSVdGlyr20lnna/s640/blogger-image--1228180221.jpg"></a>Thankfully no one has tried this on me, I might have to punch them out if they do. I know it's difficult not to poke at a protruding object but really, can we not make preggos feel more like zoo animals than they already do?!</div><br></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpO_5GtMaq07dyHGSr-Y2_qTUSgM8Yu8hhsYBoK1XTn-Yb5-UhBZnCrvY_4qU_0ASA0v0ywXlO94htciFZi-QSPaR2BOLkhwOAbHtBenzpGonGlKAO2z6v3XgG8EZS7hDrJAL/s640/blogger-image-798892887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpO_5GtMaq07dyHGSr-Y2_qTUSgM8Yu8hhsYBoK1XTn-Yb5-UhBZnCrvY_4qU_0ASA0v0ywXlO94htciFZi-QSPaR2BOLkhwOAbHtBenzpGonGlKAO2z6v3XgG8EZS7hDrJAL/s640/blogger-image-798892887.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Totes ready. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LPjpONJ3_T8OZnIad6PZCsJ74LRCo_Db4mVgPd5MTcQd_mLQe6gntcMpwY5sL_NaRkaBvYrS1sSVQ6oixZgSi-qaEPer3u3n72aWMOi5iVnzvnTibrLBzlbSaxWPEHSgIvly/s640/blogger-image-1158104650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LPjpONJ3_T8OZnIad6PZCsJ74LRCo_Db4mVgPd5MTcQd_mLQe6gntcMpwY5sL_NaRkaBvYrS1sSVQ6oixZgSi-qaEPer3u3n72aWMOi5iVnzvnTibrLBzlbSaxWPEHSgIvly/s640/blogger-image-1158104650.jpg"></a></div>Need I say more? </div>Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-54334801161686179362014-04-27T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-27T07:00:00.937-04:00Discipline <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Due to a perk of SAHMhood, I have began watching a Pakistani talk show, which on a particular day had a well-known guest, Ali Azmat from the band Junoon. I've grown up listening to his music, but honestly I was never a fan because I always found him to be too much of a "typical rockstar"; rebellious and nonconformist. But his interview that day was interesting to me and it stood out, because he began talking about parenthood.<br />
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He spoke on how becoming a father has really influenced and changed him. He has had this image for years of being the tough guy affected by his fame and fortune, but here he was talking enthusiastically about making ponytails in his daughter's hair and spending the day with his little angel. He wants to spoil her, but simultaneously also teach her the value of things, making her a consciously aware citizen of the world. This isn't something very new, I think we have all seen how having kids can transform people. Or maybe it's just something that comes with age and maturity; a sense of awareness and appreciation. He went on to talk about his own parents and how as a typical guy, especially a Pakistani one, growing up his mom was always smothering him with love and food, which he never appreciated it until he went abroad to live on his own. As he grew up, he gained tons of fame and fortune but came back home to them and took care of his parents until they passed away. I know it's another cliché example, but clichés always hold some truth to them. It was nice to see this side of him.<br />
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All the while I couldn't help but think about my own son. Right now he's three and he doesn't really appreciate much of anything I do. In fact, every moment of our day together makes me fully aware that I'm dealing with an egocentric stage of childhood. But watching this interview made me reflect for a minute, maybe one day he will?<br />
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Because we spend so much time together, literally all day everyday from 8 am till bedtime at 9 pm, I feel as if he takes me for granted, I think this happens to a lot of mothers. Our kids never get a chance to miss us since they're always with us! Especially now in this new stage of child rearing, for parents its where we struggle to <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2014/04/finding-right-balance.html">find the balance</a> between love and disciple. I find this stage to be pure exhaustion. So much energy, an ever growing vocabulary that never seems to take a pause, armed with constant 'I want'.<br />
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Many days end with me wondering if I'm indulging him too much by planning activities like story time at Barnes and Noble or play dates. Often times we walk out of an hour or more of playing with him kicking/screaming for more and I'm the mean mom who ruins all the fun. And when I'm not worrying about spoiling him I worry that I'm disciplining too hard, which concerns me will encourage more rebellion. But I can't help be <i>that </i>mom:<br />
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-who won't buy every toy/candy he lays his hand on just to stop the nagging (oh how tempting it is to stop the nagging!!!).<br />
- who won't let him watch 17 straight hours of YouTube toy review videos and forces playing with puzzles or letter tracing which he is too impatient to sit still for.<br />
-who won't allow him to say bad words such as his current obsession 'S-T-U-P-I-D'.<br />
- who insists we have to stop for a pee break and then we must wash hands afterwards. (yes diapers are a million times easier than potty training and I've even had moments where I wondered why underwear is useful at all.)<br />
-who scolds him for saying 'I want' and demands instead to hear 'can I please..?'<br />
-who says and follows through with the threat that 'we will leave here immediately if you don't stop crying/whining/running/shouting loudly'<br />
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So much for asking to be appreciated, I'm too busy being overwhelmed with how to just deal with him and his demands while leaving minimal damage on his adult personality. I know, I know 'he's just a kid and all kids do this'. My husband's comforting words of 'it's a phase, we all went through it he will be fine.' does reassure this worrier momma a bit. <b><i>But the scary part comes when I see the reality of some people who don't grow out of it.</i></b> And usually it always goes back to their childhood, well meaning mothers who gave into their demands creating manipulative selfish monsters. "It's always the mother's fault."<br />
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Truthfully no mother performs the acts that they do for the sake of appreciation. We would (and usually DO) still do them even if you children never said a single thank you. Making your favorite meals, searching for the beloved Lightning McQueen car under the sofa, bending/kneeling at 6 months pregnant to scrub the tub after bath time finger-painting, we do them because that is simply a part of being a mother. Because our own happiness truly becomes so intertwined with that of our child's that it becomes hard to discern the difference. But lately, with my extreme concern about discipline I've been laying down rules hard on Ali and sometimes I feel guilty that he may end up hating me and all the constant rule enforcing.<br />
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Despite all my strict mom behavior, something pretty amazing happened the other day. We were at the park like always, and another little girl began playing with him. They did their introductions and then he ran over to me, "This is my mom. She's my best friend!" he beamed.<br />
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I don't think he really knows the meaning of that word yet, and he definitely doesn't know what it meant to me. The little girl's mother and I both had a serious 'Aww' moment. It made all the tough days worth it. Today he doesn't know what it means, but one day he will. Here's to hoping my free spirited child still introduces me the same way when he does! </div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-15927881516774901902014-04-24T10:58:00.000-04:002014-04-24T10:58:48.433-04:00Finding the right balance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With a 3 year old son who's newly graduated from toddlerhood to potty trained preschooler (he's still at home for now), I've found us in a situation most parents can relate to. How to discipline your child. In my struggle, a topic has been on my mind a lot lately. The balance between love and fear. I searched quite a bit about the relationship of love and fear. Many hold the view that love and fear cannot coexist together, that love is a part of our higher self while fear is from our lower self which prevents us from reaching further.<br />
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It's a pretty basic concept and it does make sense to a degree. Our fears usually are what transcend into hatred/prejudice and often they hold us back from doing things we may have aspired to achieve. Love, on the other hand is seen as the good guy, the one that allows us to be open minded, to take risks, and to move beyond all the struggle. As a parent, I do want to teach my son love; kind generous love, unconditional love, all sorts of love. But at the same time, I'm not totally bought over about making fear into a bad guy.<br />
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Afterall, in the Quran the image of a Fearful God is presented just as much as a Loving God. It's weird though, isn't it? How can we fear someone we love? I think that's the tricky part. <b><i>Finding the right balance</i></b>. If we did not have fear, we would commit actions with reckless abandon. A part of human nature needs to have inhibitions in order to maintain some sort of order. Fear gives us structure, guidelines. I tell Ali the stove is extremely hot and not only should he be afraid of the injury it can cause, but also he will be severely punished if he does not obey my rules to stay away from it. I take his safety seriously, even if he is too young to understand that concept yet. It's the same with humans, religion (God, essentially) warns us of punishments for our actions in order to protect our well being even if we may not always understand it. Too much of fear is what becomes the problem. If all we do is fear God without learning to love him then he becomes a tyrannical monster so controlling that it terrorizes our sense of self and leads people to shy away from religion. Similarly, parents who are <i>too</i> strict often have children who rebel from authority. If they don't rebel then they become so fearful of their actions that they aren't able to make strong, bold decisions on their own. Because, they're too focused on pleasing someone else all the time (someone else being their parents in most cases). <b>Balance</b>. That's what it all comes down to. <br />
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Even with love, we need a balance. Every parent does love his or her children unconditionally, nearly all our actions are motivated by our endless love for these tiny beings. Tiny beings who will one day become big beings, even if that day seems so far away. If we only teach them love then we're depriving them of skills they will desperately need to lead a successful life. Every parent wants to be the good guy, they want to be their child's best friend and to have a close bond. No one needs to be told how to love, it's pretty self explanatory. But the thing is, as a parent if I give into every whim and want of my child out of my love for him I'm enabling a self indulgent, egotistical person. Up until his toddler years, yes it makes sense to indulge in the needs/wants of a child because they are solely dependent on you to provide for them. But, once they reach the age of talking, walking and self expression their personality is forming the foundation of the adult they will one day become. I just don't agree with the notion that I should let him be independent, carefree and behave however he wishes to encourage his growth. <b>Kids need to know that you are the parent and they are the child</b>, this early understanding of roles is crucial. I'm not saying that children should not be given responsibilities or allowed to explore with their own self expression. <i>But kids just like adults, need boundaries. </i>The sooner we learn to accept boundaries the simpler life becomes. Myself included, we all struggle with self control. Self control is a trait which if mastered can make a person highly successful and satisfied in life. So why not try and feed our children little bites of self control instead of self indulgence?<br />
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For example, teaching him that he needs to be patient. Teaching this to a 3 year old is probably the hardest task <i>ever</i>. And it inevitably happens that your child will nag you about something most passionately when you are at the end of your rope. This is generally the moment where you are most likely to give in. But what does your child learn from that situation if you do? They learn how to manipulate people who love them to give into their demands. It seems so minor now when all the kid wants is a lollipop. But before you know it that same 3 year old turns into a 30 year old who never learned that life is not always going to go how they want it when they want it. Or it could be, if they keep using love as a way to manipulate others. And that is the biggest misuse of love I could ever imagine.<br />
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Check out <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/06/the-secrets-of-self-control-the-marshmallow-test-40-years-later/">this article</a> by Times and the famous Marshmallow test to see research on Self Control.<br />
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Love and Fear, like day and night, yin and yang. We spend our lives trying to balance them. And perhaps, all those philosophers are probably right. Love is truly the higher self, the part of our being we hope to one day achieve. But we cannot make it up that staircase without a little fear, we must accept that part of our self too. To use it when it's necessary. </div>
Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-34217996775152110232014-04-10T15:55:00.000-04:002014-04-24T11:43:22.524-04:00DIY projects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D0MOJE7Punc2wiwLkjJxbHj0PcT1yvT6WsLNm1tjh6BiuddAXa9EP9XCWv4qpBCc06XbuqTNPYfdReuU5xPF1j4bAIWHFSngqUmLAHlqbTuBhltTau4p6PdSjfEXbSySy0jn/s640/blogger-image-410143525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP69z6zMI_X2vmtA1t04ib-PMgaaA_pOTl_x6Wtz8T8RdwdZNzo9a66KygEEMVifrWiOdK6IxiIaHx3qXyiDVzAO8ALzmHf729bNgppmefw9sZuW8jPa1E1RnjvF5mMI3zREi/s640/blogger-image--835980456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We did a few projects around the apartment many many months ago. I'm just now getting a chance to blog about them, but I'm so happy with all the updates we were able to do! These are things I pinned on Pinterest ages ago, but being totally 'uncrafty' I never actually attempted them. Once I actually did, I found how easy and stylish the result was that I couldn't stop! Goes to show that we all can have creative abilities if we try to just think outside the box. Some projects may have even cost more than just buying something brand new, but the experience of creating something yourself is worth the extra dollar sometimes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>Staining wood bookshelves</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had been looking for a </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">nice bookshelf for awhile. At a garage sale, we came across these shelves which were stacked on top of each other. I knew the color didn't match any of our furniture, but at a bargained price of $5 I figured why not try our hand at staining them darker? My hubs is pretty awesome, because you can't even tell this is his first time staining wood! </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">love the end result!</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Ps- I also got those beautiful planter vases from a garage sale. The tag under them tells me they were originally from Kirkland for $20 each, I definitely paid less</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> lol)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We got our supplies from Home Depot: Sand paper, dark wood stain and a paintbrush. Since I can't smell paint fumes during pregnancy Hubs did this project while Ali and I were out of town. To get the stain to match our furniture he took one of the legs of the sofa to Home Depot and was able to get them to match it perfectly. Since I wasn't really around for the process, I can't tell you all the details, but I sent him the link to this blog about staining a wood <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2009/07/the-staircase-reveal-part-one/">staircase</a>, a <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/08/how-to-restain-a-wood-table-top/">dining table</a> and <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2012/11/bathroom-countertops-are-in/">countertops</a>. Also, I know he just went up to the employee at HD and asked what he'd need to stain a bookshelf and was given help with everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a project which takes a few days as you have to first sand well, then apply and let the primer dry, then again apply the stain and let it dry before you add another coat. My advice: Start from the bottom or inside where no one can see/tell your mistakes as you learn and by the time you get to the most noticeable parts you will be a pro!</span></div>
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<b>BEFORE</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uNssj-SwmPuK7sZpdR561N4rTK9_tUZIov1VvTtFi-Ye02-WROOb0g6-BiRhyfOmdtRx-8nHhnH1cGUWsp6MRwfA2DCIjBfjHAT-KvF5UM0T7R-8svBIIo59jrCN5WF3SgDK/s640/blogger-image--899657889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uNssj-SwmPuK7sZpdR561N4rTK9_tUZIov1VvTtFi-Ye02-WROOb0g6-BiRhyfOmdtRx-8nHhnH1cGUWsp6MRwfA2DCIjBfjHAT-KvF5UM0T7R-8svBIIo59jrCN5WF3SgDK/s400/blogger-image--899657889.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP69z6zMI_X2vmtA1t04ib-PMgaaA_pOTl_x6Wtz8T8RdwdZNzo9a66KygEEMVifrWiOdK6IxiIaHx3qXyiDVzAO8ALzmHf729bNgppmefw9sZuW8jPa1E1RnjvF5mMI3zREi/s400/blogger-image--835980456.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D0MOJE7Punc2wiwLkjJxbHj0PcT1yvT6WsLNm1tjh6BiuddAXa9EP9XCWv4qpBCc06XbuqTNPYfdReuU5xPF1j4bAIWHFSngqUmLAHlqbTuBhltTau4p6PdSjfEXbSySy0jn/s400/blogger-image-410143525.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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AFTER:<br />
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Sorry the After pictures aren't great, they're from my phone and the sunlight coming in was really not helping on this particular day. For now the shelves are still on the floor, but I'm trying to figure out some sort of pegs or something for a base that can elevate them above the ground just a bit so they reach the windowsill height. I will update on that soon! </div>
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<b><u>Gold Sharpie Paint Candle Design</u></b></div>
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The next project was a simple idea that came to me on an afternoon of boredom. Remember this <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/16255248628566572/">gold sharpie lamp DIY</a> I did awhile <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/11/our-autumn-recap.html">back</a>? I just loved how easy it was and how it added a little oomph to the lamp. That's basically what I did with this candle below. Again, this was another garage sale find and my husband loved the intricate detail on it. I'm a big fan of sharpie paints and how easy they are to use!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCRd96UFnDPNCg0DIOXbKmLyUVk6nX2ytdsXddStx33hjnTrSTN7H_mnL0xvAOdqWuhVtnhTNTSkWwInxMCbfNLN8OqgoBwt7SN6hGJtMPLGc7jDmfZO045urhrPXnBFL6mDP/s640/blogger-image-983636030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCRd96UFnDPNCg0DIOXbKmLyUVk6nX2ytdsXddStx33hjnTrSTN7H_mnL0xvAOdqWuhVtnhTNTSkWwInxMCbfNLN8OqgoBwt7SN6hGJtMPLGc7jDmfZO045urhrPXnBFL6mDP/s640/blogger-image-983636030.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6Q7aaMOApjr5hFNivNjVookEpibhnLMeAaY8wkLb2AYVLHrZmrnHikg9_yYrhQhJCueRSNoKreR24XSQLZgTY3S5KG9F4rKkYVlIJmtJ1GllVkuJdjvHfesej9JktM-4vRpC/s640/blogger-image-829050912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6Q7aaMOApjr5hFNivNjVookEpibhnLMeAaY8wkLb2AYVLHrZmrnHikg9_yYrhQhJCueRSNoKreR24XSQLZgTY3S5KG9F4rKkYVlIJmtJ1GllVkuJdjvHfesej9JktM-4vRpC/s400/blogger-image-829050912.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCRd96UFnDPNCg0DIOXbKmLyUVk6nX2ytdsXddStx33hjnTrSTN7H_mnL0xvAOdqWuhVtnhTNTSkWwInxMCbfNLN8OqgoBwt7SN6hGJtMPLGc7jDmfZO045urhrPXnBFL6mDP/s640/blogger-image-983636030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Just to give you an idea of how the gold paint brought some life into the candle, here's a look of it half done.</div>
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<b><u>Dining Chairs Update</u></b></div>
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One of the first projects we actually did was updating the upholstery for our dining chairs. During the move from NJ to Fl these chairs and the off white cloth of the seats had taken a serious beating, left with quite a few stains. During one of my many million trips to Target I fell in love with this geometric design window curtain and decided to use as the fabric for my chairs. I think one panel cost $15, you can easily find cheaper fabric with coupons at JoAnn or maybe even cheaper curtains but I just really loved this particular design. </div>
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My initial plan was to paint the wood of our chairs too. I even found a great tutorial on painting dining chairs <a href="http://www.diyhomedecoratingideas.com/painting-dining-chairs.html">here</a>. We just never got around to doing it.</div>
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This project took us one evening. Maybe two episodes of Breaking Bad later, voila! Our dining table had a whole new look. All you need for this is a good pair of scissors, a staple gun (yet another garage sale find for $1, refill staples can be bought at Home Depot for about $3) and Scotch Guard spray to make your fabric stain resistant. It's easier to do as a two man project, as I would hold the fabric taut while hubby stapled, but it can be done by one person. So turn on your Netflix, find a show you've been meaning to catch up on and get to work!<br />
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-21659473565321727012014-03-24T16:37:00.001-04:002014-03-24T16:37:05.403-04:00DIY Disney T-Shirt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We decided to take advantage of our Florida residency and bought season passes to Disney World this year. We got a 4 day pass for $160/person, meaning $40 per day, which is a 60% discount off the regular gate price. Here are my thoughts/advice on Disney, before I jump into my DIY shirts:<br />
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-Definitely get the Florida resident pass at least once every few years, especially if you have kids!<br />
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-Technically, you have to show proof of residency, which I suppose they saw when we paid through our credit card online and entered our zip code, but when we went to the ticket window to pick up our pass they never asked for any further ID (documents said they would). SO if you're one to try cheating the system and are up for risking it then have someone from FL buy passes on their credit card and save yourself 60% off full ticket price. Again, I wouldn't recommend it, but from what I've heard people do this and it works. It's still a risk.<br />
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-The absolute BEST time to visit Disney World, specifically Magic Kingdom is early February; Sundays being optimal! We encountered the shortest wait times I've ever experienced (been to MK in 1994, 2004, 2007 and 2008) with the longest being maybe 30 minutes! We did all the rides/parades/shows we wanted to do by 8pm and we could have stuck around til the fireworks at 11pm to do even more rides but with a tired 3 year old we were more than satisfied with our day and headed out.<br />
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- The new FastPass system is awesome! Its included free in your ticket and lets you choose up to 3 rides/shows you want to skip the line in by selecting a time to come back for them. We did fastpass at <b>Magic Kingdom</b> for Space Mountain, Buzz Light-Year and Pirates of the Caribbean. At <b>Hollywood studios</b> we did it for the Toy Story ride, Disney Junior Live show (don't bother, there's plenty of showtimes and lots of room, I would recommend doing it for the Rock n Roll roller coaster instead) and Tower of Terror. You can easily ask the attendant which rides tend to get the busiest and they're very helpful with assisting you.<br />
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-Download the DisneyWorld app on your phone (it's free). It gives updated wait times so you can strategically plan out which rides you should get on as soon as you enter the park. I spent the night before our trip picking out the rides we wanted to do and roughly planning out in which order to do them then the day of the app helped with figuring out which had the shortest lines. This really helped make the most of our day!<br />
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-Parking at the parks is $15 per day and going 4 days means spending $60 on just parking your car. Not saying we did this, but I have heard of an easy money saving trick. Park at one of the Disney resorts for free, Art of Animation for example, and taking their free shuttle to the parks. You are required to have a parking pass resorts too, but mostly that's for overnight parking. To be safe you can just tell them at the lobby that you're interested in spending the night and came to check out the resort, and they'll give you a temporary parking pass.<br />
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-If your kids want to meet Disney characters, I would say double check to see which parks you can meet which characters at (use the Disney App). The best park for the most Meet n Greets is Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios). We waited the longest for Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom, around 30 minutes and found out later that Mickey is also at HS, which is far less crowded so it has shorter wait times. But I think if you want to meet the princesses they're only at MK. We got lucky with having a son and the line to meet Daffy/Goofy was way shorter than Daisy/Minnie and he obviously wasn't interested in story time with Belle (which has a VERY long wait).<br />
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-Definitely try to attend the MK parade, it's interactive where kids can dance along with characters and probably more fun than the show on stage later on. For a great show, make sure to attend Mickey's Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios, the first show gets full very fast so either aim to attend the second one or get in line early. <br />
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-With a toddler/3 year old you can plan to take a break for nap time and that's when you/husband can take turns to go on the adult rides or you can completely let your kid exhaust himself and he'll probably crash by 6/7pm. either way have some sort of plan in mind for what works better with your child and that will make your day less tiring. Try to get all the kiddie stuff out of the way first so that when the nap monster starts roaring you can head out if need be, otherwise all the parks have a kid's room where nursing moms or sleepy babies can rest.<br />
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-For FREE Disney fun DEFINITELY check out Downtown Disney, they have some live performances and an awesome Lego store where kids can have fun building. We also took our son to check out Art of Animation resort since they have a whole section themed like the Cars movie. They also have a Nemo, Little Mermaid and Lion King wing. It's really fun and you get some great pictures!<br />
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Ok I've run out of tips/tricks for now, so check out below my first DIY t-shirt making project. I literally decided to do this on Thursday morning and we were leaving for Disney on Friday morning! It took me some rushing to crafts stores then my amazing friend's house to use her printer before I got to actual work on the shirts, which took maybe 3-4 hours (I did some finishing touches in our hotel room) and the result was great!<br />
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<b><u>Items you need:</u></b><br />
Plain White Tshirt (you can find them at any craft store like Michael's or in the back of your own closet)<br />
White Chalk (I used crayola, from Target. I'm sure dollar stores have this too)<br />
Scissors<br />
Glue Gun (got mine at a garage sale for $1, Michael's has one for $5 with their 40% off coupon)<br />
Cup and a Bowl - to draw Mickey's ears and face<br />
Black fabric (check the scrap fabric section of Jo Ann which usually has them majorly discounted)<br />
Red Polka Dot fabric - For Minnie's bow<br />
Red Stars fabric - for Mickey's bowtie (you need very little of this since it's just a bow, depends on how many you're making. I asked the girl at the fabric counter at Jo Ann's to help me and it worked fine, didn't cost more than $3)<br />
<a href="http://www.joann.com/heat-n-bond-ultra-hold-iron-on-adhesive-17inx12in/1069806.html">Heat n Bond</a> - Got mine at Jo Ann fabric (always make sure to use their coupons, google it!)<br />
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Quick-Fuse-Iron-On-Ink-Jet-Fabric-Sheets-3pk/17338180">Quick Fuse Iron On Sheets</a> - again I checked the sale section of Jo Ann and got mine for about $7<br />
Black Fabric paint - $1 Michaels, to outline Mickey's silhouette, gives it a clean finished look. Optional, not necessary though.<br />
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So it all started when I saw this picture on Pinterest, then I found out how much they cost to have custom made on Etsy.<br />
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I didn't have time for ordering custom shirts, nor did I want to spend $18+ on something we would wear just a few times. So I dug in our closets for my husband's old Hanes under shirts and my son's old 18 month onesie (which still fits my scrawny kid!) I did some googling and found images for what I wanted our shirts to look like.</div>
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When I came across this picture below I just loved the idea of using Mickey hands! Especially because I wanted to incorporate our newest little addition in the plan too! Yep, this is what let the cat out of the bag.<br />
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So I got to work using my son's plastic tupperware to make a stencil of Mickey</div>
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A trip to Jo Ann's found me this iron on paper. I was able to print the Mickey Hand's image on my friend's home printer without any trouble at all. Just follow the instructions on the Quick Fuse back label. <i>FYI: if you don't have a printer don't bother trying Staples Kinkos or Office Depot they all have laser printers and you need an ink jet for this. Try to find a buddy with a home printer or possibly a local library.</i><br />
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Searched through JoAnn's discounted scrap fabric section got me some black fabric for about $2<br />
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Had some crayola chalk lying around the house so I used that to trace my stencil onto the fabric and then cut it out.<br />
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So there's this glue bond thing you can find for under $5, its SO easy. This was literally my first experience of shopping at Michael's or working with iron glue bonding and I had zero problems. If I can do it, so can you! Lay your fabric on the glue sheets then lightly press the iron so glue sticks to the back of your fabric. Then cut the fabric peel off the backing and now iron onto your shirt. Directions are on the packaging, I followed them and it was fairly simple. Do a test run on a scrap fabric piece to be safe. </div>
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We took a break to celebrate hubby's birthday at Benihana's. How cute does my little guy look!<br />
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We found out he's got a love for sushi already!<br />
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At the hotel now, we made the bowties. I am NOT a sewer. But I did have a glue gun at home. So again, I found fabric on sale and put my gun to use.<br />
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Glue the edges so you have a clean ribbon to work with.<br />
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The entire bow was made with a glue gun, no sewing at all. We used one big ribbon and then glued a smaller ribbon to it in order to make that center part.<br />
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In hindsight I realize I should have made Mickey smaller on my son's shirt since it was so big that the bow sort of got hidden at the bottom, but still it came out cute. Not bad for my first try! I used black fabric paint I had at home to add a zigzag design to the inside of Mickey. This helps cover up any places where the glue might show and adds a little flare. It's totally optional and not necessary. </div>
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View from our hotel room at the resort we stayed at. That water slide was AWESOME!<br />
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Our day trip to Art of Animation, showing off my final product!<br />
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If you have some free time at 2AM then give yourself a little Minnie Mouse manicure!<br />
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Here's a close up shot of my shirt, a little shout out to my tiny Mickey hiding inside! I figured if we were going the cheesy route, why not go all the way :)</div>
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Disney Junior Live Show at Hollywood Studios. Our little guy LOVED it! You get to see Jake and the Pirates, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffin and the whole Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang. </div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-16149785850622978572014-02-18T15:17:00.000-05:002014-02-18T22:04:29.492-05:00Pinterest Inspired Party!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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At the beginning of February I held a lunch at my place for a couple of friends I've met in the few months since we've moved here. Between all our mini trips out of town and our two trips to NJ, I hadn't had a chance to invite anyone over and I took this as an opportunity to put to work some of the great party ideas I had been pinning on Pinterest. Also, since the Superbowl and Valentine's Day are February's two major occasions I figured I'd try to incorporate them in some way. </div>
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My party was on Saturday before the Superbowl, but none of us girls really care much at all about football so the only way I chose to incorporate the Superbowl was in the menu. Superbowl parties are known to have some great appetizers and snacks that no one can resist, not even someone as apathetic towards football as myself! My two tributes to the Superbowl were cheeseburger sliders and buffalo chicken dip with pita chips. My friend Neda (who has a great makeup blog <a href="http://makeupbyneda.com/" target="_blank">Here</a>) made this AH-MAZING <a href="http://sania7.tumblr.com/post/74755027631/sulmoney-this-stuff-is-like-crack-mixed-with#notes" target="_blank">buffalo chicken dip</a> for us a few times that I couldn't wait to try myself. It was really so simple to make and it's one of those snacks everyone keeps eating throughout the party. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhux5C0kg26AEayc28BHHoczVWYFPN2lsWYc92YY5olr5jA3lCDt6-DyKOHmBr0ONlMKs4iTZGhyphenhyphena0HryEKmHUkEhPEeAB1JlOlU406EDlS7QXQvRmn9cnJEh3lmWkQbWNh0wdj/s640/blogger-image--1643775176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhux5C0kg26AEayc28BHHoczVWYFPN2lsWYc92YY5olr5jA3lCDt6-DyKOHmBr0ONlMKs4iTZGhyphenhyphena0HryEKmHUkEhPEeAB1JlOlU406EDlS7QXQvRmn9cnJEh3lmWkQbWNh0wdj/s640/blogger-image--1643775176.jpg"></a></div>
The rest of my party menu was: <a href="http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2033931-The-Cheesecake-Factory-Cajun-Jambalaya-Pasta" target="_blank">Cajun Shrimp Pasta</a> (SO GOOD, I had none left!), <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/11/recipe-kale-quinoa-chicken-salad-with.html" target="_blank">Kale Quinoa Salad</a> (which turned out amazing yet again. You know a salad is good when people willingly take it home with them!!), and <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/tomato-garlic-bruschetta-bread-174237" target="_blank">bruschetta</a><br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-zGVjEBn1WYmfqGGMv0iwOWIVCG5CExjDRhTFQTocvTK18lQESb9AhialhI_d9wNw1g-x-7Mp4XCRkMA7QJk8IgBG80Z6s3oVK6FNcSm-u3dnxlr9Zq_2OmvtQMxdTR6rY9N/s640/blogger-image--858658072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-zGVjEBn1WYmfqGGMv0iwOWIVCG5CExjDRhTFQTocvTK18lQESb9AhialhI_d9wNw1g-x-7Mp4XCRkMA7QJk8IgBG80Z6s3oVK6FNcSm-u3dnxlr9Zq_2OmvtQMxdTR6rY9N/s1600/blogger-image--858658072.jpg"></a></td></tr>
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Now to include Valentine's Day into my party I tried my best not to go crazy on pink, red and hearts but its nearly impossible for me to <i>not</i> go overboard with anything. I tried to find sweet yet subtle items. For example, I made German chocolate cupcakes with a coconut vanilla frosting which I dyed pink using food coloring and I baked them in a silicon heart shaped cupcake pan I got from Target a few years ago, seen in this <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/09/chocolate-banana-raspberry-bread.html?m=1" target="_blank">post</a>. I also found some adorable items in the $1 section of Target which I couldn't resist. Like a small felt hearts banner, which was used as the backdrop to our photo booth. Instead of doing the usual sodas for drinks, I had (store bought) pink lemonade and put frozen berries to keep the drinks chilled. It was hard to keep away from all the overload of Valentine's day since I love themed parties SO much, but I realize just using a few themed ideas was a good way to go about it without seeming like cupid threw up all over everything.</div>
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<b>'Pinspired' Ideas:</b><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtwGylYup-xZJCdmcjWxkm9XfzFuXwjd6iS-Y1zKniGmTfqfSjC6_owNDaNzivVBTrTYWBLX9c96jPwG3sTI3iDHNUP-VgO1dj6yBoyhKZr6L76l41IW2Rzy5RBdOmJMI-mJO/s640/blogger-image--1706788026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtwGylYup-xZJCdmcjWxkm9XfzFuXwjd6iS-Y1zKniGmTfqfSjC6_owNDaNzivVBTrTYWBLX9c96jPwG3sTI3iDHNUP-VgO1dj6yBoyhKZr6L76l41IW2Rzy5RBdOmJMI-mJO/s400/blogger-image--1706788026.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
Mason Jars! I've been seeing these on Pinterest for a <i>long </i>while now, and I did my best to not fall into the trap of liking something just because it's popular, but seriously they are SO cute looking! They really added a chic feel to the party. By serving pink lemonade in them with a striped paper straw it caught everyone's attention since as something out of the normal soda in a glass way to serve drinks. I got mine at Walmart 12 for $9 and the paper straws were from Target's party decor section, I think 20 for $2. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Uqi6GzT_0gtKf8vwIhkcPoHlWglxX-aUQ-K7_RGEEQYyd6rQcIGIgrHwKU_ncUIY3ZBfP9NgMHFrzADxVuny-INEbAIDvpmuRIHUT3xnpZ3mrsZr0Q7N6nqszClNysp-eFvr/s640/blogger-image-797442814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Uqi6GzT_0gtKf8vwIhkcPoHlWglxX-aUQ-K7_RGEEQYyd6rQcIGIgrHwKU_ncUIY3ZBfP9NgMHFrzADxVuny-INEbAIDvpmuRIHUT3xnpZ3mrsZr0Q7N6nqszClNysp-eFvr/s640/blogger-image-797442814.jpg" width="480"></a>Photobooth ideas are all over Pinterest. Originally I thought to make my own props, but when Target had a whole bag full of them for just $5, how could I turn it down? ;) I kept it simple with just a banner against our white wall and since we had a bunch of kids at the party, it kept them busy for a solid 15 minutes while we were able to take a gazillion adorable pictures of which maybe 3 came out nice. I liked this idea because it gave us something different to do than the usual munching and chatter without being too involved like playing organized games. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vt6lZI7DKlX0AhXxD6ygRImDtovV47KmVaJnrxwxPWGJAv6JvUgTRDtwc9DPS3w__gxhOA4eSC3kGMoj4cGr9HqPjDBicYvhrO3nUNAG4xnlWmNdMYCSUpaGLToxl_xXInRr/s640/blogger-image-696583319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vt6lZI7DKlX0AhXxD6ygRImDtovV47KmVaJnrxwxPWGJAv6JvUgTRDtwc9DPS3w__gxhOA4eSC3kGMoj4cGr9HqPjDBicYvhrO3nUNAG4xnlWmNdMYCSUpaGLToxl_xXInRr/s400/blogger-image-696583319.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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Fruit Cones are such a simple yet fun way to make dessert look classy! Since I had some pretty heavy items on my lunch menu for the healthy eater I thought these fruit cones were a nice dessert alternative, plus the kids even liked how pretty they made the fruit look and were happy to snack on them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcIRgr5BJUmpkwxSLfOrxqtrFi4zYEbFnjfYteSfA5zOUr2o2_ZUHeIOhhscZbGTx4sN3veCuZTmhZFXK_AdhYqQsuRNopbqCrYDf5tk7flWPYVKLjFIXDcqxFUaB5Jyirf5j/s640/blogger-image-1087267195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcIRgr5BJUmpkwxSLfOrxqtrFi4zYEbFnjfYteSfA5zOUr2o2_ZUHeIOhhscZbGTx4sN3veCuZTmhZFXK_AdhYqQsuRNopbqCrYDf5tk7flWPYVKLjFIXDcqxFUaB5Jyirf5j/s640/blogger-image-1087267195.jpg" width="480"></a></div>
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Okay so I only partly tried to keep dessert healthy. Because when I saw these S'mores Brownies on Pinterest, all self control was lost. They were definitely a gluttonous addition to my dessert menu but one I do not regret. Ok maybe a little. Just imagine sweet gooey melted marshmallows sandwiched between a decadent chocolate brownie with a layer of crunchy graham cracker thrown in! I swear I have no self control. But they're SO worth trying!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3lzNKVdl27cdtruuBMp4tkqjlkw1Cj37_mWbjmvO__LUR9z8R7MgBDmG0XDeSuWstMpgYYqIrWbmY0hHh-jzhwY2rzK4SRi7dlY2FP0v2TP45VLeW-n9JZrmnD2Lwudepg8R/s640/blogger-image-1250919388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3lzNKVdl27cdtruuBMp4tkqjlkw1Cj37_mWbjmvO__LUR9z8R7MgBDmG0XDeSuWstMpgYYqIrWbmY0hHh-jzhwY2rzK4SRi7dlY2FP0v2TP45VLeW-n9JZrmnD2Lwudepg8R/s320/blogger-image-1250919388.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bubbly, ooey, gooey marshmallow goodness!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZ-74ZK1skpIctw5OijpjCpsQECZIfvwsyadUisEc-54z9AsCvDW9McXEJ-UQH14CmsGYVBOw5sdW2hWs9Jf9_eebWbQWxI3NHyQvXhapL6YJCkItil4X63ycOEWuFOFrRVRS/s1600/blogger-image-23830809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZ-74ZK1skpIctw5OijpjCpsQECZIfvwsyadUisEc-54z9AsCvDW9McXEJ-UQH14CmsGYVBOw5sdW2hWs9Jf9_eebWbQWxI3NHyQvXhapL6YJCkItil4X63ycOEWuFOFrRVRS/s320/blogger-image-23830809.jpg" width="240"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAQ1T-CYK2eVylqvApljnPcl4LAbTf8x6iBNeNEH7iZh4sS50sbddZv42VYR72w7KHt4TNE4sJaqt_QUmkmJQp06BkiX3NI3lIiaIYyGQ1mpPZ8pPXTyteAXaXv66da8Kcdk5/s640/blogger-image--412499804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAQ1T-CYK2eVylqvApljnPcl4LAbTf8x6iBNeNEH7iZh4sS50sbddZv42VYR72w7KHt4TNE4sJaqt_QUmkmJQp06BkiX3NI3lIiaIYyGQ1mpPZ8pPXTyteAXaXv66da8Kcdk5/s640/blogger-image--412499804.jpg"></a>Also, my husband is a Valentine's baby and as you may remember from my <a href="http://sanimir.blogspot.com/2013/02/our-february-14th-celebrations.html">post</a> last year I tend to get super cheesy with my ideas to celebrate his big day. So this year was no different. I turned to my beloved Pinterest for ways to surprise him. He grew up outside of America and is a HUGE fan of international chocolate bars. I'd seen some adorable cards using candy bars but I knew they wouldn't work for him since he's not really into Snickers, Mr Goodbar etc. I started leaving him little messages all week with chocolate bars attached, next to his keys or in his laptop bag and then on his actual birthday I gave him the card with a whole bunch added on. I forgot to take pictures of the ones from earlier in the week but it was something like 'Thanks for not being a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flake_(chocolate_bar)" target="_blank">FLAKE</a>, you're an awesome husband and a great dad. We love you' and 'Hey Handsome, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_(chocolate)" target="_blank">AERO</a> of my heart points to you!'<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMgdietiULp2Fs21MrTTBcLzYht20oyxdTsvxxxNVP6rM5JJYb7q5JhYu_FrIUITdYLmIOCxJ-txc6Ln5IXDFeuVug7PIW8_0FMX0Hs75DaPtkps3rnHyCMWn8niqZWjdVr-R/s640/blogger-image--1053152904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMgdietiULp2Fs21MrTTBcLzYht20oyxdTsvxxxNVP6rM5JJYb7q5JhYu_FrIUITdYLmIOCxJ-txc6Ln5IXDFeuVug7PIW8_0FMX0Hs75DaPtkps3rnHyCMWn8niqZWjdVr-R/s640/blogger-image--1053152904.jpg" width="640"></a></div>
Now that Ali is old enough to understand birthdays, I had him make a present for his Baba too. Of course the idea was Pinterest inspired and it worked out pretty nicely. I bought poster paper and paintbrushes from the dollar store and Crayola washable paint from Target for $4, which we had LOADS of fun painting with in the bathtub afterwards. My advice is to practice the hand and footprint first on regular paper so you get the hang of it, before you attempt it on the actual poster. It was a fairly cheap craft with a result that looks so stinkin' adorable; we're planning to get a nice frame for it to put up in Ali's room.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSpKsshxMEC72_5-vnZopvIEMmL9VBpDs-2sScCSuAk0hz_w1VXb7cxxnS6pxp83IpO314MNLhiUJhJsIldxNLx-KtWk8-ROo1nQqeTXQc0c8rs896-afl_S67aje49YeMQOF/s640/blogger-image--930678121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSpKsshxMEC72_5-vnZopvIEMmL9VBpDs-2sScCSuAk0hz_w1VXb7cxxnS6pxp83IpO314MNLhiUJhJsIldxNLx-KtWk8-ROo1nQqeTXQc0c8rs896-afl_S67aje49YeMQOF/s640/blogger-image--930678121.jpg" width="480"></a></div>
Lastly, I tried to make these <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/354306695656619522/" target="_blank">adorable strawberry roses</a> and here is where the phrase "Pinterest Fail" comes to mind. They weren't as easy as they looked and definitely very time consuming. I was only able to get 3 done before I realized my husband wouldn't wait more than 3 seconds to devour them and he couldn't care less how his strawberries look, but he does love them dipped in chocolate! Lesson learned. I thought my plate looked cute and the hubster was certainly impressed with all of my creative attempts. </div>
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Hope you guys enjoyed reading all these crazy Pinspired ideas I put to work and they've inspired you to try out some of your own! </div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-83319866321571454462014-02-11T19:43:00.000-05:002014-02-11T19:43:00.484-05:00Recipe: Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Fudge frosting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I cannot believe how long its been since I last wrote here. I knew life was going to get busy in the new year, I just didn't realize exactly <i>how</i> busy it was going to be!<br />
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I have so many posts in my drafts right now which eventually I hope to post up. Even before 2013 ended we did some projects around the home, reupholstering our dining chairs and re-staining bookshelves. Once I got back from my cousin's wedding in NJ we took a trip to Atlanta (right before they got hit with a pretty serious snow storm!). Then, I hosted my first get together with a few friends I've made here using some awesome Pinterest party ideas for inspiration! And last weekend we finally made a trip out to Disneyworld, where I made my first attempt at DIY Tshirt making! So stay tuned because I have plenty to share with you all!<br />
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In the spirit of Valentine's week I'm posting up this UH-mazing chocolate cake I made. My husband's birthday happens to fall on Valentine's Day, so usually I end up spoiling him with goodies rather than the other way around. Fortunately, we are both major chocoholics so its a win win! I love how moist this cake turns out, due to the <b>Secret Ingredient</b>.<br />
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Recipe Sourced here: <a href="https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=4602" target="_blank">Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Fudge frosting</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your key to a super soft cake!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because you can never really go wrong with sprinkles, use them to add some pizzazz </td></tr>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913614.post-67640561918037299682013-12-20T12:46:00.000-05:002013-12-21T01:39:30.393-05:00Recipe: Traditional Pakistani meat stew with potatoes - "Aloo Gosht
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When you think "all-American", its usually quite easy to imagine the traditional meat loving individual. And while I look of Asian descent upon appearance (specifically Pakistani), I love a good juicy beef burger just as much as my fairer skinned Americans. I also enjoy my pizzas topped with the best meat lover's variety (100% beef, halal of course) and I can never turn down a hot dog smothered in mustard and ketchup! So, for the longest time I thought myself to be the average big beef loving American. Because, even at home when my mom cooked Pakistani meals, I always preferred the red meat dishes over the chicken ones. </div>
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Here's where my Pakistani brethren can chime in and agree that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihari" target="_blank">Nihari</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleem" target="_blank">Haleem</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biryani" target="_blank">Biryani</a> all taste quite better in their non chicken form (I know many of you do prefer chicken over red meat, I'm choosing to ignore you)! But it wasn't until I actually started cooking on my own that I discovered something of a surprise. </div>
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While I prefer beef in American dishes, when it comes to Pakistani food its GOAT I like! Yes you read that right, BLEH. <i>Goat</i>?! I was so weirded out when I first learned that it was goat meat my mother had been feeding us for years, and even more betrayed because I love the taste of it SO much! </div>
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Some people confuse mutton with goat meat, but mutton is actually from a lamb. I'm not a major fan of lamb as it tends to be greasier with all the added fat. Goat, on the other hand is very tender, flavorful yet light on the fat compared to its beef/mutton red meat counterparts. </div>
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One of my faaaaaavorite Pakistani dish of all time is a classic meat and potato stew translating in Urdu as: <i>Aloo Gosht Salan.</i> </div>
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It is pretty easy to cook too <i>if you have a pressure cooker</i>. I admit, I was pretty afraid to use a pressure cooker for the first time after having childhood memories of this scary loud whistle that went off every few minutes on the one my mom cooked with when we were kids. Plus, scary stories of them bursting and destroying kitchens did not help. But, thankfully in my own experience of owning one for 5 years I haven't had any problems at all, new cookers have a less horrific sound and it honestly cuts your cooking time in half. As long as you read the manual that comes with it, most of the current models are fairly safe. I bought mine from Macy's and use it for all my meat cooking recipes, especially when I was working it made dinner prep MUCH easier. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you want to cook Pakistani food, get used to chopping onions. Nearly all dishes have onions as a staple.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown the onions in a tablespoon (or two) of oil. This is what gives your stew its base flavor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the spices you should need: Salt, Pepper, Cumin powder, turmeric, red pepper, coriander powder and oil (I use grapeseed for all my cooking. Love it! No aftertaste and it cooks just like veg or canola oil)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaxaW1_r9VDQhy6BZON0PthbVgiioa8poPZ6Unzr7xA8tDB3DpOIXl-V9sSccHNREWU2kseUB4ZojpKRHaTyTkjFaZNDqPNkirn5T3xxJCgPT8Oqylowb2toJxEyKG9367xXe/s640/blogger-image--299882426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaxaW1_r9VDQhy6BZON0PthbVgiioa8poPZ6Unzr7xA8tDB3DpOIXl-V9sSccHNREWU2kseUB4ZojpKRHaTyTkjFaZNDqPNkirn5T3xxJCgPT8Oqylowb2toJxEyKG9367xXe/s640/blogger-image--299882426.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once onions are browned, add garlic/ginger paste then meat and potatoes + spices+ chopped tomatoes 2 cups water and you're ready to pressurize!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lock that lid on then find an activity to occupy you for the next 15-20 minutes. Come back to Dinner Ready!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNCBFBZHEh8XkwRjcMW44Mfw7e5IY6KhbOGX7yOgEtDuIXSGY8X54MZMKlg8TNErHJ5r4MsRfzgvkXWQ7mvDzQjqQVZoqiHEDQLV5gtSZFLzrGFGCtXFV5Ni8XBaQghYWydte/s640/blogger-image--203764691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNCBFBZHEh8XkwRjcMW44Mfw7e5IY6KhbOGX7yOgEtDuIXSGY8X54MZMKlg8TNErHJ5r4MsRfzgvkXWQ7mvDzQjqQVZoqiHEDQLV5gtSZFLzrGFGCtXFV5Ni8XBaQghYWydte/s640/blogger-image--203764691.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boil some white rice (make sure to add salt and some oil) on the side and enjoy your Aloo Gosht!<br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients (makes about 4 servings): </span><br>
<div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.429em 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 lb goat pieces, washed and drained (ask the butcher for hind leg thigh meat, or just say its for stew)</span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 large onion, thinly sliced</span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tomatoes, chopped</span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">1.5 </span><span style="line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">tbsp garlic ginger paste</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"> (some people make their own from fresh garlic and ginger, I'm lazy and buy the Shan brand </span><span style="line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">ready made</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"> jar, apparently fresh taste better)</span></span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered</span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro leaves finely chopped</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/3 cup of oil</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin-bottom: 1.429em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spices :</span></span></strong></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.429em 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp coriander powder</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp red chili powder (adjust per taste)</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp salt or as preferred</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp cumin powder</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 tsp turmeric powder</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** my secret ingredient: 1 tsp of Shan Korma masala (adds a great aroma and gives the stew a more 'formal' flavor if that makes any sense)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; margin-bottom: 1.429em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preparation :</span></strong></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 21.984375px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.429em 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heat up oil in the pressure cooker</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add onions and let them get to a golden brown color </span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add meat, tomatoes, ginger/garlic paste, and all the spices, stir fry the meat until all ingredients are well combined. Make sure to stir frequently to allow a gravy to form</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">, this in Urdu is called </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“bhoon-na” </strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">which basically means that all the onions, garlic,ginger and tomatoes have been fully combined. Your meat will not be fully tender at this point, it will cook when you pressurize. </span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add 2 glasses of water and allow it to come to a boil, add the peeled potatoes then secure on the pressure cooker lid and let it cook. (depending on your cooker directions, meat usually takes 15-20 minutes) You can tell when its done as the meat comes off the bone easily.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Add chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and mix well.</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serve with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">chappati </a>or a plate of plain basmati rice.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">*</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">Some people do the bhoona step AFTER they cook meat/onions in the pressure cooker with water. I do it first but either way it shouldn't make a difference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.979917526245117px;">**potatoes tend to cook faster than meat, so if you let them cook for just as long as the meat they may overcook and turn mushy but in my experience large baking potatoes take very long so use those! Another trick that helps is to cut large pieces, so they'll take longer to cook. </span></div>
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Saniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14866953357840364470noreply@blogger.com0