Monday, October 31, 2005

Halloween...

Pirate and the Sweet!
Jack Sparrow and Cinderella

Huuuh!

Getting Ready!

Conor, Luke, and Moody
Conor, Luke, and Moody


Tala, Hailey, and Kaitilin
Tala, Hailey (Luke's sister), and Kaitilin (Conor's sister)

Lisa, Tala, and Kathy
Lisa (Luke's mom), Tala, and Kathy (Conor's mom)

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Apple Pickin'

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Apple Picking
Yesterday was such a nice day... bright and sunny; a little chilly though. On the road to the farm, Tala was talking non stop! She was that way the whole day actually. Her line of the day was "What did I say? What did you say?" Moody was feeling under the weather, stomach flu, so that gave her the opportunity to non-stop talk! Here's some of the entertainment we had during the day.

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Driving to the farm:
T: What did you say, Dad?
S: I was talking to Mom Tala.
T: What did you say, dad?
H: He was talking to me, Tala.
T: Don't talk mom. But, what did you say, Dad? We might see more hot balloons?
S: I said we might see more hot air balloons on the way.
T: We might see two hot air balloons?
S: Maybe.
{H and M giggling}
T: Don't be funny guys!
{H, M & S giggling more!}
T: Guys, stop being funny, guys!

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At the pool: I was putting a float on her so she could get in the pool alone. While in the water the float climbed up high to her chest. She came out and started this exchange:
T: Look Mom, the float is up.
H: Yes, let me fix it for you.
T: It's funny.
H: You think so?
T: It is sillier than me!

At counting: Tala would count us and say: "one falimy, two falimy, three falimy, four falimy! We are four falimy!"

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At the office: I was working in the office and she came and asked out of the blue:
T: Maybe when you're happy you'll change your mind.
H: What, Tala?
T: Maybe when you're happy, you'll change your mind.
H: Change my mind about what?
T: About my candy, when you're happy.
Apparently, she was refering to a conversation we had in the morning. She asked me to give her one of the Halloween candy she got from school, and I told her she can't have candy early in the morning and before she eats her breakfast.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

It's Goopey!

pumpkin.jpg
Pumkin Invetigation

Moody has extra ordinary linguistic skills. They had a pumpkin investigation in class this week, and one of his lines was "It's goopey!" This skill of his surfaced as early as 2 years of age. Sometimes he could be a pain in the neck though. Everything has to be called its proper name, and specific language has to be used. He keeps correcting people, starting with me; as if Sol is not doing enough of that--now, there is two of them. Yes, Sol is this way and more--I have to remind him frequently that not all people have the same level of intelligence, and that he has to give room for that... so far I haven't been completely successful, but making progress. Yesterday at lunch, I asked Moody to "eat your soup." He answered, "You should say drink your soup, not eat your soup!" And yeah, Tala is a highly absorbent sponge!

I can't wait to take Moody to Libya and see how he interacts with people there, with them using general terms for everything to the point that sometimes you can't follow what they are talking about. Have you noticed how they would say "that thing... the other... the one... or ehnee (هني)." They rarely call things by their names, let alone people. It's the culture and also an indication of how much the new generations are lacking in proper education and directions.

Week note, October 28
Week note of October 28
Finally, we're back on track with Moody. This week's note from Ms. Mason was a relief! He had an adverse reaction during and after his first therapy session, but I was expecting that. Introduce something new to him, and he goes bizarre... that's my boy! Oh, one more thing I have to mention. He was grumpy one morning (not that he's not most of the time he he) so Sol asked "what's up with him?" And I said "You're asking me! Ask little Sol!" It's amazing how much alike they are... in so many ways, more good than bad! I'm just glad that he got all the brains his dad has, and some which comes from me.

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Tala, the artist!
Here's Tala with the fall artwork she did at school. They don't call it Halloween anymore, to be politically correct! Just like they don't say Christmas season, but Holiday season instead. Public schools are very specific about that now and I like it. Actually, the first year Moody joined the school, we had a meeting with them after we had noticed that they do things that are symbolic of Christmas. Our point was that we don't mind if they expose them to all religions, but not just one of many. That year, Eid, Christmas, Hanukah, and Kawanza were around the same time, and we insisted that they either do it all or none. They listened (oh, how I love a free country!) and asked us to help them do something about Ramadan and Eid since they don't know much and don't have the material. We got children's books and have been holding Eid parties at class every year, with goodies for the kids and teachers and other activities. It is nice to feel that you're part of the big picture and that you matter--first time in my life! But where else could one experience that but the US!

I drifted... Back to Tala, she's the sweetest, even her tantrum fits are so mild and sweet (have I mentioned this before?) Sol and I were talking about that yesterday, and I told him she takes after me. Not unexpectedly, his answer was "So, what happened to you then, where did your parents go wrong?" Arrrrr! lol. Seriously, I was that way, my parents always told me. I still am... in some ways.

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Moody reading to Tala!
Last night was Home on the Range... not bad. Flubber is still on top of the list; Moody kept comparing the Professor to Sol and wondering if Sol does the same crazy experiments Professor does. Well I told him that all scientists are weird. It's true, I live with one! Weird but make life very interesting, fun, and worthwhile!

On a different note, a friend asked me what book I have read recently and would recommend. My recommendation is The Mystery of Capital by Hernando De Soto. The book talks about the dead capital in the developing and former communist countries. Egypt is used as an example a lot; the writer did some research there. Here are some of the shocking facts:

- Savings in poor countries is 40 times all the foreign aid received throughout the world!
- Egyptian poors have 55 times as much as the sum of all direct foreign investments ever recorded there!
- Egyptian dead capital is $240 billion! 30 times the value of all shares in the Cairo Stock Exchange.
- "By our calculations, the total value of the real estate held but not legally owned by the poor of the Third World and former communist nations is at least $9.3 trillion." $9.3 trillion is almost as much as the value of all companies listed on the main stock exchanges of the top 20 developed countries!

A very good, eye-opener read indeed!

A long week ahead of me. Sol is going away for 3 days; I still haven't found someone to stay with the kids during my classes at night! I have to finish setting up the Tibra Awards for this year which starts November 1! Trick-or-treating is Monday night; we were going to drive Sol to the airport, but we will miss the trick-or-treat then. I still have to decide if I would take the kids around or stick here and greet the trick-or-treaters. Guess I might do a little of each. I also have to prepare the Eid goodies for the kids' teachers and classmates.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Rain, Go Away!


Hana & Moody

It's been raining here for two days straight now with no break! Rain is expected to continue till Wednesday. Well, a forecast is a forecast, so I'm hoping it's wrong this time. Fall is our favorite season; the scenery is beautiful, the weather is crisp, fresh and nice, not to mention Halloween! Rain kind of ruins the foliage if it's a lot. The Sleeves (Tala would say) start falling early before the foliage peak. These pictures were taken in New River Gorge in West Virginia, late October '99. The gorge looked like a painting with splatters of all different colors in a nice harmonious way. I have never seen anything like it before. I have a lot of awesome pictures, but scanning them lost a lot, so I'd do with these two for now.


Sol, West Virginia, 1999
Back to the present. I admit, I don't like Ramadan, for many, many reasons. The only thing I like about it is that Eid comes after! Yay, Eid! The kids and I went Eid shopping yesterday... a fun outing we enjoy every Eid. We had a blast and they both were terrific; I guess it's because the shopping was for them not for me! We did quite a bit of driving around, and it was nice to see the foliage and enjoy it despite the rain.

We're having Nadia et al for dinner tonight. The menu so far is: Lentil soup, rice, pumpkin stew (we call that Eid stew in Derna and only make it in Eid. It's yummy: pumpkin, raisins and chick peas), pumpkin salad, khushaf, and pumpkin cheese cake. Yeah, lots of pumpkin.. hey, 'tis the season! I made the rice last night at 10:30, khushaf and stew this morning (got up at 5!) Everything is set to put on the table later. This morning, I have a review session for Tuesday's exam. Sometimes I wonder how I manage!

Halloween decoration is up. We did them on Wednesday. As soon as Halloween is over, Halloween flag comes down, Eid flag goes up. Actually, we're getting better and better every year at the decoration.

MFN was the Emperor's New Groove-- a good laugh, really.

Back to work now. Hope it clears out and the nice weather comes back. Tala would say: "The clouds are letting the sun out!"

Friday, October 14, 2005

Ahhhh... I Love Fridays!


Ouch!
We had a wonderful week! Moody is back to the sweet, loving, considerate boy he normally is! We are working with him on three fronts: home, school, and specialist, and it's going very well. Hurray! He lost privileges last week, but earned them all back this week, one-by-one. Of course the order was, Light Saber, one hour of PBS Kidz, boombox, and Red Alert. But, I wonder... He received a bump on the forehead on Monday at the playground in school, could it be the bump that fixed things ;-)

Tala, the cutie pie, wet herself twice this week while in the nanny's care. It is unlike her, but is a sign for her seeking attention. Even her reactions are mellow!

A cake I made!
Movie Friday Night: Mulan! I won't be here... Moody was not happy about that. I explained to him that the baby shower I'm going to was scheduled before we started the MFN. And hey, a girl is gotta have some girl-time! He got excited about going to pick a gift, he wants to buy something for the baby himself! Kathy and I are having the baby shower for Nadia. I'm usually the cake-maker for baby showers, but not this time, I ordered it instead. Nothing would make me happier than to make Nadia's cake; unfortunately, a day is only 24 hours!

We three had a good time at the gym. I got a 2-hour workout; my exerlog showed 300% of target for aerominutes and calories, yeppy! Now we're off to shop and get the cake. I sure am going to have fun tonight, Suliman and the kids will too. Hey Sol, I can't ask for a better partner... We make a good team and I love it!

Meme: Hana

Got this meme from Tareq. Here is my go at it.

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER:

Valiant

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Deadline Busting, J. Ford & L. Ford (textbook for OB class!)

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME?

Haven't played one in a decade... Monopoly probably.

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?

Harvard Business Review (regular reading for OB, I like it!)

5. FAVORITE SMELL?

Lavender

6. FAVORITE FOOD?

Libyan steamed rice (that's no regular steamed rice!) رز مبوخ

7. FAVORITE SOUND?

Leaves ruffling in the big tree behind our house. Have you asked me about ugliest sound, I would say Canadian geese sound... hate them!

8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

Moving, leaving friends and family behind... done that a lot :'(

9. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP?

Gotta get goin'

10. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

Mc Donald's (crispy chicken caesar salad, my fav!)

11. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME:

Too late! Done... no more!

12. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY:

I would still need more!

13. DO YOU DRIVE FAST?

Used to. Not anymore--kids on board and they need me alive.

14. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

Depends: Sol is a stuffed guy, with love not fluff hehehe

15. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?

Cool and cozy.

16. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

Fiat Uno, 1984 Benghazi.

17. FAVORITE DRINK?

Water... now I'm into Fruit2O

18. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD...":

Hmmm... typically, I would take on more projects!

19. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

When it's cooked don't know what's stems and what's not!

20. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

Tried red, didn't work. Now I'm back to dark brown... covering the white!

21. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN:

Tripoli, Brussels, Benghazi, Vienna, Sweqi(Malta), Dublin, Geneva, Beirut, Athens, Westerville

22. HALF EMPTY OR FULL?

Empty

23. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH:

OSU football games, only at the stadium. No TV sports for me.

24. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS!

Hmmmm... third-cousin of mine ;-) (does that make you nice, T, or does it make me nice?)

25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL?

Morning, sometimes both!

26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?

Over medium, scrambled is best though!

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?

Hocking Hills log cabin... need to get there sometime soon, for my sanity!

28. FAVORITE PIE

Pecan with chocolate lining...mmm

To you, Suliman and Safa. You are the toughest two to get to do something... please for me this time (am I pleading enough?)

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Daddy's girl!
Hana and AbdelRahim, 1967, Brussels, Belgium

Today is Baba's birthday, 76! We called to wish him a happy year, but he was not there... went to Derna. So, here goes:

Happy Birthday! 2002

I love you, I miss you, and wish you continued health and happiness. I wish you would meet Moody and Tala soon... you'd love them!

Aymen told me why Baba went to Derna; Walid, who answered the phone would not tell. I knew something was wrong and I hate it when they try to hide things from me (حركات قرعة). My aunt, عميمة سليمة, had her second leg amputated--Diabetes! She suffered so much since her son, Khalil, had been taken to Chad and never made it back. She never received a word about his fate... She still can't find peace! I wish her well...

Sometimes I like Mondays

Yesterday was a good Monday, and it came after a nice weekend.

Ahmed had his best soccer game ever! He was running the whole time, which is not his usual reaction to the whole affair. Actually, I've noticed that Tala, too, is not always "in the game." I think they both have an old family bug called rationality! I often see Tala, standing in the middle of the field, looking like the most beautiful exclamation point, just wondering: why are these people running with no purpose whatsoever? Oh, she has a wonderful time despite all that, and so does her brother with a gang of 5-yr-old boys chasing girls on the sidelines with Light Sabers. I take it all as a form of free entertainment!






I think Moody had his best game yesterday because of what he ate for dinner: bazeen! 24-ct.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Rough Times...



What a week!

Moody is not adjusting to the changes in our routine very well. We are still working on that. He does very well with us, but not so well with care-givers. The previous note from his teacher 10-4.jpg was very upsetting and alarming. He literally walked out of school--wanted to come home! He is looking for ways to make me stay home. "I don't want you to go to school," he said in more than one occasion. Sweet Moody, I wish life works the way you want... unfortunately it does not. My heart aches at the thought of what he's going through!

Grad school, though interesting, is very hard and challenging, and it is taking a toll on me with all the stress at home. Now is the time of the quarter where everything is fast-paced and assignments are piling up.

Ramadan! It is another factor for the rough times. It is a reminder of home, family, and many other things that we miss. Truth is, Ramadan does not land lightly on our household.

It's Movie Friday Night; Flubber or Mulan. We are all looking forward to it. I hope this and the weekend bring some peace to our minds and hearts.

Thanks to the friends who left us phone or email messages! We promise to get back to you soon. We just can't find the time nor the mind to do it now.

Ramadan kareem!

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Snapshots

M (talking about 2 toys): These two are related.
H: Are we related, Moody?
M: Yes.
H: How are you related to me?
M: I'm human!
______________________

T: Is Nadia still sad?
H: Yes.
T (picking a flower from Nadia's front yard): This flower will make her happy.
H (thinking: !رزق خوالهم)
________________________

H: How do you spell Dregia, Mood?
M: Dad, Mom, Moody, and Tala!
T: T-O-Y!
_________________________

We had a nice evening walk in Sahron Wood's outer trail (3.8 miles). Moody rode his bike all the way! Saw some deer and a buck. Tala was upset that the deer were eating the grass!