Mommy in a Dumpster

Just when I thought that I have done it all, life throws a surprise at me. Actually, it got me straight into the dump. Our car was broken into last Friday. Totally our fault as we forgot to lock the car. It is a fairly safe neighborhood, mostly residential and it wasn't the first time that we left the car unlocked. We now know better. The thief wiped out all the loose change that he could find, scattered all the papers from the glove box and took Nasir's Cricket kit. I was a little upset, felt robbed and was not the happy me when I went to work that morning. Nasir assured me that he will take care of everything the reporting and all and urged me not to worry. Well, it was hard not to worry. I was

A Day of Goodness

My day of goodness started when I offered to take Fran to her doctor's office. She was worried about parking and running to her doctor's office for 5 minutes and paying for a whole hour of parking. Maybe its a generation gap or maybe she is like a grandma figure to me. I didn't mind buying a ticket or driving her to the doctors office. When you are

Printing Homework a Chore

Ayaan detests doing anything to do with a paper and pencil. Especially if it has to do with printing. Although the actual "home-work from school is just reading an easy story book in French each day but because his printing still needs some work, I give him my own home-work. My home work consists of printing some three letter words or doing a little bit of Grade 1 Math. For any other Grade one EFI student this would be a piece of cake. For Ayaan its a different story. He is more into playing with his gadgets or creating make-believe stuff but

Failed Responsibility

My current addiction is playing Just Words online. I find it challenging, therapeutic and a lot of fun. It also helps me to steer my thoughts from work to home. It is my after work pastime. Not a single work day goes by without a game (or two) of Just Words. Now I am well aware that any kind of addiction is bad for your health. So, I had to find myself a different hobby. On our recent visit to the library I borrowed a random novel to read. I picked "A Well Tempered Heart" written by Jan-Phillip Sendkler. I liked the title and the reviews were not bad either. It is a fairly good read and thought provoking too. One thought that I really liked was the statement "You are responsible for not only what

Stopping by Nature

On our way back from school, we decided to stop by the Richmond Nature Park. Clear blue skies, nice sunny weather and lots of time on hand prompted our unplanned and surprise visit to the park. Except a couple families and a few odd photographers, the park was pretty deserted. It usually comes to life during the weekends or on days when they have some show planned for

Two Potlucks and a Funeral

Another busy day. Busy is a little underrated. A roller coaster day would be more like it. While I enjoyed each moment and I am really pleased with how it all turned out I am still amazed how much work gets packed into one ordinary day.
Woke up early, got the kids ready, made the lunches and sent them off with Nasir. Went to work with my butter chicken. My dish for the Volunteer appreciation potluck. I reached work a little

Overlooked Blessing

I never put any thought on a lot of things that I do because those are things that just need to be done and it just seems like second nature. Right from the time I sense the need till the time I fulfill the need, there are a lot of steps that I accomplish in order to get to the end point. Missing any one step or not doing it right can prove to be a big hassle later on. I am not talking about the simple chores around the house like cooking, cleaning or doing the laundry. Those are not time sensitive and do not involve multiple entities. I am talking about

A Day at the Park

After a few wet days, it was sunny and beautiful and as usual Aaliyah asked me if we can go out somewhere. Looking at the nice weather outside, I had to agree. We decided that we would go to the park. The nearest community park which is the Garden City Park, is a little far and across a very busy intersection. We normally drive to the park and I haul the bikes in the trunk. Today, I thought we should

No French at the Food Bank

Choosing the French Immersion program for Ayaan was a very difficult choice for me as I wasn't sure if he would learn anything at all. He struggles with printing his alphabet and numbers neatly and was never keen on learning any new languages. Aaliyah on the other hand, was a very easy candidate for French Immersion because she was reading, writing and speaking English before she started Kindergarten and she had also picked up basic Spanish and Hindi. But, I am quite surprised at the amount of French that Ayaan is picking up daily especially through his songs. He is not only learning the language but also insists on correct pronunciation. On our way to Aaliyah's Art class, Ayaan started to

Free Day at Science World

After picking up the kids from school, on a regular Thursday afternoon, I turned on the radio and we were singing along to our favorite pop song. Our fun was interrupted as the station took its regular break for the not so fun infomercials. For a change, the infomercial was very interesting and just what we wanted to hear. They announced that this

Manners Lady Concert

Judi the Manner's Lady Concert was one of the bonus events for September that the Kidsworld had organized. I would have forgotten about this event if it hadn't appeared in the local newspaper. The best part was that it was in Richmond and not a far off city like Abbotsford or North Vancouver. So I decided to give it a go. I called the number to RSVP and Judi

The Moving Void

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. So the saying goes and it is resounding with the going away of our dear family friends. Our friends came into our life for a season and today marks the end of the season of a three

Puzzles on Trees

Now wouldn't that be nice if puzzles and other toys grew on trees. That is just my 4 year old's imagination. He enjoys working on puzzles and spends a long time finishing them. It is his little personal victory once he completes a puzzle. Getting him to break it and put it back in the box is quite a challenge. I recently bought him a new puzzle box with more pieces and a little

Diplomat in the Making

I came home with Ayaan's favorite ring pop lollipop. I gave him the candy and he was very happy. He said that he was very happy that I got the ring pop for him. I casually asked him "Are you happy that I got you the ring pop or are you happy that I came?" I pointed two fingers at him and asked him to choose one or the other. I thought I gave hom a tough choice and that he would say that he was happy to see me. He thought for a moment and

Mother's Day Gift

Aaliyah loves to draw and color and now she is getting good at creative writing too. She found a little book with blank pages, got her stash of crayons and came up with this cute little story book. I immediately took pictures of it, so it can stay with me forever. Here

Mother's Day Card

Here is what Aaliyah and Ayaan made at school and preschool for their dear Mommy on Mother's Day.

Love you my little lovelies!

Pony Birthday Party

Aaliyah Riding on Pumpkin the pony

We were invited to a uniquely themed "Pony Birthday Party". Fayth goes for Pony lessons at this barn and the fact that the place also hosted birthday parties was well tapped into by her mom. It is a newer place and that is why it does not appear in Google searches as yet. I wonder what it's called. All the time I was there it never occurred to me to ask the ladies what the name of their barn was.  I am going to call it "Pumpkin's Barn". Pumpkin is the name of the pony that Fayth rides regularly. The weather was not the best one for a pony ride neither was the distance to the barn. Both of these factors did not deter us in any way.

The one thing that was turning out to be a deterrent was

Our Top 10 Story Books

Any library that I go to is normally stocked up with tons of children's books. But, within those hundreds of books are hidden a few of my son's favorite. I say favorite because no matter which library I go to, he picks the same books over and over again. It is just amazing how he finds his familiar favorites from among the hundreds of books stacked throughout the children's section of the library. I have gotten tired of reading these books but every time I read them, Ayaan enjoys it with the same enthusiasm as if he is listening to it for the first time. They

Mommy Not Ready for Kindergarten

I finally got the Kindergarten registration form from the school office. I go there practically every other day, either to pick up or drop off some PAC related stuff, however, I simply dreaded picking up a Kindergarten registration form. I kept putting it off because deep down I am just not ready for it.

I am not ready to put my kid with kids who

Learning from the Sick

Visiting the sick is a very human thing to do. It comforts the sick person and makes you value your own health and well being. However, I wonder why visiting the sick is so draining on the mind and body. It is more tiring than a full day of housework. You can be washing dishes, mopping the floor, doing the laundry, cooking and chasing the kids and yet you still seem to have energy for doing the grocery and checking your e-mail. In comparison, when all you did at a sick person's