Pez Collection

Danny and Austin have a pez collection and today, Danny wanted to show it off. He arranged them all in a line and wanted a picture with them. Enjoy!

Nick and Alex's 6th Birthday Party

Today was our friends Nick and Alex's 6th birthday party. The boys were super excited about the party, even though I didn't tell them until an hour before we left. Once we arrived, the kids headed upstairs to play for a while until it was time for games. This was a great opportunity for all the moms to meet each other. Then, we headed outside for the games to begin.



The first game was potato sack hop and the kids had a blast! I'm sure that this is the first time that some of these kids had played that game, at least I know that mine hadn't played it before but there were so many smiles on the kids faces. It was a great competition and Ledda even joined in on the fun since there weren't enough kids participating. Way to go Ledda!



Next, we headed inside and ate before the next game commenced. After everyone was finished, the kids played musical chairs and had so much fun. Danny came in first for the first game and then another cute little boy, I think his name was Xander, came in first for the second game. All the kids were happy because with all the games, Ledda handed out prizes just for participating. Great idea. When you got "out" in musical chairs, you got a tootsie roll/tootsie roll sucker... Austin wanted to play just to get the candy.



The next game was pin the tail on the donkey and it was so much fun. I got so many pictures because I got each kid that played. It really got the mood set as Ledda had the kids sing "Ring around the Rosies" as she turned each kid before they got to pin the tail on the donkey. Then, after that game, she put on the music and the kids had a dance party. I can't believe some of their moves at ages 4-6. They were breakdancing and cutting up... I was astonished and thought "Wow! They are all really good dancers!"



Finally, it was time for the cake. The kids got around the table and sang "Happy Birthday" to Nick and Alex but there were no candles on the cake. So, they got the chance to sing it again. Ledda gave each kid a huge piece of cake. We had to take ours to go because Kamal had an appointment (and we share a car) but it was delicious! Thank you Nick, Alex, Ledda and Roberto for a fabulous party. The kids had a great time and can't wait to do it again soon.



Please click on the link below to see all of the birthday photos.

Nick and Alex's 6th Birthday Party

Funny Things Danny Said

I don't know how many funny things Danny said today, but there are five in particular that I just had to share. I'm blogging them as a reminder so that I don't forget these precious moments while he was a six-year-old.

Loser
This morning started out rough as the kids wanted to play the Wii before school and when it was time to go, Danny threw a fit. As I was buckling him in the car, I was explaining to him that if he continued to throw fits like this, I would take the game away. The lecture continued with me saying that school is where he would learn how to earn money and what would distinguish him as either a winner or a loser. He was quiet for a split second and then looked up at me and said, "I want to be a loser!" I tried to hide my smile but was totally unsuccessful and we all burst out laughing.

Colorful Poop
As with most little boys, our topics of discussion sometimes get just plain gross. I don't know how it happened, but we were discussing the cafeteria food at the school and that topic led to poop color. I was saying something about poop being brown depending on what you ate and Danny chimed in really excited with, "Mom, when I eat candy, my poop is all kinds of colors!" Again, I had to laugh.

You Don't Have a Brain
There is a premise to this story. Every time that Danny does something that he's not supposed to, he blames his brain for making him do it. He always says, "It was my brain, not me!" Austin has now picked up his habit.

This evening as dinner was cooking, I joined the kids in playing the Wii for a little bit. I had to stop every so often to check the food and during one of the times that I was in the kitchen, Danny followed me to get a drink of water. Austin was still on the couch playing and ended up killing off his Wii character. Austin turned to us and said, "I'm so sorry, my brain did it!" to which Danny replied "No, your brain didn't do it... you have no brain!" Danny got reprimanded for being so mean to his brother, but it was still really funny.

Chinny, Chin, Chin
At the dinner table as we were eating, Danny was trying to pull his chair up to the table. I had just given him a bite and I don't know how it happened but he slipped. His chin came down extremely hard on the table, so hard it knocked him backward. He fell back into the chair and the chair moved out from under him. He then fell on the floor. It all happened so quickly that we were all stunned. He got up crying and ran to the back room. That's when I lost it and had to laugh. I'm weird like that but it was so comical the way he fell. It was just like something staged in a movie. He returned and said that he had a huge dark spot on his chin. As I was checking it out, I noticed that he had scraped his throat a little and had a huge red mark from one ear to the other from the fall. I told him that it looked like a huge smiley face and we both cracked up and laughed so hard.

Cooker
Tonight, as Kamal was giving Danny a hard time about saying "I want to be a loser" this morning, he asked Danny if he wanted to be a doctor. Danny nodded at first but then said "No". Kamal asked, "Why not?" and Danny said, "I want to be a cooker, then I'll be a doctor".

This idea of being a cooker was initiated during Pre-K when Danny had to decorate a cardboard man with what he would like to be when he grew up. I helped him find things on the web and he chose to be a cooker (or chef). Here was that project:

Extreme Fun

Yesterday, was early release at school and our neighborhood group had a playdate scheduled at Extreme Fun for a little bit of jumping time. It was so much fun for the kids as a lot of the kids were in kindergarten and knew each other from school and also from the neighborhood. My friends were there so we had a great time getting to chat. Once we were in the building, I didn't see my two boys again until they were ready to grab a drink and a bite to eat (about an hour in) and then they were off for another hour until I called them to go. They were so upset that we had to go but they fell asleep in the car before we even got to the 183. It was a great day.

Book Club

I hosted book club this month for Mermaids in the Basement and we had a great time. We have our book clubs in the mornings at 8:30 as we are all moms who drop off our kids at school and have a little time before they come home from school. I forgot to take pictures but the menu was mango salsa with crackers, fruit with cottage cheese, sausage casserole and frosted brownies. As we were eating, we were discussing the book (a little) and other things (a lot). The kids did so well and it was so much fun getting together for a bit. When Austin got off the bus and saw all the friends, he was so happy! Thanks Zoe, Cyndi, Melanie and Lisa for being my guests and I can't wait until next month... The Kite Runner... yay, I'm finally getting to it!

Semaka Sandwich

I am amazed every day at my children's education in and outside the home. Tonight, the kids and I were having tuna fish sandwiches. I asked them, "Do you want tuna fish?" and everything afterward was called tuna fish. So, I was quite surprised when while we were eating, Austin turns to me and says "Mommy, I'm eating a semeka sandwich!" Semaka means fish in Arabic. I told him that he was right and that he was so smart. There is no telling how many Arabic words are lingering in his head but it makes me so proud to hear them using the language.

"What Faith Can Do" by Kutless

Another great song. I particularly love the words, "It doesn't matter what you've heard, impossible is not a word. It's just a reason for someone not to try." Amen. Enjoy!

Noora, Farris and Zaid's Birthday Party

Yesterday, we went to our friends' house to celebrate the birthday of Noora, Farris and Zaid. Noora turned 7, Farris turned 4 and Zaid turned 3. We started out with food... tons of buffalo wings, pizza, appetizers, etc. Yummy! It was so good and I vowed not to eat more than one slice of pizza and one hot wing, but I didn't hold to my promise on the hot wings.

Lisa had hired a petting zoo along with a pony for pony rides and the kids were thrilled! They took turns riding the pony and playing with the animals. Austin was so happy and was smiling the whole time. He almost didn't want to ride the pony the second time for he was too busy playing with the bunnies, goats, and baby chicks.

Then, it was time for cake and presents. Noora had a Barbie cake, Farris had a Spongebob cake and Zaid had a Thomas the Train cake. They were each so cute. After the cakes, the kids jumped on the trampoline for a while then came in to open gifts. It was a really fun day and we are happy we got to share it with such great friends.
Thank you so much to Lisa, Maen, Elizabeth, Ramzi, Noora, Laith, and Farris for inviting us to such a fun party.




You can visit all of the photos at Noora, Farris and Zaid's Birthday Party

Explorers Club at the Library

The boys had such a great time at Explorer's Club at the library. We went to the library right after school with several of the kids from our neighborhood and had a really nice time. The librarian read the kids three stories pertaining to ice sports such as hockey, showed them a Legos video of ice skating and then had them make their own craft, a penguin mask. The kids really enjoyed their time and I enjoyed getting to relax for a bit. We can't wait until next Thursday!

Wii Fit

My Christmas gift from my hubby was a Wii Fit. I was thrilled as I've been wanting one for a while now. But little did I know that the kids would love it too. I caught them doing a 2-person run yesterday. We all have our profiles on there and are able to go and work out whenever we want. I like the feature of password protecting your avatar so nobody else can log on and see your weight... it's totally private. It also stamps the calendar for every day you come and log in and also gives you great advice on losing weight. I've gotten really good at Hula Hoops, I tell ya! Also, the balancing games are totally up my ally. If you ever want to have some fun while you're working out, get a Wii Fit. They're awesome!

Nice Day for Play

After school today, I decided to let the kids play at the school's playground because the weather was so gorgeous. They had a big time playing on the "big kids' playground" and climbing on trees. It was a great day for play. (Please excuse the photos... camera phone of course).

"The Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets

I love this song so much and it has such a great message. Enjoy!

First Birthdays of the Year for Kayleigh and Blake

Today, we celebrated Kayleigh's 3rd Birthday and Blake's 4th Birthday. Happy Birthday to both of you and thank you so much for having us.

We started with Kayleigh's party at 10am. It was a princess/superheros party and Cinderella was to make an appearance. Once we got there, I noticed that I forgot my camera and I was so upset. But I got pictures with my phone and asked Val if she wouldn't mind getting a few of the boys with Cinderella.

Austin was dressed as, you guessed it, Buzz Lightyear and Danny was dressed per his request as a Spiderman-Transformer (as we had in hand the suit for Spiderman but no mask and the mask for Optimus Prime but no suit). The kids had a blast playing and when Cinderella got there, everyone was captivated! She sang them songs, had them dance with her and then had them make either a tiara or a sword craft. The kids were thrilled. There were so many precious little princesses there and such cute little superheros. It was so much fun to watch. Thanks Kayleigh, Val, Jake and Mike for inviting us to such an awesome party. (The photos included here are from Val's camera, as I had forgot mine.)



The next birthday party started at 2pm. Blake had all his friends play in his room with his new, awesome bed (which is like a bunk bed but the top part is a playhouse). Then, we had some munchies while everyone was still arriving and I got to visit with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. I also got to meet the new addition to the family, three month old, little Miss Julia - she is so beautiful. When everyone had arrived, Blake blew out his candles on his neat little cake. The kids got Hot Wheels sunglasses and Hot Wheels tattoos. Next, he opened his gifts and lastly, all the kids got to pull a string on the piñata to get to the candy. What a great day! Thanks Blake, Juliet, Krinken, Monique and baby Julia for inviting us to a wonderful party.

Toys for Boys

I've been doing some ad design work for my friend, Lisa K. and she brought us over the other day a whole bunch of toys, board games and puzzles that her boys had out grown. The kids love them! They immediately went to work on the 3 foot tall "Hulk" puzzle. Thanks so much Lisa for being so thoughtful... you made my kids' day!

Austin's Octopus Drawing... featuring Captain Hook

Austin drew this octopus and then had a whole scene going with Captain Hook's ship and crew. If you ever have seen Disney's "Return to Neverland", then you understand his inspiration. I was actually quite pleased to see how well he's doing for a 4 year old boy. I had to take several pictures.

The Love Dare

My resolutions this year are:

• lose weight,
• develop my business,
• blog once a day and
• be a better wife and mother.

So far, I'm doing pretty good. I'm on top of things, getting the clutter down to a minimum, working out every day, watching what I eat, and working from 9-5 on business things. The thing I need to work on now is being a very patient, long suffering, kind wife and mother.

I listen to KLOVE radio every morning and they are having a "Love Dare" that is running from today until Valentine's Day. On their website, it gives you little tips each day on what you need to work on in order to bring peace into your relationships.

Today's Dare

The first part of this dare is fairly
simple. Although love is communicated
in a number of ways, our words often
reflect the condition of our heart. For
the next day, resolve to demonstrate
patience and to say nothing negative
to your spouse at all. If the temptation
arises, choose not to say anything. It’s
better to hold your tongue than to say
something you’ll regret.

You can visit KLOVE's site every day at: The Love Dare. I encourage you to take "The Love Dare" challenge for the next 40 days and see if it helps your relationship. I can already tell you that it's been a bit challenging for Kamal and I already. :-)

Family Game Night

For Christmas, Danny and Austin got Super Mario Bros. and they have been playing non stop since Christmas. Danny loves it when either Kamal or I play with him and we usually do tournaments (Danny/Kamal, Danny/Lachelle or Kamal/Lachelle). This picture is of Kamal/Danny/Austin playing the game together.

Frosty the Snowman at Build-A-Bear Workshop

My mom had the kids build a snowman at Build-A-Bear workshop in the mall (her first experience to Build-a-Bear) and they are so cute. Austin named his "Frosty" while Danny named his "Frosty the T". The one in blue is Austin's and the one in red is Danny's. Also, when you tip Frosty's hat, his whole face lights up in reds and greens... he is so adorable.