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

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Going to a pumpkin patch was always on my mental to-do list. That is where it stayed...on my mind. But when the kids got home a notice about a combined field trip to the Richmond Country Farms for kindergarten and grade 2, it was time to finally make my mental wish real.  The notice asked for

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

Playful Time at Playland

Playland at the Pacific National Exchange (PNE) is Vancouver's answer to Disneyland-just a little smaller. However, it is what it is and is packed with loads of fun for the kids and adults alike. Playland had over 40 different rides and attractions along with arcade games and other little games of chance like the ring toss, baloon shooting etc. Lots of different food vendors with regular fair kind food like poutine, french fries, gourmet burgers, donuts, carmel dipped apples, sugar candy, popcorn and the like. The weather was perfect. It did get a little cloudy but thankfully it didn't rain. With Hummu

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

Dragon Boat Festival

I used to read about the dragon boat festival in the newspapers. I thought it was part of the Chinese culture mainly because of the dragon shaped long boats. If it was any other boat it would have been an ordinary boat race. I found out that it is not an ordinary festival but a

Mommy Daughter Day Out

It was probably the first time since Aaliyah and I went out on our own to a park without Ayaan. Other than the quick trips to the library or the grocery store, I always took both the kids out. Since it was a Chinese garden, I had a feeling that Ayaan would not enjoy or appreciate it as much as Aaliyah would. I also worried that Ayaan might find it difficult not to run around and or disturb the tranquility that is representative of a Chinese garden. So, we dropped Ayaan at his preschool and off we went on our Mommy daughter adventure. The spirit of adventure was so strong that we tried yet another first. Taking the

Britannia Mine Museum

Went to the Britannia Mine Museum in Squamish. This mine is among the largest mines in the world. It used to be a copper mine until it shut down in 1974. Today, it is a national historic site and draws many visitors young and old. The highlight of the museum is the train tour inside the mine. Learning about how it all started and how the minig processes developed over the years was quite interesting. The tour also included a walk inside the actual mine building where all the seperation of the metal from the rock took place back in the days. Apart from the tour, panning for gold and other minerals was also a fun activity that the kids enjoyed doing. All in all a fun trip.

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!

Richmond Go Karts

The Richmond Go-Karts is a fun place for the entire family. It has about a mile long track and about 25 karts that go on the track at one time. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and apparently everybody chose the Richmond Go-Karts for their family outing. There were a lot of families with children and then there were the young teenagers eager to race their friends. We must have waited for about

Good Times at Strongstart

Just made a slideshow of our time at Strongstart. Enjoy!

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a59794e4449774d54493d0d0a&blogview=true

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

Owl Show-Richmond Nature Park

 Had to make the most of whatever sunshine comes our way. So, I took the kids out to the Richmond Nature Park for the "Owl Show". Normally we never had any trouble finding parking, even on their special event days. Today was different. It was unusually busy. There were a lot of

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

For the Love of Gadgets

He is crazy about gadgets. Anything that has a keypad or some sort of a dial and works, is a toy for him. I am not talking about the Leapfrog or the Fisher Price toys. It is the big people's toys that he is crazy about. For the past few days his latest fantasy has been an

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

Go Bananas

Go Bananas! The name says it all. Just let the kids go crazy at this indoor kids play centre. Located in the vicinity of a movie theatre, indoor swim centre, skating rink and a bowling alley zone, Go Bananas is a fun place for the kids. It is here that they can burn some calories going up and down the play structures. It is a comparatively

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