N will never fail to wake me up for Asr after our naps. We have taken to forcing them to nap now because Isha is getting later and they also wake up at Fajr and do not go back to sleep afterwards.
H went with hubby to the Hayl meeting and a picnic afterwards so it was just us ladies in the house. We took a nap few hours after Zuhr and right when the azan was called, N came to my room and woke me up. It took me a while to wake up and I told them to pray first. They did. As I was trying to get up, I heard N reciting the Quran.
Today is Sunday. They didn't have any To Do Lists to abide by on the weekends. Sure, they have chores on Saturday, but Sundays they're usually free. Subhanallah! I suppose it has become a routine that it's so hard to shake off. Quran after Asr. They even resisted the urge to go and play outside before they read the Quran. S checked N's recitation. Right after N was done, they both left the house.
"What time should we come back?" shouted S before she closed the front door.
"6:30!" I croaked.
They came home around that time, while I was cooking and mopping the kitchen.
I felt bad for not offering them any praise when they did the above, because right when I went into the bathroom to shower, the bathtub was slippery with spilled shampoo: N's doing.
Of course she got some scolding. I told her to clean the bathtub after Maghrib. She did.
Sometimes I feel so evil. The times when they do praiseworthy acts are when I should have opened my mouth. The times when they do 'kid-expected' acts are when I should withhold my tongue and act with wisdom.
However, subhanallah, you can't help but love the purity and innocence Allah bestows in our children at such tender ages. You can't help but (yes, despite our faults and failure to abide by 'wise-parenting') feel blessed when the children behave in ways that just blow you away, in a nice way.
As I lay in bed and listened to N's halting recitation, corrected by S, I made dua in my heart,
"Oh Allah, please keep their purity and keep them away from bad influences and the path to the fire. Please make them among the saaliheen."
Now, I should make this dua,
"Oh Allah, please give me wisdom and insight that will brings us closer to You." Ameen.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
You're Famous!
I'm discovering more and more that H is truly a very bubbly character that would benefit from some submerging at times. One day he was so chatty and jumpy that I actually told hubby to drag him along when he goes out to play soccer with the brothers.
I was frowning in front of the computer, with a stack of books piled up high on the table, writing up my writing-related Curriculum Vita. The frown accompanied the task, as I didn't have much to fill up my CV.
"Can you get me the ' _________' book, please?" I asked out loud.
I have only been published in two 'books' so far and I needed those very badly for CV purposes. One of these books is in my possession and the kids just love reading my pieces in it.
The book sat on the table for a while, and pretty soon, it caught H's attention.
"Wow! Ummi! You're famous!" he suddenly exclaimed.
"You're a famous pregnant woman!" he added exuberantly. It was as if he just found sunken treasure in the middle of the Atlantic.
"No, ummi's a famous pregnant author," N piped in, in her calm and controlled manner.
I let out a very amused chuckle. To be called an author by my daughter when I am not even one is just downright hilarious but cute nevertheless.
All the while, I thought to myself, "I hate to disappoint these kids."
"I'm not famous," I said, as H kept jumping in excitement at the 'realization'.
"Yes you are! You're in a book!" he replied.
I chuckled.
The next day, I asked him,
"I'm in this magazine too. Am I famous too?"
"You are?!" he exclaimed.
"Where? where?"
Both S and H rushed to me to look for my name.
"Yeah! You're famous!" said H, with a serious nod.
Oh boy, then an obituary would probably make me famous too, huh? (just as long as my name is displayed)
I was frowning in front of the computer, with a stack of books piled up high on the table, writing up my writing-related Curriculum Vita. The frown accompanied the task, as I didn't have much to fill up my CV.
"Can you get me the ' _________' book, please?" I asked out loud.
I have only been published in two 'books' so far and I needed those very badly for CV purposes. One of these books is in my possession and the kids just love reading my pieces in it.
The book sat on the table for a while, and pretty soon, it caught H's attention.
"Wow! Ummi! You're famous!" he suddenly exclaimed.
"You're a famous pregnant woman!" he added exuberantly. It was as if he just found sunken treasure in the middle of the Atlantic.
"No, ummi's a famous pregnant author," N piped in, in her calm and controlled manner.
I let out a very amused chuckle. To be called an author by my daughter when I am not even one is just downright hilarious but cute nevertheless.
All the while, I thought to myself, "I hate to disappoint these kids."
"I'm not famous," I said, as H kept jumping in excitement at the 'realization'.
"Yes you are! You're in a book!" he replied.
I chuckled.
The next day, I asked him,
"I'm in this magazine too. Am I famous too?"
"You are?!" he exclaimed.
"Where? where?"
Both S and H rushed to me to look for my name.
"Yeah! You're famous!" said H, with a serious nod.
Oh boy, then an obituary would probably make me famous too, huh? (just as long as my name is displayed)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Switching Roles
"Aww that's so nice!" exclaimed the nurse as she opened the door and saw hubby and N helping me with my shoes.
Few weeks ago, we were getting ready to go out. My usual trouble: putting on my socks. Help!
S helped me. I didn't really feel it then.
Today, I had to clip my toenails, but I was having trouble.
"Need any help?" asked S. She was in the midst of cleaning her room. I relented. I never imagined what happened next would happen, at least not now.
S clipped my toenails. She's 9. I'm 30. My 9 year-old daughter clipped my toenails. I remember clipping her nails while she was sleeping when she was an infant.
Socks are next. Both of my daughters, aged 9 and 8, sat at my feet and slipped on my socks with a lot of difficulty.
As they were huffing and puffing with my socks, it took me a few minutes to be taken back to the time when I was the one huffing and puffing at their little feet!
A guffaw escaped me. They both looked at me, puzzled.
"When you were small, this was what I had to do every time I had to put on your socks or shoes. Now you're doing it for me. Mashaallah!" I explained.
May Allah preserve their innocence and purity and make them among the saaliheen. Ameen.
Few weeks ago, we were getting ready to go out. My usual trouble: putting on my socks. Help!
S helped me. I didn't really feel it then.
Today, I had to clip my toenails, but I was having trouble.
"Need any help?" asked S. She was in the midst of cleaning her room. I relented. I never imagined what happened next would happen, at least not now.
S clipped my toenails. She's 9. I'm 30. My 9 year-old daughter clipped my toenails. I remember clipping her nails while she was sleeping when she was an infant.
Socks are next. Both of my daughters, aged 9 and 8, sat at my feet and slipped on my socks with a lot of difficulty.
As they were huffing and puffing with my socks, it took me a few minutes to be taken back to the time when I was the one huffing and puffing at their little feet!
A guffaw escaped me. They both looked at me, puzzled.
"When you were small, this was what I had to do every time I had to put on your socks or shoes. Now you're doing it for me. Mashaallah!" I explained.
May Allah preserve their innocence and purity and make them among the saaliheen. Ameen.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Where do I begin?
A lot has been going on lately.
I discovered that H's personality is way different than the girls' such that he needs to be around people, hence why he savors going to the masjid with hubby every day.
Hubby bought him and S new watches. I had to contend hearing him tell me the time every single minute.
Just today he said to me, "A.M said there are five qalqalahs, da, ba, qaf, ja and..." and he couldn't remember one more.
I was pretty impressed that he caught on that pretty quick.
Today I told them to count their money as we were transferring their money from their money boxes to empty jars.
I had trouble with N, who seemed quite confused by the one dollar stack of coins I told her to make. While H counted his, and S hers, I sat with N and guided her throughout the counting. On paper, she does pretty well, but when it came to the real thing, she was lost.
Alhamdulillah though, we are done with school. N just has Math and Science to deal with. H just has Science and S naturally has Science, History, Math, Literature and Writing to finish. She however is working independently alhamdulillah.
I had to go through a non stress test last week because I told the doc the baby's movement was decreasing.
S came in with me and stayed for the whole half hour.
"So should the baby's heartbeat be high or low when s/he moves?" I asked her as we both looked at the machine blinking the baby's heart rate and graphing it.
"High," she answered.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it's like it's running."
Well, high it was, up to 170 something. All was good alhamdulillah but I don't think S is going to come and stay with me for the upcoming non stress tests I have to undergo every week from now. Half an hour seemed to be too long for her as she kept reading the time off her watch to me.
They've been leaving me home alone lately, claiming that they like to pray at the masjid than at home.
"When the baby's here inshaallah, are you still going to leave me?" I asked them.
"No," they chorused.
"I want to play with the baby."
"I want the baby to play soccer with me." Guess who said that one?
Well, we'll see. When the baby wakes them up at night, we'll see if they still want to stay home with me and the baby.
Time flies by so quickly. My firstborn is almost 10 and I'm having inshaallah my fifth. At the same time that I will probably be dealing with pre pubescent issues with S, I will also be dealing with infant, and toddlerhood issues with the baby if everything goes well inshaallah. What a way to look forward to my parenting milestones. Subhanallah.
I discovered that H's personality is way different than the girls' such that he needs to be around people, hence why he savors going to the masjid with hubby every day.
Hubby bought him and S new watches. I had to contend hearing him tell me the time every single minute.
Just today he said to me, "A.M said there are five qalqalahs, da, ba, qaf, ja and..." and he couldn't remember one more.
I was pretty impressed that he caught on that pretty quick.
Today I told them to count their money as we were transferring their money from their money boxes to empty jars.
I had trouble with N, who seemed quite confused by the one dollar stack of coins I told her to make. While H counted his, and S hers, I sat with N and guided her throughout the counting. On paper, she does pretty well, but when it came to the real thing, she was lost.
Alhamdulillah though, we are done with school. N just has Math and Science to deal with. H just has Science and S naturally has Science, History, Math, Literature and Writing to finish. She however is working independently alhamdulillah.
I had to go through a non stress test last week because I told the doc the baby's movement was decreasing.
S came in with me and stayed for the whole half hour.
"So should the baby's heartbeat be high or low when s/he moves?" I asked her as we both looked at the machine blinking the baby's heart rate and graphing it.
"High," she answered.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it's like it's running."
Well, high it was, up to 170 something. All was good alhamdulillah but I don't think S is going to come and stay with me for the upcoming non stress tests I have to undergo every week from now. Half an hour seemed to be too long for her as she kept reading the time off her watch to me.
They've been leaving me home alone lately, claiming that they like to pray at the masjid than at home.
"When the baby's here inshaallah, are you still going to leave me?" I asked them.
"No," they chorused.
"I want to play with the baby."
"I want the baby to play soccer with me." Guess who said that one?
Well, we'll see. When the baby wakes them up at night, we'll see if they still want to stay home with me and the baby.
Time flies by so quickly. My firstborn is almost 10 and I'm having inshaallah my fifth. At the same time that I will probably be dealing with pre pubescent issues with S, I will also be dealing with infant, and toddlerhood issues with the baby if everything goes well inshaallah. What a way to look forward to my parenting milestones. Subhanallah.
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