Miscellaneous

Alhamdulillah life post OHVA is lighter and freer. Almost every morning now, if the sun is out and shining, I send the kids outside, and tell them to take Baby Z along. No, I don't get to really sit down and have coffee and read the morning newspaper, but I can now tidy up the house, take a shower and sit down at the computer in an empty household. However, I have started telling them to make sure the house is tidy before they dash outside to frolic in the morning sun. It's very frustrating to be doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and walk into a messy living room or rooms, and no one to hail to do my bidding. As I struggle to complete writing my article assignments, I also struggle finding time to sit down long enough without being interrupted by a baby needing to nurse, a baby dropped in the living room as his sibs return back outside to continue their outdoor play, and a set of rowdy children banging the door behind them as they barrel in the front door.

Not so much freedom for me, but alhamdulillah baby Z's eczema seems to have abated significantly ever since his nap schedule became regular.

Since I wasn't that busy logging in hours, attendance, checking lesson progress, and dealing with a myriad of issues pertaining to the OLS of OHVA, I've been able to actually nurse Baby Z in peace, albeit it being an hour straight at a time. We're all much much happier now, and I've even started to take interest in baking again.

I coaxed them to bake something for themselves, and one day they made meringue cookies. Yesterday they made cookies to make ice cream sandwiches with. As for me, I baked myself my Namaste Carrot Cake again, but this time using Ener-G egg replacer, hoping for a normal cake. Alas, I seem to have taken the cake out too soon, and all I got was a gummy, spice-laden carrot cale. At least, I think that's the problem. Nevertheless, I'm only more determined to experiment until I get it right. So I'm inshaallah going to play around with cake recipes or if I'm lucky, after doing more reading on the chemistry revolving different kinds of flours, I might come up with my own recipe.

H had his last soccer game of the season this morning. He scored a goal, and the weather was really pleasant too, allahu akbar. I had boiled some corn for them this morning and we brought the whole pot with us. As usual, hubby stood on the sidelines and churned out shouts after shouts of encouragement, commands, comments, and amused disappointment throughout the whole game. S was busy chomping on a corn, and calmly, she asked her father,

"Wanna a corn?"

"No, not now. I'm shouting," he replied, not taking his eyes off the players on the field.

"That's why he needs the corn," S said to me, and I burst into laughter.

We finally bought gates to put at the kids' doorway, the kitchen hallway, and the front door hallway today. The house hasn't been child-proofed for Baby Z, as I anticipated moving out, but it's not happening anytime soon it seems. Handy S and H set up the gates, much to their parents' pleasure, especially hubby's. He wasn't that enthusiastic about putting them up, but alhamdulillah we have some handykids around. Proud of their handiness they are too!

As for me, I am still buried under the task of reading my high stack of books, and have yet to finish my writing assignments, which has been driving me crazy to say the least. I just realized that I have only spent Ramadan in Malaysia in my 'childhood', since I came here at the age of 20 and have spent Ramadan here ever since. I have never experienced Ramadan as a wife and mother in my home country. How sad is that? Nevertheless, it sure has some perks too, alhamdulillah.

And alhamdulillah, my lengthy nursing times in the room have been spent listening to Anwar Awlaki's Umar Ibn A-Khattab, and suffice it to say, it has infused me in this ethereal world of the sahaba. Even Baby Z looks forward to the lecture whenever it's time to nurse for his naps and bedtimes. Life with Baby Z is much much more enjoyable now, especially because I'm finally able to relax into a schedule that is more like the one I'm used to when S, N, and H were younger.

Without the pressure and hassle of OHVA, life seems much more relaxing. Plus, the weather is still spring-like, though the flowers on the trees have mostly dispersed, leaving the trees green, making it look more like summer.

Inshaallah it seems like I'm taking the next Almaghrib class: Seerah, the Shepherd's Path in mid June, even though I said I probably won't. Circumstances inshaallah have changed such that it would be quite possible for us to do it with less hassle than before, bi iznillah. I look forward to this class.
So now, before I feel like I have wasted my time yet again on the computer, while two writing assignments are yet to be finished, I'd better sign off, and wait till much later before I finish up those 4 drafts sitting in my blogger account. Plus, I have a one year old who is starting to wail because he is probably bored because all his sibs have left him with his mother who is on the computer typing away, and hubby, as he does every Saturday evening, has gone off to play soccer. A mother never gets to completely rest, does she? In Jannah inshaallah, in jannah.

Reading Rainbow 14th Annual Young Illustrators & Writers Contest

This is the second time the kids are entering this contest. The first time I entered them in the Reading Rainbow Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest, all three entered. Now, since S is too old for it, only H and S are entering. Since our local PBS station does not hold this contest, N and H are entering as independent entries. They have been working on their stories diligently for about a month, though I have to say, it took a lot of work on my part too.

N and H's OHVA teacher had sent me a very helpful PDF file that contains tips on perfecting a child's writing, and I went over those tips with both N and H. And mashaallah, the tips were written very well, and it was really easy to go over it with the kids, as it was tailored for them.

Since N had entered NanoWrimo last year, she was somewhat used to writing towards a huge word count, and even though I told her the maximum word limit for this contest was 350, she didn't quite have a sense of what a 350-word story would be like. Her first draft ended up with close to 1000 words or maybe more. H went over the word limit too, though nowhere close to 1000 words. With N, she really went to great details with her story, and as I went over her story with her to trim it, I shared her grief. I told her we would save her first draft because it was a really great story with great details, but that for the contest, we would trim it to a compact 350 word story.

As I sat with her to help her trim her story, I found that she really had trouble doing it, and I understand the feeling perfectly. As all writers know, carving out your writing is a bittersweet experience. You feel sad that you're throwing away some 'great' writing, but at the end of the trimming, you do end up with a more tight and better story. Nevertheless, it took longer for N to trim hers than H.

It took a lot of juggling on my part to find time to work with them on their stories. We have had to email their files so that one person could do it on the computer downstairs, and the other on the computer upstairs. I had to sit through the whole trimming session, guiding them without helping too much. If it was up to me, I would have done it for them, but that would have defeated the purpose, wouldn't it? Same case with filling out the forms for the library cards. Oh, what we mothers have to go through with our children! I think fathers (especially those men who value efficiency over effectiveness) would have done it the 'efficient' way rather than do it the 'effective' way.

'Working on their Reading Rainbow stories' was one of the items on my to do list that remained on the to do list for quite some time. On Monday Mar 24, I was finally able to delete the 'mail their Reading Rainbow entries' off the To Do widget on the desktop with great relief. By the way, that widget really is helpful, convenient, and most importantly, saves the trees! jazahu allah khair hubby!

N's story: Smiley's Spelling Surprise

H's story: The Mystery of the Money Thief

Reading their story, I could see the marked improvement in their creative writing. When they entered the contest last year, they had done their story on Windows Paint, incorporating the text into the illustrations, but now, they seem to be placing more emphasis on the text than the illustrations. I even had to cajole them into making more illustrations.

I love how S's 2006 entry centered on a common problem children have, and the solution for her character's problem was ingenious, and maybe one that I should use (hmm...). One of the objective of parenting is to guide our children to resolve conflicts on their own. In a way, I do think creative writing paves a way for them to learn just that, as a story is not a story without a problem and a solution!

N's 2006 entry was really colorful. She has an eye and ear for noticing human personality and quirks. Her stories always amaze me with colorful and interesting characters. When we were both doing the Nanowrimo, I have to say that she was able to get past the 'editor' (since she basically had no editor in her) and just write without worrying about how it would turn out, whereas I couldn't get past the 'editor' in me. That's the beauty of writing like a kid. No worries.

H's 2006 entry compared to his most recent one, displayed a marked improvement in vocabulary, word choice, and sentence structure. He was in Kindergarten when he sent this in, and now he's in 2nd grade, but doing 3rd grade Language Arts. Though, his stories still center around mysteries and action. I suppose those are typical boy stories?

At any rate, they are enjoying creative writing, and it's great to have outlets such as these writing contests for them to hone their writing skills and encourage creativity. Alhamdulillah!

Nature Walk

As I logged in to the OLS last night, I found there were no lessons for all the kids.

"Did they kick us out already?" I thought, half jokingly.

So, I wasn't able to make the kids' to do list on their little portable white board, which left us somewhat 'hanging' this morning, since our mission is now to finish OHVA lessons up to 90%.

"So can we go out?" they asked eagerly, faces beaming.

As the OLS was still blank, I let them go with their 'tree hunt' kit, which we had created years ago, as a result of our tree hunting expedition one beautiful spring day. It was then that we found out we had crab apple trees scattered all over our neighborhood, and we also learned that those trees are tree climbers' paradise! Even I was tempted to hitch up my abaya and climb the enticing curvy boughs with reckless abandon.

This morning, I didn't go with them because Baby Z had to nap, and it was 30 F outside anyway. I had told them it was too cold, but since when do children listen to their parents about the temperature outside when it look bright and sunny? Since the trees were still bare, they couldn't collect samples of leaves, buds, twigs, or barks, so I made up some impromptu instructions:

1. Go outside and find a place where you can sit and listen to the sounds around you. Write a poem
2. Be an animal detective, and write a story

3. Write a news report from your animal observation (since our neighborhood seems to be teeming with wild cats)


The White House, as the kids call it, that they report to harbor cats seen to be roaming our neighborhood.

When spring finally arrives inshaallah, I hope to join them in their Nature Walk, along with Baby Z. Our bulbs are already peeking out.

nature walk poem by N

I never thought I'd go outside
To play and have some fun.
How more fun it would be
If I could play out in the sun.
The snow is to blame,
It's freezing me!
If you know my name,
Let's play my game!

Nature walk poem by H

I went outside today and saw lotsa stuff,
and a cat that fell of a high place,
we walked off in a huff,
we started to pace,
then we went to the safari,
but nothing we saw except moss,
it was like walking to Jalali,
S was the boss,
so we had to go follow her to some mailbox,
I saw a bird,
it was orange like a fox,
we ran home like crazy,
and I stamped some leaf samples,
I did it as if I was lazy,
and that is the story about that cold day.

My Back Porch and My Nature Walk By S

On my back porch,
I hear cars, a fire truck, people,
crows, airplanes, Song birds,
I see houses, bikes, grass, bushes,
leaves, trees, rocks, human things,
I look for clues,
to find cats,
But when I look down all I see
are my untied shoes.
But suddenly,
face-to-face I see
a cat!
Staring at each other,
I reach out to grab,
but it runs away.
Look at that!
says someone,
when the cat runs past them.
I go home after I get some thorny samples,
of a bush near my back porch.

S: Descriptive Writing

From Test Ready Language Arts Book 5 page 6:

Think about what your daily life is like. What activities do you do? What is a typical day like for you? Now think about what life would be like if you were born one hundred years ago. On a separate piece of paper, describe what a typical day might be like for a person your age one hundred years ago. Use words that will help readers create vivid pictures of your descriptions in their mind.

My Life One-Hundred Years Ago

I woke up and looked around my teepee for a bow and arrow. I spyed it hiding under a pile of stones. I grabbed it and ran out. My mom handed me some breakfast, which was a little bit of cooked rabbit meat. The meat was gobbled down in no time. I went off to find some rabbits and squirrels to hunt. On the way, I picked some berries to eat. Then I spotted a squirrel. I quickly shot my arrow. After I picked up the squirrel and stuffed it in my bag, I wandered home. Suddenly I heard a mammoth trumpet. All the men in the village were hunting a mammoth. I raced home. At home I played in the field with my friends, and picked flowers. In the evening, I sat near the fire, and made a wreath with the flowers. Then I gave it to one of my friends. The men came home dragging a big mammoth behind them. The other girls and women sat by the fire and started to eat the mammoth meat. After I ate my squirrel, I went to my teepee and crawled under my mammoth skin blanket. Soon I was sleeping...

"I like the other one better," S said, referring to the two pieces of writing she did in the Test Ready book.

I had told her I would put up her writing in my blog because she didn't want to put it up in hers. Alhamdulillah for technology, for we are able to keep soft copies of their school projects, writing, rather than hoard the hard copies. Hubby bought me a digital camera when I told him we couldn't keep all the school projects they did, but that taking pictures of them and keeping those instead would be the wise thing to do. Though of course, we're not able to 'soft copy' everything, unless we scan them. Maybe that should be the next item on my to do list, before we have to move out.

Her writing above, in my opinion, served the purpose of a descriptive writing, though she could have replaced some 'went's with stronger verbs. I really love the technique of teaching them to replace some verbs with stronger verbs to make their writing more vivid. I never learned that in school.

Years ago, I would have balked at the thought of grading or assessing their writing, because I don't have the confidence to do so. I wasn't raised or educated here, and the school system is very different back home. After taking the Writing for Children's magazine course with the Institute of Children's Literature (which had stemmed from the curiosity of seeing whether I have it in me to write at all), I am better able to spot the techniques of writing, and more importantly, teach it to my children. Truly, homeschooling is a learning process for both children and parents, subhanallah.


As I read her piece above, I did some mental calculations, and it struck me that 100 years ago for me is very different than 100 years ago for S, well, if I was her age right now, that is. Mammoths might not be around anymore in her 100 years ago, nor in mine, but I'll let it go, because if I was her age, I wouldn't be able to accurately pinpoint where 100 years ago is on the timeline.

Me = Miss Declutta?

Toys by H

Toys are the best,
better than a nest,
I sometimes go to toys R us
but parents don't let us
S, N and I
will just die,
because the fun is lost,
just of the cost
so now all is gone,
'cause miss declutta is here!

I giggled when I read this, and I was a bit indignant too! Fancy my son calling me Miss Declutta (declutter, hubby-style). In exasperation, I have been decluttering their room as of late, several times, whenever they fail to listen to me to clean their room. In dismay they have watched me throw some of their 'creations' away, and I told them that they can't buy new toys, even with their own money, until they learn to keep their room clean, thus the poem above. Our apartment is really being overloaded. The three kids are growing and their clothes are getting bigger, such that the little towel closet cannot neatly contain their clothes anymore. Such a contrast from the times when they were younger; one small shelf was sufficient to harbor each child's clothes.

"I don't like it when my closet's messy, but there's no space to put them," N complained.

OHVA books and materials are not helping either. They send us the kids' books, and if two kids are ding the same thing they one for each child, which just decreases space in our tiny abode. I was assessing their shelf space last night and it did occur to me that were I to get rid of the OHVA books, the room and the whole apartment would get more space, but alas, we have to keep these books until K12 announces it is time to return them, which usually is sometimes in June. How I can't wait to be done!

Then there's my baking paraphernalia. When they were younger, I used to bake, and decorate cakes, so over the years, I have accumulated various cake decorating tools, flower making tools, and many-shaped pans. Ever since Baby Z was diagnosed with multiple allergies, I have stopped baking. Just cooking alone is a feat for me now as I have to be careful of what I put in the food. So all the baking paraphernalia is also taking up space. I had asked S,

"Do you want to bake ? Because if you don't I want to put all the baking stuff away in boxes until we move."

She shook her head. I was surprised and disappointed, because she is able to bake on her own, and I somewhat expected her to do the baking now that I can't even eat anything with eggs.

Then there is my sewing paraphernalia. When they were younger, I used to try my hand at sewing and quilting, and now crocheting. Suffice it to say, we have lots of unused fabric which I have accumulated over the years. I was too scared to cut them for fear of ruining them, but I have also managed to make some clothes for the girls, rag dolls, curtains for the apartment, and other home decor stuff. So it's still an ongoing thing - sewing.

Then there are the books. These are things I cannot part with. Our living room probably looks like a library! And now that all the kids are avid readers, we always have library books filling up the two boxes we have allocated on one shelf in the living room and the two boxes upstairs in their room. And I've even thrown out some of my old Enid Blyton books that had sentimental values.

It's actually a cross between these two factors: we're outgrowing the apartment & we have too much stuff.

That's what happens when you like to stay home all the time and develop more than one hobby. So...here comes Miss Declutta!

N's voice

stars

The beautiful night sky
Is full of stars,
But stop right there,
DON'T MAKE A WISH!!!
If you just make a wish,
It is Shirk,
Only pray to
Just one God,
And His name is
The only One ALLAH!

fish

This little tiny fish
Named Fish or Wish,
But people call him Fish,
Because he is!

Pome 2

Did you just know
That these three mice
Were riding on the pavement,
Not so nice,
They fell into a hole, but
Serves them right,
And they just made a sound
Like a nut,
Crash, crash, crash,
But no one really cared,
And ate ice cream,
Just don't forget the mice,
They froze to
ICE!!!

Pome

I want a pet

I really want a cat,
Unlike a rat or a bat,
What I really want is just a
CAT, CAT, CAT!
It will curl up at the foot
Of my woody bunk bed,
And will purr, purr, purr, but
Best of all, it will have-I just can't tell,
Oh, alright, I will just tell you,
These little pussy things, that just might be
A boy or a girl,
And are really really small,
Like just about--
Five inches,
And I guess that now you know
What I mean,
Because what I mean is a-
K-I-T-T-E-N, KITTEN!!!

You Can Give People Hints Without Telling Them The Whole Thing!

Today, after my bath, my annoying sister, S, told Ummi that I was peeling my scabs, not picking, behind the bathroom door. But she told Ummi like this,"Ummi, you might not want me to tell you this." She grinned uglily. "What?" Ummi asked curiously. "You'll think I'm a tattle-tale," S answered, which she is. "Of what?" Ummi asked. "N was doing something behind the door," Sakwakatoocheeinah said, shifting Little Bebe Zea'. "Like what?" Ummi asked, eyes wide. "Something that's serious," Ugly Big Bottom Lip S said. "Oh, now I know," Ummi said. See? YOU CAN GIVE PEOPLE HINTS WITHOUT TELLING THEM THE WHOLE THING!

***********************

N loves writing, and it seems that she best expressed herself through the written form, as it is quite a feat to try to get words out of her. Her voice resonates with her unique personality through her writing, which rather surprised me, because it seems to be quite a strong personality.

There is nothing like celebrating the differences in our children, mashaallah! Each of them has his/her own specialty. I particularly am very amused and tickled by N's post above, which she had put on her blog (which I have not made available on purpose - they all have their own blogs) weeks ago.

I intend to write a personal family memoir pertaining to each of them, but seeing how badly I'm managing my time, I wonder if I will ever get to that 'wish list item'.

S: Narrative Writing Revised

Think about the shows you watch during the week on television. What kind of shows do you enjoy most? What kind of shows do you avoid? Watch a television show that you would normally not watch. On a separate piece of paper, write a review of that television show. Focus your review on a particular aspect of the show: the plot, the actors, the acting, or the writing. Back up your opinions and reactions with information from the show.

Crash: A Tale of Two Species

Did you ever know that there are birds that are becoming extinct now? Red knots are a small bird becoming extinct because of people. To save the Redknots, horseshoe crabs have to stop being taken by people because the crabs eggs give the Redknots protein for the long journey to the Arctic. But we might be too late to save them.

Biologist are studying Redknots. When they studied the birds, they started to study horseshoe crabs because that was the cause of the birds declining. They told people to stop taking Horseshoe crabs. Some of the birds didn't fatten up enough to fly to the Arctic. Then the birds flew.

When the biologists got there, there was not trace of a bird anywhere. They searched other parts of the Arctic, but there was nothing. They even listened for the birds, but it was as quiet as the moon. They gave up searchig. It was hopeless.

The Redknots were called moonbirds because they flew enough miles to get to the moon. Biologists are going to try to find the moonbird next year. But the birds might already be gone.

My opinion of this story is that it is interesting, because I learned more about an animal(s) that I didn't know much about before.

My reaction was absorbing in all the facts from the show.

Revised Version
_________
Crash: A Tale of Two Species

Do you know that there are birds that can fly all the way to the moon are becoming extinct? Red knots are small birds that are becoming extinct because of people. To save the Redknots, people have to stop taking horseshoe crabs because the crabs eggs give the Redknots protein for the long journey to the Arctic. But we might be too late to save them.

Biologist are studying Redknots. When they studied the birds, they started to study horseshoe crabs because that was the cause of the birds decline. They told people to stop taking Horseshoe crabs. Some of the birds didn't fatten up enough to fly to the Arctic, but they flew anyway. Those birds that didn't eat enough died or fell.

When the biologists arrived at the Arctic, there was no trace of a Redknot anywhere. They searched other parts of the Arctic, but there was nothing. They even listened for the birds, but it was as quiet as the moon. They gave up searchig. It was hopeless.

The Redknots are called moonbirds because they flew enough miles to get to the moon. Biologists are going to try to find the moonbirds next year. But the birds might already be gone.

I think that this story is interesting because I learned more about an animal(s) that I didn't know much about before. Throughout the show I was absorbing all the facts. I would watch this show again.

-----------------------

She was probably adamant that hubby and I gave her B that she wanted to do the revision. It was one of the very best attitude she put forth in revising her writing. I later asked her though, if she liked doing it.

"No," was her answer, but I thanked her for her cheerful attitude and amiability during the revision.

For someone who started reading at the age of 3, is now an avid reader, and has a reading speed that is probably the same as that of an adult who is himself an avid reader, I am expecting better writing skills from S. Maybe it's just me being ignorant of how children her age write, or maybe it's just my perfectionism meddling in, or maybe she is truly capable or writing better. At any rate, this is still a learning process, and even if she never grows to like writing, I truly hope she does develop better writing skills inshaallah.

Today, I opened my inbox that contains communication between her assigned teacher and myself and this was what she said about S's writing:

S continues to make excellent progress in this area. Her writing skills are advanced for her age, very impressed with her growth!

I still can't see what she means. Hubby even suggested that maybe the teacher is saying so because we are non-native speakers, and for non-natives, she is good.

S : Narrative Writing 1 pg 3

From Test Ready Language Arts Level 5:

Think about the shows you watch during the week on television. What kind of shows do you enjoy most? What kind of shows do you avoid? Watch a television show that you would normally not watch. On a separate piece of paper, write a review of that television show. Focus your review on a particular aspect of the show: the plot, the actors, the acting, or the writing. Back up your opinions and reactions with information from the show.

Crash: A Tale of Two Species

Did you ever know that there are birds that are becoming extinct now? Red knots are a small bird becoming extinct because of people. To save the Redknots, horseshoe crabs have to stop being taken by people because the crabs eggs give the Redknots protein for the long journey to the Arctic. But we might be too late to save them.

Biologist are studying Redknots. When they studied the birds, they started to study horseshoe crabs because that was the cause of the birds declining. They told people to stop taking Horseshoe crabs. Some of the birds didn't fatten up enough to fly to the Arctic. Then the birds flew.

When the biologists got there, there was not trace of a bird anywhere. They searched other parts of the Arctic, but there was nothing. They even listened for the birds, but it was as quiet as the moon. They gave up searchig. It was hopeless.

The Redknots were called moonbirds because they flew enough miles to get to the moon. Biologists are going to try to find the moonbird next year. But the birds might alredy be gone.

My opinion of this story is that it is interesting, because I learned more about an animal(s) that I didn't know much about before.

My reaction was absorbing in all the facts from the show.

----------------------

S has started to do the practice tests in the Test Ready booklets to prepare for the OAT(Ohio Achievement Test) in April. I had a phone conference with her assigned teacher months ago, and she had said to me that S writing is excellent. I have been grading S's writing through rubric, and I felt that i was pretty hard on her. So I asked her teacher,

"So I was pretty hard on her then?"

'Oh no, no, you were not. No, you should keep your standards high because she is capable of doing really great!"

I asked S to look over this piece of writing she did, to really look over it and correct any mistakes she sees. She did last night, and the only thing she corrected was the one in red. I have always told her to read her writing out loud but I don't think she does if I don't make sure she does.

I gave this to hubby to 'grade' and he gave her a B, B-. I'd probably give her the same grade too.

So it seems that I have some work to do...

Resident Poet

Our literature today covered several poems with the theme 'imagination'. One of the activities was to write their own imagination poem. H wrote his. Pretty good, I must say, mashaallah! He has improved a lot in one year, though his handwriting could use more attention to punctuation and be more legible. But I guess all that reading pays off, alhamdulillah.

Jannnah Life
My imagination said one day
"Take my hand lets fly away",
So off we went to fly,
in the mornin' sky,
my imagination told me"hurry up!",
so I went faster than a pup
up,up,up!,
finally we were there,
faster than a zippy bear,
in a place bad people don't go,
in this magnificent place obedient people go,
where I see
people don't pee,
in this life
people don't use the knife,
Jannah is the life!

By H

On Mothers

I always wanted 7 children. My mother said,

"Are you crazy?" when I told her. Well, she asked me.

After having 3 in a row, I put the 'dream' on hold. I now have 5, technically. So I guess Ijust need 2 more to complete the dream set. People dream of completing their china or dishware set, I dream of completing my offspring set, but deep down, it's just a way to increase the probability of getting one of those righteous children who will keep putting money in the 'bank' for hubby and me even when we're long gone, inshaallah.

“Whenever the son of Adam dies his actions stop except three: Knowledge that benefits people, a recurring charity, and a righteous child that supplicates for his parent .”

(Hadeeth Saheeh, Collected by Muslim #1631)

I always wondered how mothers of more than 5 children cope. Are the mothers in good health condition? Are they still alive? How are the children? Do they get along? Who gets along best with whom?

So it was an eye opener to be reading this.

As for this one, it was a personal struggle for me, and throughout the years, I am able to see the benefits of that struggle.

Sisters is wonderful, elegant new magazine for the Muslim woman. Though I have not been fortunate enough to actually hold the print version of the magazine in my hands, I have been reading the issues that have been churned out through the efforts of dedicated sisters, may Allah reward them.

What's Up With NanoWrimo?

Yesterday, NanoWrimo ended.

My 'novel' was only written up to chapter 4.

N's on the other hand, was completed, at over 4,318 words.

Shame on me.

Right now, my writing skill has deteriorated. I need to up my reading.

Check out Motherverse -> Living With Kids -> As We All Know.

Soon...yes...soon.

Oh My God! Oh I'm Sorry!

Yesterday, they all had eye appointments, and since we had to play catch up with time for them to make it to their ceramics class, hubby brought them to a space near an emergency exit to pray Asr while H chose a new pair of glasses.

Apparently, while they prayed, two times, someone opened the door, and didn't see the girls behind it, thus banging it on them.

Our resident poet wrote two acrostics (also the latest craze they're into) about the incident.

Oh my God, it's Oh my God!
How did she not know we were there?
My sister was smashed by the door,
You wouldn't believe it,
Goodness gracious me, she said,
Oh I'm sorry, that's what she said,
Door was banged on us and then we started to giggle!


Oh I'm sorry, Oh I am sorry,
Hit by the door
I was soo mad,
My sister was, too!
Suddenly the woman said, "Oh, I'm very sorry!"
Oh I am very sorry! We both laughed at that remark
Right after we finished praying.
Rolling with laughter, laughing uncontrollably
You just wouldn't believe it!

By N

Nano Nano!

N's at 2441 words, inching closer to her goal of 6000 words.

I'm at 3468 words, crawling pathetically towards 50 000.

Hey, at least the kids like my story.

"When are you going to write Chapter 4?" they kept asking.

"So what happens next? Is her mother really dead?" they ask.

"I don't know. I'm making it up as I go along," I say.

As for N's story, it's going along pretty gorgeously.

S has also started writing her own story for fun. I think she thinks that NanoWrimo is yet another 'homework' and that that was why she refused to take part in it.

On another note, H attended his first street Hockey and wrestling class today. And I'm picking up where I left off, inshaallah.

Personality Unlocked

I finally managed to update our word count on the NanoWrimo website today. N's now at 1,188 and I'm at 1,365.

"What's your title, Ummi?"

"I don't have one yet," I replied.

To be honest, i don't even know what I'm writing about. N, on the other hand seems to know where she's going. Her 'novel' is called Travel to the Planets. I'm really amazed at her word choices. You don't have to teach this girl to use strong verbs! She's an expert at them, and her voice, mashaallah, she does have a voice, even if she is verbally quiet.

Recently, my mother told me that she had received the cards the kids had made for everyone in her household. The kids had made cards for their many grandmothers, uncles and aunt. I had told them to pack them in the big envelopes to send to my mother, mother in law, and my father. I didn't look at the cards as I was busy in those last few days of Ramadan, so I trusted them to appropriately fill the envelopes. I didn't even check to make sure the right cards went in the right envelopes.

I received an email from my mother saying that in her envelope were cards for my brothers on my father's side, my mother in law and one of my brothers didn't get any!

I immediately told them that they had left out Uncle Nk. N immediately made card for her Uncle Nk. So did H, who claimed that he was too lazy to make them in the first place. I suppose they felt bad for the big mix up.

I realized that N's strength really truly lie in interpersonal communication. Sure, you might have a hard time getting a peep out of her verbally, but try doing it on paper, and you'll be surprised. When my mother came recently, she told me that N has gift for writing. I agree. She does. Mashaallah. I guess if I can't get her to respond verbally, I can always get it in writing. She's always glued to her chair in the room either doodling or writing away anyway. Many times, hubby told her to go outside and play, but she always refused, and when she did, it is only for a little while.

So maybe I'm unlocking N's world through this NanoWrimo venture.

First Day of NanoWrimo

Since the NanoWrimo website takes so long to load, (understandably), I'll just post our word counts here:

For today, N's word count is: 820

Mine is : 724

She beat me.

N's word count goal is 6000.

Mine is ...10 000. Yes, I'm a wimp. We'll see if I reach my own measly goal.

EDITED: I just realized that adults aren't granted word count goals *grinning sheepishly*, so I guess I'll still have to strive for 50 000.

NanoWrimo & Making it Possible

Here we go again, my writing craze is sparked, and I still can't believe I did it, but I signed myself up for NanoWrimo. In addition, I also signed out in-house author up for the Young Writers NanoWrimo. She was more calm and sure about it than I was. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off, but I guess sometimes you have to go for the plunge and try to swim back to the surface.

Meanwhile, I'm realizing that I can actually eliminate stress in this homeschooling business, inshaallah.

Yesterday, I noticed something about us.

The kids were already doing their OHVA schoolwork in the morning. Noses to the grindstone kind of concentration too, mashaallah! So they were done pretty early, such that they were able to work on their Solar System Unit Study individual project in the afternoon, and we were able to fit in a read-aloud session. I noticed that I wasn't harried or distressed yesterday alhamdulillah. Bonus: I just realized that N had a Solar System Unit in her OHVA Science curriculum. Since they had been devouring books on the Solar System since after Eid, I decided to give her the lesson assessment so she we could mark those as 'done' in her Online School. She passed with flying colors! This is something amazing, compared to the drudgery of me having to repeat parts of lessons sometimes, just to make sure she attains the objectives of the lesson. With N, individual pace and readiness are really the key, I think, which is why a set curriculum would not work for her, and would only induce insanity in me.

I have to admit, I didn't do much read-alouds to the kids, and this I believe has contributed somewhat to the lack of language skills (relatively) in them. I will do this with Baby Z inshaallah.

As for NanoWrimo, S and H refused to participate. So the adventure this year is for me and N. We'll see how it goes. I have a feeling that N will be more successful at the writing than I would.

Cosimo de Medici Song by H

Cosimo Song

My name is Cosimo Cosimo Cosimo
Me come from Medici family family family
Me love Reeba Reeba Reeba
Me have a wool shop wool shop wool shop
Me have big family family family

Today's history lesson was about the Medici family in Florence, Italy. Since they started banking in Florence, we talked about Riba'. Hubby had already mentioned it to the kids sometime ago, and when I mentioned it again, H piped up,

"Oh yeah!"

As a closure to the lesson, both N and H did something to put in their lapbook, and H came up with what he calls the Cosimo Song.

He took the paper he had written it on, and started his performance. Taking small steps, he hunched his back and started 'singing' the Cosimo Song. I burst into laughter. It was a very well done performance! You can count on H to give a funny twist to a 'normal' lesson.

The Ummi & Abi Poems

The Ummi Poem

Ummi smells good
Just as she should
Z does too,
Ummi, I like you



The Abi Poem

Abi drives
*Z has hives
Ummi eats
S cheats
N creeps...
while H sleeps


By N

"What do you wanna be when you grow up, N?"

"An author," she replies.

I'll have to start seriously looking for places to publish her.

*Shows how Z rules our lives now with his hives and eczema flare ups.

EID AL FITR

"We found it!"

Sure enough they did. I had struggled to complete those two pieces as Ramadan approached, and had had to use hubby and the kids as my sounding board.

"I finished it. S please read it and let me know what you think," I pleaded her to critique my pieces.

She's a pretty good critic too. I don't remember what she said exactly, but she gave me feedback that helped me fine tune the pieces.

H read too, and N plain refused.

"It's boring," she said.

"I only like the balloons and slide thingy part."

"What do you like about it?" I asked them when prompting for feedback.

"The facts," replied H.

"I don't like the Moving Holiday that much, I like the Eid one," said S.

"The ending is weird, Ummi," was one of S's feedbacks.

As I fiddled with my intros, I asked her opinion.

"I think that one's better," she said.

"Yeah, that one's weird," H chipped in, and they giggled.

I sent the refined pieces to hubby so many times for critique, such that even after I told myself I was done with it, he came home and gave me more suggestions and feedback for the pieces.

During the course of writing 'The Moving Holiday', I discovered that the Islamic calendar is the only true lunar calendar. All this while I had thought that the Chinese used the lunar calendar too, but it turned out that they and the Jews use the solar-lunar calendar, not a totally lunar calendar. It's also interesting to realize that Allah mentions this in the Quran, in Surah At Tawbah. I never knew that before.

Well, according to the lunar calendar, S is already 11, and N just turned 9 yesterday in the Gregorian calendar. Nine years ago in the Gregorian calendar yesterday, I gave birth to my biggest baby ever so far, at 7 lbs 1.5 oz, yet she is the tiniest now.

H's writing

Rain Poem

I hate rain
Rain is really a pain
It loves to make people mad
Totally not rad


Personal Narrative
I like soccer. I like it because I like kicking goals. I like to fake too. SWISH!!