This was the playdate at Anna's house. The kids had a great time and the movie was INCREDIBLE! Thanks Anna and Donetta for having us over.
Of course, the time when I'm needing the internet the most, it gives out on me. We only have internet on one computer at a time as it keeps kicking each user off when someone else logs in, due to our IP addresses having a conflict. We have Kamal's desktop, my laptop, my mac and Danny's laptop, so it's quite frustrating. But I've mentioned that before, haven't I?
Besides that, we are only able to be online for 10-15 minutes, then it decides to kick us off. Not fun!
Other than that, we had a really good day today. Well, sort of. Danny went to school and when Austin and I picked him up, we told him that we were going to our friend Anna's house today. He got really excited and asked when. I told him right now and he got even more excited.
We got to Donetta and Anna's house and went upstairs to watch "The Incredibles" in their viewing room. It was awesome! The surround sound, the awesome Blu Ray picture, popcorn, Goldfish Crackers, and friends! It was better than going to the theater.
The kids were having a ball until we were about three quarters of the way through the movie. Then, Danny announces to me that he needs to go to the restroom. I told him to go ask Anna where it was. He told me he knew where it was but wanted me to go with him. I told him that I needed to stay with Austin and he could go alone. He said that the women wouldn't let him. So finally, after much nagging, I took his hand, led him to the door and he went on his own.
When he got back, he started demanding that I get him more Goldfish crackers. I told him there wasn't anymore (I had just went to get Austin some and had felt that the bag was about empty). DANNY FREAKED OUT! He started speaking loudly and throwing a temper tantrum, which I thought was totally out of character for a five year old. I told him about 4 or 5 times that if he didn't stop, we would have to leave. He apparently thought I was bluffing and kept doing it, so finally, I got our things together and had us walk out of the viewing room. When we got downstairs, he threw another huge fit when he realized that I was serious and we were, in fact, going to leave. I'm sorry for the scene, Donetta, and having to leave early. He was just out of sorts today.
On the way home, I was explaining to him why I was upset and he says "Oh, I didn't know you had felt the bag was empty!" I guess he thought that I was just telling him there were no more Goldfish so I wouldn't have to get up. Total miscommunication on his part, according to Danny. When we got home, they went to bed and had a two hour nap. When they woke up, they were perfect little angels again. It's amazing what a nap will do!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Calgon take me away!
The start of the day was going so well. We went this morning to Lisa's for a playdate and were served some AWESOME food! It was like being at a gourmet restaurant. (Please note: It's always that way at Lisa's place.) Danny was so happy because Laith and Noora were there and Austin was happy that Laith and Farris were there. We had a really good time and then we had to cut it short and leave so that Danny could catch the bus. We made it home just in time to grab his backpack and get him outside for the bus.
After he left, I went to get the mail and ended up vacuuming the car. Next, I wound up some Christmas lights and extension cords and got them all put away in the proper tupperware box for next year. After that, I folded and put away laundry and started another load. I ran the vacuum, started dinner and baked some cookies. Over all, a productive day.
However, and this is a BIG HOWEVER, our internet went down around 4:30pm and I was unable to do any internet work at all, which seemed like a big waste of my day. I couldn't answer email, couldn't work on or upload websites, couldn't configure domain names, nothing, nada, zip! It took Kamal three and a half hours on the phone and they still haven't figured out the problem. I didn't realize how much we depend on reliable service but I'm here to tell ya, we do! How frustrating!
Hopefully, tomorrow will be better and I'll be able to get that work that's been bothering me out of the way. But until then, I'm frustrated!
Tonight, Danny found a kids' hand chart for sign language that was teaching the alphabet. He looked at it for a good 20 to 30 minutes, trying to imitate the hand signs. I was impressed! We have borrowed sign language books for kids from the library that they enjoy looking at but I haven't pressed anything in a while. Maybe I need to get back on track.
When the boys were really young, Danny was two and Austin had just turned one, it was so hard to understand what they wanted. I started learning a few signs so that they could communicate with me. We learned the signs for:
We got started watching Signing Time on PBS (http://www.signingtimekids.org/) when they were a little older and we started learning colors, numbers, and all kinds of other words. However, we haven't really practiced anything in over a year. Once they started talking, the sign language kind of went out the window. I'm sure that they are starting to forget most everything that they learned. With the exception of Please and Thank you, of course. I really need to get them back into learning it. I believe it would be truly beneficial for them.
It even helped me when I was a teacher for one-year-olds at church last year. Some of the kids knew how to sign and by me learning sign language with my boys, I was able to understand them and communicate. It's funny, because when one child knows how to communicate with his hands, soon, others pick it up and we had the whole class of about 9 -12 children signing "MORE" and "PLEASE" when we were offering the Cheerios. It was too cute!
Even though my kids can talk and I can understand most everything they say, I still have trouble with Austin every now and then. I can't count the number of times that Danny has had to translate for me. How does he know what Austin's saying? For example:
Kamal has been working with them more on Arabic, at my urging. I would really like them to be fluent in English, Arabic and Spanish, as well as sign language. The reason being is that if you know those three languages, you can talk to a third of the world's population (according to a documentary I watched a couple of years ago). Right now is the time for the kids to soak it up like a sponge. And once you master a few languages, I've heard that it's easier to learn more. Take Kamal's dad for instance. That man knows seven languages! And is constantly practicing more!
And who knows! With all the Japanese Sonic cartoons they watch, maybe they'll pick up Japanese too. Just kidding... a little too much, too fast, I know!
So imagine my surprise when I open the dryer expecting to see nice clean clothes and I notice red marks all over almost every article of clothing! I investigated a little more closely and found that there was a red crayon in there with the clothes. I don't know how it got there as I always check the pockets of all pants and shirts before I even put them in the washer, however, I have a pretty good idea. Maybe even TWO! I interrogated the two boys of mine and both said that they didn't do it. Should I believe them?
I am registered with ravelry.com and love it! It is a place to put pictures of your projects with a timeline on how long it took you to complete the project, what needles and yarn you used, patterns, etc. It also has an inventory section to keep track of needles, libraries, blogs, groups, favorite projects, friends, etc. It is an awesome way to keep track of your works in progress as well as your completed masterpieces.
Here's a little background on my knitting: My great grandmother used to knit and crochet when I was all of 4 years old. I would sit at her feet watching her knit and crochet and told myself that I would do that too one day. With life being as busy as it always is, I never got around to it until two years ago. I went to my first knitting meet up in February of 2007 and became addicted after just one meeting! (To tell you how much I knew, I showed up for the knitting meet up with CROCHET NEEDLES! I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and a nice woman by the name of Jennifer, ended up letting me borrow an extra set of needles she had brought along. She also taught me how to do the knit stitch and once I got that down, she taught me the purl stitch. She was awesome and had so much patience!)
In April of 2007, when we took our vacation to New Mexico, Nevada and California for two weeks, I started knitting a scarf for my brand new nephew, Diego (just for practice) and finished before we came home. Then, I liked the scarf so much that I started on a hat for him. From there, my desire to knit just grew and grew.
Knitting is relaxing and a good way to get my mind off other things. I started crocheting as well but have only finished one project so far. It was a little doggie sweater. It turned out really cute and I look forward to trying some more crochet projects in the future. Especially children and infant clothes! With crocheting, they turn out so cute!
December 16, 2008 was my due date for the twins. It had been really hard in the weeks approaching as that was all that was running through my mind. I know I am blessed, but I truly wish God could have also given me my twins. We decided to throw them a little birthday party in rememberance.
The 16th of December is significant in two ways: (1) It was the twins due date and (2) It was the day, 6 years ago, that we conceived Danny after trying for over two and a half years. When the miscarriage happened, I was trying to find ways to grieve and I ran across this great website:
http://aplacetoremember.com/gremembk.asp
I created the twins a rememberance page that I can always visit, sort of like a headstone. It has helped me greatly in thinking of them and moving on. Here is their rememberance page:
http://aplacetoremember.com/remembrance/remember_view2.asp?id=13459&index_letter=S
I also wrote in a journal the instant I got back from the hospital so that all of the memories were vivid. To read it now just amazes me because it is so clearly documented. I even have sketches of what the babies looked like when I saw them. I am very thankful for my two children and I pray that this experience with the miscarriage, helps me to help others that have experienced the same thing. I believe that God let it happen for several reasons. (1) So that I never take for granted the gift of bearing a child and (2) so that I will always have compassion for those who can't conceive, have miscarriages or lose children.
Tonight we went to Chuck E. Cheese because the kids have been begging us for over a month to go. We always like to go on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night because it is usually dead and we can let the kids run themselves ragged! We don't have to worry so much about them because the area is clear and if we sit in the middle of the room, we can follow their every move without having to run after them.
We got there about 8:10pm and both kids were tired already, so they had fallen asleep in the car after about 10 minutes of driving. Kamal wanted to turn back to go home but I told him that the kids would be VERY UPSET if he did that. So we continued down to the one on Mopac and once we got there, Danny went crazy! He woke up Austin and together, they went storming the steps of Chuck E. Cheese.
We have a little tradition that kind of made itself. When we would go to CEC in the past, we would take pictures as a family at that little picture machine. What I like about that is the pictures are dated. I started collecting them since 01-01-07 and have to date 20 pictures of us. It has been awesome to see how the kids' facial features have changed and how much they've grown. I'm totally going to keep doing this for as long as the kids let me. Here are the pictures:
This is one of our earliest photos at Chuck E. Cheese.
This is the one we took tonight.
All the other ones we have taken.
Today was so fun. We hosted a playdate at our house for the kids to make personal pizzas. Once everyone was at the house, we had the kids sit down with a plate in front of them. We put a little olive oil on the plate with a circle of dough. They got oil on their hands and flattened the dough in a circle. Their mommies helped them to put sauce on the dough and then the kiddos had free range when it came to the toppings. They had pepperonis, black olives, mushrooms, onions and bell pepper to choose from. After they did their toppings, the mommies helped them to put the cheese on top and put them on a cookie sheet. We cooked them in the oven for about 15 minutes and then ate our creations along with coffee for the moms and juice for the kids in animal cups with lids. We all had a blast!
After we ate our pizzas, every one snacked on chocolate chip cookies, provided by Michelle - so good Michelle, thanks! - and then they played all over! Some went upstairs, some went into our bedroom with the toys and some went outside. The moms were able to sit at the table and talk. And I also got to hold the four month old baby, Connor. What a joy! He was laughing, smiling, cooing, just a gorgeous sight to see. Then, I put him on the Winnie-The-Pooh roller rocker while his mom (Jessica) got pictures and his sister (Morgan) helped me push. It was so fun. Also, thanks Lisa, for the book. I'll definitely be reading it soon and I'll try to get it back to you on a timely basis.
The playdate started at 10am and the last person (Ledda and the boys) left around 2:10pm. I got Austin and I ready and we went to pick up Danny around 2:45pm. Then, I ran to the library to drop off a book and came back home to get ready for our 4pm playdate to bicycle in the little clearing close to our house.
Well, the running around was just too much for the boys because as soon as we got home, they went to sleep. Danny fell asleep on the couch and Austin fell asleep with Kamal on the bed. While they were sleeping, I snuck out of the house and went to see the other mommies in the neighborhood so we could talk for a bit. It was nice being able to talk and laugh and not have to worry about my terrible twosome for a change.
When I got home, Danny had woken up from his nap and asked "Is it time to see Zachary and Anna yet?". I told him that the playdate was over and he about freaked out! I told him to hurry and get on his helmet so we could bike down there before they left. We got down there just as everyone was packing up to leave. But at least he got to see Zachary and Anna for a bit and that made him happy. He biked for about 10 minutes and then we made our way home.
Tonight, we went to Sonic Drive-in for half-priced burgers and corn dogs and then went to the library. After the library, we went to Wal-greens and each one of us got something, which usually always happens. I got a tea light candle holder (so beautiful) for our dining room table, Danny got a soft disc shooting gun (he adores it), Austin got two huge punching balloons (both have popped already) and Kamal got two containers of almonds (he loves nuts). It was a nice family outing. Now the kids are watching a Bob the Builder DVD from the library and I am trying to read my mountain of books!
I am gearing up to see the inauguration tomorrow. After reading this book, From Promise to Power by David Mendell, I am getting a better sense of who Obama is and how he thinks. There have been several times that I have to put the book down and ask Kamal, "Did you know this, or did you know that?." It has been very interesting.
I am up to the part where he goes to Harvard for a law degree so that he can get further in his community organizing. His upbringing explains a lot and I like that he never got down on himself for too long. I admire that his job experience has always been about the betterment of people. It brings hope leading into his presidency.
The news stations are reporting that Austin is going to be extremely busy during Inauguration Day. I don't expect us to do much but stay home and watch it on the television. Tomorrow morning, I am having a pizza playdate for my kids and our friends with the Rockin Mommas group. It should be a lot of fun but I imagine that after everyone leaves, Kamal and I will be glued to the T.V. until the kids' other playdate to ride bikes with The Funatics group at 4pm. And of course, afterward.
On another note, I don't think the library gives enough time for reading books. They only allow two weeks to check out a book and two more times to re-check out the book. While for most people, this might be enough time, for me, it's never enough time because I'm usually into another book when I check out the next book. In California, we had three weeks and then you could check out two more times at three weeks each. I was definitely able to finish books with that amount of time.
We just relaxed today, another Sunday that we were too late in going to church, and after the kids and I took baths, Kamal suggested that we go to the Austin Zoo. The kids thought that was a great idea and we invited Margo, Najib, Raed and Rajaa to come along with us. We all had a wonderful time.
We got there around 2:30pm and started off looking at the prairie dogs and monkeys, and then made our way to the tigers and lions. When we got to the wolf cage, there were picnic tables and we had a little picnic.
Najib, Margo and I were taking pictures of the macaws and as we were, one of the macaws tilted his head and said "Hello". It surprised us so much! After I was done taking my pictures, I turned to leave and it said "Good-bye!". What a smart macaw! I want one so badly, as well as a little monkey.
Once we got to the petting zoo part, the kids went crazy! They were feeding sheep, deer, goats, and llamas. Also, some pigs (although they weren't supposed to feed them). We were taking TONS OF PICTURES! And just had an overall blast!
Then, we made our way to the train. The train was about to pull out but the engineer saw us coming and waited for us to board the train. It was just Austin, Danny and I that got on but we had so much fun! We saw Longhorn cattle, donkeys, ostriches and ponies along with an alien spaceship, pirate ship and more. We were singing this song all the way:
Down by the station, early in the morning.
See the little puffer bellies all in a row.
See the engine driver pulling on the handle,
Chug chug, choo choo, off we go.
It was a great memory with my kids. And as it turned out, we had caught the last train of the day. We were so lucky.
We made our way back to Margo and Najib's house to have a barbecue. There was barbecue chicken and hamburger, rice, hummus, pita bread, baked beans, etc. It was so good. Then, for dessert, we had ice cream cones with three different types of ice cream (cookies-n-cream, Neapolitan, and cherry). Yum yum! Also, a meal isn't complete without the Arabic coffee (Turkish coffee). Needless to say, I didn't stick to my diet today and I feel like a huge balloon! But, it's just one day and I'll be back on the bandwagon tomorrow. It just made it a perfect ending to a perfect day!
|
As soon as we got home from picking Danny up from school, the kids were watching a little PBS and fell asleep on the couch. It was so precious.
Thanks Lisa for cooking with me and I SO look forward to next time! Kibbeh, yum yum! Kamal and the family are sure enjoying our cooking. I told you there would be none to freeze! Also thanks about pointing out that Picasa 3 has a collage feature. That saved me about 30-40 minutes in arranging and rearranging photos. So cool!
I just finished my Christmas book, A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber. (I know, it's a little late but I had to slip in The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch so that we could discuss it for book club last week.) I really liked this book and it was an easy read, although there were moments that I kept telling myself that it was too ironic and simplistic. It was a modern story that followed so closely to the birth of Jesus and at first, I liked that a lot. Then, as I read through more and more, it got a little annoying. But I found myself liking it again close to the end and I really liked the ending.
We had a nice relaxing morning this morning. We got up too late to make it to church so the kids played as I worked on a website and Kamal worked on his stuff. Then around 3pm, Kamal needed to run to south Austin really quick and I asked if he could drop us off at Whole Foods since it was on his way.
Once we got to Whole Foods, we had so much fun! It was Sunday, so all their samples were out and the kids went from one to the other getting free food. There were tons of people there! We bought pizza and went to the roof to let the kids eat it and play. Afterwards, we went back inside and looked at all the delicious baked goods and candy, seafood and veggies, nuts and flowers and then, we got them a cookie each and mommy got a french roast coffee. We ate outside and Kamal came to get us within 5 minutes. It was such a great day. Maybe next time, I will let the kids (and myself) go ice skating.
We had such a great time when my mom and cousin Shanlyn came to celebrate New Year's with us. They got here the Sunday before and we had dinner at home. The next day, we went to the library, Walmart and the mall. On our way from the library to Walmart, we stopped at It's a Grind and got Peppermint Bark Mochas for everyone. We then parked at the library and walked over to the huge tree that has lights on it and took pictures with the sled. It was a lot of fun.
The next day, we went downtown to look at UT (Shanlyn is thinking about going there) and then on to Whole Foods. We ate on the roof and let the kids play on the playground. It was really relaxing and Whole Foods even had an ice skating rink up there. Danny was begging me to take him back so we could all go ice skating. However, there was one embarrassing moment while we were there. Austin pulled down his pants and just started peeing right in front of everybody on the playground. I sprinted over trying to cover him up as fast as I could and then took him to a restroom. Of course, when we got there he didn't have to go anymore. When we finished at Whole Foods, we went to Barton Creek Mall and Shanlyn had her nails done while my mom, the boys and I looked at purses in JcPenny. We grabbed an ice cream at Marble Slab Creamry and then headed home.
On Wednesday, we had a relaxing day and just took a walk to feed the fish and let the kids play at the park. It was nice not to have to rush around. That night, we went to Najib and Margo's to have dinner and see the new year in. Shanlyn was not accustomed to being served so much food and she said that if she ate anything more, her stomach would bust. It was good times!
