Ayanism

On one of our morning drive to school:
Mommy: Oh look at those geese, waddling in the inch of rain water
Ayaan: I wish they had a home. Maybe they can go to watermania and swim there
Mommy: But Watermania is an indoor swimming pool. How will they fly in?
Ayaan: Oh the birds can just walk through the entry doors. All they have to do is say Quack and the doors will open for them.

Children's Art Festival

Took the kids to the Children's Art festival. Aaliyah attended the collage making workshop and Ayaan attended the storytelling and dance workshop. Together we attended the Tickle me pickle improve comedy show, learned yarn bombing, made a giant hat and listened to Barbara Reid's story "Picture a Tree" and the story behind

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

Berry Time at Blueberry Farm

Went for blue berry picking at one of Birak's Blueberry farm on Blundel road. I ate more and picked less while the kids did just the opposite. It was fun picking the freshest and the largest of the blueberries.The berry trees were just the perfect height to provide ample shade on an otherwise

Harbour Cruise

Our first Kids World trip for this Summer. The Harbour Cruise was a fun one hour adventure along Vancouver's harbour and waterfront. The tour guide narrated the history of the various landmarks and buildings along the waterfront. The kids were more interested in looking around and walking up and down the levels. I was enjoying the ride. There is something about the

Public Works Open House

After dropping off Nasir at the Vancouver Airport we went to the Public Works Open House. The kids already had their breakfast, it was a Saturday and we were already out driving so it just was a perfect opportunity to visit this annul event. This was our second year attending this event. Most of the activities were similar to previous years but the kids were more

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

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