tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60612320263826540912024-03-13T02:34:49.317-07:00Ramblings of an Inspired, Lazy MomA Pakistani/-American mom/wife from the Pacific Northwest, shares thoughts and inspirations on life, motherhood, faith and making the most of the everyday. Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.comBlogger275125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-54758765340956727302015-06-03T13:35:00.000-07:002015-06-03T13:36:18.410-07:00Saying Bye Bye to blogger + Link to the new blog.Hey lovelies, I have to sadly say Bye Bye to this old blog. Follow me along on my new blog
www.ramblingsofalazymom.wordpress.com
It's been awesome but I'm even more excited for what's to come. See you there:)
xoxoNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-83591195777103055072015-05-22T10:19:00.000-07:002015-05-22T10:20:16.301-07:00ANYA’S CURRENT FAVORITES TO WATCH Bubble Guppies // Word World // also this Russian original animated series that is adorable, Maisha and the Bear on YouTube TO WEAR Her favorite Tutu skirt from Gap // Any frilly skirts/dresses // short sleeves or sleeveless tops TO EAT All things sweet // Anything with dips and sauces like Ranch/Ketchup/Honey/Butter/Nutella TO PLAY WITH Her My Little Pony figures and playmat // Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-14043355051959450432015-05-18T06:39:00.000-07:002015-05-18T09:30:02.032-07:00IN PICTURES: Road Trip to the Bay areaGlimpses from our road trip to the bay area back in February. My husband had some time off before his new job started and we decided to finally make this trip. Here is a glimpse.
The journey began through some stormy rains.
and through sunbreaks near Portland, OR
And driving underneath the starriest of skies on I-5 south after the sun went down.
It was Anya’s birthday and we had aNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-21440569520612504892015-05-12T06:33:00.000-07:002015-05-12T06:33:00.393-07:00AROUND Pakistan: Cholistan Desert near Bahawalpur
Hello lovelies, continuing with some photo stories of places from our recent trip to see our families and here is one from our time in Bahawalpur1. We drove down to where we could see the Cholistan desert, with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and absolutely enjoyed watching the sun go down as Anya had fun digging her gold shoes in the dirt ;). It was so serene and peaceful. We loved it. Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-86920633873664645162015-05-10T22:42:00.000-07:002015-05-11T10:44:13.210-07:00Our Mothers Day. After feeling guilty for spending most of my morning on the phone with my mom and my best friend, I told you I wanted to take you out for a little mothers day treat as I absolutely love being your mom. You immediately said theek hai (OK in Urdu) and told me you’d like your favorite McDonald’s strawberry milkshake as a treat. So we picked up the shake along with an ice team for myself and Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-45283833880026862612015-05-04T22:51:00.001-07:002015-05-04T23:00:51.034-07:00With friends on my side, turning 32 I turned another year older last month and unlike my 30th where I wrote about my thoughts I don’t have many to share for this one, but I do have this photo story of celebrating with my friends instead! lol. I guess after 30 it doesn’t feel that monumental any more, at least for a couple years more! (eeeeee). Thanks to the amazing Sumera Naveed for capturing the moments above. I am so blessed toNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-55156889042743464502015-04-24T11:05:00.000-07:002015-04-24T11:06:50.513-07:00Gift Idea: Photo books as gifts Hey sweet readers, you might remember the yearbooks I am making for our photos from here. I thought I’d also share these recent photo books that I got made for my mom. I just recently ordered these with photos from our last two visits to them and love how they have turned out! Sometimes it is really hard to find that perfect gift for our families and this is a great idea for such times, for the Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-62650109487637060702015-04-21T08:05:00.000-07:002015-04-21T08:05:26.281-07:00Love thy home Our home in Peshawer from ‘92-‘94 I grew up in tens of houses and apartments of all shapes and sizes in big and small cities and suburbs all over Pakistan. We loved each and every house that was a part of our story for the few years we lived in it and said goodbye to every house with tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats. I can distinctly remember standing in our empty rooms as our Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-22108565064114518202015-04-15T06:30:00.000-07:002015-04-15T20:25:33.093-07:00A simple DIY gift box idea
I love giving gifts and thinking of ideas to fancy up simple gifts. Here is something I have tried which I wanted to share earlier but changed my mind when it seemed too common sense and simple! Well, I’m still doing it anyway because maybe one of you hadn’t thought of this before? I hope so!
We all have these random gift boxes that come with some purchases or even with gifts we get. It Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-27791462589122640982015-04-09T08:14:00.000-07:002015-04-09T22:13:12.909-07:00Cooking with Anya : Tandoori Naan Pizza I had this recipe pinned for the longest time and finally tried it last week with Anya. Now that she is older it is fun to involve her in the kitchen. And because she is a super picky eater, I thought if she is more involved in the preparation she might eat better. This quick idea turned out to be so much fun. I had some shredded cooked chicken left over so used that instead and improvised Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-80046650514143636582015-04-06T06:30:00.000-07:002015-04-06T06:30:00.414-07:00Birthday Playdate for Anya’s 4th Birthday
Hey lovelies, I am so sorry about the never-ending birthday related posts I end up doing every year but what can I do, Anya just is a lucky girl and seems to have too many birthday parties mA:)
You probably know from my earlier post, but we had a little birthday playdate celebration for her friends a couple weeks ago. We kept it super simple and invited just her closest friends and their Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-52820179495260633572015-04-03T06:30:00.000-07:002015-04-03T06:30:00.038-07:00Toddler Project: Hand-drawn Stuffie
Did you read the post about the Stuffie Painting craft we did for Anya’s birthday? If you haven’t, maybe go check that out first?
While I was making the stuffies for the party, I had this idea to make one little guy that Anya has drawn herself. My little girl is an artist and loves drawing her version of people and animals all the time. I got her to draw this directly on the fabric with theNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-27698260629038479422015-03-30T06:30:00.000-07:002015-03-30T07:20:35.582-07:00Around Islamabad: SOS Village
On our last trip, we finally made a visit to SOS Children’s Village in Islamabad. Many of the children here are those that were left with no home and no family after the devastating earthquake in 2005. The children attend school on the premises as well as attend after-school educational and recreational activities. It was such a beautiful and humbling experience for all of us, to meet all Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-36295192504587679612015-03-25T06:00:00.000-07:002015-03-25T06:00:06.569-07:00Handmade Stuffies Craft for Anya’s Birthday Playdate
Last week, we had a little Birthday Playdate to celebrate Anya turning 4 with her closest friends and their mommies (More on that later). For a kids activity for the party I decided to have them do a little painting project they could take home with them. I had been wanting to try this via A Beautiful Mess, for the longest time ever and finally did it for this little celebration.
Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-82499855253634002592015-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:002015-03-23T15:24:16.569-07:00Conversations with AnyaA bilingual household means a bilingual kid! I'll try to translate most of the conversations but sometimes its not that easy. Hope you’ll excuse that :) After we got back from Pakistan and after trying to explain to her where we speak in English and where we speak in Urdu, my poor girl got too confused and would keep asking me: Kya mein Urdu bol rahi hoon ya English? (Am I talking in Urdu Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-67331454121411395242015-03-16T22:44:00.000-07:002015-03-16T22:54:03.026-07:00Of hugs on Skype and this long distant love This morning as we were Skype-ing with Waliya, my sister, Anya suddenly grabbed the laptop and ‘hugged’ her Walu, and as she did it she had the biggest smile on her face! It left me and my sister both teary eyed and quiet for a second. I thought of this road we have ended up upon, a lifetime of living so far away from the ones we grew up around. On our last visit to Pakistan, even though she wasNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-62716507457712407502015-03-09T07:00:00.000-07:002015-03-09T14:26:36.079-07:00The day she turned 4Can you imagine Anya just turned 4? It’s crazy really, how fast time seems to go by once you have a kid! Well, if you have been reading my blog for a while you must know that I have a thing for silly birthday morning surprises! ;)! So keeping up the tradition, after she went to bed the night before, I sneaked into her room and added some decorations to make it a little festive; twinkly lights, Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-36935935862036859412015-03-04T08:26:00.000-08:002015-03-04T08:42:10.443-08:00MOM STORIES: Kanwal Anjum NAME/CURRENT LOCATION Kanwal Anjum / Karachi, Pakistan TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF I am a work-from-home mom. Being a photo-graphic designer gives me the leverage to work from home. I am a creative director at an advertising agency. So basically, I go for meetings but work from home. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY We are an immediate family of four. And a close knit family of 7. I have two daughtersNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-89915919815634198702015-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:002015-03-02T06:00:08.225-08:00Toddler Activity: Abstract Art
Good morning you guys! A couple weeks ago I introduced Anya to abstract art after getting inspired by this via Love, Taza. Having grown up around art, it was fun to Google some examples of abstract art and share with her before she got started. I liked the idea of just squeezing little blobs all over the paper and then just have her experiment with strokes. Fun little art activity. I Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-35939931299421629012015-02-26T08:38:00.000-08:002015-02-26T08:45:37.632-08:00MOM STORIES: Nabila Babar NAME/CURRENT LOCATION Nabila / Redmond, WA TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF I am a working mother who is trying to balance the relationships around her as well as the demands of a fast paced, challenging career, who is constantly switching from one role to another and in an attempt to do-it-all has figured out there is no such thing. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY We are a small family of three. MyNataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-55142997380212520332015-02-16T09:31:00.001-08:002015-02-16T11:33:15.327-08:00Conversations with Anya: Pakistan EditionA bilingual household means a bilingual kid! I'll try to translate most of the conversations but sometimes its not that easy. Hope you’ll excuse that :) Bilal talking to my sister-in-law and discussing the order for dinner Bilal: Bas saath wings mangwado (Just order the wings with it.) Anya, panicking: I don’t want you to fly away. Because I love you! ---- Anya: Mama ab lots of time hogaya hai. Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-71226310303044751182015-02-10T06:48:00.000-08:002015-02-10T06:48:00.363-08:00AROUND PAKISTAN: Central Library Bahawalpur
The Central Library of Bahawalpur is a historical library in the city of Bahawalpur1. I had been dying to visit this beautiful library ever since I heard of it. When they were growing up, my husband and his sister were regular members and I’m so glad Anya got to visit the library of her dad’s childhood on this trip.
We were not disappointed at all on our visit and I could imagine many an Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-12449794411320775382015-02-06T08:23:00.001-08:002015-02-06T08:23:51.148-08:00MOM STORIES: Shehwar FatimaSo excited to have a good friend and a super-inspiring mom in the first post in this series. (Read about the series here.) I have always admired this lady’s positivity and the way her voice brims with almost-excitement as she talks about motherhood and its challenges. She makes the perfect mom to begin this with! Enjoy:) NAME/LOCATION I am Shehwar Fatima, residing in Redmond, Washington. But my Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-41185085089213206762015-02-03T11:29:00.000-08:002015-02-03T11:29:00.625-08:00Introducing Mom Stories: A photos+words series on Motherhood So excited to finally share this. Starting this series on the blog where I ask some amazing moms to share their thoughts in words + photos. Think of it as a little conversation, a heart to heart one for that matter, on motherhood, its challenges and its joys, a reflection on faith, culture and dreams for our children. I find it so amazing that when you're a mom, you could come from completely Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061232026382654091.post-33852073474162311432015-01-28T08:30:00.000-08:002015-02-01T08:32:37.231-08:00Back Home Just got back from time with our families and slowly getting used to the quiet and the grey days. Hope you guys have been well. Can’t wait to catch up! Lots of love. Nataliya Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364189726595766631noreply@blogger.com0