Favorite Color

Even though we know that Iman is a die hard fan of pink, just for kicks, we asked her again today…

“So Iman, what’s your favorite color?”

and she said…

“Pink”

so we asked…

“Why?”

and she said…

“Because it’s not blue.”

PTMs

Sending Iman to school and becoming a “stay at home mom” has been a weird experience for me. My previous school experiences have been through the eyes of a teacher, now I’m the parent. I can’t get the “teacher me” out of my head.

Our first Parent Teacher Meeting was this week. Really, what can be said about a 3 year old in nursery? She has great pencil control, enjoys song time and story time. She interacts well with the other children and enjoys that sand pit. Of course being a first time parent (and ex-teacher) I had to come up with some questions.

When I was on the other side of the table and parents didn’t have any questions for me, I felt that they weren’t paying attention. Ask me anything… ask me what I feel is their child’s strongest point, what can they work on at home, does the child seem comfortable in the classroom environment or my favorite… how is MY relationship with their child? Anything, something. Just so the I know that mom and dad were listening over the past few minutes and care to know more about their kid. Something personalized. As a teacher I always liked parents that came up with unique questions. I loved answering them. Really made me feel that mom and dad had their head in the game.

So sitting across from Iman’s teacher, I had to come up with something with impact. You’d think that since this was a planned meeting, I would have thought of something,  but I was a bit over confident. I figured I’d play it by ear and just ask what I naturally wanted to know. And sitting there, as Iman’s mom, nothing came to mind. We had a momentary pause where she expected me to jump in with something, but my mind drew a total blank.

What I wanted to say was… “Thanks, we know Iman’s a brilliant girl. She loves school. Good day”

But instead the pressure of coming up with a good question overcame me and I said… “So tell me about her eating habits, is she finishing her food or feeding it to classmates?”

Damn.

What an incredibly dumb question!! But I made a good save later on. Built several points into the conversation and walked out of there looking like a “positively concerned but not overly involved or pushy” parent. Phew.

Note to self: Next time prepare questions for PTMs.

Nursing the growing child

As Ayzah grows older, she’s become better at pawing, and of late, just trying to gnaw at my shirt. Sometimes it can be really embarrassing in front of other people. Everyone knows what she’s looking for, and when she’s hungry… it’s really hard to control the little bugger!

 

Another baby?

With workload increasing between the two kids, fitness has been sort of sidelined. I tried my hand at “baby aerobics” – exercise that you can do with your baby (using the baby’s weight to your advantage) but a few weeks of that and I got distracted.

Now with me finishing off Ayzah’s leftovers and snacking through the day (blaming it on the nursing of course!) there is a small little belly coming out. Something like the early pregnancy. The sad thing is that as I was sitting and watching TV, Iman came up to me and poked my belly and asked… “Mama, is there another baby inside?”

Ok, so it’s going to be 100 situps… starting tomorrow.

The trouble with groceries and laundry

You always forget one thing.

No matter how many times you check, double check and triple check the fridge and cabinets. No matter how many lists you make before you head out to the store. No matter how many extra things you pick up while you’re there… you always forget one thing. I’ve got a list on the kitchen door, we’re supposed to write everything we need as we run out of it. Omair and I are very good at keeping it updated. This way, our trips to the grocery are limited and very efficient (trying to handle two kids while shopping is not an easy job). Even though we might think we’re ahead of the system, the system is always ahead of us. As I unpack bags full of groceries, I always realize that I forgot to buy that one thing… So I get to erase the entire shopping list, and start a new one right away.

The same goes for laundry. The laundry hamper gets emptied into the washing machine, but then I still go around the house hunting high and low in all corners. Behind the doors, in the closets. When I am absolutely sure that I’ve found it all, I run the machine… and in a matter of minutes, find something else that needed to be washed.

What is it with these eternally “non-ending” type of things? You just can’t seem to get ahead, or even try to compete with groceries and laundry.

One of a kind

I’ve always been a big fan of children’s art projects. You know, the kind of crazy looking things they make at school, that are treasured at home forever. I’m a big fan of those adorable hand made mother’s day cards. Those maccaroni picture frames and all else that is made with such intense hard work and love. In the past, I’ve always had a hand in helping Iman do all her art activities, so today, when she brought home a magnet that she had made for the fridge, I couldn’t help but get all teary eyed. FINALLY… a little askew, half colored, not-so-perfect but yet, PERFECT piece of art that I can treasure forever!!

She’s so proud of it. Keeps going into the kitchen to make sure it’s still there on the fridge. After seeing my excitement, she kept telling me how she made it all by herself. Chose the color and sprinkled it with glitter.

 I feel so privilaged to have it on my fridge. It’s really been something I have wanted for a long long time… for my kid to come home with her own creation, made especially for me.

    

Actions speak louder than words

I started writing this blog with the intention that it would immortalize my parenting. At the time, I thought that I could write out everything that happened, that I wanted to remember, and months, maybe years later, I could always go back and remember the details of the days gone by.

We always remember the big stuff… you know, the birth story, the first smile, first foods, first steps, birthdays, first days of school… etc. but it’s the details that you forget. Witty comments, funny replies to your questions, difficult questions that they ask, endearing conversations and that perfect comic timing. The kind of things that seem SO amazing when they happen, but soon forgotten or covered up by other important things.

So far, most of the time, I have managed to write out a post in dedication to almost all the cool and cute things the kids have done or said, but some things just can’t be penned down. I’m thinking of several incidents where my mind was aching to hold onto the memory forever. I tried to blog about it too, but the words weren’t doing justice. Sometimes, in some cases, what you visualize through your eyes can’t be put down on paper. Maybe it’s not the action itself, but the moment that contains it, and some actions are really… too loud for words. 

Eyes wide open

This must have happened to every parent I know. You’re trying to put your child to sleep, and you’re almost there… The baby’s eyes are dropping closed, arm/leg movement has completely stopped, you know that the baby will be asleep any minute now… but there are those sleepy eyes. Eyes almost shut but not quite, they’re open a teeny tiny crack. So like any normal person would, you take the tip of your fingers and attempt to close the eyes and set the baby down.

 But no.

You gently touch the eyes with your fingertips, almost holding your breath so not to disturb your baby’s peaceful sleep… and carefully move your hand away, and as soon as your hand moves, the baby’s eyes shoot wide open and your little bundle stares straight into your eyes and breaks into a grin.

Damn. Start rocking the baby again.

Onesies and Twosies

With the weather change, we’ve bought some onesies for Ayzah — those sleeping suits that come in one piece, they’re button down and have little feet pockets.

So when I put Ayzah in her onesies after her bath, Iman was quite intrigued at the new type of clothing. She asked me…

Iman: What’s Ayzah wearing?

Me: She’s wearing a onesie.

Iman: (giggling) That’s a funny name – onesie… why is it called a onesie?

Me: Because it’s one piece, see… (and I showed her how everything was attached).

Iman looks at her own two piece pajamas…

Iman: So does that mean I’m wearing twosies?

Ayzah’s Sweet Tooth

I’ve come to realize that Ayzah is a sugar princess. Maybe it’s because it’s better then bland, but she’s really taken a liking to all things sweet.

Applesauce, pears, cerelac, oatmeal, baby cookies… all works fine. She’s even had a nibble of some cake. But any kind of vegetable has been thoroughly rejected.  She’s been so scarred by the vegis that after having a few bites, she refuses to open her mouth for hours! Maybe it’s time to bring out the sweet potato, a happy medium that still falls in the category of vegis. What else is there? Any suggestions for vegis for a sugar loving baby?