A BIG Thanks is in order

During the Texas Dawah Convention, S spent time in the MIST Jr. program. She scowled and frowned and stretched her face to unimaginable vertical lengths.

"I hate dodgeball!"

Everytime we would ask her how her day was, she would respond with either a scowl or a slight smile.

Scowl = bad day
Slight smile = it wasn't too bad

It turned out, the only thing she really didn't like was dodgeball. There was a time when I was walking her and Baby Z to the KidZone, while hubby dropped N and H off at their age groups room respectively. Baby Z was crying, and I had to rush off to the lectures, so we asked her if she could stay with Baby Z in Baby Z's babysitting room and put him to sleep. She nodded eagerly. However, as we paced the hallways, Baby Z fell asleep in his stroller.Knowing how she hated dodgeball, I asked her, as we approached Baby Z's babysitting room,

"Do you wanna go to MIST Jr, or do you want to stay with Baby Z?"

She didn't answer right away, but indicated from her body language that she would prefer to go to MIST Jr. So off to MIST Jr. she went, while I wheeled Baby Z to his babysitting room.

On one of those days, she told me that they were making a big THANKS exhibit for the parents, and that each of them had to make a card for each parent, thanking each parent for one particular thing.

"I made one for Abi and one for you," she said, a shy smile peeking through.

"So what'd you thank me for?" I teased her, cajoling her into runing the surprise.

"I'm not telling," her smile grew.

"How about Abi?" I asked again.

"I'm not telling," she persisted.

"Abi's has a heart on it," she suddenly offered.

"Oh, and mine doesn't?!" I pretended to be hurt.

"Come on, S, what'd you thank me for?"

"You'll have to look for it,"she said.

"But how will I find it if I don't know what it is?" I reasoned.

"You''ll have to find it," she said yet again, becoming more and more indignant at keeping the surprise intact.

So on the day the THANKS was finally put up, I went her and Baby Z. They had put it up on the main lobby of the convention floor. I looked through all of the cards trying to find hers. We giggled through some, for some kids had written,
"Thank you for the shorts and shirts." And we marveled at some, for some kids had done really beautiful artwork on their card. And then I pounced on hers.

Guess which one's for whom? And why do I feel like I got the less better one?

Texas Dawah Convention 2007

Five star hotels don't have microwaves and refrigerators in the rooms.

Considering we are not actually financially qualified to stay in five star hotels, that came as a big surprise to us, as we wanted to save on food expenditures. We requested a fridge, and used our rice cooker and steamer to heat up our food.

Like I said in the previous post, the beds are our yusra. Alhamdulillah. Hubby, Baby Z and I grabbed our much needed sleep that Friday morning, while S,N, and H explored the hotel room, and tested the bed's spring. I think they rated the spring as being in very good condition.

Knowing I would fall asleep and never wake up for the rest of the day, I took to washing by hand in the bathtub, all of our dirty clothes. After 14 years of leaving boarding school, in which we scrubbed our own dirty laundry by hand each weekend, I realized that I had forgotten how back-breaking it could be. From then on, I told the kids to wash their own clothes as they shower. I washed mine, hubby's and Baby Z's.

The arduous planning and preparation I had gone through prior to the trip was fruitful, except for one thing. I forgot to bring cooking oil, which probably is a good thing too anyway.

We ate white rice with sardines, spaghetti and its sauce, and white rice with some chicken bought from the food court downstairs. It was hard work for me having to prepare the food each morning especially since the steamer took so long to heat up can of tomato-flavored sardines, and I suffered sleep deprivation, again.

To top it off, Baby Z caught a cold and couldn't sleep one particular night due to coughing. he was miserable at the babysitting too, though he didn't exactly cry. The babysitters said he just kept pouting whenever he seemed to remember that I had left him to go to the lectures.

S never failed to put a scowl on her face whenever we sent her to the MIST Jr.

"I don't like dodge ball!" she complained.

AFfer the second day though, she began to smile a little, and told me about some games they played that she participated in. As I had told Baby Z's babysitter to call on S whenever Baby Z is unconsolable, they did call her several times, which probably gave her some respite from the dreaded MIST Jr. dodgeballs.

H made some friends in his age group, and seemed to be having fun.

N enjoyed the Kidzone so much that she refused to be picked up on the very last day, such that hubby had to physically pick her up. She didn't look too happy. The tears were proof. It was bittersweet. I felt sentimental on the last day too. if I were her age, I would probably cry too.

All in all, the convention was an experience to savor. I still miss it. It was hecti for me, considering I had to prepare the food, tend to Baby Z, dash from the lecture hall to the Kidzone and nurse Baby Z back and forth each time, pick up each kid at the specified time from different rooms, and keep up with doing the dishes in the bathroom, and also the laundry, along with the task or organizing and packing stuff so we wouldn't be rummaging endlessly in the van. It was mentally and physically draining, and I am still recovering, but it was really worth it! Alhamdulillah.

Baby Z's eczema surprisingly got better, much much better down there in Houston. When we got back to Ohio, it got worse.

On Monday, we went to see the pediatrician, and when we told him of the eczema, he said,

"Either that, or you will all have to move to Houston."

Hubby even said the day before,

"I have to find ajob in Houston?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Z's eczema is better there."

It must be the humidity.

The experience at the convention is just too rich to be written about in one post. Nevertheless, I don't think I have the luxury of time to write about it extensively even though I want to.

Let's just say, for now at least, that I am really really glad we went.

Going to Houston

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Hubby had secured a second driver so I wouldn't have to drive on the trip to Houston. With a nursing baby, it would just be a hassle. Baby Z's car seat was placed at the very back seat so I could nurse in full seclusion since we had another brother with us.

Qadar Allah, the brother was afflicted with what might have been some stomach trouble. He stayed in Kentucky, and we proceeded. My husband had lost his second driver, and attained a reluctant moi.

Suffice it to say, the drive to Houston from then grew gradually arduous. It reached its peak worst when we reached Lousiana. I drove us through parts of Alabama and Mississippi, and handed it over to hubby because Baby Z had woken up. It was back breaking nursing him in cramped quarters in the very back seat, and I didn't get enough sleep due to our sudden change of plans. However, alhamdulillah the kids behaved, and Baby Z slept exceedingly well.

The pediatrcician, when he found out we were driving to Houston, said,

"Well, your kids are well behaved, so I'm sure you'll be fine."

As he left us though he said in a conspiratorial whisper,

"Give them some Benadryl,"

and as he walked away,

"I didn't say that. I didn't say that."

Alhamdulillah, we didn't have to give them Benadryl. Allahu Akbar!

It was close to fajr when hubby stopped somewhere in Lafayette, Louisiana to sleep. I woke up to find us at a gas station. Baby Z woke up. S and I went to the restroom to change his diaper. We were honored by two Hispanic moms conversing in Mexican.

We let hubby sleep for a while more and I offered to drive the next leg of the trip.

Bad decision.

My eyelids were super droopy. I slapped my face, asked H to recite to me, talk to me, and even pinch my hand but I kept falling asleep on the wheel. We took the next exit and I almost had a car hit us when I switched lanes without looking. Alhamdulillah hubby is not one of those people who cuss.

Hubby took the wheel, and we proceeded. The plan was not to stop anywhere for the night, hence the idea of the second driver, which of course had fallen apart by then.

The drive from then on seemed so long and torturous. We prayed Fajr at a town called Sulphur. Our spirits were lifted as the sun rose. The dark night sky is truly fit for sleeping, as Allah has intended it to be; that much I can appreciate. With the rays of the sun, our hopes were revived and we looked forward to push on despite lingering sleepiness.

"We're in Texas, where's the welcome sign?" I asked as we approached the border.

"You're not welcome," hubby quipped.

My laughter filled the van. It was probably the first glimmer of normalcy in how many hours of silent worrying.

In Texas the highways seemed wide, unlike Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana's thin, bayou and tree lined highways. It was a welcome change of scenery. Alhamdulillah. Though I have to say I rather enjoyed looking at the misty bayous and swamps inhabited by leafless trees that look like something out of a horror movie.

We set out from Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday at around 9 am, and arrived safely in Houston, Texas on Wednesday 10 am. Alhamdulillah.

The beds in the hotel room were our yusra.

Houston, Here We Come!

Tomorrow, early in the morning inshaallah, we will be setting out on a road trip to Houston, TX, for the annual Texas Dawah Convention.

Baby Z's food? Check
Clothes laid out for tomorrow? Check
Two abayas each in the bag? Check
Three pairs of clothes in the bag? Check
Food? Check
Baby Z's Cetaphil? Check

It has been a grueling preparation, and I have been losing sleep over making lesson plans for this trip. May this be a fruitful journey inshaallah.

Houston, here we come!

EiD MuBaRaK!!!

The Blue Van

I used to transport people to and fro. It was pretty dull. One day, a family of five visited me. They test-drove me, and immediately took me. I was elated. Now life was finally going to get interesting. They have kids!

I was immediately packed with multitudes of belongings. So packed that I thought I was going to throw up. The 'Ummi' said,

"It looks like a can of sardine."

I felt like one.

They drove me all the way south, through the Appalachian mountain range, all the way to Georgia. The three kids gave me an interesting life. two of them played scratching games all the way to Georgia that the boy developed a dimple on one cheek. There we lived for about a year. 'Ummi' drove me a lot, mostly we went to the library and Jo Ann.

On the way to the mall one Sunday, my right tire blew with a very loud pop. We veered off the highway. I fought hard to stay upright so they won't get hurt.

Then, they packed me up again, but this time, the boy didn't ride in me. Instead, he rode with 'Abi' in the U Haul truck while the girls and 'Ummi' rode in me. We went back north, through the Appalachian mountain range again. 'Ummi' wasn't too happy driving all the way up the mountain. I could sense her nervousness in the way she stepped on the accelerator.

I could hear S saying,

"Falling rock, Ummi?" as she saw the signs along the way up the mountain.

"Yes," said 'Ummi' , and I could sense her shuddering.

We reached Ohio and here we stayed for quite a while. They used me relentlessly. One winter, they brought me to the east coast. I was really tired, that one of my tire blew while they were on their way to a friend's house at night. Poor them, they didn't have a cell phone and while 'Abi' changed the tire in the dark and sleet, the rest of them stood outside and got drenched. On the way back to Ohio, I tried my hardest to keep from falling apart. My parts were clanking. I'm sure they were scared I would break down on the way home. I didn't disappoint them. They arrived home safely.

Sadly, I have grown too old for them. I keep hearing the kids saying,

"We need a new van!"

The back door was broken, and could only be opened from the outside, and only 'Abi, S and H could open it. My body parts grew worse in the clanking department, and I was even emitting a burning smell. I often heard 'Abi' and 'Ummi' discussing my condition. Worry was the utmost in their voices.

One day, they drove me to the northen part of town to see another van. They liked it, and 'Ummi' drove us home. 'Abi' drove the other van home. Ahh....it's only a matter of time then, before my fate was sealed.

"The junk yard was willing to pay 300," said 'Abi'.

I heard them discussing selling me. 'Abi' took pictures of me. I stood as proudly as I could. I had served this family well, except for the two incidents of the blown tires.

Then a man came to look me over, and he made up his mind right then and there. He wanted me. I felt sorrow seeping inside my body parts, clank and all. This was it. I was going home with this burly man. He looked nice, but I rather preferred the family.

Today, I had the chance to visit my family again. As I sat there parked in front of their apartment, with a long ladder on my back, I looked up and spied four faces looking out the window. If only they knew how happy I was to see them again, and if only I could wave and let them know how much I miss them. I could hear H's loud excited chatter. I heard something like,

"ah! he changed it! the windshield! and there's a curtain in the back window!"

I could feel love in his voice. They still love me!

As my new owner drove me away, I took one last look at the family I have been serving for 6 years, and tried to stifle back my tears. I will miss Baby Z's wails, N's non-chalant manner, S and H's quarrel. I will miss them all.

Let's go!

Hubby had an interview in Athens. He's been asking if we want to tag along. I never gave a definite answer until the morning of the day, when S woke me up asking if they would have school.

I didn't get much sleep the night before and went back to sleep after fajr. After about one hour of sleep, I asked her,

"Do you wanna go?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Ok, tell Abi we're going."

Talk about last minute. We left around 11 am and arrived there around 12:45 pm. Hubby dropped us off at the public library, and we stayed there for most of the afternoon until some new acquaintances brought us to their home.

It was a very nice library. The kids fell in love with Athens, the topography, the country side aspect of it and the fact that they could see horses.

We got back home around 10:30 pm.

It was an invigorating trip. I'm glad I decided to tag along, because I was initially reluctant at the thought of staying somewhere while hubby went for the interview from 1 to 4 pm.

Today, I thought that I would have definitely gone crazy at home, schooling them if we hadn't gone. We did do school at the library, but it was a dose of fresh air in a new environment. Alhamdulillah.

Tomorrow is Labor Day. We'll still do school. I want to go slow in Ramadan inshaallah so we can focus on Ramadan itself inshaallah.

I truly do savor my weekends now. They're precious. Time for recuperation.

First week down. How many more to go? I didn't count.

Lake Shore Drive

"We're going to Wisconsin," was the mantra last week. We packed, picked up the rental car, loaded it and set off, leaving behind a beloved Malaysian family about to go back to Malaysia the next day.

Indianapolis, Chicago, Madison was our route. We had three destinations in Chicago; Soundvision, Sears Towers and the Halal KFC on either Roosevelt Rd or Devon. We went to Soundvision and got a book for A. Then we attended the Jumaah prayer where I met another homeschooling mom.

"Are they your daughters? Your sisters, right?" she asked me.

"Daughters," I replied.

With a look of disbelief she said, "Well, if you say so."

We got to chatting and exchanged contact information. Then we went on our way to Sears Towers. Of course we weren't going in it, for it costs about ten bucks per head. We drove past it and headed for the lake.

We had quite some time to spare because we set out early from Columbus. It was the plan to drive around in Chicago before we had to go to Madison. It was a 6 hours drive from Columbus to Chicago and another 2 from Chicago to Madison. We had time to kill, so we parked and romped on the beach.

The kids were ELATED! They had never been to a real beach except for the time when we went back to Malaysia and went to Langkawi. However, only S went to the beach with hubby then. The rest of us were stuck at the hotel. It wasn't quite a beach but pretty close. While we were looking at the scenery, N became engrossed in the soft smooth sand.

"N! Come and look atthe water!"

We called her countless times. She paid no heed and played with the sand. Head down, donning a blue hijab, she squated down and let the sand run through her fingers. H on the other hand began running all over the place. S hovered between running and playing with the sand. I felt content to see them enjoy such a simple thing. The wind whipped at my hijab, and I revelled in the scenery that pressed me to send my camera into overdrive. However, we didn't stay long, which was quite a pity because I could have forgoed Madison for a longer time at the lake.

When we arrived in Madison, N and H kept saying,

"I want to go to the beach again."

On the way back to Columbus, we passed Chicago, but we had to return the car by 6 pm, so we didn't have the luxury of stopping by Lake Shore Drive again. It was rewarding to see the joy and elation in their faces. I hope we can go there again insyaallah.

Visiting Museums

On our recent trip to the east coast, we indulged in museum hopping, thanks to our COSI membership cards. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city with its breathtaking sceneries. We had wanted to enter the Carnegie Mellon Museum but learned that it was not free, so we simply spent an hour looking for the masjid and left for Morgantown, West Virginia.

However, when we arrived in Philadelphia, some friends told us that we could get in free in some science museums if we already have a membership with one in any state. The first museum we went to in Philadelphia was The Academy of Natural Sciences.

I had planned on going to the Adventure Aquarium despite my silly fear of the sharks, but later on changed my mind and chose the museums instead. I think it was a very good choice. One because they turned out to be free for us, and it proved to be a great learning experience for the kids. Plus, I didn't have sharks swimming right above and around us. I would have been left with months of trauma in my own bathroom.

The Academy of Natural Sciences was a really good teaching museum. The kids participated in scavenger hunts which I happened to pounce upon. In each section of the museum, they provided sheets of scavenger hunt questions and pencils for the little visitors. At first, the kids were simply roaming around the museum and it appeared to me that they were growing bored. The scavenger hunt positively channeled their energy into learning and hunting for information, especially for H, who was running around and driving me to exasperation. S, with her love of animals was in animal heaven, especially when we got to the Outside In section of the museum. Even I thoroughly enjoyed myself petting a big fluffy rabbit and an albino guinea pig.

The kids even asked questions! That was a real bonus for me because my kids are shy, very much like I was in my childhood, and even now at times. I could see S shining with exuberance in that environment, taking in the information with enthusiasm.

Our next stop after that was the Franklin Institute Science Museum. They were having the controversial Bodyworks exhibit up till April 23. However, with our COSI membership, we were only allowed to peruse the museum and not that particular exhibit, without paying more. We didn't get into the IMAX theaters either, which was fine because by then, we had to rush in order to beat the traffic getting out of Philly. It was a real pity too because we didn't get to fully peruse the museum before we had to leave.

I personally loved the Big Heart section, where a big model of a heart was erected through which we could walk into the atriums and ventricles. S had an ultrasound done to see her pulse. We saw real brains of a mouse, sheep and humans, one of which was from a person with Alzheimer. We found out that the kids have about 5 cups of blood in their bodies, me 15 cups and F 20 cups. The kids really enjoyed themselves, and so did we. It was a very good optimization of the trip.

Earlier in the morning, we had visited the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall, but the kids weren't that interested. I could see why. That would require a totally different approach. Maybe later I can jog their memory from the snapshots I took during that historical tour.

Philadelphia is a costly city. However, I did miss it though as we left it and headed towards West Chester to stay at a friend's house. The kids however, gained new friends in West Chester and it simply warms my heart to see them forming friendships. We left for New York City on Thursday. I had wanted to visit Ellis Island to see the Immigration Museum since the kids are learning about that, but it was too cold, and our plan was not that well organized. We ended up driving around Manhattan in bone chilling weather amidst the crazy honking and drove to Vienna Virginia that very night.

Nevertheless, Staten Island, which was our first stop in New York, provided us with another learning experience at the Children's Museum. The kids got another go at petting a guinea pig. If we were living in a house, I would have gone and gotten us a guinea pig for a pet.

Washington D.C. was our final stop for touring. We didn't go to the Memorials as F thinks it silly to park and simply take pictures at memorials, so we went to the Naval Air and Space Museum. It turned out to be another beneficial visit, alhamdulillah. N at least learned about the Wright brothers.

I had wanted to at least visit the Lincoln Memorial, but it was raining and we had to beat the traffic (again) so we forgoed that.

Just yesterday we made a map of our trip. N proved to have a canny map reading ability. The poster is yet to be finished but it seemed to pique their interest, which is always a good sign in acquiring anything.