Party!

Hubby left for Illinois Friday afternoon, and Ummi had herself some girlish fun. We invited Rh to come and sleep over, called Auntie Sh, and planned a picnic for Saturday.

With some broiled marinated chicken drumsticks, Fried rice, and Auntie Sh's Pad Thai, we headed off for Whetstone Park of Roses and sat at the picnic table by the casting pond. H brought hubby's rollerblades and they all took turns skating around the pond while the women ate and took turns watching the babies.

The weather was nice, not too hot, not too cold. We should do this more often.

I recall the picnic I had with the kids at Upper Arlington Library. That was quite some time ago, when S wasn't even wearing hijab yet. She skated too at the time while we sat at the table, eating our Biryani. I love picnics like that. The kids love it too.

Hubby though is the practical kind of guy, no picnics - "too much of a hassle" he says. As far as I remember, we have never had a picnic as a whole family. It has always been me and the kids. When my mother came, she had a picnic with the kids too, right here in Buckeye Village.

On Friday though, as I watched the kids skating outside the house, I asked them,

"Where're my rollerblades?"

Once I was pregnant with Baby Z, I stopped rollerblading, and for a while forgot about it. S's friend, M, used to come over and use my rollerblades. When I asked them where my rollerblades were, they said,

"M borrowed it."

"You mean she never returned it?!"

I was dismayed. M's family has recently moved back to Algeria, and she never returned my blades. Poof! Just like that. Subhanallah!

Suffice it to say, I was very dismayed, and mourned the loss of my rollerblades, now that I am able to use it again. Inna lillaaahi wainna ilaihi raaji'oon.

Today, we had the Somali sisters over for a gathering that was long overdue. All in all, it has been a really fun weekend, an all girls weekend.

The only thing that struck a sad chord in me was N's apparent attachment to hubby.

While we were praying, Rh came and got something from the table. After we were done, N said to me,

"Abi's here."

"No he's not."

"Yes, while we were praying, he took something from the table."

I had to convince her that that was Rh, and not her father. When I asked her if she missed her father, she nodded.

Today, when she woke up from her nap, she came down to the kitchen to me, and the first thing she asked was,

"Is Abi home yet?"

When she knew that hubby was not going to be home until later tonight, inshaallah.

As for the other two, they denied missing hubby, as expected. H just said,

"I want to see if he got a medal for the swimming."

With a stretched ligament, their father placed fourth in the swimming event. Upon hearing the news from Sh, I exclaimed,

"All the other swimmers must be so bad!"