Unexpected Moments in Muslim Motherhood

Just bust a move

2007-08-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at my computer and Madagascar is playing in the background... the "move it, move it" part comes, and I see heemee jumping in his thobe and newly purchased Thomas The Tank Engine Sneakers (size 9.5 wide, THANKYOUWALMART, as much as I try to avoid you).... and then he sees me look at him and says "Goooo, in your rooom, gooooo".... aawww... a shy dancer...

Wide Width

2007-08-10T16:08:00.000-04:00

How do I tell almost 3 years old eemee that they don't make those crazy lighted sneakers in wide width?

That the only wide width sneakers I found for him (in the few weeks of hunting), have been the generic white sneaker at kmart.......

anybody seen any good 10W sneakers around?

My Mocking Bird

2007-08-05T23:33:00.000-04:00

Sufi has started mocking words really well. He even repeated "Costco" today... Sufi also likes to run up the back staircase and come down the front ones... I took a Tajweed course with Bayyinah Institute and now I am doing the follow-up course.

Smaland

2007-07-13T18:13:00.000-04:00

Today was another trip to Ikea... heemee, of course, wanted to go into Smaland, and when I picked him up, he got a coupon for a free ice cream cone... all because he used the potty himself... of course his pants and underwear were on backwards... I didn't even know they have a bathroom there!

My Home Office/Closet Office

2007-07-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

This is a long overdue post... but I promised I'd blog about our newly constructed closet office.. so here's some pix. We made it in one weekend, but I've been organizing it for almost two months (I had not filed any papers since last June, and with the move everything has been everywhere!!) It's still being organized, as for those who know me well, the clutter that you see, is very annoying...

Earlier Today....

2007-07-10T11:24:00.000-04:00

The kids were in my closet (while I am on the phone, obviously not paying attention "Slamau Aliakum. Bye bye... wee goin' ta Walmart and Kmart.... wee gonna git doo-doooooo aaanndd chocolate". And all the while they are trying on my shoes (khooseh and high heels) with a pocket book around eemee's arm... even Sufi was saying " Byyye, byyyye"

Mama, Mama, I go to sleep

2007-07-02T22:32:00.000-04:00

Today Sufi climbed into the bottom bunk and put a pillow over his face (like he always does) and then lifted it up and said "Mama, mama, I go to sleep". At first, I was like, "did I just hear that?"... as I heard the words echo in my head, then I realized, I DID!

Eemee's favorite lines are "Ready guys!?" "See ya later!" and "Ohh, my back is hurting"-wonder who taught him that? :)

Also today, Sufi bit eemee so hard on the back, I thought that he took off a small chunk of skin :(
Eemee DID let us know he was in SEVERE pain, by crying VERY loudly and having moments of breathlessness.....

Potty Training Update

2007-06-15T23:18:00.000-04:00

I still have to take eemee to the potty every hour or two. The research I did, said that this phase would end after 1-2 months... well.. it's been two months... what can u do? He has accidents if left to his own volition. He has stayed dry throughout the night about 2-3 times. He has some good days, and some bad (with 3-4 accidents, even if I take him to the potty).. we still use a pull-up for outings and underwear at home.. we've gone out on quick errands with the underwear.. that's about it...

Ikea

2007-06-07T23:45:00.000-04:00

Today we took our first trip to Ikea. Even though we live so close to the City of Brotherly Love, we don't really go there much. It only took 20 minutes to get there! Anyways, I was surprised how kid-friendly the whole environment is. They even have a supervised play area, but eemee was not allowed since he was in a pull-up (you had to wear underwear). I'm not sure if he would really have stayed or if I really would have left him.. but he really wanted to go.. the kids had fun in the restaurant where they had a tv with Nickelodeon and tons of kid furniture... they even had a kids meal with drink for 99 cents!!! later, I let the kids play in the balls... I'm still surprised how MUCH there was to see and do...

Words

2007-06-01T06:30:00.000-04:00

Sufi's Newer words:

Cookie, want this, press it (meaning press play), and alot more that I can't remember right now.

Sufi's "Old" Favorite words:

Babi, Dada, Baba, Nana, Nani, Mommy, Mama, Ami, eemee, this, beep beep, dthoo dthoo (milk) and (his very favorite) NO

* He's started throwing tantrums-dangerous ones albeit. He will throw himself in Sajdah position and bang his head hard on the ground* :( I know. This is spontaneous and hard to prevent (believe me, I've been trying).

Eemee has recently become obsessed with "sand box". We went to a local Auntie's for a get together and she had one there. He would not leave the sand box almost the entire time. I guess we'll be getting one soon, Inshallah.

Numnum

2007-05-12T11:24:00.000-04:00

Around 3 am last night, Sufi decided he didn't want to sleep anymore. He got off the bed and starting leaving the room, saying "numnum, numnum" (baby talk for "food") that is until he realized I wasn't with him... then he proceeded to scream until I sat up, picked him up and put him in bed with me... then he screamed even harder... so I gave in and got up with him.. he went straight to the silverware drawer (all the while saying "numnum, numnum") ... he gestured for me to give him a spoon, saying "this". Then I decided to pour him some cereal, since he sounded hungry (ie. the "numnum, numnum"). We headed to the couch to eat. On the way there, he pointed to the tv and said "this". I said "no tv right now", he screamed loudly. So I turned on food network and fed him. Did you know Emeril is on at 3am? Anyways, Sufi ate about half a bite and decided he did not want to eat anymore. He layed down on the couch and just watched tv. To say the least, I felt "numb, numb" when I woke up today.

The irony behind all this is, I used to put my Khala (maternal aunt) through almost the exact same thing, nightly. I'm not sure for how long, but one night was bad enough.

Little Monster Sufi

2007-05-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

So the boys ha*e been keeping me *ery busy.. As u can see, I don't ha*e a funtioning *ee key.. u know, the letter that comes after the letter "U". Sufi had a field day with my laptop a few times this week, just ripping off keys as though he was trying to remo*e something to stuck to the table. hhmmm. Btw, I'*e replaced the lack of the functioning letter with a * . This makes for interesting blogging, heh? I ha*en't e*en had the time to fix it. Inshallah, it is fixable. Last time he did this to my letter "I" I spent o*er an hour or two fixing it, the whole time making prayers that it would be fixable.

I'm considering making one of the closets in the living (HEY, it just worked!) room a home office.. by adding a desktop counter, shelves (HEY, worked again... oops, just broke the whole thing off :( BAck to what I was saying.. I think I'm going to relocate my computer, since the closet doors that shut and lock.

Toddler Gibberish

2007-05-08T01:49:00.000-04:00

I was praying Maghrib as Ibrahim was eating Mango ice cream at the kitchen table. Then I hear "get up, go up, I said uuuuppp!!" in a very angry voice. I heard it again, and again. I knew the ice cream was hard, so I thought he was talking to the ice cream in the bowl. When I went to see what was going on: the mango ice cream had fallen onto the chair (Thank You Ami for helping me cover the chairs with plastic) and eemee was trying to pick up the ice cream onto the spoon... but evidently, the ice cream wasn't listening.

Spring in Staten Island

2007-05-04T01:17:00.000-04:00

The kids and I are visiting their Dada and Dadi (Baba and Nana)... I took the kids for a loong walk at South Beach on the boardwalk. We had lunch on a pier and they played at the park. Today was the perfect weather for this outing. We covered 4 miles of walking, Alhamdulillah, and they had alot of fun.

Absent Blogger

2007-05-02T00:10:00.000-04:00

So I'm sorry everybody for not blogging lately... the reason I started the blog was that my sister and my parents and other close family members would know what's going on with the kids... I guess I've gotten lazy since I've been mostly been in my hometown for a few weeks... I'm writing all this b/c it was pointed out to me that I haven't blogged in two weeks-thanks KD!

Sufi has been giving everyone kisses left and right, especially his big brother. Mamoo (my brother) left today, and when they came back from dropping him off at the train station, Ibrahim said "where's mamoo?"... not a commonly heard question, so it was cute.
The boys visited Sheema Khala with their Khala... luckily, they were allowed to run wild there, something I know Sufi has been missing since being away from home.

Khala's Here...

2007-04-18T01:55:00.000-04:00

Yep, my sister has Alhamdulillah, FINALLY come back to save us... it seemed like forever... but we've been very busy with her (ok, at least the kids have been)... I've been busy catching up on sleep and everything else ;)

Potty training is at status quo... nothing really new, good or bad... we're now waiting for this 1-2 months of constantly asking Ibrahim "Let's go use the potty" phase... According to Brazelton's Technique, after you have the toddler use to going on the toilet, it can be 1-2 months before he actually will tell you that HE has to go... and Inshallah, once he does that 3 times and actually DOES have to use the bathroom, then you no longer have to ask/take him to the bathroom every so often...

There's a nice brochure available online, I think it's a condensed version of his book... check it out: http://www.tinytots.com/featured_info/potty_training/articleDetail.pdf

For an interesting article on potty training, go to: http://www.tinytots.com/featured_info/potty_training/Toilet_training_Getting_it_right_the_first_time.htm)

First Kiss

2007-04-12T23:03:00.000-04:00

Sufi kissed me yesterday on the cheeks... with a real suction and noise!! Ma'shallah, he is soo cute!! This was the first time he kissed anyone! Right now he is sitting on the kitchen floor in a pile of clothes... yes, it's 11pm and he's still awake.. crazy day with many visitors...

Don't Rush to Flush

2007-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

I said, as emee tried to jump off the toilet to flush before Sufi could.. and he wasn't fast enough.. and of course he got mad.. oh well!

Yesterday I picked up eemee from Staten Island and he had gone on the potty, but he was wet when I went to put a Pull-UP on him because we were going to leave... :(

Then in the evening at my Khala's (aunt's), he did use the potty, but after dinner, I saw eemee hanging out in front of the bathroom door, and I thought he wanted to go in with my dad... a minute later, my mom told me to hurry up, because she saw ibrahim crouching and she thought he may have to go... I ran with him upstairs, quickly pulled down his pants, and, thought I felt a ball.. oh, wait it was number 2!!!!! ALOT OF IT... in his underwear !!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!
I was soooo overwhelmed and in shock, and just kept calling for my mom to come help me...

I guess day 7 had to be relapse...

Last week was crazy.. but I think in retrospect he Inshallah has gotten the hang of it, Alhamdulillah!

Diaperless Day 6

2007-04-08T00:54:00.000-04:00

Today the whole albanian "khandaan" came over... the kids had so much fun running around and just playing and doing whatever with their cousins... Ibrahim kind was wild (can u believe it?) ... I thought today was going to be the big relapse day, but guess what, Alhamdulillah, we had NO accidents! Yes, he wore a Pull-Up to the masjid that WAS wet when he came back... and, ok, he wouldn't go to the bathroom with me, but, hey, there was tons of people willing to take him.... at then end of the night when their Baba (Dada) was getting up to leave, eemee said, " wait Baba, I'm coming with you"... and well, there was no telling him "No"... so, I was assured by Baba, Nana, and my sister-in-law that he will not be in diapers tomorrow and will use the potty. Inshallah. So I sent him off on his way with a bag full of underwears and back up outfits.

Diaperless Day 5

2007-04-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

I am sooo tired.. I keep falling asleep with the kids when I'm putting them to bed. I woke up at 12:15 am to pray Isha'. Yesterday we had two accidents, and enough actual movements into the potty. I have been putting Ibrahim on the potty for no more than 5 minutes every hour or two (more when he's been drinking more). I hope today is better... but Alhamdulillah, he has been holding it in (I think) a little bit.... Potty Training is just so ambiguous!

Diaperless Day 4

2007-04-05T06:54:00.000-04:00

It has been a hectic few days. Potty Training is TOUGH!!!! Days 2 and 3 were Alhamdulillah, good. We had some wet clothes, but we also had stuff going INTO the potty. We went to a local sock outlet and got Ibrahim Sponge Bob Square Pants boxer briefs, he likes those... if someone sees a good deal on boys underwear, can you let me know? Everywhere I go, they are about 1.50 each or more, meanwhile, they sell girls underwear in a big pack of 10 for under $10! I really need to buy some more...

On Day 2, Ibrahim's Baba and Nana (Dada and Dadi) visited... eemee really wanted to go back with them, but Thank God, Babi saved the day, and asked eemee if he wanted to go on the slides instead, which, of course, eemee vehemently agreed to...

Regarding a chair cushion I covered with Ami, Ibrahim always comments on how nice it looks compared to the others (which are not yet finished, nor started)... and yesterday, he said, "this is SO nice, Ami".... (emphasis on the SO... I have never heard him use that word)

Yusuf has started saying "Babi, baby, and meme (not sure what he means by meme, maybe mommy)". He is busy as ever, but even so much more loving than ever... he loves to come cuddle with you and he absolutely LOVES if somebody plays with him, tickles him, etc... He also has turned out to be quite the dancer... he dances like a Russian (as somebody has said)... on his tippy-toes, arms in the air, snapping (or at least gesturing) his little fingers... and going in circles... yesterday, Madagascar was on HBO and he was shaking it to "Move it, Move it", which reminded me of Ibrahim, who REALLY used to break it down to that song, remember?

Diaperless Day 1

2007-04-03T00:08:00.000-04:00

At last, I kept Ibrahim out of diapers for one whole entire day.... By days end, we had three wet underwear's and he actually went one time in the potty.... the first underwear doesn't count (in my opinion) because I was in the bathroom and couldn't' get out fast enough, so he actually pee'ed right in front of the bathroom door, all the while screaming for me to open... For outings, he wore Pull-Ups, which ironically were not wet even after 2-3 hours... I was SO tired, I fell asleep putting them to bed..

The day was busy.

Meanwhile, Yusuf was glued to me... I think he's teething and he just would not leave me for more than one or two minutes...

Shhh... the kids are sleeping..

2007-03-28T11:52:00.000-04:00

I just put them for a nap, Alhamdulillah... lately, they have been really resistant to any of my sleep attempts... I thank Allah, they are sleeping now, whoo-hoo party!! I finally get to do something for myself... Ibrahim has been resisting potty training.. if anybody has any tips, I'm open for suggestions.. nothing seems to be working...

Well, Sufi has started saying little phrases like "what's this" ... I thought i was the only one who could understand (I even thought maybe I'm just forcing his babble to sound like something).. but over the weekend, Sufi's Baba and Nana (aka. Dada and Dadi) noticed him saying it too! Sufi has also started asking for things (like cereal) by bringing me the item...

I'm trying to get Ibrahim to speak more Urdu (and Arabic) instead of English... but he's so good at English that we automatically respond to him in English. For those of you who see the kids on a consistent basis, PLEASE do not talk to them in English... there's just too much English already, tv, strangers, etc.

Yesterday, we took the kids to the park, and Ibrahim kept going up and wanted to come down the circular slide, but some boys that were a little bigger kept making a big sand pile at the bottome of the slide, and didn't want anyone coming down... but Alhamdulillah, I have a very (actually 2) determined sons... the boy said, "No, you can't come down this one" and physically barricaded himself, so that eemee could not pass.. I could hear Ibrahim telling him, "No, I want to go down, this one".. then the boy said "no", so Ibrahim screamed "Ameeeee" at the top of his lungs and said "I want this one".. in English I told him, come down, it's everyone's slide, it's ok, you can come down... all the while staring at the kid, who was staring back at me... this whole scenario went on 3 or 4 times... and then eemee decided to just go on another slide....

I thought to myself.. If I was at the park with my dad, the peaceful person he is, he would just say, go on another slide (there were 5 other slides to choose from)... but, No, I thought... My eemee gets to go on what he wants to, when he wants to... so I (while eating my dinner-sandwich) walked up the jungle gym and stood at the top where the slides are... I just ate my sandwich and hung out up there (there's a landing, a big enough square for a few people to stand on comfortably)... then the next time Ibrahim came up, I asked him what slide he wanted to go down.. and he, of course, pointed to the circular one... so I said 'Go'... the boy was still standing there... but no barricade... i thought this was really funny...

the reason he didn't want eemee to go on the slide was the big sand pile at the bottom of the slide... and eemee kept accidently stepping in it.. even though they told him not to. Ibrahim even came to me to tell me about the pile and described "No step".. but his little legs were just too small to avoid it...

Later a big kid came and jumped in the sand pile and really ruined it.. and I laughed (maybe even out loud)... and I REALLY wanted to go join him.. but then i held back...

Milestone for Sufi

2007-03-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

Today I was in the kitchen warming up my lunch. Sufi came and took my hand. And he pulled me into the family room, very urgently. When we arrived at the couch, he pulled my hand down, gesturing me to sit. After I sat, he climbed into my lap and wanted to nurse! WOW! Sufi can communicate!!! And now when he wants to nurse, he keeps saying "amee, amee, ammee".

just when you thought this blog was getting boring...

2007-03-13T16:21:00.000-04:00

today ibrahim found a mechanical pencil and was walking around with it... so when I saw him, I held out my hand and (very nicely) asked to give it to me... this went on, and on as my nerves got weaker... he kept saying no.. i said "Ibrahim, please give it to me, this is owee (something that hurts).. he then put his hand in my outstretched hand and mumbled "hi, nice to meet you" in a very slow and sweet voice... wait, how old is he? oh yeah, 2 1/2....... !! where do these kids pick up this stuff!?

brotherly love

2007-02-27T23:16:00.000-05:00

Sufi got 3 shots today, and Eemee cried (almost as much as sufi).. ACtually, Ibrahim cried (not with tears) when sufi was getting weighed and measured... he said 'no hurt sufi, leave him alone'... and of course, Sufi was just looking around... i noticed that Ibrahim is LOUD in public.. i don't know when this happened, but I kept having to tell him to talk "ahy stah seh"... and he pointed to almost every object in the room, to ask me "this is the doctor's"... yes, yes, and yes...

new sayings and doings

2007-02-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

I've noticed that the boys have doing some new things (esp. eemee).. here goes:

1. Eemee has started using words like 'later' and 'heavy' and (uh-oh, yaboo) "TIRED"!!
I think it all started the other day when I was trying to tell him that he can do something or another "later".. then, when it was time to put the PJ's on, he said "eemee sleep later"! and when I've given him my purse to hold (nadoo, that blue one), which is btw stuffed, he says "eeemee no hold it, HEAVY"..... so now everything is later and heavy...

eemee has actually been hanging out on the potty last week and now this week.. he doesn't mind.. he actually did some peepee, but then i lost the guard.. and well, let's just say it was a mess... but,hey, he really did do peepee in the potty.. (ok too much info?)

eemee has also gotten really good at singing all the nasheeds we commonly play in the car... and now at home.. b/c he requests them over his fave videos!!! OMG.. it's true!

eemee also likes to read books and after reading a book once or twice, he knows the characters and what they are doing.. he loves to read a certain "good night elmo" book that he really almost has memorized... Ma'shallah, kids REALLY do have great memories...

2. Sufi likes to climb on our little tykes table and then jump off... i'm starting to think he has 9 lives... also, Sufi says (some rendition) of "beep, beep" when the rest of us do. he also has been saying the sounds of the alphabet when we sing the Abc's. or alif, baa, taah... so. that's sufi.. OF COURSE he has been getting into more of everything.. he's learned to move the little tykes chair to doorknobs and try to unlock them and open the, which Thank Allah, he cannot.

we went to the grocery store today, so of course the kids had a great time in the 'car' shopping cart, though ibrahim was hanging out of it so much, at one moment, that he was cleaning the floor.... aaahh, the joys of kids... i made spicy biryani, and eeemee didn't mind eating it.. though sufi is approaching another one of this "i don't feel like eating anymore" moods...

hmm.... i'm trying to think what i need to catch you all up on??? eemme can do a roll (hahah_________ cousin of mine- you know who you are!!!!) And sufi likes to stay in his favorite yoga position...

well, Inshallah, more updates to come...
Asalamu Alaikum.

Asalamu Alaikum

2007-02-21T23:18:00.000-05:00

Asalamu Alaikum To all. You know who you are and you are the reasons I created this blog. Inshallah, we will all be on the same page with the adventures that I encounter everyday... hold on tight.. here we go!!!!