The Day after Mother’s Day, the Day before my Mom’s birthday. Though we went back to Chicago for Ashish’s IT convention, in which he was a guest speaker, our fist stop was to pay respects to Grandma Wanda. She passed on January 23rd of 1992 from an aggressive form of breast cancer. I was 17 years old, a senior in high school. We brought her grave site the most beautiful flowers we could find. Oh, how she loved her garden…

This was the first time Baby Arun was there- the second time for Nishad. We were back last May for Audrey’s wedding. Little did we know that we would be back again- almost exactly 1 year later!

I still cry at her last resting place. But, I cry for a different reason. I cry tears of joy because I know she is watching over us all, she is happy- and I feel in my heart how proud she is of me, Ashish and our boys. I know that she lives on in Nishad’s vibrant spirit, Arun’s smile and my laughter.

THE Perfect Mother’s Day! May 11th.

This is the holiday that I use to attempt to avoid. All the commercial Mother’s Day ‘stuff’ reminded me of the one thing I didn’t have and wanted most- my Mother. Ironically, my mother’s birthday is also on May 13th.

The year I became pregnant with Nishad, that all changed. I did a little tap dance right into the card section and bought every mother that was of inspiration to me a “Happy Mother’s Day” card. It’s not that I don’t miss my Mom. Like the moon and stars, feelings come in cycles. However, being blessed with Motherhood has also given me a new perspective. I now understand that, like the caterpillar that evolves into a beautiful butterfly, it was not an ending for my mother- but rather a new beginning. Just as the boys and Ashish have given me…a new beginning.

The boys gave me a beautiful heart pendent that was thoughtful and symbolic. Then they took me to the most awesome place for breakfast! French Meadow Bakery in Minneapolis. http://www.frenchmeadow.com/ It prides itself in organic ingredients…and it was the best French Toast ever! Ashish ordered the breakfast burrito- which I also sampled. I plan on ordering that next time!

After breakfast we headed to Madison Wisconsin. We were heading to Chicago for Ashish’s business conference, and planed to stay over for the night. We toured the most impressive gardens at the Olbrich Garden’s. http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/Olbrich/Outdoor%20Gardens/outdoor_gardens.htm If you are ever passing through, you need to check them out. It’s free, and they often have concerts. Get there a head of time as parking is limited.

I’m so glad I was able to share this day with my boys and Ashish.

Another great Saint Paul Festival- Festival of Nations!
http://www.festivalofnations.com/

Festival of Nations should be called Festival of food as there is a lot of it! Unlike the International Children’s Festival, you do have to pay to get into the Festival of Nations, and food isn’t that cheap. (We were rather disappointed with the Indian food, but the Hungarian food was great!)
Nishad sampled everything we did- and liked it! He got out with me and danced on the dance floor. I paid a $2.00 for the worst kolacky ever. They just aren’t like Vesky’s back in Berwyn.

There are plenty of cultural performances and demonstrations representing over 90 countries. Pretty impressive!

April 20th brought a day of sunshine- finally! Off we went to the much anticipated “Farm Baby’s” exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo.

This zoo isn’t as great as Brookfield Zoo https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/(which I grew-up living only 5 minutes from but it does have some nice ‘natural’ exhibits.

One of our favorite things to do while at the zoo during “Farm Baby” time is feed the goats.

http://www.mnzoo.com/

Grilled Pizza is where it’s at! On of our favorite menu nights is BYOP (Build Your Own Pizza). Sometimes people stare blankly at me when I tell them this. I think once you try pizza on the grill, there is no turning back! The dry heat makes it a perfect condition to cook in. You don’t get all the grease that delivery pizza has. I’ve made my pizza crust from store bought and homemade. Each to their own, ability and more importantly- time factor.

We had our good friend’s the D’s over for a luncheon grill. It was fun to see the different combinations and the kids joining in. You can cook them directly on the grill- or as we prefer (easier clean up), we use a base. Pictured are two pizzas that our 2 year olds made.

The Boys are Vegetarian, and I only eat chicken and turkey so we use lots of veggies. Try grilling your veggies first and then adding them onto the pizza as a topping. Think outside the box when you think of toppings and sauce. Who said pizza has to consist of red sauce and cheese? Why not a spicy black bean pizza? I am looking forward to using toppings from my very own garden!

Crust Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Preparation:Combine water, oil, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until it bubbles. Mix flours and salt together thoroughly in a food processor or mixer. Add water mixture while blending. Let mix for 2 minutes. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Place in a large oiled bowl and let stand in a warm place for 2-3 hours. It should double in size. Once the dough has raised, lightly flour two cooking sheets. On a floured surface roll out 1/4 of the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place on cooking sheet. Repeat process until you have four rounds. Place one pizza on a clean, oiled and preheated grill. Grill pizza crusts for about 1 minute on until the bottom is brown. With tongs, gently flip it over and grill for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from grill and repeat with remaining pizzas. Let cool. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and return to a preheated grill for about 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. It’s best to grill one pizza at a time.

http://bbq.about.com/