Everyone who knows me even a little, know that I LOVE Greek Easter. I would go so far as to say it is my favorite holiday! Some (even Randy) may think Christmas is my favorite, but it is Greek Easter. It is a day to celebrate family, welcome spring and have a big old lamb dinner with all of my friends and family. My family used to have a big dinner with lots of friends every Easter and it was always a happy holiday. The weather was getting warm so the kids could all play outside. My dad would get a big whole lamb from somewhere in Brooklyn and he and his friends would sit outside while it roasted on the spit. There was chocolate and candles and I loved it. 

We usually invite 30-40 people and have a big old Greek dinner. This year because of Covid we only had 20 people. I kid people…we had…just the Alis. At first I was worried about making it special, but I shouldn’t have worried! We have enough kids to make it a party any day, we cook pretty darn well and I love making everyone get everyone dressed up. 

We dyed eggs using food dye, since we couldn’t order egg dye from the US (mail was stopped for us due to Covid), we got dressed up and had a special Easter dinner just for us. It was so much fun that a new Ali Covid tradition was born. Party Sundays with a big dinner and fancy dress up in the Ali home! Try it! Getting dressed up makes you feel differently. Throwing a tablecloth on and lighting candles makes it feel special. Telling the kids we are having a party makes them look forward to the weekend even though we are still in the same house that we spend all week in. Put up some decorations and they go wild!

For our first ever Alis only Greek Easter, we started with egg dying of all sorts. We boiled and dyed eggs with food coloring and we also blew out the inside of eggs (man oh man, that was an exercise in lung strength) and painted them with paint. 

Because we were using food dye I was worried about ruining furniture, clothes and having colored hands for weeks. So I broke out all the precautions. Luckily I had lots of extra gloves in the house, thanks Covid and a balcony to get messy on. 

Next up was painting empty egg shells. Something that I used to love doing as a child. These are not egg shells, but the closest I have to simulate

 the experience. So squint a bit and pretend these are eggs!

Thank goodness for supermarket chocolate, my hording of toys in the closet and local delivery that made these baskets possible. 

Then it was on to the egg hunt!

And Easter basket opening joy. 

And because it was Covid and we were still stuck inside most of the time, this air hockey was left by a very kind Ukrainian Easter Bunny. I would just kindly ask him to put it together himself next time as I was up pretty late Easter eve screwing the legs onto this bad boy….

Then we had a special breakfast of waffles and whipped cream, an Ali child favorite!

The face of an 8 year old who is told that is enough whipped cream. 

The face of a child when he realizes there is caramel sauce as a special Easter treat. 

For our dinner we started with some charcuterie and a bottle of sparkling wine from a super cute vineyard Randy and I went to when we were in Virginia, that we save for special occasions. 

We also made this super sophisticated bunny cake, because we are fancy. 

Then it was time for our Easter finest. Luckily our outfits from last year still fit…

Adding another one of these for Miral’s goofy smile. 

And a timed selfie that is eh, not bad? But look all five of us at once!

We set the fancy table in the dining room and made a yummy dinner of lamb and tomatoes in yogurt. 

And for dessert we had cake of course!

Bunny carnage

With quarantine, Ukrainian winter and Corona vacation we have been spending most of our time at home. Thankfully our apartment in Kyiv is amazing. I love spending time with it. It is warm and cozy and has beautiful views of a park right behind and a hill that looks over a super cool part of Kyiv called Podil. 

Our apartment is two floors and has six bedrooms. Lots of space to spread out, right? But the majority of the time all the kids are in the main room. They drag toys from the playroom, books from the bookcases, food from the kitchen and hang out here. I think it’s a good thing that they want to be with us, even if it means I am forever dragging toys back to the playroom. 

The rugs in this room Randy picked up when he was in Pakistan and my only regret is he didn’t get more. They are beautiful and make the room so much brighter. The lamp is from Ikea, the original one there was silver with pink jewels hanging down and not our style, an improvement I would say. The walls are my usual go to of light grey, because you can’t go wrong with light grey. The best part for me is the artwork, collected from all over! 

Randy picked up this in Pakistan as well. If only I could go there and shop for a week! Would be amazing. 

With this view it’s a pretty nice spot to hang out. 

The other side of this room has a wall of bookcases that I was worried about filling, but fill them I did. 

Through that door in the bookcase is the formal dining room that we never use. We always eat in the kitchen area where it is comfier and if people come over we move this big table out to the living room so we are not cramped in this little, wallpapered room. This room has now become our classroom and has been a lifesaver. The boys have a space to do schoolwork which is nearby the main room where everyone wants to be and has enough space for all of us!

There are two bedrooms on the first floor. One became the playroom, which is where the toys live, but are not played with ironically. The toys are moved out to the living room so we can all be close. But at least they have a cute home. 

SO.MANY.TOYS….I spend a good portion of my life organizing toys….and we are still left here. I could have cleaned for you before pictures, but I was too busy organizing…

Next to the playroom is our guest room, which is affectionately called Grandma’s room since she was our one and only guest pre-Covid. It now doubles as my office because with Covid all the visits we had lined up were canceled.  We actually had a visitor planned every month of 2020 way back in March….this would have been a comfy spot for you all. (except for that weird metal thing in the corner, I still have no idea what that is). 

Then we head upstairs, where there is this comfy landing with all the kids books are and another awesome rug from Pakistan. This rug was actually one that Randy said we shouldn’t get (in his defense we had already bought a few). My friend Haley wanted it, so we bought it for her but then we just couldn’t get it to Manila, so in the end we kept it and I was definitely not upset about it. It actually ended up being my favorite rug. (Picture taken during potty training, when Miral was mostly undressed during this time period). 

The kids don’t read here as much as I thought they would, but I still love this spot. I love kids books so much. I am a little worried what I will do when my kids are grown up and I have to explain to visitors why I still horde them…I guess that same will apply to stuffed animals and baby blankets.

Next up is the office. It has changed a bit since this. Now it has a big new desk that Randy got for his 40th birthday. 

Ta-da. It also has a cool new print we bought here of Taras Shevchenko, a famous Ukrainian poet. 

Across the hall are the kids rooms.  Malcolm and Miral have been sharing mostly successfully. You might ask why they share when we have three extra room. Sometimes there are some battles at 6 am but mostly they provide each other with support and love in the early morning hours when the rest of us want to be left alone and I think sharing a room makes kids closer. I love their room, it’s sunny and bright and I know it is probably the last time I can get away with decorating a kids room entirely the way I want.

Next door is Adam’s room. After a tiny room shared with Malcolm in Virginia, he wanted his own space and needed it. I love his room too. It’s small but cozy and all his. Full of his books and his treasures and a cool poster he picked out in Sri Lanka.  

This posted Randy and I bought in Russia back when Adam was 7 months. Since he was there when we bought it I figured it belonged in his room (well, that and I wasn’t sure if Ukrainians would find it offensive in the living room)

Then there is our room. I always want my room to be cozy and someplace I want to snuggle and never leave. This room meets all my goals. We have a beautiful view out the windows and a comfy bed, grey walls and my favorite piece of art that we own. It’s called Sail Away and is a painting of the sea in Cornwall.  

On that note I am going go back to bed to have a coffee in there and dream of this view…

Are you excited to hear about our spring break? Well, in case you are wondering where we went…. we went nowhere. It was smack in the middle of lockdown and there weren’t any planes flying in Ukraine at all. The kids were off for a whole week and with no friends, playdates, places to go, well I was….worried. 

I decided to break out my teaching skills back from the days when I would boss around my 5 year old sister and her friend (remember those days Daphne?) and pretend to be their teacher. They might have called this game mean teacher, but this time my goal was to keep the kids happy not reign supreme over them. 

We have a few of the This is….books and I really love them. So we started each day reading one of them and focusing on the city/country in the book. First up- This is Greece.

After the book we talked about where we wanted to go in Greece and painted pictures of where we wanted to visit in the country. 

 

Then we made food from the country. For Greece we made Koulourakia- braided Easter cookies!

Day two of spring break we headed to London!

Adam’s art skills really impressed me! 

I really found watercolor painting super calming. I need to find time in my day (how can my quarantine days be so full when I go nowhere and do nothing…)

Malcolm’s Big Ben is so happy 🙂

This was Adam’s idea of what British people wear. I have no idea why, but I will say they they were rocking some quarantine, Beatles like hair. 

Next up- NY. Any guesses who this lovely Green lady is?

Miral’s postmodern art is perhaps the most realistic representation of what a night out in New York can be like. 

Then Japan! The number one reason the kids want to visit… it is where Pokemon is from….There is even a Pokemon train (trust me, there is- we watched the video more than once)

We ordered food for this one instead of cooking, because during Corona vacation it’s ok to phone it in sometimes! In fact, it is always ok to phone it in!

Last up was Egypt! Everyone wanted to go see the pyramids! 

Some day we will be able to travel again like we used to and see all these places in person, but it was a fun week imagining being there and thinking about where we want to travel next. Before we knew it the week was over and it was time for movie night Friday with wings and pizza! Because, all together now, the Alis love a routine!

There are so many things that this past year has changed. Kids were homeschooled for a lot of it, we worked mostly from home, we stopped being able to freely travel, we stopped being able to have lots of people over for fun dinners, we stopped being able to go to eat in a restaurant. It’s hard to comprehend it’s been a whole year. 

But let’s take it back to the beginning, because as much as I think I will never ever forget this time in my life, you never know. Ten years from now I may forget what it was like to live through a Pandemic (please, please, please let that be true and this not be just the first of many…)

Right before our world entirely turned upside down we were lucky enough to sneak in a few more activities. Ah, those early March days when we could naively believe that Covid was a thing that was happening far away in China and Italy….

Over Christmas break we had planned a girls weekend to Lviv, a beautiful city in Western Ukraine. I could never have imagined it would be the last carefree, mask less vacation that I would take for a very long time. We stayed at a super cute hotel and it was such a lovely girly weekend full of chatting and wine and shopping. Looking back, had I known what was coming I would have savored every second of talking with my friends in person over wine, trying on clothes in a store or having dinner at a restaurant. 

Apparently Lviv was the birthplace of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch who is known for being the father of the concept of masochism in literature. So here is his bronze statue with a surprise in the pocket….(use your imagination). 

Awesome antique market! Thrifting in person, maskless. I mean how does this guy smoke his cigarettes handsfree with a mask??

Then it was back home for more activities that seem completely outrageous right now. A dentist visit! Mouths open, no masks, people hands in your mouths! Thank goodness we snuck that one in….all the kids needed a cleaning. 

Silver lining, I was told at this visit that Adam needed an expander…I told them I would take a day or two to think about it and then Covid lockdown began. So I guess I had a lot of time to think about it and I don’t think he needs it anymore!

We even snuck in some sushi after the dentist. Imagine being hungry and just going to eat in a restaurant!

And then this…This was taken the last day of in person school for the school year, except we didn’t know it yet. Adam had a basketball tournament and thankfully it happened. Imagine! Kids on a court, touching and pushing and playing. His team came in last place, but I would say he won getting the opportunity to even have this tournament. 

The tournament even had spectators! Sitting next to each other, maskless! Super cute spectators at that. 

And then the next day, with no warning, Ukraine went into complete lockdown March 18. Everything shut down except for supermarkets, everything was closed- schools, parks, malls, stores, flights in and out of the country and flights in the country, you were not allowed to leave the city you were in. 

It happened all of a sudden with three cases in the country. It was very forward leaning and after the shock wore off I was very impressed with their posture (spoiler alert- they have since opened everything and gone the complete other direction with super high Covid numbers but that is for a later day). The kids school closed and just as Randy and I were trying to figure out how to homeschool three kids, the embassy effectively shut down. All visas were stopped, hardly anyone was in the office, the entire embassy was shut down and split into yellow and blue to never be crossed. Friends from the Embassy decided to leave on authorized departure back to the US on what would be the last international flight for a while. 

For many different reasons we decided to stay put. I also decided that there was enough scary things in the world at this particular moment, with a lot of unknowns. We didn’t know what would happen in Ukraine with the spread of Covid, if there would be flights out of Ukraine, how the medical system would cope. So I decided to make the best of it. I told the kids that we were on Covid vacation. Benefits being lots of together time, no school in person, no work in person. A real vacation. Just in our house. To make it seem fun we did lots of baking, lots of movies and lots of activities. Thankfully my work was nearly nonexistent at the time since no one was getting a visa and besides assisting Americans leave the country work was very slow. I set up the dining room that we never use as a schoolroom and away we went. 

Thinking back to those times I can’t believe we spent months just us in the house. We had one friend that we would meet outside daily and go for walks, or meet at the embassy when the parks had shut down. But it was a time of all Alis, all the time. And we were ok! Scared and unsure of what was going to happen, but ok! 

Remember the days when you had no idea where to get a mask? I had no idea how to order on the Russian amazon equivalent that meant three phone calls in Russian to confirm your order. So at first we only had these underwear masks from the embassy…rumor is Hanes made them and that is why they look like underwear….but I have to say the Alis look cute in masks. I have no pics of Randy in masks. He was mostly holed up on his office all day actually working remotely from home. He had calls ALL day and would eventually come down for dinner. Thank goodness we have an office!!

First day of homeschooling, which maybe went well because of the social distancing….Let me tell you going from all school all the time to mommy school was rough on us all. Figuring out schedules of calls, logging into a lot of systems, scrounging up art supplies. BUT I will say we were insanely lucky. The boys were at PSI, a great private school that got online schooling together very fast! 

I spent time in between zoom calls finding spots in the house to have some alone time…aka hiding from my kids 🙂

We made a deal that we would go outside at least once a day, no matter how cold it was. It was pretty cold still in March but we managed to motivate and go out and meet out one friend outside for a walk or sometimes even some soccer every day of Corona vacation. 

I kept running and this kept me sane.  Getting outside for an hour and seeing this view every day was amazing for my sanity over the long weeks of lockdown. 

Fish tank cleanings were an exciting time for all. 

I continued my quest to find a quiet spot in the house. 

We backed ALOT!

We became playdough experts.

Some school zooms calls were so exciting that we all joined. 

More runs

Comfy movie nights on Friday were started

More zoom calls and learning (next time we have four moths of lockdown pandemic schooling I am buying all the construction paper and art supplies in advance…)

More baking

Lots of Puzzles

More runs

A lost tooth mid pandemic meant this lucky duck got 500 griven (20 bucks) because the tooth fairy didn’t have any smaller bills!

Even when the parks were closed we managed to find some green space. Thankfully Kyiv is full of green spots!

Lego Challenges filled a good couple of hours.

More runs (see a pattern growing here)? Routine was really helpful for all of us over this time. The kids had a routine and so did I. 

This is one of Kyiv’s busiest streets that I run by. It blows my mind how empty it was over these first few months of lockdown when everything was closed. 

The best part about Corona vacation was that we could all sleep on. Usually to get the kids to the bus on time and for me to fit in a run before work we are all up at 6 and in the winter is it soooo dark. I even started having coffee in bed most mornings. Heaven!

More playdough expert creating. 

Adam’s little bean plant grew into this beast! He grew this from a bean!

This little one had a short zoom call with her class every day but mostly spent a lot time painting. 

We even made our own dough and tried to make Easter eggs….pinterest fail, but we had fun!

This little triangle took me 45 minutes to glue together for Adam’s math project…I was pretty proud of myself when I did it!

Playdough balls

Hazy morning runs

I don’t think I will ever have a prettier run.

Outdoor time 

At least someone was still getting dressed up. 

Watching the snow, which was still coming in March.

Fort building combined trying to find a quiet place.

Science experiments

What was amazing about all of a sudden home schooling was I was able to see Malcolm start to read. These few months it all started to click and he just keeps getting better and better at reading. 

Another amazing thing about Corona vacation was that I learned to cook! I have always been afraid to cook and left it to Randy. Even when he was in Pakistan, I was working full time and rarely cooked. Well, all of a sudden I had all the time in the world. So I started to cook and cook and cook. Turns out, it’s not that scary and with no restaurants option and limited delivery it was the only option to get us all fed all the time with good food. Luckily there was still wine delivery during lockdown. 

Origami flowers making

Chicken soup success

We tried to grow mold on bread but our hands must not have been dirty enough. 

Miral always wanted to be in the classroom so she often ‘helped’ me with my work. 

 

I run by this guy every day. He has a spot in his mouth to drop coins. 

Whoever thought I would be running with a mask but here we are.

Outdoor playdates with thankfully warmer weather.

Crosswords

More and more zoom calls

Covid Art, using what we have.

Zoom playdates with scavenger hunts

More runs

More cooking 

More zoom calls

With all the parks closed we started going go to the Embassy with two other families on our blue days. This is the beginning of the creation of our bubble that started in May. More on that in another riveting Covid post 🙂

Such cool learning projects at school. 

I couldn’t keep Adam in books during Corona vacation. This boy is a reader! With the library closed Adam was rereading books and eventually we decided that we had to find a kindle on the local market for him. Thankfully we found one locally that delivered and he has been reading nonstop since. 

Outdoor time in warmer weather meant we could spend longer outside. 

Menu planning fun

Math games

Science present- making ice-cream!

Working hard

There were moments when I questioned whether all this alone time would have a lasting effect on our sanity…or maybe just contribute to my greys…. 

My happy spot, organizing school supplies..

If you have to be stuck inside it helps to have this view!

And this one when running

And this one when running back. 

This tomato soup is the best tomato soup I have ever had. I may be a tiny bit obsessed with it!

reading, reading, always reading

This might only be exciting to me but a few months into lockdown I found the most amazing delivery for fruits and vegetables! LIFE changing.

And slowly, slowly spring started to come to Kyiv! We started opening our windows, using the balcony and enjoying the beautiful weather. After a long winter at home it was exactly what we all needed!

 

We made frogs to celebrate spring!

We broke out our spring dresses!

Our vests and our scooters!

In spring there are dandelions EVERYWHERE in Kyiv. 

Skateboarding!

Another exciting development, I figured out how to make wings! Fridays became wings, pizza and movie night.

Thinking back to this time with spring came it brought with it that things would get better. That we could spend time outside, that we could stay healthy, that we could survive anything that came our way. 

The best part about Corona vacation was having extra time to slow down and be with the kids. I am not saying there weren’t moments when I hid in a quiet spot or upped my running to have some time to myself, but the last few years, joining the foreign service, learning Ukrainian, moving to Kyiv have been hectic. Full and wonderful but hectic. Corona vacation forced me all to slow way way down and find news ways to live and interact, to have no distractions, to have no place else to be but exactly where I am, something that is hard for me and a work in progress. 

As painful as this year as been for the world I am going to remember the positives from this year, like this moment right here and all the other ones above. 

 Right before COVID took over the world, back in February, we planned a trip to Sri Lanka for the boys winter break. None only were we lucky to get to take this vacation right before the era of COVID, but it ended up being one of our favorite family vacations. We all LOVED Sri Lanka, the beach and pool time was amazing, the food was so good and this entire trip was one of our favorites. No wonder Sri Lanka is called the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. 

At first, Malcolm didn’t want to leave all his stuffed animals, but he chose two to bring and the rest had to stay home. We headed out on an uneventful trip through Dubai, back when plane travel was not a big thing and masks were not required. 

The next morning we loaded up and headed to our first beach destination. 

We were sleepy after the long drive but that didn’t stop us from heading right to the pool and the beach! 

We only left the pool for pizza and pasta. 

oh and milkshakes!

The beach right below was wavy, but perfect for exploring. Lots of pooltides and amazing sunsets. 

The next day we squeezed in some pool time and lunch before heading out on a Safari. 

First stop on our safari was a trip to the elephant sanctuary. This place takes in baby elephants orphans and feeds them until they are old enough to go out on their own. There is nothing cuter than seeing 20 baby elephants run up for some milk and branches. 

Then it was time for the Alis to head out on safari! Like most new things I was nervous at first and Randy was the driving force behind us going and in the end we all LOVED it. Our driver was great and knew all the best spots to find animals. 

Can you see it? We would have missed this guy across the river had it not been for our guide!

Then it was back to our hotel for a fancy dinner. We didn’t realize it but we booked a dinner on a private room just for us! The kids loved it and since we were alone we played truth or date, which the kids really loved! 

One last day of beach and pool at this hotel with a lot of seashell collecting before we moved down the shore. 

Our next place had a big balcony and a swing!

We took a tuk-tuk to the beach. Malcolm will always remember this beach as the place the jellyfish stung him. Thankfully he was ok and it was just a little sting.  Nothing some ice-cream and sprite couldn’t fix 

Morning coffee with the ‘rents.

More tuk-tuk rides!

Followed by some beach time and more exploring. 

and more pool time!

There was a cute town nearby, so we dressed up and went to dinner at this cool hotel called Printers. 

Then we headed to the last hotel of the trip. An awesome boutique hotel with the best food and pool! It was the perfect end to an amazing week. 

We took a tuk-tuk to a nearby artist’s house and bought some amazing prints and arts. He showed us how he made them! The kids spent an hour playing with his grandkids in their house. It was such a fun travel moment, being in this artist’s house, meeting his family and being able to buy his beautiful art. 

For our last night we had dinner at our awesome hotel and all left promising we would come back to Sri Lanka soon! We were so luck to have this trip, we came back the end of February and all of Kyiv locked down two weeks later. 

Looking back on these photos almost a year later (one of these days I will catch up) it is amazing thinking back to these times, when these activities were normal and dare I say unappreciated. Going on our 9th month of Covid, quarantine and limited interaction with anyone outside our bubble I cannot tell you how much I miss it. All of it, the mundane, the unexpected, the tiring, the normal. All it takes is a year of pandemic, quarantined living to realize how much you appreciate life. 

First up, a tour of Kyiv we took with Gretchen. Thinking back it was so cold and I remember being worried Gretchen and Randy would be bored and I kept thinking about how I was getting hungry and I was worried about finding a place to eat. Now looking at these pictures I wish I could go back to these places, enjoy walking around with my mom and appreciating her visit, taking the kids back to the miniature museum in the Lavra that had all these intricately carved miniatures and they would love and most of all taking the time to relax, enjoy the cold crisp air with my mom and Randy. 

The ballet! We were all so excited to see Swan Lake. Adam did such a good job! Thinking back he had a terrible cold and had to keep wiping throughout the performance. Imagine this happening now?? Ah, the days when a cold was a cold and you could cram into a crowded audience to watch ballerinas in person. .

Adam’s winter conference at school. It’s funny how back then these conferences seemed so difficult. I had to take time off work, get over there without a car and then rush back to work. I would give anything to go in and spend a few hours at the school, see what the boys are learning, meet their teachers and friends! But I am lucky to have more time at home with the boys, to know very well (maybe too well!) what they are learning. 

Well, this quickly turned into a Covid post on appreciation and gratitude. So on that note, I am very grateful that I live in a beautiful city with the most amazing running route right behind my house. I have been able to keep running through the winter, through Covid.  Look at this view! I was so worried about our first winter in Kyiv, but in the end it turned out to be great! Who could have guessed what was right around the corner back then. We were lucky to have a few months of getting to know Kyiv in all it’s wintry beauty! 

I have seen pictures of the Maldives and traveled to my fair share of beaches, but I have to say this place is the most beautiful natural beauty I have ever seen and all the pictures in the world don’t do it justice. 

The last full day there was my 40th birthday. Not a bad place to wake up and spend your first day of 40! 

And since it was my birthday I got to pick where we went for my birthday dinner and I chose Vino e Cucina. My favorite restaurant in Kyiv. The kids got to make their own pizzas and loved it!

The last time I was in London was in 2011, when I was three months pregnant with Adam. Here was our going away party! Adam was just a tiny bean in my belly, hard to imagine all that would come after this photo- moves to four countries, three babies, trips all over the world!

But first, because I recently was able to upload a whole lot of old pictures, here are a few of my favorites from our time in London. 

This was my first time (I think ever) going away totally alone and I had a whole week to fill. Did I mention the trip was an all expenses paid medical trip to fix a torn retina? Which sounds scary but ended up not being that painful or long to fix. At first I struggled with being away for a whole week. Randy was in Moldova for work that same week, our nanny was sick (she was better thankfully by the time I returned), but we were very lucky because I was told I had to go right away to fix it and Grandma Gertch was still there to watch the kids. If she hadn’t been there I don’t know what would have happened. But since I had to go to London and I had to go for a week, I decided to make the best of it. I had three hours of doctors appointments over 6 days and empty time other than that. 

I don’t think I realized how excited I was to be back and how much I had missed London and our time there until I got off the plane and into a black cab. Randy and I lived there for five years together, right after law school. It was where we really first started living together, started our careers, made lifelong friends, got engaged and got married. Everywhere I walked had so many memories for me. 

My first stop my first full day was Marylebone our old neighborhood. I even visited our old apartment. I went for a quick look around and ended up spending all day there. 

The rounded window on the second floor was ours. So many sunny weekends in that living room, looking out on the cute block we lived on in disbelief that we lived here.  

Neighborhood pub on our corner where we spent more than a few nights with friends.

 

The best butcher I have ever known- The Ginger Pig. Right when I got pregnant with Adam, we took a butcher course here. They took out half a cow and we got to cut it up. Just what you want in your first few weeks of pregnancy! But it was such a great experience and we took home an enormous roast each that we shared with all of our friends. 

Ah- Daunt books. I would argue this is the best book store in the world. I spent a good hour in here looking at new books for me and getting two special books for the boys. I picked books that you couldn’t order online and were only available in this special book store for them. A big dinosaur book with popups for Malcolm and a cool robot book from the 1930s for Adam. 

Then I headed here, to my favorite local in our old neighborhood, the hotel bar. Randy and I spent many an early night here after work having a glass of wine before dinner. It is still one of the coziest places for me and remind me of those days from a long time ago before kids when Randy and I had hours to just sit here and talk about nothing and everything. 

Then….this happened. Steak and frites at my FAVORITE steak and frites place. This place always had the longest line, but luckily I am now trained thanks to my children to eat dinner at 6pm so I was the first one on line when this place opened. 

All that was only the first day! 

The next morning I woke up and went for a long run. This is probably the first time I had nothing to do for an entire day. No work, no plans, nothing. So a long scenic run it was. The hotel I was staying at was on Hyde park. Which is stunning in the morning. 

Then because I had nothing but time I decided to take a super long bath, straighten my hair and spend a bunch of time getting dressed. 

I reached out to my old friend Megan who still lives in London. She was one of my first friends in London. She had her first baby while we lived here and then went and had four more. I have missed her and was very excited to see her. I took the tube and even that was exciting (the days when I would take the tube to work every day and hated it are a distant memory).

I took a picture of me waiting for her but then of course no pics of us together. But you will just have to trust me that it was amazing. Her kids were all at school so it was just me, her and her newly adopted dog (yes, Megan has five kids and a dog!). We walked in the Heath for hours talking about everything and I was once again reminded how amazing good friends are. You can not see them for 10 years, meet up and it is like you were never apart. Those are the types of friends you pick up in this lifestyle and the type that make my heart happy and make me realize I have picked the right life for me. 

After leaving Megan I headed to dinner at my favorite restaurant in London- Barrafina. This place opened towards the end of our time in London and we used to rush out of work to get on line and wait hours to eat here. It is the most amazing Tapas. I remember coming here with Daphne and MJ for lunch on their last visit to visit me in London when I was just pregnant with Adam. Just as good as I remember. 

Then because I still had half a week to fill I decided to get my hair did at a real salon in London. 

And then- Don’t judge me, but I headed back to Barrafina for lunch. Yes, it is that good and walking distance from my hair salon. And yes I ordered the same things…because that is the type of person I am and I am not embarrassed to admit it!

Walking home I passed by the Soho hotel. This was the hotel Randy and I stayed at the night we officially got married in London. 

Throwback to that night, because why not! They even upgraded us to a suite with an awesome balcony. Amazing this was over 10 years ago. 

I headed up to Megan and Dave’s house for dinner with their kids. It made me miss my three a lot but it was so nice to see them all. 

More morning runs in beautiful Hyde park. 

Followed by this amazing view

And then people, don’t judge me. I met Megan for lunch and guess where she wanted to go…..you guessed it. Barrafina. 

We even got one picture together. I will treasure this selfie in all its shininess since it could be ten more years before I am lucky enough to see her again and I loved having this time to catch up. 

Then because I had all the time in the world I went back to the hair salon to finish my hair.  

On my last solo day in London I went back to our old neighborhood to my favorite Italian restaurant – 2Veneti. This place really made me nostalgic. This was one of our favorite date night dinner places. The poor Italian waiters didn’t know what to make of me alone at a date night place. They didn’t realize how happy I was just to be here eating my favorite dish, that they still had all these years later- veal milanese with rocket on top. 

Then it was time to head home to my babies. 

I have to say a week alone in London was amazing and I loved having the opportunity in a busy world to take some time to focus on me. But getting home to these faces made me so happy. 

The boys loved their books!

Miral loved her Paddington Bear. 

But the real hit was a pack of crazy straws I picked up somewhere….I don’t even remember where.

And as much as I loved sleeping in in a big hotel bed, this is my favorite bed to wake up in.  

My dear, sweet Malcolm-there are so many things I love about you. But for your sixth birthday I am going to pick the top six!

1. You have a heart so big and loving that it makes me tear up sometimes. You ask for so little and yet give so much love – freely and easily. When you were little it was with hundreds of kisses, now it is with attention, sweet kind words- like telling me I look beautiful unprompted all the time, or always stopping to pick me a flower. Your wife is going to be one lucky lady!

2. You ask questions out of nowhere that make me stop and pause- last nights chain of questions in the bath were – How does a mommy know that there is a baby in her belly? Can only mommy’s have babies? Followed by- would a mommy ever not take care of her child? Deep questions….

4. Your new favorite thing to ask is I wonder what is it like to be you (or Adam or Daddy or Miral)? Followed by moments where something bad happened to you- like water spilling on his shirt, after which you says- You wouldn’t want to be me in this car right now. Oh Malcolm, I would love very much to spend a day in your brain, see the world from your eyes and know what is was like to be you. Your brain is so special and thoughtful and inquisitive, it would be a treat to be you even just for a moment. 

5. Your innate sense of style. You can take any shirt, jeans, shoes and when you dress you always seem put together and stylish. It is truly amazing. You also wear all your clothes in a way that turns it all into hipster clothes, without even trying. You were meant to live in Park Slope and drink IPAs (is that still what hipsters do- you’ll have to tell me because I am definitely not that cool). 

6. You are really starting to explore and grow your boundaries and your abilities. You are able to tell Adam no when he tries to make bad Pokemon card trades and then engage in a better trade and play with him as an equal. I hear you sweetly reading books to Miral in the early morning -sometimes actually reading and sometimes telling stories. You are starting to read more and more and learning so much at school. You have a best friend in Naomi and you two are thick as thieves, wandering off and playing together for hours all on your own.

You are thoughtful, kind, smart and so funny! We love you my Malcolm. 

And a throwback picture to the day you were born, a tiny 4.1 pounds with the cutest little head. So strong and brave already. 

Looks at you now!

For your birthday we woke up and you unwrapped your presents!

You love to take pictures so we bought you a polaroid camera and you love it! You have been using it to take pictures nonstop! 

It has been so cute seeing the pictures you take, even when this is how I look 🙂

I was able to take off for your birthday and we took Grandma with us and headed over to a play area in a nearby mall. 

You even got to pick out a special lego present! 

For dinner we went to Chichiko, your choice of course. It’s Georgian and everyone loves it there! For your birthday they put on these hats and serenade you!

Then we had a big party for you. I am so happy we were able to have this before Covid shut us down. We invited the whole class and it was so nice to see you with all his new friends!

Miral was terrified of all the masked avengers, but she had fun as long as they were not within 5 feet of her. 

Malcolm’s dino, volcano cake he asked for! 

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We love you! 

One last post for the holidays, before we turn to the month of birthday celebrations we were lucky to have this January. First up was more Christmas markets, followed by Grandma coming to visit and a New Years party at a friends house! It’s hard to believe (all these months later when I am finally catching up on my photos and Covid has had us on lockdown and quarantine for seven months) that at the beginning of this year things like this were possible. Eating cotton candy at a crowded food market, grandma traveling to visit us, big birthday parties. I know Covid will end one day, I just hope I remember to appreciate how special it all is when it comes back. 

By the time I am writing this the year is already almost over- only three months left so it seems New Years Resolutions are a moot point. But my resolutions for next year are going to be to try to appreciate things as they are happening and not worry so much about all the little things. It is also going to be to try to spend more quality time together. We already spend a lot of time together, but I want to spend more time playing board games, going for walks, reading books and enjoying those moments too. I also want to spend more time writing and learning new things. Good thing I have three months before the next New Year to start working on all that! 

I’m including this one so everyone can see Miral’s face. If i had to guess what is happening here is a timer photo was being taken and Miral is angry she cannot either touch the phone, have more balloons or have a treat.