Last week, I was reminded just how lucky I am to have the best brothers in the world.

Thank you to my Bhaiya for your annual notes on Rakhi and Tikka – reminding us how much you love us. For your special words that make us tear up and feel so mushy on the inside. Every one of us has looked up to you for our entire lives. So we absolutely, 100% get it when we watch Veer stare at his Papa in amazement. We’ve done the same thing for years.

And to my little brothers. Who bring us words of wisdom and make us feel so loved on days when we need it the most. Thank you for brightening our lives. Whether it be through your Snapchats, your witty comments on Twitter, or your long-winded stories – your presence in our lives is so palpable, even when you’re thousands of miles away.

I am quite the lucky girl to have grown up with such wonderful, loving, compassionate brothers. Feeling very thankful for them today and every day.

Question of the Day:

• Who are you thankful for on this Thankful Thursday? 

 Oh Monday.

Just when I got over you, you came back into my life. It’s like you never go away.

Luckily, it’s another 4-day work week for me. (I swear, I work. But I’m also making it a point to take ALL my PTO days this year). I’m flying down to Southern California this weekend for Randy and Lara’s wedding celebration! I can’t wait. 4 days to power through and then it’s fun fun FUN!

Speaking of fun, this weekend we had LOTS of it.

Friday:

Veronica’s surprise birthday dinner that I almost ruined!

Luckily for me, I wasn’t un-invited for my slip-up.

We went to Orchard City Kitchen in Campbell. I’ve been wanting to try it out for a while now. The food was really, really good, but I gotta be honest…

…I loved it more for the crazy straws they put in their drinks.

After dinner, we drove to Salinas and were greeted with this:

We all gathered on the couch. Me + Friday night + a few drinks + a comfortable couch = immediate slumber.

Saturday:

We woke up, got caffeinated (duh), and drove out to Carmel for some Pumpkin Patch fun!

Earthbound Farm had a fun Halloween event with pumpkin stacking, pumpkin pickin’, pumpkin sampling. All the pumpkin things.

Veer loved filling up our wagon with little pumpkins he wanted to take home with him. I think he actually wanted to take home some larger ones, but the little ones were all he could carry.

He had fun playing in the tee-pee made of corn husks. Especially because he could peek out the teeny holes and spy on all the fun things that were going on outside.

We sampled some roasted pumpkin and were surprised that the yummiest one was the green, bumpy, ugly looking one. I guess it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Or something like that.

I think Veer and I had the most fun in the corn sandbox. It took all of my willpower to abstain from laying in that box all afternoon. So much sensory happiness.

After we walked around the garden in the back and went through the maze/labyrinth, we paid for our pumpkins, got a quick snack, and then were on our merry way.

Before we left the area and drove back to Salinas, we went to Dametra for lunch.

It was a Chipotle-esque place. But for Mediterranean food. Delicious.

When we got home, Bhaiya set up our pumpkin carving station.

We’re professionals over here.

We opted for a stencil that would be easy to carve. Bhaiya chose a Minion to carve and Bhabhi chose an Olaf to paint.

And Veer and I really enjoyed scooping the pumpkin guts out. Again, so much sensory happiness.

Maybe Halloween isn’t the WORST holiday in the world…

Thank you Bajaj Juniors for such a special, relaxing, and pumpkin-filled weekend.

Now it’s off to get ready for work.

Happy Monday!

Question of the Day:

• Do you carve your pumpkin, paint your pumpkin, or eat your pumpkin?

I survived the full work week!

Well. Almost. Just gotta get through today.

Which will be easy peasy cause this kiddo is coming to visit today.

Fun fact? Having him around is the best way to end the work week!

Other fun facts from the week:

2) I spend a lot of my time in the 3rd grade classroom. Apparently they think 3rd grade is when it’s appropriate to start calling people (or perhaps, other snails?) “Beezy.” Cray.

3) I woke up at 4AM this morning. Just on my own. Well, not quite on my own. I woke up cause I had to pee. And then I just went with it. Because who doesn’t love a little productivity in the AM, am I right?!

4) Soup Club is BACK! Soup Club 2.0. It’s crazy to think how just getting a jar of soup on my desk can bring me so much happiness. And warmth. Literally.

5) I’m really big into decorating my apartment for Christmas, but I usually don’t have the desire (nor the decorations) for other holidays. It’s on my bucket list. To collect items and have a box stored away for each occasion. I started my collection with two baby pumpkins from Trader Joes. Until I realized that pumpkins get smelly after a while. Oops.

6) I got sucked into Therapy in Downtown Campbell over the weekend. Obsessed with that store but it’s VERY similar to Target in that you just can’t walk out empty handed. Instead, you walk out with useless but OH-SO-CUTE items like these little mason jar salt and peppa shakers.

7) I bought some gerber daisies from the Farmie this weekend. The lady who wrapped them up for me told me that these suckers last a long time. Once they start drooping, you just cut off a little of the stem from the bottom and they’re like brand new flowers! TRY IT!

8)   The sunsets have been ridiculous lately. I’m loving the colors of the sky. Makes me feel so cozy and happy. Like fall is here. The weather just needs to follow suit.

9) I’ll be spending all weekend with these crazies and I cannot WAIT.

10) And I’ll leave you with this. Because it’s Friday. And I’ll be following this advice tonight.

Oh Friday – there are very few things I love more than you.

Thank you for blessing us with your presence.

Have a good one!

Questions of the Day:

• What’s your favorite children’s book?
  
• Do you decorate for holidays?
  
• What is one thing you’re looking forward to this weekend? 

Happy Friday. And it’s a special one indeed. Because it’s my Bhaiya’s birthday. The best brother. The best papa. The best surgeon. The best hiking companion. And, fine, I’ll say it. He’s a pretty good joke-teller too [Bhaiya, don’t hold this over my head].

Five fun facts about my brother?

1) He’s more of a caffeine fiend than me. And, like me, he gets a high off collecting bonus stars at Starbucks. Sometimes we strategize about how we are going to buy all the breakfast sandwiches and win all the stars.

2) He HAS a kid. But he IS a kid himself. He has a level of curiosity that you don’t see in most adults. He has the urge to stop and smell the roses. The desire to climb trees, stop and stare at the roly-polies, and get excited about almost anything.

3) He can start up a conversation with anyone and everyone. And, within seconds, people immediately love and trust him. He’s so calm in his demeanor and such an incredible listener. It’s no wonder that people at the deli or the grocery store want to be his BFF.

4) He’s the leader of our pack. The older one. The level-headed one. The one to follow.

5) He’s the kind of parent that I would like to be when I have my own kids. He sets an example for Veer every second of the day – how to talk to people, how to ask questions, how to be a curious human. He teaches him life lessons while also instilling in him a love for playing and being silly. He sets boundaries but has unconditional love. He is the perfect papa and I am so fortunate to watch him in action as Veer grows and develops over time.

Happy birthday to the best older brother I could ever ask for.

I love you so very, very much!

Dear Veer,

Today, you turn 4 years old. Where did the time go?

It seems like we just celebrated your 3rd birthday with the Minions.

So much has changed since then.

You’re in school all day long like a big boy.

You have playdates and best friends and favorite teachers.

You have catchphrases like, “Don’t forget the bacon!” 

You are more opinionated and are able to express exactly what you want. Like salmon. Or pesto pasta.

You prefer vegetables over french fries. (Can you teach Divya Bua how to make healthy choices like you?)

But you’ve got a sweet tooth like your Mama and Papa and LOVE chocolate.

You can read. Oh boy, can you read. You just want to read ALL the things and it gives you so much joy when you do.

So much has changed this past year. 

But, still, so much has remained the same.

You still get excited about waking up and starting the day. You still get exhilarated from running around and around and around in circles. You are still so fascinated about everything around you and you love discovering how things work. You love making Mama happy and you squeal when she kisses you all over. And you love watching your Papa, mimicking every move he makes – whether it be dancing or shaving, you are your Papa’s Mini-Me.

You still make my heart feel overwhelmed with love. And you make me fall more and more in love with you every single day.

You are my munchkin. My monkey. My best friend.

And I can’t wait to see what this next year has in store for us.

I love you. Today. Tomorrow. Always.

Love,

Your DivBu

Happy Monday!

Today’s the day that I’m a grown-up!

I’m SO excited to take my parents to work with me and have them meet my RBM family. This weekend was the best best best.
My parents landed in San Jose late Friday night and we woke up bright and early on Saturday to go hiking.

The goal was to make my dad fall in love with northern California. Which I think I accomplished within the first 10 minutes of the hike. [He loves trees just as much as I do and was so excited to run around and climb them all. Because he’s a 10-year old at heart.]

After our hike, we grabbed sandwiches from Ike’s and then did a bit of grocery shopping. I love watching my dad when he’s on “vacation.” I like watching him wander up and down the aisles at the store, taking 5x longer than anybody else because he likes to stare at the packaging and ingredients of EVERYTHING.

That was clearly an exhausting thing for him so when we got home he took a nap. Meanwhile, I hung out with my Mom who cooked ALL THE THINGS!

And cleaned ALL THE THINGS! [Am I the luckiest human or what?]

Once my dad woke up, he had some chai and then we were off to watch Pitch Perfect 2. The first time I went to go see this movie, I fell asleep in the theater. [Friday nights are not ideal movie times.]

I didn’t get my dad to love Pitch Perfect like I wanted him to. But he sat through the movie so I’ll take that as a win.

Sunday:

We went to the Farmer’s Market downtown to pick up some produce and pastries.

The last time I was here with my Papa was 3-years ago when I first moved to NorCal.

After sampling all the cakes, Papa bought them all and then moseyed on down to Starbucks for chai time.

Once we got home, we quickly got ready and then drove out to Salinas to see this little monkey. [Banana in hand and everything]

Every reunion with him makes my heart so, so happy.

And he love, love, loved all the attention he was getting yesterday from everyone.

Lots of people to hug him and squeeze him and laugh at his jokes.

Lots of people for Dr. Veer Bajaj to operate on.

Last night, I was reminded that the best way to beat Sunday scaries is to spend time with the people you love the most. I had such a great weekend and I am more than ready to tackle this week because my heart is so happy and full! <3

Questions of the Day:

• What fun festivities did you have this weekend?
  
• Did you prefer Pitch Perfect 1 or Pitch Perfect 2?