The Story Of Us

After 6 years we finally made a trip back  home! We were planning to go three years ago but remember that little things called Covid, yup we were in lockdown that year and had to cancel everything.  By home I mean Karachi, Pakistan. While I didn't call Pakistan my home until I was 10 when my dad uprooted us from our life in Chicago and decided to move back. In fact I'm pretty sure I still didn't call it home for several years finding it difficult to fit in and adjust to such a drastic change. But I am so happy that my dad did what he did, I was able to get the best of both worlds. M on the other had was born and raised in Karachi, work took him outside the country for the first time and from London to Singapore he finally landed in America.  While Pakistan is a beautiful country it is many other third world nations, plagued with corruption, stuck under the foot of first world nations like America who uses it as a pawn against Afghanistan, China and Russia and Britain...

Our weekend.. especially all the food consumed He has perfected the pout but I finally caught it on camera.. in fact he was so angry with me he even let me make a video of him tell me to 'go away!' two going on fourteen?  We had to make a quick stop at the mall.. which of course would have been incomplete with a ride on the carousel. And getting some chocolate covered strawberries from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They also have some of the best caramel apples!  D's class had caterpillars as their class pet.. come spring they had become beautiful butterflies. So the children made and wore these butterfly headbands as they celebrated the release of the butterflies. On Friday M came home a little early and the boys tossed around a ball before dinner. I made some banana chocolate chip cake balls.. donut holes. Nothing fancy.. just a snack for the boys.  The boys attempting to shuck corn while we fire up the grill.....

A few months ago a dear friend moved across the country leaving us with all her Groupons. While M called dibs on the free massage, D and I went to Art Around the Corner to paint some pottery.. there was a large shelf full of various items that we could pick to paint.. I picked the gift box and D picked the treasure chest. He had a blast picking various paints and just going to town on the treasure chest. We were to come back after a week to pick up the final product.. Since every inch of D's treasure chest was different I needed to take several pictures to even attempt to do it justice.. and he painted the inside too. Mine of course pales by comparison.. Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  Newsletter Sign Up - Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

We spent Labor Day with family in Houston. My sister in law was celebrating her daughter's first birthday and us having little to no family here it was nice to join in on the festivities.. plus D got a kick out of meeting his only girl cousin.. he was actually the big brother for a change. It was interesting to see him in action.. a preview of sorts. Wagging his little finger at her when she made a mess.. A little pre party jumping All dressed up! The theme was orange and white. All the kids attending wore matching Nemo shirts.  The cake The next day was spent with M's sister and M's cousin and families day tripping in Austin.. which was great fun except for the scorching heat..  Got the view from Mount Bonnell.. spent just enough time baking under the sun to take a picture. At the Zilker Park.. weighing our options of what to do next.. the kids not loving the heat... and then it starts to cool down So we rent a couple kayak's and take ...

September really was quite a month.. we went from Amsterdam to Cairo , Iraq and then finally wrapped things up with friends and family in Dubai. We stayed at my uncle's place, my mom flew in from Karachi to spend some much need time with her grandson. My brother flew in from Sri Lanka, he was having a boy's getaway and catching some cricket matches. M has a few friends and cousin's who live there, as do mine. The plan was to try to meet them all, but by the time we got to Dubai we were exhausted and hibernation seemed like the best idea. So we ate   D played with a miniature shopping cart.. how cute is that! he sat in a car he slept in a car (a crazy expensive bed that had lights) I met my friends.. I have known these ladies since I was 11 or 12 years old. M met up with his cousin.. and here's a little before and after for you.. D with my brother at six months and again at two years. Three days went by in a blur.. and our...