بعد ما شاب خش الكتّاب

Can't Kiss the Girl!

Tala on her 3rd birthday: Attitude pose!

"Kiss the Girl" from Disney's Little Mermaid is Tala's favorite--mine too, I bravely admit! The song was playing in the car when we arrived home. I got off, singing "I wanna kiss the gilr," and bent to kiss Tala while unbuckling her, and she said " You can't kiss the girl--You are not a boy!"

Here is Tala's other crack-me-up line:

When she first discovered that women wear bras, she would ask every girl and woman she meets, "Do you have a bra in there?" That was about six months ago, and she almost grew out of it, or accepted it as a fact. Today at Macy's, we were in and out of fitting rooms, walking through the different departments, lingerie, evening dresses, etc. She remembered, and the fascination came back. She literally asked every cashier, every woman that was in the vicinity, "Do you have a bra too?"

With my Mouth Closed!

Yesterday morning, I told Moody he was going to the library with Bree and they would read books not play computer games. I was telling him that it is important he learns how to read by himself, and he said, "Mom, I can read with my mouth closed now!"

Moody has been going through some changes lately, and we still can't pin them down to something yet. To put it in his own words, he has been "hurting people's feelings." I hope it is just one of those phases that he will come out of soon.

I was out the whole day yesterday and came home after class around 10:30 pm. This morning, Tala said "I'm happy you camed home, mom." I'm glad she noticed!

Toothloose

I woke up this morning, called the kids from downstairs to wash and change. They stormed up the stairs all talking at the same time and gasping for air. Amazingly, they were already dressed up and not in their pj’s; thanks to Anes, of course! The excitement was:

Anes lost his tooth!

They could not find it, so the four of us went on a mission digging in the bed and found it! Yesterday, Anes was telling us about his loose tooth and that his mom will be happy when it falls out. "Mom will be happy," he is still repeating! Anes' parents: notify the tooth fairy!

Go, George!

T-Rex, Fall '04, Spring '05, WASA team.

I was telling Suliman this and decided to blog it.

At soccer, it turned out that Moody's team, Gold, was to play against George's and Ray's team,Red.

George (flicker-noted on photo) was in T-Rex with Moody last year. He also goes to the WAC, and he and Moody spend a lot of time playing together there. His mom and I do the same classes.

Ray (photo coming) is Moody's buddy at the pool. We usually meet him with his mom and Addy at the pool and day care. His mom and I share the same classes.

Conor (photo note) is Moody's buddy. He is our ex-neighbor, his mom is a dear friend and we still get together.

We, moms, tried to explain to the boys that they are not all in the same team and Moody is playing against George and Ray today. The whistle blows and Moody starts yelling and cheering, while running after the ball himself, wearing Gold, playing for Gold, "Go, George! Get the ball George! Score!"

How cute! That's what I call loyalty ;-)

Quiet Moody

On the back: "directions during our bear
coloring page! -Ms Mason."

The note says it all!

At martial arts today, Moody was so good that he earned his belt back which he lost last time for not behaving and following directions. Master Circle (yep, that's his name) was happy with him, praised him and wrote Moody's name in Korean on his shirt (not sure if it's called a shirt).

Soccer later was a different story. I should videotape a whole game. When a player--we're talking 5-year-olds here--is running with the ball, coaches and referees have to remind them and redirect them where to head with it, so they won't score on their team! Moody keeps giving the other team players the grumpy face when they take the ball, making fists and blabbing away. He still insists on grabbing the ball by hands and picking it up when the opposing team is close to scoring. Luckily this happened toward the end of the fourth quarter.

Is this the same quiet boy in class, I wonder!

Logo Machine!

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Originally uploaded by dregias.

Here I am in the kitchen with four dishes cooking at the same time so we have some decent food to eat next week. I'm still trying to adjust being in school and tending to family needs at the same time. Providing the family with home-cooked meals eases my guilt a little. Oops I drifted away from what I was trying to write. Let me start over:

Here I am extremely busy cooking four dishes, and Tala would not stop her demands and whining for one thing or the other:

T: Mom, hu'-hu'-hu'-hu' I want haleeb.
H (stressed-out, but keeping calm): OK, in a minute.
T (2 seconds later): I don't want haleeb! I want yogurt drink.
H (dicing onions): OK, TALA! But you have to ask politely.
T: Mom, I want yogurt drink, pleeeease.
H: OK, wait pleeease.
T: But I want yogurt drink.
H: Tala, you have to wait, I'm not a machine.
T: You are not a yogurt machine? Are you just a big girl?
H: ROTL and giving Lalla a squeezy hug. (how can I not!)

Before this scene above, I was trying to resolve a picking-up conflict. Moody, a good picker-upper, was telling me that Tala made the mess in the basement and she should help. Of course, Ms. attitude refuses; her excuses vary from "I'm tired", "I need to go to the bathroom", "I need to rest in my room"... They tell me she is an excellent picker-upper at school... why? I keep asking!

That is Tala in the picture taken yesterday. She is wearing Moody's outfit from last year. I looked for one of Moody with the same outfit to post side-by-side... still looking! The resemblance is striking though. Moody and I went to pick her up from school yesterday. I kept looking at her class group in the parking lot and thought, "that's Moody over there, where is Tala?" Then it struck me that Moody is in the car with me and that is Tala.

Today's Trend

Moody learning Arabic
Originally uploaded by dregias.

Yesterday, we had a picnic with some Libyan friends. It was very nice and the kids definitely had lots of fun… Tala and Moody stayed in bed till 7:30 this morning—this has not been happening lately!

Apparently, Anes’s dad was teaching him some Arabic before the picnic. So when they got there, Anes asked Moody if he is learning Arabic too. Today Moody would not put down the Arabic laptop that he got from Grandma Safia. A good sign--maybe--that he will take more to learning Arabic.

It was nice to see how well the kids got along. At some point, Moody did not like (to put it mildly) being around kids (and some adults too) of Libyan families; the reasons being the language barrier and the rough play and handling.

Hey, my nose is blogged!

It all started last year, I think. Whenever Tala got a little cold, we'd ask,"Do you have a plugged nose?" She would often report, "I got plug nose." It all became clearer when she once complained, "Dad, I got plug nose on my hand!" I guess, she meant "nose plug." Slowwy (as she says), Tala picked up on "blocked." This week, generous Dad brought home a case of sniffles and cough. Of course the word "blog" has lately figured into our conversations quite a bit, both as a noun and a verb. Put it all together: plugged, blocked, blog, and you get Tala running around and complaining, "Hey, my nose is blogged!" She's right, there it is.

Question of the Day

"Do babies take a shower at
the baby shower?"

Kudos for Moody!

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Originally uploaded by dregias.

Moody was the star of class yesterday; he came home with a star on his hand! Also, his teacher sent the penguin note with him... what a surprise--Moody a model!

He started Hip Hop yesterday and Ms. Angie said he was excellent in class! My, oh my!

This is pretty close to a miracle; hope it lasts...

Another bit of info that's great: Westerville District schools rank in the top 16% nationally and earned a gold medal!

It's my day off today... no running around with the kids, Dad will do that, yay! I picked the busiest day and he caught me, but hey, it's all about sharing... thanks honey! I will still be running around though. Going with Nadia and her mom for lunch and to do her baby gift registry. Nadia's mom arrived in the US Sunday; I'm happy for Nadia, but can't help envying her for having her mom here!

Tala's Kick in The Grass

Ma-Ma Madiiiiiina!

There she is in the Madina team colors. I wonder if that team, which is located in Old Tripoli, got their colors from the ancient pirates.

Tala actually "turned out to be" a lefty. She never seemed to favor a foot before, but in soccer she's definitely a lefty. Mom is just thrilled to finally have a lefty, even if only left footed. I wonder if I should I tell her that my brother Mohammed is right-handed and left-footed. Nah, nah, I'm sure Tala gets it from Hanu; only her temper is mine. Uh-huh!

Twinkle little star...

Tala chanting away!

Now that I recorded Tala and put it on the blog and her profile, Moody wants his chanting up here too... I don't think it's a good idea though. His song goes like this:

You're so good to Moody...
You're so cool to Moody...
You're so good to Moody...
You're so cool to Moody...
... on and on and on!

I'll do a video of him singing it someday.

Bus Partners

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Originally uploaded by dregias.

Moody with his "best buddy" and "bus partner", Luke, after they got off the bus coming from school yesterday. Moody is so excited that he and Luke are riding the bus together. Bus driver, better watch out for this duo!

In the background: Tala, Kayleigh, Nicole, and Brandon on the bike.

Because I have my clothes on!

IMG_0310.JPG
Originally uploaded by dregias.

Tala had her first dance class last Thursday, September 1. All through class, she was standing "sad" with her hands on her cheeks and watching; would not follow the instructor or even try.

After class, we had this little talk:

H: Why didn't you dance, Tala?
T: I can't! (accompanied by her famous arms gesture)
H: Why not?
T: Because I have my clothes on! (same arms again)

Don't get her wrong about the clothes bit. She meant, she had regular clothes on and not dance clothes! How could we have expected her to dance with her clothes on... lol lol.

Anyhow, the story is we were told no dance clothes are needed for classes as they will be provided toward the end of the academic year close to recital day. Tala goes into class and all the other girls are dressed up like ballerinas (a beautiful sight... sigh). Apparently, she got upset that she was not dressed properly for class, and decided not to dance with her "clothes on!" You know, for girls, being proper is very important in every tiny thing they do. I bet it has to do with the double dose of the X gene.

Yesterday, she went all ready and dressed up in her "sprinkly" ballerina outfit (see picture). The shoes are still missing though, we are waiting for her ordered size to arrive, but she had some from the studio to dance with. I kept peeking to see how she was doing--she didn't miss a beat!

First day... in many ways!

Today is...

- 1st day for us Dregias blogging.

- 1st day of school for Moody and Tala.

- Tala's 1st day of formal preschool. She went to OSU day care center for few weeks in the spring; two days a week 9 to 5.

- Tala's 1st soccer day.

- Tala's 1st dance lesson ever. It is really 2nd, but last time she was just an observer... more to come.

- Moody's 1st day of his third year of preschool at Whittier Elementary. He loves it, we love it!

Pictures will come soon. Been running around all day and feeling tired. Need to go rest...