family – Page 2 – Growing Up Savvy

Published June 8, 2015 by Nadya

Weekending: Busy Bees

The weekend flew by and we are all faced with the case of the Mondays. It was, by all accounts, a very busy two and a half days. This Friday was First Friday and we visited the galleries to recharge our inner artist and introduce this tradition to the kids.

These were taken at the Clay Studio which is one of my most favorite galleries. United by Blue was celebrating their 5 year anniversary with good eats, desserts from a Frangelli’s, a spirits tasting, and a live band. Eliza loves music and it was neat to watch her take in a live act. Have you ever heard of a franolli? I hadn’t till Friday and was not entirely surprised that someone managed to marry a fresh donut to a cannoli.

We made a last minute decision to visit Saint-Gobain’s Future Sensations exhibit right in front of the Art Museum. We hopped on a bus and made our way down the parkway pointing out all of the flags to Sophia as we went. The exhibition was very, very cool and the kids were in total awe. For those who haven’t heard of Saint-Gobain, the company is responsible for the mirrors in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles among many other amazing works.

The oppressive heat and the kids’ love of all things green forced us to stop by the Rodin Museum and its beautiful garden on the way back.The Rodin Museum is free though donations are appreciated which makes an excursion with kids a low-risk, low-cost affair. Everything about this spontaneous excursion was an adventure for the kids.

Alas, our Saturday wasn’t complete without an outing to the ballpark. My company gets season tickets to the Camden Riversharks and so I took my in-laws and the girls to the kids’ first baseball game. I absolutely love Campbell’s Field because it is small, very clean, has a great atmosphere, is ten minutes from our home, and provides amazing views.

Shoes, strictly optional 🙂

You can’t beat that view. I can literally see our house from the ballpark.These “firsts” are a big deal to us. We want to expose the girls to a variety of activities and events and sharing their experiences with family and friends makes every first that much more special.

Having had a busy Friday and Saturday, we stuck to more low-key activities on Sunday. Evan and I ran out to Sunday School while the kids played with Baba and Deda. Sophia LOVES dinosaurs and was thrilled when my mom brought a few of Alex’s old ones.

Hooray for spring, for summer, for weekends, and for family.

Life

art ballpark baseball family

Published April 13, 2015 by Nadya

Weekending: What Weekend?

I am ready for the weekend and it is too bad that I have to wait five days. Time seems to fly by during the weekends and especially when we are having fun. The weekend sort of started earlier than Friday afternoon but went by at warp speed. Firstly, there was my birthday which fell on Tuesday this year. The day of, I took as, what my job refers to, a floating holiday which is also, what my friends affectionately call, National Sass Day ;-). Among other things, there was a visit to Milk Bar. It was, needless to say, a busy day capped off by some Indian fare together with those truly responsible for the day—my parents. All that activity and it was just Tuesday.

The weekend approached and after a thankfully uneventful Friday evening spent at home, Evan and I headed on a date. This would be our second or third date night since Sophia’s birth (3.5 years ago). Needless to say we were very excited to get to spend an evening together in such gorgeous weather. So excited that I may have put on mascara and even accessorized. A brief stop at a speakeasy and dinner were just what we needed to remind ourselves that after nearly seven years of marriage, we have not run out of things to talk about and, more importantly, still make each other laugh like we did when we first started dating in … 2002. This, of course, would not have been possible had my in-laws & sister not come into town to babysit. Truly grateful.

Speaking of marriage and because the wedding season is fast approaching, on Sunday, I joined Evan’s family in showering a special bride with attention and gifts. I admit that I like weddings but am not always a fan of bridal showers. Mediocre food, terrible yet mandatory games and endless hours of present opening can make for quite a long afternoon. I have been to great showers as well as quite poor ones and this one was one of the best.

Held at the Philmont Country Club, the shower was styled beautifully. Each table was accented with a gorgeous arrangement that would befit a wedding table scape in lovely greens and lavenders. The food and company were outstanding and even though I was joining Evan’s family for the event, I felt quite at home and part of the family. That got me thinking about families and marriage. I believe that you don’t just marry a person but that you also marry their family. In the case of Evan’s cousin who is marrying a beautiful girl (who also happens to be Russian), I can, with absolute certainty, say that she is marrying into a wonderful family.

Capping the weekend off was a beautiful Boston Cream Pie, Candy Land and various shenanigans from the tiniest of mischiefs that will melt your heart.

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birthdays boston cream pie family kids

Published April 6, 2015 by Nadya

Weekending: Two Seders with Olaf’s Favorite Food

Kids’ musical voices and all the commotion

Bowlfuls of matzo ball soup and kugel

Macaroons and chocolate matzo bark

Afikoman and a glass of port wine

These are a few of my favorite things

The city is in bloom, the weather has turned, it is Passover and we are deliriously happy to celebrate. Friday and Saturday were our first Seders with our families in three years. We didn’t have the luxury to head home from Maryland and longed for the day when heading to a Seder meant just a half an hour drive. That day has come and, equipped with our home-made macaroons and chocolate-caramel matzo bark, we headed to my parents’ home on Friday and then to Evan’s on Saturday.

The adults talked, the kids hunted for afikomen and together, we retold the story of Passover. My in-laws spoiled me with a home-made, kosher for Passover (a few days early) birthday cake.

And even though I am almost, but not yet, a year older, I can honestly say that I don’t feel older or wiser for that matter. I simply feel content. A special thank you to my mother-in-law for thinking of me and baking a delicious flour-less chocolate cake with a cream cheese swirl.

Life Moments

chocolate cake chocolate-caramel matzo family macaroons passover

Published March 23, 2015 by Nadya

Weekending: Sharing is Caring

Since we’ve become parents, we’ve swapped out Sunday afternoon drinks for gelato. No complaints though since the gelato in question was Capogiro which recently moved into our neighborhood in the form of Capofitto serving both their gelato as well as pizza and libations. Sophia chose dark chocolate and burnt sugar as her flavors and ended up preferring the burnt sugar over the chocolate. This is yet further evidence that she takes after Evan’s family and not mine. I cannot imagine anyone in my family choosing any other flavor over chocolate.

Alas, with spring and school visits come colds and so we spent quite a bit of time with family on Saturday while Sophia was getting over a cold. And since sharing is caring, Sophia showered love her little sister with love and open mouthed kisses. Little Eliza is now a major grump with a runny nose, a fever and likely teething. Trying to keep her spirits up, we let her try a галета (galette) which is a basic biscuit cookie and something most kids in the USSR grew up eating from a very early age. I remember having them with milk or tea before bed. My mom used to steep one in hot water and mix with grated apple as a snack when we were little. I do the same thing for Eliza now.

And since neither the weather nor runny noses were conducive to a lot of time outdoors, the kids have literally been climbing the walls. Spring, I mean proper spring, can’t come soon enough!

Life

cookies family gelato ice cream

Published March 9, 2015 by Nadya

Weekending: With Floral Flair

For the first time in what seems like forever, the weather forecast shows that we are not expected to freeze for the next few days and that alone gives me hope that spring may arrive yet. Another sure sign that winter has departed is the arrival (and departure) of the Philadelphia Flower Show. The show is a big event drawing crowds from near and far and reducing the convention center area to a standstill, especially on a weekend when the Reading Terminal Market is in full swing. Having been away for a few years, we decided to partake in what used to be our yearly tradition of visiting the flower show. Sophia went as well, though earlier in the day on Sunday and with my in-laws. This year’s theme was Disney and she was dressed in, according to my mother-in-law, a mandatory princess dress. She put the princess dress on later in the evening and now our entire house (including the toilet seat and now our bums) is covered in glitter. Needless to say, we will be retiring her royal wardrobe as a cost cutting measure since our “palace”, unlike Buckingham, does not employ an extensive cleaning staff. But I digress…

As per usual, there was quite a bit of cooking since we had on-hand help from both sets of grandparents. I made this vanilla-bean raspberry swirl cheesecake that is was divine and so very beautiful. Alas, Sophia has decided that she doesn’t like cheese and even adding cake to the name wouldn’t sway her. Except that she eats mozzarella and cheese ravioli (though we call that just ravioli). Oh well, more for the rest of us.

And when we weren’t visiting the flower show, baking a cheesecake and getting treats from our local ice cream and candy shops trying to soak up every warm ray of sunshine outdoors, we were … living and enjoying.

This move, our life is more than ever crazy, busy, and exhausting. Still, it is thrilling, wonderful and I wouldn’t trade it for all the sand in the Sahara.

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Weekending: Busy Bees

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