The Khan Family of Five, Two Cats, and a Dog

A tiring, but fulfilling day

2012-01-29T22:06:00.000-06:00

Today Safa and I spent a few hours helping with debris removal at a home in Clay. The subdivision, Paradise Valley was hit particularly hard during the most rent line of tornadoes last week, with many homes completely destroyed and uninhabitable. The houses will have to be rebuilt from the foundation up, but this first requires the lots to be cleared of overturned trees and building debris. It's quite a labor intensive job; we joined about fifteen other volunteers, who cut the trees and branches into manageable parts, and carried them to the street side for the city to later remove.

It was sad to see the damage.

But it was amazing to see complete strangers work as a team, and rally together to help clear the neighborhood, paving the way for a new beginning.

Sweet sixteen!

2012-01-28T23:28:00.001-06:00

On January 28, 1996, a little after 8pm, this little Miss came into our lives:

And today she turned sixteen!

Time seems to have just flown by, but I know I have acquired more than a few hairs since then! And with Safa about to get her license next week it's probably going to get worse! But we have tried to prepare her the best we can.

In the morning Safa went to a math tournament, while I drove to Anniston for a baby shower. Then in the afternoon Farah and Adeel took the kids to the Ringling Brothers circus. In the evening we had hamburgers for dinner.

And as if we can't have enough cake, Safa got her own today.

And I managed to place sixteen candles on the cake. Including the alien candles she requested, along with Buzz Lightyear.

Cake and candle overload!

CHD Awareness week 2012

2012-01-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

For CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) Awareness week this year, I am participating in The Faces of CHD- Pinterest Awareness Challenge, created by heart moms, Ruth, Stefenie and Becca.

As I do every year, I'm sharing a little of my heart child's story. If you would like to read a more detailed account of our journey with CHD, you can go to this blog post, and with a follow up here.

In short, Bilal was diagnosed after birth with Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex congenital heart condition with four unique defects. We were anticipating surgery at 4-6 months of age, however because of signs of congestive heart failure and his growth rate slowing down, he underwent his full repair at 8 weeks of age, when he wasn't quite 9 pounds. He had a remarkable post operative course and we were home on day 4 post op. After a rather difficult 2 weeks at home, things started falling back into place and since then, Bilal has grown and thrived like any heart healthy child. He may require valve replacement surgery as an adult, but for him, this is 'possible', not 'probable'.

Bilal turned five this past July and has started kindergarten. He loves school, and has found a love for karate too, taking after his older siblings who are both second degree black belts.

We see the pediatric cardiologist every two years for a complete check-up, including echocardiogram, EKG and chest x-ray. And for the rest of the time we continue to enjoy our happy, crazy, wildly busy life.

Remember, congenital heart defects affect approximately 1 in every 100 children that are born. Bilal is one of them.

Celebrating another birthday

2012-01-27T22:17:00.000-06:00

We're back in another busy birthday month for the Khan family. Zakir's birthday is today, and it was kind of low key, but we did go out to eat in the evening.

At Nothing but Noodles

Safa turns 16 tomorrow, and since we didn't have a party planned this year (and she has to go to a math tournament), I decided to surprise her by bringing a couple of her closest friends home with us after school. We were all able to keep a secret for a couple of weeks!

And after dinner we came home and enjoyed dessert. Lately Nutella has been quite a popular food item in our house. Zakir made Nutella flavored ice cream today, and I baked him a cake with Nutella filling and frosting. It didn't turn out looking very pretty.

But it was well received; everyone thought it was delicious. As you can see the single huge candle is making up for the fact that if I put the correct number of candles on the cake it would set the house on fire, hah! So, without divulging his actual age, let me just say, he's definitely getting older! Happy Birthday, hon!

Aftermath

2012-01-24T20:17:00.000-06:00

I've posted about Alabama weather several times on this blog, but this time the severe weather really hit close to home. It has been an unusually mild winter, even by Alabama standards, and that has made for a very early tornado season.

Early yesterday morning a band of storms swept through central Alabama, and with it came tornadoes. A strong EF3 tornado (up to 150mph winds) passed through Trussville and the neighboring city of Clay, leaving in its path immense destruction. One of the neighborhood hit hard was a mere 3-4 miles north of where we live, and on our route to work. So many roads were blocked that we couldn't make it to our office in the morning. But that was only a tiny inconvenience compared to what many people experienced.

These pictures, from the Trussville Tribune and Weather.com are from Trussville and Clay.

There were many other cities that were also hit hard. Sadly, two people died in the storm, one of them a sixteen year old girl who was a student at JCIB, where Safa goes to school. But the death toll could have been much higher if it weren't for the continuous coverage provided by the meteorologists at our local TV stations, who have made a commitment to staying on the air while there is a tornado warning in the viewing area. No doubt, this has saved many lives over the years. Most people receive warnings in sufficient time to get to their place of safety; a basement, a room without windows, or a storm shelter. During this set of tornadoes about 200 homes were destroyed. Yet many who lost their homes came out of this with very little physical injury. A testimony to the preparedness that Alabamians are used to, living in a region where tornadoes are the norm.

Our neighborhood looked quite unharmed yesterday morning, with a rare tree limb on the ground and no serious damage, and we thank God for that, considering the tornado was so close. You can see from the pictures what happened only a few miles from our house. Just another reminder to me to hug my kids extra tight.

Karate demo

2012-01-21T23:43:00.000-06:00

The kids participated in JIKA's demonstration in Springville today, as part of St. Vincent's health fair. We were there for a couple of hours, and various students performed katas and sparred, off and on throughout the morning.

First of all, Bilal helped Safa stretch.

And after some good stretches the demo began.

After the katas the students sparred each other. Safa and Hamza actually had the chance to spar against each other; I don't think they've done that before. You just don't typically have siblings oppose each other.

But then Bilal obviously wanted in on the fun. I don't think he's even started sparring at the Dojo yet. But he had no qualms getting in there, to try and kick and punch Safa!

We took some time out to roam around the health fair and I put my name into a drawing for door prizes. Later in the afternoon after we had left, I got a phone call informing me that I had won a prize and that they would leave it in the office for me to pick up on Monday if I couldn't come back to claim it. A bit surprising, I'm the one who never wins anything!

So it was a productive morning, and the kids had a great time.

They will be back in the Dojo on Monday, training with Sensei Michele again.

Mismatched

2012-01-20T07:33:00.001-06:00

This morning Hamza came down into the kitchen, took one look at Bilal's clothes and, in his best 'I'm your big brother and am about to give you some very important advice' voice said, "Bilal, that's very tacky." Hm, I wonder why he'd say that?

What Hamza didn't realize, is that today happens to be Tacky Day at Paine Primary School. So, success! We managed to put together a tacky outfit! And to finish off the outfit Bilal decided to wear mismatched shoes to school too. And did I mention that he is tying his own shoelaces now too? Mr. Independent!

And can you tell that his hair line is rather crooked and missing a tuft of hair?

Bilal decided to give himself a haircut because "hair was getting in my eyes". There was a huge clump of hair missing with the rest of his bangs looking rather long. So I cut some more to try and salvage his new 'do', but we're just going to have to wait for it to grow out, and then get it cut neater again. Silly boy!

A pleasant evening

2012-01-19T22:31:00.000-06:00

It's so rare that Zakir and I have the chance to go out for dinner without the kids, so we decided it was due. We tucked the kids in (well, Bilal was tucked in while Safa and Hamza were up reading) for the night and headed up to the Pinnacle this evening. We had to pick up the tuxedo that Zakir has rented for a fancy dinner we are going to on Saturday night, and then we headed to the Olive Garden. Nothing fancy, but a nice meal. The restaurant just opened in our town a few months ago, and is always packed, even on weekday evenings. Fortunately it was easy enough to get a table for two, since by the time we got there the crowds had started to taper off.

We haven't eaten at any Olive Garden in at least 9-10 years, so didn't really know what to expect regarding the food. Fortunately the dishes we selected were actually quite good. And we even ordered dessert! Heck why not? Who knows when we'll do this again!

Tomorrow the office is closed, but there is a lot of catching up to do. We both had a busy week and there is still a lot of (virtual) paperwork to finish off. And then you know we won't even have a minute to spare this weekend. As always!

And after almost two weeks of antibiotics Bilal was starting to get better, with no more snotty nose and much less cough. Well, this morning he woke up coughing a lot again, and this afternoon he just wasn't himself even after coming home from school. He didn't seem to have a fever, but kept on complaining about feeling cold, and had that puny look on his face as he does when he gets sick. And the snot has started back again. This has to be one nasty bug! We have one more week of antibiotics left and then we go back for a repeat nasal culture. Let's see what the verdict will be, but it is a bit disappointing to see that he has taken a few steps back again. Sigh...

Hello, my name is mina and I'm addicted to...

2012-01-17T12:39:00.000-06:00

... Pinterest.

There, I've said it. My new guilty pleasure is this amazing website, a virtual bulletin board you can use to share a variety of design ideas, crafts, recipes, DIY projects, do some vacation or even wedding planning... the list is endless. Oh, and it's also a great place to find an assortment of gifts, categorized by price.

Maybe it's not too bad an indulgence; the family has been enjoying all the new recipes I've been finding and actually trying out. And it's made me feel so crafty! Anyone who knows me personally will be able to vouch for the fact that craftiness is not one of my natural traits. At the most, I'll find a project that looks interesting, and fairly straightforward, consider it, and file it away in my mind as something I might try out - some day.

But this time it's stuck... a bit, at least. And besides finding and sharing some delicious recipes, I have actually tried out my handiwork. My first creation is (in my books) a success. It might not be perfectly neat; the lines are crooked, and I still haven't mounted it anywhere so that I can actually put it to use, but....

Ta da!

It's a ribbon memo board! And so colorful, in an extremely tacky way! The inspiration is this blog/website, which shows a picture of a much less gaudy, yet just as colorful memo board made of ribbons and fabric. The link shows a nice how-to tutorial, complete with photographs of each step.

And best of all, it only cost me a few bucks. I picked up a couple of fabric remnants and assorted ribbon on sale at the nearest fabric store. I bought a foam board, and of course, had packing tape and regular sticky tape already in the house. How long did it take me to make this? No more than fifteen minutes flat! Yes! Even I have fifteen minutes to spare, some time during my crazy busy day. (Of course, I admit, today just happens to be my day off work, and this time, for a change, I did not have a mile long list of errands to run.)

With my first no-sew, extremely easy project under my belt, I might just try and get a little more creative. Who knows what it will be next?

Second time's a charm

2012-01-16T20:04:00.002-06:00

This weekend was the second debate tournament Safa has participated in since she started debating at the Varsity level this year. There aren't many sophomores who debate at that level. So it was a wonderful surprise when she was awarded with this...

... when she least expected it. She didn't actually make it into the semi finals, but obviously performed well enough to earn a lot of speaker points. In fact, of the six top speakers in the Varsity tournament, three of them were from JCIB. That's quite an accomplishment!

We are so proud of Safa and her teammates!

Lego!

2012-01-14T23:39:00.000-06:00

Zakir wasn't supposed to be on call this weekend, but there have been some mishaps among other doctors in the call group, so he agreed to cover, and instead will have a weekend off in March. But it wasn't too bad, he only had to round on one person, and was back home pretty soon. Hamza spent most of the day at his school, helping out with the math tournament.

The nephews drove up from Mobile last night; Farah and Adeel are looking at potential houses to rent in Birmingham, for their move up here within the next couple of months. We are so excited that we should be able to see them much more often! This morning Bilal rode with them to meet a homeowner who is renting out a house, and Zakir and I spent the rest of the morning at home by ourselves. It's always odd when it's just the two of us, it seems far too quiet! Safa, of course, was still in Tuscaloosa, and didn't make it back home until after 8 this evening. More on that later.

After the house hunting was over we all met at Zoe's Kitchen for lunch. Then we headed over to the BJCC for the Lego festival. That's when I realized that I had my camera with me, but had left the SD card at home. So pardon the poor quality of some of these pics, cellphone cameras don't always cooperate.

This creation particularly amused me:

And there were many other creations, by Lego builders of all ages, and from all over the country.

There was a ginormous chess set:

And several stations where kids could build their own, with a variety of Lego bricks.

After they were done building, the boys had a go at the Lego Batman video game

It was all fun until Hamza's character intentionally killed off Bilal's character in the video game, although they were supposed to be on the same team. After that tears were shed, peace was made, and we moved on.

After a couple of hours at home we all got dressed and headed out to a friend's house for a dinner invite. Just got back from there a short while ago. Tomorrow is Sunday School, and I have agreed to go to Oneonta to make rounds since Zakir has to meet someone at the mosque. So my work week is starting one day early. Ah well, hopefully it won't be too bad!

Getting better

2012-01-12T20:05:00.002-06:00

We're just over a week into Bilal's course of antibiotics and we are definitely starting to see an improvement in his nasal symptoms. He still sounds very nasal at times, but he isn't producing so much gunk, and is coughing much less in the mornings when he gets up. Plus thankfully, no side effects, and he doesn't even mind the taste. So that should make the three weeks much more tolerable; I just have to remember to give it to him twice a day. In three weeks he'll go back for another nasal culture, and we'll see where to go from there. Still hoping that taking the adenoids out will not become necessary. And perhaps after being in school longer he'll finally develop an immunity to all the bugs he keeps getting exposed to!

He is still loving school, and making much more progress with his reading. He still has to be in the mood to read, otherwise he'll rub his face, yawn or complain about his head hurting. But we read together anyway and is it getting better every day. We'll be getting his most recent reading test results soon, and will be able to see where he ranks according to what is expected of him, half way through kindergarten.

I have been to his school twice this year to eat lunch with him. He was so excited to have me there! You'd think he didn't see enough of me at home, hah! He is my baby all the way for sure!

I'll have to make another trip back for lunch before the end of the school year, for sure!

Beautiful Family

2012-01-09T12:53:00.001-06:00

I am hoping that soon we'll get to see these guys more often. It's always wonderful when the nephews come to visit!

First class together

2012-01-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

This week all three kids went for a 6pm karate class. The beginners and intermediate/advanced levels were split for the first part of the class, but they merged during the latter part of the class. It was nice to walk in to the Dojo and see them standing in one line.

If Bilal keeps it up, I'm sure they will be training together more often. At present he's just as excited as when he first started.

Safa's been working on her Science Fair project for most of the day today. She finally completed her trifold presentation board, and will be presenting it on Tuesday. I'll share more about it later. Besides her regular homework she has to write two speeches for the 2 day debate tournament at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this Friday. But writing speeches is fun for her. Hamza's school is hosting a math tournament this weekend, and he has signed up as a volunteer, so most of his Saturday will be spent at school.

We are also hoping to see the nephews this weekend again, as Farah and Adeel are coming up from Mobile to visit. So looking forward to another busy but enjoyable weekend.

And how about our youngest offspring? We got his report card back and he is doing very well too. He is very close to meeting all the goals expected of students before they move up to first grade. He just has a couple of sight words to learn and definitely needs to work on his handwriting. So with half of the school year still left we are confident that be more than ready for first grade by the end of the year. He still isn't extremely eager to read; he'd much rather have someone read to him, but his reading is definitely improving. We just need to keep working on it. He loves school, and is finally starting to enjoy Sunday School. (it's about time!)

Is this safe?

2012-01-06T22:26:00.001-06:00

We parked next to this interesting ~~piece of junk~~ car at the mall this evening.

I'm guessing it actually drives, since it was in the parking garage. But I found it rather odd that the hood was ties down with cables, through a hole that evidently someone had punched in it.

Well, I suppose it is safer than having the hood fly up into the windshield while you're driving down the interstate. Hm, coming to think of it, maybe I should commend the driver on their awareness of safety concerns and their innovation, rather than poke fun at the rusty cable sticking out of the hood!

An appointment, and Civics lesson, part 2

2012-01-04T22:53:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I took Bilal to see an ENT physician, to see what we could do about the 3 month long production of thick, yellow snot from his little nose. Three rounds of antibiotics over the first 2 months, followed by Zyrtec and Flonase nasal spray for another month, yet he still kept producing gobs of the nasty stuff. So, feeling tired of playing doctor with him, I decided to take him to see Dr. L instead. He did very well at the office, sitting in the exam chair all by himself like a big boy.

After a thorough evaluation, including a nasal culture, which he did not like at all, it has been determined that his symptoms are most likely due to a sinus infection that has not fully cleared. Probably not allergies. We should have the results of the culture back tomorrow, and then Dr. L will decide on an antibiotic that Bilal will have to take for three weeks. Ugh! Anyway, hopefully this will resolve the icky problem and he will stop sounding chronically nasal, as well as intermittently blowing blood out of his nose. If not, we may have to consider removing the adenoids. I am hoping and praying that it doesn't come to that. Although it is a commonly performed procedure, you just don't want your child to go through surgery for any reason, if it can be avoided. If the culture does not grow out any specific bacteria, Dr. L will make an educated decision to choose an antibiotic to use.

And the simple answers to the simple Civics questions I posted yesterday are:

Q16. Who makes federal laws?
A: ~~The clowns in~~ Congress

Q19. We elect a senator for how many years?
A:Six. (Usually we start regretting the decision by year 2!)

Q21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
A: 435

Q31. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
A: The Speaker of the House

Q47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
A: John Boehner (I can never seem to spell his name right!)

Q49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
A: There are two correct answers: serve on a jury and vote in a federal election

Q66. When was the Constitution written?
A: 1787

Q74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
A: Possible answers include, slavery, economic rights and states' rights

Q80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
A: Franklin Roosevelt

Q87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States
A: Correct answers include: Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux. Chippewa, Choctaw, Pueblo, Apache, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet, Seminole, Cheyenne, Arawak, Shawnee, Mohegan, Huron, Oneida, Lakota, Crow, Teton, Hopi and Inuit. (Safa actually knew a song to help learn this list.)

Q92. Name one state that borders Canada.
A: There are several: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alaska

Not too bad, surely I can 10 of the 100 questions in this book!

My Study Guide

2012-01-03T20:23:00.000-06:00

After having filed my application for naturalization in December, I completed the next step today; fingerprinting at our local application office. My appointment was at 10am, so to be on the safe side I planned on getting there a few minutes early. I walked in at 9:40am, filled out a short form, and was immediately taken back for fingerprinting and to have my photo taken. Ten minutes after arriving, I was already in the car, headed back home. By my actual appointment time I was already almost half way home. Talk about efficiency! Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I was the only applicant there at that time?

I came away, armed with this booklet which I have to study for my interview, which will be in the regional office in Atlanta (hopefully no later than 2 months from now).

I wonder if current citizens can answer some of these questions? I quizzed some 9th and 10th graders who had come over to our house, and they did fairly well. Here are some samples.

Q16. Who makes federal laws?
Q19. We elect a senator for how many years?
Q21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
Q31. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Q47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Q49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
Q66. When was the Constitution written?
Q74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
Q80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
Q87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States,
Q92. Name one state that borders Canada.

And so on.

I was pleased to know that I already know the answers to the vast majority of the questions in the booklet. So, I'll consider it a 'refresher' Civics lesson. I'll leave everyone to mull over these questions, see how many they know, and I'll post the answers tomorrow. Don't use Google, that would be cheating!

In Safa's room

2012-01-02T17:41:00.000-06:00

Yet she insists we shouldn't call her the crazy cat lady!

I actually like this one

2011-12-31T23:40:00.000-06:00

One of those rare photos of myself I actually like. Maybe it's because my handsome hubby is standing next to me.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. Praying for 2012 to be a year full of blessings to all!

Party Pics

2011-12-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

Some of the ladies at last night's party.

And the girls.

They used the top hats as props in the dance they choreographed for the party. I'd share the video too, but Safa would kill me, hah!

And one of our favorite families is visiting from Cincinnati. So nice to see the friends back together again!

I love the colors of all the outfits!

Maybe I should leave the boys at home more often...

2011-12-26T08:07:00.000-06:00

... because yesterday afternoon Bilal insisted he wanted to wash the dishes. There were only three things in the sink (the rest were already in the dishwasher), but he brought the step stool into the kitchen and got to work.

First he emptied the coffee grounds from Zakir's pot into the compost crock, and then he washed it thoroughly. When I cautioned him that the water might feel very hot, he insisted that dishes need to be washed in hot water because that's what Baba told him to do. Normally he squeals if the water is barely more than tepid. Evidently Zakir has been teaching him well!

And of course, that means that Zakir will have to do even less work than usual when I'm not around in the kitchen. His minions can do it for him instead!

A party... one of many

2011-12-25T14:27:00.000-06:00

Last night was the third evening in a row that Safa and I were invited to an all girls' 'Dholki' party. December has been busy with all these parties, which will end with the wedding at the end of the month. Another evening to dress up.

And the guest of honor at the party, none other, but the 'Dholki' itself, a small drum that is beat, while the women sing various songs (hoping that they remember the words!)

Well, not really the guest of honor, of course, although the party is named after the drum. Here are the bride and her mom, the real guests of honor.

Today we have a lazy day at home, while we watch the rain coming down outside. Nothing planned for this evening. Tomorrow and Tuesday night, more parties!

Merry Christmas!

It's done!

2011-12-24T09:32:00.000-06:00

And put back together too! Yesterday Zakir and I worked hard to empty the remainder of the dining room of kitchen contents. And place them back where most appropriate, without cluttering the kitchen drawers. We also donated several bags of kitchen and other household items, and clothes, which got collected yesterday morning. I refuse to become a hoarder! I can't believe some of the things that came out of our kitchen drawers, before the remodeling. Broken bits and bobs of items, rusty screwdrivers, business cards of businesses that probably no longer exist, lots of Lego bricks, pens that are out of ink, and sticky notes; lots and lots of sticky notes. And the cabinets? How many travel mugs does one house need? Not to mention mismatched tupperware. Lids that didn't belong to containers, and containers with no lids.

Now, at least, I would not be embarrassed if someone came to our house and opened one of the kitchen drawers or cabinets. Even our junk drawer doesn't have much junk (yet). What will happen over time is yet to be seen.

And we have new light fixtures too, to finish off the relatively modern look we were going for. This is the one over the kitchen sink.

And a new one over the kitchen dining area too:

The LED bulbs cast a very interesting 'spotlight' on the ceiling. Still getting used to that. But with 3 watt bulbs giving as much light as they do, you can't really go wrong. Talk about energy conservation!

And the kitchen wouldn't be complete without a picture of my early riser, wearing a snuggly fleece robe, that only a few years ago fit his big brother perfectly.

Complete with a fuzzy pair of slippers which are perfect for cooler weather!

Now the kitchen has a warmer, more contemporary feel, rather than the old, outdated look we lived with for over eight years:

Much better!

Karate!

2011-12-22T11:32:00.002-06:00

Bilal has been so excited since he got awarded his yellow belt that at times it has been hard to persuade him to take it off. He has also learned to tie his own belt properly, yay!

And even more refreshing is the fact that Hamza is eager to be back in the Dojo. He chose going to karate over driving down to the mall yesterday, wow! The dojo will be closed for a week, so they will have a necessary break, but I'm sure they'll be back with the same enthusiasm after New Year's Day. Now to get Safa up off the sofa and moving around!

Office Christmas Party

2011-12-20T21:59:00.000-06:00

This year we hosted our office Christmas party at the office, instead of our house. It's a great opportunity for our staff to bring their families and mingle with everyone, while enjoying some tasty food. Due to too many scheduling conflicts we had the party on a weeknight; it was just about impossible to find a Saturday or Sunday that worked for everyone.

The younger kids had a blast running and sliding around on the concrete floors with just their socks on. They didn't slow down long enough for me to capture a photo!

We have more parties planned for later in the week; it's going to be quite busy through the weekend!

First Test

2011-12-17T22:17:00.000-06:00

The kids before Bilal's first ever karate test this morning.

And another one:

Bilal was so excited about testing today that he could hardly contain himself. We needed a 'before' photo of my kiddos; two are second degree black belts and one is a white belt.

We headed to the Dojo, dragging Safa along to take pictures. Hamza went in uniform to help out with the junior students as needed during the test. This is a mix of photos taken by Safa and me.

First they stretched to warm up.

Bilal got called on by Sensei Michele to lead the class in jumping jacks. You can see he took the job seriously and very enthusiastically. Quite a jump!

Then the actual test began.

And once the test was over the Senseis consulted each other for a few minutes, while the students waited patiently, and watched a weapons demo.

Then they were presented with their certificates and new colored belts.

And then the best part! Hamza helped Bilal change his belt.

Yay, yellow belt!

And every student that tested got promoted today. Here they are with the Senseis and Senpais.

So proud of all their hard work!

By the time we got home, Bilal's clean, white gi was coated with frosting from the cupcakes and brownies he ate during the karate Christmas party. So when he insisted to keep his uniform on until bedtime I didn't argue too much. But it's going to take a lot of scrubbing and maybe even bleach to make it look clean again! On the positive side, he finally learned to tie his own belt! He is so thrilled about his new colored belt!

How can this not brighten your day?

2011-12-16T23:24:00.000-06:00

Look at that precious face!

I took one picture of Mohsin while he was eating breakfast. And he said, "Again!"

So I took another one.

"Again!"

Another one.

Then, "Cheese!"

Adorable! I love it when the nephews come to visit.

And I wish my kids were that eager to get their pictures taken too!

Last day in Las Vegas

2011-12-14T20:57:00.001-06:00

On Friday we visited Red Rock Canyon, with the intent to travel the scenic road through part of the Mojave Desert.

First, we stopped at the Visitor's Center.

There was a lot to see, inside the center, and outside.

We actually spent more time than planned, because while we were browsing the exhibits a slew of emergency vehicles drove by on the road. As we tried to take the scenic road we discovered it was blocked by the rangers, because of a climbing accident. The injured person had to be airlifted out of the area, so no vehicles were allowed on the road.

Since we were told the road might be cleared in an hour, we drove into town and had lunch. Before heading back to the canyon we called to inquire about the situation on the road. But it was still blocked, with no estimated time to open it back up again. So we canceled our plans, and drove back to Las Vegas, a little disappointed. We didn't hear anything about the climbing accident on the news, so I'm guessing it wasn't anything serious enough to warrant news coverage.

Great friends

2011-12-11T11:07:00.001-06:00

I am so glad that Safa has the nicest friends that she likes to spend time with. Sadly, they all got to different schools, and rarely manage to get together because of homework and other activities,but when they do, they make the most of it.

Safa and I were at one of many scheduled pre-wedding 'dholki' parties last night, for the wedding of a sweet girl in our community, coming up later this month. A lot of singing, dancing and having fun. And the friends managed to take time out to come to this particular party. So nice to see them together!

The darndest things!

2011-12-08T19:22:00.001-06:00

This is why you should always have a camera (or a camera phone) on hand when you drive around town. You never know what you might see.

And remember this one?

~~Yum!~~ Blech!

Safa took the picture of the license plate today. But the lesson is, always keep a camera in your pocket.

A bit overwhelmed

2011-12-07T20:04:00.001-06:00

I know I've not posted in several days, but lately I have been rather overwhelmed. After a successful party on Saturday evening we started taking the kitchen apart. Well, not literally, but we emptied out all the cabinets and cleared the countertops in preparation for the work to commence on Monday morning. We are in the process of getting our cabinets refaced, a project that sounds pretty simple, but trust me, three days into it we have realized there is a lot more to it than you'd think. The 'two to three day' project is going to take five days instead. I just hope that the installers are done by Friday evening. Can't imagine them still being in our house on Saturday.

So at the moment our dining room is packed with everything that actually belongs in the kitchen cabinets. We tried to develop a system while emptying the kitchen; things that we use daily go on the table, or closer to the kitchen, on the floor. Makes sense in theory, but by the time we were done, the plan had disintegrated. Either the system didn't work, or we just use a lot of 'stuff' in the kitchen every day. So this week we have been climbing over some kitchen items to get to other kitchen items. And as a consequence I haven't been cooking much. The mess has overflowed into the master bedroom, which is right next to the kitchen.

I suppose when I mention to other people that we live in the kitchen, I didn't realize how true that statement really is. So our living space has been taken away temporarily.There is usually a mess, I admit, but it's my mess, and I am used to everything being where I want it.

Waiting anxiously for the weekend!

Feeling old

2011-12-02T21:32:00.001-06:00

We had to keep Bilal home from school today because he was running a fever and had a terrible cough with snot. Just a few days after we finished his third round of antibiotics in 2 months. When will this end?!

After some Tylenol his fever came down and he actually started to feel a lot better. He rode down with me to Birmingham to pick up Hamza. We passed the airport and saw an airplane landing. That prompted a conversation, initiated by my five year old.

Bilal: The biggest plane was built in 1989.
Mama: Really?
Bilal: Yes, it was built by a scientist.
Mama: Um, scientists don't built airplanes, engineers do.
Bilal: But they only had scientists back then. (pause). And a few other people.
Mama: Wow, where did you learn that from?
Bilal: We learn about old times in school.

If 1989 is 'old times' I must be ancient! And maybe it's time to change the curriculum a bit, haha!

And Las Vegas by Night

2011-11-30T20:25:00.001-06:00

Just as colorful, and even more crowded on the Strip, if that is possible!

We stopped at the Bellagio to see the famous fountains.

Then we took a walk inside to see the famous Bellagio Conservatory. All done up for Fall! It was pretty, for sure, but I'm not sure if it was worth battling the crowds for.

We were so glad that we had rented a car. The hotel we stayed at was off the strip and very peaceful (no casino), but it would have been quite a walk to the places we wanted to visit, and we weren't too eager about carrying Bilal's booster seat from taxi cab to taxi cab. Parking was not a problem; all of the hotels/casinos had large parking garages, where you could either self-park or ask a valet to do it for you. And no parking fees! I guess when you're in Vegas they want you to spend your money somewhere other than the parking decks!

Las Vegas by Day

2011-11-29T21:07:00.001-06:00

We decided to stay in the city on Thanksgiving Day. We spent some time walking around on the Strip, just taking in the the sights and sounds of the city.

A colorful, fun place to be!

Guess who's happy to be home?

2011-11-28T22:04:00.001-06:00

Atlas was so thrilled to be headed home from the vet's today that he could barely contain himself. He jumped into the trunk of the minivan where he usually rides, then jumped back out, then in again, until he finally settled down for the ride home. He didn't seem to mind that the back yard was a cold, wet lake when he got home. Just happy to be back. I wish we didn't have to board him when we travel, but we don't have much of a choice.

In other pet news, I had to take Tiny in to see the vet today. She got her shots (rabies and feline leukemia virus) a couple of weeks ago. About ten days ago I noticed a knot on her thigh, but didn't think much of it. When we came back from Las Vegas we noticed that the knot had become much larger, you could even see it without brushing her fur to the side. Because it is growing so rapidly we though she needed to be checked out. The vet today thought it was probably a reaction to the vaccine, since it is pretty much in the same location where she got her FLV shot. So she recommended an antibiotic and Benadryl for a week. If it has not shrunk down in a week she will have to get it excised. Rarely animals can develop sarcomas (cancerous tumors) because of vaccines, and we are hoping that this isn't the case for Tiny. So we will watch and wait for now. The stress of dealing with health problems in pets is almost like other family members. Zakir had to prompt me that the joy they bring makes it worthwhile. And that's true of our cats, they really are our special companions. (Never mind that I have been sneezing a lot every night since Tiny has been back sleeping next to me.) But sometimes I wish they wouldn't cause all these worries too!

Day 2 in Las Vegas

2011-11-27T19:05:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night we ran to the supermarket to stock up with breakfast foods, and settled in for the night. So Wednesday was our first full day in the area. First trip was to the Hoover Dam, only a 40 minute drive from the city. The drive itself was quite pleasant.

First we stopped at the visitor's center and viewed a short movie about the construction of the dam. What an engineering marvel! It's amazing that such a huge structure was built in 1935, with equipment much less modern than we have nowadays. After the movie we took an elevator down, and went on a tour of the power plant. Some of the next few photos were taken by Safa; my little 'point and shoot' Canon just couldn't handle the dim light.

The turbines

And outside was just as spectacular.

The Colorado River beyond the dam:

Lake Mead:

And Hamza standing with one finger in each state, Nevada and Arizona:

We drove back to the city and stopped for a late lunch at Rainforest Cafe, inside the MGM Grand. there might not be anything too special about the menu, but the ambiance was great.

And then we went back to the hotel for a little break, before we headed back out for a show at the Venetian. Gondolas, inside the mall!

Can you tell, Safa is the only one who seems genuinely excited?

Actually we all loved the show. The seats were great, but we probably could have spent less, sat further back, and still have enjoyed the show just as much. The theater wasn't huge, and with all the jumping around going on, everyone got to take it in. Bilal, of course, was very uncertain in the beginning, but soon started enjoying himself once he got over the 'blueness'.

And on Thanksgiving Day we mostly walked around on the strip, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city.

A few days away from home

2011-11-26T20:36:00.001-06:00

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to take the kids out of town, instead of staying home and making our usual dinner and inviting friends over. It doesn't mean we skipped making turkey and all the sides this year, we're just going to have our dinner a week late. So this Saturday we plan to have about 70 people over for dinner at our place. And I still have to finalize my menu. Hmm.

So Thanksgiving break for us was definitely less than traditional this year. We decided to take the children to Las Vegas for a few days and experience a part of the United States we never had before. So we took a flight and got in on Tuesday evening; too late to do anything except have dinner and crash in the hotel. But before we even made it to the hotel we had an opportunity to see one of the reasons the city is famous. In fact, before we even managed to pick up our luggage from the baggage claim area!

Yes, slot machines, on the concourse at the airport! Wow, I didn't realize that gambling wasn't just restricted to the casinos. So if you want to try your luck before even picking up your luggage, just have a seat in the gaming area, immediately as you leave your plane.

We took the monorail at the airport to the baggage claim area, picked up our rental, and were on our way.

With the Health Fair behind us...

2011-11-21T22:01:00.001-06:00

... what's in store?

We spent half of Saturday at the Hoover Crescent Mosque, with several generous Muslim physicians who were willing to volunteer their time, running a free health fair that was open to anyone who was interested. Services provided included blood pressure checks, body fat analysis, blood work including cholesterol (lipid panel) and blood sugar. After having their labs drawn every participant had the opportunity to discuss their results with a physician one on one. Over thirty people also took the opportunity to have flu shots done; many of these had never had a flu shot before, so we had a chance to provide medical services that had not been utilized before.

A volunteer checking vital signs

A physician providing a one on one consultation

There was also an ENT physician available to anyone who needed advice on an Ear, Nose, Throat issues, and we had two ophthalmologists offering free vision screenings including testing for glaucoma. Some psychiatrists from the community also offered brief mental health consults to those who were interested. There was also printed educational material available for the participants to take home with them. So a very broad range of services was provided. Overall we had over fifty people come through in approximately four hours, so it was quite successful. The success, of course, was all in thanks to the physicians and students who volunteered their time to provide such a valuable service to the community.

The volunteers

The physicians involved

Br. Ashfaq Taufique providing an interview to CBS-42, one of our local TV stations

After the health fair we were joined by the President-Elect of APPNA (the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America), who few in especially for the event. The purpose of her visit was to attend the ground breaking ceremony of the Red Crescent Clinic of Alabama. This is a collaborative effort between APPNA's Alabama chapter and the Birmingham Islamic Society. At the Red Crescent Clinic, physicians will rotate to provide free medical care to anyone uninsured patient who wishes to take advantage of it, regardless of race or religious affiliation. Realistically we will be opening for only 4 hours every Sunday afternoon, but as opportunities arise there hopefully will be an expansion of services. The clinic concept is modeled after a similar one in Tampa, Florida. Plan is for the inauguration to be in January, 2012.

Left to Right: Br. Ashfaq Taufique (president, Birmingham Islamic Society), Dr. Khalid Matin (President APPNA-AL), Dr. Saima Zafar (president-elect APPNA's national organization) and Dr. Zakir Khan (principal coordinator of the 2nd annual APPNA AL health fair)

In the evening we attended the APPNA AL fall CME meeting and dinner at the Wynfrey, where we had an opportunity to meet some good friends we had not seen in quite a while.

So much going on

2011-11-18T07:38:00.002-06:00

Let me see, what do we have planned for this weekend?

Today: We are invited out to dinner (hopefully after my hair appointment!)

Saturday: APPNA Alabama second annual free health fair in the morning, at the Hoover Crescent Mosque. Since Zakir is organizing the whole event this year, we are going to be pretty busy. In the evening we are going to be at another dinner, the APPNA Alabama fall meeting. Dinner and entertainment usually run late, but we rarely stay for the entertainment portion.

Sunday: We have Sunday School in the morning, but with everything else going on we may have to skip it this week. Then Bilal is invited to a birthday party at 1:45pm. And guess what? Another dinner invitation in the evening!

In between all this we have to pack for our trip, so that I'm not stuck doing all the packing on Monday. And with all the dinner plans I don't think I'll be doing much cooking.

And as Safa says, "Weekend? What Weekend?!"

Pillow proof!

2011-11-17T18:57:00.000-06:00

Bilal is fully prepared for the pillow fight that is about to ensue between him and his brother. Pillow proof!

Miss this

2011-11-11T21:31:00.001-06:00

I don't think I'll be blogging much this week. The Geek Squad at Best Buy has my computer for a couple of repairs, and I'm making do with a very old computer that is struggling with its old XP operating system and my trusted iPad, that I don't really like to type on much. So updates will be sparse, if any, until I get my ThinkPad back. Hoping that it wont take longer than about a week and a half. But I'd rather give up my computer for a few days that have to replace it if it dies (right now it just gave me a 'fan error'), since I am actually quite fond of my PC.We have a busy weekend planned, but we're also looking forward to our Thanksgiving vacation. It will be nice to get away for a few days. Not too long to wait!Thanking our veterans today for serving this country, and making so many sacrifices.

And the rest of our busy weekend...

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

... Hamza was in Tallahassee for a math tournament; the entire math and science department took a chartered bus down on Friday morning, and by the time they got back home it was 10:30 pm on Saturday night. It was quite productive since the 11th grader won first place as a team in their division, and basically swept the placement board with excellent individual scares. Hamza's team, the eighth graders didn't perform too shabby either, they placed third among their division, and Hamza brought home his first math team medal for being fourth in his team (the four top scoring students among the position holding teams received medals. Did I make that sound confusing enough?)

Zakir and I spent most of Saturday at a medical conference, earning CMEs, while Safa was home with Bilal. And they evidently had fun while we were gone. Safa took the camera outside and got some cute photos of her baby brother. And he actually obliged (for a change) probably because she bribed him with freshly baked brownies. I think she took some very cute pics. Here are a few of them:

In the evening, about an hour after we came home from the conference we got dressed and went to a party in Anniston (about and hour's drive from our house). And an hour after we got home I had to drive back down to Birmingham to pick Hamza up from his school. So a very, very full day.

Since I had a busy clinic day on Friday too, it really felt like I didn't get a weekend at all this time!

Eid Mubarak!

2011-11-07T09:35:00.000-06:00

I'm a day late posting this, but we have been so caught up in the activities this weekend that there wasn't time! Yesterday we celebrated Eid ul Adha, which is the day after Hajj, the holy pilgrimage in Makkah. Prayers were held at the Sheraton in Downtown Birmingham, and later in the evening we had a one dish party to go to.

The entire week and the weekend have been extremely busy. Thank goodness Zakir and I have the day off today to catch up on office work and some housework. At least we won't be starting off the work week too far behind!

End of season party

2011-11-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

We hosted the team soccer party at our house yesterday. Nothing fancy, just hot dogs, chips and dip, potato salad, and of course, cupcakes. Blue cupcakes, for the 'Blue Fireants'. That's what your team name ends up being when you pick a name without knowing what color your jerseys are going to be, ha!

Anyway, we had four 5 and 6 year olds running around, in and out of the house, along with one thirteen year old, acting exactly like the five year olds! So it was a very rowdy couple of hours, but the kids definitely had a great time. I didn't manage to snap many photos; the kids weren't still for long enough.

I actually had to leave the party (at our own house, sorry to our guests) early, to join Safa at school, for the annual JCIB spaghetti dinner and talent show fundraiser. A lot of talent among the high schoolers for sure. And for those couple of performances that were a little less than stellar, everyone was still a good sport.

This morning Hamza and the rest of the ASFA math and science students rode down to Tallahassee for a math tournament. I spoke to Hamza a little while ago, the kids had made it to the hotel and were settling down for the night. The tournament is tomorrow, and it will be quite late before he gets back into town tomorrow evening. Zakir and I have a conference tomorrow, then we have a party to go to in the evening. Sunday is Eid ul Adha, the celebration following Hajj, so it will be another day of go, go, go! A lot planned this weekend!

Improvise

2011-10-31T21:21:00.001-05:00

So I'm the meanest Mama, I don't usually buy my kids costumes for Halloween. I just don't really get into the whole 'dress up and ask for candy' thing, although I am generous to the 'trick or treaters' who knock on our door. We make sure we're stocked up with plenty of candy for the kids (and adults) who come dressed up for Halloween. And we get tons of those in our neighborhood.

Anyway, no costumes doesn't really deter our kids from going around the neighborhood, collecting their own stash of sugar. They just made do with what they have. Improvisation!

The scary monster:

The teeanger:

And the Pakistani girl:

Safa's friend came over too. The 'Skittle'

So costume or no costume, they had a fun evening!

Last game of the season, and a fun birthday party!

2011-10-30T21:28:00.000-05:00

We wrapped up the final soccer game with a couple of pics of the team with their coach.

It was a fun fall season, and I'm glad it ended before the weather got too chilly. It has definitely been a lot cooler this weekend.

In the afternoon I took Bilal to his friend Kendrick's birthday party at the Y. You can see that he had a great time there too!

And there was cake, and lots of it!

Yum!

Today was a typical Sunday, with a few hours of Sunday School in the morning. The kids had a chance to play outdoors this afternoon, Hamza skinned his knee by falling off his bike... yet again, and Zakir I made a last minute dash to Sam's Club because you just can't have enough candy for Halloween!

Dinner was breakfast... crepes with a choice of orange/blueberry filling, or Zakir's version of caramelized bananas in brown sugar. Delicious, and another recipe to keep. I love breakfast for dinner!

Our neighborhood

2011-10-28T22:51:00.003-05:00

Fall is really in the air. This morning it was a little cooler on our evening walk, after a couple of days of near 80 degree temperature. The season change has been quite gradual this year, with no frost yet, and this has made for beautiful foliage. I love this season!

And what else is news this week? Bilal was the recipient of Mrs. Benson's weekly 'good citizen' award today.

He was called to the office for a certificate and a ribbon. He was so excited! So far, since the start of school he has been coming home with all 'starry eyes' in his agenda pad. Such a well behaved student!

Brunch with the girls

2011-10-26T21:59:00.001-05:00

We managed to steal some time away from our families to spend time together, and enjoy Sunday brunch at the Cheesecake Factory. The food was good, but the company was better!

We always have a blast. But we missed you, Farah! Hope you can join us next time.

A New Activity

2011-10-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

Soccer season isn't even over yet, and Bilal has already started something new. He has been begging to start karate ever since a few friends in the after school program started training. So we decided to let him sign up for the program at JIKA. We have committed to a year so I sure hope he sticks with it!

The first class was a bit of a washout; he was clingy, tearful and didn't want to join the class. Typical for him with anything new. But after a while he settled down and joined in the training. He got his gi, and since then has been wearing it almost every day at home, on top of his pyjamas and day clothes, just for fun.

Today he got ready for class with absolutely no hesitation. The excitement was obvious.

Hamza stayed with Bilal at the Dojo, just in case he got upset, while I came home and finished getting dinner ready. But there was no hesitation today, he had a great class, and is already asking when his next one is. So after the last soccer game of the season this Saturday, there will be something more for him to look forward to.

And Safa and Hamza have also decided to start back training again. Let's see if they can stick with it, hopefully school work won't get in the way!

Hamza's birthday celebration

2011-10-22T13:46:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday Hamza had a couple of friends over to celebrate his birthday. Zakir took then go-carting, and to play laser tag at the Trussville Playstation. Hamza opted for frozen yogurt instead of birthday cake (we still had some left over in the fridge from his real birthday), so I took the boys, and Safa, to Yogurt Mountain for a special treat.

Then they spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Atlas in the yard. One of Hamza's friends wasn't quite sure about the huge white dog, and was considering staying indoors, but in no time he was playing with the puppy fearlessly. I supposed he realized how gentle Atlas really is!

A good Saturday for Hamza!

Old Baker Farm

2011-10-21T21:06:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity to chaperone Bilal's kindergarten class to Old Baker Farm on Wednesday. After 3-4 days of warm, sunny weather, it was a cloudy, and much cooler 55 degrees. Not the best outdoor weather, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

I was responsible for keeping a watchful eye on Bilal and his cute little friend, who fortunately, was very well behaved.

The first stop was a visit to see a pair of six week old calves, Annabelle and Clarabelle.

They loved being fed milk from a bottle!

Next was the bumpy hayride...

...all the way to the pumpkin patch!

The boys had a chance to choose their own pumpkins to take home and decorate.

Nice picks, boys!

Next was a stop for lunch in the barn.

And then back outside for a couple of group photos.

Then to the barn to see the animals.

The hay maze was a lot of fun,

until Bilal collided with another child from his class and hurt his leg. We didn't get to see another smile out of him for the rest of the field trip. Honestly, I think the tears and dramatic demonstration of agony was for Mama's benefit. Chances are, if I weren't there, he would have got up, wiped his tears and kept running. Instead he got carried around for a while, and then spent most of the remainder of the field trip clinging to my leg. Of course, it probably didn't help that he had been up since 5:30 in the morning, almost an hour before his usual wake-up time. All that field trip adrenaline! He was exhausted by about noon!

He did get a chance to pick some cotton from the plants, though.

And that was the last activity before we headed back to school. Bilal rode the bus home; the parents followed behind in their cars, and I checked him out as soon as we got back, and took him home.

A fun-filled day, despite the boo-boo incident!

And the winner is....

2011-10-20T20:47:00.000-05:00

.....Nope not yet. First I want you guess what day of Homecoming week it is at Shades Valley/ JCIB? What is Safa dressed up for?

Kindergarten Day! And here is Safa's cheesy kindergarten smile. Although she'll probably hate me for putting a 'terrible' picture of her on the blog. Sorry, hon.

OK, now to the winner of the giveaway.

Randomly selected from the lovely ladies that posted their comments,

The winner is.....

Christina! Email me your info at redhotdoc2003 at yahoo dot com and I'll pass it on to Lucky 10. Congrats!

Reminder

2011-10-19T08:00:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder, Lucky 10's Halloween giveaway ends tonight. Make sure you get your comments in and I'll announce the winner tomorrow. Details are in this post.

Boo!

Tacky Day

2011-10-18T17:21:00.001-05:00

I know I say it every time, but it's hard for me to see Safa anything other than cute. Even when she's dressed up for Tacky Day!

The Odd Couple

2011-10-15T22:40:00.001-05:00

This is the little pup that Atlas loves to meet when he is on his evening walk with us. They both start tugging at their leashes as soon as they see each other, usually from quite a distance. So we have to stop for a while and let them socialize before we resume our walk.

What an odd couple!

Don't forget the Halloween giveaway on this post, I am going to leave it open for comments until Wednesday, October 19th. So check out Lucky 10, and post your comments!

A great Halloween giveaway!

2011-10-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

Cassidy is our little heart buddy, she has the same congenital heart defect as Bilal, Tetralogy of Fallot. I've been following her journey since she was just a little baby.

Inspired by her daughter, Cassidy's mom Tracy has created a store on Etsy and is selling personalized products that promote CHDs. And in addition there are many other gifts for all sorts of occasions available. Not too long ago I spoiled myself and bought a pendant that I wear with pride. It is one just like this:

And it was also personalized for me with Bilal's name and diagnosis printed on the back. I love it!

And what's better? Tracy is giving away one of her personalized Halloween designs to one randomly selected lucky reader. Check out the cool Halloween designs!

Spoooooky cute!

It's easy to enter the giveaway. Just visit Tracy's Etsy page, Lucky 10, and check out the incredible selection of items. Then come back to my blog and leave me a comment about your favorite item in the store. I'll randomly select one of the responders who will win an adorable Halloween gift from Lucky 10. Each responder will be entered into the drawing one time each. Just one teeny restriction, the item will only be shipped to a US address. So go ahead and check out this awesome store and leave me a comment. I can't wait to see which item you choose as your favorite!

Oh, and if you ever want to come back to check out the store, there is a permanent link to it on the right sidebar of my blog. Just click on the link that say 'CHD awareness jewelry' and it will take you right to Lucky 10.

Debate results

2011-10-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

So the JCIB Varsity debate team didn't win any awards in Montgomery this past weekend, but you can't say they didn't enjoy themselves!

It was the first time any of the students have debated at the varsity level, so no-one was really disappointed that they didn't place in the tournament. Surely there will be many more opportunities to compete, and perhaps perform better. Three of the four students in the novice group won awards, and it was their first debate too, so that was quite an accomplishment.

I had the opportunity to judge a couple of debates between students of other competing schools. It was interesting; almost as if it were a competitive sports event, not a debate. They really take it seriously!

Another Teenager!

2011-10-10T20:19:00.000-05:00

Now we have two of them in the house! Hamza turned thirteen today. And I'm not definitely sure, but doesn't it seem like he's grown a teeny bit taller overnight? That would be a great birthday present for him. He has asked for a new bike, but he hasn't quite found the one he wants. So we'll keep looking until he does.

Yesterday we took the family to Red Lobster to celebrate his birthday.

And today we had oven baked barbecue wings, followed by a delicious cookies 'n' cream birthday cake for dessert.

Happy Birthday, Hamza!

Weekend in Montgomery

2011-10-08T09:06:00.003-05:00

I am down in Montgomery with Safa, for a debate tournament at St. James High School. We drove down yesterday, and the kids participated in three rounds. The tournament is anticipated to continue through the afternoon, after which we'll be driving back to Birmingham. The boys are evidently having a good time without us; I hear they went to Sonic for dinner yesterday, and today they have a soccer game, then a birthday party to go to. Doesn't really seem like they're missing us too much!

Right now I'm relaxing at the hotel, but plan to go over to the school later to help judge one of the rounds, if they need me. Aside from that, not too much planned this weekend. There is the Islamic Society's community bowling event tomorrow, but we might just stay at home and take it easy instead. It would be nice to have some down time for a change.

And although this has nothing to do with the rest of the post, I know I haven't shared these cute pics of our nephew Mohsin, caught in the act!

Mm, popcorn. The more, the better!

A lot accomplished

2011-10-04T23:09:00.001-05:00

Thankfully Bilal is on the mend, with no fever all day, although he still has a harsh cough and lots of snot. But his appetite is great and he is eager to return to school tomorrow.

And despite having to keep him out of school because of the sickies we managed to do a lot today, both in the house and out. After dropping Hamza off at school I headed to see my ortho for some right shoulder issues, ongoing for the past couple of weeks. I thought he might suggest it was time for surgery, like I had on my left shoulder a couple of years ago, but he suggested conservative treatment and holding off on surgery for now. I like that in a surgeon, someone that is not too eager to cut on you, unless other options have been tried out and failed. So I got a shot in the bursa and am actually feeling a lot better after that. Plus getting surgery on your dominant arm doesn't really sound very desirable. Bilal had to wait for about 2 hours at the doctor's office with me, and was surprisingly patient. I had brought my iPad along to keep him entertained, but instead he preferred to have a very mature conversation about the workings of a shoulder, what you can see when you take an x-ray (and what you can't see), where the muscles are and how joints worked. While we were waiting in the exam room I found a poster of a shoulder's anatomy, and he actually really enjoyed the basic anatomy lesson I gave him with the help of the poster. He was very friendly with the radiographer and very well behaved while I chatted with the doctor.

After the appointment and dropping off some prescriptions for me, I took him for an overdue haircut. And he was perfectly well behaved there too! Then smartypants said, "I've been such a good boy today, can we get lunch from McDonald's?" Haha, there had to be an ulterior motive! But how could I refuse? So I got him a happy meal on the way home. I did let him watch a little bit of TV today, even though it was technically a school day, but I figured a little wouldn't hurt. But after just a little while we were outside, playing with Atlas in the back yard. The weather is gorgeous lately, with cool mornings and beautiful, sunny afternoons. Back inside we had several games of his favorite card game, Too Many Monkeys. Even though it's mostly a game of chance he has this uncanny knack of beating me almost every time we play! No wonder he loves to play it. Bilal is all about winning!

So today was very reminiscent of our 'happy days' as we called the Tuesdays Bilal and I had together before he started kindergarten. And next Tuesday he is out of school for fall break so we get to have another one! Both boys are off on Monday, but I have to work, so they will be hanging out with me in the office until lunch time. That's also Hamza's birthday, so maybe we can do something a little special for lunch.

Now that we have Christina as our housekeeper/caregiver, a lot more is getting accomplished in the home too. Yes, I caved in and decided we needed more help at home. Especially with all the driving that I have had to do lately. Today we tackled the much neglected pantry. After a thorough cleaning and re-organizing it looks huge again! That is one of the best parts of the kitchen. Gotta love a large pantry!

Tomorrow we fall back into the usual routine, with all three kids back in school, and Zakir and I at work.

'Owl in the Rain'

2011-10-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

My little budding artist!

Kindergarten has opened up a whole new world for Bilal. He is starting to sound out words, his 'sight words' recognition is expanding every day, and he is finally enjoying picture books that are appropriate for beginning readers, the ones that he is starting to read himself, with a little help from Mama, falling back on some sight words, and picture cues.

Of course listening to him try to read is even more fun when he doesn't sound as nasal as he did today. Yup, Bilal is a little under the weather. He has been coughing for about a week, then got more and more congested, and finally I had to check him out this morning because he was running a fever of 102.7. I was thinking that it was about time to start him on antibiotics anyway, so we got a prescription filled, got some chewable Tylenol and headed back to Oneonta from Trussville to finish up clinic. He is actually not feeling as bad as he sounds, with a harsh cough, and gobs of snot; still has a fair appetite and doesn't want to just lie around. But the most devastating blow for him today was telling him that we had to cancel his dental appointment. You don't often see many kids enjoy going to the dentist like my kids do, all of them typically have had no problem, since they were little. But I think today's disappointment for Bilal may have been more about not getting a token to get a goody from their toy dispenser. So when the hygienist gave him a token despite not having had a turn in the chair, he cheered up. Hamza, on the other hand, got his teeth cleaned, and gave his prize to Bilal. Sweet brother!

I think I'll be keeping him out of school tomorrow, to keep a check on his temperature and tanking him up with fluids. I am hoping that after his second dose of antibiotics he'll start to improve. Luckily tomorrow is my day off. Didn't exactly plan to spend it taking care of a sick baby, but that's just what mommies do! A day of snuggling and reading to each other (after my doctor's appointment), and maybe with a little nap squeezed in, sounds perfect to me!

A walk by the Cahaba

2011-10-02T08:28:00.001-05:00

One of the best things about living in a smallish suburban city is the ability to enjoy wide open spaces and lots of greenery. The Cahaba River flows through Trussville, less than a mile from where we live. It is a very popular walking spot, although we don't often take the time to down there.

And it's always nice that we can take the dog with us. Atlas has been a lot more active since we have been getting cooler temperatures, so he loves his walks more than ever.

But he's not really much of a runner, so after Hamza gave him a couple of brisk runs he was happy to sit down and take a break.

Bilal, in his shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops complained of feeling cold, but a little running and jumping took care of that!

Beautiful day! We really should visit the Cahaba more often!

Sunny Saturday

2011-10-01T20:21:00.001-05:00

We started off the day this morning with temperatures in the high 40s, but by the time we were at the field it was a mild and sunny 65 degrees. Not too bad for a game of U-6 soccer. Bilal has been a bit under the weather, with a harsh cough and runny nose, but it didn't stop him from wanting to play today. Safa helped out by taking photos of the event.

We were doing fine until a little over half way into the game until this happened:

No, contrary to what this looks like, Bilal didn't shove an opponent down on to the ground. In fact Safa took this immediately after they accidentally bumped heads, very, very, hard. The little girl on the green team actually fell down because of the impact. Next came the tears for Bilal too.

So Bilal came and sat down for a little while, cuddled with Mama and then announced that he was ready to go back and play the rest of the game. Proud of him!

And the game ended on a positive note, with the ever popular tunnel,

followed by some friendly handshakes.

After the game we stayed back for a soccer clinic where the kids learned some basic skills by playing various games. And after lunch and a break, we headed down to the Cahaba River for a walk.

A little change

2011-09-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

I finally caved and let Zakir buy the massage chair he and the kids have been asking for over the past several months. They were spoiled, using Dada Abbu's chair while in Pakistan over the summer, and decided we needed to have one for our sitting room too. We finally found a good deal on one and picked it up today. Safa has been test driving it this evening.

On the positive side for me, it gave me the opportunity to relocate the chairs from the sitting room, and make myself a nice little nook in the bedroom.

So now with a new coat of paint, some new drapes and bedding, and my favorite wall hanging back up on the wall I think I've just about got the master bedroom as I like it.

Now to tackle the rest of the house!

Sweet sisters

2011-09-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

We have known big sister Tressie since she was 7 weeks old, and now she is seven!

Christina was our nanny, before Bilal was born; we loved having her with us at that time. Then she had Reagan, six months after Bilal was born.

And now, Addie makes three!

Three precious sisters! We were so glad to have them over to visit and play last week.

And we hope to be seeing more of them soon!

More from our Nashville weekend

2011-09-24T22:30:00.001-05:00

Evidently Safa was busy snapping photos the entire time we were there!

Playing ping-pong. Not quite sure if that's exactly how you're supposed to play.

Best friends.

A little guitar hero action:

Pretty Alina, ready for the party. Isn't she a doll?

Bilal at the party

And what is this ball of fuzz?

It's Bella the Himalayan. Here she is with Zakir:

She is one of the most good-natured cats I have ever seen.

Fun Weekend in Nashville

2011-09-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

We drove to Nashville this Saturday to stay with our cousins and attend a birthday party. It was a short trip, we were only there until about midday on Sunday, but it was definitely worth the drive. We don't get to see Shaheena, Asad and their kids very often (the last time we all met was in St. Louis, two years ago), but we have a great time whenever we meet. Their middle daughter, Amna is just a few months younger than Safa, and they always hit it off really well.

And of course the birthday party was great! A perfectly Pooh themed party for little Ailani.

Here is the birthday princess with her parents, Fahad and Sameena. Sameena is Zakir's first cousin.

The three tired cake was delicious. Each layer a different flavor, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla

And look at the centerpieces:

How cool that they doubled as goody bags/platters!

And how cute is this little bum?!

And our host family (minus Shaheena, who stayed behind to help her sister clean up after the party).

I'll share more pics soon!

And again

2011-09-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hefty went to get a couple of repairs done yesterday. When I went to get the car serviced the horn wasn't working. So they ordered a part and I took Hefty in when the part came in. Last time I had the privilege of driving this freak show around town:

I figured this time the loaner couldn't be any worse. But to my surprise, I got

Another billboard on wheels!

I guess if the dealership is going to give me a free car to drive around town they might as well get their own benefit out of it.

So glad to have Hefty back today!

Something to be thankful for

2011-09-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

We have many, many things to be thankful for. Zakir and I have been blessed with three wonderful children, who are loving, intelligent and respectful. We are thankful for their health, and of course special mention goes to Bilal since it wasn't always this way. Today we feel particularly blessed because it has been five years since he had repair of his congenital heart defects. And during those five years, besides the few acute illnesses of childhood we've had to deal with, he's done very well. As happy and energetic as any other five year old.

The kids in Bilal's kindergarten class have created a binder, as a way to introduce themselves to all the parents. The binder rotates between students, and this weekend was Bilal's turn to bring it home to show us. I took a photo of his pages to share.

You might not be able to read the last part. Maybe I should have scanned it and then posted it, but it says, "I am special because that is how my brother is, and I want to be like him". Other children had entries like, 'My parents love me', or 'I am a good friend', or 'I give good hugs'. But Bilal had to mention his brother.

Isn't that sweet? I hope Hamza appreciates how much of a role model he is to Bilal, who looks up to him for everything!

Waiting for dinner

2011-09-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

The end of what seems like a long week has finally come to an end. The chant started on Tuesday morning, "Is it Friday yet?" But we made it through a rigorous week of work, school and progress reports, and it's finally Friday evening, yay!

And a great way to end the work week. We met some friends at one of our favorite Thai restaurants, Surin 280 for dinner.

Waiting outside while our table for nine was being set:

Bilal's usual goofy face

And a sweet one with big sister:

I didn't take many pics during dinner, but I did snap this one of my friend's sweet little baby girl:

Doesn't she look like an innocent little doll? She really is precious, but in reality most of the time this is what we got to see:

Running everywhere, with her poor mommy chasing her. She was constantly on the go. You wouldn't guess it when you look at her, but she is full of mischief! I bet her mommy doesn't get a moment's rest at home!

Why is Tiny sporting a scarf?

2011-09-15T21:41:00.000-05:00

No, she's not making any kind of fashion statement.

A few weeks ago she starting scratching her neck, to the point of drawing blood. We figured it may have been fleas and treated both cats. But the scratching persisted. Every time she would start to heal, she would scratch off the scab again. She's worse than a child! Eventually the site got infected and we had to take her to see the vet. A shot and $75 later it started to heal... until she started scratching again. We tried to use a cone, but she would slip under the kitchen island and yank it off her head. So finally Zakir came up with an idea so that she would stop irritating it. It worked for a while, but she managed to get it off her by rolling around outside. We've persisted too; every time she would remove the washcloth we'd put it back on, around her neck. Now, several weeks later she is starting to look better. This evening I took off the (now shabby looking) rag, and let her groom herself. After a thorough grooming the scratching started again, so it went back on. But finally the sore is starting to heal, so hopefully after tomorrow she will be able to shed it forever. The things we do to take care of our pets!

Girl time

2011-09-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

Safa and I have trying to make it down to the Birmingham Museum of Art to see the traveling photography exhibit, Who Shot Rock & Roll. We finally managed a trip there on Saturday, just a week before it is scheduled to end. The highlight of the afternoon was the fact that Safa drove all the way to downtown Birmingham, (and back). She is usually reluctant to drive with me because she says I make her nervous. But I have to admit, she did a great job! Of course it helps that she was in the car that is soon to belong to her (of course she already refers to it as 'my car'), and that is the car she has driven on the most so far, since she's been learning. For some reason she doesn't feel as comfortable driving my car. But, but, who couldn't love Hefty?!

Anyway, we made it to Birmingham uneventfully, parked a block or two away, and took a small, but very pleasant walk to the museum.

Of course, photography wasn't permitted inside the exhibit, but I thought the wall of vinyl records outside was pretty impressive.

The exhibit itself was great! So many amazing shots of music stars through the years, taken by famous photographers.

On the way back home we stopped at the Pinnacle to shop for some bargains. It's nice to browse and shop without the boys in tow... sometimes, at least!

I remember.....

2011-09-11T21:33:00.000-05:00

.... where I was 10 years ago today when I heard the news of the planes flying into the twin towers, the day the world changed for everyone living in the US, and for many living overseas. I was working as a resident in the ER and caught a glimpse of the news report as I walked through the waiting room, headed back into the ER. After the news broke, I, and several other residents, spent most of the day huddled around the TV in the resident's lounge, flipping channels every so often, perhaps hoping that some TV station would reveal that there was no truth to what we were watching. Sadly, it was a reality. Later that day, after the kids came home from school/ daycare, I decided to share some of the news with Safa, who was just a kindergartener at the time. She was old enough to understand. She already knew that something was wrong, because she had seen soon of the teachers whispering in the halls, some of them crying, perhaps some of them wondering how much they should say to their 5 and 6 year old students, and what would be too much to tell them.

So many lives were lost, and so many heroes were born on 9/11/2001. People came together to help each other in an unprecedented manner. But sadly two wars are still being fought as a consequence of that day, and many, many more innocent people, including children, have lost their lives. We should never forget that reality either.

First game of the season

2011-09-10T19:28:00.000-05:00

Fall soccer practice started last week and today was the first game of the season. Bilal is in the U-6 division this time, which essentially means four extra minutes per game quarter, otherwise not a lot of difference. Every child on his current team has played at least one season in the past, so at least they have the concept of dribbling the ball and scoring.

This morning the weather was perfect for the first game. Sunny, and in the low 70s. The biggest hurdle was finding parking in the sports complex. This year there are a record 600 players signed up to play during the fall season, so you can imagine that's a lot of cars!

Kick-off was at 10:00am. Zakir was at work, but managed to make it for the start of the game. Before the game, coach game them a little pep talk. It was cute to see them so intent on listening to him (for a change!)

Bilal has already made friends with others on his team:

The entire team before the game. A perfect balance, three boys and three girls. Each child will get to play an equal amount during each game.

And at the end of the game, the tunnel:

Yay!

Then the teams lined up to shake hands, "Good game!"

Tired, but happy.

The trip home

2011-09-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

Not only did Tropical Storm Lee keep us company while we were in Gulf Shores, it also followed us home. Leaving Gulf Shores was not easy; trying to load the car without getting either washed away or blown away was quite tricky, especially since the elevators stopped working when the wind blew too hard against the doors. The elevator came down fine from the thirteenth floor where we were staying, until the third floor. Then the power flickered, and we felt a jerk. Then another movement, and it halted with a heavy thud, as an automated message came over the intercom "we are experiencing minor technical difficulty". Being stuck in an elevator with a five year old who was completely freaked out by then didn't feel that minor to us! I hammered the door button several times and finally it opened into the garage on the third floor. While we hauled our luggage to the stairwell we battled heavy wind and rain, so were drenched by the time we made it to the parking lot on the ground where we were parked.

After a little reluctance, and complaining about how bad her hair looked, Safa let me take a picture:

A lot of our drive home looked like this,

with brief episodes of clearer weather. At one time we were caught in a five mile long traffic jam, because of a six car accident. Honestly, people need to be more careful driving in this weather! I just hope there were no serious injuries.

And just to add to the excitement, we came home to this:

That is the ceiling of the downstairs master bathroom. Can you see that the light fixture is full of water? Right above the bathroom, in the attic we encountered the problem, and tried to improvise through the night:

Fortunately I was able to find someone the very next day, who located the problem on the roof and repaired the leak. He also reassured me that the roof does not particularly have hail damage (unlike what we were told by two other roofers who were randomly knocking on doors in our neighborhood).

So for now the problem has been resolved, and the cost was less than our homeowner's insurance deductible. So not too, too bad! And maybe we have a couple more years before we have to get the roof replaced!

It wasn't the best weekend ever...

2011-09-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

... we encountered not-so-beach-worthy weather in Gulf Shores, with Tropical Storm Lee on the horizon, pelting us with heavy rain and 35-40mph winds.

(you can see it didn't deter a lot of maniac beach-goers)

But at least we had the opportunity to spend it with these little cuties!

Despite the fairly consistent stormy weather, there was enough time for a little bit of this:

And this:

With a brief spell of this:

Despite the constant presence of the red flag.

And for my regular readers, welcome back to my recently neglected blog. No big excuse, just busy life, I suppose!

Cruel joke?

2011-09-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

I traded in Hefty the blue MINI...

...for this?

Thank goodness it was only for a day while my car was getting serviced. It felt like I was driving a billboard on wheels!

Or a clown car.

Just some kind of cruel joke the service folks at MINI played on me when I requested a loaner!

A boy and his buddy

2011-08-31T20:42:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, in the back yard...

Look, he really does have ears hidden under all that fur!

And a friendly game of soccer

But he tired out too soon. It's just too hot!

But the boys wouldn't leave him alone

So he just decided to play dead. Maybe then he'd get some rest.

Phew!

Photography by Safa.

Eid Mubarak...

2011-08-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

... from the Khan family. I hope everyone's day is full of blessings and celebration.

Tomorrow it's back to the grind as usual :(

The end of Ramadan

2011-08-29T19:58:00.000-05:00

Another blessed month of Ramadan is drawing to a close. It has been a good month of fasting and prayer, visits to the mosque for Iftaar and dinner. The new moon has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, so our mosque has announced that tomorrow will be the first day of Shawal, or Eid-al-Fitr.

Last night we went for dinner and our Chaand Raat celebration. Safa took her friend Anna with her, and they both got a chance to have henna applied on their hands. It's a very popular Eid tradition, and the girls love it. It ended up being a late night for them, but was worth it.

Pretty!

Tomorrow the kids will stay out of school. We'll start the day of festivities with a trip to the Sheraton for Eid prayers, followed by a carnival, and a pot luck dinner with friends.

A quick school update

2011-08-25T19:15:00.000-05:00

Another school week is nearly drawing to an end. So far, so good. Thankfully no sickies yet, which is often a concern when school starts back after the summer. Hamza is still enjoying being in a new school, and has actually made a lot of friends too. He has decided which teachers he loves (his math teacher, his English teacher), and which ones not so much (his Science teacher). Most of all I'm thrilled that he is enjoying his English class, because that has not historically been his strength. There is hope! He has had a couple of quizzes and tests, and done quite well, and has more scheduled for next week.

Safa is taking two AP classes; her required Modern European History, and AP psychology. A lot of work, but so far so good there too! As usual she is being inundated with homework. But coping. Her 'easy' electives are photography and choir. Makes for a more balanced year.

And Bilal is still having fun in kindergarten. Learning to understand directions. Until now I think that his attitude towards learning to read (starting with learning the sounds of letters) has been the same as any other new thing he is faced with, less than eager; the fear of the unknown. I know it's still very early in the year, but I am waiting for that little light bulb to go on in his very intelligent head when he realizes that letters make sounds, and letters strung together make words, typically using those sounds. For now we continue to enjoy reading together every night, and while we read we hunt for the few sight words that he's been learning. That's a start!

A few more days left in this very hot Ramadan. Eid will be either next Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the sighting of the new moon. We'll keep the kids out of school that day, so they can enjoy the festivities. And speaking of hot, the thermometer in my car registered 103 degrees when I was driving down the interstate today. Phew! Considering this morning it was a very pleasant 68 degrees, that's quite a jump!

And while I'm on the subject of driving, I am now putting over 120 miles on my car on an average day. I leave with the kids at about 6:50am, reach clinic around 8:15-8:30 depending on the traffic, work in clinic and leave around 2:15 to pick the kids up from three different schools. By the time we get back home it's close to 4:30pm. It gets quite tiring, but thank goodness I love the car I drive; traveling 120 miles in the minivan every day would make me go crazy!

Typical

2011-08-22T19:00:00.000-05:00

This morning we were up for our early Ramadan breakfast at 4:30am. Our conversation as we sat down to eat went something like this:

Me: I just realized we are almost out of eggs.
Safa: Did you know that Americans eat an average of 238 eggs per year?

The remainder of our meal was devoted to figuring out how people manage to get that many eggs in their diet and what a closer estimate for our own household's consumption would be. Including a fairly comprehensive list of all sorts of prepared foods that might contain eggs.

Just an ordinary breakfast time chat in our ordinary household!

Wet dog!

2011-08-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

Atlas really doesn't care for being bathed. He has to be on a leash so that he doesn't run off, so he kind of just stands there, resigned, with his tail between his legs. He doesn't have to be bathed that often, but lately he's been digging in the mud a lot, trying to stay cool, so he was starting to look rather mucky.

If he gets water on his ears he'll give himself a good shake. So you have to keep your distance unless you want to get rather wet.

Rather pitiful looking?

After his bath, off comes his leash and he's free to run. He takes off at lightning speed and gives himself another good shake.

But for a thorough dry off, he rolls around in the grass.

And another shake

Oops, missed a spot!

Happy pup!

Settling into school

2011-08-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

Bilal is really enjoying school, although he has a tendency to forget specifics about what he did during the day. Thank goodness his teacher sends home a folder with his worksheets, plus draws a face (smiley, straight, frown, etc.) in his agenda book so we would know if he had a bad day. So far all smiley faces! He does once in a while tell me if someone else got an 'oops' note, or if they had their pin moved in class for not doing what is expected of them.

But yesterday I realized how much of an adjustment it really is, for my chatterbox, energetic little guy to follow all the rules in kindergarten. He told me, "You have to stay quiet all the time, like when you walk to after school care, and when you walk to the lunch room. It's hard, it makes my cheeks hurt!" No wonder he lets it all out when he comes home!

Where are we now?

2011-08-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

Logan's mommy, Stefenie is hosting another blog linking event for heart families who would like to share their stories and connect with other families. The previous one, hosted about a year ago was a huge successful. we all had the opportunity to read about our heroes, both kids and adults who are living with CHD and overcoming great challenges every day. To contribute this year I would like to start where I left off last year. If you would like to read about Bilal's CHD journey from the beginning you can click on this link. This will take you to my contribution from last year.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Bilal has Tetralogy of Fallot, which typically comprises four separate defects:
1. Pulmonary stenosis
2. Ventricular septal defect (Bilal also had an atrial septal defect)
3. Right ventricular hypertrophy
4. Overriding of the aorta.

I have shared a some diagrams before, but these are particularly useful in describing the complex CHD.

Bilal's complete repair was on September 18, 2006, nearly 5 years ago.

Since the last time I posted we have been back to see the cardiologist once, in February of this year. The news we received this year was the most encouraging we have so far since his repair. During our follow-ups we have been hearing the fact that Bilal will probably/likely need a valve replacement some time during adulthood. As with most repairs of Tetralogy of Fallot the pulmonary valve is often sacrificed to some degree to relieve the stenosis, so patients are left with residual pulmonary insufficiency, or a leaky valve. The backflow of blood into the ventricle can put a strain on the heart, and may warrant a valve replacement. Depending on how the repair as initially done this may require another open heart surgery, or possibly a cardiac catheterization.

When we saw our PC in February he was very happy with how Bilal's heart anatomy had developed. He actually told us that a valve replacement in the future is possible, not probable. To us that is a huge difference. What a blessing it would be to not require any future heart surgery! And for now we will continue to see Dr. C every 18-24 months for his regular check ups, during which he typically gets a height and weight check, oxygen saturation (99% at last visit, woohoo!), chest x-ray, EKG and echocardiogram. I am determined to push it to 24 months this time!

Meanwhile we have a happy, well-adjusted five year old, who just started kindergarten last week (and is loving it), and is about to start his second season of soccer. He can keep up with the most energetic heart healthy child, and drives his older siblings absolutely crazy. Still into his apparently never-ending Star Wars phase, which drives Mama crazy, and is on the go from six in the morning until almost eight at night. We couldn't have been more blessed!

From his most recent cardiology check-up. Such a big boy!

I hope my son's amazing post-op outcome is a source of inspiration for those parents who may be dealing with the uncertainty of a new diagnosis. I am always happy to talk to or email with anyone who needs a chat and a bit of support, just let me know ♥

Another change

2011-08-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

What is this?

Imagine this color, a lot of this color, on the walls, all over your house. The sitting room, the master bedroom, and the vast expanse of the upstairs hallway and the foyer and stairway. That's a lot of pink. In fact, the color matched a paint on the color wheel called 'cherries jubilee'. This is what we've been living with for over eight years. When we bought the house in 2003 we refused to be turned off by the wall color, figuring that we could change it any time we wanted to. Well, eight years later, after building a new sunroom, a patio, repainting all three kids' bedrooms, redoing the kitchen floors and walls, and changing the bathroom from this to this, it was finally time to tackle the delightfully pink walls.

We went back and forth on what colors to do our walls, but one thing was for sure that we want a relatively neutral color. So at long last we wouldn't have to keep buying neutral bedding, furniture, drapes and such, to tone down the walls.

We also had a dull green on the dining room walls, and a very pretty gold-ish color on the guest room/ computer room walls, but were getting sick of the jungle mural that had been painted prior to us moving into this house. So we decided to tackle it all at once. So far I have done all the painting myself, but this project was far too big for me, especially with the two story foyer. This time we hired a team of painters who took care of everything in two days. Definitely worth the expense, not to have to risk my safety climbing up on ladders.

What we settled on was a subtle green in the sitting room and dining room, a shade called 'wheat grass' and a deep cream (called 'compatible cream') in the rest of the house. I'll share pics of the new colors tomorrow, but I have to say, after the painting was complete it felt like we'd moved into a brand new house! Now we are working on picking out new drapes for the bedroom and valances for the sitting room. All our paintings and framed photos still have to go back up on the walls too. So the house is pretty cluttered right now.

Just for Safa...

2011-08-11T20:19:00.004-05:00

... and her friends.

I took the girls to a concert at a great venue called Workplay on Saturday night. Since it is Ramadan, and the concert was at a most inopportune time, just a few minutes after we are scheduled to break our fast, I had to sneak in some snacks for the girls to eat. Workplay has a bar but they don't offer any kind of food. Anyway, Safa loves one of the headliner bands that were performing, and had been talking about wanting to go to this concert for a long time, so I agreed to take her. The opening act was a group from North Carolina called Delta Rae. I'm still not quite sure what genre of music they performed (some cross between rock and country, maybe?), but they were quite good.

The first headliner was Matthew Mayfield who is actually originally from Birmingham. Again, not someone I am personally familiar with, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the music. I sat in a booth in the corner while the girls stood where they could touch the stage, and enjoyed the music up close and personal.

Next was a group called Carbon Leaf. I had previously heard perhaps one or two of the songs they performed, but I am surprised to admit I really enjoyed the music. Quite a versatile group, with some very good guitarists too. They played everything from Irish Folk, to rock, to softer acoustic music. I also like the fact that Safa has such a diverse taste in music. I admit it does sometimes make me feel rather old, since I know the names of very few of the artists she listens to.

The only downside if the evening was that the concert ran until almost midnight. By the time we made it to bed it was after 1am. And considering I was up at 3:45am making breakfast to start the next day's fast, let's just say I was more than a little sleep deprived! All to make my little girl happy.

The Nephews

2011-08-10T05:49:00.000-05:00

I admit I haven't been blogging in chronological order, but I've just now got back into the groove, and would love to keep this momentum going. So I present to you, the nephews:

I know, I know, fuzzy picture again, but when this little guy is on the go I take what I can get!

Mobeen and Mohsin came in with their parents late Thursday night, and stayed until Sunday midday. I kept these little monkeys for most of Friday while their parents took care of some business. The sound of the two of them, and Bilal, playing together was delightful. so much squealing and laughter! I wish I got a decent picture of them together!

They have become very interactive, and love running around together. And when one of them gets tired, he just snuggled up against Safa Baji, and:

Gotta get energized for the next round of play!

I wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. At least we have Labor Day weekend to look forward too. I love my nephew fix!

First Days

2011-08-09T08:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Hamza's first day of school at ASFA. He was a little nervous, that's to be expected, since he is going to a brand new school for the first time since kindergarten. He's grown up around the same kids in Trussville, and now he will have unfamiliar teachers, and new friends to be made.

But when I picked him up in the afternoon he was happy, and eager to tell me about his day. Phew! His favorite class so far? Algebra, of course!

This morning was Bilal's turn. No nerves there, all excitement.

In fact, he was so excited that he could barely contain himself!

Hamza walked Bilal to the bus stop, which is very close to our house, while I brought the car around.

He waited impatiently for the bus.

Until,

Here it comes!

So we exchanged a couple of quick hugs, and he was eager to hop on board. Not even the slightest moment of hesitation!

*Sniff*, he's ready to start his first day of school.

Cutie

2011-08-08T06:44:00.000-05:00

I'm not quite sure what Bilal had in mind when Safa was taking this picture, but I think he looks cute anyway! Do you have any idea how hard it is becoming to get a 'normal' picture of my 5 year old? This is a representation of his new 'normal' :)

Kindergarten!

2011-08-07T18:56:00.001-05:00

On Thursday evening Zakir and I took Bilal to meet his teacher and see his classroom. The plan was to meet in the courtyard for popsicles and then later tour the classroom, but there were scattered thunderstorms all day, so we had to pass on the outdoor part, and went straight to his classroom. His teacher, Mrs. Benson greeted us at the door and directed us what to do. Bilal was rather shy, and kept hiding behind either me or Zakir. Typical for him, when he experiences something new. But I don't think it will be long before he really gets into the groove of things.

Such a colorful, happy room! I'm sure it will be a great school year.

We located Bilal's locker and put away his school supplies. Locker number 11! Can you see the look of slight skepticism on his face?

And then Bilal sat down and checked out his desk

He has his own little pouch on the wall for tags, etc to go in

And after the obligatory forms that needed to be signed, and after picking up some cndy that Mrs. Benson had left for Bilal at his desk, we headed back home, checking out the playground on the way to the car

I have a feeling Bilal will be making some fun memories this year.

Summer Assignment

2011-08-03T19:26:00.000-05:00

Since the kids have been mostly home since we got back from our extended vacation, and since Zakir and have been working a lot, we decided the kids should participate more in taking care of the home. Normally we don't give them and allowance; we buy them what need, and usually what they want (within reason, of course). Plus they get gifts of their choice on birthdays and every year on Eid. But this time, since they would be going beyond their usual duties I thought a little monetary incentive would be a good thing. The catch? Teamwork. Just because Safa started a load of laundry it doesn't mean that Hamza shouldn't sort the clothes, or put them away. Kids are expected to work together to vacuum, and dust as needed, also keep their rooms and the kitchen counter clean, without the usual "But I did it this morning, it's Hamza's turn!" or vice versa. We are still working on the concept with Bilal, but he's getting there a bit at a time.

So the kids are happy that they're being paid for household chores (the fact I think they should pull more weight around the house, payment or not, is a non-issue right now), and this afternoon I realized that our little arrangement is paying off (and not just with pocket money for the kids):

Bilal had just finished eating a fish sandwich with ketchup, and wanted to eat one of the cupcakes Miss Vicki had brought by for his birthday. He refused to use the same plate because he said it was dirty because there was ketchup in it, and tried to put it in the sink. And Safa's response? "No, Bilal, half of the plate is clean you can use that. Do you have any idea how many dishes I've washed today?!"

This, coming from a child who will usually drink one sip of water, juice, or any other beverage, and throw the glass in the sink, without a second thought. Score!

Maybe from now on she'll think twice before she piles up her dishes for Mama to wash!

What did this puppy do last night?

2011-07-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

No, he didn't try to escape our back yard. Nor did he tear up something of any significant value. Actually, he got his huge bushy tail stuck in our metal patio table, between the table top and the upper part of one of the legs! Zakir went out last night to put him in his crate for the night. Atlas came out of the bushes and walked between the table and chairs on the patio, getting his tail stuck in the process. So he ended up whimpering and dragging the table all around the place. Zakir tried to help him get it out, but he instinctively tried to bite him, so he couldn't do much. As we know, this is the pup who wouldn't hurt a fly. But when you are trapped and dragging a metal table around with only the tip of your tail it's gotta hurt! So Zakir called me outside to see if I could help dislodge his tail while he held him. But Atlas still wouldn't stop trying to snap every time I got close to his tail. Finally we managed to twist the table around to an angle where the poor pup's tail slipped out from its entrapment. And he was fine!

I would have taken a picture of his predicament, but it would have been too cruel, to stop and grab my camera instead of helping him out. So no photos of the crazy moment. But here's another one, of Bilal and our white 'Clifford', just because all words and no pics is too boring!

A mouthful!

2011-07-29T05:15:00.000-05:00

There it is, right at the bottom of the list! Hamza made the 'board of fame' for getting his braces on today.

After almost 2 hours of work and much gagging (so I'm told), Hamza has a mouth full of hardware. He actually looks quite cute!

Pardon the crummy picture. He can't ever keep his eyes open if the camera flash goes off, and evidently his glasses have weeks worth of grubby paw prints he hasn't cleaned off. But you get the gist of it!

I hope he takes good care of those pearly whites!

After five years of watchful waiting...

2011-07-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

...several x-rays and molds, a few serial extractions, and over a year of wearing headgear, Hamza is finally going in for his braces tomorrow. The waiting was to let more of Hamza's primary teeth to come loose, then some extractions to help the permanent teeth drop in place. Then the headgear to slow down the growth of his upper jaw, and give time for the growth of his lower jaw to catch up, hence correcting his overbite. Now all his baby teeth are gone, and it is time for a full set of braces. He has a lot of crowding in his mouth, but hopefully with braces followed by a retainer we'll be able to get a good orthodontic result without having to extract any of his permanent teeth (well, except his wisdom teeth, or 3rd molars, which will probably have to be extracted when he is about 16; they are already growing in crooked). I suppose most of us end up with our 3rd molars extracted some time during our teen years, I did too! I love Hamza's smile, but I also think that it will be great for him to get braces, and help correct some of that crowding in his mouth. I just hope he grows up appreciating how much time, effort and money are going into his treatment!

Five!

2011-07-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Bilal! Can you believe it? My last born is five years old today. And I have to stop and wonder in amazement when I think about what a crazy five years it has been. Crazy in a good way, well most of the time, although there are those moments when I want to pull my hair out. For example, do you know how many attempts it took to get a decent photo to share on the blog? I finally gave up after all the goofy faces, and asked Safa to try. This is the best he gave her:

And I think these are cute too, just not what I had in mind:

Such a silly boy!

Today was a Star Wars kind of day, just like every other day in Bilal's life. For birthday cake, he picked out Star Wars cupcakes.

As a birthday present he picked out yet another Star Wars Lego toy. And from all the places he may have chosen to go to for lunch he picked out McDonald's because the happy meal toy was (did you guess it?) Star Wars themed! Yes, the rest of the household wanted to veto the lunch venue, but I figured, his birthday only comes once a year, so he gets to choose.

May the force be with you!

All together again!

2011-07-22T18:43:00.002-05:00

Tuesday night Zakir brought the kids back from Pakistan. Two weeks is plenty of time for us to be split as a family, in fact it's the longest we've ever been separate. It was my first experience ever, living alone for more than a weekend, and Bilal has never been without me, except for a rare evening when Zakir and I may have gone for dinner or a show and missed his bedtime. I was pleased that he did rather well. Of course Safa and Hamza were fine without me there, and that was to be expected. All the kids obviously got spoiled rotten by their grandparents, uncle and aunt, but I suppose that was to be expected too!

While Zakir was gone I had a lot of early mornings, and long walks with Atlas. I had to walk him every day before going to work and before it got too hot for him to be out. And then every evening before I tucked him in for the night. I have to admit the walks were very pleasant (well, except for the scooping poop part), but I am very glad to not have to get up at the crack of dawn knowing that the dog has to be walked. I'll leave that to Zakir now, he's the morning person!

While we were in Pakistan Atlas spent two weeks at the vet's. He was very happy to be back home, but obviously unsettled, probably partly because of the intense heat and partly because of his owner not being home. So he ate very little in the first week he was home with me; maybe about as much in one week as he typically would have in one day. But he remained energetic, and continued to enjoy his walks, so I chalked it down to changes in routine and didn't worry too much about it. IT didn't help much that there was always a rumble or two of thunder in the air, and he is still terrified of storms. One day I came went out for a couple of hours in the evening and the weather got stormt before I got back. While I was driving home I got a call from our business answering service.

"Dr. Mina, I'm so sorry to call you, I know you're not on call, but your neighbor has your dog and doesn't know what to do with him because he's a very big dog!" So I called and talked to my dear neighbor and got the story, reassuring her I'd be there in less than ten minutes. Apparently she'd called my home number and I wasn't home but she didn't have my cell number. So she googled our office and found a telephone number. Since there was no-one in the office she got the answering service number off the machine, and contacted me through them. I wondered how Atlas had managed to get out from the back yard, but figured it was something to do with the temporary fix we had created to prevent him from jumping over the gate. I came home to find my neighbors' kids in the back yard with Atlas, and this:

While I was standing there he showed me what he could do with the hole he punched out:

It put me in a dilemma, I couldn't keep him in the back yard any longer, wasn't quite sure how I could close the hole, and there was no way I wanted to leave him in the crate for ten hours at a time while I was at work. Didn't really want to board him at the vet's again either!

So I called Vicki and asked her if her husband wouldn't mind coming over and covering up the hole temporarily until Zakir came back and replaced the gate. I didn't expect to come home to this the next evening!

I love those guys! Donnie went out of his way to build us a great new gate!

Anyway, by week two Atlas was probably resigned to the fact that it was just me and him from then on. It probably also helped that the weather cooled down several degrees. So he started eating better and was more settled while at home. No more attempts to break down the fence! What he hasn't realized is that if he got a running start he could probably jump over any part of the fence! Let's hope he doesn't read this blog post, ha!

And that's only one of the crazy things that happened while Zakir and the kids were gone. Needless to say, we've figured that I'm the one member of the household that attracts all the drama, we don't have to have a full house for something bizarre to occur!

Do you know where this is?

2011-07-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

It's in Abbotabad, Pakistan, only a couple of miles from where Osama Bin Laden was in hiding, and eventually got taken down. It seems like such a benign, ordinary place!

Especially when you see sights like this in the same vicinity:

I love this photo that Zakir took of the fruit vendors on the roadside. Doesn't it make you want to try one of each? Delicious!

So grown up!

2011-07-16T23:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Nadia for taking these photos.

Doesn't Safa look so grown up? It's been creeping up on me, and sometimes I wish I could resist the reality that she's no longer a little girl. We are blessed with a beautiful, intelligent young lady who is blossoming a little more every day. You spend years trying to nurture your children, raise them to become responsible and independent. Then they grow up and you want to turn back time! I love this stage, we can go shopping together, get the occasional pedicures together, and ask each other's opinion about the important, and the mundane. But I also loved it when this:

was my baby girl!